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#I’ve visited them 4 times already and they haven’t visited me yet besides for their dog health issues or to pick up boxes they stored
thebookofcircus · 2 years
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Lucina my void kitten with her big ol 🥺 eyes
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twatkcox · 2 years
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[#2023]
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2022 feels kind of strange, especially in the first few months. I don’t know why, but something tells me that everything is bound to get back to normal very soon.
Anyway, I managed to publish 16 posts this year compared to 6 posts from the previous year. Well, I didn’t feel like writing much, mostly due to my extreme case of procrastination along with a slight case of depression and writer’s block, but hopefully I can get my mind (and my life) back on track once again.
All right, time for me to share some of the highlights for 2022:
The year begins with an incredibly cold spell, with a lot of people suffering from coughs, colds, and/or fever. Even I caught all three of them. I was sick for a couple of days, and my sore throat and itchy cough persisted for more than a week. Worse, there was a shortage of paracetamol and other medicines for coughs and colds at the time, so it took us a while to stock up on some medicine. Luckily, we all recovered within a two-week period.
I find myself watching a lot of YouTube videos compared to the previous years I’ve been online. This is becoming a habit now, and I think I’ll probably spend at least an hour per day just to watch some videos from various YouTubers and channels.
I gradually returned to blogging after a long period of inactivity. Anyway, I published TWATKcox’s 9th anniversary post more than a week after the supposed target date. It features the things I want to do before I turn 40. I was trying to be realistic on this one, knowing that I’m gonna have a hard time fulfilling each one of them before the decade ends.
The Otaku Diaries on TWATKcox-WP will primarily feature select topics, whereas its Tumblr counterpart will handle the rest, including anime and manga reviews. So far, I’ve never written anything for the series, but I’m already working on some of them.
Earlier this year, I discovered something awesome and a potential addition to my extensive playlist, a musical project called Ginger Root, fronted by Cameron Lew.  Ever since I stumbled upon one of their songs (Loretta), I immediately become hooked by their music, which is kind of reminiscent of the Japanese city pop genre. I also loved some of their retro-styled music videos as well.
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A day after April Fools’ Day (I don’t celebrate that joke holiday, thank you very much), I paid a visit to my favorite hangout spot (Lagro, Quezon City) for the first time in more than two years, and discovered two new hangout places: Daily Grind Cafe DGC, the one I visited that day, and Drip’n Cafe which I visited a few months later. Both are located near my high school, and I’m really delighted that I’ve got additional choices for my weekend rituals, which I haven’t done in such a long time. Their offerings (especially their coffee drinks) are quite pricey, so I’ll probably reserve these for special occasions (such as holidays), or when I can splurge a lot of money without breaking the bank.
Come to think of it, I was wondering what happened to Jits Cafe, one of the milk tea/coffee shop that I frequented since 2015. During my previous visits to the newly opened coffee shop beside it, they are closed. Either they just happened to closed early (even though it’s only 4:00 PM when I got there) or they’re actually closed on that day. I’ve yet to check the dessert shop though.
At the beginning of May, the Xiaomi Mi A1 suddenly had a problem right after charging it. The phone simply wouldn’t boot to Android and recovery ROM upon rebooting, and I had a hard time figuring out how to retrieve the photos (particularly some pics from my then recent visit to Lagro, which I, unfortunately, never get to back up prior to the malfunction). I don’t know if I’ll ever get to save the photos, but I’m hoping I could recover some of it.
As the Mi A1 is slightly damaged (the SIM card/Micro SD tray is damaged and the screen is slightly raised, revealing the LED inside), my brother got me a new phone, a Motorola Moto G 5G Plus, a mid-range smartphone with a bigger battery, larger internal storage, and slightly longer screen. I initially had a hard time adjusting at first, but I got used to it, especially the finger sensor on the power button (right side). Anyway, as for the Mi A1, I’m still trying to figure out how to flash a custom ROM to it so I can finally begin retrieving the photos on that device.
In June, I managed to publish the lengthy 350th post special, Twenty Years With The Machine: From 9x to 11, which records my personal experiences with different desktop PCs, a laptop PC, and most of the Windows OS (from Windows 95 to Windows 11, but skipping Windows 2000 and Windows 8.1 for some reason).
By the beginning of July, the 2TB Seagate Backup Plus external hard drive showed signs of failure. This is where I used to store most of my files when the PC’s old hard drive failed back in 2018. Luckily I managed to transferred some of the files to a new external hard drive, a 5TB Western Digital My Passport, bought during the Lazada 7.7 sale. As of this writing, I’m still in the process of backing up the entire contents of the PC’s hard drive.
By the end of that same month, the UPS (uninterruptable power supply) showed signs of failure as well, as it can no longer power my desktop PC. So I’m back to using the AVR (automatic voltage regulator) for the time being, with a possibility of unexpected interruptions during power interruptions. It was eventually replaced by a new one by the end of September.
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On September 17th, I finally get to visit the Manila International Book Fair for the first time since 2019, as well as the largest IKEA store at the Mall Of Asia Complex. It also marks my first mall-hopping trip for the first time since the pandemic.
I celebrated my 32nd birthday at home with a feast: Marugame Udon’s rice bowl meals for lunch (I had katsu curry), North Park’s braised noodles, fried rice, and spicy calamares (can’t recall what we exactly ordered) for dinner, and Kumori’s strawberry hanjuku cheesecake for my birthday cake (all of these are delivered via Grab Food). That was the most expensive birthday feast ever, but I really enjoyed it so much.
I joined Mastodon last November, though it is quite a spur-of-the-moment thing as I have no plans of leaving Twitter yet (probably never will). You know, just in case Elon Musk (the microblogging site’s new owner) did some irreparable damage to Twitter and would end up like Friendster, Multiply, and Myspace (the latter one is still active, but... meh). I love Twitter (I still do), but I wished he would focus on improving the site’s interface, not ruining it.
I’m expected to upgrade and update almost everything, from my wardrobe (some new clothes, and probably a new pair of glasses), to my bed (with a new bed frame). Also, I decide to clean my room and reorganize some of the stuff.
As much as I wanted to have a booster shot before the year ends, I’d rather wait for an appropriate vaccine, preferably the one I was inoculated with (AstraZeneca, in case you’re wondering).
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For the first time, as part of the accounting firm’s first ever Christmas Party, I had fun with bowling together with the rest of the employees and a couple of interns. We had a buffet lunch afterward.
I get to spend Christmas with my mom for the second time since the pandemic, and I manage to buy a new pair of embroidered ninja socks. I haven’t been successful in buying new pairs of black slacks, which are a very crucial part of my wardrobe.
As usual, I’m not feeling up to posting my upcoming plans for 2023 due to various uncertainties. But I’m so looking forward to celebrating TWATKcox’s tenth anniversary, as well as attending the upcoming Pinoy Otaku Festival 2023: Shizen at Robinsons Novaliches and the Manila International Book Fair 2023 at the SMX Convention Center (Mall Of Asia Complex). Hopefully, I can update my wardrobe in time so I can finally go out in style once again.
The year 2022 may have brought some significant changes in my life, but I’m still miserable as hell like in the previous two years. My life is still plagued with self-doubt, anxiety, and some conflicts, but I’m trying my best to remain as optimistic as possible. Will 2023 finally put an end to this kind of misery I’m having? I really hoped so. I mean, I deserve something better after almost three years of dealing with this stupid pandemic. ‘Nuff said.
Now that the New Year celebrations are over, it’s time to live up to your New Year’s resolutions, whatever you’re aiming to achieve for this year. All right, watch out for TWATKcox’s upcoming tenth anniversary post later this month, and probably some notable posts for this year as well.
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ahundredtimesover · 3 years
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Fight for You Epilogue (05)
​05: When you go public
Pairing: Jungkook x (f.) Reader
Genre/Tags: established relationship - FFY couple; fluff, comfort (18+)
Warnings: implied sex (18+)
Word count: 4.9k
A/N: JK in that striped LV outfit with Coldplay in New York 😊 Also, I know shit about business so uh, please just go along with this haha
Epilogue Series Masterlist || Previous || Next
##
The piece that Yoongi plays is a familiar one. You sit next to him and play the accompanying notes that you remember, and even if you know you’re hitting the incorrect ones, somehow the music still sounds good.
Your fingers graze the keys, as if it’s an old friend you’re familiarizing yourself with after years of being apart. Yet you wouldn’t be wrong. You haven’t properly played the piano in years. 
It was a staple of your week for 4 years when you were younger, up until your mother decided to enrol you in ballet class and you had no choice but to follow. 
But even though you let your interest for the instrument go, the friendship you built with your best friends never went away. 
Sitting in front of the piano in the music store now, there’s a nostalgic feeling of the innocence that once defined you, of weekday afternoons of music and ice cream, of laughter and simplicity even for just a couple of hours. 
You miss it. You miss all of it. You miss that feeling of safety, of acceptance, of sincerity, of living in your own little world.
It took years before you got those feelings back, and with the official announcement of your succession nearing, you can’t help but feel as if you’ll lose those all over again.
“It’s okay to be scared. It’s a human feeling and state to be in,” Yoongi says.
It shouldn’t surprise you that he already knows what you’re thinking, perhaps knew it before your visits to the music store on Saturday nights became regular again. He always knew you like that.
“Jungkook told me that it’s natural to be scared of something you’ve wanted so much for a long time,” you sigh. “And I’ve wanted this for a long time.”
Your family’s business grew on the backs of competent people, of people that your parents trusted and believed in. While you always knew that you would inherit your family’s wealth as the only child, you also learned early on that it didn’t mean you’d succeed your father as the head of the company.
You were always sidelined, left out, often felt like an afterthought. You played a role in maintaining your family’s image and influence, but you didn’t actually hold power. 
But power wasn’t really what you wanted. You wanted your parents’ trust, their commitment. You wanted them to think that in spite of everything, you deserve it, you deserve to represent them, to carry on the legacy they worked hard to build. And in a few days’ time, that’s exactly what you’ll get. At least, the start of it.
“I don’t know how to do it, how to be like them. I don’t know if I’ll be good,” you admit.
“Do you remember when, after months of piano lessons, I was the only one who couldn’t get the notes or timing right?” Yoongi asks, softly pressing the keys.
“Yeah, no one wanted to partner with you,” you laugh.
“But you did.”
“Because I had no one else. Hoseok had his own lessons and couldn’t join pair recitals,” you reason.
“It was the first one, I remember it clearly,” Yoongi goes on. “I kept messing up. My hands would always shake when we’d practice and I was wasting your time.”
“Well, it was still fun and—“
“Do you remember what you did?” He turns to you, eyes tender like when you’d met him all those years ago. “You just sat beside me the whole time. If you were impatient, you never showed it. But you just stayed there, up until I stopped shaking, until I memorized it and got to play my part right.”
He smiles and like always, he tells you exactly what you need to hear.
“Do it like you always do - sit next to people, stay by their side, walk with them. Make them believe in themselves, in what they can do. Because 8 year-old me would’ve quit piano lessons if you hadn’t done all that.”
“Yoongs,” you whisper, a tear falling down your cheek.
“I know that’s pretty simplistic but that’s how you could lead, ___. You always said you admired your father’s efficient way of running things but you said it yourself - a company could be a well-oiled machine consisting of human beings. You get to do that with heart. And you have a lot of it.”
**
The clock reads 5:30AM and just like how it’s been for the past week, you wake up an hour earlier than your alarm. You think it’s your body’s way of preparing you for what’s to come since you read that successful people start their day early or something, like your parents do. You’d like to believe it has nothing to do with today being the day that your father will announce you as his successor.
You groan, knowing that you won’t be able to go back to sleep. You sit up on your bed, trying to decide if you should wake up Mrs. Hwang and ask her to make you some stew or travel across town for it. 
“You’re up early,” Jungkook’s gruff voice says from next to you. 
You smile at having spent a weeknight with him, the memory of how he made love to you last night giving you goosebumps. It was so careful and mind blowing, and waking up next to him when there’s a big day ahead is what you need to calm yourself down.
“I think I’m nervous,” you admit, turning to face him.
Jungkook admires your nakedness, how you no longer run to the bathroom to fix up, how your breathing is the first thing he hears in the morning, how your bright eyes and sweet smile make him feel lucky to be spending this life with you.
“And excited?” He asks.
“Just a little bit,” you sigh. “Father invited the media to the fellowship dinner tonight, and he said he’ll announce it during a private press conference after. And that’s just… a lot in one night.”
“It is,” Jungkook takes your hand and intertwines his fingers with yours. “But that would be one big thing out of the way. You can focus on the other important things after.”
“That just means one foot in the public eye this time, if I wasn’t already. People will be more critical, about what I do, how I work, how I lead… Who I’m dating,” you say. “Mother said to expect questions like that later.”
The silence makes you a little anxious, as Jungkook had always felt a little hesitant about you going public with your relationship, knowing the pressure that would be placed on him, as if there’s not enough of it already even with both of you still keeping a low profile.
“You don’t have to worry about me, okay? If you want to say something about it, that’s fine by me,” he says, catching you by surprise.
“But—“
“Whatever they’ll say, I’ll take it. I didn’t go through what I did to be with you just to hide it all, especially at such a crucial time like this.”
You smile, feeling as if a big weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You’re not oblivious - people would want to know who the Lee Group successor is dating, especially after last year’s incident. Everyone knows your father has been more careful ever since, too.
“They can say whatever they want, pick apart my upbringing, unearth shit I did when I was younger, or shove in my face that I’m not educated. Those won’t matter.”
“They’ll have nothing bad to say about your looks, though, that’s for sure,” you laugh to lighten the mood.
“There’s that, too,” he smirks. “But I’m serious, ___. I told you that I’ll be what I need to be, for you. Whatever it is you want, that’s what I want, okay?”
You nod, scooting closer to him and admiring how he looks, with the air of certainty and assurance that gradually built over time.
He says he wants to be strong for you, wants to make things easier for you, wants to see you succeed, and he’s been nothing but supportive since you broke through his walls and he let himself out of the fortress he’d kept himself locked in for years. 
And through all that, he’d become more secure, unconcerned, and even forgiving and more accepting of himself, of who he was and who he is.
“You’re so sexy when you’re confident,” you tease, breaking the tension you still feel within.
“You think I’m sexy all the time!” He exclaims, causing you to laugh. 
“It’s because you are!” 
You sit on his side, with your fingers caressing his bare chest while his arms are propped behind his head.
“I remember the first time we met at my office. You looked so cold and uninterested,” you reminisce. “Your jaw was clenched the whole time and you wouldn’t even look at me! But you seemed so committed to protecting me and that was really attractive.”
“Hey,” he pouts. “I was caught off guard with the assignment, okay?”
“Yeah, because you thought I was some spoiled rich brat who was naive and ignorant,” you giggle.
“And I was clearly wrong.”
“Only partly,” you hold the hand he puts out. “But you gave me a chance. Regardless of how it happened, you saw something good in me, something worth coming back for, something worth loving.”
“And that’s because you did it first. That’s how you are, it’s how you’ll always be. That’s how you get people to trust and believe and respect you.”
“Have you and my friends been talking? They’ve given me similar pep talks the past week,” you mask your overwhelming emotion. 
“No, but even if we did, we’d have all these stories saying the same thing about you.”
You smile, the fear slowly dissipating.
“Thank you, Jungkook. I… I’m not so nervous anymore,” you say. 
“Good, because I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep myself from hugging you in front of everyone tonight if you start to shake or get nervous or something,” he laughs, pulling you closer. “Your father might take back his approval of me.”
“Oh, he wouldn’t,” you say. “I think he likes you. He’s talking to you more about non-work things so that’s good progress.”
“Yeah. I said yes when he asked if I like sports and now I have to look interested whenever he talks about golf and polo.” 
“Well, he fakes liking basketball when he talks to his partners who are NBA team owners so don’t feel bad,” you laugh.
Jungkook’s face softens as he shares the silence with you and caresses your cheek. “I can’t wait to see you out there tonight, angel. So do what you always do, okay? Impress them.”
**
You can’t count the number of times you’ve met  Jungkook’s eyes for the past 2 hours since the fellowship dinner started, but no matter how brief, they’re enough to quell the hammering of your heart and the million thoughts running through your mind.
You can feel his gaze linger, though, and much as you want the night to be over so you could be with him again, the next hour is too important for you not to be focused.
Hoseok’s laughter distracts you, and you join in the conversation with him, Yoongi, Namjoon, and Ina, and you’re glad that at least tonight, you have your dearest friends with you. Even Jimin, who hadn’t stopped saying how proud he is of you, sits across from you. Mr. Sim and Mrs. Hwang are in the venue, too.
The only one missing is Jungkook who, despite being here, still feels so far away. 
The fellowship dinner continues, and as time ticks by, the nerves hit you again tenfold.
Warm, slender hands entangle with your shaking ones.
“Hold onto me until it stops, okay?” Hoseok says from next to you, scooting closer to not give others the wrong idea. “You’re not going through this alone. You have all of us here, people you’ll never disappoint.”
You nod and close your eyes, take deep breaths, let his warmth fill you, and you feel the nerves dissipate to give you more energy instead of hold you back. 
“Thank you,” you whisper to him, as you slowly let his hand go.
“Look at us when it gets too much up there, okay? We’ll remind you of your strength if you forget.”
You mirror his smile, and you manage to keep the emotions at bay at the reminder of how despite everything, you have people who’ll never, ever leave your side.
It’s some time later when the host takes the stage again and calls for your parents, whom he says have a message to close off another year. 
It’s the smile and nod they both give you that you didn’t expect, and that’s when it starts to feel real. 
It’s overwhelming, as you’d spent most of your life feeling inadequate, as if you were just some embellishment that needed care and attention because there was only so little you were good for. But you’ve worked hard, you remind yourself. You’re finally good enough for this.
You know it’s going to be a long road, and many things can happen along the way, especially knowing that your father would work until his dying day, you heard him say once. But just that identification, that label as the successor already holds so much weight. More pressure, yes, but also more opportunities to learn and grow so you could one day lead the best way you know how.
It’s words of praise and well wishes for the year’s end that your parents deliver, until your father says that he also has an announcement to make. 
There are no flowery words, no overselling you. Just honesty, and it’s all you needed to hear.
“There’s a woman we’d like to introduce. She works hard, but she also works with compassion,” your father says. “And more than carrying our name, our legacy, she’ll one day be carrying the responsibility of leading the company as well.”
He turns to you with a look of contentment.
“We would like to take this time to officially present to you all the successor of the Lee Group of Companies, our daughter, ___.”
The applause is one that surprises you. There’s fulfillment in knowing that the people around you, all of whom work for your family, seem to be satisfied and content with the decision. People greet and congratulate you as you walk towards the stage, and you turn to their smiling faces and bow in gratitude. 
You look to the left where your friends are, then on the center towards the back where Mr. Sim and Mrs. Hwang are standing, then to the right where you hold Jungkook’s gaze, and finally to your side where your parents are telling you to say a few words.
It means the world that all the people you care about are sharing this moment with you, and you hold back the tears that threaten to fall at just how proud you are of yourself.
“I feel like there’s a lot to say but even though it seems that way, this night really isn’t about me,” you start. 
“This is about each one of you. The company grew the way it did because of my parents’ leadership, but also because of your hard work. There’s still so much I have to learn and I have so many years to do that. So from now until the time comes when I have to lead, I’ll be sitting next to you, learning from you, growing, and working together. And I hope you’ll let me.”
You’re given another round of applause and it’s one you welcome, taking it as a sign that they accept you.
After a few more words from your parents, you return to your seat, but not without groups of people flocking to you to congratulate you. You return their kind words and become fueled by them. 
It feels as if it’s a brand new start for you and there’s that excitement - towards your new functions, the people you’ll get to meet and work with, the things you’ll learn… Whatever your other worries are, are suspended for tonight. You want to savor this for now.
It’s not long after when you’re whisked away to another area in the hotel. It’s an open space with only cocktail tables around, as your father said that he didn’t want the press conference to last long. It’s just customary for him to hold one after a big announcement and he wanted it to be on his terms. 
You could count about a dozen media staff around, clustered in different areas while you and your parents stay at the center. Namjoon stands nearby, focused on your surroundings, eyeing any suspicious person. You make out your friends standing together farther away, and that’s enough to put you at ease. 
You’re unsure if Jungkook will make it. While this is open for everyone, there’s a party going on in the ballroom, and you don’t want him to be questioned on why he’d slip away to watch a press conference that will be broadcasted and written about later on, but he does, and just as the nervousness builds again, with all the cameras flashing and the recorders out for you, he shows up. 
He stands by one of the posts, a vision in a black striped suit he bought specifically for this special night. He’s drinking his champagne, his tender smile and comforting eyes melting away all your worries, allowing you to stand your ground and take whatever the questions would be.
They start innocently enough; some are shallow and trivial, others are about how you feel and what this would mean for your department, the company, and for you.
And then come the tougher ones. 
Your parents prepared you for what’s to come, but even you are amazed at how you’re able to answer the queries that subtly undermine your abilities and like what you’re used to, underestimate you. All the while, you maintain a calm demeanor, your smile not so much practiced as it is measured, ensuring that your sincerity still shines through.
“How did your attendance to parties and fashion shows help prepare you for the successor role,” one asks, and you talk about branding, your strength in building good relationships, and that your experience working and engaging with people of all positions and backgrounds would likewise help with that.
“How could you match the mental strength, restraint, and sense of power and control of your male counterparts,” asks another, and you point out how such things know no sex or gender, and that leadership defined purely by dominance is a thing of the past. 
“What about your terrible judgement of character? Considering that all your ex-boyfriends turned out to be engaged in criminal acts?” 
It’s meant to rattle you, you know this, and from a distance, you could see Jungkook’s face turn sour.
“I’m not letting my daughter answer that,” your father says, visibly annoyed.
“But doesn’t that say a lot about you? And let’s not forget about last year’s incident,” the man adds. “Careless and weak - wasn’t that how you described yourself then?”
You see your father signal to his men, who begin to approach the reporter. From your periphery, you could make out Namjoon walking towards you. In the distance, Jungkook heaves in anger.
“What those things say is that those men are greedy, and power-hungry, and don’t be afraid to call them what they are - criminals,” you respond, trying so hard to keep calm. “But if that’s the narrative you're going with, then your choice to put the blame and burden on anyone but the actual criminals and using a deeply traumatizing event to undermine my abilities say a lot about you. Doesn't it?”
Your answer causes a commotion, as the other reporters and guests in the area start talking and eyeing the man, who now looks irritated. 
You could tell that Jungkook still looks worried, so you send him a smile to assure him that it’s okay. 
“I’ll take a few more questions,” you tell the rest of the media.
The next ones are better, with none of them intending to crucify or humiliate you, and you’re glad that you survived what you thought were the toughest questions. 
Until the ones asking about your dating life start to come. One even name-dropped a few sought-after bachelors whom they heard have been trying to get your attention, whom you also happen to have turned down. 
It seems as if they’d forgotten your earlier responses that aimed to establish your independence and have saved the gossip and entertainment-worthy questions for last. As your mother has said, people crave for that kind of news and the drama that would ensue.
Perhaps these are the most rattling ones, you realize, even if you prepared for them. 
You told your father about you and Jungkook agreeing to be honest about this, as you’d rather get it out of the way this early, knowing that the media won’t stop unless they get an answer that would satisfy them. You’d rather not deal with disproving rumors or rejecting suitors and instead, focus on the things that truly matter. 
Your father suggested then to give it some more time, and you had a feeling that it may be your parents who aren’t ready for the aftermath of such an announcement. 
But even if you hate having to deny being in a relationship with Jungkook, you also know you have to be patient.
There’s a question on producing an heir that would continue your family’s legacy, and you’re about to answer that that remains to be you, as you’re still well and alive, until your father speaks up.
“My daughter has a partner, so that shouldn’t be a problem,” he says, shocking you and pretty much everyone else in the room. “If all goes well, at least.”
The commotion resumes and you don’t know who to look at - your parents, the press, your friends, or Jungkook. 
Who is he? 
From what family? 
What clan? 
Where did he study? 
What degree did he take? 
Where does he work?
“I, uhm…” You stammer for the first time tonight. 
This wasn’t something you prepared for.
“After everything that’s happened, those don’t seem to be as important,” your father calmly answers, prompting you to recall the only time your parents ever talked to you about the incident and how aside from feeling guilt, they also had a change in perspective and realized the things that they value more.
“Trust and respect matter more than we realized, and those are what we have for our daughter’s current partner.”
“So he’s not from a wealthy and influential family?”
“No,” your father responds.
His look is unreadable but you take it. It’s more than enough for you. Just a year in and it feels surreal to get this kind of approval, to feel the early signs of freedom. 
The press’ and the guests’ expressions are a mix of confusion and intrigue. You convince yourself that at least a few of them are unbothered or better yet, satisfied.
Your focus turns to Jungkook who, as you glance at his direction, has a soft smile that’s all you really need.
“Who is he?” Someone asks.
“When she’s ready, she’ll let you know,” your father says. 
He signals the press conference’s conclusion and you spend another hour engaging with guests, briefly looking at Jungkook and thankful he’s always nearby.
The event ends and you take the party to your house, with your friends and even Jin and Yeong-ja enjoying a wine and cheese affair to celebrate. They eventually leave you with Jungkook, seeing how you both couldn’t stay away from each other.
You both fall asleep with the lingering sound of your joint moans, coming down from your highs, his words of praise and how proud he is of you ringing in your ears and making you truly feel like at this point, you could have everything, and happiness is something you can experience everyday of your life.
**
It’s two months later - after a week in Southern France with Jungkook and your family, and another week in Spain with him and your friends, and a few more weeks welcoming the new year - that you let people know.
It was gradual. It started with your alcohol-induced confession to your teammates and his slip-of-the-tongue to his, then getting picked up in your office, then taking him to a wedding and then a birthday celebration as your date. 
You assumed word got around, and you casually confirmed it to those who asked that yes, you’re dating your former bodyguard, much to their surprise. It was then you learned that people do remember him, some for his good looks and some for his intimidating aura. 
Your colleagues were shocked, but eventually said that “the bodyguard-and-client-falling-for-each-other storyline makes sense.” You laughed at their claims of how that sounds like a good TV drama, especially after you shared a bit more about the incident at the alley and the aftermath that brought you and Jungkook closer.
His workmates were more of the mix bunch, though, as some would tease him whenever your name is mentioned, while some kept their distance, not wanting to be in Jungkook’s and your bad side should they say anything that’s off.
But it was during a family-hosted event when, after Jungkook’s 4-day work trip in Singapore, that you mindlessly approached him as he entered the ballroom and you stood too close, about to hug him until you noticed everyone’s eyes on you. 
You laughed then, took his hand, and led him to sit next to you on the table. With how he didn’t leave your side the whole night, your hushed giggles, and your longing looks at each other - as Yeong-ja pointed out - it already felt like the announcement, and it was the non-flashy, casual, and moment-of-weakness way you did it that felt so you.
You and Jungkook knew it wasn’t going to be smooth sailing. While he’d established himself as competent enough at his job, there were still those who commented on his luck, his naivety, a possible ulterior motive, that he’s a charity case, and that your relationship is bound to fail because you come from worlds that are too different. These are what the media liked to highlight during those first few weeks, but you didn’t pay them any mind. 
They’re still frustrating though, but for every such moment, you’re graced with a few more that remind you that everything will be okay. 
Jimin gets along well with Jungkook. Even Taehyung, who reappeared after months of staying in a little town in Austria, showed up to one of the galas to meet Jungkook, going as far as teasing your boyfriend for being jealous during his party last year. 
But it’s the way that your parents don’t distance themselves from Jungkook that you’re most thankful for. They address him by his name, introduce him to their friends and affiliates, and engage him in conversation. It’s that seal of approval, like a shield almost, as if showing others that criticizing Jungkook means criticizing your family, and your parents are too established for others to question it.
**
It’s one Wednesday afternoon in summer when you hold an event for the Foundation. You gathered artwork from the scholars you sponsor across the different orphanages that you support and had them displayed in a mall. You think it’s a good way to raise awareness of your program and the situation of the children, and you hope it could garner more attention and support for them. 
It’s the expression of gratitude and hope in creative ways that makes you smile, as you go around and greet the invited guests and curious passersby. It’s the latter you want to engage more, so you approach those who seem interested and share more about the children. 
You see a woman take her time in looking at the pieces, and you soften at her appreciating what the children have made. 
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they? Very hopeful and pure,” you say.
“They are,” she responds. 
As she turns to you, her eyes widen. There’s a look of recognition on her face.
“You’re Ms. ___ Lee,” she says tenderly. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” you bow.
“I… I was wondering,” she stammers. “I hope I don’t seem like crossing a line but I’ve seen you in the news and in the magazines. You’re with a man. His name is Jeon Jungkook. I thought maybe you could point me to him? I just—“
“May I ask who you are?” You respond, suddenly feeling a little worried, although she doesn’t look to be a threat.
“I’m—”
“___,” Jungkook calls out, and you see him approach you, looking a little winded. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”
“It’s okay,” you say, taking his hand in yours. “There’s someone here looking for you.”
You motion for Jungkook to turn to the person in front of you, and you don’t miss the immediate change in his expression. There’s shock and overwhelming emotion that you don’t think you’ve ever seen on him.
“Kookie…” She says.
“Mom?”
##
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tricksters-captain · 4 years
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Benny Watts/The Queens Gambit imagines - From Pawn to Pen Part 4
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AN: I’m sorry I missed posting last week. I’m currently going through a hard break up and it’s really taking a lot of energy out of me so I struggle to write at the moment. 
Overall Summary: You’re a young journalist for Chess Review, with a love for chess and a desire for knowledge. One day at a tournament, you come across the famous Benny Watts...
In this chapter: You return to Boston for the week. 
(PART 1) (PART 2) (PART 3)
Pairing(s): Benny Watts x Fem!reader
Word Count: 1,940
Warnings: Some strong language
You smiled as you looked at the copies of ‘Chess Review’ on the racks. 
Your first front page piece for Chess Review. 
They had used one of the pictures of Benny that you had taken at the hotel and you were pretty proud of your photography skills. 
You picked up a copy and took it inside to pay for it. 
On second thought, you picked up two so you could mail one to Angelie. 
You left the store quickly after and started to walk back to your apartment. 
Boston was busier than you had remembered and you finally had some time to sort out the apartment after your article went down well with the big man. 
You opened the door to your apartment and put down your groceries on the kitchen counter top. 
The last tenant hadn’t left the place in too bad a state, just a carpet stain here and there and a broken lamp. 
You had bought some paint to redecorate your living room and bedroom since it seemed too boring after where you lived in Paris. You had spent the last couple days painting and then you finally left to go check out your title page. 
The books that Benny had given you were still on your small two person dining room table where you had left them when you first got back. You looked over at them and furrowed your brow as you thought about whether you are actually going to bother to read them or not. 
Your phone started to ring and your frown disappeared when you realised it was probably Angelie. No one else had your number besides your work. 
“Hello?” You answered it, taking the phone off the wall as you leant beside it. 
“Miss (Y/L/N)?” You’d recognise that voice anywhere after listening to it so much over the last tournament. 
“Benny Watts?” You asked, almost in shock. 
“Have you read those books I leant you yet?” He asked, not even bothering to confirm it was him. 
“It’s been four days.” You told him flatly. 
“You could’ve easily gotten through at least two of them by now.” Benny challenged you which caused you to shake your head (even though he couldn’t see). 
“You know, Benny Watts, I do have a life to live.” You defended yourself to which Benny found amusing. 
“So, you’re back in Boston since you picked up this phone.” Benny changed the subject completely. 
“How did you even get this number?” You asked, genuinely curious and a little worried. 
“You really think Chess Review won’t hand over your telephone number to their favourite US chess player?” 
“You got it from Beth Harmon then?”  You teased the boy to which he responded with a dry laughter. 
“Ha Ha. Very funny.” Benny retorted, “If you’re in Boston, it means you currently aren’t working. Fancy an educational trip to New York City?” 
“Benny, I told you. I’m not coming to New York.” You reminded him about how you declined previously when he asked. 
“Come on, just for the weekend? We’ll play some chess, do some tourist shit and eat some food?” Benny asked, trying his best to persuade you Benny Watts style. 
“I’ve also told you before that I don’t play.” You felt a small bubble of excitement in your stomach as you considered going to New York but you quickly squashed it down. 
“What are you afraid of?” Benny asked. Deja Vu. 
“Why are you pushing this?” You closed your eyes as you let your head roll back to press against the wall. 
“Because I see that same light that’s in Beth Harmon, that’s in every decent chess player when you see a chess board.” Benny confessed to you. 
“I’m sorry, Benny. You’ll just have to find someone else to play with. I don’t want to be apart of this little game.” You hung up the phone with a sad sigh before Benny could respond. 
You found yourself looking at the books again. 
You picked up Benny’s and you opened it...
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“I’ve been waiting all day for your call.” You half scolded Angelie as you answered the call. 
You heard Angelie’s laughter through the phone and it made you home sick. 
“Je suis désolé!” Angie apologised. “This new project has me so busy, constantly on set, costume changes, make up changes, redoing scene..!” 
“It sounds awful.”  You chuckled, 
“It is! You wouldn’t understand... You’re just a big time American journalist.” Angelie pouted. “Anyway, how are you?” 
“I’m okay.” You lied. 
“Menteuse!” Angelie called you out. “Tell me the truth. What is bothering you, Mon Cher?” 
“Benny Watts called me today.” You had filled her in on the tournament with him once you had first arrived back in Boston and she had already previously told you off for not taking his offer to New York. 
“He did?!” Angie gasped. 
“Yes, he did. He got my number through work and called me to ask if I had read the books he gave me which I haven’t because it’s been less than a week since. the tournament.” You explained. 
“That boy is in love with you, I am telling you now.” Angie was always the hopeless romantic type. It’s how she has had her heart broke so many times. 
“The boy wants to play chess with me to assert his masculine dominance over me and boost his ego with an easy win.” You argued. 
“You are always so negative about men! You hardly know this one!” Angelie groaned. 
“He’s Benny Watts. That’s all I need to know.” 
“I think you should go to New York and meet with him.” Angelie told you. You hadn’t even informed her about the fact he asked you again. 
“I think I should stay here and enjoy my first weekend off in six months.” You shook your head at the idea. 
“(Y/n), you only live once and how many girls are invited to New York by the Benny Watts?!” 
“Probably quite a lot.” You knew Angie was only trying to hype you up but you couldn’t help but knock her down. 
“Even if that is so. You could probably get another article out of it. Benny Watts and his life in the big apple?” Angie suggested. 
“I’m sure ‘LIFE’ has already done that piece before.” You pushed another idea aside. 
“Trust me, (Y/n). You need to stop being so afraid of the unknown and who knows, maybe you’ll enjoy yourself?” Angelie had had enough of the negativity from you at this point. 
There was a sudden knock at your door. 
“I’m sorry, Angie. Someone’s just knocked on my door, I’ll have to call you back.” You looked over at your front door and wondered who it could be. 
“Ça va. Call me back!” She told you as the knock occurred again. 
“Je t'aime.” You hung the phone back up on the wall and went over to your door. 
You opened it and you felt your face go white at the sight of who stood there. 
“Jesus, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Benny Watts. 
BENNY WATTS.
“What the hell are you doing here?” You asked him. 
“Well,  you wouldn’t come to me so I came to you.” Benny shrugged. 
“You can’t just stalk someone. This isn’t okay. This isn’t cute!” You were bewildered. 
“This isn’t stalking. It’s simply coming to Boston to visit a friend.” He defended himself as he stood out in the hallway. 
“I wouldn’t call us friends, Benny.” You scoffed. 
“Ouch.” Benny put his hand on his heart. 
You went to close your door on him but Benny stopped you. 
“Wait.” He pleaded. His cocky demeanour suddenly dropped. “Look, I know this is weird but I really wanted to see you.” Benny started to explain. 
“I––” He cut you short. 
“–– This isn’t some game. I just want to help you. I want you to play chess again. I want you to play with me.” Benny stayed with his hand against the door and his foot in the gap as he spoke. 
“This is crazy, Benny.” You told him, your eyes locked on his as you felt your heart race. 
“I know.” Benny stepped back. “I’m staying in the hotel down the block. I’ll be here all weekend. If you don’t want to see me, then don’t. But if you change your mind. I’ll be around.” 
You watched him back away from the door and head back down the stairs. 
Benny fucking Watts. 
You rushed back to the phone and dialled Angelie’s number. 
“Bonjour?” She answered, 
“You’ll never guess who was at the door.” 
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You ended up tossing and turning all night. 
You caved in at around 3am and started to read Benny’s book again. 
You finished it by the time the sun was rising. 
You had a cold shower to wake you up at around 9am and then you stared in the mirror as the thoughts racked your brain. 
You walked over to your chess set that rested on the dresser top and you took it over to your bed, opening it up. 
You set up the board and stared at it.  
You picked up the queen. The same queen that Benny had held in the photo you took. 
You caved. 
You dressed and did simple make up before heading to the hotel that Benny had told you he was staying. 
“I’m looking for Mr Benny Watts.” You asked the elderly lady at the front desk. 
“He’s staying in room 306 but I’m almost certain I saw him leave about an hour ago for breakfast.” She informed you. 
You thanked her then sighed. 
You left the hotel lobby and started down the street. There was plenty of places to eat around the hotel, you almost considered just waiting in the lobby for him to return. 
Then you saw it. 
Through a window of a small diner. 
The famous black hat. 
You pushed open the diner door and walked towards the booth where Benny was sat. 
He had his back to you but he didn’t seem surprised to see you when you sat down opposite him.  
“Morning.” He greeted you as he munched on some pancakes. 
“I won’t play chess with you.” You stated. “I won’t play chess with you but I will spend the weekend with you and you can talk about it.”
Benny remained silent as his brown eyes watched you carefully. 
“I finished your book.” You told him. “I'm ready to learn.” 
Benny placed his knife and fork down, picking up the napkin beside his plate to wipe his mouth. 
“Great.” He nodded, interlinking his fingers above his food as he elbows rested on the table.  “Let’s begin.” 
(WHAT HAPPENS NEXT HERE)
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superhero--imagines · 4 years
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Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here! / Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here! / Part 7 Here! / Part 8 Here! / Part 9 Here! / Part 10 Here! / Part 11 Here! / Part 12 Here! / Part 13 Here! / Part 14 Here!
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* “Everyone in school thought you were dead.”
* Jessica says bluntly as you walk down the pink streamer filled hallway
* you offer her a fake yawn and a smile.
* “My dad came by for a surprise visit.” She looks confused before her expression smooths
* “Oh your real dad, not Carlisle”
* Carlisle contacted his counterpart, Eleazer to tell him you were running away with a man 300 years your senior
* So of course Eleazer came running -after he probably had a spat with Carmen about who would handle this situation better- to Forks on the first flight he found
* Only to burst through the door to see you and Emmett playing kingdom hearts in the living room
* “Oh, I see the rumors have been vastly exaggerated.”
* Cue -figuratively- sweating Carlisle who takes a sip from his mug
* Since he was already here you figured you would take a few days off from school and show him around
* “Is there anything in particular you might want to see?”
* Edward and Carlisle are looking pretty smug thinking that they’ve already shown you everything of note in the area.
* “I’ve always wanted to see the space needle in Seattle.”
* They both falter when they hear that. All the things they’ve shown you are things humans wouldn’t be able to see, hidden meadows, waterfalls, underwater caverns
* They never thought to show you human landmarks. Eleazer nods a growing smile on his face
* “Seattle has a lot of museums that I’ve wanted to visit as well”
* Carlisle let’s out a sigh of relief, none of his kids would be caught dead at a museum outside of a field trip
* To their dismay and Eleazer’s delight your eyes sparkle
* “Can we go to the pop culture museum and the arboretum too?”
* You don’t even pack, Eleazer tells you you can just buy whatever you need when you get there. You do take a duffel bag full of blood bags though
* And then you’re gone, you leave care instructions for your animals with Edward and you and Eleazer drive off towards Seattle in the rented Mercedes he got at the airport
* “Is it just me... or do they look happier with Eleazer than they are with us.” Edward’s only talking to himself, but Carlisle hears and the oncoming doting parent verbal and mental sputter makes him regret saying anything at all
* “it’s okay Carlisle, I’m sure they’re happy here with us too.”
* You guys stay at a pretty upscale hotel downtown, in the penthouse
* “Are you here on a trip with your boyfriend?” The receptionist asks, and Eleazar straight up starts laughing
* “This is my dad.” You say with a straight face and you can tell the receptionist wants to die
* “I-I’m so sorry, we usually get couples this time of year.” Right, it’s almost Valentine’s Day. Makes sense.
* Still there’s something super gross about people thinking you’re romantically linked to Eleazer
* The penthouse is very nice. There’s an infinity pool on your balcony, and three different bedrooms.
* The trip is really fun, you have a -pretend- meal at the revolving restraint at the needle, and spend the rest of the week museum hopping
* “She feels so familiar....” you mumble to yourself as you gaze at a portrait of a woman with long dark hair
* “That’s Carmen” Eleazer tells you
* “What?!?”
* “She was popular with artists even before she turned, it’s always been a hobby of hers to model” You’re just glad it’s not a nude portrait
* You take super cheesy pictures at the natural history museum, and even better pics at the pop culture museum
* On one of your last nights in the city Eleazer took you to a laundromat
* “I know we’ve been running out of clothes, but I’m sure the hotel has a laundry service”
* Eleazer just grins, talking to the attendant, who takes him to a hidden door.
* Well this isn’t sketchy at all
* Eleazer takes your hand in his as he leads you down a long narrow hallway. When you teach the end there’s a pretty nice bar and what appears to be a jazz club
* “It’s a speakeasy, I thought it might be a little fun for our last day”
* Being beautiful has its perks because the waiter doesn’t even card you, just brings you your dink
* “So...Garrett huh?” You groan, and Eleazer smiles
* You knew this was coming
* “Don’t worry, I’m not like Carlisle, if you like someone I like them too.”
* Well at least he isn’t acting like a total freak about the whole thing
* “I am surprised someone like Garrett is more your flavor though” you raise an eyebrow.
* “In comparison to who?” Eleazer gives you a funny look
* “Edward of course”
* You almost spit out your drink
* “Oh, is this one of those situations where the three of you are a couple together?”
* You start coughing and the waiter brings you a glass of water
* “We’re not together!”
* “Well of course you and Garrett aren’t together yet-“
* “Edward and I aren’t dating.”
* Eleazer just looks at you like you told him you’re pregnant
* “That can’t be right” he mumbles and you sigh
* “Why would you think we were dating?” The jazz singer belts out a high note and Eleazer patiently waits for her to be done so he can talk again
* “Well you went with them to Forks, and when you came to visit last year with him we all just figured it had happened naturally”
* Besides, Eleazer see’s the way he looks at you.
* Like you’re the epitome of your gender, like there’s never been anyone like you and there never will be again
* “We all? The entire coven thinks that?” Your fingers thread through your hair.
* What does Tanya think about that? She must be feeling pretty smug what with that talk she gave you all those years ago about how you would eventually date Edward
* Edward probably knows and just doesn’t even care, the criminal probably thinks it’s funny
* Eleazar watches you have a breakdown, taking a small sip of his brandy. It looks like you haven’t realized the way you look at Edward yet
* You look at him like you don’t have a single doubt. You trust him unconditionally, you know exactly who he is and where he will be.
* You look at him like he’s home
* “This is so embarrassing” you mumble and Eleazer smiles
* He guesses it’s not time yet for you to realize your feelings. Maybe it’s for the best, he’s not as bad as Carlisle, but the thought of giving you away at your wedding makes his heart ache.
* “The best cure for embarrassment is alcohol, drink up.” He grins when you clink your glass against his before gulping down the contents of your drink.
* Who knows, maybe in a few years someone completely different will show up and sweep you off your feet.
* You do talk about something really important with Eleazer though
* “Eleazer when do you think Aro will send for me?”
* Eleazer stops mid motion, his glass halted halfway between the table and his mouth
* “If I’m being honest, I don’t think he will for many years” Eleazer has an awkward expression on his face. “I think he’s afraid of you”
* You sputter
* The great and powerful Aro?! Alive for 1000’s of years. AFRAID OF YOU?!?
* “Oh don’t look at me like that, try and think about it from his perspective.”
* Your power is on par with Janes, but unlike her over the decade you’ve been a vampire your power has only gotten stronger. Your body’s natural despair and your desire to be human feed off of each other, compounding on each other to make your power that much more potent
* The only difference is that now you’ve learned to hide it, keeping your emotions in check so others aren’t hurt
* There isn’t a person alive that stands a chance against you at your full potential. You’re the strongest known vampire
* “Chelsea can’t bind you to coven with her loyalty like she does the others,” Eleazer takes a sip of his drink. “his only choice is to let you come back on your own volition, otherwise he risks a war.”
* A war he wouldn’t win, on your own it was dicey, all of them against just you could go either way
* But you weren’t alone anymore, now you have Tanya, Kate, Irina, Carmen, Eleazer
* And Edward. You know without a second thought Edward would follow you into hell if you asked.
* “Saving any discovery of remarkable talent”
* A discovery like Bella
* You’re not 100% certain, but you’re pretty sure your powers don’t work on Bella, the same way Edward, Jane and Alec’s powers won’t work on her
* And if she can really spread her shield to others-
* You’re f*cked
* “but the chances of that are slim to none.” Eleazer reassures you
* You give him a reassuring smile
* “Salud” you raise you glass and he smiles
* “Salud” he grins as your glass clinks
* You weren’t expecting the week to go by so fast, or to be having as much fun as you did.
* You were pretty sad when the end of the week rolled around and Eleazer dropped you off home
* “He’ll be back before you know it” Edward says, his arm over your shoulders, giving your arm a comforting squeeze
* “Yeah I know, it still feels bad though”
* Edward doesn’t say anything, he just holds you a little closer
* You’re thankful to the Cullen’s for taking you in and giving you an opportunity you might not have had otherwise
* But they’re not your coven, they’re not really your family
* And so now you’re here, walking in a bright pink and red construction paper covered hallway next to Jessica who’s talking about Valentine’s Day
* Ah right, today’s Valentine’s Day
* “Do you think maybe...Mike bought me a carnation?” She asks twirling a strand of hair around her finger
* “I’m sure he did”
* You’re actually sure he bought one for Bella, but you’re hoping the courtesy extends to the whole friend group
* You bought all your friends valentines, and that includes the Cullen’s and everyone on the cheer team
* The money wasn’t the worst part, they were only a dollar each, the worst part was having to write notes for all of them, it wouldn’t have been so bad if the girl at the table wasn’t giving you a dirty look as you pretended to struggle through writing 30 cards
* “How much do you want to bet Bella gets the most flowers out of all of us?”
* You would bet the entire contents of your bank account, but you’re pretty sure Jess can’t match your bet
* “Well, she’s something new to look at, and boys are dumb”
* Jessica blows a strand of hair out of her face. You know she’s probably a bit bitter since she’s started to notice Mike is interested in Bella and not her
* But you kind of get it
* Bella’s cute, but she’s no Cindy Crawford. And to add...she’s really shy, not exactly someone with a charismatic personality.
* The attention she’s garnered will fade in due time, Edward had told you as much
* “It’s the same thing as when we moved to town, most of these kids have gone to school together since childhood, so when someone new gets here it’s all they can think about. They don’t really like her, they just like the idea of her. The illusion of a choice”
* It made you a little sad to be honest, even worse was that Bella didn’t seem to enjoy the attention. She seemed uncomfortable every time a boy flirted with her
* “I almost feel bad for her, I get the feeling she’s not really into any of these guys that are chasing her” Jessica says, so you’re not the only one that’s noticed
* You’re a little surprised that when the student comes by with carnations you get two entire bouquets worth
* And then they come back the next period and give you another bouquet
* “Oooo someone’s popular!” Angela teases and you shrug. Most of these are from Alice and Rosalie, they each bought you three each
* You got a whopping 12 from Conner which feels a bit surprising
* You knew he was going after it, but you didn’t think he would bother to actually put any effort into his attraction outside of flirting with you
* You’ve got one from everyone in your friend group, a handful from others on the cheer team, Emmett and Jasper both bought you one
* The only person who didn’t get you one was Edward
* You wonder if he got Bella one? The thought seems unlikely since they were basically at each others throat the last time they were together
* So imagine your surprise when you walk into the hall to see Bella and Edward talking
* You’re gone for a week and it’s like they’re suddenly insta-friends
* In fact, Bella’s actually blushing, a carnation twirling between her fingers
* A light red carnation
* So he did buy carnations after all, just not for you
* And Edward...his eyes are sparkling as he looks down at her. A lopsided grin curling onto his face
* Oh, there’s that smile
* He says something to her and she pouts, slapping him lightly with the carnation
* They’re getting along just fine without your matchmaking efforts
* So you were the problem
* You should be happy, relieved even-
* But all you can feel is the sharp twist in the bottom of your stomach
* “Hey (Y/N/N), I see you got my flowers”
* You turn around to see Conner who’s looking at your half zipped bag, 3 bouquets of flowers popping out of the top
* “Oh, yeah thanks they’re beautiful.”
* “I’m glad you got them, I noticed you weren’t at school and for a second I was worried you wouldn’t be here today too.”
* He really is cute. He’s got chocolate brown hair and clear blue eyes, a splatter of freckles across the bridge of his nose. He plays tennis or baseball or some other irrelevant sport.
* He’s popular with the girls too, he dated Lauren a few times, and Jessica admitted she had a crush on him freshman year.
* “Are you feeling better now?” He asks, he looks genuinely concerned and it takes you back a bit
* “Yeah, my dad came for a surprise visit so we went to Seattle”
* “Oh that’s cool, what did you guys do?”
* You’re a little surprised that Conner O’Malley, f*ckboy extraordinaire, is Trying to engage you in an honest conversation
* “We just did all the tourist stuff, space needle, museums, food, the usual.”
* Conner smiles at you, hands fidgeting together
* “That’s cool, did you um-did you read the note with the bouquet?
* You didn’t notice there was a note, you swing you backpack around, picking out his bright red bouquet with ease.
* You hadn’t paid attention to the note attached than reading the name on the front to see who they were from.
* “Will you be my valentine” you read the note out loud, feeling confused. What does that mean
* He fidgets in front of you, from here you can see his ears are bright red
* “So would you want to go out sometime?”
* He’s asking you out? On a proper date????
* “We could go watch a movie, or um I know you like to ride those bikes in Port A-“ you do like to ride those bikes in port a
* You watch the his human boy fumble over himself. There’s no future with this boy, one day he’ll grow old and want things you won’t be able to give him.
* “I have a ton of homework to catch up on-“
* “Oh, yeah no, I get that”
* But maybe... maybe it’s okay just to pretend and let yourself be entertained by the experience
* “Would you want to come with me to the library? I’m totally lost on Trig”
* You know it’s not the most romantic place, but that’s part of the reason you suggested it. You want to give him an out
* He looks a little surprised but recovers quickly.
* “I’ll meet you after school then, we can drive to the library together”
* You don’t bother telling Edward, you just look to the spot where he’s with Bella, he must have heard
* His eyes meet yours, his mouth pinches into a slight smile and he gives you a nod before turning back to Bella
* What so just because he’s got a new friend you’re invisible now?
* Stupid Edward. Not like you care, you just wanted him to know he’d have to ride home with the others
* Maybe his new best friend Bella can give him a ride home
* “So you’re going out with Conner tonight huh?” Mike asks when you take your seat in biology
* Edward doesn’t so much as spare you a glance
* “He’s just helping me catch up on school work.” You shrug, pulling out your biology homework
* “I bet he’ll help you catch up on-“
* “You’re going out with Conner?” Bella interrupts, you’re grateful for it but at the same time: those doe eyes and innocent face irritate you
* “He’s just helping me catch up on homework I missed”
* “Couldn’t Edward hell you do that?”
* You try to not look at Edward
* But what the f*ck?!?
* Last week the two of them couldn’t even sit in a car together for a short ten minute drive, and now all of a sudden she’s asking why you’re NOT spending time with Edward?
* It’s so... irritating
* You feel a tap on your arm, and turn to look at Edward
* “Control yourself”
* Oh great so the one time he decides to acknowledge your presence is to tell you to control your powers because he’s worried about his little human girlfriend getting the whiplash?!?
* Seriously, f*ck off Edward
* “Mr. Barnes I have to go to the nurse.”
* You don’t even wait to hear his answer, you just grab your bag and walk out
* You keep walking, practically fuming until you get to the parking lot
* Well you can’t leave, you already told Conner you’re going with him to the library after school
* Not to add it’s going to look real weird if you don’t go the nurses office eventually after storming off like that
* But you don’t want to go there yet
* Queue you discretely crouching under a window, lightly tapping the glass
* “Rosalie, Rosalie can you hear me?” You whisper
* Rosalie head turns to the window, her eyebrows threaded together, you poke your head just slightly above the ledge and give her a small smile and a wave
* Well at least it’s always interesting with you around
* “What are you doing?” Rosalie asks when she meets you under the school staircase
* You give her a nervous smile before collapsing onto the floor
* She gives you a knowing look before sitting beside you
* “So what did king Brood do now?”
* Queue the Edward rant
* “I leave for one week and all of a sudden he’s besties with some human, when just last week he told me not to get to close to her”
* “That’s Edward for you, king of the brood and hypocrisy.” Rosalie leans her head back against the wall
* “You know he didn’t even get me a carnation?”
* Rosalie rolls her eyes
* “That sounds like him, if it helps he didn’t buy me a carnation either, he just doesn’t think things like this are important”
* “He bought Bella one.”
* Rosalie sputters at that, so you retell her all about the flirting you had to watch
* “What color was the carnation?” Rosalie asks, and your eyebrows thread together
* Why is that important right now?
* “Um I don’t know, not quite pink, not quite red, something in between.”
* Rosalie’s expression smooths
* So that’s his game
* “Don’t worry about it too much as long as it’s not a deep red it doesn’t mean love”
* Now it’s your turn to sputter
* “W-what why would I be worried? Edward can do whatever he wants, even if it is with some human”
* Rosalie gives you a knowing look, and you avert your eyes
* If Rosalie were cruel she might ask why you’re sitting out here with her instead of in class, if you don’t care about what Edward does
* But Rosalie isn’t cruel, at least not to you
* She pats your shoulder, and you sigh
* “Come on let’s go to the nurse so you can pretend you have cramps or something” you nod
* “Besides don’t you have a date with the hottest human boy at our school?” You groan and a teasing smile curls onto her lips
* “Not you too.”
* The date is over hyped for sure, it’s mostly you and Conner sitting at the end of a small table asking each other questions about the trig homework
* “So...are you supposed to use the radical formula for this one?”
* “I think so..do you remember the formula?” Conner scratches his head
* “Um I remember there was a story about a mixed up guy going to a party that’s supposed to help”
* Basically it’s more like you’re helping Conner with home work than him helping you Totally underwhelming
* “Sorry, I bet there are better ways to spend your Valentine’s Day” Conner scoffs
* “Are you kidding? I’m spending it with the hottest person at Forks HS, as far as I’m concerned this is a win” he grins and you smile back
* Well, it wasn’t completely a waste
* You roll around back home around 11:30, everyone’s gone, on with their own Valentine’s Day plans.
* You’re not surprised to see Edward’s not in his room either He’s probably out watching Bella or doing god knows what
* You know this is the way it supposed to be, it’s the best thing for you too, you know even with Bella in the mix Edward would never betray you
* Once she’s on your side you don’t have to worry about the Volturi. But still, there a twist in your stomach You don’t like this new Edward, even if it is who he really is.
* You want your Edward back
* You sigh as you walk down the hall and into your room Stopping in the doorway when you flick on the lights
* There on your desk is a bouquet of roses
* You have half a mind to think they’re from Eleazer or Garrett or something
* So imagine when you pull off the card to see Edward’s name attached
* “Glad to have you home, happy Valentine’s Day” - Edward
* You toy with the card, a small smile curling onto your lips
* Maybe he’s still your Edward
* Your Edward just more anti-social
Tags:  @moonlights27 @thebluetint @the100thtwilight @awesomebooklover17 @oneofthepotterheads @smileygirl08 @imdoingathingmom @iconicgguk @yrawn @alyciaswhore @little-horror-show @wicked-watering-can @lazydreamers @ xxxmuxxx @ideas-for-you-to-adopt​​ @poisoinedhope @maryleigh8796​ @moose-squirrel-asstiel​ @hotmessgoodness @jaimewho @corabmarie @what-am-i-doing10​
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starlight-loki · 3 years
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Seeing Each Other In Dreams (Loki x Reader hc)
A/N: as someone who's had some really freaking weird recurring dreams over the years, I thought it would be neat to explore this topic a bit more :')
there was that saying, that everyone you encounter in a dream is someone you saw in real life, even for just a second
but as soon as you dream about him, you know that that saying's definitely not true
you're not really sure who he is, but you definitely haven't seen anyone like him before
his face isn't one you'd forget
or his eyes
the way he looks at you -- even though in your first dream he was standing at the opposite end of the room -- makes you feel as though you had gotten punched right in the gut
you didn't speak to Mystery Dude the first time you dreamt about him, but you sure as hell couldn't get him off your mind after that
not a day went by where you didn't think about him -- who he was, why he was in your dream in the first place, why he wouldn't stop staring at you like he was uncovering your every secret
it was a few months, though, before another strange dream occurred
Mystery Dude was back, and this time he was there long enough for you to get closer
you opened your mouth to speak, to ask him for his name, but as soon as the two of you locked eyes, you heard a name in your mind
Loki.
you wake up before you could think anything more, your heart racing as fast as your thoughts as you tried to piece together everything you knew about this man
who was Loki? why was he showing up in your dreams? and why could you suddenly communicate telepathically?
you researched until the early hours of morning, desperate for some sort of explanation into why this person -- who might not have even existed for all you knew -- was suddenly occupying every corner in your mind just because of a small handful of dreams
your research led you nowhere, but the dreams started getting more frequent
there was one dream in particular that haunted you
about 4 months into regular yet short dream visitations from Loki, something suddenly changed
rather than the usual meet-for-5-seconds-then-wake-up scenario, you actually found him alone this time, almost waiting for you
he sat on a bench overlooking a garden, and you could feel his emotions as you moved closer to sit beside him
he felt... melancholy to you almost. it was a deeper feeling beyond sadness, a lonely yearning for something without the bitterness.
"Are you okay?"
You're not sure why you ask that question out of all the others you had rehearsed over the months -- "who are you?" "why are you in my dreams?" "are you stalking me?" -- and in reply Loki gazes at you with this indescribable look of desire in his eyes
"Took you long enough."
"I don't get it."
As if you weren't confused already, Loki shakes his head
The edges of your dream start to blur, and you panic. you just got here, you just started to talk to him more, he can't leave you now.
"Come find me and you will understand."
The sheer emotion that stays with you when you wake up brings you to tears, and you sit with your head in your hands, sobbing without fully knowing why
there's some sort of connection between you and Loki, you're sure of it
this has never happened before, he has to be real, he can't just be a figment of your imagination
somehow over the next few months, one thing leads to another and you end up finding yourself at the Avengers Compound
it started when your friend out of the blue showed you a job posting for administrative work, which you happened to apply for two days too late, only to be forwarded to none other than Stark Industries for an interview out of pity more than anything else
as you followed Tony through the Compound towards your office, you passed by a few Avengers chatting in the hall
"...I'm scheduled to train with Loki, and I'm definitely not looking forward to it-"
"I'm sorry, did you just say Loki?"
Steve Rogers as well as Tony give you quizzical stares as you gape at them
"Yes... why? Everything alright?"
A part of you wants to ask if this 'Loki' he mentioned has dark hair and green eyes that have the ability to expose your very soul, but instead you bite your lip and shake your head in dismissal
Moments later, however, you catch Tony peering down the hallway and rolling his eyes
"Speak of the devil, look who it is."
You look over in Tony's direction, and your just about give in right there on the spot
oh my god. it's him. It's Loki.
He looks exactly like how he did in all your dreams
you look away before his eyes meet yours, your breath caught in your throat, but you catch him freeze out of the corner of your eye.
he whispers your name
"I know you."
"Me?" Your heart is pounding, all you can think of is the whirlwind of emotions you felt when you sat beside him in your dream
"I've seen you before. In my dreams."
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riskypeaches · 3 years
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2,365 Days
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2,365 days. That’s how long it took you to realize that you were in love with Han Jisung. It took him another 36 to realize that he never stopped.
Pairing: Han Jisung/reader, female reader.
Word Count: 2.1k 
Genre: Romance, college au, idiots in love, slight angst, angst with a happy ending, childhood best friends to lovers au.
Warnings: Excessive usage of italics and Y/N because that’s how I roll. Also profanity, I like to cuss. 
Bits and pieces of a story idea I had for Han. Events happen chronologically, but a fair amount of time is skipped before and after each bit. Heavily inspired by the song Jenny (I Wanna Ruin Our Friendship), go ahead and take a listen!
                                                                                                                        ↢
“Two thousand, three hundred and sixty-five days!”, you shouted. 
Jisung stopped in his tracks, furrowing his eyebrows. “Y/N, what are you on about?”.
“Two thousand, three hundred and sixty-five days”, you stated again. “That’s- that’s how long it took me to realize I was in love with you”.
His mouth parted in shock at your confession. “Look, Y/N-”, he started but you cut him off. 
“I don’t want to hear it!”, you said furiously shaking your head. “I know it’s stupid! I am never going to be over how stupid it was that I could be in love with someone for that long and not realize it until a couple weeks ago!”. 
He took a step forward reaching out to put a hand on your shoulder. On any other day you would have gladly accepted the comfort, but the look in his eyes in that moment sickened you. In all the years you had known him, he had never once looked at you like that. And you fucking hated it. 
All you could see was pity. 
You dodged his hand, instead letting your own arms wrap around your front. You didn’t want comfort from him, not right now at least. All his touch did was make you hurt. 
“The worst part about this is that I think you used to be in love with me too”, you murmured, shrinking into yourself. “And I’m- I’m so sorry I never realized it until now because I think… I think I could have saved you a lot of pain if I just took one fucking look at what was right in front of me”. 
“Y/N…”, he said looking at you with a pained expression. 
“Jisung I’m sorry, I really am. I know you’re with someone right now. I’m not trying to- steal you from them or something I just…”, you trailed off. 
“You just what?”, he said. 
“I just!”, you said looking at the ceiling to hold back your tears. Pressing the heel of your hands into your eyes you took deep steadying breaths. 
“Jisung, I want you to be happy. I really do. And if that girl makes you happy then- that’s enough for me! I just… needed to give my best friend an explanation instead of dropping off the face of the earth”. 
“Dropping off…?” he said, beginning to look vaguely panicked. “Where are you going?”. 
“I’m just going home!”, you said waving your hands back and forth in a placating manner. “For… a couple of months at least”.
“Y/N. You haven’t been back home since the day we graduated high school”. 
“I know”, you whispered looking at the floor. “I just need time to myself right now. These feelings are all new and I… I know I can’t be a good friend to you right now. Seeing you, being with you it just- hurts. I’m not the best friend you deserve right now”. 
Jisung made a pained noise in the back of his throat and stepped in closer towards you. “I’m not mad at you! You don’t need to leave, if that’s what you’re afraid of”, he said placing his hands on your shoulders. 
“No that’s not it Jisung”, you said gently brushing off his hands. “I just- for me to be a good friend, the one who can support you and the relationship you’ve found yourself in, I need time to get over these feelings. And I know that’s something I can’t do right now. So, I’m going home”. 
Jisung sighed heavily, running his hands through his hair. Taking another look at you he seemed to decide that you were being serious and dropped onto your couch in defeat. 
“You’re not… you’re not leaving right?”, he said head hanging down to his knees. “You’re coming back?”.
You gave a half hearted laugh and collapsed next to him. 
“Han Jisung, just because the unfortunate side effects of the human condition cause me to have feelings for you that does not mean that you are ever going to be able to get rid of me”. 
He gave a chuckle in response, still refusing to lift his head up. You tried to ignore the fact that he was sniffling through giggles. For his sake. 
You gently nudged his shoulder with your own. 
“I’ve known you for almost 7 years now. You’re stuck with me for life”. 
He laughed fully this time, trying to subtly wipe at his eyes. “Kylie”, he said tilting his head at you and giving you a watery smile. “What do you think about her?”. 
You gave him your own watery smile in return, “I really like her”, you said. 
And it was the truth.
                                                              ↢ 
Something was off, Jisung thought. In fact, something was off about this entire week. 
His grades we’re up, better than they ever had been, he was dating an amazing girl, he had a steady job so… life is good. 
Life was good, right?
                                                             ↢
“Are you done moping yet?”, Chan said casually sipping at his soda. 
“Moping?”, I asked. “I’m not moping”. 
Chan rolled his eyes throwing another french fry into his mouth. “You clearly are. But, if we’re still in the denial stage that’s fine. We can just talk about… uh”, chan said nibbling at his fry thoughtfully. “Oh!”, he shouted suddenly. “Professor Brewer’s paper! Why don’t we work on it now? What are you doing for the prompt?”. 
I sighed and rested my head on my palm. “I already finished it”, I grumbled twirling my soda straw aimlessly. 
Chan’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. “You fucking what?!”, he said choking on his soda. 
“Shit dude are you ok?”, I said patting at his back. He waved me off, spluttering an “I’m ok” back. 
“You WHAT”, he said after regaining his breath. 
I shrank back in my seat. “I er- already finished it?”, I said nervously.
“Han”, Chan deadpanned. “We have 4 days left until that paper is due”. 
I furrowed my eyebrows at him. “4 days isn’t that long you know, I have other classes too. Besides, don’t you always finish your assignments the day they're assigned?”. 
He waved me off leaning back in his seat. “Yeah I do, but that’s not the point”. 
“I’m sorry… then what exactly is the point then?”, I asked steadily growing more confused. 
“The point is! You never even bother to look at your assignments until the day they’re due!”, Chan said exasperatedly. 
I eyed him warily. “Why are you getting so worked up about this?”.
“Because!”, he all but shouted. “You’re an idiot!”. 
“Hey!”, I said. “Just because you’re my hyung doesn’t mean you can just call me stupid!”, I huffed crossing my arms at him. “I’ll have you know I have a 3.8 this quarter”. 
“Exactly”, Chan groaned while slowly dragging a hand across his face. 
“What the hell are you on about?”, I said genuinely starting to become annoyed with the conversation. 
“Hannie”, he said sighing. “The only reason you have such good grades this quarter is because you’re not following Y/N around like a lost puppy”. 
My heart panged at the mention of her name. “I don’t know what you're talking about”, I breathed. 
“Yes you do”, he said with a stern look in his eyes. “You have shitty grades every quarter because all you ever want to do is spend time with her. The only reason you get by is because she chews your ass out when she finds out you’ve been slacking”. 
“Nope”, I shook my head adamantly. “I still don’t know what you’re talking about. I have a girlfriend, everything’s just fine”.
“Ok the fact that you brought that up when I wasn’t even talking about your girlfriend makes me feel like there’s more to unpack there but… baby steps. We’ll come back to that”
Chan looked at me with an expectant look in his eyes, as if waiting for me to say something. I shrugged helplessly at him, not knowing what he wanted from me. 
He sighed heavily through his nose before apparently giving up on what he’d been waiting for. 
“Hannie…”, he said gently. Chan carefully put his hand on my shoulder and looked at me with sympathetic look in his eyes. “You miss her”. 
I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my ears. “No I don’t”, I said shaking my head at him. 
“Han, you’ve spent nearly every single day with Y/N since you guys we’re 13. You can’t expect me to believe- actually you can’t expect yourself to believe that you don’t miss her”. 
“Not true”, I muttered. “When we were in school she went back in the summers to visit her family”.
“Fine then- you spent everyday with her albeit 2 months out of the year. That’s not even true for the past 3 years! She hasn’t been back these summers, she stayed with you”. 
I sighed heavily, sliding even further down my seat. “What do you want me to do?”, I mumbled miserably. 
“I want you to stop being an idiot and acknowledge that you're upset, and that you have been for the past month”.
“Because Y/N’s gone?”, I asked slowly. 
“Because Y/N’s gone.”, Chan affirmed. 
                                                            ↢
“Jisung?”, you asked incredulously. “How the hell did you get here? Why the hell are you here?”.
Jisung was near hyperventilating at this point, he felt that his lungs might collapse from the sheer stress of the situation. 
Alright, alright. Calm down. Just remember what Chan and Changbin told you in the car ride over this is fine everything’s fine. 
“I broke up with Kylie!”, I blurted out. 
Everything was not fucking fine. 
You crossed your arms and gave him a stern look. “Han Jisung I had to suffer through weeks of you non-stop talking about that girl. You better have not just broken up with her I swear to god-”
“She doesn’t make me cheesecake!”, I shouted cutting off her rant. 
She looked even more confused than when she first realized I was standing in her grandparent’s yard. “Jisung what on earth are you talking about?”, she said. 
What on earth indeed.
“I’m sure if it's really that big of a problem”, she said utterly perplexed. “She could just learn how to make one dude?”. 
“Even if she did, it wouldn’t be your cheesecake!”, I said desperately. 
“...what?”. 
“It wouldn’t be the same as the ones you make me and- she doesn’t stay up with me all night trying to help me figure out rhymes for my lyrics even though you know you can’t rap for shit. And sure, she can skateboard and that’s pretty cool but she’s not the dumbass who thought launching herself off an out of control board was a great idea and face planted in the middle of four way traffic-”. 
“Hey!”, she huffed indignantly. 
I ignored her, continuing to roll right through my rant. 
“And she doesn’t snore like a fucking buzzsaw, which would be so cute if it didn’t sound so god damn concerning. And she doesn’t watch romance movies with me even though you absolutely despise them and-”, I said stopping abruptly. 
“And?”, she asked softly. 
“And I don’t love her”, I breathed feeling the tips of my ears turn red. “Not the way that I love you”. 
“Oh”, she said. 
I laughed at her dumbfounded expression. “It took me 36 days and 2 hyungs to realize I was still in love with you and all you have to say in response is ‘oh’?”. 
She huffed at me in annoyance. “I spilled my guts out to you a month ago, what the hell else do you want?! Some kind of blood oath??”. 
“If that’s what it takes for you to tell me you love me right now then yeah, I think that’s fair”. 
“You should have asked for that a whole fucking month ago!”, she said stamping her foot in annoyance. 
“Hey! You may have had to wait a month but I had to wait 6 whole fucking years before you even acknowledged that you liked me!”. 
“I hate you”. 
“Oh you do? Well I could just- get back in Chan’s car then. Drive back to school”, I teased. 
“Han Jisung I swear to god I will throw this fucking shovel at you”. 
I laughed wholeheartedly, head tilting towards the sky. “Ok ok, I’m sorry. I get it. No leaving allowed, now will you get over here and kiss me already?”. 
“No!” she yelped, turning red. 
“6 years Y/N, I’m a desperate man”. 
“If you don’t shut up I swear to god-”.
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inuyashaha · 4 years
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Yashahime Episode 15
I think so many of my feelings and observations have been stated by others at this point, but here go my rambling thoughts anyway.
First the negative:  It was an oddly structured episode.  The introduction threw us straight into the past, very, very briefly framed by Riku as the narrator.  Did Riku break the fourth wall or were we to assume a listener we did not see?  I’m still not sure.  So much information was thrown at the audience that it did not feel like there was enough times to savor the emotions of the moments ...  very very important moments that showed us Inuyasha and Kagome’s home and married dynamic, pregnant Kagome, RIN HAVING HER BABIES with Kaede, Sango and Kagome being there (I LOVED that), Sesshomaru taking his babies...I’m willing to wait and assume this rushed narrative is on purpose, but it was a little jarring.
Now the good:
Rin is the mommy!  I knew that.  I was convinced on August 1st during the livestream, but it was a sweet (if all too brief) moment.  Mamiko Noto’s voice as Rin was so perfect.  It was sweet, but it was subdued.  It was the voice of a someone who had just birthed twins and knows something awful is about to go down.  To hear her name the babies was a beautiful moment, and how sweet were baby Towa and Setsuna.  Towa looked a little grumpy/sleepy, but baby Setsuna was already smiling :).  I do think they will show that Setsuna, deep down, is a smiling sweet girl like her mother and that circumstances made her like she is.  It also makes me think that we have only seen one side of Towa -- we haven’t really seen what she has inherited from Sesshomaru -- yet.
I loved that all of Rin’s friends surrounded her and helped her have her babies.  The twins hurrying to get Kaede, Sango going for Kagome...it was a community event!  But seriously, to know that if only for a short while, Rin got to be surrounded by love and peace with her babies by her side makes the bitterness of Sesshomaru taking the babies so quickly afterwards a little easier to bear.  Just a little.  Sango the experienced mom.  Kaede the midwife.  Rin the new mom.  Kagome the expectant mom.  Imagine the conversations and bonding.  Their kids should have grown up together :(. 
And I am going to speculate, until the show proves me wrong, that Rin probably had her own hut and continued to live in the village after she married Sesshomaru, or at least after she got pregnant.  The fact that the twins came to get Kaede at night makes me think that she was not in Kaede’s hut.  Wouldn’t Kaede be at her own place at night? 
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Like Inuyasha and Kagome, I think Rin and Sesshomaru had their own place:
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This looks different from Kaede’s hut.  I don’t remember the little pathway on the left, but it’s impossible to tell if they are next to the gate here.  Again, I’m choosing to believe they had their own place.
So, this makes me consider how much Sesshomaru really did settle down for Rin.  He gave up his titles.  He did not take her to a castle in the air.  He let her stay among her friends and start a family WITH HIM but still within the village.  He gave her the best of both worlds.  He MARRIED her.  How many times was she called his wife or bride?  She’s no concubine or human piece on the side.  He MARRIED her.  Since he had not seen his mother in a while, I’m assuming he married her in her village, letting everyone know she wasn’t just some poor village girl taken advantage of by the powerful yokai. And it clearly wasn’t just a human marriage.  All the big bad demons called Rin Sesshomaru’s wife. What honor, respect and love he showed to her, a mere human peasant (though of course we all know she is so much more than that, especially to Sesshomaru).
Was he like many lords and installed her in her own home, visiting and staying with her when he did not have business to attend to?  Or did he tell Inuyasha that he better get used to having another demon hanging out in his forest by the village?  Like...for all intents and purpose, Sesshomaru may have been living in the same village as Inuyasha, both intending to raise their families together.  I love that.  Please Yashahime, don’t dissuade me of this.
Poor Sesshomaru...sigh...I know it doesn’t look great for him right now...but that will change.  The story is not going to make him the villain.  It’s just not.  But yes, poor Sesshomaru.  He got to be happy about his babies being born for all of about two seconds before Zero interrupted him.  Look at his little smile while he listens to his daughters’ first cries:
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He had his worried face on, and then he smiled.  He’s a dad in the waiting room.  And the TONE of Jaken’s voice when he declared that they had been born.  The WARMTH, the LOVE.  Grandpa Jaken I love you so much.
This bitch, though, I don’t love at all:
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Does she have some kind of magic yokai ultrasound that lets her know Sesshomaru had twin daughters and predicted Kagome would have a daughter?  I look forward to seeing how this all unravels, but the fact that she showed up IMMEDIATELY after the girls were born is frightening, and maybe that was why Sesshomaru was at the outskirts of the village instead of closer by?  Clearly, they were expecting some kind of attack, but dang...that happened fast.
Who is this lady anyway?  I’ve seen it speculated that it may be Riku’s mother...and yes?  I could see that.  Did she have a hanyou she was not allowed to keep,  poor Riku tossed overboard, and now she seeks revenge? Or was she rejected by Toga? Those tears of hers.  Who was she crying for?
As many others noticed, this was a little odd:
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What about Sesshomaru’s mother?  He hasn’t seen her in years (such a bad son), and when they go to her castle, she’s missing.  Was she just off doing flying dog stuff in the sky?  Was she shopping for expensive jewelry and designer silks?  I’m assuming she was not at Sesshomaru’s wedding.  Or did Zero do something to her and Sesshomaru just wasn’t aware?  I’m dying to see more of Sesshomaru’s mom.  I want her to meet the twins and just throw out her arms all, “Come to Grandma!  Let me buy you things and tell you stories about your dad.”  But that remains to be seen.
Speaking of grandparents, can I say yet again that I love the honorary grandparents Kaede and Jaken, both trying to protect Rin in their own way.  Kaede doesn’t hold back and calls Sesshomaru a fool (imagine what she was like when Sesshomaru was truly courting Rin) while Jaken comforts Rin when her babies are taken away.  Again, the voice acting by Jaken’s VA is EVERYTHING in this episode.  The LOVE he conveys.  He’s perfect.  I love him.  I do.
And Rin knew the plan. She knew what was going to happen, but poor thing...I wish it could have been different for her.  Look how much she loves and trusts Sesshomaru.  That expression clearly says “Look what I made! Look what WE made!”  I wish we could have seen them react to the babies together. 
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Also, look at how Sango is about THISCLOSE to putting on her slayer clothes and kicking Sesshomaru’s ass when he scooped up those babies and turned away:
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The rest of the episode was such a jumble of events.  Sesshomaru AND Jaken were with Inuyasha and Kagome when the comet arrived, which was after the twins’ birth but before Moroha’s.  Even if they are hanyo, I don’t think Jaken and Sesshomaru would have left newborn babies alone.  Rin was with them.  Jaken even said he was bringing Rin to them (I assume after she recovered from birthing twins).  Further supporting this would be the dream gazing spell business --  Like others have said, I’m pretty sure Rin sacrificed herself to keep her remaining daughter safe after Towa was pulled into the future.
Miscellaneous observations:
1. What the hell is going on with the comet? Every 500 years?  So, the Higurashis might be in for a surprise pretty soon?  Comet remnants are still in the sky though...
2. Why in the hell did Inuyasha bring his pregnant wife along for the comet destruction? Why exactly was she there?  Unless he was too worried about her safety to leave her behind?
3. Riku is one shady fellow.  HE found the compact?  How did he know where to look? I know, I know.  Don’t be hasty, but c’mon.  We don’t have that many episodes left.
4.  I like how they portrayed a pregnant Kagome.  I like this little side view where you can see she’s chunky, but it’s not an exaggerated thing:
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5. Sesshomaru and Rin had babies before Inuyasha and Kagome! On one level, it is very sweet.  Of anyone, Rin and Sesshomaru are very aware of the fragility of life and how fleeting time is.  Look at the names of their daughters.  It makes sense that they wanted a family quickly.  On the other hand, I cannot shake the idea that the brothers did get competitive with each other.  I can imagine Inuyasha knocking up Kagome as quickly as possible after finding out that Rin was pregnant.  Then Sesshomaru has TWO daughters to Inuyasha’s one.  I am longing for some brotherly interactions.  Let Inuyasha call him a hypocrite at least once.  Let Sesshomaru gloat that he has TWO super awesome daughters. Let the daughters watch their ridiculous fathers fist fight while their mothers pour water on them and tell them to SIT.  Please.
6. Besides emphasizing the fact that Rin is Sesshomaru’s WIFE, the episode also emphasized the fact that Rin actually birthed the girls. Rin is in labor, it will be soon, you did well, Rin, Rin resting in bed with her daugthers, her voice weak and tired, the tub used to wash the babies in the background.  There was no magic switcheroo.  The twins were not found beneath a tree.  Sesshomaru did not sprout them from a forgotten limb. They came out of Rin’s body.  She’s the mom. She made them with her husband. End of.
6. Finally, this is the best part of the episode.
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You sure did, Rin. 
Now where are A-Un and Shippo?
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Text
Diabolik Lovers LUNATIC PARADE ;; Shuu Route ー Chapter 4
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Monologue
Afterwardsーー
We were genuinely gifted,
many props to decorate the party venue,
by Aji-san,
who had been deeply moved by the Ghost Flower.
We were also able to get information from the gondolier
on how to set up the gondola
to resemble the way it looked when Riegel-san and his wife met,
in an attempt to please him,
as much as possible.
And then...
ー The scene starts at the Rubin Canal
Yui: ( Phew...I guess we’re about halfway done with the decorations. )
Shuu-san, what do you think...?
Shuu: Looks fine to me. Not bad.
ー The gondolier runs up to them
Gondolier B: Ooh, what a surprise! These decorations are identical to those from the past. For a second, I thought I had gone back in time...
ーー Oh. Whoops, silly me.
The owner of the sweets shop came to the docks. He’s looking for you two.
Yui: Yes!
ー The scene shifts to the docks
Sweets shop owner: ーー Aah! There you are!
Yui: Good evening.
Sweets shop owner: Save those formalities for later! More importantly, take a look at this!
Here’s your order.
*Thud*
Yui: Waah! Looks delicious...!
Sweets shop owner: I think it turned out excellent, if I may say so myself. Will this do?
Yui: Of course! Thank you so much!
Sweets shop owner: Aah, I’m glad!
I should probably head back to my shop then.
Aah, so busy, so busy!
ー The sweets shop owner leaves
Shuu: ...His lack of composure is a huge flaw, but I can’t deny his skill.
Yui: ( I’m sure Riegel-san will be pleased with this as well, right? )
ーー Well then, we should probably make a quick stop at the hotel then. We have to get ready as well.
ー The scene shifts to the main street
Yui: ( Okay, everything is going smoothly so far...! )
( Ah...But there’s one more thing to do before we return to the hotel... )
Shuu-san. Is there a shop where we could borrow some clothes around here?
It’s a party, so I figured I should probably prepare a dress.
Shuu: ...Hmm.
This way then.
*TIMESKIP*
ー The scene shifts to the hotel room
Yui: ( I guess most of the preparations are done... )
Shuu: The Familiars will arrange a picture of Riegel-san’s wife to put inside the pendant.
They should bring it to us before the party starts.
Yui: Thank you very much.
I guess we should start getting ready too then.
You can go ahead and take a bath first. I’ll go through the list one more time to confirm we’ve got everything.
Shuu: Nn...
ー Shuu leaves for the bathroom
Yui: ( Okay... )
*TIMESKIP*
Yui: ( ...Yeah. There’s nothing we overlooked. )
( Now we just have to wait for the party to start. )
( I hope Riegel-san will like it... )
*Flap flap flap*
Yui: Ah...
( It’s one of Shuu-san’s Familiars. They’re holding the photograph... )
*Flap flap flap*
Yui: Thanks!
*Flip*
Yui: ( So this is Riegel-san’s wife. What a beautiful person with such a lovely smile. )
( That’s a younger Riegel-san standing next to her, right? )
( The two of them really did look happy together. )
( That’s why...I feel sad thinking about how much emotional pain Riegel-san has to go through right now... )
( We have to make this party a success at all costs! )
ー Shuu enters the room
Shuu: Hm...Oh? The Familiar’s back already?
Yui: Yes. They brought this pictuーー
Wah!?
S-Shuu-san, your clothes...
Shuu: I just got out of the bath so what did you expect?
Yui: A-Anyway, hurry up and put something on!
Shuu: Good grief, what are you so flustered about still...?
ー Shuu walks towards the wardrobe
Yui: ( That shocked me...! )
*TIMESKIP*
Yui: This is Riegel-san’s wife.
Shuu: Hm...
Yui: I...Seeing them standing next to each other, I thought to myself once more.
I want to make this party a success. I want to lessen his pain even just a little...
I want to do anything within my power.
Shuu: ...Anything, huh?
But haven’t you forgotten how we ended up in this situation in the first place?
It’s not like we were trying to help Riegel from the very beginning.
We approached him in hopes of getting information on the Count and find a way to retrieve your heart.
Yui: That’s...true but...
Even so, I can’t just leave him in the cold...!
Shuu: ...Why not?
ー He steps closer
Yui: ( Shuu-san...? )
Shuu: You’re awfully persistent about helping him out.
Did you fall for him or something?
Yui: ...!? T-That’s not it!
Shuu: I wonder? Then who is it you like?
Yui: W-Well...
ーー You, Shuu-san. You’re the only one I love.
Shuu: Heeh...
Yui: ( Uu, this is kind of embarrassing... )
A-And you...? Who do you like?
Shuu: Go ahead and think about that question a bit. If Iーー
*Thud*
Shuu: Pin you down on the bed like this, I guess the answer should become a little clear?
ーー Nn.
*Smooch*
Yui: Ah...!
Shuu: Once the party starts, you’ll take on the appearance of Riegel’s wife for a while, right?
So keep still and let me have my fun nowーー
Yui: ( ...Shuu-san... )
Monologue
And then,
it was finally time for the party to start.
Together with Shuu-san,
the two of us once again,
headed towards the candy house where Riegel-san lives.
Before knocking on the door,
I put the picture of Riegel-san’s wife,
inside the pendant hanging from my neck.
And voila ーー
Yui: ( ...This feels kind of odd. Like I’m no longer myself. )
Um...How do I look?
Shuu: On the outside, you’re a split image of the woman in the picture. But...
Yui: ( ...? I wonder what’s wrong? )
Shuu: Your little quirks when you’re lost in thought are still the same as usual. You haven’t changed on the inside.
Well then, guess we should get going soon.
Yui: Y-Yes!
*TIMESKIP*
ー The scene shifts to the candy house
Shuu: Riegel should be even more wary now of potential humans trying to visit him.
So it’d probably be best if I greet him first.
Yui: I’m counting on you.
Shuu: Yeah...
*Knock knock*
Shuu: Riegel. It’s me.
*Knock knock*
Shuu: I’ve decided to hold a party for you today.
Riegel: ...A party?
Shuu: Yeah, exactly. A party.
Riegel: I’m not taking part in such a thing. Just do as you please without me.
Shuu: ...I don’t mind either way, really.
But there’s a little guest for you.
I’m sure it’s someone you’d kill forーー
*Thud*
Riegel: Aah! Could it be!?
Yui: ( Riegel-san... )
*Rustle*
Yui: ( Wah! H-He embraced me... )
Riegel: Marian! Aah, Marian!!
Shuu: ...
Yui: ( Shuu-san walked away... )
Riegel: I missed you...! I’ve wanted to see you again so badly, Marian! This whole time, ever since that day... 
Yui: W-Wait. I’mーー
Riegel: You finally returned to my side, didn’t you? Aah, I’m so glad...
Yui: ( He totally thinks...I’m his actual wife, doesn’t he? )
ー The scene fades to black
Yui: ( But I’m not. )
( ...Shuu-san knew this would happen, hence why he was so reluctant to using the pendant... )
( Yet, I... )
...Ugh.
ー The scene shifts to the Rubin Canal
Shuu: ...
Yui: ( Shuu-san’s napping in the corner, huh...? )
Riegel: ...Aah...Well if it isn’t the place where we first met!
If I recall correctly...I fell for you at first sight.
Meanwhile you were rather frightened of me at first.
However...After our feelings became mutual, you let me in on your secret, didn’t you?
That back then, it was love at first sight for you as well.
You remember, don’t you? There’s no way you could ever forget.
Yui: ...
Riegel: Fufu...Aah, anyway, this food is amazing.
This cake in particular...It’s delicious.
You should give it a try as well.
Yui: Eh? Sure...
( What should I do? I have to tell him the truth... )
Riegel: What’s wrong? Do you feel sick?
Yui: No...It’s...
There’s something I have to tell you.
I’m sorry. I...I’m not the real Marian.
Riegel: ...
Yui: This pendant around my neck holds a mysterious power, and that’s how...
Riegel: ...
Yui: I’m sorry...
Shuu: ...Good grief...
ー Shuu walks up to them
Yui: ( Shuu-san... )
Riegel: ...
...I don’t mind.
Yui: Eh?
Riegel: I don’t sweat the details.
I knew from the very start. That you were just a fake.
The dead won’t come back to life. I know that much.
...That’s exactly why.
Because I know that death is permanent...
I want to at least...Hold onto you while you look just like my wife.
Forever!
ー Riegel grabs hold of Yui
Yui: Kyaah!
Shuu: Wha...!?
ー The scene shifts to Aizen Alley
Riegel: Haah, haah, haah...!
Yui: R-Riegel-san! Please, let go of my hand...
Riegel: No! If I do that, you’ll leave me! I’m sick and tired of being all alone...!
Yui: ( What on earth should Iーー )
*Woosh*
Yui: Ah...!
( I-I can’t breathe...!? )
*Woosh*
Riegel: O-Oi! What’s wrong!?
*Woosh*
Yui: ( My heart...The Kleinod...It’s at its limit already... )
Shuu: Oi!
ー Shuu runs up to them
Yui: ( Shuu-san... )
Shuu: ...Finally found you. Enough of this vain struggle.
Let go of her.
Riegel: I won’t. I’m not letting go of Marian!
Shuu: Then I’ll force you. She’s mine.
Besides...Her heart won’t last much longer.
I don’t have the time to play along with your elopement act right now.
You know better than anyone how much it hurts to lose the woman you love, don’t you!?
Riegel: ...
Iーー
*Woosh*
Yui: Aah...!
Shuu: Yui!
Riegel: ...Ugh!
Yui: ( I...can’t...no more... )
Monologue
As my eyelids gradually grow heavier,
my body somehow becomes light.
It feels as if I am floating mid-air
Seeping through the darkness,
a light shines upon me.
Somebody is standing at the other side.
I can’t see their face because of the reflection,
but the person I treasure more than anyone,
is holding out their hand towards me.
I want toーー grab hold of it.
I can’t stand being separated,
not even for a single second.
While writhing around in the darkness,
I continued to extend my hand straight forward.
And then...
ー Yui wakes up inside of Riegel’s house
Yui: ( ...Where am I...? )
Shuu: You’re awake...?
Yui: Shuu-san...
Shuu: ...Don’t make me worry too much.
Yui: I’m sorry...
Um...What happened to me afterwards...?
Shuu: Youーー
ー A flashback ensues
Shuu: Hang in there!
Yui: ...
Shuu: Oi, Riegel.
Riegel: W-What...What should I do...!?
Shuu: Riegel! Calm down.
Can you tell me everything you know about this Count?
I’m begging you.
Riegel: Shuu...
...I’m sorry...It’s true that the two of us were close in the past.
But I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that his manor’s security is impregnable.
He would never talk about himself after all...
Shuu: ...Ugh.
Riegel: I’m sorry...I truly am...
Shuu: ...Fuck...I...
Yui: ...Uu...
Shuu: ...!
It’s too early to give up just yet. The Kleinod is still moving!
ー The flashback ends
Shuu: ーー Then we carried you here afterwards. Your condition gradually became more stable after all.
Yui: So that happened...
*Thud*
Riegel: ...
Yui: Riegel-san...
Riegel: ...My bad.
This happened because I lost sight of myself...
Yui: No. It’s my fault. I’m sorry.
Riegel: Oh no...I felt so happy I was able to see Marian again, even for just a split second. From the bottom of my heart...
That’s why I didn’t want to let go of her.
But...Then I realized that was wrong of me.
Because Marian would never approve of hurting someone else like that.
I’m sure she’s scolding me right now in the afterlife.
Besides...
Even if she’s not next to me, she remains within my heart forever. I finally realized that.
Yui: Riegel-san...
Riegel: I’ll help you two out to retrieve your heart.
???: That won’t be necessary.
Shuu: ...!?
Yui: This voice...It can’t be...
Riegel: Walter!
Count Walter: Hello there! It has been a while, hasn’t it? Riegel. And...You as well, young lady.
Yui: Y-You’re...Count Walter!?
Count Walter: The one and only.
Shuu: ...So? Now this is quite the nifty show you’ve put together, approaching us yourself like this.
Not that I care. I guess this saves us a lot of trouble.
I’ll make sure you return her heart at once.
Count Walter: ーー Of course. That is what I came here for after all.
Yui: W-What do you mean?
Count Walter: Fufufu...
ーー You see. I have been watching you to observe your behavior after you lost your heart.
To test whether or not you two are fit to hold onto one of the treasures of this world...That is.
Yui: ( I-I see... )
Count Walter: And the answer became clear just now.
You chose not to abandon this man who had been stricken with grief, but instead tried to bring the light back in his life.
Wonderful!
Thereforeーー
*Ba-dump*
Yui: Ah...!?
*Ba-dump ・ ba-dump*
Shuu: Yui!
Yui: Shuu...san...
( ...Huh...? )
( My body feels light. And warm...? )
Shuu: Are you okay!? Hang in there!
Yui: Ah...I-I’m fine.
If anything...It seems like I’ve got my heart back!
Shuu: ....What on earth...? 
Walter: Fufu...
Well then. I will excuse myself now.
ーー Thank you for the great show.
ー The Count disappears
Monologue
Leaving said words behind,
Count Walter vanished into thin air.
Looking off to the side,
I locked eyes with Shuu-san,
as we somehow both forced a smile.
As for Riegel-san,
he seemed to have completely,
regained his sanity.
After he told us that the least we could do,
was enjoy the remainder of the Parade,
Shuu-san and I,
left the candy house behind us.
ー The scene shifts to Saint Nore Park’s venue
Yui: ( Seems like the Parade hasn’t ended yet! )
( A bunch of things happened, but I’m glad we made it in time... )
Shuu: ...
Yui: ( ...Oh. Maybe I’m the only one getting excited now. I’m sure Shuu-san must be exhausted. )
Um...
Shuu: Nn?
Yui: We’ve been running all over the place, so shall we call it a day and head home?
We can always come to the Parade next yeーー
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Yui: ...?
Shuu: Let’s go.
Yui: Eh...?
Shuu: Let’s go to the Parade.
Yui: Are you sure...?
Shuu: What are you saying when you’ve got ‘I want to go!’ written all over your face?
Yui: T-That’s...I would like to go, but...
I’m sure you’re tired, so I want you to be able to get some rest soon...
Shuu: ...Well, I’m pretty much always lacking energy.
I don’t mind making an effort at a time like this.
Yui: ...
Shuu: ...What?
Selection
→ Nothing
Yui: Nothing. Fufu...
Shuu: Look at you talk when you’ve got that grin on your face. Heh...
Yui: ( I’m just so happy, I can’t help it... )
→ Thank him with a kiss (☾)
Yui: Um...Shuu-san?
Shuu: Yeーー
*Smooch*
Shuu: Wha...!?
Yui: You know...To show my gratitude.
( I did it on the spur of the moment, but I’m kind of embarrassed now... )
Shuu: You...Honestly...
Nn...
*Smooch*
Yui: ( ...! This time he kissed me... )
Shuu: ーー Come on. Let’s go to the Parade before I change my mind.
ー Shuu walks away
Yui: Ah, w-wait!
( I’m happy he’s so kind to me... )
ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー
← RETURN TO CHAPTER 3
→ PROCEED TO NORMAL ENDING
→ PROCEED TO FINALE ENDING
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cafeinthemoon · 3 years
Text
The Home I Crave - Chapter 9
Title: The Home I Crave
Genre: Fanfiction
Pairing: Tobirama Senju x reader
Rating: teen and up
Word count: 2654
Chapter: 9/?
Symbols: ⭕ | ➕ | 💛 | ▶️▶️
Read the previous chapters here: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8
N. A.: So I changed it! Maybe I should have chosen a gif where he's making one of his 😳 faces but well
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Chapter 9 - Nausea
You kept your eyes on the bowl before you for so long that you almost forgot your surroundings. When your meal was served, you were enchanted by the warmth and the smell of condiments, but now the steam was gone and your nostrils were used to the scents, and you were just holding your hashi pretending to listen to the conversation around you.
The hardest part was to know that, if the circumstances were different, you would be enjoying every minute: the company of your brother-in-law and his wife was as pleasing as can be, the food was well prepared and the environment was light, comfortable; you even felt like part of your burden was taken off your shoulders with their reception.
During the dinner, Mito made a few questions about your adaptation to the new place and how you were dealing with the practical matters; you did your best to answer them without revealing too much, but you could tell that she wasn’t entirely convinced of your well being: unlike your previous meetings with her, you didn’t make a single question now, and were choosing your words with excessive caution, as if you didn’t want to give space to any discussion. You didn’t want to discuss anything now: your thoughts were all with your family, your sister on the compound. So far from you. You had no idea of how things were going with them, and what you could do to help.
Yet you were there having dinner with your new friends, who expected you to smile, to talk and cheer up as they were doing.
You started to think of their life together.
During the days you spent in the Hokage’s house, you had countless opportunities to observe him and Mito together, and the signs about their good relationship where there for anyone to see: the way they talked to each other, joked on each other and complimented one another while talking to other people revealed not only the existence of a romantic connection, but a solid friendship, built on mutual knowledge, respect and appreciation. They lived happy together, and were happy to live together.
Why couldn’t you have the same, then? You knew they had to work hard to find a way to build their good life despite not knowing each other and not choosing to be married, because not only their happiness depended on it, but the entire structure of an alliance. You were aware of this too; you were taught about this since you’ve heard about the possibility of an arranged marriage for the first time. You’ve been preparing to it, and were sure you’ve been doing your best to do your part. However, you didn’t feel your efforts were being acknowledged, not in words and even less in actions. Tobirama didn’t seem to make any effort to be with you except when you had work together, and even in such occasions he barely looked at you; your questions and other requests were received and processed with all the possible formality, as if you were strangers instead of two people who lived under the same roof. And now you just found out that some things were being kept out of your knowledge, just like you were an inexperienced assistant instead of a shinobi who worked directly with the head of your clan, exactly like your husband.
Even during missions with your own people in dangerous territories and in teams where you didn’t know everyone so well, you received a better treatment.
You started feeling something revolving inside your stomach, something that would surely come out if you stood there smelling that bowl for one more minute. It was when you noticed the conversation around you ceased and now someone was calling your name.
It was Hashirama.
- Y/n-san? Are you feeling well?
You raised your eyes to him, not knowing what to say.
- I was asking if you’re feeling well – he asked for the second time – You look pale.
You alternated your gaze between him and the bowl.
- I… I think I’m not going to finish this – and shaking your head – I’m sorry.
- You did not eat well during lunch, y/n-san.
It was Tobirama’s voice beside you. He was paying attention too. Should you be surprised to hear him telling you that you were supposed to eat well when your sister was sick and you wouldn’t even know if it depended on him?
- You should compensate it now.
You almost left him without a verbal response, but you didn’t want to look rude in front of Mito and Hashirama.
- I’m not hungry. I won’t be able to eat anything else tonight.
But that was not enough for him: he started to try and convince you to not leave with your stomach empty, which would interfere in your sleep and then in your performance the next day when you would have work waiting for you and etc.
- We will probably spend half of our day working at my brother’s office tomorrow. You need to be prepared.
- I know. But I’ve reached my limit today…
While Tobirama insisted on that, his brother and Mito tried to fix the situation, pointing out the same things as him but in a softer manner. You tried your best to put an end in that conversation, both because you wouldn’t eat and because you didn’t want to hear his voice for any longer. Why was so hard for that man to understand what no means?
And then came the moment when your patience was gone.
- Y/n-san, you...
- I said no!
When you stopped speaking, the silence that fell around you was heavy. Tobirama, who finally gave up on making up your mind, only stared at you, his lips shut so tight they became paler than the rest of his skin; if it was shock or anger what you saw in those red eyes, you couldn’t tell. You looked down at your hand holding the hashi and swallowed when you saw that you broke it in half.
You didn’t have the courage to look around or say anything else. You dropped the broken hashi on the table and left it, mumbling an inaudible “Excuse me” and almost running toward the bathroom.
***
Since you haven’t eating well that day, you didn’t thought it was possible to throw all of that out of your mouth, but that was exactly what you did. The thing you sensed in your stomach when you were at the table was finally expelled, and you were glad that you managed to reach the bathroom before it happened.
When you were done with it, you needed a moment to restore your normal breathing. Your vision, which has darkened after you left the table, came back, and you could leave the cabin and go to the sink to wash the bitter taste from your mouth and the sweat on your face; fortunately, you weren’t a fan of heavy makeup.
You heard a soft hand knocking on the door and knew it was Mito.
- Y/n-san? Are you okay? – and after a pause, to which you didn’t respond – Can I come in?
Again you said nothing, but after cleaning your face, you opened it.
The princess looked at you with a worried gaze, but the shock for your state didn’t affect her capacity of action. She entered the room and locked the door behind her before anyone could appear, then turned to you.
- I knew things were not going well since I came to your house this morning. I guess you understand why I invited you here – she held your shoulders with firmness, but the gesture didn’t lack gentleness – Tell me. What’s going on between you?
If it was because of her direct question or because you just threw up, it didn’t matter. You felt your legs weakening, your head getting dizzy and your eyes burning with a new flow of tears. You hid your face in your hands and for minutes, you weren’t able to say a word.
You felt Mito’s arms holding you in a tight hug, which prevented you from falling. When you were able to look into her eyes again, you already knew you couldn’t lie; to be honest, you wouldn’t be capable of doing so. Not in those conditions.
You just let everything out.
- I… I can’t do this, Mito-san… Not this way…
She frowned.
- You can’t do what? What are you talking about? – and lowering her voice – I can guess you just threw up. Are you expecting?
The anger and the deception you felt when you heard the word expecting almost made you throw again.
- How can I be expecting if that man haven’t touched me at least once? – you raised your eyes to hers – He never even tried! He barely looks at me! He has no interest in me! – you wiped the tears as you spoke – He prefers to sleep in his office than by my side!
Despite the visible preoccupation, Mito was not the type to lose her judgment in front of problems. Even more in that moment, when the stability of a treaty was being tested.
- Listen to me. I know Tobirama is not easy to deal with. I know. But what exactly did he do to make you feel this way? – she approached you and whispered – When I visited you today… You just had an argument. What happened there?
You nodded and described the situation involving the letter and your sister the best you could. But the Uzumaki wanted to know more.
- And this was not the first conflict you had, wasn’t it?
You explained that it wasn’t, though it was the first heated argument you had. You told her about that time when you tried to speak to him about the conditions of the treaty, the travel, your people and other necessary topics, but he wasn’t willing to make any concessions; speaking the truth, he barely heard what you had to say. He didn’t like to be contradicted and was convinced that he found the best solutions to the needs of your clan, even when both your father and his brother agreed with you on the said matters in the meeting, in which he was not present. Besides, you knew the circumstances of your people in a way that he could only dream, but that didn’t seem enough for him to give you the credit you deserved.
- He has no respect for me or my work, Mito-san – you confessed with bitterness – He doesn’t see me as an advisor, even less as a shinobi. He thinks I am some amateur who only got her position thanks to her bloodline but never learned how things really work and believes that only her passion is enough to make everything happen – your anger grew as you spoke; it was becoming harder to control your tone – I’ve never faced such disdain in my entire career, and I can tell you that I’ve seen many things during these years. I can stand the worst environments in a mission, but this I can’t tolerate. My people don’t deserve to be in such hands.
Mito’s expression changed when you mentioned your people. If she was guessing your struggle to live with Tobirama and was thinking of ways to help you, now she had no doubts about the gravity of the situation.
- This marriage, this treaty… It’s impossible to go on with this. Impossible! – you continued – I always knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but since the start I’ve sensed that something wasn’t right, and yet I tried to make it work, I gave my time, my effort, I did what I could to maintain peace inside his house, to do what was best for us, to talk, to… – and speaking lower, slower – I should have trusted my guts and warned my father about this. No one can live in peace with that man. No matter how hard you try. He was made to be alone.
The princess was now more serious than you ever expected to see her. She didn’t judge you nor interrupted you, but she had some things to tell you before taking any measures.
- Y/n-san, listen carefully – she held your hands with unusual firmness – I understand this feeling of… regret you are experiencing now. I understand it better than I’d like to tell you. You wish you’ve heard your inner instincts and spoke to your father about this, but for some reason you decided to go ahead and accept the terms and now that you found out that things are harder than you could predicted, you can’t help thinking you’ve made a mistake. I know, I get it. But you were also aware that many things would depend on you two keep living together in Konoha since the start. We are not speaking only of two people here. We are speaking about an alliance between two clans, which includes all the measures taken to maintain peace between them above all. If we want peace, the things we do now must follow this condition.
Those words touched deep inside you. They were the last thing you wanted to say to yourself, yet the very thing you needed to remind yourself of. Not so long ago, war was everything each clan knew and cared about; an alliance between them was something impossible, and a sequence of alliances that later would result in the foundation of the first Ninja Village in the world was less than a dream. Thanks to the hard work of many people – including your husband – this dream came true. Now that your clan was included in this, you would have to be careful as you’ve never been in your life – your actions could mean the maintenance of peace between your clans, or the death of it.
You and Mito exchanged silent looks that let it clear that you were aware of this responsibility. You took a deep breath.
- Thank you, Mito-san – you gave her hands a soft squeeze in response to her help – I know exactly what I have to do. I always knew. I just thought… my husband didn’t. His actions and the way he spoke about my people didn’t let his peaceful intentions very clear to me. It made me wonder if we would ever be on the same page.
The princess nodded, clearly relieved that her work there was successfully done.
- What are you going to do now? – and with a distinct bright in her eyes – Are you going to make sure you two will be on the same page?
You shook your head in agreement.
- Of course. This is why I was sent here in the first place.
She smiled.
- Alright – she turned to the bathroom’s door – Let’s go back to the table and see how the boys are doing without us.
You didn’t move; Mito was going to open the door, but gave up when she noticed your hesitation.
- What’s wrong?
You crossed your arms.
- I’m just not in the mood for dinner. I’m going back home.
She raised an eyebrow.
- Yes, you’re still a bit pale, after all. Maybe it’s better for you to go home… – she stared at you – Is that all?
You chose to be honest with her.
- Can you go with me, or at least say to them that I’m leaving? – you swallowed – I need a moment for myself. I don’t think I’d stand being alone with him right now.
- I see. Well, wait here. I’m going to talk to them, then we go to your house together.
You hugged her, no hiding your relief.
- Thank you for this. And can you please tell your husband that I’m sorry for the hashi?
Mito laughed at this.
- As you wish.
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fanimesenseiwrites · 3 years
Text
So here it is, the thing that I've been working on for so long that I haven't posted anything else, My magnum opus of fanfiction. I had to write it all at once or I knew I would never finish it lol.
Warning: This fic is quite angsty. There's some sex in later chapters and a little violence and I will tag those chapters as necessary, but mostly there's just a lot of crying and emotions and being dumb.
Kidnapped to Hell (pt. 1)
Lucifer shot up in bed, startled awake by the sound of Hoshiko screaming for him and for his help.
He looked around his room frantically, certain that their scream had come from right inside his room. Upon finding no one else present, he poked his head out into the hall to see if anyone else was awake. It was then that he finally gathered his thoughts enough to remember that Hoshiko wasn't even supposed to be in the Devildom at the moment.
He sighed and shook his head as he climbed back into bed, suspecting that he had just had a nightmare. He looked at his DDD, sighing again when he saw that it was nearly a quarter until 5 in the morning. He sent Hoshiko a quick text message: - Thinking of you. I love you.- before putting it down and trying to go back to sleep.
While he had rested, he never fully fell back asleep by the time he had to get up to get ready for school.
Lucifer checked his DDD again and while he was not terribly surprised to find that Hoshiko had not responded to him yet, there was a feeling of unease that he was unable to shake.
Lucifer left for RAD that morning without bothering to eat breakfast before hand, the feeling of unease leaving him without an appetite.
He constantly checked his phone for a reply from Hoshiko throughout the day, to the point that even Diavolo was curious about what he was looking at.
The demon prince snatched Lucifer's phone from him while they were having lunch together.
"Hey! Give that back," Lucifer accosted.
"What are you looking at?" Diavolo asked, totally ignoring Lucifer's demand.
Lucifer sighed. "I texted Hoshiko this morning and they haven't responded yet."
Diavolo looked at the time stamp on Lucifer's text. "Why did you text Hoshiko at... 4:44 in the morning?"
"Because I was thinking about them at that time."
Diavolo gave him a disapproving look. "Why were you awake at that time?"
"I had just woken up... I thought I had heard Hoshiko scream, it must've just been the residual of a nightmare though."
Diavolo frowned.
"I just wanted to check on Hoshiko without making it too obvious." Lucifer admitted, unable to look Diavolo in the eye.
Diavolo hummed thoughtfully and handed Lucifer his DDD.
Lucifer took it and slipped it back into his pocket.
Diavolo crossed his arms. "Are you worried about Hoshiko?"
Lucifer sighed and looked away from Diavolo. "I understand that I may be overreacting, but I just can't help it when I don't know exactly where Hoshiko is or what they're doing."
Diavolo shook his head. "You're all antsy today."
"All? Who do you mean by all?" Lucifer looked back at Diavolo.
"You and all of your brothers. I've seen most of them this morning and they all seemed out of sorts; none of them were acting like their usual selves."
Lucifer frowned. "That's not good."
"It's not, and I'm actually worried too."
"About my brothers or Hoshiko?" Lucifer asked for clarification.
"Well, both. But I meant Hoshiko. You see, I've got this..." He sighed and motioned to his chest with his hand, struggling to find the right words. "... Feeling. I woke up this morning and I thought Hoshiko had come down here..."
Lucifer paled. "Do you mean-?"
"Oh no, not like that," Diavolo assured. "But when Hoshiko and Solomon arrive, I know even before I'm told. I know when the angels come and go too. It's just part of being the crown prince."
Lucifer nodded. "I forget all the things you can do sometimes."
Diavolo nodded. "I just thought that Hoshiko had come to visit us but you've confirmed to me that they're still up in the mortal realm, as far as we know at least."
"So, what? Do you suspect that Solomon and Hoshiko have snuck down here and are plotting something?"
Diavolo shook his head. "I don't sense Solomon's presence, and Hoshiko isn't the scheming type."
Lucifer rolled his eyes. "As far as you know."
Diavolo chuckled. "Anyway... I can't say for sure, but I have an uneasy feeling. I wonder if your nightmare was an omen of sorts."
Lucifer pressed his fingertips to his chin and furrowed his brow in thought. "Who could we talk to that would know about omens and dreams?"
"Your brother," Diavolo answered plainly.
"Satan?" He asked, barely hiding a grimace.
"Yes. There's no one who's as well read as he is, and he has some of the best grades in the entire school."
"Yes, I'm aware. However, it's still a habit to him to not fully cooperate with me."
"I'm sure his tune will change if we tell him it has to do with Hoshiko," Diavolo assured him.
Lucifer nodded with a sigh. "I don't want to tell him that we're worried about Hoshiko... but you're right, it may be the only sure way to get him to cooperate with me."
Diavolo nodded. "Let's go find him then."
They both left Diavolo's RAD office and went to the dining hall in search of the middle brother.
Satan was sitting at a corner table with a book in his hand as he ate.
Diavolo and Lucifer made a beeline for his table as soon as they spotted him.
Lucifer sat down right in front of Satan. "Hello, Satan."
Diavolo sat down next to Lucifer.
Satan sighed and sat up straight. "What do you want?"
"What do you know about omens and dreams?" Lucifer cut straight to the point.
Satan raised an eyebrow. "Dreams? Like, by way of divination?"
"Yes, I suppose."
"Well, it's not exactly a reliable source of divination. Most people don't even know a dream they've had has foretold the future until said future has already happened."
Lucifer nodded. "Well what about omens?"
Satan narrowed his eyes, now suspicious. "Why are you asking me about this?"
Lucifer glanced at Diavolo.
Diavolo motioned for him to continue.
Lucifer sighed and looked back at Satan. When he spoke again in was in a hushed tone.
"I believe I had a nightmare, but all I remember is Hoshiko screaming my name."
Satan's expression was akin to a grimace, but still conveyed a feeling of concern. Satan matched his volume to Lucifer's. "And they sounded scared?"
"They sounded terrified, they were calling to me for help. And it sounded so clear, I thought Hoshiko was actually in my room this morning."
Satan frowned. "What if Hoshiko was actually trying to contact you?"
Lucifer tilted his head slightly. "Pardon?"
"There's an old spell that allows the user to communicate with an intended target via telepathy. It's not used much anymore because of the rise of technology though."
Lucifer frowned at the thought of Hoshiko trying to contact him and only being able to scream. "Does Hoshiko even know that spell?"
"You know there's only one person besides Hoshiko who knows the answer to that question," Satan told him smugly.
Lucifer pursed his lips, suddenly annoyed. "I suppose I'll go call Solomon then."
"You can use my office for privacy," Diavolo offered.
Lucifer looked at him and nodded. "Thank you." He stood up.
Satan and Diavolo stood up as well.
Lucifer headed back to Diavolo's office and Satan and Diavolo followed him.
Lucifer looked back at them. "Are you two going to follow me and listen in on my phone conversation?"
"It is my duty as crown prince to know about everything that transpires in my kingdom," Diavolo told him diplomatically.
"Your concerns now have me concerned about Hoshiko," Satan told him.
"Right..." Lucifer responded to them, not fully believing their intentions to be that pure.
They all went back to Diavolo's office where Lucifer called Solomon, much to his chagrin.
Solomon answered cheerfully. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Lucifer?"
"Hello Solomon," Lucifer greeted politely. "I was hoping for some information about Hoshiko's magical studies."
"Hmm, that depends on your exact question," Solomon answered cryptically.
Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Right. Well I know of a spell that allows the user to speak with another telepathically. I was just wondering if Hoshiko had been taught that spell."
"Ah, yes. I have taught them that. I thought it could be useful in case of emergencies. Why do you ask?"
"I believe that Hoshiko may have tried to contact me in that fashion early this morning."
Solomon immediately dropped his cheerful demeanor, and took on a far more serious tone. "What did they say?"
"Nothing specific I'm afraid; they called my name and were asking for help. It woke me from my sleep."
"I see." Then Solomon hung up.
Lucifer looked at his DDD when the line went dead and scowled. "Well that was barely helpful..."
"What?" Diavolo asked.
"He hung up on me," Lucifer told him.
"But does Hoshiko know that spell?" Satan asked Lucifer.
Lucifer nodded. "Solomon told me that he taught it to Hoshiko in case of emergencies."
Satan nodded. "So now we just need to figure out where Hoshiko is."
"I think Solomon would be the best person to assist with that task," Diavolo commented.
"Then why did he just hang up on me?" Lucifer asked, clearly annoyed.
"Perhaps he went to go check on Hoshiko himself," Diavolo suggested.
"It would be nice to know if he was," Lucifer huffed.
Diavolo opened his mouth to say something else but stopped, pursed his lips and looked toward the door.
Then Barbatos and Solomon both entered the office.
"That was quick," Diavolo told Solomon.
Solomon only nodded in response and then looked to Barbatos.
Diavolo looked at Barbatos as well, suddenly noticing how shaken he looked.
"Barbatos, what's wrong?" Diavolo asked, voice laced with empathy. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen Barbatos appear any way besides calm and collected.
Satan and Lucifer turned their attention to Barbatos as well, finally noticing what Diavolo had noticed.
Barbatos took a deep breath, willing himself to stay calm. "I apologize, my lords," he started, addressing all three of the demons present. "I just recently had the thought to check and see where Hoshiko was- is," he corrected himself. He looked Diavolo straight in the eyes. "Hoshiko is down here in the Devildom..."
"I knew it-" Diavolo interrupted, but Barbatos was quick to interrupt him in return.
"Diavolo," Barbatos spoke with urgency.
Diavolo was stunned silent, as far as he could remember, Barbatos hadn't called him by his first name since he was a young boy, and even those moments had been rare.
"Hoshiko was kidnapped and taken down to the eight circles," Barbatos told them all solemnly.
Everyone was quiet for a moment, shocked but otherwise unsure of how to react.
Diavolo crossed his arms and breathed deeply in a manner that commanded attention, and he got it from everyone in the room.
"Barbatos and I will travel to the eight circles to find and retrieve Hoshiko." He looked at Solomon. "While we are gone I want you to prepare every potion, salve, and tincture you know of that can heal physical wounds."
Solomon nodded. "I can do that. Where may I work?"
"You may work in the House of Lamentation, we generally keep supplies to create such potions," Lucifer told him.
"That will work," Diavolo approved. "Hoshiko will probably be most comfortable there anyways."
Lucifer nodded in agreement.
Diavolo looked at Satan. "You want to come with Barbatos and I, dont you?"
Satan nodded quickly, anxiety fueling his actions. "Yes, I do."
"You may go if, and only if, you can keep your temper in check. We are going there to retrieve Hoshiko, they are the priority."
"I understand. I can focus on that."
"Be sure that you do, I will not hesitate to send you back if you lose your cool," Diavolo warned.
Satan only nodded, understanding that the gravity of the situation didn't allow for any argument or mistakes.
Diavolo looked at Lucifer, an apologetic look suddenly painted his face.
Lucifer looked at him and frowned. "You don't want me to go," he said, seemingly having read Diavolo's mind.
Diavolo shook his head. "I need you to prepare your brothers for how Hoshiko may return and to keep them from following after us. They're too reckless to allow them all to go down there when Hoshiko is involved."
Lucifer nodded. "I understand completely, I will do that."
Diavolo gripped Lucifer's shoulder. "Thank you. I greatly appreciate it."
Lucifer nodded.
Diavolo looked at Barbatos and Satan. "Alright, let's get going."
"Ah, wait!" Solomon asked as he pulled off his cloak.
Everyone looked at him.
Solomon closed his eyes and whispered an enchantment into the folds of his cloak, then looked at Barbatos and handed it off to him. "When you find Hoshiko, wrap them in this. It might not help much to shield their psyche from... down there, but it should help."
Barbatos nodded as he took the cloak. "Thank you."
"Thank you, Solomon," Diavolo told him. He looked at Satan and Barbatos again. "Let's go."
They nodded and left with Diavolo.
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
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ayyyeisa · 3 years
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Home
Pairing: Eren Jaeger x Mikasa Ackerman
Word Count: 9.7k
Content: Modern! AU, fluff, angst, best-friends-to-lovers trope
Content Warnings: PTSD, alludes to alcohol
Summary: Childhood best friends Eren and Mikasa go through a series of ups and downs throughout their life, struggling to realize what exactly their relationship is
Notes: Thank you to everyone who helped edit this piece! I really appreciated all the feedback you gave me <3
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Prologue
They’ve always been told that they’ve been friends since the moment they were born, and it was difficult to argue against it because it really did feel like it’s been a lifetime of friendship. There has never been a moment where one isn’t with the other. It had never been just Eren, and it had never been just Mikasa. No matter where they were and when it was, it was always (and always will be) Eren and Mikasa. The girl, Mikasa, even claimed to have known her friend Eren in her life before, and although he'd never admit it in front of anyone but Mikasa (in fear that his older brother would make fun of it), he did too. At 28, their friendship definitely had quite a few ups and downs, but if they learned one thing during their years of being best friends it was that they both wanted one thing more than anything in the world: to be with each other. That was it. It didn’t matter, when, where, with who, or for what reason. Just to be in the presence of one another was enough to make them happy.
27 Years Ago (4 months old)
Eren and Mikasa were born just barely two months apart, so it was no surprise that they wouldn’t even remember meeting as babies. As their parents were good friends, the couples jokingly tried to make their children be friends too, by making sure they saw each other frequently. Mikasa and Eren’s moms held their babies across from one another so they could see each other again. It was the first time they officially met, excluding the time the Ackerman family came to visit Carla when she gave birth to Eren. The moment baby Eren had set his big, forest green eyes onto Mikasa’s brown ones, he had tried to reach out to her, going as far as untangling himself from the red scarf (a gift given at his baby shower, though because of his size, could not be used as an actual scarf yet) that his mom used to swaddle him. Unfortunately, from his lack of motor skills, the little girl was awoken by Eren's hand. Mikasa shrieked, upset that she was pulled from her sleep. Zeke, Eren's senior by ten years, freaked, immediately apologizing to Mikasa's mom about Eren. "I'm so sorry Auntie! I'm sure Eren didn't mean it. Please don't be mad."
The woman just let out a light-hearted laugh. "It's alright Zeke. Look, Mikasa is fine now. Besides, her and Eren seem to be getting along pretty well," she said as she watched the two babies looking at each other, arms flailing like an octopus's legs in an attempt to reach each other. Mikasa had gotten a hold of an end of Eren’s swaddle scarf and was lightly tugging at it, while Eren continued to reach forward until his small hand lightly touched Mikasa’s forehead. They were giggling, almost as if they were keeping a secret.
23 Years Ago (5 years old)
It was their first day of first grade. They had been smart enough to go to school a year early. Yes, they. Mikasa refused to start school without Eren, and he refused to go without Mikasa. They were a team, never leaving each other’s side. The teachers were a bit surprised at first when they refused to sit with different people, but they soon got the message. Many actually found it quite cute. Eren had many girls crushing on him (yes, he was a very cute boy, and eventually grew up to be a handsome man). Although the girls didn’t completely understand their emotions at that age, they refused to believe that the cute boy prefered Mikasa over all of them. This of course was bad for Mikasa since it led her to having enemies from a young age. Even if she didn’t need total protection from them, she still had Eren to help. He was, however, useless when his own fangirls chased him around the playground. Though he always proudly claimed "As if I would even think of hitting a girl,” Mikasa was there to help him out when they chased him.
Not even a week in, Eren had met a boy named Armin-- a short and shy young blonde, who always seemed to be in the little library corner of the classroom. He was as smart as Misaka and Eren, if not smarter, therefore he also started a year early. The older boys were constantly making fun of Armin for his short stature, yet what caught Eren’s eyes the most was how no matter the power difference, Armin did not seem to back down. Even as the bullies picked and teased at him, he held his head high.
When Eren approached one day to ask why, Armin would simply state “I haven’t lost yet if I refuse to back down.” And it was that bravery, even in the most dire of situations, that had Eren grinning.
Hands on his hips, he announced, “my name is Eren, but you probably already knew that. And that girl over there,” Eren paused to point at Mikasa, who was watching from across the room to make sure Eren wasn’t getting himself into trouble, “is Mikasa. Let’s all be friends. Mikasa! C’mere! This is Armin and he’s super cool and smart.” After gesturing her over, he turns back to Armin with a grin on his face. “Mikasa is super cool too. She’s smart like you, and really strong. She’s my best friend, and I’ve known her my entire life. I just know we’ll all get along,” he said happily while readjusting his scarf.
And right he was, for that was the beginning of the trio’s epic friendship.
21 Years Ago (7 years old)
He took her hand, and led her to his horse. Just like how the leaves were swept away by the wind, so were they. If you watched, you’d see the horse getting smaller and smaller as they rode farther away. But maybe, if you listened, you would hear the princess’s and prince’s joyful laughter- a truly happy ever after ending for them.
“No, no, no, no!” That’s not what happened in my dream! If I remember correctly, we lived in a castle!” Eren exclaimed. He didn’t know where Mikasa got that dream before.
“Well, I’m just telling you what I saw in my dream. Maybe you’re the one with bad memory,” she snapped back, a frown on her face as she lightly tugged on the red scarf he always kept around his neck.
For the past couple months, they had been dreaming of being together in a number of lives. They often fought about them in front of Armin, constantly asking him which one of the two dreamt the right dream. Poor Armin. Luckily, the boy had a knack for reading any and every book he could find, and he decided to do something about it before the fight could escalate again.
“Maybe you two remembered different parts of your old life, and maybe even different lives. You never know, you could have been a prince or princess more than once,” he proposed.
Mikasa’s brows quirk in confusion. “You think so?” she asked.
Eren, on the other hand, fully trusted the other boy, knowing just how smart he was from all the reading he’s done. Grinning, he proudly stated,“Don’t doubt Armin, Mikasa. He’s super smart. I bet he’s right with just about everything.”
“Really?” the girl excitedly asked. “Wait, so Armin, do you know how babies are made?”
Omake:
Eren: “Of course he does! He read it in a book and told me. A stork plucks a baby from a pond and delivers it at night.”
19 Years Ago (9 years old)
“We were super cool ninjas with powers! Like Naruto!” Eren exclaimed, jumping, kicking, and punching the air as if he was fighting an imaginary person. His red scarf danced and swayed along with him as he energetically moved around. He briefly paused to glance at Mikasa, excited to see her reaction, when he saw her expression. It had his previously bright, green eyes dulling into a light grey color. Furrowing his eyebrows, he asked, “You okay Mikasa?”
She sat there, a worried look on her face. “Eren, will my mom be okay?” Even though she was young, she knew something went wrong when her mom had her. Her mom was always happy, yet sad when talking about Misaka's birth. She overheard one night from her parents that having Mikasa was very difficult for them, let alone having another child.
This question always broke his heart- no matter how many times he’s heard it. He stared at her for a moment before slowly walking to her, unwrapping his scarf off his neck. He stopped right in front of her-- her head right below his chin-- before taking his scarf in two hands and wrapping it around her neck instead. Finishing up the last loop, he messily placed the last few inches on top of her head before taking a seat next to her on the couch.
“I don’t know Mikasa. I don’t know. But you’re going to be okay, I promise.”
Eren had said “you’re” not “it’s,” and she couldn't be more thankful. The little boy could not promise that everything would be okay, but he could promise that she would. Why? Because she still had a home. Because he was there. And he always would be.
“I’m right here. And if you ever need more comfort, whenever and wherever we are, I’ll just wrap that scarf around you again,” he stated confidently. He hugged Mikasa, who in turn hugged him back before they laid down facing each other.
“You’ll really do it? You’ll wrap the scarf around me just like you did in the dream I told you I had last night? That one’s my favorite dream-- but I like all of our other dreams too. Promise me we’ll always talk about them. No matter how old we are, we’ll still tell them to each other, okay? Promise me,” Mikasa prompted as she rested her hand in between them.
It was no surprise when Eren gave her a small smile while stating “Promise,” before reaching out with his hand to interlock his fingers with Mikasa’s.
18 Years Ago (10 years old)
At ten years old, Eren was starting to believe what the other boys in his grade were saying about girls. At first, he tried to fight back and ignore their stupid antics, but he hated the fact that people thought Mikasa was stronger than him. He didn’t want her protection; he wanted to protect her.
“Why does she always speak for you, anyway?” one of them would ask.
“She’s a girl; shouldn’t you be stronger?” another would add.
“Don’t forget that girls have cooties.”
“She’s just plain scary too.”
Eren could feel his cheeks heat up at the comments, and if the boys were paying close attention, they would’ve seen his eyes turn a stormy grey. Whether it was from embarrassment of being below Mikasa, or anger of someone daring to badmouth her, he didn’t know.
“Don’t say that about Mikasa. Girls should be strong, and there’s nothing wrong with not being quiet and dainty,” he loudly proclaimed. But while his heart was burning to continue defending Mikasa, a part of him couldn’t help but hate the situation he was in. Why was Mikasa always the one to protect him, and why did it bother him so much?
Weeks had passed, and Mikasa noticed how Eren seemed to be avoiding her. Was it what everyone was saying about them? Or was it something else? The only other thing she could think of was when she gave him a nice punch (a well-deserved punch at that) for being an idiot and getting into trouble again. Because of him, they both had to stay in the classroom writing apology letters during recess-- it’s not like she was going to let him fight those bullies alone. But he couldn’t be THAT mad at her, could he? The jerk sort of deserved it. It broke her. But, Mikasa being Mikasa, she decided to confront him today.
“Eren, why are you ignoring me? Are you okay? Did something happen?” she asked.
“I’m not ignoring you, okay? Why can’t you just let me be and do my own thing. You’re not my mom, and I'm not your kid brother. I don’t need you around all the time, and I definitely don’t always need your help.” Eren spat, irritated.
Just as he was about to leave, Mikasa spoke again. “So you’re saying that I’m not important.”
Eren, caught off guard, froze. “No! I never--”
“You’re saying that those other boys, your other friends, are more important than me and that what they think matters more than me.” Mikasa clarified, tears starting to swell up in her eyes.
...1 second...
...2 seconds…
Gears were turning in Eren’s head, realizing what he’d almost done to their friendship-- what he’d almost done to Mikasa, his Mikasa, his best friend. He could feel his anger subside, and Mikasa saw his grey eyes slowly brighten to green. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. Why don’t you come over today? We can play tag and hide and seek… Or I could even play with the dolls you made. You made one of me, right? Just the two of us. I promise this won’t happen again.”
“Good. I like Auntie Carla’s cooking. We’re walking home from school together, okay? Like old times,” she simply stated before walking away. She was not going to take any chances of Eren saying no. Of course, Mikasa expected his previous response. As much as Eren had been avoiding her, she truly trusted him to always come back. He always did. She could bet her life (and heart) on it.
17 Years Ago (11 years old)
Lunch was going well for the first day of 6th grade. It was an odd transition from eating with classmates in their grade level to being able to eat with just about anyone that attended their school. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were finishing up their lunch when they heard a voice.
“Your long black hair is… really beautiful, by the way,” a boy with ash-brown hair shyly says to Mikasa. His blush was evident on his light skin and he could barely look at the girl. His name was Jean Kirstein, a new classmate of the trio’s; and he annoyed Eren to no end. Who did this guy think he was? It was their first year at South Paradis Junior High-- there were so many other elementary schools that fed into here that it was unlikely that they’d know all their classmates. And yet, this boy was already coming straight up to Mikasa and complimenting her hair. Mikasa was a rare beauty and Eren’s best friend; she deserved the best and only the very best. He wasn’t going to let some horse face of a boy take a chance with her.
Armin noticed Eren’s frown and how his eyes were a dark grey. He honestly considered teasing him: “Of course you’d be the petty, jealous type.” That’s all he had to say. It was fairly easy, and Armin was quite sure that voicing that thought would have Eren in a stuttering mess trying to deny it all. He’d probably be so busy denying it that he would’ve spent more time arguing with Armin than acting on his jealousy. Though against his better judgement, Armin kept his mouth shut, allowing Eren to speak up.
“Mikasa,” Eren said softly as he grabbed a piece of her hair, “aren’t you trying out for the martial arts team? You should cut your hair. You could get into an accident.” Eren didn’t even bother glancing at Jean; he opted for keeping his gaze on Mikasa as he waited for an answer.
“Yeah… you’re right. I should probably cut it,” she stated as she absentmindedly grabs the same strand Eren was holding, their fingers grazing one another in the process. Eren would never admit it, but his fingers burned right where his and Mikasa’s briefly touched. The physical contact didn’t last long, but he could still feel the warmth she emulated when he went to bed that night. He didn’t know why, though.
13 Years Ago (15 years old)
It wasn’t until sophomore year of high school that Eren realized just why he felt that way-- why he always had the urge to protect Mikasa to the point that her being stronger than him made him angry, why he was always hit with an overwhelming feeling of jealousy whenever Jean was anywhere near her, why his skin started burning at her slightest touch. It wasn’t until sophomore year of high school that Eren realized just why he started to look at his best friend a little differently, why she always lingered in his thoughts a bit longer and a bit more than everyone else.
He was, unfortunately, stupid enough to make homecoming plans without Mikasa. Last year, the two of them and Armin had all gone together, but Armin was finally going with Annie this year. It was of the utmost obviousness that those two had something going ever since she transferred to their school in 7th grade. Annie was a quiet girl who usually kept to herself, maybe occasionally speaking with Bertholdt and Reiner since they transferred from the same school. But otherwise, it seemed as if only Armin was able to break through her shell. It was honestly quite ironic how Eren and Mikasa often teased Armin for his incapability to express his feelings, when he could’ve easily pointed out theirs. The ache in his heart when Annie was away --the way he constantly missed her and wished she was around-- was no different from what Eren and Mikasa secretly told Armin when they were apart. How could Eren and Mikasa not know?
“Historia asked me to homecoming,” Eren had told Mikasa one night after they both respectively finished martial arts and baseball practice. He could see the small glare she gave him, as she stared at him for what felt like hours without saying a word.
“Okay, then just ask her out.” Mikasa didn’t even try to hide her annoyance.
“It’s not like that. I don’t-- There’s nothing-- We’re not like that. I think she’s just pretty bummed that Ymir moved and needs a friend. You know she doesn’t have that many ‘cause her dad’s been sheltering her. You can come with. I told her that I was planning on going with you,” Eren replied. It’s not like he wanted Mikasa to feel left out or unimportant. One of his friends needed his help, and he would never-- could never-- turn his back on a friend. They were the most important people in the world to him, almost on the same level as his parents, Armin, and Mikasa. Of course he would be there if one of them ever needed a hand.
And it was because Mikasa knew him so well that she tried to control herself. Mikasa wanted to argue-- wanted to tell Eren that there were plenty of other people Historia could’ve asked. She had Sasha, Connie, and Jean too. She could’ve even asked her. Why did it have to be specifically Eren? She was jealous, she acknowledged that, because all she ever wanted was to be near Eren. The thought of him belonging to some other girl hurt so badly. For him to have another home besides her, for her to not be able to call him her home-- she didn’t know if she wanted to even be alive if that were to happen. Eren was everything to her. But another part of her just wanted to let it be. If Eren was happy, and as his best friend, shouldn’t she be happy for him too? All she ever wanted was to be near him. Romantic relationship or not, she already had that. Eren cared about her and Armin more than anyone in the world; she has everything she’s asked for. Shouldn’t that be enough?
“No, it’s ok. You don’t need to explain. She needs a friend, and I think you should go. Jean and I were talking in class today. He actually offered for us to join their group because Sasha and Connie wanted to do a whole extravagant group meetup, with pictures and food and everything. I’ll just tag along with them,” her lips drew into a straight line in an attempt to smile. She knew Eren well enough to know that he knew --that she knew-- that he knew that it was most definitely not okay. But to her dismay, neither acknowledged the elephant in the room nor the growing tension between them.
Eren didn’t want to. He was too busy feeling the blood rushing through his ears at the mention of Jean asking Mikasa out. There was only one other time he remembered feeling this jealous-- it had been all that time ago, when they first met Jean back in 6th grade. The horse face had told Mikasa her long, black hair was beautiful, and while Eren agreed, it pissed him off to no end that someone other than him was looking at Mikasa. Of course, it was no surprise that many boys and girls were looking at her-- she was beautiful and strong and everything that a woman should be. But having random people look at her didn’t compare to the jealousy he felt when it came to Jean. Eren wanted Mikasa all to himself. But what right did he have to whine and complain when he was the one to bring up taking Historia to the dance? Jealousy was an ugly feeling, and he hated how accustomed he had gotten to feeling it. Stupid Jean, stupid world, stupid homecoming, stupid him. Oh how he hated himself more than ever for putting himself in that situation. All he ever wanted was to be with Mikasa, and here he was doing the opposite-- here he was starting a small rift between them. One stupid statement, and he already felt far, far away from home.
12 Years Ago (16 years old)
It was concerning, really, how months later, Eren and Mikasa still couldn’t address the divide between them. While the two often got into small arguments before, they were usually solved within a week, if not immediately. This was the first time that it ever lasted more than a few days, if this could even be considered an argument. They were talking, but something felt off-- both of them could feel it. Mikasa didn’t want to push boundaries. Eren was still her friend; he was safe and nearby, so could she really complain? As for Eren, he could feel the ache of Mikasa’s absence run deeper than his heart. It made him sick in a way he couldn’t completely describe— like he was homesick or something.
While he saw her everyday at school, she often paired up with Armin or Jean instead. While he ate lunch with her at the same table as their friend group, she usually spent her time listening to Sasha ramble on and on about meat and food and the so-called cute senior in her culinary class named Niccolo. Even when he was sitting right next to her in the driver’s seat as he dropped her home after practice, their conversations ran shallow. He missed their inside jokes and their talks about their dreams. For months, he’d been wanting to tell her his recurring dream of one of their past lives. How every night, his sleep would send him to the peaceful mountains of Switzerland, where he lived in a tiny cottage with her. They were alone-- isolated from society-- and they often needed to fish, hunt, and gather their own food, but they were together. They were together and they were happy, and God help him, that’s all he ever wanted.
He wondered that of the many other dreams she’s had of what they presumed to be their past lives, if she saw that same dream too. He hoped so. He hoped that when he was away, she felt that same ache too. He hoped that in the same way no one could ever replace her in his heart, no one would ever replace him in hers. Call him selfish, but he wanted Mikasa all to himself-- wanted to be the only person that would ever claim her heart. He didn’t want anyone-- not Jean, not even Armin-- to have Mikasa. So why was he letting her slip through his fingers?
It wasn’t until months later, near the end of summer, that the two finally resolved whatever issue was going on. With school out, Historia rarely saw anybody outside her friends, and even then, she was only really comfortable around Eren-- only he knew the pain of missing someone. Historia knew he was suffering. He never told her-- never really told anyone except Armin-- how he felt about Mikasa, but Historia could see the longing in his eyes whenever he gazed at Mikasa and the sadness they held whenever he talked about her. And it was for this reason that she refused to leave Eren alone. He needed a friend, and so did she. There was no way she’d abandon him-- no way she would abandon anyone in need.
Over summer, the two started volunteering at homeless shelters and orphanages. They’d occasionally invite the whole group over: Sasha, Connie, Jean, Mikasa, Armin… There were days that the seven of them would volunteer during the day and go out for dinner in the evening to catch up. But the amount of time that the group met up was nothing in comparison to the amount of time Historia and Eren spent together. It was evident in the way they talked at their group outings, and it didn’t help with the growing tension between Eren and Mikasa either.
Seeing them together, seeing them so happy-- seeing Eren so happy without her-- had Mikasa feeling things. Was she missing something-- a component or aspect that maybe was pushing Eren away from her? Or was she too overbearing? What did Historia have that she didn’t? There must be a reason why Eren seemed to be wanting to spend more time with the other girl as opposed to her. She missed seeing Eren’s smile and his happy, green eyes. She was both angry and hurt, and while she knew she had no right to speak, for she was Eren’s best friend, not his lover, she could only take so much before snapping.
She hadn’t meant to say it; at least, not out loud and most definitely not in front of Eren, but her jealousy got the better of her. Historia and Eren were once again telling the group about some project they went on the other week to help orphans in a different country. They were laughing and reminiscing about the troubles they went through during their time there when Mikasa spoke.
“We get it. You guys had a great time,” her voice dripping with disdain as she glared at Historia. It wasn’t until Mikasa noticed everyone staring at her that she realized the rudeness of what she had said. Hesitantly, she said “Sorry. I’ve, uhh, I’ve had a rough few… months. I’m just gonna go,” before hastily leaving the table.
“Wait!” Historia called after her.
“We haven’t even ordered anything yet, aren’t you hungry?” Jean added.
She ignored them both, though, and opted to continue walking out of the restaurant, even as the others tried to call out after her.
Armin used that distraction to nudge Eren’s side. “Eren,” he whispered sternly, grinding his teeth together. “It’s now or never. Don’t let it get worse. Are you really going to let her go?”
And it was because Armin knew both Mikasa AND Eren so well that he didn’t doubt that it was all he needed to say to get the guy moving. Not even a second later, Eren was scrambling off his chair and past his friends as he hurriedly followed Mikasa.
“Mikasa! Mikasa, wait. What was that? What’s wrong?” he asked. One of his hands was gripping her arm and holding her in place. He had tugged at it lightly so that Mikasa was slightly facing him, and his eyes desperately searched hers for an answer.
“Nothing,” she stated, trying (but failing) to keep her composure. It’s not like she could come out and say “Oh, I’m jealous of Historia. I hate how she spends a lot of time with you because I secretly love you, Eren.” She could barely admit that fact herself, let alone confess it to someone else.
Eren stared at her in wait, desperately wanting to know what they had and where they stood. Anyone watching could’ve easily seen it in his eyes. “Please,” he begged when she remained stubbornly quiet. “Please tell me what’s wrong. Don’t you miss the way things used to be? What’s happened between us?”
“Historia--”
“Historia and I are just friends! I already told you that, back during homecoming. Why did we drift apart just because of that? Why did it seem like you weren’t interested in talking to me anymore? Why did we stop hanging out everyday?” Eren urged Mikasa to answer. He was already fighting back tears, when one question that had been nagging at him the past few months made its way out his mouth. “Why did we stop talking about our dreams?! Didn’t we always promise to talk about them? Have you given up on a useless idiot like me?”
Seeing Eren cry stopped Mikasa in her tracks. She stopped trying to get her arm out of Eren’s grip and settled for looking at him straight in the eyes, near tears herself. “Eren,” she says with soft urgency. It was only then, when he felt her sad gaze on him and lack of resistance against his grip, did Eren completely let go of Mikasa. She grabbed both his shoulders, giving him the slightest shake. “Don’t say that about yourself. Please. You’re not a useless idiot. It’s just-- I… really missed you. I’m sorry. I know you told me that you and Historia were just friends, but I didn’t like how jealous I felt. I wanted you only by my side, because it’s always been Mikasa and Eren, and Eren and Mikasa, and seeing you with someone else-- I… I don’t know. I guess, I’m not used to having to be apart from you. More than anything in the world, all I want is to be near you. When you kept visiting Historia and spending the summer with her, it just felt like you didn’t need me around anymore, or that you maybe didn’t want me around,” Mikasa confessed, her blush evident.
If Eren heard her correctly, then maybe she was feeling the same ache that he’d been feeling. Maybe, just maybe, she did love him the way that he loved her-- not as a sibling nor a best friend, but something more. He raised both his hands to grab her face, never breaking eye contact.
She could see how his previously gray eyes had started shifting over to green. Mikasa lifted her hands to hold onto his wrists needing to stabilize herself, as she felt like she would faint at any moment with the way Eren was holding her. Since when did his touch start making her knees so weak? And since when did his gaze start making her self-conscious and nervous?
“Mikasa,” Eren whispered, closing his eyes. He didn’t think he’d have the courage to look at her when their faces were close-- so close that their foreheads were nearly touching and he could feel the warmth of her shaky breaths on his face. “I’ll always want you with me,” he whispered softly as he tried to lean in. He wanted to kiss her-- wanted to know what it’d feel like to have her lips on his-- but what if he was wrong about his assumptions? What if Mikasa didn’t feel the same ache in her heart as he did? What if he was just like family to her and nothing more? If he kissed her and he was wrong, it’d for sure ruin their friendship, and the rift between them that they were currently trying to heal would be damaged for good.
He was too busy worrying about all that to realize that Mikasa, too, wanted to kiss him. He didn’t even realize the slight tilt up of her head nor the way her fingers lightly squeezed his wrists before she stopped in realization that he wasn’t actually going to kiss her. Neither of them wanted to make the first move in fear of ruining what they had-- whatever it was. And so instead, Eren went limp and rested his forehead against hers, eyes still closed, and Mikasa did the same. They didn’t move until Mikasa’s stomach growled.
“I knew you were hungry. It’s 7 o’clock and you usually eat an early brunch,” Eren laughed.
“Eren, your eating habits are worse than mine. You’re probably hungrier than me. Let’s go back inside,” Mikasa snapped back with a smile.
Things felt normal again and both were the happiest they’ve been in months. Their friendship was okay. Romantic relationship or not, they were still Eren and Mikasa, and Mikasa and Eren-- they were still each other's best friend. They were together, and to them, that’s all that ever mattered in the world. They were home.
10 Years Ago (18 years old)
Many moments from the next few years were filled with awkward silence or slight tension, ones caused by the fight they had at 16. It was like the rift never fully healed, and that made it much easier to get into small fights. Maybe it was because much of the problem itself never went away. The arguments grew from insecurities and miscommunication; they were two teenagers stupidly in love, yet too scared to say anything. Regardless, it was Eren and Mikasa, and so the fights never lasted too long.
It was the last weeks of summer before the two had to go off to college, and unlike two summers ago, Eren made sure that they were making every last moment count. From getting ice cream to hiking at nearby state parks, Eren came up with plans to hangout every single day. He had to, especially because they’d be spending the next four years apart. Both were originally going to Purdue University, along with quite a few of their friends. Eren was going for aviation, Mikasa for elementary education, Armin for political science with a minor in oceanography, and Jean for business.
Unfortunately, times were cruel and news channels were filled with stories of a possible onslaught of World War III. It seemed surreal, but the growing tensions across many countries of the world had many people worrying if it was actually possible. Eren, in particular, found it interesting enough to change his mind about college. He still wanted to fly-- wanted to know the feeling of freedom-- but first and foremost, he felt a strong duty to protect his country because it’s where the people he loved lived. If the possibility of an oncoming World War III was true, Eren wanted to be prepared. He still hadn’t brought it up to Mikasa or Armin, his decision being so last minute.
He had spent countless nights contemplating on whether he should go or not. If he entered the military, he’d be signing his life away for four years. That’s four years of not being able to always see Mikasa, assuming he’d be able to hide it from her. He just had to keep his decision a secret long enough for Mikasa to not be able to follow him in. Eren knew that she wouldn’t hesitate to drop everything if it meant being able to be with and protect him, but if Eren cared about her the way he claims he does, shouldn’t he be protecting her too? They should be equals, not whatever this was. Just this once, he wanted to be the one protecting, even if it meant being apart from her.
And so, that’s how he came to the decision the night before Decision Day to enter the military as opposed to Purdue. It broke his heart and worried him to no end that for the next four years, he’d be far away from Mikasa-- far away from home. What if something happened while he was gone? Something bad, and he wasn’t there to help her through it? Sure, Jean and Armin would be there, and Mikasa would surely meet other people too. But would they be able to be there for her in the way she deserved? He knew Mikasa better than anyone else, even Armin, so could anyone really live up to his expectations of what he wanted for Mikasa? All these questions ran through his head as he drove Mikasa back home from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, another one of the trips he planned.
Mikasa, not one to not notice Eren’s changes in behavior, glanced over at the driver’s seat, wondering why Eren suddenly got quiet. “Eren?”
At the sound of her voice, Eren was immediately pulled out of his thoughts. But one look at her, and he was filled with sorrow again. Soon, he’d have to leave her and it’d be another four years or so before they would be able to return to the old days, if going back to the old days was even possible. For all he knew, this could be the very last time they’d talk to each other like this again. These last few days could be the very last time that Eren and Mikasa, and Mikasa and Eren are a thing. He wanted to make the most out of it-- whatever time he had left. “Mikasa,” he stated before pulling over to the side of the road. He wanted to be sure he could clearly see her face, without any distractions. “Let's get out of here,” he continued, looking her in the eye.
She stared at him, observed his movements, the color of his eyes. They were a mix of green and gray, much lighter than his usual forest green eyes that signaled his happiness, but not exactly the stormy grey eyes he had when he was angry or sad either. It confused her, because in the rare times that she didn’t know what he was feeling, his eye color usually gave it away. But this time, it’s like he was both happy and sad. “What do you mean?”
Eren was practically quivering in fear that she’d be angry or reject what he was about to offer. But he kept reminding himself that these last few days would be the last time he’d see her in a long while. They’d be apart for the first time since they were born, and he wasn’t sure how either of them would be able to handle it. He looked away to gather his nerves before turning back around and taking a deep breath.
“Don’t be mad with what I’m about to say. Please.” Eren waited for her nod before continuing. “The night before decision day, I actually decided I was going to be joining the military-- the army. And before you even think of telling me you’ll join too, don’t. You needed to decide by decision day, so there’s no point in joining now if we’re going to be in different regiments. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just wanted to do this to protect everyone, while not influencing any of your decisions to pursue your dreams…” he paused again, waiting for Mikasa’s reaction.
The girl wanted to scold him for making such a hasty and dangerous decision. She didn’t know where to begin. The military was a four-year commitment, which meant that they’d be apart for four years. Would she be able to handle that? They had never been apart for anywhere near that long. And what if the military changes him? Even if he didn’t get deployed, he’d still have to go through basic training and the like. She had heard stories of how the military, even just camp, changed people. What if some part of him never comes back from that? Would he still be her Eren-- the same Eren?
“Mikasa, stop thinking about it. Let’s just… enjoy what time we have left of summer break, okay? I told you this because I was hoping you’d say yes to what I’m about to ask you. For the last few days of summer, let’s go to Switzerland, in Crans-Montana-- in between the mountains where we went on that band trip junior year. Remember how Armin and I climbed the balcony on the third story of the building, just so we could spend the night talking about the most random things? We stayed up till sunrise and nearly got caught staying together in the same bedroom,” he chuckled. “Let’s go there again. Just the two of us. Mikasa, come with me. It wouldn’t be home with you.”
Mikasa, who was shocked and deep in thought, could only manage to give him a small smile before taking the opportunity to reach over the console and grab one of Eren’s hands. “One condition: you wrap this scarf around me one last time, okay?”
6 Years Ago (22 years old)
“Hey Mikasa, have you heard from Eren? I don’t think I’ve received any letters from him in a while,” Armin said.
Their usual group was having a meet-up at their favorite restaurant, a celebration for finishing finals; they’d be graduating in less than a month’s time. And yet, there was a sort of sad or empty feeling to the group, as Eren wouldn’t be home for another 6 months or so. He had to finish his military contract, and there was no way for him to visit at the moment due to his most recent deployment.
“No, I haven’t; the last letter was from a few weeks ago. I think he’s busy. Last I heard, he was deployed somewhere in the Middle East,” Mikasa replied softly.
“Have you told him already?” asked Jean. He gently placed his arms across her shoulders from his seat next to her.
Even from across the table, Armin could see the ring glistening on his finger. He had read somewhere that only about 7% of men actually wore engagement rings; he wasn’t surprised that Jean was of that percentage. It matched the diamond on Mikasa’s hands that were resting on the table. Armin didn’t know how to feel about the entire thing. Mikasa did genuinely look happy, and she deserved every bit of it. So did Jean, especially after all that he’d done for Mikasa when Eren wasn’t able to be there for her. It wasn’t really in his place to judge— what did he know about love? It had taken him years to spend time with Annie, and even then, it took many more awkward conversations and longing glances for them to establish the bond between them. So maybe it did make sense for Mikasa to accept Jean’s proposal. While everyone felt Eren’s absence, he was sure that he and Mikasa felt it the most.
Jean was always there to comfort Mikasa, even when Armin couldn’t. He never overstepped his boundaries, knowing that it was improper to make a move on someone whose heart belonged to someone else, but as the time between Eren’s letters lengthened, the more Jean found himself attending events with Mikasa, or being left alone to study for classes together since Armin wanted surprise Annie, until one day she started smiling at him almost the same way as she did to Eren. A part of him initially wondered if Mikasa really did love him, or if she just appreciated his presence. But those doubts didn’t last long because it just wasn’t like Mikasa to do something like that.
Mikasa was glad that he did believe her when she said she loved him, because she did. Jean was kind and funny; he was hardworking, empathetic, and an amazing leader. She saw how he treated his peers and subordinates with respect and often put himself in their place to make sure they received the best treatment. He also smiled at her in this certain way. She couldn’t describe it, but it made her heart flutter. She loved having him around because he was one of the only people that filled the void of Eren’s absence. She loved when he would pull out a chair for her on lunch and dinner dates, when he brought her breakfast at her dorm in the mornings, and when he helped her put on her jacket even when she didn’t need help. She loved him-- Jean; she really did. But she also knew a part of her would never really let go of Eren, not completely.
“No, I haven’t,” Mikasa stated hesitantly. “I thought he should find out in person, especially since it’d be awkward for me to ask him to be my maid of honor when he’s not even a girl,” earning snickers from Sasha and Connie, who were also seated with them.
“Wait, so you guys have been engaged for months now, and Eren still doesn’t know?” Annie asked, her voice blunt.
Armin lightly kicked Annie’s foot under the table. “Annie,” he softly warned. The two stared at each other as Jean attempted to break the awkward atmosphere.
“No, it’s all good. We wrote to him saying that we started dating, but I guess we’re waiting to tell him about the engagement. He’s on Mikasa’s side after all. He deserves to hear it from her, whenever she’s ready.”
. . . . .
It wasn’t until Annie and Armin were on their way home from lunch did Annie dare to speak again. “Correct me if I’m wrong,” she started. “But Jean’s just in denial that Mikasa is prolonging the engagement because a part of her will never stop loving Eren,” she tells Armin
“I don’t think he’s in denial… Just that, a part of him-- well, a part of all of us-- know that Eren will always have a place in Mikasa’s heart. It doesn’t mean she won’t move on with her life. Though, I will admit that I think Jean deserves someone who will love him completely.” Armin said. And though Annie remained silent, he knew her well enough to see the slight hesitation in her actions, as if she was contemplating on whether or not she should say something. “Eren’s always been adventurous, wanting to explore the world rather than stay here; he’s always been a small distance from Mikasa and me, no matter how close we try to be to him. I think--” he paused, trying to process his thoughts into words. “I think that he just needs time to understand what she means to him. They both do.”
1 Year Ago (27 years old)
The wait for Eren’s return came by slowly, and the way he took the news of Mikasa and Jean’s engagement was quite anti-climactic. Everyone in their friend group expected more, but he was just blank and glaze-eyed for what seemed like months after he returned home. Even years later, not much of his behavior changed. The military had not been what he expected. He went in excited to serve his country-- determined to protect his people and loved ones, no matter the sacrifices he had to make. But the horrors that awaited him were beyond anything he could imagine.
Everytime he closed his eyes, he could hear bombs, screaming, and gunshots, along with the sights of blood and blurred vision. He’d somewhat grown accustomed to it, at least on the outside. He no longer jolted at the slightest touch or immediately stood alert at loud noises. Unfortunately, he still felt far, far away. There were times when he didn’t feel like he was safe or at home, but in fear of worrying Mikasa and the others, he opted for staring blankly at his surroundings.
He could practically hear his mom nagging in his ear “How many times did I tell you to NOT join? Did I not tell you that the army isn’t worth it?”
Eren almost agreed. Almost. Because while a selfish part of him wished he stayed with Mikasa, he couldn’t exactly regret leaving. Yes, more than anything in the world, he wanted to be with her; It had been his dream when he was younger, and still was his dream now. But how could he compare his happiness to the lives of millions, or more importantly, his friends?
He hoped his unhappiness didn’t show too much-- hoped that his friends wouldn’t see how his jaw clenched in anger at the thought of not being able to be with Mikasa the way he was in his dreams.
But they did, at least, Armin and Mikasa did. They noticed because this new Eren, so emotionless and easily irritated, wasn’t him. It broke their hearts to see him so different. It broke Mikasa’s heart to see the caring and determined boy she grew up with-- the one that would do anything for his family and friends-- was just… gone. Her heart ached because she had waited so long, waited 4 years to see him again, only for it to seem like he never even came back. She wanted nothing more than to be able to hug him, ask him what the matter was, and tell him everything was going to be okay because she was there-- the same way he always did when she was out of it. She wanted to tell him she lov--. No, she couldn’t do that, because it wouldn’t be fair to Jean. It wouldn’t be fair to Jean who always cared about her well-being when Eren was gone, who never overstepped when he sensed something going on between her and Eren. It just wasn’t right for her to be saying any of that last part to Eren.
Not that it would change anything. It was like he was always angry. And whenever someone asked, he’d just rudely brush them off. Which is how Eren and Mikasa got into this position: as if the past few years have not already been filled with awkward glances and underlying tension, Eren and Mikasa were, once again, fighting.
Eren could only bite his cheek while shaking his head, “That’s just the thing, Mikasa. You don’t understand. You would never be able to, and you’ve just really been pissing me off lately. God, I hate you.”
“No, no you don’t. I know you, Eren,” she insisted softly.
He hated how it didn’t phase Mikasa, as if she was expecting him to say that or that his opinion didn’t matter to her. But while this was so, he hated even more her unwillingness to give up on him. Why wouldn’t she just let go. He doesn’t deserve any type of kidness-- not after abandoning her for some stupid dream in the military, not after letting some other man claim her, not after all the awful things he had to do while he was in the Middle East. He didn’t deserve any kindness from Mikasa-- he didn’t deserve her.
And yet, he was angry that Jean was with her, because even after everything Eren had done, he still wanted Mikasa to be his. He wasn’t mad at her-- God no, he could never be mad at her-- but he was mad at the entire situation and all his conflicting emotions.
His anger got the better of him, of course, and he continued speaking. “Don’t you think your life is so pitiful? I might be fucked up in the head, but at least I’m not stuck in a long engagement, working a regular 9-5 schedule like some robot who’s following orders. I actually have some interesting things going on in my life,” Eren sneered. He internally cringed at the harshness of his words when he saw Miaksa recoil. He hit her where it hurt, he was sure. Good. Maybe if she hated him, it’d be easier for him to move on with his life without her beside him.
It took Mikasa a second to recollect herself. She honestly wanted to cry, but with the way Eren had just treated her, she did not want to give him the satisfaction of it. “Okay,” she tried to calmly say. “You clearly don’t want me around, so I’m just going to go,” she stood up from the table they sat at before walking away. Maybe Eren was too far gone-- too far changed after his military service-- too bitter at how life turned out for him. She deserved better, right? It was okay to walk away after what just happened. Slowly taking off her red scarf --the scarf he had given her so many years ago when they were just 9 years old-- she didn’t dare to look back. It was too bad she didn’t-- if she did, she might’ve caught Eren shedding a tear before quickly wiping it away.
Present Day (28 years old)
“Mikasa, we need to talk,” Jean stated firmly. It had been months since Eren and Mikasa’s big fight, and while everyone in their friend group knew something happened, no one was actually sure what exactly went down. Years of being Eren and Mikasa’s friends taught them to stay out of it. They’d solve it eventually-- they loved each other too much to stay apart forever. Which is the thought that solidified Jean’s decision to do what he was about to do. “I think we should break our engagement,” Jean announced slowly and quietly, as if it pained him to say it-- it probably did.
Mikasa reached out to grab his hand, “Jean--” she started before pausing.
Jean outstretched his hand in a gesture to let him continue.
“I’ve thought about it a lot. There is no doubt in my mind that you do love me. I know that. But I also know that you’ll never love me in the same way you love Eren. Even after everything, you still have his scarf. Mikasa, love like what you guys have-- it doesn’t happen often. Don’t let him go,” Jean’s voice cracked at his own advice.
Mikasa couldn’t deny it-- she could only stare at him sadly while apologizing. What for? She didn’t know. Maybe for leading him on? Or not loving him as much as Jean deserved?
“Hey, it’s okay. I love you. I want you to be happy, and if that means letting you go, then I will learn to live with it,” Jean gave her a small smile.
It made Mikasa want to cry. She probably hurt him a lot, with him always knowing he wouldn’t live up to Eren, and yet here he was, being understanding, a gentleman. He was letting her go. “Thank you,” she whispered before she gently kissed his cheek.
And before Jean knew it, she was gone. Just like that. Everything seemed to run by in a blur that he hadn’t even realized how much time had gone. One second, he was watching Miaksa leave, and the next, he was sandwiched between Connie and Sasha at a bar. He had a drink in his hand that he didn’t even remember buying. Had he been drinking?
“Yo, you seem out of it, man,” Connie stated while hooking his arm around Jean. It earned him a nudge from Sasha, who muttered something about letting Jean wallow in his despair a little longer. He had just let Mikasa go after all-- someone who he’d loved for over a decade. “Uhh what I meant to say was, I hope you know that you deserve someone who will love you with all their heart, and all of their mind, body, and soul. Someday, you will find someone who makes you happy, then you’ll forget just how much this hurts,” Connie says, him and Sasha rubbing Jean’s back in comfort.
. . . . .
Mikasa was never one to back down from confrontation, so even she found it surprising when a week later, she still hadn’t talked to Eren. It’s not that she didn’t want to, but rather, didn’t know how. Luckily, Eren was impulsive as ever, and so everything seemed to fall back into place when he showed up at her doorstep one day.
“Hey,” he says with a short breath, as if he was trying to hide his exhaustion from running or whatever extraneous activity he was doing beforehand.
“Hi,” Mikasa replies, looking at his disheveled hair and the sweat-stained neckline of his shirt. Did he rush over here?
“I heard from Jean… about umm… about what happened,” he pauses, seeming to take a moment to gather his thoughts. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused you-- what I’ve been causing you. But I just wanted to tell you this before I lose my courage: I’ve uhh I’ve been having this dream for a while, practically forever. Of all our dreams, our past lives-- presumably, at least-- this one is my favorite. We were together in Switzerland, in this small cabin. There were trees everywhere and mountains in sight. Nothing ever really happened, except… normal everyday things. We hunted, fished, gathered wood… it was simple, but I was really, really really happy. I was happy because I was home with you. Those nights and my memories of that dream kept me going, even during my hardest times.” He notices how she was slowly registering what he said, so he gives it one last push. “What I’m trying to say is--”
“I know, sorry it took me a second,” Mikasa lightly laughs. “Why did you come back?” she dares to ask. It was a little awkward, like they haven’t been friends for the past 28 years.
Eren could only smile before grabbing her hands in between them, slightly hesitating. He grips them a little more tightly as if to stabilize himself. “Because we’re Eren and Mikasa, and Mikasa and Eren. Because you’re my best friend. Because I love you. Because you are my home, and I’ll always find my way home back to you.”
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starshine583 · 4 years
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New Girl on the Block (5)
(The next update is here! Feel free to check out the mini series connected to this fic called Journal Entries. I will warn anyone who checks it out that I’m probably not going to continue the entries, though.)
Ch.1 / Ch.4 / Ch.6
Chapter 5: Late Night Visits
Felix idly watched the elevator light flicker from circle to circle as he reached the top floor. He tugged lightly at the green color of the shirt that Marinette had given him, preparing for his mother’s overbearing questions. She’d been trying to get him to wear something other than his suits for at least a year. When she saw him in this attire, she was going to have a fit.
Felix blew out a sigh. Normally, he would have changed back to his other clothes by now- Mme Sabine did an excellent job of cleaning them and tucking them into his bag, neatly folded -but Marinette told everyone that they could keep their outfits. After an offer like that, it seemed rude to change. 
The elevator emitted a soft *ding* to inform him that he’d arrived on his selected floor, and Felix drew in a deep breath, watching the golden-colored doors slide open. Here it comes.
The family penthouse was shrouded in darkness, save for the flames that flickered in the fireplace of the open living. It cast a soft, orange glow on the furniture and floors, and in the midst of the distorted dimness, Felix could make out his mother lounging leisurely on one of the light blue couches. It wasn’t unlike her to keep the house lights off while he or Father was away. She claimed that it helped think and relax. 
When the elevator doors rattled closed, his mother sat up from the couch and turned to him, her eyes bright and curious. A part of him hoped that she couldn’t spot his new outfit in the darkness, but that hope was quickly dashed as she hopped up with a gasp.
“Oh my goodness!” She exclaimed, sounding like a child on Christmas morning. Felix barely had time to set his bag down before she got to him, pawing up and down to study the fabric. He briefly wondered how a woman who wore six inch heels could move with such speed and agility.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! Is it my birthday? Are you really my son? What happened to your old clothes? I thought you were going to visit Marinette’s house!” She flicked the lights on to get a better look, and Felix squinted as his eyes adjusted.
“Yes, I’m really your son,” He replied firstly, taking a step away from her incessant touches, “And I did go to Marinette’s house. That’s why I needed new clothes.”
Bridgette frowned, both at his step away from her and his comment. “What happened to your old clothes? Did Claude spill something on them again?”
“You could say that Claude was the Catalyst, yes.” He grumbled, the memory of Claude’s mocking laughter flicking through his mind. 
“Well, where are your other clothes then? Should I call M. Bernarde over to clean them?” 
Felix shook his head and gestured to his bag on the floor. “No need. Mme Sabine has already taken care of it.”
“Mme Sabine?” Bridgette parroted curiously. She knelt down and flipped over the brown, leather flap to pull out the clothes.
“Ah. Marinette’s mother.” Felix explained. “She insisted that I refer to her as ‘Mme Sabine’.” 
A smile graced Bridgette’s lips as she stood, tucking Felix’s clothes in her arms. “That’s very sweet of her.”
Felix nodded and knelt down to grab his bag as well. “M. Tom and Mme Sabine both have an uncanny resemblance towards you when it comes to their behavior.”
“Oh?” Bridgette’s eyes narrowed with amusement. “So what I’m hearing is: Marinette’s parents are wonderful people.”
Felix chuckled, flashing her an indulgent smile. “Of course, Mother.”
Bridgette grinned and ruffled a hand through his hair. “I definitely raised you right. Do you want some tea? I can make some while you go change. I know that’s not your usual preference of clothing.”
Felix hummed at the offer, reaching up to touch his collar again. “Tea sounds nice, but I think I’ll keep the outfit.”
It was already ten o’clock at night. If he were to change into anything, it would be a pair of pajamas, and he wasn’t in the mood for that yet. There were still things that he needed to jot down in his notebook before settling down for the evening.
Bridgette’s eyes bulged out of her head. “You mean you actually like the outfit?”
Felix shrugged. “The clothes are comfortable. It might not be my usual attire, but it’s also not unbearable. Besides, going up to change now would only be a waste of energy.”
Bridgette placed a hand on her hip and breathed out an incredulous laugh. “If I had known that going to Marinette’s house was all it would take for you to break your ‘suits’ streak, I would have you sent you there ages ago.”
Felix playfully rolled his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be happy that I dress well? Father’s quite pleased with it.”
Bridgette clicked her tongue, setting his clothes on the dining room table next to them to cross her arms. “Yes, that’s because your father is just as uptight as you are. You both need to loosen up a little.”
Felix chuckled. “Where is Father? I thought he was supposed to be home tonight.”
“He’s up in his study.” Bridgette answered, tilting her head towards the stairs. “There’s an important meeting at the bank tomorrow, and he wanted to prepare.”
Felix nodded. That was understandable. “What kind of tea are you going to make?”
Bridgette perked up at the reminder and spun on her heel to head towards the kitchen, her cream-colored dress flowing around her legs with the action. “I was thinking of Iron Goddess, but is there something different you might want?”
Felix shook his head as he followed behind her. “Iron Goddess sounds marvelous. I haven’t had that in a while.”
Bridgette moved to the stove and turned it on. Then she pulled out her flower-decorated kettle and set it on the burner. Felix stood next to her, quietly watching her pour the needed amount of water into the kettle. 
“So tell me how Claude managed to ruin your clothes for the twentieth time.” She said after a moment while handing Felix the dried, tea leaves.
Felix took the tea leaves and fished out a measuring spoon to scoop the accurate amount. “Twenty-second, actually, and I’m not entirely sure what happened.”
One moment, they were trying to put flour on the dough. The next moment, the flour was on them. Not the dough. He remembered everyone coughing up flour, and the white clouding his vision as the substance floated around the room. He remembered Claude laughing and Allan sighing in defeat when he finally got hit. Allegra had pinched the bridge of her nose at one point, undoubtedly asking herself what she would do with all of them.
Then he remembered Marinette’s face, flushed from embarrassment, as she scrambled to take the flour bag off of him, and her giddy smile, moments later, as she threw the bag onto Allan. 
“M. Tom was teaching us how to make croissants.” Felix said, starting at the first thing he could clearly recall. “When he left to deal with an unruly customer, Marinette attempted to take over the lesson. Unfortunately, she didn’t anticipate Claude’s tumultuous mannerisms.”
A laugh escaped Bridgette. “Can anyone truly prepare for Claude?”
Felix shook his head. “Not that I’ve seen.”
He tipped his measuring spoon into the infuser, letting the leaves fall into it. Then he reached across the stove and dropped the infuser into the kettle.
“Claude inevitably spilled a fourth of their flour bag onto himself and Allegra, and when Marinette went to fetch more for the rest of us, she tripped. I tried to catch her, but the flour bag was too heavy to handle. So we both ended up falling and getting covered as well.”
Bridgette snorted. “How chivalrous of you. It’s nice to know you’re fond enough of Marinette to try to help her when she needs it.”
“I didn’t do anything special.” Felix said, a twinge of irritation stirring in the back of his mind. She acted as though he let people fall in front of him on a regular basis. 
..of course, he did watch Claude land face first into the cement one day without so much as twitching. But in his defense, the brunette had been pushing Felix to the limit that day. He thought it only fair to let the boy suffer a little. 
“Anyone decent would have done the same thing.” Felix added, referring back to Marinette’s trip.
Bridgette nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true.. So you’re saying you’re not fond of her, then?”
“No, I-” Felix cut himself short, realizing what he was about to say. 
It’s not that he disliked Marinette. She was a kind-hearted person and, as of right now, hasn’t done anything to displease him. But for some reason, the word ‘fond’ sounded.. too strong. Too incriminating. 
His mother’s bubbly laughter broke him from his thoughts.
“Relax, sweetheart. I’m only teasing. I know you enjoy Marinette’s company.” She said, lightly tapping her fingers under his chin. The assurance didn’t appease Felix in the slightest. In fact, it only birthed a new form of discomfort. Why did the thought of enjoying Marinette’s company make him squirm? Wasn’t it normal to enjoy someone’s company once you were around them for a while? 
“So how did you get the new outfit?” Bridgette inquired next. “Did you have to stop baking and go on a last minute shopping spree?”
“No, Marinette had plenty of outfits.” Felix answered, gladly accepting the subject change. “It was quite impressive. She’d told us that she was a fashion major, but I didn’t realize that she was actually making clothes at this moment and time.”
“Wait, what?!” Bridgette blanched, her eyes blowing wide as she straightened. “You’re telling me that she made those clothes? The ones you’re wearing right now.”
Felix barely managed a nod before Bridgette swooped down to inspect his clothes all over again.
“You’re kidding!” She gasped, feeling over the seams and fabrics. “You didn’t tell me that she was a fashion designer! And a talented one, no less!”
“Didn’t I?” Felix replied, subtly leaning away from his mother.
Bridgette shook her head. “No, you didn’t! You’ve told me that she’s a new student who got in on a scholarship, that she lives in a bakery, that she’s clumsy, and that she’s somehow anxious and level-headed at the same time, but I’ve never heard about her aspirations towards being a fashion designer.”
“Huh..” Felix mumbled. The fact must have slipped his mind earlier. “Well, that’s how she attained the scholarship. She’s majoring in fashion. Claude, Allegra, and Allan all got outfits from her as well.”
“That’s incredible..” Bridgette muttered. “She must really be something.”
Felix nodded, being inclined to agree. No one got an early scholarship to Rosemary Highschool without having an immense amount of drive and talent. The clothes he wore now proved that.
A sharp whistle cut into their conversation, and Bridgette swiftly moved back to the stove to turn it off. She then grabbed two mugs from the counter- one deep green and one deep blue -and poured some of the scalding liquid from the kettle into both cups.
“So what happened after everyone changed?” She asked, getting back to the original topic.
“Nothing much.” Felix admitted. He took the dark green mug that Bridgette offered him with a ‘thanks’ before adding, “Marinette took our clothes to Mme Sabine for her to wash them, and the rest of the visit was spent playing video games or talking.”
“Did you play games as well?” 
An involuntary snort left Felix’s lips, and he shook his head. “Certainly not. I looked around Marinette’s room instead.”
“Oh?” His mother scooted closer to him with a sly smile, the same way she always did when she expected to hear something ‘juicy’. “Did you find anything interesting?”
The treasure chest of birthday gifts resurfaced in Felix’s mind, along with the card that he’d found.
“Nothing out of the ordinary.” He lied. It wasn’t his place to disclose such things, especially when he hadn’t been told directly about them. Felix wanted to learn more about Marinette, not share her private life with the world. “She seems to have quite an obsession with the color pink, though.”
Bridgette laughed. “Really? How bad?”
“Well, it’s not as bad as your infatuation with sky blue,” Felix said light heartedly, “but it still covered almost everything in her room. I was shocked that her hand-made outfits weren’t all pink as well.”
Bridgette hummed. “You do need to have some variety in the fashion world. Otherwise your clothes will become bland and predictable.”
She took a small sip of her tea and sank against the counter, reveling in the warmth it provided. 
“So how do you think Marinette’s fairing in the group so far?” she asked after a moment.
Felix took a sip of his own tea as he mulled over his answer. “She certainly knows how to hold her own. Allegra and Claude have already pledged their loyalty to her, claiming that she’s family even though we’ve only known her a week.”
“You think they’re rushing things?”
“I think they’re impulsive and rash as always.” Felix shrugged. “Marinette can be a great asset to our group, but that’s hardly a reason to devote themselves to her.”
Intrigue flashed in Bridgette’s deep blue eyes. “So you think she can make the group better?”
“Currently, yes.” Felix responded. “The way she interacts with each of us brings a strange sense of balance to the group. She adds this splash of color that we’ve apparently been lacking.”
It’s something he’s noticed often in the past week. Marinette will listen intently to Claude’s stories and ideas, therefore sedating his chaotic atmosphere. She’ll compliment Allegra’s styles and discuss compelling topics with the blonde, easily satisfying the girl’s need to dig up controversy and drag it to light for the sake of a good argument. She’ll even share looks and teasing comments with Allan, praising him for his photography skills and giving him the constant validation that causes the boy to smile just a little bit more. Her routine of asking Felix’s opinion and actually taking it into consideration admittedly soothes his ever-rising temper as well.
In a way, she kept them grounded, and that was something that their group desperately needed if you asked him.
“Wow~” Bridgette sang, taking a long sip of her tea. “That’s a lot of praise coming from you, Felix.”
Something turned inside Felix’s chest at the comment, and his grip on his mug tightened. Why did he feel as though he had been caught for something? Nothing he said had been untrue. 
“I’m merely stating observations.”
“Of course.” Bridgette muttered into her cup, an air of amusement in her voice. “Observations.”
Felix narrowed his eyes at his mother. Her sly smile told him that she wasn’t quite agreeing with him in the way that she said. Almost like she was insinuating something or knew something that he didn’t. Bridgette was known for drawing irrational conclusions, though, so he didn’t dare ask what that something was. Felix simply took another sip of his tea and continued telling her the smaller details of his visit. 
~~~~~~
Evening in Paris, a time where the streets are empty and the lights are full. The city of love always had a way of illuminating the night sky with its abundance of lanterns and street lamps. Couples could often be found strolling along, enjoying the romantic atmosphere, but tonight, company was scarce. Only the occasional car divulged the fact that the drowsy town was not quite asleep. 
Chat Noir didn’t blame the civilians for staying inside. The frigid month of January was tolerable in the morning, but at night, the frosted winds had no mercy. He tugged up his scarf to compensate for the chill that nipped at his cheeks and nose, and although it did little to help, he continued skipping across the rooftops. Nathalie would be checking on him in roughly an hour to make sure he was asleep. That gave him roughly thirty to forty-five minutes to get to Marinette’s house, convince her to transfer back to Dupont, and get home. 
Well, he didn’t expect to convince her fully- Marinette can be extremely stubborn -but he could lay the groundwork. For example, if Chat Noir could figure out why she left, maybe Adrien would be able to fix it. 
The balcony came into view a few minutes later, and Chat Noir picked up the pace. Using his alter ego to snuff out information wasn’t something that he put to practice often, but all attempts to talk to Marinette as Adrien so far have failed, and he couldn’t wait for his schedule as a civilian to open again. 
His feet landed on the Dupain-Cheng rooftop, but the ice on top of it caused him to slip. He let out a yelp and threw his hands forward to claw for support. The high pitched whine that came from his gloves when they caught on the ice made him wince, but it was better than falling off the edge of the roof. He scrambled upwards to safety, blowing out a sigh of relief as he found Marinette’s window. That was close.
Now that he had steady footing, Chat Noir stole a peek into Marinette’s bedroom. The last time he came to her house uninvited, it was while she was sleeping, and that did not end well for him. Therefore, he’s started checking whether she’s ‘ready’ for him or not.
Marinette buzzed around her room, a bright smile on her lips as she gathered empty soda can, cups, and plates. Why were there so many drinks and plates? Did Marinette eat that much or did she have someone over earlier? If she did have someone over, then who would it be? Everyone at Dupont was still grumbling about her supposed misdeeds. Did someone finally come to their senses and apologize? 
Chat Noir perked up. This was great! If she’s reconciled with one of her old classmates, it would be that much easier to sway her in his direction.
Fueled by a fresh spark of hope, he climbed up to Marinette’s balcony. The coolness of the metal railing seeped through his gloved hands as he grabbed it, but he hardly cared as he swung himself over. His padded feet hit the wooden floorboards without a sound, and he knelt down to knock on the trapdoor.
“I can’t believe how much fun today was!”
His knuckles faltered in the air at the sound of Marinette’s voice. She sounded positively giddy, which was nice, but who was she talking to? He didn’t remember seeing anyone in the bedroom with her. Were they sitting outside his viewpoint? Should he come back later?
“When everyone got covered in flour, I thought the rest of the night was going to be horrible, but they looked like they had a good time.” Marinette continued, oblivious of her eavesdropper. 
Chat Noir frowned slightly. ‘Everyone’.. Did more than one person come over? How did they get covered in flour?
He shook his head and checked his baton for the time. 10:20pm. If he was going to talk to her, it needed to do it now. 
Tentatively, he knocked on the trapdoor, hoping beyond all hope that she was making a simple phone call. Marinette would be ticked if he came over, uninvited, while she had someone else visiting.
Her idle chatter immediately ceased, and Chat Noir shifted nervously on the floor. Please be alone. Please be alone.
His ears twitched to the sound of movements. Footsteps were making their way across the room. Then up the first ladder to the loft. Then up the second ladder to the balcony. Then-
Marinette pushed her way through the trapdoor, offering him a warm smile. “Hey, Chat! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you around here. How have you been?”
Chat’s shoulders sagged in relief. It’s been forever since he’s seen that wonderful smile. “I’ve been okay. Mind if I come in?”
“Not at all.” Marinette held the trapdoor open long enough for Chat to grab it and started climbing back down the ladder. “I was just cleaning up from having my friends over.”
So she did have people over! 
“Which friends?” He asked, trying not to sound too eager as he climbed down the ladder behind her. Could it be Alya? They were best friends, after all. Or Nino? He was always skeptical of Lila’s tales. Oh! What if it was Nathaniel? Chat remembered the red-head having a soft spot for Marinette a while back. Or what about-
“My new friends from school!” Her enthusiastic reply shattered his hopes, and Chat Noir froze, the trapdoor rocking shut above him. She had.. new friends? Already? She’d only been gone a week or two..
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I transferred from Dupont to Rosemary!” She added, completely oblivious to the bomb that she’d just dropped on him. It shouldn’t surprise Chat that she had new friends, since Marinette was amazing, but..
“What about your old friends?” 
Marinette shrugged, dumping a few soda cans into the trash bag that lay in the corner of her room. “Oh, you know. Lila’s been rallying them against me for a few months now. I figured that wasn’t good for my mental health or my education, so I decided to leave.”
Guilt festered in the pit of his stomach, and Chat Noir cast his gaze to the side. He understood where she was coming from. Lila hadn’t been making life easy for her as of late. 
“Do you miss them?”
“Nope!” The answer was immediate and cheerful, and it shot a knife right through Chat’s heart.
“There’s not a single part of you that wants to go back?” He persisted. School had been difficult for her with Lila’s lies. He got that. But it still hurt to know that she was willing to throw them away like they hadn’t been friends for the better half of two years. 
Marinette shook her head, shoving the imagined knife deeper into his chest. “If they wanted me to stay, they should have treated me better.”
“What if they’re sorry?” He asked, probably faster than he should have. “What if they missed you and wanted you to come back? Wouldn’t you forgive them?”
Weren’t friends supposed to work things out? 
A sigh fell from her lips. “I don’t know, Chat. No one’s even apologized yet. Even if they did, I’m not sure that I’d want to go back?”
“Why not?” Chat all but yelled in exasperation. If everyone apologized, that would mean no one was upset with her anymore. The problem would be gone! So why would she want to stay away from them?
Marinette frowned at him. “If I go back to Dupont, it’ll only show them that their actions don’t have any real consequences. They need to learn that they can’t just treat people however they want.” 
Chat Noir didn’t respond, because what could he really say? She was right. He knew she was right. You can’t rage against someone day after day and expect them to take it. Even so, he couldn’t help wanting her back. They needed her. He needed her.
“Why are you so concerned about this anyway?” Marinette inquired, breaking him from his thoughts.
Chat Noir managed a sheepish smile. “N-No reason. I just don’t want you making any rash decisions is all.”
Marinette eyed him for a moment, then shrugged. “Well, I don’t think it’s rash to get out of a toxic situation, but why don’t we change the subject? Do you want to play games? I can bring up snacks if you plan on staying long.”
Chat Noir pulled out his baton to check the time. 10:40pm. Drat.
“Actually, I should get going.” He replied, slipping on an apologetic smile. “Patrol and all that.”
Marinette gave an understanding nod. “No problem. Thanks for stopping by.”
“Thanks for having me.” Chat Noir said with a small wave. He then clambered back up the ladder and pushed open the trapdoor. The freezing air hit him full force, but he didn’t have time to be skittish. Nathalie would be coming to check on him in twenty minutes, and that didn’t include the possibility of her coming to check on him early.
He shut the trapdoor behind him, making sure it was tightly closed. (Just because he had to get frostbite didn’t mean that Marinette had to) Then, Chat Noir swung himself over the railing, slid down the Dupain-Cheng’s rooftop, and started homeward.
He’d wanted to change Marinette’s mind about Dupont, but in the end, he was the one who had his mind changed. With Lila running about and spreading lies, it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to return. However, if his classmates were too.. say.. change their ways and learn to appreciate Marinette, she might be inclined to come back. All he had to do was convince them that Lila was a liar and that Marinette was an actual angel, and he would start with apologizing. What the school Marinette said she transferred to? Rosemary? Yeah, that’s it. Rosemary.. Wasn’t that the prestigious school for rich kids that Father almost sent him to? How did she manage to enroll there? He thought the tuition was supposed to be extremely expensive.
Chat Noir shook his head slightly. How she enrolled at that school didn’t matter. What mattered was that that’s where she’ll be most of the day from now on, and as soon as he got even a second of free time as Adrien, she will be the first person he sees.
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marvelsbetch · 3 years
Text
Peter Parker’s field trip part 3
-Peter's POV-
After lunch Owen grouped us all
back together, including Wade, and took us around more labs. There was nothing particularly special about any of them until the corridor we were walking down became all too familiar. We stopped infront of a door to a lab, the door to my lab. Oh God.
"Now, for those of you who don't know and haven't guessed it yet, your class mate Peter works here. This is his lab and I was wondering if he would allow us to see what's inside. Peter?" Owen announced looking directly at me.
"Fine but you have to swear not to touch anything and not discuss anything you see with others." I warned them as I swiped my card and held the door open to all of them.
They all filled in and started looking around cautiously and with amazement. Many people noticed the prototype suits on mannequins at the back of the room. I was helping Dad, Pops, Bucky and Wanda with new designs for suits as well as trying to improve mine. It's been a challenge but we're making steady progress.
"Peter, Mr Stark has told me to ask you to open your connecting doors." F.R.I.D.A.Ys voice rang out across the room.
"Oh dear lord." I sighed and moved to open one of the other doors in the room that connected mine and Dads lab.
There was also a door connecting to a storage closet filled with various building parts. The other doors lead to a bathroom, Pops' art room, The training room and a testing room. There was lots of doors but thankfully I labelled them all.
"What do y-" I started but cut myself off when I opened the door and saw the guardians stood in Dad's lab. Frick!
"Mini Peter!" Drax yelled pulling me into a very tight hug. What's with the bone crushing hugs today?
"What're you all doing here?" I asked pushing Drax away from me.
"Can't we visit our favourite earthling without a reason?" Peter asked putting his arm around me.
"You sound like Thor." I told him shrugging his arm off.
"Don't insult me like that." Peter told me jokingly serious.
"How come I don't get any love?" Wade asked appearing behind me.
"Hey! What am I here for?" I asked him trying to sound offended.
"Beside you." He said putting an arm around my waist and resting his head on mine.
"Hands off Wade." Dad warned with a scowl on his face glaring at my boyfriend.
"Alright Stark, alright." Wade said sarcastically and put his hands up before slowly backing away.
"Don't push me, I'm already letting you stay in my tower, and sleep in his room for that matter." Dad gestures to me with an angry look on his face.
"Moving on, why're there a bunch of gawping teenagers stood behind you?" Peter asked gesturing to my class.
"Well, this is my science class from school. They're gasping because no one believed me when I said I had an internship here but I've proven to have more than that." I explained taking Wade's hand in mine much to Dad's disappointment.
"Anyway, what're you doing next? When're these losers leaving?" Peter asked putting his arm around my shoulders.
"We're visiting the training rooms with Steve, Nat, Clint, Bucky, T,Challa, Wanda, Vision, Strange and Loki." Dad explained making me groan and put my head on Wade's shoulder in annoyance.
"And then they're staying the night and visiting Avengers Tower tomorrow." I told him from Wade's shoulder.
"Avengers Tower?" Drax asked confused.
"It's kind of like our mother ship. It's where we're briefed and de-briefed about our missions and meet up for various things. We used to use this tower but it's less used now." Dad explained.
"They still use it sometimes though. Say, for example, to embarrass me." I said sarcastically lifting my head up.
"Aww, come on Pete, don't you love seeing us all day?" Dad teased grabbing my cheek.
"Not when your soul purpose is to embarrass me infront of my class. Other times, I couldn't thing is anything better." I told him making him smirk.
"Come on then, let's go see everyone train." Dad said clapping his hands together and leading the group through one of my doors and directly into the training room.
"Ah, Midtown I presume. Welcome to the Avengers training room." Pops introduced gesturing to the room around us.
There was treadmills, weight lifts, cross trainers, workout bikes and much more. Over in an empty corner Strange, Wanda and Uncle Loki were practicing their magic where as every one else was doing normal physical training.
"So, who wants to fight an Avenger?" Aunt Nat asked looking across all the students in front of her. "You, with the stupid grin. Come up here." Nat instructed pointing to Flash. Oh dear lord.
Flash confidently made his way up to Nat and just stood there doing nothing. Nat showed him a proper fighting stance and told him to attack. The next few seconds was Nat pinning Flash to the mat before he could react.
"I wasn't ready." Flash breathed out from the floor.
"No one is. That's why she's good at what she does." Pops told him smirking at me. "Why don't you have a go?" He asked me.
"No I'm good. Do you want to?" I asked gesturing to the mat and Nat.
"Oh come on kid. Live a little." Pops coaxed with a smug grin on his face.
"Fine." I sighed detaching myself from Wade and standing in front of Nat. I got into a fighting stance and we started fighting.
After 10 minutes of back and forth between me and Nat I eventually pinned her to the mat to the astonishment to my class.
“Well Peter, good to know nothing's changed." Pops grinned passing me my water bottle and a granola bar.
"Thanks Pops." I said with out thinking.
“Right, now we're gonna teach you basic self defence. We'll split you into groups and go from there." Pops explained turning to my class when an alarm went off.
"Code Green! Natasha and Peter to Dr Banners lab please." F.R.I.D.A.Ys automated voice rang out.
Me and Natasha took off running as fast as we could to Bruce's lab and stopped in front of the door for a brief moment. We could hear crying? Slowly, we opened the door and found Hulk sat on the floor crying.
"Hulk?" I cautiously asked stepping forward.
"Spider Boy!" Hulk yelled pulling me into a tight hug. "Hulk miss his spider boy!" He cried.
"Okay big guy. Why were you crying?" Natasha asked placing her hand on his arm.
"Lonely. Bad Human kept me trapped." Hulk explained as more tears fell.
"Okay buddy, put me down and we can hang out with you for a bit. How does that sound?" I offered.
"Thank you spider boy." Hulk said giving me one last squeeze, breaking my last rib and placing me on the floor.
"So, what do you want to do?" Nat asked sitting on the floor next to Hulk.
"Play outside!" Hulk whined. When did he become so child like?
"Okay, wanna play tag?" I offered thinking back to childhood games.
"Tag?" Hulk asked.
"It's where we run around and touch people gently. The person you touch is then 'tagged' and you must run away from them. You understand?" I explained.
Hulk slowly nodded so Nat took him outside while I called Dad to explain what happened.
"Hey kid, you okay?" Dad asked with my entire class looking at him.
"Yeah he was just lonely and in a mood with Banner. Me and Nat are gonna play some tag with him if that's okay. We'll either be on the roof or balcony." I explained to him.
"Okay stay safe." Dad told me before waving.
"I will. See you later." I said waving back and hanging up the phone.
-2 hours later-
After playing tag with Hulk for way too long we managed to get Banner back. The only think was, we promised Hulk to speak to him later. While my class will still be here. Hopefully he doesn't get scared or feel threatened and we can have a nice and calm conversation with him. We walked back to the training room but no one was there so I called Dad to see where he was.
"Hey, where've you all gone?" I asked.
"We're in the penthouse. How was playing tag with Hulk?" He asked.
"It was fun. We promised we would speak to him later so we need to talk to the class and explain otherwise he may feel threatened or angry." I explained to him getting into the elevator to take us to the penthouse.
"Okay, I'll gather everyone and you three can explain to them." He said.
"Right I'll see you in a minute." I told him before hanging up.
We got to the penthouse and found my whole class plus teacher stood in the living room like they were waiting for something. I walked in with Nat and Banner on either side of me and they all looked visibly shocked.
"Okay, quick announcement if you're all going to be staying the night. What happened before was a 'code green' that means the Hulk. Now, not every time he's here he's angry, so for instance today, sometimes he's just lonely. We managed to get Banner back but promised we would speak to him later so if anyone hears a code green do not freak out. Don't go up to him or anything but don't freak out. That's what'll make him intimidated and angry and that's when people get hurt. Do I make myself clear?" Nat asked giving each individual a piercing glare.
"Yes Miss Romanov." They all said simultaneously.
"Now, you have one hour before food to explore the penthouse. Any door with a red square is a prohibited area, it's mainly bedrooms though. Have fun and don't break anything." Dad warned.
As soon as he finished everyone scattered and tried to find something interesting to look at. Me, Wade, Ned, MJ, Dad, Pops, Nat and Banner all just sat on the sofa and started a movie. As time went on the rest of the Avengers along with Thor, Loki, Shuri and T'challa came in and started to watch the movie with us. We briefly heard and saw my class mates walking around and looking at things in the hallways. They were all very interested in the littlest things.
An hour soon went by and we called everyone back in to talk about food and what we should order. We ended up with Pizza cause who doesn't like that? We ordered 35 because there was a lot of us and I needed like 4 to myself, it was 15 margaritas, 5 Hawaiian, 5 BBQ chicken, 5 vegetarian and 5 meat lover. All large and all delicious. True beauty. We all sat in the living room and no where else would fit us all and ate in pretty must silence.
"So Peter, how come you know the Avengers?" Christie asked.
"The internship. I work closely with Mr Stark and just met everyone from there. It stared with working in projects all night to having sleepovers and it all progressed from there." I explained. It felt weird to call Dad Mr Stark again after all this time of calling him Dad.
"Patricia, how did you get the internship. Stark Industries don't usually hire teenagers." Mrs Robbins asked trying to be polite but made one big mistake. Patricia.
"Well I found Videos of Peter's work on YouTube. I'd also bumped into him at Oscorp at one of your other field trips." Dad explained with emphasis on 'Peter'. Mrs Robbins seemed uncomfortable with Dad's use of my name.
"Well what type of thing do you work on?" Al asked.
"All sorts. Started with building small robots to help with small mundane tasks then working on bigger robots with Mr Stark and then working on suits and weapons for everyone. Now I'm designing them as you all saw before. Btw Wanda, I need you to come to my lab at some point this week to check hour suit out." I informed.
"Okay, maybe after food we could go." She offered taking another bite of a BBQ chicken pizza.
"I can do that." I agreed and finished my slice of margarita.
"Well, why you?" Flash asked clearly annoyed. Shoot.
"What do you mean why him?" Pops asked getting angry.
"Well, with all due respect, why did you hire him? He's nothing special, just a charity case at the end of the day." Flash huffed and Pops' face went red with anger.
"Charity case? What do you mean by that?" Wade asked trying to moving me from his lap but I didn't budge. I knew he'd kill Flash.
"Like with his Aunt, they didn't have money and skips out on school with stupid excuses. You're probably only talking to him cause you feel bad, no need to lie to us." Flash explained and Banner's face turned green.
Everything else happened so fast. First Wade practically threw me off of his lap onto the floor where Ned caught me. Then Banner stormed out of the room yelling and turning green. After that, Dad got up from his seat and lunged forward but Pops caught him and was holding him back in a hug type situation. Nat pulled a knife out. Bucky smashed a pizza. The sofas were floating. There was thunder outside. Loki was evilly smirking. Shuri was holding T,Challa back. Sam was seething in the corner. Clint reached for his bow and arrow. Wade pulled a katana out of god knows where. It was all happening.
"Everybody outside now!" I yelled at the adults and dragged my Dads and Wade out the room behind me.
They all came out and I was immediately attached with question after question after question. Nat was asking if I wanted her to kill them. Dad, Pops and Wade were agreeing with her. Thor was threatening to bring the whole of the Asgardian army. Banner was still no where to be seen. Things really went down hill fast.
"Come on Baby. He made you feel like shit, let me teach him a lesson." Wade tried to persuade pulling me close and putting his hands on my waist.
"No Wade. You're not killing him. You've been doing so well, you've gone a whole 2 months without killing anyone. Don't throw that all away for him. Come on baby, calm down and help me with everyone else." I pleaded looking into his eyes and placing my hands on either side of his face.
"Fine but if he says one more thing not even Hulk could hold me back." He sighed bringing me in for a brief kiss.
"NOT IN FRONT OF US!" Dad yelled all anger seemingly averted to Wade.
"Geeze old man, calm down it was just a kiss. Not as if I fucked him right in front of you is it?" Wade told him sarcastically.
"Stop before your killed." I warned him.
"Mmmm. You're no fun." Wade told me.
"This is all beside the point. Banner's Hulked our and Hulk is not happy about Flash. He's coming straight towards everyone." Nat warned looking at something F.R.I.D.A.Y shown her.
"Oh god." I said as everyone rushed back into the living room to find my class huddled in a corner with Hulk slowly advancing.
Me and Nat ran out infront of them and our hands up to indicate for him to stop. Hulk looked between me and the group with confusion.
"They're mean to spider boy. Why be nice?" Hulk asked.
"Because it's what we do. We're nice to people despite them being mean to us because otherwise we'd be as bad as them. We don't want to be as bad as them. We want to be better. Do you understand?" I explained to Hulk slowly.
"Yes I understand spider boy." Hulk slightly sulked and walked over to a different side of the room where he turned back into Banner.
"How can you do that?" Someone asked hesitantly.
"Do what?" I questioned confused.
"Calm him down. I thought only black widow could do that." They explained baffled.
"Well you thought wrong." I simply told them with a shrug as I walked back over to the couch and sat on Wades lap much to my Dad's disappointment.
"Okay then, what movie should we watch?" Pops asked trying to change the topic and succeeding.
"Okay this is how we're doing it. If you want horror move to the right side of the room. If you want comedy stand to the left." Dad spoke. The majority, including myself and Wade, moved to the right.
"Okay, Annabelle Creation to the right, It to the left." The majority stayed at the right.
"It's settled." Pops announces turning the tv on and playing the movie.
Everyone found somewhere to sit, Dad on Pop obviously, then everyone else who lived at the tower, Ned and MJ squeezed onto the couches. The rest of my class sat on the floor that was covered in blankets, pillows and other types of bedding. It looked quite comfy but nothing was as comfy as Wade.
"So, Parker, how come you're buddy buddy with all of the Avengers?" Flash asked once the movie begun.
"I told you, I'm Mr Starks personal intern and so I met everyone." I lied.
"It's so weird to hear you call me Mr Stark again." Dad pointed out making us all laugh but confused my class.
"Don't start calling me Steve again, too weird." Pops requested earning a few more laughs.
"Alright Cap'ain." I said making us again, laugh a little.
"So, Peter, how did you get your internship?" Al asked.
"Well, it's a long story." I told him trying to think of one on the spot.
"I secretly sent out a message to collages and High schools near by and asked for their most brightest and promising students. I got almost two hundred responses but one from Midtown high stuck out. A boy who couldn't do PE to save his life but could do a university level science equation in his sleep. Sounded like me when I was younger so I spoke with him and after a few trials including him and some other candidates I went with Peter. One of the best decisions I ever made." Dad informed them, lying slightly, making me blush and look down.
"How did that lead to all of this?" Al further questioned gesturing to me and the rest of the Avengers.
"Well, with being his personal intern I followed him everywhere and into meeting for both Stark Industries and the Avengers. He also let me stay here when my aunt had to work late, this then turned into me spending the weekend here most times and some school night. With me spending so much time here I met them all, I was a little awkward at first but got used to them and then the jokes started which turned to minor pranks which turned into Parnell wars which turned into me finding a family in the most unsuspected way." I spoke fondly smiling at the memories of first meeting them and the first prank pulled, Clint decided it would be funny to put shaving cream in all of my pockets and shoes.
"Wow, must be amazing, knowing you can come here at whatever time you want and have the Avengers back you. You're a lucky kid Parker, I'll give you that." Al said.
"I know I am." I spoke, mostly to myself as I took Wade's hand in mine.
"How did your relationship start?" Hayley, a girl from my class, asked.
"That is an interesting story that I'm sure Wade would love to tell." I said smirking slightly.
"Well, I have a tendency to brake in the tower and one time I ran into the living room escaping Stark and found Peter sat on this couch watching Star Wars surrounded my blankets, pillows and junk food. I walked over, sat next to him and had a lovely conversation with him about Star Wars and Star Trek, it was very engaging. Then Stark ruined it by kicking me out and giving me a lecture on communicating with his intern. I clearly didn't listen and came here more often to speak to him, on one of my trips my crush grew too strong and plucked up the courage to ask him out. He said yes much to Starks distaste. We went on a date, shared a kiss and decided to make it official, this was 8 months, 4 days, 32 minutes and 54 seconds ago." Wade told them smiling widely as he pulled me into a deep and loving kiss only to separated by my Dad flicking Wade's ear.
"Wow, that's so sweet." Hayley fan-girled.
Soon enough, nine thirty rolled around and we were all sent to bed, my class was showed to their shared rooms while me and Wade snuck off to my room where he followed through on his earlier promise.
To be continued...
59 notes · View notes
goldentournesol · 4 years
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Double Whammy
Tumblr media
(Spencer Reid x Reader)
The one where Reader gets a nasty cold and is on her period at the same time, so Spencer takes care of her.
Length: 2.6k
A/N: thank you for the request @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto​ ! I enjoyed writing this one, IT’S SO FLUFFY! 
masterlist
Sometimes, the stars align and something favorable happens. Other times, the stars want nothing to do with each other and every possible thing that less than favorable happens. Unfortunately, the latter had been Y/N’s case for the past two days. She’d been fighting off a nasty, terrible cold. She didn’t get sick often, but when she did, it felt like her body’s main goal was to punish her for not being careful enough rather than heal itself. Her bones ached and her nose was blocked in a way that made her feel as though she’d never breathe properly again. On top of all that, her uterus made sure to be as unforgiving as possible as the dreaded time of the month rolled around. She could barely keep her eyes open as her body fought through the exhaustion that came with the double-whammy.
It was around 4 in the afternoon and Y/N had barely left the bed at all. She wished for some type of relief from her cramps but it just wasn’t coming. Her migraine wasn’t helping her out either. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had any water to drink. 
“Hello?” She croaked into the phone with a heavy cough. It came as a surprise to her that she even managed to let out a single word, although it sounded more like ‘bellow’ than ‘hello’.
“Y/N! How are you feeling today, my love?” Spencer’s chipper voice boomed through the speaker. 
“Not much better to be honest.” She murmured into the phone which was laying on the pillow that Spencer slept on, barely able to keep her puffy eyes open.  He heard her blow her nose and she uttered a small apology, knowing that must not have been pleasant to hear over the phone. He felt his heart twist in his chest, knowing she was feeling so under the weather and not be able to make her feel better.
He was currently on a case somewhere in the deserts of California. She hadn’t caught the cold yet when he left. She knew that he would have stayed with her if she’d caught it before he left, which would have made her feel like the biggest burden there was and she also knew that her boyfriend wasn’t the type to take no for an answer.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. But, I have great news. We closed the case, I’m getting on the jet now. I should be home in no time.” He says softly and she can feel a small smile fighting its way onto her face.
“That’s great, Spence…” she trailed off, losing more energy by the second, “Get home safe, love you.” 
“Love you more.” Spencer hung up and felt his shoulders drop in defeat before making his way back to his team as they climbed onto the jet. The guilt he felt for leaving her alone was overwhelming. He should be there for her, making her feel better. He knew she hated asking for help, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d taken care of herself at all. He guessed he’d find out soon enough.
It felt wrong walking in and finding their apartment void of any light or sound. Usually, there was some sort of noise or light coming from either a TV or a phone. He quietly made his way over to the bedroom and heard her snores. He sighed in relief, knowing she was at least resting. Spencer made his way over to the kitchen and figured she must have been starving. There was no evidence of any food or drink anywhere. He wondered when the last time she ingested something was. 
He made a quick call to Rossi, unsure of his cooking skills. He checked the fridge and pantry for the necessary ingredients and attempted to make chicken noodle soup with whatever they had available. He yawned as he cut up the vegetables, but quickly fought the sleep to continue cooking. He heard her soft snores stop and he peeked his head into the dark room again.
“Spence?” She managed to say softly, the thick covers muffling her voice. 
“Hey, sweetheart. I’m here.” He smiled as he approached their bed and turned on the lamp by their bedside. She winced at the sudden brightness and he quickly tried to block the light with his body to provide her eyes with some relief. 
“How are you feeling?” He asked softly as he took a seat at the edge of the bed. He took in her puffy eyes and red nose and wondered how she could still look so cute. Her bottom lip jutted out slightly and shook her head.
“I feel like absolute shit.” She mumbled and his heart dropped in his chest.
“Have you had anything to eat...or drink?” He bit his lip, already knowing the answer. She shook her head again softly, almost guilty. 
“Alright, I’m making you some soup. I think a hot shower will make you feel a lot better, Y/N/N. Come on, out of bed.” he tried to coax her with his hands. She only peered back at him over the duvet with tired eyes and small hands that wrapped around the edge of the duvet, Spencer found himself reveling in her adorable appearance and feeling bad about ruining her comfort, but he knew she probably stayed in bed all day. Spencer raised his eyebrows at her when she didn’t move. He smiled with relief when she didn’t fight him as he gently pulled back the covers from over her. 
“Come here, baby.” He motioned for her to come closer into his embrace. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and he lifted her out of bed, her legs locking behind his waist. He heard her sniffle into his neck as he carried her to the bathroom, he didn’t know whether she was crying or if it was just from the cold. He was too good to her, she didn’t know what she did to deserve such a compassionate partner, but she thanked the universe for allowing her to have him. Perhaps a tear or two managed to slip out of her eyes and into Spencer’s hair. Spencer turned his head slightly to press a kiss to her temple, murmuring into her hair, “I’ve got you, sweetheart.” He set her down as gently as he could and began to run the hot water.
“Okay, this should be perfect for decongesting your nasal pathways and loosening up the phlegm--” he stopped himself, knowing her head was probably pounding, “The soup should be ready by the time you finish your shower. If you need anything, I’ll be right outside.” He squeezed her shoulders and she sent him a tearful smile. 
As he closed the bathroom door, he took notice of a red patch of blood on the bed sheet on the mattress. He hastily checked his phone for the date and realized that her monthly visitor would be in fact--visiting. Spencer’s heart wrenched yet again as he could only imagine how horrible she really felt at the moment. He didn’t hesitate to change the sheets and clean the mattress of any remnants before neatly restoring order to the bed. He wanted to make sure she was taken care of, especially since he’d been away for so long. 
Somehow, he’d lost track of the pot that was currently boiling over the stove. He rushed to it, thankfully catching the pot right before it overflowed. He brought a spoon up to his lips and immediately winced at the lack of flavor. Spencer added some salt and continued to stir as he heard soft footsteps behind him. Y/N hugged his waist from behind silently and smushed her face against his back. Spencer smiled widely as he took the soup off the heat and swiveled around to wrap his arms around her. She noticed that he’d changed the sheets and made the bed and she honestly thought she was about to cry again.
“I missed you.” She mumbled into his shirt. Spencer kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back.
“I missed you way more. I’m so sorry for being away while you’ve been--” He began to apologize but was interrupted by her frantically shaking her head.
“No, no, no. Don’t apologize. I’m just glad you’re back.” The words barely made it past her lips, her voice hoarse. She lifted her head from his chest to gaze at him and they both adoringly stared at each other for a bit too long. He reluctantly pulled away from the embrace to ladle some soup into a bowl while it was still hot. He made himself a bowl as well since he hadn’t had any dinner. She sighed heavily as she sat at the kitchen table.
“What’s wrong?” Spencer asked, setting the two bowls down.
“I...I don’t feel like eating.” She pouted again, Spencer knew this was the cold talking. 
“I don’t think you want to hear me list the benefits of soup when you have a cold.” Spencer teased, even though he knew she loved his info-dumps. She rolled her eyes playfully, smiling at him. “Besides, you haven’t eaten or drank anything in...judging by the color of your tongue and lips, around 16 hours. You need something in your system so you can take some medication to make you feel better, sweetheart.” He said as he hungrily spooned soup into his mouth. It really wasn’t that good, but it’d do the job.
She nodded, giving in and taking her first spoonful of soup. She giggled right after it.
“I know it’s not that good.” Spencer laughed.
“I didn’t say that!” She laughed back at him. She was happy to finally get out of the rut she was in and who would be able to do that better than Spencer? “Honestly, Spencer, it’s pretty good.”
“If you say so.” He grinned and took her hand over the table. They sipped their soup in a comfortable silence and she even got up to ladle a second helping of soup. It was the first thing she’d eaten in a while and her stomach appreciated the warmth.
“Do you need me to get you anything from the store?” he asked later as he put both their dishes away. He brought her some medicine for her cold and a cup of water, motioning for her to take them. He also made sure to make her some chamomile tea to help ease the cramps.
She nodded sheepishly, taking the medicine, “Chocolate.”
He laughed, fully expecting the response. “Alright, how about you set up a movie and drink your tea? I won’t take long.” He pressed a firm kiss to her forehead and walked towards the door.
“Spencer!” She called after him, sniffling again and wiping at her nose.
“Yeah?” He called back, slipping on his shoes.
“I also need pads!” She reminded him and he laughed.
“Okay, anything else?”
“Yes! I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He grinned as he made his way to the store.
She grabbed her cup of tea and plopped down onto the couch, setting up a movie that wouldn’t agitate her headache. As Spencer promised, he was back quickly. He changed into something comfortable and made his way over to the couch with her chocolate in his hand. She smiled gratefully as she unwrapped it and devoured half of it. Spencer could only watch with adoration.
“How is it?” he asked, watching her lick the corner of her lips, trying to get all the chocolate she possibly could.
“It’s the best thing I’ve had all day, Spence.” She threw herself in his arms, her head resting soundly on his chest, “Besides this, of course.” Spencer smiled as wide as he could as he rubbed her back. She pulled her head off his chest to stare at him in wonder.
“I will never get over how lucky I am to have you.” She whispered softly and Spencer resisted the tears threatening to rise in his eyes. He just sent her a watery smile and shook his head in disbelief, not trusting his words. He had no idea where he would even begin to describe how lucky he felt to have her. She placed a soft hand on the side of his neck to pull his cheek closer to kiss it, she would have kissed his lips but she didn’t want him to get sick. Her fingers threaded through his hair as she admired him. At this point, the movie was long forgotten, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to watch it.
“Hm, it’s getting long.” She twirled a piece around her fingers. Spencer nodded as he stared back at her.
“Do you...want to braid it?” He asked tentatively, instantly noticing how her face beamed at the idea. She’d always asked him if she could braid it for him but he always refused. But looking at her now, he’d let her do anything she wanted, especially if it meant making her feel better.
“Really?! You mean it? You’re not just offering because you pity me?” She squeaked excitedly.
“Well...that’s only part of it.” He laughed and rolled his eyes. She gasped and got up to walk to their bedroom to get a comb and some hair ties. This was the most energized she’d been since Spencer had seen her and he wasn’t about to deny that seeing her excited made it worth whatever was about to happen.
“Okay, you’re gonna have to sit on the floor. You’re too tall for me.” She said as she took her seat on the couch. Spencer moved to the floor and sat down between her legs. Her fingers threaded through his mop of curls and he instantly relaxed at her touch. She began to gently comb through his tangles, careful not to hurt him. He really didn’t mind, it brought him inexplicable peace, especially after a long day.
“Are you gonna fall asleep on me now?” She teased as she noticed his closed eyes and the way his head felt heavier against her hands.
“Mmm, I might.” He hummed.
She giggled and separated his hair into four sections, French braiding each one. It was nice to have a distraction. The only thing keeping Spencer’s head propped up was her knee and she thought he genuinely fell asleep until he felt the absence of her fingers in his hair.
“Are you done?” He asked quietly, his hand coming up to feel the braids. He took it as a yes when she didn’t smack his hand away. “Y/N, they feel so cool. I have to see.” He got up from his spot with a grunt and went into the bathroom to check himself out.
“I don’t think it suits me.” He laughed, unconvinced at his appearance. He brushed his teeth while he was at it. She laughed and shook her head in response, getting ready for bed as well.
“I personally think you look great! You should sleep with them in and we can see what your hair will look like in the morning.” She tried to reason with him, she just really didn’t want him to take them out so soon. He shook his head at her once again and turned the TV off with a huge yawn.
“Come on, Spence, let’s get in bed.” She grabbed his hand and took him to the bed. They instinctively wrapped their arms around one another.
Spencer whispered in her ear, “Are you feeling any better, sweetheart?”
She nodded against him, “Thank you, Spencer. I love you so much.” He smiled.
“I love you, more. Goodnight, Y/N.” She was already out like a light before she could respond.
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sashi-ya · 3 years
Text
{+18} - Law x Fem Best Friend ♥ CH. 4
♥ Daily living with the Heart pirates crew AU.
♥ Spoilers after Dressrosa Arc. Law´s backstory. Wano kuni arc. 
♥ Female reader. Little physical description. Everybody is 18+, canon ages. 
♥ TW: NSFW, violence. Drama (a lot of it). No further warnings. If you think I should include some feel free to tell me
♥If you wanna know when I’ll be updating the next chapters, you can follow me on Twitter @LawIsMyWaifu, come interact I love to have mutuals that love Law and One Piece as much as I do ♥
Word count: 3.9K 
» List of parts: {CH1}  {CH2}  {CH3} {CH4} {CH5} «
Chapter 4.
The plate fell into the floor…  Law showed no emotion at all, he looked at me as the words I’ve just said weren’t ever said. We remained silent for a long minute. I stayed strong, stronger than ever. No more tears. Inside I was broken, I knew he was too…. From the outside I decided to show nothing but a straight face, I was determined. His words have hurt me, and there was no return. Law knew it. 
“Please, let me descend on the next island. A few days and this should be over. Don’t tell the rest of the crew, I’m gonna do it personally whenever we arrive at the next port”. I stated, firmly.  “If that’s what you want, fine”. Said Law, and left the room, slamming the door. 
The moment he was gone, I collapsed over the door. Snapped my fingers. “Silento”, I said, making a silent bubble around me. I screamed, cried, felt my heart break into a hundred pieces. I was a few days away of being alone, alone again. Alone for the first time since I met Law. I was about to leave my whole family, and the person I’ve ever loved the most. 
What about everything we got planned? What about us making the world government fall? What about avenging our families?... what about us?... 
I must have cried for a few more hours until I fell asleep. I was on the floor, with my back resting over the door…
The snow has wet my feet, but I don’t feel cold anymore. I am hungry, but somehow I know I’m not having any food, so I keep walking. My dress is ragged. My plushie, a photo of my parents and a little blue bow are my only companions, my only possessions. I keep walking and walking. Around me everything is blurry. A few people have asked me what it is with me. I don’t answer. My voice is gone, or maybe I’m just too weak to even pronounce a word. 
My tears have dried, I don’t have any more left.  I am alone, I am waiting for my life to end. 
The last thing I ate some days ago was an apple, a fruit, I don’t know. I felt strange after eating it. I don’t really know what it is, but I feel different. 
I get to the shore. Somehow being next to the sea makes me feel better. The waves relax me. Suddenly I am so weak I’m feeling as if I'm fainting… my vision got even more blurred… and the last thing I could see was a little boy coming my way, wearing a white hat and a blanket around him.
“Oi, Oi!!” The little boy with white spots that covered almost his whole face skin and bright grey eyes is now shaking me by my shoulders. He has a little piece of bread on his also spotted hands. “Take it, I’m a doctor, you should eat!”.  I deny the offer with my head. He seems as hungry as me. “I hate bread, you should eat it. For real, I hate it”, the little boy insists until I grab the piece of bread and eat it. It was magnificent… somehow I feel the need for the very first time in days to speak… “Tha… thank you for the.. food. Wh… What is your name?”, I ask the young doctor. He looks at me considering if he can trust me. “Law. Trafalgar D. Water Law”...  
My head hit the floor and I woke up. My face was wet in sweat. The memories of the first time I met Law were replaying while I was sleeping. I gazed at my watch. 11:02 am. Next to me, there was still the plate he dropped yesterday. The smell of the food made my stomach hurt, I got nauseous, so I went to the bathroom right away.  
My reflection showed a pale face, my eyes were irritated and puffier than ever from all of the crying. My head hurt. I tied my hair on a ponytail, I didn’t even want to comb it.  I felt once again queasy, so I knelt in front of the toilet and wait for my sickness to go away. 
A few hours passed until I decided it was time to face my crew. Surprisingly no one has come to see me nor called me or knock on my door. 
When I opened the door, Bepo, Shachi and Penguin fell over me. “What are you doing???” I screamed trying to gasp for air with three of my crew mates crushing me. “Sorry Y/n, sorry!!” Bepo begged for my apology as the three of them tried to stand up. “Y/n, we were concerned, you haven’t left your room in almost two days, you haven't eaten a single time since you came back from the island and Captain remained sitting on your door the whole night. What 's going on??” Penguin interrogated me while helping me to stand up. 
“Guys don’t ask me any more questions; I am going to explain everything to you soon. I’m all right don’t worry. Bepo… do you know how many days will take us to arrive to the next island?”. Bepo looked at me intrigued, but being the good navigator he is, said “no more than two days, why?”. “Don’t worry, I just wanted to know”, I said and walked with them to the kitchen. 
Shachi handed me a plate with some food. I hesitated if I should eat or not, because I was still kinda sick, but I decided to eat anyway. I didn’t want to bother the guys and besides, I had to eat something to stay healthy. I’m going to be on my own soon, I should start worrying about getting food and all that stuff by myself. Eating silently with my sight directed to the food, suddenly I remembered what Penguin said. Law was at my door the whole night?, What the hell was he doing there?… 
A few jokes from the guys made me laugh, and my mood slightly got better until Bepo asked about the new necklace I had, “Ay ay y/n, how pretty is that, where did you get it? Oh, it has a heart, so cute!”. I gave him a little side smirk, that showed more pain than true happiness and told him Law has given it to me as a gift. My friends started laughing in a certain way, that somehow made my cheeks turn red. I asked them to stop, that it was just a friend’s present, and walked back to my room. 
I started gathering all my stuff, putting my clothes on an old bag that I haven’t used in ages. I didn’t include my boiler-suit, it has our Jolly Roger on it, and sadly I wasn’t going to be part of the crew anymore. The blue box of memories also went into the bag. Of course, I was using my silent spell, I didn’t want anybody on the submarine to hear me cry, especially Law. 
On one of the corners of my mirror I got an old photo of my best friend and I the day we visited Sabaody Park, two years ago. We were smiling -pretty weird of Law-, happy. I got a little froggie on my hands, that he has won on one of the attractions for me. I took the photo and sat on my bed, remembering how Bepo got a sugar crush from eating so much cotton candy. In between some tears, I smiled… Nothing ever brings me so much joy than the love and the adventures I’ve been through with my family. 
I began to contemplate what I should do with the necklace. It was already noon when I found the courage to return it to Law. I did want to keep it, yet, it marked the beginning of the end... the idea of having it was making my heart squeeze. 
I knew the surgeon is usually in the control room over the afternoon, he finds the place relaxing for studying new surgical techniques, so I headed there. 
Over the operation control pad there is a big porthole that shows the underwater world. The sound of the water around us with the beep of the sonar makes the room seem so calm. I remained still on the entrance; I was still using my silence spell. Law was asleep over the controls and some books. 
I thought the best way was to take advantage of the fact he was sleeping, I will only have to take off the necklace and leave it right next to him and then, leave. 
I walked to the chair he was sat on and tried to unhook the gold rose chain. “God damn it, this has the best clasp I’ve ever seen, why is it ….”. Suddenly Law grabbed my leg, he was still with his head over the controls, a sleepy face, puffy eyes and almost black dark circles,  looking at me, saying something I could not hear. I snapped my fingers to undo my calm spell and asked him to repeat what he had said. “I was just asking if you needed help, I can give you a hand…”. I nodded and he stood up. 
Face to face, he passed his hands around my neck to grab the clasp of the necklace. Struggling, he got even more close to my face trying to unhook it. 
Having his face so close to mine, made me lead my eyes to his neck, those earrings hanging so sexy from his earlobe, the hair, the beard that garnished his jawline… I felt an instant need to kiss and softly bite his neck, I did not care about the drama, I was leaving this place forever, this was the last time.
I slowly started approaching my mouth to his neck. I placed a kiss so softly, first caressing his flesh with the point of my tongue and then with my lips. I waited for his reaction, he gasped and remained still. It didn't seem he wanted me to stop. So, I proceeded to leave a path of sweet kisses through his neck to his jawline, following it until arriving at the left commissure of his lips, placing one last kiss there until he turned his head slightly to me and looked me in the eyes. I didn't want to separate my sight from his, and he didn't want to either. We kept looking at each other until he grabbed my face with one of his hands and kissed my lips passionately. It felt almost as if he needed to kiss me as much as he needed air to breathe. For this moment I have forgotten how hurt I was, how much pain I’ve been through until some minutes ago.
His skilled hands reached from under the skirt I was using, my sex. He confirmed how aroused for him I was, feeling how wet my panties were. Law turned me around, pushing me softly to the control desk, leaving me with my head and stomach over it, unzipped his jeans, moved away my panties and penetrated me. He did it violently, needy, he was desperate for it. And I was certainly too. 
The surgeon grabbed my hair, pulling my head backwards while pounding me hard. Every thrust made me squirm. We were exposed, anyone could enter the room at any moment, but we didn’t seem to care. What is more, I was enjoying it. The risky sensation that someone could find us during the act, contributed to the arousal that this man was producing on me. His moaning, my groaning, our accelerated breath was heavenly. He was fucking me so hard, I almost lost full control of my limbs, thank God I was holding myself to the desk. 
I was about to come when Law decided to turn me around. He pulled down his trousers and sat on the chair, tapped his lap and said, “Come here”. I sat over his lap with no hesitations, grabbed his dick and placed it inside me. Law put his hands on my ribs and accompanied the bouncing movement I did over him. Up and down, sometimes tracing some circles with my hips, sometimes moving them back and forth.
Beads of sweat falling from his neck, his groaning, him throwing his head back from pleasure, tempted me to put my hands around his throat. Me jumping on his dick and the pressure on his neck must have made him lose control, because a few minutes after he came, hard, inside me, filling me, pushing me to climax soon after.   
We remained like that a few more minutes, feeling each other, enjoying how our breathing was getting slower. None of us wanted to say nothing…
But, reality hit me hard once the arousal was gone, and this time the only thing I could feel was guilt. Again, I’ve lost control of my impulses when it comes to Law, I couldn’t help it, I loved him. But as far as I knew, he didn’t. I hopped off his lap and ran to my room. As I was running I felt the necklace slowly fall from my neck. I didn’t stop, I kept running. Law was behind me, grabbed the heart pendant and said “Wait, please, let’s talk”. 
“Leave me alone…”, I said in between tears, and closed my door. Law placed both of his hands on the door, not violently but almost as if he was begging for me to listen, hurt, heartbroken. “Please, I beg you, we have to talk”... “We have nothing to talk about, count what just happened as a farewell, I need to leave, I can’t stay here anymore. Tomorrow I’m leaving the submarine, forever Law, please emerge whenever we get to the island”, I said choking back tears. There weren’t any more bits of my heart that could break. I hated myself for what has happened once again. I hated him… but I loved him. Law remained silent, but I could hear him sobbing from behind the door. A few minutes after, I heard the steps of his black boots fade away. 
I finished packing everything, and before going to bed I saw a little envelope slipped under my door. I knew what it was even without opening it… Several years ago, Law and I learnt about the vivre cards and how to make them. I gave Law mine, and he tried to give me his, but I denied it. What was the point in having his vivre card if I am always going to be with him? and even if I get lost, he will be searching me with mine either way… I was so sure of never leaving his side, how I’ve planned to live my life always next to him. But plans do not always turn out as we wish. 
I picked up the envelope and it was in fact his vivre card. I could strongly sense his soul, even if it was a tiny part of it. In the little white square of paper, it was written “Law’s”, and it began pointing to the direction of his room. 
I saved it on the blue box of memories and went to bed. 
Morning came and I haven’t slept a single minute during the whole night. I was trying to find words to tell my whole crew, to gather the courage to tell them goodbye, to walk away, to bear the fact of the submarine leaving the coast without me. 
I heard some knocks on my door. “Y/n-ya, we are about to arrive on the next island”, my -ex- best friend informed me. I grabbed my stuff, walked to the door, gave a last look at my room and left. 
Walking through the corridor, I cherished the sound of my steps on the metallic floor for the last time, the boy’s room, fully untidy, the sound of the sonar mixed with the laugh of my nakamas…
I arrived at the kitchen; my crew mates were having breakfast until they saw me with my bags. “Oi.. oi.. Y/n where are you going?“, asked Clione.  
“She is leaving the crew, so Penguin now becomes the first commander”. I heard Law behind me communicate to their subordinates. Everybody started screaming, shouting, asking, demanding an explanation. I tried as hard as I could to push my emotions really deep so I could talk to them, and expressed a simple excuse, “I’m sorry guys, my journey with the Heart pirates is over, I love you all, I’ll be fine. Please don’t get in too much trouble, ok?. Become the greatest pirates of all, take care of your captain, please”. And without even letting everyone else say anything, Law ordered them to prepare to submerge and dock on the port of the island. 
The screech of the heavy metallic main door opening echoed on my head. Law said “if you leave through this door, you won't enter back. So, it’s your decision”. My nakamas shouted in disapproval for such rough words and begged me to stay. “There is no need to tell me that, you don’t have to hurt me anymore, you know? you’ve done enough”. I whispered to him, with tears on my eyes, and walked away. 
“Y/n-ya!”, he shouted, and for a second I thought -wished- he was going to be sincere and don’t let me go, but he continued, “your coat, don’t forget it”. He handed me my white coat that is always hanging next to the door. This time he didn’t place it over my shoulders, as he always does. This time, he wasn’t taking care of me… I could hear the crying and weeping of my whole crew even after Law shut the metallic door behind me. 
Once I made sure the submarine submerged, I let all of my emotions free. A stream of tears began to flow from my eyes, I fell onto my knees, I was alone on the shore of a new island, I had to start over… 
A month had passed since I arrived on the autumn island. The citizens were really nice, they immediately trusted me, and the island doctor welcomed me as her assistant, after all I was still a physician, not only a pirate. 
I stayed in a cozy rental room that had everything I needed. Sometimes, at night when I missed my crew, and especially Law, I checked on his Vivre Card. Whenever I put it over my heart, I could feel the warmth of my beloved soul. But what was pretty weird is that every time I got it on my hand it would always point to the same place. I thought it was because they were maintaining the curse to some certain place, but I didn’t really care, as long as the paper didn’t show any damage I was happy to know he was alright.
Some afternoon, I was walking through the pretty streets of my new home, the sun was slowly setting, and the shining of the golden hour tinted the whole place with orangey tones. The main street had a market where the local producers offered their products. I bought a pretty flower bouquet from Mrs. Ann, as I did once a week, and some groceries. 
I headed home, through a long path surrounded by trees with red foliage, the land was covered with dry leaves that crunched every time I stepped on them. The subtle smell of the burning logs that began to heat people's houses, came to me with the wind that blew my white coat. 
I let my hair flow with the wind as well. For the very first time in days, I felt at peace. I wasn’t happy, but I felt somehow better. But everything was about to change again. The peace would slip from me, like a fist of sand in my hands… 
I felt a shiver that alerted me of some danger, my observation haki showed me something coming up to me, so I turned around quickly. I saw two kids coming my way, crying for help, “Doctor, please, help us!!, our little sister, she can’t breathe!!”. I dismissed what my haki tried to warn me and followed the kids as quickly as I could. 
We ran downhill until a little cabin was visible. They pointed at the little house, stating their sister was there. 
When I entered there was no suffering kid, but two big guys that looked, and indeed were, pirates. I wasn’t armed, I wasn’t strong enough, Law wasn’t there to protect me…I tried to run, but one of the thugs grabbed me by my hair. He pulled from it, throwing me to the dirty floor. I hit the side of my body on the hard floor. “What do you want?”, I screamed in pain. They laughed at me and said, “Don’t worry we won’t hurt you anymore, the slavery industry wants pretty girls like you without scars… but only if you cooperate”. Slavery… industry?... I was about to be sold as a slave?... 
Suddenly one of my captors saw something that caught his eye more than I wished. “Oi, what’s that tattoo on your back?”, he said and pulled up my shirt. I was praying for them to not know but one of them said “Isn’t it the Heart pirates Jolly Roger?, are you a crew mate from that stupid surgeon of death that ruined Kaido-sama’s SMILE business?!”. “I am not, I'm not in that crew anymore, I have left it. I swear it”, I said praying for them not going after Law. 
“Bitch, it’s your fault that I’m still waiting for my SMILE!!!!” the other man said kicking my stomach, making me spat blood. “Oi, call Hawkins, asked him what we should do with this bitch. It could be useful for Kaido-sama to get to Trafalgar Law and the damn Mugiwaras”. Apparently my captors were part of the army of one of the Yonkous we were planning to defeat, Kaido. 
I was held captive in that cabin for about a whole day, wishing to haven’t ever left Law’s side. I wanted to return to the Polar. I put my whole crew in danger, I wished they killed me right here. “Listen bitch, you better start speaking right now, where is your captain?”, one of the hundreds of members of the beast pirates, demanded me to answer. “I don’t know, I swear it, I left the crew… a few months ago”. I lied about the time; I didn’t want them to go searching them through the next islands. “Liar!!! tell me right now where your stupid captain is!!”, the other guy shouted at me.
I could hear from the portable den den mushi the other guy had, that they had searched my room but found no clues of where Law was. That got him so mad that reacted by kicking me this time on my face. I grabbed my chest; I didn’t want them to know that I had Law’s vivre card on my bra. Somehow that day I felt the need to carry it with me… I was grateful for such a coincidence, if they happened to find the paper, they would be able to get to him in no time.  
I was losing my consciousness from the repeated hits, felt a warming sensation of peace on my chest and the last thing I heard before passing out was “ROOM”... 
Part 5 - Final part
» List of parts: {CH1}  {CH2}  {CH3}  {CH4} {CH5} «
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