#This whole situation was sudden and new and none of them were prepared to handle it

[belethlegwen]

The Faerie Spell - Chp 3

Chapter One: Click Here Chapter Two: Click Here Chapter Directory: Click Here

Words: 2831

Summary: Cal comes over for a smoke break to try and offer their friend some companionship, Daphne continues to struggle with being treated as small as she is.

Even the lightest taps on the window pane sounded like something trying to come through the side of the house. Normally by this many hours into a shift I’d have gotten used to everything being stupidly loud, but I didn’t exactly have a lot of conversation happening around me today and that was more my fault than anyone else’s. The sound startled me so badly that I shot straight upright and stared at the window, my eyes landing on the massive brown ones of Cal.

Their face lit up with that lopsided, cocky grin they always had when they saw me, their shaggy dark-blonde hair poking out at odd angles from beneath their beanie. I had been coasting in the zone of too-pissed-to-sleep-but-too-tired-to-be-awake for stars-only-know how long, so all I could do was blink as they held up a grocery bag presumably full of snacks in one hand and their weird wooden pipe in the other.

I stood, trying to fix my messy tangle of a bun and my PJs a little as I heard the familiar sound of Cal jostling the window in the way they knew would bypass the broken lock on it. I’m positive that if today hadn’t been such a shitshow already that I would’ve been happy to see them, but right now I was just tired and still cranky.

“Shmoke break~” they sang once it was open, the pipe clamped between their teeth, smoke already drifting up from the bowl.

“Not in the house!” I shouted, making my way down the stairs to the desk again. “If Sheri smells it I’m gonna have to listen to her bitching all--”

“Wha-?” Cal asked, trying to push themselves up and through the window, brow furrowed as they looked at me. They hauled the pipe out with a hand as they dangled partially in the house. “D’you forget your stones?”

“Yes!” I yelled, gesturing toward my pajamas, Cal taking a second to look me up and down. “DON’T. SMOKE. IN. HERE.”

“Oh, right, fuck,” Cal muttered, shoving themselves back out the window and putting the pipe on the ground before shoving themselves back through the window again. “You need PJ pants with pockets,” they said through grunts as they slipped onto the floor awkwardly with a couple of loud, desk-shaking thuds.

I waited until they were back up to eye-level at least, a hand slamming onto the desk near me and making me jump as they pulled themselves from the floor. Cal wasn’t the most… delicate or considerate about my condition, but honestly that was better than Gem acting like I was liable to shatter under the lightest surprise movement. “They do, I don’t like having to move the stones too much between outfit changes because I’m worried I’ll forget them,” I called to them.

“Worked well for you today,” they groaned, trying to take deep breaths but only able to do so much with their binder on. 

“Fuck off,” I snapped, flipping them the bird.

“No, you,” they quipped back, flipping me one in return next to that cocky grin. 

Ok, maybe I was alright with Cal being here today.

“Where do you keep ‘em?” They asked, pulling themselves up to stand and shifting the desk just a little, making me stumble beyond their notice while their eyes scanned the long studio-bedroom situation I had going on. “Ah.”

I didn’t have time to tell them not to bother before they walked off to my bedside table and poked at them, picking up the turquoise one and heading back to me with it. “I can’t exactly carry it with me!” I called up to them as they came back, frowning up as my neck craned.

“Just sit on it while we’re outside, I don’t wanna spend the whole time guessing what you’re saying out there,” they said, reaching for me.

“I don’t wanna go outsi--” I tried to shout but it was no use, Cal’s thumb and fingers pinched around my torso and lifted me, knocking the wind out of me enough that the words just died in my throat.

“Naw, c’mon,” they said, their voice like thunder as they swung up toward their chest and dropped me in the breast pocket of their coat. “Smoke break.”

The motions of being in the pocket were always rough, and I hated how routine it had all become. I was fine with it at the start because hands and being lifted and carried were terrifying; at least in the pocket I couldn’t see anything, so some of the vertigo was at least negated. Being in Cal’s pocket though was a whole other kind of nightmare as I felt them bend and turn and twist and slide themselves out of the window, my gravity changing in a dozen different ways. I swung and slammed and bounced off of their chest a number of times; this was a coat they wore even when they weren’t wearing the binder, so there was a notable amount of slack.

“Use your whole hand,” I tried to request bitterly as the pinching-fingers came back into the pocket to pluck me out, Cal having walked to one of the big wooden lounge-chairs on the deck and plopped into it. They gave me a curious look before tipping their hand and letting me go enough that I dropped into their palm, the breath getting knocked out of me again.

“This better?” They asked, their fingers and thumb coiling around me and pinning my arms to my sides. Their grip was at least loose enough that I could wiggle my arms free and throw them over the top, pinning the digits to me as I looked at them.

“Less rough next time, but yeah,” I managed to get out once my lungs were working right again. I didn’t wanna look at them yet, especially this close to their face. Faces were so terrifying from this size, and while I had gotten a little more used to it over the last six times this had happened, I just didn’t want to have the conversation about how having to look at it while I was literally dangling in their hand was a bit too much. Plus, Cal had a bad habit of staring when I was zonked like this.

“Sorry bro,” Cal said, and I felt myself shifting just slightly as they obviously gave me another full look over. My cheeks were red and my stomach was doing backflips, and whether it was because they noticed I was uncomfortable or they had just sated their curiosity again, they plopped me down on the armrest of the lounge and started to re-light the pipe. “So Sher’s bein’ a pill again today, huh?” They asked with the pipe between their teeth.

“I tried to talk to them about the--” I started, before Cal held up a finger and reached into one of their other pockets, plopping down my blue stone next to me and pointing at it. I sighed and took a seat, rubbing it with a hand and muttering the activation word. “I tried to talk to them about the vacuuming,” I said, my voice amplifying to a regular speaking volume for Cal as they nodded approvingly. “Didn’t go great.”

“Of course it wasn’t gonna go great,” Cal muttered before taking a long drag off of the pipe, holding the smoke in their lungs and wiping off the mouthpiece with the bottom of their shirt before holding it out to me. I took it in my hands and frowned, trying to hold the thing steady as Cal swayed. I didn’t even know if I was up for a hit right now, but arguing about it was just going to make me more tired. “The bitch hates cleaning. She always has. You were already doing almost all of it before this shit happened.”

I pressed the bottom of my face to the mouthpiece; Cal saved this pipe for me because it was the only thing either of us had that I could manage at my size. I sucked in a huge breath, the long stem still full of smoke after Cal’s pull, and let it out slowly through my nose as I let the pipe go back to them. “Yeah but I didn’t really care before--”

“Bullshit~” they sang again. Despite the patchy, stubbly beard they had finally started to grow, Cal could still hit those Soprano notes when they wanted. Not even falsetto-- just like they hadn’t gone through either of their puberties at all. “You did and I know you did. It just wasn’t worth the fight before now.” 

“Yeah well,” I admitted bitterly while they took another long pull, “maybe if I hadn’t waited so long it wouldn’t have been so much of a fight.”

“Naaaaw,” Cal breathed out on the exhale, smirking at their own smoke plume. The pipe swung back to me and I tried my best to not get hit by the stem as they turned it without looking. “It would’ve been. Y’knew that, s’why you didn’t bother before now. I’m just pissed on your account that the bitch got to pretend she won because your flitty friend decided to go hit the town early.”

“She didn’t pretend she won--” I started back after finally managing to take a pull, feeling a little bad about shit-talking Sher so much.

“You’re not in the other group chat,” Cal said bluntly, sinking into the chair and actually turning their eyes to me with a frown. “I imagine I’m about to be uninvited, too, but yeah she absolutely thought she won today and jumped in to vent that you had been giving her a shit time about vacuuming when she ‘has to take care of you all the time now’.”

“Are you fucking serious?” I shouted, my own voice rumbling so loud around me through the amplifying stone that it vibrated me a bit closer down the armrest toward Cal’s elbow. Some birds in the trees near the apartment took off, getting both of our attentions for different reasons, just emphasizing how pissed I was.

“I told her off. Gem was trying to do her centrist-horseshit but was also on your side, for whatever that’s worth, and Mak hasn’t been in the chats yet at all today but I assume he’s gonna be on your side as well despite him also being a lazy sack of shit when it comes to cleaning.”

“Mak lives alone,” I said pointedly, waving for the pipe again while Cal seemed to gaze off into the treetops in search of more birds. “He’s allowed to be a fuckin’ slob on his own time.”

“Yeah that’s his angle on it,” Cal agreed, swinging the pipe back around and smirking as they watched me take too big a hit and start coughing. They passed the pipe to their other hand and pressed the free one to my back, tapping me annoyingly with a finger. I didn’t wanna bother telling them it wasn’t a help; I knew what they were trying to do and the thought was nice enough, I guess, for the situation. “When me and he were roomin’ though he did put in the effort, he just bitched the entire time to the point that I gave him like, two or three jobs to do weekly and did the rest myself just to save on the fuckin’ headaches, y’know?”

“I always forget you two were roomies,” I said with a sigh as the coughing dissipated. Cal wobbled the lip of the pipe in front of me tauntingly, wordlessly asking if I wanted another hit and I shoved the thing away while they laughed.

“That’s by my request,” Cal said, taking a look at the bowl and reaching into their pocket for the cap to smother it and save whatever was left for later. “Told him to think of me as a whole new person now, and it’s to the point when he’s tellin’ stories about his roommates I never realize he’s talking about me half the time anymore.”

“...I don’t think I’m cut out for roommates,” I said after a minute, trying to duck away from Cal’s idle fingers as they poked at me.

“Shit time to figure that out,” they said, raising an eyebrow at me skeptically. “You’re not gonna be able--”

“I fucking know, Cal,” I snapped, their hands leaping into the air defensively with a massive sigh that washed over me. “I’m very fucking aware I’m not gonna be able to live without a permanent babysitter, thanks.”

“...If it makes you feel any better, I egged that witch’s house over the weekend.”

They had offered the information so casually I could’ve sworn it was a joke. I turned to face them a bit better, sliding the stone back up the armrest to get an easier angle as I kicked back a few steps with my feet. “It would make me feel better if it happened, yeah, but--”

Cal’s cocky grin came back and they reached into their pocket for their phone.

“No,” I breathed, brow furrowing. “Cal you didn’t actually throw eggs at a witch’s house, please tell me you didn’t.”

“‘Course I fuckin’ did,” Cal laughed, pulling up the photos and spinning the phone around to show me.

“You’re a fucking lunatic,” I laughed, shaking my head and realizing how dizzy the weed was already making me. “You’re going to get a curse put on you if she finds out.”

“Yeah that’s a pretty big if, though,” Cal said, shoving the phone back in their pocket and resting their head back against the chair, closing their eyes. “...’sides, figured you’d be ok with a curse buddy.”

“Wouldn’t mind it if y’all had a bit better idea how this feels, I won’t lie,” I said with a bitter shrug.

“I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Cal replied, adjusting themself and shaking the seat so much I had to brace my feet on the wood to stop from slipping.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell them that if they had any idea they wouldn’t grab me like they do, or they’d probably quiet down at least a bit when they were talking. I couldn’t dredge up the energy to tell them that if they had any clue what this was like they’d be trying to find a better witch or someone to help break curses set by fae, instead of just egging the house of the one that ran me out of her shop when I came in to ask for help.

I couldn’t bring myself to do any of that, so I just sat on my lumpy rock in the sunlight of the apartment’s open backyard and tried not to look into the windows of my neighbours in the row-house styled building. At the risk of being evicted, they hadn’t been informed there was a walking curse in the complex yet, though we had some excuses lined up if any of them ever got wind of it.

“I brought twinkies,” Cal said, almost apologetically, and I blinked before turning my eyes back to them. I didn’t realize they had been staring again, or that I had been staring off for stars-only-know how long. “You want?”

“Yeah,” I said, offering a tired smirk. “It cool if we eat it inside though? I don’t want the neighbours or the birds seeing me.”

“Can I kick it on your bed?” Cal asked, fingers already moving to grab me again. I made a face, ready to just suck up the pinching, when they seemed to remember the request from earlier and wrapped their whole hand around me. A bit too high-- my whole back end felt like it was dangling-- but it was just a short ride to the pocket so I didn’t bother to say anything.

“Yeah you might as well. I’ll just bitch if there are crumbs in it when I finally get to use it again.”

“I’d tell you to just use it now, but I imagine you’re still pretty triggered from the first time,” Cal offered as they pushed themselves out of the seat and grabbed their things, heading back to the window.

“It was twenty minutes at least,” I called, Cal dropping the stone into the pocket next to me. “I felt like I was going to suffocate. It was the worst nightmare I had ever had… up until I found my way out.”

Cal laughed, sliding through the window on their back awkwardly. “I’m not sayin’ it probably wasn’t terrifying or whatever,” they said, plucking me and the stone out of their pocket and plopping us both onto the bedside table next to the other enchanted rocks before they tossed themselves onto my mattress and blankets. “...But it’s a double. Could you imagine if you had a Queen?”

“I don’t wanna think about it,” I muttered, sitting down on the rock again. “Pass me a twinkie and let’s talk about something else.”

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Next Chapter

[forever-rogue]

OH I HAVE AN IDEA like an angsty fic where bucky and reader have a miscommunication and it causes a fight between them and they are both like ???? “we’ve never yelled at each other ??? what is this” AND IDK I JUST WANT ANGST

So, head empty, very little thoughts, but I hope this works and you like it 🥺

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You sang along to the music that was playing softly in the background as you showered and got ready for your day. You’d had a late start, easily giving into Bucky and staying in bed for just five more minutes, which had really turned out to be almost another hour. The good thing about being the boss was that you could afford to be late every once in a while. Bucky was in the kitchen, whipping up a quick breakfast before he too needed to leave and go about his day.

“Sugar,” he called out to you as you washed your hair. You could faintly make out his voice as you carried on, but figured you’d be able to make out what he was saying well enough, “I’ve got everything made and prepared just how you like it!”

You thought nothing of it for a moment and continued to wash your hair; but about halfway through the motions, you stopped in surprise. What had he actually said?

“Bucky? Bub, what did you say?” you quickly rinsed out our hair before pulling back the shower curtain as you tried to listen in. Had he really said he was mad?

“It’s all done! I’m done,” he called back as he covered your plate for you to find once you got out of the shower. He grabbed his travel mug of coffee and headed towards the door, giving Alpine a quick pet before leaving, “bye honey. Running late and gotta go - I’m leaving!”

“Bucky!” you almost slipped and fell as you tore back the shower curtain and almost jumped out of the shower. It was still running as you haphazardly grabbed a towel and darted down the hall and into the kitchen. But he was already gone; the only thing that was left behind was the faint smell of his cologne. Swallowing the nervous lump in your throat, you trudged back down the hall to finish your shower. You were already running late and whatever this was - whatever had just happened - would need to wait until later.

Had Bucky really just broken up with you in the midst of a shower? It sure seemed like it right now.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you sat down and stared at your computer screen. You’d had the same spreadsheets and charts pulled up for the last two hours and made almost no progress. You swore that almost every single interaction you’d had with Bucky over the last week was playing on loop in your mind. You were desperately trying to figure out where you’d gone wrong, what had caused him to snap.

In an effort to alleviate your own fears, you’d texted Bucky to get a response from him and see what was going on. But you hadn’t heard back from him. You’d sent three messages before deciding not to bombard him. But still...if he was just up and leaving you after almost three years together, he owed you at least a small explanation.

You opened google and quickly pulled up an apartment search, already resigned yourself to the idea that you’d need to find a new place fast. Being around for too long would be too hard and you didn’t want to subject to more torture than necessary. And Alpine! You’d need to decide what to do with your beloved cat - Alpine loved you equally, how were you to choose who would get the fluffy little thing? And all the friends in common you shared...who would they side with?

“Fuck,” you groaned at nothing in particular and decided to focus on your work. At least that would keep you distracted and your brain focused on something other than Bucky. You would figure out everything else tonight. It would all be fine. This was no big deal; maybe your world was falling apart...but you would handle it. You always did.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When you finally allowed yourself to go home that evening, you were shocked to find the lights on and Bucky in the kitchen. He was on the phone with someone, his new girlfriend or someone like that you immediately presumed, moving about the kitchen as he finished dinner. You choked up as you watched the domestic scene that was so normal to you by now. But this time, it felt so wrong.

You stormed in and for whatever reason, you decided that grabbing a pillow and throwing it at Bucky was a good idea. You picked the soft thing up in your arms and hurled at him, who suddenly realized you were home and yelped in surprise as he dodged the offending object. He raised his eyebrows in surprise as he pointed to the earbuds in ears as he turned back to the stove.

You were seeing red by now as you stormed in the kitchen and ripped his earbuds out. He was so stunned by your sudden actions, he jumped back and offered up a shocked look.

“What the fuck are you doing here!?” you shouted at him as you threw the buds on the floor, half tempted to stomp them, “how fucking dare you!”

“Sugar, what on earth are you talking about?” he grabbed his phone off the counter and ended the call without hesitation. Your chest heaved as you waited for some sort of explanation, “what’s going on? Are you alright?”

“No, I’m not alright! How on earth could I be alright?” you threw your hands up in exasperation as you tried to unsuccessfully hold back your tears. He was so calm and nonchalant about everything it was almost more frustrating than anything else.

“Okay...something is going on. Care to enlighten me?” he tried to reach up and wipe your tears away but you flinched out of his touch, “sugar?”

“Y-you! It’s you!” you cried softly as he motioned for you to explain just what it was about him that was the problem.

“What about me…?”

“You just break up with me this morning and tell me you’re leaving me and then you just come back like nothing has happened?” as soon as the words left your mouth, Bucky’s mouth dropped open. It was news to him that he’d broken up with you, “and you didn’t answer my texts all day! I deserve some sort of explanation!”

“I didn’t...I didn’t break up with you, Sugar,” he stated simply as you tilted to your head in confusion, trying to decide if he was pulling your leg or being honest, “why would I leave you? That makes no sense. I love you - I’m in love with you!”

“This morning,” you whispered softly, “you said you were done and you were leaving. When I was in the shower.”

His brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what exactly you were talking about. But then it hit him and he struggled not to burst out laughing. He gnawed on his lip as he fervently shook his head, “my sweet girl, you...well you heard me correctly, but incorrectly at the same time.”

“What? I-I swear…”

“What I said was breakfast was done and that I was leaving for work because I was running late too,” he explained as you tried to replay all that you had heard. Maybe...maybe you hadn’t heard him correctly at all - and in turn jumped to the worst possible conclusion, “I had to run...I’m sorry I didn’t come into the bathroom and say goodbye. Maybe that would have solved this whole thing.”

“You’re not..leaving me?” you asked as he just shook his head and took the opportunity to wrap his arms around you, “you still love me?”

“I find it both hilarious and concerning that you so easily thought I would just leave,” he kissed the top of your head as you held onto him as tightly as possible, “of course I’m not leaving. You never have to worry about that, sugar. I love you so much, silly girl. You sweet, silly girl.”

“I’m an absolute idiot,” you mumbled as you buried your face in his shoulder. You couldn’t believe that you jumped from A to Z so quickly and without a moment of hesitation, “I’m sorry, Bub. I feel like I wouldn’t blame you if you did want to leave me now.”

“Never,” he promised softly, “even if you do have moments of being ridiculous. Just like I do.”

“If I ever do something so dumb again,” you huffed as you pulled back and looked at those ocean eyes, “just smack some sense into me. But I...you didn’t answer my texts.”

“Texts?” he seemed genuinely confused as he reached for his phone and correctly scrolled through his messages. You could see that there were none from you, “what are you…I was in bad reception today. Blame Sam, that I was just on the phone with, for that one. They probably never came through. I’m sorry, honey. If they’d come in, maybe we could have avoided this whole situation, huh?"

“Some bad luck on top of it,” you hid your face behind your hands and sighed heavily, “James. I..I’m so sorry for everything. I just downright acted like a fool today. I don’t even know where to begin to apologize. I love you, Bub. I hope you can forgive me, but if not...I would-”

“Hey,” he put his hand under chin and turned your face up to meet his own. His smile was lilting and gentle and his eyes soft, “I love you. It’s alright done and forgotten. Are you hungry? Dinner’s just about finished.”

“I love you more than anything,” you whispered as he pressed a gentle kiss to your lips, “I just...my emotions were so all over the place today. Like out of control, A to Z. I don’t know what happened.”

“Shit happens,” he dismissed it with a slight scoff as he reached for some dishes, “I’m yours, sugar. Always.”

“Me too,” you agreed as you leaned against the counter, watching him with nothing but adoration. It was then that another realization - and possibly an explanation - hit you. It felt like a punch in the gut, “shit.”

“What?” Bucky asked as he started to plate dinner, “everything okay?”

“Yeah,” you smiled nervously, “just remembered something I forgot to do today.”

“As long as you’re alright…”

“I am,” you promised. You could worry about this later, “hey - I love you so much, Bucky. You know that right?”

“I love you too. Always.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

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[theladyofdeath]

Life As We Know It {Chapter Two}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays and Thursdays. Chapters will be posted on both my and Shelby's blogs! >> @snelbz​

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby's Masterlist

Tara's Masterlist

Trigger warning: death

The vibrations beneath her pillow had nearly stopped by the time Nesta dug it out and held it up to her ear.

“Hell-hello?” she asked, barely able to keep her eyes open, barely able to get the words out.

Her eyes adjusted as she sat up and looked at the alarm clock on Feyre and Rhysand’s bedside table.

1:26 a.m.

“Is this Nesta Archeron?” a quiet, female voice asked.

It was the tone that got Nesta. 

It was the tone that had her sitting up straight, her heart slowing in her chest. “Yes, this is Nesta.”

“Nesta, this is Claire from Velaris Hospital,” she began. “There’s been an accident-.”

It was all she heard.

After that, everything became blurred and the words that Claire spoke made absolutely no sense at all.

Rhys and Feyre were supposed to be home the following evening, the last she’d heard from her sister, she and Rhys were going to dinner and then out dancing before heading back up to the cabin.

That had been a little before eight, almost six hours ago. She could hear the rain coming down, much harder than it had been when she’d gone to bed, even a few hours before. Nyx had been asleep by seven, only waking up to cry once or twice a night the whole time she’d been watching him. All in all, the weekend had been uneventful, but she was ready for Rhys and Feyre to be home, so she could go home to her townhouse, to peace and quiet and blessed, blessed silence.

But as she quickly tucked Nyx into his car seat, doing her best not to wake the sleeping baby up, she tried not to think about the phone call. She tried not to think about the firm, but steady tone of voice as she drove across town, to the hospital. 

She had been to the hospital before.

Twice in the last fifteen years.

Once when her mother passed, once her sickness finally took her.

And once again when their father passed over complications from his heart surgery.

Nesta hated that drive, hated pulling into the hospital’s parking lot. She didn’t trust it, not one bit. She hated it. Hated the ground on which it stood.

As she parked her car in front of the building, she looked in the rearview mirror. Nyx was still fast asleep, completely unaware of what was happening, completely unaware of the phone call that had just occurred only half an hour before.

There’s been an accident.

Nesta got out of the car. She shut the driver’s side and went to the back. She carefully unbuckled Nyx from his carseat and picked him up, holding him tightly against her chest as she covered him with his oldest, softest, favorite blanket. 

The parking lot was nearly empty.

Nesta carried Nyx inside.

You need to come quickly.

She found Azriel by the doors leading deeper into the hospital, calling out his name as soon as she saw him. He turned, and she nearly froze at the look on his face, the paleness and hollow look in his eyes. But she couldn’t and she hurried to where he stood, with a stone-faced doctor.

We did everything we could.

The next few minutes were a blur of explanations and condolences, but Nesta could do nothing but hold onto Nyx, still sleeping soundly in her arms. She hadn’t even realized she was crying until Azriel slid an arm around her shoulders, offering her what little comfort he could.

They’re gone.

*

They had been driving back to the cabin when the storm had hit. Both of them had been drinking, but not enough to even break the blood alcohol level. The winding roads leading up into the mountains quickly grew slick and when they hydroplaned, Rhys had lost control of the car.

With how hard it was coming down, he hadn’t even seen the ledge coming up, or how far the drop was to the bottom of the ravine.

Nesta prayed that wherever they had gone after their final breath that they were together.

And that Rhysand wouldn’t be blaming himself.

It wasn’t his fault.

She repeated that prayer one after the other until she had begun to doze in and out of sleep.

When she woke, it was nearly five in the morning.

Nyx had slept through it all, hadn’t even realized what had happened. When they got home, Nesta had laid him in his crib, where he had remained, sleeping soundly, ever since.

4:56 a.m.

Nesta had managed to sleep for nearly forty-five minutes.

That in itself was a blessing.

Yet, as she threw her legs over the side of the bed, Nesta felt guilty. How could she sleep after the news she had just received?

None of it seemed real.

Her little sister, her youngest sister.

Dead.

All that was left of their family was her and Elain. 

Her, and Elain, and Nyx, and Seph.

Dad. Mom. Feyre.

Gone.

Nesta stumbled into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She didn’t feel a thing. After turning the faucet on, letting the cold water run for a minute, she splashed some on her face.

It didn’t bring her back to reality like she was hoping for.

She was hoping it was all a dream.

But it wasn’t.

Her legs carried her into Nyx’s nursery, where she sat for the next couple of hours, watching him sleep, peacefully. Not knowing, not realizing, not understanding his parents were never coming home.

She heard the front door open around seven-thirty, rushing down the stairs, praying that she had, in fact, dreamed it all and Rhys and Feyre would be coming inside, home a few hours early.

But it wasn’t Rhys, or Feyre. Instead, it was another familiar head of golden-brown hair, her eyes trained in the hardwood just inside the walkway. The door had barely closed before Nesta made it down the stairs and wrapped her arms around Elain.

They both collapsed, falling to their knees on the worn rug, as Elain sobbed into her sister’s shoulder.

*

The following days were a blur. A constant stream of people calling, texting, reaching out to see what could be done. Nesta and Elain handled the arrangements, with Azriel’s help, but none of them realized how prepared Feyre and Rhys had been for their own deaths.

Maybe it was because they’d both lost their parents young. Maybe it was because they didn’t want Nyx to ever have to deal with it on his own. All Nesta had to do was sign some paperwork and present their death certificates.

The funeral home had taken it from there.

She sat in the corner of the room, wearing a simple black dress that Feyre had always told her looked matronly on anyone else, but made her look like a badass CEO. It was one of her favorites. She figured Feyre would have wanted her to wear it today.

She hadn’t been able to bring herself to look into the caskets yet, to see what her sister and brother-in-law looked like, if they even looked like themselves.

She’d never be able to wipe the memory of their pale, lifeless bodies from her mind, as she and Azriel had to confirm that it was them in the hospital. Until that moment, she’d held out hope that maybe they had been wrong. That maybe someone had stolen their car and they were waiting at the bar for the rain to die down.

But even in death she couldn’t mistake their faces.

She couldn’t imagine that they looked anything like they once did, knowing that she’d never see Feyre’s bright smile or amusement sparking in Rhysand’s eyes.

The funeral dragged on, a preacher they had grown up with leading the crowd that had gathered. Nesta was asked if she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. What was there to say? There was too much to say. 

Nesta couldn’t.

So, she didn’t.

They carried the caskets out and loaded them up in the hearses. 

Nesta didn’t remember getting behind the wheel, didn’t remember loading Nyx into his carseat, didn’t remember driving to the cemetery.

And yet, she ended up standing in front of a set of holes in the ground with Nyx on her hip. Only a few words were said before the caskets were lowered into the ground.

Nesta wondered what was going through Nyx’s head. The one-year-old didn’t make a sound, not a peep as the day went on. He simply remained perfectly calm, his head resting on Nesta’s shoulder as she swayed back and forth.

“I can take him, if you want to say goodbye.”

Nesta spun around, meeting the eyes of Cassian Nazari.

He’d been crying, she could tell. If it wasn’t for the redness in his puffy eyes, Nesta surely would have snapped.

“There’s no need,” Nesta said, with an empty calmness. “I’ve already said my goodbyes.”

It was a lie, of course.

Could you ever really say goodbye to someone you loved?

He didn’t push her, just silently stepped up next to her and stared at the mounds of dirt. Nearly everyone was gone, Azriel taking a silent, distant Elain home. Mor, Emerie, Gwyn, Amren, and Varian had left just a few minutes after them. The only ones still present were those who had filled the graves, the preacher, saying a few final prayers for peace, and the three of them.

“I don’t…” His voice was rough, in a way she’d never heard it. “I keep waiting for him to call me and tell me it’s all dumbass prank,” he breathed. “That this was all some elaborate joke to get back at me for something.”

Nesta nodded, understanding. She blinked, but was unable to stop the few silent tears from sliding down her cheeks. She didn’t know what to say, but for once she agreed with Cassian.

“If you, uh, need anything…” Cassian began, before shaking his head and taking a deep breath. “If you need anything just give me a call.”

Nesta nodded once. She knew he was just saying it out of kindness due to the situation, but she supposed it was still a kind offer.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, after a moment had passed. Without giving Cassian another glance, she was turning toward her car, walking away.

Her legs became heavier with each step she took, but she continued onward until she was sitting behind the wheel of her little black car, Nyx buckled into his carseat.

He began to fuss.

Nesta understood.

Maybe he was beginning to realize that his mom and dad were never coming back.

As Nesta drove back toward the house, her vision blurred as the tears came.

*

The next few days passed by slowly. She and Nyx made it just fine, but the time seemed to drag on and on and on.

She had just put Nyx down for his afternoon nap when her phone began to ring, a number she didn’t recognize showing up on her screen.

She hesitated for a moment, not sure if she could handle another one of Rhys or Feyre’s friends offering their condolences. Their pity.

Ultimately, she grabbed her phone, swiping across the screen to answer the call.

“Nesta Archeron speaking.”

A smooth voice came from the other end of the line. “Ms. Archeron, my name is Tarquin Hadrian.”

She paused. The name didn’t seem familiar, so she cleared her throat. “How can I help you, Mr. Hadrian?”

“I’m terribly sorry for your loss, Ms. Archeron,” he began. Nesta sighed quietly, waiting for the words to continue, but he said something she wasn’t expecting. “I’m the Lunasa’s attorney. I was hoping to speak with you about their will.”

Shit. Nesta hadn’t even thought about a will, hadn’t thought about any of the plans Rhys and Feyre had made. If they’d planned everything, down to their burials and graves, surely they had prepared a last will and testament. “Of- Of course.”

“Are you free this afternoon?” He asked. “I know it’s short notice, but I’d wanted to give your family as much time as possible to grieve, however, there are some matters that need to be handled sooner rather than later.”

“Yes, I can be there any time,” she said, looking at the clock. Nyx wouldn’t be up from his nap for another hour or so, but she could figure something out. “When would you prefer?”

“Is three o’clock okay?”

After Nesta’s agreement, he was giving her the address to his office and the call was over and Nesta was calling Elain, asking to drop Nyx off on her way over. She didn’t want to wake him, nor did she think a meeting with a lawyer was a good place for a one-year-old.

An hour later, she was pulling into the parking lot of the small law office, and she froze in her car when she spied a familiar truck across the lot.

What in the hell was he doing here?

Nesta made her way inside, letting the pretty receptionist know who she was here to see and she was escorted back to a plush office.

Cassian already waited inside, sitting across the desk from a handsome, dark-skinned man.

“Ms. Archeron,” he said, standing, extending a hand. Nesta shook it with her own. She didn’t miss that Cassian merely sat there as she entered. “Thank you for meeting with me.”

“Of course,” she nodded, taking the seat next to Cassian. Neither of them acknowledged the other, which was for the best.

There was a large stack of papers on Tarquin’s desk and as he sat, he began to lead through them one by one. Sighing, he laid his hands atop the papers.

“I’m going to cut right to the chase here,” he said. “Did Feyre or Rhys talk with either of you about what should happen to Nyx in the event that both of them should die?”

A glance at each other, but they both shook their heads. Cassian said, “No.”

Another deep breath. “They...named the two of you.”

His blue eyes looked between them, and it took Nesta a moment to realize he wasn’t just speaking to her. Just as long as it took Cassian to realize the same.

As one, they both leaned forward, Nesta resting her hands on the desk, Cassian letting his elbows fall in his knees. Nesta said, “They picked us together?” at the same time Cassian asked, “I’m sorry, what?”

Tarquin cleared his throat. “I tried to advise them against it. An unmarried couple, with your own personal history…”

“I don’t understand,” Nesta said, shaking her head. “I…don’t understand.”

“Yeah, me either,” Cassian added.

“Here,” Tarquin said, handing the two of them a letter.

Neither of them reached for it, but Tarquin didn’t back down. He held out the piece of paper until Nesta snatched it and opened it up.

Cassian hovered over her as she read.

Cassian and Nesta,

We are writing this letter in case of a tragedy. Of course, we don’t expect a tragedy to happen, but you never know.

In case something does happen, you’re to take custody of Nyx. Both of you. We know you two don’t get along, but if something were to happen to us, we need you. You see, we want Nyx to have a mom and a dad. We want him to have two people who love and support him no matter what.

There’s a reason we chose you both to be godparents.

Nesta, you have a heart bigger than anyone we’ve ever met, even though you don’t often show it. When you care about someone, you care about them wholeheartedly. You devote your life to them. You make them feel loved, make them feel wanted, make them feel protected. And we know you care about Nyx.

Cass, you love more fiercely than anyone we have ever known. You were dealt a poor hand as a child, and instead of making you bitter, it made you stronger. It made you realize how you want others to be treated, instead of the opposite. You would make an incredible father. Therefore, we made you godfather.

The two of you are opposite halves of the same coin. One of you cannot succeed without the other, even though you’d both probably argue against that statement.

Look.

If you’re reading this, it means that something awful has happened. If you’re reading this, it means that we are gone. And, if we are gone, Nyx needs someone. He needs his godparents.

We know you’re scared. We know you’re heartbroken. But, if you love us, the two of you will work together to create a family-like environment for Nyx.

We love you both.

We believe in you both.

Tell Nyx we love him, too. So damn much.

Rhysand and Feyre

Nesta’s hands shook as she lowered the letter. “We… The two of us can’t… We can barely be in the same room as each other, much less take care of a child.”

“As I said, I advised them against this, especially once they explained your personal history to me,” Tarquin said, leaning back in his chair. He laid a hand atop the paper on his desk again. “As I mentioned before, they were very thorough in their planning, even going so far as to put a sum of a portion of their life insurance to pay off the mortgage of their home. They’ve left it to the two of you as well, to ensure Nyx has the easiest time possible. No on and off weekends, no moving back and forth.”

Nesta was still processing his words, when Cassian asked, “Wait, so we’re supposed to live together? Not only take care of him, which I’ll do anyways, but live in the same house?”

With a blink, Nesta looked at him. “You’ll take care of him? I’ve been taking care of him for over a week now.”

“Well, he’s my responsibility, too,” he replied, practically snarling at her. “I’m not going to disrespect Rhys’s wishes by shirking it off on someone else.”

Nesta was about to say something else, was ready to snap, but Tarquin cut her off. “It was my duty to give you the letter, per their will. What you do with it is up to you.”

Nesta left twenty minutes later, ready to set the entire city on fire. She burst out the front doors but didn’t leave alone. Cassian was just behind her, right on her heels, calling her name.

“I’m his godfather and I’m not letting Rhys down,” he said. 

She wasn’t backing down, either. “You realize this isn’t a part time job, right? This is a lifetime commitment, Cassian-.”

“You think I don’t know that?” He asked, stopping in front of her. He paused and blinked, as if he’d just realized she didn’t have him with her. “Where is he?”

She scoffed. “With Elain and Seph. I didn’t want to bring him because I wasn’t sure what this meeting would entail. He’d just gone down for a nap and I didn’t want to mess his schedule up.”

She watched as the words registered, watched as he processed them. He probably didn’t even know Nyx had a nap schedule, and he sure as hell didn’t know what it was.

Nevermind the fact that she hadn’t known it the week before, when Feyre had explained it to her before they’d left. Before they’d-.

Tears stung her eyes, trying to spill over as they always did when she thought about her sister, about Rhys. The fire inside her, the will to fight with Cassian, disappeared almost immediately.

“I need to go get him,” she said, adjusting the purse strap on her shoulder, stepping off the curb towards her car.

Cassian didn’t follow her, and when she pulled out of the parking lot, he was still standing in front of the law offices, looking as lost as she felt.

[the-only-ace]

Can you do a TaeminxReader where both the reader and Taemin are on The Knowing brothers and Heechul continuously flirts with the reader.

hello there~ i honestly don’t know if you still remember requesting this but here you go! i am so sorry for answering after such a long loooong hiatus. also, i am not really familiar with all the segments for the knowing brothers so i apologize in advance if some of them do not make sense. hope you still enjoy it nevertheless!

taemin scenario: just add jealousy

pairing: taemin x reader

word count: 2.3k

summary: taemin and reader have been liking each other for quite a while now and promoting as a duo together makes their relationship even more complicated. maybe a sprinkle of jealousy would finally ignite the sparks between them.

warnings: none

send in your requests here!

taemin plopped down on a seat and loosened the black necktie he was wearing for the knowing brothers recording. he reached over the table to grab a new bottle of water and contently chugged down its contents. the shoot just wrapped up and the cold drink was refreshing especially after participating in a lot of the activities today. he already spent more than a decade doing variety shows but this one made him extra tired. maybe it comes with age? who was he kidding, twenty-seven is not yet considered as old. he can perform and dance for hours and gladly do it again the next day. comparing to that, a tv show guesting should be a piece of cake but why does he feel more than relief to wrap it up earlier than expected.

with a long heavy sigh, taemin tilted his head backward and close his eyes. he knows exactly the reason why he feels exhausted and also annoyed. it was because of his certain senior called kim heechul. 

a frown quickly formed across his forehead as the events a while ago replayed on his mind.

exhibit a:

“with your great chemistry on stage, fans keep on speculating if something is going on between you two. is there something we should know?” heechul asked as the cast talks about your debut single.

honestly, you were not that surprised with the question since it was quite a buzz across social media already. the other members of your girl group practically shoved their phones to your face whenever they saw comments regarding your performance. of course, their loud teasing comes next as if they were a package deal of some sort–which you don’t remember purchasing at all.

“no, we’re both just good friends.” you answered confidently with a chuckle. “i think my chemistry with taemin only comes from how much effort and passion we have put in our every performance. seeing such reactions from our audience makes both of us happy since it means that we did something great up there on stage.”

taemin was nodding silently beside you like a cute little puppy dog as he listened to your answer. he was quite proud of how well you handled the question on your own.

“so does that mean you’re still single?” the super junior member continued to ask.

“um… yeah, pretty much.” you laughed as you nod.

“then i can ask you out?” well, that one caught you off guard.

“hey, isn’t that a bit inappropriate?” taemin can’t help but interrupt your conversation.

“why is that?” the older guy snapped back and sounded a bit offended.

“because…” okay, taemin did not really think this through but thanks to his variety show experience, he was able to blurt out an entertaining response. “aren’t you a bit too old for her? wouldn’t that put you to… i don’t know, jail?” the comment earned laughs and more insults from the other members.

“look here, mister! she’s of legal age so what do you mean jail?” heechul stood up from his seat and started to point his index finger towards his junior.  "also, don’t you guys think it’s up to y/n to decide?“ he directed his look to you and raised an eyebrow. “so, what do think?” he tried to pull off a flirty look.

“well, they do say age doesn’t matter in love.” you shrugged as you went with the flow.

taemin knew that you’re also good on variety shows especially on how open you are to any situations that were thrown in your way. you always have the best responses and reactions. that is why people from the industry love to invite you over to shoot an episode with them. however, he kind of hoped that you have let go of the idea of flirting back.

exhibit b:

heechul pulled out the empty chair beside him and patted it, indicating for you to sit beside him. you removed the black backpack you were wearing and placed it on top of the desk as you gladly sat down next to him.

“so where should i take you for our first date?” his sudden proposal caused you to scoff and let out an amused laugh.

“well… i do love eating expensive steak in a fancy restaurant where i can wear a beautiful dress that you bought while thinking of me.” you teased with a sweet smile.

“isn’t that too much for a high school student?” he mumbled to himself before reaching out to brush the stray hair on your forehead. “okay, oppa will do it for you.”

you placed both of your hands underneath your cheeks and looked at him cutely. “thank you, oppa!”

“oppa? more like samchon if you ask me.” taemin looked back from his seat in front of you two.

“alright, what the hell is your problem today? did i do something wrong?” heechul replied incredulously with his eyes wide.

“he’s just probably jealous. he wants some steak too.” you playfully stuck your tongue out before pushing taemin’s head so he would look in front once again.

exhibit c:

all of you are now playing the whisper challenge and it was yours and heechul’s turn. he was the one guessing and you were the one mouthing out the words. both of you are going at it for a while now and it makes you a bit frustrated on the inside. you can feel the sore throat creeping in as you blatantly repeated the same phrase over and over. he’s great at a lot of games but this one is definitely 100-percent not his forte.

“ah… ah ah, i know it now!” he finally said confidently with his right first up in the air. “i love you…”

his answer made you cover your face and burst out into fits of laughter before waving your hands in front of you indicating that he guessed the phrase wrong.

“i love you!” he repeated with more conviction.

“no, that’s not the word!” you shook your head while giggling.

“yeah, i know that’s not the word. i just want to say it to you.” he nodded before giving you finger hearts which you immediately reciprocate.

both of you are playfully flirting for most of the recording but this one got to be the cheesiness lines you heard today. 

taemin was pulled out from his train of thoughts when he heard you snickering loudly from across the room and his head hastily snapped in your direction. there you were, wearing a high school uniform that matches his and he was not going to lie, he was stunned when he saw you wearing it the first time this morning. you look bright and youthful with the red checkered bow around your neck. your high-waisted skirt emphasizes your curves. your pair of black thigh-high socks were the perfect length to make your legs look longer. your hair was pulled up on a half ponytail which he doesn’t usually see on you so it was a sight for him to remember. there was a soft blush on your cheeks and across the bridge of your nose. the gloss on your lips was also mesmerizing as it catches the light every time you speak. that didn’t help at all given the fact that he often caught himself staring at your lips too much lately.

seeing you made him think that if you both met as high school students, he would have undeniably confessed to you in an empty classroom after class. he chuckled at the thought. he was not quite sure if you would have liked him back in high school since he was not confident in himself back then.

his daydreaming was cut short when he realized who you were talking to. it was none other than the kim heechul. he can’t help but observe as the two of you conversed animatedly with each other. he knew that heechul was a funny guy but he’s not that hilarous for you to laugh that hard. while listening to whatever story he has been conjuring, you were pulling your hair up in a quick messy bun since the studio was quite hot with all the lights around. 

what happened next almost made taemin fell down from his seat. a scowl immediately appeared on his face as he watched heechul casually wiping the sweat on your nape with his handkerchief. not that taemin was counting but that was the 9th time he flirted with you today and not to mention that it was already after the show.

he bitterly watched as you both bid your goodbyes and now you were walking towards him. he cleared his throat and took another gulp from his water bottle.

“what’s with the long face?” you asked in fluent english as you sat down on the desk in front of him.

“what?” he looked up with a confused face.

“i thought you were taking english classes?” you mocked him–this time in korean. you nonchalantly reach out for his drink and took a sip.

you and taemin knew each other for quite a while now, almost 4 years to be exact. you were on friendly terms with him even before debuting as a duo but after spending these past few months preparing together, you have gotten much closer with him. too close that it became complicated for both of you. it was quite obvious that you two were acting more than friends but no one clearly expressed their feelings yet. the tension between you and him when you were alone became heavier and heavier as the days went by. you always have this urge to bring up the situation you two are in but everytime you were about to speak out, taemin would suddenly open up a conversation about a whole different topic.

“so what were you and heechul-hyung talking about a while ago?” yep, lee taemin always has awful timing.

“he just wanted to make sure that he didn’t make me feel uncomfortable during the recording a while ago.” you shrugged.

“oh, how sweet of him.” taemin scoffed and straighten up from his seat. “he even has to wipe your sweat for you.” he muttured under his breath.

“what was that?” you already heard what he said but it was too faint and you just wanted to make sure.

“nothing.” of course he would deny it. what did you expect?

“so… are you like jealous of heechul or something?” you were only joking, well half-joking. you used this opportunity to slowly open up the topic and to finally know where do you stand in his life.

he held your gaze for a few seconds before crossing his arms across his chest. you were not fully prepared for his serious stare and for what he said next. “and what if i am?”

“huh?” your dumbfounded voice was a couple of notes higher than usual.

“i said,” he leaned forward and looked up to you under his lashes. “what if i am jealous?”

you sat there frozen. you helplessly stared back at his eyes and looked for any signs that he was just fooling around. except it was clear as day, he meant what he said. you always have waited for this. you imagined all the possible scenarios. you even prepared what you would say once this was brought up but why were you speechless now? why do you feel all clammy and nervous? why can’t you calm down your frantic heartbeats?

you took a deep breath and forced yourself to bring back the confidence you once had. “then why don’t you ask me out already so you don’t have to feel threatened with every guy out there.”

“you know what?” he stood up and suddenly he was now towering over you. his scent wrapped all around you and it made you overheat even more. “i might just do that.”

“then i might just say yes.” you crossed your arms and hoped that it can disguise your slight shaking. whether it was from excitement or not, you do not know anymore. everything was happening so fast that you were not sure if you were comprehending them properly. you felt light-headed as you waited in silence.

“so we’re doing this?” his low voice broke the stillness.

“yes!” you responded a little too enthusiastically for your liking. you’re a mess right now, you ain’t denying that.

taemin chuckled softly before discreetly slipping his fingers under yours. 

oh, god. you felt a shock and then a shiver from his touch. it was not like it was your first time to have skin-to-skin contact but this one was quite different. you can feel the tension slowly rising along with the heat on your cheeks. you can feel the frustrations that were build up every time you wanted to touch him in a not-so-friendly manner. you were willing to bet your life that he was currently feeling the same as you when you witnessed his eyes dilate and darken.

“look, as much as i want to make out with you right now. we can’t.” he took a step back and put his hands in the pockets of his black slacks.

you felt both relief and disappointment when he widened the distance between you two. you can now catch a breather at last.

“i mean we can’t… here.” he suggestively added before turning away. “i’ll be waiting in my dressing room.”

there goes your breath again. 

it took you a minute to recover after hearing his inviting words. you looked around while you fan your warm face with your hands as if it helped with cooling yourself off. you closed your eyes and relaxed yourself for who knows how many times already. you then hopped down the desk and made your way to the place you can’t wait to go to.

if this was what jealousy does to taemin, you absolutely cannot wait to see more of it.

[dailydaydreamings]

Best in the Worst Way, Chapter 14

The Reader has been having a love affair with two Avengers and gets caught in a sticky situation. She’s suddenly faced with life decisions she’s not prepared for, including who to love, what she wants, and is this all worth it?

Okay okay, warning. This one got away from me (18+). Also, as always, I outdid myself on the swearing. It’s a little shorter, but for a reason. Thank you to all the responses! Enjoy this part :)

You have this memory in your head.

You’re not sure when it happened, it must have been early in your relationship though, because Steve and Bucky weren’t living with you yet.

The morning starts off so beautifully slow. Dawn breaks and your room fills with soft light. It was one of the few mornings you didn’t have to set an alarm.

You wake to feel slow, sloppy kisses up your naked back. You moan, curling back against Bucky. You feel the slow prodding of Steve’s fingers as he teases you awake.

You moan again, still not sure if you’re dreaming. “Good morning.”

Bucky grinds himself against your rear. You can feel Steve sliding himself over your entrance. You gasp, clutching at the sheets, desperation hitting you hard and fast. It doesn’t matter they kept you up all night. You wanted them both now.

“Please,” you murmur, leaning forward to wrap a leg around Steve. “Oh, please, please, please.”

Bucky’s stubble tickles that sensitive spot on your neck and you jerk backwards into his embrace. “So polite in the morning,” he bites at your ear. “But not very specific. Use your words baby, please what?”

His hands slide up to grasp your breasts. Steve moans in front of you, gripping your hips, but still not giving you what you want. Your hips buck faster, more erratically, hoping he can just slip in.

“Stop it, Steve,” Bucky grunts.

Steve practically whines but does as he’s told.

“No,” you keep moving on him, desperate now for some friction. “Please.”

“Please, what?” Bucky’s tongue licks the inside of your ear.

“Please,” your eyes roll to the back of your head. “Please fuck me.”

Bucky chuckles darkly, tweaking a nipple, “How should we fuck you, hm?”

You bit your lip, “I want both of you. To fuck me, just like this.”

Bucky bite on your ear lobe, “All you had to do was ask, baby.” And with almost no warning, he, already lubed, slides into you from behind.

“Oh!” You gasp, needing a second to adjust to the suddenness.

Steve leans forward, sucking on that spot to help you relax. In half a second you’re moaning and begging for more again. Steve grabs your leg, wrapping it around himself and enters you slower, more gently.

You moan deeply, your head falling back against Bucky’s shoulder.

“How does she feel, Steve?” Bucky asks, his hand stroking up and down your side.

Steve only moans in response. The sound causing you to drag your nails down his back. You reach back to grip the back of Bucky’s neck, withering between them. Steve sets the pace, grinding into you, sending you back into Bucky, who pushes you forward again.

Steve’s mouth comes down to your neck and that’s it, you’re release rockets through you thanks to the extreme pleasure of the two of them inside of you.

Their lazy, morning pace continues. They get two more out of you before the three of you are left gasping, clutching to each other for air. You could die right now, right here, and you would be perfectly happy, you realize.

Steve kisses the top of your head as he rolls away, asking if you want pancakes or French toast. Bucky kisses your cheek, saying he’s going to run out to your favourite coffee shop.

The rest of the day was just as perfect. You eat breakfast, you drag the boys to the beach. Bucky refuses to go in the water and Steve gets a wicked sunburn, but they fall asleep tangled together in the sand while you read your book. It starts to rain at some point, just misting. It wakes them up and as you reach the boardwalk, it starts to pour.

You take cover in an ice cream shop, with the most ridiculous flavours. Between the three of you, nearly all of them were tried much to the dismay of the shop owner, but then you each bought a giant cone.

The rain didn’t let up, and the air conditioning plus your wet clothing made it unbearable after a while. You make a break for the car and Bucky blasts the heat, while you sit there waiting for the rain to stop.

You head home, have dinner, and someone mentions that there’s a late showing of a new movie, you’ll make it if you leave now. You run to the car, and miss the previews, but you sit between your boys, happy as can be. Even if the three of you fell asleep and had to be woken up the usher when it was over.

It was one of the happiest days of your life. There was no work, no missions, no stress. Just the three of you. You could just be.

It is a moment you search for when things feel impossible. When you want to throw something at Steve. When Bucky forgets something and you feel like you’re losing parts of him. The perfect day. Even with the sunburns, the sand caking your bodies, the wet clothes in your car, the wasted movie ticket. None of it mattered, except for the people around you. Because it was also the day you realized you loved them.

It’s what you remind yourself of as you drive to the hospital as another contraction hits. Your stomach tightens painfully and your whole body goes rigid.

You cry out, your hand grasping the arm rest with a death grip. The pain would be worth it. The babies would be here soon. It’ll all be fine. Totally fucking fine. But holy fuck it hurt.

“Can you go any fucking slower?” You look over at Bucky. He, for the record, looks about ready to pass out but is still in better shape than Steve.

“I swear this is the only day ever there is traffic,” Bucky mumbles. He wasn’t wrong, the drive normally took less than twenty minutes. They’d already been driving for thirty.

Steve rubs your shoulders from the backseat, “Isn’t there that festival downtown today?”

You turn in your seat, swatting Steve’s hands away, “That would have been helpful before we left, you—”

You cut yourself off as another contraction hits. You brace your hands against the door. Holy shit this hurt.

“They’re really close together,” Steve mumbles.

“Thank you for your fucking observation,” you pant. Holy shit they were. Your head lulls back against the seat. You just needed a moment, just one second to breathe. Please.

Bucky’s hand comes to pet your leg, “You’re doing great, baby. Almost there.”

“I’m never fucking doing this again,” you mumble, wanting to curl into a ball as you can already feel another one coming.

You expected the pain, but this was too much too fast. There was no time to adjust. No break between contractions.

“I feel like I need to push,” you gasped as the last one finished. There was a new pressure. You’d always wondered what women meant when they said they needed to push and this was it.

“It’s way too early,” Steve rubs your shoulders again. “You’re hours away.”

You barely manage a moan, reaching back to grab his hand, desperate for some contact now. “I’m not joking. I really feel like I need to push.”

Bucky shot you a look, “We’re two minutes out. You’re not having these babies in the car.”

You groan. The longest two minutes of your life later, you’re pulling up. Steve is out, calling for a wheelchair before helping you to your feet. You lean against him, pressing your face into the crook of his neck.

A nurse comes running out, helping you into your chair, “How are we doing, mama?” She asks.

You shake your head, bracing yourself through another contraction. When it eases, you gasp, “I feel like I need to push.”

She shoots Steve a look, “How long has she been in labour?”

“About an hour and a half?” They’d guesstimated it. Your contractions really hadn’t been painful or consistent until you started dinner.

She shakes her head, starting to wheel you inside, “You’ve got hours to go before that, don’t worry hon.”

You grip the arm rests like a vice. You were not going to be able to handle hours more of this. If this wasn’t time to push, you weren’t looking forward to what it was going to feel like. The pressure was insane.

Bucky jogged up beside you as you were wheeled up to admitting.

“Are you the father?” The nurse asks.

“Yes.” Both boys answer in unison.

She looks up in surprise, but waves you all in. They help you into a gown, into bed.

Dr Lawrence waltzes in, “I was not hoping to see you three for a couple more weeks. How are you, y/n?”

Not well. The pressure you were feeling was becoming unbearable. You grasp the sheets, your teeth clench together as you grind out, “I’m telling you all, I need to push.”

Dr Lawrence shakes her head, “You have hours to go. I was going to have my student do your first look, is that okay?”

“Fuck, fine,” you cover your eyes with your hand. “I want an epidural. And soon.”

Dr Lawrence shakes her head, “We’ll let you labour for a while. It’ll only slow things down now.”

“Oh fuck me,” you murmur, pressing a hand to you eyes.

Bucky kisses the top of your head, “You’re doing great.”

Steve squeezes your other hand, “We just want what’s best, baby, it’ll be over before you know it.” You wanted to smack him in the face. No, the groin.

You life your legs into the stirrups as the student takes a look. You feel some pressure as they check your dilation and then, “Um, Dr Lawrence...”

Your head shoots up, “What’s wrong?”

Steve and Bucky are on either side of you, their hands tighten on yours.

Dr Lawrence practically shoved the student out of the way, “Let me see...” Her eyes widen, “Oh, you do need to push.”

You straighten, “What?”

She looks up at you from between your legs, “You’re ten centimetres dilated. I can see the first baby’s head. It’s coming right now.”

You frantically look between your boys, terror rocketing through you, “I want the epidural. Now.”

Dr Lawrence shakes her head, “oh, it’s too late for that now.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Bucky squeezes your hand, “You’ll be fine, baby.”

Steve leans forward to kiss your forehead, “You’ve got this, baby.”

“Oh the next contraction, you need to push,” Dr Lawrence commands.

Well fuck.

And you push. And push. And push.

You fall back against the bed. Gasping. Your whole body on fire.

“One more push!”

You wanted to shake your head, to turn away and cry. But the contraction built up and you screamed as you pushed. Hard.

And then the first baby is out. You grasp your boys hands to your chest as you wait for a cry. It’s too early, it’s only thirty-two weeks. You know that they might not cry, they might go straight to the ICU, but—

A wail fills the room.

You let go of their hands, desperately reaching for your baby.

“It’s a boy!” Dr Lawrence places the baby against your chest.

“Oh,” you gasp. “Hello.”

Your perfect, perfect baby boy. Who is still crying, but you wrap your arms around him, holding him close.

“Oh my god,” Bucky mumbles, reaching out to touch his cheek. His perfect little cheek.

Steve kisses the top of your head, “Good job, baby.”

You can’t keep your eyes off of him, you can feel your whole body trembling. The whole ordeal isn’t over, but he’s so perfect.

“I love you so much, Henry,” you murmur, as the nurse reaches out to take him from your arms.

“Okay, good job, y/n,” Dr Lawrence says, “One more to go.”

And you push. And push.

Nothing happens. This is harder than the first time. You collapse backward, gasping for air.

“Can we get some oxygen for her please,” Dr Lawrence’s voice cuts through the room, and a mask is fitted over your nose. “Okay, one more push.”

You push again. And again. And again. You flop against the bed. Your head is spinning, and no baby yet.

“Come on, one more push,” Steve kisses the top of your head.

You can only shake your head, you can’t even tell him you can’t. You can’t do this. Your body is failing you. The ones thing it is supposed to do, you can’t do.

“Damn it, prepare for a c-section,” Dr Lawrence calls out.

“What?” You hear Steve gasp.

“The last baby isn’t coming,” Dr Lawrence’s voice is beginning to sound very far away. “Y/n stats are dropping and so is the baby’s. We need to get the baby out now.”

Tags

@booktease21 @sexyvixen7 @just-the-hiddles @fading-mentality-bouquet @a--1--1--3 @broco8 @yougottalovefandoms @hailqueenconquer @tazzi-baby @imaginebeinlovedbyme @amiets2 @prettyblueskylark @spookyparadisesheep @bloodbrink @holl2712 @navs-bhat @animegirlgeeky @fanofalltheficsx @obsssedwithjustaboutanything

[lustbile-archive]

LucasxReader

Word Count: 3.8k

Summary/Warnings: 100% inspired by the way that seeing this picture made me black out and is another situation of “was supposed to only be like 1k words”. Warnings: public-ish?, blow job, fingering, suggestions of drug and alcohol consumption. Also disclaimer! This was written before the whole smoking things went down on twitter so I’m not saying I’m psychic but I might be who knows.

The stale smell of beer and marujana strings the inside of your nose as you enter the empty entrance of the house, the only evidence that life existed in the home, was the muffled talking and music that came from the basement of the home.

The notification from the text that Lucas had sent telling you he’d see you soon still lived on the lock screen of your phone as you walked down the hallway of the house that belonged to a friend of his that you had only met a handful of times before. The single hit of a blunt that your boyfriend had inhaled hours ago was enough to have him texting you to tell you how much he missed you, but he was unable to come meet you both from his consumption of the drug, but also his lack of transportation or someone sober enough to drive him to your apartment. So instead you found yourself slipping on the first pair of shoes you could see, and drove to the address he shared with you.

The rumbling voices and deep bass only got louder as you got closer to the door, your heart thumping at both the anticipation of seeing your boyfriend, and also having to face his inebriated friends at such a late hour. The smell of alcohol and smoke hits you stronger when you open the door, and you have to take a moment to mentally prepare before walking into the room.

There’s only a beat of time before they notice the new presence in the room, another before they realize who you were exactly, and then they start quietly cheering a slurring in excitement. Though, amongst all the noise, there’s one voice that rings louder than any and directly into your ears.

He resembled a fur rug in the way he had draped himself in the worn leather recliner that had been tucked into the corner of the room. The shine that showed in his big brown eyes from across the room told you that, if he wasn’t slowed slightly from the second hand buzz he was getting from the amount that the other boys had hotboxed the room, he would have gotten up to greet you. Instead, he excitedly patted his big hands against his thighs in invitation for you to take your favorite throne.

You can't help but mirror the large grin that he throws your way, and after you step over the two boys that had found themselves collapsed on the floor in front of you and the dozens of empty cans that cluttered the room, you make your way slowly to where he sat. His smile grows as you get closer and you feel your heart beat faster in response.

“Long time no see,” he speaks when you finally stand in front of him, his words broken up by his growing giggles. You can’t help but smile down at him in admiration when he reaches to grab at your hips and pull you into his lap.

“It has been a while hasn’t it?” you tease as you straddle him and wrap your hands loosely around his shoulders, “i’m not surprised that when you get all giggly and high is when you’re texting me begging to come see you.”

“Not surprised?” his head jerks back gently in curiosity and in an attempt to get a better look at your face, “am I predictable?”

“Wouldn’t say predictable,” you start to gently rock back and forth as you speak, your hands moving to run through his thick and messy hair as his knead at the muscles of your hips and thighs, “but you’re clingy, and it only gets worse when you’re high.”

“M’not that high,” his head shakes and he runs his hands up your back, pushing you forward until your noses touch, “just high enough.”

“Yeah I can tell,” he’s always been good at handling his weed and himself for that matter, but you do know that he’s gone enough that he doesn’t notice your eyes darting down towards his lap, “but I do know that you’re at least a little high, because you always get hard really easy when you are.”

A deep groan shakes his chest in faux embarrassment at getting caught, his smile softening to give him a more arrogant aura as his hips involuntarily thrust up towards you, “sorry bout that, but i’ve been thinking about you long before I ever texted you so it was bound to happen.”

“It’s fine, flattering actually that I can get you hard without even being here,” you can feel yourself softening as you speak, and you slowly shift forward as you speak until you can feel his bulge pressing into the seat of your pajama shorts, “if you come home with me I can help you with it.”

His head shakes in disappointment, “nah I promised a few of the guy that i’d help them move out of their apartment tomorrow so i’ve gotta be here for that in the morning,” he bites at his cheek once the words are in the air, the thoughts running through his mind are almost deafening as they make his eyebrows draw together in concentration.

“You’re gonna hurt yourself thinking that hard Xuxi,” you’ve slipped into a soft whisper as you speak, and you move your hand to press your thumb between his brows in hopes to relieve the tension, “what's going on in that pretty head of yours?”

“I mean,” he shrugs, trying to procrastinate telling you what he's thinking, “you could always help me get off right here.”

You’re woken up from your daze when the words leave his mouth, your heart thumping at what he's suggesting, “what do want me to grind on you ‘til you come in your pants? Isn’t that a little too high school for you?”

“No not grind on me,” his hands return to your hips and he begins to pick at a loose string on the band of your shorts, his eyes moving down to where your crotch meets his to avoid your eyes, “I mean like maybe… blowing me?”

“You want me to blow you right here in front of all your dumb friends?” you harshly whisper hoping none of the mentioned boys will stir from their drug induced daze.

His eyes immediately dart up again to lock onto yours, “I mean you don’t have to, I just thought maybe it’d be a little exciting y’know. And i’d return the favor like always,” as he finishes speaking, one of his hands begins to move. It lands directly in the space between your thighs, and as he starts to softly pet at your through your shorts, you feel your guard melting away, the small sparks of pleasure from his usually rough fingers making your head tilt forward.

“If any of them say anything I’ll kill you.”

“They’re a lot more gone than I am, they probably won't even notice,” the excitement that builds in him is evident in his tone and you can't stop the way your own chest blooms with your own excitement in response.

“They better be,” you slip out of his hold, slowly sliding down into the floor until you're kneeling in front of him. His fingers now drum against his thighs in excitement now that you’re no longer there for him to hold on to.

You stop yourself from turning around and checking on the boys around you, fearing that seeing them again will make this all too real and make you back out. It does feed your mind paranoia, but you can't deny that the idea of putting your mouth around your boyfriend in a room of other people doesn’t warm the pit in your stomach, and you’re almost even ashamed to admit to yourself that you can feel a wetness building in between your thighs.

Your fingers slightly shake as you run them up his thighs, and when they meet where his rest, he momentarily wraps your fingers with his to give you a reassuring squeeze. Once he releases your hands, you start to move again, until they reach the band of his sweatpants.

“Oh fuck, okay,” you hear him murmur to himself as his hips tilt up to help as you tug the fabric down until its wrapped around his thighs. Your eyes move to look at him again before you speak.

“So you just don’t wear underwear when you hang out with your friends?” you can't imagine how weird you two look as you playfully scold him as his moves his hand to hide his growing smile and his mostly hard length lays against the fabric of his t-shirt that covers his stomach, “I can’t imagine it’d be too comfortable to help your friend move apartments when you’re free balling it.”

“I have a change of clothes in my bag,” he defends quietly, his hand falling back to his side, “I hate wearing underwear when i’m getting high, makes me feel constricted.”

“You’re so fucking weird,” you say bluntly as you go to wrap your hand around him, and regardless of the playfull look of disappointment you wear, you begin to slowly move your hand up and down the length of him.

You feel a tight sense of pride in your chest as when you start to move your fist, he stiffens at the sudden pleasure. The mean smile you throw at him makes him bite down on his bottom lip and his hands start to twitch as he tries to decide what to do with them.

You lose the eye contact you two had when, as you move your hand up the length of his him, you trail your hand with the flat of your tongue. You stiffen when he lets out a groan as he tilts his head back, hoping it won't stir the boys around you.

“Quiet,” you whisper without thinking, moving your hand to hold him at the base as he breathes a laugh out through his nose. You hold him as you put the tip of him in your mouth, rolling your tongue over him as you taste the arousal he’s begun to spill. You start to move down further when he moves to hold your jaw, stopping you.

“I was being serious when I said I’ve been hard for awhile,” he says in a strained and warning tone. He jumps in your mouth when you hum in acknowledgment.

You try not to cringe when as you pull off there’s a soft popping noise that follows, “so?” you ask tilting your head and moving your hand up and down as you speak. Every time your fingers reach the tip you brush the pad of your thumb over him making him twitch, “how long do you think it will take for you to get there?”

“Not long,” he sounds vaguely disappointed in himself, but the way your wrist moves causing it to melt away as he sinks back into his seat, “not with your mouth.”

You grin, laughing warmly at what you decide to take as a compliment.

“Tight,” you nod, starting to slightly feel the warm effects of the smoked out room, before you tilt your head back down and put your waiting mouth back around him.

You try to ignore the moan he lets out in response, praying to whatever that’s listening that the others will stay in their daze. You take a quick breath through your nose, before you move him as deep in your throat as you can.

Your lips bump against your hand where you still hold him, your tongue licking against the vein that pumps against it, before you move your hand to rest on his hip, allowing you to go further. You let out a soft moan when your nose presses against his stomach, the feeling of him hitting the back of your throat making you drool slightly, some even spilling past your lips and dampening his pants.

The vibrations from your mouth run up his spine, pushing more quiet groans from his chest. You can feel his hands moving around you as he desperately tries to decide what to do with them, before one grabs at your hand until your fingers are laced together and the other rests on the back of your neck.

You reach to tap his wrist momentarily in warning, before you start slowly moving your head up. You look up when all that remains in your mouth is his tip, forcing him to hold eye contact before taking him back until he hits the back of your throat again. You don’t let up on your stare as you repeat the motion over and over.

His face screws up, almost as if he’s in pain, and his fingers flex around the back of your neck as if he's holding himself back from holding you too roughly. As you move, you start to run your free hand up to his stomach, scraping your nails against the line of hair that runs from under his belly button making more deep noises pass his lips regardless of his attempts to suppress them.

“Baby please,” he pleads, seemingly unaware of what exactly he’s asking for, but when he starts to pulse his hips gently with the same pace that you move your mouth on him, you know that he’s getting closer to the edge.

Another soft pop is heard as you move off him again, a faux innocent pout falling on your lips, “want you to come in my mouth Xuxi,” you taunt, and the way he starts thrusting into the empty air tells you how much your words affect him.

You move the hand on his stomach to wrap around him once again, pumping him a few times before holding him at his base and running the flat of your tongue up the length of him. You pause when you reach his tip, pressing it against the muscle as you move it slowly back and forth. He looks like he’s on the edge of insanity when you leave your mouth wide open as you start to move your wrist slowly, your grip exactly the way you know will make him crumble.

You can’t help but flinch slightly as he starts to come, the thickness of his come hitting your tongue before his noises reach your ears, but you will your eyes to stay open enough to watch him as he falls apart. His hips continue to move, smearing the evidence of him around your tastebuds, and the way his head tilts back strains his neck and makes thick veins pop out in a way that makes your feel dizzy.

His quickened breath starts to steady again as you move to pull away, but with his eyes still shut close, you can’t help but jump when the hand on the back of your neck moves to grip your jaw, his thumb moving until it hooks into your mouth and behind your front bottom teeth to hold your jaw open making your unable to swallow what he’s left behind on your tongue.

He leans forward, his now open eyes looking delirious as he lets go of your hand to wrap it around your waist to hoist you back into his lap. You scramble to your feet as best as you can with his thumb almost painfully holding your mouth open, praying none of it drips onto the carpet below you. You try even harder to move your legs to properly straddle him, as it seems in his crazed delirium he has no consideration as to where your knees could possibly land.

Before you can fully comprehend the motions happening so quickly, you're pressed tightly against his chest, your fists holding tightly onto the front of his shirt as he uses the hand on your jaw to drag you to slot your open mouth against his.

The pleased moan that rolls out of you without thinking matches perfectly with the one he lets out once your mouths cover each other. His hand moves away from your jaw, the way his tongue shoves itself into your mouth and licks at the evidence of his orgasm and the back of your teeth is enough to keep you perfectly in place. You can feel him pushing some of his come further back into your mouth as well as taking some into his own, you two break for only a moment to swallow before your lips meet again, the taste of his being permanently burned into your mind as his warm breath gets your dizzier than any of the smoke dancing around your bodies could.

There’s no verbal warning before his arm tightens around your waist while the other one greedily shoves itself into the front of your shorts, the yelp of surprise you let out is completely devoured by his mouth as he happily hums against you.

“I knew you’d be wet,” he says smugly when you break away to moan at the way his fingers immediately press into you, your forehead pressed against his temple as you watch his hand move under the fabric, “love having me in your mouth don’t you.”

“Lucas hush,” you scold as your eyes fall shut, his long middle and ring finger curling inside you. You feel your muscles relax as his fingers thrust against the spot inside you that makes your eyes flutter. One hand lets go of the grip you had on his shirt to lay softly against the side of his face, this and the way your body starts to curl against his makes his lips pull into an endeared smile that you feel under the pad of your thumb.

You can feel your hips rocking against his hand similarly to the way he had trusted into your mouth, your thighs trying to flex together regardless of the way his legs keep them spread.

Once he’s gotten his fingers drenched in your arousal, he slowly pulls them out of you making you whimper at the loss. He quietly coos at you to quiet you before his wet fingers start to roll over the sensitive nerves of your neglected clit, you jump again at the sudden feeling and he only chuckles with pride in response.

He starts moving his hand that’s wrapped around your waist, his fingers brushing against your ribs through the old worn shirt you wear to go to sleep and it almost feels like you're melting as he pets at you with his determined fingers.

“Wanna see you come so bad,” he starts to mutter in the way that tells you he's not fully conscious of what he’s saying out loud as he slips into his own little world, something you’ve learned he does every once in awhile when he’s pleasuring you, “been so long, miss it so bad.”

“Xuxi,” his name being the only word your brain can form as the slurred way he speaks starts to flood your chest with endearment. His hand picks up its pace as he starts to lose himself in watching you fall apart, no longer aware of the room that you sit in that’s full of his friends, unaware of what jealousy he’d feel if they were to see you like this even if they were too high to remember. Something about the way your thighs flex and your body starts to shake makes it feel like he’s in a trance and he only wishes he could see you bare and gushing for him.

His name slips from you again, this time as a warning as you feel your lower stomach flex and relax over and over as you reach your finish. You clench softly around nothing and you become only vaguely aware of how the hand placed on his face is now curling into a loose fist and your nails scrape against the skin of his cheekbone and jaw.

The third time his name falls from your lips, it's broken up by pleased and strained whimpers as you start to come. His mind is too busy reveling in the noises you make and the way your arousal continues to dampen you further to think to slow down his motions, his quickly moving fingers carrying you through your orgasm as your head rolls to the side and your teeth latch onto the soft skin of his earlobe.

The grunt he lets out at the small bite of pain and the unending friction makes you start to shake and whine as it feels like you’ll never escape the pleasure he inflicts on you. You pant through your teeth, and your toes painfully curl as he overstimulates your body, and he probably would continue his subconscious torture on your body if you didn’t come to your sense enough to move your hand away from his face to wrap around his wrist.

You all but rip his hand from your shorts, his name being spoken again but with a more muddied tone behind it. Once his fingers are off of you, he wakes up from whatever hypnosis your body had put on him and your slumping tired against his chest.

You cringe as, when he tightens his hold on you to hug you against his body, you also hear the undeniable slurping noise of him sucking what you had left behind on his fingers. He hums happily around his digits and you can’t help but return the noise when he pulls them out with a dramatic pop of his own and turns his head until he can nudge you with his nose. Once you lift your head enough, his lips return to yours and you're both humming in content against one another as the dull taste of yourself mixes with the aftertaste of his come that was still lingering on your tongues.

“You can sleep over,” he assures when he breaks the lazy kiss, knowing what you’d be asking before the words can even leave your mouth, “the guest room is clean and you get dibs.”

“I love you,” your sudden admission surprising both of you, you with how you don’t fully remember forming the thought and him at the suddenness, but he happily laughs in response regardless.

“I love you too,” he pulls you in a more comfortable position as you cuddle against his chest, “just for being you but also for blowing me in a room full of my dumb friends.”

“Probably will never happen again,” your words slur more and more as you speak, the tiredness you felt before you arrived meshing with the exhaustion you feel now.

“I know,” he nuzzles his face against yours as he speaks, “but I enjoyed it while I could.”

[my-writings-and-musings]

Could you perhaps do Rung's Cyclonus', Tailgate's and First Aid's reaction to their human S/O being trapped in the same room as Rung and Whirl while Fort Max he has his psychotic episode? And Fort Max isn't exactly gentle with them either so

Couple of broken ribs there at least

I love how you guys are so invested in this situation and all the potential prompts because it miiiiight just be from one of my favorite issues of MTMTE... Changing canon for all of these in that Rung emerges from this whole situation with his head intact.

Rung

·He's accustomed to the risks inherent to his profession, and despite his tiny size compared to his larger patients he's more than capable of handling himself in most crisis situations, you knew that the moment you heard that one of his more recent positions involved treating the Wreckers. But when Fortress Maximus burst in to his office, clearly in the fog of an agonizing psychotic episode, he felt fear like he hadn't in ages. His terror isn't for him however. You were preparing to head out so Whirl could have his appointment, your smile as casual as could be as you bid him goodbye from the doorway, when you were snatched up by the colossal Autobot forcing his way inside. Just seeing your fragile organic body in that gigantic fist... Whirl had been unable to stop him before being stabbed to the floor, and he'd been equally incapable of doing anything to save you as he was pinned to a chair with a few errant pieces of warped metal.

·With what Max endured, he knows the hulking mech is suffering from pain he hasn't even begun to acknowledge, but that doesn't make it any easier for him to stay calm and proffesional as you're held firmly in his grasp. Words can't begin to describe how badly he wants to ask for you to be released, even if only to be set down on an available surface so you can breathe, as his sharp audials can pick up every tiny gasp from your struggling body. Yet he doesn't dare to risk upsetting the mech and potentially spurring him to squeeze. His always in control temper is almost able to break loose as Whirl antagonizes Max with you in such a vulnerable position, but he settles for broadcasting audio from his thumb's recorder to the camera he spots on the ceiling. All he can do is hope the bots watching are planning a rescue in short order...

·Things go south quickly when Maximus realizes his demands aren't being heeded, and of all those in the room it's you that pays the highest price. His thumb being torn off hardly compares to his agony watching you be held aloft as a warning and squeezed, your hoarse cry of agony wheezing out into a whisper as your bones audibly crack. Max actually seems horrified for a moment, particularly as you cough up crimson, but he doesn't end the ordeal. Clearly guilty but not deterred, he only lays your tiny body on a nearby surface as he returns to his demands. Nothing had ever hurt more than the agonized little coughs you emitted as you lay so perilously still... It had been enough to compel him to try the worst thing one can do in a hostage situation, ask something of the captor, even if it's little more than weak pleading for only your release.

·He has no way to describe how badly he wishes he could tear himself from his bonds, but when the footage of Overlord is projected on the wall and Maximus collapses under the weight of his trauma, he still finds the softness in his spark to lean forth and comfort the weeping giant with an embrace. While he'd hear later there were plans for taking a shot through one of the many windows, the presence of your tiny body had made it impossible, and thus he had the freedom to end the situation on peaceful terms. Fort Max had been gently led to a guarded room for solitary confinement, Whirl had been proffesionally extracted from his impalement, and you had been rushed to the medical bay while he was still being unstuck from the chair... He hadn't even cared about his missing digit when he'd been told you were being taken to a private room for emergency treatment, from which the medics had refused him entry due to the intensity of your injuries.

·When he'd finally seen you afterwards it had almost broken his spark. You had looked so unlike yourself; frail, lifeless, and connected to a number of life saving machines that beeped and hummed to keep you stable. It didn't matter that you'd be fine, the suffering you had endured already and would face while recovering was enough to overwhelm him with guilt, as he blames himself for the whole ordeal. He hadn't seen the potential for Maximus to suffer a break, and hadn't even been able to talk him down, resulting in suffering for you and so many others. Though he's encouraged and comforted by his friends, he keeps a tireless vigil at your bedside until you wake, occasionally brushing a digit against your tiny hand to provide some reassurance that he's here and watching over you.

·When you do wake up, he's the first thing you see, his gentle smile looking down at you while he welcomes you back to the waking world. The guilt behind his lenses is even more apparent than the pain in every part of your body. Initially he's steadfast in denying he has any such inclinations. All he wants to focus on is your recovery, and making certain you're not traumatized by what you've experienced, he says and insists in a way you know is merely half true. Only when you've recovered enough strength to pressure him does he break, expressing his boundless guilt at having failed you in such a high stakes situation, which he shouldn't even have allowed to happen in the first place. Your reassurance that the only one to blame for the ordeal is the mech who tortured Fort Max brings a measure of perspective, but it's the feeling of your hand in his that solidifies the sense of comfort, your total lack of blame allowing him to turn some of his boundless forgiveness inward. You made it, everyone had made it, and the two of you could bask in the wonder of that simple victory together. That was enough for now.

Cyclonus

·It takes a full legion of bots to hold him back when news of the situation reaches him. You'd been near Rung's office when Fortress Maximus had apparently grabbed you in his rush, and he cares little for calm or strategy when the full weight of the situation is explained to him. The only two other bots in there with you are Rung and Whirl, meaning that you're not only without protection, you're in the middle of a powder keg. He's only prevented from overpowering the barricade when a firm reminder gets him to see the need for caution; all Max need do is bat you aside with his hand and you'll die, which makes your survival unlikely in the event of any altercation. Such painful logic reigns him in to a simmering silence. Joining the main team on the bridge, mostly so he won't try another break in, he's left to watch everything play out on the security feed.

·He only has optics for you as he stands silently by. Though his motionless self could be mistaken for a glowering statue, any bot who looked closer would see the rage boiling in his glare, and how his claws twitched every time there was sudden movement on the screen, which was often due to Whirl gesticulating and Maximus pacing with his weapon ready to fire. Like a hawk ready to dive, he keeps track of it all. You're the center of his focus of course, but he needs to be ready the nanosecond you need him, and that means knowing the terrain to plot out potential rescue missions. Ten minutes into the ordeal he already has fifty or so plans to remove you from just as many scenarios that might play out. While he's initially fine letting the commanding officers take control for the sake of a unified front, that quickly ends when he sees that no effort is being made to storm the room in order to ensure there are no casualties, a goal he hardly agrees with.

·For all of his efforts he fails to hide how incredibly worried he is for you in this situation. Though he snaps the instant someone tries to reassure him, declaring that he has no undue concern but merely wants them to consider the delicate nature of organics, he convinces no one. As he watches Rung lose his thumb, his claws dig so deeply into his crossed arms that they bleed. The lack of audio which follows only makes his worrying turn to nauseous panic. Watching your impossibly tiny form sit tensely on a table brings up a deep buried bit of self loathing, an internal voice taunting him for putting his spark on the line for something so weak, but he crushes its efforts by thinking back to the happiness you've given him. You aren't weak, he's seen the strength of your spirit time and again, your body is simply fragile... As if to cruelly make his point, Fort Max picks you up in a sudden rage, holding you aloft as he roars threats none of them can hear before he squeezes.

·The sight simultaneously breaks his spark and flips a switch inside of him. Ultra Magnus himself is an insignificant obstacle as he does what he should have when this whole thing began; run to your rescue. Cries for him to stop go unheeded, and thankfully for the sake of saving time most are smart enough to get out of his way. As fast as he is, the room you're held in is a fair distance from where he was, and thus there's an agonizing amount of limbo he has to endure on the way there. Even through the dull camera feed he could see how you'd spasmed in Maximus's grasp, and the way your face had contorted in absolute agony... It hurt in a way he wasn't ready to comprehend. There's no way for him to know if you're even still alive, but as unthinkable as losing you may be, he's well aware of what will happen if he arrives to find you lifeless behind the blockaded doors. Hopefully for Fort Max it won't come to that.

·There's a sobering dose of bewilderment when he arrives to see the doors opening of their own accord, but that hardly delays him for long, and he barrels forward to discover a hostage situation that's been settled for precious few moments. Ignoring anything and everyone else, he grabs your tiny self and runs, silent as he's informed through comm that Maximus has surrendered and the medics are ready in the medbay. Unable to be grateful at the sight of you so damaged, he holds you closely but gingerly as if he might break you further, willing your ragged breaths to keep coming unaided for just a little longer. One of his last thoughts as he arrives at the medical bay and the medics take you away is how small your body is in his claws, which somehow makes what's been done all the more agonizing. What reason would any member of his species have to hurt something so incapable of fighting back? As he waits in the common area for news of your condition the question almost mocks him with his own history of misdeeds...

·Seeing you after the surgery does nothing to quell his conscience. Though he's told you'll live, it's difficult to restrain the urge to execute violent revenge on your attacker, and only his greater need to ensure your safety prevents him from doing so. The vigil he keeps over you is tireless and appears stoic to others, but when he's certain you're alone his demeanor is soft and caring, his digits gently adjusting your blankets or brushing errant strands of hair from your face as he waits for you to regain your strength. You awaken slowly and peacefully to the sound of a regal baritone singing a soft song in a language you don't recognize. A familiar thumb brushes your face as you open your eyes, the gigantic claw that greets you not intimidating in the slightest as you behold the faintest hint of a smile on a face otherwise wrought with pain. He's barely able to contain his guilt as he relays his ineffectiveness during your capture, but his gratitude to see you alive is equally obvious in the way he relaxes as you lay your hand in his palm. Weak as you may be, you reveal that you were still conscious when he took you to the medical bay, and how his protective grasp around you had allowed you to believe everything would be okay. The news has a profound effect on him. To hear that he brought peace to you even once, in a manner similiar to what you do each and every day, is beyond anything he could ever imagine. It's enough to make him content just to enjoy the simple gratitude of having you back.

Tailgate

·When he's informed that you're being held hostage he nearly has a panic attack, and when the details of who you're with are relayed only his drive to protect you prevents full on fainting. Through his panicking he's able to convince the commanding bots to let him in the crisis room, if only because not knowing what's going on behind the heavy doors simply tears him apart in a way he can't endure. Knowing what you mean to each other, he's allowed in, and his little visor locks onto your image on the screen without hesitation. Nothing beyond your somewhat blurry face exists in his mind. Small hands clasp as they usually would to hold yours, but the emptiness due to your absence makes him feel pain instead of any kind of comfort, something he doesn't know how to process as he watches you with sad intensity.

·From the moment Maximus makes his first demand he's pushing for your rescue and advocating giving whatever Max wants to facilitate your release. Though he knows that isn't possible, the helplessness of being stuck on the sidelines makes him desperate enough to want Rodimus to give it a try. That sense of powerlessness is exacerbated by the sight of you being held up in the giant's fist. He's woken up after six million years to find someone he adores, and he's going to lose them like this, after so little time together? It's not fair to anyone, but especially you! Rage boils over in his spark as the injustice of it all tempts him to consider charging in himself. All you ever did to Fort Max was be nice, and this is what he does in return? Knowing the bot is suffering a psychotic episode does nothing to quell his anger.

·With nothing good happening on the screen, he tries to recall all the happy moments you've enjoyed together to keep himself calm, replaying the fun movie nights and dates at Swerve's that showed him how wonderful life could be... But the strategy does little to help with his traitorous optics constantly flipping back to the video feed. Nothing has changed each time, but he still can't help looking in some desperate hope that Fort Max will realize you are innocent and either let you go or end this entire ordeal. In his frustration he snaps at the commanding bots for not doing something, and their continued lack of action angers him almost as much as their reassurances. Don't they know how important you are to him?! How you made everything better and that losing you might destroy him?! He's on the verge of a kind of furious panic attack when the situation on the screen goes south dramatically fast.

·Being a small bot means he knows how terrifying it is to be grabbed and pinned by larger Cybertronians, but he can't even begin to imagine how afraid you must be when Fort Max swipes you up far more aggressively than before after an argument none of them can hear breaks out. You're endlessly brave as always, resisting the urge to scream despite the fear and pain visible on your expression, but his worrying turns to a near breakdown when you're held up high and squeezed. The spasm that passes through you is so great he can practically hear the crack of your little bones despite the lack of sound coming through. Resisting the urge to be sick, he grabs onto Rodimus and demands that action be taken before he's forced to do something himself, and despite his tiny size his tone is determined enough to give every present bot pause. By convenient timing that moment is concurrent with Rewind finally getting into position and projecting horrifying images of Overlord into the room, debilitating the hulking Autobot and leaving him helpless whilst Rung talks him down. With you lying motionless in the line of fire Rodimus makes the call to quickly but peacefully have security forces take the room.

·Tailgate is tearing down the hallways before anyone can say another word, desperate to see you as soon as he can if there's still time. The distance between the command center and Rung's office means that he takes some time to arrive, and while he's a quivering mess of panic by then it's only made worse when he hears you're already in the medical bay and receiving emergency care, as your injuries are potentially fatal. Between exhaustion and grief he briefly loses consciousness, but when he awakens in the medical bay he has to be kept from leaping off the berth to aid you. Hearing that you've been stabilized gives him some level of peace, but he still pushes to see you as soon as he can, and no number of visitors can distract him from the agony of waiting, leading to him absolutely jumping when he's told he can see you... Though he finds no comfort in finally beholding your broken body on the medical slab. Still, he takes a dutiful place by your side and whispers idle conversation in a tireless watch that breaks only when he's forced into brief naps by sheer exhaustion.

·Your slow return to consciousness is greatly sped up when, in a rather natural gesture, you squeeze the familiar presence in your hand and get a loud squeak of surprise as a result. A blue visor brimming with tears welcomes you back to wakefulness, but the babbling that pours from the minibot is so emotional you hardly catch even a word at first, and your aching ribs make it almost impossible to speak loudly enough to get his attention. Once he finally gathers himself enough to speak clearly and relay the situation, he's despondent about his nonexistent role in your rescue, something you have to reassure him isn't his fault in the slightest. Weakly but with a smile, you reassure him that thinking about him was the only thing that kept you calm. He tears up again, but this time in a kind of relieved happiness, his helm gently leaning forward to nuzzle you with soft buzzes of affection. Knowing he was able to help in some small way... there's still a lot of healing to be done, but he's determined to stand tall by your side through it all, because you've reminded him that he's strong enough to hold others up.

First Aid

·As a medic, he's usually one of the first bots informed when something goes wrong, to get him ready for a potential influx of patients if nothing else. But this time he's contacted because he's an affected party, and his ever present ability to stay calm is put to a whole new kind of test. Though he manages to keep the panic on the inside, it's raging like an inferno in his spark as he's escorted to the crisis room, his imagination keeping him fully stocked on all the potential ways you could be hurt. Considering Maximus grabbed you in a rush to drag you into the situation, it's not at all unlikely you're already injured. Watching the grainy footage of you in the company of your less than ideal fellow hostages has his processor simmering with terrible possibilities. The reports from the medical bay regarding the rampage victims leave little doubt; Maximus is as powerful as he is unhinged.

·His optics are locked on the screen the instant he manages to gather himself. Every movement, every action and once the audio starts coming through every word is analyzed. Between searching for a solution and ensuring you're okay his thoughts are absolutely racing. There has to be a way to get you out safely, and the moment you're freed as you will be he'll need to be ready for any potential injuries. Losing you isn't an option. In the short few months since meeting you he's become so very close to you, closer than he's ever been to anyone, and in that brief amount of time he's already realized he wants to be with you always. You make him feel worthy, which is perhaps why this helplessness is so incredibly agonizing. For the first time since your relationship began he's feeling that certainty of his incompetence once more.

·The pain of his own self depreciation is offset by simmering anger at his commander's inability to resolve the situation. Deep down he's experienced enough to know they can hardly be expected to control a situation so volatile, but that logic hardly has an impact on his passionate need for action. It only gets worse as things in the room deteriorate. Whirl is hardly staying still to prevent further injury from his impalement, and while Rung covers his bleeding hand to prevent further energon loss, the casual way Max ripped off his thumb makes it clear he has no qualms about violence. An unyielding imagination fills his processor with terrible thoughts about what that same strength could do to your tiny body. Grisly images flash before his optics and drive him to try begging for action once more, though it appears too late as you're suddenly snatched up in a gigantic hand.

·The universe stops moving as you're squeezed with what he knows is too much force for your body to safely handle. The lack of sound doesn't stop him from identifying that you've undoubtedly broken bones, and in fact his hyperactive processor is already trying to work out what damage has been done. Crushed ribs, snapped clavicles, perhaps a fractured humerus, and then there were your softer organs and tissues... The blood on your lips as Maximus lays you down on the table makes it clear something important has been injured that needs immediate medical care. Demanding that a rescue be launched for your sake, he's given a rare bit of luck in the form of two minibots on rivet duty. The specifics of the operation are a blur he can't bring himself to care about, even as the gory footage of Overlord covers the wall, as your limp form is all that exists in his perception. Attempts to count your very breaths only end when the situation is reclassified as under control and he's moving before anyone can say another word.

·Immediate communication with the other medics keeps him in the loop, so he knows you've been extracted the moment it happens, and he plots his course to intercept the team that recovered you even before they reach the medical bay. A random bot on the security detail has you cradled in careful but uncertain hands when he arrives, and is more than willing to hand over the tiny body to someone who actually knows what they're doing. First Aid feels his processor split between his medical training and his personal feelings for you, with the former a calculated source of experienced reason and the latter a maelstrom of agonized panic. Though he's more than able to keep the proper half in charge, he's unable to prevent his emotions from tearing into him as he gets you to the medical bay, where Ratchet and Ambulon have already prepared for emergency procedures. His CMO is adamant on his involvement being voluntary, emphasizing that he knows all too well how hard it is to operate on those you care about, and that he can focus on their other patients if this will be too difficult. First Aid replies that he's grateful for the offer but unwilling to choose anything that doesn't mean giving his all to save you.

·Stabilizing you is a team effort only made possible by the research each medic did in advance on your species, and while he's grateful he took the time to prepare for something such as this, he'll never regret anything more than having to use that knowledge. Waiting for you to wake is harder than it's ever been for any of his past patients. As a medic he has work to keep him busy, but he constantly finds excuses to check in on you, and every spare moment is spent by your side. He checks reports, takes his meals, and even rests all at your bedside. By great fortune he's present when you finally wake up, and you've barely opened your eyes by the time he's checking you over. A worried expression is the first thing you comprehend as a gentle voice asks if you have any sedentary pain. Somehow it's a relief to have your worried medbot be the first thing you see, but you quickly put together this isn't just his usual level of concern, and that there's active remorse in his features. Firm insistence is required to get him to confess; for all of his analytical skills, he couldn't think of a way to resolve the situation to save you. It seems to surprise him when you bring up that he's literally one of the bots that saved your life. An attempt to deflect on the grounds that being a medic is just his job is stopped by himself at your look of silent pleading, and he remembers in an instant how much faith you have in him. Even if he doesn't always feel worthy of that admiration, he knows there must be something to it if it's coming from one such as yourself. That simple reaffirming of his abilities lets him focus on the miracle of having you here with him, and he begins gently and lovingly fussing over you as he always does, bringing the smile back to your face that he so adores.

[noaltbruh]

Il mio fato

Chapter two: Benvenuta nella squadra!

Feeling her arms and legs shaking, the newbie desperately hoped for someone to open their mouth to speak, or just... Acknowledge her presence. She didn't dare to look past her feet, her hands glued together like those of a servant. The others exchanged some confused looks, they were used to Bucciarati bringing a new member by now, and it wasn't much of surprise that Giorno would do the same, but this? They were mafiosi, what was a little girl that could barely articulate a phrase without panicking doing among these people? She looked like she couldn't have kept up a fight with a butterfly (Which wasn't false).

While he knew that it was what Eleonora wanted, Giorno refused to interfere immediately. He trusted her, and he was sure that she could keep the situation under control, there was no need to push her any further.

The uncanny silence that seemed to be lasting for an eternity, was finally interrupted by the sound of some of the chairs moving, but she couldn't make out whose they were, exactly. "Fine, if you all are just going to be jerks and not even say hi, I'll handle this" "Trish, what the heck are you doing?!" "What? Can't you see she's terrified? She's one of us now, we gotta make sure she feels at home here!" "You shouldn't trust her in the moment y-" "Ya know what's up? I'm with Trish on this. Come on guys, we were all super awkward when we first met the others, let's give her a little help" Narancia added, as he stood up, and approached the the young girl together with his friend.

"Heya, it's nice to meet you too! My name's Trish Una, even though you've probably already figured it out by now, haven't you?" She began, putting both of her hands on her hips, like she was striking a pose...She always found a way to be 'extra', somehow.

"Sup girl? The name's Narancia Ghirga, but you can call me Narancia, everyone calls me by my first name here" The boy smirked, and accidentally dropped the pencil in his pocket. While he was genuinely curious about meeting her, it was no secret that it was partially an excuse to get distracted a bit from his homework. "Now that I think about it, though...Why do you keep on calling me like this?! I'm almost eighteen! You should bring me more respect"

The girl with pink hair let out a small laugh. "Pffft...Please, I could NEVER call you Ghirga, it sounds too weird!" "Said the person whose surname is Una, is that why you're wearing a skirt with Maths on it?" "Well...I don't tell you to call me by my surname!" "But I'm older than-" "I-I'm sorry to interrupt you b-but...Could you slow down a-a little bit? I...Can't keep up"

Their sudden approach had caused the other to instinctively take a step back, they had gotten so invested in their argument, to almost forget who they were introducing themselves to in the first place.

Trish's smile disappeared for a brief moment, then she continued. "Oh Gosh! No no dear, we should be the ones apologizing, this isn't about us" Narancia crossed his arms, his smug grin had no intention to leave. "Even though...If you're gonna stick around, you better get used to all this noise!"

A similar amount of energy was not something the brunette was used to, she was not prepared to see them getting so close to her out of nowhere; despite this, a little smile formed on her face. While she wasn't good at showing it...Having them so eager to get to know her filled her with joy. With a bit of reluctance, she extended her arm in their direction, fixing her glasses with her other hand. "Thank you for your welcome...I really appreciate your kindness"

Narancia energetically took her hand with both of his, and shook it so hard to make her entire body shake. "It's no big deal! Sorry if I scared ya" "But...Uh...Can I ask you a little favor?" "Mh?" "Can you...Well...Show your face a little more? I can't even see your eyes, besides, I think I'm prettier than the floor!"

As her cheeks turned red for the embarrassment, she raised her head, allowing them to take a better look at her. She didn't like the feeling of their green and purple eyes staring at every centimeter of her body, but she wouldn't even think about letting it show.

"Come on! No need to be all tense and dense, we don't bite" "Narancia's right, how about you sit next to us?" Before even receiving a response, the latter had already picked up a chair from a nearby table, holding it proudly in the air like it was an heavy boulder. The girl timidly approached him, volunteering to carry it, but he declined her help, insisting that he was perfectly fine. "Please...Give it to me, there's no need for you to-" "Nah, I got this, don't cha worry about me" "Are you sure about this? There's barely enough space for you guys already, maybe I-" "Oh please, don't make us beg you! I'm sure we can find a place for you with no big troubles"

Suddenly, Fugo, who wasn't bothering paying attention to "Whatever those two dumbasses were doing", felt Narancia touching his head from behind with the chair. "What the hell do you want now?!" "Move your butt a little, or I can't make this thing fit here" "So what? That's not my problem, put it somewhere el-"

Before he could finish his sentence, something else pushed him aside, almost making him fall from his chair: it was Trish's Spice Girl, who gave a thumbs up to her master before disappearing. "ARE YOU HIGH OR SOMETHING? Why are you so damn excited about this whole thing?!" He said, nervously picking up a wrinkled piece of paper from the table, and scrapping it to smaller pieces, as a way to calm himself. "Why?! Oh...Excuse me, but being surrounded by SIX BOYS gets lame after a while. Thank you, by the way~" Narancia giggled, trying not to let Fugo notice, hearing someone talking back to the blonde like that was satisfying. He put the chair down, and sat once again.

"Cut her some slack, the little girl just wants someone to talk with about all that cheesy stuff" "I'm talking to you as well, Narancia" "Oh? Sorry, I can't hear ya, I'm WAYYYYY too invested in this homework that you've given me" He took the pencil that had rolled under the table after falling from his pocket, then went back to stare at his own piece of paper, having no clue of what to do next with the operations in front of him. Seeing him struggle, Eleonora felt the need to step in, she couldn't stand watching someone having troubles with school work, it was one of the few things she considered herself actually good at. However, her attempt didn't go as she hoped it would have had.

"Uhm...Please, forgive me for interfering, but maybe I could-" "Narancia is ok, he doesn't need your help for something as basic as this, he's not a child"

Fugo brutally cut her off, impeding her from even pointing out a single wrong calculus. She immediately looked away, feeling bad for the older boy, but knowing well that if she insisted, she would have put him in troubles as well. "O-ok...I'm sorry"

Trish, who was sitting on her right, whispered to her ear, making sure that the boy in green couldn't hear her. "Hey, don't let Fugo intimidate you, just let them do their things, don't worry about them for now" "But...Narancia was being so nice to me...I wanted to pay him back" "You'll do it another time, it's better like this, trust me" She sighed, feeling disappointed for not being able to do more. She tried to put that thought aside and focus on the other, eventually managing to distract herself a little.

Giorno sat at the table as well, observing the scene like it was a theatrical spectacle. He couldn't help but smile seeing her already bonding with someone, and in reality, he had already imagined that something similar would have happened, he was very familiar with Trish's discontent about being the only female member of the group. Similar to him, Bucciarati also saw it as an opportunity to analyse the newcomer, seeing her interactions with the others was fundamental in his eyes, he would have had other opportunities to talk to her directly.

Abbacchio was silently sipping some tea, all that noise was hurting his head, and he couldn't stand the thought of 'having to look after another one of those things'.

That damn brat...It was bad enough when Bruno brought here random children from the streets, but this is simply ridiculous. I swear if he wasn't the Boss, I'd-

"Abbacchio, you alright? What are you thinking about?" Mista said, swinging an hand in front of his face, making him snap out of those spiteful thoughts and bringing him back to reality. "None of your business" He simply answered, staring at his half-empty teapot. "Nice as always, I see" "What do you want?" "Are you...Uh...Planning on giving her the 'Giorno treatment'?" "...No, not this time"

At first sight, one would think that the man was the kind of person that wouldn't let nothing nor no one intimidate him, and while that was mostly true, it couldn't always be like this. He knew his limits, his place, and most importantly, he knew better than to directly mess with someone under Giorno's protection. While everyone treated him like a normal member of the team, Abbacchio thought that it was better to play it safe.

"But that doesn't mean that I'm just going to sit here and watch" "Uh? What do you mean?" He put his earphones down, turning in her direction with a killer look.

"Kid, let me ask you something"

His deep voice caught everyone off guard, nobody expected him to speak up out of the blue. Everyone knew the drill about Abbacchio and his behavior towards the 'newest member', but sadly, it was something that you had to endure if you wanted to become a part of them.

The brunette knew about this too, and most importantly, she knew about the way he treated Giorno when he first joined the squad. With a neutral expression, she stared back at him.

"...Yes?" "Why did you come here? What did you expect to find? Are you planning on fighting? Putting your life on the line?"

She hesitated for a brief moment, unsure of how to answer. Was this a test? She had already thought beforehand that he would have tried to put her under pressure, but she assumed that it would have been something a bit more...Explicit. On the other hand, due to her...Ahem...Introduction, perhaps it made more sense like this, he wanted to see if she could talk back to him, she couldn't let them walk all over her.

"That is...Something that I'm willing to do" She replied. The Albino let out a small laugh, shaking his head slightly. " 'Willing to do'? I don't think you understood how things work around here, brat. It's not something 'optional', this is our normality, people respect us, because we make them respect us, because we scare them. But you? You couldn't even scare a child with that baby face. I really hope that you're going to change this behavior of yours, or else...Your little heart might break, both literally and figuratively"

"Abbacchio, I think that's enou-" Bruno tried to interfere, but he was stopped by Giorno, who put an hand on his shoulder. "Bucciarati wait, let's see what happens first, give her the chance to defend herself" He concluded, with a stoic expression.

"My...Little heart?" Eleonora began, moving her bang to the side. "I'm n-not nearly as strong as any of you...Do you think I don't know that? But if Giorno recognised me as a worthy member of the team, it means that I've earned my place here, I think. I'm...D-Disposable, but I want to change, is that good enough for you? She put her right elbow on the table, clenched her hand into a fist and rested her cheek on it. "Sorry if I'm not scary enough to wear dark makeup and clothes at any hour of the day"

The whole table went silent for an entire minute, as the girl with the chemise felt everyone's eyes on her. She hadn't even realized she's talked so much, and that she probably shouldn't have added that last comment. It was a bad habit of her, when she got carried away, she'd end up forgetting to pay attention to what she was saying, without thinking about the words that came out of her mouth.

A small "oof" could be heard coming from Narancia's direction, as Mista and Trish tried to contain their laughter. Bruno's face looked like one of a worried mother after hearing her child swear for the first time, while Fugo just sat there with an expression of slight shock. Giorno was smiling in a smug way, the scene reminded him of how everyone reacted after "his own test".

The most surprising one, however, was Abbacchio's reaction. He didn't look pissed, not in the slightest; he was wearing a provocative smirk, and his arms were crossed.

"Oh yeah? Is the kitty trying to get his claws out? How terrifying...Buona fortuna ragazzina, ne avrai bisogno" He put his earphones back on, acting like nothing had happened.

Narancia patted her on the shoulder, smiling satisfied.

"Dude, what in the world was that?!" "I'm s-sorry...I kinda lost track of my words...A-and-" "Girl, chill a little! We're not mad at ya, he always acts like an a**hole with the newcomers" Trish added, pointing one of her finger in his direction, before winking at her. "And let me say something, you've got some guts talking back to a dude like him in that way" "B-but I..."

Their conversation was cut off by the waiter, obviously looking distressed for having to serve such group of people. "F-Forgive me for interrupting, but would you like me to bring you the bill?" "Yes, thank you" Bruno replied.

After they were done paying for everything, they quickly left the place with the intention of heading back home. Bucciarati loved that restaurant, he had lunch there with his companions almost everyday, but he hated to remain there after he was done eating. He didn't think it was respectful to occupy a sit that he didn't need anymore, while somebody else actually did. What he didn't know, was that no one ever sat at their table, even when they weren't there. It was a silent agreement that it was their place, nobody would even consider "taking it away from them".

"Well...I'd say that this new arrival went surprisingly well. Things are usually a bit more...Lively around here, wouldn't you guys agree?" He commented, opening the front door, as the rest rapidly followed him outside. "I must say that you're right, Bruno, but that doesn't surprise me. Eleonora has always been a calm person, ever since I've known her, her introduction to all of you couldn't have been much different" Giorno responded, when he noticed that the girl was shyly walking at the end of the group, quite far away from him, who was leading the way. "Would you mind walking next to me? I'd prefer to keep you under my watch" He said to her, turning his head a little. "Ah, uhm...Of course! I'm sorry...I thought it was fair for me to stay here behind, since... Well..."

She interrupted the sentence there, realizing that it was probably for the best not to finish it, she didn't want to bring herself down too much in front of the others. She quietly walked up to him, luckily the sidewalk was wide enough for her to move without accidentally bumping into anyone else.

"I'm sorry if I'm stating the obvious but...We're heading to your house, right?" "Precisely, it's not far away from here, we should reach it in a couple of minutes" "I...I see. Uhm...Would it be okay if I went to my hotel after all of you arrive home? I'd like to pick up some of my...Well...Properties" "Of course, but perhaps I should accompany you" "T-there's no need to! I remember the way...I hope"

One could see from miles away that she had no idea of how to go back to that building, but that wasn't the only reason why Giorno didn't want her to go alone. He didn't feel safe letting her wander on her own in a city like this, she still had a lot to learn, and she might have gotten into troubles, people around there...Weren't always honest as they may have seemed at first.

In no time, they reached their destination. The villa that erected in front of her was even more majestic than how she had imagined it in her mind. It was a two-storey house, with white walls and a roof made of glass and wood. It was surrounded by an immense backyard; while it couldn't be seen clearly, the young one could already spot some fruit trees, small flower beds and bushes. A multitude of windows revealed certain areas of the house, but it was almost impossible to see through them, as they were too high for one to reach them. The front door was decorated with some golden and green ornaments, it seemed wide enough to allow two people to pass through it at the same time. Its boundary was defined by a white railing, with some colourful stains of...Something... scattered here and there, they were probably someone's doing.

"Well, here we are" The boy with green eyes commented, tilting his head to look at Eleonora's face. Her expression exuded an aura of wonder and incredulity, her eyes shined brightly with excitement, and a smile was printed on her lips.

"Look at your face, I've never seen you look like this before" His words didn't reach her for how amazed she was, she felt like time had stopped flowing for a few seconds. "So, what do you think?" He put an hand on her shoulder, remembering her of the world around. "I...D-Don't know what to say...It's just...It's so...Breathtaking" "It's alright to be nervous, we all were when we first arrived here. Take your time, I know that a new territory can be threatening"

The girl took a step forward the mansion. "Do you think...I could really belong here?" "You can, and you already do, you don't need to doubt it even for a second"

Seeing such genuine and pure happiness on her face was not something to take for granted, he wanted to cherish it as much as he could.

"Benvenuta nella squadra"

[originaldanganronpascenarios]

Hey ummmm can I have the v3 cast confessing to S/O who does self harm and doesn't believe that they want to be with them? (S/O hides the fact that they do self harm)

I allways get a bit concerned when I get asks like that. Either way since it's sensitive topic and the post is long I'll put it under read. Not only that I made sure to let you think about the ending for yourself since there is too many outcomes for this and I don’t think that I should write this many endings.

Mentions of self harm ahead.

V3 cast confessing to reader who doesn't believe their feelings

Ryoma Hoshi

There was tons of hesitation before he decided to confess. He was sure about his feelings towards you but he didn't feel worthy of you.

When he finally said those words he was more surprised than you were to be honest.

He basically just blurted it out so he felt a little bit bad about not putting more effort.

When he saw your expression he wasn't sure what to think... But let's be honest neither did you.

You just left without a word and he took that as a no, but he followed you since he was concerned about the way you ran away... Since you didn't look okay.

He tried to apologize for making you uncomfortable but you cut him off both mid sentence and off guard. He didn't know how to react to this honestly.

So he asked why did you think he was lying. After all he literally had no motive to lie.

You didn't know how to respond. He didn't push it further but yet again he couldn't just leave you like that.

He felt quite bad about the fact that he started this whole thing... Maybe it'd be better if he never spoke up?

As regret began to mess his mind he heard you mumbling why he was still here with you. He took it as you saying "Go away I don't want to see you" and so he decided to let you be.

It hurt him but he expected something like that to happen. He didn't push the topic further and it was up to you to think this through.

He couldn't forget about you so he kept glancing at you, he just couldn't help himself and his gaze always directed at you.

That's how he noticed it... A small yet fresh and visable wound. His concern skyrockets but he doesn't know if he should say anything. Or rather WHAT to say.

But he had to so few minutes later you'd find him approaching you. You still thought about his "lie" and you couldn't face him.

It was rather bold of him but he just grabbed your hand. His grip wasn't strong but all he did was further reveal the injuries.

You were surprised by his so sudden act. You reacted fast and fixed your sleeve to cover the scar.

Now you were mad, he didn't blame you but he wanted answers. It was rather out of place but you could hear how concerned he was for you.

No matter if you believed that he loved you or not you could feel that he cared about you deeply. But what could you do at this point?

Kirumi Tojo

She was oblivious to her own feelings for a very long time. She just didn't think about how she felt until one day it just came to her when she saw your soft smile when there was just the two of you.

It just came out naturally, but your reaction made it clear to her that she shouldn't have said it.

"I didn't intend to make things akward... I apologize, let's just continue and pretend like this didn't happen" what she said pretty much confirmed for you that she tried to joke around.

She didn't think of a possibility that you just didn't believe her but you never specified it so it was an assumption anybody would make: rejection. And Kirumi being mature woman she is, she handled it pretty well. She was hurt but she still felt slight hope.

Few days later she made concerning discovery... Blood on your clothes. Right away she asked you about it. You couldn't think of any excuse. Kirumi wouldn't take anything without proper reasoning and you knew that.

She insisted that you show her where she suspected you got injured. No matter how embarrassing it was for you she wouldn't let you go.

You suspected to be scolded but instead Kirumi took out bandages from a small bag she was carrying but you didn't notice it until now (before confronting you about the blood she prepared herself).

She took care of your injuries but you noticed that she was tearing up while doing so.

You couldn't believe you saw her crying so you asked her... Her response was simple "I can't forgive myself that I haven't noticed it sooner" of course she noticed that some of the injuries weren't exactly new. Why wouldn't she make things worse for both of you?

The second she was done she allowed herself to hug you closely. She was apologizing to you so many times you started feeling more guilty with each "sorry" that escaped her lips.

Now you stopped to think... Did she really pull that cruel joke on you and she loves you? Or is she just caring for you as a friend... Perhaps both for she first played with your feelings and thought that it's her fault you were in such state?

Gonta Gokuhara

You always can count on him, whenever something happened Gonta was there for you even when he didn't understand fully what was going on he was sure to give you support and figure things out in his own time.

He realized his feelings and after that he just couldn't be more happy, he was thinking about how great you are and sometimes he caught himself smiling like an idiot thinking about you (but those parts happened "off camera").

It took him a while to get enough courage to confess, he also thought of a perfect gift before he says those magical words.

You two often went outside and he once asked you about your favorite flowers... So this was what he went with. Unless you don't like flowers... In that case he'd get some sweets he figured you'd like.

He could feel the butterflies in his stomach as he approached you, something told him to run away but he wanted to tell you how he feels about you and there was no way he'd back off now.

Nervously he handed you the gift and said "Gonta loves you Y/N! Will you date Gonta?"

You had no idea what was going on at this point. You were shocked, why would he like you?

He was getting a little bit confused since you didn't answer him. But seeing your face expression was enough.

He was a bit sad but he said "Gonta's sorry for making things akward..." with a soft smile on his face that was comforting.

Definitely he must have confused the feelings... Or person. It was just a little bit too good to be true.

So you two remained as friends, he took the 'rejection' quite well. He acted as though none of this happened which led you to believe that he indeed didn't know what was going on with his feelings.

But he still loved you and others could see that. It was obvious and pure love at it's finest!

Then that happened. He caught you in act when you were harming yourself.

He was panicking at the sight of blood but you tried to calm him down. Then he asked you if you had any bandages on you... Or anything to stop the bleeding for that matter.

It was a very scary thought that he might lose you and he couldn't understand why you were so calm... On the inside you were freaking out that he saw you in such state...

After everything was taken care of he wanted answers and you knew you had to provide them.

No excuse would work, turns out he can be quite stubborn once he sees you in situation such as this one and probably at this point he knows what's up and just wants you to trust him and say it yourself...

Miu Iruma

She was always direct with what was on her mind and you admired that. Little did you know she was lowkey hiding one thing: she was in love with you.

Sure if she just said it you wouldn't understand it. After all she couldn't possibly be in love with you... Right?

Turns out that it's very much possible and it's happening.

She can keep her cool around you and doesn't make it obvious that she's in love with you. However whenever you smile her heart stops go a second.

It took her... A LOT of time to gather the courage to say how she feels...

But once she did she had to do it right. She was as straight forward as you can get. There was no way for you to interpret her words in any other way.

That wasn't the issue in the end... You thought that she was just lying and she was mad at the very idea.

It kinda made it look like she was mad that the prank failed so it made you believe your earlier thoughts even more.

She wouldn't let you go though. If you really thought that Miu would let your amazing self believe that she doesn't like you and it's all a lie you are very wrong.

At this point you just wanted her to leave you alone and so you tried to get away from her.

But she grabbed you before you could go and of course it was the worst spot for her hand to be on. You had a fresh injury there so you winced in pain.

She was surprised by your reaction and asked if something had happened to you.

Pretty much blocking the way while doing so... So you couldn't possibly run even if you wanted to...

She was pretty worried but you could just decide to lie at the moment... But would you really do so? Could you find it in your heart to tell her the truth?

Right now she wouldn't let you go but she was just worried about you like she wasn't about anybody until now. 

K1B0

He wasn't sure about his feelings, perhaps he was desperate to feel human emotions... Even though he most certainly did feel them.

Experiencing them was confusing but it was right. For him it was very natural and yet he was scared that it was all fake.

His fear was caused by the idea that he might hurt you if he's wrong. Still he wanted to give it a try.

After he was sure that he loved you he confessed. His choice of words was just the sweetest but he was really nervous too.

So when he saw that look on your face it hurt him... You didn't like him back?

That wasn't the case at all but you just didn't know what to say. It's hard to respond to something said by someone you're close to when you don't believe it.

So your silent and body language was his answer. He apologized for this and out of embarrassment left.

He felt like crying, but couldn't do so. It made him feel even worse.

He was scared that what he said freaked you out or he confessed too soon or maybe he just assumed things too soon and ran away like an idiot!? He had no clue.

You didn't try to reach out to him and he didn't leave his dorm at all, he didn't wanted risking seeing you.

However it might made a small thought cross your mind that he hates you.

It took him about 4 days to get himself together and go out. But the delay of you talking to each other was a different story.

Both you and Kiibo avoided one another, if anyone asked you just ignored the remark.

It was a bit sad but you just had to accept it.

But the silent treatment didn't last for long. Everything changed once he saw your scars.

It was only for a short moment but ever since... He couldn't stop thinking about it so he had to talk to you.

It was akward to say the least. First he confessed to you, then you ignored each other and now he was about to ask about something so... Serious.

This conversation could save your relationship whether you'd stay friends or become something more and yet it was now all up to you.

How do you react when he brings it up and what will you do next?

At this point no matter what you do he will try to get the truth out of you and he's ready for the truth no matter how shocking it may be.

Kaede Akamatsu

As open as Kaede is aboue her emotions this time things were a litttle bit different. It was quite scary to confess romantic feelings.

She didn’t act differently under her emotions though so it didn’t cross your mind that she even could like you, but it’s not like it’s something you find easy to belive in.

So she tried to be subtle and hint that she has feelings for you, that way when she finally says it, it won’t be as shocking if you connect the dots.

Too bad her efforts were in vain and it all went over your head, it’s by no means your fault of course. If she wanted you to let you know how she feels she should just say it.

And she did, after long time sure but she finally did it. You (literally) couldn’t belive it was happening. It was almost as it all were a dream you hope is reality. It was reality. 

So why? why couldn’t you just say how you feel?  Why did you accuse her of lying instead? You have no idea.

She was shocked by your reaction, but she didn’t do anything to stop you, nor fight to change your mind.

It was just... so unexpected. So she just stood there for few minutes shocked before realizing that she needs to go after you!

She finally managed to find you and she was now super worried. She never thought you’d react like that. You laughing at her was something she expected to be a bigger possibility than this.

But your feelings now were more important than her confusion. So she tried to calm you down.

Only then did she ask you about the reason you thought she was a liar. To her it just didn’t make any sense but she wanted to know what you think.

Yet you weren’t able to respond. You didn’t know what to say.

She understood that so instead she tried proving her love to you. She wanted you to know that she isn’t lying.

She was ready to do anything for you but then she noticed something. How much you were shaking.

She asked if something was wrong and you said that you were fine. She responded with “And who is the liar now? I can see that you’re shaking” 

Kaito Momota

Now Kaito was actually really good at hiding his crush... Either that or you were doubting the possibility since the very beginning.

He always showed you everything he loved about you and tried to make you feel confident and happy about yourself.

Whenever you needed someone to listen he was there, whenever you needed someone to distract you from cruelty of this world he was there, whenever you called out for him guess what? He was there.

But all of it could be seen as just friendship, it's only natural to care for your friend after all. The line between friendship and love can sometimes be really thin.

That's why he was hiding his feelings so well, everything he did could be considered as friendly behavior.

One day though he had enough and he was ready to confess.

He could feel his heart beat faster and he was really nervous but his wide smile was something to absolutely delete all of the akward tension.

He acted confident but he did stumble a bit which made you smile. Untill he cleared things up and said the "I love you" part.

How were you supposed to react really!? After all there was no way he likes you.

Well... He clarified it about three times on accident that he means it romantically. He meant to just say it once though!

But his efforts were in vain, he can say it as many times but you just really can't understand it. It's like he's speaking entirely different language.

He realized that he was making you uncomfortable so he didn't continue pushing any further.

It was akward but it didn't stop him from further interacting with you.

You tried to pretend that he didn't confess to you and decided together to ignore his feelings.

But what couldn't be ignored is what he found out: the fact that you harm yourself.

He just once noticed blood on you and insisted right away that he will patch you up.

So that's how he found your very old and very new scars.

He didn't know how to react but without much thought he asked you why would you do this to yourself. But he brushed his own question off just to make you promise to him to never do it again.

Instead he asked that you talk to him instead. He was going to ignore everything in the world for you if you'd need him.

He knows he might sound stupid, ignorant hell probably both but he just can't stand the idea of something happening to you and not being able to do anything about it. Now it was your time to decide if you believe him and if you accept his idea.

Shuichi Saihara

She didn't think that her pushing was wrong but she knew that she had to change her approach.

You on the other hand didn't believe her feelings so you turned her down. And believe me when I say that she didn't react to this rejection well...

She was smiling like always but she was confused.

He's often scared to admit his feelings becouse of anxiety and possible rejection that will make it uncomfortable for everyone.

Still he bottled it up for so long the bottle began to crack a little. Unintentionally he was throwing some hints, few were small and almost insignificant but some were... Huge.

At this point his confession was almost accidental. He planned to tell you today (but let's be real he was putting this away constantly) but he did it at the wrong time.

You felt like it had to be a mistake of some sorts. And considering that he just blurted it out made it a bit easier to ignore.

But from that time you were even more cautious around him. You don't want your feelings being played with so you started distancing yourself from him slightly.

It was a sign for him that you connected the dots and figured that he likes you but you just didn't return his feelings.

It was to him normal response and not wanting to cause you discomfort he decided to leave you be for a while so the akward tension between you two can go away.

But he started to be a little bit concerned about you...

You see earlier he noticed and even suspected that you might be doing self harm. But there was never enough signs for him to talk to you and confirm it.

Since there could be various of solutions to everything he saw. However after literally catching you in act when he was trying to talk to you again... Let's just say that he couldn't belive that he pushed that theory aside.

He was acting quick, you weren't bleeding much but Shuichi helped you regardless.

You couldn't see him panicking, he was very focused but what you could see that he was tearing up.

Entire time you were looking at him confused. But it also felt both akward and comforting for some reason.

He didn't know what to say... Neither did you. So you were looking at each other in silence.

After few seconds that felt like hours he asked you why. He didn't expect a response actually but are you going to give it to him?

Angie Yonaga

She was pretty quick to confess. As soon as she realized her feelings she was ready.

After all if it feels right then there is no reason to avoid it. She wants you to know that you are her beloved.

Honestly you thought that she was going to use you, there was no other reason for her to confess to you.

She made it her goal to make you hers at this point. Your lack of response was tiring so she kept asking you over and over in the both cutest and most overwhelming way.

When she saw your reaction to her constant asking she wanted apologized and asked last time politely about how you feel.

She didn't think that she did anything wrong really but she had to change her approach since otherwise you won't say anything and that suspense is torture as it is.

You rejected her, you didn't believe she liked you and there's no way you're gonna let yourself be played like a fool.

And she didn't take the rejection well... She was smiling as always but it was clear to everyone that she wasn't okay with it, given her vibes. She wasn't sure what she felt but she felt bad that's all there is to it.

Angry at you? Herself? Or maybe she was just sad? Her feelings for you were really strong so being rejected hurt more than she expected. After all she never thought you would reject her! She thought that you must love her too!

So she still wasn't giving up. She was just as friendly as always and she tried to get closer with you which to you was a huge red flag and you tried to push her away again.

But this time you didn't manage to make it before she noticed that you were harming yourself.

Now let's go back with her emotion twist: now she was mad at you. But because you hurt someone so dear to her-yourself.

She was calm and hugged you close while scolding you- with very soft words.

Did she love you? Did she really care about you? You finally realize it? Or do you keep yourself blinded by doubt? 

Tenko Chabashira

She wasn't the kind of person to hide her true feelings. She adored you and cared for you and tried to express it whenever possible.

You could always count on her to help you out and she always listened to you and you couldn't thank her enough.

However... When she realized that she likes you and that she wants to be with you... Things changed.

She was surprised that you accused her of lying but it didn't stop her from saying "I'll just have to tell you everyday until you know I'm for real!"

And that's exactly what she did. She left gifts, kept saying sweet things and everyday she had to say goodbye she ended it with "Love you, see you later!" even though she was a bit nervous each time she said it.

It was slowly driving you insane since your mind didn't allow you to even consider that someone might have feelings for you.

She could be very dedicated to destroy you, make you believe she cares about you just to stab you in the back.

So you tried to protect your heart, you were stronger than her constant 'lies'.

Tenko was running out of ideas to show you that she's serious. What else could she do?

So she started repeating some old ways but she changed few details.

One day however she didn't do anything. You thought that she gave up finally but then you saw her on her knees apologizing to you for being so stubborn and not realizing how you truly felt about her, which was clearly you not returning her feelings and trying to find a way to reject her.

It was false but you just didn't know what to say. Your mind was a mess, one part of it wanted to be with Tenko while the other continued poisoning your mind with negative thoughts.

So you ended it at that, you agreed with her and you stayed friends.

or did it end like that?

After your agreement something happened, she accidentally walked on you changing and she couldn't be more sorry, after all it's no better than what some degenerates do!

But what caught her attention was a lot of wounds on you, signs of self harm to be exact.

Only after she left your room did her mind connect the dots...

She was freaking out about it and didn't know what action she should take. So after you put on your clothes you were forced to have this conversation.

She kept asking you questions and it was too much for you to take. After realizing it she let you be. But she wanted you to know that she wants you to rely on her if there is a burden you can't take anymore. You can do whatever you see fit with that statement...

Rantaro Amami

He realized his feelings a long time ago but he just didn't think that he should confess.

It was never a good moment and he has to admit that he was rather nervous whenever he thought about saying how he feels...

He knows how risky waiting around is but it's just hard. He tried many times to confess but fate always drifted the conversation onto different topic right away.

It made him feel like you just knew what he wanted to say and you just weren't letting him... It's half true...

You didn't believe that he liked you, so when you felt like the conversation was in direction that'll make you feel false hope you changed the subject.

So he didn't really confess to you before he found out about your self harming habits.

He was so shocked but he kept his cool and tried to comfort you. No matter the reason why you started he was there for you.

From that time he was often checking on you making sure you won't do it ever again.

He didn't wanted any of this to continiue. But can you really blame him? Even if he was just a friend it’s only natural to care.

However he did much more than that, His words and the way he acted it was all different. 

You didn't understand why he was like this, he cared much more than he should it just didn't make sense.

That's when he confessed, he did so purely so he won't lie to you when explaining it to you.

Now it was your turn to decide if you believed him or not and more importantly what you're going to do about it.

Kokichi Ouma

He didn't wanted to fall in love but you were just irresistible to him. You were the person he felt like he never wanted to lose

Did it stop him from lying to you whenever the mood strikes? Sadly no. But even if he did stop your trust in him was rather complicated to say the least.

On top of that his confession was so straight forward it was super suspicious "What is your deal making me fall in love with you like that huh? So inconsiderate to make a guy think about you day and night!" with that goofy tone like he is about to laugh at you any second now.

It was definitely one of his pranks it had to be. So cruel, you knew he wasn't nice but saying something like that made you feel weak, pathetic even.

He expected for you to not believe him but he tried to prove himself to you. You didn't believe and denied his every word.

He never thought he'd regret being the way he is up until he heard you reject him in such way.

His tone changed and it was serious one, the one you didn't trust either. Trying to show you he's serious he is he tried to show desperation because he didn't let you go.

But this only overwhelmed you, resulting in you not even listening to what he was saying and his body language was lowkey terrifying.

He that you started to feel more than a little bit uneasy so his attitude changed quickly as he apologized and grabbed your arm in order to bring you closer to him, he often was (teasingly) affectionate with you but this time was different he tried to comfort and properly apologize.

You flinched in pain since earlier that day you harmed yourself. He didn't suspect it for now but he asked if something happened to you.

You gave him a quick excuse and tried to get away from him. He knew that you lied but he let you go, after all he caused enough harm for today.

Next time you saw him he was ready to ask again, what happened to your arm. He didn't see the injury and didn't knew what kind of injury it was exactly but he knew it was there and looking at how you tried to explain yourself he knew it wasn't "accidentally burning it when you were cooking"

So he kinda manipulated you into revealing the truth. He felt terrible about it the second he found out the truth of your injury.

He wasn't sure what action he should take but all he knew is that he couldn't leave you all alone with this.

No matter what you thought of him he'd still help you even in indirect ways. It's now up to you to decide what you should do next.

Himiko Yumeno

She never showed off her emotions, it was too much hassle and you understood that, you understood her.

This made her a bit more open with you and being emotional didn't feel like something she had to do, it was more natural.

You rarely mocked her, you respected her boundaries, didn't question her magic and not to mention that you were just the best in every single way.

What else? Well it just felt right to be with you. So why should she explain anything related to love? It just happens!

Her love confession was simple magic. Making a bouquet appear and in the middle there was a little card that said "I love you Y/N, can we start dating?"

You looked at the card and asked if she was serious. Yawning she asked why you think so. She assumed at this point that you were happy and wanted to be sure that it's not a joke.

You couldn't believe her. No matter what you truly wanted you just said that you have to go.

Before she even could ask "I'd like to know how you feel" you were gone from her sight.

It's only natural that she'd think of it a a rejection. And that's exactly what happened.

She was upset but she insisted on bottling it up. She's stronger than that!

Anyway what's the deal with you ignoring her? She has to set things right because even if you don't like her back you always can at least admit it to her face, it's only fair!

The next thing she knows is her catching you harming yourself. At the sight of blood she felt a bit grossed out but she didn't care.

You were bleeding she didn't connect dots as to why so she said that she'll get help right away.

Kirumi was the first person she saw and it didn't take long either so she got a bit lucky.

The maid was first to connect the dots but she let you and Himiko talk it out and if it was needed she'd ask Himiko about it.

After Kirumi was done she left the room. It was now just you and crying Himiko, who asked if it hurt and if there's anything she can do to help you.

You two talked a lot even though the atmosphere was akward. She ended up forgetting about the reason why she looked for you in the first place.

But now you got to think it all through. Right now you still might not believe if she truly likes you, it might change but it's only up to you now. What will you do?

Maki Harukawa

Around you she felt more at ease, even as far as to say that she couldn't trust anyone but you.

You always were able to make her smile as unusual as it sounds.

She thought more about how much she loves you than how much she hates herself... Wait-

That's right... She loved you! That explains why she felt so happy whenever she even only heard your voice.

But... Admitting to it was the hardest part. After all she wasn't sure how to go about it...

In the end she was straightforward with it. She just took a deep breath started walking towards you after remembering all the training in front of a mirror just to turn and run away last second before you even noticed her approaching.

She ended up confessing over text since it wasn't as stressful, however this made you believe that it was some kind of prank.

There was a lot of people who just faked confessions in order to harm others just to see their reaction. Or someone could steal her phone just to mess with you.

You leaving her on read made her go through emotional roller-coaster to be honest...

So she had to approach you yet again, to apologize for confessing in the way she did. Her choice of words was confusing but things were bad enough as they were.

Things ended up like this: you told her that it was okay and it seemed as though you didn't even acknowledge or consider her feelings.

That was because you didn't. You simply didn't deserve to be loved by her or so was your mind telling you so. Whatever the case it doesn't matter.

Maki didn't handle this rejection well but she didn't have anything against you, the only person to blame was her.

It was hard for her to talk to you again. She just kept thinking about the way you turned away from her.

But she noticed some concerning signs in your behavior she wasn't able to notice earlier because she just was fully stunned by you.

That's how she pretty much realized that something was wrong and it was just a matter of time for her to find out what it was exactly.

And it didn't take long either. When she was scared about your well being she sure didn't let any major clue past her.

She asked you directly and you refused to cooperate that's why she had to investigate it in the first place. She even went a bit far to be honest... But it's best to not discuss such details.

So when she finally got her answer she couldn't belive it.

How did she miss that? How could she not see how someone she claimed she loved is suffering in this way...

Obviously she wanted to help you but she felt powerless, and you had no idea what to think when she found out about it and talked to you about it out of nowhere.

You had to think for yourself, did you want to avoid her? Or would you alow her to help you even though she has no idea what to do but still reaches her hand out to you.

Korekiyo Shinguji

He was very stubborn to not show his feelings for you, he thinks that with time his feelings will go away...

BUT bOY it didn’t happen. Each time he saw you he just knew that he’s falling for you more and more with each second.

It made him happy yes, but he just didn’t know how to react? It made him panic a bit knowing how now he can’t get you out of his mind.

So he decided to confess to you. He didn’t think about it much but he just wanted to get it off his chest once and for all.

And so he did... leave you confused. His voice and body language said how happy he was but... Can he really like you?

You were the only one he felt fully comfortable around to be himself and he wanted to be by your side as long as he could without you he felt incomplete and around you he felt like the world took new color, you may not see it this way but it’s simply the truth.

Hearing him admit to it was a bit too perfect. You thought he must have some other motive behind it and so you didn’t acknowlage his feelings.

 It hurt him but he had no choice but to let you go. If you don’t like him back as he suspects it’s simply not meant to be.

So you returned to be the way you were before and he seemed to very quickly adapt so it made you think that he actually lied and you doged a bullet there... Still you couldn’t give up on seeing him.

And this is what led him to find out about your secret. Have you just told him you never want to see him again then he’d respect your wish. 

He wasn’t sure what was the right action to take at this point, but his cool and composed act dropped. However he wasn’t overreacting either.

It seems as though he could keep this a secret if you asked, but are you really going to do that? 

Tsumigi Shirogane

It was always troubling for her, she wasn’t fully sure if she likes you. Some part of her belived that she was faking it. 

So that’s why it took her quite a while to realize it all. Once she did her feelings for you were stronger than ever. 

Around you she was just the happiest person alive. It felt so right after she knew that her feelings were real.

But she still tried her best to hide her crush, she wasn’t ready to confess even though she really wanted to.

Once there was the right time she fianlly said it. To you on the other hand the timing wasn’t right, it was everything but right.

You couldn’t find it in your heart to belive her. it just wasn’t possible for her to like you. So being afraid you said that she was lying.

It made all of her doubts come back when she heard you say that.

She was so sure and yet after one sentance she suddenly doesn’t know anymore.

Still she didn’t wanted to just let you believe that! Her heart might be now confused but she knows what she wants, and what she wants is you!

She tried to talk it out with you, she really did but it was hard since you didn’t listen to her.

So she let you go. For now so you can be alone with your thoughts and figure out what do you really want and believe.

In the meantime she waited for the best moment to contact you again. So she studied your body language when the two of you “ignored each other”.

That’s basically how she came to a conclusion that something wasn’t right and it was followed up by noticing few other things that led her to belive that you might be harming yourself. 

She was more cautious now. Ready to approach you any second now, she wanted to apologize first.

Your conversation ended up being like the one’s you used to have which was comforting. Then she asked you if you were taking good care of yourself latley.

It was normal enough so you went with the good old “I’m doing okay thanks for asking” and this made it harder for her to bring up this topic.

I mean what was she supposed to say really? I mean she could be very wrong and it’d make things super akward again.

Yet she found it too important to throw aside, so she asked you directly...

Now what will you do? Will you tell her the truth?

~Mod Angie

[untitledtheunknown]

Psychofans & Mediacorps

(Backstory and lore on some psychofan encounters and the attempted kidnapping of Kerry Eurodyne along with some related events with Johnny Silverhand. Written as a Screamsheet because I was bored, and this all isn’t 100% since actual events aren’t always fully disclosed. Word count: 2976. Sources at the end.)

Being a world famous Rockerboy is really all it’s chalked up to be, doesn’t mean there isn’t its fair share of snags along the way. Fame and glory comes with a heavy price tag many don’t realize as they’re building their way to the top. Blinded by having your name in the lights, seeing hundreds of thousands of fans all eagerly waiting to just get a glimpse of you. Night City Legend Kerry Eurodyne commented, “It’s scary. I mean, to think that one hundred thousand people are selling their souls to see you, and you’ve got them hanging on your every word.” The very fans that would kill for a chance to see their idols live, are the very same that would put them on Trauma. 

Not just the fans either. Corporate is everywhere, in everything. Fight the system through lyrics while making them richer all the same. Media giants like N54 and DMS buying up the whole show to beat on their chest about who has the most control. The issue comes with their greed for it, keeping those who give them wealth on short leashes. Best offers, benefits, prestige of having a higher name attached to yours. But when friendship runs deeper than the quick climb to fame, other options of “persuasion” may occur. Aggressive strategies to keep themselves on top, because the company always come first.

We’re going to start this article off on arguably a lighter topic, that being the psychofans. I say arguably because they can do just as much damage as the corporations, but it's usually a bit more controlled. We'll hit on that later. There’s the usual rush security, jump fences, steal an axe, the almost seemingly normal chaotic fan behavior you can expect at most high profile gigs. Don’t lie, there’s always one in the audience. 

The sudden rise to fame with Samurai also helped play a part in this erratic behavior, Eurodyne had previously stated, “One minute we’re chugging through our old numbers in some small, no name club to the same crowd; the next we’ve sold out Wembley Stadium and there are a hundred thousand killing each other to get a look at us.” This wasn’t much of an overstatement either. Samurai’s rapid rise to fame took a mere three weeks after signing to Universal Music to reach the number one spot on EuroRadio charts. Everyone wanted a piece of Samurai then, and following the break up in late 2007 that craving didn’t soon die out. 

A number of incidents have happened, being on world tours is a crazy place. Never really know how fans are going to act until you’re in the thick of it. Most these incidents happen backstage, after gigs, or just by random chance coming across someone on the streets, in the open. One particular incident was documented in 2020 in the following of Trauma Team’s Rich “Meatball” Cramer M.D., Lifeline Trauma Inc., Night City Branch #23. 

Broken card call, 15:55, to the Grand Illusion Dance Hall and Bar. Patient being none other than one Rockerboy, Kerry Eurodyne. Compared to the rest of the logs of the night this was a breath of fresh air for the Lifeline agents, not so much for Mr. Eurodyne who was being assaulted by a gang of young female fans. Teargas was dispensed and our Rocker was extracted from the scene. Kerry was in good health at time of extraction, footing the bill of the call to the studio as well as a new set of clothes. Lawsuits were never charged as the fans left enjoying the chaos. 

Another lesser known act back in 2043-44, while performing in Memphis TN an assailant got backstage and put a knife to Kerry’s throat. Intentions of the attack are unknown. Could have been a psychofan making demands of an idol, or someone who knew the net wealth of the name Kerry Eurodyne at the time? Either way the incident ended without bloodshed, Kerry was able to talk the assailant down and promptly knock him out with a stiff pour of that high life tequila. The rest was handled by the venue’s security. Unfortunately events like these are almost common for the stardom lifestyle. 

Lives are kept under public scrutiny 24/7. “Be prepared to have your private life open to the world,” Rockerboy, Johnny Silverhand, had mentioned in a column from Advice From the Pros. Name in the lights simply means just that, private life is on show as well and nothing can truly be kept secret forever. Kerry Eurodyne had added, “Cover your ass on your social life, the mediacorps are capable of setting you up bigtime in compromising situations… Make sure you know who you’re hanging out with, and something about their friends.” Not just fans and so called friends you need to watch out for, but the very people you sign yourself away with. 

Rockers Kerry Eurodyne and Johnny Silverhand are no stranger to this cold truth. Even mediacorps you don’t sign with will have motives, and often resources, to try and gain a signature. Corporations will often go after the output/input or family of the Talent instead of the Talent itself. However, big companies like DMS, the rival to N54 News, also have other methods to “persuade” a contract breach and change. Both Kerry and Johnny were targeted by this particular company, though this time it was Eurodyne dragging Silverhand into trouble. 

After the time Samurai had broken up for good, late 2007 early 2008 Kerry was looking for a decent solo deal. This was a gamble for most Labels at the time, Johnny was the frontman of Samurai, Kerry’s true talent had yet to really flourish into the Legend we know today. At this stage in their careers they were just some new-boy artists, that had a couple songs and albums that made it big. A lot of bands will have their handfuls of top sellers and then disappear into a faded memory. However, media giant DMS saw promise in Kerry, and they quickly came out with an offer for the young Rockerboy that would put him right back on the road to stardom. 

Kerry was going to take the offer until Universal came up with an offer that wouldn’t just set him up but Johnny as well. The two decided that the offer Universal had was too good to pass up, and with good reason. Universal not only was packaging the two Rockerboys together as independent solo artists, they were offering a better deal as a whole. Since Universal already knew them from Samurai, and knew what the two could produce, formalities of signing a new band was skipped. Re-signing with Universal gave them guaranteed concessions normally only offered to major bands or superstars. 

DMS didn’t come back with a counter offer, they came back with threats. Eurodyne, and those close to him, started to receive threats from the mediacorp, these quickly escalated to hired thugs harassing and assaulting everyone in the Rocker’s inner circle, as well as himself. A common tactic for many corporations to get what they want. However, Kerry wasn’t folding to their pressure, sticking with his decision with Johnny to sign to Universal. At this point the signatures were received and Kerry’s talent was the official property of Universal Music once again. This only made the situation worse, and turned into a rather rare occurrence for the music scene. 

Major corporations have a number of outlets that they have at full disposal to get what and whom they want, when they want. DMS is not unique in this fact, but they do have one of the more unique techniques. DMS is creative, deadly, and, for a corporation its size, dangerously agile. They are known for their aggressive and ruthless recruiting tactics, and they do not take “no” with grace. 

Eurodyne’s fate, to DMS, was sealed the moment they selected him, no matter his choice. DMS starts with a fair offer, most of it coming with the prestige of having their name backing you and their benefits package. In the case of Eurodyne, where this was not enough, DMS will call on their Special Recruiting Division, which is devoted solely to recruiting and converting people who are reluctant to sign to DMS. A fancy way of saying they send in their black ops section to perform extractions on those who are bound by contract or reluctant to leave their current company. 

Extractions are illegal, but the government is in the pocket of these corporate giants. Though they hardly ever send their own people, so even if the extraction does fail the proof of finding out who sponsored the extraction is normally too timely, over looked, or asking corpses. Most these companies hire Solos to get the job done, a number of groups exist in this profession alone. Extractions are unsettling common in the corpo world that counter extractions are budgeted into company spending plans. As well many big companies have jealousy protection, and pre-planned countermeasures to prevent extraction attempts of their employees or Talents.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “If they didn’t want to work for them before, what would kidnapping them do?” Well, DMS and other companies thought about this issue as well. How do you force someone to work for you? Blackmail is the obvious answer, to the Talent, to their friends, their family, etc. It's a simple fix that will get a result, but can’t guarantee the product. Its proven effective though, reputation is everything- threats to destroy that are not taken lightly. For a company like DMS, they have a one up on this if they can't get the Talent to see eye to eye with their terms. “Talent Indoctrination”, TI for short, otherwise known as brainwashing to the common choom. It's a program used for winning over people who express resistance to “joining the DMS family” even after extraction. 

TI is only a rumor outside of the highest levels of the corporation, and those who have been subjected to it. Luckily, TI section failures are rare, unluckily survival of TI section failures is even rarer. DMS, however, is willing to risk TI only on targets with a high enough revenue generation potential. Executives are more at risk than artists, given artists are seen as disposable and the average commercial shelf-life of a DMS Music artist is only a couple years. Most only making it an average of two before they’re dropped back to performing at clubs and bars for the same hundred fans, if that. 

This was the threat Kerry was under, one that became very real one fateful day when the Rockerboy was abducted by a group of hired muscle from the corporation. While Kerry was successfully kidnapped and relocated, the extraction itself failed due to intervention of Legendary Solo, Morgan Blackhand. Blackhand was able to capture all five kidnappers, alone, and turned them over to the Federal Authorities. Beaten, battered, and bruised but all five were alive when they were handed over. This act alone humiliated DMS, who was only found later on in investigation to have been the group’s sponsor. Its not unheard of extractions being foiled, but for a company like DMS it was a shot to their pride since Kerry would know it was them that called it. The real humiliation of it comes from the fact Blackhand snagged them all alive, allowing the truth to be exposed to the public, tarnishing that royal reputation of theirs, though no legal action would be taken.

Embarrassing a huge company like that puts a major target on your back. Legality they could care less about, but reputation is not something any corporation wants to gamble with. Morgan Blackhand would become a target for a later date, DMS wasn’t done with Kerry Eurodyne yet. Now, though, their attention was brought to one of the key elements for why Kerry declined their original offer; Johnny Silverhand. 

“They were threatening Johnny and I with things like government investigations and stuff. By the time that threat was made, we’d already signed with Universal…” Eurodyne recalled during an interview. It was true, DMS had dug not only into Kerry’s past life but Johnny’s as well. They were at the stage of “If we can’t have you, no one will.” While Eurodyne’s rap sheet was arguably cleaner, DMS was preparing to go full out, and all in to find anything they could. What they had as their ace was Silverhand’s military past, and they knew they could find the same information about Eurodyne as well or paint him for it. Both Rockers had served during the 2000’s Central American Conflict, Johnny’s desertion was all they needed to start the fire.

DMS was preparing to take this knowledge to the government, and at that point they could say and paint anything on Kerry as well. Their careers were about to end before they even began. Short on time, they did the only thing they could do, they went to Universal Music. With the counter threat of exposure of DMS’s corruption and abusive power over their Talents, Universal made their position clear. This was a PR move, DMS could go to their pocket government agents to have the Rockerboy’s locked away for life, but Universal was going for their public appearance. The ends didn't justify the means, DMS backed down.

Lawsuits were dropped, threats ceased, no more extraction attempts were made on either rockstar. They were given freedom to produce their albums and do tours under the protection of Universal. It wouldn’t be for another several years down the line when DMS would rear its ugly head back into their lives. Well, only in passing.

Denny, the former drummer of Samurai, had a new band called Mastermind that was being recorded by DMS Music. “She knows how I feel about them, but the contract they’ve got is suitable for her, so I’m not going to interfere as long as she is happy.” Kerry had stated on the matter back in late 2013, “Even now you won’t find Johnny or I saying anything remotely positive about DMS… I’m just glad no one was listening when I made certain comments or some of my fans might have taken those rash words to heart and we might have had some serious problems.” A tongue in cheek response to the 13 April 2013 Arasaka Riots led by Johnny Silverhand, under the old band's name of Samurai. Rioters killed 18 and wounded 51 on that night, gutting the Arasaka complex. An event that would only deepen the wedge between the two Rockerboys, yet redefine them entirely.

Silverhand, however, would be blackmailed again later on in 2009 by EBS Records to leave Universal and sign a solo contract with them. EBS had found out that Johnny was an AWOL U.S. Marine who had deserted during the Second Conflict. The blackmail attempt was quickly dropped as Johnny came clean himself, revealing all his secrets and shining light on the plight of veterans of the covert war, with his now famous album Sins of Your Brother. 

One thing the Rocker was known for was starting changes with his music, back in late 2012 Silverhand had an assassination attempt on his life believed to be sourced from Biotechnica do to their belief of controversal opinions to their practices heard on his album Clone Wars. Being forced to take several months of seclusion to let the heat die down before going on tour himself.

Given all of this, and much more, they had been relatively lucky. Maybe not with the fans, Eurodyne still faces the masses though in some more creative ways now. Having his biometric data copyrighted, and agreements with NCPD to monitor CCTVs for any unauthorized replications. Hasn't stopped some from trying, going as far as faking nudes that broke headlines awhile back only to have frisky imaginations shot down by his management. As far as Johnny goes, I don't think anything beats the rumor that was circulating sometime after the events of Arasaka Tower back in 2023. The idea some obsessive fan sneaked past security of the city to dig through the rubble, locating his body to put on ice and keep like some kind of memorabilia? It sounds crazy, but everyone in Night City knew what kind of fans Samurai, and more importantly, Johnny Silverhand had. Made it completely possible and people didn't really doubt that it could be true.

With corporations though, the two Rockerboys dodged a bullet. Multiples if you were keeping count. Others haven't been so lucky. A number of stories of Talents being threatened and giving into demands, multiple assassination attempts to end someone's career, Talents being kidnapped and tortured, so far as one account of a musicians hands being crushed to prevent preformances. From the outside being a Rockerboy looks like a party scene, and a lot of it is, but as the longest living in the scene will tell you, keep a Solo and a Netrunner you trust close on personal pay.

Events come full circle, once you make it to the big time stardom, the public eye notices everything, hangs onto every word. Talents like Silverhand and Eurodyne control the masses in the same way the corporations do. The audiences look to them for guidance, though in some cases the lessons are lost in translation. With everything from greedy labels making backdoor deals behind their Talent’s backs, something Kerry Eurodyne and Us Cracks went through this year, to psychofans making their own demands, to corporate reputation wars. Being a Rockerboy never gets easier, but few have hardly ever survived the test of time as Kerry has. An uphill battle from his earliest beginnings, to sitting on the Rockerboy throne of Night City, well into 2077 and still holding the title of "God of Rock" without a fault. 

Sources and Quotes:

Rockerboy Source Book

Backstage with Kerry Eurodyne page 7-9

Extortion. Bribery. Kidnapping. Brainwashing. And Other Nasty Tricks. Page 44-45

Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. The Second Edition

Silverhand Update: Clone Tour Begins page 225

One Night with the TRAUMA TEAM page 231 

Live & Direct 

Diverse Media Systems “Technotainment” page 81-82

Solo of Fortune Vol II Source Book

American Angels: One of Europe’s Best Rates the Top U.S. Pros. page 63

Cyberpunk Red

Welcome to the Dark Future page 239

Cyberpunk 2077

Spector Melee Vendor Westbrook

Gig: Psychofans Gaston Slayton's computer

Shard Glam Now! - The Mag For Those Who Love This For Themselves

[notchesandbullets]

Saving Her (Ojiro Mashirao x Wolf!Reader)

Part 14: Shinsou receives some surprising news, Eri-chan is adorable and Aizawa is 100% a proud dad. When you get back to Heights Alliance, Hagakure and Ashido have got a few tricks up their sleeves to push you and Ojiro together. Contains hints of all the ships: Kaminari x Jirou, Kirishima x Mina, Todoroki x Midoriya, Asui x Tokoyami. And a riveting game of truth or dare is finally enough for you and Ojiro to face the truth of the reason why your hearts beat so fast when you’re around each other.

Word Count: 9.9k

That night when you got back to Heights Alliance, you were exhausted but at least it wasn't even near curfew yet.

During dinner, your dad had announced that he talked to the principal and they decided to allow him to fully transfer.

Shinsou's eyes were wide in shock as Aizawa elaborated that he would start classes in the hero course starting next week and Eri clapped her hands together jubilantly, diving in his lap to hug him around his waist.

"Toshi-nii, yayyy!!!"

Shinsou awkwardly patted her on the back, still reeling at the bomb his mentor had just dropped on him. He hadn't been expecting it so soon. According to his sensei's plan, he was supposed to undergo three more weeks of training and then a series of tests that would accurately assess whether or not his physical capabilities had improved enough to let him in.

But Aizawa had made a call, one that told Nezu that the teenager was more than ready to take on the challenges that would come with the transfer. He could handle it. He was more than prepared.

You had squealed happily once the news broke and eagerly asked if anyone else knew about it, to which your dad blankly stated that Nezu had only just informed him, so no, none of your nosy classmates were aware yet.

Shinsou jolted out of his trance when you ran over to him and shook him violently, almost dislodging Eri as you asked over and over again which class he was going to pick.

He stared at you incredulously. "What the heck— Class A, now stop shaking me!!"

You immediately released him and cheered loudly, grabbing Eri to dance while Aizawa sidled over to his student.

"You okay, kid?" He asked with a touch of concern as Shinsou didn't react.

Blinking, Shinsou nodded slowly. "I just... I didn't expect it to come so soon."

Aizawa shrugged. "Well, you worked hard. You should be proud of yourself."

Shinsou looked down and swallowed hard. Was he proud? He didn't know. It all felt so sudden.

Aizawa's eyes softened as he picked up on the turmoil swirling inside of the younger and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't think about it so much. You worked hard, you earned your spot, Toshi."

After a pause, Shinsou dipped his head in hesitant agreement and Aizawa frowned, understanding why he felt he couldn't celebrate yet but almost wished that he allowed himself this accomplishment.

He had worked extra hard on his training on top of all his other schooling. If anyone deserved this, he did.

Another hour passed and after dessert, Eri could barely keep her eyes open.

Aizawa was reluctant to let you and Shinsou take a cab back to the dorms by yourselves since it was already dark out but he had to put Eri to bed and he made you both promise to text him the second you got back.

And under no circumstances were you two allowed to leave each other's sides until he confirmed it with a message that he had gotten your text.

Neither you nor Shinsou had rolled your eyes at the demanding tone he took with you like you normally would have done. This was too important.

The twenty minute ride that followed was uneventful at best but perhaps that was a good thing. It meant that nobody suspicious was lingering around and causing trouble.

"Thank you for your hard work!!" You said, bowing your head as the driver tipped his head in your direction before speeding off.

Shinsou elbowed you in the ribs, stuffing his hands in his pocket to fish around for his phone for a second before he found it. White light blinded him for a second before he got a handle on the device and adjusted the brightness so that it was no longer glaring in his face.

Sending a quick message to his mentor to let him know that you had both made it back safely, he shoved it back in his pocket, heading in the direction of Class 1-C's dorms when you latched around his arm.

"Where are you going?!" You wailed, hanging onto him with the help of your tail as he furiously tried to throw you off.

"Ack, get off of me, you little leech." Shinsou hissed, only growing more annoyed when you shook your head stubbornly and stuck your tongue out at him childishly. "Geez, you're worse than Eri."

The affronted gasp you let out was all the incentive he needed to pry you off and race towards the dorms.

"TOSHI!!!!" You shouted as you barreled after him and he laughed, so openly and freely that you forgot to be mad at him for the comment you know he didn't mean about Eri.

He loved her, he really did, and you knew that the only reason why he said that was to rile you up and get under your skin so you would let go. You hated how it worked.

Waving goodbye for now, you two parted ways.

"Welcome back, L/N-san!!" Midoriya greeted earnestly as you stepped through the doors.

You skipped over to him, giving him a hug as a greeting and he stammered, clearly affected by your presence. Giggling, you took mercy on your friend and did a quick scan of the commons.

Tokoyami, Koda and Hagakure were studying on the couches, Kirishima hanging over Koda's shoulders in an attempt to get the difficult material through his head.

Sato was in the kitchen, no surprise there, but the additional presence of Kaminari had you doing a double-take.

"Uh, are you sure he's meant to be there?" You asked skeptically, jabbing a thumb towards the electric blond who had his tongue poking out in concentration as he stirred something in a mixing bowl.

Sero barely spared a glance in the direction you pointed at, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly as he concentrated on beating Ashido in this round of Mario Cart.

"He hasn't burnt anything down or caused a power outage yet, so Iida says it's okay." He told you, cheering when he passed the finish line first.

As Ashido was left to pout, you observed Kaminari for a second longer. It was rare to see him so focused on a task, you were almost wondering what happened to him.

"Psst!!"

You leaned over as Hagakure gestured for you to come closer, envisioning the smirk the invisible girl must have had on her face as you complied.

"He's getting Sato-kun to teach him how to make chocolates for Jirou!!" She whispered to you so discreetly that none of the boys surrounding her picked up on it as they talked over the paper they had to finish by the end of this weekend.

Tonight wasn't a school night, thankfully, so everyone was a little more relaxed. Which, if you thought about it, actually made sense since less than half of the class that was downstairs was working on homework.

In the group of seven girls, it wasn't a secret that Jirou was harboring a bit of a crush on the electric blond, but what was a surprise to you was that those feelings looked like they were returned.

Your heart skipped a beat and you fought the urge to jump for joy, knowing full well that Jirou would not appreciate you spilling the beans on that secret.

It was just so cute!!

It was nowhere near Valentine's Day, so you wondered what got his heart twisted in a bunch to do this for her, but you couldn't say you were complaining. Practically the whole class was waiting for one of them to confess.

Ashido even managed to lock the two of them in a closet together but it didn't go anywhere, much to her dismay, and she spent the rest of the week dodging Jirou's earphone jack before she readily apologized and the other girl begrudgingly forgave her.

All of that going on took away from the fact that Kaminari's shoulders slumped in defeat as he trudged back to his room, locking himself away for the rest of the day. No one had noticed it except for Kirishima and Hagakure, who happened to look his way by chance.

You were glad that he was doing this though. Something told you he still intended to go after her until he worked up the courage to confess.

It was rather endearing.

Slinking stealthily to the stairwell to avoid drawing the attention of the rest of your classmates, you raced upstairs to the room of the one person you wanted to see the most since he wasn't on the common floor.

Knocking on the door, you bent over your knees and caught your breath before opening it a fraction when you heard him say you could come in.

"Hey," You said softly, bounding inside as he motioned invitingly and nuzzled the top of Ojiro's head from where he was seated at his desk, slaving away over the math problems he got assigned earlier that day.

He turned around the instant you stepped into the room, attention shifting over to you as his tail curled around you in a brief hug.

"You're back." Ojiro breathed in relief, his eyes flitting over you for a second. "Did you have fun?"

"Oh yeah," You giggled, flopping onto his bed, propping your head up with one hand. "Shinsou nearly won the last match they had."

Ojiro laughed, striding over to you and knelt down by your side. "Nearly?"

"Mmhm..." You hummed. "Dad put him in a headlock though that he couldn't get out of."

Ojiro smiled at your tease, shaking his head slightly but was ultimately glad that you were just happy. Even if it had been at the expense of Shinsou.

He was one of the only ones that knew exactly where Aizawa's flat was, that information strictly to be used in an emergency situation only.

The last thing Aizawa wanted was for them to destroy the peace and tranquility he had at home on his days off when he didn't have to deal with something being broken, set on fire, or carelessly thrown around that required funds to fix it.

No way.

The rest of his classmates were aware of how much time their teacher spent with you and Shinou outside of class but nobody minded the favoritism, all equally aware of how tough Aizawa got on you two especially during school.

With your background and Shinsou's aloofness, it was only natural for most of them to be glad that their sensei had taken to you two so well.

Most of them.

Bakugou had exploded on more than one account that he didn't care but in truth, he was just as curious to see where you and the brainwashing kid left after school. You both always came back rather late, it was odd.

Shoji had expressed his concern on more than one occasion, wondering if you really were safe enough to come back on your own after it got dark out but you waved him off, reassuring him that the phone Jirou had bought for you and taught you how to use was very effective in calling emergency services when you pressed a simple button.

You weren't worried. You felt safe.

Safer than you had in years.

You squirmed, trying to get comfortable on the bed even though nothing helped to quell the heat you felt creeping up your neck at Ojiro's closeness.

He raised an eyebrow and you swore you saw a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Y/N?"

That time, there was no mistaking the playful lilt in his voice and you fumbled, throwing the blankets up in your haste to hide under them.

Ojiro's voice was muffled when he called out to you and even though you tried desperately to block it out, nothing worked, your mortification only growing as he pinched a corner of your makeshift den, as though he was going to lift it up.

This wasn't fun. He got too much joy out of teasing you when you two were alone, it was so unfair!!

He always managed to catch you off-guard somehow, with those sweet smiles that radiated kindness and were the beacon of your hope.

It wasn't your fault!! You got flustered easily!!

Throwing off the blankets with a huff, you kept your arms pinned to your body as you pouted up at him.

"Don't tease me!!" You cried indignantly and he laughed.

"I'm not." Ojiro replied but the twinkle in his eye all but gave him away.

You pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You are!!"

Chuckling, Ojiro caught your hand when it flailed in his direction and lowered it gently. "Okay, maybe I am."

"See?!"

As he laughed again, you pushed your bottom lip out even further but when it clearly wasn't dying down, you shuffled back under the blankets until only the top of your head peeked out.

"Y/N, come on out." Ojiro tried to coax, biting his lip when your ears flopped around as you shook your head stubbornly. "I'm sorry for teasing you."

At the genuine tone, you cautiously pulled down the covers, gazing at him suspiciously. "You are?"

Ojiro nodded. "Yes."

As you sat up, satisfied with his apology, you squeaked in surprise when he accidentally leaned closer to you in the process.

Neither one of you expected that proximity. You blushed and stammered while Ojiro ducked his head down to avoid your gaze.

Nothing could be heard except your breathing and the rustle of his tail as he accidentally knocked something over, both of you wincing as the silence was broken.

You giggled slightly, feeling a bit ridiculous. "Mashirao?"

You almost fell over when you caught his eye, the sheer amount of tenderness in his gaze making your heart pound and blood rushed to your head when he hugged you carefully.

"I'm sorry, you're just... very easy to fluster." He said slowly, choosing his words carefully, wondering if you could somehow hear how hard his heart was pounding.

"Oh..." You trailed off quietly, unsure about how that made you feel. So he was teasing you. That hurt a bit more than you thought it would.

But Ojiro's arms tightened around you when you tried to wrangle free, sensing your sadness as if it was the easiest thing in the world. "Wait, I didn't word that right."

You could barely breathe, not daring to take a breath for fear that this moment would shatter. The atmosphere was heavy and it felt as though an invisible tapestry had draped over you both, only to be lifted when he got the courage to say what was weighing on his heart.

"It's... very cute." Ojiro admitted sheepishly, growing shy as you blinked at him innocently. "You're... cute."

His hesitation probably should have raised red flags but they didn't, and that was because you knew he was being completely honest with you. He was never one to waste breath on saying something he thought was unimportant.

It was odd, the giddiness that overcame you as you bumped your nose against his, a spark of joy running through your system as you heard him voice that he thought you were cute.

"Really?!"

Ojiro laughed breathlessly. "Yeah."

It was short but it was sweet. You nudged his jaw and he tilted it instinctively to let you scent him. Sighing when his comforting scent flooded over you, you snuggled into his neck, closing your eyes as he hugged you closely.

You could feel his solid body pressing against yours, it was warm and safe. It felt like home.

Ojiro's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he caressed your hair, drawing back to whisper into your ear before he lost his nerve.

"Y/N, there's one more thing I want to tell you."

You hummed, your tail wagging in lazy eagerness as the appendage answered for you and he laughed nervously, his own tail flexing anxiously as he thought about what he was finally going to confess.

What he was finally going to say after a whole month of debating about it.

His feelings went deeper than a crush. He knew that much. Every time you walked into the room, he was left wondering when you would come over to him and every time you left, he always worried about where you were going and if you were safe.

Nothing set his heart at ease other than having you in his arms after a long day of classes and rigorous training. There was nothing like inhaling your sweet scent and breathing you in until you both fell asleep in each other's arms, limbs tangled together on his bed or yours.

How a proud smile never failed to appear on his face whenever you worked your way through something that was difficult, whether it was an emotional or physical barrier that prevented you from achieving what you wanted to achieve.

You were brave. You were kind. And you were so strong.

Ojiro took a deep breath. "I lov—"

A sharp knock at the door interrupted him, effectively making the two of you spring apart and shattering the bubble you had been in.

“Downstairs in ten minutes!!!” Hagakure’s voice floated through the door as she jumped up and down excitedly outside. “And no excuses, we’re playing a game!!”

The rapid footfalls signaled that she had scampered away, presumably to rope the rest of your friends into this little game that she had schemed up on the fly. 

You glanced at Ojiro, clapping a hand over your mouth when he stood up and almost tripped.

“I’m sorry—” You giggled, unable to help it at the mock insulted look on his face. “I don’t know why I’m laughing!!”

You really didn’t. You certainly didn’t think it had anything to do with how fast your heart was beating at how close he was to saying something you dearly hoped wasn’t a trick of your mind.

You guessed you would never know now. 

Timidly taking his hand as he offered it to you, you bit back a smile as he grabbed your favorite plushie and handed it to you.

“We’re going down now?” You asked curiously as he led you out and closed the door behind him. “Hagakure said we don’t need to be downstairs until ten more minutes.”

Ojiro shrugged slightly, giving you a small smile. “I don’t want them to take all the good seats.”

Throwing your head back, you laughed at the cheeky reply as the two of you made your way to the vacant common floor.

The TVs had been turned off as well as all the lights and you didn’t bother turning them on as you got comfortable on one of the couches in the living area.

Five minutes passed.

You wriggled on Ojiro’s lap, trying to contain your excitement. It was almost 11 pm at night, way past Bakugou’s bedtime, and you were currently keeping yourself occupied until everyone else got down here, wondering what Hagakure had planned for tonight.

Given no other explanation, you played with your lion plushie while you waited for her to come back and explain what was going on. 

“Y/N…” Ojiro said with a smile and you froze in place. 

Willing your tail to calm down and stop tickling his face, you giggled as he rested his chin on top of your shoulder, your cheeks pinking. 

“Sorry…” You said sheepishly but he shook his head.

“It’s okay.” He chuckled, holding back a fond smile.

You were playing with Koko to keep yourself entertained while you waited and his heart warmed when you dropped a kiss on its fuzzy head. It wasn’t as though you didn’t use the presents that your friends gave you but this was special because this was the one he had given to you.

And this was the one you held every night before you went to sleep.

Everyone else came in a slow trickle, most of the boys obviously skeptical of how Ashido managed to get them all roped up in it. 

“What’s all of this about?” Kirishima asked earnestly, pulling his stubborn best friend who was violently protesting the entire way behind him that this was a waste of time and that he needed his sleep.

Somehow, he had managed to bring Bakugou along. You weren’t sure that was a win though, with how disgruntled the explosion boy looked from being woken up.

“Why do I have to be here?” Jirou grumbled, dragging her feet as Ashido tugged her along.

“Because~” The pink girl whined. “It’ll be fun!!”

“This is not my idea of fun.” She sighed but reluctantly caved in and took a seat next to Shoji, sitting cross-legged on the couch and twirled one of her jacks around a finger.

Ashido clapped her hands to garner everyone’s attention, smiling widely. 

You snuggled further into Ojiro, wanting nothing more than to curl up and take a nap on him. You had thought you would be more nervous around him after what you thought he had almost said before he was interrupted but there was nothing other than the pleasant hum of your heart. 

 Today had been taxing with news that Shinsou’s dream was finally going to be put into motion and you really didn’t want to do anything else besides sleep in his embrace. His hand landed on top of your head and he stroked your hair evenly until you almost drifted off. 

That was, until you heard what Hagakure announced next.

“Let’s play truth or dare!!!” She squealed and you nearly fell off of Ojiro in shock. 

Eyes wide in horror, you could practically see the mischievous glint in her eye and your mind raced at a mile per minute. 

Oh no, no, no, no, no—

“Y/N’s going first!!” Hagakure shouted.

“No way!!” You sputtered in disbelief, cheeks coloring as all eyes turned on you. “Why do I have to go first?!”

Sensing your unease, Ojiro intervened.

“Maybe we should play another game?” He suggested diplomatically.

Ashido pouted, planting her hands on her hips. “Noooooo I have a question I want to ask Kirishima really bad!!”

Kirishima blinked in shock and pointed to himself as though he couldn’t believe that out of everyone, she had something to ask him. “Me?”

Your shoulders sagged in relief as she hadn’t called you out but that didn’t make you any less wary of her or Hagakure’s intentions. They were both well known for being deceptively crafty when it came to anything romance related and you were sure you weren’t safe just because you were friends.

Todoroki had Soba in his lap and was petting him idly, largely ignoring the chaos raging around him while everyone bickered about the order to go in.

Yaoyorozu and Midoriya pitched in that there should be an impartial game of chance to determine who was going first, Iida echoing their reasoning with swift hand chops and a shout that could be heard above the clamor.

Eventually, for fairness, Ashido ended up using Aoyama’s idea of putting everyone’s name in a hat that Yaoyorozu created for random drawing.

The person selected could ask anyone a question, even if they’ve already gone and once they’re done, the selectee picks another name from the hat. 

No matter if the person picked truth or dare, if the person doesn’t want to answer the question or do the dare, they’d have to prank Aizawa.

During class. In front of everyone as proof.

And no one wanted to cross their homeroom teacher. Not even you wanted to take chances with your dad. He could be extremely scary when woken up from his nap during homeroom and no one was willing to take a chance on their life just to avoid answering a question or to negate a silly dare.

Because everyone knew that their lives would be at stake if it boiled down to their furious homeroom teacher who had been disrupted by their antics.

With that, the game began.

Surprisingly, Yaoyorozu got drawn first, and being the kind person she was, she asked Uraraka if she would like to go on an all-paid-for shopping spree the next day they had off, to which Uraraka promptly burst into tears at her friend’s generosity, blubbering out an agreement of sorts.

Once she collected herself, Uraraka drew next, getting Koda and asked him if there were any pets that he would like to own. He shyly signed that he had been wanting to take care of a Mamushi, a Japanese pit viper, but was uncertain about how Kawaii-chan would deal with the snake if and when he got one. 

The stunned silence that followed was not surprising since this was so far left-field, it even caught Bakugou off-guard. 

Koda drew from the hat, sweating nervously when he opened it up and saw the name.

“... Bakugou…”

Bakugou’s forehead irked in annoyance. 

“Dare.” He spat before Koda even got a chance to ask him.

Koda’s nervousness grew to unprecedented levels at the red aura emitting from the enraged pomeranian, stumbling over his words so much so that you felt bad for him. He could barely form his thoughts, let alone get his words out.

“I dare you to be nice to Midoriya for one day.” Koda said quietly, shaking frightfully as the aura increased to murderous and he squeaked, absolutely petrified.

Ashido slapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing as Sero and Kaminari promptly burst into tears of hysteria, smacking their thighs as they howled in laughter.

“Bakugou, that’s enough.” Shoji instructed evenly, shielding Koda before the seething teen could jump on him, though it did nothing to stop the sparks from popping in his hand.

“Why the fuck do I have to be nice to shitty Deku?!” Bakugou exploded, whirling around at the sound of a throat clearing calmly.

“Are you saying you can’t do it?” You asked slyly without cracking an eye open and Ojiro nearly lost it.

Bakugou scowled. “Like hell I can’t!!”

“Well then!!” You clapped your hands, sitting up as you flashed him a cheeky grin. “Then this should be no problem for the number one hero, right?”

Bakugou growled at you but he knew he had landed himself in this trap. You had covered it with honey and like an idiot, he went after it. 

“Fuck.” He hissed under his breath, snapping around to face a petrified Midoriya head-on. “I’m going to fucking kill you—”

“Ah, ah, ah!!” You tsked, wagging a finger at him. “Play nice, remember? 24 hours starts now.”

Bakugou raged for a good five minutes before sitting down heavily, glaring holes into the back of Midoriya’s head. 

You flashed Koda a thumbs-up and he smiled at you gratefully for enforcing the dare he wouldn’t have been able to do. 

The next several rounds passed by in the blink of an eye. 

Bakugou dared Aoyama to go outside and yell that he loves cheese, Tokoyami got dared by Aoyama to go the entirety of next week without wearing black, and Tokodoki was dared to leave Soba in the care of Bakugou, to which he promptly responded that he’d rather pour water over Aizawa’s head.

Next week was going to be interesting. 

You giggled at the horrified expression on Tokoyami’s face that he had to go without all next week without wearing his favorite color, so much so that you missed your name being called until Ashido and Hagakure screamed excitedly.

“Y/N!!!!!”

You nearly jumped ten feet into the air. “AHHH, WHAT?!?!”

Ashido grinned, rubbing her hands evilly. Todoroki had just gotten done asking her a question about what her favorite food was. 

“Oh, Y/N-chan~” Ashido sang and you sweated nervously, subconsciously leaning back into Ojiro’s chest as she trained her golden irises glimmering with mischief on you.

Hagakure tugged on her sleeve, whispering something in her ear and a crafty grin spread across her lips. 

“Truth or dare?!”

“T-Truth…?” You stammered out uncertainly, wary of that look in her eye. 

Your heart plummeted as Ashido clapped her hands gleefully.

Oh no.

Ashido wasted no time leaning forward and peering at you with her eyes gleaming. 

“Do you have a crush on anyone?” She asked cheekily, already knowing the answer thanks to your slip up the last time all you girls had gathered. 

Your fingers halted from where they were playing with Ojiro’s hands and you squeaked. 

Behind you, Ojiro went rigid as he tensed underneath you and his breath hitched, unconsciously waiting for your answer along with the rest of your classmates. 

Playing with your tail anxiously, your ear twitched and heat warmed your face, setting it on fire the instant her question hit you. 

Biting your lip, you uttered quietly a noise of confirmation that had Hagakure squealing and Ashido jumping for joy.

The majority of the boys looked shocked but Bakugou rolled his eyes, thinking everyone had to be blind not to see it.

“Who is it?!” Hagakure demanded, trying to get you to admit it and you just flashed her a smile.

“Nope, I already answered the question.” You said, grinning widely at her whine, thinking you found a loophole to this little game of cat and mouse they were playing with you.

Despite her protests and Ashido’s pouts, you drew another name from the hat, passing the torch of attention over to Sato as he was picked. 

Once he picked truth, you eagerly asked Sato if he would ever open his own bakery one day and he rubbed the back of his neck bashfully as he said he always wanted to but he wasn’t sure that his creations were good enough.

You shouted incredulously, blurting out that you thought they were amazing along with the rest of the girls, Shoji even inputting that he thought that as well.

“These truths are so tame.” Kaminari complained after almost everyone had gone once. “There needs to be more dares.”

“Ooooo, then why don’t we switch it up!!” Uraraka said, her eyes shining excitedly at the prospect of a challenge. “Only dares from now on!!”

“Eh?!” You yelped. “What, why?!”

“YES, GREAT IDEA!!!!” Ashido squealed and you groaned, burying your face in your hands. 

“No…” You moaned. 

Aside from knowing that they had something up their sleeves planned for you, you were really not looking forward to doing whatever that was. You didn’t want to be involved in any of this or have anybody’s attention on you, all you wanted to do was watch your friends have fun. 

This was going to be a disaster. 

Ojiro chuckled as Kirishima threw an empty paper plate in Bakugou’s face but even he couldn’t stop his heart from palpitating and he prayed that you couldn’t feel it against your back. 

You hugged Koko to your chest anxiously as the dares got more and more bold, elaborate and downright ridiculous. 

Asui got dared to peck Tokoyami on the cheek, Sero got challenged to a match with Bakugou the next time they trained together and Yaoyorozu had to go without buying anything from online stores for three days. 

The only reason why Sero didn’t make it involve all the stores was because he knew she’d go crazy.

And then, the dreaded time for your second turn came around. 

Luckily, neither Ashido or Hagakure drew your name, it was Yaoyorozu instead. 

Her eyes were sympathetic as she regarded your fidgeting form. 

“Y/N-chan,” She started, loud enough for everybody to hear. “You must spend 30 minutes with Ojiro-san in the pantry.”

It was silent at first, then the uproar started.

“WHAT?!?!” You shrieked, your face bright red.

You couldn’t see it, but Ojiro was wearing an identical expression of shock and embarrassment as Jirou laughed along with Uraraka and Kaminari, Iida loudly shouting for them to have some restraint.

“Go go go!!!” Ashido and Hagakure cheered together, yanking you up to your feet while Sato hauled Ojiro up to his, subsequently pushing the two of you together until you fell inside the pantry.

You immediately fell and Ojiro toppled in after you.

The lock that clicked sealed your fate and you whimpered at the sudden darkness that encompassed the two of you.

Ojiro’s eyebrows scrunched together in the dark, concerned that you had hurt yourself. “Y/N?”

You feebly answered that you were okay, knowing that he must be worried about you, and your hands knocked into his as you scoured the tiled floor on all fours, searching for your fallen plushie in the cramped space.

“Koko…” You whined, your eyes lighting up when your fingers brushed against something soft.

You could almost hear the smile in Ojiro’s voice. “That’s my tail.”

You drew back, yelping in pain as the back of your head banged against the shelf and a lump got caught in your throat when Ojiro scrambled over you.

“Y/N!! Are you okay?!”

You mumbled out an embarrassed yes, losing your ability to say anything else as he pressed up against you. He was so close.

Too close.

There was almost no breathing room between you two and all you could feel, hear, and sense was Ojiro’s labored breathing and the soft swish that his tail made as he balanced himself over you so he wouldn’t crush you.

A pout formed on your lips and even though he couldn’t see it, you made sure that the forlorn whine in your tone carried through. “Koko…”

Ojiro fingers clumsily found yours and he breathed a sigh of relief at having found where you were. “I’m sure you just dropped her outside.”

You hummed disappointedly, ears flicking as you heard the conversation pick back up outside, indicating that the rest of your scheming friends resumed their game. At least you were in here and not out there in this predicament. 

You didn’t want to know what they would say if they say you guys like this.

“Um, Mashirao?” You whispered, scooting up a little bit so that you were sitting on your bottom.

It was a bit awkward. His knees bumped into yours more than once as he figured out how to situate himself and you squeaked when he pressed against you in an attempt to find space somewhere. 

Repeating his name when he had settled down, opting for slotting his legs around yours that were propped up so that he was no longer crowding you, you sighed to yourself.

“How long do you think it’s been?” You asked curiously, oblivious to the crimson staining his cheeks due to the lack of light.

Ojiro cleared his throat, forcing his tail to stop swishing nervously, lest he knock something over and clue you in on his anxiousness. Being in here with you and being this close was making his heart pound and his palms sweat. 

It was too much, and at the same time, not enough.

Because he still had yet to tell you how he felt.

“Y/N—” He started quietly. “Can I ask you something?”

You were startled since you thought that he would just want to sit in silence until the time was up and you found yourself nodding instinctively before you realized he couldn't see you. 

“Y-Yes, of course you can.” You stammered out, cursing yourself for your inability to form a coherent sentence without stumbling over your words when you were around him.

Once. Just once you wanted to know what it was like to speak with complete and utter self-control and clarity when it came to him. 

Your massive crush on him probably wouldn’t ever let you.

Ojiro played with his tail absentmindedly, able to find a sliver of comfort in the familiar way it felt in his hands as he prepared himself for the inevitable heartbreak. “Who… Who do you like?”

You froze and you swore the temperature in the cluttered pantry dropped by several degrees.

“W-What?!” You squeaked.

“Earlier, when Ashido asked if you liked anyone… you said yes.” Ojiro reiterated, avoiding looking at you even though he knew you wouldn’t judge him.

Not that you could, you could barely make out his shape in this darkened place. 

“I-I—”

You couldn’t come up with an excuse for that one. 

Ojiro’s tone morphed into curiosity. “What are they like?”

The underlying sadness went unnoticed as you frantically tried to think of a way out of this situation and you tripped over your words in your haste to get out.

“I… You… Argh!!”

Ojiro nearly jumped out of his skin as empty cans clattered down on the floor from where your tail had gone rogue and knocked them all off of the shelf. They really should get rid of those and free up some more space in the endlessly full pantry but Asui liked to use the empty ones for growing water lilies when they were nothing more than just a pink or white bud. 

“... Y/N?” Ojiro prompted, hearing you go quiet.

You hesitated. You really didn’t want to say this but all your thoughts were filled with him and only him. You hardly knew at this point if it was because you were actively trying not to think about him that made things this way or if you were really just that obsessed with him.

I’m screwed, aren’t I?

“He’s kind.”

Ojiro broke out of his stupor once he realized you had actually answered him.

You smiled softly to yourself, envisioning the dumbfounded look that must be on his face, knowing that’s how he got every single time you said something about him. 

“He’s sweet, not just to me, but to everyone else.” You continued quietly. “His eyes always light up when something makes him happy and he’s such a good friend…”

Ojiro felt like he was hearing all of this underwater as you continued to speak so highly of this mystery guys, his heart breaking with every word you said. And he thought he was so sure that if you didn’t return his affections, that you at least thought of him as a good friend but now he wasn’t so sure after hearing all of that.

It seemed like this guy that you were crushing on hung the stars in the sky. You spoke of him like he was your whole world.

Ojiro swallowed thickly, blinking back tears.

Maybe this guy could take better care of you than he could.

You couldn’t see it but you sensed the mood change in the air and shifting to move onto your hands and knees, you padded forward curiously, nervously wondering if he had figured it out and didn’t return your feelings.

Pushing that aside once your ears picked up on the sound of his sniffles, your brow creased in concern, worried about him.

“M-Mashirao?! Are you okay?!” You asked frantically, keeping your voice low so that you didn’t draw the attention of your friends outside. This would be the worst possible moment for them to open the door. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N, I’m fine.” Ojiro managed to respond, closing his eyes briefly to gather himself. “Don’t worry, okay?”

Your being filled with apprehension as his hand skimmed the side of your face to find it in the dark before plopping on top of your head to ruffle your hair reassuringly. But you let out a slight whine when he pulled away quicker than normal.

“You don’t sound fine…” You whimpered worriedly, nudging your nose against his hand as you located it easily. 

While your eyes took a longer time to adjust seeing in the dark, your senses were sharp and you detected his ragged breathing as well as how his hands drew back before fisting at his sides.

He definitely wasn’t okay. 

And you thought you might be imagining it, but was that hurt in his voice that he tried to mask? Was he offended that you thought so highly of him?

Ojiro’s eyes glazed over as he heard you whimper sadly and he sucked in a breath. And even though his heart was shattered, he still wrapped his arms around you and tugged you close to him.

“Y/N, I—” His tongue felt thick in his mouth, unable to form the words he wanted to say and he sighed. “I hope you find happiness.”

You blinked up at him, tucking in your knees tight. You couldn’t relax against him, physically incapable of it since the comfort his presence usually brought you was nowhere to be found at the heavy sadness in his tone. 

You stuttered, “I-I— Mashirao, I—”

“You don’t have to tell me who it is.” Ojiro said sorrowfully, hushing you quietly as his jaw clenched in jealousy. “I just hope that Shinsou’s able to protect you well enough.”

Bolting upright at the shock of his name, your jaw dropped. “Shinsou?!”

Ojiro cocked his head to the side. “Isn’t it him?”

You shook your head so fast that he felt the air whip around him from the force of your hair flying. 

“Todoroki?” 

Another head shake, faster than the last.

“Sato?”

No.

“Shoji?”

No.

“Kaminari?”

No.

“Bakugou?”

No!!

Ojiro was running out of options. “Then who? Is he in our grade?”

“It’s you!!” You blurted out in frustration, unable to prevent yourself from holding back any longer. 

Ojiro’s entire body tensed in shock, his eyes going wide at your confession and the hands on your waist stilled as he sucked in a sharp breath.

You pounded your fists on his chest, your head falling on his shoulder, unconsciously leaning into him and seeking him out as your anxiety took over.

“You dummy.” You mumbled, shaking in fear of a rejection. 

You should’ve been more prepared for this. As the time ticked by, he still failed to say anything in response and your heart was going into overdrive. 

Pushing his hands away, you tried to untangle from him but that apparently disrupted whatever trance he was in because his arms tightened around you, preventing you from getting up.

“No, wait—” Ojiro protested, his mind spiraling as he tried to collect his thoughts before you could leave. “Y/N!!”

Your skin prickled with unease at hearing him call it out so panicked, like he was afraid he’d lose you. You were the one who was worried about that, why should he care so much?

“It’s fine.” You sniffled, wiping your nose furiously with the back of your hand as you attempted to backpedal again, only to be stopped by his strong arms. “Ojiro-san, let go—”

“Mashirao.” Ojiro corrected brokenly. “You… My name, call me by my given name.”

You swallowed hard, shaking your head against his shoulder as he squeezed you closely to him and you squirmed. You thought you had lost that privilege to call him by his first name, the intimacy a sour taste in your mouth as you realized that some other girl would get to call him that one day.

“Y/N.”

You stopped fighting against him but refused to meet his gaze.

Ojiro’s hand slid under your jaw, tipping your head up and this close, you could see his eyes shining with emotion.

“It’s you.” He murmured breathlessly, his eyes softening as they filled with the deepest amount of pure love. “It’s always been you, Y/N.”

Gasping, you nearly choked as he rested his forehead against yours, his warm breath puffing out over your cheeks and you giggled uncontrollably as he pulled your legs across his, tucking your head under his chin. 

“You were talking about me?”

The disbelief in his voice had you wiggling out from under him.

“Yeah,” You blushed, thinking about how much you gushed about him before he actually knew that you were referring to him. You thought it was obvious that you were talking about him. “Was— I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Ojiro bumped his nose against yours reassuringly. “You didn’t.”

He could have hid it better if you were so close to him but since you were, you could feel the air around you stir as his tail thumped happily against the wall. 

Though, you couldn’t blame him. Yours was just as bad, hitting his side every time and you were about to apologize when he pressed a kiss to the crown of your head.

“I love you.” Ojiro confessed softly, his heart pounding in his ears as he finally told you what he had wanted to tell you for so long. 

From the very first moment he saw you, he knew he wanted to protect you. He wasn’t sure when that feeling morphed into something stronger, paired with the desire to call you his but the pang that went through his heart every single time he saw you with someone else clued him in that his feelings may have run deeper than he was willing to admit. 

You tried to stop it but a wide smile still spread from ear to ear and your heart skipped a beat. “You do?”

He nodded, bending his knees slightly to bring you impossibly closer and you giggled at the action, recalling what had happened before Hagakure had accidentally interrupted you.

“Is that what you were about to say earlier?” You asked curiously. 

Ojiro floundered for a second, trying to think of a half-believable excuse that you would take, but then realized he had nothing to hide now that you already knew. He chuckled slightly and nodded, albeit nervous when you started playing with his hands.

“Y/N?” He whispered, his exhales hitting the top of your head as he held you.

You smiled to yourself, unable to explain the happiness that swelled in your chest, skyrocketing the moment he said that.

“I love you too.” You replied softly. 

As cheesy as it sounded, it was true. 

He was your first friend, your first confidant, the first person you fell in love with and now, your first boyfriend. He was the person you trusted the most next to your dad.

You laughed slightly, your tail fluffing out in embarrassment, unsure of why you were laughing but you supposed it had something to do with the fact of the astonishment that your pining after him hadn’t been for nothing.

It was mutual.

To be honest, your head was still reeling and you weren’t sure you were going to be coming down from cloud nine anytime soon. 

Ojiro smiled down at you fondly, his heart squeezing as you beamed up at him joyously. 

“Princess…” He murmured softly.

Your ears perked up happily and you rubbed your nose against the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent deeply. It rolled over you in waves and a happy rumble emitted from the back of your throat. 

“... I like it when you call me that…” You mumbled shyly, burrowing your face into his neck when he tried to catch a glimpse of your face.

Ojiro smiled, elated. “Princess~”

“Nooooooooo…” You whined, hitting his shoulder weakly. “Don’t tease me.”

He let out a small laugh, his eyes twinkling with humor. “Sorry, princess.”

“You don’t sound sorry at all.” You grumbled but you weren’t really upset about it. 

You couldn’t wait to hear it more often, more freely and similarly, Ojiro couldn’t wait to use it all the time since it was practically second nature to him by now. 

You were just so pure, so soft. Oh All Might, he loved you so much. 

It was close to a year since he first met you and he couldn’t help it. He fell for you so hard but he didn’t regret a thing. And he couldn’t wait to tell Holly. 

She would be jumping for joy the instant he told her, he could already see it. 

Ojiro tapped your knee lightly to catch your attention as you continued to trace random patterns on his chest. “... What do you think about messing with them a bit?”

You sat up straighter, knowing exactly who he was talking about, a mischievous grin slipping onto your face as he whispered the plan into your ear.

It was payback time. 

Half an hour went by rather quickly, most of Class 1-A eagerly awaiting to see what the current situation inside the pantry was.

Most were hoping that a confession of some sort had taken place, since Tokoyami was exasperated on how clueless the two of you were around each other. 

Seriously. 

You guys had been chasing each other for months now. Everyone was getting sick of the puppy love, memory on all of their phones stocked with snapshots of the two of you together when you were looking. 

At first it was cute, but honestly, seeing you chase your own tail would be more adorable and endearing than seeing the two of you stammer around each other like it was nobody’s business. 

Ashido and Uraraka hoped that you and Ojiro would be kissing when they threw open the door but that wasn’t exactly what the picture was. 

Instead, an image of you on the floor across from Ojiro greeted the entirety of the class.

Kaminari nearly fell off of Kirishima’s head from where he was stacked on top of him and Jirou’s eyes widened in surprise. 

Bakugou scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Took you extras damn long enough.”

There you sat. With a chip halfway to your mouth. 

“Seriously?!” Hagakure shrieked incredulously.

“I was hungry!!” You cried out, it coming out more muffled than you intended as your cheeks bulged hilariously. You looked more like a chipmunk in that moment rather than the wolf that you were.

“What’s your excuse?” Tokoyami asked blankly, catching his friend snacking alongside you.

Ojiro shrugged nonchalantly, popping a wasabi snack in his awaiting mouth and smacked his lips obnoxiously. “I was following her.”

Sero snickered and Kirishima grinned at his cheeky response. There was a glimmer in his eye that wasn’t present before and they knew that no matter how comfortable the two of you looked, something had changed between you.

Something for the better.

“THEY CONFESSED!!!!!” They chorused together, dancing around while wildly waving their arms about as they did a jig. 

You almost choked, cheeks going rosy. “Eh?! W-Wait—”

“FINALLY!!!!” Ashido squealed. “THAT TOOK FOREVER!!!”

Ojiro’s expression matched yours in terms of mortification and he leaned forward as you shuffled behind him to hide.

“Y/N, you alright?” He asked softly as your classmates continued to chime in with how long that took and how much things were going to change. 

You both blushed when Shoji told an excited Kaminari that it also meant you guys had the ability to kiss from now on, the girls cooing and most of the guys gagging. 

“Yeah, I-I’m okay…” You mumbled into his back, finishing the rest of your food and taking his hand that helped you up. “Thank you.”

Ojiro smiled at you and this time, in the light, you could see how clearly radiant he was. 

“You’re welcome.” He whispered quietly, hugging you once more before you both rejoined the chaos that was your class. 

It took another few minutes to actually make your way back to the common room couches where everyone else had gathered because you pouted and said you wanted to stay in his arms longer.

That, and Ojiro was weak when it came to you.

You bounced when you jumped onto the couch, Shoji steadying you when it looked like you were about to fall and you flashed him a grin in thanks. 

Shoji shook his head at your antics and Ojiro, who had been grabbing you a few more snacks from the pantry, rushed over, scanning over you to make sure you weren’t hurt. 

You popped a cookie in your mouth. “Wufdidwemwis?”

Jirou blinked. “What?”

Breaking off a piece, you smiled broadly and it only grew wider when Ojiro handed you the discarded lion plushie you had lost a hold on when you were yanked to your feet. Squealing happily, you hugged it tight to your chest, beaming up at him in thanks. 

“What did we miss?” You repeated, smothering Koko with hugs and kisses.

Todoroki didn’t even look like he moved once from his spot, in the exact same spot that you saw him last and he didn’t spare you a glance as he held up a feather just out of Soba’s reach so that he could bat at it playfully.

“Kaminari gave Jirou the chocolates he made for her, Ashido asked Kirishima out on a date and Asui has to go with Iida to switch out Aizawa-sensei’s sleeping bag to see if he notices it.” Todoroki relayed impassively before blinking once, realizing he had left one out.

“Oh, and Midoriya kissed me.” He deadpanned and your jaw fell to the floor.

“WHATTTTTT?!?!?!” You wailed. “I missed all of that?!?!?!”

Todoroki shrugged, playing with his kitten too much to pay any attention to your outcry. “It wasn’t much.”

“WASN’T MUCH?!?!?!”

He merely nodded. “I didn’t get to kiss him back.”

Ashido’s hand punched up in the air. “Next dare is for Todoroki to kiss Midoriya!!!”

“Okay.” Todoroki agreed, brushing off his clothes before getting close to a flushed Midoriya, yanking him over to smash his lips onto his.

The whoops and hollers echoed throughout the common floor, even Bakugou smirking as the damn nerd owned up to his crush. It was fucking weak to hold out for that long. 

Confrontations were for the strong and brave of heart, just like he was. 

Proudly, he watched from the sidelines. They were all shitty extras but they were his circle of extras and he’d be damned if he let anyone else say shit about them. 

They were fucking happy.

Nevermind the fact that Kirishima and Kaminari were blushing ten different shades of crimson, Jirou was hiding in the corner with Shoji and Yaoyorozu’s aid as she tried to dodge all the questions you flung her way the second that Ashido exposed all the ships that sailed while you and Ojiro were having a heartfelt conversation.

“Spill it!!!” You exclaimed, shaking her shoulders furiously as though that was going to get her to answer you faster. “You have to tell me what happened!!! Kaminari gave you the chocolates already?! I missed it!!!!”

“Ack, calm down!!” Jirou shouted at you, blushing violently. “It’s not that big of a deal!!”

“NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL?!?!?!” You yelled, your tail twice its size as you bounded in circles around her. “HE NEVER LIFTS A FINGER FOR ANYONE ELSE!!!”

“Hey!!” Kaminari pouted, insulted.

You grinned, planting your hands firmly on your hips. “It’s true.”

“H E Y.” He enunciated as he frowned, clearly put off and he lunged at you playfully.

You spent the rest of the night playing a deadly game of tag with the extremely flustered electric blond, having mercy on Kirishima cause the poor boy looked like he might faint at any moment.

Ojiro only got involved when you jumped over the couch and into his waiting arms to escape from the madman and he laughed when you claimed him as a safety spot. 

Kaminari complained at your immunity, saying you needed it at the beginning for it to be effective but you shook your head stubbornly, looping your arms around a blushing Ojiro’s neck and sticking your tongue out at him childishly.

“Princess…” Ojiro chastised quietly but his low voice wasn’t enough to escape Jirou and Shoji’s enhanced hearing.

“Princess?” Jirou asked curiously. 

The rest of your classmates’ jaws dropped in shock. 

“PRINCESS?!?!?!” They all thundered unanimously. 

Iida instantly shot up to his feet. “Stop it, you’re embarrassing them!!!”

Too late for that.

You giggled. Even if it was, it didn’t matter. You had them all by your side and you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“So let me get this straight, Ashido asked you out on a date?” You questioned slyly, aware of you pink-haired friend’s crush on him. You just didn’t think she’d act on it so soon.

“More like demanded.” Kirishima corrected dutifully, pink dusting his cheeks.

Ashido loomed over him. “Eh?! I asked!! And you said yes!!”

“Wah!!” Kirishima shouted, waving his hands frantically once he realized he gave off the wrong impression. “That’s not a bad thing, Mina— ack, wait!!”

Their antics dislodged Koko from your hold and you immediately burst into tears.

“Wahhhhh!!!”

The plushie was instantly thrown back at you by a disgruntled Bakugou and your cries ceased.

“Thank you, Boom Boy!!” You cheered.

His forehead creased in irritation and he scowled. “Don’t fucking call me that.”

“Hey,” Ojiro cut in, his eyebrows furrowing. “Come on, don’t swear at her.”

You waved it off, not minding it in the slightest. “It’s okay, that’s just Boom Boy’s love language.”

“Hah?! Like hell it is!!” Bakugou exploded at you and you rolled your eyes.

“See?”

“SAY IT TO MY FACE, DUMBASS!!!”

And when 3 am rolled around, everyone was passed out on the couches and sprawled in different places across the floor. 

Iida was sitting upright on the couch, Yaoyorozu asleep on his shoulder. They looked normal, but they were the only ones. 

Kirishima and Ashido had stayed up late talking, falling asleep against each other until they lost their balance and crashed to the ground, effectively waking them both up. They moved to a spot near the coffee table after that. 

Kaminari’s mouth was hanging open, a dribble of drool obeying gravity from where he was hanging upside down like a monkey, the string of saliva pooling on Tokoyami’s cloak.

He was going to be pissed when he woke up. 

The rest of the girls had bunched together, making a fort at the last minute so that they could all sleep in it. 

Shoji was responsible and brought down blankets for those that wanted them, even throwing a few over some that he felt needed it. 

Cough, Bakugou, cough.

Bakugou had passed out second to last, determined to claim his victory over you but you flicked his nose just as he was knocked out, a cheeky grin stretching from ear to ear.

You won. 

And when Aizawa arrived with Eri and Shinsou in the morning to help the latter move into his new dormitory, he raised an eyebrow at the mess that greeted him as Eri immediately bounded over to where you were, shaking you awake.

It didn’t pass unnoticed how you were tangled with Ojiro, your tail draped lazily over your own hip as his sturdy one was wrapped around your waist, tugging you impossibly close. 

Aizawa heaved out a sigh, numbly pointing out where the elevators were so that Shinsou could get started before everyone else started to get up and make breakfast. 

He wasn’t sure he approved of this, you two would face many challenges on your way to becoming pros, not to mention the hardships that would come with making this relationship work once you guys graduated but that all faded away the second he came closer to see you.

Ojiro’s hand was cradling your head carefully, even though he was unconscious, cushioning it in your sleep so that you were comfortable and your own hands had gone lax in fisting his shirt, probably in a sleepy attempt to draw him closer to you. 

The corner of Aizawa’s mouth twitched humorously as Eri tried shaking you awake, only for you to roll further into Ojiro and snuggle into his chest, the said boy pulling you closer the instant you did with a contented sigh.

Oh well… Aizawa thought to himself as Eri drifted back to his side and softly asked if she could go upstairs and help Shinsou unpack. I suppose it could be worse. 

She could’ve fallen for Bakugou instead.

[minyoonmeme]

Normalcy of the Pretty Posse

Chapter 4

Word count: 3232

Pairing: Jeongguk x reader, ??? x reader

Description: Stupid Jeongguk and his cute sweaters and pretty posse of hyungs

Genre/Warnings: Min Yoongi is not very good at meeting people, but Park Jimin is. 

Tag List: @luvtaeha @holaaaf 

Previous Next

masterlist

“Do you know what’s going on?” 

“Nope.”

Jeongguk and Hoseok whispered to one another huddled over a family size bag of chips, crumbs falling each time they shifted. Their eyes danced between (Y/N) to Yoongi while they mindlessly shoveled chips into their mouths. Yoongi had let Jeongguk and (Y/N) into the studio twenty minutes ago and beyond introductions not much had happened. Hoseok almost pouts from disappointment. Where's the flare? The dramatics? Why hasn’t Yoongi pissed himself yet from nervousness? 

“Are you love birds gonna stand outside holding hands or are you gonna come in before you waste time?” Hoseok’s grip on the door was light as he narrowed his stance and let the two past him. “Hi (Y/N), you look cute today. Jeongguk you look cute too, I guess.” Hoseok smiled to himself as (Y/N) skirted past him with an embarrassed smile. Jeongguk followed suit with a wave to Yoongi, who was too occupied trying to make himself look busy, and a pinch to Hoseok’s arm for the added embarrassment. 

“You speak Korean right?”

“Hyung!” Yoongi barely spared Jeongguk a glance as he glanced toward (Y/N) from his seat. Yoongi noted that she was a small thing with her head barely past Jeongguk’s shoulder. Her head bobbed up and down before she fell into a bow. 

“Hello, My name is (Y/N). I’m a commercial music and production major at KNU. It’s nice to meet you, please take care of me.”

Yoongi blinked a few times and shook his nearly empty coffee before responding. “So.. do you speak Korean or..?”

“Hyung, she just spoke Korean!”

“Jeongguk-ah, you and I both know she could have prepared that.”

“She goes to a Korean university in the middle of Seoul, I highly doubt that.”

Yoongi gave a small shrug before reaching his hand out. “You shake hands where you’re from right? I’m Min Yoongi. It's nice to meet  you.”

Hoseok was loving every second as he watched from the couch. 

“Should we say something?” Jeongguk watched as (Y/N) tapped her fingers against the table. Jeongguk recognized a few familiar hand positions from the few piano lessons Yoongi had reluctantly given him his sophomore year. 

“I don’t know. I’m kind of intimidated right now. Hyung looks like he wants to jump out a window or run out the door any minute now.” Jeongukk shrugged and leaned closer to Hoseok crumbling the chips between them in the process. 

“It would be great if we could hear what they were listening to instead of listening to each other finish an entire bag of chips. Did you know you eat with your mouth open? Fucking heathen, I didn’t raise you this way.” Jeongguk smacked his greasy crump covered hand across Hoseok’s shoulder for that. Hoseok just whines and rubs at the spot tenderly. 

Yoongi and (Y/N) sat adjacent to one another as Yoongi’s soundboard desk shuffling through the drive she had brought. Yoongi had asked (correction: forced) Hoseok to wheel in another chair for (Y/N) to sit in while they listened, but her feet barely reached the floor as she swung them back and forth with nerves. Jeongguk was sure she was overwhelmed as Yoongi usually chose to sit in silence while he listened to tracks and Yoongi’s silence was nothing short of intense. A plain matte black pair, a pair Yoongi had pulled out from a random drawer, sat on top of her head just slightly too big. Jeongguk had never seen the pair before and felt a small flutter on his stomach at the thought that Yoongi had bought a new pair for her to use. He knew Yoongi tended to shy away from leading or teaching, but felt grateful his hyung was willing to even try. The flutter had nothing to do with the fact that he thought she looked cute as the headphones slipped around repeatedly off of her head. Nope, none at all.

“How many songs has it been? Like 6? My back is starting to hurt from this couch. Hyung should really get another one.” 

“It’s uncomfortable for a reason, you brat. How long are you trespassers going to keep talking?” Jeongguk and Hoseok jumped up, effectively smacking their heads against one another at the sudden voice. Both met Yoongi’s stare as he looked over his left shoulder, one ear free from his headphones.

“Sorry, Hyung we’ll stay quiet.” Hoseok nodded along with Jeongguk’s words, even going so far as to mime zipping his lips closed and tossing a key over his shoulder. 

Yoongi rose his eyebrows up before lifting his headphones off of his head with a deep breath. (Y/N) followed suit, although slightly more hesitantly. “You guys can leave, actually.” 

Jeongguk’s eyes darted over to (Y/N) as he watched her body freeze. The hand that had been tapping chords onto the table unplugged her headphones before stiffly beginning to neatly wrap the cord. He wished he knew what was going on in her head as he watched her eyes dart back and forth along the floor. His hand itches to stop her small trembles as she reached to pull out the usb drive. 

“Yoongi-hyung don’t you think you’re being too harsh. It’s only been like twenty minutes...”

Yoongi threw a confused look at Hoseok before spinning his chair fully to face the couch behind him. “I kick you guys out of my studio like twice a week, this is nothing new. Now out.” Yoongi emphasized the “now” with a flick of his chin towards the door before turning back to his monitors. He hadn’t even acknowledged (Y/N). 

Hoseok loved his friend, he did, but watching Jeongguk beat himself for bringing (Y/N) here made his skin boil. A look at (Y/N) left him even more mad. Her shoulders were squared inward as she shoved her things into her bag as quickly and quietly as possible. They weren’t close in any way, but Hoseok had grown up with a sister and hated seeing anyone, especially girls, cry.  

“Fine. we’re leaving you hermit. Don’t think we won’t be having a talk about this later when you get home.” Hoseok heaved Jeongguk up from the couch by his elbow and did the same for (Y/N). Their eyes met and Hoseok mentally cursed in his head for Yoongi’s asshole tendencies. He knew Yoongi wasn’t an actual asshole, nor was he intending to be mean, but this just is how Yoongi was. ‘All think, few words' is how Hoseok described Yoongi’s communication style or lack thereof. Yoongi could feel a million things and somehow sum it up in twenty offensive words or less. Looking at her again Hoseok leaned down and whispered, “Let’s get some ice cream, yeah? My treat!” His heart eased little when a small smile and a squeeze to his hand on her elbow were returned. 

“Where are you going?” Yoongi looked up from his now blank monitor confused and blinked in (Y/N)’s direction. All think, few words indeed.

Jeongukk, Hoseok, and (Y/N) looked between each other. Jeongguk had his head wrapped around the door’s handle ready to storm out toddler style while Hoseok’s hand slid from her elbow to her wrist. 

(Y/N) shook a little while she stuttered, “I thought that you-- I mean you said to--” 

“I thought you said you could speak Korean?”

“I can! I’m-uh just confused, I think. You said to get out?”

Yoongi met her eyes for a few seconds before furrowing at the ground. “I meant them. Why would I kick you out? That’s dumb.” 

(Y/N)’s hand swung to Hoseok's wrapped around her elbow and threw him a brief bright smile. Hoseok, confused but slowly understanding the situation, smiled back just as big and gave their hands a small shake in victory. Another crisis avoided, he supposed.

“You’re right, I’m sorry for misunderstanding Yoongi-shii! Where were we? Let me get my hard drive back out!” 

Yoongi handed her a reconnected pair of headphones, keeping his hand out for the usb drive she had taken back. Her hands left hoseok as she excitedly ruffled through her bag. The usb fell onto the open palm before her as she threw the headphones over her ears. She made sure to throw a smile and thumbs up to Jeongguk still standing by the door. Crisis very much so avoided, actually.

Hoseok patted (Y/N)’s head before grabbing Jeongguk’s elbow in tow. “We should probably get out before Yoongi-hyung starts throwing pens at us. I think he started sharpening them down after Jin-hyung took an HDMI cord.” 

Jeongguk opened his mouth to reject Hoseok’s idea, but was interrupted by (Y/N) spinning her chair away from the soundboard to face him halfway. “I’ll text you when I’m done and let you know how it went okay?” Jeongguk nodded, mouth a little too dry from the smile lingering on her lips, and tried to return it. “Bye Hoseok-shii, we can get ice cream later maybe? Bye Jeonggukk-oppa!” 

Hoseok kept his giggles in as he dragged a flustered Jeongguk out the door. 

_______________________________________________________________________

God he was intimidating…

Yoongi had chosen to forgo any excessive speaking and instead settled for minimal verbal explanations with lots of subtle grunts and pointing. It worked for a bit as Yoongi pulled up the tracks of my songs in a much more advanced version of Logic Pro than I owned. College budgets don’t really allow for excessive spending these days, ya know? 

“Uh Yoongi-shii, I really appreciate everything we’ve done today, but I have no idea what you’re saying right now.” Yoongi, I had noticed, tended to mumble and despite having spoken for Korean for a couple of years now satoori and mumbled things tended to make understanding someone very difficult. 

Yoongi looked at me sideways and blinked before taking a deep breath. He had looked more sure of himself when Hoseok and Jeongguk were here, so I chose not to mention how his shoulders seemed to move inward as he inched to face me. “You distorted this sample right?” I nodded in response. “Right, well I was just wondering why you added so much reverb if you’d already added distortion. It throws the whole thing off after the second verse, no flow really. You should probably scrap it and start over.” 

“Oh uh, I mean you’re right actually. It’s kind of an overkill. You’re very honest, Yoongi-shii.” 

I watched as Yoongi finished off the last of his now mostly water iced coffee with a nod. “You could say that.”

“In that case, I’ll be honest too. I think you’re being a little picky because you don’t know what you’re doing or what to do with me, specifically.” 

Yoongi narrowed his eyes and leaned backward in his chair, the joints squeaking slightly as he did so. So much for a cool guy move. “Picky? Did you expect me to graze over your mediocrity? I’m a professional kid, we don’t take mediocrity in the big world and Daddy’s money isn’t gonna get you far.” Yoongi whipped his hands on his pants as he clicked around. 

My arms tingled as a heaviness settled in my chest, something akin to disappointment and failure making a home. “Daddy’s money? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Yoongi turned and refused to look at me any longer. “It means I can smell the money rolling off of you and I don’t think working in a cafe can get you the program needed to mix music like this.” 

My chest felt heavier than before as I geared myself up to respond. “You’re right. That was expensive and maybe I do come from money, but that song was made in 2014 and I’ll have you know that I’ve been living on my own in Korea since I was fucking shipped off in 2015. I didn’t come here to get profiled Yoongi-shii, I came here because I thought you were a professional who knew how to scroll and find my recent tracks.” Fuck Min Yoongi if he thinks he can walk all over me.

Yoongi clenched his jaw with a slight tilt of his head to the side before visibly gulping down whatever was in his throat. His free hand meanwhile gripped the mouse and clicked into another folder. _______________________________________________________________________

To: JJK-Oppa 

Heading home now Yoongi-shii is weird and mean 

From: JJK-Oppa

How was it? I’m sorry about earlier by the way. Yoongi-Hyung isn't the best at expressing himself or talking really

To: JJK-Oppa

I figured as much, he seems harmless though just a little idk??? So much attitude in a tiny body Don’t tell him I said he’s tiny oh god I already kinda sorta maybe went off on him

From: JJk-Oppa

Secrets safe with me :) Why did you go off on him???  I’ll beat him up for you >:)

To: JJK-Oppa

Jeongguk-oppa, I don’t think you could hurt a fly but thank you <3 Do you think Hoseok-shi would still get me ice cream? I’ll give you all the juicy details later

From: JJK-Oppa

Hyung said he’s always down for ice cream We can pick you up..?

To: JJK-Oppa

Say less <3 

______________________________________________________________________

“(Y/N)! Over here!” My head flew right as I looked in the direction of the voice. Jeongguk stood half in the back door of a black SUV. I threw a hand up and waved back noticing he had changed from a casual oversized sweater and jeans to a matching baggy grey sweatsuit. 

“Hi Jeongguk-oppa, it’s nice to see you again.” I gave a small bow of my head before ducking beneath his arm holding the door open and sliding in. I released a happy sigh when I felt the heat coming from the vents. “Hi again Hoseok-shii, thank you for picking me up.” 

Hoseok and scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Back it up women, what’s this “Hoseok-shii” business all about? You call Jeongguk Oppa and not me? You’re soon to be dance captain too?”

I smiled and leaned forward to place my cheek against the side of his seat. My eyes fluttered and smiled up at him. “Would you like you to call you oppa hoseok-shii?” Hoseok turned to face me and pinched my other cheek with a scrunch of his nose

“You brat, it’s Hobi-Oppa now okay? You’re gonna be trouble. I can tell already.” I rolled my eyes and pulled his hand from my cheek before slumping back. “This is Jimin, by the way. He wormed his way into the car before we could stop him, so I apologize for anything he does beforehand. He is also trouble.” 

Jimin, for what it's worth, only smiled and turned from the passenger seat to smile at me as I buckled my seatbelt next Jeongguk. “I heard there would be free ice cream and gossip about Yoongi-hyung, so I had to come.” His eyes melted into crescents as his smile grew in a way that I can only describe as heart clenchingly cute. God dammit another member Jeongguk’s posse.

“It’s nice to meet you Jimin-shii. Free ice cream is the best kind of ice cream, so I don’t blame you for tagging along.” 

Jimin studied me for a few minutes with a small smile before Hoseok yelled at him for not wearing his seatbelt. 

“You think I want your dead body on my hands if we get into an accident? I’m all up for living on the edge Jimin, but please put your seatbelt on so Jin-hyung doesn’t have a heart attack, please.” 

“I’m too cute to be a corpse.” 

“I hate to break it to you, but being cute doesn’t constitute not dying Jimin.”

“God clearly has his favorites, look at me! I’ll be fine.”

“Do not tempt me into killing you with this car to prove you wrong. I’ll do it. (Y/N) tell him I’ll do it.” 

“(Y/N) sweetie, you stay out of this okay? Just sit there and hold Jeonggukie’s hand while Hobi-hyung and I sort this out.”

Jeongguk, most likely used to this kind of conversation, was glancing out the window in thought as a nudged him. Though the flush on his cheeks that matched mine told me that he was still listening. “Is this normal for you guys?”

“Hm? Oh you mean Hobi and Jimin hyung? Yeah, all of my hyungs bicker like old married couples. Says is what they get for raising me.” 

Before I could respond, Jimin was tapping my knee closest to him with a pout. “Ya! Weren’t you listening? (Y/N), you’ll call me Oppa right? Hobi-hyung and Jeonggukie aren't the only ones, right?” Hoseok and Jeongguk both scoffed from their seats.

My eyes widened as I gave a quick glance to Jeongguk only to receive a shrug in response. Just great, thanks for the help. “Uh yeah Jimin-shii, I guess I’ll call you oppa one day.” 

“One day?” Jimin scoffed and pinched my knee. “You call me Jimin-oppa right now, young lady. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other more often. Us cute people have to stick together against people like Hobi-hyung.” The hand that pinched my knee returned and gave it a few pats. My mouth hung open slightly before I nodded and fought off a few giggles as a response. 

Things settled down for a few minutes before Jugguk shifted in his seat away from me slightly. His head was no longer facing the window, but now towards his lap as he flipped his phone between his hands. I was happy to see him not ripping at his fraying sweater sleeves, but curious as to what was causing the furrow between his brows. The atmosphere was light as Jimina and Hoseok continued to bicker about ice cream shops, so his look only made me worry. I snuck a glance at the two up front and decided texting was probably better than announcing any worries out loud. Jeongguk seemed like the private type anyways.

To: JJK-Oppa

Everything okay?

Jeongguk blinked as his phone lit up with my text message. He read it before furrowing his eyebrows deeper at the screen. I motioned for him to text me back with a pout. 

From: JJK-Oppa

Why are you are texting me

To: JJK-Oppa

Do you not want me to text you? :( 

Jeongguk looks at the screen with wide eyes before shaking his head no at me. It’s dark but I can still see the pink dusting across his skin nonetheless. Cute.

To: JJK-Oppa

I’m kidding, but really what’s up? 

Jeongguk goes to type again, but freezes his fingers a couple of times before typing and erasing a few times. Trying not to overwhelm him and give him some peace, I look away to listen to Hoseok and Jimin talking about which chores are overdue at their place. A chime of my phone brings my attention back to my phone.

From: JJK-Oppa

It’s nothing

To: JJK-Oppa

It’s okay. Sprinkles make everything better :)

Jeongguk’s small giggle eases the worry in my chest and any residual hurt lingering from my meeting with Yoongi as his eyes crease at the ends. It’s then that I suddenly remember why Jeongguk and his friends were so well known around campus. He’s so pretty. I hear Hoseok and Jimin cackling from the front and give my chest a few pats as it races. Correction: they’re all pretty.

[A/N: Hello~ I feel very ehh about this one, but honestly props to me for putting this out despite working two jobs, being a full time student, AND being major depresso espresso lately. Let me know what you guys think!]

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 6

Rating: Explicit.

‼️TW: Reader is EIGHTEEN! Recreational drug use, smoking and alcohol consumption, deeply internalised self-loathing, very questionable moral standards. Daddy kink taken half-seriously. BDSM themes in later chapters - explicit content will come with it's own TWs. FIRST PERSON POV. There's non-explicit smut in this part!

Summary: You're Peter's classmate, a child of rich and famous but uncaring parents. Getting paired up for a lengthy project with the boy was an interesting turn of events and you don't know whether to feel blessed or cursed when you develop, seemingly, a perfectly normal, harmless crush on Tony Stark. Fueled by feelings of inadequacy and boredom, your life spirals out of control - and you're lucky your newfound friends are there to pick up the pieces even if you cannot find it in yourself to believe these amazing human (and not so human) beings voluntarily give you more than a fleeting glance and an offhanded thought. And they brought cake!

A/N: Remember that questionable morals remark? Yea, this chapter is the reason. Y/N, girl, you gotta stop... But at least it's kinda funny. Okay, it's pretty damn hilarious.

Beta read by the lovely and patient @miscmarvelwritings ! She is amazing. I larb her. 💙

"And then I was like 'No Way!' and he was like 'Totally' and that's how I met Tony Stark," I finished excitedly, opposite a laughing Mr. Davies. The story of how I met Iron Man was a total hit with the teacher and my vigorous mimicking of the facial expressions that described my feelings during the time had my teacher busting a gut something loud. 

"I honestly have some trouble believing that but - hey, what the hell, he's a billionaire superhero, it's basically expected for him to be a little strange," When his laughing fit was over, Mr. Davies reminded me he was, in fact, a psychology doctor. There was serious brain power under that easygoing attitude.

I expected detention to be bearable in his company but Mr. Davies rose above expectations, welcoming me with another cup of tea and some colouring pages. Admittedly, I contemplated stealing some - those mandalas were really captivating.

"Oh, he's strange alright, but nothing I can't handle," I twirled a pencil between my fingers. 

Mr. Davies grinned knowingly, too knowingly for my comfort, and I had no choice but to make a stone face before looking him in the eye. 

He smirked. "So, anything else interesting for you going on?" 

"Nah, not much. Really looking forward to being done with high school and going out into the bigger world, y'know."

"You turned 18 already, right?" I nodded in confirmation. "Maybe get a job, something part-time? OsCorp always hands these leaflets out, they're looking for lab assistants."

I wrinkled my nose. "I don't need a job. Plus, I'm sure Bruce-err, Doctor Banner would smash me if I went to work at OsCorp," I glossed over my slip-up, hoping Mr. Davies would do the same. But no such luck happened.

"Right. Me and Bruce, we actually go way back," He smiled, stirring his tea. I perked up in interest. "We studied psychology together, sat next to each other in half of our classes. It's a shame what happened to him but I hope he's happy now," Mr. Davies was smiling earnestly, looking out of the window where rain had started flowing down on the glass.

"Really? That's cool," I said, lacking anything else to add to his statement.

"He used to skip classes and always lost his glasses even though they'd be on top of his head," My teacher continued. "Banner was actually quite a rowdy student," He added with a smirk.

"Hah, he still routinely loses his glasses, although he wears them on a string around his neck now," I chuckled fondly. Bruce was such a dork.

I chatted with Mr. Davies some more, just casual conversation about everything and nothing in between. His parents were hippies, he had two moms and one dad and according to him, Thor was very overrated. I didn't even notice we were up in each other's space until our knees brushed when Mr. Davies - "Call me Will" - was showing me the pictures of his cats, dog and lizard. I figured that as the hippy child, personal space was kind of a foreign concept to him - and that rang true, I've seen Will give out more shoulder grabs and high fives than anyone else sans the gym teacher.

The clock's ding announced 6 PM and I quickly gathered my things, hastily saying goodbye. I was stopped though.

"If you don't mind a quick stop at my house, I can drop you off. It's pouring buckets outside and I would hate you to get sick," Will spoke casually. 

Technically, I knew he was bending some rules of conduct. But it was also 55° outside and the water coming from the sky was unlikely to be warm. So I caved without any guilty conscience, obediently following Mr. Davies -Will- to the parking lot where a new-ish Jeep Cherokee proudly stood amongst several older, less gently used cars. With New York city traffic being the way it is, I didn't text Bruce yet, fully expecting for the trip to take a whole hour if not more. 

Thankfully the parking gods were merciful and Will managed to find a spot right across his two-story townhouse. "You're welcome to come in if you feel comfortable, I just need to fetch some documents," He said.

And that's where I fucked up. I nodded affirmatively, I followed him through the door and made myself as comfortable as I could on his living room couch. It was a cozy home, his iguana chilled opposite me in it's terrarium and the little mutt that was his dog really reminded me of the atrocity that my parents used to own before they had me. It yipped and yapped, wagging it's bushy tail at me and demanding pets.

The steaming tea mug was dutifully placed in my hand by Will who hopped upstairs immediately after that, skipping steps. I watched the man with a benign stare: he'd removed his sweater and I could see the defined muscles of his back and the admirable backside that he possessed. There was no harm in looking respectfully, right?

I was halfway through my mug when Will came back down, brandishing a truly impressive stack of manila folders, setting it on a nearby table before sitting down on the other end of the couch, maintaining a respectful distance between us. We chatted some more and the more he spoke about his current research, the more passionate he became; by the end of his truly epic description of the effects that anti-depressants have on the learning process of depressed adolescents, I was mesmerized by the way his pink lips formed words.

Sitting with my calves tucked under my butt, leaning against the armrest , I was a goner. He caught my eye, diverting his own stare from my exposed legs to the side, blinking furiously. It calmed my spirits somewhat, knowing that I wasn't the only one affected by the sudden change of atmosphere in the room. My mug landed on the low table with a loud clang as I leaned forward, the sleeves of my sweater accidentally brushing against his leg.

Will cleared his throat and I startled, tilting my head up towards him in confusion. He was staring at me with a mix of fear and delight in his eyes, like a boy preparing for his first kiss. I would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation if the darkness in his stormy grey eyes didn't make my own breath do somersaults somewhere between my lungs and my esophagus.

Fifteen minutes later, both my sweater and my panties were thrown somewhere in the furthest end of the room and those thin lips were making me see stars. For some reason he was convinced I'd had only typical teenage disappointing sex up to this point and was really eager to show me what a grown man can do. I mean, I wasn't complaining, he was really, really good with his mouth - but I didn't have all night, so I flipped the tables and showed off my own oral skills until he had to bodily remove me from his dick and lift me onto it. Every movement felt surreal, like I was living in a dream. Despite my common sense yelling expletives at me, I kissed Will back with twice the heat and none of the finesse, each of us reaching the peak nearly in sync.

"Can I get that ride to the tower now?"

Will let out a decidedly unmanly squeak when he realised where exactly he'd be taking me after we did what we'd done. I smiled at him in hopes of calming down the man but it seemed it came out more predatory. He shivered, his dick twitching within me.

I texted Bruce the same time I was getting into Will's car. My brain was still somewhat in a state of shock and I used the brief moment to tidy up my hair and makeup, taking note of my sex-flushed face. I only hoped I didn't stink like man-sweat and Will's cologne. 

Another realization was startled out of me: that was my first time having had sex without a condom. I was on birth control since I was fourteen so pregnancy wasn't a scare; currently, I was more worried about the mildly uncomfortable, wet feeling in my panties where my teacher's cum had pooled out.

Yikes. That moment Will took a careful monitoring of my facial expression and it took me a lot to keep it somewhere between neutral and happy. Internally, I was freaking the fuck out, torn between horror and incredible arousal.

It morphed into full fledged mortification when I saw Bruce's lab coat from afar, the man standing next to the entrance door. Having had a dumb moment, I texted Banner that a former schoolmate of his was the one giving me a ride and it really shouldn't have been a surprise that Bruce would go downstairs to greet Will.

'Fuck you, you dumbass,' was my approximate train of thought, directed at myself, when all three of us gathered, hiding from the cold rain and the autumn wind under the safety of the roof. Both men shared a brief, warm embrace before Bruce's arm snaked around my waist.

"You go upstairs, okay? I don't want you to get sick," Banner said, eyeing the disastrous weather.

I looked at Will, finding his eyebrow cocked at Bruce's frivolous gesture and a faint flush blossoming on his face. The man shuffled awkwardly, giving me a small wave and a tight-lipped smile before turning his attention back to Bruce. I wished him good night, hastily retreating into the safety of the elevator.

"What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fu-u-uck..." I chanted under my breath, acutely aware of the blossoming bruises on my hips where my teacher held me, the dampness of my underwear. 

The elevator doors opened, revealing the common room couch being occupied by Wanda. Peter, Wanda's brother and the two resident super soldiers setting the table for dinner. Tony was off bickering with Loki and Strange by the coffee maker and Thor was standing outside on the patio, doing something very strange with his hands and his hammer. Was he summoning the shitty weather?! The audacity!

"Hey," Wanda greeted me quietly. Her eyebrows raised upon seeing my face full of perplexed confusion. "You okay?.. Wait, what? Tell me you did not!" As my internal crisis reached its peak, I remembered that a) Wanda is a telepath and b) There were other people in the room.

One ungraceful landing next to her later, I turned my bleary stare onto her. "Oops?" I offered in the way of explanation. What was I supposed to say if I didn't know for myself what the devil possessed me to fuck my social studies teacher after school? He was fucking hot, okay.

The witch smirked, obviously following my defensive internal monologue. "Oops?" Her tone was laced with gleeful sarcasm.

"I'm a human disaster," I groaned, finally caving in and palming my face. Wanda began snickering. "I have zero impulse control," I continued wallowing in self-pity. The redhead just cackled harder.

"I feel so attacked right now," Tony's voice loudly announced the man's presence. I was thankful for the distraction, happy that today, out of all the days, he decided to make the situation about himself. "I am the resident hot mess and nothing you do will change that. Or get out of my tower," He made a dramatic gesture, waving along everybody to the table.

At the dinner table, with Peter on one side of me and Bruce on the other, Wanda's speech was clear. "I think you two are about on the same level, Tony," Her tone was dry. The looks she cast me were cheeky at best and downright gleeful at worst. Not only was she the resident telepath but also, apparently, a huge drama fan.

I, on the other hand, felt like a fish thrown out of water. My mind was still jumping between astounded and horrified like a rabid rabbit and Bruce's excited remark about seeing a former schoolmate only worsened the anxiety. My brain was telling me EVERYBODY knew EVERYTHING whereas in reality, it was only Wanda and it didn't seem like she was upset enough to give up my dirty little secret. If anything, the witch seemed almost impressed. And that dry, mildly interested facial expression only solidified when she put two and two together: my teacher, whom I fucked, also known as Bruce's former study buddy.

"I have some spare sweatpants that might fit you," Wanda directly addressed me as we were finishing up the wonderful chicken roast courtesy of Clint and Bucky. Nobody batted an eye at the sudden exclamation, evidently used to being around someone who could hear their thoughts. 

I nodded, mentally waving a big, red thank you note. With sparkles. And hearts. Wanda chuckled.

"Hey, did you change your perfume?" Peter's innocent remark made me nearly freeze in my spot. 

Kill Bill sirens started playing in my head on repeat as I heard Wanda choke on her asparagus, inadvertently drawing attention to the three of us. Peter looked at us in confusion: Wanda kept on gasping, but it seemed like the dam had finally burst and she was laughing in earnest, snorting, loudly, as I engaged my willpower to stop myself from doing the same. Needless to say, it was a spectacular failure and now both of us were bent over our dinner plates, absolutely losing it - much to the concern of the adults present at the table. The rest of the team was growing concerned.

"Oh my god, your FACE!" Wanda's incoherent mumbling and the accusing finger pointed in my direction did it.

"A lady doesn't... kiss... and tell...." I fervently gulped the oxygen as I tried to articulate my thoughts into something comprehendible. The hysterical laughter won by a wide margin.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Natasha seemed to get the gist, relaxing immediately and picking up her fork to continue her meal. 

I shook my head, unable to form a coherent thought, much less a sentence. Bruce chuckled from somewhere beside me and just like that, the tension broke. The adults in the room traded knowing looks, chuckling and snorting amongst themselves. 

The moments I needed to calm down went to waste really quick: my first laughing fit over, I took one look at Wanda and yet again, both of us were puffing out our cheeks to try and prevent another hysterical fit. 

"Whew," I exaggerated, eyes wide and looking ANYWHERE but at Wanda.

"What a wild ride," She snorted and I put a palm over my face, shaking my head in... 

Disappointment at myself? I wasn't disappointed. Now that I got over the WTF factor, I found the situation to be pretty damn hot. Will was hot. Eh, whatever. 

My casual mood of zero-fucks-given began returning. After few of the last bites of potatoes, I was prepared to face  Natasha. I looked the Black Widow dead in the eye as I firmly stated: "And for the record? We are NOT having this conversation."

She elegantly arched her eyebrow whilst everybody else held their breath. "That bad, huh?" The retort was immediate.

I allowed myself to radiate a bit of that newly acquired smugness I had begun to feel: "You have no idea," I hoped my smirk was as devious as I wished it to be.

"Alright, heartbreaker, colour me impressed," Natasha nodded in affirmation. We shared another meaningful look and reverted back to our plates with the menfolk observing us akin animals at a zoo. 

Somewhat amazed, slightly afraid. Bruce's stare was somewhat concerned, too: he contemplatively eyed me from the corner of his eye, the same way I eyed him, checking out the fact that he appeared somewhat annoyed. Like a proper father would, I suppose. 

Luckily for me, I finished off the remaining food and drink quickly, with Wanda being my saviour once again as she all but bodily dragged me into the elevator, promising to return me to the science den in no more than an hour. Tony went to complain but was promptly stopped by Natasha inconspicuously reaching for the butter knife: the engineer knew how to pick his battles. I didn't doubt that Romanoff was going to hear "all about it" second-hand from Wanda and I was fully prepared to face the redhead spy's judgement. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, escaped that clever woman.

A quick shower and a change of clothes later, I sat on Wanda's couch, nervously fiddling with the two sizes too big sweatpants, occasionally stopping to straighten the plain white tank top that just barely fit me. I washed my hair but didn't  dry it before Wanda was impatiently telling me to hurry up: the mess sat atop my head held up by a single scrunchie.

"Okay... Where do I start?" She asked me, looking like the cat that ate the canary. 

"Don't start," I stopped her with a raised palm. "It was a casual, one-time thing and I've no interest in pursuing that shit on the reg," I answered honestly. The fact that he was my teacher simultaneously worsened the situation and made me elated. But ultimately, I didn't want to risk the trouble that would come along with this mess. Besides, I had no feelings for the guy whatsoever. As I've said previously, it was just bad impulse control on some teenage hormone steroids.

"You're a strange one," Wanda's penetrating gaze made me shiver. "You live without a care in the world but at the same time, your mind is always all over the place. It is interesting."

"Uh, thanks? I guess?"

"I think we should try being friends," The witch remarked after a brief moment of awkward silence. I stared at her, dumbfounded. "Because of my powers, I can literally see through people and predict what they will do before they even think about doing it. With you, it's not like that," She explained, her Slavic accent making a full guest appearance.

"So...you want to be friends because I'm a fucking mess?" I couldn't help but feel a little offended. The occasional shitty decision aside, I didn't think of myself as that bad.

"I want to be friends because I like you," Wanda fondly rolled her eyes, standing up from the couch and motioning for me to follow. "Now let's get you to Tony or he'll blow a gasket. He's already insufferable as he is."

@another-stark-sub @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit @littlegasps @pilloclock @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads @hermione-grangers-wife @individualistfem

[lordrethandus]

Daily Writing Challenge 2021 Day 9

Colors/Disappear ( @daily-writing-challenge​, @serararku​ )

World: Final Fantasy 14

Content Warning: Violence and gore.

The haul was good for once. The first good haul in many moons.

Heavy wooden crates were carried down the gangway by burly men still covered in soot, mud, and blood. They were exhausted from the raid- they all were- and narrowly avoiding Limsa Lominsa's new navy was no easy task for pirates set in the old ways. The quaint little cove they stored their precious loot in would serve them well but not forever; the tide would rise come summer and the sea would swallow this place whole.

"Put yer backs into it!" The First Mate bellowed, impatiently shaking his weighty fist. "Ye wanna rest, do ye?! Sooner we unload, sooner we can drink! Come on lads! Move it move it move it!"

Captain Tranter wasn't afraid of a little manual labor and was already poised to crack open these chests to find out what exactly they pillaged. He gripped the sledgehammer with both hands, lifted it over his head, then brought it down on the heavy iron lock keeping the first chest sealed tight.

THAACK!

One good swing was all it took. With the steel-plated tip of his boot the Captain kicked off the crumbled metal and popped the chest open with a flick of his ankle. The orange light from the fading sunset bounced off the contents at the perfect angle, mimicking an aurora on the dull grey limestone ceiling. Even the crew gave pause to stare awestruck at the lights before the First Mate barked at them again. "Beautiful…" was all the Captain could mutter, enthralled by the myriad of colors glimmering from gemstones of all shapes and sizes. He blinked the trance away then gestured to his helping hands to haul it to the back of the cove with the rest of his treasure; they may go hungry if none of these crates and chests contained any food, but sleeping in a bed of gemstones would certainly be worth waiting till the morrow to get something to eat.

THAACK!

Next came the slaves. Almost a dozen Highlanders were ushered out from beneath the deck and across the gangway to endure a new life of suffering. The blood of their loved ones were still warm on their bodies as they stepped barefoot on the cold, wet, and jagged rocks, traumatized from being ripped from their homes and former lives, only to be sold to the highest bidder in the coming week. None knew exactly what would happen next, but they all had the same idea; judging by the lustful grins of their captives, there was a long and painful night awaiting them. Yet as an impatient pirate stepped forward to grope one, a black leather whip came cracking over his head to keep his urges in check. “Ye know the rules! Cap’n gets first pick! Then officers! Then ye can have ‘em warmin’ yer beds after that!” A long crooked finger was jabbed in the pirate’s face. “But if ye gettem pregnant, the babe and loss o’gil is yours!”

Captain Tranter gave the lineup a once over, but his mind was still orbiting that chest of gemstones. His eyes swept over their sniffling faces before he made his decision. “Aye, the blonde broad. At the end o’ the line. Getter in me favorite dress and make sure she ain’t cryin’ when I get done bustin’ open these chests.”

“Aye Cap’n!” The fairest of them all shivered with terror when she was unshackled from the others and ushered toward the back-end of the cove. The Captain ignored her pitiful weeping, instead returning to smashing open the rusty iron locks with the hopes of finding another one filled with gemstones. One was filled with linen. One with popatoes. Another was filled with old rags. It seemed their luck was beginning to wane, but at least they could make a fine fish stew with the popatoes to keep their bellies warm for the ni-

“What…? What in the hells is that?!” One of his crewmen blurted out as he pointed back at the ship; ignoring him would be a simple matter if the rest of his crew didn’t begin to gasp and murmur amongst themselves. Captain Tranter paused with the sledgehammer over his head to look at them, furrowed his brows at how pale and shaken the man looked, and followed his trembling finger.

In the crow’s nest knelt a fair-haired figure wearing a stained and tattered wedding dress, that flowed and drifted with even the faintest breeze. A dense fog cascaded from its form, and before long the growing cloud would swallow the ship whole. When Captain Tranter dropped his hammer and squinted to get a better look, the figure stood up straight, revealing the grey face of a woman, with a slender sliver of ice in her grasp.

“I-it’s the Mournin’ Maiden…!” A pirate cried out, recognizing the forlorn spirit. “B-bane of the seas… she feasts on the skulls o’ the unfaithful sailors…! All who break their vows are doomed men!” Just about every pirate within earshot shuddered in terror.

All but the Captain. “What are you idiots gawkin’ at?! Ye got guns aye?! Send this spectre back to the afterlife!” He whipped his revolver out of its holster and fired first, and two dozen of his men followed his lead. Blam! Blam! Blamblamblam! Blam blam! By the time they stopped firing, the spirit was gone.

“Did…” the First Mate stuttered as smoke drifted from the barrel of their pistols. “D-did we get em?”

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

What a horrible sound! The shriek rushed across the cove like the wind to test their resolve! They gripped at their ears and staggered from the piercing noise- some dropped to their knees and cried out in terror, while others abandoned their brothers and dived headfirst off the edge into the sea below. Some of them misjudged their jumps and smacked against the jagged rocks protruding from the waters, or bellyflopped onto the shallow end; either fate was surely better than the apparition rending their souls from their bodies? “Oh no…! We angered her!” One of them collapsed to his knees and soiled himself. “The ship’s the only way out…! We’re trapped! We’re doomed!”

“Use silver!” Captain Tranter barked, popping open his revolver to replenish his shots with polished silver rounds. He had to wrestle back control of this situation if he wanted to live to see another day. “Silver’s deadly t’monsters! We can banish her with one clean sh-!”

Out from the freezing fog she came skittering down the gangway! “Fire! OPEN FIRE!” A hail of bullets ripped the air in half to tear her into pieces, but her erratic movements made her damn near impossible to hit. She leapt high into the air when the bullets tore through the rocks around her, only for her to vanish in a sudden puff of fog. Captain Tranter held his pistol tightly with one hand, and the handle of his silver rapier with the other; he would love nothing more than to bash this spirit with his sledgehammer, but she was too quick for that. “Steady…!” He commanded, keeping his eyes peeled for her to appear again. “No ghost needs to dodge…! She’s mortal and livin’! Just watch yer backs and prepare for another ambush!”

The First Mate looked up just in time to see the flowing wedding dress cascade over his body and blind him from the others. “MMMPH! MMPH!” The roegadyn clawed frantically at the ensnaring cloth as his crewmates watched on in horror. “MMMPH! MMURK-!” His arms and legs twitched before he collapsed to his knees. Captain Tranter raised his pistol and fired, and the spirit vanished again- only to reveal the First Mate’s head was missing!

“Up there! The ceilin’!” All eyes shot upward to witness her slowly crawling along the stalactites. She lunged at them, spiraling through the air while billowing fog from the holes in her mask. “Wait! WAIT! N-AAAUGH!” A long sliver of ice slipped from her gown and severed limbs to claim the arms, hands, and knees of anyone who dared step within reach.

It was chaos! The Maiden moved like a fluttering leaf in the wind, spinning and weaving between them, claiming life after life! Grown men dropped their weapons and gripped at their bloodied stumps to squeal in agony and terror- other pirates open fired with no regard for the others, missing the Maiden to cripple or kill each other with friendly fire. “KILL HER! KILL HER NOW!” The Captain bellowed, fumbling with his spare bullets when the Maiden leapt onto the shoulders of the Gunner before claiming another head.

Few pirates tried- but every shot missed, and every attempt with blade or blunt object was met with curdling screeches and agony! The Quartermaster tried to make a run for it, but the Maiden outran him from behind, skittering up his back to swallow the upper half of his body with her deadly embrace! “FIGHT! FIGHT YE COWARDS!”

Soon what little resolve they had managed to cling to until now had abandoned them, and any pirate still standing tripped over boxes, crates, and corpses as they scrambled into the thinning fog to board the ship for their escape. Captain Tranter grit his teeth as he blindly fired, hitting the legs and backs of several crewmates- but there was little else he could do to punish betrayers and mutineers that disobeyed his commands. With a pistol now empty, and the fog closing in around his feet, he stared down the Mourning Maiden. She stood there in silence, hovering over the headless corpse of the last of his officers, seemingly ignoring both the fleeing cowards and the shackled women in the corner.

“What do ye want…?!” He demanded, dropping his pistol. “Revenge? Trinkets? Does this treasure belong to ye?! Go on- take em back! Just let me live!” There was no response. She simply kept pumping fog from her form until the freezing cold gripped his skin tighter than his own clothes. “Answer me, apparition! What do ye want?!”

Suddenly she lunged forward, skittering in a straight line toward him! Fear stirred his stomach but he kept his nerve, drawing his rapier to fight to the last! SHWING! He parried the razor-sharp spike of ice with his rapier, the blistering ice creeping around and catching his blade! The spirit was stronger than he had hoped, and the longer she had him locked against her, the more ice that formed on his last line of defense. He stared helplessly into the mask, with frost freezing the droplets of sweat on his forehead. Then suddenly she yanked herself away, ripping the rusting blade from the hilt and sending it careening off into the fog! He reached for his boot knife and went to slice her chest open- anything was better than standing there to die!

SHLURK!

"Aaauugh!" His hand and his knife vanished into the white haze. Agony bit into the back of his knees and sent him falling onto his face; beneath the rolling fog he began to crawl, desperately reaching for his pistol. If he could just reach it and get another bullet in, he could-!

Her foot came down on his hand with a wet crunch! "Nnngh!" Captain Tranter stifled his groans when she ground her heel into his wrist before finally stepping off; he looked down in defeat when he saw how mangled and twisted his fingers were. “Guuughh…! Auuugh… haahhhh…! Gods no…! W-wait…!”

All he could do now was look his killer in the eyes. The Mourning Maiden's wedding dress was discolored by the salt of the sea, and stained with blots of blood both brown and old, and red and recent. Her hands were a moldy grey and bloated, with seawater dripping down her bony fingers. Captain Tranter strained to look up at her face; she wore the cracked stone mask of a weeping widow, with water stains running down the eye slots and barnacles fused to her cheeks and forehead. Shimmering in the light were two off-colored blue eyes that pierced his soul.

“Please…!” Captain Tranter soiled himself before this terrifying banshee. “I beg o’ye…! I don’t wanna die…! I’ll do anythin’! I just wanna-!”

Floosh…

The tattered wedding dress lashed out and draped over his body.

As the fog began to filter out, the pirates who made it to the ship, without breaking their ankles sprinting blindly, managed to get her sailing again- and not a moment too soon. They looked on to see the Mourning Maiden holding their captain’s head aloft at them- taunting them. Terror gripped their souls as they panicked aboard their vessel, pulling free from the makeshift dock and almost drifting into the side of the cove on their way out.

“Please, spare us o vengeful spirit…!” The Highlander woman the late captain picked for his bed barely managed to squeak out her words. “We aren’t pirates…! We’re prisoners! I beseech your forgiveness for any wrongdoings we may have done…!”

“You have nothing to fear from me.” The Mourning Mother turned to face the prisoners, who were all huddled up and cowering together in their shackles. She approached them in silence, dropping the severed head; but when she lifted her hand to her mask and pulled it off, the womens' fear quickly turned into confusion.

Soft black cat ears popped free before the living face of a Miqo'te woman was revealed. She pulled the veil off and massaged her jaw, then looked down at the women with a warm and welcoming smile. "My name is S'era, and I'm here to rescue you." The silver of ice in her grasp melted and hissed, revealing a steel uchigatana. They flinched when she raised it over her head- but a loud ringing bang later and their chains crumbled at their feet.

"Wait… so you're not the Mourning Maiden?!" One woman asked, rubbing at her wrists.

S'era lifted her gown and slid her sword back into the hidden sheath. "Ha- definitely not. I decided to use their pirate superstition against them, and it worked like a charm. Sit tight and try to relax, okay? A ship is coming to take you to Limsa."

“But… that scream…” Another started, still thoroughly confused. “How did you manage to make such a terrible sound?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Their savior gave them a perplexing look. “I didn’t make a single-” She turned her back to the group of women and pressed her fingers to her temple. "Yes- S'era reporting in, the prisoners and stolen property are all secured… most of the pirates are aboard their ship, sailing out now… yes… the captain is dead… yes… mhm… understood. Okay, S'era out." She rummaged through her dress and pulled out a small metal switch before pointing at the fleeing pirates.

BOOOM!

The ship rocked and heaved from the chain of explosions, traveling up each mast and lighting up the stern beneath the seawater. "Hahahahaha!" S'era crossed her arms and nodded approvingly at her handiwork; she then pressed her fingers to her temple again before turning to smile at the freed captives. "Yeah, back her in. The captives are ready to be lifted out."

“Thank you…!” Tears began to stream down their faces. Relief washed over them like the tide, but they were too weak to openly celebrate. “Oh gods, thank you so much!”

“Just hang tight.” S’era assured them, glancing out toward the mouth of the cove again. “We’re going to take you to Limsa Lominsa to check your injuries. We have soft beds and warm meals waiting for you on the ship once we’re airborne.”

They looked around as the fog finally dissipated. Aside from the limbs scattered around the cove at the appropriate blood stains on the wet rocks, they were safe enough to breathe. The pirates were either dead or on their way to be arrested again, marking a righteous and sudden end to the Black Powder Buccaneers. The blonde woman stood over the remains of Captain Tranter, before spitting on his corpse. Because of him her family and seaside village were gone, but he would never harm another person ever again.

A low rumbling hum traveled through the ground to vibrate their feet. They saw the tide shake and tremble before a flying ship slowly dipped beneath the roof of the cove to back herself in; sails as white as clouds folded against the metallic silver underbelly, as ceruleum-powered propellers whipped up the wind. The women covered their faces and rose to their aching feet when the doors swung open, following their rescuer onto the Skydancer to be lifted out of this nightmare.

Several galleons were already headed toward the pirate ship that remained dead in the water, and by this time tomorrow they would all be swinging from the gallows. As the last glimpse of the sun dipped behind the horizon, as the Skydancer zipped across the sea before raising its nose up to ascend into the sky, an ethereal woman stood on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Her bridesmaids held the ends of her fraying dress to keep it from dragging on the ground as she approached the edge, with tears streaming down her rotting face.

In silence she watched the Skydancer vanish into the clouds, and in the blink of an eye, the real Mourning Maiden disappeared.

[specterchasing-a]

Down, boy! || Eddie & Bea

TIMING: Current-ish

PARTIES: @beatrice-blaze​ & @specterchasing​

LOCATION: Illusions of Grandeur

SUMMARY: Eddie literally runs from his problems and Bea talks some sense into him.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Suicidal ideations tw, sibling death tw.

The shops and faces lining ‘Freak Alley’ flew by in colorful blurs as Eddie’s feet slapped against the sidewalk. An over-the-shoulder glance let him know that the hellhound he attracted at a nearby cemetery was gaining on him. Its size led him to believe he’d somehow lucked out and stumbled upon a runt, or perhaps a pup if hellhounds underwent adolescence. Eddie didn’t know and, in the moment, he frankly didn’t care; it could clearly still breathe fire.

Wicked heat kissed the soles of his shoes and Eddie’s next step became more of a leap. “Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh, fuck,” he chanted as he darted across the street. Panic set it, but it wasn’t the sole cause of Eddie’s heart beating at break-kneck speed. A laugh erupted from his chest. He liked the threat of imminent danger. No thrill on earth matched the anxious euphoria of knowing his next breath might be his last. A hellhound would make for an interesting obituary, at least, even if the local paper reduced it to an errant wolf.

Eddie skidded to a halt in front of a building, he didn’t bother to stop and read any signage that might tell him the name of his safe haven. His hand gripped the door and  flung it open. Once inside, he pressed his back against the entrance to hopefully stop the hellhound from entering with force. Unfortunately, the dimwitted beast didn’t get the memo that it wasn’t welcome and launched its body against the door with considerable vigor once, twice…

Members of the crowd turned their heads toward the commotion. Apparently, Eddie was interrupting some kind of show. His eyes snapped to the stage, landing on an unexpectedly familiar face. “Nell’s sister? I thought she was in—” 

Three times.

Eddie’s thoughts were interrupted when the impact of the hellhound's small, but dense, body threw the door open. The force sent him forward and into the crowd, albeit face-down on the floor. Eddie scrambled to his feet as a few of the crowd members shrieked at the sudden introduction of a wild beast. Chaos ensued as people scattered in search of an emergency exit. Eddie whipped around in time to see flames billowing from the dog’s mouth. A few seats, recently abandoned, caught fire.

In an attempt to rectify his mistake, Eddie bolted in the direction of a fire extinguisher. A moment later, the sprinkler system kicked on, drenching everyone in sight. Eddie marched closer to the hellhound and attacked it with a stream of white froth. “Fuck off!” he commanded as the beast caught a mouthful of foul chemicals. It reared back, whining as its head thrashed from side to side. But Eddie’s bright idea didn’t deter it for long. The hound stumbled forward and prepared for another attack.

Freedom was a nasty concept to Beatrice. As a child, picking flowers and stealing moments with Leah was freedom. Teenaged Bea had found parties she snuck out to were freedom. Before she died, freedom had been her secrets, she had held freedom in clenched hands, hidden from her coven and family. Now, she had died and come back, her secrets revealed and discovered. Her freedom was not her secrets any longer, so what was it? 

She had thought the stage was freedom until death and rebirth. It became a cage, a spectacle that could be used to see how different she had become. Deciding to reclaim it, to allow everyone to see who she was now, that tasted like an early summer morning. It had the stillness before a busy day, it had a moment of peace in it. It tasted like the beginnings of freedom, a taste she had begun to remember and enjoy in New York. 

It did not taste like smoke, a flavor that had snuck into her mouth as she performed. Smoke had no place in her show now, not now that she couldn’t control the flames. Her element was no longer fire and smoke was no longer a flavor she could feel safe tasting. She was off the stage and stalking forward to the Hellhound as people rushed out of the theater. 

She recognized the man in front of the hellhound vaguely, though she had no idea how. He was trying to smother the beast with a fire extinguisher and Bea couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Of course this is how her first performance since Adam would be. 

Her shadows leapt out, tightening around the beast mouth, clamping it shut as others worked around it’s paws. “What the hell were you thinking bringing this into my business?” She’d have to call Nell to help her with this.

Eddie watched in startled wonderment as shadows turned themselves into shackles around the hellhound’s paws. A muzzle of the same making wrapped around its jaws while it struggled against its newfound restraints. Smoke seeped out of the muzzle, but the fire was contained for the time being. Magic, he figured. Not cheap illusions, but actual magic. 

He jumped at the sound of Beatrice’s voice demanding his attention.  Eddie already felt guilty before she spoke, now the feeling consumed him. He turned to face her with an apologetic expression. As far as he could tell, they were the only two people remaining inside the venue. No one would be around to see him be reprimanded, at least.

“It chased me,” Eddie explained with a helpless shrug. “What was I supposed to do, die in the street?” For someone who wanted to say he was sorry, the words didn’t come to him. He hated that about himself, the way he instinctively took a defensive stance when he felt cornered. 

The crashing realization that Nell might still be too ill to handle this hit Bea hard and fast. It was like a softball to the stomach as she remembered how grief could hurt a person’s magic, Nell could struggle to control this Hellhound and who was Bea to ask her sister to try to after everything happened? She would have to attempt to deal with herself and if it was too much, then she would call Nell.

The face of an apology with defense on their lips was something Bea was intimately familiar with. She had been that way, she occasionally was still that way, and while the familiarity softened her, a scowl had already found its way onto her face. “That is not at all what I said or implied.” Her arm swung out behind her, “This is the place you decided to run in. Did you see how many people were in here? What would the plan have been if I wasn’t here? Let the people here burn and hope for the best?” She didn’t know this man, but that didn’t stop her scolding tone. “How did you even get chased by a Hellhound?”

With each question Bea asked him, Eddie’s guilt worsened. He never meant to hurt anyone, but he seemed to be paving the road to hell with his good intentions as of late. Regardless of what he did, it usually turned out to be a wrong move. For the moment, he elected to put his pity party on the back-burner. Bea didn’t know him and she likely wouldn’t harbor much sympathy for a grown man who nearly cost dozens of innocent people their lives. For that, he couldn’t blame her.

“I was, uh, at the cemetery down the road apiece,” he answered her most recent question, pointing his thumb in the direction he came from. “It was just kinda hanging out and didn’t like that I was too.” Eddie failed to mention that he tried to film it, and that he whistled for its attention in an attempt to get a clear shot of its face. The camera he used wound up as a substitute chew toy after it slipped out of his hand mid-sprint. 

“I tried to hold the doors shut,” he ventured. “If you weren’t here, I—” Eddie’s gaze fell to the fire extinguisher in his hand. What a joke. “Yeah, I probably would’ve been the reason someone died tonight.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he looked at Bea again. “Thanks for not letting that happen.”

A noise of frustration left Bea’s nose as she turned back to the Hellhound in front of her. Nell had a soft spot for them, it would be wrong if she just called Kaden here to kill it. It was a monster that could kill people, but her littlest sister liked them. It would hurt her to know Bea killed it without an attempt at some humane solution. She wasn’t particularly sure how to be humane to a monster, but she would figure it out. 

“Are you new to this whole thing?” Bea asked tiredly. He had to be around Adam’s age, but he had none of the experience that had let Adam survive as long as he did from what she could see. Not that had done much in the end, had it? He was still gone. “Sometimes when you see something like this the best thing to do is give it space or call someone who is trained to take care of things like this.” The hunters she trusted in this town were struggling to survive or gone. 

Bea leaned against the back of the seats nearest her, her exhaustion hitting her all at once. “There won’t always be someone like me there. What will you do then?” How will you survive? 

Bea seemed to be at the end of her rope, and a sneaking suspicion told Eddie he wasn’t the sole cause of her weariness. He thought about Nell and the contagiousness of grief. All at once, he became less concerned with self-pity. Compared to the Vurals, he had it easy. Eddie wished he could share that with them instead of dragging Bea down with his inability to make good decisions. He kept saying he would start being better for the people around him, when did he plan on actually doing it?

“No, I’m not new to this,” he answered truthfully. Whatever he said to Bea had a chance to get back to Nell. Eddie couldn’t afford to lie to her even if the lie was easier to hear than the truth. “Tonight just sucked.” 

He considered her next question carefully. “I used to know.” Again, Eddie chose honesty. Until recently, he didn’t care what happened to him in situations like what happened tonight. Live or die, it didn’t matter. Part of him, and it was a big part, still felt that way, but now people cared about him. That made things murkier. “I guess I’d die if that happened.” Despite his inner turmoil, he sounded shockingly nonchalant. “I’m trying not to be okay with that.”

For a moment, Bea almost laughed. Waves of optimism had carried her afloat that last few days, but now she felt the current shifting beneath her feet. There were only so many times she would claim that things would get better. She was exhausting herself carrying everyone else’s hope on her back, but she had tried it the other way before. She had seen what it made her and she refused to go back to that. 

“You should know that you shouldn’t be doing stuff in this town alone, then.” Adam should have known, they should have forced him to take someone. Bea shook her head, trying to lose the ‘what if’ questions that did nothing but worsen her guilt. 

Bea’s eyes snapped toward him, her exhaustion shoved away by the fire that entered her. She pushed herself away from the chairs, taking a step toward him. “Death doesn’t just affect you,” She whispered fervently. “When you die, you change something in everyone around you. They will never get back to who they were.”

Bea had a point, Eddie realized that. White Crest sunk its teeth into anyone who dared underestimate how brutal it could be. Anyone except him, it seemed. For all his recklessness, he couldn’t get the town to live up to its reputation. Death didn’t want him back. “Yeah,” he quietly replied as his gaze fell to the floor. 

Nex thing he knew, Bea seemed more vibrant than before. As she moved closer, he couldn’t tell if that was a good thing. Eddie glanced at the hellhound’s shadow-made shackles before locking eyes with her. Bea’s warning shook him. The part about his death affecting more than just him sounded a lot like similar words of caution given to him by both Nell and Morgan. But the rest, no one had ever phrased it like that before.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Eddie said firmly. “But I don’t wanna hurt either.” He knew how selfish he sounded. For years, he relied on that selfishness when no one else bothered to prioritize him. “And no one can seem to tell me how to manage both.” 

“Everyone thinks I’m perfectly content not caring whether I live or die, and I guess I can’t blame them. I even put on a good enough act to fool myself sometimes, but it’s bullshit.” His throat tightened as the truth poured out of him. “I hate feeling this way. All it does is make me miserable and piss everyone else off, which is kind of exhausting.” Eddie let out a mirthless laugh. “I’m bleeding out and everyone around me is yelling about how I’m staining the carpet.” He choked back the tears trying to form in his eyes. 

“No one can tell you, because you can’t.” Bea’s voice shook as she said it. There was no reason for her to lay things out for this man, yet here she was, because someone had to. “We hurt people, they hurt us, and we hurt ourselves.” She had been hurt by countless people, she had hurt countless people, and she had hurt herself. “It doesn’t make us bad people if we can learn from it.” She swallowed, “It makes us better if we learn how to forgive ourselves for the things we do.”

Bea closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a breath. That feeling he was talking about was something she understood well. “Sometimes people don’t know how to fix your bleeding, so they find something else to focus on. Blaming you isn’t fair, but it’s how they cope.” How many people have felt like this around here? How many people did she not see or help? “I think you might want to go to therapy, if you aren’t already,” She said with a shrug. “It can help. I go sometimes.” She went a lot in New York. She still went at least once a week, when the flashbacks were bad, she went twice. 

Nothing Bea said relieved Eddie of the ache in his chest, but he appreciated that she said it anyway. He was beginning to learn that, try as he might, he would never find a mystical cure for the pain of living. But, if he listened, he might learn how to cope with it. He forgave others easily, but turning that kindness inwards proved more difficult. “Does that… get easier with practice?” he asked.

For the past ten years, Eddie had been going to therapy. When Bea offered it as a suggestion, he nodded solemnly. “Yeah, it makes things a little easier.” But he couldn’t be completely honest with any of the professionals he’d seen, not about seeing ghosts or anything else related to the supernatural. It felt like wearing a muzzle. When they asked about his YouTube channel, he told them it was purely for entertainment. They were always impressed by the special effects.

“Anyway,” he said, forcing himself to shift gears. “Didn’t mean to, like, trauma dump or whatever” He never did, but it was becoming harder to keep it to himself. “Is there… anything I can do to help out around here? With the mess, I mean.”

“Yeah, it does.” Bea wished there was a way to prepare people for the life that White Crest was leading them down, but there wasn’t. All you could do was tell people the truth and pick them back up when they fell. “It’s like any skill though, we all mess up eventually and you’re going to kick yourself for it. Sometimes things are going to happen and you won’t even be able to remember how to do it, but it’ll come back. It always does.” 

There was a part of Bea who knew she shouldn’t be allowing herself to take someone else on, but here she was pulling someone else’s hope onto her back. Someone had to keep it safe and until they were able to, she would nurture it and treat it as though it was her own. Maybe this was her fatal flaw, the thing that would put her in the ground permanently, but until it proved as dangerous as it felt, she would flirt with it.

“Yep,” Bea grinned at him, nodding at the storage closet. “Go grab a broom. I’m going to call my sister to figure out what to do with this beastie and then I’m going to call my crew to help.” She went to walk away before pausing and looking over her shoulder, “Some days there will be too much to keep in, find people who can handle you at your worst and learn to help them too. Those people will always be with you, as long as you love them as much as they love you.”

[mariamermaid]

The Heir of Silberstein; luftige Turbulenzen (ch. 3)

“breezy turbulences”

Fred Weasley x fem Reader

Summary: As a new school year approaches in Hogwarts, the students are surprised when Dumbledore introduces a group of German siblings joining the school. The royal family of fortress Silberstein is now sent to Hogwarts to learn the matters of a normal teenager life. …

Words: 3.k

Masterlist

Having siblings, especially brothers wasn´t always easy.

But the true meaning of how different Hendrik´s and August´s thinking, wasn´t fully apprehended by you until the Quidditch game two days later. The impact of the letter hadn´t left your body.

In the two days, you hadn´t talked to either of them. You hadn´t even seen them, they avoided each other as well as you and Ruth. The youngest of the four of you, grasped the situation barely. It didn´t help that she felt even more left out. Hendrik and August were stubborn in their own ways and knowing you couldn´t convince them to talk, you at least decided to show up to the Quidditch game. Ruth sat with you in the Gryffindor tower, together you shared a bowl of salted caramel popcorn, which your little sister happily munched on.

The tower wasn´t as filled as the week before, the game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, but the true Quidditch fans still showed up. However, it still surprised you when Fred and George joined you.

“Oh Ruth, this is Fred and George Weasley, friends of mine.” You turned to the Twins and gestured towards your sister. “Guys, you know my sister Ruth, right?”

Gentlemen-like in a humorous way, just like their personalities, they shook her small hand. “Pleasure meeting the second princess”, Fred smiled. “Always at your service!”

Ruth blushed and giggled; you could already tell, that she liked them.

“How´s the game going anyways, Y/n?” Fred now asked while George tried to steal popcorn from your sister. You peered over the pitch, furrowing your eyebrows. Last week at the game, it had been warm and sunny, but today? Thick, gray clouds hung over the school and individual, cold droplets of rain started falling. The wind was hollering around the towers and felt like a whip against your skin.

“They play back and forth, but it´s not really coming together.” Fred followed your eyes and shrugged. “They had worse weather conditions before, I´m sure they handle it.”

“No, there is something else going on between them”, you shook your head and Fred, who noticed your wary eyes on your brothers, raised his eyebrow. He could only guess that some kind of argument had involved between August and Hendrik, but he realized, that you didn´t want to talk about it. At least not with Ruth there. A look of worry spread in his face and you pressed your lips to a thin line, not knowing how to answer it.

Soon the rain became thicker and gusting wind pushed the players around. Hendrik, who had apparently caught sight of something, which you only guessed as the golden snitch, August left his position to follow him. Draco, Slytherin´s actual keeper seemed to shout something at him, but you couldn´t hear the words. August continued to ignore him and follow his brother. Shoulder to shoulder they bumped into each other and Ruth hissed in fear they´d crash.

“Solche Idioten!”, you muttered in between breaths. (What idiots!)

The entire audience watched captivated. Whatever was happening, it didn´t have much to do with the actual game.

“Vielleicht solltest du einmal auf mich hören, jedenfalls bevor du deinen Arsch auf den Thron platzierst!“ August huffed and Hendrik´s eye shot angrily at him. (Maybe you should listen at least once to me, before sitting down your ass on the throne!)

“Albrecht wird uns ausstoßen noch bevor Vater es merken wird, siehst du das etwa nicht?“ (Albrecht is going to expel us before father will even realize, don’t you see it?)

He continued while they circled the towers. Hendrik tried to get rid of him, but August was determined.

“Das ist Schwachsinn, Albrecht hat kein Recht auf die Krone und das weiß jeder! Nur weil du ihn nicht leiden kannst, ist er nicht gleich der Bösewicht!“ (That´s nonsense! Albrecht has no right for the crown and everybody knows it! Just because you don´t like him, doesn´t mean he is a villain!)

„Und Vaters Krankheit, die aus dem nichts auftauchte?“ (And father´s illness, which showed up out of nowhere?)

August took a run-up, before crashing into Hendrik again. The oldest lost his balance, not completely, but enough to knock him off his course. The game was put in the rear for them.

“Unterstellst du seinem treuesten Diener ihn zu vergiften?! Das ist verrückt!“ (Do you ascribe his most loyal servant, to poison him? It´s madness!)

„Denk doch nach, es ist die einzige Erklärung! Vaters plötzliche Krankheit, uns wegzuschicken, damit er die Krone an sich krallen kann!“ (Think about it, it´s most logical explanation! Father´s sudden sickness, shipping us away, so he can clutch the crown for himself?)

„Du hast nicht ein Beweis dafür!“ (You have not a single proof for it!)

„Er hat Mutters Ring!“ (He has mother´s ring!)

Quiet, sudden and unexpected. None of you ever talked about it, not that there was much to talk. The two brothers floated in the air, still and starring, as if somebody had pushed a pause bottom.

It had been a night like this, stormy and dark. Rain was falling cold as ice daggers; Ruth was barely a year old. Queen Johanna was on a trip with her Pegasus, but time passed and she didn´t come back in the evening.

Two days passed and the whole kingdom searched for her, all they found were last rags of her dress and a deadbeat Pegasus, that was barely breathing. It laid at the side of the river, where the deadly streams came to an end and the waterfalls left nothing, but a breeze in the air. Severe injuries and a trauma, which caused all happiness to seize within the once relentless creature.

Queen Johanna died in an accident.

She left behind a broken king beneath a heavy crown and four siblings as half-orphans. It felt like an even deeper bond was formed in the family, but in reality, you drove apart.

The bond was nothing, but a façade and the crown was nothing but pure pressure.

“Du Lügner!” (You liar!) Hendrik screamed and he pushed himself forward on his broomstick. He smashed right into August, who was taken by surprise by his sudden rage. August couldn´t grab the broomstick in time, falling off and trying to hold onto Hendrik. But the oldest was blind in rage.

They spun and twisted around, quickly sailing towards the ground.

Ruth, the Weasley twins and you, as well as many other spectators, jumped off their seats. You barely heard the yell that escaped Ruth´s lips, you watched in horror as the two tumbled into the depths. Shock captivated you, leaving your body numb and unable to fulfill any commando from your brain. All you did was stand there and watch.

You were sure, that you heard the collision with the ground, even though you were hundredths of feet away and flinched at the hard sound. A gasp for air left your mouth and your lunges inflated.

The prior shock rolled of your body and finally, your feet reacted. As fast as possible, you´re legs almost felt like leaving the ground, you sprinted towards the two boys. None of them moved a muscle. Madame Hooch was already at their side, inspecting the incident and several players from both teams joined her. Ruth, who wasn´t half as fast as you, approached with the twins dogging her. She immediately started crying, but Madame Hooch was quick to make her statement; a few broken bones and a heavy concussion, that knocked them out.

They would heal.

But that was none of your concern. Whatever had happened between them, it was important enough to make Hendrik snap. It was important enough, to make them go against the Quidditch game, not to mention in front of the entire school. It was important enough, to fall into a potential death just to prove a point.

It constituted a supreme importance.

And the only two people, who knew what it was, laid unconsciously in the dirty grass.  

Ruth, who was kneeling besides her two brothers, tears still in their eyes, didn´t noticed how you stepped away from the scene. George had taken your place at her side, putting an arm carefully around her. But Fred realized you leaving and started following you. To say you were angry, was an understatement.

“Y/N, what happened there?” He asked, while trying to catch up with you. You were incredible fast to his surprise and even angrier. Something was seething inside you.

“I don´t know exactly!”

He grabbed your wrist to stop you from further escaping. People often were afraid of touching you, fearing it would end in a punishment, but Fred didn´t care. Or at least he didn´t have the time to give it much thought.

“But you do know something?”

He paused, eyeing you; the wind had messed up your neat hair and your face was convulsed with anger. You didn´t look like the princess he had first seen, you looked like the storm brewing in the skies, waiting to collapse down to earth.

“You all do, you´re hiding it.”

You waited seconds and even minutes, avoiding his glance and pondering, how much you should tell.

“Our father, the king, he´s ill. Very ill.”

Fred raised his eyebrow, not comprehending how bad the situation actually was.

“We don´t how long he will survive anymore.”

 And as simple as that, you blurted everything out. From your father´s sudden sickness and the idea to form a new school. How you felt this apprehension towards Albrecht and how Hendrik prepared for his new title.

Fred Weasley stayed quiet and for the first time, he suddenly looked smaller next to you. He just began realizing, or at least grasping, of how much weight was on your shoulders.

When you came to an end, he was left speechless and not knowing what else to do, he pulled you into a tight hug. Pressing your head against his chest and he felt your constant shivering.

“I don´t know what to do, Freddy.”

You admitted quietly, barely a whisper. His hand came up to the back of your head, softly stroking down to your back. “I don´t like saying it, but you might be right.”

You sniffled and lurked up to him, he replied with an apologetic smile. “Well after your bad feeling towards this Albrecht guy-.“ The German name sounded only poorly pronounced. “And the fight between Hendrik and August, something is most definitely wrong.”

A soft chuckled escaped your lips, even in this seemingly hopeless situation, he made you laugh.

“So, what do you recon I shall do?”

Carefully, just now realizing, how close he had come, hell Fred Weasley was touching a real-life princess! His hands gently stroke your cheek to finally cup your face.

“You won´t be doing anything, at least not alone!”

 “So, tell me again, what exactly are we doing?” George asked nervously, while walking up and down in front of the infirmary. Obviously, Fred and you told him.

“We need to know what August said”, you repeated calmy. The second twin, who had just recently found out about the heap of secrets and potential threats, was clearly caught off guard.

“Why do you think it was August, who drew the final straw?”

“I know Hendrik and what he thinks, if he knew anything of great importance, he would´ve told me.” George nodded understanding; he was coming to understand the plan.

“But if there is an actual threat, we just do what?” He then asked tensed, his brother shrugged nonchalantly. “We go to Germany!”

You threw a warning glance at Fred, making him go quiet at the end of the sentence. This had to be handled with care.

“Breaking the school rules?!” George exclaimed even louder and you rolled your eyes.

“What, are you afraid Weasley? After playing pranks and breaking rules since your birth?” Your daring and ironic comment shut up him up. You knew it was a lot to comprehend within only minutes. It had been a few hours since the game, Fred and you had made up the plan in the mean-time.

“What are you doing here?” Hermione and Harry suddenly approached and even though her questions wasn´t directed on the tense atmosphere, she very well took notice of it.

“We´re waiting for my brothers to wake up”, you answered frantic. Harry furrowed his eyebrows; he knew the anticipating thrill of an upcoming adventure.

“Don´t worry, Y/N, I´m sure they´ll be fine. Boys are naturally stupid.”

Harry threw his head into his friends’ directions, making him lose focus on your intentions.

“Hey!”

Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed the book in her hands into Harry´s arms. “Go on and at least make yourself useful.”

She gave you an excusing smile, before turning to leave towards the library. Just before they turned the next corner, you suddenly sprinted towards her again. “Hermione!”

“Fred and George wanted to show me a few places this weekend, so don´t worry, if I´ll be late or anything”, you tried to explain as casual sounding as possible. Her brown eyes wandered back and forth between you and the twins, until she gave up sighing.

“Don´t do anything stupid or get caught.”

As you stepped back to the twins, Madame Pomfrey quitted from the infirmary.

“Oh Miss Silberstein, your brother, August is just awakening!”

Fred eyed you warry from the side. “Do you want us to come with you?”, he asked whispering, but you shook your head. “No, this is family business. Anyways I´m sure they would get angry, if they found out I told you. We don´t have to aggravate something that´s bad enough on it´s own.”

You entered the large room with beds placed into rows. August was laid in the back, while you caught a glance of Hendrik sleeping behind a curtain in the front. The distance between the two beds was awfully noticeable.

August was pale and seemed confused, but as he sat up, he noticed you approaching. His eyes winced, forming even smaller slits and his lips became a thin line.

“Good you´re up, how are you feeling?” The politeness in your voice never felt so fake. But as his sister it was your job to ask about his condition. August saw right through you, not that you gave much of a try to hide it, but he decided to play along. Years of formal etiquette and behavior had shaped you into a concept for society. Perfect and pleasing to the observer.

“Head still hurts as well as my arm, but I´ve had worse.”

Silence settled, while you nodded. Before you could make another polite comment, he spoke up again. “Ask. Ask me. It´s why you´re here.”

It hurt you, that he assumed, that you only came for the sake of information. It made it worse that he was right.

“What did you tell him? What do you know?”

August sighed; the whole scene was as uncomfortable to him as it was to you. But he was aware, that you would believe him. He didn´t show it, but in this very moment, he couldn´t be more grateful. Yes, he showed his cold not-caring exterior, but he relied deeply on you.

“Albrecht, the night before we left, I saw him talking to one of the ostlers. He had mother´s ring.”

Unwanted, a gasp left your lips and you gripped onto the side of the bed. Whatever you had expected, you clearly hadn´t braced yourself well enough.

“August, are you sure, it couldn´t…” He nodded steady, ignoring your stutter.

“I didn´t believe my own eyes at the time.”

“She was wearing the ring when it happened, the ring disappeared with her…”

Your breathing was irregular and the thoughts inside your head were racing at the speed of lightning. If Albrecht had the ring, your mother wore when she had the accident, then he must´ve been with her. He lied, saying he was filling papers the entire day and no one even scrutinized it.

If he was with her, he knew what happened. Maybe he was the reason it happened…

 Neither August nor you noticed how Hendrik´s eyes opened and inaudible, he turned his side into your direction. Behind the curtain, you didn´t see him, how he starred at the blank fabric. How his jaw tensed, when he remembered your father with Albrecht at his side, entering the family´s private wing. Tears formed in his eyes just like then, he knew something was wrong by their faces. That day, the world collapsed right beneath his feet and ever since then, he tried his best to put it back together. He wanted it to be over, but everything came rushing back. It felt like the day where your mother died, haunted him and your family. He didn´t wanted to believe what his brother said, but he knew what it meant.

“I didn´t tell you this before, let´s not be stupid”, August finally spoke up. He could only imagine what chaos was still pelting inside your head. The sentence was surprisingly mature for August and his usual temper. “It could be a weird coincidence.”

August was right, it could be. But there was something inside you that told you, it wasn´t.

August was right, you shouldn´t be stupid. But you had a promise to keep your family safe.

So, you nodded slowly.

“We´ll wait, till Hendrik awakes and I send an owl home, making sure he won´t get it. Then we can discuss it. We have to be careful.” You had to play perfectly to make him believe. Each movement you made, each breath you took, it had to look innocently. It had to look real.

“You should rest and try not to kill Hendrik, or get killed, when he awakes.”

August chuckled and you offered a small grin. “I´ll take care of it.”

You stepped away from his bed, giving him a nod, then leaving the room. A small glance towards Hendrik; eyes closed and steady breathing. When he was to wake up, you´d be gone.

Miles away, hopefully as close to Silberstein as you possibly could, before someone would get wind of it.

“So, how does it look?”

“I hope you´re as good in sneaking away, as you are at playing pranks.”

Fred and George exchanged looks.

“We´re going to Silberstein.”

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tags: @ britishspidey @ perfectlysane24  @ acoolnight