#Waiting for my breakfast to digest so I can go on my run

[astralis-ortus]

thunders of rage

✱ boyfriend!bc x gn!reader

— even through the worst days, you're still my priority.

w.count → 1.1k genre → fluff, comfort warning → mild cussing, reader had a bad day and lashes out at chan :(, one time jump, kissies, chan referred to as chris, reader referred to as baby and babe a.n → based on this request! tysm for requesting♡ ⋆ see masterlist

the word terrible doesn’t even cover the magnitude of bad luck you’ve been facing for the past 10 hours.

from waking up late for work, buses not operating due to a strike and causing the subway being jam-packed, getting absolutely roasted by your supervisor for someone else’s mishap, having your work ruined by a coworker, to barely surviving the somehow never-ending rush hour while running only on a single piece of toast you had in the morning—you’re absolutely in no condition to socialize, even for the slightest bit.

“hey, babe,” your boyfriend’s cheery voice was the first thing you heard as soon as you stepped inside your shared apartment. noises coming out from the speaker on your living room were the thing you noticed next—and you swear you’re so close to losing your sanity.

“how was your day? i saw you barely ate your breakfast when i got back from the gym. are you okay?” oblivious to your nonexistent reply, chris had his eyes glued to the game while he continued to talk. “i haven’t decided what to make for dinner, by the way. do you—”

“can you decide that on your own?” you finally cut your boyfriend off, tone of your voice catching chris off guard. you’re not one to speak sharply—you know it might offend the other party even when you didn’t mean to, and chris knew that about you.

so when he heard that tone being used against him, chris knew something is absolutely wrong.

“let’s get ice cream, then?” chris immediately paused his game and shifted his focus onto you. he sees it now—the seemingly permanent subtle frown on your forehead, the nonexistent glint on the reflection of your eyes, the messy bun on top of your head.

something stresses you out. bad.

“sure.”

chris watched your exhausted trudge head towards the kitchen and grab a glass of water, contemplating the best course of action to get grumpy you to cheer up even just for a little. “and some pizza? or some dimsum? while we wait i’ll run a bath—”

“goddammit, chris!” the loud sound of cup slamming on the countertop startled chris out of his sentence, eyes wide when confusion, irritation, and hurt started to mix in his chest. “i just told you to decide it on your own! stop bothering me! do i need to make every decision for you? god!”

the room fell silent as chris tried to digest the words you aimed at him—but it felt like his head was on static. it only took him a second to get up and grab a hoodie, suppressing any reaction his instinct was telling him to do before he said something he would regret.

“i’m gonna go cool off,” chris quietly said as he headed towards the door, momentarily stopping to look at your tense back. he desperately wanted to stay—but he knows you needed time to be on your own.

“you should cool off too.”

and with that, chris left.

it’s been nearly two hours since chris left, and after a cup of warm tea and a long bath later, guilt finally caught you up in its tight grip.

you knew what you did towards chris was wrong—chris was simply trying to make sure he’s getting something you like because he knows only then your mood would seem to improve, but instead, all you did was accuse him of trying to bother you.

thoughts ran through your head while you stare at your boyfriend’s phone number, thumb hovering over the green button as you try to piece an apology in your head. you’re genuinely worried—it’s getting later in the night, and you still haven’t heard even a single peep from chris. you can’t help but feel worried.

but just as you were about to press the call button, your ears finally picked up the sound of your front door cracking open—chris is home.

“baby, i’m ho—”

chris stopped in his tracks as he felt warmth suddenly enveloping him—you’re hugging him tight, face buried on the span of his chest.

“i’m sorry,” you quickly whispered, barely allowing him time to process what happened within the span of 5 seconds. “i was wrong. i shouldn’t have acted like that. i just really had a terrible day, and—”

“hey, hey, hey,” chris couldn’t help but chuckle, finally wrapping his arm around you after he finally set down the plastic bags on the countertop nearby. “breathe, baby. slow down. you’re okay.”

peering up at chris, your guilt only seemed to dig its claws deeper when you saw his dimpled smile, beautiful eyes gazing right at you even after the sharp words you threw at him.

you felt like crap.

“i’m really sorry,” you croaked another apology, now near tears with the tip of your lips turned down. “i really acted like an ass back there but you still became the bigger person between us. i would’ve understood if you shouted at me, but—”

“baby,” chris shook his head as he gently cradled your face, pads of his thumbs running softly against your cheeks, “i would never forgive myself if i ever raised my voice at you, even during a fight. you’re my girlfriend—you’re someone i need to protect, and that’s what i’ll always try to do.”

the way chris loves you never fails to render you speechless.

some might say you’re the bigger romantic between the two of you—date plans, endless whispers of ‘i love you’s, constantly wrapping yourself around his arm. it’s all what people would see; but you know the nights chris would pull you closer when he notices your tossing and turning, allowing you to settle to the rhythm of his heartbeat. you know the days when he would buy you a single stem of the prettiest sunflower or the loveliest bloom of rose, all because you said you’ve always liked flowers but never the huge bouquet. you know how he would always walk on the side nearest to the road, and the way his arm never left the curve of your waist.

you know the subtle ways he remembers—his ways of saying i love you, and you would never change that for anything in the world.

“kiss me.”

a chuckle rumbles in chris’ chest to your request, beautiful twinkle in his eyes turning you warm and fuzzy. he then gently tipped your chin, whispering a soft ‘i love you’ as he brought his lips onto yours, relishing in the way swarms of butterflies burst under your feverish skin.

©️ astralisortus, 2024. | likes and reblogs are highly appreciated♡

[wannab-urs]

The Spreadsheet Digest - Vol 20

Hi friends!!

Can't believe we're at the 20th week of me doing this rec list! I also hit 400 fics on the Spreadsheet, which is wild. We've got 14 fics this week. It was a bit of an angst fest, but there's plenty of smut and even a few threesomes!

As always you can find the Spreadsheet here and the other Digests here. You can tag me in literally any Pedro boy fic (except RPF) and I'll add it to my TBR! You can also send me fic recs if you want, and even ask me for fic recs. I'll dig through the sheet so you don't have to :)

Fic recs below the Pedge:

Blackmail - a Javi P/Joel series by @milla-frenchy

Javi is the new Fedra officer you have to deal with and he wants something instead of credits to let you and joel go on your supply run... he wants to fuck you! The way it starts with Joel getting cucked and then just.... descends into beautiful smutty depravity. This was so fucking good. I loved how Javi wasn't mean? Idk like the whole experience just sounded good as hell for reader after the initial discomfort of having to fuck someone to get what you want lol.

You need to relax, sweetheart - a Joel/Tess one shot by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

You're Tess and Joel's babysitter and they come home from date night and decide to help you unwind from a stressful night of caring for children... ya know... with their bodies. -- TW dubcon/noncon -- also there's some breeding kink in here and Tess is also pregnant. This fic is so good and twisted and delicious and wonderful byeeeee

Shore Leave a Frankie/Santi one shot by @theywhowriteandknowthings

Ok so you're a bartender and Frankie and Santi come into your bar sometimes on shore leave and they always flirt with you. And then this time they flirt with you and you like actively consider going home with them... and then you um find something out... spoilers sorry.... and decide to go home with both of them. And it is wonderful, sexy, and sweet. I'm gonna need a 30 part loose fit series on these 3 immediately <3

Rendezvous in Reno - a Dieter one shot by @theywhowriteandknowthings

AHHH okay so erotica writer!reader has a book signing and the subject of her first published erotic short story walks in knowing full well the story was basically fanfic of HIM. Heavy flirting ensues... then he comes to your hotel. This fic??? It's so sweet and fluffy and like... indulgent? It's like eating dessert for breakfast. There's a lovely surprise in relation to Dieter himself, also. I just love his personality in this and I love the sexy intimate smut and I want to die I love Dieter so much.

An Open Invitation - a Joel one shot by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

Joel watches reader and her girlfriend? fuck buddy? whatever. fuck from his window cause girl has got her curtains WIDE open and she is doing it fully on purpose.... anyway some stuff happens and Joel ends up in her house with her and her friend and then he gets used like a sex toy and loves every second of it and I loved every second of this fic. It's perfect. No fucking notes. 10/10.

Aches!Joel - a Joel series by @toxicanonymity

At the time of this rec, there's four parts. This features virgin!reader and a Joel that shows more restraint than I really expected him to be able to. This fic is sweet and the teasing and the will-they-won't-they throughout is so good. It's like edging but you're reading. And then... ya know. Aches!Joel owns my whole heart. fuckin wanting to wait for a soft bed to fuck her PLEASE... whatta man (the bar is in hell, I know, leave me alone).

Linger On - a Joel series by @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin

So you and Joel broke up 10 years ago and you moved on! You moved away from Austin and you got married and you have a kid and everything is great right? It's not. You're soooo not over Joel Miller. And then!!! Some events happen that put you face to face again and not just like.. briefly or temporarily. I don't want to spoil too much of this fic here in the review... just read it. It's angsty and yummy and I love it. (smutty also, who do you think I am?)

Carnal - a Joel series by @pascalsbby

Another camgirl!reader fic because I literally cannot help myself lmao. This one has the delicious twist of also being dad's best friend!joel AND best friend's dad!Joel... how fucked up is that? The correct amount of fucked up. The dirty talk going on in this fic is literally insane. My body went into fight or flight I was so turned on. And then on top of the crazy freaky yummy sex and like perv!joel and dom!joel and just all that going on... the story itself is really fucking good!!!

A Feeling That Never Came - a Javi P series by @theywhowriteandknowthings

You show up to your birthday/engagement party (i will not elaborate on that) and it's all kind of terrible and then your ex, Javi Peña shows up. Which should be a bad thing. Who wants their ex at their engagement party? You do. I promise you do. Desperately. So like... read this lovely bucket of angst as a bedtime story, cry yourself to sleep, and anxiously await the next part just like me.

It's always been you - a Dieter one shot by @alwaysmicado

Dieter Bravo is not a good boyfriend and after a year you are faced with the brutal reality of that fact. This fic destroyed me emotionally for real. Like the way Dieter is so.... pathetic? The perfect depiction of that push and pull where you can't let yourself fall into him but like all you want is for him to hold you because you're upset? GOD DAMN. Perfect. And then the interlude time period and what happens there and the ending? All so fucking perfect. I would love more of these two. They're broken and sad and it hurt and I can't stop thinking about this fucking fic AH

Light Only Shows You Where the Shadow Are - a Max Phillips one shot by @oonajaeadira

You've got this friend that can't take a fucking hint and won't understand you don't want him like that, but thankfully a handsome and unsettling stranger is there to save the day... several times.... and it's a little weird that he's always there and that you can't quite remember what he looks like when he's gone... and he makes you feel a little off. This is such a wonderfully spooky fic and it really captures Max's vibes while, despite the stalker behavior, somehow being more tolerable than the canon Max. I desperately hope you get the inspo to write a full Max series. It would be delightful

I Know Places - a Din one shot by @beskarandblasters

So you're a bounty and Din catches you and he has to take you all the way from tatooine to coruscant. It's a long trip and due to some mitigating circumstances he can't carbon freeze you as you'll probably die and... dead people don't pay their debts so that just won't do. 3 weeks cooped up in the Crest with a tin can man you don't know and who is carting you off to certain death... surely that couldn't be a love story. Or could it? This fic is so fucking good. I love the story and the smut???????? To die for.

You Shook Me All Night Long - a Joel series by @macfrog

You are Joel Miller's assistant and he's the CEO and he is... handsy. But it's not making you uncomfortable, at all. This starts at the official work party, moves over to a bar, and then keeps going after that. I really loved this. Joel was the perfect amount of rich corporate asshole and possessive sexy man.

Plaited and Braided - an Ezra one shot by @bonezone44

Ez wins a bullwhip and learns to use it on a tree... then he learns to use it on you. This is so delightful. It's a little dark there for a bit, but it's much much sweeter than you'd expect a sadist!Ezra bullwhip fic to be. I would very much love to see more of these two.

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Here's some art I saw this week

Joel and Ellie by @vickisigh

Din by @gaytedlasso

Frankie and his shifter form by @littledozerdraws (commissioned for SNAFU by @theywhowriteandknowthings)

Pedro by @bonezone44

Pedro as popular raccoon memes by @iamasaddie

Joel Miller Apologist badge by @sin-djarin

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My Masterlist

My Kofi

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Happy Reading!

[wordingg]

Five Idiots Look For a Cave - Chapter One

Summary: Laios and his sister Falin are hired to guard a wagon of provisions as it travels from the city of Neverwinter to the small frontier settlement of Phandalin. It seems like a dead easy job, but it quickly becomes more complicated when their employer is kidnapped by goblins, sending them on a wild goose chase across the most dangerous parts of the Sword Coast in search of him with a ragtag group of unlikely allies.

Or, I make the dunmeshi guys play through the Lost Mines of Phandelver, because why not.

A/N: This is such a weird project to tag and explain, but I'm going to try.

For those familiar with Delicious In Dungeon, but not Dungeons & Dragons: The Lost Mines of Phandelver is the scenario/campaign that's provided in the starter set that you can buy for Dungeons & Dragons. I've run this campaign a bunch of times during my years playing Dungeons & Dragons and I thought the characters of dunmeshi were just begging to be dropped into a D&D game. So, that's what I did. The plot of this story is the campaign, Lost Mines of Phandelver, and whenever the characters need to do something, I roll dice to see whether they can do it or not. Combat, investigation, everything. I am literally playing this game by myself and then converting it into a fic.

For those familiar with Dungeons & Dragons, but not Delicious In Dungeon: Delicious In Dungeon is an anime set in a fantasy world where dungeon diving is a well-known career choice. The setting and characters are such a good match to Dungeons & Dragons that I had to change very little to get the characters to fit into a Forgotten Realms setting.

All that to say, the story should be digestible by anyone, even if you're not familiar with both fandoms.

Also, just a warning that I don't really have an in depth plan for this story, so I'm going to add tags and relationships as I go. I really like Chilchuck/Laios and Falin/Marcille, so those are the two pairings most likely to be added, but no promises either way. I'll make sure to warn if I add anything at the beginning of each chapter.

Laios Touden and his sister Falin stood by while the wagon they had been paid to accompany was loaded up with supplies. Young men barely more than boys hauled barrels and burlap sacks of provisions up into the old warped bed of the wagon, more passing up shovels, pickaxes and crowbars. Laios counted about twelve sacks of flour, seven casks of salted pork, two kegs of strong ale, five lanterns, and a small barrel of oil.

It was early, just an hour before dawn, but the south gate out of the city of Neverwinter was already starting to bustle with traffic. Mostly it was wagons not unlike their own, though filled with produce and other products from the farms circling the city that served to feed the swollen populace within the city walls. From farther north the smell of baking bread and roasting meat signaled the beginning of breakfast for the many people packed in close behind thick the stone walls.

Laios was ready to leave the city. He had grown up in the far north, surrounded by rolling fields, freezing cold fjords, and winter lashed forests. He had lived in a lot of places since he had left his home, but cities were never his favorite. There were too many people, too close, all smelling and talking and leaving their things everywhere. He was looking forward to being outside the city walls for a while, but they had to wait until the wagon was full before they could leave.

“Toudens!” a boisterous voice called from the main thoroughfare.

Falin, standing beside him and watching the loading of the wagon with more interest than Laios, smiled and raised her hand at the call. Slower, Laios raised his hand as well, to wave to their most recent employer.

A dwarf with rust colored red hair and beard sitting atop a pretty dapple gray pony split from the little stream of people leaving the city through the south gate and came toward Laios and the steadily filling wagon. Following behind him was an older human man wearing chain mail and riding on a three quarter sized bay mare with another small dwarf with a thick black beard witting sideways on the horse’s haunches behind him.

“Mr. Rockseeker,” Laios greeted him as he pulled his horse up close. He didn’t step down to talk to Laios, but he didn’t begrudge him. Laios wondered how the dwarf had managed to get onto the horse in the first place.

“Please, call me Gundren,” Mr. Rockseeker said with a twinkling smile. His nose and cheeks were ruddy red above his red beard. “Mr. Rockseeker was my father.”

Laios stared at Gundren blankly until he heard Falin snort out a laugh and he realized that the nonsensical statement was a joke. He quickly barked a laugh out that felt false even to his ears. But, if Gundren noticed, it didn’t show on his face that Laios could tell.

“It looks like everyone is here, so I hope you don’t mind if I introduce you to my nephew-” Gundren started to say before being interrupted by Falin.

“Oh, actually! We’re still waiting for a friend of mine who offered to come along,” she explained with a pleasant smile.

Gundren’s face did something too complicated for Laios to follow. “A friend?” he asked uncertainly.

“Who’s everyone?” Laios asked, wondering if Gundren had meant him and Falin. He thought you usually would say ‘both’ instead of ‘everyone’ if you were just addressing two people, though he was no stranger to being wrong when it came to things like that.

“He means me,” a surly voice from near Laios’ hip grumbled, making him jump about a foot in the air and turn around.

Laios hadn’t heard anyone approach, but a halfling man with short brown hair peppered with a few fine gray hairs and big ears was standing right beside him, his arms folded in front of his chest. He had a soft looking green muffler looped around his neck and worn leather armor over a plain white shirt and dark pants. And, he apparently noticed Laios staring, as he threw a nasty look up at Laios after a few second of him looking a little too intently.

He was usually pretty bad at interpreting people’s expressions, but it was hard to misunderstand that kind of look.

Laios tuned back into Falin and Gundren’s conversation just in time to see them get interrupted by Marcille stumbling up to them, panting and bracing her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Her long blonde hair was braided in a complicated style that left half of it piled on top of her head, and half it hanging long down her back and she was wearing a pretty blue dress that looked warm but a little impractical for hard travel. As well as her spell book and quarterstaff of course.

“I’m so sorry I’m late!” she gasped. “I told the innkeeper to wake me up, but she never came! I ran the whole” she paused to take another gasping breath, “way here!”

“I won’t be able to pay another person,” Grundren said to Laios, turning his back on the two women.

“Falin and I will split our pay with her. She’s a good friend of ours. She’s trustworthy,” Laios explained, he hoped sufficiently, for Gundren.

Gundren’s eyebrows did some wiggling, shadowing his small dark eyes for a moment, but then he sighed and his shoulders slumped, and the warm smile and the twinkling eyes were back as if they had never left.

“Well, that’s alright then. Anyway, I wanted to introduce you all to my nephew, Senshi,” he said, turning to gesture to the two men behind him. The human man had helped the dwarf off the tall horse and he was walking up to the small group. “He’ll be accompanying the rest of you on the wagon to Phandalin.”

A chorus of hellos in various levels of enthusiasm came from the small group gathered by the side of the wagon. Senshi looked a lot like Gundren, if the coloring was a lot darker and his face a lot less expressive. Senshi had a long thick wavy beard that matched his thick wavy hair and a slightly receding hairline. His eyebrows were thick and his eyes were small, dark and keen. It was hard to read Senshi’s expression. Laios suspected that was probably true even for people who weren’t him.

“With that, I’ll have to bid farewell,” Gundren said with a little half bow from the top of his pony. “I look forward to meeting with the rest of you in Phandalin.”

“We won’t be traveling together?” the halfling man spoke up. He looked uncertainly at Laios and the others, before turning a frustrated expression up at Gundren.

“It’s faster to travel by horse than by wagon and I have some business to finish up in Phandalin before you all get there. But, you all won’t be far behind me,” Gundren said, already turning his pony around. The human man was mounting his mare, as well, turning her nose toward the south gate. “Take good care of those supplies!” he called over his shoulder as he rejoined the press of people heading toward the walls of the city.

The five left behind awkwardly glanced around at each other. Laios, Falin and Marcille stood together, looking down at the two smaller men who would apparently be their traveling companions for the next two or three days.

While they had been talking, the last of the supplies had been loaded into the wagon and the men who had been doing the loading had left. There was nothing to keep them there but uncertainty about their new companions.

Finally, the halfling man broke the silence with a derisive sniff. “I’ll drive the wagon,” he said. “The rest of you can ride in the back until we get out of the crowd.”

With that, he stepped away from the others and jumped a little to reach the bench at the front of the wagon and confidently took the reins. He looked over his shoulder impatiently and the others took the hint.

“Uh, right. Thanks!” Laios said, probably way too late by the way that the halfling man sucked his teeth at Laios, but Falin always said better late than never.

His chain mail clinking, Laios climbed up into the wagon behind Marcille and Falin, who had already claimed the most comfortable spots on top of the flour sacks. He reached back behind him to help pull the dwarf man, Senshi, up into the wagon as well and got a friendly nod in thanks. Together, he and the other man had to make do trying to find a comfortable spot between the tools and barrels.

Once everyone had stopped shifting, the halfling man flicked the reins and the old horses hitched to the wagon started off, pulling the rattling wooden wheels across cobblestones out of Neverwinter and south along the well maintained High Road toward their destination.

---

They made camp the first night in a little windswept area off the left side of the road alongside a number of other travelers. Their campfires flickered orange in the moonlight, lighting up the worn cobblestones of the road even if it was too dark for anyone to keep moving. The air was brisk since the shoreline was close, close enough that you could hear the soft crashing of waves on the beach in the small silences between the campsites.

“I’m surprised they only gave us five ration packs each,” Marcille said into the silence as they all sat around the fire munching away at the hard bread, dried meat and sharp cheese that had been wrapped up in wax paper for them by the same store that had loaded the wagon up for Gundren.

“It shouldn’t take us more than two days to get to Phandalin,” Chilchuck answered her from around a mouthful of bread. Chilchuck Tims was the halfling man. After half a day of traveling by wagon, Laios had finally worked up the courage to ask and was pleasantly surprised when he answered.

“Still, tis foolish to not prepare for a longer trip. Who knows what trouble we may meet on the road,” the dwarf, Senshi, said as he looked down and rubbed the dried meat between his thick blunt fingers. Laios wondered if he was trying to soften it with his hands first. He wondered if it worked.

“Senshi is right,” Laios said after a second. “If it does end up taking us longer than two days to reach Phandalin, we’ll be in a real bind.”

“We’re not going to die if we have to go a day or two without food,” Chilchuck responded, but he looked a little unhappy at the thought.

Laios shared a look with Falin at that. He supposed that was true, but he had gone without eating before on expeditions that went wrong and it wasn’t something he wanted to repeat if he could help it.

“What made you take this job, Chilchuck?” Marcille asked after an awkward moment of silence. “You seemed surprised to see other people.”

Chilchuck frowned back at her. “What made you take this job?” he asked back.

Undeterred, Marcille answered, “Well, I didn’t really take it so much as I agreed to tag along.” Turning to Falin, she asked, “What made you guys take it?”

“Laios saw the job posting at the guild,” Falin explained as she broke off a piece of her cheese and offered it to Marcille who hummed happily as she popped it in her mouth. “He’s my brother and I often accompany him on jobs that take him out of the city.”

“Yep,” Laios added, thinking back. “Falin has saved my life more times than I could count. But, this job sounded easy and straight forward. ‘10 gold to escort provisions to Phandalin with option to make more. For reliable persons only.’ “ Laios recited from memory. “Seemed just like the thing for me and Falin.”

“Ye belong to an adventurer’s guild, then?” Senshi asked Laios with a raised eyebrow.

Laios wrinkled his nose as he realized that, even if it was true, saying he was part of the adventurer’s guild was probably a little misleading.

“I only just joined a month ago. I’m still pretty green. Easy jobs like this are the only ones I’m qualified for,” Laios said hesitantly.

“But, Laios is really amazing in a fight! That’s how he got into the guild, by proving himself in a tournament. He’ll climb the ranks in no time!” Falin added with an enthusiastic grin thrown in Laios’ direction. Even if the praise made him more self-conscious, it warmed something in his heart to have her support and encouragement.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, scratching at the back of his neck.

“And, you’re just tagging along?” Chilchuck asked Marcille, doubt thick in his tone.

“Uh, well,” Marcille fumbled, seeming a little taken off guard by the question.

“Marcille is a friend of mine from temple,” Falin jumped in to say. “She just moved to Neverwinter and we’ve been showing her around. We didn’t want to leave her alone in the city for however long the job took, so we invited her along.”

Marcille and Falin shared a speaking look, something that Laios could recognize from the outside but not totally understand. Sometimes it seemed like they could have whole conversations with just their faces, in a few brief seconds snatched between words. It seemed an impossible kind of skill, one that he envied and was a little mystified by.

“That’s right,” Marcille agreed, her nose and ears a shade pinker than they had been a moment ago. “But, you still haven’t answered my question. I understand why Mr. Rockseeker wanted someone like Laios to guard his provisions on the road to Phandalin, but I’m not really sure how you fit into this.” She gave Chilchuck a piercing look, one he returned with an unhappy twist of his lips.

But, after only a moment, he sighed and sagged back against the fallen log he had sat himself against.

“Me and Gundren go way back. We used to go dungeon diving together back when I was younger. He was always decent to me. All he told me was that he had some kind of crazy opportunity opening up in Phandalin that I would want to get in on and to meet him there by the gates. He didn’t mention I’d be riding in a wagon with a bunch of strangers while he went on ahead,” Chilchuck finished with a dirty look aimed at the dirt by his foot. Laios didn’t have to be good at understanding people to understand that Chilchuck probably wished he could aim that look at Gundren instead.

“Oh, that’s awful,” Marcille sighed.

“Aye, I’m sorry to hear that. My uncle isn’t always the most considerate. Especially when he’s on a job,” Senshi added with a sorrowful nod of his head.

Chilchuck waved his hand, as if he could swat the condolences offered to him out of the air. “Whatever,” he said. “What’s done is done. I owe you all an apology, anyway. I didn’t mean to take my bad mood out on all of you.”

“Well, it’s a bit understandable,” Falin offered with a smile.

“Yeah, we didn’t take it personally,” Laios said with a shrug. He had assumed that the behavior he’d seen so far had been Chilchuck’s normal personality. It was sort of nice to hear that it wasn’t.

“Gundren is your uncle, huh?” Laios asked, changing the focus to Senshi. “Is there anything you can tell us about him? I only got to speak to him a little bit before taking this job.”

“Aye, he is my uncle, though our family is large and he is one of five uncles of mine,” Senshi explained. “There’s not much I can tell you about him, unfortunately. He and two of my uncles do much treasure hunting in the mountains about Neverwinter. I suspect that’s how you came into contact with him?” Senshi asked Chilchuck.

“Yep,” Chilchuck said. “I’m a locksmith by trade, but I have a reputation for being skilled at disarming dwarvish traps. He hired me way back when I was just starting out and is half the reason I have that reputation.”

“Do you have an interest in treasure hunting, Senshi?” Falin asked curiously.

Senshi stared into their crackling fire, his usually expressionless face becoming sorrowful. “Nay, not I. Not anymore.”

Laios looked around at the others, hoping someone more skilled at talking would interrupt the sad lonesome silence that had descended over Senshi. Unfortunately, it looked like everyone else was casting around to each other for the same thing.

Luckily, it was Senshi himself who broke the long silence. “I suspect my uncle thinks me a bit of a layabout. I don’t do any of the traditional dwarven pursuits. Mining, blacksmithing, gold prospecting. I’m sure whatever job he wants me to help with it will be something like that.”

“And, what is it that you like to do, Senshi?” Falin asked gently.

Senshi looked up for the first time since he had started talking.

“Cooking,” he said decisively. “I love to cook.”

Falin clapped her hands in joy. “Oh that’s wonderful!” she exclaimed.

“What do you like to cook most?” Marcille asked.

“Do you have a specialty?” Chilchuck asked with interest.

Laios smiled as the conversation lightened and turned lively as everyone talked and shared about food, their favorite foods, their family recipes, regional specialties they knew of.

It seemed like the ice had been broken and even if they weren’t friends they were well on their way to getting there.

---

The next morning they got an early start, eating their third ration for breakfast quickly before cleaning up the last embers of their campfire and packing up so they could get back on the road. They were not on the high road for long before they turned left onto a small dirt track with a simple sign marking it as the Triboar Trail.

It’s this road that they would take for the rest of the day and hopefully reach the small settlement town of Phandalin before nightfall.

Laios didn’t know much about the town of Phandalin. From what little he heard from other people in the guild, it was a tiny town just on the edge of the wilderness that was built on the remnants of another older settlement. It sat on the edge of the foothills of the Sword Mountains and was mostly populated by miners and the people who ran businesses that served them.

This part was the part of the journey that he had been hired for. The Triboar Trail was really that, just a worn down dirt trail leading off into untamed and largely uninhabited woods and meadows. All manner of creatures, bandits and beasts populated those lands and would have likely loved to get their hands on a wagon full of supplies like what they had.

A shiver of anticipation ran down Laios’ back as he imagined the types of monsters known to haunt the woods around them. There were stirges, of course, terrible little mosquito like creatures about the length of your arm that attacked suddenly and would try to drain their victims of blood. Ghouls could come out at night, ethereal specters of long dead travelers looking for warm bodies to possess. Ogres preferred the foothills, but they could wander close enough that running into one traveling afield for hunting wouldn’t be out of the question. Then there were goblins, orcs, owlbears! The list just went on.

Laios couldn’t suppress a whine of excitement at the thought. The sound, as quiet as it was, was still noticed by the halfling sitting beside him on the bench at the front of the wagon. Chilchuck jumped a little at the sound and gave Laios an uncertain look.

“Oh, uh,” Laios fumbled, trying to think of an explanation that didn’t include explaining that he was just excited to finally be entering monster country. “Just had a tickle in my throat,” he landed on lamely.

Chilchuck gave him a suspicious squint, but turned back to examining the road in front of them.

They continued on like that throughout the morning. Marcille and Falin occasionally walked beside the horses, the two old things walking slow enough that the women had no issues keeping up with them at a brisk walk. Senshi said his legs were too short to keep up and instead enjoyed relaxing on the flour sacks and making small talk.

It turned out that Senshi had traveled all over the world cooking and learning new cooking techniques. Marcille, the most well traveled of all of them, was especially impressed with him and got him to talking about all the far flung places he had visited.

Unfortunately for Laios, not a single monster accosted them that whole morning, even though both he and Chilchuck in front of the wagon were trying to keep a weather eye out for any movement in the brush on the sides of the road.

That is, until they reached a road block just before noon.

Just as they turned a bend in the road, they came upon a distressing sight. Two horses lying dead on their sides in the center of the road, numerous arrows pointing up out of their sides.

Chilchuck pulled the wagon to a stop as soon as they saw them and everyone stopped and stared.

“Those are Gundren and Sildar’s horses,” Senshi said slowly, looking at the two dead horses from between Chilchuck and Laios.

“Sildar?” Laios asked.

“The human man that was with Gundren yesterday morning. His bodyguard,” Senshi explained.

“I don’t like this. This feels like a set up,” Chilchuck whispered, furrowing his brow and barely raising his voice enough to be heard by the two men sitting right beside him.

“Even if we don’t trust it, we won’t be able to get the wagon past unless we move the horses,” Laios said with a thoughtful frown.

“Maybe you could use your magic to move them?” Falin asked Marcille.

Marcille fidgeted with her cape, tugging on the silky red ribbon at the front. “I couldn’t use mage hand to move them, they’re too heavy. I can only manage ten pounds at most.”

Laios sighed and jumped down from the wagon. “I’ll go investigate and try to move them. You guys take cover and let me know if you see anything, okay?”

Everyone nodded except Senshi who climbed down from the wagon, as well. “I’ll help ye,” he said gruffly. “Moving the horses will go faster if we work together.”

Chilchuck jumped back into the wagon and took cover behind a barrel, drawing his shortbow and knocking an arrow, his keen brown eyes scanning the thick foliage on either side of the road. Marcille also drew close the wagon, crouching down by a wheel and clenching her staff in both hands and looking a little seasick. Falin, however, stepped out front holding her mace menacingly in front of her, the sharp metal edges at the top glinting dangerously in the dappled light through the trees.

Laios tried to approach the horses cautiously, but his armor clicked and rang out as he walked. Senshi was quieter, but much slower. As they approached the horses, Laios agreed that they were the same ones he had seen Gundren and the human man riding yesterday morning. Even the tack on the horses was the same. Examining the blanket and saddle, Laios also noticed that the saddlebags of both horses were open, the insides looking dark and empty.

“I’ll take one set of legs, you take the other,” Senshi said, approaching the back legs of the pony.

“Wait, Senshi. Does it look like their saddlebags have been looted?” Laios asked, pointing at the bag he was looking at on the bay mare.

Senshi barely had time to make an inquisitive hum before the sound of a twig snapping behind him sent him and Laios turning just in time to see a small green creature sneaking through the underbrush with a small rudimentary bow drawn on them.

“LAIOS, LOOK OUT!” Falin shouted, pointing her mace at the goblin who had just startled them both.

Before either of them could react, an arrow was fired at them from the opposite side of the road, arching straight at Laios’ back. A flash of incredible burning pain lanced through his back, the pain so incredible that his vision fuzzed and blurred for a moment. He put his hand to his shoulder and felt hot blood against his fingertips, the soft wood of a small arrow sticking out of his back.

Beside him, Laios heard Senshi grunt and turned his head to see his new friend pierced through with an arrow, as well. Senshi was reaching out to touch a small arrow fletched in black feathers that was protruding from his upper arm, dribbling bright red blood.

“Laios!” Falin shouted again, her voice cracking on his name in a way that made his already racing heart stutter in his chest. Then, Falin quickly shouted a word that made Laios ears ring, her hand tracing a strange pattern in the air, before a flame-like radiance shot down from the sky at the goblin they had first seen.

Just as the light flickered in the air, Falin’s magic building above the goblin, the creature dodged to the side, missing the blast of sacred energy by a hair’s breadth.

The little green man growled, his voice high and stringent, making him sound like a saw working through a green piece of wood. Popping up from his rolling jump, he ran at Laios, a short chipped scimitar appearing in his long fingered hand.

Laios watched the blade come at him as if in slow motion, the goblin’s mouth fixed in a vicious snarl, his thin dark hair flying out behind his bulbous head. At the last second he leaned back out of the way of the strike and drew his own sword, his hand sure on the grip through hours and hours of training.

Behind the first goblin, yet another one appeared, this one also wielding a rusty damaged scimitar. It dodged around Laios, who was still engaged with the first goblin he had seen, and went straight for Senshi. Senshi, who had just yanked the arrow from his arm, threw up a hand desperately to protect himself from the attack, but still suffered a grievous wound across his arm that sprayed blood across the dirt road.

With a grunt, Senshi raised his greataxe high above his head. The goblin, still grinning in glee at landing a hit on the dwarf, didn’t see the axe coming until it cleaved his skull cleanly in half.

“Great job, Senshi,” Laios gasped, raising his own greatsword up at an angle to swipe at the goblin he was facing off with.

His own sword, heavier, longer and carefully maintained, carved through the small body and brittle bones of his attacker like a hot knife through butter. The goblin collapsed in a bloody heap with barely a whimper.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Laios could faintly hear Chilchuck saying from over by the wagon.

An arrow flew from the wagon where Chilchuck was hiding, fired into the bushes where the first two arrows had been shot from.

Laios barely had a moment to process that Chilchuck had joined the fight before another arrow flew, this one decidedly not from Chilchuck, and struck him right in the neck. Laios hit the ground in a spray of dirt, blood welling from his neck. In a matter of seconds his body began to feel cold, his eyesight blurry, his heart sluggish in his chest. He could hear people calling his name, but it all sounded far away.

Time became smeary around Laios. He could hear people shouting, see movement in what little he could still see, but the sound of his own struggling heartbeat took up most of his awareness. He could feel the blood pump out of his own body with each squeeze of his heart, smell the salty copper of his own life spilling out onto the uncaring forest floor.

Then, familiar hands are yanking the arrows out of his body. He could feel the flesh tear and give away under the new violence, but no pain came. He felt cold, so cold. Those same hands pressed tight against his back and a rush of warmth and pain pulsed through him, like unseen hands were yanking his flesh back in place, knitting the holes closed with fury, his body put back together none too gently, but put back together none the less.

Laios gasped as he opened his eyes and they focused on the scene around him. Falin was kneeling over him, her hands still stained with his blood, two bloody arrows discarded on the ground nearby. Senshi was laying on his back beside him in the blood soaked dirt, an arrow sticking out of his chest.

Struggling, still feeling dizzy from blood loss, Laios climbed back to his feet, picking his greatsword up off the ground.

“Thanks,” he whispered to Falin as he stood up between her and the two goblins still hiding in the brush.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she said around teary eyes.

“You’ve got to get them out of cover!” Chilchuck shouted as he shot another arrow into the underbrush that the arrows were coming from, though from the sound he didn’t hit anything.

Another arrow flew out of the bushes, this time aimed right at Falin, but pinged the chain mail under her robe and fell uselessly to the ground by her feet.

“Ouch,” she grumbled, rubbing the spot on her chest.

“Did that thing just hit you in the boob?!” Marcille shrieked from near the wagon.

“Uh?” Falin responded uncertainly.

Marcille shouted something in a language that Laios didn’t understand and gestured with her staff. Three darts of light flew from her staff to the bushes, igniting them with pale blue light followed by a sound of agony and a wet thump as something hits the ground. Shortly after, the sound of fast footsteps receding into the woods could be heard.

“Whoa,” Laios said, his eyes huge as he turned back to look at a still panting Marcille, her staff still held out in front of her.

“Did the last one just run away?” Falin asked faintly.

“Forget that! Heal Senshi!” Chilchuck shouted, already crawling over the seat of the wagon and hurrying over to where Senshi was still laid out on his back.

“Oh! Right, of course!” Falin exclaimed, falling back to her knees and pulling the most recent arrow from where it had buried itself in Senshi’s chest. Falin spoke some strange words and traced a symbol on Senshi’s skin. A faint warm yellow glow emanated from her hands where she pressed them to Senshi’s torso and the wounds steadily closed, the blood marching backward back into his body as the puncture wounds pulled back together.

Senshi grunted, his unfocused eyes finally seeming to see them, tracking Falin and Laios and Chilchuck as he ran up to meet them, Marcille trailing behind.

“Did we find victory?” Senshi asked with a harsh groan as he pushed himself to sit up, Laios’ hand on his shoulder to steady him.

“We’re alive and they’re mostly not, but I don’t know if you’d call that victory,” Chilchuck said wryly.

“That was terrifying,” Marcille gasped with a hand to her chest. “Is this really what you two do for a living?” Marcille asked with a concerned look at Falin who only shrugged.

“Usually with less dying, but yeah mostly,” Laios said with a shrug of his own.

“Oh, my god,” Marcille breathed. “OH MY GOD!” she shouted after a second.

“Shush! Not so loud!” Chilchuck hissed at her. “Just because these goblins are dead doesn’t mean there’s not more hiding in the woods. We need to get out of here before the one that got away comes back with his friends.”

“But,” Laios said, sheathing his sword and turning to look at the dead horses still blocking the road. “If Gundren was caught in the same ambush we just were, then the goblins could be holding him hostage. We need to help him, right?” he asked, turning to the others.

“I agree. If Gundren is in trouble, we must help him,” Senshi said with a firm nod.

“I don’t think so!” Marcille exclaimed. “You two almost died and that was only four goblins! Now you want to stomp into their lair and what? Demand to speak to a manager? I don’t think that’s going to go over very well!”

“But, Marcille. The magic you just used was amazing! With you and Falin helping us, we’ll be able to save Gundren. I’m sure of it,” Laios said with a determined nod.

“Well… About that,” Falin said awkwardly. “That last healing spell kind of wiped me out. If someone gets hurt again, I won’t be able to heal them.”

“… Oh,” said Laios, caught flat footed by that thought.

“Yeah, ‘oh’,” Chilchuck sighed. “And, I’m too old to go charging into danger unprepared. The two of you aren’t all the way up to snuff either. Why don’t we take this wagon the rest of the way to Phandalin and then come back to investigate? At least that way our two mages will be at full power and you two will be back to full health.”

Laios looked down at the ground, at the two goblins crumbled and bleeding into the dirt, at the two horses still on their sides in the middle of the road. At the blood still crusted into his sword’s blade and his chain mail, still matted into Senshi’s beard and on Falin’s hands and knees.

“Okay,” he said finally. “You’re right. Let’s to Phandalin and come back tomorrow.”

There were mumbles of agreement as Chilchuck, Marcille and Falin went back to the wagon and Laios and Senshi turned back to their original goal of dragging the horses off the road.

“Do you truly think the goblins took my uncle?” Senshi asked as they stood up from pulling the second horse off the road.

“I do,” Laios said. “Horses have a lot more value to goblins than humans or dwarves do. They use them as pack animals and sometimes eat them. If the goblins shot your uncle’s horse, then they wanted him in particular. And, if they wanted him for some reason, then there’s a good chance he’s still alive wherever they’re hiding him.”

Senshi gave Laios a long calculating look before nodding slowly. “Thank you, Laios,” he said gruffly, before turning and walking back to the wagon.

Laios scratched his head for a moment, not sure what he did to deserve thanks. Whatever the reason, at least Senshi seemed reassured.

[prentissvest]

why did you let me love you?

y/n x Jennifer jareau

warnings- angst, cheating, toxic JJ. knife

not spellchecked

Late a warm summer evening i sit on the balcony waiting for my wife to come home, its been months since we have sat down and had a full conversation ever since the bau began collaborating with the police i haven't seen her nearly as much and its chipping at me slowly. I know that the cases can be hard to digest and it is likely easier to talk with her co-workers rather then her wife about the horrors she sees each day but i wish she would talk to me, not even just about work i just wish we would talk.. About anything. 

Jennifer usually  shows up after I have fallen asleep and is gone before I wake up. I dream of the mornings that I used to love..

My eyes slowly flutter open as I feel the soft hands of my wife combing through my hair,  looking up to see my beautiful wife looking down at me, her charming emerald eyes looking into mine. “Good morning my love” she says with a hand on my cheek and her other arm around my waist. JJ begins to get out of bed and I follow not too far behind. ‘’You look beautiful in my shirt” JJ says looking me up and down, my cheeks begin to pinken with blush as she wraps her arms around me.

I begin to cook breakfast, pancakes with fruit and cream. One of JJ’s favourites is the smell of cooking blueberries floating through the air. 

I now walk to my freezer and grab a frozen pancake. I'm now running down to my last few but JJ made this batch, it's just not the same when I make them. I place the plate in the microwave and watch the pancake spin. The timer moving agonisingly slowly and my patience wearing thin but half frozen pancakes doesn't sound too great right now.

I hear the door handle to my apartment turn. I grab the knife which had laid near my side on the kitchen counter and slowly make my way to the door, I walk ensuring not to stand on the creaky floorboards. I look to the door and drop the knife “JJ” i say with relief, i run to my wife and wrap my arms around her happy to see her home safe “y/n..” she says pushing me away “please just leave me alone, i thought you'd have left for work by now” i step back “what do you mean? So you have been purposefully ignoring me the whole time then.” she looks at me with anger “yes y/n we have been over this i don't want you to be near my work” “i don't care about your work Jayje i care about you” i say with sympathy in my voice “no y/n you don't get it, my work is my life and i cant keep switching between you and work” she says her voice slowly raising “no that can't be it you've been working with the BAU for five years but it only became a problem almost a year ago… when you started working with the local police department” she tenses under the weight of my words “did you.. Meet someone new?” I say my hands shaking and eyes beginning to water. 

“Its will isn't it” i say not able to hold back my tears. “y/n..” “no JJ are you telling me that you have been ignoring me, my calls, my needs and my love for the past year all because you have been screwing with Will?” I say wrapping my hands around my waist. “It didn't start like that y/n you have to understand that, we were just working together but the case got hard and he was a shoulder to lean on, i didn't want to tell you about the case because i didnt think youd want to hear about it but he was there y/n i didn't mean to sleep with him i just- my feelings for you.. They changed” “SO WHY DID YOU LET ME LOVE YOU? Why didn't you tell me the truth or talk to me about your problems? I'm your wife JJ.. i think you need to leave or get a hotel or go live with Will for all i care but you are no longer welcome here”

If anyone would like a part 2 please let me know (sorry its so short i hate writing bad about my fav characters)

[twice-inamillion]

Chaeyoung’s Aftercare

Smut and slight angst

Chapter 122-124

Chapter 122:

You and Mina wake up after the crazy experience you both had the previous night. The both of you go ahead and prepare breakfast and have the members come up to the dining table when they get a smell of the food. 

At this point, most of the members are at the table or on the kitchen island serving their side dishes. Mina is with Jihyo, feeding the babies in the living room before joining everyone for breakfast.

Tzuyu asks," Where is Chaeyoung?" You and Mina look each other in the eyes, remembering what occurred. Mina says, "Chaeyoung woke up feeling a bit unwell and doesn't have the energy to get up. I can prepare something for her and have her eat it." 

No one questions her, and they continue with their breakfast. You feel bad about what happened the night before and feel responsible for Chaeyoung's condition.

You try to make her some food that she can digest easily and take it to her. You know that Mina said that she wanted to prep her something, but you wanted to do this for her. 

You take her the food you made and knock; you wait for an answer and hear Chaeyoung says, "Mina unnie, is that you? Come in."

You open the door and see her trying to get up, still naked from the night before, and she tries to use the restroom. She gets up but loses her balance after a couple of steps.

"You did a number on me; you almost broke me." 

"I'm sorry, Chaeyoung, I didn't mean to do it, but Mina… I mean, Sharon forced me."

"Mina does become a dom when she turns into a Sharon. But I think you went too far by shoving it deep in my ass. Didn't you know it was my first time doing anal? Actually, it's the first time I've had a cock inside of me, so you took my virginity last night."

Words don't seem to come out of your mouth as your try to process what she just said. "I took another member's virginity, again," telling yourself.

"Do you know how hard it was to take you inside in one go? Don't even get me started when I passed out when you shoved your cock down my throat. Didn't you see that I fainted?"

"Oppa, snap out of it; I'm talking to you."

"I'm sorry, Chaeyoung; how can I make this up to you?" 

"Well, you can help me to the bathroom; I need to pee. Just be careful with me; my ass is sore, so I'll walk like a penguin."

You laugh when she mentions a penguin because you remember how it's Mina's fault that you are in this situation. 

You hold on to Chaeyoung and notice the dry cum stains running down her legs. Both of you walk to the bathroom, and she steps in and tells you to wait outside in case she needs help.

You wait on Mina's bed and wait for Chaeyoung to call you. Suddenly you hear her whine and say, "Ahh aha, there is still so much cum inside of me. What the hell oppa, who told you to dump so much in me!" 

"I'm sorry, Chaeyoung'!"

After a couple of minutes, she says, 'I tried to get it out, but I can feel it inside of me. I really want to take a bath." 

"Want me to bring some clothes?"

"It's okay; I'll just borrow some of Mina's clothes. Come help me get in the bath."

You open the door and see Chaeyoung holding on to the sink for balance. You put your arm out and walk her to the bathtub. You turn on the knob and wait for the water to rise. She asks you to wash her back, and you do as you are told. 

You keep telling yourself that you need to take responsibility. You take this opportunity to ask her about Mina on who Sharon really is. 

"Sharon is Mina's alter ego. You know how Mina is quiet and shy, well during our trainee day, she would be forced to put herself out there and make up a persona. Sharon is the brave, daring, and sexy one, while Mina is the quiet, shy, and caring one." 

That was something that you also have noticed before, where she would switch wherever you two would have sex with each other versus when she is with the babies. You help her until the end and watch her until she finishes her breakfast. 

After ensuring she's okay, you leave the room and head to see Mina. You ask her if you would like to talk to her in private. 

Chapter 123:

Mina agrees to talk to you privately, and you both go for a walk. You have a small convention and eventually stop and ask her about her "Sharon," and Mina freezes. 

You ask her who Sharon is, and she tells you that she is an alter ego that she made up during her trainee days. She says everything that Chaeyoung told you earlier, and both stories match. "Every time we have had sex, it has been Sharon that has been taking control. I'm not brave enough to do the things she does."

"Mina, I like Sharon, I do, but I'd like to see you at all times. I know you made Sharon this brave, daring, and sexy version of you, but she went too far with how she wanted to treat Chaeyoung last night. I would like you to tone down the ruthlessness of Sharon. It's nice to see you when you're in charge, but I don't think you need Sharon anymore. I didn't want to hurt you or any of your members because of Sharon. I don't want Sharon, Mina, you've grown so much since your trainee days. I mean, look at you now; you're a mother to two beautiful girls; you're the mother to our girls; I don't think you need Sharon anymore. Don't for a second think that you need Sharon to satisfy me or anything like that. I love Mina Myoui, not Sharon." 

Listening to your speech made her feel emotional, and she started to cry. "I didn't like that my alter ego was causing so much try for you and the members. I'm so sorry," said Mina as she cried, holding her and giving her a hug.

"I will apologize to Chaeyoung for what I made you do. I will take responsibility for my actions and try not to rely on her anymore." After comforting her, you both return to the house to talk to Chaeyoung.

Chapter 124:

Both of you go back to Mina's room and see Chaeyoung lying on the bed. Mina says, "Chaeyoung can I talk to you?" 

"Sure, we can talk," as she struggles to sit up. 

"Umm… I want to say sorry for everything I did to you," in a soft-spoken voice. Chaeyoung is confused since Mina never apologizes for her sexual moments when Sharon comes up. 

"What do you mean, Mina."

"I'm sorry that I forced him on to you and asked him to be rough," she said, looking towards the ground and playing with her thumb. 

Chaeyoung sees how hard it is for Mina to express herself and sees the tears falling to the ground. "It's okay; you don't have to apologize and take this so seriously. You know I always liked playing with Sharon and enjoyed our moments together."

Chae then goes up to Mina and hugs her while Mina cries. After a while, they makeup, and Mina returns to visit the babies. You and Chaeyoung stay and thank her for accepting Mina's apology. 

She goes up to you and says, "Don't think you're off the hook, I still want you to use me whenever you want, but Mina can't find out," as she walks to the bathroom. 

Mina walks down the hall and pulls out her phone; her hand shakes when she sees the pictures of the night before. 

[romanestuffsposts]

Hey girly! How was the shows?

I was thinking about what a normal day would look like or night or weekend. Whatever you think would be best ❤️ I haven’t had a lot of structure lately do to a hectic schedule. I really need some papa and daddy routine to help 🥺🥺💕💕💕

Hi there love!

My shows were really perfect! I’m already so excited for the ones next year!! Thank you so much for asking sweets ❤️

Of course I’ll help you, honey! I’m so glad I’m able to do it!

I Hope it gets better now, I’m sorry you had to wait this long for seeing your request written. I hope you understand <3

Enjoy <33

****

Your Daddies always come waking you up together. If they're both home, they go upstairs to your bedroom to gently waking you with gentle movement and sweet words. They found it important to be both there when you open your beautiful eyes

then it's breakfast time. Your Papa either is the only one to cook while your Daddy changes when it's needed or you help him. They usually cook what you asked for breakfast but sometimes they cook when they want to eat.

After that, your Papa goes with you upstairs to change you into your clothes instead of your pyjama, even if your pyjama is the comfier in the whole world. During that time, your Daddy cleans the dishes and the table where you had breakfast.

During the morning, you usually play in your playroom, you draw for your Daddies, you play with your dolls and you create a whole universe in your mind that you love so much. It's a perfect way to start a day.

Your Daddies come to get you when lunch is ready and if the sun is showing and it's not too cold outside, you eat your lunch in the garden, under the warm sun and the beautiful trees leaf. You always help them cleaning afterward.

For the afternoon, sometimes you go in the store to run errands with your Daddies when it's needed or you spend the afternoon on their laps while they work in the office or you went back to playing. Every afternoon is different but you love every each of them.

In the late afternoon, it's your nap time so your Daddies went to you when you weren't with them and you follow them aound the house until you're in the bed. They read you stories and caress your skin to make you feel sleepy. They always stay with when it's nap time so it helps you staying in bed. In hours like that, you want to be close to them because tiredness is making its way to you and you want to be in their arms so if they're not there at nap time, you get up and search for them.

After an hour or so of napping, your Daddies wake you up in the sweetest way which is also your favorite way to woken up. You all go downstairs and while you take your time to wake up with your Daddy on the couch, your Papa is making dinner. They hate when you eat too lately because after your tummy hurts or you digest less well. Your Daddy runs his hands around your body to make you feel safe.

After dinner time, it's your Papa who cleans the table and the dishes while your Daddy tucks you upstairs for a good bath. He helps you undressing and always make sure to add the soaps you want in the water. He massages each muscles and each skin of your body while all you do it laying in the bathtub and enjoying. He can be really playful at some times, for example, while he's wahsing your belly, he would innocently and by mistake slide his finger in your belly button to wash it or he would purposely runs his fingers not so hard on your soles to tickle you or taking his sweet time washing each one of your toes.

Before putting you in your pyjama, he would lie you in the bed and putting your cream on your body which help you relaxing even more under his hands. He then helps you getting dress and carries you down the stairs. It be such a shame to dirty those little feet now that they're clean.

For the evening, it's always cuddle time. Your Papa is already on the couch when you come downstairs and is already searching for something to watch, something you like to watch of course. Your Daddy would sit beside your Papa on the couch and laying you across their legs. Sometimes your feet are on your Papa's laps and other time it's on your Daddy's. But in all cases, your feet, legs, arms, belly and hair are caressed sweetly by their big hands.

If you didn't fell asleep on their laps during the evening, they would ask you where you want to sleep, in your bed or in theirs. They would carry you to the bed you chose and pick up a story you love. They tuck you in bed, give you your paci and a bottle if you asked for one and of course they give your Bucksie. While your Papa is focusing on the words he read, your Daddy strokes your belly or hair to make you more sleepy. They keep doing that until you fall asleep and then get ready to fall asleep with you

[aajjks]

bunny!jungkook you’re family is right here, no need to spend every second with us. you can help me and noah out the tree up tomorrow after my meeting.. look, can go to sleep. we’re not doing anything other than watching a movie while eating junk. noah, grab the sprinkles.. let’s go baby. tell daddy goodnight..

*the next morning*

okay baby, mommy’s leaving! enjoy your breakfast, i’ll see you a little bit later! it’s only 10am i’ll see you around.. let’s say 1.. jungkook, make sure he eats his breakfast and sets for a few minutes before he jumps around and play. if his food doesn’t digest, he’ll feel sick. bye my baby, be good for your dad. i love you. bye jungkook.

*noona in fact didn’t have work but a meeting with the real estate agent. she had a beautiful, three bedroom and three in a half bathroom house on sale. the house contained a huge, beautiful yard, her dream kitchen, large back window that shows the view of the city. she wanted to wait until her son was with her before making a decision. after the meeting she headed home*

noah! mommy’s home! oh boy, what are you doing? you’re drawing? where’s daddy? oh he went to the bathroom, okay. well mommy is about to paint some ornament. jungkook! can you run out and get the tree out if the garage? thanks, we’ll wait here.. noah, mommy went and sat a house! you’ll love this one much more than the apartment! it has a beautiful yard, one big enough for mommy to give you a playground! shh, daddy’s coming! yeah, put the tree over there. jungkook, can you move the couch over a bit? i don’t know about you but me and noah are going to paint some ornaments to hang in the tree. noah, go get the one you made at school! we’re going to put the tree up, paint, the decorate the tree. sound good? okay, jungkook where’s the paint? did you move them? alright, let’s sit down. noah what are you painting? you and me with santa? oh boy.. speaking of which, you need to go see him soon! mommy is going to paint a snowflake.. jungkook, what are you painting?

“I’m of course, painting us together. You know I’m a good painter…. Now let’s wait for Noah to come back so I can teach him about painting. And don’t worry about Santa. I’ll make sure that he comes. I’m painting us when he was just a baby.. pretty cute!!? Right?”

[torturemytummy]

So I’ve been having to go to the bathroom like 3-4 different times (5-6 on bad days) within an hour or two of waking up the past couple of weeks. I wake up to my tummy feeling full and starting to quietly groan. Within 10 minutes or so, the pressure starts building as my bowels wake up, slowly beginning to cramp and churn. So, I get out of bed, and usually the first trip is just to let some pressure and gas out so everything can start moving through me.

As I start drinking coffee and hitting my vape, things start to get more turbulent. By this time I’m usually running my hands in big circles on my belly, waiting for the first big wave to hit. This one is usually the most tame, releasing a little bit of the crampiness and bloat. As I finish my coffee though, things ramp up until I’m clutching my painful tummy, trying to soothe it as it empties the rest out between strained, sickly gurgles that send cramps through my middle.

So what I want is for someone to wake me up, hand me a coffee, and tell me to get into the car. I would probably already need to go by the time I got buckled up. First you’d drive me to a drive-thru because I should really eat something after waking up, because there might be a wait at the diner. My tummy is protesting before we even get there, already so full and rumbling. You get me a nice greasy breakfast sandwich and another big sugary coffee. You can feel how hard it’s getting already while I beg you to help soothe it.

We get to the restaurant and there’s a short wait, but it’s moving fast. You don’t have to tell me I can’t use the bathroom, but you do anyway. The sandwich and extra coffee is starting to make the gurgles worse and the bloat tighter and it digests. We get seated and you order me a classic diner breakfast— eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, hash browns, and, yes— more coffee. By this point it’s getting pretty painful down there and my stomach keeps crying out with long groans as if it’s scared to be stuffed more.

I’ll eat the proteins first, which is less volume, but the gas starts even sooner. The carbs just completely fill out any space that was left. At this point my shirt would probably be riding up over my massively stretched, upset gut. The server comes for the check and you ask her to add a slice of chocolate cream pie. My tummy groans loudly, and the server side eyes us with a surprised look. Two forks? No, certainly not. It’s all me who crams each bite in to my distended stomach.

When we do get back to the car, I practically waddle in and put the seat back, both hands grasping the hard mass that my belly has become, bowels roaring for relief. You put your hand on my belly and the instant your put pressure on it a long, deep gurgle come out with a cramp that leaves me breathless. I can’t help but whine. I feel like I’m going to burst with every rumble.

It’s time to drive home, but first you pull off into the pharmacy. You make me walk in with you, shirt clinging to my loud, bursting belly, to the digestive care isle and pick out what laxatives you’re going to give me. Chewable, you decide, just for the irony of making me put more into my belly. You give me a few to start eating in the car. The pain is almost unbearable at this point. Every breath is shallow so as not to move my swollen insides. I can feel them writhing beneath my hands, bubbles bursting an inch below my fingertips. You tell me we’re almost home, just hold it, though I’m really not sure if I can. And I’m certainly not sure if I can handle whatever you’re going to be feeding my sick tummy next.

[coldfanbou]

You and mina wake up after the crazy experience you both had the previous night. Mina takes a shaker and you take one as while in your room. You go ahead and prepare breakfast and have the members coming up to the dining table when they get a smell of the food. At this point most of the members are at the table or on the kitchen island serving their side dishes. Mina is with jihyo, feeding the babies in the living room, before joining everyone for breakfast. Tzuyu asks” where is chaeyoung?” You and mina look each other in the eyes, remembering of what occurred. Mina says “chaeyoung woke up feeling a bit unwell and doesn’t have the energy to get up. I can prepare something for her and have her eat it.” Everyone doesn’t question it and continue with their breakfast. You feel bad about what happened the night before and felt responsible for chaeyoung’s condition. You try to make her some food that she can digest easily and take it to her. You know that mina said that she wanted to prep her something but you wanted to this for her. You taker her the food you made and knock, you wait for an answer and hear chaeyoung says “mina unnie, is that you? Come in.” You open the door and see chaeyoung trying to get up. She is still naked from the night before and is trying to get up to use the restroom. She gets up but loses her balance after a couple of steps. She says “you really did a number on me, you almost broke me.” “I’m sorry chaeyoung, I didn’t mean to do it, but mina.. i mean sharon forced me” you say. “Mina does become a dom when she turns into a Sharon. But i think you went to far by shoving it deep in my ass. Didn’t you know it was my first time doing anal? You know how hard it was to take you inside in one go? Don’t even get me started when i passed out when you shoved your cock down my throat. Didn’t you see that i was fainting?” Says chaeyoung. You really didn’t have any words that you could say to chaeyoung and only said “I’m really sorry chaeyoung, how can i make this up to you?” “Well you can help me to the bathroom, i really need to pee, but my ass is really sore and im walking like a penguin” said chaeyoung. You laugh when she mentioned a penguin because you remembered how its Mina’s (Sharon’s) fault that are you in this situation. You hold on to chaeyoung and notice the dry cum stain trail that is running down her leg. Both of you walk to the bathroom and she steps in and tells you to wait outside in case she needs help. You wait on Mina’s bed and wait for chaeyoung to call you. Suddenly you hear chaeyoung whine and say “ ahh aha, there is still so much cum inside of me. What the hell y/n, who told you do dump so much in me!” “I’m sorry! Chaeyoung!” You say. After a couple of minutes she comes out and says ‘I tried to get it out but i can see feel it inside of me. I really want to take a bath.” “Want me to bring some clothes?” You asked. “It’s okay, ill just borrow some of Mina’s clothes. Come help me get in the bath” says chaeyoung. You open the door and see chaeyoung holding on to the sink for balance. You put your arm out and walk her to the bathtub. You turn on the knob and wait for the water to rise. She asks you to wash her back and you do as you are told. You keep telling yourself that you need to take responsibility. You take this opportunity to ask her about mina and who sharon really is. “Sharon is Mina’s alter ego. You know how Mina is really quiet and shy, well during our trainee day she would be forced to put herself out there and made up a persona. Sharon is the brave, daring and sexy one, while mina is the quiet, shy, and caring one.” That was something that you also have noticed before, where she would switch wherever you two would have sex with each other versus when she is with the babies. You help her until the end and watch her until she finishes her breakfast. You leave the room and see mina alone. You ask her that you would like to talk to her in private.

What do you ask mina and how is sharon?

I'd like to ask her to try and get rid of the Sharon personality or at the very least tone it down. I'd tell her something like "Mina, I like Sharon I do, but I'd like to see you at all times. I know that you made Sharon to be this brave, daring and sexy version of you, but she went too far with how she wanted to treat Chaeyoung. I need you to at the very least try and tone down the ruthlessness of Sharon. It's nice to see you when your in charge but I don't think you need Sharon anymore. I didn't and don't want to hurt you or any of your members because of Sharon. I don't want Sharon, Mina you've grown so much since your trainee days. I mean look at you now you're a mother to two beautiful girls, your the mother to our girls, I don't think you need Sharon anymore. And don't for a second think that you need Sharon to satisfy me or anything like that. I love Mina Myoui, not Sharon." My goal is to just not have to go through went happened last night again.

[whats-k-popping]

Can you do 25 and 30 for jimin off the are you ok prompts?

I absolutely can! Thanks again for requesting from me!! I hope you enjoy! <3

Pairings: VMin (platonic soulmates) || Yoonmin (Romantic Relationship)

Prompts: "No, I'm starving." || "Yup, I'm right as rain."

Words: 2309 (I said to myself 'it's only three scenes. No way you're going to go over 1500 words' like a liar.)

Warnings: Emeto || Graphic Descriptions of Illness || Romantic Relationship Between Members || Mentions of Skipped Meals (Not ED related) || Themes of Disappointment/Guilt/Embarrassment || Mild Angst

It's hunger. Jimin convinces himself that the growling in his stomach is the result of skipping breakfast. He opted to get a few extra minutes of sleep when he saw that they would be taping a new Run BTS episode.

They never knew what kind of set they'd walk on to, what kind of projects or tasks they'd be asked to complete. They never know how long it will take. So grabbing a few extra minutes when he can seems more important than breakfast at the time. 

But now he regrets it. The episode is easy, as far as episodes go. They're on a traditional set playing new board games. Not a whole lot of movement, which he's grateful for. He's convinced if he doesn't get food in him soon, his stomach will start eating itself. He's already feeling some cramps as his stomach attempts to digest nothing. 

The gurgling noises from his stomach are getting louder, more noticeable. He's thankful the laughter and screams of the other members drown out his noisy belly. 

Jungkook is restless beside him. He's not-so-patiently waiting for it to be his turn. But the turns are long and filled with tasks.  And with seven players, it feels like hours before his turn comes back around. His competitive side itches for a chance to take the lead. He decides to waste time by instigating Jimin, a favorite pastime of his. 

The maknae fidgets and wiggles his way into Jimin's personal space. He takes up space on the dancer's lap and squishes his face into Jimin's stomach. 

"Jungkook-ah, cut it out." Jimin protests quietly so his mic doesn't pick it up. He tries to push the younger member away, but he's become much too heavy in recent years. He doesn't even budge. 

Jungkook's face only adds to the discomfort Jimin feels in his abdomen. And he's worried that with Jungkook so close, the maknae might be able to hear his stomach rumbling. 

Much to his own horror, it's not just Jungkook who hears. 

Jimin hadn't realized that Jungkook's mic was clipped high on the collar of his shirt. When the stomach growls, the sound echos through the studio through Jungkook's microphone. The members and staff alike all listen. Everyone stops what their doing. 

Jungkook shoots up, "Hyung, was that your stomach?" 

Yoongi chimes before Jimin can answer Jungkook. The answer is obvious anyway, "Jimin-ah. Are you feeling okay?" 

Jimin pouts, embarrassed by all the attention directed toward him. He usually loves the attention. But not when it's because his stomach is making weird noises. "No, hyung. I'm starving." He whines, "I missed breakfast and now my stomach wants food." Jimin turns his attention to the director, "But I can wait until we break." 

The director nods, "Okay, let's get through the rest of this game then we can break for lunch. Yoongi-ssi, please roll again. We will need to edit out that whole bit." Yoongi nods and rolls the dice again. Surprisingly, the game is going a lot faster now that they're all motivated by the promise of lunch. 

To no one's surprise, Jungkook wins. The director calls a cut and the members rush to get whatever catered meal their staff ordered for them. Jimin wolfs his meal down, barely even tasting it. His stomach was devastatingly empty. He doesn't care what it is, he just needs something for stomach to digest so it can stop cramping and gurgling and growling on the set. 

It's been an hour since lunch. And his stomach doesn't feel any better than it did before. In fact, it feels worse. The food is sitting heavy. At first he thought maybe he just ate too fast, or ate too much. But it's not making any effort to digest at all. It just sits like a rock in his stomach, waiting for a chance to make a reappearance. 

Jimin's starting to think that maybe it wasn't hunger. He's thinking that maybe his efforts to stay in bed weren't just to get extra rest for the taping. Maybe all the gurgling and cramping was the start of a stomach bug. He hates to admit it, but maybe he's coming down with something. 

They've resumed taping. There's another board game in front of them and Jimin's doing his best to understand the rules. But his attention is elsewhere. His hand finds his stomach and he rubs discreetly, thankful to be shielded from the camera by Jungkook's busy body. 

"Hyungnim," he calls before they actually start playing. "Is this the last game we're playing today?" He tries to sound cute when he's asking, like he hopes the answer is to play more games. He really just wants to know how long he has to sit through the discomfort before he can go home. 

"We have some other games lined up in case this goes quickly. But it will depend on how you play and how much usable content we get." The director answers kindly, not at all offended by the question. 

Jimin hates that answer. It doesn't help him plan at all. But he's appreciative and thanks their director for the explanation. Namjoon takes his first turn. 

The discomfort is quickly shifting to nausea in the worst way. His stomach is churning like it's in a washing machine. He takes slow measured breaths to keep things at bay, but by doing so he's out of touch with the game. He has to be reminded every time it's his turn. He's constantly asking what all the different symbols mean on the board. He's comfortably in last place with no motivation to rank any higher. He wishes this was an elimination type game. He'd like a reason to stop playing. 

"Jimin-ah!" Seokjin finally scolds. For someone who so rudely asked how much longer the taping would be, he's not doing a whole lot to create content for the episode. The oldest vocalist is livid. "The game is not that complicated. Pay attention and do things ARMY will enjoy." He only says what everyone's thinking. 

Jimin pouts at the scolding. He's not mad at Seokjin for calling him out, he's mad at himself for needing it. "Sorry, I'll do better." He apologizes to Seokjin, to all the members, and to the staff. 

The game play resumes. Jimin's trying to pay more attention, ignoring the nausea and the pricking beginnings of a fever. He takes his turns when he knows they're coming. He participates in some jokes with the members. He tries to act cute with exaggerated expressions and gestures. When he's actually paying attention, the game is actually pretty fun. He wishes he could enjoy it under different circumstances. 

But he can only ignore his cramping belly for so long before it calls for attention. It gurgles loudly and air shoots up his chest. Thankfully, he catches it in his mouth and expels it slowly, shakily. But they keep coming. It's his warning. If he doesn't do something soon, he's going to throw up on the set, probably on the game. Jimin needs to excuse himself. 

He bolts up and walks away from the members. "Jimin! Where are you going?" Namjoon calls, annoyed. 

"I really need the bathroom, hyung. I'm sorry." He replies. 

"Are you okay?" Taehyung asks. He's annoyed like the others, he feels like he has to pick up the slack on Jimin's behalf. But he's also concerned for Jimin. He's been very not himself all day. He doesn't know why he didn't ask sooner. 

"Yup," Jimin answers, stifling a burp, "I'm right as rain." Lying seems like the best thing to do. "I'll be right back, I'm sorry." He knows he's going to get the scolding of his life for this, from his hyungs, from the staff, maybe even from PD-nim himself. But all he can think about in the moment is not vomiting all over the set, with so many witnesses.

The director calls a cut, nothing he can do about it. He instructs everyone to take 5 and goes to review the footage they have so far. 

The remaining members huff and grumble about how unprofessional Jimin is acting. They blame the way he ate his lunch, remark that he should have listened to them when they told him to slow down. Hoseok even goes as far back to blame him for missing breakfast. Everything is entirely Jimin's fault. They probably won't have enough content to make an episode. They'll have to reshoot. That will be Jimin's fault too. 

Taehyung and Yoongi share a look from across the semi-circle they are sitting in. Neither of them participates in the blame game going on. As soulmate and boyfriend, the two of them can feel that something isn't right. Taehyung has never known Jimin to so abruptly walk off a set. And Yoongi's been watching Jimin the whole time, he noticed the discomfort. He noticed beads of sweat form. But he was inclined to wait until after the taping to make a fuss about it. Seems that's out of the question now. 

The two Daegu members leave the circle while the other four continue ranting. No one notices their absence, they're all too focused on Jimin's. They follow the path to the bathroom, sharing hypotheses about why Jimin's been acting so odd. They come to a mutual agreement he's not feeling well before they even make it to the bathroom. 

Their suspicion is confirmed when they walk in and see Jimin hunched over the toilet, heaving violently. The sick vocalist doesn't even notice they've entered until their hands are all over his body, moving hair from his face, rubbing his back, patting his stomach, holding his hand. 

In a brief break between gags, Jimin shivers, "TaeTae, Jagi, I don't feel good." He allows himself to be vulnerable with these two. He allows himself to hurt and cry, because they will never be mad at him. He knows he can never disappoint them. He thinks about leaning into one of them, but before he can decide on who, his stomach makes the decision for him and throws him back over the toilet bowl. 

Undigested remains of lunch pour out of his mouth. Jimin chokes on the volume of it all, coughing and sputtering to get every last bit out. "It hurts, make it stop!" He cries, finally deciding to lean against Yoongi. He needs his boyfriend's mature presence. 

"Oh hyung, you're so sick." Taehyung uses a piece of toilet paper to wipe around Jimin's mouth. Even though Jimin is wearing make-up, the unhealthy pallor of his skin is obvious. 

Yoongi runs his fingers through Jimin's hair. "You're burning up, jagiya." He remarks when his fingers graze the singer's forehead. "Why didn't you tell anyone you weren't feeling well?" His deep tones and fluid cadence always sound a bit accusatory, but they are music to Jimin's ears. 

Jimin just cries. Taehyung looks at Yoongi and Yoongi looks back. Jimin makes grabby hands toward Taehyung and the younger vocalist scoots closer. He still leans against Yoongi, but now he's got Taehyung in his arms too. "I'm s-sorry. I didn't mean to get sick. I thought I w-was just hungry. I'm so-so sorry. If I'd known I was s-sick, I wouldn't have eaten lunch. I-It's all my fa-fault." Jimin explains through sobs and Yoongi and Taehyung both realize it's been going on longer than either of them knew. Poor Jimin was suffering quietly for so long. It makes them hold him tighter. 

But Jimin pushes Taehyung away when he feels the need to gag again and returns to his position in front of the toilet. His stomach lurches violently again and a sickly burp is followed by another thick wave of vomit. 

"Taehyung-ah, go tell director-nim that we are done for today. There's no way Jimin can continue. Get Namjoon in on it too, so we can reschedule the rest of the taping. If anyone gives you problems, tell them to talk to me." Taehyung nods and follows orders. He hates to leave Jimin, but he knows it needs to be done. 

Yoongi stays with Jimin, comforting him the best he can. He peppers kisses on the vocalist's sweaty skin and rubs his gurgling belly. "You're gonna be okay, Jiminie. Don't worry. Hyung will take good care of you." He soothes. 

When Jimin's finally empty, he curls into Yoongi for warmth, for comfort, for affection. He feels so sick. "Everyone's gonna be mad at me." He voices a concern that's been on the forefront of his mind. 

Yoongi kisses the crown of the vocalist's head, "They will have to go through me first, Jagi. It's not your fault you got sick." He confirms, "It could have happened to anyone. It has happened to everyone. No one has any room to speak on it." 

Taehyung knocks on the door before walking in. He highly doubts his hyungs are up to anything nefarious given Jimin's current state, but it's always good to check. "Hyungs, we're ready to leave when you two are." 

Yoongi shifts Jimin in his lap, "Ready to go, yeobo?" The rapper asks. 

Jimin looks past Yoongi and makes sad eye contact with Taehyung, "Am I in trouble?" 

Taehyung chuckles, "No, Minnie. Everyone's worried about you and they want you to feel better." He admits, "they want to apologize for the way they treated you today. If you want to hear any apology from them." 

"Well I certainly do," Yoongi chimes in. 

"Hyung, leave it." Jimin begs. "I don't care about the apology. I just want to go home." 

"Whatever you want, Jiminie-hyung. The cars are already waiting." Taehyung reminds. 

Yoongi helps Jimin to his feet and Taehyung jumps in to help support his fellow vocalist's weight. The three of them clumsily stumble all the way to the cars. He'll face the other members when he gets home. 

A/N: As always, thanks for reading to the end! Feedback is always appreciated. And please let me know if I missed any tags or TWs. Please call me out for any errors you notice!

[bonknigirlinthehood]

What he needs to understand

About: Zhongli was about to go to work when you suddenly throw a tantrum at him, forcing him to stay.

Pairings: Dad!Zhongli x GN!Child!reader

Tags/Warnings: Family Dynamics, father-child dynamics, gender neutral reader, Fluff.

A/N: Another Zhongli and his child fluff. Idk how tf i write this in between his smut fic, and somehow i finished this at 4 am in the morning.

Zhongli had fostered many children under his care throughout his years of living, growing them into an adult that will benefit Liyue. And so, he really was thought it will no different from raising you, his biological child, and yet it turns out to be way more, and more difficult, to raise his own child than foster children as he did back then.

It was a fine morning in Liyue Harbor. Zhongli, a Consultant from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, already prepared to go to work. On the dining table there's food ready to eat, but not for him, It's for his child who apparently just wake up when he was about to leave. You opened the door to the dining room, still sleepy, only to find your father already done wearing his shoes.

"Good morning, dear. Breakfast is ready, you should eat first, Ms.Lianyi will come shortly after" He notices your presence and smiles warmly, but there seems to be something with you because he also noticed your sour expression.

"My dear, is there something wrong?, Are you sick?" He asks worriedly, he immediately took off his shoes again to approach you.

"Why didn't you wake me up before you had breakfast, daddy?" You pout at him, your little dragon tail swinging behind you with upset. "You always like this, I want to have breakfast with you too!"

"I thought you still wanted to sleep?, You seem tired so i thought you need more rest" Zhongli wipes your face and stroke your messy hair, He can see that you are pretty upset, but he cannot understand why, considering usually you have no problem with him letting you sleep more. In fact, he thought all children like to sleep more in the morning, so he is a bit confused on why you are upset.

Zhongli was about to ask you when you suddenly hoofed onto him and hug him tight.

"Don't go to work daddy" 

He is even more confused upon hearing it. Why you act like this all of a sudden?, He doesn't understand.

"Dear, why are you suddenly like this?, You know I have to go to work today. I can't stay, besides, your caretaker is about to arrive in few minutes, you should wash and prepare to study" 

"I don't want to study!, I don't want to be with Miss Lianyi today!, I want to be with you today!" Suddenly, you start throwing tantrum and whining at him, making him frown in disapproval. 

"Y/n, you shouldn't act like this, daddy doesn't like it if you keep throwing tantrum"

Honestly, you almost stop when he said that, but you decided you don't want to stop.

"No!, I don't want you to go to work!, I don't want I don't want I don't want!" You start thrashing on his chest, hitting him with your little fist, much to his dislike.

"Y/n, if you don't stop I will be mad. I was already late, I can't have you throwing tantrum this early in the morning-" Zhongli stops, realizing his harsh tone. He cursed himself mentally and continue talking with lower voice, "..tell me what's wrong, my child"

You stop thrashing, burying your face in his chest, sobbing. 

"...don't go daddy..." 

Your father sigh, he really doesn't understand what is happening with you today. Usually you are such a good and obedient kid, eating breakfast with your caretaker and either studying or playing for the rest of the day. Is this matter related to him somehow?, Did he do something wrong yesterday to cause you so much upset?.

He was about to ask you another question about it when a knock can be heard from the front door. Realizing who is it, Zhongli immediately picks you up and opens the door. Your Caretaker is here and her greeting smile suddenly turns into worry when she sees you clinging to Zhongli and he hasn’t gone to work yet.

“Did something happen, Mr. Zhongli? Is little bao sick?” she asks worriedly. Zhongli shakes his head, he then invites her to come inside and explain what had happened.

“I...So little baobao won’t let you go to work, and has been clinging to you this whole time?” 

Zhongli nodded, despite you still clinging tightly to his neck, his hand also didn't stop supporting your body so you won’t fall.

“That’s right...and I honestly have no idea what wrong I did to her to make her this upset...Do you perhaps have any idea, Miss Lianyi?” He asks, He looks a bit sad and confused mixed, but his strong facade almost made it impossible to notice.

“I...I probably have an idea why little Y/n acting like this” she said, not so sure. But Zhongli immediately snaps his head to face her with a curious expression. "May I hear it, Miss Lianyi?, I think as her caretaker, you may know things I, her father don't" there's a bit of glimmer in Zhongli's eyes, eager to know. 

"U-uh...well, Mr. Zhongli, for the times I've been taking care of little bao, I've noticed sometimes, they will always waiting near the window…,waiting for you"

"Waiting for me?" Zhongli raises his eyebrows.

"Yes, I think they were feeling pretty lonely because you rarely at home. You see, you always go to work very early in the morning and go home pretty late at night, causing you two to barely have any conversation. And I think it's pretty normal behavior for children to want their parents to spend more time with them. Little bao must be missed you so much" 

Lianyi was done answering, while Zhongli was still trying to digest the newfound information. Throughout his life, every child he had fostered acted very differently, but neither of them ever had such feelings for him. They are always such obedient kids, always eager to learn and be useful for the world. What was the difference?Is it because you are his biological child?So the bond between you two is different?Zhongli needs to understand this or else he won't be able to understand you more. And as a father, it is his responsibility to be able to take care and understand his own child like the back of his hand.

"...Thank you for the information, Ms. Lianyi, I didn't know Y/n was feeling like that this entire time. I should be more cautious about it." He sighs and looks back at you, who are now sleeping again on his shoulder, probably too tired after all the crying. He puts you back to your bed, and after having a brief talk with Lianyi, your caretaker goes back home, leaving you and Zhongli alone. Your father writes some letter for Hu Tao, notifying her he wouldn't be able to go to work that day and asking her to reschedule all of his appointments. 

It's already noon when you finally wake up, and the first thing that goes into your head is if you are alone again. You jump out of the bed and run to the living room, but your father is nowhere to be seen. You let out a sulky pout and grumble, but then the door to Zhongli's room opens and the man steps out. He is still using his usual attire, just without the coat. Upon seeing him, you feel so happy because he is finally at home with you, but when you just about to leap into him you immediately feel embarrassed and awkward, knowing he was here because you threw a tantrum earlier that day, causing him to be unable to go to work and being forced to stay at home with you.

When he noticed you didn't come to him and just stay still, he approached you with a worried expression, asking what was wrong.

"My dear…,is there something wrong?Are you still mad at me?Do you want to eat something?" 

You fidget your fingers behind your back, your tail hidden between the legs. You didn't dare to look at him, still feeling embarrassed and all despite knowing how soft and kind your father was towards you. And after a few minutes you finally gaining courage to talk to him.

"Daddy..?” you whisper slowly.

“Yes, dear?” 

“I-i’m sorry...i didn’t mean to be a bad kid today...i just..i just…” You cannot continue your words, somehow feel too embarrassed to say it. But Zhongli, being as sharp as he is, quickly catch what you meant and smiles softly. 

“It’s alright, i understand” He caresses your head, his ungloved hand feels warm and soft to the touch. “I’m sorry, I should understand your needs more. I’ll try to make more time to spend with you together in the future”.

You can feel your cheek feel warmer, mix of embarrassment and happiness. Your plump cheeks are now as red as peach fruit. Zhongli pulls you into a hug, feeling the warmth of your body, and the comfortable feeling of the part of his soul being so close to him, heart to heart. He now understands why his late wife was so nervous and scared to leave their only child in his hand despite knowing how old and cultivated he is. She was scared this kind of thing will happen someday, because raising his foster children in fact, are different from raising his own blood and flesh. You are just almost as stubborn as him and she is probably afraid the two of you won’t get along nicely. But as always, Zhongli finds his ways to solve problems.

“Let’s eat dinner at Wanmin Restaurant tonight” He says, and you smile wide, your tail wiggling happily. “Yes, papa!” you giggles, your father can’t help but feel ticklish in the heart at how sweet your smile is. Right, he swore to protect that smile ever since you were a baby.

“But you need a bath first” He clears his throat, and without waiting for your reactions he just scoops you out from the floor and brings you to the bathroom. You whine and just resigned to the situation as Zhongli scrubs your body (especially your tail) to wash you clean. He always told you that young dragons need to scrub their body a lot because they are constantly renewing their skin to make it thicker and stronger, so you need to take a bath everyday and scrub your whole body to clean out the older skin so it won’t pile up. And Zhongli always likes it whenever he is just done bathing you. Your skin looks brighter and smoother, and your tail looks shinier, much to his liking. 

Not to mention how proud he is whenever he gets the chance to show you off to the people of Liyue. They always praise you at how cute and how much you resemble your father, but whenever someone tries to pinch your cheeks he is always quick to hold you back close to him. He sure doesn’t want to let anyone touch his one and only child.

With every passing days, Zhongli always learns something new about you. And even though your little self likes the attention your father gives you, in the future you probably will start hating it, and Zhongli will need another solution to solve your adolescence and puberty. But surely, surely he always enjoys seeing you growing up under his care.

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Winning the Championship Date

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 夺冠之约, which has not been released in EN! 🍒

[ Released on 28 September 2021 ]

The vibrations of my phone rouse me from the tediously long document. After looking at the caller, I answer it hurriedly.

MC: Gavin? Has your mission ended?

Gavin (on the phone): Soon. I’ll be back before the weekend. I should be able to make it in time for that café event you mentioned.

I suddenly recall how I had mentioned this event to Gavin before he left for the mission last month, but...

MC: Sob sob. I can’t go this weekend. I’m producing a new show, so I’ve been busier lately.

Gavin (on the phone): Is it a difficult show?

MC: A little bit... Come to think of it, Gavin, what type of sports shows appeal to you?

Gavin (on the phone): ...appeal to me? Competitive sports with commentators.

Just as I’m hesitating on whether to tell him about the problems I’m facing, someone on the other end of the line seems to be calling for him.

MC: Go and do your thing. I’m not facing any issues.

Gavin (on the phone): Okay. Contact me anytime if needed.

Right after hanging up, Minor knocks on the door and comes in.

Minor: Boss, I’ve made the arrangements for the collaborative filming of “Life’s Limits” with the City Sports and Culture Bureau. As per your request, I’ve selected a group of amateur racing hobbyists. The name list and materials have been sent to your e-mail.

MC: You’ve worked hard.

Minor: Boss, why don’t you take a break? Your dark circles have appeared.

MC: The company competing with us for this project is Light Media, and it’s much more experienced in producing sports shows as compared to us. We can’t let our guard down.

After more than half a month of research, I locked in my decision regarding the filming site - Hurricane Club.

This club is very well-known amongst motorcycle enthusiasts, and often organises competitions for amateurs.

This weekend, the club will be conducting a three-day training, and participants will be guided by professional coaches. There will even be a friendly race at the end.

The competition has a very novel format - it’s a three-person relay.

I intend to search for three photogenic motorists to form a small team. By following their daily experiences throughout the entire process, including their training sessions and the race, I’d produce a story about the team.

Minor: Boss, according to your request, isn’t the best choice Bro Gavin?

MC: That’s true...

During the initial planning stage, the first person I thought of was actually Gavin.

However, he doesn’t like appearing on shows, and was only willing to appear in previous shows because of me.

Moreover, he’s been away for a mission which lasted close to a month, and should get a proper rest over the weekend.

MC: In short, he... doesn’t quite fit the standard. You can leave work for now.

After sending Minor away, I re-focus on the thick stack of materials in front of me.

-

Before the peak hour on Friday, I head towards Hurricane Club in a rental car. While doing pre-filming checks, I answer the phone.

Minor: Boss, the three people we agreed on have set out. I’ve also found a suitable substitute. After careful selection, he’s definitely a top quality choice. I can guarantee that nothing will go wrong! You’ll get to see him once you reach the club! Boss, thanks for your hard work!

Before I have a chance to probe further, the dial tone sounds in the next second.

MC: This fellow is once again acting first before reporting afterwards... there shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Upon reaching the club, I meet up with the three team members we had contacted earlier.

Based on background research conducted by the company, they are generally outstanding, and are very enthusiastic when it comes to racing.

One of them is a young participant called Kelly, who obtained an amateur championship title in the past.

I quickly introduce the details of the shoot to them.

MC: Bro Liu, Xiao Yu, Kelly, thank you all for participating in this shoot. Afterwards, the club will be allocating you to your coaches for guidance. Even though this team was put together at short notice, I hope everyone can have faith in each other, and motivate each other. We also prepared a substitute team member...

??: Sorry I’m late.

A familiar voice drifts from behind me, and I immediately turn around.

Sunlight falls on every step Gavin takes towards me. The pair of eyes looking at me are bright and clear.

Gavin: I’m the substitute team member, Gavin. I’ve kept you waiting, Producer.

-

After the club assigns the coaches and enters the test run phase, I finally digest the “unexpected surprise” of Gavin’s sudden appearance.

I initially think of finding a chance to talk to him privately, but the coaches who arrive one after another leave me with no choice but to retract the gaze which keeps straying towards that figure.

I shake my head, forcing myself to focus on my current task. By the time all the filming angles are checked, most of the morning has already gone by.

Scanning my surroundings, I don’t see Gavin anywhere.

MC: ...where is he?

-

Walking along the racetrack and towards the vending machine, I decide to get a bottle of coffee to fill myself up before looking for Gavin.

Perhaps because I didn’t have breakfast, I suddenly feel dizzy after taking a few sips.

By the time I regain my senses, I’m carried over to a long bench by a familiar force. Meeting Gavin’s evidently frantic gaze, I quickly tug the corners of my lips upwards into a smile.

MC: Gavin, I was just about to look for you. Turns out you were here.

He doesn’t speak. Lifting his hand, he wipes away the thin sheen of sweat on my forehead lightly. Then, a breeze envelops me gently, warm and comforting.

He takes the coffee in my hand smoothly, then retrieves soya milk and a sandwich from the bag in his hand.

Gavin: Eat your breakfast.

MC: ...okay, I’ll listen to Sir Gavin.

I munch on the sandwich obediently, occasionally blinking at Gavin to convey a message which says, “I feel much better, so there’s no need to worry”.

Gavin’s slightly furrowed brows finally arch subconsciously.

Gavin: I heard from Minor that you’ve been working overnight to prepare for this show.

MC: Haha, don’t listen to his nonsense. It isn’t that exaggerated...

Gavin: I also heard that I didn’t fit the standard. What standard did you set?

MC: ...

I clench my fists in secret, condemning Minor from the bottom of my heart for his “heinous act” of betraying me.

MC: I can explain! You don’t like appearing on camera, and your identity in STF is a pretty sensitive topic...

Gavin: Mm, you’re right.

Gavin deliberately elongates his words, as though he doesn’t plan to let the matter go just like this.

Gavin: So what’s your standard?

MC: ...we hope for the motorists to have a certain level of professional competence, to be sufficiently photogenic, and most importantly, to have an enthusiastic heart. But I really didn’t mean to say that you didn’t fit this standard!

Gavin is finally unable to suppress the upward turn of his lips.

Gavin: Once you’re done today, sleep early tonight.

-

The training proceeds methodically, and filming goes very smoothly.

The roar of motors drift from the club’s racetrack, and motorcycles of every hue speed freely along the racetrack.

In the camera lens, two blue and white motorcycles seem to be speeding at the same pace, as though they’d break through the finish line at the same time.

Kelly: Have you ever participated in professional racing?

Gavin: Nope.

Kelly: The way you cornered the motorcycle a few times - you can’t do that with ease without a few years of experience. How did you do it?

Gavin: I just drive often.

Kelly: Let’s find a chance to ride together some time.

Kelly pats him on the shoulder before continuing the training. Gavin walks over to me, twisting open a bottle of water before taking a sip.

Gavin: Is filming going well?

MC: There’s too much footage from the training sessions. I might consider adding a special segment for interviews.

While speaking, I’m struck with an idea.

MC: Mr Gavin, why don’t you have a pre-interview with me to test out the effects?

I lift a bottle of water towards Gavin. 

MC: What made you like motorcycles?

Gavin: I don’t have a precise answer. By the time I realised it, I already liked them.

MC: In that case, are there any motorcycle-related experiences which left a deep impression on you?

Gavin is silent for a moment. He seems to think of something, then chuckles softly.

Gavin: The time it overturned.

MC: Overturned? When did that happen? You can tell me in secret - this will definitely not be disclosed to the public.

Gavin looks at me, and he speaks in a volume only the both of us can hear -

Gavin: [whispers] The time when I rode on a snowmobile with the girl I like.

The snow field in my memories is cold, but the breath at my ear causes the temperature of my ear to rise.

[Note] This is a reference to Snow Mountain Date

MC: [blushing] Cough, that was...

All of a sudden, a clamour from the racetrack interrupts my words. The both of us stand up, only to discover that a motorcycle has overturned on the track.

Many people are standing at the side, and some call out for the medical staff.

Gavin: That seems to be Old Liu. Let’s go over to have a look.

-

Doctor: There are soft tissue injuries to your wrist and leg. Recuperate properly over this duration, and don’t engage in any intense activities.

Bro Liu: What about the competition tomorrow...

MC: Bro Liu, just recuperate. The doctor said that once your injuries are healed, you can still ride motorcycles in the future.

Bro Liu glances at Gavin.

Bro Liu: I guess I must admit that I’m getting old. It’s time to hand the baton to the young.

After contacting Minor and telling him about what happened, Gavin and I leave the hospital.

MC: Bro Liu worked so hard over the past two days. He must have really wanted to participate in tomorrow’s competition...

Gavin: In that case, we’ll work hard together with his effort. This is when the substitute steps in.

-

It’s the night before the competition, and I’m looking through the contents of the edited shoot over the past two days in my room.

After cutting the cornering training, I modify it into a slow-motion feature, then insert a few casual interactions between the team members as embellishments.

But no matter how I edit it, the clip is unable to convey the feelings I hoped it would.

I grab my hair in frustration, unwilling to accept my defeat. I locate the original video, watching it from the start.

The sound of the doorbell interrupts my slightly muddy train of thoughts. Opening the door, I see Gavin standing outside.

Gavin: I saw that the lights were still on in your room, so I came over to take a look. Why aren’t you sleeping?

MC: Gavin...

Hearing the gloominess in my tone, he takes my hand and pulls me over to sit down on the sofa.

Gavin: Filming didn’t go well?

Placing the notebook laptop between us, I play the recording.

MC: For this shoot, I wanted to edit it into a small unscripted story to showcase the competitiveness and fun of being a racer. As of now, the story aspect is going smoothly, and the interactions between people are interesting too. But I think it’s missing something which can grab one’s attention immediately...

Gavin looks at the screen and ponders for a moment. Then, he suddenly asks me a question.

Gavin: Want to go for a stroll? It’s too stuffy in the room. Getting some fresh air might give you new inspiration.

-

Likely to conserve energy for the competition tomorrow, everyone has returned to rest very early, and the racetrack is completely empty.

Gavin leaps onto the bleachers, then reaches out to me.

Gavin: Let’s go for a spin.

He takes my hand, guiding me onto the vehicle. Then, he puts on a helmet for me, teaching me how to grab the throttle and brakes.

MC: Gavin, are you sure this is okay?

Gavin: You can’t go onto the road, but we’re still within the venue. After filming for days, don’t you want to experience it yourself?

MC: I want to!

Gavin sits behind me, two arms securing me steadily in his arms.

Along with the familiar sound of the engine, the motorcycle moves. The speed is incredibly steady, and is just right for enjoying the pleasant evening breeze.

MC: Gavin, can we go a little faster?

Gavin: We can. Sit tight.

A loud roar drifts to my ears, and the motorcycle flies forward like an arrow leaving a bow.

Very soon, the most difficult part of the racetrack appears, comprising of consecutive bends. During the training sessions, many motorists faced many trials at this area.

Gavin grips my hand, loosening the throttle, causing the the motorcycle to slow down.

MC: There’s no need to step on the brakes?

Gavin: No need. Engine braking is enough to reduce the speed.

While speaking, the motorcycle tilts at an unbelievable angle at a turn. Gavin controls the direction with composure, air currents at the side keeping the motorcycle steady.

The motorcycle dangerously yet steadily completes the curved track, returning onto a straight track and picking up speed once again.

Gavin: MC, can you see where the cameras are? That’s the goal. On the racetrack, that’s the only thing in a racer’s eyes.

The sound of wind at my ears seems to quieten down. The moment we charge past the finishing line, I suddenly have a feeling that a full stop has been drawn on the racetrack.

Even after the motorcycle makes its gradual halt, I’m unable to return to my senses.

Seeming to understand my silence, Gavin doesn’t speak. He simply pushes the motorcycle that I'm on patiently, walking slowly.

MC: Gavin, I know what this story is missing. Stirring the emotions of viewers requires the most important thing which can make them seethe with excitement -

Gavin: Winning the championship.

MC: That’s right. All the effort from before is meant for the final sprint towards the goal. Winning the championship is the core of a competitive spirit, and is also what the show’s theme of “limit” is seeking after. But... Gavin, do you think we have a chance at winning the championship tomorrow?

Gavin: Yes. But while we’re improving, others are improving as well. Everyone on the racetrack will be aiming towards victory. The people you selected are very outstanding. Believe in them, and believe in yourself.

MC: Mm, everyone has already worked very hard. When it comes to winning, it’s good enough if they try their best.

Gavin parks the motorcycle properly, then carries me down from it.

Gavin: Go back and have a good sleep. You don’t have to worry too much about the competition tomorrow.

-

It’s finally time for the competition. Seeing the filled audience seats, I feel incredibly nervous.

Kelly: I didn't expect to see so many people.

MC: It’s a Sunday, and the club decided to open the venue to the public as publicity.

I take a deep breath to calm my emotions.

MC: Let’s enjoy the fun of racing to our heart’s content! Shall we do a pre-competition ceremony?

While speaking, I stretch out my hand. Gavin cooperates, placing his palm over the back of my hand. He gives it a gentle pinch, and it feels as though an endless stream of strength is being transmitted.

It’s a sense of security belonging only to Gavin.

MC: Safety first, the competition second. Everyone, all the best!

All the motorists have taken their places at the starting line. Based on prior suggestions by the club, I’ve arranged Kelly to take on the first battle, and Gavin will be the finale.

With the green light signalling the start of the competition, twenty motorcycles which have been waiting for action seem to sprint forward at the same time.

The sound of motor engines causes everyone’s adrenaline to spike, and the crowd becomes immersed in the competition.

I’m positioned closest to the audience seats. This is the first time I’m viewing a competition from such a close distance. Even though it’s an amateur competition, it’s sufficiently astounding.

Xiao Yu makes a few minor mistakes at the bends, causing the team to lag behind temporarily.

Carefully observing the changes on the racetrack, I don’t feel overly anxious.

Because it’d be Gavin’s turn next. With him around, I always feel exceptionally at ease.

I look at Gavin as he waits at the handover area with a helmet over his head. He seems to sense my gaze, and turns around to see my thumbs up.

In the next second, his motorcycle charges into the racetrack.

The blue and white motorcycle courses past the bends nimbly in almost “L” shape movements.

As compared to my experience last night, I can see Gavin’s cornering techniques even more clearly from the audience seats.

Although the camera is unable to capture his expression, it isn’t difficult to imagine his focused and bright eyes from underneath the helmet.

When the competition enters its final round, Gavin has already reached the second place, and there’s hardly any difference between him and the first competitor.

The audience’s emotions are stirred by this intense competition, and the sound of cheers surge forward like a tide.

I find myself being influenced as well, staring fixedly at that sprinting figure.

After the upcoming bend, the goal will not be far.

Unexpectedly, a motorcycle behind suddenly accelerates towards the bend, using its full strength to make a last effort.

However, the motorcycle tilts too much. It’s clear that the centre of gravity was not controlled properly, sending the motorist collapsing onto the track.

At this point, Gavin’s motorcycle is already over half of the bend. He controls the dip of the motorcycle, barely avoiding the fallen vehicle.

Because of this incident, some distance is pulled between himself and the motorist in first place.

On the straight road, Gavin’s motorcycle suddenly accelerates, keeping pace with the motorist in front.

In this moment, time seems to slow down. I hold my breath, feeling as though my spirit has become one with that sprinting figure.

The rustling of leaves, the flapping wings of birds, the yelling of the audience, the checkered flag waving mid-air... all of them gather into one voice-

Announcer: The first place goes to No. 07!

On the big screen, Gavin’s name is listed impressively at the top.

At the final moment, he attained first place with a 0.06 second difference, winning the championship.

Gavin did it!

The motorcycle comes to a gradual halt. Gavin removes his helmet, droplets of sweat reflecting bright rays of light beneath the sunlight.

The smile on his face is sparkling and dazzling, bringing with it the confidence belonging to a victor.

Such a result is both unexpected yet within my expectations.

Gavin turns around, looking squarely in my direction.

He shakes his head casually, which has gotten messy from his helmet, and says two words.

Gavin: We won.

-

The employees push the motorcycles back to the venue. Gavin heads over to the referee’s seat, lowers his head and says a few things before walking to me.

The gold medal in his hand dangles slightly, reflecting a dazzling light.

Cheers from the surroundings grow brighter as he draws closer. Separated by the bleachers, he stretches out his hand towards me -

He leans over the bleachers slightly. As he draws closer, I can detect the scent belonging only to Gavin.

Gavin hangs the medal around my neck, announcing our victory.

Gavin: The champion title - we’ve got it.

My mouth opens, but I have no idea what to say. My body reacts faster than my brain. I stretch out both arms, hugging him with all the strength in my body.

Scorching warmth and the dampness of sweat from the competition linger on him.

Gavin returns the embrace. It’s as though this hug is enough for us to understand each other’s sentiments.

Gavin: I think I heard you cheering me on.

MC: I did it so softly, but you could hear it?

Gavin: Mm, the wind told me. Everything you say - I can hear them.

MC: There’s still one thing the wind hasn’t had the time to tell you. I’ll say it myself right now.

Turning my face to the side, I bring it close to his ear.

MC: Gavin, you’ll always be the only champion in my heart.

🏍 Call and Moments: here

🏍 Art based on this date: here

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[yutahoes]

Different

(Fourth Part)

pairing : Yuta Nakamoto x Y/N

word count : 3.6k words

genre : fluff, angst

The last part of Different. 

One - Two - Three - Four

Yuta was staring at the coffee cup in front of him. Today is the day Y/N and Haru are going to New York, with Doyoung. Although he knew their flight details, he doesn’t want to go to the airport or it might just break him. It might be the last time he can see his son. The last time there’s a connection between him and Y/N. So instead of staying in Korea, where he can stop them, he flew to Japan days before.

The chair moved followed by a screeching sound that made him look at the girl occupying the chair in front of him. "You look stressed," Mika commented while removing her sunglasses and placing her bag on the chair beside her. "Where’s Y/N? Haru?" 

He smiled. Funny, she would ask that. “They’re going to New York.” He mumbled then drank the contents of the glass. 

Mika asked why and he shared about the procedure and the high chance that Haru can get treated in another country. “And you just let them go?” The question startled Yuta. “Your son is sick, his mom must be stressed out right now and his dad just abandoned them.” She continued with a scoff. 

"I don't know what to do, Mika. I'm really lost." He confessed. “I can’t do anything to save him. And everyday becomes harder. I’m scared that one day, Haru will be gone.”  

"Because you're always such a coward, Yuta" She claimed that made him look at her. What? "You're scared to get hurt. Isn't that the reason why you married me? Because you're scared that my parents might hurt you if you don't fulfill my promise. Look at us, we're not even happy with each other." Yuta nodded, that might be the case. "Isn't that the reason why you never told Y/N your feelings?"

The guy glared at him and Mika just looked happy at what she claimed. “If it’s hard for you, then what about Y/N? She doesn’t want you to save your child, she wanted you to be there for your child.” Yuta smiled. Mika makes sense and it amazes him that the girl he protects when they were young is telling him these things. “Go to them. I never divorced you just to be miserable like this.” 

“Thank you, Mika.” 

The girl smiled. “Don’t thank me. You should have been with her from the start so please, tell her that you’re in love with her since junior year and that Haru isn’t a mistake.” Yuta chuckled, nodding at her. “I have another meeting but here’s a present for you, it might help cure Haru.” She handed him an envelope before leaving the coffee shop. 

Yuta brushed his hair when he read the contents of the paper. A way to cure Haru. He does need to go to New York. 

But New York is a huge place, he thought. How can he find them in this place? The answer came when he accidentally saw Doyoung while searching for hospitals. The only conversation they had was when Haru introduced the two of them, he didn’t know that he was dating Y/N back then. Now, it feels awkward to be in front of another guy who liked the girl you love. “Haru will be doing a chemotherapy session here and then they might go back to Korea and continue the treatment.” The doctor's voice became quieter, “He might not live for a year.”  

Yuta nodded. So his son’s sickness is that severe already? He was aware that cancer in his blood is spreading to his body, the reason why chemo is essential to help him survive. But less than a year to live? Haru is still young. He can still do a lot of things in his life. Y/N might have a lot of dreams for him. Yuta handed an envelope to Doyoung and waited until he can digest the information written on the paper, “Will this save Haru?” 

“Giving him a sibling?” Doyoung asked then nodded. “It’s a fifty-fifty chance and the chances are high if they have the same DNA.” So it is indeed possible. All he had to do is ask Y/N to have a child with him. But that is the most difficult task. “Yuta, if you’re doing this for just Haru please don’t. Haru will just feel bad that he had to use a sibling to save himself. And Y/N wouldn’t like it.” 

He sighed. “I’m sorry. All I wanted to do now is save Haru. I know you and Y/N are together but….” 

But Doyoung laughed. "I don't know how much she told you but I was rejected when I proposed to her." They're already at that point in their relationship? "Don't make her feel alone again, please." He suddenly felt bad, why did she reject him when Doyoung is obviously in love with her? “This is their hotel,” he said while slipping him a piece of paper. "Haru has a session tomorrow morning. He will be happy to see you." Yuta nodded which made Doyoung smile. 

His first step to being brave for his family. 

"Appa!" Haru called, running to where he is. Yuta gave him a big hug then carried the younger boy in his arms. "Why are you here? I missed you." 

Yuta laughed then ruffled his hair. "I missed you too." He gave a timid smile to Y/N. "I have to be here for you." Haru nuzzled his head on his neck, whispering that he's glad he is here with him and that he's not too scared now. It was Haru who kept on telling him about what he saw in New York, even memorizing the way from the hotel to the hospital which made Yuta's heart hurt. Will this be happening often? 

The younger boy greeted everyone in the hospital, even introducing Yuta to some nurses and doctors. Y/N was only following close by. They stopped outside a room with oncology written on it. Cancer. It really is severe. A man came out of the room and Haru smiled, calling him 'Doctor Johnny'. "This is my dad." He introduced and he smiled at the doctor attending Haru. "I'll be inside. Appa, can you get eomma something to eat?" Yuta lightly glanced at Y/N before nodding at Haru, ruffling his hair once again. 

Haru went inside the room with Johnny after saying goodbye to his parents. "He's going back right?" Y/N nodded, smiling timidly at him. "Let's get some breakfast." 

It feels awkward sitting in front of Y/N in a hospital cafeteria but Yuta was sure that this is what will happen if the treatment continues. He never took her on a date before and now, they're just eating breakfast in this crowded place instead of a diner. "His hair is thinning out." Yuta started, feeling the soft strands on his fingers. "Doyoung told me about the sessions." 

Y/N nodded, rubbing the lips of her cup. "He might not live until his birthday." A heavy sigh escaped Yuta's mouth. "I don't even know what to do. I'm not prepared to lose him." No one is. But she is the most affected of all. "He's everything I have. I honestly don't know what to do without him, Yuta." He held her hand that was above the table. Honestly, he doesn't know what to tell her. The feeling of being useless came once again. Mika is wrong, she doesn't need him. 

"Thank you, Yuta." He gave her a questioning gaze. "For bringing me Haru." There was a small smile on her face as if thinking deeply. "When I graduated, I didn't know what to do. When Haru came, I was so scared at first but he gave me direction in life. He gave meaning to my life." Again, she smiled at him. "Thank you, Yuta." 

He gave her a small smile, rubbing a thumb on the back of her hand. "Y/N, I have to tell you something." He sighed. "That night wasn't a mistake. I knew you were at that party and I followed you upstairs." She listened attentively as if recalling that night. "I regret it when you left me that morning. I should have woke up early and made you stay." 

A gasp escaped her throat. "Why? We don't know each other." 

"But I like you since junior year." Y/N’s eyes widened at that which made him chuckle. She’s just too cute. “I lied to Haru, I didn’t saw you first in school. It was at a bus stop during junior year.” He can see from her expression how she was thinking deeply of it. “It was raining and you gave your umbrella to an old lady. You helped her cross the street and you return to the shed dripping wet from the rain.” He smiled at the memory of the younger Y/N, walking in the rain and looking like a real angel. “That was the time I started liking the rain.” He said more to himself. “I started to like you.” 

“But Mika…”

Yuta smiled timidly. “I thought I love Mika but it’s just the feeling of comfort.” He had known Mika since they were young and she had been there for him. It’s a dick move but he married Mika knowing that he won’t be alone. In the end, they just hurt each other. “I’ve been a coward in facing my feelings, Y/N. If only I’m braver, Haru wouldn’t get hurt this much.”

Y/N shook her head. “Thank you, Yuta. For being here for Haru.”

“I’m also here for you.” He held her hand tighter. “If it’s alright with you, I want to watch Haru grow with you.” He kissed the back of her palm. “Let’s start over, not only for Haru but for the two of us.” 

The girl smiled, tears forming on the corner of her eyes. She nodded that made him grin. 

----

Haru’s first reaction when he exited the room of his doctor is excitement seeing his parents holding hands. Y/N and Yuta didn’t say anything but the younger would stare at the two in glee. Y/N would always note that he looked brighter now that he is here and Yuta would only smile. The younger had fun exploring some places in New York and eating foods that they can see only in the city. Because of tiredness, he was already sleeping while leaning on his mother’s lap. 

Yuta helped carry him up to their hotel room, even kissing his forehead before muttering a ‘Goodnight’. "What time should I pick you up tomorrow?" He asked, standing in the doorway of their hotel room. 

"Do you want to stay the night instead?" The guy had to stare at her in surprise. "We need to be in the hospital early tomorrow, it's a hassle…" 

"Will that be alright?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Me staying the night?" 

Y/N nodded nonchalantly that made him nod. "I'll fix the other room for you." But he insisted that he'll just sleep on the sofa. "Are you sure?" Yuta nodded, smiling at her. "Do you want to drink, though?" She disappeared to the kitchen that made him smile. Funny, she would ask that. 

Yuta followed him to the small kitchen as she bent down to look for something on the minifridge. The moment she stood up, with two soda cans on hand, he hugged her from behind. "Please don't get drunk." His hand held her tighter. "You get wild when you're drunk." He chuckled at the memory, "And you get drunk with just a can of alcohol." 

She turned around in surprise. "You still remember that night?" 

He smirked, his hands held her waist. "You smelled like flowers." Unconsciously, she sniffed herself which made him laugh. His hand went to her hip, tracing a certain spot. "And you have a small butterfly tattoo here." A gasp escaped her lips. "You can't really remember anything?" 

"I was so hammered that night, okay?" She revolted that made him laugh. Of course, she is. Her hands went to his shoulder, sliding down his torso. "Yuta…" 

"You're not drunk, are you?" 

She shook her head with a smile. "I like you, too." Y/N stared at him. "You're always there for me and Haru and it hurts me before knowing that you're only here for Haru. I thought you'll be gone when Haru leaves me as well." 

His same dilemma. Yuta leaned in, wrapping her in his arms. "No one is leaving you, Y/N. I'll be here for you, Haru as well." He held her cheeks, raising her head to look at him. "We will save Haru and the three of us will be a happy family together." The tears on the corner of her eyes were back, his thumb rubbing her heated cheeks. "Can I, Y/N?" 

She nodded before he leaned closer to her, placing his lips to hers. A soft kiss. She moaned when he sucked her bottom lip, igniting some fire inside him. He held her by the waist, wrapping her legs around his hip. "I'll make you remember that night." 

------

Every day is the same routine, going to the hospital in the morning and spending afternoons with Y/N and Haru like they're on a trip. The younger had shown positive results with the treatment that they returned to Korea after the second month. Mika visited the hospital once, giving Haru different stuffed toy dinosaurs much to his delight. Even Yuta's parents visited him and he had fun spending the whole day with his obaasan and oujisan. Jiwon is a frequent visitor, even teaching him the lessons he missed for school. 

Haru's hair got thinner and he'd been vomiting a lot, a side effect of the chemotherapy. They're only thankful that he's getting more cheerful. A premonition that makes Yuta nervous. 

In the third month, there was incessant vomiting not only for Haru but also for Y/N. Yuta felt bad that she got pregnant first before asking her for marriage. For a while, Y/N thought that he planned all of this. But she cannot complain or revolt, this is their last resort in saving Haru.

The younger seemed excited at the thought of a younger person growing inside his mom’s stomach, even noting that he’ll be a great big brother for the baby. “Do you think I can see the baby, eomma?” It must be the hormones, Y/N thought, but she only answered him with a loud cry. “If ever I didn’t, can you just tell the baby that I love him or her?” Haru just smiled wiping her tears and she was annoyed at the fact that he’s slowly becoming more like Yuta. 

In the seventh month of her pregnancy, Y/N was not allowed to see Haru nearby because of the radiation that might hurt the baby. She watched behind the glassed window how he got weak with the medicines injected into his body. Haru kept crying every night, clinging into Yuta’s arms. Yet she can’t do anything to ease her son’s pain. She can’t even hold him in her arms. 

And the stress was too much that she started bleeding early. 

Yuta was panicking, his wife is in labor but he cannot leave Haru. “Dad, what am I going to do?” He asked for the umpteenth time and the older just stared at Doyoung who was seated on the bench opposite Yuta. “Doyoung, you’re a doctor. Do something.” 

The guy sighed. “We wait, Yuta. Your mom is inside with her.”  

“Appa.” They heard a small voice call from the hallways. Haru was walking to where his dad is, followed by Jiwon and her mom who volunteered to look for him. “I want to see the baby.” Yuta smiled, tapping the chair beside him to let Haru sit. “Can we name the baby Hana?” The older nodded, smiling while he gently caressed his already hairless head. He tightly held his hand, thumb rubbing the back of his hand. 

Yuta stood up twice before they heard a baby’s voice coming from inside. His first instinct was to look at Haru’s face. And for the first time since he had been on his medication, he saw the hope in his face. “You’re going to see your sister, Haru.” His grandfather claimed, making the younger smile widely. There was still rustling inside, the sound of a machine consistently beeping. That’s a good sign, he thought. 

The doors of the emergency room opened followed by an incubator dragged outside by a nurse. “Haru, come and see Hana.” Yuta called. Haru hurried to where she is, Yuta carrying him as he touched the glass where his sister is. “She looks like your mom.” 

“She’s so small,” Haru claimed. “Am I like that when I was a baby?” 

“Only your mom knows.” 

The nurse apologized that she had to bring the baby to the neonatal care unit and Yuta agreed, thanking her. Another doctor went out of the room and called Doyoung, she handed him a small tube that had something inside. The doctor looked at Yuta and he nodded before kneeling in front of Haru. “Son, Doctor Doyoung is going to treat you now.” He whispered, holding his cheek. “I want you to be strong for a while.” 

Haru nodded, a tear falling on his cheeks. “I wish I could have hugged eomma or hold Hana.” Yuta wrapped him in his arms. “Please hug them for me, appa.” 

“You will hug them both,” Yuta whispered, looking up to stop a tear from falling down. “We’ll be waiting for you here, Haru.” He tried to regulate his voice to prevent a choke from his throat. “Just listen well to Dr. Kim.” 

The younger nodded, holding Yuta’s cheeks. “I love you, appa. Please tell eomma and Hana that.” Yuta closed his eyes, breathing hard. A premonition. “You can tell them that.” Haru grinned before taking Doyoung’s hand. 

When they disappeared to the hallway, Yuta’s tears fell on their own. He can’t do anything but to wait. Wait for Haru. Wait for Y/N. Wait for Hana. He’s already tired but he’s the only one left to wait for them. When he felt his dad tapped his back, he only cried some more. They were never close, never showed emotion before. “You’re doing well, my son.” He needed to have strength like his dad. For Haru. For Y/N. For Hana. 

He hastily wiped his tears as they attract attention. He breathed hard, calming himself when he heard a loud beep sound created by a machine. 

------- 

“You’re late!” Mika shouted while running to the steps to greet Yuta. “Do you really have to be late today?” The guy gave a heavy sigh before smoothing out his black coat. Another sigh that made the girl in front of him, smile. “Yuta-kun, I’m so proud of you. You’ve been through too much. I wish you can get the happiness you truly deserve.” 

Yuta smiled as the church doors opened. His and her friends were seated on their chairs, beautiful white flowers adore the area. “I am happy, Mika. Everything was all worth it.” He gave her a warm hug. “Thank you, Mika. For everything.” 

The girl shook her head and made her exit as his mom wrapped her arm on his, “I can’t believe you’re getting married again.” Yuta chuckled at that. “She’s such a darling. Please don’t hurt her Yuta.” 

“Of course, I won’t.” 

The song played and as he watched the people they care about walking to the aisle of the church, Yuta can’t help but think back at everything. They should have done this way before and maybe they can be saved from the tears and the worry. But seeing Haru carrying Hana, he didn’t wish everything was different. All the tears made him stronger, made Haru stronger. Now, he just wanted to be a better father for the two of them. 

A smile escaped his lips when Y/N can be seen, next to his father. The tears made Y/N stronger. He remembered how it scared him, losing her. He felt his heart fell on his feet when his mom called him inside the emergency room saying that Y/N isn’t responsive. He repeatedly called her name, whispering that Haru already named their daughter and that he wants to hug her. When she gasped for breath then opened her eyes, he felt the heavy thumping of his heart. “You almost killed me.” But she was only chuckling while tears fall from her eyes.  

The moment he knew he wanted to be with her. Whatever it takes. 

“You can still run,” Y/N whispered when he held her hand. “I won’t stop you.” Yet Yuta just smiled, pulling her closer to him. “Yuta, do you wish we could have met differently?” He only smiled. Weird, he was thinking of that earlier. They really are meant to be. 

He lightly stared at Haru who was quietly watching them. His hair is growing back and he looks healthier for the first time since he met him. Although he still has medicines to take, his life isn’t in danger now. His mom’s dream of him playing with kids his age is slowly coming true. All thanks to Hana.

Hana, on the other hand, was sleeping on his mother’s shoulder. His little miracle. Up until now, he was surprised at how she managed to survive the two months of being in neonatal care. When she was cleared, it was Haru who first held her and they had been inseparable ever since. 

Thinking back, they might be a family of warriors. How are the three of them so strong? 

Yuta smiled, shaking his head before bopping her nose. “I won’t wish for anything different, Y/N. We’re perfect.”   

[britishassistant]

Supervillain AU! I formally request the special addition of Yuu’s first kidnapping please.

Thank you for the ask, dear anon!

“Yoo-hoo, Reporter-chan? Wakey-wakey, it’ll be bad for you if you don’t get up soon~”

Yuu shakes their head groggily, the sing-songy voice not helping the pounding in their temple.

“Did someone get the number of the truck that hit me?” They mumble, blinking to try and get their eyes to focus.

“Dammit Deuce, you gave them brain damage.” A familiar, much more annoyed sounding voice said. “Their head’s gonna be all screwy and useless now, dumbass.”

“It was just a lovetap though!” A third voice, also familiar, protested.

The floor finally stopped moving in front of their eyes and Yuu realized some very important things.

One, the floor they were staring at was not the floor of the library where they last remembered being.

Two: Their arms and legs seemed to be tied tight to the arms and legs of an iron garden chair.

Three: There are many odd-looking people standing near them, all in clothes that are too coordinated not to be a uniform but too outlandish to represent a government group of some kind.

Oh Great Seven, Yuu thinks with a rising sort of hysteria. It’s finally happened.

Clowns have come to take me away for not brushing my teeth enough like Mom said when I was little.

“...Are ya sure you didn’t break ‘em?”

“...”

“Deuce.”

Yuu wonders if they should feel offended at being talked around like this.

“Enough of this nonsense!” A hand seizes Yuu’s chin and pulls their head up to face the latest speaker. An imperious-looking young man stands and walks towards the reporter, clicking his fingers. “Three of Clovers.”

A tall man in glasses hands the imperious young man what Yuu recognizes as their wallet. The shorter man glances at the contents disdainfully. “You. First and last name and age, now.”

“Y-Yuu Radcliffe, 23 years.” The reporter stutters, their initial hysteria morphing into a sinking feeling in their gut. If not the clowns, then... “Can I ask who I have the pleasure of talking to?”

“No.” The redhead holding their wallet snaps. “Current occupation and birthday?”

“Field reporter at TWST local news.” They force themselves to relax the fists their hands have balled into. “March 18th.”

Remember what Uncle Divvy always says. Stay calm, act cooperative, do or say whatever you need to to avoid injury. Any supervillains on this level trying to curry favor with or blackmail the dumb bird will have to go through Uncle Divvy first to contact him, and he’ll take care of the rest.

All Yuu needs to do is keep themselves alive until then.

They still can’t help but dread what they know is coming next.

The supervillain seems to notice their distress, and smirks cruelly. He takes his time walking forward and leaning down until he’s on the reporter’s eye level, hands resting on the back of the chair and eyes flicking over their face, almost as if he’s savoring the moment before he makes their life that much more painful.

Yuu braces themselves as he opens his mouth–!

“What is the best type of tea?”

Huh?

“Wait, what? I don’t—” Yuu asks, backpedalling as the supervillain’s face grows stormy at their lack of response. “Uuh...green tea? I guess? I mean, it’s the one I like the most, but I’m more of a coffee or hot cocoa person, so I’m not the best one to ask...”

The person holding their chin sucks in through their teeth and the annoyed familiar voice outside their periphary snickers “Oooh, busted~”

The supervillain is beginning to go as red as his hair, and the reporter can hear his teeth grinding. His hands are now gripping the back of the chair so tight Yuu would almost swear they hear the metal by their ears creak.

“Ri–Royal.” The man with glasses says.

The supervillain inhales and exhales almost violently, until what’s visible of his face under that mask is looking less flushed.

“The correct answer,” He says, voice trembling with emotion. “Was all teas at their due times. To drink green tea instead of rosehip at breakfast, or lemon tea at 8pm...the nerve of your arrogance is astounding!”

Yuu...genuinely isn’t sure how they’re supposed to respond to that. Instead they just go with, “I’m sorry, I’ve never had rosehip or lemon tea. Do you like them?”

“Do I—?!” The supervillain’s mouth works soundlessly, gradually going red again. He pushes off the chair sharply. “I—the ro—i-it’s not a matter of liking!! These are the Rules!! And the Rules must be obeyed!! Three of Clovers!”

“Yes, Royal Flush?” The glasses man asks.

“The reporter is forbidden from having any montblanc after dinner, and will take two cups of lemon tea at 8pm tonight and two cups of rosehip tomorrow at breakfast.” Royal Flush flashes them a cruel smirk. “Consider it a light punishment for your impertinence.”

Yuu blinks. Tries to make sense of what they’ve just heard.

Blinks again.

“You know if you just wanted to ask me out to dinner, I’d have taken a nice invitation or a bouquet. You didn’t need to knock me out and tie me up like this, I’m not that picky. I do have Tinder.”

Glasses guy makes a choking noise and erupts into a coughing fit.

The hand that’s been holding Yuu’s chin migrates to their shoulder for support as its owner lets out an undignified snort and gasps out something that sounds vaguely like “why wasn’t I recording, that was Magicam gold!” as he giggles. He’s a redhead too, but much more orange than his boss.

There’s a sputter of hysterical laughter that has Yuu twisting their head to see the two guys and the cat from the hydroelectric plant, both with these odd-looking metal collars around their necks, but otherwise unharmed. The talking cat is trussed up in so many ropes that it looks more like a bobblehead, also wearing a weird collar.

The third redheaded one is bracing his hands on his knees, wheezing out a litany of “holy shit, holy shit” between chortles. The dark haired one is holding the cat a confused expression, cutting off his friend’s laughter when he turns to ask, “Ace, what’s tinder?”

The momentary silence lets an odd squeaking noise be heard.

One that gradually grows in volume until it’s an outright screech coming from the supervillain in front of them. He’s so red Yuu is honestly worried about his blood pressure, pointing a shaking finger at them.

“I—YOU—YOU—OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!”

Yuu chokes a little at the feeling of cold metal materializing around their neck, dragging their head down with its weight. The supervillain continues screeching, refusing to even look at the reporter. “YOU—! DUNGEON! RIGHT NOW!! NO DESSERTS!! GO!!”

There’s an awkward moment as Royal Flush turns away from them, as if expecting them to get up and walk out of their own accord while his back is to them.

“...So, does that mean you want them to untie me or something, or...?” Yuu wiggles their firmly bound hands and feet for emphasis.

The supervillian makes a sound like a kettle whistling, before he barks out. “Two of Spades! Ace of Hearts! GET them OUT OF MY SIGHT until they’re WILLING to COOPERATE!!”

The dark haired young man quickly shuffles forward, grabs the back of the chair, and drags it and the poor reporter attached to it out of the room and into the corridor. The metal screeches as it moves from carpet to concrete.

“Wh—Two, no, untie them first.” The man with glasses says, despairing, appearing in the doorway. “You’ll mark up the floor otherwise.”

“Ah! Sorry, senpai!” Two looks between the cat in his arms and the knots on the chair, before shoving the cat into the arms of the redhead who answers to “Ace”. Neither of them look happy with this development.

“Fgnah! Quit squeezing, ya jerk!” The cat protests, wriggling as best it can.

“Oh? What’s that? I’m sorry, I just need to make sure that greatest, lamest supervillain in the city doesn’t escape to go setting random crap in the lair on fire again.” Ace says sweetly, grip tightening.

“Tha’s your fault, an’ you know it!” The cat wheezes out, thrashing harder.

Yuu winces. “Hey, quit hurting him. Whatever he did, he doesn’t deserve this.”

The dark haired minion barks out a laugh as he tugs the ropes away from their right wrist while his redheaded counterpart sneers at them.

“Oh really? Bet you’ll change your tune real quick once you learn it’s thanks to him you’re here in the first place.” Ace of Hearts mocks. “Dumb monster sang like a damn canary when Royal pressured him a tiiiny bit, saying it was all your fault his precious ingredient is now in the sewers.”

“Tha’s a lie!” The monster? cat blurts out too quickly for comfort. “It’s all these two morons, I swear!”

“Why you little—“

“I don’t care.” Yuu cuts in before Two of Spades can hit the animal. “I didn’t destroy that thing, but even if none of you said anything, your boss would’ve found out I was involved anyway from watching my report on it on the news. So I don’t care, just-just quit hurting him.”

There’s a tense moment as the two minions stare down at the reporter. They do their best to meet the gazes without flinching.

Then the Ace of Hearts tosses the cat into their lap as the Two of Spades sinks back down to keep working on their ankle. “Fine. Since you like it so much, you can take care of it. Just don’t expect me to cover for your ass—you still owe me for the power plant.”

“I’m sorry?” Yuu curls their free arm around the bundle of rope, fur, and yowling insults and pulls it closer to them. “Shouldn’t that be the other way round?”

“You locked me in a closet with him!” Ace hisses. “Do you know how hard it was to get out before the cops came with him freaking out and messing stuff up?!”

“Oi.” Two shoots him a dark look from where he’s finished untying the reporter’s left hand. “Like you weren’t whining about us being digested until you knocked a broom over!”

“Sh-shut up!”

“Well excuse me for trying to save your lives.” Yuu bites back, rubbing the rope marks on their wrists. “Next time I’ll just run and let the sludge monster eat your unconscious bodies.”

“It’d save us all the trouble of this shit if you did!” Ace spits, jabbing a finger at his collar. “At least then we wouldn’t be on Royal’s shit list!”

Yuu lets the piece of information they were just given marinate in their brain as they glare at him. Well, now what exactly was that supposed to mean?

“Ngh...this knot won’t come loose.” Two says from by the reporter’s left foot.

“How about now?” Replies an unfamiliar voice, as a disembodied hand pulls deftly at a loop in the rope.

“Ah!” Two of Spades brightens up as the rest of the rope falls away. “Thanks a lot—”

The disembodied hand punches him in the face.

Yuu cries out in alarm at the sight of the minion falling backwards into the Ace of Hearts, knocking him down like a bowling pin.

A pair of clawed hands are then scooping them up, extra cat and all, and the reporter finds themself looking at the unsettlingly wide smile and purple cat ears of one of the city’s top heroes, running at full speed while sharpened playing cards whizz past his face and Ace calls out behind them “Senpai! It’s him again!!”

There’s a percussive boom somewhere in the distance, and screams of how the flamingos are loose as the hero winks down at Yuu. “Seems you’re a popular one today, kitten! But let’s get you back to where you where before you were so rudely catnapped, yes?”

“Not so fast, hero!” The orange haired guy choruses from the entrance to the staircase, and—from behind them as well?

The reporter’s heart sinks as more and more versions of the minion keep popping up around them, to the point where the hero is forced to stand on the bannister of the balcony they’re on.

And based on the fact that the hero hasn’t used his invisibility? Intangibility? powers, it’s likely that he can’t use them while holding Yuu and the cat.

They’re surrounded.

“You really can’t keep your paws out of anything that’s mine, can you?” Royal Flush’s tone is clipped as he glares up at the hero.

“Hey R-kun, Three-kun!” The hero pouts, hugging Yuu closer to his chest. “I come a~ll this way to play, only to find you’ve got a nyew toy you’re already playing with without me! How mean! You guys really are cruel!!”

“We’re sorry about that.” Three of Clovers says, edging closer. “If you just hand the reporter over to Four, they’ll be put away and we can all “play” together, no distractions. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

The hero makes a deliberating noise, holding Yuu out and away from him over the drop, tilting his head this way and that.

His grin grows unsettlingly wider.

“Look, R-kun, Three-kun!” The hero calls out. “Nyo hands!”

Wait, what—

The hero’s body vanishes.

Yuu and the monster cat plummet screaming past the illogically winding staircases of the evil lair.

Yuu tries to angle their body so that the frantically crying cat will be shielded from the brunt of the fall—!

“NO!!”

There’s a sound like glass shattering, and a feeling of being enveloped in something soft, cold and buoyant. The two of them bounce a few times and land back on it more gently each time.

Yuu cracks open their eyes to see that they’re seated on a strange, red, jelly-like mass. The cat in their arms tentatively sniffs, and then lunges to take a bite out of their cushion before the reporter can stop him.

“Shtrawberry?” He says through a full mouth. “Tashtes good!”

The reporter grabs him before he can go for another bite, a little thrown by his speed now that collar isn’t weighing him down. But where did this thing come from–?

Yuu looks up.

Royal Flush is leaning dangerously far over the balcony countless flights of stairs above them, one arm outstretched down towards them.

They stare at each other for a moment.

Then clawed hands fasten around Yuu’s waist again with a cheery “Nyow wasn’t that fun?” and Royal Flush visibly tenses and begins screaming things after the escaping hero that are barely legible through his rage.

The hero deposits them both outside the TWST news station with their wallet and phone back in their pockets. He at least helps them untie the monster cat, who promptly declares he just let them protect him, and scarpers.

Of course the hero is gone too when Yuu turns back around, before they can ask him what the hell he was playing at, dropping them like that, was he insane?! If Royal Flush hadn’t interfered...

The reporter has to fight the urge to lose their lunch.

Their boss rushes out and envelopes them in a surprisingly powerful hug, the woman almost lifting the reporter off their feet as she babbles about whether or not Yuu needs a hospital after getting kidnapped by one of the seven major supervillains.

Yuuken is quick to join the embrace with a bear hug of his own. He pulls back, fingers prodding gently at Yuu’s bruised temple and declaring he’ll drive them to hospital to make sure they don’t have a concussion.

He graciously waits until they’re in the car to ask why Yuu smells so much of strawberries.

The reporter can only give a half answer, partly because they don’t want to worry him, and partly because they have another question of their own buzzing incessantly around their brain.

Why was Yuu kidnapped in the first place?

Royal Flush never even mentioned Crowley, despite all the chances he had to do so. Not even an oblique or confusing metaphor or code. Does that mean he’s ignorant of the connection between Yuu and the League?

But if that’s the case, it circles back around to the first question: why kidnap Yuu to begin with?

Somehow the reporter doubts it was to just ask their tea preferences or invite them to dinner.

Those minions referred to that monster as Royal Flush’s “precious ingredient”. Ingredient for what? Is there something that Royal Flush thinks they witnessed that’s integral to a scheme? Did they witness something and just not realize it’s significance?

Yuu’s reporter senses are screaming that there’s a deeper story to uncover here. Yuu’s common sense is screaming that investigating the dangerous plans of the supervillain they’ve just escaped from is a terrible idea.

Though he could have just...let them fall. But he didn’t. And won’t he just kidnap them again regardless?

...

This is a terrible idea.

But if Yuu’s common sense was stronger than their reporter senses, then they wouldn’t be in this city in the first place, would they?

[copias-thrall]

How would Mary goore react to hurting someone he genuinely cares about? I absolutely Love your writing!💕

Hello, nonny! Thank you, I love this ask!

This was going to be  alist, but it got away from me! 😅 

Enjoy 😘 

It wasn’t anything big.

Just a few of Mary’s favorite beers (the craft kind—not the shitty beer he drank on his shoestring budget), some of that chronic shit you’d scored and have been saving for a special occasion, and a VHS box set of horror movie classics.

***

Mary comes in and out of your life at will, and that was something you accepted—knowing he was As Is or not at all. And honestly—no, really—you liked that. You had your own shit going on, and being Mary’s expected caregiver was NOT something you wanted to add to that list.

(If someone else wanted to try to tame him and pick up after him, well…kudos to them. Less work for you.)

Mary showed up on your pivotal days and he rubbed your feet and always invited you out to trivia. You'd held him when he was coming down from a bad trip and listened to his grievances and gave him a place to stay when he was persona non grata at his own. And in a way, that made you always feel like #1 in Mary’s world…and that was good enough for you.

***

A few months ago, Mary had been lying on your couch, picking the label off his beer bottle.

“I’m gonna be away for a bit,” he’d said.

“Oh?” you’d responded as you’d mashed the controls on your gaming controller.

“Yeah. I mean, I’ll be around…but I got some shit going on.”

You’d paused your game.

“Bad shit?”

He’d waved you off.

“Neg. Just tryna get myself out there. Signed up for open mics and shit.”

He’d shifted, his long legs receding from around you and folding under him.

“So, like…I got my job at the bowling alley…but nights and weekends are kinda shot.”

You’d tried not to let the disappointment show on your face. You supported Mary’s dreams, and that meant not making an issue that he was finally trying to do something about them.

This wasn’t against you. It was for him.

When you’d taken too long to respond, his face had scrunched.

“But if you want—”

“It’s fine, Mare,” you’d said as you’d made yourself smile. “This is important to you, so it’s important to me.”

You’d unpaused your game.

“Just don’t expect me to not beat this game without you.”

He’d grabbed the controller out of your hands with a snarl, causing you to cry out when you died.

“Fuck the game.” His hand had fisted your shirt. “Give me a night to remember.”

You had. Twice.

***

Mary had texted you occasionally over the next few weeks—a few memes, a few drunken key-smashes, a dick pic, and 2 grainy videos of his performances for critique—but such contact was sporadic, and you’d never seen him in real-time. 

He’d blown in one night, five weeks in, with a box of pizza just as you'd been heading out to meet your crew. When you’d told him you’d made plans, he’d looked so crestfallen that you’d caved and canceled on them.

While he’d been there, he’d given you a date in 3 weeks.

“That Saturday I have nowhere to be,” he’d said as he’d chewed. “I can spend the whole day with you.”

You’d been careful not to seem too eager.

“Oh yeah? Should I plan shit?”

He’d crammed the whole crust into his mouth and had given you a doughy grin.

“Why ’’ya think I told you?”

You didn’t know what you’d expected, but when he’d had to bounce 90min later, you were still surprised. (That was hardly enough time to digest!)

“Sorry,” he’d winced. “I gotta be on a bus in 45min.”

He’d left, and you’d been too embarrassed to join your friends who were only just going to the second bar.

Having fun with your man ;) ? one of your friends had texted.

What do you think? You’d texted back before changing into your pjs and turning on Netflix.

***

So maybe you were low-key excited about your day with Mary.

Perhaps you’d spent those 3 weeks figuring out the perfect date—something that said, “I missed you,” without saying “But in a clingy way.”

Beer and horror were two things the both of you were totally into, and you knew he’d be exhausted, so it seemed perfect. You’d bought the boxed set off of eBay and splurged for expedited shipping; you’d borrowed your brother’s old dual TV/VCR from his college days; and you’d forgone your weekly Chinese takeout for the craft beer funds. (And if things got steamy, well…even better.) 

***

A few days before The Date, you’d run into Mary on the bus. You were coming home from a shift, and he was going to his.

He’d brightened and waved you over—as if you weren’t already on your way—and you’d plopped down beside him with a tired grin. You’d told him of the latest entitled asshole, and he’d showed you another clip of him on guitar.

Before your stop had come up, you’d tentatively placed your hand over his.

“We still on for Saturday?”

He’d blinked at you a few moments before grinning.

“Yeah.”

“Should I plan a whole day for us, then?”

His arm had crept around your shoulders before pulling you into him to kiss your temple.

“Yeah, why not.”

***

That morning, you wake up happy. 

Mary will be over soon.

You roll over and grab your phone.

When should I expect you? :-* 

It takes him an hour to respond. You aren’t surprised—Mary isn’t known for being a morning person—so when your phone dings, you grab it up excitedly.

An excitement that dies when you read his text. And reread. And re-reread.

not 2day 

goin upste 2 show 

You blink.

What show? Didn’t we confirm? 

yeah. got me thinkin 

why no show? 

so i chked 

i missed one 

gotta do it 

Rage blooms hot, then cold behind your eyes and down your cheeks.

But you said we had the whole day. I made plans. 

save em 

ths is impt 2 me 

We’ve had this planned for weeks. 

i thot u suprted me 

on a bus cnt tlk 

You send a few more irate texts, but he doesn’t respond, and you toss your phone across the room with a shout of frustration. You scrub the hot tears from your eyes before they can fall.

And…on paper, Mary isn’t wrong. Nothing you had planned won’t keep: movies, beer, takeout.

But…

It gives you a stark look at what you mean to Mary. He gave you this date and confirmed it. He knew you were making plans.

How long was he going to wait to tell you he wasn’t even in the city anymore?

You fight the urge to kick the VHS tapes across the floor, but you open the fridge and grab a beer. If Queen Elizabeth could have beer for breakfast, then it was good enough for you.

Once you’ve downed all eight, you move on to the jug of vodka you keep for cleaning.

When you empty only liquid from your stomach into the toilet, you grab your frozen fries out of the freezer. You roll a handful of the cold ones in your mouth as you wait for the others to crisp in the oven, and once you’ve consumed the cooked ones, you go right back to the vodka.

***

Opening your eyes the next morning is a mistake, so you take a few deep breaths and go back to sleep.

When you wake again, your heart is fluttering, your stomach turns, and it feels like there’s an ice pick behind one eye. Shuffling slowly, you make your way out to your kitchen where you take some painkillers, drink some pickle juice, and eat two slices of plain bread.

The sense that you did something awful stays with you, but you’re in no condition to find your phone and see what you’ve done. Instead, you go back to bed. It takes more deep breathing to settle yourself, but once you do fall asleep, you’re out for hours.

You don’t feel amazing when you swim to consciousness again, but you feel at least like a human being. 

Your phone is dead when you find it under the sink, and waiting the 5 or so minutes for it to charge feels like waiting to face the executioner.

It’s both better and worse than you expected.

You breathe a sigh of relief to see that there are no vague social media posts, and you didn’t drunk dial any of your friends, but…

The texts to and from Mary are ugly.

Apparently, you’d managed not to send him angry texts until he’d sent you another clip of his performing. But then the floodgates had opened.

You’d started with telling him you didn’t give a shit about the show, how he was an inconsiderate ass, and then you'd devolved into incomprehensible, typo-ridden texts that accused him of using you, that you were only something to do when he didn’t have anything better to do, that he was an entitled man-child and if he didn’t apologize, you were done.

Mary’s texts in response range from him being angry at your disregard, to heated retorts you were blowing this out of proportion (and he didn’t appreciate your “ad hominem” attacks), to a cool detachment that this wasn’t working over text and he’d finish this in person.

You put your head in your hands but are too dehydrated to cry.

***

Mary doesn’t text you again during his self-imposed time frame.

You don’t text him either, but that’s more out of self-preservation than pride. There’s no point exacerbating the situation…and you’re pretty sure there’s no coming back from this, so why speed up the inevitable?

The horror tapes taunt you every time you walk by them, and you wonder if you can return them (you can’t). You give the TV back to your brother, and when he asks you how it went, you plaster a smile on your face and say, “Great!” with forced enthusiasm you hope comes across as genuine.

The primo weed goes over to your friend’s house, and the two of you wax poetic all night about existential claptrap as you devour two cheese pizzas and a bag of bbq chips. You talk about Mary without talking about Mary, and you get a heartfelt, “Sorry, dude.”

You beat the video game anyway, but it’s mostly because you needed something to occupy your mind and less out of spite (though that’s there as well).

***

Despite waiting on tenterhooks to hear anything from Mary, you truly don’t really expect to. You know you’d been atrocious, even if it had been prompted by his careless disregard, and you know Mary isn’t really the kind of guy that troubles himself with relationships that are hard.

Not that you’re in a relationship.

So when there’s a knock on your door a week later and Mary’s behind it, you’re genuinely surprised.

You gape through the peephole in shock.

“Fuck. If you’re there, just let me in, ok?”

Fumbling with the chain, you unlock the door and crack it open.

“Mary?”

“You gonna let me in?” he rasps.

You shrug and step away from the door, and he shuffles inside. He looks around like you’ve changed anything (you haven’t), before turning around to face you.

You close the door and stare back.

He folds his arms. “Breaking up with someone over text is tacky.”

What you think is, So you’ve come to do it in person, but what you say is, “Can’t break up if you’re not together.”

He winces and runs his fingers through his hair. 

“Yeah…apparently I’ve ‘taken advantage' of you.”

This…isn’t what you’re expecting.

“I…what?”

“Can we sit down?”

You nod, and Mary sits rigidly on the edge of your couch. You curl up in the chair on the opposite side.

He rubs his palms down his greasy jeans before he speaks.

“I mean…you pissed me off, ok?”

You nod.

“But, like—you weren’t wrong, ok? I kinda knew that deep down, but I’m a dumbass, you know?”

You don’t nod.

“And I kinda bitched about the whole thing…but the resounding response was that I was the asshole.”

He angles his body toward you.

“I guess I’ve kinda been treating you like my best friend that I fuck sometimes.”

Your entire face flushes—you’d always thought you’d maybe ranked a little higher than that—and you duck your head so he can’t see the tears that you blink back.

There’s a swish of fabric, and you startle hard when Mary’s hand is at your chin. He jerks back with a Sorry.

“Shit—that’s not what I…” he blows out a breath and puts his hands behind his head before looking back up at you.

“But you aren’t, and…fuck this is harder than I thought.”

So this is it.

Waiting for him to do the deed is clearly going to be excruciating, so you take charge of this whole shit-show.

“I understand,” you say flatly.

“You do?”

“It’s ok, Mare-Mary. It’s my own fault for reading too much into it. I just…I saw what I wanted to see, I guess. I know you don’t need…” you look down into your lap, “…my shit in your life.

He makes a noise low in his throat, and then he’s squatting in front of you, his hot hands planting on your knees.

“But I want your shit in my life.”

You squint your eyes at him.

“But what I said…”

He grasps your hands in his.

“Pissed me off, yeah…cuz I wasn’t fucking thinking, ok? You’re like one of the only people who gives a crap about what’s important to me. And all I could see was you suddenly…not.”

Anger wells up in you again, and you yank away your hands.

“Weeks, Mary…weeks of you all over the tri-state area, and you thought I didn’t care because of one night?! A night you promised to me?”

He sits back on his heels. “I know…fuck. Ok? At the time, it just felt…like the show couldn’t be rescheduled. Our night could.”

Because you’re what he does when he’s bored.

You curl in on yourself.

“Shit.” He leans forward again. “Fuck, I’m sorry, ok? I’m fucking on my knees here.”

You blink at him. 

What? 

“Please, please don’t break—say we’re done.”

“What?”

“Look, we can go into my shitty fucking psychological profile on why I fuck around later…but right now I need you to know that I knew it was you before I fucking knew it was you.”

You uncurl.

“That…’what’ was me?”

He knees forward and presses your hands to his face.

“The one I wanna spend my free time with. The one whose opinion means the most. The one who was the first person I wanted to share all my good shit with. You’re the one I missed, and—after that awful fucking night—everything felt pointless because I knew I couldn’t come over and jam about it.”

“Mare—what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’m a fucking dumbass. I’m saying I thought I was pissed at you, but I was pissed at myself for fucking it up.” He sighs. “I’m saying no fucking one was on my side and they all told me to get my shit together.”

He looks up at you with wide eyes, and for the first time, you can see how they’re outlined in red, his subtle crow’s feet more pronounced.

“So, you’re not done with me? I’m not…too much trouble?”

He shakes his head in disbelief. “What? Shit, no. I’m asking you to not be done with me. I’ll give you all the nights you want. Fucking text me, and my ass’ll be here posthaste.” He shifts up, and his thumb ghosts over your lips. “Anything to get you to give me that secret smile again.”

“Secret smile?” you ask while trying to perform the action.

Mary actually blushes.

“Uh…yeah. You get this…” he makes a motion across his face, “…when you’re giving it back to me.” His fingers shove back through his hair as he casts his eyes down. “You don’t give it to anyone else.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I’ve made a study of it.”

You’re a swirl of emotions. Mary’s apologized—has admitted he was wrong and has asked for…more—but you’re still hurt. And embarrassed.

But he’s looking up at you with wet, hopeful eyes.

“Do you…” you start carefully, “…do you know why I got so mad?”

That statement was clearly not what he was expecting, and he blinks at you a few times before nodding and looking down at the floor.

“I made a…uh, commitment…to you. And I treated it like it didn’t mean anything.”

He gives you a look like, Did I get it right? and that’s close enough—even if he’s missing some of the nuance.

You nod. “And I know I…wasn’t…the best.”

His face contorts, and your heart sinks.

“You…” he shakes his head. “You said some awful things…some hurtful shit—and it really got in my head.”

Mary gives you a complicated look.

“Shit that you’d been pissed about for a while.” He traces your knee. “Shit you could’ve said to me…but shit I should have noticed. Fuck.” He presses his forehead into your knees, and you can’t stop yourself from sinking your fingers into his hair.

He takes it as encouragement and presses into you before looking up again.

“I just kinda wanna put that whole night behind us. It feels like a fucking ouroboros of fault. And like maybe I created it. But let’s agree to like…not do that again.”

You look down at him, and his eyes search your face.

“Ok…but what does all this mean, Mare? I can’t…I need to be something to you, ok? More than just your friend.”

Mary nods emphatically, and he takes your hand and curls his into it.

“No more fuck-ups, and no one else…can we start there?”

He’s saying all the right words, but you’re still trepidatious—you know Mary, and he doesn’t like constraints.

“I…just…how can I believe you?”

He shakes his head like he can’t believe you even have to ask. He rises and awkwardly reaches out to touch your face before drawing his hand back.

“Cuz you’re important to me. I care about you, and I don’t want to lose you. Ever.”

And yeah. Ok.

[astranva]

harry’s child being jealous about the new baby getting all the attention and he has to reassure her that he loves them both the same 😔💔

Title: Pinky Promise

Word Count: 2.7k

Category: Slight angst, Fluff dad!Harry

Warnings: A couple of F words.

I loved writing that omg my heart😪❤

You remember 4 years ago, in September of 2016 when you told Harry you were pregnant. Well, technically, you shouted it out.

Both of you being fans of Adele, you had decided to attend her show in Madison Square Garden.

Harry was already working on his debut album and knew he needed a break, especially when he was a nervous wreck.

You remember it all starting with your lack of appetite then suddenly feeling like eating everything and anything edible. You blamed it on hormones, until morning sickness happened. If there was one thing you absolutely loathed, it was nausea. You remember waking up to churn and throw up, your throat only hurting and your muscles aching due to the fact that your body had already digested the food you had eaten the night before and you hadn’t had anything to eat yet that morning, but your body still felt the need to make you run to stick your head inside the toilet bowl.

The first 3 days it happened, you were alone, with Harry being in the studio after leaving you notes that told you about his whereabouts and that he loved you and couldn’t wait to see you.

Not wanting to trouble his inspiration and progress, you only told him that you had an upset stomach every time he questioned why you looked sick.

You remember one day, after Harry was out with Jeff, that you called your best friend and had them bring you a pregnancy test, choosing to avoid any tabloid-talk.

Your heart was thumping, palms sweaty, nausea already kicking in as you waited after following the instructions.

And then it happened; a cry of surprise, eyes growing tearful as one hand was clasped on your mouth while the other held the test tightly – pregnant.

You knew that Harry loved a lot of people, a lot of things, a lot of abstract ideas, like love. You knew he loved kids, and he had often talked to you about them, telling you that he saw you and him starting a family.

It was why after you knew and had checked up at the obstetrician’s and knew that you were 3 weeks pregnant, you were giddy and excited to let Harry know but had decided to do it in a different setting.

Four days after your OB visit, you and Harry were in Madison Square Garden, singing along with Adele.

You were standing in front of Harry, back against his front, his arms wrapped around your waist, your hand holding on to his arms, his chin on your shoulder as you both swayed with Sweetest Devotion.

It was when you moved just a little to the side, still in his arms, to look at him, Harry looked down at you, singing to you.

“I'm heading straight for you. You will only be eternally, the one that I belong to.”

He gently nudged your forehead with his, pecking your lips. He pulled back slowly, smiling down at you.

And then you said it.

“I’m pregnant.”

His eyebrows shot up, leaning closer, “Can’t hear you!”

You grinned, turning in his arms to cup his cheeks softly, “I’m pregnant! 3 weeks pregnant!”

His world had stopped, eyes going wide as his mouth formed an O, “Y/N, are you joking?!” He had asked with a laugh of surprise, his lips stretching into a grin as he asked, “Baby, are you for real?”

You nodded as you laughed in glee, moving one hand from his cheek and to your stomach, “You’re going to be a daddy!”

And that was what it took for Harry to break down and cry, tipping his head back as he bit on his lip, nose red and veins showing on his forehead as he cried before wrapping his arms around you in a tight hug, crying into your shoulder.

Tears were flowing from your eyes as you held him, feeling him pull back to rest his forehead on yours, his hands moving to either sides of your neck, “I love you. I love you so fucking much.” He pulled you back in a hug, one hand moving to the back of your head while the other was on your back, bringing you closer to him.

The 9 months of pregnancy were smooth, as well as emotional. Especially since it was in the 2nd month that Harry went down on one knee, somewhen in the morning when you were both preparing breakfast. You turned around to grab the toast, only to see him on one knee, with a blue velvet box in his hand opened to show you the thin, golden ring with a small diamond in the middle that you knew Harry picked carefully with the thought of how you moved minimalist jewelry in his mind.

“I had a speech and – I don’t remember anything from it other than the fact that I have so many songs about you, and some more, and that I am head over heels in love with you. And that you’re carrying a soul inside you that is made from you and I. I just – fuck, Y/N, I can’t imagine a life you’re not in it and just – marry me?”

His eyes were already glossy, lips pink and dimple there for your eyes to see as he pursed his lips before taking a deep breath.

You had let out a cry, hands on where your heart rested, nodding as you cried, “Yes! Yes, oh my- God, yes, please!” And he didn’t get the chance to stand before you threw yourself at him on the floor, hugging him tightly against you.

You also remember the celebration being very low-key, with only close friends and family there at your house. Gemma, as your maid of honor, had taken charge of the decorations, making the backyard of yours and Harry’s shared house well-lit with all the globe bulbs adorning the trees and walls. The moment Harry saw you in your simple white wedding dress, was one that would forever be engraved in everybody who was present’s mind. He had squatted down, hands covering his face in disbelief before they covered his open mouth as he took you in; laughing bashfully as you, too, took him in.

He was in a white suit, pink embroidered flowers on the side of his pants that resembled the headpiece you wore.

Polaroids were taken, all pictures were taken on film, making everything about the night more magical and sentimental, especially with the 6-month bump you walked and danced around with.

The 9 months of your pregnancy were painful, but not too much for you to feel anything but love for how supportive and helpful Harry was, and admiration for your daughter – Eileen Mae Styles.

Since the moment Eileen came into the world, you knew that she had Harry wrapped around her tiny little finger.

Your daughter was attached to both of you, but you were proud of the character and personality she had at such a young age.

When Eileen turned 3, you and Harry took pride in how you could have a conversation with your daughter, even when it was about how pretty Harry’s butterfly tattoo would look if it was colored. Yes, she ended up coloring it, and Harry loved every moment of having his daughter lying on top of him, coloring his tattoo as he lounged on the sofa while she talked to him about how she likes strawberry chapstick.

It was one day when you felt the familiar feelings of nausea and change of appetite, the reminder of the late period only making one question come into your mind.

That time, you mentioned it to your husband as you ate lunch, who had chocked on his food.

Long story short, you were pregnant – again.

“Mummy,” Eileen called you as you, your husband and your daughter sat in your backyard, letting Isla [Eye-la] get her vitamin D.

Harry was reading a book beside you as you both sat on your swing, Eileen playing and running around with her toys, while you wrote in your journal.

“Yeah, bub?”

She ran towards you, putting both hands on your knees as she grinned up at you before looking down at your 8-month pregnant bump, “What’s in here?”

Harry chuckled, putting down his book to watch the conversation more carefully.

“Your baby brother is in here.” You smiled at her.

“But how? Can I sit there, too?”

You and Harry giggled at her question. “You once sat there, Isla. But then you came into the world, 3 years ago.”

Eileen frowned, looking up at you. “I want to go back again.”

You looked at Harry, silently asking him to help you.

He leaned forward, wrapping his hands under his daughter’s armpits before carrying her to make her sit on his lap. “But then your brother won’t have enough space.”

“I don’t care.” She whined, the frown still on her face.

“Your brother needs all the space so he can grow to meet you, and play with you, don’t you want that?” He asked her softly.

“He-he will take my toys.”

“You can share all the toys with him, bub. He’ll share his toys with you, too.” You cooed, almost scared that your daughter wouldn’t like her brother. Something neither you nor Harry had prepared for.

“But-but you and daddy will get more toys for him. I don’t want him.” She said with a whine, crossing her arms against her chest as she looked down, lips starting to quiver.

You and Harry shared a look, before moving back to your 3-year-old.

“Eileen,” Harry called her name gently, watching as she didn’t look up at him, “Honey, look at me, please.” Slowly, Eileen looked up at Harry, letting the both of you see her tearful eyes. “You know mummy and daddy love you and we always will, right?”

“We do love you so much, bub, and nothing will change that,” You assured her, putting one hand on her knee, “Your brother is also very excited to meet you. He loves you, too.”

“Weren’t you excited the other day to show him your room?” Harry asked, rubbing her back gently.

“Yeah.” She mumbled.

“You have a lot to show him and teach him. You can be his first best friend, isn’t that nice?”

As if she was absorbing what you said, Eileen nodded slowly.

“We love you, Isla. Forever.” Harry said, leaning to press a kiss against her temple.

Turning to look at her dad, Eileen uncrossed her arms to raise up her two pinkies, one reaching out to you, the other for Harry, “Promise?”

It felt as though your heart melted right there and then as you latched your pinky with hers, watching Harry do the same.

“Promise.”

But nobody told you about the hell you’d go through when your daughter was jealous of her new bother, Elio.

The moment Eileen entered the hospital room, holding hands with Gemma, and looking at you as you lied on the hospital bed with Elio right at your side, eyes open as he moved his limbs around, making baby noises, you knew that she wasn’t very welcoming.

Harry was sat on the other side of his son, hand playing with your hair as to comfort you after the pain you went through, and as a simple nonverbal way to thank you. His lips were fixed on the smile his face wore, heart soaring with happiness at the new family addition and the fact that both, his wife and son were healthy.

Eileen looked at her parents, too short to see her brother who was in the middle but hearing him. She was overwhelmed, knowing that she was going to meet her brother.

“Hey, honey!” Harry grinned at her, leaning down a little and opening his arms, hugging her tightly as she ran into them before he pressed a kiss against her cheek, carrying her to place her on his hip, watching as her eyes instantly moved to the newborn baby.

“Meet Elio, bub.” You said tiredly but with a smile on your face, watching your daughter and hoping she would take the new change lightly.

Well, you hoped.

But Eileen had broken into fits of crying, straight out wailing as she threw herself on Harry, leaning her head on his shoulder.

The close family and friends in the room all pouted and cooed, watching the scene.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Harry asked urgently, rubbing his daughter’s back.

“I don’t love him.” Eileen dragged as she cried, wrapping her arms around Harry’s neck.

Your heart broke, the small smile falling as you looked at Harry in worry.

As if his sister’s cries triggered him, your smallest, Elio, began crying. You sat up, taking him gently in your arms and placing him against your chest, softly hushing him and supporting the back of his head as you looked at Harry, almost pleading him to do anything.

Understanding, Harry stood with Eileen latched onto him, holding her as he walked out of the room and walking down the hall, softly and gently bouncing his daughter to calm her.

“Come on, Isla, please calm down.” He cooed, adding a sigh at the situation he and his wife were in. “Why don’t you love Elio?”

Eileen sniffled, pulling back but keeping her head down, one hand moving to poke at Harry’s pearl necklace – which you and Eileen made him – as she replied, “Nobody will love me anymore.”

Harry sat down on a chair, still holding his daughter just the same. “What makes you say that?”

“Because-because-because he is little, and he needs more attention and I will have no more.”

Harry took a deep breath, letting her words sink it. While it was true that his youngest needed necessary and a lot of attention, he didn’t know how to explain to his oldest that that wasn’t how it goes.

“When you were just a little baby,” He began, looking down at her, “Mummy and Daddy were all over the place. You cried when we were asleep, threw up on us a lot,” Harry chuckled to himself, remembering these moments and taking notice of how it all felt like it was only the day before, “You wanted Mummy and Daddy with you all the time. And we never left you,” He concluded, “So what makes you think that will leave you now, Honey?”

Eileen didn’t reply.

“Your brother still can’t talk. He can’t say when he’s hurt like you do, he doesn’t even know how your favorite blueberry pancakes taste like. And we need to make sure that he does all that, exactly like you. But here’s the thing,” As though he was telling her a secret, Harry leaned to whisper in her ear, “Mummy and Daddy can’t do alone. We can’t do it without you.”

Eileen slowly looked up at Harry, face losing its frown.

“We promised, Isla. We promised to love you forever. Have we ever broken a promise?” He asked, watching her shake her head, “And we won’t. So what do you say? Can you, please, give your brother the chance he needs? He’s actually quite funny.” Harry smiled at her.

“Funnier than you?” She asked.

Harry laughed, “Way funnier! You just have to keep a close eye.”

Eileen giggled quietly.

“Mummy is really excited for you to meet Elio, you know? Was telling me all about the numbers you can teach him, all the photos we’re going to take of the both of you. What he’ll get you for Christmas.”

“Can he get me a book about stars? With pictures?” She asked excitedly.

Harry grinned, peppering her face with kisses and hearing her giggle, fully knowing that it was one of his most favorite sounds, “You tell him.”

Once he stopped, Eileen let out a sigh, her shoulder slumping. “Fine, Daddy. I will try.”

“Thank you.” He smiled gratefully, “How about we go back?”

The moment a knock sounded on the door before you saw your husband with your daughter in his arms, you didn’t know what to expect.

Looking shy and bashful, Eileen clung onto Harry as he returned to his spot after sharing a look with Anne, as if telling her that he would tell her later.

Elio was back in his spot as well, going back to his noises.

Eileen looked down at him once again, finally taking notice of how tiny his hands were and feeling curious. Reluctantly, she leaned down a little, intending to poke his hand softly.

But the moment she touched his hand, was the moment Elio wrapped his hand around her finger, making her grin. “He’s holding my finger!” She squealed as she giggled, “You’re right, Daddy. He is funny.”

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