#Sorry if any time line stuff were spelling mistake is a mess

[connectionterminated13]

Can I ask a bit about your Mrs Emily and Mrs Afton? Are they friends and what happens with them in general

I'm assuming you're talking about William's wife Clarice she's Evan and Elizabeth's mother. Michael has a different mother named Tina and trust me she's important.

I'll start with Mrs. Emily who I've named Emily (because I thought it was funny (Very silly sense of humor)) This is going to be very long

Emily was born to a mormon family in hurricane Utah. The plan was for when Emily turned 20 to take over the diner owned by her parents but when at 19 she met The crystal loving palm reading Tina the plans changed... Emily hopped in Tina's old camper van, to her parents complete and utter dismay. It was the late 60s early 70s the 2 of them were very free love and peace types. but Emily still retained mormon sensibilities And never took it as far as Tina who seemed to come back home with a new man every single night, But she did love the idea of being free and choosing what she'd do with her life she had so many ideas of where she wanted to go. Her biggest dream was to 1 day the an actress with Tina

Unlucky for both of them Tina got invited to a local college party and Emily tagged along. They're Emily met Henry and they immediately hit it off scheduling a date for next week. Tina also met William and made the grave mistake of going home with him.

Emily and Tina kind of drifted apart after that since Emily was so smitten with Henry. She loved listening to him ramble on about robots and his plans for the diner. Emily also grew to like William the man was kind and gentlemanly. So Emily ditch her dreams of being an actress to help Henry's dream of opening the family diner, ditching Tina in the process.

Only about 4 months into knowing each other Henry proposed. Emily said yes. All of those infinite possibilities that she had felt when traveling with Tina seemed to all lead to Henry, he was going to be the most wonderful experience of her life she just knew it!

Their wedding was quick and small and that night they shared a bed. and a couple months later they had 2 beautiful twins. (Tina also had a child that she had named Michael and promptly dumped on William before riding away on another man's motorcycle)

For a long time everything was great Emily was able to get the diner from her parents by asking very politely and promising that she'd never ever wear the flower crown again. As the business grew. So did Charlie and Sammy her children, The 2 of them were wonderful Emily loved being a mother and loved helping out at the restaurant (she was the cook!) Yes a part of her wish she was still on the road with Tina experiencing the world but small town hurricane with her loving husband seemed fine right? But she didn't always like how much time Henry would spend with William and on his machines. but it wasn't a big deal since he had given her 2 beautiful children

Then Charlie died... It broke Emily's heart. She sobbed for days refusing to even come out of her room for the funeral. Her little girl was gone... She blamed Henry for it, it was his machine found wrapped around her stained with her blood. If he hadn't been galvanting around with that stupid British man or working on one of his stupid robots maybe he could have saved her. Emily felt like garbage why had she settled down with this man who had given her 2 wonderful children just to take one away through carelessness.

In 1982 Henry's depression and general uselessness got too much for Emily so she took Sammy and got a divorce. After that she left hurricane with Sammy. Emily felt like she had wasted her life in that stupid diner stupid kitchen. Basically Emily was not in a good mental state to take care of anyone let alone herself

She did eventually start going to therapy in 1984. Where she met a woman named Joyce, Joyce brought the light back into Emily's life she started taking better care of Sammy and the house and be a more productive. Joyce made her feel like there was something after Henry and Charlie. Like she still had life left to live

She does eventually "remarry" in 1988 To a Joyce. Sammy hated this but tolerated Joyce the best he could. Emily and Joyce remained happily together for basically the rest of their lives. Not going back to hurricane once. The few times they would talk over the phone usually about Sammy it would be bad. Henry had completely fallen apart and Emily knew that It wasn't her responsibility to put him back together. She still loved him just as much as she loved Joyce and a part of Emily wished she could be with Henry but he was too far gone at that point...

She died happily in 2023 from old age having lived a good life with Joyce.

Now I guess it's time for Mrs. Afton or Clarice

Clarice was originally born in Brazil but because her father was quite wealthy she was moved to the United States when her health issue started appearing. Ever since she was little Clarice has almost always had some kind of sickness.

She spent most of her childhood in and out of the hospital but started getting better the older she got. She also took up ballet and it turned out she was incredibly good at it, Though it was hard to get work at first being a Non-american but soon her talent would speak for itself. She do ballet tours and dance in Plays and shows. but her sickness came back with a force at around 27

Clarice was hospitalized and put in the room next to William who was recovering from his Spring lock failure in one of this Spring lock suit prototypes. Clarice and William would spend hours talking since there was nothing else to do and quickly fell in love. (This would be around 1972).

Once William was mostly healed and Clarice felt better the 2 started going on dates. Really the only problem with William was his son Michael. He was a constant reminder that William had loved other women Despite how much he told her that she was his favorite and the only one he really loved that was impossible to believe with Michael around. So most of the time she just pretended he didn't exist

Not even a year later Clarice had their first child Elizabeth. And then the next year their second Evan. Clarice loved her children with all of her heart officially giving up dancing and becoming a good mom, to everyone but Michael who she still tried to ignore. Which caused him to lash out since no one seemed to care about him..

It only took a little bit on Williams insistence for Clarice to agree to marry him. Their wedding was large and beautiful.

Despite her attempts to be a good mother Clarice would often cave to Williams demands even if they would inconvenience or scare The kids. She just loved him so much how could she say no? It went like that for a while with being the perfect mother in the perfect family Until charlie's death when it started to fall apart slightly...

After charlie's death was when Michael began to bully Evan more and Evan started to show the first signs of mental illness (He got his dad's crazy) Clarious didn't know what to do but William just said to let the boys be boys.

And then the bite of 83 happened... Clarice was a wreck she could barely get out of bed. All of the sickness from her youth came back even worse than last time brought on by the stress (Definitely just stress) After a year of battling the illness she was close to death in 1984.

On the day that she was supposed to die according to the doctors William went into her room and carried her down to the basement where the half-built ballora sat. She was too weak to fight against the ax that came down on her and chopped her up. William was hoping she would possess ballora but she didn't.

Clarissa's spirit or more her agony stayed, It followed William around. She still loves him after everything staying with him even after he met his final fate

This was really long but thank you for listening! By the way they weren't really friends but they did interact with each other a bit!

[alinawritess]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 ❀

❀ pairing. Vinnie Hacker x fem!reader x Matt Sturniolo

❀ synopsis. Four years ago, Vinnie and you, were once deeply in love, but had to part ways as both your skyrocketing careers in Hollywood and LA strained your long-distance relationship. The breakup was heartbreaking, leaving Vinnie with unresolved feelings. Now, at a glamorous Hollywood party, he unexpectedly encounters you, his former flame, who is now with the charismatic YouTube star Matt Sturniolo. As old emotions resurface, their polite yet charged interaction hints at unresolved tension and nostalgia.

❀ word count. 3.2k

❀ warning(s). Heartbreak┆︎ Emotional Distress ┆︎ Long-Distance Relationship Challenges ┆︎ Regret┆︎ Unresolved Feelings ┆︎ Nostalgia┆︎ Emotional Vulnerability┆︎ No Use of Y/N.

❀ authors note. Was I high writing this? very much so! (who knew what 4 Advil pills can do to a girl) ┆︎ If there are any spelling mistakes- blame Grammarly, girly was supposed to fix them!

Four Years Ago

Vinnie and you had been together for two wonderful years, just starting out in the influencer industry. Nobody really knew you two were dating; it was something private, a decision both of you had made. People and fans knew you were both seeing someone, but they just didn't know who. Your relationship felt like a perfect fit, filled with love and understanding.

Today, as you come through the apartment doors, exhaustion is written all over your face after a long day of practicing your lines for your upcoming movie. The filming is in Hollywood, and you haven't figured out how to tell your beloved partner that maybe you should take a break while you're filming. After all, he had his days where he seemed busy too. To say that your relationship was perfect would be a lie; recently, both of you had been busy with your hectic schedules, barely having time for one another.

As you walk through the door of your shared apartment, Vinnie looks up upon hearing it open.

"Hi, love," he greets you with a smile.

"Hi, Mr. Hacker," you say, playfully using a new nickname.

Vinnie chuckles. "That's a new nickname. Not really your style to be calling me by nicknames," he adds.

He walks up to you and gently wraps his arms around your sides, but you pull back slightly. "Do you hate it?" you tease lightly.

"I never said that," he says, planting a kiss on your forehead. "So, what's on your mind today, my love?" he asks, seeing your hands fidget and sensing your distracted thoughts. He truly knew how to read you like an open book, understanding your every emotion.

"We need to talk," you say, slipping from his embrace. Vinnie's teasing expression fades into worry and concern.

"A talk? Is something wrong, love?" he asks.

"I feel like we're not on the same page in life as we used to be," you say, your voice tinged with concern.

Vinnie's expression becomes gentler. He lifts his hand to gently caress your face. "Oh, love... What makes you think that?"

"You've been pretty distant with band things and photoshoots," you explain, "and I guess we only see each other once or twice a week. None of us have even brought it up; it's like we don't care that our schedules mess our relationship up and we don't even try to fix it or talk about it. Every time we do see each other, we just act like we're some perfect couple, like nothing's tearing us apart beneath the surface."

Vinnie takes a deep breath and nods, understanding what you mean. "You're right... I've been distracted with band stuff and photoshoots. I never meant to make you feel like I was neglecting you. I'm so sorry," he apologizes sincerely, his voice quiet and gentle.

"It's fine," you reassure him. "I'm not saying stop chasing your dreams. Go for it. But what if we took a break?"

"A break? You mean from the relationship?" Vinnie's voice is barely a whisper, his expression one of heartbreak.

"Yeah..." you hesitate. "You know, maybe try things, chase our dreams."

Vinnie stands frozen, his wide eyes looking at you with disbelief. He clearly wasn't prepared for this conversation.

"You... want us to break up?" he asks, his voice cracking.

"Kinda," you admit. "Maybe you'll finally be the model or singer you want to be. Maybe your band will finally hit the top 100 charts, maybe even number one. And maybe, just maybe, I can be on TV."

Vinnie's expression falls even more, and his eyes plead with you. "But what about us? What about what we have? We're good together, aren't we?"

"We are, but the truth is we've been so distant from each other. We barely have enough time for this relationship," you explain. "I'm going to be in Hollywood for a while for my upcoming movie, and you're going to be in LA. Is it truly going to work?"

Vinnie's jaw clenches tightly in disappointment, tears welling up in his eyes. "But... I love you," he whispers quietly, almost like he wanted you to hear him but not at all at the same time.

"I thought... you loved me like I loved you," he continues, and now tears roll down his face. "But I guess I was wrong... I'm sorry I wasn't enough for you..."

"Vinnie, it's not like that, you know it," you say softly, trying to comfort him.

"I really don't," he chokes out, shaking his head. "How can you just throw away everything we had? What's wrong with me that you don't love me anymore?" He lifts his palms to his face and scrubs away his tears, though they keep spilling out in endless waterfalls.

"I never said I don't love you," you clarify, "I just don't think I can do long distance."

"So... this means I'll never get to hold you again? Or touch you? Or kiss you? Or hear your laughter and jokes that make my day?" Vinnie's voice cracks as he struggles to hold back his tears.

"I don't know, Vinnie," you admit, tears welling up in your own eyes, "I don't know what the future holds. I know because of this movie role, I'm going to be away for a long time."

Vinnie nods slowly, his eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and acceptance. "Yeah... long distance is tough. I'm just scared of what happens if you... you know... find someone new while you're away?"

"If I come back and we both have the same feelings for one another, maybe we could be... maybe," you suggest tentatively.

He nods ever so slightly again. "I guess this is it then," he whispers, his voice cracking as he struggles to speak. "But... can we at least have one final kiss? To cherish this moment and keep it forever?"

"How about a hug? A kiss would feel too intimate, don't you think?" you suggest.

"Yeah... a hug," he chokes out. Vinnie steps forward and wraps his arms around you in a firm embrace. He buries his face in your hair, his whole body trembling as he fights away tears.

"I'm sorry," you say softly, tears streaming down your face.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry I wasn't what you needed," he whispers, his voice cracking once more. "I loved you so much, and I promise I always will. I hope you find everything you're looking for."

"I hope you do too," you whisper back.

He holds you tightly for a few more moments, the embrace feeling like a bittersweet mixture of love and pain.

Eventually, he releases you, his expression a mix of sadness and acceptance. "Goodbye, my love..."

"Bye, Vin," you say softly.

Vinnie slowly walks towards the door and opens it, pausing for a moment to look back at you one final time. His tear-filled eyes meet yours for a few seconds before he steps out the door, disappearing into the unknown.

Present Day

Four years had passed since you and Vinnie had gone your separate ways, but the memories of your time together still lingered like ghosts from the past. You found yourself at a lavish Hollywood party, surrounded by the elite and celebrities, trying to navigate through the crowd with Matt Sturniolo, your new boyfriend. Matt was introducing you to various people, his hand possessively on your back as you made your way through the crowd.

Amidst the glamorous chaos, you spotted a familiar face—the one you thought you'd never see again. Vinnie stood out among the Hollywood elite, his charismatic presence and undeniable good looks drawing attention wherever he went. He was surrounded by people, laughing at his jokes and eagerly listening to his stories. It was clear he was thriving in the industry.

As if sensing your gaze, Vinnie glanced up and briefly met your eyes. For a moment, time seemed to freeze as memories flooded your mind. But all too quickly, he tore his gaze away and continued chatting with his entourage, as if nothing had happened.

Matt brought you in front of Vinnie, and you had to muster all your strength to act as if this was your first time meeting. Your eyes locked onto Vinnie's, and you could see a flicker of recognition in his gaze, but he played along.

"Hey, nice to meet you," he said smoothly, offering a polite smile and extending his hand for a handshake.

You politely declined Vinnie's handshake, keeping your hand firmly clasped with Matt's as he introduced you as his girlfriend. Vinnie glanced at your intertwined hands, a subtle flicker of disappointment crossing his face before he quickly masked it with a neutral expression.

"Ah, got yourself a nice catch, Matt," Vinnie joked, his voice casual but his eyes betraying a hint of envy. He gave Matt's hand a firm shake before turning his attention to you. "Congratulations to you both."

As the conversation continued, Vinnie tried his best to maintain his composure, engaging in small talk with you both. But beneath the surface, he couldn't help but feel a pang of longing and regret. He had lost you, and now, seeing you happy with someone else hurt more than he had anticipated.

Matt turned to Vinnie and asked, "So, have you found yourself a special someone yet, Vinnie?"

Vinnie chuckled, his eyes twinkling with a hint of humor. "Oh, you know me, Matt, always the bachelor. Haven't found the right person to settle down with yet."

"Ever did?" Matt asked.

"Well, there was one person," Vinnie admitted, his voice quieter, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. "We had something special, but life took us down different paths. Sometimes, I wonder if what we had could've been something more."

"What happened?" Matt asked, as you looked away, clenching your hand tighter around Matt's.

"We both had dreams and aspirations," Vinnie explained, his expression tinged with a hint of sadness. "I was focused on my music career, and she wanted to pursue her dreams in Hollywood. We tried to make it work, but the distance and our conflicting schedules made it challenging. In the end, we had to make a choice to follow our own paths."

"So, did you find what you were searching for, and did you ever see her again?" Matt asked.

"After her, I've had a few relationships here and there, but none quite like ours," Vinnie mused. "As for her, our paths have crossed at a few parties or events over the years, but we've kept our distance. Maybe one day, fate will bring us back together."

"It was nice chatting with you both," Vinnie said, his tone laced with a hint of sorrow mixed with acceptance. "Enjoy the party."

Matt nodded in agreement, expressing his parting greetings as well, and gently led you away to find a quieter spot for that much-needed breather. As you walked away, Vinnie found himself lost in his thoughts, unable to shake off the bittersweet memories of what once was. He took a deep breath and pushed the past aside, plastering a smile on his face as he turned back to the party, trying to revel in the present instead.

The rest of the evening passed by in a blur for Vinnie, his mind preoccupied with the unexpected encounter. Seeing you with another man had stirred up a myriad of emotions within him, forcing him to confront the lingering feelings he still harbored deep down. He tried to engage in conversations and interactions, but his thoughts kept drifting back to you, the one who once loved him. As the party drew to a close, Vinnie felt a sense of relief mixed with a bittersweet tinge. He knew that seeing you tonight had only served to reopen old wounds. As he made his way out of the venue, he couldn't help but wonder if fate would ever bring the two of you together again.

Sitting on the steps in your black dress, you wondered what was taking Matt so long. He had told you to meet him outside, but he still hadn't appeared. You contemplated whether you should go back into the party and search for him, even though everyone appeared happy in front of you, things were going wrong inside their relationship. As you looked up from the steps, there he was, looking down at you—an old love.

"Hey," he greeted softly, his voice tinged with both warmth and hesitation. "Mind if I join you?"

"Go ahead," you replied, a hint of bitterness in your voice. "It's not like my boyfriend is anywhere, and it's not like the spot's reserved."

Vinnie let out a small chuckle at your remark, sensing the hint of bitterness in your words. He took a seat beside you on the steps, respectfully leaving a little space between you two as he gazed out at the cityscape before you.

"It's nice out here," he commented softly, before adding, "Not much of a party person, are you?"

"Never was, even with you," you replied, a wistful tone in your voice. "But neither were you."

Vinnie smiled softly, the corner of his lip curving up in a bittersweet smile. "You're right, I never was much of a party person," he admitted, his gaze distant as he reminisced about the past. "I guess some things never change. Neither of us was meant for the Hollywood spotlight."

"I don't know about you, but I look great on the big screen," you said, trying to inject some lightness into the conversation.

Vinnie chuckled and nodded, his eyes gleaming with pride and admiration. "No doubt about it," he agreed. "You shine bright like a star on the big screen. It suits you. I always knew you were destined for greatness."

"Even if it caused our relationship to end," you said quietly, your voice tinged with regret.

Vinnie's expression turned solemn as he nodded slowly. "Yeah, the industry can be demanding," he admitted. "It took a toll on our relationship, on both of us. We had different dreams, different paths. Sometimes, I wonder what would have been if we had chosen differently."

"Like normal people with ordinary jobs," you added, a wistful tone in your voice.

Vinnie let out a deep sigh and nodded. "Sometimes I miss those simpler days," he confessed, his voice tinged with a hint of nostalgia. "Just the two of us, living life without the fame and the busy schedules. It was simpler, I guess. But who knows, maybe things happen for a reason."

"Maybe," you said softly, not entirely convinced. "Though I'm surprised there's no lovely woman by your side tonight."

Vinnie chuckled, a sheepish smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Oh, I could have any woman I wanted," he joked, feigning confidence. "But maybe I'm just waiting for the right one to come along. Someone who appreciates the real me, not just the celebrity persona."

"You mean the anime nerd behind all that mystery," you teased, a hint of a smile playing on your lips.

Vinnie's laughter filled the air, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "You always knew me too well, didn't you?" he said, a hint of warmth in his voice. "Yeah, the big secret no one knows is that I'm just a regular anime nerd underneath the glitz and glamor."

"Wouldn't that be what we would have been doing right now, four years ago? Fighting over either Attack on Titan or Sailor Moon?" you mused.

Vinnie grinned wider, his eyes lighting up as the nostalgia washed over him. "Yeah, those endless debates over which anime is the best," he mused. "You and your love for Sailor Moon, and me passionately defending Attack on Titan. It was always a tie between us, wasn't it?"

"I don’t know, feel like I won most of those rounds," you said with a playful challenge.

Vinnie chuckled softly, his eyes gleaming with playful mischief. "Maybe you won a few, but I still hold my ground that Attack on Titan is the superior anime," he quipped, a hint of a challenge in his voice. "I mean, come on, the story, the characters, the action – it's just unbeatable!"

"Come on, like you didn't drool over Captain Levi every time he was on the screen," Vinnie teased.

"Levi Ackerman, huh? Can't blame me there," you admitted, a playful shrug. "He's a hot badass, for sure. But let's be real, even he couldn't steal me away from you."

The light-hearted mood shifted suddenly as Matt's voice interjected, "Steal who from who?" cutting through the conversation like a gust of cold wind. Vinnie turned to face Matt, a flicker of surprise crossing his features.

"Baby, what took you so long?" you asked Matt, kissing him on the cheek as he pulled you closer to him.

Vinnie watched as you kissed Matt, a whirlwind of emotions stirring within him. He forced a strained smile, his eyes betraying a hint of jealousy and longing hidden beneath the surface.

"So, what were you talking about?" Matt asked.

"Just catching up with Vinnie. After all, we did work on that one music piece," you interjected.

"Yeah, just catching up on the old times," Vinnie managed to say, his voice steady despite the turmoil inside. He cleared his throat, attempting to divert the conversation away from the awkward tension. "So, how's the industry treating you, Matt? Any exciting projects coming up?"

Matt talked about his YouTube channel and the one he shared with his triplet brothers, Nick and Chris, who appeared behind him. Chris gave you a pat on the shoulder, commenting on how lit the party was, joking that you'd be his sister-in-law soon if you kept up your relationship with his brother.

Vinnie nodded intently, listening to Matt's excitement about his growing success on YouTube. He managed a polite, encouraging smile despite the gnawing feeling of jealousy brewing within him. As Matt's brothers appeared behind him, their presence created an even more convoluted atmosphere, with Chris's comment about you being his future sister-in-law making things even more awkward.

Matt turned his head to you and Chris as he heard his comment and whispered, "Maybe one day, my love," kissing your cheek. But all you could think of at that moment was Vinnie as he stared at you. Matt's comment brought back memories for both of you, as "my love" was Vinnie's favorite nickname for you.

You remembered the first time he called you that name, back in high school. The wind was blowing hard, and the flowers had bloomed even though it was the first day of spring. You were supposed to meet at the botanical gardens for your first official date. As you tried to find where he was, a soft, comforting voice said, "Hi," tapping your shoulder and causing you to turn around. Before any word could come out of your mouth, he picked a leaf that had gotten stuck in your hair and spoke gently, "I think something got stuck in your hair, love." That was the first time anyone had called you that, and at that time, you really believed he would be the only one calling you it. Snapping out of your thoughts, you smiled softly at Matt to reassure him. Vinnie interrupted the moment, reminding Matt they were in the middle of a conversation.

"That's great to hear, man. I hope your channel keeps growing. You've got a long road ahead of you," Vinnie responded, his voice neutral despite the emotional turmoil roiling inside him. He tried to focus on the conversation, asking questions and engaging in small talk, but his thoughts kept circling back to you, the one who once loved him. As the conversation continued, Vinnie began to feel increasingly out of place, his presence becoming more of a hindrance than anything.

His mind raced, weighing the options for escape. Glancing around, he subtly scanned for a way out. Seeing an opportunity, Vinnie excused himself abruptly, offering a hasty excuse about finding the restroom or chatting with his manager—anything to leave this awkwardly tense situation.

"Take care Vin," you say as Vinnie passes by you once again.

"Thanks, you too," he replied, his voice carrying a hint of unresolved emotion as he walked away, leaving you to grapple with the memories and emotions that had resurfaced.

[https-lovely]

knew better

Onyankopon x black! reader

CW:Nsfw, cheating

AN: uh this is my first story so yeah, also sorry if there is some spelling mistakes

You have always been what people call the stereotypical “good girl”

Getting all A’s in school and if you ever got a B you would go out of your way and work extra hard to get an A next time

You came from a nice wealthy family, your mom being a doctor and your dad being a lawyer

When the time came for college you had scholarships waiting for you but obviously you chose the college of your dreams

You ultimately had some rules for college, never go to parties, never drink, most definitely never smoke, you know all the basic stuff

Well that didn’t go as planned, you joined a.group of friends and they sure were busy bodies, while you were in the dorm making study guides for all of them including yourself, they were going to party after party which you didn’t mind, right?

“Girlll you gotta come to this party with us it’s gonna be so fun trust me you needa let loose and relax a little” your friend Leah said trying to get you out your dorm

After a bunch of pestering she finally convinced, and to be honest you wanted to let loose, she lent you one of her dresses and heels since you didn’t pack any, not planning on going to any parties

You were having a great time which is when you met Eren you have heard people say his name in the hallways but never actually saw him before or engaged in conversation with him

You guys got to talking and exchanged numbers but turns out he was just a playboy, 3 weeks into your “relationship” you found out he had a girlfriend of 1 year who tried to fight you when she found out you was with “her man” luckily Eren had a little bit of sense to save that girl, just because you were a goody two shoes didn’t mean you didn’t know how to fight

After that you never went to any more parties for about the rest of the semester until this very day.

“Please come to this party with us it will be funnn and we promise not to let you out of our sight to mess with any more of those boys” your friend Sasha said practically pulling you out your desk chair

“Sasha you know why I don’t want to go” you pulled your arm out of her grasp before getting up and looking at your friends all dressed up and ready

“Please y/n/n just one last party before the semester endssss” she dragged out the ‘s’ and looked at you with those puppy dog eyes

“Fine” you don’t know why you agreed because you knew better

When you got to the party a strong smell of alcohol went into your nose making your stomach hurt

Sasha ran off into her boyfriends arms, Connie, who looked at you and nodded

You waved at him before walking over to Sasha not wanting to be alone since all of your other friends went who knows where

“Ooo connie where’s your one friend I want y/n to meet him” Sasha said while winking at you

“Who, Ony? He’s over there dealing”

Dealing? You looked at Sasha with wide eyes she knows you don’t associate with that, but she shrugged and grabbed your hand pulling you as she followed behind connie

When you finally stopped in front of you was probably the most finest man you have ever seen

Darkskinned, nice line up, tight black t shirt that showed off his muscles and tatted up arms

“You gon keep staring ma?” A deep voice said nocking you out of your trance

“Oh sorry” you let out quietly not meaning to be staring for so long

“It’s all good, what’s your name though I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here” he patted a spot next to him motioning you to come sit down

You sat down next to him before answering

“it’s Y/N” he nodded before starting to roll up

“Mhm, do you smoke pretty?” You shook your head

“Nope never even been close to it before”

He nodded his head finishing rolling up, the way his tongue slid over it had you feeling some type of way

“You wanna try it?” He looked into your eyes starring deep

“I don’t know how I’d probably fuck it up” you said honestly

He just nodded his head before taking a hit

You waited for him to blow it out but he grabbed your chin motioning you to open your mouth before blowing the smoke into your mouth, why did you even let that happen? Because you knew better, right?

After a few rounds of that Sasha was wasted and it was time to go back to your dorm

You guys exchanged numbers and when you got back to your dorm you settled in laying Sasha on her bed and taking a shower, you then got a notification

ony

-come open the door ma

You don’t know why you were so excited by the message but you hurried and opened the door being met by a tall 6’3 figure

You stepped outside closing the door behind you as you looked up at him

You don’t know what made you follow him all the way across campus to his dorm, what made you go inside, and what made you let him take your virginity which led to now

"Face down, ass up princess." Ony said with a deep voice sending shivers down your spine

You did as he said, slowly arching your back for him, sticking your ass in the air and gently swaying side to side. He didn't waste any time grabbing your sides and pulling you closer to him before slowly pushing himself inside of you.

You both let out a sigh as he slides through your walls and stretches you out, it hurts but the way he massages your ass and coos sweet nothings in your ear made you able take it.

When you felt comfortable, you began to throw it back on ony. Pushing your ass back onto him before rocking forward and pushing it back again.

He held your hips and watched with hooded eyes as your warm pussy slowly engulfed his long dick, he pressed onto your back and began thrusting his hips to meet yours. "You feel so fucking good y/n. ..shitt"

"Fuck baby" he sped up with his thrusts, the sounds of squelching and cheeks clapping bounced off of the walls. He moved his hand away from your hip and used it to play with your sensitive bud, further intensifying the pleasure and resulting in a loud hum from your throat.

“You’re so tight ma, shitt” he flipped you over into missionary wanting to look into your eyes while he fucked you

“Mhm baby you’re so pretty” your eyes rolled back when he started hitting that spot over and over

“Baby look at me i wanna see your face when I make you cum all over my dick” he said thrusts getting faster before he reached down and started rubbing the letters of his name into your clit

“O—oh fuck I’m gon- on-“ just then you came so hard, head thrown back and legs shaking

He pulled out stroking himself a little and releasing on your stomach

He carried your back to your dorm since your legs were so sore and left

After that when you woke up you blocked him on everything because you knew better than to catch feelings for someone again

If you even saw anyone who resembled him you avoided them like the plague

That was until you we’re walking back your dorm, pulling your keys from your bag and looking up seeing him standing in front of your door

Why did you get yourself into this mess, if you, miss goody two shoes, what people call the stereotypical ‘good girl’ knew better?

[averysmolbear]

Keep Marching On

CW: this one has some angst to it. there's some mentions of violent nightmares, death, ptsd, and some violence towards some inanimate objects. Bucky's little sister is mentioned as well as a few made up family members for Bucky. (If I'm missing anything else, I'm so sorry and I will add to this if I remember anything else that could be triggering in this!)

A/N: this is set probably just before the Falcon & the Winter Soldier series, give or take. If there's any spelling mistakes or anything of the sort, that's all on me and I'll try to give this a once over down the line to maybe edit it and fix stuff like that.

Waking up, gasping, with his body covered in a cold sweat seemed to be the new normal for James Buchanan Barnes. Maybe the brainwashing of HYDRA had been wiped out - although that theory had yet to be fully tested, in his opinion - but the nightmares would never leave him. It was his penance for the deeds he had done as an assassin and it was a price that he seemed to have to pay nightly.

His best friend, Steve Rogers, loved to remind Bucky that he hadn’t been himself at the time but that didn’t seem to matter to the former assassin. It didn’t change the guilt that clung to Bucky like a second skin. The nightmares came no matter how much Steve tried to tell his friend that he wasn’t the villain. Some of those nightmares were worse than others but they had become oddly comforting in their own way. They were, after all, the one consistent thing he felt he had anymore.

Bolting up in bed, Bucky gasped as he tried to catch his breath. His head was swimming with so many visions but they seemed to start to fade a bit as he opened his eyes. His heart hammered in his chest as his hands - one made of flesh and one made of vibranium - clutched tightly to the threadbear blanket that his legs had become tangled in.

Outside of his apartment, thunder rolled, although Bucky had missed the lightning flash that had come before. His room was dark save for the faint pink light of the neon sign on the roof of the building next door to the one where he was staying. The sound of rain on the window muted the sounds of the city outside but if he strained his ears, he could still hear cars on the streets below as people went about their night.

New York City - the city that never sleeps, Bucky thought as his breathing evened out. How appropriate.

This was home or it had been once, a lifetime ago. Now it all felt a bit foreign to him. Nothing really looked like it had when he had been growing up and yet there were things about the city that seemed like they had never changed. The feeling of disorientation still stuck with Bucky more than he would have liked. It didn’t help that these days he didn’t see Steve, the only person in this world who could understand some of what he was going through. It left Bucky alone in the world while he tried desperately to get his head right.

Bucky had been grateful for his time in Wakanda, of course. They had worked hard there to untangle the mess left in his brain and it appeared to work for the most part. He had even found peace there for a time, content to live a life away from all of the things he had known. He had been an outsider but it had been something of a fresh start for Bucky. 

But all good things tended to come to an end.

War found him again and ever the soldier, he had willingly fought when Steve had come for him in Wakanda. The price, though, had been high. Bucky and others had disappeared for five years, lost in ‘the snap’ or whatever people had chosen to call it. Coming back had been easy enough for Bucky. It wasn’t that different from being woken up from cryo sleep again after all. Then Steve had made a bone-headed decision - something Bucky had fully expected, of course - and now he was lucky if he caught up with the old man once a month.

The return hadn’t been anything Bucky hadn’t experienced before though. He was used to losing chunks of time, used to the world moving forward while he was stuck behind. None of this was unusual for him, which just made the nightmares worse. It had been a reminder, something that woke up parts of Bucky’s brain that he had hoped to compartmentalize. The memories weren’t horrible all of the time but it didn’t make the nightmares every night any better.

A flash of lightning bathed the room in a bright light as Bucky let go of the blanket he had been holding in a death grip. Slowly he was coming back to reality, shaking as much of the pain that tonight’s dream had dredged up in his scrambled brain. His heartbeat had slowed, his breaths had evened out. He kicked his legs free from the mess of the blanket and sheet he had become tangled up in before shifting to sit on the edge of the bed.

It creaked with every move but Bucky hardly noticed the sound anymore. One glance at the digital clock to his right let him know that it was 3:05 AM. He didn’t bother with the lights as he moved toward the chair in the living room area of his studio apartment. It was a small space and in four long strides he had crossed the room. A heather gray t-shirt had been haphazardly tossed over the back of the chair and he grabbed it now.

Bucky was pulling it on as he shuffled toward the bathroom. His bare feet made nearly no noise as he walked. He moved through the apartment with a level of stealth that he had previously reserved for his missions. Now it was merely a holdover from that time, a hard habit for the former assassin to break.

The bathroom door was already open wide and Bucky reached in to flip on the light, blinking a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the light. In the silence, he used the bathroom and moved to the sink to wash his hands. His hair, recently shorn short again, stuck up in several different directions. He eyed the reflection that stared back at him and he realized that he barely recognized the face he saw.

With a sigh, he splashed some of the warm water on his face. Sleep wasn’t likely to come to him so he knew that he might as well try washing away some of the sweat and the sleep. With another scoop of the water, Bucky was wetting down his hair, letting the water drip down the back of his neck. He quickly raked his fingers through his hair, trying to tame it a bit, although it didn’t do much good.

He sighed again, still staring at his reflection. There were dark circles under his eyes, evidence of his lack of sleep lately. The man who looked back at him from the mirror looked tired in every sense of the word; he looked broken and like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Flashes of memories soon filled his mind and he looked down, gripping the sink tightly. He closed his eyes, trying to will away the memory of another victim.

I’ll never be free.

As he heard the porcelain sink creak under his grip, Bucky quickly let it go. He didn’t want to have to fix it again. After the third time he had gone to the hardware store for a replacement sink, he vowed to not break another. The only problem was that this one - the fifth replacement - was clearly cracking. At least fixing it would give him something to do.

Bucky had already painted his small studio apartment twice. He had replaced the kitchen cabinets and then he had repainted them as well. He had made a point to buy furniture that he would have to put together himself (if only because he didn’t have the space to build any furniture himself) and he even helped his neighbors with a leaky kitchen sink and later with replacing their toilet.

As long as he kept busy, he kept the demons at bay so Bucky found ways to keep himself busy as often as possible.

He often felt like whatever had been done to unscramble his brain, had opened the floodgates instead. While he was grateful that he had been deprogrammed, it didn’t change the fact that he was remembering things that he didn’t always want to remember. Some days the flow of memories was easier to deal with than on other days though. He didn’t mind so much when it was childhood memories but that was rarely the case, especially when he slept.

Bucky couldn’t busy his mind with trivial things when he slept and his subconscious used that against him time and time again. Sometimes the nightmares were clear memories, reminding him of the monster that he had been. He might see a mission from start to finish, realizing by the morning that he had viewed it all with such a detached coldness. While that had been necessary for his survival, it wasn’t who Bucky wanted to be anymore.  

It was when his mind let the memories bleed together that Bucky had the hardest time. There were times when his childhood friends made appearances in his nightmares, his brain morphing what should be a happier time into some kind of personal hell for him to deal with come morning.

Tonight it had been that kind of a dream, half rooted in his life before he was made into a killing machine for HYDRA. It didn’t help that he was half-sure he recognized the person he had been sent to kill in his nightmare. There had been a moment when he had been so sure that he knew the person who he was choking the life out of but he just squeezed tighter, waking up a moment before the life faded from the person’s eyes.

Now that he was awake, Bucky couldn’t say what the victim had looked like nor did he seem sure why he recognized them. It could have been anyone from his life before whose face had bled into the hellscape that was his time with HYDRA. The more he tried to make sense of it, the less any of it made any sense at all.

For some reason this nightmare had done more to rattle him than any he had had in awhile. Most faded from his thoughts by the time his feet hit the floor. This one was lingering in its own way. If he tried hard enough, Bucky thought he might even be able to remember the face of his nightmare victim.

Something told him that it wasn’t a road that he would want to travel down though.

He shuffled to the kitchen, knowing that sleep wasn’t going to be an option, and he started a pot of coffee. He yawned as he added the water to the machine. Physically Bucky was awake or as awake as a person could be after only a few hours of sleep. Mentally he was exhausted.

That was a feeling he was growing accustomed to since it seemed to be one of the few things that he felt with any consistency these days.

He began to tidy up - if only to keep his hands and his mind busy - as the aroma of freshly brewing coffee filled his tiny apartment. He picked a notebook given to him by Steve and stared at it a moment. The pages inside were blank, waiting for Bucky to fill them. Steve told him to start jotting down his dreams and his memories but Bucky still didn’t know what good that would do. There were some things that he just didn’t think were worth holding on to where those things were concerned after all.

Bucky set it aside, shaking his head at himself. It couldn’t hurt. Stop being so stubborn.

He knew that every excuse he had to not do this could easily be put aside. Bucky knew the notebook and the words inside of it would be just for him. He had done it before when he was first trying to come to grips with his new reality. He kept those notebooks in a box in the closet, only bringing them out on very rare occasions. He debated pulling them out but Bucky didn’t know if he wanted to relive any of that right now. Tonight had been so odd that he wasn’t sure a trip down memory lane would be a good idea. Still even as he moved back to the kitchen, his mind wandered to the notebooks. 

He filled a mug and sat at the table, glancing down to see the empty notebook sitting there like it was waiting for him. Bucky would have laughed if he had been in a better mind set. He took a tentative sip from the plain white mug. He burned the tip of his tongue on the hot liquid but hardly seemed to notice. 

Bucky reached for a pen and opened the notebook to the first page. The blank, clean sheet of paper felt somehow intimidating to the former soldier. He took a deep breath, pen in hand, and decided to go for it. It couldn’t hurt to get what was floating around in his head down onto the pages of the notebook after all.

As soon as he started writing, he was surprised by how easily the words came to him. The face that tonight’s dream had been so oddly vivid which might have helped. He was surprised when he looked back at everything he had been able to write down. It had been jotted down so hastily that he didn’t remember writing most of it but as he reread it now, it felt like someone had ripped his heart out of his chest.

“Rebecca,” he softly said.

The name fell out of his mouth before he realized he had spoken it aloud. He hadn’t thought of any of his siblings in so long but he remembered with complete certainty that Rebecca had been his favorite. Just two years younger than him, she had idolized Bucky and she had been so broken-hearted when he told her that he was joining the Army. She had taken it harder than their mother, crying the day he had to deploy. It had broken his heart to see her that way and Bucky’s eyes teared up even thinking of it now.

It had been her face that he had been looking at in his nightmare. It had been Rebecca’s slender throat that his hand had been wrapped around. It had been her life that he had ended with such coldness. He hadn’t thought twice about the pleading look his sister had given him as he tightened his grip more and more until she took her last breath.

His chest felt tight and his breathing became sharper. It hadn’t been true but that didn’t make it hurt any less. Bucky closed his eyes as he pushed the nightmare from his vision. He tried to pluck out the gentler memories of his sister, working his way back from the last moment he recalled seeing her. He flitted from memory to memory, his pulse slowing as he did so.

The last image Bucky focused on was of Rebecca at sixteen. He had been bouncing around in the mess that was his brain before but this memory came to him clearly. It was a true and happy memory that he didn’t mind lingering on as he tried to settle his racing thoughts. Rebecca had been all done up for her first date. Bucky had done his damnedest to intimidate the boy taking her out and he could recall her voice in perfect clarity telling him to lay off the guy, something that had made both Steeve and Bucky laugh at the time.

With Steve as such a fixture in the Barnes household, it was a wonder to Bucky that Rebecca and Steve had never gone on a single date. Of course he guessed that the two had only seen each other as siblings. Still Bucky knew that the two of them together would have made sense in another lifetime. It wasn’t like he could ask either of them now. He wasn’t even sure where to find his sister and that was only if she was still alive.

Bucky closed the notebook, sliding it away. He worried that the words on the page might trigger another panic attack if he kept staring at them. He reached for his coffee, his hand steadier than Bucky had thought it might be given the way he felt. The mug was still warm to the touch and the coffee inside of it was of a drinkable temperature now. He took a long drink as he tried to decide what to do with his day, settling on fixing the bathroom sink and maybe trying to find out what happened to his sister.

*** *** *** ***

Bucky had been surprised how asking the right people could get him quick answers. Less than 36 hours after inquiring about his family, Sam Wilson had shown up at Bucky’s apartment with several manilla folders filled with miscellaneous pieces of paperwork. Sam had offered to help but Bucky had made it clear that this was something he had to do himself. To his surprise, Sam had only nodded and told Bucky to call him if he needed anything.

Once he was alone he went through each paper meticulously, piecing together what had happened to his family after he had ‘died’. This had been a rabbit hole that he hadn’t wanted to go down but after the nightmare, Bucky knew that he had to know. It had been no surprise to him that most of his family had died in the years since he had left Brooklyn. Not that it made any of it hurt any less. He had been pleased to see that Rebecca had become a nurse and that she had married someone who had been in the Army.

“Rebecca Sheppard,” Bucky said, almost as if to test out the name his little sister had taken. Somehow it felt right when he said it aloud. He was proud to see that Rebecca had done something positive with her life after he was gone although he wished he could have told her that himself.

She and her husband had had three children. Two sons and a daughter. The daughter still lived in Brooklyn and had married, having two kids of her own, James and Rebecca. Rebecca’s husband had died at the age of 55 in a car accident. She had died at the age of 82 and she was buried in Cypress Hill Cemetery.

He knew that the least that he could do was go to visit her grave. He had been actively avoiding visiting the gravesites of the family that had long since died, leaving Bucky alone in the world. Connections were rare for him although some of that came from not wanting to get anyone mixed up in the mess that was his everything. His life was certainly not something that could easily be explained and his mind was still a bit of a mess on its own. Knowing where Rebecca was buried seemed to push Bucky into acting however. He hadn’t felt the need to visit the graves of his parents nearly as much as he did when thinking of the kid sister that he had left behind.

Thumbing through everything again, Bucky let out a soft sigh. He pulled out the photographs that he had been avoiding looking through. His heart ached as he saw the photos of his little sister and of the family that she had ultimately built in his absence. He could see how happy she was in the snapshots, moments in time when Rebecca had been able to build a future for herself.

She had only gotten prettier as she had gotten older and Bucky felt a stinging in his eyes as he looked at the photo of her holding one of her babies. He had missed so much more than he had even imagined. He had believed for a time that not knowing about any of this would somehow make starting over easier but Bucky knew that seeing what he had missed out on hurt but it also helped. At least he knew that everyone he had left behind - the most important people in his life - had been able to pick up the pieces after he had ‘died’. It didn’t dull the ache he felt when he realized he could have been there to watch Rebecca blossom and to see her children but knowing that she had been able to do those things made him feel at least a bit better.

There was one picture that Bucky lingered on. He looked over it, brows furrowed as he tried to place what it was he felt in that moment. It was Rebecca’s granddaughter who had also been named Rebecca by her parents as an apparent homage to his little sister. She looked so much like his sister although her eyes were a different color -- more green than blue -- but he felt a pain in his chest as he looked at the photo. He set it aside, reaching for his phone. He took a deep breath, letting out a soft sigh. Bucky knew if he didn’t do this, then he might not ever get the courage up to do it. He found the phone number among all of the papers he had been sorting through earlier. His brows were furrowed again as he dialed the number. He lifted the phone to his ear, barely able to hear the ringing over the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

He heard the click of someone picking up on the other end and a confused female voice saying hello. Bucky froze for the moment; even the sound of her voice was so much like his sister’s. He swallowed hard before clearing his throat, rasping out a hello. It took a moment for the person on the other end to respond, asking who it was and what they wanted. Bucky realized that the person sounded panicked and he took a deep breath before he drove into explaining everything. He spoke in a rushed tone, trying to get everything out before the person could hang up.

To Bucky’s surprise, Rebecca believed him. She even agreed to meet up with him later in the week. She would be in the area, running some errands, and promised that she could make a little time to meet him for coffee. Relieved, Bucky gave Rebecca a place, letting her set the time that they would meet. He hung up and he felt like a weight was lifted off of him.

This wasn’t the same thing as having his family back but it was a piece of that. It was a connection to his past that he hadn't had before and it was something that Bucky knew that he sorely needed.

[believinghurts]

Their Daughter

Chapter 5

Author’s note: I use Grammarly to fix my mistakes, but there could still be some so sorry for that. Also, I am getting back into writing and am hoping to have a few more works out soon! Please reblog, like, or comment feedback is appreciated.

Word Count: 4,400

Warnings: None? Sirius being a d*ck? Maybe language, but I don’t think so.

Regulus wasn’t sure how much time had passed as he stroked his niece's hair. He was mad at his brother for basically throwing away the only good thing that had ever come from the Black family. Sirius was too blinded by the past to see what was right in front of him. As children, Sirius often told Regulus that he was their family's favorite and that it bothered him, but if he knew what it was like to be less loved then how can he love Harry more than Ali? He understood that Harry was Sirius's Godson, but couldn’t he love Ali and Harry equally? If Sirius made the effort maybe Ali and the other children could even be friends. His heart ached from the emotional battle that Ali was going through right now. Even if Sirius didn’t see it, he and Remus did. Ali’s light was dimmer than before and when she was lighting up again after finding out Sirius never came for her, Sirius just had to go and snuffed it out.

Carefully sliding out from under Ali and placing a pillow under her head Regulus left the room. He shut the door behind him casting a locking spell so she wouldn’t be bothered. He needed to speak with Remus first before doing anything. They needed to decide what to do about Ali. As much as Regulus wanted to spend time with her before she went back to school he didn’t want her to be this upset anymore. He walked into the study to find Remus and Nymphadora sitting near the fireplace.

“How is she?” Nymphadora blurted the question as soon as she saw her cousin. Remus had owled her after Ali had gone to her room. The older sister in her wanted to go up to Sirius and give him a piece of her mind, but she knew that it wouldn’t do any good.

“She’s asleep for now. All the fighting has exhausted her. I honestly don’t know what to do. I want her here, this is her home, but if Sirius doesn’t stop acting like the brut that he is it is going to hurt her more. Speaking of Sirius, where is he? It’s quiet.” Regulus flopped down on the chair across from Remus and Nymphadora raking a hand through his hair. His worry for Ali was causing him a headache. On one hand, he wanted to send Ali to stay at the Malfoy Manor for the remainder of summer, but on the other, he wanted to hold her close and have her stay in her home where she belonged.

“Sirius left with Harry after you went upstairs. He hasn’t been home since. The Weasleys stepped out to Diagon Alley to get the kids stuff for school.” Remus replied. He was secretly thankful that the house was mainly empty. This way at least Ali could come down if she felt like it without the chance of someone bothering her. Remus was having the same thoughts as Regulus about keeping Ali at home virus's sending her to the Manor. He just wanted his niece to be happy. The hope that he had of Sirius and Ali having the father/daughter relationship was gone. If only Remus could get Sirius to open his eyes to the pain he was causing to the girl, but Sirius was nothing if not stubborn.

“I think I am going to write to Cissa and see if she can keep Ali for the rest of summer. If that’s what it takes for her to be happy then so be it. We can see her off at the -“

“I don’t want to leave,” Ali’s voice interrupted. “I want to stay here with you. Please don’t make me leave. I can handle it, I promise.”

Ali knew that she and Regulus were going to have to talk about the fact that she called him dad, but that was a private conversation. Right now she needed to convince the adults in the room that she didn’t need to leave. She could take Sirius. Yes the words that he had said hurt her and the actions he did tonight furthered that hurt in her heart, but she was done. She didn’t owe him anything, and it was clear she knew that he didn’t want to be her father. She had meant what she said to Regulus. He was her father in all the ways that counted. He loved her unconditionally, was always there for her, and protected her.

She went and sat on the couch in between Nymphadora and Remus who wrapped an arm around her pulling her close to his chest. “It might be best if you went and stayed for the rest of the summer at the Manor, Al. This isn’t good for you mentally. We all can see how drained you are.”

“No, this is my home. I can handle it. I have you all plus the older Weasleys and Fleur. You'll protect me and if I need to get away for a little bit I’ll owl Blaise or Draco to go to Diagon Alley or something. I want to spend time with you. Times are hard right now and you never know when you are going to lose someone and I would like to have as much time with each of you just in case.”

Regulus leaned forward taking Ali’s hand in his, “Nothing, and I mean nothing is going to happen to us. I love you more than you could ever imagine and if you want to stay here you can.” Ali smiles brightly at that before Regulus cut her off, “but you have to tell me, Remus, or Severus, if anything happens. And you have to come out of your room. I am not having you locking yourself away again. Got it?”

Ali pounced on Regulus, hugging his neck tight. She was excited to spend some more time with her family. She had meant what she said about never knowing when something was going to happen. Wizards had been disappearing all over London and she was genuinely scared something was going to happen to her loved ones. She was going to make it a point to take plenty of photos and make enough memories to last a lifetime the next couple of weeks.

Regulus held his niece tight, fighting back the tears when she whispered, “Thanks, Dad,” into his ear. He had been called a lot of things in his life, but this was one title he was going to wear proudly.

Remus’s voice interrupted the moment, “wait for a second, why are you going to owl Blaise? We have an agreement, young lady, no boys till you're thirty!”

Ali’s giggle was music to those in the room with her, and for the first time that summer they all saw Ali smile at home the brightest she had since everyone arrived.

————

The rest of the day was eventful which was something that everyone was thankful for. Nymphadora left shortly after spending some time with Ali since she had something to attend to with Moody, so that left Regulus, Ali, and Remus to watch the Star Wars movies in Ali’s room. Kreacher brought them snacks while they made a fort on the floor. Ali was incredibly content laying on the mounds of pillows in between her Uncles. When she was younger they would have movie nights like this once a month until she started Hogwarts. Even then she and her friends carried on the tradition in the boy's dorm since Draco was often present at the ones hosted at home. She wished that she could have Draco over now, but knew that if she brought him here then everyone in the house would throw a fit about it, maybe it was something to bring up to Regulus later.

Molly called them all down for dinner shortly after the second film ended. Leaving the mess on the floor the trio made their way downstairs with Ali trailing behind her Uncles. She could feel her nerves spike the closer she got to the dining room. She thought about excusing herself stating she wasn’t hungry, but the loud growl in her stomach gave her hunger away. Everyone had already sat down beside Harry and Sirius when they got into the room. Regulus pulled the seat out next to him for his niece. Fleur shot her a smile when she sat down by her uncle with Charlie on her other side. At least she was sitting near someone who didn’t hate her.

Chatter and the sounds of forks on plates filled the room as everyone got their fill of Molly’s meatballs and onion sauce. Everyone broke off into separate conversations. Remus, Regulus, and Arthur talking about the Ministry, the younger Weasleys, and Hermione talking about Quidditch, Bill and Fleur about their upcoming wedding, and Charlie and Ali talking about his work in Romania. “What are you planning on doing after you leave Hogwarts?”

Ali shot a glance over at Remus who was doing a terrible job of disguising his eavesdropping on the duo. “I am thinking about becoming a professor. I like creatures obviously so I was thinking something along those lines, but I also like Herbology. So maybe that. I just know I want to teach.”

Charlie shot her a grin. “Have you thought about where? I know Hogwarts has Sprout for Herbology and Hagrid was doing Care of Magical Creatures, but you still have three more years of school so maybe they’ll need someone by the time you're done.”

Ali shrugged her shoulders. In all honesty, she wanted to leave England and travel for a bit but knew that if she brought it up now it would be a fight or something so she bit her tongue. “Maybe.”

The noise came to a halt when the door slammed open in the living room. Everyone hopped to their feet, wands at the ready. It felt like hours had passed before the intruder walked through the door. “Sirius! Harry! Merlin, you scared us all.”

“Sorry, it’s raining hard and we were in a rush to get back home.” Sirius shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. Everyone retook their seats beside Milly who served Harry and Sirius. Ali tried her hardest to keep from looking at the latest duo that entered, not wanting to cause any more trouble or to give Sirius a reason to lash out at her.

Dinner passed rather quickly, conversations flowed in their small groups. Charlie had gone with Fleur and Bill on a scouting mission shortly after eating, while Fred and George worked on new products for their shop. Ali was in her head thinking about asking to go to meet Pansy in the coming days to look at a new book shop. Pansy wasn’t much of a reader but was always looking for an excuse to get out of her house. She was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up Molly was smiling softly at her while handing her a letter in a dark blue envelope. She instantly knew who the letter was from since only one person used that kind of envelope when writing her.

“This came for you, dear, when you were with your uncles. I didn't want to bother you then I almost forgot just now.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley.” Ali smiled at the kind woman. Despite her feelings towards most of the Weasley children, their parents were quite nice.

Molly patted her cheek before walking off. Ali started to rip the top off when she got Regulus’s eye and he winked at her. He knew who the letter was from having met the boy a few times already. Her cheeks flushed and continued to do so while reading it.

Dear Supernova,

I hope you are surviving the dreadfulness that is upon you right now with all the people in your house. Yes, Draco told me what was going on yesterday when I finally threatened to out his crush if he didn’t explain why we hadn’t been seeing you a lot this summer. I have to say I am quite hurt that you didn’t tell me yourself. Best friends I thought. Just joking, but seriously you could have told me about him and I wouldn't have said a word to anyone.

I miss you, Supernova. We’ve only got to see each other once this summer and we both know when school starts you will have a book shoved in front of your face in the first three minutes. Could we get together sometime this week? It has been awful at home and if I have to hear Draco's voice one more time without you there to tell him off for being annoying I may throw myself off the astronomy tower.

Your uncle may not agree, but you could come to stay at mine for a night. Mother agreed to it as long as Regulus does and we have separate rooms. If you can't, maybe I can come to you? I don’t really care what the redheads have to say about me being there so don’t worry about that. We have much to catch up on; like the fact that you got Headgirl and also didn’t write and tell me. I had to find that little tidbit out from Parkinson's. Don’t worry we’ll catch up whether that's soon or on the train.

love,

Zabini

Ali felt a pang of guilt hit her square in the chest. She hadn’t meant to forget to fill Blaise in on her life but it had been so crazy recently she hadn’t got to write anyone much. In all the truth no one knew that she had gotten Headgirl. She had gotten the letter from Flitwich a few days after the Weasley’s arrived and completely forgot. Although she told her Uncles she didn’t want to go anywhere spending some time with Blaise sounded nice. Deciding to just rip the bandaid off she looked up to find Regulus and Remus looking at her with amused smiles on their faces.

“What’s you got there, Ali?” Remus asked, causing her cheeks to flame red. She wasn’t scared to say that she wanted to hang out with a boy. She did it all the time whether it was Blaise, Theo, or Draco; it was more to do with the fact that she was about to ask to spend the night at a boys' house. Even if they were going to be in separate rooms and they had fallen asleep cuddled together weeks prior at the Malfoys, something none of her Uncles knew, it was going to be a little fight to get Remus to agree as he made the ‘no dating till you’re thirty’ rule when she was five and asked for a boyfriend for Christmas.

Looking around she noticed all attention was on her even if the other adults in the room were making it seem like they weren’t listening while the children openly gawked. “Uhm,” she was cut off by Severus stepping into the room. Great, now she had to face all three Uncles. Where were Dora and Cissa when she needed them?

Severus hugged her quickly before taking a place by Regulus. “Who's the letter from Ali?” He asked her letting her know there was no getting out of it and that she was going to have to spill the beans.

“It’s from Blaise,” A look of amusement passed Regulus’s face, making her think that he knew what was in the letter already while Remus looked like he was going to snatch the letter out of her hands and read it himself if she didn’t hurry up.

“And what possibly could it say to have your cheeks looking like the inside of Gryffindor common room?” Regulus teased further.

She coughed trying to get her nerves resealed. “He was saying that we need to catch up before school starts, and invited me to come and stay with him and Mrs. Zabini for a night this week.”

Remus grunted while Regulus smiled. Ali had to hide a giggle as she noticed all the other mouths in the room had dropped to the floor. Ali knew that except for Hermione and Harry the Weasley’s never stayed or had anyone else with them.

“Can I, please? His mother said we would have separate rooms and she will be there as well as the house-elves. We only got to see one another once this summer. He said if I can’t he could come here, but honestly, I think the first option is better. Please?” She pulled out her best puppy eyes and pouty lip. She was not above begging for it but didn’t want to do so with everyone staring at her.

Regulus looked over at Remus. Ali could see the silent conversation going on between them. Regulus’s head inclined slightly toward Ali which she hoped to Merlin was a good thing. Remus looked back at his niece with a look in his eye she couldn’t read. “Rosalynn said you’ll have separate rooms?” Ali nodded her head so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. “And you’ll stay in them?” Once again she nodded, although she knew that they more than likely would be in the family room till late hours in the night. He looked back at Regulus, “you have no problems with her going?”

“No, I already knew about it. Rosalynn wrote about two days ago. If she wants to go, that's fine. You know Rosalynn will look after her as she does Blaise. And the Heavens know that boy would jump in front of the Knight Bus for Ali.” Regulus chuckled at Ali's shocked expression.

“Y-you knew? Why didn’t you say anything?” Ali struggled to get the words out.

“Rosalynn said Blaise wanted to ask you. She was just giving me a heads up, knowing how Remus is with boys and you. You know we talked quite often, Als.” Regulus winked at her.

“You may go,” Remus stated. She was shocked she didn’t have to put up more of a fight.

“WHAT?” Sirius shrieked. He knew that Regulus would let her go to the Death Eaters house, but Remus? He thought he could count on his ‘friend’ to at least say no. “You’re letting her go to the Death Eaters house? AGAIN? Who's also a boy and staying the night? Are you mad?”

Remus looked at Sirius with disdain, “No I am not. She is a good girl and Blaise has been her friend for years. Rosalynn loves her as much as we do and would never let anything happen. And for God's sake quit calling everyone a Death Eater.”

“Outrageous.”

“Sirius, you have no say in what she does. You gave that up last night. Ali is a good girl who makes good choices. Not only that but she also deserves a little something since she got Headgirl this year, don’t you think?” Regulus smirked as he saw the Granger girl's face fall.

“You got Headgirl?” Hermione whispered to Ali with disbelief lacing her voice.

“Yeah, I did. Draco got Headboy I believe, but it may be Theo. I haven’t asked yet.”

“Why do you and Draco get Head of Houses? Why not Hermione and -“ Ali cut her dear Godbrother off.

“And who? You? Ron? Why would any of you get Head of Houses with all the trouble you bring in? Sneaking out, stealing things, picking fights. We do have the highest marks in most classes as well as treat others equally unlike the likes of you.”

If looks could kill Ali would be dead three times over. In all honesty, she kinda felt bad for the younger Weasley boy seeing as all of his older brothers, bar Fred and George had been Headboy. But then she thought about the trouble he and his friends had caused her and her friends as well as others over the years. Harry preached about equality among the houses but she had witnessed many times when younger Slytherins were picked on by Gryiffndors. Hufflepuffs generally didn't have any problems with the other houses so long as everyone was being just. Ravenclaws tended to keep to themselves unless it really involved them. Whereas Slytherins preferred to stand up to those picking on other Slytherins especially the younger ones. Slytherins were always made out to be the bullies when in general if you got to know them people would notice that they are a lot more than what their parents used to be.

Ally had heard the stories of how mean James and Sirius were to those in Slytherin even if they never did anything to them. She believed in harmless fun could be had pulling pranks, but tricking someone into going to a place where a werewolf was was downright cruel. She had no doubts in her mind that James and Sirius were once good people like her Uncle Remus is now, but seeing as Sirius still acts like a child those doubts were becoming known.

“I just think that Slytherins shouldn’t be Head of House when all you will do is favor your own, and treat everyone else like dirt,” Ron stated.

“Ronald Weasley! How dare you say such a thing?!” Molly exclaimed.

“It’s alright Mrs. Weasey. I am used to hearing such things come from them and others in their house,” Ali looked Ron in the eyes, “You seem to forget that I’m a Ravenclaw, not a Slytherin. I do not favor anyone and will not when I start Head Girl duties but know this. I will give you as many detentions as you deserve if you are caught bullying, harassing, belittling, any of the other houses. You may think that Gryiffndors are the bravest of the houses and maybe you are in some ways, but you are cowardly in others. Maybe some Slytherins are as bad as you make them seem, but Harry,” she turned her head slightly to the side, “you seem to forget just which house Peter Pettigrew was in when he was the one who betrayed your parents. And Regulus was in Slytherin but seems to be more loyal to his friends and family than that rat was.”

“It seems that Alianova has given you all something to think about as you're getting ready for bed,” Molly stated looking at all the children present in the room. Her face grew red when she saw that none of them had moved a muscle. “Now.”

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, jumped from their seats and booked it to the stairs scared of Mrs. Weasley’s wrath. At some point, Charlie, Fluer, and Bill came back from scouting. Charlie ruffled Ali’s hair causing her to grin. “Good job, kid. You’ll make a great Head Girl.” Bill and Fleur nodded in agreement. “Nothing happened while we were out. We’ll give a full debrief tomorrow, but we will be heading to bed as well. Good night everyone.”

Molly walked to Ali and pulled her up out of her chair before placing both hands on Ali’s pale cheeks. “Don’t you worry, dear, I will be talking with all of them in the morning. You made a lot of valid points, and I for one am proud that you are Head Girl.”

She kissed her forehead before taking her husband to go to bed after waving her wand to get the kitchen clean once again. Arthur offered Ali a small smile before disappearing behind his wife. Sirius scoffed at the behavior which everyone heard but chose to ignore.

Ali turned to her three Uncles, waiting for the answer about going to her friends, and the scene that just played out in the kitchen.

“I am proud of you as well, Alianova. You have done excellent, and I know it is Remus and Regulus' decision about going to Blaises’, but I see no problem with it. I will stay in the guest room. Come get me if you need me. Good night, Ali.” He hugged her tightly, making Ali tear up slightly at the thought of Servus being proud of her. It also made her giddy at the thought of rubbing it in Draco’s face since Severus is his Godfather and never said such a thing to him.

Remus followed after Servus, wrapping his niece in a bear hug around her shoulders. The height difference amusing Regulus to no end seeing as Ali only came about midway in Remus’s chest. “You may go as long as it’s okay with Reg, and you stay in separate rooms. I am a little mad though that you didn’t tell me yourself about getting Head Girl, but I am still incredibly proud of you. No one deserves this more than you do, not even Harry.” The last part was whispered in her ear. He kissed her forehead, before heading to his room.

With the three Blacks being the only ones left in the room. “I don’t think you should go.” Sirius’s voice was venomous as he thought about his only child, his legacy, spending time with Death Eaters.

“It’s a good thing it doesn’t matter what you think isn’t it?” Regulus smirked at his older brother. He was not going to take this away from his child. “Ali, you may go so long as you stay in your separate rooms whenever the two of you decide to go to sleep because I know from having all your mates over it will be late.” He walked to Ali cradling her freckled face in his hands. “I am so proud to call you my daughter. Even after all that you have been through in your life you have still managed to form your own beliefs and thoughts as well as stand up for them. You deserve Head Girl over anyone else, and hopefully, you get to share it with one of your friends.”

Ali dove into her Uncle's chest. Tears welling up into her eyes at the thought that he really did think of her as his own even if she already knew it. It was nice to hear out loud. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I love you, dad.” She kissed his cheek before heading to her room to write Blaise.

Sirius felt his anger sore to new heights when he heard Ali call Regulus dad. He had enough courtesy to wait till she was out of earshot before grounding out, “We need to talk, Regulus.”

[hyunjilicious]

A/n: this request is from my secondary blog. I made a post asking for ideas and concepts, but I decided I'd better post them here!! The call is still open tho!! Send me stuff! I'm not sleeping tonight so let's talk!!

Summary: kinda what the request says, but I was a bit off.. sorry. Shoot me an ask in case you didn't like this one and I'll write it again! 1.1K

As the years passed and reality was becoming so much harder to ignore, you had to come face to face with the fact that no matter how much you lied to yourself, you couldn't keep avenging forever. The first step you took - and probably the most difficult one, was moving out. You found yourself a cozy studio apartment to call home, and despite not missing any missions, it still felt tremendously better to know you had a life outside of the compound.

But it was hard. The days were lonely and nights even more so. You busied yourself, making up stupid excuses for missing out on movie nights and coffee dates with whichever colleague decided to approach you. You'd only see them on the field, and even though it hurt to some extent, it was what you needed. 

This rhythm didn't last too long, though. About two weeks after you moved, in the middle of the night, a loud knock at the front door woke you up. It turned out to be Bucky, who just like you, expressed his need to break out of the tedious routine and heavy atmosphere at the compound, and since he didn't have anywhere to go, he counted on you to provide him with a safe space to gather himself. And you were more than happy to.

That time, he stayed over for two days, and then he returned to his home. But then another two weeks passed and he was back. And two nights at your place turned into three, and 2 weeks at the compound turned into one. Before you knew it, you were cohabiting in what was probably the most peaceful manner you considered possible. 

And then it was just a matter of time until you'd get your own missions - just you and Bucky, working towards a common pace that kept you both safe and grounded. It didn't feel like work anymore, and soon, he didn't feel like just a friend anymore either. 

Weeks passed and this was the new normal. You shared an apartment and were partners on and off the field, even if none of you had the guts to word it yet. And everyone accepted it too, and in the end, the time had come for a small get together. For the sake of it all, you invited the rest of the avengers over to drink and have a good time, and it was probably the best time you had with them in years. Some time away did you more than just good.

But now it was 3am, and you and Bucky were left to deal with the aftermath of the small gathering that had actually never been just that. Soon after Thor walked through the door, the atmosphere turned hazardous and what you had there was no longer a chill night in, it was a full blown party, that right now, you were nowhere in the mood to clean after.

"What are you doing?" you laughed as you felt a weight on your shoulder, realising seconds after that it was Bucky's forehead.

"Let's finish cleaning up tomorrow" he whined, before straightening his back.

He reached forward and turned the water off, lazily wrapping his arms around your body and tucking his face in the crook of your neck.

"I can finish up here. Go to sleep" you offered, mistaking his demour for fatigue.

"No" was all Bucky said before pulling you back and turning you around in his hold. He held you tightly against his chest, silence settling around the two of you.

The playlist that had been playing during the party was long forgotten, his music library now on shuffle. There was a slow 80s song filling up the room, its soft beat and relaxing jazz line accentuating the cozy atmosphere that had settled around your apartment.

"You ok?" you mumbled, trailing your still wet and covered in dish soap fingers across his jawline. 

Bucky looked up at you with a droopy smile on his lips. His eyes were hooded, more closed than open, but their color was so vibrant, holding more life in them than you ever seen before.

"I'm good" he nodded before hesitatingly going in for a kiss on your forehead.

You couldn't help but giggle to yourself, ears ringing as butterflies took over your whole body. You were lost and had no idea how to act. This wasn't a version of him you knew. 

When his hands dropped from your back to your waist, holding you steadily in front of him, you bowed your head, too shy to look at him anymore.

"Don't like dancing?" he asked. He didn't sound hurt, more like amused, and ready to drop the action in case you expressed that that was what you wanted.

"I do, I do" you shook your head and clumsily placed your hand on his shoulders, allowing him to guide you. What you were doing wasn't dancing, no one could call it that, but it was sweet and intimate. The way he held you close, his eyes full of admiration watching closely every change in your expression as he carefully guided you to follow him. All you did was spin in small circles around the kitchen at a ridiculously slow pace.

The floor was a mess, salsa sauce and spilled wine everywhere, but you kept going, caught under his spell.

You never thought about it before, but the love that was so undeniably plastered on his features was proof of the goodness that had been hidden inside his heart for so many decades. He was finally happy, you could see that. But still, he was holding back.

With your heart all the way up in the back of your throat, you wiped your palm against your jeans and then brought it up to his cheek. Bucky instantly leaned into your touch, his eyes fluttering close as a smile spread across his lips.

"Tell me" you whispered.

"Tell you what?" 

"There's something on your mind" you cleared. The little specks of fear in the blue of his eyes were confirmation of that. "You can tell me"

"I love you" Bucky confessed much faster than you expected.

You never thought you'd actually hear those words again, but they didn't surprise you. It wasn't out of nowhere. He had shown you how much he cared about you time and time again, he never worded it before, but he hadn't hidden it either. 

And when your lips finally pressed again his, a new wave of life washed over you. Years of pent up emotion dripped from his tongue onto yours as you molded your bodies together, gathering each other as close as possible. Your eyes watered, but no tears fell. You were overwhelmed in the best kind of way, your chest full and your heart, finally calm.

It was not clear who pulled away first, but immediately after, you pushed yourself up on your tiptoes, your lips against his cheek as your fingers curled into the material of his shirt. "And I love you"

-

I'm always open to more ideas!! Hmu!!

[onionsoop]

Late at Night /// Nanami x f!Reader /// (+18)

Summary: During a class trip to Hokkaido, you find yourself stuck in the same bed with Nanami which leads to some late night events unexpected events :0

Length: 4.5k

Tags & Warnings: Teacher x Student (Reader is 18), exhibitionism (kind of), voyeurism (kind of), fingering, unprotected sex, creampie, stupid “same bed” cliché, praise (kind of)

Authors Note: Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that this the first fic that I’ve ever written and I hope you enjoy! I’m hoping to keep writing and posting more fics to this blog in the future for Jujutsu Kaisen, Haikyuu, and maybe some other fandoms. Anyways, thanks for reading and sorry for any spelling mistakes :) Oh, also there might be a part 2 for this??? idk, ill decide later on, not sure what direction I wanna take it in

The sound of the bus coming to a halt was what woke you up from your long and uncomfortable nap. You opened your bleary eyes to find the rest of the students in your class beginning to stand up and climb out into the cold and snowy outside. It had been a long trip, about eight hours and during that time almost everyone had fallen asleep. You had all left at eleven in Tokyo and due to being so far North, the sun had already set outside despite it only being seven. You picked up your backpack from where it was shoved underneath the seat in front of you and let out a sigh about having to get up and stretch your stiff legs. 

As you filed into the line, you were greeted by a large slap on your back, “Hey Y/N, how’d ya sleep?” Nobara asked, giving you one of her signature grins. 

“Fine,” you said rubbing your eyes, “though I can’t say that the bus window made a very comfortable pillow.”

“Well good thing we’ll be able to sleep soon. Hopefully, Gojou will put us together and won’t ruin our fun,” She said with a wink, receiving a small chuckle from you. Two weeks prior to the trip, Nobara had spent most of her time devising a plan to prank Itadori and Megumi while they were asleep. You knew she was counting on you to help her out with it, but you were a little unsure if you wanted to risk getting caught and excluded from the rest of the trip in order to fulfill one of her silly ideas.

Once everyone finally piled out of the bus, you were all led into the Dining Hall for a nice hot meal, a welcomed contrast to the freezing temperatures outside. You had never been to Hokkaido before and both the piles of white fluffy snow and the different array of hot soups and curries were new and exciting to experience. Dinner was overall jovial and chaotic, you sat with Itadori, Nobara, Todo, and Maki and you had all had a good time arguing about what activities you wanted to do in the next few days and which dish was the best. By the time dinner was over, you felt completely stuffed. During the course of the mea, you had eaten almost everything you could get your hands on and now felt more ready than ever to go to bed despite already sleeping on the bus. 

Everyone was piled into the main lounge area of the dorm building to be sorted into rooms. You could see students shifting around trying to get closer together and counting the number of people between them to try and be spaced together. From the edge of the room, Nobara was making aggressive eye contact with you and beckoning you to come over, which you quickly did in hopes that you wouldn’t be stuck in a room with people you didn’t know. 

At the front of the room, Gojou stood up and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Now everyone, as you probably know, there are going to be four people per dorm, no more, no less during the duration of our trip. In every room, there is going to be one chaperone and three students. There are only two beds per room, so you will have to share with somebody else or choose to sleep on the floor, it’s up to you. And finally, to your displeasure, we have already assigned who is going to be in what rooms.” 

That final sentence caused a groan to come from the student body along with sounds of protest and arguing. Gojou ignored this though and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper and began to read names off of them. Students all began to pick up their stuff and head to their dorms as they were called out, and as you all listened Nobara let out a groan as she was sent to a room with Inumaki, Panda, and Mei Mei. You waited on the floor still surveying who else you might be put with. The number of students in the room was dwindling and most of your friends had already been taken which sent a pang of worry into your gut. 

“... and in room 6 there will be Itadori, Megumi, Y/N, and Nanami,” Gojou said. A momentary wave of relief washed over you after hearing that, you knew Megumi and Idatori semi-well, so it wouldn’t be too awkward of a time, but that feeling quickly dissipated as you remembered you were with Nanami. It was a well-known fact that about ninety percent of the female population found him attractive, and you couldn’t be excluded from that group. The pieces of the puzzle quickly snapped into place as you thought more about the room situation. You were the only girl in the group, which meant that there was no way in hell that they would be letting Itadori or Megumi share a bed with you. 

You would be sleeping right next to Nanami. For the next four nights. 

The walk to the room was only a chance for you to get more and more anxious as you thought about the upcoming events. Megumi and Itadori were cheerfully chatting in front of you, occasionally turning back to include you in the conversation or make a joke, but it didn’t help with the looming feeling of Nanami behind you. 

You all arrived in the room and Itadori immediately jumped on the bed, messing up the sheets and knocking off one of the pillows, earning a sigh and displeased look from Megumi. Despite your nerves, you plastered a neutral expression on your face and tentatively walked over to the second bed in the room, setting your bag down and sitting down on the squishy mattress. 

At this point, Itadori and Megumi were starting to argue, Megumi saying that he wouldn’t be able to sleep next to him if he was going to take up that much room while Itadori was doing his best to stretch all his limbs out across the full length of the bed. You pulled out your phone and tried your best to look busy. It wasn’t quite time for lights-out, but you still felt a bit nervous starting to unpack in a room full of guys, especially with one that made your heart race. 

Nanami, in his typical fashion, had not said anything since being assigned to the rooms. You felt him sit down on the other side of the bed and saw that he was beginning to unpack out of the corner of your eye. You shouldn’t be so nervous, nobody else is, after all, Nanami was just going to be sleeping next to you, you had stood that close to him before on other occasions. It still felt different though… You quickly shut those thoughts out of your head as soon as they came in. He was your teacher, you shouldn’t be thinking that way. 

To distract yourself, you unzipped your bag to go and look for your pajamas and toothbrush. You had packed a mix of cold and warm clothing for your trip considering you would be traveling all over the place, but you soon realized you had made a mistake with your pajamas. You pulled out the green shorts and tank top you had packed without much thought, despite never feeling this way about them before, you now felt that they might be a little too revealing for sleeping in a room full of guys. 

You shoved the top back into your bag and opted for a t-shirt instead, which helped you feel a little less nervous about your situation. In order to get out of the room, and to hopefully talk to Nobara, you rushed into the girl’s bathrooms and let out a relieved sigh. This trip was going to be a difficult one to get through. 

You quickly got changed in a stall and spent a large portion of time afterward talking with the other girls in the room. Many of them were complaining about who they got put in a room with while others were whining about not getting to stay with Gojou. Apparently, Momo was the lucky girl of the night who got to room with Gogou, Todo, and Mechamaru, but she didn’t seem to have much interest in her good fortune. Finally, Nobara slammed open the door to the girl’s bathroom and made her way over to you. 

“I can’t believe this stroke of luck, you got a room with both Itadori and Megumi, that’ll be perfect,”  She said with a devious grin on her face. 

“I’m not really sure, do we really wanna risk the rest of the trip?” You said, trying your best to calm Nobara’s excitement. 

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry. Plus, we can wait until the last day too, then they’ll have their guard down too,” she stated, nudging you in the arm after. You continued to happily chat with the rest of the girls and avoid going back to your room for a good half an hour, but, as expected, you heard Gojou come down the hall announcing that it was five minutes until lights-out. Most of the girls quickly began packing up their stuff and rushing out of the bathroom to not get in trouble and you figured you should do the same. 

When you walked back to your room and pushed open the cracked door you were quickly confronted with your nerves coming back and a hyper Itadori. Megumi was in bed doing his best to read a book while Itadori was bugging him through multiple various and loud methods. You went back to your side of the bed and put your toothbrush and skincare away, laser focusing your eyes on anything that wasn’t Nanami. 

The five minutes that you had before bedtime seemed to be over before you could even process it. For the first time that night, at least to your knowledge, Nanami finally said something, “Alright boys and Y/N, lights out.” Which earned a complaint from Itadori and caused Megumi to quickly jump up and shut off the lights, eager to have a chance to get away from him. You could see Itadori and Megumi start to bicker about the blankets and “staying on your side of the bed” as you pulled back the covers and crawled in between the blanket and the sheets. The bed was warm from the thick layered blankets on top and the fuzzy fabric it was made out of and as soon as you sank into it, your tiredness from the long day hit you like a brick. Despite that though, you still went stiff when you felt the bed shift from Nanami laying down next to you. 

“If I steal all the blankets during the night feel free to take them back.” He said, making you jump and answer with a quick “Okay.”

Even after Itadori and Megumi had finally settled down you still couldn’t completely calm down. You were making sure to stay on the very edge of the bed to not accidentally make contact with Nanami, but it wasn’t a comfortable position. You thought he might be asleep already but you weren’t entirely sure, he hadn’t moved much from his original position either.  You could hear Itadori’s snores from across the room and the constant shifting of Megumi who was currently covering his head to try and drown it out. After a while though, you finally felt yourself begin to drift into sleep, and you welcomed it. 

It was the middle of the night. You don’t know what woke you up but you found yourself disturbed and rubbing your eyes in the pitch-black room. As your eyes were beginning to adjust though, you immediately froze. You found yourself facing the chest of Nanami with his arm under your head, you must have rolled over at some point in the night putting you right next to him. 

The slight smell of aftershave filled your nose and you could hear him gently breathing with the rise and fall of his chest, he must be fast asleep. The loud snores of Itadori still echoed through the room but all you could concentrate on was the man in front of you. You had never been this close to him before, or anyone before, and your heart felt like it was about the burst out of your chest. You wouldn’t dare move in fear of waking him up and making the situation awkward, so you stayed frozen in your spot trying not to shake. 

You couldn’t deny that you had thought about things like this before, the thought of being so close to him, having him touch you, and being able to feel him under your hands, but the prospect of having it actually happen was just too anxiety-inducing. You could feel your face going red as you thought about all the dirty things you had done before, and you felt a slight twinge between your legs. 

You couldn’t. Could you? You hated the thought as soon as it entered your head, but that didn’t stop your hand from creeping between your legs and resting on your stomach. It was so wrong, he was your teacher, he was nine years older than you, but you didn’t want to stop. You would probably never get a chance like this ever again. You could even promise yourself to sleep on the floor the next three nights, but just this once, you wanted to risk it. 

Your fingers crept down under the waistband of your shorts and panties and dipped into the slick folds between your legs. You tentatively put two fingers inside, never taking your eyes off of Nanami’s face, and began to pump them in and out. Your thumb found its place on your clit which you began to rub circles on. The sudden feeling of having your clit touched was enough to make you clamp your other hand over your mouth to try and quiet your breathing. Your first priority had to be staying silent.

You could feel your eyes beginning to half close as you gave into the pleasure, and they drifted down to look at Nanami’s chest and the sculpted muscles under his shirt. You began to move your fingers faster feeling your release on its way and you held your hand tighter to your mouth as your head became fuzzy. Small whimpers were beginning to slip out of your throat and you could feel your movements getting sloppier as you continued to speed up. 

A hand wrapped around your wrist, stilling your hand. 

You froze, eyes shooting open to find Nanami looking down at you with a weary expression. You opened your mouth to say something but nothing came out. Your brain was in a frenzy, you wanted to just evaporate into thin air or die on the spot, but you couldn’t do anything. 

“What are you doing?” He asked with no hint of emotion in his voice. 

“I-I’m sorry-- I--,” you couldn’t spit the words out, truthfully you couldn’t even think of what to say. You were caught red-handed and you didn’t think you would ever be able to make yourself forget the embarrassment you felt at this exact moment. 

“Do you normally do this when you’re put next to your teachers?” 

“No, I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’ll leave--” you stuttered out, trying your best to make the situation end as quickly as possible.

“So this is a special occasion then?” He asked, holding your gaze and not releasing your arm. 

“N-No--”

“Which is it then? Do you normally do this or is this a one-time thing?” He said, interrupting you before you could spit out another pitiful apology. You tried your best to slow your breathing to get out a coherent answer, but it wasn’t working with the way that Nanami’s eyes were drilling into yours.

“I-Its a one-time thing, I-I’m sorry, I’ll go sleep on the floor,” you said trying to pull your hand out of his grasp but he didn’t let go. You felt sick, you shouldn’t have taken the risk, you knew that the mortification you felt would outweigh the pleasure you got from masturbating if you got caught.

“You’ll be left frustrated then.” He said. Everything he was saying wasn’t registering, all you felt was the panic in your gut and the need to get away as quickly as possible. 

“T-That’s fine, I-I don’t care,” you quickly spit out, feeling tears pricking at the corner of your eyes.

“Are you sure...? ...I’d be willing to help,” he said, keeping his voice low as to not wake Itadori and Megumi.

“I--.., w-wait, what?” You said, the meaning of his words finally hitting you. 

“I would be willing to help, I don’t want one of my students feeling pent up and unsatisfied.”

“I…” you didn’t know what to say, you were so shocked by the whole situation that the thought of answering was even too much. He pulled your hand up from under your shorts and out into the open where evidence of your actions was clearly visible on your fingers. His gaze dropped back down to your face expecting a response. You opened your mouth to answer before diverting your eyes and opting to give a small nod.

Nanami’s hand landed on your hip and slowly made its way down under the waistband of your shorts while the arm that was under you came down to reach around your back and pull you closer. You could feel his fingers brushing past your stomach as they trailed closer to your dripping wet cunt. Your breath was caught in your throat as you felt everything that was happening, you had to be dreaming, there was no way. 

Nanami’s fingers finally reached your entrance and he slipped one inside of you, causing you to let out a small gasp and cling onto his shirt. His fingers were much larger than yours and could reach places that you couldn’t yourself, making you tighten up around him. It was truly torturous as he began to move his finger inside of you, the friction on your tight walls and the adrenaline from the whole situation was enough to make your head fuzzy and cause a small whimper to come out from your sealed lips. 

 You could feel him pulling you closer as you held onto his shirt and arched your back from the pleasure. He was already going at a gentle and agonizing pace inside of you, but when he added a second finger it was what threw you over the edge into a shaking mess. You were no longer able to control your breathing and keep quiet so you threw a hand over your mouth in order to stifle your moans and whimpers. 

“Getting close?” he asked, whispering into your ear making you shiver from the feeling of his breath on your skin.

Without thinking, you whined out, “Y-Yes, b-but I want more, I-I need you inside of me...” 

As soon as you said it you knew you had gone too far. Here Nanami was, fingering you and holding you close to help you cum, and you had the audacity to ask for more. His fingers stilled inside of you and you tightened up at the feeling of them sliding out, leaving you empty. Nanami put his hand under your chin and tilted your head up to look him in the eyes.

“Then climb on,” he said, making your eyes widen.

You took your hands away from their place on his shirt and began to unsteadily move yourself on top of him. At that same time, he had his fingers hooked around the waistband of your shorts and thoroughly soaked panties and was pulling them down your legs. You positioned yourself on top of his lap, your thighs on either side of his hips. You had your hands braced firmly on his chest, trying to hold yourself up, but you couldn’t manage sitting up more than a few inches. Under your bare pussy you could feel his hard-on through his pants and you were trying your best to keep your hips still and not grind on him. 

His large hands began to pull his pants and boxers down and you lifted your hips to make it easier, but when he had finally removed them you couldn't hide your surprise about his size. Apparently, the look was written all over your face because a hint of a smile was on Nanami’s face and he grabbed your hips to keep you steady.

“You were the one who said you wanted more, sweetheart. You haven’t changed your mind right?”

You dryly swallowed and quickly shook your head no. Even if you were worried about being able to take him, it didn’t mean that you weren’t going to try, especially when one of your wet dreams was playing itself out in real life.

Nanami slid his hands around your hips and under your thighs to help position you above his cock. You could feel yourself beginning to shiver with anticipation just by looking down at what you were going to take in your tight, dripping pussy. The need to be filled up by him was becoming overwhelming and he was taking his sweet time with looking at you and lowering you onto him. When the tip finally touched your entrance you let out a whimper followed up by a pathetic “please.”

“Please what? I wanna hear you say it.” Nanami said, bringing a hand up to stroke your cheek.

“P-Please fuck me, I-I wanna be filled up so badly,” you said, your voice barely more than a whisper. Finally, you felt him start to enter you, your walls painfully stretching to accommodate his size, and you weren’t able to stifle the high-pitched moan that escaped your lips when it happened. Your vision was getting blurry and your arms lost the strength to hold you up anymore, causing your head to smack into his chest. You heard Nanami curse at the loud noise you made and you felt his fingers force their way into your mouth and down your throat, forcing you to keep quiet. He continued to push your hips down onto him, earning a few whimpers and causing you to grip onto his arm. Despite your heavy breathing, he didn’t give you much time to adjust to his size, you could feel the painful sensation of him pressing up against your cervix as he held you down along with the feeling of your slick beginning to coat both of your thighs. 

His grip tightened on your ass as he began to lift you up and down, you tried your best to help by moving your hips but you didn’t have much strength left in your legs after being so close to cumming earlier. The feeling of him stretching you out and rubbing against your slick insides would have ordinarily caused you to make moans that could be heard through the walls, but the combined force of using all your willpower and having two fingers shoved down your throat was enough to reduce your noises to just quick and heavy breathing. The wet sound of you bouncing on his dick was the only noise that could be heard throughout the room and it was enough to make you tighten up around him, causing Nanami to shut his eyes and get a concentrated look on his face. 

In a hushed and deep voice, Nanami asked, “Can you keep quiet sweetheart?” which you quickly nodded to. As soon as he had removed his fingers from your mouth, leaving a trail of saliva behind, your hand was back over your mouth and you were biting your lip hard enough to draw blood. His free hand brushed a piece of your hair behind your ear before making its way under your shirt. You felt him grab your chest and begin to pinch your nipple between his middle and index finger, making your job of staying quiet much harder than before. The feeling of having your chest played with sent waves of pleasure down to your crotch, only causing you to feel yourself get wetter and closer to orgasm. The pace he was fucking you at wasn’t ruthless, but it was slow and powerful enough to make you feel your release building up inside of you, every thrust made it a challenge for you to hold on and not completely give in. You could feel that he was close too, his movements were getting more erratic and you could see the sheen of sweat on his face in the dim light of the window. 

You took your free hand and moved it up to his face, brushing your fingers past his cheek and sliding them into his hair. You didn't feel like you would be able to hold on much longer and your eyes began to cross as you let yourself fully give in.

“Cum with me sweetheart, okay?” He said, looking up at you through lowered eyelids. You nodded with what little energy you could and prepared yourself for what was next. His hand moved from its spot on your chest and went down to help fuck you faster on his dick. The pace quickly picked up and you could feel that your pussy was going to be bruised in the morning from how hard he was going. He reached his thumb down to your clit and began to move it in circles like you were doing before, causing you to gasp and grip onto the hair that was in your hand. 

It took all your effort to keep in your moans and whimpers as you reached your climax, feeling your cunt spasm around him and the words “good girl” falling from his lips. Your vision went blurry as he continued to fuck you through your orgasm and cum inside you, filling you up with his hot sticky liquid. 

When you regained your focus, you were both a gasping and sweaty mess under the covers. His hands had moved to rest around your back and hold you against him and his cock was still sheathed inside of you. You didn’t have any energy to move and simply let your arms fall limp on the bed, savoring the afterglow and the feeling of his cum starting to drip out of you. 

You felt immensely tired and could feel your eyelids wanting to close. You felt Nanami place a kiss on top of you head which caused a faint smile to form on your lips and you wrapped your arms around him, ready to fall asleep exactly where you were resting on top of him.

As you gave one last look around the room though, the last thing you saw before you drifted to sleep was Itadori staring at you wide eyed from the other bed. 

[mayansmcsblog]

the prank war has began

sooooo i saw this gif and instantly got an idea but as i wrote it, the idea completely changed and somehow it turned into this.

there is a ton of swearing😂

credit to @thedevilsmoonshine​​ for the gif!

thanks to @withmyteeth​ for helping me with some ideas of what to add in.

this is the first time I've wrote anything in years and the first time I'm ever publishing my work. sorry in advance for any spelling mistakes

A persistent ringing was what woke you up at 2am for the 3rd time this week. You already knew who it was, let's face it who else would be calling at 2am other than him? Opening your eyes you rolled onto your back, staring at the ceiling debating if you should let it ring out or answer

What if he’s hurt? No, that would have happened during the day not in the middle of the night Maybe he just needed someone to talk to? That was the likely option.

 You and bishop always had a ‘vibe’ as some people said. You were friends for a few months before he introduced you to the mc, of course it was a shock at first but after a month it slowly became your life. All the parties? you were there. Club events? You were there.

Overtime you and bishop had gotten closer, he would come over to your place all the time, announced or not.

he would come over in the dead of the night when his mind got too loud ,When he needed someone to talk to ,When he simply wanted the company of a friend that did not judge him for the things he did for the mc. He would come over any opportunity he got.

You could swear he was at your place more than he was his own Most of the time he would spend a few weeks at yours, only going back to his to get clothes.

Over the course of the last 6 months you and him had gotten a lot closer, he spent the night a lot, his stuff is all over the place but you two aren't dating , you didn't have any type of label. Why? You couldn't be sure. Most people assumed you two were dating but they were wrong. You two did everything normal couples would yet- you had no label. you were never his girlfriend and he was never your boyfriend.

Taking a deep breath you reached to your bedside table and grabbed your phone but as you could pick it up, it stopped ringing.

That’s not a bad thing right? Maybe he didn’t want to wake you up. Before you could set it back down you reserved a text, scrolling down your notification panel you read it;

📲: Bishop 🖤

You up?

Two words. That’s it just two short words.

Should you ignore it? Yeah, that's probably the best option. Did you want to ignore it? No

Another ping brought you out of your thoughts

📲:Bishop🖤

The guys are being children and I could either use some help over here or a way out😂please tell me you're awake and not just reading this from your notifications and watching Netflix again.

he knows you too well. Being a night owl you normally go to sleep around 3am, maybe 2am if you have work the next day. Normally you would just ignore bishop till the next morning but somehow he always knew when you ignored him and when you were actually sleeping.

Taking a look at your notifications again you saw you had a lot for snapchat, a  few from Coco, a few from Angel along with one single snap from Gilly.

Looks like the trio is having fun.

Opening bishop’s texts you finally reply;

📱: I’m awake just debating on if I should open all the snaps I have from the trio and reply to a seemingly annoyed jefe.

Almost immediately you got a response

📲:Bishop🖤

Ha-ha very funny. Come and sort your boys out, they are messing with that shitty ass car again, trying to do something with the engine

📱: my boys? You're their president, you sort them out. What makes you think they listen to me🤧?

📲: Bishop🖤

They actually like you😂they will listen

📱: keep telling yourself that, they only listen to me when I’m getting them food

📲:Bishop🖤

That counts as listening

📱: whatever

Locking your phone you got up out of bed knowing there was a slim chance you would go back to bed till the early hours now that you were awake. 

Putting on a pair of shorts and a shirt you got your phone and went to the kitchen, deciding to get on a bottle of water and find some shitty Netflix show you wouldn’t even pay attention to

Grabbing a bottle from the fridge you heard your phone vibrate on the counter. Pulling down the notification panel once again you saw it was a text from Ez

📲; smart ass😂📚

Please come and get these children, I can't deal with them anymore

Okay something is seriously going on here.

Face timing Ez you set the phone back on the counter, moving towards the window to open it and let the cool air flow thru the room

Within seconds he accepted and his voice came over the speakers

"Ayyy y/n where you at? Come get the children. Me and bishop are going crazy over here" you could hear a hint of playfulness in his voice 

Picking up your phone you saw he was sitting on the steps outside the club, his phone in his hand angled so you could just see the side of his head while he was looking at something in the distance. 

"I'm at home like all of you should be by now, leave the children alone to play. Are they hurting anyone?" you said as  you headed towards the front room and sat on the sofa

"Not yet"

You could hear cursing being thrown around by numerous people in the background along with the clacking on metal and rock music in the distance.

"Yet?" You questioned

"Yeah, I mean other than themselves" he laughed

"Of course"

There was a few beats of silence before you heard Coco shouting

"Boy Scout! Who’s that eh? You got you another girl?" By his tone you could tell he was definitely high

"No it's y/n dumbass" he responded, turning the phone so you could see Coco walking towards him.

"Ohhh damn I thought you was about to get some man" by now Coco had took over the whole screen "heyyyy y/n what you doinnnnn"

"I’m about to hang up on your dumbass"

"No, no, no don’t do that" taking the phone off Ez he stood up "that’s not nice is it"

You could hear Ez asking where he was going with his phone and be replied with a simple "shhhh" as he walked back to where he originally came from

"Want to see something funny?" He said. You weren't sure if that meant he was going to show you Angel tied to a chair again or Gilly attempting a backflip.

Both are amusing but it's doubtful it would happen three times....

"Did you tie Angel to a chair again? What did I tell you about playing nice hmm?" You put on the most sarcastic voice you could

"Ha funny and no...We couldn't find and ropes"

That made you laugh way more than it should have because you knew that Bishop had hid them in the meeting room and under Ez's trailor after the last time they guys got drunk and thought it was a good idea to put rope all over the place like an obstacle course

"Coco you're gonna kill someone at this rate”

"Hush ight? Jesus be quite ino want em to know your here"

"Okay?" Putting yourself on mute you could hear Angels voice in the background along with Gillys and bishops

"Listen," Angel said , slapping something metallic, clearly as high as Coco was and seemingly having one of his 'genius idea' moments

"OI dumbass listen to meeeee" he said again

"What?" Gilly responded along with a sound of something metal hitting the ground "dammit Angel you made me loose the fucking 10mm socket again"

The camera was still pointed at Coco’s shoulder as he walked over

"Boys, boys, boys" damn he sounded like a child "what would you say if I told you I could get y/n  to being us food"

You audible groaned as he suggested that, there was no way you was going to get them food this late at night.

You heard both Gilly and Angel say "what" then "tell her to get McDonalds" or "let’s get subway" by they were quickly cut off

"Oi children! Stop it, it's  2:30 in the morning, leave her alone '' bishops' voice was closer than you expected. He was probably sitting in the garage with the others observing what they are doing and making sure they don’t kill each other

You couldn’t help but unmute yourself

"Sorry Obispo but the children need their food" your tone was playful, kind of, half of you was saying it just to annoy him, the other half was wanting to see his reaction

"Gimme that phone" within seconds Coco was gone from the screen and Bishop was in the frame 

"So this is why you haven't replied to me hmm?" You couldn’t tell if he was serious or playful

You hadn't missed his text? He never responded to you right?

"Hold that thought" you pulled down the notification panel and saw he did text you.

2:15

📲:Bishop🖤

I’m kicking these guys out in a few minutes

2:20

📲: Bishop🖤

I’m giving them 3 more minutes till I kick them out.

2:23

📲: Bishop🖤

Can I come over if it's not too late after these children leave? "

"Oh, sorry I was busy talking to Ez and then being stolen by Coco" 

"Nah you were just ignoring me wasn’t you?" He responded

"No totally not"

"Sure I totally believe you" he laughed

"I think Ez might want his phone back"

"Wow, nice to see you like speaking to me"

"Well then why don't you call me instead? At least smart ass wanted to talk to me, even if it was about the children of the mc"

The line went silent for a moment. All you could hear was the guys cursing about finding the 10m socket and the sound of bishop walking.

"Okay, I’ll be back in like 20 minutes" with that the line went dead, he didn’t even give you time to respond

 Wow he deadass hung up on me, how mature.

Maybe it was time you opened those snaps. What else did you have to do?

Opening snap chat you saw there was a purple bubble next to Coco, a red bubble next to Angel and a blue bubble next to Gilly.

You opened Gilly's first

12:22~

"What time does McDonald’s close?"

Followed by

"Nvm its 24 hours isn’t it😂😂"

You quickly replied "dumbass" and moved onto Angel’s chat.

Opening the snap it was a picture of Coco, Gilly and creeper sitting opposite him, beers in hand, while seemingly talking along with the caption

"Come party with us"

Skipping past the snap you was presented with another one, this time a video where Coco was sitting on the roof of a car while Gilly was attempting to push it

"C’mon man it's not that hard" Coco said

"Yeah man come on" Angel said from behind the camera

"Shut up before I make you do this" Gilly responded

What the hell have these guys been up to all night?

The snaps just got worse from there. 

Coco’s was full of them doing random stuff, throwing things at each other and even them sitting on Ez trailer roof? How did they even get up there, and how did it not break?

One of them definitely stood out from the others. It seemed like someone else was filming on his phone while Coco was trying to rip off a car door by the handle but it snapped off, sending Coco across the garage and into the wall while Gilly, Ez and Angel laughed at him

His only response was a simple "okay you mother fucker this is war" followed by his practically running like a horse in battle towards the door kicking it resulting in a bent. Unfortunately that's where the snap ended.

Is this what they had been up to? No wonder bishop wanted out.

When the cascade of snaps finished you saw there was still a blue bubble next to Coco's name, clicking on it you could see it was a video around 3 minutes long. 

You saw part of it was what you had already seen. Coco trying to pull the door, being flung into a wall, the guys laughing along with Coco kicking the door once again except this time it didn’t end when he kicked the door.

"Bro you’re not doing it hard enough" Angel stated while moving Coco out of the way

"Look you gotta-" he kicked the base of the door "-start from the bottom-'' he kicked it again causing the bottom to cave in slightly "-see? It's easy"

"Shut up man I’m stronger than you let me do it" Coco pushed Angel out of the way

"No" Angel responded, pushing coco slightly

"Yes" Coco pushed back

"No" Angel pushed again

This went on for a few moments before Gilly set the camera down on some type of surface before walking over to them

"Yo I'm stronger then both of you let me do it"

Coco stopped pushing Angel and turned to Gilly "Nah man you will steal all the shit and run off again like last time"

"Shut up man"

All three of the men were too busy arguing to notice Ezekiel had come into the garage in search of something

"Why the fuck are you guys arguing?"

All of them spoke at the same time

"Coco is sayin he’s stronger than me"

"They are children!"

"Angels tryna be a smart ass"

"You guys are fucking stupid" Ez moved towards where the phone was but didn't pick it up, rather opening the draw of the desk that was below it and picking something up, as he pulled back you could see he was holding some keys.

"Move“ He pushed Angel out the way of the door and unlocked it, grabbing a duffle bag out of the back seat, handing it to Coco

"Here"

All of the guys stood in a state of shock. Coco was the first to speak

"Why the fuck didn’t you tell us there was keys!" He exclaimed

"Because watching you guys be idiots and is fun to see you struggle"

"I swear to God I’m going to say no on your patch vote" Gilly butted into the conversation.

Ez just laughed as he walked away, the video ended shortly after all three of them cussed.

Shaking your head you laughed, of course they are dumb enough not to look for keys.

You quickly texted Coco

"You guys are dumb as shirtttt, you’re lucky Ez is around to help your dumbass's. Did the door not want to play nice hmm? Did you put a dent in the wall again with your fat ass? What was so important in that bag?"

Checking the time you saw it was 2:45

Thank god it's a Saturday tomorrow.

Setting your phone on the coffee table you realized you never put the TV on when you sat down, you were obviously too distanced by FaceTime, meaning you were sitting in silence.

Was silence a bad thing? No

Was it somehow deafening? Yeah

Grabbing the remote you turned on the TV, quickly going to Netflix in an attempt to find something decent to watch.

Your watch list was full of horror movies and crime documentaries. Definitely not the best thing to watch on your own. There were a few suspense movies on there but none of them seemed to interest you.

Going to the movie section you passed almost every more option from horror to romance to action because nothing grabbed your attention or seemed interesting.

Going back to the home page you looked at the screen for a few minutes

Was it even worth putting something on? It was almost 3am after all.

Grabbing your phone you decided to scroll through Instagram.

After a few minutes bishop’s name appeared, taking over your screen with an incoming FaceTime.

Accepting the call you were immediately greeted with the site of his kutte, followed by him putting his helmet on. By the angle you could tell his phone was resting between his handlebars and the fuel tank.

"I take it you're still awake then" he wasn’t looking at the screen. Rather he was looking in the distance just above his phone

The background suddenly filled with the sound of bike engines. He seemed to say something but it was overpowered by bikes, so you didn't hear what he said. His bike wasn’t turned on yet because the phone wasn't vibrating.

Suddenly Bishop reached his arm out to someone just out of frame and you saw him lift upwards off the seat slightly, someone’s hand patted his shoulder blade.

By the look of the tattoo on the wrist you could tell it was Coco.

Looking away from your phone you looked back up at the TV. You could still hear engines coming from your phone but now it sounded like 3 of them.

Almost simultaneously they all revved before pulling off. The sound slowly faded out as they got further out the compound.

You were still looking at the TV, you decided to look at the top 10 of the day, maybe there was something good on there.

The Meg

Reading the description it actually seemed like a good movie. Putting it on you set the remote down and looked back at your phone

This time bishop wasn’t in the frame at all. Rather you could just see the length of his bike and the wall behind where it was parked.

Where did he go?

Your question was quickly answered when he picked up the phone.

By the sound of the wind you could tell he was jogging somewhere. The phone was at his side facing outwards, you could see him approaching the steps to the clubhouse. He quickly went up them and opened the door

"Prospect!" He shouted "make sure you lock up, I’m heading out"

You could hear Ez reply with a quick "okay" from somewhere in the back

He picked up his phone so you could see his face. unlike before, you took the time to actually take in his appearance 

His eyes looked tired, his beard was longer than it usually is, he looked...well, you couldn’t describe it. He just didn’t seem himself.

You were too busy looking at him to realize he asked you a question

"Y/n"

"What?"

"Did you not hear me?"

"Oh- no sorry I turned my volume down because of the bikes"

"Oh" he paused "I asked if your door was open"

You looked at the screen for a second

"What?"

He placed his phone back on the fuel tank and straddled his bike

"I said, is your door open. You know like your front door.....to your house" he repeated, grabbing his helmet, he must have taken it off while you were looking at the TV, once again he was fastening the buckle.

"No? Why?"

"Do you want to unlock it?" you could see him kick the stand of the bike up by the way his leg moved.

"Why?" You asked he looked at the screen for a few seconds before laughing at the way your face changed as you realized what he meant

"Obispo are you inviting yourself over once again?" You questioned

"Yep"

"What if I don't let you in?" You challenged. Of course you would let him in but sometimes it was fun to mess with him

"What if I climb through a window?" He said, pulling a cigarette out his pocket and lighting it

"Okay now that's just creepy" you laughed. He shook his head as he blew out the smoke from his lungs

"So? Can I come over or not?"

Looking around your front room you saw it was a little messy but you could easily clean it up within 5 minutes.

"Sure"

"See you in 20 querida" he winked as he started the bike before ending the call.

~

You finished cleaning the front room, kitchen and your bedroom up within 10 minutes

Checking the fridge you saw that there were only 4 beers left, taking a mental note to get more the next time you go shopping.

Sitting back on the sofa you realized you had missed around half of the movie.

Pointless watching it now

You knew by bishop coming over there was a good chance you two would be awake till 4am talking about random stuff and watching something on Netflix or playing some type of game.

You also knew he liked action movies so you went to that section in search of one that sounded entertaining 

The platform ~ that didn’t sound so bad right?

Watching the preview, you became interested and wanted to watch it, forget Bishop you can watch it on your own.

"The ones above, the ones below and the one before" the voice of a man came over your speakers, he sounded young but old simultaneously.

You had just got past the introduction when you heard the rumble of a bike in the distance. For a moment you wondered if it was off the TV but as it got louder you realized it was bishop.

Getting up from the sofa you walked towards the door.

You set your hand on the door handle for what seemed like hours as you waited for him to pull up outside. Did you normally meet him at the door? Nope. Most of the time he would invite himself over and just sit down on the sofa with you for hours.

Sometimes you two spoke the whole time he was over until you both went to bed, other times you would sit in a comfortable silence- just happy to me in one another's presence.

You heard the engine cut off just beyond the door. You counted to three before unlocking it, as you did you saw Bishop was parked on the curb, still sitting on his bike while setting the helmet on the handlebars. He was yet to notice you standing at the door.

Taking a cigarette out his pocket he turned towards the street, looking at the houses to see if your neighbor's were awake, you had no idea why he did it but every time he pulled up, whether it was in a car or on his bike he always seemed to look at the neighboring houses.

He lit the cigarette, back still turned to you as he looked down the street. Leaning against the door frame you looked him over you could see that his posture was slouched indicating he was tired, he still had one hand resting on the handlebars almost like he wasn't just looking down the street but also trying to crack his back. The other hand was on the cigarette in his mouth, even from the distance from the doorway to the curb where he parked. You could see his leg was bouncing and so was his hand slightly, now that definitely wasn't normal.

 As he exhaled the smoke he turned around towards your house, jumping slightly when he saw you standing at the door. He seemed to compose himself as he took the keys out of the bike and stood up, walking towards you, his head bowed slightly as he tossed the cigarette onto the food

“I hope you are going to pick that up” you said 

“I will” he looked up at you, he was just beyond the porch steps. His eyes looked tired, there were clearly bags underneath them. He was definitely tired- if you knew anything about him ,he probably hasn't slept for a few days, and if he did it was for a short time

“You look tired”

“So do you” he cracked a small smile, by now he was standing in front of you

“Maybe because someone woke me up at 2 in the morning then I had to deal with grown ass men asking me to bring them food then suddenly someone decided to invite themselves over?”

“In my defense i thought you were still awake and the children wasn't my fault” 

You laughed as you moved away from the door frame and towards the kitchen “just come i stupid before i lock you out”

“Ouch that's harsh” he put a hand over his heart “that insult really hurt” he walked threw the door and shut it behind him, hanging his kutte up on the coat hook in the hallway along with his jacket

“Stop being a wimp” 

You heard him move into the front room and sit on the couch.

“Want a beer?” you asked as you went in the fridge for another bottle of water

"Yeah- what's this?" He questioned

“What's what?”

”On the TV dumbass” 

Walking back into the front room you saw he had his hand behind his head, his phone was on the table along with his keys.

“Oh, the platform. It seemed interesting so I started watching and only someone distracted me” you said as you handed him the beer and sat on the sofa, leaving some space between you and him.

“What's it about?”

“Not too sure something along the lines of some type of prison system where the food is on a moving platform, I only just started it”

“Hmm” grabbing the remote he pressed play while sipping his beer.

You two sat in comfortable silence while watching the movie but every so often you would look over at bishop, partly to make sure he wasn't asleep and partly to see if he was okay.

Over the time span of 30 minutes you noticed he wasn't watching the movie, rather he was looking at the wall clearly spaced out somewhere in his own mind. He was sitting so his right elbow was on the arm rest and his right hand in his mustache, messing the hair lightly. He always did that when he was thinking about something. His other hand was resting in his lap holding the beer you gave him.

“Bishop?” you waited a few moments but he didn't respond “Bishop'' you repeated, still no reaction. Taking the beer from his hand you set it on the table, putting your hands on his cheeks you turned his face toward you “bishop”

“Hmm?” he finally looked at you. Removing your hands from his face you looked him in the eyes

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing” he said shaking his his head

“Don't lie to me” your tone came out harsher than you intended he raised his eyebrows at you

“sorry didn't mean to sound like i was being mean” you pulled away slightly with the intention of going back to where you originally sat but that idea was quickly thrown out the window when he grabbed your torso and practically picked you up, sitting you on his lap. He put his head in the space between your shoulder and neck while rubbing his hands down your back

“What's wrong Obispo?” you asked once again, putting your hand in his hair, playing with it slightly.

“I'm just stressed” his voice was muffled as he spoke into your shouder

“About?”

“Everything” he moved his head so he was looking up at you “the stuff with Marcus leaving, the mc as a whole with the guys turning against each other ,all the shit going on with other clubs. Everything is just a mess and it's stressing me out” he explained. You kept on hand playing with his hair while the other went to his cheek

“Can you do anything about it?” you asked, he cocked his head to the side slightly clearly not understanding what you meant ”can you do anything about that stuff?” he looked at you for a moment before shrugging his shoulders

you continued “Marcus made his own mind up, you can't do anything there. The mc always sorts itself out, members fight, it's normal, you of all people should know what.” you explained while using your thumb trace the lines across his face caused by the lack of sleep

“Yeah, i guess you're right” he leaned up and kissed you softly “I have to say, I'm a president of a fucking mc and yet your smarter then me”

“I'm not smarter than you, I just look at what's happening and think about in the moment, where as you” you poked his chest lightly “ seem to think its a good idea to overthink stuff and look at consequences a year in advance that will probably never happen” He hummed in response before putting his head back into your neck

“Can i ask you something?” you asked

“You just did”

“Very funny” you moved to get out of his lap but was quickie pulled back down

“What was the question?”

”What the hell was in the duffle bag? coco sent me the video them trying to get it and it seemed like they really wanted it”

“Oh” bishop almost immediately started laughing to the point his whole body shook and his head was thrown back.

“Tell me stoopid” you slapped his chest slightly, playing with his shirt

“Well you see- me and Ez thought it would be funny to lock it in a car that needed scraping while they were getting high and then tell them the doors didn't work to see how long it would take for them to it but Gilly ended up pushing it from the front by the fighting cage to the garage” he managed to get out

“That didn't answer my-”

“Just wait” he cut you off “neither me or Ez knew what was in it but those three are too stupid to just break a window so they were attempting to get it for a good 20 minutes before Ez opened the door and got it out” he explained still laughing slightly “turn out it was just full of junk food and snacks they brought to eat once they get hungry later ”

“You two are evil”

“No we was having fun” he laughed

“Evil”

Just as bishop was about the respond his phone started to ring, you moved out his lap and sat back on the couch while he get up and went out the back to answer it.

looking at the tv you realized the film wasn't interesting you at all. Grabbing you phone you saw you had a snap from coco and one from angel 

what did they do now?

opening the app you clicked on to yours and Angels chat only to find a simple text

“if coco send you a video, delete it”

what?

“why” you replied before swiping off the chat and going onto Coco's. inevitably you where present with a video and a chat 

“Pease, please watch this it will be the best favor you ever do for me 🙏🏽”

your curiosity got the better of you, clicking on the video you immediately recognized the place.it was Angels front room. Gilly was chuckling lowkey behind the camera while coco was next to the door on a stool with a bucket in his hands while laughing. The camera panned down to show Gilly holding a bag of flour, now you could only assume that the bucket was full of water 

surely this couldn't end good

within a few seconds the door opened and angel walked in, coco immediately reacted throwing the contents of the bucket on top of his head while Gilly threw the flour over him.

Angel immediately froze, his face going into a startled expression followed by on of anger. Shutting the door behind him he shook of the excess flour before locking the door.

Gilly and Coco where in hysterics as Angel turned towards Coco and lunged for him, coco had a quick reaction and ran towards the backdoor , only to find it locked 

“fuck” he cursed looking for ways to escape, looking at the kitchen window he seemed to weight out his chances. by now Angels attention had gone towards Gilly who was still stood in the same place laughing. Angel lunged for him, tackling him to the ground while coco grab the phone from Gillys hand and made a run for the kitchen.

There was a lot of laughing from Gilly and shuffling in the background along with Angel cussing him out , then there was a bunch of laughing from them both of them but you could make out Angel saying “you think that shits funny huh?” “watch me key your bike” “ I'm gonna get you back so hard man

suddenly the phone was tossed out the kitchen window, shortly after you could see coco's head and body slowly emerging from the kitchen window. after a few seconds he finally managed to crawl out. picking up the phone he began to jog down the front yard 

“ha bitchesss I'm freeeee!”he exclaimed “the one time being skinny pays off”

in the background you hear a door unlock followed by Angel shouting “run bitch cuz I'm fucking coming for you”

then the video cut off

you where sat on the sofa crying from laughing so hard you quickly saved the video and texted coco back

“that is the best thing I've seen in months���”

just as you started to calm down you started to hear bishop laughing from outside the backdoor. almost imminently he walked threw the back door in hysterics 

“did you-did you see-” he could barely talk in-between laughing 

“did i see the video?” 

“yeah”

“yes i saw it” you laughed

taking his phone he turned it towards you, it was a FaceTime from angel covered in flour, his beard was a littler of loose flour and a clumpy mess of flour and water. you couldn't help by laugh at his serious expression

“not funny y/n” he said clearly angry. in the background you could hear Coco and Gilly laughing

“you watched the video didn't you” it wasn't a question rather a statement 

“yeah” you replied still laughing 

“fuck sakeeee” suddenly he cut the call of cause both you and bishop to laugh even harder

~~~~~~~~

so yh this was men to be a fluff with bishop but i got distracted and it just kind of turned into the start of a prank war between Coco, Angle and Gilly.

[lokislittlesigyn]

// loki spoilers

This is basically a huge infodump on my thoughts about the first episode, because I doubt y’all want to sift through my trauma-ridden ramblings. I’ll make another post for the rest. This is just everything not related to the IW stuff/my reaction to that. It’s general thoughts, theories, musings.

1. When Loki gets first taken into the TVA. Is that Peggy Carter in the background? Others have suggested it might be. What would that mean??? Will we see the TVA fix the mess the Russos made with Steve/Peggy (not likely) or is it just a lookalike? Who knows..

2. A skrull at the main intake desk! Idk not super relevant just interesting!

3. I’m kind of glad they changed the... uncomfortable scene... with the robot burning his clothes off. He gets more time to react to seeing the machine itself, and he seems more shocked (”Now.. H-hang on just a minute.”) than angry (”Now hang on just a minute!”) i still feel.. horrible for him, i’m glad nobody Saw him and that the machine didn’t grab the clothes off, but still. Ehhh.. uncomfortable.

He is beautiful though, don’t get me wrong - I’d just prefer a shirtless Loki scene where he wants to be shirtless? let him do what he wants with his body?? he’s probably felt so out of control of his body, from being jotun to falling through space that any invasion of privacy like that hits extra deep...

That being said, I recognize the utility of the scene for the narrative - his lack of control, his literally being stripped of what he was before.

4. WHO IS THE MAN WITH THE CAT. What is his name. I love that he has a mug with his cat on it. But I want to know more. Who is he?

4.1 WHY DIDNT YOU LET LOKI PET THE CAT Please,,, I am begging you,,, let loki pet the cat and have something react kindly to him and purr all happily at his scratching behind their ears plea s e

5. The info sheet. Now this is just a little nitpicky tidbit, but in a previous promo they listed Loki’s height as 6′4 ft and weight as 525 lbs. This is taken directly from the comics if I’m not mistaken. However, in the actual show he’s listed as  6′2 (Tom’s height and Loki’s presumed height) but I don’t remember if his weight is the same. Is Loki 6′2? 6′4? please let me know i want to know how smol i am in comparison

6. His little aggressive shaking of the ticket at the guard makes me giggle each time.

7. The fact the turnstile hits so low on him reminds me,, I am short compared to him. Those things hit my stomach/waist. That one hit his legs. I am once again asking Loki to pick me up.

8. The cartoon with Miss Minutes introducing the TVA is wonderful, I love the art style especially. But it raises questions about Variants... I guess Variants can just, pop out of nowhere? Any action could be the wrong one? And then once you commit the wrong action you either get returned or pruned? Yikes??? And THIS ties into another thing later!

9. The trial scene. I have a hunch - a feeling, a suspicion. That one of three things may be true.

A. The Time-Keepers never actually existed. They’re fabricated, and now whoever runs the TVA is actually using the excuse of “The Time-Keepers decree it so!!!” to carry out whatever They think is right. The fact we haven’t seen the Time-Keepers makes me.. suspicious...

B. The Time-Keepers existed, but they have since passed on, however that may have happened. Now someone is doing the same as above, using the excuse of the Time-Keepers apparent dictations to run things.

C. The Time-Keepers do exist, and do run the timeline/TVA, but maybe they’re not infallible? Maybe the TVA info video is lying or incomplete in some way? Idk I just feel like, something about the TVA and how they run things has to be wrong. It has to? Something is off. Again, this will tie into another thought later...

I have no idea if any of these are actually true! But Loki’s questions of “Who’s in charge here? What do they do? What do you do?” punctuated by laughter leads me to believe he’s suspecting something too, or perhaps just trying to figure this mess out.

10. Seiðr/Magic. We see in this scene, Loki’s magic (”powers”) don’t work in the TVA. (and a quick side note, did he have to Flex like that? do you have to make me see Loki’s bare arms Flex like that? be still my heart. anyway please get that collar off of him and let him rest for five minutes) This makes me wonder.. Why isn’t Loki in his Jotun form? His pale skin and blue eyes are decided by magic, are they not? I suppose this is 2012, so perhaps Odin’s magic is keeping Loki looking like that. But if magic doesn’t work in the TVA, why would his spell reach so far? Clearly Loki’s magic isn’t what’s doing it. How is Loki not appearing as a Jotun? Is his Jotun form repressed - is pale skin his default now, rather than something hidden by magic? I need answers!

11. he sounds so scared about being “reset” please dont hurt him,,

12. cALLING LOKI A PUSSYCAT? (lokitty confirmed) I think Mobius was goading him (Mobius strikes me.. As extremely clever. He’s trying to push Loki’s buttons to see who he’s dealing with. At least, I hope so. Because if he really meant that “You were born to cause pain and suffering and death... All so that others can achieve the best versions of themselves.” and that line about killing Frigga??? No no no he is not guilty. He had no way of knowing what would happen. It wasn’t right to send Algrim up to Asgard (i think algrim wouldve found the way up anyway) but there was no intent to hurt Frigga. I really hope you’re trying to goad him, Mobius, because if you believe that I trust you much less. anyway i digress) but wow is he pushing Loki’s buttons a lot. I can’t... Blame him entirely, I understand he’s trying to make sure Loki’s on his side, maybe I’m just too soft for Loki idk. But some of that was very cruel to say. /:

12.1 AND ANOTHER THING ABOUT MOBIUS. That scene with the girl in the church?? Did that little girl kill the men? Is that young Sylvie? Or is she using an illusion to make herself look young and innocent? What’s going on!!!!

13. LOKI SNATCHING THE LITTLE TIME-TWISTER DEVICE AND STOWING IT IN HIS POCKET.... POCKET....... sorry sometimes i get so caught up about loki that i just say random words in between little noises and squeals,,, i am a silly thing

14. CASEY. CASEY??? That whole exchange is funny. Poor Loki, just trying to intimidate this guy so he can escape but - Casey doesn’t know what a fish is. to be fair.... thor doesn’t seem to know what a raccoon is... right?

15. That bit with the infinity stones is kind of funny until you realize

A. Natasha died for a paperweight

B. Tony died from paperweights

C. Loki was tortured for paperweights

D. Oh, and Gamora died for a paperweight too. And Vision. Need I go on?

Then it becomes less of exclusively “haha funny” and now it’s a mix of funny and pain and gosh, is that a good way to sum up being a Marvel/Loki fan sometimes...

16. Loki gazing at the timeline all “Is this the most powerful thing in the universe?” or something, i’m sorry i don’t remember exactly... made me think of a meme and i shall make it presently.

17. I love that Loki got to see examples of how his family loves him but the fact he’s all “I can’t go back.” really just breaks me. It’s like he can finally see they love him after all of this mess, and now he doesn’t have the chance. Please, please let him be happy. Give him some relief. This is the Loki that just came off finding out about being Jotun, falling from the Bifrost, encountering Thanos, attacking Earth, facing defeat, and now he’s being thrashed around in this wild place and has just found out he inadvertently caused Frigga’s death (he did not kill her: his actions, by mistake, lead to her murder, let me be very clear) AND Odin will die AND all the rest... And he wants to be with them.

18. Loki’s reaction to Thor suggesting the hug makes me soft. Please I want to hug this little mischief man so so so bad-

19. Skipping over the iw parts! That’s for another post because this one will be grossly long anyway.

20. “I don’t enjoy hurting people.” and “It's part of the illusion. It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear. A desperate play for control.” was all so, so validating. I’ve been trying to argue on Loki’s behalf for almost a solid decade. Seeing the show recognize that Loki’s not all just violence and hurting for “fun”, that he’s not unhinged and bloodthirsty.. Is so nice. It’s just so, so comforting. and it gives me hope for future episodes that they won’t go the route of “oh haha loki bullied and mistreated and stabbed thor for years!!! :)” loki cries during basically every fight with Thor and you want me to believe he stabs Thor for fun? absolutely not.

21. Theory.. Just another hunch.. So we know a fugitive variant, aka Loki, is running amok. Refer back to 8 and 9.C. What if the Time-Keepers never actually fixed the timeline into a single timeline? What if there are other timelines, and these different Loki variants have hopped over to the current one? Or, maybe the Time-Keepers did fix the timeline into a single one, and these Lokis are remnants from that huge time-war at the beginning? Time runs differently in relative spaces, they may have Just Left that war from their perspective!

I say Lokis and not Loki because we’re pretty sure there’s Female/Lady Loki, Old Man/King Loki, and possibly Young/Kid Loki. That’s at least three. From the peeks of Asgard and NYC we’ve seen from the trailers, I think we’re also getting an Asgardian King!Loki and Midgardian King/Vote!Loki. (unless our dearest variant is hopping into timelines and situating into them, but I doubt Mobius would let that happen..?) That’s five.

To further support this, keep in mind, I believe recently six (i think 6 regular and 6 rare...) different funko pops were announced for the series? I’m not sure if they’re in addition to the Loki and Mobius already released. If they are, there’s enough room for each Loki and maybe a TVA agent. One of the pops is supposed to have a buddy/companion I think? Maybe they’re making the cat guy into one, or maybe there’s something else (Throg, anyone?).

22. That is totally Lady Loki/Sylvie at the end by the way. Has to be. But why does she want the reset devices? Why did she snatch that TVA Hunter? Again, WHAT’S GOING ON

ANYWAY this was a very long post if you made it this far, I commend you.

[whatifxwereyou]

Ashes Chapter 13: Perception

Fandom: Mortal Kombat 2021

Pairing: Liu Kang x Reader

A/N: Maybe it's inevitable. Definitely cried like an adult while writing parts of this. I'm a weepy baby. I hope you imagine an ugly MySpace style sparkly gif every time Y/N uses the word "kidnapping". As always, appreciate you guys <3

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Buzz.

You peeked one eye open and caught sight of the smart phone dancing around on the nightstand close by. Strong arms were wrapped around you and there was no mistaking who they belonged to this time. Liu. You’d fallen asleep next to each other and somewhere along the line, in unconsciousness, he’d cuddled against you.

This was fine.

This was all fine.

The phone continued to dance and nearly vibrated right off the edge of the nightstand and onto the floor. You grabbed it from its place near the edge and wiped your eyes with your other hand. Johnny Cage. Rubbing your eyes again, you checked the time on the phone. It was nine at night. Carefully you snuck out of Liu’s arms without waking him. You’d mastered sneaking out of bed while you’d been dating Kung Lao. He was so heavy a sleeper that in the beginning of your relationship you had wound up trapped beneath his arms for hours. Then when you tried to get away, you’d wake him up. Eventually you’d mastered maneuvering from his grasp without waking him because waking him led to fooling around or talking and then you were either trapped having to pee or late for some responsibility or another.

Liu adjusted behind you but didn’t wake up. You fixed your askew shirt, grabbed your keycard, and then answered the phone and stepped into the hallway, carefully closing the door behind you.

“This is weird. I don’t think I even got your name earlier.” Johnny spoke without waiting for you to acknowledge him. You chuckled beneath your breath then cleared the sleepiness from your throat. “I know that may seem like it’s a pretty common thing for me but…”

“Y/N. You can call me Y/N.” You interrupted what you were sure was a very cleverly crafted explanation about his popularity and fame. Johnny Cage seemed like the type to be easily derailed from a topic with banter. You’d become skilled at wrangling men like that given that Kung Lao had been your other half for so long.

“And you’re from China, right?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“Just trying to make sure I spell your name right…” His voice was distant, as if he spoke nowhere near the phone. You spelled your name for him with a sigh. “Is that…?”

“That is not important right now.” You interrupted him again. You had to keep him on task or this conversation was going to go on forever.

“Right, yes. I’ve been thinking about this morning.”

“And?”

“I was hoping to hash out the details with you guys before I officially agree to anything.” Johnny Cage tried to sound like he was bargaining with you but you were already convinced that he was joining you. This seemed like a formality. Or like he was dragging it out. Why? You couldn’t think of a good reason. Maybe to try and land a date with Sonya? You didn’t think that was going to happen and also it seemed petty. Then again, you and Liu were a hot mess in the middle of all of this so you couldn’t criticize anyone else’s motives. “I’ve begun clearing my schedule for the next few weeks but I’m a busy man, you know. Takes time.”

“I understand that. I’m sure that we can meet tomorrow to answer any questions you may still have.” There was no point in arguing with him on that. It was a reasonable request though not entirely necessary. Besides, you were still ready to jump to the kidnapping stage of this endeavor. If he caused too much trouble tomorrow then you would promptly lure him somewhere quiet and knock him out. Then you’d go from there. You could probably convince Cole to help you if you had to but you didn’t think it would go that far.

“That’s exactly what I hoped to hear!” You could hear the smile on Johnny’s face. “When we’re off the phone, I’ll text you where to meet me.”

“Sounds like a plan.” You yawned.

“I wanted to ask you something. You seem like a nice woman.”

Oh, how misguided a man Johnny Cage was. Oddly trusting for someone in his position. Here you were planning out an elaborate scheme to kidnap him and drag him to China and he thought you were nice. It was probably the tea thing from earlier. Ah, well. You’d fooled him.

“Ask away, Mr. Cage.”

“Just Johnny, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure.”

Then he sighed as if trying to word his question or embarrassed to ask it. You waited patiently. There was no need to rush him. You weren’t sure that Johnny Cage could be rushed. “Are you guys for real? Or are you just dicking me around? No one put you up to this, right?” After everything that you had showed him that morning, he was still stuck on the idea of this being a prank. Was Johnny often victim to silly pranks? Did he find himself the butt end of a joke amongst friends? It was funny to imagine.

“I know that this is… what’s the saying? Difficult medicine to take?” You weren’t so good with the English idioms. Maybe that was why he thought you to be nice. You were far more sarcastic in your native tongue. Your English was good but stuff didn’t always come out right.

“Hard pill to swallow but I got the point.” Johnny chuckled. “…so yeah? It’s true?”

“Trust me, Mr. Cage, I have much better things to do than play silly pranks on you.” You reassured him but he scoffed as if insulted. “That and I’d never heard of you before this.” It sounded like you’d punched him. Ah, yes, the delicate male ego.

“Low blow. Never heard of me?” You could picture the horror on his face.

“No offense meant.”

“I bet you just didn’t remember my name. Dragon Fist? Cage Match? Aquatic Assault? Exiting the Dragon of Death? A personal favorite of mine…”

“Exiting the Dragon of Death?”

“Yeah? You’ve heard of that one?”

“No.”

“Come on, don’t play with me like that.”

“I couldn’t resist.” You spoke over him as he made to list more movies. “I’m sorry to have offended you.” You were certain this could go on all night and you were still tired and now you were hungry too. Your appetite was back and you were far less shaky than you’d been earlier that day. “I did watch one of your films last night with a friend so that I could be familiar with your movement patterns.”

“For that crazy duplication thing you did?”

“For my arcana, yes.”

“…and?”

“It was a fun movie.”

“Which one did you watch?”

“Mr. Cage, this is a conversation for another time. Can we stay on topic?”

“Just Johnny, please.” Apparently no, he could not stay on topic. You pulled the phone away from your face so he wouldn’t hear your heavy sigh. Hearing footsteps behind you, you turned and found Cole approaching holding an ice bucket and offering a wave. He stopped next to you and nodded toward the phone. You mouthed that it was Johnny Cage. Then he offered you a thumbs up, pointed toward the end of the hall and walked away, presumably to get ice. “I’m making a choice to trust you. I don’t think you’re lying to me. I hope I’m making the right choice.”

“I’m a terrible liar so good choice.” He continued going on about something but your brain was tired of the babble. You needed food! This conversation felt like it would have gone on all week if you let him talk the way he wanted to. “Can I trust you no to dick us around?”

“I promise. You’ve got a deal, Y/N.”

“Text me the address and we’ll meet you just before noon.” You assured him.

“Got it. See you then.” Johnny hung up and you breathed a sigh of relief. At least this part of your trip was going smoothly. Seconds later your phone buzzed with a message from the same number. You selected the address and put it into the browser of your phone after figuring out how that worked. From what you could tell, the address seemed legit. A house by the shore. Of course, a beach house. Why wouldn’t he take the opportunity to show off?

“How’d it go?” Cole returned with his bucket full of ice.

“Mr. Cage is going to meet with us tomorrow to discuss details.”

“I anticipated us having to use your devious plan B so I’m surprised he’s going to meet with us.” Cole adjusted the bucket in his arms. “What do you think of him? I’m having a hard time taking him seriously.”

“I meant it when I said that I thought he was funny earlier. Honestly, if we had met without any of this pretense, I think that he and I would get along quite well.” You shrugged. “I also think that he’s going to do what he thinks is right if that’s what you were really asking. Seems like the type to talk a big game but ultimately a good guy.”

“That’s optimistic of you.”

“I usually have a good read on people.”

“I can tell.” Cole gestured toward your door. “You just getting in? Maybe not.” He looked down at your bare feet.

“I was napping.”

“And you came into the hallway to take a call?”

“Yeah, I was uh… going to grab food.”

“Without your shoes?”

“Are you always this nosy, Cole?”

“Not really but this afternoon has been especially boring. Plus, your reactions are entertaining.” Cole smirked. “You have more color now. That’s good to see.”

“Why does no one believe me when I say I’m just tired?” You gestured back to the room. “I’m gonna go.”

“We’re about to grab a bite to eat if you want to join us. Late dinner.”

“No, no, thank you though. That’s sweet. I’m okay.”

“You just said you were going to get food.” Cole laughed.

“…I think I’ll order something.” You pointed to your bare feet but was sure your expression was one that screamed you’d been caught in the most pointless of lies. Cole had inadvertently talked you into a corner. You hadn’t even meant to lie! It had just happened. This was why you didn’t usually bother.

“You’re lying.”

“Yeah, turns out I am. I’m not good at it.”

“I can see that.”

The door to your room opened behind you and Liu Kang peeked into the hall, still looking sleepy.

“Hello Cole” Liu stepped into the hall and kept the door propped open a crack, back leaned against it. Then he bowed his head politely in greeting. He turned to you and spoke Chinese as if this weren’t suspicious. You didn’t think it had the intention that he wanted it to have. “Everything okay?”

“I had a call to take with Mr. Cage. No big deal.” You replied in English to try and make it seem like you had less to hide. Why? Because Cole was already giving you a look as if to say it was ‘nothing’. You sighed. “I’m just about done.”

“Good.” Liu replied in English. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” You snapped at him without meaning to then took a cleansing breath. He was just worried about you but you were tired of the worry. You felt far better than you had earlier. A few hours of sleep had done you good. “I really am fine.” Liu bowed his head politely to both you and Cole and then disappeared back into the hotel room.

“What was it you were saying earlier? About that being nothing?” Cole teased in a whisper after you made no move to offer any explanation.

“If you recall, I also said it was none of your business.” There was no point in trying to lie again. You folded too easily. Instead, you’d be evasive. That was easier. Avoiding the truth was far easier than twisting it at least for you.

“Liu looked pretty tired. You guys have a nice nap?”

“We fell asleep talking.” You narrowed your eyes at his implications but also hated how close he was to the truth.

“Sure, is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

You shoved his shoulder with a laugh. “Your ice is melting Cole. It’s nothing.”

“Yeah, I’m going to have to mentally shift my definition of that word to better fit what I’m seeing.” He teased. “You’re trouble, Y/N. I’m making note of it.”

“You have no idea, Cole.” You pointed to the room behind you. “I’m going now.”

“Enjoy your nothing.” He called after you. You disappeared into the hotel room and then leaned against the door once it closed. You fiddled on your phone and sent a message to Jax, relaying what you’d learned from Johnny Cage along with the address and what you’d agreed to. The door to the small bathroom to your right opened and Liu stepped out, closing the door behind him. He waited patiently for you to finish on your phone.

“When I woke up and couldn’t find you, I was worried.” He nodded to the messy bed where you’d been sleeping. And snuggling. You mustn’t forget that there had been a fair amount of snuggling.

“My phone was ringing and it felt rude to answer it with you asleep so I stepped into the hall.” You shook the phone in your hand and then filled him in on the conversation you’d shared with Johnny Cage. You left out the exhausting banter that had kept you on the phone for far longer than necessary. Even if it had been mentally exhausting, you had also enjoyed talking with him. Your phone buzzed with Jax’s response. “Okay, Jax is going to arrange a ride to take us to meet Johnny tomorrow. He’ll also let everyone else know where to meet.”

“Good.”

Silence followed and you stood awkwardly in the small entranceway of the hotel room.

“So.” You began.

“So.”

“You should probably go, right?”

“Yeah.” Liu shifted but made no move to leave and a smile played on his lips. “Or… I could stay. We could order some food and continue our… getting along for the day.”

“Mostly getting along.” You corrected. Maybe he’d chosen to forget when he’d pushed you against the wall and you’d nearly undressed him. You blinked the mental image away. If you thought about it for too long then you’d probably end up right back where you’d started. “We could. Is that what you wanted to do?”

“Are you okay with that?”

“I guess.”

“There was a menu around here somewhere.” Liu walked back into the open area of the room and you were grateful he’d taken the initiative to make the decision to stay. In all honesty, his presence was comforting and conflicting. You craved the comfort but the guilt and pain made you want to push him away. Your brain was such a mess. Your emotions were even worse. You joined him and mulled over the menu, trying to discern what was safe for you to eat. Liu called to place the order since he had several questions about the food. His diet was more specific than yours was. You had never quite taken to the vegetarian diet completely. Your food arrived and you sat on your bed and ate while making quiet conversation. It was pleasant, if not a little awkward. In a way, it was reminiscent of when you would spend time alone together when you were first dating Kung Lao. You had often avoided discussing the difficult things then but not for the sake of each other. Instead, it was for Kung Lao.

“Cole seems to have taken a shine to you.”

“Yeah, he’s a nice guy and his family is cute. I think he feels guilty about Kung Lao so he’s compensating a little.”

“I could see that. I tried to reassure him that he isn’t to blame.”

“I did too.” You clicked your tongue in amusement. Liu gently nudged you with his shoulder.

“Today was nice.”

“I mean, parts of it were.”

“We had a bit of a rough start but things didn’t end so horribly.”

“Well,” you began in a higher, nervous pitch, “we didn’t exactly fix anything.” Liu laughed. “And I think we definitely made things worse but… all things considered, neither one of us is dead and we aren’t screaming at each other so that’s something.”

“I was thinking and… maybe we don’t have to fix anything.” Liu avoided your eyes and began to clean up dinner. You knew why he was avoiding your eyes because you were looking at him like he’d lost his damn mind. He had. He was insane. You couldn’t keep going like this. You both knew that. “We can’t ignore it, obviously. But we can’t expect to resolve anything when we’re like this. We’re grieving, Y/N. We hurt each other. But I also think that it could be healthy to try and find a way to be content amongst all of that too. We can’t force a resolution, Y/N. I think that’s clear.” Liu’s smile was soft but strained, like talking about it so analytically pained him. “I don’t think I can handle this much misery all the time.”

“I understand.” You didn’t necessarily disagree with him you just couldn’t see the end either. He seemed to think there was some kind of happily ever after waiting for you and you didn’t think there was. The only end to life was death. Even if you found happiness eventually, life would continue moving. No amount of happiness would erase your history nor would it erase your trauma. That didn’t mean you wouldn’t find joy. You were just being realistic. “It’s weird, isn’t it?” You helped him gather the dishes. Liu then placed the tray aside on the desk. You picked up the tray and placed it carefully outside the door and then returned to him. “Surreal is maybe a better word for what we are right now.”

“Surreal works.” Liu’s smile was forced and it pained you. “We’re going to be okay.”

“Oh, you think so, hmm? Confident in that?”

“I am.” He grinned but you could still see that worry behind his dark eyes. Liu had never been a good liar either. It was a wonder that he’d fooled you all those years ago. Perhaps because he’d said all the things that you’d been afraid he’d say.

“I suppose the worst thing that could happen is that we decide not to talk to each other anymore and lose touch. Then in like, thirty years, we’ll reunite and reminisce about the old days. Then this won’t seem so complicated anymore.” You hadn’t realized how much you’d considered that as an option until then. Liu seemed alarmed. “What?”

“Is that what you plan to do?”

“That would imply that I’ve thought past today so… no.” You sat on the side of the bed facing the window. There was no way to open the window so this was as close to the breeze and the stars as you could get. “But it happens. People drift apart even after being as close as we were especially after traumatic stuff like this. And this is a pretty messed up thing we’re dealing with, Liu. I can’t pretend to know what will happen.”

“I don’t want to drift apart.” He sat next to you and cautiously placed a hand over yours on the bed between you. There were times where he treated you like a ticking time bomb. This was one of them.

“Of course not, Liu. I don’t want that to happen either.”

“You had that scenario pretty thought out.”

“This time, Liu? You’re the one overthinking things.”

“Maybe.” He watched out the window, but you felt his thumb brush over the back of your hand. Looking at the night sky was easier than looking at each other. But right now the night sky looked empty. You didn’t see the stars. Just the lights of busy Los Angeles, a thing which brought you no peace. “Do you think you’ll still be this cute in thirty years?”

“I uh…” You laughed and pretended to consider it. “I didn’t think about it. For the brief moment I considered this make-believe scenario, you were still cute.” You joked and nudged him playfully.

“You’re beautiful Y/N, so I’m sure you will be too.” Liu still didn’t look at you. “I always thought so. Even when I used to tease you.” You rolled your eyes at him in disgust and he laughed again. You were well beyond being bashful at his compliments.

“Cut it out, Liu.”

“I just don’t want to leave it unsaid.”

“It feels like you’re trying to butter me up.” You narrowed your eyes in suspicion.

“Maybe. Or… perhaps this last week I’ve been cruel to you. I thought that I’d pay you a compliment instead.” That was as good an excuse as any. You had dug at each other quite a bit the past few days.

“I’m not vain.”

“I know. I always liked that about you.”

“Stop it, Liu. You’re freaking me out.” You laughed and shoved at his shoulder.

“I won’t.” He leaned back on one arm. You reached for your phone on the bed behind you as it buzzed. Jax had verified the location online as legitimate. He’d even found out that the property belonged to Johnny. Apparently, Jax had been much more suspicious of him than you had been. You’d decided to trust Johnny. And if he lied to you then you’d just go to plan B. Kidnapping. Jax continued on to say that he’s pretty sure the asshole just wanted to show off his beach house. You chuckled. You’d thought the same thing. You replied quickly to ask if you were still to meet in the morning in the same place. Jax replied to be in the lobby by ten. “Going off without a hitch?”

“Are you spying on my conversation?” You cradled the phone protectively against your chest and pouted.

“I didn’t mean to.” You set the phone aside face up. You had nothing to hide anyway, you’d just been trying to lighten the mood. Then you watched the dark sky out the window and tried to find something positive to say about it. He was right. You’d had too much unpleasantness lately. “Kung Lao would have loved…”

“Do you think about that a lot? What Kung Lao would have thought or felt?”

“Don’t you?” You thought that was obvious. “We spent most of our time together. This is the longest I’ve been alone in years.”

“I… hadn’t considered that.” Liu’s eyes fell to the floor. There was plenty that you hadn’t thought regarding each other. “It must have been hard waking up next to me.” You sighed heavily. There were those difficult conversations you couldn’t seem to avoid. You didn’t know how to respond. That wasn’t an easy answer. If you could have lied and said it wasn’t weird than it would have been simpler. But lying had gotten you into this in the first place and you didn’t want to lie. You were so tired of hurting.

“I… yes.” You sighed and then closed your eyes tight. “But I confess that I miss being held.” You hated saying it and even got the chills as you did. You and Kung Lao had spent most nights at least next to each other if not tangled up in each other. Liu was watching you with those big sad puppy dog eyes of his again. “But I also feel selfish and awful for having briefly thought it was nice.”

“It’s okay to be selfish at times.” He clasped his hands together in his lap, as if nervous they would betray him as they had often done. “I confess that when I woke up alone, I panicked.” You smiled a little. You hadn’t considered that he would be upset to wake up alone after falling asleep next to you. Oh, boy. You were both a mess. “But then I remembered this was your room and you had nowhere to run, really.”

“Did you briefly consider that I was so dedicated to running away that I went and got another hotel room to avoid you?”

“No.” He laughed and then furrowed his brow as if trying to picture you doing that. “You didn’t consider that, did you?”

“Of course not.” You chuckled, resting your elbows on your knees. “The phone rang and I didn’t want to wake you. That’s about as far as I had thought.” Your head was pounding and you realized all at once that you were clenching your jaw. Ugh, tension headache. “At least this time I woke up with all of my clothes on.” Liu laughed softly and avoided your eyes. Then he laughed harder as if he’d just gotten the joke. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s kind of like déjà vu, isn’t it? You woke up next to me again and then I woke up alone.”

“You know, Liu, I’m trying, but that’s not funny.”

Still he laughed and you watched him in disbelief. Was it you? Were you the one cracking up?

“I have to laugh, Y/N. I have to or I think about how screwed up it is.” He leaned back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. His face fell. You turned to watch him in disbelief and your stomach twisted up into knots. “I just couldn’t help myself, could I? I had to… cross that line.”

“Liu…” You didn’t want to fight again. You thought you had made a truce for the day.

“I have to say this, Y/N.” He turned his head to the side to look at you and you leaned on your side to better meet his eyes. They were so sad and it was killing you. “The woman that Kung Lao planned to spend the rest of his life with. Only a little while after he’s gone and I just… how selfish I am.” You searched his troubled eyes and then couldn’t help but laugh but you weren’t smiling either. Liu knit his brow in confusion.

“Liu, I… I said the same things to myself.” You offered a sympathetic smile but he didn’t seem relieved to hear that. “Not about you, obviously. I don’t think I’ve ever used the word selfish when describing you, really. Or at least meant it. Maybe out of anger… but I… how could I? Kung Lao’s best friend. His brother. I feel like I just lost him and I still, somehow, couldn’t manage to keep myself together well enough not to sleep with you.”

“Sometimes we’re a lot alike.”

“Most times it feels like we’re oil and water.” Now you avoided his eyes, afraid of what yours might reveal to him. “I’m sorry that I ran off that morning, Liu. I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do. I was terrified and embarrassed and ashamed and… the idea of having to talk to you about it was too much.”

“Why were you so scared?” He turned on his side to face you, as if eager for this answer, as if he had been caught wondering that same thing for too long. “I know it was a… big thing but I…”

“I guess no matter how I played it in my head, it went wrong. You uh…” You were having a difficult time saying the words without getting upset. “I kept picturing us having to find a way to… be okay with… it being a mistake because… I…” You were frustrated with yourself for not being able to say it. “It felt like a mistake. Like we’d fallen into an old habit. Or that it was just… a transaction and I couldn’t hear those words again after everything. I was already falling apart and I don’t know what that would have done to me. And then… you being receptive to it would have been just as painful… I… Kung Lao…” You had to stop there. You were pretty sure you’d made your point.

“I think I get it.” His eyes were taking you in while yours were avoiding him and were most likely glassy with tears. “Maybe I didn’t consider how much I’d hurt you back then. It never crossed my mind until you brought it back up and I realized the damage I’d done. I hadn’t considered myself that important.” There was that similarity again. Neither one of you thought yourselves to be important to the other when it was far from the truth. “I wish I’d had a say in the matter that morning.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I understand now.” He sat up and offered you a hand to help your back up too. you took it and sat up with him but he didn’t let go of your hand. “I’m sorry too. I’m sorry that I reacted so angrily. That I was so cold to you. I thought it might make things easier and put distance between us.”

“Did it work?”

“No. No, it didn’t. I wish, more than anything, that I could go back.” His eyes were dripping with sincerity and you avoided his gaze again. You couldn’t help but think that if this had been Kung Lao, you never would have had this conversation. Nothing ever would have gotten resolved. You had both avoided your emotions like the plague.

“To that morning? Hard pass, Liu.”

“Think about it. I could wake up with you. Keep you from running. We could talk.”

“That’s a fantasy, Liu. It wouldn’t have ended the way you want.” You threw him an accusatory glance. “You’re fantasizing. I was too panicked. I would have lashed out.”

“And maybe I could have kept a level head.”

“It’s a fantasy.”

“Let me have my fantasy, Y/N.” He laughed and gave your hand a squeeze. His smile faded as he let go of your hand and closed some of the distance between you. Your instinct was to pull back but you didn’t. He pushed your hair away from your face and tucked it behind your ear. The loose strands of your long hair tickled your neck as they fell back into place. You turned your gaze away. His hand was warm as it rested on your cheek and you could feel him admiring you.

“Seems dangerous to let you.”

“Many good things can be dangerous, Y/N,” he whispered. You got the shivers and moistened your lips nervously. You should have moved back when you’d wanted to. You were so much closer than you’d realized and his lips brushed just against yours. He was going to kiss you and you knew what would happen. Tender kisses led to feverish kisses. No kiss between you had ever stayed just that. You had never once exchanged a soft, momentary kiss. Every single time you had wound up in his arms. His lips would treasure yours like they were something priceless and yours would tease his in return to make him want more. Then you’d be naked.

The more time you spent this close to Liu the more inevitable it seemed to wind up in his bed and you weren’t sure that was the right thing. You weren’t sure it wouldn’t destroy you. It was a dangerous way to think but he was right too. Many of the best things were often dangerous.

“Don’t.” You managed and caught his eyes, half-lidded and admiring your lips. His gaze snapped back up to yours and you watched as he took a careful breath. You could feel it against your lips. He was thinking it too. How dangerous this had become.

“Probably a bad idea, right?” His voice was low and just for you.

“An incredibly bad idea.” You tried to joke but your words fell flat. It was miserable being this close to him and not kissing him, against every instinct in your body. You could feel as he ran his tongue over his lower lip, as he weighed the pros and cons of defying you. You held your breath.

Then he scooted back a few inches. You felt like you could suddenly breathe, like the air was less thick than it had been so close to him. Your heart was hammering away and it was a headrush, as if to punish you for having wanted that kiss. You cleared your throat and put more distance between you. But try as you might, you couldn’t stop thinking about those marks you’d left on his back that you had so clearly felt earlier. Did he think of how you’d clung to him in passion every time he shifted and felt those scabs? That was truly a dangerous thought.

“It’s late. I should go.” He had turned away, but his eyes were wide and his breath was short, as though he were also fighting dangerous thoughts.

“Yeah. Good idea.” You got up and walked past him and around the bed. He followed you and then walked past you to the door. Then he bowed politely.

“Goodnight, Y/N.” He looked hesitant, as if he were still considering crossing that line again.

“Get out, Liu.” You gestured to the door behind him, making the choice for him. He laughed and did just as you asked. Once he’d gone, you leaned against the door with a thud and whined. “What am I doing?” You closed your eyes tight and felt a wave of guilt weigh you down. Then you flipped the swing bar lock shut on the door as if this would provide you with protection from your stupid feelings.

Maybe you had to reconsider the situation.

Maybe this was inevitable.

Maybe guilt wasn’t enough to keep you from being attracted to Liu Kang.

It felt wrong. It felt like you were betraying Kung Lao. It was too soon and you were too broken. But maybe someday it wouldn’t be those things. You weren’t sure how long either one of you could wait either. Spending the afternoon with Liu had been eye opening.

Next Chapter >>

[karimac]

…in the details, Part 3

A/N: Warning for this series: 18+ audience (minors DNI), some cinematic level violence, some fluff and angst. Doubt that smut will be involved, but it may be implied. I’ll make sure that is noted clearly if it pops up.

All relationships, at this point anyway, are platonic.

Please do not repost or translate my work. Likes, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

A bit about the OC Kari

Part 1

Part 2

All mistakes are my own.

Word count: 3,556

Well, that was not exactly the best idea, was it?

Dr. Darcy Lewis, unlike her colleague, Dr. Erik Selvig, was not a big fan nor an authority on any form of mythology. And the Irish history ask was a longshot at best.

So, here you were, in the coffee shop smack dab in the middle of Westview, talking to Dr. Lewis and getting nowhere fast.

“And, that’s not happening,” the astrophysicist grumbled as she set down her phone and took another sip of her beverage. It was some weirdly sweet concoction that looked like what humans thought rainbow-colored unicorn poop looked like. This world was not ready for what real magical beasts looked like. Most authors had not gotten all of that right in their books. No surprise there. No human really needed to see such things on a daily basis, and whoever had been the muses for those authors had covered up a lot.

“I take it Dr. Selvig has no clue on the Celtic Pantheon?” you asked as you sipped your very boring, light, non-sweet hot coffee. The barista probably wanted to laugh when you ordered it, but he did his best to stifle his snicker. “It was a very long reach on my part, Dr. Lewis. I’m sorry I roped you into this.”

“You can call me Darcy because you actually acknowledge my academic status,” the brunette said as she flipped her phone over again. “So, Thor is off in space. You don’t want me calling Falcon or his pal with the metal arm. Captain Marvel isn’t on your contact list. Ant Man and The Wasp? They can be sort of science geeks, right? Wait. Banner? Is he OK to call?”

Before you could open your mouth, Darcy was texting Banner off her own phone. “You know Bruce?”

“I met him at some meet and greet at MIT before the world went poof,” Darcy replied as she set her phone back down and seemed to be praying Banner would actually return her text. “Stark was there, too, but Banner was the one I got coffee with. Sweet guy, you know, even if he gets all green sometimes.”

As you sipped your coffee, you noticed a few people giving you odd looks. It made you very nervous. “Maybe we should finish up and get back on the road?” you asked Darcy as you quietly motioned toward the other patrons getting their daily fix of caffeine.

“Yeah, bubbe isn’t answering me anyway,” Darcy said as she picked up her phone and got up from her chair. By now there were several residents blocking the exit. “What is your problem? We paid. We’re busing our table. Then we’re leaving.”

“Are The Avengers going to hunt her down?” one woman in the back of the group asked as Darcy looked back toward you and mouthed the word “Help” before turning back to the crowd. The questioner was loud, but you couldn’t see her because of the big delivery man standing in front of her with a huge pile of Amazon packages. “Why did you come back?”

It was time to vamp. With an apparently faulty memory, this was going to be interesting.

“Before you all ask about what is going to happen regarding Wanda Maximoff, I want you all to know I have no authority to speak for The Avengers. I have never been a true member of the team. I helped them at a time when things were beyond bleak for this world. It was an honor and a privilege. But I am not a spokesperson. I am not a team leader.”

“Then why did you come here?” a man with glasses, holding a briefcase, asked from the line where he was waiting for his order. “Then and now?”

“I came the first time because I was looking for my friend. I was pulled into that nightmare just like you were. I wish I had been able to help her before any of this happened.”

“But you have powers, right? Couldn’t you have shut her down, hot stuff?” the first woman added as she moved to the front. Then you recognized her. Agatha Harkness. If Wanda kept her alive, there was a reason for it, and all the pain you had rising in your core had to be tamped down fast. Harkness had hurt Wanda, and that would have to be addressed one day. You were good at playing the long game.

“Taking her out in any sort of power stunt could have jeopardized your lives. I was not sure what she did to make it all happen, and I was not going to risk your lives. I’m sorry it wasn’t put to an end sooner. Now, if you will excuse us, we need to get to a meeting regarding the incident here,” you said as you and Darcy pushed through the crowd and back out to the street.

“OK, what was all that? Spin? Or are you remembering something?” Darcy asked as you got back into her car. You had left your rental on the outskirts of town. Better to travel as a unit until your business here was concluded.

“I remember a couple of things from that mess,” you said as you tried to keep your hands from shaking. “I remember Wanda and Vision’s sons. Billy and Tommy. I remember the house where I lived. Can we drive out to where Wanda had her house? Maybe that will help?”

Darcy pulled out of the parking space and made the lefts and rights to the lot where Wanda’s house had been. The one you were living in was in a lot right next to it. It was empty now, too, but you got out of the car anyway and stood in the center of the patch of dirt. You closed your eyes and held your breath as you tried to piece together what had happened. And then you started to cry as you fell to your knees.

“Whoa, slow down,” Darcy said as she ran and knelt beside you. “What did you see?”

“It’s weird. Wanda came over one day and more or less apologized to me because she couldn’t give me my real happy ending. I can show you, if you’ll let me…”

“Go into my mind?” Darcy protested before you could wave her off the idea. “No Vulcan mind melds for me today, thanks.”

“No, I carry this mirror, and you can see memories in it. Trust me, I do not use telepathy as a first line of anything. I tried it once, to help a friend, but it just caused more problems,” you groaned as you pulled the mirror out of your backpack. You waved your hand over it, and Darcy could now see what had happened with Wanda.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t find them and bring them here,” the Sokovian said quietly as she walked around the 1980s version of what was your living room. It was way too pastel for your liking, but the hints of fuchsia, orchid and teal in the overall cream and light gray design weren’t so bad. You had a couple of cats there with you. One was an orange tabby with a penchant for eating tuna at any given moment. He was warm and affectionate and just a ray of sunshine dressed in fur. The other was as white as the driven snow, but his own cuddly disposition came through. He was the one who would leave you weird gifts every morning. Rocks, feathers, and yes, the occasional dead mouse would be at the foot of your bed each sunrise. You’d find out at the end of that nightmare that the cats were only constructs of Wanda’s chaos magic.

“I know you miss the three of them,” she continued as she pointed to a framed picture of Steve, Bucky and Sam, all decked out in appropriate 1980s clothes that made them look like they ran away from some cop drama. “It’s probably better that there aren’t too many Avengers here anyway. Vis is getting concerned. And this way, well, no one needs to know which one you would have chosen. I know. You know. So you can always talk to me. Like we did before. But I gave you the wedding ring to make sure no one came on to you. Just in case I can get him here soon.”

As you showed Darcy the memory, a tiny part of you was screaming that this whole scenario seemed wrong. You watched Wanda’s crimson glow float around you as she spoke. You vaguely remembered The Morrigan trying to kick some sense back into your addled brain, but Wanda’s world was much too enticing to let your other self come to the fore. You wanted the damned happily ever after with the husband and the house and everything that meant in the modern American ethos. You had rationalized things for years in such a way that you’d never let yourself get it. That was why no one was here to hug you at night like Wanda had Vision. Maybe that fact alone was enough to crack Wanda’s hold on you a bit more than she realized?

But you also had to admit that you wanted to be there for Wanda in case things went south. That much was clear from the moment you showed up in Westview the first time.

“How come you didn’t just zap her? Fight back?” Darcy asked as you fully shifted to the present day and paused the memory.

“Because she wasn’t wrong. I did miss Bucky, Steve and Sam. I missed Banner, too, because they were, in the end, the ones still here that cared if I lived or died. And Spider-Man. Which is random and weird, but he did. And frankly, what I said in the coffee shop was true. I had no idea what my powers would do to her spell. I could have leveled the town. That was not an option.”

“So, that Agatha woman…” Darcy started to say and then stopped. “Wait. That was her? In the coffee shop? That was why you were acting so weird?”

“Yeah. Wanda could have killed her or taken Agatha away with her to imprison her. She didn’t. After what Agatha tried to do to Wanda, to try and take her powers, Wanda had every right to finish her off. But Wanda doesn’t likely know all that yet. There are rules set up from ages ago. Things witches can and can’t do to each other under specific circumstances. So Wanda left her trapped here—for now anyway. But, whatever happened with them, it affected me, too. I got hit with stray magic blasts. I’m betting it messed up my powers in ways I didn’t realize. And maybe my memories as well.”

As Darcy knelt there, her phone finally chimed. It was some weird little R2-D2 chirpy beep, and she looked elated as she showed you the message. “Seems Bruce still cares if you are OK or not. I don’t think bringing him here is such a great idea…”

“Did anyone send him data about what happened here?” you asked as you got to your feet, pocketing some of the dirt from the lot before you stood up. “Air and soil samples? Readings from the residents?”

“I can get them for him. Trust me, Jimmy Woo and Monica Rambeau would be more than happy to help. I’m glad that loon Hayward seems to have gone into hiding or was hauled away to The Raft,” Darcy noted as she checked her phone again. “Seems the doc is working out of a Stark lab here in Jersey. Road trip?”

You really didn’t want to go see Bruce. You had no idea how you’d explain any of what you did to him.

++++++++++

You rehearsed what you planned to tell Bruce a million times in your mind as Darcy drove along the Garden State Parkway to a place called Woodcliff Lake. Stark Industries did indeed have a lab there, and it made you want to scream as you walked into the facility. You did not need yet another reminder that you could not save Tony Stark’s life at the end of that final battle with Thanos. That was part of why you were in this mess in the first place. It was also why you had a screaming fight with Stephen Strange, but no one else knew about that yet.

“Dr. Banner? We’re here!” Darcy yelled as you walked toward what had to be the research wing. The lack of security in the place was a bit disturbing, but then again, there were probably booby traps built into every square inch of the place. You could just hear Tony now as you got closer to the lab area. It would likely have been close to the speech you got the first time he talked to you at the compound.

“Hey! Lucky Charms! Don’t touch any of the expensive stuff. I guess that means don’t touch anything. I still have no idea why you are hanging around the team except that Steve wants you here for some reason. Maybe you’re tied to…his friend…and I just don’t want to face that? Still have issues with all of that, even if the man is dead. Pepper and Morgan said I should be nice to you, but I’m not quite there yet after what happened in Berlin. They are better people than I’ll ever be.”

“Earth to Kari?” you finally heard Bruce say as he waved his massive green hand in front of your face. Then he realized why you were likely spacing out. "Dr. Lewis, can we have a minute?”

“You can call me Darcy, if I can call you Bruce?” Lewis said as Banner nodded to her. “Cool. I’ll go find the little scientist’s room and be right back,” she added as she left the lab.

“So,” Bruce started as he pointed you toward a set of chairs at one side of the lab, “Darcy filled me in via text. I have no idea what happened with Wanda, and I know none of us know where she is. I did call a friend who wants to help,” he noted as a swirling circle of yellow light formed near the window that looked out over the parking lot. “I figured you’d listen to him, and he knows more about this stuff than I do.”

“What did you do?” Wong shouted as he exited the portal. “You usually listen to reason. Why did you go after Wanda all alone?”

“I went to help Wanda. She was hurting. She watched Vision die twice. She lost Pietro. I can relate to all that very, very well. My twin Branan died in front of my eyes, too, and I’ve buried two husbands. Both died in battle. I just wanted her to know she wasn’t alone. But she…she hit all my vulnerable points. And she was under attack at the same time. From a woman named Agatha Harkness and from the director of SWORD. Some martinet named Hayward. He built another Vision. I think Hayward was using Wanda’s powers to bring him to life. Darcy is going to check in with some of the people who worked with her to get you more intel, Bruce.”

“Another version of Vision? Great,” Bruce muttered as he looked over at Wong. “As for this Harkness person…”

“The name rings very small bells, so I’ll need to do some research,” Wong noted as you bumped your left fist against your forehead. “What?”

“Harkness is a succubus. And she is old. Not as old as I am, but she is still a good 400 years old, give or take a day. She apparently survived the Salem Witch Trials. Wanda spelled her and left her in Westview. I think she is, at least in small ways, aware that her world is all wrong. I didn’t want to press it when I saw her in that coffee shop. We do not need an angry succubus flying around. Wong, they got into an aerial battle, and Wanda was using sigils, runes, whatever you want to call them, to focus her power. I think she picked that up from good old Aggie. I never showed her anything like that on purpose. I always suspected she had magic in her bones, but it wasn’t my place to start that fire. The bigger issue is that Wanda conjured up two children while she was there. She created cats for me, so anything is possible. I got knocked out by the end of the fight, so I have no idea what exactly happened in the end other than Wanda running off and Agatha being left behind for some reason.”

“And?” Wong asked as he started to look you up and down. “You did a spell? And it went bad? Your aura is all messed up.”

“I…I tried to do a spell so The Avengers would think of me less and less, and then eventually I’d just be a fleeting memory. I felt walking away in the dead of night, the thing I usually do when I am leaving town, would not be good enough. The spell got botched, and now I’m connected in some fashion to Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Looking back at it, I spent more time with them in the days leading up to my departure. Steve and Bruce were there the day I left, and so were Sam and Bucky. And…I’m carrying a lot of guilt about Bucky after his accident in 1943.”

“All this on top of the magical circus Wanda made? Are you insane?” Wong yelled as he started to pace.

“And the fight I had with Stephen on the day of the battle. Yeah, I guess I am insane,” you replied as Wong threw up his hands. Bruce had gotten extremely quiet, and that was not a good thing.

“Before we get to dissecting your spell, Kari, was this because of what Tony said? About you not being an Avenger because you were…?”

“Unstable? Yes. And the fact I could not bring anyone back from the grave, especially during that last battle. And the fact about who killed his parents. Buck did while under Hydra control. Steve found out and never told Tony. I ran into The Winter Soldier a few times over the decades, so there was the chance I could have prevented their deaths, too. Tony really had no reason to ask me to join the band.”

“Once we get your spell problem sorted, then we will address this, too,” Bruce said as he looked toward Wong and shook his head. “I loved Tony like a brother, but he was wrong…”

You winced a few times as you tried to listen to Bruce and Wong, now joined once again by Darcy, as they tried to figure out how to fix or reverse that spell, and they hashed out what might have happened to you during that first trip to Westview. You were really trying to focus on their questions, but you felt a tug that no one else could ever have possibly felt.

“Baltimore,” you mumbled as you pulled out your cellphone and debated texting the person you felt tugging at that damned invisible string. No. That would have ended badly, especially since your original spell had gone haywire.

“Bucky Barnes was arrested?” Darcy asked as she showed you her phone alert. “I bet he punched that new fake Cap in the nose. Sorry, but that guy looks like he has no clue. I saw him on Good Morning America. Total cheese fest.”

“Wait. What?” you asked as you took her phone. “Sam didn’t keep the shield? I just hope Bucky didn’t punch Sam and wind up in jail for that!” You gave Darcy back her phone and looked at yours again. It was buzzing. “Anyone here know who the hell is Christina Raynor?” you asked the trio in front of you. No one had any clue about that. You hit the speaker button as you answered the call.

“Hello? Ms. MacOrish. I’m James Barnes’ therapist, Christina Raynor. Sam Wilson said I should give you a call and ask you to join us in Baltimore. As quickly as possible, if you can. I don’t think Mr. Barnes wants to spend the night in a holding cell.”

“Oh no, you are not going to Baltimore,” Wong said as he crossed his arms and got a stern look on his face. “Not while your head is all over the place. You could portal to Baltimore in the 1800s for all you know. You could end up eating lunch with Lord Baltimore in the 1700s. You really shouldn’t do this.”

“Wong, what better place for me to go than to see a therapist?” you said with a smirk as you opened your own portal, this one a lovely shade of emerald green, that went to where Raynor was waiting for you—outside an interrogation room at the city jail.

“Mr. Wilson said you’d be fast. He did not tell me you were one of the powered class,” Raynor said as you went through the portal, looking back to wave briefly as you heard Darcy’s last comment.

“What about your rental car?”

[pondering-apollo]

7, 14, & 17! (≖ᴗ≖✿)

I knew I could rely on you to give me the damn editing question 😩😂 YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF.

7. How do you edit your fics? What do you look for in your edits?

Ha okay so editing might just be my favourite part of writing (is that weird?). I like to edit as I go, but that’s bad because it slows me down. I use Scrivener to write fics, so I can work on them on my computer and on my phone too (it’s so great for that!) and I tend to write chunks on the computer, and then later on, maybe in bed or like, if I’m waiting around somewhere, I bring stuff back up on my phone and comb through it. I find that letting things sit for a while works better, and also reading them in a different format or on a different device makes spotting mistakes or stuff that doesn’t work easier.

What do I look for? Well the usual spelling and grammar stuff (don’t talk to me about caps I’m trigger happy with it and sometimes I give up 🤣). Also though - how to explain … ? There are certain parts where I feel like a line needs to land just right, and it feels emotionally off if it doesn’t. I don’t know if that makes sense? But I’ll re-write a sentence over and over if it’s supposed to be an emotionally charged moment, until I feel like it hits or lands right. I have no idea if that makes sense but it does in my head so … there we go. I’m 100% an obsessive editor, it’s my Achilles heel and why I write like a 🐌.

14. What is something you wrote in a fic that you are hoping readers picked up on but you don’t know if they did? And/or, what is something that you were excited readers picked up on?

So in the first chapter of All the Queen’s Men, there are like a million and one little bits of foreshadowing that I’m praying will come to fruition okay later 🤞🏻 but I’ve had people pick up on some in the comments - like the significance of certain things - which was so satisfying. Also, someone in the comments of Crossing the Line knows who reader’s dad is 👀 which I thought was mega obvious and wouldn’t work as a twist but I’ve had no-one else mention it so …

17. Do you have any WIPs that you can tell us about? What are you most excited for in your WIP?

Chapter 2 of All the Queen’s Men is something I’m super excited for and is like, 80% done? This whole fic in general is just my baby but whether it will translate or is too self indulgent I have no idea. I’ve just spent quite a bit of time on the world building and backstories and it lives in my head rent free 24/7.

Crossing the Line has an upcoming event that I am SO excited to write and have been working towards for so long now. I feel like it’s an obligatory event in any canon fic like this really but when I say it’s time for some fluff and flirting and good times … 👀

In terms of unpublished stuff; so I’m still really keen to write Riptide (Levi x reader and Porco x reader - breakdown of a relationship, finding yourself again, infidelity, learning from mistakes and understanding when things are worth working on and when it’s really time to let go) for some real heavy angst, bittersweet-ness and steamy smut. But I also have a fic planned out in my drafts that I really wanna write which is, in a nutshell, you and your creative writing professor Levi Ackerman marooned on a tropical island with only his suitcase of clothes, a notebook and pile of poetry books to your names. Cue wearing Levi’s clothes, survival and soul searching (and obvs, once again, steamy smut).

Thank you @xokiddo I’m so sorry it’s my usual rambling mess 🤦🏼‍♀️

Ask me some fic writing questions!

[teawizard-n-coffeewitch]

The Stafforshire Spell

2. Uh... Reporter For The Quibbler Magazine

Newt is heating up water for tea when suddenly his eyes widen, blown away at the sight of him. Credence is coming down the stairs, wearing his full body scuba diving gear.

"Hey." Credence greets as he grabs a mug and prepares to brew some peppermint leaves.

"Hi..." Newt says before the two of them are concentrated on fixing a cup of tea in the kitchen.

Newt decides to ask, "Just incidentally -- why are you wearing that?"

Credence smiles. "Ahem -- combination of factors really. No clean clothes..." he replies with a cheeky grin.

Newt coughs. "There never will be, you know, unless you actually clean your clothes." he says.

"Right. Vicious circle. And then I was like rooting around in your things, and found this, and I thought -- cool. Kind of spacey." Credence replies shooting a grin at Newt. Newt nods before laughing softly.

The two of them make their way to the table and take a seat, enjoying their cup of tea, passing the day.

Newt is writing on his notebook while Credence is squinting his eyes at the scuba gear goggles. After while Credence says, "There's something wrong with your goggles Newt..."

Newt stops writing and looks up. Laughing lightly he replies, "No, they were prescription, so I could see all the fishes properly."

Credence laughs, amused at this fact. "Groovy. You should do more of this stuff. Though I did not know you were blind." Newt laughs. Shaking his head he replies, "Not really. I can see with or without glasses."

They sit in comfortable silence, the only sound is Newt's pencil at work before he asks, "So -- any messages?"

Credence's face lights up as he sets his cup down. "Yeah I wrote a couple down." Sticking his hand in a jacket nearby one of the table's wooden chairs, he retrieves a crumbled paper and gives it to Newt who as long gone forgotten his writing.

Newt grabs it and one of the messages was that Niffler's habitat was ready and he could bring him in tomorrow morning. Newt reads the next message and after finishing he asks, trying not to frown, "Two? That's it?"

"You want me to write down all your messages?" Credence says, an eyebrow raised. Newt closes his eyes in exasperation, deciding on not replying to that.

"Who were the ones you didn't write down from?" Newt asks cautiously.

Credence hums, "Ahem let's see -- ahem. No. Gone completely. Oh no, wait. There was -- one from your mum: she said don't forget Theseus's birthday and that she and your father won't be able to make it."

Newt nods. "Right. No one else?"

Credence blinks, lost in thought before shaking his head. "Absolutely not." He leans back and relaxes.

"Though if we're going for this obsessive writing-down-all-messages thing -- some American girl called Tina called a few days ago." he reveals causing Newt to freeze then look at him with big eyes.

"Wha - What did she say?" Newt manages to choke out. Credence smirks, finding Newt's blushing face amusing.

"Well, it was genuinely bizarre... she said, hi -- it's Tina -- and then she said, call me at the Hoar Cass Hall -- and then gave herself a completely different name." Credence says before sipping calmly his tea.

"Which was?" Newt says panicking at how Credence was so calm about the whole situation.

He finishes his sip before replying, "Absolutely no idea. Remembering one name's bad enough..." Newt groans before closing his eyes and placing his head on the table.

_______________

Much later Newt is on the phone. He looked at the phone book for the hotel's number before he dials a few numbers and hears a ring and a formal man at the other end of the phone picks up.

"Hello." Newt says trying to keep calm but internally panicking at his bold move.

"May I help you, sir?" the man replies calmly at the other end.

"Ahem, see this is a very odd situation. I'm a friend of Tina Goldstein's -- and she rang me at home the day before yesterday -- and left a message saying she's staying with at this hotel..." Newt timidly says. "I'm sorry, we don't have anyone of that name here, sir." the man states authoritatively.

"No, that's right -- I know that. She said she's using another name -- but the problem is she left the message with my flatmate, which was a serious mistake. Imagine if you will the -- um a baby. A poor baby who hasn't any idea what to even call his mum -- are you doing that...?"

As Newt talks to the man Credence happens to be in the foreground, siting on the couch in the distance as he's reading the newspaper.

Listening to everything.

"Yes, sir. I have him in my mind." the man at the other end replies with a light chuckle.

"And that is the -- what can I say -- git I'm living with and he cannot remember..." Newt begins before Credence cuts him off by saying, "Try 'Coco.' "

Newt stops talking and turns around to look at Credence. "What?" he says noticing how Credence hasn't turned to look at him, his focus still on his newspaper.

"I think she said her name was 'Coco Channel.' " Credence says turning the newspaper page calmly.

Newt takes deep breath before asking nervously, "Does 'Coco Channel' mean anything to you?"

There is a second of silence before the man says happily, "I'll put you right through, sir."

Newt stands there, absolutely speechless. Coco Channel is indeed the magic word.

"Bloody hell." Newt mutters messing up his hair as his hold on the phone tightens. Realizing he's a few seconds from speaking to her Newt begins to practices how to sound.

"Hello. Hi. Hi." Newt says clearing his throat and standing up straight.

Newt sharply breaths when he hears her voice. 

"Hi." is heard from the other line.

Panicking holding the phone he is quick to awkwardly reply, "Oh hi. It's Newt Scamander. We, uh... well met at my bookshop."

Tina chuckles slightly. "You played it pretty cool here Mr. Scamander. Waiting three days to call."

Newt blushes. "N-No, I've never played any-anything cool in my entire life. Credence, who I'll jinx later, never delivered me the message."

"Oh, okay." she says, slightly amused at his awkward speech.

"Um... so I was wondering... if you'd be okay with it... obviously. Perhaps... uh... I could drop round for tea or something?"

"Yeah." Tina says, scrunching her nose in disgust at the thought of tea. Newt listens to her as she speaks, "Unfortunately, things are going to be pretty busy, but... okay, let's give it a try. Though I'm staying at a hotel here in Burton I'll be in London tomorrow. Does... I don't know... four o'clock at the Ritz work? Or do wish to meet when I return back to Burton?"

Newt smiles like a dork, "No, it absolutely works. Great." 

They bid farewell and they hang up. 

Running towards Credence, Newt kisses his cheek before dashing up the stairs gleefully. Credence just stares at his flatmate in confusion.

_______________

The next day Newt wakes up early to drive a forty-five minute trip to Peak Wildlife Park in Leek. Niffler sleeping through most of the ride. After a heart breaking farewell and a promise to return Newt drives back to Burton and grabs a train to London. The ride is about three hours and makes use of his time by writing a birthday card for his brother and taping a few pounds inside the card. He places the card inside his briefcase and shuts it close. He leans on his seat and enjoys the scenery of the ride.

Arriving at London at three Newt makes his way to a floral shop and buys an orchid. He likes how delicate, beautiful, and admirable they look. Just... like Tina. He catches a bus and as he cruises around London he can't help but feel a sense of desponding and melancholy as he sees the city of London after all these years. He jumps off a bus and walks toward the Ritz. The vase of orchid in one hand all wrapped up nicely while his hand carries his brown briefcase.

Entering the Ritz Hotel, Newt passes by the iconic tea room before approaching the lifts.  At the lift, he pushes the button and the doors open. As he is getting in, Newt is joined by a young woman. Newt looks at her name tag. Her name is Rita.

"Which floor?" Newt asks him. "Three please." Rita answers as Newt nods and pushes the button. They wait for the doors to close. The lift lands and they both gets out. Hotel rooms 30-35 are to the left while 35-39 to the right. Newt heads right and... so does Rita.

Newt is puzzled at how Rita is still following him. He slows down as he approaches room 38 and startled when so does Rita. Newt stops, so does Rita. Newt turns his head, confused, before he points at the number on the door.

"Are you sure you...?" Newt assures. "Yes." Rita affirms with a nod. "Oh. Right... er." Newt mourns before he knocks on the door. A bright, well-tailored American girl opens the door.

"Hello, I'm Quennie, Tina's sister and manager. Sorry -- things are running a bit late. Here's the thing..." She hands them a very slick, expensively produced press kits, with the poster picture of Tina, for the film 'Alien: Covenant'.

She leads them inside the suite, after closing the door and in a few seconds later -- they enter the main waiting room. Newt is startled to see there are a number of journalists waiting for their audience.

"What did you think of the film?" Quennie suddenly asks as she grabs a notebook and a pen, ready to write their critics.

"Marvelous.  'Close Encounters' meets 'Jean De Florette.' Golden Globe- winning stuff." Rita says happily before both Quennie and her turn to Newt for his opinion.

He curses mentally before looking at Rita. "I agree." Newt adds with a weak smile.

Quennie nods, scribbling down on the notebook before asking, "I'm sorry. I didn't get down what magazines you're from."

" 'The Daily Prophet.' " Rita answers with a smile. Quennie smiles back then turns to Newt, "Great. And you?" 

Newt panics. 

He scans the entire room, frantically looking for a magazine, a catalog, a newspaper, something! Then he sees it. On the coffee table.

" 'Quibbler Magazine.' The name's Newt Scamander." Quennie nods whereas Rita seems intrigued that he's a reporter from Quibbler Magazine. "I think she might be expecting me." Newt nervously adds before she shoots him a smile. "Okay -- take a seat.  I'll check."

Both Rita and Newt move towards a sofa and they sit down as Quennie goes off, down the hallway.

Rita looks at the orchid Newt carries. "You've brought her flowers?" Newt gulps and thinks for a cover-up story.

"No -- they're -- for my grandmother. She's in a hospital nearby. Thought I'd kill two birds with one stone." he replies, a bit too fast and nervously. Rita frowns and gives him pity eyes. "Oh I am so sorry. Which hospital?"

Newt breaths in and pauses. Bullocks, he did not think of that. He's in trouble.

Quickly, he says, faking a bit of distress in his voice, "Do you mind me not saying -- it's a rather distressing disease and the name of the hospital rather gives it away."

Rita nods, with a sad face, "Oh sure. Of course." Newt thanks her silently and they both sit in silence before Quennie comes walking in.

"Mr. Scamander." she says, with a smile in spark in her eyes.

Saved by the bell. Newt bids a farewell wave to Rita and follows Queenie towards the corridor. She turns to face him, telling him, "You've got five minutes." He is then lead in through big golden doors and the room is the Trafalgar Suite Room. Quennie stays outside. Then there she is.

Tina stands straight, facing the framed in the window, overlooking Green Park. Newt can't help but think she looks pretty in her apricot color satin silk bow tie neck shirt with long sleeves button down blouse top and a long black pencil skirt. Quennie then closes the room and Tina turns around to face Newt. She gives him a nervous smile.

"Hi." Newt manages to say.

"Hello." Tina replies softly. Newt looks at the countless of dozen flowers surrounding Tina and gives her a sad smile. "I uh... I brought these," Newt shyly begin, lifting up his orchid vase, "but clearly..." he gestures at the other glamorous flowers in the room.

Tina shakes her head, "Oh no, it's okay." She walks towards him and accepts his orchid vase with a shy smile. "These are great. Thanks."

Then there it is. Instead of feeling a fair amount of tension, as they hardly know each other -- and the first and last time they met, they kissed; instead... they feel a silence of comfort surrounding them. Putting them at ease.

"Sorry about not ringing back." Newt apologizes, blushing. "The whole two-names concept was totally too much for my flatmate's intellect."

Tina smiles, reassuring him, "No, it's a stupid privacy thing. I always choose a famous fashion designer. Last time out, I was Mrs. Marc Jacobs.

Before Newt can shoot her a smile, Mr. Graves, walks in. Tina's public manager and Quennie's boss. He's a fairly grave, authoritative forty-year-old PR man consulting a list.

"Everything okay?" he asks shooting Tina a concern look. She nods. "Yes, thanks."

He turns to face Newt. "And you are from 'The Quibbler' magazine?" he asks making Newt nod.

"Is that so?" Tina asks, sounding intrigued but shooting Newt a sneaky smirk.

Newt's face turns red as he shrugs his shoulders and gives a light chuckle. Mr. Graves goes and settles at a little desk in the corner and makes notes. He just stands there, stacking some paper. There is a pause before Newt realizes and feels he has to act the part of being a reporter.

Tina motions for him to sit on the couch and she sits on the opposite on. They now face each other.

"Right... so I'll just fire away, shall I?" Newt begins, siting a bit straight. Tina nods.

"Right. Er... the film's great... and I just wondered -- whether you ever thought of having more... spectrespecs in it?" he asks, biting his lip knowing he was minutes away from death.

Tina lets out a small chuckle. "Hmm -- well -- we would have liked to -- but it was difficult, obviously, being set in space and a remote planet."

Newt can feel his ears turning red from embarrassment. "Oh right... er... very difficult indeed."

Both Tina and Newt listen Mr. Graves leave, closing the door.

Newt sighs heavily and embarrassed, putting his head in his hands. He was panicking and he completely blew it.

"I'm sorry -- I arrived outside -- and they thrust this thing into my hand -- I  didn't know what to do." Newt begins as Tina cuts him, apologizing, "No, it's my fault, I thought this would all be over by now. I just wanted to sort of apologize for the kissing thing. I seriously don't know what got in to me. I just wanted to make sure you were fine about it. Honest. I don't know what I was thinking."

Newt is speechless for second before saying, "Absolutely. No worries. I was fine about it." Though he reassures Tina with a smile his heart cracks. Of course she would feel this way about kissing him on the cheek. He was nobody while she was... she was beauty.

Mr. Graves re-enters and continues stacking papers. Newt coughs, before continuing with their fake interview. Before he can ask another question Mr. Graves says, his back facing them, "Do remember that Miss Tina is also keen to talk about her next project, which is shooting later in the summer."

Newt nods, a smile. "Oh yes -- excellent. Ahem -- any spectrespecs in that one? Or shades, of course. Our readers are equally intrigued by both models."

Tina winces before answering, "It takes place during the 1970's... in a West Coast beach. My character is the ex - girlfriend of a private detective." Eh, not a setting for pink spectrespecs to be worn in.

Newt blinks before choking out, "Oh Yes. Right... But if there were spectrespecs, would you be wearing them yourself or would you be getting a stunt spectrespecs person double sort of thing?"

They hear Mr. Gracves exit. Newt has a meltdown at that point. "Merlin... I'm just a complete moron. Sorry. This is the sort of thing that happens in dreams -- not in real life. Good dreams, obviously," he stops before giving Tina a small smile, "It's... a dream to see you." Newt confesses.

Tina is silent for a moment before asking nervously, "And what happens next in the dream?"

Newt sighs. "It's a challenge."

She doesn't seem confirm with his answer so Newt adds, "Well, I suppose in the dream dream scenario. I just... um, change my personality, because you can do that in dreams, and walk across and kiss the girl but you know it'll never happen."

They are silent for a moment. Suddenly they stand up but before they can move towards each other when... Mr. Graves enters.

"Time's up, I'm afraid. Sorry it was so short. Did you get what you wanted?" he asks. "Very nearly." Newt replies.

"Maybe time for one last question?" Mr. Garves offers.

"Right."

He goes out -- and it's their last seconds together. Probably forever if Newt does not man up.

"Are you busy tonight?" Newt bravely asks, though he knows he looks nervous.

"Yes." Tina answers, her eyes flashing a bit of sadness.

They look at each other. Then Mr. Graves enters, with another journalists in tow. Tina and Newt walk towards each other and shake hands formally.

"Well, it was nice to meet you." Tina says before adding with a grin, "Surreal but nice."

Newt's heart skipped. He gave her a shaky laugh. "Thank you. You are 'The Quibbler's' new favorite actress."

Newt is escorted out and once again they part away from each other.

Newt exits the room, fairly despondent and heads for the door, passing through the suite corridor. He does not notice Rita, who is in the corridor calling on her mobile phone. She sees Newt and immediately goes to him.

"How was she?" she asks.

"Fabulous." he replies immediately. Rita looks shock as she says, "Wait a minute -- she took your grandmother's flowers?"

Newt's eyes widen. He can't think his way out of this. So he blurts out, "Yes. That's right. Unbelievable!"

Newt turns to go before Rita can ask more questions but is accosted by Quennie.

"If you'd like to come with me we can rush you through the others." she says.

"The others?!" Newt says, his eyes almost popping out.

[wickxdangels]

Bucky Barnes Imagine; Secretly in love.

Hey guys! It feels so good to be finally back! I haven’t written anything in so long so, sorry if the imagines suck :( i’m trying my best to get back to writing and all. Also, please remember that English isn’t my first language, so if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes, please let me know! Thanks for reading and I hope you like it! 

Pairing; Bucky Barnes x Reader.

Warnings; Just fluff. 

Request; Hi lovely! I’m so glad you’re back :) can you please write a Bucky x reader where they’re best friends and are secretly in love, so when reader makes a joke that Peter is basically their child, Bucky gets all flushed and leaves quickly. He asks Steve what to do and he says Bucky should flirt with her for real and make it obvious he likes her. He does, but reader is oblivious so Bucky just flat out tells her and they end up cuddling and watching readers fav movie? Tysm, I hope it makes sense! 💕

It was around noon when Y/n woke up, she went to bed late last night because she’s been obsessed with this show and she wanted to watch the entire season in one night, that had her going to sleep at 5 am. 

While walking to the kitchen to grab something to drink, she heard the voices of Peter, Samuel, Steve and Bucky.

She smiled as she finally saw them, Peter and Samuel both in the kitchen, while Steve and Bucky were sitting down behind the stool, laughing at whatever Peter and Samuel were doing. As she got closer to them, she could see with more clarity Peter’s face, which was currently filled with flour, his eyes concentrated fully on his masterwork as he made sure to massage the dough on his hands, probably making pizza, she guessed. 

“I wake up a bit late and you guys have already messed up the kitchen.” she laughed as she stood a few feet from them, her hands on her waist as she looked at the mess that the kitchen was, obviously a work from Peter. She knew that him, being the youngest of them all, wanted to have some fun around the place, and probably Samuel saw him struggling and tried to help him. 

“I really take no part in this whole mess, we are mere spectators.” Steve said as he chuckled, Bucky who was sitting besides him didn't say anything but rested his eyes on her, softly gazing at her as she rolled her eyes and smiled. It was clear to say that both of them liked each other, yet they were not aware of each other’s feelings. In her mind, it was better for them to remain friends than to get in a relationship with the probability of breaking up and damaging their friendship, she didn't want to jeopardize that because of silly feelings that may not be reciprocated. 

In Bucky’s head, he thought that she wasn't interested in him as more than a friend, even though Natasha has always told him that she acted different around him, but he just brushed that off, thinking that the reason lied in the fact that she felt more comfortable around him than with the rest of them. He didn't want to create false scenarios in his head. 

“It’s actually quite funny to see how Peter gets himself into messy situations all the time.” she smiled as she walked towards him, Y/n then proceed to wash her hands and help Peter out. “You’re supposed to knead down on the dough, not slap it or whatever you’re doing..” she let out a laugh along with the rest of the team, her hands already cleaned started to knead down on the dough as Peter followed her actions, Samuel just let out a deep sigh and gave up. “Yep, that’s my cue to leave, finally.” he said before leaving the kitchen. 

“Hey! What did we say about quitters!?” Peter cried out when he saw Samuel, making him laugh shaking his head and placing his hands up in defeat as he walked towards his room, probably tired. 

Steve stood up from the seat as well. “Well, I’ve got stuff to do as well, so good luck with that.. pizza?” he said before leaving with a chuckle on his lips.

“How come you’re making pizza from scratch? You know you could’ve easily just changed into Spidey and go out to get some.” Y/n said to Peter as she helped out with the dough, making sure it was smooth enough to proceed with the next steps. 

“I told him that already, or that he could’ve asked me and Steve to bring him some while we were out in the city.” Bucky agreed with her as he stared at both of them, shaking his head with a chuckle ready against his lips. “I thought teenagers from this generation were supposed to be bit smarter..” he exclaimed, making both Y/n and Steve laugh as Peter rolled his eyes to him.

“Now, where would be the fun in that? Look how fun it is to play with the dough thingy! It brings back memories of a simpler life before Spiderman.” Peter slowly finished the sentence as his smile slowly faded from his lips, longing the times when he was just a normal boy from Queens. 

Both Bucky and Y/n stared at each other, feeling the sadness radiate from Peter as Y/n then talked. “It’s okay to feel sad sometimes. It’s okay to miss things how they used to be, but just remember of all the good things you’ve done so far, all the lives you’ve saved. Remember all of the things you’ve accomplished and the things you’ve yet to do.” she said in a soft voice as she looked at Peter. The smile on his lips slowly returned as he stared up at her, his eyes filled with adoration, the kind you’ll see in a little kid looking up to her mother whenever she did something that amazed him. “You can always come to me if you’re feeling sad or need any advice, you know. I’m here to help, and I’m pretty sure Bucky feels the same way.” she said as her eyes landed on Bucky, he smiled at her and nodded at Peter. 

“Totally, kid. I’m here if you need anything... well, only if you give me some extra slices.” he joked, leaning towards the stool and messing up Peter’s brown hair before sitting down again. Peter laughed as he nodded before kneading down once again on the dough, Y/n could only stare at the two of them with a silly smile on her face, it reminded her of the way her dad used to mess her brother’s hair.

In a way, she felt, Bucky and her were like Peter’s parents. He always came to them whenever he got exciting news or just to show them new funny memes. 

“You know, in a way, Peter’s like our child...” Y/n exclaimed, Peter was too busy trying to figure out how the oven works to hear what she had just said, but Bucky on the other hand, flushed a bit. His cheeks slowly turned red as he let out a shaky chuckle at what she had just said, scratching the back of his head. “Bucky...did you just...blush?” she slowly asked with a chuckle, walking towards him to then get closer to his face, inspecting the faint red color against them. “You did!” she giggled, it’s been some time since she’s seen Bucky blush at something, it made her heart warm and just added a bit more fuel to her crush on him.

“Okay! I think I figured out how to turn on the oven!” Peter exclaimed with a victorious smile on his face, lifting his arms up like he had just won the olympics, making both of them realize they were not completely alone.

“I.. I think I'm gonna let you guys finish your pizza, let me know when it’s finished..” Bucky quickly spoke before standing up from his chair, he didn’t even wait for a response before walking in a fast pace towards 

Y/n raised her eyebrow at his behavior, watching as he quickly walked away towards Steve’s room. Bucky was sure acting funny.

She just shrugged, and looked back at Peter. “Okay, chef. looks like it’s just you and me. Let’s get this pizza done, i'm starving!” she gave Peter a smile as they both tried to finish what they started.

 Meanwhile, on the other side of the Avengers Facility, Bucky paced around Steve’s room as he waited for him to come out of his shower, his arms crossed as he walked from side to side, taking his metal hand through his long raven hair from time to time as he was getting kind of impatient. So when he heard the bathroom’s door being opened and Steve walking out of it with just a towel around his waist, he breathed in relief, scaring Steve for a minute.

“Holy! Bucky, you do know that you have your own room, right?” Steve asked as he looked at Bucky, just now taking in his weird composure. “What’s going on? Is it Y/n?” he asked as he stared at his friend in front of him for a bit.

Bucky, on the other hand, was kinda surprised when Steve brought up her name, he hasn't said anything about her to anyone, wanting to keep his feelings to himself. Guess he wasn't that good at hiding things from his friend. “How did you know it was about her?” he asked curiously.

Steve let out a small smirk. “Oh, so it is about her!” he looked at his friend as if they were small kids and one of them had asked the other to help him out with a mischief before rolling his eyes at the question he had just asked. “C’mon, Bucky! I’m not that dense, you know.. I know when my best friend likes someone, and even more so when he’s too bad at keeping it to himself..” he chuckled, walking to pick out some clothes as Bucky ket pacing around the room. “Bucky, I swear you’re gonna make a hole in the floor from pacing around too much! What exactly happened?”

“Okay, so! We were out talking with the kid, how he missed the way his life was before the whole Spiderman thing, and she then said something along the lines of ‘Peter is kind of like our child’ and I blushed, Steve! I fucking blushed! Like a ten year old!” Bucky huffed out, throwing himself to the bed as he covered his face with his hands, groaning. 

Steve, meanwhile, was laughing out loud, it was so funny for him to imagine the big and bad Bucky Barnes, the ‘Winter Soldier’ blushing because of what little Y/n had said. He knew his friend really had it bad when it came to her, he hasn’t shown interest in a female in so long, so he knew it had to be something serious. “You know, you should just tell her you like her. Flirt with her, for real. You both are grown adults, you should try and make it work and if it doesn’t.. like I said, you’re both adults, you two can handle a simple thing as a break-up...” Steve explained, making it sound so easy. “Of course, I wouldn’t take myself too seriously cause as you know.. I really don’t have the best experiences with relationships..” he shrugged and ran his hand through his damped hair.

Bucky gave it a long thought as he stared at the ceiling on top of it, thinking hard as if it was a mission and they had to come up with a plan rather quickly. “You know what, I think you’re right.” Bucky lifted himself from the bed, sitting down as he looked at his friend. 

“I.. am?” Steve asked kind of surprised, looking at Bucky as he still had this ‘I'm in deep thought’ face.

“Yes! I can’t stay my whole life wondering wether she likes me too or not, I can’t keep my feelings bottled up, we both know life can be tricky and we’ve got to grab the opportunities whenever we’ve got them in front of us.” realization dawning on his face, the Winter Soldier breathed out, standing up from the bed as if someone had poured cold water to his face and he suddenly had all of the answers for the world’s problems.

“Okay, then? Good luck, buddy. Looks like you might need it.” that was the last thing he hard from Steve as Bucky walked outside his room, his mind filled with thoughts on how he would exactly tell her he liked her as more than friends.. Maybe he’d just start with some simple flirting, trying to make his intentions clear but not coming off too strong.. he just hoped it worked out, he’s not experienced in thsi field.

Later that night, after eating the pizza Peter and Y/n have made with the rest of the team, Bucky decided to walk towards the living room, knowing he would find Y/n sitting down watching some of her Netflix series she’s been obsessing with lately, she would stay in the living room watching them until she saw all the lights off and then she’d go to her room to keep watching, not wanting to wake up anyone in the facility with the noises that came from the TV. Even there she was so considerate with everyone else, one of the reasons he was in love with her, because she always cared for everyone else, putting them before her, just how she did with Peter earlier, she really had such a warm beautiful heart, more than her physical appearance, her heart was the most beautiful thing about her.

Y/n was indeed sitting on the couch in the living room, her arms wrapped around her legs as she stared into the screen in front of her, completely unfazed by the outside world because she didn’t hear to his steps approaching. “Hey, Y/n..” he spoke as he walked closer to her, her eyes still fixated on the TV screen.

“Oh, hey Bucky!” she said with a smile, not taking her eyes off the show. It must be a pretty good one, Bucky thought. 

“I just wanted to say that I think you’re really beautiful.. And I'm not only talking about your body or face, but your personality and soul! Don’t get me wrong though, you’ve got a really a gorgeous face and incredible body! Not that I stare at it everyday-well, I kinda do, but that’s not the point!” he was feeling all flustered already, his cheeks even more flushed than they were at noon, like if his face was on fire. “The point is.. that I think about you a lot, you know? You’re always so nice to everyone, always wanting to make sure everyone’s doing okay and letting them know you’re here for them whenever they might need someone, just like today with Peter! And any guy would be so lucky to have you in his life, cause I’ve known you for a while and you’ve brought nothing more than happiness to mine...” a smile slowly crept its way to his lips as he thought about all the times she would make him smile, even in the most desperate situations ever or when times were rough around the facility with the rest of the team, she would always be there for him. 

“I’m sorry, Bucky...” that right there made his heart stop, his face slowly fell as he heard those dreaded words and what might follow them. “What were you saying? It was the last episode of the season, so I was really into it, I didn't quite catch what you were trying to say... I’m sorry...” she said with a apologetic smile on her lips, she paused the show as he stared at him, completely focused on what he had to say now.

Bucky let out a sigh of relief, that almost freaked him out. He wasn't ready for a rejection, he had in mind that it could be a possible response from her but he didn't want to really accept it. He just wanted her to know once and for all..

“Look. What I was trying to say it’s that...” he took deep breaths as she stared at him in confusion, trying to figure out what he was trying to say to her. “I like you. A lot, like a ‘crazy amount’ lot.” he chuckled nervously as he took a deep breath before continuing. “I.. I- think I'm in love with you.” he sincerely confessed to her, sitting down besides her as he took her hands in his, feeling the smoothness of her palms compared to his calloused ones. He heard her suck in a breath, clearly not expecting what he had just told her. “I’ve been trying to bury these feelings because, I was scared of what would happen if I ever told them out loud, scared of what you’d say or do.” he looked at her eyes, there was a small glint in them, a little spark he hadn’t seen before. “I just realized I can’t do that anymore, I can’t keep it to myself cause life is short, and I have this second chance at living it the fullest, and I want to do that with you by my side. If you’d allow it, of course.” he explained, he wasn’t about to force her to do anything she wouldn’t like to do.

“Oh, Bucky. Just shut up and kiss me already.” she answered back with a smile that could lit up the whole city and without any second more to waste, their lips collided. 

It felt like being embraced by the most warm blanket in a cold and snowy day, like their lips were meant to be together. His hands softly wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her closer as he wanted to feel more of her warmness against his body, the grip on her waist tight, not wanting to let her go anytime soon as their lips played a beautiful ballad against each other, dancing to the oldest song there is.. love. 

“It was beautiful.. all of what you said. It left me speechless..” she confessed, pulling away from his lips for a moment, her warm eyes looking up to his as her hands softly caressed his cheek, giving another ounce of warmth to his face. “What I want you to know it's that.. I feel the same way. I think I’ve always had. You make me feel different than anybody else has ever made me feel. Whenever I'm around you, I'm myself. No filters, just me. I was also afraid.. afraid to damage this friendship we have but I realized I do not want to live my life wondering ‘what if’.” she softly told him, a smile forming on her lips as she stared at him, lovingly. 

He just felt like the luckiest person on earth, he had no exact words to explain how he felt, just that he loved it. He loved feeling like this.

“How about you introduce me to your show, huh? I bet it must be really interesting. That way I can cuddle you all night long, cause I'm not really planning on letting you free anytime soon to be honest.” he gave her a sheepishly smile as she nodded in agreement with him, she didn't want to be away from his arms either, so they accommodated themselves on the couch. 

“Just with one condition..” she said to him.

“What condition?” he asked with a chuckled.

“That you kiss me every time I tell you to.”

“Oh, doll. Believe me, that won’t be a problem.” he smirked as he placed a tenderly kiss on her lips to start.

[kanene-yaaay-o-retorno]

The Colors of my Soul(mates) [1]

[Second oneshot]

[AO3 link]

Kanene’s Notes:

Nope, I do not regret the pun. Okay, okay! I’ve plaining this AU for almost an year so I’m pretty excited to post it!! dfghjsdfrtyucfvgbhjv yaaaay!! Thank you very very much @olliedollie1204 for such a positive feedback and awesome ideas. it helped me a lot!! 

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* That fanfic has Virgil, Logan, Patton and Roman (only a brief mention of Remy) in a platonic relationship (yet), but it can be viewed as romantic, if you wish. 

* Warnings: A bit of swearing and depreciative thoughts. It’s mostly fluff and hurt/comfort, tho.

* This characters do not belongs to me. They all belongs to the amazing Thomas Sanders in his series of Sanders Sides.

* Something around 4.500 words. -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any advice is very very welcome!

* Tô com preguiça de postar a versão em português brasileiro aaaa! Thankys for reading, my lollipops! Say to someone important how much you love them, be safe, talk with the one that you love, drink water and sleep well! Byeioo!~

                           [~*~]

What can do a creature if not, between creatures, love?  - Carlos Drummond de Andrade

  - What the fu-

 Virgil only discovered he had more than one Soulmate when he was twenty years old, more specifically the exact moment he took a wrong turn and kept going even knowing he was in the wrong way because one hour it would lead him to somewhere Virgil would recognize before his mortal being inevitably starved to death in the middle of nowhere and his eyes got dragged from the visions from thousands of futures created by his mind to a Teddy Bear Store - they seemed to replicate worse than bacteria during Valentine’s Day - and two bears from the crimson shelter suddenly dyed themselves in two milliseconds as he slightly glanced at them.

 Two of them. Virgil felt his entire face burn in hot shades of embarrassment with drops of disbelief, almost as if all the people running, stumbling, locked in their own worlds and swearing while walked in the sideway because ‘some stupid teenager decided to just stop and block their way’ could, by only looking at him, stare deep into his soul and realize the one staring astonished the store already carried in his fate another one more Soulmate at home.

One completely different in shape and form, even if also blue, however in a light, sky blue completely opposite shade from the new navy one staring him down - Virgil knew plentily their link wasn’t bonded yet, albeit he was equally sure that the person behind those black glooming teddy bear’s eyes were already judging him, - wondering why, between all the people, he was their soulmate. The other red one was very much likely crackling in his face when an employee came and pointedly turn the adult’s attention to the sign in big, graphed words clued in front of their store:

 “You dye, you buy.”

 Virgil signed, pushing his hoodie down further, wondering how much time it would take of him hitting his head on the wall to finally pass out. This option sounded much more attractive when he realized that this new ‘discovery’ about himself would cost all his month’s saves.

 He asked, to the Universe, the stars, the Earth and whoever was seeing him in that exact moment: why?

 Was it a kind of prank? A punishment from fate when, years and tears ago, Virgil lifted his chin up and dared the Universe to give him more soulmates as he locked all his uncolored – although never really free of some weak drops of paint from what one day they came to be – simply stuffed animals, - and nothing more, anymore, - away and promised he would never, ever allow himself to go all through this shit again?

 But… That had been… years ago. Almost a decade since that soft voice he got to know so well, the impulsive acts, long conversations and warm feelings.

 But…

 Time has passed, that is true. Nevertheless, deep down has he really changed?

 Virgil stared at the bag carried so close to his chest since his bare hands were sweating and shaking way too much for this task. Yes, he knew his Soulmates won’t feel anything until both of them decided to ‘give the First Step’, accepting to link their souls and fates, for the longest as it lasts. However, he didn’t want to risk it, because what if they felt? What if he in some way broke the Soulmate System when got two at the same time and now everything was messed up and they could already feel his touches even through the bag and the first impression Virgil would gave to them was ‘That anxious, weird boy and his creepy, sweaty hands’ and-

 A girl almost hit him as she passed running at his side, making his arms protectively hug further the teddy bears closer to him, arms protectively involving them, the soft touch somehow calming his tumulted thoughts. The lost man took a deep breath.

 Clear your mind. Rational thoughts. Focus on the two sides of the coin. Three people wouldn’t be able to break a millennial, unknown system, don’t matter how good he was in screwin… No, a voice that sounded suspiciously a lot like his psychologist calmly pointed, not like that. Virgil huffed, trying again. He was a magnet of problems and bad…Okay, also wrong. Neutral thoughts, focus on neutral thoughts. Come on. Come on.

 It was okay.

 They wouldn’t feel him until they gave the first step. Right, that… sounded like a start. He didn’t do anything. Now, what Virgil needed to do was go to his house, clean his bed in order to find a good place where he could put and ignore them and then he would get his headphones, listen his playlists and wonder where the fuck his life was going.

 It was okay. Everything would stay okay as long as he didn’t give the First Step.

 Virgil unconsciously hugged tighter the teddy bears, his fingers finding way and drowning themselves in the soft, cozy fur, combing them in light, soothing touches as he continued his way.

 Okay. Everything was okay.

 [~*~]

 Plurinfanto, or Multiple Souls, it’s the nomination used for the cases when a person has diverse soulmates at the same time and in a same period.

 The first known case was with Pharaoh Cleopatra when multiples of her woolen fabric started to dye themselves in various colors and shades. In Ancient Roman, it was believed that the occurrences were blessings from Venus in a sign of prosperity and abundance. Grand, longstanding parties were executed through days nonstop in order to get together those intertwined souls. When the connection broke and the colors disappeared, it meant that days of pain and foreboding were waiting forward.

 It is not known for certain the exact moment when the meaning changed, albeit researchers believe it was around the fall of the Roman Empire, when all the invasions resulted in a cultural reconstruction which led to the loss from much of their costumes.

  CLICK HERE TO DISCOVER HOW TO HAVE THE SOULMATE OF YOUR DREAMS!!!!  

 [~*~]

 The computer made a soft ‘click’ as Virgil closed it and sat on his bed, adjusting slightly his position to stare the three vivid, brilliant stuffed beings contrasting to the general dark theme of his room.

 Virgil growled, resting his back on the cold wall, the shivers calming his flowing thoughts about all the variants this whole thing had. No to mention that people change with time, leading to the souls who they “relate” to change as well, meaning that you can have someone in your life for years and then, one month, or weeks or the next day, you can wake up only to discover you and the said person don’t “match” anymore.

 And NO ONE talked about this just because it was a freak tabu to doesn’t have ‘an only one soulmate who will be with you until the end of your existence’. Oh, for fuck sake. Virgil ran his hand through his hair, wincing when he accidently pulled some tangled strands. That sounds like a line of commercial, does anyone believe that bullshit for real?

 “Hello dear, newer fellow!!” The popping thought broke his line of reasoning, jumping excitedly in his mind and automatically pulling him out of his wanders. It has a strong and full of… about everything, tune demanding attention. Virgil felt a warm kiss on his forehead, meaning one soulmate – a deep part of him turned his attention to the red colored teddy bear, - had given the First Step. The one who in some moment changed his position so now he was sitting on the floor felt his face get hot again, heart thumping strongly in his chest as his arm moved, fingers stopping inches away from the fur, questioning if he was ready to retribute the gesture.

  [~*~]

 Many history icons have reports of being Pluriers, as shown in the book ‘The Romance in the History of Those Who Wrote It’, by historian Henry Senyura. The subject is also beginning to gain more visibility after the protest from the teacher Joan A. in 2010, who got touched towards the situation of some of her pupils being forced to choose only one among their Soulmates for the six-month annual exchange, by the end of that period most of them lost or weakened their bonding due lack of communication, small changes of personality and continuous absence. She held a protest at the front of the school, stating that no one had the right to interfere in ‘matters of the heart’.

 A lot of fiction works are beginning to address the topic more frequently, as in I’m Not One, a movie directed by Devon Stan; The Seven Colors of Rainbow, a book written by Lílian Lee and the psychological analysis Life’s Watch, recently found between drafts by the famous writer Robin Green, published after their husband’s authorization, Josué Green.

 [~*~]

 Logan hummed. As it seems, this was a relatively common thing, since the concept of Soul Mates surpassed the barriers of unity and time, being ‘souls who in a way or other intertwined themselves in some part of their life. Sometimes it didn’t necessarily mean a romantic relationship, as the majority of society and media pointed, but it also didn’t hold any assurance that all of them were platonic.

 He massaged the bridge of his nose. Remy wasn’t in the dorm so everything was silent enough for him to hear his own thoughts.

  It has been a remarkable amount of years since he got his last soulmates, - except for Remy, however they both considered this occurrence as a separate incident - well, until, of course, this day. At least it was a good thing he always carried in his bag extra easy manageable stuffed animals or else maybe the System would dye one of clothes, what would be less than ideal for him in the middle of his philosophy debate. But things got even more interesting when, after his classes, as he arrived at the small, pleasantly well-organized store next to his university, one more stuffed animal colored itself right before him.

 He didn’t exactly understand why. Logan considered himself an owner of a… quite strong, strict personality, this added with his difficulty in managing his and one another emotions usually tended to bring some complex tribulations in his rela-

 Anyway, that is beside the important matter. The one laying his chin on his crossed fingers undid his pose for a bite of time in order to adjust his glasses, barely fixating his gaze on the two plushies in the desk before him, his third – Pat - resting a few centimeters away, closer to Logan’s fingers, who were barely touching. Mind running. Asking, reflecting, wondering what was the exact amount of time to be acceptable to give his First Step?

 ‘The First Step’.

 Logan never really understood from where and how that expression emerged. It didn’t come from the words’ etymology nor some semantic detour. His most concrete hypothesis consisted of the phrase being derived from old romances.

 “Did you know it used to be called the ‘First Kiss’?! But that confused a lot of people who really believed that, to be able to talk and interact with their soulmates they would have to kiss each other, like the Sleeping Beauty! I always got confused in this movie when I was a child, by the way! That ended up messing with a bunch of relationships before they even started, since a lot of peeps don’t feel comfortable enough with strangers kissing them. However, they also speeded up a bunch of them as well…” Logan blinked, his attention escaping from his previous thoughts to the light sky blue plushie of Baby Yoda, for a moment surprised with the sudden input. He felt fingers carefully holding his arms and a bit of ghost movements as Pat probably moved his representation to somewhere else, a hug and warmth engulfing the one yet absolving the new information moments later.

 “That was… enlightening.” His voice danced across the room. Even though he was completely aware they could chat telepathically, the childish act of saying the words out loud still comforted him, in a way. “Thank you for your contribution.”

 He took a deep breath and closed the tab of research on his cellphone, internally thanking from the escaping of his turmoil of thoughts, his free hand carefully combing the Baby Yoda’s head fur, almost methodic.

 “Looo, no!” The other protested with no heat in his tune, leading a toothless smile to resurface in Logan’s features. “Stop doing this. You know I end up sleeping every time!”

 “Oh no, what a tragedy.” He deadpanned, already plugging his phones and changing to a most relaxed position on his chair, his eyes traveling across the countless movies on the device before him. “In which episode did we stop?”

 “I’m going to fight you.” Pat sounded like he was pouting.

 “How so?” Logan asked, trying to hide his amusement.

 Silence followed his words.

 “Pat?”

 “What is the skeleton’s favorite instrument?”

 “Pat, don’t you fucking da-”

 “Language! It’s a xiloBONE!”

 Logan audible growled, fast in his final decision. “I’m going to drop you out the window.”

  “I’m going to hug you!” And immediately the one rolling his eyes felt himself being squished in a strong bear hug, huffing only half annoyed.

 “You are an incorrigible heathen, let me go in this exact instant.” His answer was a ‘butterfly kiss’ – as Pat was fond in calling them – on his forehead. “Urg, affection.” Yet he smiled and mirrored the act, lightly poking the other’s side.

 “We’re on episode 19.”

  [~*~]  

Roman stared the paper, his pencil’s tip stopped in the middle of the biggest petal’s flower, his eyes narrowing in the hope of a clearest way of how to convert the vague idea he had in transforming the night full of stars in a flower. No to tell he also would need to choose a good pallet of colors indication for it, later, and probably re-do all the process over and over and over until got the best result as possible. A yawn found its way from his lips and the designer stretched, getting up to drink a bit of water and rubbing his eyes, wondering if it was really worth it to make a black tea to help him through the night.

 A glimpse of color caught his attention. The navy blue teddy bear on his couch, the main inspiration of his newest tattoo. Roman wondered why it wasn’t resting in front of him while he drew. A corner of his brain, obscured by the tiredness, telling he had a previous good reason for this choice although his actual self carried absolutely no idea of why.

 Well, if he couldn’t remember it, it means the reason wasn’t THAT good, right?

 Roman held the stuffed animal, spinning with it across the room for a couple of minutes, imagining who would be the person behind it. A king, a queen, a non-binary royalty? Did they like Disney? Musicals? Sing? Would they chat for hours at first with a few words exchanged or would they take a bit to warm at each other? Was navy blue their favorite color or…

 Or…

 Navy blue.

 Oh.

 He fixed his glare on the plushie, his hands feeling and slowly drawing in the soft fur of it.

 Navy blue, huh? A humorless chuckled flew in the air. It could have no significance, it could be a world of it. It probably didn’t mean what he, for a moment, a so silly, stupid moment, wished it meant. Of course, one day this would happen, right? It was something normal, something expected. Not the magical, right out of the story books or his old daydreams, occurrence.

 This wasn’t a second chance. The Universe doesn’t give you second chances. He wasn’t the same boy from eleven years ago, holding his own costumed teddy bear crying his eyes out, hugging he – No, it – the closest as possible, wishing with all his heart and soul for the color, the voice, the thoughts, the rambling, their bickering, the forgiveness to come back again.

 No, he grew up. He moved on. He got better.

 Then why did a part of him still felt this way? Like he was about to hear the excited giggles, the soft reprimand, that lovely, deep and so truly -and sometimes boring, Roman had to admit – questions? Why would a part of him still say that he could have it all again if he just… waited long enough, hoped high enough, dreamed long enough…

 …If he was enough.

There aren’t more than seven billion colors in the world. Roman would be stupid if he really believed there was a path where he wouldn’t stumble in that so (un)fortunate well-known shade of blue again.

 Roman growled, his forehead making a loud, dry thumping sound as hit his desk. The one who should be asleep hours ago had absolutely no energy to battle against those thoughts, again. At least for now. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the teddy bear laid on the cold tabletop before him. Well, what a better way to get rid of your own means thoughts than put some stranger’s unpredictable thoughts in the middle of it? Roman slightly pushed the bunch of flowers and some warmup sketches he had out of the way, carefully carrying the representation next to him, nodding. Honestly, that was the best idea he had for a while, why did he even put the lovely thing away?

 Awake Roman was so silly, thinking that… something he couldn’t quite recall right now would be a bad idea, he pointed as snorted softly, pressing his lips on the teddy’s forehead, the quote he knew by heart flying from them in a natural flow.

 “It is not immortal, since it’s flame. But let it be infinite while it lasts.”

 A warm sensation rested on his own forehead moments later, leading the sleepy form to hum happily.

 “Is it… poetry?” Oh shit, Roman widened his eyes. His soulmate heard that?? Oh, shit. Oh, fuck. Roman mentally facepalmed himself. So that was why he usually said it before the First Step!

 “Uhh, yeah. Of course. Fidelity Sonnet by Vinícius Moraes.”

 “I see. Classicism, I presume. A literature of very soundly pleasant rhymes, indeed. The first sonnet was probably created by the humanist Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, although it got even more known in the western literature after the works of Camões, who- ”

 “He is from Modernism, actually.” Roman didn’t know why he suddenly sounded so defensive. Logan felt a cold feeling run his body when the other’s hands let go of him, for a piece of second wondering if it was supposed for him to do the same with the red narwhal plushie on his hold.

 “A very common mistake to make due the lack of context.” He retorted, unable to formulate another answer. He had, of course, thought, balanced options and chosen the best topics to discuss with his new soulmates when they bonded. However, his fingers firmly gripped the pen, its tip tapping on the first topic written in the notebook partially forgotten in front of him, the poetry figuratively threw him out of his tracks, leading the decision to be the most impartial as possible due his… not so impartial past memories with that specific shade of red an even more difficult task than it already was.

 “Yes. Sure. Sorry, I- I’m just… very tired right now.”

 “You should go sleep, then.”

 The other snorted with the direct, immediate response. “I should, shouldn’t I? Gotta work, though.”

 Some part of Logan’s brain registered the new fact, separating and keeping it in a special place so he would remember to write it down in the new folder he bought, later.

 “I see.” … poetry? That wasn’t a hard topic to talk about. The one now nervously cleaning the very clear lenses twisted his mouth. He could talk about this for hours. No, correction: he already had previously talked about this for hours non stop.

 Logan strangely felt the urge to rub his face and scream. It has been years, - eleven years and 10 months to be precise – and exactly eight years since the one wearing glasses learned poetry because of him. Because of his constant habit of reciting Shakespeare before they would go to bed, until Logan brought himself to research and decorate all the poems he could muster, taking the task to now wake Prince – the name still carried a strong taste in his tongue – in the same way every single day. Before they realize, that becomes something between them. There were times when both didn’t talk, content in only reciting some verses and hear the other complete them. A part of Logan, that illogical and unfortunately full of feelings one wondered how their rap battles would be if they found each other right now.

 Did Prince even maintain his liking the same things he one day did? Does he still recite poetry? Does he maintain the same dreams? The same habits?  Does he even remember about him?

 Highly improbable.

 “You can call me Lo.”

 Roman slowly blinked, getting out the fog surrounding his brain to realize he was mindless staring at the pan’s boiling water, surprised the other still there. Well, it seems like he hasn't screwed terribly everything yet.

 “Lo? Like Lowrance?”

 “Even though my name does contain ‘Lo’ in it, no. It’s ‘Lo’ like Logic. I came to believe it’s a good idea the nomination after a predominant characteristic, since we can’t actively exchange our real names through the Soulmate System.”

 Roman’s breath hitched, a memory with yellow-ish edges and nostalgic smell unrolling in front of him.

 …

 ‘I think we should choose you a name with more personality in it, ya know?’ He threw himself on his bed, kicking his legs on the air before immediately scoping the plushie and laying it on his stomach. ‘Like a characteristic!’

 ‘I don’t see what is wrong with the nickname I choose.’

 ‘No, no! There is nothing wrong with it! But that could be something just between us!’ Then he gasped, picturing that, if he was inside a movie there would be a lamp shining right above his hair in this moment. ‘We could call you Ro!! You wanted to be a robot, right?’

 His soulmate growled and Roman felt a few pokes on his arm, the verbal protest doesn’t taking long before accompanying it. ‘I was three years old!’

 ‘And I’m never letting you live this down.’ He beamed, both knowing the annoyed scoff he got as response held no real heat. ‘Besides, we could even match our names!!’

 ‘That would be very counterproductive.’ Roman felt his hair being softly smoothed, a usual indication the other was losing himself in his thoughts. ‘Nicknames are supposed to help us. Having two equal names is not the most efficient thing.’

 Roman dramatically scoffed, picking the stuffed animal and half hugging it, his free hand occupying itself in making a couple of gestures to no one, since his soulmate couldn’t exactly see them. ‘It’s not about being productive, Bear! It’s about feelings!!’

 ‘And since when,’ a light poke was delivered on his belly, making him squeak and mess with the teddy bear’s hair in revenge ‘Everything isn’t feelings for you, your highness?’

 …

 “Okay,” Roman and his self past disappearing with the fading memory said, in synchrony “You shall call me by Prince, then.”

 Suddenly he felt himself falling, his hands quickly holding on the tabletop as the cold, nauseous feeling took over his stomach, more like a punch on it, his veins being filled with amounts of adrenaline for a glimpse of a second.

 “Excuse me? Warn a guy next time you decide to just drop his representation, dude! Damn.” Roman shook himself, trying to bring his body to calm down.

 “Sorry, I got… startled.” Logan gulped. The word ‘Prince’ echoing on his mind as a broken vinyl disc. What were the chances? That couldn’t be such a common nickname, right? Nor color. Nor interests. What were the chances? What could be the chances? Maybe he was just projecting, being played, tricked by a dangerous partnership between his own brain and emotions. Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions due the nostalgic feeling fogging his actions, his thoughts. Perhaps-

 “Hey, Lo? Are you there?”

 “Yes.” Logan answered, his fingertips colliding quickly with the fabric of his pants as he visualized his options. “Yes, I am.”

 “Hm. Okay, then. I’m… glad to know.”

 Silence. Logan took a wobbly breath.

 “Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back; Wherein he puts alms for oblivion; A great-size monster of ingratitudes:”

  “Those scraps are good deeds past; which are devour'd; As fast as they are made, forgot as soon.” Roman continued without even noticing until the words danced in the air, just like the years haven’t passed.

 Then he understood.

  His heart stopped for a second, his eyes widening and his voice disappearing, as if his whole being was afraid to break the moment, the spell; as if this was a dream and a miscalculate step would make everything fade.

 “Bear?” Roman felt a light poke on his cheek.

 “Hello, Prince.”

 Roman choked a laugh, quickly crawling the teddy bear next to his chest, hugging it both firmly and yet so caring, curling around its - no, him - feeling an equal warmth involve his form as he hided his face on the soft fur, giggling and hugging, feeling so happy, so alive and right and good and he would never, ever, ever again let him go.

 “I missed you, bitch. Never scare me like this again.”

 “I… missed you, as well.” Logan tried to not let the emotion take over his tune, his hand petting the narwhal plushie softly, the words had abandoning him, as it seems. “This reunion is a… good surprise.”

 “Oh, shut up, I know you’re having a blast somewhere in that logic soul of yours, too.”

 Logan huffed, grinning. “Stop crying on my hair, your troglodyte.”

 “Make me, I dare you.”

 “Always so dramatic.” They both rolled their eyes, letting the moment be bathed in the deep waters of a comfortable silence.

 “Eleven years.”

 “We have so, so much to talk about!! Oh, my goodness gracious, I’m going to get my tea. Do you remember about that play I wrote about zombie princes and a dragon witch? You will NOT fucking believe what happened with it!”

 “Good thing I have you to explain to me then.” Roman stopped, a gigantic smile taking over his features as he closed his eyes to feel everything even more.

 “Yeah, I agree.”

 Somewhere in the world Patton and Virgil smiled during their sleep, unable to control themselves when a gigantic wave of pure joy and delight filled every corner of their hearts, coloring it on the most brilliant gleam, just like their stuffed animals resting peacefully on their grip.

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Lost Princess Chapter 26

Warnings: I no longer know

Rating: SFW

You and the group entered Olympus Coliseum and came to the Coliseum gates. Donald saw a nearby notice board and ran over to it.

“Look, an announcement!” he said. You, Sora, and Goofy joined him. Jiminy jumped out and jumped up and down to read the board.

“Hmmm... It's for some sort of contest. They're calling it the ‘Olympus Coliseum Survival Cup.’ Contenders have to run an obstacle course, battling each other along the way. And listen to this: ‘The great hero Hercules will also compete for the Cup.’ It says here he's never been beaten,” he said. 

“Sounds like fun. Why don't we enter, too?” Sora said. 

“Yeah! Let’s do it!” you said. 

“I thought you two would say that. Whenever there's a contest, you're rarin' to join up,” Goofy said.

“You're going to compete even if we don't, right?” Donald said. 

“Uh-huh!” You and Sora said.

“Guess we'd better tag along, then.” Jiminy jumped.

“Hold it, everyone. There's more...” he jumped again.

“’Only contenders who finish the preliminary course may enter the main competition.’” he jumped again. 

“It says the preliminary course is just ahead.” 

“Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!” you said. You and the gang then left. Hades appeared and read the announcement board.

“‘Hercules is a model of true strength and gallantry---the perfect hero’?!” he said. Hades turned red, overcome with anger.

“Oh, he's perfect, all right. PERFECTLY INFURIATING!! Just thinking about that little sunspot makes me boil! HOO, I'd like to drag him into the Underworld!” he yelled. 

“Which is why you hired me,” someone said. Cloud entered and walked up to Hades.

“That's right. You're my man... Cloud, is it? Your job is to beat Hercules in the games. And once you've got him cornered... ...finish the job. Do that for me, and---” Hades said. 

“You restore my lost memories. As we agreed,” Cloud said. 

“You have my word.” Cloud then left. Meanwhile, you, Sora, Donald, and Goofy entered the Coliseum lobby and met Phil.

“Huh? Where did you come from? Don't tell me you guys finished the prelims!” Phil said.

“We sure did. And now we want to go for the Cup!” you said. 

“Well, you came to the right place. Not that you stand a chance against Herc.” 

“Why not?” Donald asked. 

“Two words. You ain't heroes!” Phil said. 

“You’re wrong!” Sora said. 

“Yeah, he said three words,” Goofy said. 

“Exactly...but that's not the point! How can we prove we're heroes unless you give us a chance?” Hercules suddenly walked in.. 

“He's right, Phil. They cleared the prelims. I think they deserve a shot,” he said.

“Hmm...you got a point there, Herc. But still---” Phil said.

“Of course, we could always cancel the games.” 

“Cancel them? What for?” you asked.

“Old Phil's prelim course was so hard, no one else could finish it.” 

“Is that right? Well, if you let us compete, you won't have to cancel the games! How about it, Phil?” Sora said.

“... Okay, you got me over a barrel, so fine. Here's how it works, kiddos---” Phil said. 

“It's Sora and (Y/N)---not ‘kiddos.’” Sora said. 

“Sure, sure, kiddos. Since your team and Hercules are the only contenders---”

“No, they're not.” Clouds suddenly walked in through the doors.

“The games have a new challenger. Name's Cloud,” he said. 

“The more the merrier! Now the games will really be something to see!” Phil said. 

“I'm looking forward to this. Don't expect me to pull any punches!” Hercules said. 

“Hey, as long as you don't expect me to take them!” Sora said. 

“Let's give it our best,” you said to Cloud.

“Hmph,” he said.

“Okay, let's get this show going! But first I gotta explain a few rules. Rule #1! First one through the obstacle course wins! Rule #2! In the event of a tie, a battle will determine the winner! Rule #3! You can interfere with your opponents on the course! And finally... Rule #4! All challengers have to give it everything they got!” Phil said. All the challengers lined up, ready to run out of the room.

“All right, enough with the spiel. On your marks... Get set... GO!!” Phil said and you all headed out. Somewhere in the Coliseum, you, Sora, Donald, and Goofy met Cloud, who was holding his buster sword.

“Gawrsh, that was nice of him to wait for us to catch up!” Goofy said. 

“He's not waiting! Remember Rule #3? ‘You can interfere with your opponents on the course’!” Donald said. You all readied your weapons.

“He's looking to narrow the field!” you said. Sora, Donald and Goofy prepared for battle.

“You can put that away. I'm not looking for a fight with you, so keep moving,” Cloud said. 

“Huh?” Sora asked. 

“See? He was waitin' for us to catch up,” Goofy said.

“Well, we've caught up. Let's take him up on his offer and keep going!” Donald said. 

“I don't see a downside...” you said. The four of you walked past Cloud, but you and Sora turned around.

“Listen, are you sure?” Sora asked Cloud.

“I'm not here for the Cup. Just Hercules. Today he loses more than the competition,” Cloud said. The four of you were surprised. 

“You don't mean... But why?!” you asked.

“This is business. Stay out of it. Go win your Cup.” Sora summons his Keyblade and you grabbed your dagger. Cloud turned around to look at you two.

“Do you realize what you two are doing?” he asked. 

“Rule #3! You can interfere with your opponents. Right? You're not the only one who wants to fight Hercules,” you said. The four of you prepared for battle.

“Big mistake,” Cloud said. The four of you fought Cloud and won. After the fight, Cloud was gone.

“Cloud! Where'd you go?” Sora said. Jiminy popped out.

“He headed for the finish line! We'd better go after him!” he said.

“Right!” you and Sora said. The five of you left to go find Cloud. You, Sora, Donald, and Goofy reached the arena of the Coliseum and encountered Hercules and Cloud, the latter being on his knees.

“You lost! Give it up, Cloud!” Herc said. Cloud got up.

“We're not done yet...” he said. 

“I can't guarantee your safety if we keep going like this!” Herc said. 

“Better worry about yourself. Looks to me like you're slowing down a bit.” 

“Ungh...” You and Sora ran to Hercules and readies his Keyblade and you with your dagger.

“Don't worry! We'll back you up!” Sora said. 

“Sora? (Y/N)?” Herc asked. 

“Get all the backup you want. I'm going to finish you and get back my memories!” Cloud said. 

“Huh?! Your memories?!” Sora asked. 

“Now, now, Cloud, we don't want to spill the beans.” Hades appeared and walked to the center of the ring.

“Hades! You!” Herc said as he turned to face Cloud.

“Looks like you oversold yourself. All you did was wear him down. This doesn't look good for your performance rating... Let me put it this way: You, my spiky-haired friend, are fired,” Hades said. 

“Huh?! But...my memories! We had a deal!” Cloud said.

“Did you really think you could get back your lost memories just like that? Get a grip!”

“Why, you---”

“Out of the way! I'll take care of Irk-ules myself!” The scenery turned red, and the sky became dark. Hades charged himself with fire and unleashed it, knocking everyone besides Hercules away and bringing Hercules to his knees.

“Hey!” you and Sora said. 

“Rule #5! It's never too late to enter the games,” Hades said. 

“Hades, you were behind this from the start!” Herc said. 

“Cloud may have failed to take you out, but he did break you down. Time for Plan B. Pack your pita, Herc, 'cause you've just won a free trip to the Underworld---paid by me!” You, Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran to Hercules's side, your weapons ready.

“Hold it!” you said.

“(Y/N), no!” Herc said. 

“Come on, Herc---how can we go one-on-one if you're in the Underworld?” Sora asked. 

“Good point, kid. I guess you'll just have to go with him! Rule #6! There are no rules! Ha ha!” Hades said. The four of you fought and defeated Hades. Later at the arena, you, Sora's group, and Hercules met with Phil.

“What?! The games are cancelled? How come?” Sora asked. 

“Two words! Everyone is pooped!” Phil said. 

“Wait, that was more than two---” Goofy said. 

“You gotta be kidding! What about our match with Hercules?” you said. 

“I'm sorry, you two. But you wouldn't want me to compete in this condition. Let's have a match when I've rested up a bit. Can you wait?” Herc said. 

“Okay. We'll hold you to that,” Sora said. 

“Then it's settled!” 

“Sora, (Y/N), over here! He's coming around.” Jiminy said. Cloud was lying on the ground on one knee outside of the ring, with Jiminy watching him. You, Sora and the gang walked over to them.

“You okay?” Sora asked. 

“Yeah,” Cloud said. 

“Here,” you said as you performed a healing spell. He got up and thanked you.

“Sorry I messed up your games,” he said. He started to leave but stopped when Sora started to speak.

“Hey! Hope you get your memories back! Forget about what Hades said. Sometimes the tiniest thing can make you remember stuff you forgot years ago,” he said. You nodded in agreement. 

“If it's an important memory, there's no way it could ever be gone forever. That's what I think, anyway,” you said. 

“Me too,” Sora said. Cloud created a card of himself in his hand and tossed it to you and Sora, who put it in your pockets.

“That's for you. For helping me out,” Cloud said. 

“Sure you don't want to just come with us instead?” Sora asked. Cloud looked back and flipped one of his hairs.

“Not interested,” he said and left. You, Sora, Donald, and Goofy soon left the Olympus Coliseum. You and trio entered the Second Floor Exit Hall. Goofy stopped and thought for a minute.

“Hmm...” he said. 

“Huh? What's the matter?” Donald asked. 

“It's that creepy castle that I was talking about earlier... I know I didn't imagine it.” Donald, you,  and Sora exchanged looks.

“'Cause that was the castle where Sora had to use the Keyblade to free Kairi's heart,” Goofy said. Flashbacks of that event appear in you and Sora’s head.

“Then he just disappeared! And I was so worried. How could I ever forget that?” Goofy said. 

“Oh! It was when I turned into a Heartless! Wait. That happened...in a castle?” Sora said. 

“Aww... You forgot that? 'Cause I remember perfectly,” you said. 

“Me too,” Donald said. 

“Then what's it called?” Sora asked. 

“That's easy! It was...” Donald said but he didn’t remember. 

“(Y/N), do you remember?” he asked. You tried to remember but like Donald, you could remember a thing. 

“Jiminy, help me... Is it in your journal?” you asked. Jiminy popped out.

“Every word! I finished the first volume right before we got to this castle,” he said. Jiminy looked around for his journal.

“Now then, if I can just find it... Oh, here we go!” he said. Jiminy took out his journal and jumped onto the floor.

“Let's have a look... Oh! How could it be?!” he said as he opened his journal. 

“What's the matter?” Goofy asked. 

“All my entries--- They're gone! Every page is blank!”

“What'll we do?!” Donald asked, surprised. You, Donald, and Sora exchanged looks.

“How could this have happened? I'm so careful with the journals!” Jiminy weeped. 

“All of my hard work is gone!” he said. 

“The journal's blank... What's going on?” you asked. They leave the Exit Hall. Meanwhile the girl in the white room was still drawing on her sketchbook. Back in the castle, you, Sora, Donald, and Goofy entered  the Third Floor.

“Something's screwy. Journal pages don't just vanish!” Donald said. You and Sora stopped walking. 

“What if...it's more things?” Sora asked. 

“Huh?” Donald asked. 

“Goofy was telling us about another castle we'd been to... But none of us really remembers it. Do ya think... Could it be that we don't remember because we're losing our memories?” you said. 

“Losing? Our memories?” Donald asked. 

“Hold on! Remember what that mystery fella said? ‘In this place to find is to lose, and to lose is to find.’ It musta been our memories he was talking about losing!” Jiminy said. 

“So if we keep going, we'll lose more... Guess it really is Castle Oblivion,” Sora said. 

“So the higher we go, the more we'll forget? Does that mean everything and everybody will be forgotten?” Donald asked. 

“Riku and Kairi too...” you said. 

“Do you two want to go back?” Donald asked.

“Don't worry, fellahs! We might forget about where we've been or what things we've seen, but we won't forget who are friends are,” Goofy said. 

“I don't know...” Donald said. 

“C'mon, Sora, when you turned into a Heartless, did you forget about me, (Y/N), and Donald?” Goofy asked. 

“Of course I didn't!” 

“There ya go! No matter what happens, you won't forget your friends.” 

“Huh...” He looked at you, Donald and Goofy. Donald looked worried and Goofy nodded while you had a reassuring smile on your face.

“You're right. Thank you, Goofy,” Sora said. 

“So, if there's nothing here that can make you forget about your friends...then we have nothing to be scared of! Let's go!” Donald said as he walked to the door. 

“But when I turned into a Heartless...who was the one who took forever to notice and kept clobbering me?” Sora teased. Donald stopped and you giggled.

“How come you didn't forget about that?!” Donald asked. Donald jumped up and down and babbled angrily. You, Sora and Goofy laughed. You and Sora held up the next card at the Third Floor world entrance, and entered to the next world.

~~~~

I’m so proud of you sis. I know that I can’t tell you where I am right now but just know that I’ll be with you in your heart and I hope that we find each other soon. You have no idea how much I miss you. Living without you has sucked and your father is more ruthless than ever. Please continue to get stronger and find me soon. I know that together we can defeat him together. 

To be continued...