#YOU GUYS AGREED WITH ME THOUGH. you were complaining about the exact same thing yesterday

[the-casbah-way]

you know what i think some people just need to grow the fuck up and learn the difference between confrontation and direct communication why are you acting like i’m an arsehole for pointing out the fact that you are wrong. sorry for not tiptoeing awkwardly behind your back to try and sort the problem out on my own instead of cutting it off at the source and explaining to you clearly and maturely why it would be more efficient for you to stop doing the thing you are doing. god

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 8

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 7 🟣 Part 9

A reverse harem vampire AU ft. Mikey, Marshall, August and Sherlock

Series summary: Somehow, you've managed to live with your boyfriend and his roommates for months before finding out they're vampires, but the real shock first comes when they find out you have a special quality. A quality the guys would love to make use of...

Warnings: Mentions of blood, biting, vampire stuff, mention of needles and stitches. Tell me if I missed something.

Word count: 4.2k

A/N: I just keep hitting everybody with more info, or so it would seem... I'm glad I got this finished, because Chapter 9 is also well underway, and I hope to get that done today. Are we still good on the smut? Do we need more smut? (I genuinely think this is the longest I've gone without writing smut for a series XD)

@geralts-yenn @deandoesthingstome @summersong69 @teamfan7asy @mis-lil-red @ellethespaceunicorn @sillyrabbit81

The door to Marshall’s room slammed shut uncharacteristically loudly. The boys didn’t slam doors; their movements were far too precise, too controlled for that kind of nonsense. Same went for slumping down on a bed so suddenly that you wouldn’t be surprised if the downstairs neighbors came up to complain about it. Curiosity got the better of you, and you walked to the source of the sounds. In the back of your mind, you wondered if this was a good idea; Mike was away to feed, Sherlock and August weren’t back from work yet… Marshall hadn’t been home since yesterday. What if this wasn’t even him?

“It’s me,” he answered through the still closed door. He’d obviously heard your thoughts.

“Marshall,” you said, pushing the door open carefully, “are you okay?” An answer was completely unnecessary: Marshall was laying in bed, looking pale and exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes. Alright, paler, more exhausted, and darker circles than usual. He was a cop, after all, which appeared to be tough, even on a vampire, so a certain level of tired and grumpy was normal for him.

“No,” he said with a faint smile on his face. “You can come in, it’s fine.” His voice was hoarse, and he looked like he could fall asleep any second.

“You look exhausted.” There was a question in there somewhere, but you had enough trouble finding it yourself, so you didn’t expect Marshall to know, either. “You’re cold. Hungry?” That was impossible, he’d fed not even three weeks ago – which made it all the more surprising when he nodded.

“Starving,” he said softly.

“How?” you wondered. He was colder than any of them usually was when they needed to feed.

“Perp was one of us. Horrible chase. Horrible fight. And then they had me interrogate him for hours, going full speed on the mind-reading.”

“You’re allowed to use that?” It seemed like an unfair advantage. Then again…

“I’m licensed and everything.” You honest to God hadn’t had a clue that that was even a thing. Marshall chuckled, which told you he was listening. You had come to terms with the fact that Mike and Marshall were usually at least a little in your head, even though they weren’t necessarily in your head. Marshall had explained to you that the hearing of thoughts you weren’t planning on saying out loud part of his gift was more or less passive. He couldn’t turn it off, he could at most try to not act on what he heard. The same applied to Mike – who had stated outright that he’d be completely out of his mind to ignore it, and he’d made a point of proving that by deliberately doing so one night in bed. Or rather ‘consequently doing the exact opposite of what he felt you wanted most’, which you still felt did skew the results a fair bit. Nevertheless, you’d – more or less begrudgingly – agreed to let things go back to the way they were, even though you were still getting used to the fact that you couldn’t lie to him.

Then, according to Marshall, there was the active mind-reading, which gave him basically full access to someone’s thoughts, but it cost a lot of ‘battery’, as he’d described it. That battery seemed to be completely empty right now.

“You need to feed,” you said without thinking. “Did they just let you leave like this?”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, but something told you that wasn’t remotely true. “They gave me pretty much everything they had in reserve; it should get me through the night.”

“This is after they gave you a snack?” He laughed at the comparison.

“Yeah. Can you make me something to eat, maybe? A sandwich or something?” You were caught between a rock and a hard place; trying not to offer would be impossible, because the thought was already there, and he’d already heard it. Despite that fact, Marshall didn’t seem keen on accepting an offer you hadn’t even made yet, so you agreed to make him some food.

When you returned from the kitchen, the door to Marshall’s room was locked. Strange… Why would he do that if he needed to eat so bad?

“Just put it down, go to your room, lock the door, and stay there,” you heard from the other side of the door. What the hell? No! “I don’t want to hurt you, get away from me.”

“Walter Marshall, open this door.” It wasn’t a question, but that didn’t make him listen.

“Get. The fuck. Away from me.” Holy shit. That voice… He barely sounded human. Alright, he wasn’t human, so that may or may not have had something to do with that, but still. “Please leave.” A single tear ran down your cheek as you turned around and did what he asked you to do – and that single tear turned into two, turned into three, turned into too many to count once you turned the lock on your bedroom door. You leaned your back against it and lowered yourself until you were sitting on the floor, resting your head on your knees, and crying for God knows what silly reason. Marshall was in so much pain, and there was nothing you wanted more than to help him. Why wouldn’t he let you…

For a moment, you forgot you hadn’t actually made the offer, even though you knew he was in the loop on the fact that you had wanted to, and after a few minutes, you carefully made your way back to his room. The sandwich you’d made him – tuna salad with plenty of mayonnaise – wasn’t where you’d left it. That was good.

Over the past few weeks, you’d become well acquainted with the guys’ preferences when it came to their favorite calorie-dense snacks. For Marshall, it was hard to go wrong with anything that involved bread and mayo, August would be happy with just about any kind of pasta, Sherlock was particularly fond of inhuman amounts of cheese and – as was to be expected – Mike had a massive sweet tooth.

“Marshall?” You knocked on the door, even though you knew there was no way he hadn’t heard you. A soft grunt sounded from the other side of the door.

“Come in.” Did he sound embarrassed? He was lying on his bed, facing away from the door, curled up in a ball. You’d say ‘small ball’, but that would just seem weird when talking about a guy Marshall’s size.

“Are you feeling better?” You sat down on the bed and put a hand on his shoulder. If he was feeling any better, he sure as fuck didn’t look like it. The overly dramatic sigh didn’t help convince you that the answer he gave you was true.

“Yeah.”

“Liar,” you said, and you pushed against his arm. Normally, you wouldn’t be able to move him if you tried your hardest, but now, he just kinda… rolled. “You need to feed.”

“I’ll ask Mike when he gets back.” There was something very evasive about his voice, and normally your first instinct would have been not to pry, but you couldn’t help yourself.

“Marshall, what the hell was that? Just now.” Of course, he tried to avoid giving you an answer by trying to convince you it had been nothing, but you didn’t buy it. When he looked at you, you could clearly see the embarrassment on his face.

“I was just about ready to jump you,” he said. “For food, I mean.” As if you’d expected anything else…

“I have a better idea, move over.” You rolled up your sleeve and waved your arm in front of his face.

“I’d object to this idea, for Mikey’s sake,” Marshall said, “but I’m way too fucking hungry.” You noticed his fangs were down; you could see them when he spoke. It took some shifting around for the both of you to get comfortable, but you found something that worked and that didn’t feel too intimate. There was no way you were going to make him sit on the floor for this, though. He deserved to lie down for a bit.

“I’m going to ask you if you’re sure once.” There was a strange intensity to his voice, and he grabbed your arm so tight it was almost painful. Scratch that, it was painful. As soon as you told him you were sure, he bit down – hard.

“Fuck!” The word was out before you even realized, but he really hurt you when he bit you. The pain didn’t last long, though; within a few seconds, you felt like you were in a nice, warm bath.

You were beginning to construct a theory that the feeling you got varied, depending on the vampire that was feeding on you – although you’d need more experience to really say anything about it – but whether it was true or not, it still felt great. Marshall was rough, clearly starving, sucking on your arm as if his life depended on it – and maybe it did, you couldn’t be sure.

‘It’s not that dramatic.’ The voice startled you, and without thinking, you pulled away from Marshall. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quick enough to bring back his initial death-grip on your arm. His teeth tore a little further into your flesh, leaving you with two serious-looking gashes on your arm as he let you go. It made you jump more than it actually hurt.

“Ow! Fuck!”

“What the damn hell?” Mikey. Within a split-second, Marshall was nowhere to be found, and you were looking around frantically to find out where he’d gone. He was pinned against the wall by Mike, who looked just about ready to rip his throat out.

“Mikey, let go of him,” you said calmly. “Now.” Mike’s grip on Marshall’s throat relaxed, but he didn’t step away.

“I swear I wasn’t trying to hurt her, man,” Marshall said. “You know that.”

“I think you’re going to start explaining why the fuck you were feeding on her in the first place!” His voice cracked when he said it, which might have been funny if the circumstances had been different.

“Mike! Stop being so goddamn… territorial! I am not your property!” Shit, that definitely rubbed him the wrong way. His hand dropped to his side, and he stared at you, mouth hanging open and seemingly on the verge of tears. “He needed help, Mikey.” He still did. Your voice was soft, almost a whisper, and you were fairly sure that one look at Marshall would tell Mike you weren’t lying; he still looked like death warmed up.

“Look at me, man,” Marshall said. There was that familiar look in his eyes, and right now it was the only thing that made him look normal. Which was very, very concerning, because that look still weirded you out. Mike finally backed off completely.

“I’m sorry for jumping you,” he said quietly, “I heard her scream, and then the whole situation just kinda made me lose it.”

“Can we talk about what happened?” you said curiously, raising your arm for the first time since you’d pretty much tried to pull it out of Marshall’s mouth. You slowly remembered what it had been that had made you jump in the first place. “How did I hear your voice while you were feeding?”

“I’m sorry about that, I should have warned you. I didn’t think it would happen, since it was the first time,” Marshall said as he sat down next to you. Mike joined you on your other side and wrapped an arm around you. He pressed something to your arm – a washcloth – and you realized he’d made a pitstop in the bathroom on his way over to you. You hadn’t even noticed. “It’s a sort of… attunement. Common between naturals and feeding vampires, but it usually requires…”

“Attunement?” you asked almost sarcastically. Mike laughed.

“Well, yeah.” Marshall chuckled. “I’m guessing it’s because we’ve been living together for a while now, that’s really the only explanation I can think of.” That sounded plausible. It was strange how completely calm you were about these things now – especially compared to a couple of weeks ago, when you’d been screaming at Mike for not telling you he was a vampire. Which, in hindsight, was really something you should have noticed – it was something you kept beating yourself up over.

“We’ll ask Sherlock when he gets back,” Mike said. There was an edge of curiosity to his voice, and you knew he wasn’t just going to let this go.

“Ask Sherlock what when he gets back?” Sherlock suddenly asked from two feet away, startling you. “I’m sorry, darling, I didn’t mean to startle you. Can I take a look at that?” Before you could answer, he was on his knees in front of you, inspecting the wounds on your arm.

“These are going to need stitches,” he said softly. Marshall’s breath caught in his throat for a second, and you turned your head towards him. He looked absolutely mortified.

“It’s okay,” you said softly. The hand you put on his thigh seemed to calm him down a bit. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“May I inquire as to what happened?” Occasionally, Sherlock sounded like he was stuck in the Victorian era.

“I still don’t quite know, myself,” you answered. Other than ‘some kind of attunement’, no one had actually told you anything, so you turned back to Marshall and waited for your answer. Your completely comprehensible, logical, making-all-the-sense-in-the-world answer. Or so you hoped.

“Right. It was a projection of my gift. Normally, I can hear your thoughts. Because I was feeding on you, you got to hear mine.” Oh. That wasn’t half as scary as you’d thought it was, and definitely more understandable than you’d expected. And now you were going to need stitches in your arm because of something entirely un-scary.

“Shouldn’t we be getting me to a doctor?”

“Right,” Mike said. You noticed the grin on his face and squinted. What was he up to?  “Sorted.” You hadn’t moved. Neither had anyone else, as far as you could tell.

“Mike,” Sherlock warned, but there was a definite chuckle to his voice. “He’s not wrong, though. Do you need to see my degree?”

“What? You’re a doctor?”

“I am. Both M.D. and PhD. Several PhD’s, to be precise,” he said. It somehow didn’t sound like bragging – and it probably wasn’t, given the fact that he’d had nine-hundred years to get those degrees. Marshall chuckled at your thought and confirmed that a new degree every few decades wasn’t necessarily that impressive. You stuck your arm out without thinking, and Sherlock disappeared for half a second, and returned with the necessary instruments to take care of the mess that was your arm.

“That medical degree,” you asked, just to be sure, “when did you get that?”

“I got that renewed in the late nineties,” he said, “when we first had the idea to open the clinic.”

“He finished med school in, what was it?” August had made it home safely, too. “Three years?” You looked up at him. He was casually lounging against the doorframe, as usual. It did something to you, and you were fairly sure you could watch August stand there the whole day. When you first moved in, your friends had asked to see a picture of your roommates. If you had let them stare at those pictures for five seconds longer than you did, you’d have had to mop the floor, you were sure of it. And they were hot, there was just no point in trying to deny that. Mike called you out now, everytime he caught you looking. It was almost as if he was trying to illustrate that he wasn’t completely paranoid in his apprehension to a steady feeding arrangement. The past two weeks, however, it had kinda seemed he’d really been getting used to the idea. You talked about it a lot, you considered that a good sign.

“Renewed?” That was confusing, but the more you thought about it… “How old was the one before that?”

“A hundred years, give or take. I wasn’t practicing, at the time, in case you’re wondering. Though I did keep up to date on the goings on in the field. Medical school was a breeze because of that. You’re done, by the way.” You looked down at your arm, then back at Sherlock, and back down again.

“Why’d you maim her in the first place?” August asked Marshall, still not moving out of the doorway.

“It was my fault,” you said immediately, but August just laughed.

“Easy, princess, I’m just kidding,” he said. He was really making good on his promise to be less of a cunt, you’re just not quite used to that yet. Marshall explained what happened at work to the guys – the story made all three of them wince.

“It was a good thing she was home,” he said, gesturing at you, “I… I was cutting it pretty close. Can I get you anything?” Right, that. You sincerely doubted you were ever going to get used to that.

“Some tea would be nice,” you said. “Unrelated: Anyone up for a movie night?” Marshall and August were both in, Sherlock had some work to finish, but said he might join afterwards. You looked at Mike. He still seemed a little on edge about everything that’s happened.

“I’m really sorry, man,” Marshall said before he left to make you tea. Mike, Sherlock, and August got the rest of the story from you; how you had suddenly heard Marshall’s voice in your head and freaked out. It was a very on-brand thing for you to do, clumsy as you were, and the guys laughed at it once they’d made sure you were okay.

It was off to the living room for movies and snacks from there. Mike made you scream when he scooped you off the bed and rushed you to the couch.

“You lot are getting a little too comfortable just…. vampire-ing about the house. Please remember to approach me at a speed I can perceive. I’m tired of living with four walking jump scares waiting to happen.” You clutched at your chest as if it would stop your heart from breaking out.

“Well, that took you a solid couple of months,” August said. He was right; the guys had been making you jump ever since you’d been living here. Mike pointed out that nothing had changed since you’d found out – except for the fact that Sherlock moved in, which technically meant that you were now hyperventilating over one of them appearing out of nowhere more frequently. All jokes aside, they did promise to keep it in mind.

You got comfortable on the couch, with your head in Mikey’s lap, and your feet in August’s, while Marshall was compelled to set you up with drinks, snacks and a blanket. It was still awkward to practically be waited on, and you silently wondered if that was something you’d ever get used to. You know, in the event you’d actually… Anyway. Something strange caught your eye: Mike and Marshall staring at each other, saying nothing, miming a conversation as if they were speaking.

“Boys,” you said, “care to share this little… exchange?”

“Ask her, it’s not up to me,” Mike said. You had a pretty decent idea of what they were discussing, especially when Marshall continued the conversation.

“But you’re okay with that?” As Mike had just so plainly pointed out, you thought, it wasn’t up to him. You knew Marshall could hear you, even though he didn’t show any signs that he’d received your message or anything.

“You look like death warmed up. Which is ironic, because we’re vampires, and we’re literally… death warmed up,” Mike said by means of an answer as to why he was okay with whatever it was that you already knew Marshall was asking for, but hadn’t actually asked you for. “So, I guess you look even worse than that.”

“Ask me what?” There was no way you could keep the irritation out of your voice, and whatever it is that Marshall wanted to ask you, you were inclined to say ‘no’ to just because of this. “I don’t appreciate you guys talking about me like I’m not here, just so you know.”

“I wanted to ask if you would be okay if I…” He hesitated, although you really couldn’t figure out why.

“Finished dinner?” you offered. From the looks of it, Marshall was content with that suggestion, because he shrugged and nodded. “Sure, why not.” This time, he did sit in front of the couch.

“Wait, other arm, if you don’t mind.” In a fraction of a second, your head was on the other side of the couch, and the guys had all switched seats, too. “I believe I just said; move. normally.” The guys laughed and promised – again – that they’d do their best to remember.

Marshall went much easier on you this time around, meaning mostly that his bite didn’t hurt you the way it had before. After a while, something inside you became a little bit curious about the whole gift-projecting situation.

Hey, you thought – although you did feel a little silly about deliberately trying to strike up a conversation in your thoughts, do you think the projection thing works this time around? You heard Marshall hum softly, as if he was considering it, and waited for an answer. That, too, felt silly. For a moment, you felt like you’d just dreamt the whole thing up. You felt Marshall’s grip on your arm tighten, and at first you wondered why, until you heard his voice again.

Depends, if you can hear this, it does.

“Wow,” you said, and Mike and August both hummed surprised semi-questions at you. “Cool.” You decided – for Mike’s sake – to give him a taste of his own medicine for a change. Now if only he’d notice…

Don’t use me to get back at him, Marshall thought. It was so distinct from your own thoughts, you were almost surprised by it. For starters; it was Marshall’s voice, instead of your own. But there was something else. As if it was further away somehow.

You guys need to know what it feels like. You noticed your face automatically went along with the thoughts, as if you were saying them out loud. There was really no other reason for you to raise an eyebrow right now.

As do you, Marshall retorted, we’re used to it. We don’t do it on purpose. August actually mentioned that he hated how much we talked and how loud we are since you moved in.

“Really?” You turned to August, as if he was going to give you an answer.

“Why are you looking at me?” Right.

“Oh. I was just talking to… Thinking to? Eh… Having a conversation with Marshall,” you said, as if that explained everything. Which – of course – it didn’t, so August was still giving you that look.

You might want to repeat what I said, Marshall’s voice sounded in your head. Right… For the first time, you could imagine how the guys would periodically forget that you couldn’t hear them. Apparently, they’d learned not to get too pissed about that…

“Eh, he mentioned something about you being upset at how much talking and noise there’s been since I moved in,” you said apologetically.

“Convenient, huh?” Mike said with a stupid grin on his face – as if he knew any other kind. You couldn’t help but laugh and nod, though, because there was something convenient about it.

“Alright, yes,” August answered, “it’s been a while since I lived with a human. There’s… a certain form of etiquette involved in dealing with you guys.”

“Is ‘limit sudden movement’ not part of that agenda? Because it should be.” There was a sour tone to your voice, but you couldn’t help it.

“Usually, yes. Which is probably why you didn’t figure out we were vampires for a while. Which, I do feel the need to remind you, we genuinely thought you knew,” Mike said while he played with your hair. With Mike stroking your hair, August keeping your feet warm and Marshall still sucking on your arm, you were just about ready to fall asleep.

“But with all the vampire-talk recently… We figured we could be ourselves a bit more.” August added. That made you feel a bit guilty.

“I’m more than fine with that, if you don’t scare the ever-loving fuck out of me,” you said. It was one thing to watch them fetch things really quickly, or coming over like a bat out of hell when you needed one of them – actually, those things were quite convenient – but to have them just show up out of what appeared to be nowhere… That was something else entirely. The guys seemed to understand that just fine.

“Trust me, I was happy as a clam when Sherlock stitched up my arm in under a minute,” you said – and nobody had any trouble believing it.

“For someone who hates needles, you’re doing pretty well on the whole biting-front,” Mike noted, and you scowled at him. You’d never told any of the guys about your fear of needles, because you didn’t want them to make fun of you. “It’s different. Fangs aren’t needles.” Simple enough explanation, right?

[realcube]

jealous || kei tsukishima x reader

summary ♡ songfic! kageyama cheats on you and since tsukishima has had to suppress his crush on you for so long, he doesn’t know how to act

song ♡ jealous by eyedress

tw ♡ angst, cheating, cussing, fem! reader, violence 

part two ♡ crybaby ( 1 / 2 )

‘you could have anyone you want, why would you want to be with me?’

➼

Tsukishima thought, watching as you finished telling him the story behind your broken nail, waving him goodbye before skipping over to the side of your boyfriend who just exited the changing rooms, probably to go tell him the exact same story. 

Although your little stories annoyed the living hell out of him, it pained him to think that you’d share them with some cunt like Kageyama who probably didn’t give two shits. 

It might’ve seemed like he was annoyed by your stories too but in reality, your natural charm was enough to keep him hooked on every word you uttered. And that charm was probably the reason you were liked and known by almost everyone in the school - and due to your appearance, it was no surprise that most guys at the school had their eyes set on you. 

So this whole time Tsukishima was aware that there would be competition if he was going to ask you out. 

➼

 ‘you know, i’m nothing special. be with whoever you want.’ 

➼

Tobio Kageyama. Number nine, Karasuno’s first line-up setter - Tsukishima’s teammate. Of course, Tsukishima felt quite bad that he resented Kageyama so much - all over a girl - but in his defence, that girl was (Y/N) and it’s not like Kageyama was humble about it either. In fact, he’d make it a point to talk about all the things he did with (Y/N) whenever he thought Tsukishima was in earshot.

Also, you can’t blame Tsukishima for thinking that you were too good for Kageyama.. because you are. The only reason you two were together was because all the girls started shipping you two together after a video of him as your partner for a rather titillating salsa routine started floating around the school. 

The people saying that y’all would make a cute couple gave Kageyama the confidence to ask you out and of course you said yes; why wouldn’t you? Kageyama was the embodiment of everything girls loved: tall, atheletic, passionate (for volleyball), a himbo, cold and emotionally unavailable. 

While Tsukishima was almost identical; he was 4 out of those 6 things that girls loved - he wasn’t a himbo, fortunately. Neither was he emotionally unavailable. You even said yourself one time - before you formally met Kageyama - that you just thought he was a flavourless version of Tsukishima.

➼

‘i don’t care. i don’t care.’

➼

Perhaps it was just his ego speaking but Tsukishima was almost certain that if he were to have asked you out before Kageyama, you would’ve said yes. 

So, why didn’t he?

Well, he planned on asking you to be his girlfriend the same day that Kageyama did - Valentine’s Day - but at the last minute, he chickened out and the letter he had spent 3 hours making for you ended up in the trash. As for the chocolates he bought, he gave them to Yamaguchi. Curse his crippling insecurities! 

To be fair, the only reason Kageyama had the confidence or any interest in you whatsoever was due to all the girls perpetuating the idea that y’all would be a cute couple.

Tsukishima sighed as he recalled the first time you ever interacted with Kageyama. You had a dance project which involved creating your own salsa routine and either filming yourself doing it or performing it in front of the class - you asked Tsukishima if he’d assist you by being your dance partner and obviously he said no. Your next best bet was Hinata, so you explained your situation to him and as you know; where ever there is Hinata, there is Kageyama. So he overheard your dilemma and apparently he took dance classes all throughout middle school so he offered to help. Although you had never talked to Kageyama before that day, you still accepted his offer due to the tricky situation you were in.

It frustrated Tsukishima so much at the thought that if he had just swallowed his pride and danced with you, he wouldn’t be feeling a striking pain in his chest at the sight of you intimately kissing Kageyama while he stood there like a statue.

Once he realised what he was doing, he immediately averted his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips as he tried to convince himself that he was neutral about what he just witnessed. 

He didn’t care that you were dating someone who didn’t even care about you. He didn’t care about the fact he would’ve treated you ten times better than Kageyama ever could. He didn’t care about how close you were to Kageyama. He was simply unable to give a single fuck about the fact he still loved you. 

➼

‘i don’t wanna know. don’t tell me about your problems if you’re not trying to solve them.’

➼

“And then I told him to fuck off and my mum got all mad and she was like ‘don’t swear at a 6 year-old!’ but then I was like, ‘Mum, he literally-” 

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, you’ve been rambling to him about your shitty experiences babysitting for a good few minutes now but he was simply unable to pay attention. Not when every time he thought of you, his mind instantly focussed on the bruise you had on your neck which he had merely caught a glimpse of this morning, but that was enough to make him feel sick to his stomach. “Do you ever stop talking? Why not tell these stories to someone who cares? Where’s Kageyama?”

You pouted, crossing your arms over your chest and leaning back in your chair - by now, you were used to him being a bitch to you but recently, he’s been acting especially rude, even Yamaguchi was taken back at how uncalled for his remark was.  “Did I do something wrong? Why are you so mean all of a sudden?”

Something about your disappointed tone made Tsukishima’s heart sink, although he wasn’t sure why that was considering he undoubtedly didn’t care about how you felt - you could start crying for all he cared. 

“You’re just way more annoying than you used to be.” That was the first excuse Tsukishima could come up with but if he was being completely honest, he didn’t even notice his change in behaviour. “It’s probably all that time hanging out shittyama.”

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi snapped, hunching forward over his table to flick his blonde friend on the back of his neck. “I agree with (Y/N), you’ve been kinda crass lately.”

You nodded at Yamaguchi’s statement, “Emphasis on the ass.” 

It took every bone in Tsukishima’s body to resist snickering at your stupid comment and keep a straight face, “Can you blame me? (Y/N) is the one who never stops complaining like geez, get a grip - nobody cares.”

➼

‘don’t ask me for my help. fix it yourself.’

➼

Honestly, Tsukishima wasn’t surprised when you ended up calling him at 1am, crying about how Kageyama cheated on you.

I mean, it was clear that he was only with you for sexual relief as he didn’t show the slightest bit of romantic interest in anyone - and you were too blinded by puppy love to notice that his perception didn’t widen beyond volleyball. 

In a way, Tsukishima felt quite bad for you as this was your first relationship and anybody would be heartbroken if they were cheated on but somehow he had managed to gaslight himself into believing that he truly didn’t give a fuck about how you felt. That’s why the call definitely didn’t go as well as he hoped. 

“Kei..” You spoke in a low voice in hopes that he wouldn’t realise that you were crying straight away but your faint sobs were a dead giveaway. “Are you busy?”

Tsukishima grumbled, sitting up on his bed and sliding his glasses up his nose, not having taken them off as just before you called him he was scrolling through Reddit anyway. “Eh? What is so important that you had to call me at 3 in the morning?”

“Kageyama cheated on me!” You wailed into your phone, struggling to keep it together even when you weren’t with Tsukishima face-to-face. “S-Sorry I called you. I just, um, I just needed to tell someone and the first person I thought of was you.” That wasn’t a complete lie. I mean, you did try calling Yamaguchi before you resorted to calling Tsukishima because Yamaguchi would undeniably be more compassionate in this situation. However, if it wasn’t for Tsukishima’s recent attitude problems, you probably would’ve called him first,

Upon hearing you say that, his heart fluttered - this should’ve been the first giveaway that he still liked you - but he chose to ignore it, sticking to the idea that you annoyed him and he definitely did not want to kiss your forehead, cuddle you under his sheets and reassure you that you’re out of Kageyama’s league anyway.

“Sorry, (Y/N).” Tsukishima spoke softly. This change of tone giving you the slightest bit of hope that you had finally managed to get through to him and maybe he was going to stop being so insolent and go back to being his old self - the Tsukishima that people actually liked. 

“Kei..” You mused, feeling your cheeks heat up at how nice and soothing his tired voice sounded. “I thi--”

“But that doesn’t sound like my problem. Good luck in dealing with it yourself, though.” 

With that last comment, he hung up, leaving you more upset than you were to begin with. 

➼

‘she tried to call me yesterday but i didn’t pick up because i don’t got time.’

➼

Tension was high at practice. Word had gotten out that Kageyama cheated on (L/N) and of course everyone’s opinion on him did a full 180 - nobody wants to train with a dirty cheater. 

This news should’ve been the highlight of Tsukishima’s month because not only is (Y/N) back on the market, Kageyama is getting the treatment he deserved for being so horrible to him and (Y/N). 

However, Tsukishima was far from pleased with everyone’s behaviour towards Kageyama because now they were all expecting confrontation and since Tsukishima was the one who already had beef with Kageyama, the team thought it would be best if it was him who approached the setter about the recent event. 

A horrible idea, in Tsukishima’s opinion. It wasn’t even the fact that he didn’t want to go any where near that milkboy but mostly because he didn’t even know what he’d say to the guy. What do you say in that situation? ‘Hey, man. We’d really appreciate it if you stopped being such a whore. It’s really killing the vibe.’

But lo and behold, here he was, standing across from Kageyama in the empty changing room. Desperately wracking through his brain to find the most appropriate thing to say, which was hard as Kageyama’s stare seemed to burn holes through Tsukishima’s glasses. Also, his mind was already pretty occupied by all the thoughts of how badly he wanted to beat the milkboy to the ground in (Y/N)’s honour. 

“What do you want, Tiredshima?” Kageyama inquired, scrunching up his empty milk box and casually throwing it aside, aiming for the bin but it ended up landing a few inches away from it.

Tsukishima tried to resist laughing at the milkboy’s failed attempt to look cool, “It’s-” Tsukishima wheezed slightly as a little bit of that laughter escaped before he took a moment to properly compose himself, “It’s about (Y/N)-”

At the mere mention of your name, the milkboy dipped. 

“Uh, where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Tsukishima spat, hastily reaching out to grab Kageyama’s wrist, yanking him back as soon as Tsukishima got a good grip on him. Resulting in the usually agile setter losing his balance and falling back, right onto his ass. 

“Don’t touch me!” Kageyama roared, rapidly scrambling to his feet, clenching his fist and snarling at Tsukishima who wore an astounded expression. “Do you have it out for me or something? What does (Y/N) have to do with anything?”

It was shocking how well Kageyama managed to paint the situation to make it seem like he was the innocent one when he was the one who broke a poor school girl’s heart after she showed him nothing but love - but Tsukishima wasn’t one to talk since he probably just added salt to her wound, like he always does, and he’d been thinking about it all night.

“Sorry, your highness, but maybe if you hopped off your throne for a moment and came down to reality to join the rest of us, you’d realise that the world doesn’t revolve around you. Do you know how much your shitty actions affected (Y/N)? She called me crying last night and..yeah.” His voice slowly drifted off as he remembered the events that occurred yesterday, you had called him in a vulnerable state and he simply told you to get to fuck.

Kageyama scoffed, brushing off the dust that clung to his clothes from when he was pulled to the ground, “Eh? Maybe you should practise what you preach.” Kageyama growled, baring his teeth - the little nickname Tsukishima had for him seriously made his blood boil. “She’d come to me on the verge of tears because you called her annoying and she thought you didn’t want to be her friend anymore.”

Tsukishima felt his heart tear apart at the thought of himself causing you so much emotional distress but you were half right, he didn’t want to be your friend - the wanted to be your boyfriend. If it wasn’t for a certain setter who’s name starts with ‘K’ and ends with ‘ageyama’, none of this would’ve happened and you’d happily be snuggled up in his arms while he played with your hair but no, Kageyama just had to get his dirty little setter hands on anything good.

“I mean,” Kageyama muttered, having clearly calmed down from five seconds ago, “She was kinda annoying, so I get why you’d say that. That’s why I did what I did, it wasn’t meant to spite her or hurt her feelings. You get what I mean, right?”

The ignorance; it made Tsukishima indescribably mad. (Y/N) wasn’t annoying - although Tsukishima might’ve heavily insinuated it, in the past - and the audacity Kageyama had to say that she was. Also, who in their right mind thinks that cheating is a rational reaction to irritation? 

Tsukishima wouldn’t consider himself a violent person but it was as though the bones in his body acted on their own when he delivered a full-force punch straight onto Kageyama’s cheek. And he didn’t regret it for a moment either - even when the milkboy starting pummelling him into the ground - as he figured that someone had to teach the dick a lesson, why not himself?

➼

‘i don’t have time. i don’t have time. i don’t have time. i don’t have time.’

➼

“Kei..hello? I know I’m probably the last person you want to see right now but Yamaguchi told me that you were here and..I just wanted you to know that I, uh, am really sorry and I hope you get well soon.”

[crowdedimagines]

Leaked (Finale) Harry Styles

“You guys got to see a very raw and real side of us. It’s a bummer that it wasn’t our choice, we didn’t choose to reveal such a personal thing that happened, not to mention what else has been leaked.” I sigh, finally breaking eye contact with the camera sitting on a tripod in front of us. The fans will be getting a glimpse into Harry’s home for this video.

“I know what I signed up for when I got into this business, very little privacy, but I never expected it to come to this extreme. M’very private with my relationships, and I never want to see anyone-'' He pauses to focus himself again, I place a hand on his thigh and attempt to carry on. Against the better judgement of both Jeff and Jordan we both decided against a script, we had highlighted points we wanted to address, but didn’t want it to seem disingenuous.

“Harry and I lost a child last July.” I pick my head up letting the tears openly fall without letting myself choke over them, “And the song you guys have all heard came from that, a place of hurt and exhaustion. We never expected the world to hear it, and we never thought those pictures would be out in the world either. But that’s life isn’t it?” I laugh humorlessly.

The song was leaked a few hours ago now, my name having never left the top trending on twitter, but now Harry’s and several conspiracies have joined it. People cutting parts from it with raw and loud sobs coming from each of us, open for discussion among the whole world.

“We love you all, but please understand our choice to step back from the public for the time being.” Harry chimes in. We both look at each other and nod, feeling we addressed what we need to.

“Treat people with kindness, yeah?” I ask as we both get up from our spot on Harry’s couch.

“Yeah.” He pulls me in for a hug, as Jeff gets up to cut the camera. Our teams were both getting the footage and posting it to our accounts. Harry and I have both agreed to a break from phones for a bit.

“Okay, so this will be posted across all platforms, on both of your accounts shortly. I don’t think we’ll need to edit much.”

I walk over to the other side of the living room where Jordan is standing reading through her phone, she glances up as soon as she sees me coming. She puts on a smile, and pulls me in for a tight hug. She knows just how long the past few days have been.

“Alright, Paula and I booked flights, we’re heading out this afternoon to go home.”

“What about me?” I question.

“We both know that you need to stay here for a while.” She smiles, “Take some time to heal, just remember you two never fell out of love. Call me if you need anything.”

I glance back at Harry whose now joined by his sister and mother. I don’t want to leave, to be completely honest. The last thing I want is to have to go home to my empty house in L.A. Harry and I ran away from each other last year, maybe this is the opportunity for us to finally stop running.

Harry’s POV

“Don’t you think that you need to heal together this time? You can’t let her leave again.” My mum explains, trying to make her point, as quietly as possible. I watch as she glances over my shoulder to where Y/n must be somewhere.

“Mum, I can’t make her stay.” I shake my head. I couldn’t make her stay before, now we’ve spent so much time apart. All I want is to pull her into my arms, but I don’t know if that’s what she wants after all this time. Hell, after this week she might not ever want anything to do with me.

“No, but you can ask her.” Gemma nods her head in Y/n’s direction as she walks over to join us.

“Harry, can I talk to you?” Her voice is soft and calm. My shoulders visibly drop as I relax and follow her to the back porch. We sit in the same spot on the couch as we did yesterday.

“What’s going on, love?” I ask once we’ve both taken a seat.

“Well, Jordan and Paula are flying out this afternoon.” She says, she pulls her legs up close to her chest.

“And you?”

Please god tell me you’re staying.

“I think I might stay.” She picks up her head, “If that's alright with you.”

I can’t fight off the smile at this point. I just give her a simple nod, pulling her close to lean on my shoulder. I should’ve known that we were on the exact same page, we always have been.

“I don’t think I could go back to an empty house, to be honest.” She sighs.

“I don’t think I could let you walk out of that door again, to be honest.”

Y/n’s POV

“Do you mean that?” I ask, picking up my head, “Truly?”

He simply nods and bites at his bottom lip.

“What are we supposed to do, Harry? I don’t think we can just pick up where we left off?”

“No, but isn’t that the beauty of it? We can try again, try for a different outcome. Build on how much we already love each other.”

“Hmm, how much we already love each other?” I smirk, my tone taking on a teasing edge.

“Mhm.” Harry hums, his cheeks taking on a pink hue.

“Alright Styles, lets give this a shot.”

T W O Y E A R S L A T E R

“Hello? Is anybody home?” Anne’s voice rings out loudly as she lets herself in the front door.

I make my way downstairs, I’m sure that she’s found Harry who's in the kitchen getting dinner prepared. Gemma got here about ten minutes ago. I put on a record and go to stand in the doorway and watch the encounter. Anne gives her son a big hug, stealing a carrot from his cutting board as they make small chat to catch up.

“Hello.” I walk in, making my presence known.

“Look out you!” Anne squeals, “You’re glowing!” She immediately walks over to pull me in for a hug, her hands resting on my belly once I pull away.

“I feel like a bit of a whale, but thank you.” I smile.

“Oh hush it.” Harry scolds.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Like I’m having a baby in four weeks.”

“Yeah, and she’s still going on runs!” Harry says with a proud grin, “Every morning she gets up with me and we run a few miles.”

“It’s pretty much a fast walk for Harry though.” I smile.

“Yeah, but he isn’t forming a pancreas while he does it!” Gemma cuts in making us all laugh. “We’re more impressed with you.”

“Exactly.” Harry presses a kiss to my temple.

I join Gemma at the counter while Anne helps Harry finish cooking everything. I would help, but my ankles are too swollen by the end of the day, and I know everyone in the room would kick me out before I could even start.

“So, things have been going well with everything? You guys feeling ready to be parents?” Anne grins.

“Is anyone ready before they are?” I ask, “I’m just trying to take it one day at a time, and read as much as I can.”

“You guys will be wonderful parents.”

It means the world to hear this from Anne. It’s been weird to be in London for most of the pregnancy and away from my own mother, but it’s been a blessing to have Anne. She’s an amazing mom herself, and she hasn’t complained once over my odd and annoying questions.

“And if not they’ll have the best Aunt ever to make up for it.”

I roll my eyes and take Gemma’s hand in mine and set it on the front of my belly. Moving and adjusting to the exact spot that the little bean is kicking in.

“That’s mad.” She sighs, “I don’t think I would ever be able to get over that.”

“Harry can be like a leech sometimes! Can’t get him off.” I laugh.

“You feel it all, I’m going to steal as much time as I possibly can.”

We all sit down to eat, and catch up on everything that we’ve missed in life over the past few weeks. Ever since the pregnancy both Anne and Gemma have made an effort to come to our house as often as they can for meals, or even just a visit.

I think we were all a bit shocked to find out I was once again pregnant. Harry and I couldn’t believe it at first, I don’t think we wanted to. Didn’t want to risk getting our hopes up. It had been a year and a few months since we got back together when we found out. Four tests sitting on the counter, two thins lines on each of them.

We waited a long time before telling anyone, too afraid that it could be a repeat of what happened those years ago. Once we did finally tell our families they couldn’t be more excited. The fans were too, surprisingly. I debated pulling a Kylie Jenner and just disappearing from the world for months, but I knew I would get too stir crazy. So as soon as the bump was visible, Harry and I both confirmed it on social media.

The fans were happy for us, most of them were so disappointed and saddened about what happened, they felt bad that we were made to share things neither of us were ready too. This time we were trending for positive reasons, and I’ve never felt more supported by everyone in my life.

F O U R W E E K S L A T E R

“Love, are you sure I’m good to go to the studio?” Harry asks for the millionth time, not wanting to leave me home alone so close to my due date.

“Yes!” I laugh, pushing him closer to the door, “You actually have the time while the bean is inside me, I’ll need you here once they’re out.”

“Alright.” He says with hesitancy, “Please call me for anything. The studio isn’t even far from here, so please don’t hesitate with anything.”

“Ok, babe, just go so you can come back!”

“Promise you’ll call?”

“Yes, I promise.” I laugh, he’s always been protective, but now he’s to a whole nother level since the pregnancy.

“Alright, I’ll bring home food too, I really shouldn’t be gone too long.”

“That’s perfect, babe! Maybe we can get - ow!”

He instantly turns around and pulls his hand from the door when I cry out in pain.

“Darling? Are you okay?”

“No, I’m fine.” I hold out my hand, “It was just this really sharp-ow!”

I cry out again, clutching my belly. Before I know it, a warm liquid is spreading down my legs.

“Love, your water just broke!” He cheers, his eyes saying nervous but he has a smile on his face. “I guess I’m not going to the studio.”

“Oh god!” I groan, I start waddling towards the door, “Okay, you grab the go-bag, I’m gonna start walking to the car.”

I know it might take me awhile to get there. I know it’s not true, but I feel like I need to keep my knees shut from keeping the little bean from falling out.

“Right, go bag.” He mutters to himself, slowly becoming more flustered, “Should we call an ambulance?”

“No.” I laugh, taking deep breaths.

“Love, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Just grab the bag so we can go to the hospital.”

“Yeah-”

“Harry!” I yell, “In the coming hours I am going to force a human being out of my vagina. Now I personally would like to do that at a hospital, will you go grab the bag, or do you need me to do it?”

He swallows and runs upstairs to grab the bag and I make my way to the car. It doesn’t take him long at all, now he’s finally had some sense smacked into him.

“We’re really doing this?” He asks, smiling as he pulls out of the driveway.

“We’re really doing this.” I grin, taking his hand in mine.

O N E   Y E A R  L A T E R

“Happy birthday to you dear, Anderson, happy birthday to you!” We all sing to the little one year old boy I hold tight to my chest.

“Let’s blow out the candles, baby.” I lean forward and blow out the singular candle for the one year old. We made a true event of it, calling everyone we knew practically to celebrate in our backyard, complete with so many games for other children, even though our son was still too young to play most of them. Harry and I couldn’t be more proud of our little boy.

Everyone cheers, I smile looking at Harry who’s got a similar grin. A year in the making to get to this day, lot’s of late nights, but more laughter than anything else. It’s been a wonderful afternoon, everyone loving the little boy who looks practically identical to his father. Cheering as he smashes his little cake all over his face, the table, and his clothes.

“Alright, let’s have Grandma get you all cleaned up!” Anne says as she steals Anderson from me. I smile watching her take the giggly little boy inside to get the cake he’s managed to smear everywhere cleaned off.

Most everyone has left at this point, it has been a packed house to celebrate the one year old, but as it gets later things slow down. It’s finally just down to immediate family and Harry and I can put our feet up for a few minutes.

“Can you believe it? A whole year we’ve been parents.” I lean back into Harry’s side. We’re sat on the outdoor couch, a spot that has grown to contain a lot of heart to hearts over the years.

“No, he’s getting too big too fast.” Harry presses a kiss to the top of my head, “He’s going to be needing another sibling soon.”

I let out a soft chuckle.

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yeah, who wouldn’t want another kid like that?” We both look over our shoulders to peek in to see Gemma and Anne playing with blocks on the floor in the living room.

“Are you gonna push the next one out?” I tease, I get up and grab the only unopened present that’s remained on the table all day.

“It’s funny that you should say that.” I smirk, turning my attention back on the man I love. I hand him the box, neatly wrapped in polka-dot paper.

“What’s this?”

“Just open it.” I sit down again.

He tears the paper from the box and flips the lid open. His jaw dropping as soon as he sees the contents. Pulling out an olive green tee shirt for Anderson. Simply written across it is “Big Brother”

“You’re teasing me?” His eyes look hopeful though, like he’s praying I wouldn’t tease him like that.

“You can check the four tests in my drawer in the bathroom if you don’t believe me.” I smirk, “Or the fact that I have an appointment at the clinic this Monday.”

“Shut up.” His grin only getting wider.

“Baby Styles number two, coming soon.”

He tackles me down to the couch, a big warm hug.

“Oh my god.” He sighs into my neck. “I can’t wait to do this all again.”

“Me neither.” I grin, rubbing my hands up and down his back. He finally pulls back to get a good look at me, holding my face in his hands.

“God, I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

kinda cheese, but a fun way to end it! this was cute lol

[bangtanpromptsfics]

acacia.

dialogue prompt #1: “Is this illegal?”

pairing: jungkook x reader

genre: f2l, fluff

word count: 1,590

warnings: alcohol consumption, swearing

summary: jungkook is in love with his best friend who would date anybody but him

a/n: these are meant to be for writing practice. feedback is greatly appreciated. it's really short but I hope you like this!! prompt is inspired from pinterest.

masterlist

“Is this illegal?”

Jungkook realises you are dumb, especially with all that alcohol from the party, or more so even without it. 

He takes a sip of his beer and tries to construct a safe sentence which won't come out as rude.

“Bitch”. Well he tried. “You want to rob someone? That too his Balenciaga jacket? ”

You are referring to Namjoon who is busy chatting up girls with his dimples and loads of knowledge, for which he is mostly known. Redefining sexy or something on that line. 

He was hosting this party for reasons you don't remember now anyways, it has something to do with his never ending list of achievements. And he basically invites most of the population of college. I mean free drinks so, whatever. 

“I'm cold Kook, and his jacket looks so warm. He didn't give it when I asked him politely, so let's steal it”, you slur, shifting your body weight around enough to not have your face planted on the floor. 

“You asked him? ”, he squeaks. “You can have mine”, he is removing his denim jacket in the next second, with a look of amuse of course and drapes it over your shoulder, “feeling better?”

“Yes!”, you begin to chime, “It smells like you too!”

Jungkook’s cheeks warm up instinctively. Though sometimes you are a pain in the ass, especially drunk, he had never complained about it. He shoots death glares and unpleasant nose scrunches of course, but nothing more. He'd been your friend for so long, so he should've been used to the random appreciation you give him. He should be immune to your flirty laughs, the way you look absolutely endearing with his hoodie on your small frame and definitely not clench his fist in jealousy when you go out for dates. 

Probably a very cliche best friend in one-sided love story, but he feels so much more complications than that. He was going to confess ages ago, but since you are dumb as I said, would jump around random guys, scare them off with your mouth and wonder why you are single. 

At times he wants to blow a punch to his face, like now, for being so crazy about his best friend, and being limited to only give you some sort of bro love until it's alas the final year of college and he completely misses the chance when you go to Paris for career. 

“Talk something Kookie”, you bump shoulders together to catch the boy's attention who is in deep thought. He was indulgent in walking you to your dorm, and it reaches by ten minutes, and he really just want to fucking kiss you before you go, but he can't. 

He faces you when you rest your face on his shoulder. “What are you thinking about hm?”, you ask. 

“Nothing”. Liar. 

“Well then I have something to say”, you remove your face and gaze on the ground, feeling a little sad already. 

For a second he is hopeful and he doesn't know why. “What about?”

“Yesterday’s date”. Ouch. But as always he is trying his best, “Oh totally forgot about it. How did it go? Any luck? ”

“He stood me up. That asshole didn't even show up. I guess he just wanted sex”, you kick a pebble out of frustration while Jungkook wants to kick his face. It breaks him that he doesn't stand a chance to show you how much you can be loved. That you are more than the body all boys crave and go. 

This time he kicks a pebble, and it jumps fairly up to land on some car’s window. 

“Careful”, you chuckle, “I don't have money for concession”.

“Y/n, why don't you understand when I say someone is playing you? I always warn you, but you choose to do your bullshit anyway”. He is aggressive, but he's just sad; broken. And even though you get it, it sets you off. 

“I am trying to find my soul mate”.

Jungkook couldn't help but laugh out loud, he thinks you are so innocent, so naive to let people run you over because of how soft your heart is. He even bends a little to catch his knees to support himself. 

“What?”, you scoff, crossing your hands across the chest. 

“You want to go on a date?”, he asks. And it takes him off guard too, more than you. But he seemed confident for the first time. Probably because the sober you doesn't remember the drunk you even in the slightest, or perhaps he thinks it'll go right. 

“Date?”, you repeat, “With you?”

“Yeah”

“Like… right now?”

“Yes”, he puts out his hand, waiting for you to join hands. 

What's the worst thing that's going to happen anyways? It's Jungkook, that one person who would give his life to protect you. 

He doesn't say anything for the rest of the walk. It's a bit rushed because he can't simply wait. A whole thunderstorm is rushing inside his veins and he wants to make everything about this just perfect. So perfect that you forget about every date you have ever been too. 

This is surely not the best date he had planned if he ever took you out, but it sounds alright on his mind and wishes it does the same on yours too. 

After a stroll, you're waiting for Jungkook behind some rented building. He returns with a ladder; enough to make it to the first floor. 

He makes sure to stand behind you and assure your safety. The rest of the way up was stairs, several tiring floors and heavy breath. 

He observes your face forms an ‘O’ out of surprise. 

At the rooftop of this building sits the most beautiful view of the city and thankfully starry sky to make things better. 

It's Jungkook’s self-reflection space to be exact. There were things he shared with you of course, you were each other's shoulder to cry on, but ever since he caught feelings for you, he is just afraid he'll end up ranting into a sudden confession and ruin the friendship. 

So he found other ways to cope. You however were convinced that it was some sort of “change” over time. Everyone changes and you believed it was just something of that sorts. 

“It's so beautiful! ”, you grin, “How come you never bring me here you meanie! ”, you smack his arm as you sit down on the ground beside him. 

“I was going too! ”, he fights back,  rubbing his arm. 

“This is a perfect date”, you begin after some moment of silence, “how come you don't go for relationships!? Girls will be so happy to be treated this way! ”

The first part of the sentence makes his chest warm out of pride, but it collapses to where it was before as you end. 

He just knows you'll never know how he feels unless he just says it, without beating around the bush. 

He doesn't say anything and instead gets up to take two cans of beer he had hid somewhere. You are way past your alcohol limit and acting knowingly for once, you reject. 

He opens his and chugs down half of it in one go. 

“Woah… hey Kookie you alright? ”, he flinches when your palm presses against his shoulder. 

“I want to kiss you really bad”.

Bad line of start. 

Your cheeks burn and turn vibrant shades of scarlet, expecting anything but that. But the more you continue to look at him, the more ethereal he looks; attractive, and someone definitely not deserving of petty friend zoning. 

He feels a pair of lips on his cheeks, startling him. He turns around to see your face breathtakingly close. 

He is really slow, studying every clue you give, once he is certain he is doing this with consent, he places both of his palms on your cheek and leans in. 

Jungkook wants to pinch himself because he thinks he is sleeping and it's just another one of his blissful day dreams. But when you nibble on his bottom lip, he thinks maybe not. You are really here, hands on his hair and kissing him. He holds your head more firmly as he begins to dominate the kiss, ambitious to let you know what he had been thinking about you for the past several years. 

His lips are flushed and glossy when you break off of him, but hands still on his body, on his shoulder, taking your time to catch your breath. 

“Y/n...I hope it's clear now. I like you. Like… . I really like you. And it had been killing me for years whenever I see you going behind other guys, sleeping with them just because they agree to take you on a date. Please Y/n, will you give me a…chance”.

Since the author had enough of Y/n’s dumbness as well, the story continues with Y/n accepting him, realising how blind she was. 

You feel already intoxicated by his lips so you give it a peck and hug him, “Yes Koo. And I'm sorry, for all this, and thank you so much for this date, I am looking forward to our second one”, you beam. 

He finds it cute how you think soulmates exist. He doesn't know about all that. He just knows you can make him happy and every heartbreak for you was worth it. So he smiles and nods, nothing conveyed after, until he takes you back to your dorm and kisses you one last time for the day. 

Thank you so much for reading!!

Original Content of ©bangtanpromptsfics

[clockwork-fayz]

The Most Perfect Proposal Chapter 2:

I am so sorry I took forever to write this

Chapter One   AO3 

“Matteo? What are you doing here?” Gastón asked, “Are you finally going to ask Luna to marry you after all these years?!?”

“I could ask you the same questions,” Matteo replied to his friend. “Are you ring shopping?”

“ Sí , I decided I cannot wait any longer.”

Matteo grinned, reaching out to embrace Gastón . “Congratulations hermano, do you have any idea what kind of ring you are going to get Nina?”

Gastón shook his head. “No clue.  There are so many!”

Matteo nodded. “I feel the same. I can’t find one that screams Luna!”

The boys peered into the case, frowning at the selection when they heard a familiar voice behind them.

“Well, funny running into you two here!”

They turned to see Simon walking towards them, a huge grin on his face.

“Hola Simón , don’t tell me you are planning to propose to Ámbar as well?”

Simón lit up. “ Sí , how did you know? What are you picking out rings?”

“ Sí ,” Matteo laughed, “It seems like we all have the same idea.”

“This is so exciting! Congratulations!” Simón said, giving them hugs. “Do you know how you are going to ask them?”

Gastón shook his head. “I want it to be very meaningful but I don’t know how yet. It needs to be perfect.”

“Agreed,” Matteo said, “But I have to go all out. Luna wouldn’t expect any less from me.”

“Maybe we could help each other out,” Simón said, “With the three of us working together, we are sure to pull off some epic proposals.”

Matteo and Gastón liked the idea. The task ahead of them was daunting: they only had one shot to get this perfect.

“How about we meet at the Jam and Roller tomorrow and we can discuss ideas,” Gastón suggested. Simón shook his head.

“ Ámbar will find out. It has to be a total surprise. Let’s meet at Casa de Java. I don’t think anyone we know will see us there.”

It was agreed upon and the next day they met at the coffee shop that was thankfully almost empty.

“I’ve wanted to marry Luna for years now,” Matteo told them the next day, “but we always seemed on the road and busy. But now that we’ve settled into Buenos Aires for a little bit, I feel like the timing is right.”

“ Sí ,” Simón agreed, “Now just seems right. We have a nice place, we both have good jobs, and the other day I was wondering what else could you be waiting for Simón ? You have loved this girl from day one!”

“I realized that I cannot let Nina go again,” Gastón piped up, “She is my everything and I want to make it official.”

“But neither of you have the ring yet?” Simón asked, pointing at the other two. Both guys shook their heads.

“I’ve looked everywhere,” Matteo complained, “But I need something that screams Luna. I am even considering going custom made.”

Simón agreed. “Luna is going to want something unique for sure. Ámbar though? I have no idea where to start. We have talked about it a couple of times and she always says that no matter what ring I get her, she will be happy but I want to get her something she will love. Something that will sparkle on her finger too, to warn off any hombres looking at her.”

“That is a good plan,” Gastón said, “I am going to get Nina something the exact opposite. Something simple that doesn’t draw attention but if you were to notice it you would think: That is one beautiful ring! My only problem is that I need to find out what ring size she is and I don’t know how.”

The other two froze as realization dawned on their faces. Gastón laughed. “You do want the ring to fit right?”

Matteo fumbled with his words. “ Sí , Sí . I was going to check on that. Luna has a hundred rings, I should be able to find out the size easily….it says on rings what size they are, sí ?”

Simón chuckled. “Most don’t hermano, we are going to have to be more creative.”

“I’ll google it,” Gastón said, pulling out his phone.

“I am glad you said something, Gastón ,” Simón said, “I would have found the perfect ring and then not known what size to order.”

“Denada, now we could use floss to measure their finger-”

“Que?” Matteo exclaimed, “Imagine trying to do that without explanation.”

“Luna wakes up and you have wrapped around her finger,” Simón grinned.

“You say ‘Perdon, Ámbar ? Can you stick out your finger for una secunda,” Matteo joked back.

“Or,” Gastón interjected. “We can steal a ring they already have and measure it with a ruler.”

“Sounds much easier,” laughed Matteo. “Let’s go with that one! By next week we should know the girls’ ring sizes and hopefully have a ring. Be looking out for one that screams Luna, ok?”

The three parted ways, making plans to meet again at the coffee shop the following week with updated news.

…..

“Matteo? Have you seen my silver infinity ring?”

Matteo cursed silently. Out of all the rings that she had, she wanted to wear the one that he had snuck out of her jewelry box this morning and into his pocket. He was going to have to measure it right now and get it back or else she was going to think she lost it and then get frustrated with herself like she always did when she was forgetful.

“No,” Matteo shouted back, “Have you checked the bedroom?” He silently tried to think where they would keep a ruler in this place.

“ Sí , that’s where I am doofus! I could have sworn it was in this jewelry box yesterday!”

“I’m sure it’s around here somewhere. When is the last time you wore it?”

Matteo scrambled around the kitchen, but couldn’t find a ruler.

“I think it was when we went to the new rollerskate line launch,” Luna said, walking out of the bedroom. She paused. “What are you doing?”

Matteo froze from where he was digging in their junk drawer. “Looking for your ring, what else?”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “I know I put things in weird spots, but I don’t think it would be in there.

Matteo raised his hands defensively, “Hey you never know, I once found your cell phone in the refrigerator.”

“That’s because I was putting away the take out-ugh! Nevermind, I can’t believe that I lost it!”

Matteo went over and put his hand on her shoulders. “I am sure it’s somewhere in this apartment. You go check the bathroom, I’ll check the sofa.”

Luna pouted and turned around to head back towards the bathroom. As soon as she was out of sight, Matteo darted back into the kitchen. He got out a sticky note and a pen, tracing the inside of the ring before shoving the sticky note in his pocket.

“Here it is mi amor!” he shouted, heading towards the bathroom, holding the “missing” ring up. Luna came out and sighed as she took it from him.

“Gracias Matteo, it was in the sofa?”

“Under it, must have fell.”

Luna slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, turning back to the bedroom to finish getting ready. Matteo’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

It was a text from Gastón saying that Matteo needed to come to a store across town as soon as he could. Matteo waited until Luna left for work before leaving as well to meet Gastón .

“They have a lot of unique rings here,” Gastón said when Matteo walked into the store, “I am sure that you will find one for Luna.”

It didn’t take long to see that Gastón was right. Matteo shoved the sticky note at the sales clerk.

“I like that ring. Will it fit this sized finger?”

….

It was much easier for Simón to get Ambar’s ring size, but it was much harder to find a ring that he liked for her. There were many pretty rings, but nothing seemed to be perfect for her. He wanted something that was not too complex, but also fit Ambar’s personality. She was a fashion icon in the world, and she needed a ring on her finger to match.

It came to him one night that he was not going to find a ring that he liked anywhere in Buenos Aires. Probably not anywhere in Argentina. So he did the only thing he could do.

He videochatted his cousin as his cousin went through the fanciest jewelry store in Cancun.

“Oooh, this one is gorgeous!” his cousin gushed, “I think that a Kardashian had one just like this!”

“ Ámbar is not like a Kardashion! Also I am not made of money, Isa.”

His cousin brought him around, having the jeweler pull out a couple so Isa could hold them close to the camera. Finally, something sparkled in the camera and Simon immediately said, “What is that one? In the corner?”

It was elegant. It was beautiful. And it was very sparkly.

“Perfecto! I love it so much!”

“Love what?”

Simón had not heard Ámbar enter the front door. She sat down her bags and went to walk over to where Simón was sitting. On the screen his cousin quickly turned the camera on her and stood in a place where you could not tell where she was.

“ Ámbar , you are home so early! I am talking with mi prima, Isa.”

Ámbar sat on the couch next to Simon. “Hola Isa, como estas?”

“Bien Ámbar , hope you are well. I was just showing Simón …..my outfit! I am going to an interview and wanted to know if it looked okay.”

“ Sí , and I said it looked great,” Simón interjected, “I loved it for an interview…”

“Oh Isa, you know you can always ask me for advice on fashion,” Ámbar said, “you know that Simon only wears the same three t-shirts.”

Isa gave a nervous smile. “Sí Ámbar, pero...I thought you might be busy! So I called Simón- oh no. It looks like my phone is dying by guys. Love you!”

The call ended and Ámbar looked up confused.  “I didn’t even get to see her outfit. What is she interviewing for? I thought she was going to University.”

Simón searched for a plausible answer. “She was interviewing for….a part time job to pay for school...as a secretary! But she doesn’t even know if she really wants it.”

“I see,” Ámbar said slowly, but decided to drop it. “Monica messaged and said that they are making a big dinner tonight. Shall we go?”

“ Sí , let’s do that,” Simón replied, relieved that they were moving on from the topic. He quickly typed out on his phone “That’s the one, have it shipped to me as soon as they can!””.

….

Gastón hated keeping things from Nina. He was also terrible at keeping things from Nina. Which is why he changed the hiding spot of the ring he had gotten her at least a dozen times.

It took him the least amount of time to find a ring out of the three guys. He knew exactly what he was looking for when he walked into the jewelers and with help of the sales assistant he was able to pick out the perfect ring in a matter of a couple of hours.

Currently it was sitting in the large slow cooker in the cupboard that Nina had never touched in all the time that they had been living together.

Of course now was the day that she decided it needed to be used.

“ Gastón , will you help me get down the slow cooker?” Nina shouted from where she was standing looking up at it.

A look of panic crossed Gastón’s face from where he was watching a show on his phone. He tried to keep his cool.

“What do you need the slow cooker for?” he asked, walking over to her.

“Luna asked to use it, she is going to try to make some authentic Mexicana dishes!”

Gastón had to think quickly. “Can she use her mom’s? I don’t think our slow cooker even works. When did you even get this?”

Nina shrugged. “Someone gave it to me as a present once I think. Let’s see if it works. Could you reach it for me, por favor?”

Gastón’s palms were sweaty. He reached to grab it, but then stopped, acting as if he just realized something.

“Oh right, Nina. Could you go get the mail for me? I am waiting on a...letter from my tia in England.”

Nina looked at him, suspicious. “Okay...right now?”

Gastón kissed her on the cheek. “ Sí , I am looking forward to receiving it.”

Nina backed away slowly, watching Gastón as she headed towards the door. His smile was plastered on his face as he slowly reached up for the slow cooker.

“Gracias mi amor,” he said as she finally opened the door to leave. He waited a few beats after she left to make sure that she really was going down to the mail before quickly pulling down the slow cooker, grabbing the box with the ring in it and shoving it inside the flour canister. Then he plugged in the slow cooker to see the light turn on red. The front door opened and Nina held a few envelopes.

“Here it is,” she said, handing it to Gastón . Gastón’s eyes grew wide, not expecting to actually have a letter from his Tia. She gave a nervous laugh.

“ Gastón , are you okay? You are acting strangely.”

Gastón relaxed his muscles and kissed Nina quickly. “Everything is great. Look, it does work. Let’s bring it over to Luna and Matteo’s now.”

Later that night, when Nina was in the shower, Gastón took it out of the flour canister and dusted it off. The ring inside was still clean. He hid it in it’s final hiding spot, in his luggage at the top of the closet, where at least once a day Gastón would take it down so he could look at it.

….

Two weeks later the guys met up to set up the plans for each proposal. Dates were set, lists were made, budgets were constructed that were sure to be broken and confidants were called upon to help where needed.

On the first weekend they were going to set up Simón’s romantic and intimate proposal that was sure to knock Ámbar off her feet.

A few weeks later would be Matteo’s elaborate and spectacular proposal that would take a lot of planning and choreography.

Finally, Gastón’s special gathering of their closest friends was to happen last , on the holiday weekend when everyone would gather at the Mansion for a party.

It was going to take effort from all three of them to pull this off, but each of them had never been more sure of anything in their lives.

[kuriboo]

Bit Shot

Rating: General Audiences Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Words: 2,484 Relationship: Fujiki Yuusaku/Homura Takeru Characters: Fujiki Yuusaku, Homura Takeru, Kusanagi Shouichi Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, Tag force, characters in vrains going to duel academy, Crushes, abandoned dorm before abandoned, Denial of Feelings, Idiots in Love, ...or at least one idiot in love, jury’s out on the second idiot

“The Tag Force tournament’s coming up in a couple of months,” Yusaku told Takeru. “Duelists will be teaming up for tag duels. Teams will be betting medals to try to collect the most. Some students are teaming up on Sundays to practice tag dueling before then. They’re in the duel arena in the main building right now, I think.”

“I thought you didn’t have time to make friends.” Kusanagi snorted. “Guess that changed when the new transfer student turned out to be cute.”

(This is a continuation of a prompt I wrote for a Vrains Rarepairs week a couple of years ago. I’ll include the link to the prompt, as well as the link to this fic on ao3, in the notes.)

⁂ 

Yusaku honestly hadn't been sure how he'd been planning to spend his Sunday, but he definitely hadn't planned to spend it practicing Tag Duels partnered with the new transfer student. He didn't care about Tag Duels at all. He could think of probably three hundred other things he'd rather be doing. But for some reason, he'd been unable to say no when Takeru asked him to be his partner. 

Kusanagi could claim it was because Yusaku thought Takeru was ‘cute’ all he wanted. That was not the case. 

(It was maybe a little bit the case. Yusaku refused to admit it to himself.)

When they reached the stadium where the practice duels were being held, Takeru faced the room with a smile. “Who should we duel first?" 

Yusaku trailed behind him, trying (and failing) to hide how worn out he was. Why did the transfer student want to run the whole way here? "We should take a break first.” 

Takeru laughed. "You're really funny,” he told Yusaku, even though Yusaku definitely hadn't been joking. “Hmm... if we're both Osiris students, maybe we should try to look for another pair of reds as well. See how we measure up against our own dorm. 

"That makes sense,” Yusaku agreed. Takeru didn’t seem to want to say it but Osiris were also the worst dorm. As a new team, it made sense to seek out a weaker team for their first duel. 

It didn't take that long to find an opposing team meeting their standards. "So, you’re looking for some Osiris on Osiris action!" one of their opponents asked.

“Please don't say it like that,” Yusaku mumbled under his breath.

Yusaku and Takeru’s team won the duel. But Yusaku didn't feel like he won.

"You destroyed my monsters to activate your spell, but I had a different combo planned for them,” Yusaku pointed out to Takeru.

Takeru didn’t seem to feel like he won, either. “That’s funny, coming from you. I only started doing that because you started using all my cards without my permission. You didn’t even ask!”

Yusaku rose an eyebrow. “Isn’t the point of a Tag Duel to try to play your cards well with your teammate’s?”

“Teamwork is more than just using your partner’s cards!” Takeru ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. “You didn’t want me to destroy your cards? I didn’t want you using all my cards. If you asked, I would have said yes to some of them, but not all of them. I had really good combos planned, too. But halfway through the duel I figured if you were dishing it out, you could take it. I guess not, then.”

“What does it say about us that we lost to a team like them?” one of the opponents asked.

The other opponent shook their head. “They have good cards and skills individually, that’s all. They can’t beat every team like that. It was a close duel, anyway, thanks to our teamwork.”

Great. Even their opponents felt more victorious than they did. “Whatever. This seems like it’s not working out,” Yusaku said. “I don’t want to be here, anyway.”

“If you don’t want to be here, why did you agree to come with me?” Takeru sighed. “This could be salvageable. We could work on it, but if you don’t want to be here, there’s no point. We might as well leave.”

The two of them did leave. Takeru was clearly headed back for the Osiris dorms. Yusaku would prefer to go back to his room and complain to his roommate, but he didn’t want to walk the whole way there with the guy he was mad at. So he left in the opposite direction and let his feet and mind wander.

Yusaku honestly didn’t have an answer for the question, even now. Why did he want to practice Tag Duels with Takeru? He just hadn’t felt like he could say no, but there had to be a reason he’d felt that way. He had no problem telling people ‘no’, and did it all the time. So where did this feeling come from? The closest he had was still Kusanagi’s joke about a crush, and that idea just frustrated him further. He had no time to entertain any sort of crush that he may or may not have. (He was definitely leaning towards the not side, but better to leave it open until he knew for sure what it actually was). It would just be a waste of time, and Yusaku had wasted enough time already.

He stopped walking. His feet brought him to the other Blue Dorm. The last place an Osiris student belonged. Yusaku didn’t care about the whole ranking system, but that didn’t make it stop existing. Better to go back to his room before someone saw him.

⁂

“So, what’s the reading?” Kusanagi asked him when Yusaku returned to their room. 

Yusaku pushed an extra button on his duel disk. He and Kusanagi had both modified their duel disks to register and record duel energy readouts from duels they participated in. He read out the result for his most recent duel, which was still the Tag Duel with Takeru. 

Kusanagi blinked. “That’s the most energy we’ve seen from any duel,” he commented.

“There were 4 people participating in the duel.”

“We’ve both taken part in duels with 4 participants before.” Kusanagi leaned forward in his chair. “What happened in that duel? What made it different?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Yusaku groaned. Of course the duel generated more duel energy. Of course it did so that he’d have to talk about it, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do.

Kusanagi was not sympathetic to his plight. “Well, I guess I can’t make you. But it’s the only way we can make any progress right now, so I’d much rather you did.”

There wasn’t a good way out of this, was there? “I don’t know how it generated so much, it was nothing special. Dueled against a couple of other people in this dorm. We won, but he started using my cards like they were his, without caring what I wanted to use them for. When I pointed it out, he said I’d already been doing the same thing. Clearly we weren’t going to work out, so we left.”

Kusanagi stared at Yusaku. “Did you even ask him if it was okay to use his cards when you used them?”

“The point of a Tag Duel is to use your cards with your partner’s cards to duel as well as possible.” When Kusanagi continued to stare at Yusaku, giving no response, Yusaku answered his question. “No.”

“That’s not the point of a Tag Duel. You’re supposed to work together with your teammate, not just use their cards however you want. Teamwork requires communication, like asking if it’s okay to use their cards. I’m surprised you missed your own hypocrisy , by the way; it’s okay for you to use his cards, but not for him to use yours? Did you even try to work together and make the team work out, Yusaku? I know it’s hard for you to trust someone else to duel as well as you can, or to open up to anyone, but you can’t declare the team a failure if you didn’t even try.”

Yusaku hadn't wanted to try, really. “I don’t even know why I went.”

“Well, I’m glad you did,” Kusanagi told him. “It’s clear, though, that it wasn’t your strong teamwork that generated more duel energy. And we’ve both dueled against pairs that work well together before.”

Yusaku could feel something in his stomach drop. If it wasn’t him, teamwork, or their opponents, that only left one option. “It’s something about Takeru, isn’t it? Something about him, or his deck…”

“It’s a solid theory. We’ll need to test it, though. I hope you’re ready to apologize.”

⁂

Classes were boring at best, and awful at worst. Duel Academy did your average general education classes, with languages, history, math, and sciences if you wanted to call alchemy a general education (??) class. There was a cooking class, which was practical it nothing else. It was the dueling classes that were the worst, though. Multiple classes devoted to different mechanics and aspects of the game. Even dueling history. This was all well and good for most students of Duel Academy, but Yusaku was not most students. He wasn't here to duel, and he wasn't here for an education. He barely tuned into the classes he could handle, and slept through anything that involved dueling. As far as he was concerned, classes were just a waste of his time. He only came for appearances.

The last class of the day got out. Kusanagi, sitting nest to Yusaku, waved his hand in front of Yusaku’s face to make sure he was awake. Yusaku blinked; he was just about half-awake. Something resembling notes were scribbled down on the notebook in front of him, and Yusaku had no memory of doing so, but it was his handwriting. Before either one of them had gotten up, they both saw Takeru walk by their row to leave the room. Kusanagi gave Yusaku a meaningful look once Takeru was gone; right, yeah, Yusaku still needed to talk to him. He'd do it soon. 

Kusanagi had already packed away everything from class. Yusaku hadn't started. Kusangi got up and left the classroom as well. The two of them had different plans for the day. 

Yusaku had just wished packing away his things when someone sat down in the seat next to him. 

“So, what brought you to our dorm yesterday?" 

Yusaku tensed and looked over. One of the students from that Blue dorm was looking at him, a smile on his face. 

"Yusaku, right? I heard you get called on in class earlier. I'm Fubuki." Fubuki offered a handshake. Yusaku didn't move, but Fubuki didn't seem to mind.

"I'm not, like, mad  or anything. I'm not one of these Obelisks that are like, “Osiris Red students should stay where they belong’ or anything, you know? But I never see you guys ground our dorm, and I saw you yesterday, and I recognized you today, and I'm just kind of curious. 

Well as long as this guy didn't care. "Was practicing Tag Duels. My teammate sad I had some issues so after we argued and left, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going.” 

"Arguing with your partner sucks." Fubuki winced sympathetically. "I partnered with my buddy Ryo one week. We had some, uh, creative difference, and now whenever I go practice on Sundays, I go with Fujiwara. The whole thing was a lot less fun before I switched partners.”

“I wasn’t there for fun.”

“Most duelists are there for fun. Why were you, then?”

This guy asked a lot of questions. Yusaku fished in his head for an answer. 

"Duel energy,” he settled on. “I'm interested in duel energy. " That was one way of putting it. "I thought an event like that might generale a lot it, a lot of duelists dueling in one place.”

"Did it?”

“I wouldn't know. I wasn't there long enough to find out.” That wasn’t enough, since Yusaku only got to measure the results of a single duel.

“Duel energy, So you're one of those types. My dorm has been researching Shadow Duels a lot lately. I wonder if there could be a connection between the two." 

Yusaku was still annoyed at the line of questioning from Atticus, but now it was his turn to ask a question. “Shadow Duels?”

“If you lose it's more than just your pride on your line. They say you lose your soul, " Atticus answered. “There's a lot we're still not sure on, like how they were started. Maybe it has something to do with duel energy. Maybe you should come help us out some time. " 

"Maybe I should."

Yusaku didn't know much about these Shadow Duels, but it seemed as plausible a theory as any. It was a good opportunity to learn more about duel energy, and that's why Yusaku came  to Duel Academy in the first place. Not to duel, he'd never wanted to duel again, and only put up with it now to achieve his goals. No, he was here to learn more about duel energy.

Duel energy ruined his life, after all.

It ruined the life of Kusanagi’s brother, Jin, as well. Maybe if they could learn more about duel energy, maybe if they could figure out  why, they could finally move on.

⁂

It's an easy process. 

Knock on the door, apologize, make plans for Sunday. But Yusaku was stuck on step 1, because he didn't want to do step 2. 

His reluctance didn't mean he was nervous, or afraid of rejection. If he faced rejection, it would be a set back, but he would find a way around it. He was even less concerned about the reasons for the possible rejection. He didn't care about Taken's feelings. Yusaku was an emissary of revenge, not politeness. He wasn’t there to make friends. (He did care about Takeu's feelings. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, even to himself.)

He didn’t want to be here and do this. But he needed to, so better to get it over with. Yusaku knocked on the door. 

Takeru opened the door. He looked less than thrilled at recognizing Yusaku. "Oh. Hello."

“I wanted to apologize for the other day, I shouldn't have dueled the way I did, it was disrespectful to use your cards without communicating at all with you, and I should have trusted your own cards and strategies more. It was hypocritical of me to be upset about you dueling the same way I'd already been dueling. I was inconsiderate. I'm sorry." Yusaku had hit at least most of the points Kusanagi had said he should aim for while apologizing. He'd count that as a success. (He hoped he didn't come off as insincere, he really was trying.)

“I still shouldn’t have retaliated the way I did. I'm sorry, too,” Takeru said. “I appreciate your apology."

That threw Yusaku off. He didn't expect to receive an apology as well. "It’s... It's fine I, um deserved it. It wasn't really fair that I stopped you from trying out Tag Duels. I understand if you don't want me to be your teammate again, but if you do want to try again on Sunday, I will do my best to communicate better and try to work with you instead of, uh, what I did before." 

Takeru folded his arms together “...I'll think about it. Come back on Sunday and I'll give you my answer." 

It wasn't an outright rejection. Yusaku felt queasy for some reason. It wasn't an outright acceptance of the proposal, either. "Okay. "

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 3

(Original idea here)

(Master post)

_______________________________________________________________________

Chloé hated this stupid app.

How is Adrien not on her list of compatible matches? Clearly the app was broken and not worth everyone’s time. She and Max have been arguing about it since he overheard her complaining about the app. What made the whole thing worse was that most of the class seemed to agree with him.

“...The whole thing is a trashy internet quiz only for people who have no lives.” Chloé exclaimed to Max just as Marinette and Adrien entered the room.

“It isn't some ordinary internet quiz. There is so much processing of data, use of algorithmic solutions that would take months to explain and you would not even understand a fraction of. I have yet to crack the formula. But I guarantee that it is more then trash.” Max defended vehemently.

Adrien decided to avoid getting involved and tried to slowly move to his seat, but unfortunately, Chloé’s vision noticed his movement and pounced.

“Adrikins.” She exclaimed in a saddened tone as she pushed passed Marinette to get to him. “Please tell me you don't believe all the crap about this stupid app?”

The model scratched his head. He noticed Marinette looking at him, he could tell she was curious about his answer. 

“Why do you think the app is not effective.” Adrien deflected. He wanted to avoid talking about his views on the app until he talked with Marinette.

Chloé gasped.

“So many reasons! For one thing the questions are these weird riddles that make no sense! Like why would I even WANT to touch money that is on the floor? I don't care who it belongs to!” Chloé ranted. “Not to mention it doesn't let you make a new profile if you delete it! I tried making a new one but it just gave me all of the same information and profile I had before deleting.”

“It is a countermeasure to avoid fraud!” Max answered. “Since you already put in your original name, photo of yourself and age, if you tried putting the exact information in, it will simply reconnect you to the old account to avoid people trying to cheat the system. My test accounts got deleted yesterday because they found out I used stock photos for them.

Chloé rolled her eyes.

“But most importantly is that it completely messed up my matches. Look at these losers!” Chloé showed Adrien the list, she had a few in the 70% range. Adrien did believe some of the guys on that list did go to this school. “Of course if this list was legitimate, you would be on the list.”

Adrien noted that as a point on why this app has credibility.

“Its just a dumb app. You didn't buy into this did you Adrikins?”

Adrien took a step back, looking for some way out.

“I... uh...”

Thankfully for Adrien, Madame Bustier stepped in.

“Alright Class, Everyone to your seats”

The class quietly stopped talking and moved back to their seats.

The designer was watching the model in the seat in front of her. What did Adrien think of the App? Did he want to tell her that he believes in it completely and wants to try going out with her? Is he angry about it and feels that she is now standing in the way of his potential relationship with Kagami? 

Marinette shakes her head, this was not gonna turn out like her nightmare from last night. Besides, Adrien wanted to meet her in the locker room, not in the library, her nightmare was now not gonna come true..... she hoped.

She noticed Adrien look back at her.. He mouthed the word ‘lunch’ to her. She could tell he was confirming their meet up that day. She gave a quick nod. Adrien smiled and turned back. The brief smile giving her a touch of comfort.

 I apologize for being late, their was a discussion in the teacher’s lounge about an interesting new phone app.” The red headed teacher confessed.

“Was it Soulmate Searcher?” Rose asked. The blond rising from her seat as she asked.

“I believe that was the name of it. My colleague mentioned that their sister was trying it out and has a date with someone they met on the app.” Ms.Bustier replied.

“Are you thinking of trying it out?” Myléne inquired.

“There will be plenty of time to talk about that stuff after class.” The teacher said with a soft smile. Though she didn't let on She was the one that had tried out the app and was in the teacher’s lounge messaging her date for Friday. 

As class began, in the corner of the room sat a brunette that had interestingly kept herself out of the whole discussion about the app. She looked at the app and at her profile. She had not answered a single question, if she wanted to match up with the guy she wanted, she needed to be careful.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Adrien! Where are you going? I really wanted to continue our conversation from earlier.”

“I am sorry Chloé. I am in a hurry, I have something really important thing to do during lunch. We can talk later.” Adrien answered as he quickly headed out of the class.

Marinette wondered what the model was referring to, she could of sworn that Adrien wanted to talk with her during lunch. Something important must have come up. Marinette got up from her desk and held in her sigh. Maybe it wasn't that important that they talked.

As she was about to head out for lunch, her phone buzzed.

 at the locker room 

Marinette turned red, she was the important thing he needed to do. She mentally slapped her self for phrasing it that way.

“Important message?” Her best friend cooed.

“I well umm.” Marinette stammered.

“Relax Marinette, I am just teasing.” Alya assured.

She went to her ear.

“Don't worry about yesterday, that is staying between us.”

“Thanks Alya.  You are the best.” Marinette whispered back before heading out of the classroom.

“Hi Alya.” a familiar voice called from behind the reporter.

“Oh hey Lila. Hows it going?”

“I am alright, I just wanted to ask if you know anything about the new app that has gotten popular. ‘Soulmate searcher’. I heard Max and Chloé arguing about it and I was curious.” The exchange student inquired.

“Oh its great! Pretty much the entire school is trying it out. Are you thinking about getting into it?”

“Well, I am usually apprehensive about trying out apps that give out personal information. I imagine Adrien and Prince Ali would be the same considering how popular they are.”

“Oh its completely safe. Max has tried hacking into it over a dozen times, their cyber security is solid, and I can assure you Adrien has an account.” Alya eased.

“Oh that is a relief. But do you think the app is just a silly quiz or do you think there is more to it? I wouldn't want to get my hopes up on meeting my soulmate on here if it doesn't work.”

“Well Nino and I have a compatibility of 85% as of this morning, so I would say it matches up pretty well. Ivan, Kim, Myléne, Rose, Marinette and Juleka say that the match ups were accurate.”

“Marinette said her match ups were accurate? Who did she match up with? I am sure they are a great guy.” Lila prodded with a faux smile that would fool most people.

Alya hesitated, she realized she was getting into some dangerous territory. She couldn't just reveal Marinette’s list its personal.

“I shouldn't be talking about who was on her personal list. Everyone’s list is only visible to them and it would be an invasion of privacy unless she told you directly.” Alya answered.

“Of course. I just felt bad that Marinette and I haven't been getting along and I wanted to see if I could help her get set up with one of her matches. Perhaps putting in a good word for her.” Lila lied

“Thats really nice of you Lila. but you don't need to worry about Marinette she will be fine.” Alya said with confidence.

“Thats good to hear. Please let Marinette know that if she does want help she can reach out to me.” Lila answered. “I think I will give this app a go. Thanks Alya.”

“Glad I could help.”

Lila kept up her smile as she left the classroom, once she was out of Alya’s sight. Her eyes narrowed and her smile vanished.

Marinette is someone who has a clear crush on Adrien. Alya telling me that Marinette will be fine with her list means that Adrien must be Somewhere on the rankings. I need to find out how high and Beat that percentage. But to do that. I need to find her list... or I need to see Adrien’s.

Lila smiled at the thought. Adrien was a much easier target, all she needed to do was find him, and then she can find out everything she needs to know.

_______________________________________________________________________

Marinette quickly headed to the locker room where Adrien was patiently waiting.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.” Marinette answered as she caught her breath from sprinting.

“Its fine Marinette. I am glad you could make it.” Adrien responded with a soft smile that made the girls heart melt.

“So... what did you want to talk about?” Marinette asked with cautious optimism.

Adrien felt himself blush a bit.

“I was gonna ask about what you thought of the app. The one we were both using this morning. You know...” Adrien scratched the back of his head with his left hand. He felt awkward.

“O-Oh! Um, well. I think that its a bit more then just a random set of questions like chloé said.” Marinette starts off. She wanted to say that she believed it full heartedly, that it was as if cupid himself crafted the perfect matching system for her and Adrien. But she remembered the dream she had last night, she remembered how angry he was in her dream. She needed to know what he was feeling about the app. “Though of course its still updating! The profile could change at the drop of a hat while its calibrating. I remember Alya mentioning that it could fluctuate and any number set up now isn't set in stone.”

“Even if its 100?” 

The question hung in the air just as much for her as it did for him. They were both aware of their compatibility test score.

“I never heard of a case like this. Do you think it was a bug?” Marinette asked. internally thinking that he was not pleased that they were both 100% compatible. She felt her heart crack at the thought.  “Alya mentioned that she and Nino were only at 85% and they are super close. So... I can't be certain.”

“I don't know. It might be possible that something glitched out. It did only recently get a global release.” Adrien answered. He looked at her closely, waiting to see her relived reaction that she doesn't need to take this so seriously. Truthfully, he didn't entirely believe something happened. The more Adrien thought about it, Marinette did seem like someone that he could align with on a lot of things. Sure they had different perspectives and even did have some differing opinions, it made them both learn. If he was being completely honest, she was one of the people he is glad was high on the list. 

Marinette tried her best to disguise her sorrow from the thought of their 100% was somehow not valid. It hurt to think about. 

“But considering it was with you. I can believe it was a high a number at least. So it being 100% could be valid.” Adrien answered.

Marinette’s face blushed at his words. Did he just say that he thought she and him were highly compatible?

FUCK! I just said that I honestly thought that Marinette and I were highly compatible. She had given me the chance to dismiss this as anything serious and I messed it up! Why did I say that? Sure I think its true but she will be angry just like in my nightmare and get akumatized. Adrien mentally screamed

“It is possible.” Marinette spoke up. “ I can't see how having someone I already know being compatible with me would be a bad thing.” 

“There is also the course of the profile correction. We still have 13 more days of fine tuning our profiles. So things on the list could shake up, should you want that.” Marinette answered quickly.

“Thats true. No need to jump in on this too quickly.” Adrien sighed with relief. Marinette was handling this rationally, which made sense, Marinette always knew how to clear her head and look at things objectively. That was why she was so good at figuring out how to help people. 

It is one of the reasons I like her. Adrien’s thought surprised for a second but he quickly recovered and snapped back to the conversation to catch her response. 

“Yea... no need to think to much of it.” Marinette agreed, her tone a touch sadder then before.

“Yea. I am glad we both aren't overthinking this too much.” Adrien smiled softly. “I am glad we could talk about this.”

“Of course...” Marinette was doing her best not to let her face betray her feelings

Adrien turned and started to walk off before stopping just short of the door. 

“Marinette?”

“Yes?” Marinette jolted, not expecting anymore words from the model.

“After the profiles are complete, and if we are both number one on the other’s list. Do you want to... give it a shot?” Adrien asked as he tried to keep his tone steady, His face was beat red as he was doing something on complete impulse. “If you want to that is. You are free to say no.”

Marinette felt her face burn at his question.

“Yes! I mean sure. It is worth trying out.” Marinette responded.

Adrien turned to her. He had a soft genuine smile that made Marinette feel as if cupid had struck her in the heart once again. But what he said next made her feel like Cupid dropped a tank on her.

“Thank you Marinette. It would be pretty nice if one of my best friends turned out to be my soul mate.”

Marinette could feel her face heat up.

_____________________________________________________________________

THERE I FINISHED part 3 (I don't know how both Part 1 and part 2 got over 1000 notes. The notes usually start to dip after the first part.)

If you want part 4, please let me know. I love hearing feedback and it feeds my impulsive need to write. And I am just gonna say it. 

[moonboohoo]

BOOK: DREAM; IN THE STARS

CHARACTER: IWAIZUMI HAJIME X READER

SUMMARY: IN WHICH A GIRL NEEDS TO REPAY HER SINS BY BEFRIENDING WITH A VOLLEYBALL PLAYER.

WORD COUNT : 2285

*LOWERCASE INTENDED.

2.3 ㅡ STARRY NIGHT. 

warnings: slight angst, crying hajime. 

you woke up in the middle of the night, and you felt like you were freezing to death. you rubbed your eyes tiredly and glanced at the illuminated green numbers on the digital clock. it was only 2:24 am. you groaned in dismay as you put your blanket on top of you, attempting to sleep since you have classes tomorrow. you heard a strong gust of wind blowing against your window, and this irritated you even more. you're too lazy to close the curtains, but you didn't like the sound of the wind either - you let out a frustrated sigh as you wore your white fluffy house shoes, and walked towards your window. your eyes landed on a certain figure, who was standing on the roadside as he looked at the night sky with an emotionless expression.

you squinted your eyes and tried to see it clearly, and you're shocked that iwaizumi hajime was standing outside his house at 2:30 am, wearing only his sweater and sweatpants, he warmed his shivering hands by rubbing them; fatigue engraved on his worn face.

...

"...what the heck, something is not right."

                                                                2009, October 11.

"(y/n)-chan, hanami-chan! let's go to the volleyball gym to see them practice!" akane whined as she hugged us from behind, and stomped her foot like a child that wasn't getting what they wanted. you sighed as you turned around to hanami, the girl crossed her arms over her chest, still contemplating whether she should accompany her friend or just go back home and sleep. without a second thought, she then took her school backpack and faced akane, giving her a cheeky grin before she left the classroom.

"b-but please..." she grabbed her wrist, begging her to stay.

"if (y/n) is staying then i will be staying, too."

even though you have better things to do at home, you just couldn't say no to your friends. and plus, you wanted to check up on iwaizumi. your brow furrowed as you rubbed your temples, recalling the moment last night; it wasn't a dream. you thought it was you who was hallucinating, it was midnight after all - but when you looked at him from afar, it was him, iwaizumi hajime was standing there, it's like he was counting stars or something. it was awfully cold yesterday and nobody will just go out without a scarf like that, the more you think about it; the more you think that iwaizumi hajime was hiding something, and it makes you suspicious. akane and hanami were throwing insults at each other again, you couldn't care less about it; as you're trying to analyse about the situation last night.

the familiar low thudding sound echoed through the volleyball court, twelve people were playing volleyball at the center of the gym, six in green uniforms versus six in blue. there were a lot of girls sitting on the floor, cheering and screaming their names. akane squealed and grabbed both of your hands - as she grinned widely, and sat on the floor. hanami and you exchanged glances and let out a sigh. akane gets excited easily especially when she sees someone attractive. she couldn't stop talking about them and this girl won't hesitate to take pictures of them and make it as her collection. frankly, you're not like the other girls, or like akane. you've passed that phase long ago, and it was not a big deal when you're talking to one of the hot guys in school, you just...don't care, and you're focusing more on yourself and many other things that you think it's important.

the girls were screaming again when it was time for oikawa to serve.

"oikawa san! you are the best!"

"he's so handsome! look at him-"

hanami rolled her eyes and turned away, you could clearly see that she was frustrated and annoyed at the same time, she was fuming; and you thought that her ears were in danger of turning into smokestacks. you didn't understand why she was acting in this way, and you tried many ways to comfort her, but to no avail; she was still pissed. akane was smiling dreamingly when matsukawa blocked one of his opponents, she quickly waved at him when he was looking towards her direction.

he just nodded.

"i think he likes me." akane squeezed your wrist and let out a giggle. you laughed at her optimistic behaviour, she was always that cheerful and energetic, she's that kind of friend that you can actually rely on, she was always positive; which you liked her a lot. hanami, on the other hand, was really rational. she hates it when akane asks her about love relationships, basically everything about love, she said that it was a waste of time. hanami was neutral, and her personality was really straightforward, brutally honest about her own opinions and her feelings; and very stubborn. you loved them, you loved all of them, you loved it when they always attacked you with hugs, it was something that you never experienced before, and yet you're given another chance to feel alive again.

"nice one, iwaizumi!" one of the seniors ruffled his hair, and he just smiled in response. this was strange, iwaizumi would normally exchange high fives with all of them. he took a deep breath, then using a blue towel to wipe off his sweats. you're starting to worry about him, he had never been absent-minded before, and the dark circles under his eyes were so obvious.

suddenly, a ball flew towards your direction and hanami stood up and dodged it just in time. iwaizumi yelled at oikawa, and oikawa screamed, their seniors tried to calm everyone down, the fan girls - once again, were shouting and yelling at each other, and the scene was really, chaotic.

what's worse? the coach was nowhere to be seen.

"trashykawa!"

"stop calling me that!" he pouted angrily.

"you almost hit them! you gotta be focus-" iwaizumi retorted.

"i-it's not my fault when hana-chan is looking at me! it's dis-distracting!" the brunette blurted out, and he immediately covered his mouth. everyone was dumbfounded, and oikawa was blushing heavily as he looked at hanami, the girl clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, a blush spreading across her face. her eyes - her eyes were filled in embarrassment, her hands rubbing on her skirt, hanami had never gotten into this situation before; and oikawa was basically getting into her nerves. a tiny furrow appeared on your head, this exact moment was definitely too cliche for you; typical high school love and puppy love romance, which you've experienced many years ago, witnessing this entire scene again made you shivered slightly.

no, you didn't feel excited at all.

"uhm...i'm too old for this..." you mumbled slightly, rubbing both of your arms, trying to rid yourself from goosebumps.

just then, hanami cracked her knuckles and yelled at oikawa; "fuck you, oikawa! go get your eyes checked!"

───

iwaizumi walked back home without telling you.

after the practice match was over, oikawa dragged you outside the court and ranted at you about hanami, his love relationships and begging for advice, and frankly, you really wanted to excuse yourself and find iwaizumi, but the brunette was whining and complaining about his problems; which you have no choice but to listen to him. you found oikawa somewhat amusing, even though he was always up to no good, very cunning and an absolute prick, but oikawa was actually not a bad person; it's just sometimes - he didn't know how to express his emotions.

"i hate autumn, it makes me all gloomy and sad." - oikawa.

you sighed, putting your hands in your blazer pocket while walking back home. you agreed to his statement, autumn made you feel lonely and depressed, the falling leaves and bare trees - and the atmosphere was totally different compared to summer and spring. the colours were less vibrant, and it was not as refreshing as these two seasons - when you saw flowers blooming and beautiful grasslands, smelling the pine trees as the warm sun drew out their fragrance, you felt happier; it makes you feel at ease. summer and spring give off lighthearted vibes, and you also believed that warm seasons made your mind rest and become refreshed.

in contrast, autumn is a bittersweet season.

it reminds you of both teenagers falling in love when they first met each other, walking among the flower fields, watching the sunset on the beach, and laughter and chatter fill the air - when the weather starts to get colder, it all felt like a daydream, flowers stopped blooming, leaves falling, the once vibrant colours turned dull and monochromatic, only reddish, orange and brown, they said spring and summer is a season of cliches; you could hear birds singing and bee buzzing, it's love in the air - when it comes to autumn, then it's not the case. it's a repetitive cycle, autumn means ever-approaching endings, a threat of frost creeping in anytime, heartbreaking events, romantic love fades away and forms a bittersweet memory that can only be kept inside your heart.

you dislike autumn.

a crunching sound could be heard when you're stepping on these dry leaves, you frowned as you kicked away some of the branches along the pathway, you're worried about him, and you knew that something was up when he just ditched you and didn't inform you that he'll be leaving the court first, which made you feel anxious. "autumn is definitely a stupid season." you mumbled.

you passed by a big field, and you saw iwaizumi hajime sitting on a bench.

you let out a long sigh, slowly approaching him and put your bag beside him, you crossed your arms over your chest and eyed him curiously. "oi, what is wrong...with you..." your voice trailed off when you saw his puffy red cheeks and swollen eyes, he quickly stood up and avoided eye contact with you, iwaizumi hajime didn't expect that - absolutely not expecting that you're here, he felt ashamed, and you wouldn't expect that he had fallen to such a state. "what are you doing here?" he spoke in a harsh tone, grabbing his backpack and trying to leave, you quickly pulled his arm and dragged him to sit beside you.

"you're so stubborn, tell me about it."

"i have nothing to say."

"bullshit. i saw you standing outside your house yesterday at 2 am," you spat.

"you what?!" iwaizumi was surprised, looking at you in disbelief. "how did you know -" you interrupted him while he was speaking, "iwaizumi hajime, i'm serious here, i'm worried about you, what happened? you know you can always talk to me." you said, hugging your backpack and waiting for him to speak. he sighed, and took a deep breath, "my parents want a divorce, some sort of thing...then...uh...it makes me overwhelmed?...ah, forget it, i don't speak to anyone about this..."

iwaizumi hajime hates himself for being weak.

"oh, so you think that pushing your feelings away will sort out your problems? do you think acting strong is the best way to overcome your issues? we all are humans, crying is just an expression, there's nothing wrong with it, you know?" you grabbed his wrist gently and continued, "you said it makes you overwhelmed, and that's fine. it's understandable, you shouldn't keep everything to yourself, showing your weakness doesn't define you, iwaizumi." he bit his lip harshly, in a weak attempt to stop his tears flowing out from his eyes, though he tried, the stored tears continued to flow and the sobs wracked his body, robbing it of the ability to speak. iwaizumi was strong, he was tough, your heart aches when he was breaking down right in front of you, to think that he's been going through a lot of problems by himself makes you want to stay by his side.

when you looked up to the night sky, the stars were glowing brightly, each one was more of a golden yellow orb, and it was different from the stars that you've usually seen for the past few weeks, which their colours were slightly misty and white; a typical autumn night. but today was different, the moon was shining in the middle of blazing stars, definitely a picturesque view. you turned around and looked at him, he closed his eyes, a rattled sigh passing through his parted lips as he did so.

it was a cold autumn night.

"i'm sorry," he spoke softly.

"for what?"

"uh...i didn't wait for you today because i saw you're talking to oikawa, i didn't want to bother you." you let out a laugh, and then you put your hand over your mouth as you found it hilarious and adorable. iwaizumi frowned and pouted angrily, his ears were completely red due to embarrassment.

"i'm serious, i'm sorry."

"it's fine, iwa-chan, please don't ditch me again, i feel lonely," you replied, mimicking oikawa's tone. he smiled, shaking his head, "you are so annoying."

maybe you're older than iwaizumi, maybe you have experienced many shitty things throughout your teenage years, and maybe you have an abusive family that makes you sympathize with those people who're experiencing the same thing as you - more specifically, family issues. when you looked at iwaizumi again, he looked exhausted. you knew exactly how he felt, you knew that it was hard to deal with these things alone, the more you thought about it, you began to feel depressed.

and that's what you feel about autumn; a series of heartbreaking events.

"let's walk back home together," he said.

when he stood up, you pulled iwaizumi into a tight embrace.

"...i'm always here for you."

[anomander-dragnipurake]

Possess Part 2 Chapter Seven: The King Boo Exorcist

Over the next few days, they settled into a sort of rhythm. The morning and midday hours belonged to Luigi which meant hanging out with Mario and sometimes Peach now that she knew what was up too. The evening and night hours were King Boo’s which meant wondering around town and/or the forest outside of Peach’s castle before spending some time with the castle boos. Or in one instance, King Boo managed to convince Luigi to let him drink the evening and part of the night away; it was hard to resist the urge to dull the mind and forgot everything for a bit.

King Boo’s turn always began as soon as they were on their way to E. Gadd’s lab. Mario always drove them while they napped in the backseat. The frequent trips to the lab allowed them to keep track of the progress E. Gadd made on the KBE. It was far slower than either of them was pleased with, given the stakes, but it was something.

A week into it E. Gadd had a bit of a different report after reading over the results of his scan. “It’s accelerating,” he said, frowning at his laptop.

Everyone in the room froze. It was King Boo who broke the silence. “What do you mean?” He had a good guess but he really wanted it to not be true, to me a misunderstanding instead. Luigi couldn’t agree more, so much so he couldn’t separate his feeling from King Boo’s.

“I mean, your souls are starting to merge faster because the more they merge, the easier it is for them to do so. I’ve suspected it from the very beginning but I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure.”

Luigi gulped, turning his head to look at the KBE again. Neither he nor King Boo knew much about such things but even they could tell it was still a good way from being completed. … Meaning release from each other was still a few days away at least, probably more. … Assuming it happened at all.

King Boo growled. Of all the people for him to end up like this with, why’d it have to be someone so anxious and worried about everything because those feelings got to him too now. He was supposed to just be aware of them but instead they made him all worried and anxious that’d he’d be stuck in this meatsuit for forever.

You think you have it bad, what about me? I’m stuck with an evil asshole who tried to kill me and enjoys making me suffer. That was so much worse and so unfair. Luigi hadn’t asked for any of this. Right from the very start he’d just wanted to live his life and have nothing to do with ghosts of any sort. He wouldn’t ever have had any beef with King Boo in the first place if King Boo had never trapped Mario in a painting that first time. So, King Boo had no right complain when it was entirely his fault in every possible way.

‘If you’d just let me turn you into a painting at any of the times you were supposed to none of this would be happening either.’ Or Luigi could’ve just stayed the fuck out of it to begin with and let King Boo have Mario then…

No, I’d never let you take my bro. Fuck you for trying! Luigi wasn’t a hateful person, he’d never hated anyone before, but he was far beyond his limit as this point. If he could, he’d kill King Boo on the spot with no regrets, heck it’d probably feel really good.

King Boo scoffed. ‘Even if it was possible, you wouldn’t be able to do it. You’re too weak and pathetic.’

I beat you three times! I could do it. And oh how he wanted to, the only thing stopping him was the fact that it was impossible. I could mop the floor with…

“Luigi!” Mario stood in front of him, gripping his shoulders and looking at him with a concerned expression. “You okay?”

Feeding off each other’s rage in a loop, Luigi’s body was shaking with it, his hands balled up tight enough to hurt a little, his jaw clenched. Having realized this, he was filled with the urge to hit or smash something. How much of that urge was his, if any, and how much was King Boo’s he actually couldn’t tell. King Boo didn’t care, he wanted to punch Mario. He would’ve too if Luigi hadn’t stopped him.

“No, I’m not okay,” Luigi forced out. “I hate this.” The anger and the urge to damage or kill something with it was scary. He wanted it to stop and he wanted to go home.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Mario put on an encouraging smile. He was really good at those but it still didn’t help much. “E. Gadd’s doing his best to fix it though so it’ll be okay. I know it’s hard but just hang on a bit longer, you’ll make it through this, I promise.”

“What if he can’t fix it though? What happens then? What and… and who would we even be at that point?”

The question, not spoken aloud until now, brought silence from everyone, even King Boo. No one knew for sure what exactly would happen once their souls were fully merged, only that that there would be no going back from it.

“Don’t worry about it,” E. Gadd finally broke the silence. “I’m an expert in this stuff, I’m confident the KBE will work.”

He sounded so sincere and for him, caring. Luigi desperately wanted to believe him and would’ve without a doubt even just a few weeks ago. But after all King Boo had put him through on top of this soul merging thing, he couldn’t quite fully believe that things could take a turn for the better at this point. It was like the universe or god – if such a being existed – got some kind of cathartic enjoyment out of watching him suffer.

But he nodded anyway, forcing out a “Thanks,” to cover up the fact that he was still scared and angry that he was scared.

 -

After that, E. Gadd did need one more part for the KBE. They tagged along with Mario to pick it up from the fellow he’d ordered it from which resulted in a long car ride and not much more. King Boo had been hoping for an adventure in part for a little bit of excitement and change of pace but also because he’d heard of the other adventure Mario and Luigi had gone, they sounded like they could be fun.

You wouldn’t like them; they involve being a good guy and saving people. Luigi told him as they lay in the backseat of Mario’s car during the drive back.

‘We’d have joined the bad guys of course and helped them win and then we’d double cross them and turn them into a painting.’ That way the only people winning would be the two of them. Chaos for the sake of it was fun and King Boo was bored of playing nice with people he didn’t like.

Luigi could only sigh at that. An adventure might’ve been fun though, but with King Boo along for the ride it was best they didn’t have one.

 -

Soon, even without E. Gadd’s declaration about their souls starting to merge faster, they would’ve been able to guess it for themselves. Thinking the exact same thing at the exact same time, once a rare occurrence, began happening more often. Their emotions affected each other more and more, often bleeding together entirely until neither of them knew where theirs ended and the other’s began. And sometimes, very occasionally but it happening at all was worrying enough, neither of them were at all sure who a thought or emotion had even originated from.

“I’m scared,” Luigi admitted to Mario one morning after breakfast. He was extra miserable because he was still a little hungover; more and more did he give into his own desire to forget backed by King Boo’s. He held the line steady at nothing beyond alcohol though and in making sure Mario never found out.

King Boo scoffed at his admission but didn’t care enough to interject. … You’re scared too, you just don’t want to admit it. … King Boo could only growl in response because it was true. ‘It comes from you though.’ All of it for sure… maybe, King Boo wasn’t entirely sure anymore and he hated that that was the case.

Mario had of course replied with an encouraging smile like always. Luigi felt bad for not paying attention but it was hard to do when his mind was so busy with two people’s thoughts.

“You need anything?” Mario asked. If he knew Luigi hadn’t heard him, he showed no sign of it.

“I just want this to be over with.” More than anything, they both did.

“It will be soon.” It indeed should be because the KBE was almost done as they’d seen yesterday. If it didn’t work though, would E. Gadd have time to rework it to make it work? … Hopefully they wouldn’t have to worry about that.

 -

Two days later E. Gadd himself greeted them at the door instead of Gooigi and Polterpup. “It’s done,” he said, his voice brimming with excitement.

They’d of course expected this soon but it was still great news. “Finally,” King Boo said as they stepped inside. He fast-walked to enter the lab proper where Gooigi and Polterpup were. He ignored them and went straight to the KBE.

Painted red and taller than Luigi by several inches, it had as cylindrical shape. There were buttons, a keypad, and a screen on the side facing the rest of the lab. What seemed to be its front had a mechanical opening, currently closed, and a large red button next to it. Not knowing how it worked, neither of them dared to touch it yet.

Mario and E. Gadd took a bit longer to follow, only a few seconds but enough to make King Boo almost hiss with impatience. He wanted out of this body now. And Luigi wanted him out now.

“How do we begin?” they said together, looking at E. Gadd.

“Before we start,” he said, his voice much more somber now as he strode over to stand before them, “I must warn you that this might not work.”

“We already know that.” King Boo hissed, not liking the reminder. There was no way to know it would work until they tried it.

“Yes, I know but what you don’t know is that if it fails it’ll make it worse. Instead of pulling out King Boo and breaking the link between your souls, it could pull them closer together instead. I’m not sure what the chances of that are, I don’t know enough about this process to say, but I don’t think they’re too high. I do feel the need to warn you of the possibility though.”

Any chance at all wasn’t good given the consequence and honestly both of them would’ve preferred it if E. Gadd hadn’t told them about it at all. But they didn’t really have a choice; this was their only option and only hope to be free of each other so… “All right, how do we begin?” they said together again because they were perfectly united on this front even if it was now a little scarier.

“Wait!” Mario cut in before E. Gadd could answer. “Before you do…” He ran over and… hugged Luigi.

They were both taken aback by it but Luigi recovered first, returning the embrace before King Boo could try to escape it. … He hissed in disgust back thankfully it was over soon.

“You’re almost free,” Mario said. “Everything’s going to be all right again soon. So, don’t worry about that, okay? I know this’ll work.” He was saying it to be comforting but still seemed to truly believe it. And well… how often was he wrong about these things? A few times sure but not often so if he believed it would work then Luigi did too. Everything would finally go back to normal after this, he’d be free. … King Boo would be to and he was so looking forward to it.

‘I can’t believe I just let Mario of all people encourage me.’ It was gross but whatever, it wouldn’t matter soon anyway.

“Thanks,” Luigi said, giving Mario a smile. “You’re the best.”

“All right, now that that’s done,” E. Gadd said as Mario stepped back to stand by Gooigi again. “Let’s not waste any more time and get this show on the road.” He was back to being excited as he always was whenever he finished an invention.

Turning back to the KBE, he pressed the big red button by the closed opening, making it open with a slick mechanical noise that could’ve come right out of a science fiction movie. Inside was a plain white hollow space and a padded chair bolted to the floor. Attached to the chair were straps, quite a few: on the back, armrests and even legs. It looked like something one would see in a torturer’s chamber.

Despite that, E. Gadd gestured for them to enter. “Hop on in and sit down, I’ll strap you in.”

They didn’t like it but they’d do anything to be free of each other at this point. So, with little hesitation, King Boo sat down.

“This is going to be unpleasant by the way,” E. Gadd said as he began strapping them in, starting with the forehead strap that held their head to the back of the chair. “There’s really no way around it though and I’m sure both of you are you willing to put up with it at this point. But still, I’m sorry I have to put you through this Luigi. Not you though King Boo, you deserve it. Now,” he clapped as he stepped back, “test your bonds for me please. Are they too tight? Too loose?”

Luigi tested them and found that he could not move much at all anymore, really only his fingers and toes. It was disconcerting and already growing uncomfortable but it was without a doubt worth it. “They’re good,” King Boo said, eager to have this done.

“All right sonny,” E. Gadd said as he stepped back further, exiting the machine entirely. “See you on the other side then, hopefully sans King Boo.” He pressed the button again and the opening closed, cutting off Luigi’s view of the lab and its occupants nervously watching.

He took a deep breath as the KBE hummed to life around him a few seconds later. Just a little more awfulness and he’d be free at last, he could handle that.

[timetravelingheart]

Consequences Chapter Four: A.M. Imagine

“T, would you please put that poor boy out of his misery already?” Lydia asked, reaching for Tessa’s phone that had been lighting up like crazy over the past four hours that the girls had been cooped up in the school library. 

They were supposed to be working on their lit reviews, and while Tessa could seemingly ignore the incessant attempts at communication coming her way, Lydia was struggling. Tessa reached out to snatch the phone before Lydia could get to it, but she was too late. She sighed as she watched Lydia scroll through the various notifications on her lock screen. 

“Wow, he’s really something,” she alluded, eyebrows raised. “I didn’t realize you were into that kind of kinky shit, but to each their own.”

“What?!” Tessa struck an arm out and snatched the phone from her pleased friend’s grip. 

“Shh!” came from the surrounding people, unhappy with her little outburst. 

Tessa scrolled through the notifications, not finding anything worthy of being deemed kinky, to say the least. 

“Hilarious,” she deadpanned, not even rewarding Lydia with a look. Lydia simply smiled proudly and returned to her paper. 

Tessa scrolled through her phone. She had more missed notifications than she was used to. Missed calls, voicemails, and texts from Auston. She also had Instagram DMs from him, since he had tracked down her private account and she made him wait over a week before accepting his follow request - only to then not follow him back yet. To Auston’s annoyance, she had not only accepted Mitch, William, and Kasperi’s follow requests instantly, she also followed them back. They of course loved to point that out whenever she liked a post of theirs. 

Those notifications didn’t surprise her. He had definitely made good use of having her contact information over the past couple of weeks and had sent her at least one message a day, usually a ‘good morning Tess’ and/or a ‘good night Tess’ text that she now looked forward to - though she didn’t think she’d ever admit that to anyone, least of all him. 

What surprised her were the new notifications from other Leafs members and even some of their significant others. She had unread texts from Mitch, William, and Kapanen, as well as Instagram follow requests from Zach, Morgan, Andreas, Travis, Freddie, Tyler, and Mitch’s girlfriend Stephanie. 

Apparently, her constant reminders to Auston that whatever was happening between them would have to move slowly had not quite gotten through to him. Even though he had refrained from specifically asking her out on a date since he got her number, he hadn’t let up on being ridiculously nosy and asking her tons of questions about herself. And unlike her, who waited a few minutes or sometimes even an hour before replying to him, he answered her the instant she replied to him unless he was in a game or practice. It was like he was waiting on her response, watching his phone for any sign that she was open to him. 

Despite her best efforts, it felt like they were getting to know each other better and she couldn’t help but feel a little flutter in her chest every time she saw a message from him. Unfortunately for Auston however, his public life can be a little too public sometimes. Just as she was feeling like she could trust him, she overheard a volunteer at work the other day talking about a friend of hers who Auston had been chatting up all night at the bar the previous weekend. While Tessa wasn’t naïve enough to believe that all stories about athletes and hook-ups were true, she also wasn’t naïve enough to believe that none of them were. 

And so, just like that, her guard came back up just slightly. 

Hence why Auston and his friends had been sitting with unread messages for the past four hours. Auston had actually been sitting with read messages since the previous night, but Tessa decided to stop reading anything from him once she got to the library. 

“T?” Lydia’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Are you okay? Those messages looked pretty harmless.”

Tessa nodded, turning off her phone and tossing it in her bag on the ground. 

“Let’s just get back to it, eh?” she tried to smile at Lydia, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She turned back to her open laptop, trying to remember what she had been typing before the interruption.

“Actually, I think I’ve done all that my brain can handle today. Nine unedited pages down, but I think I need to edit with a clear brain. Let’s go get some dinner? My treat?” 

Tessa nodded, gathering up her books and laptop. She knew that she was using school and work as a coping mechanism and an avoidant tool, and she also knew that with Lydia, those choices could only go unchallenged for so long. 

__

Once the girls had grabbed their take-out, they started on the short walk back to their shared apartment. It was nearing the beginning of October, but the weather was still holding on to that last little bit of summer with a warm night. 

“So what’s the deal, T? What did that poor boy do to get himself ignored this time?” Lydia linked her arm through Tessa’s, knowing she liked physical contact and proximity with loved ones when she was stressed or worried. 

Tessa let out a deep sigh and rested her heavy head on her best friend’s shoulder. 

“You know Andrea, one of the volunteers at work?” 

“Mhm,” Lydia nodded, even though she wasn’t 100% sure who Tessa was talking about. She knew that it didn’t really matter though. Who the girl was wasn’t the point of the story. 

“So yesterday the team and I were all stuffing envelopes and getting all of our event flyers together when she starts telling Erica a story about their night at the bar. I guess they were at the same bar as Auston and the guys, and Andrea’s friend was hanging out with him. According to Andrea, he was ‘smitten’ with her and kept buying her drinks and flirting with her all night.”

Lydia didn’t say anything, knowing more was coming if she just waited. 

“Which is fine! Obviously. I mean, he’s single and he’s a star in this town and he’s young and why shouldn’t he be flirting with girls?”

“Mhm.”

“And it’s not like him sending me flowers means anything or means that he has to stop doing those things. I’m the one who turned him down, for crying out loud! So of course he’s free to do whatever and whomever he wants.” 

“T-”

Tessa lifted her head from Lydia’s shoulder, still powering through her pent-up rant.

“So who am I to be bothered by this? But then, who the hell is he to keep messaging me and sending me ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ texts if he’s doing the exact same thing to twenty other random girls. Because that’s probably all I am to him, right? That’s why I’m upset. Not because I like him or own him or anything, but at least have the fucking decency to not lead me on!”

Lydia bit her lip to hide her smile, giving Tessa’s arm a little squeeze. 

“Do you feel better now?”

Tessa let out a little laugh. Fuck him. 

“No.”

“T, do you really think you would be this upset with him for ‘leading you on’ if that’s even what he’s doing if you didn’t at least like him a little bit?”

“I don’t know.”

“T.”

“I guess not,” Tessa shrugged. She hated when other people told her how she felt before she admitted it to herself. 

“Right now, we don’t even know if what that Andrea girl was saying was true. You’ve been around athletes long enough to know that sometimes it’s more about clout than it is about truth. Why don’t you just ask him?”

“I can’t do that! If I ask him, then it looks like I’m jealous.”

“But you are.”

“Yes, but he can’t know that! Lydia, really,” Tessa admonished as they reached their apartment building. “And it’s not even just about jealousy. It’s about trust. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I don’t know if I can trust him.”

“You haven’t even given the guy a chance, T. Not really,” she shook her head as she dropped her bags in the foyer before moving into the living room to place down their food. “Sure, you text him, but you haven’t agreed to any of his offers to get together. You haven’t really asked him anything about himself, you mostly just answer his questions.”

Lydia was right. Tessa’s way of keeping herself at bay was by not asking him anything. The less she knew about him, the less likely she was to fall for him. She thought it was working for her. Apparently she was wrong.

“So what are you suggesting? That I just ignore what Andrea said and keep responding to him?”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting, at least if you’re unwilling to ask about the other night at the bar. But don’t shut him out because of that unless you’re willing to hear his side too,” Lydia shrugged, retreating to her room to change into comfy clothes. 

After dinner and an episode of Queer Eye, Tessa got ready for bed before plopping face down on her bed with a bounce. She rested her head on her hands, mulling over Lydia’s words and thinking over the past few weeks of conversations with Auston. Was Lydia right? Had she not given him a chance to prove that he was trustworthy? But the risks that came with giving someone the chance to prove their trustworthiness felt too great to bear sometimes - what if she gave him the chance and all it did was confirm her initial suspicions and hesitation? Was that risk worth it? 

It was time to find out.

She reached down to her bag and pulled out her phone. Ignoring all of the notifications except for Auston’s, she started reading through his texts starting from the previous day. They consisted of their usual greetings and some random thoughts he had throughout the day or funny stories about the guys. She reached the end of his messages, and felt a little twinge of guilt. 

Auston: I hope you’re okay. Let me know if you need anything. 

Auston: Is this about everyone following you on Instagram? I’m so sorry about that. I told them not to. I think Steph was just excited to potentially have another girl to complain about us with. 

Auston: Call me if you need anything. xo

Finally, she listened to his voicemail. It didn’t do anything to help her guilt. 

Auston: Hey Tess, it’s me, Auston. I, uh, I know we don’t usually call but I was starting to get worried. I know you read my messages yesterday, but I don’t think you’ve read any from today. I’m sorry if the guys are doing too much. They’re just having a bit of fun giving me shit for how much I like you. I think they really like you too, otherwise they wouldn’t even bother. But, uh, yeah. I don’t really know what to say other than I’m sorry if that’s why you’re ignoring me. I can ask them to stop. I know we can all be a bit overwhelming, but that’s part of our charm too, right? *awkward laugh* Uhm, so yeah, please just send me a text or call me back when you get this. I’m starting to get a little worried that you’ve fallen into a ditch somewhere or something. And I guess I just miss talking to you. Anyway, I, uh, I hope you’re well and not too stressed with work or school. And again, I’m really sorry. Talk to you soon I hope.

Your move, Tess, she thought. 

She started typing a message only to erase it and start over. And over. And over. 

Finally, she clicked on his name and waited for the rings to start. 

One, two, three. 

“Tess! Hey!” Auston answered loudly, obviously out of breath. 

“Hi,” she started softly. “Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, no, not at all,” he rushed out. “I just got out of the shower. I left my phone on so I could hear if you - uh, if anyone called.” 

Tessa bit back a small smile. He was waiting for her call. 

“Are you okay? Did you get my message?”

“I did,” she laughed lightly. “All 20 of them.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. You had me going crazy.”

“I could see that. I’m sorry for not responding.”

“It’s okay,” he waited, hoping she would elaborate. When she didn’t, he pressed forward. “Is everything okay? Are, uh, are we okay?”

Tessa hesitated. Did she ask about the bar? Did she carry on like nothing happened? What was the right move here?

“Yeah, we’re okay now. I think maybe I was getting in my head a bit about everything. It’s not easy when you’re so famous around here, you know? I’ve never really known anyone I could Google,” she tried to tease. 

“Oh, God. Please don’t Google me. And please don’t believe everything you read.”

“But if I didn’t Google you, how would I have ever come across those videos of you being terrified by an egg or Carlton?” 

She laughed when she heard a massive groan from the other end and knew he was probably turning beat red. 

“Those videos will be the death of me,” he sighed. “But getting back to it, did something happen to make you worry about me being known here?”

Out with it, Tess. 

“Okay, I don’t play games so I’m going to be as honest with you as possible right now,” she stated firmly. She’d been blunt with him so far, why not now?

“Uh, yeah of course. Give me a sec, I’m going to sit down for this one.”

When he gave her the okay, she went into the same story she had recounted for Lydia earlier in the evening. She was impressed when he didn’t try to interrupt her, but just let her tell her side. When she was done, she heard his deep breathing on the other side. 

“So, I don’t know. I guess just after the past few weeks of you messaging me, and then hearing this, I thought maybe you really were the guy I was worried you would be.”

Auston wanted nothing more than to be excited as the prospect of Tessa being jealous over him with another girl, a small indication that she was into him, but he knew that wasn’t the point here. The point was that she felt like he wasn’t trustworthy, that he was going to be that asshole who used her and hurt her. 

“Tess, I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me, but that story’s not true. I didn’t buy anyone but the guys drinks that night. And I did talk to people, but I didn’t flirt with anyone. And I didn’t leave with anyone. That was the night we had been texting about Endgame because you had just watched it with your friends and you were teasing me with spoilers. I was texting you most of the night, and then I texted you when I got home.

I know that might not mean anything to you, but I swear, I wasn’t trying to get with anyone else. I haven’t since I met you. I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t going to hurt you. I’ve been so happy lately because I’ve been learning so much about you and I love hearing from you every day. Those are some of my favourite moments. I’m not going to ruin that for some random girl at a bar.”

The silence lingered for a few minutes while Tessa mulled over his words. She knew he couldn’t prove anything, so it was up to her whether or not she chose to believe him. But what if she made the wrong choice? 

“Thank you for explaining,” she said softly, not knowing what more to say when she was still so unsure of herself and of him. 

“Thank you for letting me.”

“I’m sorry for ignoring you. Sometimes I just need some space to think things through on my own,” she rolled over in her bed, cradling her phone under her chin and hugging her blanket to her chest. 

“That’s okay. I was just worried I had done something wrong,” he paused, moving to his bedroom and rolling himself into the blankets. “But you know what I learned tonight?”

“What did you learn, Auston?”

“Two things. 1) I love hearing your voice over the phone. It’s not quite as good as in person, but it’s definitely better than texting.”

Tessa laughed, hating herself for the blush she felt creeping up her cheeks. 

“What. A. Line.” 

“It’s not a line! It’s the truth. You have no idea how happy seeing your name pop up on my phone made me.”

“Mhm. Okay. And the second thing you learned?”

“And 2) You like me,” he sing-songed smugly. 

Tessa froze. What. 

“What? Why would you think that?” she thought back to if she had unknowingly admitted that anywhere in her explanation to him. She was significantly calmer when she explained it to him than she was with her rant to Lydia earlier. She was so careful. 

“Why would you get so worried about me with another girl if you didn’t like me?”

“Maybe because you have been texting me and acting like you’re into me, only for me to hear you might be doing the same with another girl?”

“Right, which I’m definitely not doing, by the way. But you wouldn’t reeeally care that much if you didn’t like me. It’s okay, Tess. I’m a catch. You can admit it!”

“I think all of those hits on the ice have gone straight to your head.”

“You liiiiike me. You really, really liiiiike me.”

“Whatever you need to believe to get you through the night, Auston.”

“I know something else that could help get me through the night,” he smirked. 

“Auston Matthews! On that note, good night, jerk.”

“You know you like it. Thanks for calling, Tess. I hope you do it again sometime.”

“Maybe I will.”

“I’m counting on it. Sleep well, Tess.”

“You too, Auston.”

Tessa ended the call and placed her phone on her nightstand, letting out a contented sigh. 

Fuck him for being so cute. She did like him. She really, really liiiiiked him. Dammit. 

[screensirenfic]

Black Leather - Chapter 25

When I arrived at Charlie’s; it seemed like that little bubble we’d resided in for the past sixteen hours had burst.

The radio was reduced back to a low buzz and the awkward silence was resumed; both me and Billy clearly struggling with the words to say.

Maybe because we both knew this was it; that there was no way what we had here was sustainable.

I mean; till yesterday everyone, including ourselves, thought we’d be at each other’s throats forever.

We couldn’t just walk into school on Monday like we were suddenly a couple; could we?

No; we couldn’t.

Billy was a dick in school, and besides; Steve hated him, and I couldn’t do that to my best friend.

This was a one time thing; a one night stand, even though the word tasted bitter on my tongue.

There’d never been any discussions on relationships and feelings; even if Billy had been gentle with me, planting whispered kisses of affection on my hair, leaving lover’s touches on my skin.

On Monday morning Billy and I would act as if everything was the same, and last night and the morning after would be abandoned to memories; just another wet dream I’d be embarrassed about come morning.

Billy put the car in park, leaving the engine running as we both sat unmoving in the car, both gathering the nerve to face the inevitable.

“Thanks for the ride...” I began; the words coming out awkward and clunky; and when had things got so hard again?

We’d been talking so easily just ten minutes ago. Like it’d actually meant something; like we were actually in...

No; I was jumping to conclusions again.

Stop being stupid; Lola! Get your head screwed back on.

“And everything else.” I floundered, and I wanted to say so much more, because like it or not; last night had been a big deal to me, and Billy had been a lot of my firsts, but I wasn’t his.

And that’s what I had to remember. I was just another notch in the ever growing bedpost of Billy’s lays.

“No problem.” Billy replied; his eyes remaining unfocused on the road ahead, a cigarette lit between his lips, but this couldn’t be it.

He seemed so distant. Cold, but I’d seen the real Billy last night, and in the early hours of the morning; and he wasn’t like this.

This was that asshole from Tina’s party.

This wasn’t the man who’d clinged to me last night when voices were raising into dangerous territories; his hands soft and warm.

“I had a good time last night.” I continued; pulling my jacket tighter around me, trying desperately to get him to turn back into that boy from the night before, but goddamnit; it was like pulling teeth and I just wanted him to say something; anything.

Billy just nodded, eyes still fixed on the road, and I couldn’t work out if he was actually agreeing with me, or his mind was somewhere else and he was just doing it out of instinct.

I stared at him for a minute; trying to work out what I’d said wrong, or maybe I was just being too clingy.

Why was he being like this?

Was this really his plan all along? To use me for sex, then just ignore me like I was another tick on his ledger?

I should’ve been angry, but really I was just disappointed.

I’d begun to expect more from Billy, but turns out he was just another fuck up in the long list of things that had gone wrong in my life.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, opening the car door in a hurry, because I could feel tears at the corners of my eyes, and goddamnit; why the fuck was I so emotional all the time?!

“I guess I’ll see you in school.” I muttered, eager to get out of the car, because it had just dawned upon me that I might’ve made a big mistake; one that I couldn’t blame on bad liquor and teenage merriment.

I climbed out, and made my way around the car, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

I could tell I was about to cry, but I couldn’t let that happen. I had work, and I was running late, and...

“Lola; hold on a sec”

Billy’s voice cut through the air like a gunshot, and I half expected him to tell me I’d forgotten my keys in the front seat, or something stupid like that.

I braced myself, trying my best to put on a neutral face, because I couldn’t let him see I was upset.

I turned to face him, noting how even now he didn’t make eye contact; too busy tapping his cigarette on the steering wheel, knocking off leaves of ash that was sure to stain the carpet.

“Can I see you again?” He asked; the words stiff and formal and not at all what I’d expected coming out of the mouth of a serial womaniser like Billy Hargrove.

I was taken aback for a moment, because I’d been dead convinced that this had been it; that he’d pull over and let me out and we’d go on pretending we barely knew each other.

I’d prepared myself for it; talking sense to myself in a hundred different ways, because there was no way Billy Hargrove was capable of any kind of commitment.

I hadn’t prepared myself for this.

I stared at him, suddenly left speechless, taking in what I now realised was the posture of a nervous man.

Billy was hunched slightly, his blue eyes flickering between the carpet and the windshield; like he couldn’t decide what was safer to settle on.

He looked scared, and excited, and agitated; but most of all, he looked pretty.

But he always had, hadn’t he?

It was my first thought when he’d pulled up outside Hawkins High; blaring music and billowing gasoline.

Not hot, not sexy, but pretty; plain and simple.

Maybe I’d always seen the innocence in Billy, buried deep beneath all that bravado and smoke; the kinda guy he could actually truly be.

Maybe I’d just been that naive; my rational thoughts brought tumbling down by that simple adjective; pretty.

But I realised Billy was waiting for an answer, and it wasn’t fair for me to keep him waiting any longer.

“Yeah...” I uttered; the word so soft it was almost a whisper. “I think I’d like that.”

Billy smiled; a radiant, beautiful thing, and his eyes raised up to meet mine.

“So; tonight? I’ll pick you up around six?” He asked, and it brought a smile on my face, because it dawned upon me that maybe Billy hadn’t had to ask someone on an actual date before.

“Seven.” I corrected him; already well versed in driving hard bargains with stubborn men in nice cars.

“Gotta make up the hours. Some asshole interrupted me during work yesterday.” I teased, because Billy got my sense of humour; laughter lighting up his bright blue eyes.

I backed towards the shop, still not prepared to tear my eyes away from him, just in case he was a mirage and I’d actually been tossed out on Billy’s doorstep this morning in nothing but my underwear.

“Make it six thirty; I still haven’t finished my apology.” Billy bartered; the man’s sexual enthusiasm never failing to astound me.

“Billy Hargrove; you are insatiable.” I scoffed, barely containing a smile, because only he could make this a competition.

“Are you complaining?!” He retorted, quirking an eyebrow with a smirk that was plain sinful.

I just laughed, because we’d had a very similar debate less than an hour ago, and judging by how it ended; it’d be best to let him win again.

I made my way back over to his car, leaning in through the open window so I could grab him by his jacket collar and pull him in for a kiss.

This time it only took seconds for him to respond, mouth pressing hard against mine with the clear intent of deepening it, but I didn’t let him.

Billy had already occupied too much of my morning and my head. Instead I pulled away, still remaining close enough that I could make out that slightly dazed look in his eyes.

“Six thirty.” I agreed; my voice just a little bit breathless.

“Six thirty.” He repeated; not breaking eye contact for even a second.

I gave him one last kiss; this one quick and soft, because I guess I couldn’t keep my hands off Billy either, not after we’d agreed to see each other on a more permanent basis.

Then I pulled away, turning my back on Billy, because I didn’t quite trust myself not to climb in his lap then and there after the morning we’d had.

I could feel his eyes on me as I walked into the auto shop, but this time, it was appreciated; me exaggerating the sway in my hips, because maybe he deserved something to keep him going until tonight.

“Good thing I didn’t call your dad; eh?” Called out Charlie, who was sat at the front desk stock listing; a thinly veiled look of amusement on his face as he watched me and Billy’s exchange.

“Sorry I’m late, Charlie.” I apologised; hoping that a complete lack of snark would make him drop the subject entirely.

“Yeah; I can see you were very busy.” He drawled; that cat who got the cream look reminding me he’d raised three daughters and considered me a surrogate third.

“This is gonna stay between us; right?” I asked hesitantly; knowing Charlie sometimes went drinking with my dad, and this is the exact sort of shit I’d expect them to give each other a heads up about.

“Hey; who you choose to spend your Friday nights with is none of my business.” Charlie stated, raising his hands up in mock surrender, and I reminded myself that Charlie had raised three daughters; and that probably meant he was well used to secret boyfriends, and probably had a much more lax opinion on them from my dad.

“Thanks Charlie.” I managed a smile as I picked up a grease rag, fiddling with it like it was a token, because Charlie wasn’t gonna rat me out.

I walked into the back of the shop, where work was already well underway.

Johnny was half wedged under the jacked up mustang, working on the wheel axels or something equally laborious which I should probably be doing on Marty’s truck.

He caught sight on me, sliding out slightly from beneath the chassis to speak to me.

“So?” He asked; the word phrased more like a statement, but I had no idea what about.

“So what?” I countered, already setting up beside Marty’s truck, ready to resume business as usual.

“How was it?” He asked; his eyes stopping at the revealed parts of my skin, and I pulled the collar up on my jacket, deciding I wasn’t warm enough quite yet to go without.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about...” I began to use denial as a stable defence; already guessing what Johnny was getting at and deciding it was none of his business.

“Come on; don’t play dumb.” Johnny whined, still refusing to drop the subject and play detective with Charlie’s Stang, rather than my sex life.

“Johnny; I really think you should check your sources...” I continued to plead innocent, pulling out a wrench because the sooner I got under the hood of this pick up, the sooner I’d escape Johnny’s relentless questioning.

“Take off the dam jacket.” Ordered Charlie, and really he was in no position to be making any requests of me.

“Johnny; you’re being ridiculous...” I argued, popping open the truck’s hood in the vain hope he’d give up.

“It’s just a jacket; Lola...” He reasoned; though I honestly thought he was being far from reasonable.

“This is stupid...” I continued to gripe, because fuck it; when did Johnny become such a hard ass.

“Just take the damn jacket off.” He yelled, and I knew if this went on any longer; Charlie would be out here, and we both be sentenced to scrubbing used car parts for the next week.

So I gave in, pulling the jacket off my shoulders, very aware of the near gallery of love bites and bruises Billy had left painted across my skin.

Johnny let out a low admiring whistle, clearly in awe of the number Billy had managed to do with my pretty pale flesh.

“Jesus; that boy really doesn’t mess around, does he?” He commented; a wide smile across his face, because of course; beneath it all, all men could be reduced to a less than metaphorical dick measuring contest when it came to sexual conquest.

“No; he doesn’t. So if you could damn well shut up about it...” I snapped, shoving my jacket on top of the car, because fuck it; everyone had seen my hickeys now, so why the hell should I bother with hiding them.

“Hey; that’s fine with me...” Johnny conceded, finally getting back to work beneath Charlie’s Mustang, but god; did I wish his mouth’d stop working!

“S’about time you got laid. You were getting a real bitch to deal with—“

He didn’t have time to finish that sentence; me hurtling an oily rag straight into his face.

It hit its mark; the sudden look of surprise, then disgust when he realised just what had landed in his open mouth almost worth all the grilling.

I laughed; Johnny pulling the rag out and chucking it away from him with great disgust.

I turned my attention back to Marty’s truck, sticking my head beneath the hood with a smirk on my face, because maybe I was in a better mood.

What me and Billy had couldn’t possibly last, but did it really have to?

Couldn’t we just enjoy it for what it is now and worry about the consequences later?

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Alonso’s Legen-Wait for it-Dary Dating Rules

Note: Inspired by HIMYM’s Barney Stinson’a dating rules and theories as seen in these videos. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IWQF9fuQ2pA#, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xDD5nv3Phzg&t=9s, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m9vXJ4HB2fU, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cg62TySYvk https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iKAHEZRJUUU&t=80s

Marzel and Alonso are basically my new brotop even though they have never met. Thanks to Lady B for looking this over, and @missnobodynobodius and @shasta627 for completely agreeing with me that Alonso = Barney and encouraging me to do all this. 

“Ah Prince Marzel, just the man I was looking for!” A floppy-banged prince who seemed to be about his age slung his arm across the sirena prince’s shoulder, nearly jostling him off his chair.

The scene was at the palace of Paraiso, one of the most luxurious and extravagant palace Marzel had ever seen his life. In fact it was the most. The walls were ceiling to floor golden emitting bright light which unfortunately blinded him everytime he glanced to his sie. This had the embarrassing effect of him tripping more so than usual when he walked.

He had been getting pretty good with his land legs and he had improved enough to play frisbee without falling on his face but he had a feeling that the royals at this year’s retreat were not seeing that progression.

“Who are you?” Marzel made an effort to smile politely but the guy was taking up too much personal space and seemed to have forgotten his greeting in favor of admiring himself in the blindingly golden dinner plates.

“Wha-yes, I’m Prince Alonso, heir to the Royal Throne of Cordoba!” The guy declared with a flourish and paused, obviously expecting some sort of recognition or perhaps applause.

Marzel looked helplessly to the other side of the table where Elena was in deep conversation with her royal wizard, Mateo and the host of the retreat, Princess Valentina and he couldn’t see his sister anywhere.

“Hi?” Marzel gave a weak wave and grimaced at his high-pitched voice, he coughed, “I mean hello.”

“Heh, you really are new to the land, aren’t you?” Prince Alonso sniffed once seeing that Marzel had nothing else to say.

Marzel was about to react defensively to his tone but Alonso leaned toward him conspiratorially, “I see that Elena hasn’t told you about me. I don’t blame her, there are so many brilliant ways to describe me and my looks and my awesome deeds, she couldn’t think of where to begin. It doesn’t matter. Now in the past, I have been accused of being a little bit self-absorbed and just a tiny teeny bit lazy. But no more. I’m turning over a new leaf. And being a new kind of man, I am helpful!”

Marzel didn’t understand why Alonso was telling him all of this so he nodded blankly and paused again seeing that Alonso was waiting for him to say something.

“Congratulations on turning over a new leaf. That’s very...mature of you.” Alonso was still staring at him expectedly and it started to dawn on Marzel what Alonso might be waiting for, “And I’m fine. I don’t need your help. Elena has already helped me.” “Yes, I’m sure Princess Elena has helped you with basic stuff like ruling and social etiquette and blah blah blah. But she hasn’t taught you about life, has she?” Alonso raised a knowing eyebrow.

“Life? I don’t need help with life. I haven’t died yet. I think I can handle it.” Marzel brushed Alonso’s arm off his shoulder.

“You’ve fallen twelve times walking down a hallway.” Alonso pointed out, putting his arm on Marzel again.

“It’s too bright here, how can anyone see?” Marzel grumbled.

“What advice I have to offer, isn’t any advice Princess Elena or anyone else can give. It is bro advice. From now on, I pledge my support to you as a bro and a wingman as you will be mine-” “I haven’t agreed to this.” Marzel protested.

“-Do you know how to get out of a date that you don’t want to be in?” Alonso abruptly asked.

“...No?” Marzel answered. Admittedly, he had never been on a date since he had been busy with royal training and the fact that anyone who dated him had to uphold the standards fitting for sirena royalty. Though there were many fish in the sea, he hadn’t found one that fit that standard yet. But he wasn’t going to admit that.

“It’s called the Lemon Law. In Cordoba, we have a law that if someone buys an item, let’s say a lemon, from a street cart and finds that it is a rotten lemon, the person can return it. Same goes for dates. This applies this to dates. A person has five minutes within the date to decide whether it continues for the rest of the night or not.” Alonso smiled smugly at his knowledge.

“Wow, that’s- I didn’t know.” “That’s why you need me.” Alonso sipped his recently poured drink.

Marzel rubbed his neck as he thought about what Alonso was proposing. It was true that he didn’t know much about land culture beyond what his mother told him from her fragmented memories. And he knew less about girls and romance in the dating world. 

He could ask Elena but it seemed that she was in the same boat as he was dating-wise, ie. no dates just the kingdom. Besides Alonso seemed to know what he was talking about and he kinda liked the idea of having a “bro” as he kept saying.

Marzel clasped hands with Alonso, “I’ll do it. Let’s be bros.”

“Yes!” Alonso crowed, “This is gonna be legen-wait for it-dary! Legendary!”

“Where are we going?” Marzel stumbled s Alonso grabbed his arm to drag him to the bar-room.

“To get you a suit. One of the most important things to attract a woman is a suit. So, let’s suit up!”

_______________________________________________________________________“Why can’t you clean the dishes? I did it yesterday.” Marisa crossed her arms stubbornly.

“Because..just because..I’m older than you!” Marzel retorted.

“That doesn’t mean anything.” Marisa rolled her eyes.

As guests and royals at the retreat, technically they didn’t have to wash the dishes. But their mother said they should take this as a chance to learn about chores on land, and reminded them that she had washed dishes when she was a human. It was about honoring their heritage which they both were sure was some sort of trick because their mom had complained about their laziness in underwater chores.

Marzel considered his words before talking again. Yesterday, after confirming their “bro-lationship” with a suit fitting and celebratory drinks, Marzel had asked Alonso for advice on his problems with dating and girls, even his sister since Alonso said arguing with girls was the same with all of them, no matter the relation.

Alonso had given him the exact argument he should use and he needed to remember how it was said.

“Hmmm sounds annoying. Chores are the worst. So menial. That’s stuff for servants to do like rookie, here.” Alonso pointed to Gabe who was on the other side of the bar with Manuel.

Gabe looked over at them and glared at the arrogant prince, “I don’t do dishes, and I’m not a rookie. I’m the captain of the guard.” “I’m sure you will be soon.” Alonso waved him off.

“I am already.” Gabe corrected, stalking up to them but Alonso ignored him in favor of continuing their conversation.

“Now here’s what I would do if I were in your position. I’d come to the room and she’d leap into my arms and we make out. Her small body leaning against mine, her lips just..”

“Dude, that’s my sister!” Marzel stared at him in horror.

“I wasn’t saying what you should. Just what I would do in that situation. If I was there, we would be getting it on. Not that I would in real life, a bro never touches another bro’s sister unless she makes the first move.” “Just continue.” Gabe hissed through clenched teeth, seeing Marzel’s eye vein throb distressingly.

“Okay fine. We eat dinner and Marisa says, “Sweetie, are you gonna wash that?” Now I say or you should say, “I’m glad you bring that up, Marisa. No, and here’s why.” She gets on my lap, “I know you don’t like a dirty sink. But does that make it my job to clean it? If one day I look up on the living room ceiling and decide I want a replica of my royal portrait up there, would it be your job to paint it?

She says, “No, of course not.”

I say, “Exactly. So darling, by the same logic, if you don’t like a sink full of dirty dishes, shouldn’t it be your job to clean it?”

Then Marisa would understand the reason behind it all, and agree, “Thank you for explaining that. I get so confused.”

“You’re kidding me.” Gabe interrupted, laughing.

Marzel understood the flaws with the argument since they were arguing over whose turn it was to help the kitchen staff, not the fact that they disliked looking at a dirty dishes. However, he was on his third glass of champagne so he had a warm, giddy feeling assuring him that if he said it right, Marisa would see reason just as Alonso said she would.

“Let me finish…” Alonso looked disdainfully at Gabe, “Once I have her attention, it’s time to bring out the big guns. “Look, Marisa I love you. But with the little energy I have after the meetings, I want to shower you with love, not wash some silly dishes.”

And Marisa says, “Oh you’re right, Alonso, you’re always right. I’ll do the dishes from now on. Right after I do this.”

So then the lights dim and she turns around and dances for me. Her butt’s firm, round…”

“Are you going to hit him or should I?” Gabe asked, but Marzel was too busy envisioning an afternoon not having to help with the dishes.

The time had come.

“Marisa, I’m not doing the dishes and here’s why.”

Marisa looked at him irritability. Staring at her, Marzel lost his train of thoughts. The next part of Alonso’s vision called for her to sit on his lap and that was just gross. He remembered that Alonso had been saying his argument had to be modified since they were siblings and now all he could think of were the disgusting phrases Alonso had used followed by the even worse image of Marisa doing them.

It had made so much sense when Alonso said it last night, what was wrong?

He manfully tried to scrape out the appropriate parts of the argument to use and came up with this,“I’m not doing the dishes and here’s why. You don’t want to dishes, but it’s like if I wanted our baby pictures on the wall..I-I-I mean ceiling. All our baby pictures and family pictures painted on this ceiling. Would you do that? No I mean, first. Let me start over. It’s not job to do the dishes because.. Um I? Dance for me. Eww no. I don’t uh-”

“HUH?” Marisa stared at him as if one half become a malandro and he sprouted three more heads. Just a face of confusion and disgust.

“I-ugh” Marzel stuttered then hung his head in defeat, “I’ll do the dishes.”

_______________________________________________________________________“Are you sure you’re reading the map correctly? Give it to me. I’m an excellent navigator, I was the first one in my team to orient us to win the scavenger hunt.” Princess Valentina sighed as she and Marzel wearily walked down the side of one of Paraiso’s lush mountain ranges.

“Here,” Marzel handed it off to her miserably.

It was midnight and what started out as innocent date led to them walking on the side of the mountain for hours, and he was pretty sure it was the same side of the mountain. They weren’t even going around it, just back and forth.

He really wished he never accepted this date.

He didn’t dislike Valentina exactly, it was just that she was too..much for him. She talked so much, usually about herself, always pointing out how Paraiso was the best, best in chocolate, best in sports, best in everything.

With all her talk about how the best she was in everything, he never would have thought she would have interest in him since he wasn’t the best in walking much less second best in subjects..behind her, of course.

But Alonso had pointed out that when she entered the bar, her eyes had went straight towards him and her eyebrow raised before she quickly flounced out followed by her guard, Manuel.

That-the eye contact and eyebrow raise-was a clear sign she was interested in him, which was only confirmed a few days later when Valentina invited him to have a talk about the personal Coronado-Paraiso treaty.

“Personal Coronado-Paraiso romance!” Alonso high-fived him when Marzel told him. Marzel didn’t want that at all. It was too late to back out of the date without potentially offending her, but thankfully, Alonso gave him advice to prevent a girl friend from becoming a girlfriend.

“You see Marzel. The rules for girls are like the rules for gremlins.” “Gremlins?” Marzel never heard of such a creature and wanted to ask but Alonso plowed ahead with his advice as usual.

“Yes, gremlins. Rule number one: Never get them wet. Aka never let them shower at your place.”

Marzel thought that eliminated almost all the sirenas but then reasoned that these rules must be specific only to mortal girls.

“Rule number two: Keep them away from sunlight. Aka don’t ever see them during the day.”

Rule number three: Never feed them after midnight. Aka she doesn’t sleep over, and you don’t have breakfast.” 

“What about brunch? Is brunch cool? Marzel asked. Marisa had recently introduced him to brunch through Elena and he rather enjoyed the idea of having a snack between breakfast and lunch.

Alonso looked at him in disgust, “No. Brunch is never cool.”

In an effort to keep things platonic, Marzel requested to have the meeting at night since he never seen the moon rise in Paraiso before which Valentina eagerly grabbed on to the idea to lead up to Paraiso’s highest peak and show him the best view.

The date was not romantic in the slightest way. Valentina had kept things professional and they discussed how trade would be conducted between their two kingdoms. 

Marzel had figured this platonic nature was due to the nighttime setting just as Alonso said it would and was relieved when the meeting finished at 9 without any sentimental overtones.

It was when they left that things went downhill literally. Valetina said they must have taken a wrong turn at the waterfall or somewhere because they had been walking for three hours and there was no sign of the valley or the palace and the nighttime heat was covering them like a smothering blanket. As Princess Valentina proudly told him when he said it didn’t feel cold at all up in the mountains, “Paraiso has one of the warmest climates in the Ever realm. No one suffers from hypothermia or frostbite here.” “Just potential heatstroke” Marzel thought darkly to himself as felt sweat dripping from his forehead down the bridge of his nose.

“Marzel.” Valentina panted, fruitlessly fanning herself with her hand, “Can you hand me some of the water?”

Marzel was about to hand her the water when he remembered Alonso’s rule about not getting the girl wet.

Marzel clutched the water bottle from the picnic basket she had brought, and promptly poured it all over himself, “Sorry. Sirena, you know. I need more water to compensate for being on land for so long.”

“Oh okay.” Valentina nodded understandingly which made Marzel immediately feel bad for his lie. Her hair which had been put in her usual ponytail had frizzed out and bigger thanks to the humidity and her face seemed to have gone pale from exhaustion.

They walked for what seemed like miles but must have been a few minutes when they crashed through a brush to see the palace.

“Yes!” They cried simultaneously. They would have run to their destination, but tiredness made their feet drag oh so slowly on the manicured lawns of the Paraiso palace.

“Marzel, do we have any food left in the basket?” Valentina asked weakly.

Marzel frowned, “No.” There had been a few apples left in the basket but he had thrown them out after their meeting in compliance with the third rule of making sure she didn’t eat after midnight.

He took another good look at the princess who seemed slumped, dejected and near collapse.

“You don’t look yourself, do you want me to carry you?” Marzel approached her, gently taking hold of her shoulder.

“No I can handle it” Valentina slurred and fainted onto the grass.

Adrenaline took over Marzel’s body, tiredness forgotten, he picked the princess up in a bridal carry and raced her over to the palace’s front door where Manual opened it, gasped, grabbed Valentina out of his arms and took her to the infirmary.

Marzel paced restlessly, guilt gnawing at his stomach. Who cares if she wanted a date with him? He should have let her have the food and water! It was all his fault that this happened-

The royal physician opening the door for visitors interrupted Marzel’s guilt-ridden reverie. Manual pushed Marzel out of the doorway in his rush to get to the princess.

Manual tenderly lifted Valentina’s face towards his as she slowly opened her eyes, and smiled, “Oh Manual, I’m fine. Just a little dehydration. I’m not going to die.”

“I was so worried.” Manual murmered in a choked up voice and swept her up in a deep, full kiss.

“You’re dating?” Marzel meant to only say it in his head, but it came out in an awkward squawk.

The couple turned to him, Valentina contedly resting her head in the crook of Manual’s neck.

“Yes, we don’t like to show it off in front of everyone but we are very much in love.” Valentina answered, rubbing her nose with her guard.

“She’s my shining light, and I’m her shining knight.” Manual agreed.

“I could never lay my eyes on someone else.” Valentina mused.

But she did---wait. Marzel thought back to the bar. The guards had been behind him and Alonso. She must have sent that eye contact and eyebrow to Manual.

This whole thing had truly been a Coronando-Paraiso treaty meeting. With a groan and Marzel face-palmed himself.

_______________________________________________________________________”Do it. Do it, Naked man!” Alonso cheered as he passed by Naomi’s room.

“I will. I will. Just go already.” Marzel shoved Alonso away from the door to the room.

“What pose are you doing?” Alonso called

“Just go!” Marzel yelled at him and shut the door.

Marzel was going on his first official date, where it was certain that both people knew it was a date, with Naomi who was visiting Paraiso to pick up some diplomatic scrolls and gift Valentina with the Avaloran chocolate that Elena accidentally forgot.

Though Naomi had been hesitant of him at first, particularly after how she acted the last time she saw him, but after they played olaball together and she taught him some sail knots, he asked her out.

They agreed for it to be a friendly date. Unlikely to be serious, more like two friends hanging out with potential for kisses among other things.

Alonso had been in favor for ‘the other things’ part and urged him to do ‘The Naked Man’.

At first Marzel was hesitant but another part of him was very curious as to how it would play out especially since Naomi said this date wasn’t supposed to be serious, just fun.

And from the way Alonso put it, ‘The Naked Man’ was the best way to amp fun.

It was yet another technique Alonso had explained the night they became bros.

Alonso clinked his glass against his as he explained the brilliance of the naked man on a friendly date.

“It goes like this. You’re on a first date, you’ve had a few drinks. You go up to the room, once she leaves the room. You strip naked and wait. When she comes back, she laughs and is so charmed by your confidence and bravado, she sleeps with you. Boom!” “No way that works.” “Two out of three times. I would not lie to you mi amigo. Two out of three times. Which is why it is important to pick your pose to display your naked man in.” And so he began to display the poses.

“There’s the Superman.

The Capitan.

The ‘Oops I didn’t see you there.’

The Thinker.

The Lounge.

The Fencer.

The Gymnast who stuck the Landing.”

He had laughed at Alonso at the time just as Gabe had when he left them, shaking his head.

But now he really was going to do it.

Naomi had gone into her guest room to find the fiddle her mom had been teaching her to play while Marzel stood outside. Now he crept in and stripped and after much deliberation chose to do the ‘Capitan’ in honor of his sea roots.

Naomi entered, “Now promise you won’t laugh. I’ve been practicaack!”

“Ta-da!” Marzel showed proudly.

Naomi gasped,her face turned red and she exploded, “Oh my GOD! What is the matter with you! Get out! I can’t believe-ugh Sirenas! GET OUT!”

Marzel looked at her in horror. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Why wasn’t she charmed and laughing?

He face burned as he realized how bad this situation was and how he appeared. He wanted to explain but he could clearly see this wasn’t the time for it and tried for desperation.

“Wait-I-my cloth..”

“OUT YOU CREEP! You sick son of-” Naomi yelled.

“Wait! My suit is very expensive...”

“I’m going to call the guard on you.” Naomi threw a pillow at him which he promptly grabbed to shield his private parts and ran as fast as he could to his room.

He slammed his door closed,highly embarrassed, Marzel sank to the ground with a groan, “Why did my first time have to be that third time out of three for ‘the naked man’ to fail?

_______________________________________________________________________“Ready?” Marzel asked his sister as they entered the bar-room where Alonso was flirting with the bartender.

“I got your back. You will be avenged.” Marisa intoned menacingly with an evil cackle.

“Don’t do the laugh.” Marzel shook his head.

“It’s my evil laugh.” Marisa pouted but did as he motioned and sasheyed toward Alonso in the slinky purple dress she borrowed from Elena.

“Hello” Marisa purred, exaggeratingly fluttering her eyelashes that made Marzel think she had something in her eye, “Wow. I have to admit, there’s nothing sexier than a man in a suit, and you..are sexier than most.”

Alonso did a double-take before he formed a slow smile, looking her over. “And I appreciate your appreciation, and” His lips curved to a wicked grin, “Your sexiness.”

Marzel saw that Marisa pursed her lips, a sure sign that she was trying to hold back a laugh. He cringed but the laugh never came. Instead she continued with their plan.

“Is your suit cashmere?” “Cashmere. No, this is handspun. The fibers are less than twelve microns thick.” Alonso scoffed and gulped as Marisa began to feel up his arms.

“Twelve microns.” Marisa gushed breathlessly, “I love a tiny fiber.”

“You’re in luck. Mine’s the tiniest.” Alonso bragged, “And the more you touch it. The softer it gets.” Marisa giggled and Marzel felt himself being jostled by the sudden appearence of Mateo, Elena, Gabe and Naomi.

“Is it happening? Is he falling for it?” Naomi asked eagerly.

Elena had come to yell at Marzel after his awful date with Naomi and he had confessed all the things that happened after he had followed Alonso’s advice. Elena had calmed down a little bit when she told them that, understanding where such a crazy idea came from and explained to him that while Alonso was trying to turn over a new leaf, he had a long way to go and was not the best role model to follow or a good advice-giver. 

“I realize that, trust me.” Marzel blushed sheepishly, “I just don’t get how it all worked for him and not me. How did I mess it all up?”

“Well like I said before. It’s best to be yourself. And if it makes you feel better. I don’t think those techniques would have worked for everybody, not even him. All of that is an awful way to seduce a girl. Bragging about yourself? Just sleeping with them without thinking of their feelings or being serious? He might have been just messing with you.” Marzel shrugged, “Maybe he should see how it feels to be a failure with a woman?” Elena looked at him curiously but a mischievous glint was present in her eyes, “Aren’t you bros? Bros don’t get revenge on other bros.” “This isn’t revenge. This is just a lesson. I think I need your help.” Marzel said.

Elena had been on board with getting revenge and apparently so was the rest of Team Avalor, even Naomi after she heard from whom ‘the naked man’ originated from. Marzel originally had wanted Elena to flirt with Alonso but apparently he was aware of her relationship with Mateo, and Naomi refused to do it, citing some other incident where he tried to flirt with her.

That left Marisa to do the job even though it rankled him to see Alonso acting like a lecherous guy to his sister. Marisa, on the other hand was all too excited to play the part of evil seductress. It was a little unnerving.

“Yes, shush.” Marzel motioned for them all to duck lower behind the door and the bar as they discreetly watched the action unfold.

Marisa continued to girlishly giggle, “I was actually looking for you. But there was such traffic in the ballroom. I was at the inter-sex-tion from ballroom and the dining room and I had only a few sex-onds to get in an opening in the crowd. And then people start yelling at me to move over and it totally sex-cked, but I can’t move because a man tripped on one of the tropical bird’s sex-crement.”

Alonso was breathing heavily and gulping as he listened to Marisa’s purposefully innuendo, “G-go, go on.”

“Hmm” Marisa looked him over, and did what Marzel was assuming to be her version of a sexy pout but looked more constipated, “Let’s go my room.”

Alonso nearly tripped over his feet as he and Marisa speedwalked through the halls with the rest on their heels from a safe distance.

The door was open just a crack so they all could press their ears up against it and hear the ensuing conversation.

“Alonso, you should know.When I get into bed with a man, my body becomes a machine. Fueled by desire and lust, and a singular hunger to satisfy my lover’s every carnal need.” Marisa sighed, her voice practically oozing with moans and breathiness.

“Such a shame we all have to go home tomorrow. So let’s go like it’s the last night we’ll ever see each other.” Alonso growled.

“Yes, yes. Well, good night.” Marisa walked out the door.

“Wh-What!” Alonso came rushing out behind her, “Why are you leaving? I thought your body was going to become a machine fueled by desire, lust and a singular hunger to satisfy my every carnal need?” Alonso’s voice cracked at the end.

“Yes. But no. I don’t sleep with people who think I would dance for them after agreeing to do the dishes.” Marisa raised an eyebrow in his direction, crossing her arms with a triumphant smile.

Alonso froze dumbfounded, and soon realized he was in the presence of a small crowd, all trying their best to muffle their laughter.

“Huh-I-I I’m so confused.” Alonso muttered.

Marzel took pity on him and slapped on the back, “This is called a lesson.” “For what?” Alonso shrugged Marzel’s off of him.

“The dishes. The gremlin rule. The Naked Man.” Naomi listed.

“Oh, I-okay that was good advice.” Everyone gave him a look, “I’ll admit the results that happened to Marzel were pretty funny, but I wasn’t setting him up I swear! All of that advice was from a desire to help you. We’re bros.” Alonso protested.

Marzel smiled and grabbed Alonso in a side-hug. He sounded sincere and considering what Elena had told him of his upbringing, it may have been true that all those things worked for him. If not less so because of his looks and charm and more so for being the crown prince.

“We’re bros.” Marzel confirmed, “I’m your wingman and your mine. I am just never listening to your ridiculous rules or advice on dating ever again.”

“Not even about the Hot-Crazy Scale or the Three Day Rule? The Three Day Rule is an unofficial social rule.” Alonso insisted.

“Even that.” Marzel said and so arm in arm the two bros parted ways until the next adventure. 

[afangirlwashere]

Come rant with me about Endgame

So.......... I saw Endgame yesterday and I have some opinions, feelings and thoughts... Also a story about me being an idiot after trying to get home from the cinema but I’ll leave that for a bit later. Anyone who wants to talk about Endgame feel free to hit me up about it ‘cause I got nobody to talk about it with rn.

I’ll talk about the characters a bit more and afterwards, I’ll talk about plot stuff.

So... Thor

I have seen people complaining about what they did to him in this movie. I personally did not expect them to take this route with him but I wouldn’t really say it was completely out of character for him.  He lost a lot. And there is no real threat, nothing to really protect for him anymore apart from his people who he feels like he failed. He feels like he failed everyone and at everything and I can understand that feeling veeeery well.  And it was nice seeing them actually stick to his new figure and not giving him a stupid montage how he got fit again. No! He was worthy no matter what because it’s what's inside that matters.  His hair, beard and glowing eyes 10/10 Kinda sad and mad there was no talking about Loki though... Felt like he should have brought him up somewhere in there. I’m super excited for him to join the Guardians. It’s gonna be a riiide.

Now we can move on to Natasha and Clint

Let me just tell you... The second they started talking about having teams and going for the stones I was like “But Vormir? Who the fuck is going to go to VoRmIr to get the fucking soul stone?! WHOOO?!!!!” and I kind of expected it to be Natasha and Clint.  And I kind of expected Natasha to be the one who sacrifices herself because Clint has a family + after seeing what she did for those 5 years it made sense for her character to be the one who sacrifices herself.  I did not cry at this death I guess because I suspected it but I was VERY sad. I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t do something similar for Natasha as they did for.... y’know... our boi.  I guess the reason I didn’t actually cry could be that when she was lying down there I think she was in the exact same position as Gamora and there has been talk about it that it could mean something (you can watch the SuperCarlinBrothers Endgame review they talk about it a bit) but when I saw her there... It looked just weird man. Like logically she probably would not fall and be in the same position AS Gamora and I got the picture of Gamora just lying down there literally burned in my memory since I’ve seen it like billion times over the past year. The CGI on it was just... It looked weird okay? Otherwise, I was super happy about seeing Clint again. I missed him as much as I will miss Natasha. She did good and she will forever be remembered ❤️ 🧡 💛

Ant-Man a.k.a. my boy Scott Lang

He peaked in this movie. Truly. I had such a good time watching him do stupid shit, be funny but also serious.  He’s just always so much fun. Loved him a lot.  I was a little confused when Cassie was all grown up I thought it was her mom who was at the door first but then Scott was like “Cassie?” and I was like “OH SHIIIIIIT THAT’S THE KIIIID!” 

Bruce... honey...

Don’t have much to say about my boy Bruce. Cool seeing professor Hulk. I really liked the scene where they were trying to figure out time travel. I could relate to him just not knowing what he was doing but doing it anyways ‘cause... same.  Also, thank you for doing the snap. Good job. 

America’s ass Steve Rogers, Cap, whatever you want to call him

Soooooo... I’ve seen theories of his ending actually like.. before this movie came out. I’ve discussed him time traveling to be with Peggy with my cousin and we both agreed it would have been the best ending and that we would really want it for him. BUT when we discussed it we hit this big thing that would kind of not make sense for his character.  BUCKY! He would never leave him be tortured for years and years on if he knew Bucky was alive and that he could actually do something about it.  He would want to do something about HYDRA in S.H.I.E.L.D. as well! It’s not like him to just stand around and do nothing. He said it himself that he could not possibly do that. Like many people on the internet, I’m just... Not happy about this thing. Also, did they talk about it beforehand? Did Steve offer Bucky to go with him? Did Bucky say no? If they explain it in the future (they better) I hope that they mention Steve going for Bucky who was still being tortured WHEN he was with Peggy in the past. I hope that we will get Bucky’s and Steve’s talk after he finished talking to Sam. We could potentially get all these answers in the Falcon & Winter Soldier Disney+ show. I hope we do because if we don’t I’m gonna be hella mad. I wanted to shed some more good tears about Steve and Bucky but they didn’t talk... I’m not bitter. Trust me. Not. At. All. (they could have maaaybe cut the scene of them talking because: time)  Steve picking up Mjölnir was some good shit. I knew it was him the moment that hammer moved a bit. I got the flashbacks to Age of Ultron and I was like “Is he gonna..... Is it.... It’s..... YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!! IT’S FUCKING CAP!!!”  That was truly some good shit we got right there.  Also, I was kind of bitter that Steve and Tony never really talked over Civil War.  Hail Hydra scene? Perfection.  YeAh I know- scene? Perfection. That is America’s ass scene? Perfection.  Overall Steve had some great scenes. I just missed the Bucky in them. No real reuniting between them either... I just don’t know man. I wanted more from that. Bucky played a huge part in all three CA movies (one was literally named after him say what) and we didn’t get... anything. 

Nebula and Rocket 

I was very pleasantly surprised by both of these characters.  I hope they’re gonna be a bit closer now that they spent 5 years with each other.   Everybody say thank you Mr. Rocket for actually following the plan and getting the stupid fucking stone we needed.  Nebula kind of fucked up everything even though it wasn’t her fault. But when she literally killed her old self? I felt that. That was powerful shit.  Also loved her and Tony a lot. She’s a great addition to the Guardians.

Gamora

Sweet summer child. Obviously, they set up a plot for Guardians 3 with Quill trying to find her at the end of Endgame. 

Carol Damnvers Danvers, Cap Marvel, my lesbian hero

Underused. But I get why. She is truly OP. Her haircut? Thank you Marvel gods? Her meeting Peter? I’ve never related more to Peter in my life because I too would be crawling in dirt and curled up on the ground if I got to meet this queen.  AND THEN THE SCENE? THE SCENE WHERE ALL THE MARVEL WOMEN FUCKING STAND UP AND GO AGAINST THANOS?! I felt that.  It was really funny seeing Peter get surrounded by all of them. He is protected by the lesbian queens.  Also her fucking up Thanos? Good shit. Little sad her and Fury got zero scenes in there. 

Wanda motherfucking Maximoff

Another OP women.  Loved her to pieces. Seeing her almost rip Thanos apart was truly inspiring. Fucking legend. Get that revenge for your toaster girl.

Falcon

I don’t have much to say about him because there was not much of Sam in Endgame.  Loved the “On your left” thing. Great call back to WS. But I wanted to tell you guys something that happened in the cinema that I saw coming.  There was this group of boys around 17-19 years old sitting right behind me and when Cap was giving Sam the shield and basically making him the next Captain America.. I think ya’ll know where this is going.  These fucking dudes had the audacity to scoff and out loud talk about it like “A black dude is gonna be Captain America? The fuck?” I was trying not to sob in my seat because EMOTIONS and I felt the fucking rage that went through my veins at that moment. I can’t believe people still do this shit. Why, why, why the fuck do you think that it’s not okay? I wish I could go back to that moment and just throw my water bottle in their faces. Assholes.  It really ruined the moment for me and I’ll never forget the fucking disgust I felt when I heard that coming out of their mouths. Really wish I told them something but the state I was at... I was just not in the shape for calling them out on their bullshit. 

Um.... I feel like it’s time we address the elephant in the room. THEM. 

Dad Tony was really fucking me up good in this movie I gotta tell you.  The I lost the kid scene? Good shit. (In our subtitles they translated it to “I lost Peter” which was like.... Ummmmm.... kill me nooooow) The I love you 3 000? Good shit.  The shit scene? Good shit.  The bedtime story? Wish we got some Peter in there but still. Good shit.  Any scene with Morgan Stark in it? Good shit.  I just need her and Peter bonding in some future movie and I’m satisfied. Anthony Edward Stark really is that bitch, isn’t he? He made time travel happen in like 4 hours.... We love a true legend man. I wish we could have seen him talking to aunt May (that is if she didn’t die in the snap we still don’t know). I just kind of hoped that we could have seen him getting over losing Peter and stuff... even though he never really got over it.  I’ve also seen people blaming Peter for Tony’s death??? Umm? How? He did not jump out of that fucking picture and tell Tony to save him. He did not force Tony to care about him. Tony just did because he has a serious issue with adopting sad ki-I just don’t understand how anybody could blame Peter for his death. Tony decided totally by himself.  Seeing him go off on the team when he came back from space was... just wow. I felt that. I was genuinely scared of him for a bit. Also how skinny he looked? :) That shit hurted.  All of his dialog? Gold. Actual gold. There isn’t a scene in which he did not excel.  The talk between him and his dad? That shit hurted.  When Peter came on the screen... Man I was WAITING when all the guys from Titan started showing up I was at the edge of my seat like “whereishewhereishewhereishewhereishe” and then when he fucking jumped in there the music got all epic and when he took off the mask he looked so fucking adorable and happy and the hair and ghdakskguarieogs-  That was truly the first time I cried in that movie. That is what he does to me.  And WE GOT THE HUG FOLKS! Him rambling and being all OwwwO and Tony just looking at him. Cried like a crazy person. I’ve waited for that a long time.  And then Peter jumping around and protecting the gauntlet and meeting everyone and Carol and... I just can’t even. He was perfect. It was perfect. But then it happened... The moment Strange gave Tony THE look I knew shit was going down for real.  I was crying like a little baby.  Seeing Thanos fade away was very satisfactory but right after that seeing Tony just... do THAT. And by THAT I mean fucking DIE. Yeah... Rhodey was the first one at his side and he just kind of pet his head...  But then fucking Peter got to him and I- that was truly painful as all hell. Seeing him cry and break down because that’s his father figure, that’s his mentor, that’s his Tony.  And now he’s just.... gone.  Go watch the Far From Home trailer that’s a lot of fun now :--))))  Pepper telling him that he can rest I- think I never cried more in my entire cinema experiences. When the reactor turned off it was over. I was trying so hard to not sob and be loud in my seat but I actually have no clue if I was loud or not because I was that deep in. Didn’t bring any tissues. That was a mistake I am never making again.  The funeral was beautiful.  The cheeseburger scene. Great. I actually had a burger yesterday and... It’s the first time I cried over a fucking burger.  I still can’t believe it happened. My brain is still not comprehending it. I just can’t believe...  I was SO convinced that Cap was the one who’s dying and I was SO convinced that they could not just get rid of Tony. But they did... They did that. It’s the end of an era. Truly.  And Morgan is going to grow up without a father now :---))) just end me.. This is fucking hell.  I’ve never cried this much in a cinema. Fuck Endgame. 

Okay so now I wanna talk about some plot stuff

The time travel I don’t fucking get 

Okay but can somebody explain to me how the time travel works? Maybe after I watch it a few times I’ll understand it better. I have some kind of idea how it probably works but I’m still veeery confused.  They made such a big deal about returning the stones back to the realities they borrowed them from. Okay. But how did they return them back in the way they were before?  The reality stone aka Aether was in Jane Foster, right? Tony, Thor or someone must have figured out a way how to put it in its stone version but can you put it back in Jane Foster then? So that nothing changes? Can you? Or do you have to? How much do we have to follow the rules of how things have been when we return them? Can it be given back in the stone form?  Same thing goes for the space stone. It was in the Tesseract. How did they put it back in the Tesseract? Did they have to? How. Does. This. Work?  And what about the soul stone? We know that Red Skull is the protector of it on Vormir but he is not the one who put the soul stone in there. So who did? And can they put it back? How did Steve put it back? He couldn’t have just given it to Red Skull right? Then Red motherfucking Skull would have the stone and it would fuck up some other reality. Just like when Loki took the Tesseract. I just don’t exactly understand this. Also if we made a huge deal out of the stones what about Mjölnir?? When Thor took it right before the dark elves attacked? Don’t they have to give it back as well? I get that he took it so that we could see Cap with Mjölnir but.... ???? I don’t remember if Steve had it with him when he was returning the stones he might have but he also had it when he was old sitting on that bench. He could have given it back just like the stones and maybe call it to himself when he needed it (which would probably confuse Thor a bit). I suppose Thor could still call it back when Steve had it in the past but that would mean there were two Mjölnir hammers at one point right? Because Steve went back to Peggy and at that point, Thor still had his hammer because Hella did not destroy it yet AND the thicc dummy Thor hasn’t taken it yet either.  So what if he called two hammers? Wouldn’t that be just really weird? Also what happens with that reality where Thanos is dead? It’s 2014 Thanos. I would think they have to put him back as well so that the whole snap can still happen.  I’m just super confused with EVERYTHING about this.  But the thing that is the weirdest to me personally is old Steve??? Like... Did he time travel from his own reality back to ours with the shield and  Mjölnir? Because he couldn’t have been in OUR reality right? The things they do when they travel to the past do not affect the present. No butterfly effect right?  Which means Steve couldn’t have lived in OUR reality with Peggy because in our reality Peggy had her own husband, children, and life.  So he must have traveled from our reality to the one where Peggy did not have a family yet and then when he wanted to go back to Sam and Bucky he must have traveled from that reality where he was with Peggy back to ours or this doesn’t make any sense. So why did we not see him in the time traveling suit?  That must mean in some other reality we have Peggy’s and Steve’s kids but not in ours. So does that mean there are two Steve’s in some other reality? Because Steve is still stuck in that iceberg.  IDK man I’m super confused how all of this worked. The stones, the hammer, and Steve.

I hope I made at least some sense in this. I highly recommend you to watch the SuperCarlinBrothers review they talk about some of the stuff I talked about here. If any of you who actually read this whole thing (wow kudos to you) want to chat about it you can message me or something IDK. I have no one to talk about this movie with rn so if you’re in the same situation you can definitely hit me up if you have some opinions, theories, and emotions. 

Also the little story I promised. 

I went to see Endgame on Thursday and I had to take a train that was leaving around 9:53PM to get back home. There is this park that I have to walk through to get to the road that leads to the train station. It’s basically like at least a 20-minute walk from the cinema to that train station.  So I got lost.... in the park. It was dark as fuck in there. I was in a city I barely know, heartbroken over THAT movie and I had to catch the train.  In the middle of all of that my mom called me and I was like barely holding back tears because THAT movie, I’m also lost in a dark motherfucking park in a city I don’t know, somebody is laughing loud as fuck in there and the train is leaving in like 15 minutes.  My mom later told me that I sounded weird like I was crying or something (which I almost was) I was panicking as FUCK. I eventually made my way out of that park but I did not catch the train. I even RAN to catch it. Still didn’t make it. Had to take a bus to get home.  It was a disaster.  I also sat outside of my apartment just looking at the dark sky around 11PM and cried my eyes out because TONY.  So that was a stressful journey home. 

In the end... The movie destroyed me. I’m not sure I am completely satisfied with everything that went down and how it went down but I still think they did a very good job with it.  I will forever miss Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff. It will never be the same without them. Thank you for everything. 

[bffhreprise]

Entry 281

  With the guests gone and the newlyweds on their way to Japan, my fiancé and I now have time to work on our own wedding, assuming he was free.   Stepping into his office, I asked “James, are you ready?”  “Ready?” he asked, looking confused.   He looked so adorable and handsome in his confusion that I nearly allowed my amusement to show on my face.  “We need to start planning our wedding.” I explained.  Reigning in thoughts of kissing him, now that I could, was a bit of a struggle.   “Here you are, Alpy!” exclaimed Aaliyah, ducking around my arm to hand me a stack of papers.  She hadn't been anywhere near us only a moment ago.   “What are these?” I questioned as I started to peruse them.  Within the first paragraph, I realized that I was looking at paperwork for my wedding.  “Oh.”  “Yep.  All the paperwork you need to sign as well as a few for your father.  Everything’s booked and ready to go.” explained Aaliyah.  Rage fought to take over my thoughts.  The well-known battle against my emotions was quickly won, but I couldn't completely quench the inner fire.  In under a minute from starting the conversation about what our wedding would be like, Aaliyah saw fit to try forcing her plan on us.   “Wait.  What?  You picked a date for us?” questioned James in obvious surprise.   Staring at the back of the diminutive girl’s head, I asked “Aren’t you getting a little presumptuous?”  From what I was seeing, every last detail of the wedding was already planned.  She spun around with a sinister smile on her face as she cracked her neck and knuckles simultaneously. “Want to fight about it?”  I did.  I really did.  Fear and rage battled within me, both demanding action.  Time seemed to still as I fought to slow my hammering heart.   I knew that no one could battle Death and win, so reason was a far better weapon.  “Did you even bother considering how much I’ll have to rearrange make this date work?”  Nodding, her smile became disconcertingly friendly as she said, “Yep!  I started preparations for you months ago.  You’ll find the day and following week surprisingly clear, the perfect day for a wedding.”  “What?  That’s preposterous.  How could you possibly have known that…”   Aaliyah spoke over me, saying, “If you really want to know the variables that could be considered in determining that exact date from the moment I started preparations, you’ll need to clear your schedule for the next month.  I assure you that you’ll give up trying to follow along by that time.”  “James!  Help me here.  You simply cannot be okay with this.” I stated, attempting to keep the pleading tone from my voice.  “What’s the date?” he asked.  “March twenty-third.” I replied, annoyed by how calm he seemed.  “Oh, look.  My schedule’s free.” he replied without even the pretense of checking.  I sighed, The inner battle having been reduced to a simmer within me.  “You’re incorrigible.  You’ve let her control your life for too long.”  “No, I simply trust her to know what’s best far better than I’d ever manage.  We traveled in time yesterday to make Jarod’s wedding.  How often do you think Aaliyah takes advantage of Carl’s abilities?  I imagine that Aaliyah’s already seen our wedding.” he insisted.  Aaliyah nodded enthusiastically and asked “Want spoilers!?”  “No!” I exclaimed, though the temptation was certainly pulling at me.  Any flaw I saw could be used as an argument for why her plans should be altered.  Getting to see my dress as it would look on me that day would be a tremendous advantage for assuring the perfect fit.  “She’s tempted to ask for a peek.” commented Aaliyah with an amused grin.  “I most certainly am not!” I lied.  Reaching up to pat my arm, Aaliyah said, “Oh, Alpy… I said you were tempted, not that you’d give in to your temptation.”  “There’s that as well.” stated James.  “Knowing what everyone is thinking has to make planning easier.”  “James, she cannot possibly know what everyone is thinking.  There are far too many people in this world.” I insisted.  “No spoilers, boss-man, sir.” ordered Aaliyah.  Curiosity now swelled.  Everyone of importance knew that Aaliyah had countless projects that were far beyond the imaginations of most.  Had she shown some of her work to James?  What did he know that made him so certain of her abilities?  “Spoilers?  What do you mean?” I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.  “Spoilers!” exclaimed Aaliyah with her large blue eyes widening in excitement.  “I know a great guy who has trouble resisting spoilers.  You wouldn’t believe in him either, Alpy!  He’s a time traveler.”  “Lovely.  Another one.” I replied.  “Oh, no.  He’s not like Carl.  He’s just a youngin’.  Wonderful person though.” she claimed.  “Great.  Now she’s coming.  I really was hoping she was heading elsewhere.” I complained, feeling Portentia's movement as she jogged up the stairs.  “Who?” asked James.  “Portentia, boss-man, sir.  She wants to use a ticket tonight.” replied Aaliyah, always willing to answer him.  “Oh.  Do I have plans?” he questioned.  “Yes, master.  Mother scheduled you to be out with Portentia tonight, so you have plans with her.” explained Mila, no longer willing to stay out of our conversation.  Her bodies weren't present, off attending to things elsewhere.  “She’s cooking with Marco and instructing Aurora.” replied Aaliyah to some unspoken question regarding Mila's location.  “Correct!” exclaimed Mila.  I could sense the body in the kitchen, but the lab had too much shielding to really sense much down there when the lifts weren't in use.  “Aurora?  Is that Jarod’s lab assistant?” I inquired, not readily seeing any other possibility.  “Also correct!” exclaimed Mila again.  “I still haven’t met her.  Jarod had mentioned her to me a while ago.  He apparently thought I might be concerned about a girl frequenting the garage.  Surely, he knows I trust him by now.” I explained.  “I’m quite interested in meeting her at some point.  Anyone Jarod would accept as a lab assistant simply must be fascinating.”  “She’s quite fantastic, I assure you.” insisted Mila.  “Oh.  You’re busy.” stated Portentia disappointedly after reaching the open doorway.  Waving her inside, James said, “I have a moment.  What do you need?”  All of his employees, his friends, loved him.  His magic certainly played a part, but his willingness to always make time for them had its own role.  I admired his business in all of its strangeness.  Glancing at Aaliyah, I mentally amended the thought to "most of its strangeness."  “I was just wondering if tonight would work for you to be my sidekick.  I wanted to use one of my tickets.” explained Portentia.  “Sounds wonderful.” he assured her, smiling warmly.  “Thank you!  Mila’s fabricating a costume for you.” she excitedly informed him.  “Oh, this I simply must see.  Shall we all head to Jarod’s lab?” I suggested, deciding I might as well get a peek at this Aurora.  Best Friend For Hire was not a place for ordinary people, so she had to be extraordinary.  I was, of course, curious at how my fiancé's costume might look on him.  “Only if we get to force James into his costume!  I want to see it!” exclaimed Aaliyah, seeming to agree with my thoughts for once.  She winked at James for some indiscernible reason.  Standing, James said, “Fine-fine.  Let’s go.” When we reached the lab, a beautiful young girl with dark brown hair was so focused on her work that she was oblivious to our descent into the lab.  I had known her shape, of course, but I didn't realize how youthful her face would appear or the obvious signs of a Hispanic heritage.  If I had no clue about my fiancé's business, I would have guessed that he ran a modeling agency.  “How old is she?” I questioned.  At nearly the same moment, Portentia asked “Who is she?”  “She’s sixteen.” stated Mila aloud as she signed <Jarod’s lab assistant.>  Surprisingly, Mila's use of sign language seemed to catch Aurora's attention.  Aurora started making hand motions as if trying to discern what Mila had been doing.  Ignoring Aurora's nonsensical gestures, Mila turned her to face us.  The girl merely tilted her head.  Smiling, I said, “Hello, Aurora.  I’m Lady Alma Lucy Pendreigh V.”  Portentia attempted to introduce herself as well, but Aurora didn't acknowledge either of us.  Then Aaliyah held up a paper, showing Aurora what had been drawn on it.  To this,  Aurora stepped over to her, picking her up and returning to work.  “Did Jarod mention that Aurora’s not socially adept yet?” questioned James.  “No, but I guessed as much” I told him, moving around to see what Aurora was working on.  “Is something wrong with her?” asked Portentia, indelicately.  “I wouldn’t say anything was wrong, but she is different.” explain James diplomatically.  “She’s an autistic savant who Jarod says has remarkable potential.”   “I’m inclined to agree.” I told them.  If this worked as I believed it would, this would be quite an interesting piece of equipment.  Sounding surprised, James said, “Oh?"  “Do you see what Aaliyah drew?”  He stepped around to look and said, “Some sort of schematic.”  “Aurora understood it at a glance and is implementing the design into her own work already, some sort of propulsion system going by the arrangement of the fans.” I explained.  “Correct!” exclaimed Mila, smiling at us.  “Aurora’s helping Jarod design a lightweight flight system.  Mother just pushed things forward a bit with her suggested revision to the power control circuit.”  “Couldn’t you do this even faster?” I suggested.  “I certainly could do some of it faster, but Aurora’s also here to learn.” she told me.  As Mila spoke, Aurora walked over to James, seeming to examine him.  Grabbing the front of his shirt, she walked back to the computer, releasing him to work more.    “Does she want me to see something?” he questioned.  Aaliyah grind at him and said, “Nope.  You were in the wrong place is all.  She didn’t want you electrocuted.”  “Huh?  By what?”  “She’s picturing a very large version of the machine in the room.” claimed Aaliyah.  I found myself wishing that I could look into Aurora's mind as Aaliyah did.  “Master, your suit’s finished!” exclaimed Mila has she walked over to one of the machines.  The suit, when lifted up, was remarkably unimpressive, but James was to be a sidekick after all.  With a matte black, uneven texture, the only part that would really stand out was the glossy emblem which matched that used by Portentia's, save that the shine was inverted so that the symbol was the darkest part.  I looked forward to seeing what James would look like in this.July 31  Supervillains were rarely encountered, but I knew I’d need help after numerous failed attempts to apprehend this one.  If James had been too busy, I’d have hired Jarod and Mila to find a solution, since those two could surely fabricate something to capture a man whose body could flow like liquid.  When I thought about how much money was in my account, I always felt guilty.  Half of my paychecks were donated to local charities, but Mila insisted that the other half was kept and reinvested in case I might need to purchase something eventually.  I’ve argued off and on, of course, but she couldn’t be swayed.  I doubted that I was even paying for my suits, despite the large amount of tech that went into them.  Mila wasn't very forthcoming with regard to her mother's budgeting for lab expenses.  James didn't care, saying he was better off not knowing certain things.  Having sat through some of Aaliyah's explanations, I couldn't really blame him.  Seeing how he looked in the perfectly black suit with an inverted version of my cracked mirror symbol, I was very happy that he had time today.  "What do you think about this?" questioned James as shadows seemed to consume him.  I gave him a thumbs up, grinning as I moved to watch the effect.  Mila was transcribing everything onto my suit’s mask, so I didn’t have to worry about reading lips.  "You need to work on covering the cape more smoothly." suggested Alma, but she was never really satisfied with anything.  "That would improve the overall effect, Master." agreed Mila.  As James and Alma discussed how to perfect the spell, Aurora took interest in what James was doing, moving around him as if she were looking for what created the darkness.  When she found a flashlight and pointed it at him, I wondered if he might look too much like a villain, being shrouded in darkness while immersed in light.  "What should he call himself?" questioned Alma after she and James were satisfied with their spell.  Surprisingly, she was looking at me.  "Something involving a shadow I would think." I replied, but I was thinking about what she would look like shrouded in a suit of fire.  Getting Alma to help us save the city would be impossible, but I still wished she would.  After a few seconds thought, James suggested "The Living Shadow?"  "You are a sidekick, my love, so don't you think your name should relate to the hero." replied Alma as she nodded in my direction.  "Calamity's Shadow?" asked Mila as she joined Alma and walking a circle around James.  "Preferably something that sounds less possessive of our shadow here.  He is an individual no matter how he appears.  What if we call him a shade, possibly reminding people of shades in mythology?" asked Alma.  "The Shade of Calamity?” offered James.  “I like it!  Let’s use that.” I told him.  “Off we go?”  Sighing, Alma said, "The Shade of Calamity will work.  Have fun terrorizing the criminals!"  After a little more discussion, we were on the move.   Mila had been tracking the supervillain as best she could for the past hour, so we had a general idea where to look for him.  Finally finding our target with another man in an abandoned church, I said, "James, I see him.”  “I’m coming.” he replied.  He was behind me in under a minute, touching my shoulder to let me know he was there.  “That’s him?”  I nodded, keeping my eyes on the rotund man below us.  He was bald with graying hair, but his oversized suit looked brand new.  “What has this guy done?” questioned James.  “Watch, master.” stated Mila, no doubt showing him the video feed from the crime.  I remembered how the woman looked as she passed that alley⁠—she might have been a mother, hurrying home to her family—before the man pulled her into darkness.  The video had been at the wrong angle to identify her, but I had arrived not long after, hoping to find her alive.  “They might have known each other.” suggested James.  “All I found was her phone and one of her shoes.” I explained.  Mila had me take both items as evidence, identifying Marla Allen through the phone.  “Who’s the other guy?” asked James.  “Michael T. Williams, a petty thief with a large rap sheet.” replied Mila as she showed us his rap sheet.  “Fine-fine.  Shall we jump down and greet them then?” he suggested.  I grinned and jumped down in front of where the two men talked.  “You again?  I told you to leave me alone!” exclaimed the balding man.  James landed behind them, a silent shadow moving in the darkness.  “Hey!  I haven’t done anything!” exclaimed Michael.  “Today.” I stated, taking a step closer to them.  Pointing to the one we were after, I said, “You still haven’t told me what happened to that woman?”   “What woman?” he scornfully replied.   “Marla Allen.” I stated, staring into his eyes.     “You keep following me, and I’m going to have to hurt you, Calamity.” he told me.  “Yes, I’ve heard about you.”   Grabbing the bald man's shoulder, James said, “Just don’t.”   The man's body oozed away, trying to get free, but James was moving too fast for my eyes to follow him as he grappled the perp.  Suddenly, the bald man was floating, suspended in air by magic.   “What are you people!?” exclaimed Michael, backing into a wall.   “Superheroes, Michael T. Williams.  We know where you live.  Don’t go back to crime.  We’ll know.” I warned him before motioning for him to leave.   Michael clumsily ran, stumbling his way out of the building.  Meanwhile the bald man was continuing his fight against the spell, not knowing that his efforts were in vain.  If he knew James as I did, he certainly wouldn't try to escape.   “Are you a vampire?” questioned James, receiving a glare in answer.  “If you’re not, I don’t want you to suffocate.”   “I’m not then.  Release me.” lied the man.   Looking to me, James said, “We can’t hand him over to the police.”   I nodded, knowing they couldn't hold someone who could have evaded me.  “We can’t let him go either if he’s a murderer.”   “Master, a phone just turned on, possibly inside him.” warned Mila.  “He attempted to call a John Smith, probably an alias.”   “Who are you calling?” I asked, enjoying the surprise on the man's face.  “Your boss?”   “I’m sorry, but this is probably the worst city for whatever endeavors you hope to accomplish.” added James.   Stepping between James and our captive, I signed <Should we turn him over to Alma?  She’ll just kill him.  I haven’t actually caught an older, bad vampire before.  You’re sure he is one, right?>  I didn't like the idea of this man being executed without trial, but I couldn't allow him to continue murdering for endless centuries.   James nodded and said, “Call Zachary Blood.”   “Who’s that?” I asked, having never heard the name before.   Smiling, James looked up at our captive and said, “He knows.  His new jailer.”   “Jailer?  What’s this?  Are you in town?” questioned Zachary from the phone.   “No, but I was hoping you could speak to a vampire for me about coming to visit you.  He murdered someone, upset the local superhero, and is going to get himself killed at this rate.” explained James.   “Oh, I see.” replied Zachary.  “Thank you.  Please, put him on.”   “Mila, can you add him to the call?” asked James.   “Of course, Master.” she assured him.   “Hello?” asked the bald man.  Mila noted that he sounded scared.   The exchange was very brief, with our captive being extraordinarily submissive.   Not trusting such a strong villain to be so easily subdued, I asked “That’s it?  Why wouldn’t he run?”   “He won’t.  He gave his word to one of the eldest vampires in the world, someone I believe he respects.” insisted James.   I trusted James, but I couldn't entirely suppress my doubts.  “But…” I started, trying to decide what I could ask that would make me feel more comfortable with this.   James interrupted me before my thoughts were organized, saying, “I trust him.  Trust me on this.  He won’t cause any more trouble.”  “Fine, but there are still some bad guys out there.  Is Mila showing you the gunfire near the docks?” I questioned, ready to move.    “Let’s go stop a gang fight.” he replied, lifting me into his arms and running.  With his unbelievable speed, we traversed half of the city faster than I could have managed in a speeding car.  He effortlessly jumped from building to distant building, always landing with easy grace.  Upon arriving, he casually swept away the guns with his magic.  Subduing the criminals was very easy in their confusion.  When they were firmly bound and bandaged, James carried me off to save more lives.  I freely admitted that I had never accomplished so much by myself in a night, hoping he might be inspired to come without me using a sidekick ticket next time.  We both knew he wouldn't, but I was still very thankful to have such a friend.

[therealcalicali]

CLOSER TO ME: CHAPTER 3

Synopsis: Upon moving to a new city,  the Reader crosses paths with Ivar, Hvitserk and the rest of the Lothbrok clan. Since her own life is already filled with internal demons from a strict upbringing, their introduction into her life only adds to the drama. As things progress, Reader discovers that there is more to her interactions with Ivar and Hvisterk than meets the eye.

Read the Prologue here: CLOSER TO ME: PROLOGUE

Read Chapter 1 here: CLOSER TO ME: CHAPTER 1

Read Chapter 2 here: CLOSER TO ME: CHAPTER 2

Read Chapter 4 here: CLOSER TO ME: CHAPTER 4

Read Chapter 5 here: CLOSER TO ME: CHAPTER 5

Read Chapter 6 here: CLOSER TO ME: CHAPTER 6

Read Chapter 7 here: CLOSER TO ME: CHAPTER 7

Read Chapter 8 here: CLOSER TO ME CHAPTER 8

_____________________

Chapter 2 Warnings: Angst and Foreplay 

Word Count: 8000+        

Setting: Modern Vikings

Genre: Romance/Drama                  

Pairing: Ivar x Reader x Hvitserk (Love Triangle)

Tagged: @irishhiggins​  @mblaqgi​ @i-care-bout-you-boo​  @peaches-seed​  @sajess98

The following day, which was Sunday, you went to pick up your car from Club 52 with the help of Folaki. Hvitserk had promised to drive you but called last minute saying plans had changed. He didn't go into detail and basically said something very important had come up and he had to take care of it ASAP. You were a bit disappointed but understood that things like that happened. Him being unable to make it actually worked out fine since Folaki had been eager to see you anyway. She had been texting you incessantly saying she had allot to tell you. Naturally when you called her for the ride, she jumped at the chance to to spend time with you. 

After you got your vehicle, you parked it at your apartment and the two of you drove to a trendy nearby coffee shop. It seemed that Folaki had quite a good time after you had left the party because she wouldn’t stop grinning the entire ride. When the you arrived at the BEAN THERE, the two of you took the booth furthest in the back.

So..?” You said in an inquisitive way as you both sat down.

“So.....” Folaki said with a huge smile. “I slept with him.” 

Her frankness almost made you choke on your water. You started laughing and kicked her under the table.

“What?” Folaki smirked with a fake innocent shrug. “You think we stayed up all night talking about the meaning of life?” She seemed to reminisce a bit about her escapade with Bjorn as she spoke. “Don’t get me wrong we talked about allot of things but the sexual tension was just too much. And let me just say, it was AMAZING!” She was practically hopping up and down in her seat as she spoke. “I don’t know what it is....but those Danish men...........” She pretended to fan herself. “they sure know how to please a woman. I had to beg him to stop cause I couldn’t take any more orgasms.”

“Okay!’ You said scrunching your brows. “I think you’ve wandered into the TMI zone.”

Folaki shrugged and looked at you with a teasing expression. 

“It is what it is. She laughed and straightened up in her seat. “We’re going to the movies tonight.”

“Wow. You guys are in a whirlwind romance.”

“Life’s too short to waste time trying to play it safe all the time, you know. Just my little two cents Y/N.  Anyway...” Folaki shot you a devious smirk. “What about you? What happened with Hvitserk?”

You shyly stirred your iced water and poked at the lemon wedge inside. Finally, you looked at your friend and told her that he had indeed come to see you.

“I knew it!” An excited Folaki said nearly screaming. “I knew he liked you more than he liked that bat-shit crazy blonde. So what happened?”

“Well, first of all, I was hanging out with Ivar, you know, his younger brother--”

“Ivar? A stunned Folaki said leaning closer. "Wait! The the dark, brooding one that was picking on you all night during the birthday party?” Folaki asked totally confused. “That Ivar?”

“Yeah. I know. I didn’t understand why he came to see me either. In fact, I still don’t but, it wasn’t bad actually.” You paused remembering how he had held your hand. “He was pretty okay to be around....at least when he wasn’t complaining about one thing or another.” You laughed.

Folaki raised an eyebrow raised with curiosity.

“Hmmm. I don’t know. That’s kinda odd don’t you think?” She asked in a singy-songy tone.

“Yeah. But maybe he wants to make amends. Like a restart.”

“Come on Y/N. Just think about it. Why would he want to be around you after the way he treated you?” Folaki thought for a moment and looked like she wanted to say something else. Instead, she just cocked her head at you. “Besides, if he wanted to apologize, he could have done that at Bjorn’s house.....I think there's more to it." She gave you a look to convey that you were being naive. "Anyway, your’re a better person than me because I wouldn’t have let him in.”

“I know but, I think I've developed a soft spot for him. I’m certain that he’s so moody because of his....you know...disability.” You said honestly. “I feel kind of bad for him, despite how he treated me before.”

Folaki shook her head and stated that you were one of the nicest people she knew before asking you to continue your story. After you ran down the entire night to her, she sat back in her seat and looked at you for a moment.

“Wait, let me get this straight. You guys were making out while Ivar was still there?” She shook her head. “Geez! Wasn’t that a bit awkward?”

“Not really.” You replied as you looked over the menu. “And it wasn’t like it was intentional.”You added. “Anyway, he was gone by the time Hvitserk and I returned to the living room. Hvitty said he probably had to pick up his girlfriend or something.”

“Hvitty?” Folaki echoed. “So we’re giving out nicknames now? When should I expect my invitation to the wedding?”

You laughed and rolled your eyes before explaining that ‘Hvitty’ was a nickname that close family called him. Surprisingly, he had asked you to feel free to call him that as well. As you two were speaking, Jason, you coworker and friend came and sat down. The three of you exchanged pleasantries as he took off his denim jacket.

“So, how was work yesterday?”

“Ugh! It was crazy packed. But Skrillex was performing though so I can’t complain.” He paused. “You guys ordered yet?”

“No, we were waiting for you.” You replied.

After you guys ordered your food, the drinks arrived. As you all were in the middle of a casual conversation, you remembered the promise Folaki had made.

“So tell me about the Lothbroks.”

“Oh yeah. I guess I did promise to fill you in.” Folaki said with a little bit of a sigh. “First, you have to promise that you won’t freak out.”

Initially, you laughed until you realized that she was dead serious. Even Jason looked at you with a serious expression as if he agreed with Folaki’s request. Their change in demeanor made you even more curious so naturally, you promised.

“I’m serious. You can’t get upset or--”

“Or go running to ask them about it.” Jason interrupted. “It’s not the world’s best kept secret but I doubt they would want you bringing up their family reputation. Especially if you’re going to be hanging around them.”

“I..I promise.” You said eagerly waiting to hear what they had to say.

Folaki looked at Jason and then back at you before she began.

“The truth is, the Lothbroks are wealthy, but they built their wealth by......they're--.”

“They’re one of the most powerful mafia clans around.” An excited Jason blurted. “They’re billionaires.  He shook his head in disbelief as he sipped his coffee. “I can’t believe you’ve never heard of them before though. I’m not here to judge. Just get me into the parties and stuff and I’ll be straight.”

You were absolutely floored. All along you thought your friends were going to say something like the Lothbroks embezzled money or masterminded a stock-market scam. Never in a million years would you have guessed that they were going to tell you that Hvitserk’s family was a criminal syndicate.

“Are you okay?” Folaki asked as the food arrived at the table.

“Yeah. I’m...I’m a little shocked to tell you the truth.” 

“There’s no need to start acting different or anything.” She said as she bit a french fry. “After all, they’re the same people they were before we said anything.”

“Exactly.” Jason said in agreement.

“Yeah.” You managed to say wearily.

_______________________________________

Back at home, you threw your purse on the counter in the kitchen and sat down on the couch to sort your thoughts. As you got comfortable, you received a call from Hvitserk. After what you had been told by your friends, you hesitated. You finally decided to pick up after the third ring though. A relieved Hvitserk immediately stated that he was glad that he got a hold of you instead of having to leave a message. He then informed you that he was at the airport waiting to board a private jet for an unexpected business trip.

“I’m so sorry. I know we had plans to meet up tomorrow before you went to work in the evening. But I’ll bring you back something cool.”

“Where are you going??” You asked as you tried to sound as normal as possible. 

You were still thinking about the fact that his family was basically mafia. Criminals to be exact. Since you had intended to read more about them online prior to him calling, it was awkward as hell.

“I’m headed to Dubai to take care of some development deals for my Father’s company. I should be back in less than a week if things go as expected.” As he was speaking, the other line of his phone lit up. 

It was Margrethe but he ignored her call, sending it straight to voicemail. You and Hvitserk chatted for roughly twenty minutes about random things like your favorite movies as he waited for the Pilot to inform him of departure time.

“Alight, min dagdrømmer (Danish: My daydreamer), I guess they’re ready for me. I’ll call you as soon as I get a chance, okay?”

“Okay. But can I ask you something before you go?”

“Sure.”

“What is it that you’re calling me?”

“Min dagdrømmer? Hvitserk chuckled. It just means My Daydreamer. Why? Do you mind having a nickname?” 

“No, I don’t mind. I was just curious about what you were saying.” You laughed.

“What so funny Y/N?” An amused Hvitserk asked.

“You’re actually on the nose with that nickname. I’ve been called a daydreamer all my life.”

“Well, that’s not a bad thing you know.” He said with sincerity. “Anyway, I gotta run.”

“Okay Hvitty. Have safe flight.” You said as the two of you ended the call.

Despite now being aware of his families activities, you still liked Hvitserk a great deal. Perhaps they weren’t as bad as you were thinking. After all, the Kennedys were a crime family before getting into politics. Barely five minutes after you got off the line with Hvitserk, you received a text from a private number.

When you were done conversing with Ivar, you were still even more confused as to why he suddenly seemed to like interacting with you. 

“It’s like dealing with two different people. One minute he’s nice, the next he’s an ass” You laughed to yourself.

________________________________

A very exhausted Hvitserk boarded the private jet and removed his stylish Burberry trench coat He made himself comfortable in the main seating area as the crew prepared for takeoff. 

Turning on the television, he glanced at his phone and noticed that Margrethe had called him seven times during his call with you. Exhaling deeply, he sent her a text that he was headed to Dubai and that he would call her when he got a chance.

Immediately, he received a text back from a very livid Margrethe asking why he couldn’t call her once it was safe to do so in the plane. Rolling his eyes, Hvitserk replied that he was very tired and not in the mood to talk. He threw his phone to the side and pressed a button to recline the luxurious leather seat. He could hear his phone vibrate signaling that Margrethe was sending more texts but he ignored it. Instead, he grabbed his business cell and called Sigurd. 

“Hey. I just got off the phone with Lagertha. You boarded yet?” Sigurd asked as soon as he picked up.

“Yeah.” Hvitserk said as a stewardess placed a glass of champagne in front of him as well as a platter of fresh fruit. “I don’t see why one of you couldn’t go. I’m always globetrotting. I still feel like I jut got back from South Africa yesterday.”

“I know but you’re the only one that has no specific project at the moment. And Ivar’s doctors forbid him to fly until he’s fully healed and done with physical therapy. I would have gone in your place but....well, you know.” Sigurd with sincerity.

“I know. You and Alfred have tons to do at the label. Well, at least this gives me a break from Margrethe.” Hvisterk chuckled.

“You should really resolve that Hvitty.” Sigurd said with firmness. “You talk to me about Y/N but it seems like you’re still entangled with Margrethe.”

“I like Y/N allot but, things are just........complicated.” 

“Not really! If you’re done with Margrethe, just be done with her!” Sigurd advised as Hvitserk sighed knowing very well his little brother was right.

“Hey, before I let you go, do me a favor.” A tired Hvitserk said as he stretched. “Watch over Y/N for me. You know just in case she needs anything or something like that.”

“No problem. I’ll assign someone to be your eyes.” Sigurd said with a hint of disgust. “Later.”

“Later.”

_______________________

“So, are you going to help me or not?” Margrethe’s cousin Frida asked her dark haired male friend as he took a seat on her couch.

He shrugged as she got up and opened up the balcony window. Asking him to follow her outdoors, they two of them went to her backyard so she could get a smoke while they continued the conversation.

“Just cut straight to the chase Frida. Who’s the job for and who’s it on? The very serious Gils asked as he took a cigarette from the pack of Marlboro Reds she offered him. 

As Frida lit her cigarette and handed him the lighter, she nodded. 

She knew that Gils liked to do clean jobs only. He didn’t like complications and he liked to know that whomever he hit, wasn’t protected or connected. Meaning, they weren’t in a family or clan that could hand out serious retribution. He was a professional and that’s what Frida loved about him. The fact that they had once dated gave her an advantage as she tried to convince him to help her fulfill Margrethe’s wish.

“I get your apprehension but you don’t have to worry. It’s my cousin Margrethe so you don’t have to worry about about it being as a set-up.” Puffing her cigarette and letting out the smoke slowly, Frida continued. “The girl is a random with no connections. So that means we don’t have to worry about retaliation if we’re ever found out.........” She paused. “Not like that  would ever happen.”

Gils looked at Frida for a little while as he smoked the cigarette down. As the smoke rose into the night sky, he finally looked at Frida and nodded, agreeing to do the contract. Very happy to have his expertise on board, Frida gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks doll. I knew you’d come through for me.” 

“Anything for you Frida, you know that. But before I regret saying yes, how much is it paying?” He added as he took a drag. 

“Five grand each.”

“That’s too low Frida. Bump it to Ten. I know it’s your cousin and all but shit like this costs money. If it were anyone else, I’d charge double that.”

“Fine. I’ll going to see her tomorrow so I’ll let her know.”

“Nah, text her now.”

Nodding, Frida grabbed her cell and sent a text message to Margrethe letting her know ‘Make it 10 each.’ The message was vague enough for Margrethe to understand and not incriminating if anyone else saw it.

Passing a beer to Gils, Frida clinked their bottles together.

“To a good job and a good payday.

“You said it, now let’s go eat something sweetie, I’m starved.”

______________________________

Somewhere around 9:45 pm  while you were doing your laundry, you received a call from Alfred. Very glad that he had returned your text, you immediately picked up. After all, the two of you had a ‘date’ coming up. You thanked him for returning your text as soon as you answered.

“I’m sorry for contacting you so late. I would have text you earlier but the time got away from me.” You truthfully said.

“I totally understand. We all get tied up with life now and then.. How has your day been?”

“It’s been fine. And yourself?”

“It’s been good. Not really over yet thought. I’m still at work but that’s part of the territory.”

“If you don’t mind me being nosy, what do you do Alfred?”

“I don’t mind at all. I’m the VP of LMG Records.”

Your ears perked up big time. LMG Records was one of the biggest music labels next to Sony, Universal and Warner. It was an upstart company that rose very quickly to become one of the ‘Big 4′. You were impressed with Alfred’s achievement because you knew to be in such an important position meant he was very intelligent.

“That’s amazing. So do you like it......by that I mean, do you get to have fun sometimes? Like release parties and things like that?”

“I have access but I typically don’t attend.”

“Oh my God, why not?” You asked totally surprised by his ability to be nonchalant about celebrity filled parties. “Is it because of your schedule?”

“No, they make sure we have time to attend those events but I’ve just never had good reason to go.” He paused. “Perhaps next time something comes up, I’ll take you. You seem to be the adventurous type.”

You laughed and thanked him but insisted that he give you a chance to earn the right to attend such parties. 

“You’re already taking me to meet my idol and that’s like beyond my wildest dreams. Let me at least buy you a coffee or something before I feel like a selfish creep.” You giggled which made Alfred smile despite you being totally unaware. “Maybe after a few scones, we can call it even and I can accept more invitations.”

“Okay. We’ll go to a French cafe I know afterwards.” He went silent a moment and came back onto the line. “I really hate to cut our conversation short but I need to wrap up some paperwork. If it’s alright, I’ll call you tomorrow evening.”

“That’s cool. But I start work at eight.”

“I was planning to call you later than that.”

“Well, I do take a break around 1:00 am. But that’ll be super late for you won’t it?”

“No. I’ll be awake. I stay at the office extremely late on Mondays. I’ll call you.”

“Great. Have a great night Alfred.”

“You too.”

_____________________________

When Alfred hung up, his brother Aethelred walked in with his briefcase and coat in hand. He looked around his brother’s office and noticed he had not shut down his computer. From the looks of it, his half-brother was intending to stay late yet again.

“You know, I overheard you talking to that girl. Y/N wasn’t it?”

“Yes?

“Well, I think it is a good thing. She seems sweet and perhaps might rub off on you if we’re lucky.” Alfred titled his head and looked at his brother with a confused expression.He folded his hands on his desk and sat up very straight.  

“Rub off on me? Meaning what exactly?”

“Perhaps she can get you to enjoy life a little. You can’t go from work-to-home and home-to-work all the time. It’s ridiculous.”

“Brother, I find solace in work. I enjoy it. Perhaps you better spend more time concerning yourself with the grand opening of the Mercia Casino. Our Fathers and Ragnar are counting on you to make it a massive success.”

“It will be.”

“You’re quite relaxed for a man with a 3.9 billion dollar project in his hands.” Alfred smiled as he leaned back in his executive seat.

“I have everything in order. Besides, with all the investors being friends and family, I’ve taken extra care, overseeing every detail.” A very confident Aethelred said as he shot his brother a proud expression. “Anyway, I’m headed home. Thanks again for letting me and my team use the premises.” 

“No problem. It’s all yours until your executive offices are finished.”

“Goodnight.......and don’t stay too long.” Aethelred yelled as he exited Alfred's’ office towards the elevators.

Alfred stood up from his desk and stretched as he went over to the massive windows that overlooked the city. As he enjoyed the the site of the dancing lights that twinkled in the darkness, he ran his hand through his long hair. He stood there a while as he pondered what Aethelred had said.

______________________________

Boom! Boom! Boom! Came the pounding on your door. Sitting up in bed, you looked at the time on your alarm clock.

“What the hell? It’s after midnight. Who’s insane enough to come to someone's house at this hour?” You said to yourself then as you slowly went to the living room and then the front door.

When you looked through the peephole who expected to see Folaki or Jason but instead were met with the site of Ivar. He had his hair down and was wearing an expensive tailor-made dark grey suit. You opened the door and and yawned as he walked past you into the apartment. 

He sat on the couch without saying anything and put his crutch down before removing the blazer and throwing it on your love-seat. You waited for him to say something, anything to explain why he was at your house at such an ungodly hour but he didn’t. Instead, Ivar grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

“Ivar!”

“Y/N!” He mimicked your tone and cadence.

You groggily walked over to where he was on the couch to try to take the remote from him but he spotted you from the corner of his eye. As soon as you reached for the remote, Ivar grabbed your wrist. He then tossed the remote aside and used his two hands to bring you across his lap. 

“Ivar, I don’t want to sit in your lap”

“Of course you do.” He said as if it was a definite fact. “I want you to watch this show with me. It’s really good.”

Despite all your struggling , you were still seated in his lap with his arms firmly wrapped around your waist.

“Ivar!” You shouted in frustration. 

“Why do you love screaming my name so much Y/N?” He smirked alluringly as you sighed loudly with irritation.

“First of all, it’s too late for me to watch television. Secondly, I want to sleep.”

“Okay. Then..... go to sleep.” Ivar said nonchalantly with his hands still around you. 

“I swear--.”

“You shouldn’t swear!” He chuckled as he interrupted you.”Listen mus (Danish: mouse), you need to calm down. I wanted to see you so I came over. What’s wrong with that?”

“I’m.....you........ugh!!!” You were so exasperated you couldn't even find the words to express what you wanted to say. 

Ivar shrugged and gave you a very mischievous grin as you turned to look at the TV. 

“Look at me.” He said softly when realized you were trying to ignore him.

Still annoyed, you looked at him. Making sure to let him know that you had an attitude, you folded your arms and furrowed your brow. However, Ivar totally no sold it and acted oblivious to all your pouting.

“What is it?” You said with a frown which, for some reason, made him smile.

Since you were sitting in his lap, you were looking downwards at Ivar. Despite being very angry with him, it dawned on you in that moment just how extremely gorgeous he looked. The white dress shirt, blue tie and grey slacks all screamed runway model. Being very perceptive, Ivar noticed that you were taking-in his appearance. He intentionally stared into Y/N eye so intensely that you had no choice but to look away.

“What’s the matter?” He asked knowing full well what he was doing.

“Ivar! For the love of God, let me go to bed.” You shouted.

Finally, it seemed like you got through to him. He released his hold of you which finally allowed you to stand. Immediately you left the living room towards your bedroom. If he wanted to watch television, it was fine with you, but you wanted to get some rest. 

_______________________________

As you got comfortable in you Queen size bed, you slipped off your pajama bottoms because the weather was sweltering. If Ivar wasn’t there, you would have loved to sleep in just your panties. 

Not even five minutes into settling in comfortably and trying to drift off, you felt the mattress sink a little. You turned over and there getting comfortable next to you was Ivar wearing only his black boxer briefs. 

“What are you doing?” You asked as you sat up in the bed. “And where are your clothes?”

“It’s too hot for clothes”

“So?”

“So,  I want to be comfortable.” He smiled as he laid his head on a pillow. “Just like you.”

Ivar looked you up and down and chuckled. You quickly remembered that you had taken off your pajama bottoms for that very reason.

“You know what?...........” You looked at a smug Ivar who gave you a wink. It made you lose your train of thought so you gave up. “I swear, you’re worse than my little sister.”

“You have a sister?”

You wanted to ignore him, you really did. He was annoying you beyond anything you had experienced outside of your sibling but you couldn’t. Ivar had a way of sounding innocent and nice at times. Since he seemed really interested in what you had said, you decided to respond.

“Yeah. Emma. She’s nine. My parents call her ‘the unexpected little miracle’.” You smiled as you thought about how much you missed seeing her everyday.

“Do you have other siblings or just her?” He asked while swooping his long dark hair to one side. 

The motion caused his biceps and shoulder muscles to flex. It was quite distracting as one could imagine. You tried your best not to stare at his very toned upper body and six pack but it wasn’t working. You decided it was best for you to lay back down so you didn’t have to see him.

“I have one more. My nineteen year old brother Ryan is away at Princeton.” You sighed because you recollected how much your parents bragged about his achievement to make you feel unaccomplished. 

It was still so very hard for you to accept how differently they treated you ever since you changed majors from Laboratory Science to Fine Arts. Not that you didn’t expect them to be dissapointed but you didn’t expect them to be, well, so harsh.

“What’s wrong, mus?” Ivar asked as he stroked your cheek very gently. 

He was practically hovering over you as he propped himself with his elbow.Since he was looking down at you, his hair fell forward veiling his face and tickling your cheeks. You hadn’t realized that you had zoned out thinking about all your family problems and the evidence of it was written all over your face. You did look quite sad. Ivar could tell something was wrong as he looked into Y/C eyes with suspicion.

“I asked you a question.” He reaffirmed trying to goad you into talking.

“It’s....it’s not important.” You said as you tried to pull a sheet over your lower half. 

The last thing you wanted was for Ivar to see your panties should your pajama top ride up. You turned on your side facing away from him and attempted to drift off to sleep but he turned you over again. 

“Will you stop it already?”

“But I haven’t done anything.” He said innocently as he pulled you closer. 

He laid his arm over your waist and snuggled his face into the crook of your neck. The intoxicating scent of his skin mingled with his woody and spicy cologne was almost too much to take. Add to that, the warmth of his muscular body against yours, it was all surely a recipe for disaster.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” You said as you tried to move away from him.

As crazy as it was, you had actually started thinking Ivar was fun to be around.  Was he irritating, mean and demanding? Yes! But he was also funny when he wanted to be and had the ability to make you smile. However, this, was not good. Laying in bed with him was not cool.

Despite telling yourself all this, you didn’t stop Ivar as he began to trace his fingers lightly against your skin. He stopped abruptly and you sensed he was looking at you to gauge your reaction before proceeding. Laying his head closer to your neck, he began to slowly pull the pajama top upwards making the fabric glide against your skin, tickling you slightly. When he had finally exposed your panties and stomach, he moved his hand higher towards your chest all while still looking at you. 

Since your eyes had been closed, you opened them only to find yourself looking directly into Ivar’s intense blue eyes that were now full of lust. He wet his pouty lips with his tongue as you stared at each other causing you to gasp slightly. 

“This must be the sexual tension Folaki was talking about.” You thought. 

Knowing you had to make a decision quickly before things got out of hand, you opened your mouth to speak but Ivar took that opportunity to do what he’d been dying to do since he laid eyes on you. His lips came crashing onto yours softly as he kissed you hungrily. He caught you so off guard that you left out a soft whimper which aroused him further as he drove his tongue into your mouth. You could hear Ivar’s breathing become erratic as kissed you deeper. Your own heart raced uncontrollably as you felt his free hand run up your body eventually cupping your breast. The sensation of Ivar’s hand on your breasts sent waves of arousal throughout your body. When he felt you giving in to his touch, Ivar gently pulled your pajama buttons open. 

In one swift move, he pushed your bra downward exposing your bare breast as he continued kissing you. Slowly, Ivar ran the palm of his hand against your nipple sending, what felt like electricity, to your core. It was all too much for your senses. You tried to push him off but he leaned over you further pressing you into the pillow in a helpless position. 

Your mind was racing with many thoughts but despite wanting to stop, you were definitely enjoying it. Ivar nibbled, bit and tongued your mouth and neck in ways you had not experienced. Hvitserk was amazing but Ivar was like a man possessed. It was as if he wanted to possess your body. The kissing seemed to be his way of giving you a preview of the kind of lover he was, should you give in. 

Ivar pulled you closer and then moved his hand to your neck, gently gripping it dominantly. Brushing his nose against yours, he looked at you a moment before placing a peck on your lips. He then brushed his lips against yours tenderly and smiled.

“You’re a great kisser Y/N.” He said in a seductive tone before giving you another peck. 

He ran his fingers against the small of your back causing you to to wrigle a little at the sensation.

“You surprise me.” He smiled as he placed another kiss on your forehead. “I thought you’d be very stiff and frigid. You seemed like the type.”

You started getting annoyed but he smiled innocently at you and brought his lips to yours for another heart-stopping kiss. You knew in the back of your mind that this was just so wrong but it felt................so incredible. 

After breaking the kiss, Ivar pulled you closer and yawned. Apparently, he was just as tired as you were. He softly kissed your cheek as he snuggled you into his arms. It didn’t take long for a very tired Ivar to drift off to sleep, his face buried in the crook of your neck. You laid awake a while longer tracing you fingers along his fingers that rested on your bare stomach. Then it hit you. The massive pangs of guilt came all at once. This was Hvitserk’s little brother you just made out with!!! If you really wanted to try to build something with him, you couldn’t let yourself be weak with Ivar again. 

You had no excuses to give. Ivar was a hot guy and you made-out with him despite knowing full well that if Hvitserk found out, things would end before they even began. As you closed your eyes and drifted to sleep, you resolved to keep Ivar at a distance from now on.

_________________________________

“Son of a bitch!” Ingrid said as she called Ivar for the eight time. Fed up, she threw her cell phone and pouted on the couch.

She was spending the night at Margrethe’s since Bjorn and Ubbe refused to let her stay at their home if Ivar wasn’t around. Not that she didn’t have her own apartment to go home to but, she preferred being around luxurious things, and dating Ivar afforded her that quite well.

“Where the fuck is he? He promised to pick me up after the event.” The blonde said as she shifted on the couch.”I don’t understand why Rangar and Lagertha hate me so much. This wouldn’t have happened if they had allowed me to attend.”

Taking a drag of her marijuana vape pen, she shot an angry look at a now chuckling Margrethe. 

“What’s so funny? Last time I checked, you don’t get to go to their family events anymore either.”

Margrethe shrugged and propped her head up as she laid on the floor near the television.

“I’m just laughing at how you’re stressing over Ivar. You’re totally overreacting. He’s a cripple! You act like he’s not grateful that someone like you actually decided to date him.” She laughed. “He probably got drunk and crashed at someone's house.

“You’re probably right.” Ingrid said thoughtfully as she calmed herself. “What about Hvitserk, did he call you from the plane?”

“Nope.”

“Why? You can make calls once it reaches a certain altitude. Everyone knows that.” A nosey Ingrid pushed.

“I know. He’s been acting a little weird since...” Margrethe made a disgusted face. “Since he got caught kissing that....that...that bitch!”

Ingrid twisted her lips in a show of understanding. She then asked if Hvitserk had said anything about the incident since that night. 

“He just keeps telling me that he likes her but he doesn’t know her that well yet so...”

“So he doesn’t know if he’s going to take you back or start dating Y/N?”

Margrethe sighed and laid back down. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a scream of frustration. Ingrid looked at her like she was crazy but kept her comments to herself.

“I’m going to see how things play out. After what happened, any decent girl would leave him alone. If she doesn't stay away from him, I already have an ace up my sleeve.” A very confident Margrethe said as she rolled onto her side and looked at Ingrid.

“And what’s that?”

“Let’s just say that if she keeps messing with Hvitty, she’ll regret the day she met him.”

_______________________

On Monday morning, you woke up a little after noon and discovered that Ivar was not there. Not just in the bed, but in the apartment. You had no idea when he had left, but you were sort of glad he was gone. The guilt of making out with him was eating you up and the last thing you wanted to do was to face him. As you took a brisk shower, your thoughts kept going back to all the heavy petting and kissing. 

You were reliving it all despite not wanting to. You mind was doing it’s own things and it was getting on your nerves. After putting on a pair of denim shorts and a white t-shirt, you brushed your hair into a ponytail and applied some eyeliner and mascara because it was just too hot to do anything else. 

Your first thought was to go to the grocery store, buy a few things for the week and then lounge around till it was time for work. Looking at your phone you were surprised to see that Hvitserk had sent you a text. He stated that he was still on the plane which made you laugh. 

“Wow. It must take forever to get to Dubai.” You thought.

You immediately text him back and asked how much longer he had to go. To your surprise, he called you not even two minutes after you sent the message.

“Hey, miss me?” Hvitserk asked sounding a bit tired.

“Of course.” You replied as you laughed at how tired he sounded. “Did you sleep at all?”

“Yes. I’m actually still in bed--”

“Bed?” You asked a bit confused but then you remembered he was on a private jet and some of them were posher than most homes.

“So, you have to work today?” He asked.

You put your car keys down and sat at the dining table as you continued conversing with Hvitserk. He was tired but definitely in the mood to chat because the two of you had talked for almost an hour when suddenly, you heard a knock. After asking him to hold on, you walked to the door and looked to see who it was. It was Ivar. He had a bag in his hand that you assumed was from a restaurant. So, despite not wanting to let him in, you did.

Before Ivar could speak, you put your finger to your lips, to instruct him to be quiet. Instantly, his smile became a frightening scowl. 

To help him out, you took the restaurant bag from him as he entered the apartment. Taking a seat on the couch, Ivar frowned at you as he placed his crutch against the coffee table. 

It was obvious that he had went home for a shower and change of clothes but what you didn’t understand was why he wanted to be around you again. You thought that he would have felt as guilty as you did about what had happened between you two. But obviously, he didn’t.

“Everything okay?” A curious Hvitserk asked since you had been quiet for a little while.

“Uh, yeah. It’s...”

As you tried to answer, you kept getting distracted by Ivar. He kept asking who you were talking to in a very low whisper. When you kept ignoring his question, he cocked his head and glared at you. 

“Who are you talking to?” Ivar’s voiced boomed.

You were mortified because he had been so intentionally loud, there was no way that Hvitserk had not heard him.

“Ivar’s there?”

“He...just got here.” You said to Hvitserk as you frowned at Ivar. “He was the one at the door when I told you to hold on.”

Despite you looking upset, Ivar shrugged and turned on the television. He was determined to not allow you to ignore him. The fact that Hvitserk was on the line with you, didn’t phase him one bit. If you were mad, he felt you should have been mad at yourself for not answering his question. And for not being truthful with Hvitserk about his presence in the first place

You conversed with Hvitserk a while longer until he abruptly asked you to put Ivar on the phone. Taking the phone over to him, you rolled your eyes and told Ivar that his brother wanted to speak to him. He took your cellphone from you but as you walked away, Ivar grabbed you onto his lap. The two of you struggled a moment until you realized that if you kept going, you would make too much noise. The last thing you wanted was for Hvitserk to wonder what was happening. Giving in, you sat on his lap as he began speaking with Hvitserk.

‘Hey.”

“How was your appointment?”

“Not you too.” Ivar scoffed. “You’re beginning to act like Ubbe.”

“I don’t see why you get so mad when all we’re trying to do is be supportive.” Hvitserk countered a bit annoyed that Ivar always got an attitude whenever they tried to show concern for his health. “It’s what families do.”

“That’s all good and well but I don’t like to be coddled.” Ivar said before looking directly at you. “So, how’s Margrethe?” He asked his stunned brother.

If you and Hvitserk could have seen each other’s reactions, it would have been priceless. Both of you cringed at the mention of her name. Which, of course, was exactly what Ivar had intended. You knew that Margrethe was still an open issue. Since Hvitserk had not provided clear answers about his status with her, you felt a sting of jealously upon hearing her name. As for Hvitserk, he felt the the awkwardness as well. She was a topic he had hoped to avoid for at least a little while longer. Obviously, he was very angry that Ivar had brought Margrethe up in your presence.