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missluckycharms · 3 years ago

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You, Me and Harry make three. Part Two.

Summary: Joey, Izzy and Harry are in a poly relationship. They're head over heels for one another and they can't seem to keep their hands off each another, even when they really need to.

Harry is the Harry Styles, the man who is known for being so open and lovable. He's nervous to let the world see his girls, what would his fans think If he was dating two girls at the same time? And they all shared the one bed and home? He doesn't want to know, he wants them all to himself.

This small story follows the three and their rendezvous together behind the scenes.

Masterlist.

Part One.

Warnings: Switch!Harry, Mommy kink, slight Daddy kink, FxFxM threesome, fingering, oral sex f+m receiving, Male + Female penetrative sex, Female + Female sex, spanking, choking, hair pulling, sneaking around (?) masturbation and mentions of it, degradation kink, praise kink, dirty talking, anal play, biting, polyamorous relationship.

A/N: Izzy and Joey are OCs! Their features will be discussed in this, if you don’t want to envision them how I write them, feel free to use your own images of them! I hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as I have! Harry Joey and Izzy are now my new babies, and I will protect them with my whole heart 🥺

Word count: 5.3k.

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"This place is amazing!"

"If singing on stage gives you this, sign me up for your supporting act H!"

Harry smiles and laughs watching his girls, the pair in awe running about the Italian villa he owns, hidden away amongst shrubbery and gated security, no one only Harry and his team know about this villa, it's a very secret location that Harry has done all he can to not let people find this place. It's not as grand as you would think it would be, a millionaire rockstar having a smallish Italian villa decorated mainly in old vintage Italian furniture, is not something you would hear of very often, most singers would have penthouses with the latest technology and fast cars in the driveway — not Harry, he would take this small secluded villa with a vintage convertible in the driveway over a multi million dollar penthouse with a Lamborghini in the front.

"Recognise the decor?" He asks as they both walk back in, their sunglasses pushed up into their hairs and their summer dresses flowing above their knees, their smiles bright and their arms linked as they look at Harry before them.

"No way! It's the theme we suggested for this place! Look Iz, it's the painting you suggested we buy in the art gallery last time we went to France!"

Joey says tugging Izzys arm and pointing at a large painting on the wall behind the dining table, the silhouette of a woman laying on a sofa with fabric draped over her, the sofa situated on a balcony as the sunset casts down onto her making her dark against the painting, the sunset the main focus as the arch of the balcony door in the golden hues of the sunset seeping in around the room. Harry fell in love with it in the gallery the last time they all took a trip there, Izzy grabbing his hand and pulling him towards where it was being showcased as Joey chatted to the artist about another piece that caught her eye. Harry loved the way Izzy was in awe over this work of art, he knew instantly he needed it somewhere personal and private for them all, he knew this villa he was had being done up would be the perfect place for the painting.

It was all perfect, and Harry loved it.

"I think she looks like Jo, that's why I loved it. See? The curves and the way she's laid out — confident and beautiful, it's our Jo!" Izzy says sweetly, causing Joey to kiss her head and nod for Harry to join them, the three of them all hugging and looking up at the painting, Izzy squished in the middle as Joey and Harry hold onto her with love.

"I think, we should have a wine and pasta night — right way to start our vacation, mmh?" Harry asks kissing the two girls heads, the pair looking at him with all the adoration in the world, his white goggle glasses pushed into his curly hair, his long sleeve white and navy shirt on his torso along with linen white trousers on his legs accompanied by scruffy vans with pink laces on his feet, he looked like art — if they could, they would chose him as the painting for the wall.

"Are you cooking it? Mister pasta chef?" Joey asks teasing him by brushing her nose off his, the pair close to one another as Izzy rests her head on Joey's arm looking at Harry and Joey tease one another with little kisses and lip bites filled with small laughs and breathy moans.

"I'll try my best, how about you two clean up? You both must be worn out and sweaty from our trip here" he says with a wink, kissing the two girls before disappearing off into the kitchen, a near skip in his step as he smiles heading to make dinner for him and his girls.

"I think he was jealous of our bathroom trip" Joey says as Izzy laughs blushing a little, Joey wrapping her arm around her shoulder and kissing her forehead many times as they walk and laugh towards their bedroom, the bathroom awaiting them — much like the bathroom in Harry's private jet did.

As the girls fill up the bathtub, giggles and lavender filled bubbles kissing their skin as they share time together, soft innocent touches and jokes passed back and forth as they washed one another and kissed showing affection amongst many small cuddle sessions that always ended up with Izzy plastering lavender bubbles on Joey's face when she closed her eyes to relax, Joey retaliating with splashing water at Izzy as she fights back, their laughs echoing around the villa as Harry smiles to himself, his music playing not being loud enough to block out their laughs.

The kitchen is dimly lit, candles filled the space as his record player spins an old Fleetwood Mac vinyl of his, the sunset casting a slight hue through the back doors of the villa, the curtains framing the glass doors blowing slightly in the summer breeze of Italy. Harry is humming while stirring the pasta, his body filled with warmth and excitement as he prepares the meal, sauce in a pan while he cooks the pasta, flour on his apron from when he tried to make pasta from scratch from a recipe book he bought the last time he was here alone, this is the first time he's brought his girls here — it's safe to say, he'll never come here alone again, it's meant to be filled with laughs and the smell of pasta cooking while Fleetwood Mac dances around the aroma scented villa, Harry knows he can never come here alone again.

He would never want to come here alone again.

"Is that meatballs I smell?" Izzy says skipping out into the kitchen, her hair damp and Harry's black vintage Pink Floyd on her body, a pair of his boxers on her legs as shorts as she nearly dances into Harrys arms as he holds them out, turning them both so they're facing the stove, his hand stirring the sauce and meatballs with a wooden spoon as Izzy cuddles into him.

"Here, take a taste — we all know you're the meatball connoisseur" Harry laughs, holding up half a meatball covered in tomato sauce filled with herbs and spices he found. She leans forward and wraps her lips around the end of the spoon, her tongue lapping up all the sauce along with the meat as she pulls away looking at him with furrowed brows as she tastes it, swishing it about and gathering up all the flavours he's added in.

"Good?" He asks nervously, her silence deafening as she smiles, leaning over to lick the remainders off the spoon while holding eye contact with him.

"Your sauce always tastes nice, H" she says kissing his neck, holding eye contact with him as she spins around and heads back towards the bedroom, his mouth slightly open as he watches her leave, her small frame disappearing as he gulps while turning his attention back to the food.

"How's our boy getting on?" Joey asks brushing through her hair, Izzy watching her in awe sitting behind her on the bed, Joey's eyes on her in the mirror as she sits at the vanity smiling at her.

"Dancing to Stevie and making dinner, he's okay" she giggles as Joey smiles, leaving down her hairbrush and joining Izzy on their bed, another one of Harry's t shirts on her body also, a white Rolling Stones t shirt, small holes in the neck and hem of the shirt from how long Harry has owned it and wore it. Harry is obsessed with seeing them in his clothes, always telling them to wear his shirts around the house when they're all alone — he loves seeing them wrapped in his things, claiming them as his and only his.

"We should feel bad for letting him cook alone" Joey says leaning over Izzy, straddling her waist as her chin knocks against their forehead gently to signal for her to lay down, her brown damp hair fanning around her head as Joey rests above her, smiling down softly at her as they bask in one another's presence in the warm golden hue of the lamps on the bed side tables.

"He insisted, he loves to cook" Izzy says sighing when Joey connects their lips, Izzys hands coming up to cup her face as Joey holds onto her thigh with one hand and cradling her head with the other, her nails scratching at her scalp as Izzys thighs lock around Joey's waist and holding her against her more as they kiss slowly and passionately, the pair smiling and worshiping one another as they listen to Harry softy sing in the kitchen cooking them all dinner.

They're all in bliss, their safe haven being their only escape from the world and the only time they can all be alone and show one another how much they care for each other. Sure they have their alone times in hotel rooms and back stage, but it's nothing like being locked away in a villa in a country that isn't demanding Harry to be on talk shows and random small interviews here and there, it's a place where they can just relax and not care about the beady eyes of the public and Jeff banging down the doors demanding Harry being at a certain place. This is the second vacation all three have spend together, the first being in Spain and now they're here, they've all preferred secluded small villas to grand luxurious hotel suites looking over the whole City of Venice.

The small villa with two gardens filled with flowers, trees and a small patch where Harry said he would one day grow his own vegetables if he gets to stay here that long, he wants to grow his own food to be able to make authentic dishes for his pasta loving girlfriends — this villa is enough for him, and he would never want to have a luxurious life filled with money and expensive clothes and furniture that probably would break if you touched it, Harry doesn't want that — he wants a vintage decorated villa, filled with flowers out front while Stevie sings around the building on vinyl as his girls laugh, almost in tune with every song as he cooks and treats them like he wants to, treat them like his lovers — and one day, like his wives.

"Came to get you two for dinner, but looks like you're getting to dessert without me" Harry says from the doorframe, his body leaned on it as he stands with his flour covered apron, a smile on his lips as the girls pause and look at him, Joey nearly between Izzys thighs as they laugh and blush looking at him.

"Come on, dinners served Madams!" Harry jokes leading them both to where he's set up, the back garden is filled with fairy lights, the bushes and trees decorated in the small lights as the table sits in a small patch of grass amongst all the high bushes and trees, shielding them from any prying eyes that could be near by.

"I think we're underdressed for this" Joey says looking at hers and Izzys current states, the pair only wearing Harrys t shirts and his boxers as shorts, Harry beside them with a stained apron and his clothes from this morning when they flew over.

"Who says? Tonight, I actually decided the theme is half naked and drunk on Italian wine" he shrugs leading them to their chairs, the girls smiling and laughing as the places one kiss to their lips each, their smiles never fading as Harry excuses himself, leaving his girls under the fairy lights as they look around in awe at the garden.

He soon strides out, only in his long sleeve shirt and boxers, dishes in his hands filled with their meal as the pair laugh and cheer in excitement and also whistling for their boyfriend who's half naked dishing them their dinner, his confidence sky rocketing as his girls take him in, complementing him and his food as he passes out a plate to them, leaving one at his place at the table as he wanders back inside, Izzy shouting about how his bum looks while Joey laughs about how "biteable his British bum looks" Harry will never get tired of her saying that to him.

Their dinner is filled with laughs, complements thrown at Harry for his cooking and wine filled jokes and stories about their times together, Izzy acting out how Harry first reacted to Joey using a strap on, on him and Joey acting out how Harry drunkenly tried to sing for the two, half naked and using a shampoo bottle as a mic as the pair sat half asleep in the bed, their boyfriend after waking them up by belting a mashup of any song he could think of at three in the morning in their hotel room — it's safe to say it's one of their favourite memories together even if Harry only half remembers it.

Their tipsy jokes and random touches has lead them to their bedroom, Harry tied up to the headboard as Joey straddles Izzy at the end of the bed, the pair putting on a show as Harry whines and rattles his hands against the handcuffs to try and break free to touch them, his underwear suffocating his erection as he watches the girls fully naked touching and kissing one another, clearly getting off on how Harry is reacting to watching them, his body covered in sweat as he whines and curses into the air.

"You can whine all you want baby boy, but you're ours tonight, you do as you're told, got it?" Joey says as she pants slightly, Izzy suckling on her nipples and kissing her breasts as Joey speaks to Harry, her eyes on him as he bites his lip and nods obsessively at her.

"Yes, yes I'll do as I'm told" he says as Joey smiles, grasping Izzys hair in her fingers and pressing her face closer to her breasts as she keeps her eyes on Harry, knowing it drives him wild when she does this.

"Yes who?" She says as Izzy reacts to this also, her small whines coming out in tune with Harrys as they both curse and look at Joey with glassy eyes and their full attention on her.

"Yes, mommy" Harry says slowly, his head foggy and only focused on Joey and Izzy, his body feels like jelly as he smiles lazily and bites his lip watching his girls please one another in front of him.

"Good boy" she hums out, taking Izzy off her breasts lightly and laying her down on her back, her eyes on the small girl as she smiles in response, her bottom lip between her teeth as Joey lowers herself, kissing her body as she goes lower and lower towards where Izzy needs her most.

Harry is whining and tugging against the handcuffs as Joey eats Izzy out, Izzys own moans coming out and mixing in the air with Harrys as Joey feeds off their reactions, Izzy falling apart on her tongue as Harry falls apart only by looking at them, he's pretty sure he could cum just by looking at them — it's happened before, both girls ended up loving it and he ended up loving being humiliated by the pair as he whined into their mouths with his underwear filled with his own cum in the back of a limo on their way home from an event, the windows tinted but they all love the thrill of being found out as they're all on top of one another in a limo.

"Look at him Iz, getting hard by looking at you getting your pretty cunt ate" Joey says pulling away to slip her fingers into Izzys cunt, coaxing her towards her second orgasm of the night as Izzy moans and squirms about on the bed, much like Harry is at the top of the bed, his arms clattering in the metal against the headboard as Joey holds eye contact with him as she dips back down to suck at Izzys clit.

"Please, let me touch you both, mommy please" he whines as Izzy moans out loudly, her second high washing over her as Joey licks and laps up her release with a smile kissing her thighs as she rides her through her high, the pair glistening in sweat as they pleasure one another before their boyfriend who's about to fall apart watching it all.

"Mommy, Haz wants go touch himself" Izzy speaks up, Joey worshipping her body as Izzy looks at Harry clenching his own thighs together, trying anything to get some relief as he's restrained to the headboard.

"Should we let him? Let him touch his cock and watch us have some fun?" Joey says looking at Izzy who's pleading for Harry, needing to see him touch himself as Joey smiles at her.

"Alright baby girl, you let Haz out and I'll get our special toy we love, okay?" She instructs Izzy who's crawling towards a frustrated Harry who's covered in sweat and needing someone to touch him. She lets him free with the click of a key in the lock of the cuffs, Joey grabbing hers and Izzys favourite toy from their toy bag they bring with them everywhere — it's a double sided blue dildo, Harry loves it when they use it before him, they even face time him and use it while he's away on his own, his hand tugging at his cock as he watches them through a screen falling apart on their favourite toy.

Harry is loving it, watching them now in person, holding onto one another as they use the dildo together, their clits brushing off one another's as they move along the toy, Harry being instructed to touch himself but not to cum, Joey insisting that he be edged until she can finally fuck him. The girls are whining and moaning as they brush up against one another as they move, one of Joey's legs up on Izzys shoulders as both of Izzys legs hug Joey's waist while Joey's other leg rests around Izzys back holding her up against her body a little, preventing her from falling down in pleasure.

"Look so good, gonna cum all over myself just by looking at you both" Harry moans out, his hand lazily stroking his cock as Joey laughs while biting her lip looking at him, Izzy moaning away as Joey holds onto her, rocking their lips back and forth as they please one another.

"Yeah? You gonna cum all over yourself like you did that night in the limo? Poor baby couldn't even hold it in, came just by watching his girls make out" Joey teases him as Harry whines at her words, loving how she humiliates him yet again, his hand squeezing his cock to prevent himself from cumming just by listening to the words falling from her swollen plumped up lips.

Both Izzy and Joey fall apart on the toy, Harry nearly cumming along with them but when he earns a slap to his thigh by Joey he soon collects himself and tries to hold it off in the hopes that he gets some action too, the curly haired man coated in sweat biting his tongue to hold off on saying the wrong thing that could lead to him going to sleep hard and frustrated while his girls sleep peacefully around him, content and satisfied.

"Think he deserves to have his ass played with Iz? Think he deserves to have Mommy's tongue in his hole?" Joey asks as Izzy smiles lazily at her, the pair now kissing and laying beside one another on the bed as Harry watches them with pleading eyes.

"Yes mommy, he's been a good boy for you, want to watch you eat his hole" Izzy sighs out as Joey kisses her hard before slapping her Sensitive cunt with a laugh earning her a squeal and laugh from Izzy in return as she scurries up beside Harry, Joey watching as Harry whines into Izzys mouth as they kiss desperately.

"Good girl, giving Harry your pretty lips" Joey hums sitting in front of the pair, leaning over to brush Izzys hair out of the way as her and Harry whine into one another's mouths, tongues and teeth clashing as Joey observes them with a smile over how submissive the two of them are for her.

"Been such a good boy H, think you deserve my mouth. On your knees, and put that pretty ass up in the air" Joey instructs him, Izzy breaking away from him as he jumps into position, his head against the sheets as Izzy sits in front of him, brushing the curls from his face and littering small kisses all over him as Joey slaps his ass a few times to rile him up even more.

"Such a pretty hole. Desperate for it aren't ya baby boy? Clenching around nothing" Joey hums out as she runs her thumb over his hole, hearing his whines against the sheets as Izzy smiles and cooes at him while Joey bends down, running her tongue over his hole as he clutches onto the bed sheets.

"Doing so good mommy, Haz is tearing up over your tongue. Does it feel good?" She says to Joey and then looking down at Harry who now has his head in her lap, his cheek against her thigh as she runs her thumb over his cheeks soothing him as he desperately squirms under Joey's touch as she licks into his hole behind him.

"Feels s'good, fucking hell" he moans out loudly when Joey finally slips her fingers into him, the bottle of lube being discarded onto the bed beside them as Harry holds onto Izzys thighs while burying his head in her thighs also, moaning loudly from the pleasure as Izzy holds onto him, making eye contact with Joey every now and then as she happily licks and fingers Harry's hole just how he likes it.

"That's it baby, take mommy's fingers" Joey moans out watching as Harrys hole takes her fingers like nothing, his moans loud as she curls them up and hits off his prostate which sends him into a frenzy, his cock hard and leaking between his legs as he fights off his orgasm like Joey is demanding him to do, his thighs being slapped everytime she knows he's close to letting go.

"He needs to cum so badly mommy, can he cum?" Izzy asks Joey innocently, her eyes glassy and her lips swollen from biting down on them watching Harry fall apart as he rests his head on her thighs, his eyes looking up into hers as he silently pleads with her to ask can he cum.

"He's not cumming until Mommy puts her special cock into his hungry hole" Joey says through gritted teeth as she moans out watching as Harry squirms and moans for her, pleading with her to let him cum as they all look desperately at one another.

"Gonna go and get our special toy baby, Izzy keep our boy company" Joey instructs as Izzy bends down to engage in hers and Harrys own quiet conversation, small laughs and whispers heard amongst kisses as Joey smiles fondly, gathering up her strap on and pulling it up onto her as Izzy showers Harry in delicate kisses as he basks in all the attention, loving the adoration all over him.

It's only a few more minutes before Harry is losing his mind on the bed, his hands clutching onto Izzys thighs as she rubs his back and runs her fingers through her hair, Joey behind Harry pounding into him with her strap on as she praises him to no end, Harry loving the praise and attention as he gets ruined by his two girls.

"You love this, don't you? Getting fucked in the ass, wonder what your fans would think if they knew this, Harry Styles begging to be fucked in the ass and desperate to cum" Joey says which causes Harry to moan out loudly, Joey's hand joining izzys in his hair as she pulls on his hair erupting a growl from his chest at the feeling.

"Bet they'd all go crazy knowing you love to call me Mommy also, they'd love to know how fucking desperate to cum you get and how needy you are for a cock up your ass" Izzy moans at Joey's words also, the pair getting off at her words as she gives it her all, her hips snapping up against Harrys as his cock rests on the sheets rubbing off the soft cotton with each thrust of her hips.

"They'd also love how he likes to be called daddy, right mommy?" Izzy joins in on Harrys humiliation, his lazy smile up at Izzy as she joins in, almost proud of her as Joey holds the same smile, their quiet girl being vocal in bed is something they love, they know how hard it is for her to be like this, so when a few filthy words slip from her lips they both beam at her like she just learned how to talk for the first time.

"That's right Iz, they'd go crazy if they knew what a whore our baby boy is in bed, how kinky he really is and how much he loves to be man handled by his girls" Joey says as Izzy beams happily at her, the girl proud of herself for making them both smile and for speaking out loud in bed, especially when her words earned her a moan from Harry that sent shivers up her spine over how desperate he sounded.

"M'gonna cum, harder mommy please!" He begs out as Joey pounds into him harder, Izzy immediately reaching under his hips to grab his cock as Harry catches her nipple in his mouth, her breasts in his face as she strokes his cock, his moans vibrating through Izzy as Joey moans watching them both moan at one another at the head of the bed.

Joey's hands dig harder into Harrys waist, his ass jiggling as she pounds into him from behind, his body coated in sweat as her red hand prints are clearly visible on his cheeks from earlier, his body shaking as he nears his high, toes curling against the sheets as Joey doesn't stop moving, her own body coated in sweat as she puts power behind her thrusts to get their boyfriend to cum, every thrust she sends into him causing the dildo to brush against his prostate sending him into a frenzy.

"Pump him harder Iz, he's almost there, aren't you baby boy? Gonna cum all over Izzys hand and the sheets, yeah?" Joey asks as Harry moans out with a nod, his hands desperately gripping onto Izzys thighs and his mouth sucking her nipple as Izzy moans out at the feeling, stroking his cock faster and harder, Harrys hand rutting against her hand and the sheets.

"Fucking him so good mommy, come on Haz, cum for me and mommy" Izzy spits out as she moans at the feeling of Harry sucking on her nipples, Harry finally letting go at the sound of her dirty talking, it's not expected from her but when she doesn't spit out a few curses or dirty words it sends him and Joey over the edge, their innocent girlfriend talking dirty is something they never knew could make them crumble so quickly.

"Thank you mommy, thank you, thank you" he slurs out when Joey pulls out, his head of curls resting on Izzys thighs as she pulls the curls from his sweaty forehead, her fingers separating each curl from being matted together with sweat as Joey cleans off the dildo and runs to get a wash cloth to clean him up — Harry having his own washcloth, a light blue one, Izzy having a lilac one while Joey has a dark purple one, each one of them having their own colours.

"I know bub, just bare with me, just need to clean you up" Joey cooes out while wiping his hole and cock, Harry hissing and groaning over how sensitive he is right now, his lips kissing small kisses over Izzys thighs as Joey smiles at their small interaction.

"Did so good for us H, need to come back to me now yeah?" Joey says as Izzy kisses his face to try and coax him out of his sub space, his eyes hooded and tear filled as Izzy tries to help him come back.

"Mommy, thank you" he slurs out which causes Joey to throw his washcloth into the laundry hamper and crawl up beside him and wrap her arm around his back, flipping him over so he's half laying on each of their laps as they look down at him.

"No H, it's Joey now, come back to me, come back to Joey baby" she says soothing him quietly, his eyes falling closed before his mind finally clears of the fog that filled it, his smile wide in his blissed out state as he begins to come back.

"M'back now" he mumbles out as the two girls laugh a little, kissing him as he smiles lazily wrapping his arms around their thighs as they rest against the headboard with Harry in their laps.

"Think it's time for a bath. H, you follow Izzy and she'll get the bath ready while I clean up in here, okay?" Joey says instructing them all once again, the pair disappearing into the bathroom, Harry having to be held up by Izzy which was comical to watch, her small frame trying to keep his tall one up as her head rests on his bicep trying to guide him.

Their small conversation and laughs are heard from the bathroom, the water running and the smell of Harry's favourite lavender bath salts filling their noses as Joey pulls of the messy sheets, pulling on some new ones and quickly joining her babies in the bathroom, the pair now in the bath and splashing one another with water, Izzy resting against Harrys chest between his legs as they leave a space in front of her for where Joey usually sits, Izzy usually being sandwiched between the two as they all relax together.

"Room for one more?" Joey asks which causes them all to smile, remembering how she said those exact words when she saw Izzy and Harry making out across the room in the club two years ago, from then on, they never once regretted saying ...

"Always room for one more"

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oh-ranpo · 4 years ago

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mistletoe wishes.

pairing: owen joyner x reader an: this is the first in my little Christmas collection that I have ideas for, so I hope you enjoy it! please let me know what you think! if you want to be added to any of my tag lists, please let me know! word count: 3.7k+

The Christmas party was already well under way by the time you arrived. It had taken you over an hour to decide on which Christmas sweater you wanted to wear, as you had way too many, but you were happy to see that you weren’t the only one who was decked out in the holiday spirit as almost every single one of your friends were wearing an ugly sweater of some kind.

“Look who decided to show up,” a voice greeted you, and you grinned when you turned to see Charlie heading in your direction. He had a drink in his hand and a Santa hat on his head, so you knew that he was already having a good time.

“Sorry I’m late, my wardrobe decisions got the best of me,” you replied as he pulled you in for a hug, his hand holding his cup away from your body so as to not accidentally spill anything on you.

“Well, it looks like it paid off. That sweater is amazing,” Charlie complimented when he pulled away and he saw exactly which one you had picked out. “Owen is going to die when he sees it.”

You had gone with your festive Star Wars sweater that had Darth Vader on the front wearing a Santa hat similar to the one perched on Charlie’s head. The red and green font across the front read, “I find your lack of cheer disturbing”, and it was one that you had adored ever since your other friend, Owen, had bought it for you the year before.

“Is he here?” you asked, and Charlie nodded, the smile on his face growing as you both heard Owen’s voice fill the air.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine! I’ll just be hanging around the mistletoe waiting to be kissed.”

“I think he’s still a little bummed that he’s one of the few people here without a date,” Charlie chuckled, and you giggled yourself, despite your heart falling in your chest. You knew exactly how he felt as this was the first year in a couple that you were showing up to Christmas parties by yourself as well.

Your last boyfriend, Jake, had recently broken up with you in October just before Halloween. You had been devastated, as the two of you had already put together your coordinating costumes and you had been looking forward to the holiday season together. You were sure that, when he ended things, your holidays were going to be ruined, only to be proven wrong when Owen had shown up at your apartment that Halloween in his bright yellow jacket and short shorts, ready to pull you out of your own personal misery. Surprisingly, it had worked, and now you knew that you owed him a holiday saving grace.

“I guess I’m gonna go find him,” you told Charlie a few seconds later, and he nodded as you assumed that he went to find the girl that he had been talking to for the last few weeks that he had brought along as his date for the night.

It didn’t take you long to find Owen, as you headed down the hallway in the direction that you had heard his voice. The familiar blonde was leaning against the wall, his phone in his hands as his finger swiped across the screen, seemingly lost in his own little world.

“That doesn’t look like mistletoe to me,” you teased, as you referred back to his previously shouted words, and Owen looked up at the sound of your voice.

“Yeah, well, I needed to say something to help myself feel better in the midst of this little Christmas love-fest,” he replied sarcastically, as his eyes trailed down to your sweater. A smile immediately formed on his lips as he pushed himself away from the wall and slid his phone into his pocket. “Wow, what a great sweater. Whoever picked that out must have great taste.” He was teasing now, and your heart lifted as it seemed that whatever little mood Owen had been in was starting to dissipate.

“I know, I’m quite the sweater connoisseur if I say so myself,” you teased back, and Owen rolled his eyes playfully.

“Right, cause you picked it out,” he drawled and you grinned even more.

“I did actually. Just a few minutes ago.” This earned another eye roll from your friend before he gestured back the way you had come.

“Did you want to get a drink?” he asked, and you nodded eagerly. Your first mission had been to find him, and now that you had, you were ready for a drink.

The two of you headed towards the kitchen while Owen started ranting at the lack of single people that had shown up to this particular party.

“I know it’s like, cuffing season or whatever, but come on. Does everyone have to be in a relationship?” he groaned as he leaned against the kitchen counter while you poured yourself some punch. You were thankful in that moment that he couldn’t see the look on your face, as your back was to him, because you were sure that there had been a quick flash of hurt that had formed on your features at his words. It wasn’t like you didn’t agree, but it was a painful reminder that you were also newly single, and you were one of the few that was spending the best holiday, in your opinion, alone.

“Come on, it can’t be that bad,” you replied when you turned around after regaining your composure. Owen had a red cup in his hands now that you knew was filled with the same liquid that was in yours, but he didn’t seem to pay it any attention as his eyes scanned the room. There were a few people hanging around, but they were all so engrossed in the conversations they were having with their dates that none of them seemed to notice either one of you.

“I mean, it’s fine, obviously. Like, good for them. But you can’t blame a guy for hoping for a romantic Christmas miracle.” There was a flash of something in his bright blue eyes when he looked over at you, but before you could place it, it was gone.

“Romantic, eh? Oh, Owen, I didn’t know you were into stuff like that,” you teased, and the corners of his lips turned up slightly as he finally lifted his cup so that he could take a small drink.

“A guy can dream sometimes. I blame the holiday atmosphere,” he responded coolly, and you nodded as you tried to quell the racing of your heart with a sip of your own punch. The feeling was one you had been experiencing a lot since Halloween night, primarily when you were in Owen’s presence, but you pushed it aside and ignored it, just as you had been for the last several weeks.

Eventually, the two of you moved into the living room where most of the rest of your friends seemed to be, and you took the next few minutes walking around and saying hello. You didn’t miss how Owen stayed close behind, though you were sure his reasoning for it was because you were one of the only other single people around, and he didn’t want to get stuck with a big group of couples where he had to pretend like he didn’t feel incredibly awkward being alone.

“Oh my god, look at you!” Savannah cooed when she saw you. “And look at your sweater! Wait, is that the one Owen got you last year?” When you nodded, a small gasp slipped from her lips as she grabbed your hand and quickly pulled you to the other side of the room, away from everyone else. The movement startled you, and the wild look in her eyes made you nervous.

“What are we doing?” you asked apprehensively, just as Savannah spun back around to face you.

“Is there something going on with you and Owen?” The question caught you off guard, but also made your heart clench at the same time.

“No? Why would you say that?” you asked, and Savannah gave you a pointed look. You had no idea where all of this was coming from, and it seemed like a stretch to say that it was caused simply by your choice in sweaters for the evening. It wasn’t like it was the first time you had worn it out.

“Ever since Halloween, the two of you have seemed… different. I mean, I always thought that Owen had a thing for you, but Jake was always there. But now that he’s out of the picture-“

“Wait,” you interrupted, your hand coming up to stop her. “What do you mean, you always thought Owen had a thing for me?” Your heart was racing again, and when Savannah gave you a sympathetic look, you couldn’t help but glance over your shoulder to try to find the boy in question.

Owen was standing a few feet away, talking with Charlie and Charlie’s date, but the second your eyes landed on him, his eyes lifted to meet yours. It was as if he could feel you looking, and a smile immediately blossomed across his features just before you turned away.

“See, things like that! He’s always looked at you with literal heart eyes, and I was sure as soon as Jake broke up with you, he was going to make his move. I think he’s just been hesitant because he doesn’t want to rush you.”

You couldn’t believe what Savannah was saying. You and Owen had been friends for a while now, and there was never a time where you thought he might like you. Sure, the two of you had grown quite close, but you just thought that your friendship was special. When he came to cheer you up, he was just being a good best friend. There were no other emotional motives, right? No, there couldn’t be.

“Savannah, I think you’re reading a little too much into our friendship,” you sighed, as you tried to reason with both yourself and her. “Owen doesn’t like me like that.”

“But how do you feel about him?” she pressed, and that was the topic of conversation you really didn’t want to reach. While, before Halloween, you had never seen Owen as anything other than your closest friend, recently you had started seeing him differently. It all started with the fluttering in your chest when he was around, and slowly it had progressed more and more, but you had gotten quite good at suppressing it. You thought, at first, that it was just because you were lonely after having been in a relationship for over two years. But now, as the feelings grew, you weren’t so sure that could be to blame any longer.

“We’re just friends.”

It was clearly not the response Savannah was looking for, but just before she could protest further, she glanced over her shoulder, and another smirk formed on her lips.

“Hey, what are you guys talking about over here? I hope it’s more interesting than what Charlie and his date are carrying on about.” Owen’s voice made your heart stop, and when you felt his arm brush against yours, you did your best to hide your immediate emotional reaction.

“I was actually just about to go and get another drink. I’ll catch up with you guys soon,” Savannah told him before giving you a quick wink and walking off. You and her were going to have to have a serious conversation about subtlety later on.

“What was that about?” Owen asked, as you turned your attention to him.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” you replied quietly, before lifting your cup to your lips once more. You hated that you felt a little weird standing alone with Owen now, and you did your best to shake the conversation you had just had from your mind. “Did you want to maybe go find a game to play?”

“I thought you would never ask,” Owen responded brightly, and you couldn’t help but smile as you both went in search of something to entertain yourselves.

There were several different games that were being played throughout the house, but eventually, you and Owen found a game of charades that you were able to insert yourselves into. Anytime you had played this game, it had always been with Owen because Jake thought that it was stupid. More times than not, you and Owen won, and it had become an almost unsaid rule that you would be partners anytime you played.

“This isn’t fair,” Tori groaned as you jumped from your seat on the couch in victory when you and Owen won. “It’s like you two can read each other’s minds.”

You grinned as Owen lifted you from your feet and spun you around quickly in a tight hug before setting you down, his arm remaining wrapped around your waist as he turned to face his friend.

“You just wish you had a connection like us,” he taunted, and even though you knew that he was just being cocky, you still felt another pull in your chest as you slowly moved out of his embrace. He didn’t seem to notice what you were doing, which you were grateful for, as you didn’t move too far out of his reach for it to be obvious.

“We’re just really good at being on the same wavelength with these things,” you added, and Tori gave you a look that was similar to the one that Savannah had given you earlier in the night.

“Clearly not all things,” you heard her murmur, but you didn’t ask for her to elaborate because you were sure that you could already guess what she meant.

“I’m not really ready to go watch everyone be all couple-y again just yet. Did you maybe just want to… walk around?” Owen asked when the rest of the charades group started to disperse. You nodded, though you weren’t sure where exactly you were going to walk as the house wasn’t that big, and it was too cold outside to walk around out there. However, Owen reached out to take your hand as he guided you back down the hallway, away from everyone else, and you didn’t pull away as you followed him.

“You know, I thought this party was going to be a drag as one of the few single people here, but it’s actually been quite fun,” Owen mused as you walked through the hallway. You nodded as you looked up at him, your fingers still laced with his.

“You’re welcome,” you joked, and when he looked down at you, he laughed.

“I mean, obviously I’m having a good time because you’re here. We just hadn’t talked about the party or anything, so I didn’t know… I wasn’t sure…”

“Wasn’t sure of what?” you asked, as his voice trailed off and he seemed to get lost in his thoughts. Owen’s gaze was fixed on the floor in front of him while he walked, and he didn’t look back at you when he spoke again.

“I wasn’t sure if you would find someone else you could bring so you wouldn’t feel lonely too.”

Your heart jumped in your chest, as you let your eyes scan across the various pictures on the wall as you passed.

“And who in the world would I bring on such short notice? It’s not like I’ve been hanging out with anyone since Jake broke up with me. No one but you, anyways,” you replied, and it took half a second after the words came out of your mouth for you to realize how bad it sounded. “Which I’ve loved, of course. I love spending time with you.”

Owen slowed to a stop in the doorway for the stairs that led to the basement as he dropped your hand and lifted his to rub the back of his neck nervously.

“Actually, about that…” he started, but before he could continue any further, there was a gasp from behind you, and when you both turned to see what was wrong, you were surprised to see Savannah at the end of the hall, a wide smile on her lips.

“What’s going on?” you asked nervously, but instead of responding with words, Savannah just pointed above your head. You and Owen both looked up at the same time, and your stomach rolled when you saw the familiar green plant dangling from the doorway above you.

“Mistletoe,” you whispered, and Owen inhaled sharply from next to you. You hadn’t actually thought that anyone would have put up mistletoe, as it was incredibly cliché, but it was also no surprise that since they did, it would be over a high traffic area like this particular doorway. You hadn’t known about it, and it was clear that Owen didn’t know about it, and now, you felt stuck.

“Umm,” Owen started again, and you looked up at him to see that his cheeks were flooded pink, and you were sure there was embarrassment and awkwardness written all over your face.

“We don’t have to do this,” you replied quickly. “We can just pretend like we never saw it.” When you glanced back down the hall, you saw that Savannah was gone, which was also surprising given that you were sure she would have loved to witness this particular moment, even though you weren’t sure which way it was going to go. It was probably for the best that you didn’t have any kind of audience when you had your heart broken in the middle of a Christmas party.

“I mean, it is tradition,” Owen spoke up a moment later, and you gave him a quizzical look. “I mean, this isn’t how I really saw this happening, but now that we’re here…” His words only confused you more as you tried to piece together exactly what was happening.

“How you saw what happening? Getting a kiss under the mistletoe? Of course, I’m sure it wasn’t with me,” you laughed half-heartedly, and the small smile on Owen’s face quickly disappeared as his blue eyes bore into yours.

“That’s not what I meant,” he insisted, his voice serious now as he took a half-step closer to you. “You’re the only person I could ever imagine wanting to kiss under the mistletoe.”

A shiver ran down your spine at the look he was giving you now, and you found it hard to formulate a response. You had no idea what was happening, and even though Savannah had insisted there was something that Owen felt for you, you hadn’t really allowed yourself to believe it. However, if you truly had heard his words correctly, maybe you were the wrong one.

“I, I don’t understand,” you replied lamely, and Owen’s hand reached out for yours once more, this time more hesitantly than the first. You could see the conflict in his eyes, and while you were hopelessly confused, you could make this emotion out better than the rest. He was nervous.

“You know that I would never, ever want to do anything to ruin the friendship that we have. But, I’ve pretended like I don’t have feelings for you since the first day we hung out, and I gotta be honest, kissing you here, right now, would possibly make me the happiest I’ve ever been.”

You didn’t know what to say. Savannah had been right. You thought that you were so good at reading him, and yet you had missed the mark completely on how your own best friend felt about you. Sure, he was an actor and you were sure that he was great at hiding his feelings, but you felt quite dumb that you hadn’t noticed before. Not that it would have mattered then. But it sure mattered now.

There were a few, long seconds that passed between you as his confession hung in the air before you made your next move. He was waiting for you to make the call on what happened next, and instead of spilling your heart to him with words, you leaned up onto your tiptoes, curled your free hand around the back of his neck, and pressed your lips tenderly against his.

You could feel him kiss you back immediately, and his free arm snaked around your waist, pulling you closer to him as you smiled against his lips. It felt perfect, though incredibly cliché, but you wouldn’t have had it any other way. Owen had been the one that had always been there for you. He had been the one to cheer you up after your first heartbreak, and he had been the one to stitch the pieces of your heart back together. The connection you shared was deeper than friendship, and you saw that now. You could feel it pass between you as your kisses continued, and even when he pulled away to rest his forehead against your own.

“For the record, you make me the happiest I’ve ever been as well,” you whispered, causing an even bigger smile to form on Owen’s features.

“Maybe coming to the Christmas party alone wasn’t such a bad idea after all,” he mused, and you giggled as you buried your face in his neck. “Even better, now I don’t have to leave that way.”

Butterflies raged in your stomach as he kissed you again, but then a few seconds later, the sounds of someone clearing their throat behind you caused you to jump. Both you and Owen turned to see who had just walked into your moment, and you were greeted, once again, by Savannah’s smiling face.

“Just friends, huh?” She asked simply as she slipped past you, and you hid your face in Owen’s shoulder. You could feel him look down at you and then back at your friend, but he didn’t say anything as the blonde disappeared down the stairs.

When you looked back up at Owen, he was smiling down at you, and your heart skipped in your chest as you immediately smiled back.

“What do you want to do now?” You asked, and Owen pulled you closer with the arm he had wrapped around your waist before pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead.

“We can do whatever you want. I already got my Christmas miracle. I’m good to go.”

tag list: @alexpjoyner, @crybabyddl

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lefinohohohohon · 3 years ago

Text

DCKZ (Diluc, Childe, Kaeya, Zhongli) Idol!AU Genshin Impact

DCKZ HOW THE GROUP WAS FORMED:

DCKZ is a fanmade k-pop group based on Genshin Impacts's character " Diluc, Childe. Kaeya, and Zhongli as an idol group in an Idol AU.

Character design belongs to @veechu (please check it out and give them love)

Some of the headcanons I used for references came from Erica's comment on "ventiffin"'s youtube video:

Link: (195) Pov: 4NEMO & DCKZ are having a rap battle | a playlist - YouTube

and Yajle Gaite on riko's youtube playlist: (196) attending a dckz concert – a genshin playlist - YouTube

P.S Diluc & Kaeya's part is longer since their together.

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Childe:

Ajax or as he was known currently with his fans because of his various song covers "Tartaglia" had just finished tidying up his recording room to attend his practice session at the gym for MMA, as he was placing his spare clothes on his duffle bag, he took a quick swipe at his phone buzzing with notification at his latest cover.

A sweet genuine smile carved at Childe's face as he reads a thousand messages on his post as he was savoring the joyful and thirsty comments as well as memes about him a message from an unknown sender appeared on his screen curious, Childe tap on the email sent to him when he reads who was the sender he was both thrilled at the same time skeptical.

'This couldn't possibly be true, can't it? No way?'

he thought to himself, eyes wide open, body shaking of nervousness and excitement. He took the hand that had covered his mouth in a shock away and took a deep breath gulping down a breath he had not noticed he was holding

"Okay, Ajax just chill. . . just chill man, you still don't know what the message is about don't get ahead, Oh Tsaritsa what should I do?" he told himself and slowly exhaled before continuing to read the rest of the content

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

"Greetings, Tartaglia!

On behalf of Geo Ent. we would like to express our desire to have you as one of our new talents. Currently, Geo Ent. has been looking for new trainees for a new idol group, your recent crack cover had made the Geo ent. scout you, the company believes that with your talents and charisma you will be a great asset to Geo ent as one of its rising stars.

If you have any clarifications regarding our offer, you may call us at XXXX- XXX-XXXX or email us with this email address at any given time and if you prefer to personally talk you may visit us at "Golden Pavilion, Liyue" we will cover your travel expense and accommodation for the duration of your stay regarding our offer.

Thank you and we hope your decision will be in our favor. We are looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely,

Katherine

Geo Ent.

Talent Scout Manager

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

A scream from his room interrupted Ajax's family, everyone looked atop the stairs as heavy footsteps hastily descend upon the living room where everyone was eating snacks, Ajax who was still ecstatic at the email he had received hugged his siblings tightly and kissed his mother on the cheek before taking Teucer his younger brother and tossing him gleefully in the air the younger boy happily cried "higher brother, higher!" Teucer said

"Hahaha, of course, anything for my little brother" he laughed while catching Teucer.

"Hahaha, You're beaming, there must be something good, да?" Ajax's father commented as he chuckled at his son's antics when he gets excited

"My, my you seemed to be happy Ajax, did something happen?" Ajax's mother commented as she continued to watch the brothers lovingly, upon hearing his mother he threw Teucer one more time in the air before catching him and placing him down safely on the floor with their other siblings, Ajax smiled toothly at his mother before nestling down between his mother and father who sat on the sofa clasping each of their hands on his as he breathed steadying his excited heart.

"I received an email from a company" he started trying to assess his parents

"Oh? From who? Is it a sponsorship from that brand you want?" His mother inquired knowing too well that his son was already famous to have some sponsorship from different companies.

Ajax chuckled, he knew his family will be shocked at the news he was about to tell them "Hmm, better" he teased eyeing his father this time to see his reaction

"Better, huh?" His dad started then a twinkle of surprise resurfaced on his father's eyes as he made a deduction "Don't tell me? Are you serious Ajax?" His father continued as he assumed what could be better than having sponsorship from a company

"They're hiring you? What company? No! wait! don't tell me it wouldn't be any regular company who will message you especially with what you often do. . . so it has to be-"

Before his father could even continue Ajax, answered for him "Geo Ent. invited me to be one of their new talents for an idol g-"

Before he could even say everything else, Ajax was clamored down by his siblings who were listening and his father on the sofa congratulating him.

"Congratulations son! I know you had it in you, especially since you have my face, hahaha!"

"Congratulations! Big brother!"

"Big brother will be famous soon! Will you be cosplaying as Mr. Cyclops too?"

"Big brother is talented so of course they want you to be their talent!"

"Now, now I haven't given them their answer which reminds me I have to call them now to- uh, mom?" Ajax called after noticing that his mother standing on the other side of their house pulling what seemed to be a bunch of large travel luggage.

"Ajax, dear, do you think these pieces of luggage will be enough for your things while you stay in Liyue, or do we need to buy more?" Her mother probed and all he could Ajax do was laughed at his excited family.

"Let me call them first"

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

Diluc & Kaeya:

A selca here, a selca there, and of course a selca of his favorite brother should also be included in his latest insta, though Kaeya wished that Diluc would smile more at his pictures of him, he always looked aloof

"Can you please try to smile at least once, when I take your picture?" Kaeya whined mumbling that his brother's good looks are wasted with his unchanging face

"I would if you stopped placing unnecessary caption on my pictures and for the last time Kaeya, stop drinking! It's the middle of the day" Diluc retorted eyeing his brother's various drinks placed neatly all at once on the VIP lounge they are currently staying at in "Cat's tail".

'He's not going to drink all of this, is he?'

Diluc thought to himself innocently before his brows started scrunching a moment later at the possibility of it happening, after all this is Kaeya he was talking about, his self-proclaimed wine/alcohol-connoisseur brother Kaeya.

He sighed exasperatedly plopping his head on the velvet backrest of the chair he is currently sitting on his back facing his brother

"Why am I with you again?" He asked out loud asking himself more than his brother who he accompanied, he often wonders to himself what made him go along with Kaeya's wine tasting adventure despite disliking alcohol himself.

"Because you're my big brother and you love me and despite your nagging, you wanted to make sure I enjoy what I'm doing safely- does that answer your question"

"Yeah, that's right because I care too much about you that's what big brothers do" Diluc mumbled back while patting a cat on his lap that has somehow managed to make it thru their private lounge. Kaeya grinned all too knowingly at his brother recording their conversation live secretly to his followers on insta with the camera facing his brother's back, he's sure Diluc will kill him if he saw what he was doing but for now, while he's still alive, he'll savor his brother's words. He might be too mischievous but he sincerely appreciates Diluc's love for him despite their constant petty fights.

"Kaeya, just promise me you won't- huh?" Just as Diluc was turning to face Kaeya he noticed his brother's phone and his shit-eating grin plastered on his tanned brother leaning one arm on the velvety lounge chair suddenly he felt the want to strangle someone to death.

"Aww~ <3, mind repeating that? My followers are crying over your message"

The cat who was sitting on Diluc's lap leaped out of the other male sensing the impending danger that is about to happen in the lounge.

"KAEYA. . . . .. . !"

"Well, that's it for now my followers! Pray that'll be alive after this! Bye!-"

"KAEYA!"

was the last word Kaeya's followers heard before the live ended.

"Please come again!" The hostess Margaret said as the two good-looking brothers left the establishment with one looking aloof once again arms crossed over his chest while the other looked scruffy following behind the older red-head male sighing

"Must you waste good alcohol? I was looking forward to tasting those!" Kaeya felt dejected after not having even a sip of any of the cocktails he ordered, he glared dagger at Diluc

"It's for your own good, I told you, too much alcohol isn't good for you" Diluc sighed not even looking at his brother as they walked to the street, he was specifically trying to find Good Hunters to order chicken skewers for Kaeya since he knew his brother is upset.

"I haven't even got a single sip! And I paid for those"

"Of course you should, you ordered them after all," Diluc said eyeing the shop across from them, he waited for Kaeya to be on his side before patting his brother's back to led him to cross the street, Kaeya huffed while walking and looking at his brother dead in the eye he can't believe he paid for nothing

"But I didn't break the glasses why did you use my card to pay for those as well?"

"To maximize your card limit so you can't pay for anymore cocktail"

"What. . .?!" Kaeya couldn't believe what he was hearing, he won't be able to drink any at all, tears started forming on his visible eye quickly and sniffing could also be heard a second later, Diluc turned to look at this brother with crocodile tears he sighed again for the nth time today

He can be so melodramatic sometimes and I'm an idiot for always indulging him

He thought brows knotted together as he waits for Kaeya to deliver his 'guilt-ridden' lines he often uses at him to get his way, his brother is too good at mind games

"H-how could you. . . I thought you love me as your younger brother maybe you really-"

"-STOP"

". . ."

"sighs* first let's get you some chicken skewers, I know you're really upset even if you don't really show it and when we get home I'll make you some death afternoon"

"Really? Aww! Thanks Luc! You're really are the best big bro! hehehe" And as quickly as Kaeya summoned his tears as quickly as it also disappeared across his face replaced with his infamous shit-eating grin knowing he got his way again, he patted Diluc's back as he quickly makes his way towards Good Hunter to order chicken skewers, he'll order a few to eat at Good hunters and order some more to bring back at the mansion he'll have to convince Diluc as well to give him sparkling wine to make his fruity chicken skewers he's sure his brother wouldn't mind.

Just as Kaeya was placing his order, Diluc sat at one of the open tables on the veranda and waited for his brother when he noticed a bobbed-cut black-haired woman staring in their direction, Diluc paid her no mind thinking that the woman was probably one of Kaeya's follower on insta waiting for Kaeya to return to have a photo ops with his brother

"Hey, Luc! You don't mind if I ordered some chicken skewer to go, right?"

speak of the devil, Kaeya nonchalantly walked back to him all smiles this time as he took his seat parallel to his brother "Sure, whatever makes you happy. . . by the way" Diluc leaned forward arms still crossed as he placed them atop the table "Kaeya I think that woman is one of your-"

"-She isn't" Kaeya responded strongly as he places one of his arms above the table cradling his chin on his palm looking at the counter to see if his chicken skewers are ready

"Oh, and how do you know? You haven't even looked at her?" he rose one incredulous brow at his younger brother. It always amazes Diluc how Kaeya can be quite perceptive of things when it's convenient for him.

"Because that woman has been following us since we left the Dad's office this morning"

What?!

A look of disbelief flashed on Diluc's handsome face at the realization and knotted his brows later at his brother's words

"If she's been following us since the beginning" Diluc emphasized, "why did you tell me only now?" He sighed closing his eyes trying to alleviate the incoming migraine he's about to have, he tapped the table with his finger waiting for Kaeya's explanation, his brother is preceptive he wouldn't be so careless especially since the two of them are well-known sons of the world-famous wine-tycoon Crepus Ragnvindr it is bond that there will be people who are after them either to do them harm or to gain something from their family.

"Relax, she doesn't look dangerous or to be more precise she isn't with someone dangerous though we'll have to verify that once she talks to us"

And just as Kaeya spoke, the woman who had been tailing them stood from her seat and politely approached them

"Good day gentlemen, may I take some of your time?" she stated with a polite smile looking at the two brothers

Diluc only nodded in acknowledgment while Kaeya gave her his fan-service smile

"Of course, please have a seat you must have been tired waiting for the right time to approach and talk to us, aren't you? You should have just come forward instead of stalking us, you do know that's a crime right? I can report you easily to the police but of course, that'll depend on your reasons" With a friendly facade, Kaeya warned the young woman openly of what he can do if he finds anything about her intention dangerous, the young woman was surprised and at the same time embarrassed for looking like a suspicious person, well she could understand their apprehensive behavior towards her, she was after all following them since the beginning.

She cleared her throat and offered her hand to formally introduce herself "I apologize if my action seemed suspicious to you Mr. Diluc and Mr. Kaeya it's only for my line of work. I'm Katherine by the way"

The brother's looked at Katherine's extended hand before looking at one another assessing Katherine's words, Kaeya took her hand first smiling while Diluc just watched, his brother is better than him when it comes to conversation especially to strangers

"Yes, it's indeed suspicious for an unknown young woman to follow and even know something about us, so tell me what kind of job stalks people? I haven't read anything of that sort from the classified ads or is it that the government legalized stalking, hmm?"

Okay, Diluc takes it back, his brother is definitely not good at normal conversation Kaeya's better at interrogating he has forgotten his brother used to be in the military. He should take over before Kaeya makes the young woman even flustered as she was already.

"What my brother is trying to say is to please explain to us why were you following us, I apologize if we're a bit apprehensive with you but I guess you already know why we're like that so if you wouldn't mind, we'd like to hear your reason"

Seeing the window of opportunity to be heard, Katherine immediately blubbered the purpose of her stalking the handsome brothers forgetting the tell them about the company and whatnot.

"IwasscoutingyoutobepartofournewIdolgroup!"

". . . " ". . .huh?"

was the only response of the brothers

"I-I mean, the two of you are already well-known and has a great number of fanbase on insta, the company was looking for new talents such as you two when we saw your insta stories of Mr. Diluc performing a jazz song on a piano and Mr. Kaeya's guitar cover the higher-ups decided to make an offer to the both of you that's why I was following you"

". . . I . . . see"

". . hmm"

Again, the brothers only looked at her with doubt, Katherine could already see on their heads she was being labeled as a 'scammer'

Embarrassed and unable to bear the brothers piercing doubtful gazes, Katherine hastily stood from her seat

"A-anyway, now that I have said what I needed to say, please excuse me and thank you for sparing me your time, i-if you have any doubts about my offer you can visit us at "Golden Pavillion, Liyue" though she was embarrassed, Katherine made an effort to politely offer her business card before fleeing the scene leaving the brothers confused and curious at the same time, the brothers looked at the business card left to them and looked at one another

"It's a scam," the two of them said in unison they deduced, however, the two of them were still curious, Kaeya was about to reach out to take the business card when his name was called up from the counter of Good Hunters for his chicken skewers, Diluc still looking at the business card left by Katherine gave Kaeya his card to pay for his order and take-away when Diluc was left on the table alone, he took the unique looking card and swiped his thumb on the high-quality bronze gold-like colored business card written on its front was Katherine's name and her position as a Talent Scout Manager and other contact details but nothing about the company.

"an Idol, huh" he breathed still eyeing the card, a longing gaze swept across his handsome face as recalls a childhood dream he once had to be a musical performer just like his deceased mother, he recalls his earliest memories of his mother playing the piano while he sang, his father Crepus listening to the mother-son duet with the proudest and happiest look a father could ever have and even when his mother died, Diluc continued to play for his grieving father, music made it less painful for the both of them and made it easier for them to remember the happiest time with his mother.

The first time Diluc thought of being a musician was when he met Kaeya, compared before his brother was frail and timid not like the confident flirt and perceptive- bastard he is now. When Kaeya was first brought to their mansion at the winery his brother had trouble sleeping, being plagued with nightmares night after night, worried, and unable to bear Kaeya's suffering he took his younger brother to the music room one night and sat him comfortably with one of the chairs as he plays one of his mother's pieces hoping it will help his little brother when he finally finished playing he was surprised to find his brother sleeping soundly on the chair and since then, every night Diluc would take Kaeya to the music room and make a pillow fort together so they could sleep comfortably after Diluc finishes playing the piano and just like every night Kaeya would be asleep on his part of the bed Diluc would tuck his brother up, however, that night was different someone else has already tucked Kaeya on their self-made pillow fort

"Dad, you're home," Diluc said as he stood up from the chair and made a beeline towards his father, hugging the older male as Crepus knelt to received his son's affection.

"I wanted to come home early since I heard Kaeya was having trouble sleeping but I guess you already took care of it, huh?" Crepus chuckled as he ruffled his son's fluffy red hair"

"Of course! I'm his big brother, I need to protect him, heheh" Diluc beamed at his dad proudly with a toothy smile "Dad, I want to be a musician just like mom so I can play the pieces she composed and also help Kaeya sleep better! Kaeya needs to sleep a lot if he wants to be big as me so I'll play the piano for him every time he has a hard time sleeping"

Crepus chuckled at his son's determination and admired his reason, Diluc was always warm-hearted just like his deceased wife "Thank you Diluc, you're really a great big brother to Kaeya"

For years Crepus and Kaeya had been supportive of his dream of becoming a musician until that one fateful day of his 18th birthday, His father, Kaeya, and their acquaintances prepared a birthday party for him at one of their many branches worldwide in Angels Share located in Mondstadt he was excited not only because he's at a legal age now but because he also received a letter of acceptance to one of the prestigious music school, he knew Kaeya and his Dad will be thrilled at the news, however, everything from that day had been a nightmare for him It was the day he learned the truth about his father's health condition and Kaeya's reason why he was adamant about going to Khaenri'ah.

That day on his 18th birthday everything changed, the father he once thought was healthy was sick and the brother he thought who wouldn't hide anything from him was keeping a secret.

"Kaeya, why didn't you tell me dad was sick! I thought there was no secret between us?! And why am I only hearing about your trip to Khaenri'ah now? What are you planning on doing in that place?! You're barely legal!"

"sigh* Just focus on becoming a musician Luc, you don't need to concern yourself with me going to Khaenri'ah as for dad's health he made me promise not to tell you because he knew you will act like this"

"To hell with how I act! I deserve to know what's happening to my family. Tell me the truth Kaeya!"

In that instant, on his 18th birthday, Diluc's dream of becoming a musician was left focusing solely on the family business, he also made sure that Kaeya will finish his military training and become an accomplished Brigadier General at such a young age just like his brother's dream. Kaeya's dream shouldn't be compromised because of his family's business, Diluc always thought Kaeya should deserve better but after 4 yrs of only serving his bastard of a brother retired from his position the moment he was back from establishing a branch in Khaenri'ah stating he missed him and the taste of wine and prefers to work as a wine-connoisseur instead. With years apart he didn't even know Kaeya started playing the guitar to fill the silent hollow covering their mansion when he stopped playing any instrument, though they weren't as close as they used to 4 yrs ago, they're trying their best to live as brothers.

He was still reminiscing about the past when he heard Kaeya's voice near him

"Want to check it out?" his brother probed as he took his seat a platter of chicken skewers placed in front of him and another bag to take home, Diluc didn't answer and simply placed the unique looking card back at the table saying nothing

"I'm curious as well Luc, let's go" Kaeya insisted after taking a graceful bite of his skewer

"You already said it yourself, it's a scam why bother?"

"Yeah, but I mean there is nothing we could lose by checking it out and if it's really a scam then I could just report it to the guys back at the military, I'm still a military officer you know"

"A retired military officer" Diluc corrected, Kaeya paid his comment no mind and insisted "Come on Luc, let's try it out, you've put a hold of your dream as a musician for a long time now, I've become a military officer just like my dream, Dad's health is alright and you already succeeded in opening a branch in Khaenri'ah so, what's holding you up?"

Diluc sighed, Kaeya is right everything's fine now, except for him, he guessed it's about time for him to fulfill his dream, Diluc sighed once again but this time it wasn't due to annoyance from his brother but rather he sighed of relief of finally letting himself accomplished his dream

"Fine, let's check it out" he finally answered

"Great!" Kaeya cheered "You heard him loud and clear right, dad? We'll visit Liyue soon"

What? Dad?! Since when did Kaeya had been talking to dad?

"you snake. . . " Diluc mumbled under his breath looking at his giggling brother who managed to manipulate him again, he heard their father's hearty laugh from the other end "Thank you Kaeya, make sure Diluc's wish comes true, alright?"

"Of course, dad, anything for my big bro that's a promise" Kaeya looked at his brother adoringly as he told their father however before Kaeya could end the call, Diluc took his phone and left a clear declaration of his new dream and goal.

"Don't worry Dad, I'll make sure to fulfill my dream- becoming a musician along with my little brother"

"what. . . ? Why am I involve in this?" Kaeya whispered over the phone

"Because I've had a different dream this time, performing with you, didn't you say you'd do anything for your big bro?" Diluc stated as a matter of factly "Or are you just saying that, maybe you never meant it and hated your big bro-"

"-Alright! Fine I'll audition with you" Kaeya couldn't believe Diluc copied his guilt-ridden strategy, he should be more careful now around his brother until now he only thought it would only work on Diluc and not back-fired at him

Over the phone, Crepus was laughing loudly at his sons' exchanged, he was happy, joyous even knowing that his two pride and joy are still getting along despite the rift that had happened between them.

"Alright, do your best boys but just in case bring someone else with you, it'll put my heart at ease knowing you two are safe, will that be alright?"

"of course dad," the brothers said in unison, laughing at one another.

The following day at the Golden Pavillion, Katherine who was busy checking any response from the talent she had scouted was abruptly called by the receptionist because of a commotion at their company's lobby. Upon reaching the said lobby Katherine was surprised to see a lot of black-suited men guarding every corner of their building looking for anything suspicious when one of the black-suited men noticed her, the man straightforwardly asked her without reserved "Excuse me ma'am are you, Katherine?"

"uhh. . . y-yes! Why did I do something?" Katherine asked nervously racking her brain for any memory that would warrant her for an arrest of some sort but as soon as she saw a pair of good-looking men walking her way, she recalled one of the brother's threat

"- You should have just come forward instead of stalking us, you do know that's a crime right? I can report you easily to the police but of course, that'll depend on your reasons"

No way! Is she going to be arrested for stalking Crepus Ragnvindr's sons?!

Oh, God, I was only scouting them, I didn't mean to do anything illegal!

Katherine silently prayed as the group of men parted to make way for the two young men, contrary to what Katherine imagined of disdain from the brothers because of her scouting, The two looked friendlier than before, the younger brother Kaeya if she remembers even smiled and waved at her calling her but she shouldn't let her guard down, compared to the older brother Diluc who looks intimidating is less of a threat compared to Kaeya.

"Oh, Ms. Katherine we were looking for you!"

"y-yes? H-how can I help you" she answered in surprise, readying herself for any possible threat the younger male may speak

"We're here to discuss your offer from last time, does it still stands?" Diluc the older brother inquired and for a moment, Katherine felt she was dreaming or is this another ploy to threaten her because they misunderstood her scouting them, she was silent for a minute or two before Kaeya probed her

"Hmm, Ms. Katherine?"

"Ah! Y-yes? I'm sorry I was spacing out" she started still frightened at her surroundings "I'm just overwhelmed with. . ." she looked around her and to the black-suited clad men in the lobby ". . . with this. I was expecting it'll only be you two to visit our building" she explained while the brothers only looked at her understanding what the young woman meant, it could really be intimidating to be surrounded by a lot of bodyguards, however, Kaeya snickered despite trying to apologize profusely at the scene they made

"pfft. . hehehe I-I . . . hehehe . . .we're so sorry if that's what you felt Ms.Katherine but you also have to understand our side, you left immediately after saying your piece without any explanation and your business card doesn't even give any hint about your company" Kaeya explained

"WHAT?!" Katherine spoke, now that she recalls she indeed forgot to tell them because of Kaeya's threat

"We sincerely thought it was a scam and just decided to check the place you mentioned, we just took some extra precautions just in case, I hope you understand, hehehe"

"I-I. . . yes alright, I understand, t-then are the both of you auditioning or just one of you?"

The brothers looked at one another, a knowing smile grazing their handsome faces as they answer Katherine in unison.

"Both of us, if you don't mind"

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

Zhongli:

He was taking his usual stroll in the city trying to relieve another stressful day at work, he had no destination on mind letting his feet take him when he noticed a bunch of freshly picked Qingxin flowers being displayed in the flower shop, Zhongli seeing the flower made him stood in place, a look of longing for someone was reflected on his amber-golden eyes and for a moment he felt the wind blew gently at him swaying his long tied hair

'Oh yeah? Let's see who sings better? You may have that deep alluring voice but I can sing better than you! heh"

'I hope I can see the two of you perform soon! I wouldn't miss it for the world'

"Is it that time already?" he asked himself looking at the clear blue sky above him smiling although with a hint of melancholy, without another word Zhongli purchased a bunch of Qingxin flowers thanking Hu Tao for reminding him of his wallet and as if the wind were guiding him, Zhongli walked where ever the wind blew and before he knew where he was heading he found himself listening to a sound of a harp playing in the distant the soft melodies flowing in the air made him stop on his tracks and a vision of young woman sat with the harp playing covered his eyes

". . . Guizhong?" he mumbled one hand reaching out to the phantom image of his long-gone lover and a second later he felt himself walking towards her mirage only for him to realize his mind was playing tricks at him again. He stood in silence a prick of pain throb his chest slowly growing to his whole body, he covered his handsome stern face with his free hand and heaved a deep sigh not to recollect himself but rather to shake off the incoming tears in his eyes.

'I really love listening to your voice Zhongli, when you become famous don't forget to sing for me, okay?'

'I'll always be by your side to support you so don't worry about me '

'you worry too much Zhongli, hehehe I may be small compared to you but I can take care of myself, just focus on your dream you made a bet with Barbatos after all'

Try as hard as he can, the emotions insides him betrayed him and a tear slowly cascaded his face at the memory of Guizhong and his time with her, he felt bittersweet at the memory. He was able to achieve what he wants but the person he wants to show his achievement was no longer with him.

How ironic but we can't all have the good things in life can't we?

He thought as he carefully wiped the remnants of his tears across his face and composed himself again before walking once again to give the flowers to its owner.

As Zhongli walked the pavement towards the cemetery where Guizhong's tombstone lies he noticed a smaller male sitting in front of her laughing to himself as he lifts a goblet of what seems to be a wine to the air

"I hope you're happy there dear, our beloved stern-face brutish blundering buffoon finally decided to uphold our bet, heh - though I might say it took longer but don't worry the wait is worth it so please keep watching over him, alright? He's. . . . well, busied himself with others after you were gone can't blame him, you were precious to him" the smaller male said as if he was talking to a person, he leaned back admiring the clear blue sky a soft breeze of the wind passed as if it was agreeing to what he had said earlier about Zhongli not realizing that the male in question was just standing a couple of feet away from them his looming shadow cast over the shorter male as he approaches and a look of disdain clearly pasted on his face.

"Oh, so I'm stern-face blundering baffoon, huh? Oh, how convenient that there's stone here, you wouldn't mind me hitting you with it won't you Barbatos?" Zhongli sarcastically said tossing the pebble in his hand in the air up-down, up-down like a warning as he eyed the man

"hahaha, did I say that? I wasn't actually talking about you rather -"

"huh, save it, Barbatos" The taller man sighed "though I'm surprised to find you here I heard you are busy with your pre-debut" Zhongli threw the pebble to the ground to the relief of Barbatos and sat next to the smaller male offering the Qingxin flower and a short prayer wiping away the dust and dirt that littered her tomb

Hello, love it's been a while since I lost visit, I hope Barbatos, Xiao, and Ganyu has been keeping you company for me

He told her silently before he looked back at the shorter male eyeing the wine on his goblet

"Osmanthus?" Zhongli probed

"The one and only I know you like this stuff and what better way to taste it on the day you finally accepted Geo ent.'s offer, heheh" Barbatos chuckled as he poured another goblet to Zhongli and another in a smaller cup to Guizhong's tomb.

The two men sat in silence neither tasting the wine and just relishing the peace between them before Barbatos cut the silence

"Guizhong's case. . . it's finally closed, right?" he asked carefully, knowing it's a sensitive topic to his friend

Zhongli only nodded as he gracefully took a sip of the precious wine in his goblet

"I'm glad Guizhong finally had justice . . . she wouldn't have it if it weren't for you I'm sure she's thankful for you up there"

"I need to see to it that I closed her case, I wouldn't have peace if I allowed the criminal who wronged her not be punished" as Zhongli said that Barbatos noticed that somehow Zhongli was able to find peace- though a bit of longing hangs from his face from to time it's better than seeing his old friend looking desperate and empty

Barbatos sighed, "yeah, you've been busy. . . even becoming a lawyer heheh~ so, I guess I have to be careful with my words now, huh? or I might have a court order" he jested knowing all his friend's activities in the past couple of years and why Zhongli only accepted the Geo ent.'s offer despite being scouted for several years

Zhongli was busy chasing and fighting the court for Guizhong's murder busy enough that his friend grew a bit distant from his relatives Xiao and Ganyu, that was the only reason why his friend became a lawyer and Barbatos doubts his friend will seriously take any more clients after this case was closed, after all, he wouldn't have accepted Geo ent.'s offer if he's serious about his law career, right?

"Don't worry yourself, this will be the first and last case I'll handle" as if reading his mind, Zhongli responded clearing any doubt from his friend "though, if you break any contracts, I wouldn't mind suing you. .. . you still recall our bet right? A rematch who's a better singer? I'll be upholding that against you, Barbatos" Zhongli chuckled after taking another sip of the wine

"Of course I remember, heh! And it's not Barbatos call me 'Venti' now that's my screen name"

"I see. . . that's better compared to being called 'Barb' or 'atos', Xiao's also debuting with you. . . correct?" Zhongli asked remembering that his younger relative becoming close to his friend while he was busy with his law career.

"Yeah, we have 2 other members joining, you know Aether from ABYSS right? and then there's Kazuha Beidou's protege from Inazuma, You better prepare yourself Zhongli with my group we'll definitely crush you on our rematch, heheh"

Barbatos or as he would like to call himself now 'Venti' jokingly threatened his old rival to which Zhongli paid no mind and just smiled at him

"I doubt that"

"Oh, aren't you confident? Lemme guess you're being grouped as well? I thought they offered you an exclusive solo contract?"

"They were, however, I asked them to change it mainly because I'm already old and youths prefer something more trendy and younger appearances and I believe we would lose to your group when it comes to charisma and looks"

Zhongli finished explaining before he felt his phone vibrated the company number of the Geo ent. flashing on his screen unexpectedly, it was too soon for them to call him regarding the other members. He stood from his seat and dusted off some of the dirt on his pants

"I'll see you around Barba- I mean 'Venti' they're calling me"

"Don't sweat it, I'll look after Guizhong for a while before I head back and the next time we see each other it should be on stage, remember that, okay?" Venti called over as Zhongli started walking away to answer his call giving him one final look.

When he was finally out of earshot, Zhongli answered the phone the familiar voice of Katherine the talent scout manager greeted him

"Hello, Mr. Zhongli, are you available today for a meeting?"

"I am, what is the meeting all about?" he asked

"It's about your other bandmates, they're here, and we would like for you to get to know one another before proceeding with the formation of your group,"

At her answer, Zhongli saw a young woman was standing beside a plum blossom tree smiling at him the words the woman mouthed made him smile before her mirage disappeared along with the breeze.

'thank you & congratulations Zhongli . . .'

"Mr. Zhongli?. . . will you be available sir?"

Katherine's voice brought him back from his trance, he took a second or two before responding a smile evident in his voice.

"yes, I would love to meet them"

#genshin impact #genshin childe #genshin zhongli #genshin kaeya #genshin diluc #genshin impact kaeya #genshin impact diluc #genshin impact zhongli #genshin impact childe #genshin impact idol au #genshin impact dckz #genshin dckz

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canary3d-obsessed · 4 years ago

Text

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 03

(Masterpost)(Previous Episode)

Warning: Spoilers for all 50 episodes!

Wei Wuxian demonstrates the purple nurple technique of the Jiang Clan

Should’ve Used Trivago

The Jiang Clan’s reservation got cancelled while they were on the road, so they are going to wander around this small inn for hours being fussed about it, rather than trying another inn. Yes they say the other inns are all full but…so is this one, now.

The Jin Clan sends an advance party to fancy up the inn for them.

Fuckboi Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian decides to use his considerable powers of prettiness to get them a room. He drops some poetry on Mianmian and brazenly flirts with her before shifting to properly introducing himself and asking for a room.

This actually works.

...until her boss shows up.

(Much much more after the cut!)

Worst Person // Best Jin

Jin ZIxuan is an ass and a snob.

I guess we have to give him credit for having a beautiful sidekick and never hitting on her, given that his dad is a rapist and one of his half-brothers is (reputedly) a sex pest and the other half brother is (definitely) an incest perp. But I feel like it doesn’t take much to be the best Jin of his or his father’s generation.

The Jin folks are snobs and talk about how great their fancy and expensive stuff is. It’s an interesting contrast with true connoisseur Nie Huaisang, who loves everything that is fine and beautiful and can quote stacks of poetry off the top of his head, but is not even a little bit of a snob.

This Tea Smells Like Farts

Ok, let’s talk about generation names in the Jin clan. Ru is the name for Jin Ling’s generation, hence his courtesy name Rulan. The name for the current generation is apparently Zi (子), because both Zixuan and his jerk cousin Zixun have that as their name. Sect Leader Jin Guangshan would seem to be using the generation name Guang, but then names his son Jin Guangyao so…the whole system breaks down.

Anyway, my point here is that even considering generation names, if I had a baby and named it Zixuan, and my sister-in-law promptly had a baby and named it Zixun, I would slap her.

Find you a lover who does not make you feel like this

Jin Zixuan is mildly intrigued by his betrothed, and expresses it by being rude to her in front of Wei Wuxian, starting a chain of events that will culminate with Wen Ning’s fist going all the way through Jin Zixuan’s chest.

Side Note: Look at these young Jiang Brothers and their casual shoulder hugs. Sigh.

Wei Wuxian’s Combat PlayBook

When Wei Wuxian wants to throw down, he starts with smack talk, moves along to boundary crossing, then to direct threats, and then brings out a weapon if he hasn’t won already.

Here he starts shit with Jin Zixuan by complaining at him for taking up too much space and having too many sycophants. Then he goes for the unwelcome shoulder touch.

Having been sufficiently provocative to get someone to draw a sword and threaten him with physical violence, he shifts to formal verbal sparring.

This gets the other guy to back down, because even at this age no-one actually wants to tangle with Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian gets to claim the moral advantage, although he still doesn’t get to keep his hotel room.

Actually Not A Fan of My Sister’s Betrothal

Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli have the first of many, many moments of heterosexual ineptitude together. Wei Wuxian quickly rescues them.

Hi, I’m Young Master Cockblock.

Neither of the boys understands what Yanli sees in Zixuan and neither do I, at this juncture. He does improve later after multiple beatings from Wei Wuxian.

This Is The Day Your Life Will Surely Change

Yanli’s encounter in the Inn is the first step toward the inexorable end of the three of them as a unit, although it’s still a long ways off. They are all growing up and she and Wei Wuxian are both going to fall in love at summer camp, like in a 1980s teen movie but without the virginity betting (presumably).

Meanwhile poor Jiang Cheng is going to be swept along just trying to keep up with events, which becomes the story of his life for the next two decades.

Welcome to Transylvania

We meet Wen Ruohan. He is boring and he sucks. Also I’m summarizing the Transylvania parts out of order because they break up the rhythm of the story. And are boring and suck.

We meet Xue Yang. He seems nice.

Wen Ruohan’s living room is like a shitty nightclub where everyone is too drunk to dance except Xue Yang.

Dee Jay: Undead undead undead, Bela Lugosi’s dead

[OP can’t get a video to embed in this post with looping enabled, so the alternate version of this joke has its own post right here. That will teach OP to get fancy.]

Anyhoo

We meet Wen Qing. She is the bestest most wonderful girl in the world but this isn’t actually when we find that out.

Right now we just find out that she is absurdly pretty, that she loves her brother deeply, and that she is helping Wen Ruohan with his “take over the world by murdering cultivators” project. OKAY, PROBLEMATIC, BUT SHE IS THE BESTEST GIRL OKAY?

Gatekeeping

The Jiang Clan don’t get another inn but they do manage to change into immaculate white robes while they’re out on the street, so - nice work, Jiang Clan. Be free!

They get stuck outside the gate because they don’t know that the secret to getting into Cloud Recesses is to set the gate guard on fire.

Walking Thirst Trap Hanguang-Jun

Lan Wangji shows up and everyone except Yanli, who is already in love with Sir Golden Pants, makes thirst faces at him. Including Jiang Cheng tho he will never admit it. One girl in the background is actually biting her knuckle.

Note: Lan Wangji knows exactly how fine he is. Look at his fucking hairstyle.

He is sixteen years old. The only person in the entire cultivation world with fancier hair is Nie Mingjue, and that’s because he indulges his dìdi’s braiding hobby.

Wei Wuxian loudly stage whispers that LWJ is their key to getting in and LWJ is is like, not fucking likely, person I didn’t glance at yet.

But then Wei Wuxian says a smart cultivator thing about the puppet dude, and Lan Wangji turns around and has the first of many long mutual staring sessions with this boy he totally isn’t going to like at all.

Jiang Cheng has a bad feeling about the future: a 2-frame gif

Unrelated gardening note: the red-crack puppet is more commonly grown in Gusu and Dafan, while the black-line puppet is native to Yiling

I Must Arrange a Date with this Uninteresting Boy

The rest of the evening is a series of tests that Lan Wangji puts Wei Wuxian through. Wei Wuxian doesn’t know this and Lan Wangji probably doesn’t exactly know it either.

First he sends WWX back to town to get the invitation. Yes, go get it. Not your entourage; YOU, talky person who thinks he can manipulate me and is smart and looks...intriguing. Go find it and come back.

When Wei Wuxian complains, Lan Wangji silences him, which is literally the most boss move he could have used on smooth talking Wei Wuxian.

You tried, Fuckboi.

Would you like to try some more because I think I would like you to try some more

Jiang Cheng is the Better Baby Brother

Sorry, he just is. Wei Wuxian is all about being taken care of and adoring Yanli without actually doing much for her. Jiang Cheng is the one who thinks about her feelings and giving her what she needs, even to the point of arranging that wedding rehearsal dinner so she can be with her favorite brother again -- the favorite who isn’t him, much as she also loves him.

Date Test 1: Can You Get In.

Once Wei Wuxian is definitely gone, Lan Wangji shows up again and collects the entire retinue, guaranteeing that Wei Wuxian will be stranded outside the gate when he gets back. LWJ doesn’t wait by the gate; he goes and waits up on the roof instead of going to bed or whatever else he’s supposed to be doing. Because he already knows the route Wei Wuxian will be taking.

Wei Wuxian passes the “get in through the wards” test with no problem besides a minor headache and bent fingers.

Is that Xiao Zhan’s hand or did they use a double-jointed hand model?

Date Test 2: Fight Me (Lan Wangji’s Combat Playbook)

As soon as Wei Wuxian shows up on the roof, Lan Wangji picks a fight with him.

LWJ fights all the time; he’s perfectly comfortable when he’s fighting and it’s a good venue for him to express himself. His style is graceful and aggressive.

Attack attack attack strike a pose, vogue, you know it.

He starts by going all in on swordplay, but that doesn’t gain him the advantage; Wei Wuxian fends him off without ever drawing his sword. Which is probably the hottest thing that has ever happened to Lan Wangji in his young life.

Do you like me better when I’m horizontal?

Next Lan Wangji deploys the pettiness by breaking WWX’s wine. Then when Wei Wuxian starts insulting him he upgrades to next level pettiness by dropping another silence spell, this time with the added bonus of preventing WWX from drinking.

Wei Wuxian’s Combat Playbook, Redux

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian is running his own fight routine, starting with a charm attack, which doesn’t work at all.

Are you admiring the moon?

He keeps trying to de-escalate for the first phase of their fight, until they reach a pause and he reflects that Lan Wangji has real skills. As soon as he makes that determination he goes on the offensive - with words.

He very formally says he’s too busy to continue fighting, and turns away, which is a pretty solid roast when you say it to someone who’s been trying really hard to kick your ass. Then he continues defending easily until Lan Wangji uses the wine against him.

At this point the gloves come off, with Lan Wangji lecturing Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian making ad hominem attacks, Lan Wangji forcibly shutting him up...

...and then throwing him on the floor in front of Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen.

Sincere Grief for the Death of our Colleague

Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen feel really bad for their disciple who has been horribly turned into an undead creature. Ha ha j/k

Date Test 3: Face the Authorities

Lan Wangji gets to pick Wei Wuxian’s punishment. This probably won’t awaken anything in him.

Surprise surprise, Wei Wuxian actually passes the Authority test with flying colors. Lan Qiren doesn’t like him, but listens respectfully to his thoughts about the undead cultivator. And Lan Xichen clearly does like him.

When Wei Wuxian learns that Lan Wangji was nice to his sister, his entire demeanor changes, to such an enormous degree that Lan Wangji starts to run away.

He’s not going to let this boy (who has passed all the tests oh no he passed all the tests) make out with him in front of his family like he is obviously planning.

But once again, Wei Wuxian’s cultivation knowledge captures Lan Wangji’s attention and breaks through his reserve.

This Hardy Boys moment is the beginning of their cultivation partnership.

Lan Wangji is brave but is extremely constrained: by the authorities in his life and by his own rigid reserve. Wei Wuxian is brave and is also free. His companionship gives Lan Wangji an opportunity to engage with a much broader range of the things that interest him than he’s ever had before.

After Wei Wuxian has been sent to bed, Lan Wangji stands outside and -- just as WWX had suggested at the beginning of their date/fight -- admires the moon, with an expression that’s anything but upset.

Sure, sex is cool (probably), but have you ever analyzed a walking corpse with a beautiful boy in the moonlight?

If you’ve got your true honey Life can be pretty funny If you've got money, money to burn Rooty toot toot for the moon It's the biggest star I've ever seen

The Fine-as-Hell Brothers

Alone together, Lans Xichen and Wangji talk over the various things on their minds.

Xichen: What the fuck is up with you? ...Rooftop fights and dropping spells on boys?

Wangji: You and uncle were ignoring me so I was making my own fun

Xichen: Yeah, we are dealing with this zombie situation; shit’s going to hit the fan

Wangji: what are you going to do about it?

Xichen: fuck-all

Wangji: Well, you can rely on me

Xichen: I totally do. So how about you get to know this Wei kid, he seems like a fun ride.

Wangji: *death glare*

Xichen: You know, since Dad died you’ve become even more uptight. I wonder if I’ve been too strict with you?

Wangji: Um, you think? 3000 fucking rules, dude. Fortunately I’m not going to go off the rails and fall in love with my polar opposite and cause havoc in the cultivation world or anything like that.

Xichen: good, me neither

Outtro

Writing prompt: Lan Xichen’s secret nightly letter to his Mom’s memory or spirit (your choice), in which he confides in her about his day. May be written in flute solo form.

(As always if you use this prompt feel free to post a link to your fic in comments!)

Soundtrack: 1. This Is The Day by The The 2. Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus 3. Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon, Greg Brown version 4. Madonna, Vogue

Bonus: FineAsHell-Jun

Episode 04 Restless Rewatch coming soon!

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ephemerlskies · 4 years ago

Text

constant craving 03 | jjk

⇢ pairing: jungkook x reader

[other members - seokjin]

⇢ genre: drabble series, ANGST, bestfriend!au, unrequited love, the same idiocy just in a different font

⇢ word count: 4k

⇢ warnings: explicit language, alcohol consumption (drunk jungkook makes his first and final appearance enjoy it while you can), vehicular misdemeanor (drive the speed limit kids), an all out emotional and verbal brawling, a lack of communication on one end and a communicational vomit on the other, seokjin appearance for about .02 seconds, the entirety of this is just.... angst

⇢ summary: your dates with Seokjin had become a somewhat consistent fixture in your schedule, however, jungkook's itinerary seemed to clash with yours when he called you after a night of drinking for reasons you assumed to be him helplessly pleading for a safe return home.

♪ playlist: constant craving - k.d. lang, bad religion - frank ocean, misunderstood - lucky daye, neu roses - daniel caesar ♪

╰ series index: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 (final)

a/n: whew, okay.... this was probably the most argumentative fic i have ever written so prepare yourself. i hope you all enjoy this god awfully angsty installment of the series! also, yes, jungkook is a sentimental drunk and you all know it

part three: i love you

It's true. It's always the biggest pills that are the most difficult to swallow. And if you could compare someone as elusive as Jungkook to anything, it would be the largest pill imaginable. The kind that hurts the first try, then when you drink half your body weight in water, the Jungkook-emblazoned pill forces down your esophagus no easier than the first gulp. You were still holding it in your mouth, pretending that pill wasn't about to dissolve and stain your mouth forever.

And that was the whole process, just to get over Jungkook. Because getting over him wasn't a one-step program. It was waking up everyday, training and retraining your mind not to think of him first thing in the morning. It was resisting the urge to press the send button on multiple texts and funny videos you knew would make him laugh. It was refusing his calls and every memory that would saunter in your mind and compel you to ask him to watch a movie or order takeout.

It was saying yes to Seokjin when he asked you on a date. And, it was doing your best to sever that instinct of yours to ask Jungkook for advice.

But old habits die hard, and this one still clung onto the bit of breath it wielded. That explained why your idiot of a best friend was sitting on your couch, offering half-hearted nods whenever you would walk out draped in a new outfit.

"Okay, this one?" You twirled around, as if doing so would make you any less skeptical of how you looked. And you were never one to scrutinize your appearance so closely, but this was the date. The one that might light the torch to a brighter romantic future and lead you to someone other than the man who could never be yours to begin with.

"Yeah. Cool." At this point, five outfits in, he wasn't paying any attention at all. He couldn't even bring himself to pretend, his eyes lazily fixed onto your dvd player.

"Jungkook, you didn't even look! Let me guess. You wanna play video games. Is that why you're giving fuck-me-eyes to my T.V. set?" You knew a laugh was far along, but you hoped that would get some sort of reaction out of him. Unfortunately, your words were barely registered for a good ten seconds, though, it felt much longer.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. Just tired, I guess." Jungkook said through barely parted lips. You knew when he couldn't even pronounce his words properly, something he took more seriously than others due to the hauntings of a certain speech impediment, there was definitely something wrong.

Things felt off from the moment he walked into your house. Judging from the way he avoided your hug, that alone suggested a sort of imbalance. It was a casual greeting exchanged between the two of you so often that when you lifted your arms to embrace him, it was born of reflexive association. Like Pavlov's dog, trained to hug him the moment you saw him. But the oddity of him almost discretely walking past you before any contact could be made wasn't where the tension bordered.

Following his arrival, he would have littered a few snarky remarks about how messy your kitchen was, while already scavenging through your fridge, just to get a rouse out of you. And Jungkook wouldn't call himself a connoisseur of all things fabric and fashion, but he surely would have a few thoughts consisting more than two-worded responses. But he just sat on your couch, armed with a face any poker player would commend, and gave you insincere cool's or nice's when need be.

"Okay, what's up? Is it Irene?" You sat down since taking a break to figure out what Jungkook was thinking felt better than continuing your self-absorbed fashion show.

"Kinda... We broke up. Well, she broke up with me or... I don't know. It was weird." It bothered you a bit too much that he didn't even look at you. But if he had, then you would have seen a film of red dousing his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Kook. Is there anything I can do? Anything at all? Want me to egg her house?" This time, he did laugh. You felt relieved he could at least ease slightly back into his expressive self, even if it was just a fraction of what he usually was. A fraction of Jungkook was more than enough for you.

"Nah, no need to go to jail for me. It's not like I didn't see it coming, and apparently she felt the same. Whatever." He let out a sigh that sounded trapped in for a while, then sat up. "We have more important things to worry about."

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe that. Jungkook, literally a week ago you told me she was the love of your life! And now you're just like 'yeah, whatever, I saw it coming.'" You used your notorious 'man voice', which was just yours lowered a few octaves, knowing it would crack another smile along Jungkook's lips. "Come on, I know you love her. This must hurt a lot. I wish... I wish there was something I could do."

You knew exactly what you were doing. Self-sabotage under the guise of consoling your friend. Clearly, it was selfish and regressive to use Jungkook's heartbreak as a means to avoid doing what you could never do before, what you knew deep down you probably would never be able to do: swallow that pill. And what felt even more pathetic than that was the stale, yet persisting hope that he would ask you to stay.

And that's when reality gave you the most gutting and obvious sign. Jungkook was your best friend, the man you had to lug home when he was too drunk to drive, let alone speak coherently or stand. He was the person that buys you ice cream when you're sad, but just as quick to cancel plans with you when Irene needed him. He was just a friend. You'd never be the person he chose, and it nearly made you angry at him for not seeing it all this time.

So, what he said next made everything he was most likely unaware of all too clear to you.

"No, you go have fun. I'll just... chill here?" It was his avoidant way of asking to stay the night, because you knew him to never sleep alone when he had an ache in his heart. "Maybe raid your pantry and use your Netflix account to binge some shows?"

"Fine. Only 'cause I can't say no to you when you're like this." His smile was reimbursement enough for all the food you'd have to restock and the electricity bill that would be higher than usual.

But what he did next, you could almost never forgive him for. It was so subtle, as though it could have passed as an accident or an act he was trying to perform secretly, without any intention of you even noticing. And how could you not notice? The far too temporary and entirely disarming linger of his hand on yours.

Now, you were always one to decipher his most subtle mannerisms, but this one felt beyond the reins of your perceptiveness. It could have been a small gesture of a thank you, but the gentle, and what one could even describe as sentimental, way his skin pressed against yours bore no semblance of a mere expression of gratitude. And it wasn't possible this was a caress of love, because he was already low on currency in that field, spending it completely on Irene.

So, what was it?

How would you describe the way he rested his hand on yours, as if asking you to stay without words, yet punctuating it quick enough to justify it a coincidental form of contact, that your hand just happened to be where his hand was?

"Well, I'm gonna go eat through my problems." Jungkook stood up before you could bat away the wetness in your eyes from your momentary refusal to blink, as if that would somehow help you visualize the meaning of what just happened.

"Oh- Okay. I, um... I should get going." So you did. You walked out your door, and made a decision beyond the demands of your devotion to Jungkook.

Because it probably meant nothing, and he was your best friend, after all.

---

It was easy with Seokjin. And surprisingly enough, that wasn't a bad thing.

You had come to realize everyone craves that passionate kind of love because, in the movies, that's the blueprint for what love should feel like. But that's all it is, something pretty and shiny enough to work into a film. Make believe. And it could never extend beyond the realm of silver screens, where best friends don't magically fall in love and passion awarded more broken hearts than you could count.

Besides, your heart was worn.

See, your heart is a muscle. It works itself to the bone keeping you alive, willing your lungs to breathe, administering blood to each vein and so on. To strain it for someone who was already in love was functionally inefficient. The heart, like any other muscle, grows tired. It can exhaust itself the same way your hand aches after writing for too long.

You needed a break from the gripping emotional aerobics that is and was loving Jeon Jungkook. So, it sufficed that Seokjin was easy. No more overexertion, no more aches and pains and residual soreness occupying your chest, no more of any of that. Because you knew Seokjin liked you, which was safe and easy knowing there was no point mapping out the possible meanings of every inflected word or shrug or smile. They were simply words and shrugs and smiles with him.

And yet, the thing about giving your heart a 'break' is the period succeeding it. When you were finished resting, you knew who would be waiting for you. Who you would always wait for.

"___! Hello?! I can't hear you! It's too loud!" It wasn't really that loud, your idiot of a best friend was just that drunk. You couldn't tell what concerned you more, the fact that his hearing degenerated when he was, from the sound of it, seven shots deep or that this was the third of alcohol-induced call for this week.

"Where are you?" You asked through a sigh, eyes trained on your Twitter feed and ears occupied with the urgent voice blaring through the speaker phone.

And since it was the third time this week, you were not even half-amused by the repetitive stunt he was pulling.

"I don't know... I walked out and now I'm out and I don't know." The hiccup following his messy sentence was comically textbook 'too drunk'. “Hey, we should take a trip! We should, like, go somewhere!”

“The only place you should be going is home.”

“See, I would totally do that, but I have no idea where I am. Why are these street signs so hard to read?” The end and beginning of each word blended together, rendering that sentence one long, slurred word.

By now, the step by step plan synthesized by you had been memorized. And even though you labored your brain to rewire any feelings leaving you at his beck and call, it clearly hadn't been proficient since your keys had already been gathered and his whereabouts programmed in your GPS via his location services.

"You're so annoying." It might have been rude of you to want him to feel guilty, but it was just as rude of him to interrupt your one night off, which was supposed to be spent with Seokjin, with his intoxicated antics. "I'm coming to pick you up."

"Yo- u are? I love you sooo much. You're the best friend ever, ya know that?" Overly emotional professions was your que to drive fifteen miles over the speed limit so he didn't do something stupid enough to land himself in an ICU.

"Okay, I'm almost there. I think I see you. Wave for me?"

The slumped silhouette you were squinting at began to frantically throw its arms side to side, making you both laugh and pull over so he could drag himself into your passenger seat. And, if you were being honest, he looked better as the blackened shadow of himself.

Jungkook, in all his glory, had his shirt almost fully turned backwards, hair ruffled into a mess, and face as red as the time you and him laid on the beach until your skin punished you with a second degree burn. And all those factors didn't amount to how he smelled like he bathed for hours inside a hand sanitizer bottle.

"God, you're a mess, Jungkook." You said that as jokingly as possible, but meant the sternness embedded in each word. Jungkook was a mess, physically and mentally.

"Hey! You're judging me! Stop being th-o mean, ___." Whenever he was this drunk, his lisp made more appearances in his speech than when he wasn't.

You hated how easily it reminded you of when you were in middle school and he was still navigating and rehearsing through his speech patterns. In middle school, when he was the sweet boy with his only fault being his lisp, who gave you his hoodie and a compassionate smile upon meeting you because your current bully plotted the embarrassment of a lifetime with that piece of chocolate on your seat. In middle school, when Jungkook was the only person in your grade who was kind enough to be kind and true to his word when he pledged his loyalty as your best friend. Forever.

With just one word, you were that timid little middle schooler again, helplessly and unconditionally in love with Jungkook.

Hauling Jungkook, who was more muscle than bone and flesh, over to his door was an art form you had trained, practiced, and mastered about thirty or so times before this one. He weighed about twice as much as you could normally carry, and nonetheless, he was out of your car and in his house in no time.

After you locked the door, you turned around to meet Jungkook, rendering the door frame into a crutch and effectively detaining you between his body and the solid wood behind you.

If you weren't so reminiscent in the car seconds before this, then the vodka-scented souvenir on his breath would have gagged you. However, being this close to him, feeling the warmth of his body consuming and overpowering yours, just made you want to sink into him even more and give him everything you had to offer.

His head was hung so when you looked up, you were greeted with Jungkook's lazy smile that gave his lips a boyish asymmetry and draped his eyelids halfway down his irises. And he had you spooled around him so tightly, this look just made him all the more appetizing.

"Kook, we gotta get you to bed, buddy." You tried to ward him off by weaponizing the most strictly platonic nickname you could think of, partnered with a neighborly pat on the back.

It was mostly to remind yourself that this man, who was an inch too close to your face, was your friend, and that in less than ten minutes you were expected to see Seokjin, but from the way he was looking at you, as if he reached into the depths of your heart to devour all your feelings for him and make them his own, you had to remind him of the universally accepted best friend boundaries.

No deep, romantic gazing into each other's eyes. No intimate activity that could be a precursor to anything more affectionate than a hug. No doing exactly what you two were doing as of now.

"Don't call me that." You hoped his aggression against what you said was merely his inebriated irrationally talking, and as always, his emotions were far beyond his control.

And, shamefully, you also hoped it was because he actually did feel the way you felt. What if he wanted the date that Seokjin was going to get tonight and he wanted all the hand holding and none of the back patting, a 'baby' instead of a 'buddy'?

"What? You're drunk-"

"Don't." Before you could drag him by the arm to his bed, a firm palm settled on your torso and closed the gap between you and the door while widening the gap an inch further between Jungkook and his bed, where he would fall asleep without the warmth of the only person he wanted. "___, please."

His voice was strangled with desperation and Jungkook was depleted of all resistance. He just needed to drink you up. To fill himself with the nourishments of your lips, your body, you.

"What-" He could have silenced you easily with a 'shh' or a finger to your lips. Or anything to your lips except his lips.

His lips. They were greedy and giving all at once. Making soft and intimate ministrations against yours as he kissed you before you had the chance to register what was going on. And even when you did, you let his tongue slide into your mouth. This moment was brimming with all the spontaneity you could ever be prepared for, and though it was new, there was no denying that kissing him felt like finally coming home just from the amount of times you had played this moment out in your daydreams. Plus, Jungkook seemed to ease his tongue along yours a bit too confidently for this to be the first time the idea of kissing you has ran through his mind.

You're being stupid, you told yourself and Jungkook, but that didn't matter when you were finally allowed a taste of what it felt like to be kissed and touched and possibly even loved by Jungkook.

Your shirt was bunched halfway up your torso, his body pressed to your front a reprisal for the chill of the door against your back. Jungkook was, admittedly, a phenomenal kisser even when the lens of sobriety wasn't available to him. The way he ran his hands along the bare of your back like some desperate pilgrimage to discover the undiscovered parts of your body and took your bottom lip between his teeth like it was his to begin with was nearly enough to undress you from all your defenses, from all your clothing, from every single barrier that kept you from Jungkook for the past twelve years and let him have you. And finally have him. It was nearly enough.

Your hands divorced his body from yours before your lips and heart were ready to let go. It was painful, but the heartbroken look wringing his face into a tearful frown was even more so.

"No." You pushed him away further only to walk past him and seek refuge in the open space of his living room. "You don't get to do this."

"What? What does-"

"You don't get to drunkenly kiss me, Jungkook. You don't get to hold me and kiss me like you love me. It's not fair."

"Hey-"

"Because you don't. You don't love me..." If you weren't too busy finally permissing the hot words to boil over from pure anger, then you would have felt the even hotter tears wetting the expanse of your cheek.

"Well, how the hell would you know that?" His voice drowned out the loud pumps of blood beating in your ears like a drum.

"Because it would have happened ten years ago, Jungkook! Jesus, it would have been obvious from the beginning. So if you love me, if you really love me, then it wouldn't be happening now, like this. When you were drunk out of your mind and still vulnerable from Irene."

"You don't know anything." If that were the case, then Jungkook somehow knew even less than you.

"Yeah, clearly. I didn't know you'd stoop this low. I thought I was a lot of things to you. But I never thought I'd be some rebound."

"A rebound? You think that's what this is?" Jungkook seemed upset, but to your knowledge he had absolutely no reason to be angry with you.

He was, as always, displacing the burdens he didn't feel like dealing with on you, moderating you into an emotional punching bag. But what hurt more than those scrapes and bruises, was the aftermath of letting him fuck his worries away which would have consisted of him telling you the next morning that it meant nothing, expecting you to nod demurely, maybe even console him, and act like your chest hadn't been emptied and filled with his baggage in the most murderous way.

"Fuck you."

"Wow. You're really being like this? You really wanna talk about this now?

"You know what? Yeah I wanna talk about it. I wanna talk about the years. The years, Jungkook, that I've spent loving you! I- I wanna talk about the amount of times I've spent thinking about you when you were with her, and I probably didn't even cross your mind. Or how about the fucking thousands of times I've spent crying over you because I knew I was never going to be the one you'd want to wake up next to! And I had to watch! I had to fucking watch you fall in love over and over and probably wonder why I didn't fall in love either. It was you. It was always you, Jungkook."

"___, I-"

"No." His attempt to intervene was quickly denied. You were too angry to let him speak, too tired to carry these grievances any longer. "You don't get to talk. It's all out there. I loved you. I still love you! Fuck, I'm trying to get over you. And it's like you know. It's like you can read my mind or something and strike right when I'm about to recover from the last wound."

Your breathing was as heavy as Jungkook's was shallow. He could only stand, breathlessly, only curse himself for ever being so blind and regret taking advantage of your love even if it were entirely unknowingly, just to let his heart sink deeper until it fell completely out of his chest while his tears fell just as heavily.

"I'm done, Jungkook. I'm tired of trying to outrun you in this race that you're not even competing in. I'm tired of loving you. So, I'm done."

All the words Jungkook wanted to say, the words pleading for sound, carving deep gashes in his throat and leaving him vocally impaired, could never amount to the apology you deserved. Maybe this once, he wouldn't leave you wounded. He would gather the nobility to shut up and let you move on from him. Because you wouldn't know from his lapse of silence that he was empathizing with every bit of pain he caused you, and he hated himself more than you did right now for allowing such a pain to ever fall in your hands. But, where you knew you could someday forgive him for it, he knew he would never forgive himself.

He could scrounge for a few things to respond with, pour the weight of his emotions into the scarcity of his words, but he needed to let you leave and be selfless for once in his life.

"I should go. Drink some water before bed, okay?" You mumbled to choke back your tears, though it wouldn't matter letting a few more tears escape since you were previously sob-ranting and he'd seen you cry like this a hundred times before. He was the shoulder you never thought you'd have to miss leaning on, but walking out of his door punctured a hole in you. An empty space in your heart designed for the one person who had crushed the rest of it.

If this were a movie, with star-crossed lovers and a fiery infatuation blooming into what everyone secretly wants: true love, then Jungkook would have ran out of his door and held you close, professing his undying love for you. He would have won you back, reassembled your broken heart into fullness, kissed you beneath the brilliance of the moon, and lived happily ever after.

But this wasn't a movie, and he did none of those things.

Instead, he stumbled his way into his kitchen. He poured himself that cup of water you advised. He thought about how even when you swore to him you were done, you spared a bit of compassion to remind him to take care of himself. He wondered how deserving he was of everything you are. He touched his lips, searching for the echo of yours. He fell into his queen-sized bed meant for two, alone, and whispered the words that were ever eclipsing to the space beside him where he longed for you to lay so you could hear them for yourself.

"I love you."

a/n: sorry to put you through that, but the idea was born and i am but a humble vessel to bring it to life <3 hehe thank you all so much for reading and like i said, don't worry there will be a happy ending!!! (and possibly a longer-than-drabble final chapter to this series)

#bangtanarmynet #btsgoldnet #ficswithluv #bts fanfic #bts x reader #bts angst #bts writing #jungkook x reader #jungkook fanfic #jungkook angst #jungkook bestfriend!au #bts drabble #jungkook drabble #constant craving #rubycoast

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nadisabug · 4 years ago

Text

Pairing: Sugawara Koushi x reader

Genre: Fluff, Tea Shop AU

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1.0k

Summary: Can a chance encounter turn into something more?

A/N: tea shop au for my wifey mwah

Hakiyuu Masterlist // Love Song Event Masterlist

You regarded yourself as a tea connoisseur. It was your life blood. So when a new, small tea shop opened up downtown, of course you were the first person there.

It was beautiful. It had a vintage vibe, wooden base and metal accents. The best part was that it had a small seating area with free boiling water to enjoy the tea you just purchased from the store. It was perfect.

And it also had him.

He wasn’t there on opening day, but when you visited a week later to refill your stock, he was.

He was standing behind the counter talking to another coworker. He threw his head back and laughed, one hand going up to his eye. He was… perfect. He radiated a warmth that you just couldn’t resist. From the mole on his face to his silver hair he was just absolutely breathtaking. There was something about him that felt familiar, like you had seen him before, but you just couldn’t place it.

You weren’t sure what was better looking, him or a freshly brewed cup of chai.

“Do you need something?” He asked, turning to you. You felt your cheeks heat up. Hopefully he didn’t notice you staring.

“Uh, yeah, um Chamomile?”

You were screwed.

You're the cutest thing I've seen / I think we've hung out in my dreams

“Why don’t you study with us anymore? College is hard and I need our Y/n!” One of your friends whined. You rolled your eyes.

“I offered to study with you but-”

“The only place you want to study is that tea shop, and it’s all the way downtown. Do you know how far that is by bus? Not everyone has their own car,” your other friend huffed.

“Y/n only wants to study there because of the tea boy.”

“Oh shut up,” you growled, but couldn’t fight the heat rising to your cheeks.

“It's true. Maybe you’re trying to show off that you’re an intellectual to him,” you friend giggled.

“I do not go there that often,” you roll your eyes.

“Four times a week is that often.”

You purse your lips.

Was it that much?

At least ten times since we first met / I don't know your name yet

“Why don’t you talk to him?” A voice startles you out of your thoughts. You look up to see one of the workers standing at your table.

“I, uh, what do you- I mean, who?” You stammer, completely off guard. Did she notice you staring at him again?

“Him of course,” she gestured to the boy.

“I, why?”

“Cause you like him,” she smiled knowingly.

“I do not!” You huffed. “I don’t even know his name.”

The worker rolled her eyes.

“It’s on his apron. Maybe you’d notice if you weren’t so busy looking at his face,” she said lightly, smiling.

You looked back at him.

Huh. It was on his apron.

Strawberries, they can't compare / To how sweet you look just standing there

He was currently standing with his back to you, shelving some merchandise. You could still see the flex of his muscles through his tight tee-shirt and he reached up, and down, and up, and-

No stop. You were here for a purpose.

You mustered up all the courage you could and cleared your throat.

He turned around and sent you that blinding smile. That beautiful thing should come with a warning, you thought.

“Do you need something?”

“Yeah your number,” is something you could have said, if you were feeling lucky. You could have said a lot of things, to be honest. Like, hey, wanna hang out sometime? Or when do you get off work? Or so many other things. Nothing would have been better than what you actually said.

“Uh, yeah, um Chamomile?”

You were screwed.

Back to me and looking down / Why won't you turn around?

“Is that a dirty chai?” An excited voice startled you from your work. You looked up to see him- no Sugawara- standing over you with an excited look. “I love the mug, where did you get it from?”

“Uh… my house?”

Sugawara’s eyes widened. “Did you make that yourself?”

“Yeah, at home.”

“Wow, so cool. I always wanted to learn how to make those kinds of fancy drinks but I never got around to it.”

“It’s not that fancy,” you laughed.

“It is for me,” he answered solemnly. It then looked like he realized something and perked up. “I am so sorry, I am interrupting your studying, aren’t I?”

“No, no it’s okay,” you smile and push away your work. “I needed a break anyways.”

“I’m on break in ten, wanna talk then?” He smiled so hopefully. You looked into his eyes, and for a second, lost what you were thinking about.

“I’d love to.”

'Cause you eyes are not blue / They're the best part about you

Koushi’s eyes were gorgeous. They were a beautiful hazel that you had never seen before. They were a mix of chestnut and golden and green and everything beautiful in the world. You could stare at them for hours.

It wasn’t just the color, though. They always held this brightness, this warmth that pulled you in. They were magnets. They were so kind and soft.

You wished you could paint the world the color of his eyes.

They're ink inside my pen / I wanna see them again, again

It had become routine for Koushi (he insisted you call him by his first name) to spend his breaks at a table with you. You even started bringing him a thermos of one of your teas to enjoy while you talked.

Though, despite how much he talked, you usually didn’t hear a word.

When you speak I don't hear words come out / 'Cause I'm busy looking at your mouth

You’d like to say you were thinking, but you really weren’t. You were mesmerized by the animation of Koushi’s story, absorbing none of it but enjoying it nonetheless. If you had been thinking, you probably would have blurted out the question you did.

“Can I kiss you?”

Must be soft and nice to kiss / If I asked you would you lend it?

Taglist: {OPEN}

@snoozless, @levylovegood, @tanakas-hugs-and-kisses, @dv0412, @milktyama, @kokogxddess, @keshastourbus, @elektrosonix, @zeyyackerman

#koshi sugawara x reader #hq suga x reader #sugawara fluff #sugawara koushi #💜 nadias love song event #hqhangoutnet #haikyuucafe

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skullrock · 5 years ago

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the lovers - Steve Harrington x Reader

pairing: Steve x Reader

summary: you’re a college student working at the info desk at your local art museum. you meet Steve when his class comes in to see the latest exhibit. Steve keeps coming back to see you. awkward flirtations/cuteness ensues.

word count: 2,036 (I am sorry)

warnings: none!

a/n: hello!! this is my first oneshot in many years! please feel free to leave feedback/constructive criticism! my requests are open :)

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You enjoyed your job as an information desk attendant at the local art museum. It was nice to meet new people and listen to their observations about the exhibits. You loved art, too, and were currently majoring in it. Plus, on really slow days, you were able to get homework done. It seemed like the perfect job for a college student.

It was on one of those agonizingly slow days that you first saw Steve Harrington. You were waiting for an art class from your college in town to come look at the newest installation. Your job was to check the class in and take them to their guide. As the crowd of students flooded in, you scanned for any familiar faces, waving to a few. Your eyes landed on a boy, no older than you, standing towards the back of the group. You hadn’t seen him here before; you definitely would have remembered. Long hair, tall and toned, plush lips. He was the kind of beautiful that made your heart ache, the kind that deserved to be considered art.

He looked over at you, making eye contact, and you smiled at him, quickly looking down and moving to the front of the group. Once acquainted with their guide, you left to sit back at the desk. You picked up a textbook to study. It was pointless, though. You couldn’t get the boy out of your head.

You were surprised when he came back the next week. This time, he wasn’t alone. He came with a pretty girl with short brown hair and bright eyes. You knew her – Robin – from a class you had together last semester. As they approached, you felt heat rising to your cheeks.

“Two student tickets?” you ask as they approach. Steve stares for a long moment before Robin pinches his arm.

“Oh! Uh, yeah,” he stutters, running a hand through his hair. “Yes. Two.”

You laugh slightly, awkwardly, and hand him two tickets and two gallery maps. “I remember you from last week,” you say. “Are you back for more?”

“I wanted to bring my friend, ya know, show her around,” he replies, fiddling with the edge of the tickets. There’s an awkward pause before you respond.

“Well, enjoy! If you have any questions I’ll be right here.”

He pauses, whispers, “I-okay,” and turns on his heel. Robin says a quick thanks before running to catch up with him. As they walk away, you hear him say, “Shut up, Robin!”

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Robin and Steve wander aimlessly through the galleries. Steve tries to act like he really is interested in what they’re looking at, but she knows him better than that.

“You dragged me here to see this girl,” Robin says, “and all you do is make weird faces at her?”

Steve rolls his eyes and doesn’t respond.

“I thought you were going to get to know her,” Robin continues. “At this rate, how long is it going to take? Five years?”

“I- Robin!” Steve says, exasperated. “I have a system! I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you? You haven’t been King Steve in a while, dingus. Do you even remember what a girl is?”

Steve wanted more than anything to rebuke her, to tell her she’s wrong, but he knew she was right. He could remember the unfortunate flirting he attempted at Scoops and the disaster that was his relationship with Nancy. He usually ducked his head around pretty girls. But something compelled him to go for you. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew he couldn’t mess this one up.

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The week after, he is back. This time, he walks in with a more confident swagger. You ready a ticket for him.

“Hi,” he says as he approaches.

“You must really like coming here,” you joke, handing him his admission and another gallery guide.

“What can I say? I’m a connoisseur.”

“Okay, connoisseur,” you remarked, smiling. “Who is your favorite artist?”

“Well, you know,” he says, trying to seem nonchalant. “It’s hard to pick. But if I had to, I’d probably go with...” In a moment of panic, his eyes shift down to the first name he sees on the gallery guide. “Monet.”

He pronounces this with a hard T.

You stare at him, almost stunned. You realize now that he’s putting up a front, trying to be confident, in an attempt to talk to you. You laugh.

“Uh, it’s Moe-ney,” you smirked. “But I appreciate the effort.”

His face falls and his eyes widen, looking panicked. You could see the blush creep up on his cheeks, almost hear his heartbeat speed up. You reveled in it.

“I know!” he defends. “Monet isn’t even my favorite. I was kidding.”

“Okay, mister big artiste. Do you have a name?”

“Steve,” he sighs. “It’s Steve.”

“I’m Y/N. You better start studying.”

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“You said what?!”

Robin nearly rolls on the floor from how hard she’s laughing. “You called him what?!”

“I know how its pronounced, okay?” Steve groaned. “I just – I said it phonetically.”

“Literally everyone knows that’s not how you say it.”

“Whatever!” Steve huffs, plunking down on the couch. “You’ve gotta help me, Rob. I really want to know this girl. I want to have a chance. I can’t be an idiot around her.”

“But you’re smart, Steve.” Robin pats his knee. “Why don’t you impress her with the knowledge you dopossess?”

“Oh, like what? Like how to take care of 6 kids that aren’t even yours? Or how to make microwave mac and cheese? Or how to carry 9 empty cups out of a room in one trip? Or- “

“Okay, okay!” Robin interjects. “Alright. I will help you. Where do we start?”

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You were pretty sure at this point that Steve was coming to see you, not the art. You started to dress up a bit for your shifts; dress to impress, right?

Another week or so passed before Steve came back. You smiled the moment he came through the door, and he shared one back, approaching you quickly.

“Learn anything new?” you ask, subconsciously adjusting your hair.

“I learned how Pollock changed the entire trajectory of American art.”

“Oh?” you ask, shocked. “Last week you came in here and mispronounced Monet, now you’re talking about Pollock’s impact?”

“A man can change,” he says with a smile. Then he leans down, onto the desk, becoming eye level with you. You can feel your breath hitch in your throat, a blush creeping up. You noticed a lot from this new angle: the smell of his cologne, rich and woodsy; the scar above his right eyebrow; the golden flecks in his dark eyes.

“And that’s not all,” he whispers. You blink, inclining your head, expecting an answer.

Finally, he says, “I know about Picasso, too.”

He straightens up, a victorious smile crossing his face. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, clearing your throat.

“Wow,” you laugh. “Color me impressed.”

“Yeah, I don’t mean to brag or anything, but uh,” he looks around before continuing, “I also know about Kandinsky.”

“I’m so proud, Steve.”

He opens his mouth to reply, but a few more people walk in, getting in line behind him.

“We’ll talk soon,” he says, giving you a warm smile before walking away. You watch him disappear around the bend; a smile plastered on your face.

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The week after that, you have a shift with one of your coworkers. It was always nice to have company, but on a slow day like this one, it seemed pointless. To pass the time, you both talk. You decided to tell her about Steve, about how cute he was, about how wholesome you thought he was.

“I mean, this guy doesn’t know anything about art. But each week he comes back to learn a little bit more. Isn’t that cute?”

“Is this why you’ve been dressing up the past few weeks?” she asks. You roll your eyes.

“You should really see him. He is so damn-“

As if on cue, Steve enters the building. You can’t help but notice how good he looks in his red tee, how toned his arms are, how his jeans hug his legs…. You become acutely aware of how you were staring and quickly look away. He approaches the desk, tapping on it twice, smiling down at you.

“Hi Steve.”

“Hi Y/N.”

“Are you going to impress me this week?” you question.

“I thought maybe you could impress me,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “Why don’t you tell me something?”

“Like what?”

He exhales. “I don’t know. Who’s your favorite artist? What’s your favorite work here?”

“Oh, that’s too much to get into,” you laugh, shifting in your chair.

“Why don’t you show me around?” His eyes are suddenly bright and eager, and he bounces nervously on his feet.

You stare up at him, slack jawed. You weren’t expecting the forwardness. “Well – I – I have to work. I don’t get off until-“

“I’ll cover your shift,” your coworker pipes up. You nearly forgot she was there.

You look back between her, and Steve, then back at her. Your mouth opens and shuts, a protest dying on your lips. Yes, you wanted to; but you suddenly felt self-conscious and silly. You really weren’t expecting this, not today, not ever. A boy like Steve wanting to know you seemed unreal. Is this even ethical? Are you allowed to show a visitor around? One that you’re definitely attracted to? That you have been flirting with for, what, literally five weeks?

Fuck it, you decide. You can’t mess this opportunity up. Standing (shakily), you tell your coworker that you’ll be back before closing, and meet Steve on the other side of the desk.

“I figure that you know a bit about me, so I wanted to know more about you,” he says quickly as you both walk towards the first gallery. You could sense he was nervous, too. “I hope that’s not weird.”

“It’s not,” you beam, trying to shake off your apprehension. “Come on. I’ll show you my favorites.”

And so you walk around the galleries, pointing out the different works you like. As time passes, you both relax. Steve took it all in, asking questions when appropriate, seeming genuinely interested in your observations. You make him talk to you about the ones he likes, too. You laugh when he points out a Monet, pronouncing it correctly this time. You are both laughing, talking, trying to get to know each other in the short amount of time you have before the museum closes. It feels natural, like you’ve known him for years.

At the last gallery, you reach your favorite work in the galleries. A couple, caught in a kiss, in a crowded subway.

“This one is perfect to me,” you say. “It makes me feel so many things.”

“What’s your favorite part about it?” Steve inquires.

“The atmosphere,” you answer, “and the way those two interact. It’s like they are the only people in the world. Among the chaos of a busy subway, they only notice each other.” You smile sadly. “Have you ever felt that with anyone?”

Steve thinks for a minute. He wishes he could say yes, with Nancy. But even at their best, he never felt the stillness and calm the figures in the painting did.

“No,” he replies eventually. “Have you?”

“No,” you whisper. “Not once.”

There’s a comfortable quietness and peace between you two as you both stare at it a little longer. After a while, Steve clears his throat.

“Well, do you want to try?”

You look over at him, bewildered. He continues to look at the painting; you notice his brows slightly furrowed and his fingers tapping on his thighs. He finally looks over at you and smiles weakly.

“Try what?”

“This,” he responds, gesturing to the painting. “You and I. Chaos. Peace. Do you want to try?”

Your heart swells, a smile spreading over your face as quickly as oil on canvas. You gently take his hand, turning to face him.

“What are you doing tonight?” you inquire.

“Nothing,” he breathes. “What are you doing?”

“Letting you take me to that Italian place on the corner.”

He smiles widely, relief and confidence soaring through him. Finally, he thinks. You didn’t fuck this one up.

“It’s a date.”

#Steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington oneshot #steve harrington #stranger things x reader #stranger things oneshot #this was rly self indulgent I am SORRY #pls leave feedback xox #my fics

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freudensteins-monster · 5 years ago

Text

Avengers Assemble

I finished this fic I started around June 2017 after seeing THIS POST for the first time.

Also posted over on AO3.

Tony was the first to notice that something was up with Darcy, though he didn’t understand what it meant at the time. He’d wandered out of his lab at a little after three in the morning and registered a humanoid shape curled up on the couch in Lab 7. A closer inspection revealed a mess of brown hair spilling out from under a purple coat, and he just figured Darcy had decided to crash at the tower after a long night sciencing with Jane and wanted to avoid a commute cutting into time better spent asleep. Not something she’d ever done before (she usually crashed on the couch in Jane and Thor’s apartment a few floors down) but he wasn’t exactly in a position to comment on other people's life choices, so just left her to it. Though he did place a wake up call with JARVIS on her behalf so she had a chance to get cleaned up before the first scientists showed up in a few hours. Never let it be said that he wasn’t a benevolent overlord.

Clint was the first to notice that something was terribly amiss, though it took him until he finished his first pot of coffee to figure it out. To be fair to the archer, he had only just stumbled out of bed following a solid twelve hour post-mission nap; people in comas slept lighter. Regardless, Natasha was going to kick his ass for being so off his game if she found out. ...when she found out.

He stared into the empty glass carafe pondering the futility of existence and why his coffee tasted off. True, he was no connoisseur and would drink anything as long as it was hot and black, or even lukewarm and black, but there was something off about this particular pot of coffee, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that insisted that some key flavour profile was missing…

“Donuts,” he mumbled groggily, wandering around the kitchen island in sweats and a grubby t-shirt, scouring the countertops as if a large white box of cinnamon-covered goodness could somehow be hiding in plain sight. “JARVIS,” he called out when his thorough search failed to yield any donuts.

“Yes, Agent Barton?”

“It’s Friday, right?”

“Friday the 12th to be precise.”

“Huh…”

“Is everything alright, Agent Barton? Have you lost time? Should I call for medical assistance?”

“No, nothing like that JARVIS. But, um, did Darcy call out sick today?”

“Miss Lewis arrived at the tower at 12:16am this morning, and has been working at her desk since 7:53am.”

“What? Why?” Clint demanded.

“She did not tell me, and I had no grounds on which to ask. Her security clearance allows her access to Doctor Foster’s laboratory 24hrs a day.”

“Right…” Clint mused. It wasn’t implausible that Darcy was working weird hours, and yet… “Was Foster in the labs with Darcy all night?”

“Doctor Foster returned to her suite at a very reasonable 9:26pm and returned to the laboratory floor at 8:04am.”

Clint’s brow crinkled in thought as he waited for the carafe to refill, considering all possible reasons for the change in Darcy’s routine but, call him a pessimist, none of them were good. He worked through his second pot of coffee while he showered and dressed, returning the empty carafe to the kitchen before seeking Darcy out.

When he reached the lab floor and saw Darcy sitting in front of her computer, her heavy-handed makeup reminding him uncomfortably of his mother. He tried to ignore the coil of anxiety in his belly, smiling as he rapped his knuckles on the doorframe.

“Morning Darcy-Lou.”

Darcy flinched at his overly cheerful greeting and the coil in his gut snapped from the tension.

“Hey Clint,” she replied shakily, keeping her eyes glued to her screen. “What brings you up here?”

“Well, it’s Friday and I couldn’t help but notice a distinct lack of baked goods in the kitchen,” he teased, studying her every move.

“I didn’t have time,” Darcy snapped.

“Whoa, it’s cool,” Clint put his hands up in surrender. “You don’t owe us donuts, it’s just that it’s a break in your routine and it makes my spy senses go all tingly. Everything alright?” he asked kindly, noting the way she refused to meet his gaze.

“I’m fine,” Darcy replied with an edge of forced cheerfulness. Clint fake-smiled back.

“Alright, well, I can’t stop thinking about donuts so I’m going to head down to the bakery on the corner and grab a box. You want me to bring you back anything?”

“No, thanks. I’m fine,” she repeated absently, fixing her gaze back on her screen.

“See you ‘round, Darcy-Lou,” Clint waved as he headed to the bank of elevators. His smile faded away as the doors closed and he asked JARVIS to take him to the nearest Security office.

Jane was the first to get the truth from Darcy, if you didn’t count Clint reading their lips off the security feed.

“Shit!” Darcy muttered and threw her phone down in disgust.

The sound broke Jane’s train of thought. She blinked for the first time in twenty minutes and registered the complete and utter absence of background noise.

“Darcy…”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not playing music,” Jane, she of three degrees, finally noticed at 11am.

“Um, no. I’ve got a bit of a headache.”

“Then why aren’t you playing your ‘Super Chill’ playlist? You always play music.”

“I guess I didn't feel like it.”

“Are you sick?”

Jane rushed over and placed a hand on Darcy's forehead so forcibly it gave her assistant whiplash. Darcy tried to squirm out of Jane’s grasp and when the astrophysicist’s hand brushed against her cheek she winced.

“Darcy!”

“I’m fine, Jane,” Darcy swore, turning her bruised face away.

“You’re not fine,” Jane replied, twisting Darcy’s office chair around until she had to face her. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Darcy grumbled stubbornly.

Jane knelt down in front of her best friend, clasping her hands tightly.

“Please tell me what happened, Darcy. Let me help you.”

“You can’t help…” Darcy started, tearing up.

“Are you sure? What about Thor? Or me, Thor, and a puppy?”

That got a watery chuckle. “I wouldn’t say no to a puppy.” Jane stayed where she was, eyes growing cartoonishly large as she implored her friend to open up. Darcy relented with a sigh. “You know how my roommate practically moved her boyfriend in without running it past me first?”

“I vaguely recall you complaining about him for three days straight last month.”

“Yeah, well, it hadn’t been too bad. I’m hardly ever there and when I am they pretty much stay holed up in her bedroom, so it’s been whatever. But my roommate has been away for most of the week for some work conference and has left her boyfriend behind unsupervised.”

“What did he do?” Jane asked, trying to keep her tone even and not let her imagination wander into dark corners.

“First he was just obnoxious, taking over the living room, playing Call of Duty until four in the morning, leaving empty takeout containers everywhere. And then…” she sniffled.

“And then…”

“He started hitting on me. Just straight up eggplant emoji level of subtlety, you know. I said no, obviously. Told him to back off or I’d tell his girlfriend. That seemed to work; he went back to inconsiderate roommate mode. But I didn’t want to be alone with him any more than I had to be so I called up some girlfriends from college and we went out for drinks last night. It was Ladies Night at my favourite bar; half price margaritas. And maybe I had too many drinks for a work night...”

“Darcy,” Jane interjected. “What happened when you got home?”

“He was still up playing Call of Duty. The second he saw me stumbling towards the kitchen for a glass of water he started circling me like a vulture. He got handsy, tried to herd me towards the couch.”

“Please tell me you tased him,” Jane begged.

To her relief Darcy nodded. “And then I just ran. The next thing I knew I was on the train headed for Manhattan so I came back here. I crashed on the couch and JARVIS woke me up when it was time to start work.”

Jane processed Darcy’s story, but there was a detail missing. “How did you get that bruise on your face, Darce?”

“He... kinda slapped me.”

“Kinda?”

“Well, he was trying to grab me, and then he was flailing about from 50,000 volts to the chest, and I was still within arms reach so I caught a fist to the face. It wasn’t like he punched me on purpose or anything.”

“No, of course not. He only tried to force himself on you while you were drunk.”

“Yeah, that,” Darcy sniffled miserably.

“Did you tell your roommate what happened? Is she going to kick him out?”

Darcy laughed, short and cold. “I hadn’t had a chance to tell her, but he must have called her last night as soon as he stopped twitching. I had a text waiting for me when I woke up saying she wanted me gone by the time she got back tomorrow. Apparently in his version of events my drunk ass hit on him and got violent when he, honest and faithful boyfriend that he is, turned me down.” Darcy to swipe irritably at her wet cheeks and blow her nose. “So I’ve spent all morning trying to find a new place, and the last hour texting this asshole, trying to get him the fuck out of the apartment so I can go get my stuff, but he’s demanding a face to face. Says he’s sorry and wants to apologise, but more likely he just wants to make sure I’m not going to correct his story. … I can’t be alone with him, Jane,” she cried anew.

“And you won’t have to be,” Jane swore handing her another tissue. Whatever she was going to say next was interrupted by her name flashing in large, bright blue letters on a holographic whiteboard on the other side of the lab.

JANE

TAKE DARCY TO LUNCH

WE’LL HANDLE IT

- CLINT

Jane quickly sent a grateful smile to the nearest security camera before turning her attention back to Darcy.

“Hey, how about we forget about that asshole for a couple of hours. We’ll grab something to eat then come back here and figure out a plan of attack, okay? I’m not going to let you do this alone,” she promised, standing up and offering up a rare hug that Darcy was all too happy to accept.

“Thanks, Janie.”

They grabbed their bags and headed for the elevator bank arm in arm. “So, where do you want to go for lunch?” Darcy asked.

“How about Sadelles? I think today calls for matzo ball soup like bubbe used to make.”

“And bagels.”

“And Bloody Marys.”

“And a double cheeseburger,” Darcy sighed hungrily.

“Whatever you want,” Jane laughed as the doors to Elevator 1 closed behind them.

A few floors away the doors to Elevator 2 opened onto the communal Avengers floor and Clint stepped out into a room full of antsy superheroes. Tony was seated at the nearest table sucking down on some radioactive looking smoothie while Steve, Bucky, Sam, and Thor were standing at half-assed attention awaiting orders.

“Since when are you calling Assembles?” Steve queried casually, not at all paranoid that he was being kept out of the loop on something important.

“Yeah, and since when do we do mission briefings in the breakfast nook?” Tony asked.

“Darcy needs our help,” Clint announced, pausing long enough for everyone to get the wrong idea.

“Where is she?” Thor boomed. “Is Jane with her?”

“Who’s got her?” Bucky demanded, already unsheathing one of the innumerable knives on his person.

“Whoa! Everyone, stand down. Jane and Darcy are fine. They’ve gone to lunch.”

The silence was deafening.

“So… they need help paying the tab? Because I’m pretty sure I already do that.” Tony snarked.

“No, listen,” Clint tried to explain over five riled up superjerks. “Long story short: Darcy’s roommate’s out of town, her boyfriend stayed behind and he’s been making Darcy uncomfortable, to say the least. Last night Darcy came home drunk and he tried to take advantage of the situation. She tasered him and came here.”

“Shit,” Tony mumbled. “I was wondering why I found her crashed out on the lab couch at 3am. I just thought she had Jane had pulled an all nighter or something.”

“Is she okay?” Steve asked.

“She’s mostly rattled, a little bruised, and by the time she gets back from lunch I think she’s going to move onto being plain furious. She wants to get the hell out of that apartment but the guy’s refusing to leave, practically holding her stuff hostage until she agrees to talk to him.”

“Like hell she’s going back there,” Sam swore. “What’s the address?”

Clint smiled as the rest of the assembled Avengers quickly got on the same page. Tony rose from his seat, tapping away on his phone.

“JARVIS has called up a couple of cars for you and plugged Darcy’s address into the GPS. One of the maintenance guys should meet you down there with some moving boxes.”

“You’re not coming?”

“I’m going to attack this from a different angle,” he replied cryptically, leading the way to the elevators.

Half an hour later two large black SUVs pulled up out the front of an apartment building in Brooklyn and 60% of the Avengers current lineup got out. They ignored the curious stares and frantic fumbling for phones going on around them and headed up to Darcy’s apartment, arguing amongst themselves about the best approach. In the end Sam, declaring himself the most normal human and least well-known of the group took the lead, insisting the others stay out of sight while he tried the two rational adults approach, where one of the adults totally doesn’t want to kick the other adult’s ass. It was not his most believable performance.

“Hey man, I’m Sam,” he greeted gruffly when the door finally opened, his intimidating-outside-of-the-Avengers arms crossed over his impressive-outside-of-the-Avengers chest. “Darcy sent me to pick up her stuff.”

The door was slammed in his face and Clint shoved his way to the front of the line.

“C’mon asshole,” he called, banging on the door. “Let us grab Darcy’s things and we’ll get out of your hair.”

The asshole in question yanked the door open and, not that he knew it at that moment, cursed out a couple of Avengers. “If the bitch wants her stuff back she can damn well come and get it herself and stop sending wannabe gym rats to do her dirty work.”

“Gym rats?” Clint’s much-broken nose tried to wrinkle in confusion.

“Enough of these games,” Thor growled, pushing Sam, Clint, and the door out of the way.

“What the hell!” the asshole squealed as broken shards of the door and a 7ft tall Norse god came at him with avengence..

“You dare to tarnish Lady Darcy’s honour? To lay your unworthy hands upon her?!” he roared, stopping just short of grabbing him by the throat and pinning him against the wall. Humans were rather fragile, or so he was often reminded.

“What… what… who?” the asshole stuttered, his mind on the fasttrack to a psychotic break as the rest of the Avengers followed Thor into the apartment.

“You hurt Darcy, we hurt you,” Bucky translated, taking up sentry duty by the broken door in case the asshole tried to make a run for it.

Sam and Steve glared at the asshole on their way to Darcy’s bedroom (Clint had pointed it out, having been there once before when he’d been bribed into help Darcy move in almost a year ago) while Clint headed for the kitchen. Thor thought the best use of his time was to remain looming over the guy until he wet himself.

“Ooh! Cranberry Kitchenaid. Definitely Darcy’s. She wouldn’t shut up about this thing,” Clint mused to himself as he boxed it, and all novelty baking and cookware items he could find, up.

Thor soon got bored and wandered around the small living area. “Does this belong to Lady Darcy?” he enquired, lifting up a three seater couch like it weighed nothing.

“Don’t think so.”

Thor dropped it from three feet up and took no small amount of pleasure in the way the asshole flinched.

“What the hell…” he muttered to himself several times before finding his voice. “What the hell are you doing in my apartment?!”

“1. Not your apartment. 2. We told you: we’re here to get Darcy’s stuff, since you were being an asshole about it.”

“But… you’re the Avengers.”

“Yeah, and we’re here to grab Darcy’s stuff and put the fear of Norse gods into you. Keep up,” Clint replied, turning his attention to the contents of the refrigerator now that he had collected everything from the kitchen cupboards that seemed like it belonged to Darcy (shot glasses from a bar in New Mexico, a Culver U coffee mug, a collection rainbow-handled utensils…).

“But you’re the Avengers.”

“…did you seriously not know that Lewis was besties with Thor? Lewis. Darcy Lewis,” Clint clarified when he received only a blank, stunned stare in reply. “Jesus H Christ… You’ve seriously never even had a conversation with her, have you?” Clint spat, abandoning his hastily assembled sandwich in disgust only to pick it back and continue eating; it wasn’t the sandwich’s fault.

“What about this television?” Thor asked, ripping the thing right out of the wall.

After a pointed moment Bucky voted, “Leave it. Stark’ll buy her a better one.”

“Everything okay out here?” Sam asked, regarding Thor’s attempt to remount the TV into the recently made hole in the wall with feigned disinterest.

“All good.”

“You gonna make yourself useful, Barnes?” Sam griped, dragging a suitcase crammed full of Darcy’s wardrobe contents towards the door.

“I am being useful,” Bucky countered, pulling a whetstone from his tac suit and glaring at the asshole as he slowly dragged his favourite knife across it.

“Real helpful,” Sam muttered, heading back to the bedroom.

Clint finished off his sandwich and had a quick look around the shared bathroom. He nabbed a few of the products that looked expensive and/or smelled like Darcy, but everything else looked easily replaceable. He added the bottles to his kitchen box and called out to the rest of the team, “We done yet?”

“Almost,” Steve called back, tossing another huge suitcase from the depths of the bedroom to Thor who caught it easily. He followed Sam out, carrying two boxes to Sam’s three, who was struggling under the weight of Darcy’s innumerable books and assorted knickknacks but refused to admit within earshot of Bucky that he needed help. Steve passed off his boxes to Bucky and indicated that the rest of the team should head out. Bucky grabbed the second suitcase and tucked it under his metal arm, beaming obnoxiously at Sam as he passed him in the hallway.

Steve meanwhile made his way over to where the asshole was still cowering against the wall. “I know it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: you contact Darcy again, you so much as breathe in her direction, I will have my friend Carol take you into outer space, except she doesn’t use a spaceship, and we see how long it takes for your head to explode. ...Got it?”

“Captain America is threatening me?”

Steve gave the asshole his patented USO smile, “Yeah, but no one would ever believe you.”

The asshole could only nod mutely as Steve Rogers, Captain fucking America, exited the apartment and closed what was left of the door behind him. Two seconds later his cell phone rang. He was still in shock and couldn’t remember answering it, but the next thing he knew his phone was on speaker and someone was addressing him.

“Is this the asshole currently trembling in Apartment 4C.”

“Uhhh…” the asshole’s brain flatlined as the man on the other end of the phone rattled off information that could only have been obtained through a very thorough background check.

“... the asshole whose Social Security Number is 498619842? The asshole who got busted for pot possession in 2015 and 2017? The guy who spent the night of his 15th birthday buying several porn subscriptions on his mother's credit card then let her think that some stranger had stolen it and racked up the charges?”

A very, very thorough background check.

“How…”

“This is Tony Stark. Just a courtesy call to let you know that I now own the apartment you’re currently squatting in. Actually, I own the whole building. And my people have already been in contact with your girlfriend and advised her of a little clause that I’ve added to the lease: if she wants to resign next month, you are not allowed to live with her - and I will know if she violates the terms of her lease. So that’ll be a fun conversation for you. But I’m sure you’ll be fine. I mean, what woman in her right mind would choose a cheap, rent controlled, fully renovated apartment in New York City over a cheating boyfriend slash burgeoning rapist?”

The call disconnected around the same time the asshole’s legs gave out and he became a puddle of terrified goo on the floor.

Darcy returned to the tower after an epic two hour lunch date with Jane feeling much better about the last twelve and a bit hours, and was ready to hand the asshole his ass. But with Jane coming back to the apartment with her after work, distracting him with the kind of vitriol she usually reserved for old white men who were tightfisted with university grant money, Darcy was confident she should be able to get in and out without too many hassles (or assault charges).

“82nd floor, if you please JARVIS,” Darcy instructed as they stepped into the elevator.

“If you’ll indulge me, Miss Lewis, I’ve been instructed to take you to the 54th floor.”

“That’s one of the residential floors,” Jane realised. “Isn’t that floor still under construction?”

Before JARVIS could answer the elevator doors opened to an impatient Tony Stark.

“Minions, follow me.”

“What’s going on, Tony?” Darcy demanded as her boss’s boss led them through a bare hallway painted base coat white.

“Heard you were in need of a place to crash, so I thought I’d give you an apartment.”

Before either of them could determine how much Tony knew, and how he knew it, he stopped in front of a seemingly random door and threw it open.

“Surprise!!”

“What the fuck!” Darcy shouted, not that she could hear herself over the carousing of half the Avengers line up. “What the fuck?” she repeated when the noise died down.

“Well, Clint here gave us a quick rundown of what happened - we’re glad you’re alright, by the way.”

“But how did you know?”

“Donuts,” Clint teased, earning confusing glances from everyone not in on the joke. “Well, donuts and security cameras.”

“Clint sent me a message on one of Tony’s hi tech whiteboards while I was talking to you,” Jane admitted. “He told me to take you to lunch but I had no idea they were going to do this.”

“But what is all this?”

“This is your stuff,” Clint grinned doing his best Vanna White at the small collection of boxes and suitcases.”

“We paid the scoundrel a visit he won’t soon forget and liberated your belongings so you needn’t see him again.”

“We pretty much cleaned out your bedroom, but left the furniture. Sam said it was all just IKEA stuff so it probably didn’t hold much sentimental value,” Steve explained.

“It didn’t,” Darcy assured him, almost moved to tears by their actions.

“So, I know this place looks pretty bleak right now, but I promise it’s liveable - water and power have been hooked up, and I’ve got a basic bed being delivered in the next hour or so you don’t have to sleep on the floor. And Pepper will be in touch sometime this afternoon to set up a meeting with her interior designer so you can Darcy it up however you like on my dime. Aaaand you look like you’re going to hug me so I’m going to leave now.”

Darcy laughed at Tony’s retreating back before redirecting her attention and affection on the rest of her personal heroes. “Thank you guys so much. I can’t even tell you how much this means to me.”

“You’re more than welcome, Darcy-Lou,” Clint replied, going in for a hug. He squeezed her tightly, pressing a kiss to her forehead before making way for the next guy in line.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Darcy. If we left anything important behind just let me know. I’d be happy to pay him another visit.”

“I’m sure you would, Cap. Thank you.”

Bucky shuffled forward. “Darcy.”

“Bucky.”

“We didn’t much like the idea of living you down here by yourself, so to make you feel a bit safer at night, or maybe not,” he mumbled, hiding behind his hair. “I’m gonna move down into the room across the hall. At least until they finish up on this floor and start getting other people in here.”

Darcy’s arms were thrown around his neck before he could finish.

“Thank you.”

Hug her back, you idiot, Sam mouthed, choking on his laughter when Bucky awkwardly patted her on the back. He pushed Bucky out of the way and showed him what a hug was supposed to look like. “And if you want to hit the clubs and you want some added security…” he proposed with a little shimmy that pulled a laugh from Darcy and Steve (Bucky just rolled his eyes).

“I know who to call.”

“We’ll leave you to it - and see you at dinner, right?” Sam called back as the three musketeers headed for the elevators.

“Absolutely!”

And then it was just Thor and Jane, both of them regarding her with kind smiles and sad eyes.

“I am sorry he harmed you, Darcy. One word from you and I will throw him in the deepest, darkest cell on Asgard until he rots.”

“Thanks big guy. But you’ve done more than enough.”

“So… what now?” Jane asked, reaching for Thor’s hand. “Did you want to come back down to the labs until your bed gets here?”

“I think I’ll check out my new digs for a bit. Maybe rummage through the boxes and see what the guys managed to grab for me and make a list of what I need to replace....”

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?”

“I’m going to be fine, Janey,” Darcy replied, smiling to herself when it occurred to her just how true those words were. She was going to be fine.

[Post Credit Scene]

As it turned out, Tony’s idea of a “basic” bed was a king sized mattress and base - which none of Darcy’s current bedding fit.

Pepper and her favourite interior designer had been and gone, dinner was another hour away, and Darcy was doing her best to make up her new bed regardless of her ill fitting sheets, figuring if worse came to worst she’d just roll herself up like a burrito, when there was a knock at her new front door.

“Nat! When did you get in?”

“About two hours ago,” she replied, pushing past Darcy with a moving box balanced on her hip. “Clint told me what happened.”

“Oh no,” Darcy sighed, eying the box warily. “What did you do? Is he…you know...”

“Still breathing? Still in possession of all his limbs and both his testicles?”

“Yeah, those things.”

“Reluctantly. You could have called me,” she added quietly.

“You were on a mission,” Darcy shrugged. “And I kind of wanted to pretend it didn’t happen.”

“Well, thank goodness Clint knows when to leave well alone and when to go at a problem like a dog with a bone.”

“You taught him well,” Darcy teased, which earned a small snort of amusement from the Black Widow. “Now, not to sound like Brad Pitt but what’s in the box?”

Natasha did a little drumroll on the lid of the box before pulling back the flaps. “I have… every roll of toilet paper in the apartment and half a dozen shoelaces - one from every pair of shoes he owns.”

“Is that all? Not that it’s not amazing,” she giggled. “But it seems kinda… small potatoes for a talented spysassin like yourself.”

“I may have also added a minced ghost pepper to his aftershave. And infected all of his devices with this special little virus that will crash his games just before he reaches a save point.”

“Oh my god, that’s devious! I love it!”

“You’re welcome,” she smirked. “And since that only took me like fifteen minutes after the world's shortest debriefing I had time to stop off on the way back for some of your favourite rotgut in case you were interested in a nightcap,” she announced, pulling a bottle of tequila from the box.

“Jose Cuervo isn’t not rotgut… But I’m kinda off the tequila at the moment,” Darcy admitted quietly.

“Well, luckily for you, I also picked up a bottle of my favourite rotgut,” she smiled, presenting Darcy with a bottle of unpronounceable, high proof vodka.

Darcy laughed and reached for the tacky shot glasses Clint had rescued from her old apartment and let Natasha do the honors.

“Hey, do you have any missions on the horizon?” Darcy spluttered after the first shot.

“Nothing planned, why?”

“Pepper’s interior designer reckons she can have my apartment fully painted and furnished by this time next week. I was thinking I might host a little family dinner. Sort of a housewarming slash thanks for having my back party? I’ll bake that coffee chocolate cake Clint loves and put in orders with like, four of the team's favourite takeout places...”

“I’m in. As long as I get to be on cocktails,” Nat said as she poured another round.

Darcy clinked their glasses together with a smile. “Deal.”

#avengers assemble #darcy lewis and the avengers #freudensteins-fics #darcy lewis #jane foster #clint barton #tony stark #thor #steve rogers #bucky barnes #sam wilson #natasha romanoff #mcu timeline? what mcu timeline?#mostly pre-ultron #(bruce is post-ultron)#bucky is a little more ca:cw #and i mention carol #so.... *shrug*

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thedisneychef · 1 year ago

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Kona Cafe's Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes: Recipe with Sauce

Kona Cafe's Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes are a delicious and indulgent breakfast option that offer a taste of the tropics. Served at the Kona Cafe in Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, these pancakes are a popular menu item that draw inspiration from the flavors of Hawaii. The pancakes are made with a fluffy and buttery batter, studded with crunchy macadamia nuts and chunks of sweet pineapple. Topped with a dollop of whipped cream, these pancakes are a decadent breakfast treat that is perfect for a special occasion or a lazy weekend morning. In this context, we can explore the cultural significance of macadamia nuts and pineapple in Hawaiian cuisine, and how they have become popular ingredients in a variety of dishes and desserts. We can also discuss the importance of using high-quality ingredients, such as fresh pineapple and locally sourced macadamia nuts, to create a delicious and wholesome breakfast. Finally, we can highlight the unique experience of dining at the Kona Cafe and how it offers a taste of the tropics in the heart of Disney World. More Delicious Recipes You Will Love: - Lemon Garlic Shrimp Spoodles Recipe: A Delicious and Easy Meal - Mac And Cheese With Red Wine Sauce – Jiko - Magical Star Cocktail – Disney Parks So last week was Fat Tuesday and it has always been a tradition for me to have pancakes for good luck. And I’m in the midst of my post-trip Disney blues, which meant that no ordinary pancakes would do. I’m craving Disney, in the worst possible way… For lucky pancakes, nothing short of Disney pancakes could be considered acceptable. Apparently, I must have pleased the Tiki God of pancakes (is there such a thing?) because not only did I manage to find the perfect pancake recipe, but it is from Kona Cafe at the Polynesian. Can I just say, if there was ever in the world a recipe that was more like a warm hug then this one, honestly, I don’t know what it is. First off, that amazing smell every morning that floats through the Polynesian? Turns out it’s these pancakes. It’s the most beautiful smell and it instantly brought me back to Disney. All that was missing was the tiki music and a tropical fountain. Seriously, I got a little choked up. I’ll admit that while these may not look terribly gorgeous (and they don’t at Kona either), as far as taste, let me just say… Pure heaven. These may be the best pancakes I’ve had in my entire life, and that’s saying something as I’m quite the pancake connoisseur. They taste deliciously sweet, and the pineapple paired with the butter creates this beautiful, nutty, tropical flavor that goes so well with the pancakes. I’m not joking when I say that now I crave these pancakes… All the time. They’re really just that good. I made no real changes to the recipe, other then accidentally burning the toasted macadamia nuts ever so slightly. I suggest making the pineapple sauce first, allowing that to cook while preparing the pancakes. The nut butter keeps really, really well in the fridge and, as I’ve discovered, tastes good on everything. I’m almost embarrassed to share all the things I’ve put it on. A simple-to-make, insanely delicious pancake recipe that makes my house smell like the Polynesian? I may be in serious trouble… ~~~~ °o° ~~~~ In addition to the delicious food and recipes, Disney World is also known for its unique dining experiences, such as character dining and themed restaurants. Whether you want to have breakfast with Mickey Mouse, dine in a replica of a sci-fi drive-in theater at Hollywood Studios, or enjoy a meal with an ocean view at the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot, there's something for everyone. And with the help of Recipes Today and the How to Make category, you can even recreate some of these magical dining experiences in your own home. So why not start planning your next Disney-inspired meal or dining experience today? Read the full article

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himbowelsh · 4 years ago

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Valentine's day alphabet for Lewis Nixon, pretty please! I love your writing! :)

valentines day alphabet ( accepting! )

A : AFFECTION. how does your muse show affection?

Gifts. When it’s someone he cares deeply for, he’ll shower them with gifts. He’s just that sort of person, and it’s his way of giving back to people who choose to stick with him. When it gets too much, he’s got to be told to cut it out. He also enjoys being close to people, even if that doesn’t always translate to cuddling; he likes curling up next to his partner on a couch or in bed, he likes touching his friends casually to show he’s there and he cares. It seems a bit careless, but that’s just his style.

B : BOUQUET. does your muse like flowers? which ones are their favourite?

This man is masterful with the bouquets. He has a really sharp aesthetic eye, and knows exactly what will look good in a certain spot, exactly what’s appropriate for a certain occasion... he doesn’t ask the florist for help, the florist asks him. Nix would never garden by choice, but he’s a bouquet connoisseur.

C : CHOCOLATE. does your muse like chocolate? which one is their favourite?

It’s called a guilty pleasure, leave him alone.

D : DATE. what is your muse’s ideal date? where / who with / etc?

Why must one... do things? Is it not enough to simply spend a night in, maybe in a nice hotel, ordering room service and watching a movie, before passing out next to each other? Honestly, Nix doesn’t need to go places --- he’d prefer a quiet night in, not around people, so long as he and his partner can spend time together.

E : EMBRACE. does your muse like hugs? what are their hugs like?

Honestly, they make him a little uncomfortable. He wasn’t hugged as a child, it does not compute. He’s tricky about physical affection in general, so he definitely won’t be the one to initiate hugs... and honestly, might stand there like a board if he’s the one getting hugged.

F : FLIRT. is your muse good at flirting? how do they flirt?

Oh, he can. He can, he will, and he’s good at it. Nix is a pretty natural flirt; when he bothers to lay on the charm, it can be overwhelming. He’s great at disarming people, and quite shameless when he’s interested in someone.

G : GIFT. is your muse good at gift - giving or do they struggle to get it right?

He’ll literally just hand out money, man. “Here you go, don’t spend it all too fast.” That’s for the people he likes. When it comes to someone he loves, like a partner, Nix is very, very different --- he enjoys spoiling them, even if he doesn’t trust himself to get it right all the time. Jewelry, tickets to shows, new hats, new shoes... the amount of things he showers his partners / best friends with it a little alarming. He’s definitely bought Dick a puppy before. A whole-ass puppy. Dick didn’t even ask for one, Nix just gave it to him, and suddenly, wow, looks like Dick is now a dog owner.

H : HEART. is your muse quick or slow to give their heart away?

He definitely doesn’t make a habit out of it. When it happens, it’s usually unintentional, and he ends up caring more than he ever means to, or knows what to do with. Nix’s heart is a fickle thing. It goes where it wants, he’s got no say in the matter.

I : I LOVE YOU. does your muse find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

Oooooh, buddy. He’s not gonna say it first. He’d never dream of saying it first. He is legitimately terrified that he’ll say it to his partner and not hear it back; he has nightmares about it, and that’s honestly the moment he realizes how much he loves his partner. He’ll probably freeze up the first time he hears it --- just for one telling second, before covering it up with a smirk and a half-serious “aww, love you too”, like it’s nothing. Nix won’t be able to really say it for a long time... and even then, won’t be able to breathe until he hears it back. It’s a big thing for him, and he honestly needs to hear it a lot.

J : JEALOUSY. does your muse get jealous in a relationship?

Yeah, and he’s not even subtle about it. If someone’s monopolizing his partner, he’ll either insert himself into the conversation and completely take it over, or... just take his partner and lead them away. No explanation, nothing, just ‘c’mon, time to go.’

K : KISS. is your muse a good kisser? why / why not?

Nix’s ability to kiss is firmly tied into how much alcohol is in his system at a given time. The drunker he is, the bolder he is... but way sloppier, too, and needier. He’s trying his best, but that might not be a good thing. When he’s sober, he’s a lot more... deliberate about it. He pays more attention to where he puts his hands, cupping his partner’s face and holding them like a precious thing. His sober kisses are almost chaste, not very adventurous, not demanding anything from the other person... but the more comfortable he is in a relationship, the more he’s able to put into a single kiss. Lots of touching (he loves getting his hands in a partner’s hair), breaking apart just long enough to gasp for breath, pulling them into his lap and just... kissing the hell out of them. Nix needs to get lost in a kiss.

L : LOVE. who does your muse love?

He adores his sister Blanche, has a soft spot for his mother that she may or may not return, loves his kid (even if he doesn’t know how to show it), loves his friends, loves Dick to the moon and back... Nix has a big heart, and more love to give than he realizes.

M : MOONLIGHT. is morning or night a more romantic setting?

Nighttime is where it happens, baby! Mostly because he resents getting up before noon.

N : NAUGHTY. what is your muse like in bed?

Naughty’s a very good word for it! Again, this depends on his level of sobriety at the time. When very drunk, he’s been known to just... stop working in the middle of the act, sometimes even passing out. (Let’s just say Kathy had her reasons for that divorce.) A more sober Nix, however, is very attentive. Talk about a tease. He likes to hold, to caress, to feel his partner. Definitely has a few kinks, and is tentatively eager to experiment; he really digs encouragement in bed, which is probably a fun topic for therapy. His hair is a thing, okay --- twist it, pull it, run fingers through it. He loves doing the same to his partner. This man is horrible when it comes to leaving marks in visible spaces, and has basically no shame about it --- one of Nix’s greatest turn-ons would be seeing his partner fully decked out in eveningwear, with a hickey he gave them just visible at their collar. Sometimes does a weird sort of thing in bed where he’s massaging his partner in the middle of the act? Because god forbid they had any tension in their back or shoulders while they’re legit on top of him! He’s quite vocal, murmuring a running commentary the whole way through, but doesn’t get loud until the very end.

O : ODE. does your muse have a way with words?

He’s an eloquent bastard, but 78% of what he says is sardonic. Don’t trust him.

P : PARTNER. what does your muse look for in a partner? looks / personality?

He wants a keen mind, someone who he can have discussions with; someone dynamic, open to new ideas and out-of-the-box thinking, with their own opinions they’re not afraid to express. He’d kind of love a partner he could debate with, honestly... but definitely one he can bounce off of. A person capable of reading between the lines, because he often doesn’t say what he means. Someone who gets his humor --- someone who likes to laugh. A good appreciation of music would be great, especially if his partner was a good singer! And definitely... someone patient.

Q : QUESTION. would your muse ask the big question or expect their partner to?

He’s asked it enough times at this point, with a progressively bigger succession of rings; at the same time, he doesn’t expect anyone will ever ask him, so, what can you do?

R : ROMANCE. is your muse a romantic or a cynic?

Romance is for people who’ve never had their dog stolen by their ex-wife. (He can be super romantic, if the incentive is there --- like, astonishingly romantic, candlelit dinner and bedclothes strewn with roses. He’s got a romantic spirit, but needs a good reason to put that effort in, and the damn right person.)

S : SWEETHEART. did your muse have a childhood sweetheart?

Bold of you to assume he had a childhood. Nah. Nix was raised by a succession of nannies and all-male prep schools. He never really had the chance. He never really dated until college.

T : TRUE LOVE. does your muse believe in true love?

Heh heh... no. No way. That’s a stupid question. Love’s just... it happens for some people, and they’re able to relish it, and thrive in it. For others, it’s distant and difficult and never quite what they want it to be. For some people, it’s right there, but they’re not allowed to seize it. There are lots of different types of love; Nix has known (or dreamed of) them all at one point or another. Nothing about any of them is true. There’s no such thing as ‘meant to be’.

U : UNREQUITED. has your muse had their heart broken?

He’d say no, but Kathy’s divorce definitely took him by surprise. Like... it wasn’t as if he loved her then, he hadn’t loved her for a long time --- hell, maybe he didn’t love her when they married --- but they had an understanding. She swept the rug out from under him, and Nix rushed into a relationship with his English bride to sort of... bounce back from that. That ended in heartbreak too.

V : VALENTINE. how does your muse feel about valentine’s day?

Commercial and stupid, but you bet he’s booking the best seats at the fanciest restaurant in town. It’s what his partner would want, right? (He’d need someone to actively tell him, “no, let’s not, we can stay at home and I’ll be just as happy”, otherwise he feels like he needs to please.)

W : WEDDING. would your muse get married? why / why not?

You’d think he’d have enough of that after Kathy, but... nope, he keeps making the same mistake. Glutton for punishment.

(Marriage is an institution he honestly doesn’t believe in, but he’ll keep trying until somebody proves him wrong. Nix has a certain need to be in a relationship, to be bound to someone else in a way that feels permanent. Deep down, he has the feeling that everyone leaves, especially the people who make the mistake of getting close to him. Putting a ring on it makes things feel more permanent, like they won’t just up and run as soon as things start to get difficult. Nix isn’t afraid of commitment --- he just doesn’t feel like anyone can, or should, commit to him.)

X : XOXO. does your muse use / like pet names?

“Sweetheart” is his big one, and he’ll whip out the occasional “darling”... or “dear”, which is nearly always sarcastic. He’ll sometimes get creative with them, (ex: “Guts 'N Glory here applied for a transfer...”) but never use those more than once --- heaven forbid he become boring.

Y : YOURS. does your muse get protective easily?

Yes, and it’s completely removed from his jealous tendencies. Nix does not like to see the people he cares about threatened under any circumstances. He’s a lover, not a fighter... but he’s a lover with a lot of money, and a big brain he knows how to use. He has the resources at his disposal to publicly obliterate someone, and could find dirt on a saint. Just give Nix a reason. In the moment, he’ll diffuse the situation as best as possible, maybe warning someone off or leading his loved one away. The real show happens after the fact.

Z : ZZZ. how many people has your muse slept with?

Okay... okay. Listen. He went to Yale. He was away from home. He was partying... a good portion of nights. Like, he’s not a womanizer, but he’s been around, okay.

#thank you so much babe!! hope you enjoy ;)#lewis nixon #headcanons #Anonymous

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snippychicke · 4 years ago

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The Jasmine Dragon

What’s this? More Avatar the Last Airbender fic?

Yeah, I like Iroh too much. Shout to my fude @phrogballz for inspiring this mess. Here is part one!!

Rating: This one is maybe teenish?

Triggers: Awkward flirting? Otherwise none.

The Jasmine Dragon had quickly become your new favorite place to relax after work. Within a few weeks, you had become a regular, stopping by every afternoon to indulge in a cup or two of the various teas and just to enjoy the atmosphere.

Tea shops in the middle ring usually had a very… haughty atmosphere. Stern and stiff with dress codes and who they allowed in. Yet not the Jasmine Dragon. Its atmosphere was far more relaxed as people happily chatting over tea, kids allowed to laugh and giggle while their parents caught up with the day's gossip.

Never mind the tea was far better than any other tea shop. You weren't exactly a tea connoisseur but you could still deduce Mushi certainly was.

Which was the other reason you frequented: Mushi. He was not a typical man that the other ladies enjoyed fawning over, but to you…

Well. You were in deep. Heads over heels deep, which made you feel rather guilty because he was certainly older than you, and he also had to be married. You may have never seen his wife or heard either of them mention her, but there was little doubt in your mind that there was a missus in the back. Perhaps a high-class lady that was shy and demure. After all, something about the way Lee carried himself told you he was definitely high-class, even if Mushi didn't quite act it.

And here you were, unmarried, overworked, and in love with a man that was completely out of reach.

---

"There she is," Mushi greeted as you entered the tea shop, your name rolling off his tongue as you blushed at the wide smile on his face. "I was beginning to worry you wouldn't be joining us today!"

"And miss your handsome face?" You replied without thinking because it had been the first thing to pop into your head. It was his turn to look surprised; a faint blush crossing his cheeks before he laughed your slip of the tongue away as if it had been a joke.

Which, it hadn't. It had actually been your main thought as you were forced to stay late at work because another employee had walked out and you had too much integrity to leave your co-workers to work short.

Thankfully someone else had shown up, allowing you to leave and rush to the tea shop before they closed.

"Take a seat, my dear!" Mushi waved toward your usual table, breaking your train of thought. "Lee will be with you shortly."

He turned back to the group he had been talking to and you slinked to the table and slid into your seat while wishing you would just melt into the floor.

"Nice," Lee commented dryly as he appeared a moment later. "Very subtle."

"I feel so embarrassed," you whined pitifully as he poured your usual order.

"As you should." Lee was often dry with you once he started to feel comfortable in your presence. Yet a’;t the same time, he seemed to actually care, going as far as patting your shoulders awkwardly as you tried to hide your face.

"It just…" you gestured the word popping from your mouth. "Every time. Whatever thought is at the front of my mind just pops out."

He was quiet for a moment, "...He likes it," he muttered quietly, almost sounding embarrassed as well. When you glanced towards him, he was looking away with a very put-upon expression. "When you...flirt with him."

When Lee looked back, you were fairly sure your face expressed your delight and hope, judging by his own soured expression. Yet after a second, your mood started downwards again as you caught sight of Mushi. "I bet your aunt isn't as happy."

"Aunt?" His expression morphed into confusion as he quirked his eyebrow. "What aunt?”

You paused as you looked to him, hope once more blooming in your chest despite yourself. "Isn't Mushi married?"

"No, well…. A long time ago, but she died before I was born."

It was bittersweet hurting in sympathy for Mushi, yet also having butterflies as you realized you might actually have a slight chance. You weren't crushing on a married man.

Just one that was more than just a few years older and thought you were just being playful when you shyly flirted with him.

"He hasn't said anything about being interested in anyone in particular, has he?" You asked as you played with your hair, your eyes drifting to the man in question as he bid the other customers farewell and disappeared into the back.

The odd noise from Lee made your attention snap back to the young man. His face was somehow both green and red at the same time, his expression truly horrified. "Don't give me that look!" You balked, feeling embarrassed yourself. "And don't tell him I asked! Omashu," you buried your face in your hands. Why was it things just popped out of your mouth when it came to Mushi? This time around Lee nevertheless.

"I just...I can't. I just can't." Lee shook his head and marched back towards the kitchens.

And okay, you could kind of sympathize with the poor boy. You could imagine what it would be like to have someone fawn over your older uncle in front of you.

You sighed and sipped at your tea, watching the sunset out the window as lights started to flicker to life. You weren't sure if today was a good day or a bad day. Or maybe just a day.

He wasn't married.

He was still twice your age.

He noticed you weren't there. You smiled to yourself as you remembered his bright smile when you entered. His deep laugh turning your stomach into butterflies.

But he thought you were teasing.

You sighed as you took another sip. How could you convince him you weren't just bantering. That you did look forward to seeing him every day. He may not be a strapping young Dai Li agent that looked as if Oma and Shu had granted life to a statue, but there was something to be found attractive in his shorter and rounder appearance.

He'd be a lot more comfortable to hug, for one. To he wrapped in his arms, resting against his full-frame and drifting off to sleep….

"What with that look, nephew?" Iroh asked as Zuko entered the kitchen sans teapot. Instead of answering right, the teenager groaned and rested his head against the wall. "Did someone leave you another love note?" He chuckled at the thought. A lot of the young women would leave notes ranging from simple /you're cute!/ To poems using flowery prose to describe his unique gold eyes and black hair.

"I wished," Zuko muttered, opening his bad eye to look at his uncle.

"Well, did our favorite customer say why she looked so frazzled this evening?' Iroh gently pried as he busied himself with dirty dishes. "It's not like her to be so late."

"I guess I didn't ask…"

"Oh? Then what were you two talking about? She seemed rather flustered."

Of course, he would notice that. Because just as he had to listen to you try to deny and admit your crush in the same sentence, Zuko knew his uncle enough to know his flirting with you was different that the attention he gave other women.

He never talked about them. But he would talk about you. Small comments here and there that had caught the prince's attention.

"She thought you were married," he blurted out with the finesse of a komodo rhino. To his credit, Iroh didn't drop the cup he had been washing, though it was a close call. It was actually comical the way his eyes widened.

"She what?"

"I told her that my aunt died a long time ago," Zuko shrugged, trying to act indifferent when he really enjoyed seeing his uncle flustered for once, though the older man was trying to hide it as he continued. "She then made me promise not to tell you that she asked if you were interested in anyone."

The clay teacup shattered in Iroh's hands, though he barely seemed to care, judging by the smile forming on his face.

Zuko expected his uncle to burst into the cafe and do something over the top and embarrassing. Instead, he turned his attention back to the broken cup, though still smiling widely as he hummed to himself, picking up the fragments.

"Wait...aren't you going to do anything?" Zuko asked after a moment.

"When it comes to matters of the heart, dear nephew, you cannot rush. Patience is key. One must allow a fruit to ripen before harvesting."

"What is there to ripen?!" Zuko groaned after a long moment of trying to understand his uncle's words. "She likes you, and you like her, right? Right?" He stressed as Iroh just continued to hum to himself, which sounded a lot like the girls of Ba Sing Se.

---

The next day you had a feeling something had changed when you entered the tea shop.

"Welcome, my beautiful firelily," Mushi greeted as soon as he saw you, smiling widely as ever though you swear there was more of a glint in his exotic golden eyes.

"Thank you, my handsome tea master," you blurted back without thinking. You enjoyed the shocked but pleased expression as he chuckled but returned to his customer he was pouring tea for.

You once more slinked to your usual free table. You expect Lee to appear and give you grief once more. Or express his usual dismay at your flirting.

Instead Mushi slid up next to you, setting a cup before you and pouring the tea gracefully despite your jump of surprise. "I know you prefer my Jasmine Chamomile with honey after a long day of work," he started lowly, making a shiver trace down your spine at the huskiness of his voice. "But I think you will enjoy this blend as well. It's a sultry full-bodied tea, aged so it's slightly smoky yet sweet. Something I believe you're fond of."

You were fairly sure your face was as warm as the steaming tea in the innocent cup. You shifted slightly in your seat, rather ashamed of the shivers and warmth pooling in your abdomen from his voice and words alone.

Then his free hand rested lightly on your lower back, and you swore his hand was hot as the teapot, which felt like heaven on your sore muscles. You looked from the dark tea up to him, able to notice the flecks of dark amber and gold in his eyes as he smiled down at you. "Enjoy my dear," he continued as he pulled away slowly. "I hope you find this brew as pleasing and fulfilling as I expect."

You were going to die and melt in a puddle right there. You couldn't even think of a single word, let alone say anything as he went to tend to the other customers, once more his usual bright and cheerful self, no hint of…

Of…

What exactly was that? You wheezed as you turned back to your tea, cupping the warm porcelain with your slightly trembling hands. That was not Mushi's typical banter and light flirting that left you with butterflies but smiling ear to ear.

That was... sensuous. Sultry. Seductive.

You brought the cup to your lips to hide your smile, closing your eyes to enjoy the subtle scent of the tea. As he said, you caught a whiff of slight smokiness mixed in with deeper earthy tones.

Full-bodied indeed, you thought pleasantly as you took a sip, letting the tea ease the feeling of cotton mouth Mushi had left. Intense warming flavor that you couldn't describe, but certainly addictive.

With speed you were rather ashamed of, given how you liked to savor your tea, the cup was emptied of its last drop. You traced the delicately painted flower around the porcelain of the cup, chest warmed both by the tea and the emotions stirring in your chest. His words, his tone, repeated itself over in your head, your back still tingling where he touched you.

You needed more.

Tea. You needed more tea, you thought rather embarrassed at the feeling settling in your lower regions. Being attracted to Mushi was one thing, but it was something quite different to imagine him….

"You look flustered, my little flower," Mushi reappeared as if summoned by your thoughts, making you squeak. He had a secretive smile on his face as his hand reached around your back and settled on your opposite shoulder, subtly bringing you closer to his frame. "Was the tea too strong for you?"

"No, I-I loved it," you answered honestly, dangerously being bold enough to look up at him. "And your right, I do enjoy aged full-bodied...teas."

The pause was barely noticeable, and you hadn't fully intended it, but you were proud to see surprise flash across his face, followed by a faint flush on his cheeks as he smiled, rubbing your shoulder slightly.

"Good, good," he chuckled lowly. "I am glad I know my favorite customer so well. It would be a great shame if I misjudged what you were interested in."

You were fairly sure he was meaning more than what he was saying. Your stomach twisted and your heart fluttered as you were caught up in his amber eyes. "No, I think you've figured out exactly what I like. But, um, maybe we could still take some time to, uh, get to know each other better," you finished in a rush, realizing what exactly you were saying. Asking.

A date. You were asking him out on a date. Out loud.

The blush on his face deepened but it was a look of happy surprise on his face. "I quite agree. Perhaps at the festival next week?"

"Yes!" You agreed instantly, breaking into a smile. "I...! Yes,I would love to, Master Mushi."

#atla iroh #atla #Avatar The Last Airbender #i love iroh so much #iroh #irohxreader

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suzubelle-chan · 5 years ago

Text

Someday Someplace Chapter 2 Evening Encounters

A Casnor Childhood Romance AU

Just some reminders like 90% of the cast belongs to @s-kinnaly, @ridersoftheapocalypse, and @mrneighbourlove. Also, this an AU of rider’s fanfiction, where Cass and Ralnor meet and fall in love as kids rather than adults. This is fanfiction of fanfiction-seperate timeline going on here. Just to clear up any confusion. One more thing, I edited the bit in the previous chapter about Ralnor’s skin tone since s-kinnaly is designing him with brown skin and I want to keep my works close to what you see in her art. Okay, enjoy the fic!

As Orana sat on her father’s shoulders, she scanned the crowd, hand over her eyes. “No sign of him here,” she called out.

The king shrugged, "Well it was worth a shot. Keep looking, dear."

"Okay, papa!" Orana replied and looked out again into the crowd.

Right next to them, Zelda held Tebanam, Covarog, and Kanisa next to her skirt. “Mama, how come we aren’t yelling Ralnor’s name?” the princess asked. “Isn’t that what we are supposed to do when we lose someone?”

“I can do that!” Orana declared. She took in a deep breath. However, her father clasped her mouth with his hand, silencing her yell.

“It is true. But we are royalty. That adds on other problems in finding. People could panic if they found out that Ralnor is missing, running around and in searching they might not pay attention and accidentally hurt him. Or people might try to find him, but then hold him for ransom. We are trying to stay as quiet for as long as we can.”

“But I miss him, mama.” Kanisa sighed.

“Me too! We’ve got to get Ralnor back!” Covarog agreed.

“Ral!” Tebanam declared.

“I know darlings. I miss him too.”

“Is he going to be okay, Papa?” Orana asked.

“He will be,” Ganondorf stated, patting her. He then growled, “He will be.”

Zelda walked on over, patting her husband’s side. “Of course he will. We’ll make sure of it. I just can’t imagine what Ralnor is doing right now.

Indeed, with all the Wisdom she held, Zelda would have never imagined her son pulling on a piece of leather with all his might with a Gerudo girl pulling on the other end. All while, her mother narrated the events to a small crowd watching beyond the stall.

“See folks? Resists wear and tear!” Ukuri declared. There were some oohs and awes in the crowd. "You won't find high-quality leather anywhere else!" Then she smirked a bit. "Alright kids, now push!"

Ralnor took a step before straightening up. He looked up at the woman and asked her “What?” However, he failed to look back in time to see Cass ram into him, sending them both into the ground. Ukuri and crowd burst into laughter.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day!” The Gerudo woman chuckled. “So anyone interested in some leathers?”

As the merchant took in some orders, Ralnor watched the little triforce pieces swirling around his head.

“I’m sorry,” the girl lamented, still on the ground and eyes on the ground.

Ralnor shook his head, scattering the pieces away. He smiled, “It’s okay. I’m used to it. Sometimes my siblings and I get excited when it comes to group hugs.”

“What’s a sibling?” Cass asked.

“You know, it’s a brother or a sister.”

“Oh, you sure do know some fancy words Ralnor.”

“Just from books that I read.” The boy blushed, rubbing the back of his head. That is when his stomach gurgled, his cheeks pink. “Sorry.”

“Hey, when your tummy’s hungry its hungry.” Cass shrugged. “No need to blush.”

That is when Cass’s stomach roared, her own cheeks turning pink.

“Whoa is there a monster in your belly?" Ralnor asked.

“Shut up.” Cass mumbled.

“Well looks like I’ve got some hungry little kiddos on my hands.” Ukuri beamed, turning to the kids while filling her bag. She picked up a silver rupee and handed it to Cass. “How about you get us some grub?”

"Okay, mommy."

“Grub? Like bugs?” the boy flinched and twisted

“No, she means food." Cass giggled. "You may know the fancy words, but I guess I know some fun ones. She patted him on shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you everything I know." She fidgeted with her belt, revealing a small pouch and slipped the rupee inside. "Any requests?"

“I’ll take some cuckoo. You kids get whatever you want.”

“Yeah!” The girl cheered and took the boy’s hand.

“At least something that resembles real food. Not too many sweets or candy. I will be checking all pockets when you too get back.”

“Ugh! Fine!” the girl groaned.

“Ralnor I think you need to keep an eye on her for me,” the mother commented with a smile.

“Don’t worry ma’am I will.” The boy replied.

Just as the two children slipped out the back, a knight appeared at the stall. Ukuri jumped a bit, then took a deep breath and straightened out her skirt.

“Good day my lord. How may I help you today?”

"Pardon me, ma'am. There is a slight emergency I must announce. There is a missing noble boy and his family is dreadfully worried about him. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and is wearing green clothes. Has anyone seen a child like that?"

The group of customers shook there or murmured no.

Ukuri huffed, “A boy with blonde hair? In this country? Sorry, I think you are looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“Well, keep your eyes open. Any and all information would be appreciated.” The man gave a slight bow and left.

When the crowd left, Ukuri grabbed a rag and rubbed the shelf a little too hard. “Typical. Some rich bastard’s brat goes missing and they’ll send out the guard. Meanwhile, a Gerudo girl goes missing and no one gives a damn.” She then glanced at the door. “Nah, couldn’t be.” She murmured, still scrubbing.

The kids glanced all around at the stalls. Food descriptions.

“See anything you like?” Cass asked.

“I’m not sure…” Ralnor admitted.

“Well, I think I found a stall with cuckoo for Mommy. Maybe there’s something for you here.”

The two children stood in line, glancing at the large black sign with all the foods and prices in white. “Aw sweet! They’ve got onion rings!” the girl declared. “Those are my favorites.”

“Okay…” the boy stared at the sign. His eyes scanning around, not settling on any of those words.

“Anything wrong?” Cass asked.

“Well…I don’t know what any of these things are,” Ralnor admitted.

Cass blinked at the boy and started to laugh her head off. “Aw man Ralnor. You are a riot!" She continued to laugh until she looked at the blank face of the boy. "You are actually serious, aren't you?"

“Yes.”

"Oh, Ralnor. I’m sorry. I mean, I thought you were a rich kid, but wow,” Cass pondered, hand now on her cheek.

“Mama usually only lets us have sweets at fairs or after dinner.” He admitted. “We sometimes can get Papa to give us snacks though when we are working on homework.

“Don’t you worry.” Cass pulled him in, arm around his shoulders. She patted her chest. “I am what you call a cuss-ne-sir of outdoor foods. Just ask me.”

“I think the word is connoisseur.”

Cass smirked, “ Okay smarty pants. Just read off some foods and tell you what they are. I’m sure there’s something you’ll like.”

“Okay…what is…a cheese frit-ter?”

“Oh, that's cheese covered in a batter and all fried up."

“Fried?”

“They take something like grease or fat or butter and boil it, and then they put food into it until gets all nice and crispy. Anything else?”

“What’s a Stuffed Spud?”

“That’s a potato that’s been baked and then put all kinds of good stuff in it. Sour cream, chives, cheese, bacon bits, butter-it’s really good.”

“Uh…I don’t eat bacon…”

“Me neither. Mom says it’s a Gerudo thing. You order your own fixings so it’s fine.”

“Maybe…what are fries?”

“Okay, now I’m starting to get worried about your lifestyle. Fries are potatoes cut up into strips and fried up. They make a great snack and usually come with a lot of meals.”

“So then what’s a grilled cheese?”

Cass sighed, “Let me ask you a question, you do know what a cheese sandwich is right?”

“Of course I do!”

"Just checking.” The girl stepped back, palms shielding her. “I was starting to think you came from like a different world or something. Well, grilled cheese is basically a cooked cheese sandwich. You just put in a pan until you burn the bread a bit and melted the cheese.”

“Well, I think I’ll take a grilled cheese then. With some fries too.”

“Excellent choice! Trust me, you’ll love it!”

The children ordered their food and weaved their way through the crowd. When the two children returned to the stall, Ukuri sighed. “Thank the goddesses! For a while there I thought I had two lost children on my hands.”

“Here you go Mommy, fried cuckoo wings!” the girl offered up the paper box overflowing with wings and fries.

"Thanks, kiddo. I'll go shut the stall and we’ll dine in the back.”

Right after the woman lowered the blind, closing them off to the word, a large stomping rattled the stall. “Yeesh, some customers," Ukuri grumbled. She then turned to see her daughter starting to take one of the hangings off the wall, food on one of the higher boxes, and Ralnor glancing around, checking the boxes.

“What are you looking for kiddo?” Ukuri asked.

“A napkin,” the boy responded.

“What for? We haven’t even started eating.” Cass stated giving the fabric one last tug before it fell on top of her.

“You can’t eat a meal without a napkin. Maybe a snack, but a not a meal.” Ralnor countered.

“Let me guess one of your mother’s rules?” Ukuri asked.

“Yes, ma'am. Plus I don’t want to get crumbs or stains on the hanging.”

“Kid let me tell you something, I learned when I lived with my mama.” The merchant knelt down, large arm wrapping the child close. “As long as your mama is not around, she won’t mind if you get a little messy. I’ll make sure you’re clean enough for her. Plus, Cass and I eat and sleep on these things all the time. I know how to get any stains out.”

Cass popped her head, hanging wrapped around her . “It’s true,” she declared.

“Are you sure? I really don’t want to make a mess.” He gazed up with wide, nervous eyes.

Ukuri sighed and smiled, “Well, I've got some rags upstairs that will do the job just fine if you want one.

"Yes, please. Thank you.”

“No worries hun. You are so sweet.”

As Ukuri left, Cass commented as she laid down the hanging, "Wow you got one of those strict fancy moms.” She then grabbed the boxes off the boxes and sat down.

The boy sat down next to her, he admitted.“She does kind of get mad when my siblings and I pull pranks or bring mud in the house or when we stay up late. But she always makes us feel better when we get bullied and really loves to help us with our homework.”

“She sounds nice, but I think I’ll take my mom any day of the week,” the girl said and then offered the boy his box.

The boy sat the box on his lap, cautiously took the sandwich with both hands. “I’ve never had anything so…wet and sticky…” He mentioned.

Cass chomped down on an onion ring as she spoke, “That’s called grease. It’s what the cook the food in. Just take a bite, it’s gonna not kill ya. Trust me. I’ve eaten this stuff plenty of times.” She then swallowed, a series of coughs following. Cass pounded on her chest until she started breathing again.

“Okay…” Ralnor glanced at his friend nervously before looking at the dark sandwich in front of him, cheese slightly oozing out of the crust and took a small bite. The gooeyness of the warm cheese and the crunchiness of the bread filled his mouth. After swallowing, the boy said in awe, “This is good.”

"See, nothing to worry about," Cass stated. "Welcome to unhealthy-ish foods.”

“Ish?” Ralnor repeated.

“Because well cheese and bread are good for you, right? But, some people say all the healthy stuff gets lost when you fry foods like this. But I think still think there’s some left. Maybe not that much, but still some.”

Ralnor laughed. “I really like the way you think Cass.”

“Thanks.” The girl admitted, beaming.

As Ralnor continued to eat, he heard something hitting the ground repeatedly. That’s when he noticed the two dogs in the corner of the stall. The large white dog with almost green was wagging his tail, panting at the two of them. The black dog stared silently at them.

“Uh..what’s up with your dogs?”

“Oh, they always do that when it's meal time,” Cass shrugged. “Daddy used to let them have leftovers of their meals, just try looking away and you should be okay."

“Alright,” the prince stated as he turned around and tried to concentrate on his food. However, the sound of panting only got louder. He turned around slightly to see the larger dog right up in his face. "Hi, doggie," Ralnor greeted. Then the tog bit the crust out of his hand, tugging it away. He then sat down and started to chew on the leftover sandwich. “Hey!” the boy cried out.

“You gotta be careful around Noishe,” Cass commented. “He’ll take what he wants without warning. Gotta stay sharp.”

“What about that dog?” Ralnor pointed to the thin, black dog still in the corner.

“That’s Repede. He’s the quiet one. He doesn’t cause trouble much unless you have something you want.”

“Like what?”

Before Cass could reply, the dog slipped over, his head on the girl’s lap. Cass managed to grab her box of food before he could grab a piece.

“Fries for one thing.” The girl muttered as she patted his head. “Come one bro. Mommy doesn’t want you to have too much human food. You are not as young as you used to be.”

The dog growled a bit and started nuzzling her stomach.

The girl started to laugh, “Okay, just one more piece.” And she plucked off a fry and put it right in front of the dog’s mouth. The canine eagerly took the piece and started to eat.

Ukuri walked into the stall, some rags draped over her arm. “Cass, you better not be feeding the dogs cooked food again. You know its not good for them.”

“I’m just showing Ralnor what not to do around the dogs when they want food.”

“Really?” Ralnor asked.

Cass shushed him, “Come on Ralnor, just go along with it.”

“Sure you are, and that is not the sound of the dogs’ chewing.” Ukuri lamented as she sat down handing a rag to her guest. She then reached for her food still on the counter and joined the two children on the mat.

"Well, it's a lesson by trial and error." The girl shrugged.

The woman chuckled shaking her head. “You know Ralnor, I think I might have to save you from my girl. Who knows what kinds of things she’ll teach you if I left you two alone?”

“Like adult words?” Cass suggested.

“What are adult words?” Ralnor asked.

“You know the words that grownups say when they bang their heads on doorways or stub their toes on furniture.” The girl started to beam, “For example…”

Ukuri then picked up her daughter, spilling out onion ring and fry bits and crumbs everywhere, rubbing her hair with her knuckles. “That’s enough out of you!”

"Ack! Aw, come on Mommy! You said it's better to learn now than later! Besides I promised I’d teach him everything I know!"

“I’ll have to put an end to that lesson. For all I know, Ralnor’s mommy might pick me up, put me over her knee, and spank me for letting you teach Ralnor those words. And who knows what she’ll do to you.”

The two dogs eagerly attacked the pieces the food, licking up and chewing on everything they could find.

Ralnor couldn't help but laugh at the scene. He couldn’t help but think, "I still miss Mama, Papa, Covarog, Orana, Kanisa and Tebanam...but Cass and Ukuri they make me feel right at home. I'm really happy I met them. I can’t wait for my family to meet them."

With the sky starting to change into its usual evening red, orange, and yellow, the royal family still didn’t find their missing member. Tebanam napped inside his father’s arms, while the other children clung onto their parents' legs to support them, rubbing their eyes.

“Still no sign of him…” Zelda sighed, patting Kanisa’s bobbing head.

“We will find Ralnor, we can’t lose hope.” Ganondorf countered.

“But we’ve search all over,” the queen retorted. “The only thing left to do is go inside each stall and search.”

“If that’s we have to do, then so be it,” the king commented. “But first, we must take the children home.”

At the mention of them, Covarog, Kanisa, and Orana snapped up. “What?” They all screamed. Tebanam now wide awake by the noise, starting to whimper.

“But we can’t go home yet!” Orana declared. “We haven’t found Ralnor yet!”

“We can’t leave him behind! We just can’t!” Covarog declared.

“We can still help!” Kanisa interjected before a yawn cut her off.

The king smiled, sparing one hand to pat Kanisa’s head. Zelda stroked Orana's and Covarog’s heads. “Yes, but you are also very much exhausted. You need to go to sleep.”

“No, we don't!" Covarog objected with the stomp of his foot.

“Yes, you do." The king then lifted the boy's chin with his fingers. "Don't worry, your mother and I will not stop searching for your brother. We will bring him home. But we also care about you, and you need to get to bed."

“I don’t think that I can sleep…with Ralnor out there….somewhere without us…” Orana sighed, staving off a yawn.

“Well at least, we’ll get you ready and you can try for us? Okay?” Zelda asked.

The three older children glanced at each other frowning. Tebanam grumbled a bit as his father swayed him, calming him down. Covarog sighed, “Okay let’s go home.”

The queen smiled, “I know this is hard. But we will find him soon.”

Covarog took his father’s free hand and the girls took their mother’s. However, just as they started the walk, Kanisa cried out, “That’s it!” digging her heels in the ground.

“Kanisa what’s it?” Zelda asked.

“That’s the stall! The one that Ralnor left for! It’s that one!” She pointed her free hand, bouncing up and down.

“Are you sure Kani? Looks like all the other plant stalls. What makes this one so special?” Orana asked.

“It’s got the most plants! The others didn’t have that many! If Ralnor didn’t go to this stall, then I don’t know about Ralnor at all!” Kanisa beamed.

The parents looked at each other, “Well it is worth a look,” Zelda admitted and the group headed to the stall. A young man stood in the back, pulling down on the tarp while the old lady still sat in her chair dozing off.

Covarog, Orana, and Kanisa immediately dashed into the stall, calling out “Ralnor!" while going around every pot and ducking under every table.

“Children stop!” Zelda called out.

The young man stopped his motion, staring blankly at the commotion. “Something tells me that you are not here for a houseplant.” He chuckled. Then he saw who he was talking to and gave a small bow, “Uh sorry your majesties. What can I help you with?”

“We are searching for our son Ralnor, brown skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, green clothes. He wandered off earlier today and we haven’t seen him since. We think he might have been here for a while. Have you seen him?” Ganondorf replied.

“Ooh sorry to hear that. Hope you find him. What time of day do you think he left?” The man asked.

“This morning. Before noon,” Zelda answered.

“Shoot. I didn’t see him. Most people don’t want to carry a heavy plant all day, so we don’t do much busy in the morning. I left Ma with the stall while I looked around. She might have seen something. Just hope her working ear is working again.” The man walked toward the old lady and started to yell “HEY MA!”

The woman snapped open, drool slipping out. She glanced around, adjusting her glasses “Who said that?”

“HEY MA! DID YOU SEE A BLOND BOY TODAY?” the man asked.

“Oi tone it down, I’m deaf but I’m not dead. You might raise your father back being that loud,” the old lady gristled.

“Ma, these parents lost their boy. He might have been here. Seen him?” her son asked.

“Boy…boy…boy,” the woman wondered.

The adults continued to stare, leaning closer waiting for her next words. But then the woman's head slipped back and started to snore.

“Ma!” the man called out. However, his mother continued to slumber. He sighed, “Sorry about this your majesties. I wish we could help out more.”

Just there was a loud clatter. The royal couple and merchant turned to see Orana, leaning forward with her hand's out wide inches away from a broken pot, laying on its side. Clay pieces and soil scattered on the ground, while a scrub bush lay helplessly on its side, roots exposed. "Whoopsie…" The princess stated.

“Orana!” Zelda called out.

“I’m sorry! I swear I just bumped it!” Orana stated.

“It’s okay, I needed to replant that one anyway,” the man replied.

“We’ll pay for the damages.” The king declared.

“No your majesty, it’s fine,” the merchant insisted.

As the three adults haggled over the pot, the princess made her way over to the little old lady, staring into space. The girl placed her hand on her lap. “I’m sorry I broke your pot. I’ll pay for it with my allowance.” She then dug into a small bag at her side.

The woman turned towards the child and smiled. "Ah what a sweet child. How can I ask money from such a kind soul? After the way you help that little girl earlier too. Don't worry. My son broke many a pot when he was your age."

“Little girl?” Orana asked.

“You know that cute little blonde you ran into. She came in here and you two ran around chasing each other. Then when she was crying you comforted her and took her away. I bet you have been friends for a long time.”

“You don’t think…” Orana glanced at her siblings.

“Can you tell us about this blonde girl?” Kanisa asked.

“Of course! One of the cutest children I’ve seen. Silky blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes, green clothes, and the loveliest brown skin. Really put my kid to shame.”

"Thanks, mom I feel loved,” the man sighed.

“Where did I…and the blonde girl go?” Orana asked.

“Not sure…just saw you going to the left.” The old woman shrugged.

“Mama, Papa do you think that if we find the other girl we might find Ralnor?” Covarog asked.

"Well, it's the best lead we've had all day," Ganondorf admitted.

“Hope you find your kid soon.” The merchant stated.

“Thank you. Come on kids, let’s find your brother!” Zelda declared.

As the royal family left, the woman adjusted her glasses, sighing “What a lovely family. Mother’s a bit hairy though…”

The merchant laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Ma don’t ever change.”

Ralnor and Cass watched out of the stall window, using their crossed arms as cushions as they rest their hands.

“Still nothing?” Cass asked.

“Yes,” Ralnor sighed.

“Sorry. I really thought we had a good spot and you’d find your family like that,” Cass stated with a snap.

“Well, I’m glad I’m here. If you hadn’t been at the stall, I probably just sat at the stall with that old lady, crying how my family left me. I’ve had a lot of fun today. Thanks for taking me in,” the boy leaned in.

“No problem, what are friends for?” Cass wrapped her arm around him, pulling him closer.

Ukuri stepped in, patting Ralnor on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll find your folks. I’ve just a couple of things to pack away and the dogs to put upstairs, then we can look around. You two kids head outside.”

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Okay, mommy."

Just as the kid’s reached the outside of the stall, Cass stopped, “Huh…I just realized I never asked what your parents look like.”

"My parents tend to stand out in a crowd, especially my papa. You'd know them the moment you see them."

“Probably, but not all Gerudos look alike. Some are tall, some are really tall, some are thin or fat, but we are all Gerudo. So what do your daddy and mommy look like?"

"My papa…"

“Ralnor!”

The children turned to see Orana and Kanisa running at them, arms open wide.

“Orana! Kanisa!” the boy cheered, opening his arms wide as well.

The two princesses tackled their brother, almost hitting him to the ground, knocking off his hat.

“Oh Ral, we're sorry we left you behind. We thought Mama and Papa knew you were at that plant stall!" Orana explained.

“We’ve missed you so much!” Kanisa sniffled, clutching her brother tightly.

“I’ve missed you too!” the boy eagerly returned their embrace, a few sniffles coming out.

"Sweet! That's one part of your family down!"

The reunited trio turned to the Gerudo girl smiling at them, hands on her hips.

There was a moment of silence before Orana yelled, “It’s a Gerudo girl!”

"Yes." The boy stood up and displayed his hand out. "This is my friend Cass. We met at the plant stall and she and her mama took me in so I can look for you.” He used his other hand to display his family. Cass these are my sisters, Orana and Kanisa.”

“Nice to meet ya.” Cass offered a hand.

Kanisa gaped for a bit, before hiding behing her brother. She still stared in awe of the girl as she sqeauked out a hello.

Orana beamed and grabbing Cass’s hand with both of her own, shaking it violently . "Hi, there! Thanks for taking care of our big bro!"

Cass, still shaking from the girl’s grasp, tilted her head,“ Bro?”

“Ralnor!”

Just then the group of children turned to see Zelda dashing towards them.

“Mama!” he yelled and ran towards her and jumped right into her arms. Now sobbing, he nuzzled his head against her chest. “I’ve missed you so much.”

The force from her son caused Zelda to sit down, cradling her boy, “I’ve missed you too! I’m sorry we left you behind.”

“It’s okay. Next time I’ll double check with Papa.” He raised his head, smiling.

She beamed and kissed his forehead, “You smart thing you.”

The queen set her son on the ground and stood up. He took her hand and led her to Cass. “Mama, this is my new friend Cass. She found me at the stall and let me stay with her mama until I can find you.”

"I am so happy that my son is making such wonderful friends. Thank you so much for helping him." She knelt down, looking the girl in the eyes, smiling.

The Gerudo girl’s jaw dropped. She tugged her hand out of Orana’s and pointed at Ralnor. She yelled, “YOU LIED TO ME!”

Ralnor blinked and squeaked out, “What?”

“You said you were a Gerudo. But you are not!" Cass pointed at Zelda. "You can only be a Gerudo if your mama! And she’s not! She’s the exact opposite!”

“Yes, we are! We are just as Gerudo as you!” Orana declared.

“No, you are not! Besides he’s a boy!” Cass pointed to Ralnor. “There’s no such thing as a boy Gerudo!”

“Nuh-huh there’s Ganondorf!” Kanisa stated.

“Children please calm down.” Zelda ushered.

“Ganondorf’s not a Gerudo! He’s just a monster!” Cass roared, stomping her foot.

“Ralnor!”

The arguing group stopped to see Ganondorf stomping towards them, Tebanam still on his chest and Covarog trailing behind. The king scooped up his son and started to kiss his face.

“Papa!” The boy eagerly wrapped his arms around his neck.

“Cass this is our Papa, Ganondorf.” Orana declared. “So we are just as Gerudo as you!” Orana folded her arms on her chest.

“Yeah!” Kanisa agreed with her hands on her hips.

At the mention of his name, he looked down and saw the Gerudo girl. His jaw dropped slightly and eye widened with joy.

The same couldn't be said for Cass. She started to turn as pale as a sheet. Then let out a blood-curdling scream. Once the royal family could hear again, she slumped over on the ground.

“Cass!” Ralnor cried out. He climbed down his father’s front and knelt next to the girl. He flipped her over and patted her cheek, but she still didn’t wake up.

“What’s wrong with her?” Orana asked.

“Cass!”

The group now saw Ukuri, standing a few feet away from them, holding her head in her hands. She dashed over and picked up her daughter. “Cass, monkey, sweetie. Please wake up!” She shook the girl slightly, but still no response. The mother twisted towards Ralnor. “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know!” He replied anxiously. “She just looked at my Papa and screamed and fell over!”

“Papa?” That’s when the Gerudo woman noticed the king standing before her. She, too, turned and slumped over, still holding her child.

“Mrs. Ukuri!” Ralnor cried out. He then looked up at his father, tears clouding his eyes. "Papa…did you kill them?

"What no!" The king declared but it was too late. Ralnor now bawled his head off.

"We can't leave them like this," Zelda commented. "We'll take them back to the castle."

Ganondorf picked up both Gerudo women in his arms. All along the way back to the carriage and in the carriage ride to the castle, Ralnor kept glancing at his new friends. Hoping they would be alright.

Here’s a link to the previous chapter: Chapter 1 Marketplace

#thanks for reading #please leave comments or just say something in the tags #casnor #ralnor #cass #ukuri #zelda #ganondorf #covarog #kanisa #orana #tebanam #somedaysomeplace #childhood romance au #zelgan children au au

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mr-chrisevans · 5 years ago

Text

Meet Cute - pt. 3

Word Count: 2,642

First Chapter | Last Chapter | Next Chapter

I sat in my car in the parking lot of my apartment after work with my brain running a mile a minute. It was the night of my date with Chris, and I had been so nervous about it all day I could barely concentrate while I was at work. Just then my phone started ringing, it was a call from Estelle. I groaned before picking it up.

"Hello."

"When are you gonna come upstairs and get ready?" She said clearly annoyed.

"What do you mean? I'm not even home yet, how could I possibly come upstairs to get ready?"

"Stop being dumb I can see you in your car from our window."

I leaned over my steering wheel and saw her standing in the window waving at me. "Okay fine. I'll come get ready. Just one step closer to looking like a fool on this date." I hung up the phone and pulled myself out of the car. I really wasn't sure why I was so nervous to go on this date. It wasn't like I had never gone on dates before. I'd been on plenty but I always felt like I was the one in control, but for some reason, this felt like new territory.

As soon as I walked in the door Estelle was there to question me. "So what are you going to wear tonight?"

I set my purse on the counter and trudged into my room. "I have no idea. Maybe just a trash bag to get the point across." I said and threw myself onto the bed.

Estelle followed me into the room and stood in the doorway. "Laurel Marie Barnes if you deny how amazing you are one more time I will beat the shit out of you I swear."

"Wow, that's very reassuring thank you." I groaned.

"Okay, listen to me." She said and sat next to me on the bed. "You have absolutely no reason to be freaking out this much right now. He asked you out for a reason. He thinks you are freaking beautiful and he is not wrong. So stop beating yourself up and go get that ass in a hot as hell outfit before I go on this date for you."

I rolled over and sat up. "You are right about that, I guess. Let's do this thing."

"Okay great, because I already have a few ideas for things you could wear." She said and pulled open the door to my closet. "These jeans make your ass look amazing so I definitely think they are a must."

I laughed at her as she tossed them to me on the bed. "I mean, you're not wrong. These also look really good with those black boots." I added, pointing to the pair of shoes sitting on the floor of my closet. She handed them over to me and continued digging through my closet.

"Why have I never seen you wear this shirt before?" She asked, pulling out a maroon top with small flowers printed on it. "This is so cute, Laurel."

I stood up and took the hanger from her. "It's a little too lowcut I think," I said as I held it against my torso in front of my mirror. "I don't want to advertise too heavily."

She rolled her eyes and took the shirt from me and placed it on the bed with the jeans I was set to wear. "Like you don't already advertise those boobs on the daily." I crossed my arms and stared at her in silence. "Come on, you won't be giving off the wrong impression, you're just lightly showing off the assets."

"Fine." I sighed and walked into the bathroom to do my hair and makeup before I had to go. "So are you just gonna hang out in here while I'm getting ready?" I asked, noticing that she had sat on the bed and opened up my laptop.

"I'm gonna do some research on this man that you are going out with tonight."

"Estelle, what did I say about stalking my dates?"

"It's only some light internet stalking. Everyone does it stop freaking out. Now, do you know what his last name is?"

I paused for a moment, realizing I had no idea what it was. "Um, I think it started with an E but I can't guarantee that's correct."

Estelle groaned and then continued her sleuthing. "You are making this way more difficult for me but I will prevail." I laughed at her and continued getting ready.

*****

When I got to the restaurant I was supposed to meet Chris at I yet again sat in my car for a few minutes trying to gather any and all self-confidence I had. Estelle hadn't managed to find anything while I was still at home so I was able to happily walk into this date without knowing some weird detail about him that I may have accidentally blurted out. I took a deep breath and pulled out my phone to text Chris.

Laurel

Hey! Are you at the restaurant yet?

I set my forehead on the steering wheel of my car, regretting every decision I'd ever made that got me into this situation. Chris' response quickly snapped me out of my self-pity.

Chris

Yep, I'm just inside by the host stand.

I took another deep breath and finally got out of my car, ready to conquer this random fear that had suddenly manifested in my brain. As I walked inside the restaurant I saw Chris standing at the host stand looking down at his phone. He was undoubtedly the most attractive man I had ever seen. And if Estelle thought my ass looked good, she had another thing coming because the butt on that man was exquisite. Before I could get too wrapped up in the way he looked, Chris looked up from his phone and smiled at me.

"Hey, Laurel." Chris walked over to me and pulled me into a light hug. "It's great to see you again."

"Yeah, you too." I smiled at him. As good looking as he was his personality was even better.

"They've got a table all set for us if you're ready to go." He said and gestured over towards the host who was ready to take us to our table.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I let out a nervous laugh and quickly followed the host to our table. When we got to our table I turned over to Chris and he quickly turned his gaze up to my eyes. I was glad that Estelle made me wear these jeans since the two of us clearly had overlapping tastes. We sat down and the host handed us our menus before leaving.

"So, have you been here before?" I asked him as I started looking over the menu.

"Only a few times but some of my friends love this place. I thought it would be a good spot for tonight." He kept smiling at me and I felt like I could melt right there. The conversation lulled a bit but we were quickly rescued by our waiter.

"Hello you two, happy to have you here tonight. My name is Anthony and I'll be taking care of you." He said, setting down two glasses of water. "Can I get you started with any drinks?"

Chris looked at me to go first. I hesitated for a moment looking over the wine list before responding. "Can I get a glass of the pinot grigio, please?"

"That's a great choice, miss. And for you sir?"

"I will have a rusty nail, on the rocks please."

"Sounds great guys. I'll get those out to you as soon as possible."

The two of us stayed quiet for a bit while we continued looking over the menu and tried to figure out what to talk about next and our waiter brought back our drinks and we ordered our food. "Well, this is a little awkward." Chris broke the silence, twirling his glass on the table while he looked at me.

I chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I never really know what to talk about on dates."

"I suppose we could go with the classic small talk if that works for you."

I nodded. "That sounds like a pretty good plan. I'll start, so where are you from?" I said and leaned in slightly.

"I'm from a suburb just outside of Boston."

"Oh wow, a Boston guy. I have to say I'm a little surprised that you don't have an accent." I joked and took a sip of my wine.

"Just you wait. Once I get a few drinks in me it'll come out." He laughed. "I'm surprised you didn't catch it when we met at the bar."

"I might have had a little too much to drink to have been very observant." He laughed again and I swear it was the cutest laugh I'd ever heard come from another person.

"Well, my turn to learn about you. I guess I'll stick with this line of questioning."

"It's a pretty good choice." I joked before responding. "I'm actually from Colorado."

He nodded for a moment, clearly mulling something over. "So are you a big weed gal?" He asked.

I nearly choked on my wine laughing at his remark. "That is the stereotype isn't it," I said still chuckling. "I wouldn't call myself a connoisseur, but I'll indulge every once in a while."

"Good to know. Well, what brought you out to California? You don't exactly seem like the very 'Cali Lifestyle' person."

"You're not completely wrong," I admitted. The reason I had moved here was to get away from my family. My parents were pretty overbearing and getting away always seemed like the best option, but I wasn't sure telling him about my crazy family was the best thing to bring up on a first date. "I just wanted a change of scenery, you know. I'd lived in Colorado my whole life so I wanted to be able to say I'd spent part of my life experiencing new things. But what about you? What brought you to the Golden State?"

"It is the place to be for my line of business, I guess." He said and took another sip of his drink. "It's got its perks but I definitely love Boston more than anything. I try and get back there as often as I can and see my family."

Before I could respond and eventually haphazardly enter a conversation about our families, our waiter came back with our food. We spent the rest of the meal bouncing around random talking points and I learned that not only was he seemingly a total bro, but was incredibly intellectual and loved to explore the meaning of life. Our waiter eventually came back and we both couldn't resist ordering dessert.

"I'm gonna run to the restroom really fast." I said, standing up from the table and grabbing my purse.

When I walked into the restroom I pulled out my phone to see three missed calls from Estelle and a text.

Estelle

TEXT ME BACK AS SOON AS YOU CAN I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU

I was extremely confused about what she deemed to be so urgent but I decided to indulge her.

Laurel

What's up?

Estelle

Okay so Chris is like a big-time actor. Like Big. Time.

Laurel

What do you mean? What's he been in??

I was starting to get a little nervous even though I really didn't need to. I mean, he seemed like a perfectly normal guy and did not give off a very Hollywood vibe.

Estelle

Attachment: 1 image

I opened the picture and my jaw dropped. It was the poster for Captain America and it very clearly showed Chris front and center. I was shocked. I had seen the poster around for months but I hadn't put two and two together that Chris was, in fact, Captain America.

Laurel

What am I supposed to do with this???

Estelle

Um... bask in the glory that a literal superhero is currently taking you out on a date!! What else?!?!?!

I stood in the bathroom for a few seconds and could feel the sweat beginning to pool on the palms of my hands. How on earth was I on a date with an actual celebrity? What choices had I made that had gotten me to this point? I could feel a light panic beginning to set in so I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to try and settle myself before going back out, hoping that I would still seem normal. When I got back to the table our dessert had already arrived and Chris seemed to be struggling to wait for me before diving into the delicious looking chocolate cake. Seeing him like that calmed me down a little. He really was just a normal guy.

The rest of the date when amazingly. We kept bouncing around a bunch of random topics, my favorite was probably our discussion on whether or not humans actually had free will, to which we both concluded that we had absolutely no fucking idea. We stayed at the restaurant until we were one of three other groups remaining and decided it was time to head out.

The end of first dates are always super fucking weird. As great as this one had gone, that fact still remained the same. He walked me back to my car, and I kept wanting to drift my hand towards his to grab it but I felt like that might've been too much.

"Well, this is me." I told him as we arrived at my car. "I had a really great time with you tonight, I'm glad we did this." I added.

Chris smiled, looking down and running a hand through his hair. "I did too, you're a lot of fun to talk to." His smile sank a bit which confused me.

"Something on your mind?" I asked as a bit of worry started to build in my brain.

He sighed and quickly shoved his hands into his pockets. "It's nothing huge just that I think you tensed up a little bit towards the end of dinner. Makes me think you might've finally noticed."

I started to speak but stopped myself to think for a moment. He had definitely noticed that I was a bit more nervous when I got back from the bathroom and at that moment I swear I could have punched Estelle if she had been with us. "Yeah." I finally admitted. "I was hoping you wouldn't be able to tell, but you are far more perceptive than I anticipated."

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. You're not the only person who's done that. I hope that doesn't change anything for you though."

"I hadn't really thought about it to be honest." We both paused for a second while it finally hit me at that moment. He really was a celebrity and if we were going out there was the possibility of me getting pulled into a spotlight I don't think I was prepared for.

"Well, as I said, I hope it doesn't because I would really like to see you again." He gave me a shy smile.

"I would like that too." I smiled back at him and he hugged me before we said our goodbyes. The drive back home I thought a lot about what he had said. I didn't want the fact that he was famous to change anything about how I felt about him, but part of me was starting to bug out about it. I never thought I'd ever be put into this position and now that it was here I had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

#Chris Evans #chris evans fanfiction #meet cute #author: cptn-wdw #mc ch 3

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natasha-cole · 6 years ago

Note

Soooo uhh. My christmas-y request because I love everything you write I need more

Meet the Family

(wow, I’m getting worse at titles...)

You wish you hadn’t said anything at Rich’s holiday party. In fact, you always made a point to not discuss your lonely holidays with any of your friends. But, that night, as everyone sat around and discussed their plans for Christmas, you sort of had to chime in with your own plans when everyone's eyes landed on you.

You never thought it was a big deal that you were always alone. You somewhat assumed that they all knew already since they knew you didn’t have any family anymore. You had learned to be on your own even before you joined the show and the con circuit.

Apparently, spending Christmas alone in your apartment with takeout, wine, and Netflix was not an acceptable answer when it was your turn to talk about your plans.

The days following that night were mostly filled with phone calls or texts from each of your friends reaching out to offer you a place to go for Christmas. Of course, you politely declined each offer. There would be nothing more humiliating than showing up to one of their Christmases as the charity case.

On Christmas Eve, you were already set for your usual solo holidays. You had a few bottles of wine and a planned lineup of slasher movies to get through on TV. You were just about to call in an order for Chinese takeout when your phone rang.

“Billy?” You said when you answered the phone.

“Hey, Y/N!” He exclaimed cheerily in return. “What are you up to?”

“Um, the usual I guess… drinking and lounging. Why are you calling me on Christmas Eve?”

“Look, I’m about to leave my place to head over to my parents for a few days. They live a bit further up north. I was just thinking, since you said you never really have plans for holidays, maybe you could come with me.”

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I’ve told everyone else who’s invited me over for Christmas,” you began. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not comfortable with intruding.”

“Oh. It’s just that- It’s a long drive. Three hours. I thought that maybe you could just accompany me on the drive. You know, so neither of us are completely alone tonight.”

“You want me to be your travel companion… and then what? I just get stuck in a hotel up north?”

“Of course not!” He responded. “I already told my mom that I’d be bringing a friend with me. It’s perfectly fine. You can just spend Christmas with us.”

“Billy…” you sighed, now aggravated that even he thought of you as a charity case. “I’m fine. Really.”

“I know you say you are, but no one wants to spend Christmas alone. Not really.”

“I’ve done it for years and I get along just fine.”

“Well, maybe just this once you can spend it with a friend.”

“And his family? That’s just weird.”

“You’ve met my parents before.”

“Once,” you chuckled. “Briefly at a convention. I hardly think I’m worthy of being included on a day meant for families.”

“It’s a day meant for friends too.”

“Are you going to leave me alone if I just flat out say no?”

“Probably not,” he replied.

You could almost see his grin as he continued.

“It’ll be fun. Also, my mom is a wine connoisseur, I think you’d get alone well.”

You pondered his offer for a moment. You could’ve argued that you had plenty of wine here, but you also knew deep down that you didn’t want to be alone for yet another holiday. The problem with all of your other friends offering to have you join them was mainly that they were all married with kids, and you really did feel as if you would just be intruding. Billy, on the other hand, was very much single. It wouldn’t be as if you’d be intruding on him at all. In fact, you knew that his siblings were each married with their own families, which sort of made him the odd one out. This could just be you and Billy hanging out with his family.

“You had me at wine,” you said finally.

The three hour drive was actually sort of enjoyable. You adored Billy and the two of you had always gotten along well. Not that you would admit to it, but you sort of had a thing for him as it was. He was sweet, cute, and funny; all things that you found attractive about a man.

You spent the entire drive singing Christmas songs together and just talking.

When you arrived at his parents place later that night, you were greeted by a younger woman at the door.

“Billy!” She exclaimed as she moved to hug him.

She pulled back and looked at you, obviously not sure as to who you even were.

“Hey sis,” Billy began. “This is Y/N, the friend that I said I was bringing. Y/N, this is my sister.”

“Oh…” she breathed out, eyes wide as she examined you. “This is HER?”

You felt uncomfortable over the way she enunciated that word, wondering what she meant by it.

“Yes,” Billy said flatly. “This is her. Please don’t.”

His sister gave you a sly grin, but said nothing else. Instead, she stepped aside and allowed the two of you to walk in. While you thought the exchange was strange, you didn’t bring it up again. You just assumed that Billy had mentioned he was bringing his lame friend to Christmas and didn’t want his family to make a big deal of it.

For most of the night, Billy was acting strange. Sure, he made a point of checking in on you often while you mingled with his family. In actuality, you were fine though. None of this was as awkward as you thought it would be. In fact, you seemed to be getting along famously with everyone. For the first time ever, you felt very comfortable.These were definitely your kind of people.

When everyone conjugated to the living room later that night, after dinner and drinks had been served, you found a spot next to Billy on the couch. You were each enjoying your drinks and the crackling of the fire that burned in the fireplace. Everyone was off in their own little conversations and you considered thanking Billy for inviting you, but his awkwardness within the past few hours had definitely spilled over into the end of the night.

You weren’t sure if it had anything to do with the fact that you were even here, but you certainly felt as if he were possibly regretting having you here.

You dazed off as you stared at the fire, mind racing as you considered excusing yourself and getting a cab to take you to a hotel or something. While you felt comfortable with his family, you no longer felt wanted by him.

“We’re all just so thrilled to finally meet you properly,” Billy’s mother spoke up. Her voice broke you from your trance and you turned to focus on her.

“Oh,” you mumbled in return. “Why again?”

“Well, we only met for a moment that one time. That was before-“

“Mom!” Billy cut in, now looking frustrated.

“What?” She asked. “This is the girl you keep talking about, isn’t it?”

“You talk about me often?” You asked as you turned to him.

“No.”

“Yes,” his mother continued. “This is Y/N, right? How many Y/N’s do you know?”

“Just the one,” he replied.

“Why are you being so weird about this?”

“Please don’t embarrass me,” he said. “This is not what you think it is…”

“Really?” She asked, looking confused. “So, you didn’t bring the girl that you have a crush on here because you’re finally dating? This isn’t a ‘bring the girlfriend to meet the parents’ kind of thing?”

“Oh god,” he moaned as he held his face in his hands, now overwhelmed with humiliation.

“Woah, what?” You cut in.

“I just- I thought- I thought he was bringing his girlfriend to Christmas,” she answered. “Is that not what this is?”

“I told you I was bringing a friend,” Billy explained. “She’s just a friend.”

“Yeah, just a friend that you never stop talking about,” his sister chimed in from the other side of the room.

“This was a bad idea,” he said quietly.

You noted the flush in his cheeks, the way he avoided all eye contact with you. He was beyond mortified, and you only wondered if what they were all saying was true. Even more, you were deeply offended that he had verbalized the fact that he definitely regretted bringing you here.

Why had he bugged you about it so much if he was going to suddenly decide that he didn’t want you here after all?

“You must have me confused with someone else,” you said, trying to alleviate the situation and prevent yourself from telling him what a jerk he was. “Billy and I are friends. He invited me here because he’s a great friend who just didn’t want me to be alone for Christmas.”

“Or, he just wanted you to be with him for Christmas because he’s in love with you.”

Again, his sister was causing him immense pain. She smirked at him and he only shook his head, not really in protest, but as if he didn’t know how to respond.

“Surely, it’s someone else you’re thinking of,” you argued. “I mean, he obviously doesn’t want me here now… there’s no way he interested in me.”

“Of course I want you here,” Billy said sharply. He looked at you as if you were the crazy one. “Why would you say that? I wouldn’t have asked you to come if I didn’t want you here.”

“It’s fine. I can tell you’ve changed your mind. Apparently this was a mistake,” you said sharply to him before turning back to his mother. “You have me confused with someone that he actually enjoys being around.”

“Y/N…” he started, “that’s not what I meant…”

“Obviously he has some crush on some other Y/N and you got her confused with the one that he just felt bad for. I’m very sorry.”

“I’m just saying,” his mother shrugged. “We’ve heard enough about you to know that it’s definitely you we’re thinking of.”

“Billy,” you said softly, nudging him in hopes that he would actually speak up and clear up the confusion. You just wanted this all to end. You were already hurt by his words, and secretly hurt over the fact that he definitely had his eyes on someone who wasn’t you that he really wanted to bring to his family’s Christmas. Obviously, that had fallen through for him, so you were the second choice.

He only glanced over to you, looking defeated and somewhat sad.

“What are they talking about?” You asked. “Who are they talking about?”

“They’re talking about you,” he replied.

“I am sufficiently confused,” you huffed.

“Look, I did invite you over because I didn’t want you to be alone.”

“I know that…”

“I also have to be honest with you, only because my family threw me under the bus… I invited you over because I wanted to spend Christmas with you.”

“Your offer wasn’t just because you felt sorry for me?”

“His offer was because he likes you and he thought that asking you out on Christmas would be romantic,” his sister answered for him. “He told us.”

“And you ruined it for me,” Billy said in return.

“You were taking too long,” his mother smiled.

“I was working up to it.”

“For the past two years?” She asked.

She turned to look at you just then, offering you a wink as if to indicate that this was all planned.

“You were going to ask me out?” You said as you turned back to him.

He looked at you again, giving you a small smile, face still red.

“I wanted to, but I kept chickening out. You’re really intimidating.”

“Me? We’ve known each other for two years and we get along so well…”

“But, you’re also amazing and beautiful and way out of my league.”

“I am so not out of your league,” you responded.

“You’re not?” He asked. Your words piqued his interest and he no longer looked mortified, but rather confident now.

“Maybe I should just be honest and tell you that I’ve had a crush on you for a while now too.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. That’s the only reason I agreed to coming. Everyone else asked me to join in on their Christmases… but you were the only one I really wanted to spend it with.”

“Really?” He grinned. “So, I won’t humiliate myself by asking you if you might be interested in spending more time with me… you know, as a couple or whatever?”

“You definitely don’t have to be embarrassed. I would really like that.”

You and Billy smiled at each other, and you considered finally kissing him right then and there until you remembered that his entire family was witnessing this whole thing.

“So, this is a ‘bring the new girlfriend home to meet the family’ type of thing after all?” His mother asked, pleased with herself that her embarrassing her son had worked out in you and Billy’s favor.

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “I guess it is now.”

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