#They are UNCLE and NEPHEW and they are BEST FRIENDS goddammit

[theerurishipper]

Hate it when people erase Dick and Clark’s relationship. "Dick doesn't have a super" ummm actually he does. It's Clark. "Superman and Batman are the World's Finest" WRONG. World's Finest is Superman and Batman and Robin. Clark and Dick are as close as Clark and Bruce. This has been a PSA

[humanityinahandbag]

Steddie: Wayne the Matchmaker (Part 1?)

Wayne wasn't born yesterday.

He knows full well that his nephew, his boy, is far gone for the Harrington kid. Knows it in the way he sighs, the way he drapes himself over the couch. Knows it in the way lyrics pour out of Eddie's room while he tries to write songs (just last Tuesday he heard Eddie muttering goddammit what rhymes with chest hair from behind his bedroom door).

So it isn't much of a surprise to see Eddie swooning quietly by the front door as he shoves his feet into ratty sneakers, a red car waiting in the driveway. Government hush money had been enough for Wayne to take less shifts, to put some away for Eddie's future, and to buy a modest one floor ranch house on a tree lined street closer to his boy's new friends.

Including the one currently walking carefully around the newly planted posies towards the front door.

"You seein' that Harrington boy again?" he asks.

Eddie's face went pink, and he ducked down pretending to look through his backpack for something. "Yeah," he says behind a curtain of hair. "We're going to the movies."

"S'nice. What are you seein'?"

"Uh, the new David Bowie thing. Labyrinth."

Wayne ignores how Eddie phrases it, like he hadn't been bouncing off the walls to see that little David Bowie Thing when the posters first showed up outside Melvalds. "Doesn't much seem his taste. He choose it?"

"Yeah, he-" Eddie stops and looks up. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't do that," Eddie says, fixing his Uncle with a frosty stare. "I know what you're doing, and we're just- we're friends. He's- he likes his ex. You should see them, honestly. They're like, perfect together. Dream couple." As if Wayne didn't hear the sorrow behind his tone.

"Mmmhm," says Wayne. "You sure?"

Eddie didn't get a chance to rebuttal when the door was knocked. Wayne opens it before he could.

"Hi, sir." Always polite this one. Steve's wearing a polo shirt and light wash jeans. It all looks newly pressed. And if he breathes in- yup. That's definitely cologne. "Uh, I'm here for Eddie?"

"Yeah, he's here. You wanna come in-"

"He doesn't." Eddie pops out from behind the door, glaring over his shoulder at Wayne. "C'mon, Stevie! We'll miss the previews!"

"Bye, Mr. Munson!" Steve calls over his shoulder. He grabs Eddie by the back of the collar, tugging him backwards, laughing and racing him to the car.

And well. This just wouldn't do.

-

Wayne never pretended to know a whole lot about love. He'd had his flings back in the day, but life had given him more curveballs than he'd been able to catch at once.

Not that he was complaining. Eddie was one of the best things that had ever happened to him.

But dammit if he didn't want the kid falling down the same hole he had.

Eddie deserves love. And Wayne figures that a few gentle nudges wouldn't hurt.

-

It starts with simple suggestion.

The next time Steve is at the front door, Wayne makes sure to distract Eddie with a well timed, "fix your hair," that had him scrambling for the bathroom, leaving Wayne alone with the Harrington boy.

"Steve," he says.

"Mr. Munson! Nice to see you. Um, we're just going to the arcade-"

"He likes sticky hands."

Steve blinks. "Sorry?"

"If you're gonna win him anything, get him one'a those sticky hands. It'll be hell on me, but he loves'm."

Steve nods, like it was precious information, perking up when Eddie breaks out of the bathroom.

When they get back, Eddie is considerably pinker, slapping everything around the house with a stupid pink sticky hand on a string.

"Steve won it for me," he says, as if daring Wayne to take it away.

Wayne only cracks another beer.

-

(He tells himself over and over that this is for the pursuit of love, even when he wants to shove Eddie out a window the fourth time a very sticky hand thwacks him on the back of his bald head.)

-

"He likes sunflowers," Wayne says the next time he sees Steve, which just so happens to be a week before graduation. Steve had arrived with a cake. A cake he baked. From scratch. Eddie had run to get his camera to take a picture and that was when Wayne got his chance.

Steve looks up at Wayne owlishly. "Sorry?"

"Sunflowers," Wayne repeats. "If you get him flowers for graduation, that's what he likes."

Steve nods seriously, brow drawn in thought. "Cool," he says finally. "Sunflowers."

Eddie gets sunflowers for graduation. He presses one of the petals between the pages of The Hobbit.

"Still think he's just a friend?" Wayne asks from the doorway.

Eddie traces the petal and closes the book. "It's enough," he says.

Wayne gives his nephew a long look. "You're allowed to like him."

"I know."

"No. You're allowed to like him," Wayne says again. "Like him like you like him."

Eddie stares at the petal. "I know," he says. And then; "I love him."

"I know," says Wayne and bundles Eddie into a hug.

-

Wayne gets to a point where he could gnaw through the walls of their new home, which he won't do, because Claudia Henderson chose the wallpaper and chewing on furniture is mostly frowned upon. But by god does he want to.

Wherever Eddie is, Steve follows. He appears at their front door to take Eddie on hikes. When he heard Eddie never learned to swim, he takes him to the quarry and Eddie comes back damp and flushed and Wayne guesses it has something to do with the shirtless boy in the driveway.

And yet through it all, Eddie doesn't see.

He doesn't see the long looks or the careful touches. Doesn't grasp the meaning behind Steve appearing one night with a bag of groceries and a smile and an announcement of I'm cooking you dinner! before making the best damn lasagne Wayne's ever had.

Instead, Eddie fawns and sighs and does everything he can to make Steve happy. Dotes and compliments and builds him up until Steve is red and spluttering and beaming.

Eddie is a good boy. Wayne raised a good boy, who loves fiercely and wholly, but somehow didn't think he was worth the same trouble.

And. Well. That just wouldn't do.

-

Wayne wants time to come up with some kind of a plan, but fate was a sporadic fucking asshole and chose for him. Which is how Wayne finds himself answering the phone on a Thursday to hear Steve's voice on the other line.

"Mr. Munson?"

"Steve. Eddie ain't home. He's at band practice."

"Oh," Steve says. "Right, uh. Can you tell him that I called?"

Wayne thinks a moment. "I can," he says, slowly. "But first, I'd like to talk to you."

A long pause. He can practically hear Steve sweating on the other line. "Me?"

"You," says Wayne. "S'only that you've been here an awful lot lately. Eddie's taken a real shine to you. You know that?"

"He's one of my closest friends, Mr. Munson."

"Mmmhm. An' I'm glad for him. But I don't mean like that."

He hears Steve suck in a breath on the other end. "Oh."

"Not that it's any of my business, an' maybe these old eyes are seein' things, but I catch you lookin' from time to time. Then again, I'm just an' old man-"

"You're not that old," Steve says. "And. Your eyes work great. Probably better than mine."

Good first step. Buttering up the parents.

"So. Just so we're on the same page, Mr. Munson. Eddie told me that you know about him. That he likes. Um. Yunno."

"Men."

"Yeah," says Steve, relieved. "Yeah, men, right. And so I was thinking the other day that I'm a man!"

"So you are," says Wayne.

"And it came to my attention a few months ago that people can like both. Which is- which is crazy. But I guess it's not so crazy. I used to work in an ice cream store and people would order the weirdest combos. Like... strawberry and pistachio? And I'd say, you can't like both! But then Robin told me I could."

"Steve."

"Right. So anyway. I've been spending all this time with Eddie. But I wasn't really sure. I mean, he can like men. But that doesn't mean he'd like my type of man. That I am. Man-wise."

Wayne hums. "And if I told you he did like your type of man? Man wise?"

"I'd probably ask if he liked Italian or Chinese, sir."

Outside Wayne can hear Eddie's van rolling back down the street. "He likes lo mein. No onions."

"Okay," breathes Steve.

"And even if he looks like an angry alley cat, the boy likes romance. You hear me, son? Candles, flowers, showin' up at windows."

"I can do that," says Steve. "I'm great at romance."

Eddie's car rolls into the driveway and Wayne looks out the window, waving to Eddie as he cuts the engine and the music and steps out. His boy stops to carefully step over the flowers first, waving back.

His good boy, who pours love out until he's empty and never complains. He deserves to have it poured back.

"You're welcome anytime, Steve," says Wayne earnestly. "Anyone who makes my boy as happy as he is- you're welcome anytime."

Eddie walks in as Wayne hangs up. "Who was that?"

Wayne tugs him into a hug. "No one," he says. And then, "go shower. You smell like Gareth's garage."

"Like a goddamn rockstar, you mean?" Eddie ducks away from a swat and laughs, running down the hall.

Like a kid in love, Wayne thinks, and turns on the game.

-

With ao3 being down (pour one out, I'm donating my life savings once they're back up) I got feral enough to write a one shot on here. I can't update my other Wayne Matchmaker fic. So. Yunno. This will have to do for now.

Does this need a part 2? You tell me.

LONGER, EDITED VERSION NOW ON AO3!

(IF I POST A PART 2 IT WILL BE THERE :D)

[secret-engima]

(Sobs) kid!Noctis is like—the shit. He is the cutest goddammit shit ever. And do you know what that makes me want??? What if—NOX came back younger than noctis??? hUH? WHAT ABOUT THAT? (slaps table) trauma on the double on teeny tiny Boi with his Uncle Disaster that carts him around the wild, or Tiny Boi scrambling onto Hammerhead, wrapped in bandages with a huge ass sword on his back, covered in scars and marks, scowling and flinching at evERYTHING. (SLAPS TABLE( GIVE ME ANGST. (I need help.)

oohhhhh oHHHHHHHHH

WHY WOULD YOU Do ThIS tO ME-

-Ardyn would be freaking out so hard okay. SO HARD. Not only is he not dead, but Nox is like- THREE (because if Imma do this imma do it FOR SERIOUS) and that means his body and mind physically CAN’T hold that much memory yet, so Nox’s memories are basically on dream-state lockdown and while he is WAYYY more mature than a three year old Nox is now mentally an ACTUAL KID.

-HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF AN ACTUAL KID.

-Also Nox told him that Regis never looked at another woman after marrying Aulea, including after she died, so HOW DOES HE EXPLAIN NOX’S EXISTENCE IF CAUGHT.

-Ends up going on a rampage through Niflheim, blowing up ALL the labs, killing Besithia, binding Titus to him, not out of any plan but out of sheer PANIC because the only thing he can think of is to pretend that Nox is a CLONE and that means he has to remove any evidence/witnesses to the fact that Niflheim never got their hands on enough genetic material to try cloning an LC.

-Also saves 8 yr old Noctis from the Marilith by total accident about a month after time-traveling, he was just wandering around freaking out over having a three year old nephew to care for (who trusts him implicitly, who needs food and water and shelter on a regular basis which means schedules which mean Ardyn has to relearn the concept of TIME PRONTO) when he heard the Marilith and saw the burning car and instinctively noped his way in.

-Regis arrives in time to feel BURNING magic coating the air in red crystalline shards as a stranger in a hat and with an odd harness of some kind tied to his back tears the Marilith with an armiger. Regis sputters, Ardyn whirls around and Regis catches a glimpse of burning gold eyes and a TODDLER in a makeshift harness on the man’s front before the man warps away, leaving Noctis scared but unharmed because Ardyn got there before the Marilith could touch him.

-Regis’s keeps his composure only because his son needs him desperately but internally he’s screaming W H A T.

-Ardyn the Disaster Uncle is actually ... probably not discovered by Cid? While a frantic search begins for the mystery LC (Ardyn), I’m actually picturing like- Axis finding him and his first instinct is STAB CHANCELLOR but then there’s ... there’s a tiny kid there. And there’s burning LC magic as Ardyn snarls protectively over the boy, threatening to bind Axis to him out of defense until little Nox goes “Uncle, NO!” and Axis’s brain kicks over into both gratitude that he wasn’t enslaved and sympathetic dad mode.

-Axis grudgingly helps Ardyn settle down somewhere hidden after Ardyn gives his cover story (illegitimate LC, discovered that Niflheim was CLONING HIS RELATIVES and has since defected with the only surviving clone kiddo), probably Hunter HQ, which means Porrima takes one (1) looks at this panicking, flailing disaster uncle and takes him under her wing.

-Ardyn could just about worship the ground Porrima walks on for that. GUIDANCE FOR THE REARING OF SMOL NEPHEW. BLESS.

-Ardyn ends up adopted into the Arra Clan because it’s impossible to hate this messed up disaster human who is trying SO HARD to take care of his tiny human. Nox ends up adopted too, obviously, and he gets along splendidly with Axis’s kids, who are actually all about his age.

-Side note- Nox doesn’t have Quiet Days in this AU, he has Sick Days. Days where his magic gets out of control and swells under his skin and Nox collapses into a feverish mess that Dreams of his past or the KoL’s memories and all Ardyn can do is sing lullabies and stand in an ice cold shower with Nox in his arms to help bring down the fever that comes from having Too Much Magic packed in a tiny body (Nox will eventually grow out of Sick Days and they’ll turn into Quiet Days as his memories click back into place and his body/brain can handle that much magic but for now...)

-The Glaives are told by Axis about his new adoption and they are an Awkward Panic because THIS IS THE GUY THE KING IS FRANTICALLY SEARCHING FOR. BUT HE’S ALSO GALAHDIAN FAM NOW. WE CAN’T TURN HIM IN. BUT WE HAVE TO. GFDHGFD.

-In the end they don’t have to, because Cor stops by Meldacio to check on one of his Hunter contacts and comes face to face with a teeny Nox, who is now like- 5 years old. Cor, who is Noctis’s Godfather, INTIMATELY KNOWS bby Noctis’s face mentally goes BBY LC and starts to reach out to touch him when a voice snarls “Don’t touch my Nephew.” And the air grows thick with angry magic.

-Cor looks up and sees 1. Chancellor of Niflheim who has been missing for two years. 2. Blood red armiger swirling around ex-Chancellor’s body like bristling fur on a mama cat. 3. every Galahdian in the HQ has gone deadly still and is watching Cor with Murder in their eyes. For the first time in possibly ever, Cor feels like he could die in the next .05 seconds if he does the wrong thing. Steps back and raises his hands placatingly, inwardly panics when Nox fearlessly ambles up to him and latches onto his pant leg with a soft word that sounds like it might be is name or might be “Coeurl”.

-After much tense standoff and agitation from Ardyn, Ardyn agrees, grudgingly, to come to the Citadel to meet with Regis on the condition that his nephew is not taken away from him.

-Cor takes them back to the Citadel, everyone picture Regis’s face when he gets word from a servant that Cor is waiting in a private sitting room with guests and Regis comes in and sees the red-haired man from that night two years ago, the one with magic simmering warningly under his skin (Ardyn sees no reason to hide it at this point after all).

-Then Regis hears a sniffle-sob and his eyes drop do the-

-Child.

-Black haired blue eyed child that looks like a thinner, not as well cared for Noctis at age 5.

-The child who reaches out with his magic and fearlessly tangles it with Regis’s in a way that knocks the wind out of him as the little boy tilts his head and hesitantly says, “...Dad?”

-Regis rocks back as if slapped and has to lean against Clarus. Cor looks apologetic at least as he explains that he ... well, he found Mors illegitimate child and .... another.

-And Regis- Regis KNOWS that he has no son other than Noctis. He has not touched a woman since Aulea died and Noctis is TEN and this boy is even younger so he can’t- that can’t be-

-But Nox knows his father, even if his memories are locked in a sort of protective dream state that lets him know things like “Ardyn is Safe Uncle” and “Cor is Friend” and so Nox REACHES for him, wiggles against Ardyn’s tight grip and bursts into tears because Dad-dad-that’s-dad-he-WANTS-HIS-DAD-

-And suddenly Regis is across the room, gingerly taking the child from a reluctant Ardyn’s arms and pressing his face into the child’s (his child’s HIS BOY HIS SON-) hair and murmuring soothing nothings as the boy sobs and sobs and sobs and his magic (so MUCH magic it inwardly staggers Regis) tangles around Regis’s in relief-grief-relief-joy-love-love-love that Regis cannot fathom the origin of.

-Regis looks up slowly, dazedly at the half-brother he only glimpsed that night the man saved Noctis from the Marilith, the man who is the missing Nif Chancellor and the man grimaces at the wild-eyed question he can see in Regis’s eyes.

-“I care not for myself or what they did to me,” Ardyn murmurs softly and all Regis’s red flags go up (a half-sibling caught by Niflheim, a man who wears layers of long sleeved clothes and who’s cheeks are still a bit too hollow despite Porrima’s best efforts), “but when I found him, I could not stay. I could not let them have him.”

-Regis presses a kiss instinctively on the child’s hair as the boy snuggles into his neck and hiccups softly, “How...? I haven’t... not since Aulea...”

-Ardyn shrugs and keeps his eyes on his nephew, looking like he’s itching to snatch the boy back, his magic brushing against Regis’s by accident as it coils protectively around the little princeling, “That has never stopped them. All they needed was an adequate blood sample.”

-And Regis-

-Regis thinks of the little blond baby Cor brought home ten years ago, Cor’s expression of disgust and horror as he spoke of tanks upon tanks of people, all infected with the Scourge and unsalvageable save this tiny baby. Regis thinks of medical science and artificial fertilization and DNA and how Niflheim would do ANYTHING to have Lucis Caelum blood in their grasp, especially if Ardyn either refused or was incapable of having children. He thinks of all those things and looks at Ardyn’s grim, haggard expression and he-

-He breathes very carefully as he clutches the little boy closer, towering RAGE warring with gut-wrenching horror, “They-. Are there-?”

-Ardyn shook his head and gently ran his hand through downy black hair, “He is the only one. I destroyed all the facilities I could before they had the chance to do more.”

-And Regis needs to sit down. He needs to sit down with this tiny child in his arms and a half-brother that eyes Regis like he might bite and Regis- Regis wants to CRY but he can’t afford it, not now, so instead he cautiously reaches out and brushes magic with Ardyn (feels the instinctive, visceral flinch it causes the other man and backs off) and rasps hoarsely, “What ... what is his name?”

-Ardyn’s lips twitch sheepishly, “Our thoughts were not much different when it came to naming little Lucis Caelums I’m afraid. His name is Nox.”

-Regis breathes the name like a prayer and looks down at the boy already dozing off in his arms, totally, completely trusting the STRANGER that is holding him, magic already nestled against Regis’s (so MUCH, an unhealthy amount, and what had Niflheim DONE to make this tiny boy already so powerful in magic?) and pulsing a steady heartbeat of love-contentment-relief-trust. He looks back up at the man who should be an enemy but was instead family, who had saved Noctis from the Marilith and had saved this second son Regis had not known existed from fates worse than death and he asks, “Will you... would you do me the honor of staying? The both of you? Please?”

-And Ardyn gives in, because he cannot bear to separate Nox from his father now, not when Nox is radiating such contentment and happiness.

-Much later, probably days actually, after guest suites are prepared (and a snarling overprotective Ardyn gets his way of having Nox share his suite) and medical exams are taken (and Regis RAGES his way across a training room when he sees the pictures and reports of both his newest son and his half-brother, of the newest son’s many scars and his half-brother’s even worse scars and BRAND), Noctis is informed of new relatives and insists on going to see them.

-Noctis stares down at little Nox, who tilts his head curiously as he hides behind Ardyn’s leg, and Noctis’s heart MELTS. Nox is the same age as Iris, and Noctis can feel magic cautiously poking his, and every switch in Noctis’s head goes MINE. MY LITTLE BROTHER NOW. And Ardyn could laugh himself sick if he wouldn’t have to explain why.

-Also everyone picture Ignis. Ignis who already has mothering instincts out the wazzoo. Ignis who loves Noctis to no end and now there’s a TINIER VERSION and that tiny version looks at him and goes “Iggy?” so hopefully and plaintively that Ignis is just- he’s gone. Goodbye.

-Iris gets to be Nox’s Shield. They are two of a kind as they grow up together and its great.

-Regis freaks out so hard the first Sick Day Nox has in the Citadel, and Ardyn looks so EXHAUSTED when he explains that this is normal and why it happens (too much magic in too small a body, he’ll grow out of it someday) and then Regis is so ANGRY over whoever made Nox too magical to be healthy.

-Ardyn and Regis brother bond over raising Nox.

-Gladio is just- “my brat bby brother now. MINE.”

-Prompto is still found early and adopted by Cor thanks to Ardyn, Prompto. ADORES. bby Nox. The Power of Cute compels you.

[beyond-the-mirror]

Drunk uncle Dante explains: How babies are made

The sequel nobody asked for! Drunk uncle Dante is back with another disastrous story for poor innocent baby Nero.

Written purely for laughs and giggles, so it’s not meant to be taken seriously at all. Also, this is merely a parody of a series of videos called ‘Drunk uncle explains’, you can check the original video right here if you want to (It’s in spanish however, but subtitles are available).

Warning: Slight NSFW? I mean this is Dante we are talking about, do you seriously expect him to behave properly and watch his mouth? Obviously not!

……….

Dante was currently sitting on his old worn out leather couch, a warm cup of tea resting between his hands. He gently blew on it to help cool it down before taking a sip, the bitter taste overwhelming his tastebuds and making him contort his face in disgust. He didn’t understand why his brother Vergil insisted so much on him to start drinking more tea instead of beer and whiskey, still he didn’t have the heart to reject the warm cup Vergil had prepared for him previously.

Of course, one shouldn’t expect Dante to behave for once. Eyeing the whiskey bottle on the table next to him, he reached for the bottle and poured a generous amount of alcohol into his tea.

Taking another sip, he smiled in content. ‘Much better’ he muttered to himself, leaning back to enjoy some relaxing time.

That is until a light set of footsteps hurriedly approached him. “Uncle Dante! Uncle Dante!” Little Nero skipped excitedly before sitting on the floor right in front of his uncle.

“What do you want now kid?” Dante asked before taking a sip from his beverage.

“How are babies made?”

Spitting out tea out of sheer shock and surprise, Dante looked at his baby nephew with a bewildered look on his face. Whelp, he definitely wasn’t expecting that one at all.

“Ewww! That was gross uncle Dante!” Nero giggled while looking at the disaster his uncle made on the carpet.

“Whoa kid wait a minute now, why did you come up with that question?”

“Please uncle Dante, I’m curious to know!” Oh no, not the puppy eyes again...

“Alright, alright then kid. Let’s see.” He cleared his throat “How babies are made.”

“Yayyy! Thank you uncle Dante!”

“No need to thank me buddy, after all, I know for sure that you have a reeeally irresponsible father. But luckily you have me, a smart and educated uncle, a man of the world-”

“Silence you sovereign buffoon!” Vergil’s angry voice interrupted from inside a nearby room. “Or should I remind you about the time you failed preschool?”

“C’mon Verge! I’m saying that I’m a guy who reads a lot, books and all that stuff-”

“Porn magazines don’t count as books you scum!”

“I already explained a thousand times, those are artistic nudes goddammit!”

Letting out a frustrated growl at his brother, Dante calmed down before turning once again to Nero who was looking at him expectantly.

“Now, let’s see how babies are made. Once upon a time, there was a little bee. A very handsome and well-endowed bee who had the biggest stinger in the entire world.” Dante smirked to himself, the man obviously picturing himself. 

“Oh really?” Vergil called out once again. “When you were born, our father mistook you for a baby girl!”

“Well if you saw me now, the joke would totally be on you...” Dante muttered under his breath before clearing his throat and continuing with the story. “Anyways. This bee was seeking a pretty flower to hang out with, but because he didn’t have enough cash to get into a strip club, the bee ended up getting into a bar.”

“Wait uncle Dante, what is a strip club?”

“Well let’s say it’s kinda liiike... a luxury flower shop.”

“Really? Can you take me there to get a flower? Pretty please?”

“Ehhh no because emm...” Dante now struggled to find a good excuse to stop Nero from wanting to go to a ‘strip club’, that is until the light bulb in his head finally went on. “The flowers are actually fake! They may look pretty but really they’re made of plastic. But if you insist, once you turn 18 I promise to take you to one. You’re paying tho.”

“Yayy! Thank you uncle Dante!” Little Nero beamed, blissfully ignorant to the truth.

“So! The little bee walked into the bar where he found his flower, and man what a flower she was! Beautiful, gorgeous, with enormous bouncy petals and-” he described as both his hands made grabby gestures above his chest.

“COULD YOU STOP TALKING TO MY SON AS IF HE WERE ONE OF YOUR ACQUAINTANCES?!”

“Whatever, sheesh...” Dante rolled his eyes. Seriously, his brother was no fun at all.

“And then did the little bee give the pretty flower his pollen?”

“Oh not yet, little buddy! First he invited her a few drinks to get to know each other a little better, like a nice glass of honey on... the rocks. And then, the little bee took her to the bathroom.”

Nero’s eyes filled with confusion “The bathroom? Why?”

“Because the flower ehhh...” this story was getting harder to explain for a drunken Dante, the last time his brain had to work like this was Christmas last year. “She needed some water! Yeah, that... except the flower may have misunderstood the intentions of the little bee.” With his head down, he quietly muttered his next words “Damn, I can still feel the slap she gave me.”

“I once dressed as a flower for a school play.” Nero added proudly and Dante couldn’t help but chuckle at the adorable image in his mind. How fondly he remembered that day, to this day he still kept the pictures he took.

“The little bee tried his best to flirt with the other flowers but with no success, that is until a special flower walked into the bar. She was quite the pretty thing, with bright eyes and a personality like no other... truly a beautiful lady.”

“Wait, Lady? The woman who you now owe lots of money and because of that she took your car?”

“No that ain’t true! She only borrowed the car temporarily!”

“And now here you are!” Vergil’s voice rang throughout the room, ready to complain about Dante again with no doubt. “Living in my house like a pathetic parasite!”

“You are still making me pay rent, though?!”

“You owe FOUR months already!”

Dante sighed in defeat. What a rotten luck he had in life.

“Okay, let’s continue with our story. The little bee had no luck finding a flower, but surprisingly, his uglier and way smaller twin brother-” he voiced rather loudly so Vergil could perfectly hear “-actually did get one. He took the flower to his hive where he gave her some pollen; however, the ugly bee couldn’t pull out his teeny tiny stinger on time. And nine months later, a new baby bee was born from the flower: a beautiful white-haired bumblebee named Nero.”

The devil hunter smiled warmly at the boy sitting in front of him, whose arrival to their lives was truly a blessing to the rather odd family they had going on.

The boy giggled cutely, a faint blush on his round cheeks. “Thank you for the story uncle Dante.” The man smiled in return before taking a sip from his spiked tea. For a moment he believed that the little one would now get up and leave as he would normally do after one of his stories. Oh how wrong he was.

“But there’s something I still don’t understand.” Nero questioned “In which part of the story do the sperm, the penis and the vagina come in?”

Dante did another spit take, the carpet once again completely soaked in tea and alcohol. “Wait WHAT?!”

“Contrary to you, my dear brother,” Vergil entered the scene, picking up little Nero and carrying him in his arms. “I do actually make sure to always give my son the best and most complete education possible. Now if you excuse us, it’s time for Nero to go visit his friend Kyrie like I promised him the other day. Say goodbye to your uncle, Nero.” At the mention of his friend’s name, the boy beamed and tightly hugged his dad, thanking him over and over.

“See you later, uncle Dante!” And with those words, the stoic devil hunter turned around and made his way to the door with his son in arms, leaving Dante with a rather flabbergasted expression on his face.

[wwounu]

“Okay Wonwoo, I’m leaving now.”

“Take your time Y/N, I think that’ll be better—“

“Are you saying that to kill you some time?”

“… No.” A half giggle bursts out the both of you, the smiles almost visual through the phone, “I’ve just started preparing.”

“Hm, I’ll grant you the lucky chance Mr. Jeon, I’ll walk extra slowly for you.”

“My saviour-“ Suddenly, rustling comes through the phone, hurting your ears a bit. “Minguk! Please don’t jump on my back, you’re going to get hurt!”

“I can’t wait to see ‘Guk either,” You smile, hearing the babbles and noises from the child.

“It’s strange how energetic he is. He can’t stay still…” Wonwoo whines, and you reassure him with a chuckle and a few wishes to him.

“Tell him I can’t wait to see him-“

Booming through the speaker, a boyish voice comes through. “Hi Y/N!”

“Hi Minguk.” Although you can’t see him, you make wave with your hand. “Is Uncle ‘Woo setting up the table?”

“I’m helping him!”

“Really? Wow! How manly, you’re so cool Minguk!”

Wonwoo’s voice comes back into the scene after a while, “Minguk ran away, I think he got flustered with you saying that.”

“Oh my. Well, I think that’ll be my signal to leave.”

“Look after yourself. You remember the dorm right?”

“Yes, yes I do.”

“Just making sure-“

“And Wonwoo?”

“‘Sup?”

“‘Extra slow’.”

Wonwoo’s lips tug, eyes staring down at the table markings. “Extra slow.”

And Wonwoo is the one to hang up, drumming his fingers on the table, thinking thoroughly to himself. After his small chain of thoughts, he stands up, walking to get utensils before his nephew runs and koala hugs his leg, giggling loudly at Wonwoo’s sour face.

“‘Guk, you’re so hyper, you’re going to get tired later on when Y/N comes along. Here,” He picks Minguk up — After attempts of prying him off his leg — and lets the younger hold the spoons as they set them on the table.

However, the plan goes wrong halfway through as Minguk falls into a heap of giggles, his energy boosting to its peak. He can’t stay still. He also cannot hold his affections to himself, judging by the peppering kisses all over Wonwoo’s cheek and cute actions to get the latter’s attention.

Resisting, Wonwoo shuts his eyes tight, mumbling “Goodness I didn’t ask for another Mingyu in this household… Even your names are alike…”

But Minguk kisses him on the forehead once more which gets him flustered.

When you arrive, things go smoothly.

The food is great (Wonwoo had great food choices), you had time to play with Minguk (who passed out on in the middle of Wonwoo telling the story of Rapunzel — and you too if he did not tap on your shoulder — now peacefully sleeping on the couch), and truthfully, it felt refreshing being with Wonwoo out of work, being free to talk about whatever is on your minds (especially getting lost into Wonwoo’s facial expressions when he starts to mumble).

It came to the point where you lost track of what were you talking about, and just kept a natural flow of what you were discussing, engaging and laughing at embarrassing stories.

For the most part, Wonwoo mentioned stories about his friends a lot, which was interesting in itself.

“Wait, wait hold on. So he liked her, but she couldn’t like him because she liked him?”

“If we’re not adding side stories, then yeah.”

“Oh my god. Sounds crazy.”

“You had to be there to fully understand it, it was almost like living in a drama — Miscommunication and yada yada yada…”

“Would you say it beats your story?”

“Of course not. There’s no ‘almost death’ so it’s barely there,” He jokes and you laugh along, “I mean I think the fighting story is near that level, but that was take during a legal fight.”

“Fair point—“

The door bursts open, scaring you,almost swinging violently if it wasn’t for the ironing board behind it.

“TELL YOUR SHITTY BEST FRIEND WEN JUNHUI TO FUCK OFF-“

A man stomps in, throwing his belongings across the room. By his face and tone, you can tell he clearly wasn’t happy; By Wonwoo’s face, you could tell he was used to the outburst of anger and that he’s clearly tired by it.

Clearing his throat, Wonwoo bluntly replies. “One, you’re my best friend Mingyu, not Jun — I mean he kinda is but I say he is to poke fun at you. Two, can you not?” His finger points to Minguk, followed by Mingyu’s wide eyes.

Noticing the child waking up, Mingyu jumps back. “HE’S HERE OH FUC-“

“Language!” The male’s voice shuts up by your interruption, and looks over to you with squinting eyes as your attention is drawn on the young boy waking up from his nap.

“Who the heck are you…” He tilts his hand, throwing a hand over his mouth to try and hide the smile thats growing. “Oh… OH! MY ROOMMATE WONWOO IS FINALLY GETTING IT ON! I CAN’T BELIEVE—“

Wonwoo throws a tissue roll at Mingyu and hits him perfectly on the head. Soon after, he turns to you, rubbing his eyes to relieve stress. “Ignore him. He’s sometimes like this.”

The focus adverts to the sound of crying coming from the couch. You and Wonwoo forgot he was frightened to loud noises, which Wonwoo’s roommate had a ‘speciality’ in.

“Minguk!” You acclaim simultaneously as Wonwoo says ‘Oh crap!’

He runs to Minguk and picks him up in his arms, rocking him a bit while soothing him with hushes. “It’s okay, Uncle Woo is here now, Uncle Mingyu is just a bit grumpy and needs some time to relax,” He emphasises ‘relax’, “and he’s using very boring words… We don’t like boring words, right ‘Guk?” He asks, obviously referring to the curses that fell from Mingyu’s mouth like a waterfall, receiving a sleepy nod from the little one. “Good, good… Let’s put you in my bed, where it’s quiet this time.”

Before leaving, Wonwoo mouths ‘Sorry’ to you and glares at Mingyu, walking to his room with the door slightly open when he and Minguk enter.

Sheepishly, Mingyu waddles to your destination and picks up a grape and a piece of Wonwoo’s food — at least he had manners — chewing quietly, before throwing another grape in his mouth as if he was going to say something.

“So… The weather’s nice today huh?”

OPPOSITES ATTRACT PART THIRTEEN — Intimidating!Wonwoo x Easy-Going!Reader

mingyu... goddammit man | POLL

one • two • three • four • five • six • seven • eight • eight ½ • nine • nine ½ • ten • eleven •  eleven ½ • twelve • thirteen • fourteen

masterlist

[muffinsnotebook]

Mac n Cheese Pt. 2

crossposted on ao3.  

pt. 1 pt. 3

[screams: FINALLY!!!]

Chapter 2: Cupcakes and Kimchi

When Kim Seokjin had graduated from culinary school at the top of his class, complete with recommendations from the chef he’d trained under at the restaurant (and a spot at said restaurant), Namjoon, then his best friend (and secretly long-time crush), had given him this high quality, absolutely beautiful, 7-piece knife set made of carbon stainless steel alloy for his graduation gift.

On their first anniversary as a couple, Namjoon gifts him a leather knife carrier bag for it. The next day, they receive an email congratulating them on their first Michelin star.

Seokjin makes sure to maintain them properly, puts them in a polished cherry wood block, placed by the corner next to the small hook where he hangs his aprons - one in pastel pink, one in chocolate brown. After he’d gotten back from the hospital and put the boys to sleep, he’d taken them all out of the leather bag and cleaned them meticulously, storing them back in the wooden block.

With all the stress and grief he's had to grappled with for the past few days, adding on the fact that he now has a three-week leave (for the first time since…never), he inevitably forgets about them being of easy access on his granite counter.

Until he stumbles into the kitchen to see Taehyung wielding about his extra sharp, high-carbon stainless steel 8 inch chef’s knife on top of the kitchen island.

“Ban…KAI!” The seven year old yells, swinging the knife about with two hands. Seokjin promptly gets a heart attack.

“Kim Taehyung, what are you doing?!” He whisper-yells, just barely remembering he’d just put Jeongguk to sleep for the afternoon.

Taehyung turns to him, then grins excitedly, brandishing the chef knife like a samurai. “I’m a reaper from BLEACH! This is my ban…KAI!” He swings again in a wide downward arc.

“Taehyungie, that’s not a toy; that’s a real knife - you could hurt yourself with that.” Seokjin says slowly, carefully making his way to the younger boy. “Can you please give that back? You didn’t even ask permission from me if you could borrow it.”

The elder inwardly congratulated himself for sounding steady and calm despite feeling a nanometer away from fainting. Predictably, the young boy pouts as he lowers his arms, and reluctantly allows Seokjin to take it from his grasp.

“Will you please get down from the kitchen island before you trip and hit your head?” Seokjin pleads as he puts back his knife in the block, and hefts the heavy wood up onto a cabinet, far from their reach.

Taehyung complies with a disappointed whine. “Uncle Jin is no fun at all.” He pouts, then stomps off into the living room.

And Seokjin is indignant, because excuse you, I am a ton of fun! and because yah! That’s the second time you’ve insulted me, Kim Taehyung!

“Excuse you? I am so very much full of fun!” He hollers after the boy. “Like, tons of fun! You simply don’t appreciate my sense of humor!”

“No thanks, Uncle Jin, I like your food better.” Taehyung replies as he wraps his arms around Jimin instead, who’s watching some cartoon on the TV. The compliment to his cooking is rather backhanded, and Seokjin isn’t mollified one bit.

“You don’t believe me? You haven’t even heard me tell you a joke! I’ll have you know, that I know plenty of jokes! In fact, my handsome face is a--“

“Joke!”

“AH kkamjjagiya!” Seokjin whirls around, on the brink of a heart attack once more, because Jeongguk - whom he could’ve sworn he’d just put to sleep - is sitting on the couch, wide awake, and repeating “joke! joke!” gleefully.

Jimin and Taehyung burst into raucous laughter. Seokjin glowers to no avail, as Jeongguk only laughs along with his brothers.

"I can't decide who was funnier - Ggukie or Uncle Jin!" Taehyung gasps, tears leaking from his eyes. Okay that's a bit too much now, Seokjin thinks sulkily.

Jimin proves him wrong. "Both?"

It’s the first time Kim Seokjin considers that he may have just adopted the three most savage children in the entire world. He considers it for a moment - just a tiny moment.

After all, children change, don’t they? Surely, surely, they’ll come around and love him too much to slay him like this…? Aren't they even too young to slay people like this...?

“See? I am a lot of fun - I just made you laugh, didn’t I?” Seokjin tries to brush it off - because they’re children, and their laughter has been scarce and far too precious these past few weeks.

Jimin shakes his head. “Uh-uh. That wasn’t you - that was Jeonggukie’s joke! Uncle Jin was just the butt of the joke.”

Savages. Savages, the lot of them.

.

.

.

“So how have the kids been, hyung?” Hoseok’s cheerful voice filters in through the receiver with a slight crackle. Seokjin heaves a tired sigh, as he slumps on his couch.

“Ah, it’s been tiring! It’s like they never run out of energy!” Seokjin whines halfheartedly. “They’re sleeping now - thank god, I thought they’d never sleep. Taehyungie and Ggukie wouldn’t stop jumping all over the bed - I was so scared one of them was going to fall off and hit their heads!”

“These kids sound fun,” Hoseok laughs.

“It’s not funny!” Seokjin huffs. “Taehyung even managed to get a hold of my chef knife and started swinging it around on top of the kitchen island! I swear to god, I’m going to have a heart attack one of these days. Wait - I think I see a gray hair on my head.”

“So dramatic, hyung,” Hoseok replies, still laughing. Jerk - not even a hint of sympathy. “You’re not even that old - heck, you’re not even 30!”

And Seokjin isn’t. Seokjin is twenty-six, fairly young for an executive chef, and part owner, of a restaurant on the outskirts of Cheongdam, and in all honesty, is pretty much a child at heart still. He’s been a maknae for most of his life, having been born late in the year among his peers; and even with his dongsaengs, he’s never been fussy beyond honorifics and basic courtesy - partly because the dongsaengs he’s close with are pretty much set with their own lives, and don’t often ask him for advice, so much as a listening ear.

Obviously, his newest dongsaengs - his nephews! - will require more care and attention than a bunch of self sufficient young adults. Seokjin isn’t confident he can actually pull off being a decent hyung, let alone a responsible guardian to toddlers.

But a quitter is the last thing Seokjin is. And when the going gets tough, he toughens himself up even more.

They called him a disgusting faggot when he came out, and then later on again, for falling head over heels for Namjoon. But Seokjin looks in the mirror every day, and sees a handsome face staring back - which, he believes only gets more handsome when juxtaposed beside Namjoon’s dimpled smile. So be it if he's a faggot; he’s pretty sure he’s one of the most handsome faggots in the whole of fucking Asia, if not the whole world - the modeling gigs that kept coming even after he officially quit are testament to his attractiveness.

They called him a failure for dropping a business degree in favor of culinary arts. Seokjin had worked his ass off in culinary school, shamelessly asking the kind chefs at the Gangnam restaurant he worked at for cooking tips. Now his restaurant is the talk of the town; and they’re on the running for their second Michelin Star - if the food inspectors haven’t dropped by already.

Namjoon had told him he’s the type who blooms the most in adversity. Seokjin may not know a thing about child rearing, but he’ll be damned if he didn’t become the best uncle-hyung-parent-guardian for Jimin, Taehyung and Jeongguk.

He’ll be patient, and kind, and fun, and wise, and loving, like the perfect hyung-uncle there ever could be.

…It’s easier said than done, however.

In fact, it’s infinitely difficult to even spell patience when Jeongguk sitting on the hardwood floor of the living room, drawing colorful flowers and stars on the back of his white. leather. couch.

Using permanent. neon colored. pens.

“Kim Jeongguk!” He shrieks, his ears, and neck hot with anger. The four year old jumps, dropping his colored pens as he turns to Seokjin with huge, dark eyes, getting shinier and shinier with unshed tears, lips wobbling and hands trembling.

Uh oh.

The hot rage that had filled him not even three seconds ago evaporates just as fast, replaced with heavy stabs of guilt. Goddammit, he didn’t even do anything wrong! A juvenile part of Seokjin wants to stomp and pout, because his beautiful, white leather couch, and Jeongguk was the one in the wrong!

Instead, Seokjin sinks to a crouch, tugging Jeongguk gently but firmly in front of him.

He takes a deep calming breath through his nose, and scrunches his face into the stern, calm mask he wears in front of new kitchen staff. It takes everything in him to maintain it for more than a few seconds when big, fat teardrops trickle down Jeongguk’s cheeks.

“Jeonggukie, the couch is where people sit. It’s not meant for drawing on flowers and stars. We don’t draw or paint on couches, okay?” And in a perfect world, Jeongguk would nod at his words, and apologize, and Seokjin would give him a kiss on the cheek, and they’d go on with their lives peacefully.

But it is not a perfect world, and instead, Jeongguk only begins to wail loudly, summoning his older brothers into the room.

“What’s wrong?” Taehyung asks, stopping just shy of the Scene of the CrimeTM, looking between his uncle and his younger brother. Jeongguk, spotting his hyungs, ducks beneath Seokjin’s grasp and runs to Jimin, wailing, “hyungie!”

“What’s wrong, Ggukie?” Jimin asks, his short arms wrapping protectively around his younger brother. He shoots an accusatory look at his uncle, and Seokjin thinks he would’ve found the whole concept of it cute, if he weren’t the (very wrongfully accused!) receiver of it. As it is, Jimin’s look makes Seokjin feel as though he’s Mother Gothel incarnate.

“I was just telling Jeonggukie that the couch isn’t for drawing on,” Seokjin says defensively. “Drawings and paintings are best on paper, so we can put them in frames and hang them on the walls for everyone to see!”

He calls Jeongguk to look at him, who only does so with a little coaxing from Jimin. “Ggukie, next time you want to draw, just ask me for paper, okay? I’m not asking you to stop drawing, but I just want you to do it on the right materials. Furniture is not one of them.”

“…mm’kay,” Jeongguk eventually nods, pout still in place.

“That goes for all of you, okay?” Seokjin says, looking pointedly at Taehyung, who had grabbed the yellow marker to fill in the wriggly star shape Jeongguk had drawn. He straightens up with a start, immediately stuffing the pen behind his back.

“Yes Uncle Jin, I promise!” He grins, glances at his work, then adds, “I won’t do it again next time.”

Seokjin stares at him unimpressed, then sighs in defeat. “Right, so before this whole thing happened, I was about to ask you guys to help me decorate some cupcakes in the kitchen--“

“Cupcakes!?!” The three boys look at each other wide-eyed and mouths agape. Seokjin blinks, and they’re gone, shoving past each other as they race into the kitchen.

“Hey, wait for me! And don’t touch anything yet!”

Of course, by the time he gets there, the warning is too late, and the kids are already half covered in the blue-green icing he’d prepared while they had been napping. The three are kneeling on the barstools on the kitchen island, frosting each other’s hands and face.

“I see you found the buttercream,” Seokjin says wryly. Taehyung promptly aims the half-filled piping bag at his face and squeezes.

Seokjin tries to yell indignantly but only ends up with a mouthful of buttercream frosting. He hears Jeongguk cackling heartily - the sound is positively evil and contagious for such a cute child. Jimin swipes his thumb at his cheek to taste.

“What do you think? Tasty?” Seokjin asks, swiping at the blob on Jimin’s nose to do the same.

“It’s delicious!”

“Dewishoos!” Jeongguk echoes again with a giggle, sucking at the frosting on his knuckles.

“Good,” Seokjin takes out another piping bag - full of pink frosting, this time - from the fridge, pulling the tray of warm, freshly baked cupcakes closer to them. “Now, how about we actually put the frosting on the cupcakes?”

.

.

.

Despite Seokjin’s efforts, none of the frosting actually gets on any of the cupcakes.

“It’s cute,” Namjoon says as he takes in the photo on Seokjin’s phone. He’d come over straight from closing up the restaurant. “So cute.”

In the photo, Jeongguk is sat between his hyungs, cheeks stuffed to bursting, with crumbs of cupcake and frosting and sprinkles - yes, they’d found the sprinkles, too - smeared across his forehead and cheeks, and even some on his hair. Taehyung is on his left, triumphantly holding up the deflated piping bag, covered with even more frosting and sprinkles. Jimin is on the right, smiling close-lipped, with just a hint of the dimples below his eyes peeking through, holding on to a half eaten cupcake (his fifth, that time).

The kitchen island in front of them lies in a colorful carnage - blue-green and pink buttercream frosting everywhere, piles of rainbow sprinkles here and there (a small mound of red ones in front of Jeongguk), and cupcake bits and crumbs everywhere else.

The rest of the kitchen, and his phone notwithstanding. Seokjin, however, thinks getting buttercream all over his phone screen is worth capturing the ‘kodak moment’.

“Yes, well, the mess isn’t so cute.” Seokjin replies dryly, though his expression remains soft. Namjoon chuckles with a sympathetic smile, moving to knead at the knot of muscle on Seokjin’s shoulder. Like magic, the elder sags under his hand, letting out a drawn out sigh.

“Want me to help you clean up?” Because it really isn’t a matter of need, so much as whether Seokjin actually wants Namjoon in his kitchen. Even Namjoon wouldn’t let himself in his own kitchen for anything more than pouring hot water in his instant ramyeon.

Seokjin hums, debating the pros and cons of letting Namjoon into his kitchen.

“I can stick to rags and gathering the trash,” Namjoon offers and Seokjin acquiesces. It’ll take him hours to clean up everything by himself, and the kids have worn him out for the day. It’s late at night, and Seokjin’s just managed to clean up the rest of the apartment after cleaning up and putting the kids to sleep. To say that he’s exhausted is a huge understatement.

“Yes, please.”

Despite handling most of the logistics and other managerial paperwork involved in running a restaurant, Namjoon knows his way around the kitchen - “his way around” being mostly how-to-clean (The Namjoon EditionTM) and what-can-be-cleaned (The Namjoon 2nd EditionTM) and where-stuff-are (What To Avoid, The Namjoon Special EditionTM). It’s the only reason he gets allowed in the kitchen.

Quietly, the two make their way into the kitchen, and Namjoon whistles at the absolute wreck lying in wait. A part of him is in disbelief that Seokjin had actually allowed this much chaos into his hallowed space. Much like the counter in the photo, the rest of the kitchen is smeared with frosting and sprinkles, with puffs of flour and splotches of batter mixed in.

It looks like a giant cupcake bomb exploded in the kitchen.

Namjoon remembers the genuine smiles on the kids’ face from the photo, and doesn't ask pointless questions.

“How are the kids?” He asks instead as he takes the rag Seokjin hands him and begins wiping down the island.

“I think Jeongguk is the least affected - but then again, he’s still pretty young.” Seokjin replies as he washes the utensils. “I’m worried about Jimin the most - he gets pretty quiet most of the time, and I always catch him dazed or lost in thought…” Seokjin trails off, then sighs.

“I just want them to not be so sad anymore, but,” He cuts himself off, biting his lips as he scrubs furiously at the imaginary stain in his mixing bowl.

“But you’re still sad about it, too,” Namjoon continues for him in a quiet voice. He watches in mute sympathy when Seokjin’s shoulders slump, his hands dropping the bowl to grip on the edge of the sink instead.

His sobs are but quiet sniffles, shoulders quivering as even then he tries to stifle them. Namjoon silently wraps himself around him - careful not to catch his own soapy hands on Seokjin’s shirt - and tucks his chin over Seokjin’s shoulder.

Seokjin doesn’t cry louder or harder, nor does he stop. But he lets his back rest against the warmth of Namjoon’s chest, quietly accepts his comfort, his support, trusting him to catch the pieces of himself he can’t hold on his own.

“I miss him,” Seokjin confesses painfully, “I miss him so bad, Joonie.”

Namjoon recalls only about less than a handful of other instances when Seokjin has fallen apart like this, when Namjoon has to be there to catch the tiny shards that manage to escape the elder’s tight grasp. When Namjoon has to be the one to whisper the words of positivity and comfort that otherwise fell from Seokjin’s lips on a daily basis.

Namjoon is usually the one who falls apart more often, the one who goes to Seokjin, to let his hyung gather the pieces of himself after he’s ripped himself apart from thinking too much, from scrutinizing his own reflection to the point of self-loathing.

Even before they began dating, they had already been each other’s rock. Perhaps it’s precisely because they’ve glued the shattered pieces of themselves, both on their own, and for each other, that they can do it now with practiced ease, with lesser words, with lesser reservations. Perhaps in the process, they’ve kept tiny pieces of each other, mistakenly glued it to their own, that they now match more seamlessly, complement each other nigh effortlessly.

Yoongi had always grouched about the long time they’ve spent dancing around each other, cautiously treading, moving back and forth in their relationship before finally getting together. And sometimes, Namjoon, who overthinks too much even for two people, agrees, falls into a minor slump, allows the what-ifs to trickle in. But Seokjin, who gazes fixedly on brighter horizons, reassures, cajoles him back, saying, “Wine and cheese and kimchi, Namjoon; time only makes us better.”

Time the magician, the best cook especially in Korean cuisine, transforms, changes, often for the better, when tempered just right. Like traditional kimchi, prepared with care and attention, then left for Time to work its magic, to bring forth something to fill the stomach, to warm the heart. Like a time capsule leaving only the best parts to keep the memories aged but richer, more precious.

Seokjin remembers being young and feeling neglected by parents too immersed in the future, too detached from home. Remembers seeing a TV drama of a mother making kimchi with the rest of the family. Remembers his brother and their housekeeper - an old widow who loved them like grandchildren - making kimchi with him, traditional clay urn and all, on the kitchen floor, and burying it in garden. Remembers his own impatient fingers swiping at the leftover spicy paste, dipping scraps of cabbage and tasting, wrinkling his nose. “Doesn’t taste right.”

His brother had laughed, flicking his forehead lightly. Their housekeeper, affectionately called halmeoni, had clicked her tongue. “That’s because Time hasn’t done her part yet. The last ingredient is something only Time, the greatest cook there is, to do it’s magic. Only Time can make everything better.”

Only Time can make everything better. Can untangle webs and knots that choke the present, and even the past. Can heal, can soothe.

Eventually, they move again, go back to cleaning the sticky creams and pasty smears. Seokjin allows his mind to empty, allows himself to surrender to the peace that the mundane routine of cleaning provides. He paces himself slow and steady, never mind the lingering tears that slip and stray still.

Eventually, the kitchen is once more spotless, with less hazardous materials lying about within easy reach of tiny fingers. Some of his nicer, more fragile porcelain are stored in the upper cupboards, replaced for the sturdier plastics and child-friendly ceramics.

Namjoon lugs over the bag of fruits he’d brought from the restaurant, places it in the colorful bowl Seokjin set out on the island. Seokjin brings out a small glass jar of kimchi from the fridge and two chopsticks. Namjoon (very carefully) takes out the wine and two wineglasses, and (even more carefully) sets them on the table next to the kimchi.

It’s midnight, and the rest of the apartment is dark and silent, the world outside, muted and far away. In the kitchen, Seokjin and Namjoon eat kimchi and drink wine together, sharing memories of Seokjin’s brother.

Company, to ease the flow of Time.

.

Alone, Jimin curls up by the window, searching for the second star on the left, on top of the moon. But there is no moon tonight. And little Jimin aches, feeling left behind once more.

Taehyung breathes quietly, the space beside him where Jimin had been, too cold for sleep, and the hollow in his chest icy in the night.

Jeongguk dreams of colors and warmth, whispers, "eomma, appa," in the silent room.

-end of chapter 2-

- Miss March Muffin 

[multiple-fandomimagines]

Darcy Lewis Masterlist *updated 7/20/18*

NONE OF THESE ARE MINE!!! I did NOT write any of these! I believe they are amazing fanfics, written by insanely talented people, and deserve to be shared. ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE AUTHORS!!!

Marvel Masterlist  Marvel Smut Masterlist 

Darcy x Steve

Dearly Beloved by Hollyspacey (Steve Rogers x Darcy Lewis) Darcy has 99 problems, and her first assignment for SHIELD is, like, 98 of them. As if going back home to deal with all of the people who made her childhood miserable wasn’t bad enough, she’s also stuck in holy matrimony with a surly supersoldier who can’t even deal with her under normal circumstances. 

Darcy x Bucky

Markings Made On My Skin by Gryffindancer (Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis)(Soulmate AU) All he ever remembered was the cold and the pain of being wiped. Her whole life she had never understood the welts that would appear on her skin for no reason, or the painful migraines that would come on without warning. The story of how they both found something to fight for.

Wee Little Stark [part one, part two] by orphan_account (Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis)(Parent Tony Stark) James Rhodes was confident in his ability to remain calm in high stress situations. Being best friends with Tony Stark will do that to a guy. What he is NOT prepared for is a toddler standing on the mansion's doorstep with a letter addressed to Tony. Rhodey, Tony, Happy, Pepper and JARVIS learn together to care for and love the little Darcy, and together they navigate rougher waters when it's made clear that the baby girl is even more special than they could have guessed.

The Avenger and the “Civilian” [part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven] by aForgottenWeasley (Uncle Clint Barton) (Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis) Clint Barton is not too happy to learn that his brother’s girlfriend is having a baby, and that his brother wants nothing to do with them. So wanting to do the right thing, Clint takes care of his soon to be niece’s/nephew’s mother only to have the mother abandon his niece at the hospital. He follows his niece around to get to know her in secret, loses touch when SHIELD recruits him, and then marvels at how Fate brings them back together.

If I Were the One [part one, part two, part three] by LaTessitrice (Darcy Lewis x Bucky Barnes)(Soulmate AU) Sometimes the universe has a cruel sense of humor. Darcy tends to be the butt of the joke.

To Live Without the Sun [part one, part two] by Rainne (Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis)(Soulmate Identifying Marks) Darcy Lewis is thirteen years old when she meets her soul mate. It turns out that he's a brainwashed assassin working for HYDRA. And it further turns out that HYDRA thinks it might be useful to have their assassin's soul mate on hand.

Coping [part one, part two] by Tori_Scribbles (Darcy Lewis & Protective Bucky Barnes) Kidnapped by Hydra. Saved by the Avengers. Darcy isn’t coping. 

I Want You To Want Me (And There’s Nothing I Wouldn’t Do) bythatblondefulloflight (Darcy Lewis x Bucky Barnes)(Father Figure Tony Stark)Bucky always wondered why Darcy never talked about her family, now he knows why.    

Loki x Darcy

Make Your Move by concavepatterns (Loki x Darcy Lewis) (Soulmate AU) Darcy always thought that soulmate bonds were a gigantic load of garbage, until fate drops an injured trickster God in her lap. Now they have seven days to decide whether this bond will make them or break them. 

T is for Trouble by morna(Loki x Darcy Lewis) She had gone to a rich artsy-fartsy high school. She needed someone sauve with class who could be both charming and a grade-A asshole in the same turn of phrase. Someone who wasn’t instantly recognizable. He had to be hot too. Abso-fucking-lutely smoking. Her fingers went still as a thought occurred to her. That really only left one person. Goddammit. Darcy goes to her high school reunion but not without dragging along a certain demigod to stir up some trouble.

Darcy x Clint

Secret Agent Soulmate by CatrinaSL and Stella_Malodi (Darcy Lewis x Clint Barton) (Soulmate AU) Clint and Darcy (probably) (eventually) fall in love after Clint (probably) pushes a bad guy out a window and Darcy (eventually) gets his number.

The Space Between Feathers by thegirlgrey (Darcy Lewis x Clint Barton) All Darcy wanted was 6 college credits and her iPod back.

Not What I Expected by RogueWitch (Darcy Lewis x Clint Barton) Darcy and Clint get snatched, things go a bit down hill from there.

The Avenger and the “Civilian” [part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven] by aForgottenWeasley (Uncle Clint Barton) (Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis) Clint Barton is not too happy to learn that his brother’s girlfriend is having a baby, and that his brother wants nothing to do with them. So wanting to do the right thing, Clint takes care of his soon to be niece’s/nephew’s mother only to have the mother abandon his niece at the hospital. He follows his niece around to get to know her in secret, loses touch when SHIELD recruits him, and then marvels at how Fate brings them back together.

Darcy x Logan

Darcy Gets Adopted by InkStainedHands1177 (Darcy Lewis x Big Brother Logan)

I Should Ink My Skin With Your Name by Griffindancer (Logan x Darcy Lewis) (Soulmate-Identifying Mark) Darcy knew she’d find her soulmate someday. She just didn’t expect him to look like the Brawny paper towel guy with muttonchops.

Hey Neighbor by Lady_Layla (Logan x Darcy Lewis) Prompt: “No time to explain, but could you pretend to be my S.O when my ex arrives?”

Darcy x Remy LeBeau

The Princess and The White Devil by G_the_G (pre-Darcy Lewis x Remy LeBeau) Itty bitty Darcy can’t sleep when she’s at her father’s mansion. A secret trip to the kitchen brings a new friend into her life.

Down In New Orleans by G_the_G  (Darcy Lewis x Remy LeBeau) The question of whether a person’s life reflected their soulmark, or vice versa, had been a recurring one for Darcy Lewis. She just didn’t expect it to suddenly come into focus on a trip down to New Orleans. When trying to do a favor for Jane, she finds herself some trouble, a Cajun charmer of a soulmate, and just possibly, the beginning of a new adventure. Too bad she’s always been too stubborn to just go along with things. But her soulmate’s willing to convince her he’s worth it.

Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? (No, Because You’re a Pair of Idiots) by JadelynTate (Clint Barton x Darcy Lewis x Bucky Barnes) Darcy has been claimed across the Nine Realms as the future King of Asgard’s little sister. This has come with some unexpected and unwanted side effects…

Darcy x Steve x Bucky

My Name On Your Skin byI_Mushi (Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis x Steve Rogers)(Soulmate AU) There were two names down Darcy’s back; unclear scribbles that were supposed to sharpen into clarity when her soulmates were born. When Jane hit Thor with the truck and solved the mystery of Jane’s runes, Darcy wouldn’t admit it, even under extreme amounts of tequila, but that made her hope. And Tony is a meddlesome meddler who meddles.

Upon A Hill, Across A Blue Lake by I_Mushi (Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis x Steve Rogers)(Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics)  Darcy has a few run-ins with the police and a couple Alpha Avengers show up to help. She /really/ should have specified to Jane not to send her crushes when she called for help.

Everything She Didn’t Know She Wanted by bluecurls (Steve x Darcy x Bucky) Knowing she had two soulmates comforted Darcy Lewis during the toughest moments of her life. Then she met them.

Ice and Fire [part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven, part eight, part nine, part ten, part eleven, part twelve] by SteeleHoltingOn (Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis x Steve Rogers) Girl Meets Boy; Boy Meets Girl. They fall in love. Then it gets complicated. Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark’s daughter. This is a story about family, the Stark Legacy, Darcy and Steve falling in love, and bringing Bucky Barnes home. Loving one person isn’t easy. Loving two? Much harder.

Darcy & Tony

My Heart Unfolding by mudpuddledemon (Darcy Lewis & Tony Stark) "Lewis. You're in my lab. Why are you in my lab when I'm not in my lab?" He could see her in the corner, behind the shelves of spare parts. It was a weird place to be. She was crying.-Darcy falls apart, and Tony helps collect the pieces.

I Want You To Want Me (And There’s Nothing I Wouldn’t Do) bythatblondefulloflight (Darcy Lewis x Bucky Barnes)(Father Figure Tony Stark) Bucky always wondered why Darcy never talked about her family, now he knows why.

Wee Little Stark [part one, part two] by orphan_account (Bucky Barnes x Darcy Lewis)(Parent Tony Stark) James Rhodes was confident in his ability to remain calm in high stress situations. Being best friends with Tony Stark will do that to a guy. What he is NOT prepared for is a toddler standing on the mansion’s doorstep with a letter addressed to Tony. Rhodey, Tony, Happy, Pepper and JARVIS learn together to care for and love the little Darcy, and together they navigate rougher waters when it’s made clear that the baby girl is even more special than they could have guessed.

Me, Too by Kali588 (Badass Marvel Women)(Darcy Lewis & Pepper Potts)(Darcy is Tony Stark’s Daughter) The women of/around The Avengers find out about the #MeToo campaign and respond. ***Please note that there is nothing graphic, with no details about what was specifically experienced by the characters, but the Archive Warning is used out of consideration for possible triggering material.***

Darcy & Avengers Team

Avengers Means Family (a cautionary tale) by moontyrant (Darcy Lewis x Avengers) (Big Brother Thor) Darcy’s cheating (ex)boyfriend won’t give her stuff back after she leaves him, and it’s up to the Avengers to make it right.

Darcy is Done! by Caiti (Darcy Lewis x Avengers) Darcy is the all-around gofer for these people, and she’s sick and tired of not getting thanked. She is going on strike.

Coping [part one, part two] by Tori_Scribbles (Darcy Lewis & Protective Bucky Barnes) Kidnapped by Hydra. Saved by the Avengers. Darcy isn’t coping.