#Like leave pretty boy alone; he's trying to relax ffs

[inafieldofdaisies]

Ship Moodboard and snippet | The Deceiver and The Wolf | Jacob x Mercedes

Mercedes was but a blur of white as she moved through the trees, eyes set on the shoreline they had passed on their way up what felt like an eternity ago. She could hear her name echoing behind her, followed by rustling and twigs snapping, signaling that just as suspected Jacob was catching up to her. Her laugh was victorious when she made it past the treeline and onto the river embankment without him interfering, Dolos' carefree bark urging her on as she aimed for the little boat ramp ahead of her. "Mercedes", Jacob called out, voice laced with annoyance when her feet hit the wooden dock and she discarded her flats at the base of it before sending him an innocent smile. "What?" Icy gaze settled on her, "I wasn't done with the lesson." "Well, I decided I had enough for today.", then she added under her breath, "Or for the whole week really. You suck at it, frankly." The last part she practically shouted, ensuring the jab would land. "So you just take off running without any direction?", he advanced down the path, his movements reminiscent of a predator, slow, controlled and with his sights set on one thing: her. Where most, especially his men would have flinched at his tone and shook like a leaf just at the idea of defying him, Mercedes thrived on pushing his buttons, seeing how far she could take things before he'd snap out of his emotionless soldier act.

One of her shoulders lifted up in a shrug as her fingers began untying her dress, each small step she blindly took back presumably getting her closer to the river, "You had your fun playing soldier and forcing me to come along. I think it's time I had mine." The laces of her corset were a challenge on its own with her eyes remaining on his and added another layer of seductiveness to the game set in motion. Dolos moved past Jacob, threading into the shallow parts of the blue-green water after releasing another happy bark, seeming completely oblivious to the tug of war happening between the two of them. Finally, the bodice gave way, allowing her to slip her dress down her legs until she was left down to a nude colored bralette and its matching set of panties. Despite the sight a couple of feet away from him, Jacob appeared as calm as the river where it meandered between the small islands. One quick look behind her confirmed she was at the end of the dock, so she came to a stop, sending another smile his way, "You can go back into the woods, Jacob. Don't stop on my behalf. I will be here when you're done playing caveman." "It's going to be freezing, sweetheart.", he retorted matter-of-factly, ignoring her remark. She suspected as much, but didn't let that stop her, erasing the remaining distance, her breath hitching at the biting temperature as she dove in. "Are you just going to stand there and watch? I do love an audience.", Mercedes asked the moment she broke the surface, finding Jacob standing like a statue where the ramp began, arms crossed over his chest, rifle dangling forgotten on his back.

A chuckle broke free at his lack of response and she turned, gliding further away from the dock, her body slowly getting used to the water she wished was a heated pool instead. The good old days. Oh, how I miss them. As she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, she could almost pretend she was at a resort, that a drink was waiting for her instead of a grumpy ginger that had decided to take her out 'hunting' at the crack of dawn staring daggers into her. In her mind, she counted down the seconds, wondering if he'd break his last record of holding out and just when she was starting to wonder if maybe this time around would be different and he would actually walk away, a splash sounded behind her, making her smirk, confirming she had won yet again. "It's freezing, I was right.", Jacob muttered as swam closer. "Is it?" "If your lips turn blue, I'm carrying you out, Mercedes, no arguments." She spun around, playfully splashing water in his direction before his arms encircled her waist, her hands coming to rest on his bare shoulders, "I'm sure you'd find a way to keep me warm."

"Ah, you two over there,", a voice resonated somewhere behind them, making her flinch, "keep it down, will ya, you're scaring the fish." The way Jacob's eyes darkened as he stared over her shoulder made her crane her neck around to sneak a peek at whoever had addressed them. "It's that godawful Deputy.", his words were low, promising more activities she wanted no part of. "Don't.", her fingers cupped his jaw, forcing his gaze to hers and away from the eyot's shoreline, "Let him fish. We're having fun, don't ruin it with another game of cat and mouse." Her regareded her in silence, and she could almost imagine him weighting his options - deciding between going after the only Deputy remaining free from Joseph's arrest party and who was more of an ally to Mercedes, or staying there with her. "It would be too easy anyway.", she tried again, hoping the words would create enough doubt, deter him from the idea of a hunt. His demeanor revealed little, prompting her to begin thinking of ways to warn Hartley of the incoming danger, then Jacob opened his mouth, shocking them both. "Fine. Just this once."

[bigger-simp-than-kazuichi]

Skater kid!Todoroki x reader

Hey guys this is the beginning of my bnha skater au! I hope you guys enjoy!

(FYI this is also my 1st ff so pls don’t come at me ;-;)

(tw: swearing)

You never thought you would ever ride a skateboard in your entire life, that is, until your boyfriend Todoroki offered to teach you how to skate. He was pretty experienced, at least in your perspective, but he never thought of it as a big deal. You didn’t even think he even told anyone about his talent. These were your inner thoughts while you dressed up for your skate park date. You were dressed in a blue hoodie, adidas joggers and a pair of old skool vans.

As you were scrolling through Instagram, Todoroki sent you the text that he was in front of your house. Shit, you thought, as you rushed down the stairs and put on your shoes. Once you opened the front door, there was Todoroki in a black hoodie, black jeans with a chain on it, and a pair of busted up black slip on vans. He was also holding his skateboard. As you walked towards him, he gave you his little grin that you so loved. “Ready to go baby?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you replied, wrapping your arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. He quickly relaxed into the hug and wrapped his arms around your waist. After you both pulled away from the hug, Todoroki set down his board and held out his hand for you to grab onto when you stand on it. “Todoroki, I will literally fall if I step on this.”

“And this is why we are going on this date, love. I’m teaching you how to ride.”

“Yeah yeahhh.”

You then placed your left foot onto his board, right near the center of the board. Then Todoroki, while still holding your hand, guided your foot, to the point your foot was covering the screws at the front. You then clenched his hand harder as you lifted your other foot and placed it on top of the screws on the other side of the board. Your boyfriend then looked at your stance as you struggled to stand on the skateboard alone. “You need to find your center of balance. Try leaning forward a bit.” And that’s exactly what you did, and to your surprise, it was working.

“Heh, you see this Todoroki kun? I’m doing it! I’m standing!”

“Yeah, with my help.”

“S-shut up icy hot idiot.”

“I-icy hot?”

You let out a chuckle at his slightly clueless nature. He then grabbed your hand harder and he proceeded to pull you while you were still on his board. That’s when you started to lose balance. “Just hold on to me, and I’ll pull you all the way to the park. To turn right you lean forward, and for left you lean backwards, but not too much.” You nodded and that’s exactly what he did. You continued to hold his hand and listened to his advice, moving towards the right when there was dog poop on the ground and moving to the left when the two of you had to move for an elderly couple going out for a stroll.

When you arrived at the skate park, you hopped off the skateboard and let go of your boyfriend’s hand. Todoroki seemed relieved that there wasn’t anyone around, so he got on, pushed off with his right leg, and rolled down the cement bowl like a pro would. You watched in awe as he did all those tricks flawlessly. He then stopped and ushered you to come down towards him. Once you reached him, Todoroki held out his hand again, and helped you mount his board. “I’ll teach you how to push off. You don’t have to push off a lot, but just enough so that you go somewhere.” You took your right foot off the board and placed it on the floor.

That’s when you heard yelling and laughing from the other side of the park and when you looked to see where they were coming from, you saw some familiar faces. Way too familiar. And they noticed you as well.

“Ayyyyy y/n! Todoroki!” Kirishima yelled as the hopped on his own skateboard and skated over to you. Behind him, Mina, Sero, and Denki followed.

“Yo!” You responded, then you looked at Todoroki. He didn’t show any emotion like usual however, your eyes focused on that bead of sweat that formed ever since he saw the all too familiar Bakusquad. It seemed like your previous thought of him not telling anyone he skated was actually true.

“Y/n!” Sero called, “is Todoroki teaching you how to skate?”

Todoroki let out a sigh, signaling me to just tell the squad the truth. “Yeah, he’s teaching me how to skate.”

Mina’s eyes lit up from the statement, “OH MY GOD THATS SO COOL! Todoroki! I didn’t know you skated!”

“I don’t think he told anyone about this.” Kirishima stated. “If he did, then we would’ve invited him. Ehh, he must’ve had a reason why he’s been hiding his talent. Yo Todoroki, wanna show us what you’ve got?”

Todoroki looked at you, probably wanting some reassurance, but all you did was give him a smile and a thumbs up. He sighed, looking back at the spikey redhead. “Yeah, sure.”

“ALRIGHT! WE ARE THE FIRST ONES TO SEE TODOROKI SKATE!” Denki exclaimed.

“Actually, I think y/n was the first one to see him skat-”

“SHUT UP SERO! THEY ARE DATING!”

“Alright, Denki, I was just saying,” Sero shrugged.

As you laughed at their argument, a familiar figure zoomed past you and the bakusquad. It was Todoroki, rolling back and forth on the steep half pipe. Now everyone was watching in awe while he did a sweeper, and many other tricks that you weren’t familiar with.

“YEAHHH TODOROKIII!”

After doing some more tricks he left the half pipe and skated over to you and the squad.

“TODOROKI YOU’RE SO GOOD WHAT??”

“DUDE YOU BETTER TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT SPIN!”

“I-I can barely do an ollie...”

You patted Mina as she started to fake cry and gave your tired boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. Todoroki blushed at your gesture and ushered you once more to his skateboard and this time, you didn’t take his hand and instead you tried to push off on your own. Surprisingly, you were able to balance, at least, for about five seconds, until you fell onto the hard cement.

“Y/n!” Todoroki called as he rushed over to your fallen state. You grunted at the slight pain you felt on the arm and foot you used to support your fall. The half white half red haired boy checked the leg you fell and sighed in relief, seeing that you weren’t in too much pain and didn’t find any serious injuries, only a bruise on your knee. He used his quirk to make an ice pack for your bruise and hoisted you up on his back, giving you a piggy back ride.

“GAH Todoroki! I’m fine! You can put me down!”

“Ok, if you say so.”

He lightly placed you down but once you put support on your injured foot you winced, which unfortunately Todoroki saw.

“See, come on, we’re going back to your place.”

“Awww...”

“We can stop by the store and buy some ice cream.”

“Deal.”

You hopped on his back and while he supported you with his right arm, he grabbed his skateboard with his left.

“Aww, you guys leaving now?” Denki complained.

“Dipshit, y/n is hurt!”

“I KNOW THAT SERO!”

You and your boyfriend laughed at the two of them arguing and waved goodbye to the others.

Even though it was a short way back home, you felt bad that Todoroki had to carry you all the way back, but what could you do? He doesn’t seem like it, but when it comes to the people he loves, Todoroki Shouto becomes really stubborn, and to be honest, you found that really cute.

Once you reached your place, you gave Todoroki your key and he placed you down so that he could unlock the door, but he also made sure you were only getting support from your uninjured foot. After he successfully unlocked the door, he carried you again and laid you on the couch and left to get spoons for the ice cream. He gave you a spoon and watched as you immediately opened the ice cream and devoured it like it was your last meal. Of course, you saved some ice cream for him, because why wouldn’t you? After you two finished the ice cream, you rested your head on Todoroki’s shoulder.

“Heh, even though I’m technically crippled now, I had a fun time, thank you Shouto.”

After hearing those words, your boyfriend kissed the back of your hand, and then your forehead.

“Of course baby.”

[kimera20]

Fave AU

Dannymay 2020 day 15

Also in AO3 and FF

“Clocky!” a small white haired ghost crashed into the arm of the larger one hugging the limb thigly.

“Hello my young Phantom.Did you have good dreams?” Clockwork the Time Master asked to his charge, a young half ghost of five years of age.

“Yea! I got a dream about space! And Nocty was there we played astunauts!” Danny told his caretaker.

“It’s astronaut” Clockwork corrected, “and I’m glad you had fun. Now what about breakfast”

“Yay! Breakfast! Can we have pancakes?” Danny asked giving the older ghost puppy eyes.

“You know my pancakes are not as good as my waffles” Clockwork said, he is still learning how to do those.

“But I want pancakes” Danny said sadly.

“Oh alright we’ll have pancakes” Clockwork relented, he really couldn't say no to his little halfa.

It's been a few months since Danny started to live with Clockwork. The Time Master had found the half ghost alone in the middle of the barrens in a tiny island crying his eyes out calling for his parents. Curiously Clockwork saw what future the young ghost could have, he saw many things and in most of them he saw a protector, a compassionate ghost and a hero. In the few left he only saw a sad ending. It has been a while since Clockwork found a ghost with a future so bright. It would be interesting to help the child make his way towards it.

He approached the child with intention to help him to go home and become the hero he foresaw. The child was scared at first, which was good, he was a stranger after all, after introductions and telling him they were both ghosts, (yes really really) he offered a ride home and got a response he had not foreseen, the first of many to come. Danny’s parents were ghost hunters, (thing that he already knew) but Danny was afraid. He thought that his parents wouldn't love him anymore because they said ghosts were bad and now that he was a ghost he was bad too.

Clockwork didn't like that reasoning, he told Danny that he wasn't bad, that ghost were like people in that they could be good or bad, or both. Danny didn't understood most of his speech but he got that Clockwork wasn't going to hurt him which made him relax and do the second unexpected thing. He transformed into human. 

Clockwork cursed (inside his head of course, there was a five years old in front of him), he knew of only other halfa and he wasn't the best role model, quite the contrary to be honest. Now Clockwork had a dilemma, humans couldn't help a half ghost with all their needs, but ghost were prejudiced about half ghosts thanks to that Plasmius.

His thought track was interrupted by a panicking child going through the small rock island, (right, human now, ghost roks pass through him) acting quickly Clockwork grabbed the child and made sure he wouldn't fall to the endless abyss below. Danny clinged to him and didn't let go, no matter what the older ghost tried. With a resigned sight Clockwork decided on the best course of action that would still bring a bright future, he took the boy towards his lair.

Now with a child Clockwork had to do some modifications to his tower, mostly to make sure Danny wouldn't pass through the floor if he transformed without meaning, which happened more times that he cared to count. He had to make a room for him, it needed decorations but those will come later. he had to acquire both human and ghost food, he only eat for pleasure but a child, even a ghost one, truly needed food. He almost forgets clothes and toys, he knew children needed things but didn’t imagine it would be so many.

Danny was like sponge of knowledge, Clockwork found that out when he started to teach him things, mostly to be able to transform at will and control his powers. He also found that Danny was the biggest space fan he seen, it was adorable to see him look at the stars in a huge mirror Clockwork conjured just for him to see any of the stars in the universe at any given time (except for the very beginning of the universe, it hurt his brain to just see it, much more if he tried to understand it).

The first time he realized that he was the guardian of a child, (parent is still a too strong word for it), was when he had to leave the tower to a meeting with the Observants. Danny, at hearing that he had to go, clinged to him like a koala and didn't let him go, Clockwork had to make a duplicate to go in his place, good thing the eyeballs didn't even notice. That also made him realize that he needed help, someone he trusted to look after Danny and dont hurt him for being a halfa. The face that Nocturne made when he told him he had a child was going to amuse him for the rest of eternity.

“What are we doing today?” Danny asked while eating his pancake, it wasn’t the most pretty but his Clocky had made it for him, beside it was tasty.

“Hmm I don't know. What would you like to do?” Clockwork asked, he had a free day, no plans and totally open to suggestions.

“Let’s go to the park!” Danny said excited.

“The park?” Clockwork asked.

“Yea! With trees and insects and frogs and dogs and swings and slides and-” Danny keep listing other thing one could found in a park trying to explain to Clockwork what a park was.

Clockwork listened to his charge and tried to think a safe place to go. Most of the places with trees and animals in the Ghost Zone was dangerous for a young child. The human parks would be better but Danny couldn't control his transformations yet and he didn't want Danny to feel bad for not controlling it, besides if that happened in the vicinity of humans things would turn badly.

“Does it needs to have swings and slides?” Clockwork asked.

“I dunno” Danny shrugged, he just wanted to go play outside.

“Alright, I think I know where to go” Clockwork said.

“Yay!” Danny cheered.

“But you have to change to clean clothes before we go” Clockwork said.

“Ok Clocky” Danny said before rushing to his room.

After a change of clothes Clockwork took Danny to a island with ghost grass and trees, it wasn't big enough to have dangerous animals around and if any appeared Clockwork has sure he was able to keep them away from them.

Danny played in the grass and between the trees, the child had a lot of imagination and Clockwork joined one or two games, the rest of the time he observed carefully to his charge and the surroundings. It was in between that actions that he lost sight of Danny, Clockwork panicked for a second, took another to look around and five more to find the halfa. And a ghost dog enjoying the pets Danny gave it.

“Clocky look! I found a doggy!” Danny said delighted.

“I see that” Clockwork said watching the dog carefully for any sign of aggression, he found none.

“His name is Cujo” Danny declared.

“Is it? How would you know?” Clockwork asked, he didn't remember having that kind of book around.

“It’s in his collar” Danny said pointing at the tag in the spiked collar.

“It’s a good name” Clockwork commented, he didn’t know what to think of the dog.

“Yea! A good name for a good boy” Danny said while giving belly rubs to Cujo.

“Alright, is time to go home now” Clockwork said, it was near lunch hour and he wasn’t going to let Danny go hungry.

“Aww, already? But I just found Cujo. Can’t we play a little more?” Danny pleaded.

“I’m sorry but it's getting late, maybe you’ll play again when we come back” Clockwork said.

“Can we keep him?” Danny asked.

“Keep him?” Clockwork repeated, he wasn’t sure about that.

“Yea! Like a pet! We don't have a pet” Danny said while making puppy eyes, he had lifted the dog and hugged it to his chest, the dog was also giving him the puppy eyes. Clockwork didn't stand a chance.

They returned to the tower with a new pet, Clockwork was making plans to dog proof his tower.

[utopianvoices]

dating au | j.wooyoung

⤗ check my masterlist for other members!

how he acts around you

this boy

oh my fucking god

don’t get me started

acts like a whole ass school boy around you

no, i’m not talking about the kind of school boy that is super shy around their crush

i’m talking about the kind who teases the person they like to no ends

you know that moment you find out this boy’s been bullying you since kindergarten just because he liked you

that’s wooyoung right there

does not know the meaning of maturity when he gets a crush on you

all sane thoughts just fly out the window

he’ll do anything to make sure your attention is on him all the damn time

tbh i’m surprised you don’t end up hating him with the amount he teases you

will trip you when you’re walking by

or just tugs on your hair if he’s walking behind you

is so so annoying

but even while being annoying he’s still so considerate???

makes sure he’s ready to catch you if you really lose your balance when he trips you

and never pulls on your hair to the extent where it hurts

basically all the things he does are just subtext for “pay attention to me because my heart does Things when you’re around”

poor babie (つ﹏<。)

he’s both sweet and annoying

when he’s annoying he’s really annoying

to the extent where you wanna slap him real hard

but when he’s sweet he’s so sweet that all you wanna do is just kiss him right there

what no i didn’t say anything

always replies to your messages immediately

and never misses a call from you if he’s not busy

even if he misses a call, the first thing he does when he checks his phone is to call you back

will listen to anything and everything you have to say

even encourages you to rant to him if you’re feeling down about anything

puts you first for EVERYTHING

honestly i think he even values your life more than his

wooyoung is a very passionate man

so even when he loves, he’s passionate about it

him teasing you is just how he copes with his crush on you

and his own way of saying “please don’t ever forget me.”

how he confesses

one of the ones that have no problem confessing

only after doing some confirmation tests though

when he’s starting to make his mind up to confess to you, his teasing switches up a bit

instead of tripping you or pulling your hair

he teases you in another way

gets really close to you when he’s taking something from behind you

casually puts his arm around your shoulder when you’re watching a movie

just stares at you when you’re trying to do something

the staring wasn’t intentional tho he’s just so smitten he can’t stop looking at you

(◠‿◠✿)

basically just does whatever he can do to get a reaction out of you

when you get flustered and pull away, a bulb just lights up in his head

and his confidence slowly grows

but if you’re really good at controlling yourself

damn y/n you must have some steel conviction

he’ll give up and bribe the members to reveal if you returned his feelings

and he finally got the truth from san after asking nicely just once

by nicely i mean he threatened to put shiber into the washing machine with dye if san didn’t tell him

but yEs, after asking very nicely

he found out that you did return his feelings

and he’s smug af

doesn’t plan anything extravagant

he kinda just drops the bomb on you when you’re eating, out of all the times

and you just kind of start choking because???? you weren’t made to handle these things???

plus you thought that him confessing so casually was pretty hot

anyway

he passes you some water and just gently pats your back

waiting patiently for you to come back to live and give him a big ol’ hug

first date

oOof i imagine y’all having a really simple date

like the dance studio date kind

invites you over to the dance studio and shows you all the new choreos that he made

and you’re just like （☆ω☆*） because dAmn your man looking hot as fuck

THE TYPE TO BE ANNOYING AND DO A SEXY DANCE WHILE STARING AT YOU

you know, just for the laughs

dies laughing when he sees your flustered face

and teases you so much omg

“you really enjoyed that huh?” 

“n-nO i didn’t whAt are yOU talking abOut!!?!?!?”

“uh huhhhh whatever you say babe~”

“hhhh i’m bREAKING UP WITH YOU.”

but fr tho you’d take this date over any other date

because just having wooyoung with you was more than enough

uwu

for your meal you’ll just decide to order pizza or something

and sprawl across the floor pigging out

10/10 date right there

i wouldn’t be surprised if he starts a food fight by throwing some fries at you

and you throw some back at him

but you both stop after getting each back because food is precious

and y’all were hungry as heck

good choice

tells you to take a seat at the couch while he clears the place

but you refuse and help him out

and he’s just like *heart eyes*

leave the boy alone he basically just has *heart eyes* for you all the damn time

Whipped™

first kiss

you’re gravely mistaken if you think you’ll be waiting long for this

boy is shameless

and deprived

because he’s been wanting to kiss you for the longest time

so anyway after stuffing your faces till you both couldn’t walk

he suggests to DANCE

?????? hello wooyoung pliz

not everyone is athletic like you ;;

but he leaves you no choice because the next moment he’s pulling you up

and connecting his phone to the speakers and choosing a song

you’re surprised when a soft tune fills the studio

instead of the usual hip hop or r&b tracks

have i mentioned how cheesy he is

will do a 90° bow and say something like “can i have this dance with you, m’lady?”

and you can’t help but giggle at how silly he looked trying to pretend to be posh

but you play along anyway

returning the bow, you offer your hand and he pulls you closer

one of his hand on your waist while your hand rests on his shoulder

and your free hands intertwined

the first few minutes were you both trying insanely difficult ballroom moves

but as time went by, your hands found home around his neck, you fingers playing with the ends of his hair

while his rested on your sides

and you’re just staring at each other while swaying side to side

when he slowly starts to lean in

and you’re like !!! this is it!!!!!

as your eyes flutter shut

but they shoot right open when his nose brushes yours instead

and you’re met with the image of your sneaky boyfriend trying to hold in his laughter

you stare at him for a few seconds trying to process what just happened

and when you finally realise

you start hitting him, complaints flying out of your mouth, while he tries to shield himself from you while laughing

“i cANT BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO THAT YOU PIECE OF-”

you’re not even done with your sentence when something soft lands on your lips

who would have guessed

your words die in your throat as he pulls you in closer

and you just kinda melt in his arms

:’)

would have probably continued kissing you if his phone didn’t ring

blasting out his horrible ringtone of “i’m a barbie girl” at full volume

causing the both of you to jump apart at the sudden noise

“you still haven’t changed it?!”

you actually set it as a joke to annoy him and he just never changed it since his phone was on silent most of the time

couple goals amirite

first fight:

it’ll probably stem from his teasing personality

you would have had a really bad day and all you wanted to do was spend some quiet time at home

but i think he wouldn’t really pick up the cue that you weren’t in the mood for his jokes

and will keep joking and playing around

you’d just shoot him a glare, hoping he’ll stop

but boy would be pretty oblivious and just thought you were playing along

until you tell him off with a hard voice

and then he knows he’s in trouble

“wooyoung ffs leave me alone for one second please.”

and he’s just like !!!! fuck!!!!!

he pissed you off when he should’ve been taking care of you

kinda stands around awkwardly after you tell him off, not knowing what to do

and finally just walks off into the room

not even 10 minutes later, the smell of lavender floats through the apartment

and a nervous wooyoung appears

“i-i uh, prepared a bath for you... only if you want though!!”

babie ;-;

and you feel bad, because your boyfriend shouldn’t be feeling cautious around you

so you just push yourself off the couch and walk towards him

giving him a soft kiss and whispering a “thank you” against his lips

and you can actually physically see him relax

his shoulder dropping to their normal stance from their previously tensed state

and he gives you a warm smile

you take a few steps towards the bathroom when you get an idea

“wanna join me?”

and he just stares like :O for a while

before going ;) and scooping you up

walking to the bathroom with you in his arms

i’m just doing myself more damage at this point

favourite things to do together:

did someone say

movie marathons

loves loves LOVES to watch movies with you

especially harry potter!!!

he’ll order a ton of food

and you’ll make some brownies for the both of you

while he sets up the living room to look like a whole ass fort

makes sure NO ONE disturbs him during your movie marathon

and you do the same

you both rewatch all the way from the first to the eighth movie

spending time in between each movie to discuss certain opinions you have

and it’s honestly one of the best times to bond with him

because it really amazes you how deep your talks can get

and the different perspectives you both look at

y'all definitely fall asleep in front of the tv towards the end of the eighth movie

with your head on his shoulder and his atop yours

hands intertwined and resting on his lap

the sore body you attain the next day due to your uncomfortable positions is totally worth it though

because you’d do it again, with no hesitation

general affection:

can we take some time to mourn for your innocence

big rip

I’M JOKING

or am i

hhhhh

one of the skinship kings

will get withdrawal symptoms if he’s not touching you

does NOT care if the members are around

will shamelessly pull you in for a kiss

and honestly only the members are on the losing side because they could have gone their whole life without seeing you two make out

right in front their salads tSk

loves to sit you on his lap

whether you’re in a car

on the couch

or wherever possible

just wants to show off his strong thighs

although you sitting in his lap often leads to other problems......

and he’ll make sure you solve his problems

aHEM

if you kiss him for more than three seconds

you bet he’s gonna turn it into a make out session

so if you have things to do, avoid putting your lips anywhere near his

will whine if you tease him

like.... really Whine

and the only way you’re shutting him up is by kissing him

if your make out sessions start to get Wild

his movement just gets very urgent

pushes you to the nearest wall or whatever hard surface there is

and puts his hands on either side of you

essentially meaning that you’re not escaping him soon

and this, 9/10 times leads to something more

sO.... buckle up

might be a bit rough when he’s in the mood

so you’ll have to take the lead to slow things down

only if you want though...... everyone has their preferences ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

basically, with this boy?

you’re gonna have to prepare yourself to be attacked 24/7 because it’s not in him to stop showering you with love and attention

[neshabeingchildish]

Hensley & Char: Friends or Whatever || Part 3

@just-a-j-reallly @junknstu1f @henryharts I absolutely pushed this bad boy out in a couple of hours, since I’m trying to hold myself to a somewhat organized schedule, with going back to a second job on mornings that I don’t have to work nights. If there are typos and such, please just remember that this is free and that I am busy. Lol. I promise, whenever I’m not pressed for time and energy, I do everything to give y’all my best, but when I am those things, my best has to dwindle a little, in terms of editing, hopefully not content. I’ve been missing Chasper, so this chapter is kind of Chasper heavy, from Hensley’s view of them, and also I wanted to get into the universe that we’re more familiar with, so while I didn’t feel like certain things needed to change - like meeting Ray and getting the job, I wanted to just sort of do the ff thing we do and look at other areas of the world while all of that was happening.

The Danger Befriends

“We’re almost 12. Her issues might strictly be hormones, and maybe that means that she’ll be less mean soon,” Jasper said.

“Shut up about hormones!” Charlotte snapped at him. “You ALWAYS blame women being rightfully angry with you on hormones! It’s NOT hormones, Jasper. It’s YOU. YOU are the reason we’re mad!”

Hensley didn’t want to get in the middle, but these were both her beast friends and she knew that this was all just a misunderstanding. Jasper wasn’t inconsiderate or stupid… Just very, very gullible. This was dirt from Jupiter all over again. “Jasper,” Hensley said, as gently as she could, “I think what Charlotte means is that instead of telling us the reason why you’re holding a filthy cat instead of our carnival tickets, you’re focused on her reaction to the fact that you handed a stranger the money for the tickets and they gave you a disgusting animal.”

“She’s not disgusting. She just needs a bath…” Jasper said, but before he could complete the thought Charlotte lunged towards him and Hensley had to collect her in a restraining hold to keep her from getting her hands on Jasper. Jasper’s eyes widened and Hensley cooed in Charlotte’s ear to try to calm her. 

“It’s okay, Char. It’s Okay. I carried a little extra money and I’LL get your ticket. Okay?It’s all good. It’s ALL good.” Charlotte struggled Hensley’s hold off of her and glared at Jasper, shaking her head, before she marched off and went to stand in line, herself. 

Jasper shook his head, “I think that a good counselor and perhaps even medication will help her with that.” Hensley just sighed. He had a point,  but he also missed the point. But, moments later, a guy in a trench coat really did come back with their tickets and three drinks, because they were waiting out in the sun with his cat. 

Hensley pulled Charlotte from the line, explained that this time, Jasper hadn’t screwed up and Charlotte said, “Well, it still was careless and under normal circumstances would have been a scheme.” Then, they got on rides and all was forgotten for a while. 

The moments where the three of them had fun and enjoyed each other’s company were Hensley’s favorite. She frequently felt like she had to pick sides because they argued so much. Jasper loved Charlotte. He had always liked her as a person and spending the past couple of years around her only accelerated that for him. The three were together everyday and always made plans as a team. No one would be left behind, because to Hensley, that would feel like choosing between them. And she really couldn’t.

Jasper was her yes man. Charlotte was her voice of reason. Those were things that she needed to always receive both of in order to make good decisions. She did not always make them, but she couldn’t comprehend what life would be without the two varying options. They were like the little angel and devil on her shoulders, except Jasper was the clueless angel and Charlotte the all knowing devil. You’re SUPPOSED to listen to the angel, but this particular angel was only right every now and then. The devil was always right, but she was an angry little person and threatening… That made her truth seem like it wasn’t so. Yet, she was usually right, and Hensley only SOMETIMES listened to her.

But, in those moments whenever Jasper couldn’t be around - they flowed better. And in the moments that Charlotte didn’t show her face, Hensley and Jasper made more sense. It was… confounding to Hensley. She NEEDED both of them, but it was so much easier to deal with them separately, usually. She wondered if they were like that too. Did Jasper and Charlotte have a harmonious dynamic whenever Hensley wasn’t there to demand both of their attention? She wondered what that was like. 

She imagined that Jasper was sweet and that in spite of herself, she would soften for him and smile a lot, maybe even giggle… She… kinda felt a little bit jealous about it. WHAT did Charlotte and Jasper do whenever SHE wasn’t there? Sometimes, if they studied together, or Charlotte’s mom gave him a ride home or something, even at times, he stayed the night over there??? WHAT? They could barely get along, WHY would he be able to sleep in the same room as her? AND… He was a boy!

Hensley watched Charlotte reading and Jasper leaning up against her, getting ready to fall to sleep. She made a frowning face at him and he quickly shuffled away and made a makeshift, non-Charlotte pillow of his over shirt and backpack. But, when he drifted off, Hensley noted that Charlotte sighed, grabbed a bandanna out of her bag, wiped his sweat off and tucked the bandanna in his pocket. Why had she done that? Did she LIKE him? Why was Hensley so preoccupied with these details?

Charlotte stared at her and looked confused for a moment, then figured it was because of what just happened. She explained, “Jasper’s medication for his sweating problem has changed. The new one makes him a little more tired. I don’t want him sweating all over me or my carpet.” Rational. Reasonable. Nothing to be concerned about, and even if it WAS… She wouldn’t be concerned, because she and Charlotte were just friends anyway. Just like Charlotte and Jasper were. But then, “He looks different when he sleeps. When he’s shut down and silent - he’s actually cute, right?” Charlotte asked. 

Of course, she meant like a roly poly rodent, but Hensley just heard cute and while she agreed, denied it. “Jasper? Cute?” She laughed. “Why don’t you just kiss him?” 

“I would get sweat on my lips,” she said, cringing, “Jasper sweat. I don’t even want my own sweat on my lips…” She looked at Hensley like she was extremely gross for even attempting such a joke, and Hensley relaxed and didn’t think about it again. 

There was no way that Charlotte liked Jasper. He wasn’t gross, but Charlotte found a lot of his habits to be. Plus, he irritated her very easily and even though she was nice to him sometimes, there was just this… Hensley couldn’t find the right word to describe a disconnect, so she thought of it as a no-no region… Though that sounded like their private parts, so she just simply stopped trying to find words and counted it as “would never happen.” Yet, she spent about a year convincing herself that Jasper and Charlotte were just friends and woul;d always just be friends. 

It was hard though. That Charlotte had two best friends of different genders who both liked girls and she seemed to like both of them sometimes and like neither of them sometimes. All of Hensley’s life, there were people who would say things like she and Jasper would wind up dating someday or that they were probably soul mates/would get married, etc. They made it out to be like boys and girls couldn’t have friendships that were just that and it never moved her before because she knew that Jasper was not her type. She and Jasper had the SAME type, for as long as she could remember thinking about it. But, now… That could/might include Charlotte. 

Charlotte wasn’t really the kind of girl that Hensley tended to be attracted to, but by 13, she definitely had become aware that it was probably because she didn’t see other girls that were like Charlotte, and that she hadn’t for as long as she had been in school, and not because Charlotte wasn’t totally pretty. She absolutely was. But, the more time went by, the more she realized that despite that Jasper had always noticed Charlotte. He knew her name. He knew about her plans and her life. He treated her like  a person who he cared about… and he did this before she became Hensley’s best friend. It wasn’t a competition, but Hensley had a problem not competing. 

.

The feelings were exacerbated whenever Hensley happened upon a part time job… No, Charlotte found her a part time job. Hensley was now, not only a productive member of society, but the actual sidekick to Swellview’s superhero, Captain Man, and that required secrecy and discretion. That required leaving Jasper and Charlotte alone and going to work to keep the city safe, to keep them safe… and she made an oath never to tell them.

“Why aren’t we allowed to stop by your job?” Charlotte asked, while Jasper drank from his bucket thermos as they walked from school. “We aren’t going to ruin anything, and we just wanted to be able to look around and possibly even make a purchase and contribute to your paycheck. You barely let us in the door…” 

Hensley nervously laughed and shook her head, “I… don’t need your money for my paycheck. You two don’t even have jobs..”

“Yeah, upon further research, I found out nobody really hires 13 year olds for anything…” Charlotte started.

Jasper quickly spouted out, “Oh, it’s illegal. It’s one of Swellview’s many stupid laws.”

“It’s not just a Swellview law, though. It’s most places. My research concluded that the jobs available for kids under 16 are generally permissions for entrepreneurial ventures, Internet personalities, highly regulated child celebrity gigs, and family businesses where they aren’t actually on payroll. I wonder why the junk store doesn’t have to follow those regulations…” Charlotte said, suspiciously. The last thing that Hensley needed was Charlotte being suspicious.

Jasper offered, “It may be a historic building, in which case, in Swellview, they are allowed to hire as early as 13, but only in a part time capacity, and if the training for said job is at least one year.”

“That’s gotta be it! Ray’s father bought the place when he was a kid,” Hensley said, unsure of what even constitutes as a historical building, but hoping that Charlotte wouldn’t investigate it. She wasn’t even paying attention to her, though.

Charlotte smiled at Jasper, “You really know Swellview laws.”

“One of Dad’s main rules is if he ever has to get a call that I’ve been arrested, it better be a misunderstanding,” Jasper said with a shrug.

“You almost always get in trouble at every bit of fault of your own,” Charlotte told him.

“Yes, but not illegally.” 

Hensley was happy to have the conversation off of her work. 

Jasper’s dad was a defense attorney, so Jasper knew a lot about laws and ordinances and stuff. Maybe that was why he was so good in social studies and language arts. He knew laws, history, and wordplay. Charlotte was good with sciences and math. Between the both of them, Hensley was able to keep her head above water in school. She would need them now more than ever, because her job as Kid Danger was taking everything out of her and she hadn’t even been doing it for very long. But, whenever she looked at her two friends, who bickered like an old married couple, but also loved on each other, she knew that this job wasn’t just about the money or even the newfound high of fame. It was about what was best for Swellview. For Hensley Hart, Swellview was her two best friends…

“So… Can we stop in sometime, though?” Charlotte asked, not being deterred.

“Oh, my boss Ray is kind of a stickler about it…” Hensley said.

“Probably doesn’t want something to happen where he has a liability,” Jasper said. 

Charlotte looked disappointed as she shrugged her shoulders and tugged Jasper’s sleeve, “Well, I guess that means we’ll see you tomorrow. Jasper gave Hensley a hug and the two walked beyond the store, debating whether they were going to get snacks before heading to Charlotte’s, or trust that her mom had something other than organic/vegan/no added sugars or flavors stuff that Jasper always felt like was a crime against taste buds…

Hensley went into the store. Just another day of Danger, for her. And her friends would be alright.

[unfolded73]

How Do We Get Back (13/16) - schitt’s creek ff

Summary: In a literal alternate universe where the Roses escaped financial ruin, David and Patrick struggle with loneliness and a sense that something isn’t right. A chance meeting in New York and a terrible tragedy drive them to question whether the timeline they are on is the right one.

This chapter is explicit, 4k words.  (ao3)

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12

_____________________________________

Chapter 13

Patrick was drifting, halfway between sleep and wakefulness, thinking about the nature of orgasms.

For a long time there had been two kinds of orgasms that he had first-hand experience with. There was the masturbatory kind, which he took care of in a perfunctory, utilitarian way when he felt like the needs of his body were distracting him from something more important, like schoolwork or practicing the guitar or a good night’s sleep. Quick and harsh, a tight fist and hand lotion and his brain carefully blank while he was doing it, just an efficient, neural shortcut to a little burst of pleasure, then a quick cleanup and it was back to whatever he’d been doing before.

Then there were orgasms from sex, where quick and harsh wouldn’t cut it, but where again he shied away from thinking too much about what he was actually doing. It felt like a job, being skilled enough at sex that his partner wouldn’t have any complaints. And he was happy that he could please another person, he was, but it left little room for the work his brain needed to do in order to find that neural shortcut. A lot of the time, he never got there. When he did, it was underwhelming, to say the least.

If those experiences were like weakly flickering light bulbs, then being with David was like a supernova.

Patrick did things for David, touched him and sucked him and fucked him, not because of an obligation to be competent at sex but because he wanted to. No, want was too small a word for what he felt — he was starving, he was aching to do those things for David. And orgasming with David didn’t take effort; it was inevitable — it was simply impossible not to be swept along to that heart-stopping conclusion, so intense sometimes that he felt like he barely stayed conscious.

“What are you grinning about?”

Patrick slowly opened his eyes and looked over at David. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Nope.”

“I was thinking about orgasms, if you must know.”

David hummed in a way that said, Oooh, I’m intrigued, tell me more.

“Also I was thinking that as much I’ve enjoyed this weekend of hardly leaving the bed, I do have to go to work tomorrow. Will you be okay on your own for the day?”

Looking offended, David said, “I’m not a child.”

“No, of course you aren’t. But I don’t know if being alone is necessarily the best thing for you right now.”

“I’ll read a book. Or maybe, I don’t know, take a walk.” Patrick raised an eyebrow; David going for a walk without a destination in mind seemed a bit out of character, but there were likely hidden depths of David’s character that Patrick hadn’t seen yet. He was excited to learn them all, every facet of David’s personality, every quirk and annoying habit.

Whoa, slow down, he thought to himself. Just because David had chosen to lean on him in this time of mourning, it didn’t mean he was thinking in terms of a long-term relationship. Just because they’d spent most of the last two days in Patrick’s bed, learning each other’s bodies, didn’t mean David was falling in love with him. For the first time, Patrick realized how in danger his heart really was. And that perhaps it was too late to do anything about it.

“What’s wrong?” David asked.

Realizing his face was betraying his thoughts, Patrick relaxed his features. “A walk sounds like a good idea.”

~*~

“This place is cute,” David said, the grimace on his face saying he thought it was anything but.

Patrick looked at the local bar through David’s eyes: televisions tuned to a variety of sporting events, signed hockey jerseys mounted on the walls, wide-board wooden floor and tables with decades of initials carved into them.

Giving him two firm claps on the back (“You’ve got such straight boy body language,” David had once said), Patrick grinned at him. “Come on, I promise you’ll have a good time.”

Dennis had invited them out, having no doubt heard through his parents or perhaps just through the town rumor mill that Patrick had a guy staying with him. Between the other tenants in Patrick’s building and the people in the bookstore and coffee shop that David had visited over the last few days while Patrick was at work, Oak Grove was almost certainly churning with news that little Patrick Brewer had a boyfriend.

Not a boyfriend, Patrick reminded himself, although with every day that David didn’t return to New York, it felt more and more difficult not to name him so. David had been in town a week now, and with every day that passed it seemed more impossible that the day would come when this would be over.

Patrick spotted his cousin at a table near the bar and he steered David over.

“Hey, man!” Dennis said, up and out of his chair and hugging Patrick before he quite understood what was happening. He didn’t particularly remember Dennis being a hugger, but he went with it.

“Um, this is David,” Patrick said simply. Dennis reached out and shook David’s hand enthusiastically, as if being introduced to a man that Patrick was in an unlabelable romantic relationship with was a normal thing that didn’t require remarking upon. Which, maybe it didn’t.

They fell into easy small talk; it turned out that Dennis had a lot of opinions about music and so did David, and Patrick could just sit back and watch another member of his family welcoming David into the fold. When Dennis suggested they play darts, David didn’t want to play but he seemed content to serve as Patrick’s one man cheering section. And when Patrick won and got a kiss for his efforts, he tried not to let it show on his face how overwhelming it was, the simple fact being out in public and sharing casual affection with a boy he liked.

Ash brought over their third round of drinks themselves, as things at the bar had started to slow down.

“Ash, dude, what’s this I hear about you moving away?” Dennis asked.

They shrugged. “I’ve got some people in Norway that, if the world is ending, I’d prefer to ride out the apocalypse with,” they said, collecting and stacking empty glasses.

“I’m sorry,” Patrick said, “‘if the world is ending’?”

Ash gave him an impassive stare for a second. “Have you read the news recently?”

Patrick frowned. He hadn’t, really. He’d been too busy with David to give any thought to the outside world.

“To the people living in any particular time, it always seems like things are the worst they’ve ever been. It doesn’t mean you need to go join a doomsday cult in Norway,” Dennis said.

“There it is, cults again,” David said, making Patrick raise his eyebrows in surprise. “I swear I keep hearing things about cults these days.”

Dennis chuckled. “I mean, between climate change and so many of the world’s governments being taken over by dictators, maybe it’s not surprising that people are turning to mass protests and weird religions.”

“We saw protesters being arrested at the airport in New York,” Patrick said. “A lot of them.” He felt embarrassed that he’d let the event slip his mind entirely.

“The violence has only gotten worse in New York the last few days,” Ash said, looking annoyed at them for being so uninformed. “They’ll probably have to shut things down like they did with O’Hare and LAX.”

“I’m sorry, shut what down?” David asked, his voice rising in pitch.

“The airports. There have been so many threats of terrorism that they can’t afford to keep those airports running. I’ve got a flight out of Toronto to Heathrow in three days, and I’m praying that things don’t get too bad before I can get on that plane.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Patrick asked no one in particular.

“The world is falling apart, man,” Ash said. “And the old gods are in ascendance.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I read that Neil Gaiman novel,” Dennis said in a way that made it clear he wasn’t taking any of this seriously.

“We should make sure we have a way to get you back to your parents,” Patrick said, trying not to wish too hard that David would somehow be stranded here with him forever.

David looked startled, and he paused before saying, “Yeah. Yeah, I guess we should.”

“I wouldn’t go back to New York now,” Ash said. “Best to stay out of the big cities. That’s where the worst shit is going down.” They looked over at the bar, where more people were waiting for drinks than it looked like Ash’s assistant could handle. “I’ve gotta get back, guys. Good luck with everything.”

“Thanks?” Patrick said.

“Just…” Ash gave him a piercing stare. “Don’t ignore your dreams, Patrick. Let your subconscious be your guide.” They turned and went back to the bar then, leaving the three of them looking at each other, bemused.

“That was weird,” Dennis said.

Unnerved, Patrick reached over and took David’s hand. “Yeah.”

~*~

“That bartender was right.” David was looking at his phone when Patrick emerged from the bathroom, ready for bed. “JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia are all closed as of today. It says they don’t know for how long.”

“That’s insane. How is anybody flying anywhere?”

“They aren’t. It’s almost like 9/11, when I was stranded for four days in Portugal.”

Patrick lifted the blankets and got under the covers with David. “I was only thirteen on 9/11.”

“Oh, fuck off,” David said affectionately.

“And what was the thing Ash said about dreams? Let my subconscious be my guide? What was that?”

David gave him a sidelong glance. “I don’t know, had any interesting dreams lately?”

Patrick laughed. He didn’t usually remember his dreams. Except… “I mean, I dreamed you and I were planning to get married in Schitt’s Creek, but…” He blushed at having admitted even that to David. “It was silly.”

“Wait, what?” David asked, turning fully to him.

God, David must be freaked out by what that might reveal about his feelings, Patrick thought. “It was just a dream, it doesn’t mean I actually want to—”

“No, that’s not… I dreamed the same thing, that night at the motel. That you and I were engaged.” David looked down at his bare fingers. He always took his silver rings off at night and put them in a little dish on the bedside table that he’d borrowed from Patrick’s kitchen.

“Huh. That’s a weird coincidence.” Patrick settled down onto his pillow and closed his eyes.

“Is it?”

“Is it what?”

David huffed and nudged Patrick’s shoulder until he opened his eyes. “Is it a coincidence?”

Patrick laughed. “Well, what else would it be, David?”

“I don’t know, it’s your bartender friend who was spouting all that mystical stuff about old gods and dreams!” He gesticulated wildly with his hands.

Patrick sat back up. “I don’t actually know Ash all that well, but… look, I just don’t believe in stuff like that. Stuff I can’t verify with my own eyes and ears.”

“Okay, fine, so let’s collect some data. What else happened in your dream?” David said.

“David—”

“Humor me.”

“Okay.” Patrick rubbed his face, trying to remember. “We worked in a store together.”

Now David looked genuinely alarmed, as if even though he’d been arguing on the side of the import of these dreams, he hadn’t really believed in what he was arguing. “Without telling me what it was, do you remember the name of the store?”

He did. It had been all over everything — baggies of coffee beans and bottles of who-knew-what; it was abbreviated on the wall and on the top of the refrigerator case. Patrick took a second to be amazed that there had been that level of detail in the dream, and that he remembered even a fraction of it. “I remember it.”

“I’m going to tell you what it was, then, since you’re the skeptic. It was Rose Apothecary.”

Patrick’s heart started to thunder in his chest. “Maybe… maybe there’s a mundane explanation.”

David crossed his arms. “What?”

“Maybe we saw a place with a similar name somewhere, and it happened to register in both of our subconsciouses—”

“Two little roses, one on either side of the name,” David said. “And I had four gold rings in place of my silver ones. I’m pretty sure you gave them to me.”

Patrick stared at him. “Okay, so… so we shared a dream?”

“I don’t think it was a dream. Or, it was, but it was more than that.” David was up and out of bed now, like he couldn’t contain these ideas unless he got up and walked them off. “It was like a view of an alternate reality. One where for some reason my whole family was in that town, and so I met you a while ago, and… I don’t know, but it was good. Everyone was happy, and…”

“And Alexis was alive,” Patrick said as soon as it struck him why David wanted the dreams to mean something. “That’s what this is about, right? Your sister was alive.”

“Yeah, this is the ravings of a grief-stricken person except you saw it, Patrick. It wasn’t just me. You saw it too! And you felt something when we were outside that general store, didn’t you? And… and the waitress said it was… that the veil between worlds was thin or whatever.” He was so manic now that Patrick worried that David might be on his way to a panic attack if he didn’t calm down.

“I don’t know if I’d hang this theory on Twyla,” Patrick said, but then he had to pull himself up short, because it was triggering something else in his memory. Someone else who’d raved at him… “The homeless woman outside your building,” Patrick said softly, lost in memories of those nights, months ago, when his whole life changed.

“What?” David stopped pacing, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.

“There was a homeless woman outside your building; I ran into her both times I left your apartment in the early morning. And she said…” — he struggled to remember. “She said that this world was wrong and we needed to get back to the right one. Wait, before that, the first time I saw her, she said to me ‘you found him.’”

“Patrick, if you’re fucking with me—”

“Why would I fuck with you?” Patrick rubbed his sweaty palms off on the bedspread.

“I know who you’re talking about; she was a regular in the neighborhood,” David said. “She used to say all kinds of crazy stuff to me, stuff like…” He dragged a hand through his hair, making it stick up at all angles. “That my family and I were supposed to be living in a motel together.”

Patrick didn’t want to, but it would have been dishonest not to connect those dots. “You did say those rooms felt familiar.”

David sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. “Fuck.”

Not knowing what else to do, Patrick crawled over and rested a hand on David’s back.

“What do we do?” David asked.

“We… we get you back to New York, to your family, for a start. And we try to find that woman, because maybe she knows more.”

“The airports are closed,” David pointed out.

Patrick shrugged. “So we drive. If we leave early in the morning and take turns driving, we can probably be there by this time tomorrow.”

“What about your job?”

“David, we’re going to drive to New York in the midst of a violent uprising to seek out a mystical homeless woman to explain why we’ve both dreamed of the same alternate reality. My job can go fuck itself.”

David laughed, an edge of hysteria in it, and kissed him.

~*~

“This is insane,” Patrick said as they pulled away from the third police checkpoint since crossing over into Manhattan. Only David’s ID with his Chelsea address had allowed them to get this far.

This is insane had been Patrick’s mental mantra for many of their hours of driving, and he wasn’t sure if the increasing evidence of societal collapse was bolstering the idea that they were doing the right thing or detracting from it. He knew it was insane when he called his parents from the road to tell them that he was driving David to New York since the airports were shut down (the rest of the story, he left out). He knew it was insane when they had to spend almost a full hour at the U.S.-Canadian border, undergoing extensive questioning before they were allowed to cross. He knew it was insane when he left a message for his boss, resigning his position at Rollins Electrical Supply via voicemail. He knew it was insane when David had an extended phone call with his parents as they drove through Buffalo, arguing about which of the properties that his parents still owned would be the safest if civilization fell.

David directed Patrick to a parking garage near his apartment. The automated gates had been broken off, so Patrick drove in without taking a ticket from the machine.

“If we somehow manage to get away without paying to park in Manhattan, then society really has collapsed,” David said, which made Patrick laugh.

Rain was coming down steadily on them as they walked to David’s apartment from the garage. Even Patrick, with his limited time in New York, could tell that the streets were unnaturally quiet. “I don’t see our prophetic friend,” Patrick said as they approached David’s building.

“With the rain, she might be in a shelter,” David said. “We can try to find her tomorrow.”

He looked as exhausted as Patrick felt, so Patrick didn’t argue.

At least nothing had changed in David’s apartment during their days away, and Patrick was struck by the way the smell of the place took him back to that first night in February, when he’d gone home with David and ended up in his bed. That had been insane too, but it might have been the best thing he’d ever done in his life. Maybe insane wasn’t the worst thing.

They took turns showering off the funk of the long road trip, and while Patrick waited for David in his bed, he started trying to catch up on what exactly was going on in the world. By the time David joined him, Patrick’s palms were sweating and his stomach felt queasy.

“David, I’m starting to think the world might really be ending.”

“Why?” David asked, sitting down on his side of the bed and rubbing some kind of moisturizer into his heels.

“The amazon rainforest is on fire, for one thing. Like, intentionally. They’ve instituted full-on martial law in Brazil. And that guy Jeff Bezos and some other billionaires have bugged out to some private floating city and disappeared, which I’m pretty sure was the plot of an Ayn Rand book.”

“Don’t tell my mom, she’ll be pissed she wasn’t invited,” David said, settling down onto his back and pulling Patrick into his arms.

“And legitimate people are writing articles questioning whether it’s possible for the U.S. to ever have fair and free elections ever again,” Patrick went on.

“Okay,” David said, his hand caressing Patrick’s hip.

“You don’t seem worried,” Patrick said.

“It’s not that I’m not worried, it’s that my brain literally doesn’t have any room for anything else to worry about.” David rolled them so that he was on top of Patrick and began kissing down his neck. “Also, fifty-seven percent of my brain is occupied with thinking about sex.”

Patrick grinned, wrapping his arms around David and sliding his hands down to David’s ass. “Fifty-seven percent?”

“Eighty-three percent.” Patrick thrust up with his hips, grinding against David. “A hundred and nine percent,” David breathed.

They quickly shed their clothes and were back to grinding against each other immediately, their bodies almost on auto-pilot, desperate for friction and closeness and connection.

“So I guess there’s a universe where I asked you to marry me,” Patrick said when David pulled away long enough to lube both of them up, his slick hand on Patrick’s cock and stomach and on himself. The idea of that being real somehow had turned itself over and over in Patrick’s mind on the drive until he felt compelled to speak it out loud.

“That’s the part that strains credibility, that any version of you would want to spend your entire life with any version of me,” David said, and only David Rose could manage to be self effacing while he stroked himself.

“David,” Patrick said, reaching up for David’s shoulders and pulling him down so that they could kiss, and now each thrust of their hips was slippery and so wonderful that it almost brought tears to Patrick’s eyes. “That part is easy for me to imagine.”

David kissed him, frantic, and when they separated to breathe, David’s eyelashes were fluttering as he tried to blink away his own tears. “I doubt that, but thank you for saying it.”

Patrick pulled him as close as he could, rolling his hips, trying to bring him pleasure and comfort in equal measure. “That life with you, the one we dreamed… I’d take that life in a second.”

Gasping, David kissed him again. “Me too. God, Patrick, me too.” He buried his face the crook of Patrick’s neck, his hips slowing into a more gentle undulation. “Can we pretend, just for a minute…?”

Patrick brought one hand up and carded it through David’s hair. “That we’re in that world?” He felt David nod.

His heart hammering in his chest, Patrick matched David’s rhythm and tried to imagine what he would say in that life, comfortable and confident and in love with a man that he planned to spend the rest of his days with. “I’m so happy you’re going to be my husband, David,” he murmured, his voice pitched low, and the answering noise from David told him he was on exactly the right track.

Considering and discarding several other endearments — he didn’t want to tell David he loved him until he could be certain David knew he meant it — Patrick went on. “I don’t ever want this to end. I don’t ever want to not be sharing your life. You’re the most wonderful man I’ve ever known.”

“God, Patrick, I—” Whatever David was going to say got lost as he climaxed, wet and hot against Patrick’s stomach. Patrick groaned and moved faster, seeking and finding his own peak, biting down on David’s shoulder as he came.

After a quick cleanup, they settled back into bed together, Patrick resting his head against David’s chest.

“Thanks for… I probably shouldn’t have asked you to do that in the heat of the moment,” David said. “Roleplaying scenes usually require some pre-negotiation.”

“I didn’t mind,” Patrick said. It’s not like anything he had said hadn’t been a sort of truth. “It, umm, worked for me too. Obviously.” He pressed a kiss against David’s sternum.

David laughed uneasily. “Who knew that my kink was domesticity?”

It gave Patrick a chance to lighten the mood, to get out of the territory that was going to lead to premature confessions of love, and he took it. “Should I have also talked about mowing the lawn?”

“That depends, what do you wear when you mow the lawn?”

Patrick laughed. “I’ll save my material on painting the garage for next time, it’ll drive you wild.”

Chapter 14

[moiraineswife]

Autistic!Kaz Headcanons

Just bc I can. You should all read @barrelrat‘s initial post about this that initially got me thinking this way/that inspired a few of the following. But basically I couldn’t sleep last night so here we are. 

-Kaz longing for the quiet, peaceful familiarity of the farm when he first comes to Ketterdam. The city is too big, too loud, too bright, too crowded, too much. Everything overwhelms him for the first few weeks, and he clings to Jordie as the only stable, familiar anchor that he has. 

-He picks up magic/sleight of hand quickly/easily because in addition to being a special interest, the constant, repetitive movements he practiced over and over again necessary to let him master the skills are stims. He does this a lot unconsciously. One of his favourites is manipulating small stacks of coins in his hands, or shuffling packs of cards. 

-One of the things that makes him so successful with magic, with conning, with life tbh is his Need to know why. (this is canon, and I love it, so it’s not really a hc but see if I care) His plans are so detailed, so meticulous, and generally go so well because of how thoroughly he understands each and every detail of them. It’s not enough to know that, for instance, Wylan’s timed bombs will go off when he says they will, Kaz needs to understand the mechanics behind them. This helps him spot weaknesses, flaws, and patterns, and is one of the things that makes him so successful. 

-Kaz being touch averse before Jordie’s death. Only now there are images and grief attached to the aversion. That makes it worse but also, in a twisted kind of way, better. Because at least now there’s a Reason behind it, and he can understand it. 

-Kaz plans everything. From breaking into the Ice Court, to basic, every day to-do lists. He can do it all mentally, and keep track of everything that way, but he likes writing it all down. IT’s a way of taking control and it’s grounding/calming. Probably has an old blackboard/some chalk in his office at The Slat. It’s stimmy and it means he can doodle elaborate lists and plans all over it. 

-Most of his stims are small things that he can hide. The streets worked out the notable ones from him a long time ago. He strokes the head of his cane, tracing all of the deep lines and groves in it, lingering on patches that are especially smooth. He flexes his hands - the feeling of the leather gloves curling around them is especially Good. Is also prone to leg dancing and finger tapping (especially to music. He picks out the beats of any nearby music and taps along to the them) But they’re all things that he can be discreet about. He used to hum, but when he was abandoned on the streets it was too much of a giveaway and he trained himself to stop. 

-Kaz saying he has a headache when he becomes overloaded because he doesn’t know how else to explain that he needs to leave this place now. 

-First signs of him heading towards a meltdown is always irritability. He becomes v easily frustrated, snaps sharply if interrupted, becomes frantic if he can’t easily find something, and is agitated and irritated by even small sounds in his vicinity. Will murder you for being too Loud when he’s like this because he just can’t deal with it. 

-Never has meltdowns in front of other people. He instinctively suppresses them in public/on a job. This typically causes a massive shutdown afterwards. he locks himself in his room, turns off all the light, and buries himself in his bed where it’s dark and quiet. He refuses to see anyone during that time, and everyone knows not to bother him/to let him recover in peace. 

-Has shutdowns more frequently than meltdowns. Becomes nonverbal during them, very withdrawn and unresponsive - typically the only communication anyone gets out of him then is nods/shakes of the head. 

-Bad trauma days make his sensory issues much, much worse. Some days he can’t leave his room because the very feel of the air on his skin is too much. He won’t even let Inej see him on those days, he needs to be alone to be able to meltdown/stim and process everything the way he needs to. 

-Occassionally becomes utterly Consumed by short but very very intense special interests. Once developed one in baking, it only lasted about a week but it was Intense. He was covered in flour for days and was constantly trying new things, and tweaking old recipes to make them completely perfect. Only Kaz could turn cake-making into a form of science. He experimented with different methods of mixing, different amounts of flour, the order he added the ingredients in etc etc etc. The Dregs were baffled but delighted. Nina swears she has never eaten better waffles in her entire life. 

-His cane becomes a comfort object, he gets really angsty if he doesn’t have it close at hand at all times. His gloves are comfort objects too, even if he manages to stop wearing them all the time, he always keeps them on him. Inej brings him back a small, smooth, polished stone she found on her travels - it becomes a comfort object, too. He always has it in his pocket. 

-Can recreate maps/building plans he’s studied incredibly accurately....But he has no sense of direction. Frequently gets lost in The Slat. Only manages to navigate the city bc he’s carefully memorised maps/routes/landmarks. 

-APD has him threatening to gag Jesper at least twice a week because ‘I can’t process two different speakers/conversations at once, Jesper shut up.’ 

-Loves listening to Wylan play flute. Will legit sit and listen to him quietly for hours. Wylan starts noticing when Kaz is getting overloaded and, if he’s able, will discreetly play for a little while to help ground him. 

-One time Inej changed her perfume an he became so irritated and bothered and  he couldn’t understand why which was almost more frustrating. Eventually she realised what was wrong. 

-Hates clothes with high/tight collars, they feel like they’re strangling him. 

-I’m not entirely sure if this is possible Heartrender wise, or rather, if it was possible pre-parem but, like, humour me okay? He asks Nina to use her abilities to lessen the quality of his hearing/eyesight/touch, just slightly, and only for short periods of time, but it really helps when he’s becoming overloaded. 

-Will cut you if you fuck with his routine/his plans in any way. (Always has v precise, detailed plans and no, we can’t go there first, because if we go there first then x, y, z will happen, and we won’t be able to do that, and the world will end no just everybody do as I say I have worked this shit out) 

-Absently stroking Inej’s hair = The Best Stim. 

-The pickiest of picky eaters. 

-Kaz ‘I don’t like new things’ Brekker. Nina despairs over him bc he orders exactly the same thing every single time they go out for anything to eat. 

-One time a restaurant took his item off their menu and Kaz Twitched uncomfortably until the owner told him they kept a few of the necessary ingredients on-hand for him so he could still have it. All of Ketterdam relaxed and a shrine was later built to this good woman’s sense. 

-Had to carefully teach himself to read each individual person’s tone/expressions/body language etc for each job. He constantly studies people and improves his understanding of them - it’s like watching for tells in a fight/card game, but with everything. Keeps very detailed, very extensive notes. Doesn’t realise that not everyone has to do this until Nina spots his notes on her and is just like ??? Kaz ??? is this necessary ????? 

-Dsypraxia!Kaz - performs incredible precise, delicate, deft lock-picking one minute. Bangs into the corner of a desk the next bc it was moved an inch to the right of its usual spot. 

-One day, Mathias decides to be ‘helpful’ and sets about fixing up The Slat. Kaz walks in and freezes. ‘No.’ ‘But the floorboards were creaking here so-’ ‘No.’ ‘The roof leaked a little, I thought-’ ‘No.’ ‘The carpets were-’ ‘No.’ ‘The paintwork could use a little freshening u-’ ‘No.’ Kaz threatens to drown him in the fresh tin of paint he has open and ready next to him and methodically undoes all of Mathias’ fixes until the Slat is creaking, whistling, leaking, and tripping people up as it should. 

-One time Nina got bored and decided to rearrange the furniture ‘for a change’. This did not go down well. 

-Gunshots are sensory hell tbh. 

-Views literally everything in terms of business arrangements bc it’s the only way he’s learned to really make sense of social interactions?? People are loyal to him bc he knows their secrets, and bc he’s the most beneficial to their interests than any other gang leader in Ketterdam. People will do favours for him bc he’s done things for them in the past/would do in the future. ‘I will make you waffles today, and you will promise to help me with my sensory shit at a later date when I need you to. The deal is the deal.’ ‘Uh...Kaz...We’re friends?????’ Kaz: *this does not compute* *Nina sighs and just nods and yes, yes, u strange boy, just prepare me my waffles* 

-He slowly starts to understand things on a more personal/intimate/informal level when he’s with Inej and they start getting closer. But he still, at the end of the day, rationalises/makes sense of everything via a structure that’s simple, and logical to him, and that’s by viewing it as a job. Inej is patient with him, and pretty understanding...As long as he never gets to the point of, like, ‘I have kissed you three times today, this equates to a ten minute leg massage, I would like to cash this in now, please.’ (He never does. (Except once when he was teasing her about it and she just like ffs, kaz, u had me for a minute there.)) 

-Has a ‘mutually beneficial relationship’ with a stray cat he insists he hasn’t adopted. He feeds it and gives it somewhere warm to sleep. In return it is an A++++ stim toy. V soft and it’s a great, warm presssure stim when it curls up in his lap which is obviously the only reason he lets it do this. But he has not adopted it, this is strictly a business arrangement- I can see you rolling your eyes at me, Nina. (Its name is ‘Demjin.’) 

[codename-bewareofthefangirl]

Hell Mission III

Hello dears!

Right now, I’m having a hard time, both my mind and life want to make things difficult for me. This is why I needed some IwaOi, I know this ff is not very popular, but I really enjoy writing it, so please bear with me and my selfish needs :3 I think this turned out pretty well and I’m very excited for the next one, I’m planning a wonderful scene *.*

I hope you enjoy this,

Have a wonderful day, dears! 

Chapter: 1, 2

Iwaoi FF, SecretAgent!Iwaizumi x ProPlayer!Oikawa

Hell Mission III: Fitting

Iwaizumi shouldn’t have been surprised that, as predicted, he had underestimated Oikawa.

But, to be honest, that level of pettiness was something he had never seen before.

He had been right: Oikawa had decided to be shitty and petty to avenge the offend of having been knocked unconscious.

“…and he nearly begged me to let him take a photo of me, he was so desperate I couldn’t refuse him,” Oikawa told his female fan club, who giggled and awed loudly, shamefully staring at Iwaizumi.

The secret agent clenched his jaw so hard he could hear the teeth cracking, but managed to remain impassible. And red, but thankfully that could be interpreted as bashfulness -fitting Oikawa’ story- and not to the murderous rage he was feeling.

“He stumbled when I took his hand for the first time!”

For a second, that morning, Iwaizumi had naively believed that Oikawa would have punished him with the silent treatment, since he hadn’t spoken one word to the raven while they prepared and walked to the dining room, but, unfortunately, the brunet was only waiting for the right scenario to fulfill his revenge: Embarrass Iwaizumi in every way possible.

“His cuteness is captivating, I swear, I know right now he is being shy,” Oikawa continued, completely draped over the boy sitting next to him, “But he’s the softest, most tender and attentive guy I’ve ever accepted to date. Right, Hiri-chan?” he asked, artfully tilting his head to meet Iwaizumi’s eyes.

“Right…” he hissed through gritted teeth, but luckily the ladies were too busy squealing to hear his growl, in clear contrast with the rosy image of the shy fan, completely head over heels for the great Oikawa, that the brunet himself had depicted until now.

Oikawa’s fake, soft gaze sharpened, and he smirked satisfied. He tightened his grip on Iwaizumi’s neck and straightened to move closer to his ear.

“Come on, Hiri-chan, treat me right or you’ll blow up our cover,” he purred slyly, and Iwaizumi felt his self-control cracking.

He put a hand behind the brunet’s nape and pulled him closer until his lips were brushing again the delicate skin of Oikawa’s ear.

“Don’t tempt me, Shittykawa,” he growled lowly, sending shivers down his spine, “I’m already thinking of letting them have your sorry ass…”

The girls squealed loudly, and Oikawa jerked back.

Iwaizumi noticed a faint blush on his cheeks as he pouted annoyed, and smirked satisfied. The pretty boy wanted to play with fire? He was fucking ready.

“Not professional,” the brunet hissed under his breath, making sure to plant his chin with all his strength in Iwaizumi’s chest as he hugged him again.

The agent grimaced for a fraction of second, but retaliated by wrapping an arm around his waist and pinching his side. Oikawa muffled a yelp.

“You’re so lovey-dovey…” a lady sighed happily, gazing at them.

“You can’t even imagine…” the two muttered in unison, faking a polite smile.

Their public cheered joyfully and started again with the questions.

“Have you kissed yet?” one asked ravenously.

Oikawa lighted up and the agent knew he was going to regret not smacking his head against the table before he could answer.

“Not yet!” He chirped, before winking at them, “You know, virgins like to take it slow…”

The girls shrilled.

“So pure, Iwaizumi-san,” Akaashi smirked in his ear. Bokuto and Kuroo were cackling like hysterical hyenas in the background.

Iwaizumi swore that, in one way or another, he would have made Oikawa Tooru pay.

~~

“Eh, Hiri-chan?” Oikawa grinned mischievously, “Do you want me to go with you even to the bathroom?”

Iwaizumi didn’t bother answering and continued dragging the boy towards the restroom.

“Akaashi, is it free?”

“Yes, it is.” The other agent wisely decided to avoid commenting the course of action of his teammate, clearly on the verge of exploding.

“Good.”

Iwaizumi kicked the door opened, threw Oikawa inside, slammed it closed and roughly pushed the brunet against the wall.

“I’ve had enough,” he growled with pure, cold rage, as he banged the hands at the sides of his head.

The other man stared at him with wide eyes. Leaving alone the fact that the agent pining him to the wall, caught in his fury, was annoyingly hot and Oikawa felt weak, he may had been aware that maybe he had exaggerated a little. Especially if taking into account that Hiri-chan was probably capable of snap his neck in two. However, he was still offended by the treatment of the night before, especially after the nice let’s-open-to-each-other moment they’d had. So, fuck it, he wasn’t going to take the first step back.

“Of what?” he asked, faking indifference. He crossed his arms and gave him a mighty glance; Oikawa didn’t want him to see even an ounce of his fear.

“You’ve had your little revenge and embarrassed me all morning,” Iwaizumi spoke slowly and calmly, and somehow it was even scarier than if he had started screaming, “Now, stop it. I’m working and you’re exaggerating. I can’t allow it.”

Oikawa frowned, “Or what? You’ll hit me?” he hissed.

Iwaizumi slammed again his hand against the wall and Oikawa quivered.

“Stop being an idiot! There’s no way I would hit you for real! Even if you make it sound like a wonderful idea,” he roared, glaring daggers at the boy.

“Well, you already did!” Oikawa argued, clenching his jaw.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, “I put you to sleep because I had to work.”

“I didn’t want to! And I’m not a child!” Oikawa’s voice trembled with repressed anger, the hurt was visible in his eyes.

“You promised to do what I say,” Iwaizumi observed more calmly. He was starting to realize what had really ticked off the brunet and was willing to settle things peacefully instead of using force.

At his words, Oikawa scowled harder, but the flames in his eyes dimmed.

“There was no need to hit me…” he repeated stubbornly.

Iwaizumi took a deep breath and mustered all his self-control.

“Oikawa, I’m not treating you like a child. I’m treating you like a person I have to protect,” he explained softening his rough tone, “If you can’t follow my instructions, it can be dangerous for yours and my safety. I need you to behave in cases of need, you can’t get in the way of my job.”

That…that stung.

The brunet deflated and lowered his eyes; Iwaizumi could see his remorse in the way he bit his bottom lip or averted his eyes.

“Oikawa?”

The brunet scrunched his nose and clenched his fists, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to…get in the way of your job.”

Iwaizumi finally relaxed and felt all his anger and stress vanish. With the shadow of a smile on the lips, he gently ruffled his soft locks.

“I’m sorry too, for reacting too harshly, I didn’t want you to feel belittled” he apologized in a murmur.

Oikawa’s head perked up and his mouth curved into a surprised “o”.

“I-it’s okay…” he stuttered, taken aback by Iwaizumi’s apology.

The raven was relieved to see that any trace of fury or hurt seemed, for now, to have disappeared from his doe eyes; mirth suited them better and-

“Holy shit! He’s just apologized!” Bokuto’s voice pierced his eardrum.

“He liiiiiiikes him.”

“I ship it!”

“Fuck!” Iwaizumi frowned, “Shut up!”

“What?” Oikawa blurted, shocked.

“Ah, not you.”

“Nice kabedon, Iwa~” Kuroo chuckled, “Very sexy.”

Iwaizumi jerked back from that ambiguous position as if the wall had caught on fire, his cheeks red with embarrassment. He was so busy cursing and insulting his friends, that he completely missed the way Oikawa pouted at his move.

Now that they were having a nice moment and the agent was smiling, there his friends ruined- Wait, his friends?

Oikawa’s eyes sparkled as he threw himself over Iwaizumi.

“Are they your friends? Your teammates?” he asked curiously, before leaning against his ear, “HELLO FRIENDS OF HIRI-CHAN!”

“FUCK OIKAWA!” Iwaizumi yelled, shoving him off. He had pierced his eardrum!

“CAN YOU HEAR ME?!”

“Yes, they can! Don’t scream! Fuck!”

Kuroo and Bokuto were laughing so loudly they risked suffocation.

“Hiri-chan! I am a genius!” Kuroo cackled.

“Can we adopt him?”

“Obviously we can adopt him’”

“Motherfuckers…” Iwaizumi, growled, trying to keep the brunet at distance.

“IT’S NICE TO MEET YOU! HIRI-CHAN IS VERY GRUMPY!”

“Damn Oikawa!” Iwaizumi smacked his head, “Where’s Silver?”

“He had a check to do and left us here!

“Fantastic.”

“Hiri-chan! Let me talk with them!” Oikawa whined, pulling his arm, but the man flicked his forehead.

“No way!”

“But Hiri-chan!”

“Don’t be a pest Shittikawa, I already told you they can hear you anyway.”

Oikawa beamed happily.

“Oh my God. Flirting with a boy in front of your mother!” Kuroo faked an outraged gasp, “You don’t have any sense decency.”

“You’re disgusting!” Iwaizumi grimaced.

“I’m not disgusting!” Oikawa pouted.

“Damn! Not you!” Iwaizumi panicked, “Fuck you Black…” hissed under his breath as the other agent laughed loudly.

“Can you tell Oikawa I say hi?” Bokuto meddled, “And that I’m his fan! I’d love to hit his tosses!”

“No, Golden,” he replied sternly, but the other man let out a high-pitched screech. Akaashi called that the “owl cry” and Bokuto used it to whine when he wanted something. And the only way to shut him up was surrendering or knock him unconscious.

“I’ll kill you!” Iwaizumi growled, but the other kept producing that hellish sound, “Okay! Okay! Fine! Stop!”

Oikawa was observing him amused, maybe slightly perplexed. And curious, incredibly curious. There it was another nuance of the secret agent whose job was protecting his life, a man he didn’t know nothing about. Nothing, but he wanted to know so bad. So, so bad.

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi, pinching the bridge of his nose out of exasperation, cleared his throat, “My…stupid friend, Golden, says hi.”

Oikawa snorted, hiding his mouth.

“Hi?”

“IWAAAAAAA”

“And that he’s your fan and would gladly hit your tosses,” he added, and the man stopped yelling his name.

Oikawa smiled warmly.

“Thank you, Golden-san! I’d love to play with you as well!” He assured, waving his hand a bit unsure, not knowing if they could see him or not.

“There,” Iwaizumi grunted, crossing his arms, “Happy now?”

“YES!”

“I really want this guy with us,” Kuroo added, “Please, marry him.”

“YES PLEASE. IT WOULD BE GREAT!”

“Iwaizumi, don’t disappoint us.”

Iwaizumi hid his eyes behind the palm. He couldn’t survive their stupidity.

Luckily, Akaashi arrived to save him from that torture.

“Move!”

“Com’on Akas-”

“Koutarou. Now.” Startled by the sudden seriousness, Iwaizumi could hear Bokuto literally pushing Kuroo on the ground to make space for his boyfriend. The boy crashed into his chair and grabbed the microphone to talk with Iwaizumi, that had already tensed up.

“Iwaizumi, they’re on the move. The group is agitated. We’ve heard rumors, it seems they have one of theirs infiltrated as a guest too.”

Oikawa observed the abrupt change of expression on Iwaizumi’s face and felt his blood freezing. He knew what it meant, the furrowed brows, the clenched jaw, and the burning eyes…he knew.

They were coming.

“Don’t leave him alone, at any cost. I’ll send Black and Golden to guard the perimeter, but we can’t do anything for the one inside. He’s yours.”

“Don’t worry,” Iwaizumi replied icily, “He won’t be able to touch Oikawa.”

Shivers ran down the brunet’s spine at the mention of his name in that tone of voice and, for a second, he even forgot the imminent threat. The secret agent in front of him was the only thing filling his thoughts. He was so screwed he was sort of high-school-first-crush pathetic.

They exchanged some more information before Iwaizumi cut off the communications. He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, as he molded the tense expression in a relaxed one.

“Come on,” he told Oikawa, “We’ve to return to the party.”

“They’re coming,” the other replied, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeves. He would have liked to hide the trembling in his voice, but they were talking about Yakuza. Yakuza. He would have been a fool if he hadn’t been scared.

Oikawa was a fighter, he never backed down, he never bowed. On the court, he was a force to reckon. But he was also a twenty-four guy who still had a lot of dreams to fulfill and experiences to live before dying. He was, simply put, not ready to say goodbye. Not yet.

Iwaizumi’s green eyes softened, and he walked to the man, gently taking his hand.

“I already told you, Shittykawa, until I’m here, nobody will hurt you,” he reassured him in a murmur, making sure to meet his gaze, “I’ll protect you, okay? I’ll protect you. Don’t worry.”

Oikawa swallowed, but the determination in the agent’s eyes didn’t leave space for doubts, so he nodded and squeezed his hand back.

“I don’t want to die…” he admitted in a small, frail whisper. His brown eyes were blown wide and for only a moment he let all his walls fall, he let him in, with the hope of finding someone ready to keep his pieces together.

And Iwaizumi was there, with the steel resolution and adamant will to protect Oikawa.

“You won’t,” Iwaizumi eyes burned with fierce determination, “I won’t let you die. Never.”

“Can you promise me?”

“Yes,” Iwaizumi replied without batting an eyelash, brushing away the chestnut locks from his eyes and lingering with the fingers on his skin, “I’ll keep you safe, they won’t get near you and in two weeks you’ll be fighting on your favorite court again, perfectly unharmed. I can promise it over my life.”

Oikawa stretched a weak smile, “You really like your job,” he joked, mourning the loss of contact when Iwaizumi retracted the hand from his head.

But Iwaizumi tilted the head and his forehead creased.

“It’s not just my job,” he said slowly, swallowing his common sense, but he had never liked lying and he wanted at least for Oikawa to know that, “I truly want to keep you safe. So, please, don’t do anything stupid and let me protect you.”

The brunet stared at him as his cheeks caught fire.

“F-fine…” he stuttered, suddenly looking at the floor, “But please don’t die on me. I could never live with that regret!”

The agent scoffed, “Don’t worry, I’m tougher than what I look like, I’m not an alpha agent for nothing,” he assured confidently.

Oikawa let out a nervous chuckle, “And I thought I was the egocentric one.”

Iwaizumi shrugged, “That’s probably why they’ve assigned you to me,” joked, making the other grin.

They fell again in silence and Iwaizumi waited for Oikawa to find his composure; he observed quietly how the boy stabilized his own breaths and cleaned his expression from any sign of fear.

“Are you ready?” Iwaizumi asked softly.

Oikawa grimaced, “Can’t we lock ourselves in my room?”

“I’m afraid not,” the other chuckled.

The raven offered a small smile and hooked their arms together, pulling slowly Oikawa out of the restroom. He didn’t say a single word about how Oikawa held tight on him nor about the way his voice was slightly higher when he spoke again, and the brunet appreciated it from the bottom of his heart.

“You know what awaits us now, Hiri-chan?” Oikawa whispered in his ear, “Forgetting the whole avoid-getting-murdered thing, obviously.”

The man snorted, “What?”

“It’s time for the official photos together!”

“Oh hell.”

 An hour later, they were in the garden with all the other guests, getting bombarded with photos. Oikawa was a natural, he looked good in every photo and didn’t seem tired of it no matter how many times he was asked to pose for. Iwaizumi, on the other side, felt like dying. He was stiff and his smile just a shadow, not used to being photographed; all the professionals hired to capture the happiness of the guests looked at him with pity or frustration.

Luckily, the news about their relationship had spread like fire, so everyone knew about Iwaizumi and allowed him to follow Oikawa or be in the photos with him without many questions; not that he would have accepted a different arrangement after Akaashi’s warning. He refused to leave the man’ side at any cost.

It happened in a second, while they were talking during a break; Oikawa was poking fun at him for drinking juice like a child instead of wine -not that Iwaizumi had a choice, he was on duty – and Iwaizumi was replying with some jokes about Oikawa’s childish behavior.

The brunet suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulders; he caught Iwaizumi mid-laugh as he chirped “Cheese!”, and he had just the time to turn his eyes to the camera before the flash blinded him.

Oikawa let out a thrill of joy and rushed to the man who held an old Polaroid, while Iwaizumi rubbed his eyes, deeply confused about what had just happened.

“Oi Oikawa!”

But the man didn’t answer, staring with wide eyes full of stars at the photo in his hands. Hypnotized, in a total, blissful awe.

Frowning, Iwaizumi reached him and peeked over his shoulder.

At first, he was too busy gazing at Oikawa’s wide and genuine smile, with shining and mirthful eyes, to notice what had captured Oikawa’s heart; then, he realized he was laughing. Since Oikawa had moved suddenly, the Iwaizumi in the photo was still laughing, the eyes were glinting and his lopsided smile was bright and adorned with dimples that had stolen Oikawa’s breath.

It was a photo of them, being happy together.

“I love it,” Oikawa whispered, tracing their profile with a finger, “Can I keep it?” He raised his eyes to Iwaizumi, hopefully. The agent had already informed him that, after the mission, all the photos of him were going to be deleted.

“Please, I beg you,” Oikawa prayed, biting nervously then inside of his cheek.

Iwaizumi was still staring at them, as surprised as the brunet had been, because…he seemed happy. He didn’t have many photos of himself being genuinely happy, with a proper smile. Yet, there he was, hugging a beautiful man and laughing with him as a match made by heaven. Damn, he didn’t like to brag nor he thought highly of himself, but he couldn’t avoid thinking they looked good together; not only from an aesthetical point of view, but it was the way their gaze met and their bodies latched to each other.

It was absurd seeing it from outside, he could have never imagined they could look like that. Now, he partially understood Oikawa’s fangirls excitement that morning.

Iwaizumi felt, for the first time, the scary, thrilling sensation of fitting together with another person. He fitted with Oikawa. Maybe he was just being delusional, but the longer he watched it, the stronger he felt it. They matched. They should have been like that, he wanted that.

“Hiri-chan?”

Iwaizumi snapped back from his thoughts and shook his head.

“Ah? You…can, but you’ve to promise to never show it to anyone, anyone. Or I’ll personally burn it,” he replied roughly, averting his eyes. Because yes, they fitted and yes, Iwaizumi wanted that, but the truth was he was just working as Oikawa’s bodyguard and soon everything would end. They lived in different worlds that weren’t meant to mix.

Okawa deflated a little at his sudden scowl, believing that Iwaizumi was angry for having been forced to take another photo; probably, after the end of that week, it was going to be a mess deleting all those pieces of evidence of his existence. But Oikawa needed that, he needed a proof of those days, a proof that the agent had been with him and protected him. A memory, something to look at and remember what it felt fitting together with another person, clicking like they were made to be side by side from the start; even if he couldn’t have the man, he could at least have the physical memory.

“Oikawa-san! Please come!” A man interrupted their shared, painful silence and literally dragged him away toward the center of the garden, for the final photos with the other important guests. Iwaizumi followed him like a shadow and waited near the photographer, his eyes glued to Oikawa, bearing such an intensity that the brunet could feel his cheeks reddening.

He sighed, as he was pulled into a group hug by the others.

“I just want to tell him…” he thought, glancing at the raven, “I just want to have a chance.”

“Alright! It’s the end, for today!”

Oikawa was walking toward Iwaizumi, who was waiting patiently while scanning the surrounding, when his phone vibrated, distracting him. Curious about the sudden text, he slowed down and quickly unlocked it. Maybe it was Suga.

Ah, the sender was unknown.

He opened it.

His eyes widened, his heart halted, and his mind shattered.

“Don’t say a word or your boyfriend dies. Don’t call for help, don’t scream, don’t panic. Do what I tell you or we shoot him.”

Next >

Buy Me A Flower / Ko-Fi

[everlastingcaptainswan]

Since We’re Alone (Fake dating AU) 5/?

summary: Killian Jones punched another bouncer in the face and Emma Swan threatened the paparazzi who got too close to her. With both their reputations at risk their managers pull together a deal that sure to gain them better press coverage. Who can resist watching two attractive people fall in love? 

Ao3     FF

Chapter Five: The Concert 

On Wednesday afternoon Emma arrives to Killian’s house with Mary Margaret trailing not far behind her, both of them with several bags in hand. Emma knocks on the door and Killian opens it moments later.

“Swan, Mary Margaret, Welcome come on in,” he says opening the door wide enough for them to pass through.

“Wow,” MM lets out a low whistle, “you weren’t kidding about the house.” MM gives Emma a look and Killian laughs.

“I’m touched that you’ve been talking about me, Swan,” he teases her. Emma rolls her eyes.

“I was talking about your house, but whatever. Where can Mary Margaret set up?” Emma asks.

“Follow me ladies,” he says before making his way up the stairs. They follow him and he leads them to the guest room she stayed in last time.

“I’m sure this will give you enough space to spread out with various makeup products I know nothing about,” he says standing in the doorway.

“Oh come now, Killian I’ve seen you on stage you certainly know what eyeliner is,” MM calls him out and Killian’s jaw drops and a blush crosses his cheeks. Emma cracks up laughing.

“Wow you’ve made him speechless, you’ll have to teach me how to do that,” Emma says once she’s recovered. His jaw finally snaps shut and he collects himself.

“I’ll let you get to it then,” he nods before leaving. Emma lets MM do her thing really most of it involves her sitting as still as she can with occasionally looking up or down. Her hair get swept up into an intricate updo, which Emma just tries not to touch with fear of messing it up no matter how much hair spray is in it.

“You’re fidgeting, what on earth could you be nervous about? It’s a charity gala,” MM scolds her, in true motherly fashion.

“There’s a red carpet,” Emma sighs.

“I know you don’t like them, but you’ll be fine. I’m sure Regina has thoroughly prepared Killian for that. You two have nothing to worry about,” she encourages her friend.

“I’m sure Regina has,” she smiles slightly, “I still hate them.” Mary Margaret frowns at this, looking at her friend.

“Oh my god you like him,” she calls out as if she just figured out the answer to a question no one asked.

“What? Who?” Emma says, confused as to what’s going on.

“Killian, you like him,” MM says, looking at her friend in the mirror, stopping what she is doing for a moment.

“What? No I-” Emma starts and when she sees the look Mary Margaret is giving her she stops, “Maybe I like him, but I don’t know him. Please don’t make a big deal out of this.”

“What changed?” Is all her closest friend asks, putting some finishing touches on her makeup.

“We kissed,” Emma whispers. MM lifts an eyebrow.

“Yeah the whole world saw that. I texted you that night and it didn’t seem like a big deal,” she shrugs, before she sprays Emma’s face with setting spray.

“No, we kissed at Graham’s party and it’s different with him. He’s different,” Emma shakes her head.

“You know having something with him wouldn’t be the worst thing ever,” Mary Margaret tells her friend.

“You’re the one who warned me against having feelings for him,” Emma frowns.

“I know, but he has a bad boy reputation. I’m not proud of this, but I thought it was true. He seems like a good guy, I mean he blushed when I teased him about eyeliner. Bad boys out to break your heart don’t blush. Follow your heart,” she smiles before moving to the garment bag hanging in the closet.

“Where has that gotten me in the past?” Emma asks standing up from her chair that Killian was nice enough to bring in for them.

“That’s only because they weren’t good men. Now come on you need to get into this dress,” MM gestures for her to come closer. Once the dress is zipped and her heels are on they head downstairs.

Regina and Killian are talking at the bottom of the stairs waiting for them. Their conversation stops when Killian catches sight of Emma.

“You don’t need wit to make him speechless, just a good dress,” Mary Margaret whispers so only Emma hears, a blush rises in her cheeks. They reach the bottom of the steps and Killian smiles.

“You certainly clean up well, love,” he teases.

“You’re not bad yourself, Jones,” she smirks, glancing over him a tux, which he certainly fills out well. Regina and MM rush them out the door claiming they will be late. Once in the back seat of the town car they relax a little.

“So I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” he starts and she gives him an apprehensive look, “Is Emma Swan a stage name?” she releases a sigh of relief at this. She thought he’d ask about past relationships or something.

“No, that’s my legal name, although a lot of people think it isn’t,” she tells him easily.

“You don’t meet a lot of Swans is the only reason I ask,” he tries to explain.

“You don’t meet a lot of Killians,” she smirks.

“Fair enough, but did you choose Swan?” he asks.

“In way. One of my foster families when I was younger sent me back after they had their own kid. I kept their name to remember that family is who chooses you,” she says not quite looking at him, not wanting to see if there is pity in his eyes. He places a hand on her knee and her eyes lock on his.

“Thank you for telling me that, love,” he says sincerely, no trace of pity.

“As long as we are playing the question game, how did you get that scar on your hand?” she lashes out, knowing whatever happened can’t be good. He grimaces confirming her suspicions. He looks down at the hand before looking back up at her.

“My late fiance and I were in a car accident, drunk driver plowed into us. She died on impact. Glass from the window went straight through my hand and a few other places. Had to go through a few hours of surgery to keep my most of the nerves in my hand, even after all of that they’re still pretty damaged,” he explains and she feels awful for bringing it up at all. She slips her hand into his and gazes into his blue eyes.

“Thanks are sharing that with me,” she says, hoping he understands she does not pity him. That she understands his struggle. That her loved ones have left her too, in not quite the same way, but they left all the same . He simply nods and she gives his hand a squeeze. When they arrive to the venue they both look nervous and antsy. Before the door opens Killian looks to Emma.

“Ready, love?” he asks her. She squares her shoulders and looks to him.

“Yeah, it’s showtime.” The car door opens and there are flashing cameras everywhere. Killian exits the car first in order to help Emma out of the car. She takes his hand and they make their way down the red carpet. They pose separately for a few pictures, but for the most part they are pictured together, attached to each other’s hip. At one point Killian’s hand dips even lower than her hip, giving her ass a firm squeeze, which warrants a death glare from Emma.

“Just making sure you were still paying attention, love,” he winks at her as his hand slides back up.

“You’ve got a lot of balls, Jones,” she says through a smile.

“Oh come now, love I think you liked that more than you admit,” he teases her. His comment takes her back because she did like it, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him that. A blush crosses over her cheeks.

“I’ll take that as a yes then,” he smirks, just before kissing her on the cheek, “just making sure the cameras get what they need,” he whispers in her ear. That causes shivers to run down her spine, god does she want him. He’s teasing her and she can do the same to him. She sneaks her hand up his chest, resting her hand at the back of his neck, playing with the edge of hair. She bats her eyelashes at him before pulling him in for a quick kiss. She pulls back smiling.

“Oh I’m sure they do,” she tells him. She intertwines her fingers with his, pulling him down the red carpet.

Once inside the event room Killian nudges and nods towards the dance floor. Where several couples are already dancing.

“What do you say, Swan?” he asks her, his hand placed on her lower back.

“No way, I told you I have two left feet. I have no clue how to do whatever it is they’re doing,” she tells him wide eyed.

“It’s a waltz. I told you that you just need a partner who knows what he’s doing. Come on, take a leap of faith,” he smirks at her.

“Alright, one dance and I still might step on your toes,” she warns him. He just chuckles as they walk forward. They start with a new song and he places a hand on her waist and takes one of her hands in his. He guides them through the dance.

“I feel ridiculous,” she mutters.

“You’re doing fine. Haven’t stepped on my toes once, you’re quite the natural,” he tells her with a soft smile. She blushes.

“I’m sure you tell that to all the girls,” she jokes, trying to deflect his compliment. Emma doesn’t even notice when one song fades into the next and they keep dancing.

“I certainly don’t, I haven’t danced with anyone like this in years,” he states.

“I still can’t believe you know how to dance like this,” she says shaking her head.

“I have many skills you haven’t seen yet,” he winks and she rolls her eyes.

“I’m sure you do,” she snorts. With another turn around the dance floor he dips her and presses a feather light kiss into her lips before bringing her back up, which he does with no difficulty. She’s left a little breathless, she knows MM is right that she should take a leap of faith and follow her heart or whatever. There is no denying that there is something very real between them. The song ends and everyone is instructed to take their seats. Emma hadn’t even realized how much time had passed. Hand in hand they make their way to their table. Dinner is delicious and they make polite conversation with their table mates.

Later the auction begins and Killian surprises her by bidding on a weekend in Sonoma and winning. Emma gives him a strange look, she didn’t think he would bid on anything.

“The weekend is for two, Swan. What do you say?” he says with a quirk of his eyebrow. She decides to trust him.

“How soon can we go and how private is this place?” she asks him. Emma can see the surprise on his face now.

“I’m not sure on either of those questions, but I will find out,” he tells her. She places a hand on his chest a presses a kiss into his lips. He holds tight onto her, not sure where all this is coming from, but not wanting it to go anywhere.

It’s not long after that the couple leaves the party. When he’s about to instruct the driver to Emma’s house she shakes her head and her hands moves up his thigh.

“Unless you have any objections?” she asks and he shakes his head. He instructs the driver to his house and puts up the partition in the car before pulling Emma into his arms. He cradles her head and kisses her with every ounce of passion he has. She responds in kind, her hands travel into his hair and pull tight cause him to groan into her mouth. His hand travels down and his hand massages her nipple through her dress and now it’s her turn to gasp. They pull away both their pupils blown wide.

“Not that I want this to end, but are you sure?” he asks her gazing into her jade green eyes. She smiles and kisses his forehead.

“Yes,” then a kiss on his cheek, “I,” then another on his other cheek, “am,” she says with a final kiss on his lips. His lips don’t leave hers until the car reaches Killian’s house. Reluctantly they part and make their way out of the car. Once the front door shuts behind them they can’t keep their hands off each other. They barely make it to Killian’s bed before she has his pants off her hand dipping into his boxer briefs to grab his very prominent erection. With haste he shucks those to the floor and she slides down onto her knees to take him into her mouth. Killian throws his head back and lets out a moan.

“Bloody hell, Emma,” he says through his teeth. Her head moves up and down his cock while her hands massage his balls, he might just come before he sink into her if she keeps that up. He pulls away and her mouth makes a delicious popping sound when she releases him.

“Too much?” she says with a wicked grin. He shakes his head and helps her up. His hand moves between her folds finding her clit and watches her gasp as his fingers move.

“It was delightful darling, but I didn’t want to come in your mouth. At least not this time,” he whispers in her ear. He moves her back against the bed until her calves hit the bed. They both don’t waste any time in getting naked. It’s his turn to kneel down and he presses kisses up the inside of her thighs causing her to squirm. He licks a strip up her slit and kissing her clit, sucking on it gently. Emma’s hand clench the bed spread, her body writhing under his touch.

“Hmmm, love you taste divine,” he tells her before continuing his work with his tongue. She’s biting her lip and he stops. She looks down to him dazed and confused as to why he stopped.

“Don’t do that, I want to hear every sound you make,” he tells her before diving back in. His lips suck her clit and she screams out his name and that sound alone almost makes him come. He slips a couple fingers into her and begins moving he wants her to come all over his fingers before he makes her come over his cock.

She can feel her orgasm building, normally a man can’t get her to come with just his mouth, but dear god does Killian know what to do with his tongue.

“Killian!” she moans and with one last flick of his tongue she comes over his fingers. He moves his fingers gently letting her ride out her high, pressing a final kiss into her thigh. He pulls his fingers out of her and sucks her essence off. My gods she tastes more divine than he could have ever imagined. Her eyes snap open when he plunges his cock into her. She wraps her legs around his waist. She pulls him down for a searing kiss, his lips leave hers to trail kisses down her neck and onto her breast.

“Killian,” she breathes out.

“Yes, love?” he asks after his tongue makes it way over her nipple.

“Move.” She growls her feet digging into his ass, bringing his closer.

“With pleasure,” he says as he pulls back and snaps his hips forward causing the most delightful moan to fall from her mouth. He moves at an amazing pace, something Emma’s not sure she’ll ever get enough of. She nails rake down his back, leaving red angry lines. She’s getting close to her second orgasm and she knows he can’t be far behind her. He senses it too and his hand moves down to where they’re joined and massages her clit causing her to scream out his name again. That action alone causes him to come with her falling over the edge behind him. He collapses on top of her, but not withdrawing from her. Their heavy pants fill the now quiet room. Once he regains his breathe he pulls out of her and she whimpers at the loss of him. He presses a quick kiss into her cheek. On shaky legs he then stands and goes into bathroom grabbing a couple of towels, wetting one of them. She’s practically half asleep when he comes back out. Gently he cleans her up then dries her off. After doing the same for himself Killian tosses the towels to the side before climbing into bed pulling her close. He drifts asleep with Emma in his arms.

Emma wakes up the next morning hot and not quite remembering where she is. It takes a minute, but she realizes she’s in bed with Killian Jones with him wrapped around her. His arm across her stomach and their legs intertwined. She then remembers everything from the night before. She knew they had chemistry, but she didn’t expect the sex to be like that. Part of her still wants to run, but a larger part of her wants to stay, wants to know him.

“Love, it’s far too early for whatever you’re thinking so hard about,” he mumbles and causes her to jump slightly because she had no idea he was awake. His eyes aren’t even open.

“There is no way you could have known that you’re not even awake,” she states and his eyes finally open.

“I could feel it and I am now,” he kisses her and she melts a little bit in his arms, “Do you have anywhere to be today?” he asks her. She shakes her head.

“Not until later, I promised David and MM I’d have dinner with them,” she explains.

“No worries I have band practice later. How about I make you some breakfast?” he asks her and she smiles.

“I’d like that, but I’m definitely using your shower first,” she states.

“Please feel free to use whatever is in the bathroom. I’ll be waiting downstairs,” he kisses her forehead before making his way down the steps. Emma gets out of the bed and takes out the million little bobby pins that were still somehow in her hair. She turns on the hot water all the way and removes whatever makeup is left on her face before stepping under the hot spray of water.

She won’t deny she’s still a little scared. The last time she let someone get close it destroyed her. This time feels different though, Killian’s different. Killian’s not him. What’s she feels for Killian doesn’t even come close to anything she’s felt before.

She steps out of the shower and dries off and slips on his sweatpants and t-shirt she finds in his closet. It’s not like she has anything else to wear besides her dress from last night. She makes her way downstairs and finds him humming while beating some eggs. When he spots her Killian stops with his mouth open slightly. Quickly he collects himself as she approaches him.

“I hope this is alright I just didn’t feel like wearing a ballgown to breakfast,” she jokes. He pulls her in for a searing kiss.

“It’s more than fine. I was just thinking about how you should wear my clothes more often,” he says once he let go of her. She sits on the counter while she watches him work. They end up having bacon, eggs and pancakes. Emma can’t remember the last time she woke up with someone and had breakfast the next day. It was unexpectedly nice and this part didn’t scare her one bit.

“Are you ready for the concert tomorrow?” she asks him as she helps him clean up. Something he protested, claiming she was a guest in his home. There wasn’t much he could do to stop her when she just started clearing off the table and doing the dishes.

“Aye, I think so. We have a new song we’re debuting, so we’re a little nervous to play it for the first time,” he tells her scratching his ear.

“I’m sure it’s great. I can’t wait to hear it,” she encourages him.

“Thank you, love,” he smiles. They finish cleaning up and Killian takes Emma home with promises to see her tomorrow.

Emma gets ready for the concert and is a little nervous. She tried to get Ruby or Mary Margaret to come with her, but they were both busy. She intends to knock Killian’s socks off with her outfit. She pulls on leather pants and a tight fitting Black Sails shirt. She curls her hair and some simple makeup. Regina sent a car that is on time to take her to the venue early.

Once at the venue Emma sees some paparazzi lingering by the back entrance trying to catch a glimpse of someone entering or exiting. She takes a deep breath before making her way through them, as usual she blocks them out not listening to a word they have to say. Once at the VIP entrance she gives her name to the security guard who let’s her through quickly.

Emma’s lead back to the band’s green room where the guys are messing around and Regina is on her laptop in the corner. Killian stops dead in his tracks when he sees Emma.

“Swan,” he gulps and Will lets out a wolf whistle. Which earns him a sharp look from Killian, who walks up to Emma.

“Jones,” she smirks at his reaction and looks at Will, “You must be Will, nice to meet you,” she nods.

“Nice to meet you too. This one here never shuts up about you,” Will says gesturing towards Killian, who blushes.

“No Mary Margaret or Ruby?” Killian asks her, ignoring Will altogether.

“No, both busy. Looks like you’re stuck with just me tonight,” she grins.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he smirks. Killian leads them to the couch and she gets to witness each of their different pre-show rituals. Robin is sitting in the corner headphones in, going through the motions of playing the drums. Will plays video games and Killian paces back and forth mumbling to himself.

Just before the guys are set to go onstage Regina beckons Emma, who follows.

“Here’s your pass and I only request you don’t get too drunk you can’t stand tonight. You’ll be in the VIP section in front of the stage. Security will be with you in the crowd and will bring you back here afterwards,” Regina explains. Emma takes the pass and hangs it around her neck. Before the show Emma gives Killian and quick kiss and some words of encouragement before security takes her out.

Sure enough Emma is front and center. Throughout the show Killian will smile down to her. She’s never seen them live, but oh my god they’re amazing, better than she ever imagined. She takes so many pictures and videos. She loves all their songs. They save their new song for the end and she’s not surprised by that at all. She is surprised when Killian switches to an acoustic guitar for the song. Killian walks back to the microphone.

“Tonight we have a new song for you guys,” the whole crowd roars with cheers, " I hope you guys like it, we’ve been working hard making sure it’s ready for you,” he says never taking his eyes off Emma.

“I don’t think they’re ready, what do you think, Robin?” Will messes with the crowd, who starts cheering wildly. Robin shakes his head.

“I can’t hear them, do you think they want to hear it?” Robin teases. The crowds roars even louder this time and Killian nods.

“Alright I guess they’re ready now," Killian jokes, "This song is called Since We’re Alone,” Killian smiles. The song starts off and it softer and a little slower than their other songs. Killian sings the first few lines.

“Like the rain on a sunny day

There's a shadow behind your face

Tell me what you're running from

I don't know what made you so afraid,” he voices plays out through the speakers. That line catches her attention, his eyes piercing through her.

“Don't you know you got the best of me? Yeah, you're everything I want,” Killian continues on. Her heart almost stops in her chest at this, it certainly takes her breath away.

“Anyone can see

Anyone can see

Your heartache, heartache,” Killian sings.

“Heartache, heartache,” Will echoes.

“You can talk to me

It's more than skin deep

But I'm trying, yeah,” Killian closes his eyes here. Fuck, is this song about her?

“Trying,” Will echoes again.

“Since we're alone

Yeah, you can show me your heart

If you put it all in my hand

No, I swear

No, I won't break it apart

Yeah, since we're alone

Show me all that you are

And if you get lost in the light

It's okay, I can see in the dark,” Killian sings with a confident smirk on his face. Will takes over the next part.

“All your thoughts running through your head

The things you think better left unsaid

Just wanna know where you came from

Why would you wanna play someone else?

I love you best when you're just yourself

Yeah, you're everything I want.” Not once does she take her eyes off of Killian. The chorus starts again and god, she’s never felt anything like this in her life. She never felt this strongly about him, never. She knows it’s only been a short time, but she thinks she’s falling for him and that terrifies her. No one has been this close to her in a long time.

“Since we're alone

Yeah, you can show me your heart,” Killian takes over again.

“Show me your heart,” Will echoes .

“If you put it all in my hand

No, I swear

No, I won't break it apart.”

“Break it apart, yeah,” Will echoes.

“Yeah, since we're alone

Show me all that you are,” Killian croons.

“Show me all that you are,” Will matches.

“And if you get lost in the light

It's okay, I can see in the dark,” Killian says while strumming away.

“I can see in the dark,” Will matches Killian again. Now there are tears pooling in her eyes. The tough bad boy Killian Jones wrote her a sappy love song and it warms her heart. She doesn’t even have the words to tell him how much she loves it.

“Since we're alone, lone, lone

Alone

Show me your heart

Since we're alone, lone, lone

Yeah, we're alone now

Show me your heart,” Killian finishes the song with a dramatic flourish. Emma has no words for what she’s feeling. He gives her a concerned look and she just shakes her head, smiling. A grins spread across his face. The crowd loves the song and they are cheering so loud that night. The guys take a bow after that and the show’s over. Security takes her backstage and she practically runs into the band. Once she realizes who it is, Emma grabs Killian by the shirt and pulls him in for a kiss. His arms wrap around her and hold tight. He deepens the kiss and just then Will clears his throat and they break apart, Emma blushing. They walk hand in hand back to the green room.

Regina is waiting for them smiling looking like she could burst from the seems.

“Everyone loves your new song! It will be released as a single when the rest of the album is ready,” Regina says with a look to Killian, who just nods.

“On it boss,” he mock salutes her.

“Also you have been nominated for several iHeartRadio awards. The nominees were just announced,” Regina smiles. Her husband swoops in for a kiss. Killian scoops Emma in his arms and swings her in a circle. His happiness is so infectious she laughs at this. Will pours himself a drink. They all settle down after a few minutes celebration. After the surprise fades away a sinking feeling grows in Emma’s stomach. She’ll have to go and he’ll be there.

“So Miss Swan, the iHeartRadio awards will be held in about three weeks. I’m sure you’ll be able to attend?” she asks, even though at this point they all know there’s not much of a choice. In this moment she really wishes she had a choice. She wishes she could say no or unfortunately I’m busy that night, but that is impossible to say because of that damned contract.  Emma’s stomach drops and her heart rate spikes. He will be there, he always is. Him and his stupidly good band. She pushes her panic down and clears her throat.

“Of course,” she nods, feeling like she’s going to throw up. Regina just smiles and turns to Robin, the two immediately get lost in conversation. Emma clenches Killian’s hand without even thinking about it

“Love, are you alright?” he whispers, concerned. She let’s go of his hand. Emma puts on a good face, but he knows when something is wrong with her. He may not know what it is, but something has upset her.

“I’m fine,” she lies, he doesn’t know about that , “Your show was amazing. The guys were great. You were great. That new song...” She rambles on, distracting herself from the pit in her stomach.

“Thank you, Swan. The new song is just the beginning,” he tells her. Killian knows she’s not telling him the truth, but he won’t push her. He’ll let her tell him in her own time. He wants to tell her the new song is about her, but that’s something she needs to figure out for herself.

That night he takes Emma home kissing her against her front door and she has half the mind to invite him inside, but she has an early morning. Rather reluctantly he leaves and she's sad to watch him go.

A couple of days later David and Emma swing by Killian’s house to talk with him and Regina to discuss some details about their upcoming schedules. Killian and Emma sit back and let them work, that is until the awards show comes up.

“The iHeartRadio award show is that Sunday night,” Regina says, shaking her head while looking at the calendar. David turns to Emma, with a concerned look on his face.

“Ems, are you sure about that?” he asks her. It’s just an award show, what would be concerning about it? Killian muses. None of this makes sense. Emma’s panicked reaction when Regina brought it up last week and now this.

“David, it’s fine,” she snaps sternly. Regina raises an eyebrow at this and looks to Killian who shrugs, not having a clue what’s going on. He hasn’t seen her since the concert she’s been busy with meetings for the bond movie and he’s been trying to finish up the last couple of songs for the album. He knows something is bothering her, but it never seemed like the right time to talk about it. Hell, they haven’t even talked about what happened after the gala.

“I know, but-” David starts, but she interrupts him.

“We’re not having this conversation again. I said I’d go, so I will,” she snaps and stands up, “Excuse me, I need some air.” With that she bolts out of the kitchen and out onto his patio. Killian gets up and follows Emma out. He finds Emma with her back towards the house, looking out at the view.

“Emma, what’s going on?” he asks, getting straight to the point. She sighs and looks at him, eyes full of anger.

“My ex will be at the award show,” she says through her teeth. She’s mad, but there is something else there as well.  

“Ah I see. I take it that things didn’t end well with you two?” he asks.

“You would be correct. He’s a vindictive bastard, he won’t pass up on the opportunity to confront me,” she shakes her head. Killian wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her in.

“I’ll be there, Robin will be there, and Will too. There will be plenty of people by your side and to keep him away from you. I dare him to say anything to my woman,” he says which elicits an eye roll and a smack of his chest from her, “Ah, there’s my Swan.” She chuckles at this.

“Thank you. I haven’t seen him since… well it’s been awhile,” she says.

“What are fake boyfriends for?” he jokes and she smiles again. My gods if he could keep that smile on her face all the time he would.

“We both know this isn’t fake anymore,” she tells him, stepping out of his arms.

“I know that, but I must admit it is rather fun to tease you, even if it only gets a smile out of you,” he tells her.

“You need to stop saying things like that,” she sighs.

“Oh yeah and why’s that?” he asks tilting his head.

“Because it makes me like you more than I should,” she admits before heading back inside, he gladly follows her. He’d follow her anywhere.

Notes: This song is my whole inspiration for this story. I heard it and knew it fit Captain Swan perfectly. Hope you guys liked the chapter! Thanks for reading.

[jikookxkookmin]

Jikook FF (2/?)

Just a few words: I hope I didn't make too many grammar mistakes, please keep in mind that English isn't my first/native language and I try to improve my skills! However, you're welcome to tell me if there are mistakes, so that I can fix them. Also please tell me what you think about the story so far! And now... enjoy reading, my dear Armys!❤

CAUTION: vulgar language! Many cuss words! (If you're not comfortable with reading such things, please don't)

Enjoy!🔥

It was rough to wake up at 6 am when you had barely two hours of sleep. Jimin was forced to wake up by his mother who was extremely annoyed by his behaviour. "Do you think I've got time for this? Move your damn ass, Park Jimin!", she shouted, pulling away his blanket. Jimin groaned and looked at her angrily, after he could successfully open his eyes. "Just leave me alone, it's my education and my choice to stay in bed!" - "Is this your way of thinking? I can't believe you're my son! The nurses must have made a mistake and gave me another baby, which obviously isn't my child! Park Jimin, I'm gonna tell you one last time to get up or else I will..." - "It's okay! Just go to work.", he answered loudly and stood up. He didn't say anything else, just slowly walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

Warm water was running down his body, making his muscles relax. He shouldn't have been dancing so much last night, was what he thought the whole time, but it was already too late to undo his actions now. He rubbed his eyes, washed his face with the warm water and heavily breathed. He wanted to get out of his house before Jungkook would wait for him in his goddamn car. Like he already mentioned, he'd rather drown than driving with Jungkook to his school. Since Jungkook wanted to drive him there, Jimin figured out that they will go to the same school as well. So not just neighbors, but also classmates if Jimin is unfortunate.

He hurrily got out of the shower and put on some clothes, before throwing his school books in his bag. He then dried his hair and went downstairs to eat breakfast. His brother was sitting on a chair, but his head was resting on the table and it seemed like he fell asleep again. Jimin slightly smiled and finished eating in ten minutes. He had enough time to walk to school now. At least that was what he thought. He opened the door and right in front of his house was Jungkook, leaning against his black car. "Oh hell no. I told you I won't-" - "Give up, Jimin. You can't disobey me and you know it damn well.", Jungkook laughed, opened the door for Jimin. "You sick brat, I'm not going with you!" - "Are you scared, Jiminnie?", Jungkook teased him, fully aware of what he was doing.

Jimin couldn’t believe or just didn't want to believe what happened right now, it was exactly like their old conversations in which Jimin always gave up. But not this time! After Jungkook moved without telling Jimin, he swore that he will never be Jungkook's friend or whatever you can call it. Jimin felt betrayed after Jungkook left him alone without an explanation, even though Jimin did everything for him and maybe that was his mistake. So what he could have learn out of this part of his life was that he won't get involved of any kind of situation with Jungkook ever again.

"I am not scared, Jeon Jungkook. Which is, by the way, the reason why I stand up against you! So fuck off, get your ass away from me.", Jimin growled. The taller boy watched as Jimin walked away. "Ya! Do you think I'll just let that happen? I'll give you a second chance to get in my car because I'm in a good mood today.", he said. Jimin stopped walking. Jungkooks voice, the way he talked, made him shutter. "Fucking hell. Jeon Jungkook, I'm so tired and if I wouldn't be so sleepy, I'd never do this. Fuck you.", he groaned and angrily got into Jungkook's car.

"Good boy." - "I'm not a dog, bastard. Shut up and drive.", Jimin answered. What a great fucking way to start the day. "I'm gonna call you that anyway. So-", Jungkook fastened the seat belt and began to drive. "Are you excited to go to school again? Which your best friend?", he asked him. Jimin looked at him, his eyes seemed to be completely focused on the streets in front of them and he furrowed his eyebrows. "Taehyung? You remember him?" - "I actually meant myself, but yeah, whatever.", Jungkook hissed. "Why would I consider you as my best friend?", Jimin couldn’t hold back a laughter. "You'll see, Chimchim.", Jungkook grinned. "So..still that Taehyung guy, mh? Seems like you will be friends forever." - "yeah, but why would you even care?", the smaller one was curios but didn't get an answer. Jungkook stayed quite for the rest of the drive.

They finally arrived at the school and Jimin got out of his car as fast as he could. "Meet me after school here again, so I can take you home." - "You wish!", Jimin shouted as he already walked inside the school. When the school bell rang, Jimin was in his classroom and after the lesson started Taehyung arrived as well. "I'm sorry.", he apologized to his teacher and sat down next to Jimin. "We've got a new student. Would you please introduce yourself?" - "Sure. I'm Kim Jennie and well.. I was studying in New Zealand for a while but came back to Korea because.. my parents wanted me to. So here I am.", a stunningly beautiful girl said and her smile reminded Jimin of a puppy. She sat down and Jimin had to listen to Taehyung talking about her the whole lesson but it was fine with him, at least Jungkook wasn't his classmate!

"Isn't she cute? Have you seen her face? Like.. it's pretty but also cute and her eyes are shining like-" - "Taehyung, shut the fuck up now. Why don’t you just talk to her instead of getting on my nerves? Fuck off.", Jimin mumbled. "You're right! I'll talk to her! But what should I say?" - "I don't freaking know! Ask her if she already knows the campus or something similar. I don't give a shit.", Jimin shook his head as he placed his books inside his locker. "What's wrong, Jiminnie? Still annoyed because of our car ride?", a dark voice asked. Jimin didn't even have to turn around to see who it was and the confused face of Taehyung's already explained everything. "You're back? Fuck, Jimin! What the hell? Why haven't you told me about-" - "Get lost, Tae. Go and talk to Jennie.", Jimin said quickly and gladly he agreed. He seemed to be skeptical or..angry? But he walked away and left Jimin alone with Jungkook.

"Well, your face doesn't lighten up my mood so-" - "It will soon, princess. How were your first two lessons?", Jungkook asked and nodded towards a pale boy who was dressed in only black clothes as well. "Jungkook, what are you trying to do? I'm not gonna be your friend anyway, so why are you even trying so hard?", the smaller one asked. "Ya, what’s this guy doing here with you? Is he bothering you? Should I take care of this?", the pale boy said while walking up to them. He seemed to be at least a little bit friendly, but his voice was so hateful. "Not necessary. You know damn well I can fight for myself so fuck off, Yoongi.", Jungkook groaned. The pale boy didn't even show a single emotion. "Hella crazy...", Jimin whispered to himself while staring a the boy. "What did you say, brat? Do you wanna get in trouble?" - "Yoongi, calm the fuck down!" - "Jungkook, get lost!" - "Don't fucking talk to us like that!", Yoongi said, his fist clenched tightly. Jungkook sighed. "Alright, whatever you want, princess.", he said while walking away.

Yoongi still stood in front of Jimin, staring at him aggressively. "Calm down, Yoongi. I'm not the one bothering Jungkook! I am the victim here. He's a fucking-" - "Shut the fuck up! I don't want to hear your goddamn voice anymore!", Yoongi shouted loudly, his fist quickly punching Jimins face, making him stumble. He got pushed against the lockers, hitting his head. "What the fuck?!", Jimin screamed, wiping away the blood which flowed out of his nose. He could already feel his nose swell and turning blue. He groaned. His head hurt like hell and he felt dizzy. Before Jimin could think his following actions over, he let his fist meet Yoongis cheek. He stumbled back, just like Jimin did, but stood up straight shortly after. "You wanna die?", Yoongi asked angrily, trying to hit Jimin again, but gladly he could duck in time. It seemed like Yoongi was out of control, he wasn't himself anymore. He tried to punch him again and again, and Jimin was able to protect himself one more time but unfortunately Yoongi's next punch hit him straight in his eye, making Jimin completely break down. "Don't you ever dare to come near me again, sick bastard!", Yoongi said under his heavy breath, leaving him alone.

Jimin coughed. His nose was throbbing and bleeding and his vision was blurred. "Jimin! What happened?!", Taehyung's voice hysterical screamed as he ran towards Jimin laying on the ground. Jimin groaned in pain. "Did Jungkook hit you?!" - "No." - "You don't have to protect that asshole!" - "It wasn't him, goddammit!" - "Jimin, you have to tell our principal!" - "It wasn't Jungkook, just... stop, Taehyung.", Jimin weakly got up, heavily breathing. "Please don’t tell anyone, Taehyung! I'm begging you!", Jimin said desperately. You could clearly see how Taehyung struggled to accept his decision, but he finally agreed. "Fine, but let me talk to Jungkook because of it! I can't believe he wasn't the culprit!" - "It wasn't him, don't you dare talk to him!", Jimin sighed and closed his locker. He grabbed his backpack and walked away. His head ached and almost everything hurt now. Right before Jimin left the school, because he surely wasn't able to go to any lesson again, he saw Jungkook standing with other boys smoking cigarettes. Jimin didn't give a single fuck at this point, so he called him over. Jungkook immediately recognised Jimins wounds and seemed to be... concerned?

"How did that happen?" - "Ask your fucking friend." - "Yoongi? Did he-" - "Whatever. Can you give me a ride home?" - "Yeah, sure.", Jungkook said without hesitation.

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment and reblog if you want to. Opinions are welcomed!

[ellanainthetardis]

Is it that easy to take care of a baby... A discovery ;)

[FF] or [AO3]

29. Thirty-Five Weeks

Doing groceries had never been Haymitch’s favorite hobby. Doing groceries while following to the letter a list Effie had written was, maybe, even worse.

She was very irritable lately. The mood swings were back full force, she alternated between periods of complete impatience at the baby’s arrival and periods of utter dread. She refused to talk about it with him but he knew she was having doubts about being able to pull it off again. She was having nightmares, he was certain she would have stayed in bed if she had been able to find a comfortable position, and, more than once, he had found her leaning against the nursery’s doorframe, staring at the crib, hugging herself. Other times, she just whirled around the house, fixing stuff that wasn’t ready yet for the shrimp.

One month to go.

Haymitch clung to that idea with every fiber of his being. He was counting down the days, mainly because Effie wasn’t at her best and he hated seeing her like that. He understood most of her anxiety came from the fact she was mostly trapped in the house, unable to settle because her stomach was in the way or the baby was kicking or she wasn’t feeling well… It wasn’t conductive to relaxing and she couldn’t really take her mind off it.

And she seemed intent on making him pay for it.

To be fair, he did have a hand in getting her knocked up so…

He wasn’t going to infuriate her further by picking up the wrong brand, which was why he had been staring at toothpastes for more than five minutes, trying to recall which one she usually bought. And his memory was blank. He settled for strawberry flavored in the end, figuring that, with Effie, you couldn’t go wrong with strawberry.

He exited the shop with relief because the next part would be much easier. Snowball jumped up from where he had been lurking next to the door and stuck close to his leg not to get lost. Market day was always busy and he didn’t like crowds but the faces were more or less all familiar and it helped a little. He picked up fresh vegetables, fruits and everything else they needed in a hurry. He didn’t like leaving her for long period of time, all the more so when the puppy – who really wasn’t a puppy anymore – was with him.

Not that he was expecting another Clay any time soon. While what happened that night wasn’t public knowledge, rumors were flying left and right. His death was the only straight fact they had, the rest was all conjectures but… The man was dead. It didn’t matter what had happened, the uncertainty only reinforced the idea that attacking them wouldn’t end well for the attacker. Either Haymitch had killed Clay – which was the most popular theory – or a pregnant Effie Trinket had – and they had all been underestimating the escort. In any case… A message had been sent.

He just wished the blood had been on his hands instead of Effie’s.

He wasn’t wary about a possible attack as he strode through town in the direction of the Village, Snowball dashing a few feet away of him. He was wary of anything happening while he wasn’t there to check on her. The closer they got to the end, the harder it became to quench his protective instincts.

He knew he was smothering her sometimes but he couldn’t help it. He needed to make sure she was alright.  

He struggled with the door, his arms full of grocery bags, not helped by the way Snowball clawed at the wood to be let in faster. Samoyeds were supposed to enjoy being outside but Effie had pampered him so much that, while he enjoyed going out and playing in the backyard, Snowball was happiest when he was curled up somewhere next to one of them – preferably on the bed or the couch. Lately, he had taken to use cuddle time to curiously sniff her stomach. It was as if he knew there was someone else in there. Effie thought it was the cutest thing. Haymitch refused to admit it was pretty cute.

The noise assaulted him as soon as he managed to push the door open. When he had left, she had been furiously knitting on the couch, sulking about something or other… And now there was a baby wailing inside the house.

His heart stopped beating in his chest.

Literally.

And then, as if to compensate this small mishap, it started racing to the point Haymitch felt dizzy. He dropped the grocery bags on the kitchen table, running after Snowball who, as usual, was rushing straight to wherever Effie was.

His only thought was that labor had somehow started while he was gone and that she had been forced to deliver alone.

He was fully expecting blood and gore in their brand new living-room.

Finding her pacing, tears silently running down her cheeks, with a baby in a pink dress struggling in her arms was almost anticlimactic. And, still, his eyes roamed around looking for blood or clues about a possible emergency birth despite the fact that Effie was still clothed and standing, still heavily pregnant, and that the baby was clearly a couple of months old.

A baby he also knew to be Fanny for having seen her often enough in the Clarke’s arms.

“The fuck?” he breathed out anyway.

“Oh, Haymitch!” she exclaimed with utter relief – and since she didn’t call him out on his language in the presence of a baby, he figured it must be bad. “Please, help me…”

He blinked once, twice, and then crept closer to her. She stopped pacing and tried to rock the child but she wouldn’t stop wailing at the top of her lungs. She was screaming so hard her face was all red and Haymitch was scared she would suffocate.

“Where’s Eileen?” he frowned.

“I told her I would babysit so she could have some time with Livy…” Effie explained, biting down on her bottom lip. “Liam is at the coffee shop and between work and the baby… I knew she wanted some time with her oldest daughter and I thought it would be good practice so I offered but…” Effie’s face crumpled and, before he understood what was happening, he had two wailing girls on his hands. “She won’t stop crying! She hates me! I cannot do this, Haymitch, I cannot!”

“Okay, okay…” he pacified, automatically reaching out for the baby because Effie didn’t seem too steady on her legs. He froze before he could take her though. He had no idea how to carry an infant and his hands were shaking anyway. He switched tracks fast, grabbing Effie’s shoulders instead and nudging her toward the couch. “Sit down, sweetheart. We’ll figure it out.”

“What is there to figure out?” she sobbed. “Babies hate me. What were we thinking? We can’t have a baby! We know nothing about babies!”

“We read enough…” he grumbled, looking around for an idea… His eyes fell on Snowball who was sitting in a corner, strangely quiet. The puppy looked at him, bolted for his bed, snatched the purple monkey and ran out of the room. “Traitor.” Haymitch muttered under his breath.

“I did everything I was supposed to.” Effie countered, still crying. She never used to cry before this pregnancy and now… He figured it must have been hormones or exhaustion. Fat tears were rolling down her cheeks and her nose… “I changed her, I fed her… I rocked her… I even tried singing but… Nothing is working!”

He spotted the diaper bag open on an armchair and snatched the first thing that looked like a toy. It was round and it made noises, that was enough for him. He waved it above Fanny’s head, hoping it would help… Effie held her breath, trying to collect herself…

For a glorious second, there was silence. Fanny let out a strangled chirp and waved her tiny chubby hand as if to catch the toy… The next moment, she was crying again.

“No, no, no…” Haymitch panicked. “Here, take it…” He placed the toy closer to her fingers, he waved it, made it jingle to catch her attention… To no avail… “You’re sure she’s not hungry?”

Effie shook her head, her lips wobbling. “She never cries with Eileen. She hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you.” he grumbled, rolling his eyes. He poked at the baby’s tummy. “Maybe she’s broken…”

“Babies don’t get broken.” she snapped and then hesitated. “Did I break the baby?”

“Of course you didn’t break the baby.” he immediately denied, sensing venturing on that ground wouldn’t end well.

“Take her, please…” she requested, leaning a bit closer so he could relieve her of the girl. He immediately shook his head, taking a – admittedly peeved – step back. She pursed her lips. “Haymitch, I need you to take her. Aidan is pressing on my bladder and I badly need to…”

“Tell the shrimp to stop.” he cut her off. “’Cause there’s no way I’m picking up that kid.”

“She won’t bite.” she taunted. “She doesn’t have teeth.”

But, boy, did she have lungs…

He was tempted to go back to town to buy earplugs.

“What did you go and offer to babysit for?!” he accused, raising his voice to be heard over the wailing.

“Because I thought it would be nice!” she retorted on the same tone. “Now, stop being an idiot and take this baby off my hands.”

“What are you? Nuts? I can’t carry a baby.” he sputtered, raising his hands defensively.

The tremor wasn’t that bad now that he had recovered from the panic of thinking she had given birth by herself – and wouldn’t that have been a nice story to tell their son later on: Hey, shrimp, guess what, Papa missed your birth ‘cause he was wondering if Mama would kill him over strawberry toothpaste…

“And what do you plan to do with ours?” she hissed.

“Hand you stuff while you carry him?” he replied, only now realizing that plan was stupid. Plus, he wanted to hold their baby but maybe… Maybe while he was sitting or when he was sure he couldn’t let him fall…

“Haymitch.” she growled – and he knew that growl, that growl meant trouble.

“I don’t want to break her!” he protested.

“No chance of that, it seems I already did.” she deadpanned. “Help me now or I swear…”

She left the threat to hang in the air. He almost told her to go fuck herself. That was what he would have done months earlier but it was different now. And it would remain different as long as she was pregnant with their child. It wasn’t just about him not liking to be bossed around, it was also about her well-being – because she wasn’t supposed to be stressed dammit.

“For the record, sweetheart, you’re being bitchy again.” he mumbled.

However, he did come closer, sitting down next to her before he could change his mind. She tried to hand Fanny to him but he had no clue how to even start holding her. Effie seemed to realize what the problem was and placed his arms the right way. Before long, he had a screaming wriggling baby locked in his arms.

It was way heavier than he had thought it would be.

“At last.” Effie sighed in relief, hauling herself up and waddling out of the room.

“Don’t be long.” he shouted after her, not even ashamed of how terrified he sounded.

It was all well and good to get used to a pregnancy or to the idea of a kid, it was completely something else to find themselves face to face with the reality of what having a baby would be.

Once he was sure his muscles wouldn’t suddenly give in to spasms just to make his day worse, he mustered enough confidence to try rocking the little girl. He awkwardly hummed the only lullaby he knew, the one that always calmed the shrimp when he was acting up in Effie’s stomach… No luck.

Effie was taking her sweet time coming back and Fanny was heavy. He experimentally shifted her weight to his left arm, propping her on his lap so his right hand was free. He didn’t know why he started rubbing her tummy, it was a bit instinctive.

She stopped crying.

“Look at that…” he smiled, his shoulders slouching in relief. “You’ve just got a stomach ache, yeah?”

“Did you kill…” Effie’s question died on her lips when she caught sight of them. She planted her hands on her hips and watched, not quite as pleased as he thought she should have been – he had found a way to stop the infernal wailing after all. “It figures she would like you best. Well, this settles that. Babies hate me.”

“Babies don’t hate you. Girls just like me better.” he smirked. “Can’t help it, sweetheart.”

She rolled her eyes. “Nobody likes a bragger.”

“You did.” he taunted, the familiar banter finishing to put him at ease.

At least, until the baby started wailing again.

“What did you do?” Effie exclaimed in dismay.

“Nothing!” he swore, rubbing Fanny’s stomach again.

Nothing worked.

They shared a look of horror.

They tried rocking her, they tried walking, they tried feeding her and changing her, they tried playing with her, they tried lullabies and more up-beat songs…

Fanny cried until Effie had trouble not crying herself again and until Haymitch developed a headache the size of District Seven.

He had never been as relieved as when Eileen invaded their house without knocking, probably having heard the baby from the Village’s gates – or she did knock and they didn’t notice over the wailing.

It was like magic.

The moment Fanny was in her mother’s arms, she went quiet.

Haymitch might have been a bit rude with how fast he walked the woman back to the door but Effie was so exhausted, she didn’t even lecture him about it.    

He dropped down on the couch next to her and let his head fall on the back of the seat, staring at the ceiling. Effie was very quiet.

“It won’t be the same, sweetheart.” he promised.

He wasn’t quite convinced though and she must have picked up on it because she swallowed hard, rubbing the baby bump in that nervous habit she had developed those past few months.

“What if it is?” she whispered. “What if we cannot do it?”

“Effie…” he sighed.

“No.” she cut him off firmly. “You said we could do it and I wanted to believe you but what if we can’t? What if…”

“One day at a time.” he reminded her. “We take it one day at a time.”

“We cannot take it one day at a time when a child is involved.” she hissed, hauling herself off the couch. She was growing frantic, retracing the length from the fireplace to the bookshelves again and again. “What were we thinking? We were selfish. So selfish. We aren’t equipped to deal with a baby. We…”

“Effie.” he insisted, propping his elbows on his thighs. He wanted her to calm down before she worked herself up in a panic attack but he knew that if he tried to force her to sit down right now it would be worse. He tracked her every move with his eyes, ready to bolt and catch her at the slightest hint of fainting.

“Tell me he wouldn’t be better with a mother who knows what she is doing.” she accused. “Tell me there aren’t better people out there who could raise him so much better than…”

“You want to give him up?” he sneered, more mocking than concerned. She had spent three hours embroidering Aidan’s name on a baby blanket she had knitted herself the previous day – for the birth, she had said. No one would spend that much time on such a project only to abandon the child.

“Of course not!” she snarled, wrapping her arms around her stomach in a protective stance, shooting him such a glare… He didn’t even bother pointing out how little sense she was making, he simply lifted a hand to silently illustrate his point. Her face softened a little but she didn’t stop pacing. “I am scared.”

The admission was quiet, almost too low for him to hear.

“Look…” he offered, reaching out to grab her wrist the next time she walked past him. She stopped moving but she wasn’t meeting his eyes and she still had her other arm wrapped around her stomach. “We’re gonna fuck up. Everyone does, yeah? It’s normal…”

“Language.” she chided faintly.

“That kid, it’s not ours.” he insisted, nodding at the living-room door where Fanny had disappeared in her mother’s arms a few minutes earlier. “We’re supposed to get some kind of instinct along with the baby, yeah? We don’t have the baby yet so…”

“No superpower will magically appear, Haymitch.” she scowled.

“Sure it will.” he shrugged. “Parental instinct or something.” She scoffed dismissively and he squeezed her wrist. “That tingling feeling you get every time Katniss is about to do something crazy and dangerous?”

“When isn’t she?” she challenged. “It is hardly any proof that…”

“How do you always know when the boy isn’t doing well, then?” he insisted. “How do you always know he needs to talk or whatever?”

“Because I know him.” she dismissed.

“And you’ll know the shrimp.” he argued.

“It is not the same thing at all.” she countered, turning to face him, forcing him to look up. He tugged her closer, propping his chin on her stomach. Her lips twitched and she ran her hand in his hair, brushing it back. “Do not look so cute, this is cheating.” He only smirked in answer, pressing a quick kiss to her stomach. She sighed but relented. “Katniss and Peeta have never been dependent on us like Aidan will be. We will be his everything. What if we fail?”

“We’ll try not to fail where it matters.” he promised.

“That’s not enough.” she breathed out, resting her hand on his shoulder.

“It’s gonna have to be.” he answered. “’Cause that’s all anyone can do, sweetheart.”

She swallowed hard but made an obvious effort to collect herself. “We will love him.”

“Yeah.” he smiled, covering the hand on his shoulder with his.

“More than anything.” she insisted.

“More than anything.” he nodded. “And we’ll keep him safe.”

“Yes.” she approved. “We will keep him safe.”

They remained like that for a little while, not quite embracing but close to each other anyway.

“You feel better?” he asked eventually. He wanted her to sit down, she had been on her feet for too long, but he didn’t want to upset her further either.

“Not really.” she confessed. “But we will be fine. We always are.”

He wasn’t sure if it was a lie meant to comfort herself or an actual belief of hers.

He wasn’t sure they were always fine.

They survived, rather.

That was who they were.

[heir-to-the-diamond-throne]

Rover Red 02

The Ricketts episode!!

She just says hello? Just..just like that. Omfg she’s going to be taken advantage of so much I can already feel the rage coming on

“That’s silty” I love this slang omg

SHE RANG THE DOORBELL AGAIN

“Are you a Rover?” THE MAN ASKS THE SMALL CHILD DRESSED UP IN A ROVER SUIT WITH A ROVER BLADE AND ROVER GEAR

What the hell happens at the ceremony? Is Leah missing something vital? And why does the man relax once he finds out she’s a Rover? Are they expecting someone else to visit?

SHE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE PLACE IS CALLED. WHICH EDGELORD NAMED IT APOCALYPSE? 

EVEN HE ASKED ABOUT THE MAP. I WAS SO RIGHT.

Holy shit E.V.i.E. comes through! Leah this time listen to the suspect monitoring device screwed into your head and maybe NOT trust everyone you meet with delicate internal information on how the Rover Compounds work? Especially as you know of at least two now that have been destroyed?

Also Leah bby we have to work on your subtlety and lying. You are not good at it at all.

“Who’s your brother?” / “Jonah.” / “Never heard of him.” ffs why would the guy know him as Jonah? He doesn’t speak! Even if he had once gone to the skyscraper how would he tell them his name??

Oh shit. He knows the mute boy..

Uh oh..

RICKETTS!! I LOVE HER!

“Its quite embarrassing how Leah tells people she’s a Rover and then doesn’t know the proper way to interact. I’ll help her. I guess.” - E.V.i.E. who are you talking to?? The Rover Council or the creepy voice? Also you could have stepped in a lot sooner!

A beast from the upper levels? Fed, comfortable, and entertained? Knowing what I do about Famine that is actually horrifying. Ricketts what do you do..?

The beasts “volunteer” a member to experience the life of a Famine Noble? Why would they need to volunteer? Surely they would be vying for a place? Something isn’t right here. Why do they not want to be a noble?

E.V.i.E keeps making snide asides and I am LIVING but also going to kick E.V.i.E’s ass for not helping my baby. WHY DON’T YOU TELL HER RICKETTS IS LYING?? WHY ARE YOU LETTING HER WALK INTO THIS BLIND? IF LEAH DIES SHE WON’T BE ABLE TO GET HERSELF AND JONAH TO YOUR CREEPY VOICED FRIEND

“Tell me all you can of this mute boy, Jonah.” - UUUH WEREN’T YOU SUPPOSED TO KNOW INFORMATION ABOUT HIM? WHY DID LEAH ENTER THE CREEPY DEATH TOWER IF YOU DON’T?

Oooh E.V.i.E can tell when OTHER people’s heart rates pick up? Interesting.. And it seems everyone is obsessed with Leah and Jonah’s blood.

“A shame, really, she might have been of value to her if she’d been related to the boy by blood.” - E.V.i.E how do you know Ricketts is thinking this? Unless E.V.i.E knows because all the high power players want Jonah for the same reasons.. If that’s the case then WHY WHY WHY is she letting Leah go in blind! Do you know how much trouble she’s going to get into? She’s like a cat! This is going to rapidly spiral out of E.V.i.E’s control lmao Leah is so innocent and reactionary that she’s going to mess up any and all plans they have for her.

She needs something in exchange? Baby this is shady as fuck just get out of there already :( 

Wooooow Ricketts REALLY doesn’t like Jolene (jolene, jooleeee~ene!) Also why the fuck would Leah know her? She’s obviously green, even your beast picked up on that. Also you’re trying to manipulate the fuck out of her and it’s WORKING gdi everyone fucking with my child today! She’s had a rough week LEAVE HER ALONE (Also Ricketts/Jolene would be an amazing hate OTP lol)

oH finally! Leah gets a map!

omg my baby has no idea how to negotiate! She’s going to be taken advantage oooo-oH MY GOD RICKETTS THOUGHT LEAH WAS SAYING NO TO HER! BABY SUBTLETY! SUBTLETY! PLEASE! YOU’RE GOING TO DIE! WHO LET THIS CHILD OUT INTO THE WORLD?! SOMEONE WRITE ME INTO THIS STORY SO I CAN GIVE HER A BLANKET AND HIDE HER AWAY FROM THE HORRIBLE PEOPLE FOR GODS SAKE

This is so stressful D:

Oooh ok maybe Leah might live after all.. Also Ricketts don’t pretend like you wouldn’t give your left arm for the necklace. I’m sure you can spare two minutes so Leah can think. You’re going to get around everything with loopholes anyway.

“My hearing is superior to yours” - sassy E.V.i.E strikes again

Leah needs to be more specific? E.V.i.E you love making her jump through hoops don’t you? I’m pretty sure you would have been able to answer that without wasting time.

“I want every bit of information you have on Jonah so I can find him myself.” Leah. Leah baby. How will you know she’s telling you everything? Matter of fact how wil you know she’s telling you the truth? She could lie through her teeth and you won’t know the difference! 

You know, E.V.i.E, you could just be helpful and tell Leah these things before she has to ask stupid question, instead of...oh I don’t know...making snarky asides about my child’s incompetence?? Just a thought??

HE HAS A BRAND ON HIS BACK! LEAH STOP TALKING OUT LOUD WHEN YOU’RE IN ENEMY TERRITORY

Hoooly shit my baby is brilliant with a sword! You go baby! Make Ricketts backtrack! That’s right don’t turn your back on them!

“I suppose that could have gone...worse.” - yeah no shit sherlock! You sure didn’t help her much!

Yes Leah! Get E.V.i.E to read you the book as you travel! That would save time and then you would know when people (and AIs) are trying to take advantage of your ignorance! 

A hand with a straight razor cutting through the devils tail?! I guess the same edgelord who named it Apocalypse also designed the sigils jfc

So the Famine necklace was found IN the compound when her brother went missing. My guess is someone is trying to either frame Famine, or frame Jolene. Also it looks like my guess about someone using the tunnel for nefarious reasons is true. Poor Jonah :(

Who is the message for? Ha, my baby is finally calling E.V.i.E out! The message is for Jonah? Why would the bloody smiley face be for him? wasn’t it for whoever went back to the table? AFTER Jonah was kidnapped? I think there might be two messages and they’re being confused into one.

“Have you ever once opened the book of Rover?” ok that should be pretty obvious E.V.i.E

OOOOH THE THING IN THE PREQUEL IS ROBOTIC! FROM CONQUEST! Why does Conquest want him so bad? Also how did they suddenly get so much cool technology? Was someone feeding them stolen goods from the Rover Compounds? Or were they the ones who attacked and destroyed the facility that made the E.V.i.E’s?

omg E.V.i.E is being sassy because she’s been mimicking Leah lmao!

Oooh! Another message from the Rover Council! YES LEAH GET THE MAP KEYS. 

WHAT? LEAH NO. WHAT USE WILL THE MAP BEING AFTER YOU’VE FOUND JONAH? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO THEN? YOU’LL HAVE ALREADY TRAVELLED HALF OF APOCALYPSE! OOH MY GOD MY BABY IS NOT GOOD AT FORWARD PLANNING

Ok so she’s in an abandoned building. How many of these are there? I guess she’s in the city proper right? Aren’t there scavengers and other people of Famine/Conquest to worry about? SHE’S ALL ALONE :(

Leah, how do you not know what sports are?? Surely they must have had some competitions when you were practising swordsmanship or working on your fitness?? Or did the Elders not include that in their training like they didn’t include a lot of other things?

“You could just ask someone.” - E.V.i.E you KNEW that wasn’t going to work! Also how long did you REALLY think it was going to take until Leah snapped? She’s been putting up with your passive aggressive stuff for days! 

Leah, bby, you go kick their asses! Hahaha Silt-Eaters!

Oh

Oh shit

Ok well that’s one way to quickly get into see Jolene..

Leah seems to be pretty touch adverse.. I wonder if she’s suffered from some past trauma.. was she old enough to be there for the Silt attack that took Jonah’s parents? Did it come from there? I hope she’s ok

[lassluna]

Freeing the Witch (11/20)

Betad by the patient @notoriouscs

Once Upon a Time, there was Emma Swan the Savior and Killian Jones the fearsome pirate Captain Hook. But this is not that time, this is not that place, this is the time of the Dark Swan and a cowardly Deckhand who dares to think he could save her and live to tell the tale…Especially when things get complicated.

ff Ao3

Chapter 11

Family Drama

Killian leads Emma out of the cabin and to the helm after their heart-to-heart. The navigator in him knows it’s best to set the course quickly. It’s dangerous to leave a ship dead in the water, even when you’re not wanted for regicide.

“The Jewel is the fastest ship in the realm,” he tells Swan as they walk. “We should be out of Arendelle in no time,” he says proudly. This marvel of a ship will keep them from being caught.

“But we’re not leaving just yet,” says a voice as they approach the helm. “Not until we rescue Anna.” Elsa is glaring daggers at Emma. Killian has never seen her so angry. While always appearing at odds, Killian likened their previous aggression to sibling rivalry. This is something else. Elsa is blocking them from the helm. Killian doesn’t dare tell her to move.

Emma’s form goes rigid. “That isn’t part of the deal,” she hisses. “I got your family back. Now leave me alone to get back to mine.”

Someone places a hand on Killian’s shoulder from behind him. He flinches, pulling away.

“Sorry sweetie, didn’t mean to cause you a fright.”

He doesn’t like being snuck up on. It’s pretty hard to do on this ship. He’s usually more attuned to her creaks. Clearly the stress is getting to him.

“And Elsa’s right, Emma. We need to find a cure for Anna’s curse as soon as possible.”

Anna? He thought they were rescuing Ingrid. He looks at the woman who had surprised him. Tall and confident, he senses no darkness from her, not like what lives in Emma or Elsa. She has blonde hair pulled up in a bun and a sort of cold face.

“Are you Ingrid?” he asks.

She nods, holding her white-gloved hand out to him. “And I assume you’re Captain Jones?”

Killian chuckles, taking her hand. “Just Killian is fine, milady.”

Emma snorts.

“I think I’ve done enough to help, what more do you want me to do?” Emma asks. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t owe either of you a damn thing.”

Killian can tell he’s about to be in the middle of a fierce fight. He just hopes the sorceresses stick to words rather than magic.

“So help me, Emma! I’ll tell everyone that nasty little secret of yours!” Elsa roars.

“I’ll kill you before you can open your mouth, you spoiled brat!” Emma fires back.

He walks over to a crate and unrolls his enchanted map of Arendelle, watching as it glows faintly. He grimaces at what he sees.

“What are those, Killian?” Ingrid asks, joining him in leaving the lasses to work out their own business. She points to the dark shapes illuminated on the map.

“Enemy ships, most likely coming after us,” he answers, tracing their probable paths with his finger.

“Because of Hans,” Ingrid voices flatly. She sounds neither happy nor upset.

He swallows thickly. “Because of Hans.” He isn’t sure how much the ice royals know about the King’s death. Are they angry with him? Ingrid doesn’t seem angry. She doesn’t seem anything at all.

“The ships seem to be heading to the border between Arendelle and Misthaven,  probably to cut us off as we try to escape,” he explains. “Taking a longer route may be better for us.” He shivers as he looks up to meet the woman’s icy gaze. “On the other hand, spending more time in these waters gives the court time to mobilize a bigger fleet.” Killian knows the four of them don’t have the numbers or the expertise to survive a full-scale naval battle.

“So what do you suggest?” Ingrid asks. He looks over to where Emma and Elsa are still bickering.

“I kept my end of the deal!”

“Well now you’re keeping this one too! Help me, or so help me! You’ll see how much the cold bothers you anyway!”

Turning back to the map, he traces a few alternate paths. No matter which route they take, they will need to stop somewhere for supplies. They’re nearly out of food and drinking water. But where to stop? Somewhere safe, where Hans’ navy won’t think to look for them, but not too far out of their way…

Killian smirks, hitting on the perfect place. He’s been wanting to return there, and it’s perfect for what they need. “Here.” He traces a path to his chosen port and then out through a much less used channel. It's rough currents ought to deter a royal fleet, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. A quick resupply, then a mad dash for the border is their best shot. By the time their pursuers realize where they went, the Jewel’s legendary speed just might get them out of Arendelle alive.

“You seem troubled,” Ingrid observes as he approaches the wheel to change their course now that Elsa and Swan’s argument had taken them to the other side of the deck. Killian pretends he didn’t hear her.

“You doubt yourself. Why is that?” she continues. He pulls the sails into position, wondering how long it will take Emma and Elsa to stop their bickering and realize he made the decision on their course himself.

He turns to see Ingrid standing directly behind him.

She isn’t done. “Doubt is not good to hold in your heart. It can bring you darkness and pain.”

He finds himself backed up against the wheel with nowhere to go.

“I’d rather you let me pass, milady,” he says, flashing an innocent smile. “What lies in my heart is my own.”

She removes her glove slowly and casually places her fingers against his forehead. He can’t pull away.

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” he hears the Snow Queen say, but her mouth never moves. “I have to protect my sisters, Emma in particular, from unknown variables. You are an unknown.”

Killian feels his complaint die in his throat, eyes drooping. Whatever power the royal has, it’s making it incredibly hard to focus.

“Relax.” It feels like when the Jabberwocky was digging in his head, but gentler. Ingrid speaks more words, but he can’t quite make them out. It could be a moment or an hour before he feels the calm fade and reality return.

“Ingrid!” Emma says sharply, pulling her away from him in one massive motion. “I already made it clear to Elsa, and now I guess I have to make it clear to you,” she growls. Killian grips the side of the ship to find his ground as the world spins. “The sailor is under my protection for as long as I care to keep him.”

He feels Emma yank him toward her and away from the railing, making him stumble. “Using magic on him without my permission makes me very, very angry.”

He pulls away, determined not to appear weak, but Killian finds he is still on unsure footing. “It’s all right, Swan, I’m fine,” he assures her. “I just finished setting our course. We’re going to need to stop  for supplies.”

Swan doesn’t seem happy about that but doesn’t argue with him. She reaches over, gripping his arm to lead him away, out of earshot of both Elsa and Ingrid.

“Listen to me, Killian. I don’t want you anywhere near Ingrid or Elsa, especially when I’m not around, understand?” she warns.  

But he doesn’t understand. While Elsa didn’t make the best first impression, he thought he had at least earned her good will by now. Ingrid, on the other hand, seems pushy...

He nods slowly anyway. “As you wish.”

Whatever her reasons, he trusts that Emma will keep him safe. She’s proven it enough times, no matter her insistence that he’s just a tool to her. He knows Emma wants them both to get out of this situation intact.

“Emma, can I have a word?” Ingrid calls. Swan nods, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before disappearing. Once the ladies are gone, he takes up position by the helm, holding the ship steady on her course. The sooner they get to port, the sooner he might possibly get a chance to catch his breath.

Between Ingrid poking around in his head and Elsa being Elsa, he really needed a break, and if he leaves behind an ice sorceress or two while he’s at it? Well, that’s just wishful thinking.

“Aww, the sea urchin thinks this is his ship. Well I’ll tell you this now boy, this is my ship, the Jewel of the Realm. Much better name, don’t you think, men?”

Now that was an unpleasant memory he recalls happening. Just days after losing Liam, Killian had demanded the Captain return him to his brother. After all, the ship, named the Jolly at the time, was Liam’s. Liam had promised it to him. The Captain had been quick to show him what he truly deserved.

Elsa approaches the helm, shaking Killian out of the past. “She doesn’t love you,” Elsa cuts, fingering a piece of ice in her hands. “She’s incapable of it.” The Ice Queen is angry. He can see it in her face. But she’s also sad, oh so sad.

“Why are you –“

“Even if she can love, even if she can comprehend the feeling in that dark place she calls her heart,” Elsa looks him over. “Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’ll be the one to change her. She’ll never love a silly sailor who’s afraid of his own shadow. She’s using you, making you feel for her. It’s what she does. She’s a manipulator.”

He flinches, hoping he doesn’t give away how hurt he feels. He isn’t hoping that…he doesn’t…he just hopes that…

“Do not mistake my actions for caring, Jones.”

He doesn’t give Elsa a reply. So she gets closer, placing a finger over his heart. “The second she has what she wants, she’ll leave you for the next interesting coward she sees,” she purrs before returning her gaze to the ocean.

“I’m only telling you this because I know. I know what it’s like to be in love with someone who can’t love you in return.” Her cool eyes turn back to him.

Loss, he senses great loss in her. “You loved someone?” He doesn’t mean to sound as surprised as he is. Elsa seems too cold-hearted for such emotion. He worries for a moment if he’s insulted her.

Elsa snorts in laughter. Guess not. “You’re funny. It was before I was Elsa the Ice Queen, freezer of souls,” she snickers. “He promised he’d come back for me, so I waited and waited for him. He promised he’d be back before my coronation. I was so angry at him for breaking his promise that I took it out on my sister.” She holds up the piece of ice in her hand. “Jones, meet my sister, Anna.”

Killian blinks in surprise. That piece of ice is her sister?

No wonder Elsa’s in such of a hurry to help her. She could break or melt or be lost at any moment. “Only true love’s kiss or an act of true love can set her free,” Elsa says mournfully. “But her love is gone, and my heart…I can’t love anyone or anything anymore. I froze it solid to keep from hurting so much.”

She turns away from him, taking a shaky breath. “I see now why Emma keeps you around. You don’t judge us as much as you should. Why is that?”

He doesn’t reply at first. He has to pick his words quite carefully.

“I’m not as unfamiliar with magic as it may seem,” he settles on. “But enough about me. Do you have an idea? A way to free Anna?”

Now it’s Elsa’s turn to hesitate. “Did you see her do it?” she asks in deflection. “Kill Hans?”

Killian’s head snaps up. What?

“She killed him, stabbed him through the heart,” Elsa explains bitterly. “That’s why we’re in this situation. If we had just rescued Ingrid and taken Anna, no one would think twice about pursuing us. It’s Emma’s fault that we’re being pursued, her fault that my kingdom is going to go down in flames, her fault that –“

Elsa stops herself.

“Her fault that what, lass?” Killian presses. It’s obvious that the last item means the most to her. He may as well know what he cost her, add another to the endless reasons he should feel guilty.

“Anna loved him. They were husband and wife. True love’s kiss can undo even the most powerful ice magic.” Elsa is caressing the statue once more. “It’s her fault that my sister may be a statue forever. Her fault I may never get to tell Anna how sorry I am.”

Killian wants to scream. He wants to tell Elsa that he’s the one who killed Hans and doomed her sister. It’s his fault, his fault… He opens his mouth to confess his sins to the Queen when they are interrupted.

“Elsa!” Ingrid calls. “Stop bothering the poor sailor and show me where I can rest my tired body, preferably a bed not made of ice, hmm?” Elsa perks up instantly, pulling her aunt below deck.

Killian returns his gaze to Emma, who is standing in her black leather, hair pulled back rather than flowing freely the way it had before Ingrid’s arrival. She’s back to guarded, full emotional armor just as Elsa foretold.

***

“So what port are we stopping in, and what are we doing about the ships tailing us?” Emma asks him, ready to focus on the logistics now that she and Elsa are done fighting. For the moment, at least..

He can’t suppress his grin. Finally something he’s delighted about. “Geneva,” he replies.

“Wise choice, Killian” Ingrid replies. He shifts under Ingrid’s gaze. She makes him uncomfortable.

“What’s so special about this place?” Elsa whines.

“There’s a famous wizard in town, known to be able to cure any curse,” Ingrid explains. Killian can see Elsa brighten. Perhaps if Anna is thawed, a bit of Killian’s guilt will melt too.

They arrive in Geneva early the next day and agree to split up, then reconvene on the ship by noon. With Arendelle’s navy in pursuit, this is a business trip, not a sightseeing stop.

“I also have a friend here,” Killian tells the women, noting the surprised look on Emma’s face. “I’d like to go see him by myself, if you don’t mind.” He directs the question at Emma in particular.

She gives him a slight nod. “Don’t let me stop your social life,” Emma mutters darkly. “I’ll go by myself to get the supplies we need.”

He can’t help but feel like he’s said something wrong.

[bambamsgotjams]

S. Coups As A Father

Title: S. Coups As A Father

Requested: can you do a mini series maybe with seventeen as fathers? I love your work, keep it up!!

A/N: Okay, this is my first time doing something like this so stick with me and let me know if this sucks. (I even think I got a little carried away at some point)

Alrighty, let’s get started here

Everyone basically already knows that this boy is daddy asf

And no, not like that you sickos

Seungcheol is like a natural born father

Father like instincts just come pretty natural to him

I mean, it’s not like he’s raised 12 kids on his own already with occasional help from his wife Jeonghan but let’s not get into that

Basically this boy was an excited puppy when you finally told him that you were pregnant with his first child

At first you were nervous about telling him because he would come home from practices and would start to complain to you with how much of a pain in the ass his children were being that day and that he never signed up to be a father in the first place to these children

So you decided to tell him subtly by leaving little hints about it

You would coo at every baby the two of you passed and stated about how you guys would have cute babies like that someday

Occasionally you would ask if you could stop in the baby section of the store because you loved to look at cute baby stuff

Coups never questioned because he thought that it was you just being you and weird and stuff like that

His suspicions eventually came up when you began to serve him baby carrots every night for dinner

Like sure he told you he loved carrots but he wasn’t in love with them

Plus he’s sure he’s eaten so many of them by now that he was turning orange

Not to mention that you legit tried serving him baby food one time

So one night he decided to confront you about it

During that night’s daily cuddle session between the two of you he randomly popped up the question

“What’s with all of this baby stuff all of a sudden, you’re acting like you actually want a child.”

He didn’t really mean for it to sound the way that it did because he was secretly wanting one ever since the two of you got married but he was too afraid to ask

You were kind of shocked at his statement and you swore your heart kind of broke in the heat of his question because you were afraid that he actually didn’t want a baby so being pregnant and emotional you began to cry

Seungcheol’s instincts kicked in and he tried his best to comfort you, kind of curious about what he said that actually made his special lady cry

He would try everything he could to make what he said sound good but only failing miserably at that

“I’m actually pregnant you ass”

That would shut him up immediately and he would be complete silent for like 5 minutes before breaking out into a huge smile and nearly squeezing you to death with squealing

He would apologize to you and explain that he actually wanted a child like his entire life and that he was just way too nervous to ask you or talk to you about it

You would except his apology and tell him to just stop rambling and finish cuddling you before you left to go do your own thing

Seungcheol would be that really protective husband over everything that you do

He would always be cautious and ask you questions on whether it was really safe for you to be doing what you were doing

Things like that would include reaching for things on high shelves

He would gently push you aside and scold you saying that you should just ask him to get it next time so that way you don’t have to overwork your body just to get a box of cereal

But you weren’t even like showing yet so you were kind of confused about why he was acting all daddy mode before you were even a month in your pregnancy

You didn’t question it though because you enjoyed being pampered from head to toe by your husband

His new favorite activity was coming home from work and running a bubble bath for you and him while rubbing your tummy as the two of you relaxed

He would be an emotional wreck at your first ultrasound and ask the doctor if he could have like 30 copies to give to everyone he works with

Literally each member of seventeen would have wallet sized pictures of his future baby

You guys would have constant debates over the gender of your child

You would be set on having a little girl seeing that it was literally your dream to have one of your own

Seungcheol would be set on having a boy

He would insist you that he was 100% sure that you were having a boy

It was his father senses

Of course you would smack him every time he used that excuse and told him that you didn’t need any more boys to take care of because 13 was already enough

For this reason you two decided to wait until the actual childbirth to find out the gender

“oh my gosh seungcheol tell me you did not get your members to bet money on the gender of this child”

“okay, i didn’t get the members to bet money on our child, they did that themselves”

*tHUNKS HEAD*

The past couple of months seemed pretty smooth and eventually you finally started getting symptoms of being pregnant

All throughout the morning sicknesses and mood swings Seungcheol was always by your side and oh so sweet to you

Like you just wanted to cry and thank Jesus that you had such a loving and caring husband who was willing to put up with your pregnancy

His favorite part was when you would tell him your food cravings and he would actually get that exact creation for you and you denying eating any of that the day after

Like he would make you an ice cream sundae complete with pickles, carrots, ketchup, ramen, strawberries, and a hint of lemon juice and avocados

“no seungcheol that sounds completely gross I would never eat something like that without getting sick”

“mhm whatever you say babe”

“don’t make me thunk your head again”

This man would get so emotional throughout this pregnancy

Like when you first felt the baby kick you let out an ear piercing scream in the middle of the night out of excitement

Seungcheol would jolt up from bed and grab the nearest shoe, turning to you immediately asking what happened and who killed you

You would tell him to shut up and take his hand to place it on your stomach

Seuncheol would stop breathing the second he felt your baby kick

After that he would burst into tears of joy and begin to rub your swollen belly and talking cutely to the baby like every other fanfiction daddy does

Honestly you were like the cutest pregnant couple ever

Finally after months of being pampered from both the boys and Seungcheol it was finally time for the baby to arrive

Seungcheol was hesitant to leave you at home alone seeing that it was nearing the final days until the expected date

You assured him that you would be fine and would manage on your own as you literally had to push him out of the door

But Seungcheol’s suspensions were right seeing that later that day you actually did end up going into labor

You were casually watering your cute lil plants in your apartment when you felt something drip down your leg

You thought you spilled water from your pail, but the outside was dry

Then you thought you peed up there was no water on the floor

Then the pain struck you and you were like oKAY THis iS HAppENING

You would casually slip on a pair of shoes and waddle your way to the door all while suffering through extreme contractions

You would finally make it to your car and drive straight to Pledis where you knew your husband would be at practice

Once you got there you were greeted by Minghao who was practicing some of his b-boying in the lobby

You told him about your struggle and you were pretty sure he turn white

He quickly helped you up to their practice room and burst into the room, gaining attention from all the members

Seungcheol looked at you confused as to why you were there and you were just kind of like, “yeah my water broke and i’m gonna have a baby like now”

Seungcheol would spring into action and take you straight to the hospital and ignoring all the calls he got from his managers

Once you got to the hospital he practically screamed at the receptionist that his wife was going to have a baby and she was like

“bro you need to chill”

So they finally took you back to one of those labor rooms and got you situated for the birth

Seungcheol didn’t remember most of the process because he almost passed out the second he saw a baby’s head poking out of your lady bits

But soon enough it was over and you sat back breathless on the bed

The nurse took the baby away to get clean and that’s when you and Seungcheol began to argue once more on what gender the baby was going to be

Once the nurse arrived back with your baby she announced that the two of you had a healthy baby boy

Seungcheol jumped up from his seat and did a little in your face dance

You rolled your eyes at his antics and tried to act like you weren’t actually married to this loser

Seungcheol literally cherished his son so much

He was the most important thing in his life besides his beautiful wife of course

He would be sure to video every second of this baby’s life

His first steps

His first words

“glooblah isn’t a real word seuncheol”

“it is in baby”

“ffs why did i marry you”

He’d be that really embarrassing dad that every kid thought was cool but secretly his own son even tried to pretend that he didn’t know him

When his son asked to sign up to play soccer Seungcheol would go all smiley and be so proud that his son wanted to be social with people and his son just wanted his dad to chill because he just really liked soccer and his friends promised him that they got free pizza after every game

Turns out that your son actually ended up liking the sport more than he thought and continued to play it all throughout middle school and high school

He ended up being the captain of the soccer team in high school and Seuncheol was like :’)

Your son went to his father on advice to ask out a girl that he really liked in school and he was pretty sure that he saw a giant smiley face firework shoot off in his father’s head

“you see son i was actually a ladies man in high school”

“that’s bs because literally no one liked you”

“shut up y/n”

He actually ended up giving his son some pretty good advice because the girl his son liked ended up accepting his confession and agreed to go out with him

The two of them were literally linked together

Seungcheol found himself growing a little jealous at all the attention his son was giving his new girlfriend because he missed all the good daddy and son times they used to have playing soccer and stuff like that

Soon enough your son ended up graduating high school and Seuncheol denied crying the whole time while tears poured down his face as he said so

Your son was very nervous about choosing a college because he got so many scholarship offers for soccer

Seungcheol tried his best and gave him a inspirational talk about how no matter what he chooses that he will be doing what he loves and thats all that matters

It was literally so beautiful that even you began to have second thoughts about calling your husband a loser

Your son ended up going to this giant university in Seoul and entered into a physical education major in college so he could be a sports instructor someday

Seungcheol cried for days after your son left and begged you to make more babies for him and you were like

“ew gross grandpa”

It made you so happy with how much Seungcheol loved your son

You never expected him to be as good as a father as he was

You kind of wished that you didn’t spend so much time insulting him and spent more time cherishing the moments because time does fly by fast when your a parent

You don’t even blame Seungcheol for crying when your son left because you missed spending time with them and watching the bond with each other

But you could be prouder at the family you helped raised and of the kind of father Seuncheol actually turned out to be

[johnlockismyreligion]

EUROVISION 2017

This is my personal ranking of all the entries of the competition. Mind that this is just my opinion, based on my personal music taste and the fun level of the song, because I think that at Eurovision having fun is important, so all the boring ballads won’t be in my top ten, sorry.

It’s not even a ranking about “who I think will win the competition”, but rather of my favourite songs (Clearly, I don’t think that Cyprus has chances to win, but I like the song).

Where available, I put a link to the live version of the song as, you know, they’ll sing live in Kiev, and this is quite different from the recorded version of the song. Some singers are good on record, but haven’t a voice powerful enough to impress on stage.

Under a cut, ‘cause this post is very long and I don’t think you want my musical rant on your dash.

I wanted to be fair, so I didn’t included my Country, Italy, in the ranking, but honestly I think we have a good chance this year, even if the cut version is worst than the original one (Francesco’ song is 3’38’’ long, and the limit for Eurovision is 3’). Besides, I’m really proud that Francesco will sing in Italian in a sea of English songs… C’mon people, shouldn’t it be a festival to celebrate diversity? So why are y’all singing in English?

42) Lithuania - Fusedmarc, Rain Of Revolution Ugh. I tried to listen to this song. I swear I tried, but to me it’s the biggest nope of the year. Her voice is quite weak, too.

41) Malta - Claudia Faniello, Breathlessly I don’t listen to this often, ‘cause I risk to fall asleep on the desk.

40) Spain - Manel Navarro, Do it for your lover I tried to count how many times he says “do it for your lover”, but I lost my mind after ten: it’s so repetitive that it becomes obsessive. Besides, it sounds “old” to me and not in a nice way: it would have been good if heard from a juke box on the beach in 1986.

39) Slovenia - Omar Naber, On My Way Ugh, ballads. Ballads are boring.

38) Armenia - Artsvik, Fly with me I’ve listened to this song several times, but I can’t keep it in mind and memorize the melody or the lyrics. Nothing special.

37) Russia - Julia Samoilova, Flame is burning I suspect that Russia aims to self-boycott, because this song is similar to other 1k ones and leaves you the impression you’ve already listened it somewhere. Even if she has a beautiful voice, here it’s totally wasted.

36) Ireland - Brendan Murray, Dying to try I’m dying to not hear any more ballads.

35) Georgia - Tamara Gachechiladze, Keep The Faith Another great voice wasted on a plaintive ballad. Pity.

34) Australia - Isaiah, Don't Come Easy Another romantic ballad. Dull.

33) Germany - Levina, Perfect Life The first time I pressed play, I thought that I’ve selected by mistake Titanium by SIA. To me half of this song is a plagiarism (but feel free to disagree), and I don’t like the half that isn’t.

32) Serbia - Tijana Bogićević, In Too Deep Forgettable. Not bad, but not good either.

31) Austria - Nathan Trent, Running On Air It seems the song of a boy band from the ‘90s. Not a bad song, but I’ve never loved too much boy bands.

30) Bulgaria - Kristian Kostov, Beautiful Mess Did I mention that I don’t like ballads?

29) The Netherlands - OG3NE, Lights and Shadows Average pop song. Nice, but not my cup of tea, sorry.

28) Czech Republic - Martina Bárta, My Turn When I saw that she’s a jazz singer, I was excited: she has a terrific voice and jazz is wonderful, I was dying for a touch of jazz at Eurovision… instead she chose a ballad. Not a bad song, but why? Disappointing.

27) Iceland - Svala, Paper Indifferent, nothing special.

26) Denmark - Anja, Where I Am Generally it’s an appreciated song, but it doesn’t speak to me.

25) United Kingdom - Lucie Jones, Never Give Up On You When I first heard the song, I thought she was singing a cappella, as the musical accompaniment was non existent. The new version revamped the song a bit, but I still think that music is weak. Nope.

24) San Marino - Valentina Monetta & Jimmie Wilson, Spirit Of The Night A song that leaves me indifferent even if many people are loving it. I don’t wanna say it’s a plagiarism, but sure it remembers me of some other similar dance songs of the past.

23) Albania - Lindita, Botë I quite like the Albanian version, the song has something epic in it, but she will sing in English, so she lost many point in my ranking.

22) Croatia - Jacques Houdek, My Friend Another song that leaves me puzzled. I love a lot the part where he sings opera (god, what a voice), but I don’t think it blends perfectly with the other vocals. I still hope to see him in the final.

21) Israel - Imri Ziv, I Feel Alive I was expecting something better from him, but the refrain has a good beat.

20) Sweden - Robin Bengtsson, I Can't Go I don’t understand why people go crazy on this song. Nice, but it has nothing special to me.

19) Finland - Norma John, Blackbird This song would be good in the soundtrack of a fantasy movie. But is it Eurovision winning material? I fear it isn’t. Perfect to listen if you want to relax, tho.

18) Poland - Kasia Moś, Flashlight The only ballad I really like, it has a dark touch (especially in the verses, less in the refrain) and she has beautiful voice. Good luck Poland!

17) Norway - JOWST, Grab The Moment Interesting. Not in my top ten, but surely a nice, good song with a personal touch. Better than Sweden, to me.

16) Greece - Demy, This is Love This song is clearly a clever points catcher, with a tad of ‘90s eurodance touch. Smart move, but after some listening, it loses appeal.

15) Latvia - Triana Park, Line Talking about dance/pop/electropop/whatever-you-call-it songs, I think that there are better competitors this year, but I love their psychedelic, energetic staging.

14) Hungary - Joci Pápai, Origo I hope he will sing in Hungarian, because I fear that an English version would be a disaster, as melody and words are closely linked, here. If you’re searching for something different, listen to this song: it’s captivating, with almost a Middle East touch.

13) Belarus - Naviband, Historyja majho zyccia This is one of the first song I heard this year and I still find it great, it makes me smile and the tune is original. I really hope they’ll keep it in their native language.

12) Estonia - Koit Toome and Laura, Verona A ‘90-ish and classic song. It has a catchy tune, they’re a well-matched pair on stage, so I’m sure it will do great.

11) F.Y.R. Macedonia - Jana Burčeska, Dance Alone Not bad, not bad, a good dance song with a pretty cool refrain, a song that grows on you.

10) Ukraine - O.Torvald, Time Another very underrated song from my point of view: okay, they aren’t Muse or something, but this is the only rock entry of the competition, ffs! And their staging and makeup is cool, I want to see it again.

9) Romania - Ilinca ft. Alex Florea, Yodel It! A rap yodel. No, seriously, it is. And it’s funny af. Plus, her shrill vocals are impressive.

8) Portugal - Salvador Sobral - Amar Pelos Dois Aw, my little snowflake! This song generally received bad comments and a low position in many rankings, and I can’t understand why: it has a retro touch that distinguishes it from all other entries. Plus, he’s singing in his native language. If Finland song would be great in the OST of a fantasy movie, this one should be the main track of a nice romantic movie.

7) Azerbaijan - DiHaj, Skeletons Talking about dance music, to me this is the best entry of Eurovision, with a cool mystery/dark atmosphere. It has a great beat.

6) Moldova - Sunstroke Project, Hey Mamma I effin love this song: it’s bright, happy, makes your body move. And, hey, Epic Sax Guy is back!

5) Montenegro - Slavko Kalezić, Space At first, it didn’t seem too good to me, but it gradually grew on me. I love the lyrics, I love that it’s gay af, and I believe that Slavko will surprise Europe with a sumptuous staging. As I said, to me Eurovision means also having fun, so of course he’s one of my favourite.

4) Belgium - Blanche, City Lights At first I would say that this kind of song is not in my comfort zone, but the tune is mesmerizing and she has a particular voice that catches attention. I’m sure it will do very well in the grand final, but it need a great staging, too.

3) Switzerland - Timebelle, Apollo One of the first songs that I have heard and which has remained in my heart all the time. The lyrics don’t make much sense to me, but the melody is beautiful and she has a great voice.

2) France - Alma, Requiem I don’t agree with her choice to sing the refrain in English, to me she ruined a perfect song. It’s still winning material because the song is very beautiful, but the all French version is better.

1) Cyprus - Hovig, Gravity This song had me from the first hearing: fresh, catchy, with a good rhythm, and Hovig has a powerful voice. Absolutely my favourite, even if I don’t think it’ll win. I hope he’ll valorize it with a good staging.

[codename-bewareofthefangirl]

Konnichiwa! May you get the marks you desire, can I ask for a ficlet? AoKawa with the #11 dialogue? ^-^ I need some rareship hell to get into, see?

Hi dear! You can’t even understand how happy you mademe with this ask! I can’t even express it! Obviously, I’m also very anxiousbecause I don’t know if I pictured them as well as they’re in my mind and alsobecause I really hope you fall in love with them too. For a minute, I wanted towrite a “serious” or romantic ff, but no. I chose a funny, fluffy and crazyepisode as they are in my mind: AoKawa’s Confession. You are going to findreferences to past events because, well, they’re references to my other ideasabout their whole story that unfolds in my head!

I hope you enjoy it and start shipping them too!

 Shooting  Stars

That night, Aomine was peacefully relaxing before going to sleep, sprawled on the couch in his shared dorm apartment, when he heard his roommate leaving the bedroom. He glanced up from his Mai-chan’s magazine and found an excited Oikawa, completely dressed and with his leather jacket on, in the middle of the living room.

Now, Aomine’d had the time to learn a lot of things about that guy during those months.

First, they were made to argue with each other and they rarely found something on which they both agreed: he was a workaholic, volleyball’s lover, aliens’ maniac and brilliant student; Aomine was a lazy genius, lived for basketball, had posters of cicadas and studied just enough to pass his courses -a kind way to say he was dumb. However, they somehow had managed to adjust to each other and now they were… friends; they even hung out together in their free time, much to their own and their friends’ surprise.

Second, Oikawa was the type of guy who always seemed perfect, polite and composed outside but inside was the worst, childish, crazy, bubbling guy Aomine had ever met; at the same time, the brunet managed to be a scheming, passionate and proud player. A complex mystery Aomine wasn't sure he would ever completely understand. But, if there was something they had immediately recognized in each other, was their sports talent.

Third, he was always up to no good no matter what and, without supervision, he was bound to disturb, annoy or even harm himself or other people: a walking calamity. Unfortunately for Aomine, due to Iwaizumi’s absence, the role of supervisor had been passed to him and that was a tragedy since he couldn’t even properly take care of himself, imagine of another -sly- human being, but it had become a matter of survival.

“Where are you going?” Aomine asked Oikawa yawning, with his brows knitted. If he wanted to go practicing again then he was mistaking.

Two weeks ago, Aomine’d had to go to the gym at half-past eleven because Oikawa had entered his paranoiac phase of “not being enough” and was wearing himself out with an endless session of extra practice; he'd literally had to drag him home by force before he could hurt himself. It had happened before, but Aomine hadn't arrived in time: a worried and angry Iwaizumi, at the time out of Tokyo, had called Aomine so that he could go and bring back the injured idiot who had collapsed on the gym and couldn’t even move due to his aching knee. That had been the first time they had properly opened to each other, since Oikawa was too dejected and in need of comfort to put up any resistance against Aomine’s blunt insistence.

So, even if he had to forcefully push the boy down and tie him to the bed, Aomine wasn’t going to let him overworking himself anymore; he had enough of midnight trips to the gym to save his ass.

Oikawa pouted, probably reading his thoughts, and averted the brown eyes.

“To see the stars, you rude worrywart. As I’ve been saying all week long, ” He answered shrugging as he slipped on his shoes.

“You always talk about stars, alien and shit like that,” Aomine smirked, even if he was now recalling the brunet say something about it, “Where?” then he inquired, lowering the magazine and straightening a bit. He heard the boy huffing, but, from the sound, Aomine knew he was smiling.

“From the rooftop,” Oikawa replied blankly, with just an amused glint dancing in the eyes, but Aomine furrowed his eyebrows.

“Ah? The door to reach it's closed at night, Shittykawa,” he reminded the brunet, calling him by the nickname that Iwaizumi had officially allowed him to use.

The boy stood up and glanced at him from upon his shoulder.

“Who said I’m going to use the door, Dai-chan?”  he teased grinning widely before he opened the door and left the apartment quickly, not letting the other the time to react.

Aomine stared at the empty hallway for some seconds, then blinked slowly and finally realized what it meant.

“Fuck! That idiot!” he cursed, throwing the magazine on the couch and rushing towards the door; he put on his shoes and then tailed him outside, down the stairs and in the backyard.

As expected, he found Oikawa in the garden at the back of their complex, looking thoughtfully at the iron, folded emergency staircase hanging from the wall, midway between the earth and the roof.

“Tell me you’re joking,” Aomine grunted, reaching him with long strides. Oikawa didn’t even bother to turn, he was sure Aomine would have followed him.

“Absolutely no, it’s the only other way to the rooftop,” he explained calmly, trying to understand if he could really reach the first step by jumping as higher as he could, and then use his weight to pull down and unfold the stairs. He had thought it was a perfect plan, but now that he saw closely the stairs, he was starting to doubt it.

“Can’t you look at the stars from the garden?” grumbled Aomine, exasperated by the brunet's antics, putting his hands in the jeans’ pockets. It was still a chilly night, even if the sky was clear. Part of him just wanted to turn on his heels, go back on the couch and resume enjoying his Mai-chan magazine; the other weak-willed part was mocking him because he damn knew that, lately, he just couldn’t leave Oikawa alone.

Oikawa looked at him wide-eyed as if he had just said a blasphemy.

“Tonight, it'll be possible to see shooting stars, Dai-chan. You don’t watch shooting stars from a small, badly illuminated garden,” he explained slowly, as if he was talking to a dumb child, and Aomine felt the usual desire to punch his pretty face.

“Shooting stars?” he opted to say instead, rolling his eyes.

“Exactly. If you manage to see one, one of your wishes will come true,” Oikawa bubbled excitedly, taking some steps back and scrunching his nose in concentration as he tried to measure the approximate distance. Yes, maybe he could do it.

“And what wish is worth a broken leg?” Aomine mocked him, glancing amusedly at his movements. That was going to be such a failure.

“That’s a secret, Dai-chan!” he smirked allusively, winking at him. Aomine snorted, shaking his head, and decided to let him fail in peace and then bring back the corpse.

Oikawa took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and when he reopened them, he wore the focused expression of the determined setter he was. The first thing about Oikawa that had struck Aomine and made him regret Oikawa didn’t play basketball.

The brunette took the same run-up he used when serving; crouching like a cat, he elegantly moved forward and then suddenly spread his arms like wings; he jumped high, hands stretching towards his aim.

But he missed the step, slamming face-on against the wall, and fell backwards on his butt.

Aomine burst into a loud, animal laughter that echoed in the garden.

“Shut up!” Oikawa whined, still laying on the ground.

Aomine was laughing too hard to help him, a pity he hadn't recorded it.

Oikawa, blushing furiously, stood up and brushed his pants, trying to find again his dignity.

“I’m not going to surrender,” He pouted, lifting his chin, and returned to his initial position.

“You can’t do it,” Aomine said chuckling, watching him running and slamming into the wall again.

At the third failed attempt, Aomine thought that now they could return home; maybe, to comfort his hurting pride, he would let Oikawa watch one his aliens movies with some ice cream, only for that night. Maybe.

But as always, Oikawa never ceased to surprise him.

He returned to his spot, but instead of running, he analyzed carefully the wall. An evil grin spread across his face.

“Dai-chan,” he called sweetly and shivers ran down Aomine’s spine, “Who lives on the second floor?” he asked pointing his index at the balcony near the staircase.

The other tilted his head, perplexed.

“Uh? Why do you need to-” the boy started saying when the sudden realization hit him, “Fuck no,” he roared, glaring menacingly at him.

Oikawa pouted, crossing his arms.

“Come on, Dai-chan!”

“I’m not going to ask our neighbors to let you use their balcony to jump on the stairs,” He refused, rubbing his temples, and Oikawa gave him a death look.

“Party-pooper,” he murmured disappointed, reaching the wall and standing exactly under the stairs, frustrated. He just wanted to see his shooting stars.

Oh no, the dejected look. Fuck, Aomine was weak.

Oikawa heard the other guy sigh and growl something, and thought he had run out of patience for that night and was going to drag him inside or, worst, abandon him there. Instead, Aomine finally reached him, scratching his neck both out of annoyance and embarrassment; he already knew that was going to be a bad idea.

“You’re really a child,” his roommate complained and Oikawa blushed even more, offended.

“Said the guy who asks my help to stuAAAA-“ Oikawa’s words melted in a loud screech as Aomine suddenly bent, grabbed him by the knees and lift him up.

“Shut up! You are waking up everyone!” Aomine hissed, face pressed against Oikawa’s tights, “We shouldn’t even be here.”

“What are you doing?” Oikawa panicked, swinging back and forth in his arm, in a precarious equilibrium.

“I help you to reach your stupid stairs,” And he was the dumb one, “Stand steady.”

Finally, Oikawa calmed down and straightened properly, soft giggles escaping his lips.

“You don’t have to do this, you know?”

“I wish that was true,” He replied in a low, annoyed but amused voice. And maybe, sometimes, he truly wanted to go back as it was before meeting the brunet, but it wasn’t possible anymore. He had fallen too deep.

“You softie,” Oikawa laughed petting his blue hair and he snorted.

“You're heavy, Oikawa. Move your ass.”

“First, I still can't reach it,” he pointed out, “Second, I'm not heavy.”

“You shrimp,” Aomine pinched his tight, making his squirming, and growled, “Put your hands on the wall.”

“I’m average height, tall even. It’s you who’s huge!” the brunet whined, puffing his cheeks, but did as he was told.

Aomine didn’t bother answering and slowly moved his hands under Oikawa’s feet. That was dangerous, but he trusted the player’s good reflexes.

“Alright, when I push you up, grab the step. Try not to fall, I’m not bringing you to the hospital,” he warned and Oikawa rolled his eyes.

“You rude guy. You’re going to see how amazing I am,”  he boasted, glancing fiercely at the stairs, “You let me go and move back immediately,” he added and the boy nodded.

“Ready?”

“Ready,” Oikawa replied with a smirk and Aomine pushed him up with all his strength.

Incredibly, everything worked out. Oikawa grabbed the step and Aomine moved out of the way before the stairs unfolded with a loud, crashing, metallic noise. The brunette landed safely on the ground and staggered. Aomine instinctively caught his arm to prevent him from falling.

Both looked at the stairs, the horrible noise still echoing, and then exchanged a horrified glance.

“Move, before they find us,” Aomine growled and shoved him forward.

“You don’t need to tell me,” Oikawa snickered, starting to climb in a hurry. He heard Aomine following him and a small smile blossomed on his lips. That idiot didn’t even like the stars.

 When they finally reached the rooftop, Oikawa emitted an excited and enthusiastic exclamation, bouncing around and spinning on himself with arms wide open. Aomine just stared at him, the corner of his lips curling up.

“See? It was worth it!” Oikawa told him, gesturing Aomine to join him in the middle of the rooftop.

“Yeah…” the other muttered, averting his gaze from him. Damn, he could see more stars in Oikawa’s eyes than in the sky.

They sat down together, in silence. Oikawa brought his knees to the chest, hugging them, and stared at the sky with a content, awe-struck smile. Without Aomine telling anything, he started listing name of the constellations and pointing them out for him, who merely nodded and followed his finger.

It had passed more than half an hour when Oikawa stopped his rambling to breathe.

“You’re not even listening, Dai-chan!” Oikawa sounded more giddy and amused than offended; he was already surprised that Aomine had followed him and remained silent.

“I’m,” the boy objected with an unusual quietness, but his eyes were locked on him instead of the sky.

Oikawa blushed under his stare, realizing that he couldn’t tell when his roommate had started watching him; a sort of soft warmth and resolution bubbled in his stomach.

He fidgeted, clasping more tightly his knees, and then mumbled something.

“Uh?” Aomine frowned, but Oikawa buried the face in his arms.

“I said I’m cold," he whispered a little louder, without his usual whining tone.

Silence.

“I told you it was still too cold to wear that jacket, idiot,” Aomine instantly blurted, bringing back a conversation about Oikawa’s clothes they had during the week.

The brunette's head perked up and he grimaced, glaring hard at him.

“You Ahomine!” He cursed, standing up with flaming cheeks, “You have just lost your chance to be a gentleman!” he hissed before moving to sit a bit further, showing the boy his back

Aomine laughed, enjoying the embarrassment and the dorky side of Oikawa, who whispered some more insults at him; then, in his slow-paced, feline way, he stood up too and walked towards him.

“I don’t need some cheesy, drama’s lines to be romantic,” he smirked, making Oikawa roll his eyes, “I can do better,” he murmured alluringly.

Catching Oikawa by surprise, he fell seated behind him and, before the boy could react, wrapped his arm around his waist; he pulled Oikawa against his chest and caged him between his legs.

“This is warmer…” he whispered in his ear, brushing against the earlobe with his lips.

Oikawa blinked once, twice and then burst into laughter.

“Wh-What are you laughing at?” Aomine pulled away from him, offended, but Oikawa leaned back again in his arms, covering his mouth with a hand to muffle the spontaneous laugh that bubbled from his throat.

“That was so damn embarrassing, Dai-chan!” he giggled with shining eyes and red cheeks.

“Shut up,” Aomine growled again, as the shame started to kick in, and buried his face in the crook of Oikawa’s neck.

“Good confession,” The brunet playfully mocked him.

“Who says I’m confessing?” Aomine replied.

“You are confessing,” Oikawa repeated in a quite menacing way and Aomine immediately corrected himself.

“I’m confessing,” he assured with a snort.

“Nobody is gonna believe me,” Oikawa sighed happily, thinking of Iwaizumi and Kise’s faces after would tell them about Aomine’s cheesiness.

“Don’t you even try to.”

Oikawa giggled again, caressing lightly his short, blue hair.

“This is your punishment for making me feel stupid and hopeless before,” he accused, poking his cheek.

“It’s just too fun messing with you,” Aomine replied with a smirk, “And why did you think I would follow you here, if not for this reason? And don’t answer “stars”, I don’t give a damn,” Aomine reassured him in that brusque and rash way of his.

“So rude, I love stars,” Oikawa whined, but was still smiling, “And you should have done this before.," he complained, gazing at his beloved sky.

“That wouldn’t have been fun. You’re cute when you’re hopeless. And damn, you tried your best to seduce me during those weeks.”

“Are you trying to make me blush?” Oikawa replied, thinking of all his “failed” attempt to understand if Aomine liked him or not. Unfortunately, his everlasting rival was a big breasted idol. Not the easiest person to defeat.

“I’m making you blush,” Aomine corrected him, grinning slyly, and Oikawa huffed.

“Don’t play the Latin lover, cicada-guy.”

“Shut up, alien-freak.”

“Make me.”

Aomine froze, pulled a little away and stared at Oikawa, who was showing him a confident and attractive smile.

“You were waiting to say this line, weren’t you?” Aomine grunted amused, arching an eyebrow.

Oikawa smiled angelically.

“From the first time you told me to shut up.”

Aomine smiled, tilting his head, and Oikawa could only think that damn, his eyes were the same blue as the night and seemed full of stars as he looked fondly at him.

“Then I’ve made you wait too long,” Aomine answered before leaning in and finally kissing Oikawa. A bit rough as his words, a bit goofy as his personality, definitely passionate as his playing style.

Oikawa closed his eyes and grabbed Aomine’s hair to pull him closer; he had desired this for some months now. And it was stupidly embarrassing and incredibly amazing as Aomine was.

He simply loved it.

When they divided, the brunette rested against his chest with a content smile on his lips and Aomine held him tight, savoring the warmth of his body.

“Oi, Tooru,” Aomine called him, making his heart jump.

“Yes, Dai-chan?”

“What is your secret wish? Except for volleyball related things,” he specified, knowing that his love for basketball could only be compared to Oikawa’s love for volleyball.

Oikawa giggled and gave him a peck on the lips.

“Ah, it doesn’t matter anymore,” he replied sweetly, winking at him.