#She's much more boisterous and comfortable as a girl despite it being new to him

[mandareeboo]

Episode 1 of Ranma and I'm already hooked. I cannot think of a funnier premise then "Guy got cursed to be a girl, has only been genderfluid for two weeks, learns that the girl he just fought hated to lose to men, and IMMEDIATELY tries to think of a way to stay a girl around her to avoid hurting her feelings". Like that's it. That's a himbo with a heart of gold. I love her.

[seijorhi]

No Strings Attached

A commission for the lovely @hearteyes-candyskies, hope you like it bby! 💕

Bokuto Koutarou x female reader

TW Age gap, power imbalance, manipulation, toxic behaviour, nsfw(ish)

Three months ago, you would have laughed at the very idea of having a sugar daddy. 

Then again, three months ago you were still living with your boyfriend and had a steady paycheck coming in every week. You can blame losing the latter on bad luck and an asshole boss, but the former-

You knew your relationship with your ex was far from perfect, but coming home from losing said job to find him buried balls deep in your next door neighbour was a bit of a slap in the face. 

Needless to say, in the space of a few days you were out a job, a boyfriend and an apartment. Which, somewhat inevitably, led to you being six wines deep, slumped over your best friend’s bed, sobbing over the wreckage of the life you’d built, suddenly ripped out from beneath you.

You can’t really remember whose idea it was, only giggling drunkenly between yourselves as Misuzu set up your ‘sugar baby’ profile. “Shh, no this is gonna be great,” she’d said, hitting at the hands that tried to grab back your phone. “Meet some hot rich old dude, ride a little dick, let him shower you in cash; all your problems? Poof, sorted!”

And even with the heady, rose tinted haze of your wine fuelled inebriation, you knew that it was just a joke, a bit of stupid fun born more out of an attempt to cheer you up than a viable plan to get the tattered remains of your life back on track. Calling some old creepy dude ‘daddy’ and pretending to love him (not to mention the whole letting him fuck you thing) just for a little money wasn’t exactly your idea of a good time.

Plus, you were fairly sure that you weren’t what most people had in mind when they thought ‘sugar baby’. It wasn’t ever meant to be anything serious, just dumb, drunken fun with your friend.

So when you woke the next day a little after mid morning with a head full of regrets and a pounding headache, the last thing you expected was to find a message from BigDaddyKou82 waiting for you, better sense told you to ignore it.

Honestly, you didn’t really want a sugar daddy, your love life was enough of a mess without throwing in a power imbalance like that.

You should have ignored the message, deleted it or shot him a quick reply politely explaining that you weren’t interested so you could put it out of your mind, and you would have-

If Misuzu hadn’t caught sight of the message first, snatching the phone out of your hand with a gleeful shriek. 

—

If you’ve learned anything in these past months, it’s that Bokuto Koutarou doesn’t do anything by half measures. So when he tells you he’s booked dinner for the two of you at an upscale restaurant in the city, you should have expected the package that’s hand delivered right to the door of your shitty little apartment. The dress is beautiful, expensive - though you could tell that just from the elegant matte black box wrapped in golden ribbon it arrives in. It’s exactly his style; short, revealing and just dancing along the edge of impropriety, not that that’ll bother him in the slightest. 

But it is gorgeous, and loathe as you are to admit it, it flatters you well.

It’s not the first time that he’s bought you clothes, your tiny closet’s almost overflowing with pieces he’s gifted you. He likes seeing you in the things he’s bought, sometimes a little too much, you think. But you’ve learned it’s better just to go along with it - he gets this wide eyed, beaming grin whenever he sees you dressed in the pretty things he’s bought you, and the sight of it never fails to make your cheeks heat, warmth curling in your stomach. 

The dress was not unexpected. The soft, lacy lingerie that comes in the accompanying box, on the other hand - that was new.

And of course, you barely have time to unwrap your gift when your phone flashes to life, an incoming call from the man himself.

“D’ya like it?”

The giddy excitement in his voice is unmistakable, and if you close your eyes you can picture the look on his face - golden eyes all hooded and hungry, that glittering, eager grin he wears when the two of you are out in public but his mind’s occupied with all the filthy, wonderful things he wants to do to you the moment you’re alone. 

Not that he’s ever that patient. 

“Um, it’s…” Fingers tentatively reach into the tissue paper, pulling the sheer, lacy bra out, warmth blossoming in your cheeks. The matching panties - a tiny scrap of lace held together with bows and thin black straps - really aren’t much better. Like the dress, the lingerie is clearly well made, probably cost more than your weekly rent, and the delicate set is arguably gorgeous (you can’t even argue his taste), but–

“You’re gonna wear it for me tonight, right, baby?” 

It’s not really a question; of course you will, because you always do. You would have thought by now that you’d be used to the gifts he showers you in. 

“Yeah, but Kou, you really didn’t have to spend all this money on me. Dinner’s enough,” you tell him, setting the lingerie back down. 

Dinner, and everything else for that matter. 

A chuckle echoes down the line. “But I like spoiling my girl. Like buying you pretty things,” his voice dips, “like tearing ‘em off you afterwards, too.” 

And despite all the apprehension curled up inside of you, a shiver of excitement runs down your spine. 

—

“So…” Misuzu pushes, leaning across the countertop with her chin resting on her palm and looking entirely too pleased at your discomfort.

“He… asked me to meet him.”

Her eyes widen, sparkling in delight as she gasps, “For dinner?”

“For a drink - one drink,” you clarify. You elect not to tell her that he’d initially tried to sway you into dinner, and it was you who’d talked him down to a drink. Truthfully, you’d probably feel more comfortable getting coffee, but meeting at a bar was fine.

One drink, and if things got awkward or he turned out to be a creep you’d be out of there in a heartbeat. 

“Oh my god!! My baby Y/N, all grown up and manipulating old, lonely men for money. I’m so proud,” she wipes a fake tear from her eye and bursts into a fit of giggles.

A crinkle appears between your brow as you frown at her, “He’s not even that old,” you grumble, “and it’s not like that. You know it’s not.”

“No?” she asks, her lips curling into a teasing smirk. “You know, for somebody who was so against me messaging your soon to be sugar daddy, you sure move quickly.”

She laughs at the glare you shoot her way. “You were the one who started this.”

“Mhm, and you were the one who didn’t stop it. Funny that, don’t you think?”

She looks like the cat that ate the canary; smug, glittering amusement written all across her face. And you hate, more than anything, that she’s right.

Because you’d meant to put a stop to it the moment you managed to wrestle your phone back from her. Afterwards, you’d blame the lingering hurt of having your heart broken, the insecurities and bitter humiliation that plagued you, the feeling that you weren’t good enough to stop your boyfriend from straying for making you so pathetically vulnerable and desperate for approval - but when you opened the chat instead of the sleazy come on’s you expected, his first message makes something inside of you flutter, warm and pleasant.

Holy crap, you’re beautiful.

Not exactly a sonnet from Shakespeare, but you can’t remember the last time any guy, much less your ex, called you beautiful. 

It didn’t exactly hurt that instead of the aging, creepy looking letch you were half expecting, the profile picture showed a rather fit, attractive man in a crisp, black suit with silvery grey streaked hair and an easy grin. Of course, it was a fifty-fifty chance that the pic wasn’t even him, or if it was then it was outdated or heavily edited, but it was enough to make you pause.

Enough to make you… curious, if nothing else.

But ridiculously attractive or not, you weren’t going to lead him on. If he wanted some pretty, simpering thing to fuck and throw money at, to call him daddy and be his sweet, obedient little girl - that wasn’t you. You’d explained that you weren’t really sure if this was your thing, that you probably weren’t what he had in mind, but surprisingly he hadn’t been put off by that.

Well what’s the harm in finding out for yourself? Maybe you’ll like it more than you think ;)

—

There were rules, when you started - lines you both agreed wouldn’t be crossed.

First and foremost, while it wasn’t exactly a conventional relationship - at least, not the kind you were used to - it was still a relationship of sorts, and there was an expectation of honesty in lieu of absolute exclusivity. You’d tell him if you were seeing anybody else, and Bokuto would tell you the same. Considering sex was on the table, it made sense.

You swore right from the beginning that you wouldn’t allow yourself to become financially dependent on him - you knew all too well that relationships were fickle things to begin with. That kind of dependency was half the reason you were in this position in the first place, and you wouldn’t - couldn’t - let that happen again. That didn’t mean that the arrangement wasn’t transactional. After a few initial meetings that went better than you expected, the two of you came to an agreement; a nice little sum of money he’d deposit weekly in your account in exchange for you being there when he wanted you. Dinner dates, skype calls when he’s travelling, spur of the moment weekends away in expensive hotels - whatever he wanted... within reason.

The thing is, despite his flaws - the little funks he gets into, his immaturity despite the age gap between you, the way he clings to you, mopes if you don’t pay him the attention he wants - you genuinely like Bo, he’s oddly endearing. Loveable, even. He reminds you a little of a puppy; eager for affection, bright and boisterous with boundless energy (and enviable stamina). He’s sweet and adoring and funny and he has this uncanny ability to make everything else fade away when you’re with him, to make you feel like you’re the only woman in the room, beautiful and perfect and entirely his-

But that didn’t make him your boyfriend. 

You weren’t lovers, and whether it was in two weeks or two years, you both knew this arrangement had an expiration date. And because of that, there were no strings attached. At any point, either one of you could end it without an explanation - no questions asked, no feelings hurt. 

—

Truthfully, you don’t know an awful lot about Bokuto’s line of work, only that his position within the company is senior enough that he can move around his schedule pretty much as he wants, leaving him free to see you whenever he likes. 

Which wasn’t a problem when that was once or twice a week. 

“Sorry, Koutarou, you know I can’t. Maybe tomorrow?”

The petulant whine that echoes down the phone fills you with an odd sort of  guilt. “Why not? You said no on Friday, too,” he pouts. “I miss you, baby. Wanna see you again.”

You shove down the faint, flickering unease that nudges at your gut. You’re not his girlfriend, and you find yourself wondering whether or not he sometimes deliberately lets himself forget that.

Nibbling at your bottom lip, you frown, “I told you I have work today. It’s too late for me to try and find someone to cover my shift, and if I call in again-”

You can kiss your job goodbye. You’re already on thin ice with your boss, and it’s not like new waitresses are hard to find these days. 

“Well… what time do you finish?” he asks, his voice thick with dejection, as if he already knows what your answer’s going to be.

You bite back a sigh, “Late. I’m on close again.”

The short silence on the other end of the phone is deafening. “… I’ll come pick you up afterwards.”

This time you can’t stop the soft sigh that escapes, “Kou, I’m gonna be exhausted, I won’t be any fun to be around.”

“Still wanna see you. You’re always working,” he grumbles. “Feels like you don’t have time for me anymore, baby.”

Slowly your eyes flutter shut, and you take a deep breath. It always comes back to this. “I need this job, baby. We’ve talked about this… I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? I have the whole day off, I’m entirely yours.”

“All mine, hm?”

You smile, “All yours, promise.”

He hums in acknowledgement, not entirely happy, but temporarily placated. “Fiiiine. But I’m holding you to it.”

As if you expected any less. “I have to go get ready for work. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“I’ll see you later,” he promises, and you hang up a moment later. 

When he said that, you assumed that both of you were on the same page as to what ‘later’ meant.

Three hours into your shift, you hadn’t expected to return from the kitchen to find a grinning Bokuto lounging in one of your booths.

“He asked for you specifically when he came in,” one of your coworkers tells you, shooting you a playful wink. “Didn’t know you were into silver foxes, Y/N. But I can’t say I blame you, he’s hot!”

“Yeah, thanks,” you mutter distractedly, glancing over your shoulder to check your manager wasn’t watching before making your way over.

The smile on your face is tight as golden eyes flicker towards you. “Bokuto,” you begin quietly, “what- what are you doing here?”

An odd look passes across his face at the use of his family name, but the smug grin remains. “You said you had to work tonight,” he says with a cavalier shrug, as if that explained everything. 

“Yes, because I’m working! Kou, I need this job, I can’t-” you break off with a huff, darting another glance over your shoulder. Thankfully, your manager’s busy berating your co-worker for a screwed up order and hasn’t noticed your absence yet.  

Taking advantage of your distracted state, Bokuto reaches across the table to take your hand in his, his thumb stroking back and forth along the back of your palm. “Hey, hey, relax. You’re here to work, I get it, baby. I’m just here for some food, cross my heart,” he swears, drawing an imaginary X over his chest with his finger.

Gently tugging your hand back, you ignore the hurt little pout he gives you. “So you decided to drive twenty minutes across town just to eat here?” you ask, trying to keep the exasperation from colouring your tone. 

He shifts a little in his seat, cheeks flushing a dusty pink under your narrowed stare. “… Well, maybe I wanted to see my pretty girl, too,” he admits, “But I swear I’ll be on my best behaviour!”

Somehow, his words don’t fill you with confidence, but what are you supposed to do? Kick him out? Snap at him for coming despite the fact you told him not to? Taking a deep, steadying breath through your nose, you force yourself to relax. Bokuto’s not hurting anybody by being there, and so long as he keeps his hands to himself, so long as he behaves, it won’t be an issue.

He’s a paying customer, and you’ll treat him just like you would anyone else who walked through the restaurant’s doors.

Yet despite trying to reassure yourself of that, you can’t escape the niggling sense of unease sitting in the pit of your stomach. Even if he’s the perfect gentleman tonight, the perfect stranger, you’ve worked hard to keep your boring day to day life and the one you’ve created with him in nice, neat, separate boxes. Bokuto hasn’t met your friends or your family and outside of Misuzu they don’t have a clue about your arrangement with your attractive if somewhat clingy benefactor.

You don’t want them to know.

Him being here threatens that - it makes you nervous.

But you’ve been with Bokuto long enough to know that you can’t tell him that without hurting his feelings, and you definitely don’t have the energy to deal with that tonight. It’s a conversation for another day.

Instead, you allow a small smile to tug at the corners of your lips, “You know the food’s pretty average here, you might be disappointed.”

Bokuto grins again, mischief sparkling in those golden eyes, and your traitorous heart skips a beat. “Yeah, don’t think that’ll be a problem,” he leans in closer, “I’m far more interested in what’s for dessert.”

Warmth floods your cheeks as he snickers. 

—

For the most part he keeps his hands to himself, but you can’t quite bring yourself to relax when you can feel those golden, hungry eyes burning a hole into your back as you move around the restaurant serving other customers.

You pretend you don’t see the scowling glower he sends to the harmless office-worker who spends a good forty five minutes flirting with you every time you go over to check on his table.

Bokuto orders enough food to feed a small army and stays until close, leaving a more than generous tip on his way out. 

It goes without saying that he waits for you to finish up. The moment you slip out the door, calling out one last goodnight to your coworker, he’s on you, pushing you up against the brick alleyway wall, hiking your legs up over his hips as his mouth attacks yours, greedy and eager, swallowing up any and all protests you might’ve had.

He doesn’t take you home like you ask, but back to his penthouse suite, and neither of you get much sleep that night.

—

You’re halfway through washing your hair a few days later when your shower head splutters once… twice… and stops completely. 

A blockage in the plumbing, your landlord informs you rather apathetically. It’s affecting the whole floor and it’ll take at least a day or two to get somebody out to fix it properly, leaving you without running water for the entirety of that time.

In hindsight, there were at least three other people you could have (and probably should have) called first, but he’s already answering the phone before the thought even occurs to you. 

And then it’s too late to backpedal. You find yourself grateful that he can’t physically see the way you flush and fidget, pacing around your living room as you awkwardly try to explain the reason you’re calling at ten in the morning. 

“Would, I mean, i-is it okay if I come over to use your shower? Just for this one time, mine kind of got interrupted this morning.” 

God, from the way you stutter, stumbling over your own tongue, you’d think you were asking him to marry you. You’ve spent the night at his countless times before, but asking for a favour, even a small one like this - maybe you’re toeing an unwritten line in the sand? Bokuto isn’t with you because he loves you, he’s with you because it’s mutually beneficial for both of you, because of an agreement. 

He wants fun, easy, not you saddling him with minor inconveniences. Calling to ask him to come save you, albeit from something as mundane as a lack of access to a functioning shower, feels like something you’d ask your boyfriend to do. 

Not your sugar daddy.

But just as you’re about to backtrack and apologise for interrupting his morning, he speaks. “What d’you mean? Just come stay with me till it’s fixed.”

He says it with such certainty, as if it’s the most obvious solution and for a moment you’re stunned into silence. “A-are you sure? I don’t want-'' Don't want what? To be an inconvenience? A problem? “I don’t want to be in the way,” you finish lamely.

Bokuto just laughs, “Don’t be stupid, baby, of course you won’t be in the way. Just swing by the office and I can give you the keys. Or I can just get you another set made? I don’t know, we can figure it out later. I’ll see you soon, ‘kay?” 

And you have to admit, as apprehensive as you were stepping into his penthouse alone for the first time, showering in Bokuto’s fancy ensuite bathroom (which you’re fairly sure is bigger than your actual bedroom) is a hell of a lot nicer than doing it at home. The lotions he has are all expensive brands with french names you’ve never even heard of before, but they smell amazing and they leave your skin feeling all soft and silky. Even the shampoo he’s bought for you to use is far nicer than the one you have at home, though you’re secretly pleased that its scent’s similar - your favourite, actually. 

Did he buy them knowing that or was it just a coincidence, you wonder. You never thought to ask. 

Without work, or Bo for that matter, to occupy your time, you decide to take advantage of his gigantic TV, opening up Netflix and settling into his ridiculously comfortable couch… 

… And wake, a few hours later to the feeling of fingers carding through your hair and a pair of lips pressing against your cheek. 

Bokuto’s home, you realise with a start, and there’s drool on your chin. Face burning with embarrassment, you hastily wipe it away with the back of your palm and try to sit up, only for Bokuto’s hand to wrap around your wrist, halting you in your tracks.

“No, don’t get up, baby,” he says, easing down onto the couch beside you and shifting your head onto his lap so he can continue threading his fingers through your hair. “I like coming home to this.”

Still half asleep, curling up and nuzzling further into those warm, thick thighs of his, you miss the intensity of the adoration burning in golden depths as he coaxes you back to sleep.

—

The two of you are in bed, your cheek resting on his chest, his arm slung over your waist and knuckles brushing idly along your side, when Bokuto breaks the comfortable silence. 

“Move in with me.”

You tense in his arms, heart skipping a beat. For a split second, you’re almost positive that you misheard him. “I-I’m sorry?” You push yourself up onto your elbow, turning your head so that you can look at him properly.

But Bokuto doesn’t miss a beat. “Move in with me,” he repeats, golden eyes bearing down on you.

The expression on your face is frozen halfway between disbelief and hysteria, and you’re staring at him, waiting for that stupid grin to break across his face, for him to laugh and tell you how ridiculous you look, because of course he’s joking.

He’s joking, right?

“Koutarou,” you begin slowly, “Wha- I don’t… Why would you want me to move in with you? We barely- I mean, we’re not…” 

He shrugs his shoulders, “Why wouldn’t I? It makes sense. My place is bigger and nicer, and I like having you here with me. Feels right.”

It feels right??

“I-I can’t just move out of my apartment, Kou.”

His eyebrows knit together, and he huffs, “Why not? It’s a shitty apartment.”

“That’s not the point!” Knocking away the hand that reaches for you, you push yourself all the way up until you’re sitting properly. “I don’t want to move.” 

Owlish eyes narrow, a flash of irritation sparking. “Why not? It makes perfect sense for you to move in here with me. You wouldn’t have to work at that stupid job anymore for one,” he huffs. 

“Bokuto, I’m not going to quit my job,” you mutter. “We’ve talked about this.”

“Why, though?!” he explodes. “You don’t need the money, I’ve told you I can take care of you, whatever you want, baby, name it and it’s fucking yours. You don’t need to work and you don’t need that shitty little apartment!”

Like a crystal glass slipping from numb fingers, the fantasy you’ve convinced yourself you’ve been living shatters into a thousand jagged shards in the space of a single breath.

Oh, how naive you’ve been. How fucking stupid.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you inhale deeply, “Kou, that’s not-”

Strong fingers grip your jaw, and your eyes shoot open as he tugs your face back towards him. Your breath catches in your throat, heart hammering painfully against your ribs. His eyes are wide, pupils blown out, but it’s the intensity in his gaze as he stares at you, the blank expression-

“I love you.”

—

39 missed calls. 72 unread messages. 

Flowers, bouquets of roses, peonies and chrysanthemums piled up by your door between boxes of chocolates and other gifts you won’t bring yourself to open. 

Wide eyed, Misuzu gingerly steps over them, holding two steaming mugs in hand. “Holy fuck,” she murmurs, and for the first time since this stupid, awful mistake began, there’s not a trace of mirth to be found. “Y/N, I…”

But she doesn’t have the words, and you can’t blame her. 

“He told me he loves me,” you sigh. “He asked me to move in with him and told me he loved me, and I grabbed my clothes and all but ran.” You still can’t get the image of Bokuto’s face out of your head, the raw, aching hurt swimming in his eyes as you all but stumbled over excuses in your haste to get out of there. But he didn’t lift a finger to stop you, didn’t say another word.

He just watched numbly, hunched over against the headboard as you fled.

There’s a short beat of silence between the two of you as she sets down the drinks and collapses into the chair beside you. “And… do you love him back?” 

Exhaling loudly, you drop your face into your palms. “I-”

You like how he makes you feel beautiful, the filthy, wonderful praise he lavishes you in when the two of you sleep together, the way he touches you, fingers and mouth so eager to please as his cock fills you, inch by delicious inch.

You like being adored, treasured, and you liked Bo, but… you don’t love him.

That was never on the cards, that wasn’t what your relationship was.

Every line he ever crossed, every boundary he toed, you keep replaying them again and again over and over in your head like a never ending loop. You hadn’t even wanted this whole stupid sugar baby relationship to begin with, and every step of the way he was the one to coax you forward.

And you let him, swallowing down your doubts and your insecurities each and every time. You let him think that this was something else entirely… 

How had you not seen this coming?

“No,” you admit.

The hand that takes yours is soft, and when you glance over with eyes beginning to burn with unshed tears, Misuzu squeezes it gently. “Then end it. Walk away.”

And with your head on her shoulder, her arms wrapped loosely around you, you type out a short message to Bokuto. No strings attached and no questions asked, you’d promised each other that much when you’d started this mess. You wonder if it still holds true. 

I’m sorry. Clearly we were on different pages and want different things. I didn’t mean to lead you on or for things to go as far as they did, but I can’t do this with you anymore. 

You send it and block his contact, and when the tears come and painful sobs rip their way free, Misuzu holds you tight and murmurs soft reassurances. It’ll pass, all breakups hurt.

—

A week after your ‘breakup’ you get a notification on your phone that money’s been transferred into your bank account. 

For a moment, you think that maybe it’s an accident, a recurring transaction he’d simply forgotten to cancel (you doubt he’d even notice) until you click into the transaction itself.

It isn’t the sum itself that startles you - twice the usual amount - but the short note attached in the description.

I need to see you. Please.

You transfer the money right back into his account.

—

Without your weekly supplement from Bo, it doesn’t take long for you to come to the realisation that your current salary just barely covers rent and your bills, and if you want to eat anything other than two minute noodles in the foreseeable future, you’re going to need either more hours, or a second job. 

Thankfully, the timing works out well. When you go to your boss with your most winning smile to try and convince her of your plight, she simply shrugs and agrees, having had to let one of the junior staff go only a few days before. The one catch being that instead of working a mix of morning and afternoon shifts with the occasional closing thrown in, you’re now exclusively on close, five nights a week, Tuesday through Saturday.

Mostly, it doesn’t bother you. The shifts are long and you always leave feeling aching, drained and barely human, but usually it’s quiet enough, and so long as you can get the last few lingering customers out early enough, the actual close runs pretty smoothly between you and the other staff. 

It’s not what you really want to be doing, but you’ve learned to make the best of it. This is adult life, and for the first time since high school, you’re supporting yourself entirely. It might not be the greatest job in the world, and there are absolutely days when you just want to throw in the towel completely, but there is a slight pride to that fact. You don’t need anybody in your life to coddle or support you, you’re figuring this shit out as you go along.

You just wish, sometimes, that you could do that without having to work until the early hours of the morning.

On paper, the kitchen closes at midnight and the last customers are supposed to be out within half an hour of that. Then, between yourself and another server, you can usually get the restaurant tidied up and closed a little after one. 

You knew right from the moment you clocked on that tonight wasn’t going to be one of those nights. The girl who’s supposed to be on close with you called in sick and your boss hasn’t bothered to replace her.

It’s not the first time you’ve had to close by yourself, but it’s still a pain, especially when the last few customers take forever to finish up and leave. 

One of the kitchen staff offers to stay back, his bag slung over his shoulder, hand already on the door handle but you just shake your head with a tired smile. 

“Nah, I can handle it. Thanks, though,”

To his credit, he doesn’t immediately take the offered out. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow.”

Without any help, it takes almost twice as long for you to finish up, and it’s a little after two when you finally flick off the lights and lock the doors.

Your feet are killing you, and all you can think about is sinking into your bed at home, burrowing into your blankets and sleeping for a week straight-

“Hey, baby.” 

Leaning against the hood of his car, arms folded across his broad chest and eyeing you with an unreadable expression, is Bokuto. 

The tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. 

There's nothing inherently threatening about him being here, but it’s the middle of the night, you haven’t seen him in almost two weeks and you don’t need to glance around to know that the car park’s empty. There’s nobody in sight.

Just you and him, and the few feet of distance separating you. 

“K-kou, what are you… what are you doing here?” 

He smiles at that, the way his name slips from your lips, but only for a fleeting second. It fades, and a cold, uncomfortable feeling settles in the pit of your stomach. 

“I missed you, y’know?” He pushes off the hood and takes a step towards you, “You didn’t call me.”

He’s always been bigger than you, towering over you looking like some Adonis with those rippling, powerful muscles of his. You used to like that strength, squealing in wicked delight when he’d hoist you up with a grin, hands gripping your thighs, squeezing your ass, your back shoved up against the wall so he could drive his cock deeper into ‘his pretty fuckin’ pussy’. 

But that was then. 

You’ve never been scared of his strength. Even that morning in the apartment, he didn’t lash out, didn’t scream or yell, he just… shut down. He wouldn’t hurt you, you know that.

That doesn’t stop you from skittering backwards like a frightened little bunny, your back hitting the wall.

The very moment you do, you watch as his eyes widen in surprise, hurt flashing for a split second-

-before they darken, his face twisting into a scowl, and you can’t escape the feeling you’ve made an awful mistake. 

Dread creeps its way up your spine, tightening like a vice around your chest, making it hard to breathe. Your brain is screaming at you to run, adrenaline surging through your veins, but even as your heart races and your breathing spikes, you can’t seem to move your legs.

It wouldn’t make a difference even if you could - with your back up against the literal wall, Bokuto and his car blocking your only escape route, you’re trapped; a fact that hasn’t escaped either of you.

Paralysed in fear, you can’t so much as twitch as he takes another slow, calculated step forward.

Desperately, you open your mouth - to try and placate him? To apologise? Scream for help? - but all that escapes is his name in a choked, breathless whisper. 

“Bokuto…”

As he stares at you, he almost looks regretful.

Almost, if not for the grim determination resolving like steel in those golden eyes of his. “I love you, and I know you love me, too,” he says, closing the gap between you. “I’m doing this for us, baby.”

[sporticus1234]

Catch Me if You Can-Laws of Attraction (Part 2) 🍋

Summary: After weeks of flirting, teasing, and close calls, Tessa is ready to take the plunge, but can Gabe overcome his own worse fears and join her?

Pairing: Gabe Ricci x Main Character (Tessa Michaels)

Link to my Master-List and Other works will be added once they have been re-edited and re-uploaded.

Catch up with Part 1 Here: Part 1

WARNING: The following story has a  🍋 rating, meaning there will be topics of 

NSFW

Smut

Strong Language

By viewing of this work, you are acknowledging and consenting to the fact that you are 18+ years of age and can view such works.

Tagging:  @choices-addict @choiceskatie @lady-calypso @chemist-ana @kat-tia801 @chrissythomas05-blog @nishas-paradise  @blainehellyes  @suitfer @pixelnutrookie  @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @adiehardfan @panda9511 @curiousconch @weaving-in-words  @mm2305 @thegreentwin

I love you all so much, and I will see you again soon!

_________________________

If you hesitate, opportunities will pass by you So open your heart and come out      -Girls Generation, The Boys (Korean Ver.)

The hotel café the following morning was full of delicious, mouth-watering smells and buzzing conversations of the guests milling around, families excitedly planning for the day ahead or business associates discussing their upcoming ventures and other current events. In the back corner of the room next to the sheer curtains covering the early morning Boston sun, Gabe Ricci halfheartedly pokes his fork around the scrambled mess of eggs barely eaten in front of him, his head resting on a propped fist as his eyes struggle to stay open as a dull headache thumps in his head. He lifts his fork to take another bite of eggs, but his stomach lurches at the sight, and he drops the fork with a clatter. He reaches out to pour himself another cup of coffee, but he curses under his breath when he realizes the pot he ordered was empty. He tries to catch the attention of a passing waiter, but his eyes instead slide to a couple sitting a few tables away from him, their fingers laced together on the table as they share an intimate conversation punctuated by giggles and kisses across the other’s knuckles. The sight makes his stomach ache in guilt as the events of last night play like a never-ending repeat of a bad movie in his mind.

He knows there is no one else to blame; he is the one solely responsible for the shitty mess between him and Tessa. If he just gave her the obvious answer last night, he wouldn’t be sitting in the back corner on the verge of a hangover and close to passing out in his eggs. Instead, the two of them would be upstairs in his suite, her hair splayed out over one of the pillows as their limbs tangle together underneath the soft sheets draping over their naked bodies. Or, they would be eating breakfast in bed and watching the sun rise behind the towering skyscrapers as they share intimate little details about each other. Yet here he was, sitting down here and looking pathetically ridiculous as he stares a hole into his eggs like they held the answer to the question of why he was down here and not upstairs.

But Gabe already knows why he is sitting down here.

He is afraid that Tessa would reject him once things got serious.

Gabe Ricci, the man who stares down opposing attorneys and judges in a packed courtroom is afraid of something like rejection from a woman. The man who is confidently sure of himself and goes toe to toe with some of the greatest legal minds of the current day is afraid of being told “no.” The whole situation seems entirely laughable, and Gabe would completely understand if people saw it that way. But those people didn’t know about the one specific incident all those years ago that completely changed the course of his life and made him the way he is today.

Gabe considers himself to be an “all or nothing” person, devoting one hundred percent of himself to everything in his life, whether it was his job, himself, his relationships, and even his love life. It was his “all or nothing”, caring attitude that brought him to the door of the New York Public Defender’s office. Being a public defender was never going to be a smooth sailing job, but even with the obstacles in front of him, Gabe still defended his clients with everything he had. But at the end of the day, his “all or nothing” attitude was still not enough. He had little to no victories to back up his expertise and knowledge, and the passion he had for the legal field dwindled with every “guilty” verdict that felt like a swift punch to the gut. The workload was becoming overbearing with each passing year, and eventually, Gabe started questioning his own abilities and confidence. He found himself trapped in a never-ending nightmare with no chance of escape.

Even though his job was becoming a literal hell, he could always count on the one bright spot in his life at the time.

Katrina.

Katrina was everything Gabe hoped to find in a partner. She was kind, intelligent, caring. The two of them had an incredible whirlwind romance, and Gabe felt like he was walking on Cloud Nine when she was around. She was the one person who made everything feel better after a hard day. She was the one person who motivated him to push forward, encouraging him and giving him belief that one day, things would become better than what they were. She was the first person Gabe had met who he truly believed shared his same attitude of “all or nothing”, and their relationship grew more serious with each passing day. The future of their relationship came to a head one night in Central Park, where Gabe found himself on one knee in front of her with a glittering diamond ring in his hand, ready to fully go “all in” and spend the rest of his life with her. However, two little words made the intense romance they once shared fizzle out and leave his spirits firmly crushed. She rejected him in Central Park, and a week later, she moved out of his apartment and out of his life, the two of them unable to rekindle the romance they once shared despite their best efforts.

The pain of her rejection made him a closed-off shell of his former self. He never socialized after work or on the weekends unless he absolutely had to, and if he did, he hardly spoke to anyone unless the situation called for it. His work continued to suffer as he couldn’t find the heart and motivation to defend his clients as well as he knew he could. But one day after a trial, Sadie McGraw cornered him and offered him a second chance, a chance to start over and become the lawyer she knew he could become. With her help and guidance, Gabe slowly started rediscovering himself as a lawyer. The power she had given him combined with his knowledge and expertise pulled in big wins for the firm and moved him up towards the top ranks of McGraw Byrne. He was rediscovering his passion for the legal field and helping others. People began to congratulate him on his wins and praise his incredible devotion to the firm.

While he wouldn’t argue his devotion to the job, it wasn’t the sole reason he stayed long nights or came to work early in the morning. Every time he went back to his apartment after work, the sliver of happiness he felt and the boisterous conversations of the office became replaced by dreaded loneliness and cold quietness. The solitary confines of his apartment were a constant, mocking reminder of what he didn’t have anymore, a reminder of her rejection all those years ago. The office became a safe space of sorts for him, and he dreaded leaving its comfort. With the company’s generosity, Gabe secured a new, better apartment where he could make new memories and not be constantly reminded of bitter ones. The one thing the company couldn’t help him with was finding the one person who made him feel even a tenth of what Katrina made him feel. He never shied away from going out on dates as he attempted to move on with his life, but no one understood his passion, commitment, and devotion the way Katrina did. Plenty of people managed to catch his attention, but no one came close enough to keep it.

Until Tessa walked through the doors.

Gabe had discovered her the same way Sadie did, and he knew she would be a perfect addition to McGraw Byrne when Sadie opened up spots on the team. He had firsthand knowledge of her legal expertise, and he knew she fully devoted herself to her clients and used the knowledge she continued to learn in order to help them. However, while she managed to capture his attention, she was the only one who managed to keep it. She is incredibly beautiful; there was no denying that fact. But seeing her in action shined a completely different light on her. She goes above and beyond for her clients, and she willingly and gladly steps up and takes initiative when needed. She isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with some of the best attorneys in the state. Passion flows out of her like a waterfall, and it shows in her work. She is quick-witted and sharp, her eyes and mind never missing a single detail, and Gabe was not only impressed, but insanely captivated by her.

He initially didn’t think much of their constant flirting in the office or their dinner outings together, especially since Tessa flirted with the fireman for her eviction case. He was a little jealous she flirted with someone else, but since her flirting charmed the fireman into giving her more information than needed, she pulled in a massive win for the firm, and Gabe simply brushed it off and chalked up the flirting as part of her charm. It wasn’t until the cancelled business dinner that Gabe realized what was between them was more than just their typical flirting. He was catching real feelings for her, no matter how much he tried to deny it. While he did acknowledge his feelings for her, his heart was still too guarded and afraid to act on them. Tessa was the first girl he had serious feelings for since Katrina left him. He didn’t know if Tessa even felt the same way he did, nor did he know if he would be able to repair it again if his relationship with Tessa ended the same way like Katrina.

But deep down in his gut, he knew that Tessa was different from Katrina. It was a feeling he couldn’t put a logical reason on, but a gut feeling, one that you just know is true even if you couldn’t explain it. She was the first person Gabe felt genuinely happy with in a long time. Gabe not only believed in a future with her, he could also picture it. Everything he pictured and every interaction they have together doesn’t feel awkward or forced. It feels natural and…right. Aside from that, Tessa showed time and time again that she wants to be with him. If she didn’t, she would’ve turned down every invitation he gave her, and she wouldn’t have gone out of her way to make sure they spend a few moments alone together whenever they can. Tessa already made her feelings about him clear last night, and she was ready to risk the opportunity at becoming partner at one of the country’s premier law firms. She was more than willing to risk it if it meant having him.

Could he really do the same and risk his comfort for her?

_________________________

The morning sun spills into the living room of the hotel suite as the remains of Tessa’s in-room breakfast lay scattered across the coffee table. A re-run of celebrity chef Everett Flynt’s new TV show plays in the background as she busies herself in the bathroom, putting on the last touches of preparations for the day ahead. Once satisfied with her appearance, she pads back out into the bedroom and opens the closet to find an outfit for the day. When her fingers graze the powder blue dress she wore to the cocktail party last night, her task becomes forgotten as her mind flashes back to the night before, her stomach aching at the bitter taste of the memory.

The weekend conference had started off so well with everyone laughing and joking like the best of friends. The cocktail party went off without a hitch, and she managed to score some huge connections with distinguished judges and other lawyers. Everything about the weekend was absolutely perfect, until she decided to stick around and have a late-night snack and drink with Gabe and confessed her harbored feelings toward him. Looking back, the idea to share them was not one of her finer moments; she was certain Gabe and her would take the next steps of their relationship after confessing their feelings for each other, but instead, Gabe did the same thing he always does when they get close to crossing a line. He quickly doused the growing flame and pushed her away once again.

She grabs an outfit from the closet and starts getting dressed, her eyes glancing over at her bed and seeing a few jet-black streaks on the pillowcase, a reminder of what happened last night after she walked away from him. But it also reminds her she can’t keep running back to him and giving him chance after chance. As much as it hurts to walk away from him and what they potentially could have, she knows deep down she will be better off in the long run for doing so. She couldn’t open her heart and let someone inside only to have him lock her out of his. It was Gabe’s turn to return the favor, and this time, his words were no longer going to be enough. It was time for his actions to match his words and feelings, and until they did, Tessa has to move forward with her life.

She finishes getting dressed and fixes the loose strands of hair that got out of place. She glances at the alarm clock on her nightstand, seeing it is still too early for the company cars to come take them back to New York. Just as she was about to lounge on the couch and distract herself with Everett Flynt’s TV show, a loud knock reverberates through the space.

It couldn’t be…could it?

Mind curious, she makes her way over to the door and peeks out of the peephole, her stomach flipping circles as her pulse quickens at the sight of Gabe standing right behind the door. She takes a deep breath and opens the door to see him standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets and his feet shuffling nervously. His actions make her more nervous than excited; Gabe normally acts so confident and sure of himself, and to see him act completely not himself makes tension creep into her thoughts.

“Hi…” Gabe says with a rare, bashful smile as he flicks his eyes down to his shoes. “Can we…” he rubs the back of his neck, “can we talk?”

Seeing him in front of her makes her feel the sting of his rejection all over again, and she has half a mind to slam the door in his face and finally give him a taste of how it feels to be rejected. But when he lifts his eyes towards her, her heart twinges in sympathy. The trademark, mischievous twinkle in his eye is no longer there, and his shoulders look like they’re carrying the weight of the world on them.

“Please…” he quietly pleads.

He’s making the effort you wanted him to make she reminds herself. With a sigh, she gives him a small, almost inscrutable nod, and Gabe flashes her a soft, grateful smile as he shuffles past her, their arms brushing against each other. Tessa tries to force down the warm prick she felt as she shuts the door behind him and follows him to the living room, making sure to keep plenty of space between them, knowing that if she didn’t, she would never get the answers to her questions. Gabe takes a look around the room, taking in the half-eaten breakfast and the way she stands with her arms crossed protectively over her chest, the space between them feeling like a chasm as guilt blooms in his chest again. The air was filling with cold tension, and Gabe awkwardly clears his throat, eyes darting around to find something to break the quiet spell.

His eyes land on the TV, and he jumps at the opportunity it presents. “Taste of the World? Isn’t this the episode where Everett runs away from the show and the culinary producer he obviously has feelings for?”

“Seems fitting, doesn’t it?” Tessa blurts out with a humorless guffaw. Gabe flinches at the sting of her words, and she squeezes her eyes shut in regret, cursing at herself under her breath. As upset as she is, Gabe made the first move. The least she could do is hear him out. “I’m sorry, Gabe. I didn’t…”

“Don’t be sorry,” Gabe cuts in. “I deserve that and much more.” He takes a step closer to her, and when she doesn’t back up, he continues. “In any case, you have nothing to be sorry for. None of this is your fault.”

“Maybe it is my fault,” Tessa concedes. “I was being too pushy and trying to force an answer out of you that you clearly weren’t ready to tell me.” She uncrosses her arms and drops them back to her sides, a sign that Gabe takes as a good one.

“You weren’t being pushy, Tessa. You were only being honest with me, and no one should ever be blamed for being honest. And you’re right. The show is fitting considering I’m the one who keeps running away when it’s the last thing I want to do.”

The harsh expression on her face softens into mild surprise. Was he fixing to tell her the real reason he keeps running away? “Gabe, all I want to know is why do you keep running when it’s clear that you and I both want this?”

Gabe swallows the lump in his throat, the memory of her rejection rearing its ugly head again. “Because that’s exactly what she did.”

Tessa furrows her brows. “Who’s she?”

“Katrina.”

“Who’s Katrina?” After a long pause, the lightbulb goes off in her head, and her eyes widen in recognition. “Oh…” Her mind goes back to the night of the business dinner and the far-off look Gabe had in his eyes at her question of commitment.

“Even in this city?” she asks him in pure surprise. “You’ve really never found someone who’s as all-in as you are?”

Gabe looks across the glittering skyline of New York. “I thought I had, once…” he turns his attention back to her, and Tessa can see the unspoken memory fade from his eyes, “but that was a long time ago. And as it turns out, I was wrong about her.”

“How…” she swallows hard, her heart aching in sympathy for him. “How bad was it, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Gabe scratches his stubbled chin and lets out a humorless, bitter chuckle. “Let’s just say I can’t get a refund on the ring anymore.”

Her eyes widen into the size of saucers, and her jaw drops open in complete shock. His actions and words suddenly became much more understandable. It explained why Gabe kept running away and avoided crossing the line between playful flirting and serious romance. He thought if he didn’t cross those lines and reject her first, she was going to be the one to do it eventually. He refused to act on his feelings because the last time he did, Katrina rejected his proposal and left him. Gabe didn’t build the walls around his heart to keep her out. He built them because he was afraid history was going to repeat itself, and he chose to live in his own little bubble of comfort instead of taking another risk, and Tessa couldn’t blame him one bit for it.

“I’m really sorry she did that to you, Gabe.” Her feet move closer to him, the space becoming smaller. “I had no idea.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he brushes off. “I’ve moved on from it. In any case, her rejection changed my life for the better. If she didn’t, I probably wouldn’t be at McGraw Byrne in the first place, and I never would’ve met you.”

Tessa fidgets with her ring. “Gabe…” she begins, but quickly trails off.

“What?” he asks her. “You know you can say or tell me anything right?”

“I know, but…” she takes another deep breath, forcing herself to say what she was thinking. “Do you really have feelings for me?”

“Absolutely,” Gabe says, no hesitation in his voice. It makes her heart flutter a bit.

“Have I given you any reason to doubt my feelings for you?”

“No.”

“So even knowing all that, you still choose to run away,” she says matter-of-factly.

Gabe flinches at her words, tucking his gaze away from her. “Yes.”

“Then you haven’t moved on. Not entirely at least.”

Gabe’s eyes snap over to hers as he furrows his brows. “What?”

Tessa sighs. “Look Gabe. You’re absolutely right. If Katrina hadn’t rejected your proposal, we never would’ve crossed paths in a hundred years. But…”

“But what?”

“You still let what she did control you,” Tessa points out. “You say that you’ve moved on, but have you really? I mean, just take a look at what happened last night. The minute we started talking about getting serious, you quickly pushed me away and ran. You did the same thing in Vegas, and you did the same thing at the business dinner too.”

Gabe runs his hand through his hair. “I know I did, and I will always regret my actions. But I’m willing to give us a chance if you still want that. I like you so much, Tessa, and I know the two of us have something special that is worth so much more than a partnership or my insecurities.”

She eyes him curiously. “And what happens if I do give you a chance, Gabe? Are you going to run again?”

“Absolutely not,” Gabe says firmly, his deep tone making her skin jump in shock. “I’m done running away, Tessa. For good.”

Butterflies flood her stomach as her heart swells at his words, but the sensations only make her feel more guilty for what she was about to say. “Gabe, you’re saying all the right words, and I want to believe them so badly. I really do. But…”

The hopeful expression on his face slowly fades as icy dread floods his veins. “But you can’t?”

Tessa nods dejectedly. “I’m sorry, Gabe. But until you actually show me instead of telling me that you really are done running, and that you really want there to be an ‘us’, we can’t…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Gabe takes two quick strides over to her, the space between them shrinking as he gently cups her cheeks in his hands. His thumbs run over her cheekbones, and she instinctively submits to his touch, her mind already forgetting its previous thoughts and focusing solely on the soft, tender caress of his thumbs. She can smell the sharp and heady scent of his cologne, the one that makes her want to bury her face in his chest and breathe him in. She can see each individual eyelash and the sparkling mixture of nerves and pure determination in his eyes. The little puffs of breath from his lips tickle her skin, and her blood rushes and pounds in her ears as she finds herself slipping into his warm, chocolate orbs.

“What…what are you doing?” she asks over the sound of her heart thundering in her chest.

He brings their faces closer together, only centimeters between them. “What I should’ve done a long time ago.”

_________________________

The walls Gabe spent years hiding his heart behind start to crumble as he closes the last inch of space between them. He tentatively presses his lips against hers, a spark of electricity racing through her that makes her scalp prickle. The initial shock of his kiss makes her tense up, a small little whimper coming from her lips, but soon, she finds herself melting into the kiss when Gabe presses his lips firmer to hers. His lips feel like velvet, moving slowly and sensually against hers as her eyes flutter close and her body surrenders to his dizzying kiss. Her arms slide up around his shoulders and tease the little hairs on the back of his neck while he grips her waist and pulls her closer to him, his hand snaking up underneath her shirt and lightly pressing into the bare skin of her lower back. A rush of warmth spreads throughout her body from his touch, and Tessa lets out a small little moan when Gabe gently nibbles on her bottom lip and breaks the kiss. Their foreheads touch together, their breaths mixing as all their unspoken feelings and desires pass between them in this silent, intimate moment.

She shyly bites her lip and looks up at him through her lashes only to see him smiling back down at her, his eyes a swirling cocktail of happy relief and fiery desire. Since growing closer to him, she often caught herself wondering when their first kiss was going to happen and what it would be like, and she would gladly admit the real thing was so much better than her imagination and thoughts. It was full of sensual desire, yet sweet tenderness. It was warm and comforting, yet intoxicating and thrilling. It was gentle, yet confident and sure. It was a kiss full of everything she associated with the man holding her in his arms.

“Now do you believe me?” he asks her as he nuzzles his nose with hers. His voice is laced with his signature cockiness, but Tessa detects a slight hint of worry underneath it.

“I think I need a little more convincing than that.” She was more than convinced Gabe meant what he said earlier, but she found some fun in teasing him a little longer. She considers it playful revenge for making her wait all this time for him to finally acknowledge his feelings.

A low groan vibrates in his throat at the floodgate Tessa’s words opens up inside him, and both of them know there is no going back after this. The tip of his tongue darts out and silkily caresses his lower lip as his eyes darken more, the passion and desire he kept locked away and hidden now flowing through his veins and taking control of his thoughts and actions. Tessa shudders at the sound of his groan and the carnal look in his eye, her nerves switching to high alert as the air buzzes with excitement. His hands snake around her waist and down to her ass, pulling her hard against him and relishing in the feel of her body against his. His firm, hard bulge presses into the apex of her thighs, and she feels it grow harder with each passing second. She subtly grinds her hips into the hardness, a pleasant rush of heat pooling between her legs as soft groans fill the surrounding air.

All of his previous fears and doubts dash out of his mind as he firmly crushes his lips to hers in a searing, heated kiss, molding and shaping her lips to his every whim and wish. Her knees wobble at the sudden assault, but his strong arms wrapped around her waist hold her up securely as the air sparks like a colorful firework and showers them in a bright rainbow of light. Her body molds perfectly into his, like two puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly in the picture. Her mind goes dizzy with delight as her hands run over his clothed chest and come to rest on his sculpted shoulders. He shifts his hips ever so slightly, and the friction makes Tessa groan in pleasant surprise. Gabe takes advantage and lightly teases his tongue with hers as the two of them deepen the kiss. When their lungs scream for much-needed air, he sinks his teeth into her bottom lip and tugs it back, breaking the kiss and leaving them gasping for air.

“Convincing…enough for…you?” he asks her. “Or do…you need a…another sign?”

Her fingers draw lazy heart-shapes over his own heart, feeling it thunder beneath her touch. “I think…I need a little…more.”

She coquettishly flutters her eyelashes and delicately pulls her lower lip between her teeth. The sight makes his cock twitch and punch against the tight confines of his pants, needy and begging for some type of relief, preferably from her. He wraps his fingers around her wrist, halting her movements. Their eyes lock on each other, and slowly, Gabe moves her hand down his torso. She feels the muscles of his stomach subtly flexing and tightening in anticipation, even through the layers of fabric between them. He reaches his belt buckle and stops the movement, his eyes and action asking her the question she already knows the answer to. She gives him a nod, excitement filling up her stomach and making the butterflies flutter. She holds her breath as Gabe guides her hand past his belt buckle, the air becoming thick with anticipation. When her hand finally brushes over his bulge and feels it twitch, the air rushes out of her. Her finger teasingly traces the outline of his bulge, and Gabe sucks in a sharp breath. When she cups him through his pants, the muscles in his jaw tick, head lolling back with a hiss as he surrenders to the sensation of her gentle squeezes.

She runs her palm up and down over his bulge, feeling his cock grow harder and punch painfully against his zipper. With another firmer squeeze of his bulge, the chain holding him back breaks, and with a groan that sounds almost like a growl, their lips find each other again, the built-up passion and desire flowing unrestrained between them as their hands wander and roam over each other’s bodies. Their kisses break momentarily as Gabe’s sweater is pulled off his body and Tessa’s top goes flying across the room. Her fingers try to unbutton his shirt, but when his lips trail down across her jaw and down to the sensitive skin of her neck, she momentarily says “fuck it” and rips open his shirt, the buttons flying across the room and ricocheting off the walls and freeing his naked chest to her greedy fingers. He slides the shirt off his body and tosses it with a groan, feeling more turned on than angry at her action. His lips trail back up across her jaw and find her lips again, their tongues dancing together as the kiss deepens and becomes even more erotic and sensual. Her hands caress over his naked torso, the memory of every dip, ridge, and flex of his muscles becoming firmly ingrained in her mind.

Fantasies from long ago are now becoming real. Any semblance of time and reality escapes them. All that mattered is this moment between them. A moment neither of them wants to end. Ever.

“Gabe…” she mumbles between kisses. “You. Bedroom. Now.” Her fingers slide down his abs until they reach the sensitive sliver of skin hidden just behind the waistband of his pants. When shuddering goosebumps flare up over his skin, he grabs her wrist and halts her movement.

“Wait…” Gabe groans after giving her another kiss. “Are you sure…you want to do this? Because once we start…I don’t ever want it to end.”

The desire and longing in his voice is unmistakable. “Wh…what?”

“I just…” Gabe shakes his head, trying to get his words right. “I don’t want you to do anything or commit to anything you might regret later on,” he tells her. “I want this to happen so much. You know how bad I want you right now, but I understand completely if you don’t want—"

She tugs him forward by his belt and places a hard, chaste kiss to his lips, effectively cutting off his rambling spell. “Gabe, I wouldn’t have given you my keycard if I didn’t want this to happen.” She kisses the tip of his chin, the stubble scratching her lips. “I want this, Gabe.” She presses a kiss on his chest, right over his heart, and the action takes his breath away. “I want you. Only you.”

His grin grows bigger at her admission. “You’re the only one I want too,” he replies, trailing his finger lightly across her jaw that has her shivering in joy.

Her hands slide back up his torso and wind around his neck, deviousness flashing in her eyes. She hops up and wraps her legs around his waist, his strong arms flexing and catching her without missing a single beat. “Then take me into the bedroom and prove it, Ricci.”

He gives her a smoldering look, and with another moan, his lips kiss the hollow of her throat and trail over to her collarbone, his hands squeezing her ass teasingly and eliciting a gasp from her. She rolls her head back and submits to his scorching kisses and kitten bites on her neck as he makes the short journey into the bedroom. He pulls his lips away from her, and with a wolfish grin and a devilish wink, he tosses her onto the giant bed. Tessa senses the shift in dynamic between them at the sudden, but very much wanted, powerful surge of dominance from him. Seeing him confidently take charge was such a turn-on for her and makes warm tendrils coil and tighten in her core. Gabe quickly toes off his shoes while she sheds her shorts and playfully tosses them in his direction with a giggle. He chuckles at her playfulness and snatches them out of the air. When he turns his attention back to her, her shorts slip out of his grasp as his eyes widen in surprise, his cock twitching in extreme pleasure and appreciation at the sight in front of him.

“Fucking. Hell.” He groans, voice gravelly and filled with lust.

His hand reaches down and palms his cock as he drinks in Tessa kneeling in the middle of the bed, wearing nothing except her lacy plunge bra and matching panties as her hair falls over one of her eyes. The sight was so much hotter than the one in his fantasies, and he couldn’t wait to rip away the thin fabric and fully see what she was hiding beneath it. She beckons him with a manicured finger, and with the invitation, Gabe hurriedly climbs onto the bed and drapes his hard body overs hers as he kisses her relentlessly. Her peaked nipples brush up against his chest through the tight confines of her bra, pulsing and begging for his attention. He shifts his weight over to one side, propping himself on his forearm as Tessa wraps her arms around his neck. His other hand slides up her side and finds her breast; Gabe softly squeezes and massages it, his thumb and index finger teasing her nipple through the fabric and making it tight with pressure. A jolt of pleasure surges through her when Gabe pinches her nipple, a rush of electricity traveling through her and making her toes curl.

Her hand slides down and pushes on his shoulder, the weight and control shifting as Gabe falls to his back and Tessa drapes her legs over him to straddle his hips, feeling his hard bulge press against her center. She braces herself on the solid planes of his chest, feeling his heartbeat race wildly and his eyes burning holes into her skin as she grinds her hips against him, a smirk fighting its way onto her face as his soft moans and groans fill the room like a symphony and wrap around her like a blanket. Gabe flutters his eyes closed, succumbing to the incredible sensation of her hips moving over his cock. While he normally is the one to take control and dominate in the bedroom, seeing her on top of him, her hips giving him just the right amount of agonizing friction, and being completely at her mercy is the sexiest thing he has ever seen.

When he opens his eyes again, Tessa sees them glazed over with pure lust and unbridled attraction for her, the magnetic energy washing over both of them. “Goddamn…” he hoarsely whispers, the lust in his voice making tingles spiral down her spine. 

“See something you like?” she coyly asks him.

“Oh, trust me, I don’t like this.” His fingers toy with the lacy waistband of her panties, occasionally dipping underneath and teasing the sensitive skin before caressing down her thighs. “I fucking love it. I think you look…oh shit…” his train of thought trails off as she shifts her hips again, sending another wave of bliss washing over him. “I think you look so goddamn sexy.”

The compliment makes liquid heat pool in her core as the air floods with heated desire and erotic passion. She lightly digs her fingernails into his solid chest, seeing the muscles flex before scratching down his torso, sending another shudder through him. “Mmm…having thoughts about me, are you?”

Gabe cocks an eyebrow. “Oh, I have plenty of thoughts about you. All of them dirty.” His hands stop their teasing caresses and travel up her thighs. “You in my bed begging for me.” His fingers graze over her panties, pulling back the waistband and letting it go with a light snap that makes her gasp. “You wet and pressed up against the wall in my shower.” His hands ghost up her sides until they reach her breasts. “You bent over my desk in my office.” He cups her breasts and flicks the peaked nipples straining underneath the fabric. “You on top just like this, riding me. Hard.”

The images flash through her mind, and the muscles in her core tighten in excitement at the possibility of making all of his fantasies come true. “Who knew Gabe Ricci had such dirty thoughts, or that he likes being controlled,” she tells him as her back arches and her chest pushes further into his massaging hands.

One of his hands snakes up behind her back and expertly undoes the clasp on her bra before carelessly tossing it across the room. “Just because you’re on top doesn’t mean you’re in control.”

She arches an eyebrow at the challenge in his tone. Her hands wrap around his wrists, and with a flash of devious intent, she pins his wrists into the mattress above his head, her breasts hovering teasingly over him, just far enough out of his reach. “Aren’t I though?” she grinds against him again, the friction making their skin hot.

The tip of his tongue darts out and silkily swipes over his lips, her eyes transfixing on the movement. The slight distraction is just enough for Gabe to flip her over and pin her underneath him again. The loose tendrils of his hair cover his eyes, a few strands plastered to his slick forehead, giving him a wild and untamed look, and the look makes her squirm as the muscles in her core tighten. “Told you I was in control,” he shoots back. He dips his head down and teasingly kisses her lips, pulling away before she could deepen it. He guides her arms up and pins them above her head. “Keep them there,” he commands.

“What if I don’t?” she asks him. “What are you going to do about it?”

Gabe groans. “Let’s just say that I reward good behavior and punish bad behavior.” He smirks at her. “But something tells me you enjoy punishments far too much, so I guess I’ll have to come up with something a little different.”

His lips attach to the warm pulse point of her neck, and Tessa sinks into the mattress like it is a warm pool of blissful pleasure. He kisses down the muscle of her neck before licking a wet stripe back up the length of it and giving it little nips and bites as he trails back down. He leaves wet, open-mouthed kisses across her collarbone until he reaches the hollow of her throat. The tip of his tongue traces the outline before placing a kiss directly in the middle of it, and Tessa sucks in a sharp breath. He shifts his body downward as his kisses travel across her chest and down to her breast. He kisses and slowly licks wet circles around her breast, leaving no inch of skin untouched as he comes closer and closer to her nipple with each circle, and Tessa groans at his methodical torture as her nipples throb in pleasure. When he places a kiss directly on her peaked nipple, the air rushes out of her in a moan that sends vibrations flooding through his veins and directly to his cock.

He draws her nipple between his lips and sucks on it while his other hand kneads and molds her other breast, giving her the relief she has been craving from him. He alternates his movements, from sucking on her nipple to giving it gentle little nips and swirls of his tongue while his fingers tug and roll her other nipple. He sharply bites down on her nipple and soothes the sting with his tongue, and Tessa arches hard off the bed at the sweet torture. He shifts his body again as he releases the nipple from his mouth and kisses his way over to her other breast. He gives it the same agonizing torture as the other until both are even more swollen and throbbing. Her hands clench into fists as her eyes squeeze shut, fighting the urge to touch him as every little nip and suck makes her squirm in pleasure.

The tip of his tongue trails down through the valley between her breasts, the action sending blood rushing through her body and making heat pool in her core. As much as she tries to fight it, Tessa gives into the urge to move her hand, and she reaches out and threads her fingers in his dark, soft hair. Immediately, his hand wraps around her wrist and pins it back above her head, and she giggles in spite of herself. He glances up at her through his lashes, and Tessa can see the raw power in them. He kisses his way back up, tongue darting out briefly to flick over her nipples again, and over the hollow of her throat. He softly nips at the center of her neck and traces her jaw with teasing breaths until she feels his hot breath on the shell of her ear, goosebumps flaring up over her skin.

“And you were doing so well,” Gabe murmurs in her ear as he traces the shell of her ear with his tongue.

“You know I don’t do well following the rules.”

He nips at her earlobe. “Then I’m going to make you follow the rules.” He swings his leg over her and climbs out of the bed, her body already missing his warmth. “Don’t move,” he commands. “I’ll be right back.”

He pads out of the room, leaving Tessa lying there a building mess of excitement and nervousness. She hears Gabe mutter a curse before the sound of the TV is cut off, and she giggles at the absurdity of it. She strains her ears to hear anything else, but the only sounds she can make out are soft rustling of fabric and little clinks like glass. After a few more moments that felt like an eternity, Gabe knocks on the frame of the door, and she shifts up onto her elbows to see him standing there, his lips kinked to the side in a smirk and devilish intentions dancing in his eyes. He holds up his hands, and Tessa sees a glass filled with ice cubes in one hand and the belt to the complimentary bathrobe in the other. The thought of what Gabe was planning to do to her with those two items has her quivering in delight.

“I hope you’re ready, Tessa,” Gabe says. “Because we’re going to have some fun.”

_________________________

A/N

So hello everyone! I know this took a lot longer than anticipated, but unfortunately, life decided to throw a curveball at me recently, so I am very sorry for the delay.

For those who might guess, when I finished the 2nd part, it again turned into another 15k mess, so you all will be getting a Part 3 shortly, where we’ll go into even more of some smutty goodness and some fluffy pillow talk.

I hope you all really enjoy it as much as you did for part 1, and I will see you all soon for the finale!

Second chance tagging in case Tumblr becomes Tumbroke again:  @choices-addict @choiceskatie @lady-calypso @chemist-ana @kat-tia801 @chrissythadon @nishas-paradise  @blainehellyes  @suitfer  @pixelnutrookie @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @adiehardfan @panda9584 @curiousconch @weaving-in-words @mm2305 @thegreentwin

[outoftheblue-if]

What were Ros like as kids?

Ooh, interesting ask!

Isobel: Pretty wild and intense at times. Fierce and outspoken. Preferred to play with boys rather than girls, which raised a lot of eyebrows and gave her a lot of admonishing. She didn’t listen though. Very headstrong and opinionated. Competitive and bossy. Hated when someone, particularly boys, told her she couldn’t do something, especially if they said she couldn’t because she was a girl. Intensely focused if there was something she wanted to master/learn. Faced a lot of hardships that made her defensive and hardened.

Max: Super energetic, just a bundle of activity. Would get up to all kinds of mischief, pranking people and generally being a cute nuisance. Was often admonished for being too loud and boisterous though. Loved to play pretend and put on plays. Very sweet and kind, but often in trouble. Tried their best to conform to what their parents expected of them, but found it difficult. Was often sad because of it, feeling like they always disappointed. Luckily they had their brother there to support them. The two of them were nigh inseparable.

Clara: Happy, playful, somewhat carefree, but still very dutiful and serious when it came to her studies. Also a little cheeky at times. Loved to draw and read stories, or make up stories herself. Liked to play dress up/play pretend. Very kind and inclusive to everyone, and would absolutely not tolerate any bullying or meanness. Definitely one to stand up for others. If someone were mean to her though, she would either cry or get angry, depending. A proper sweetheart.

Richard: Quiet, introverted and somewhat serious. Not too fond of environments that were too loud or obnoxious. Definitely not too adventurous, and a little wary of trying new things. Still pretty active though, and definitely less reserved among the kids he felt most comfortable with, just a little afraid of making a fool of themselves with new things. Liked to play-swordfight, and play pirates, though he would be the one hunting and catching pirates, upholding the law (of course lol). Otherwise preferred more quiet activities, like reading, board games etc.

William: Sweet and gentle. Very caring. Careful and timid. Loved animals, and being out in nature. Generally well-behaved and tried his best to please the people around him. Helpful to everyone, often offering to give a hand. Didn’t have a lot of opportunity to play and be a child though, he had to grow up pretty fast and take on responsibilites that a child shouldn’t have to. Early on was burdened with grief and worries, which made him become very quiet and somber. A little sad and pessimistic due to his surroundings, but still remained kind and caring, despite everything.

Thank you so much for your ask! ✨🤎

[bubblesuga]

Safety Net

Summary: Kim Namjoon is very, very much in love with you. This shows in multiple ways, but his proposal is more than enough to let you know how much he cares. 

w/c: 2,441 genre: idol!au, established!relationship, smut, fluff warnings: slight impregnation kink, oral (f receiving), soft!namjoon, loving!namjoon,

A soft tickle brushed against your nose. It interrupted your dreams between the gorgeous white sheets of the room you found yourself in last night. For a moment, you fight the feeling, keeping your eyes shut and letting out a soft mewl, swatting away whatever it was that was disrupting your sleep. 

There’s a soft giggle, silence for a few seconds as your hearing begins to train in on the sounds surrounding you, then you feel it again. 

“Baby,” the light and airy conversational voice he usually held was replaced with a low husk, smooth and comforting. “Baby, it’s time to wake up.” 

You sigh, still not having opened your eyes but instead snuggling deeper into the duvet, shielding yourself from the harsh cold that winter has brought into the room. He laughs again, it’s breathy and just as comforting as his voice. His hand, calloused from years of playing instruments, rubs up and down your arm. His fingertips glide seamlessly against your soft skin, and he hums. 

“You’re always so pretty. Even when you’re asleep,” his breath fans your face gently and you can tell that he’s close, “you look like you’ve just stepped down from Heaven.” 

You open your eyes at the compliment, blinking away the light before focusing on your boyfriend. His dimples poke out as he grins, “There she is.” 

You smile softly, stretching your arms upward, “You’re just as poetic with your words as ever before.” 

“I try.” He sends a wink your way, pressing a gentle kiss to the tip of your nose. Your face scrunches momentarily and he bites his lip with a grin, poking your nose before standing up. You sit up in the bed, taking a second to admire your boyfriend from behind. You make a mental note to thank the gym gods as you notice just how toned and defined his back has gotten. He stretches upward, his muscles flexing and then he turns around, slipping on the black rimmed glasses that he loves wearing at home. 

“We’ve got to go get a birthday present for Hoseok today,” Namjoon states, “it’s my only free day this week and I’m not sure when I’ll get another one so I want to spend it with you.” 

You wipe the sleep away from your eyes, “Hobi’s birthday isn’t for another month though?” 

“Precisely,” Namjoon replies, “if I leave it until the last minute then there’s no way that I can get him something good. If I do it now, at least I have time to put some thought into it, and besides,” he crawls back onto the bed and places his face mere inches from yours, “I can have my gorgeous girlfriend help me out with this endeavor.” 

Without thinking much of it, you lean forward and place a soft peck on his lips. Pulling away, you realize Namjoon’s eyes are still closed. You giggle, pecking his lips again, and again, and again. Then, Namjoon pushes forward, slamming his lips against yours. 

You welcome the feeling of his tongue moving against yours, his knees bumping yours while he grips your hips tightly in his large hands. He’s always had a way of asserting himself against you while simultaneously being as gentle as he possibly could. It was a beautiful harmony, and made you feel wanted and safe. Especially when his fingertips danced along your exposed sides. 

As he moves to deepen the kiss, you let out a small noise of protest, causing him to immediately pull away. “What’s wrong?” 

“We’re never going to make it to the mall if we keep going like this.” You say breathlessly, unable to contain the smile on your face as he rests his forehead against yours. 

“We’ll make it quick.” He states. 

You feel your stomach fill with butterflies, “and how do you expect to do that?” 

Namjoon grins, yanking the covers away from your frame and exposing your t-shirt clad body. You yelp at the sudden cool air but it’s quickly wiped away when Namjoon grips your legs and pulls you down onto the mattress, spreading your legs in front of him. 

You watch as he slips your lace pink panties down your legs, inhaling your scent as he does so. You gasp as he blows air across your core, watching carefully as he sucks a hickey into your thigh. 

Despite having been with Namjoon for nearly a year, you still can’t help but feel the blush spread across your cheeks at the act. Before him, your experience was minimal. Namjoon made sure to make you feel good every time, though, taking his time until you were more comfortable with the more adventurous things in his sex life. Quickies weren’t anything new, but they usually happen in his locker room before a show or in the car before an event. He usually likes to take his time when you’re in his bed, so the prospect of him moving fast here has you doubtful. 

A whine leaves your lips as Namjoon licks a long stripe across your heat. “There we go, that’s the noise I like.” 

Collecting your wetness on his tongue, he drinks you in beautifully. His dragon-like eyes stay trained on yours, peaking out between your thighs. You can feel the smirk against you as you fling your hands forward and lace your fingers through his hair. Namjoon’s tongue moves expertly against you, paying special attention to the intense bundle of nerves.

“Namjoon,” you breathe, flushing at your eagerness, “more.” 

He buries himself between your folds, the pressure increasing and new sensations surprising you, jolting bolts of electricity firing through your body as your orgasm spreads from your core and into your body. As your back arches from the bed, Namjoon pulls away and uses his fingers to coax you through your release. As the stars disappear from your vision and your breathing steadily returns to normal, you gnaw at your bottom while you meet his eyes, a blush spreading across your face. 

“Don’t get all shy now,” Namjoon smiles, trailing soft kisses up your torso and sucking on your nipples before nuzzling his head into your neck, “you’re the most gorgeous girl in the world. I could watch you cum all over my tongue for the rest of eternity.” 

Namjoon’s admission isn’t a new one, but it definitely doesn’t stop the butterflies from swarming in your belly. The way his hand rests gently on your side, his thumb drawing small circles while his lips nip and suck beneath your ear was one of the many things Namjoon did that managed to raise your heart beat. Even after so long, after sharing yourself with him in the most intimate of circumstances, Kim Namjoon manages to make it feel like the first time every single time. 

“You said we were going to make this quick,” you giggle as he moves to pepper kisses across your face, “this isn’t quick.” 

“You’re right,” Namjoon stops suddenly, pulling away from you before positioning himself back between your legs. He tugs his boxers down in one felt swoop, and you gulp at the sight like you do every time. Your eyes glaze over as you lick your lips, admiring the pulsating veins on his cock. Sure that the feeling of him pulsing inside you would manage to push you over the edge quickly, you reach forward and stroke his cock a few times before tugging him closer to your entrance. 

“Ah-ah,” Namjoon ticks, “let me do it.” 

You smile, falling backward onto the bed and spreading your legs wider. Namjoon slips his cock between your folds, gently ghosting over your clit while you whine at the sensation. 

“Quickly.” you remind him. 

In another other instance you would have loved his teasing, watching the way he takes his bottom lip between his teeth while he focuses on rubbing your clit. However your hunger for him in this moment is insatiable, and you wrap your legs around his hips and pull him closer. 

Finally, he fully sheathes himself inside of you, instant boisterous gratification slipping from both of your mouths. 

It doesn’t take long for him to begin thrusting, seeing as last night’s activities left you more than ready for him. Namjoon growls your name, resonating deep throughout the room while you desperately rutted your hips into his pelvic bone. 

Namjoon’s hand cups the back of your neck, bringing you up to his lips. Although not the most sensual of kisses you shared, all teeth and need, you still felt yourself dripping with arousal, surely not only coating your own thighs but Namjoon’s as well. 

Suddenly, you felt his hips piston into you even faster, signalling his release is approaching quickly. He sloppily slips a hand between the two of you and rubs your clit, pushing you over the edge. As you tighten around Namjoon, he lets out a growl against your lips and you feel him release inside of you. 

To milk him just a little more, you squeeze around him once again and giggle when you hear his gasp. 

“You’re killing me.” Namjoon breathes, only causing you to grin. 

“You do the same to me, Mr. Kim.” 

Slipping slowly out of you, Namjoon reaches his hand forward and catches the cum oozing out of your cunt, pushing it back into you. 

“One of these days I’m gonna get you pregnant,” he murmurs, “which means you’ll have to stop taking those pills.” 

You stand, stretching your back as you feel Namjoon’s eyes on you. Making your way towards the bathroom, you respond, “You mean the pills that you made me get on so you could fuck me without a condom?” 

“Hey now,” Namjoon calls, his voice being heard from the other side of the now shut bathroom door, “you kept saying you wanted me to cum inside you.” 

Cleaning yourself up, the blush on your cheeks returns. You style your hair quickly and add some simple eyeliner across your eyelids. When you open the door, Namjoon is fully dressed and is slipping a hat on top of his head. He’s dressed in his usual earthy tones, complimenting his shining skin. Even fully dressed, Namjoon was the most delicious looking man on the entire planet. 

“As much as I would like to have you walk around naked all day, please get dressed so we can head out.” Namjoon points to an outfit laid out on the now made bed. 

“You have impeccable taste,” you say, your eyes scanning over the graphic tee and black skirt combination, “I didn’t even know I owned this skirt.” 

“Mm,” Namjoon hums, “I found it in my drawer.” He moves over to your top drawer, pulling out a matching bra and pantie set that Namjoon picked out for you when you just began getting intimate. There are fond memories associated with the red and black lace bra, the thread from where you sewed the strap back on after a particularly rough night sticks out slightly. You grin, getting dressed as quickly as you could. 

Namjoon grips your hand in his, and the two of you are out the door. 

Throughout the day, Namjoon was sure to keep you close. Although you two had to wear masks and hats to fight the risk of being spotted, Namjoon’s eyes were enough to let you know that he was smiling at you as you pointed out multiple gifts that would be perfect for Hoseok. 

It’s not until you’re sat in your car, take out in each of your laps do you speak about your earlier conversation again. 

“So, about that whole getting me pregnant thing...” 

Namjoon, cheeks full of food, looks up to you with darkened eyes. He doesn’t respond verbally, instead he simply winks. 

“What does that mean?” You laugh, picking up your coffee and taking a sip. 

Namjoon shrugs, “Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready.” 

You lean back into your seat, glancing back to the backseat to see the bags of gifts for Hoseok. Your eyes trail back to Namjoon, who idly inspects his sandwich before taking another bite, you realize that you’re in the perfect place. 

Without a shadow of a doubt, you’re one hundred percent ready to settle down with Namjoon. 

Clearing your throat, your hand shakes as you pick up a french fry and bite the tip of it. Namjoon turns to look at you, and you smirk, “are you going to get me a ring first?” 

“Oh, that’s already done.” He replies casually. 

“Excuse me?” You nearly choke. 

“I bought the ring like 3 months after we started dating.” The no nuance tone to his words shocked you, your jaw dropping instantly. 

“Well where is it?!” You ask incredulously, and Namjoon sets his sandwich down, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. Inside the first compartment of his wallet was a ring with a small diamond and a silver band. Your eyes nearly bug out of your head, looking between Namjoon’s eyes and his hand, your hand slowly raising to open your mouth. 

Instantly, you feel tears prick your eyes. You’re usually not one to cry, but the fact that Namjoon knew that you were the one just as early on as you knew he was the one was enough to get the water works rolling. It’s quiet enough that Namjoon doesn’t hear it, but then he sees a mascara stricken tear slip down your cheek while you shakily put your left hand out. 

“We’re not gonna cry, baby,” Namjoon says comfortingly, grabbing your hand with his and slipping the ring onto your finger, “because if you start crying then I’m gonna start crying.” 

You’re scared to speak, you know a sob is bubbling at the top of your throat. 

Namjoon grins, leaning forward and kissing the tip of your nose, “I was waiting for the right time to propose but since you asked for a ring I figured I’d give it to you,” he watches you for a few seconds, feeling his eyes begin to burn with tears, “so... will you?” 

“Will I what?” You whisper, mesmerized by the gorgeous ring. 

“Marry me? I- I know it’s a bit unceremonious but-” 

“Yes, dummy, of course I will.” You laugh, wiping away the tears and reaching across the console and taking Namjoon into a big hug. 

It’s only then that Namjoon breaks, inhaling your scent as his body wracks with quiet, happy tears. 

“I love you.” You whisper into his neck, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. 

“I love you too.” he responds, his smile beaming and his eyes filled with tears. 

Holy shit, you’re engaged to the love of your life. 

[hyuniebaby]

Sweet Surrender

Pairings: Baekhyun x Y/N, Jongin x Y/N

Based loosely on: Sweet Surrender by Against the Current

Summary: Maybe moving on from Baekhyun isn’t so bad, especially when Jongin’s by your side.

Word Count: 2.7k

Sequel of Hopeless

A/N: Here it is, finally! Fun fact: I started writing this last November and I only finished it today. I stopped writing for a while because I got too busy with work and everything so I’m sorry if it took long. In my defense, Hopeless was supposed to be a oneshot but I can’t get enough of OC and Jongin so... 😅 I hope you all enjoy this!!!

Tagging: @bbhmystar​

You scrunched your eyebrows because of the headache you were having, but you tried to pay it no mind. You remained still for a couple of minutes, trying to get back to sleep but to no avail. You didn’t really want to get up yet, much less open your eyes.

You started to wonder why you were having a headache in the first place. You didn’t even drink that much last night so it was definitely not a hangover, but then again, you sure did cry a lot. Maybe the headache was from dehydration, you thought.

You frowned as you tried to recall what happened the night before, trying to think of the reason why you cried. But because of your grogginess, your mind came out blank.

Before you could think further, you realized you felt warm even without your duvet.

Usually, you never feel this warm even during summer, unless of course you were wrapped in your beloved duvet. So waking up and feeling this way was strange for you. For some reason, anxiety filled you instantly. This wasn’t normal, this wasn’t right.

With a racing heart, you immediately got up and tried opening your puffy eyes.

The first thing you saw was Jongin looking ethereal as he slept peacefully beside you.

Only then did you remember requesting Jongin to stay with you last night, as well as the reason you asked him to do so. Your panic quickly subsided, however, it was replaced with pain and shame.

Naturally, you felt pain because, well, who wouldn’t? Especially when you’ve fallen so hard for your best friend who didn’t just reciprocate your feelings but also had fallen equally hard to a different person.

You felt shame too, because you let yourself fall this hard, only to realize it was futile when it was already too late.

Shame, because you let yourself get hurt this badly. And shame because Jongin saw it all.

Jongin saw you at your most vulnerable.

Sure, he had already seen you cry because of Baekhyun before, but last night was different. Last night, your heart had finally been broken down after all the instances where you let Baekhyun unintentionally leave cracks in it.

Last night was the final straw. Last night your heart had finally been shattered into tiny, little pieces.

If love was a war, last night was the night you had finally waved the white flag. You had surrendered.

You suddenly felt like crying again at the thought of Baekhyun. Tears were already forming in your eyes, but before they could even drop, Jongin had pulled you in an embrace.

One minute he was asleep and the next, here he was, consoling you. It was as if he could sense when you’re feeling sad. It was as if he had a sensor that gets triggered when you’re unhappy.

It was always like this with Jongin, he always came at the right time to whisk you away when you were in pain, no matter the intensity or reason of the pain. Most especially if the reason was Baekhyun.

Baekhyun had been in and out of many relationships already, each one leaving you more and more pained. While the girls — his girls — came and left, you were the one who remained, because you’re the best friend. And as much as it hurts you to admit, you know that’s all you’ll ever be.

Each and every time you cried over him, your mind would start to drift into a dark place. You’d hear voices in your head telling you how you weren’t as pretty as the last girl he dated, how you weren’t as experienced as the second girl he’d been with, how you weren’t funny, smart or nice enough, how you’ll never be his type. And each and every time this happened, you would lock yourself up in your room.

The four walls in your room were suffocating, but it was far more dangerous to be locked up in the cellar your mind built out of failure and shame. Your mind tended to get very dark sometimes; it was hard for any light to penetrate through it.

“Sweetheart?” Jongin called you.

You didn’t even hear it the first few times he called. You were too deep in your thoughts. Only when he started to rub your back and softly said, “It’s okay, you’re going to be okay,” along with the soft murmur of your name did he finally coax you out of your negative thoughts.

It has been a while since you last heard your name from Jongin’s lips. He has called your Sweetheart for as long as you could remember. And there was something in the way he tenderly said it that brought you back to reality.

With or without saying your name though, Jongin always found a way to bring you out of the prison you isolated yourself in.

No matter how bad your headspace got, he was always able to rescue you. No matter how dark your mind became, he would do what he can to bring back your light.

You feel yourself calming down a few moments later. “I’m sorry, I woke you up,” you murmured.

“That’s not a problem. Do you mind telling me what’s bothering you though?”

“Well…” You bite your lips. “I-I’m just s-so l-lame,” you say as your lips quivered.

“Sshh, you’re not lame, sweetheart.”

“But I am! I know what I’m s-supposed to d-do. I know I-I-I’m supposed t-to move o-on, b-b-but I can’t. I’m so ho-hopeless,” You stammered.

“Moving on is a long process… You’re already doing great since you know what to do. Admitting to yourself that you should move on is the first step. While that is hard, actually doing it is completely harder. Just take it easy. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

Was he right? Should you believe him?

“You know what, let’s do something fun today.”

You looked at him, hesitating. Jongin’s definition of fun was rather unpredictable. While yours was to get piss drunk and party, to him fun was building legos from dusk to dawn. Regardless of the differences, you wouldn’t deny that time with him was worthwhile.

“I promise you’re going to enjoy it!” Jongin urged.

“Fine. As long as it doesn’t involve being out in the open for an extended period of time.”

Just like that you started preparing for the day with Jongin.

He didn’t bring up Baekhyun or what happened last night. He didn’t question anymore why you were on the verge of crying a while ago. He didn’t force you to talk, instead, he let you know he’s there for you.

The car ride to the location Jongin wanted to go to was silent, but the comfortable kind of silent. It was so quiet that you had unconsciously fallen asleep.

When the two of you arrived at the destination, Jongin gently shook you to wake you up, “Sweetheart, we’re here.” He said softly.

You pouted, you didn’t want to wake up yet. Crying always made you tired.

Jongin then cupped your cheeks as he said, “Come on now, I promised you’d have fun, right? I’ll make sure you get your rest after this.”

You tentatively opened one eye. Jongin was giving you the softest look and the gentlest caress on your cheeks. Then he gave you the sweetest smile. You opened your other eye, feasting on the sight of the man. Despite your feelings for Baekhyun, you couldn’t and wouldn’t deny that Jongin is attractive.

“Alright then. I’m counting on you.”

You both got out of the car. Jongin led you to the front door of a house you’ve never been before. He knocked three times before the door opened.

“Jongin we’ve been waiting for you!” Jongin’s sister greeted him. “Oh Y/N, darling, what a surprise! Come in, come in.” She welcomed you. But shortly after, she bid you and Jongin goodbye as she had to go elsewhere for the day.

Once you stepped in her house, Jongin got tackled by two cute little beans. “Kaichun!” They exclaimed.

Jongin laughed and scooped them in a hug. “Raeon, Rahee, how have you been?”

They answered excitedly, almost shouting at Jongin. He chuckled at their energy. “I’m glad you’re both doing fine!” Then he looked over at you, the children followed his line of sight immediately. “Do you remember my friend, Y/N? Why don’t you guys go and greet her?”

It was comical how the kids had suddenly switched from being loud and boisterous to quiet and reserved. They grabbed onto Jongin’s legs, shyness overcoming them. They quietly greeted you.

You couldn’t help but giggle at their cuteness. You stepped in closer to them and crouched down to reach their level. You ruffled their hair, “Oh my, aren’t you two the cutest?”

A faint blush could be seen on the children’s faces because of your compliment.

“Y/N is going to play with us today,” Jongin singsonged. They immediately perked up at the prospect of having a new playmate. In the blink of an eye, the kids were grabbing your hands and leading you to their playroom, leaving behind Jongin.

“Ya, don’t you want to play with me too?” Jongin whined.

You and the two kids giggled at him. “No!” The kids collectively yelled.

Jongin huffed in feigned annoyance but then immediately ran to keep up with the kids. When they noticed this, they ran and giggled, all the while not letting go of your hands.

That was how the cat and mouse chase started. Somehow in the middle of it all, the game shifted from Jongin chasing you and the kids to the kids chasing the adults. You didn’t even know why they ended up chasing you too, but you still indulged them in the little game.

When you noticed the kids getting tired, you slowed down your pace and pretended to pant hard. Jongin followed suit almost instantly. Raeon and Rahee caught up with you and Jongin, squealing “Gotcha!” as they did.

You and Jongin grunted and whined but it was short lived because soon enough, Jongin had convinced them to play another game that didn’t involve running around.

A round of indoor bowling and some random board game later, the kids had tired down but they refused to sleep.

“So what do we do now?” You whispered to Jongin.

“It’s time to watch a movie.”

You looked at him incredulously. “Are you sure about that? Shouldn’t we just tuck them to bed or something?”

He only grinned and said, “Trust me, they’ll fall asleep within minutes.”

True enough, the movie lulled the children to sleep. Now it was only you and Jongin who was awake.

“Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?” Jongin asked.

“Not really, but I do want something sweet though.”

“Ah, a sweetheart.”

You raised your brow, “You mean sweet tooth, right?”

For a moment Jongin didn’t react and then he started shaking. You could tell he was laughing but without noise so he wouldn’t wake the kids up. Instead of laughing out loud like he usually did, he was smacking his legs uncontrollably. It didn’t take you long enough to laugh with him for his idiotic tendencies.

When he finally recovered from his laughing fit, he wiped the happy tears in his eyes and then said, “What exactly do you want to eat? Do you want to order from the cafe two blocks away?”

You contorted your face. You were really picky with your sweets so usually you only ate pastries that you bake. “I’m not so sure…”

As if Jongin knew what was going inside your head, he asked, “Do you want to bake instead? We can use my sister’s kitchen.”

You perked up. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine as long as we clean up afterwards,” Jongin said. “Come on.”

You grinned and followed him to the kitchen where you immediately went to work.

Apparently Jongin’s sister was passionate about baking too because she has everything in her pantry, including the brands of the ingredients that you loved to use. You couldn’t help but get awed.

“What?” Jongin curiously asked as he saw you with your mouth wide open.

You only smiled and shrugged in response. Then you started taking out the ingredients needed to bake chocolate chip cookies.

You were mixing all the ingredients except for the flour and chocolate chips when you leaned in to smell the mixture. You knew it wasn’t necessary and sure, it was weird but you couldn’t help but chase the smell of the vanilla extract.

But before you could even stand straight up again, Jongin dumped the flour he had carefully measured in the bowl right in front of your face. The abrupt motion sent a portion of the powder flying right on your face.

You were both so shocked at what happened that for a few moments you two only looked at each other with mouths wide open. And when you had finally gathered your wits, you whisper-yelled, “Jongin!”

That was the cue for Jongin to laugh. But you were having none of it, so you stretched your arm — to clamp his mouth shut or to punch his arm, you weren’t sure. But the movement caused panic to him and he sprinted.

You had no other choice but to run after him to get your revenge. This time you were sure you were going to punch him. Every now and then he’d pause to apologize while laughing but you both knew you weren’t going to be satisfied until you get your revenge.

You should have known there was something wrong bound to happen because of how clumsy Jongin was. Because just as Jongin was rounding the kitchen counter, he elbowed the container with the measured chocolate chips. You watched in horror as the chocolate chips fell into the floor. The poor, innocent, sweet little pieces of delight had gone to waste. “Oh no!” you squeaked.

When Jongin saw the mess he managed to make, all he could mutter was “Oops.”

You instantly kneeled to clean up the mess, mumbling sadly about the poor fate of the chocolate chips. It took you some time to actually finish the task so you weren’t aware of the fact that Jongin was fondly looking at how cute you were and taking photos of you.

It took a few minutes for Jongin to snap out of his trance and when he did, he immediately went to help, but you were almost done by then.

Jongin was expecting you to snap at him or scold him like you usually did when he wasn’t careful enough, but he was surprised when you looked at him with a pout.

The look on your face sent Jongin into protective mode. He was assuming you had remembered something about Baekhyun again that made you feel sad.

Before he could even ask though, you whimpered, “The chocolate chips…”

Jongin just blinked upon hearing your voice. You were upset because of... chocolate chips? And not because of Baekhyun? He couldn’t be any more relieved.

A smile found its way into his face. He pat your head affectionately, “That’s alright, my sister has plenty.”

“But—”

“Why don’t we finish up baking your cookies, huh, sweetheart?”

You completely forgot about baking because of Jongin’s shenanigans! Your eyes widened in realization. You quickly went over to the mixing bowl and continued making the cookie dough.

A soft chuckle escaped Jongin’s lips at that. He proceeded to tidy up the counter and return the ingredients that weren’t needed anymore.

It was all work after that. You worked on the cookies while Jongin washed the utensils that were used.

When the cookies were done and had been cooled off, both of you grabbed a piece. You waited until Jongin took a bite before you did, wanting to see if he liked the taste or not.

It only took a couple of seconds after biting the treat before he had put on a big bright smile. One fact about Jongin’s smile was that it was contagious, therefore you find yourself smiling back at him. And for some reason, his smile had made your heart stutter against your chest. You couldn’t stop this one thought from popping on your mind: Maybe letting go of your feelings for Baekhyun wasn’t so bad.

[specsforwoo]

Son of Lachesis | Demigod!Jung Jaehyun

Parent Deity: Lachesis (Goddes of the String of Life; the Second Fate)

Allegiance: Hades

Dark Humor was a thing

He probably picked it up from his dad

His dad was this super successful thriller author

So they had this huge penthouse in New York but Jaehyun was your normal edgy emo teenager

He claimed to hate his life, hate his family, hate his friends

But like, his dad wasn’t bothered by it???

At first Jaehyun thought it was because his dad just didn’t care about him

But then he started to realize that his dad was the same way

He would rather disparage himself in the name of humor than anything else

It was more of a coping technique but oh well

And for some reason, Jaehyun’s senior year of highschool, he moved to Korea

Still doesn’t know why tbh

Something about his dad telling him that it was safer for their family to be closer together

But like his family only comprised of himself and his dad

And his beagle Chu-Chu but that’s it

As far as he knew, he didn’t have any family in Korea

But surprisingly, he fit in well

His last year of high school went by quickly

And soon he was accepted into the medical examiner’s program @ KAIST

What?

He felt more comfortable around cadavers than live humans

It wasn’t weird he just had hella social anxiety

He had a real gift for it too

He could just look at a body and be able to tell how they died

He was oddly able to tell how long ago they died too

He was actually starting to get creeped out by it

So he started talking to the only person he could ever confide in

His dad

It was a long weekend off of uni

And the Friday before he got into a huge argument with his toxicology professor about the substance that one man ingested that led to his death

His professor swore it was Croton tiglium

And he doesn’t know why but something in his gut was screaming that the diagnosis was wrong

So what did he do?

He stole the toxicology report to review it

And he barged into his professor’s office claiming it was actually Daphne mezereum

What scared him the most was that he could swear the man who was lying helplessly on the table was the one who told him what the poison was

So back to his dad’s apartment

Jaehyun was in tears explaining what had been going on to his dad

And sure his dad was the one to lighten up any room he could

But his dad just laughed

And for the first time he actually felt like he was going crazy

He thought that if anyone would be able to help him understand it would be his dad

I mean what was that Ph.D in psychology hanging on the wall for then

But his dad placed a hand on his shoulder and talked to him very calmly.

I think it’s time that you met your mother.

Sniffing, he looked up

I thought she had been dead since I was a baby.

Sorta…

How can someone be ‘sorta’ dead?

She’s more like… undead?

Suddenly a gray smoke started swarming around his feet.

And a young woman, dressed in black with a rose in her hair appeared behind his dad

Jaehyun almost screamed

Dear, Many people are in need to relief so why are you calling me up?

She spoke and her voice was as light of as the mist swirling around her feet

She looked up and made eye contact with Jaehyun

Dear, you know how dangerous it is for them to meet their other parents… why is he here?

She didn’t break eye contact with Jaehyun as she spoke to his father

It’s time he knew. Maybe Taeyong or Yuta could help him? They’ve been through this before.

The anxiety and stress was piling up on Jaehyun until he couldn’t stand it anymore

Knew what? Who is this? Why is our apartment filling with smoke? What have Taeyong and Yuta been through before?

You are a demigod Jaehyun. The woman spoke up, inching closer to his side.

My son, the son of Lacheses.

Lacheses…. The goddess of the string of fate.

I’m the son of a death goddess.

He burst out laughing

He couldn’t tell if it was from shock or denial

Everything made sense

His ominous ability to tell how people died

How long they would live for

So you are telling me Taeyong and Yuta are demigods too?

He looked between his mother and father

Yes, sons of Themis and Bia, respectively of course.

So that summer Jaehyun ended up going to camp with Taeyong

He didn’t feel that comfortable in the Hades cabin, and ended up rooming with Sicheng in the Achelios cabin instead

He also tended to help out with medical care when super dangerous competitions were taking place

If he remembered correctly, Sicheng asked him to because your weird ass ability to tell how long people have to live comes in handy so I can override it.

He said it with all smile on his face too, like people thought Jae was creepy

He is still actively attending uni, still the top student is his toxicology class, despite his prof throwing the hardest cases his way

HE EVEN GOT AN INTERNSHIP AT THE POLICE STATION YAY JAEHYUN

But camp is his life now

He never knew what he would have done if he didn’t have the support system that he did because of it

Yuta is his best friend

Partly because they are apparently first cousins

But also because they just mesh really well together

Whenever Yuta is fighting or practicing

He is there to makes sure to call game before anyone gets fatally injured

It actually got close one time

But other than that

His life is really normal

He eats out a lot

He studies a lot less than he should

He has made lasting friendships

And he has the hugest crush in the world that he refuses to reveal

hey , you

Just tell me! You know I can keep a secret from the hyungs!

Cue Jisung pestering him as they run the track at camp

How do I know that?

Taeyong still hasn’t found out that Chenle and I sneak out every Saturday to go to the arcade and that we were the ones who broke his cat mug.

Good Point.

Sooooo?

Still not telling.

Honestly though, not like it wasn’t obvious enough

Sometimes he wonders if everyone is oblivious to him staring at the back of your head while you run rounds for Sicheng

Or how his eyes follow your figure when he spots you in a crowd

Dude has it bad

And might be a little possessive too

He saw Taeil hug you once and he refused to talk to Taeil for a week

Until Kun saw what was going on and forced them to make up

But you

Girl you might have an even bigger crush

Who knew volunteering was so fun when you got to see Jaehyun every day

Highkey only Renjun knows that you both like each other

What? Renjun knows E V E R Y T H I N G

At least he is like ‘passively’ helping Jaehyun score a date with you

And by ‘passively’ I mean he straight up walked over to you and asked you if you would want to grab dinner with Jaehyun on Thursday, something about studying for toxicology finals

And by ‘passively’ I also mean him straight up telling Jaehyun that you were going to be a the hole in the wall diner on 53rd street a 7 o’clock and if he didn’t show up he was going to kick his ass

So you both showed up

You with study materials

And him with flowers

Johnny told him that flowers were always the way to go

And Jaehyun was beyond embarrassed and confused when you looked up and saw him standing there in a button down shirt that definitely wasn’t his holding a bouquet of flowers

And you were sitting there in sweatpants and your glasses falling down the bridge of your nose

So he did what he does best

Laugh it off

Oh, these are to thank you for helping me study.

Of course, you didn’t have to get me anything though.

In his head he is sitting there cussing Renjun out while also trying to create that empathy link with Yuta so he could tell Yuta to go beat his ass

But he brushed it off and starts studying with you

Only after ordering pecan pie and hot chocolate

Because everyone needs snacks for studying

Right

But you suddenly looked up and stared him straight in the eyes

Why do you even need my help? Aren’t you like top of this class, and IDK you can talk to dead people? Just ask them what happened.

Jaehyun is back to being embarrassed and this time he can’t laugh it off

Well– ummm— you see– Renjun— I—-

Oh for Zeus’ sake can’t you just say that little twerp set us up on a date?

Well… yeah, yeah he did.

YoU — umm— you can leave if you want, I understand if you don’t like me

Why would I leave. And you shouldn’t understand because you are a great guy, of course I like you.

You gave off a cheeky smile before stealing a bite of his pie

Y’all started off really casually

Like a group date here and there, nothing alone

Something in Jaehyun told him it wasn’t going to get serious unless he made the first move

Your father was probably to blame

Zeus was known for being a little aloof when it came to love

But Jaehyun

God Jaehyun had no guts whatsoever

Not until his best friend from New York came to town

Jameson had come to visit over his own spring break, claiming he wanted to see why Korea was so special and “Jeff” as he knew him, never returned to the US

And Jaehyun had taken you with him to the airport, better than dragging along Jeno or Jungwoo, who for some reason was terrified of planes themselves, and Yuta was out of town for a competition and Johnny was still passed out from last night’s party

And when Jameson stepped off the plane, he came barrelling towards Jaehyun, screaming JEFFFFFFERRRRRYYYYY as loud as he could and tackled him into a hug.

After that he began speaking in English a mile a minute

To say you were a deer caught in the headlights was an understatement

Jaehyun obviously wasn’t fazed, he was able to talk back to Jameson at the same speed, not even stuttering

So you felt kinda lost, shrinking away from the boistering boys, opting instead to starting rolling his friend’s luggage to the car

Jaehyun caught wind of your suddenly shy personality and cut off his friend to instead walk over to you

In a much calmer voice, and this time in a language you were actually able to understand, Jaehyun asked if you wanted to be introduced to his friend

You nodded and Jaehyun grabbed your wrist before shutting the trunk of the car.

Pulling you back over, Jaehyun spoke in English again

You could barely make out something along the lines of This is my friend, Y/N, daughter of Zeus.

You gave a small wave and bowed, hoping he wouldn’t speak to you directly, prompting you to speak in your broken tongue.

Just a friend, or something more? Jameson smirked at Jaehyun before looking back over at you

A friend that you can’t have. You couldn’t really understand what Jaehyun said but you could tell that whatever was said, he wasn’t happy about his friend’s comment.

After that you all got into the car where Jaehyun made you sit in the front seat, holding your wrist the entire time, in obvious view of Jameson

Things died down for a while and it went back to the usual

You were still on the track team (more like Pegasus Racing team but whatever)

And Jae came to cheer you on at every game

And Jae was still top of his classes @ KAIST

And you came to cheer him up when the workload got to much for him

But it STILL wasn’t serious

So one night

Specifically, Jameson’s last night in Korea

Everyone decided to head out to Hongdae to go club hopping (pls tell me you people know what club hopping is)

And you were all having fun, dancing, most were also drinking, especially Jameson

Jaehyun somehow ended up being DD after a brutal battle of scissors, paper, rock

So he was sitting there on the side lines, nursing straight tonic water watching everyone else get shit-faced drunk

You weren’t any better to be honest

Jameson started having a habit of trying to get you alone or get you to dance with him

So you thought that if you had to deal with that all night you had to have a couple shots in your system.

PSA TIME PEOPLE!!!!!! PSA!!!!! If someone in your group keeps trying to get you alone or get you to dance with them, both men and women, DO NOT I repeat DO NOT resort to drinking to deal with it. If they don’t get the hint by you avoiding them, tell them straight to their face that you don’t want to be with them. If they still don’t get the hint, seriously consider just leaving wherever you are. Under no circumstances is it okay for them do that. PSA OVER!!!!

Jaehyun had been watching you try to avoid Jameson from the bar all night and after Jameson came up behind you and grabbed your waist he was done

The vision of fully sober, properly pissed off, ready to throw punches Jaehyun was not a pretty sight

Thankfully, at the moment he had enough self-control in his system to not deck his friend straight in the throat

He instead opted to grab your wrist, much more forcefully than last time, and drag you out the back door of the club into the alley way

Then, much more gently, backed you into the wall of the club

He was so close that you could feel his breath on your forehead

Muttering to himself in English, you couldn’t understand what he was saying

Suddenly he looked down and his eyes kept snapping from yours to your lips

I’m probably going to do something I regret right now

Poor you couldn’t even understand him because of him still speaking in English

Next thing you know he was kissing you, pushing you up further against the wall, wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer

After he let go, worry flashed across his face, like he finally realized something

Oh my god, did that bastard hurt you?

He started checking your arms and wrists, even running his hands along your waist to make sure there wasn’t bruising there

For once, Jaehyun actually had the guts

He ended up calling everyone rides, and left early with you so he could take you out on an ‘official first date’

To an ice cream shoppe

Mind you average temps in Korea during, let’s say March is still around 28 degrees Fahrenheit @ night

He realized his mistake after seeing you sit there in the booth, shivering as you picked up your ice cream

So he quickly shrugged off his jacket, wrapping it around your shoulders and grabbing your hands in his to warm them up

First date was still a success in his mind

And all the dates there after

Renjun takes full credit for your relationship, but so does Sicheng, they actually fight about this

Jameson actually isn’t in Jaehyun’s life anymore

And Jaehyun is madly in love with you

Proposes after he graduates, in front of all of his friends, @ the stupid little hole-in-the-wall diner that he claims was his first real date with you

While they all scream JEFFFERRRRYYYY in the background.

really tho, Yuta has it on tape, along with Doyoung forced feeding Jaehyun wine, and him sleep talking about your first official date, all of which he plays at your guy’s wedding

Good luck having all of these idiots as brother in laws :::)))))

[t0wnspersonb]

Chocolates and Confessions (Nishinoya Yu x Reader)

Anonymous said:

hello 👋 You‘re writing is not as cringe as others (haha jk I like your writing a lot actually) Can I request Noya Tsukki or Bokuto (whichever you‘re more comfortable with) going into the locker room while their new manager is changing. I think it would be cute if they already picked an interest in her but aren‘t sure if it’s a crush yet. You can also add whatever you like :D I trust you I also wanted to let you know that your blog is the only one I have notifications on for 💕 Thank youuu!~

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Anonymous said:

Bro you know what would be a great fic? Reader getting asked out for Valentine's day and they say no because they only like Noya and when they're telling Noya about it he gets jealous and says smth like "Why would they ask you out?" not meaning to be rude but reader takes it that way and gets mad at Noya and he doesn't realize what he said until it's too late and yeah that's really all I have

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Word Count: 2,141

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I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING FOR NOYA. I decided to combine these two together! I hope you don’t mind! Also you guys are so wonderful! I hope you guys like it and let me know what you think:)

~~~

You hadn’t planned on this happening. 

 Your face burned in embarrassment as you stared right back. The shirt you were about to put on still lingered on your arms, luckily it was covering your chest, but your back was entirely exposed, which meant so was your bra.

 “I-I I’m so sorry!” Nishinoya yelled, bowing his head before turning rapidly to leave the room, his forehead slamming into the door frame.

 “N-Noya! Are you okay!?” you panicked, your shirt dropping completely from your arms as you reached for the hurt libero, not even registering that your upper body was now completely exposed.

 He was grabbing at his head in pain, but when he felt your soft hands press against his shoulder, he looked up at you quickly. His face was bright red, and then his nose started bleeding. 

 “B-B-Boobs!” he stuttered out, staring at your white bra and cleavage. A small pink bow rested in the middle.

 It was a beautiful sight.

 You stared at him dumbfounded, before realizing what he had said. Your face was just as red as his now, your arms coming up to wrap around yourself, covering your chest in embarrassment. 

 “Noya, you dumbass!” you screamed.

 He started screaming back, apologizing profusely as he attempted to cover his eyes and leave the room again, only for him to stumble about.

 This was pure chaos.

 You grabbed the nearest piece of clothing to you, hurriedly throwing it on. Which just so happened to be Nishinoya’s team jacket. You zipped up the jacket all the way to your chin just in time for Kiyoko and Sugawara to run into the locker room at the commotion.

 You were sitting on the floor, clutching at the front of the jacket, face flushed as you looked away from Nishinoya, who was holding his nose and looking away from you, equally as red.

 “What happened?” Sugarawa asked, scratching his cheek as he looked between you guys with a sheepish smile.

 “N-Nothing! Can you guys please get out!? I need to finish changing! Noya hit his head and got a bloody nose! You should help him!” you said hurriedly, urging them out of the room.

 Once it was cleared, you slammed the door shut, sighing in exhaustion.

 “Y/n isn’t that Nishinoya’s?” Kiyoko asked curiously.

 You blushed furiously once more, hurriedly removing the jacket and grabbing your shirt, stuffing the jacket into your gym bag.

 “We’re late. Let’s go!” you grumbled, grabbing the third year’s hand and tugging her away from the room.

 The girl’s changing room was being renovated, meaning that you guys were using the boy’s changing room. An incident like this only happened because you forgot to put up the sign that it was in use. 

 A mistake on your part since you were rushing to change, you were running late to practice, and now Nishinoya was injured because of you.

 You felt terrible.

 Well… maybe not that terrible, considering that he was completely fine, minus the red mark on his forehead.

 He met your gaze and both of you immediately averted your eyes from each other, an evident blush on both of your faces.

 Nishinoya hadn’t meant to run into the changing room like that, he had forgotten his knee pads and the sign wasn’t up. But… if he was being honest with himself, he was glad he did.

 The image of your exposed chest was forever burned into his mind now, the white of your bra and the bow… he was going to treasure that forever.

 You had joined the volleyball club only two weeks ago. While you were still adjusting to everything around you, you had already formed strong bonds with the team.

 But one member in particular had his eye on you in a different way. 

 Nishinoya found you incredibly beautiful, you were smart and funny, incredibly reliable and kind… and you were shorter than him.

 He wondered how he wasn’t aware of you before, considering that you were a second year as well, but in one of the higher classes.

 “Noya.” your sweet voice interrupted his thoughts. Your small hand holding his knee pads were presented before him. “You forgot these.”

 “Y/n I’m really so-” you held your hand up, interrupting his apology.

 “Don’t worry about it, it was an accident. I know you didn’t mean to. Let’s just forget it happened yeah?” you asked smiling brightly at him despite the blush in your face.

 He nodded gently, taking his knee pads and watched as you jogged off to help Kiyoko.

 But he definitely couldn’t promise that, he couldn’t forget that incident if his life depended on it, in fact he would revisit that moment later tonight, he was sure of it.

 ***

 It had been several weeks since the incident, and no one talked about it luckily. You were starting to get the hang of the manager duties, and your bond with the boys deepened.

 It was pure chaos managing the Karasuno boys with Kiyoko, but it was incredibly fun. 

 “Are you planning on giving out chocolates this year?” You asked Kiyoko one day, both of you were hanging up the volleyball net.

 “Chocolates?” she asked.

 “You know! For Valentine’s Day!” you said brightly. “It’s tomorrow!”

 Several ears perked up at your guys’ conversation.

 Valentine’s Day was every man’s dream. A day of receiving chocolates from a cute girl.

 That was pure heaven.

 “I usually don’t do stuff like that.” Kiyoko said quietly. “Do you?”

 You nodded excitedly. “Of course! I do it every year for my friends! I was thinking about making some for the team. Do you think that would be okay?”

 You were… you were going to make the team chocolates? 

 “Y/n-chan! You would do that for us!?” Tanaka cried suddenly appearing right next to you. 

 You laughed nervously, sweatdropping at his interruption. “If that’s okay…”

 “That’s more than okay!” He cried, “You’re a pure angel!”

 “I- I wouldn’t say that…”

 “Y/n-san is making us chocolates tomorrow Kageyama! I bet that’s the first time you’ve ever received chocolates from a girl!”

 “Boke! The same could be said about you!”

 “The King is right, who would want to give you chocolates?”

 Chaos.

 Complete chaos. You shouldn’t have said anything, you thought as you watched Daichi yell at everyone.

 “Y/n-chan!” Nishinoya called out to you as he entered the gym. He smiled at you brightly.

 While you had felt awkward for a couple of days after that incident in the locker room, the relationship between you and Nishinoya was still the same.

 “Noya! How did you do on your quiz?” you asked walking over to the short male. He grinned brightly, pulling out a sheet paper and giving you a thumbs up.

 “I did fantastic! Thanks for helping me study!” he said boisterously.

 “I mean… it’s better than your last score.” You laughed; the grade was still low to the point that he shouldn’t be bragging but… it was definitely better.

 “I know right!?” he grinned.

 Before you could say more Ukai called attention to the practice, meaning that you were going to run around and finish your manager duties.

 As you worked your mind wandered over to the small libero. Ever since the incident, well you were watching Nishinoya a lot more closely than you had before.

 He was… really cute, now that you thought about it. Surprisingly he was also really cool when he played volleyball, that was something that you hadn’t expected to think. 

 Dare you say it… you knew you started harboring a small crush on the male.

 You already had plans on making his chocolate a little more special than everyone else’s.

 Valentine’s Day couldn’t have come at a better time.

 ***

 “So, are you going to give it to him!?” your friends asked excitedly after you had given them their own chocolates.

 You yawned loudly, you had stayed up late making the handmade chocolates, specifically making sure Nishinoya’s was tasty and immaculate.

 You carefully pulled out the neatly wrapped chocolates, it was in a different bag and wrapped differently than the others. A hopeful display of your affections towards the libero.

 “It’s so cute! He’s going to love them!” your friend squealed.

 A small smile twitched at your lips. “I hope so… I hope my feelings can get across to him… he’s not the smartest…”

 They giggled at your statement.

 Suddenly an arm wrapped around your shoulders, one of your male classmates leaning against you cheekily. 

 You guys weren’t the closest, but you guys could be considered friends.

 “Oh! Good, you’re here! Here I made chocolates for everyone -” you reached to grab one of the other chocolates from your bag. Until Nishinoya’s was suddenly taken from your other hand. 

 “W-Wait -”

 “Thanks Y/n-chan! These are really cute! You made them just for me!? You’re the best! Receiving chocolates from a cute girl like you makes me so happy!” he said cheekily, already opening up the chocolates and popping one in his mouth, he pecked your cheek briefly before walking off with his group of friends that were teasing him.

 Did he really just do that?

 You frowned, biting back tears. What were you going to do now?

 “Y/n-chan do you want us to go get that back?” One of your friends asked gently.

 “He already ate them.... Oh, shoot I’m going to be late!” you said, noticing the time. You ran off after a brief goodbye.

 Unbeknownst to you, Nishinoya had seen that exchange from afar. But under the wrong context.

 He had thought that you had given that guy those chocolates, and the way he kissed your cheek… you must’ve confessed to him. Especially with those incredibly cute chocolates.

 A fire burned deep in Nishinoya’s stomach as he walked towards the club room, he should’ve known better that someone as beautiful and kind as you wouldn’t be interested in someone like him.

 He didn’t look at you throughout the entire practice. 

 It made your stomach twist unpleasantly as you tried to remember if you had done something wrong.

 It wasn’t until the end of practice that you began handing out the chocolates to everyone as they went on their way home.

 It was just you and Nishinoya now, he was adjusting his bag over his shoulder when you approached him.

 “N-Noya.” you stuttered out, the bag of sweets resting in your palm and you extended out your arm. “These are for you.”

 “Thanks.” he muttered, half-heartedly taking the bag, and stuffing it into his uniform pocket. He brushed past you to leave until you caught his sleeve. 

 “Did I… do something to make you mad?” you asked in a small voice. He was being so cold to you… you didn’t understand why.

 “You should’ve told me you were already interested in someone else.” he snapped yanking his arm out of your grasp. 

 You blinked at him in confusion. “What are you talking -” “I saw that guy earlier! The one you gave those chocolates too.” he interrupted. “It was obvious that those weren’t obligatory chocolates like everyone else’s were! I thought that you might’ve liked me back but obviously you were just playing with my feelings!”

 You felt your lower lip quiver, tears gathering in your eyes at his harsh words. “You idiot Noya! Those chocolates were for you! He ate them before I could tell him that they weren’t his! I do like you!”

Nishinoya’s eyes widened at your confession, immediately feeling bad at how he was treating you. He reached for you, grabbing your wrist and yanking you into his arms. 

 “I’m sorry.” he murmured quietly, his hands rubbing your back soothingly. “I didn’t mean to make you cry… I misunderstood the situation. I’m sorry.”

 You sniffled, pulling back slightly to look at the libero. “You’re so stupid Noya, I was going to use those chocolates to confess to you and -”

 “I like you too.” he interrupted, a large smile stretching across his face. “I’ve liked you for a while now.”

 You stared into his dark eyes, blush creeping into your cheeks at his statement. You weakly slapped at his chest, grumbling to yourself at how annoying he was. 

 He laughed loudly before gently grabbing your face, making you meet his gaze, and then his soft lips pressed against the side of your cheek. 

 “I don’t like other guys touching what’s mine.” he stated smugly, pulling away as he stared at your flushed face.

 “Y-Yours!?”

 “Yeah.” he leaned, pressing his lips to your briefly before pulling away. “Mine.” he grinned cheekily at you before running off. 

 Leaving you standing with your fingers pressed lightly to your lips. 

 ***

 “So you think it’s okay to take my friend’s chocolate!? Those weren’t for you!”

 “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know! I don’t even know who you are!”

 “HUH!?”

 “Tanaka! Shut up! You’re disturbing everyone’s lunch!”

 “... Sorry Daichi.”

[digitalworldbound]

day five: alternate universe

a studio ghibli au where hikari is an only child and her mother has passed. luckily, the neighborhood boys offer to help find her.

The floorboards creaked under her socked feet, soot covering the once pristine cotton. Hikari didn’t care if her clothes got dirty, but she didn’t want to give her father another reason to fret over her.

Cardboard boxes littered the hallway. Despite moving in a week prior, neither her or her father had the motivation or strength to pry open memories. Instead, Hikari stacked the boxes in a makeshift castle. One day, she hoped that their Queen would find her way home.

But she had been there to see her mother’s coffin lower in the ground; she had held her father as he wept.

A bookbag hung mockingly in the kitchen. The first day of school, once the happiest day of Hikari’s life, now served as a reminder of yet another first her mother would miss. Her father slouched over the stove. Hikari couldn’t help but to feel responsible for the bags under his eyes. In between finalizing the funeral arrangements and moving across the country, he had little energy to spare for Hikari, much less himself.

A whiff of burnt eggs did little to calm her anxieties, but she stomached her breakfast like a dutiful daughter.

“See you later, dad.”

He gave a half-hearted wave as Hikari slipped out of the front door. For a moment, she considered staying home for another day. She could unpack her room and make sure that her father ate a decent lunch, but her silent wishes disappeared as a herd of boys clamoured down the dirt road. Their feet pounded the ground, a race in progress. Six bookbags struggled to maintain their grasps on little shoulders as the group ran down the road.

A raven-haired boy took the lead, navigating the rocks and potholes with a practiced ease.

From the end of her driveway, Hikari watched him draw nearer. Too focused on his impending victory, the boy failed to notice her as he stopped beside her.

“See, ‘Keru? I told you I could win!”

A head of sweaty, blond hair followed close behind. Once he caught his breath, he pushed his friend’s side. The victor erupted into giggles as he continued to antagonize his friend.

With a huff, the blond crossed his arms. His cheeks were still rosy from the wind, blue eyes bright with mirth. “That’s not fair, Ken! You got a head start!”

Before Ken was able to muster up a response, a second redhead stepped forward.

“Who are you?” An accusing finger hung in front of Hikari’s face. Six pairs of eyes, colored in surprised, focused on her. A flush crawled up her neck, her breath caught in her throat.

Her mother had taught her about the importance of a first impression, but any confidence Hikari had dissipated into the morning air. Her fingers had gone numb, palms clammy. A toe dug into the dirt, her eyes focusing on the path to school. They looked at her expectantly, eyes narrowed. Silence crackled like static, interrupted by impatience.

“She’s weird. Let’s go, Daisuke.” Ken pulled his mirror image along with him, scurrying away like frightened animals.

The others didn’t bother to stick around, chasing each other the rest of the way to school.

Hikari waited for their dust trail to settle before walking down the path. Anxiety welled into her stomach; her mother would be disappointed in her. A gentle gust of wind ruffled her bangs in reassurance.

Her feet carried her onward, further away from the comforts of her new house. The school building emerged from the meadow, a field of flowers surrounding it on either side. It reminded Hikari of the story books her father used to read to her before bedtime, back when his smile reached his eyes and her mother was there .

Throngs of children gathered like dandelion seeds on a breeze, rosy cheeks and kind smiles adorning most faces. The strange group of boys stood off to one side. Huddled in a circle, their eyes trailed her suspiciously as Hikari made her way into the building.

Her little hands clutched the straps of her bookbag, as if pulling it closer to her body would quench her worries.

Living amongst rice farmers and livestock had been her father’s choice. Hikari’s mother had been raised in the countryside, escaping into the city for her first taste of freedom. It was strange to think that her mother, headstrong and accomplished, had sat in this same room; studied at these same desks.

The room was large, accommodating for all of the children in the village. With the older kids staking their claim in the back, Hikari rushed to the last empty space.

A pair of large blue eyes gazed at her, fear puckering at their eyebrow. It was the blond boy from earlier, his cheeks still flushed from his loss. Hikari squirmed under his gaze.

His fear must have dissipated quickly. It was the only explanation Hikari had for the fingers that poked into her side between lessons.

“Psst. Psst, girl.”

Her pencil continued to scratch at her paper, dodging dirty looks from the other students. His fingers continued to dig into her sensitive side. Thin lips pursed as Hikari swallowed down the giggle that bubbled in her throat. It would be disrespectful to laugh while her teacher was talking, and she figured that disappointing her mother once already was enough.

Still, the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but to tilt upwards. Chocolate eyes danced around his cerulean ones, and his fingers stilled.

“My name’s Takeru. What’s yours?” Whispering came naturally to some while a sense of quiet evaded others. Hikari assumed that Takeru was a part of the latter, his voice bouncing off the walls.

Some luck must have been on her side. Their teacher had been distracted with the younger students, too encaptured in their homesick tears to hear the blond’s outburst.

“You need to be quiet or we’ll get in trouble,” she chastised. A crestfallen shadow danced across his features before the light returned to his eyes.

“But you never answered my question.” Takeru’s voice was more hushed than before - he was trying. A toothy grin was plastered on his cheeks, his eyes aglow with childish anticipation.

She slipped her given name through her teeth, turning her full attention towards the chalkboard.

Later, the late summer sun kissed her cheeks as school children began their trek home. Takeru rushed out behind her, looking more like a mother duck with five boys in tow than an elementary student.

“So, Hikari, since when did you live here?” Glasses glinting in the sunlight, it was difficult to see what the dark-haired boy was thinking. Several paces ahead, Hikari wracked her brain for his name. As soon as school ended, Takeru had wasted no time in introducing her to everyone. Their names swam around in her head, none of them sticking.

“My father and I moved here a few weeks ago.” She didn’t turn to them, nor did she offer any other explanation.

One of the boys scoffed. “Why’d you have to move here?” It must have been Ken, the one with angry eyebrows. Hikari stopped, turning to face him. “Well, it’s not like I had a choice. My dad just wanted a change of scenery ever since my mom went away.”

Iori’s sugary smile wilted, looking up towards the tallest of their group. “That’s sad. Right, Koushiro?”

He nodded while the others let silence wash over them. Pebbles crunched underneath them as they continued on. Wind whistled through the treetops, a babbling brook accompanying the group on their journey. Crickets chimed in harmony, the background music to a most auspicious moment.

“I know!” Takeru propelled himself beside her, arms flailing in excitement. “We can help you find your Mama!” Grabbing her wrist, he broke into a sprint. The air was warm as it ran through her short hair.

He guided them to the edge of woods. Trees stretched to the sky, their arms caressing the clouds. Hikari pulled herself out of Takeru’s grasp as the group followed him further into the forest. “Wait! Where are you going?”

Hikari could see her house just over the hill, her stomach twisting at the thought of going back to her boxed up home. The boys disappeared into the underbrush, their twinkling laughter chasing after them. Impulsively, she started after them, branches scratching at her cheeks. A stray root caught Hikari’s ankle. A pair of spindly arms caught her, Daisuke’s disgruntled expression greeting her.

“You should be more careful. I don’t want cooties.” He stuck his tongue out, weaving through the trees. It seemed as if the dust bunnies from her house had followed her here, dancing around the feet of her young companions. Cheerfully, the soot sprites lead them deeper.

The trees gave way to a clearing. Lush, green grass was bordered by wildflowers, the occasional bumble bee flitting around.

“This is exactly where a Momma would wait for her baby!” Takeru declared, a triumphant grin spread across his cheeks as if he had already won. The others seemed to agree, their chatter flowing freely amidst the tree trunks.

Boisterous plants sprouted at the meadow’s edge.With leaves as big as Iori himself, he found it no trouble to crawl underneath them. Using the hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his glasses, Jou peered over the tops of the bushes. “Is she under there, Iori?”

Poking his head out from between the leaves, Iori shook his head. “It’s too dark under here for a grown lady,” he paused for a moment, brown eyes glistening, “And it’s too dark for six-year-old boys.” His voice wavered, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. In an attempt to avoid the inevitable, Jou tugged Iori out of the brush.

Little soot sprites tangled themselves in his hair, chittering at the commotion. “C’mon, you know it’s rude to ask for a free ride.” Not even enchanted dust bunnies could argue with Jou’s logic. They cascaded down to the ground, tittering as their host swatted at his hair.

Daisuke couldn’t help but to laugh from the treeline, legs dangling off Koushiro’s shoulers. Being the tallest in the group came with a price, one that he happily paid anytime his friends needed him.

From this new vantage point, Daisuke scanned the branches for something. “Hey, Hikari!”

Koushiro’s grip tightened on his knees as the pair turned towards her.

Alone, in the middle of the lush grass, she looked like a fairy. If fairies wore ill-fitting Pokemon theme shirts, that is. She turned towards them, a question dancing in her eyes.

“Does your mom like climbing trees? Maybe she got stuck!” Daisuke almost gave himself a pat on the back; he was so smart!

With the leaves ruffling his cheeks, Daisuke’s attention was easily diverted. He signaled for Koushiro to take him deeper into the woods, much to Hikari’s relief. She didn’t have the heart to say it out loud.

Not too far from her, Ken sat amongst the wild blackberry bushes. His cheeks were swollen with fruit, lips stained purple. Hikari plopped herself down beside him. With his mouth full, he was less likely to ask questions she didn’t want to answer.

Ken’s attempt at speaking was obscured by the berries, a few stray escaping past his lips. Hikari couldn’t stop her laughter, a relief from the turmoil that bubbled in her stomach. Picking a few fresh from the vine, Ken offered his sticky palm, blackberries glistening on top.

“Thank you,” she said, tossing a few in her mouth. Takeru plopped himself between the two, taking two of Ken’s berries for his own. “Wow, these are good!”

True to his boisterous nature, Takeru’s voice reverberated through the meadow. Four curious heads turned before they, too, joined the impromptu picnic.

“Hikari, do you ever think you’ll find your momma?”

She wasn’t sure who asked the question. Cicadas carried on their twilight lullaby as the sun kissed the horizon in passing.

Fireflies began to twinkle at the treeline. Hikari looked up into six pairs of softened eyes. Though their curiosity rolled off of them like waves, none of them said anything else.

The grass was soft underneath her, the breeze caressing her cheek. “I’m sure I will, someday. But, for now, at least you guys keep me company.”

[livia-dovehallow]

Could you do for your celebration something with little Eugenia Lightwood maybe when Sophideon found out they were expecting, or something cute with her when she was a lil baby pleaseeee

This ended up being longer than I anticipated... but hopefully that’s not a bad thing! Please enjoy this Sophideon + their daughters fluff <3

Girl Dad - Sophideon (ft. Barbara & Eugenia)

Characters: Gideon Lightwood, Sophie Collins, Barbara Lightwood, Eugenia Lightwood, Gabriel Lightwood

Time: 1881-1882, London, England

“Barbara Margaret Lightwood!” Sophie barked from the doorway. Her one-year-old daughter froze in her bassinet, her fruit-filled fists leaking through her fingers. She stared back at her mother with wide brown eyes and an angry scowl. “Do not throw that peach.”

In defiance, Barbara launched the peach across the table where it landed in Sophie’s cup of tea. Barbara began to cry, then, when she went to put her fist in her mouth and found that her peach was no longer there. Sophie forced herself to calm down. She pinched the bridge of her nose and inhaled deeply.

“Whoa,” came a deep voice behind her. “What happened here?” 

Gideon stepped forward and plated a sweet kiss on Sophie’s cheek before moving toward their daughter. Barbara raised her arms toward her father; her sticky fingers latched on to his shirt the moment he lifted her. Her small face was drenched in tears. “She is having a morning,” answered Sophie with an aggravated sigh. “I can’t possibly take it today. I don’t know what is wrong with me. Perhaps I need more sleep.”

Gideon bounced Barbara in his arms and cooed soothingly. The little girl hiccuped and sniffed all over his shirt, but she had begun to calm down with her father’s comfort. Gideon looked over at Sophie as he bounced her, his eyebrows furrowed. “Did you not sleep well last night, love?” he asked. “You snored like a sailor so I thought you’d slept quite well.”

Sophie scowled. “I do not snore.”

“As if,” Gideon laughed boisterously. This made Barbara giggle. “I love you Soph, but you snore horrendously on occasion. Especially when you were—“ he paused, a thought visibly occurring to him. “When you were pregnant.”

Sophie blinked at him in shock. “I’m certainly not pregnant,” she stated, though she was unsure. Was she? It was not out of the realm of possibility. They’d discussed having another child plenty—Barbara was certainly lonely. The only other children in the family besides her were Charles and Jesse, but Charles did not like to play with Barbara and Tatiana had adamantly refused to let her son around any of his cousins or uncles. “Right?” she added, with a questioning look at her husband.

Gideon recovered from his pondering at his daughter’s whimper. He gently patted her back while bouncing her as he looked at Sophie. “It’s possible,” he wondered aloud. “We haven’t exactly been avoiding another pregnancy as of late.”

“Oh dear,” Sophie breathed. She leaned against the frame of the doorway and buried her face in her hands. “I’ve been snapping at Barbara all morning and it isn’t her fault.”

Footsteps grew closer to her. Sophie glanced up through her fingers and found her daughter’s small face peering back. Gideon said nothing, but smiled gently. Sophie moved her hands to cup Barbara’s face and kissed her head. “Mummy’s very sorry for getting angry with you,” she told her. “Will you please forgive me?”

Barbara smiled and nodded, her tears dry on her face. Sophie wiped them off with a gentle brush of her thumb. “I love you so much, my precious girl,” she said gently. Barbara smiled bigger. 

“How about I ring my brother and see if he’s willing to watch Barbara for a bit? We can see the Brothers and find out if you’re pregnant or ill.” Gideon turned his body so he could see them both, his wife and daughter. “I hardly think he would say no. Look at her little face.”

Barbara giggled and patted her still-sticky fingers on her father’s shirt. Sophie couldn’t help but smile back. “Are you sure?” she asked him, wary of making a fuss about something that may turn out to be nothing after all.

Gideon nodded. “I’m sure,” he stated confidently. “Gabriel adores Barbara. I truly don’t think he requires any reason to see her.”

Barbara’s eyes lit up. “Uncle Gabe!”

Sophie laughed at Gideon’s betrayed expression. 

.

.

“Barbara!” Gabriel called from the top of the stairs the moment they walked through the doors of the Institute. Sophie watched with amusement as Gabriel launched himself down the steps and came to a screeching halt before his brother, who he ignored in favor of the small child in his arms. 

Barbara squealed with glee and reached out for her uncle, who took her gladly. He squeezed her tight, a bright smile across his face. Sophie had to admit it was quite nice to see Gabriel genuinely happy these days. “I suppose this means you wouldn’t mind looking after her for a few hours?” Sophie questioned. Gabriel glanced up at her. “Gideon and I must drop into the Silent City for a bit and we’d prefer to keep Barbara here where she feels more comfortable.”

Gabriel’s expression fell a bit, his eyebrows furrowing just like his brother’s did. “The Silent City?” he repeated, ignoring Barbara’s grip on his hair. “Is something wrong?”

Gideon shook his head. “Not at all,” he said to his brother calmly. “Just some preemptive health check. We shouldn’t be too long.”

“All right,” Gabriel said with a suspicious look. He turned back to Barbara and his smile returned. “Of course I don’t mind looking after her.”

Sophie felt relieved. “Thank you,” she told him, and gripped his arm. “I know it’s short notice so I am thankful.”

Gabriel smiled. “We’re family.”

.

.

The Silent City always spooked Sophie. She had not grown up Nephilim so she’d never had a need to become used to Silent Brothers, let alone ever been permitted to visit the Silent City prior to her Ascension. 

Come to think of it, Sophie had never been to the Silent City until she fell pregnant with Barbara. Gideon had insisted from the moment she woke up vomiting.

Now, she ventured into the city from its Highgate entrance hand in hand with Gideon. She still felt unnerved by the silence but was no longer afraid. Jem was here and she was not afraid of Jem.

Gideon and Sophia Lightwood, rang a monotonous voice in her mind. Sophie peered steadfastly into the hazy darkness. A cloaked figure approached them: Brother Enoch. 

“Brother Enoch,” Gideon replied politely with a bow of his head. “We apologize for the sudden visit, but we had a matter of importance we seek assistance with.”

What is the matter of importance? Brother Enoch replied. Sophie lifted her chin.

“There is a possibility that I may be with child,” she explained evenly. Gideon squeezed her hand. “We are not certain, however. We’ve come to seek an answer.”

I see there is something, said Brother Enoch. A further examination is required to determine your answer. 

Sophie swallowed a lump of anticipation and follow the Brother further into the Silent City. A gentle hum filled the otherwise soundless corridors—even their footsteps made no sound despite not bearing Soundless runes. Gideon’s hand on the small of her back reassured her, however, and calmed her nerves.

The group entered a small, dimly lit room. In the center was a single large stone, meant to serve as an observation seat. Sophie settled herself in and breathed slowly.

Have you experience any unusual ailments similar to those of your first pregnancy, Mrs. Lightwood?

“Irritability,” Sophie admitted mournfully.

“Snoring,” added Gideon thoughtfully. Sophie scowled at him.

“Other than that,” Sophie continued, “not a thing that has been too noticeable.”

Brother Enoch did not respond but continued his movements; slow and precise, in the air over Sophie. She closed her eyes and laid back. It wouldn’t take long for Enoch to come to a conclusion, but she was so tired.

I am impressed you were able to detect this so early, said Brother Enoch, removing his hands and returning them to his front. You are, in fact, with child, Mrs. Lightwood. I suspect you are only six to eight weeks into your pregnancy.

Gideon let out a sudden whoop of happiness and Sophie smiled brightly. “Truly?” she wondered aloud.

Yes, I am certain, answered Brother Enoch. Congratulations to you both. It is too early to tell if you are having a son or a daughter, however. If you’d like, you may come back in several weeks time to learn.

Sophie nodded. “It’s all right,” she said, happiness flooding her body. She turned to Gideon, who looked so happy he may cry. “Son or daughter, it doesn’t matter. Right?”

“Right,” Gideon confirmed, his voice strained from trying to remain calm. He looked up to Enoch. “Thank you, Brother Enoch. This is truly wonderful news.”

.

**Ten Months Later**

.

“Genia,” Gideon cooed desperately at the infant screaming in his arms. “Hush, darling, you’re all right.”

“Is Genie sad?” Barbara questioned. She stood at Gideon’s side, her head barely reaching the tops of his knees. She’d been glued to her sister’s side from the moment she met her, curious to see this new member of the family who cried so much. 

Gideon smiled despite his growing fatigue. “Babies cry for many reasons,” he told his firstborn. “Right now, she is crying because she is tired.”

“So why does she not go to sleep then?”

Gideon chuckled, still bouncing his newborn daughter. Eugenia appeared to have been born with lungs of steel. “She needs to learn how to that, Babs. That’s why Mum and I take turns holding her at night; so she can feel safe and happy enough to sleep.”

Barbara nodded. She was in her own nightgown preparing to sleep when she heard her sister’s cries and followed Gideon into the nursery. Her dark hair was tied up to keep her cool in the summer heat and it made her look so much like Sophie. “Don’t cry Genie,” she said after a moment, her small face gentle and kind. “Papa says we are safe.”

Gideon knelt down beside her and kissed her head. “That is right,” he said to her. Barbara leaned closer to her baby sister and kissed her cheek, wet with tears. Eugenia began to calm, her screams settling into fading whimpers. Barbara smiled brightly. 

“I did it, Papa!” she exclaimed quietly and with wide brown eyes. 

“Yes, you did,” came Sophie’s voice. She strode into the nursery and smiled, tired. “You are a wonderful sister, my darling, but it is also time for you to go to sleep.”

Barbara nodded and skipped to her mother’s side. “Goodnight, Papa! Goodnight, Genie!”

Gideon blew her a kiss. “Sleep well, all right? Listen to your mum.”

Sophie lifted Barbara into her arms and hugged her close. Barbara rested her little head on her mother’s shoulder. “I love you,” Sophie said to Gideon. 

Gideon stood, Eugenia beginning to finally fall asleep in his arms. He looked at all three of them, his girls, and felt more at peace than ever before in his life. This was his family; his to love, his to protect, and his to love him in return. 

“I love you, too,” he whispered. “All of you.”

Thanks for your request! I had so many ideas that I had to force myself to pick small pieces of each to create flashes of memories. I might expand more on all these wonderful prompts!

Join the celebration! It’s my birthday!

[whitherliliesbloom]

eyes fixed upon a shiny ray

[ ffxivwrite2021 ] ★ [ masterlist ] ★ [ prompt #24 - illustrious ]

[ alphinaud/wol ] ★ [ 2,858 words ]  ★ [ aetherweave au ]

witch / wizard academy au i’ve never written for. features mintdrop’s totomi and windupdragoon’s kirishimi. mentions heirsofdiscord’s moth’ir, ancientecho’s laurelis, peachteaoni’s lily and windupnamazu’s lunya.

illustrious-  famous, well respected, and admired

asking the star student of the most prestigious magic academy in eorzea out to the end of year prom is as daunting as it sounds

“Gods, sulk all you want, but can you at least stop pacing? You’re making me dizzy.” Alisaie sighs heavily, resisting the urge to yell only because she knew full well that her voice would echo through the halls at lightning speed, and she’s already been reprimanded for noise disruptions one too many times in the past now. 

Where she sat atop the wooden desk, she glared down at her twin, who has been walking laps around the back of the classroom with his hands plastered upon his chin for the past 10 minutes now. Alisaie had hoped to spend her free period practicing Blitz Ball, but it would seem that her brother and practically the rest of the academy was far more hung up about the upcoming end of year promenade dance, and she’s close to getting sick of all the endless chatter about who everyone was going to ask out as their dance partner.

The young witch in training had about just the same amount of interest in her brother’s love life as she did history of the arcane arts, which is to say none at all. But family is family... and if Alphinaud failed in his endeavor to ask out the girl he’s had his eyes set on for the past year now, she will never hear the end of his relentless mutters.

“Just ask her directly. It’s not that hard is it?” Thancred thinks to chime in from two desks away, fiddling with his jet black wand. 

And though Alisaie wholeheartedly agrees with Thancred’s assessment, she cannot bring herself to pass up the opportunity to call him out either.

“Hah, like you’re one to talk. How long again did it take for you to ask out Moth’ir? And you’ve known for what, almost your entire life now?” 

Light banter and friendly, healthy amounts of spite is normal among their group, and Thancred seems to be unaffected by Alisaie’s words as he throws his hand up and shrugs with an unapologetic smile. 

Alphinaud doesn’t stop pacing - not until he feels a light zap of lightning strike his bare hand and jolt him out of his focus, his head turned up to look at the wide chesire grin of the transfer student who twirled his leopard patterned wand between his index and middle finger playfully. Internally, Alisaie thanks the high heavens.

“Hien!” Alphinaud’s voice is a mixture of accusatory, confused and startled, and the raven haired student could only let out a hearty laugh before leaning himself back against the wall.

“Relax! A little jolt won’t kill you.” Hien begins waving his wand recklessly in the air, no doubt asking for reprimand if a teacher were present. “Anyways.. Who’s the lucky girl who’s caught the eye of our Alphinaud here? Must be someone quite special for him to be so nervous.”

Everyone’s eyes collectively widen, now fixed upon Hien as Thancred opts to answer on behalf of his friend.

“You don’t know? It’s Illya. It’s always been Illya.”

“Mm... Sorry, the name doesn’t ring any bells.”

The silence lingers a little longer now, as the other three exchange wide eyed glances of shock between them. 

“Y-you.. you don’t know Illya?” Alphinaud sounds utterly taken aback, and Alisaie almost speaks up to remind him that not everyone would be as enamored with the star student of Aetherweave as he is. 

“The little witch of a thousand miracles? Lady of the endless garden? The viola nebula? The star blossom? The tamer of the beasts? The one who pulls down the stars and wears them under her hat?” As he listed off the top of his head some of the most famous titles that had belonged to the object of his infatuations, Hien could only hum softly in thought as a response.

“I’ve heard of a few of those titles... I didn’t think they were all referring to the same person, however. Just how many names does she go by?”

Had it been anybody else, Alisaie would have probably accuse them for living under a rock - because anyone who has studied at Aetherweave academy would certainly not go long without hearing of Illya’s name. She didn’t know a single person in the academy who has not heard of at least one of the girl’s heroic exploits with her friends. 

Hien however was a transfer student, one who came from a sister academy back in the Far East only a few months ago, and despite having settled into his new surroundings comfortably, is still not entirely aware of all the gossip and rumors that run rampant in the magical halls of Aetherweave. 

“More like.. what name doesn’t she go by.” Alisaie’s shoulder rises and falls. “Have you heard of what happened just three months ago? About the Guardian Tree at Everschade?”

“That rings a bell. It was in the process of dying but somehow magically got rejuvenated and started to bloom purple flowers, didn’t it?”

“That was her doing.”

Now, Hien’s eyes are wide in surprise, letting out an elongated whistle as he crosses his arms over his chest. 

“By the kami...”

“She was also one of the few students in the academy to have not only met but also tamed a wild wyrm. They say her new dragon friend, Midgardsormr is sitting right in her backyard.” Alphinaud adds, “Her friends and her were also the ones who were at the front of the charge in the winter of last year, defending the school when there was a surge of Sineaters coming from Lakeland.” His hand rises up to hold his chin. “Not to mention, she’s a top student. She’s consistently been in the top 5 of our year when it comes to grades. And her command over magic is praised even by grandfather himself.” 

Praise coming from Archon Louisoix himself? That certainly is something worth prestige and recognition. Rightfully impressed now, Hien’s lips turn upwards into smirk as he turns to look back at the boy. 

“Well, I can see why you’d like her. What’s the problem then, friend? Is she not easy to get along with?”

At Hien’s suggestion, Alphinaud quickly shakes his head.

“Oh, no, she’s not like that. She’s very approachable. Perhaps a bit...shy, and not very good at speaking to strangers at all, but she’s a wonderful person. Perhaps... a bit too nice, is all.”

With his response, Alphianud drops his head with a heavy sigh and casts his glance downwards onto the floor in exasperation, and it prompts Hien to hold back any further questions. He merely turns to look at Alisaie and Thancred, who can only frown and shrug respectively in silence.

It wasn’t that Alphinaud hasn’t tried to ask the girl out - he’s been trying to for months now, well before even the details of the promenade dance had been released and he saw it as a good opportunity to finally ask the girl out to be his dance partner. 

He’s tried many times, and failed spectacularly an equal amount. 

Perhaps as a result of her kindness, Illya has found herself surrounded by a group of other equally individualistic and unique friends who, in one way or another, has interrupted Alphinaud’s attempts to ask her out at least once. 

He remembers Illya’s best friend, Laurelis, a joyful miqo’te girl who was well aware of his affections for her friend and is even the most enthused out of all of Illya’s circle about helping them get together... but has also unknowingly sabotaged his attempt to ask the girl out to movie date when she’d pulled Illya to town right after school for an impromptu shopping trip.

Lunya, a sharp-tongued girl who had been in a different class from Illya had been ecstatic to find that her friend, who she would not normally get much time to study with, had opted to take the same astrology and fortune telling electives as her. And for the three months that they had been together, she would always swiftly pull Illya away from him with a protective glare. 

And Lily, who studied in the year above them and was close and dating Illya’s pseudo big-brother figure, had busied Illya with the task of tutoring her after class on how to become better at healing magicks, an endeavor that took up almost all of Illya’s spare time and he could not in good conscious ask her to abandon her close friend’s heartfelt request - especially after learning that her wish to become better at healing stemmed from an accident that Kaye had almost sustained a fatal wound for during last year’s battle against the Sineaters. 

He can no longer keep track of the number of times he’d failed in his attempts, let alone take into account his own confidence beginning to waver... but the two golden foil tickets and a pressed lily in his pocket weighs heavy, and as Tataru and Krile had so eloquently egged him on and warned him, he might not get another chance ever again if he missed this one. 

“OI! HIEN!” A loud, boisterous voice calls out, and a loud thud and an ‘oof’ from Hien sounds out, followed by a breathless chuckle as he shakes the woman who had tackled him against the wall off himself. 

“Kiri, your greetings are enthusiastic as ever, but we’re in the middle of something now.” 

“Huh?” Mismatched eyes finally turn to look at the twins and Thancred, and she lets out a nonchalant shrug. “Oh. Uh, sorry I guess. I can leave ya guys to it then.”

“No, it’s quite alright, Kirishimi.” Alphinaud smiles warmly at his senior, the tone of his voice amiable as ever. “We weren’t talking about anything important.” 

“I didn’t know you considered you not being able to ask Illya out to prom as being unimportant.” His twin sister snickers, and Alphinaud bites back an aggrieved huff. 

“Alisaie-”

“Illya?” Kirishimi’s expression lights up, ears perking as she places her hands upon her hips and gestures towards the direction of the front entrance of the school. “Speakin’ of her, I think she’s leavin’ to go on a date with someone. I saw them going down the stairs after I passed by her classroom and they were talking about uh... ‘desserts’ or something.”

“W-What? A date?” There’s panic evident in her voice, normally already fair complexion on the elezen boy rapidly paling now as he takes a step towards the taller woman. “Is...Isn’t it still in the middle of the school period?? They can’t possibly-”

“Town’s only a few minutes walk away though?” Kiri retorts with a shrug, “They’ll have plenty of time before the next module an hour later... and maybe they’ll even have time enough to work in a kiss or somethin’-”

“I-I... I have to-” Before even hearing the rest of Kirishimi’s sentence, Alphinaud finds himself bolting out of the classroom door and down the hallway towards winding flights of stairs and talking paintings, who chime out in surprise and ask a collective series of ‘where are you going?’ which goes unanswered.

Thancred turns to look at Kiri, a suspicious glint in his eye as he quirks an eyebrow out. 

“She’s not really going on a date, is she?”

Kiri merely shrugs, a mischievious smirk plastered on her face as Hien wraps a proud arm around her shoulder, an equally triumphant grin upon his face.

----------------------

By the time Alphinaud’s found himself past a few feet in front of the building, and sees a familiar curtain of swaying white hair and a tall witch hat crowned upon it walking towards the fountain in the middle of the academy square and towards the front gates of Aetherweave, he’s already rapidly short of breath and found his legs aching, his lungs gasping and burning desperately for air. 

But he doesn’t allow himself to stop- cannot allow himself to stop as he swallows back the lump in his throat and continues sprinting forwards, his voice calling out to her loudly from across the pathway.

“Illya! Illya wait!” 

He thanks the twelve when he sees the lalafellin girl stop in her tracks and turn around with a bewildered expression, her companion beside her equally startled and stopping  next to her as well - though he pays no mind to them... cannot bring himself to exert enough energy to focus on anyone other than Illya. 

It isn’t until he gets closer to the pair, sweat trickling down his brow, his chest heaving as he pants for air heavily and his hands gripping onto his knees as he lurches forward does he finally recognize just who the mysterious student that Illya has decided to go on a ‘date’ with.

“W-wait.... wait a minute..” Alphinaud mutters in between huffs and sharp inhales, navy blue eyes staring down at a lalafellin with familiar straight cut bangs and ruby red eyes. “M-m.... Mint?!” 

Mint.... is Illya’s date? The genki self-proclaimed witch idol peppermint?? Who also happens to be dating his friend Estinien??? She’s who Kirishimi tricked him into thinking was Illya’s date?!

“Whaddya want Alphinaud??” Peppermint lets out a huff and a pout, seemingly unconcerned at his haggard state as she crosses her arms over her chests. “Illya promised to get cream puffs with me during our break time. If you wanna have some, you’ll have to get in line!”

“W-what...? That’s not...”

Twelve forfend... He’s been deceived utterly and completely... He’d like to think he would be a bit more perceptive and intuitive enough to know when he’s being lied to or played but... it would seem like all sense of rationality of his flies out the window when it comes to Illya.

The girl in question merely gazes up at him with concern swirling in her lustrous violet eyes as she tightens her hold on the book she had been holding close to her chest. 

“A-are you okay, Alphinaud?”

The worry in Illya’s voice urges Alphinaud to quickly swallow and give her a nod, a reassuring smile gracing his features despite his drained complexion.

“I’m... I’m quite alright. Thank you, Illya.” 

His heart skips a beat when his smile is mirrored by her, and the radiance of her presence is almost enough to leave him dumb and speechless until she speaks up once more to question him.

“Did you need something from me? You seemed like you were in a hurry-”

Oh seven hells... how is he going to explain his way out of this now? He could make perfectly reasonable and well timed excuses for his other failed attempts... and he could just as easily lie to her and say that it was nothing now... 

But he knows not only would that arouse suspicion, especially with someone as perceptive to people’s lies and intentions as Illya was... but it’d perhaps put her on edge around him in the future. 

And though he’d have liked to invite Illya to prom in private and free of an audience member consisting of someone from her circle of friends, he’s already made a right fool of himself and caused a scene between them.... So to hide away or run from the situation would be...

With a defeated sigh, Alphinaud fishes out one of the tickets from his uniform pocket and holds it out to the girl with trembling fingers, watching in anticipation as her own starspangled eyes widen in shock. 

“I-I.... I just wanted to ask... If you would perhaps like to go to prom with me?”

The normally talkative Mint is now completely silent, holding back impish cheers and laughter as she merely steps back to pump her fist in the air, leaving Illya on her lonesome as a heat quickly spreads across the girl’s fair cheeks and reddens the bridge of her nose. 

It doesn’t take much thought at all for Illya to raise a hand up to take the ticket from him, gazing down thoughtfully at the reflective golden foil and the silver letterings etched into the shimmering surface until she finally remembers to nod in answer.

“Um... Y-yes... I would love to-”

---------

Illya is grateful that nobody else other than Mint had been around to bear witness to what happened, or she’d be certain that the whole school would be privvy to the gossip before sundown. 

Mint’s teasing and chattering is enough on it’s own to deal with, as the girl cheerily munches into her cream puff and speaks in a hushed tone to the violet eyed girl on the other side of the table. 

“I’m so glad for you, Illya! Now you don’t have to worry at all!”

“Y-yeah... I-I suppose so..” The heat from Illya’s cheeks hasn’t dissipated, and she stares into the reflection of the warm milk tea in her hands. “B-but.. what am I supposed to do with the love letter? I’ve been working on it for weeks and now-”

Mint pauses for a moment, cheeks puffed up and full of food as she continues to chew and darts her eyes up to the white ceiling in thought.

“Hm... Well you can still give it to him! Maybe during the prom or something? I’m sure he’ll appreciate it very much!”

[roger-that-cap]

once upon a december

knight!steve x reader (sort of an anastasia au type thing!)

word count: 4.09k!

warnings: i think swearing! but other than that this is good for everyone!

did not check her for errors, sorry!

part two!

You rode for about fifteen minutes at medium speed on the huge horse that felt like seconds to you by the time you were coming into town. The way the horse stopped startled you, because just as fast as he started his trot, it felt natural to you. It would have brought you all the way to sleep, if your mind hadn’t been so wary about who was right in front of you. 

“This is our stop,” he muttered, getting off of his horse and turning to you, and you reached your hand out to be helped down, landing softly on your feet. “You good?” 

“I am, thank you.” You said out of politeness, and he nodded. You looked at where his eyes were looking as he tied his horse to the tree, and you immediately recognized it as a bar. “A bar?” 

Those were forbidden back at the orphanage. You had been told that only low people went there, people with no class. As far as you were concerned, orphans were the lower class. You couldn’t get lower than that in the kingdom. Right above you were the common bargoers, you believed. 

“There a problem with that?” 

“I don’t speak to drunk men.” You surely didn’t. You had learned from others that men who were drunk wanted one of two things at all times, and that was to start a fight or to make children. At first, you had faith in the men that people talked so down on. But you learned. Like all other women, you learned. “If he wants to speak to me, he’ll have to come outside.” 

 “It’s cold,” James said, giving you a face. 

You weren’t going in a room full of rowdy people. You much rather preferred hushed, passionate conversations and whispers. It was just… better. “If he’s a good man, he won’t make me go in there.” 

“What does him being a man have to do with that?” 

“Men are nasty,” you said boldly, and he gave you a slightly amused, slightly agitated look. “And they’re all in there,” you said, grimacing when you heard boisterous laughter. “If you want a good seamstress, you’ll bring him out here to talk.”

“Where are you from?” He asked out of nowhere, and you were both shocked at his blatant attitude and relieved by it. 

“Why?” 

“You don’t sound like you’re from around here.” He per his horse twice before looking back at you. “So, where are you from?” 

You took a deep breath and then exhaled, watching it leave your body with an intense curiosity before you answered his question. “Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t know?” 

 A slow smile spread across his face, and then he was grinning, a shallow but true grin. And then, he shook his head once. “No.” He turned around and walked straight into the bar. 

You had no idea what to do. Were you supposed to stand there and wait, possibly even freeze? Or was that a sign for you to follow him or go on your own way? You had already tried to be on your own, and that didn’t work well at all. Maybe you were a team player before you were an orphan. 

  You stood with your arms wrapped around your body, swishing back and forth and bending your knees every so often, locking eyes with the horse every now and again before finally turning away from the bar and throwing your head up, giving out a groan. 

  “Hey,” you tilted your head back down. “Buck tells me you’re a seamstress for cheap.” You turned around and faced the direction where the sound of boots slapping snow came from, and immediately you were stunned. 

 A blonde man, even taller than his brunette companion, was standing there, his steps long stuttered at the sight of you. You could see his blue eyes clearly even through the flurries of snow that were still coming down. You frowned subconsciously, something about the sight of him tugging at your mind. 

He took a few steps closer, and you stayed put. You could have sworn that his head was going to pop right out of his neck when he pushed it forward, trying to get a good look at your face. He was close enough where you could see the looks of surprise, confusion, and anger morph into one. His jaw slacked, and as quiet as the wind, he said one word. “Alexandra?” 

Just like that, your enchantment with the second grown man that you had seen during your journey dropped. You shook your head at him. “Who’s Alexandra?” 

His slight joy dropped, plummeted so far that you couldn’t have caught it even if you tried. “Who are you?” He questioned harshly.

“Y/N,” you said cautiously, narrowing your eyes on him. “I make clothes. You said you needed help,” you said, and you looked towards the hole in his pants and how they were shorter than what they needed to be, and you also caught sight of a huge hole under his arm. You gave him a look. “And it seems to me that you do need help, so don’t be so hostile.” 

“Buck, who-”

“I found her. She sprained her ankle.” 

The blonde man had you on the receiving end of a harsh look and then yanked his friend to the side, seemingly for a private conversation that wasn’t so private because of how loud he was, and how good your hearing was. 

 You could tune into nearly anything, and tune out of nearly anything. It was the perk of being the oldest for most of your time at the orphanage. Some kids were fighting while another needed some help, and you couldn’t listen to both. And so, you adapted. 

 “This- who is she? Who is that, Bucky?” Bucky? His name was Bucky and not James?

“She says she’s-”

“I know, but she sews, too?” The man’s voice was quiet. “She- she looks like an older version of Alexandra.” 

“I know.” 

Whoever this “Alexandra” girl was, the blond man was not happy about you resembling her. It was all over his face and in his body language. “So, why did you bring her here?” 

“He brought me here because your pants are too small,” you chimed in, and they jumped. “What? I have good hearing. What can I say?”  

 “It’s not polite to eavesdrop.” 

“Guess my parents never taught me that,” you joked, knowing that they wouldn’t get it. “I can fix your clothes. I just need money, and quiet. All the whispering freaks me out, and I can hear it.” 

 “Who are you really?” 

“I’m Y/N, I’m an orphan, and I’m a seamstress in training.” 

“You’ve never worked in a shop?” 

“W-well, no, but I- I know how to sew,” you said, getting tripped up on your words the second he started to ask you about what you could do. “In fact, I did all of my clothes myself.” 

He looked you up and down. “How did you learn?” 

You had a feeling that I always just knew wasn’t going to be enough for the blond man, especially because he already didn’t like you. “I… it’s a natural talent.” 

 “Ha!” His laugh was more of an exclamation than anything as he looked up to the sky and shook his head. “When will I be done paying for the past?” 

You made a face at him and waited for his dramatics to subside, tapping your foot in the snow despite your utter freezing. “So, are you going to give me your pants to work on…?” 

“What’s your rate, girl?” 

“Don’t call me that.” You retorted. “Who are you, anyway?” 

“Sir Steven,” he answered, and you saw James give him a look. “What pay do you want?” 

“Enough to get a train ticket to Auren.” They both looked at you strangely, and it was for long enough that you took a step back and crossed your arms over your chest. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Why are you going there?” James asked carefully, almost as if he was walking on the thinnest sheet of ice over a lake that he was standing in the middle of. You didn’t like it. 

“Because I want to.” You didn’t even consider trying to explain to them about the pull you felt. They looked rich. They looked like they had never experienced loss before. You hadn’t met many knighted men, but you felt like they were too pretty to have seen much at all. “So, if you can’t trade me some new clothes for a ticket, then, I’ll find someone else.” 

“We were actually heading that way.” 

“That way?” You asked, a brow cocked. “You mean to get there by horse?” 

  “It’s no more than a three week ride from here, if we’re fast.” James explained, looking to his partner, who was still staring holes in your face. “The trail is already made.” 

  You knew what he was insinuating. Was it wise to agree to it? Probably not, and at the same time, it may save you money and time. It would take you a long time to work up what you needed for a ticket, but if they were offering to let you ride with them if you fixed their clothes every so often, that could be it. On the back of a horse could be the way you got to Auren, away from the snow, away from everything you’ve conditioned yourself to know again. 

“Are you offering for me to come with you?” The huge, blond man looked horrified. 

“If you’re comfortable with riding,” he said, ignoring the lethal look that “Steven” gave him. “We mess up our clothes a lot, we could use someone who knows how to fix them. How fast are you?” 

“Very.” And you were. You were quick and accurate, and you only got quicker with every passing month. 

  “I’m sorry-” the glowering man gave you a fake smile and turned around to his friend. “We need to talk.” He pulled him off to the side, way too far for you to hear, and sighed and shook your head. 

 “Hey, horse.” You muttered, petting him a few times. “Do me a favor, would you?” There was no verbal answer, of course. “If you think I should go with them, stomp your foot twice. 

You didn’t even need for him to stomp his huge feet for you to know what you were doing. The men seemed more honorable than the ones you were warned about, and for some reason, you knew that you could trust them more, even if the blond one was angry. The time it would take for you to earn the money would be past three weeks, and in three weeks, you could potentially already be in Auren. It made no sense for you to not take the deal, so you decided that you would make sense. 

  Minutes later, a red faced Steve and a frustrated James came back over, only to find you talking sweet to James’ grey horse. 

“What do you need to sew?” James asked, hands on his hips, near his sword though you knew that he wasn’t going to be using it. “Supplies?” 

You tried not to smile. “I have everything but cloth and string that matches the colors of your clothing, really.” 

“We don’t care much for looks,” Steve muttered and turned to his own horse, giving you his back. “Just do what you do, and we’ll pay you.” 

“We’ll pay you and,” the brunet added, giving his friend a dirty look. “You can ride with us, but you’ll have to share horses with someone.” 

 “You,” you said automatically, making Steve turn his head your way. “You seem to be the one most on board with me coming, so… you. Please.” 

  “Fine by me,” He said, shrugging. “We should get you out of the cold and set up camp.” 

  You nodded, and your shoes crunched on the snow as you walked forward. Right before you hoisted yourself up on Bucky’s horse, you heard the other man call out at you. “Don’t try it if you can’t do it yourself-” you interrupted him by effortlessly swinging onto the horse, scooting back to give the man enough room for when he got up himself. 

 “You ever rode a horse before?” 

Not to my knowledge. “No.” 

Steve gave you a long look, scrutinizing and breaching into the rude factor. He nodded his head after the lengthy stare and then looked towards Bucky. “We riding out?” 

“She’s going to freeze if we don’t set something up, and a fire, too.” You agreed with that mentally. Bucky hoisted himself up and then tapped his horse quite lovingly before the both of you started on a trot, your legs trembling against the backs of his from the freezing cold. 

 §§

You didn’t realize that you had fallen asleep until you felt yourself hit the ground. Not a sound came out of you as you roused yourself from your sleep, blinking slowly as you registered the cold, and the sound of shouting. 

“Shit!” You felt yourself being picked up by the arms and you sighed, feeling your wet clothes get even more damp. Your shoes were as good as gone. Your shirt was barely salvageable and your pants were probably better off if you took them off. “Are you-”

You were traded off into another set of arms, and you nearly flinched when warm hands touched your neck. “Is she alive?” 

“Yeah, but we need a fire. Now.” 

You shook your head and opened your eyes, blinking once you saw the night sky above you being halfway blocked by Steve’s face while he peered down at you, that same suspicious and questioning look that he had before on his face again. You raised your arms up and put your hands together, rubbing them to get some friction going, and hopefully some heat. You were cold, and hardly awake. 

Before you even knew what you were doing, you stood up on your own, reaching for the bag on your back and pulling it in front of your eyes, your hands digging for something.  

“What are you doing?” Steve asked, his tone annoyed. “Take it easy.” 

You ignored him easily as you took out the thick quilt that you made that was folded up and nearly done. You grunted when you realized that you never quite finished it, and then you pulled out your scissors. Your hands shook as you found where you left off and realized that cutting and tying would do nothing but ruin it. 

“Are you seriously trying to knit right now?” Steve asked, irritation leaking into his question as Bucky worked on starting a fire not too far away, diligently blowing and running stones against each other.

“Gotta finish,” you mumbled, and then you shook your hands out. 

“Just put it on, worry about finishing later-” he was cut off by your hands working rapidly, threading the thick material through your largest needle at what was almost your top speed, never missing once. He stared down at your hands and your face as your concentration never broke. You finished the last line, grabbed scissors, and ended it before you wrapped it around yourself. “How… I thought you said you were never taught.” 

“I wasn’t.” 

“Fire’s ready,” Bucky called, and you stumbled during your first two steps only to fall forward and be caught by Steve, who made an exasperated sound. “Don’t put the blanket in the fire, Y/N.” 

You were freezing. You were tired. You had just finished a knitting project that you assumed would take you much longer than you thought. And you had a feeling that everything you were feeling was going to be a constant thing on the journey that you had barely begun. 

The morning after you felt better, and the sun hitting your skin made you glow like a golden flower. You were back to the slightly bubbly attitude you naturally had, waving to Bucky when you woke up and saw him still on watch, immediately starting to knit something. 

“Those socks?” He asked I’m a raspy voice after watching you for a few minutes, and you nodded. 

“I’m making a few pairs for all of us.” 

“How much material do you have?” He looked at your bag, and you laughed. It seemed small, but you lived confined all your life. You knew how to compress things to make them fit, and you knew that to anyone else, your bag probably seemed like a magic trick. 

“A lot,” You mused, looking to the side as Steve woke from his sleep at the sound of your voice. “All my life’s savings have gone to material to sew, fabrics of all kinds.” 

“Why didn’t you save to get a train ticket?” He asked softly, almost like he knew that he probably shouldn’t have asked. 

Your fingers stopped moving as quickly as you thought, your movements much slower, slow enough for them to see what you were doing with them. “I could live without making it to Auren, I suppose,” you replied just as soft, looking back down to your hands. “But… sewing? No. I couldn’t live without doing that.” 

 “You love it that much?” 

Your expression of nonchalance turned into muted confusion when he asked that. Did you love sewing? You weren’t sure. You weren’t sure if you loved it or if you knew it, and those were two different things. It was your way of life that you would never abandon, but did that mean that you loved it? “I… I know it, I think.” You dropped your arms onto your lap. “It’s the only thing I have, I guess.” You had sewing and dancing, the kind that all the commoners learned to do. 

Steve frowned, too. “Have from when?” 

A small scowl formed on your face, the same one that you hid from the younger kids when they pressed on for you to remember something that you clearly didn’t. You wiped it off of your face and just gave a shrug. “I don’t know. But it’s the only thing I have in this world that is mine, so I’ll keep it.” 

“Okay,” Bucky said, giving Steve a look when he saw that the ever persistent man was about to keep pressing. “Do you think you can sew and ride at the same time?” 

“Probably,” you answered. 

Steve stood up. “Then let’s get it moving.” 

You had been given Steve’s pants to work on while you rode, and you started with the hole first. You found a fabric that matched the color relatively closely and went with it, finished within forty minutes. You couldn’t do much about the length other than estimate how much longer he needed them, and your guess was two and a half inches or so. 

By the time you were almost done with the first leg, you looked at the sun and realized that you were going in the wrong direction. “Uh…” you started softly, and you felt Bucky tense up. “Where- this isn’t the direction we’re supposed to be headed.” 

“We have to make a short detour, pick up a friend.” 

“How far is your friend?” 

“Shouldn’t be more than twenty leagues from here,” Bucky answered, his strong voice louder than the cutting wind. “He’s good people.” 

“Does he live where cloth is available?” 

“I thought you spent all your money?” Steve asked from beside you, his eyes watching your every move, like they had been the whole time. 

 “I did,” you confirmed, and you smiled when he looked confused. “I can basically talk my way into getting anything,” you said, and you watched him roll his eyes. “Except for someone to adopt me, I guess.” 

You felt Bucky’s snort more than you heard it, and Steve had a look on his face that said that he didn’t know if he was allowed to laugh at the joke or not, but you shrugged. “Is that one of your talents?”

“What?” 

“Sweet talking.” 

You made a face. It had been something that came slower, like a memory that was in the part of your brain that was much less quicker than the rest. It was the reason some didn’t ever warm up to you at the orphanage, especially the adults. They called you charming, they said that the combination of your smart tongue and your “accent”, whatever it was, was telling a different story than the one you remembered. 

“If I hadn’t seen you being brought in by that man myself, I would have called Marta a liar. You’re no orphan. You- you were something else. Someone else.” The Warden’s words haunted your mind every so often. 

“It’s something I think I might have known how to do before.” 

“Before what?” Steve asked, and you breathed in through your nose, ignoring the sting of the cold air. 

“Before I lost my memory.” The world froze there. “I woke up in the snow, someone brought me to the orphanage, and I don’t remember anything before that.” 

“What do you mean, you don’t remember?” 

“It means that I don’t know,” you said. “I don’t even think Y/N is my real name. I didn’t remember what it was, so I picked it. I knew how to read, and I saw it in a book, so I took it.” 

“Holy… when were you put into the orphanage?” 

“I was… I think I was fifteen or sixteen. It’s hard to say, no one could tell my age without giving me an exam and I said no to that one,” you chuckled, but neither man was laughing. You hadn’t even realized that you stopped riding, and that Steve had turned his horse so that he was looking at you head on without having to turn his body. 

  “You don’t know who you are?” 

“I know who I am,” you said, getting a little defensive. Even though

“You just said that you didn’t remember what happened to you through the first sixteen years of your life, that’s a huge chunk of time.” 

 “Well, I know who I am now.” Steve frowned deeply. “I’m Y/N, I like to knit, and I’m good at talking. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. That’s all I know.” 

“Have you tried to find something out?” 

“What do you think going to Auren is about?” You quizzed, feeling oddly satisfied when that shut him up. “I think someone’s there.” 

“Who?” 

“Someone who knew me,” you said. 

“How do you know that they’re there?” 

“I just have a feeling,” you said, your voice slightly whimsical as you thought about being reunited with people who cared about you, the people you had guilty lost recollection of. “And I also have nothing to lose.” 

“None of us do,” Steve said, and then he snapped the reins on his horse and began trotting forwards. 

“Steve, Buck!” You had fallen asleep and woken up to the enthusiastic shouting of a man. “That was much faster than expected.” You wiped your face with your hand and straightened your posture, attempting to stop your teeth from chattering like they previously were. “Do you have someone- oh, Holy Hera.”

A man with nearly the same look of shock that you had was looking at you, eyes wide. You would have assumed that what he felt was terror, if his lips weren’t slowly curling up into a smile. The world stood still again as you both analyzed each other, him with much more confusion and enthusiasm than you. 

 “Alexandra!” He nearly shouted, and he bent his body downwards, into a deep kneeling position. You tilted your head to the side, so confused by his sign of respect that you didn’t see the looks of panic on the other men’s faces. “I always-”

“Y/N.” Steve said sharply, interrupting him and catching all three of you by surprise because of his hostility. “Her name is Y/N.” He was the first to climb off of his horse, and he gave the man a pat on the back before entering the house like he had been a thousand times and lacked the need for invitation. 

“Who is Alexandra?” You asked again, upset at being mistaken for someone for the second time.

“She’s um, she’s no one.” Bucky said, shooting his friend a look. “This is Sir Sam Wilson. He’s a great man, very honorable.” 

“A pleasure to meet you, Sir.” You responded, helping yourself off of the horse and ignoring the icy air that surrounded Steve’s sharp actions. 

You saw him look at your quilt, and then at the bag that had needles dangerously poking out. “You sew?”

“I do,” you responded, and he smiled. “I think I’m hired to be their seamstress and accompany them to Auren.” 

“You have interest in going to Auren?” 

“Yes,” you answered, drawing out the last letter to make it sound like less of a short answer. You smiled at him and moved to get off of the horse, ignoring the way that he rushed forward, hands outstretched to help you down. You swung both of your legs around and hopped right off without problems, prompting for the knight to give you an impressed look. 

“You’ve ridden before?” 

You knew you looked like you couldn’t even afford a bucket to put the horse food in, and that was why he was asking. It didn’t bother you at all, because the assumption was painfully true. “Actually, before I met them,” you nodded towards Bucky and Steve’s horse, “never.” 

“Never?” He echoed. “Even the noblewomen request help from getting down off of their horses. I’ve helped probably every noblewoman who ever stepped foot in the palace walls by horse, besides- yes,” he cut himself off, brushing his hands on his pants and nodding sharply, like he had just remembered something. “Well, I’m sure you’re starving and in need of warmth. I think Steve has already seen himself to the food.” 

Sam was right. There were already bowls out, and Steve had filled them with soup and was waiting for everyone else to start eating, even though he looked like he was using all of his strength to do it. His hands were hidden under the table and his leg was bouncing up and down as he stared at his bowl, hunger evident in his expression. 

 “What have you been eating?” 

“We’ve only come across rabbits and squirrels,” Steve muttered, clutching his spoon. 

 “It’s been an unfortunate season,” Bucky added, giving Sam a look. “And you know that Steve doesn’t operate on an empty stomach.” 

  “Oh, do I,” He said, a grin on his face as he said it. “Help yourself, Y/N! Don’t be shy.” 

“If you insist, Sir.” 

“So polite,” he teased, and you cracked a smile. “Where are you from?” 

You almost grimaced. “A small town, a ways away from here. Yakir.” 

  “Really?” 

“Yes. It’s not very fun, nothing much to do.” That was the grossest understatement ever. There was quite literally nothing to do, and even if there was something to do there, you were restricted by the operators at the orphanage. “Except for learning manners, I suppose.” 

  That gained you a smile, and you took your own spoon, first putting it on the other side of your bowl before eating, and folding the napkin out on your lap, crossing your legs and sitting up straight in your chair, leaning over slightly to blow on the soup that you picked up with your spoon. 

  “This is very good, thank you for making it,” you said after having a bit of it, and you were being honest. It was good, even though you were sure that anything would have tasted good at that moment. 

  “You’re welcome,” Sam dragged out, eyeing you oddly as you ate the soup in your bowl, which put the attention on you at the table. 

“Um…” you trailed off, trying to get at least one of them to explain why they were staring at you like you grew a head and cut it off and then went back to business. 

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Bucky assured, and he picked up his own spoon and waved it around, making a big show of starting to eat and hoping that the others would do the same. You raised your brows and then put your lips together before parting them again to drink from the spoon, figuring that whatever weird exchange that was, was going to eventually be explained. 

  You finished first, and you felt weird about it. Your stomach was full, though, so you watched the fire crackling in Sam’s fireplace with a far off look in your eyes as you thought about Lucas, and what he could be doing. 

  Did he miss you already like you missed him? Did his young mind offer to spare him some pain by forgetting you were ever there? You almost preferred it to be that way, because you knew that the kid didn’t sleep without you feet away from him. He didn’t eat if you didn’t, he didn’t go outside if you weren’t watching him. You prayed that he wouldn’t remember you.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” 

The words that came from Steve took you right out of your mind as you kept your eyes on the burning fire, a small smile gracing your face as you thought about him again. “Nothing.”

****

hey junebugs!! how are y’all? this is entirely self indulgent at this point- and i love this! can’t wait to do more with this steve! we’re gonna build a relationship here with this miniseries, no love at first sight this time! i don’t think anyone’s vibing with this rn but i at least hope y’all liked it! if you did like it, please drop a like or reblog or a comment! i loveee comments omg

[afairytalestray]

Cassandra (ft. Casslonzo)

It’s me, back on my Cats precanon hc nonsense (masterpost here). Today I come bearing Part 10(a) - Cassandra (ft, Casslonzo). I’ve spoken about Alonzo before in previous posts, so this one is more focussed on my girl Cassandra, who deserves more love. It’s Part 10(a) because it originally led into some tuggoffelees stuff, but it was getting far too long to be acceptable, so I split it in two, but they’re still kinda linked. That second part will be coming soon (possibly tomorrow)! Pls enjoy my Cassandra thoughts!

Cassandra arrives in the Junkyard after Bombalurina, Demeter, and Mistoffelees, but before Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. Before that, she was alone. She was born a housecat, but was abandoned by her owners when they moved. Being left to fend for herself on the streets was terrifying, and she had to dramatically adapt to survive. She had been a rather pampered pet, but after she grew tough and cold. She learned how to fight, and she learned quickly and thoroughly. Her aloof demeanour and fighting prowess ensured that other street Cats left her well alone, and that’s how she wanted it. At one point she was approached by Macavity’s gang, but swiftly sent the two henchcats packing with some nice new scars. 

Her abandonment shattered her ability to trust. She wouldn’t let anyone approach her, and would hiss and swipe at them if they did. That said, she felt so lonely all the time. She wanted friends, but she was terrified to reach out, to make herself vulnerable again. She ended up joining the Jellicles almost by accident.

Alonzo was out for a stroll one day when he saw an elegant brown Queen locked in confrontation with two much larger Toms. He immediately moved to help her, but she angrily yelled at him to back off. Alonzo faltered, but then watched in awe as Cass fought them off. He approached her afterwards, but was roughly snapped at again - Cass snarls that she doesn’t need his help and he’d better leave her alone. Unfortunately, Alonzo was already fairly infatuated, and returned to her patch the next three days in a row to see her and try to talk to her. To this day, she can’t remember how he managed to get her name. Cass figured that he was just stubborn - there was no way he would actually care for real. However, Alonzo’s insistent presence turned out to be a lifesaver. During her fight, one of the other Cats managed to get a bite in, which then got infected. Cass grew fevery and weak, and on the fourth day of Alonzo’s visits, she collapsed while yelling at him.

Alonzo didn’t hesitate in running her to Jellylorum and Jennyanydots - the Jellicle tribe healers. They were able to fight off the infection and clean the wound on her leg, but Cass was a very difficult patient - withdrawn and untrusting. She was sentenced to bedrest, but continually tried to escape - but she never got very far before her leg would give out. The longer she stayed, the more fond of Jelly and Jenny she grew, but still couldn’t trust them. Eventually, when she was able to leave, Alonzo knew he couldn't stop her, but he asked her to stay anyway; he’d been to visit her every day in the medical den, and despite herself she’d come to enjoy his company. But the thought of trusting the tribe (and him) was too much for her, and she left. That was, until one day when she overheard two of Macavity’s henchcats plotting to invade the Junkyard. She let them leave, reluctantly convincing herself that the Jellicles would be just fine, until she couldn’t. She returned to the Junkyard under the guise of making sure the Cats who were kind to her were alright, but then she saw one of the henchcats injure Alonzo, who was on patrol, and she went absolutely ape shitt. 

Afterwards, she hung around to see him properly taken care of - during which Alonzo, on a painkiller-induced high, told her he loved her, and then immediately proceeded to forget he’d done so, of course. It was actually Munkustrap who convinced her to give the Jellicles a chance. As Alonzo’s best friend, he visited him a lot while he was recovering, and had lots of chances to try and talk with the mysterious Queen Alonzo was so taken with. Although he didn’t know her past, he correctly assumed that she distanced herself because she’d been hurt, and he knows what it’s like to be abandoned by someone you care about. He told her the Junkyard would always be open to her no questions asked, should she want it - they owed her one for saving Alonzo, and that she’d always be welcome/have a place there, and actually if she wanted to stay and be a protector then that would be great because they were rather short-staffed, so she’d more than earn her keep. He emphasised that the Jellicles look after their own, they’re a family, which spoke to her lonely soul. He also dropped some mega hints that Alonzo very much meant what he said. He gave Cass the push she needed to (tentatively) decide to stay.

Alonzo helped Cassandra to settle into the Junkyard, and assisted her when she decided to start protector training. Although Cassandra could easily kick his ass, she allowed it because he’s actually quite sweet and helpful and not condescending about it. (Alonzo is also very aware of this, but uses it as an excuse to be close). Cassandra had been on her own for a while, and was unaccustomed to the amount of kindness the Jellicles showed her. It takes her a while to settle in fully. She’s still quite a solitary and private Cat, but becomes fiercely loyal to her new tribe, once she’s convinced they’d never abandon her. She’s closest with Jenny, Jelly, Munk, Victoria and Misto, and of course Alonzo. Victoria and Misto are two of her favourite Cats due to their quieter nature compared to that of the more boisterous Jellicles. Actually, surprisingly, she gets really excited about Misto’s magic, like, out-of-character kind of excitement. Her whole face lights up like a kitten’s when he does anything. Later on, when Misto is more comfortable using his magic around other Cats, Cass is always keen to help out. Alonzo melts inside at how pure it all is. Cassandra doesn’t let on, but she worked really hard to build a relationship with Alonzo’s siblings, as she knows how much he loves them.

Her relationship with Alonzo is something of a slow burn. Alonzo has a tendency to (unintentionally) bring out her softer side, which is something that freaks her out at first. However, she can’t help but like him. He’s always genuine when he speaks to her. Sure, he puffs himself up sometimes like a peacock, but it’s usually to try and make her laugh (she doesn’t laugh often enough in his opinion). The two of them never really have a whole confession/ask each other out type thing, they kind of just fall into it and wake up one day and realise they’re in a relationship. Alonzo is the first Cat Cassandra trusts, enough to tell him about her abandonment. He opens up to her as well, confiding to her his fears that he’ll never be able to salvage a relationship with his younger half brother Mistoffelees. She helps him work through some of his guilt, and he helps her open up to the others more.

To Alonzo’s dismay, Cassandra is very fond of Tugger. She jokes that it’s for purely shallow reasons, but the truth is that Tugger always goes out of his way to make her feel included and wanted, like she’s a real part of the group. This is still something she struggles with a bit, and she tends to hang back at times, unsure. Neither of them ever talk about it, but when Tugger comes to her for help, she jumps at the chance to repay him.

[dulce-pjm]

caffeine crush

word count: 4.3k 

genre: fluff, coffee shop!au

summary: all it took was one trip to the cafe to cement a friendship you never wanted. but it’s high time you fess up and call it all off. 

Yes, you’d picked up the habit last August, you’re certain. 

Classes had yet to start but, growing tired of your overbearing family, you decided to head back to campus a week or two early and get a head start while the university was still mostly empty. 

You didn’t exactly get a ton of work done, but those few weeks were relaxing. Cleansing, even. You spent your mornings wandering around campus and the surrounding area, soaking in the summer sun. Your afternoons were spent curled up in a comfy chair in the corner of the library, nose deep in a romance novel. You found yourself eating better, exploring the city and finding new activities and niche locations. At this point, you thought you would make an excellent tour guide if someone hired you. You knew nearly every corner of the blocks surrounding the university. You’d made it a game to leave no stone unturned, memorizing the storefronts and seeing what hole-in-the-wall restaurants and shops you would find next. 

You were playing just this game when you met Seokjin.

It’s not like you particularly liked coffee. It’s always been much too bitter for your taste. No amount of sugar or cream or pumpkin syrup made the drink worth it to you. 

But you set your personal preferences aside for the mission. How could you give coffee shop recommendations to your imaginary tour group if you’d never tried them out yourself?

And it was with that mentality that you tentatively stepped inside the near-hidden cafe, door chiming as you made your entrance. 

The minute you walked in, you fell in love with the atmosphere. The place was well ventilated and cool, perfect for someone like you who preferred to keep the thermostat at ‘obscenely low temperatures,’ as your sister would say. The walls were coated with muted mints and greens. Draping plants decorated the wooden shelves scattered across the far wall and the soft jazz playing over the speakers made you feel relaxed. A large chalkboard menu hung behind the counter, fresh flowers sat by the cash register. The smell of coffee grounds was undeniably comforting and potent, despite your general dislike for the drink. 

This place was perfect. You could imagine your friends applauding your efforts now, praising you for managing to stumble on such an amazing hideout, tucked away from the chaos of university campus yet still within easy walking distance. 

The cafe was almost completely empty, save for a couple about your age camped out at a corner table. You barely paid them any attention except to be jealous of their closeness as they giggled over something on the girl’s phone. 

You approached the counter, curiously vacant of any employees. You looked left, you looked right. But no one appeared. 

The couple, too absorbed in their own world, did nothing to aid you as you stood helpless in the middle of the abandoned store. You gave it a good ten seconds before you felt much too awkward standing here all alone and gave up, turning to leave. 

And just as you did, you heard a collection of scuffles coming from the back and a door swing open with a creak. 

“Oh, I am so sorry. One of our frothers broke and made a huge mess.” You spun around. And your jaw dropped. 

Before you stood the most godly man you’d ever seen. 

The first thing that caught your eye was tufts of soft lavender hair, shining under the cool vintage lights. His eyes were wide and dark and warm, making you shift on your feet when they focused on you. His shoulders were broad and wrapped in a thin, cream turtleneck despite the warm weather. You practically drooled when you caught sight of his lips, full and soft pink.

He looked just like every male romantic lead you’d read about in your spare time. A purple-haired prince charming. A knight in his shining, corporate-regulated apron. 

“Were you waiting long?” His friendly voice snapped you from your daze before your thoughts could roam further to his muscles and chest and-

“No, not at all.” Could he tell you’d just been ogling? You really hoped not. 

“Good, good.” He shoots you a relieved smile that has your knees shaking. “Well, what can I get for you?” 

Shit, he was pretty. The slope of his nose and jaw and the swell of his cheekbones looked like they’d been crafted by god himself. Not that you were particularly religious, but after this encounter, you mused that maybe one day you could be. 

You were already fantasizing about the future the two of you could forge together. Stolen kisses, cuddles by the tv, a cozy house full of little purple-haired kids. His pillowy soft lips looked awfully inviting. You wondered what it’d be like to lean onto the tips of your toes and press your lips on his, to run your fingers through his hair, to-

“Uh, is there something I can get for you?” 

Shit. You’d been caught red-handed. 

“Oh! Um... uh...” You couldn’t focus. The words on the menu were suddenly too blurry as your tunnel vision zoomed in on him and only him. “A latte! A latte is fine.”

Seokjin smiled sweetly, making your stomach flutter. 

“You got it! Just a sec.” He spun away, running back and forth between the different contraptions that look more like convoluted machines from a sci-fi movie than coffee-related appliances. 

You were still trying to collect yourself when his hand brushed yours as he passed your drink across the counter. A shiver ran unwelcomed down your spine. You barely managed to fork over a few bills when the man shook his head adamantly.

“I made you wait. This one’s on the house.”

God, he was hot and nice? How?

“Oh, thanks...” Your eyes found the small name tag pinned to his blue apron. “Seokjin.” He grinned, his eyes crinkling adorably. 

“Not a problem. See you around.” He said it like the two of you were friends and not strangers. Like he was going to miss you when you walked out the door. 

You felt his gaze on your back as you left the tiny shop, bells chiming as went. 

You knew you’d be coming back. 

And come back you did. 

You’d reasoned that it wasn’t because of Seokjin, no, of course not! You liked the cafe, it was quiet and there was plenty of room to study. 

Oh, who were you kidding? It was totally because of Seokjin. The cafe was nice, you guess, but you don’t even like coffee! Rather, you used your time spent in the shop half actually doing your work and half staring at Seokjin and letting your mind wander. It was a stress reliever, really. A guilty pleasure, to bask in his glory. 

It was a harmless habit. You got your work done and got to stare at an angel sent from heaven, and Seokjin had extra business bolstering his paycheck when you dragged your friends with you to camp out at the cafe. 

It was harmless. 

Until you’d spent the better part of four months somewhat stalking him and now he knew your face. 

So when a certain someone tapped you on the shoulder in January as you settled down for the first day of class, you really should have known this would happen. 

“Hi!” he’d exclaimed, taking the seat next to you before you could protest, not that you wanted to. “I didn’t know you were a student here.” 

It was Seokjin. Hot barista from the coffee shop, Seokjin. In your class. Talking directly to you. Except now, he’d traded his purple locks for warm brunette ones. It didn’t take away from his appeal at all though. It made him seem boyish and younger, suiting him well. 

“Oh, hi...” You were at a loss for words. Never in your life did you think that Seokjin attended your university, let alone would be taking the same classes as you. Wouldn’t you have seen him by now? How did this slip under your radar?

“Y/N, right?” His smile widened when you nodded, confirming his suspicions. 

The professor walked in a moment later, informing you all that the person next to you would be your partner for all projects for the rest of the semester. Your stomach dropped to the floor

And from then on, Seokjin was your friend. 

You’d done your best to fight it, to resist him but you were only pulled deeper and deeper. 

Before then, the line of acquaintanceship was defined, set in stone. You knew his name, sure, but only because of the context of the situation. You had no reason to talk to him, to know him. And he had no reason to remember you. 

But once he confirmed your name, claimed the seat next to you, expressed excitement at being your partner (because he’d seen how studious you were at the shop, he said- and what a lie that was), the line had been crossed and blurred. He made a point to smile at you every time you arrived to class, to ask you how your day was going and if you were planning on stopping by the cafe any time soon.

It didn’t take long, however, for fantasy Seokjin to crumble before your eyes. Your dashing prince charming turned out to actually be a gluttonous man-child. Long gone were the days of your innocent crush on him. No longer could you sit and daydream about his perfect self when you were watching him pig out on take-out dumplings and listening to the most cringe-worthy jokes you’d heard in your life. 

“So I was at this vegetarian restaurant, right?” You nodded, only half paying attention as you made final edits to your presentation on Nordic traditions. “And this girl comes up to me and starts to tell me how I’d done her so wrong and she was finally standing up for herself.” 

At that point you were interested, allowing yourself to watch his dramatics rather than your laptop screen. Was Seokjin secretly an asshole? A heart breaker? God, this couldn’t be farther from how you’d imagined him months ago. 

“But the thing is-” He paused, meeting your eyes to make sure you were fully paying attention, which you were. “I’d never even seen herbivore!”

A fully offended sound left your throat as Seokjin burst into squeaky, boisterous laughter at the disgusted expression on your face. 

You couldn’t even bring yourself to fake laugh. That joke was absolutely dreadful. 

See, this is normally when relationships- dating and friendship alike- started to go downhill for you. You were much too idealistic. You set certain expectations for anyone and everyone before you ever laid eyes on them. And when they didn’t meet those expectations, it was easy for you to lose interest. Once you realized that they weren’t the person you’d hoped they’d be, you realized you’d never really liked them at all. You’d just gotten too caught up in your head, too captivated by your own imagination to recognize that you were walking into something you didn’t want.  

Seokjin, though, was different. He’d been drastically far from your expectations, absolutely. But instead of that eventual feeling of self-directed bitterness and regret for setting yourself up for failure, you felt guilty. Overwhelmed with guilt and shame, actually. Even if he had an awful sense of humor, Seokjin was great. He was kind and charming and teasing and thoughtful and earnest. He was genuine. 

Yes, if there was one word to describe Seokjin, it was genuine. But if you had to add a few more words, they would be ‘too fucking nice.’

When you were about to be keeled over in the school’s bathroom, puking your brains out with the flu, it was Seokjin that had noticed you were feeling off and chased you down after class. He’d been the one to see how sick you were, to hold your hair while you were bent over the toilet, to take you to the doctor and bring you homemade soup for dinner. 

While you panicked about the project due in the next few days, Seokjin adamantly insisted that you rest and promised that he could take care of it for you. He was unwavering in his resolve and despite the guilt brewing in your stomach alongside the nausea, you almost let yourself think he was doing this just because he wanted to, not because it was his personality. 

You didn’t deserve him. Not his friendship, not his love, not his time. He’s out of your league. Hell, he’s playing a different sport entirely. What you were doing wasn’t fair. This friendship didn’t happen because you were genuinely nice like Seokjin. It happened because you were lonely and, frankly, thirsty.

So, while you’re taking your final exam for your class with Jin, you reach the conclusion that it’s time to fess up. To admit who you really are, what your motives were, the reason you kept coming back for coffee you didn’t like. And then you’d cut it off. Not that you think you’d have to. Seokjin would see just how crazy you were and then never speak to you again. Things would be right with the universe and you’d be guilt-free, if a little embarrassed. 

Your pencil hovers over the scantron and you consider that you probably should have spent all this time focusing on the exam and not your friendship’s impending doom. 

But this class had been nothing short of an easy A, so you decide to have a little faith in yourself that even you could choose the correct answers while your mind wandered elsewhere. 

Yes, this was the best option. It’s not like you were in love with Seokjin, missing his presence and smile the minute he walked out the door and admiring the way his laugh lit up a room. Seokjin wasn’t some unreachable fantasy. You wouldn’t be retreating to your room sobbing if he was suddenly gone. He was just a person. He was just Seokjin. You could let him go. He could realize what you really were.

Easy peasy. Right? 

When you shoulder your bag and trudge out of the exam room, Seokjin is waiting for you, despite finishing a few minutes earlier. He was much too nice to other people like that. He hasn’t quite noticed you yet, too absorbed in a conversation with a fellow classmate. You indulge in his objectively perfect features for what will likely be the last time, but you don’t let your imagination wander. You just take the moment to appreciate what is in front of you. 

“Oh, I don’t know, I’m pretty tired...” You note the awkward, apologetic smile on his face and wonder what they’d been talking about. In that moment, his eyes flicker to yours, immediately lighting up. “Oh, Y/N!” He shifts towards you, leaving the poor girl to flounder. While he smiles enthusiastically your way, your expression is almost completely neutral. The abandoned classmate looks back and forth between the two of you, trying to decipher your relationship. You sigh, internally scolding him for wasting his attention on you. 

“Hey, Jin.” You address him by the nickname you’ve heard his friends call him. He’d never explicitly told you to call him that, but when it accidentally slipped out one day, he smiled to himself and you added the name to your vocabulary.

“Well, how do you feel? It’s over!” You shrug, shifting the backpack you always carry to the other shoulder. 

“Not as good as you do, I’m sure.” Seokjin’s brows furrow curiously and cutely, not understanding where you’re going. “You’re graduating? I’m still stuck here another year.”

“Ahh, at least the semester’s over. You are coming to my graduation, right?” You shoot him a look saying something akin to, ‘are you stupid?’

“Of course I am. You’d never let me live it down if I didn’t.” Seokjin laughs but doesn’t argue. You realize the classmate from before is long gone. You’re not sure when she left. Good, now you can tell Seokjin what you’ve been meaning to. “Can I talk to you?”

“Aren’t we talking now?” You sigh, loosely crossing your arms. 

“You know what I mean, Seokjin.” Sensing your serious demeanor, Seokjin immediately drops his teasing smile, switching his expression to one laced with concern. 

“Yes, of course. My shift starts in half an hour, though. Can we talk on the way to the shop?” 

“Sure.” Perfect, actually. Walking side by side, you wouldn’t have to watch that soft smile turn into an expression of disgust when you admitted what you were about to. 

As the two of you walk across campus and into the city, you tell him everything. You tell him how the minute you saw him, you’d thought he was the hottest person you’d ever laid eyes upon. You tell him how you came back almost thrice a week just to stare and think about him. You tell him how you don’t even like coffee, but your frequent visits to the shop have made you dependent on caffeine. You tell him how you’d had a bit of a crush on him, no, on your fantasy version of him for months. You tell him you don’t feel like that now, that you just feel guilty that this friendship existed when it was all born from a lie, from a terrible habit you couldn’t seem to break. You tell him how fake you are.

“And you deserve better than that, than me. I’m sorry I dragged you along for so long. I shouldn’t have.” You haven’t looked at him once this whole time, too ashamed to clue yourself in to what he’s thinking. “I think that’s everything.” Seokjin stays silent for a few agonizing minutes as the scenery morphs from tall, brick lecture buildings and trees into a more urban environment filled with bustling streets and colorful displays in the store windows. 

“Can I ask a question?” You jump at his voice. You’re almost surprised he’s still here. 

“Yeah.” You nervously fidget with your backpack straps, still refusing to even glance his way. 

“When you actually got to know me better, were you disappointed?” If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he sounded nervous. Heat rises to your cheeks. Shit, you’d hurt his feelings, hadn’t you? Why couldn’t he just get mad or storm off to leave you in the dust? Did he think that you hated him? That you were tired of him and that’s why you were doing this? You had to make him understand. You are the problem, not him. God, why was this idiot so nice?

“What? No!” You’re frantic with worry. Maybe you were being too egotistical to think that your confession had hurt his self-image, but you were willing to take the risk. “You’re great, Seokjin. You’re sweet and thoughtful and funny- well, actually your humor could use some work -and perfect. You’re a great friend. It’s me who’s disappointing. You’ve never disappointed me, not once.”

If you could just tear your eyes from the sidewalk, you’d see that Seokjin was grinning from ear to ear, over-the-moon ecstatic your compliments. Neither of you has ever been great with words, so you hope your pep talk was enough and that his silence is a good sign. 

The skies have begun shifting away from bright and sunny to grey and cloudy. The air is thick and heavy, like it’s about to rain. Just your luck. You should have checked the weather channel this morning. 

“We have caffeinated drinks other than coffee on the menu, you know.” 

Really? You’d just confessed your most embarrassing secret and that’s all he had to say? You stumble over your words, not sure whether to be flustered (because you definitely didn’t know that) or frustrated at his unwavering good nature. 

“Oh.” You grow sheepish and pretend to find the dirt under your fingernails interesting. “I guess I had a hard time focusing back then.” Those days had long faded away. You didn’t crumble under his gaze anymore or struggle to form coherent sentences around him. He’d long lost his mystery. 

Then, Seokjin laughs. He laughs and he chuckles and giggles and you cringe. You want to crawl into a hole and never come back out. When other times you could find humor in the rambunctious sounds spilling from his lips, now it only felt jarring, like a smack in the face. He was laughing at you, at how much of a hopeless idiot you are. You suppose that was better than him feeling betrayed and never wanting to see you again. Though he hasn’t exactly ruled out the latter. 

This is what you wanted, this is what you wanted. 

You say nothing, consumed by your own bitterness, as Seokjin calms down. 

“You’re pretty stupid, Y/N.” Your face falls. 

You knew that. He didn’t have to tell you. 

You were stupid to keep showing up at the coffee shop like a lovestruck teenager. You were stupid to believe Seokjin was your friend or that he might have even enjoyed your presence. He was just too goddamn nice and you were too goddamn stupid.

As the two of you get within a few blocks of the cafe, Seokjin’s hand brushes against yours. 

“Oh, sorry.” You’re quick to yank it away, almost burned by his touch, but to your surprise, Seokjin chases after it, fastening his palm against yours and intertwining your fingers. 

What was he doing?

“What are you doing?” For the first time since you started your rambling, you look at Seokjin, gape at him. But the timing is poor and now he’s staring straight ahead, not giving you a passing glance. 

“Do you really think I would have given you free drinks and sat next to you in class and talked to you every day if I didn’t at least like you a little bit?” You’re rendered speechless, eyes bugging out of your head.  

“I- um...”

“For being an accounting major, you really are the densest person I know.” His tone is light despite his blatant insults. “Don’t you realize I had a little crush on you, too? I was so excited when I realized we were going to share a class, but you never gave me the time of day.”

Your mouth opens and closes but no words leave it, not unlike a fish. 

“I've nearly asked you out at least three times now, but I kept chickening out.” 

The entire world feels like it’s flipped upside down. It’s like gravity’s stopped working and your head is spinning and you’re dizzy and your heart as burst and Seokjin’s hand enveloping yours is the only thing keeping you from floating away into the sky. 

The revelation smacks you in the face. 

Seokjin’s a liar. Not as genuine as you’d thought, after all. 

While you spent a semester pretending you liked coffee when really you just thought Seokjin was hot, he’d spent the next pretending he was only interested in your friendship when he’d been harboring a crush on you. 

You struggle to contain the small smile on your face. Seokjin’s hand gently squeezes yours and lightning shoots up your skin and spine. 

Seokjin’s eyes finally meet yours as the two of you stare sheepishly at each other. His gaze flickers to your lips a few times and you openly ogle at his, but he doesn’t lean in. He simply lifts your entwined hands and smiles, a short breath leaving his nostrils in place of a chuckle. It’s content and peaceful. There’s no need for love declarations or romantic kisses. You think you could be happy here forever knowing Seokjin wants you by his side. 

The moment ends when a raindrop hits your nose, startling the hell out of you. 

While you’re disoriented, Seokjin laughs and tugs you into the shop, now only a few steps away. The place is rather busy for it being lunchtime, but Seokjin weaves the two of you through the throng, stopping by the staff door. 

He looks at you with slight mischief. 

“You know, since it’s raining, you should probably just stay in here. Don’t wanna catch a cold.” You want to scoff, tell him that’s ridiculous and that your dorm is only a few minutes away. But you swallow your retort and let him have his moment. 

“Good idea,” you agree solemnly with a nod. 

“Actually, you should probably just stay until I’m off my shift. You never know when the rain might pick up again.” This time, you can’t help but quirk a brow. 

“Because you’re planning to protect me from the rain? You don’t have a jacket either.” Seokjin gives an offended look, like you’d just insulted his pride. 

“No, it’s so we can get sick together. It’d be romantic.” You scrunch your nose. Having fevers and runny noses and gross coughs together? Doesn’t seem like an ideal first date. 

“Sounds romantic.”

“I’m glad you agree.” 

You’re staring at each other again, in your own little bubble, until a customer brushes against your shoulder and you’re reminded that Seokjin is technically on payroll right now. He has a similar realization and reluctantly releases your hand, blowing a kiss over his shoulder as he steps through the staff door. You roll your eyes, feigning embarrassment, but on the inside, you’re melting. 

You plop down in your self-assigned seat in the most well-ventilated part of the cafe that also has a very convenient view of your favorite barista. The semester’s over and you have no work to do, but you don’t mind, content to watch Seokjin work while mindlessly giggling when he shoots you winks in between orders. 

You don’t fantasize or wonder where this might go. You don’t think your imagination could come up with anything better than what’s in front of you. 

You do predict, however, that you’ll be spending many more hours cooped up in this little cafe. 

Old habits die hard, you suppose. 

[jamespotterthefirst]

Don’t Let Me Down

Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Lilac Allende) Word count: 1,500 Warning: Two curse words Author’s Note: That premium scene from Book 1, Chapter 1 where MC helps Ethan pick something from the vending machine but from his POV 

___________

Not for the first time that day, his patience stretches out dangerously thin as he inspects the options of the vending machine. What a day it was turning out to be and he was only half way through his shift. It was not uncommon for new interns to grate on his nerves; after all, everyone at Edenbrook carefully threaded around him on the first week of new recruits. However, there was something about this group that pushed him even further over the edge. Either they were particularly boisterous, or Ethan was just getting old. 

Fleetingly, he thinks of the thoracotomy intern from that morning. His mind particularly recalls the unabashed and almost taunting smirk that illuminated her face after he criticized her technique, leaving him momentarily puzzled. Anyone else would have wilted under his wrath, he had seen it hundreds of times before. With a wicked glint in her eyes, she had had the nerve to flirt with him. 

God help him if that was what he would have to put up with all year. 

“Um. Hi, Dr. Ramsey,” a small voice says from behind him. 

Distracted, he briefly glances at the speaker, only to freeze immediately after.

 It was the intern from that morning, standing there as though he had summoned her with thought alone, her cheeks flushed, a book clutched to her chest, and a look of pure determination set on her face. 

“... Rookie.” 

The feeble acknowledgement is all the greeting he offers her as he returns his attention to the vending selections. 

“I was hoping you might sign my book,” she says when it becomes clear he is done speaking. 

That surprises him, though years of experience with schooling his expression into an indifferent one help him conceal this. “Autographs? Don't you have other work to be doing? Or at least other attendings to irritate?” 

Ethan catches sight of her reflection on the glass of the machine. That smile is back, tilting one corner of her mouth into a peculiar smirk, a knowing one. 

“No, just you,” she quips. 

Ethan stares at her reflection, completely shocked at his urge to smile at that. 

“I should have guessed,” he returns dryly, pleased that his voice sounds as collected and indifferent as he prefers it. There is a small pause in which he sees her open her mouth as if to say something. She closes it just as quickly.  “Well, if you have something else to say, then say it.”

Dr. Allende hesitates briefly. Ethan can practically see the gears of her mind working, much like he observed that morning during the emergency. A small crease forms in between her brows as she collects her thoughts and he feels impatience and something else starting to swell his temper once more. He only begins to realize that the unknown emotion is eagerness, when she finally speaks. 

“I won't let you down again.” 

Whatever Ethan is expecting, it is not that. There is something about the young doctor before him that enables his innate need to be a pain in the ass because he returns, “You can see the future? If so, you'll make a remarkable physician.”

“I just meant—” 

He knows what she meant. The automatic response to a genuine promise to do better surprises even him. Ethan had always held a reputation of being brutally honest, if at times excessively harsh and sarcastic. Seconds after he says the words, however, even he admits the statement is just downright cruel. 

You unmeasured asshole, he thinks. 

He tries again. “You will let me down again, Rookie.” Vaguely, he notes that although he is very aware of her name, he prefers the nickname. “What's more, you'll let yourself down. Over and over.”

Tired of speaking to her through a reflection on a vending machine, he turns to face her. Standing this close, and with no suffocating patient between them, he is hit with how unquestionably pretty she is. Ethan tries to dismiss that thought at once, but the flush he had initially noticed is still present on her cheeks, redirecting his attention to the constellation of faint freckles dusting her nose. 

Dr. Allende, meanwhile,  is watching him with a sudden seriousness, lips slightly parted and head tilted to one side, perhaps struggling to determine if there is more bitter sarcasm coming her way. A myriad of silent thoughts flit across her face and once again he feels a keenness to know more. 

“But what matters,” he continues instead, “is that you get back on your feet each and every time, and push yourself to be better.”

She silently takes in the words, giving no indication of her thoughts. Infuriatingly, she changes the subject, choosing to tell him about her favorite snack. 

Frustrated, Ethan begins to dismiss this when she assertively informs him, “I know you’re not getting something for yourself.” Her eyes are on the vending machine. “You’re trying to pick something to cheer up Barbara in there, right?”

Startled, Ethan privately commends her observation.

“How’d you figure that?” he asks instead, genuinely curious. 

“Just paying attention.” The answer is delivered with one of her winsome smiles. “You know, I bet I could pick out just the thing.”

He stares at said smile a beat too long. 

“I doubt it. Barbara's even more stubborn than you.” Dr. Allende's eyebrows rise at this, evidently intrigued. Before they can dwell on any other observations he has made about her character, Ethan plows on. “She’s refused to take her pills for two days.” 

His curiosity is an entity of its own by now, palpably gnawing at him. “But be my guest. It’s a hopeless endeavor.”

As she moves closer to the machine, the challenge is clear on her face, embellishing that charming simper of hers. Ethan studies her closely, looking for any clues that might give him an insight to her mind. The only thing Dr. Allende betrays, however, as she studiously looks at the selections, is a small graze of her teeth against her lush bottom lip. 

Ethan almost misses her selection, the sound of a pack of gum hitting the tray bringing him back to himself. 

“What the hell is that?”

“You’ve never had Chuckles Gum? They write jokes in the wrapper.” An almost childish grin spreads across her face as she opens a stick of gum to show him. “See? This one’s even a doctor joke.”

But Ethan is not paying the wrapper any mind because at that precise moment, she glances at the joke before reading it out loud. Her teeth catch her lower lip again as she suppresses her amusement, the sight entirely too distracting. 

“‘What type of blood did the author have?’”

He doesn't even hear the joke. 

“Type-O,” she answers when Ethan doesn't respond. “Like a typo?”

Ethan clears his throat quietly. “Oh, I got it,” he lies. “It’s just not funny.”

This makes her laugh, doing nothing to help his efforts to be present in the conversation. “Tough crowd. Look, just give them to her, okay? Trust me.”

Grateful for an aversion, he takes the pack of gum into Barb's room. The older woman reads one of the jokes to herself, guffaws, and miraculously agrees to take her medication. By the time Ethan returns to the hallway, he is speechless. 

He only finds his voice to demand how she knew that would work. There was no denying the searing curiosity burning through his rationality. 

Dr. Allende winks so swiftly, he could have missed it. “A girl’s gotta have some secrets.”

This time, he fails to fight back a smile. “You’re really going to hold out on me?”

“I’m going for an air of mystery. Is it working?”

That damn smile again. 

“Mildly,” he lies. 

Dr. Allende's attention returns to the machine, which announces a fifty cent credit from his dollar. Without a single word, she makes a selection, retrieving a chocolate bar from the tray. 

“And who is that for?” he asks, unable to stop himself. 

Smoothly, she throws it at him. He easily catches it despite being completely agog. 

“You.”

For the first time in a long time, the surprise must be evident in his expression because she explains, “Saw you kept staring at it earlier. You know, it’s okay to treat yourself sometimes.”

Ethan allows the words to skin in, his fingers clasping the candy. Quietly, he wonders what he looks like to the staff passing by as he takes in that ever present, beguiling smile of hers. 

“...I’ll keep that in mind.”

Seemingly satisfied, she turns to leave. Before he can stop himself, he calls out, “Wait.” 

Dr. Allende turns, watching him curiously. 

Already feeling outrageously out of his comfort zone, Ethan nods toward the book she still holds against her chest. “Give it here.”

He knows what he will inscribe before she eagerly hands him the copy of his own book. With a flourish, he writes, “Don't let me down.”

“Now get back to work, Allende.”

She pauses. 

“You remembered my name?”

Fuck. He had gotten careless and let that slip.

“...Just paying attention,” he returns noncommittally, mirroring her words from earlier. 

Dr. Allende opens her mouth to respond, but before she can say anything, Ethan practically forces himself to walk away. When he is certain he has put enough distance between them, he turns back to watch her retreating form. Against his better judgment, he allows a smile. 

_____________

Catch up here.

____________

Author’s Note: Imagine how pissed Ramsey will be when he finds out she gave that to Landry.

Ah, writing this was an experience. Getting the dialogue was a journey. Maybe I’ll write the bar scene next. Let me know what you think. 

Anyway, this is one of my favorite scenes from book 1. Hope I did it some justice. 

_____________

Tags:  @openheart12​ | @ethandaddyramsey​ | @noboundariesplease​ | @silverlitskies​ | @infinitiestones | @flyawayboo​ | @paulfwesley​ | @hatescapsicum​ | @myusualnerdyself​ | @thatysn​ | @choicesyouplayandmore​ | @chasingrobbie​ | @trappedinfandoms​ | @togetherwearerapture​ | @nooruleman​ | @caseyvalentineramsey​ | @axwalker​ | @parkerattano​ | @i-bloody-love-drake-walker​ | @kaavyaethanramsey​ | @edith-eggs1​ | @choices-lurker​ | @jens-diamondchoices​ | @tefigranger​ | @ethanrcmsey​ | @coffeebeandragon​ | @senator-adrian-raines-wifey​ | @aestheticartwriting​ | @longneckramsey | @binny1985​ | @mvalentine​ | @sanchita012​ | @drethanramslay​ | @ramseysno1rookie​ | @takeharryandgo​​ | @aworldoffandoms​ | @desmaranj​ | @ josieplayschoices | @magicalshepherdtreeprofessor​ | @oofchoices | @ethxnrxmsey​ | @octobereighth​ | @colossalpainintheass​ | @kopenheart12​ | @lilyvalentine​ | @dulceghernandez |  @lion-ess24 | @emotionalswift2 | @the-soot-sprite |

[creativelyderangedme]

The Boy in the Blizzard

Happy @mlsecretsanta to @normalfanaccount!! I hope you’ve had an amazing holiday and an even better new year! You said you were a big Mari Stan, so I focused on Adrinette!  Fluff, Angst (VERY SMALL AMOUNT), Friendship/family bonding, Hurt/Comfort

Synopsis:  It’s the last school day before winter break in Paris, and the miracuclass are all excited for the holidays and the time they’ll spend with family! But when the weather takes a sudden turn for the worse and half of the city experiences a blackout due to a massive blizzard, everyone finds themselves set free to rush home, celebrating the early start to their vacation!

Well - almost everyone. Adrien ‘sunshine’ Agreste finds himself left out in the cold. 

But have no fear. A certain ‘Everyday Ladybug’ may just have the powers necessary to help them both brave the blizzard. And maybe, just maybe, work a little winter magic to bring them closer together than ever before.

"Class, settle down! I know you're all excited about the holiday break," Madame Bustier called for attention at the front of the room, a knowing smile on her lips even as she reprimanded the boisterous students under her tutelage, "but please keep it down while your peers finish their tests."

No one could blame Madame Bustier's students (or any student in the school for that matter) for being as rowdy as they were. Not even their teacher; despite a third of the Class still working diligently on the multi-paged literature test, scribbling their answers quickly so they could spend the rest of the period hanging out with their friends.

Even as the students quieted, the restlessness was still palpable through the room. Teenagers are itching for the day to end and winter break to begin! 

Of course, there was also something to be said about the energizing effect heavy snowflakes falling and whiting out the world just beyond the classroom windows had on a group of teens.

Every few minutes, a handful of eyes would peer up at the white-washed skies, a mixture of anxiousness and excitement for what the view could mean.

"I'm still shocked they didn't call for a snow day when the forecast changed for the worse this morning," Alya whispered for the third time since their second period began to her bestie and seatmate, and Marinette did little more than nod.

As a teenager longing for that extra day off, she agreed. As a superhero in a time of magical terrorists and emotionally driven villains? Well, she couldn't fault the Mayor and Ministry of Education for that one. When classes were so often disrupted or canceled due to Akuma attacks, the Ministry was hard-pressed to meet parents' concerns. Which meant snow days were probably a 'last resort only' sort of thing.

Understanding that didn't make it any less frustrating for a teen counting down the seconds until the holiday break.

Marinette had plans, after all. And several friends (and partner) related gifts to finish and wrap before delivering them in time for Christmas day. 

Of course, as she was wont to do, thinking of gifts brought her attention to the head of blonde hair in front of her—the boy of her dreams, leaning over slightly to whisper animatedly to his seatmate. A dreamy sigh would have escaped her had her attention not drifted to the carefully wrapped gift lovingly nestled and burning a hole in the backpack sitting on the floor at her side.

Given her luck (or lack thereof) when giving Adrien gifts in the past, the aspiring fashion designer had been fighting herself, gathering the courage to give him the present—and failing. Because, frankly, she was starting to wonder if she was cursed or something? How many other people could claim they'd had their handmade gifts stolen and causing the end of the world - what the hell? 

Barring anything cataclysmic and world-ending this time—what if he didn't like it? What if he took one look at it and laughed and called her a joke and told his father to ban her from the industry and-

"Marinette!"

The call hadn't been loud at all, but the sudden proximity of the voice to her ear, while she'd been distracted, made Marinette squeak loudly, drawing several giggles from her classmates and a raised brow from her teacher. 

Sheepishly, she muttered a soft apology before turning a pointed look on her best friend, who giggled softly behind her hand, "Sorry, Girl. You were so spaced out I couldn't help myself."

All the fight left her in one quick sigh, "No, it's fine. I should have been paying better attention."

"What had you thinking so hard over there?"

The reminder did little to settle her stomach or nerves. Both only worsened when she glanced up to indicate towards the boy who occupied most wayward thoughts and found he and Nino had turned around and was watching her, waiting for her answer. 

What escaped her mouth was less of a handful of words and explanations and more like a series of mimicked animal calls.

Awesome. 

If she didn't have the courage before, she definitely didn't now.

And they were looking back at her with strange looks and soft grins at her awkwardness, and she could feel her face flushing with each passing second and - dear god, could this get any humiliating?!

Marinette had just opened her mouth to explain herself when the room went dark, and everything went quiet with a dying hum. 

Well, as dark as it could get with the large windows allowing muted light in past the winter storm raging outside.

A rumble of whispers and panicked looks washed over the students as they waited for the school to come humming back to life, but nothing came. 

"Everyone settle down! I'm sure there's nothing to worry about! Please stay in your seats while I check in with the Principle." Madame Bustier announced as she wrapped her coat around herself and exited the room, sending a frigid breeze through the door before it closed behind her.

"Do you think it's an Akuma?"

God, she hoped not. Marinette shivered again, this time, not just because of the new coldness in the room. An Akuma meant going out and fighting in a suit less insulated than anyone gave it credit for in the middle of a storm. And being Ladybug meant she was more sensitive to the cold than she'd otherwise usually be.

"I don't think so," Adrien announced, having turned to the rest of the Class, but gaze focused on the device lit up in his hand. "There's a report that a big part of the city is experiencing rolling blackouts due to the storm. I think this is a disaster of the natural kind this time."

If she hadn't been sitting as close as she was, she would have missed the quiet "thankfully," he added under his breath as he moved to put his phone away.

The curiosity piqued by the mumbled comment vanished, though, as the buzz from his phone had him pausing before frowning down at whatever had popped up on the screen.

"Adrien?"

Emeralds darted up to meet her, and she had to swallow the rush of nerves to get her next words out with minimal stumbling, "I-is everything alright?"

He blinked momentarily before offering her a well-practiced smile, "Yeah! Everything's fine." His reassurance was quick. As was the apprehensive glance, he threw at the windows.

But the way he smoothed that nervousness over with a warm grin made her think he probably hadn't meant for her to see it. And as much as she wanted to press the issue, Marinette respected his desire to leave it be.

Cold air rushed into the room once more as the door opened and closed quickly behind a shivering Madame Bustier, patting herself off of the lingering snow that had stuck to her in her trek through the open-air commons area.

She had everyone's attention before she'd even opened her mouth to call them to order, "Alright, listen up, everyone! With the quickly turning weather, the school had already been in the process of contacting your parents to let them know that the school would be closing early, but with the Blackout, we have no choice but to send you all home as quickly as possible."

There was an excited murmur picking up as everyone began to chat with each other before Madame Bustier cleared her throat, "With that said, Happy Holidays, everyone! And I will see you all in two weeks! Please be safe getting home, and don't forget your projects due the first week back! I don't want to hear any excuses about late work."

And with that, the students clamored to gather their things and wrap themselves in their winter gear to head to the locker rooms to get any remaining materials they needed for the break. 

It wasn't long before Madame Bustier's Class was all saying their goodbyes at the front gates, promising meet-ups and fun times over the break.

"Nino and I are going to head back! We've got a blizzard date! I'll catch you later, Girl!" Alya waved enthusiastically as she grappled arms with her boyfriend and dragged him away into the storm.

Marinette chuckled at the couple's antics watching until they disappeared around the next block's corner.

An uptick in the wind made Marinette take in the weather and the heavy snowflakes falling fast into the streets. Visibility was worsening by the minute. The snow fell, making the sky hazy like a heavy fog and the day darker despite being early afternoon. The frigid wind swirled around her, making her wrap her coat tighter around her body.

She should be heading home soon before she and Tikki became bug-icicles.    

The class rep nodded to herself and glanced around, satisfied that all of her classmates were already mostly out of sight or on their way.

Good.

With one last glance around, Marinette was about to take a step out into the snow when she had to stop herself. She nearly slipped on the steps with how quickly she spun to what had caught her attention.

Surely she was mistaken. She could have sworn…

But no. Even when she blinked a couple of times, the scene before her was unchanged. 

Right there, just hidden off to the side of the school's entrance, bundled up but still looking oh so cold as he pressed himself back under the small respite the school's roof gave the door, was Adrien. 

His blonde hair was what had caught her eye. But it was the rather distressed frown he shot something in his hand before glancing between the quickly dwindling crowd of students and the streets rapidly piling with snow. 

How hadn't she noticed he hadn't left yet?

And why was he still here?

A glance of her own pretty much answered her question, though, as cars that had managed to approach the school were quickly finding themselves stuck and unable to move much without some help from someone with a shovel.

His driver took him everywhere. So if they hadn't already been on the way or close, there was a good chance his ride wasn't coming. 

So why was he still just standing there in the cold, she wondered.

Well, standing there speculating wasn't going to get her any answers. Marinette took a deep, steadying breath, straightening her back and glancing down to the reassuring pat and smile from Tikki before pushing herself forward to approach the blonde.

"Adrien?"

Bright emeralds snapped up to her. The way he gripped his satchel's strap and fidgeted made it seem like he was almost… embarrassed for having been found, "Oh, uh, Marinette, I thought you were headed home."

She tried offering him a soft smile, even as a wary thought that she hadn't noticed him because maybe he hadn't wanted to be seen occurred to her, "As Class rep, it's part of my job to make sure all my classmates make it out safe."

A delicate blonde brow furrowed at that, almost worriedly, "But doesn't that mean you might get caught in the blizzard?"

God - beautiful and empathetic? What a dream-boat. The man upstairs broke the mold when he made this one, she decided. Then had to quickly shake herself out of the dreamy reverie as Adrien waited for her to reply, "N-not really. I live right across from the school, after all."

He chuckled, but the mirth didn't quite meet his eyes, "Right. I almost forgot about that."

"What about you? Why are you still here?"

The fidgeting was back, "Oh, well… father wants me to wait for my bodyguard to arrive." His eyes skipped back to the device in his hand, his expression slipping back to a frustrated frown before a defeated sigh brought a tired gaze back to her. "I told him I could walk, especially when half the city is in a blackout. But he wouldn't hear it. Said there would be consequences for disobedience."

No, this was more than tired. This was the face of someone who'd fought many battles against authority and lost every single one. And it broke her heart - for about two seconds before his words really sunk in, and she was suddenly furious.

"But-but it's freezing out here!" This time, the stutter in her voice was more from the anger and less about her debilitating crush, and she punctuated her words with a wild gesture to the building snow. "And the school is going to shut down soon. Who does that to their son?"

He gave her a small smile at her outburst, after recovering from the shock - it wasn't often she would be so outspoken around him. But it was enough to get the tension to leave his shoulders, "Father's always a little uptight around the holidays. And he just wants to keep me safe. I get it. I really do. I just wish he'd… I don't know… listen to me every once in a while, I guess. Is that stupid?"

"Of course, it's not stupid, Adrien. everyone deserves to be heard."

This time when he smiles, it's warmer, more genuine, "Thanks, Mari."

But that didn't solve his problem. Adrien was still stuck waiting in a blizzard for a ride that was likely not coming. 

And as the class rep (and definitely nothing to do with her crush on the guy), it was her sworn duty to make sure he was safe too. It takes one quick glance over her shoulder towards home and one back over Adrien (who is shivering but trying to hide it, the poor boy) for Marinette to make up her mind.

And grab his hand, pulling him out into the snow and down the school steps with her.

"Wait! Mari, where are we going?"

She just barely peeks at him behind her, trying to focus on not losing her footing and sending them sprawling into the snow, "To the bakery! It's nice and warm at my house, and my parents are sure to have plenty of pastries they didn't sell today! They'll need help eating them all!"

From where she's peeking at him, she sees Adrien's eyes light up, and even as he peers back at the school, she can tell his resolve is wavering. Even still, there's hesitation in his voice, "But what about my father?"

She shrugs even as a fresh wave of panic sets in. But she can't let her idol scare her away from taking care of the lo- one of her very good friends. "If he wants to blame someone, he can blame me. But I wouldn't be doing my job as class rep if I just left you here in the snow, now would I?"

He chuckled, still looking unsure, but following anyways, dragging less behind her as her reasoning set in, "I guess you're right. And I would hate to get you in trouble."

"Exactly! So off to the bakery we go!" Marinette crowed triumphantly, pumping a fist into the air, earning yet another amused chuckle from the blonde behind her.

The walk to the bakery isn't long, but it feels like it takes much longer as they navigated the slippery roads, piles of snow, and harsh winds. What would typically take no more than five minutes takes them at least fifteen before finding themselves in front of the darkened storefront doors.

"Guess the bakery was hit by the blackout, too," Adrien observed as Marinette pulled the doors open with some effort, opening them enough to allow Adrien to slip in before closing them behind them.

Darkened as it was, it was still light enough from the windows to allow them to see the empty seating area and two figures bustling just beyond the counter and register.

It wasn't even two seconds before both figures glanced up to give them happy smiles as the two teens shook off the snow from their clothes. "Hello, you two!" The calm and melodious voice of Marinette's mother rang out.

"Maman, Papa! You remember Adrien, right?"

Her mother's warmth radiated from where she stood, melting the bitter cold from the outside just with the sweet smile she gave the young man at her side. "But of course! Hello, again, Adrien. How are you?"

He smiled back, politely, "I'm good. Thank you, Madame Dupain-Cheng."

"Adrien's ride isn't here yet, and with the way the snow keeps piling up, it likely won't be for some time. Could he -"

The hulking figure of her father came to wrap an arm around her mother as he spoke, "Stay and help us eat all these pastries while the snow blows through? Of course, he can! You two take your school things upstairs, and we'll eat something tasty!"

Adrien's face lit up like a Christmas tree as he turned to Marinette - like he needed her permission too. Despite having been dragged here. Despite her less-than-necessary pleading with her parents. It warmed her from the top of her head right down to her toes to see him so happy to be accepted and wanted. 

But it also made her so very sad. 

What must life be like for him to be so genuinely thrilled by the idea of an offered snack shared with a friend? A place to hide from a raging storm? What kind of loneliness must he experience if this was considered out of the norm?

It was then that Marinette decided that for as long as he was there, no matter how she felt about him or how he felt about her, she would make sure that he knew how much he was cherished and wanted. 

Time seemed to fly by as they rushed up to deposit their bags in Marinette’s room, before racing down to the living room where her parents had set up plates with food stacked high. Together, they ate pastries and drank hot chocolate warmed by a propane burner her mother brought out for occasions such as this. All are sitting in the living room of the Dupain-Chengs, keeping each other warm just with the company they're keeping, and while they did, watching people bustle in the storm outside.

There were a couple of families out with kids playing in the snow. Building snowmen that would be buried before the hour was out.

It was fun getting to watch them play.

Marinette peers up at Adrien, and her smile falters as she sees the longing look in his eye as he watches on, a forgotten half-eaten pastry in his hand. 

"What is it?"

Adrien's cheeks warmed a bit at having been caught staring, his gaze fixating on the pastry and steaming cup clutched in his other hand, "It's nothing. I just… I hadn't played in the snow since mom- well when I was much younger."

Just how much childhood was the boy robbed of? 

This wouldn't do at all. No siree. Not if she could help it.

"Would you want to?" Marinette asked unassumingly, like she asked if he'd pass the sugar, making the blonde glance up at her confused.

"Want to what?"

A playful grin broke out over her lips as she brought her own cup up to take a sip, "Play in the snow!" She takes a healthy bite of croissant, pointing it at him, "You can't not go out and play in the snow when a blizzard comes to Paris!"

"Would you really?"

He looks so excited; she has to fight a giggle. "We shouldn't right now since the power is still out. But once it's back, we could. But only if you want to."

"Mari, that would be-"

"Adrien, dear? Is this your phone?"

The festive atmosphere seems to come to a screeching halt. The blonde's face drains as he glances up and sees the device in the woman's hand. The caller ID is lit up with an incoming call, and even from here, Marinette can read the name. Uh-oh.

Adrien climbs to his feet, making his way over. He answers the phone, and everyone in the room can tell. His father is enraged. His voice is booming through the receiver, and the blonde can only open his mouth, sputtering where he can to get a word in edgewise.

"Father, listen, please-!"

"Of course not. I'm with a friend and left my phone on the-." 

"Marinette. I'm with her and her family at their ba-"

Desperation and frustration are filling the boy's features quickly as he's interrupted at every turn.

"Father, please! It's too dangerous and-"

Suddenly Marinette's mother takes the phone and gives Adrien a soft smile before speaking into the receiver. "Hello? Monsieur Agreste? Yes, this is Marinette's mother, Sabine Dupain-Cheng. I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation, but it was our idea to have Adrien join us. Surely you've seen the weather? We couldn't just let the poor boy stand out in a storm waiting for a ride that wasn't coming."

While they could not hear the words, it was clear Gabriel Agreste was angry as his harsh tone came through the phone.

But it wasn't long before Sabine cut him off, ice in her words, colder than the storm raging outside.

"M. Agreste." She spoke calmly, but in that way that demanded the room's attention. "Are you telling me you'd rather your son brave, what is possibly the worst blizzard Paris has seen in decades, risking not only his health and safety but also the health and safety of those who would attempt to retrieve him? Rather than trust his care to my family? Surely you wouldn't suggest something so absurdly asinine."

The line goes silent.

The room is silent too. 

Would someone dare suggest something like that? By the look on her mother's face, she hoped not.

"That's what I thought. Now, since the storm isn't set to pass until sometime late into the night, it might be best that Adrien stays with us. I promise he will be well taken care of, and once we deem it safe, he will be returned home. Is that agreeable for you?"

While it's phrased as a question, there is very little room for argument in how she presents the option. 

There must have been an answer on the other end because Sabine is nothing but warm smiles once more as she says, "Wonderful. I'll put Adrien back on." and hands the device back to the blonde, who stares on like he's just witnessed a supernova.

"Hello?"

There is the briefest of pauses before Gabriel relays something and then hangs up.

"H-He said I could stay." Adrien whispers in disbelief before he turns starstruck eyes on her mother, "how did you do that?"

The woman chuckles, but the sound seems suspiciously darker than usual to her husband and daughter, "it's a skill all mothers know dear. Never mess with a mama bear." 

Before he can ask her to elaborate, she changes the subject back to the two teens finishing their snacks, "Since the power is still out, it would be best if you both went and gathered up some warm blankets from upstairs and brought them down. We'll find ways to occupy ourselves, hmm?"

Having just witnessed the consequences of a mother scorned, both teens merely nod before Marinette leads the blonde up to her room, passing him her coziest blankets and pillows. She gathers up a warm sweater for herself before turning to Adrien. He looks so awash with emotion. It's bubbling just under the surface, and she knows he's just barely holding on. 

If memory served, this was probably the first 'sleepover' he'd ever had.

On the other hand, he's clutching all the blankets she gave him, and he's practically nestling into them. Like a cat pawing and kneading and rubbing themselves over a spot they intend to sleep, Adrien has effectively buried himself in the pile of blankets where he stands, and she can't help but giggle.

He looks so soft and warm and cozy in the things she has to physically stop herself from joining him. 

"What?"

"Sorry, it's just, you look so happy like that. And warm." A blush began to break out over her cheeks, and she couldn't quite meet his eyes anymore. Choosing instead to look down at the sweater in her arms. 

Which had her gaze shifting towards the abandoned backpacks on the floor where they'd left them earlier, and the carefully wrapped gift just barely peeking out of hers.

Was it wrong to take advantage of the situation? Was it okay for her to be giving him a gift in these circumstances? What if he hated it so much he decided to leave and he got stuck in the blizzard and froze to-

"Marinette?" Adrien's soft call pulled her out of her spiral as she looked up into his concerned gaze, "Are you alright? You looked really pale all of a sudden. Do you need help going back downstairs? Is there something I can do?"

He looked a little panicky himself, and the sight made her heart sing.

He was worried. About her. He wasn't the type to be insensitive with someone - not the way she feared. And the revelation was enough to set her resolve. 

She shook her head softly, smiling as she went to the bag and took great care pulling the gift out to cradle it to her chest before coming back to stand in front of the blonde, holding it out to him without another word.

Emeralds bounced between her face and the neatly wrapped box in her hands before he set the blankets on the nearby chaise lounge, "I-Is this for-for me?" his tone was a little breathy, a little awestruck.

Not trusting her words, Marinette nodded quickly, placing the box in his hands.

"Can… is it okay if I open it?"

This time the Girl giggled, nodding again before she lost her nerve.

He took great care in opening the gift wrapping, unfolding it almost reverently, before finally pulling open the lid to find a cream knit pattern inside. Pulling the garment from the box, Adrien held up a thick knitted sweater - chunky yarn woven expertly into one of the softest pieces she'd ever made. She'd been so proud of it. 

And the boy holding it looked like he was nearly in tears. "D-did you make this?" He asked softly, running his fingers over the pattern.

"Do you… like it?"

"I love it. It's the best gift anyone's ever given me." He whispered, watery eyes finding hers. Lips trembling despite the softest smile she'd ever seen. "It's so warm and soft."

Before she knew what was happening, he'd engulfed her in a hug so tight she couldn't breathe, but not once did she complain.

"Thank you so much." He whispered into her hair, and if she felt the tell-tale wetness of a few shed tears, she kept it to herself as she wrapped her arms around the boy who had wrapped himself securely around her heart, "Thank you for everything." 

That day, as she watched him put the sweater on over his lighter shirt, wearing it with pride to show her parents (and then the day they went back after the break, telling anyone who would listen that it was his gift from the most talented Girl in all of Paris), she swore to herself and the blonde that he would never be left out in the cold again. Every year, she'd make him something else that would be 'the best gift someone had ever given him'. 

He'd always find warmth. Even if they were buried in the snow, she would be there to make sure he'd always be able to brave the blizzard.