#UGH I can't believe even this happened right after that ask other day I replied

[helfireclub]

𝓓𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓵 {Eddie Munson x FEM OC}

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7| Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 (18+) | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 (18+)

Chapter: A Substitute

Lucas was having this big basketball tournament on Saturdaynight.

Which fell directly on the same evening as the Hell fire club's last get-together before Mike was going to his girlfriend in California.

And what probably would be the last hell fire club 'cult of vecna' Dnd session.

Eddie was furious and told Dustin and Mike to find another substitute for Lucas.

Which they were trying to do.

Mike was running around the school asking his sister Nancy.

Who had been turning him down directly because she was so so busy with the school news paper.

Dustin was on the phone calling family video.

'Just move your date this one time!' Dustin was telling in the phone.

'Come the fuck on.'

'What, to hang out with you and Eddie ' the freak' Munson? ' Steve replied.

'I hear about him plenty the last 2 weeks so please.'

'Uh, yeah, I'll pas.' Steve said.

'You're just jealous cause I have another older male friend.' Dustin said proudly in the phone.

'ew. Ugh Whatever.' Steve replied.

'Besides, I mean , I really dig this girl.

I think she could..

Who knows maybe she could be the one.

Oh, I got some customers, call you back bye.' Steve said as he hung up the phone.

'No you can't I'm at.. ' Dustin said but Steve had hung up.

'school.' Dustin said as he walked away from the phone putting up his middle fingers.

'What was that?' Lilly said laughing as she put down her headphones walking to Dustin

'Steve.' Dustin replied while rolling his eyes.

'I know right, he's being an ass the last couple of days.' Lilly said with a smile to Dustin.

'You're telling me.' Dustin replied but a small smile appeared on his face.

'Oh wait there's Max!' Dustin replied as he ran over to Max.

Lilly walked after him.

She was looking around when she saw Chrissy looking around and walking to her.

'Hey..' Chrissy started.

'Hey! You feeling a bit better?' Lilly asked her putting a hand on her shoulder.

'Yeah I'm fine now, but it happends every now and then, they call it anxiety?' Chrissy said not really believing her own words.

'But euh, what happened to Jason?' she said looking up.

Lilly saw the glinster in her eyes so she knew Chrissy could laugh about it.

'Yeah it was kinda weird, he didn't really believe I would come to him for you, and started talking smack about me.' Lilly explained.

'So..' Lilly said raising her eyebrow and trying to look innocent.

Chrissy smiled.

'Damn, he's so nice to me, but he can act like a real prick to other people.' Chrissy said scratching the back of her head.

'But I think Eddie is waiting for you, you can just cross the tracks behind the school and follow the pad to the small woods.' Lilly said pointing.

'It's fine, he's cool.' Lilly said reassuringly throwing her hair forward so she could bind it up in a ponytail.

To which Chrissy's mouth fell open.

'Lilly omg!' she said as she took a step closer.

'What even is this a murderscene?' she said looking up to meet Lilly's gaze.

'I promise he does that only to me.' Lilly said pulling her hands up in self defense.

'Also don't tell anyone I just said that.

I'm here a month I don't need to reputation drug dealer girlfriend.' She said with a smile.

'Freak is good enough.'

To which Chrissy genuinely laughed as she gave Lilly a hug and walked away towards the place Lilly had told her about.

Lilly walked after Dustin who was talking to Max.

'If I play do I get one of those cool t-shirts?' Max said to Dustin.

It looked like she was really excited and Dustin was getting really happy to.

But the sarcasm was falling of of Max and Lilly noticed that trying to hold in her laugh.

'Yes!' Dustin said excitingly

'Really?' Max replied now the sarcasm was dripping of of her.

'Everyone gets a T-shirt.

We make 'em ourselves, and if you.. ' Dustin stopped mid sentence.

'You're being sarcastic.' Dustin said.

Lilly burst out in laughter and Max high-fived her and went off with her skateboard.

Lilly and Dustin sat down at the entrance of the school.

'I hate high school.' Mike said as he joined them.

'What's the matter guys? Tell me.' Lilly dropped on them.

And they both told the story about Eddie telling them to find a substitute.

'Damn he really is pyscho.' Lilly said shaking her head.

She stood in front of the two.

Dustin was looking her up and down.

'Isn't that Eddie's tshirt?' Dustin suddenly asked.

'What? No don't be ridiculous..' Lilly said waving it off.

'I love Black Sabbath, I bought it myself.' She said crossing her arms.

'And those bruises in your neck.' Mike said.

'Nancy had them all the time when Jonathan was still around.' Mike said as the both of them jumped up.

'Lilly is there something you're not telling us.' Dustin said as he raised his eyebrow to her.

Lilly let out a big sigh.

'ugh whatever.' She started.

'You guys are way to smart.

But yes, Eddie and I are kinda seeing each other.' Lilly said softly.

'But don't tell him I told you that.

Then these won't be the last I'd be having to hide from my mom.' Lilly said as she pointed to her neck.

'But Lilly didn't you tell us you used to play DnD?' Dustin said his arms crossed a smirk on his face.

To which rolled her head back

'Ugh fine.' She said

'But don't tell him yet, I want it to be a surprise..' Lilly said with a smirk.

'I need to go tho.' Lilly said as she saw Robin coming up.

'See you, tomorrow guys.' Lilly said smiling as they walked away.

 

Chapter: A night you won't forget. {18+}

WARNING: Sexual content up ahead.

If you don't want to read it, that's fine for the story!

It was late and Steve was driving Lilly around.

'I can't fucking believe I'm doing this.' Steve said while driving his eyes focused on the road.

'It's because you love me.' Lilly replied as she put on of her feet on the dashboard.

'Jesus Lilly put that off' Steve said pushing her leg back down on the ground.

'Really Steve you can be no fun.' Lilly said with a smile on her lips.

'Well I'm getting more worried by the second of you and Eddie.' He said as he was taking a turn.

'Why. I'm fine, did he kill me and dump me in a ditch?' Lilly asked as she looked at Steve.

'I mean look a the girls your dating, they could be a serial killer to.' Lilly said rolling her eyes.

'He still could go all Ted Bundy on your ass though.' Steve said. As he stopped at the trailer park where Eddie lives.

'He could, but so can you Steve Harrington. ' Lilly said with a wink as she threw the door back.

Steve rolled down the window.

'Lilly I'm serious. Call Robin if anything is wrong I come and get you okay?' Steve said.

And that made Lilly's heart melt a little, he was such an older brother.

'Thanks Steve have fun with Brenda.' She said with a smile before turning around and walking down to the trailer park.

She saw a car driving off and then spotted Eddie's van.

So she knew where to go.

Lilly knocked on the door.

She had done her best on herself this time.

Her hair was still wet from the shower.

She was wearing a skirt with stockings and a sweater.

The door flung open and Eddie stood in the door way.

He was wearing black jeans and a motorhead tanktop.

Showing off his tattoos.

Lilly let her eyes adjust at the light from inside.

'Ah princess right on time~' He said as he helped her step up in the trailer.

When she looked around she saw his uncle was just as much as an metalhead as him.

The trailer was hanging full with caps of bands he or the both of them were listening to.

A huge stereo and well a couch and some stuff.

'Isn't your uncle home?' Lilly asked as she turned around to look at Eddie but he was gone.

'Eddie?' Lilly asked again as she walked to the place he stood before he was helping her in.

The door to a room was open, it was next to the kitchen.

'Not funny Eddie.' She said out loud when she walked in the room.

It was a mess and she saw a guitar hanging on the mirror.

Band posters everywhere.

When she suddenly got pushed.

She fell forward and of course landed on the bed in the room.

'For fucks sake Eddie I'm here not even 5 minutes and you start tripping and teasing me.' She said as she turned over ready to fire more of these comments at him.

But she was silent when she turned around.

He stood there behind the door a smirk on his lips.

Eddie walked over towards her.

'What's that lost your tongue? Because you're gonna need it tonight sweetheart.' He told her.

She gulped looking at the tall curls that were falling on his shoulders.

He had lost the tank top so he was standing in front of her only wearing pants.

'Lilith I asked you a question didn't i?' He asked her.

'Yeah i. I euh. I heard you.' She said locking eyes with him.

'Good' He told her as he sat down on his knees.

' I do think you're wearing a bit to much.' And in a matter of a second Eddie's hands were beneath her sweater pulling it over her head.

Gentle with her long hair so he wouldn't jank it out.

When he threw the sweater on the ground Eddie stood a little surprised.

She was wearing nothing underneath it.

'Did you have plans or something?' Eddie asked amused.

'Oh shut up you, like you didn't have plans.' Lilly said as she narrowed her eyes.

'Oh no no.' Eddie said as he got her face between his hand. Squashing her cheeks together.

'I told you this morning in the classroom I didn't like that.' He looked in her eyes.

To which Lilly's whole big mouth small heart melted right away.

'Yes you did.' She answered looking to the side breaking eye contact.

'My eyes are up here sweetheart.' Eddie said sternly.

Lilly looked back up into his eyes.

'Good.' He said as he then slid her back on the bed whilst kissing her lips.

To which Lilly directly deepened the kiss by putting her hands around his neck.

Eddie pulled his head back.

'who told you to do that?'

'Sorry.' Lilly said directly, In her head she was fighting a battle.

She didn't have to agree to this behaviour they were equals and she was not letting him boss her around.

But on the other hand she loved this about him.

His eyes peering through hers, she melted to butter with him.

'Good.' Eddie told her again.

He then actually deepened the kiss and pushed her down completely on the bed.

He was hovering over her, his hand slowly trailing over her arm up towards her neck.

Making Lilly shiver and a stocked sound came out of the back of her throat.

Eddie broke off the kiss and slowly went down to her neck.

'You really were rocking those Hickeys at school today.' He said as he nibbled on her collarbone.

'Thanks, what did you think of yours?' Lilly asked a devilish smirk appearing on her lips.

But Eddie was giving her a fast response by fastly pinching her nipple.

Lilly hadn't thought of him doing that, but it felt like a spark was running through her goosebumps were appearing on her skin and she let out a stocked moan.

'To answer your question Lilith.' Eddie said as he sat up.

'I needed to explain this to my uncle today.'

It was a hickey right underneath his jawline.

'Look's hot if im honest, Want some more~' she said as she stuck out her tongue to him.

'You stay down.' Eddie then told her and bit in her neck.

Making Lilly whimper.

He then slowly went down to her breasts.

Eddie took one in his hand and started slowly massaging it. for the other he had other plans.

Lilly made a squirm underneath him.

'Did I tell you to move?' Eddie asked as he looked up through the dark locks of his hair.

To which Lilly nodded no.

'Then don't move.' He said and he went back to her breasts.

He was sitting over her.

Put her legs on both sides of him.

He let one hand slide slowly down over her stomach.

Softly touching her.

'Eddie?' Lilly softly asked.

'Speak up Princess I don't hear you.' He said as he let go of her nipple on which he was softly suckling.

'Can I moan?' She softly asked putting one of her arms over her face.

So he couldn't see how red she turned

'Princess.' Eddie said as he came up letting go of her and softly grabbing her arm.

'We don't do that here.'

'There is no shame in being aroused.' Eddie said as he kissed back towards her neck and slowly to her lips.

He bit in her bottom lip.

To which she let out a moan.

'good. Moan for me Lilith.' Eddie told her his voice getting lower.

She could feel he was aroused to, but she didn't want to be a brat and interrupt him again.

He then did a fast power move.

He was kissing down the valley of her breasts and down to her navel.

His hands were squeezing in her thighs and slowly up towards her hips.

Eddie was fast and in just a second he had pulled down Lilly's stockings.

Lilly did not even have time to comprehend.

He was snaking his arms around her thigs holding them steady.

Even tho he was basically trapping Lilly in his arms, he was softly kissing the inside of her thighs.

Lilly had stopped squirming but this feeling was phenomenal.

When she felt his lips leave her thigh she let out a sigh in protest.

But in a matter of a second she had her hands up in his hair.

Eddie had shoved her thong to the side giving him full access to her real private parts.

His breathing shifted and he slowly digged in.

Making long hales alongside her slit.

Teasing her like crazy.

'Eddie...' Lilly brought out.

'Not yet princess.' Eddie said while she could feel his voice vibrations against her.

But after a second of ten, he digged in slowly and teasingly licking her slit.

Making long hales or fast short ones.

He was holding her down by her hips.

His nails digging in her hips.

Lilly had bucked herself up tangling her hands in his hair.

As she let out a real moan this time.

He was not done yet, Eddie Munson had lots of tricks up his sleeve.

Eddie had found her sweet spot and he started softly sucking on it.

Which made Lilly buck up her hips, Making Eddie double down on them.

Lilly let out a really loud moan when he started suckling on her.

'Eddie... ' Lilly brough out again.

But he was determined and didn't even react.

'Eddie.. Please..' Lilly brought out between her moans.

Which made him let go of her hips. And getting up from beneath her skirt.

'What's that Princess?' Eddie said as he stood up loosing his pants.

Lilly couldn't help but stare.

He was having a real tent situation there.

Lilly was panting but their eyes locked in a second.

'Fuck me you're hot.' Eddie said as he walked over to the bed and as soon as he reached the bed Lilly pulled him in.

She directly kissed him again. And he lost his underwear before laying down next to her.

His hand on the back of her neck.

'Princess..' Eddie said slowly.

'I'll ask you this 100 times but are you okay with everything?' he was reassuring her that she could back out if she wanted.

To which Lilly lifted up his chin.

'God I wished you fucked me back in that lake house.' Lilly answered their eyes locking.

'I can't think about anything else.' She said softly as she reached for a kiss.

But stopped right before his lips.

She could feel him opening his mouth and then pushing her to him with his hand on the back of her neck.

'God I wish I fucked you this morning, I've been thinking about it all day.' He said with his voice low.

They kissed again and it was sloppy.

When she heard the sound of a wrapper.

Eddie never broke the kiss his hand did however leave her neck.

So she knew he was actually putting it on.

He then shifted herself and Lilly laid down on her back.

'Eddie.. ' Lilly whispered.

'Fuck me please.' Lilly whispered in his ear.

'God fuck Lilly.' He cursed as he positioned himself and snaked one arm around her back and the other on the back of her neck.

As he slowly pushed himself forward.

Lilly let out a loud moan, while putting one of her hands on his shoulder and the other on his back.

He hold steady for a second once again seeking eye contact with her.

Lilly nodded to him and she clashed her lips on his.

He slowly started moving himself and Lilly couldn't help it but the sounds were escaping her lips.

When they broke the kiss He dug himself in her neck.

And Lilly laid her head back on the bed.

Her other hand leaving Eddie's shoulder grabbing the matrass, as he picked up the pace.

Leaving the position they were in he sat back on his knees pulling her up on his lap.

So he could reach even more deeper inside of her.

He loud out a low moan followed by him backing his head back and closing his eyes.

While Lilly couldn't help but moan even louder he was reaching even deeper.

'Fuck.. .' Lilly cursed a loud

Trying to find a rhythm in her racked breath.

'God Lilith.' Eddie exclaimed.

As he bowed over her his head once again buried in her neck.

Eddie picked up the pace to an unhuman speed.

Lilly could fell he was close his breathing was getting uneven.

'Eddie please..' Lilly moaned.

To which Lilly came up with her own brilliant idea, the whole searching eye contact thing. She reached her hand to his hair and pulled his head out of her shoulder.

As they locked eyes.

'I'm going to cum..' Lilly brought out

'Me to Princess.' Eddie exclaimed as he grabbed her hips and continued his insanely speed.

When Lilly went over the edge she arched her back to which Eddie grabbed the small of her back and pushed himself in deep.

As he came himself.

Lilly was a sweaty moany mess as she fell limp on his bed.

And when Eddie pulled out he took a few minutes to collapse on top of her.

Then he stood up and pulled up his underwear.

'Give me a second.' He said before walking out of the room.

To which Lilly sat up.

Looking a bit sad, she wouldn't mind cuddling with him till she was picked up by Steve.

In a few minutes he was back with a bottle of water and a few towels.

He also grabbed a shirt out of his closet.

And gave it to her.

'Here come on let me help you.' He said as he pulled the shirt over her head and gave her the bottle of water.

To which she gratefully took, and when she was back a bit of water had been running down her chin, drinking straight from the bottle that wasn't even that weird.

A few drops had been falling on her shirt.

To which Eddie was staring.

'Eyes are up here Munson.' Lilly said with a smirk.

She gave him the bottle of water but Eddie licked the small bit of her chin.

Before putting the bottle away.

He laid back in bed and opened his arm for her to lay in.

To which Lilly smiled and jumped in his arms.

'Thanks Eddie.' Lilly said with a smile kissing his nose.

'Anything for you Lilith.' Eddie replied as he snuggled his nose in her hair. 

[sonatanotwo]

*BLUE SCREEN OF DEAAAATH*

An error has occurred. Please stand by while Virgil-mun reboots.

EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE 00:32 ATTACKED.

........WELL SHIT.

I mean. I think the more I let this soak in... I’m kinda okay with it??? In a I LOVED MY HEADCANONS SO MUCH BUT. Like. I could go either way in TOS. But it DID kinda feel like things were pointed differently in TAG??? X__x

But.

WHELP.

GUESS I GOT SOME HEADCANONS TO UH... TWEAK. 

So many headcanons...  and fic plans…  and so much artwork...

Rest in pieces. 

｡･ﾟﾟ･(>д<)･ﾟﾟ･｡

lol I just. Oh man.

No single episode has ever thrown our world quite so upside down, much less ONE WORD. XD

BUT LIKE. I’ve been thinking as it’s been soaking in... standing back with a bit more objectivity...

I think the writing was KINDA on the wall? ^.^a

The way Scott and Virgil interact certainly pointed this way? Like. Bro pointed out Slingshot. John came down... and Scott and Virgil are both reassuring him. He’s very insecure there and Scott and Virgil very much take the role of two big bros. And there really is... just a vibe between them when they tease and jib each other and talk on missions. It’s hard to quite explain but. Yeah. And then just... Recharge. Recharge. All of it. I’m sure there’s other things, I’m just pulling these off top of my head. lol but yeah. We really can't say signs haven't been there, ya know? XD

And another thing that is easy to forget... many of the TAG! creative team were fans of the original. I think a lot of many casual fans (in that they didn’t have all the annuals and what not XD) I think did generally assume Virgil was second. Heck, if I’d only rewatched TOS and then TAG! without falling into wikis and fan fic, I’d probably have assumed Virgil was second too. lol :) And also... like.. 40? ish? years publications and stuff did put Virg 2nd. A lot of fans would have seen that long before Carlton and Bentley’s book changed everything in 2000 on. So. The possibility was always very strongly there this is how they’d go.

BUT. On the other hand, to be fair, there have certainly been mixed signals. The way Virgil and Gordon interact very much does feel like it was Virgil->Gordon. And in Breakdown a lot of the way Virgil and John bounced off each other did have a vibe to it...  especially asking about ‘the big book of rescues’. Virgil being more experienced, you’d think he’d know before John. And just. In animation TALL to SMALL tends to reflect ages. XDDD Animation likes to be really that ridiculously obvious, because they think the visual cues are things kids need. lol

So it was entirely fair we went down this path. It was a nice path and things fit together well. I adored my headcanons. ;A;  ...But. Perhaps we overlooked the more obvious a bit?? =Oa lol XD

This is going to take awhile to process and rework headcanons, gosh. XD Like. Trying to parse and it’s just...my brain... so bluescreened. XD Where to START. lolol I’ve been rping Virg over 2 years now? XD lol I mean, I could totally choose to ignore this, but... I always try to adhere to canon. I've always known there could be a risk John or Virgil would one day say something like this. XD I DID know. SO... I can’t really say I’m actually surprised.

LIKE, JUST, WOW, DID NOT EXPECT THAT TODAY. LOOOL

AT LEAST, I THINK this should lock everyone in order wise? Cause oh gosh, rewatching one of the interviews with David and Rasmus, David specifically says “both Alan and Gordon--even though they’re the youngest and sort of the jokers of the pack” and then Ras does vague mention ‘the two oldest’ (which I realize I do recall sorta wondering...Oldest? Scott and WHO?) then moment later does speak about Scott (having the weight of the world) and… Virgil being normally relaxed (and David speaks up all, but he’s the emotional caretaker.) ..Scott and Virgil. Oh gosh, it seems so obvious now. HAHA OOPS. XD 

ANYHOO. RIGHT. SO.

How about the other 21:28 of the episode.... XDDD (I really thought this entire post would be just entirely OMG, GRANDMA AND VIRG SO ADORBS. LOLOLOLOL)

BUT YEAH. SO. ....STILL, OMG, GRANDMA AND VIRG SO ADORBS!!!1!!! Gosh, Virgil loves his Grandma, especially to take her shopping, I guess. XDDD He’s so patient with her. XD

DICE. lolol They didn’t seem very Virg to me, but then Bro found info that apparently pilots would hang dice for good luck? especially showing the number 7? One point I think 5 and 2 are upwards. And like when Grandma baps them, they show 4 2 and 1 XDDD I GUESS HE NEEDED LUCK FOR GRANDMA SHOPPING. XDDDD Must not be too attached to em’ since gave em’ away though.

SCOTT is the one who is especially all about his hair. HAHAHAHA XDDD (Also Grandma called him SCOTTY :D)

Virgil just. GOSH. So worried about her. Like. I said it about that clip. No he’s SO not talking to Grandma to take care of TB2, it’s to TB2 to take care of his Grandma. He’s really not so worried about TB2, it’s entirely Grandma he’s worried about in this episode. Totes. :|b

GRANDMA FLEW AROUND THE WORLD. She was like. FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS. A;sdjoasia Met her husband and had a son. (...one son? ...oops. WELL. So much for that bit of sorta TOS semi-Canon XD That’s the extra materials for ya. lol Although... Designated Drive Parker said your father and his brothers? Though coulda been a throw-away for the joke? Hum. XD ) They liked exploring too?! (I guess that’d explain the compass…)  This doesn’t entirely nix out the Kansas setting I think, but gosh. HRM.

Grandma... has a name.

Grandma has a name, guys. (...WELL, yes, obviously she did, but wow didn’t expect to actually get TOLD it.)

And it's not Ruth. (...WELL, obviously it was never gonna be cause that was %100 fanfiction created fanon, but.)

I just. a;sidj a;sidja ;aosjida

WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT THIS EPISODE EITHER. WELL THEN.

Sally Tracy :D

Gosh what else. Lololol Grandma’s shopping list is a hoot. Even Virgil looks so like oh god this list what, when he’s reading it at the end. I also sense many creative team injokes on it. XD Oh guess know it is a snooker table now. (...why… do they need new cues? XDa Maybe a show injoke? Maybe those tiny ones break a lot? HRM XD) Lemon squeezer loooool.

I like even though cooking did come up, it was like… not oh god cooking jokes.

I just. GOSH.

There is so much to think about. I’m still kinda stuck on 00:32  muchless the rest. XD

ANYHOO.  I think I’m going to make another post to ramble in about headcanons. Got so much to now try and sort out in my brain. Cause as much as it doesn’t change everything it does still change things.

[quirkless-accident]

Honesty is the Worst Policy

Let's hear it for drabble #50! I've been super excited for this one. Words cannot describe how much I appreciate all of you. Your support and enthusiasm makes writing these much more fun, and I'm happy that you all are as excited about these as I am!

-----------

The day had started off normal. Great, even. But he should have known to wait for the other shoe to drop.

It happened during lunch. He had gotten a stain on his blazer, and, well, his parents already didn't like buying him things, and it's not like he could afford another. So he was doing His Best™.

He had been chatting actively with Tucker, Sam, and another one of Sam's new gen ed friends, who had reached over him to slap Tucker, and had used his arm as leverage.

But he hadn't noticed. Nobody had. Not until he had gotten slammed into a wall by Bakugou and his dumb explosions during Foundational Heroics.

"Are you okay?" Uraraka had asked, hands hovering over him.

Yeah, I'm good, is what he had tried to say. What had come out was, "No. My head hurts, I'm tired and I'm pretty sure at least one rib is broken."

That had been more than enough for him to get his ass sent to Recovery Girl. And like always, as the end of the session she asked the same question.

"Anything else, Dearie?"

And he tried to respond with his usual, "Not today! Maybe tomorrow I'll have a concussion for you!"

And then she would swat him with her cane and send him on his way. What came out, however, was nothing like that.

"Not anything you can fix. I'm kind of a biological anomaly that can't be fixed."

He fled before she could ask him questions. She would probably tell Aizawa about it later, but that honestly sounded like a future-Danny problem. Present-Danny was currently trying to get a hold of Sam.

"Aren't you at training?" She asked him.

"Bakugou broke my ribs and I had to get them fixed," he says, and he can't tell if it was against his will or not. "But something is wrong. I can't-the words that I want to say aren't coming out. I just told Recovery Girl I was essentially a freak of nature. And I didn't want to."

"Sounds like Shinjistsu accidentally activated her quirk," Sam replied. She sounds far to calm about this for Danny's liking.

"Okay. Where is she so I can turn it off?" He'll apologize for his snappiness later. Right now he needs to get his brain fixed so he doesn't accidentally spill anything terrible.

"You can't. It has to wear off on it's own. I think she said it lasted a week? Maybe a month? I'll have to double check with her. I think part of it is answering all questions directed towards you, too. Honestly, obviously."

Danny wanted to scream out in frustration, but instead of doing that, he forced himself to take deep breaths. "I'll have to give you my phone, then, just in case," he said. "And I have to tell Aizawa. Maybe if I'm lucky he'll excuse me from class until it wears off."

"Why don't you just tell him the truth?" Sam asked. "I mean, if anybody is going to believe you-and help you-it's gonna be the guy who got totaled by a Nomu for you."

"Because he might tell my parents and they already don't like me. And you know how they feel about Inviso-Bill. I don't really wanna be strapped down to a table and experimented on, Sam."

"Ugh. Right. Listen-I'm super sorry but I have to go. But talk to Aizawa, I'm sure he'll help you out."

-------

Sam is a big fat liar.

He had turned over his phone to her after telling Aizawa who told him he still had to attend class.

"Whatever petty teenager bullshit you have going on isn't important enough to have you skip out on class," he had said.

It wasn't too bad at first. For the first two days he wasn't asked too many questions. Not any that he wouldn't have answered honestly anyway. And when they got back to the dorms, he would hide away in his room and work on homework to avoid a mental breakdown.

Aizawa had notified all of the teachers, but none of his classmates, per Danny's request. The less questions he got, the better. And man, were they good at asking needlessly invasive questions sometimes.

It was on the third day when everything went to shit.

He was walking into class, debating on whether or not he wanted to invest in some kind of muzzle when he was hit with a question by his least favorite person.

"Danny-what bra size is your sister?" Mineta asked him from across the room. His voice carried, and nearly everybody went quiet, but Danny saw red.

"I don't know. I don't care. But if you ask me anything like that ever again," he let his eyes flash a dangerous green, "then I'll punt you into the fucking sun."

"Geez, no need so be so sensitive. Why is your quirk so creepy like that, anyway?"

"Because I'm dead."

The words had left his mouth before he could even properly process Mineta's question. And it was said with such a finality, such a certainty, that even if he hadn't been under the effects of a truth quirk, he's pretty sure a couple of them would have believed him.

"He, yeah, right," Mineta said. Danny could practically feel Mr. Aizawa's gaze on the back of his neck despite the fact that he was hiding behind his desk in his sleeping bag. "Tell us the truth."

"I am."

He's starting to think that maybe he should have let Aizawa tell the class he was under the effects of a truth quirk.

"Oh yeah?" Kaminari asked. "How'd you die?"

"I got electrocuted with millions of volts of ectoplasmic electricity and it bonded to my DNA."

There was a bark of laughter and a couple of applauds from his friends for committing to what was obviously a very hilarious bit. But the more he spoke, the more he could feel Aizawa's gaze boring into him.

But thankfully, he was saved by the bell.

---------

"Class dismissed," Aizawa drawled, but his sharp eyes were sitting firmly on Danny, who didn't move an inch. "Fenton, stay behind."

He wanted to punt Mineta into the sun. It hadn't been a threat when he said it earlier. It had been a promise.

The class cleared out quickly enough. His friends only lingered for a couple of moments before being dragged away by other classmates. The entire time, Danny stared at his desk, unable to look up and face his teacher.

Because Aizawa knew he had been telling the truth. Had known that he couldn't lie. And now he knew he was a freak and he was going to tell his parents, and when they found out they were going to strap him to the table in the basement and-

"Danny, breathe," Aizawa told him, stepping into his vision. Danny squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"I don't need to," he said against his will. "Fuck."

If Aizawa had a problem with his swearing, he didn't show it. Instead, he sat down in the chair in front of Danny's desk and placed a warm hands over his cold, trembling ones.

"Are you okay with answering a few questions?" He asked. And, wow. Danny hadn't been expecting that. He had been expecting a full-tilt investigation into his weird tragic backstory. But Danny could see it. It was the illusion of choice, whether Aizawa saw it like that or not. He could answer yes, and spill his guts. Or he could answer no, and be pestered about it later, and with his terrible luck, he wasn't going to count on that being a time where he was vulnerable.

So he nodded his head yes.

"What did you mean by you being dead?" He asked. Danny just shrugged.

"Exactly what it sounds like," he says. "Sort of. I'm half dead."

"How did-how did you survive?" Danny didn't miss the hesitation in his voice. The uncertainty of the words coming out of his own mouth. And Danny couldn't blame him, not really. If he was Aizawa, even with a truth quirk playing a part in all of this he wouldn't believe a word he said either.

"My parents are ghost hunters and they experiment a lot with ectoplasm. I think a lifelong exposure is the only thing that saved me. Er-well, half of me, anyway."

"So your other half-your Phantom form...That's your ghost form?"

"Yeah. My superpower is dying on command."

"That's not funny."

"I'm not trying to be."

A tense silence fell between them. Danny met dark eyes, but the only thing he could see in them was genuine concern. And...And maybe Sam was right, he thinks. Because the only thing Aizawa has ever done for him is help. Whether it be from a panic attack or a walk to Recovery Girl or giving him harder course work because everything else was just to easy. He helped Danny in any way he could.

Could he help here?

Danny averted his gaze to his shoes.

They were bright red with black laces, and more bulky than the average shoe. There was only one brand that sold half-decent shoes that fit the feet of quirkless people, and they only came in one color. It was a constant reminder that he was different. Even with the power that he had now, he was still different. Because he had things that he didn't need, like an appendix, wisdom teeth, an extra toe joint.

He's seen Midoriya with the exact same pair. There was an understanding between the two, though they hadn't talked about it. Maybe after all this was over he would spill his guts to him. But right now, he needed to spill his guts to Aizawa.

Because if anybody was going to help him it was him.

-------

Aizawa wanted to throttle the people who hurt his kid student. From the beginning Danny's been a twitchy, anxious mess, just like Midoriya, but he had passed it off as social anxiety because he wasn't the one breaking his bones every day.

And he wasn't stupid. He noticed the shoes. He and Midoriya had the same ones. As an Underground hero he's seen more than his fair share of quirkless murders or suicides. Always young. Always powerless.

But these kids have power. Almost too much, if he was being honest. He figured that maybe they just had abnormally wide feet, and needed the extra space. But after hearing Danny's confession-about his parents, about his death, he was cursing his past self for being so ignorant. He should have looked at the signs and connected the dots a lot sooner than this.

And the worst part was that he was telling the truth. There's no way he could tell a lie.

"Why...Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Aizawa had asked him.

"Because I didn't want you telling my parents," Danny answered.

"Are you safe at home?" Fuck, was this kid abused? It happened often with quirkless kids. And he could see it being a super awkward conversation with his parents that he was just a late bloomer. A late bloomer with a quirk directly tied to their profession.

"I don't know," Danny answered. "Probably not. They're not good parents."

The words seemed to slip from him without consent, and Danny's eyes widened, as if he was just realizing this for the first time. It was a possibility-it's not uncommon for the abuser to make their victim completely rely on them, or to make them think nothing was wrong.

"If you elaborate-depending on what you say-I can get you out of their custody by the end of the week."

"Including my sister?" Danny asked. His voice was quiet, and he was suddenly met with wide, blue eyes. They looked absolutely desperate for help.

"Including your sister. So...Do you want to elaborate?"

"Yes."

"Are you okay if I record this conversation? It can be used as evidence later."

"Yes."

"Okay," Aizawa said, starting a recording on his phone. "What makes you feel unsafe in your home, Danny?"

------

They had talked for hours. Long past the normal time for a teacher and a student to be speaking. Maybe he could just pass it off as a tutoring session. It was no mistake that Danny was working on more advanced math and science classes. Growing up in a lab gave you a leg up on some things, he supposes.

He was drained, and all he wanted to do was eat and go to bed. Maybe he could skip the shower and just take one in the morning. He hadn't gotten to gross from training.

He held a hand over his mouth as he let out a large yawn, while his other opened the door to the dorms. It was around dinner time, so the common room was in full swing with students milling about here and there. Danny genuinely enjoyed his time with all of them, but tonight he just didn't have the energy. Maybe he could sneak upstairs and just have a big breakfast. That could work, right?

"Hey, Danny!" Uraraka greeted. "Did your talk with Mr. Aizawa go okay? You were gone for a long time."

"Yeah, it went...Really good, actually. But I'm really tired so-"

"-What did you guys talk about?" Kaminari asked him.

"About how my abusive neglectful parents inadvertently caused my death."

"Wh...Bro, are you okay?" Several others were starring at him now, and-oh, that's right. They didn't know he was under the influence of a truth quirk.

"Not currently, no. I had a really emotionally draining conversation with Aizawa and I'm tired of being so open and vulnerable with everybody."

"Then why don't you just shut up?" Bakugou barked. He got a couple of glares from his friends for his trouble.

"Because I got hit with a truth quirk and now I'm forced to tell the truth. It'll last for another...four days? That's what Sam said, anyway."

"So if we ask you questions you have to answer truthfully?" Sero asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"So...You're actually...Dead?" Ashido asked him. She looked like she was about to cry.

This was going to be a long night.

"Half dead," he corrected. "It's why I have so many powers that aren't linked together."

It was strange, hearing these words coming from his own mouth. It wasn't hard to talk about with Sam and Tucker since they were there when it happened, but telling his classmates was a completely different experience. He wasn't stressed necessarily. It was just odd that his normal anxieties about being caught were overridden by the quirk.

And, maybe, there might be a small part of him that was tired of hiding. He trusted his friends. Everyone in this room, with the exception of a tiny purple menace, he trusted with his afterlife. If anybody was going to hurt him over this, it wouldn't be these guys.

"What was your quirk before you died, kero?" Tsu asked.

"I didn't have one," Danny answered automatically, and okay. Maybe things would change now. Because he definitely didn't want people knowing that.

He noticed the way Midoriya and Bakugou flinched, but it was missed by everybody else, who's attention were all laser focused on him.

The class was stunned into silence. The only sounds they could hear was Danny's rapid, panicked breathing. He didn't want this. He didn't want to talk about his quirklessness. It had caused so many problems for him his entire life. Why was talking about his death easier than that?

He would have to answer that question later. Because now, he was too distracted by Midoriya standing up. He slowly walked over, and when he got to be arms length, he held them out.

His arms were littered in self-inflicted scars from his bones breaking over and over, but with his sleeves riding up, he could see the edges of starburst scars and permanent red handprints.

Danny opened his own arms out, and Midoriya crashed into him. His ribs were thankfully fully healed. otherwise the hug would have been painful with how tightly Midoriya was squeezing him.

He's not sure how long they stood there for. It could have been seconds or minutes, but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was finding comfort with the one other person in this entire school who could understand him.

Because being quirkless in a world full of superheroes was a fate worth than death.

It was abusive parents. It was being berated every day by peers. It was hard fists and brutal kicks in back alleys. It was the threat of death looming over their heads every time they were out and about. It was the ache in their chests when they read an article about another quirkless death. It was the silent mourning as peers mocked the dead the next day and pretending that it didn't bother you. It was starring over the edge of a roof and thinking, maybe today's the day. And, unless your last name was Fenton or Midoriya, it was unescapable.

At least with death, he had been, in a way, set free. Because now, he knew where he was going when he finally passed. The illusion of peace was broken right alongside him when he activated that dumb portal.

Eventually he and Midoriya let go. Unsurprisingly, Midoriya has tears in his eyes, but he's got a small, watery smile, and Danny thinks that, yeah, with someone who understand by his side, this will be easier.

------

The rest of the week is a little rough. The class did not take his death as lightly as he thought they would. Thankfully they had banned Mineta from even being in the room. And they had promised not to tell anybody outside of the class.

And though things were a little weird, it wasn't all bad. Aizawa, as promised, had gotten custody of him and Jazz. Over breaks and some weekends, they would be staying with him. And Hagakure, who's been pestering him about his nonexistent love life since the start of school, finally got him to confess about his crush. Danny avoided her for the rest of the week, and prayed to whoever was in the sky that she didn't spill the beans.

Todoroki was, oddly enough, a silent comfort. Whenever things were getting to be too much he would ask Danny to help him out with something random. In the end, they would just sit in one of their rooms and sit in a comfortable silence, or sometimes they would invite Izuku-because that's who he was to Danny now-and they would talk about shitty fathers with unrealistic expectations.

Danny found the whole ordeal oddly freeing. It was like he could breath properly again for the first time since he got his powers. He hadn't realized how much those secrets sat in the back of his mind, taunting him about his peer's reactions. But now that it was out in the open, there wasn't anything to fear. Not really. The people who knew all cared about him, in their own ways, and he trusted that they would protect his secret.

After all his dirty laundry was aired out, the rest of the week wasn't super terrible. But the best part was when how he found out the quirk wore off.

It was a bright Saturday, filled with a warm breeze and laughing classmates as they all hung out in their various friend groups. The girls were having a picnic, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero were actively trying to piss Bakugou off, and Midoriya and Uraraka were laughing at something Ida had said-and judging by the boy's face, he had no idea what was so funny, which sent his friends into another round of hysterics.

Sam, Tucker, Shinsou, and Shinjitsu, who had apologized profusely, sat with him under the shade of a tree. He was half-asleep next to Shinsou, laying in the soft grass and being lulled to sleep by the sounds of Sam talking and Tucker tinkering.

Hagakure, Jirou, and Momo walk up to them, all looking a little too smug.

"So, we Danny, we were talking about what you said to Mineta a few days ago," Jirou says, and wow, she's not trying to hide her mirth at all.

"Which part?" Danny asked, still half asleep.

"When you said you would punt him into the sun," Hagakure said excitedly. "You were under the truth quirk. Does that mean you can really do that?"

"No, I was just talking out of my ass," Danny said. The sarcasm was more of a reflex than anything, but it was enough for him to jolt upright a moment later.

"Hagakure, gimme a lie."

"Uh, you can't punt Mineta into the sun?"

"I can't pun Mineta into the sun," Danny repeated. He couldn't keep the grin off of his face as he jumped up. Without warning he picked up Hagakure excitedly. He repeated the phrase, growing louder every time he said it. The attention of his classmates were on him again, more confused than anything.

"I don't see why you're cheering about that," Uraraka tells him. Danny sets Hagakure down and runs over.

"It means I can lie again! I'm more than capable of punting him into the sun but now I can say I can't!"

In all his excitement, he wound up in a jumping circle with all of the girls, save for Jirou and Momo, who had a finger on her chin in deep though.

And after, Danny will be pestered about how he can go to space, unharmed. About how, yes, he doesn't need to breath in his ghost form, he's dead, so he can last long enough to get to the sun. And Aizawa will give him a half-concerned raised eyebrow and makes him promise to not actually commit to such an act.

And later he will also have to go to court against his parents and admit to them that he is no longer fully human. He will have Aizawa and Jazz by his side, as well as Nezu. And he will fight great, wonderful battles that bring the rest of them to their knees, but Danny has always been stubborn, so he refuses to go down. And when the ash will settle, he will stand tall as a glowing beacon of hope.

But that's for future Danny to worry about.

Right now, Present Danny is just excited that he can punt Mineta into the sun.

[yeongwvnhi]

ᴸᵒᵛᵉ ᴬᵍᵃⁱⁿ

Pairing - Baekhyun x fem reader -> exes to lovers | Genre - Angst, fluff | warnings - none | taglist - @twancingyunhoe @trashlord-007 @tiddy-boys | synopsis - when Baekhyun and you broke things off a year ago, it felt alright, but you came to the painful realization that nobody could ever replace him or love you like he did | word count - 2.1k | thanks to @tiddy-boys for beta-reading ♡

》><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><《

It's days like these, rain hitting the window in harsh taps and angry wind blowing, when the nostalgia hits the hardest. After all, you were always one to dwell on the past. It's just what you do. 

Every day felt the same after the two of you broke things off. You don't even remember why exactly you even ended it in the first place. The pain still sits deep, coming to haunt you when you least expect it. 

Rainy days like those just trigger the nostalgia, the memories and bygone feelings. 

It's 12pm when you check your phone, yet you're still laying in bed. The lack of motivation due to this sudden wave of sadness is something you're not experiencing for the first time. 

And it's killing you slowly. These feelings are eating you up from the inside out. 

Without even realizing, tears are running down your cheeks in even, salty streams. 

"Why am I even crying…" You mumble and lift your arm to cover your face, trying to make it stop. "God, I'm so pathetic" 

You try to manage to stop your tears, wrist harshly rubbing your eyes. After a minute or so, you succeed in stopping them. 

instead pick up your phone, unlocking it and opening Instagram. 

One peek won't hurt, right…? 

His name at the top of your searches seems to be mocking you as you hover your finger above it. Should you really do it? What if he found someone new and his profile is filled with couple pictures? Or what if he feels nothing and is glad to be alone? What if, what if, what if…

"Fuck it" you hiss and tap on his username, his profile popping up after a brief second of loading the page. 

He… hasn't posted anything for a few months, his last post being from October last year. 

Oh for fucks sake… is this a good sign or not? It could mean he's been seeing someone new, but it could also mean he's just been living his life like usual. 

So many possibilities, yet no resolution seems to be in sight. 

"This is so annoying, oh my gooood" You groan and smack your head into your pillow, laying sprawled out like a star with an annoyed pout on your face. 

"It's been a god damn year," You grumble, "why do I still feel like this?" 

The sound of your fist hitting the mattress of your bed is dull, not the way you wanted it to sound. "I hate this, UGHH" The frustration in your voice is for sure loud and clear, accentuated well by the 'ugh'. 

This whole situation is stressing you out. "I need a shower.." You mumble, absent-minded, as you fling the covers back and swing your legs over the edge of your bed. 

—

Despite the gloomy weather, you decided to take a walk outside. The rain still hasn't let up, droplets of it occasionally hitting your face. 

"Why is it so cold today? It's already spring…" You mumble quietly to yourself, eyes strictly trained on the path in front of your feet and head held low. 

You're so lost in your thoughts, you don't see the person headed your way. 

And apparently, the person doesn't seem to notice you as well. So your shoulders collide and you stumble, umbrella falling out of your hand and fast quick steps to regain your balance. 

"I'm so sorry! Are you al-" The man rushes to apologize, but his words get stuck in his throat as he takes in who he just, quite literally, stumbled into. 

Rain has hit you mercilessly, soaking you from head to toe within seconds as you stand there, paralyzed. "Baek…Baekhyun?" 

His eyes are wide and mouth slightly open in shock as he doesn't know what to say or do. 

He hasn't seen or talked to you in at least nine or ten months for sure. What is he even supposed to say? "Yeah… it's- it's surely been a while" he dumbly answers. "Ah! Your umbrella!" Baekhyun rushes to pick it up and hold it over your figure. 

But the damage is already done. 

You're shivering, dripping with water but still you've a tiny smile on your lips at the sight of him. 

You delicately take hold of the handle, fingers gently enclosing around the man's hand. 

He doesn't move to let go, just standing there and staring into your eyes. "I-" 

You cut him off by mistake with a sneeze, the cold creeping in deep. It feels like your bones might freeze, grasp around both Baekhyun's hand and the handle of your umbrella tightening, muscles contracting to desperately stay warm. "S-Sorry for interrupting you" You say, teeth clattering and eyes averting. 

"No no don't worry about it!" He insists, "but we should get you home, your hand is cold as ice, Y/N" 

"Ah… you're right" You nod and he flashes you a warm smile. 

"Do you still live in the same apartment or did you move?" Baekhyun asks, back to being concerned about your wellbeing now. 

"I- I still live in the same place" You reply, your free hand holding onto your jacket for warmth, but in vain. 

"That's too far away, my place is way closer" He objects and gently pulls you along, "come on, let's get you freshened up before you really get sick" 

You only manage an awkward nod and let him lead you along, a surprisingly pleasant silence engulfing you two. 

—

Baekhyun unlocks the door to his apartment and firstly puts both of your umbrellas away, taking off his wet shoes in the process and you follow along. 

"Come on, I'll show you the bathroom" He says and you tag after him. 

He opens the door, turns on the light and quickly pulls out two towels for you. "You can just use my shampoo, I don't have anything suitable here for you, sor-" 

"Thank you" you break his rambling. "You wouldn't need to do this, so thank you" 

Baekhyun smiles softly, although his eyes tell a different story. "I'll bring you some clothes in a bit, okay?" 

"Mhm" you nod and give him a curt bow before he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. 

You waste no time in stepping out of your soaked clothes and into the shower. 

You set the water to a nice warm temperature and rinse off the cold first, feeling relieved. 

Then there's a knock. "Hey Y/N, I'm putting some clothes on top of the washing machine for you now" he announces before opening the door, doing as he said and then leaving just as quickly as he came. 

"Still the considerate guy he always was…" You mumble with a sad smile, old memories coming back to haunt your mind with sweet images of the two of you. Him always knocking before he'd enter a room you would be in to announce himself. 

You loved that about him, he was always mindful of others and you're happy to see it hasn't changed at all. 

—

You finished quickly and put on the clothes he gave you. Some boxers and a way too big on you, black shirt. You dried your hair as best as you could with the towel he gave you and made sure you don't look like a lion by patting down your hair a bit. 

"Baekhyun?" You timidly call out after opening the door a bit. 

"Yeah?" He replies and you hear his footsteps approach. "What is it?" 

"Uhm- Where to put my wet clothes?" You ask. 

"Oh- Hold on, I'll put them in the washing machine" He says with big eyes and opens the machine for you to put them in. "I'll dry them after they're washed so you can change back, alright?" 

You nod quickly and thank him quietly. He opens the machine and you put your clothes inside, him doing the rest. 

"So, uh-" 

"Do you want some water?" He quickly asks, ears flaring red as he avoids your eyes. 

"Sure" you squeak back and follow him into the kitchen. He gets a glass out of a cupboard and fills it with water before handing it to you. 

You nip at the liquid as Baekhyun leans against the countertop adjacent to you, eyes taking in your figure. 

He missed seeing you in his clothes, you always looked so good in them. He just missed you in general. 

The reason why the two of you broke up a year ago? 

Baekhyun remembers it all too well. 

It was a work related thing actually. The two of you worked in different shifts and barely saw each other, yet alone had time for any couple stuff. 

Free days? Spent alone or arguing about never seeing each other. 

And at one point you had said to just break up. In that moment Baekhyun felt like he was hit by lightning, body stiff and eyes wide. He couldn't believe what he heard. Baekhyun felt anxiety cursing through his veins as his brain processed your words.

You had told him that you wouldn't hate him, but that your situation at that time just didn't allow any dating. The two of you never had hard feelings about the outcome, but it was hard to suddenly go back to being alone. 

And now you're here, in his apartment, wearing his clothes and smelling just like him. He can't believe this is happening. 

"Uhm, so" You speak up after setting the glass down on the other counter behind you. Your hands come up to grab the surface besides your waist and you avoid the man's eyes. 

"Yes?" Baekhyun can't help the hopeful hint in his voice as he urges you to continue your thoughts. 

"How has life been for you?" 

A chuckle escaped his lips at your question, shoulders jumping up and down in the process before he answered. "It's been rather boring but nice, if you get what I mean? I found a different job and work from home now" 

You nod quietly, "I've also found a new job and my shifts are less hectic" 

"Have you… found someone new?" 

You halt at his inquiry, gears in your mind temporarily stopping and he seems to take the lacking answer the wrong way. A frown pulls at his normally friendly and soft expression, making him look grumpy and bothered. "I see" 

"No, no! I- I haven't found anyone!" You quickly say, "I just… I couldn't move on" 

His expression changes to a sad smile, although he's kind of glad you're still somehow his. "Me neither" 

You scoff lightly, a cheeky smirk suddenly on your face. "No wonder, nobody could put up with your annoying ass anyway" 

"Hey!" He exclaims in shock. 

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" You insist, holding your stomach and laughing. "You're bearable most of the time" 

"That doesn't make it any better!" Baekhyun whines and you laugh out loud, hand flying up to cover your mouth. 

"Still the cocky little girl you've always been" He fires back and you snort. 

"Like you're one to talk" You roll your eyes at him and he exhales through his nose. 

His hands grab you by the collar of his shirt you're wearing and unexpectedly pull you into him. You squeal, hands shooting up to brace against his broad chest and you look up to be met by his cocky smile. "You never knew when to stop, no change at all there" he playfully nags. 

"Shut up" You weakly fight back. 

Baekhyun chuckles and you feel the rumble drumming against the palms of your hands. "How come you haven't moved on?" 

You lower your head, hands fumbling with his shirt. "Well… I came to the conclusion that just nobody could replace you. Nobody could love me like you did…" You mumble against his chest and Baekhyun feels a smile creeping up on his face. 

"I felt the same" He whispers back and his arms move to pull you into him more by your waist. 

After hearing that, you look back up at him with big eyes. "Really?" 

He nods and flashes you a bright smile. "Even though we fought a lot and barely had time for each other, I never stopped loving you" 

"Shut up" You almost whimper and move your hands to pull him closer by the back of his neck, lips meeting in the middle. 

Baekhyun's eyes almost fell out of their sockets before he came to his senses. 

One of his hands found its place on the back of your head as he moved his lips against yours with fervor. He greedily breathes you in, not wanting this to end as moves his mouth against yours. 

You shiver when his tongue meets yours and that's when you draw the line… for now. 

He chases after you for a second and you chuckle, dazed eyes meeting yours. "Slow down tiger" you say and peck the corner of his mouth. 

"Okay, okay" He smiles and pulls you in for a hug, "will you let me love you again?" 

"You bet" 

[issaxcharlie]

Something so right

Pairing: Alive! Luke x Fem reader

Summary: A date with the golden boy of the school reveals Y/N’s and Luke's true feelings for each other and they have no choice but to face what they feel. Who will take the first step?

(The fragments of the song are from Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift)

Luke Patterson was more impatient than usual. 7:30 pm and no sign of his best friend, the one who had never missed a Sunset Curve rehearsal in these two years that they had been playing together.

“Am I the only one worried about Y/N? She is not usually late."

Reggie slaps his forehead, a memory snapping back into his head. "I forgot to tell you she won't be here today, she said something about a date."

The guitarist feels a punch in the stomach, he tries to hide how bitter the news fell on him, but his friends know him better than that.

“A date? With who?” Alex asks, genuinely curious.

“Austin Grayson.”

“Ugh, really Y/N?” But of course it had to be the school's golden boy. Luke can't help not feeling insecure. Austin Grayson is everything Luke Patterson isn't, and that scares him. What if that's what she's really looking for in a partner? He just wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Nice, he really has to like her to invited her despite what everyone says." Bobby responds as he takes advantage of the short break to rest his hands. Reggie and Alex nodding in agreement.

“What do they say?” Luke asks, completely lost.

“Oh please, most of the school thinks you guys are dating. There isn't a day that I don't hear someone call her Patterson’s girl." Alex replies, and Luke looks even more lost.

He can somehow understand why they would think that, he always enjoys having her and feeling her close. Usually touching her hand or arm in some way, hugging her whenever he sees fit. Carrying her books in the hallways or supporting her at her basketball games, just like she accompanies them to all the band's rehearsals and performances, or how she sometimes wears to school the clothes that he 'accidentally' leaves at her home when her mom invites him to dinner. On second thought, it’s easy to understand the confusion.

You don’t know what is happening. Austin is sweet, handsome, smart, and yet you feel nothing. Forced yourself to laugh falsely all night, and couldn't help but think that it would have been more fun to join the boys in rehearsal, especially when they were only a few days away from Sunset Curve's first performance at school.

When you finally get home, you walk with your head on the floor, trying not to make eye contact with your date. Austin gently grabs your chin so you turn to see him.

A fake cough from behind causes you both to jump away from each other. You don't even have to turn to find out who owns that perfect timed cough.

“What are you doing here?” You refuse to turn around, but you know he's smirking anyway.

“It’s movie night, love.” You force one more smile towards Austin as you curse Luke under your breath, who emphasized the last word in that seductive deep voice he sometimes does when he sings and that secretly melts your legs.

“Patterson." Austin tries to get past the awkward moment by participating in the conversation, and Luke responds by approaching and placing his arm on your shoulder.

"Grayson. Thank you for bringing her safe and sound." He sounds sincere, and that makes you smile for real for the first time of the night.

“It was nothing... I should go. Goodnight Y/N, I had a great time.”

Luke lowers his arm from your shoulder and leans back, ashamed of his rare moment of insecurity and letting you say goodbye to the boy.

As soon as he leaves, you turn to see your best friend, who looks sadly at the ground, and you hug him tightly.

Luke has been through very difficult months, and it is easy for someone who is vulnerable to feel insecure, especially in situations new to them. Not to mention that you are definitely not going to fight with the person you love for putting his arm on your shoulder or calling you in an affectionate way, which are things that he usually does, guy in your doorstep or not. You decide that he showing a little jealousy for once is not the end of the world.

“I missed you so much, rockstar.” You murmur still against his chest, your statement only makes him hold you tighter. You can't help but think about how just hugging him for a few seconds makes you so much happier than the whole date you just had.

“I’m sorry for making a scene. No wonder everyone thinks we are dating.“

“I don’t mind. I couldn't wear your cool flannels or your necklaces if I was dating someone. Plus it would take away valuable time that I can use as the president of the Sunset Curve fan club.” He chuckles. You can feel his body relax and his heartbeat begins to calm down. He gives you a sweet kiss in your hair before letting you go.

Best friends walk into the house, and as Y/N goes to change into something more comfortable Luke sits at the kitchen counter to chat with his second female best friend.

"You have to do something quick, I don't want to have you here crying and eating ice cream while she's on some date with some graceless snob.”

The guitarist can't help but laugh. Y/N's mom has always been a music lover and one of his greatest inspirations. She gave him his first guitar and taught him how to play, always supporting him in each of his steps as a musician. She has always loved him like a son, believing in him with all her might and always blindly entrusting him with what she loves most in the world, her daughter Y/N.

“I know, I will I promise. What I felt today when I saw Grayson touch her face and so close to her lips... I never want to experience that again. I was thinking maybe at homecoming? Sunset Curve is going to perform.”

She wrinkles her nose in response and Luke laughs again.

"Yeah too much information, I’m sorry. And I know, but we have to start somewhere. As soon as we get booked at a good enough club you'll be the first guest.”

They both make a pinky promise and smile.

“I’ll make you proud someday. I swear.”

“I’m always proud of you, my sweet boy. I know you’ll do amazing things, just take good care of my princess during tours.”

“You know I will.” They pinky promise again and reunite with Y/N in the living room to watch movies til the teens fall asleep cuddling.

Homecoming day arrived and you don’t have a partner. It is not hard to imagine why, being surrounded by at least one of the Sunset Curve members 24/7, especially Luke who tries to be close to you as much as possible, as if he is afraid that you will forget him if you spend too much time separated. Which is actually something you like, if you are honest with yourself. Is not something you would tell him but feeling him close and having his attention devoted to you most of the time feels quite special.

The date with Austin didn’t feel right and only confirmed what you've been trying to deny yourself for months. You are in love with freakin Luke Patterson. And you are in really deep, loving the good, bad, fun, boring, charming, and annoying parts, absolutely every side of him. And now is the time to finally do something about it.

After the guys show tonight, even more girls will be raining down on them than usual and things could get really messy, it's best to make your move first. Inside your heart you know that he feels the same, and if he doesn't have the courage to act on it then you will.

The first and most important thing you need to do to get the operation going is to kidnap Reggie, Alex and Bobby.

After a little threatening session everyone sang about Luke's idea for tonight, which made you grin like an idiot and feel more confident about your plan. The surprise that he will get when he sees how you sabotaged his plan.

Convincing Luke that it was best for you to come on your own so that they would have more time to prepare was not easy, but in the end you succeeded.

He's not a suit kinda person, but you went along with him to get a dark blue one that looked unreal on him just a few weeks ago, and you knew he would find a way to wear it sleeveless so he will look even more irresistible. You opted for a black dress that fades beautifully to blue towards the bottom of the skirt and in which you really look pretty good If you can say it yourself.

Sunset Curve finishes singing the first song, Now or never. It's time for the song Luke wrote for you, but he turns to see his friends scared when he still can't find you in the crowd. They smile at him and start to play the song they practiced with you just a few hours before.

“The way you move is like a full on rainstorm, and I'm a house of cards. You're the kind of reckless that should send me running, but I kinda know that I won't get far.”

You walk onto the stage as you start the first verse, Luke is shocked for a few seconds but then grins from ear to ear.

“And you stood there in front of me just... close enough to touch.” He recovers much faster than expected and pulls you by the waist towards him, just the microphone separating you two while he looks at you with the most seductive face you’ve ever seen.

“'Cause I see, sparks fly, whenever you smile... Get me with those green eyes, baby as the lights go down.” He blushes a little and smiles while his eyes are locked on your lips, capturing every move.

After what seems like an eternity, the song ends and before you can even say thank you, Luke's lips crash against yours, and it’s even better than what you’ve dreamed plenty of times. All the people start screaming, but you especially hear Reggie and Alex a few steps away who sound pretty happy for you.

“Reggie, an issue occurred, I have to go, sing home is where my horse is if you want to.” Luke whispers to his friend, before effortlessly carrying you off the stage.

“Admit it, you just want to touch my legs.” You joke while he walks with you on his shoulder.

“I’m in love with a really smart girl.” You stay quiet, your heart wants to jump out of your chest and you don’t even want to imagine how red your face is right now.

The guitarist finally brings you down when you leave the building, and you both walk to the park next door, where you met when you were just kids.

"Do you remember exactly how we met?" He asks while taking your hand.

“Reggie and Alex teamed up to destroy you in a game they invented and I was the only one in the park, so you invited me to join your team. And when we managed to win you said that we were the best duo on the face of the earth, that we had to be best friends forever."

“I sound very intense.”

“You are.”

They both laugh at the memory.

"You were still right."

“When did you finally realize that you loved me?” Luke asks, smirking playfully.

“I've known for a long time, but I didn't dare to admit it until recently.”

He completely accepts my answer and sincerity and smiles at me.

“I always knew that we would end up together, you eat me with your eyes when I'm not wearing a shirt.”

His teasing takes effect and you blush just remembering him in that situation.

He smiles cheekily and then takes mercy on you and changes the subject.

“So, we are the best duo on the face of the earth, best friends forever, and now an official couple?”

“That’s right, handsome and smart. Nice.”

Both approach until their lips touch, the kiss begins calm but quickly becomes more passionate, his tongue claiming every inch of your mouth, his arms strong on your hips. You let this amazing sensations envelop you and you lose yourself in him, happier than you've ever been.

When you are with the right person, everything feels just right.

Thank you for reading!

Taglist:

@siennanoelle01 , @totomoshi , @kiss-themoongoodbye , @writerinlearning

[annie-mit-ie]

Glimpses: Part 13 (Kathryn Hahn x Fem!Reader)

Part 1 // previous chapter <<< >>> next chapter

Summary: Just a casual catch-up.

Word Count: 2k

A/N: I don't even know what's happening with Kathryn anymore. Guess it's all going "downhill" from here. Don't get mad! It'll be better soon, I promise! ;)

Tag List: @danvers97 @zafirosreverie @srtamercurio @wanatag @pulledbythestars17 @plantowl @spacehahn

Playlist! :)

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A couple days pass before you get another sign of life from Kathryn. It's the weekend again and you are lying on your bed, looking up at the ceiling. Alex is talking away on FaceTime, currently ranting about something that happened at her workplace earlier this week. She always does that, lets people walk over her and then complains about it to you.

You are just about to sit up and shut her down to make her stand up for herself more as a mail comes in. For a moment, you are confused, as you have never read the mail address it is coming from before. Still, you immediately open it to read through, a move that doesn't go unnoticed by Alex, who has stopped talking by now. 

"What is it?" She asks, looking rather concerned.

You are unsure what to say and talk as you read the mail. "Hmmmmmm, OH. Oh it's from Kathryn! Oh this took me way too long. But, you know, if all those "a prince from god knows where wants to send you money"-mails I wasn't sure what to expect." Both of you laugh as you read on.

Just as always, Alex is the perfect example of a nosy neighbor. "What does it saaaay? Don't keep me in the dark, ma'am!", she says and grins into the camera. Nearly done reading, you look up and shoot her an annoyed look. As a joke, obviously, but really, Alex needs to calm down sometimes. You reread the mail and prepare to summarize it for the both of you.

Essentially, Kathryn is simply talking about how she had broken her phone on the way to Europe as they made their way through the airport and spent a couple days hunting down your e-mail address to reach out to you again. She doesn't have a new phone just yet, because she took it as a chance to dive into the script and prepare for the shooting, but feels like it's about time she updates and checks in on you. Furthermore, to really focus on the movie, she decided to not cope the numbers from her old phone just now. Instead, she got a completely new, empty phone and only handed out her number to a handful of people, so she can really be one with the project.

It takes a while for you to understand that this means you are special to her and she chose you out of (probably) a lot of people to stay in contact with. If it wasn't for Alex, you would probably fall into a hole now and over analyze if this means more or not, but she interrupts your train of thought, as always.

"Isn't that just SO Kathryn? Like, I can totally see her sitting there, choosing not to have a phone so she can read her scripts in peace and become her character. That's how passionate she is, ugh, I love her."

Usually, you would agree and say you love her, too, but as of lately you can't bring yourself to say these words out loud anymore, since they feel way too intimate considering the relationship you have formed with Kathryn over the last couple of weeks. So, instead of saying anything, you simply nod and read the mail again before typing the number she provided you with into your phone.

A part of you is very happy about the mail and Kathryn's update, but you have to admit that there is also a part of you that wishes she would've said something about missing you. You miss her,  mentally and physically. You miss her touch and her warmth and, thinking about it for a little too long, you miss what kissing her lips feels like. And you miss how her hair feels on your skin as she bends over you. If you're being honest, you simply miss everything about her.

Alex seems to sense your thoughts and breaks the silence. "You miss her, don't you?"

You don't want to think about it any deeper as you can feel some tears forming in the corners of your eyes. Instead, you just nod as you bite the inside of your lower lip, holding them back.

"You know, Y/N. You should tell her. I am really sure she misses you, too. Like, in THAT way. If you tell me everything that happens between the two of you at all times, then I'm pretty sure she is in love with you, too, you know?" "I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH HER!", you suddenly jump and get way louder than you meant to be. Or are you? Hell, you don't even know anymore. Fact is, Kathryn is gone and won't be back for a while and there is no way for you to change that and that is why you shouldn't dwell into those feelings because after all you'll just get hurt anyway.

You decide to shoot a quick message to the number Kathryn provided you with and let her know you read the mail and hope she is doing alright. Also you can't help but tell her how incredibly boring life is without her - could be seen as you telling her you miss her, but doesn't have to be read that way if she doesn't want it.

Alex finally rants about work a little longer before you decide to watch a movie together since it's getting late on her end and you usually spend your Sundays watching a movie or two, whenever both of you are available. 

It takes Kathryn until around noon the next day to answer your message and she seems rather stressed, as it simply reads "Let's catch up tonight! x", as if she didn't even get to finish typing it all out. Excited for the night, you plan out the rest of the day and secretly hope she will acknowledged any kind of feelings she might have in any way, so you can finally talk it all out. 

You're sitting outside in your mom's garden in between all of her flowers on a comfy garden bench as the call comes in and decide to take it with your computer that is placed on the garden table beside you. This way, you can sit and act more comfortably and can grab a blanket or pillow with your hands instead of holding onto your phone.

"Hiya Hon! I missed your face!" Kathryn speaks in excitement as her wide grin fills the screen. She is also taking the call with a computer, as she is just putting her phone away when she sees you.

You smile softly and a warm fuzzy feeling makes itself at home in your body. „Hey Kathryn.. you look beautiful tonight, as always.“

Kathryn blushes as a cheeky smile plays along her lips and makes herself comfortable on the couch that's placed next to the hotel room window. You can see the last couple of sunrays cradling her face as she leans back and the sun hits her features through the open window. She is wearing a white loose shirt and a thin golden necklace is resting around her neck. Her fingers caress the cold metal as she looks at you, softly biting the right side of her lover lip.

„How are you doing, Sweetie?“ she says and you don’t know what to reply. You want to tell her that you miss her - more than just physically -, you want to tell her that she is occupying your thoughts and dreams and that you want to be with her and how it crushes you that she isn’t with you right now. Yet, something is holding you back, because somehow, you feel like she needs to be the one to bring it up first.

Your breath hitches as she does. „I miss you, honey.“

Your heart is racing and you can feel it beating in your throat in anticipation of what she might say next. „I miss sitting with you and laughing, yeah, but I also really miss kissing you. I can’t believe we don’t get to do that for such a long time.“ She groans.

Yeah. That. Of course she misses that. You sink back into the couch, slightly disappointed, but at the same time - what did you expect?

She notices. „Is everything alright, Love?“ she seems worried.

„Yeah! I’m good. It’s just been a rough week and not being able to sit and, you know, spent time with you just seems wrong.“ You’re not lying.

She nods. „It does. You’re right.“

„I know.“ For a moment, both of you fall silent, caught up in your thoughts. Kathryn is still playing with her necklace, as she is lying on the couch in a very relaxed position with her foot propped up and, all of a sudden, looks absolutely heartbroken.

You can’t stand to see her like this and decide to change the topic. You sit up straight again. „So… HOW IS IT? Tell me all about it! The set, the project, YOUR COLLEAGUES and like… I know you can’t really tell me anything, but like… TELL ME EVERYTHING.“

Her laughter fills the room. You did it, you made both of you happy. „Alright, well. It seems to be a very suspenseful movie and the cast is just great. Lots of people my age but also a couple young ones that remind me of you,“ she winks. „I enjoy working here very much so far.“

Speaking about other people has your attention, so you decide to dig deeper. „So, they all treat you like the Queen you are.“

She waves it off. „Oh SHUSH. You are crazy. Although… you are not wrong, all of them treat me very well.“ 

A small smile plays around her lips and, for a moment, you wonder why, but she is already changing the topic. “We’re actually going out for dinner in the upcoming week. I am very excited. It’s gonna be just a couple of us, but, you know me, I love connecting with the others. Bouncing off ideas and all.”

You nod. You DO know her. “That sounds amazing Kathryn! I am beyond excited for you.”

In the distance, you can hear thunder and see the clouds getting darker. Looking back at her, you catch her yawning. “Hey you? It’s getting stormy out here," You look around you again. "I think there’s a storm coming.”

“OH NO.” She mumbles, before she yawns again.

“ALSO,” you try to get her attention back. “You, ma’am, seem to be pretty tired tonight.”

Forcefully keeping her eyes open, she scans your face. “NEVER. I am never tired. I always go to bed late.” She laughs.

“Kathryn…” you really don’t want to be a literal mom in front of her again, but she doesn’t actually leave you a choice.

“I KNOW, I know,” she laughs. “I had a night shoot last night and I think I can finally feel the aftermath.” She yawns again. This time, you yawn with her. “See, you’re tired, too, and I can actually hear AND see the storm approaching behind you. I need you to stay save and get inside.”

You nod, already grabbing the things you put on your table. “Don’t go silent on me again, yeah?”

“I promise I won’t.” She says and you believe her.

“Alright then, good night, K.” Kathryn smiles at the nickname.

“Sleep well, Y/N. And again, text me anytime, promise I'll be there as soon as I can.” And with that, all good byes are said and you immediately close your computer and storm inside after hanging up as the first raindrops hit you.

The storm is starting to get heavier and the incoming rain is now hitting the windows hard as the thunder rolls in - a perfect representation of your thoughts and feelings piling up inside of you.

[straykidsworldwild]

Duskwood

Phil Hawkins x MC

Part 1 : MC is having a horrible, horrible day and she goes to the Aurora to have a drink.

(⚠️Sad. Some swearing ⚠️)

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Heyy guys!! Here's a little Phil Hawkins one shot part 1 because there's not enough Duskwood imagines 🙈

(pictures aren't mines but I made the collage and the character aren't mines. All rights go to Duskwood creators and owners of the pics.)

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My day was total crap... I don't believe I've had such a horrible day before. Or at least, not for a long time... It feels like everything is falling apart little by little. Like nothing is meant to go normally. I woke up like any other day, and yet, it feels like I woke up in a chaotic world where everything is meant to go wrong... Since that call, everything is going downhill...

The night has fallen which means I have officially done my day. It felt like forever... Like I am in an endless loop... And since I was meant to do the closing, my day felt even longer than usual. I just finished cleaning the little restaurant I worked at and closed it. It's not a job I would want to do my whole life, even though it is nice to work in a restaurant, but I need money to pay for my college study. My mom is helping pay for them, but I'm trying to pay as much as I can on my own. Anyway... I am walking in the streets of Duskwood which are beamed by the streetlights. It is surprisingly emptier than usual. I guess it's due to the rain... Like my day wasn't cloudy enough already... I think I need a break... Yeah... I need a drink...

I walk toward a familiar building, some greenish-blueish light lightening the area. Aurora... The famous bar of Duskwood owned by my best friend's brother. I've rarely been there alone... Usually I go with the rest of the group. But I really need... Ugh... Maybe I should just go home? Isn't it too late to go there anyway? Ugh... I'm asking myself too many questions. I guess a drink really won't hurt. I reach the door before falling face to face with a sign. CLOSED. Great... I sigh disappointed as I am standing under the rain. Oh... But he is still here. Through the window, I can see a familiar figure cleaning the place. Oh well, I'm neither here nor there... I lift my hand and knock on the door of the bar. The man turned around as I got his attention. I cross my arms over my chest and notice that the rain has already soaked my hair and my vest. I must look awful... The man comes up to the door and opens it for me.

- Gorgeous! Come in before you catch a cold, tells me, the man, using that nickname he always does. I don't know why he does it... I never heard him calling other girls like this. Well, he does use pet names but not this specific one. I step in the bar and he closes the door behind me. You know I love you very much but I'm about to close so... He begins to tell me with his famous smirk despite the little fatigue I can see on his face. His hair is held up in a bun as he usually does when he works. He is wearing a white shirt, letting his huge tattoo on his neck appear, and a black trousers. By the sight of his eyes, I can tell he had a long day too...

- I just need one drink, Phil, I simply answer to my friend. My voice sounded so... Tired and flat. Phil looks at me with a slight surprise, losing slowly his smile. I guess the sound of my voice surprised him. Please... I plead to him with the same tone.

- I would never say "no" to my favorite customer, would I? He answers with a smirk. I faintly smile back at him, happy that finally something goes well. For now... He could have said "no". The two of us walk over to the bar and I sit on a stool while he goes behind the counter. We're alone in the bar since he was about to close so it's pretty quiet. The usual I guess, he tells me with his deep and calm voice.

- Actually... Whiskey. Pure, I reply, stopping him in his momentum. Phil looks back at me for a second, processing my words.

- Wow, I knew you had that wild part in you, Gorgeous, but I didn't think I would ever see it, he tells me with a surprised tone again. Yet, he doesn't seem to dislike it. Phil gets two glasses and he pours a little bit of the beverage in the glasses.

- A little more, please... I tell him with the same flat and tired voice. I stop myself from letting a long sigh out. Again, I feel his eyes burning me before he pours a little more alcohol. Thanks, I thank him.

- On the house, he tells me, leaning against the counter as he raises his glass. I was about to retort but he gave me a look, telling me he won't change his mind.

- Double thanks, I thank him again, clinking my glass with him before taking a sip. Argh... That tastes awful! I can feel the liquid burning my throat.

- So... I know I act like I am very happy to see you, which is the case, don't get me wrong, Gorgeous, he begins to tell me before rapidly correcting himself. But I also see that you're not fine, MC, Oh... I look down as I take a deep breath in. It must not be very hard to see I had a bad day then... Usually I can hide it pretty well... But right now. It's too deep, too much. I'm not even sure "bad" is a strong enough word to describe how crappy my day was. What's wrong? He asks me, sounding calm, gentle and interested, yet, with a point of concern.

- I'm okay, Phil, I softly respond to my friend while slowly shaking my head negatively.

- Mmh... This "I'm okay" sounded more like a "I'm-not-okay-but-I-am-putting-a-brave-face-on". Like a hidden call for help, he tells me gently, yet, seriously. His deep voice is just so... Irresistible, and always so calm. Who could resist it? Well... I guess at this moment I can. My mind is too bothered and busy right now. I crack a very faint smile before looking down at my glass again. I take a sip of it and lightly grimace to the taste of the drink. Who hurt you? He asks me seriously as he takes a cigarette and the lighter. Who… Why someone and not something?

- It's not about me, I respond in a whisper, lying to him. I hate talking about myself when I'm down. I don't want to bother people with my problems... I don't want to be the one to bring negative vibes. Oh no... I turn lightly my head to the side as I feel the tears coming up. I need a break... I need to break.

- Lie, he simply says. I don't look at him and I don't contradict him either. What happened? He asks again with seriousness, not letting this subject aside. I don't answer again. I can feel a lump in my throat. The tears are thick in my eyes and threatening to fall at any time now. MC, talk to me. I'm not here to judge you or... I hide my face even more as I can't stop myself from grimacing sadly. I can't take it... I let a sob out accidentally as if my body is talking for myself. I want to scream. But I can't... MC... He calls me with concern. Phil puts down his cigarette and walks around the counter to join my sides. I don't move and keep my back to him. I hate when people see me crying... Phil puts his hand on my shoulder so I could face him but I push it away, not too harshly, but not too gently either. I let another sob out as I closed my eyes. The tears are so thick and warm... There's so much emotion in them. They roll down my cheeks regularly, evacuating my pain. Without saying a word, I feel a pair of arms holding me. A chest lays against my back. My hair was all wet... His shirt must be wet too by now. It's okay, MC, I hear him whispering. I should push him away. I know how Phil is with girls... Isn't it too easy to cry in front of him and him then being too nice? I know he is my friend and my best friend's brother, but... God, I'm lost. Usually I go to Jessy or I call her. But I came here... Why? Ugh...

- I'm sorry... I whisper shakily through my sobs. I came for a drink and I ended up breaking in front of him...

- No, it's okay. Get it out, he says with a comforting and calm tone. It actually sounds weird coming from him... I know Phil for a few years and he was never like this. I mean, he is always calm but caring like this? That's rare... More than rare. Long minutes later, I slowly calm down. I am still breathing lightly shakily but I'm not sobbing anymore. Only a few tears here and there stream down my eyes. I take a deep breath in and out before wiping my cheeks. I don't remember when was the last time I cried this much... It hurts. It hurts so much. I accumulated too much. I didn't break when mom told me about my uncle's death… I guess I didn't realize what was real and happening at the moment… Or I didn't want to believe it… That built up on my nerves and… This is the result. Slowly, I pull myself away from Phil who didn't let go of me one second. I turn around to face him, but avoid his eyes. Like I thought, the top of his shirt is all wet, letting his tattoos appear a little more on his chest. I'm still confused about what just happened... That's not me to cry in front of people like this... And that's definitely not the Phil I know. Tell me what's wrong, Gorgeous, he says seriously, still wanting to know what got me in such a state. He never gives up...

- Everything, I answer back, my voice lightly breaking. I wipe my cheeks again as I clear my throat. To begin with, when I woke up this morning, I learned that my uncle had passed away during the night. He drove a truck from a country to another and... I explain to him, confessing the terrible news that started this awful day of mine. However, I couldn't bring myself to finish my sentence. I bring my hand over my heart and press on it as if it would take the pain away. Since the call... Just saying those words hurts just as much as saying them in my head. If not more...

- I'm sorry to hear that, he apologizes sincerely.

- Me too... Thanks... But that's not it, I thank him with a sad tone before lightly sniffling. After receiving my mom's call to tell me this awful news, I went to work today because I couldn't stay home. I needed to get my mind busy and to... Not think about the incident, I confess as I feel a new tear rolling down my cheek. My uncle and I were close, you know? He kind of raised me with my mom since my dad left her when she told him about me, I admit to the boy. I watch Phil frowning as he discovers a part of my life that I don't usually bring up. Why am I telling him all of this? It's not like he cares anyway... Does he? Anyway, to continue this unpleasant day, I had the pleasure to meet very unpleasant and rude customers all day long. Like this one call wasn't enough already... One of the customers said that they didn't want me as their waitress because I've got curves, some others telling me I was too long when in reality I just walked away from their table, a couple literally told me I gave them the wrong command and threw their drinks at me, and another one insulted me because there wasn't anymore sandwich like he wanted, I tell him all of this in just one single breath. Yet, you could hear how tired and hurt I am right now. I guess the death of my uncle adding this unnecessary crap was just too much at once. And to add more, my boss is cutting half my pay off because I accidentally broke a cup... A damn cup! Can this day get any worse? I finish to say as I look away, letting a heavy and shaky sight out as another tear rolls down my face. My hand is still over my heart as if I am protecting it all while trying to reject all negative emotions. Suddenly, two fingers softly come grabbing my chin and force me to lift my head up.

- Your boss is a dick, MC. Always have been, always will be, he tells me, the sound of those words sounding familiar. How many times did he already say this to me? I stopped counting... But I should listen, he is right. And f**k those customers. They're not happy? Tell them to go to another restaurant, he responds seriously. His deep voice sounds so calm despite the upset look he has on his face. Am I upsetting him or is he upset because of what happened to me today?

- Right, I kind of need to keep my job despite everything. But you can go tell them that, I respond with a small scoff, yet, trying to use sarcasm.

- Sure, give me names and faces and I'll find them, he replies playfully, yet a point of seriousness heard in his voice. I smile to his answer, appreciating his concern and protectiveness. Though, I never thought it would ever happen one day. Phil is... Not the last person I'd go to to talk but definitely not the first one either... Usually. I look away again and lightly sniffle. Phil wipes some of my tears away. His hands are so soft... It's weird. I've never seen you cry before, he whispers. I look back up at him, watching him slightly frowning. That's true... Not sure a lot of people saw me crying before either... Not even Jessy. I weakly nod before shrugging.

- How does it feel to watch a girl crying in front of you? I reply slightly playfully. Jessy's brother grabs something on the other side of the counter before handing it to me. Tissues... I take them from his hand, thanking him.

- It's painful. When it's you... It's different... Painful, he responds, taking his cigarette again. Oh... I wasn't waiting for an answer like this one. I was waiting for him to say "Can you just stop thinking for a moment?" Or "Stop crying over so little"... But none of that. I watch Phil blowing some smoke, making sure it doesn't go in my face.

- Is the womanizer Phillip Hawkins starting to be an emotional guy? I question him with a playful tone, cracking a smile. I think it's the first time today that I cracked a smile. A real one, I mean.

- No, he's the same dick, he answers, shaking his head left to right while chuckling. Oh... Of course. That would have been too surreal. I'm not going to lie, Phil is a good looking guy. His long hair, his tattoos looking so cool, his piercing, the way he dresses, his voice,... Just the way he is is attractive. The sound of his chuckle runs through my body.

- He admits it, I reply as I feel myself smiling more and more as the tears are coming to a stop. Prove it, I tell him with a daring tone. Phil leans against the counter, smirking.

- Wanna stay with me, tonight? At my place. The bed is comfy and big enough for us two, he proposes seriously to me, a point of flirt in his voice. I know he is being serious. I can hear it in his voice. And that look of his... I know girls don't refuse him generally. But I'm not them. And I don't want to end up in his bed just for one night and then nothing. That's not me... That's not who I am. That's not what I want. He can be incredibly good looking and just be his amazing self, I'll still refuse.

- I don't do one night stands, Phil, I remind him seriously.

- I know... He replies, a slight hidden note of his tone telling me he is disappointed. It's no secret that Phil has been liking me for a while. He has tried to ask me a few times before but I declined them all for... Obvious reasons. Let's do two then, he suddenly says, half joking, half serious.

- Phil! I exclaim as I chuckle.

- It's okay. I'll accept even three nights. Or more. I won't mind, Gorgeous, he continues to say, but I can tell he is joking this time. I softly laugh while shaking my head. There's that smile I love, he states, sounding satisfied with himself for making me smile. Honestly, Gorgeous, don't mind those idiots. Don't let them get to you, he advises me seriously as he finishes his whiskey.

- I don't usually. But I thought going to work was going to help me forget that awful news for a moment. I went there hoping to clear my head. I guess it was just too much today and I needed to break. Sorry it had to be you watching me like this, I answer and apologize to the boy as I take a sip of my drink. Ugh... It's the last time I take Whiskey... I lightly grimace and put the glass down.

- I'm not. If you ever have a bad day again and feel the need to talk, don't hesitate knocking on my door. Even if it's closed. It's always open for you, he tells me seriously and sincerely. Honestly, I haven't met that guy before... Where's the Phil I know?

- Thanks, Phil, I thank him before stepping down the stool. I step up twice and take him in my arms. The man envelops me back in a warm embrace, running softly his hand on my back. I pull my head away and place a kiss on his cheek as a thank you. And before you think of anything spicy, that kiss on the cheek is the farthest you'll ever have, I rapidly tell him, a point of warning in my voice, yet, using a playful tone.

- You're definitely killing me with kindness, MC. My poor heart pays dearly, he tells me with a frustrated tone before I watch him taking my glass of Whiskey. Oh... He winks and takes a sip from it. Oh yeah, drink that thing... I don't like it anyway. And I think he noticed it...

- Moh, maybe one of those girls coming here could put a bandage on it to heal it, I say with some sarcasm, yet, with some dislike heard into it. I always hated that those girls could "help" him... I mean, what do they have? What does he see in them? Before anything said, no, I'm not jealous... I just don't like him with other girls...

- They could. But will it be worth it? He answers while nodding before taking his cigarette and blowing so smoke away.

- You tell me. You're the one who can't resist "beautiful women", I reply to the man, stating his own words. Phil smiles and chuckles lightly to my comment.

- They can definitely help at a low point, he answers, agreeing. Right... Wait, at a low point?

- At a low point? What do you mean? I ask him with a confused tone.

- I can sleep with every woman that wants me. But, in the end, it will never mean anything like... Like when you're with me, he suddenly tells me, lowering his head lightly. His smile disappeared, showing seriousness. Did I hear him right? Did he just say those words? I stare at the man, confused and speechless. Me? Why...? Since when...? Ugh... He had a few drinks today, didn't he? Phil looks back up at me, but his eyes give a quick look at my lips.

- I'm sorry. I'm trying but... Are those words really coming from you or... Did you have any drinks before? I demand him seriously, yet, with a playful tone to keep a cool atmosphere. Arguing with him is the last thing I want. Phil cracks a smile but it doesn't stay long.

- I know I play a lot around with different girls. I know what you think of me. I'm a f**k boy. And I know I tried several times to get a night with you. But... It's not just a night that I want and you don't seem to see that, he replies, not denying who he is but also kind of reproaching me to not open my eyes about him. Well… How could I? If he doesn't tell me, I only see things the way I see them... I nod positively before looking down. Why do I feel a little sorry suddenly? I shouldn't... There's something different with you, MC. You're different. From all the others. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to dirty you. I don't want to play with you. I don't want to break you, he tells me gently and seriously. I slowly look back up at him and notice how close he is to me. Was he that close to me before? I can feel my heart beating like crazy down my chest. It's wrong... It feels right, but it's wrong. I know it...

- Phil... I gently whisper his name as I a look down again.

- I love you, MC, he interrupts me with his calm and deep voice. What...? I stare at him with wide eyes, surprised by the words I just heard. I didn't even know he knew how to say them… Especially while sounding sincere. He meant those words. I love you like I have never loved a woman before. And I'm not talking about loving the "pretty woman" that you are. No, I mean... He sighs. You're pretty. You're more than pretty. You're prettier than all of those girls and I am not talking just about the way you look. I just... Again, I hear Phil sighing. Despite the fast that he stays calm, I can sense some nervousness coming from him which is unusual. Phil is never nervous, especially around a woman. He is the exact opposite actually. He is pretty confident about himself. He talks easily, flirts easily… You're not a price I want to win or a pride to have f**ked in bed. You have this thing that the others don't have. You're special, he says with the same calm and slight nervous tone. Phil looks straight before him as he blows some smoke. Special... He noticed this little thing in me, which I didn't know I had…

- You really noticed that small thing in me? Because, honestly, I'm everything but special. I can assure you, I demand and tell him with a point of shiness. Wow... I didn't think I would have sounded so shy all of a sudden...

- I told you. I love you. And you know those words don't come out of my mouth easily. Actually, I don't think I ever said them to someone before, he replies seriously and gently before taking a last blow and putting out his cigarette. I stare at him, not really knowing how to react. I mean, of course it does make me feel something. There's... There are those butterflies flying in my belly. My heart is racing and my cheeks feel a little warm... Maybe a little more than a little, actually. I know I feel something for him. I can't deny it… But there's still things in the way...

- Honestly, I'm discovering another man right now. Why don't you show this side of yours to people? Pride? Male ego? I demand him with a small confused tone, yet curious.

- I am who I am, he simply answers.

- Mmh... Well, I like this Phil better, I answer him as I crack a smile. Phil looks at me and his serious face turns into a smiling one again.

- So, would you go out one night? Or during a lunch break? He proposes to me, hope heard in his voice. Oh... Well... I know your days are long and I work at night too so it'll be short but... He tells me gently, reminding us of our busy lives. Right, there's not a lot of moments where we can meet… But do I want to meet him like this? I mean, yes, I want to but… Do I want to get in something like this? In an uncertain relationship where I'll fear he goes to see someone else to distract himself from me? Despite this side of him, he is still Phil in the end...

- If you do this to only get me in your bed... I whisper, interrupting him. I hope it's not a plan of his to get me in his bed... That'll be the worst thing he could do... Especially as being my friend first...

- I do this to win your heart. As cheesy as it sounded... Nothing more, he tells me seriously, staring into my eyes. Speechless, I stare at him as well. For once in my life, I just want to do right. Especially with you… For you… Because of you... But it's only if you want to, he responds sincerely to me, looking serious. It's actually a little disturbing. Phil has always had respect for everyone, including me. He always respected that I didn't want a one time thing… What changed?

- I don't know, I whisper, confused by the situation. It's not that I don't want to be with him nor that I don't like him. On the contrary. I love Phil. But... There's few things in the way...

- Because of my past with women? He asks me, sounding really confused that I won't accept. I'm certainly the only woman telling him "no". Especially after a few tries.

- Yes... And because of my insecure self. Look at you and look at me. You own an amazing bar, I work as a waitress with a crappy boss. You look cool and get well and easily along with people, I look like that discreet and shy girl who is nothing more than being awkward. And you're my best friend's brother. And there's the age gap, which is the least that bothers me, I tell him everything that I thought on why I don't say "yes" to him. I mean... I think he can understand where I'm coming from. I hope... I don't want to lose a friend, in a way, just because of that...

- You're perfect the way you are, MC. Nobody will take that thought out of my mind, he states seriously. I notice how his eyes are alternating from my own to my lips. They keep going up and down. He seems eager...

- Right... You said it, not me, I say with a disbelieving tone, yet a playful one while I giggle. A small smile comes on my face which keeps growing more and more. I'm not going to lie, but hearing him saying those words do something inside me.

- And I believe it, he says while nodding. He does... I stare at him for a moment, the two of us plunge into a deep silence. It's not awkward... It's intense, but not awkward. I'm just so not confident with myself. What if he is playing me? And what if he is not? Ugh… I should let go sometimes... Really... I could open doors I didn't even think I had the key of.

- Tomorrow. Meet me for lunch if you're free. We can start there to see how it goes, I propose to the man which, I notice, makes him smile instantly.

- Is it a date? He asks with a smirk. Well...

- I'm not sure... Maybe... We'll see, I reply unsure, yet, smirking back at him. Yes, I'm entering his game easily... Was it right? Though, we could hear this point of shyness in my voice.

- Will I get to finally kiss you? He then asks, slowly getting even more closer to me. Oh... I can feel my heart racing a little more, hearing it beat in my ears. He's making me so nervous… Kiss me… Is that all he wants?

- Phil... I whisper his name, annoyed, as I lightly title my head on the side.

- What? I showed you a part of me, doesn't mean the other one is gone, he answers with a not so innocent tone, still smirking at me. I keep staring at him a little annoyed despite the amused smile on my face. Alright, just lunch, he says, agreeing. I nod back positively. And a hug? He rapidly asks.

- A hug? I ask, surprised and confused. Phil winks at me. I can see he is waiting for an actual answer. Oh well... Sure. Whatever. I've got to go home. It's getting late, I agree before standing up from the stool. I didn't think but, when I stood up, my face got so close to his. At this moment, when my eyes met his, it was as if the time had stopped for a second. Slow motion. It was like I couldn't remember what reality looked like. I feel my cheeks starting to burn before I look down to hide my certainly blushing face from him. Why did I have to happen to have a crush on him? Why him? Why does he make me feel this way? I clear my throat quietly and start walking towards the door.

- Be careful on your way home. Tell me once you're there, he tells me as he follows me behind.

- I will, I reply. I was about to open the door when his hand grabbed the handle first. My fingers brushed his. I retrieve my hand and let him open the door for me. Still with my cheek lightly burning from previously, I manage to cross sight with his eyes and smile at him. Thanks for the night, the drink, holding me when I cried, and for listening to me, Phil, I thank him sincerely as I weakly nod to the man.

- You're very welcome, Gorgeous, he responds with his deep and calm voice while smiling back at him. That damn smile... Goodnight, MC, he wishes me softly.

- Goodnight, Phil, I wish him back. The two of us exchange one last look and smile before I walk out of his bar. I put my hands in my pockets and walk home.

I'm not sure what exactly happened there... I went to the bar to have a drink to relax and take my mind off and I ended up with Phil holding me when I broke down and accepting to have lunch together. Will it be a date? Will it actually go somewhere? Was he being serious? So many questions burning my mind... I will see how tomorrow goes. I'll have so much to do tomorrow, anyway... Mom is certainly going to call me for the funerals, my work is going to be tiring as always, and the lunch with Phil... I wonder what Jessy will say if she knew that her brother and I are going on a... Lunch? Date? Whatever it's called... Will she be okay with... What we're doing? Will she mind if I go out with her brother? Ugh, why do I already think of things like this? I'm not there yet... Anyway... I think I just need some sleep right now, nothing more. If I manage to actually fall asleep once I'll be home and in my bed… It promises to be a long night...

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 12

Click here if you are a first time reader.

Summary / TWs: Steve Rogers does not pass the vibe check yet again, le sad face. Loki is a good bro. Bruce fluff but what else is new? Literally everyone is a good bro, yo. Reader has best people. Tony's in there, kind of. Parents still suck.

For taglist: please send an ask if you changed your @! I noticed several people are unavailable :(

As always, my baby gay @miscmarvelwritings is the bestest beta!

"I think I am going to murder your father." Bucky's angry statement didn't surprise me. Neither did Steve's initial reaction, or anybody else's mostly pitying looks.

Bruce, my Bwucie, was calm and dejected. That worried me. I expected him to be at least a little bit green around the edges when Steve forcefully sat me down and made me explain the drunken, drugged stunt I'd done the night before, but alas, it seemed like Jolly Green was just sad. Or disappointed. And I didn't know which was worse.

The more I thought about it, the more defensive and abrasive I became. "And you'll kill yourself trying, he'll drive you fucking nuts" I responded to Barnes. "Honestly, I don't fucking see the problem here. My dad shows up five times a year at best. It's been like that forever. And it's not like I'm some kind of junkie," I defended myself, and my dad, because I really didn't see the huge deal about it. Relaxing once in a while doesn’t hurt anyone.

"It's not right!" Steve exclaimed, loosely banging a fist on the table. The self-righteous prick, seemed like he wanted to pick a fight just for the sake of it.

"And who are you, exactly, to say that? The moral police?" I blew up, standing and turning to the blonde man, hands on my hips. "Or you've decided to be my parent without asking me first? Keep your hopes up and maybe a fuck will magically appear, so I could give it to you."

He stood up in turn, getting uncomfortably close to my face. I was suddenly reminded of the fact that he was a very large, very strong man. "We want what's best for you! Can't you see it?" Rogers was getting red in the face, crossed arms, staring at me down like I was dirt under his shoes.

"How about..." I seethed, having to stop mid-sentence to swallow the scream that wanted to erupt. "How about... You FUCKING ask me what I want?"

"I suggest the Captain leave to go calm down," Loki suddenly piped up. He stayed silent throughout the whole conversation, picking at his food instead. Only after his sharply uttered words I noticed he had stood up. His hand hovered over my shoulder, body discreetly wedging between me and the Captain.

I heard Steve growl before he stormed off, throwing an annoyed look at Loki. A pregnant silence hung in the room. The longer it lasted, the more I wanted to crawl out of my skin, suddenly hyper aware of all these people - strangers, save a few - debating on what to do with me. Like I wasn't a person. Like...

"Ugh, fucking hell," I growled, beelining for my bag. I had definitely overstayed my welcome.

"Where are you going?" Bruce asked, standing up to follow.

"Home," I replied curtly, nodding my thanks to Loki for the intervention. He nodded back, walking off. I would have probably started swinging at the Icicle Dick if not for the raven haired Asgardian's timely interruption.

"I'll drive you," Banner trotted after me like a dejected puppy. I didn't have the mental capacity to deal with this, at all.

"I need to see Tony first. Meet you downstairs?"

Bruce nodded, looking even more confused.

Tony kissed me hungrily, in between promises to kill Steve and cancel my dad and get me my own apartment in the tower. Believing in fairy tales wasn't something I was ever prone to; I smiled, nodded along and did my best to shut him up with my own mouth on his. I left with the promise to text him as soon as I got home.

"How are you?" Bruce asked me as we once again drove through the busy city. This was becoming a nice habit but we really had to meet up when I wasn't going through another one of my turmoils.

"All things considered, I am great. Better than I've been in a while." I answered honestly, meaning it. However brief Tony's attention would be, it still satisfied me. Then and there I decided to always, always cherish what happened during my brief stint in his arms.

"Really?" Banner's warm smile was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. "Care to share?"

It threw me for a loop. I didn't know how much Tony wanted to disclose regarding what happened between us. I didn't know the extent of his friendship with Bruce. I didn't know...

"Tony," I choose the usual option. Admit what you can't deny, deny what you can't admit.

"I know the feeling," The good doctor chuckled, companionable-like and meaningful. "He tends to go all the way for the people he cares about. Too much, if you ask me."

"What do you mean?" I was confused. Sure, me and Tony were friends. But not, like, super close or anything. We'd fucked, or more like messed around, so I expected our friendship to grow colder. That's what happened when friends decided to bump uglies.

"I mean... He'll move mountains and challenge the government and bully them into dropping charges against you," There was a hint of sadness in Brucie's voice. I vaguely recalled seeing something on the news, something about the Hulk and a massive destruction spree. It didn't take long to put two and two together.

I reached out, putting a hand on his knee. He covered my palm with his own, giving it a brief, warm squeeze.

"It must be great having a friend like that. You're both wonderful and brilliant. You deserve no less," The smile threatened to split my face in two.

Bruce returned the smile but the sadness didn't go away. "You realize that extends to you, right?"

"Me? I'm just me, Bruce." I wasn't sure where this was going. "I'm Peter's classmate and the resident hot mess express."

Bruce frowned, deep and long, up until he parked. Life seemed to be taking back all the happiness it gave me previously-in fucking buckets. The strap of my bag was going to get its threads pulled out with the way I was fiddling with it.

"Baby… Princess?" The scientist turned to me, tone torn somewhere between stern and pleading. "Listen to me. You are brilliant. Incredibly smart, talented and beautiful. Don't ever, ever think of yourself as less than any of us." I gaped at him.

Did he mean us as the Avengers? Us as Tony and Bruce? Meanwhile he continued, "In fact, I think you are the one who deserves so much better. I don't know what Tony found in me… Or what you found in me."

Was the man an idiot or yes? That was the question of the day. Cursing Tony's affinity for small cars (bless me and my own SUV), I only hesitated a moment before grabbing the dumb Banner by his face and startling him into looking straight in my eye. "If you don't quit talking all that fake-ass bullshit, I will kiss you. On the mouth. With tongue."

"Uh," Was his articulate response. I watched him squirm, blush and lose the heat to his argument.

"Exactly. I've had it all with you idiots today. Next time someone says some stupid ass fucking thing, I will kiss them. On the mouth, with tongue. Pass it on," I exhaled, releasing his face and dropping my head onto his shoulder.

"Some way of solving conflict you have," Banner chuckled weakly, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "I'd like to see Steve's reaction."

"A boner, probably, because he needs to get laid before he spontaneously combusts," I grumbled venomously, still bitter about his reaction. The Capsicle needed to chill. Hehe.

"I'll pass it on too," Bruce remarked wryly. "See you next week?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Bwucie, you're the fucking best," I kissed the scientist on the cheek, giving him a tighter than usual parting hug and walking up the pathway. Home.

Mother was nowhere to be seen - and the obvious reason for that laid on the kitchen floor. Couple of smashed dishes, a bottle of whiskey laying half-empty in a puddle on the grey tiles. The living room rug bore more stains and the smell of alcohol, bitter and acrid (like my soul, hardy har), hung heavily throughout the whole house.

At least I wasn't the only one who fought for myself that day. Mother probably had landed a good one on dad, too, by God the woman could be ruthless with her icy words. Dad never stood a chance. I've felt begrudgingly respectful of the way mother put people in their place with her words ever since I understood sarcasm.

First things first, I cleaned up the mess and opened the windows a smidge, cranking the air recuperation system to the max. Hanging around a place that smelled like a bum on a good Friday night was a horrible way to spend free time. Having successfully cut myself and bandaged the cuts up, I retreated to my room, not wanting to spend more time than necessary in the quiet, stinky, creepy house that my home had become.

My phone was long dead so I plugged it in, waiting for the 2% to appear, turning it on. A few messages from Peter, first cheerful, then worried and then relieved. Tony must've placated the spider child and told him I was staying at the tower. Good call, Tones, or else poor Peter would've worked himself into an anxiety attack and crashed in a dumpster while patrolling. Or something. I still didn't quite get his spider-hero side-gig.

A text from Bruce - rather, a photo, of a disgruntled Steve with his eyebrows raised, titled "I told him the next time he freaks out, you will kiss him. With tongue. Barnes cackled for about ten minutes until he ran out of air."

And a text from Tony. My chest tightened when I opened it. "Good tactics. Sneaky, clever, I'd give it a B+."

I snorted. Then the phone beeped again and I froze. A text ordering me to be ready tomorrow, for a date night? Unreal. I was torn. A part of me was elated, thinking Tony wanted to keep me around like that. The other, more sensible part, was firmly telling me to chill TF down. He'll most likely kindly reject any further intimate interactions, maybe have me sign a few NDAs.

I still answered positive, mushy and cute and all. Feelings aside, I wasn't about to change my texting style for any man. My God, I was turning into a monster. A horribly cheesy, pink, soft, fluffy monster.

The next day, school was nearly unbearable. People talked. Not to my face, of course, since the rumours of me putting away Flash Thompson were still fresh enough for everyone to be cautious around me, but the whispers followed me throughout hallways, tongue in cheek remarks thrown at me from the bathroom stalls, behind the teacher's desks. Did I care? Nope.

Okay, I did, but not in the way one would think. The little spring in my step, a slight smirk. My thoughts were occupied with my upcoming dinner with Tony.

Peter and his pet nerds stood at my side, the ever watchful guards. I had no idea why they decided I needed reassurance or their comfort (I did not), but I had to admit it was cute. MJ, in particular, glared her Death Ray Stare at any male-identifying student that dared to as much as look wrongly in my direction. I mostly ignored the trio. Pete himself did a great job with entertaining his friends, he babbled on as usual, about everything and nothing in particular. Mouth ulcers. He was going to get them one day.

Dad called me during third period, saying he was flying off to California. I would have been lying if I said I didn't know why he scheduled the sudden trip; mother's total radio silence and the absence of her laptop in her own office spoke volumes about the state of my family's affairs. They had a fight and ran off to the opposite ends of the continent. I didn't understand why mother was upset with me, though. I saved her face during dinner at Tony's, so why is she mad about me going to a party with dad? Baffling woman.

Admitting the house felt like home when either of them were absent was hard. Or, perhaps, I felt nothing at all. Spending so much time around the Brady Bunch- the Avengers made me too soft for my own liking. It wasn't just Tony that lived in mind rent-free all the time now; there was Bruce, with his kindness, Bucky with his overgrown teenager attitude, Wanda with her wit and hair that smelled like cheap shampoo - seriously, I absolutely had to show her the benefits of decent hair products. That was just to list the few little quirks. There were so many people, all of them different and wonderful in their own way.

To summarize it, I was both happy for them and bitter for not having any of that to myself. Although it made me kind of glad I didn't have a sibling - looking after someone in the mess that mother and dad created would've been a nightmare. They say it's always a better place where we are not.

I went through a whole pack of cigarettes in a span of a couple of hours. Plagued by strangely melancholic thoughts, trying to push down the anxiety over my upcoming date, my choice of outfit proved to be a cumbersome task while in process.

Expensive but simple dress with spaghetti straps, in my favourite colour. That was the easiest part. A good base for any accessories. Would Tony like it? Would the press make outrageous comments?

Either way, it would. Dad's comments cut deeper than I probably realized it until now; in a sudden bout of self-awareness and a couple of mouse clicks later... Tony wouldn't care. Tony wears suits with sneakers. The Manolos flew back, towards my shoe closet, and a pair of Chanel trainers made their debut. A Hermes 2002 barely weighed down by my wallet, keys and phone. A nice coat, too, appropriately light and so very conceptual and fashionable.

I spent way too much time deciding on what to wear. A stern talking to, however, didn't help me, and I had to redo my make-up - the "nude", "all natural" look was one of the hardest to nail. Or so Marie Claire said. Whatever, my highlighter game was, as usual, on point.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps ​ @pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @gigglyfox01 @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway (it finally let me tag you)!

[mimi-cee-hq]

His Sweater - Koganegawa x Reader

Pairing: Koganegawa x f!reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: none

Summary: Y/n tends to be attracted to quiet, calm, and caring guys. But she ends up falling for Koganegawa and it involves a soda, a mop and a sweater - and maybe a few laps around the track.

Words: 2,139

Additional Characters: Futakuchi, Aone, Moniwa, Sakunami, Obara, Kamasaki, Nametsu, Akaashi (mentioned) (how did he get there? lol. jk)

Author's notes: This is a matchup story for an anon. I hope you like it. The matchup description is at the end of the story. This is also for the HQC monthly prompt event, using the Sweater Weather prompt.

*****

"Wait for me, senpai!!!!" a tall boy with blond hair yelled out, dashing into the convenience store. Y/n felt a breeze as she heard the bell jingle from the entrance door.

Y/n shivered, having recently left the store. The sky was already getting dark when basketball practice finished but now it casted an orange hue over the neighbourhood. As she put on her green blazer for the first time in a while, she recalled a moment back when she lived in Tokyo.

“Do you want my sweater?” Akaashi asked her classmate in junior high. That was when Y/n learned how calm and caring he was - and unknowingly started to have a crush on him. But then she moved to Miyagi so her crush was short-lived. She didn’t mind though. She was hopeful there would be other guys like him.

“Y/N!!!” the same tall boy chased after her, leaving the convenience store. Y/n flinched at his loud voice and almost had an urge to run away. She felt that would be too mean. But it was a little scary to have a 6’3” male teenager running at full speed towards her. She didn’t know him, but his uniform indicated they went to the same school. “Do you play League of Legends?”

Y/n blinked a couple of times before she gave a slow nod. Was he from another class?

Koganegawa, she later learned his name, beamed with excitement as he waved down the other members of the volleyball team. “Sakunami! You’re right! She does play!”

Y/n froze as the crowd came towards her, carrying various drinks. She was able to make out a slushy and a carton of milk but wasn't sure about the rest. She tried her best to give a polite smile, hoping they didn’t notice how awkward she was acting. She didn't mix well with large crowds.

“Are you really good?” Koganegawa continued.

“I’m not that good,” she replied, playing with her fingers, “but I know my way around the game.”

“Guys!” he waved at his team, “Y/n’s really good!” Y/n giggled at how he decided to interpret her words. “When we play together, we keep losing,” Koganegawa said with a frown, “so could you carry us?!”

She stared at Koganegawa’s large frame, then at his teammates of equivalent stature. Although she knew he didn’t mean to literally carry them, she couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of trying to do so. It didn’t help that Koganegawa was so earnest in his request and was currently flustered as to why she was laughing so much.

“I can try my best to lead the team,” she replied. “Although, I don’t know if I’m good enough compared to the rest of you.”

Koganegawa got excited by her response - a little too excited. To the point where he forgot he was holding his drink when his arms shot up.

So his soda ended up on her blazer.

“ACKK!!!” Koganegawa panicked. “I’m so sorry!” He rummaged through his bag, but because he was too flustered, nothing useful came out. (His towel just happened to be with their manager for a wash.)

“It’s okay,” Y/n smiled. “Don’t worry about it. It was an accident.”

Koganegawa couldn’t believe how easily she forgave him. If it was someone like Futakuchi or Moniwa, he would have been scolded for sure. The two of them did end up nagging him anyway, witnessing the whole thing.

Y/n removed her wet blazer. It wouldn’t take long for her to get home to wash it. But she felt a shiver run up her back, forgetting how late it was getting.

“Do you want my sweater?” Koganegawa asked after receiving a bonk on the head from Moniwa.

Y/n stared at the sweater he held out to her. She smirked, not expecting that her memory of Akaashi would be replaced by a comedic introduction from Koganegawa.

*****

After a few months, because of various reasons like school, sports and conflicting schedules, Y/n was finally able to play League with Koganegawa and his friends. He still greeted her during those months whenever they saw each other in the hallway. It was a little jarring to hear him shout her name loud enough for the whole school to hear, but she eventually got used to it

It turned out that Koganegawa didn’t really know what “carry” meant. He just heard the term being used a lot to refer to someone who was experienced with the game.

“So there’s AP carry and there’s AD carry,” Y/n explained. Koganegawa eagerly nodded, showing he was paying attention. So Y/n started to continue but was interrupted by Futakuchi.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Futakuchi mentioned, his arm leaning on the door frame of the classroom. “Just because he’s listening, it doesn’t mean he actually understood.”

Y/n smiled. “I don’t mind teaching him. He’s eager to learn so why not?”

Aone, from behind Futakuchi, indicated they needed to head for practice. “You’d better hurry up,” Futakuchi told Koganegawa. “Otherwise you’ll be late.”

“Yes sir!” Koganegawa replied. “If I'm late, I'll run 100 laps around the track!”

“Uh… no,” Futakuchi sweatdropped. “You don’t have to do that.” But looking at Koganegawa’s face, he sighed. “Ugh, but if you do, at least limit it to twenty, okay?” Aone nodded in agreement.

“Yes sir!” Koganegawa dashed between the desks while pushing his mop.

Y/n and Koganegawa were assigned on clean up duty that day. He was happy to be paired up with someone he knew, not that he would have minded meeting a new person. He liked making friends, which was something Y/n admired about him.

Y/n wiped the chalkboard and looked around trying to recall what else needed to be done. She didn’t want Koganegawa to be late either. She liked volleyball as well as basketball so she understood his eagerness to play.

But as she went to pick up some papers that fell from the teacher’s desk, Koganegawa unintentionally swung the mop towards her and whacked her head. Slightly shaken from the hit, she covered her forehead with her hands, trying to hold back a groan.

“Y/n!!! I’m so sorry!!” Koganegawa yelled out his apology. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright,” she told him. Touching her forehead, the growing bump was a little tender but nothing too concerning for her. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be ok-” Suddenly, her eye level shifted. “What are you doing?” Y/n shrieked. Koganegawa picked her up and ran out of the classroom.

He didn't respond to her question but continued to mumble about the nurse's office as if it would help him get there faster.

"Nurse Joy!" he yelled, sliding the door open. It was empty.

"I'm okay," Y/n told him again. She didn't feel any dizziness from the mop but she might have from the run. She didn't want to worry him with that information though.

The two of them decided to wait for the nurse. They were hopeful she would come back soon. But she instead returned an hour later, which made Koganegawa miss his practice. He was a little sad, but prepared himself to run his laps around the track.

“Didn’t Futakuchi say you didn’t have to do it?” Y/n asked. "Besides, it was the nurse's fault that you were late. And you didn't have to wait with me."

"No," he was adamant. "I'm going to run! I need to be a man of my word!"

Y/n, a little stunned, didn't expect Koganegawa to be firm about something like that. From her previous impressions of him, she thought he was naive and clumsy. But to think under all of that, he was a guy of integrity, even for something as small as this. "If you can't be loyal with the little things, you can't be trusted with the big things," she repeated the thought in her head.

Y/n's hands moved to cover her cheeks as if they would help cool them down. She knew this feeling and smiled. She didn't mind if it was someone like Koganegawa, realizing how caring he was.

After leaving the nurse's office, he ran the track. She watched.

He didn't ask her to watch. He probably didn't even notice she was there, expecting her to have gone home by now. He lent her his sweater, saying he wouldn't need it anyway with all the running. But she stuck with him. She wanted to be there to support him when he got tired and to encourage him to keep going when he wanted to give up.

After twenty laps around the track, he panted with arms hanging. Y/n, wearing his sweater, handed a water bottle to him.

"Kogane," she said his nickname, cheeks heating up. "You did well."

*****

“Here, senpai! You can use my sweater!” Koganegawa told Nametsu.

Y/n started visiting their practice matches a few weeks ago. Koganegawa was always happy whenever someone came to watch. But she wondered if she held any significance to him. It seemed like it didn't matter whom he was with. He was always eager to be around anyone because he was a sweet and outgoing guy. So looking at the sweater Nametsu wore, she shouldn’t have been surprised by his gesture. But the knot in her stomach wasn’t there when Akaashi lent his sweater to her classmate. Why was this different? She sighed, knowing why.

It didn’t help that Koganegawa got shy around her recently. He was probably avoiding her but she tried to be optimistic by thinking he was just shy. But there was no reason for him to be shy. “Koganegawa” and “shy” didn’t go together. Shy was a word meant for her.

At first she tried to be very gentle and patient with him, but he would freeze up. It also didn’t help when she covered his hand with hers, trying to show she cared about him. That resulted in him avoiding her for the following 24 hours.

Who was she kidding? He was avoiding her and she didn’t know how to fix it. All she was stuck doing was to watch Koganegawa show kindness to his manager and having unpleasant feelings about it.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous,” Futakuchi asked Y/n from behind.

Obara closed his water bottle and said, “If you wanted to cheer her up, you should have just told her Koganegawa likes her.”

Aone grunted to show his agreement.

‘Why are you on his side?” Futakuchi asked Aone.

Moniwa placed his hand on Y/n shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he told her, “He definitely likes you.”

“Yeah, could he be more obvious?” laughed Kamasaki.

Y/n turned her head, her eyes finding Koganegawa’s. He quickly looked away, then stole a glance at Y/n before fixing his eyes on the ground. Y/n watched as the redness from his neck rose up to his cheeks.

“Why did you think he’s been so shy around you lately,” Sakunami added. So that was why. He really was just shy. Y/n felt silly for being so blind to it.

Koganegawa’s blush finally reached the top of his head. And then he ran. “Why did you tell her???” he cried out as he exited the gym.

Out of instinct, Y/n ran after him. She wanted to make sure he was okay after his teammates spilled out his feelings for her. She saw him at a distance down the hallway. Koganegawa came to a halt, causing Y/n to flinch and stop as well. Then he started rushing back towards her.

“I don’t hate you Y/n!” he cried out, once he was in front of her.

“What?”

“I didn’t want you to think I ran away because I hate you.”

“I knew that already,” Y/n laughed.

Koganegawa gave a sigh of relief. “Okay. Because I definitely don’t hate you. I-,” he started getting red again, “I actually like you.”

Even though Y/n heard it from his teammates, it was different hearing it from his own mouth. This just made it all the more real. She nodded, showing that she liked him too.

“C- can I kiss you?”

Y/n’s eyes shot open at his sudden request. His confession was already a lot to take in. But with hope filled in his eyes, she didn’t have the heart to say no.

It was wet and sloppy, which she found kind of funny, but she didn’t care because it was from him.

He looked at her expectantly, wondering if he did a good job. She didn't know how to react. So all she was able to say was, “I don’t know what to do with you,” burying her face in her hands.

“I’m sorry! I’ll do better next time!”

*****

I hope you liked it. I actually cringed at this fic but didn't want to change it. LOL. If you liked this one, you'll probably like my Shibayama x reader one-shot because it has a similar feel to this one. :) Or maybe my Kyoutani x reader one-shot, which is my latest one before this fic.

Taglist: @dorkyama @the-black-birb @hqprotectionsquad @nagichi-kenma @moonaaluna @muffins-puffins & @kingkags (for this fic) (let me know if you want to be added or removed)

*****

Matchup description from Anonymous:

hello! may i request a matchup? i’m a 5’7 & heterosexual female who is very introverted and bashful. i have dark skin with black eyes and long, black hair that i normally wear in a ponytail. i also wear glasses. i have an infj-t personality type. i tend to avoid large crowds a lot since i can be quite awkward when talking to people sometimes. but, i’m a pretty happy & kind person that cares about others & tries to cheer people up if they’re feeling sad. (part 1) 🦑🦑

i’m also a pretty smart & hardworking person that is optimistic about the future. my zodiac sign is pisces & my hogwarts house is hufflepuff, which is accurate for a friendly & forgiving person like me. i enjoy playing video games & rhythm games, writing, reading, watching anime & memes, sleeping, & eating food in my free time. i also enjoy playing basketball and volleyball in my free time too. however, i mainly play video games like splatoon & league of legends since games are fun. (pt 2) 🦑🦑

i tend to be attracted to people who are quiet, calm, caring, & aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe in. i’m also attracted to people who are taller than me and have similar interests as me. but, i’m fine with being with anyone since opposites can attract! in a relationship, i would be very loyal to my lover and would never leave them for someone else. i would be very gentle and patient with giving affection just in case my lover is just as shy as me. thank you! (pt 3) 🦑🦑

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes : RELOADED

Augustus' burner phone is the key to locating Nero but the team discovers that it's more than just Nero that's behind all of this. Will the former 141 soldiers find out what Nero is up to? Will Alex rescue Samantha?

Table of Contents

Hello! Ray's Back in his game!

Chapter 16 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

My Damsel in Distress

"Alex"

Task Force 141 - Disbanded

On a plane off to somewhere

General Shepherd.

The name sent Alex's blood boiling from rage. He couldn't believe that a high ranking official would actually betray them and could still run away from it.

It's no secret that he wanted 141 out of the Nero scene. But why? He knew full well that Samantha doesn't have access over the address but he still took her? And he also knew that this little team won't walk away without her safe. Alex wondered what's running inside the snow-caterpillar-stache's little brain. He couldn't even say his name now.

He clenched his fists, feeling the thick leather gloves he wore for battle. It was a devastating day for him. They just bonded for a few moments here and there and now she’s already taken away from him. He couldn’t keep count how many times it happened. It was frustrating.

“So, which safehouse are you bringing us today?” Alex joked with his former CO. Jack looked serious as always, he never gets these kinds of humor.

“Same one in Brazil. It’s the most forgotten and spacious. No one’s going to come looking for us in South America.” Jack replied, looking worriedly at Alex.

“I know when you’re preoccupied Alex. What happened afterward?” Jack turned to him and Alex knew he had to open up. He deserved the truth anyway.

“I uh… I fell for her, Jack. I know I told you that I won’t but it just hit me.”

“Like a fucking brick…” Jack interrupted and chuckled.

“All I can say is that you’ve done a better job than I did when I fell in love. I could still see your determination towards your work. Or maybe because she’s still involved in all of this.” he added, causing Alex to relax his tensed shoulders.

“It’s good to have you back, old man.” Alex shook his hand and smiled. With all the problems around him, it was good to have someone close to him to talk to. He was glad Nero didn't kill him back in the Gulag.

“Yeah. Me too, and it looks like you’ve got yourselves a determined bunch. Especially that guy.” he noted, pointing to Soap who was sitting with France. Alex remembered how the two of them met at the Gulag and in that short span of time Jack was able to read the whole guy’s personality.

“Soap? Yeah, he’s an achiever. Heard he’s top of every obstacle course back at the base.” Alex mused, looking at the two. They were sitting together quietly but Alex felt jealous. He could've been doing that with Samantha right now. Now that she's ready to hear the truth about them.

"Yeah. He's got some fight in him. I'm sure we'll defeat Nero even with this little band right here. And I'll do my best to be of assistance to you." he patted Alex's shoulder and went back to check on Nikolai.

~

Safehouse 110197, Brazil

Alex remembered that this place was compromised, but then again that was the CIA mole's henchmen that found them here and they're no longer affiliated with Nero. Or he picked this place because no one would think of going back here after being compromised. The Reverse Psychology card. Either way, Alex didn't mind.

As the team slowly scattered around the house and prepared everything, Alex took note of some changes since his last visit. More beds were added and supplies got restocked. Even the bullet cache looked reloaded.

The team loaded off everything they salvaged, or stole, from the 141 and set it all up. Ghost prioritized the tech stuff while the women fixed the bedrooms. Alex offered help but was denied by Gary saying "Your face still hurts so don't over exert yourself, we can do this on our own."

So Alex plopped by the central couch as Ghost untangle the wires, putting them on their respective slots.

"You holding up okay?" The masked man asked as soon as Alex released a deep sigh.

"I'm worried about Samantha." he replied, resting his hands on the back of his head.

"She doesn't have the address, what does Shepherd want from her?" Alex added, his tone raised like a kid complaining.

"I have no idea. But I do have something else. Information on the surprise attack at the 141." Ghost said, as Jack and Price moved toward them and discussed the contents of Augustus' phone.

"That bastard gave away our location." Price cursed.

"So his plan to disband us would be successful." Alex added and Ghost nodded.

"Why get Samantha though? He knows we'll be coming for him." Ghost added and the rest of them speculated their theories.

"Augustus failed to get her so Shepherd did it for him? For what?" Jack noted, reviewing their whole mission for reference.

"Something bigger, I presume." Price spat and everyone fell silent. The rest of the team except for Gary and Maxine gathered for a short briefing. Everyone gave away their take as to why, some of them made sense while some reasons don't add up. And thinking about it was only making them more frustrated.

Everyone looked serious until they inhaled the fresh aroma of dinner from the kitchen. Alex turned and saw Gary and Maxine, smiling while serving up the team's dinner. He could sense something him and Samantha once shared in this place and it looked like the Safe house did it's charm once again.

"Now that's bloody good cookin'" Price announced and everyone laughed. He wasn't the kind of person to say those kinds of things, but he did, and it was all they needed to ease the tension of not knowing what's next.

They never gathered like this before, together, happy and noisy. The two oldies sat on the opposite edges of the round table while Soap, France, Gary and Maxine sat beside each other on the left. Simon and Alex sat on the other side, an empty chair resided beside them.

"Don't worry lad, we'll rescue her." Price muttered and Jack nodded. Alex smiled as they started to eat some food.

"Hold on a minute!" Soap exclaimed causing everyone to halt.

"Thank you Lord for thy blessings which we are about to receive. Amen." he muttered while everyone looked at him.

"Amen!" they all said in unison and wolfed down Gary and Maxine's delicious meal.

"This tastes so good! Just like Mom used to make!" Francine chewed happily. Maxine stared at her supposed to be sister and smiled.

"It does?" she breathed.

"Mmhmm.. I was always jealous that you two were so close together in the kitchen, everything I touch turns to a culinary mess." she frowned and made everyone else laugh. Soap stared at her in amazement.

"You and me both, France." Jack agreed. The gang bonded throughout dinner and enjoyed the company. Alex volunteered on the dishes and France offered to help.

"You think she's going to be fine?" Maxine asked as she checked the contents of the fridge, looking at Alex who looked very focused on the dishes he's cleaning.

"She's been kidnapped a lot of times now. I think she's used to it." Alex attempted to joke, but the tone of his voice was far from kidding.

"Aye, That lassie's a tough one. Don't worry Alex. We'll get her, Shepherd's bound to make a mistake anytime soon." Soap commented from behind him while leaning on the kitchen island.

"I told you I can handle assisting Alex on my own!" France giggled as she wiped the plates dry.

"Aye! I know! Can't a man just enjoy some time with his girlfriend?" he raised his hand mocking surrender. France turned back and crossed her arms.

"Ahem. Girl space Friend. There's a space in between." she scolded and MacTavish just chuckled.

"Whatever you say, Babe." he joked once again as he stepped out of the kitchen.

"Ugh. That guy's so full of himself." France groaned. Alex and Maxine exchanged glances and laughed, causing the female soldier to worry.

"What?" she asked.

"You two look cute together." Maxine chuckled, closed the fridge and walked away.

"We're not together!" France yelled, making sure Maxine would hear it wherever she went.

"We will be soon!" Soap exclaimed from outside, followed by collective laughter from the group of men with him.

~

Alex groaned and looked at his watch. It's already 3:36 am and he couldn't sleep. He slowly got up and looked around. On the huge bed, Jack and Price slept peacefully as evidenced by the loud snoring. Beside him on the floor was Soap, Roach and an empty spot where Ghost was supposed to sleep. The girls occupied the guest room.

Alex slowly got up and carefully assisted his metal leg, trying not to make noise as he waltzed to the balcony where he suspected Ghost to be.

And he was right, Ghost sat by the railings on the terrace, not a single expression of fear etched on his face. A face Alex saw for the first time.

"Can't sleep?" the former CIA asked. Ghost slowly turned his head and nodded.

"I'm just contemplating…" he muttered, the tone of his voice sound defeated.

"We caught ourselves in a crazy situation, huh?" Alex chuckled trying to make the best of the situation. Ghost didn't seem to like the vote of happiness as he clicked his tongue and sighed.

"I'm into France… but it looked like she's happier with John." he spat. From what Alex heard from Roach, Ghost was not the kind of person to open up. And this was all too surprising for him.

"I… uh…" Alex stammered.

"Look, I'm also sorry… You don't have to reply… I was about to vent to Gary about this but he seemed too preoccupied with Maxine and I didn't want to bother him."

"Look, it's okay. Ghost."

"It's Simon, Simon Riley."

"It's okay Simon. That's life. You win some, you lose some." he consoled. He tried to make it as positive as possible but he was also down in the dumps, like him.

"Thanks for the honesty. I just realized how devastated you must be. I never got to hear your story until Gary told me. It must've been tough losing her over and over again." Gary talked without looking at him.

"It's like I've been cursed to lose her and save her all over again." Alex complained.

"Like Link." Simon announced like it's a great metaphor which Alex didn't get.

"Link?"

"Like from the video game. Where this knight was always out to save her damsel in distress. It's got many different variations but it's always the same name. Generations have passed and Link was always destined to save Zelda." he said in amusement.

"My damsel in distress…" Alex noted and looked up at the stars, wishing that wherever Samantha may be, he hoped she's safe and also thinking of him.

Next Chapter : Delayed Flight

Notification Squad my beloved

@smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @enderio @whimsywispsblog @beemybee @ricinbach

[that-crazy-five-foot-two-chick]

Summary: Winry sat in the optimal place to study in the school cafe for the entire fall semester. Then spring came, and suddenly some self-entitled twit who dressed like off-brand Gerard Way decided it was his territory. He was so not going to get off easy.

Rating: T

Word Count: 1.8k words of coffee shop/college AU with a side of enemies to almost-lovers

A/N: It's finals week, I posted this on Ao3 at almost 5am, and if the rest of the sentence didn't make it obvious, I'm writing from unfortunate experience. Not beta-ed or proofread, although I happened to see one thing to fix when I woke up this morning. Feel my raw power. Rawr.

It wasn't that big a deal.

It kind of really was, though.

Every Thursday morning during the fall semester, Winry sat in the same spot at the same school coffee shop. It was the spot sent by the entire patron pantheon of cram papers. Maybe one person didn't need an entire booth, but it was in the corner, and the tops of the bench seats had opaque plastic barriers that just so happened to be perfect for minimizing excess visual chaos. For the most part, there weren't loud conversations, and the jazz music that came through the speakers helped her tune out people ordering coffee. Add to that the fact that she could use campus flex dollars and not her own bank account that was begging for mercy, and it was the perfect spot to get papers done.

But apparently not this spring.

As soon as Winry walked in, she noticed him in the corner. Some emo wannabe guy on his computer. Probably on Reddit complaining about how women didn't appreciate the amazing pics he sent them on Tinder. Or at least, it was a fair guess based on the sour look on his face. Why did this guy of all people have to steal the holy grail spot? Ugh. She was still gonna get her coffee, darn it.

"You know the deal, Sciezska. Medium roast with a shot of espresso and vanilla creamer."

"On it! You paying in flex?"

"Yeah." She scanned her student ID and lowered her voice. "Who's off-brand Gerard Way in the corner?"

"Who's Ger—"

"The punk kid."

"Ohhh. I can try to get his number for you, if you want."

"No, he looks like a total tool! And not the kind I like dealing with!"

"Which means you think he's hot. I didn't think you were into that type, but you're not wrong."

"For the last time, no, Sciezska! He took my spot! And I'm trying very, very hard to keep this to a stage whisper, but if you keep trying to set me up with some random creep, I won't be able to!"

A distinctly male voice grumbled, "I'm not a creep."

"Keep telling that to the girls on Tinder. I'm sure they'll understand eventually."

"Yeah, and I'll bet if you look at your 'Live, Laugh, Love' sign a little more, you'll understand it eventually." He mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that, Mr. Nice Guy?"

"Lay off, it's eight in the morning. I said the only reason I even have a Tinder account is because my roommate stole my phone while I was going to the bathroom."

"Well, if you didn't want it, why didn't you delete it?"

"Eh, I figured if I really got sick of being single one day, it'd already be there."

"Never would have guessed you were single," Winry said dryly.

"Come on, it's way too early to be rubbing that kind of crap in. Who says I'm not fine with being single anyway?"

Sciezska timidly spoke up. "Medium roast with espresso and vanilla creamer?"

Winry thanked her as red jacket boy continued. "'Edward Elric, Bachelor.' Almost sounds as good as 'Edward Elric, Bachelor of Science.'"

"B.S. degree. Sounds about right."

"About time you stopped acting like I'm an idiot!"

Winry snorted. "That's not what I meant."

"Hey!"

"And with that, I'm going to go find some other spot to write my paper."

Edward, as his name apparently was, scoffed and mumbled something that sounded like "good riddance". Maybe the librarians wouldn't get on her case too much for bringing in coffee.

-----

A week later, Winry walked into the cafe, assuming the circumstances of the previous week were an anomaly. They were not.

"Medium roast with a shot of espresso and vanilla creamer," she grumbled and sulked in the direction of the corner seat.

"Hey, don't start with me again, blondie. I've had a whopping four hours of sleep and I can't promise you'll like what comes out of my mouth."

"We're at a coffee shop. Get some coffee. I can't help it if you're too hung over to be polite."

"Now look, genius. I did not stay up until 4 A.M. working on a stupid chem paper for that sadistic pyromaniac excuse for a professor just for some random chick to accuse me of being hung over."

"Oh."

"Yeah. And for your information, coffee doesn't really help me wake up. It just helps me focus on homework." He lifted up his empty cup and gave it a shake.

"That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard."

"ADHD is a weird thing, and yet, here I am."

"Huh, interesting."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pick up where I left off with the same stupid ten page paper I started last night."

"Oh right. Sure," Winry stammered. "Listen, I'm really sorry I just assumed things about you. It was wrong of me, and I'd like to make it up to you, if that's okay."

Edward eyed her suspiciously. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well...I could look over your paper once you're done writing it? I've got a paper of my own to write while I'm waiting, and I can sit right across the table here so you don't have to come get me. I won't try to talk to you or anything. Neither of us need that kind of distraction."

"Alright, alright. Get your coffee and sit down. The girl at the counter's been up there waiting for a good minute or two while you've been at confessional over here."

"Wait, she has?" Winry's eyes widened, and Edward laughed at her expense. He was kind of attractive when he wasn't scowling...wait what? She pouted and got up to retrieve her coffee. When Winry returned, she plopped down on the bench opposite Edward and opened her laptop. Peeking out from behind it, she added, "By the way, I'm Winry. I figured you ought to at least know the name of the person who's proofreading your paper."

"Well, Winry, you're the one who volunteered." The corners of his mouth twitched upward. The two worked on their assignments in silence, occasionally speaking up when necessary.

-----

Edward was in the corner again the next week as well.

"Hey, Edward! Mind if I join you for homework again?"

"Normally, I'd say no, but you didn't bother me too much last week, so you might as well." He turned away slightly.

"Great! Have you gotten your coffee yet? I didn't see a cup, and you got something the last two times."

"Eh, I haven't been here long. If you're going up and getting yours, would you mind ordering a caramel macchiato for me?" He asked, sliding his ID across the table.

"Yeah, no problem. I'll be back in a sec."

She returned and slipped his ID back before pulling out her computer. "Do you have anything for me to look over this time?"

"Not this week. But if you have anything you need looked over, I can do that, too."

"Actually, I do, if you wouldn't mind."

"Winry, I just volunteered. Just send the paper to my school email. Mine's 'elricedwa'," he instructed as he proceeded to spell it.

"Medium roast and a caramel macchiato?" Sciezska called out.

"Coming!" Winry replied and turned to Edward. "I just sent it, so you should be able to start while I'm getting our stuff." Eyes glued to his laptop, Edward gave a thumbs up.

Once she returned with their drinks, Winry sat down and wordlessly set Edward's drink next to him.

"Thanks," he muttered distantly. His lips mirrored the words he was reading. Though his lips weren't plump by any stretch of the imagination, they were shapely. His steely concentration made the air leave Winry's lungs. To top it all off, the first rays of sunlight came through the window just right, hitting Edward's hair in a way that made it positively glow.

What was she thinking? Those were only the sorts of things people thought when they had a crush. She'd only had two positive interactions with him, including this one. ...well, maybe it was a crush. She could certainly do worse than someone with a questionable fashion sense. After all, he worked hard, and he got good grades, if the quality of his writing was any indication. Okay, fine. He was also drop dead gorgeous, if you could see past his clothing choices. Yeah, she had a crush.

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

"...no."

"Figures. I finished reading your paper. It's not bad, I just left a few suggestions for sentence structure. Now I am going to enjoy my caramel macchiato." He took off the lid and breathed in the steam with his eyes closed, nearly drooping into the cup in content. When he opened his eyes slowly, Winry was awestruck by the similarity between the color of his eyes and his drink.

"What?" Edward furrowed his eyebrows.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything. At all. Nope."

"Okay." He shrugged. She reopened the document and went through his suggested edits. Gnawing her lip in concentration, she leaned forward a bit to settle in and tackle the editing.

"...hey, uh, Winry?" Edward gulped. "Are you going to drink your coffee?"

"Oh! Yeah, I almost forgot. Thanks, Edward!" she smiled.

"No–no problem. And you can call me Ed, you know. Most people do. Except for that excuse for a professor that calls me pipsqueak. Can you believe he's my advisor? I mean, come on, I'm a grown man. I'm not that short."

Winry made a poor attempt at containing her laughter. "Okay then, Ed. Prove it. Stand up."

"Fine." He slid out of the booth and stood. Winry followed suit and appraised their respective heights.

"Well, I'd hardly call you tall, but you're at least taller than me by a few inches, for whatever that's worth."

Edward grinned as if he had won some sort of prize. "Time for shorties to sit down now!"

"Watch it now. You're not too far from that label yourself, mister."

They both returned to their positions in the booth and worked steadily for the next hour. At the end of that time, Winry closed her laptop. "Ed, are you okay? You seem distracted."

"ADHD. I'm always distracted," he dismissed.

"No, like, are you sick or something? You did get more than four hours of sleep this time, right?"

"No comment." Ed's mouth twitched. He mumbled barely loud enough to hear, "Wouldn't have mattered anyway."

"Are you sure? If you're not feeling well, I can drive you over to the health center."

"N-no. That's not it." He exhaled, then slid a napkin across the table. His hands trembled slightly. "Anyway, here's my number. In case you need me to look over a paper. Or whatever. I've got a class soon."

Winry blushed, but tucked the napkin in her laptop. "Thanks, Ed. See you next week?"

"Yeah. Next week."

-----

Winry: This goes with your major, right?

Edward: Blocked

[niawritess]

The Lovestruck~Chapter 7

(1st December)

9:33 am

"Waah! That was such a hard test." Ria groaned while stretching her body and you sighed whilst nodding.

"Prof. really gave questions from that chapter which I took notes from." You opened your notes to check your answers.

"Y/n, the test is over, so keep the notes back before I throw them out." Ria threatened and you gave her a look before shoving your notes aside.

"Let's go in the garden, you have brought chocolates, right? After taking the test, my sugar level has decreased and hunger has increased." Ria said dramatically dropping her body on you behind and you coughed before dragging her to the garden.

"Oh My God!" Ria laughed out loud causing people in the garden look at you both weirdly and you slapped her arm. "Shush, stop laughing now."

"Okay wait, so Dan almost revealed your story." She snickered before taking a bite of the chocolate.

"Dan seriously, I would kill him someday." You huffed munching your chocolate before you looked around and spotted a familiar figure.

You frowned. "Isn't that Rowoon?"

Ria followed your gaze and let out a sigh. "Woah! They are dating already."

"How can you tell?"

"Look at their hands Y/n, and see how he keeps his arm around his shoulder." She gave you a look which was saying 'why are you so dumb'.

"What! I have seen in dramas, they also do that when they flirt, you know." You debated.

"They don't kiss on the cheeks if they are flirting." She said as a matter of fact tone and you shrugged, not really interested in the topic.

"I feel bad for the guy who would date an idiot like you." She shook her head in disappointment while taking the last bite of her chocolate.

You shot your eyes at her before faking a smile. "You don't have to feel anything because I'm not interested in dating."

"Not interested in dating," She mimicked your tone. "Let's wait and watch."

She crumbled the chocolate wrapper and threw it on your face, you glared at her before taking the wrapper and threw it back at her face.

"Still, I wanna date." She whined.

"Oh, it's class time." You ignored her before standing up and made your way toward the campus.

"Wait for me! You're always ignoring me." She yelled catching up to you but you ran away while her chasing you again.

_________________

12:14 pm

Walking out of the classroom, you were on your way to the cafeteria before texting Ria and while strolling, Rowoon was passing by you and waved his hand to you. Before you could greet him back, lauren quickly dragged him out before sparing you a glance, or say glare.

"What the heck? No one's going to steal your boyfriend." You grumbled, rolling your eyes before walking fast to your destination.

"Oyii, bestfriend!" You got a headlock by your bestfriend making you yelp and you shot a glare at her before she let go of you.

"Woah! What happened? Why are you sending dagger from your brown eyes." She joked and you gave her a look before walking again leaving her behind.

"Okay, jokes aside, what happened?" She asked linking her arms around yours.

"Nothing, that lauren-"

"Lauren? What did she do? Huh? Did she said something to you? Wha-" She started her nonstop questions but halted when you gave her a look of 'will you let me talk'.

"Okay, i'll stop now tell me." She brought crossed arms to her chest and stared at you seriously.

You let out a exhasperated sigh. "That.. Actually Rowoon waved to me and she just dragged him like I was going to jump on him like seriously I'm not even interested in him that way lik-"

"What! How dare she!" Ria exploded putting her hands on her hips. "I knew it! She seemed to be rude with others but how dare she! With my best friend! Just wait i will teach her lesson!"

She rolled up her invisible sleeves and was about to go but you grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Woah! Calm down dragon! What are you doing? It's not even serious and I don't even care about her, so leave it." You said calmly.

"What?"

"Look, she just tried to tell me that Rowoon is her boyfriend, yeah it wasn't her mouth but eyes and I don't really care about whatever she thinks or do, unless she crosses her limit." You stated and she looked at you with frown but nodded.

"Then why were you angry?" She asked.

"It was for a brief minute but then I thought why should I care?" You told her casually and she pursed her lips.

"Right, you're someone who doesn't really care." She smiled and you nodded.

"Anything else?" You folded your arms to your chest.

"No professor, you're amazing." She gave you thumbs up and you both laughed.

"Let's go now, i'm ravenous." You whined, rubbing your stomach.

"I know, you eat-cracker."

"I told you not to call me that."

"What? What are you gonna do? Eat-cracker." She stuck out her tongue at you and you scoffed. "You're dead now!"

She ran ahead with you chasing her before Ria was running as she glanced behind to you and she didn't saw that there was someone walking ahead of her.

"Careful!" You shouted as you saw what was about to happen but too late she bumped into a guy's back.

"I'm sorry." She immediately uttered as she stood straight before he turned around and Ria let out a gasp seeing the person infront of her who was none other than Park Chanyeol.

You quickly jogged upto her and stood in front of the taller guy who was towering over you both.

"You!" He exclaimed looking at her Ria and shifted his eyes to you for a brief second before looking back at her.

"Aren't you that card girl?" He asked showing his big eyes.

"Yes, but I'm not card girl, I'm Ria." She smiled and he nodded smilingly, finally knowing her name while you just looked at both them weirdly until you heard another guy's voice behind you to see none other than Kim Jongin.

"Hyung! Here-." He halted his sentence as his eyes stopped to you both who were looking at him with wide eyes.

"Oh! You!" He exclaimed pointing at you causing you both get startle."You work at that Café, right? Baekhyunee hyung's g-"

Chanyeol cupped his mouth, before he could utter that girl word while You and Ria looked at eachother before looking back at them perplexed.

"Friend, he meant friend." Chanyeol completed his sentence, whilst smiling nervously and you nodded slowly.

"Something like that." You chuckled awkwardly not really sure about the answer.

"So, you go to our college." Jongin spoke, with a surprise tone and you just smiled before he glanced at Ria who was staring at him in shock.

"And you are?" He asked, his corner of lips twitching upward and you glanced at Ria who was still in shock to answer, so you nudged her and she snapped out.

"Uh.. Um yeah, I'm Ria Song Smith, Y/n's bestfriend." She stammered and smiled nervously.

He nodded smilingly before glancing back at you. "So, you're Y/n, we finally met you."

"Eh?" You tilted your head looking at him in confusion.

"Oh nothing, don't mind him." Chanyeol interuppted. "Anyway, we have to go out, so see you around." He smiled and you both nodded.

"Annyeong!" Jongin waved cutely, walking away with Chanyeol behind and he looked back at Ria who was also looking at him before he walked away.

"What was that?" You uttered and looked at your bestfriend who was still looking at the college gate where your seniors went out by.

"Ugh let's go now!" You groaned, dragging her to the cafeteria before her fangirling starts.

_______________

"I can't believe, I met them." Ria said, sitting on her chair.

"Like I met Chanyeol Sunbae once but didn't know I would get to meet them again with Jongin Sunbae of course and they talked to us." She squealed.

"Here she goes again." You muttered before rolling your eyes and sat beside her.

"I don't get it, why don't they eat in cafeteria like the food isn't bad tho." She said and you nodded.

"Maybe, they are fed up from the stares." You joked, shoving spoon of rice in your mouth.

She gasped. "That must be it! They are so handsome, of course people would stare at them."

You looked at her in disbelief. "No, I just.."

"What?"

"No, just eat up." You shook your head but then laughed at your bestfriend who took your joke seriously.

Ria looked at you and understood as you got smacked by her but instead of getting angry, you laughed even more.

"What's so funny?"

You both looked up hearing the familiar guy's voice as he sat opposite of you both and stopped laughing.

"Mark?" Ria looked at perplexed. "We didn't see you the whole day, where were you?"

"Actually, I was in need of a part-time job and found one so went there to discuss about it." He replied.

"Oh? You were looking for a part-time job? You could've just asked Y/n then, she works at a Café." Ria told him and he looked at you in surprised. "You do?"

You nodded. "Yeah, but why are you so surprised?"

"Correct me, if I'm wrong but your family is good financially right? Then why are you working there?" He questioned.

"Yeah, at first I wanted to work there for some experience but now I like working there." You smiled.

"Or is it someo-." Ria's sentence got interrupted as you shoved her spoon of rice.

"Eat a lot." You gritted your teeth and she grinned mischievously.

"What happened?" Mark looked at you both confusingly and you shook your head before glaring at your bestfriend who was munching her meal happily.

__________________

"Why did you both took forever?" Junmyeon asked the two males who just reached their table before getting seated.

"We met someone on the way." Jongin answered filling his plate with the meal while Chanyeol ignored him and sat beside Sehun.

"Who?" Yixing asked who was seated beside him.

"You won't believe, Baekhyunee hyung's girl." Jongin grinned causing Baekhyun stop his chopsticks in his mouth and he looked at the latter with widen eyes.

"What did you say? You met who?" He asked placing his chopsticks back on the table.

"I said I met your girl Hyung." He replied before gulping his water.

"Where did you meet her? And I told you it's not like that, so stop calling her that, she has a name." Baekhyun told him sternly.

"I know, it's Y/n." Jongin said casually smiling in victory and Baekhyun looked at him for few seconds before letting out a sigh. "I hope you didn't spout nonsense infront of her."

"Hyung! What do you take me for!" Jongin whined.

"He almost said she's your girl." Chanyeol intruded and Baekhyun looked at him in shock before looking back at jongin furiously.

"You-."

"Hyung! That was mouth slip, okay!" Jongin defended himself.

"Whatever, Don't talk nonsense to her, no don't even talk to her." He forbid him and jongin smirked.

"Why? You're going to get jealous?" He wriggled his eyes brows and Baekhyun rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"Stop it and let us eat now." Kyungsoo grunted getting irritate by their conversation and two of them stopped but jongin kept grinning widely at his Hyung who was eyeing him sternly.

______________

2:14 pm

You were walking towards the Café as usual while listening to some music and getting close to Café, you were so imersed that you didn't felt that someone was walking beside you.

As you glanced to your side, you got startled to see Baekhyun in his simple yellow hoodie and jeans, smiling down at you.

You stopped and pulled out your earbuds, before looking at him astonished. "When did you come?"

"I have been walking beside you for like five minutes now, you didn't know?" He looked at in confusion and surprise.

You shook your head innocently and he imitated you shaking his head while looking at you in amaze.

"How could you get so imersed, that you didn't even felt me beside you." He asked and you just shrugged.

"You shouldn't do that, it's dangerous." He said staring at you in serious expression making you surprise as you've never seen him this serious before except that basketball game day.

Nevertheless, you smiled. "Okay, I'll be careful."

He grinned back."Good, let's go now."

He walked ahead while you stood there staring at his back and wondering.

"What is this? Why did he sounded like dad?" You mumbled then chuckled at your thought.

Baekhyun stopped when he didn't see you beside him and turned around to see you standing there.

"What happened? Come on." He called you out and you nodded before jogging upto him.

You both reached the café and as you were about to open the door, Baekhyun did it gesturing you to go in first as you looked at him and smiled before walking in with Baekhyun behind you.

"Oh? You two came together." Rose said as soon as you both entered.

"We met on the way." Baekhyun told her, making his way to the kitchen and she nodded.

"Rose, did you set the date?" You asked as you approached her at the counter and Baekhyun came out of the kitchen wearing his apron.

"Jack said, they need to recheck the schedule and will inform later." She told and you nodded.

"You talk to jack often?" You frowned and she looked at you but didn't answered.

"Of course, she has to ask him about these things right, Rose?" Baekhyun looked at Rose who looked at you both in perplex and nodded slowly.

You tilted your head. "But Rose, why is your face so red?"

"Oh? Is it?" She laughed looking away nervously and fanning her face. "I just feel hot."

"It's winter." You said, looking at her innocently and trying not to laugh.

"Uh..yeah, it is winter." She stuttered and looked at you who was stifling her laugh and immediately squinted her eyes at you.

"Go get changed and get to work." She pushed you playfully towards the kitchen and you laughed before walking in the kitchen.

You walked out of the kitchen wearing your apron, before walking behind the counter and stood beside Baekhyun who was taking the order.

You started making the drink while watching Rose who was talking on the phone and then you felt a presence beside you.

"Why were you teasing her?" Baekhyun asked but his tone was a complaining one, like a protective brother who was worried for his big sister.

You giggled at your thought before handing him the drink and he gave it to the customer with smile before standing beside of you again.

"The thing is, Rose is the only child and has always kept herself busy with studies and then this Café, so she never had time to date and now finally she's on that track then there's no one to tease her." You explained.

"So, I want to let her feel that how sisters are by teasing her a little bit, if it does make sense to you?" You chuckled and he nodded slowly understanding your point.

"That's good but then you also have to be prepared." He uttered before taking the order from another customer who just came in.

"Why?" You frowned.

"I'm not-" You got interrupted as your hand hit the spoon on the counter causing it to fall and it made a loud sound which startled the customers including you both.

You immediately apologized before squatting down and Baekhyun did the same making your forehead collide with his.

"Ow." You both groaned rubbing your forehead before looking at each other for few seconds and burst out giggling.

"Wait." You hit your forehead with his again lightly and he looked at you in confusion while rubbing it.

"Oh, if you don't hit it again, two horns will grow on your head." You told gesturing towards his head and he looked at you weirdly.

"Who told you that?"

"I saw it in dramas."

He looked at you in disbelief before sighing in defeat and shook his head.

"You and your dramas..," He trailed off as his corner of lips turned upward. "..Are really one of a kind."

With that he stood up before holding out his hand to you and you looked at him frowning before picking up the spoon and took his hand to stand up but got startled to see the customer looking at you both in shock.

"Am I interrupting something?" He eyed you both weirdly and Baekhyun's eyes widen while you were still confused.

You looked at Baekhyun, then to the customer who was still staring at you weirdly and then you realized what he meant which made your eyes enlarged and your face flushed.

"No! It's not like that!" You exclaimed a little loudly startling him and he nodded scared by your sudden outburst.

"Sorry, can you get my order, please?" He looked at Baekhyun and he nodded before doing it while you took the drink to serve a customer by walking away quickly with your red cheeks.

Baekhyun chuckled at your reaction which he found cute and kept smiling while making the drink.

"Is she your girlfriend?" The customer asked him noticing his smile and Baekhyun got surprised by the question.

He shook his head. "No, we're.." he stopped getting confused by his question and thinking what are you both, co-workers? acquaintances?

Then his eyes stopped at you who was talking to Rose smilingly and his lips curved into a smile as looked at the customer.

"Friends, we're friends." He told him before giving his drink to him and the customer nodded.

"I thought you were a couple." He chuckled awkwardly before taking his drink from him and walked out leaving Baekhyun in amaze.

"What did the customer said? I saw you two talking." You questioned as you reached the counter.

"He said, you watch too many times." Baekhyun replied, looking at you seriously and you frowned.

"Hm? How does he know I watch dramas?"

He looked at you for few seconds and then laughed shaking his head. "I'm kidding."

"Huh? What the heck?" You whined making him laugh more and you made a face before walking towards the kitchen leaving laughing Baekhyun behind but his laugh made you smile unknowingly.

***

7:51 pm

You entered your home with Daniel behind you before he walked into the kitchen and you sat on the couch while closing your eyes.

You felt peaceful until something cold touched your cheek making you flinch and immediately opened your eyes to see Daniel grinning down at you while holding a juice bottle.

"What the.." You took it from him and he sat beside you before you opened the bottle cap and took a sip.

"Oh right, mom called but you weren't home." Daniel sipped his juice and you sat up straight before bringing your legs up and crossed them.

"How are they? They are coming back tomorrow right?"

"They have to stay for another week."

"Another week? Why? Is everything okay there?" You asked worringly.

He nodded. "Everything is alright, their flight got canceled because of weather and the whole week is booked already."

You nodded pouting. "So I have to tolerate you for another week."

"That's what I'm saying." You shot back and you glared at him before switching on the TV.

You gasped. "Oh, it's Park Seo Joon!"

"Are you a player? You keep changing your actors." Daniel grunted and you scoffed. "It's not being a player, it's called being fan of them."

"Whatever, now give me the remote, I wanna watch." He was about to grab the remote but you pulled your hand behind you.

"No, I'm going to watch my drama."

"Just give me the remote!"

"No!"

"Okay!"

"Okay?" You looked at him in surprise before placing your palm oh his forehead. "Are you sick or something?"

"Shut up! Noona, i'm bored. Let's go out." He requested giving you pleading eyes.

"I don't want to."

"You're always at home, just get out sometimes. Let's goooo!" He whined, shaking your arms and you exhasperated before looking back at him.

"Ugh! Fine."

"Yayy!" He exclaimed and you shook your head before smiling at your brother who looked like a 5 year sold.

_____________

@wooya1224 @buttercupbbh

[spicymayo1983]

Hiya. This is chapter 17. You have returned to Yavin 4 to bury your baby daughter.

It's a time to reflect on your relationship and future together.

A revelation from Poe's past brings you closer together.

Warnings, angst, flashbacks of smut, grief, female receiving oral sex, loss of a child, not for anyone under 18.

Instead of bringing your new baby home you were burying her next to her grandparents.

You were sad and angry at the same time. Somehow you blamed yourself for the loss.

The ceremony was short and minimal. You were too heartbroken to even name her so instead the tombstone read "Baby girl Dameron".

After the funeral you and Poe stay by yourselves, you were staying with Kes Dameron and he was watching his grandson.

You're so grief stricken that you were silent. No tears, no emotion, nothing, you were too shocked to have a reaction.

"My heart is shattered". Poe confesses, the tears rolling down his cheeks. "Our little girl, gone, just like that".

"It's my fault, I know it is". You tell him, your voice devoid of emotion and your eyes blank and unmoving. "It has to be".

"No, stop it". Poe tells you, a slight hint of frustration apparent in his voice. "I hate how you always beat yourself up over things that you have no control over".

"You don't just lose two babies like that". You continue, as bitter tears roll down your cheeks. "You don't, you can't".

"Yes you can". Poe insists, his voice starting to shake from emotion. "I know, too well, believe me".

10 years earlier, D'Qar

He'd seen her around before and had enjoyed flirtatious banter with her before.

Her name was Reesayan Larchar, or "Rees" for short.

She was a beautiful, blonde haired rebellion captain, finally after knowing each other for awhile Poe asked her out.

Their relationship was a casual one, mainly he'd meet up with her to satisfy each other's sexual needs.

"Love" really wasn't there, but there was great sexual chemistry.

"Fuck, your cock is so huge".

"It is?"

Poe and Rees are fooling around late one night. They were both drunk and she was teasing him about being unable to fit most of his cock inside of her mouth.

With a slight laugh Poe rolls Rees over on her back, spreads her legs and started to lightly suck on her clit as he teased her wet hole with his finger.

Poe ate pussy like a pro. It was a known fact around the base. He loved doing it too.

Rees had sought him out because of the stories that she had heard.

Poe licked, sucked, fingered and tongue fucked her into a state of sheer orgasmic bliss.

With his mind clouded by alcohol, without thinking, he then rolled her over on all fours, grabbed her hips and just started pounding into her.

"Damn". Rees curses with a breathless moan as she could feel his large cock stretching her tight, wet walls.

"Do you want me to?" Poe asked with a slight smile, his gorgeous curly hair askew.

"Mmm, yes, go ahead". Rees moaned as she bit her lower lip.

Neither one of them was on birth control but Poe figured that once wouldn't hurt. He loved to cum inside of his partners, it felt more intimate to him.

Weeks later Poe received an urgent message from Rees. One time did hurt, she was pregnant.

Poe left the option up to her, and she decided to keep the baby.

They mutually decided to end their sexual relationship but co-parent the child together. It seemed like a win-win situation, Poe couldn't wait for his baby to arrive.

Her pregnancy went along smoothly, Rees was having a baby boy that they had planned on naming Vega.

The baby seemed to be doing okay. He was a little small but otherwise healthy.

Poe was there in the delivery room when she gave birth. The baby was completely silent when he was born, he knew immediately that something was wrong.

Their son never breathed a single breath or opened his eyes.

The grief was unbearable for both of them. Poe just cradled his baby boy and cried harder than he'd ever cried before in his life. Rees transferred out of D'Qar shortly afterwards and he never saw her again.

Present day

"Oh Poe, I had no idea". You tell him as you lean over and give him a tender kiss on the cheek.

"It's still hard for me to talk about". Poe explained, kissing you back, the tears rolling down his cheeks. "As horrible as these things are they really do just happen".

You move closer to Poe and put your arm around him. You look deeply into his eyes and tell him,

"I had no idea".

"It still hurts all these years later". He continued, hanging his head down. "He would have been 10 this year, I always think about what he would be like today".

The two of you share one of those intimate embraces that make you forget about your troubles for a little while.

"We've got to keep reminding ourselves to be strong for our son". You tell him softly. "Boe needs us".

"Of course". Poe replied with a slight smile. "He's our miracle child".

Poe's revelation about his lost son broke his heart. He's buried 3 children. Your son that you shared together was truly a miracle.

Boe is already sound asleep like a good little boy when you return to the Dameron family farm.

You're about a month postpartum. Your c section scar is fresh but healing well. You hate it because to you it represents a constant reminder of your loss.

Poe is already relaxing in bed, nude and on top of the covers, reading a book.

Seeing him like that makes you desire him, the way the low light reflected off of his smooth, tan skin.

And the graying hair, ugh, how dare he.

You just wanted to touch him, explore every inch of his body. But it was too soon to have sex.

You feel guilty for having these feelings. Snap out of it! You scream at yourself silently as you join your gorgeous husband in bed.

As soon as you lay down next to him Poe rolls over and wraps his arms around you in a tight, intimate embrace.

"Poe, we can't". You warn him with a slight laugh.

"I know, but I can please you other ways". He tells you as he starts to kiss and suck on your neck.

You know exactly what he wants. But you weren't feeling very comfortable in your own skin at that particular time.

"Everything is a mess down there". You tell him with a slight laugh. "It's not the same neat little pussy that you're used to seeing".

"Oh babe". Poe tells you as his kisses become more passionate. "It doesn't matter, I love your body but I love you most of all".

His hand slides between your legs and his fingers gently begin to tease and touch your wetness. The sensation feels almost electric, you haven't had pleasure like this in a long time.

"You need to cum". Poe whispered seductively into your ear as he continued to caress your wet folds with his fingers.

You roll over on your back, his head immediately goes between your legs, and he finds your clit.

Poe's lips latch onto your swollen clit and he starts to suck it gently as two fingers gently massage your wet hole.

When you cum your tight muscles grab onto his fingers and gush warm fluid all over them. Poe immediately pulls his fingers out and licks them clean, tasting every drop of your essence.

He then starts to lick, from your clit all the way down to the crack of your ass. Slow, deliberate, almost painful movements, you feel like he's devouring and tasting you.

When his tongue enters you the pleasure is too much and you scream his name as you climax hard.

One intense orgasm is all you can endure that night, afterwards you are feeling cuddly but extremely tired.

"I told you that you needed that". Poe whispered into your ear as he pulled you tight.

"You were right". You reply with a slight laugh.

You giggle as Poe begins to softly kiss you again.

The next morning you were planning on returning home, as you slept restlessly you couldn't help but fret about your future, and your health.

End of chapter 17

[twoidiotwriters1]

June, 1976 (WITT One-Shot)

A/N: If you want to remain in the taglist pls interact with this one-shot even if you haven’t read book 4-5 yet. A like or a comment is fine, the people who don’t want to continue reading obvsly do not interact and I’ll delete from the taglist :) -Danny

Words: 2,590

Series’ Masterlist

Emily was tired, but she'd spent all day overthinking and she was done, it was time to grow up.

She could hear Lily Evans' voice ushering Severus Snape away, he'd been coming around for several hours during the day trying to apologize, but he'd finally crossed a line.

"It's not your fault, you know?"

Matthew's voice caught her attention, he'd stopped at the foot of the stairs, one hand propped on the wall.

"Snape and Evans have been fighting for months now, I think it's because of what he's been doing with the Slytherins... you know, the cult stuff."

Emily averted her gaze to the fireplace.

"I know..."

Matthew hesitated, he'd promised himself that he wouldn't go back to being Emily's therapist, but something was different this time, it wasn't her usual kind of sulking.

"Are you okay?"

She looked at him over her shoulder and frowned.

"I'm not the one who got called 'mudblood' by a close friend."

"No, you weren't," He admitted. "Which is why it's so strange to see you all sad."

"I'm not sad."

"Is this about James?"

He didn't want to know, but alas, he'd asked.

"No," She made a face. "I don't think I care about him that way anymore."

"It's easier said than done," Matthew crossed his arms, his shoulder now leaning on the archway of the stairs.

"What do you want, Ruddy?" Emily groaned.

"I don't want anything from you," The boy replied. "But I have the feeling that you need to talk."

"I do," She said. "Not with you, though."

Matt nodded, he sighed.

"Good luck, then, have a good night."

"'Night."

Emily watched him disappear up the stairs, she didn't know why, but the memory of his burning gaze before he kissed her came back then, his intense determination as he held her closer... That moment Emily had found herself unable to move away, to say no. She wished she had his courage to just do stuff even when he was intimidated by them, she needed that kind of bravery tonight.

Lily Evans entered the tower two minutes later, Emily stood up abruptly and the redhead came to a halt.

For a moment none of them spoke, then Lily's face showed tons of fatigue.

"What now? Is it your turn to call me a stuck-up bore because I didn't agree to go out with Potter?"

Emily shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"Can we talk?" She asked shyly. "I promise it's not a trick... I'm sorry."

Emily's behaviour towards her was usually hostile, tonight her voice was gentle, and even a little afraid.

"You're sorry?"

"I don't expect you to believe me," Emily continued, lowering her gaze. "I know you and Snape were close — I don't understand how can you like him... listen I suck at apologies, can't you just say it's alright so we can go to bed?"

Lily crossed her arms, standing straighter.

"No, I think I want you to try harder."

Emily groaned, she sat down heavily and started to think her words carefully, Lily inched closer.

"Boys can be cruel when they're not thinking — Anyone, really... I've been brutal myself — Matthew and I almost stopped being friends a few months ago, because I don't like talking about my feelings," She laughed dryly. "I don't know what is it about today that it just... I don't want to be a tormentor my whole life, let alone to someone who is... tolerable. I'm sorry for making your life a living hell these past few years."

Lily sat down, although she kept the seat between them empty to keep some distance.

"You didn't make my life a living hell," She replied. "I... can admit you're a bit clever... even likeable — that last match when you threw Lewis a bludger after he called you a midget... it was kind of funny."

"The boys walked me everywhere that week, they thought Ernest was going to try and get back at me," Emily bit her lip, but she was now smiling. "I mean, I lived in fear for days! Thinking he would spike my drink at some point with poison or something... Until Matthew cornered him outside D.A.D.A. class one day, poor Lewis... he looked so small in comparison..."

"Anyone looks small next to Matthew, he's a giant," Lily grinned. "Well, if it's any consolation, I was planning on murdering you in a much classier manner than poison, but since you've apologized, I guess I won't have to kill you after all."

Emily snorted, her eyes lingered on Lily, who looked like she'd been crying for most of the day, and yet still had enough energy to sit down and talk with the girl she'd detested for the last four years.

"Why are you being nice?" She asked in annoyance. "I mean I'm glad you're kind of accepting my apology, but I thought you'd be a bit colder, walking away before I could even finish..."

"What kind of person do you think I am?" Lily raised a brow, with the orange light coming from the fireplace her green eyes looked far more intense than usual. "If I'm honest, you should thank Remus... he's tried to convince me that you lot are far better than you look..."

Emily sighed, when she was young she'd do mischief for fun, but now that she was older, and considering all the weird stuff that was happening outside the school, she was starting to think that maybe her group of friends were indeed changing for the best.

"I'm going to be honest with you too, Evans," The girl took a deep breath. "Being the only girl in my friend group is turning out to be pure torture. I'm in desperate need of a girlfriend."

Lily's mouth twitched a bit, but she didn't laugh.

"What makes you think I want to be your friend?"

"Oh, I don't think you want to," She raised a brow. "But maybe if we're on good terms I'd be able to ask you for a tampon without having to swallow my pride first."

Lily did laugh at this, she shook her head. "Holy Merlin, Sultens, you're loopy."

"You would be too if you were seated next to Sirius every day!" She paused. "So... are you willing to make peace?"

Lily examined her carefully, four long years of quarrels sat between them, but a lifetime of friendship could be ahead if Emily was truly sorry. She was a nice girl, and really smart too, she was annoying only when she was taunting Severus, and he was no longer her friend.

Lily stretched out her hand.

"Very well, but if you go back the deal is over and we'll be less than strangers, understood?"

"Sure."

She retreated her hand before Emily could grab it.

"Hang on — this is not Potter's idea, right? You're not trying to be my friend just so I date him later?"

"Lily, if anything I hope you and James never date," Emily snickered. "Nothing personal, you're just way too good for him."

"...Alright."

They shook hands, she'd meant what she said about it not being personal. James was a boy, a very silly one at that, and even though they were really close friends, Emily was no longer a blind supporter of his doings.

Funnily enough, this seemed to be related to Matthew, she couldn't stop thinking about that kiss! Merlin, he was a good kisser...

She shook the thought away, now was not the time for nonsense.

"I'm very honoured to be your acquaintance, Evans," Emily grinned.

"Call me Lily. Only Professors call me Evans... and Potter, but you know I hate that."

"Got it, Lils."

July 1996

"...I don't think this is right," Mel tilted her head. "Brownies are mean to be brown... not pitch-black."

"You burned them," Harry was standing behind them with his arms crossed, clearly upset.

"How could you burn them, Erick? They were in there for five minutes!"

"Are you sure..." Erick stabbed the mixture with a knife and made a face. "Ugh — they're still liquid in the middle!"

"How the fuck did you do this?"

"I thought it would work just the same if I doubled the heat and put less time," Erick sulked. "Ovens are weird."

"This is why we told you to stay out of it," Harry replied. "You don't know how muggle stuff work."

"I do know!"

"Then why did you burn the brownies?"

"Don't fight," Mel intervened, grabbing the platter and throwing its contents away. "Oh well, at least we ruined my birthday cake and not someone else's..."

"That's not okay," Harry frowned. "You should have a proper cake."

Mel looked at him and grinned. "I'll eat yours, then."

"How's everything going in here?" Emily walked in, behind her Lupin followed.

"Uncle Lu!" Mel rushed over to his side and hugged him, the man chuckled. "You came!"

"Well, hadn't been around for your birthday in a long time, I thought you'd like it," He said, lovingly patting her back.

"I do," She beamed. "We kind of ruined the cake, though, so we should buy doughnuts or something."

"It's a good thing I brought this, then," Lupin lifted his bag and placed it on the table, inside there was a beautifully adorned red velvet cake.

"You just saved my birthday!"

Harry and Erick shared a moody expression and grumbled complaints, Lupin laughed.

"The kids insisted on doing the cakes this year," Emily explained. "I told them it was not an easy job, but they insisted."

"Mel and I have done this before, Erick was the one who wanted to be in charge when he can't even make tea without magic," Harry glared at him.

"Muggles stuff are too complicated, alright?" He huffed.

"I don't mind," Mel said without paying attention to them, she was still beyond happy with her uncle's presence. "I wanted to give my mum a break, Leggie's been a bit hard to handle lately..."

"Is he?" Lupin looked at the little boy Emily was holding. "Is he ill?"

"No, he just cries a lot," The woman sighed. "Wakes us up every night."

"I thought that forcing my mother to bake when she's clearly too tired to be doing anything apart from feeding a baby was a crime," Mel stated. "So I took care of it."

"Then Flint messed it up," Harry taunted.

"And then you fixed it, Uncle Moony," The girl smiled. "So there's no harm done, right boys?"

She looked over her shoulder, raising a brow as if urging them to stop bickering before they embarrassed her in front of Lupin. Both mumbled their agreement, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Lovely," Mel looked back at the adults. "Who wants lunch?"

Mel and Erick were in the kitchen talking in hurried whispers, she appeared to be upset, the young man too. Emily and Remus were in the drawing-room, Harry was upstairs changing Reg's diaper.

"Do you know why they're arguing?" Remus asked, staring at the pair.

"Dumbledore came by this morning before breakfast," Emily sighed, leaning her head back on the couch. "Talked about this mission he had for Erick — you know how eager to help that boy is... so of course the old man came and put his offer on a silver platter, and Mel won't let Erick go on his own, so being the generous soul Dumbledore is," She said sarcastically, "He said she could go too if she wanted to."

"Really?" Remus frowned. "Well... he's been giving her lessons for years, Mily, perhaps he knows she can handle it."

"I don't care," She said bluntly. "That's my daughter, my daughter. Matt's daughter. How can he continue to risk my family's life like it's nothing?"

"You know Matthew did all he that because he wanted to, Dumbledore had nothing to do with his decisions."

"I know," Emily took a deep breath. "But he's got a lot to do with Mel's... she idolizes him."

"You think so?" The man looked over his shoulder again, staring at his goddaughter.

"I don't see why else she'd be so keen to follow his orders..."

"Maybe because she feels guilty?" Remus offered. "After what happened in the ministry..."

Emily pressed her lips together, she didn't want to talk about that.

"That's not her fault and she knows it. I told her it wasn't."

"You weren't there," He said gravely. "She went out of control. I had never seen anything like it, her magic was dark— I mean that literally. All the spells she did came out pitch-black. Dumbledore was the only one who could put a stop to it."

Emily's eyes grew worried, she looked over her shoulder as well and her gaze landed on Mel.

"You think it could be the same thing that Ariana Dumbledore had? That disease?"

"No one knows what happened to her," Remus said. "Not even Matthew knew, and he was part of the family... but it could be. Maybe Dumbledore knows something we don't, maybe this will help her... perhaps she needs this."

Emily stayed silent for a moment, then she groaned.

"I hate that we're always meant to trust him blindly."

"He's lived a hundred years, he might be wiser than all of us, don't you think?"

The woman scoffed, she looked ahead, deep in thought.

"A hundred years... Matthew couldn't even make it to twenty-one! James and Lily barely did... Sirius spent twelve years in Azkaban — But at least we all knew how the war looked like then, Remus. We fought for years... my daughter just turned sixteen, she still goes to school!"

"And yet she's already done her fair amount of fighting," The man raised a brow. "We didn't have the experiences she's gone through when we were her age. I stand with Dumbledore, she can do this."

"I'm not saying she can't," Emily grabbed the empty plates to take them to the kitchen. "I'm saying she shouldn't have to sacrifice her youth. Dumbledore asks for too much, I'm sure he's got someone else that could help him with the mission, but he's obsessed with making Mel his perfect copy."

Remus didn't try to argue back, little could convince Emily at this point, she'd never been a fan of Dumbledore, and after Matt's death it was no secret that she openly disliked him, but she still followed his orders, because she knew Dumbledore was the only chance they had to win this war.

Mel and Erick entered the room, neither of them angry, which made Remus think they had reached an agreement.

"I should leave," The man stood up. "Leon's been quiet, maybe Harry managed to make him sleep."

"Or maybe he's just playing with him," Emily stood up as well. "Really, I never thought Harry would get so attached to a baby..."

"I'll miss you, Uncle Lu, I hope to see you soon," Mel said, her eyes avoiding to look into Erick's direction.

"Me too, little Em," Remus hugged her tightly, he whispered in her ear. "Be good to your mother, alright?"

Mel looked at him with confusion, but she nodded anyway.

"So?" Emily crossed her arms. "What are you going to do?"

The young witch stared at her mother, Remus knew that expression. It was true and very strange, how she could have her dad's gaze even though her eyes were exactly like her mother's, but he knew that look, he'd seen it in Matt the last time they had spoken. Mel was done being a kid.

Taglist.

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

[ikemen-girl]

IKEMEN SENGOKU: Suffering...

Mitsuhide×MC

Genre: Hurt/Comfort...

Trigger warning: Mention of death.

A/N: I know this is the last day of the year 2020😂, I am wishing you all a very happy new year in advance & I am extremely sorry for breaking your delicate hearts but I really wanted to write it since a long time as our soft & sneki boi deserves all the love in the world. So let's begin this story with our favourite kitsune! I hope you like it❤! Comments are appreciated❤🙏🏻.

"We made it back!", loud cheers erupts as Mitsuhide's army entered the castle gates of Azuchi.

"Lady Akechi, they are here!", a maid informed her excitedly about the return of Mitsuhide, unharmed and successful.

She has been waiting eagerly for Mitsuhide since the last night knowing that he will return from his mission today. He informed her before departing that he will return in a week once he completes his mission.

She had prepared everything for his return to see fulfill his need for relaxation after a small yet gruesome mission, she wanted nothing more than his happiness.

"My love", she murmured beaming with happiness hearing the news of the arrival. She practically jumped on her feets as she ran fast through the hallways towards the entrance of the Azuchi Castle.

"MC, I know you are happy but safety first!", shouted Hideyoshi as he spotted her.

"I am sorry Hideyoshi but I can't stop, Mitsuhide is back!", she replied laughing at his friend's nagging.

"That's my lass, Cheer up Hideyoshi!", Masamune howled with laughter placing his hand on Hideyoshi's shoulder standing besides him.

Meanwhile, Nobunaga took the chance to eat his favourite konpeito leaning back on his armrest with a smirk on his face as Hideyoshi was busy elsewhere paying no mind to his other vassals staring at him.

"If she trip on her way, it will be a huge pain..", Ieyasu sighed yet there was a small smile on his face as he noticed her happiness as she ran outside.

"I am extremely happy for MC!", Mitsunari smiled brightly causing Ieyasu to go, "Ugh! Not again!".

She spotted Mitsuhide besides Kyubei quickly as they both made the way through the castle's entrance.

"MITSUHIDE!", she exclaimed happily as she threw her arms around him the moment he came walking directly towards her.

He wrapped his arms around her and she pulled back to look at his face, "Welcome back, Mitsuhide!", she smiled happily at him.

She didn't miss the crease in his eyebrows that appeared for a moment as soon as she said that to him & she wondered if she did something to upset him but when she peered carefully at his face, his smile was clearly strained, there was not a hint of a warmth in his eyes, as he stared blankly into distance.

Mitsuhide caught her staring at him and he quickly patted her hair, "Ah! Thank you!", he replied but it felt off to her but she held his hand as she lead him inside the castle.

"Hold on Mitsuhide! Just how many times should I tell you to inform us of the dangerous stunts you pull? You disappeared without so much as a word again.You are so reckless for your own good, you better explain---", "Not now, Hideyoshi!", Mitsuhide cut him off coldly.

Hideyoshi, Masamune, Ieyasu, Mitsunari were all taken aback by the sharpness in his tone for a moment.

"Mitsuhide..", she gently placed her hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"I knew it, something is not right, Mitsuhide isn't the one to lost his cool easily, which is so unusual as he generally brushes off Hideyoshi playfully but there was a edge of anger in his tone today", she thought.

He took a deep breathe, regaining his composure, "Hideyoshi, I came from a long journey, I will listen to your nagging tomorrow", he said it with his usual foxy grin.

"Kyubei!", Mitsuhide called his most trusted vassal.

"Yes, Milord!", Kyubei responded quickly.

Mitsuhide cast a glance towards him and Kyubei nodded.

"Got it Milord! I will report to Lord Nobunaga in your stead!", replied Kyubei.

Mitsuhide nodded as he looked back at her, who looked surprised to say the least, as usual.

She was always weirded out that Kyubei could always read his thoughts even when Mitsuhide didn't say a word.

"You both are so awesome! I wish I could also read Mitsuhide like you, Kyubei!", she said happily.

Mitsuhide raise a eyebrow at her amused but let out a sigh.

"Oh you flatter me, milady!", Kyubei responded with a warm smile.

"Sorry Hideyoshi but we should better go now..", she said holding Mitsuhide's arm.

Hideyoshi nodded as she lead Mitsuhide inside glancing back to cast a apolegetic look towards them.

"Chill Hideyoshi! He probably must be stressed!", Masamune reassured him as Hideyoshi looked on worriedly. "I must say that I have never seen him looked so angry", Ieyasu commented. "Yes, Lord Ieyasu, I was little scared for a moment there...", Mitsunari added. "Oh for the love of---", Ieyasu grunted.

Back in their room, she gave him fresh clothes silently and Mitsuhide took a warm bath while she went in the castle kitchen to carry a tray of warm vegetable soup, tea and sweets for him which she prepared.

"Hm? Where did she go?", Mitsuhide wondered as he came back after his bath.

Mitsuhide was sitting at his desk, his hair wet, he was lost in his thoughts with a grim expression on his face as she stepped inside with the tray.

"Mitsuhide, you will catch cold this way..", she kept the tray on his desk and went on to dry his hair with towel gently and started combing his hair like he did for her countless times while Mitsuhide simply closes his eyes when she is at it.

"Here, open up!", she brought a spoon of soup towards his lips.

"Little one, I am not hungry..", Mitsuhide sighed with a tired smile on his face.

"Come on Mitsuhide, Kyubei told me you haven't eaten since last night, it's not good for your health, okay, just a little bit, I made it for you, please...", she looked at him with a warm smile, pleading eyes to which Mitsuhide can never refuse, so he opens his mouth slowly.

Her face lit up as she feeds him happily and he finished everything despite refusing to eat initially.

She started massaging his shoulders to which he let out a relieved sigh of pleasure. "Mitsuhide..", she spoke slowly to express her concern. "Hmm?", Mitsuhide replied.

She sat down infront of him and held his hands to give him warmth while posing a single question with a very gentle voice, "Was this mission too hard on you?" She didn't miss the way, his shoulders twitch at her question.

Mitsuhide was taken aback, he expected that she would be asking that if he is alright or what happened at the war, he certainly didn't expect her to strike a chord with the question about his feelings. He felt a lump in his throat as the painful memories flashed infront of his eyes.

"You surprised me once again, my silly little mouse..", said Mitsuhide with a tired smile.

"Mitsuhide, I know you always tell me that your missions are a secret for me as you are concerned about my happiness but today I am worried about you and your feelings, I want you to rely on me more, remember when you came to give me this hairpin on that rainy day, I told you that I don't want you to shoulder everything on your own & suffer alone, the only thing I wish for everyday is your well being, afterall how I can be happy when you are clearly troubled?", she said cupping his cheeks in her soft hands and looking deep into his eyes as if she was trying to look deep inside his heart.

Upon noticing a bit of hesitation in his gaze, she retreated her hands back, she didn't want to force him so she smiled at him gently, "It's okay if you don't want to share right now but I am here to listen to you anytime when you feel like it..", and she started to get up to prepare futon for the night but Mitsuhide grabbed her wrist.

"Mitsuhide..", she murmured surprised.

"Let me be selfish today and express everything to you as this mission was...too rough..", said Mitsuhide, she felt his hand trembling, his voice a low whisper, his gaze wavering with emotions.

"You are not being selfish, I am here for you..", she replied.

She immediately sat down infront of him, held his hands to keep them from trembling urging him to continue nodding her head, giving him her full attention.

"So 6 days ago, when I was on my mission to infiltrate a small castle of a daimyo and seek out the information about the potential revolt of him against Lord Nobunaga, I met a small boy around the age of 12 named Haru, son of the daimyo, he was quite smart for his age, he would sneak outside the castle to teach the poor kids about the basics of archery and shooting while training himself, used to distribute the foodgrains to them with a bright smile on his face. When I asked him, he told me that it made him happy to see the big smile on their faces at the thought of having dinner with their families and they will not go to bed with empty stomach, he taught them the basics so that they could protect themselves in life-threatening situations & not just simply crushed by others. He was too kind & innocent yet he had a strong determination seeing a world of peace someday & held strong sense of justice. We became quick friends, he was very unique kid in good way, his eyes used to shine with confidence. He told me that his father was very cruel and he believed that he will do anything to see his goals accomplished. And his suspicions proved true..", told Mitsuhide closing his eyes for a moment.

She took in a sharp breathe, readying herself to hear further. He continued, "Just 2-3 days later, he was caught by several guards for sneaking out everyday & helping the poor, his father...his own father....that daimyo...smashed his knuckles..". "What?! Didn't his mother stop his father? ", she exclaimed horrified at the thought. "His mother died while giving him birth...", Mitsuhide replied. She gasped, sadly. "Yet that kid smiled tearfully without any regrets and proudly stood by his own values, I couldn't tolerate this behaviour and quicken my investigation, gathered enough evidence against him for plotting against Lord Nobunaga and torturing innocent people. The very next day, when I along with Kyubei revealed our identity & attempted to bring him to Lord Nobunaga, that man went berserk and started ordering his vassals to protect him and shield them from us & disappeared, out of nowhere Haru appeared & told me about his secret place of refugee, we followed and found him at last, but that sick devil, he..he..", Mitsuhide voice cracked. "That daimyo used his..own son...to protect himself....& Haru was shot by one of our own soldier accidentally..", said Mitsuhide as he took a deep breathe as if saying any further will break him completely. She gasped with horror as tears streamed down her cheek hearing about the cruelty of a father towards his son, indescribable sadness filled her heart.

"The sad look in Haru's eyes as if he couldn't believe his father used him as a bait...blood seeping through his clothes...it was too much for me to bear...", said Mitsuhide clenching his fists.

"How can a father do that to his own son?!", she exclaimed angrily holding his hands, as tears rolled down her cheek.

"Even though...even though I killed that bastard, we did everything in our power to save his life but Haru..he was...gone....he went limp in my arms, his eyes lost his shine..his last words....were...that he wish...for a loving family & peace in his next--", Mitsuhide's voice broke completely & his shoulders trembled as tears burst through his eyes. Her heart ached seeing him in this state. She gently wraps her arms around him and guided his head to rest on her chest as she rubbed soothing circles on his back while other hand gently caressed his hair. He completely slumps in her arms as if he is worn out completely, clinging on her arms desperately as if his life depended on it, his sobbing shredding her heart into thousand pieces as tears roll down from her cheeks.

"I couldn't save him, MC....I couldn't..it hurts so much..remembering his lifeless eyes...which were once..filled with warmth....he reminded me so much of myself...I have seen so many people dying...but I wished so badly to save him...I wished...that he could...fulfill his..dreams...yet...I-I...was so scared....I was so desperate..I-I tried so hard..I hated that ominous feeling..I hated it so much...you greeted me home today but....he was greeted by death that day....", muttered Mitsuhide between his heartwrenching sobs, clutching her sleeves, her kimono soaking his tears through. "I know you did your best Mitsuhide..I know you did..", she whispered back sadly rubbing his back gently.

"I feel so scared...I feel soo scared...what if someday you...I couldn't bear that lifeless look of Haru's eyes in your eyes....I can't...I will die..", his breathe hitched in his throat & his voice chokes at the end while he squeezed his eyes shut, hands pressed over his ears as if shouting at his thoughts to shut up.

"Deep breathe...Mitsuhide, don't be scared...I will be by your side no matter what happens...we will live through these turbulent times together..", she said wiping his tears with the pad of her thumbs, looking into his sad eyes, caressing his face with soft kisses, removing his hands froms his ears and lacing his fingers with herself.

"You can listen to my heartbeat, hm? As long as you are with me, it will never fade..you can listen to it whenever you want...", she whispered sweetly trying to calm him fears, holding hin close to her chest.

"I will never let harm fall upon you..I promise you...", Mitsuhide nodded as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I have full faith in you, Mitsuhide...", she whispered kissing his eyebrows gently.

"I wish wherever that angel is now, his last words become true...", she said it like a prayer all the while rubbing Mitsuhide's back.

"I wish that as well..", Mitsuhide murmured as he continued holding her.

"MC?", he murmured.

Hm???", she asked.

"Thank you for today and I love you dearly, my little mouse..", said Mitsuhide as he slowly started relaxing in her arms.

"I love you too....thank you for relying on me..", she said with a gentle smile wiping his tears. She could see his emotions laid bare, he looked truly grateful for her staying by his side.

She hugged him for quite a while when she realized Mitsuhide stopped crying.

"Mitsuhide?", she whispered.

There was no response but she could feel his quiet and steady breathing.

"He fell asleep...", she said gently, pleasantly surprised.

She gently lowered his head on her lap as now he was deep asleep, his eyes puffy from crying his heart out yet it seemed that he was free of a burden, he was relaxed.

"Take your well-deserved rest, Mitsuhide, thank you for sharing your pain with me, I pray to god that he protects your gentle soul, I wish I could protect your kind & caring heart from all the cruelties, even though that is impossible for the type of work you do, I will also protect you with everything in my power, I know your work is scary, I know that you try your best in making everything alright, I know you understand the weight of one's life when you hold your rifle and have your goals clear in your mind, you needn't worry, I will always care and bring you out towards light holding yout hand when you feel engulfed by the darkness because I love you, I will be your strength..", she whispered loving as she softly caressed his hair and put a sweet kiss on his forehead.

"It reminds me of that night when for the first time, I broke down completely and you comforted me, seems now today, our roles were reversed....You are looking so innocent and vulnerable right now..", she said with a soft smile as she gently caress his cheek.

"Goodnight, my love!", she smiled gently looking at him as she kissed his forehead and she started playing with his hair looking at him, eyes full of love while Mitsuhide drifted off in land of dreams on her lap.

~The End~

[boomstyle]

Sonic Boom: Friend or Foe

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters and settings of Sonic boom. Oh, watch out for OCs!

Roboken War

(Force field cage)

Well, that was just as quick as it's. Now, where are we?

Tails and I reach the cage in just a zip. I thought Lyric will just put mind control device or at least send them far away from our reach. Well, I guess Lyric may not be as smart and cunning as I thought after all.

Speaking of cunning and smart, I can't stand a breathe anymore. I wish we can get out of here. Wait! We can't. Lyric closed the entrance of the central power station with a force field. I guess he's smart and cunning after all. Ugh...

While I was desperate to get out of the room, Tails was busy tinkering on the force field cage. Hurry up Tails, the gas is getting stronger. Now, I feel nauseous.

"Tails, would you mind speed it up a little?", I asked Tails politely.

"Sorry, Sonic. This may take a while. I can't find the key just yet. It must be somewhere up here.", Tails explain the technical thing but I am not sure what. What I really know is that I am gonna vomit for real.

(45 minutes later)

Ugh... What's taking Tails so long?

"Aha... I found it. The key to the force field was at the upper edge. Just gonna rotate it to the right and here it goes.", Tails was busy tinkering.

"Once I open the secret key, it will be easier to disable the force field."

"Yeah, Tails. Just pretend I don't hear it!", I replied in a cool manner. Not exactly a cool manner though, I was being slightly rude. If Amy heard me saying this, she might just taichi me or whip me or worse hit me with her so-called "legendary hammer". What's so legendary about her hammer? It's just a regular oversized hammer.  Sometimes, I don't understand why she's super obsessive about her hammer. If she loses her hammer, she could have just fought in hand to hand or use her enerbeam whip or sword. I mean, she's athletic and has amazing martial art skills to top it off so she didn't really have to bother the whole team to search for her hammer or be like "My hammer is my whole identity. It's a gift from fate.". Tsk...whatever.

Yep, Archie Sonic Boom Issue 3 (HammerSpace). You got it. No need to beat the bush like that, Amy. I feel really bad for Sonic.

I was drowning in confusion until Tails snapped me out. He didn't exactly snap me out, more like bringing me to reality.

"Done it! I've taken out the force field from here.", Tails said in excitement. Team Cyborg is released from the cage. Now, time to open the forcefield!

"Oh, finally! Now, how do we open the forcefield barrier, Cyborg me?", I asked in desperation and relief at the same time.

"Right here!", Cyborg Sonic replied. What? The forcefield entrance key was literally close to us but I see nothing.

"Where? It's just a freaking wall?", I scolded him out of impatience. Ugh, I can't take it anymore. The gas...(cough)...

"Just do as I said!", Cyborg Sonic instructed.

"Fine! Just gonna touch this...(surprised) wall (slowly)", I am stunned. I can't believe it. They're right. Just gonna press the bottom and it's done.

"Yay, we did it! Teamwork rocks! Now, let's move it!"

Just as I thought our business is done from the moment we escape from the central power station filled with gas and traps. I was hell wrong. I heard an invisible siren tone with a beaming red background while we ran away. Talking about disco light, this is worse.

*Lol* (Remember when Dave fool himself in "Next Top Villian", Sonic Boom Series Season 1.)

(Siren Alarm Beam Tone)

"Ugh... Come one! We just escape from it.", I complained.

"Sonic, our escape caused the siren to beam. So this is expected.", Tails calmed me down.

"But we just get out like a few hours ago.", I argued. Technically, it's been 45 minutes but it feels like hours already.

"Are you guys done with your blabber, Sonic?", Cyborg Amy shouted. Ooo... She's just as scary and temperamental as Amy.

"Fine! I'll shut it."

"Good. Let's keep moving! We didn't have all day."

Okay, okay, Amy! Is it necessary for you to be so demanding? Just chill out, Cyborg Amy! Regardless, she's right. There's no time to waste. If we don't get out, we might as well got caught by Lyric. Yep, we did.

"Where are you going right now?", Lyric asked.

"You think you can escape from me, Sonic. Think again!"

"Rise my armies! I command you to finish them once and for all!"

"We can call your robot quit in just a zip, Snake-head.", I deride Lyric confidently.

The infected robots shoot lasers at us as instructed. Tails and I started off dodging their attacks while Team Cybonic launched their special attacks. Well, more like duplicates of our attacks. Hehe...

Just as the battle started, my gangs came to my aid. Oh, just in time but where's Shawn? I mean, the East bender faker. Yeah, he must be planning this whole thing. I bet but regardless, I am glad that my team to the rescue. As I dodge a laser, I spot FriendBot along with Amy, Knuckles and Sticks arrive at the scene and prepare for combat.

"Anyone need some backup?", Amy asked.

Amy, Knuckles, and Sticks charge down and destroy some robots. Sonic dashes towards Amy.

"Amy. I'm glad you're here.", I started a conversation but Amy just shrugged me off. I wonder what's bugging her. Surely, Shawn must have manipulated her. Now, that she ignored me as if I didn't exist. This is just not like her.

"Oh, so you're just gonna ignore me, your boyfriend. Alright, sure. Go ahead."

Oops, did I just said b-word out loud? Not that I care or whatever but we're totally busted right now.

"Hmph... Like I even have one...", Amy shrugged me off.

Oh, is that it? You're just going to going to act negatively out of character toward me. That's it, I had it enough of your rudeness. This is just not you. He's literally turning you into a cold-headed girl. I know she can get temperamental, snarky, rude, or slightly selfish at some point but this is way too far.

"That's it, Ames. I had it enough. If you want to break up, just say so. (punch and kick robot nearby) No need to buzz over me like that.", I confronted her.

"You're saying I got too far. Well, that describes you, Mr. Hedgehog. The way you treated Shawn was totally unacceptable. And besides, you're not so good after all. You're snarky, reckless, messy worker, impatient and impulsive.", Amy talked back.

"Like you have the best personality, I'm sick of your bossy, demanding, and overbearing attitude behind your mature act.", I argued her back.

"I was doing it for your good. You could get a little bit too far with your prank games, jokes or worse run head log in trouble. So I have to step in AS THE MOTHER FIGURE OF THE GROUP(shouted and smash the robot)", Amy defended.

"Yeah, like I need one.", I grunted.

"That's the problem with you. You act as if you're the coolest top speedy hedgehog ever but you're not thoughtful. The way you badmouth and suspect Shawn when you yourself were the one who introduced it to the whole team explains it. You're saying you're responsible for him but what I got is empty promises.", Amy berated me while she was busy beating robots near her just like I did. Speaking of which, what she said reminds me when I introduced Egg man's so called brother without even consulting the whole team. She's kinda right at this. I should have been more considerate and premediated next time. The way I just invite Shawn and Steve Eggman in the group without much consideration indicate my impulsiveness. Looks like I really realized how impulsive and unthoughtful I have been but still, she's literally overreacting just like usual. Thus, why should I be blamed for it?

"Oh come on, why do I get blamed for it? You're literally falling your heels over him anyway so why should I have to get the portion of the blame?", I threw the blame on her. I admitted I am being impulsive and inconsiderate considering how I just invite Shawn in without any consultation.

"Responsibility, Sonic! You can't just introduce someone and suddenly come up with a conclusion that his guy is bad when YOU CAN'T EVEN PROVE IT!", Amy reasoned with me. In some way, she's right but she just didn't understand the issue here. Shawn is...

"Yeah, you're right. I don't have proof but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. You know why? HERO!", I am enraged and boastful, yes and I don't care.

"That's it! I can't take it anymore. You, sir, are impetuously boastful and arrogant being. Have you even take my feeling into account when you said that? it's like you don't consider me a girlfriend anymore. You know what, let's break up!", Amy leashed out on me.

"You wanna break up. FINE! Who wants to be with a Bloodthirsty and indicative hedgehog in a cute and friendly package?", I said.

"And who wants an egomaniac, reckless and immature guy in a speedy hero PACKAGE?", Amy retaliated. She's going super angry and yep, this is good and bad at the same time.

"HAYAK(smash)... (spin hammer attack other robots)... (pull the further robot near her with enerbeam rope) HAYAK (smash, smash, smash until every infected robot disintegrated)... (stand in her ninja-style pose)Ha... Time to take on, Lyric."

Just as we broke up, Amy turned into a temperamental monster. Then, she started to crash all of the infected robots in just a zip. Sticks, Knuckles and Tails as well as our cyborg duplicates are unimpressed. Wow, I was surprised they're not shocked at our break up and Amy's sudden temperamental combat.

"What a lovely couple indeed? I suspect that the alien overlord must have spelled them apart.", Sticks said.

"To be frank, this robot apocalypse has sent Amy mad too.", Cyborg Sticks said. Well, she's partially right. The robot apocalypse really sent Amy crazy after the break-up. Not the best answer you've got, Cybonic Sticks but you sure have Sticks' paranoid DNA with you. Am I okay? Why do I agree with Sticks' paranoid statement now? Oh no, if this happens again, I might need to consider seeing a psychiatrist.

"I don't know Sticks but surely, the secretive skinny couple has finally come to a devastating breakup. If Sonic and Amy were the one, I may be gigging out in shame.", Cyborg Knuckles replied sadly.  

"Yeah. Not cool, Sonic. First, you deny that you dated Amy and now, you just let Amy cut off the relationship.", Knuckles said while holding his clenched fist.

"Well, this gets little it out of hand. let's just help Amy fight off Lyric!", Cyborg Sonic said.

"Yeah", Team Cybonic and my gangs except Knuckles and Amy agreed.

While they're battling Lyric, we're in the middle of a pointless argument because of Knuckles. This is the first time we ever battle each other in the middle of a war.

"Knuckles, don't get me started!", I ordered. What the heck is wrong with Knuckles? Sure we kept the relationship in secret and just broke up but this is not an excuse for Knuckles to just burst up like that.

"Do you think I'm not smart, Sonic?", Knuckles asked.

"What? Not, it's not that... It's just", I tried to persuade him but Knuckles cut me off.

"It's just that I'm not smart enough to figure it out that you're dating.", Knuckles straightened his point. What? I don't mean to hide our relationship just to shame you. It's just that it's not a good time yet. If Eggman and other villains know about our relationship, the worst scenario is that the whole team and anyone related to us would be in a threatening situation. Seriously, Eggman may not be you know the victorious one but he's surely dangerous when unexpected. And besides, the group will be awkward if everyone knows we date.

"What's up, Sonic? Scared of me?"

"Knuckles. this is madness. You got to snap out, man. That snakehead was literally your battle.", I persuaded while trying to dodge his punches. I don't want to attack him. He's my friend.

"I've heard you said enough already"

We battle with each other until we heard Amy, Tails, and Sticks as well as our duplicates got smacked down in the middle of battle.

"Guys! Oh no!", Knuckles and I gulped.

"At last, I finally got to end you after a thousand years.", Lyric smirked while approaching us.

"I guess it's the end of Team Knuckles", Knuckles said. Team? Oh, forget it! I'm not going to argue. Besides he's right. It's the end of Team Son...ic.

"Lyric, I said I will find you", Shadow appeared. Uuu... Looks like the edgelord will end the robot apocalypse. He must have a reason as to defeat Lyric. He will not just be here to save us but anyway, it's our lucky day.

Shadow punch out Lyric and take out his technopathy. As the result, everything was back to normal except that all Roboken's army got dismantled, and yeah, things get messed up when Shawn approached in.

ugh... Finally, it's nearly the end of the book chapter. Sorry, I got too personal with the Sonamy relationship and rivalry between Knuckles and Sonic but I just can't help it. Anyway, How do you think Shadow and Shawn were able to come in? What will be the consequences afterward? Find out in the next chapter.