#Who then became very enthusiastic about catching him like he really saw a possible father figure and decided to not let go

[theflavorofmyautismisspicy]

So we all know how Raban’s parents just never showed up in the cartoon, so I raise you this. Willi and Hadschi legally adopting Raban

[mauvefayette6]

could i request a charlie dalton x male reader where the reader doesnt know about the dead poets society, but bakes a lot, and follows charlie to give him something sweet and ends up finding out about them? maybe theyre already dating but nobody knows and the other poets find out bc of this? thank you so much!

Baker (Charlie Dalton x male!Reader)

It was an unusual yet a loving pairing, Charlie Dalton and (Y/n) (L/n). They were practically polar opposites in every way possible.

(Y/n) (L/n) loves to bake, usually bakes when he is stressed out or when he is excited. Contrary to the rest of the Welton population, (Y/n)'s parents actually supported this dream. He had amazing marks and could get into an amazing culinary school if be so desired to.

Charlie Dalton was the opposite in the sense that he had no care in world and no plan. His father wanted him to be a banker and so he will be one. He had no say in anything about his life, nor did he have a say in who he'll date.

(Y/n) and Charlie met one Saturday morning, it was sunny and warm not the usual Vermont weather but beautiful nonetheless.

(Y/n), with the permission of Mr. Nolan, would cook breakfast every first Saturday of the month. Which he took extremely serious and would go all out for the staff and the students who got really amazing food.

Everyone always looked forward to the first Saturday specifically because of this. Charlie Dalton got a little too excited that Saturday that his mind and body woke him up a tad bit earlier then planned.

He had no choice but begin to get ready for breakfast. He wore casual wear as it was Saturday and the Professors weren't going to yell at him for being out of uniform. He made sure he was loud enough to at least disturb a sleeping Cameron.

He walked out and towards the Dinning Hall where he'd wait. That's when he saw a very handsome (Y/n). He was standing outside the door with a grin on his face. (Y/n) looked up and noticed Charlie Dalton walking up to the breakfast.

"Early bird always catches the bird!" (Y/n) enthusiastically cheered smiling at Charlie Dalton who chuckled.

"I'm not a usual early riser, just wanted to be first in line for (Y/n)'s famous breakfast," Charlie winked.

"I'm flattered, Breakfast isn't till 8am, it's 6am?" (Y/n) questioned slightly laughing.

"Was a bit too excited, are you done making the food?" Charlie asked.

"I'm done with the three cakes, the sweet bread and the croissants," (Y/n) began. "I'm still making the eggs, the famous small burgers, and just about to make orange juice for over a hundred people!"

"You must really love this to do it unpaid," Charlie laughed.

"Baking os my favorite art, getting the chance to serve everyone and put a smile on their faces is beyond rewarding. That and this is perfect practice for me," (Y/n) shrugged smiling.

Since that day (Y/n) and Charlie became unusual friends. (Y/n) helped Charlie with homework and sometimes even let Charlie help out with the giant breakfast.

In exchange Charlie helped (Y/n) with being more sociable and soccer which (Y/n) isn't proud of saying he wasn't very good at. Charlie was far more athletic and better at talking to others.

(Y/n) slowly discovered feelings he had never felt before. He was unsure if they were always there of if Charlie changed something in him to help him realize said feelings. (Y/n) never thought about dating or having a for life companion. He thought the whole forever partner would come to him later in life.

Charlie Dalton also began to develop more than friendly feelings for (Y/n). He always knew he liked both girls, boys, and everyone in between. He knew of this but was afraid to confront the feelings. He thought it would ruin any friendship he had with anyone.

(Y/n) and Charlie were out by a lake together dipping their feet in the cold water laughing with each other.

At that very moment nothing else mattered, not the school, not the professors, not the world. It was just them two, and that was the only thing on Charlie's head.

(Y/n) was a few inches taller than Charlie which on one hand made Charlie fall more in love with him and on the other hand made him extremely jealous.

"Why are you so tall?" Charlie laughed.

"My dad's really tall, my moms a tad shorter then him," (Y/n) shrugged laughing.

Charlie smiled as he stared into (Y/n)'s eyes, (Y/n) did the same as he looked into Charlies dark brown eyes.

(Y/n) and Charlie couldn't help but lean in as their lips soon meet. It was a beautiful and long kiss as their lips synchronized with each other. Charlie rested his hand on (Y/n)'s cheek in an endearing way.

(Y/n) pulled away resting his forehead on Charlie's. They were smiling at each other as they stood in silence.

"I have never felt this way about anybody else Charlie Dalton," (Y/n) began. "But with you I feel free, I feel new."

"I feel the same way (Y/n) I adore you and hold you so dearly to my heart, as cheesy as it sounds," Charlie chuckled.

"Does this mean we are boyfriends?" (Y/n) smiled his forehead still on Charlie's.

"Yeah, but can we keep it on the low for now? You know how they treat us gay people," Charlie sighed sadly pulling away and sadly staring at the ground.

"It's okay, I was thinking the same. I don't want you getting hurt so we'll keep it a secret until the world is ready," he replied caressing Charlie's cheek and bringing him in for another kiss.

In secret they did everything, from dates far from the school, to their birthday celebration. They passed notes to each other in class and sometimes would sneak a kiss. They were sad that their relationship had to be kept quiet but at the end it was the best for them and their safety.

It was a year as they were now officially Juniors, a new student began to go to Welton. A so called Todd Anderson, Jeffery Anderson's younger brother. Charlie and his friend group befriended him which automatically meant that Todd is (Y/n)'s friend too.

Their one year anniversary was coming up as (Y/n) planned a small celebration. He spent some time baking Charlie's favorite cake and foods. They'll celebrate their anniversary near the lake in the evening, the right time in (Y/n)'s opinion.

The time arrived as (Y/n) began to bring the stuff out, of course he intended it to be a surprise. But he was more surprised seeing Charlie walk into the woods by himself. With a raised eyebrow he began to jog to him. But this seemed to make Charlie run, (Y/n) was unsure if he knew that he was behind him.

"Charlie?" (Y/n) called out. "Charlie! Babe? What are you-" He was cut off the second he saw the cave he saw Charlie enter full of Charlie's friends.

"(Y/n)?" Charlie mumbled seeing the surprise look in his friends face.

"Wrong person?" (Y/n) quickly said as he walked away from the cave but before he could Charlie stopped him.

"I think it's time that we at least tell my friends," Charlie whispered with a smile.

"Are you sure?" (Y/n) mumbled back as Charlie only nodded.

"You guys, I have to say something," Charlie took in a deep breath as he looked at his friends confused face. "As most of you know, I am bisexual. Or at least Neil knew, and (Y/n) is my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? So you two are gay?" Knox asked, "Cool."

"Yeah, why were you so worried? Aren't we in a secret poetry society?" Meeks laughed.

"Congrats, we are so happy for you," Todd who is usually quiet said smiling.

"The reaction I thought you were going to have was different. I'm so happy you guys don't absolutely hate us," Charlie laughed wiping away the tears that began to form.

"We wouldn't hate you for your preferences, we have been friends for too long!" Pitts exclaimed patting Charlie's shoulder.

"How come I didn't know you were in a secret society?" (Y/n) asked.

"It's a secret society, I also didn't know if you would be interested?" Charlie laughed.

After that (Y/n) spent a while with Charlie's friends before resuming his small surprise for their anniversary.

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

𝐖𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐬𝐬? (𝐂𝐄𝐎! 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨) 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝

𝙿𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝙲𝙴𝙾/𝙳𝚊𝚍! 𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚒 𝙹𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚘 (𝙰𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚣) × 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢/𝙼𝚘𝚖! 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 (𝙵𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚎)

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝚂𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚜𝚝, 𝙵𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏, 𝚂𝚖𝚞𝚝, 𝙳𝚊𝚍 𝙰𝚄, 𝙲𝙴𝙾 𝙰𝚄

𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚒 𝙹𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚘 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚜, 𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚋𝚘𝚜𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝.

𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 𝟼𝙺+

𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚂𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚡𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚕 (𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐), 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚓𝚘𝚋, 𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚔, 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚢/𝚍𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚢 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚔, 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚍𝚎𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚞𝚗𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚡 (𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗), 𝙵𝚎𝚖𝚍𝚘𝚖! 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 × 𝚂𝚞𝚋! 𝙹𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚑𝚘

𝚃𝚊𝚐𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝: @little-precious-baby @yunhoiseyecandy @yunhofingers @brie02 @galaxteez @deja-vux @multidreams-and-desires @rvse-miingi @couchpotatoaniki

⊱⋅ ──────────── ⋅⊰

"I expect all of your reports in and in perfect order by tomorrow's meeting at 11 a.m. And I want all of you in there on time. I will not accept even 1 minute of tardiness. Are we clear?"

A chorus of 'Yes sir' chanted throughout the room, the occupants in their respective chairs starting to disperse themselves out of the room. The hushed groans and complaining did not go unnoticed by Jongho's ears, but he paid no mind to them, having grown accustomed to them. He was a tough boss, and he preferred to keep it that way. He enjoyed having people fear him and be too scared to even ask him something, and all of his subordinates seemed to fall in that category.

"Sir?"

All of them except the almost cherry red head girl who was batting her eyelashes at him, a strand of her hair being twirled around one of her fingers. Without breaking his poker face, Jongho held out the folder he had and fanned it in front of her face.

"Hyunjoo, make copies of these to put into the filing cabinets and make sure to save them into the computer as well."

In a rather abrupt way, he practically threw the folder in her hands, but the girl didn't seem fazed, she still continued to smile even as he turned his back to her and walked out of the room.

"Right away sir! Anything else I can-"

Her enthusiastic question was shut out by the loud slamming of the door, leaving her speechless once more.

Jongho let out a deep huff as he loosened the tie that was practically suffocating him as it did after a strenuous day of having to deal with the ineptitude of his employees. He said absolutely nothing as he walked to his car, and stayed just as silent during the entire ride home, the soft ballads playing on the radio being his only companion at the moment. He didn't even feel like breaking out his heavenly vocals as per usual, all he wanted at that moment was to get to his haven as soon as possible and see the two faces he loved seeing after spending grueling hours in front of a computer and a stack of papers.

As soon as he stepped foot inside the cozy house, his nose was hit with the delicious scent coming from the kitchen. Making sure to neatly place his shoes by the rack next to the door and hang his coat on one of the hooks on the wall, he practically dragged his feet down the hallway before turning the corner. His gloomy expression quickly faltered and broke out into a smile as he was greeted by loud squealing coming from the tiny individual sitting in the high chair.

"Hey buddy. You missed me?" Jongho couldn't keep the smile off his face as he picked up the 5 month old baby, his cheeks still stained with an orange hue. The baby made some incoherent guttural sounds, no doubt trying to convey his feelings as he outstretched his tiny hands and began touching Jongho's face.

"I know I missed you." He placed a tiny kiss on his head before picking up a wet tissue to start wiping off some of the puree residues.

Right at that moment, his wife came in and wrapped her arms around his waist. Placing a gentle kiss on his cheek, she tilted her head so she could look at his face more clearly.

"How was your day?"

He shook his head, not wanting to recall his day.

"Same as they've been since you went on maternity leave. Unbearable."

Rolling her eyes at that, she carefully took the baby out of his hands since it was time for him to take a bath.

"Here. You go on and eat while I clean junior here."

Although the baby grunted softly at being taken away from his father's arms, he eventually relaxed in his mother's embrace, his face nuzzling into her chest and soon afterwards he began nibbling softly at her shirt.

"Oh for goodness sakes! You just ate not even 10 minutes ago. You can't possibly be hungry again." Y/N half heartedly complained, bouncing the baby slightly in her arms.

"Well I mean.... I don't blame him for wanting to drink some of your milk."

Catching her gaze, Jongho sent a wink her way that had her blushing intensely.

"You're unbelievable!" She exclaimed as she stomped out of the room to go bathe her baby.

"You're the one who offered me your tits in the first place." He snorted, trying to contain his laughter as he sipped the glass of water he had in his hand.

"Keep it up and I'll extend my maternity leave longer." She called out from the bathroom, the sound of water running being heard.

"No way! I've gone far too long without my personal assistant helping me keep order in that building and helping me stay sane. You promised me you'd come back tomorrow and I'm making you keep that promise." He warned her.

"Are you saying that as my husband? Or as my boss?" She questioned him.

"As both if I have to." He sternly said.

"Neither one of you scare me.....but since I love you both, I guess I'll keep my promise and come back tomorrow as we planned."

Jongho let out a relieved sigh at her answer as his fingers rubbed at his temple, fork aggressively digging into the vegetables on his plate. He honestly had missed working with Y/N by his side. He was feeling rather antsy and impatient about having her come back into the company. And he knew the other employees were also eagerly anticipating her return, since they preferred going to her to get messages across to him when they were too scared to face Jongho themselves. Not to mention Y/N livened up the atmosphere with her fresh and energetic nature, one of the main reasons he fell in love with her.

As he ate, Jongho began to reminisce about how their story started. Y/N had been recommended by a friend to be his personal assistant and she was very proud to work for such an important CEO, seeing it as an opportunity of a lifetime. Jongho, however, of course was extremely tough on her from the start, just as he was with all his other assistants. None of them lasted more than 2 weeks because they just couldn't handle either all the unbearable tasks he gave them or got frightened off by his stern and aggresive form of addressing them. Not Y/N. Even after having her run up and down floors on wild goose chases at times, she still kept her bright smile and positive energy, never once flinching either when he scolded her for doing something that he deemed wrong, which it never actually was, he just enjoyed nitpicking at her. She broke the record and lasted not just 2 weeks, but over 2 years, earning her the admiration and respect of not only her coworkers but of Jongho himself. He became fascinated by her and that fascination turned into love for her.

He pursued her for quite some time, Y/N making him really work for it as payback for all the harsh times he put her through during her first months working for him. Eventually his persistence paid off as she agreed to not only date him, but actually accepted to marry him when he asked her to. Of course, it was a secret no one else knew about, both of them agreeing that they'd rather keep their personal lives outside of work, not wanting others to talk or gossip about them. So at the company they were simply the CEO and his personal assistant, but once they got home, they were back to being hopelessly in love and enjoying their married life which now included their son.

Jongho felt that he was extremely lucky. Lucky to have such an amazing and beautiful wife who had recently blessed him with a healthy baby boy, gifting him the family he always wanted. He couldn't contain his happy smile as he watched her rock the baby to sleep and eventually put him inside his crib. Tiptoeing out of the nursery and joining him in their bedroom, Y/N raised an eyebrow when she saw his expression.

"You doing good?" She asked him.

Nodding softly, Jongho let out a hum before wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Oh trust me, I'm doing just splendid." He let out a chuckle as he pecked her lips.

When she began pulling away from his embrace, he pulled her back in, this time pressing his lips against hers more firmly as his hands went to the back of her thighs and effortlessly picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. She couldn't help the squeal that came out of her mouth when he pushed her down onto their bed, already feeling breathless as his tongue continued to dominate her mouth. Jongho's hands began to slowly pull her tank top down, exposing her soft and squishy breasts that had grown quite considerably since she started her last months of pregnancy and continued up until then.

"You know it's been so long since I've had you all to myself...." He mused as he nipped across her collarbone.

Taking one breast in each of his hands, he gave them gentle squeeze that had Y/N moaning softly. Giving one of her nipples a few kitten licks, Jongho latched his mouth over it, covering her perky nipple and letting out suckling sounds until he felt her sweet liquid come out of her body.

"And I plan on taking my time with you." He finished his previous sentence as he went back to feeding from her milk.

Y/N's fingers tangled themselves on his hair, back arching to allow him to take more of her succulent breasts into his mouth, which he took advantage of graciously. Just as soon as they were both getting lost in their lust, they were interrupted by the small whimpered cries coming from the room next to theirs. Detaching his mouth from his wife's chest, Jongho groaned in annoyance and rolled over on the other side of the bed.

"Seriously? Can't even enjoy some alone time with my wife because junior over there wants to be a cockblocker."

Slapping his arm, Y/N arranged her shirt and got up to go attend to her baby, leaving Jongho laying there in a fuzzy and whiny mood.

⊱⋅ ──────────── ⋅⊰

Stepping into the floor, Y/N was immediately bombarded by greetings and questions from all of her coworkers. The men were fawning over her and thanking her for coming back on such an eventful day while the women were prying about her baby and other motherly topics. Since it was still early, Y/N thought it wouldn't hurt to show off a few pictures of her little bundle of joy. Taking care there weren't any photos of Jongho, she happily showed off her gallery that was full of images of her baby and herself. All of the people around her began cooing and awing at how adorable he was.

"He's so cute!"

"Simply adorable!"

"Does he look like his dad?"

Before Y/N could even answer that question, the father himself cleared his throat behind the little group. Collective gasps and startled wheezes were heard as the people began to disperse themselves back to their respective cubicles or desks. Donning his usual frown, Jongho side eyed some of the individuals before landing his eyes on Y/N, who per usual remained calmed and collected.

"Miss L/N, although no doubt your coworker are ecstatic to have you back I must remind you that we have an important meeting ahead of us and I don't want any distractions to hinder our plans. I'll let this go just this time but I want no more dilly dallying. Are we clear?"

Breaking out into a soft smile, Y/N put her phone back in her purse.

"Crystal Mr. Choi."

The corner of Jongho's lip twitched at hearing her usual response she'd say to his chastising. Y/N knew it affected him too, but she bit her tongue from bursting out laughing right then and there. Checking his watch, he sighed deeply.

"After you finish setting your space up, please gather up the documents needed for today's meeting and see me promptly at my office so we can look over them."

Just as Y/N was about to open her mouth, she was interrupted by a redhead whom she had never seen before during the time she worked there. The girl pushed herself in between them both rather tactlessly.

"Sir, if you'd like, I could go fetch them for you, I know where they are so it'd be faster given that I sorted them yesterday."

Y/N arched an eyebrow up at the new face, scanning her up and down, taking notice of how tight and short her skirt was, not to mention how snug fitted her blouse was, more than just the tops buttons undone to purposely draw attention to her cleavage. The way she was practically beaming at Jongho did not go unnoticed by her, and it was slightly irritating her.

"No thank you Hyunjoo. I want Y/N to do it. Besides I need to catch her up on what's been going on these past months she was gone."

Before Jongho could take one step, Hyunjoo moved to stand right in front of him, a rather bold move that had everyone bracing themselves for what would happen next.

"Anything else you want to say Hyunjoo?" Although he asked, it was quite obvious Jongho was not amused in the slightest bit. Hyunjoo bit her lip nervously, but decided to speak.

"Sir I just thought since it was an important meeting that perhaps you'd prefer to be assisted by someone who has more knowledge and experience in the matter so that there would be no... hindrances."

Y/N did not like the way she drawled out that last word. She did not hesitate to let out a scoff at the brazen behavior of whoever that newbie was. And she guessed Jongho was not happy by her input either given that he was now crossing his arms over his chest.

"There will be no hindrances. Y/N knows what she's doing and I know she'll do an excellent job. After all, she is and will always be my personal assistant."

Y/N couldn't hide the proud smirk that shone triumphantly on her face, especially after seeing the reddened face of the girl next to her, who gave her a small glare before excusing herself to go to her desk. Jongho brushed past her to go into his office, giving her elbow a light squeeze that went unnoticed by everyone else but that made her feel better about coming back to work. She was practically skipping all the way to the elevator and still skipping about when she came to the room where they kept all the documents. She skimmed through the cabinets, checking the dates to make sure she was looking in the right section when she was startled by a voice piping up behind her.

"Y/N!"

She let out a scream and stumbled back into one of the cabinets, hitting her lower back rather harshly before landing her bum on the floor.

"Oops! Sorry. Not how I wanted my welcome back greeting to go."

She allowed the blonde male to help her get up, scanning her to make sure no real damage was done.

"Yeosang what the hell? Why are you always popping up on people out of nowhere?" She grimaced as she rubbed her butt.

"Gotta have some type of fun while I'm locked up in here organizing, filing and documenting papers here you know." He adjusted the frames on his nose bridge.

"Maybe you could lend me a hand and show me where I can find what I need for today's meeting?"

Clapping his hands, Yeosang reached into his jacket and promptly took out a neat folder out that had several papers inside.

"I figured Mr. Grinch upstairs would have you come get them so I took the liberty of stashing them away just for you."

Y/N smiled as he handed them over to her.

"That and I didn't want that bitch Hyunjoo putting her nasty hands on them as well." Yeosang huffed loudly.

"Who is she anyways? She wasn't here when I was."

Yeosang went cross eyed momentarily, looking like he was losing brain cells as he tried to figure out where to start.

"She started out a week after you went on maternity leave. She's just a secretary, but has offered to do some tasks that were strictly reserved for you as Jongho's assistant, which he rarely lets her do. You know how he is."

Of course she did. More than anyone she knew what her husband was like.

"Well long story short like her dirty rags that she calls skirts, it's quite obvious she's trying to get in the boss' pants and we're all surprised he hasn't fired her yet. It's more than clear he's not interested either, I mean come on. It's Choi Jongho, he only looks at a woman or man to criticize them. I don't think he's capable of feeling romantically inclined towards anyone."

Y/N held her head down, pretending to skim through some of the papers to hide the giggle that was threatening to come out her mouth. She honestly found it hard not to laugh when others talked about Jongho like that. It was funny to her.

"So I take it I should be careful of her trying to take my place?" Y/N snickered amusedly, and Yeosang let out a dry laugh as well.

"Please Y/N. We all know no one will ever take your place. You're indispensable here, especially to the big guy up there."

He pointed a finger towards the ceiling.

"Speaking of which, don't keep him waiting. You know how he hates people wasting his time." He made quotation signals with his fingers while rolling his eyes.

Giving her a hug and proper welcome greeting, Yeosang watched her leave, reminding her to show him pictures of her baby when she got the chance which she happily agreed to share with him.

Coming back up to the main floor, she made sure to smile warmly at all her coworkers, a gesture that would hopefully calm their nerves a little for the upcoming meeting, which seemed to be working. They knew if she was there at least Jongho would be a little less terrifying than what he usually was. As she walked by the cubicles, she paused in her steps when she saw that a certain desk was empty, its occupant missing. Looking at the nametag, her tongue poked against her cheek.

"Mingi?" She turned to the nearest person to her, the tall male looking up from his screen to pay her his full attention.

"Where's Hyunjoo?"

Mingi didn't answer and instead pointed over towards the direction of Jongho's office.

"No doubt trying to suck his dick. That hoe."

Both her and Mingi looked over at the coworker next to him.

"Wooyoung!" Mingi chastised him.

"What? Fire me for speaking the truth." He grumbled as he continued his task of stapling a stack of papers together.

Mingi shot her an apologetic look but Y/N quickly brushed it off. Something told her that she was needed someplace else anyways. Her instincts were never wrong. Peeking into the office, she witnessed in disgust as Hyunjoo ran a finger down Jongho's torso. He looked visibly uncomfortable, swallowing hard as he tried to back away from her slowly.

"Typical of him." She thought to herself. "Acting all high and mighty like he's not afraid of anyone or anything yet when a woman throws herself at him, he cowers like a little baby."

When she saw Hyunjoo press her body against Jongho's, she knew it was time to step in. Slamming the door open, her face had a glaring scowl that was quite the contrast to her usually friendly demeanor. Only few people had ever seen it and it truly shook them to the core, even more than Jongho himself since they grew used to his anger. But Y/N? They desperately avoided incurring her wrath, even if it was such a rare sight to see. And it was producing an instant effect as Hyunjoo immediately backed away from Jongho, the latter already bracing himself for a lecture from her.

"Hyunjoo......I believe your station is right out there." She pointed behind her.

Hyunjoo nodded even though it was a statement not a question.

"So why are you not there?" Her foot tapped impatiently on the floor.

The poor girl apologized and quickly sped out of the office, like a puppy with its tail tucked in between their legs. Once she was out, Y/N shut the door behind her and then looked over at Jongho, piercing daggers into him with her stare as she took slow and careful steps towards him.

"Well.....guess I should probably thank you for getting me out of that-"

Jongho let out a tiny squeak when Y/N grabbed him by his collar and pulled his face close to hers.

"I'm gone for half a year and there's already a skank trying to take my place?" She was fuming, eyes burning a hole into his face and Jongho wasn't going to lie, he was always attracted more to her when she got angry.

"Baby, darling..." He cooed at her, hands going to her hips to rub circles around them in an effort to appease her.

"Don't you 'darling' me Choi Jongho. Tell me, did you enjoy having your little pet rub herself on you?" She demanded as she took his hands off her and slammed her own on the desk behind him, effectively trapping him and keeping him from moving.

"I- No! Of course not!" He exclaimed in indignation.

Y/N scoffed dryly as she reached a hand up and placed it on his chest, mimicking the earlier actions of her rival, except whereas Jongho recoiled from Hyunjoo's touch before, it was now different as he began melting into Y/N's touch.

"I don't really believe you, I think you would have fucked her if given the chance." She didn't really believe that sentence herself but she wanted to spark a reaction out of Jongho.

"Now why would I do that when I have the most perfect woman right in front of me? When she's everything and all I want?" He let out a hum as he ghosted his lips over hers, wanting to desperately kiss her at that moment.

"Oh really now? I'm all you want?" She giggled in a mocking tone as her teeth caught onto his bottom lip and tugged on them slightly.

"Fuck!- yes. You're all I want. You're the love of my life, the object of my desires, the mother of my son..."

Cupping her cheeks, he tenderly kissed her, lips perfectly molding against hers as he tried to convey his adoration for her. When he pulled back, he stayed only a few centimeters away as he nuzzled his nose against hers.

"My wife." He whispered those two words so soft as if they were a solemn prayer not meant to be heard by anyone else.

Although his words brought a sense of warmth and fuzziness inside her, Y/N was not about to let Jongho off the hook so easily. He needed to be reminded of something else.

"You're forgetting something else Mr. CEO...... I'm not just your wife."

Jongho grunted when she suddenly pulled him by his belt loops, her knee coming up to rub against his crotch which was starting to swell up.

"I'm your boss."

He watched with amazement as she dropped down to her knees, her fingers making quick movements to unbuckle his belt. Stiffening when her hands squeezed at his bulge, Jongho heaved out a sigh.

"Don't tease me." He slightly whimpered to her.

Quirking an eyebrow up, she sent him a seductive smirk.

"Wasn't planning on it."

Taking hold of the top of his trousers, she made sure to pull his briefs down with them, freeing his hardened cock that was already leaking at the tip. Running her thumb across his head, she looked up to find her husband flushing a crimson red hue, a soft chortle escaping his throat as he realized what she was doing. Pressing his bulbous tip against her lips, she coated them with a warm gloss before pushing them inside the barrier of her teeth, raking the underside of it. That motion alone already had Jongho's thighs shaking. Her tongue swirled around his shaft, giving the head a subtle suckle. At last, she opened her mouth more widely and drove him deeper into her throat until she was releasing a choking sound, a trail of moisture spilling out from the corner of her mouth. Pulling back, she hummed around his length to further intensify the sensation.

"Oh my god." Jongho moaned as his hands tried to reach towards the back of her head, which were quickly slapped away by her.

"Nuh uh my love, we're playing with my rules right now."

Jongho had to steady himself by gripping the desk behind him, resisting the urge to buck himself up into his wife's throat. He let out sharp gasps and groans when she gave him a particularly long slurp, gurgling melodies practically coming out her mouth. He filled her throat to the brim, his dripping organ stroking against her tongue each time she moved it to and fro. Instinctively parting her knees, she reached beneath her skirt to touch herself, finding herself to be dripping as well. Raising her eyes upwards, she saw Jongho's head thrown back, mouth open and spilling out melodic hums of bliss and lust as his pelvis began to thrust faster against her face, chasing his upcoming release with a determined intensity. Feeling his thighs tighten and his cock twitch, she knew it was only a matter of time before his hot liquid would spurt into her throat. Wanting to please him, her mouth began a mix of lapping, sucking and licking at his length, soaking his flesh until long pools of saliva came trickling down her chin and onto her neck. Her mouth kept moving back and forth, heightening his excitement until he began pumping his climax into her, his seed flowing down her throat which she swallowed generously.

"Oh fuck! Oh God!" Jongho cried out, not caring to keep his voice down as he had just had one of the most exhilarating orgasms after months of only having his hand to keep him company during those needy moments.

Pulling out of his wife's mouth, her lips glistened with a blend of her spit and of his cum. Getting up from the ground, she pulled out her hand that had during this time stayed between her legs, her arousal glowing on the tip of her fingers. Holding them up to her husband's face, she smeared some of it across his lip.

"Suck."

His mouth parted instantly as he graciously accepted her fingers into his wet cavern, licking off the sweet juices from her core. She watched him with utter fascination, always loving how he was always so pliant with her every command. Once sure he had licked her clean of anymore secretions, she pulled her hand out of his mouth and quickly replaced it with her own. Their tongues danced around each other as their arms wrapped around the other's body. Pent up desire and weakened passions were flowing through every touch and caress of their hands. They both realized just how much they had been missing each other's bodies, forgetting about their needs up until that moment. Pulling away with reluctance to catch her breath, Y/N looked up at the already disheveled looking male in front of her and smirked.

"Hop on top of the desk.......Sir." She whispered that last word in his ear, biting down at his earlobe.

His shivering body did not go unnoticed by her and she was more than delighted to watch as he practically cleared the desk, letting papers and other utensils scatter on the floor as he sat up on top of it. Reaching back inside her skirt, Y/N dragged her now soiled panties down her legs and set them off to the side, already knowing what she would do with them later. Climbing on top of Jongho's lap, she took hold of his cock one more time and began to pump him slowly, getting him worked up once more, his soft tender skin becoming erect and hard once again. Noticing the way his eyes peered at her slight cleavage, she used her free hand to unbutton her blouse before pulling her bra cups down enough for her breasts to pop out. Jongho swore he could cum at just the sight of them, nipples poking out and gleaming with the hints of milk oozing out.

"Suck on them. Drink mommy's milk up. After all, they're for daddy too." She encouraged him with a giggle.

His mouth devoured her breasts. He gnawed at the stiff buds of her nipples and suckled against her until her sweet nectar began trickling onto his tongue. Y/N arched her back and began spilling out erotic moans, teeth biting down occasionally at her lip as she couldn't handle the overwhelming pleasure of having her husband feed on her breast milk. Jongho was enjoying himself as well. She was moist to the point of being succulent. His tongue slipped against her fleshy mounds and he could feel himself choking on the rich taste she produced. The more he worked on sampling her flavor, the more she sighed and panted as she pushed her chest more out to him. All throughout this, her hand never stopped pumping at his length.

Jongho whined when she suddenly pushed his face off her chest, a tiny trail of milk being left on his lip. Gripping his base more firmly, she placed him right at her aching entrance and sunk down on him with no warning, causing his breath to hitch.

"I'm gonna fuck you Jongho. Fuck you til you're a crying mess to remind you who this dick belongs to. And you're gonna take it like the good slave you are. Got it?"

He nodded his head furiously, wanting nothing than to feel her take advantage of him, use him as she pleased. With an evil smile, she reached for the discarded panties she had momentarily forgotten about.

"Oh...and I guess we better keep quiet. I know I can keep it down. But you? You need a little help."

Jongho spewed out pornographic sounds as she stuffed his mouth with her panties. He could taste her sex on his tongue but he had no time to fully enjoy it when she suddenly began to bounce herself on his cock. When he tried to grip at her hips, she caught his wrists and slammed them down on the desk, his back hitting against the hard wood, but he didn't care. He was too immersed on the excruciating pleasure of having her tightness press around his cock. The desk underneath them rocked with every one of their sinful movements, no doubt alerting anyone within a few feet near the doorway, perhaps even further down. And that's what Y/N wanted. She wanted to make sure all the people outside finally understood that Choi Jongho was hers, hers only and no one else's. No one could ever take him away from her because she had him wrapped around her finger.

"Look at you, you look so pathetic. My dirty panties in your mouth, my hands keeping you from moving as I bounce myself on your cock."

Once again she felt the familiar twitch of his head warning her he was going to bust at any moment. It only fueled her to grind down on him harder.

"Who would have thought the powerful and mighty CEO would be nothing more than a little slut? Eager to get his dick wet enough to bend down to his assistant. You were so fucking easy my love."

Her mocking and teasing only helped in having him spasm underneath her, his orgasm ripping through his body in such an extreme manner he thought he would go insane. But Y/N didn't let him fully come down from his high when she began rutting herself once more on him, this time with more force and vigor that had Jongho crying out. His eyes began to became filled with tears, muffled pleading incoherent due to being gagged by her underwear. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, another orgasm was being forced out of him, his seed overflowing from inside Y/N's core that it began to cascade down into her inner thighs, droplets even falling onto the furniture underneath them.

"Even with your mouth occupied you still manage to be such a loud brat, I bet this entire floor can hear you. What? Is that what you want? Want all your employees to hear as I fuck you like my personal sex doll?"

Jongho's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he heard her words. He hated admitting it but having her degrade him, talk down to him and reduce him to nothing more than a pleasure toy never failed to make his toes curl.

"Maybe you do and that's fine. I want all of them, especially that little skank to hear as I ruin you. Let them know who's really in charge here."

Y/N's movements became more sloppy as she felt her own climax approaching, her walls squeezing unbearably down on Jongho's dick. Her breasts were jiggling with every move, adding more sensuality to the already wicked image of her riding her husband's body.

"Can you cum once more for mommy? I know you can. Daddy can definitely give mommy his cum one more time right?"

Jongho nodded, grumbling something that was not understandable. With a prideful look, Y/N raked her hands across his chest.

"Fill my pussy up once more love. Knock me up with another one of your kids. Wanna get pregnant once more by you. Fuck!"

She cursed loudly as she began shattering on top of him, chest heaving as she released her juices onto his thick cock, which was also pumping out the last remnants of his seed and coating her walls profusely. Jongho fell into a spiraling oblivion of pleasure, unable to feel anything but his throbbing dick pulsating around her heat as it milked him out of every last drop of his cum. He was in heaven, even if it was a sinful act they just committed.

Y/N let out a hiss as she pulled out of him, a long trail of sticky cum pouring onto the desk and even dropping onto the carpet. Her legs felt wobbly as she tried to walk, the numbness in her feet soon turning into a pins and needles sensation. Taking her panties off his mouth and stuffing them into his pocket, Jongho quickly fixed himself, zipping his pants back up and getting up just in time to catch his darling wife before she tumbled onto the floor

"It's ok my dear. I got you." He sweetly smiled at her and rubbed at her sore lower abdomen.

"I love you." She suddenly said.

Tilting her chin up, he kissed her temple.

"I love you more, so much more." He confessed.

"Enough to let me take the rest of the day off and go back home?" She made puppy eyes at him.

Jongho bursted out laughing at her question, nuzzling his nose against the crook of her neck.

"You're so funny babe.....nice try but no. We still have a meeting today." He reminded her, which earned him a huffing spouse.

"Have I ever mentioned I hate my boss?" She nudged him away, to which he snorted.

"Darling let's be real here. You're the real boss here. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

⊱⋅ ──────────── ⋅⊰

[robininthelabyrinth]

Play date with the Lans and Nies! Except it's Nie Mingjue training with little Lan Zhan and Lan Xichen painting with Nie Huaisang! Baby brothers getting crushes!!!! Adorable all around!!!!!

Lan Xichen had been told several times not to expect that things would be the same as they’d been the last time he’d visited Qinghe and the Unclean Realm.

It was unusual that he’d visited before at all, in fact; usually, the heirs to the Great Sects were raised very firmly in their own traditions before allowed to venture out to meet any others – often only in their teenage years, when they were wise enough to learn from others without losing the core of their ancestor’s teaching. But his uncle had been friends with old sect leader Nie, personal friends in addition to being allies, and so he’d had the chance to visit once before, a few years back.

He’d enjoyed that visit. 

He’d been very young, younger than Lan Wangji was now – sometimes he felt he was still younger than Lan Wangji, who was not quite nine years old but very solemn about it – but Nie Mingjue was very nice to him, showing him around and playing games with him very earnestly as if he hadn’t had any friends at all.

It didn’t feel at all like the older boy had been humoring him. They’d even gotten in trouble with their parents together, having tried to switch their baby brothers around so that old Nie would stop complaining about his child’s low vitality and Lan Xichen’s Uncle could have some peace and quiet from Lan Wangji’s very effective lungs at last.

Things would be different now, of course.

Lan Xichen was nearly thirteen years old, on the verge of adulthood (in the technical sense, anyway), but Nie Mingjue…

Nie Mingjue was already Sect Leader.

(It puzzled Lan Xichen a little, how someone he remembered as being only a few years older than him could have so quickly shot into the ranks of real adulthood – were there really six years between them? It didn’t seem possible, but then again, he had spent his childhood visit looking up at Nie Mingjue from a great distance...)

It was Nie Mingjue, not old Nie, who greeted them at the door, and who sat with Uncle in the study to drink tea and talk politics. And when he was done with that, he had to go and deal with sect business, first a table full of papers that Lan Xichen would never be allowed to look at and then a hall full of people asking questions and after that he had to lead saber training for the Nie sect disciples.

It wasn’t until right before bedtime in Gusu that Lan Xichen was able to find time to talk to his friend.

“You look tired,” he said, and Nie Mingjue smiled a little, nodding in agreement. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Nie Mingjue rubbed his eyes. “Can you spend some time with Huaisang tomorrow? I haven’t had as much time for him as I’d like, these past few days, and he’s only just barely started being able to handle being away from me for a few hours without going into a panic.”

“Certainly,” Lan Xichen said, and a beautiful idea appeared in his brain. “And I’ll send Wangji to you, of course.”

Nie Mingjue blinked at him.

“We did always say they’d make a good trade,” Lan Xichen said, and smiled when Nie Mingjue laughed.

-

The next morning, Lan Xichen told Lan Wangji that his duty for the day was to go and help Sect Leader Nie with whatever he needed, which Lan Wangji accepted with a deep, solemn nod that suggested he was preparing to go to war.

“It won’t be that bad,” Lan Xichen coaxed. “It’s only Mingjue-xiong. Don’t you remember when he came to visit Gusu a few years back? You sparred with him a few times, and later –”

Lan Wangji’s ears abruptly turned bright red and he shook his head furiously to forestall any further commentary. Lan Xichen pressed his lips together to keep from laughing; Lan Wangji had had the most adorable crush on Nie Mingjue in those days.

“You know,” Lan Xichen said innocently, “given that it’s morning, I think you’ll probably find Mingjue-xiong at the training grounds…”

Lan Wangji was gone faster than the wind.

Still chuckling, Lan Xichen went to go find his own charge. Nie Huaisang had been sick with allergies during part of their visit to Gusu, staying inside so he wouldn’t make them worse, so Lan Xichen hadn’t had much of an impression of him – he remembered a little dumpling, a round face with a vivacious smile and an awful lot of giggling, a sunny contrast to Lan Wangji’s natural seriousness.

The shy, skinny child that flinched away from him and hid his face away behind a fan wasn’t anything like the child he’d remembered.

Nie Mingjue had said something about Nie Huaisang having developed a tendency to have brief attacks of heightened panic, Lan Xichen remembered, which were worsened if he couldn’t lay eyes on his elder brother for any extended period of time. He must be afraid of losing his brother the way he’d lost his father, which Lan Xichen could understand – the painful memory of being told his mother wasn’t there anymore still stung bitterly anytime he let himself think too much about it, and it’d been years, not months.

(Nie Mingjue’s visit had been the only thing that had managed to lift Lan Wangji’s gloom after the death of their mother, and Lan Xichen would be forever indebted to him for that. Even if he’d never tell him the exact reason – Lan Wangji would immediately expire out of sheer embarrassment if he ever did.)

“I’m going to be spending time with you today,” Lan Xichen announced, and Nie Huaisang looked more resigned than anything else, turning his head gloomily to look at where his saber was sitting in its proper place. “How do you feel about painting?”

Nie Huaisang paused and very slowly turned his head back to look at Lan Xichen suspiciously. “…real painting?”

“With ink and colors and everything,” Lan Xichen promised. He knew that Qinghe Nie tended to believe that physical exercise was a good antidote to grief, but he’d personally found that art worked better for him as an escape – maybe the same would be true for Nie Huaisang. “We can go paint some landscapes. Or maybe we can see if we can find any birds?”

There were a lot of birds in Qinghe, and all different types, too. It was as if every time Lan Xichen turned his head, there was a new explosion of feathers in some new configuration.

“I like birds,” Nie Huaisang murmured, his voice very soft.

“We’ll keep an eye out for any we see, then,” Lan Xichen said enthusiastically. “If we can catch one, I’ll convinced your brother to let you keep it.”

Nie Huaisang’s face brightened, and Lan Xichen was sure it wouldn’t be hard to convince Nie Mingjue to let his brother keep a few animals, not if he could see that smile. “Really? I can keep one at home?”

“Really.”

“It’s safe now?” Nie Huaisang asked, hopping off the bed to go put his hand in Lan Xichen’s.

Lan Xichen thought that was an odd question, but nodded again. “We’ll buy a nice bronze cage in the market,” he said, thinking that Nie Huaisang might be worried about cats or something – another notable feature of Qinghe. Stray cats everywhere. “That’ll keep it safe.”

“Steel is better,” Nie Huaisang said as Lan Xichen led him out. “Bronze will bend if a fist hits it hard enough; it won’t protect whatever’s inside.”

“Steel it is, then,” Lan Xichen said. He’d only thought that bronze would match the décor of Nie Huaisang’s bedroom; steel would clash and ruin the feng shui. “Maybe plated in bronze?”

“That works!”

-

“I’m a Sect Leader now,” Nie Mingjue told Lan Wangji, who was standing at attention better than some of the adult Nie sect disciples. “What I need right now are good lieutenants. Are you capable?”

Lan Wangji nodded firmly.

“It won’t be that interesting,” Nie Mingjue warned him. “If you think you’ll get bored and want to wander off –”

“I won’t,” Lan Wangji said, and there was a note of determination and pride in his voice that made Nie Mingjue want to pick him up with one arm and give him a hug the way he’d done in the past.

He didn’t, of course. For one thing, it’d be beneath his dignity as a Sect Leader to so causally embrace a child from another sect – or anyone, for that matter; for another, Lan Wangji had always had a great deal of pride for a child, and Nie Mingjue had long ago figured out that the best way to deal with pride was to offer respect where it was due.

“Very well then,” Nie Mingjue said. “I will count on you.”

Lan Wangji lifted his head and clenched his fists, his eyes shining, and his expression only became more and more happy (in that barely-noticeable way he had) when he realized Nie Mingjue was giving him tasks that actually needed doing, rather than merely filling the time to entertain him.

Nie Mingjue wouldn’t have done the latter regardless – he’d always disdained the idea of condescending to a child like that – but as a matter of fact he did need the help: someone to write things down as he made decisions, to survey things and report back to him what he saw, to arrange that he would have fresh ink before he noticed he was out, to put signatures on things that needed to be signed once Nie Mingjue had approved the idea, to inconspicuously serve tea during important political discussions while keeping enough of an ear out to be able to remind Nie Mingjue of everything that had been discussed later…

His advisers were right; he really did need a deputy. Possibly several of them, if he couldn’t find one competent enough to serve alone.

“Wangji,” he said towards the end of the day, and Lan Wangji looked up at him from where he was faithfully copying out one of the letters that needed to go out before the end of the day. He was barely tall enough to sit properly at the table, but his calligraphy was perfect. “You helped me a great deal today. Well done.”

Lan Wangji nodded and looked back down to finish off the letter, only the redness of his ears revealing his embarrassment.

They went down to the entrance to meet Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang, who were returning from their outing for the day – Nie Huaisang was clutching a giant bird cage covered in a cloth, with a smile that almost looked like the one from last year, from before, and Lan Xichen had paint splattered on his face and white clothing.

“Do I want to know?” he asked Lan Xichen dryly as he gestured for the two children to greet each other, but Lan Xichen only laughed.

“I promised him he could keep whatever we found,” he said with a smile. “Also, Huaisang has some paintings he wants to show you. If you like them, you might consider hanging one up in your office.”

He will hang them all up no matter how ugly they are, Nie Mingjue decides immediately. He doesn’t say that out loud, merely nods and says, “We’ll see, then.”

“How was Wangji?” Lan Xichen asked. “He didn’t bother you, did he?”

“Don’t be absurd, Wangji’s a good boy,” Nie Mingjue said. “And an excellent deputy. If he wasn’t your brother, I’d try to steal him away from you.”

“He might like that,” Lan Xichen said, looking at Lan Wangji fondly. “Maybe when he’s a little older, I can send him here for a season, to improve his cultivation –”

Lan Wangji didn’t do anything as crass as nod furiously, but his expression showed distinct signs of interest; he wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to Nie Huaisang, who was rambling into his ear.

“And perhaps I’ll send Huaisang to the Cloud Recesses for your uncle’s teaching,” Nie Mingjue replied, mildly hopeful – it was out of the question right now, with Nie Huaisang only sleeping through the night half the days in the week and never when he was on his own, but it would be nice, in the future. He thought that his younger brother would enjoy the serenity of Gusu.

“– and then we caught a bird, look!” Nie Huaisang concluded, pulling the cover off the birdcage.

Nie Mingjue glanced over, then did a double-take and stared.

“Xichen,” he said, with admirable restraint. “Did you actually promise that my brother would be allowed to keep a vicious flesh-eating hawk?”

“There’s no way a hawk is that small,” Lan Xichen said. After a second of observing Nie Mingjue’s face, he added, a little weakly, “…right?”

[storiesforallfandoms]

living dead ~ damon salvatore;the vampire diaries

word count: 2563

request?: no

description: when his friend falls ill and is thought to be dead, damon lives for centuries with the guilt of never admitting his true feelings for her, until he finds out she wasn’t completely dead

pairing: damon salvatore x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist

She saw him coming up the walkway before anyone else. She recognized him even before she could see his face. She raced out of the house as quick as she could to meet him halfway, jumping into his arms and nearly knocking him over. Damon chuckled as he squeezed his best friend.

“I didn’t know you were here,” he said.

“Mother and I arrived yesterday,” she responded as Damon set her down. “I didn’t know you were discharged!”

“I didn’t tell anyone, not even father or Stefan. I wanted it to be a surprise when I arrived home. I had no idea I’d be the one who was also surprised. Are father and Stefan home?”

(Y/N) smiled brightly and took Damon’s hand in hers, pulling him into his own house as if he were the guest. When the front doors closed behind her she announced, “Mr. Salvatore! Stefan! Mama!”

Her mother was the first to come at her call, reminding her daughter, “(Y/N), I told you it is not lady like to yell!”

“But mama, it’s Damon!” (Y/N) said as her mother descended from the stairs.

Following closely behind was Stefan, the youngest Salvatore, who quickly raced down the stairs and into his brother’s arms. Mr. Salvatore was last, and he didn’t look as enthusiastic about his eldest son’s return.

“Hello Damon,” he said once Stefan stepped away. “What are you doing home so soon?”

“I was discharged, I wanted to surprise you,” Damon responded, trying to smile.

“Are you home permanently then?”

Mr. Salvatore was practically glaring at his son, which angered (Y/N). Mr. Salvatore could never be proud of his sons, or happy when they were around. He had to always be upset, to find the bad in every situation, to always make Stefan and Damon feel as though they were in the wrong for everything.

“I hope he is,” she spoke, drawing all the attention to her. “I’ve missed him around. It’s been so boring here without him.”

Damon and (Y/N) smiled at each other. Damon was grateful to have her there. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle his father, even with Stefan there.

Mr. Salvatore merely turned his glare to (Y/N) before addressing his son again, “We’ll have a special dinner to celebrate your arrival home. We will eat at 5:00 sharp, none of you be late.”

He turned to walk back up the stairs. (Y/N)’s mother smiled at Damon and welcomed him home before following Mr. Salvatore. The three youths were left, watching their parents go.

“I see he’s still a ball of sunshine,” Damon muttered.

“I think he has just gotten worse since you left,” Stefan responded. “It’s good to have you back, big brother.”

~~~~~~

Mr. Salvatore sat at the head of the table with (Y/N)’s mother on the other end. Stefan sat on one side by himself while Damon and (Y/N) sat side by side on the other. Dinner was, as to be expected, silent and tense. (Y/N) kept trying to make conversation, asking Damon about his time away. However, it would always end shortly after Damon’s answer as no one would pick up the conversation.

“So,” Mr. Salvatore said, breaking the silence, “Damon, your discharge, was it honorable or dishonorable?”

“Father,” Stefan said, his voice warning his father not to upset his older brother.

“Actually,” Damon said, ignoring Stefan, “I asked to be discharged. I was tired of fighting a meaningless war.”

Mr. Salvatore dropped his utensils, causing them to clatter on the table. (Y/N) jumped at the noise. His face was red with anger as he looked down at his plate. “You...abandoned the war?”

“I asked to be discharged, I left by my own accord,” Damon responded. “There was so much I saw, it wasn’t worth it to stay.”

“You disrespected my family because you did not like what you saw at war?” Mr. Salvatore hissed.

“This is my family, too, father,” Damon snapped. “And it seems you are the only one who feels disrespected. I did not wish to stay because staying meant either two things; going insane or dying.”

“I think I would rather you dead than tarnishing our name like this.”

“You vile, heartless man!”

The outburst from (Y/N) surprised everyone, including (Y/N) herself. But she had witnessed so much of Mr. Salvatore’s abuse for years and she was fed up with it.

“(Y/N),” her mother scolded.

“No mama, I am sick of the way Mr. Salvatore treats Stefan and Damon! All they do is try to impress you, and all you do is shit on them and treat them like dirt!”

“You better watch your tone, young lady, you are in my house,” Mr. Salvatore scolded.

“I do not give a damn about your house, or you! You are a wicked, heartless man, and you deserve to - ”

(Y/N) stopped suddenly. She clutched her chest as breathing became harder and harder. Damon, Stefan, and her mother jumped from their seats as she fell over. Damon took her head onto his lap and leaned down so his eat was over her mouth and nose.

“She’s not breathing,” he said. “Get help!”

~~~~~~

(Y/F/N) died the next night. Her mother refused to let any of the Salvatore men in to see her, insisting that she be the only one with her daughter in such a dire time. Damon begged her to let him see (Y/N) at least once, and sat outside her door until the news of her death.

A year later, the impossible happened and both Damon and Stefan became vampires. Damon lived for centuries with the guilt of his best friend’s death. Not that he had anything to do with her sudden illness, but he kicked himself for never admitting his true feelings to her. He wished he could’ve had at least one last moment to tell her before her untimely death.

Centuries later, Damon found himself in a much more modern Mystic Falls. While (Y/N) was definitely not forgotten, Damon had mostly moved on. He knew he shouldn’t be dwelling on her death for so long when he was going to live forever, so he tried his best to move on.

However, on one particular night, Damon was at the Mystic Grill with Stefan and a group of their friends when a familiar girl walked in. Damon’s eyes had crossed over her briefly, but then he quickly did a double take.

It was (Y/N).

Damon stood from the table before he knew what he was doing, drawing the attention of the group to him. He could hear his friends questioning what was wrong, but it sounded like their voices were muffled. The commotion caused her to look over at him and her eyes widened.

Next thing he knew, Damon was outside the Mystic Grill with his hand around (Y/N)’s arm, dragging her behind him. She yanked her arm from his grasp and rubbed the place he had been holding on to.

“You’ve gotten stronger,” she noted.

“You’re alive?” Damon questioned.

“Not really. I am dead, but just...living dead.” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “Seems as though you’ve figured that out, though, considering you are also still alive.”

“I didn’t fake my death!” Damon hissed.

(Y/N) stepped back, her eyes wide. “Careful Damon, you’re starting to sound like your father.”

Damon sighed an ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry. I am happy to see you, but you have to understand I thought you were dead for centuries. I’ve been grieving you for so long, I’ve gone years thinking that I would never be able to say a proper goodbye to you.”

(Y/N) sighed and looked down at her feet. “I know, I’m sorry. I tried to convince mama to let you come see me before my fake death, but she said it was too risky. She said there was a possibility that I’d change in front of you and then our cover would be blown and your dad would kill us. The only safe way for us to leave was for mama to tell you all that I had died.”

Despite her voice having changed to match that of modern times, she still had that slight accent that Damon remembered, causing him to remember the good days before she had “died”.

“Was your mom a vampire?” Damon asked. “I thought my dad had known her for some time, wouldn’t he had noticed she was never aging?”

(Y/N) shook her head. “She wasn’t my real mother. It’s...it’s a long story.”

“I have an eternity.”

(Y/N) couldn’t help but smile slightly at this. She nodded for him to join her and the two began to walk away from the thumping music of the Grill.

“Well,” she started, “when I was born I was a very sick child. My parents were told that I had an illness building within me, and at some point it would take over me and I would die, most likely young. My parents were devastated as I was their only child, but the nurse that was looking after me told them that she had a way that I would survive, the only catch was that I’d stop aging before the illness could take me, meaning they’d never truly see me grow old. The news devastated them, but they’d rather I live than to lose me. The nurse, mama, she took me in. She had always wanted a child but couldn’t have one because of what she was, so she Glamoured my real parents to forget that I was their child. She took me in and raised me, keeping a close eye on me to make sure that my illness didn’t get the best of me before she could put her blood in my system.”

“Wait,” Damon said, stopping her. “Your mother...that woman...she took you from your family?”

“It was for their own good,” (Y/N) explained. “For their safety. When I changed, I was blood hungry. I was so wild that mama could barley keep me tamed. She was afraid that I’d expose myself, that I’d get myself truly killed. She knew that if I stayed with my human parents when I changed that I would’ve attacked them and killed them. It was for their own safety.”

“What about my father?”

“At first, she had no intentions of leading the lives that my real parents led, but soon people began to wonder what happened to me. They all knew my real mom was pregnant, but then suddenly my parents didn’t have a child and couldn’t remember having one. So mama Glamoured everyone to think that she was my mom, and that my real parents were a completely different couple. When she was Glamouring your father, I was old enough to walk and I met you. According to her we were infatuated with one another, and it broke her heart to break us up, so she decided to make it seem as though she shared the memories my real mother did with your father so that you and I could remain friends.”

Damon smiled. “Your mother was always better to me than either of my parents were. I’m glad she liked us enough to want to stick around.”

(Y/N) smiled, too. “I’m glad, too. I can’t imagine living life worrying about when my illness would catch up with me and when I’d have to be turned.”

Damon looked over at her. She didn’t look upset, more reminiscent, like even the memories of the times she was sick were good ones. “Did you know? About being sick and your mom, I mean.”

(Y/N) nodded. “Yeah, when I got old enough she was very upfront about it all. It was hard to believe, the vampire stuff anyways, but she proved herself to me. It was scary, but I had the reassurance that she was there for me and that’s all I really needed.”

They walked in silence for a while. Damon wasn’t really sure what to say. What do you say to someone you thought had been dead for centuries? After taking so long to come to terms with her death, to finally try and start moving on, only to have her walk back into his life. It wasn’t something that had ever happened to Damon before, he wasn’t sure how to grasp all of this.

“I heard you outside my door those last two days,” she told him finally. “I heard you begging with mama to let you in, I heard you talking to me through the door in hopes that I’d hear you. I begged mama to let you in so I could say me goodbyes, but she said it was too risky.”

“She wouldn’t even tell us what was going on,” Damon said. “She just said you were sick, that you needed to be alone. And then, you were dead. It was...mortifying.”

(Y/N) stopped suddenly and turned to face Damon. “I am so sorry, Damon. I never thought...it didn’t occur to me how much this would’ve affected you. I thought...that you’d just move on.”

“I tried. I tried for so long. I didn’t really move on until a few decades ago, but even then it was hard to not see your face, to hear your voice. I regretted not being able to see you one last time. To tell you that I...”

The words trailed off. (Y/N) raised an eyebrow at Damon. “What did you want to tell me? You have plenty of time for it now.”

This caused Damon to chuckle slightly, which brought a smile to her face. God, he had missed that smile so much. Damon looked down at the ground, knowing he couldn’t look (Y/N) in the eye as he spoke.

“I...I’ve loved you since we were young,” he admitted. Having the words out felt like a weight being lifted off of his shoulders. “I wanted to tell you for so long, I thought I had a long time to be able to tell you, but then you got sick and...I tried to get into that room to tell you, I wanted you to know before you died.”

(Y/N) looked at him in shock. She didn’t react for a long time, which worried Damon. He was sure he had ruined everything in that moment, centuries of loss and misery had been rectified and he was sure he had ruined it again.

But finally, she smiled and said, “What took you so long?”

Damon couldn’t help but sigh with relief, which turned into a laugh. “You mean, you knew?”

“No,” she responded, “but I’ve always liked you. I wanted to tell you, but especially after learning of my illness and what I was to become, I knew that I couldn’t. But, now we’re both immortal and we both have feelings for one another, so what do you think we should do about it?”

She was leaning into him. Damon wrapped an arm around her back, holding her to him. “Come back to the Grill and meet my friends. Tomorrow, I take you on a proper date.”

(Y/N) smiled brightly. “I’d love that.”

[moldy-mold]

June Blog Gotta spice up my life.

Tried out new boba places that have started to open up in Atlanta and I feel like life is worth living again!

-

Plant Saga I swear this is probably the most eventful part of my life.

Hubert the monstera has many new leaves, one successfully became a split leaf but he’s got a ways to go. He’s too small now to create completely split leaves. I think maybe next year...

- I got Lorenz a rose gold planter and it made him more bougie. NICE. I don’t know if anyone cares about mini rose plant care but he did get infected by spider mites because of course he freakin did. I mixed dish soap and water and sprayed him once a week and they disappeared. Every day I have to monitor him for signs of stress and any other possible problems. I think he’s the most high-maintenance plant I currently have and it is very fitting lool.

- Rokurou the Venus Fly Trap keeps eating things. Very typical. I saw him catch a moth that nearly escaped with half of its body still caught in the trap. It was gruesome but I was really psyched to see him catch something other than ants. He is so happy now he even created a flower bud which I had to unfortunately destroy before it bloomed. It really weakens the plant to let it produce flowers. :( Apparently they’re pretty boring and smell bad anyway loool. I need to get him a planter too... - Say hello to Riki the parlor palm! I was trying to think of which character was pointy and tropical. This is a pretty easy plant to care for, I just water him once a week.

My next goal is to get my hands on a pothos! Time to think about names...

-

Projects Last month I began planning out a complete comic series about Rokurou and Eizen. Listen... I am very enthusiastic about their bromance. I work on it every day for a little bit before bed. You can say I was inspired to do this because of the amount of Webtoons I’ve been reading. If they let us post fanart maybe I would have given it a shot haha. Sadly, my only usable social media platforms are not comic-friendly but it’s alright. Based on my progress I’m happy to say that I will be finishing a comic series for once (I’m 95% done). And I never finish anything! I want to launch this project in two weeks but I’ve told myself that I must finish all of my comic pages before I post a single thing. Soon. - I don’t think I’ve shared visuals of what I do at the stationery company I work at. We occasionally get orders for chalkboard bar menus for wedding receptions. I’ll show you the one I illustrated for the client of their pets! I actually met the bride and groom that day (it was also my birthday) and they thanked me like 1000 times and even gave me a huge tip. T_T

Otherwise, my duties include laser cutting and wedding assembly! I would love if this were a full-time job like the old days... - The bakery... I am bros with the cafe owner’s husband. He helps out on weekends and we have synergy. He is very... DAD. For some reason he likes to give me a new life lesson every week I see him. He’s not my dad but I’m still going to tell him Happy Father’s Day. Here’s a text:

-

The Berseria Journey (I will be vague in my commentary) Made a new friend thanks to Berseria! Crying over fics really do bring people together 🥺.

After playing for 6 and a half months, we finally beat the main story... To be fair, we went around the world doing all side quests and optional content. My favorite mini-game was Character Cards!

My roomie and I play together so during the finale she took on the “short one” as Velvet - while I, playing as Rokurou, had an EPIC one-on-one sword fight with the “tall one”. Dodging attacks and countering with Vengeful Stance, the delicious stun attacks. MMM! It was so good. Finished it off with beautiful lvl 3 mystic. *chef kiss*

Uhhhhhh I need time to process that ending because so much was happening in the last 10 minutes of the game. I am still kind of confused but you know what, that’s okay. Maybe my brain will catch up when I do post-game activities.

I wish I had more interesting pictures but we’re having such a hard time getting PS4 recordings to work. Please accept my Snapchats.

Last but not least, to end the blog:

He said wanted the towel. To wear nothing but the towel. It is very much canon, so who am I to deny him?

[gio-is-writing]

Bruno meeting his childhood friend before he became a mafioso? And she helped his dad and himself a lot back then? Maybe they meet again because he saved her from a few guys harassing her and they both recognize each other? And he's all protective of her now like how he was with his dad

REQUEST:  Bruno meeting his childhood friend before he became a mafioso? And she helped his dad and himself a lot back then? Maybe they meet again because he saved her from a few guys harassing her and they both recognize each other? And he's all protective of her now like how he was with his dad

ngl this is my best work i think heodbwisns I have a lot of Bruno request and i’m happy to comply. I hope you enjoy this one!!

Pairing: Bruno Bucciarati x Fem! Reader

Warning: mentions of drugs, reader being harassed but nothing graphic

BY FATE WE MEET

Living by the coast was peaceful, the sound of waves under the warm sunlight every day. Evenings were peaceful and the sight of dawn was simply beautiful. Bruno sat on the old boats propped on sand while his father collected what they got from their boat and prepared everything to head home, Bruno looked up at the hill by the beach with few houses and spotting his right away. He was lost in thought wondering what his mom would do for dinner when he heard some shouting. Another boat arrived on the other side of the dock while a smiling girl standing on the very edge of said boat waved energetically at him. As soon as the concrete platform was close enough, she jumped right out and ran in his direction, Bruno jumping down from where he sat.

“Hey Bruno!” she hugged him briefly “How was your day? Good catch?”

“Hello (Y/N), it was pretty good today” he answered smiling “How about yours?”

“It was great, a lot of big fish!”

(Y/N) was an enthusiastic little girl, her father was also a fisherman and they lived a few houses away from where Bruno lived. They had grown close thanks to their fathers being well acquainted over the same business and having really similar schedules for work but not saying more than a few greetings or a little chat here and there. While Bruno was very similar to his father in the social sense, (Y/N) was a social butterfly who enchanted whoever met her. The young boy enjoyed her company and considered her a friend after meeting pretty often.

When his father gathered all their things, Bruno rushed to help him carry some things after saying his goodbyes to the girl. She answered with a happy ‘Ciao!’ and hurried to help her own father so they could also go home.

Days like this were the usual, Bruno liked to join his father and help with anything he could and return to his mother’s delicious dinner. This was an everyday routine he grew up to until the impossible occurred, his parents decided to divorce. He was so confused, why was this happening and why were they making him choose? But he knew his answer almost right away, he would stay with his father no matter what.

After his mom left he felt odd, he definitely felt her absence and missed her bed time stories but working with dad was what he liked the most. After a long day out, there was some knocking on their door and his dad answered just to call for him after. Standing by the door was (Y/N) with a brown box and a bright smile. He was surprised, now knowing what the girl was doing on his house at this hour.

“(Y/N)?”

“Hi, I bought you some cookies” “Me and my mammina made them for you”

“Thank you (Y/N)”

“It’s no problem, let me know if you like them!”

“We sure will”

And turning around she ran to her house, as Bruno and his father walked outside to see she got there safetely, her own parents were standing by her door and waved back at both males. Bruno’s dad waved and walked back inside once the little girl reached her house. Bruno smiled softly and followed him closing the door.

After dinner they decided they could taste some of the cookies (Y/N) brought for them, opening the box there were six chocolate chip cookies. Each grabbing one and biting into it they sighed at the same time, they were delicious! After that day, she would occasionally bring more cookies or some other treats she and her mother cooked that day. Some days they stayed outside talking or playing made up games until the sky was dark. Bruno really liked (Y/N), a lot.

After his dad made a little business for tourist visiting the area, they were more busy than ever. Bruno couldn’t say he didn’t like it, he thought that some tourist were funny and working was great, he still missed (Y/N) at times but he was so caught up in working that he sometimes forgot about everything else like anyone’s normal life.

But it seemed that fate didn’t want Bruno to have a normal life. If only those two men hadn’t found out of his dad little business, if only his father had refused that trip.

Standing along on the hospital corridor he was a nervous wreck, he couldn’t stop worrying for his father safety and tears ran freely down his cheeks without noticing. Until he heard a voice calling out for him. Lifting his eyes from the ground he saw a baby blue dress approaching, a worried expression on her face.

“Bruno!”

He broke in her tiny arms, crying his heart out. Her father was a few meters away talking with the nurses that held him back just moments before. He looked so scared but after he was notified of the accident (unfortunately when his daughter was with his) they both rushed to the hospital. (Y/N) couldn’t help but cry too, Bruno held her tightly as he sobbed all he was keeping from coming out. The girl was so moved, she couldn’t understand what had happend exactly but she knew that Bruno needed all her help to feel better.

“They wanted to kill him” he said angrily “All because of those stupid drugs!”

(Y/N) only heard about those things from her parents that strictly told her to stay away from people offering her stuff. Those were the things they carried and they were never good.

“I’m sorry Bruno”

A few minutes passed where he calmed down and told her everything he knew as best as possible and explain the whole situation (the best way a seven year old did to a six year old anyway) She was relieved to hear his dad was okay for the most part but he had to stay in the hospital. She hugged Bruno tightly again before whispering.

“I’ll be here for you”

As they passed Bruno stayed glued to his father bed just like he did before. He would stay day and night beside him in case anything was needed. They didn’t really knew that many people, living far into the suburbs offered that much but there was someone that visited every few days.

Just like before, (Y/N) visited often to bring food for Bruno. She had told her mother she was concerned for him since “he has no one that cooks delicious food for him” and complained that hospital’s food looked ‘yucky’ . Therefore her mother made her two lunch bags so she could go to the hospital and eat with Bruno. He really appreciated it since he too believed that hospital food was the worst.

One day she held into his father hand while Bruno was sleeping on the sofa of the room. His father didn’t react to her touch but she knew he was hearing her.

“Don’t worry signor Bucciarati, Bruno is strong”

She recieved no verbal answer but she could swear she felt a tiny squeeze from his weak hand and that was enough answer.

Those visits continued until one day Bruno said it was ‘too dangerous’ for her. She didn’t quite understand but her visits reluctantly lessened after that plus starting school. Eventually years passed and she stopped visiting, maybe too caught up in school and things young girls did. Bruno grew up fast and made a decision that would change his life forever but thought was necessary.

—

Bruno made a name for himself in Passione, earning the trust of his higher ups and the people in town. Even after his father passing he found a safe haven in the organization, keeping peace in his territory and most importantly making sure drugs where non existent.

Walking around town was always calming for him, greeting a few business owners he collected protection money from and old ladies that recognized him. Sitting in one of tables outside a coffee shop he relaxed under the warm sun, the city was mostly calm on the daily.

“Leave me alone, please” said a female voice lowly, clearly scared.

“Come on cara, stare us a minute of your time”

“or a little taste”

“Per favore, don’t touch me”

Bruno was growing anxious and angry as the conversation continued. Turning his head to where the discussion was taking place he noticed the small frame of a young girl surrounded by three grown man that looked dirty at first glance and perverded eyes.

She took a few hurried steps before she was abruptly stopped and turned around by one of this men grabbing her arm. She yelped as her heels almost broke.

“You’ll do as we say missy so we avoid problems”

“I don’t-“

Another yelp as she was pulled into one of the others man chest. Bruno could barely make their faces but he had enough, if there was one thing he hated almost as much was harassment and that would not be tolerated in his territory.

Standing up and quickening his pace before that dirty hand on her back could go any lower he stood just a few feet away.

“I’ll appreciate you let go of her right this instant”

“why would I do that?”

“I-“

As the girl turned her face to meet his in a look of pure distress, he was taken aback. Those eyes, he knew those (E/C) eyes too well. It had been too long since he last saw that beautiful shade and meeting them like this made his blood boil. He closed the distance in a second and firmly pulled her from the mans grip.

“If you ever lay another finger on her I’ll make sure you never see daylight again”

“ha! and who are you?” the tallest tried to fight back while the others two seemed to recognize the man before them.

“Bruno Bucciarati”

Realization hit and he paled in seconds, taking a few steps back he nodded and walked away with the other two. He stared at them until their figures disappeared so he could look back at the young woman beside him. Those sparkling eyes stared back at him in shock, wearing a baby blue dress just like when they were young. Bruno smiled down at her as he let go of her arm.

“Bruno...”

“(Y/N)...”

They stared at eachother for a whole minute before she almost threw herself at him in a big hug. Bruno smiled into her hair and hugged back tightly.

“Thank you for helping me”

“Is the least I could do, are you okay?”

“I’m good” she sighed with a small smile “You have a lot of explaining to do”

“Let’s talk it over a nice cup of tea”

Bruno explained everything he could to her, commenting on his father passing and current status everyone knew of. She listened closely with her full attention on him, she felt such relief of having him here with her, knowing he was okay after so long and losing all comunication. She then explained how her family moved to Rome but she came back after school since she missed the ‘tranquility of being beside the sea’

“I’m so happy you’re doing good Bruno”

“I’m glad we could meet again” his voice was above a whisper but she still heard and a smirk made an appearance on her features.

“Fate got us back together”

Silence wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable, it felt calming and relaxing just being on each other’s presence. She closed her eyes as she sipped from the cup and breathing in the warm air of the city.

“I can still cook those cookies you liked”

“Never leave my side again (Y/N)”

[imagine-lcorp]

Think About It (One Shot)

Request

fem!Reader and Lena where R is Winn’s older sister and like him, is very intelligent. Yet, unlike him, is more confident and a whole badass person 🤩 lena and r bump into each other when they’re both at the DEO. R and Winn are enthusiastically chatting about some nErDy stuff and while Lena is talking to Supergirl, she catches R in the corner of her eye and is absolutely mesmerized

A/N: I guys, so we are back!! I’m sorry it’s taking a shot ton of time from me to write but i’m trying to get my shit together over here so that’s a work in progress but remember it is my mission to finish your request so pls don’t worry! Now, kudos to the dear anon that sent this one, i hope you like it! love ya guys :)

Lena Luthor x Schott Fem!R//Word Count: 2,008

-------------------------------------------------------

The DEO had been relatively quiet during the whole day as there seemed to be nothing that could disrupt the calm that surrounded the whole place. There had been no threats of any kind. All hostile aliens were already on their cells, and the agents had been going about their day without interruption. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen, and it almost felt like a well deserved day of rest considering the last threat they had to face. Reign and the Worldkillers had given the world a show to remember and everyone was still trying to go back to some sort of normalicy.

J'onn and Alex had been in the main office, discussing what she needed to know as the soon to be new director of the DEO. Part of the Legion of Superheros was still around, taking care of the last details before returning to their own time. Supergirl was close to the labs, thanking Lena for basically saving everyone's lives with the Harun-El.

It could have been one of the quietest days at the DEO had it not been for the sudden bickering that filled the lobby.

"It is not." Winn's voice echoed through the walls.

"It is." Your voice came almost instantly.

"It's not!" "It is!"

It kept going and going until the voices reached the center of the lobby and everyone turned their heads to see who was causing such a fuss.

"(Y/N), come on! Those are high tech machines, what's not to love about them." It was Winn who kept going about it.

"Look, I totally get it." You said as you walked through the lobby. "You wanna have your fun punching giant monsters in your giant robot? That's great! But they are unpractical."

"They are not. You're creating a line of defense against big alien creatures, fighting fire with fire."

"The thing is they are purely mechanical bodies fighting sentient creatures that obviously have a huge mobility advantage. Why don't you use biological weapons instead and end the job faster?"

"You serious?" Winn stopped in the middle of the lobby. "Bio weapons is the last thing you want to use. Do you wanna endanger the whole population?"

"Alright, alright. I'll give you that." You stopped too and turned to look at your brother. "But it is still unpractical a waste of resources because you cannot fight, guess what?"

"What?" Winn crossed his arms.

You gave him a cheeky smile, like you always did when you were sure you were about to end an argument. "Physics."

Even though you were sure that would end the discussion, it only helped to increase the debate between you two.

Lena, who had walked outside the labs along with Supergirl to find out what was happening, became pretty interested in the discussion you were having. First, because she had never seen Winn fight with anyone like that and second, because she had never seen you before, and once her eyes were on you it was almost impossible to take them off.

"What are they talking about?" She asked Supergirl, imagining her super hearing could help her have a better grasp at the debate.

"Uh, something about giant robots?" Supergirl shrugged and smiled fondly at the scene. She had seen this kind of fight between the Schott siblings, and she knew this was the way you usually showed your affection to each other. "You never really know with those two."

"Who's that?" Lena asked.

"That's (Y/N), Winn's older sister."

"I didn't know Winn had a sister."

"Well, there she is." Supergirl smiled, noticing the way Lena looked at you. "She's great, I hope you get to meet her tonight."

"Tonight?" She raised her eyebrows.

"The Legion of Superheroes is leaving, and Winn along with them. We organized a little farewell party, so she came." Kara turned to see you and your brother still arguing. "You're staying for the party, right?"

"I don't know." Lena shrugged. "There's a lot I still have to do at L-Corp."

"Come on, Miss Luthor. I think you could use a little distraction too after all that has happened."

"I'll think about it." She said as she watched you two.

She could hear a bit more of what you were talking about. It was a really heated argument indeed about giant robots and the impossibility of creating such machines with the current technologies available. She could see, after a minute observing you, that this conversation was now just an excuse for you to annoy your brother. Every time Winn tried to make a valid point to his arguments you came with another equally valid. The fight couldn't seen to find an end, until J'onn came out of his office to talk you down.

"Agent Schott?" He stood in front of you both and Lena watched as you stood watching your brother trip over his words.

"Sir-I m-mean- J'onn!" He said.

"Is everything alright?" J'onn asked with a very paternal frown.

"I'm sorry, yes." You steeped out saving your brother the embarrassment Lena could see on your brother's red face. "My brother and I were just having a little discussion over practical armament. Also, I'm (Y/N) Schott, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir."

Lena watched as you smiled at him confidently, as if you were meeting an old friend instead of your brother's boss, and without noticing she smiled too. Then she saw J'onn take you and your brother to his office and with that you disappeared for a while. Lena imagined they had invited you to the party and the idea of staying a little longer didn't seem too bad.

Meanwhile, once J'onn got you in his office, he spoke with you and your brother about the current DEO situation. You had had an idea of what this visit was all about the moment Winn had invited you to come with him and, as J'onn kept talking, you finally got the whole reason why you were there. To join the DEO.

"Would you consider it at least?" J'onn asked after he stated the final proposition.

"Yes, she will." Winn looked at you with a raised eyebrow. "Right?"

"I'll think about it, sir." It was the only thing you said before leaving J'onn's office.

Once you were out you could sense your brother about to have some words with you, not believing you hadn't say yes right away to the possibility of working for the DEO, when J'onn opened his door again and called your brother for a private conversation and saved you the annoyance.

"We'll talk later." He said to you with a frown before leaving you.

You waved at him with a cheeky smile before he closed the door and you were then alone in the middle of the hallway not really knowing where to go or what to do. You decided to walk back to the lobby, thinking about the position J'onn had offered to you and how it hadn't been much of a surprise.

When Winn had called a few days ago, you could hear in his voice the sort of seriousness and solemnity that was reserved for the great moments and great tragedies. Like when your he had told you your father had escaped from prison or like when he told you he was joining a secret agency. So when he told you he was joining a team of superheroes from the future, you started to think about what it meant for you.

You didn't want to take his place as you knew it could be impossible to replace him but you also knew it was probably the only place were you would be able to check on him constantly and without further trouble. But Winn, being the brother he was, wasn't going to leave you all by yourself. He had probably been the one to suggest you took his place in the agency, first, to have someone as capable as him to assist his friends, second, to finally have all of his family in one place and, third, so you could have someone to rely on once he was gone. It was both a sweet and sad gesture and it made you realize how much you were going to miss him.

Thankfully, your mind found a little distraction while looking for the nearest exit.

The laboratories seemed to be abandoned as everyone else was preparing for the party and you glanced at something quite interesting inside of one of the rooms. You took a look at the hallway and considering you were alone you thought it wouldn't harm to peek a little. Inside, the room was illuminated by the artificial light and in the middle of it there was a work table with some kind of rock on display. At first, it didn't seem like much until you looked at the screens showing its molecular composition. You took the safety glasses that laid around and took a closer look at it.

"It isn't very polite to trespass inside someone else's lab." You barely flinched at the voice behind you and kept looking at the rock.

"Sorry, didn't mean to sneak upon your work but it looked pretty interesting." You took a step back from the table, took the glasses off and turned to see the person behind you.

"That's Harun-el. Krytonian mineral." The rock was instantly forgotten as she walked towards you with crossed arms and a little smile, and you were caught by her green eyes.

"Oh, wow, no wonder why Winn likes it in here." You said looking at her and then cleared your throat. "Uh, what does it do? Found anything about it yet?"

"Considering this is a highly secret agency and this a highly secret investigation, I can't say much, unfortunately." She pretended she didn't hear your first comment.

"Right, right, sorry again." You put the glasses back in the table. "Also, I don't think we have been introduced. I'm (Y/N) Schott."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lena Luthor." She uncrossed her arms to shake the hand you were offering.

"Are you serious?" You replied with raised eyebrows. "I'm a, uh, big fan, by the way."

"Thank you, (Y/N)." You saw her smile and were grateful she kept talking to you. Lena herself felt her cheeks turn a bit red at your compliment. It was hard to imagine how someone like you could like her.

"So, you are here often? I mean, you work for the DEO?" You asked.

"Yes and no. I assist the DEO in some cases. I do not work for them." She turned to look at the Harun-el. "What about you? You came to work for the agency?"

"No, I guess I just come to say goodbye to my brother. But I haven't decided yet."

"Oh, that's sad." She said looking at you with curiosity. "I might have been open to share some details of my investigation, seeing as you're interested in it."

"If you put it that way, I might also have a very compelling reason to accept the job offer but...I would be more interested in sharing a drink with you, Miss Luthor." You thought for a moment about your words and finished with a little smile. "If you were interested, of course."

"Well, first you have to accept the job, right?" You watched as she walked outside the lab. "And I hope this isn't the last time we talk."

You followed a step behind. "Aren't you staying for the party, Miss Luthor?"

"Maybe not for this one." She stopped for a second to consider it. "But if you have a welcome party, I'll think about it." She turned to smile at you and turned around keeping her pace.

As you watched her go, you decided working for the DEO wasn't such a bad idea. You could check on your brother from time to time, and the job offer wasn't so bad. And of you had the change to work with Lena Luthor, what else could you ask for?

[bandaged-writer]

gasoline 01 || dazai

➤ Pairing: Mafia! Dazai x Ability User! Reader

➤ Genre: action, fluff, angst, eventual smut, gore, violence

➤ Warnings: none for this chapter

➤ Summary: Why the hell was this deal still on? It was supposed to go invalid on your 21st birthday, so why did you still receive these damned flowers?

➤ Word count: 3.4k

➤ Note: The first part is finally here and I’m very satisfied with how it turned out. Please, let me know what you think. ^.^

➤ prologue || next

A wave of relief hit you as soon as you stepped foot out of the taxi and got greeted by Yokohama’s salty breeze and its setting sun which dipped the sky into a lilac color. There was the fading smell of crepes and the distant laughter of children playing around on their way home which filled you with a sense of being finally home. Yes, coming home was a luxury for many, yourself included - to be able to take the weight of work off your shoulders, shed the mask of a worker or student and become yourself once again. A place where no one judged you for who you really were, a place where everyone accepted you, a place where you could finally find some rest. You were glad to be home.

However, your train of thought got interrupted by your phone vibrating in your pocket, the display showing you the caller ID of no one else but your best friend and roommate since high school: Yukino. A pretty woman with fair hair and dark eyes, could get a little over excited at times but it made you love her even more. “Are you back in Yokohama yet, [Name]?!” Yukino’s voiced bounced off your ear drums, excitement laced in her voice as she awaited your arrival enthusiastically. You couldn’t help the chuckle slipping your lips, feet carrying you to the nearest subway station with a light bounce in your step. “Yes, I’m finally back and on my way to catch the train home,” you said with a smile stretching your lips as the train pulled up and waited for everyone to either enter or leave at this stop. Only a few people occupied a couple of seats here and there and it luckily wasn’t as packed as it was during rush hour - you sighed in relief. Crowds weren’t really your thing, after all.

Taking a seat and resting your sore legs, you were listening to whatever Yukino was rambling on about until you lifted your gaze and spotted a bouquet of orange lilies right across from you, the petals glaring right back at you while holding a pastel yellow card. There was no need to read it, because you knew what was written on it. Every year, you’d received a bouquet of orange lilies for your birthday and you had no idea from who. Cold sweat trickled down your spine, goosebumps rose along your skin as you stood up and approached the cursed bouquet. “Yukino. I’ll see you at home,” with those words leaving your lips, you hung up on your dear roommate whose response you couldn’t catch.

Shaky hands picked up the card and you silently hoped that this was nothing but a huge mistake, hoped that a stranger happened to forget to take these flowers with them. But it wasn’t. Upon opening the card, a cursive writing revealed itself, one that you were unfortunately very familiar with, one that had been haunting you, one that still followed you, despite your constant running.

“Happy 21st birthday, [Name]. I hope you enjoy this little gift.”

Why the hell was this deal still on? It was supposed to go invalid on your 21st birthday, so why did you still receive these damned flowers?

After all, it had been a year since you left Yokohama per your dad’s request to run from the agreement he had made nearly 13 years ago. It didn’t matter where he had been - at home, work or even the hospital - he always told you to run from a black-haired physician and a bandaged kid, begging you to study abroad if you ever got the chance just so the deal would be invalid and reach its expiration date. At the tender age of 12, you had thought of your dad as an old, confused man, but the older you got, the more you understood how dire the situation was and the more frightened you became of your 20th birthday. Hence, you followed your dad’s advice, studied abroad for a year and came back home on your 21st birthday, believing that you could carry on with your life as a normal citizen of Yokohama.

Your hand balled up into a tight fist, the card wrinkling within your grip and fingernails digging into the flesh of your palm as anxiety got a hold of you. These people were there, possibly watching you or waiting for you to make a move, to do something stupid. And so, you got off at the next stop and dumped the flowers into the closest trash can, the birthday card crumpled beyond repair. You turned around several times to watch out for a man who could look like a doctor or a kid - no, a man - who was either bandaged or had messy, brown hair and would match your dad’s description. However, 13 years had passed and God knew how accurate that description would be now.

Picking up your pace, you bumped into several people but couldn’t be bothered to apologize; there were more important matters at hand and one of them was going home where you were safe. To get out of there as fast as possible. While your mind was clouded with the pure need to flee, you failed to notice two young men watching your every step, one of them matching the description of your father. You had passed right by them, had the chance to see them and make a run for it, but you were blind. 

“She’s quite fast. Almost like a bunny. Don’t you think so, Odasaku?” Dazai asked his partner while his brown orbs watched you storm through the subway station as if you had been bitten by a tarantula. Well, maybe that wasn’t even too much of a metaphor considering that all of this was one of his Mori’s schemes and actually quite a cruel way to welcome you home. Odasaku had tagged along per Mori’s request; the mafia boss had said that Odasaku’s ability could be an advantage in case anything were to go wrong. “Couldn’t we just approach her instead of scaring her?” It was a well-known fact that Oda was a kind-hearted man with a mild temper, disliked murdering and hunting people down like that. He felt sorry for you, considering Dazai, out of all people, was the one to hunt you down like some prey. 

However, Dazai always had a reason for the things he did and why he did them. “When someone is in a threatening situation, one’s brain chooses between flight or fight and brings out one’s true feelings. I wanted to see how she reacts to the flowers and the card, although the deal Mori made was long since overdue. And as of now, we’ve got a fleeing bunny.”

You didn’t know for how long you had been running, but it was long enough for the air to feel like needles within your lungs, your chest burning with the strain and your feet hurting from the distance you ran. Hope filled your eyes as your shared apartment came into view, your hands already searching for the key in your jacket’s pocket and a smile of victory on your lips. Only a few more meters until you were within the safe walls where Yukino would be cooking something up - maybe ramen? You could really need one of her infamous bowls of her noodle soup right now.

But hope and victory was a fragile thing and could shatter faster than glass. Just as fast as it was within reach, it was ripped away from you within the blink of an eye.

It felt like time was slowed down yet everything happened way too fast when you found yourself in an empty alley, your wrists pinned down by your sides and a pair of dull, brown orbs staring right through your soul, being able to see every single scar and bruise time had left on it. “You’ll regret this,” you muttered through gritted teeth, your own gaze fierce and determined to give this man hell until you saw the bandages around his neck, arms and his left eye, the messy brown hair. Gaping like a fish, you realized that this was the very man your father had warned you about and that the past had caught up to you. “Oh? What will you do? Use your ability on me?” His voice was mocking, testing you and you were about to laugh in his face until you realized it.

Your ability didn’t work.

For the first time in your life, you wished you could properly fight even with your gift being nullified, but no - you had insisted on living a normal life, pretending not to be gifted at all. However, it seemed like the brunette wasn’t out to kill you. Something about him told you he would’ve done so already if he truly wanted to.

“It’s about that deal, isn’t it?,” sweat dampened your hairline, your chest visibly rose and fell as you finally caught your breath, the brick wall behind you cooling your heated back as you pressed yourself against it in an attempt to gain some distance from the brunette who only smirked in response, but it didn’t remain on his lips for too long. Suddenly, bandaged hands let go of you, were clapped together and a somewhat cheerful, delighted smile replaced the cocky smirk in an instant. “Great, then I don’t need to tell you about the details and why we’re here!”

You blinked once, twice. Dumbfounded. Was this really the same guy who pushed you into the uncomfortable wall?

“We?,” you asked, eyebrows raised in surprise and demanding an answer that came in the form of a man who seemed to be out of breath himself as he rounded the corner. Red strands of hair stuck to his cheekbones, the soles of his shoes lightly clacked against the dirty concrete while his hands found their way into the pockets of his jacket. It seemed like he had been running to get there, despite his surprisingly proper appearance.

“Ah, Odasaku! I was wondering when you’d finally join me in my conversation with this lovely lady!” Dazai greeted his friend with a wave of his hand and a chipper voice, his demeanor the polar opposite from the one he pulled just a moment ago. Cautiously, you watched the scene unfold in front of your eyes, not quite trusting them just yet. Deep inside, you hoped that this was some kind of weird dream you’d wake up from soon, but deeper inside, you knew it was mere wishful thinking. “Conversation? It looks more like you’re interrogating her, Dazai,” Odasaku spoke up, not surprised by the brunette’s attempt to somewhat flatter you - it was Dazai, after all.

At that, the suicidal brunette pouted his lips. “Not fair! You know I hate doing such crude things to a pretty lady like her,” Dazai argued back, whining about possibly having to quit his job if he had to keep scaring nice ladies in a dramatic manner that certainly didn’t fit the first impression you had of him. He almost sounded, dare you say, childish. “Anyways,” Dazai turned back to you, his body leaning against the wall behind him, arms crossed over his chest and his face more serious than when he was talking to Odasaku. Seriously, this guy didn’t only confuse you, but also gave you whiplash.

“It’s our order to bring you to our boss, especially since this entire thing has been long since overdue,” Dazai’s eyes were set on your figure like he was committing every little perfection and flaw to memory, like he was analyzing your entire body language which came off more confident now that you knew nothing would happen as long as you cooperated, somehow. “And if I don’t come along?,” you rested your head against the brick wall, your index finger slowly scratching at the skin of your thumb and gaze hard. If life taught you one thing, then it was that people always had a choice - the only question was whether there was a better option.

An empty smile graced Dazai’s features and sent shivers down your spine. “You see, we didn’t know how you’d react and since your ability is quite a troublesome one, I had a sniper watching you,” he cocked his head to the side, brown locks falling in his face and the shadows of the sun darkening his already dull gaze. Looking up at a skyscraper not too far away, you spotted something shimmering and it was proof that Dazai was indeed serious. “Mori almost had you shot, because you pose a threat to this city, but spared you since you can help us with a..bother. I could either finish what Mori started or you help us out.”

You clicked your tongue in annoyance and scanned Dazai’s face for a hint that he was perhaps pulling a sick joke on you, but he was as serious as he looked. The option to die was certainly not the better one, but hearing his boss out wasn’t exactly pleasant, either. “Tch, fine. I’ll hear what that Mori guy has to say.”

“I knew you’d make the right decision.”

Harmless paintings of artists whose name you had never heard of seemed to bore holes into your skull, shelves upon shelves filled to the brim with various books you had never read accepted the role as a silent audience who’d never talk about what went down within the spacious office that belonged to no one else but Mori Ougai. The mafia boss greeted you with a friendly smile, yet it seemed like that very smile was betraying you and ready to stab your back at any moment.

Dazai leaned his weight against the edge of Mori’s desk, another ginger-haired man stood behind the boss whose name was Chuuya. Besides them, Odasaku, Ango and Kouyou occupied the room and judging by the energy they gave off, all of these people were more than confident in themselves, in their abilities and looked up at within that illegal organization. Next to them, you felt small, but you refused to show weakness in front of those who had been haunting you ever since you were merely eight years old. No, you wouldn’t give them that satisfaction. You’d stand your ground, no matter what.

“It’s been a while. You grew up well, [Name],” Mori started the conversation and pulled a document from the drawer of his desk, his dark purple-ish eyes scanning the content briefly before his gaze locked with yours. There was no need to respond to the faux kindness of a man who you had no business with, who didn’t care if you dropped dead or lived and helped him out with whatever issue he was confronted with. “It’s also been a while since you covered for the costs my dad would have to pay for raising a child. I felt free enough to pay it back,” not once did your step falter or shake when you approached the ravenette and dropped an envelope full of money on his desk, a few of pairs of eyes watching your every move. However, even you knew that coming for their boss’s neck would equal your death sentence. Mori counted the money and made a rough estimation - he could let Ango check the accuracy of the money later. Handing the envelope over to Chuuya who tucked the money away safely in his coat’s inner pocket, Mori reached for the document he had earlier once again and had a light smirk tugging at his lips.

“But did you really think that you could buy yourself free with a bit of money?” You furrowed your eyebrows. Honestly, you did think that you could buy yourself free from the shackles your father had unwillingly put you in, but that revelation wasn’t the worst. It was the way Mori spoke like he had even more to say, like he was digging for something deeper, eager to see your reaction for whatever he was about say with that venomous mouth of his. “I would've expected some more questioning from you, [Name]. After all, it was your mother who didn’t want you and gave you into the hands of very compatible surgeons who gifted you your ability. You of all people should know that life is never that easy, right?”

At once, the entire room heated up bit by bit. Odasaku had to loosen the collar of his shirt, Kouyou fanned herself in an attempt to cool her skin down and strands of hair stuck to Chuuya’s forehead. Suffocating heat filled the room, seemingly sucking the oxygen out of the spacious office and making it hard to breathe. Chuuya was ready to jump into action, but Mori hindered him by simply raising a gloved hand, the material of the glove unpleasantly sticking to Mori’s skin. 

The expensive carpet beneath the soles of your shoes slowly melted and turned into an ugly black, smoke rising from the costly decoration while your hands reached for the document on Mori’s desk, burning the paper along with its ashes. All that was left was smoke. “You know too much,” the smile on your face didn’t reach your eyes and remained void of any emotions. Dangerous knowledge should be buried, destroyed and burned for it comes with a responsibility and a kind of power that would end up putting innocent people at risk. The fact that Mori knew what happened in your childhood, knew about your mother, was enough for you.

“Oh, did I bring up some unpleasant memories? My apologies,” Mori swiped some sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief and let out a huff of breath at the stifling heat. He was pleased with how well you could control your ability and that was all he needed to know for now. “If you wish, you may go. But I figure you’ll need our help, soon.” 

Needless to say, you didn’t trust that man’s words one bit. Even if you were to go blind and Mori was the last human being on this planet, offering you his help, you’d rather choose death. Thinking about him made you realize what detesting someone tasted like. “Thank you, but I’ll have to decline.”

With those words being said, you left the office with a wave of your hand, your back turned towards the mafia members.

“Jeez, I’m glad she’s gone,” Chuuya let out a breath of relief as the entire room rapidly cooled down to its original temperature. “Got me feeling like a baked fish.”

“Chuuya, you are a baked fish,” Dazai added, snickering as the ginger popped a vein.

The clock read 9 pm when you crossed the threshold to your beloved home and the long-awaited smell of Yukino’s ramen filled your nose, making you feel like you had never been gone. However, your nerves were still strained thanks to that guy named Dazai and his boss Mori who ran an entire mafia. Great, just great.

You kicked off your shoes and dragged yourself into the kitchen, a tired smile spreading your lips at the sight of Yukino warming up the leftovers she had probably made earlier. Well, you couldn’t exactly tell her that you would come home later than anticipated, but you didn’t blame her. The fact that Yukino still waited for you made your heart swell with happiness.

“Jeez, who got you hot and bothered?” Yukino pouted and turned off the stove to pour you a bowl of ramen, the added heat of the steam from the noodle soup made her visibly cringe. “Quite literally, it’s burning hot,” she complained, handed you the bowl and sat down at the dining table with you, her chin resting on her hand. Dark eyes watched you slurp away the noodles with a bit of worry swimming in them - after all, Yukino knew about the deal your father was responsible for and was very aware of your ability as well. Besides your mom and dad, Yukino was the only one who knew every little detail about you. “Ah, nothing. Just got stuck in the subway and everything was kinda stressful, you know?,” to give your roommate some peace of mind, you let a chuckle slip your lips, hoping she’d buy it for the time being. Your thoughts were still a bit messy and circled around Mori’s last words like a loop. Something was going on and it bothered you that you didn’t know what exactly it was. 

Yukino didn’t know what happened to you, but she was still keen on cheering you up. “You know what!,” she almost slammed her palms on the table and nearly made you choke on your dinner. Her arm found its way around your shoulder, pulling you flush to her side and causing a proud grin to adorn Yukino’s suddenly excited face. “Tomorrow, we’ll spend the entire day together after your job interview! It’ll be great, trust me!”

Oh, right. You totally forgot about your job interview.

[official-weasley]

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 3, Ch. 3

PART 3: THE YEAR OF QUIDDITCH & MAGICAL CREATURES Chapter 3 - The Quidditch Rivalry

Nova

I woke up suddenly the next morning and with a headache. I felt as if I didn't sleep at all. How will I show my best Quidditch moves being so tired?

I tiptoed out of our dormitory, careful not to wake Tulip, and went down for breakfast. I didn't even know what to get as I didn't want an upset stomach on the pitch and I was so nervous that I didn't feel like eating anyway.

In the end, I took a piece of toast and decided to visit Pip in the Owlery, as I didn't see him all week and I hoped that my nerves would calm down a bit if he nibbled on my ear.

Like whenever I came to see him this early, he wasn't really excited to be awake. I didn't give him much of a choice as I started telling him all about my tryouts and how I hope I do good but at the same time, I was afraid that I would have even less time for my studies and my friends.

Apparently, I talked too much as he started to snuggle into my chin, making my mouth shut. I giggled and patted his head. Just when he was waking up, I had to go to the pitch. Pip wanted to tag along but after about five minutes of convincing him to go back to sleep, he finally listened to me.

I took a deep breath and went down to the tents.

Two of the Ravenclaw Team were there already, along with 7 other students and the blond boy in the wheelchair who, if I remember correctly, became the Quidditch commentator last year.

“Nova, nice of you to join us. This is Skye Parker, who joined last year and hopefully, you already know my name, Orion Amari.” He said in his calm voice. “You can see that this is all there is from our team as we were so bad last year that all except us two quit.” These really weren't the words of encouragement but it did make me feel better that I can't be worse than the Team last year if I was standing here waiting for my tryout.

“For those of you who don't know the Quidditch commentator,” he turned to the boy in the wheelchair, “this is Murphy McNully.”

“Nice to meet all of you. You can call me McNully. I am 98,4% sure that you will all do great and I will be shouting your name at our next game. I am also 63,7% sure that...”

“That's quite alright.” Skye stopped McNully and I couldn't help but giggle when I saw he was still as enthusiastic about Quidditch as the first day I heard him speak about it on the Hogwarts Express back in our First Year.

“It is a bit unusual, but I was therefore appointed Captain, even though some of you,” he looked at some of the students, “are older than me and the Captain is usually the best player and in Sixth or Seventh Year.” He continued.

“Nonetheless, we will try and make our Team better and if it's written in the stars, we will do great this year.” He showed us all to move to the pitch. I grabbed one of the school brooms and hurried behind everyone else.

I've made a decision not to look at how other students perform. I knew that if I saw someone be better than me I would become even more nervous.

I was the last one to try out. I took a deep breath and flew closer to the team. The first thing I had to do was fly a few fast laps around the pitch. Then I had to do a double loop. Skye and Orion then threw as many balls at me to see how would I react and how many I could avoid. To my surprise and both of theirs, I dodged all of them.

Then Orion tested my catching skills where I had to catch and fly away with as many Quaffles as possible. I wasn't looking when a boy before me was doing it but I think he caught 6 out of 7 and I caught it every single time.

The last part of the tryout was goal scoring. One of the students who tried out for the Keeper position flew up to the hoops and Orion passed the Quaffle to me. He then told me to fly around the pitch and try to score. I did as he said and scored without a problem. Then I had to catch the Quaffle that almost hit the floor and score again and I missed that one. Then I had to fly all the way to the other side of the pitch, catch the Quaffle and get through Orion and Skye and dodge the Bludger to score. It was close to passing the hoop but I scored anyway.

Orion thought I did pretty good, however, I had to agree with Skye who thought that I could do better.

He then decided that it would be best if we played a friendly game to see how we function as a team. I tried to focus as much as possible but every time I passed Andre who was also trying out for the Team, for the Seeker position, I got distracted as he was murmuring something about how the Keeper is not guarding the hoops enough.

Something that I've noticed and it was more Andre's job than mine was the Snitch. It seemed that every time I caught the Quaffle I got distracted by seeing its golden hue in the corner of my eye.

If I was disappointed with how bad I did during the tryouts, it was even worse now when we were playing. I don't remember being so bad or maybe I thought I was good when I was playing with the Weasleys.

Our commentator, McNully, definitely didn't help the cause as he shouted quite a lot of numbers through the magical microphone, every time I missed a hoop.

“C'mon, Andre are you even trying to catch the Snitch?!” Yelled Skye at him.

I understood that her father was a famous Quidditch player, but I thought she was kind of harsh.

The events that happened next, unfolded so quickly that until the end, I didn't know what exactly happened.

Andre started shouting at one of the new Keepers how he can't defend the hoop, as Orion scored what seemed for the 10th time in a row. He then frowned and flew up to the goals, shooed the Keeper away, and positioned himself in front of them.

He kept the Quaffle from going through every single time after that and I was beginning to think that Andre tried out for the wrong position. I wasn't alone when it came to that idea as after the 5th defended hoop, Orion started clapping at Andre.

I was so bothered by the fact that the Snitch hasn't been caught yet as I was seeing it everywhere that I dived down towards the ground where the ball currently was, flew after it, and when I thought that I've made a mistake and almost hit the ground I grabbed my broom and pulled up right before crashing, a Snitch in my hand.

“And the Snitch has been caught! What a turn of events this Friendly is! I would say there was a 24.8% chance that we would see two new players switching to completely different positions!” I heard McNully say through the microphone.

And just as I thought it was all over, the kid Andre pushed from the hoops, grabbed the Quaffle from Skye's hand, who sat in total shock on her broom, and scored.

“What is happening?!” Half-questioned half-shouted Skye. “This is not how you play Quidditch! The Snitch has been caught, people!”

“Indeed it has, but this is quite what I was talking about.” I heard Orion say, as I flew closer with the Snitch in my hand.

I still don't know what exactly came over me to go after the little golden ball. I didn't expect to catch it, I was mostly intending to get rid of it so that I could focus on scoring with the Quaffle.

“What are you talking about Orion? This lot is even worst than the last year's Team!” Skye frowned at him as we all flew to the ground and entered the Ravenclaw Quidditch tent.

“Oh, here is where I have to disagree with you, Skye. Do you remember what I said before we began the tryouts?” Skye said nothing, she just stared at him, bewildered.

“I said that if it's written in the stars, we will do better this year.” He smiled softly. “It is you and I that made a mistake, Skye.” He continued. At this point, I didn't know what to make of Skye's face.

“You see, we were the ones who invited most of these students for tryouts and they all came knowing exactly for which position they would try out for.” He began to explain. “What we should've done is try everyone out for every position and see who is the best at what.” Skye was still confused. I, however, began to understand what he was saying.

“Sometimes, what we think we are good at, is not something that we are BEST at.” Skye opened her mouth at the last sentence but decided to close it and let Orion finish his speech.

“Andre here,” he stepped to Andre and put his arm around his shoulder, “was confident that he would make a good Seeker, but he couldn't see the Snitch even when it was right in front of him. When he saw that he probably won't make the Team he took his chance and unconsciously tried for the position he is indeed very good at.”

“Him,” Orion now stepped to the kid who scored a goal after I already caught the Snitch, “Skye, for him you thought that he doesn't know the rules but he was inspired by Andre and Nova who both changed from their assigned position and he also scored the only goal Andre couldn't defend and even you have to admit that counts for something.” He smiled at her.

“And you,” he now stepped to me, “I don't think I have ever seen anyone so distracted by that Snitch as you were. The second we let it out of the chest, you had one eye on it and if you didn't go after it and caught it when you did, I would have offered you a tryout for the position after the Friendly.” I was looking at him with my mouth open.

I didn't notice that that was what I was doing. I never paid that much attention to the Snitch as I always played Chaser when I played Quidditch with Charlie and his brothers and Charlie always did such a good job at catching the Snitch that I didn't have time to be bothered by it.

“So, you see Skye, instead of having Andre as our Seeker and Nova as our Chaser and this wonderful goal scorer as our Keeper,” he tapped the kid on his shoulder. At this point I wasn't sure if he knew his name, “we got Andre as our Keeper, a companion Chaser for you and me,” he pointed his finger at Skye and then at himself, “and a Seeker, for who I think will bring us closer to the Quidditch House Cup with every game.” He finally stopped next to me and smiled.

“Oh, and I am sorry, I forgot, what is your name?” He casually turned to the kid who became our new Chaser.

“My name is Kit.” He replied with a weak smile. Orion nodded.

“That settles then. Bernie, Tommy, you are our new Beaters. Kit is our new Chaser. Andre will defend our hoops as the Keeper and our diving Seeker, Nova.” I had to think for a second why he used the word diving and then I remembered how I caught the Snitch.

“Congratulations to all who made the Team and perhaps next year, it will be written in the stars for you to try out again.” He said to the rest of the students who didn't make it.

“Woohoo! There was only an 8,7% chance for the turnout we just had as a team. I haven't seen such a messy game since the Quidditch World Cup last year! Keeper being pushed from his position. Chaser diving for the Snitch. Beater shouting at the Keeper. It was brilliant and I would say it's a 99.8% chance that this was the best tryout any Quidditch House had in years!” McNully came inside the tent out of nowhere. I couldn't help but chuckle as I found his insane statistics rather amusing.

After a few more words from Orion, we were finally allowed to leave.

“Nova, could I have a word?” Or so I thought.

I turned around. He nodded at Skye to leave. When she passed me she gave me a very suspicious look and walked out of the tent.

“Yes?” I couldn't help but be confused as I couldn't imagine what this could be about.

“I know you are friends with Charlie Weasley.” I nodded.

“And as you know, he was made Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team last Summer.” I nodded again. I really didn't know where he was going with this.

“How close are you?” I blinked at Orion's question. What did he mean how close are we? I felt my cheeks turn pink.

“I am not sure I'm following you, Orion.” I had to have a puzzled look on my face as he chuckled a little bit.

“I am asking if it's going to be a problem when we play against Gryffindor, you both being Seekers?” He finally explained.

He had a good point. We talked about how we would feel playing against each other if he was a Seeker and I was a Chaser but I didn't think how it would be battling him for the Snitch.

“We discussed it.” I lied. “We will put our friendship aside when it comes to Quidditch.” Orion nodded and smiled.

I can't believe he bought what I just said, I know I didn't.

“Very well, then. I will send you an owl when I figure out when our first practice will be.” He walked out of the tent.

I decided my legs were too weak to walk and go back tothe Castle. I sat on one of the benches and stared at absolutely nothing.

I was never planning to become a Seeker and now I was one, by accident. What will Charlie think? Will he be okay with this? Will he be able to play against me and fight for the Snitch? Will I?

I didn't know how to feel about the whole situation. I blinked a couple of times, got up, and decided to speak to the only person I knew might have an answer to this dilemma.

[fridasfantasy]

The Girl in the City

A/N: First one-shot, imagine thingy. And it is Avatar: The Last Airbender. No one saw this coming, especially not me. I went through the tag the other day and saw someone say that there’s a desperate need for more Sokka x Reader fanfic. And I agree. So, here is my contribution. I hope you enjoy! <3 

Word Count: 2198

Pairing: Sokka x F!Reader

Summary: During their stay in Ba Sing Se, the Gaang luckily meet their neighbour – a brave and outspoken teenage girl. From the very first day, she tries to help them with information she knows as a member of the Upper Ring society. Sokka just happens to stumble into her one day while in the city and enjoys getting to know her. Very much.

~o~o~ 

Something is rotten in the city of Ba Sing Se. After a whole day spent walking around the city and trying to get any kind of information about Appa, all they managed to get was a sinking feeling in their stomachs. Sokka had a hunch that it had something to do with that Joo Dee woman and her strained smile. How was it possible that no one would talk to them about the war?

As soon as Joo Dee’s carriage pulled away, Sokka noticed two faces watching them through the window from the house across the street. When he locked eyes with one of the curious culprits, they both slickly hid away.

“Hey, come with me,” he said to his friends.

They made their way to the house and knocked. A grey-haired man hastily opened the door and greeted them with a wide smile.

“You’re the Avatar. I heard you were in town. I’m Pong,” the man said.

Those words were followed with quick footsteps, as the teenage girl who Sokka caught peeping through the window made her way back to the door and joined her father at his side.

“So it’s really true,” she added and bowed, hitting her father lightly and urging him to do the same. “I’m Y/N. We’re honoured to have you here.”

“Oh, there’s really no need for… That,” Aang said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. “It’s nice to meet you, though.”

Y/N sent them all a confident smile when Sokka quickly interrupted the pleasantries, despite being temporarily distracted by her beaming eyes.

“So, Pong, Y/N. what’s going on with this city? Why is everyone so scared to talk about the war?”

“War, scared? What do you mean?” Pong replied nervously, while Y/N stiffened next to him.

“I can feel you shaking,” Toph said to him.

“Look, I’m just a minor government official. I’ve waited three years to get this house. I don’t want to get into trouble.”

“Get in trouble with who?” Katara asked.

“Shh, listen, you can’t mention the war here. And whatever you do, stay away from the Dai Li,” Pong said and slammed the door shut. Sokka saw Y/N flinch and shoot her father a reproachful look.

As they turned back to go to their house, he could hear their muffled voices behind the door and noted how Y/N’s quickly overpowered her father’s.

After dinner, the group’s chilled evening was interrupted by an unexpected knock on their door. Katara went and answered it, only to find Y/N standing there with a nervous smile and a tray of baked goods.

“Hi, again,” she greeted. “I’m sorry to barge in, but my mom and I thought you might enjoy some dessert after dinner. She’s a baker in the city and brought these traditional cakes home from work, I’m sure you’ll enjoy them. The recipe is one of Ba Sing Se’s greatest secrets,” she shot Katara a meaningful look.

Katara looked at the tray and saw a piece of parchment poking out from under the cookies. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she seemed to understand the girl. Thanking Y/N, she took the tray and called for her friends so they could find out what this secret recipe was all about.

~o~

Y/N’s note helped them understand that the Earth King won’t be the one to help them. It is silently understood in her father’s work circle that all the orders they have to deal with don’t come from the Earth King, but they do not know for sure who the string-master in this play is. This lead the group of friends to work out a plan to go to the King’s party, where they made the unfortunate acquaintance of the grand secretary Long Feng.

A few days passed with no sign of Appa or any hope of an uprising against the Fire Nation. Sokka found himself one evening walking along the streets of Ba Sing Se, when he suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice.

“Through all the long night. Winter moon glows with bright love. Sleet, her silver tears,” the voice read in a lyrical tone.

“What is this?” Sokka asked himself once he detected the window from which the voice was coming from.

There he saw Y/N standing on a small stage, reading to a room full of girls their age and a middle-aged tutor. He noticed how calm and collected she looked in comparison to the other times he saw her nervously fidgeting. She was wearing a fancy kimono, one of the fanciest he saw in Ba Sing Se, actually. And the lights were highlighting her soft features and his face took on a dreamy expression as he watched and listened to her voice.

“Ah… Poetry,” he sighed.

Before he could realize what was going through his mind, he felt a kick on his behind and ended up painfully hanging from the window, for everyone to see.

“I am so sorry,” he blushed. “Something struck me in the rear. I just… Wound up… Here?”

He heard slow laughs around the room, the loudest one coming from his right. Only then, he noticed he was already on the stage, just a few feet away from Y/N. He sent a glance her way, accompanied by a smug smirk on his face.

“Hi,” she mouthed and gave him a small wave.

Who knew that soon after that whole scene one of the most important battles of his life would take place. It was only him and the teacher, going back in forth in a haiku battle while the girls in the audience, including Y/N, laughed at Sokka’s antics, much to the teacher’s displeasure. But then, Sokka did the unspeakable and miscounted his syllables. Y/N almost felt sorry for the guy, letting out a hiss as she knew what was about to happen. She gave him a small shrug as he looked at her for help before the guard basically sent him flying out.

The last thing Y/N expected was to see Sokka outside after the lesson, casually leaning against a building. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and made her way to him.

“Um, waiting for someone?” she asked him.

“Yeah, actually,” he said as he straightened up. “You.”

Y/N looked even more confused than before.

“I figured I could sit and wait for you, so neither of us has to walk alone,” he explained, still rather surprised at himself for actually deciding to wait for this girl.

“Oh, well, that’s very kind of you. Thank you, -” she paused. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name back there.”

“Sokka,” he said and smiled awkwardly, realizing how weird it must have been for her to have almost a complete stranger wanting to walk her home. However, she still seemed confident despite the weird situation.

“Want to get going then? I kind of need to be back home soon,” she said.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go,” he started walking straight down the street.

“Sokka, it’s actually this way,” Y/N called after him, pointing to the opposite direction.

“Oh, right. I just went to check out those… Cabbages,” he said, trailing off.

“What do you have in that weirdly shaped bag?” she asked him suddenly once they started walking.

“This old thing holds my trusty boomerang,” he answered enthusiastically.

“Your boomerang?”

“Yup. My father gave it to me a long time ago and ever since then it has been my weapon of choice.”

“Well, interesting choice,” she bit her lip to hide her smile.

“Hey! What have you got against my boomerang?”

“Nothing! I just got to say, I’ve never met anyone who’s chosen a boomerang for their weapon of choice. I actually don’t think I’ve ever met someone who even owns a boomerang.”

“Then all those people are missing out. What do you even know about boomerangs? Or weapons for that matter?”

“Excuse me?” she scoffed. “I actually know my fair share about weaponry, thank you very much.”

“Oh, is that so?” he teased her.

“Yes,” she answered with determination. “I’m in a rush to get home because I have class with my sword master. And my weapon of choice just happens to be a ninjato sword, if you happen to wonder.”

Sokka’s mouth was wide open, showing how he truly didn’t expect that answer.

“How come you’re walking around unarmed then?” he asked her.

Y/N stopped where she stood, deciding to just look down at her outfit and letting the boy figure it out by himself. It took him a minute, but-

“Right, poetry-haiku-thingy you were just at. Dress. Make up. All that,” he mumbled uncomfortably

They continued their walk down the streets of Ba Sing Se’s Upper Ring while making small talk. Finally reaching their street, Y/N suddenly turned to Sokka.

“Say, Sokka, would you like to join me in my sword fighting lesson?”

“What?” he asked with wide eyes.

“You heard me. Come on. Join me today. It would be nice to train with someone new, more challenging. Besides, I’d love to see how you fight with that thing,” she nodded towards his boomerang.

His face still showed a stunned expression and he looked at the girl in front him. She shuffled a bit, fixing her expensive-looking kimono that began to feel uncomfortable. There was no need for him to be shocked by any of this. The girl did risk her and her family’s position the other day by giving him and his friends a snippet of information the Dai Li and Long Feng would rather have concealed. And after the Kyoshi Warriors, meeting a brave and armed girl such as Y/N should not have surprised him.

“I would appreciate it if you would stop staring at me like that and try giving me an answer instead,” Y/N said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Okay. I’ll train with you.”

He enjoyed just watching her lesson and marvelled at how agile she was with the ninjato sword. He never saw anyone wield that weapon back home. Her master was very gifted, but it soon became evident that the student had surpassed the teacher some time ago. Sokka got to show off his boomerang; to the master, to Pong, and to Y/N as well. She even admitted that the weapon had more to offer than she had initially thought. And after a small misaim that nearly cut half of the girl’s hair off, Sokka put it neatly away in his bag, smiling innocently.

Now, she was standing in front of him, both of them unarmed. They were ready for a sparring match to finish her lesson off. She was the first to attack, which he kind of expected at this point. He began figuring this girl out. Or so he thought. She may have started the fight but her blows were noticeably weaker than she had displayed just moment ago during the training session. He easily blocked her and soon began to strike back. She wasn’t tired, he could tell that by how fast she was able to react. So what was she playing at? Soon enough, he found himself desperately trying to be quicker than her but somehow couldn’t even match her pace. All it took was just one sloppy and tired hit for Y/N to grab his arm and twist him into a yielding position.

“Yeah, it figures,” he mumbled. She pulled the age old trick of tiring him out at the very beginning and took advantage of a single moment of weakness. She knew he would overcompensate.

She loosened her grip on his arm but left her hand linger on his upper arm as he turned around.

“This was great! You’re so good!” she said excitedly.

“Wha-? But, I lost,” he was once again confused.

“That doesn’t matter at all. I had so much fun,” her other hand found its way to his other upper arm. “We have to do this again another day! Please?” she sent him a hopeful look, squeezing his arms lightly as she jumped slightly in the air from excitement. He couldn’t help but smile as a fleet of butterflies made their presence known in his stomach.

What? Where did that come from?

“I-I would like that very much,” he smiled softly and she returned it, suddenly feeling shy.

 ~o~o~

A/N: A few things, if I still have your attention. If not, that’s okay too lol I am bad at action sequences. I am bad at titles. Actually, I am new to writing all together. This might be really bad and I’d appreciate if you’d let me know what you think. Also, anyone interested in a second part?  This is a F!Reader imagine, I will try to make my other ones more inclusive, universal so to say. I just really wanted to post this to get myself motivated.

Okaaay, I’m done now. Have a nice day/evening/night ^_^

[sierraraeck]

How to Make Friends (Pt.1)

Spencer x OC Aundreya

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Summary: Spencer’s had a problem with Aundreya since the start. How is she going to earn his respect? Story four.

Category: Some angst, some fluff.

Warnings: Cussing. Quick mention of normal CM stuff and the quick retelling of two rough childhoods. Mentions of bullying.

Word Count: 5.3k

So I’d been going about this all wrong. The whole time that I’d observed the FBI from the outside, they all seemed to be strictly business. I knew they cared about each other but I never expected them to be family. I was going to have to start slowly nudging my way in if I ever wanted to earn respect and do what I was hired to do. I had to stop thinking about this like a co-worker situation and had to start thinking about it like a client situation.

I had good social skills, I just hadn’t been using them correctly thus far. Whenever I needed to talk to someone that was vital for my survival, or the survival of my ring or gang, I could always be very charming. Usually, I would take them to a high end restaurant and we would talk things over. That’s what I decided I needed to do with each member of the team. They were my clients, and I was going to sell them Aundreya Chambers.

The first person I decided to take to dinner was Aaron. He was the nicest to me, by force or by choice I didn’t know, but either way, he’d be the most inclined to accept my offer. Plus, if it was okay for the Unit Chief to go to dinner with me, hopefully it would show that it was okay for the rest of the team to go to dinner with me. The night with him went well. We talked about work of course, but I also got to know about his family. He already knew what happened to mine, so he didn’t ask about it. That’s probably another reason I picked him first. I knew I wouldn’t have to answer as many questions.

Next I asked Emily. She was the first to voluntarily share a personal story with me about her tattoo, and I figured she’d be the next I could get to accept. She was also a big personality on the team so getting to know her would only be helpful. Emily was a lot of fun to go out with. She ordered wine for us, something Aaron did not do, and we talked until the restaurant closed at 11. I learned about her childhood, she taught me some French, and I heard all about her new cat, Sergio. She didn’t tell me about her time with Interpol (a fact I’d learned when I was privately investigating each member), which I knew she wouldn’t, but it was still interesting hearing about everything else she’d done. She asked me about my childhood so I told her and got the same sappy reaction I got from everyone. As much as I hated being pitied, I needed the team to soften their view of me. My childhood story was the most efficient way to do that.

After that, I asked Penelope, then David, then Jennifer. That’s when the easy part ended.

By the time I got to Derek, he already knew I was going to ask. Apparently, the rest of the team had already filled him in. I was just curious to see how much they told him. He clearly wasn’t ashamed to let on that he’d heard a lot, because he started asking me deeper questions, skipping over the surface level talk. I didn’t mind. Why repeat the same conversation I’d already had four times? For the first hour, he didn’t have any reaction towards what I told him, but as my backstory kept going, I could tell that he was softening up, just like everyone else. However, I saw something different in his eyes that I hadn’t in the others’. He was relating to me. He finally let me ask him questions, and I learned about his father’s death, how it was living with three girls, and how he worked hard to move up the ranks in Chicago PD to eventually get to the FBI. He didn’t neglect to remind me how much of a pain in his ass I was though, running around as The Figure. I joked that I made him a better investigator and he finally cracked a smile.

So that left one more person to win over. Doctor Spencer Reid. I was leaving the best, and the hardest, for last.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

I was sitting with Derek and Emily while I waited for Spencer to show up.

“So is it finally pretty boy’s turn to have to suffer through dinner with you?” Morgan teased.

“Oh come on. You know you enjoyed my company,” I said to him with a wink. Ever since getting to know one another better, Morgan was more inclined to tease me like he had when we first met.

“Or maybe you just aren’t as good at profiling as you think,” Derek replied.

“Oh, there he is,” Emily said before I could respond. I watched Spencer casually walk into the bullpen, then pick up the pace when he saw me watching. And those goddamn back muscles were twitching again.

Look, I understand that I make people uncomfortable. Some I make really uncomfortable. And I know that Reid is kind of awkward around a lot of people, but come on. After five weeks of me constantly being around, he still could barely stand to be in the same room as me. What was going on?

He rushed right past us to his own desk, not even stopping to say hi to Derek or Emily.

“Woah, woah woah. What’s going on, kid? Where’s the fire?” Morgan said, brow furrowed. I gave Emily a knowing look.

“Nothing. No fire,” Reid said, setting his bag down, then quickly moving toward the pot of coffee across the room from us.

Derek turned to look at me. “You sure you want to take him out?”

“We’ll see. First I gotta keep him in my vicinity long enough so I can actually ask him,” I retorted.

“What? Three seconds isn’t long enough to ask him to dinner?” Morgan said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at him and sighed.

“What is it?” Prentiss asked.

I laughed. “I’ve been in a gang, an underground ring, drugged, hunted by the police, trapped by the FBI, and sent to prison. But of all things, what’s really going to stop me in my tracks … is an angry genius?”

Morgan laughed with me. “He can be pretty feisty.”

“But hey. You have made it all the way to the FBI, far enough so that you can even consider that a problem of yours,” Prentiss pointed out. I nodded along as she spoke, “And you're still alive.”

“That’s true,” I agreed. “I mean, it only cost me four ER visits, three ribs, two bullets, and a knife. Well, and now an angry genius.” Both of them whipped their heads toward me, shock taking over their face. I wish I could have captured their priceless reactions on tape.

“W-Wh-What?” Derek said through a confused laugh. Emily just stared at me open mouthed.

“But you’re right,” I casually continued, “being alive is important.”

“Guys we have a case,” Hotch strode into the room, holding up a case file. Morgan and Prentiss were still just staring at me. I tilted one side of my mouth up and shrugged at them, leaving our spot to head to the briefing room.

“You can’t just leave us hanging like that?” Derek called after me.

I turned around while walking so I could face them, putting my hands up in surrender. I tried to sound as innocent as possible. “We have a case.”

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

The case was standard, you know, just your usual headless bodies in a lake. The unsub was quickly devolving, so it wouldn’t be long until he made a mistake and we could catch him. I was getting the silent treatment from Reid, as always. On day two, him and Jareau went on air to alert people in the area.

The very next day, we had an odd visitor come into the precinct. And by ‘we’ I mean ‘Reid’. She was about average height, blonde, probably five years Spencer’s senior, and enthusiastic. Too enthusiastic for a person in a precinct.

She walked right up to him and started talking to him. I couldn’t really hear what they were talking about, and I couldn’t see her face because Spencer’s back was shielding it. Across the room, I saw JJ look over at them, but then quickly dismiss it. I was about to do the same when a familiar sight caught my eye. Spencer’s back was twitching.

He had a variety of tells of discomfort, but when he wanted to, he could keep himself completely composed. Except for his back muscles. They had become the number one thing I looked for every time I saw him, because every single time, they told me he was uncomfortable.

The longer he talked to this woman, the worse the twitching became. I was initially going to just leave it alone and let him figure it out, but my curiosity got the best of me. Who was she and why was he so uneasy?

I decided I’d pull one of the oldest tricks in the book, and hoped he’d pick up on it.

I approached the two of them, placing my left hand on Spencer’s right shoulder blade, slowly moving it up his back to rest on his shoulder. I knew he had a germ thing, so I didn’t want to get too cozy. I interlaced my fingers so it looked like I was leaning on him. I could feel the twitching beneath my fingertips, but he didn’t flinch or faulter at my sudden presence. I peered up at him through my eyelashes. “Hey,” I tried to sound as seductive as possible. “Who’s this?”

He cleared his throat. “Oh, uh, this is-”

“I’m Kristy,” Kristy said, holding her hand out to me. I ignored it and instead looked her over.

“I wasn’t asking you, sweetie,” I said. She opened her mouth and let out a noise of offense. She practically had the words ‘shallow bitch’ written on her forehead. I turned my attention back to Spencer.

“She and I went to CalTech together,” his voice was dry and he swallowed, like he was in desperate need of water. I hadn’t gotten the whole story, but I knew that he was relentlessly bullied in high school, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it continued on in college. If I had to guess, this girl fell into that category.

“Oh really?” I asked. I turned toward her again and she nodded at me eagerly. The level of fake radiating off of her definitely equalled ‘mean girl’, which to me meant she deserved to taste some of her own medicine. I aimed to be as demeaning as possible. “So, Kathy-”

“Actually, my name is Kristy.”

“Whatever,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes. I could already tell I was getting under her skin. “What brings you in?”

“Well, I work for a magazine, The Triplehorn Tribune, you’ve probably heard of it-”

“Nope,” I interrupted. It took all of my willpower to not roll my eyes.

“Anyways,” she said slowly, about to continue on.

“Anyway,” I corrected. She looked at me confused. “You meant to say ‘anyway’. ‘Anyways’ isn’t a word and is grammatically incorrect.” Out of my peripheral, I saw Spencer quickly press his lips together, fighting a smile. I’d just pulled his signature move. At this point, JJ had looked back to see what was going on, and had nudged Prentiss to pay attention. It wouldn’t be long before the rest of the team was watching.

Meanwhile, Kristy-bitch was starting to fume. She released an annoyed breath through her teeth. “Anyway, I’m here because we want to do a story on what it’s like to be in the FBI. I saw Spencer on the tv yesterday and figured he’d be the perfect person to interview.”

“Oh, so you only want to talk to him now that he’s been on tv?” I asked.

“What? No! It’s not like that-”

“Then what is it like?” I asked. When she didn’t respond quickly enough for my liking, I decided I’d answer for her. “See, I think that you’re only here for you. I think that you got out of college and got a crappy job working for a crappy magazine. You want to be recognized and appreciated which means you need an interesting article. This serial killer thing would be big, but what would be even bigger would be interviewing one of the top profilers in the top unit of the FBI about the serial killer, who has also been on tv for press conferences. Lucky for you, this top profiler just so happens to be the easily manipulated kid you bullied in college, so you think that you can just show up here out of nowhere and request he give you the big break you supposedly deserve. How’m I doing so far?”

Her mouth dropped in unspoken shock. She was floundering and I was more than happy to let her. Behind her I saw the team and at least half of the precinct watching. I hadn’t noticed that Reid’s back stopped twitching for a while until it started back up again at the increased attention. I gently squeezed his shoulder, trying to help him calm back down. Kristy finally regained her ground.

“What are you, his possessive girlfriend?” she spat, incredulous.

“Something like that,” I said. I could barely get the words out before I was left speechless by the arm that wrapped around my waist. His hand landed just above my hip and subconsciously brought us closer together. I was surprised, even more so at the slight swimming in my head, but I forced myself to keep my wits about me. So he did figure out what I was going for. I smirked at her.

“Well why don’t you let Spencer speak for himself,” Kristy hissed at me.

“Why don’t you show Doctor Reid the respect you neglected to give him years ago,” I returned, just as fiery. I felt Spencer’s shoulders straighten just slightly at my comment. I removed my hands from his shoulder and reluctantly moved my body out of his grasp so that I could step forward and look down at her.

“Look, Cassy-”

“Kristy.”

“Whatever. You clearly are one of the bitches that thought it’d be funny to pick on the young kid in your class. You didn’t accept him for who he was then, so you sure as hell don’t deserve him for who he is now. I think you should go.” I stared her down, and I have to admit, girl’s got balls to continue to stand her ground.

“I’m only asking for a simple favor-” she started.

I took another step forward, cutting her off. “Back off, he doesn’t owe you anything!”

She took a step back, clearly surprised by my sudden change in volume. “You need to control your girlfriend! She’s a psycho!” She gave Reid a quick glance before marching toward the door.

“That’s what makes me good at catching them, Misty!” I called after her.

“My name is Kristy!” she yelled as she stamped out the door like a toddler. It made her look like the pathetic, insecure fool she was.

Once the door shut behind her, I couldn’t help but start laughing. I turned to look at Spencer who was still in shock. I scanned the room and saw that the entire precinct had stopped what they were doing to observe the scene that I helped create. I made eye contact with the rest of the team, all of whom were gaping at me. I stopped laughing.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly, turning back to Spencer. I was starting to worry that I’d misread the whole situation and just caused something to go horribly wrong. “I hope you don’t mind that I did that. I could just tell that she was making you uncomfortable and I figured that I could-” I was cut off mid-sentence. Spencer had suddenly erupted in laughter, which triggered an entire laughing fit to wash over the whole precinct. Even Aaron was laughing, which never happened. I let the joyful feeling I’d felt moments ago fall back into my grasp.

“I absolutely didn’t mind you stepping in. You have nothing to apologize for,” he said to me with a smile. The first one I’d ever received from him. It was contagious and I couldn’t help but return it.

“Thank god, I was starting to worry. I’m glad you picked up on what I was putting down,” I stated.

“Oh, yeah. The fake girlfriend trick, one of the oldest in the book.”

“It was the best one I could think of on short notice,” I joked.

“How could you tell he was feeling uncomfortable?” Jennifer asked, approaching the two of us. The rest of the precinct had gone back to what they were doing, but the team’s attention was still on us.

“Yeah, I looked over at them and all I saw was the normal level of awkward,” Derek stated. Spencer glared at him.

“That’s because you were looking at him from the front,” I said, raising my eyebrows.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Reid asked, his voice raising an octave.

“It just means that I’ve gotten very accustomed to your tells of discomfort, from all angles.” The mood of the group shifted at my reminder of the reality that Reid still had a very high level of dislike for me.

“Sure, but that still doesn’t make sense. Reid does a great job composing himself, but I think we all know him well enough to detect if he’s uncomfortable,” JJ pressed. I just shrugged my shoulders, not really knowing how to respond.

“Okay, let’s refocus,” Hotch said to us with a serious nod. I could tell when I made eye contact with him that I was in trouble. “Aundreya, that was inappropriate.”

“I know. That was well deserved, though,” I pointed out, unapologetic.

Aaron toyed with a half smile and let out a sigh. “Let’s just get back to work?”

“Fine with me,” I said with a grin. I got a nod from him and Rossi, a smile from the ladies and a clap on the back from Morgan. Reid gave me a small, closed-lipped smile, and directed his attention back to the maps and pictures hanging on the board.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

It took us the next three days to find and catch the killer. Three days full of Reid avoiding me at all costs. Maybe I was crazy, maybe I was hallucinating, but I thought we had a moment. I thought that I’d done something good for once, something to prove to him that I wasn’t a terrible human. But no. Nope. Not a chance, because for the rest of that afternoon and the three days following, the avoidance was actually worse than it was before. I didn’t even think that was possible. It had earned me more respect from the rest of them, but not him himself. Did I embarrass him? Was he weirded out that I touched him? Was his loathing for me just that strong? It didn’t make any sense and by day three, I was at my wits end.

“Emily.” I stated.

“What?” she asked me.

“What did I do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Our profile is good and we hav-”

“No, not about the profile. About Reid.”

“Oh,” she said, seemingly surprised. “How do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I get it, I’m bad news, but this feels like more. Was it something I said the other day with Kristy..?”

“Ha! So you do know her name,” she said with a grin. I rolled my eyes. She was trying to get me off topic.

“Seriously, though. He’s not this cold to everyone.”

“Well, he can be a hard person to get to know,” she said, avoiding the breadth of my questions.

“But not this hard?” I tried to finish.

“No, not usually,” she replied. She clearly knew something I didn’t, and was very hesitant to give it up.

“If you aren’t going to tell me, at least tell me it wasn’t something I did the other day.”

“No, not really.” She was keeping herself distracted with the pictures in front of us, even though they were useless considering the rest of the team was already headed to a barn where the unsub kept his victims before decapitating them.

I sighed. “Fine.”

She looked over at me. “Sorry.”

It was all she had to say.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

They ended up finding the killer in the barn with his next victim, and were forced to fire because he refused to put the machete down. It was late Thursday night when we were getting on the jet to go home. We were all exhausted.

“Shouldn’t you be doing something?” Derek came to ask me a few minutes into the ride.

“Huh?” I asked, completely confused.

“With pretty boy?” he prompted. I’d lost all hope, at that point, of ever getting to know him. Even after he thanked me for swooping in and saving him from that bitch, he still seemed utterly disinterested.

“Probably not,” I said, tiredness running through my voice. Other thing: since when did Derek Morgan suddenly care and become my friend? The dinners must really work. All the more reason to lift myself out of my chair and go talk to Reid.

Morgan was still staring at me expectantly.

“Ok, alright, I’m going,” I said, getting up. He raised his eyebrows at me and flashed me that pearly smile of his. It made me want to praise him and hit him all at the same time.

I walked over to where Reid was sitting, thankful that no one else decided to sit across from him.

“Friday or Saturday?” I asked.

He looked up at me, puzzled. “What?”

“Friday. Or Saturday?”

“What are you asking me for?”

“Why can’t you just answer the damn question?” I asked a little too harshly, sliding into the seat across from him. He leaned back in his chair, putting as much distance between us as he could without just getting up and leaving. It seemed to me he’d rather just be swallowed up by the wall.

“Look,” I tried starting over with a softer tone. “Clearly you have something against me. Something more than the criminal thing. I’ve been killing myself for the past six weeks trying to figure out what it is but I’m at a loss.”

He scoffed, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

That set me off. I was trying to be nice, make an effort, but he just kept shooting me down. So I decided I was done being nice.

“Okay, Doctor Reid. I’ve been refraining from judgements because, who knows? Maybe I remind you of someone who hurt you. Maybe I remind you of someone you lost. I don’t want to push it if that’s the case. And, hell! If anything, you guys are the ones who are supposed to be judging me, not the other way around. You all have a six to ten year head start on making connections with each other. I’ve been here for six weeks. I’ve been doing this dinner thing with everyone because I’m trying to get to know the members of this team. I mean, you are considered part of the team right?” I looked around the jet to the audience I knew I had. “He is considered a part of this team, right?” It was rhetorical and they all knew it. Even if it wasn’t, I think they were all too flabbergasted that I was going after their baby to actually answer. I turned back to him.

“Like, I understand that you are up here in ‘Genius Stratosphere’,” I said, waving my hand around above my head, “but if I were to make a list of all the team members, you would be on it, right?”

“Yes!” he finally answered, exasperated.

“Great. So go to dinner with me,” I said. It was the most compelling argument I could make in the moment.

“Why?”

I sighed. He was not making this easy for me. Not like I expected him to.

I tried to make my voice sound neutral again. “I’m just trying to get to know you. If you ever decide to stop acting like a little bitch about it, or you finally wanna help me out and tell what your problem is … or just tell me exactly what you need from me, even if that is avoidance, let me know. Because I’m getting pretty sick and tired of … all this,” I said, gesturing to the air. Spencer was looking down again, and I figured he would continue to ignore me.

I got halfway out of the seat and was about to turn away when he said, “Friday.” It was barely more than a whisper and he was still looking down when I turned to face him.

“What?” I demanded.

“Friday,” he said with more confidence this time, meeting my eyes.

“Spectacular choice,” I said, lacking any emotion. I reached for the napkin sitting next to his coffee cup and the pen I had in my jacket pocket. I scratched my number on it. “That’s my personal number. I gave it to everyone in case you can’t reach me on my work one or it is for something non-work related, which this occasion would be. Text me the place. I wouldn’t want you to have to suffer through bad food you didn’t like, as well,” I stated, crossing my arms. I walked back toward my seat, Morgan long since evacuated. I gaged the reactions around me as I walked, and clearly no one had ever talked to Reid like that before. It didn’t surprise me since he seemed like golden boy number one and no one ever had any reason to get short with him. But I didn’t feel bad. He’d treated me like a pile of shit, almost less than human, and I was over it. I was going to earn my respect from him one way or the other, and it was now up to him to decide. We were either going to be working friends, or working enemies.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Spencer just sat there the rest of the plane ride home, not really being able to focus on the book in front of him. No one had ever snapped at him like that, or at least, not in the last few years, and definitely not from a teammate. But she was not their typical teammate. She was not their typical anything. He may have been in ‘Genius Stratosphere’ but she was in a whole new stratosphere of her own.

He didn’t know why she got to him so much. Well, he did, but he wasn’t willing to admit it. Not even to himself. Plus, he didn’t have to justify why he didn’t like a top-notch criminal. She’d killed people and that in itself was enough reason. But the fact that she seemed bothered by him not liking her, and her genuine confusion and interest as to what was going on struck a chord. Maybe he had been too harsh in his treatment of her.

Spencer was sitting there recounting all of their interactions, or lack thereof, and started to question himself. Especially once he got to their more recent interactions.

Reid was bewildered, which rarely ever happened, and it made him all the more annoyed. Why’d she step in to help me? Did she really mean everything she said? Why was her touch so calming? The last thought took him by surprise, and he tried to shake the feeling.

He could remember the way she just lightly brushed up against him, resting her hand on his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world. He could also tell that she was being as delicate and considerate of his ‘not-a-fan-of-touching’ thing as she could while also selling the illusion. He remembered how it felt to have his arm around her and that slight squeeze she gave him to let him know she was there to help…

He forced himself to snap out of it. He could hardly stand to be in the same room as her, yet having her right next to him was fine? It didn’t make any sense. But the one thought that was driving him crazier than the rest was why, out of all the people on the team, was she able to detect his discomfort better and faster than anyone else? Yes, like she said, she’d gotten quite used to seeing him uncomfortable, but so had the rest of the team. They’d known him for six years plus and she’d only known him for six weeks. How was it that they couldn’t pick up on it and she could? Had she really been paying that much attention to him?

No, he concluded, definitely not. Someone like Aundreya would not care enough to pay that much attention to me. She was probably just doing her job. She was very skilled, after all.

But he still felt weird.

Once the plane landed, Aundreya bolted like her life depended on it. She’d never been one for sticking around longer than necessary. It made sense, considering she had gotten used to avoiding the police and now she was constantly surrounded by, not just police, but FBI. The rest of the team slowly made their way to their cars, and Spencer decided to stop Derek and ask him about it.

“Hey Morgan,” he said. Derek turned around to face him.

“What’s up, pretty boy?”

“Have I really been that awful to her?” That caught Emily and JJ’s attention, who turned around to walk a few paces back to where Spencer and Derek were standing.

“Are you asking about Aundreya?” Derek asked. Spencer nodded. “I mean, I get where you’re coming from.”

“That wasn’t my question,” Reid pointed out. The three of them stared at him, but he waited for an answer.

“Maybe a little bit,” JJ said.

“Look, Reid, we all had reservations about her going into this. But Hotch was right, she’s had a troubled background but she’s not a horrible person. I think it would benefit both of you, and the team, if you just tried getting to know her,” Emily said. She was always so good at making sense out of every situation without seeming to take sides.

“I know. I just feel … weird about it,” Reid stated. It was hard for him to describe what he was feeling and what the issue was.

“I understand how you feel. I didn’t want to go to dinner either because I just kept telling myself that she’s a criminal and I didn’t want to get involved,” Derek said. Spencer was looking at him intently. “But it was actually kinda good. It helped me understand her, and it’s been a lot better coming to work now that I feel like I can at least somewhat rely on her to help us out.”

“I agree. Talking to each other will only help,” JJ reminded him. They were right. It would help him feel more comfortable at work if he felt more comfortable with her.

“Okay. Thank you,” he said to them. He turned to walk toward his car when Derek’s voice stopped him.

“Oh, and uh, Reid,” he said, “Clearly she’s willing to put in the effort to make it work. She did step in to help you out the other day. I don’t think a cold-hearted criminal would’ve done that.”

Spencer nodded at Derek and he nodded back. Spencer got into his car and started driving back to his apartment, trying to think of the best place he could, to meet Aundreya for dinner.

Part 2

[tinsley-goldsworth]

clockwork

summary: francesca watches ricky and tinsley’s relationship develop as the clock ticks by (week 22 of my 30 weeks of prompts challenge: clocks) 

(read on ao3!) 

wc: 1558

Francesca Norris has known Ricky Goldsworth for a very long time. She knew him when they were both innocent children who were too young to understand the horrors of the world. They both enjoyed going to elementary school together, and, when asked about their parents, they both always answered with the same “they work in business” phrase because, in reality, their parents’ jobs were very complicated.

Ricky’s mother Lucy Goldsworth was a famous criminal who was infamous for her reasonable rates and efficiency. When someone needed something illegal to be done, Lucy was always the person people went to. Her husband, Ricky Goldsworth’s dad, was a mobster that he worked with Lucy but ending up running off, hence Ricky’s daddy issues. On the other hand, Francesca’s mother was an infamous spy who was well known for her problems with authority and Francesca’s father was a journalist who was not observative at all.

Francesca’s mother met Lucy on a mission once and they both became fast friends, bonding over their shared hate of government officials. Ricky and Francesca became friends because they saw each other so often when their mothers met up to discuss how dumb politicians were. 

There was no surprise that both mothers were killed during missions and that left a very important decision for Ricky and Francesca. They had to decide whether they wanted to pursue a different path from their parents or take over their jobs. To this day, Francesca still has no idea whether Ricky influenced her or she influenced him, but somewhere along the line, they both agreed to follow in their mothers’ footsteps, becoming “bad people”, instead of ending what their mothers had started.

Ricky has always been cold, even before he started killing people for cash. His cold behavior makes it clear he always destined to take on his mother’s job. Even as a child, he had little remorse to show for other children who were in his way and while he didn’t exactly deal with them by stabbing them, Ricky was still shoved them out of his way with the aggression he would use to stab somebody. Francesca, on the other hand, was responsible for talking the teacher out of punishing Ricky, which is how she realized that she had a hidden power of sweet-talking and persuasion. 

Unsurprisingly, as Ricky spent more time doing his job, he grew more apathetic and whatever little sympathy he had in his heart seemed to have shriveled up and died. Francesca knew that his job required him to practically be drained of any emotion but she was alarmed by the fact that Ricky somehow grew colder as he grew more powerful. 

However, Francesca’s alarm disappeared the day that Ricky stopped by her house for their weekly weekend conversation about life updates and such, since the two still remained best friends even after their new jobs dominated their lives. Francesca was adjusting the position of her clock on the wall (the time read 9:14 at night) when she heard a knock on the door. 

The moment Ricky opened the door, Francesca knew that something was up with him. Her instinctive habits of reading people kicked in and she began noting all the signs, connecting them as she went along. Ricky’s top button was unbuttoned and he never left his top unbuttoned unless he was trying to impress somebody, which he didn’t really need to do in order to attract business since he was pretty well known in the criminal world already. So, this meant that he left his top button unbuttoned for somebody who he was not working with, possibly as a means to express subtle romantic interest.

Before Francesca could scrutinize any further details, Ricky made the connections for her when he took off his blazer and excitedly exclaimed, “You won’t believe what happened today! I met the dumbest, but also cutest, detective today when I was working on an assignment somebody gave to me and apparently, somebody else tipped the authorities off about the assignment so C.C. Tinsley was there and he was definitely not the detective to send because first of all, those long legs are totally wasted if he’s just standing around solving cases all the time and second of all, he got really distracted by my flirting and I managed to slip away with the goods before he could notice. He was really cute though, I’m thinking about seeing him again.”

Ricky paused his rambling to catch his breath and Francesca was shocked into utter silence. She hadn’t heard Ricky talk about anybody so passionately ever in their countless years spent together and she seemed to be unable to process the notion that Ricky Goldsworth wasn’t completely emotionless. Maybe Ricky had finally lost his mind after years of trauma from the horrors he witnessed during his assignments; that would be a more reasonable explanation than the suggestion that Ricky might be catching romantic feelings for somebody. 

“I’m going to take your silence as support. I’m going to see him again, and hopefully ask him out, and maybe this can go somewhere,” Ricky concluded before he took out Francesca’s knife-sharpening tools from her cabinet. Normally, Francesca would’ve teasingly rolled her eyes since he always used her knife-sharpening tools, even though he had a perfectly functioning set at home. Instead, she was still so shocked that she just watched Ricky sharpen knives as he hummed happily to himself.

~

The next time Ricky spoke about C.C.Tinsley, Francesca was just about to go to sleep. It was 1:32 am and frankly, Francesca was more than ready to go to sleep after a long day of staying in disguise for her latest mission. She just finished removing her wig when she received an incoming call from Ricky. Usually, Ricky preferred to stop by to chat so this meant that Ricky either had something urgent to say or something extremely quick. 

Nevertheless, Francesca picked up just in case the case was the former and, just her luck, the case was the latter. Before Francesca could even ask Ricky why he was calling her, Ricky began rambling about C.C. Tinsley.

“Guess what? I talked to him again and convinced him to go out on a date with me! It’s going to be great. But I mean, I obviously maintained my cool and stayed calm but I’m really excited! I know you’re probably planning to sleep right now so sorry for calling you but I just wanted to give you an update! Good night!”

Francesca was very certain that Ricky was either possessed, had too much sugar, or was truly infatuated with this detective for him to sound so energetic at 1:32 in the early morning.

That was not the only instance where Ricky contacted Francesca in the dead of night (or extremely early in the morning). At 3:25 am on a Wednesday night, Francesca woke up since her mission started at 5:30 and she needed two hours in order to get into her disguise. She received a chain of text messages from Ricky about C.C. yet again. This time, it was about how C.C. agreed to finally move up to boyfriend status.

As Francesca put her lipstick on, she read the enthusiastic texts that were all punctuated with several exclamations marks and random keyboard smashes to express the feeling of being overwhelmed with emotions. She was glad that Ricky hadn’t started using emojis to unironically express himself because that would be the most concerning action out of all the actions he did so far. Francesca replies with a few words of encouragement and then told Ricky to sleep and save his love for later.

There were so many more instances where Ricky talked to Francesca about his boyfriend. He invited her to his housewarming party when he and C.C. moved in together at 12:34 am on a Sunday night (technically Monday morning). He also sent her photos from his first vacation with C.C. in some secluded place in the middle of nowhere that had breathtaking views at 7:45 on a Tuesday evening. 

The most memorable one was the most recent one, which was exactly at 2:45 in the early morning when Francesca received a call from Ricky. She predicted that it would be about Tinsley and she picked up, half-awake. “Hey Ricky, what’s up?”

“Fran, I’m getting married! I just proposed to Tinsley and he said yes. Would you like to be my best man? Well, I mean, technically you’d be my best woman and it goes against tradition but screw tradition.”

“Are you kidding me? I’d love to!” Francesca practically squealed, standing up as joy coursed through her veins. “I’m so happy for you! Congratulations!”

This is what led to Francesca standing at the altar, giving a speech about the specific times that Ricky talked about his fiancé and how the clock seemed to play an important role in the evolution of their relationship. She finished her speech and Ricky and C.C. finally got married after years of being in love at exactly 6:19 in the evening on a Sunday. Their relationship was the definition of clockwork and Francesca felt a little emotional at the thought of her being able to see how they decide to write their future.

~

click the link in bio for more bfu fics!

[rising-generations]

Ishimondo Meme

Ishimondo

Dating

How did their relationship truly begin, friendly or otherwise? Well we can all guess how their relationship started as it’s not much different here from canon. But so far as their romantic relationship...

When did they realize they liked each other? Mondo realized it a few months after they became friends but kept it to himself. Taka was attracted to Mondo from day one but he had no idea what romantic feelings felt like so he said nothing.

Who asked the other one out, when did they do it, and how did they do it? Mondo asked Taka out halfway through their first year together via lots of nervous yelling in the middle of the hallway after school. He waited outside of the student council room for Taka for like two hours and worked himself up so much that he pretty much screamed “WILL YOU DATE ME” when Taka came out. No worries though because he yelled “YES” right back.

Who do they tell first about their relationship, why, and how do they react? Chihiro, Daiya, and Takaaki are the first ones to know because of their closeness to them. Chihiro was an obvious choice and she was excited. Daiya more or less expected they were going to date at some point because he saw the budding romance first. Takaaki isn’t exactly pleased at the choice of boyfriend of his son, but he’s happy that Taka is happy.

Is anyone very against or very enthusiastic about the relationship and why? Chihiro is quoted as saying “If they had waited any longer to start dating I would have actually died.” She just wanted to see her two idiot friends be happy.

When do they go on their first date? Their first date happens about a week after they become a couple, and it’s at a local diner. Nothing incredibly fancy but neither of them mind cause they’re with each other.

When do they have their first kiss? Taka kisses Mondo on the way home after their first date! It’s incredibly surprising for Mondo but not unwanted.

Proposal

Who proposes and how do they do it? Does this proposal end in a “yes” the first time, or do they have to ask more than once? Kind of linked to the "family building" part, but Taka proposes! It's not explicitly or completely because Mondo was pregnant, but that was kind of a big deal at the time. Because of that, Mondo was nervous about saying "Yes" at first because he didn't want it to only be because he was pregnant. But Taka was able to assure him it wasn't, so Mondo gave a pretty enthusiastic "Yes" which was half-yelled and half-cried.

Who do the happy couple tell first, why, and how do they react? Mondo tells Daiya and Taka tells Takaaki, and together the two of them tell Chihiro. Mondo telling Daiya is fairly obvious and although Daiya is worried at first for his little brother due to the circumstances, he's pretty happy because he knows Taka's a great guy. Takaaki... is very concerned about his son's age (18 at the time) and while he's not completely comfortable with it, he knows that Taka is deeply in love with Mondo and he's very adamant about marrying him so there's not really much he can do about it. So he overall supports his son. Mondo and Taka tell Chihiro together because they couldn't decide on who was going to tell her. She says if she's not standing by one of them as their best woman she's going to disown both of them.

Who does most of the wedding planning? Taka, partially because Mondo is pregnant and he doesn't want him to stress about it and partially because... well, he's Taka.

Is there anyone against them getting married, or anyone who is very excited about the wedding? Why? The entire class is abuzz about the wedding (they get engaged during their final year at Hope's Peak, after all) and they're all generally very excited.

Do they set a date right away, or do they wait? Taka wants a date right away, but Mondo would rather wait because he's not exactly sure if he wants to get married right at the end of the year (at which time they'd have two young babies, their twins) or before then while he's still pregnant. In the end, they're married when he's about five and a half months pregnant to soothe Taka's nerves a little bit.

Marriage

What date are they married on? They actually get married on August 31st, which is Taka's birthday, of course. They both decided it would be a cute thing. Taka is really emotional about it.

Where do they get married? They get married in the park across the street from the diner where they had their first date! Very sentimental.

Who important to them do they invite to the wedding? Their class and families are invited of course, and some friends from other classes, but they keep it fairly small since neither of them want a big wedding. To be fair, though, that does include the entirety of the Crazy Diamonds.

If one or both of them walks down the aisle (or more in a poly relationship), who walks them and why are they significant?

  Taka is walked by his dad of course, and even though he has to use a wheelchair, Daiya walks with Mondo because. That's his lil bro! 

What are they wearing? So someone in the class (coughs, Byakuya and Celeste) anonymously donated cash to the two of them so they could have tailored suits. And Mondo actually has his hair down for once (mainly because Chihiro threatened to rip his pompadour off his head if he showed up with it styled like that and he didn't want to risk her actually following through on her threat).

Do they write their own vows or do more traditional ones? They absolutely write their own vows, but some of them are hard to make out between the crying.

Who officiates the wedding and why are they significant? They wanted the officiant to be a friend, and the only friend of theirs who had the credentials to do so was... Yasuhiro. So Yasuhiro officiates (and he was only a little bit high, so he testifies) and it actually goes really well.

Do either of them cry when seeing the other coming to the altar? They both do. They cry pretty much the entire time. They both think the other one just looks amazing.

What is their immediate reaction after they are officially married? After they kiss, they definitely hold each other for a few minutes and cry some more.

Is there a flower bouquet or something else that gets tossed? Who catches it (and do they get married later)? Takemichi catches the bouquet, though he doesn't get married until several years later, he does get married to Yuta Asahina.

What song do they have their first dance to and why is it significant? Their first dance is to "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers, which is one song that's both of their favorites and means a lot to them because it was playing on the radio when they had their first kiss.

What is the reception like? It's pretty typical for a wedding! Even with the legion of teenagers and bikers there, they somehow manage to contain themselves and not make too big of fools of themselves. Mainly because Takaaki, a known ex-cop, is there, and because there's no alcohol (partially because of Takaaki, partially because of being underage, and partially because Mondo is pregnant so if he can't drink neither can anyone else). Takaaki and Taka obviously have a father-son dance and Mondo dances with both Daiya and Chisa as he considers them his parents in place of his biological father (an asshole) and his biological mother (who is dead).

Do they consummate the marriage? You bet your fuckin' ass they do. I mean, they pretty much got into the whole situation because they can't keep it in their pants so naturally they're gonna go at it like rabbits when they have an actual reason (and an entire hotel room to themselves).

Family Building

Who brings up the idea of having kids? Does it happen before or after they’re married? Was it even planned? Their first pregnancy and subsequently their first two kids were absolutely not planned. Mondo got pregnant unexpectedly around the beginning of their last year in Hope's Peak. This, naturally, happens before they're married. They had talked about the possibility of kids when they were both graduates, but obviously didn't expect it to happen so soon.

How do they go about having kids? Is it through a normal pregnancy, adoption, surrogacy, or some other way? Mondo is trans, so they have their kids normally.

Describe the process they go through bringing a child into their family, regardless of what process that is. Mondo's first pregnancy is fairly difficult on him and it ends rather chaotically. He has their older twin in the car on the way to the hospital and they barely make it there for the second one so, there's that. Overall, appropriate for the Oowada-Ishimaru family, who are pretty chaotic as it stands.

How do the new parents react to knowing they’re going to have a baby/child? Mondo finding out he's pregnant is a train wreck to say the least. He doesn't tell anyone for two weeks, then passes out from his anemia in the middle of class, which of course leads to everyone finding out. He was afraid of what would happen when he told, but nothing too awful happens from the fallout, thankfully. Taka... panics, a lot, but he's happy to be a dad.

How do they react when the baby/child comes home? They're both relieved that their kids are finally here and safe, and Mondo's happy that they're not kicking around inside of him anymore. They're totally devoted to their babies.

Kids

How many kids do they have in total? What are their names/ages? So far in the non-despair AU I've been setting this in, they have six kids who are born and two more who have yet to be born. The ones who are born are Shugo (16), Tamiko (16), Ruku (14), Misao (12), Kazusa (10), and Kiyoyuki (10). They thought they were done after Kazusa and Kiyoyuki and then oops! Pregnant.

Which parent gets up more often in the middle of the night to care for their kids? Mondo! It's not that Taka doesn't take an active role, it's just that Mondo more often is the one to get up at night and take care of them.

Which parent goes to PTA meetings more often? Taka, because that's way more of his thing. Also because Mondo has a tendency to get uh... aggressive. Let's just say there've been more than a few incidents.

Which parent is more disciplinary/strict, and which parent is more lax/has trouble disciplining the kids? Unsurprisingly, Taka is far stricter and Mondo is more lax, but surprisingly, Mondo is the hyperchondriac when it comes to what the kids are doing. He's the first one to freak out if he thinks the kids are hurt/in danger/etc. Taka will discipline them when they cause trouble, of course, but he doesn't worry nearly as much as Mondo does.

Which parent do the kids generally like more? The kids tend to go to Mondo more often, but a few of them (namely Ruku and Kiyoyuki) are closer to Taka. They, like Taka, are autistic, so they have more in common with him and find it easier to talk with him than the other kids at times.

When/if they have siblings, how do the kids react? Shugo is just tired. She wants her parents to just... stop reproducing already. Every time she starts to hear the words "you're gonna have a sibling" she starts groaning. It's not that Shugo doesn't love her siblings, she's just tired of them, for God's sake. Tamiko doesn't really see it as any of her business, and the little ones don't bother her as much so she doesn't mind watching after them whenever a new one comes along.

How often do they have family nights or events? They have dinner together almost every night barring extreme circumstances, and often they try to get together to do fun things like games more often as well.

Describe each kid’s relationship with their parents. Shugo has a strained relationship with Taka, a far better one with Mondo, mainly due to her talent as the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader after Mondo became an alumni. Tamiko, on the other hand, has a far stronger relationship with Taka, being the Ultimate Lawyer. Ruku is closer to Taka, but she loves both of her dads equally. Misao, despite being a flirt, is fairly straight-laced, but has good strong ties to both of his dads. Kazusa is very rebellious and clashes with Taka a lot, so she prefers Mondo over him. Kiyoyuki, on the other hand, much prefers Taka, though none of the kids would ever say they hated one of their parents.

[nelvana]

In which the world’s balance is restored

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: (N/A) Previous: In which there are three for balance

    Deep within the cave that many of the torchic line called home in Scorched Plains, a crowd gathered. In the center of this room, was a large, glowing, orange crystal. Beside it, stood a blaziken and a torchic; Keahi. It was time for her, her who recently decided to be a she again instead of zie, to evolve into a combusken.

    At the front of the crowd, among Keahi’s family, were her teammates and friends. Ceebee was currently absent from the group, as were the B Squadron of Team Galaxy, but Gardevoir and Damien, the latter with only slight complications getting in, were there. Keahi glanced back at them, and Nelvana waved back at her partner, everyone smiling at their friend before she turned back to look up at her father.

    Within Keahi’s family, when a torchic was to become a combusken was treated as a very important moment. It was a time where a child matured, being strong enough in body and mind to decide to change forms. This was something that Keahi in particular had looked forward to immensely, but something that she had only had the chance to do now. While she listened attentively as her dad continued his speech for the ceremony, she teetered her weight from one foot to the other in brimming excitement.

    When Team Galaxy had returned from their mission, evolution had been the first sign that the world’s balance had been restored. Lombre had become Ludicolo in the small gap of time between the restoration of balance and the group’s return, which was as clear a sign as any that their mission had been a success.

    As they had later learned after their return, Lombre had evolved after the town had returned from an evacuation. Palkia going primal had caused a lot of destruction, and while the group had done their best in the fight to stall it, it had been quite the panicked time for those trying to live their day-to-day lives. The B Squadron had quickly made the decision as they were seeing some of the active damage and hearing word from others that Pokemon Square, being incredibly close to a cliff, was unsafe in the current disasters. They had returned once everything had settled, and when Lombre had gone to take out the water stone he had packed in his bag, he became Ludicolo, turning the previous stress of the townsfolk into a time of celebration.

    Other damages had thankfully fixed either before or not long after Team Galaxy had returned themselves. There were some that were irreversible, new canyons, mountains, islands, and possibly even dungeons becoming permanent parts of the landscape, however the Trio of Creation had been able to fix most of the damage. Buildings were repaired either through manipulation of space or matter, of the slight reversal of time, and pokemon that had been teleported by random portals had been located and returned to their homes.

    Which was why, now, two days after the group’s return, Team Galaxy and Keahi’s entire family were able to gather here together for Keahi’s evolution ceremony.

    Blaziken still went on, however there was something about the importance of this speech, especially after everything that they had to go through to get to this moment, that captured everyone’s attention despite how long he was talking for. There was some restless movement from some of the young torchics in the crowd, but no one whispered to each other and if one were to glance at those who surrounded them, they wouldn’t find any bored faces. Though Team Galaxy had never been to a ceremony like this before, it was clear that this one was extra special.

    Through Blazikens words, which were loudly projected to reach everyone, the sound of whispered “excuse me” quietly cut through what had been the silent crowd. Regardless, no one seemed to react too much to the mild interruption, at least until Ceebee flew right up beside her friends.

    “How much did I miss?” Ceebee asked them quietly, respectfully not wanting to distract from the event any more than she may have already.

    “Not too much, Blaziken is still giving his speech,” Alex answered, equally as quiet.

    “It’s a good speech though,” Nelvana commented.

    Alex nodded at his partner’s correction, silently agreeing with her. Ceebee nodded as well, letting out a sigh of relief to know that she had still arrived in time to catch the tail end of the ceremony. Keahi glanced back at the crowd again, her smile only growing bigger to see that Ceebee had arrived in time.

    “How did the talk with Dialga go?” Edgar asked, unable to keep himself quiet through his curiosity.

    Ceebee’s tardiness to this ceremony had come when Dialga, to everyone’s surprise, managed to get in contact with Ceebee and requested her presence. Fortunately, now for her there were plenty of shortcuts between teleporting and portals to get to Temporal Tower, so she ended up hesitantly accepting the invitation. She had missed breakfast though, unfortunately.

    “It was… fine,” Ceebee answered, “I’ll talk more later; now isn’t the time,” she promised him.

    Accepting this answer, Edgar nodded, turning back to watch the remainder of the ceremony.

    Not long after Ceebee’s arrival, Blaziken’s speech finished. He smiled down at his daughter with immense pride, and allowed her to approach the evolution crystal. Smiling back at her father, Keahi nodded to him before looking to face the glowing gem. She paused momentarily, before stepping up to it. She leaned her forehead against it, and lifted her wings slightly to touch it as well, almost like a half-hug.

    The crystal glowed even brighter, some of the glow moving across the surface of the rock and ending up where Keahi was touching it, and then moved to cover the torchic herself, enveloping her in a white glow. Under the light, her form shifted and grew, Keahi growing taller, her build shifted, wings changing into arms. After a few moments, the glow vanished from around Keahi altogether, leaving the crystal glowing just as much as before and a combusken where a torchic once stood.

    The crowd burst into clapping and cheers, and Keahi smiled broadly back at everyone, tears pricking at her eyes as she smiled with giddy joy and glanced down at her hands, slowly moving her claw fingers. Turning to look back at her dad, Keahi hurried over to him. She stumbled slightly, not quite adjusted to how she moved slightly differently now, but caught herself mid-stumble with a giggle before wrapping her new arms around Blaziken in a hug, which he returned enthusiastically. When they eventually parted, Keahi looked back at the crowd again, and ran over to her team next, launching herself into a hug with her partner, who immediately returned the gesture and hugged the combusken firmly.

    “How do you feel?” Nelvana asked, squeezing her partner tightly in their hug.

    Keahi giggled again, “I feel great! I’m so happy!” she exclaimed.

    Giving each other another tight squeeze before giving each other enough distance to look at each other but still easily be within arm’s reach, the pair looked at each other. Now as a combusken, Keahi was back to being closer to Nelvana’s height, but Nelvana still had a good extra foot in height; both because marowaks were naturally taller than combuskens, but also because Nelvana was taller than average. As Alex stepped closer as well, however, he was at equal height now to Keahi, though in this moment he appeared slightly sorted while he hunched, which he quickly corrected and stood up straighter as he saw how tall Keahi had become as a combusken.

    “Do you still have my bracelet?” Keahi asked Nelvana.

    “Of course, here you go!” Nelvana answered, passing over the requested item.

    That morning, Keahi had requested that Nelvana bring the bracelet she had made for Keahi’s birthday with them to hold onto, so that Keahi could wear it properly as a combusken. As a torchic, she had wrapped it over her shoulder when she wanted to wear it, but now she could finally wear it around her wrist as bracelets intended.

    Accepting her gift back, Keahi took the braided string bracelet and carefully tugged it over her hand to hang around her wrist. Smiling at the item, she shook her wrist around, giggling as she watched the accessory bounced slightly with the movement.

    “It’s perfect!” Keahi chirped.

    “I’m glad it fits,” Nelvana hummed, “I made it a bit big when you were a torchic, but I was still worried it would be too small for you as a combusken.”

    “C’mon, give yourself some more credit Nel,” Alex chuckled, “you have a great eye for this sort of thing.”

    “That’s some pretty good prediction skills though,” Damien pointed out, “looks great too; the cooler colors stand out well with your warm feathers.”

    Keahi stuck her tongue out at the gengar playfully, “you act like you’ve never seen me wear this before!”

    “I didn’t pay much attention then!” Damien retorted, but he smiled back.

    From behind Keahi, the arm of Combusken, her step-brother, was slung over her shoulder as he poked his head into the group.

    “Hey sis,” Combusken greeted, “and hey, Galaxy and co. Ceebee, glad you made it, we missed you at breakfast.”

    “Hi Combusken!” Keahi replied, lifting her own arm to pat his. “That was a long ceremony, huh?”

    “You’re the first evolution we’ve had around here in awhile,” Combusken pointed out, “I’m sure dad was really looking forward to it too; he looks super proud.”

    Though already mildly aware of this, Keahi couldn’t help but beam at the latter part, “yeah?”

    Combusken laughed, moving his hand to noogie his step-sister instead of leaning over her, “of course, you dork!” he teased.

    Keahi laughed back at him, shoving him off of her and fixing her head feathers, which despite Combusken’s teasing actions, still only appeared mildly disturbed. Smiling back at her, Combusken stepped back to give some space, and then glanced around at the rest of the group before looking back at Keahi.

    “So, I heard you all have places to be?” he questioned hesitantly, “or can we chat more?”

    “Oh, right, we do…” Keahi murmured, her smile faltering ever so slightly.

    Spinda had insisted on doing something for Team Galaxy to repay them, and thus the entirety of Team Galaxy, with Damien, Gardevoir, and Maurice, had made plans to stay there for the afternoon for some treats and catch up with each other more on what happened while the A Squadron had been out on their mission. Dusknoir had been, hesitantly, invited as well, but he turned down the offer. Apparently, there was something he wanted to tell them before that event though.

    Keahi had been hasty to evolve after learning it was finally possible, and not wanting to shove either events to a later date, they had settled on the evolution ceremony in the morning and the team celebration in the afternoon. While this worked, it did limit the amount of time Keahi could spend just with her family. They had come earlier in the morning for breakfast to make up for the possible lost time, but that didn’t change the fact that they wouldn’t be able to linger for long after the ceremony itself.

    “Yes, we already have plans to be elsewhere this afternoon, sorry about that,” Nelvana told him.

    Combusken shrugged, “hey, just make sure to come back some other time, alright? I’m sure that everyone is looking for time to catch up; more than just the time we immediate family had for breakfast,” he responded, “speaking of though, if you want to head out in good time, you should probably leave before someone drags Keahi off for more conversation and congratulations,” he added.

    Alex chuckled, “that is true. We should head off before someone here decides that if we’re lingering here long enough then we must have time to talk to them too,” he agreed, “it was nice chatting with you though, Combusken.”

    “Yeah!” Edgar chirped, “it was really nice to see Keahi’s family.”

    “Hopefully now we will have more free time, so we shall return sooner rather than later,” Tsuki added.

    “Ha, we’ll see.” Combusken smirked slightly. “You guys are always super busy; we understand if you can’t come back in awhile. But hey, y’all are all always welcome. Yes, even you, Damien.”

    Giving their farewells to Combusken, as well as some other family members on the group’s way out of the cave, they headed outside. The midday sun beamed down on them as they exited, still nice and warm despite them getting later into autumn by now.

    Beside the mouth of the cave, Dusknoir was leaning on the outside wall where they had left him; he didn’t want to be inside with the crowds, but still came out for this trip regardless for reasons that were currently unclear to the others. As they exited the cave, however, he straightened up, moving away from the wall and facing the others. His eye scanned the group quickly, landing on Keahi. He gave her a nod.

    “The evolution went well, I see. Congratulations,” he told her.

    “Thank you!” Keahi hummed, eagerly accepting the comment.

    A pause of silence seemed about to grow, but recognizing this, Dusknoir spoke up again.

    “How did your meeting with Dialga go, Ceebee?” he asked, making eye contact with the celebi.

    “Oh. It was fine,” Ceebee answered, pausing before going on. “They invited me to work with them, like how Celebi did. I turned them down. I don’t think they were too surprised though; they know I’ll always be with you guys.”

    “They invited you to work with them?” Dusknoir repeated, raising a brow.

    “Yeah, I think they’re still mourning. Plus, it’s… kinda supposed to be my role. So, I guess they figured they could try asking and maybe get some company,” Ceebee explained, “at least they won’t really be lonely though, they have their siblings.”

    After the trio had worked together to restore the world’s balance together, there were choices to be made together, how to adjust to working together more. They had agreed to visit at least monthly, to catch up with each other and work through any problems together. Though, for the first while they had plans to meet more frequently than monthly, due to wanting to make sure they got through their adjustment period. For these early meetings as well, the trio had decided to bring along the Lake Guardians as well, as those three would have things to work through after everything as well.

    Until their next meeting, however, each legendary had gone back to their own homes. Dialga went to rest, and Palkia still had more cleaning up to do in the Spacial Rift. Giratina, however, did not have a home. They had spent most of their life in the Distortion Realm, which they were in no way eager to return to anytime soon, and thus any home they had prior to their banishment was long gone.

    In the end though, Giratina only had one place to go back to, to call home; Murky Cave. They had flown out to Remains Island, and while Team Galaxy had not been out there again themselves recently, they had heard that Giratina had manage to settle in alright with the village there. Not that there was terribly much doubt for them, it was clear by the tribute room that most of the townsfolk there respected the deity.

    Dusknoir blinked, “I see.”

    “Well, we’re glad to still have you here!” Edgar hummed, circling around the celebi a couple times. “You’re our friend and our teammate!”

    Ceebee giggled, a smile returning to her face, “thank you, Edgar.”

    “So, Dusknoir, what was it you wished to speak to us about before heading back?” Tsuki asked, shifting the topic of conversation with her question. “You mentioned having something you wanted to tell us here,” she added, in case he or anyone else had forgotten.

    “Ah, yes, of course…” Dusknoir sighed, “I have a request to make to you all. I have done a lot of thinking, during our mission and after it, and I have come to… a lot of realizations. And I believe it would be best for me now to go off on my own. I would like to… discover myself, and I cannot do that here. There is so much more of this world to see, and much more I need to learn about it and myself. So, if I may, I would like go to out on my own.”

    Alex frowned, “why are you asking us for permission?” he questioned, “won’t you just go regardless of what we say?”

    “Because it is your team that placed me under house arrest. With good reason, of course. In hindsight, you acted well to handle your reasonable suspicions of me,” Dusknoir answered, “I will not leave if you do not trust me to. I understand that I have not done much to prove myself to you all. At least, not personally.”

    Slowly, eyes turned towards the time travelling trio; Nelvana, Alex, and Ceebee. As the ones most directly affected by Dusknoir in their pasts, their opinions mattered the most in a case like this. Without a word from the others, it was clear that they trusted whatever verdict their three friends would give to him about this. It took a moment for any of the three of them to speak up, however, hesitating under the breath and mulling over the options. Eventually though, Ceebee exhaled and then spoke up.

    “It may be best for all of us if we let you go,” she decided, “I still can’t really forgive or trust you, but I have sensed honesty in your apologies, so I’ll have to give you the benefit of the doubt that you would like to become better. And if that is true, then I think it would save all of us stress by not having you here,” she continued, “besides, and though I hate to use them to back up any of my points, this seems to be what Dialga wanted when bringing you here, for you to get a chance to live a normal life. So, I guess I’ll let you give that a go. But that’s just me. The other two, which you have certainly had more of a negative effect on, may think otherwise.”

    After another small pause, Nelvana spoke next.

    “I’ve already said that I’m willing to see you become better. I’m fine with that happening without me being there to witness it; frankly I think we’d all do better separated anyway. Again, I don’t forgive you either, but it causes me more trouble than anything to hate you forever,” she told Dusknoir courtly.

    Alex scrunched up his muzzle, “I still hate you, but I’ve done some thinking… I think what Nel has been saying is right. You’re not worth wasting all my energy on, making me stressed all the time. I’ll never forgive you, but I’ll let you go,” he hissed, “but know that if the next time we see you it’s your face on an outlaw poster, we will be the first team going to hunt you down.”

    Dusknoir’s gaze softened, “I would hope that, if I do something to warrant my face on an outlaw poster, that you would be the ones there to stop me.”

    There was almost some resignation to his statement, as if he almost didn’t trust himself for that hypothetical to be a possibility. And that if it did happen… he knew that Team Galaxy would be the best ones to be able to stop him from doing anything worse.

    Realizing that no one else was about to speak, and that these three statements were the complete verdict from the group, Dusknoir went on.

    “Thank you all for giving me another chance. I hope that if we do meet again, it will be under more favorable circumstances than our previous encounters,” he said, “and thank you, Edgar and Damien, for listening to me and helping show me the errors of my ways,” he added.

    Attention momentarily drawn to the other two ghost-types, Damien froze up, his ears flattening and his face darkening slightly, and while Edgar didn’t give off such an obvious reaction like the gengar, the light in his eye flickered momentarily, before he nodded.

    “We’re glad we could help,” Edgar responded, speaking for the both of them while Damien was still too caught off guard to say much.

    Dusknoir nodded back, a smile in his eye. There was another pause, uncertainty hanging over them. Eventually, with one final goodbye, Dusknoir turned around and floated away across the fields. There were no big goodbyes for him, and oddity for the team, but he was an odd case. Regardless, the tension faded as he did into the horizon, leaving only the small and very faint worry that this could have been the wrong choice in the back of everyone’s minds.

    “Well, he’s gone,” Tsuki finally spoke up, letting out a sigh after her words.

    Ceebee patted Alex on his shoulder, “I think we made the right choice,” she said to both him and Nelvana.

    “I hope so,” Nelvana murmured, “either way, I guess we won’t know for awhile, so we’ll just hope for the best. I think… it’ll be better for us in the long run though.”

    “Yeah,” Ceebee agreed, “we need some time to heal, dammit!”

    Alex smiled back up at his friends, before stepping away from Ceebee’s touch, turning around to face her and Nelvana.

    “Actually, speaking of… before we go home, there’s something I wanted to show Nel here, is everyone cool with that?” he asked, glancing around at the others as well.

    “How long should it take?” Damien asked, answering the question with another question.

    “Not too long, I don’t think. Maybe enough for if you really wanted, you could poke your heads back inside here and get some proper goodbyes from family,” Alex responded, making eye contact with Keahi directly for the second sentence.

    “Oh, yeah! That sounds fine. I haven’t gotten to talk to my mom since evolving yet, I should go find her. You two go on ahead!” Keahi chirped.

    Alex nodded back to her, “thanks, we’ll be back in a few.”

    He looked over at Nelvana with a small smile, and she, though not knowing at all what her partner wanted to show her, nodded back to him and followed him as he led her back around the cave.

    “It shouldn’t be far back here,” Alex told her.

    By the vagueness to this sentence, Nelvana could tell that this was meant to be a surprise, and prying wouldn’t get her too far. However, that didn’t mean she could ask something equally vague to what she was actually about to be shown.

    “Is this where you disappeared off to this morning?” she asked, referring to some time during breakfast where Alex wandered out from the cave.

    Alex grinned slightly, nodding again, “yeah, this is where I went.”

    Though he promised it wouldn’t take long, there still seemed to be enough distance between where they had started walking to get here, and Nelvana figured that this walk would either be silent, or she could ask something unrelated that had been on her mind and hope that they had enough time to talk about it before getting to where he wanted to take her.

    “How do you feel, about letting Dusknoir go like that?”

    “Oh, well…” Alex let in a sharp inhale, hissing as the air went through his gritted teeth. “I dunno. I still worry that he’ll go out there and do horrible things again. He hasn’t shown signs of lying in his apologies, but I can’t bring myself to believe him,” he said, “however… I wasn’t lying when I said that I thought you, and Ceebee, raised good points about not stressing over him forever. And…”

    Alex trailed off, taking in another deep breath. Nelvana silently prompted him to go on.

    “I also did some more thinking that I didn’t mention back there. I know he’s capable of showing mercy. He has never done it for us, but he did for me. Once,” Alex continued, voice growing quieter. “After he killed my parents, he left me this scar on my nose, and I fled. You already know that. But I’ve realized… there was no reason for him to do that. He very easily could have aimed for my throat instead and killed me there too. Or he could have chased me further in that forest; I was fast, but I was panicked, he easily could have snuck through the shadows and caught me. I still don’t know why he let me go like that; it went against what he worked for; he probably knew that I would vow vengeance on him. But he let me go, as a small, strange and unknown act of mercy,” he explained, “so, in a way, I guess this is my one mercy to him. He gave me a chance back then; I’ll give him a chance now. But just one.”

    Nelvana nodded along to this explanation, but before she could say anything, Alex stopped walking and then spoke again.

    “Here we are.”

    Stopping alongside the grovyle, Nelvana took a moment to glance around at her surroundings and locate what it was that Alex wanted to show her. They were in a graveyard now, tombstones solidly stuck into the ground through the long grass that was everywhere in Scorched Plains. Just at a glimpse, Nelvana could see that most of the rocks were marked with pokemon of the torchic line; from Keahi’s family. Though squinting further back, there were some graves for other fire-type pokemon. It seemed that this was a graveyard for any families living around Scorched Plains; Keahi had mentioned before that her family weren’t the only ones in the area.

    However, Alex crouched down in front of two specific gravestones, and when Nelvana crouched beside him, she found that these two were not of fire-types at all, and one was not even of pokemon. On the right, were two names, and she recognized them as being the names of Alex’s parents. He had told her them once during a moment of vulnerability and grieving; she was his sister, and he wanted her to know and remember the names of his parents too, so that their memory would live in the both of them, even if she had never met them. On the left, were five names, the names of each of Nelvana’s family members, including Achta, the purloin.

    Nelvana stared at the two stones for many long moments, reading over the names over and over before eventually turning to Alex. She didn’t need to speak to ask her questions, he understood why she would be surprised.

    “Blaziken set this up,” he told her, and she knew right away that he was referring to Keahi’s father. “He asked me about our families, before he knew that you no longer have amnesia and could have asked you. Still, I told him, I know it’s something he had… worried about before. And then he offered to make grave markers for them,” he explained, “I told him that he didn’t have to do that, but he insisted upon it, said we were family here too and our family deserved to be remembered. And well… I had been planning on suggesting to you that we make graves elsewhere anyway, so eventually I caved and let Blaziken set them up here.”

    “That was nice of him,” Nelvana responded quietly.

    “Yeah,” Alex agreed, “so… you’re okay with it then? I probably should have asked, but I hope it could make a good surprise.”

    Nelvana smiled softly, “yeah, I… I’m okay with it. This is a good surprise. Thanks.”

    The pair stayed there for a few more minutes, but knowing that they promised that they wouldn’t be gone long and that they could always come back here if they really wanted prompted them to get up and start heading back. The return trip was quieter than the one there, silent aside from the mention that they should bring flowers next time, but they both felt a bit lighter than when they had arrived.

    As they returned to the others, they found most of them sitting and chatting right outside the cave where the pair had left them. Keahi was absent, but it seemed that everyone else thought it better to allow her some family time on her own while they waited for the other two to return. The others glanced up as the two returned, whatever they were talking about shoved aside in favor of greeting the return of their friends.

    “We’re back,” Alex told them, despite everyone being well aware of this by now.

    “How was your little trip?” Damien asked, twisting a handful of grass in his hands.

    “It was good, thanks,” Nelvana answered.

    Though there was some evident curiosity ebbing from the group, wondering what it was Alex had shown Nelvana, they figured that if the pair wanted to tell them, they would, and there was no point in asking right now.

    “Should we go get Keahi then?” Tsuki asked, “she went inside to talk to family.”

    “Well, unless anyone else had anything that they wanted to do here, we’re ready to head back,” Alex told her.

    “I’ll go get her then!” Edgar readily offered.

    Barely waiting long enough to hear approval to his offer, Edgar zoomed back inside the cave to locate their missing friend. Before long, he returned outside, Keahi right behind him.

    “That didn’t take long,” Damien commented to Edgar.

    “She wasn’t too hard to find!” Edgar replied.

    “I stayed fairly close to the entrance so you guys would be able to find me more easily when you were ready,” Keahi added, “so, we ready to go now?”

    “Sounds like it,” Gardevoir answered, nodding.

    “Alright!” Keahi exclaimed, “hey, we should race home! I want to see how fast I am as a combusken now! Ready? Three, two, one, go!”

    Without waiting for any confirmation to the idea of a race, Keahi sprinted off on the path towards home. Everyone else froze momentarily, caught off guard from the suddenness of it all. But despite most recovering from any surprise quickly, no one still moved right away, exchanging glances with each other instead.

    “I am not running all the way back home,” Damien said, “it’s a half hour walk.”

    Nelvana chuckled at him, “I’ll get her; I doubt any of us could run for that long, and some of us have an unfair flying advantage,” she said, then turning back towards the combusken and beginning to run after her. “Keahi, wait!”

    At first, Keahi did not slow at the call, but she did glance back, and when seeing that Nelvana was the only one running to catch up, she slowed slightly to allow the marowak to stand beside her.

    “Kea, it’s a half hour walk back to the base. No one is going to run that far, not even you,” Nelvana told her once they were close enough to carry a conversation together.

    Keahi blinked, “oh, right. Sorry, I’m just really excited! And also, I feel really energetic! But yeah, a half hour race sounds a bit much. Maybe we could race once we get within eyesight of the base…?”

    “Maybe. But I don’t know how much energy you’ll have by then. Remember what Alex mentioned when I evolved? You feel really full of energy now, but you also burned a lot of energy evolving. You’re going to need to rest later,” Nelvana reminded her.

    “You didn’t need rest right after evolving,” Keahi pointed out.

    “Yeah, but there was that moment we were all forced asleep by Ditto-Darkrai. Also, I basically fell asleep right after getting to my nest.”

    “So did most of us.”

    “Yeah, but it usually takes me forever to fall sleep, even if the day’s events have been exhausting. You know that.”

    Keahi blinked, and then laughed, “you’re right! I can’t believe I forgot.”

    Nelvana smiled, “it’s alright, you’re just excited. Besides, as you said, everyone else fell asleep pretty quickly too. You probably didn’t notice at the time.”

    “Yeah…” Keahi trailed off, smile fading slightly. “Will I be awake enough for the celebration this afternoon?”

    “You should be fine,” Nelvana assured her, “there will be lots of food anyway, we can reenergize you.”

    “Okay! That’s good, I’d hate to be all energetic now and then fall asleep when I need to be awake!” Keahi replied, smile returning to her face. “Well, if we aren’t going to race then… there is something else I wanted to do, now that I have hands.”

    Nelvana stared back at Keahi, silent questioning in her eyes at the combusken’s comment. Giggling to herself, Keahi acted instead of answering out loud, reaching out with her right hand, and grabbing Nelvana’s left hand in it, then moving her hand to intertwine their fingers.

    “There!” Keahi hummed, “we can hold hands now!”

     “Oh.” Nelvana smiled softly, her face feeling warm. “That was… sweeter than I expected.”

    Keahi laughed again, “what were you expecting?” she questioned, only receiving a shrug in response. “Well, for other things I want to try out now that I’ve evolved… I should be able to learn more fighting-type moves, but we’ll probably have to do that tomorrow. For now, I guess we had better start actually heading back!”

    Nelvana chuckled, “yeah, we should,” she said, squeezing Keahi’s hand.

    The pair glanced back to where the others were, who still hadn’t moved from where they were before, staying back to allow the two to enjoy their conversation on their own. Keahi stuck her tongue out at them, and Nelvana gestured with her other hand for them to follow.

    “Come on! Let’s go home!”

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: (N/A) Previous: In which there are three for balance

[n1ghtt1me-stars]

Part 10 (1)

Warlock saunters vaguely through life (Warlock saunters vaguely into their lives part 10) - this work is around 20,000 words so will be uploaded in eight parts every week

work on ao3, part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven, part eight, part nine  

The five years after the non-apocalypse passed quickly and peacefully.

And Warlock really didn't want anything to change.

In school, he had very few friends - really they were more acquaintances than friends - other quiet people he sat with in the library and the computer suite because everyone knew that they wouldn't disturb each other. Warlock wasn't even a hundred per cent certain on all their names.

After his last GCSE exam, he went straight home. It was physics and Warlock was pretty sure he lost all the marks except on the parts about Space, as Crowley had helped him revise that topic. There was talk about a party that all his year was invited to, but it felt presumptive to assume he was a part of that group.

The tube had become part of his everyday routine: headphones in, head down and praying that it wasn't crammed (though it usually was).

There was a well-done-on-your-exams cake waiting when he arrived home. Crowley and Aziraphale stood proudly behind the table with the cake on it. Smiling, Warlock walked over and gave them a hug. Neither of them really understood human school though they celebrated each achievement and somehow cake became a part of it.

Aziraphale began to plate some slices of cake while Crowley turned to him and asked, "How was school, dear?"

"S'alright," Warlock replied. "Hated the test but my physics teacher gave us sweets afterwards. I think she pitied us."

Crowley laughed and Warlock continued with descriptions of his classmates' looks of despair. Aziraphale chimed in with "Oh those poor dears. Were exams one of mine or yours?"

Leaning back in his chair as he thought, Crowley eventually said, "I can't remember. I think I did it but it could have been a favour."

"I swear," Warlock said, "if you didn't give me cake, I would be really annoyed right now."

**

Later that evening, Warlock laid on his bed on his phone. Somehow, he had become friends with Adam and his lot. Not so much Wensleydale and Brian (Warlock did get Wensleydale's help with physics as well though it didn't pay off). He spoke a bit with Adam who really liked plants, and Warlock had grown up in Crowley's garden so they had some common ground.

Mostly, Warlock messaged Pepper. They both did ICT as a hobby and as a GCSE (Brian also did the exam but only because he thought it would be easy). Pepper was also into social justice and Warlock knew the best way to be heard in both Britain and America through his father’s complaints.

(They also both liked romantic comedies and were too ashamed to admit it to anyone else)

Is Adam still prepping for the party? Warlock sent Pepper after their rants about exams died off.

Of course. Been planning this since his fifteenth. Warlock can feel Pepper rolling her eyes. He's even made a truce with Johnson because he can get drinks for the after-party.

 That's dedication. How's he hiding it from his parents?

 Convinced Anathema it’s a rite of passage. She's going to distract all the adults including your parents after the barbecue so we can go to the treehouse.

Sounds fun. And it really did. Since his eleventh birthday, it had become a tradition to throw a joint party with Adam. His parents were usually abroad so they travelled to Tadfield for roughly a week.

 To you maybe. Adam’s been setting up rubbish bags and threatening to fight anyone who litters in his woods.

 Haha so glad I don't help plan these things

Wish you did, Pepper quickly replied before sending another message, it's annoying that you can't come during Christmas or Easter

 I know. Two more years and then I don't have to go back to my parents’ house.

Only two years. Can't believe we're all growing up. Pepper sent.

Yeah, neither could he. Growing up was a surreal thing. Changes happened without you noticing; he doesn't know when the last time he called Crowley Nanny was. He remembered being teased for having servants and stopped referring to Nanny in school. And then, it bled into his home life. Warlock wasn't sure if Crowley noticed because he never said anything, but it made Warlock a little sad thinking about it.

 I know. Think Adam will mature once we turn 16?

 Nope. Still be thinking he's the centre of the universe till someone knocks him down a couple of pegs

Warlock laughed aloud at that. Adam was regularly self-centred, but he meant well most of the time. Once, when they were thirteen, he didn't talk to Warlock for weeks after he couldn't come over for Christmas despite him explaining why. It took Pepper hitting him for Adam to apologise.

The year after, Adam posted a book about coding to the Dowling house. Warlock still wasn't sure how he got that address.

Before he could reply to Pepper, she messaged again that her mum needed her so she'd talk tomorrow. It was only ten so Warlock doodled in his notebook a bit; he could do rough sketches of a variety of plants and flowers without thinking. For his art GCSE, most of his coursework had been based around plants because he could use Crowley's garden as a source. A few years ago, Crowley had expanded to a greenhouse on the roof (which Warlock was pretty sure was closed off to tenants) and it was so beautiful and full of lush plants in there.

It was definitely one of Warlock's favourite places.

A couple of weeks later (most of it was spent catching up on sleep), Warlock packed for their trip to Tadfield. Technically, he wasn't a military kid like the others he grew up with who moved every few years. But, on the other hand, as a diplomat's son, he went on more short-haul trips so packing was a breeze.

Going through his mental list, he packed his clothes effectively so he could take his tablet and laptop. He knew Aziraphale would be taking enough books for the week so he didn't have to worry about that.

Suitcase ready and his phone on charge for the car journey, he went up to the roof. He passed Aziraphale prepping packed lunches in the kitchen: most likely simple sandwiches if he was trying to make something without magic.

It was a rare clear day and Warlock could see miles of the city all around from the rooftop however he couldn't hear the busy streets. Apparently, plants needed a calm, clean atmosphere (even though they were already in a greenhouse) so the roof was quiet and smelled of clean air and not the usual scent of exhaust fumes.

Pushing open the door to the greenhouse, Warlock was met with a warm wall of humidity. Crowley stood over some vibrant green ferns with his water sprayer, inspecting for any damage and threatening them.

"You all better grow well when I'm away," he said as the leaves trembled. "or you'll know what'll happen. I don't think any of you can survive a fall from a roof."

Warlock gently stroked a shaking leaf and it stopped trembling. As if communicating with the others, all the plants went still and Crowley turned to glare at him. "You and Aziraphale are way too nice to them."

"Yeah," Warlock said, "We're the ones who are too nice."

Crowley waved the spray bottle at him before giving the plants one last glare. Walking out of the greenhouse, Crowley asked, "Are you ready to go?"

To be honest, his stomach was turning. Each year, it was terrifying to be celebrating his birthday with people he only saw once a year and only knew because he was standing in the background when the world nearly ended.

"Yep, can't wait," Warlock said. He must have sounded convincing because Crowley told him to put his stuff in the car before going to find Aziraphale.

**

They stayed in the same rented cottage every year that was always empty despite it being the height of summer. Like the flat, it was a lot smaller than the house he grew up in, but Warlock preferred it. Every floorboard creaked and the chairs felt like they would collapse whenever someone sat on them but it was never empty.

Unsurprisingly, they arrived before lunchtime because of Crowley's driving, so they had the sandwiches at the cottage. Warlock had several messages from Pepper demanding he come into the woods as soon as possible because Adam is getting stressy about the party and someone needs to distract him.

Leaving Aziraphale and Crowley to sort out the cottage, Warlock jumped the fence in the garden as it was the quickest route into the woods. He only came once a year, but he could walk this path with his eyes closed. It was cool beneath the shade of the trees, yet the light that filtered through made the whole area a nice golden hue. The air had a similar feel to the greenhouse: clean, fresh and the furthest thing from the city air.

The first thing he heard was Adam's voice. "Hang the paper chains evenly in the branches," he shouted. Warlock walked into the slight clearing in time to see Pepper glare at Adam. "Please," he added reluctantly at her look.

No one was really sure if Adam still had his powers, but Adam swung round to lock eyes with Warlock as if he just knew he was there.

"Warlock!" He shouted and smiled widely. However, Warlock's response was cut off when a weight slammed into the back of his knees. Stumbling forwards, Warlock stopped himself from falling as Dog continued to jump and bark at him. For some reason, Dog was always overly enthusiastic around him and no one else.

"Hey," Warlock said as Dog ran over and sat down at Adam's ankles. "How are you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Adam said. "It's good you're here actually, you can help Wensleydale with the paper chains. He has no idea how to spread the colours evenly."

Looking over at the tree, Warlock could see what Adam meant. There was a large patch of red on one side of the tree, a couple of stands if blue next to it (where Wensleydale was precariously sitting) and other colours in a pile on the floor. If left to his own devices, all the colours would end up in distinct blocks which would just look weird. "Sure," Warlock said, "I'll save the tree."

"Thank you," Adam said earnestly. Suddenly, he shouted "Brian, no!" before running off to deal with another impending disaster.

On his way over, Warlock said hi to Pepper who was setting up some solar-powered garden lights. "We'll have to take some of that red down," he said to Wensleydale who was clambering down from the tree.

"Yeah," Wensleydale said sadly. He cleaned his glasses on his shirt and put them back on to stare at the paper chains. "I guess it would look better if they were mixed together."

"Yeah..." Warlock said as he studied the colours. "If you get back up in the tree, I'll pass them up and we can spread them out?"

"Sounds good," Wensleydale replied and he climbed the tree again. As they worked, they chatted mostly about the recent exams because that was the only common ground they had.

"How did your RE go?" Wensleydale asked. Warlock was grateful that they had quickly moved on from the physics paper.

"Alright I think," he said as he passed up a green chain. "But it didn't help that Aziraphale kept telling me about misprinted bible quotes. They were all I could remember in the exam."

"Oh, I read about some of those. I think my favourite was 'Thou shalt commit Adultery'."

Laughing, Warlock said, "Nah, 'the unrighteous shall inherit the Kingdom of God' is definitely the best one. It's amazing how these were so wrong with just little mistakes."

Finally finished with the tree (which now looked like an explosion of colour instead of a paint-by-number), Warlock realised that his stomach was growling. Brian and Pepper disappeared a while ago once they had finished their jobs and Wensleydale quickly left as well, claiming he was tired from scrambling around the tree. That just left him and Adam, who was trying to get Dog to stop playing with a scrap piece of paper that he was intent on tearing to bits.

"Dog, drop it!" Adam said. Warlock laughed as Dog ignored him. "Drop it," Adam continued sternly, "or no treats for dinner."

Dog dropped it and Adam looked at Warlock smugly. "I'm pretty sure he only stopped because you mentioned treats," Warlock said and Adam's expression faltered slightly.

No," he said stubbornly. "Dog understood the threat."

"Sure he did," Warlock said, filling his voice with sarcasm. "Well," he added, "I'm hungry so I'm going to ..."

"Come to mine," Adam interrupted. "My mum will be preparing dinner soon."

"Uh..." Warlock couldn't see a valid reason to refuse, except that being around the adult Youngs was weird, but he couldn't admit that to their son. "Sure," he said, "let me just message Crowley."

"Awesome," Adam said, and, as soon as Warlock put his phone back in his pocket, grabbed his arm and started dragging Warlock to his house.

*

Excluding all the supernatural elements, Warlock wondered if there was anyone else in a similar situation where the child was the one to know that they were adopted and not the adult.

He couldn't help thinking about it as Mrs Young pulled him into a hug and Mr Young gave him a firm handshake. Really, he looked nothing like Mrs Young who shared the same light hair and soft face with Adam, and the only similarity he had with Mr Young was the dark hair colour that his mum also had. Adam, though, did actually look like their son despite not being related.

The situation was strange and Warlock usually tried to ignore it, especially around his family because his father could not find out he wasn't biologically his.

It would be the straw that broke the camel's back; it would be all the excuse his father needed to disown him.

"Sit down," Mrs Young said, ushering Warlock and Adam to the dining table. "I'm making bangers and mash so I hope you're hungry."

"They're vegetarian by the way," Adam said to him.

"Yeah, that's fine," Warlock said. He knew that Adam went vegetarian a while back and that his parents followed his example. Anyway, you could never go wrong with sausages and potatoes.

Warlock could hear the sound of ceramic plates being set out and the kettle whistling in the kitchen. Despite his reservations, Warlock did love being in Adam's house. It was loud and full of life and reminded him of the times when he, Aziraphale and Crowley tried to make a new dish together (with varying degrees of success). It was also the furthest thing from the empty estate that he used to live in.

Once everyone was sat down and eating, Mr Young turned to him and asked, "So, what exams did you do Warlock?"

"Uh, ICT, RE and art," Warlock said, "plus English, maths and combined science of course."

"A good range," Mr Young said, meeting Warlock’s eyes as if he was genuinely interested, "Your parents must be proud."

"Yep," Warlock said, quickly shoving a forkful of mash into his mouth so he didn't have to say anymore. He was pretty sure his father's lecture on why he should do more useful subjects like politics or business lasted an hour when Warlock told him his chosen options.

Thankfully, Adam started talking about the party. He omitted the part about the truce and Johnson bringing alcohol but he waved his cutlery around as he spoke about all the decorations and the games they' were going to play in the woods.

"I'm thinking that we play games that we used to play as kids," Adam said, as though he never stopped playing those games. "Forty forty in is good in the dark..."

"How do you play?" Warlock asked.

Adam turned to look at him with wide eyes, "You've never played?" Adam said. Warlock looked away slightly from his shocked look. As a child, the only game he could remember playing was soccer (well football here, that was probably the only American thing about Warlock) when some of his mother's friends brought their children round. Names of games like 'bulldog' and '123 home' were suggested if he remembered correctly but soccer was the only thing they all knew so they didn't have to waste time explaining it. He never had regular friends to develop these kinds of games with.

"No..." Warlock eventually said, focused on the food in front of him as he cut the sausages into tiny, regular pieces. "I've never heard of it."

"That's fine," Adam said, his cheerful mood not at all affected. "You can be on my team and we’ll destroy the others."

"We never played in teams," Mrs Young added. "If you was IT, you had to do it alone."

"Well, in my version there’s teams and it's more fun when you have someone to work with."

"Okay dear, finish your food," Mrs Young said, gesturing to Adam's half full plate which he had been ignoring whenever he spoke.

They finished in relative silence and Warlock helped Mrs Young carry the plates into the kitchen as Adam took Dog out into the garden. "You're such a polite boy," she said, "not like the chaotic demon I raised." Warlock laughed though it was more at the fact that she didn't know how right she was. "Are you excited for the barbeque tomorrow?" she asked.

"Yeah," Warlock said. "Thank you for hosting it again. They're always brilliant. This will be the fifth one-- won't it?"

"Oh its no trouble," Mrs Young said, dismissing his praise with a wave of her hand. "I can't believe you're all growing up so fast. Soon, you'll be at university and then adults. First, it was Adam's sister and now Adam. Oh God," she paused and wiped her eyes, "I better stop before I start weeping."

Warlock scuffed his feet against the floor. "It's alright," he said, feeling like an intruder. Adam had told him late one night in a rare honest conversation that his older sister visited less and less and that it made his mother upset. In return, Warlock told him how his parents had been distant growing up and he disliked people like his sister, who selfishly took their parents' love for granted.

Adam didn't argue with him. He only said that he was glad Warlock was with Aziraphale and Crowley now.

"Go hang out with Adam," Mrs Young said as she shooed him out of the kitchen. "I'll get Arthur to help me."

Leaving her shouting for her husband, Warlock went into the garden where he found Adam laying on the recently-mowed grass with Dog. The sun was just setting, turning the sky red (Warlock hoped that meant the weather would be good tomorrow for their birthday). Sitting down next to him, Warlock saw that Adam's eyes were closed but he knew that Adam was aware that he was there. He waited in silence until Adam opened his eyes.

From his position sitting up, Warlock had to lean over slightly so he could make eye contact with Adam. "Are you going to stay there all night?" he asked.

"Maybe," Adam said with a smirk. Honestly, Warlock wouldn't be surprised if Adam actually did as he always seemed to belong more outside.

"In that case," Warlock said as he stood up, "I'll be heading back to sleep in a proper bed."

Adam groaned but scrambled quickly to his feet. "I'll walk you back," he said. There were grass stains all down his back and loose stands in his hair. Warlock tried to help by picking some of the pieces out but stopped quickly when he felt Adam still beneath his hand.

"You don't have to," Warlock said, feeling slightly guilty for disturbing him.

Adam waved him off. "I want to," he said, smiling brightly.

Adam took them along the main road instead of the through the woods even though it was longer. Surprisingly, Adam kept quiet (only interrupting occasionally to ask questions) when Warlock spent most of the walk talking about some new plants Crowley had gotten recently and how they were so pretty Warlock had already drawn them many times trying to capture them right.

Finally, they reached the cottage. Pausing at the gate to say goodbye, Warlock was shocked when Adam pulled him into a quick hug. Adam pulled away too soon for Warlock to hug him back and said, "You're so going to love your present tomorrow."

"I bet my present for you is better," Warlock said almost automatically as his brain was still processing the hug.

Adam laughed and said, "Doubt it," before running off.

When Warlock woke up the next morning, his memory of his conversation with Adam was crystal clear while the rest of the evening after that was a complete blur in his mind.

Next part