#Please let our Cho Won be happy

[fantasynfiction]

Is Do Yun finally accepting his feelings for our Cho Won and helping this ship sail?

[satansapostle6]

folie à deux

Sometimes poison is sweet.

Selina Romanov and Draco Malfoy met when they were only eleven years old. The two of them have always shared an intense bond, always having gravitated towards one another. But the question still remains, as the years pass by, is their connection one of passion, or delusion?

Warnings: Contains Mature Themes/Language, Themes Such As Sexual Content, Violence, Abuse, Sexual Assault, Eating Disorders

Three.

  "Look at her," Jasper Carroll gave a good-humored smile. "She's so happy."

Selina softly chuckled at his gentle mannerisms as the two of them played with her cat Freya, passing the time before her first Quidditch match of the season against Ravenclaw. The first match of the season had been played between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, with Hufflepuff taking the win, despite Gryffindor having Harry Potter as their Seeker. However, Hufflepuff had only won the match due to Harry Potter being knocked off his broom by the Dementors, which had since been banned from Hogwarts grounds. The Hufflepuff team then went on to be completely flattened by Ravenclaw, the team which Selina Romanov and the rest of the Slytherins would be playing today. Selina was stressed about winning the game, to say the least, which Jasper had easily picked up on. Jasper did his best to distract Selina from her worries about the match, lying down with her in his bed as they played with her cat. 

  "Hi, sweetheart," Selina spoke softly to her pet. "Your Uncle Draco's dead if he costs us this match against Ravenclaw! Yes, he is!" she giggled.

  "Malfoy'll be fine, he's been practicing hard from what I've seen," Jasper assured her. "He's a good Seeker, actually. Probably one of the best fliers Slytherin's got, if I'm being honest. Not that I know Quidditch."

Oftentimes, he accompanied Selina to the Slytherin Quidditch team's practices, proudly watching her from the stands as she played with her teammates. Usually, Flint was both harsh and useless, as Warrington and the team's two beaters flopped around the pitch on their brooms like shapeless lumps of mysteriously moist flesh. 

  "Yeah, he's not the problem...I don't know, I think I'm just underwhelmed with our team in general," Selina confided in him, "Flint's picks are just so...questionable."

  "Definitely," he agreed. "Next year, they'd better choose a good captain. Even Malfoy as team captain would be ten times better than Flint. He's a troll."

  "Blaise reckons I'd be a good captain," she recalled. "I'm starting to think he's right."

  "'Starting to'?" he demanded. "You'd be bloody brilliant, Selina! You should be captain! You're a wicked strategist, and you're the most adaptable player on the team, next to Malfoy. You're smart, and quick on your feet. I don't know why they still bother with Flint."

  "Yeah, you're right," she admitted.

  "You should actually try to go out for captain," Jasper advised, "I mean, you're arguably the best person for the job."

  "Thank you," she smiled genuinely, the two of them playing with the cat together. 

*****

It seemed to Selina that the half hour wait before the Quidditch game between Slytherin and Ravenclaw went by quicker than any other half hour she'd ever waited. Selina headed down to the pitch alone a little over a half hour before the game, everyone wishing her good luck as she left the common room. She met Draco down by the pitch, heading off towards the locker rooms with the rest of the team. 

  "We're gonna win today," Draco Malfoy resolved. "I can feel it."

  "Good. That new Ravenclaw Seeker's good. She's even better than Diggory," Selina stressed.

  "Please. I'm not letting a girl get to that Snitch before I do. I could knock Cho Chang flat on her arse before they even blow the whistle," he scoffed. 

  "Well," Selina said indifferently, "I would advise you not to, because we don't need any extra fouls. I'm sure Flint's already planned for enough," she muttered begrudgingly.

Draco cocked his head in agreement, fully aware of Marcus Flint's less-than-honorable game strategies. 

  "I'm really not comfortable with our strategy. It's barbaric and one-dimensional. Did you notice how full of shit Flint's planning was?" Selina asked, referring to their team meetings during practices.

  "Yeah, he didn't. Half of our game is fouls. Flint can't go a single game without solely relying on blocking."

  "It's bad enough not to say anything about it, but Flint encourages all the cobbing and pushing," she sighed. 

  "It's fine. I just have to get to that Snitch first," Draco muttered, a cold determination in his eyes as they headed off to their respective locker rooms. 

The Slytherin Quidditch team gathered by the pitch before the game, standing behind the wooden doors having a final team meeting as they strategized and encouraged one another, albeit definitely not in the most constructive of ways. After Flint's crass encouragement of the team, about half of them engaged in rather violent horseplay while Draco waited for the game to begin with an air of superiority about him, as Selina attempted to rally and strategize with the other two Chasers, evidently having her work cut out for her. 

  "Remember the signals," she reminded Graham Montague. "The Ravenclaw team is, obviously, very organized. Keep the Wollongong Shimmy and Parkin's Pincer in mind. They won't expect us to have these maneuvers ready."

  "Flint said to rack up as many Ravenclaw players out as we could!" Lucian Bole declared with enthusiasm, earning a long sigh from Selina.

  "Yes, of course he did," she said, shaking her head. "Well. Just remember the maneuvers, and the signals, and we should be fine," she remarked hopefully.

Selina walked off with Draco, the two of them talking amongst themselves as they waited for the wooden doors to open, announcing the start of the game. 

  "Sel," Draco got her attention as she looked out into the crowd for Jasper.

  "Look at Crabbe," she chuckled, pointing out Crabbe through the opening doors, jokingly pretending to flash them as he lifted up his shirt.

Selina waved to him, approving of his childish distraction. 

  "Sel," Draco Malfoy said again, tugging on the sleeve of her robes like a child. "Sel. I'm nervous."

  "You're nervous?" she questioned as if she didn't understand the concept, turning her full attention to him.

  "I'm scared," Draco admitted, gulping as he looked out at everyone in the crowd, "Look at them. They're all probably waiting for me to fall off my broom—"

  "Hey," Selina said turning his attention away from everything else as she placed her hand on his shoulders, leaning her broom up against the wall. "Look at me."

Draco Malfoy was too distraught to focus, his gaze fixed on those in the stands as his face contorted into unpleasant grimaces. He looked sick. 

  "Hey. Draco. Look at me right now," she turned his head for him, forcing him to make eye contact with her. "It doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Don't let them distract you. You're a good player, and you're going to play this match with dignity, win or lose."

  "But, you said yourself, Cho Chang's a good Seeker! She's a fourth year, and she was the reason Ravenclaw crushed Hufflepuff," Draco hyperventilated nervously.

  "Relax! Don't get yourself worked up. If you think you're going to lose this match, you're going to lose this match," she reminded him forcefully.

  "Sel. She's on the team because she's unstoppable, you're on the team because no one's faster or smarter than you... I'm on the team because of my father's money!" he whispered, looking close to tears. "He's going to be so mad if I lose the first match—"

  "No, maybe last year, but this year, you're on the team because you're a hell of a Seeker! You played good last year, even if there was only one actual game, and you've trained up! You can win this game if you focus, and keep your eyes on the Snitch," Selina coached him frustratedly. "Okay?!"

He nodded quickly, trying to pull himself together as Madam Hooch finally made her way onto the Quidditch pitch. 

  "Okay. Deep breath," she guided. "In, out. In, out. In... out," she murmured, watching as he calmed himself.

She squeezed his hand as he nodded quickly, thanking her silently.

  "Feel better?" she questioned.

  "Yeah...Yeah," Draco nodded, anxiously looking out onto the pitch.

  "There. You'll do great. Come on," she guided him out to where everyone else was gathered for the start of the game. 

Assembled in a single-file line, the players of the Slytherin team flew out. The team arranged themselves perfectly in formation as they were cheerfully announced, followed by the Gryffindor team. Selina and Draco ascended upwards on their brooms with their teammates, all of them watching with a disturbing bloodlust as Marcus Flint formally shook hands with the Ravenclaw team's captain, a tall boy by the name of Jeremy Stretton, who also played Chaser. Selina studied their two Beaters, Duncan Inglebee and Jason Samuels, who were noticeably smaller but a lot smarter and quicker than their Beaters. Selina mentally cursed Flint as the game officially began, with Selina and the other Chasers swooping after the Quaffle, hoping to get to it before the Ravenclaw Chasers. 

  "...Here come the Slytherin team, led by 

Marcus Flint," Lee Jordan, the Gryffindor commentator announced cheerfully, "He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be mostly going for size rather than skill—"

Selina rolled her eyes as she chased after the Quaffle, observing that Jeremy Stretton had a particularly fast broom, capable of sharper turns and steeper dips than many. However, she was fully aware that she was, at the very least, a formidable opponent on her Nimbus 2001. She and Stretton both rocketed upwards toward the Quaffle, as Selina managed to grab ahold of it less than a second before he would have. She held onto the large ball and raced off towards the goal posts, minding the other players as she snaked her way through them. It had come to her attention that the Ravenclaw team had come to be in possession of at least one of the Bludgers, as she narrowly dodged one that had been aimed at her head by one of the opposing team's Beaters. She gripped her broom tightly, whizzing by the goal posts as she vigorously tossed the ball into one of them, managing to get it past Page, the opposing Keeper, hearing a loud ding as the Slytherin team was awarded points. 

  "Selina Romanov's scored the first points of the game! If anyone can take control of the Quaffle, it's her! Ten points to Slytherin!"

She dove back into the game with satisfaction, flying on her broomstick after the Quaffle once again. Upon seeing her soaring by, Graham Montague stuck his hand out as she shook it triumphantly, a notable display of friendship between the two of them on the pitch. Lucian Bole, one of Slytherin's Beaters, offered her a high-five as well, congratulating her with a smirk on his face as the team scored their first points. She swerved irritably as she dodged one of the Bludgers that Peregrine Derrick had haphazardly slapped across the field, rushing to capture the Quaffle. She found that one of Ravenclaw's Chasers, Randolph Burrow, was right on her tail. The two of them swooped downward after the Quaffle, and then off to the right, almost accidentally colliding as they flew. They were dangerously close to the edge of the pitch, almost slamming into the thin facade behind them. Looking at him to her left, Selina Romanov made sure their eyes met, then ducking fearfully as Burrow followed suit in horror, thinking he had to dodge an airborne Bludger. Not catching onto Selina's misguiding tactic, Burrow unintentionally dove backwards into the wall and flew through it, too injured to get back up. Not wasting any time on paying any further attention to him, Selina continued to fly in the direction of the Quaffle, towards the center of the pitch. Marcus Flint looked down at her, wondering what at happened. Flying past him in pursuit of the Quaffle, she held up two fingers, signifying the number of remaining opposing Chasers, telling him that one of Ravenclaw's players had been injured. Flint nodded with respect, silently congratulating her as they proceeded. Selina and the other Slytherin Chasers still ended up being completely scattered, with Flint and Montague on opposite ends of the pitch. Ravenclaw's Chasers, obviously, had much more of an established strategy. 

Selina played the entire game constantly weaving around Burrow, and doing her best to perplex Stretton with her fast and seemingly erratic movements. Although she despised Flint's lazy lack of integrity, she did agree that their best chance of clearing a pathway for Draco to chase after the Golden Snitch was to eliminate at least one another Ravenclaw player. Although she played to the best of her ability, which was great on its own, she had little assistance from her fellow Chasers in both scoring points and blocking Ravenclaw from scoring. In the next half hour or so, Ravenclaw managed to score ninety points, while the Slytherin team had only managed to score sixty, total. Half of that was Selina's doing alone. Although they seemed to be lacking in points, the Slytherins certainly made up for it in fouls. Three had been called already, and the game was hardly close to being over. Deciding it was time to adapt and use Flint's violent tactics to her advantage, Selina flew down to where Jeremy Stretton, Ravenclaw's captain, was nearly in possession of the Quaffle. Noticing that both Montague was sitting idly by, she gave him an unmistakable symbol, urging him to follow her lead with Flint. Montague grinned, knowing exactly what she had in mind. Flint quickly rushed to Stretton's right side, as Montague's muscular figure boxed him in, trapping him in between the two of them. Selina aimed straight for Stretton, knowingly committing a foul as she flew into him, sending him flying in his broom all the way across the pitch. Obviously, a foul was called.

  "Slytherin's Chasers have pulled off Parkin's Pincer, with Romanov committing the blatching! This tactic hasn't been seen on this field in years!" Lee Jordan hollered excitably. "A bold move on Flint and Romanov's part, taking out Ravenclaw's captain!"

Many cheered for Selina Romanov as she was sent rolling midair as many of the match's spectators gasped, steadying herself eventually as she dodged the quick and dangerous Bludgers. She redirected herself once she'd acknowledged the penalty, soaring off as Montague flew towards the Ravenclaw goal posts with the Quaffle. Seeing that he was not at all paying attention to the Ravenclaw Keeper, Selina made a gesture to Bole in code as he tossed his Beater's bat towards her. Flying to catch the bat, Selina hit an oncoming Bludger straight at Grant Page, who failed to avoid it as it knocked into the back of his broom, sending him spiraling downwards as he tried to maneuver his way back up. Flint made the goal with ease, and everyone in the stands rooting for Slytherin cheered. Selina threw the Beater's bat back to Bole as he grabbed onto it appreciatively. 

  "Ten points to Slytherin, thanks to Captain Marcus Flint! Ravenclaw's still in the lead, ninety to seventy!"   

  "Fuck me," Selina murmured, looking around the pitch.

At least another half an hour passed as the game continued. Slytherin had initially managed to get themselves another thirty points, momentarily putting them in the lead by ten points, the score being at a hundred to ninety. This was mostly thanks to the combined efforts of Selina and Montague. Selina sat perched on her broom above everyone else, watching mindfully as Draco raced after the Snitch around the edges of the pitch, doing his best to outmaneuver Cho Chang. She saw the Quaffle whizzing past Jason Samuels, and chased after it. Sharply turning, she whipped around in pursuit, realizing Roger Davies was flying somewhere ahead of her. She estimated that she'd be able to snatch the ball away from him, but realized that she'd miscalculated as he grabbed the Quaffle and headed for Slytherin's goalposts. 

  "Fuck," she muttered under her breath as he scored another ten points for Ravenclaw, the score being announced as a tie. "Shit...!"

  "Fucking hell!" Lucian Bole grunted.

The entire team seemed to be growing more and more restless by the minute. Anger was spreading across the pitch like wildfire. She was horrified they wouldn't win the game. She watched as she took off, racing towards Davies and dodging the chaotically flying Bludgers. One of the other team's Beaters had possession of the ball, and tossed it back to Davies. Deciding to make himself useful, Flint soared past, his broom causing Randolph Burrows' broom to spin out uncontrollably until he ended up halfway across the pitch, falling much closer to the ground than was safe. Offering her team captain an appreciative nod, Selina flew hastily after the Quaffle, once again competing for it against Roger Davies. As Davies began to reach for the ball, Selina very carefully stood herself up atop her broom, placing both of her feet on top of it as she steadily surfed towards the Quaffle. 

  "I don't believe it! Once again, we are all about to bear witness to Romanov's legendary performance of the Dionysus Dive, one of her signature moves! Wait for it...!"

  "Stop riding my dick," Selina muttered to herself as she slowly inched her way towards the Quaffle, keeping her balance as best as she could.

She prepared herself before leaping up off of the broomstick, hitting it hard with her first towards the Ravenclaw goalposts, where Montague was waiting to catch it. An aimed Bludger flew straight for Page as he tossed it in, scoring ten points for Slytherin. 

  "Romanov with the assist! Montague's scored another ten points for Slytherin. They're now back in the lead, one-ten to a hundred!"

Since Selina Romanov's universally impressive maneuver on the pitch, the Ravenclaw team somehow managed to still secure a small but nonetheless significant lead, mostly due to the Slytherin Beaters' lack of precision. She shook her head as they attempted to compensate with sheer brutality. 

  "Fucking idiots!" she muttered spitefully. 

  "Stupid pricks!" Flint hollered at them, sharing the sentiment. 

The score now stood at a hundred-thirty to a hundred-ten with Ravenclaw ahead. Directing her attention to Draco, she realized that he seemed to be struggling in his pursuit of the Snitch. Desperate to help, Selina got Derrick's attention, and looked over at Draco. He nodded, and waited for the Bludger to fly towards him. Hoping that Peregrine Derrick, of all people, could be trusted, Selina watched as the Bludger went flying for Chang's broom. While it had failed to physically hit her or make contact in any way, it certainly was successful in distracting her. The tiny, determined ball collided with the front of the Seeker's broomstick, sending her flying back. Her broom seemed to flip over as she was sent flipping backwards. Draco surged toward the Snitch, with Selina flying close behind to ensure that no one on the other team could interfere. They flew together across the entire pitch, both skillfully evading Bludgers. To their horror, Ravenclaw scored another ten points as Miles Bletchley failed miserably to defend the Slytherin goalposts. 

  "Ravenclaw scores again! Burrow's scored them another ten points, and the score is now one-forty to one-ten!"

  "Damn it!" Selina rasped as she watched the play.

  "Oh, fuck me!" Flint shouted aggressively as he soared past. 

  "Shit... Shit! Fuck! Sel!" Draco looked back at Selina worriedly. 

Not wanting him to lose focus, she gave him a clever wink as she cocked her head to Montague, who threw the Quaffle, hard, in their direction. Selina managed to catch the ball before Roger Davies could seize it, and just as Draco knew instinctively to duck as the Snitch speedily whizzed past him, she chucked the ball straight towards the Ravenclaw goalpost. The Quaffle hit Cho Chang's broom, taking her out and knocking her into Grant Page, allowing their team to score. 

  "Ten points to Slytherin! But Ravenclaw's still in the lead, one-forty to one-twenty! But thanks to Romanov, it looks like Draco Malfoy is headed straight for the Golden Snitch, with Cho Chang nowhere in sight! Could Slytherin be looking at a last minute win?! This win for them could mean a chance at the House Cup!"

Draco angled his broom up towards the Snitch, reaching for it as he finally dove after it. Everyone watched tensely as he flew towards it, eventually catching it right in his palm as he held it up triumphantly. 

  "Malfoy's caught the Snitch, and Slytherin wins, one-fifty to one forty! This certainly has been a good game for Slytherin! Flint's lineup really has pulled through here today, or at least half of them did... Flint, Malfoy, and Romanov, have all proved themselves as players! Will this be the year Slytherin wins the House Cup again? Will Romanov go pro?! We'll find out one of those by the end of the season!"

  "Holy shit!" Selina sighed with relief as the team celebrated their narrow victory. 

Draco was holding the Snitch up for all to see, grinning as he did victory laps around the entire pitch, slapping Flint's hand as well as Selina's as he passed them. She knew that they had barely won this particular match, but still, she found herself able to celebrate with the others as Lucian Bole clapped her on the back, hard, and Marcus Flint offered her a handshake before the entire school. Satisfied with her performance that day, Selina took it upon herself to fly towards the tower where her friends were watching. Elspeth, Amana, and Jasper all cheered not far from Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise. Thanking them, Selina flew right in front of Jasper, only about ten feet away from him. 

  "Good game, Romanov," he nodded, teasing her with his nonchalance. "Really got ahold of that one."

  "Good of you to come out today," she smiled. 

Before she knew what was happening, Selina braced herself as another broom knocked into hers. It was Draco Malfoy, offering her a playful celebratory hug midair after flying straight into her. All of the Slytherins near them cheered, except for Pansy, which didn't really surprise anyone. The two of them joined the rest of the team as they celebrated on the pitch, whooping and hollering in light of their victory against Ravenclaw. Selina left to change her clothes in the girls' locker room, rejoining the rest of the Slytherin team as they all cheered with excitement, heading back towards the castle to celebrate. She was already wearing her nice black top and one of the Slytherin skirts she and her friends had all hemmed to be shorter than they'd bought them. 

  "Party in the common room!" Flint announced to the team. "Oi! Bletchley! Bring the whiskey! And hurry up!"

Draco Malfoy cheerfully joined Selina in walking with the team, throwing his arm around her as they followed everyone else. 

  "I did it," he announced to her. "I won the game!"

  "Humble as ever," she nodded to him. 

  "What! I caught the Snitch, I get bragging rights," he pointed out defensively.

  "Alright, fair enough," she rolled her eyes, "But don't forget who it was that had your back the whole game."

  "That was a good game for us, wasn't it?" Draco smiled. "I owe you for taking out Chang like that."

  "Remember that the next time we're having drinks at the Three Broomsticks," Selina grinned, playfully slapping him on the back. 

  "Mmm, speaking of," he remarked. "You and Montague?" he questioned.

  Selina turned her head, raising an eyebrow at him. "You know about that?"

  "The whole team knows about it," he nodded, "Montague's been bragging about his date with you since you said yes."

  "I suppose that's kind of sweet, in a way," Selina thought for a moment. 

  "You're not seriously going out with him," Draco scoffed.

  "Relax! It's one date," she laughed, "I didn't agree to marry the guy."

  "Well, I don't see why you would, you're already rich," he responded. "You could do way better than Montague, there's no way that's the most handsome, rich guy you could find."

  "Who is, then?" she asked. "You?"

  "Come on, this is serious!" he complained. "You need someone on your level. And that's definitely not Montague."

  "Okay, well, if Graham isn't good enough to go on one, single date with me, then who is?" she demanded.

  Draco tried to formulate an answer to the question, an angry look on his face. "I don't know!" he cried as if she had been interrogating him. "No one!"

She just shook her head, walking beside him behind the rest of the Slytherin team. 

  "Besides, I thought you and Goyle were madly in love!" he teased relentlessly. 

  "Oh, God, not this again, please!" she groaned.

She heard someone running up behind them as she turned to see Jasper, who had come from up in the stands. 

  "Hey," he smiled, approaching them.

  "Hey! What'd you think of the game?" Selina asked curiously. 

Draco cast a fairly unpleasant look his way, irritated at him for interrupting his conversation. Still, he refused to leave. Draco Malfoy was nothing if not determined. 

  "Oh, it was a close one, you all played really well," Jasper complimented, turning to Draco. "You're a good Seeker, Malfoy."

  "I am, aren't I?" Draco smirked as he mentally gave himself a pat on the back. 

  "I had no idea just how amazing you are," Jasper told Selina, "I mean...Those maneuvers! I don't know anything about Quidditch, but no one else on that pitch could've pulled off so many advanced moves, let alone in one game!"

  "Yeah, Romanov's one of the best Chasers Slytherin's had in years!" Draco chimed in. "They wanted her on the team her first year, but first years aren't allowed to play."

Selina laughed as he boasted on her behalf. 

  "I believe it. Snape was an idiot to not get her on the team as soon as she started at Hogwarts," Jasper Carroll agreed. 

The three of them joined the party in the Slytherin common room as soon as they reached the dungeons. The second Draco and Selina entered the room, they were hoisted up onto the team's shoulders, revered as today's game's star players. Selina watched with a smile on her face as the players on the team allowed her and Draco to be lifted up all over the room above the heads of many excited Slytherins. All of Selina's teammates and friends cheered for them loudly as a few different bottles were passed around the room for everyone to drink from. Selina and Draco both took decent swigs of whiskey as they participated in the party's excitement. Jasper watched from off to the side, not particularly keen on parties, but still wanting to support Selina. 

  "Malfoy! Malfoy! Malfoy! Malfoy!"

Both her name and Draco's were changed off and on throughout the room as everyone applauded them. 

  "Romanov! Romanov! Romanov!"

Eventually, the team got bored and set the two of them down on the floor. Selina turned to ask Draco if he was having fun, but he was nowhere to be found. Looking around the room, Selina eventually found Draco, sitting on the couch with his arm around Pansy Parkinson as he wooed her with his own colorful commentary of the game that she'd just watched on her own. Looking away in disgust, Selina looked around, unable to find Jasper. However, she ended up being sidetracked before she could try and look for him. 

  "Romanov! Good game!" Crabbe boomed, roughly slapping her on the back.

She nodded appreciatively, accepting a fairly friendly hug from Goyle as she thanked him.

  "Selina! You were amazing, no one could take their eyes off you!" Elspeth wrapped her in a hug.

  "We're so proud of you, Sel!" Amana joined in happily. 

Selina embraced her friends for as long as she could, savoring the moment between the three of them. 

  "Hey, Selina! That was fucking insane," Blaise laughed, hugging her excitedly. "I've never seen someone here play a game of Quidditch like that! You really should think about going pro!"

  "Aw, thanks, Blaise," she sighed, giving him a platonic kiss on the cheek. "That means more to me than you'll ever know."

  "Of course. You're the best Chaser at Hogwarts," he embraced her proudly.

She smiled just as they were interrupted by a happy and already fairly intoxicated Graham Montague, who eagerly threw his arm around Selina the way she usually only let Draco, Jasper, or Blaise. 

  "Hey. There you are," Montague flashed a particularly attractive grin. 

He turned to Blaise Zabini, who didn't seem too amused by him.  

  "Isn't my girl Romanov an impressive Chaser?! She probably could've taken Ravenclaw on her own!" he joked loudly.

Draco, who had heard the commotion, looked over at them over Pansy's shoulder, at the very least confused to see Montague with his arm around Selina. He flashed her an angry look, eyes widening as he practically begged her to push him off of her. Selina did nothing, mortified as, before she knew it, she was watching Draco rather aggressively kissing Pansy Parkinson. She could've sworn that, for a moment, his eyes were open, looking right into hers. Selina just shook her head quickly in disgust, trying to get the disturbing image out of her head. Blaise Zabini grimaced at the awkwardness, glancing at Selina knowingly. Ignoring the discomfort of the situation, Selina just looked at Graham and smiled silently, looking down at her feet for an escape of some sort as he kept his arm around her. 

  "Yeah, she really could," Zabini nodded emptily.

  "Hey! Selina! Great party," Jasper Carroll emerged seemingly out of nowhere. "Flint's already drunk... I'm not far behind, come to think of it."

Selina chuckled, following him as they went to join the girls. Blaise looked back at Montague before they left him, shrugging his shoulders. 

  "Oi! Malfoy!" Crabbe called as he and Goyle joined in. "Come and drink with us, mate!"

Draco automatically hopped up from where he was sitting with Pansy, leaving her alone looking dejected after they had just spent the past few minutes making out. Selina took a quick swig of whiskey before passing the bottle off to Draco. They all drank, laughed, and danced for hours, celebrating the Slytherin team's win together. Selina saw Pansy with Daphne and a few other girls for a while, before she reluctantly went off to bed, glancing longingly in Draco's direction before heading off to the dorms with her friend. Towards the end of the party in the dungeons, more people had gone off to bed, many of the players on the team either asleep in their own beds, or passed out somewhere random in the common room. Crabbe and Goyle ended up being among those who had settled somewhere in the common room, while Jasper, Blaise, and the girls had gone to their dorms to sleep for the remainder of the night. Draco and Selina were the only members of the team still awake, having only drank a manageable amount through the night so as not to end up sleeping on the common room floor. After having been trapped in a painfully repetitive conversation with Miles Bletchley about the game, and the team, and life itself, they were both glad to be left alone at last. 

  "Sel. Are you sober?" Draco Malfoy asked her. 

  Selina nodded exhaustedly, just glad to no longer be repeating the same responses over and over again. "Yeah. You?"

  "Yeah," he responded, sounding particularly relieved. 

  "I'm so tired," Selina sighed, looking up at him from where they sat.

  "Me too," he nodded. "I want to go to bed... We have Hogsmeade tomorrow, fuck!"

  "At least it's not til later in the morning," she said indifferently.

  "I'm guessing Crabbe and Goyle won't be coming," he glanced over at them asleep in the middle of the floor. 

He and Selina both rose, stretching tiredly before they decided to go to bed. 

  "Come with me to the dorm?" Draco asked hopefully, still feeling somewhat buzzed and needing to have a conversation before falling asleep.

  "Sure," she nodded, following. 

Selina and Draco both settled into Draco's bed, lying next to one another as they stared up at the ceiling, allowing their physical and emotional exhaustion to take over.

  "You did good today, Draco," she said gently. "Really good."

  "Thanks. I'm gonna write my parents in the morning," he murmured in response. 

  She smiled. "They'll be so happy," she promised him. 

  "I hope so," Draco thought dreamily. 

  "If it were my son who worked as hard at things as you, I'd never ask for anything else," she said quietly.

  "You think you'll do that someday?" he asked curiously.

  Her brows furrowed. "Do what?"

  "Have a child," he responded. "You think you'll have a child someday?"

  "I don't know," she shrugged, "I can't imagine it, though. It's too far ahead, I suppose."

  "Yeah...I don't know about it, either," he agreed. "I mean, my parents expect me to carry on the family legacy and all, but...I can't imagine myself being a father," he thought aloud.

  "Why?" Selina Romanov asked. "You could do it, if you wanted to."

  "I don't know. I just can't imagine myself being a good father," he expressed guiltily. "I'd be too scared to have a child. I think I'd fuck them up royally."

Selina looked at him sympathetically as he stared up at the ceiling, soft green light emanating from the water above them. 

  "What makes you say that?"

  "Look at my parents. Five times a day, I worry I'm going to do something wrong, and my dad's gonna disown me. Sometimes, I catch myself yelling in my head when I haven't even done anything wrong," he confided in her.

  "You know...they say they way parents talk to their children becomes that child's inner voice," Selina reflected. "I heard that somewhere. I don't remember where, though."

  "No wonder the little voice in my head is always screaming at me to do better," Draco Malfoy murmured sadly.

  "You don't have to listen to them, you know," she told him. "Just listen to yourself. That's who knows best for you. Not them."

Draco smiled tearfully, wishing he could honor her kindness with his own happiness.  

  "You know, you're the only person I trust enough to share a bed with," he whispered so that only she could hear. 

  She smiled kindly, squeezing his arm as she looked up at him. "I know. You know, you might be an arsehole, but I'd trust you with my life."

  "I'd trust you with mine, too. More than you know. Sometimes, I wish I could just let go and let you take care of everything," he admitted. "Then, I know everything would turn out alright."

  "Everything will be alright," she assured him.

  He frowned. "How do you know that?"

  "Will you just trust me?" she asked, too tired to supply any other reason.

  Draco nodded after a moment, accepting that answer. "Okay."

  "...Alright the ," she nodded, gradually drifting off to sleep as he lay beside her. 

*****

The next morning, Selina met Draco and the others out in the school courtyard as they prepared to leave for Hogsmeade Village. She stood with Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Pansy, looking around for Montague, who she promised she would meet before they left.

  "Ready for your big date?" Draco mocked.

Selina Romanov rolled her eyes at him as she looked around, bored. 

  "You and Montague. Funny," Goyle remarked, unsuccessful at hiding the sadness in his tone. 

Without needing to hear any other takes on the matter, Selina walked over to Graham Montague, who smiled at her as he spotted her from across the courtyard as everyone walked behind the school's caretaker to the carriages. 

�� "Selina," he smiled.

  "Hey."

  "You ready?" he asked her.

  She nodded, put at ease by his manners. "Yeah, I am."

Graham Montague smiled as he offered his arm, in a rather chivalrous fashion. Selina was somewhat flattered by the gesture, linking her arm with his as they walked together. She looked back at her friends, curious to see their childish mockery one more time. Crabbe and Goyle both snickered to Blaise, who seemed indifferent to the situation. Draco, however, didn't seem to enjoy watching them one bit, and could not take his eyes off of them. He spent quite a while glaring hatefully at Montague, which Pansy clearly did not appreciate. As they found a carriage to ride in, much to Selina's delight, Graham took her hand as she stepped into the carriage. He followed close behind her, making sure she didn't trip or fall. They sat across from one another, smiling and making light conversation along the way. 

  "That was some party yesterday," he recalled the night before, earning a nod from her. "Woke up in my bed without any trousers on."

  She chuckled softly, prudently neglecting to mention that she'd woken up that morning in Malfoy's bed. "Things did get pretty out of hand for a minute. Can't say I've ever seen Goyle jump onto a table before," she remarked. 

  "Did he really?" Graham asked. "I don't seem to recall that!"

  "I mean, it was around the time they brought out that fourth bottle of whiskey," Selina remembered.

  "Oh, yeah, that was the fun part of the evening," he nodded. "That was a close game yesterday."

  "It really was," she agreed.

  "It felt good to let loose after that," he sighed.

  "It felt good to actually win," she pointed out with a scoff.

  "Yeah. That too," he agreed. "I thought I felt great when we won, but...then I saw how beautiful you looked, smiling, flying over the pitch with the sun shining on you, wind in your hair," he chuckled lightly.

  Selina Romanov raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Did you rehearse that?" she wondered.

  "No," he said truthfully, "If anything, I begged myself not to say it and make an arse of myself."

  Selina smiled, her demeanor softening. "You didn't embarrass yourself," she decided, "...That much."

  "Wow, I appreciate it," he laughed, teasing her.

Selina was beginning to think she might actually enjoy her date with Montague, even if she didn't necessarily plan on following it up with others. 

*****

She and Graham Montague ended up at The Three Broomsticks after visiting Honey duke's and Zonko's, sitting in a rather intimate booth in the corner across the room from Draco and the others. Selina and Graham conversed cheerfully as they drank their Butterbeers, which Graham of course intended on paying for himself, plenty of laughter between them. Elspeth and Amana had given Selina the occasional grin as they kept an eye on her date. Draco, on the other hand, made a point of mocking their date as he sneered at Montague multiple times throughout their trip to The Three Broomsticks. 

  "No, no, he actually laughed!" Graham insisted as Selina questioned his story. "Snape laughed."

  "At Flint's joke? You're lying!" she exclaimed. 

  "Nope. Bletchley saw it, you can ask him. Flint said Potter chased after the Snitch like it came with parents, and Snape actually laughed," he replied with finality.

  "Oh my God, that's so stupid, it's actually hilarious," she shook her head. "That's horrible!" she said, still laughing. 

  "That's Snape," he agreed as they sat together in the booth. 

  "I still can't believe you saw him laugh," she remarked jealously.

  "I mean, it's nothing compared to watching you laugh," he smiled as he looked her in the eye. 

  "Stop it," she warned him with a faint smile still on her face. 

  "What?" Graham questioned defensively.

  "You can't expect me to believe that," she said snidely.

  "What?" he questioned defensively. "It's true!"

  "I've heard plenty of lines like that before," she assured him, "Mostly from grown men with no business talking to me at all, but still..."

  "Well, I meant it," he offered kindly. 

  "You did?" she asked, more surprised than hopeful.

  "Sure I did. You have a beautiful smile," he told her truthfully. "And your laugh. It's light, and pretty... like ringing a bell," he stated.

  "Well. Thank you," she said softly.

  "Look. I get you might not trust me," he said after a moment, "But you can. If you want to," he offered.

Selina looked at him, not saying anything as she studied him. She tried to say something, anything at all to respond to the gesture. But as she sat there trying to come up with any sort of thanks for what he'd said to her, she decided she knew what her best bet was and leaned into him, kissing him as he leaned towards her. He smiled into the kiss, pulling away slowly. 

  "What was that for?" he wondered.

  "I thought you earned it," she said with a smile, painfully fixing her gaze on him as she desperately avoided Draco Malfoy's prying stare. 

*****

Selina stepped off of the carriage, her hand in Graham's as he helped her down. He really was quite chivalrous, which was something she genuinely appreciated. Smiling at him, she bid him goodbye and waved as she joined her friends in the school courtyard. 

  "So?! How did your date with Graham go!" Elspeth Laurier questioned eagerly.

  "It went well," she smiled, "He's nice. Really nice."

  "Meaning?" Elspeth demanded in shock.

  "Meaning, he's nice!" Selina laughed, shaking her head at her. 

  "Don't play stupid, you didn't...you didn't do anything, did you?" she questioned her in a whisper.

  "What?! 'Do anything'? We went to Hogsmeade, not Amsterdam!" Selina gasped. 

  "Okay... good," she breathed out in relief.

  "It's not a big deal. We went on a date, it was fun, and we kissed," she explained. 

  "You let him kiss you?!" Elspeth cried in disbelief.

  Selina rolled her eyes at her. "I kissed him, but yes, that's the general idea," she nodded. 

  "Why would you do that?" Elspeth sighed. 

  "Because she wanted to," Amana stepped in.

  Selina nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Is that good enough of a reason for you?"

  Elspeth sighed, taking her friend's hand. "Yes, I'm sorry, but...don't you worry you might end up doing something you regret?"

  "No," Selina Romanov gave a curt, insincere smile. "Because I know myself."

Amana smiled at her, giving her a supportive nod as they all sat outside together. It wasn't long before the boys showed up and joined them. Draco had riled up Crabbe and Goyle, getting them loud and rowdy with Blaise joining in on the fun as Selina and Amana left with them, leaving Elspeth behind in the courtyard, sitting alone as she looked up at them helplessly. Turning back to face her, Amana Tesfaye just offered her a half-hearted shrug, wordlessly telling her, 'rotten luck'. 

  "So! Your date with Montague," Blaise Zabini said cheerfully. "You do him yet?"

  "No," Selina shrugged it off with a nonchalant smirk, "But the night is still young."

She and Amana shook hands as they laughed together. For once, Selina felt as if she didn't have to explain herself constantly, talking and laughing freely as she walked alongside all of her friends, engaging in careless, childish behavior the way she thought thirteen year-olds should. She watched indifferently as her friends frolicked around the halls of the castle, now engaging in a silly game of chasing each other around and taking turns tackling one another. This time, Crabbe was going around the room with Blaise on his shoulders, laughing as he steered him around so quickly he feared Crabbe was going to drop him. Selina watched as Draco playfully shoved Goyle, as the two of them had discovered a couple of first year Hufflepuff boys roaming the halls. Knowing Draco and the others, Selina waited for them to cause some sort of trouble. 

  "Hey! What are you two doing!" Draco barked at them, head held high.

Both of the small eleven year-old boys were terrified him, and that was before the others joined in behind him. 

  "I-I..." the blond boy stammered nervously. "We, er..."

  "What have you got there?" Draco Malfoy glared down at the dark-haired boy as he intimidated the both of them.

  "It's—My brother got me sweets, from Honeyduke's," the young boy responded out of fear.

  "Hmm. And what are you two doing walking around here?" Goyle interrogated them.

The two of them looked to one another, petrified.

  "We were just... going to the library," the blond boy answered them. 

  "You know, Madam Pince doesn't allow food in the library," Draco sneered.

  "Well, we were just going to—" one of the boys spoke, as the other one jabbed him in the stomach. 

Draco grinned at Selina, who just stood there, crossing her arms. 

  "Give it to us," she said suddenly.

Everyone, including Draco, turned to her in surprise, to say the least. The only person more surprised than Draco was Amana. 

  "But, my brother got them for me," he protested sadly.

  "Well, apparently he got them for us," Selina Romanov held out her hand. 

Gulping, the Hufflepuff boy awkwardly handed over the candy, as Selina took a peek inside the bag.

  "Anyone like peanuts?"

Crabbe raised his hand as everyone looked at him with disdain, as Selina tossed the bag at him. Amana shook her head, ignoring her friend's crass demeanor, watching in dismay as Selina indulged Crabbe and Goyle, shaking her hand as they all joked around together. Amana knew, that as level-headed and 'above it all' Selina really was, she knew that, to Draco and the other boys saw her as one of them. Draco Malfoy and the other boys all felt that Selina Romanov was one of them, as if she wasn't any different from Crabbe or Goyle. To all of them, she was just another one of the boys, which opened a lot of doors for her. Because Selina's friend group with Draco treated her as if she was one of them, she heard things and was invited to do things that not many other girls could relate to. Selina was spoken to with a sort of vulgarity and cruelty that was usually kept between boys, and she was encouraged to do whatever it was that Draco, Crabbe and Goyle did. But like Zabini, Selina had always been a sort of outsider when it came to their unruly behavior. She and Blaise had both always been friends with the other boys, and tolerated them when they behaved intolerably. But this time, it seemed, was one of the unusual instances in which she chose to participate. It didn't happen too often, but there were times where Selina would choose to join in. Usually, when she would participate in whatever the boys would do to terrorize the students of Hogwarts, some of which were even older than them. 

  "Lemme try that," Selina nodded to Blaise, who held the open bag of candy to her. 

  She popped a few of the chocolate covered peanuts into her mouth. "Mmm," she nodded pleasantly. 

They all wandered the halls of the castle before dinner, Amana eventually leaving to look for Elspeth. Draco and Selina both watched the others, mostly Crabbe and Goyle, making fools of themselves as they walked together in silence, eating the candy they'd stolen. Selina looked at him, noticing his focus on the bag of chocolate peanuts. 

  "What? You don't care to criticize me?" she asked softly.

  He looked up with a confused expression on his face. "Now why would I do that?" he asked with his mouth open. 

  She smiled, chuckling along with him. "I don't know," she shook her head. 

Two Years Ago

Selina Romanov stood angrily at the desk in her dorm, vigorously wiping tears off of her face that managed to end up being replaced each time. She  angrily pushed the chair she'd been sitting in aside, throwing the letter she'd been reading onto the desk. She tried her best to dry her tears, but they just kept coming. She stood by the wall, barely comfortable with allowing the tears to fall. She hadn't heard the door to her dorm open.  

  "Hey. Selina?" a voice said.

She whipped around immediately, mortified as she saw someone standing in the doorway. 

  "Selina?" eleven year-old Draco Malfoy spoke quietly. "Everything alright?"

  "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she nodded. "What...what are you doing here?"

  "Amana told me you were in here. She said I could come in," he responded. 

  "Boys aren't allowed in the girls' dormitories."

  "But girls are allowed in the boys' dormitories," he argued. 

Selina shook her head, trying to take her mind off of things.  

  "So, you ready to go watch Potter get annihilated by our team?" he asked.

  "Erm, yeah," she confirmed quickly, "Yeah, I'll join you guys in a minute. Just need to go to the bathroom," she decided.

  "Alright. I'll just wait here, then," Draco nodded, taking a seat on her bed. 

Selina hurried off to the girls' bathroom, barely able to hold in her tears. She cursed herself as she locked herself in one of the bathroom stalls, unable to contain her emotions as she sat alone. Selina wasn't exactly sure how long she had spent in the bathroom, but she felt as if hours had passed by as she tried to stop the crying, but just couldn't. She knew Draco could tell that there was a problem, but she knew there was no way she could talk to him, or anyone, about what was on her mind. Selina did her best to contain her rage, furiously wiping the tears off as she washed her hands and left the bathroom. Selina returned to her dormitory, looking for Draco Malfoy so that they could all attend the Quidditch game together. 

  "Hey. You ready?" Selina asked him.

She walked into the room, finally seeing Draco sitting down on her bed, his face pale with shock, tears in his eyes. She noticed that they were the same tears that she'd seen in her eyes in the mirror. She knew it before she looked, but she looked down and saw the letter that he'd gotten from her desk on his lap. 

  "Selina?" he said. "Is this letter really from your grandmother?"

She sighed, sitting down beside him on her bed as she took the letter from him. 

Selina- 

Narcissa Malfoy tells me you were bad-mouthing me to her son. She tells me you told him I'm not kind to you? Well, I might as well live up to your expectations. You can forget about coming home for the holidays, and you can forget about hearing from me ever again while you're at school. My biggest regret in life is agreeing to take you in after your lunatic of a father went and blew up my daughter. Every day, I look at you and I see the daughter I loved in the granddaughter that uprooted my life and forced me to move to that wretched estate that belonged to the man who murdered my Adeline. Every time I see you, I hate you just a little more. All I think about every time I see you is how you'll never be as smart, kind, funny, or beautiful as she had been. I resent you for all of these things, but I resent you most for being a child. Any time I confide in anyone about all this, they all tell me, 'Oh, Dominique, she's a child, you don't mean it.' Trust me, my girl, I do. But I say, if you're old enough to ruin my life, you're old enough to know it. I hate you for always playing the victim, and I hate you more for always making me the villain. All I've ever done for you is give you things. I have you somewhere to live, I gave you food, and clothes, I made sure you stayed thin, or at least thin enough. Your whole life, all you've done is steal attention, and youth, and livelihood from me. These days, I can't help but think how differently things would have turned out if your father had chosen to blow you up instead. At least then, my darling Adeline would've been spared. Again, don't bother coming home for Christmas. I'm going away to Paris.

Selina sat beside him trying to explain the letter she'd received, but she just couldn't. 

  "I don't understand," Draco said as he held the letter in his hands, "She...She wrote this just because of what my mother said to her?"

  "No, no," she waved him off, "She...she gets like this every once in a while. I hardly care anymore."

  "She just talks to you like this?" he exclaimed. "And it's because of what I said?"

  "No," she shook her head, "She would've just found another reason..."

  "I shouldn't have said anything," he sighed. 

  "Why?" she asked softly. "What did you say?"

  "Nothing," Draco sighed, "I don't know why my mother said anything..."

  "Why? What did you tell her?" she asked with hesitation. 

  "I just... I was just talking to my mother. I told her your grandmother seemed to say mean things to you every now and then. I-I'm sorry," he apologized.

  "It's okay," she shrugged. "Just... forget about it, okay?"

  "But..." he couldn't think of the right thing to say. "What she said to you—"

  "None of it hurt me," Selina said, brushing back her dark hair. 

Draco hardly understood her response, studying her as she spoke.

  "You seem hurt to me," he pointed out.

  "No. That's not what I meant," she said quietly. "All that stuff, about wishing I was dead instead of my mother, or not thinking I'm smart, or whatever... That, I know is just her being mean. I can prove that I'm smart with my good marks, I can prove that I'm funny when you and Crabbe and Goyle laugh at what I say... I know it's stupid, but beauty is the one thing you can't prove," she trailed off, feeling foolish. 

Draco looked at her, not knowing how to help his friend. 

  "All those other things she said, I've heard a million times, and most of them don't hurt me. But, those things she says about the way I look, constantly comparing him to my mother, who had a blood curse that made her metabolism work too fast... I never get used to that," Selina looked at him with tears in her eyes. 

  "Well, it's—it's just not true," Draco Malfoy blurted out with finality. 

  "I know," she sighed, feeling silly for having him comfort her, "Or at least, I think I do. But, you don't have to worry about me. Let's just go to the game."

  Draco looked at her sadly, his eyes averting to his lap for a moment. "I don't want to go to the game."

  "Oh, I'm sorry," Selina Romanov groaned, "I never would've wanted to upset you."

  "No, you didn't upset me," he assured her, "I just... I wish I could help."

  "No one can help," she chuckled sadly. "I'm fine. Really, let's just go to the game."

  "I don't feel like going to the game anymore," Draco admitted.

  "No, I'd hate for you to miss the game because of me," she admitted.

  "Why?" he questioned, as if the thought never would've occurred to him. "You're my friend, you're in pain. I'm allowed to share it with you," he said stubbornly. 

She said nothing but smiled back at him, suddenly jumping into his arms with a hug as he tensed up at the gesture, before easing into it and returning the hug. 

  "Thank you," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut in relief.

  "What for?"

  "Shut up, I'm thanking you."

  "Okay."

[eviltiddyproductions]

Vincenzo : Episode 18

slow mo as if he’s not going to be alive, please!

did he get him in the heart or the shoulder though?

Damn did he actually kill the interpol people 💀

I am so confused by this brother storyline I’m so serious. stop playing with me 😭🙏 is it so bad I want him to turn around for the better???

it’s giving Itaewon class where I kept waiting for the CEO’s son to come to his senses after 800 betrayals and humiliation tactics from his dad but he just… fell off

lmao he called our lawyer queenie dumb, as he should. the audacity to roll your eyes like he’s not making points. deporting him doesn’t ensure you’ll stay alive 💀??? but these were the same people celebrating his mother’s murder with no worries in their head so why am I bothering

also everytime someone says mafia I just remember ITZY

HE DID NOT EMBARRASS ME. that’s family !!! 💗💗💗

someone save my himbo. i fear he’ll be caught

my goon guy is such a cutie, just gave him a vip hot air balloon ticket that says for you, anywhere anytime <3

why is evil CEO deadass chilling at his home like don’t you have something to do ???

I knew Babel would have some weird connection to its name. why would you name your company tower of greed omg you manifested its downfall

funny the Wusang ex director is talking about people as collateral damage when I thought he was one too by being part of the Evil CEO squad initially.

GET HIMMMMM !!! (some random people are at the CEO’s house)

this ominous music is so funny LMAO [ominous music intensifies]

is that Mr. Cho getting chased ??? noooo

HACKER GIRL SAVE YOURSELF. I cannot tolerate losing anymore people I’m so serious.

he murdered 4 fellow students when he was in school but jail is where draws the line 💀✋

GAG HIM YOUNGER BROTHER

anybody want lunch 🤣

oh so the happy soft music was for the brother thing. and they aren’t related by some familial thing (as I had once assumed seeing gifs) it’s chosen family!

my babe has suffered DEEP with that brother

I know this is TV but so much of it is real life too. the audacity to want to be a politician and top gun lawyer to serve people while threatening people’s left right centre is so infuriating to me 😭 Mr. Cho’s family’s at stake because you (the politician) and your family did disgusting things and now you want to hide them. I hate these people so bad

honestly I don’t even know what this Babel evil CEO is doing at this point like they’ve not won or done anything substantial AT ALL where you go oh you’re smart or you’re playing chess or keeping us at our toes. they just kill people. they’ll make you sad by killing people but that’s all they do. senselessly murder people or buy people and that doesn’t make you smart in any world 💀✋ all y’all have is brute force

everytime my subtitles fumble a dialogue I always wonder how much translation I’m missing out on but we move

Han Seo (junior brother) about to be tailed again OH NO MY BABY STAY ALIVE

Luca is here and everyone saying hi and he’s smiling and then our girl says hello and he’s beaming like the sun. I almost forgot all about the kissing!!! we have 2 episodes left now MOVE IT guys.

plus there’s that gold nonsense too

plus the evil politician

and now we have some news from Italy.

the acting from the Luca failing bad rn but we move

he found my HACKER GIRL NOOOOO

Mr Cho noooo, gun to the head I would’ve lied. bought some time 😭✋

also I’ve seen this blue suit in promo posters okay slay

not the kissing photo in the email 🤣 how convenient, as he has to leave. let the memories work their magic 🙏

no pigeon ???

Mr. Nam my cutie

family is here <333

awww they’re giving him things 🥹

awww he called him bro

wait he’s not gonna leave is he

are y’all gonna kiss!?! hug!!!?

damn I got nothing ?

awww she’s speaking Italian. I thought she was running to confess but still this is very sweet indeed.

also that was a jacket apparently not a suit

how to befriend a bird and the pen given by the girl we love lmao, you already miss them so bad and the flight hasn’t even left

this politician’s right hand man has been here for 2 episodes and I already want to kill him. he’s also exposed the gold already 😍 someone GET HIM.

SAVE MY GIRL

oh they moved everything, I used to pray for times like these. must’ve done it when the monks went out for alms

LOCK THEM INSIDE GIRL

Yes run !!!!

I knew he’d get off the plane and make in time for a fight lol

Also this is such a callback to the first episode. My girl was about to fight then as well and he stopped it in time.

Also before I forget I thought the way he stared at her old photos, they might’ve known each other lol. maybe we get to skip that trope here 🙏

This is the promo shot where he’s calling them

SMACK THE EVIL GUY

[dreaamerwrites]

TO DO LIST! 😘

organizing the asks + comments i received! will continue to update this list as i receive more hehe + will try to mark the ones i plan on working on next!!

note #1: this list is in order of when i received asks, nothing special here! note #2: if you don't specify drabble/reaction/etc, then i will just decide for myself~~~ hehe note #3: i will work on these out of order! whatever i'm inspired for most = will be worked on first!! i don't have tons of time to write, so please forgive me for not being able to get to every request super fast 💖💖💖

ty for requesting!!

son heungmin

hurt/injury comfort time for our captain sonny please he deserves all the cuddles and love after his injury

Heung-min son and y/n being in a relationship but with an age gap? Like y/n is younger than him and still studying at the university?

sonny comforting his gf after her final exams pls

some jealous sonny content

would you write one for Sonny where the reader is a famous actress and they are always supporting each other?

for Sonny, one where the reader is Brazilian and she goes to watch the match in Qatar

can you do a sonny one where he's really needy/clingy and super PDA with y/n after winning a match and his teammates are making fun of him for how much y/n and sonny love each other <3

son heungmin with a famous korean volleyball s.o/reader where maybe she's older than him

an imagine of Son Heung-min being in a secret relationship with you and you’ve been together for a long time?

can you write one for Sonny? Maybe where his girlfriend is a famous singer/actress and his teammates want to meet her/make “jokes” about her?

cho guesung

our fav no.9 can we get some extra toothrotting fluff bath time please don't need anything smutty just extra extra fluffy -- WORKING ON AS OF 12/12/22

cho gue sung imagine or a oneshot where the reader is a famous idol but they are very sweet to each other and are like any normal couple

one about cho guesung. Where him and reader has like a 6 month old baby, and they visit one of his games in Qatar

can you write an imagine of guesung after the brazil game? like the reader comforts him

one where Yn is on vacation in Qatar and she runs into Guesung in a cafe or restaurant and they somehow click immediately, having that flirty but comfortable atmosphere between them? And maybe you can make Yn not know (at first) that he’s actually a famous footballer or something like that

a really fluff centered imagine , where y/n and Cho Gue Sung have kids together (might combine with the other one about dad!guesung!!)

imagine with cho gue sung where you are a fan watching a match of him and he keeps looking at you, and then gives you his number

(if you write smut) something where gu-sung was so happy and excited he won a match and wanted to celebrate w/u so he took you somewhere where he was alone w/u and let out his excitement to you 😫

an imagine of Cho Gue Sung where he is playing video games with you and you make bets on who is in charge of house work for the next day! or maybe Cho Gue Sung and a teammate go on a variety show and Cho becomes flirty with you but when his teammate does it he gets competitive!

another Cho Gue Sung fic, maybe something fluffy about how him & yn meet after he returns from WC and she doesn’t recognize him? A meetcute type of thing

write something about Cho gue sung about maybe having a fling with him being like fwb, but then when he saw her with another player of the KNT with her, he lost it. And then both him and her just accepting their own feelings. Maybe where the fml already likes him, but he was afraid of putting labels

one shot with cho gue sung, where you get introduced by heung min son, and you slowly start to fall for each other then start dating

an imagine with gue sung where he comforts his gf when she’s having a rough time or a bad day? i just KNOW this man gives the best cuddles

imagine w Cho Gue Sung were S/O is a kpop idol and they have this secret relationship because of their fans? So dispatch or something like this finds out and make a post reveling everything and the couple has to manage the situation together...

Could you please write overprotective Cho gue sung

could u write something angst to fluff w/ gyusung? like they get into an argument over something and then they ignore each other. later she sees him talking to another girl and she gets sad or something lol idk but something fluffy after that?

lee kangin

lee kangin being clingy with his s/o! like he's just so attached to him and can never get enough of them <3

paik seungho

something about Paik Seungho (the guy who made the goal against Brazil) idk like a post match thing with fluff and smut? Something about him being the striker of the match so y/n shows him how proud she is...

updated 12/17/22

[whoseafraidofliloleme]

Invisible Chapter 8

Summary: YN YLN has always been third in Class 2-5, right behind Lee Su Ho and Kang Soo Jin but with both of them having left Saebom Highschool, this is her time to shine. That is until Han Seosangnim asks her to tutor Han Seo Jun. A guy who doesn’t even know she existed.

Ship: Han Seo Jun x Female Reader.

Word Count: 1564 words. Surprise surprise I can write a kinda short chapter when I want to apparently.

Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated with any reactions or whatever you want to say. Again I really don't know where I am going with this.

Taglist: @thealexalcala

Anyone interested in being added to the taglist, just let me know by sending an ask or replying to this post 😊.

True Beauty Masterlist

Chapter 7.

Chapter 8:

Here you were standing with Seo Jun, in front of Han Ssaem. However, there were many differences between then and now. It’s been a few months since that confrontation with Hae Sung, though you did miss him very much. Your class, Si Woo and Cho Rong didn’t let you wallow in the sadness of being on hiatus with your best friend.

Now you could confidently call the people in your class your friends, Hyun Ji was still your best friend. But with Soo Ah and Ju Kyung, the four of you had grown quite close to each other. Before when Han Seo Jun scared the crap out of you.

Now, even his deadliest glares had others running away in fear. Made you laugh before you told him to carry on studying, you’d even been to his house, his mum and sister thinking the world of you. They were lovely, it was nice to have so many people there for you.

As the days had gone by and you’d gotten closer to your classmates and others. You realise just how isolating your friendship with Hae Sung had been. From others you were finding out that you weren’t the issue, people wanted to get to know you.

Hae Sung was the problem. While you were still sceptical about Hae Sung stopping others from being friends with you, it was still nice to know that people were interested in being your friend.

Suddenly you are pulled from your thoughts when Han Ssaem clears his throat and looks at you and Seo Jun, nervously without thinking you take Seo Jun’s hand in yours and squeeze it. Not paying attention to Seo Jun who looks at your hands clasped together and smiles at you. This would be the deciding time, would you still be Seo Jun’s tutor, had his grade improved or gotten worse. If you weren’t his tutor anymore, did you lose the friendships you’d made? Everything rested on finding out Seo Jun’s grades after the latest exams.

“Well done Seo Jun, you’ve improved, with the way your grade has gone up, with more help from YN, you might just make it into the top 20 of our class,” Han Ssaem said smiling. He knew picking you to tutor Han Seo Jun would work. Not just in helping Seo Jun but help you to connect with your class. Han Ssaem mentally patted his back; this had been one of his better ideas.

You and Seo Jun walked out of the Teachers Room. You were still processing what had happened. You were overjoyed, the minute you stepped out of the Teachers Room, you turned and hugged Seo Jun. At first, he stilled. Shocked that you were hugging him. Then slowly, put his arms around you and held onto you, pulling you closer to him if that was even possible. He whispered his thanks in your ear and you hugged him tighter in response.

“Ahem Ahem, mind telling the rest of us what happened,” Ju Kyung said cheekily. In the past few months, she had seen your relationship with Seo Jun flourish. Without a doubt, there were feelings there. From what Hyun Ji told her, you were most definitely in denial about your feelings for Seo Jun.

Han Seo Jun, on the other hand, refused to tell Ju Kyung or Cho Rong what his feelings for you were. Ju Kyung had a suspicion that Seo Jun had confided in Su Ho about his feelings for you. Sadly Su Ho refused to tell Ju Kyung about it. Something about promising Seo Jun that he wouldn't tell Ju Kyung and that Ju Kyung should just wait for Seo Jun to tell her himself.

However, with the way you two were hugging when they all came, Seo Jun may just be ready to admit his feelings for you. Which would be something to see, Ju Kyung was ready to help her best friend get a girlfriend. Especially someone like you, at times seeing Seo Jun and you together, Ju Kyung didn’t understand why you were denying your feelings, the chemistry was there to see. Go Won on more than one occasion had asked Ju Kyung if her brother and you were dating yet. Even Su Ho was waiting for Seo Jun and you to get together.

Hearing Ju Kyung’s voice, you pulled away from Seo Jun, smiling awkwardly at your friends. That hug had not been a smart idea. You were trying not to let this crush on Seo Jun became more than a small crush. Unfortunately, rather than the crush being crushed, it just grew with each studying session or time you spent with Seo Jun.

You vehemently denied your feelings to Hyun Ji and anyone else in your friend group or class. Yet in front of Mi Soo Unnie and Joon Oppa, all you did was gush about Seo Jun. To the point where Mi Soo Unnie and Joon Oppa were betting on when you’d finally confess and live happily ever after with Seo Jun. Wishful thinking on their part, there was no way Han Seo Jun liked you and for now, you were just happy being his tutor and friend.

“Han Ssaem was happy with Seo Jun’s result, he's improved and with more help thinks Seo Jun can get into the top 20 of our class rankings,” you tell them proudly. As scared as you had been with tutoring Seo Jun, it was an immensely proud feeling to know that all your and Seo Jun’s hard work for the last few months had shown. You were already planning to figure out what mistakes were made this time around. That you could help Seo Jun with that would lead to an even better result next time.

“Yah YLN YN, I don’t like that look on your face, we are taking a break from studying for the rest of the week and I don’t care what you say, I refuse to study,” Seo Jun said loudly, breaking you out of thinking about your plan.

“But you barely do your homework without me forcing you to do it and now without studying, I know you won’t do your homework and then we’ll be back to square one. Just think, these past few months, you haven’t been punished once for not doing homework, why to go back to that Seo Jun,” you say sadly, looking at Seo Jun, who seems to be avoiding making eye contact with you. Looking anywhere but at your face.

Seo Jun sighed annoyed, he knew you were looking at him, the minute he looked at you. He would give in. Then again, studying was just another excuse to spend time with you. Seo Jun knew that while you were serious about studying, he could get at least an hour or two of messing around with you.

Talking about anything and everything he could think of before you forced him to do his work. Seo Jun made eye contact with you, giving you a small smile. Nodding his head. Laughing when you nodded your head and excitedly started talking about the study plans you had been making in your head.

“As fascinating as your study plans are YN, let’s celebrate this by going out to get Ice Cream,” Hyun Ji said. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement though you were shaking your head, trying to get out of it. Seo Jun looked at you and said please. That was all it took for you to crumble and agree.

Hae Sung watched you from where he was standing in the corridor. The past few months without you had been horrible. He missed you terribly. Seeing your friendship with those in your class, annoyed him to no end. They didn’t deserve to be surrounded by your light, you were better off without them, they did nothing but bring you down. Eventually, you would figure that out and come back to him, but he wasn’t patient enough for that. He couldn’t figure out, what to do to get back into your life again.

Although last month you had talked to him and he had apologised for what he did and said. Sure, he didn’t mean it, he was a good enough actor to get you to believe him. So thank God that you were willing to forgive him. Even then, you still didn’t want to get back to normal with him and he didn’t know how to make that happen. This wasn’t like with Gong Jae Yi where he could make him go abroad. Hae Sung very well couldn’t get rid of your whole class, and Song Si Woo and Kim Cho Rong as well, but he had to do something.

At this rate, you and Han Seo Jun would get together and Lee Hae Sung would rather go blind than see you with that imbecile being all romantic together. You and Gong Jae Yi together had been enough to scar him for lifetimes to come. No, that was his worst nightmare. He needed to do something, to get you talking to him again. Once you were talking again, all he had to do was separate you from your class. Like he used to do and sooner or later they would all get tired of Hae Sung answering for you and that would be the end of those fledgeling friendships.

Chapter 9.

[cryingoverfictionalmen]

My Treasure

pairing: cedric diggory x female reader

summary: you and cedric confess your feelings for each other when you're the treasure he has to rescue during the triwizard tournament

prompt: "it's you, it always has been."

warnings: bad grammar, bad writing skills, as well as a little angsty.

word count: 0.979k

Cedric and I became friends in our second year at Hogwarts, he comforted me every time I was homesick or nervous over some exam and I always tried helping him in every way I could. We were inseparable.

I already knew, deep down, that I had feelings for him. That I loved him in more than a "friendly" way . But I wouldn't admit it to myself, not until that day in my - our - sixth year at Hogwarts...

When I entered the Great Hall everyone was whispering, at first I didn't care, but as soon as I went to where I always sit - next to Cedric at the Hufflepuff table - there was another girl already sitting there, a Ravenclaw that I later found to be Cho Chang.

She was snuggling close to him and taking about her day while he smiled at her. I feel sick… so anxious and sick and like my heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest. Suddenly Cedric seemed to notice my presence and looked nervously at me "Hey y/n, do you mind sitting somewhere else? Just for today."

I smiled and said "No problem, Ced." and that hurt, because it wasn't just for that day, it went on and on. Seeing Cedric slowly leaving me for her, putting me aside, it was like thorns were gathering around my heart.

At first I tried not to show how much I was affected by that, by the way she looked at him. I was the one cheering for him at the first row of the stands when the first task came, and I was the one who screamed the loudest when he got the egg. I also researched everything I could about mer people at the library when he told me about the second task.. but it was practically impossible to ignore the knot in my throat every time they were together.

As clichê as ir sounds, I wouldn't ruin my friendship with Cedric because of some one sided feelings that I had developed on my own. Simple teenage passions come strong and go away quickly, but friendship is forever. - that's what I told myself everytime I every time I thinked about confessing myself to him.

The second task was gonna be tomorrow and I was at the library very focused in my personal task: helping Cedric with the bubble charm. That was until Professor McGonagall approached me. "Miss y/n, please, I need you to come with me." She took me to an empty classroom.

But something feel off... In the second I opened my eyes again I was gasping for air to enter in my burning lungs. I also felt someone's strong arms pull me out of the water while someone else was putting towels around my cold and shaked body.

"W-what's happening?" I asked no one in particular when my vision focused on the large crowd and my ears were flooded with screams and cheers.

Soon Cedric came into my view, he was soaked - so as me - and smiling brightly while people greeted him, but then his gaze fixed on me and a worried look broke out onto his face.

"Y/n, are you okay!? Here, take one more towel." he said while placing it over my shoulders. "Ced, what's going on? Why was I in the lake?" my eyes widened as I realized it "The second task- I-"

"You were my treasure, yes." he said before I could finish, and then he murmured something along the lines of "I should have known this when you didn't show up"

"Hold up, I was your treasure? Why me? Why not Cho? You and her have.. a thing, don't ya?" I was so afraid of what the answer was gonna be.

He smiled, but it wasn't as bright as Cedric's usual smiles, it was sad - almost ashamed - and looked away. "I realized too late I was trying to ditch the feelings I had for so long being with someone else… I acted so wrongly, I feel ashamed. I'm so sorry y/n/n. I messed up and I know it. I should have just told you I was in love with you when I first realized and accepted rejection, instead of just walking away from you." he said running a hand through his wet hair.

"Wait.. you're in love with me?" both my heart and my mind were racing at that moment.

"Listen y/n, I don't blame you if you don't like me back, I'm only trying to do what I should have done long time ago." I opened my mouth to say something but was cut off by him before even trying. "I just want you to know that I'll always be there for you, as a friend or as something else if you decide so. Because this was only a confirmation to want I already knew..." he toke a deep breath and said "It's you, it always has been. You're the one who I truly love." it felt like butterflies were throwing a party inside my belly.

I had no other reaction but to kiss him and as soon as I did he returned. Placing a soft hand on my face while caressing my cheek and the other pulling me closer by the waist, and things felt right in place once more. He's mouth tasted like honey. I could kiss him all day, that's what I was thinking. It was only when more cheers errupted that I realized we had a audience.

Ced and I looked at each other, enjoying the new sensations for a bit and then we laughed. It was like floating in a wave of happiness as I let the feeling take over my body while Cedric hugged me.

He won the first task and I won the love I've always wanted.

@witch-and-a-half, it’ll be a taglist once more people want to be tagged for my fics lol

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars CXXXII (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: Only six chapters to go!! -Danny

Words: 5,233

Series’ Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: ‘How To Be Yours’ -by Chris Renzema

Chapter Thirty: O.W.L.'s

It was chaos after Fred and George's departure. 

Mel didn't even have to lift a finger to make sure the school was having a good amount of incidents, everywhere she went something was always happening, people were eager to copy the twins' doings, and the teachers had no intention to stop them.

The Inquisitorial Squad was in hell, which was what Mel had been dreaming for months. Something not so great was Erick as the main target of people that didn't know he was helping. Despite this, the D.A. knew about his friendship with Mel and they were very careful to keep him safe from any major harm. 

"When Mum's next letter finally gets through Umbridge's screening process I'm going to be in deep trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if she's sent a Howler again."

"But —"

"It'll be my fault Fred and George left, you wait," said Ron. "She'll say I should've stopped them leaving, I should've grabbed the ends of their brooms and hung on or something... Yeah, it'll be all my fault..."

"Well, if she does say that it'll be very unfair, you couldn't have done anything! But I'm sure she won't, I mean, if it's really true they've got premises in Diagon Alley now, they must have been planning this for ages..." Hermione said.

"Yeah, but that's another thing, how did they get premises? It's a bit dodgy, isn't it? They'll need loads of Galleons to afford the rent on a place in Diagon Alley, she'll want to know what they've been up to, to get their hands on that sort of gold..."

"Well, yes, that occurred to me too, I've been wondering whether Mundungus has persuaded them to sell stolen goods or something awful..."

"He hasn't," said Harry.

"How do you know?" asked Ron and Hermione.

"Because —" Harry glanced at Mel. "Because they got the gold from me. I gave them my Triwizard winnings last June."

"Oh, Harry, you didn't!" Hermione gasped.

"Yes, I did. And I don't regret it either — I didn't need the gold, and they'll be great at a joke shop..."

"But this is excellent! It's all your fault, Harry — Mum can't blame me at all! Can I tell her?"

"You really are Harry's best friend, aren't you?" Mel snorted.

"Yeah, I suppose you'd better," said Harry. "'Specially if she thinks they're receiving stolen cauldrons or something..."

Once on the school grounds, she heard Harry and Hermione still arguing about it.

"It's no good nagging me, it's done! Fred and George have got the gold — spent a good bit of it too, by the sounds of it — and I can't get it back from them and I don't want to. So save your breath, Hermione."

"I wasn't going to say anything about Fred and George!" 

Ron snorted.

"No, I wasn't!" She insisted. "As a matter of fact, I was going to ask Harry if he's going to go back to Snape and ask for Occlumency lessons again! You can't tell me you've stopped having funny dreams, because Ron told me last night you were muttering in your sleep again."

"You were only muttering a bit," Ron blushed. "Something about 'just a bit farther.' " 

"I dreamed I was watching you lot play Quidditch," Harry lied. "I was trying to get you to stretch out a bit farther to grab the Quaffle." 

"Wow, that was brutal," Mel grimaced. "If I were you, Ron, I'd sneak some farting bubbles in his pumpkin juice..."

Ron's ears turned red from embarrassment and annoyance, Hermione pinched Mel's arm and she complained, but Harry looked very pleased about his own behaviour.

"You are trying to block your mind, aren't you?" Hermione pushed.

"Of course I am," said Harry, his eyes darting away from his friend's face. "Mel's been helping me lots, haven't you, Mel?"

"Sure thing," Mel lied. "He's making progress. Honestly, I think I'm a better teacher than Snape."

Truth be told they hadn't practised at all after Fred and George left school. Mel was busy with her homework and Quidditch practice, and not once Harry had asked her to help him with Occlumency. Probably because he didn't want her to look into some private memories again.

"You know," said Ron, "if Montague doesn't recover before Slytherin play Hufflepuff, we might be in with a chance of winning the Cup."

"Yeah, I s'pose so," said Harry, eager to change the subject.

"I mean, we've won one, lost one — if Slytherin lose to Hufflepuff next Saturday —"

"Yeah, that's right," Harry's eyes followed Cho's figure as she crossed the courtyard without looking at him once. 

"You know," Mel said quietly. "You shouldn't force it... When things are meant to be, they just happen."

The morning of their game against Ravenclaw Mel was a nervous wreck. She was stuffing herself with all the food she could reach.

"You'll throw up if you keep eating like that!" Hermione took the bowl of fruit from her hands.

"I need that!"

"You don't."

"I mean, I can't get any worse, can I?" Ron said anxiously. "Nothing to lose now, is there?"

"If you keep saying that I'll kill you," Mel groaned. "I'm going to pass out, I just know it..."

As she and Ron were leaving the Hall, Harry tried to catch up with them, but Mel was so entranced in her own thoughts that she didn't hear him yell until he tried another name.

"Dumbledore girl!"

Mel turned back, her eyes landed on Harry and her frown vanished.

"Oh," She blinked. "What's up?"

"It's your first game as Seeker," He shook her hand, squeezing a little. "Best of luck... Can I ask you a favour?"

"Okay?"

"Give hell to Cho," He smirked. "Only during the game, though."

She chuckled. 

"I'll do my best, Glasses."

Both of them froze.

"I'm sorry," She stammered. "I wasn't thinking, I—"

"It's okay," Harry replied softly, his eyes shining at the nickname.

A little voice whispered in her ear: 'Not again.' 

"I have to go," She said, turning hot on her heel and leaving a startled Harry behind.

"And here they come! The Weasleys! Johnson! Bell! Spinnet! Sloper! and Dumbledore! This is Mel's first game as a seeker — Cheers, Mel!"

"I'm so full of shit..." Mel whispered tensely.

"And they're off! And Davies takes the Quaffle immediately, Ravenclaw Captain Davies with the Quaffle, he dodges Johnson, he dodges Bell, he dodges Spinnet as well... He's going straight for goal! He's going to shoot — and — and — Shit! And he's scored."

As predicted, the tune of  'Weasley is our king' started around the stands. Mel took a deep breath coming to terms with the fact that this was beyond her control, all she could do now was focus on catching the snitch. As Bradley plummeted towards Ron, the boy threw himself to the right and he... stopped the Quaffle.

A brief moment of stunned silence surrounded them, then, just as quickly, the Gryffindor crowd erupted into cheers. Mel shared a look of genuine shock with Ginny, then she looked back at her friend, who was frozen in disbelief.

"You got this, Ron!" She shouted.

Mel could only describe what happened next as pure magic. Ron stopped every single attempt to score from the Ravenclaws one after the other. He did all this with truly impressive manoeuvres as well. Angelina was beaming with pride, Katie and Alicia were at the top of their game too; even Jack was doing a decent job.

Ginny was having a blast, throwing the bludgers around to the opposite team. Mel and Cho would circle the game above everyone, and with every passing minute Cho started to look more and more anxious. Mel tried to keep a neutral attitude towards her, but apparently, Cho had witnessed the moment when Harry chased after her to wish her good luck personally. It wasn't Mel's fault, his loyalty was towards Gryffindor, not her! 

An hour after it had started what it was by far the best game of the season, Mel caught a glimpse of something golden at the end of Ravenclaw's side of the field. She flew fast towards it, but Cho was right behind her. She took a sharp turn when a chaser flew right in front of her, causing her (and Cho) to lose sight of the snitch.

The girls went back up with grumpy expressions, but then she looked down to see how the game was going and spotted the snitch two feet away from the tail of  Cho's broom. Mel swore loudly and gave another abrupt turn, circling Chang's broom. The tail barely grazed her shoulder as she chased after the tiny thing. Mel stretched out her hand and in one sudden movement, she seized it.

The game was officially over, and Gryffindor had won.

Mel stared down at the object on her palm as she landed, she was tackled into a hug by the whole team, Ron was in the middle of it, being the star of the match. Only then she realized the lyrics of the song had changed. 

Weasley is our King,

Weasley is our King,

He didn't let the Quaffle in,

Weasley is our King...

Weasley can save anything,

He never leaves a single ring

That's why Gryffindors all sing:

Weasley is our King.

Angelina was a crying mess as well as Alicia, this being their last game probably felt like a miracle sent from heaven. Katie and Ginny were euphoric, Jack couldn't believe their luck. Every girl in the team kissed Ron on the cheek and Jack patted his shoulder roughly. Mel got her own round of hugs and kisses, and they were both suddenly lifted in the air, guided to the stands so they could receive the Quidditch cup from none other than Umbridge herself.

Sure, instant gratification was all right, but nothing was quite as pleasant as the absolute outrage in Umbridge's face when the cup reached Mel and Ron's hands, both of them lifting the cup proudly for everyone to see. 

As the crowd guided them back to the castle, Ron shouted.

"HARRY! HERMIONE! WE DID IT! WE WON!" 

She looked to where he was yelling and found their friends beaming at them. Mel's eyes fixed on Harry's expression, he hadn't looked that happy since last June. She was delighted to be part of the reason why he was smiling like that.

"Hagrid's keeping a what in the forest?" 

Hermione hushed her, they were in their room long after the party had ended, the girl had sneaked into her bed to talk about what they'd done during the Quidditch match. Turns out that neither she nor Harry had seen it, Hagrid appeared and asked them to follow him into the forbidden forest. There he introduced them to his half brother, which happened to be:

"A young giant?" Her voice came out muffled since Hermione was covering her mouth. "He spends his afternoons being his brother's punching bag?"

"He reckons he's helping him become... er... civilized," Hermione said. "It's awful, really. Grawp looks like he'd much rather spend his time chasing down centaurs than learning how to spell 'tree'."

"And he made you promise we would look after him? No. Absolutely not."

"We don't have a choice —"

"We don't even know if he'll get fired!"

"Do you really think Umbridge will let him stay? I mean, Harry and I were the ones who promised anyway, so you're not obliged —"

"Don't be silly," Mel rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't leave you alone — And let's be honest, I'm stronger than you when it comes to magical defense, I'm probably the one who's got a bigger chance to control a small giant."

"You're probably right..." Hermione sighed. "I couldn't bring myself to tell Ron — Neither could Harry! We couldn't..."

"I guess we can't do much besides sit and worry, can we?"

"Yeah, reckon so."

"I always said there was no use in sitting and worrying," She pouted. "But usually that's the only thing I'm able to do..."

"Well, I mean, I'd already let in that one of Davies's, so I wasn't feeling that confident, but I dunno, when Bradley came toward me, just out of nowhere, I thought — you can do this!" Ron was describing his first saved for the third time. "And I had about a second to decide which way to fly, you know, because he looked like he was aiming for the right goal hoop — my right, obviously, his left — but I had a funny feeling that he was feinting, and so I took the chance and flew left — his right, I mean — and — well — you saw what happened."

The boy pushed his hair back and made it messier. They were sitting outside, trying to enjoy the fresh air of the afternoon, the sight reminded her of a scene that though she wasn't originally there to witness, now was part of her memories.

"And then, when Chambers came at me about five minutes later — what?" Ron stared at her and Harry. "Why are you two grinning?"

"I'm not," Harry glimpsed at Mel and knew they were thinking about the same thing. "I'm just glad we won, that's all."

"Yeah... we won," Ron agreed wistfully. "Did you see the look on Chang's face when Mel got the Snitch right out from under her nose?"

"I suppose she cried, did she?" 

"Wow, you definitely didn't sound bitter at all," Mel snorted. 

"Well, yeah — more out of temper than anything, though..." Ron was right, but Mel didn't feel particularly proud of this, it wasn't like she wanted Cho to throw a tantrum, she just wanted to win. "But you saw her chuck her broom away when she got back to the ground, didn't you?"

"Er..." 

"Well, actually... no, Ron," Hermione closed her book. "As a matter of fact, the only bit of the match Harry and I saw was Davies's first goal."

"You didn't watch?" Ron visibly deflated. "You didn't see me make any of those saves?" 

"Well — no. But Ron, we didn't want to leave — we had to!"

"Yeah?" The boy started to get annoyed. "How come?"

"It was Hagrid," Harry explained. "He decided to tell us why he's been covered in injuries ever since he got back from the giants. He wanted us to go into the forest with him, we had no choice, you know how he gets... Anyway..."

By the end, Ron had forgotten he was even mad.

"He brought one back and hid it in the forest?" He whispered.

"Yep," said Harry simply.

"No... no, he can't have..."

"Well, he has," Hermione stated. "Grawp's about sixteen feet tall, enjoys ripping up twenty-foot pine trees, and knows me," the girl snorted, "as Hermy."

Ron laughed nervously, Mel chortled.

"You didn't tell me about your nickname last night!"

"Because I knew you would tease me endlessly," The girl rolled her eyes.

"And Hagrid wants us to..?"

"Teach him English, yeah," Harry replied with a crooked smile.

"He's lost his mind," Ron concluded.

"Yes," Hermione responded. "Yes, I'm starting to think he has. But unfortunately, he made Harry and me promise."

"Well, you're just going to have to break your promise, that's all. I mean, come on... We've got exams and we're about that far," he made a gesture with his fingers, a millimetre of space keeping them from touching, "from being chucked out as it is. And anyway... remember Norbert? Remember Aragog? Have we ever come off better for mixing with any of Hagrid's monster mates?"

"I know, it's just that — we promised..." Hermione pouted. 

"Well... Hagrid hasn't been sacked yet, has he? He's hung on this long, maybe he'll hang on till the end of term and we won't have to go near Grawp at all."

Panic rose over the fifth-years as June welcomed them into the busiest start of summer of their lives. Mel was sick of studying, so she spent her afternoons helping some classmates review their subjects. In exchange, Neville helped her with Herbology, he was a marvellous tutor.

Erick had seen her one time after the Quidditch final, the boy was preoccupied with studying for his own exams. Next year would be Erick's seventh and last, and he was determined to become the Headboy. Mel asked him if it hadn't lost its charm now that Umbridge was headmistress, but Erick merely shrugged and assured her there was no way that woman would be there next year.

"You know what?" Mel yawned. "I wouldn't mind chucking down my throat some doxy droppings to see if they can pull me out of my misery. I hate feeling like I'm not good enough, I don't know how my dad did this for seven years..."

"Cheer up," Ron tried to pat her shoulder, touching the wall instead. "You're only saying that because you have no patience. You're the smartest witch in our year right after 'Mione — You got this. Now shut up and let me worry in peace."

"Remember our vow?" She smirked, nudging his arm. "The one about us being awful together?"

Ron looked at her. "Well, if Miss Popular's done ignoring her old friends, then yeah, I remember."

"I admit I was a bit of a prat this year," Mel made a face. "But I would never change you for a stranger! You're my best friend!"

"You say that all the time," The boy rolled his eyes, but put his arm around her shoulders anyway. "Keep saying it, it's nice to hear." 

Mel snorted, elbowing his side playfully.

She did splendidly on her examination, she was the first out of the four to be called in for her practical exam. Professor Marchbanks was delighted to have her.

"Dumbledore, aren't you?" She asked eagerly. "Yes, yes... Oh well dear, what are you waiting for? Do your best..." 

It was the first time in a while that her routine was exactly like everyone else's. Their classmates were buzzing with anxiety and none of them looked exactly happy, some older students would try to sell them fake brain stimula but Hermione was quick to put an end to it. Mel was strangely thrilled about being part of it all. She was, at last, just another student trying to pass the year.

All in all, even if she was just another student, there was no denying that she had way more advanced knowledge in some areas. Mel outdid her D.A.D.A exam and the only time she hesitated when answering a theoretical test was during Herbology, which if anything, turned out to be humbling. She didn't want to have all her success inflating her head again, she wasn't planning on becoming the next James Potter, no matter how close she'd been to be one that year.

They had a whole weekend ahead before they had to take the rest of their O.W.L.S, Harry, Ron, and Mel sat in the common room and played chess to release some tension. Mel was watching them, but she was too sleepy to pay attention and ended up taking a nap on Ron's shoulder.

Hermione entered the common room in such an agitated way that Mel gave a start, bumping heads with Ron.

"How were the runes?" Ron mumbled as he rubbed the side of his face.

"I mistranslated 'ehwaz'! It means 'partnership,' not��'defense,' I mixed it up with 'eihwaz.'"

"Ah well," The boy yawned, "that's only one mistake, isn't it, you'll still get —"

"Oh shut up. It could be the one mistake that makes the difference between a pass and a fail. And what's more, someone's put another niffler in Umbridge's office, I don't know how they got it through that new door, but I just walked past there and Umbridge is shrieking her head off — by the sound of it, it tried to take a chunk out of her leg —"

"Good," said the three.

"It is not good! She thinks it's Hagrid doing it, remember? And we do not want Hagrid chucked out!"

"He's teaching at the moment, she can't blame him," said Harry, pointing over at the window. 

"Oh, you're so naive sometimes, Harry, you really think Umbridge will wait for proof?" Hermione scoffed, leaving them there to storm off to her room.

"Such a lovely, sweet-tempered girl," Ron murmured.

Since Hermione didn't abandon her constant state of anger and anxiety, Mel's friends designated her as the study guide so she supervised everyone. 

Potions passed rather easily, she was getting quite good at it, though she was far from being the best. Care of Magical Creatures was a different story, she'd always been good with animals. On Wednesday she had her Astronomy O.W.L, and that's when things got ugly, though not in the way she was expecting.

Even if her love for the night sky had been damaged thanks to Divination, she was still fond of the stars, not that they could tell her anything about her current situation, but they were a peaceful and bright constant. It was comforting, even if the world was about to end, little would change outside their planet, and eventually, things would move on.

As she looked down to rearrange her parchment, her eyes landed on several figures moving towards Hagrid's cabin, one of them with a particularly stiff way of walking. Umbridge knocked on the cabin's front door and Hagrid opened it. Hermione was right after all, the woman was ready to chop one more head before the end of the term.

Harry was watching as well. Professor Marchbanks walked behind him and he quickly returned his eyes to the map he was making, Mel stayed still, looking directly to the cabin instead of the sky.

Someone yelled. Several students turned their attention to the school grounds and Professor Tofty cleared his throat.

"Try and concentrate, now, boys and girls — twenty minutes to go." 

Mel looked down and skimmed through her map, she had finished, she only needed to—

BANG!

The girl pushed her telescope aside and walked up to the railing, too worried to care about the points the Professors could take from her.

Hagrid's door had burst open and by the light flooding out of the cabin they saw him quite clearly, a massive figure roaring and brandishing his fists, surrounded by six people, all of whom, judging by the tiny threads of red light they were casting in his direction, seemed to be attempting to Stun him.

"No!"

"My dear!" said Professor Tofty. "This is an examination!"

"They're attacking him!" Mel responded.

"Be reasonable, Hagrid!" 

"Reasonable be damned, yeh won' take me like this, Dawlish!"

Why was an Auror there if Hagrid was only being fired? Why bring law enforcement to something as silly as a sacking?

Mel blessed Hagrid's half-giant origins because they kept him from getting injured, the spells would bounce off of him when thrown in disorder, but the Aurors were trained people, they started to attack him at the same time. Hagrid grabbed one of the men and threw him in the air, leaving him limp on the ground.

"Look!" Parvati gasped.

"Now, really! Only sixteen minutes left, you know!" Professor Tofty insisted.

Mel turned to leave the tower, Ron grabbed a hold of her arm and stopped her.

"He needs help!"

"Look!" Ron pointed out.

"How dare you! How dare you!" 

"It's McGonagall!" Hermione gasped.

"Leave him alone! Alone, I say! On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such —"

The girls around her screamed, McGonagall received a total of four stunning spells that threw her back, she didn't stand up again.

"Galloping gargoyles! Not so much as a warning! Outrageous behaviour!" Professor Tofty exclaimed.

"COWARDS! RUDDY COWARDS! HAVE SOME O' THAT — AN' THAT —" 

"Oh my —" 

Hagrid took two massive swipes at his closest attackers; judging by their immediate collapse, they had been knocked cold. 

Harry saw him double over and thought for a moment that he had finally been overcome by a spell, but on the contrary, next moment Hagrid was standing again with what appeared to be a sack on his back — then Harry realized that Fang's limp body was draped around his shoulders.

"Get him, get him!" 

"Ron, let me go!"

"If you go there you'll get expelled! What can you do against trained Aurors?"

"More than you can imagine!" She growled. "I said, let me go!"

Ron jumped back and held his hand with wide eyes. He had blisters on his palm as if he'd burnt himself on a stove. Mel froze, unable to know how on earth she'd managed to do that.

"He's gone!" Harry said out loud. "Hagrid's leaving!"

"That evil woman!" Hermione exclaimed. "Trying to sneak up on Hagrid in the dead of night!" 

"She clearly wanted to avoid another scene like Trelawney's," Ernie Macmillan responded.

"That cow," Mel was pale from both, fury and shock. Ron was doing his best to stand as far from her as possible. 

"Hagrid did well, didn't he?" He asked, careful to hide his hand from the others. "How come all the spells bounced off him?"

"It'll be his giant blood," Hermione frowned. "It's very hard to Stun a giant, they're like trolls, really tough... But poor Professor McGonagall... Four Stunners straight in the chest, and she's not exactly young, is she?"

"Stop," Mel felt an all too familiar coldness on the tips of her fingers. "She will get better, she's a tough woman..."

"Dreadful, dreadful," said Ernie, reminding her a bit to Lockhart. "Well, I'm off to bed.. 'Night, all."

"At least they didn't get to take Hagrid off to Azkaban," Ron continued. "I 'spect he's gone to join Dumbledore, hasn't he?"

"I suppose so... oh, this is awful, I really thought Dumbledore would be back before long, but now we've lost Hagrid too..."

"I... I have to... bathroom..." Mel looked around desperately, squeezing the fabric of her robes between her hands to dry them. "This is not — sorry —"

She ran, already gawking by the time she managed to open the door to one of the stalls. Everything inside her felt unsteady, she wanted to help Hagrid but she couldn't, and now they didn't have him, nor Dumbledore, and who knew if McGonagall was going to recover... 

She'd hurt Ron without meaning to — just like Ariana Dumbledore, she'd felt a bit of herself slipping away in her frustration and anger, she understood why it had been so easy for that girl to lose control... But she wasn't crazy! This had been an accident, and she was going to fix it... But what if things escalated before she could find a way to stop? 

Someone walked in and followed the noises she was making, she hadn't even tried to close the door to her toilet. Mel closed her eyes tightly, taking a shaky breath.

"I'm okay!" She said, but it was quite obvious in her voice that she was sobbing. "Please go!"

"How many times do I have to tell you —" She jumped at the sound of his exasperated tone, "not to run when you have an attack? It makes it harder to breathe!"

Mel scowled at him without getting up from the floor. It was disgusting, she was unable to calm her breathing, she couldn't reply properly. Harry crouched down next to her and she tensed, but the boy raised both hands to ease her, supporting one on the wall to not lose his balance.

"I won't touch you if you don't want me to," He said, "tell me what you need — Don't ask me to leave you, though — can't be on your own..."

Mel shook her head, swallowing harshly. 

"I can't — I can't breathe —"

"Yeah, well, you ran all the way to the bathrooms," He stated. "But it's okay —"

"I wanted to help... but Ron —" Her voice broke. "I hurt him..."

"He showed me," Harry said, then quickly added. "He's not angry."

"I'm going crazy — I can't control it —"

"You're not crazy," Harry moved slightly so he could face her. "Look at me — Don't think about it, just look at me..."

She didn't want to, didn't want him as the witness of her frailty, but it was the only person around. Mel looked up and focused solely on him.

"You're not crazy," He repeated, his eyes fixed on hers. "Going to the school grounds would've gotten you expelled."

Mel shook her head in a sort of childish manner, her breathing was reaching a reasonable rhythm. She closed her eyes tightly and pressed her lips together to stop crying, but it didn't work.

"What's your cat's name?" He asked in a clear voice.

"What?"

"Your cat," He said. "What's his name?"

"Grey..?" Mel picked up on what he was doing and continued. "One... One, two, three, four letters... G— R— E— Y... and he's black... B— L— A— C— K..."

"That's right," He smiled a little. "Good job..."

The counting and spelling was a game her mother used to distract Mel whenever she was feeling anxious. Harry knew it since they were kids. 

"Did you know..." She said weakly, "you're the only idiot who always sees me cry like this?"

Harry snorted, sitting down with his back against the wall.

"That can't be true."

"It is."

"What about Hermione?"

"No," She pushed herself away from the toilet and sat on the floor fully.

"Fred?" Harry looked at her with scepticism. "Erick?"

 "Maybe teared up a bit, but... I only cry like this when... do you really think I'm not crazy?"

"It's me who everyone's calling mental."

"Yes, but that's a lie."

"Same with you."

"Dumbledore said —"

"Dumbledore can't know it all, can he? Or he would've warned Hagrid about Umbridge before leaving."

"...maybe," She cleaned her face with the back of her sleeve. "I didn't mean to hurt Ron."

"He doesn't blame you," Harry stood up. "He said it was a foolish thing to do... he should've known better than to try and stop you."

"Don't say it like that," Mel frowned. "Like it's not a problem — I shouldn't... I should have better control —"

"You do," He said, helping her to her feet. "But you have to make mistakes sometimes, genius and all."

"I'm not a genius," She scoffed. "I'm a twat."

"Who said you can't be both?" Harry taunted. "This is the boy's bathroom, by the way."

"Oh blimey," said Lee Jordan, covering his mouth. "It's me's been putting the nifflers in her office, Fred and George left me a couple, I've been levitating them in through her window..."

"She'd have sacked him anyway," Dean shook his head. "He was too close to Dumbledore."

"That's true," Harry fell back on his chair tiredly.

"I just hope Professor McGonagall's all right," said Lavender.

"They carried her back up to the castle, we watched through the dormitory window," Colin Creevey informed them. "She didn't look very well..."

"Madam Pomfrey will sort her out," said Alicia. "She's never failed yet." 

"I doubt she would let herself die in such a way," Mel added calmly. "She won't leave this earth without making sure Umbridge gets fired... and neither will I."

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

@dee123ksha @vampiregirl1797 @siriuslysirius1107 @stardusthigh @mikariell95 @vernon-dursley @thesuitelifeofafangirl @tomshollandz @kylosleftbuttcheek @reverse-hxlland @bloodorangemoonlight @omiwashere @t-rexs-world @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @21bruhs @i-am-scared-and-useless-bisexual @dielgonacoffee​

[cocos-cocoapuffsarenotforsale]

What You’ll Sorely Miss

MASTERLIST

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this story. I was re-reading Goblet of Fire like a week ago when I got the idea for this story. This is one of the first Harry Potter Fanfics I’ve written so I’m pretty nervous to post it. I really hope you all enjoy it! Love you guys! Xoxo

Summary: When Harry’s sister disappears the night before the second Triwizard task, Harry’s not the only one who’s worried about her.

Warnings: Swearing, AU where Harry has a twin sister (Y/n), AU where Sirius never went to Azkaban and raised Harry and his sister, Fluff, Worried!Harry, Worried!Draco, Happy ending, Harry accepts their relationship (pretty quick), Nice!Draco, Sweet!Draco

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“Harry, what exactly did the egg say again?” You ask your twin, after putting away what must have been the tenth book you had read so far that night. You, Ron and Hermione, were attempting to help Harry figure out how to stay underwater for an hour for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.

You were gonna have to find a way to tell Draco there was no way you could meet up with him tonight. While Draco and Harry may not have gotten along well you and Draco were an entirely different story. Of course with you being a Gryffindor and not to mention being Harry Potter’s sister and Draco being a Slytherin, the two of you had kept your relationship a secret for the past year.

Harry repeated the egg’s song for what must have been the 20th time that night. You were still just as stumped about what to do as you were the first time.

“Maybe we could ask Sirius?” You suggest half-heartedly, knowing your brother would refuse. Sirius was both your and Harry’s godfather and had raised the two of you after your parents’ murder. Harry and you were both extremely close to him. Harry, however, was constantly worried about disappointing him. And considering how quickly he had shot you down earlier about asking for Sirius’s help, you doubted he would agree to it now. 

“Y/n, I can’t. I swore to him that I had figured it out weeks ago. He’ll kill me.” Harry sighs, dropping his head onto the book he was currently reading.

“Hard at work, eh?” You heard a familiar voice chuckled, looking up you saw George Weasley smirking down at you. Accompanied of course by his twin, Fred.

“As a matter of fact yes. So if that’s all then-” Hermione starts before Fred cuts her off.

“Actually, we came to get you and Y/n,” Fred says with a wink.

“Why?” You ask, raising an eyebrow at them. The last time the Weasley twins needed you it was to test out their nosebleed candies. Needless to say, you weren’t too keen on helping them anymore.

“McGonagall wants to see you and ‘Mione in her office,” George responds cheekily. 

“Alright. Let’s go Y/n. Don’t worry we’ll be back in a bit to help you guys. But keep looking in the meantime.” Hermione says seeing the look of fear on Harry and Ron’s faces. Those two were practically hopeless without you and Hermione. Hermione loops her arm with yours and the two of you follow Fred and George to McGonagall’s office.

You knock on McGonagall’s door once the two of you reach her office. 

“Come in.” You hear her reply. You open the door and enter to find not only Professor McGonagall but Professor Dumbledor, Ludo Bagman, Cho Chang, and a small blonde-haired girl.

“Miss Granger, Miss Potter, please take a seat.” Professor Dumbledore says gesturing to two chairs next to Cho.

“You needed to see us, Professor?” Hermione asks McGonagall looking around nervously.

“As I’m sure you all know the second task is tomorrow. Each of the champions will have something taken from them that they must retrieve. You are those things. Gabrielle, Miss Delacour’s little sister, Miss Chang for Mr. Diggory, Miss Granger for Mr. Krum and of course Miss Potter for Mr. Potter.” McGonagall explains gesturing to each of you.

“We ask that each of you take this potion. It will put you to sleep and as soon as you are above the water you will wake.” Dumbledore explains handing each of you a small vial of bluish liquid.

“What if they don’t reach us in time?” You ask nervously.

“My dear do you think I would ever allow anything to happen to students. You will all be fine even if your champion doesn’t reach you in time.” Dumbledore promises, looking at you with a twinkle in his eyes. You nod before locking eyes with Hermione and the two of you take the potion at the same time. God, I really hope Harry figures something out. You think to yourself before falling asleep.

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Draco’s POV

I’ve been looking around for Y/n all morning. Where the hell is she? She never showed up last night which hadn’t surprised me considering that the second task was today. But I didn’t see her at breakfast and she’s not with Saint Potter, so where the fuck is she? I couldn’t very well go asking about her whereabouts seeing as we had agreed to keep our relationship a secret. But now I’m really starting to regret it. 

“Draky poo are you alright?” Pansy asks me with a look of concern on her face.

“I’m fine Parkinson. Get off.” I hiss as she tries to fix my hair. Only Y/n gets to do that.

“What’s wrong baby?” Pansy asks in her sickly sweet voice.

“Nothing and I’m not your baby! Just stay the hell away from me!” I say storming away from her. Crabbe and Goyle follow me looking very confused. They knew I hated Pansy and how she was always hanging around me. But normally I was very patient with her. Little did they know a big reason why was that seeing Pansy around me got Y/n all riled up. Y/n is so adorable when she’s jealous.

“Malfoy, are you ok?” Goyle asks.

“Fine. Let’s go watch the stupid task.” I growl as I climb in the boat. Hopefully, I’ll see Y/n out on the lake. I need to see Y/n. That’s all I could think about.

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Harry’s POV

“Where are they?” I ask Ron as we make our way down to the boats. Luckily we ran into Neville last night and he told me about Gillyweed. He gave it to me this morning at breakfast. So thankfully that part of the task was handled. 

But we hadn’t seen Y/n or Hermione since they left the library for McGonagall’s office. And I was worried, Y/n would never miss this. She had never missed a Quidditch match, even when she was sick and miserable she came to cheer me on.

“I don’t know. It’s not like them to disappear. Maybe it’s a girl thing or something. I’m sure they’ll be out there waiting to watch.” Ron says patting my shoulder trying to reassure me. It doesn’t work.

Once we are all lined up about to dive into the lake I take one final look around and still don’t see them. The next thing I know Moody pushes me into the lake and I force myself to focus on the task.

Swimming towards the center of the lake I finally figured out where Y/n and Hermione were. Of course, I think to myself, “We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss”, Y/n.

After Cedric and Krum came I tried to wait to make sure Fleur got her sister. But after a while of waiting, I figured she wasn’t coming and I decided I would save both Y/n and Gabrielle. The merpeople were not happy about this but I won. Once we reach the surface they both wake up and gasp for air. 

“Oh, Harry! I’m so sorry for not helping more!” Y/n exclaims wrapping her arms around me while we are still in the water.

“It’s ok Y/n/n. Can we get out of the water though I’m freezing?” I ask, making her laugh at me. We swim back towards the docks and all of a sudden there’s a splash and someone swimming towards us. Malfoy?

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Your POV

“Draco, what the hell are you doing?” I ask as he swims towards Harry and me.

“Y/n, oh thank god!” He exclaims wrapping his arms around me and pulling me back to the dock. Harry’s in shock and just treading water looking at us with his jaw open. 

“Harry!” Hermione shouts, shaking him out of his stupor. His look of shock turns to rage and he swims as fast as he can to the dock.

Draco reaches the dock and pulls me out with him before grabbing as many towels as possible and wrapping them around me. 

“Are you alright love?” He asks cupping your face with his hand.

“Yes, Draco, I’m fine. But you might not be for much longer.” You giggle watching Harry storm over to the two of you, Ron and Hermione following him.

“Get your slimy hands off my sister Malfoy!” Harry shouts shoving Draco away from you.

“Harry it’s ok-” You try to say before he cuts you off.

“No, it’s not Y/n/n. What the bloody hell do you think you are doing Malfoy?!” Harry shouts.

“Potter calm down. Y/n/n and I have been seeing each other for the past year-” Draco tries to explain but Harry’s look of rage makes him stop.

“WHAT? You’ve been seeing that git for a year?! Did he put some fucking enchantment on you?” Harry yells making people turn and look, including all the teachers and the Headmaster.

“Harry, calm down. We’ll talk about this later. Let’s hear the scores.” Hermione whispers to him and forces him to turn towards the judges.

“This isn’t over Malfoy,” Harry growled before he walked away.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Draco asks you after Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave.

“I’m fine Draco. I’m just worried about Harry. He hates me now.” You feel tears well in your eyes. Harry was your best friend and your brother all wrapped in one and you can’t stand the idea of him hating you.

“He doesn’t hate you.” 

“How do you know?” You ask, turning away to hide the tears that were now streaming down your face from Draco. 

“Hey, don’t cry Pretty Girl. He loves you more than he hates me. Besides just think about it, the task was that the person they would miss most would be taken from them. Harry’s person was you. He loves you,” Draco says wrapping his arms around you and placing a soft kiss on your temple. “And so do I.” He whispers the last part so quietly you weren’t sure you heard him right.

“What?” You ask breathlessly, as you turn in his arms to face him.

“I love you Y/n Potter,” Draco whispers, nervously.

“I love you too Draco!” You exclaim pressing a hard kiss to his lips.

“Y/n, Draco,” you hear your brother murmur. Draco and you break apart and you look down at your feet to scared to look at Harry.

“Y/n/n, look at me,” Harry pleads, the desperation in Harry’s voice making you look up.

“Y/n, I’m sorry about how I reacted before. Does he treat you right?” Harry inquires, seriously.

“Yes, he does. I love him, Harry. But I love you too and I can’t lose you.” You reply.

“You will never lose me Y/n/n. I love you too sis,” Harry says pulling you into a hug.

“Do you love her?” He asks Draco after he and you break apart.

“With all my heart,” Draco replies, giving you his signature smirk.

“If you hurt her in any way-” Harry starts but Draco cuts him off.

“Yeah, yeah, Potter, you’ll kill me. Don’t worry Potter, if I hurt her I’ll gladly let you.” Draco gives Harry his signature smirk before Draco wraps an arm around your shoulders.

“Nice job today Potter, thanks for saving our girl.” Draco congratulates Harry.

“Yeah me and my stupid moral fiber. I could’ve gotten first if I wasn’t such a moron.” Harry replies with a chuckle.

“I can’t argue with you there.” Draco teases and it warms your heart to see your boyfriend and brother getting along. Even if they were still giving each other shit at least they weren’t hexing each other.

“I think you did splendidly,” you say giving your brother a high five.

“Thanks, Y/n/n. I gotta go party in the common room, can’t be late.” He explains before rushing off to join Ron and Hermione on the way back to the castle.

“Wanna go to the party with me?” You ask Draco.

“I don’t know, even if your brother doesn’t hate me I’m still a Slytherin. And we both know how Gryffindors feel about Slytherins.” Draco replies hesitantly.

“Maybe it’s time we start to change that.” You suggest giving him a small smile.

“Anything for my girl.” Draco agrees walking back towards the castle with you.

[korkisobsessions]

The Oath

XVII. Gifts

Hi guys, I know I´m a terrible at posting, but you know, Christmas is coming and whole this year is crazy. So I´m very sorry this chapter is quiet short. Hope you enjoy it anyway :) 

I wish you all merry christmas <3

You look like you sleep as well as I was.” Jae-Bong greets him with tired eyes. He didn’t say anything and head behind the house to the barn where they took body of the dead man.

“I was awake all night, listening to every crack. I was worried that Miho will sneak inside the barn and see it.”

Man was laid on the big table covered by old sheet. He started to stink and Jae-Bong needs all his strength to not throw up. Yeong shin experienced worse.

“Miho was running around our house again.”

“If that’s a problem...” big man spoke through piece of cloth pressed to his face.

“No. He is a good kid. Nilah really likes him.”

Yeongshin was glad when he saw Jae-Bong’s son in the morning. He knew that he will be the best companion for Nilah. She had bad, restless nigh and woke up pale and tired. But she smiled at him and let him go, even though he wanted to stay with her.

“I didn’t noticed this, when we found him yesterday.” For the first time, he was really sick.

“Oh no...” Jae-Bong growl and leave the barn with pale face.

Man on the table had cut off his manhood. His crotch was just bloody mess.

Yeong shin covered him again and followed Jae-Bong outside.

Leader of village was sitting on the ground, white as snow with cold sweat on his forehead.

“I never saw something like this.” He mumbled and took little flask from his vest. It looked almost same like Byung Chul used to have. “Someone killed him and then violated the body?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Yeong shin sat down next to him and accepted the flask with alcohol. It was weaker than Byung Chul’s. “Someone who did this wants his victim to suffer. He enjoyed the torture. He did this and then beheads him.”

“But why? I don’t understand...” Jae-Bong hides his face in palms.

“It looks like revenge.” Yeong shin lay on his back with hands behind his head. “There is nothing we can do.” He thought how such a beautiful day could have so terrible secret. There really was nothing to do. He wasn’t investigator. He was best in tracking and there were no tracks. He search surrounding of that place, but only footprints were his or Jae-Bong’s. It was almost unnatural how clean of track that place was. The murderer knows what to do and how to hide his presence.

“Yeong shin!! Father!” Miho’s Scream stops his heart.

“Miho? What is it?”  

Boy was running to them with wide eyes. He barely can catch his breath. His face red and hair damp with sweat.

“Some weird man is heading to your house!” he stuttered that few word with struggle.

Yeong shin’s stomach drop and his blood froze.

He didn’t wait, grab his rifle and run. He didn’t care about Jae-Bong shouting behind him, or Minho trying to run with him. He was glad that kid can’t keep up. If that weird man is ‘that’ weird man, it will be bloody fight and he didn’t want him to see.

His lungs were burning when he run like insane. His muscles working with urge.

He run through the village, people were shouting and getting out of his way. But he didn’t care. He was trying so desperately to behave from their first day here, and now he act like rogue. They will leave if they have to. He was ready to sacrifice their house and life here. He was ready to sacrifice everything, just not Nilah.

He approaches the house. Everything looks fine from the outside, but he did not trust that sign and run inside.

And then he saw him.

Siting in their kitchen with wide smile on his face was Cho Beom Pal in all his glory.

Yeongshin lean on the wall and slide to the ground. His lungs hurt and heart missing the beats. Weird man, of course.

“Is that you my friend? You look like you see a ghost!” came laughter through loud buzzing in his ears.

He pressed his hot and damp forehead to cold metal of his rifle and closed his eyes because he starts to see light dots. “I should stay with His highness and hunt the dead. It was calmer life.” He mumbled and tried to catch his breath.

“Oh gods Yeong shin? What happened?” Nilah’s worried face appeared before him and dark shadows were dancing around.

“He throws himself inside like thunderstorm. I think he will pass out?” Beom Pal’s voice was coming from far.

“Yeong shin?” Nilah pressed damp cold cloth on the back of his neck and give him cup with cold water. “What happened? Are you hurt?” she was really worried and was trying to find any injury.

“I’m good. It’s nothing. Just Miho making mess.” He smiled and closed his eyes for a few seconds. He needs to calm his heart, nerves and brain. Wipe out all that disasters he was imaging.

“And I thought, you will be bored.” Beom Pal laughed and sat back on his place.

Nilah looked happy to see him. She was serving food and opened the bottle of soju.

“What are you doing here my lord?” she pours him a drink and one for Yeong shin. He drinks it with one gulp and pours himself another. His hands were still shaking.

Beom Pal’s face light up with pure happiness.

“I’ve got gifts for you two.”

“Gifts?”  Yeong shin raised his eyebrow, finally calm enough to enjoy Beom Pal’s unexpected presence.

“Yes, but first, drink!” he give Nilah her cup and took his. “Toast to your new life. I hope you two are married already.”

Nilah’s cheeks turned red and she cough.

“No, we are not. It’s complicated.” Yeong shin drink his cup with serious face.

“Oooh, don’t be like this Yeong shin! It’s not complicated! Marry this gorgeous lady before someone else will.” Beom Pal laughed, but Yeong shin’s face paled and knuckles of his fist turned white.

“Please my lord. Leave it.” Nilah laid hand on magistrate’s forearm. She saw how much pain his words make to her beloved man.

“I just don’t understand...” Beom Pal was still mumbling while he took out small package. It was something wrapped in silk paper. “You love her, she saved your life, and probably more than once, you dragged her from hell...just marry her you foolish...”

“Stop it!” Yeong shin’s nerves cracked. His fists hit the table with loud bang. Beom Pal grew silent but he had small mischief smile on his lips.

“There is nothing I want more than made Nilah my wife. I would be honoured to be her man...It’s ridiculous, because I’m her man already, I don’t care if it’s official. I belong to her. My every heartbeat belongs to her.”

Nilah was speechless, listening his words with glossy eyes and blushing cheeks. She was touched by his words.

“Here, my gift.” Beom Pal gives Yeong shin small package. He took it with questions in his eyes, still wildly breathing.

He opened it and for a while he was still like statue. He just lifts his eyes to Beom Pal and Nilah through she saw them gloss.

“How did you...?” his voice was trembling when he put his hands on the table holding his gift in tight grip.

“I’m very important man, remember?” Beom Pal smiled happily.

“What is it?”  Nilah was trying to recognise, what made him so touched that even his hands trembled.

“It’s my name tag.” Yeong shin whispered with tight voice.

It was little tag with the name ‘Seo Yeong shin’ and it was made from fine wood that was probably very expensive.

“It’s your new name tag. You are in the King’s favour.” Beom Pal smiled with satisfaction. It took him a long time to found Yeong shin’s name in books and bring him back to the world of living. He must talk to lot of magistrates, to negotiate and sometimes used just a little threat. Until he was holding two fresh pieces of wood.

“And this is yours.” He gave Nilah same piece of dark wood.

Her breath hitched and she covered her mouth to not let out loud sob.

“You are officially citizen of this kingdom.”

“Thank you my lord. I don’t know what to say...how to make it up to you.” She hugged him and didn’t think about, how inappropriate it was. She was just happy. Maybe more for Yeong shin than for herself.

“Don’t be silly. I’m glad I could help you.” Beom Pal shushed her and took the bottle “So, let’s drink!”

 Nilah never saw Yeong shin drunk. She was sitting on the floor with bottle in her lap, she felt her cheeks red and hot like in fever, but she wasn’t sick. She was drunk and happy...maybe happier she ever was.

She was singing old songs she remembers from home. It was drinking songs of her nation about sun, sea and honourable deaths and reunion with gods.

And Yeong shin was dancing. She was happily laughing when he was swinging in the centre of the room waving with his hands. His cheeks red as hers and eyes glossy.

She never saw him so happy, smiling so long and wide. She wants to cry with happiness.

And Beom Pal was dancing too. Wobbling around and trying to sing songs in language he didn’t even know.

It was a long night full of joy. And in the end of it Nilah was sleeping and Yeong shin was sitting outside with Beom Pal, watching night changing colours.

It was silent and peaceful moment.

“She is still scared.” He whispered into the dark. “She has nightmares and last night I found her scared to death, just because she saw shadow, or something.”

It was like throwing away heavy weight from his back. He was so glad that Beom Pal was there.

“I have this trouble too, sometimes.” Beom Pal admitted. “Nightmares or these weird feelings. Last time someone run behind me and I almost pissed myself because I thought it’s undead.”

Beom Pal was suddenly serious when he spoke.

“She is not scared of the dead. It’s the living that scared her the most. And I feel so helpless. All I can do is calm her.” He hated how he was fighting with invisible enemy. With her demons he couldn’t shoot or stab.

“You are doing great. Trust me. I had few mistresses but not a single one can’t stand my nightmares. When I woke up with scream, they always run away. And it hurts. Be with her it’s the best you can do.”

Yeong shin was looking at the magistrate with compassion. They were too damaged by games of Hae won Cho clan. Even their own member.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered and held Beom Pal’s shoulder. He knew he could lose his hand just for touching someone so high rate, but he didn’t mind. He just wanted to comfort a friend. “I’m really sorry.”

[winterironbang]

Story Previews:

Below you will find the names and summaries of the entered stories, please take care to read through them and be aware of any warnings when thinking about which piece it is you wish to claim. Make sure to have two in mind when choosing as your first choice may already be taken.

To claim a story, send an email to winterironbang@gmail.com with the titles of your top two favourites. Claims only begin on March 24th at 10am GMT, please wait until this time to submit your claim, or else it will NOT be counted. 

I’ve had people in the past try to submit claims via ask and they have not come through, please send in the claims via email only. Thanks.

 1.    Title: HandShook

Summary: “Get me a handshake, Tony, that’s it. Don’t break anything and please do not turn this into an interspecies war.” -James Rhodes

Tony Stark is the first man in the history of the human race to breach the heliosphere keeping space-faring humanity from the rest of the universe. Bucky’s people, the Aldori, a technologically advanced, space-faring race, watch him do it. The Aldori demand a meeting to establish diplomatic relations and determine whether or not humans will prove to be a threat to them. Without letting the Aldori know that only Tony’s ship is advanced enough to make the trip, Rhodey is forced to send him as ambassador.

Simple right? Except the handshake Tony is supposed to capture on film for Rhodey is intensely intimate to the Aldori.

The Aldori decide to go through with it. Their people are at war and they need these humans, who are apparently so advanced that they can skip through ‘The Trench,’ to either join their cause, or, at worst, remain neutral.

They’ve married off royalty for political alliances before. It’s a good thing Prince Bucky came back from the war only partially damaged. He’s perfect for an alliance with an untested race of people.

Current word count: 21,637

Warnings: 1) Bucky and Tony engage in an act of public handshaking which within the world would be roughly the equivalent of public nudity/a public sex act 2) Bucky forms an accidental mind meld with Tony as a result of a really good handshake--bare hands touching is very intimate for his people. Tony doesn't know about this for a very brief time. During which he 'feels' Bucky's feelings for him which are predominantly affectionate. -the mind-meld may result in telepathic sex which hasn't been written yet. (So: Tony engages in an intimate act without knowing it's considered intimate. Bucky accidentally Bonds with him, creating a mental connection as a result. Pseudo accidental marriage. Light (I think?) Dub con of the making someone else feels your romantic feeling for them type.)

 2 Title: Tony’s New Friend (working title) Summary: When Tony is forced to come home for his summer break at MIT, he thinks it is going to be a disaster. He’s right. But it also ends up being a lot more exciting than he thought too. Who says urban exploring is a bad thing? Current word count: 14432

Warnings: None A/N: It’s not finished yet, but I’ll have a better summary/more finished by time you pick it. Promise. (This is turning out longer than I thought)

 3 Title: No Title Yet/Canon-Divergent from CA:WS

Summary: After helping Natasha and Steve with the Project Insight fuck up, Tony agrees to help with their Winter Soldier problem. Namely, find the man and keep him non-hypnotisable. But of course the Winter Soldier, being the Winter Soldier, finds Tony first. 

Current word count: 5.181

Warnings: Maybe some gnarly description of the connection between the metal arm and Bucky’s skin. Nothing too bad, but I guess caution is best. There might be a scene of adjusting a new arm, but since I am no doctor, I don’t know how detailed I will describe that yet.

A/N: This is a canon-divergent fic, that has Steve, Nat, and Sam ask Tony for help with the Helicarriers instead of, you know, dumping all of SHIELD’s info online xD Steve tells Tony about his parents and Tony, taking a few days to deal with it, then decides to help him with the Winter Soldier, thus creating BARF sooner, with Helen Cho and Bruce Banner (so no Quentin Beck). Bucky in the meantime, having managed to evade HYDRA, finds him because the arm needs repairs. 

 4 Title: The Daemon In Me (tentatively)

Summary: Tony Stark is, as far as he knows, the only person who can see daemons, a manifestation of a person’s soul that, naturally, shares their Mark. 

Several years after his parents’ deaths, Obadiah Stane arrives to inform him that Howard had arranged a marriage for him, and it’s time to meet his prospective husband. There’s just one tiny hitch. 

The groom doesn’t have the same Mark as his daemon.

Current word count: 5050-ish

Warnings: Implied/referenced child abuse, Howard’s A+ parenting, alternate universe – daemons, alternate universe – soulmarks, implied/referenced arranged marriage 

A/N: This is definitely alternative universe but it’s incredibly vague on details of such. It’s also not finished yet, but Tony and Bucky will definitely meet, beat the bad guys and end up happily ever after (I can’t be more specific, because this was supposed to have been a completed fic).

 5 Title: The Tangled Tale of Winteriron 

Summary: Prince James was born to the kingdom of Brooklyn via the miracle of a magic flower. Kidnapped at a young age, his best friend and betrothed Steve Rogers tears the kingdom apart to find him. 

A thief named Iron Man is currently on the run from the king’s guards. Hiding in a secluded tower, he finds himself tied up by a young man with a whole lot of… hair?

Current Word Count: approximately 9500 words

Warnings: Emotional manipulation and abuse

A/N:

 6 Title: Winter Witcher (may change) Summary: Twenty years ago, the Witcher Bucky rescued the King and Queen of Stark from a monster that had moved into their castle. Pressed to name a reward above and beyond the coin he’d been promised, he claimed the Law of Surprise, electing to let destiny choose his prize. Before he could return to find out what it was that he’d won, another monster locked him in ice. Tony of Stark has always known that his marriage would be a political one, but he’s discovered that his betrothed and his chief counselor are conspiring against him. Left with no time to plan an escape and isolated from his few loyal friends, Tony’s desperation and determination unlock a conduit of chaos within him that takes him far, far away, right into the arms of his destiny. Current word count: ~25,000 (finished but unedited) Warnings: Dubcon (sex drug/magic) A/N: This draft is complete, but if our artist has additional ideas, we’re happy to discuss how to work them in! This is basically “Episode 1” of what might turn into a whole series of stories, but as this is the “pilot” episode, it should stand on its own.

 7 Title: Your eyes aren’t rivers there to weep (But a place for crows to rest their feet)

Summary: Bucky sat up slowly, pain throbbing from his temple to the nape of his back specifically. "You’re an absolute idiot, you know that? Didn’t you know your AI can’t detect magical traps?”

“Oh sure, ‘cause we fight many villains who like to hide portals in the floor? You’re a bigger idiot for following me, Barnes.”

-or-

Tony disobeys orders during a mission and causes him and Bucky to fall through Doom’s time travel portal, forcing them to survive together in a tropical rainforest, to their utter reluctance.

Current word count: 11 800

Warnings: None

A/N: This is an unedited WIP! I added the outline for what I plan for the reminder of the story at the end. :)

 8 Title: Wings in my Soul (Stars in my Eyes)

Summary: After being spaced when his ship is destroyed, Bucky assumes his life on the run is over. His life is unexpectedly saved by one of the most advanced spaceships he’s ever seen, and the sentient AI running it. T-0N33 is so real, Bucky quickly finds himself questioning how thin the line is between machine and man. Together, they flee from HYDRA’s spreading influence and the megalomaniac Technopath, Zola. Throughout space battles and hijinks, they ask themselves: Can an AI have a soul and more importantly, can they fall in love?

Current word count: 7,838

Warnings: Nongraphic violence

A/N: ^o^ gay bois in SPAAAAAAACE

 9 Title: Here, There and Neverwhere

Summary: After a long quiet night at the pub, Bucky was ready to have a simple night in. However, as fate deals its hand, Bucky gets dragged into a series of events that pulls him out of his new normal to a game where Gods and magic reign supreme. A handsome and charming magician Tony helps Bucky stack his deck, granting him a chance to survive.

When the wheel of fortune spins, will the odds be in their favour?

Current word count: 5086

Warnings: Canon typical violence

A/N: Rating is currently T but could go up to M or E 

[stebeans]

She-Ra Inspired Actor AU - III

Maya Sanchez as Catra

Taylor Cruz as Adora

Jessica Cho as Glimmer

Marcus Patterson as Bow

A She-ra Actor AU fic where She-ra and the Princesses of Power is a popular tv series and our lovable characters are played by actresses/actors. Inspired by the amazing fanart and concept by @sunzho and @hey_adora on instagram #cayaactorau, see link below and please follow them!

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/cayaactorau/

The Call/Cast Meet

The call that had changed her life had come months ago and even now it hadn’t really sunk in. Maya’s agent, a family friend, had called her with the good news just a few days after Maya’s graduation. She had been at the park, playing with her brothers and the neighboring kids in a game of pick-up baseball, if you could even call it that as it was pretty much a no-rules, all-out game of America’s favorite sport. Remi – Maya’s brother and the youngest of the boys – was catcher and a no-good cheat, who kept poking her in the side every time she went up to bat knowing full well she was ticklish.

Maya had managed to hit what looked to be an infield home run and had been rounding third base and was sprinting to home when her second oldest brother, Rafael, playing pitcher had caught her around the waist. Being much taller and stronger than Maya, Rafael had easily lifted her off the ground and held on tight, laughing loudly in her ear as she tried to squirm out of his hold. “Let me go Raf! You asshole!” she screeched, slapping her brother in the arms and back but Rafael had held on until the shortstop had fired the ball into Remi’s awaiting glove. “You guys suck. So much.” Maya snapped, pulling Rafael’s cap over his eyes when he had finally set her back down on the ground. “You’re so lucky I didn’t kick you where the sun don’t shine.” She hissed, ignoring the way her brothers celebrated the win with their obnoxious dance and their chanting of “Maya’s a sore loser! Maya’s a sore loser!”

Sulking grumpily, Maya had made her way to the bench where she had left her stuff. She had just finished gulping down what was left of her water bottle when her cellphone rang. Digging into the outer pocket of her backpack for her phone, and immediately her heart beat faster when she had caught the caller ID. She had auditioned for a variety of roles leading up to graduation after the epic fail of the She-ra callback. A few had been minor roles for TV, one was for a background character for a movie, but mostly they were commercial roles. Distantly, Maya wondered if she landed that shampoo commercial gig. The casting director had been kind and had even praised her for her natural, long and luscious hair. “Hello? Serena?” Maya answered, wiping the sweat away from her forehead with the back of her hand and hoping she didn’t sound too out of breath from her game.

“You got the part kiddo!” Serena had practically shrieked into her ear, forgoing the typical phone etiquette greeting.

The celebration on the field faded away at Serena’s words. “What?” Maya had landed a few minor commercial roles before but Serena hadn’t even delivered the news with half the excitement as she was now.

“Maya! You got the part!” Serena cheered. “You’re going to be in She-ra!”

“What?” Maya was stunned. “No way! Are you kidding me right now? Did Raf and Remi put you up to this?” Because there was no way in hell did Maya ever imagine landing the lead role in a TV series.

Dazedly, Maya noticed the curious looks her brothers shot her when they caught their names being said. “No Maya! It’s not a joke! You got it kid! You got it.” Serena asserted. “You got the part of Catra!”

Catra.

Catra.

Not Adora than.

Catra may not have been the lead character but still. Catra was a significant role and was infinite better than any of her previous roles combined. Shock and disbelief was fading faster as excitement began to take over. “I got Catra?” Maya whispered delicately. “I’m Catra?” She repeated..

Maya could see the concerned looks her brothers gave her and were quickly trekking towards her. Serena laughed happily on the other end of the phone and Maya was guessing she might’ve been crying a little bit too. Happy tears though. Kind of like the ones gathering behind her eyes now. “Yes.” Serena affirmed behind a quiet sniffle. “You’re Catra.”

“Maya what’s wrong?” Remi asked worriedly as her brothers approached her.

Unable to form words, Maya shook her head and wiped at her tears. “Did someone hurt you?” Remi asked. “Who was it? I’ll quick their ass!”

At the threat Maya laughed behind a half sob-half hiccup. “No! No. It’s nothing like that. It’s Serena.”

At the information both Remi and Raf froze. their eyes scanning the happiness behind their baby sister’s eyes despite the tears and the smile that was tugging on her lips. “Aaaannnddd?” Rafael pressed, anxiety for his sister crawling underneath his skin.

“I got the part.” Maya replied faintly.  “I got the part.” She said a little louder. “I’m going to be in She-ra!” She shouted in excitement, lifting her arms in victory.

There was barely a delay before Remi and Rafael whooped and hollered louder than they had when they won the baseball game. Remi had messed up her hair as he shouted out his congratulations but Maya was too happy to care and when Rafael had picked her up and spun her around the second time that day within the span of minutes, instead of kicking him in the nuts like she wanted to do the first time, Maya laughed and cheered. “I’m going to be in She-ra!”

“Yeah you are!” Rafael hollered.

“Ma-ya! Ma-ya!” Remi chanted, Rafael joining in quickly.

The chanting had caught the attention from the players on either teams and it only took one glance to notice the happiness and excitement emitting from the trio of siblings. It was contagious and it didn’t take long for the others to join in on the chanting as they gathered around the Sanchez’s. News spread quickly between the teams and soon they were all celebrating in Maya’s achievement to her delight and slight embarrassment. During all the commotion Maya had dropped her phone but somehow the call with Serena was set on speaker because Maya could hear her tinny voice chanting along with the others.

These were people who she had grown up with. Neighbors who hosted and attended their summer BBQ’s. Friends and classmates who played pick-up games with her. Kids who she helped babysat. Others who had babysat her. They were a small yet tight-knit community and Maya was happy she was able to share the news with people who cared for her and vice-versa.

“I’m going to be Catra!” She shouted to the darkening sky, now lifted on her brother’s broad shoulder and a wave a cheers followed her exclamation, echoing throughout the field.

That call had been months ago but Maya could recall it as if it was yesterday and it was easily one of the best days of her life. Today, was a different story. Today might just take the cake for being the most anxiety-filled day she had ever experienced. It was infinitely more stressful than any of her past auditions and all those first days of school she had endured.

Her mother had dropped her off with a kiss on her forehead and a genuine “have a good day” at the gates of the studio where the security had been strict. With her bag slung over her shoulder she was quickly directed to one of those golf carts where one of the assistants would courier her to where the cast was meeting for the first time for a table read. Approaching the cart she noticed she wasn’t the only one getting a lift. A short Asian girl, with the coolest rose gold ombre colored hair that Maya had ever seen, sat in the back with her eyes glued to the phone in her hands. She didn’t even seem to notice when Maya approached, taking a seat next to her. “Hi.” Maya greeted shyly, anything to break the awkward silence.

The intimidating girl spared her a quick glance before turning attention back to her phone, scrolling through what Maya guessed was Twitter. “Hey.” Was her blasé reply.

Well. Can’t say she didn’t try. Maya drummed her fingers against the jean-clad thigh, taking the time to take in the scenery around her. DreamFlix wasn’t one of the bigger film production companies but they were certainly gaining popularity in their recent years and their studio lot was the bigger and grander than any lot she had ever stepped foot in. The golf cart weaved past various bodies, buildings, onsite sets and Maya couldn’t help but be amazed. One of the sets they drove past had a hose mounted to a crane where they were testing a rain pour. So. Cool. Her face must’ve betrayed her dorkiness because “First time?”

Maya rushed to close her slacked jaw. Grinning she shrugged. “Yeah. I’ve never been to a studio this big before. It’s amazing. Magical.” Maya added when they passed a group of people dressed up as mystical creatures.

The girl beside her let out a chuckle. “Yeah. It is pretty magical.” She agreed before holding out a hand. “But the novelty kind of wears off when your running late and you’re stuck behind a stampede of trolls and hooved centaurs. I’m Jessica by the way but everyone calls me Jess.”

“Maya.” Maya introduced with a warm smile, taking the offered hand with a gentle shake. “I’m guessing this isn’t your first time here then?”

“I’ve been doing this for a few years now and I had a couple small roles before. I’m mostly in the recording studio as the lead for an animation series but this is my first big gig on a live action series. So I guess I’m seeing things differently this time around.” Jess noted, pointing out where a few guys were heaving a wagon dolly carrying a ten-foot half-built mechanical dragon. “It’s pretty cool looking at everything with new eyes. Though I do know my way around the studio lot. Stick with me and I can show you were they hide all the cookies and the best place to throw a tantrum without anyone knowing.” Jess said with a laugh, her eyes crinkling at the edges and Maya couldn’t believe how she thought this girl was intimidating before.

Maya joined in on Jess’s joke. “Looks like I got myself a tour guide.”

The two of them made small talk, pointing out cool and unusual things from their vantage on the cart as they zipped past sets, giggling and laughing as if they were long lost friends before the they came to a stop in front of a non-descript brown building. It was smaller than the others they had passed but Maya guessed nothing fancy was needed for a table read. After jumping out of her seat, Maya smoothed down her grey oversized t-shirt, making sure it was tucked neatly into her black jeans at the front. She ran a hand through her hair, making sure there were no knots and breathing out a big sigh when she followed Jess to where the cast and crew were gathered.

Just before the assistant can knock on the door and leave them to fend for themselves, Jess reached out and gave a Maya’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry too much. You’ve already gotten the part. You’re going to have to screw up big time to lose your role and something tells me you aren’t the diva type. So just go in there and have fun okay? Today is about meeting the cast members and the production team. Then we’re just going to do a little reading. No big deal right?”

“Right.” Maya nodded, shooting Jess an appreciative smile though she could feel her hands trembling slightly.

The door opened and Maya was ushered in, noting that the room was already filled. She hoped she wasn’t running late. The director, casting director and the producer were easy to pick out as they smiled at their entrance. “Welcome Jessica and Maya. So glad you could make it to today’s table read. We are very excited to have you on our team.” The producer said, smiling kindly while shaking their hands. “Looks like we are just waiting on our star and then we could get this party started but why don’t you ladies help yourself to some refreshments in the meanwhile.”

A fold up table topped with snacks and drinks was set up at the far end of the room while the middle was occupied by a conference table with chairs set up on all sides. It looked barely enough to sit the amount of people in the room. There were maybe thirty people in the room already – and easily this was the largest cast meet Maya ever attended – who were huddled in small groups around the snack table and at the front of the room where it was left open.

Helping herself to a water bottle and some chips Maya took the chance to survey the occupants in the room and was honestly surprised at the diversity of the cast and crew. A good chunk of them were women and of various skin colors too. Am I in the twilight zone or what? This is so amazing. Maya thought, happy to know that she wasn’t going to be one of those “token” characters again. This was already shaping up to be a good show.

It was when Maya had a mouthful of chips did one of the rare guys in the group approached her and Jess. “Hi! I’m Marcus!” He introduced, a cute dimple appearing when he smiled and wow, did he have the nicest set of teeth and softest looking skin ever.

Like the majority of the cast, Marcus was a person of colour, he might actually be the darkest skinned person there, with a hipster afro buzzcut, broad shoulders and a muscular physique that even Maya could appreciate. “How cool is this?” Marcus continued as he stared wide-eyed around the room. “I’ve never been on a show with this much diversity!”

Maya nearly choked on her chips when she laughed earning a concerned look from Marcus and Jess as well as a couple others around her. Thumping her chest, Maya had to practically force the water down her throat. “Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t mean to laugh. It was just…I was thinking the exact same thing!”

Marcus laughed, patting her on the shoulder. “Well what do you know, great minds do think alike. Or maybe it’s because of our instant connection.” He joked, wagging his eyebrows up and down in exaggeration.

“Okay Romeo, that’s enough.” Jess rolled her eyes before introducing herself and Maya.

Marcus chuckled good naturedly and shook their hands. They fell into a comfortable conversation, talking about their last gigs and past horror stories they had endured and Maya earning baby-cooing noises when she mentioned how she graduated high school before the summer officially started.

“Aww you’re just a baby!” Jess tutted and Marcus busted out laughing.

Pouting and knowing full well it didn’t help out her case, Maya whined out “I am not a baby! And look!” Maya pointed to a nearby cast member. “That girl is like…twelve!” Said girl whirled around to level a death glare at Maya who stammered out a “ But like also, good for her! Very, very impressive.”  Which only set off Jess and Marcus again, with the latter legitimately having to wipe tears from his eyes he was laughing so hard.

“That little girl is Mei Lin and she is probably the greatest child star in the business right now. She isn’t just a baby. She is The baby.” Marcus explained through his bout of laughter.

Maya shook her head. “Fine. Whatever. I’m still not a baby.” She grumbled under her breath as she raised her bottle up to her lips to take a long pull of water only to have it come spluttering back out when she instantly recognized the newest addition stepping past the door threshold.

Coughing and gasping, Maya did her best to wave off Jess’ and Marcus’ concern as she tried to breathe through her choking. Way to be subtle, Sanchez. “Dude! Are you okay?” Marcus inquired, patting her firmly on the back. “Even I know babies don’t choke half as much as you do.”

Blinking back the tears in her eyes from the burning in her nose Maya offered a flimsy thumbs up. “Sorry. Just...wrong pipe. I’m fine.” She lied, cursing inwardly at the look of alarm she was garnering from the majority of the room seeing it was hard to ignore someone who was choking to death.

She met Taylor’s surprised eyes from across the room. “Just peachy.”

[jedi-archivist]

Path of The Dai Bendu Part 1: Initiate Chapter 2: Day to Day

After morning meditation is Force instruction. As Jedi Initiates, control is the first level of mastery. As Master Zepcira has said many times over, if you cannot remain in control of yourself, you will not be able to control your environment or surroundings.

The training of a Jedi is one that is always building off what has previously been learned. Thus Force abilities fall within three categories, taught in order: Control, Sense, and Alter.

The primary Force abilities taught under Control are Tutaminis - abilities related energy absorption, Curato Salvo - abilities related to healing, and Altus Sopor - abilities related to increasing one's focus in the Force. 

Today your clan is practicing Tutaminis. Every day Master Zepcira let's your clan pick which skills to focus on. After all, you are Clan Heliost; the Clan of those who will hold great insight and wisdom. This did not stop the clan from bickering over what to learn.

Bho Wobbu, an Ithorian who liked braiding ribbons into bracelets for her classmates, had suggested Curato Salvo with a little too much pride when she added that healing was something she'd excel at.

Lok Darvorr, a fellow human who liked to think of himself as a leader but tended to lead trouble due to overconfidence, had wanted Tutaminis. He argued that a strong enough defense would be more than enough.

Duzadi had preferred to practice Altus Sopor, an area that could allow a person to become nearly invisible. You had thrown your support behind Duz, knowing it was always difficult for him to speak up in front of others. 

This debate was a regular one between the three, usually popping up again a month later despite agreeing on a weekly lesson plan for what the clan would focus on. Master Zepcira allowed it to happen with only the occasional interference to keep the peace. After all, learning to argue, debate, and compromise would serve you and your clan well when you become Jedi.

Lok eventually won out this time, Duzadi's schedule having won last month. Now your weekly Force training looked like this:

Primeday - Tutaminis

Centaxday - Curato Salvo 

Taungsday - Altus Sopor 

Zhellday -  Tutaminis

Benduday - Curato Salvo 

You suppose that in another seven weeks it would change again. Regardless you got in your training and your clan started the second meditation of the day. This time you have no trouble slipping out of meditation when it's time to go to your History and Politics class.

Your clan leave together as Master Zepcira leads to another classroom, this one with desks. This was one of your favorite parts of the day, learning about history. The political side of it, less so. Adding to the challenge was the sheer number of different planets, each with a number of different cultures and customs. And yet, it was likely that you and your clan would one day visit many of these places and interact with these people. 

It seemed hard to imagine things changing. You and your clan would eventually seek to become a padawan or perhaps join one of the service corps. Either way, whatever abilities you cultivated would help people, maybe even the entire galaxy. For now, though, you had to improve your math skills. You had just gotten back your quiz results and it looked pretty grim. Your other subjects were fairly strong, but you could see yourself and Duz helping tutor each other later tonight instead of going through the archives like you had wanted. For Duz's part, his weak spot was history. Still, he had a gift when it came to numbers and you could imagine him working on droids and computers for the order- skills that were high demand in the order, yet sorely lacking. Just like on tests, answering "The Force" to a given problem can only take you so far before it's not funny or effective.

After class was lunch. Today the food tasted bland and somehow made you think that if square had a taste it would be this. You always wonder about the food. It seemed to almost always be something different and varied on taste. You were half sure it was to give you a wide variety of food from different cultures. Lok like to think it was based on whatever the cook's happened to find when shopping. Duz didn't seem to care so long as he got to eat a lot of it.

Next was the third meditation of the day- this one almost always made you fall asleep sitting up since it was after lunch. It also meant you got chided by Master Zepcira for falling asleep instead of meditating.

Final activity of the day was physical training with Master Tera Sinube. Today you practice shii-cho, form 1, with training sabers. Going through the form's different stances is relaxing, almost meditative in it's own right. 

The practice saber isn't very strong, getting hit with one might leave you with an uncomfortable tingling wherever you got hit but not cut or burnt. And though it isn't connected to you the way your lightsaber will one day be when you find your own kyber crystal, you feel a connection none the less. It feels part of you, like another part of your body and mind. 

Eventually class ends. Next is the fourth meditation of the day. And then you have the rest of the evening. You and Duz make plans to meet later in the First Knowledge Quarter. Giving you enough time to wander around and speak to a Master. 

You clear your head and begin wandering in a direction you feel pulled in, hoping the Force will guide you. You have been in nearly every area of the temple and every so often you have to stop and refocus on the guiding Force. Your own knowledge of the location distracts from its guidance.

Eventually you find yourself at a balcony overlooking one of the gardens. In a meditation position you see the familiar form of Master Dooku. You quietly go and kneel beside Master Dooku, waiting for him to notice you. After a handful of minutes Master Dooku speaks, his eyes still closed.

"Why are you here, Youngling?" You take a few seconds to find the words.

"Master, I think I have been having visions. Visions that… scare me." Master Dooku slowly opens his eyes and glances at you, studying you.

"And what do these visions show you?"

"I see a place in space surrounded by black holes, like walls. But beyond it is something...dark. Evil. It felt cold and lonely, but something worse underneath. It tried to reach out and touch me, but I did not accept it and that made it mad. Then I woke up."

"And what do you think this vision means?"

"I think something bad is coming or already here and we don't know it yet. But I don't know what it is and I think that scares me the most." Master Dooku nodded, his face difficult to read but you had the impression that he was pleased.

"It is good that you are honest with what you feel, Shirilla. Attempting to bury your emotions, even the negative, would leave you weak to the influence of the Dark Side." Master Dooku Pat's your head, a familiar gesture from one of the Jedi who had found and brought you to the order.

"However, I believe your vision is correct. I believe there is a threat to our very galaxy. I believe the Sith are returning." You feel yourself go cold at the word Sith. History had plenty to say on the atrocities they had committed.

"Then we need to tell the council!" You squeak. Master Dooku shakes his head.

"I have already suggested actions be taken." You sense more unsaid. 

"Your leaving the order? Why?" You say. Master Dooku's face shows only a moment of surprise before his dignified expression returns.

"Yes. Serenno requires a strong leader. I must take my father's place now that he is passed. I will continue my investigation, I assure you." You feel that this is not the full truth, yet you cannot tell what isn't.

"Let me come with you, Master. I'm not a padawan yet, but I'm sure I can help!" Master Dooku's expression became severe, not harsh but clear.

"This is my path, dear child. Not yours. Complete your training and you will find your own path." You nod and promise yourself to learn all that you can, to grow strong, and one day find Master Dooku.

"Does Master Qui-gon know yet?" You ask. He was the other Jedi who had helped find you.

"Do not concern yourself in this matter. Everything will be taken care of. Now, I am sure you have your studies to attend to." You nod and get up. But before you leave you give Master Dooku a hug. He returns the hug, albeit awkwardly- Master Dooku did not care for such things but you got to be a rare exception.

As you leave you see a smile on Master Dooku's face. It seems happy but also sad. Remembering something, you yell.

"May the Force be with you!" You see the Master wince at your volume and then you are gone.

You go to your study time with Duz and you help each other improve your weaker studies. You end the session with the final meditation of the day- being a youngling meant meditating at least five times a day. You walk back to your quarters, this time taking your time, though you know you will have to get up early in the morning again. You like looking at the temple's art and architecture. You sometimes point something out to Duz and tell him about it. There was always something new you never noticed before.

Duz liked to joke that you'd have more time in the morning to look if you got up earlier. You would return with a scandalized look that never failed to make him laugh.

You lay in bed and know you will sleep well tonight. Whatever you saw or felt this morning would not trouble you for now. The future is not certain, it is constantly moving and changing. But your path felt more solid and you would trust that.

<---    

Next

[starkravinghazelnoots]

Inevitable

Time was of the essence. Janet van Dyne knew there was a chance she would not be able to restore Stark’s hand that wore the gauntlet, but she could keep his soul in his body. What good was the ability to heal if she didn’t use it?

Hope landed her behind a small crowd who had gathered in front of the legendary Tony Stark. As tempted as Janet was to push her way to the front and heal him immediately, she waited. And she watched.

Time was ticking.

(An Endgame Fix-It.)

Read on AO3. Read on FFN.

xXxXxXx

“And I... am Iron Man.”

The following snap of armored fingers against each other echoed across the battlefield, stunning the ongoing fighters into silence.

Janet van Dyne found herself glancing desperately across the area, trying to find the one who called himself ‘Iron Man.’ She understood the power that had rippled through all of them. She knew the damage it would do. She could help him, if given enough time.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Hank asked, pulling her away from one of Thanos’s soldiers as he - it? - crumbled to ash in front of them.

“I can save him, Hank,” she pleaded, clutching his hand between both of hers. “I know I can! Each of those stones has traveled through the Quantum Realm, they are now connected to the Quantum Realm. I can heal him!”

“Heal who?” Hank demanded. “Stark?”

“If that is his name, then yes.” Janet turned around to see that Hope now stood beside her. “Please take me to him, Jelly Bean. There isn’t much time.”

Hope nodded, flicking her mask down and lifting her mother up, the wings of her suit straining but carrying them quickly enough across the battlefield.

Or so Janet prayed.

Time was of the essence. She knew there was a chance she would not be able to restore Stark’s hand that wore the gauntlet, but she could keep his soul in his body. What good was the ability to heal if she didn’t use it?

Hope landed her behind a small crowd who had gathered in front of the legendary Tony Stark. As tempted as Janet was to push her way to the front and heal him immediately, she waited. And she watched.

A young boy with brown hair was kneeling in front of the armored man. Even from a distance Janet could see how the dust and blood coated on his face was streaked with tears.

“Hey, Mr. Stark, we won,” the kid choked out, reaching towards the man before pulling away. “We won, Mr. Stark! You did it. You did it.” The kid furiously rubbed his eyes. “Tony, please don’t go...”

Janet felt a lump form in her throat. The child’s actions reminded her so much of Hope, when she had been younger. Or perhaps it hurt too much to imagine Hope in the boy’s place.

A young woman with fading red hair and wearing armor similar to Stark’s gently pulled the boy away, taking his place in front of whom Janet presumed was her husband.

“Hey, Pep,” Stark coughed. Blood trickled down out of the corner of his mouth.

“Shh. Don’t speak, honey,” she murmured, touching his cheek with her thumb. “You’ve done it.” She brushed the dirt and blood from his forehead before leaning and kissing him on the cheek. Janet didn’t fail to notice the grief in her eyes, as much as the woman tried to put on a brave face. “We’ll be okay. You can finally rest.”

Janet’s own heart skipped a beat as the arc reactor in Stark’s chest flickered before going out. Unable to stop herself, she pushed through the crowd and dropped to her knees in front of the famed hero. “I can heal him,” she begged. “Please, if you will allow me to, I can.” She placed her hand on his chest. “He is still alive. He is dying, but he is not yet dead.”

The red-haired woman seemed at a loss for words, her eyes wide as she remained frozen.

“Please heal him!” the boy from earlier pleaded, grabbing her arm as he choked back a sob. “Please!” He shook his head, whether it was intentional or not Janet couldn’t tell. “I can’t lose another dad. I can’t. Not again. Not like this. Please.”

Janet turned back to Stark’s wife, who was covering her mouth with her hand in shock as silent tears fell down her cheeks. “With your permission.”

The woman breathed a shuddering gasp, then nodded. “Yes. Save him.”

“Rest doesn’t have to mean death, Pep,” a dark-skinned man murmured, pulling Stark’s wife into a tight hug. “He deserves to rest with you, and with Morgan. He deserves the future you’ve always wanted.”

Janet took that as her cue, placing her hands on Stark’s heart. Her hands glowed with a golden light as she channeled everything, everything she had into revitalizing a man who needed to live. There was no question. As soon as his heartbeat was steady, she transferred her concentration to the man’s arm and the side of his face. She numbed the pain and stabilized his nervous system to the best of her ability. There wasn’t much she could do about the physical state of his skin. That was beyond her abilities.

But she could keep him alive.

And that – that was enough.

xXxXxXx

“So he’s going to make it?”

The doctor nodded, and Pepper fell into Rhodey’s arms, unable to stop tears from escaping for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Rhodey murmured soothing words as he gently rubbed her back.

Peter likewise found himself being hugged tightly by May. “He’s going to live, May!” he sobbed into her chest. “Oh my God, he’s going to live.”

“It was the treatment he was given before he came to us that likely saved his life, however,” the doctor continued. “In truth, perhaps the only thing we did was use the research left to us by Dr. Cho to heal his face, and manipulated the quantum particles provided by Janet van Dyne to finish restoring his nerves there. But he will live, and for a long time, at that.” The doctor smiled. “He’s very fortunate to have people who care about him so much.”

“Can we see him now?” Pepper asked, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

The doctor hesitated, their smile disappearing. “I’m afraid not. While we are quite certain that Mr. Stark will survive, he is still sedated from surgery. You will have to wait until visiting hours reopen later.”

The blood drained from Pepper’s face. “Surgery? What surgery?”

“We tried our best to save his right arm, but the damage was just too extensive. His nervous system appeared to have been mostly healed, somehow, but his muscles were shredded beyond repair.” The doctor winced. “I apologize if my language is insensitive. I simply do not wish to give you a false impression. We had to amputate.”

Silence fell among the group. It was broken when Rhodey chuckled.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said as Pepper stared at him in a mixture of shock and horror. “I was just thinking that it’ll finally be my turn to help Tony. Like how he helped me.” His fingers brushed his leg braces.

The doctor smiled warmly at the group. “Mr. Stark will need all of your help. And I believe you are all quite qualified to provide it. That is the exact reason I am sure he will live a very long and very happy life.” They shifted their clipboard to beneath their arm. “If you have no other questions, I will be on my way.”

“When can we see him?” Peter blurted out. “If not now, when? When do visiting hours reopen?”

“Hmm,” the doctor mused. “Well, visiting hours don’t reopen until tomorrow. But I would estimate he will wake a few hours from now. But I can find my superiors and ask for a more exact time, if you’d like, and see if they’ll let you visit early. They often do that for extreme scenarios.”

“Yes, that would be much appreciated,” Pepper said. “Thank you.”

The doctor nodded. “I’ll be back the moment you’re allowed entry.” With that, they walked away.

May ran a hand through Peter curls before kissing the top of his head. “Not to jinx us, but we’re very lucky, aren’t we?”

Rhodey reached out and pulled both May and Peter into a tight hug with him and Pepper. “Yes. Yes we are.”

xXxXxXx

“I’ll have to write a hundred – no, a thousand – thank you notes to Ms. Van Dyne,” Pepper said as she reached up and stretched. The hard plastic of the hospital chair wasn’t good for her back, especially after three hours. “We are indebted to her for life.”

“I can’t help but wonder if Pym will gloat about that for as long as possible,” Rhodey chuckled. “Only in good humor, of course.”

Pepper shrugged, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth for the first time in what felt like years. “I doubt I’d mind if he did.” Pepper’s gaze shifted to Peter, who had fallen fast asleep after the first twenty minutes of waiting, his head resting on May’s shoulder. “He must be exhausted.”

May gave Pepper a soft smile. “Yes. But he’s not the only one. Have you considered trying to rest, Ms. Potts? God knows you need it.”

“Please, call me Pepper. I think we’ve reached that level of closeness.” She sighed. “I know I should rest. But I can’t. Not without seeing him.”

May nodded. “I understand.”

All heads turned at the sound of approaching footsteps from down the hall. It was Happy, holding the hand of a little girl with dark brown hair, both making their way towards the group.

“Morgan,” Pepper breathed, standing from her chair and rushing over to her daughter. She knelt down and pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

Morgan nodded, even though she was squished in her mother’s embrace. “Yes. Where’s Daddy?”

“He’s resting right now, in that room over there,” Pepper said, lifting up Morgan as she stood and gesturing towards the room where her husband was sleeping. “We’re waiting for him to wake up.”

Morgan nodded, not speaking as she contented herself with twisting and braiding her mother’s long hair.

Pepper returned to her seat, and Happy sat down in the chair opposite her.

“Any updates?” he asked.

“Not many,” Rhodey said. “But we do know that he’s going to make it.”

Happy breathed a sigh of relief, his hand moving to his heart. “Oh, thank God.”

“And we know that he’ll look as handsome as he did before,” Rhodey continued, a small smirk dancing on his lips. “Apparently over the past five years they’ve been able to replicate the progress Dr. Cho made in ‘growing’ flesh.” His smirk faded. “But they weren’t able to recover his arm.”

Happy winced. “Is a prosthetic at least possible?”

Rhodey shrugged. “The doctor didn’t say. But knowing Tony, I’m sure he’ll create something. I have a feeling he may stop being Iron Man, but he could never stop building. Inventions are a part of him.”

Peter sat up, startling the adults around him. Sweat beaded his forehead, and he was gasping like no air was getting in his lungs.

“Hey, baby, what’s wrong?” May asked, shifting herself so she was facing her nephew. “Did something happen? Was it a dream?”

Peter’s breathing slowly evened, but he clenched his eyes shut. “It felt...” He coughed, causing his body to shudder. “It felt so real.” He glanced up at May. “I saw – I saw Mr. Stark, I saw him –” He choked up, unable to continue.

“Oh, Peter.” May pulled him into a hug. “It was just a dream. I promise.”

Peter buried his face into his aunt’s shoulder, unable to respond.

Pepper hesitated, then adjusted how she was holding Morgan as she moved next to Peter. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet, kid,” she said gently. “But only if you want to.”

Peter gripped his aunt’s shoulder tightly, but then relaxed his body and turned his attention to Pepper. The moment he did so his eyes widened. “Is she...?”

Pepper chuckled. “Peter Parker, I’d like you to meet Morgan Stark.”

At the sound of her name, Morgan’s focus drifted away from braiding her mother’s hair to the teenager sitting in front of her.

“Morgan, you remember Peter, right?” Pepper asked. “Daddy told you a lot of stories about him.”

Morgan beamed. One of her front teeth was missing. “Spider-Man!”

Tears welled in Peter’s eyes, but he rubbed them away, smiling at the girl. “That’s me.”

Morgan held her arms out for him to take her, but Peter hesitated, looking towards Pepper for permission. Pepper nodded and carefully handed her child into the teen’s shaking arms.

Peter’s face was pale as he situated Morgan in his lap, but his brown eyes glimmered with a mixture of happiness and hope. Morgan fiddled with Peter’s collar, a satisfied smile on her lips.

“So, your dad has told you stuff about me?” Peter asked, grinning at the child and ruffling her hair. “I’m flattered.”

Morgan nodded. “Mhm! He says Spider-Man is the best superhero ever. He told me a story about how Spider-Man saved New York from a evil villain who looked like a robot-vulture by crashing a whole plane!” She frowned. “He also said that Spider-Man would stay out past his bedtime and that I shouldn’t do that.”

Peter snickered, not noticing how with his laughter came a lightening of everyone’s mood in the room. “Well, sometimes bedtimes have to be ignored in pursuit of justice.”

Morgan giggled, and the two quickly became lost in exchanging short, silly stories about Spider-Man and his clumsy sidekick, Iron Man.

Happy and Rhodey became engaged in a conversation about some TV show. Pepper turned to talk to May, but paused when she realized the woman’s attention was glued to Peter. After a moment, she reached out and placed her hand on May’s shoulder.

“That’s why, isn’t it?” May murmured. “For them.”

Pepper watched as Peter started to braid Morgan’s hair, both grinning from ear to ear. She found herself smiling. “Yes. That’s why.”

xXxXxXx

“You’re allowed to see him now.”

The five shot up from their seats almost in unison. Peter nearly dropped Morgan.

The doctor held up their hands to prevent the group from rushing in. “But not all at once. And for no longer than twenty minutes in total. Understand?”

“Yes,” Pepper said, taking the initiative. “We understand. Thank you for letting us know.”

The doctor nodded. “Alright. I’ll be back in around half an hour. I’m trusting you not to exhaust him, or else higher-ups will have my head.”

“Of course,” Pepper reassured them. “Again, thank you for everything.”

The doctor hesitated, but nodded a second time and left.

“You can see him first, Happy,” Pepper said. “I know you’re itching to get back to SI.”

A guilty look formed on Happy’s face. “Yes, but I shouldn’t – it should be you –”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Go ahead, Happy.”

“I’ll join you,” Rhodey said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I was supposed to be back at the pseudo-compound two hours ago.”

Pepper nodded, stepping aside and allowing the two to enter.

Rhodey made sure to pull the door shut behind him, unsure how much bright light Tony should or should not be exposed to. He hadn’t thought to ask the doctor. “Hey, Tones,” he said, sitting in the chair on his friend’s right side, Happy taking the one on the left. “Forgive me for the awkward icebreaker, but how’s it going?”

Tony was sitting up in the hospital bed, although not at a 90 degree angle. He managed a laugh, somehow, despite the tubes in his arms – arm. His arm. “Oh, not bad, honeybear. All things considered.”

“Maybe this is a premature question, but how does it feel to be the person who saved the entire universe and lived to tell the tale?” Happy asked.

Tony shrugged, which looked... odd with only one arm. “Not sure how much credit goes to me, really. Banner brought everyone back. Carol beat Thanos into the dirt. Steve wielding Mjolnir and Thor with Stormbreaker took out half of the enemy army. The Wakandans gave us the numerical edge. Nat...” He trailed off, and the room was silent. “Nat got us the Soul Stone. It was all of us who won. Together.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Pulled back from the brink of death after saving everyone, yet somehow modest?” He smirked. “That’s not the Tony Stark I know.”

Tony laughed, and his shoulders relaxed for the first time since the two had entered. “I would apologize, but I bet that’s also too modest for you, isn’t it?”

“Damn right.” Rhodey wiped tears from his eyes. He hadn’t realized he’d started to cry. He stood, leaning over the hospital bed and pulling Tony into a tight hug, somehow managing to not pull the IVs out of his friend’s arm. “God, I’m so glad you’re alive.”

“It’s because this time, I rode with you,” Tony replied, his voice muffled in Rhodey’s shoulder.

“And you’re going to keep riding with me.” Rhodey released his friend, giving him as brave a smile as he could muster. “Pepper’s going to call me the moment you get out of the hospital, and I’m gonna rush over so we can ride back together. Got it?”

Tony nodded, grinning. “Roger that, Colonel.”

Rhodey snorted. “Right.” He saluted his friend. “See you later, then.”

Tony saluted in response. “Forgive me for not using my right hand.”

Rhodey said nothing for fear of his voice breaking. He nodded before stepping out the door.

Happy stood from his chair, moving next to the bed. He offered his hand, and Tony took it. “Get well soon, Boss. SI employees miss those occasional visits from you. There’s a stack of cards waiting for you at your room in the tower.”

Tony chuckled. “Understood.”

As Happy left the room, May stepped in.

“Ms. Parker,” Tony said, surprised. “Is Peter here?”

“He’s outside. I just wanted to thank you in person.”

Tony frowned. “Thank me for what?”

“For taking care of Peter. And for bringing him back to me. Five years without him...” Tears lined the corners of May’s eyes, and she gave him a sad smile. “I’ll admit that I’ve never been a big fan of you, Stark, but...” She shook her head. “You’ve given me my world back. And God knows I can’t thank you enough for that.”

Tony offered May a soft smile. “Thank you for sharing your world with me.”

May laughed, wiping away her tears. “It’s the least I can do. I’m sure Peter’s already made plans to visit your new place over the summer.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ll let you see Peter now. You’ve only been given twenty minutes of visitor time, and eight of them have now been used.”

May left the hospital room to see Peter trying and failing to return Morgan to his mother’s arms.

“No!” Morgan shouted, clinging tightly to Peter. “I don’t wanna go! I wanna stay with Pete!”

Peter flinched at her words. “Morgan, your mom will be mad at me if I keep you for too long. She wants to hang out with you, too, you know.”

Morgan buried her face in Peter’s neck. “I don’t care!”

Pepper laughed. “Alright, Morgan. Don’t worry. You can stay with your brother.” She didn’t fail to notice how Peter flushed bright red at her words. “But I do need you to loosen your grip on Peter, okay? You don’t want to choke him.”

Morgan did as instructed, though she didn’t let go completely.

“Tony’s waiting for you,” May said to her nephew, holding the door open. ��He misses both of you very much.” She shut the door after the two entered.

“A visit from both his children.” Pepper smiled. “Every father’s joy.”

xXxXxXx

“H-Hey Mr. Stark,” Peter stammered. He flinched as the door was pulled shut behind him. “Uh... How’s it going?”

“Daddy!” Morgan said excitedly, reaching forward and nearly causing Peter to fall over.

Tony laughed at the sight. He shifted slightly on his bed, making more room on his right side. “You can let her sit here, Pete.”

Peter nodded and carefully set Morgan down next to her father. The fact that he was placing her down in the space where Tony’s right arm used to be was almost nauseating. He then grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to his mentor’s bed on the other side before sitting down.

Morgan contented herself with playing with the sheets of the hospital bed. The fact that her father lacked a right arm did not seem to concern her.

Peter was impressed.

“I missed you, kid.”

Peter stiffened when Tony broke the silence. “I - uh, thank you?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “What are you thanking me for now?”

“For saving the universe! And bringing me back! And... And all that stuff.”

Tony hesitated, then said, “I know this really isn’t what you want to be asked right now, but do you... Do you remember what happened? On Titan?”

“Sort of.” Peter bit his lip, shrugging. “I mean, it feels like it was only yesterday for me. But you’re asking about when I disappeared... Right?”

Tony nodded.

“Yeah.” Peter sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I remember. My body felt like it was numb and on fire at the same time, and then it started to crumble and I could just – just feel myself fading, and, and –” He stopped, covering his mouth with his hand. He shook his head. “I’m – I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Tony reached out and brushed away the tears falling down Peter’s cheeks.

Peter hadn’t even realized he’d started crying.

“Kid, I’m the one who’s sorry,” Tony whispered. “It never should have been you.”

Peter wanted to protest, wanted to tell him that there was nothing he could have done, wanted to remind him that there was only one future in which Thanos could be defeated and they were living in it, but he couldn’t. No words would come. Instead, all he could do was lean over and sob into the chest of the man he dared not call a father for fear of losing him. Tony’s arm was wrapped around him in an even tighter hug than they’d shared on the battlefield.

They remained that way for several minutes. Peter’s sobs only started to quiet when Morgan joined in on the group hug, petting her almost-brother’s hair and telling him it would be okay and that it was okay to cry.

“I love you 3000, Peter!”

Peter sniffled as he slowly sat up. He was sure his eyes were red. “I think Morgan gets her comforting skills from Ms. Potts.”

Tony laughed, and Peter noticed that his mentor, too, had been crying. “I think you’re right.”

Peter glanced at the clock on the wall. “I have to go now. I know you want to talk to Ms. Potts before they shut down your visiting time.” He stood, and started to move towards the door. He stumbled as Morgan reached out and grabbed his arm. “And I guess I’ll be taking your daughter with me, Mr. Stark,” he added, laughing as he picked Morgan up. “But we’ll both come visit again later.”

Tony nodded, then raised an eyebrow. “Wait, ‘Mr. Stark’? I thought we were on a first-name basis now.”

Peter shook his head. “Nah. That was a near-death scenario. You haven’t earned that right from me in everyday conversation.”

Tony gasped in mock-offense, but his face soon shifted into a genuine grin. “Alright, kid. We’ll see how long that attitude lasts.”

Peter didn’t say anything as he left, instead winking before nudging the door shut with his foot behind him.

Tony didn’t have to wait long before Pepper joined him.

“Hey Ms. Potts,” he greeted as she sat in the chair Peter had previously occupied. He noticed the tearstains on her cheeks. “Mm, did you miss me? Cry a few tears for your long-lost husband?”

Pepper managed a laugh. “Tears of joy. I could never get remarried.”

“Well, neither could I.”

There was a pause before Pepper spoke. “So what do you think about Peter and Morgan?”

Tony snickered. “Oh, I think I’m going to hire him as much as possible for babysitting.”

“Well, we both know that will backfire.” Pepper smirked. “You won’t want to leave the house if the both of them are there.”

Tony tilted his head, as if contemplating her words. Then he grinned. “Okay, yeah. You’re right.”

“Mhm. Aren’t I always?”

Tony beckoned her. “Come here.”

Pepper rolled her eyes, but she knew exactly what he wanted. She leaned forward and kissed him, running a hand through his hair and ignoring how his beard scratched her face. God, she missed him. When she pulled away, she couldn’t help but laugh at his goofy smile. “I take it you’re a bit touch-starved?”

“Only in the purest of senses.”

“Right.”

Tony glanced at his right arm - or rather, where it used to be. “No more Iron Man, huh?”

Pepper leaned back in her chair and gave him a soft smile. “You don’t have to hide it. I know that fact doesn’t upset you as much as you think it should.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s okay to want to rest, Tony. You’re getting old. I think a life of retirement will suit you.”

Tony snorted. “Wow, you think I’m getting old? That hurts, Pep.”

“Hey.” Pepper reached out and intertwined her fingers with his. “At least we’ll grow old together.”

“You always know exactly what to say, don’t you?”

“One of us has to.”

Tony stared at his wife. Then he sighed. “You’re all I have, Pep.”

Pepper released his hand as she stood up, shaking her head. “No. You have so much more than just me. You know that.” She leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I’ll be back to visit as soon as I can. You need to get some rest.”

Tony chuckled. “Yes, Dr. Potts.”

Pepper laughed before leaving the room, making sure to close the door behind her.

Peter was now playing a game of hangman with Morgan. May was watching and whispering letters in Morgan’s ear as Peter pretended to be angry about it.

“You know, I’m pretty sure this is cheating.”

“Mm, I don’t think so.”

“The word is ‘heart’!” Morgan said, giggling. “Heart, heart!”

Peter sighed. “Darn. You got it again.” He ruffled her hair. “You’re way too good at this, Morgan.”

“Okay, my turn!” Morgan took the paper and pencil from him, drawing four and then three blank spaces. “Guess a letter.”

“E,” Peter said.

“Nope!” Morgan drew a circle. “Guess again.”

“A,” May offered.

Morgan beamed and wrote an ‘a’ in the second-to-last blank. “Yep!”

May snickered as Peter pouted.

“I,” Pepper said, joining the trio.

Morgan wrote an ‘i’ in the first blank. “Mhm!”

Peter, May, and Pepper all exchanged knowing glances.

“Iron Man,” Peter guessed, a soft smile tugging at his cheeks.

Morgan laughed, filling in the rest of blanks. “Yes! You’re so smart, Peter!”

Pepper watched with a smile dancing on her lips as Peter started tickling Morgan, May laughing as she stepped out of the way. After five years, her family was whole again. And soon, the love of her life would be able to join them.

At the back of her mind, she feared that the day would come when she might lose it all again. In the blink of an eye.

But in her heart, she knew this present, this happiness, this warmth – it was inevitable.

And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

xXxXxXx

Need more fluff to recover from Endgame? Check out Hair Dye, my collection of Iron Dad and Spider Son oneshots.

AO3. FFN.

Thanks for reading! :)

[teardropsonrooftops]

The Pacer Test Hurts Spiders

Peter knows two things. One, he’s falling from a building. Two, someone stabbed him. He doesn’t dwell on the second fact, instead raising his arm to swing on a web he quickly shoots from his wrist with a thwip. He pulls himself up and launches his body onto a low roof. Ow. His ribs ache from where he lands on them. His shoulder feels dislocated.

“Should I notify Mr. Stark of your injuries, Peter?” Karen asks from his mask.

He shakes his head, regretting it instantly as he feels his heartbeat through his skull. “Not necessary, Karen. I’ll take care of it, and I’ll make sure to go easy tomorrow.”

He sits up, propping his hands behind him to lean his weight on. Karen tells him he has a dislocated shoulder, a small concussion, and a stab wound in his side, below his bruised ribs. Dang it, he thinks, Tony won’t be happy about this. But what if he doesn’t find out?

Peter snaps his shoulder back into place, biting his lip to try and stifle the scream. He doesn’t want to wake the neighborhood at this time of night, but he is in a lot of pain. He makes himself stand on shaky legs. His injuries aren’t too bad, but blood is still seeping out of his side, so he patches the wound with webs. He’ll fix it when he gets home.

May isn’t awake. Peter crawls through the window, wincing as he jostles his ribs in the process. He cleans himself up, wiping away the blood and throwing the suit to the bottom of his laundry basket to be washed the next day. He stitches up his wound as he blinks back sleep.

When he finally collapses into bed, he’s clean and in a fresh pair of clothes.

He wakes to his alarm, beeping loudly on his dresser. He presses snooze and fully intends to go back to sleep, but his ribs ache as he turns to pull his blanket closer. Oh, patrol. Oops.

His alarm goes off again. He slams his hand down to shut it up, wincing at the sound of bending metal. He’ll buy a new one.

Ned greets him at the steps of the school with a nervous smile.

“What’s wrong?”

“Dude, please tell me you didn’t forget. Peter! We have our history exam today. I’m totally going to fail.” He groans and pouts at Peter, who gives in easily.

“Want to borrow my flashcards?”

“Yeah! Thanks, man!”

Peter chuckles. They make their way to their first period to study. It’s exam week, the week before winter break, and the whole school is buzzing with excitement. Even Flash looks happy, this time not because he punched Peter in the gut. That thought makes him wince. His hand wanders down to his side to check how his stitches are holding up. They’re still in place.

The history exam goes by slowly. They have two hours to complete it, and Peter is down in one. He doodles in the margins for the excess time, ignoring the pain in his side and the bruises covering his chest. He’s fine. He doesn’t need to tell Tony.

“So, what’s next?” he asks Ned as they hand in their tests. “Isn’t today history and art?”

“Nope,” Ned says, popping the ‘P,’ “next is gym with Wilson. Do you think we’re gonna have to do the pacer test? I heard some seniors say they had a written test, which doesn’t make much sense.”

“God, I hope we don’t have to run. I- uh, I’m not feeling too great. Patrol was rough last night.” He shrugs at Ned’s wide eyes. “I’m okay though.”

Coach Wilson calls them to attention, and Peter feels vaguely like he’s in the presence of Steve. Wilson stands with his shoulders set, his mouth set as he glares them down. The students squirm.

Then, with a press of a button on the stereo connecting to the gym’s speakers, Wilson starts the instructions to the pacer test.

“Shit,” Peter whispers.

Flash shoots him a cocky look. He moves to stand near Peter, but thinks better of it when Wilson fixes him a glare.

The girls go first, running back and forth between the lines with increasing speed. MJ gets herself out at a respectable time, giving Wilson her timestamp and going back to her book. Ned, Peter, and Flash stand as the girls finish.

Peter feels unease rise in his stomach, making him queasy. Ned give him a reassuring smile, which he unsteadily returns.

And, they’re off.

He jogs at first, letting himself rest until the speed builds up. He thinks about getting himself out like MJ did, but then he hears Flash laugh as Ned slows to a stop. He needs to beat Flash. It doesn’t matter how much pain he’s in, nobody laughs at his best friend.

So, Peter pushes himself, not really, because actually pushing himself would be running a mile in three minutes, but the point still stands. He doesn’t run like Puny Peter Parker, he runs like someone who doesn’t have a stab wound, which, ultimately, is his downfall.

Flash gets out at the same time as his friends, scowling at Peter as he sprints from line to line.

Peter feels a stitch rip, red pouring out of the wound and seeping into the material of his shirt. Shit. That wasn’t supposed to happen. All he wanted was to show Flash up. He drops to the floor, skidding a bit as he rolls. Ow. That doesn’t help his concussion.

His vision goes dark as Ned rushes toward him. He’s unconscious.

Ned scrambles to check Peter’s pulse. When he hears the steady beat, he presses his hands against his wound, trying to stop the blood. Abe runs up, drops to his knees, and checks Peter’s pupils.

Coach Wilson hits a button on the wall that switches on the intercom system, shouting something about sending the nurse down to the lower gym.

MJ gets Peter’s phone from his bad, entering his password, that she isn’t supposed to know, and opening his contacts. She wants to roll her eyes at Tony’s name, but Peter just passed out, and now isn’t the time.

She clicks on the contact labeled Dad. It opens their text chain. She enters the emergency code and their location, then presses send. Hopefully Tony will get it in time.

Flash grabs the phone from her hands, scoffing at the name.

“Like Parker has a dad,” he sneers. “Didn’t his parents die? Why didn’t you call his stupid Aunt?”

MJ resists the urge to punch him. She takes the phone from his hands with fire in his eyes and glares. He turns on his heel and retreats back to his friends. They glance down at Peter and snicker. They don’t seem to notice the red liquid slowly gathering at his opposite side.

The nurse pushes Ned away, checking Peter’s pulse and ignoring the tears streaming down Ned’s face.

MJ waits. She waits until the doors burst open again, and Tony Stark, donning his usual business suit, strides through them, a panicked look in his eyes. He almost collapses at Peter’s side, hands moving to cup Peter’s cheek.

“What happened?” he snaps.

The nurse takes it in stride. She recites the details of his injuries, sparing Tony the pleasantries.

MJ hears Flash’s friends whisper at the sight of him. They never believed Peter about his internship, and MJ wants to laugh at them, but she can’t, because Peter’s unconscious, and Flash is glaring at Ned. She hurries past Flash to comfort Ned, an arm around his shoulders.

“Stark,” she says, her voice low but clear, “he’ll be alright, right?”

“Yeah, he will. As long as Cho gets here in the next five minutes. I gave him something to stop the bleeding, but it won’t last long. Ned, did you know about this?”

Ned shakes his head violently. MJ pats his back in a way she hopes is calming. She doesn’t quite know what to do in this situation.

“Okay, I’m not mad. He’ll be alright. Now all we can do is wait.” He sits back onto his heels and breathes out a sigh. His eyes linger on the students around him. He finds Flash’s glare and raises his eyebrows. Tony doesn’t like that kid already.

Cho arrives with a medical team. They load him onto a gurney, but Peter grabs Tony’s hand before they can wheel him out of the gym.

“What did I get for the exam?” he asks slowly, trying to form his words as clearly as possible.

Tony sighs.

“You did great, bud. But don’t think we’re not talking about this at the tower.”

Peter gulps. He locks eyes with Flash over Tony’s shoulder and smirks. He won. He tries his best to chuckle against the pounding headache.

“I beat you, Flash.”

MJ smirks as Ned laughs wetly into her shoulder. She doesn’t mind. The look on Flash’s face is so worth it.

[jinkisbelly]

Champion No More 3/?

First Chapter, Second Chapter, Ao3 link

Rating: pg -13 (Talk of Death)

Pairing: Jongyu

w/c:1.8k

Summary: In a neighboring Kingdom where criminals and captives are forced to fight to the death, a Prince finds his past can no longer stay in his distant memories.

21 years prior, age 10

“Your Highness, you are getting a new personal servant.” Jonghyun looked up at his nursemaid he’s known most of his life curiously.

“A personal servant?” He softly questioned.

“Yes, your highness.” She smiled warmly, her grey hair falling in her face as she gestured toward the door. “He’s only to serve you, My Prince.”

Jonghyun looked toward the door when he heard the quiet footsteps against the floor. Coming in was a young boy with messy red tinted, dark hair. His eyes were cast toward the floor as he shuffled in front of his prince and bowed. “My name is Jinki Lee, and I am pleased to be in your service, Your Highness.” His voice was soft and muffled, as if shy and timid.

“It’s grand to meet you, Jinki Lee.” The Prince smiled before looking back up at the older woman behind him. “Can you leave us alone, Miss Cho?”

“Of course, dear.” She curtsied before heading out, “If you need anything, Your Highness, just ring.”

He nodded in her direction, but his eyes never left the boy in front of him. He was taller than he was, but it was obvious how nervous he was with how his eyes hadn’t lifted very high for more than a few seconds when he thought the prince wasn’t looking at him. “Do you know how to play checkers Jinki?”

“I do, sir.”

Jonghyun giggled, startling the servant boy. “My father is sir. You can call me Jonghyun, Jinki. I have a feeling we’re gonna get to know each other a whole lot. Come~”

Jinki was gently smiling as he rose his head and followed his prince over to the table in the middle of the room, climbing up onto the plush seat and setting up the game. It was the first time he didn’t feel as nervous as he had nonstop since he was told he had gotten the prince as an assignment.

-----

Present

“Do you remember when we met?” Jonghyun quietly asked, back against the stone wall, where on the other side Jinki was pressed against it too. With the break between fights being longer to prepare for the final of the season, there were fewer guards walking the halls of the individual cells.

“Of course,” Jinki responded, there was a light laugh in his voice. “I was scared shitless the Prince was going to order my head to be cut off because I didn’t pour his porridge just right.”

“Is that why I always won in checkers?”

After a moment Jinki softly answered, “Maybe.”

Jonghyun looked at his hands, remembering growing up with Jinki as if it was yesterday. So many vivid memories of the skinny boy with red tinted hair who turned into the love of his life. “When they told me I was getting a new servant I picture some old man telling me I was wearing my ceremonial coat wrong. Not a boy 4 months older than myself.”

“Even after everything that happened, I’m glad they put me on Prince duty and not barn duty.”

“You just don’t like horse poop.” Jonghyun mumbled.

“No. I couldn’t imagine a life where I never loved you.”

Jonghyun let out a deep breath, Jinki’s words hitting him straight in his chest, “Don’t say things like that.”

He heard the noise, felt the jarring through the wall, and he figured Jinki had hit his head back against the wall. “There will come a time I won’t be able to say anything to you Jonghyun.”

“Jinki-”

“I know you wish not to do what I ask of you,” Jinki’s deep sigh could be heard, “But it’ll just be like the last thirteen years. You’ll have closure this time. You can move on.”

“I don’t wish to move on from you. I never had.” Jonghyun bites his lower lip so hard he can taste the metallic blood against his tongue. “Ever since that day at the tournament, when your big headed self-got yourself into trouble and we kissed, I never wanted to spend a moment without you. Don’t you remember how that felt?”

“Of course I do Jonghyun. I couldn’t forget.” Jinki laughs quietly to himself. “Believe me. I’ve tried.”

-----

17 years prior, age 14

If Jinki had to hear the insufferable girl giggle one more time he was going to jump into the wild boar pit with a scream. The visiting Princess had spent almost every waking minute hanging onto Jonghyun’s arm and off every word he said. Jinki was tired. Tired of her voice. Tired of the way she smelled. Tired of the way her dress ruffled around as she moved. And tired of how close she was to Jonghyun. They were supposed to be watching the tournament in front of them, not gazing at each other like they had a painting plastered to their face. Before he could stop himself his feet were moving until he was between their chairs, and with a slight tilt, the wine on his tray fell all on the Princess’ dress, staining the light colored fabric a deep red.

To make matters worse, Jonghyun rushes to help pat the wine from the dress, apologizing profusely about his servant’s behavior and how he’s normally not like this, but most of the words were easily ignored with the anger rolling through Jinki’s mind as he glared at the two of them.  The Princess rushes off, embarrassed and almost crying, and Jonghyun’s gaze lands on him. He lifts his hand, curling his finger towards him to signal he wishes Jinki to come near. When he does, Jonghyun tightly asks, “Can I speak with you in my tent, Jinki?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

As soon as the flap of the tent is closed Jonghyun hisses, “What in all hells was that?”

“It slipped.”

“It slipped my royal ass.”

“I made a mistake. I’m SO sorry I ruined one of her million handcrafted dresses.”

Jonghyun is fuming, “She’s a visiting princess, a guest in our Kingdom. You should have apologized Jinki.”

Jinki mumbled, “She’s lucky it didn’t end up in her humongous hair.”

“What was that Jinki?”

“Nothing, My Prince.” Jinki quickly replies, flashing a smile as he raises his gaze to look at him.

Jonghyun sighs, falling back into a chair and he runs a hand over his face.. His elbows are on his knees, his posture completely improper for a prince as he asks. “Jinki, be honest with me. Did you do that on purpose?”

“There’s a high chance that it might have been done on purpose.”

“Uh huh, and why did you spill it on purpose,” Jonghyun rested his chin on his palm, “Hypothetically of course.”

“I didn’t like her.”

“You didn’t like her.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“She seemed to have negative alternative motives.”

“Oh? And you can tell this by standing three feet behind me and over the sound of the crowd?” Jonghyun’s fingers are softly tapping on his chin as he speaks.

“Yes, precisely.”

“And yet, you can’t hear me call your name across an empty ass room.” It wasn’t a question, Jinki knew.

“Hey, those dome ceilings mess with the sound.”

“Jinki,” Jonghyun chided, “You just embarrassed a Princess from a very important Kingdom. I’m going to have to explain this. You’ve never been like this before. What’s gotten into you?”

"I don’t know what you mean. I’ve always looked out for your wellbeing.” Jonghyun just stares at him, not blinking and doesn’t say a word. “What?”

“You’re so full of shit your hair is turning more brown than red.” Jonghyun then leans back into his chair, tapping his fingers on the arms of the chair, and studies him, sadly. “My father, her father, are going to call me to fire you, do you understand?”

Jinki pales, “What?”

“I would do it if it saves the relationship between our Kingdoms.”

“Jonghyun please-”

“Why did you do it?” When Jinki doesn’t answer he asks again. “Give me something to work with Dammit.”

“I love you!” Jinki blurts out, quickly covering his mouth with both his hands.

“Excuse me?”

But then he softens, and his voice is quiet as he looks at his boots. “I love you. I didn’t like how she was flirting with you… so I poured it.”

“Jinki I-”

His head was hung low, eyes closed as he says, “I understand the consequences. I’ll make my leave now your grace.”

He places his tray on the table before turning and heading out of the tent. His fingers are grazing the tent flap when something warm curls around his wrist and pulls him back. Before he can ask what was happening, Jonghyun’s kissing him. It’s sloppy and rough, mostly teeth, but Jinki is frozen as Jonghyun withdraws. Jonghyun is scowling, serious, as he states. “I never dismissed you yet, Jinki. You can’t leave yet.”

Jinki licks his lips, fumbling horribly to find any word to say. He opens his mouth and a jumble of words come out in no particular order. “Jonghyun what kiss that huh?” Then Jonghyun kisses him again, but this time it’s slow, more in control, and softer. No teeth. It seems to reboot Jinki’s mind. “Is this a new way of letting someone go because I don’t know if I could kiss the King.”

“Jinnnnkkkki.” Jonghyun whines. Being the common occurrence as it was to hear that, Jinki grinned.

“Does this mean I’m not fired?”

----

Present

“How did you become a captain, Jinki?”

Jinki picks at the hole in his pants, just above the knee, as he contemplates his answer. “The Captain of the ship at the time, I was 19, he wanted us to kill this entire village of innocent people. Full of women and children, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t watch the men I had grown to have a comradery with do such a thing. Such a thing plagues your dreams. I told the Captain no. He took it as Mutiny and charged. I killed him protecting myself.”  Jinki ran his tongue over his dry lips, looking through his fringe. “The role of Captain usually falls to the First Mate then, but he was old, wanted to retire to land to die. The crew voted me to be their Captain.”

“You’ve always been meant for leadership,” Jonghyun recalls fondly, a smile on his lips. “How they ever thought you’d be a good servant is beyond me.”

“Hey!” Jinki scoffed, insulted. “I was a damn good servant.”

“You always ate half my breakfast before it got to me.”

“Only the muffins.” Jinki corrected, but his voice was soft, happy, as he remembered. “You never would eat them, always waiting until the very end and being too full to eat them, so I’d take them.”

“I never ate them because I knew you wanted them.”

That gave Jinki pause, “I started eating them when we were twelve.”

“I know.”

“But.”

“Did I just make the great Captain Speechless?” Jonghyun laughed quietly when he heard Jinki’s mumbled shut up. His expression fell as he quietly asked, “Did you ever find someone else? Is.. there someone waiting for you out there?”

“For some time I was sexually involved with my First Mate,” Jinki was staring straight at him, at least from what he could tell with half of his expression seen. “However, it was purely physical and did nothing to help me forget you.”

“Thank you for being honest with me.” Jonghyun softly states, gaze falling to his lap.

“I wish I never had to run away like that.” Jinki sighed. “I wish I could have stayed with you, even just for a little bit longer.”

“That morning when I woke up, I knew something was wrong. I knew deep down you wouldn’t be coming back.”

----

13 years ago, age 17

Jonghyun could sense it was morning by the light falling upon his face from the window across the room. His bed felt colder, but he reached out instinctively to pull Jinki closer. His hand only grabbed freezing bedsheets. Curious, he twisted, softly running his palm over the space. It was too cold to be recently vacated and a feeling of dread descended over him. He had overheard some of the guards during sparring talking about the new bounty over the Prince’s lover’s head. He wondered if his father had figured out it was Jinki and had taken him away.

Surely he’d have woken up if that happened, right? Jinki would have made some type of scene, wouldn’t he? When breakfast, and Jinki, never came, Jonghyun got dressed and went to check his servants quarters. Maybe he had slipped away in the middle of the night and was simply oversleeping. However, as he pushed open the door of the room was in disarray, looking like someone had ransacked it looking for something. Even Teacup was gone, missing from the small makeshift bed she usually slept in. A lump formed in his throat as his knees felt weak, buckling from under him. He wrapped his arms around himself, silent sobs racking his body as he curled into himself. Jinki was gone. Most likely killed for simply falling in love with him.

How could he forgive himself?

----

Present, the night before the final fight

“Tomorrow is the big day.” Jinki softly mumbled. The sun was low, or he assumed so with the low light coming in from the small window in his cell. His back was pressed against the wall he shared with Jonghyun, knowing the man was leaning on the other side. He knew Jonghyun had heard him, because of the sharp intake of breath coming from the man’s cell. “Tomorrow you’ll earn your freedom.”

“What is freedom carrying around your death over my head?”

“Jonghyun.” Jinki warned, voice stern.

“You can’t expect me to do it. I won’t. I refuse.”

Jinki ran a hand over his face, staring at the swinging pendant held by his left hand. Slowly he pushed off the ground, walking to where the bars of the cell and the stone of the wall met. “Jonghyun.. Come to the bars. Hold out your hand.”

Hesitantly, Jonghyun did as he was asked. His fingers brushed Jinki’s for a moment before he felt a braided thread. He grabbed it carefully before pulling his hand back. When he lifted his gaze from the pendant he had carved for Jinki all those years ago, he stumbled back, far enough to be able to see his face. “Jinki.. I-”

“I’ve kept that with me, a connection to you all these years. I’ve always thought it’s protected me somehow from death.” Jinki took a ragged breath, tears visibly falling down his cheeks. “It’s only right that I return my heart to you before it ends. Promise me you’ll keep it.”

“Jinki-”

“Please.”

Finally, Jonghyun relented tears of his own falling. “I promise.”

“Never forget that I love you.” Jinki sniffled hard, falling apart at the seams when finally facing what awaited them when the sun rose again. “Please remember how much I love you. That everything I ever did, the mistakes I made, leaving.. I did them thinking of you, even if they were wrong.”

“I know Jinki.” Jonghyun let a broken sob escape, quickly composing himself more. “I love you.”

“Oh, do I.”

[dresupi]

Love Bug

Pairing:  Darcy Lewis/Pietro Maximoff For: @localanimenerd Prompt:  Love Bug Rating: T Word Count: 3046 (This got OUT OF HAND) Tags:  Demisexual!Pietro Maximoff, Love Venom, Magical Bug Venom, Light Angst, Happy Ending, Kissing, Lots of kissing, Snark

"A love bug?" Darcy asked, eyebrows arching skeptically as she tried to take in what Helen said.  "Are you serious?"  

"Do you think I'm kidding?" Helen asked, nodding her head towards the other room. The other room where a very hyper Pietro was currently zipping around and trying to escape.  To get to Darcy.  So he could… like… love her or whatever.  It had looked a little suspect.  That little pink bug that had buzzed down to land on Pietro's arm at the park that day.  

It had bitten him, he'd sworn out loud, scared a dog, gotten woozy, sat down on the ground, stood back up and was suddenly madly in love with her.

Her best friend.  In love with her.  And Darcy, sitting here acting like it wasn't every single one of her dreams come true. It made her heart wrench just a little.  Because what harm could it do?  

A lot of harm. A LOT.  Because he doesn't really love you.  He just thinks he does.  

Darcy sighed heavily. "Should I leave? Would that make it easier?"  

"No… I worry about the tenacity of those walls if he can't see you…"  The tenacity of the shatterproof glass that Tony had built all these exam rooms out of.

Darcy glanced back at him again, the look of pure anguish on her friend's face was more than she could bear. "Well, let me just… take him back to his apartment.  He can sleep it off.  He'd settle down more if he was in his own bed.  Plus… I could call Wanda.  She'd be able to help if things get too hairy."  

Dr. Cho pressed her lips together and nodded. "Okay.  Maybe it's for the best.  I've seen this before, and it should pass by morning if not earlier.  He does have a fast metabolism."  

Darcy nodded.  "Cool, cool, cool." She tried to fight the urge to pull up a stool and ask Helen just exactly where she'd seen this before.  This 'love bug' that sounded like a bunch of bullshit to Darcy.

"Call Wanda, tell her what happened, and I'll go inform Lover Boy that he's free to go."

"And you're sure he'll be okay? That love bug venom doesn't make someone violent, does it?"  

Helen shook her head.  "Nope.  It just… enhances the feelings that are already there."  

Darcy froze for a moment, her phone in her hand, her finger poised over Wanda's contact information.  "Enhances the feelings that are already there? Like, his friendship feelings, you mean?"  

Helen shrugged.  "Maybe. I'm not really the one you should be discussing this with."  She looked pointedly towards Pietro in the exam room.  "But the one you should be discussing it with is not in the best place for discussion right now…" 

"Because he doesn't have feelings for me.  Not like that," Darcy insisted.  There was no way she was going through this again.  Pietro had politely let her down a year ago when she'd asked him out.  Told her he needed time.  Which was fine. And instead of going out, they started hanging out.  

Yeah, she was still lugging around a helluva big torch behind her wherever she went, but it wasn't obvious.  She was fine being friends with Pietro.  Regardless of how hard it was to carry the torch.

Darcy pressed down on her screen, calling Wanda.

She was having second thoughts about taking Pietro out of Dr. Cho's care.  As it turned out, Wanda wasn't there.  She was on a mission.  

Darcy tried to exhale, only to discover Pietro was standing uncomfortably close to her as she pressed on the keypad of the elevator.  "Piet. Let me live," she reminded him.  

"Sorry…" he muttered, stepping back, even though it looked like it pained him to do so.  

"Me too…" Darcy murmured.  "I shouldn't have started shooing that bug…"  

"And what? Then it would bite you?" he countered.  "Better me than you, princeza."

Darcy inhaled sharply.  That word was going to be her cause of death.  "Piet… I asked you not to call me that."  

"Sorry," he repeated, frowning as he pushed his hair out of his eyes.  "Habit."  

"Not a habit.  You've never called me that before today," she reminded him.  "You're not in love with me."  

"It feels like I am."  

"But you're not.  We're friends.  The love we have is familial," she lied, lyingly.  Well.  On his part it was.  But they weren't talking about her.  

"You asked me out once," he argued softly.  

"Yep.  And you turned me down, so I moved on," Darcy said pointedly, if a little bit harsh.  As soon as she bit out the words, she wished she could take them back.  The look on his face was killing her.  

The elevator doors opened and she stepped out of them without another word, stalking down the hall towards Pietro's apartment.  Helen's warnings circled around in her mind.  

Don't upset him unnecessarily, it will make him double down.  Be vague.  Be kind.  And do not encourage him. He has no control of his emotions.  Do not leave him.  He needs to sleep this off.  It won't happen if he doesn't sleep.  And he won't sleep if you've stormed off down to your place.  

It was the last piece of advice that she really didn't like right now.  

She wanted to do just that.  Leave him here and go lock herself in her bedroom to cry for the foreseeable future.  

But, she supposed, she could put off crying indefinitely until tomorrow.  Pietro would be back to normal and likely super-skittish around her.  So it would leave her ample time to sob out her sorrows.  

She wasn't sure which was more sad: Knowing this was going to leave her an emotional wreck but doing it anyway for the sake of her friend, or literally penciling in cry-time for tomorrow.  

Both.  Both are more sad.  

She waited at his door for a split second when he zipped up beside her and pressed his hand to the door.  It swung open, greeting him as he stepped inside. 

It greeted Darcy too, once it realized that she was here.  

"Ms. Lewis."  

"FRIDAY," she replied.  "Super pleased to hear you."  

"The feeling is mutual."  

Pietro flopped down on his sofa and Darcy milled around in the entryway, staring at a painting on the wall that she'd seen a billion times before.  

He cleared his throat.  "You can come sit down. I promise I won't maul you."  

She chuckled nervously and took a few furtive steps towards the living area.  She chose to sit in a chair opposite the couch and Pietro sighed in disappointment when she sat down.

"You never sit there."  

"Well, today, I thought I would."  

He leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped together loosely, peering at her.  "I didn't say no because I didn't want you.  I said 'no' because I didn't know if I wanted you."  

Darcy's eyes fluttered closed.  "I was given a list of approved topics. Suffice it to say, it's all small talk.  This is not small talk, Piet.  It's big talk.  Enormous talk.  Gargantuan talk.  And we can't have it right now."  

"I didn't know if I wanted you, but now I do know.  And I want you.  Because I lo--"  

"Pietro.  You don't.  It's that bug venom that's like… morphing your friendshippy feelings into relationshippy ones. And you only think you want me because you think you love me.  And you don't.  So you don't.  Now can we drop this?"  

"Don't tell me what I feel, Darcy," he countered.  

"Your feelings are completely valid, Pietro. But regardless, they're not real.  They're fake and they're going to go away. I'm sorry, but they are.  I don't like this any more than you do."  

He tilted his head, grinning smugly.  "So you haven't moved on."

"Of course I haven't!" she sputtered, reaching up to rub harshly at her eyes.  "But it's neither here nor there.  It doesn't matter."  

"Your feelings are valid too," he insisted.  "And if you've been feeling this way for our entire friendship, you should have told me."  

"I'd rather be friends with you than nothing with you," she stated bluntly.  "And it doesn't matter what you're feeling right now, due to a little pink bullshit bug, friends is all you want to be.  It's very apparent."

"Apparent how?"  

"You flirt with everyone, Pietro.  Everyone.  Except me."

"I don't flirt with people I'm attracted to."  

"That's even more bullshit than that bug."  

"I don't!" he insisted.  "I don't flirt when there's a chance my intentions will be mistaken.  If that were true, if I flirted with everyone I was attracted to, I'd be flirting like crazy with you.  Am I?" he asked.  "Am I flirting with you?"  

"No.  You're being weird and calling me 'princess' and telling me you love me.  In truth, you're being super awkward and crazy adorable, but that's beside the point."  

The corner of his mouth quirked up into a half smile.  "Crazy adorable, huh?"  

"Stop."  

"You're right.  Off topic," he pressed on.  "But I don't flirt because I'm attracted.  I flirt because I like attention." He shrugged.  "What can I say, I'm an odd duck."

"Because you just like flirting?"  Darcy asked, arching her eyebrows and folding her arms like she'd won.  Because she had.  This was bull and she wasn't getting trapped in this web again.  Mostly because she'd never truly fought her way free from before, but that was just semantics.

"Yes."  

"But not with me."  

He shook his head.  "Flirting is not real for me.  I want to be real with you."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "You have to stop."  

"Fine.  But we're coming back to this tomorrow," he said, pointing his finger out at her.  "We're not done here."  

"You're probably tired," Darcy said, gesturing towards his bedroom. "From the bug venom."  

"Tired of you not believing me…" Pietro muttered, leaning back and crossing his arms in pure obstinacy.  He propped both feet on his coffee table and narrowed his eyes.

"Want some chamomile tea or something?  I bet I could go steal some of Bruce's sleepytime tea from the break room in the lab."  

Pietro pressed his lips together and shook his head. "I'm not tired."  

"Hence the need for sleepytime tea."  

He scratched absently at his arm.  At the bite that had been an angry knob, but thanks to a couple of shots from Helen had calmed down to merely perturbed.  

"Look, the sooner you go to sleep, the sooner this is all over and you can figure out what you want to talk about with me, and you can sort the mess."  Darcy thought her tone sounded genuine.  Not the disbelieving one she'd been utilizing all afternoon.  It sounded more relieved.  As if the bulk of this mess had passed them or something.  As if this wasn't going to turn into a huge shit show the next day.  As if she wasn't going to lose her friend in the process.  

She blinked a few times, determined not to start the sads up early.  

He nodded once.  "Okay. There's chamomile tea in the kitchen," he said, standing up to walk there.  "Would you like some, prin --" He stopped himself abruptly.  "Darcy. Would you like some, Darcy?"  

It must already be wearing off.  He was decidedly more chill than he'd been right after he'd been bitten.

She nodded.  "Yes.  I'd love some."  

She woke up on the couch.  No matter how much Pietro had insisted that she take his bed, she hadn't budged an inch.

She wondered what the etiquette was here. Could she just leave without saying anything?  

Of course she knew the answer was no.  Before she even completed the thought, she knew she'd have to wait until he was awake to go home.

He was probably all kinds of embarrassed. Leaving him alone wouldn't be the best idea.  

Sighing heavily, she sat up, yawning and stretching.  She wondered when exactly she'd aged out of being able to comfortably ride the couch.  Because if the ache in her back was anything to believe, she definitely had.  

It was of course in mid stretch that the door to Pietro's apartment opened and in a blur of gray hoodie and black track pants, he was at her side with coffee and a white paper bag from the coffee shop down the street.  He was looking somehow like he'd wandered off the pages of GQ, even in a ratty hoodie, and she had her mouth wide open, yawning.  

Super classy, Darce.  

"I got you breakfast," he said, smiling tightly.  

"I'll take it to go," Darcy said, reaching out for the bag and rising.  Except he didn't let go, his arm came with it when she tugged.  

"I was hoping we could… talk?" he asked, gesturing to the pair of stools by his kitchen counter.

"Right now?" she asked, her forehead wrinkling in confusion.  "I… thought you'd maybe want to be alone?"  

He shook his head.  "No.  Unless… you'd rather--"  

"Nah, I'm cool!" she said, in a pitch much too high to be genuine.  "Let's talk."  

She sat down at the counter, pulling a chocolate croissant out of the bag. Her mouth started watering.  He certainly knew what she liked, didn't he?

He took the other stool, folding his hands in front of him, obviously waiting for her to finish before he began.  

"Aren't you hungry?"  

He jerked his thumb over to the sink, where a lone bowl and spoon resided.  "I had cereal."  

"I could have had cereal too," Darcy began.

"I ate it all," he said, waving his hand.  "It's fine, I needed the run."

She picked at the croissant.  It was one of her favorites, that was true, but her other favorite was gazing at her with such intensity, that she pushed the pastry away.  "Say what you need to say, Pietro."  

"I don't love you," he said softly, almost apologetically.  

Darcy cracked a smile.  "So is it too soon to say 'I told you so', or?"

"Darcy…" He propped his head in his hand, elbow on the counter, his legs bouncing up and down.  "I'm sorry about yesterday, I really am…"  

She reached over to slide her hand up and down his forearm, causing him to still at the touch.  "Pietro, you literally couldn't help it. And the only thing I care about is if we're still friends."  

"Of course…" He grasped her hand tightly. "But…"  

She panicked.  But what?  

"I don't love you yet."  She gulped, her hand going limp in his.  "But I think I could."  

Darcy started shaking her head.  "Piet… that's just left over from--"  

"I've been feeling this way for a while… I know I told you I needed time.  And it took longer than I thought it would.  This has always been hard for me, it's still one of the areas where I am woefully slow. I know I shouldn't ask you for anything more, but..." he trailed off, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment, leaving it pink and somewhat swollen.  Very kissable, regardless.

"But…?" she probed.  

"But I want to.  Ask you for more."  He turned his hand in hers, lacing their fingers.  "I know I took too long.  But could you… possibly give me another chance?"  

The air left her lungs.  She squeezed his hand to let him know that she hadn't passed out, but beyond that… words?  Words weren't happening.  This was a lot to process.  

"So you really needed time?" she asked.  "You weren't just trying to put me down gently?"

He shook his head fervently. "No. I knew I felt something for you, but I didn't want to go further until I was sure. I'm… strange in that way." He shrugged apologetically. "I won't be anymore. Now that I know."

Darcy ran her tongue over her bottom lip, staring at their hands, clasped together so tightly they were almost shaking.  "Pietro, you get all the chances you want."

She tugged almost imperceptibly on his hand and he came with it.  All of him. He stood up, stepping closer to her, closer than he'd ever been. He tilted her head up to align with his, nose nuzzling hers before he closed the distance.  

The kiss was hot. Hungry. Seeking.  

His lips melded to hers, parting just slightly as he tilted his head, slotting his mouth perfectly over hers.  His breath hissed out of his nose, hitting her face.  She reached up and tangled her other hand in his hair.  The heat rose and pooled in her belly, and his free hand slid around her waist.  

The chair creaked as it scooted on the floor, and the sound seemed to break the spell.  He released her lips, but not her. "You're sure?  You're not just being nice to me, are you?" he asked. "If you don't want this anymore, I'd understand."

"Do I need to kiss you again?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.  "I must be off my game if you can kiss me and still have questions…"  

He smiled, "I'm not going to tell you not to kiss me again."  

"Good to know…" she whispered, tugging him back down so she could capture his lips.  

He broke it off only one more time.  "So do I have the okay to call you princeza?  Because I've been wanting to for a long time."  

She had to admit, she really liked the pet name.  Liked the way it sounded as it rolled off his tongue. Deep down, she secretly liked the thought of being his princess. Liked how it so clearly shaped what his opinion of her was.  Liked the look she was seeing in his eyes.  It wasn't the first time she'd seen it, but it was the first time she understood what it was.  

Nodding, she winked.  "Sure.  Go wild.  But only if you're a loyal subject."  

After a split second, in which about thirty emotions crossed his face, Pietro kissed her urgently, nearly knocking the breath from her lungs in the process. His arm encircled her waist, taking her off the stool.  They moved super quickly over to the sofa. "I promise, I will be completely loyal, princeza."