#I’m real happy w/ my design for him- it took a minute for me to get it down but I’m really pleased w/ him now lol

[your-unfriendlyghost]

your dallas is sooooo perfect he’s exactly what I always pictured him looking like in my head while reading the book and just like……. when I think of him in general lol

but I was wondering…. would it be alright to reference your work in the notes of a fic I’m writing??? no using of the art in a moodboard or anything just maybe a link to your page, all of the characters look so different in my head that I’ve cast them as movie/musical/book versions of themselves and I always struggled with putting a face on dallas until I stumbled onto your page and like wow… that’s literally HIM 😭 if course there is absolutely No need to say yes I just figured I’d ask instead of just putting it in regardless as “playing the role of dally winston is : tumblr user your-unfriendlyghost’s artwork of book!dallas” lmao 😭😭😭😭🤝

Sure, I’m down for that lol

I’m honored ya like my take on him!!

[reidjumpers]

Here Comes the Sun: Dumplings

Spencer Reid x Reader

Warning: mentions of food, some curse words, domestic bliss, Spencer being a little anxious

Series Summary: a journey of going through parenthood with Spencer Reid

Chapter Summary: When Spencer woke up to you making dumplings in the dining table, he knew he was in trouble.

Note: welcome to the first chapter of dad!Spencer series! For those who have faint heart, fear not, because I am not mean and I write this so we can all have serotonin boost together. Enjoy!

prologue, next chapter, series masterlist.

Nobody in their right mind would ever call Spencer Reid a fool. He might have encountered people that underestimate him or didn’t think he was as smart, yes, but no one would ever call him a fool. Not even when Emily joked about his IQ getting slashed into 60 in the presence of a beautiful woman. He had to silently agree with that statement. How could he not? In front of him was a very beautiful woman that he had the luxury to call her his wife. His beautiful, gorgeous, very understanding, intelligent wife.

But right now he definitely felt like a goddamn fool.

When Spencer woke up to an empty bed and the apartment smelled distinctively sweet like the bakery, he thought he was waking up on a really good day. But when he walked out the bedroom and spotted you sitting at the dining table calmly, a hum of songs from the speaker played in the background, and a stack of dumpling skin placed on the table, he knew he was in the doghouse.

It was common knowledge that whenever you’re stressed or upset upon something or someone, when life seemingly wants to fucks you over and over, you’d channel it through baked sweets or as strange as it sounds, dumplings. He never knew witnessing you silently make dumplings on the dining table with freshly baked cookies on the counter would be such a terrifying and worrisome sight to see.

Spencer stood silently in the doorway, rocking on his heels forward and backwards. He was quiet and careful not to burst the bubble of your own world. His mind started to run a few scenarios inside his head over and over, trying to walk through every minute by minute of every event in his life that had led him into today.

“Hey,” he greeted you after two solid minutes of thinking and couldn’t come up with any answer. His voice was gentle to not startle you as he pulled a chair across yours.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” you teased. It was 11:15 AM, you were most definitely saying that just to tease him.

Spencer rolled his eyes at your jab, silently reached for the dumpling skin in front of him and started to fill it with the filling. He had done this thousands of times over to know the right way to make dumplings. Your first few dates with him consisted of homemade dumplings and sipping wine. He was honored when you showed him how to make dumplings the way your grandmother did it, grinning as you said it’s a family secret and he promised to keep it as one.

“Are we having a guest?” Spencer asked as he put his own dumpling carefully into the designated plate. His dumpling would never be as good as yours no matter how much he tried, but he was proud that it was passable enough to your standard.

“No?” you furrowed your eyebrows, glancing up from your own dumpling. “Why?”

“You make more dumplings than usual,” he pointed out.

“Oh,” your voice was soft, barely audible, and he nearly missed it. “Didn’t realize that.”

Spencer nodded, reaching for another dumpling skin to soothe his worry away. Study has shown that repetitive action proven to soothe anxiety and increase focus. He could recite the study in his sleep, forward and backwards without stuttering. But the damned repetitive action of making dumplings didn’t work for him right now.

He cleared his throat. It is now and never. He would have to kiss his husband of the year trophy goodbye if he couldn’t figure out for his life what makes his wife this upset. “Hon?” he called for your attention.

You let out a hum of acknowledgement, eyes didn’t leave your dumpling for a second. It made the corner of his lips twisted downwards.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked gently, mindful not pressing you into telling him things. He knew you would never keep things away from him. You would tell him eventually, but he needed to hear it.

You, however, just scrunched your nose adorably in confusion. “Talk about what?”

“You bake cookies and make dumplings, and it’s just…” he craned his neck to take a glance towards the hanging clock above the cabinet. “It’s not even twelve yet.”

You blinked at his statement. “I’m hungry.”

“You do stress bake,” he patiently pointed out. Placing his yet another passable looking dumpling into the designated plate, he let out a sigh. “You also make dumplings when you’re stressed or upset. And now you do both first thing in the morning.”

“You know me so well, huh? You should marry me if you know me so well.”

“Already did, nine months ago,” Spencer rolled his eyes at your humor, but a smile graced his lips. “So, do you want to talk about it?”

You blinked at him again, nose scrunched up in confusion at his question. Spencer could feel silence slowly settling in, filling the gaps between you and him. His mind started to make a list of things that you like, making mental notes to make a short trip to a grocery store to pick up your favorite ice cream and take a reroute towards the flower shop he saw a week ago and picked up a bouquet of roses.

He was in the middle of mentally reciting his apology for fucking up when he heard you burst into a laughter. It took him a moment to register that the sound of you cackling so hard was not a mere figment of his imagination. He saw you laughing so hard, head thrown backwards overwhelming the small dining room.

“I’m sorry,” you hiccupped, wiping away tears from your eyes with your sleeve. Spencer would’ve smiled at the sight if he weren’t so puzzled. “Babe, are you really thinking I’m mad at you because I bake cookies and make dumplings?”

Spencer sputtered, “How could I not!” he huffed, throwing his hands into the air dramatically as you laugh upon his misery. “I was so worried! You always either bake or make dumplings when you’re upset, but never both! And now you do both and you keep dodging my question.”

“I didn’t mean to!” you said defensively between your laughter. You cleared your throat, not wanting to make the pout on Spencer’s lips even more prominent. “I guess my brain really associated cookies and dumplings as something comforting. I crave for some comfort food, and my brain just screams, ‘cookies and dumplings!’ I didn’t mean to make you worried, I’m sorry.”

“This much? You’re really hungry, huh?”

“Pretty hungry since I’m eating for two now.”

Spencer froze on his spot, his hand stopped midair before he was able to reach for another dumpling skin. He blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. “W-what?”

You just smiled cheekily at him. You got up from your seat and walked towards the kitchen, leaving him alone flabbergasted at your statement. You came back a minute later, a wide smile at your face and your hand tucked behind your back.

“Ta-da!” you cheerfully said, placing baby shoes on the table in front of him. Spencer let out a soft gasp, cooed at the sight of how tiny the shoes are.

“Are you…? Are we…?”

“Pregnant,” you finished his sentence for him with a wide grin. “I found out during our case in LA and I was meaning to tell you earlier, I swear! But the case got a little crazy and we’re whisked away into doing a lot of things at once.”

Spencer let out a shaky breath, staring into the baby shoes with eyes full of awe. The news still felt unreal for him, artificial, but the warmth blooming on his chest that slowly spreading through his system left him fuzzy. A small reminder that it was as real as he wanted to be.

You probably have mistaken his silence for something else as you shifted your weight from one foot to another. You started to fidget with the hem of your shirt, eyes not meeting his. “I know we agree to wait for a year, but–”

Spencer practically leaped from his seat and scooped you into his arms. His smile was so wide that his cheeks started to hurt. You let out a small yelp as he spun you around before he placed a tender kiss on your lips. “I love you,” he said between your kisses, grinning as he stole a few more small kisses.

You giggled between his kisses, your hand flew into his face and patted his cheeks as he assaulted your face with his lips. “I love you too, you big goof.”

“A baby, huh?” Spencer let out a happy sigh after he spared your life from his kisses. His hand nestled on your waist, gently swaying you in his arms. “We’ve got to start baby proofing the whole place, make sure there are no sharp edges,” he rambled.

“Spencer–”

“I’ll go to the bookstore and pick up some book about baby names! Do you think Jason is a good name?”

“I think–”

“Oh, we should start shopping for some clothes and socks too. Make sure they’re warm–”

“Spencer!” you interrupted his rambling with your hands squishing his face. You smiled at him as he blinked his eyes towards you slowly, a little fazed that you broke his train of thought. “I love all the planning ideas, but right now let’s just focus on making dumplings and feed three of us, okay?”

“Okay,” he breathed out, slowly collapsing into his seat again. “Okay. Dumplings…” he muttered to himself, grabbing the dumpling skin in front of him. “But seriously, what do you think about the name Jason?”

“It’s a lovely name.”

“Oh, common ground. I like that.”

====================================

Series tag list:

@measure-in-pain @wooya1224 @reidemandweep @manuosorioh

[willowbleedsonpaper]

Winter In The Shade XIV

Part XIV

Sirius Black x Ravenclaw Reader

W.C. : 2866

Requested by @pogueslandia : It is Sirius’ fifth year at Hogwarts, the same year he ran away from home and to the Potter’s. Soon, he discovers the unfamiliar sight of his brother Regulus smiling and looking truly happy, next to him a Ravenclaw girl who immediately captures his interest. What will happen when the Black family gets involved in their sons lives and the ones they hold close to their hearts?

Warnings: None (Let me know if there's any, though)

Want to know when I post the next part? Add yourself to my taglist!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

You were distracted. Regulus had noticed that much. Two weeks had passed by since his game against Gryffindor and he had taken to himself to watch you closely. At first he was worried, now he was curious. He could feel you were distant, sometimes he would find your eyes lost in the crowd of students or a smile growing on your lips at something only you could figure out from all the voices. You spent more time out after dinner, Regulus finding you walking back to your common room late at night when you had supposedly already gone there. He didn’t question you but he wanted to know who this person was who had captured your attention.

Unfortunately, he was certain it had to be a Gryffindor. The presence of the house is always there whenever he notices these changes in your behaviour. He had so many questions and no reason to ask you about it. But he knew he could dig a little with the right words.

“...and I need this one and that one.” you said, walking through the shelves of the library with Regulus following you “Can you reach the red one for me?” you asked him, his arm easily going over your head and taking the book you pointed “Thank you.” you told him, adding the book to the pile in your arms.

Regulus just observed you, noticing a sweet smell coming from you. Your favorite perfume. You looked the same as always, Ravenclaw uniform neatly worn with a few details of your own design, leather bag hanging from your left shoulder as your body inevitably leaned towards that side due to the weight of all you carried. Your face, your hair, your voice it was all the same but it was all in the details. The perfume, the skip on your step, your more cheerful mood.

“You seem happier.” he said, earning a chuckle from you as you returned the book in your hand to the shelf.

“Thank you?” you answered doubtfully. There, no retort to fight him, no sarcastic comment to notice his own gloomy or serious mood.

“I mean it.” he told you, trying to look casual about it. He didn’t have it in him but he had to try, he’s used to being direct but going around things was not his thing. “What’s gotten you in such a happy mood lately?”

You made a face at him, leading him towards your table at the library. He took the seat right across from you, facing the entrance of the library as he had always liked to observe the people going in and out of the room. You moved your own chair out and took a seat, dropping the pile of books on the tables’ surface.

“Would you believe it's because of you?” you asked with a smile, taking your things out of your bag and placing one by one on the table.

Regulus shook his head, following your movements as he did the same “The fact that you asked me if I would believe you tells me it’s not because of me.” he stated, resting his back against the chair as he watched you. “And there is a reason because you are making up excuses.”

You frowned, hitting the table a little too hard with the spine of your book “I hate that you’re so clever sometimes.” you muttered bitterly, unknown to Regulus that you were starting to panic. Your leg a jumping mess under the table.

“Why won’t you tell me?” he asked. Going around things wasn’t working for him, it actually never worked for anyone but he knew that and trying it anyway got on his nerves a little too much. He needed answers.

“Because there is nothing to tell.” you said, voice high as you avoided his gaze. You were lying.

“Look at me.” he said.

You closed your eyes shut, letting out a single breath as you pressed your lips in a line. Finally you lifted your face, meeting his eyes. He had a relaxed posture, as relaxed as Regulus could get, but he still tilted his head. Oh, he knew what he was doing. He looked approachable and kind, more than usual in your eyes.

“You’re seeing someone.”

Your heart almost jumped out of your chest, the drop of your stomach as you felt like someone had punched you on the gut enough to make all the happiness he was asking you about wash out of your face.

He wasn’t asking. It wasn’t a question. He was telling you because he knew.

Your thoughts started to go over everything you had done, everything you had said, how you acted, anything that could have given it away to him. Everything and nothing came to mind as you just stared at him, your body completely still.

Then it dawned on you that you weren’t seeing anyone. Not really. You and Sirius were friends who liked to spend time together. Behind your best friend and Sirius brother’s back. You thought bitterly, guilt starting to rise inside you. We’re just friends. Then why did your mind go immediately to Sirius at the question of you seeing anyone?

“What?” you asked in a whisper, taking a shaky breath after as the fear of your secret being discovered became more real.

He looked for your eyes, a small smile on his face “I know you’re seeing someone.”

“You know?” you repeated.

“Yes.”

But did he knew?

“And you’re not upset?” you asked, taking careful steps in the conversation.

“I don’t know why you felt like you couldn’t tell me.” he said “I’m more upset over the fact that they’re a Gryffindor, but I guess I’ll get…”

“You know!” you yelled. The shushing sounds from the students around you made you shrink in your place as you muttered a quiet apology, the flush in your cheeks nothing as you turned with wide eyes at Regulus, mouthing the words You Know.

“I had my suspicions.” he said, looking around before he settled back on you “You stare at the people of their house a lot and I still have to figure out who they are…”

His words were muffled by the relief washing over you. He didn’t know.

*******

Sirius had looked for you a couple of days after the Quidditch game. He had managed a couple of minutes away from all the eyes at Hogwarts to ask you to meet him later that day. Of course you had agreed.

You moved through the castle with light steps. It was late but not enough to get you in trouble, just to get a warning look from the professors. Sirius had asked you to meet him inside the castle but you couldn’t risk another surprise visit from Regulus, his extra classes had gotten all over his schedule and you no longer knew when he would be out and what days he wouldn’t. So you asked Sirius to meet you at the castle entrance. Doubtful, he had accepted.

So that’s where you were headed, playing with your fingers as you moved. The corridors were empty and the day getting colder, a chill running down your spine as more nerves got to you. Somehow, although you wanted this, you were also dreading it.

The doors were wide open, your figure a dot in the distance of what the entire castle represented. You glanced at either side of the door before you decided Sirius wasn’t there yet. You rested your weight on the wall outside the castle, closing your eyes as the air blew on your face. You found the feeling relaxing and refreshing, almost taking your worries with it.

Then something changed in the air, a different smell caught in the air as you started to feel different. Not alone. Your eyes fluttered open to see Sirius standing right beside you, a different look on his face as he watched you.

“You looked peaceful.” he said, offering his hand for you to take.

You glanced hesitantly at him, grabbing his hand “You look different.”

“And we’ve never looked better.” he said, his usual grin back on his lips as he gave a soft squeeze to your hand “Lead the way, since a castle is not enough for the lady.”

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head as you pulled him with you, missing his triumphant smile at teasing you.

You walked for a couple of minutes, going down the stairs to the black lake in silence. Once you got over the hills and past the shore of the black lake Sirius started asking questions but you didn’t give in, ignoring his every word until you got closer to your destiny, your secret space.

“Would you relax?” you asked him, his mouth never stopping until you talked “We’re almost there.”

“You could have told me where we are going.” he said, looking around you and seeing nothing familiar “You could be leading me to my death.”

“Oh, yes.” you smiled back at him before narrowing your eyes at him “I’m not really a student at Hogwarts. You see, I’m this serial killer who lures her victims by being a sweet girl, this is the place where all my victims have died and you are next.”

Your grasp on his hand got tighter, smiling at him before you focused on the way you were walking. Sirius raised an eyebrow but said nothing, letting you drag him with his arm now stretched to create space between you two.

“I can’t tell if you’re joking.” he said, his voice a little worried “You sound very convincing and your scenario sounds entirely possible now.”

You laughed out loud, throwing your head back lightly. Sirius' fake worry all washed away as a genuine smile replaced everything in his features, thinking that maybe, if you were actually a serial killer, this wouldn’t be such an awful way to die.

“I’m very capable of a lot of things, so you shouldn’t underestimate me.” you said, raising your eyebrows at him before you turn back front “We’re here.” you announced, letting go of his hand as you advanced some steps on your own.

You moved through the grass, grass tall enough to reach your ankles and wildflowers who filled the ground with beautiful dots of color. And to your right an enormous tree, vines hanging from its branches that you moved as if it was a curtain, letting you and Sirius through to a small meadow. The place was comfortable enough to have a picnic with a few friends and still have room to move around, the makeshift walls made of more trees and vines that covered the space to make the shape of what almost resembled a circle.

“Welcome to a small haven just outside Hogwarts.” you said to Sirius, spinning once in your spot as you focused back on his face. He looked amazed, his eyes finding the sky once before he moved to the green grass and small patches of flowers.

“Just outside is putting it lightly.” he whispered, but you could see he didn’t care about the distance or about walking all the way there with you. He softly ran his fingers over the vines that fell like heavy silks once again, covering the spot where you two had walked in. “You found this place?”

You hummed in response, nodding your head “I was trying to escape some friends while we played. It was my first year so I didn’t know the grounds of the school very well. I ran and ran until I could no longer hear them and then I hid here. They never found me.”

He laughed, his smile reaching his eyes as he continued to look around “You probably shouldn’t have shown me this place.” he told you, knowing perfectly that he would use it as a way to avoid professors and detention.

“I didn’t show you anything.” you said, patting a spot in the ground to then sit there with a huff “You followed me here.”

Sirius did the same thing and sat down next to you “You dragged me here.” he stated, giving you a knowing look.

“You offered your hand.” you argued back, throwing some of your hair over your shoulder “You could have let go at any time.” Your confidence didn’t last much as you burst out laughing, shaking your head as you tried to speak, the words coming out of your mouth unintelligible.

It took you a couple of minutes to catch your breath but in the end your chest started to rise and fall evenly, the air calm as you could only hear the breeze moving the tree tops. The silence fell heavily between you two, not in an uncomfortable way but enough to let you know the laughter was over.

You swallowed in anticipation, not knowing how to begin. In the end you didn’t have to, Sirius taking the chance first.

“I’m sure you have many questions and believe me, so do I,” he started, looking at his hands as he spoke “But you have to know whatever he is doing it’s not good.”

“You don’t know that.” you said in a low tone, still a hint of hope in your voice.

He shook his head, turning to look at you with that same desperation he had in his eyes the day you found Regulus. “You’re too good.” he whispered, raising his hand hesitantly to your face, his finger moving a piece of hair behind your ear.

His skin felt warm against yours, the back of his hand grazing your cheek as you moved your face away “I’m not naive.” you exclaimed “I know him. He is my friend, my family, he would never say that.”

“We both heard him, Y/N.” Sirius reminded you, his voice sounding deeper now “How can you explain what we both heard?” he asked, looking at you expectantly.

“I don’t know what I heard.” you said stubbornly, refusing to look at Sirius.

“You do know. I saw you there and you were hurt, we both know what he called you.”

You grunted, pushing yourself to your feet as you stood with your back at him “There must be an explanation.”

Sirius followed you, standing just behind you “For calling someone Pure enough…”

“Dont’!” you hissed, turning to Sirius with a glare in your face.

“I think it’s self explanatory, Y/N.” his voice had raised in volume, the two of you facing one another with glares in your eyes, not moving but holding each others’ eyes.

“Then why is he still my friend?” you asked in a whisper, faces inches away from one another, he heard you just right. “Why is he still by my side, why has nothing changed?”

“Because you’re everything he has left.” he whispered angrily, not being able to hold your gaze any longer as he turned from you. “I was once in your place. Then, he could afford to lose me, so he did. He had the chance to change, to prove everyone wrong but he chose status and the glory of being the only son of the Black family.”

“What are you talking about?” you asked him, confusion growing inside of you as you digested his words.

“Why do you think I left my home?” he asked quietly, “Why do you think my family and your best friend hate me so much? A shame to the Black family.”

A frown was set deep in your face, eyes wild as you started to put all the pieces together inside your head. The perfect son who hates his traitor brother. Traitor. Blood traitor.

Your gaze stilled for a moment, your eyes on the ground as you breathed in deeply. You raised your face slowly, eyes meeting Sirius’ as you stood straight. You opened your mouth but nothing came out, the small gap letting out air as you tried to even your breathing. Your entire face fell, sadness overtaking your eyes as you finally understood.

“You don’t believe in blood purity.” you whispered, voice rough as all the emotion you held inside tried to pour itself on your words. “But he does.”

“Yes.” A simple word, a full sentence. One that changed everything now that the truth was out.

Words got tangled on your tongue, you tried to speak but felt like all it would come out would be your screams.

Your body moved back on its own, rubbing the side of your arm with your hand as every word repeated itself in your head.

“He stayed?” you asked him.

Still that hint of hope. Sirius thought.

“He didn’t ask to come.” he said truthfully.

You nodded your head continuously, not stopping until you covered your face with the palms of your hands, pressing the cold feeling against your skin.

Seconds after you felt a pair of arms around your shoulders, his whispered words on the side of your head filled you with comfort as you moved your hands around his chest.

He held you for a long time, I could have been minutes or hours, it felt like a lifetime. Despite everything you had just learned, there, you felt safe.

TAGS

Skittles

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Winter in the Shade

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Marauders

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Sirius Black

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[peterparkers-bad-youtube-apology]

Hey love, was wondering if we could get some more mean girl x soft boy with Peter with promts 10 and 37??

Yes!! My favorite, of course, I made reader a Stark too cause spoiled rich mean girl with soft little Peter kills me. Hope you like it!

Requests are still open guys, you can use the prompts or just request whatever you want to, I write for Peter and Tom, love you guys xx

Full of Surprises

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark! Reader

Summary: Peter wants you to take him to a party, which ends up being nothing like he expected

Prompts

Masterlist

Prompt #10 - “I don’t think you’re down for the parties I go to pretty boy.”

Prompt #37 - “You wanna sneak out?”

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

It would be hard to summarize (y/n) Stark in any sort of brief, meaningful fashion, she was too complicated for just a few sentences. If Peter had to call her just a few things he’d say she was complex and charismatic. She could be a little bratty, she liked getting her way, but most people still liked her, they still wanted to be around her. She was glamorous, with her designer clothes and nice cars and the paparazzi, she held the whole Stark legacy in a custom made, diamond encrusted pink birkin. Peter didn’t get the appeal of the money or the popular girl front she had at school, he thought the real her was a lot more interesting.

In getting to know her he had found she was actually a lot softer than most people thought, she just took a bit to warm up to people. He couldn’t blame her really, he’d seen firsthand the way kids at school tried to get close to her just for the exclusive invite or a Twitter follow, so he understood her hesitation. What he didn’t understand was why she wanted to be popular and famous, why she liked it all so much. It was puzzling to him, but he found both sides of her equally endearing. Even dorky little Peter couldn’t resist the pull of her glamorous life, he couldn’t deny that part of him wanted to be closer to that side of her too. He wanted to be the boy on her arm at all the parties she went to, but he had to get out of his comfort zone to do that…

“Yo Parker, you riding with me?” (y/n) turned around to face him as their final class drew to a close.

He nodded, “Yeah, if that’s cool with you.”

“I was hoping you would, I need your help,” she winked, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she stood.

He followed after her, his brows knit in confusion, “What do you need my help with?”

“There’s a party this Friday, dad said I can’t go,” she rolled her eyes, “So annoying, anyways, I was going to ask you to cover for me. I’ll tell him I’m at your place studying or something and you just tell him I’m with you if he asks. I know you're a perfect little angel, but I’ll owe you so big and I promise you won’t get in trouble with him. Plus I’ll buy you whatever you want.”

“You don’t need to buy me anything, you know that,” he blushed, biting down on the inside of his cheek as he contemplated his next move, “There is, uh, something you could do for me though…”

“Oh really?”

He nodded, “I want to go with you.”

She paused right in front of the limo and raised a brow at him, “Seriously?”

He nodded, “Yeah.”

She laughed as she climbed into the car, apparently finding the suggestion to be the funniest thing she’d heard all week, “Peter it’s a party with people and dancing and alcohol, I don’t think it’s your scene.”

“Then I’ll sneak out.”

His cheeks flushed and he frowned, “I’ve been to parties, I want to go, you always have fun don’t you?”

“You’ve been to high school parties,” she rolled her eyes, “There is no way May would let you go to this kind of party.”

“You wanna sneak out?”

“I sneak out all the time,” he reminded, “I’m probably better at it than you.”

“Point taken,” she smiled brightly at him, “Okay, why do you want to go out to parties all of a sudden?”

He shrugged, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible, “I might as well give it a try, maybe I’ll like it.”

She hummed, contemplating what to do for a moment, “Okay, I’ll take you, but no dorky t-shirts.”

“What’s wrong with my shirts?” he glanced down at himself with a frown.

“Well I think they’re cute, but they aren’t really party material. In fact I don’t know if anything you have is…”

He blushed at the compliment, “I can just wear a plain shirt then.”

“I’ll pick something out for you,” she smiled, “My arm candy has to match me.”

“Okay, but I’m not wearing the Spiderman suit.”

“You’ll wear what I tell you too babe,” she patted his cheek, smiling while his blush spread up to his ears, “Pick you up at 8?”

“Y-Yeah, sounds good.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

As promised, (y/n) arrived at Peter’s house at 8 sharp, holding a garment bag and dressed in a knee length tan trench coat.

“That’s what you're wearing?” Peter cocked his head in confusion, looking her up and down before quickly adding, “N-Not that you look bad or anything! I-It's just not what I normally see you wear to parties and stuff…”

His mouth went dry and he could only nod as he took it all in, “Y-Yeah, you look great.”

“I’ve got an outfit on under it, I just didn’t know if May would be home,” she pushed the garment bag into his hands with a smile.

“She’s working late tonight, I told her we’re going to the movies,” he shut the door behind her, his whole face blooming red as she tossed the trench coat off.

“Great, I look hot don’t I?” she giggled, spinning so he could admire her full outfit, a baby blue cropped cami and a matching skirt that fell just above her knee. The skirt had a slit leading up her right thigh and the whole thing was covered in a slightly darker blue Louis Vuitton monogram.

“I know,” she smiled proudly before gesturing to the bag in his hands, “Well come on, promise you’ll look hot too.”

He swallowed and opened up the bag to reveal a blazer with the same color and print as her outfit, “You don’t expect me to wear just this right?”

She burst into a fit of laughter and shook her head, “No, I was thinking just some jeans and a white shirt underneath, but hey, if you’re really feeling yourself I won’t stop you.”

“No, no, tshirt and jeans sounds great,” he pulled the blazer from the bag, “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t keep me waiting,” she sang as he disappeared into his bedroom.

Peter was only gone for a second, returning almost immediately dressed per her instruction, “Happy?”

She nodded, “You look great, blue’s your color,” she stood, grabbing the edge of his jacket, “And red, and yellow.”

“You just listed all the primary colors,” he laughed.

“And I was right,” she moved up to his collar, flattening it out for him, “You for sure look best in yellow, but I know blue is your favorite, so I figured we’d wear blue.”

“Thanks,” he didn’t know how else to respond, “So what are we going to do there?”

“Oh come on Peter, you know what happens at a party,” she laughed, her hands moving up to his hair, tussling it slightly, “Didn’t you tell me you went to parties?”

He blushed, “Well one party, and it didn’t go great… I mean it can’t be anything that crazy right? Just like spin the bottle or beer pong or something?”

“Oh sweety,” she clicked her tongue before stepping away from him and slipping back into her coat, “If that’s when you’re hoping for then I don’t think you’re down for the parties I go to, pretty boy.”

He went wide eyed, “W-What do you mean?”

“You’ll see,” she smirked, “Ready to go?”

He nodded, his stomach beginning to fill with nerves, “I guess, I’m a little worried now though.”

“You should be,” she winked, “Not even Spiderman can save you from the night we’re gonna have.”

Her words had put Peter a bit on edge, and had him wracking his brain for every party he’d ever seen on tv. Once they got in the car he tried to drill her on the matter, but she only continued to tease him, never giving him a straight answer on anything, going as far as to tell him they were going to be summoning a demon at midnight. Something he had rolled his eyes at until they pulled around to the back of what Peter had to assume was some kind of club.

“(y/n) are you sure this is the right place?”

She nodded, “Yeah, it just looks sketchy from the back,” she flicked the car off and smiled at him, “Come on, you’re gonna love it here.”

He knit his brow in confusion as he followed her, “You sure about that?”

She rolled her eyes, “Yes, just come on,” she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door.

He was hesitant as he followed her up to the large metal door, worried momentarily she might have been serious about the demon thing until she opened the door.

“Holy shit,” he swore as he glanced around the giant arcade.

She clenched her hands in front of her nervously, “What do you think?”

There was no party, not even close, in fact the only other people in the building were employees.

“I’m confused.”

She sighed, “I thought it was weird when you said you wanted to go to that party, I mean it’s not really your scene,” she glanced away from him, her normal confidence seeming to fade in an instant, “I don’t know, I kind of got to thinking maybe you just wanted to go because we were going together, and I thought that maybe you’d want to do something a little more personal so I rented out this old arcade,” she bit her lip, “I don’t know, maybe that was stupid, the party is real though, we can go to that instead if you want…”

Peter stared at her for a minute, trying to connect the dots, “L-Like a date?”

She nodded, “Maybe, I don’t know, it kind of seemed like that was the vibe.”

“No, no, no,” he grabbed her arms, stopping her from walking away, “I want to go on a date with you so bad.”

“So you rented a whole arcade?” he gaped.

“Oh come on Peter, you already know I’m excessive,” she groaned, “God, this was so stupid, let’s just go to the damn party.”

Her cheeks flushed, “You do?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I’m just a little shocked, you didn’t have to do this for me.”

“I didn’t really know what to do,” she fiddled with a piece of her hair, still unable to meet his eyes, “I mean you know I’m pretty sure of myself most of the time, but you make me nervous.”

“I make you nervous?” he went wide eyed while she nodded.

“I’ve never really liked a guy before, at least no this much,” she explained, “And I mean we can go to the party if you want still, but if you want this to be a first date I just thought something a little more special would be nice…”

A smile spread across his face, “There is nothing I’d like more than for this to be our first date.”

She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck, “We haven’t even started the first one.”

“Thank god, it would have been totally humiliating if you said no,” an airy laugh escaped her lips.

“There wasn’t a chance of that happening,” he assured, “I can’t really afford to rent out an arcade, but I’ll plan our second date okay?”

“No but you went through all this trouble, I figured you’d want another.”

She rolled her eyes, “You know Peter if this relationship is gonna work I think my ego is big enough for the both of us.”

He laughed and pressed his head to hers, “We’ll see how you feel after I kick your ass at every game in here.”

“There is not a chance in hell you’re winning even one game tonight,” she leaned in just a tad, “But I’ll tell you what, if you do I’ll give you a kiss.”

He smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her nose before pulling away, “You’re on.”

[moonchildsaurora]

Darling, Dance for Me?

✤ sniper!San x female exotic dancer!reader ✤ genre: Mafia AU // 30% fluff, 60% spice, 10% platonic flirting with Woo  ✤ t/w: mentions of guns/shooting, mentions of alcohol, mature clubbing themes, highly suggestive in the second half (but not smut), rated M  ✤ count: 2k+

a/n - this was suppose to be for Valentine’s Day but, oh well! Enjoy some spice with one pink haired Sannie, coz we all know even though he looks soft. . . .he’s just a devil in disguise. This is probs my most suggestive writing till date as well, it was fun and am looking forward to writing more spice in the future hehet 💙

✛ play these vibes: BOBBY - ‘DeViL’, Sunmi - ‘Black Pearl’, Kai - ‘Mmmh’ ✛

“Mother told me, never to dance with the devil, So I danced for him instead.”

Cherry rouge.

Not your usual go-to, but a special occasion calls for some special exceptions. And damn did you look like fine wine tonight. Giving your styled curls another spritz of hair spray, you took one last inspection in your vanity mirror.  

Work was throwing a Valentine’s event and thus you found yourself having to dig through the back of your wardrobe to find a suitable outfit for tonight. Bold burgundy lace hugged tightly around your body replacing the mellower neutral tones you’d wear on any other night. Your roommate had even shoved a pair of thigh highs and heels on you to match the garter.

And cherry lips to bring the whole look together.

“You’ll thank me later! Hell everyone in the club would, for presenting god’s gift to them!”

You had laughed at her supportive enthusiasm, waving her away with embarrassment though you greatly appreciated the pre-shift hype.

When you headed for the kitchen, you could hear the TV in the lounge and glanced to see your roommate watching the evening news. She turned to call out for you but stopped mid-way upon realising you were already out of your room.

“Damn girl…you’ll sure be breaking hearts tonight with that fit!!” she yelled-gasped, brows waggling for a cheeky added effect.

“Well that’s no good. Dancers are supposed to be Cupids of the night, maybe they should’ve given me Aphrodite instead.”

A smile tugged on your lips as you saw your roommate falling back on the sofa snickering. Grabbing the bottle of Ten to One from what you both named ‘The Life Juice’ shelf, you started to fill your rose gold hip flask with the white rum. The debonair bartender at the club would usually be more than happy to concoct you a cup of much-needed poison to get you through the night. However, on such a busy event, you might not even have time to swing by the bar – so plan B was in order.

Also, whoever thought to invent garter pouches was a genius in your eyes. The amount of times you had snuck in a sip or two up on the podium without missing a beat or being noticed had to be one of your greatest feat till date.

Except maybe for the one who bought said pouch and flask for you. Seeing the shadow of their pleased smirk whenever you donned on something from them never failed to coax the goosebumps across your skin. Perhaps that garnet embellished choker would be the icing on the cake then. You made a mental note to put that on before you headed out.

“Hey honey…”

The tone of your roommate turned a little more serious.

“On the news just then, another one of those random sniper attacks happened along Soleil Street. Shit, that’s only two streets away from the club.”

The city has gotten used to such news every now and then. All leads of the serial sniper always went cold, not that they left behind any substantial traces for the authorities to begin with.

The law wasn’t the only ruling force in the area. Everyone knew that.

So long as one didn’t attract the wrong attention, they’d be free to go about their business.

“I’m dropping you off, are you ready to go?”

“Wait! It’s alright, I don’t want to trouble you.”

Your roommate gave you a look before swiping her car keys from the counter. “What would trouble me is not knowing whether you’ve made it to work and back safely. Now c’mon, the night is awaiting that cute booty of yours!”

“Yes mum.”

How lucky were you to have an angel for a roommate?

“Give me a heads up if you intend to bring anyone home tonight yeah? I’ll be sure to vacate the apartment before any sinning begins here.”

Or not.

A euphoric buzz filled every corner of the club tonight. Whether it was due to the special occasion or not, everyone was getting drunk off the atmosphere. The bar was a never-ending fountain of liquid luck and smoke veiled corners of the venue where patrons dealt cards and wits. A sea of bodies dominated the dancefloor, curling around one another in ecstasy as the thumping bass set the rhythm for them.

The centre podium was where the real magic unfurled.

Up on there, you felt powerful. Up on there, was your domain to rule.

Long have you enticed all those who returned back to ‘The Blue Butterfly’. So close, yet so far, for most could only have the visual satisfaction. Of watching you, along with your fellow dancers weave around golden poles and offer hands to those who sat in plush velvet chairs closest to the podium. Only to sashay away the last minute.

How bees are drawn to nectar and moths to light, the people keep coming back.

Tonight the club was decked out in a more sensual feel to fit the Valentine’s vibe. Long drapes of rose silk hung around the podium and you used those to accentuate the flow and movement of your body curves. The silks caressed the bare skin not hidden underneath your outfit and you pretended to take shy peeks around the fabrics at the audience. Sending a lucky wink or flying kiss their way.

In the middle of a mid-air twirl, you saw a familiar figure heading towards your side of the podium. You slowly lowered yourself back down to the floor, using your legs to wrap around the silks as leverage. Not missing the opportunity to be playful – you mimed shooting an arrow towards the club’s top croupier.

Wooyoung instantly clutched his heart with his hand that wasn’t occupied with holding one of Mingi’s own cocktail infusion. Letting out a hearty giggle, you slid over the podium floors to the edge where Wooyoung had propped himself up on.

“Don’t you look simply irresistible?” he crooned at you.

You could’ve said the exact same for him. All fitted to a tee in Givenchy with a classic choker that demanded attention for prominent collarbones.

“Now, how may I be of service to you tonight handsome?” you spoke over the music.

The youthful charmer leaned in towards you, shaking dark wavy strands out of his eyes. Eyeing his cotton candy pink drink, you ducked your head and took a few sips from the straw before Wooyoung drew it away. It tasted vaguely like pink lemonade with hints of vodka and vanilla.

“Ah ah, this isn’t for you poppet. Besides…” he tipped your chin back up with two fingers, “…wouldn’t want to waste your appetite before your main course tonight, would we?”

That made you perk right up.

“V.I.P Room Aurora has kindly requested for you. Drinks have already been sent up and the room’s been booked for the whole night.”

Not that booking was really needed since it was your room. It was just for formality.  

Wooyoung helped you off the podium and smoothly guided you through the crowd, placing you in front of him so as to avoid being grabbed by uninvited hands from behind. You both stopped at the foot of the polished glass stairs that led up to the V.I.P guest rooms.

“Off you go now! Oh and try not to make too much of a mess for our cleaners, they really ought to get a pay rise from some of the things they’ve witnessed in those rooms.”

You would’ve kicked Wooyoung for his brazen tongue, but you did well to remind yourself that would be rather impudent on your part. Whilst you have a jovial bond with him, it still doesn’t erase his high-standing status within the inner circle. You knew better than to cross that line of respect.

“Won’t make any promises I can’t keep, Jung!”

You left him with a soft pat on his cheek and ascended towards your utopia that awaited.

Swinging the golden embossed doors open, sultry melodious tune of a saxophone greeted you. Like molten dark chocolate, it was rich and tantalizing. The crystalline blue hue of the room’s lighting was fitting for the slow jazzy blues.

A spacious circular sofa curved around a glass table in the centre, providing a perfect view of the bejewelled podium. The wide one-way windows were especially designed for privacy. You could spectate over almost the whole club below, something you quite enjoyed during your breaks. The countless types of people that you observed stepping into your world; from the timid newcomers to the seasoned hedonists and the stories they brought with them of their journey to ‘The Blue Butterfly’.

But there was no time for that tonight. Not when you see broad sculptured shoulders that your hands have meticulously memorised the planes of – right in front of you.  

Still clad in his all-black incognito leather fit, you couldn’t help but stay by the door to appreciate his form. A huge bouquet of ivory and deep red roses sat on the glass table with an open box of what you suspected were chocolates inside. A loud pop of the champagne bottle went off. You bit your lips when you saw his toned arms flex as he gripped the bottle in one hand and tipped a stream of golden bubbles into two flute glasses in the other.

As the music picked up, you decided it was time to make your presence known. Walking with confident steps over the velveteen carpet you went to wrap your arms around his cinched waist. Resting your cheek on the cool leather vest of his back, you took his scent in.

Smoke and city musk lingered around.

You figured he must’ve come straight from his assignment. What better reason to use than to spoil him extra as post-work relaxation? His hand came up to wrap around yours and you felt the dancing of lips leaving petal kisses across your knuckles.

“You stink…” you mumbled lightly against his back.

San let out a low chuckle before setting the champagne bottle down and turning around to snake both arms around you. Calloused hands from the years of gripping guns instead of supple flesh imprinted their warm touch into your skin.

“Oh? Then I’m sure you won’t mind helping me freshen up, right Princess?”

“San!” you squealed when you felt him deliberately rub sweat against your neck before attacking it with more love bites.

“You taste like sweet temptation.”

You arched your neck out of habit when you felt his tongue swipe across it. Teeth bit down lightly around the garnet choker San bought for you for Christmas.

When you felt hands travelling down west towards your garter, you gave San a light shove backwards to the sofa.

“Not so fast, Choi.”

His predatory feline eyes took its time to rake down your body, committing every inch to memory. You made a show of bending over to grab the two champagne flutes off the table, the sharp intake of breath behind you made you preen with pride. You took your seat on your throne, not at all surprised to feel how much pent-up tension San had through the tight leather.

Clink. A toast made for the love of two.

“Happy Valentine’s, darling.”

“Thank you, San. You sure know how to spoil a lady don’t you?”

“Only the one who’s sniped right through my heart.”

Oh the irony.

You smiled when he pulled you close and claimed a proper kiss, whispering a, “You sap,” against his wind-chapped lips. Tasting the fruit acidity from the golden bubbles as you both exchanged kitten licks.

San’s rouge-stained lips chased after yours when you broke off from the kiss to place your champagne flute back down on the table. Hands anchoring your hips in place as you reached to pluck a couverture chocolate-covered strawberry from the box. Turning back round to San, your lips formed a small pout noticing that his freshly dyed hair was still hidden underneath his cap.

He let you discard it behind the sofa and you could’ve sworn he purred with satisfaction when you ran your hands through his cotton candy pink strands. Hands gave your bottom a firm squeeze and San begun to run his fingers along the hem of your lace. The husky vocals from the record player drifted back, interlacing with the saxophone.

That was your cue.

“Eyes on me.”

You held San’s gaze, fire reflecting fire. The strawberry gets slipped past the seams of his lips and all the while San chews intently, his eyes never wavered. He’s got his precious pearl all to himself, just the way he loves it. And you have the city’s most lethal hitman watching your back from dawn to dusk. San was the dangerous game you played, only to win the safest love.    

“Darling, won’t you please dance for me?”

“With pleasure, Sir.”

[intheticklecloset]

Oreos and Lemonade (My Hero Academia)

Primary Universe

Summary: Sero introduces Mina to a new card game to help cure his boredom, but things get interesting when she raises the stakes.

A/N: Mina strikes again! Lee Sero is not one I write a lot of, but he sure is a cutie. I decided since she'd gotten the other Bakusquad boys it was only fair that Sero get his turn. Enjoy!

Word Count: 2,034

~~~

Sero hadn’t moved in almost an hour.

Mina stopped short when she passed through the living room the second time, watching him lay on the floor staring up at the ceiling, eyes glazed over. She frowned. “Uh…Sero?”

“Mm?” Still no movement.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m losing my mind.”

Even more concerned now, she cautiously took a step toward him. There was no one else here; it was a Friday afternoon after school, and almost everyone from their class was out at the mall right now. Mina, Sero, and a couple of others had stayed behind to study or just relax, but she had no idea what the tape hero was getting out of lying on the floor like this.

“Can I help?” Mina asked.

“I’m so bored!” Sero finally turned to look at her. “I was so wiped out after class I couldn’t even think about the mall, but now that we’ve been back at the dorms for a couple of hours I wish I’d just gone with them. I’m going nuts not having anyone to hang out with.”

“Um, hello?” Mina waved at him. “You could have asked me to hang out with you.”

“I thought you were studying.”

“I finished that an hour ago. Why do you think I came down here to sunbathe for a while?”

Sero paused. “Oh. Well.” He sat up, looking up at her. “Want to do something?”

Mina nodded, beaming. “Of course! Want to spar?”

He gave her a withering look. “I meant something fun.”

“Hmm…Mario Kart?”

“Nah, we play that all the time. What about a card game?”

“For two people?”

“They make those!”

“Where?”

“In America.” Sero smiled, getting to his feet. “I’ve got one. It’s actually designed for just two people. Want to try it?”

Mina was always down for trying something new. “Yeah! Let’s do it.”

*

A short while later, Sero and Mina were in his room, and he was explaining the rules of the game – Blink – to her.

“There are two stacks between us. You need to match up either the color, shape, or number of items on a card in your hand to a card on one of the stacks. When you do, you draw another card and keep going. Whoever gets rid of all their cards first wins.”

“Why’s it called Blink?” she asked, picking up her half of the deck to shuffle and draw three cards from.

“Because it’s really fast-paced. Most games only last a minute or two at most. It takes more time to gather, shuffle, and deal the cards than to play the game.”

“That sounds kind of redundant.” Mina shrugged. “I’m not knocking it, I’m just saying.”

“It’s pretty addicting, though. You’ll see.” Sero set his deck face down on the floor between them, drew his three cards, and looked at her. “Ready?”

“Yeah, only – why don’t we make it more interesting?”

“How?”

Mina grinned. “You say these games go pretty fast? What if we do a best out of ten? The winner gets to decide their prize.”

Sero squinted at her. Something felt a little…off about this. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he had a feeling she was up to something. “Like what?”

“I don’t know,” she replied innocently. “What do you want if you win?”

Despite himself, Sero considered for a moment. “Um…Oreos and lemonade?”

“Together?”

“Why not? It’s a great combination.”

“I meant, would we share them?”

“Oh! Yeah, of course.” Sero smiled at her. “I’d be happy to introduce you to my weird food cravings.”

Mina giggled. “Okay, sounds good to me.”

“What if you win? What do you want?”

“Hmm…” The pink girl seemed to consider for a moment, but he had a suspicion she already knew her answer. “How about…I get to tickle you for three minutes?”

There it was. Sero sputtered a little. “W-What? Hold on – no! Why?”

“Why not? It would be fun.”

“For you!”

“Come on, please?” Mina begged, batting her eyes at him. “I made it a goal to tickle each of you boys individually and you’re the last one left! This way it wouldn’t be a surprise attack, and it wouldn’t be ‘cheating,’ like I evidently did with the other three.”

“What if I win?”

“Then we have Oreos and lemonade, since that’s what you want.”

Sero’s heart was pounding. The stakes had gotten a lot higher. “I mean…what if I win and you can’t tickle me now? When will you?”

Mina smirked. “I’ll find time. So, do you accept?”

Sero thought about it for a minute. He did have the advantage of having played this game before, and he considered himself pretty good at it. Plus, tickling wasn’t the worst thing in the world, and he could take it for three minutes. So…

“Yeah,” he said at last. “Let’s do it. Best of ten.”

“Great!”

“One…two…three!”

As promised, the first game was over in a flash, as were the next several games they played. Though Sero did win the first three, Mina eventually got the hang of things and started winning consistently as well, so that by the time they got to the tenth game it was Sero 5, Mina 4.

“We should have said best of eleven,” he said. “We might tie at this rate.”

“You never know! Let’s go, I’m pumped up now.”

They tied. It was now 5-5.

Mina grinned at him. “Sudden death, Sero. I hope you’re ready for a good tickling!”

Sero blushed, flustered but doing his best to remain calm. “Nah. I hope you’re ready to experience the awesomeness of Oreos and lemonade combined!”

“We’ll let the cards decide.”

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

“One…two…three!”

Sero and Mina slapped their cards down onto the two decks in a frenzy, moving faster than ever before. Whereas she seemed to be fully in control of herself and her thoughts, Sero found he was a little scattered and shaky with each card she beat him to. Pull it together, he scolded himself. You’ve won this plenty of times, you can do it again—

Mina slapped down her last card and threw her hands in the air. “I win!”

Sero went on the defensive even before he realized he was doing it, dropping his final few cards and scrambling back away from her. “H-Hold on, give me a second to prepare myself!”

“You act like I’m going to murder you,” she laughed, wiggling her fingers teasingly. “It’s just tickling. You’ve been tickled by us before.”

“Y-Yeah, but…I still need a second!”

Mina gave him a smile and softened her voice. “Hey, it’s okay. I won’t torture you, I promise. I won’t even hit any death spots if you don’t want me to. I just want to tickle you and make you giggle a little. All right?”

Somehow, her soothing words made him feel leagues better. He sighed. “Yeah, all right. Sorry, it’s just…I don’t know. This tickling thing is…weird.”

“Weird how?”

“I mean…I don’t really mind it, I guess, and when it’s just you guys I’m okay. But I don’t want to be like Midoriya, getting tickled at random almost on a daily basis.”

Mina gently placed her hand on his leg. “Sero, I’m not asking you to commit to a lifelong tickling. Just a couple minutes right now. That’s it. I promise.”

Sero nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. “Okay. Okay, sorry. I’m…I’m ready.”

With a smile, Mina scooted a little closer to him. “Is there anywhere you don’t want me to tickle you?”

Sero blushed and looked away. “No, just do it. Just get it over with. Please.”

“You got it.” With that, she scribbled her fingers across his kneecaps, smiling even wider when he instantly started giggling. “Aw, you got ticklish knees like Kaminari?”

“Nohohohohot that bahahahahad,” he admitted, gradually lying down on his back. “But it s-stihihihihihill tickles.”

She moved a little further up, gently tracing the tops of his thighs, enjoying the way he twitched in response. A little further up brought her to his hips, then his sides and ribs, and finally his underarms. It was at this point – about a minute in – that she straddled him. “There we go. Nice and gentle, see? Just giggles, no screaming laughter.”

Sero’s face was bright red at this point, and he instinctively tried to clamp his arms to his sides. “M-Mihihihihihina, plehehehehehease be c-cahahahahahareful.”

“Just gentle tickles, I promise,” she replied, trailing back down to his ribs. “I want to tickle your tummy. Is that okay?”

He blushed even harder, covering his face with his hands. “Dohohohohon’t call it such a sihihihihihilly name…”

“But it’s so cute! Just like you, Sero.” Mina gradually began her descent towards her intended target. “You’ve already done so well in just two minutes. I’m sure you can handle one more like a champion.”

“Ugh, f-fihihihihihine, just stohohohohohop teasing me already.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Mina grinned, finally moving down to his belly and skittering wildly. “Teasing is what I do, you see.”

“Mihihihihihihina!” he yelped, giggles escalating in an adorable way, his body finally starting to squirm for real. “Plehehehehehease, it reheheheheally tickles!”

“I know. But you can do it, Sero. It’s only another minute.”

The tape hero smiled widely, giggling and squirming on the floor beneath her touch, doing his best to let her have her fun…until she pushed his shirt up to his chest and began tickling his belly directly, with no protection whatsoever. He jerked and shot his arms down to try and pry her away. “Nohohohohoho, thahahahahat’s cheheheheheating!”

Mina sighed heavily. “It’s not cheating! Why do you all keep saying that? These are the terms you agreed to.”

“I dihihihihihhidn’t sahahahahay you cohohohohould dohohohoho that!”

“Do what? This?” She suddenly turned her fingers into claws, digging rather than scribbling, and Sero tossed his head back with a startled squeal. “You never told me I couldn’t. I even asked you first.”

“M-MihihihiHIHIHINA!! NAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Sero laughed, really, truly fighting her now, giggles having evolved to laughter. “No, stahahahahahahahap! Plehehehehehease, enough! No mohohohohohohohore!”

“Ten more seconds, Sero,” she teased, winking at him. “Ten…nine…”

“Dohohohohohohon’t count!”

“Eight…seven…six…”

Sero was losing his mind all over again. The tickly vibrations in his stomach were driving him crazy. “STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

“Five…four…three…two…”

There was a long pause. Sero cried, “ONE!! OHOHOHOHONE!! STAHAHAHAP!!”

“One and a half…” Mina teased, unable to keep her own laughter at bay. “One and a quarter…”

“MINA!! PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

“One!” At last she let up, giving his belly button one last poke before climbing off of him. “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it? You handled it so well!”

Sero rolled onto his side, still giggling for a moment before sitting up completely. When he did, he realized that through his kicking and squirming he’d made a total mess of their card game. “Ugh, great. Now I have to clean this up.”

“I’ll help you,” Mina said. With the two of them working together, it only took a few minutes to count all the cards to make sure they had them all, put them in neat stacks, and then store them back in the box. Finally the pink-haired girl asked quietly, “You okay?”

“Hmm?” Sero looked at her, confused. “Yeah, why?”

“You got kind of quiet, that’s all. You’re not upset with me, are you?”

“What? No!” He pulled her in for a quick side-hug. “No, we’re good. Like I said, tickling is just kind of…weird for me. But I didn’t hate it or anything. It’s all right. Even if you are a little cheater.”

“I am not a cheater!” she laughed, pushing him away playfully. “I asked you beforehand if there was anywhere you didn’t want me to tickle you. You had your chance!”

“It’s not where you tickled me, it’s how you did it,” he shot back, smirking.

“Well, I’m sorry your tummy was just too cute to resist.” She poked it once, then nudged him. “Come on. Let’s go have your Oreos and lemonade now.”

He looked at her, confused. “But I lost.”

“Did you?” Mina beamed as she got to her feet, then offered a hand to help him up. “I think we’re both winners today, Sero.”

[knchins]

Braided Love - Asahi Azumane

Summary: Whenever you get too stressed, you go to your boyfriend’s house and play with his hair. It is the best way for both of you to release pent up tension.

Pairing: Asahi x GN!Reader

Rating: G

Word Count: 1k

HQWK Prompt: Patterns and Habits

Warnings: Fluff, Comfort (w/o hurt), Hugging/cuddling

Notes: I just want to play with his hair okay. Enjoy the self indulgence. Day five of @haikyuuweek2020​ is here <3 Stay tuned tomorrow from some Karasuno headcanons!

 “Azumane, can you help me with my English?” You asked, eyes wide with hope as your boyfriend looked down at you with a soft smile. He knew it was just an excuse. You didn’t really need much help in English, not his help at least. He was pretty average at it himself.

 The ace nodded, “my parents won’t mind if you come over.” He said. “Coach Ukai gave us the day off to rest.” Though he knew you already knew that he had the day off and that was why you were asking for his help. Asahi loved spending time with you anyway, and took every chance he could get in order to do so. He was so busy with volleyball that sometimes it was hard to go on dates or to just hang out with you. He felt incredibly guilty about it even though you were nothing but supportive of him and the team.

 The real reason, Asahi knew, was that you had been especially stressed lately and needed some relief. Relief you only found when the two of you were alone and you could play with his long hair for hours. No, you didn’t need help studying but you did need the relief that brushing and braiding his hair brought you. It was sweet and he enjoyed the sensation of your fingertips manipulating his locks and brushing along his scalp. It was a bit of a stress relief for him too, maybe even more so. It also almost always put him to sleep.

 A few hours later, you walked home hand in hand with him with a huge smile on your face. “It’s been a while since we could do this.” You noted, though you sounded excited rather than upset. He was so incredibly thankful that you understood why he didn’t have as much time to spend with you now that the season was in full swing.

 “It has.” He said, thoughts bouncing from memories of intense practices to memories of spending time with you. Both were treasured thoughts. He cared about you just as much as he cared about volleyball. The knowledge of which made it easier for you to spend day after day without him. You would come to practice occasionally when you didn’t have club activities, but that was pretty rare. Of course you also came to every game to cheer him on and afterwards you’d always go out to dinner together, though oftentimes the rest of the team was also with you.

 About ten minutes later the two of you arrived at his home. He opened the door for you and the two of you took off your shoes at the entryway before making it up to his bedroom. Once inside, he set his bag down and sat down on the bed with a small smile as you sat down next to him. “Can I?” You asked unsure, though Asahi could never say no to you.

 His smile widened as he reached behind him and released his long hair from the bun it had been in. You let out a small squeal of excitement at the motion, because it meant yes you can.

 You positioned yourself behind him as he handed you a brush, pins, and a few hair bands in case you wanted to give him some kind of updo. He always kept them nearby on his bedside table. You were pretty good with hair, so he let you do whatever you want without any complaints. Even the super feminine designs you sometimes came up with, he didn’t mind. He’d always tell you it looked great and that you did a wonderful job.

 You started by brushing through the soft brunette locks and you could see his shoulders relaxing as you did so. He needed this just as much as you did by this point. The upcoming Spring Tournament had him so tightly wound with anxiety. “Azumane, you’re going to do great.” You said to him softly and you heard a small sigh escape him.

 This had become sort of a ritual between you two the past two years. Just before a big tournament or a big game, you’d sit him down and do his hair for him to help calm his nerves. After all, he could be his own worst enemy when it came to competing. Especially after the loss against Date Tech.

 “We’re a lot stronger than we were during the inter high tournament.” He said with wavering confidence. “When we lose…”

 “Shh,” You said softly as you began to put tiny braids into his hair. “If you lose, Azumane. If. It’s just like you said, the team as a whole has grown so much in the past few weeks. I know you can get to Nationals.”

 You could see him relax at your kind words, his shoulders slumping a little more as he let out a large exhale. “You do?” He asked, though honestly how could you possibly know? It wasn’t as if you could see into the future.

 “Azumane, I saw that practice match with Date Tech, you were amazing. I would honestly be surprised if you didn’t make it. Karasuno has some amazing players this year and everything seems to have come together after the summer training camp. Remember every day we’d talk on the phone at night and you’d tell me about every match? You were so excited and happy then. I know you’re worried about losing, but you should focus more on winning.” You said as you continued to braid various strands, pulling them all together in a loose bun on the crown of his head.

 He was quiet, taking in your words with a smile on his face. He turned around to face you on the bed before tackling you down in a strong hug. “You’ll come, right?”

 You laughed, wrapping your arms around him in order to hug him back. “Of course I will! I wouldn’t miss it, even if the world was ending I’d still be there to cheer you on. Plus I’m your good luck charm aren’t I?” You joked as he nuzzled your neck.

 “Of course. I couldn’t do it without you there.” He said before sitting back up, still grinning happily. “Now...let’s get started on your English.”

 You groaned loudly, hoping he had forgotten about that. “Alright, fine. You’re no fun.” You teased before getting out your book and notebook and getting to work.

General Masterlist || HQ Week Masterlist

[some-dr-writings]

Gonta x Botanist Reader with a hobby of candy making One-shot: Gonta’s Gift

Gonta had awoken to a chill that morning as expected, it was still winter after all. It was still dark out as well. Gonta found himself on that particular morning unable to get up. He had work to do, yet he found himself instead hugging you tightly, nuzzling his face into the back of your neck as he interlaced your finders together. He adored the feeling of your hands within his, something about tracing the lines in your palms or seeing how perfectly the rings fit on those fingers of yours could always hypnotize him. Maybe it was the warmth of them, or the slight clamminess of them, perhaps it was what those rings symbolize, the lifelong commitment you two had taken for one another for many years now. He had seen those rings and his own on the pair of you for so long, one would think he’d just be used to it by now but at times, like that morning he just felt extra sentimental, visions of your wedding day together played in his mind sending his heart to pick up in pace. And then he was blushing, getting embarrassed recalling how when you danced with one another he accidentally took a misstep sending the pair of you to almost crash into a table, and how you simply laughed, told him he was doing great before taking a misstep yourself. Thankfully he was able to catch you and hold you closely as he was doing now, Miu and Kokichi saying something how you two should get a room and your old classmates immediately putting a stop to it. It was such an amazing day.

“Still sleepy I see.” “No, just admiring you.” Alright, it was time to get up. He flipped around, getting his glasses from the bedstand as you playfully patted Gonta’s unruly hair out of his face. “… I feel like being fancy, berries and pancakes and stuff, you want some?” “Yes, I’d love some!” You sleepily smiled before yawning and trotting out of the room.

“The pancakes smell so good, I could smell them all the way from the bedroom.” “That’s just your powerful wolf nose, then again I guess I could finally be going nose blind.” Gonta sidled up beside you, watching as you poured more batter onto the pan. “Ah, you made more jam?” Carefully he took one of the glass jars off the counter beside you, holding it up to the rays of light that had just began to peek through the window. “Yeah, once my raspberry research ended last month, I just decided to make some into jam. Still have a lot extra, but I don’t want to have nothing but raspberry jam for a year. Maybe I could make ice-cream, or… maybe turn it into a flavoring for lollipops?” “Could I give some to my ant friends?” “Sure, most of ‘em are still on the vine. Take the ones from greenhouse three, back left corner of the place, the others aren’t quite ripe yet.” “Third greenhouse, back left corner, thank you!” It would be nice to visit one of your greenhouses. He usually only did so when going to see you, or checking up on the insects you had allowed in there, maybe collect ingredients if you allowed it, but-

“Gonta Dear, you still have a mat in your hair.” “Huh!? I do!?” “Yeah, it’s towards the top… ish. No, I mean lower top? You know what, just bring me a comb I’ll get it for you.” “Thank you so much.” Quickly Gonta trotted back to the bathroom to get a comb, though he did feel a little guilty, he couldn’t even groom himself on his own, but he also could never decline help from you.

“Care to take over pancake duty so I could get to you now?” “I’d like that.” Admittedly Gonta also like this, it always felt so nice when you brushed through his hair, he’d get this pleasant tingling feeling on his head and down his back whenever you did so. “Oh, I just remembered. Oma might be stopping by today.” “Kokichi?” “Said something about coming today to collect the poisoned, exploding berries he had ordered or whatnot. I’m a botanist, not a plant breeder, besides I don’t have the time to experiment on that... although… maybe I could pencil it in next year?... Uh, anyway. Sounded like he also dragged Saihara and some others into his antics so we might see others as well.” “Do you know what time? It’d be ungentlemanly if we didn’t have snacks prepared! And we’re so far out in the countryside, do they have a place to stay at? I’ll go make sure the guest rooms are prepared later.” “I’m not sure, sorry Dear.” “… Perhaps we could make some extra pancakes for if they come in the morning?” “… And if they don’t come by soon enough, I guess we could just snack on the rest through the day.”

Gonta listened to the low hum rumble deep in your throat as you thought it over. He could sometimes puzzle out what you were thinking by the tone of your hum, or at least when your thoughts shifted from one topic to another, like it did just then, shifting to a slightly higher pitch before you spoke. “It’s sometimes weird to think back to our high school days. You always spoke differently back then, but it would be easier than proper Japanese, you hadn’t been back in human society for long. It had this charm to it that was nice. It was simple, not needlessly complicated. I wonder if back then I could have imagined you speaking with proper grammar.” “…” Gonta felt rather silly about it, the heat that arose on his cheeks. “Well… he would speak that way if you told Gonta you wanted him too.” “Oh, no, no, no! You don’t need to do that.” Placing your hands on one of his shoulders you jumped, pushing yourself up, planting a quick kiss on the cheek. “I appreciate the thought though.”

“Y/N, you should slow down, I don’t want you to choke on your food!” Gonta placed his hands on yours, getting you to stop shoveling the pancakes down our gullet. “Sorry Sweetie. I just have lots of work to get done and I don’t want to fall behind! You’re right though, I’ll slow down.” Gonta simply watched as you so excitedly smiled. You certainly were in a good mood, that was for sure, but who wouldn’t be when eating your cooking. He remembered how you always smiled like that on dates. Like your very first date when the pair of you went to a botanical garden together… It had been a while since you had gone on a date together, but you both had been rather busy. You still made time to just laze about in evenings, but you hadn’t gone on a real date and not for lack of trying. It seemed whenever you tried, something always got in the way whether it be the weather, scheduling conflicts, last minute delays and so on. These thoughts came to a halt through hearing the faucet turn on. “Y/N allow me. I’ll clean up so you may get to work.” “Thank you, Gonta.” As you passed by you gave him a kiss dashing away. He wished you had lingered just a little bit longer. You always were so hard working, but it would be hard not to do so when it was for something you loved, Gonta certainly knew what that was like, there had been more than one occasion where he was so absorbed in his research, he didn’t realize it was midnight till you came in, asking him to come to bed. You both really should take a day or two off and just have a date, it’d be a nice change of pace!

And so, another day at work ensued which was occasionally interrupted by daydreams of things to do together, Gonta notating every idea down; dancing under the moonlight, a picknick out in nature, doing some cooking together. True it was just three ideas, but he could come up with more ideas later and even ask for your input, you could probably come up with things he never could have.

As he was dreaming away about the pair of you working together in the kitchen, Gonta suddenly remembered something. He never got those raspberries; he had completely forgotten about that. Gonta had also noticed the time, it was really late in the afternoon, it would be evening soon. Gonta had never eaten lunch and he wouldn’t be surprised if you hadn’t either. Gonta raced through the house, past the kitchen, past your lab and to the many greenhouses. Gonta picked the raspberries you had told him of, and some strawberries from your designated personal food greenhouse. Gonta didn’t think himself as that great of a cook, but he at least he could make decent, filling meals that you loved! He’d make you some oatmeal, but if you did have lunch and were full, he’d eat it for you, and give you some strawberries as a snack instead.

Just as he was going back to the house, he spotted something in the corner of his eye. “Ah, Shuichi! You’re here!” Eagerly he raced up to the man… who was carrying a box? “You should have told me you were coming. That box looks heavy, I could carry it for you, it will be easy for me.” “G-Gonta! Well, I uh! I-I’m helping Y/N!” “Y/N needs help?” “Yeah! I’m just moving some equipment, nothing big! Just go back to your work, we can talk later.” “Really? You look off, are you coming down with a cold?” “I-” Before Shuichi could answer he was tackled to the ground, sending snow flying. “Shuichi, Kokichi! Are you alright!? You’re not hurt!?” The purple haired clown hopped off the poor detective, gaining a wince from him. “I-I’m fine Gonta.” “GONTA! WHAT ARE YOU DONING HERE!? YOU SHOULD BE WITH Y/N!” “W-what!? Did something happen to them?” Kokichi hopped onto Gonta, gripping the collar of Gonta’s lab coat in his fists, standing on Gonta’s stomach. Gonta kept leaning back as Kokich kept the ends of their noses presses together. “What happened to them!? WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM!? HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR OWN SPOUSE!?” He leaped off, beginning to walk away. “Oh, Poor Gonta doesn’t know how they are or where they are!” “Wh-where are they!?” With his back turned, he simply pointed to the house and the entomologist immediately darted away for it. Slowly Shuichi sat back up. “Well… that was certainly one way to keep him away, but you didn’t have to scare him like that.” Kokichi simply shrugged, taking the box from Shuichi. “It’ll be fine, he’ll be happy to see they’re just fine. Maybe they’ll cuddle for a few hours and be hunky-dory. Besiiiiides, Y/N is the best distraction we could ever ask for. Anyway what else was I supposed to do, let you ruin the surprise!?” Tears formed in the corner of his eyes before he burst into tears. “Y-you don’t want Gonta to have a happy birthday surprise!? HOW CRU-” Suddenly a hand was slapped over his mouth. “Shhhsh! Gonta might hear you! Let’s just go!” “Nishishi! About time you kicked your butt into gear! If you did earlier Gonta wouldn’t have caught you!”

“Y/N!” It was not gentlemanly to go running through the house, but you needed to be safe! “Y/N!” “Gont- OH FUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE! FUDGE-FUDGE-FUDGE!” The kitchen! Gonta immediately raced to the kitchen! “WAIT! DON’T step on the clear liquid, or touch the pot, both are very, VERY hot!” You lightly trembled, holding your hand under the pouring faucet. Seeing how red your hand was Gonta took the first-aid kit from one of the lower kitchen cabinets and snapped off a piece of the aloe vera plant you kept on the windowsill for situations just like this. Effortlessly with one arm he lifted you up to sit on the counter, with his free hand he turned off the faucet. Even though Gonta patted your hand dry as gently as possible it still flinched. “I’m sorry!” “N-no, no, it’s okay.” Taking a knife from the knife block Gonta quickly peeled off the aloe vera skin revealing the clear gel and smeared it over all the burnt parts of your hand, and a little around them just in case before wrapping your hand firmly. “I always forget just how good you are at this.” “When I lived in the forest, I had to know how to heal any injuries, even little cuts can get you sick.” A small sigh had escaped him as he cupped your hand in both of his.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You look shaken.” The moment you placed your uninjured hand on his cheek he immediately leaned into the touch before placing one of his hands on yours, gently pressing you into him. He closed his and kissed your palm not caring at all about it knocking over his glasses. “I saw Kokichi, he said something happened to you and I got scared. He was acting like it was something really bad.” “Oh Sweetie.” You leaned in, giving him a kiss on the forehead. “I’m okay, well aside from the burn, but you’ve taken care of that already. I’m okay because of you.” “So, I was useful?” “Dear…” You sighed, lightly shaking you head. “You are more than useful, you’re amazing. Never forget that, please.” Gonta was confused as you took off his glasses, placing them beside you. Then a giddy laughter bubbled up from him as you peppered his face in kisses. Now all day you had been giving him kisses, it would be ungentlemanly to not give you some love back, so with a determined glint in his eye he peppered your face and neck in kisses earning laughter and squeals from you. Soon you both dissolved into giggling messes, so loving your moment together.

Gonta insisted you stay on the counter while he cleaned up the floor, not wanting to risk you getting another burn or dirtying your bandages. Since it was still hot and hadn’t hardened yet it was somewhat easy aside from the residue of stickiness which seemed to refuse to leave the flooring for a while. “What were you making? Could I help, it might be harder to make it now with a hurt hand.” “… Well… Alright. We’re going to be making some hard candy.” “Hmm?” “Yeah, my lollipop stash in my office has started running low and I thought about making something slightly different this time. You’ll see.” “… You had work, I thought?” “Shuichi and Kokichi are taking over set-up so I have some extra time.” “Ah, that’s good. I must thank them later! Maybe they’d like to have another insect meet-and-greet! I do have some new friends they haven’t met yet!” A smile tugged on your lips seeing how excited he was getting. How you even met such a perfect, sweet, gentleman, you would never know, but you were more than grateful he was a part of your life, let alone him being your own husband.

Thankfully for you, you hadn’t gotten far when you got hurt so getting back to where you left off was rather quick. “See the crystal-like stuff on the sides of the pot? That’s where the wet pastry brush comes in. You just gotta brush it, we don’t want that stuff in the candy.” Gonta nodded, following your instructions. “Oh, didn’t you say we do something at a hundred twenty-six Celsius?” “I can take care of this part; you keep washing the crystals.” It was almost exciting to watch as you dropped in some red dye into the mixture, the boiling bubbles on their own mixing in the color, getting it to swirl around. It felt somewhat strange the fiery heat from the stove and winter’s chill both surrounded him. He was both tempted to roll down his sleeves, despite cooking, to warm up even a little or to at least undo the top buttons of his shirt. Cooking in winter was always a bit odd when the kitchen hadn’t completely warmed up yet.

“Is it at a hundred forty-eight Celsius yet?” “Almost.” “I think I can set up the next batch, we’re going to make one for each base color of the rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, you get the idea.” “It’s at one forty-eight.” “Take it off the heat! Take it off the heat!” Quickly Gonta did so, placing it on a turned off burner while you shutoff the first one. “Now we add the flavoring! Can you guess what it is?” “Uh… I don’t……” He paused for a moment, as if unsure of what to say. “raspberry?” “Yes! How did you guess?” “I try remembering all of your words. They are all important to me, and you told me this morning about having so many!” “… Damn it, Dear. You’re so sweet.” You passed him a tiny glass bottle. “Here, just dump this into the pot and stir. After that we just have to pour the stuff into the molds and wait for it to cool.”

And so you both repeated the process over and over, past dinner time and even beyond when night had fallen, the sky dark, the only light from those tiny twinkling lights far away in the sky. “Careful. Careful. Careful. Don’t drip now… slowly… and… WE’RE DONE! Almost It’s gotta cool… which will take a while.” The molds were cube in shape so none could see exactly what the shape inside was, and for each you placed a stick in. It seemed a little big for a lollipop unless it was a very big one. “The kitchen will cool down quickly so the candy will too after that.” “Yeah…” You quickly glanced to the clock.” “But it was fun making stuff with you, I don’t want to stop just yet.” “Well, we could make something else.” “… You picked strawberries for oatmeal, right?” “Yes, but… that is a few too many for oatmeal, isn’t it…” You both looked to the two large containers of the stuff. “… Wanna make strawberry ice-cream? We can save some for oatmeal breakfast tomorrow.” “I’ll get the ice cream maker!” “Get the large one!” You adored seeing the delight in your husband’s eyes. No matter the weather or time of year, sweet, sweet ice-cream was always in your freezer. It was one of the first ‘candies’ you had him help make with you. Cooking together like this wasn’t too common with your usually busy schedules, but at least once a month you’d come together to make the sweet treat. And every time you’d be like a pair of children let loose in a sweets shop, wide sparkling eyes, squealing with high pitched voices at every little stage of the process of making. It was always just so fun.

All too soon though your fun had come to an end. “Oh! Dear, we need to go outside. Then everything can cool down much quicker!” “Yes a- Oh Shuichi and Kokichi! I just left them out there!” “Hey, Dear, it’s alright. They actually might be asleep right now, and I know they had some things to snack on. They’re alright, I assure you.” “If you say so… I still feel bad though.” “We can be the perfect gentlemanly hosts tomorrow. They were working all day, so I’m sure they’d like to see us be the ideal party hosts of sorts. How does that sound.” He looked to you for a prolonged moment, then smiled. “I WILL BE THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN HOST!” Suddenly he instantly lost all of his bravado, shrinking down a little. “I should be quiet! It’d be very rude to wake them this late in the night.”

Sneakily, and quietly giggling to yourselves like naughty children you slinked out of the house with the candies and ice-cream in hand. You placed them down by the doors of one the many greenhouses. “Ah, I just love crisp, clear skies like tonight. Just perfect.” You spun around, kicking up some snow as you went. It was even a full moon out, illuminating the whole world in a soft light. Gonta noticed how you soon slowed your twirling, hugging yourself and shivering. “Huh?” “Is this alright?” You looked up to him in confusion, not expecting to suddenly be held so closely. You smiled, nuzzling into him. “More than alright.” “Then… may I have your hand?” Though you were reluctant to do so, you managed to rip one of your arms from him and placed you hand in his which he held up to about chest level. Then you began to sway about, slow dancing to no music but the wind rustling about. Gonta made sure to keep a gentle yet firm grip on you noticing how the snow beneath your feet with slightly slippery. “If we stay close and keep moving, we’ll keep warm.” And so you danced in the world where only the pair of you existed, nothing but your love for one another to keep warm by.

Gonta noticed how you kept glancing to the watch on your wrist, even beginning to count down ever so softly to yourself. Though unsure as to why you were doing so, he joined in, counting down with you. “five.” “four.” “three.” “two.” “one.” “Happy Birthday Dear.” Oh, it must have been midnight already. “Hey, if it’s too cold out here we could go into the greenhouse for a bit.” “… Do you want to go?” “Yeah, but also no.” “If you want to keep dancing, let’s keep dancing. I just want to do what you want.” You playfully smacked him on the chest. “Excuse me! It’s your birthday, not mine. We do what you want.” Gonta fell silent, a bright blush dusting his cheeks. “Gonta… The only gift Gonta could want for his birthday is to make you happy. And Gonta wants to be the one to make you happy. You are the most precious to Gonta.” “… Gonta… you’re just precious, you know that?” His heart began to flutter seeing he had drawn a smile from you. “Though… I-uh! Gonta could want for one other thing. Could Gonta get a kiss from the absolute most precious, amazing love of his life, his only partner?” “Of course.” He lifted you up like it was but nothing, still holding you close. You looked down on him, chuckling to yourself as you draped your arms over his shoulders seeing his glasses starting to fog up. Ever so delicately you took them off, then while closing your eyes leaned your lips into his.

Suddenly Gonta began to panic realizing he was so caught up in the moment he forgot about the snow and slipped. He clutched you as closely as he could, placing a hand on the back of your head to shield it, and threw out his arm so he could brace himself and not crush you in the fall. “Y/N, Are you okay!?” “Y-yeah, just start-” Just as suddenly as the fall happened, several voices appeared. “Guess ice isn’t the only hard thing around here! Am I right boys!” “Oh my God-” “Oh my Atua!” “Miu, SHUT UP!” “Yeah MIU! The insect lollipops are as well, duh!” “Kokichi, you’re not helping.” “Did you expect him to help!?” “Quiet down, Gonta’s going to hear us!” “Kaede, I believe he already has. Shall I turn on the lights now?” “Yeah, just do it Kirumi, please.”

And just like that the lights to the greenhouse burst to life revealing the whole class inside, several of them peaking their heads out the open door, some taking in the molds and ice cream that was left by it. “I- what!?” “Uh, remember that work Shuichi and Kokichi were helping me with? Well, we were working on making a surprise birthday party for you!” Gonta simply stared at you, unmoving, shocked. “Gonta!?” Tears formed in those bright red eyes, but you only saw them for a moment, suddenly being hugged, Gonta burying his face into the crook of your neck. “T-thank you. I love you, so much. Y-you know that, right? Not just for this but everything else too! I love you!” “Hey, at least save this till you see the spread we got you!” “huh?” “Go into the greenhouse!” Slowly the man got up, and once he did, he carried you all the way there. Tables were spread out as far as the eye could see, filled to toppling over with sweets, treats, and wrapped gifts of all kinds. Gonta even spotted Kaito opening the molds revealing beautiful insect shaped lollipops, drops, leaves and other such things.

Even a picknick. Gonta wondered how he ended up with such a perfect person like you, a person who could freaking know him so well as to have this all done at around the same time, he began wanting all this. You truly were the greatest gift in his life.

[ceealaina]

Title: You’re Feeling Just the Same Link: AO3 Rating: Teen Major Tags: MIT Era, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, Pre-Relationship, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Shenanigans Summary: Rhodey's a softie at heart. So when he's walking to campus one day, and sees what appears to be a dead groundhog on the street, he goes to move it out of the way becauses he's just that kind of guy. Only it's not dead, it's just sunbathing in the middle of the road like a dumbass. 

He names it Tony. 

What follows is a series of ridiculous events in which one James Rhodes accidentally adopts a groundhog, and finds himself trying to hide both it and his feelings from the real Tony.  Word Count: 6,774

My long-awaited (by me) fic for the IronHusbands Big Bang. I had an absolute blast working on this. You can find Jay's incredible companion art here, and if you love yourself at all, you'll definitely check it out. Thanks, Jay, for being so wonderful to work with! 

And thank you to feyrelay for letting me scream about this story over and over again!

*****

It started, as these things always seemed to, on a Wednesday. Rhodey was walking to campus, lost in thought about how ridiculously, desperately in love he was with his roommate, when something caught his eye on the road up ahead. There was a small, brown shape on the pavement, still too far away to make out exactly was, but Rhodey had a pretty good idea. 

“Please be a paper bag, please be a paper bag,” he muttered to himself as he moved closer. He’d woken up this morning to Tony looking absolutely gorgeous in worn sweatpants and a threadbare tee. His hair had been a wild mess and his eyes had held a manic gleam behind those adorable glasses of his. Rhodey has wanted to kiss good morning him so badly that for a moment he had thought his heart might explode.

He couldn’t take anymore heartbreak today. 

But as he moved closer, his fears were confirmed. A small groundhog was lying on the road, sprawled on his back with his little feet up in the air. Rhodey felt a pang in his chest. He’d always had a soft spot for animals, and this little guy looked so innocent that it hurt to see him like this. Strangely there wasn’t a mark on him, no sign of blood, and Rhodey wondered if he had maybe scared himself to death instead. That felt even worse, somehow. 

The road was usually fairly quiet, but his location might make it difficult for cars to see him. Rhodey hummed a minute; the groundhog might already be dead, but the idea of leaving him there to be crushed beneath the wheel of a car felt wrong. Making a decision, Rhodey stepped off the sidewalk. He’d just move him off the road and into the grass, where he could rest in peace or whatever. 

He had just bent over to scoop him up — making a mental note to wash his hands very thoroughly the second he got to campus, and to start carrying a pair of work gloves in his bag — when the groundhog shot to life with a low ‘chuck-chuck’ noise. Rhodey yelped, equally startled, and the groundhog shot up onto the grass. For a long moment the two of them just stared at each other in mutual surprise before the groundhog chattered at him angrily and then waddled off into the bushes on the far side of the sidewalk. 

“Well, fuck you too,” Rhodey called after him, a little disgruntled. He hesitated a moment longer after it had disappeared into the shrubs, and then continued on his way to class. “Excuse me for tryin’ help. Not my fault you decided to sunbathe in the middle of the street like a dumbass.” He huffed a laugh to himself. “I’m gonna call you Tony!” he threw back over his shoulder before making at face himself. “Oh my god, I’m yelling at a groundhog. Pull it together, Rhodes.” 

***

Rhodey usually liked to vary his route to campus, but the next day he found himself heading down the same street, telling himself that it was just in case and that if there was no sign of the groundhog, he could stop worrying about it. But, as it turned out, he was right to worry because sure enough, in almost the exact same place, he found the groundhog again, lying apparently lifeless on the side of the road. 

“Okay, seriously?” he asked as he moved closer. This time he could hear actual snores, little snuffling sounds that were kind of adorable. “What, would you like me to bring you a little trifold mirror next time, so you can work on your tan?” 

The groundhog opened its eyes, blinked at him, and apparently deeming him No Longer a Threat, closed them and wiggled against the hot pavement. 

“You are one weird marmot,” Rhodey informed him, moving closer still. “Come on, get up you dumbass rodent. You’re gonna get run over by a car and then we’ll both feel bad.” The groundhog still didn’t move though, not even when Rhodey was standing right next to him. Wondering if groundhogs were people biters, he took a risk and nudged it with his toe. Looking very puto out, it finally got to its feet, chittering at him again as it wandered off into the bushes. “Ungrateful!” Rhodey called after it. 

That afternoon, after Tony had headed back to the lab with a “bye, Honeybear! Save me some dinner!” Rhodey found himself digging out the Yellow Pages, trying to find someone who could safely rehome his new little pfriendet. But apparently groundhogs were considered irrelevant at best and a pest at worst. The city’s animal services didn’t care, and after the fifth private company he called talked about gasses and poisons, he gave up on that route. 

Really all it came down to was tricking the groundhog into new habits. When Tony kept sleeping through his eight am Physics class, the one that demanded mandatory attendance, Rhodey had ‘trained’ him into getting up with coffee; he figured this wasn’t really that different. If he could figure out what the groundhog liked, he could lure him away from the road and then get him to associate the designated safe zone with food. Three weeks tops and the groundhog would be safe and Rhodey could stop worrying about it, easy peasy. 

Problem number one was, of course, that he had no idea what groundhogs even liked to eat. One trip to campus later, and he found himself immersed in the reference section of the library, sitting at a table with three different ‘G’ encyclopedias, two ‘W’ encyclopedias, and a handful of possibly relevant farming and gardening books that he’d been directed to by a bemused looking librarian -- he supposed that groundhogs weren’t the biggest research topic at MIT. 

By the time he made it back to the apartment, it was dark out, Rhodey was exhausted, and he knew more about groundhogs than he’d ever planned. But he also had a good idea of how to lure Tony Jr. away from the road. There’d been a few different ideas about what groundhogs liked to eat, but he planned to start with apples, carrots, and -- weirdly -- cantaloupe (five different sources had sworn by it). He let himself in the door, distracted by planning when he could make a trip to the grocery store, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he was greeting with a, “Fucking finally!” from the kitchen.

“Jesus,” he muttered, glaring as Tony came out of the kitchen.

“Where the fuck were you?” he demanded. “You weren’t home when I got back, no note, no nothing. I was worried , Rhodey. I thought you’d died .” 

“Drama queen,” Rhodey grumbled with a fond eye roll. “Chill out, Stark,” he added, shrugging off his jacket.

Tony huffed, striding back into the kitchen. “You laugh, but it only takes a minute to get kidnapped, Sugarlumps.” 

“Yeah? Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” Rhodey said, following him down the hall but detouring past the kitchen to flop out on the couch. 

“Uhh… Only the one time. I don’t know, I think that’s kind of an outlier though. They weren’t very competent kidnappers. Like five stars for the actual snatch and grab, and 0.001 stars for managing to hold on to the target.” 

Rhodey shook his head; he couldn’t tell if Tony was kidding, but he had a funny feeling he wasn’t. “Your life is weird, man.” 

“No shit.” Tony reappeared in the kitchen doorway. “Hey, where were you actually though. This is supposed to be your free night.” 

Rhodey ignored the warm little thrill that lit up his belly at the thought that Tony knew his schedule. It didn’t actually mean anything, Tony’s brain was just… Like that. He may not always know what day it was, but he did know what was supposed to be happening at any given time. “At the library,” he told him honestly. “Last minute research project. I forgot all about it.” 

That was at least mostly true, but Tony still squinted at him suspiciously. “That doesn’t sound like you…”

He shrugged. “Happens to the best of us, right?” 

Rhodey felt like the fact that he was hiding something was written all over his face, but after another moment of suspicious staring, Tony shrugged too. “Yeah, guess so,” he acknowledged, sliding back into the kitchen. “Still, leave a note next time! I was expecting dinner.” 

Rhodey rolled his eyes, grinning up at the ceiling since Tony wasn’t there to see the besotted look on his face. “Ain’t your housewife, Tones.” 

“Luckily your sugar daddy’s got it covered,” Tony retorted, returning this time with two plates piled sky-high with Chinese food. He passed one over to Rhodey, who took it with an appreciative groan, before flopping onto the couch beside him, leaving almost no room between the two of them. (That didn’t mean anything either; Tony had never had a sense of personal space.) He held up a forkful of food, pointing it in Rhodey’s direction with a crooked grin that he couldn’t quite interpret. “To last minute research projects.” 

***

Rhodey wasn’t even surprised when he arrived the next afternoon -- after a detour through the grocery store -- to find his groundhog friend sleeping on the road again. “Dumbass,” he muttered under his breath, pretending he didn’t hear the fond note in his voice. “Okay Tony,” he announced in a louder voice, waiting for the groundhog to open his eyes. “Here’s the deal.” He slid his backpack off his shoulder as Tony watched him warily, reaching in and pulling out a fresh bunch of carrots. Tony’s nose wriggled in interest. “You get your dumb ass off the road, and in exchange you get a nice juicy bunch of carrots. Sound like a fair deal?” 

Tony made a couple of interested grunting noises that Rhodey chose to interpret as a yes. Snapping the first carrot into haphazard, uneven pieces, he put the first one right by Tony’s head, the next one a little farther, then a little farther until he had a trail of carrot pieces leading to an empty lot that had overgrown into something resembling a meadow. In the middle of said meadow, he dumped the rest of the carrots in a little pile. 

It took a few minutes, but Tony’s nose wiggling increased and slowly he rolled over onto his stomach and wandered over to the first carrot piece. Still eyeing Rhodey a little suspiciously, he bit into the vegetable, eating it quickly. Rhodey held his breath, but when nothing happened Tony wandered over to the next carrot and then the next one. Rhodey followed him from a few feet away as he slowly moved over to the field. When he found the pile of carrots in the middle, he made a startled squeaking noise that sounded like nothing more than pure delight, running over to the pile and shoving his face into them. It was adorable, and Rhodey beamed, feeling entirely too pleased with himself. 

“Phase One a success,” he crowed, whistling all the rest of the way to campus. 

For the next week, Rhodey showed up every single day with some kind of snack for Tony. He’d follow the same routine, luring him safely to the field where he’d leave a whole pile of treats waiting for him. It seemed to be working, and even if it was wreaking havoc with Rhodey’s schedule a little, he figured it was only for a few weeks. 

“Okay dude, what the hell?” Tony hissed as Rhodey slid into his typical seat beside him, late for the third time that week. “Why are you always late to labs now?”

Rhodey busied himself with pulling his notebook and pencils out of his bag. “Reasons,” he hedged, not meeting Tony’s gaze. Sure, he could probably just tell him the truth, but he could just imagine the jokes that Tony would level him with. Somehow it was easier to just… not. 

There was a moment of silence from Tony, long enough that Rhodey started to get a little nervous. Did Tony somehow know? Had he seen him with groundhog Tony, and now he was going to get made fun of extra hard for not even being man enough to own it? But then Tony made a sudden noise of understanding. 

“Did you meet someone?” he demanded, a note of delight in his voice. “What’s her name? Ohhhh. What’s his name?”

Rhodey swallowed hard, going full dumbass in the face of Tony’s sudden interest, and his easy acceptance of the idea that Rhodey had a secret boyfriend. “His name is Tony?” he offered, before he realized how that sounded and his eyes went wide. “Fuck! I mean — not you. I mean, not not you, you’re very attractive, but…” 

He trailed off hopelessly, wanting to bury his face in his arms but feeling like that would make him even more pathetic. Tony was watching him with a strange glint in his eyes, but before he could say anything there was a throat clearing from the front of the room. 

“Mr. Stark, Mr. Rhodes. Unless you would like to teach the class yourselves…?”

Tony opened his mouth like he was going to offer to do exactly that, but Rhodey gave him a swift kick in the ankle first. He rolled his eyes but relented and didn’t bring the subject up again. 

***

It was on the second week that Rhodey realized he may have created a problem for himself. He and Tony Jr. had developed something of a… Working relationship. The groundhog seemed to know him now, had gone from perking up at the sound of Rhodey’s footsteps to actively waiting for him at the same time every day. The problem was, he was waiting for him in the road. And Rhodey had been so sure that his plan would work that he hadn’t bothered to think of an alternative. The luring him away part was working like a treat, but he had no idea how to get Tony Jr. to start waiting for him literally anywhere else. 

He had kept up with his routine in the meantime, hoping that maybe Tony Jr. would suddenly clue in and start waiting for him on the sidewalk instead. Which is why he was there on Friday, when the car full of rowdy, probably newly-licensed teenagers came flying down the road. 

He had been a few feet away, grinning when Tony sat up on his hand legs to ‘greet’ him, nose wiggling rapidly in anticipation of whatever the snack of the day might be. He heard the car before he could see it and reacted on instinct, racing to close the distance between he and Tony -- who, amazingly, didn’t run further into the road -- and snatching him up just in time. He lost his balance in the process, rolling to the far side of the sidewalk and ending up lying on his back in the grass, a very bewildered groundhog nestled against his chest as the oblivious car flew by. 

For a minute, Rhodey tensed. He and Tony may have had something of a rapport, but he also knew that groundhogs could be vicious little fuckers, even beyond being a wild animal. He was fully expecting a bite to his arms or chest, but after a moment Tony wiggled and yawned, stretching out on his chest like a damn cat, before shifting enough to nose at Rhodey’s backpack, squashed uncomfortably beneath him. Rhodey let his head roll back, staring up at the sky before he sighed. 

“Fuck it,” he decided. “Let’s go home.”

Rhodey would never say it out loud, but there were times when Tony -- the human one -- being the heir to the Stark empire worked in their favour. For example, he was pretty sure he had Maria Stark to thank for the fact that, when they’d started out looking at dinky, one-bedroom apartments, there had ‘suddenly’ been a nice, two-bedroom-plus-office available in their price range. Or how it was Tony’s last name that had given him unfettered, private access to one of the MIT labs, letting Rhodey claim that apartment office for himself. 

Or for Tony Jr, as the case now seemed to be. 

It had been surprisingly easy to get Tony Jr. set up in there. He’d built him a little cardboard box tunnel system, piled some hay and alfalfa in the corner, brought in a little kiddie pool and then some bunny toys he’d found at the pet store, because he figured a groundhog was still a rodent, right? He’d been worried that there wouldn’t be enough stimulation for him, but Tony Jr. had delved right into everything, and definitely seemed happy enough. 

So now he had a groundhog secretly living in their No Pets Allowed apartment with Tony carrying on none the wiser. What even was his life sometimes? 

***

Rhodey slipped out of the office after refreshing all of Tony Jr.’s supplies, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he found Tony waiting for him at the end of the hallway. “Jesus Christ, man,” he gasped, keeping an ear out for any strange, groundhog-related noises that Tony might be able to hear. “Don’t do that.” 

“Okay, twitchy,” Tony replied with an arched eyebrow. “What, were you watching weird porn in there or something?

“No!”

“Cause you know if you find weird porn you gotta share. That’s the rule, Rhodes.” Tony nodded like he’d made some kind of actual point, and Rhodey rolled his eyes. 

“I will keep that in mind. What’re you doing sneaking around like some kind of troll?” 

“I wasn’t sneaking! I was looking for you. Because I wanted to know what the fuck this is.” He hefted up the full cantaloupe that Rhodey had been storing in the fridge, lifting it up above his head.

“It’s a cantaloupe, Tones.” Rhodey didn’t hide the way he was laughing at him as he pushed past Tony, moving to flop down on the couch in front of the television. “How do you not know that?” 

Tony followed him, still cradling the melon in question and peering down at it speculatively. “I don’t know, I’ve only ever seen it cut up in fruit cocktail. I didn’t know it looked like this.” He frowned, lips pursing in that adorable little pout that Rhodey found absolutely irresistible. “It kind of looks like a brain.” He grinned then, holding it up against his forehead and taking wide, staggering steps toward Rhodey. “Yarrrrrrgh,” he groaned in what Rhodey was pretty sure was supposed to be his best impression of a zombie. “You’re going to eat my braiiiiiiiiins.” 

Rhodey blinked back at him, trying very hard not to laugh. “See, now I’m just confused. Are you the zombie, or the zombie victim?” 

Tony stuck his tongue out at him. “Spoilsport,” he grumbled, setting the cantaloupe down on the table and sprawling out beside Rhodey instead. “But really, why do we have a cantaloupe in the fridge? I’ve known you for three years, Rhodeybear. I’ve never once seen you eat cantaloupe… Oh shit!” He sat up, a manic gleam in his eyes. “Is it for your new boooooyfriend?” 

He dragged the word out like a 12-year-old girl at a slumber party, and Rhodey huffed, squirming a little. The only boyfriend he wanted was Tony himself, but it wasn’t like he could just say that. “Shut up, Tones,” he grumbled instead, turning on the television and missing the little frown that crossed over Tony’s features. 

***

Rhodey had heard about skunks, and raccoons, and even foxes being kept as pets before, but never groundhogs. As it turned out, there was apparently a reason for this. 

Tony Jr. liked him well enough. He perked up as soon as Rhodey stepped into the room, nose twitching in a way that was the cutest thing that Rhodey had ever witnessed, outside of Human Tony’s attempts at waking up before eight am. He’d started rushing Rhodey at the door, nosing at his pockets for whatever treats he’d brought him, and if Rhodey sat on the floor with him for a bit, Tony Jr. would snuffle around him before snuggling in with his back along the lengths of Rhodey’s thighs, sometimes munching on a snack he’d dragged over, sometimes just drifting off to sleep with soft little snores. He was adorable.

But he was also a destructive little fucker. And Rhodey hadn’t even known that groundhogs made sounds before, but he was loud. There had been a few times where he’d had to fake a sudden coughing fit while watching TV with Tony, so he wouldn’t hear Tony Jr. skittering around over the floor, doing whatever it was he did to entertain himself. On one particularly memorable night, Rhodey had picked up the phone while Tony was in the kitchen and proceeded to hold a very loud, very fake fifteen-minute conversation. He’d hastily mouthed to Tony that it was “a guy from his lab” and then, feeling incredibly stupid, pretended not to notice the way that Tony’s scowl grew deeper and deeper as his TV watching was interrupted. 

Unfortunately, whatever Tony’s suspicions were, Rhodey didn’t manage to do much to assuage them over the next few weeks. It was a few days later that Rhodey slipped out of the office, locking the door behind him (just in case) only to turn around to find Tony leaning against his bedroom door, watching him with an expression somewhere between suspicious and confused. 

“You don’t usually lock that, do you?” 

His tone sounded more curious than upset, but Rhodey felt himself breaking out into a sweat anyway. “Uhh. I have… Gifts in there. For… People.” 

Tony’s expression shifted, going blank. “People,” he repeated, clearly disbelieving. 

Rhodey winced, but if living with Tony had taught him anything, it was to dig in his heels. According to Tony, show enough confidence and you could get away with anything. (Funny how that always seemed to work out so much better for Tony than it ever did for Rhodey.) 

“People,” he repeated anyway, as confidently as he could manage. “For… Christmas.” 

Tony’s eyebrows arched. “Wooow,” he drawled. “The first week of October. Look at you go, Rhodes.” 

It was probably a sign of just how far gone he was for the other man that Rhodey recognized the exact tone of Tony’s voice, the ‘hurt but trying to mask it with sarcasm’ edge that he usually only reserved for conversations with his father. Rhodey wasn’t sure what about his dumbass behaviour would cause Tony that much pain, but he hated being responsible for it with every fibre of his being. For a minute he almost caved and confessed everything then and there. But while he was working out where to even begin, Tony just sighed and shook his head. 

“Sorry,” he told him, like Tony had absolutely anything to apologize for when Rhodey was secretly hiding a groundhog in their apartment. “I’m just having a day. I’ve gotta run though. I’ve got a meeting with the engineering department -- apparently they don’t know if I’m making use of my excess of lab time responsibly.” He waggled his eyebrows and grinned, back to being Rhodey’s Tony, and the moment passed. 

It was a couple weeks after that that Rhodey, alone in the apartment, had gone in to check on Tony Jr. only to find him happily munching on one of Tony’s spare EuroAV cables. 

“Oh shit,” Rhodey yelped, lunging toward him because he was pretty sure there was no way that was part of a healthy, balanced, groundhog diet. He was starting to wonder if his groundhog was part cat though, because the second he saw Rhodey coming his eyes went wide and he started to back under the chair in the corner, dragging the wire along behind him. 

What followed was a truly embarrassing twenty-minute wrestling match in which Tony Jr. got the better of him many, many times. Rhodey’d had no idea that groundhogs could be so fast. Or so crafty. 

Eventually he’d emerged victorious -- or as victorious as he could consider himself when he was flushed and sweating and was going to have to buy Tony a new EuroAV cable -- and locked the cable’s remains away in the cupboard while Tony Jr. went to sulk in the corner. He went back out for some water and very nearly screamed when he came across Tony, standing there and staring at the door. 

“Tony!” he yelped instead, resisting the urge to grab at his heart as he narrowly avoided a heart attack. “Jesus Christ, man. What are you doing here? I thought you had class.” 

Tony shrugged. “Dr. Campbell cancelled.” He paused a moment, considering. “I heard noises,” he told him, looking Rhodey up and down. Rhodey followed his gaze and fought back a wince when he saw how rumpled his shirt was, and how a couple buttons had popped off, letting bits of chest peek through the fabric. “Everything… Alright?” 

“Oh yeah,” Rhodey said airily, internally panicking. “Just… Physics problems. You know how it is.” 

Tony stared back at him, unimpressed, but before he could speak Tony Jr. decided to wreak havoc with something, a large crashing noise echoing from the room behind him. Rhodey tried to keep his expression from revealing anything and Tony’s face fell, whatever he was thinking left unsaid. 

He stayed suspiciously quiet the rest of the evening, stuck in his head, and Rhodey tried to push down the guilty feeling pooling in his stomach. He ordered in the barbeque ribs that Tony liked for dinner, hoping to make it up to him a little, and Tony at least joined him to eat, the two of them camping out in front of the television. 

There was an old Star Trek rerun playing, and they watched in relative silence until halfway through the episode when Tony, apparently, just couldn’t stand it anymore. 

“I don’t understand why you won’t just tell me his name!” he burst out. 

Rhodey startled, so caught off guard that for a moment he couldn’t even parse what Tony was talking about. “Who??” 

This seemed to bother Tony even more; he huffed and folded his arms over his chest. “Your boyfriend! The ‘guy from your lab’ that you’ve been seeing. The dude you were fooling around with in the office earlier. Honestly, Rhodes, we’re supposed to be best friends. It’s getting a little weird that you haven’t even introduced us.” 

“Oh. Uh…” Taken aback, Rhodey scrambled for any kind of explanation. “It’s not… I mean… There’s not really any introductions to make. It’s nothing, really. It’s not… Like that.” 

Tony stared back at him for a long moment, squirming like he wanted to say something else, but all he did was lean back into the couch cushions again, arms still folded across his chest. “Right. Okay.” 

Rhodey didn’t know why Tony would be so invested in meeting his supposed hookup, even if he actually had one, but bringing it up didn’t seem like that best plan either. He wanted to get Tony as far away from subjects that could circle back to the groundhog residing in their apartment as possible. 

The thing was, Rhodey was a mission oriented kind of person. He could compartmentalize, focus on one thing at a time. And he became All. About. The groundhog. (Because, if he was truly honest with himself, focusing on Tony Jr. meant he didn’t have to think about how desperately in love with Tony he was, how his feelings were only getting stronger every day despite knowing there was no chance in hell of them being reciprocated.) So it was easy to put it aside when Tony started acting… Quirkier than usual, to tell himself that it was nothing, just Tony going through a phase. 

He started to worry a little, when on the nights that it was Tony’s turn to cook, he started making (or ordering) food for one. The first time he figured was a one off -- he’d had a late appointment with one of his profs, and then a meeting with a project group, so he’d given Tony a heads up that he might not be back until late. He probably just hadn’t known when to expect him. And Tony’d never been great at figuring out portion sizes anyway, always cooking either far too much or not nearly enough. It wasn’t a big deal; Tony always bought too many groceries too (although Rhodey had a feeling that was slightly less accidental), so it wasn’t too difficult for him to scrounge up a late meal for himself. 

But then it happened again. And again. And again after that. 

After the fourth time in a week, Rhodey was feeling panicked. Maybe Tony had heard the scratching or the little squeaking noises that Tony Jr. made sometimes, and thought they had rats or squirrels or something. Maybe he was trying to avoid leftovers, so he didn’t encourage them. He was hesitant about asking Tony about it; if that was what he thought, he wasn’t sure it was the best idea to draw further attention to it, in case Tony started to wonder why those noises only ever seemed to come from Rhodey’s suddenly locked office or something. Rhodey never been one for avoiding, though, and he couldn’t fix it if he didn’t know what was happening.

But when he finally asked him about the lack of dinner, mentioning it as casually as he could manage, Tony just gave the wall over Rhodey’s shoulder a very pointed look. “Oh sorry,” he told him, a forced, off-hand tone to his voice. “I just didn’t know if you’d be around to have dinner here. You know, with your active social life.” 

“Uh…” Rhodey scratched at the back of his head; Tony clearly had his knickers in a twist over something, but he was fucked if he knew what. He hadn’t mentioned the groundhog at least, so he probably hadn’t found that out. Maybe he’d had another hiccup with the robot he’d been working on for the last few months. “Sure man. Active social life, right.” He considered asking, but honestly the last few weeks had him exhausted and if it was anything serious, he knew Tony would end up telling him eventually. He wasn’t great at keeping things to himself. 

And sure enough, a couple days later, Tony seemed more or less back to himself. He’d locked himself in his room for all of Friday night, while Rhodey had holed up in the office with Tony Jr., blasting Star Wars at high volume as his rodent friend tore around the room, chasing the tennis ball that Rhodey had picked up for him. 

Presumably Tony had solved whatever coding issue had had him all wound up in the meantime, because when Rhodey got up on Saturday morning, he met him with a triple batch of pancakes (only a few of them burned) and a sheepish smile. They didn’t talk about it -- they never did -- but Tony made a point of being extra nice, letting Rhodey take the syrup first and grabbing him the juice when he moved to get it from the fridge. Rhodey just beamed back at him and some of the guilt evaporated from Tony’s face. 

They talked about nothing for awhile, just normal, mindless Saturday morning stuff until Tony cleared his throat and shifted a little. Rhodey arched an eyebrow, watching him expectantly. 

“Uh, you know… I heard you watching Star Wars last night. We could all watch a few movies together, if you wanted? I’ve had my shots, Rhodey, I promise.” 

Rhodey felt his eyes go wide, knew that panic was written all over his face. His shots? Was Tony talking about rabies? Did he know? “I…” He croaked out the word, trying to figure out what to say next, but almost immediately Tony seemed to reconsider, his face falling a little. 

“Unless you guys are like… Doing stuff. You know, while the movie, and… Okay, never mind.” He cleared his throat again, awkward now, and took his empty plate to dump in the sink. 

Rhodey blinked at him, head spinning from the whirlwind that had just occurred. “Who’s we?” He was pretty sure they were talking about two completely different things.

Tony just rolled his eyes. “Haha,” he drawled, “You’re hilarious.”

And before Rhodey could tell him that he hadn’t actually been joking, Tony was heading back down the hall for his bedroom and leaving him even more confused in his wake.  

***

They continued on like this, Tony running hot and cold -- but definitely veering into cold territory more often than not -- as Rhodey threw himself harder into caring for Tony Jr. in turn. Mostly that went okay, but Tony Jr. would go through phases where he was just the worst (not, Rhodey supposed, unlike his namesake). Which was how he ended up spilling an entire can of soda on himself one evening when Rhodey was just trying to hang out and watch a movie with him. Rhodey sighed hard, staring back at Tony Jr. as he blinked up at him with the sugary drink dripping from his snout, startled into stillness. 

“Come on, man,” Rhodey protested. “You’re not helping me out here at all.”  

Tony Jr. just made a soft little chuck-chuck sound, something that Rhodey thought sounded almost apologetic, and he couldn’t help grinning a little. 

“Alright, you twerp,” he sighed, picking him up. Tony was at the lab again, so Rhodey didn’t hesitate to take him into the bathroom. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” 

Tony Jr. waited patiently as Rhodey filled the tub, checking to make sure the water wasn’t too hot or too cold. He was a little nervous putting Tony Jr. in the tub, in case he lost his shit entirely and went feral, but he actually seemed to enjoy it, making happy little chittering noises and wriggling around as he settled into the warm water. Rhodey hadn’t wanted to add soap, worried it would disrupt a groundhog’s delicate little ph balance or something, but rinsing him off with fresh water seemed to do the trick just as well. Tony Jr. splashed around happily, and Rhodey found the entire experience surprisingly pleasant, laughing and talking away to the little guy as he got him all clean. 

He hadn’t heard the front door opening, too distracted with what he was doing, but he definitely heard the sharp, sudden knock on the bathroom door. Tony Jr. chirped but before Rhodey could respond, Tony was flinging the door wide open. 

“Okay asshole,” he announced without preamble. “I get that you’ve found the love of your life, and that he’s a million times better than me, and you’re a week away from leaving me forever because you’d never fall for me, but this is still a communal space and I would appreciate it if I could shower in a space that doesn’t contain a stranger’s come.” 

And then, as Rhodey was still trying to process what the fuck had just happened, Tony stopped and looked around the bathroom. Breathing hard, he took in Rhodey, crouched shirtless on the bathmat, and the full bathtub containing Tony Jr. 

“This… Is not what I was expecting,” he admitted. “Is that a groundhog?” 

“Yes it is,” Rhodey replied without hesitation. “But I’m a lot more interested in what the fuck you just said.”

“Oh, uh…” Tony was flustered now, all his bravado gone, and he edged toward the doorway. “I wasn’t, I mean. I didn’t… I wasn’t saying anything,” Tony finally managed to mumble out. “Just… Long day.” 

“Yeah, I can tell,” Rhodey told him dryly. And then, because there was no way he was letting it go at that, “What was that about me being a week away from leaving forever?” 

Tony whined under his breath. “Do we have to do this now?” he grumbled, eyes dropping back to the groundhog, still splashing around in the bathtub. “You seem… Busy.” 

And true, Rhodey probably had a lot to be embarrassed about here too. But Tony was shifting side to side in that way that meant he was feeling especially awkward, and so Rhodey called his bluff. 

“You explain what on earth you’re talking about,” he told him, folding his arms across his chest. “And I’ll explain, uh… This.” 

Tony huffed again, unconsciously mirroring Rhodey as he crossed his own arms. Hunching his shoulders up around his ears, he settled his gaze somewhere above Rhodey’s head. “I just… You’ve been so busy lately, with your new guy or whatever. And he’s here all the time, and I hear you laughing and you sound like you’re having such a great time and it's not like jealous, I’m just -- okay, I am jealous. I fucking love you, you asshole. And I’ve missed you the past few weeks, and I never see you, and I know we’ve both dated before but you won’t even tell me about this guy, and… I don’t know. It just felt like this time it was maybe something more serious. And I know it’s not like you were ever going to get that kind of serious with me but I just… I’m not ready to lose you yet.” 

Rhodey blinked at him, feeling a little like he was going to pass out. 

And the rest of what Tony had said caught up to him. “My guy?” he repeated, wondering what on earth Tony meant. And then Tony Jr. splashed the water, catching Rhodey’s attention. He looked over at him, back at Tony, over to Tony Jr. again, and his eyes went. “Oh,” he breathed, catching on. “Oh.”

And then he couldn’t help it -- he started to laugh. 

“Okay, seriously?” Tony burst out, staring incredulously at Rhodey, apparently over his inability to look directly at him. “Seriously ?” He grabbed a spare roll of toilet paper, throwing it at the other man who was bent in half on the bathmat, laughing so hard there were tears in his eyes. Tony Jr. chittered angrily at him. “I can’t believe I even like you. I just confessed my love and you’re fucking laughing at me.” He threw another roll of toilet paper at him for good measure. “You’re such an asshole.” 

Rhodey shook his head, still choking on his laughter. “I’m not… I’m not laughing at you.” He cleared his throat, beaming up at him. “You’re in love with me?” 

“I’m…” Tony shook his head, sliding back into a mumble. “Don’t make fun of me, man.” 

“I’m not,” Rhodey promised, getting to his feet and moving toward him. “I swear I’m not. Tony, the ‘guy’ I’ve been seeing? Is the fucking groundhog.” 

Tony wrinkled his nose, looking adorably confused. “What?” 

Rhodey just sighed. “I’m saying, I don’t have a boyfriend, doofus. You’re the only guy in my life. And, uh…” He stepped closer still, catching Tony’s hands to unfold them from his chest. “I’d kind of like it to stay that way.” 

Tony squirmed a little, a pleased smile crossing his features. “You would?” 

“Yep.” He nodded, running his thumb over Tony’s palm. “We seem to suck at the communication thing, so let me be very clear here. I’ve been embarrassingly in love with you for an embarrassingly long time. Forget asking you out. Tony, I want you to be my boyfriend. Are we on the same page?” 

Tony gave an adorable little giggle, and then he was standing on tiptoes, giving Rhodey a soft, sweet kiss on the lips. Rhodey let him, for a moment, and then he was looping an arm around Tony’s waist, pulling him up tight against his bare chest and kissing him properly. Tony made a startled little sound before he melted into it, giving just as good as he got. 

They kept kissing until there was another splash behind them, Tony Jr. chittering in annoyance at being ignored. 

“Ah, right.” Still grinning like a goofball, Tony leaned back and arched his eyebrows at Rhodey. “I think you said something about an explanation for the groundhog in our bathtub?” 

“Yup,” Rhodey agreed, stepping away first to take a towel and scoop Tony Jr. out of the tub. Tony watched in bemusement as the groundhog snuggled right into Rhodey, the other man slipping past him to take him back to office. “Just let get him resettled first. I don’t want Tony Jr. to catch a cold.” 

Tony nodded in understanding, then frowned as he watched Rhodey carry him down the hall. “Wait,” he called after him. “Tony Jr.? Rhodes, did you name your groundhog after me??”

@ironhusbandsbigbang

[meeeeyahhhhh]

Daminette December Day 4: Gaming

——————————————————————————

Everyone on twitch knew, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a beast at every game she played. From multiplayer ones like Ultimate Mecha Strike III to indie ones such as “Hollow Knight” she was a goddess. Her KD ratio on “Call of Duty Modern Warfare” was 100:0.

She played under an alias, Ladybug. Not once did she show her face. All of her viewers told her to go pro, make some real money playing the games that she loved so much. But everytime she saw someone suggest that, she’d wave it off saying, “Gaming is a hobby for me. If you really want to support me, buy merch or commission me for some clothes. For those who don’t know, I run a website called ‘Miss Fortune’ and it would greatly support me and my dreams if you would check it out!”

It was true Marinette loved gaming, but her passion would always be fashion. Once her website was announced, Marinette received so many commissions from her followers, that she no longer had the time to do the free labor her class would always ask if her. She was busy and was making her dream come true they should be happy for her... right?

Wrong.

“Mariiii,” Alya elongated her nickname, “Could you babysit my sisters and Chris, please?”

Marinette sighed, “I’m sorry Alya, I just have too much on my plate right now. I’m working on a comission that will pay me a lot! It needs to be done by Monday, or I won’t be able to get it to the buyer in time for their party. Maybe next time?”

Alya would have said that it was fine, if Lila didn’t open her mouth right when Marinette finished, “Wow! Marinette would place money over her supposed ‘Best Friend?’ As Alya’s second best friend, I’ll take over the duty,” Lila then whispered lowly to Marinette, “because that’s what friends do.”

“Yeah, Girl! Why are you being so selfish?” Alya asked a little annoyed.

“W-what?” Marinette physically took a step back, “S-selfish? But I’ve done nothing but do whatever it is you ask of me?!? The one time I decline a demand from you I’M the selfish one? I have a job, a client, and my pride as a designer on the line. This is much deeper then money, but you,” she pointed an accusing finger at Lila, “wouldn’t know anything about that would you?”

Neither Lila or Alya expected, soft, timid, Marinette to explode the way she did. As the class excluded Marinette from things, she dove farther into her twitch personality. Ladybug, one of the best gamers in the word (according to some), was confident, collected, and focused. Marinette embraced that side of her and slowly grew into her own skin. Lila broke into the fakest crocodile tears she could conjure, “W-why are you so m-mean? I-I just wanted Alya to k-know she could l-lean on me!”

“Bullshit,” Marinette cursed and rolled her eyes, “You know exactly what you were trying to do. And Lila next time, take some acting lessons. Maybe then I’ll even pretend to be sorry. You cry wolf so often that I’ve become desensitized by yours and everyone else’s treatment of me. So if you want to play ball, I just want you to know: I play to win. And I never lose, especially to noobs who don’t even know the mechanics yet.”

After saying that, Marinette left the classroom stunned to slience. Lila tried to call after her, but she was already long gone. Classes had ended right before the confrontation, so Marinette couldn’t be bothered to deal with peasants that lost at games of manipulation. She had much better and productive things she could be doing with her life.

As Marinette made her way home, she had wanted to stream a bit before working on the commission. ‘What to do,’ Marinette had thought to herself, ‘A vlog? Maybe?’

20 minutes of an internal debate later, she had decided to do a vlog (in silhouette of course). The light on the camera signaled it was recording, “What is up my Macaroons? How is everybody doing today?” She stops to read the chat, “Good? I’m glad! Um.... how am I doing? I didn’t have a good day, but now that I’m talking to all of you I’m feeling much better!”

Marinette winked at the camera. She wanted to keep her mind off of the event of earlier, “I got into a fight with one of my ‘best friends’” her fingers curled into quotes, “Turns out she wasn’t worth my time.”

She continued to stream for another 45 minutes before signing off. The second it ended, Marinette began to work on her commission. The piece was for a Tim Drake. When she had first received the request, Marinette assumed the person was asking under a pseudonym. There ways no way THE Tim Drake would want her work... right?

Wrong... again.

Two for two times Marinette wa wrong lately. Unbeknownst to her the Wayne boys had grown a fondness for the goddess behind the screen on Twitch. Tim being the fan boy of the four, commissioned her for the next gala. He wouldn’t shut up about it to the rest, “I’m getting a ‘Miss Fortune’ original!” He would announce loudly to the manor, “She actually took my request!”

“And here I though Ladybug would ignore you, I thought she would’ve thought it to be a prank. Timmy boy lucked out,” Jason released a long breath.

“Can things one and two, shut up while I place an order?” Dick huffed in annoyance. He would try to commission Ladybug for business causal.

None of the boys were into fashion, (besides Damian but they don’t know that) but if it was to support their favorite streamer they would sell their kidney. No one knew the face of Ladybug, however, everyone knew of their skill.

Damian felt an eyebrow twitch at his brothers antics. Damian had been commissioning Ladybug since before she had mentioned it in that video. Admittedly he had no idea who the designer was, Damian always preferred practicality over looks and Miss Fortune had just what he was looking for. Eventually he’d learn just who Ladybug was, after months of commissioning her work she had enough trust in him to allow him the privilege of her name. Marinette. That was what he got. No last name, just Marinette.

Ladybug trusted him enough with a first name, but handing your last name to a stranger on the internet isn’t the best idea. But Damian was on a war path to sniff out just who exactly is Ladybug.

Her twitch channel was pretty popular, she was confident, and always stayed talking to her followers whenever they were sad or upset. Her last stream left him unsettled. Damian didn’t think such an angel could ever be upset at anyone, but guess there was a first time for everything.

A fire was lit under Damian and it would rage until he remedied whatever would distress his angel. This would become a game of “Clue” and Damian never lost anything. To the challenge of finding Marinette he’d say, “Game on!”

——————————————————————————

A/N: I plan on continuing this into tomorrow’s prompt of fire. I hope that’s okay with you guys. Thank you for all the sweet comments, likes and reblogs. All of those things make me motivated to continue, thank you all so much!

@daminette-december2019 @persephonebutkore

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 65 Poll Results (for Anime Only Watchers)

The poll closed with 98 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Manga Readers’ poll, click here.

Anime only watchers, beware of spoilers if you venture over to the manga readers’ poll results.

--

RATE THE EPISODE 94 Responses

Although a bit muted compared to last week, the response to this episode was still overwhelmingly positive, with 96.8% of people giving it a rating of 3 and higher. MAPPA’s on a roll!

Amazing!!!!

i just wanna see more!! 20 minutes is not enough. its too good

Awesome episode! Great pacing and the cgi was not too noticeable.

WAAAAYYYYY TOO HYPE

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 93 Responses

Mikasa and Levi took the spotlight this week! 30.1% of viewers felt most hyped up by Mikasa’s “explosive” reintroduction to the anime, while 22.6% were stoked to see Levi take on Porco to save Eren. 18.3% were most hyped by the Survey Corps taking on the Jaw Titan and the subsequent cliffhanger.

THE CGI CONTINUES TO BE A POINT OF CONTENTION. BE HONEST, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE EXECUTION OF CGI SO FAR THIS SEASON? 93 Responses

Just under 50% of responses seemed to indicate that they thought MAPPA was doing very well with the CGI utilized. A little over 15% stated that although it was not their favorite, they understood that it could be a lot worse. Other responses (in order) were being neutral about the CGI, not liking it, but understanding the need for its usage and folks who adamantly rejected 3D animation. 

I actually prefer CGI titans because of the way their movements looks, it looks almost slower, to me it fits very well with how the big titans are. Im not an anime guy at all so ive never seen cgi in other anime but i really like the way Mappa's CGI looks, it blends in very well. I dont like CGI people though, the shot with Jean throwing the marly soldier off the rooftop i didn't like very much.

I feel horrible saying this believe me... but I really vibed with the CGI up until this episode. I think maybe because it's the first time its been used on humans (OPM) rather then titans. I'm not massively put off though, I really apreciate the efforts this episode must have taken. TY Mappa

The episode is great no doubt, my only concern is the CG personally, as a 3D artist myself, I think I would prefer an all 2D medium like the battle at Stohess. Using 3D is fine as long as it blends seamlessly to the background, like kengan ashura, it's not perfect but bearable.

I honestly think that 2D will always 100% be better than cgi but I can understand why mappa is using cgi

It was fine in the other episodes, but in this episode, it looked overused and bit bad

HOW WAS EREN’S ROOFTOP SWAN DIVE? 94 Responses

When it came down to Eren’s swan rooftop dive (“Like a fallennn angel…”), the majority seemed to be impressed, with 68% giving it a score of 4 or higher. It was not a monolithic opinion however and many seemed also rated it poorly. Do better, Eren!

WHICH RETURNING CHARACTER’S ENTRANCE WAS YOUR FAVORITE IN THIS EPISODE? 94 Responses

The Survey Corps has returned! Of these reappearances, viewers most enjoyed Mikasa’s (48.9%), Levi’s (31.9%) and Sasha’s (14.9%) the most. Jean and Connie got a little less love, though we’re sure people were still happy to see them!

WHICH RETURNING CHARACTERS HAS THE BEST GLOW UP? 93 Responses

It would appear that the slight plurality sees Mikasa as having the best glow up out of the cast, followed by (in order) Eren, Sasha, Connie, Jean, Floch and Levi. The Old Captain doesn’t like to change up his style, we suppose. 

Eren didn't have a glow up- he had a glow down.

Mikasa can stomp on me please god

OF ALL THE ORIGINAL CAST, WE STILL HAVE NOT SEEM ARMIN, HANGE OR HISTORIA YET. WHICH OF THE THREE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING NEXT? 93 Responses

In relation to the previous question, we still haven’t seen 3 major members of the cast. Armin, Hange and Historia. When we asked which of the three you were most looking forward to seeing next, the slight majority (52.7%) expressed their excitement for seeing Armin again, followed by 11.8% wanting to see Hange most. Some others have also expressed their desire to see Historia again. 17.2% simply could not choose and 10.8% stated that they simply didn’t care about the 3 characters.

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE WARHAMMER TITAN? 90 Responses

The Warhammer received an overwhelmingly positive response, with the majority expressing much excitement over both its design and powers. 15.6% noted that the design was a bit too creepy for their liking, but the powers were awesome. And on the flip side, 10% noted the Titan’s design was rather cool, in contrast to its rather OP ability. A select few did not enjoy either aspect. 

Would probably enjoy it more if it belonged to someone that likely is not going to be just cannon fodder

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE NEW UNIFORMS? 92 Responses

The Survey Corps returned sporting new uniforms to much fanfare. 30.4% of respondents really enjoy the upgrade, finding the suits to be badass. 23.9% couldn’t find the words and just settled for pure hype. 20.7% enjoy the new uniforms just as much as they enjoy the classic uniforms. 12% felt it was a much needed upgrade, though 10.9% don’t care at all about the uniform change.

I like both but I prefer the old design

EREN SAYS TO MIKASA, “YOU GUYS ACTUALLY CAME.” THIS IS FOLLOWED UP BY MIKASA ASKING EREN TO COME HOME. DOES THIS INSINUATE THAT EREN WENT TO THE MAINLAND ON HIS OWN? 90 Responses

The circumstances of the Survey Corps’ presence on the mainland continues to be a mystery. When we asked about whether Eren was there alone or not a few episodes ago, the majority believed that he was either there alongside the Survey Corps or was sent there by them. Overall, the feelings seem to be the same (that Eren came alongside the Survey Corps). 45.6% think that Mikasa’s words may have some other meaning and that things are way too planned out to be coincidence. 18.9% believe that Eren did go rogue, while 15.6% think that Eren didn’t necessarily go rogue, but wasn’t working with them for a while either. The remaining 20% have already been spoiled on this particular plot point.

THE ATTACK ON LIBERIO SEEMS TO PARALLEL THE BREACH OF SHIGANSHINA. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS EVENT IN COMPARISON? 92 Responses

Now that both sides of the conflict have had their rude awakening, we asked how you guys felt about the two events comparatively. 33.7% feel that both attacks were tragic, but still feel more empathy toward the Eldians on Paradis than they do toward those who were raised on Marley. At a tie, 22.8% of respondents felt that the victims of the Liberio attack got what was coming with them, while another 22.8% felt about the same amount of sympathy for the victims on both sides. 10.9% feel this is way worse than what happened in Shiganshina and feel more sympathy for the victims in Liberio. 

I am yet to know the goals behind this attack.

Marley did this countless times so I don’t feel bad for them. I kind of feel for eldians tho bc they are brainwashed from a young age to give up their lives for a country who doesn’t give a shit about them. 

Honestly they deserve what Eren is doing to them. Excluding Falco, no one outside of Paradis has earned my sympathy, even with the additional context.

SADLY, UDO AND ZOFIA DID NOT SURVIVE THE ATTACK ON LIBERIO. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THEIR DEATHS? 91 Responses

Udo and Zofia have joined the ranks of characters who tagged along with the main cast for a while only to be killed off for character development. 25.3% anticipated at least one of them to die, but not both. Another tie on this poll, 24.2% stated that they were disappointed and was hoping to see more of them, while another 24.2% didn’t care about them at all. 14.3% are happy to ditch the focus on them in favor of more familiar characters, and 8.8% feel pure and utter devastation. 

Good riddance Warrior scum

Sad but allows for Gabi’s development 

sad but okay. death is common in this anime.

EREN AND FLOCH’S LAST INTERACTION IN S3 WAS A VERY TENSE ARGUMENT. NOW IT SEEMS FLOCH IS DEDICATED TO EREN’S CALL TO ACTION, SHIFTING THE “NECESSARY DEVIL” STATUS FROM ERWIN ONTO HIM. WHAT DO YOU THINK THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS LIKE NOW? 91 Responses

Eren and Floch were anything but BFF’s at the closing of season 3. Now Floch seems to be wholly devoted to Eren’s cause… What changed? 28.6% believe that nothing has actually changed in terms of their relationship, but that Floch simply just latched onto Eren’s fight in need of a new devil. 23.1% feel that they still aren’t friends, but are in more comfortable “ally” territory. 15.4% aren’t sure what to make of it. Smaller handfuls feel that they either grew to become friends and/or co-conspired to attack Liberio together. 22% are already spoiled on the details. 

Floch is easily persuaded...and annoying 🤷‍♀️

WE SEE GABI GRAB THE GUARD’S FUN AFTER WITNESSING SASHA KILL HIM. WHAT DO YOU THINK MIGHT HAPPEN? 90 Responses

Gabi moves headstrong into the fight, wanting to play her part in defending her hometown. A large chunk of anime only viewers have been spoiled on future developments for her character. But for those still in the dark - 24.4% feel that she will successfully kill a member of the Survey Corps. 21.1% aren’t sure what to expect, while 10% think she will only manage to injure someone in the Survey Corps. Smaller amounts feel she won’t be successful in any capacity or may even die herself.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

Epic episode, survey corps come back, OH YEAH, but I wished they didn’t use CGI on humans and bettered the CGI on Titans.

It really makes me sad how Eren is continuing the cycle of revenge by killing innocent Marleyan civilians, but it makes sense for his character. 

Real cool ep but w h e r e a r m i n

It sucks that I like the warriors and the Corp bc both of them are victims in different way so seeing them have to go head to head sucks. They all deserve better

SO great I loved it! However, I missed Reiner, Falco, and Zeke. I hope they're okay :-) RIP Udo and Zofia :-(

I think I need more dialogue between the old crew to really settle back in with them. I kinda believe that Mappa's still trying to 'click', they obviously can't just get it right immediately. Other then that I loved the titan scenes, more than ODM scenes 😔

This was a great episode and I was literally vibrating in my seat from excitement! I think MAPPA is doing a great job with the animation and the music works really well with the action. Can’t wait for the rest of the season!

I miss wit studio

Willy seems to have his first daughter really early, he looks like 30 !

I’d say the episode as a whole is a solid 8-9/10, the cgi in some parts really ruins the moment for me

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 88 Responses

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

[district2001]

The Ring that bounds us together

PAIRING: SVT (Mainly Wonwoo) x 14th Member (female)

GENRE: Domestic SVT?

WORDS: 1.5k

Summary: Wonwoo lost his SVT ring and Y/N decides to be a useful maknae, for once

A/N: Took me a while but I’m back. Thought lockdon was the best time to start writing again. But this time about SVT, cos i have become a massive carat since i left. Please also lemme know if u hv any requests. Xx

Ok. So one thing Y/N hated was a mess. Sure she could handle a spill here and there, some clothes on the designated chair, and even could tolerate 2 day old food still on the kitchen bench. But what she couldn’t stand was not seeing the floor of her living room.

The culprit. The one and only Jeon Wonwoo. The only person who chooses to sleep in the living room so that their dorm could have a gaming café set up in his room. Questionable? Very. But Coups and him made it work, so no one ever complained about having a bed in the middle of their shared living space.

Until today, where Y/N had come from her daily coffee run to find Wonwoo, shirtless with a towel around his waist, flinging clothes out of his cupboard, throwing his somewhat folded clothes into a sea of mess.

“Wonwoo-Oppa?”

“What?” Wonwoo didn’t even bother giving Y/N any eye contact as he continued emptying his closet like his life depended on it.

“What are you doing?”

Wonwoo didn’t even bother replying this time, instead moving over to the neighbouring cupboard to ransack it instead.

Grabbing the hair tie from her left arm, Y/N quickly placed her hair in a high pony-tail. “Mingyu Oppa won’t be very happy to come back and see this mess. Remember last time with Seokmin Oppa didn’t pack up the pillows after making that fort?”

Nothing. No Response.

Y/N shook her head, something was indeed troubling her friend. So much so, that he wasn’t giving the maknae the time of day.

If Wonwoo wasn’t going to reply to her and show her respect, she would do the same thing back. Passively of course. She wasn’t evil.

“Wonwoo-ya, do you want some help, doing whatever you’re doing?” Y/N would be OFFENDED if she didn’t get a response, but she knew better than to constantly try to get attention when it clearly wouldn’t be given. Although she was very curious to figure out the cause of this weird cleaning phase.

Luckily for her, not showing respect to her elders always guaranteed in her being called out for it. And today was no different.

“Firstly, it’s Oppa. I’m older than you. Here in SK we show respect to our elders. So add that suffix to my name.”

Y/N dramatically rolled her eyes, something which was clearly Jeonghan’s influence. Nevertheless, she sighed, signalling with her hands for Wonwoo to answer her question.

“I went to have a shower, then realised I didn’t have my ring on,” looking at Y/N from the corner of his eyes, through his glasses.

Y/N clearly didn’t see the issue. “Just tell our designers you lost the ring. Problem solved.”

Clicking her heels together, she started walking towards her room. Shouting “Clean up the mess before Mingyu sees. He’ll be more mad then our team.”

She chuckled before adding, “and he’s cooking us dinner so don’t make him mad. I’m looking forward to taco Tuesday.”

“I lost our team ring.” Wonwoo aggressively whispered.

Y/N stopped right before entering her room.

Lost the SVT ring. The one just given a couple months ago. Had she expected this from the members, not really. Had she expected it from Wonwoo, definitely not. Mingyu and Jun, possibly. Maybe. She still didn’t know how they had managed to keep there’s this entire time.

Y/n quickly walked back towards the mountain of clothes, just narrowly avoiding stepping on a leather jacket with metal spikes.

“What do you mean you lost it?”

“I don’t know. I went to go shower, and I realised it wasn’t there.”

“When’s the last time you realised it was on your finger? Did you hear a clanging sound anytime during the day? Did you post a picture today? Could it have been on your finger when you did?”

Y/N started bombarding Wonwoo with questions, something she had learned from watching far too many episodes of Criminal Minds.

Although the case this time didn’t have to do with a murder, but instead a very valuable ring.

“Umm no idea. Am I meant to? Uhhh… what was the last one?”

Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Have you asked the others?,” Y/N asked, despite knowing the answer.

“NO!” No member would admit to losing the ring, or years of jokes would be brought upon them.

She was sure that Wonwoo wouldn’t have told her, if he wasn’t in such a frazzled state.

Plus, she too had misplaced her ring for a day, opting to wear gloves so that none of her band-mates would catch her. Luckily, she found it between her bedsheets.

“Ok. Ok. Hmmmm. I’ll recheck the lounge, you go to the bathroom or wherever you’ve been in this apartment.”

Wonwoo trudged off, silently obeying the younger one.

The duo spent a good 2 hrs ransacking their dorm, trying to find the missing ring.

“Bro this is harder than finding a needle in a haystack… bro we should make a new saying,” Y/N groaned, falling back onto Wonwoo’s bed.

Wonwoo flopped beside her.

“You’re gonna get absolutely roasted by everyone. And I make no promises that I won’t join in”

“They won’t find out I lost it.”

“And how’s that? I might be an annoying maknae and tell them” Y/N smiled smugly.

“Well, for starters I could tell them that you’ve secretly been eating chips despite being diet buddies with Jeonghan”

“Pshhh. That’s nothing. Jihoon Oppa legit joined me last night. We ate his secret stash of snakes”

“Fine. I’ll tell them that you lost your ring aswell.”

“No I didn’t”

“Yes you did.”

“When did I? Have you noticed me not wear the ring? Don’t li-?”

“Firstly, you rattle on when you’re nervous.’ Y/N shut her mouth, before she could make her mistake more obvious, allowing Wonwoo to keep talking.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you wearing gloves to practise. And ONLY on your left hand.”

“W-Wh-What?” Y/N Stuttered. Not sure if admitting her mistake or continuing to lie would be her best option.

She chose the former. “I’ll keep quiet about you, and you keep quiet about me.”

Wonwoo grabbed his gloves from the mountain of clothes, and quickly slipped them on his hands.

“Look’s like we got ourselves a deal.”

The mood quickly sombered up when Wonwoo did a deep sigh and asked.

“What actually happens if I’ve lost my ring?”

“You get a new one?”

“No. But like…”

He trailed off to collect this thoughts.

“Would I get in trouble?”

“I mean Pledis might be a bit pissed off cos they need to spend money on another ring. But I’m sure they’ll do it without a doubt. It’s our brand.”

“No not pledis. I don’t give a flying shit about them. I meant the others.”

“Who the members.” Wonwoo nods his head in confirmation.

Y/N leans her head against the crook of his neck, “You’ll get bagged for it. But they won’t take it too seriously.”

“But the rings a symbol of our friendship and trust.” Trust Wonwoo to go all literature on her.

“Exactly. A symbol.”

Wonwoo looked at Y/N, clearly not understanding the connection.

Y/N smiled, finally outsmarting the group’s so-called genius.

“It’s a symbol. Not the real thing. Think of the Jjapaguri in ‘Parasite.’ It’s a mix of aspects of poor and rich, but even if it wasn’t included, the characters would be struggling to act rich.” Y/n finished proudly.

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, at least talk to someone who believes you. Like Chan. He believes the chicken comes before the egg. Idiot.”

Y/N jumped up. “Well, if I’m such an idiot, you can deal with this ring situation all by yourself.”

“Wait no.” Wonwoo quickly sat up on his bed. “You’re a genius. Brilliant. Smartest member.”

He tilted his head, “Happy?”

“Very” Y/N replied.

“Can you make some ramen when I chuck my clothes back in the drawers?”

“Fine. We can fill their stomachs up so they don’t ask too many questions?” Y/N held out her hand and dragged Wonwoo up.

20 minutes later, a living room where the floor was visible and 10 portions of msg-filled ramen was placed on the table, to greet their 5 other roommates.

Soon the door banged open, and numerous sweaty man-childs came tumbling in.

“Wonwoo you absolute idiot. We’re never gonna forget this” Seokmin said happily.

“What?”

Hoshi stepped out behind him, proudly holding up his pinky.

“Soonyoung, don’t you have your own dorm to-”

Wonwoo squinted. On the Performance leaders left pinky were 2 silver rings.

Wonwoo would only sheepishly smile, while pointing behind him.

“Hey, I cleaned the living room.”

[fridayfirefly]

Lost and Found [Part Eight]

Masterlist | Ao3

Time passed, and Marinette loved every second of it, especially the time she spent with her friends. By the time she graduated from collège and moved onto lycée, her group of friends had expanded. She, Nino, Kim, Alix, Chloé, and Adrien spent as much time as they could together. The group of six had started an unofficial language-learning club. Marinette, Nino, and Chloé all made a pact to learn English, their Soulmates' primary language. Kim, Alix, and Adrien chose Japanese as their language of choice. For a while, Marinette was exceptionally proud of herself for taking the initiative to learn English, until she learned that her Soulmate's actual native language was Arabic. It took only five minutes of begging for Nino to agree to teach Marinette Arabic. She didn't pick it up as naturally as she picked up English, but after three years, she got rather proficient.

Time passed, and Marinette yearned for her Soulmate. Every Friday night for three years, she spent with her five best friends in the world. They baked cookies, watched movies, and stayed up late talking about Soulmates. But there was always something missing - her Soulmate. Marinette desperately wanted to meet him, but she knew that neither of them was ready. They were both too young. Marinette's parents didn't want her to meet him until she was at least sixteen. Still, Marinette thought that she deserved to at least know his name. After all, he learned her name when they were fourteen. Marinette had slipped up and sent him a picture of one of her pieces of artwork, a piece with her signature at the bottom. When Marinette asked him to return the favor, he decided, citing that their previous agreement to not reveal names until they were sixteen was still in effect. Marinette knew he was right. Learning more information about him would only increase the temptation to try and discover his identity, and discovering his identity would only lead to her trying to meet with him. But understanding didn't make it any easier, not when she so desperately wanted to hold his hand and talk all night with him - in person, not through paper.

Time passed, and Marinette got better at being Ladybug. She and Chat Noir learned how to work together. At first, it was a little rocky. Marinette was her clumsy self, tripping over her yo-yo string and falling flat on her face every time she tried to use her new wings. Chat Noir was a good partner, though it took him some time to figure out how to work as a team. Eventually, they both perfected their roles as Paris's superheroes. Things only got better after the superhero duo revealed their identities to each other. Learning that Chat Noir was actually her friend Adrien Agreste was a relief - Marinette already had so much on her plate, and Adrien helped take some of the load off of it.

Time passed, and the burden of fighting Hawkmoth decreased. At first, fighting him felt like a full-time job. Marinette and Adrien had to transform at all hours of the day, and sometimes the fights would last hours and require multiple retransformations. For two sleep-deprived thirteen-year-olds, it felt like hell. But eventually, Hawkmoth's attacks decreased. A viral campaign, started by none other than Chloé Bourgeoise, called on the people of Paris to be kinder to each other, to help strangers in need, to do whatever they could to prevent akumas, instead of simply waiting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to fix everything. Amazingly, it seemed to work. Hawkmoth's akumas didn't stop entirely, but overall they grew less powerful, and eventually, less frequent. Tikki and Master Fu both had their own theories for Hawkmoth's gradual decline, but Marinette believed wholeheartedly that it was Chloé's doing.

Time passed, and Marinette changed. She started as an awkward thirteen-year-old, desperately trying to juggle her Ladybug responsibilities, her schoolwork, and her relationship with her Soulmate. Three years later, and Marinette was sixteen. Confident, capable, and ready for anything. She wasn't perfect, she knew that, but Marinette felt that she just might be prepared to meet Damian.

Time passed, and Marinette and her Soulmate passed notes constantly. Three years of notes required five separate shoe boxes just to hold them all. Every one in a while, Marinette would go back and read them all.

I played my first video game today and it was more enjoyable than I expected. My friend Jon got it for me. It's called Ultimate Mecha Strike III, and apparently, his Soulmate recommended it to him. It's really popular in France, but it hasn't caught on in the United States yet. It has a multiplayer mode, so if you play it too, maybe we could play together sometime. D.

After many months of waiting, my eldest brother finally took the engagement ring out of his sock drawer. If he doesn't propose soon I fear that I might have to do it for him. D.

The macarons you sent me this morning were absolutely heavenly. Unfortunately, I made the grave mistake of sharing them with my family. If you do not send more soon, there might be a riot in my house. D.

I passed my driving test this morning. Now that I finally have my license, my brothers will stop bothering me about my illegal driving. It's not my fault that where I live, you can only get legally licensed once you reach sixteen. Frankly, I don't think I should have had to abide by it because it's a rule made for children with poor risk assessment skills. My risk assessment skills are above average, and they have always been. D.

Happy Sixteenth Birthday, Marinette. I hope that you have a wonderful day today, and I hope that this year is the year we finally get to meet face to face. Damian W.

However, it wasn't until the day of Damian's seventeenth birthday, March 19th, that Marinette and Damian finally took the first step towards meeting each other in person.

On the morning of Damian's birthday, Marinette woke up early and headed down to the kitchen. Damian's favorite treat was Marinette's lemon raspberry macarons, so it was a birthday (and half-birthday) tradition that Marinette would bake him a whole batch and send them to him one-by-one throughout the day. The macarons were just a small gift for him, though. Marinette's real birthday gift for Damian was a project she had been working on for weeks. It had taken hours upon hours of practice just to become proficient enough at knitting to even think about beginning the project, but Marinette was nothing if not persistent, especially when it came to the people she cared about. Her gift to Damian was a knitted blanket, but not just any knitted blanket. It was made of soft dark blue and white wool. Marinette had painstakingly knitted it so that it contained the same constellations as would be above Paris on the night of Damian's birthday. So that tonight, even though we are miles apart, we can be under the same night sky. Marinette hoped he would like it. Her friends all assured her that he would (Nino, hopeless romantic that he was, was brought to tears when he read the note, which Marinette hoped was a good sign).

It wasn't until late that night when Marinette was sending the last macaron to Damian, that she finally decided to send her gift.

Every day, I am amazed by you, Marinette. Your creative talent astounds me every time I look at something you created. I will treasure this blanket forever. Damian.

Marinette blushed. The only downside of meeting Damian was that he would see exactly what his words did to her, specifically, the amount that she blushed on a daily basis just from reading the notes he sent to her.

Marinette was getting ready for bed when she received another note. She was immediately curious, as this one was in an envelope.

After the longest engagement in the world (3 years, can you believe it) my brother and future sister-in-law have finally set the date for their wedding. If you are able, I would love for you to be my date for the ceremony. You wouldn't have to worry about a hotel or transportation - my house has a spare bedroom that you can sleep in. You could stay for as long as you'd like, though I know that your internship at Agreste Fashion starts on the 29th, so I'm sure you'll want to be home in time for that. I hope that I can see you soon. Damian.

Attached to the note were a wedding invitation and a plane ticket. The invitation was beautifully designed, cream paper trimmed and decorated in gold foil. YOU'RE INVITED. The ▇▇▇ family invites you to celebrate the union between ▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇. The ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 20th at 5 o'clock at ▇▇▇ Gotham, NJ.

Marinette frowned. He had blacked out the names of his brother and his brother's fiancée, as well as the street address of the wedding location. "I'm not that obsessive," Marinette complained to herself. In fairness, while her actions used to border on stalking, she had mellowed out over the past few years, partially due to becoming Ladybug.

The plane ticket didn't have anything blacked out, though none of the information gave Marinette any hints to Damian's identity, other than the fact that he lived in or around Gotham. It was a standard ticket. American Airlines. The date and time of departure: Wednesday, June 17th, at midnight. The most surprising part of it was that he booked her a first-class seat.

"So sweet," smiled Marinette, "But you didn't have to."

There was one glaring problem in her going to Gotham for a week - Hawkmoth. But his attacks happened so infrequently, practically once a month at that point, that Marinette didn't think it should be her biggest concern. A quick internet search revealed that in the worst-case scenario, a nonstop flight from Gotham to Paris was seven hours. While Hawkmoth could certainly do damage in those seven hours, the miraculous cure would reverse all of the damage. Marinette knew it was slightly irresponsible of her, to put her Soulmate responsibilities over her Ladybug responsibilities, but she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. For once, she was going to make a selfish choice. Without even alerting Tikki of the situation, Marinette snagged a piece of notebook paper off of her desk and penned a note to her Soulmate.

To start, I would love to be your date to your brother's wedding. It might take a little bit of convincing to get Maman and Papa on board but I'm pretty sure I can get them to agree. I am sixteen now, after all. Also, you didn't have to spend so much money on the plane ticket. You're already letting me stay with you at your house. I would have been fine flying coach.

I’m glad you liked my birthday present. Hopefully, my next gift to you will be given in person. I’ll be counting down the days until I arrive in Gotham. ~~Marinette~~

Marinette sent the note off, going to bed before waiting for a reply. After all, she would need to be well-rested for a long day of convincing her parents to let her travel to Gotham alone.

——————————————————————

“No way. Gotham is one of the most dangerous cities in America. I’m not letting you travel there alone.”

"But Papa-"

"No."

Marinette frowned. Breakfast had gone a lot worse than she had expected. While she knew her Dad would put up a fuss, she hadn't anticipated him being so dead set against her going. It was Marinette own fault, for not preparing for the argument with her Dad, for trying to pass the trip off as "no big deal", for not doing her research on the crime rates in Gotham (apparently they were exceptionally high, nearly twice as dangerous as Paris). Marinette thought that the discussion would be fairly simple, but her Dad wouldn't budge.

"Tom, she has to meet Damian at some point. This is a good opportunity for her to get to know him and his family." Marinette's Mom was tentatively on her side, but Marinette could tell that even she wasn't fully on board with the plan.

I won't have Marinette traveling halfway across the world, unaccompanied, just to meet her Soulmate."

"What if I wasn't unaccompanied?" asked Marinette.

"It would be too difficult for us to take a week off from the bakery, you know that, Marinette," said Mom. "There's just no way that this trip of yours will work. I'm sorry, Sweetheart."

Marinette sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Fine," she whispered. Abandoning her half-finished breakfast muffin, Marinette grabbed her backpack and left the kitchen. "I'm off to school. Not sure whether or not I'll be home for lunch."

Marinette spent the walk to school holding back angry tears. Her parents promised her that she could meet her Soulmate when she turned sixteen. Yet now that she had the opportunity, they were opposed to it just because they didn't like the city he lived it. (In the back of her mind, Marinette knew that they were just looking out for her, but at that moment, missing the wedding felt like the end of the world).

"What's got you in such a bad mood?" asked Chloé as soon as Marinette sat down next to her.

The entire group of friends all had independent study together first thing in the morning, so all eyes were on Marinette when she pulled the envelope out of her backpack. Spilling the documents inside across the table, Marinette said, "Damian invited me to his brother's wedding, which would be wonderful, except my parents won't let me go because it's in Gotham."

"Gotham as in Batman and Robin?" asked Kim.

"Yep. Apparently, the crime rates are really bad, and my parents think it's too dangerous for me to go there alone."

Chloé picked up the invitation, furrowing her brow as she read it. "This is going to seem crazy, but look at this." Chloé grabbed a book out of her backpack, the copy of Pride and Prejudice that she had gotten so long ago, and opened up the front cover. Tucked inside was the same wedding invitation that Marinette had. "Yesterday, my Soulmate invited me to his brother's wedding as his plus one."

Marinette's eyes widened. "You mean-"

"Damian and J.T. are brothers."

Nino cleared his throat. "I got this from Jon this morning." He held the same invitation in his hands. "Jon says that his family is really close to the family of the groom, and Jon's brother is dating one of the groom's brothers."

"Just how many brothers are there in this family," Alix exclaimed.

"I suppose Damian has at least three," said Marinette. "He talked about his brother's a lot, but I never really connected the dots that there were three of them."

"Wait a minute," said Chloé. "If Nino and I go with you, you won't be going unaccompanied."

"We should all go," Nino suggested.

Kim shook his head. "Alix and I are spending all of June in Japan with Kagami, remember."

"Maybe next summer then," Chloé decided. "We should all take one big vacation somewhere next summer. Maybe a cruise."

While Chloé was brainstorming vacation ideas, Adrien had pulled out his phone to check his calendar. "Damn," he swore. "I have Fashion Week in New York City from the fourteenth to the twentieth. There's no way my Father would let me miss that."

"Maybe you could come afterward," suggested Marinette. "Gotham is only a two-hour drive from New York City. You could be in Gotham on the twenty-first, and you'll still get to spend time with us."

Adrien nodded. "I think that might work. Father would make me bring a bodyguard, though."

"Even better. There's no way my parents could complain about me being unaccompanied if I had a trained bodyguard with me for nearly all of the week."

"Then it's a plan," Chloé sounded excited.

"I can't wait," said Marinette, her mind already starting to daydream about her future trip to Gotham, to see Damian in person for the first time.

——————————————————————

Good news, Damian. I got my parents to agree to let me travel to Gotham. It's a bit of a long story, and I think I might wait to tell you about it until I can tell you in person. Also, you'll have to send me the dress code so I can start making my dress.

I'd like to stay in Gotham until the 27th if you're able to have me for that long. I'll leave early that morning, so I'll have a day to adjust to the jetlag.

There are 89 days left until I get on the plane to Gotham, which means that there are approximately 2136 hours until I meet you face to face. I might die from the wait, but I know that it will be worth it when I get to see your pretty face. ~~Marinette~~

Marinette felt her guilt grow every day that she didn't tell Tikki about the wedding. Marinette didn't like keeping secrets from Tikki, but she also knew what Tikki was like when she was disappointed, and it made her cringe away from the idea of telling her. But enough was enough, and a week after Marinette agreed to go, she brought it up to Tikki.

"Hey Tikki?"

"Yes, Marinette."

"How bad do you think it would be if Chat and I took a vacation in June."

Tikki narrowed her eyes in thought. "A train from London to Paris can make the journey in just under two hours. It's not ideal, but a vacation would be doable."

"I wasn't exactly thinking of England."

"Germany then? Spain? Switzerland? They're all a little further away, but another hour isn't the end of the world."

"I was thinking..." Marinette hesitated. "I was thinking Gotham. To meet Damian."

"No way."

"But Tikki, you don't understand."

"A flight from America to Paris would take far too long in an emergency."

"It's seven hours. You said another hour isn't the end of the world. What's another three or four?"

"Ladybug is not a hobby, Marinette. It's a full-time responsibility. You know that."

Marinette felt like her arguments were going nowhere. "Tikki, listen to me. Hawkmoth's attacks have been more and more infrequent lately. It's over halfway through March now, and we've only had four so far this year. All four were very weak akumas. Chat and I defeated them all in less than twenty minutes. Hawkmoth, for whatever reason, isn't attacking with the same level of danger as before."

"Hawkmoth is still a threat."

"I understand that, but a flight from Gotham to Paris is seven hours. While the akumas would cause damage during those seven hours-"

"-and that damage to Paris would damage the reputations of Ladybug and Chat Noir. The citizens of Paris will spend seven hours believing that they've been abandoned by Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"We can fix any physical damage. As for damage to our reputations, it wouldn't be that hard to record a message telling everyone to remain calm and wait for us to show up. It wouldn't be great for our reputations, that's true, but I’ve given the last three years of my life to Ladybug. I deserve to be Marinette for a little bit.”

“I- I- Fine,” Tikki sighed. “You and Chat do deserve a break. I’m sorry for being so unreasonable.”

“It’s not your fault. You’re just looking out for Paris, in case I get a little too wrapped up in my own life. We balance each other out.”

Tikki nodded, her smile returning. “Life is better with a little bit of balance.”

Taglist: @fanboy7794 @mikantsume @hetalia-lover-is-here @howtoshuckatlife  @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @redscarlet95 @derpingrainbow  @friedchickening @melicmusicmagic @beautym3 @kunstner1 @shizukiryuu @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @crazylittlemunchkin @black-streak @darkshadowguardian @mystery-5-5 @trubel43 @fandomfan315 @vincentvangoose @royalchaoticfangirl @mooshoon @drama-queen-supreme @kae690 @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @zoerayne2426 @littleredrobinhoodlum @lunar-wolf-warrior @dani-ari @sam-spectra @be-happy-every-day-please @xxmadamjinxx @interobanginyourmom @northernbluetongue @eliza-bich @romanoff-queen @scribblinggraveyard @dur55 @jeminiikrystal @sassakitty @miss-mysterys-blog @aegyobutpsycho2 @pirats-pizzacanninibles

[shadytreeangelfarm-blog]

Team Barclay (A Star Trek: The Next Generation/Voyager Fanfiction)

You are an engineering ensign with a specialty in holographic technology. When you were assigned to Enterprise, you mostly kept to yourself, but your attention would always be grabbed by a certain lieutenant who also worked in Enterprise’s engineering section, a certain Lt. Reginald Barclay, or “Reg” as his friends called him.

One day in engineering, you overheard Lt. Barclay talking to Lt. Commander La Forge about an ingenious solution Barclay had come up with, and you found yourself paying more attention to eavesdropping on their conversation, rather than focusing on your own work.

When La Forge walked away, you saw your opportunity to move over next to Barclay and peek at his work.

“Ensign!” he cried out as he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Is it true? Can you really re-align the graviton emitters to emulate the effect of a polaron burst?”

“Oh, well, I mean, in theory, I suppose, I mean we can’t say for sure until w-we try it.”

“That’s so cool! How did you come up with the idea?”

“Oh, well I-I-I-”

“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t be bugging you with stuff like this while you’re trying to work. I just-”

“No!”

You looked at Barclay, unsure of how to react to his outburst.

“I-I’m sorry ensign, it’s just, besides Geordi, no one’s really been interested in my work before.”

“Is this your first brilliant idea or am I the only one who knows a genius when I see one?”

Barclay stared at you with wide eyes, clearly unsure of how to respond to your question.

Realizing that Barclay was frozen, you spoke up.

“I should let you get back to work.”

You turned and started heading back towards your station.

“The holodeck!”

You stopped and turned around.

“The holodeck?”

“That’s where I came up with the idea. I was running a program and it just sort of… came to me.”

Barclay gave you a nervous smile and you nodded.

“What kind of program?”

“Oh, well it’s sort of, um, it’s a kind of, uh…”

“It was a private program. I get it. I’ve indulged in a few holodeck programs like that myself. Say no more.”

You then returned to your work station and worked the rest of your shift without exchanging another word with Barclay. You thought about maybe saying something to him on your way out of engineering and back to your quarters, but he was already gone by your quitting time.

A few days went by, and you found that when you were in engineering at the same time as Barclay, the two of you would steal glances at each other, and you would both quickly look away flustered whenever you would make eye contact. This behavior didn’t go unnoticed by a certain Lt. Commander.

“Mind if I sit here?”

You looked up from your meal and saw Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge standing next to your table with a tray of food in hand.

“Sir!” you blurted out through a mouth full of food as you stood while trying to cover your mouth.

“At ease, Ensign.”

You sat back down.

“Well?”

You realized he’d ask you a question you never answered.

“Yes! I mean, yes you can sit here, so no I don’t mind!”

La Forge sat down across from you and you kept eating, but you were very tense and could only eat small bites of food at a time.

“I have a favor to ask, Ensign. And I want to make this clear. If you don’t feel comfortable doing what I’m about to ask you, you don’t have to. It’s not an order.”

“O-Okay. Sure. Um, what is it?”

“I’m worried about another one of the engineers under me. I think you know him, Lt. Barclay.”

You nearly choked on your tea at the mention of the unexpected name.

“What’s wrong with him, is he okay?”

“Physically, yes. But… he seems kind of lonely.”

“Lonely?”

“He’s always spending his free time in the holodecks, alone, and I think it would benefit him to have a real person to spend time with, whether it’s in or out of the holodeck.”

“Okay…”

“I’ve been reviewing your background and I see that you specialize in holographic technologic, which I know is something Reg is equally passionate about.

“I think the two of you could both benefit from getting to spend some time with each other outside of your regular duties. Knowing Reg though, he’s very shy, and I don’t think he’d ever feel comfortable asking you to the holodeck, but I know you designed some holodeck programs yourself, so if you have one you wouldn’t mind running with Reg, do you think you could ask him to spend time with you there?”

You sat there in silence for a few seconds. You started running different programs you were familiar with in your head, trying to think of a suitable one to share with Barclay.

“Yes. I’ll do it. I’ll ask him, anyway.”

Geordi smiled, and then the two of you spent the rest of your meal making small talk.

The next day, when you reported to engineering for your shift, you saw that Lt. Barclay was already there, hard at work.

“Good morning, lieutenant,” you said to him, stopping right next to his work station.

“E-ensign! G-g-good morning.”

“So I was thinking about what you said the other day, a-about the holodeck. Um, I hope this doesn’t seem improper or out of line, but I have this new program that I’ve been wanting to try out, but it’s designed for two people as opposed to just one. I don’t really know anyone else on Enterprise that well, and since you also seem to like the holodeck I was wondering if maybe you, um, would want to uh, run the program with me?”

“Oh, su-sure.”

“Really?! Great! Cool!”

You started to walk away before realizing you left out an important detail, and you had to double back.

“How about tonight? I already have one reserved starting at 1830.”

“Which holodeck?”

“The third one. Oh, and you can wear whatever you like. I’ll be going in street clothes but you can wear your uniform if that makes you more comfortable.”

“I-I’ll probably change, if you are.”

“Great! I’ll see you then!”

You worked the rest of your shift, and when it ended, you saw Barclay was already gone. You only got off thirty minutes before your reservation started, so you went to your quarters to change, and then hurried off to the holodeck to find Barclay already waiting for you outside, wearing civilian clothes.

You loaded the program and the two of you headed inside.

“So… what kind of p-program is this?”

“It’s a location-driven program, set in Europe. I’ve never been to that part of Earth so I always wanted to explore it. But I always found exploration to be kind of dull when you do it by yourself, and generating a hologram to accompany you is never the same as walking through it with an actual person.”

“O-oh, right, of course.”

You smiled. “You don’t agree, do you?”

“Well, I-I-I-”

“That’s okay lieutenant, you don’t have to agree with me. People are allowed to have differing opinions.”

“Right. Of course.”

You took Lt. Barclay’s hand in your own, and he looked down at the hands with a panicked look.

“I-I’m sorry, that was presumptuous-”

“No, i-it’s okay.”

The two of you walked through the candlelight gardens of Europe, and were both dazzled by a fireworks display. By the time your holodeck time was up, you felt a profound connection to Lt. Barclay, and you hoped he felt it too. Moving forward, the two of you would look back at this moment as your first date.

After dating Barclay, or “Reggie” as you called him, for over a year, you walked into engineering for one of your shifts like it was any other day.

“Good morning!” Reggie called to you when you entered his line of sight.

“And good morning to you too, Reggie.”

Ever since you started dating, Reggie was always happy to see you each morning when you both worked in engineering, but he was unusually chipper today.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he said, walking over to your station.

“Oh?”

“I’ve been working on a special program, and it’s finally ready.”

“Ooo, so when do I get to see this special program?”

“I was thinking tonight, if that’s all right.”

“Tonight works. When do you have a reservation for?”

“1900 hours, holodeck 1.”

“Sounds perfect. What should I wear?”

“It’s a formal wear program.”

“What, seriously? You mean I get to wear a sparkly dress and do my hair all fancy and non-regulation-like?”

Reggie gave out a lighthearted laugh.

“Yes, I thought you might like it.”

“But those types of programs aren’t really your style, I thought?”

“But you like them, so I thought-”

“Say no more,” you said, realizing your boyfriend was getting jittery and nervous. “I’ll meet you outside holodeck 1 at 1900 hours.”

You smiled at each other, forcing yourselves to not share a kiss while in uniform and on duty.

When the time came, you met Reggie outside of holodeck 1, and gasped when you saw him. There he was, standing in a tuxedo with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“For M’lady,” he said. “You look lovely.”

“You look handsome. Thank you Reggie.”

Reggie loaded his holodeck program, and escorted you inside by the arm. You had to gasp again when the holodeck doors opened and inside you saw a ballroom, where dozens upon dozens of holographic couples were dancing with masquerade masks on.

“Reggie, this is amazing! And you created this all by yourself?”

“Well, I may have had a little help from Lt. Commander La Forge.”

“Really Reggie, did you go through all this trouble, just for my sake? No, I don’t believe it, there has to be another reason you made this program, you’re just showing it to me, right?”

“No, I-I made this for you. Just for you.”

You felt so happy that you started to cry. Reggie noticed and wiped the tear away from your eye.

“Reggie, I love you.”

“And I love you. So much.”

The two of you kissed and then Reggie had the computer generate masquerade masks onto each of your faces and the two of you danced. Sure, Reggie was a little clumsy and awkward, but he still did surprisingly well.

After you two danced until you were both out of breath, he led you to a chair and sat you down.

“This was really fun, Reggie. Thank you.”

“Computer, load chapter 2.”

You gave Reggie a puzzled look as your surroundings disappeared and were replaced by a moonlit lakeside, and the chair beneath you was replaced by a painted white park bench, adorned with pink roses.

“Reggie…”

A holographic band played slow and romantic music in the grass nearby, and Reggie got down on one knee in front of you.

“This past year has been the best year of my life, and I have you to thank for that. You are the most incredible person I have ever known, and getting to know you has been a privilege and an honor. I would love if you would do me the honor of becoming my wife.”

“Reggie!”

Reggie reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black box, and opened it in front of you.

“[Your Full Name], will you marry me?”

“Reggie! Yes! Yes, of course!”

You quickly plucked the ring out of the box, slipped it onto your finger, and practically pounced on Reggie with a passionate kiss.

The two of you were quickly married after that. You had a simple ceremony aboard the Enterprise in the ship’s mess hall. You were both given leave for your honeymoon by Captain Picard, but you two didn’t take one step off Enterprise, choosing instead to spend your honeymoon in one of the ship’s holodecks. After your honeymoon, you moved into shared quarters, and aside from the fact the two of you were now married, it was business as usual.

Two years into your marriage, you received temporary reassignment to another starship, Voyager, which was preparing to embark on a mission to capture a group of rebels known as the Maquis.

You returned to your quarters after receiving your orders, and found your husband there.

“Welcome home, my love,” he said to you as he approached you and kissed you. He then realized you were silent and not smiling. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

“I’m being temporarily reassigned. To another starship. We’ll be rendezvousing with them in two days.”

“For how long?”

“Only a week.”

“A whole week?”

When you realized your husband was just as distressed about this as you were, you gave a lighthearted smile.

“This is why I love you,” you said. “You see a week apart as an eternity too, don’t you? So when I treat it like it’s forever, you won’t think I’m being ridiculous.”

“I… don’t suppose I get to come with you?”

“I’m afraid not. Apparently Starfleet Headquarters thinks we can survive apart for that long.”

“I don’t think I’ll make it. I’ll have Dr. Crusher write a note that says it’s medically important that I have to go with you.”

“Reggie…”

“Or better yet, I’ll have her write you a note that excuses you.”

You kissed Reggie and then wrapped your arms around his neck and stared up into his eyes.

“I can’t say I like this idea any better than you do, but I think we can survive a week apart. Besides, think of how… grateful... I’ll be to be back by your side at the end of that week.”

“Oh really? And just… how grateful would that be?”

You laughed and then whispered in his ear, “Why don’t I show you?”

You and Barclay went to your bed, and you showed him exactly what he could expect in a week’s time. Then, when the time came, you said good-bye to your husband to join the crew of the starship Voyager. Lo and behold, you would wind up being gone for a lot longer than just one week.

As the time you were supposed to be returning to Enterprise approached, Captain Jean-Luc Picard got a disturbing communique from Starfleet Headquarters, and called Counselor Troi into his ready room to help him break the news to Lt. Barclay.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, lieutenant, but we’ve just received news about Voyager.”

“Voyager? M-my wife was on that ship.”

“Yes, we’re aware. Voyager… has been declared missing.”

“Missing? Missing, what does that mean? How-how does a starship with over one hundred people go missing?”

“We don’t know. They’ve launched a search, and examined the location of Voyager’s last known position. So far they haven’t found any evidence that Voyager’s been destroyed.”

“Oh God…”

“There’s also no trace of the Maquis ship that Voyager was sent to apprehend. Needless to say, we will not be able to rendezvous with Ensign Barclay as we originally intended. I’m sorry.”

“I know this is a lot to process, Reg. If you ever need someone to talk to-”

“I shouldn’t have let her go.”

“Reg, you had no way of knowing this would happen. What happened to Voyager could have just as easily happened to Enterprise. You can’t blame yourself.”

“I didn’t want her to go, but I was too afraid to ask her to stay here.”

Reggie started to cry, so Troi delicately placed a hand on his back and said, “why don’t we go to my office and talk more about this there?”

Over the next few years, Reggie had a difficult time. After months of searching with nothing to show for it, Starfleet called off the search for Voyager, and declared everyone on board dead, including you. Since there was no evidence Voyager had been destroyed, Reggie clinged onto hope that you were still alive, somewhere, and he would see you again. Meanwhile, your family held a funeral for you that Reggie attended, and at Counselor Troi’s urgings he also attended a memorial service Starfleet held for all of Voyager’s crew. Reggie tried to hold on to the idea that you were still alive, as if it were a life preserver keeping him afloat, but the longer that Voyager remained missing without a trace, the harder it became for Reggie to keep clinging onto that hope.

Meanwhile, you were doing well for yourself on Voyager. You missed your husband terribly and wanted nothing more than to return to the alpha quadrant to be reunited with him, but at the same time you were finding it hard not to enjoy the unique opportunities being stranded in the delta quadrant afforded you. You got to work on developing new holo-novels for the crew, which were widely enjoyed. You also fell back on some old medical training from your academy days, as you originally planned to be a nurse before falling in love with holographic technology, and got to help the doctor out in sick bay. Spending all that time with him also opened your mind to the possibilities of what you could do with holograms. It also benefited him because if he ever had a malfunction, his acting nurse was also an engineer who could get on the problem right away.

Finally, after years of being stranded, Voyager came across an array that allowed them to send the doctor to the alpha quadrant.

“Incoming transmission from Earth for Lieutenant Barclay,” Enterprise’s computer rang out. Barclay, who had been asleep, stirred himself awake, and sat down at the computer in his quarters with bleary eyes.

“Patch it through,” he said before he yawned. When Barclay saw a Starfleet admiral on the other side, he quickly straightened himself up. “Admiral!”

“At ease, lieutenant. I’m here because I’ve been given the task of spreading the good news to the families of Voyager’s crew.”

“Good news? A-about Voyager?”

“We’ve just received word from them, that they’re alive and well. Quite some ways away, I’m afraid, and I can’t promise you that your wife is still alive as we don’t know what sort of casualties Voyager has taken, but I’ve been asked to notify all the families, and let them know that we’re planning to transmit them letters from home, and I want to know if I can count on your contribution.”

“Yes. Yes, of course! I’ll get started on it right away!”

Deanna Troi was just getting ready to turn in for the evening when someone rang her office door.

“Come in!”

As soon as the words began to leave Troi’s mouth, Lt. Barclay bursted through the door with the largest smile Troi had seen on him since his wife went missing years ago.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Reg,” she said, reflecting his smile back at him.

“I am in the best of good moods, Counselor. I just received the most amazing news from Starfleet Headquarters!”

“Oh?”

“It’s Voyager! They found Voyager!”

“Reg, that’s amazing! I hadn’t heard the news!”

“They said that they don’t know yet how many casualties Voyager has suffered, so there might still be a chance that my wife is dead after all… but they found Voyager, and they’re collecting letters from all the crew’s family and they’re going to send them to Voyager.”

“That’s really fantastic news. Do you know what you’re going to say in yours?”

“I’ve done better than that, Counselor. I’ve already sent my letter.”

“I hope she gets to read it. I’m sure after being separated from you for such a long time, she’ll be glad to hear from you.”

“I hope so, too. Well, anyway, I didn’t want to disturb you, I was just so excited I felt like I needed to tell somebody.”

“And I’m glad you know I’m here for the good, not just the bad.”

You were eating your replicated macaroni and cheese in Voyager’s mess hall when Neelix walked in, carrying a large box.

“All right everyone, I have more letters!” he announced.

You gulped and listened to the names Neelix called out until you heard yours. You immediately jumped up from your seat and grabbed the padd Neelix held out to you, and sure enough, it was a letter from your Reggie.

You took it back to your seat and didn’t know what to do. You hadn’t finished your food and you wanted to, but you also wanted to read the letter right away, but felt like you should do that from the privacy of your own quarters. After all, you had no idea what your husband was going to say, and what sort of outward reaction you might have to reading his words.

You sat the padd down next to your food and quickly started scarfing it down while stealing glances at the letter, despite your best efforts to save it until you could return to your quarters.

Dear [Your First Name],

They say that they don’t know who on Voyager’s crew is still alive, so I don’t know if this letter will reach you, but I really hope it does.

You grabbed your two padds, the one you brought to the mess hall with you and the one Neelix just gave you, and carried them with you to the replicator to recycle your dishes. You then left the mess hall and proceeded to the turbo lift.

The last few years have been difficult to say the least. Oh, baby, I miss you so much. I always believed that you were still alive, somewhere, and I hope that we’ll be able to see each other again. Starfleet declared you dead, you know. And we had a funeral for you.

You felt tears well up and you had to force your gaze away from the padd. When the turbolift reached its destination, you stepped off and went into your quarters, and sat down on your bed to finish the letter.

Your mom and dad were both there, together in the same room, if you can believe it. Your mother was crying and your dad actually put his arm around her to comfort her. You would have been touched to see it. I wanted to take a picture for you but I was afraid someone might see me. I’m sorry.

That made you laugh.

I’ve dealt with loneliness, before you came into my life, but nothing compared to the loneliness that I felt after you were lost. I miss being able to hold you in my arms, the smell of your hair after a sonic shower, the way “I love you” sounds in your voice, and so much more. So much.

They say you’re in the Delta Quadrant, and that even if you are alive, I may never see you again. I can’t believe that’s true. If there is anything that I can do to bring you back home to me, baby, believe it, I’m going to do it.

There’s so much I want to say to you but they’re limiting how long these letters are. I’m hoping we get to talk to each other again soon. I love you so much.

Love, Your Reggie

You hugged the padd close to your chest after you finished reading the letter, and proceeded to re-read it many more times over the course of Voyager’s journey.

While you were continuing your life on Voyager with a new boost to your moral and renewed vigor, Barclay had worked his way into Project Pathfinder, a group of Starfleet on Earth dedicated to finding Voyager the shortest route home possible.

While working round the clock and spending as little time at his new apartment on Earth as possible, Barclay wound up creating a new holodeck program to run at the lab’s holodeck. There, he recreated Voyager as he knew it to be, with a hologram of his beloved wife as well.

“I missed you so much, Reggie,” the hologram of you said to Reggie.

“And I missed you, too,” he said, hugging the hologram tightly. Reggie and the hologram of you then went into holographic recreations of your old quarters from Enterprise, and got into the bed together. The two of them then began to engage in foreplay, but Reggie broke himself away from the hologram and instructed the computer to delete your character.

“It’s just not the same…” he whispered to himself before leaving the quarters to rejoin the other holographic crewmates. He then restored your hologram, but kept the physical contact to merely touching.

“Reg, I think you need some time off,” his boss at Pathfinder wound up telling him one day.

“Sir, with all due respect-”

“I think you’re getting too close to Voyager, and you’re losing perspective.”

“M-my wife is on that ship, and I promised her-”

“That is exactly my point, Reg. I think you’re too obsessed with getting Voyager home to see straight. Personally, I can’t say I blame you. If it were my wife on that ship, I’d be desperate to get her home too, but that doesn’t change the fact that you can’t be objective. I tried to give you some leniency because I felt sympathy for your circumstances, but it seems to me like you’ve abused that privilege.”

“Sir, I promise you, everything I do in the holodeck is for Voyager.”

“Is that right? Reg, I’m sorry, but I’ve already made up my mind. As of this moment, you are no longer part of the Pathfinder project, and I’m restricting your access to this lab.”

“No, please sir, I-”

“Come on Reg… don’t make me call security.”

A devastated Reginald Barclay left the lab, and returned to his apartment, where he was visited by Deanna Troi.

“Deanna! Thank you so much for coming, I’m sorry to disrupt your shore leave with Commander Riker.”

“Nonsense! Will doesn’t mind. So how are things going? I have a feeling you didn’t call me here just to catch up.”

“No… oh it’s terrible Deanna. I’ve become obsessed with Voyager.”

“Obsessed? What makes you choose that word?”

“My commanding officer used it when he took me off the Pathfinder Project.”

“He removed you? Why? Doesn’t he know there’s no one more invested in getting Voyager home than you?”

“Oh he knows, and according to him, that’s exactly what the problem is.”

“Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened?”

Reg took a deep breath before he told Troi about looking for a way to at least communicate with Voyager, but then his boss didn’t like the idea because it was purely theoretical. He then went over his boss’s head to propose the idea to an admiral, who also happened to be the father of Voyager’s helmsman.

“Did you at least apologize to him for embarrassing him in front of the admiral?”

“Well no. I might have gone into the holodeck, and ran the Voyager simulation.”

“Oh Reg…”

“Now I know what you’re thinking, Counselor, and this wasn’t a relapse of my holo addiction.”

“Then what was it?”

“When I lost my wife to the Delta Quadrant, and then I heard that she had been found, I wanted nothing more than to do everything in my power to help that effort, to hurry and bring her home. I was so focused on that goal that I left Enterprise to join the Pathfinder Project. But we’ve made no real progress and my ideas aren’t given the time of day, so it’s starting to feel like instead of getting closer to my wife, I just walked away from my friends - my family - on Enterprise. So instead of gaining back what I lost, I-I lost even more.”

“Life is full of calculated choices, and there will always be risks involved. We’re only human, we can’t always know what the best choice is. We just have to make the ones we believe are right and hope for the best outcome.”

“I suppose you’re right, as usual.”

“So. What happened after the briefing with Admiral Paris?”

“I went to his office and tried to propose my idea directly to the admiral. He said he would review it.”

“That’s great!”

“No, it’s not great! That’s just what admirals say to get rid of someone, politely. He had no intention of reviewing my plan.”

“I’m sorry, Reg.”

“I’m sure he told my boss because that’s why I got removed from the project.”

Reg’s face contorted as he began to cry.

“Hey, it’s all right, Reg.”

“No, it’s not all right. I sent a letter to her and I promised her that I would do everything in my power to bring her home, but I made a mistake and now there’s nothing I can do.”

“Now I have a hard time believing that!” Troi said. “Even if you got removed from Pathfinder, I believe that you can still put your ideas to good use.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.”

Unbeknownst to Counselor Troi, her words inspired Reg to take action that very night, after she left his apartment. Reg used his technical know-how to hack his way into the Pathfinder lab, and put his plan into action anyway. Unfortunately, his boss was made aware of Barclay’s break-in, and sent security officers to stop Reg. He had to duck into his holographic simulation of Voyager to shake them long enough for the Midas Array to open up a micro wormhole, and get a transmission through to Voyager.

Meanwhile, on that ship that Barclay was desperate to contact, you found yourself in an unusual circumstance that required you to be on the bridge. Lt. Torres, your commanding officer aboard Voyager, had assigned you to upgrade the bridge’s systems, and as serendipity would have it, you happened to choose this exact moment to complete those upgrades.

“Captain, I’m receiving a transmission,” Kim said. “It’s from Starfleet.”

Your ears perked up at the sound of that last word.

“Well, let’s hear it, Mr. Kim,” Captain Janeway said.

When you heard that transmission, it was even more wonderful than you could have imagined. You never would have guessed, but that transmission was coming from none other than your own husband.

“This is Lieutenant Reginald Barclay. Come in, Voyager.”

“Lieutenant Barclay?” Captain Janeway asked as she looked at you.

“That’s my husband! My Reggie…”

“Open a channel,” Captain Janeway commanded. Kim did as asked.

“Lieutenant Barclay, this is Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. Are you receiving this? I repeat, are you receiving this?”

Back on Earth, just as Barclay had been apprehended and was about to be escorted off the premises of the Pathfinder Project, everyone froze when they heard Janeway’s response to Barclay’s illicit transmission.

“Well, Mr. Barclay? I believe that’s for you.”

Reg gulped and said, “Voyager, this is Lt. Barclay. We hear you. A-are you all right?”

“We’re doing better now that we’ve heard from you! I have someone here who has a few words she’d like to say.”

Janeway turned to look at you.

“Me?” you mouthed to the captain. She nodded and gestured for you to speak.

“Hello? Reggie?”

When Lt. Barclay heard his wife’s voice over the speakers, a wave of relief washed over him. He was so moved by those simple words that he nearly broke down into tears, but he composed himself so he could speak.

“Hi baby. It’s so good to hear your voice.”

“It’s good to hear yours, too.”

“There’s so much… catching up we have to do, but we don’t have a lot of time, and there’s someone else here who wants to say a few things.”

“Reggie!”

You paused just long enough to make sure you had his attention, but not long enough for him to say anything.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. So much.”

You felt tears well up in your eyes as you could hear that your husband was choking up as he said those last words.

The next person to talk from Earth was Admiral Paris, your Lt. Paris’s father. He spoke to Janeway instead of his son, and you didn’t hear what any of them said. You zoned out, replaying your short but sweet conversation that you just had with your husband. You couldn’t even resume the work you were doing before his transmission came through, you just sort of sat down on the steps of the ship and kept replaying that conversation, trying to picture what he must of looked like when he said what he said, and heard what you said.

After the transmission ended, Reggie was satisfied with hearing you say, “I love you,” and was ready to face whatever punishment was going to befall him. He could survive off those simple three words, spoken in the voice of the woman of his dreams, for him and him alone, but lucky for him he didn’t need to worry about that. His methods weren’t exactly commendable, but he impressed his boss enough to have him reinstated on the Pathfinder Project.

You returned to reality when the Captain approached you where you were sitting, but instead of demanding you move or get back to work, as you feared she might, she was wearing a smile, and asked you to join her in the mess hall for a little celebration.

You and the rest of the Voyager crew gathered around the Captain as she announced that you had just made successful contact with Earth.

“And we all have a certain ensign’s husband to thank,” she said with a smile as she looked right at you.

“To Lieutenant Reginald Barclay!” you cried happily as you lifted the champagne glass you held in your hand.

“I want to hear all about this Reginald Barclay,” Captain Janeway said.

“I was pouring through his medical record, and I saw that he’s been treated for-”

“Doctor!” you cried out, cutting him off. “With all due respect, I believe that the Captain was asking me.”

You then spent that night telling your Voyager crewmates all about your husband, from stories you’d heard about him from before you two met, to your whole romance, and everything of interest he’d been up to in the years of your marriage before your reassignment to Voyager.

As time went on, you and Barclay exchanged letters to each other whenever you could. When the doctor had Voyager send him to Jupiter Station to cure Dr. Zimmerman, he and Barclay talked about you. The doctor informed him of how you were doing, and what a fantastic job you were doing filling the roles of nurse, engineer, and holo novelist. When the doctor returned and you heard that he had spent some time with your husband, you asked him about how he was, and the doctor told him he was doing well for himself, but still missed you terribly.

When a datastream from Earth was missed one month, you feared the worst. However, when you received it the following month, and it turned out to be a hologram of your husband, you understood. You were happy to see him, but were a little put off by how different he was from the Reginald Barclay you remembered.

“No offense,” the doctor said to you after holographic Reg left sick bay with the doctor’s mobile emitter, “but there is something I really don’t like about that hologram.”

“It’s not just you. That hologram may look and sound like my Reggie, but it sure doesn’t act like the real McCoy.”

As it turned out, Reggie’s hologram was meant to be sent the prior month, but had been intercepted by a Ferengi ship that reprogrammed it, and waited a month to send it in place of the Pathfinder Project’s intended transmission for that month. Much to Reggie’s embarrassment, he had accidentally leaked this information to a Dabo girl who had posed as Reggie’s friendly new neighbor. He was embarrassed about how this might look, especially since he was a married man with a wife stranded on the opposite side of the galaxy, so he begged everyone involved with the debacle to keep it on the down low. Voyager’s crew would never know why the holographic Reggie would go on to betray Voyager and attempt to kill them all, but luckily they figured out what the hologram was up to in time to foil his plans, and then deactivate him indefinitely.

“Do you have any idea what could have caused your husband’s hologram to behave the way it did?”

“No,” you truthfully told Captain Janeway. “I can assure you that Reggie - Lt. Barclay would never have programmed that hologram to do that.”

“Your husband’s integrity isn’t in question here, Ensign. I’m just curious, is all.”

“I know, Captain. I’ve been pouring over it myself and the only answers that make sense to me are that Lt. Barclay programmed it to get Voyager home, but something went wrong in its programming to make it not realize that the method it proposed was hazardous to the crew, or…”

“Or?”

“Or someone who wanted to harm Voyager found out about my husband somehow, and sent us a hologram of him as a way to trick us.”

“But who would have enough knowledge of your husband and our situation, and the know how to pull something like this off, and has the grudge to want to?”

“That’s why I’m leaning towards my first theory, Captain. My husband is good and knows his way around a hologram, but he isn’t perfect. Plus, when it comes to me, I’m a little ashamed to admit I tend to cloud his judgement. Knowing him, it’s possible that he rushed to get that hologram programmed in time to be sent as the datastream, and didn’t take the time to carefully review its subroutines. Or he worked such late hours that his sleep deprivation prevented him from catching mistakes a well-rested Barclay would have no trouble compensating for.”

“Well, hopefully you can give him a stern talking to the next time you get the chance.”

You smiled. “I certainly shall.”

Soon enough, you and the rest of Voyager’s crew got to draw lots in order to determine the order that everyone got to have video calls with loved ones from home. When your turn came, you reported to Astrometrics, and felt your heart beating so fast, it was ready to burst out of your chest.

When Reggie’s face appeared on the view screen, you felt butterflies in your stomach and your face went flush. As soon as you both saw each other, you both got wide smiles and were so happy that you wanted to cry, even though a single word hadn’t been spoken between the two of you.

Though the two of you didn’t have a lot of time, you made the most of every second. He told you about the new apartment, and how he saved all of your belongings for you, and everything was all set up for you to come home any day now, though there was still no plan of getting you home any faster than going through the long way. You told him about the holo novels you’d written and your experiences working in sick bay. You also answered the questions he had about things on Voyager, like what Neelix was like, how the Maquis had integrated themselves into the Starfleet crew, etc. etc.

When Seven of Nine warned you that your time was about to expire, the two of you quickly exchanged “I love you”s as your good-byes.

You walked out of astrometrics that day with a skip in your step, and found that every night, until you arrived back at Earth, you played that video conversation in your head as you drifted off to sleep.

When Voyager did arrive back on Earth, and you realized that it had happened - and happened for real - you became a hyperactive nervous wreck. You were going to finally see your husband again, after being separated for seven long years! Luckily your captain took Starfleet protocols very seriously, so at least you knew that if you had to wear your uniform at touchdown, what to wear would be one less thing to worry about.

You packed up your things in a small backpack, recycling everything into the replicator that you felt you didn’t need. After all, you didn’t want something as annoying as a suitcase to get in the way of your special reunion.

You gathered with everyone you had spent the last seven years getting to know in Voyager’s cargo bay, and when they opened the doors, you were greeted with a huge crowd of people, confetti, balloons, streamers, and a roar of applause.

You immediately started scanning the faces of all the people gathered until you spotted him - your husband, Lt. Reginald Barclay.

“Reggie!” you cried out. At the sound of his name, he turned to you and put on the biggest smile. You ran to him and the two of you embraced and held each other tighter than you had ever held each other before. Once you pulled away from each other, you then shared a passionate kiss, and then embraced again.

“Oh, Reggie, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, no baby, you have nothing to be sorry about.”

“When I left, I only meant to be gone for seven days, not seven years.”

You started to cry and Reggie held you close and let you cry into his shirt. You were so excited to be back together that you skipped all the “Welcome Home, Voyager!” celebrations and ceremonies, and let Reggie take you straight back to your new apartment, where you were finally able to show him how grateful you were to be back together with him, and you were very grateful.

After your ordeal on Voyager, you two vowed to each other that you would be staying on Earth - permanently - but if for some reason either of you were asked to go off world, you would go together, or resign your starfleet commissions - just in case.

Not long after your big reunion with Reggie, you started feeling a little sick, so you had him go with you to a certain doctor’s office.

“Well there’s no need to worry,” Voyager’s EMH said after examining you. “You aren’t sick. Though you should avoid strenuous activities and be more conscious of what you eat for the next eight months.”

“I don’t understand,” Reg said.

“The two of you are about to become parents. Congratulations.”

“Parents? You mean… I-I-I’m going to be a f-father?”

“That’s usually how it works, yes.”

You had been feeling overjoyed and content since the doctor shared the news with you, but when you looked at Reggie he seemed… odd. At least, he certainly wasn’t smiling.

“Reggie, are you okay?”

“Hmm? Me? Oh, I-I’m fine, really. I’m not freaking out.”

“Are you sure? Cause it kind of looks like you are.”

You then looked at the doctor and thanked him, before you and Reggie left his new Earth office together.

“Reggie… I thought we talked about this. Aren’t you happy? Excited? Why do you seem so devastated?”

“No, of course I’m happy, baby. Really, I am. I’m just caught off guard.”

“You seem like something else is bothering you. Something beyond just being surprised.”

Barclay let out a sigh and said, “I guess this happened a little fast.”

“I know I’ve barely been back, but we have been married for nine years now. Don’t you think it’s time we started having our family?”

“That may be, but we’ve only been together for two of those years.”

You scoffed. “You make it seem like it’s my fault that I was stranded in the delta quadrant.”

“You didn’t have to accept that reassignment to Voyager.”

You started crying.

“Oh, no baby, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“I have been dreaming of this day since I was a little girl. And if what happened to Voyager had never happened, or if I’d simply just not been on that ship when it got stranded, then we probably would have kids by now, plural. I know we weren’t exactly trying for this yet, and I can understand that you want to spend some time together, just the two of us, now that we finally can be together, but I thought this would be a cause for celebration. So why does it sound like we’re fighting?”

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like that,” he said as he pulled you in close for an embrace. “I’m happy about the baby. Honestly. I mean, I am a little worried about being a dad, I’m not exactly the best role model for a child, but I am going to love that little guy or girl so much, they are going to get spoiled rotten.”

You laughed at that, and then affectionately leaned into your husband’s chest. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The months went by, and before you knew it, you were going into labor. When the labor started, your husband was at work, so you had to call him.

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

“It’s time. Meet me at Starfleet Medical.”

“Oh! Now? Okay, I-I-I’m on my way!”

You gave birth to a baby girl that the two of you named Lily.

“Oh, she’s perfect,” Reggie said when he saw her in person for the first time.

“She is.”

When Lily was about 15 months old, you walked out of the bathroom in your home to see your husband, immersed in playing with your daughter by lightly tossing her up in the air.

“You’re really good at that.”

“It’s all i-in the wrist,” he said with a smile.

“No, I mean… being a father.”

Reggie held your daughter and looked you in the eyes. “You really think so?”

“I do. In fact, I’m so impressed with your performance, that I’m giving you a promotion.”

“A-a promotion?”

“From father of one to father of two.”

You watched emotions flicker across your husband’s face as the news sank in.

“Are you s-serious?”

“As a Vulcan,” you said as you pulled the positive pregnancy test out of your pocket, and showed it to Reggie.

“Another baby!” Reggie cried out. “Oh baby, this is wonderful news!”

Reggie walked over to you and kissed you on the forehead.

“You mean that? Cause I think I’m freaking out a little bit. I was so excited for Lily, and I love her with all my heart, but taking care of her has been more… taxing… than I realized it would be. I’m not sure I can handle another baby on top of the one we already have.”

“Well you-you’re not doing this alone,” Reggie said.

You looked at him and smiled.

“I don’t deserve you.”

Some time after your newest baby bump came in, your family got to star in a viral video of your own making. Well - it went viral in your social circle, anyway.

You were sitting next to your daughter, and she was right besides your pregnant belly.

“Who’s in there?” Reggie asked her.

“Baby!” she cried out happily.

“That’s right! What else?”

Lily gave her father a blank stare with her mouth hanging open.

“Is the baby… your sister?” he asked.

“No! My brother!”

“That’s right! That’s your baby brother!”

What the video didn’t capture was the affectionate way Reggie rested his hand on your stomach afterwards, and the loving look the two of you shared.

“Oh, that is so cute!” Admiral Janeway had gushed after Reggie proudly showed it to her at work the next day. “Congratulations Reg, you’ve got a beautiful family.”

“Thank you, Admiral.”

You and Reggie had discussed the family you wanted, and decided that you would stop after your second child was born. Reggie was supposed to get a vasectomy, but when the day of his appointment came, he chickened out and didn’t go. He also chickened out of telling you he didn’t go through with the procedure, and lo and behold, you wound up getting pregnant a third time.

“I am so sorry,” Reggie said in the doctor’s office.

“You don’t have to apologize. It may not be what we planned for, but I’m warming up to the idea of having a third child.”

“You’re sure you’re not mad?”

“What kind of a mother would I be if I got mad at my child for existing?”

Reggie smiled and said, “I am the one who doesn’t deserve you.”

You shook your head. Over the past decade plus, how many times had you and your husband said that to each other?

The doctor came into the office and waved his tricorder across your abdomen.

“Well, it looks like your suspicions were correct,” he said. “You are, indeed, pregnant.”

“I thought as much,” you said, looking at your husband.

“I can’t believe we’re having another child,” Reggie said.

“Not quite,” the doctor said.

“What does that mean, not quite?” Reggie asked.

“You're not having another child, singular. It’s twins. Congratulations.”

“Twins?!” you and Reggie both blurted out in unison.

You never imagined that you would someday have as many as four children. If someone had found you as a cadet and told you how your life would turn out, you probably would have found that more surprising than getting stranded in the Delta Quadrant for seven years.

Even though things didn’t exactly go the way you planned, when you look at your husband, and your four kids, you know that you wouldn’t change a thing.

THE END

[sakura-blossom28]

Modern Day Romance

Chapter 6 

Thank you to everyone who has read my story so far and left kind and encouraging words!! I have a feeling Gaara is a bit OOC in this chapter but I totally believe that in the moment of things he can be the perfect guy lol (probably because I think he’d be the best boyfriend out of all the Naruto guys) next chapter I plan to tell it from Sakura’s side to explain what she’s thinking to flesh her character out a bit! Please let me know what you think! Don’t own Naruto 

Ch 1 / Ch 2 / Ch 3 / Ch 4 / Ch 5 

The rest of the date went better than Gaara could have imagined.  Sakura was so absorbed in the clothes and models walking in front of them.  Not only did she ask questions about his sister’s designs, but she seemed interested in his family.  As the night went on Gaara found himself smiling, telling Sakura different stories about his siblings and the ridiculous things they got themselves into.  It made him happy to know that she wanted to know more about his family.  Sakura didn’t focus on the fact that Temari was a well to do designer and was more curious about what she was like as a sister.  

Towards the end of the show, Gaara spotted Temari peeking out from behind the curtains and they made eye contact.  Gaara still had his arm around Sakura, but he made no more to remove it when he saw Temari smirking at him.  He would get an earful later, but the way having his arm around Sakura was worth it.  When the show ended they quietly made their escape before the crowd made their way to the exit.  

Gaara felt like he was buzzing in his seat the whole drive back to Sakura’s apartment.  When was the last time he felt this good being around someone else?  They chatted quietly as they made their way to her door.  He insisted he would walk her in since it was getting late.  The day had been perfect for Gaara, it almost seemed to be good to be true.  As they got to her door they stopped to look at each other.  Both had a slight blush on their cheeks.

“I really had a great time with you today Sakura.  I would like to see you again,” Gaara said trying to keep it together.  

“I would like that too.  Thank you for walking me in,” Sakura said with a shy smile on her lips.  They stood awkwardly, both blushes growing.  

“Well, I’ll let you go then.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Gaara said as he made a step to walk away, but Sakura gently touched his arm.  The blush on her face was extremely noticeable, but Gaara was drawn to it.

“W-would it be okay if I kissed you goodnight?” she asked while still holding onto him.  

This was all new to Gaara.  Someone had never asked permission before, and he had never done that either.  All his past “relationships” were never focused on emotions, mostly just the primal desire to feel another person, but those urges always faded away after a few days.  Sakura seemed so soft to him at this moment, a foreign concept to Gaara.  With his past, nothing was ever soft and gentle, but Sakura was.  All these feelings were so new to Gaara he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to act, but he knew he wanted more.  

“Yes you can,” he said with the color growing on his face.  He slowly bent down a bit so that he could reach Sakura’s lips.  Gaara was careful not to make any sudden movements and let Sakura lead.  The kiss was soft and warm.  He wanted to deepen the kiss but didn’t want to rush things between them.  When they broke apart they still kept their faces close to each other.  Sakura’s eyes were fluttering open as they came back to reality.  She looked very cute like that to Gaara.  He quickly gave her one last small kiss and backed away from her.

“I’m gonna get going.  Goodnight,” he said while rubbing the back of his head looking anywhere but at her.  He could hear her give a small laugh and whispered goodnight as she closed the door.  

Gaara felt like he was floating.  The kiss felt like it lasted forever but ended too soon.  His heart was in his throat the whole time and still pounded now.  These feels were new and exciting.  His mind was replaying the whole night over and over when his phone buzzed as he sat in his car. 

Sakura: Let me know when you get home safe <3

Things were definitely looking up for Gaara. 

X

The following dates were more than Gaara could hope for.  Walks in the park, movie dates, even mini-golfing.  With both of them working during the week they found time to see each other.  Already they had been seeing each other for about a month.  Gaara was ready to make things official, but he just didn’t know how to go about it.  His siblings’ advice, as usual, was bold and a bit forceful.  Gaara knew he could just tell Sakura how he felt, but he was still hesitant to do so.

Opening up to Sakura had been easy.  She was always willing to listen and he always knew how she felt by her reactions.  She could tell him exactly how she felt at any point in time and having her be so open helped him be that way too. He told her more about his past and she looked so sad as he told her about what he went through.  Never was the look in her eyes harsh or judgmental, she truly felt for him.  

Today’s date was the next step for them.  Gaara had invited Sakura over to his apartment that he shared with Kankuro.  His brother was away on work so they had the place to themselves.  Being alone with Sakura in public had been no issue with Gaara, but every time he thought about the fact that they would be completely alone, his heart started to race.  

He wanted to ask Sakura to be his girlfriend and knew he had real feelings for her, but he was worried the night would turn out like how all his past flings did.  He didn’t want Sakura to think that he was only looking for something casual.  Gaara knew how to fix his problems because he told his clients the same thing, just be upfront about how you feel and get everything off your chest.  He just never expected it would be this hard.  

Sakura was due to show up at any minute.  He had already informed the doorman that he was expecting someone and gave Sakura’s description. Typically their doorman would grill the visitor about their business calling upon the Sabku brothers, courtesy of their father’s orders, but Gaara would not allow Sakura to go through that.  He paced back and forth in front of the door buzzer.  All I have to do is tell her how I feel and things will be better, he kept repeating to himself.  Finally, the doorman called saying Sakura was on her way up.

Gaara had planned a quiet night in for them.  Sakura had a tough week and he wanted to do something nice for her.  He had been practicing all week how to make one of her favorite dishes that she had mentioned in passing.  As they had gotten to know each other better, Gaara learned that Sakura was a very giving person to everyone she knew, but had never received the same kindness back.  It was the least he could do.  

All of Gaara’s nerves relaxed when he finally saw Sakura standing in his door.  She looked tired but happy to be there.  Gaara insisted that she did not have to dress up at all and they would have a relaxing night in watching a movie.  Sakura looked comfortable in a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt with her bright pink sneakers that he had seen before when they went on walks.  Before she could greet him properly, she paused and started to smell what he had been cooking.

“You already cooked?  It smells amazing!” Sakura said as Gaara lead her into the kitchen.  

“I knew you’d be hungry after work so I got a head start,” Gaara said as he took her bag as she took off her shoes.  

“Gaara, seriously you didn’t have to do all of this,” Sakura said as she sat down in the chair that Gaara offered. 

“It was no trouble.  I enjoyed making this for you,” he said as they started their meal.  They ate in comfortable silence and Gaara could see how hungry Sakura was as she went for seconds.  When they finished she didn’t look as tired and the color returned to her face. She had a happy smile on her face.  They cleaned the table together and Sakura insisted that she could at least wash the dishes.  Standing together as Gaara dried, a question popped into his mind.

“Is it so shocking that I would cook for you?  Do I look like a bad chef?” he asked with a chuckle.  Sakura laughed too, but a sigh followed as she kept her eyes on the dish in her hands.

“It’s not that Gaara.  I’ve never had someone do that for me before.  That’s all,” but Gaara knew that wasn’t entirely the truth.  He didn’t want to pry as he would with a client, but this seemed odd to him.  

“I find that hard to believe.  I have a feeling you’ve done nice things for others right?” 

“Well sure, but…” she paused as she started to think. 

“But they never did show you appreciation back?” 

“Yeah…” Sakura still had a far off look in her eye like she was replaying a memory in her mind.  She shook herself out of it, “Gaara, I’m sorry.  I don’t want to emotionally dump on you, you do that for a job.”

“Sakura,” Gaara took her hands and dried them off so that he could hold them, “You are important to me, and if you ever want to talk about things I want you to know that you can come to me and I will listen.  I know I listen to people every day, but I can be there for you too.  I can see you’ve been hurt before, but I hope that you’ll let me make up for all the guys who didn’t appreciate you.  I think you’re amazing and…” Gaara only paused when he heard a small sniffle. 

He looked up to find big fat tears building up in Sakura’s eyes.  Oh crap, was the first thought that ran through his mind.  Had he said something wrong?  He was just saying how he truly felt.  Sakura started to chuckle as she brushed the tears out of her eyes.  

“You should see the look on your face!  Don’t worry I’m okay Gaara.  It’s just… I’ve always wanted someone to say that to be, to know I could depend on them… I’m just overwhelmed, and a bit scared if I’m honest,” Sakura said as she started to calm down, “I really like you Gaara, it almost seems too good to be true.” 

She looked so small at that moment, all the pain of past relationships was probably flashing through her mind.  Gaara instinctively wrapped his arms around her into a tight hug. 

“I’ve never been a boyfriend before but if you’ll let me I’d like to try,” Gaara spoke into her hair.  Sakura slowly hugged Gaara back and he could feel her relax into his embrace.  She nodded her head and hugged him back just as tightly.  All the stress from the worrying he did finally left his body.  

“Thank you,” Sakura said as she gently kissed him.  Then a playful smirk came across Sakura’s lips.  This was the side that Gaara was getting to know.  Sakura enjoyed seeing Gaara flustered and tried anything and everything to get him to blush.  She kissed him again but deepened the kiss and slid her hands into his hair.  Sakura took this as him being shy, but Gaara only backed away because he didn’t want to lose control of himself.  He carefully picked Sakura up and walked into the living room and placed her on the couch as she broke out in giggles.  Gaara walked away to get a blanket, not to hide the blush on his face.  

They spent the rest of the night watching tv and talking quietly to each other.  Sakura had wrapped the blanket around them as she curled up next to him.  Gaara could get used to this.  Especially the idea of Sakura being his girlfriend.  How could other guys hurt her?  It was a mystery to him.  He was up to the challenge to change Sakura’s mind that she was not the one who was difficult to care for.  All of his knowledge pointed towards that Sakura would take a lot of convincing that she deserved to be treated well.  Gaara didn’t mind, he would do anything to show his affections for her.  Not only did Sakura not care about his family name, but she also didn’t run when he opened up about his past. She genuinely wanted to be around him and returned his feels.  That spoke volumes to him.  They would both have to do a lot of work on themselves, but Gaara knew they could do it together.  Gaara pulled Sakura closer and she instantly snuggled into him more.  Yeah, they could do it. 

[purrincess-chat]

Will You Be My (Fake) Lover CH5

It’s here! Finally! Are you excited? Get excited! Canon who? We don’t know her. And truthfully, she doesn’t even really know herself

Read on AO3

Chapter 5

“Has the Prince of Gabriel brand found his Princess? Exclusive interview inside!”

Lila glared down at the magazine in her lap as she sat on her usual park bench waiting. On the cover was Adrien down on one knee fitting Marinette’s foot with a glass slipper. It seemed as though they were more committed to this lie than she originally thought, but she could use this to her advantage. The more people invested in their relationship, the harder they’d crash when they finally fell, and she couldn’t wait to watch.

I: What’s your favorite quality about Marinette?

A: How kind she is. She’s always thinking of others before herself, and I admire that so much.

Lila could gag. All this pretending had to be eating Marinette up inside knowing that none of those things were true. That Adrien didn’t love her. Perhaps if she prodded her enough, Lila could get Marinette to snap. That would ruin any possible chance she had with him after this. Lila may have run into a detour with Marinette’s friends, but taking Adrien away from her permanently was worth the extra effort. That way there wouldn’t be anyone else to save her next time.

“There’s been a change of plans,” Gabriel’s voice sounded behind her. “Many people are quite pleased with my son’s relationship with Miss Dupain-Cheng, so I’m afraid that I cannot hold up our bargain.”

“Don’t worry. I have something else to offer you, Mr. Agreste,” Lila said. “I have reason to believe that Marinette and Adrien are faking their relationship.”

“And what evidence do you have to support such claims?” Gabriel asked, quirking a brow.

“I’m working on it, and I assure you I’ll be able to prove it if I attend the Agreste Foundation gala coming up soon,” she said with a sly smile.

“I’ll put you on the guest list, but I feel your suspicions may be a misguided cover up for your jealousy. If you cannot prove their relationship is a farce by the end of the gala, then perhaps it’s best if you and I cease negotiations,” Gabriel said, and Lila whipped around to face him.

“But-”

“I have no need for petty schoolyard drama especially at the expense of my son’s reputation. You have until the end of the gala in three weeks to prove your claims, Miss Rossi,” Gabriel said with a finality before rolling up the window.

As the car drove off, Lila’s jaw clenched, her hands gripping the magazine so tightly the sides crinkled between her fingers. She glanced down at the pages of her spread to find them overrun with Marinette and Adrien’s adoring smiles, the singular image of herself caught in the folds of the page. Rage boiled from her core up to her throat, and she tossed the magazine with a scream.

Gabriel wanted proof? She’d get him proof.

***

“Good evening, beautiful.”

Adrien smiled at Marinette as she entered his bedroom, seated at his piano while his fingers moved across the keys and filled the room with a soft melody. Nathalie stood off to the side to supervise, but Marinette found her attention drawn to the bouquet of roses resting atop the piano.

“They’re for you,” Adrien said, following her gaze, and she blinked, cheeks heating up.

“What for?” She asked, trailing her fingers over the petals.

“Do I need a reason?” He chuckled. “You deserve them, that’s why. You’re smart and kind, and you make me happy. That’s all the reason I need.”

She knew he was hamming it up because Nathalie was in the room, but she couldn’t help the smile on her lips. Fake or not, it was the first time anyone had given her flowers, and she had a feeling they carried a message of genuine gratitude for helping him as well.

“Thank you. They’re beautiful,” she said.

“They have tough competition.” He winked, his fingers trilling out a new melody, faster, lighter, sweeter than before, and Marinette bit her lip. “They’re also an invitation.”

“Oh?” Marinette quirked a brow.

“The Agreste Foundation has a formal event coming up soon, and I was hoping you’d be my date,” he said. “It’s a lot of boring adult stuff usually, but if you were there, it would be way more fun.”

“Of course, I’ll go with you,” she said, and Adrien relaxed a little, a content smile curling on his lips as he flicked his gaze back down to the keys. “I actually have an invitation for you too. My parents want to have you over for dinner one night when you’re free since you’re my first ever boyfriend.”

“Really?” Adrien stopped playing, his hands freezing on the keys as discordant notes squealed, and Nathalie cleared her throat, urging him to continue playing. “Sorry. Can you check my schedule, Nathalie?”

She scrolled through her tablet without looking up, the blue light reflecting off the lenses of her glasses.

“You have free time on Thursday after dinner, so I will let the chef know you will be dining elsewhere that evening,” she said, and Adrien perked up.

“Thank you, Nathalie!” He beamed, and Marinette offered her a small smile of thanks. Nathalie nodded in acknowledgement before flicking her gaze back to her tablet, and Adrien continued playing.

Marinette took a seat on the bench beside him, closing her eyes as the melody echoed around the room. Even if it wasn’t real, Marinette was happy getting to spend so much time with him. In a way, she felt like they were closer than they’d ever been, and most of her nerves had been squashed from the very first time they kissed. Knowing that Adrien felt comfortable enough with her to go through with all of this in the first place said enough about their relationship. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

She blinked her eyes open at the brush of skin against her own as Adrien reached an arm around her to play the keys at the end. He smiled at her as he trailed his fingers along, pulling her in closer, and she giggled as he nuzzled his nose against her cheek.

Moments like this made her wonder if his feelings would ever change. The softness in his eyes as he plucked a rose from the bouquet and offered it to her seemed so real, and the tender way he touched his lips to her cheek made her heart skip at the thought. She loved him so much, and more than anything, she wanted him to love her too. And why couldn’t she? There was no harm in wanting or hoping. In the end, she’d only hurt herself, so why not?

“You have five more minutes,” Nathalie said, and Adrien flicked his gaze back to the keys, seeming a little disappointed.

“I feel like time moves too quickly when I’m with you. I always find myself wishing we could have just a few more minutes,” he said as the song came to a close. “I don’t feel like a very good boyfriend.”

“I don’t mind. Whenever I get to see you and for however long, I treasure every moment,” she said, turning his chin to face her and cupping his cheek. “You’re an amazing boyfriend.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He frowned, leaning into her touch. “It’s just hard to say goodbye all the time.”

Marinette felt her cheeks warm under his gaze as Nathalie’s watch beeped, signaling the end of their visit. It was moments like these that made her head spin. He seemed so sincere that even she had a hard time figuring out if he was pretending or not.

“Thanks again for the roses,” she said at the front door, glancing down at them.

“A beautiful girl deserves beautiful things,” Adrien said with a smile before leaning down to kiss her good night.

One hand cupped her face, his thumb tenderly tracing her jaw as the other hand pulled her closer at the waist. It was a stark contrast to the way he had kissed her just a few nights prior at the party. He was so gentle and delicate as if she were a flower he didn’t want to damage, and such tender affections only made her heart beat faster.

“Good night, beautiful,” he murmured against her lips when they parted.

Gabriel watched from his office door, lips pursed as Adrien slid his hand down her arm, twining their fingers until they were forced apart as Marinette was escorted out, remembering similar such nights with Emilie all those years ago. He’d give anything for those nights now, and he envied Adrien a little for getting to spend time with the girl he loved so dearly. It made Emilie’s condition weigh so much heavier on his heart.

“Adrien is very sweet to her,” Nathalie said when she entered a few minutes later as Gabriel sat with his chin resting on his fist in thought. “I got what you asked for.”

Gabriel arched a brow as Nathalie presented him a small pink sketchbook, and he flipped through each page of colorful designs with a blank expression.

“Do you think you’ll have time to design her a dress and have it made before the gala?” Nathalie asked as Gabriel paused on a page, tapping his finger.

“It seems as though Miss Marinette already has the perfect dress,” he remarked, setting the notebook in his lap and snapping a picture with his phone.

“Will you modify it at all?” Nathalie asked as he closed the cover and offered it back to her.

“I don’t believe in tampering with another artist’s vision. The dress is fine as is, and it will mean more as a gesture of good faith in their relationship if we replicate it as she designed it,” Gabriel said. “See to it that Adrien returns her sketchbook.”

“Yes, sir.” Nathalie nodded before retreating from the room.

Adrien was in sitting at his desk when Nathalie peeked in, a content smile on his face as he typed on his phone. It had been a while since she’d seen him so happy. Not since Emilie was still around. His eyes lit up more these days, and his entire countenance changed any time Marinette was around. It was clear to see how much he cared for her. Just like Emilie, Adrien wore his emotions on his face, and Nathalie was glad to see him happy for once.

“Adrien?” She knocked.

“Come in.”

“I found this on the stairs. It must have fallen from Marinette’s bag,” she said. “Can you return it to her?”

“Of course. Thank you, Nathalie,” Adrien said, setting it next to his textbooks. “Also…would it be possible to finally go on a double date with my friends? I know you’re already making so many accommodations so Marinette can see me, but it would mean a lot to me if I could take her out properly.”

Nathalie observed his pleading expression before a smile broke over her lips.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said before taking her leave.

Adrien sat back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair before a cheeky grin curled on his lips. He reached for his phone, snapping a picture of the notebook.

guess what i have? He typed, chuckling to himself as he awaited her response.

how?? She replied a few seconds later.

Nathalie found it on the stairs. it must have fallen out of your bag. ill give it to you tomorrow. He said.

Thanks!

but not before i look through it. He said with a smiling devil emoji.

no! some of them arent finished yet!

you’re so talented. I’m sure they’re all great.

Her reply was a worried face.

can I peek? just a little?

ok but dont laugh! She said.

why would I laugh?

some of them are old and silly…

like this one? Adrien attached a drawing dated a couple years prior of a small Marinette in a dress with pink bows, and her response was a monkey covering its eyes.

I think it’s cute! He said with a heart.

it’s embarrassing!

dont be embarrassed. everyone starts somewhere you should have seen me when I started taking fencing lessons for the first time. I barely knew how to put my helmet on. He said then added, you’re really talented. all of your new designs look amazing you’ve improved a lot.

I guess… She said with a sweat drop.

well, I know. you’re incredible, and I’m lucky to have a girlfriend as awesome as you. He said, watching her typing bubble.

you’re pretty awesome too. You’re really smart and athletic and sweet and hot.

I mean!

Objectively speaking

You’re a model so like

of course you’re hot

but it’s not like I’m really saying you’re hot

You are but

in a totally normal way!

Adrien chuckled at her text stream, feeling oddly amused.

Thanks. You’re pretty hot too. ;) He said.

I DIDNT MEAN IT LIKE THAT!

why not? I’m flattered.

…

But I have a question though. He said.

?

Am I hotter than this? He sent a picture of a candle.

why?

ya know. because flames are hot ;)

I’m breaking up with you. She said with a laughing face.

no don’t break up with me! I’m hot D:

all this time I thought you were cool… She said.

Well that was your first mistake im super lame.

Youre not lame! just your jokes.

wow! after I compliment your designs and you insult my jokes. that’s cold Marinette.

She sent a laughing face and heart in response.

I would have been more impressed if you asked if I could bake cookies on you since youre so hot and my parents are bakers. She said.

teach me more oh wise and hilarious queen of jokes.

fine. I guess ill train you. She said with an eyeroll.

I am honored

She sent back another laughing face, and he bit his lip and changed the topic.

this dress is really beautiful. He said sending a picture.

thanks! I got inspired after our photoshoot and wanted to design a princessy ballgown. I really like how it came out.

I bet youd look beautiful in it

Her typing bubble flashed for several minutes, disappearing every so often for a few seconds before returning.

thanks. She said finally.

can I ask a favor? He typed.

what?

will you design something for me? It can be anything I just want it to be from you. He asked.

Of course! Id love to make something for you!

yay! :) He paused for a moment before adding, one more thing?

yes?

Can we keep talking for a while? You and I are friends but theres still a lot I don’t know about you. Plus it will be good for us to know stuff about each other.

He held his breath as he watched her typing bubble.

sure. what do you wanna know?

everything :)

They talked for hours during which time he learned that she liked gardening, watching makeup tutorials, and meditating with her mom. She was deathly afraid of snakes. She had a scar on her left foot from when she was 7, and she secretly liked to sneak fresh cookies when her dad wasn’t looking. It was the first time he’d really opened up to someone about himself too. He told her things even Nino didn’t know, and he fell asleep that night smiling at his phone.

The next morning, he sent her a good morning text and resumed their conversation as he prepared for the day. As it turned out, Marinette was not a morning person which he already assumed from the many times she came to school late. It was kind of amusing to picture – a sleepy Marinette clinging to her pillow as she begged for a few more minutes. Incredibly cute.

At school, he peeked around the row of lockers, watching her smile down at his most recent text as she typed a reply. The fondness in her expression made his heart flutter, and he jumped a little as his phone buzzed.

are you going to hold my sketchbook hostage all day? where are you? She asked.

turn around. He said, and he crept up behind her as she read the message.

“Boo!” He pinched her sides, and she startled with a gasp, spinning around to face him.

“Oh, you finally showed up,” she said with a grin, cheeks pink from his prank. “Do you have my sketchbook?”

“Oh, was I supposed to bring that?” He tilted his head to the side before retrieving it from his bag with a smirk. “Returned safe and sound.”

“Thank you,” she giggled as he kissed it softly before handing it over.

“I wrote you something inside,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “You mean so much to me I wanted to express it, so read it later when you get home, okay?”

“O-Okay!”

“Nino, remind me to call my dentist. I think I’m getting a cavity from sugar overload,” Alya called out as they approached. “You two are seriously cute.”

“Yeah, bro, you make me look bad,” Nino said, fist bumping Adrien.

“Sorry, but I have good news,” Adrien said. “Nathalie is clearing my schedule Saturday afternoon so we can all go on a date finally.”

“Whoa, legit? That’s awesome, dude!” Nino patted his shoulder.

“We can all go do an escape room together then get ice cream afterward,” Alya said, clapping her hands together. “We’ve been dying to go do one, but it’s way more fun with more people.”

“Yeah, sounds awesome,” Adrien said. “It’s our first official date. I can’t wait.”

“Only took your pops a month to let up.” Nino rolled his eyes, and Adrien sighed.

“Honestly, that’s quicker than I thought he would. I thought we’d have to wait until I turned 18 and moved out,” Adrien joked as they headed to class.

Lila glared around the row of lockers as they left, jaw clenching. She was losing momentum trying to prove their façade. The longer this went on, the more confident they were becoming, and the easier it was to fake it. She’d have to find some dirt on them during their date, or else the gala would be her last shot at getting favors from Gabriel.

***

“Is all of this really necessary?” Marinette asked as her father set the table.

“We’re having your first boyfriend over for dinner. I’m just trying to make sure he feels welcome,” Tom said, placing oven mitt-covered hands on his hips.

“By fattening him up? You’ve made enough food for 10 people!” Marinette gestured to the large ham and numerous sides covering the table.

“He’s a growing boy, and if he wants to date a baker’s daughter then he must know how to eat,” Roland added.

“Not to mention she’s part Italian. He will have to get used to big meals with family if he wants to stay,” Gina said, pinching Marinette’s cheek.

“Just promise me you guys will be cool. Don’t embarrass me,” Marinette pleaded, and Sabine flashed her a reassuring smile.

“We’re all just excited for you, sweetie. Adrien is a nice young man, and we just want him to know he’s accepted here,” her mother said, cupping her cheek.

“We will show him what a real family dinner looks like. Not the quiet lonesome dinners he gets at home. That’s not how it’s done!” Roland crossed his arms over his chest.

“Just don’t show him my baby pictures. Please?” Marinette pressed her palms together as the doorbell sounded.

“He’s here! Go let him in, my fairy,” Gina urged, and Marinette took a deep breath before opening the door.

“Hey.” Adrien smiled, leaning in to kiss her cheeks and planting a soft kiss on her nose before holding up another bouquet. “I brought you these.”

“Oh, how romantic. What a sweet boy,” Gina cooed, and Marinette screwed on a smile despite the tension in her spine.

“Adrien, you’ve met my grandma,” Marinette said. “This is my grandfather.”

“A pleasure to meet you, sir,” Adrien said, shaking his hand.

“A firm handshake. Very good, the boy knows how it’s done. I’m glad to see a younger generation keeping up tradition. You will make a fine husband to Marinette,” Roland commented.

“Grandpa!” Marinette puffed her cheeks.

“Roland, they’re only 14,” Sabine said pointedly.

“Puh, ‘only 14.’ My grandparents were 16 when they married. They wanted to marry before my grandfather had to go fight in the war!” Roland said, and Marinette sighed as she retrieved a vase for her bouquet.

“Oh, why rush to settle down? Let them live a little,” Gina said with an eye roll.

“Mom’s right. They can get married when they’re ready,” Tom added as they sat down, and Marinette’s face fell into her hand.

Adrien eyed her, a small smile curling on his lips.

“I’d only marry Marinette if I truly make her happy. She’s a wonderful girl, and she deserves the best,” he said, and everyone in the room cooed in unison, clutching their hearts.

Marinette peeked out between her fingers, and Adrien shot her a wink.

“So, tell us more about you, dear. What does Adrien like to do?” Gina prompted as Tom served the first course.

“Well, I’m a model for my father’s fashion company. I play sports and piano, and I’ve also been taking Chinese lessons since I was little,” Adrien listed.

“My, my so busy,” Gina remarked.

“What sports do you play?” Roland asked.

“Mainly fencing, but also basketball, lacrosse, and karate,” he said, counting them on his fingers.

“How do you ever find time to spend with Marinette?” Roland’s eyebrows raised, and Adrien cast her a fond smile.

“I make time. She’s so important to me.” He placed a hand over hers.

“With how sweet you are, we may not even need dessert,” Gina said with a laugh.

“Marinette is very easy to be with. She’s so genuine and caring, all I want to do is make her smile.” Adrien batted his eyelashes at her, and she bit back a smirk, pushing his chin with her finger.

“You are such a schmooze,” she teased.

“Well, I’m glad to see my granddaughter has chosen such a fine young man to court,” Roland said. “Your children will be very successful. I can feel it.”

“Roland, they’re only in college,” Sabine chided.

“You and I met in college. Don’t you remember, dear?” Tom said, wrapping an arm around her. “I knew the moment I laid eyes on you that I wanted to marry you someday. I’m sure it’s the same for Marinette and Adrien.”

“Dad!” Marinette growled.

“Tom.” Sabine gave him a warning look.

“That’s for them to decide in a few years, I know.” He held up defensive hands.

“Oh, what’s the rush. Not everyone has to settle down so young. I think they should travel a bit while they can,” Gina said. “If you two are still together when you’re 18 and no longer under papa’s radar then I will take you both on a trip! Greece is so beautiful in the summer, ah, who am I kidding? It is gorgeous all year. You kids need to see the world.”

“That sounds fun. I’d love to travel,” Adrien said, and Gina nodded knowingly.

“Of course, you would, dear. The world is a big place. I’d offer to take you sooner, but I understand your papa is…strict.” She winced, and Adrien quirked a brow as if to say that was an understatement. “Marinette and I are going to Italy for her next birthday. I’m so excited for you to see my home, my fairy.”

“I can’t wait either, grandma,” Marinette reached out to take her hand.

“Your dad won’t let you travel, but maybe he’ll let you come spend Christmas with us this year. We always pass out yule logs down in the bakery before we have a big Christmas dinner,” Tom said.

“I’d like that a lot.” Adrien smiled.

“When is your next fencing tournament? Maybe we’ll take a little time off to come watch you,” Sabine offered.

“In 2 weeks, but you don’t have to do that. I’m sure you’re very busy.” Adrien held up cautioning hands.

“Nonsense. We always have time to support family.” Tom patted his shoulder.

“Oh! I have a friend in London who is a great pianist. I can introduce you to him. Maybe he can give you some pointers,” Gina added.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks, Mrs. Dupain.”

“So formal. Call me Grandma or Nonna,” Gina insisted, waving it away.

“When you have time, you and Marinette should come by my house. I can teach you how to make bread the old-fashioned way,” Roland said.

“Oh, yeah. Thank you.” Marinette eyed Adrien who seemed to curl into himself. “You’re all so kind. Thank you for inviting me into your home.”

“But of course, my fairy. You are our family now,” Gina said as Roland cut him a slice of bread.

Adrien eyed it on his plate in silence as the conversation shifted, and after a moment, Marinette reached out to place a hand over his. He jumped a little at her touch, flicking his gaze to hers. She raised a brow at him, and he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before turning back to his meal.

He was perfectly polite during dinner, and to Marinette’s relief, a surprisingly good sport amidst all of the marriage discussions. But Marinette could tell something was off. The slight intonation of his voice, the way his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes…He seemed sad almost, but he did what he always did: hid it until they were alone.

“I’ll bring the hot chocolate up when it’s ready,” Sabine called as Marinette and Adrien headed up the stairs to her room.

Adrien remained quiet as he climbed up to her balcony, leaning against the railing with a sigh.

“Sorry. I know they’re a lot to deal with,” she said, awkwardly shoving her hands into her pockets.

“Actually, I really liked it,” he said, staring out over the street. “This was the warmest and most inviting dinner I’ve ever had.”

“Then what’s wrong?” She asked, and he trained those tortured eyes on her. “Hey-”

“I can’t do this.” He shook his head. “Your family is so kind and loving, and they care about you. They want to take me on trips and come to my fencing tournaments. Your dad wants me to spend Christmas with you! All because they believe we’re in love. Doesn’t it drive you mad?”

Marinette averted her gaze, and he ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t do this. They were so kind to me, and all I’ve ever done is lie about loving you,” he said, pressing his lips together. “They’ll be devastated when they find out, and I don’t want to hurt them.”

“Adrien…” Marinette started, pacing over to him. “I know the risks of all of this, and I made my mind up when I decided to help you. From the very first time we kissed in front of everyone, I committed to this.”

“Yeah, but-”

“But nothing,” she said, cupping his face in her hand. “I agreed to this because I wanted to help you. Because…I care about you.”

“Marinette…” He winced. “You’re important to me too. That’s why I can’t hurt the people you love.”

“Who says you’re going to?” She held her arms out. “In a few months when things die down, we can announce that we broke up mutually and that there are no hard feelings then continue being friends. No one ever has to know.”

Adrien searched her expression before lowering his gaze to his shoes with a sigh.

“I really don’t deserve a friend like you,” he said with a short laugh. “You really are amazing, Marinette, and I hope you know how much you mean to me.”

She pulled him in for a tight hug, and he leaned into her embrace. In that moment, he felt so fragile, and she wished that she could take all of that hurt. It was hard enough living with her own pain, but somehow knowing Adrien cared for her this much hurt worse. That he would rather be unhappy than hurt her or her family. She was falling more in love with him the longer this went on, and she knew that it would destroy her in the end. But she didn’t care. If she could alleviate his torment even for a little while, she’d do it in a heartbeat.

“I have Gina’s world-famous hot chocolate- oh!” Sabine paused in the window upon seeing their pained embrace. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Adrien said, pulling away and running a hand across his cheek. “I just got emotional. You’ve all been so wonderful and inviting, and I’m not used to that.”

“Oh, honey,” Sabine said, setting the tray on the table and cupping his face. “No matter your circumstances, you are always loved here.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. I’ve had a wonderful time here tonight,” he said with a genuine smile.

“I’m glad to hear it. My husband and in-laws can be…a lot to handle,” Sabine said with an apologetic wince.

“It’s okay. I know they’re just happy for us,” Adrien said, wrapping an arm around Marinette’s waist, and Sabine smiled.

“Enjoy the hot chocolate, you two. It’s a pretty night out,” she said before climbing back down.

“Thank you,” Adrien said once her footsteps faded. “I feel like I don’t say that to you enough.”

“You’re my friend, Adrien. I’ve got your back,” Marinette said, and Adrien smiled, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek.

“Thank you,” he repeated softly, and Marinette’s face warmed.

“You’re welcome,” she said, passing him a mug.

“To friendship,” he declared, holding it up, and Marinette eyed him a moment before clanking her mug against his.

“To friendship.”