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carolmunson · 2 years ago

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starting from zero, got nothing to lose (IV)

part i part ii part iii part iv

a lil’ saucy, a lil’ sassy, a lil’ fighty, a lil’ flirty - we finally face the realization that eddie munson is definitely a music snob and it starts a bit of a tussle. unfortunately for him, some words cut a little too deep.

cw/tw: drinking, drug use mention, addiction mention, drug dealing

and of course, if you’re under eighteen, please do not read any of my content

By three in the morning the bar was starting to empty out, only some stragglers left at the tables in the back. Eddie was back at his stool at the end of the bar, pleased with himself for another successful night.

“Alright Ron, I’m headin' out,” Tony said, tapping the bartop and heading to the door.

“Whatcha mean you’re ‘heading out’?” she asked, “I have to close tonight.”

“Okay? And I gotta go fuck Debbie in Queens,” he said, “I don’t really see where closing tonight involves me.”

“The fuckin’ gate’s broken Tone, I’m not closing here by myself so some weirdo can rob me,” Rhonda complained, “Also, Queens? For what? She lives in the Village.”

“Don’t remember the part where it was your business where I go fuck Debbie. What’s your damage?”

Eddie laughed, he always did when he was a little uncomfortable.

“Do not encourage him,” Ron scolded, turning her attention back to her boss, “Tony, I’m not closing by myself. Can you fuck Debbie in Queens another night?”

“Who asks that?” Tony had both hands on the bar now, “Close by yourself, you’re a big girl Rhonda. You’ve done it a million times.”

“With a gate that closes. You didn’t let Debbie close by herself last night. Oh wait, probably because you were fucking her!” her voice raised slightly, soaked in sarcasm.

“I’m not doing this shit with you today, Ron,” he looked around for a minute and landed on Eddie.

“Munson, you mind staying while she clos–”

“No,” she interrupted.

“You want me to ask Spike? He’s fourteen beers and six shots in,” Tony held his hands out, “What do you want me to do here?”

“I don’t mind staying, I don’t have anywhere else to be,” Eddie said quietly, drumming his fingertips on the bar. Rhonda let out a big sigh and put her hands on her hips.

“Fine, fine,” she said, “Get these assholes out before you leave, Tone.” She gestured to the group of drunks in the back of the room. Tony went to work on coaxing his friends out of Skid before they puked in it.

Rhonda reached under the bar and pulled two beers out, putting one in front of her and one in front of Eddie.

“You have to pay for those,” Tony called out while ushering the guys out of the door.

“I don’t and I won’t,” she retorted, taking the caps off with her belt buckle. She watched the rest of the men leave, Tony giving them a wave before heading out too. Eddie heard the click of the lock and the grating of the gate, seeing that it only closed a third of the way down.

“I could probably fix that for you guys,” he said, “If I brought my tools down here.”

“That would be cool,” she said, “You know, if you showed up more than once a week.”

“I’ll try, but if I can level with you...knowing that you're so desperate to see me makes me not want to come in more often,” a sly grin spread across his face and he watched Rhonda come around the bar to sit on the stool next to him.

“Please keep not coming it, it makes my nights much easier,” she said, toying with the beer bottle in her hand, “Tell me about you. Debbie said you were from Indianapolis?”

“Indiana,” he corrected, “Hawkins, Indiana.”

“Oh right! Where that big earthquake was,” she nodded, “Wild, huh? Everyone make it out okay?”

Eddie tensed, “Uh, sort of.”

“Is your family out there?”

Eddie shook his head, surprised at the sting of the question, “Nah, my parents bounced when I was a kid. Was staying with my uncle but he died in ‘87, so, kind of on my own. Doing my own thing. I still have some friends over there, but obviously I’m not seeing much of 'em.”

“What made you want to come here?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“I’m not exactly Hawkins’s favorite person,” he shrugged, his hair brushing his cheeks, “Sort of a better off dead kind of thing.”

“Sorry if that was like, a heavy thing to ask,” Rhonda placed her free hand close to his, on the bar, “I didn’t mean to y’know…bring up anything shitty.”

“It’s okay,” he ran his tongue over his lips, suddenly very aware of how close she was sitting to him, “So, are you from New York?”

She snorted, getting up from the stool and walking back behind the bar, “No, absolutely not.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he leaned forward, keeping his chest square to her. He kept his left hand busy spinning the ring on his fore finger, “All that attitude, y’know? That’s what I expected everyone to be like.”

“I’m from Boston,” she said, starting to reorganize the bottles on the wall, “Well, technically from Lynn, but I take it you don’t know Massachusetts so I’m just gonna say Boston.”

“What brought you here?” he asked.

“I got kicked out when I was 19,” she said, making a face he could see in the mirrored backsplash, “Was really into coke. Understandably, my parents weren’t really into me doing coke.”

“Not really cool of them to leave you on your own, though.”

“I was not a good person,” she said, shaking her head, “They were right to do that. I think eventually they were just protecting themselves.”

“I don’t think that’s fair,” he insisted.

“I couldn’t stop stealing, always getting into some kind of trouble. I was a mess,” she shrugged, turning around and taking another swig of beer.

“So I took a bus out here, did a shit ton of coke, waited tables, did a shit ton of coke, started dancing and trading, did a shit ton of coke, met Tony at the club, did a shit ton of coke, started bartending and…” she pointed at him.

“Did a shit ton of coke,” he finished.

“Bingo,” Rhonda smiled while giving him a little shot from her finger gun, “But, while I was dancing and working at Skid, you know, a lot of the girls were getting into crack and heroin. Lot of needles, lots of girls getting HIV. Scared me really straight.”

“Oh shit,” he said, “How long have you been off it?”

“Three years,” she nodded, leaning a hip on the bar, “Yeah, about a year into me and Tony getting together I told him I had to stop. Helping me get my shit together is probably the best thing he’s ever done, that fuckin’ asshole.”

“You guys aren’t still…?”

Ron laughed, “Oh no, no, we broke up a long time ago. I think the end of ‘87? He’s still my best friend; love him to death, but God does he piss me off.”

“Do you talk to your family anymore?”

She shook her head no, “My nana sends me a letter every now and again with a few bucks in it, but that’s about it.”

“I’m sorry about that,” he said gently.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” she said, “I’ve adapted. It’s not like I had any other choice.”

“I know what you mean,” Eddie nodded in earnest. He felt his heart race at the glimpse of her vulnerability, the slight tug of a frown creeping across her face.

“So why does Hawkins hate you?” she asked, “I showed you mine, you show me yours.”

“I was a freak,” Eddie said matter of factly, shrugging his shoulders, “That’s all.”

“Was?” she teased, “You aren’t anymore?”

“Ha. Ha. I uh, played a game called Dungeons and Dragons in high school,” he said, trying to read her face to see if she knew what it was, she didn’t. “Anyway, it was kind of the big bad of the whole Satanic Panic thing in my town. So with the game, and my hair, and my tatts – you know, I wasn’t really the most popular guy at Hawkins High.”

“I think there’s some guys that come here, actually, that play that. The name sounds familiar,” she said while fiddling with the stereo by the register, “Do you still play?”

“Still do,” he smiled. ‘Still do, you should come see us. We play at the Hideout on Tuesdays…’ Eddie felt a dull ache in his chest, not remembering the last time he felt both so at ease and so nervous talking to a girl since that day in the woods with Chrissy. Suddenly, the opening chords of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ flooded the bar.

“Rrrrreally?” Eddie whipped his towards her in shock.

“From close to open, it’s my bar. From open to close, it’s Tony’s bar. That’s the bargain,” Ronnie said, turning back to face him from the stereo.

He scrunched his nose, “Whitney, huh? Color me surprised.”

She popped the caps off of two more beers and put one in his hand and the other on the bar for herself. Eddie cocked his head, “Do you even like metal?”

“It’s okay,” she said, ducking behind the bar and reappearing with a rag and spray bottle.

“So why wear the battle vest?” he asked, a little annoyed, “If it’s just okay.”

“Tony made it for me when I started working at the bar,” she explained, spraying the bar top down, “Bartending is just…acting with liquor. It’s like my costume. In all honesty, I’m sure he just wanted me to cover my tits when we were dating.”

His jaw tensed, “So you’re a… poser?”

“I’d more sayyyy…playing the part,” she smiled, “You were convinced, right?”

“I was,” he nodded, crossing his arms, “So you don’t like any metal?”

“I like metal, I promise,” her voice lilted, “It’s just not like, you know, the same way you all like it. It’s not my whole personality.”

Eddie huffed, “Okay.”

“What? I’m not wrong,” she said, walking over to the tables next to the bar stools and spraying them down, “This ‘scene’ is the entire personality of everyone who comes to Skid. Tony would be too if he wasn’t such a movie nerd.”

“Or you just haven’t gotten to know anyone outside of the bar,” he turned towards her on the stool, leaning back on the bartop with his thighs splayed apart.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of guys at this bar worth knowing outside of it,” she confessed, wiping down the table in front of him. The vest fell away from her body when she leaned over, revealing the same leather bustier from the first night he met her. Eddie felt the heat in his cheeks rise as her chest shook with every wipe she made.

“Even me?” he asked, picking the beer up off the bar and walking over to the tables near her.

“Especially you,” she said, moving on to the next table, “You just told me you play around in dungeons!”

“Dungeons and Dragons, Ron, it’s a fantasy game,” he repeated, “But something tells me you’d be more into me playing around in dungeons.”

“Pfft, sure,” she rolled her eyes. The tape in the stereo whirred before switching to the next track. Like A Prayer leaked out of the sound system, Eddie started to laugh at her.

“You’re kidding! You’re killing me here,” he said, “Not Madonna.”

“This is a great song,” she said defensively.

“It’s uh…it’s not, but whatever helps you get through the night,” he teased. Eddie decided she’d laid into him enough throughout the night, he might as well let her have it back.

She made a face to herself and mid table wipe looked up at him, “So are you just gonna sit there and watch me clean the bar or are you gonna help?”

“I thought I was just the lookout,” he said, leaning on his hands on the back of one of the chairs, “Since you’re the one who didn’t want to be here by yourself.”

“I’m okay by myself,” she bristled.

“Great, so I’ll just head out. Since you’re okay,” he shrugged, “I know you can fight.”

“Don’t–” Ron started as he feigned walking towards the door.

“So you don’t wanna be by yourself?” he tilted his head, traipsing back over, “Not as tough as I thought.” He smirked at her while she turned her attention to the corner booth he commandeered the past two nights, clearly annoyed. Eddie let his mind wander to how she might look bent over it in front of him. His mouth pooled with spit.

“Just because you don’t like Madonna doesn’t mean you need to make fun of me for liking it,” she said quietly. He swallowed the saliva in his mouth quickly.

“It’s just not what I expected, it’s so – I don’t know – normie of you?” he tried to explain.

“Normie of me?” she turned around and crossed her arms, leaning on the table behind her, “What does that even mean?”

“I mean like, of course, you listen to Madonna and Whitney. I’m sure you love Wham,” he teased, “But you come here and pretend like you’re a part of the metal scene when you’re a total conformer. You’re a normie like everyone else.”

“You know what’s funny,” her voice raised slightly, taking a step toward him, “You wanna talk so big about being different and non-conforming but you look like every metal loving Tom, Dick, and Jerry that comes in this bar. You all dress the same, you all listen to the same music, you all fuck the same girls, do the same drugs, drink the same whiskey. You’re a dime a dozen. If I’ve seen one Eddie Munson, I’ve seen ‘em all.”

“Metal is a fucking movement, Rhonda,” he glared down at her, matching her step forward, “The 70s and 80s are music history, we’re pioneers of a god damn genre. We’re making a whole way for kids who are like us.”

“And that’s supposed to make you special? Like you’re a social pariah?” she asked, getting in his face.

“You wanna be a social pariah?” she continued, “Try being Larry fucking Kramer! Go fucking stand for something instead of telling me my music sucks and selling drugs to other fucking losers. You’re not making any fucking change .”

“You just don’t get it,” he said quietly, “You don’t even like metal.”

“What about it do I not get?” she asked, crossing her arms tighter across her chest, “You’re a bunch of kids who were weird in high school that grew up to be alcoholics who still aren’t over the cheer captain not liking them – PEAK conformity! I mean are you kidding? Just a bunch of kids who were too pussy to be punk. You sound like a fuckin' John Hughes movie.”

Eddie swallowed, his ears ringing a little, 'Still not over the cheer captain not liking them…’ The sound of Chrissy’s bones cracking sounded in the distance, visions of her blood on the trailer ceiling flashed behind his eyes.

He looked at her, brows furrowed, but not angrily. Almost like he was contemplating what to say. He picked his jacket up off the bar and slipped it on, zipping up the leather and buttoning the vest in silence. He could feel Rhonda staring him down, he lifted his gaze to her across the room.

“You really got me all figured out, huh?” Eddie’s voice was measured. He walked to the door and unlocked it, snow trickled in onto the floor mats as it opened.

Rhonda walked back over to the bartop and started flipping one of the stools onto the counter, “Looks like it. What, was her name like…Betty ‘Apple Pie’ Cunningham or something?” she snorted.

“You know what, Ron?,” he asked, a pained smile brandished his face while he gripped the door pull, “Fuck you.”

Eddie walked out the door and slammed it behind him, shoved his hands in his pockets and walked back toward the train in the snow.

#EDDIE MUNSON SMUT #EDDIE MUNSON FAN FICTION #EDDIE MUNSON FANFICTION #EDDIE MUNSON AU #EDDIE MUNSON X OFC #EDDIE MUNSON FLUFF #EDDIE MUNSON ANGST #EDDIE MUNSON #STRANGER THINGS AU #EDDIE MUNSON FIX IT FIC #EDDIE MUNSON FIX IT #STRANGER THINGS FAN FICTION #STRANGER THINGS FANFICTION #EDDIE MUNSON X READER #EDDIE MUNSON X YOU

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jadegreenimmortality · 4 years ago

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Bungou Stray Dogs Men as Househusbands pt.1 - Sakunosuke Oda

A/N: I’m sorry that this isn‘t a request, but this brain rot has been going on since forever and now I can’t resist it anymore. I totally blame @hanazou for this. There will also be a part two featuring Chuuya, but his part has a completely different feeling to it, that's why I'll post these separately. Besides of that, this is basically an “Way of the Househusband!AU”. Go watch the show or read the manga if you don’t know it, it’s absolutely hilarious! This is mainly focused on them as househusbands, but since you are their spouse, there’s also a bit of reader insert. Also, a lot of Oda as a dad to his orphans. And the whole thing is feat. Dazai. (^^)

Pairings: Oda x gn!reader

Genre: Crack, domestic fluff

Warnings: none

Summary: You, Oda and the orphans move in together. While you become the working spouse, your loving husband stays at home and becomes a full-time househusband.

pt. 2

First things first - If you agree to marrying Sakunosuke Oda, you are also agreeing to become the parent of five children. Oda loves you and you are one of two main reasons he’s leaving the Mafia, the other being his life purpose. But if he’s leaving the Mafia, he’s keeping those kids in (if they want him to of course, but you can’t tell me they don’t, come on -)

So yeah, be ready.

He only cooks spicy curry at the beginning. The curry shop owner gave him the exact recipe of his favourite plate as a goodbye gift and that’s the only thing he is cooking for days on end. He has some basic cooking skills, but this is the only really elaborated dish he knows how to prepare as of now, so be ready to suffer from the spice. It will go on like that until all six of you you and the kids hold an intervention for him. The kids will paint nice banners like they were going to a demonstration saying "No more curry" that they hang up in the living room and he’ll be greeted by your sorrowful face when he comes back from buying groceries.

“What’s this?” – “Oh honey, I’m so sorry, its just…” – “WE CAN’T TAKE THE SPICE ANYMORE STOP COOKING CURRY ALREADY!” – “…I mean…yeah.”

Of course, he’ll be a bit embarrassed and disappointed. May scratch his neck and look to the side thoughtfully. But he’ll take your plead seriously.

This is also how you bond with the kids for the first time. Congratulations, huddling up against someone is always the best way to bond!

He works hard on his cooking skills after that and becomes quite the formidable cook. He takes suggestions from you and the kids and will try to learn how to cook anything you might fancy to eat. It’s really important to him that all of you are happy and cooking may be the most important job of a house spouse, so he takes it very seriously.

There will be curry Tuesday though. One day of spice hell. Enjoy.

Please picture Oda in his usual attire, wearing a beige “kiss the cook” apron over it and bunny slippers. You’re welcome.

He'll learn how to make anime and cartoon-themed bentos for the kids, so it's highly probable you'll get cutely designed bentos as well. Again, you may drop suggestions, he’ll absolutely take them into considerations. Octopus sausages, bunny apple slices, cute bear faces made out of rice, he’ll learn to do them all. He isn’t too sappy of a person, but if he’s feeling romantic while cooking, your rice could also have the shape of a heart. Either way, your co-workers will be very envious of your food and your husband.

Oda iss the master of negotiation at the food market. He’ll be completely stoic all the time, not aggressive or dismissive at all, but he’ll point out little flaws of the products in a way that most shop owner’s won’t be able to deny and that’s how he gets discounts. He doesn’t want to cheat anyone out of their money, but he does have seven mouths to feed.

He may not look like it, but if any of the kids tag along for his grocery shopping, it's really hard for him to deny them something if they beg for it. He may seem unnervingly calm all the time, but he’s a big softie, especially for those kids and for you, and if they hang at his sleeves long enough, they’ll get that ice-cream they want so badly. That doesn’t work on pricier items though, he can be a strict parent when really needed.

Oda is great at handling the finances. He’s well aware that he has to be thrifty with five kids. Still, there is one thing where he struggles to keep his control: books.

If you agree to it, the apartment will have an absolutely minimalistic interior, but! In your living room, there will be a shelf full of books, so big it covers a whole wall. That’s it, that’s Oda’s only weak spot when spending money.

It’s not only books for him though. He buys books for you when he sees something from your favourite author or genre. He buys books for the kids so they learn the joy of literature. Poems, bed time stories he wants them to grow up appreciating the possibilities of the written word.

You can bet that he’ll read them bed time stories. Only one book for all five of them though, so one kid gets to choose a story each day.

He’ll read to you as well if you want him to. His voice is incredibly calm and soothing, he’s a really good reader. There’s a high probability you’ll fall asleep while he reads to you. You can cuddle up in bed and rest your head on his shoulder or sit on his lap and hide your face in the crook of his neck, feeling the vibration of his voice in his chest.

Whenever he has some time to spare, he’ll retire to your shared bedroom to write. Mind you, that won’t happen often. It happens mainly on weekends, when the kids are with friends and/or you are at home. If you want to do him a favour, consider cooking on the weekends, he’ll be more than thankful for the opportunity to submerge in his beloved writing. But don’t worry, it won’t consume him – he’ll always put some time aside to spent with you, without the kids, as well ¬‿¬.

He's so polite with the neighbours. Will pay all his neighbours a short visit together with the kids to introduce himself and bring little gifts. Just imagine him standing there in the door frame, witih all five kids around his legs, smiling at their new neighbours angelically - what's not to love?

He really wants to maintain a good relationship to all of them. Basically, he’s the perfect neighbour – always polite, always up to a little chat, always ready to listen to neighbour A complain over neighbour B without snitching. He’s mainly concerned for the wellbeing the kids though. He wants them to feel part of the community and often arranges play dates with the neighbour kids. If it's possible at the neighbour’s house because five kids are a lot to handle already…and when they are all out of the apartment, it’s cleaning time.

Oda is an angel of patience and the ultimate multitasker. He isn’t left with much of a choice with five kids, but thankfully, calm lies in his nature. You may see him explaining Sakura her math homework while cutting vegetables for today’s lunch. Then, he’ll take a quick glance out of the window to see if they boys are still playing on the street where he can see them and then he’ll check on Sakura again. Isn’t he lovely?

His ability is unexpectedly helpful for all of this. If he’s in the living room to clean, his ability will alarm him if the food’s about to burn. If he’s around the kids, he’ll know in time if one is about to trip. If you come home from work so tired you fall asleep face first in your soup, he’ll be able to catch you. So useful.

He’s a very attentive and loving husband. His love is mainly expressed by keeping the house as clean as he can and putting a lot of effort into cooking. Your work is hard enough, he takes it upon himself to manage everything else. He’ll also try to have the kids well-behaved so they don’t demand too much from you after you come home from work. Though if you decide to pull yourself together and give them attention and love even when tired, he’ll be more than thankful. He knows it’s a lot to ask to be a parent, especially to not one, but FIVE kids that are not yours by blood. So if you actively seek to have a close bond to them, it will make him so incredibly happy because he knows it’s not the natural course of action for everyone.

Will give you head, shoulder and foot massages after an especially excruciating day of work. His hands are skillful and he knows where to touch to make you moan to release the tension from your muscles.

Likes to lie his head in your lap after both of you had a long day of work. Yes, you may be the provider, but keeping a house clean and five kids under control isn’t an easy job either! So, he’ll seek peace laying his head on your thighs and closing his eyes while you tussle his hair and tell him about your day. Don’t expect more than a mumbled “Mm” or “I see” from time to time, but be sure that he’s listening.

And the Port Mafia? You’re in luck - since he was the lowest-ranking member, The Mafia, by which I mean Mori isn’t bothered that he left. He refused to kill anyways, he’s to no use to them him.

Of course, Oda will try to be absolutely sure there is no hidden reason for Mori to hinder his leave beforehand, or to resent him for it. The last thing he wants is to endanger you or the kids by leaving his job as a criminal.

If he ever meets a member of the PM in public, he'll act as if he doesn't know them. He may give them a polite nod if they make eye contact, but that’s about it. It’s not that he resents them, but he really wants to start a new life here that isn’t connected to killing and cruelty at all. If they approach him he'll be very polite, but try to keep the conversation short, even if they seem to have no ulterior motive.

Of course, there’s one member of the Port Mafia that marks the exception, by which I mean to say that you’ll have Osamu Dazai over for tea regularly. No, he won’t announce himself at all. The first time he appears at your apartment, you’re just finishing to unpack. He’ll tand at your doorstep all of a sudden to tell Oda that Mori already knows where he moved to. Oda will just nod as an acknowledgement. He expected as much. And then he’ll give you a questioning look. If you nod, he’ll officially asking his friend to stay for dinner. You’ll be having curry.

From then on, he’ll just drop by whenever. You may come back home from time to time to find dinner ready, the kids in bed and your husband and Dazai drinking. If you join them, you will have some truly joyful evenings spend together. You’re Oda’s chosen one, so Dazai is a bit more inclined to let you get close than he is with others. You may make a new friend in the process.

It doesn’t take a lot of time for the kids to start calling him Uncle Dazai. He’ll actually be Uncle Dazai before they ever call Oda Dad or you Mom/Dad. It will take them mere weeks to call him uncle, but months, maybe years to call the two of you Dad/Mom. It will happen eventually though, and the day it happens, I assure you that you will see Oda spill tears of happiness. He’ll be looking away, wiping his face with one hand and smiling. He never thought he would want this, but now he knows he does.

Back to Dazai! He’s reserved with the kids at first. As we know, he doesn’t feel all to comfortable around “childish behaviour”. But kids are like cats, the feel drawn to the one that’s most cautious. By which I mean to say that they are all over him. Literally. Oda will leave for five minutes and when he’s back at the living room the kids will have tackled a slightly unnerved Dazai on the floor. Sakura wants him to see the drawings she made, Katsumi, Kousuke and Yuu want to play, Shinji wants to ask him what's under his bandages. He’ll have no choice but to oblige and it goes surprisingly well. Oda may abuse him as a baby-sitter when he visits from then on.

Then suddenly, Dazai stops visiting altogether. You are worried, but Oda, for some reason, isn’t. Even more, whenever you ask him about it, you may catch him smiling to himself in a satisfied, proud way. No, Dazai didn’t tell him anything. If Oda would know, it would endanger all of you. But he knows. He knows that Dazai finally made his choice to leave the Port Mafia and needs to lay low now. And that’s okay.

It takes Dazai two years to come back, which will be just as sudden as him leaving. You’ll be astounded to see him a changed man at first sight. Oda will scold him for not sending any notice and then everything is normal again. And after some more years, he’ll start bringing along a scrawny kid with white hair.

A/N: Wow, this is the first post I put a "keep reading" link in because it's so long! That's kind of a milestone for me. ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you for reading!

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letters-from-alex · 3 years ago

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June 13, 2021

To the boy with green eyes,

It’s currently 12:59am and I can’t seem to get you out of my head. I’ve got a song on repeat: “You” by Regard. You made fun of me one day after picking you up from the hotel-- “You play this song a lot,” you said and laughed. “Well, I’m sorry it’s my current obsession right now!” I rebutted as I tried looking for a different song to play. But did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, I am trying to speak to you through my favorite songs? And how relevant they may be to the current situation? If you are reading these letters, then perhaps you should pay a little more attention next time.

I wish I could go into detail about how amazing my night was with you yesterday and what it meant to me that you stuck around. You literally had no obligation to stay, much less had any reason to, but nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed your presence and I was thrilled and surprised to see you open up to some of my friends to whom you which barely greeted yourself to. “I don’t like people,” echoed through my head a lot-- worried me even, that you wouldn’t let yourself get loose and open up to a handful of strangers, but I hoped, just hoped that you’d open up for me because these were people that I care very much about, just like you. Slowly, but surely, you did. I caught you laughing and smiling way too much and that hugged my heart.

All night you followed me like a puppy, and please take that as a compliment as I really enjoyed it. And the playful sarcastic banter that we do way too often that comes off as partly comedic, yet slightly and secretly flirtatious (at least for me it is). And the way you’d look at me with that side-eye stare, your signature move. And that smile you make when I try to compete with you. And even that moment when our friend asked “Who’s the DJ?!” Your face was priceless. A big “oops” painted across your face as you handed me the phone and picked up my arm, “It’s Alex. It’s not me!” But she saw through that guilt in your eyes and the lie in your voice. You can’t fool too many people and according to you, you are an honest person, but to what extent will you go to protect yourself? To make sure that you protect your heart from your own feelings?

You’re always reminding me of something: “Don’t let other people control your emotions.” I’ve been questioning myself ever since you said it to me for the very first time. We all have our moments, of course, when we can’t control our emotions after getting offended, for example. Just like you did when my ignorant friend said something out of line. I had never seen you so upset before, but I liked you anyway because you had valid points, valid reasons, and a passion of respect that made me fall in love with your mind than I did before.

In that moment, when you just couldn’t cool down that boiling anger deep inside you, I asked, “What is it that you’re always telling me not to do?” There was a pause. You smiled. I actually made you smile in a tough moment. You played stupid, but you knew exactly what I was talking about. I repeated myself. You laughed and said, “You say it.”

I looked deep into your eyes and said, “Don’t let other people control your emotions.”

I could tell you breathed in a breath of fresh air and in that moment, I swear I just wanted to hug you. I don’t know why I didn’t. I should’ve, but I didn’t. Why didn’t I? You let me touch your shoulders through the night. I accidentally touched your hand. I punched your bicep. And caressed your back. You even tussled my hair as you called me short, yet feisty in Spanish. So, why couldn’t I wrap my arms around your body? I have no clue where to draw that line without getting too close to you or perhaps even pushing you away.

I felt the same way when we were lying in my bed together-- a moment that I thought would never come to fruition. I couldn’t believe you were actually sleeping... on. my. bed. And to make it worse, you were sleeping on the side I usually sleep on-- the side closest to the window.

I had accidentally woken you up after kicking a water bottle on the floor. “I’m sorry.” I whispered. “No. You’re good,” you said as you got up to use the restroom. Moments later, you walked back into my room and closed the door behind you. I don’t know why, but I had this thought in the back of my head that you were going to tell me something like, “I can sleep in the other room,” or “Could you take me back to the hotel?” But no... nothing. You just laid there, less than two feet away from me, with my dogs in between us, separated. I felt so close, yet so far from you.

You were on your phone for a moment or two. My heart began to race, much faster after you turned off your phone and got comfortable. I listened to you breathe, tried getting mine in sync with yours, but I was too nervous. I had so much on my mind. I had so much to say to you, but didn’t know how to say it or thought maybe I shouldn’t even speak my mind. I didn’t realize how much more painful it is to bottle up the heartfelt thoughts over the heartless ones until last night.

I struggled to sleep for about half an hour. I felt you move around, I heard you scratch your face, and even turn your head around. Were you struggling to fall asleep too and if so, what was on your mind? What was keeping you awake? I wish the answer was me, but I know that won’t ever be true. Unlike me, it was you. It was you. My heart was racing because of you. My mind wouldn’t quiet because of you. I couldn’t sleep because of you. I laid there, staring at the ceiling, breathing heavily, and sighing, and thinking... just thinking.

“I have so many things to say, but I will only say them if you promise me you’ll pretend that I never did.”

You’d nod.

“And I just want you to listen. I don’t expect you to say anything because I know where we stand and I know you wont reciprocate anything I tell you or anything I feel for you.”

You’d nod.

“Okay. Now that we’ve got that cleared up... I just wanted to tell you how much I adore you. Your eyes. Your smile. Your laugh. Your voice. Your accent. Your hair. Your soft skin. Your callused hands. Your tattoos. Your defined body. Just everything about you drives me so crazy and I hate that you make me feel this kind of way only because you don’t feel the same way. Don’t get me wrong, you bring me so much joy and contentedness. You don’t know much about him, but you make me forget that this other boy with green eyes exists. You make me ever forget that my heart has ever been broken into a million pieces. I enjoy my time with you. I love being in your presence. I love breathing the same air in the same room as you. I love making you laugh and I love our playful banter because I bet you can’t be like that with just anyone, which also makes me wonder-- why me? But I guess that’s something I shouldn’t question and be something I should be grateful for and just go with the flow. But you see, I’d be lying if I said I just wanted this to stay like this-- to be friends, to be platonic. I don’t want to be platonic with you. Right now, I just want to hold you and intertwine my body with yours. I want to keep you warm throughout the night and caress your beautiful face and tussle your soft hair. I want to breathe on your neck and I want to whisper all the things I’ve never been brave enough to say.”

But I was mute the rest of the night. If only my mind was just as silent. It rushed so fast and my heart dropped each time I felt you move or showed any sign of being awake still, that I had to grab my blanket and walk to the guest room. I just couldn’t bear the pain of keeping all these unsaid feelings in while you were lying next to me-- a moment that I only dreamed about and never thought would actually happen. And I can’t help but beat myself up at the fact that something like this more than likely won’t happen again and should’ve taken advantage of the situation while I could, but I didn’t. And the most pathetic part of it all is that as I stepped out of the room, I actually hoped that you’d tell me to stay.

You’re always telling me not to let other people control my emotions, but I think it’s me who I’m scared of the most. People always say that happiness is a choice, but if that one emotion is a choice, why can’t the rest of them be? I am my worst enemy. I do these things to myself. I control my own emotions, but I’m not strong enough to let myself be happy in the moment because I know, eventually, this happiness will soon end. I get so carried away with my own feelings and everything that I want-- especially when it comes to fruition, makes me want to believe in this hopeless romantic fairytale fantasy that maybe things like this, nights like this, are meant to happen because it’s just the beginning of a beautiful love story. But then I start to come back to reality. I come back to the sudden realization that I can never have you.

Sincerely, Alex

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dancingthesambaa · 3 years ago

Text

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 14

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Also as a heads up, since college started back up for me I decided to change my posting to every Thursday night rather than Friday Mornings. There also might be times where I won't be able to post that week or be late due to schooling, so this is an apology in advance!!!

Chapter 14: Memories Intertwined

A clear cut path was set for the public eye as it stood between rows upon rows of Plum Blossom trees and flowers spread all around. There were quite an abundance of people along these paths as families came together for a picnic, couples went for a stroll together as they held hands, or the occasional jogger or artist that ran or drew as they wandered in. Many don’t try to venture off the path, not because of its danger, but rather in fear of getting lost in the woods.

Well except for two people, a human and a Monkey, as they stood on the outskirts of the forest.

“Well this is it, welcome to the Plum Blossom Forest,” MK said as with his arms raised high. “The most awesomest place to be.”

It took a few minutes for Wukong to respond as he took in the beautiful view, but also felt that there was something else rooted in the leaves, along the branches, and deep into the ground within the forest. It wasn’t bad, just something different. Normal trees don't usually have any types of aura on them unless they are spiritual in nature, these aren’t those types of trees. At the same time though it does, he can’t quite put his fingers on it, but it just feels like…like safety. “Yeah, it is.”

“Monkey King?”

“O-oh yeah,” he snapped out of it, “this place looks absolutely amazing.”

“It sure is, now follow me,” MK went into the forest as the Monkey King followed.

“It would probably be faster if I used my cloud instead of going through the forest, you know,” he pointed out.

“Sure, but this is your first time, so you have to experience it on foot at least for your very first experience!” He countered.

“You got me there,” he grinned, “on foot it is. So, tell me more about this place, anything interesting about it besides the abundance of trees?”

“Tons! Like this forest doesn’t just have regular animals, but it also has so many mythical creatures living here!”

“Really? What kind?”

“Well we have a few Qilins that like to roam around here.”

“Qilin, haven’t seen one of those in a hot second,” he muttered.

“They sometimes come and go, but some even make a den here,” MK continued.

The further they went in the clearer it was that MK really knew the forest as he began to excitedly tell all sorts of things to his mentor.

“So the faeries tribe get along with the Xianglu? Now that is something I didn’t think was possible, the faeries are especially a…crafty bunch,” which was Wukong's way of saying manipulative sons of bitches. He got lost in a forest for a month because of those little bastards.

“Not really surprisingly, they both like to collect shiny things so they usually like to show the other what they have found, bargained, and/or stolen,” he shrugged. “And-oh hey BaBa!” He cheerily waved to his long time friend.

Wukong just blinked as he looked at her and just nodded, “Okay, not even gonna ask how or why he managed to get a Bashe here.”

“Dad says that apparently she just came here one day and decided to stay.”

The monkey opened his mouth and promptly closed it instead to bow to her, “It’s nice to meet you.”

BaBa gave a shallow nod to him and laid her giant head back down and curled up in the sun rays.

“Come on! We’re almost there,” he grabbed the Monkey King's hand and dragged him back on track, or at least they tried to get back on track as not even twenty minutes later, MK was ambushed by a couple of macaque monkeys.

“Guys! Guys! I’ll play with you all later,” he tried to push them away, but they held a tight grip on him. “Guys! Why are-don’t you even think about it,” he snatched one by the tail, who was sneakily digging into his pockets and hanged him upside down. “Really?”

They all just grinned at him as the infants attempted once more.

“That’s-okay, no! You can’t just steal from me like that unless you have a distraction in place,” he managed to gather all four of them in his arms and put them down. “A distraction helps a lot, it will steer your target attention away from the pickpocketer and towards something else.”

The monkeys were paying very much attention to his impromptu lecture as they stared wide eyed.

Wukong, on the other hand, was holding back his laugh as he looked on in the scene with fondness and amusement as he was drawn into a familiar memory.

“I can easily steal from those people no problem, why do I have to disguise myself and sneak in?” Wukong groaned out as they made their way to the edge of the market.

“Just because they look weak doesn’t mean they are, haven’t you heard the phrase ‘Don’t judge things on how they look.’” Macaque argued back.

“No.”

“Of course you haven’t,” he rolled his eyes, “well how about this, you distract them, I’ll grab the food from the assholes.”

“Works for me!” He happily threw away his brown cloak and gave a loud screech as he dashed through the market causing a huge commotion when he ran into people.

“I didn’t mean now,” he hissed to himself as he quickly grabbed the fallen cloak, but nonetheless got to work as he stole from the fruit vendor, who cussed them both out yesterday, grabbed a few loaves of bread from the bitch who decided to stomp on Wukong tail, and took a few things here and there from customers who he recognized from other days that always sneered in disgust when they saw him.

He was just about done wrapping up, and with such a nice haul, all that was left now was to sneak around and look for Wukong, quickly tug on his shadow to bail out and make way to the forest.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out quite like that as not even twenty paces in he heard sounds of a fight occurring as many scruffed up looking people were all going at it at each other, and guess which reckless monkey is in the middle of it all.

“Damn it Wukong,” his eye twitched as he once again contemplated about leaving his reckless ass, but begrudgingly moved his way to the front. The first, and last, time he had tried that, he got side tackled hard by the monkey and he swears the bruises haven’t left him since.

When he reached the point where he was not entirely in the front, but still had a good angle on the fight, he saw that it wasn’t just humans that were drunkenly fighting each other, but also demons…who were wielding weapons.

“Shit!” The monkey shrieked as he dodged a flaming spear to the back of the head.

Weapons that happened to be enchanted…great.

“How does he even get himself into these messes,” Macaque lowly growled as he made sure everyone's attention was focused on the fight before slipping into the shadows, something he has recently been learning when he saw something on the rooftop. There was a figure standing there and in his hands was a bow and arrow that was aimed right towards the fighting monkey.

Now this wouldn’t usually worry him, he has seen him tussle with deities for fun, but then he noticed that the arrow too was also enchanted as he heard a soft crackle and saw a shimmering blue glow as he soon released it.

“Shit!” He quickly, and he will admit a bit recklessly, dived into the shadows and straight in the middle of the brawl.

Good news, he made it to the middle of the brawl and tackled his friend out of the way. Bad news, he currently has an arrow stuck in his right shoulder that hurt worse than the time he got stabbed by the selkie.

“Fuck!” He grunted as he laid on top of Wukong and promptly winced when everyone started screaming at the arrow that came out of nowhere.

“Mac! What do you do that for-your shoulder!” He screeched as he got the monkey off of him and sat him up and saw his shoulder was currently smoking. He didn’t even look back to use his tail to throw the man about to attack them from behind as he was focused on the arrow. “What happened?!”

“We can worry about this later,” he gritted as he tried to stand up, only for his head to feel dizzy and he stumbled.

Wukong quickly grabbed him before he could fall and set him back down. He knew that he had to get the arrow out of him soon, but now was not the best time to do that as he gazed upon the people looming over them. He looked to see his friend trying to stand back up despite his injuries and was fully ready to fight back with him.

It was time to go.

The monkey stopped his black furred companion from moving, “Shall we bail?”

Macaque gave a nod as he grabbed his friend and sank him down into the shadows once more and managed to travel all the way to the outskirts of the fight. They didn’t stop there though as Macaque quickly gave Wukong his cloak back and the two began to make their way through the town, past the entrance, and back into the field with a large tree stood, which is where they agreed to meet up in case things went south, like a lot of times before.

“Well,” the injured monkey grunted as he sat down, “that could have gone a lot worse.”

“You're telling me,” the bruised simian agreed as he began to look over the arrow that was still embedded in his friend's back. “Sit still, I’m about to take this out.”

“Yeahhh, it hurts like hell,” he grumbled as he sat in place as Wukong got the arrow out and only flinched when he began to lick the wound shut. The first time he found out that this was a thing was when he pricked his hand against a thorny bush and the impulsive simian decided to put his finger in his mouth without warning. He had almost chucked the monkey for that. Soon enough it was over as the bleeding stopped and the tongue left his back.

“That should be good, though you were an idiot for getting struck in the first place,” he said.

“Me?! I was only doing that to save your stupid ass,” he indignantly said.

“I would have been fine!”

“Maybe, but I wasn’t about to take that chance with an enchanted weapon,” he shot back.

“That does explain the weird marking, wait there was another one?” He was already interested in that flaming stick that the demon used, but now there was another weapon he didn’t even see…that had struck his friend…he really wants a round two with those fuckers. “Who even were they?”

“Hopefully people we don’t have to meet anytime soon,” Mac grunted as he took the sack that he managed to quickly snag on their way back and grabbed himself a nice looking mango. “Come to papa,” he said and took a big bite.

“Bring it here,” he said and he caught the bag thrown at him and rummaged through it a bit before he found some nice looking loquat.

After that, they filled the two rested up in the tree, and dozed off in a peaceful slumber. Though the same couldn’t be said for a certain group of people as in the middle of the night they were ambushed by a cloaked figure and proceeded to get thoroughly pummeled into unconsciousness, the archer especially as his hands were broken beyond use and his bow shattered. Then the figure slipped off into the night with his hoard of coins and trinket stashed into his pocket and bounded his back to the tree where his friend laid.

No one was allowed to mess with anything that was claimed by the great Monkey King after all.

“Bye! Now use that to mess with everyone else!” He was snapped back to reality as he saw the monkeys leaving and MK waving to them. “But don’t use it on the faeries please, they tend to hold grudges!”

They got screeches of confirmation as they eventually vanished from sight and were ready to commence their new found knowledge amongst the wildlife.

“Alrighty,” his protege clapped his hands, “let’s back on track.”

“I’m just gonna assume that means we’re heading to that big tree over there,” he pointed to the enormous tree they were heading towards.

“Yup! It’s the very first Plum Blossom Tree that was grown here!” He stated as they continued onward, “and it’s where our home is.”

“You guys live in a treehouse,” Monkey King amusedly said.

“Yup!” He exclaimed as he began to climb up the tree and leap towards the house, “race ya there!”

“You're trying to challenge a monkey?” He grinned as he easily began to catch up to him. “You don’t stand a chance!”

“Home Field advantage!”

“Dream on!”

“First!” Wukong cheered as he landed on the wooden porch.

“Damnit!” MK said not even a second after, “you cheated! You pulled me down!”

“All is fair in love and races,” he cockily grins then he stilled as he felt a killer intent behind him. He swiveled around only to stop and see a smiling child behind him. “Hel-”

“MK, it’s about time you got here,” the girl playfully rolled her eyes as she wrapped her arm around him. “It took you long enough.”

“Says the one who was lazing about here waiting for us, speaking of us,” he wiggled out of his sister's arm and pointed to the monkey. “Mei meet the Monkey King!”

It could have just been Wukong, but he swore that her grin seemed to grow a little wider when their eyes met. “It’s nice to meet you Mei,” he tried to play off that weird feeling.

“Same,” she said as she stepped forward and pushed MK towards the kitchen, “it’s your turn to help pops in the kitchen.”

“Why? Can’t you do it?” He whined, he literally just finished walking here.

“I already did my part, now wash those nasty hands of yours,” she fully pushed him out the room.

“But-”

“Bye~”

“Ugh fine!,” he huffed and turned to his mentor, “You can wait in the living room with Mei! I’m pretty sure there are still some plums if you want, we have plenty of those.”

“You're telling me,” Wukong chuckled as he saw his student leave the room, so he turned back to Mei. “So how long have you-” he paused as he saw the pigtailed girl hold up a small piece of paper in front of him with words saying.

I don’t like you

“Umm,” he paused as Mei continued to smile.

“Well let me show you the living room,” she said as she went to the next card.

You may be MK mentor, the great and powerful Monkey King, and Dad old friend, and they may have both forgiven you, but I will not

“Thank you,” he managed to wrangle out as he followed Mei who began to walk forward.

“It’s no problem,” she said as they made it to the living room and held out the last card. “Just promise me to remember where it is next time monkey man.”

I know what happened and I’m keeping an eye on you, cause if you fuck up again then it won’t be pretty

Her eyes glowed a dark green as she stared down with wary golden eyes.

“I promise,” he nodded his head.

She looked at him for a few moments before walking away, passing by a trash can filled with torn up letters, and to the kitchen, but not before calling out, “I do hope you keep that in mind.”

It was only after she had left that Wukong sank down into his seat and breathed. ‘Well that wasn’t frightening at all,’ he sarcastically said to himself as he picked up a plum from the middle of the table and began to eat it. ‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I expected it to be from the awkwardness, not the girl who looked like she would gladly see me twenty feet under.’

He would continue his train of thought, but then he smelled something delicious making his way to him and saw Mac walk towards him with a plate in hand.

“Hope you still like dumplings,” he said as he plopped a huge tray of dumplings, filled with various fillings, in the middle of the table.

“Hell yeah…So you learned how to cook?” He was about to reach for the chopstick but paused and waited until the other monkey sat down first.

“Kinda had to with everything and all,” he didn’t specify as he sat down on a chair adjacent to the couch Wukong was on.

“Do you know how to cook?” Wukong was momentarily surprised at MK's voice as he and Mei were actually following behind the monkey and carrying plates, cups, and a pot.

“In a way yes, thank you,” he nodded his head to Mei as she gave him a wide grin.

“Hair food does not count,” Mac deadpanned.

“Hair food?” Both teenagers looked in confusion.

“He uses his hair to make food.”

“It’s not that bad,” he tried to defend himself.

“It’s fast I’ll admit, but it’s bland as hell,” he stated.

“It’s still not that bad.”

“I’ll take your word for that,” MK said as he sat down next to his mentor and happily began to eat the dumpling.

Wukong, after seeing everyone starting to eat, began to follow suit and his eyes widened as he quickly grabbed another dumpling. “This is delicious!”

“More than your hair food,” the black simian smirk.

Wukong stuffed another dumpling in his mouth in place of answering and drank some Plum tea, only to blink in surprise. “What kind of tea is spicy?”

“Pffft,” Mac couldn’t help himself as he barked out a laugh that was quickly followed by MK giggles.

And that’s how it was for the rest of the lunch, small chatter here and there, mostly from MK as he talked about his week or Wukong in his small questions from ‘What he likes to grow in his garden?’ to ‘How long did he take to build his home?’ It was nothing too invasive, just simple questions here and there and they finished up the plate, though there was a small fight between both humans and the sage monkey over who would get the last beef dumpling. It was a tense match, but it was MK who won in the end after a serious battle of Jan Ken Po.

“Victory tastes so good,” he smirked as he devoured the dumpling.

“I will remember this,” Mei hissed as she messed with her pigtails.

“Maybe it’s time we review the basics again,” Wukong huffed and he slurped down the tea.

“You're just mad that I won.”

“Children all of you,” Mac said as he got his clone to put the plates in the sink.

“You're not wrong,” she said as she leaned back against him.

The simian hands then began to unconsciously undo her messed up pigtails and groom her hair. Both parties didn’t really take note of the change as this was a daily routine for anyone who has known them long enough.

Wukong just eyed the scene with mirth and a small bit of jealousy, that he will forever deny, as he watched his friend groom his child.

“Can I groom your fur,” he was startled by MK’s question.

“Wha-I mean, sure,” he quickly agreed after getting caught off by the question.

He smiled widely as he pushed the great sage Monkey King to the floor and began to gently groom his hair as well. He couldn’t help himself slowly become relaxed as the fingers gently caressed his fur. He has done this multiple times with his tribe, but this feeling will never get old.

“What is up with your fur being so soft?” The boy commented, “Dad’s fur is super soft and now yours? Is there a rule that demon monkey fur has to be soft?”

“Technically not a demon, but that is just the side effect of quality grooming,” he had to stop himself from letting a purr out as the kid continued. “Makes the fur nice and silky.”

He didn’t really pay attention to what his student said next as he closed his eyes and let the soft hands thread through his fur then when he opened his eyes once more it was dark and the hands had stopped.

He took a quick glance around and saw that he must have dozed off during their impromptu grooming session as he saw MK was now leaning against him in deep sleep and Mei curled up like a small cat on the couch with a pillow under her head. Yet there was no Macaque insight, his eyes flashed a bright golden as he scanned the area and saw the familiar outline of violet aura sitting on the railing outside.

So, he carefully dislodged himself from his student grip, laid him down gently with a blanket, and softly padded his way outside the warm home and into the cool night air.

“Could have sworn you were passed out,” Mac said as Wukong sat down next to him.

“What can I say, grooming plus silence equals sleepy time,” he shrugged, kicking his feet as he looked around, “you do have a nice home.”

“Thanks,” he awkwardly answered.

“Must have taken quite some time to build.”

“A few years.”

“Oh,” he said, then an awkward silence filled the air as neither side knew what to do without the kids acting as some sort of buffer between the two. Neither monkeys knew how to go from here despite one inviting the other over, they didn't know where exactly how to start nor, which is both their biggest worry, how it might end. But the inevitable conversation did need to start, so Wukong turned to his friend.

“Look, about the whole fight the other day and me saying you were just trying to use MK, I’m sorry,” he really knew he did a major fuck up then. “You really do care for the both of them and I can tell that they really love you as well.”

“…thanks, I got really lucky having them in my life,” he smiled then he winced, “Sorry about almost killing your friends back then, that was stupid of me.”

“Yeahhh, about that,” he turned his whole body to face him, “that has been nagging me for the longest of times. Why did you attack them?” He surprisingly watched the black furred monkey groan and put his face in his hands.

“It was both parts stupidly and sheer impulsiveness. I came to find you after Guanyin freed you and I heard you screaming and I saw you in pain, I thought you were being tortured,” he quietly replied.

Wukong's eyes were shot wide open as the truth of this finally came to light. This whole time he thought rage towards humans finally erupted in one huge explosion and attacked them, but it wasn’t. That wasn’t it. Macaque attacked them because he thought they were hurting him, he attacked his friends because he thought he was in pain because of them. Everything that happened, from the fight to their long separation was due to a fucking screwed-up misunderstanding!

“Oh,” yet he didn’t know how to voice any of that out, which is ironic considering he is known for being a loudmouth after his impulsiveness.

“I am sorry,” he reiterated as he barely got a reaction out of his friend. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions, but I just heard screams and I saw you lying there, that I couldn’t stop myself from listening to the voices,” he admitted. Wukong is one of the few people he has ever told about the voices that like to whisper in his ears all their malicious intent and their cruel lust.

“…we both are truly hot messes huh,” he finally said as he looked back to the moon and gave him a small nudge. “Just look at the two of us, you somehow became the recluse medicine man that lives in the forest alone, but still somehow ends up with two kids, and me, who lives up in the tallest of mountains and became the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.”

“You forgot to add reckless idiot, somewhere there,” Mac lightly jokes.

“Heh yeah…I forgive you,” he quietly stated.

Macaque whipped his head to him, “Just like that? I almost killed you and your friends back then and that whole fight, and the words-” they both winced at the reminder of those damned words they spoke to the other. “What I did was horrible.”

“And we fought and I made you fucking blind!” He hissed out as he tried to see past the glamor in place to look at his hazy eye.

“I’m pretty sure I left you with a few scars yourself,” he shot back.

“A few scars are nothing compared to being blind!”

“That is just one injury compared to the multitude!”

“It doesn’t work like that, you are literally a physician?!” He threw his hands up.

“And I do declare myself completely capable despite my disability!” He barked back.

“I never said you weren’t capable, I know better than to underestimate you. Remember back with the fire spirits.”

“Which ones?”

“The arrogant bastard ones.”

“Which ones? There are numerous of them,” he deadpanned.

“The ones centered by the river, you know the spirits who thought they were powerful enough-”

“To take on the deity that commanded that puddle of water,” he said with him and continued. “I still can’t believe that those words came out of his mouth,” he snorted.

“And after we kicked their asses,” Wukong reminded him with a wide grin, “remember the look on their faces when the river goddess heard what they said.”

“I have never seen a fire spirit look like they want to piss themselves that fast before,” he barked out his laughter.

“Right!”

The two shared a laugh at the memory of the deity whooping their asses once more as the arrogant spirits either ran away screaming or died beneath her thundering waves. Both of them were completely safe as they watched the entire thing from on top of a tree and made bets over which idiots would survive. Their laughter eventually died down as the night silence took over once more, but it wasn’t the awkward silence that greeted them but a kindling of familiar comfort they shared before.

“We really are idiots,” the medicine monkey faintly commented.

“Glad to hear you finally admit it,” the sage monkey replied then he paused as he thought for a moment, but pushed forward. “After our many years of friendship, I would have never thought I would ever hear the day.”

Mac's eyes widened at his admission, “Friends?”

“Yep,” he boldly looked him in the eyes, “I mean I have spent centuries with you, so I think we are way past that level you know.”

“Despite not seeing each other in between those centuries,” the simian retorted.

“Well friends do have stupid fights with each other sometimes, it’s just not specifically for mortals you know,” the monkey slightly grinned.

“You're not wrong,” he swung his feet, “do…do you want to start over? Maybe try anew?” Thinking that maybe they couldn’t go back to how things were before, how the easy smiles and laughter that they used to share between the two of them and thoroughly dissipated. That maybe, if they begin right here and right now, there can be some resemblance of that bond that was once shattered.

Wukong let that answer sink in and ponder it only for a few moments before shuddering. “I…no I really don’t,” he said with a surprising harshness in his tone. “You were the one person who has known me longer than anyone other than the ones that still reside on the mountain, you are the only one who knows me the best out of anyone, and call me selfish, but I don’t want to start over with the only person who knew me from the inside out and still give a damn about me.” He can’t even imagine just throwing away all those years that he spent with moonshine, it would be easier if they ripped his head out instead, at least then the pain won’t be so bad. “So how about we both agree we made and did stupid ass decisions and continue on, cause if I’m being honest here, I really missed your grooming,” he teased.

“You just want me for my hands,” he couldn’t help but say.

“You do have very lovely hands,” he didn’t deny.

Macaque snorted before nodding, “Yeah, I like that peaches.”

“It’s been a while, mango,” Wukong grinned as he took in his friend form once more. He really had changed a lot since the last time he saw him, who he was is still the same, but he has opened up his soul a little wider and has beautifully flourished. Just how, well he just has to see more for himself. But not just his soul, but his whole outer appearance and he’s not talking about his ‘feminine’ clothing, both of them aren’t ones who care for gender roles or whatever the humans have decided their identity is based around. Rather his long fur that is swaying gently in the breeze under the moonlight night.

He couldn’t stop himself from taking glances at that fur each time he looked at the black furred simian. From just the sheer size to the fluffiness, as his student had proclaimed (though he can’t help but agree) he really just wants to thread his fingers through his fur. Maybe it’s just the absence of not grooming his friend fur in a long ass time, but he wants to remember how soft his fur is, to gently smooth out any tangles, to let him sit in between his legs as Mac sinks into his ministration and purr once more, to hold him as long as he can as they gently relax in each other arms to have his hands move down from his gorgeous fur and to his beautiful face and tilt his head up so that his golden eyes meet his own and ben his head down to meet-…oh.

And it was at this moment as he stared at Liu Er face did the thought occur to him as their tails unconsciously had entwined for the first time in over five hundred years and sat together beneath the stars.

‘I still love him,’ he faintly thought and his own heart pounded in confirmation. Not even when they have been separated for five hundred years did he stop loving his moonlight. ‘I really won’t stop loving him…and for some reason, I don’t mind.’

But instead of saying anything, he instead put his face on top of Macque's head and playfully nuzzled him. He can see his moon fondly rolling his eyes at his antics, but lean in as he feels his smaller friend rest his head on his shoulder.

‘This is enough,’ both simians privately thought as they cuddled close together.

Though they weren’t quite alone as two pairs of eyes were trained on them from the living room and they haven’t moved an inch since they heard Monkey King walk outside for the first time.

Mei and MK looked at each other in complete shock as they took in the scene. The surprise wasn’t from their conversation nor from the harmonious aura that surrounded them, but rather from the black and brown tails that were intertwined with each other. Now they may not know how romantic love feels and looks except from t.v, movies, couples strolling, and the scarce amount of times Mei parents come around, but they can tell there is something definitely there as it was hanging around the two monkeys and seeing them like this, it clicked.

‘Holy shit, Monkey King is the old flame!’ MK exclaimed with his eyes as he looked toward Mei.

‘It would seem so,’ her eyes flickered.

‘And he likes Dad back!’ His eyes widened.

‘Indeed he does,’ she narrowed her viridian eyes.

‘What do we do?’ He blinked three times as he was happy that they reconciled, but was unsure of what’s to come.

‘Watch for now and see what happens,’ she breathed as they both turned to look at the two silent monkeys basking together in the night.

Slow burn? Slow Burn?! They have been slow burning for countless centuries that even the polar bears are starting to feel the heat

HAHAHAHA I’m turning up the fucking heat for these damn monkeys

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #mk #macaque #six eared macaque #monkey king #PlumTeaAU

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itslunarwritesstuff · 4 years ago

Text

More than this

Word Count: 10, 000 (grab some popcorn this is gonna take a while)

Summary: Colson and Y/N have been friends since high school and for the past few years he has seen her get her heartbroken and hurt by guys who are not worth it. Well after a date gone wrong he picks her up and things in their friendship take a drastic turn.

Contains: Friends to lovers trope, Fluff, a teeny bit of angst, Cuddling.

Warnings: Language, Unconsenual touching (from a date, not Colson)

Y/N/N: Your Nickname

________________________________________________________________

You’re spread out upright on a patio chair relaxing for what seems like the first time in forever, the sun warming your cheeks in a soothing gesture.

Your eyes shoot open at an abrupt yell, “ROOK” you knew that voice all too well.

“Jesus Colson you practically scared me into the next life!” you said startling him as well.

“Sorry Y/N didn’t realize you were here” Colson walked over to you taking a seat on the chair next to yours.

Nodding as to acknowledge his apology you say “I used my key, hope that’s okay.” swinging your legs over to the side to face him.

“Well yeah that’s the whole reason you have a key, well that and when the rest of us are too messed up to unlock the door” You both laughed at the memories of how many times you had to come over at the ass crack of dawn because no one had their keys on them or miraculously lost all their copies.

“Y/N/N I don’t see why you don’t just take the extra room we have here, You’re practically here all the time anyway. Could save money on rent.”

You shot him a look as if you were saying ‘Yeah Right’.

“What? Is it cause the room is a bit small, cause if that’s it then I’m sure ROOK wouldn’t mind trading with you” Colson smiles kindly but saying the last part louder to ensure Rook heard him.

“Suck my dick” Rook came out on the patio with his middle fingers up and a smirk plastered on his face. You knew what was about to happen and so you got up and started to walk to the other side of the yard as to try and avoid the tornado that is Colson and Rook when they tussle; “Ooo bad move Rook” you jokingly seethed with laughter.

Colson was bolting towards Rook catching him off guard and the two men were trying to pin each other but instead twisted together still barreling around.

Not looking where they were going and you not fully paying attention, the two grown men’s bodies hit you full force causing you to fall into the pool.

The men unraveled from each other when they heard the splash, knowing they were in deep shit now.

When you emerge from the water, head just above the surface you look at the men who caused this chain of events and say “I am so getting you guys back for this…” Rook and Colson gave each other a look that was their way of planning their escape but you finished “...at some point. Just not now.”

You could see them both relax instantly, it wasn’t because they were afraid of you but it was because they knew what you were capable of doing when provoked that was also one of the reasons they loved you as well.

Colson bent down and helped you out of the pool pulling you upwards by your slippery hands, you fell against him but quickly recovered standing back up on your own two feet.

Soaking wet, your once dry and slightly oversized t-shirt now clung to your body in the most uncomfortable way possible, being more comfortable here even than you do at your own home you pull the shirt over your head and hang it over the chair from earlier so it can dry in the sun.

Left in your bra and spandex shorts you looked at Colson and Rook they seemed to have snapped themselves out of some kind of a trance as they made eye contact with you as you turned around. “You guys have any clothes I can borrow,” you ask the dumbfounded duo a few feet in front of you.

Rook is the first to answer his eyes looking everywhere but your face “Uh yeah…” Colson shoots him a glare that you didn’t catch, your focus only on Rook as he spoke.

“Remember you have your section in my closet” Colson interrupts.

You nod “Oh yeah I forgot about that, thanks guys”.

Being a bit confused by the energy in the air you led the way into the house waiting for at least one of them to follow but they just stood there heads and eyes following your movements.

Cause to you, you were just taking off a wet shirt; but to them, it was like a slow-motion beach scene in a movie. Sexy background music and all.

Shaking your head in confusion you continue your way into the house and up the stairs to Colson’s room.

Usually, he freaked about having people in here without him but with you it was different; you and Colson had been friends since high school you being a few years younger than him. And even if you guys lived in different states or how drastic your lifestyles were, the two of you have always been close over the years no matter what. And you would be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy living closer now than in

years past.

Going straight to his closet you find your drawer the one he gave to you in case you spent the night or for emergencies such as this one. Pulling out some underwear you strip right there feeling relieved to get the wet clothes off your shivering body. Pulling on the underwear you grab a pair of joggers that are from his merch site from a while back and finally instead of grabbing one of your t-shirts from the drawer you sift through the hangers until you find a shirt of his that is thick and long perfect for being cozy. Before slipping the shirt on you mentally thank yourself for the dry sports bra in the drawer and swap that with the bra currently dripping down your back.

Downstairs Colson, Rook, Baze, and Slim have all congregated to the living room.

Rook had told the guys about what happened at the pool not even twenty minutes ago.

Slim just looked at Colson then Rook and shook his head cause he knew how oblivious you were about things sometimes. Hearing your footsteps approaching, the group stopped talking and tried to find a different conversation topic. Redirecting the topic Colson asks “Hey Y/N/N what are you doing tonight? Do you want to hang here and we can do something?”

You plop down on the arm of the chair next to him even though there are plenty of empty seats and answer “Well usually I would but I’ve got plans for once. How are you guys going to survive without me” playful sarcasm coming from the second half of your sentence.

Colson looked up at you for the first time since you came into the room and sees you wearing his shirt and everyone else notices it too. He goes to reach for the fabric currently pooling around your hips while sitting but mentally stops himself, Colson backtracks and says “Yeah right, plans. Plans to steal more of my shirts is it.” he lets out a forced laugh but even though you buy it the rest of the group can see the internal battle going on inside his head.

The rest of the guys just watch your banter and you reply with “Ha Ha. But I’m serious I do have plans tonight with a guy named David.” Rook blurts out “So a date.”

You nod “Yeah like a date.”

Slim let out a playful “Ooo” and you chuck one of the nearby pillows at him.

“Oh grow up guys. Besides maybe this time it will work out” You say with hope lining your words.

The guys all stare at you with sorry in their eyes knowing how unlucky your past relationships and dates have gone. Been cheated on or left for pretty much no reason many times and the amount of times guys have canceled last minute or not followed up for a second date was way past counting at this point,

“But anyway I should get going here in a minute.” Just as you’re about to stand up and make your way to grab your things and leave, Colson surprises both of you when he grabs your hand his eyes painted with panic. You look at him with expecting eyes and he chokes out “Uh...Um...Be careful tonight ‘kay. And if you need me just call…” his eyes connect with yours, a strange warm feeling crawling up to your chest “...I’m here for you always Y/N.”

Your stomach does an unexpected flip but you pass it off as just a friendly reaction to his kind and meaningful words. “I will, I Love you, Colson” you bend down slightly and leave a soft kiss on his cheek while the rest of the group just watches the interaction unfold in front of their eyes, knowing something that neither of you can see or admit to yourselves.

Pulling your hand from Colson’s you smile to everyone and say goodbye before leaving.

Colson still sat there, lost in his own head it seemed. After a while, Colson’s hand had slowly made its way to his cheek, tracing the spot where you had kissed him.

The guys still sat silent as they continued to watch their friend fall into his own little world.

Then Colson snapped back to reality and his face went hard turning to Slim.

Slim knew his best friend enough to know he was angry and had a plan brewing in his head.

“Alright what is it?” Slim asked.

“What do you mean” Colson gets defensive.

“How are you going to stop this guy from going out with Y/N” Slim sighed knowing that’s what this has led to. “It’s not like you know who the guy is this time ‘round” Rook says.

“And you really shouldn’t just show up there” Slim bounced back.

Colson’s eyebrows are furrowed as he thought and then Baze jumps in and says “I think you guys should just let her be and let her enjoy her night. I mean sabotaging her dates isn’t going to work forever you know. One day she is going to catch on and it’s going to suck for all of us.”

Slim counters by saying “But you know why we can’t just stop.” Slim points to Colson’s direction with his head trying his best to be secretive while Colson is in the room.

Baze nods and Colson says “No, Baze is right. This is wrong, she can handle herself.”

Surprised looks cross Baze, Slim, and Rook; that was definitely not what they were expecting.

But they agreed with him nonetheless, knowing that meddling in your love life wasn’t right no matter what the circumstances were and are.

“Alright, Imma go clean my room,” Colson said, his features were gloomy and withdrawn.

After Colson is upstairs the remaining three discuss the situation at hand.

“What are we going to do if she ends up liking this random guy?” Slim asks rhetorically.

“I know I won’t like him if Y/N ends up bringing him around here,” Rook says crossing his arms.

Everyone in that house is your family and by the few times, you have brought a guy around they were as nice as they could be but it was as if they knew the man’s true intentions before you did.

“Guys, We have all seen the way those two look at each other. That doesn’t just go away, whether they notice it or not Y/N and Colson are tied to each other. But we may have to push them a bit for them to see that they fucking like each other, or I might go crazy.”

When Colson got upset he would usually do one or all of the following; party and get trashed, make music, or would clean his room. For this current situation, he figured cleaning his space would hopefully put him in a better mood. He didn’t understand what bothered him so much about Y/N going out on a date or even dates in general. He just figured he was a good friend and was protecting her from getting heartbroken, this was not the case though.

Hanging shirts up in his closet wasn’t clearing his mind as he hoped but thankfully his phone dinged from the bed. Picking it up and unlocking it he sees it is a message from you; it is a picture of you dressed up, your eyebrows furrowed and tongue stuck out in a goofy way. The message said ‘Wish me luck’, he couldn’t think of what to say that wasn’t way out of line so he just sent a few thumbs up and hearts hoping that was enough.

In your apartment you put on some chapstick before going out the door but your phone buzzes in your hand, unlocking it is a response from Colson of three emojis a thumbs up and two hearts.

You smile at your phone and leave.

Getting to the bar you’re supposed to meet David at you thank your driver in the hopes that if things go well he could drive you home.

Taking a seat at the bar you text him telling him you’re there he responds right away with a short ‘Almost there’.

You set your phone down and order a drink before he arrives.

After about another five minutes David arrives and you stand up from your stool and greet with him with a friendly hug.

“Y/N you are looking great,” David says his hands lingering on your hips.

This was the first date after all and you barley knew this guy beside that he worked with a friend of yours so you pushed his hands off of you in a sly manner and took a seat back at your stool.

Trying to make sure things get off on the right foot you say thank you to his compliment and ask some basic questions. “So David, What are some of your hobbies” you bring your drink to your lips.

David has got on a blazer with an undershirt and a tie with the pants to match, conventionally he is pretty attractive but typically not the type of guy you would go for at all. Laidback and down for anything was definitely more your type which this guy definitely not; but you were more than willing to give him a chance considering the current lack of romantic companionship in your life.

David went on about how he was really into art collecting and you were relieved that you guys had something somewhat in common. He shows you a few of his favorite pieces on his phone and you say “Oh that’s really cool. I actually paint in my free time.” That was a bit of an understatement for sure but he was intrigued so it worked.

“Oh really? Let me see, maybe they’re good enough for my collection.” you try your best to not let your face go sour at the tone of his comment as if his opinion made you or your art worth something.

But you take out your phone unlocking it, then taking a moment to appreciate and remember the memory attached to your wallpaper. Its a picture of you and Colson at EST fest the past summer, you were covered in paint cause you thought it was a great idea to let the others paint on you for fun. After Colson painted a penis on your arm you took some of the pink paint and smeared it across his face and some of it in his hair; he picked you up and threw you over his shoulder the both of you laughing and the smiles that were smeared on your faces just like the paint was captured in the photo. And it never failed to make you smile and invite a warm feeling into your chest.

I guess you were looking at the photo for a bit too long cause David was snapping his fingers in your face and said “Come on your attention is supposed to be on me” oh god this was not going well.

After showing him a few of your paintings and him giving you backhanded compliments like “I mean its no Banksy but I guess for a hobby painter for yourself its okay.”

You are well into your third drink waiting for this date to be over when David grabs you by the wrist and all but basically drags you to the dance floor; the only reason you don’t move or protest is because of how shocked you are that he would grab you like that without your permission.

“Come on let’s dance,” he says way too close for comfort.

“Um I am good, I should get going anyways I’ve got something to do in the morning.” You say trying to find the easiest way to get out of the situation.

But he wasn’t having any of it, pulling you unwantedly closer to his body he says “But we wouldn’t want that sweet little outfit to go to waste now would we…” he sickly hisses into your ear and his hands grope you, that’s it.

“No!” you yell and you somehow manage to create some space between you and David pushing him away from you and even though he tries to bring you back in with protest, you turn and start to walk away.

He makes another attempt to grab at you, you turn around swiftly and punch him in the nose; falling over blood everywhere. “Oh, that is definitely broken,” you think to yourself.

Sprinting to the nearest exit you also thank yourself for wearing sensible shoes, not quite knowing when to stop you keep running until you’re back to a familiar street and there is no impending doom.

Taking your phone from your pocket you go to open the taxi app but hesitate and after some internal contemplating you decide it is best to call someone you know would make you feel safe.

Colson picks up after only a few rings, answering with a “Y/N what’s up. You okay?”.

You weren’t feeling teary-eyed before but after hearing Colson’s voice all of your emotions pour out and you choke out a sob. Colson’s tone goes from casual to worried real quick and quickly asks “Where are you? I’m coming to get you, are you safe until I get there?”

Somehow you manage to tell him where you were and that yes you were safe for the time being.

“I’ll be there soon okay baby girl. And I’m bringing the bike.” even just his voice soothed you.

He hangs up once you confirm again that you’re in fact safe. You put your hair into a quick braid so when you’re on the bike your hair doesn’t rat and matt together.

Not too long after the call you hear the roar of Colson’s motorcycle coming round the corner. You wave your hand above your head to make sure he sees you and he does.

Pulling over to the curb you wait for him to shut everything off, but once he is off of his seat you’re melting into his embrace not caring about the eyes that stare nearby.

“Shh its okay, I got you. I got you.” Colson whispers into your hair his hands rubbing your back.

His chest muffled the sounds of your sobs as he let you cry it out, not prying you to tell him what happened just yet.

Once you feel like you have gotten it all out of your system you tilt your head up towards his and say “Can we go now please.” your voice comes out hoarse and unrecognizable.

Colson can’t stand seeing you like this and not knowing what happened to make you a mess like this either. But he will wait for you to tell him, for now at least.

His hands smoothed over your hair with his chin resting against your forehead. This was going to be all over the internet tomorrow but surprisingly he wasn’t thinking about any of that.

"Where do you want to go sweetheart?" Colson asked while his fingers rubbed circles into your back.

You always loved it when he would sprinkle casual pet names like that into a conversation, it always made you feel some type of way.

"Can we not go home yet. Just anywhere but home right now. I don't want the guys to see me like this" Colson’s heart leaps at the fact that you consider the house home.

His hands smooth over your shoulders one last time.

"I think I know the perfect place. Come on."

You nod and grab the helmet and clip it under your chin. Colson nods to you to ask if you’re ready you nod back.

Revving the engine Colson gives you one last look and you wrap your arms around his back.

At first, you guys go slow because of the bustling streets of the city but the further out you get the faster he goes.

The wind doesn’t quite hit your face, it’s more like the breeze is giving you a hug cause it envelopes your entire body and the features of your face.

You guys go over a small hill and your stomach does a fun little flip, your arms tighten as a reaction and you can hear Colson let out a hearty laugh. Everything about this moment was exhilerating; the speed and the warmth radiating off of Colson’s body gave you butterflies, a whole swarm of them.

Leaning into him more, you realize just how grateful you’re to have someone as kind and caring as him in your life and remind yourself to thank him for everything.

After riding for about forty-five minutes Colson turns into this gravel area and stops the bike.

There is a bench that is softly lit by the nearby street light and you can faintly make out some stars in the sky, the ones you rarely saw because of the amount of light pollution that is everywhere in Los Angeles.

The both of you stand up and you wait for Colson to get off of the bike to swing your leg over and set your already unclipped helmet aside.

Your attention shifts up to Colson who’s hair is messed up more than usual because of the cool night breeze that touseled it on the way there, you smiled and reached up on your tiptoes to try and smooth down the blond mop on his head.

“What are you doing to my head?” Colson chuckles.

“Trying to fix it” you are in his personal space and he only realizes how close you’re when you bring your hand back down and stand normally.

“So what is this place?” you asked the question on your mind.

Colson scratched the back of his neck and ran his hand through his hair mussing it yet again.

“I uh found this place one night while trying to clear my head. It’s far enough out that you can see some of the stars clearly on nights like this. And I remember you saying how much you like just looking at the stars back at the fest last year. And well... here we are.” he explains.

Honestly, you’re surprised that Colson remembers that, I mean after being friends for all these years you shouldn’t be surprised but yet here he is hands stuffed in his pockets with one of those barely-there smiles plastered on his face. And just something about the entire situation made you smile as well.

Grabbing Colson’s wrist you drag him to the edge of this hill right where the slight drop off is that leads to this open field filled with flowers and grass.

You look at him with eyes full of spirit and say “We are going down there to properly stargaze”.

“Like in some cheesy coming of age teen movie,” Colson asks humor filling his tone.

You nod fast and boop his nose, excited ignoring his attempt to poke fun at your idea “Exactly.”

Without another word, you let go of him and slide down the side of the hill then letting your legs go and run the rest of the way, leaving Colson behind laughing too hard.

When you reach the spot you had chosen to stargaze you stare up to the top of the hill and yell “Come on big bird!”

Colson gets this rush at you calling him by the nickname you haven’t used in years.

He does the same as you but his long legs get caught up in the momentum and he legit cannot stop but luckily you chose a spot far enough out that the least he does is fall beside you on the grassy knoll.

You’re laughing so hard your hands grip your stomach for some sort of relief but to no avail, you just laugh harder when Colson uses a playfully serious voice and face then says “What are you laughing about missy”. Laughter overcame both of you, you fall over from the intensity of it and your head hits Colson’s chest and a couple of snorts escaped you making the whole thing more comedic.

Looking up to the sky you start noticing some of the constellations and your laughter slowly fades as your astonishment increases.

Colson throws his arm over your collarbones, his laughing had stopped with yours a few moments ago and a soft silence rested between the two of you.

“Y/N?” Colson questioned. You hum in response.

“I haven’t heard you call me that nickname in years what was it that caused the comeback” he was referring to when you called up to him a few minutes ago.

You rest your arm on top of his and lightly draw with your fingers onto his skin.

“I don’t really know, it was kind of just the first thing that came to my head. Why, does it bother you?”.

He softly says “No.” and you leave it at that.

Colson feels short of breath from the way you’re softly circling his inked skin, but he convinces himself it is from the running.

Colson knows deep down that isn’t the real answer but feels somewhat guilty because of yours and his history as friends and doesn’t want that dynamic between you two to change. But it is getting harder and harder to ignore the bursts of feelings he gets around you.

Your voice snaps him out of his debating thoughts “Thank you” you say, eyes still glued on the sky above you.

“For what?” Colson sits up on one of his elbows and you follow suit, pulling your hand off of his arm and into your own lap.

“Well besides being my best friend, Thank you for coming and getting me. I really didn’t want to be alone and you always make me feel safe no matter what.” you avoid Colson’s gaze for a moment but give in after a second looking back up at him.

His eyes were radiant even in the dark speckled sky and sometimes you would let yourself get lost in them but rarely had the chance because of conflicting emotions inside you.

“There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you Y/N. Hell, I would even help you hide a body need be” Colson chuckled and you right with him.

A cool breeze came by and you shivered from the goosebumps forming on your skin, remembering you left your coat at the bar in the rush to get out of there, but at least your pockets were big enough to hold your important belongings.

Colson notices your lack of outerwear and asks “Where is your jacket? You must be cold.”

You know it is time to tell him what happened and you also knew how furious he was going to be.

“Y/N here” Colson takes off his hoodie and even though you try to protest you know you’re too cold to argue. Letting him slip the fabric over your head, the hoodie so oversized that you’re practically swimming in it. “Are you going to tell me what happened?” Colson asked his voiced teetering on the edge of being gentle but forward and to the point. He rests his hand on your shoulder hopefully bringing you some ease.

You look down at the grass and run your fingers through the long strands poking up from the earth.

It was a short story really but it was enough for Colson to understand “He grabbed me without my permission”.

You could see the fury boiling behind Colson’s eyes and in your way to diffuse the situation you tell him the aftermath “Then I broke his nose”.

This worked in the way you hoped it would Colson lunged at you and engulfed you in a hug saying with laughter bubbling in his words “That’s my girl”.

Much like Colson’s, your heart lunged in your chest at his words.

After releasing from the hug you pull the too-long sleeves up to your face to rub the soft fabric against your face; while doing so you get a smell of him in the fabric.

“What are you doing” Colson laughed lightly at your action.

Without thinking you blurt out “You smell nice”. You realize almost immediately realize what you said and try to cover your face that is filled with embarrassment.

Pulling your hands from your face with no words Colson holds your hands in his.

And in a moment of weakness, he lets himself stare at you totally ignoring the war he was having with himself just for a moment and tried his best to remember every detail of your face.

You weren’t sure what he was looking at so you pulled one of your hands away from him and touched your face trying to feel for something out of the ordinary.

“Is there something on my face” you lock eyes with Colson.

Resting your hand on your cheek he says “Uh yeah c’mere” his hand rests on top of yours rubbing the soft skin of your face. Without holding yourself back your eyes flicker to his lips, ‘so soft’ you thought to yourself. “Did you get it” you whisper not trusting your voice to come out clear and steady.

“Not quite” he whispered back, moving his hand from your cheek to your lips and softly brushes his thumb over your bottom lip.

“...there” Colson inched closer to your face agonizingly slow trying to give you plenty of time to back out if you wanted.

But that was the last thing you wanted to do, and you had no idea until now that this was something you wanted.

Here you were sitting in the grass not completely sure of your emotions at this moment but you knew that when he was touching you like this it was like electricity was bursting and flowing through every part of your body and that you didn’t want it to stop.

He was halfway to your lips in the space between you and kind of stuck there, so taking a leap of faith you lean into where your faces were only inches apart.

His breathing hitched in his throat not expecting you to be so...willing.

You rested your forehead against Colson’s before flushing all of the boundaries of friendship down the drain.

Hearing an obnoxious ring you and Colson simultaneously scoff, you’re the first one to pull away and the reality of everything that just happened to hit you all at once.

Moving away you create space between you and Colson lightheaded from the entire situation that had your head spinning with a whirlwind of thoughts.

Pulling your phone from your pocket you answer it so fast you forget to check the caller I.D.

Greeting the person on the other end you say “Hello” rather sharply.

“Y/N” the person said in a low voice and the back of your neck gets goosebumps because of the stark fear you feel from knowing who it is.

“What the fuck do you want David” you surprise yourself with how strong your voice comes out and the fact that you didn’t just hang up.

“Well fuck, you left your jacket behind and gee I figured being the nice guy I am I would return it to you, even though you broke my fucking nose. Which you’re paying for by the way”.

Now you were just fuming, the guy touches you inappropriately and you are supposed to pay for his rightfully broken nose, hell to the no.

You start yelling into the phone about how much of a douchebag he is but Colson carefully rips the phone from your hands and says in a serious but fear striking tone; “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are David…” Colson says his name mockingly.

“...But you will not speak or try to see Y/N ever again.”

“And who the fuck are you to tell me what to do. You should have seen the little broad tonight, a sexy girl ain’t she.” David said sickly.

Colson had him on speaker as he took the information about this guy from your phone to his own and you visibly shook yourself to try and shake the comment off.

“Stay the fuck away from her or else that broken nose will be the least of your worries. I am not forgiving or keen towards little boys who think they’re men and that gives them the right to touch a woman without her permission. Now I know I have made myself clear, keep the jacket you jackass.” and with that Colson hung the phone up.

You stare at him in awe at how he handled the situation and managed to make you feel safe and secure yet again.

Finishing up transferring the info to his phone when he hands you back your cell he scrolls on his phone and says “I blocked his number for you and all of his other info but if he gives you a problem you let me know okay.” he looks up at you for an answer and you nod still in shock from the control Colson has.

“And um… could you stay at the house for at least tonight and tomorrow, I wouldn’t put it past this guy to go to your apartment and I want you to be safe.” Colson says sheepishly.

You set your hand on his knee and give it a gentle squeeze saying “Of course I will, thank you”.

You also assume you both are ignoring the almost kiss that just happened minutes before, or what if that’s not even what he was trying to do in the first place, there must have actually been something on your face that’s why he was so close and holding your head in his hand that way. Pushing the feelings of doubt down you decide to make the atmosphere between the two of you back to normal as you could.

“Guys can be such asshole sometimes,” you admit.

Something about you saying this makes the anger bubble inside Colson.

The contrast between his tone a moment ago to now was alarming “The guys you like are assholes, that’s all” Colson says coldly.

You take his words to heart and snap back at him “What is your problem?”

“It’s just you have got this weird affinity for guys who treat you like shit, I don’t fucking understand it.”

His words hit you hard because he was pretty spot on and that is what hurts the most.

You looked him in the eyes and said with no emotion in your face or voice “You’re right”.

It is only then that Colson realizes his words and how much they hurt you, he was speaking off off pure jealousy and we all know that never ends well. He tries to choke out an apology but you turn away and say flatly “Let’s just go home.”

You start making the hike up the hill towards the bike without turning back, which made Colson’s heart come to a realization he should have known so much sooner.

It all made sense that his subconscious seemed to know it before he fully did. Sabotaging dates was so much more than them not being good for you, he just couldn’t stand seeing or knowing you were with someone else. That your heart had the capability of having room for someone else other than him.

Seeing you walk away from him made him realize just how much he loved you and how long he has as well. But even though he now knew how he felt there was still no way he had any clue that you felt the same exact way.

The ride home was silent between you and Colson. You didn’t squeeze onto him tighter when an unexpected turn or bump came by, or just because you felt like it.

When the two of you got home you muttered a soft thank you not bothering to stick around to see if he had heard it or not.

You went straight to his room and grabbed your pajamas from your spot in his closet then went to the spare bedroom and changed into the comfy clothes. You didn’t have any of your products there so you just washed your face with one of the guy’s face wash and hoped it would do the job. After finishing up you headed to the kitchen to find at the very least a small snack to fill the void in your stomach but instead found Rook in there making a wrap and then starting a second one.

“You want one?” he questioned and as if on cue your stomach growled audibly and you both laugh.

“I’ll take that as a yes” Rook chuckles.

You stay silent as Rook finishes wrapping the ingredients up into the tortilla then handing the plate to you like it is his greatest creation.

Waiting till you take a bite of the food Rook asks “ Are you and Kells alright, something seemed off when you two came in.” Rook said with concern lacing his voice.

“...We had a fight is all. Things between us are a bit complicated at the moment. He has a right to be upset about tonight though” You have a hard time finding the words but you tell him the truth nonetheless.

His eyes flicker up to yours sliding the wrap over towards you.

“You guys will be good though,” Rook says.

You nodded cause you know deep down he was right, but you were still upset and hurt by Colson’s words, and both parties both had the right to feel that way.

After finishing your wrap you were on your way to the spare room to hopefully sleep off the tiring day and the feelings that lingered. But of course, the guys had other plans, guiding you towards the pool table they sat you down in a chair. “Guys what is going on,” you ask genuinely confused.

“You’re going to tell us what happened,” Slim says with his arms crossed.

“Yeah um no.” trying to stand up but being sat back down on the seat, okay now you knew they weren’t playing around.

Rook and Baze started playing while listening closely.

“Okay, whatever” you say defeated.

You explained everything from the backhanded compliments and even the broken nose, which they laughed at just as Colson did but somehow it felt...different.

And then just as you expected all three of them wanted to find this guy and as the cliches, they’re said they wanted to “teach him a lesson”.

Letting them blow off some steam by going back and forth talking about and going into great detail of how they would make him fear for his life, you only mention after you assume they have gotten most of it out of their systems that Colson already took care of it and that you could handle yourself.

That seemed to calm them down enough because they knew it was handled and that you were tough enough most of the time to defend yourself when need be as well.

You stand up and start walking in the direction of the spare room but Rook catches your attention as you turn the corner.

“What’s going on?” You ask as his hand resting on your shoulder.

“Um, I just want you to know that if it were me instead of that guy tonight, I would have made it a great time.” You were shocked, to say the least, he was so forward which you weren’t expecting and you didn’t expect for him to basically insinuate that he would like to ask you out.

Your mouth must have been hanging open cause Rook continues and says “What I am saying is, will you go out with me sometime Y/N?”

Still confused but kind of curious you say something you had no idea would come out of your mouth either, you said yes.

Then that was that and he went back to playing pool and you went to the spare room. The only thing he had mentioned was it would be tomorrow night. But you honestly weren’t sure if you saw Rook that way I mean I guess you wouldn’t know until you tried but you were ninety-nine percent sure until a mere minutes ago that you and Rook’s relationship was purely platonic.

You get to the spare bedroom and fall onto the bed back first.

Staring at the ceiling you try to unravel and solve how so much happened that night and how ready you were to go to sleep.

Plugging in your phone for the rest of the night you tuck yourself in and pick a playlist to sleep to, falling out of consciousness.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

Rolling over to the nightstand you go to pause what you thought was the sound of your music but instead you hear the door creak open. Still half asleep you aren’t as worried as you should be about the figure standing in the door frame.

“Who’s there” Your words slur together in a mumbled voice.

“Jus- me” another tired voice groggily says.

It takes you a moment to figure out who ‘Me’ exactly is but once you do you ask just to confirm.

“Colson?” you roll around towards where he is standing on the opposite side of the bed.

“Yeah” is all he says still standing there.

You pull yourself even further from sleep when you ask “Why are you here” remembering that you’re still upset with him.

He doesn’t say anything for a while and you start to think he woke you up just to be mean but then he takes a sharp intake of breath and that’s when you know he is sorry before he even actually says it.

“I couldn’t sleep knowing you were mad at me…” he barely whispers.

“I forgive you,” You say knowing that was his best version of an apology.

“No, I’m sorry Y/N I had no right.” you were shocked yet again and his actual apology warmed your heart, like the spark that ignited the fire.

“Again I forgive you, Besides I don’t like it when we fight either.” You’re now sat upon the backs of your elbows.

Now Colson just stood there silent and it kind of freaked you out because when he was quiet no good could come from it.

“What’s wrong,” you ask softly and with a caring tone.

Even in the dark, you can feel Colson’s eyes bore into your figure.

“I just don’t want to be alone...maybe we could sit on the couch or..” Colson being vulnerable in front of you was a rare occurrence so you cut him off.

“Just get in here you dumbass” Your laughter assures him that it is okay.

Sliding under the covers next to you, your pulse quickens unexpectedly.

This wouldn’t be the first time you and Colson had shared a bed, but with these new feelings that you tried so desperately to ignore were growing and multiplying as fast as gremlins who were fed after midnight.

Even with the amount of extra space on the bed that Colson could be, he chose to be face to face with you. So close in fact that you can feel his breath tickle the peach fuzz on your face and now you were suddenly self-conscious about your breath fanning his face as well.

For the second time, tonight Colson’s forehead rests against yours and you internally convince yourself that whatever happens, you will not do a thing to stop it, cause just what if he felt even a sliver of how you did.

You close your eyes relaxing in the presence of your best friend.

Whispering again Colson’s breath wafted of mint and just a hint of weed lingering; “Can I hold you?”

You reply with an even quieter “yes” afraid that if your volume rose it would somehow ruin the entire atmosphere that shrouded the two of you at this moment.

“Being with you always helps me fall asleep” Colson’s arm outstretched giving you the time to curl into his chest.

You do exactly that, tucking the top of your head under his chin and letting your hands gently caress his bare chest that still even with the lack of clothing remained cozy.

Both of his arms wrap around your waistline, holding you just tight enough which made the safety he always made you feel just multiply.

Without even a second thought you wrap your legs with his own and neither of you complains in the slightest at the affection you both desperately needed from each other.

“You’re ridiculously comfortable” you mumble and Colson just barely giggles.

Even though this wasn’t the first time you and Colson have layed with each other, somehow he always had this way to make you feel protected and loved at all times and whether that was intentional or not you had no clue but appreciated it nonetheless; and it made you think back to the first time you and Colson cuddled and how no matter how many times you guys end up in this position how nervous you’re at first but then slowly calm like the wind from day to day.

Colson’s hand brushed up your spine and let out a soft chuckle as to not displace your frame on top of him. “Are you still wearing my hoodie?” he asked.

“Mhmm, it smells like you.” you prop your head up with your hand to try and look at him clearly in the dark.

Colson was at a loss for words, he rested his palm on your cheek as best as he could in the darkened room.

And to his surprise, you leaned into his touch causing a flurry of emotions to stir up inside of him.

Brushing his thumb against your skin he whispers softly making a confession just as you did;

“You always make my clothes look better on you.” you can’t help but blush at his words.

Sheepishly you say “My bad?” you joke with him.

“No, I mean I love it.” the softness of his voice, the way his hands are holding your face and waist like your something so precious, and his eyes are looking straight into your own.

It was like you could tell just by looking into his eyes there were no walls up between the two of you.

Reaching out your hand you touch the outline of Colson’s jaw as if it was the most natural thing in the world. You and Colson had never been ones to shy away from casual affection but this is different not quite sure how but its as if you both feel it.

You move your hand to trace the inked skin near his neck, it was such an intimate gesture but you continued anyway.

Colson’s hand was still against your face softly spinning circles with his thumb every once in a while.

You feel him take in a large breath different from the rhythm he previously was following.

Ripping your gaze from his chest you look him right in the eyes, the curtains let in just a tiny bit of moonlight but it was enough the see his eyes sparkle back towards you.

It took you at least a minute to remember what your words were, lost in his gaze it made your head spin and your heart drop down to the floor, and metaphorically you were struggling to pick it up and put it back into your chest.

Then you asked the question that deep down you were scared to hear the answer too but you stayed true to the promise you made to yourself once he held you against him minutes ago, or it could possibly be longer, time didn’t exist at the moment.

“What’s on your mind? Bringing your hand up to play with a piece of hair that hung in front of his eye.

Again he takes in a big breath and you feel him sit up slightly, misplacing you a bit from the comfortable position you were in.

Before he answers Colson adjusts your body on top of his again, your legs curled up on either side of his own as he withstood your body weight on top of him.

Sitting up a little as well you look at him with a worried expression which gives him the cue to just spill the truth that was running rampant in his head.

“We’re not just friends, right?” his hands never leave your waist as he says those words that could make it or break it for both of them.

You take a second the think of what you are going to say, and where you want this conversation to go.

But throwing all caution into the wind you know that this is one of those times where only the truth was the best answer.

“I don’t think so. Not anymore anyways.” you gulped at your words, leaving the next move up to Colson.

You see his eyes go wide in the unlit room and you don’t know how to take his expression.

Was he scared, angry, or surprised? Any of those emotions could fit right now and that worried you.

“Do you... Think we are more?” he says hesitantly absent-mindedly moving his hand up and down your back as a way to distract and soothe himself.

“That all depends on your next choice of words.” you weren’t bearing your entire soul out to him until he gave you the reassurance that you needed.

He just looked at you, like one of those looks that someone gives when they are trying to figure out what the other is thinking and or feeling.

One of Colson’s hands leaves their spot from your midsection and he pulls you closer to him from underneath your legs; before knitting his fingers into your hair smoothing the strands to calm himself.

He knew that the universe has somehow set this moment up, to give him probably the one and only chance to admit his feelings.

Softly gripping your face with his hands you give him your full attention.

“I love you…” he declares and you go to open your mouth to say something along the lines of ‘I knew that’ trying to convince yourself that he meant it like you guys always have but Colson cuts you off before you can even try,

Dipping his head down to catch your wandering and panicked gaze he says “And I don’t mean that in a brotherly way or any other possible way than me admitting that Y/N I am in love with you. So hopelessly in love with you. And even though it scares the hell out of me I know it is true.”

His gaze bore into you and without a second thought you admitted as well “I love you too Colson.”

Your voice was quiet and shaky but it was true and that’s all that mattered.

Eyes flickering to Colson’s lips, you lean towards him slowly without realizing it.

Colson’s hand moves to your back pressing you as close as he can while the other cups your face just underneath your jaw.

Colson felt every emotion at that moment; joy, fear, and exhilaration.

Your foreheads bump against each other and you both chuckle with embarrassment at the lack of coordination.

Resting there for a second forehead against forehead, practically tasting each other’s breath you are sure that the anticipation is gone and that you let yourself get your hopes up.

But Colson whispers and it almost makes you giggle because of his breath fanning on your skin.

“Y/N can I kiss you?” his thumb circles the apple of your cheek waiting for your permission.

And you answer him, just not with words.

Taking charge you pull Colsons face towards yours, trying so desperately to fill the gap between you both.

You let your entire body curve into him, your noses bumping in anticipation.

Softly you let your lips feather over his for a moment, but then your eyes flutter shut when Colson fully presses his lips onto yours, taking your actions as your answer.

His hands cupped your face as to not let you fall away or into pieces, which at this moment you were pretty sure was possible.

Every and all thoughts escaped your mind leaving everything blank inside of your head.

It wasn’t just that you were kissing Colson and the fact that he was kissing you right back; it was the way he held your face in his hands like you were something too special to let go of.

After a few seconds, you both have to break apart in order to breathe.

Foreheads resting on each other your lips don’t stray too far from one another so when you speak you are murmuring the words against his mouth.

Eyes still closed with your mouth agape, you feel the same as times in the past when you would drink on an empty stomach.

Lightheaded and wispy.

Speaking without filtering anything you say “Woah” as soft as can be; you weren’t sure if Colson had heard you but when he exhales with a breathy laugh you knew for sure that he did.

“Woah, is right” Colson replies rubbing the side of his nose to yours in an innocent gesture.

Then it felt like everything caved in on you at once, you had just kissed your best friend.

And even though you should be panicking about what all of this means you smile instead when Colson pulls you back in for another kiss, this time he tilts your head back deepening the action of the kiss.

Taken back a little you hum as a response to his actions.

Almost all doubt flew away from your mind when he pulled you back in because you knew he wanted this, he wanted you just as much as you have wanted him even if it wasn’t so long ago that your feelings for him blossomed.

After many hushed kisses and repetition of ‘I love you’s’, the two of you melt into the mattress and one another drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, well afternoon; you woke up tangled up in Colson content as can be.

Even though you knew you and Colson had to talk about all of this at some point, you were no longer worried about the drastic dynamic change between you both.

Colson’s arms were fully wrapped around your waist, his face nuzzled into the crook of your neck.

One of your hands that was stuck underneath his tall frame grazed his back, and not being able to resist the urge to touch him in the mid day glow peeking through the curtains your freehand brushes his unruly hair from his still shut eyes.

Arms tightening around your body, Colson groans; signaling to you that he is waking up.

Pecking him on the lips in hopes he will open his eyes he groans again.

“What?” you giggle when you speak for the first time that day.

Colson pulls one of his arms from around you and points to his lips “Another” he says his voice all raspy.

You go in to give him another quick peck but he uses his free hand to hold you there, giving you a real kiss that leaves you breathless.

When you break apart your eyes are now closed, not being able to come back down to earth.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” Colson tucks a messy thing of hair behind your ear.

Forcing your eyes open you look at Colson with this gleam in his own eyes.

“You really think so?” you question him for reassurance.

“Inside and out baby” he kisses your forehead.

Your cheeks flush at this new normal between you two, moving so you can rest your head on his chest.

Then you suddenly remember the yes you told a certain someone the night before.

“Ah, Shit” you curse.

Worried Colson questions quickly “What’s wrong?”

After last night there was no way you were going to lie to him, so you tell him the truth.

“I totally forgot I told Rook that I would go out with him tonight…” before you can even explain to him that you were going to tell Rook about what happened with you and Colson and hoped he understood;

Colson was ripping the covers off and barging to the door saying “I’m gonna kill him.”

Even though you knew he wasn’t going to actually kill him you ran after him to find him trying to corner Rook in the kitchen.

Rook had his hands up in surrender and was trying to explain himself, but you couldn’t hear him over the sound of Colson spewing profanities at Rook.

Coming up behind him you put your hand on Colson’s back and he calms instantly.

“Colson let him speak” you demand.

Letting his arms fall to his sides in defeat he gestures to Rook to speak.

“We knew you guys liked each other and as a push, I asked Y/N out to try and get at least one of you to spill your feelings beforehand. It wasn’t going to go any further than a ruse I swear.” Rook kept his arms up awaiting the worst.

Now a normal person would be angry at this, but no one in this house was normal so you and Colson busted up laughing leaving Rook standing there confused.

The rest of the group made their way into the kitchen sharing the same expression Rook did.

Walking up to Rook you laughed in between your words placing a hand on his shoulder“You guys tried to play us is it ?” you say with humor filling your voice.

“Wait I am so confused. What is so funny?” Rook says his eyes flickering between the two of you trying to connect the dots but failing to do so before you and Colson spill the beans.

You and Colson glance at each other and just smile.

“Y/N Bring your pretty little butt over here.” his arms are wide open and you oblige, speed walking back over to him. He pulls you into his embrace and spins you above the ground slightly.

Looking at the group Colson speaks saying “We have got it handled” rubbing his hands up and down your back.

The guys looked at each other finally understanding what has occurred.

“All I have to say is it is about fucking time.” Baze unleashes.

Everyone laughs together and you have this content feeling in your soul that even though you don’t know what the future holds for you and Colson; you do know that everything is going to be okay and you were happy with that. Reaching up on your tippy-toes you connect your kips with Colson’s with hopefully many more to come.

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themadauthorshatter · 4 years ago

Text

OKAY!!!

You've seen my take on Toppat!Charles, so what's my take on Toppat!Henry?

First thing's first, I want to address that Henry joins the Toppats, gets arrested in The Wall, and meets Ellie, BUT the route he takes is more like The Betrayed. What changes is that when he runs past Ellie, who overheard that he was the leader of the Toppat Clan and wanted to make sure it was true. He meets back up with her and not only confirms what she heard, but also that he stole the Tunisian Diamond and Norwegian Emerald before getting arrested.

Ellie barks that he must be confused because she stole it first, or was about to before she got overwhelmed by law enforcement.

Henry still lets her out, honor among inmates, and they escape, though the confrontation against Dmitri has more hits to it with more kicking and punching and hair pulling before a head slam and choke hold by Dmitri that's stopped by Ellie with a stop sign.

Cue the Toppats going into the orbital and having to fight off the government, but let's add some tension and get a little shippy in here.

And let's give the Valiant Hero himself time to shine😉

When Henry and Right are picked up by Ellie, a certain pilot tackles Henry down and the two start to tussle.

Ellie goes to shot him, but Henry gestures for her and Right to get the rocket, and he'll meet them there.

Charles and Henry stand up and stand off before Henry races toward his old acquaintance and gets a hard, military grade kick into the stomach that sends him crashing back into the dirt; he's still sore from his fight with Dmitri.

Charles goes to cuff him, but Henry more pushes him away with his legs rather than kick him before noticing and going for a gun on the ground. Charles pulls him away from it, though, and takes it, firing two warning shots and aiming it at Henry, who's moved to his back and holds up his hands to show he has no weapons. Charles, ever the trained soldoer, only holds his gun to shoot, but then lowers it, as it sets in that Henry is defenseless and seems to be injured; courtesy of Dmitri.

He re-aims when Henry gets stupid and asks, "You're not really going to shoot your friend, are you?"

Soldiers are arresting Toppats and the rocket is starting to launch, so it leads to a perfect opportunity for Henry when Charles gets distracted by the takeoff.

Henry kicks Charles twice, once near his feet to knock him down and once right in the face to knock him out.

Like in the ending Toppat King, he hijacks a tank and launches himself into the orbital station, where he is welcomed with open arms as the leader.

As he and Reginald go to join the others, Henry talks about a heist targeting another priceless gem, but it will have to wait until they're in space and everything's under control. Reginald, admittedly, is more than happy to wait.

Back on Earth, Charles is shaken awake by Galeforce.

"Charles? Charlie!? Come on, son, wake up! Wake up!"

Charles groans and pushes himself up, saying, "I'm-I'm fine, General. I'm okay."

Charles looks at where the rocket used to be and remembers how he was extremely close to arresting Henry, the leader.

"Sorry, General. I almost had him."

Galeforce only helps Charles to his feet and puts a hand on his shoulder. "You did your best. Besides-" Glaefoce looks up to the sky, Charles's gaze following. "Something tells me they'll be back, one way or another."

Charles is reassured, but is still a little discouraged.

It doesn't help that when some other soldiers ask why he didn't take the shot over the next week, all he can say is that he was about to, but got distracted by the rocket taking off; it was much louder than he thought it would be.

Galeforce gets their attention back and says they need to be extra alert now in order to find an opening, which means keeping contact with anyone who has anything of value to the Toppats.

Charles is sort of paying attention, but it is clear to twins Calvin and Konrad, who sit on his left and right respectively, that he's not really there, ESPECIALLY when his eyebrows arch upward and eyes widen.

Calvin, with a nod from his brother, raises his hand and gets Galeforce's attention. "Hey, General? Maybe Charles has an idea."

The audible cue does not perturb Charles in any way, so Konrad has to tap his shoulder.

Cue some visible confusion from Charles and some annoyance from the other soldiers when he asks, "Sorry, what were we all talking about? With an opening?"

"The twins said you have an idea," Rupert replies as evenly as he can.

Charles turns to both twins, who nod and give an 'okay' to share what he's thinking, but Charles shakes his head.

"It's a stupid. I was just thinking."

"We're open to just about anything, Charlie," Galeforce affirms. "Any idea is a good idea, at this point."

Charles takes a breath and shrugs. "I mean, I'm just grabbing at straws, but maybe we should try targetting their next heist location. Like, some kind of museum somewhere?"

"But there's thousands of museums in the states alone," the twins say in unison, a habit that riles up Rupert and leads to some soldiers trying not to laugh.

Charles continues more to Calvin and Konrad, "What about ones that have an exhibit like the Tunisian diamond or Norwegian emerald? Or maybe even jewelry shops that have a large gem just for display? It's stuff like that that'll get the Toppats' attention."

The soldiers all muse aroumd, mumbling in agreement, before one asks, "Where do we go first, then?"

Charles scratches the back of his head and shrugs again. "I dunno. Where another giant gemstone is being held? Last I heard, someone found a pretty big sapphire." He turns to the Konrad and asks quietly, "Why even carve it that big anyway, then it's useless?"

"Alright," Galeforce calls. "Find out where that sapphire's at, and keep yoir eyes peeled for any other oversized gem or anything priceless."

The soldiers head out, leaving the room, but Galeforce isn't exactly finished yet.

"Charlie, can I talk to you for a second?"

The twins whisper, "We'll mourn you," as Charles approaches the general, giving them both 'cut it out' eyes.

They leave and it's just Charles and Galeforce alone.

"You... wanted to talk?"

"I did. Charlie, you've been quiet since the toppats got into orbit. Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah," Charles replies, with a shrug and with his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You're being a little harder on yourself than usual."

Charles nods. "Yeah. Sorry, I... I've got something to do," he says as he leaves hastily; no disrespect to Galeforce, he just doesn't like bringing up the orbital station. He almost runs into a higher up, apologizing as he continues leaving, but this higher up is Captain H.J. Canterbury, who's heard about Charles's near pristine reputation and the failed prevention of the Toppat launch.

He gives Charles the stink eye behind his back before approaching Galeforce with a scowl.

"I thought that kid was the most experienced on the field. Why'd he screw up stopping the launch?"

"Put him in the air and he's damn near invincible, but leave him on the ground and you'll be disappointed. The kid's meant for the air, not the ground, Captain."

Canterbury scoffs and takes another look back at Charles, who's almost left the base entirely now. "You're too easy on him. I get he's like a son to you, but that doesn't exactly mean you can coddle him for ruining the entire operation."

For context, Charles HAS been harder on himself since the mission. He's been training much harder in combat, in using firearms, and in piloting. He's still very aware, not forgetting to take his ADD medicine, but he looks much more stiff when he stands and walks because he's sore from training the day before; he knows he screwed up, and he's trying to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"I don't coddle him. I have done a lot for the kid, but that isn't one of them. If he needs space, I'll let him have it. He's beating himself up about it enough already. Don't make it worse."

"Don't let him screw up again," Canterbury rumbles.

The two men have a glare off before the Captain leaves, Galeforce tipping his head back and sighing once he's gone.

Cut to Charles sitting idly in his car and honking the horn repeatedly as he zones out(probably thinking about The Beatles), until he gets a knock on the window.

There stand the twins Bukowski, who gesture for him to roll down his window so thwy can talk, which he does.

"What's up? If this is about training, we can rematch tomorrow."

"Tempting, but we've kinda figured out we don't want our asses kicked," Calvin slightly jokes, even though he rubs his shoulder, where Charles threw him Jiu Jitsu style.

"We were just wondering if you wanted to go out and grab a bite, since we kinda threw you in the spot back there," Konrad asks, more than happy to plan a victory against Charles with his brother during lunch, and just wanting lunch with the bastard.

Charles gives a smile and shakes his head. "Thanks for the offer, guys, really, but I have to pass. It's been a really long day."

The two "Aaaaaw," sadly at him like little kids.

"Hey, I'll be back tomorrow."

"The General told us to tell you you're off tomorrow," they whine.

Charles's jaw drops to the ground. "What!?"

The twins take turns explaining, picking up where the other left off, starting with Calvin and continuing with Konrad:

"He says you're working too hard, which isn't a bad thing at all, really, it just- well..."

"He just thinks you're being too hard on yourself with what happened. I mean, it's weird because you were pretty close to arresting him, but HE knocked YOU out, so it's not your fault."

"Yeah! And that headset can only block out ao much noise; you were standing next to a rocket that was starting to take off!"

Charles leans back in his seat, absolutely speechless at the forced day off he has; he's tried talking to get out of something Galeforce told him to do once, but it resulted in him getting yelled at and made to clean the showers for a week.

"You good?" Calvin asks as he taps Charles on the shoulder to get his attention.

Charles nods slowly before nodding quickly. "Yeah," he replies, though it's in that reply you give when you're paying attention, but not ACTUALLY paying attention. When he repiles more naturally, "Yeah," he's back and has processed what the twins said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Guess I really need time off."

"If you want, feel free to give us a call tomorrow. In case you rethink a free meal."

Charles narrows his eyes and smirks. "You two just want to cheat in training when I get back."

"How dare you," Calvin gasps as Konrad groans, "How did you know!?"

Either way, they all bid their farewells and, once the twins are gone and out of ear shot, Charles leans against the steering wheel and groans loudly, almost screaming; it'll help him in the end, but he's not looking forward to a mandatory day off.

He sighs and sits idly a little longer before relenting and driving home, actually play The Beatles to distract himself.

CUT TO HENRY ON THE ORBITAL STATION!!!

Henry is staring out at Earth, which is essentially his playground now that he can go just about anywhere and steal just about anything.

But he can't stop thinking about a certain government pilot, especially how said pilot could have shot him, but instead lowered his gun.

Call it whatever, Henry can tell there was some kind of reason for Charles not taking the shot.

As he stares and ponders, Ellie strides in and hands him a set of files from the government. "You said you wanted to see these?"

Henry accepts the file with a nod to say, 'thank you.' It's larger than he'd thought, but that just means more to learn.

Ellie reads the first page over his shoulder, and the two are surprised to see how many pictures were taken of Charles for his ID; the standard pose for a military/government ID is an expressionless face and a straight back, so they're a little surprised to see him smiling and laughing like a fool with his shoulders curled toward his ears. Even his most soldier-esque picture, the one actually on his ID, still shows he's hiding a smile, and most likely the urge to laugh.

It shows he's 26, he's got ADD, he's not just a pilot, he's possibly the best pilot, having passed a flight simulator at nine, got in the air and completed a mission and 15, and is basically a powerhouse. He doesn't really have a criminal record, as long as you don't count laughing too much as a crime, or being too good at his job.

"Guess we have someone to keep an eye on now," Ellie muses. "If we're in the air, that bastard's probably going to shoot is down."

Henry smirks and shakes his head. 'If he wanted us gone, we wouldn't be here right now.'

Ellie furrows her brow and then she grins. "Think we should expect him at the next heist?"

Henry takes another look at Earth and nods at Ellie.

'If he's there, he's off limits from anyone else. He's mine.'

Ellie holds up her hands, stating, "If you say so, he's all yours. Just be careful, if you do see him again, okay?"

Henry's smirk drops at the genuine concern on her face and turns to her, nodding as he says, "I will."

They go their seperate ways, Ellie going to check on how the other Toppats are adjusting, while Henry heads to his room to study on Charles, admitting that he's looking forward to when they meet again.

CUT TO CHARLES!!!!

It's the next day, and Charles, up early and dressed from forgetting his day off, is currently doing push-ups because he's bored.

And in the middle of a conversation:

"I mean, I get he's worried," he says through grunts as he continues his push-ups, "but I really don't think I need a day off right now. The Toppats are in orbit, Henry got away, and now everyone's convinced to go on a wild goose chase for a large sapphire." He stops and alternates to do crunches instead. "Maybe everyone's right. I should've just arrested Henry, but the rocket still launched with the previous leader and right hand man on board. It would've been pointless. And that rocket was really loud!"

There's a knock on the door and it makes Charles yelp and jump out of his skin. He wipes himself off a little, takes his medicine, and throws on a jacket before answering to find literal Dad of the year material Hubert Galeforce at the door.

"Oh, uh... Good morning, General."

"Morning, Charlie. May I come in?"

Charles sidesteps and nods, and Galeforce walks in.

"I heard your conversation. I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"No. I... I was just talking," he says with a side glance to the plants he keeps in his house, both living green ones and wire ones bent in the shapes of trees that took him FOREVER to do, but remimd him to just sit and get something done once in a while.

While Charles quickly leaves for a second to toss the towel he used into the hamper, Galeforce notes the rather intricate wire trees, especially one that looks more like a weeping willow than a bonsai.

"When did you make this new one?"

"A while ago. About a month, I think. I finished it last night, though," Charles calls before rejoining Galeforce. "So, uh, what are you here for? Just so you know, I did have breakfast."

Galeforce fights a chuckle at how sharp Charles has become and the two sit down on the couch.

"What's on your mind?"

Charles brushes it off. "It's nothing. I just..." When Charles is completely silent, Galeforce only watches him carefully.

"Don't try telling me nothing's wrong. You've been training yourself sick and then some. If you keep overworking your engine, you'll crash and burn."

Charles keeps his eyes on the floor when he asks, "Was it... really a good idea to try using Henry against the Toppats?"

Galeforce sighs and rubs his head.

"Knowing what I do now, no. If anything, throwing Henry to the Toppats only made them stronger."

Charles gulps and clenches his fists. "I kinda hoped he wouldn't join them."

Galeforce quickly turns to Charles, who keeps his eyes on the ground.

"I mean, I feel like we sort of asked for it, because we kidnapped him, but... I don't know, I just... Part of me hoped he'd see it as a 'lesser of two evils' thing. Sometimes good people to bad things, or bad things happen to good people or whatever. Maybe I was just hoping for the best."

Galeforce puts a hand on Charles's shoulder, which gets him to make eye contact.

"You couldn't shoot him, could you?"

With a lump in his throat, Charles shakes his head. "He wasn't armed. Even before all this, I guess part of me wanted a friend and not just a partner for a mission. Guess that part took over, too."

Galeforce can only remain silent, though he does grip Charles's shoulder a little more.

"If I see him again, I won't hold back like last time. If I have a chance to arrest him, I'll take it."

Charles is caught right off guard when he feels Galeforce ruffle his hair, who nods at him.

"Just don't get yourself killed, Charlie."

"I won't," Charles replies, after a second of silence.

Charles's eyes roam to the window, where he can just make out the Toppat orbital station.

On the orbital station, Henry stares out a large window at Earth and smirks at the idea of meeting Charles again.

If this was an anime or TV show, we'd get something like a split screen of the two, Charles looking slightly up and Henry looking slightly down, the split screens and editing making it appear as though they are meeting eyes with Charles ready to fight and Henry looking forward to when they see each other again.

AND THAT IS TOPPAT!HENRY PART 1! Henry and Charles are going to be playing roles much like Will and Hannibal in the show Hannibal; even though we see more of Will, Hannibal is also the main character.

Either way, I hope you guys enjoyed this first part and thank you for reading!!

#henry stickmin #ellie rose #charles calvin #toppat!henry #toppat king #stickvin #some angst but not too much #this is more fan-acurate than Toppat!Charles😅

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crystalsexarch · 3 years ago

Text

Three: Scale - E

"I can tell your tongue has won you many nights in many beds."

“My tongue indeed.”

Explicit. Ambiguous female WoL. The Auri Warrior of Light makes an exhibitionist out of one G'raha Tia.

Also on AO3.

Part of the 2021 FFXIV Writing Challenge

G’raha doesn’t know what he expected, but her scales taste much like her skin—like a place his tongue has every right to be.

He has his arms around her waist and his mouth upon her neck. One pale horn juts up against his cheek, but he's paying much more attention to the rubbing of his cock upon her ass. He feels like a teenager, fully clothed, giddy, and grinding on someone from behind. He could just as easily have been slinking around some dark corner of the library between lectures, but he isn't. He's leaned up against a rock in broad daylight, surrounded by the glowing, ghostly ambience of Mor Dhona. From a distance, the wandering eye of a passing sailor might imagine the two a happy couple, not a horny one. Although—to call G'raha's relationship with the Warrior of Light a coupling would be far too generous. He is merely a footnote in the weighty history of Her.

"Finger me," she says, tilting her head to give him better access to all the textures of her neck.

G’raha has fingered her before. He and his dick are happy for the opportunity to do it again. "Gladly," he says, finding the band of her skirt and sinking inside.

"Do it."

"I'll do it!"

"Faster." She spreads her legs and leans forward, peering left and right. Misty Silvertear Lake waits before them, pretending politely not to know what tussles on the shore. "Would you fuck me here?"

He pauses as his index finger finds her clit. Well Warrior, he could say, I think I might fuck you anywhere. But seeing as he can't even decipher the tone of his own half-joke, half-answer, he stutters through another response instead. "Would I…?! I beg your pardon."

"Don't stop fingering me." She grabs his wrist and shoves his hand deeper. Slickness paints the inside of her smalls and the heat of her body. Once she's satisfied with his positioning, she begins roving over his willing hand, practically humping his fingers. "Would you?” Her voice is but a fraction breathier. “Or would you have me walk you back to camp?"

His mouth hangs dumbly open. The Warrior of Light wants him to…?

Here?

Before he can answer, he must assess his current state of affairs. Not long after her arrival at the Find, they wound up sharing the last embers of the campfire two nights in a row. On the third, they shared kisses, and on the fourth she made G'raha come by sitting on his lap and touching herself. Not to be outdone, G'raha invited her to spend the whole night in his humble tent, and by sunrise he had given her a thorough crash course on the nature of miqo'te biology. He would even say she seemed quite pleased to take in the material.

Even then he knew she was the vaunted Warrior of Light, and he a mere scholar—but when he felt his balls smack against her cunt for the first time, he couldn't help but fancy himself a bit heroic.

He started to get ideas.

And now they come back to him. This could be a notable blip in his sexual history, or he could become a part of history itself.

Moments after scolding himself for such an absurd line of thinking, he breathes her name against her neck. The Au Ra hear through their horns, don't they? Just as miqo'te want with rumbling in their throats and saucers in their eyes. "I would," he says with his index bending deep inside her hole. "Have you any reason to doubt my fortitudinous nature?"

She laughs and pinches her nose. "I can tell your tongue has won you many nights in many beds."

He flicks his tail, delighted. "My tongue indeed. Would you—"

"Cease! You said you would do it." She arches her back and casts a testy look over her shoulder. Her tail, lopped over her side, brushes against his thigh in challenge. "Yet here you stand, all buttoned up...with your fingers much wetter than the head of your cock. A pity!"

For all his verbal repertoire, G'raha cannot find the words that fit. "W-well…" He stands up straight and pulls his hand out from her smalls. The motion is indignant, bordering on protest, but the energy of the aftermath is unfocused. He lets the hand hover near her side before closing in and plucking at the hem of her tunic. "Let no man say you're any less an adventurer when it comes to intimacy," he says.

She scoffs and yanks the fabric right out from under his fingers, before taking it off and tossing it to the side. “Complete the quest you’ve been given.”

G’raha swallows. The Warrior of Light is baring her breasts for all the world to see—and for him to hold. Before he does that, he must check a few items off a list he’s scrambling to scribble out in his head.

Her smalls: he hooks a thumb on either side and lowers them to her knees, while she wiggles her hips. From there, she lifts a leg and slips one foot out, snickering. Her skirt: a simpler matter. He rides his hands up from beneath until he’s got a staggering view of her ass under his palms. His dignity as a scholar: something to scrutinize that later, he decides.

“That’s right,” she says, leaning forward to hasten his next steps. “But only if you want to.”

“How could I not want to?” The words are intense, but not harsh. Transfixed, he pulls her close and grabs her breasts from behind, cupping them whole before giving each nipple a reverent pinch. “After all your encouragement, no less…”

“I’m yours!”

Quickly, he lets go to undo his trousers and shove them down to his knees. No going back now, he figures. If he’s anxious, it doesn’t make a difference to his dick. He knows he could slide right in, but first he must relish the sight of his cock set between her cheeks. Rubbing the soft underside of her tail with one hand, he uses the other to form a ring around his shaft and bounce it upon her body.

"Are you looking for the right hole?" she says.

"Shush." He would take either. He would take anything. At this point, she could spit on his dick and he'd find a way to get off over it. He's thankful he'll have something more visceral to lead him into orgasm. When he closes his eyes, he imagines using her empty spaces to empty himself; a vision of thick white lines leaking from between her legs. Maybe he doesn't care if the world catches a glimpse, as well. Who is this woman? What can he be for her?

That's what he's asking when finally he plants his head against her slit and gets to rubbing. Cool, crisp sounds punctuate the immense heat of his precum mixing with her slick. He thinks of crackling lava, oozing through the valley. He wants to be a thing that oozes. He wants to fill what he finds. When her lips catch his swollen head, he hisses in a gulp of air and presses on, presses in.

She shudders and bends her knees, almost like she's desperate to take him deeper. Is she? "Your promises, when kept, feel very good, G'raha…" Her voice suggests—perhaps.

And he likes the sound of that. He likes the feel of her insides squeezing his outside, of doing what he’s done inside, outside. With wind in his ears and his hands on her hips, he makes good on his word and fucks her, a blissed out blankness on his face.

The Warrior of Light..? Really? This vision of heroism is letting him mark time on her backside where any wanderer could wander over and see. A lump takes root in his throat as he edges closer to climax. It’s harder for him to reflect on his conduct when he’s trying to think whole thoughts over a barrage of calculated moans.

“Someone...someone’ll hear you,” he barely manages to choke out.

“What shall they do?” she says. “Stop me? Stop you?”

No he thinks. And then he says it out loud, reaching for her breasts again. He wants to believe in the version of himself that is close to a hero like this. Fucking was simply the fastest way to close the distance . Of all the aches he feels for her, just one is stronger than the one compelling him to buck into her until his thighs burn—the ache to truly know her, to be a part of her destiny.

“Don’t stop,” she says. She’s reaching out to the ground, almost fully leaned over. “I’m close. Close.”

He is, too, to many great things. Coming, crying, calling out her name. Confessing. Cursing. Once more, he asks himself—could he ever be content as the redhead who fucked the Warrior of Light in Mor Dhona? Or would he rather take a great leap and become...

“Shout,” he says.

“Oh?”

“My name. As loud as you can.” He pulls her backwards by the hip and grunts.

She spills laughter over her fingers. “Loud as I…? Ha! What happened to—”

“Are you going to do it?” He edges out so the head of his cock is just past her threshold. Deep in concentration, he grinds his teeth and feels his eyes go wide. He's never wielded so much will in his life.

“G’raha! Keep going!”

“Shout then!” His own voice echoes over the water as he rams back inside and works himself once more to the precipice.

She whimpers and tenses her tail. “Yes! G’raha Tia!” Her knees come together hard. She’d have fallen over if his grip weren’t so steady. “G’raha Tia! G’raha Tia! G’raha Tia!”

The clench of her orgasm pulls him closer to his. Over and over again, she calls his name until he can hardly recognize the syllables through her frenzy. G’raha Tia, G’raha Tia, G’raha Tia! This place shall ever remember, and so shall she. She’ll remember, he tells himself. She will. And so he comes.

He surges forward with the first spurt of seed. Trying to catch his balance, he falls back a few ilms to the rock behind him, pulling her along by the waist. He does his best to fuck her from the strained position, only stopping when his legs ache more than the heat in his belly. Even then, he doesn’t pull out; they merely readjust to their original standing position and breathe together.

G’raha wipes his brow and slicks his bangs back. “You...you can call me ‘Raha’ next time. If you’d like.”

She laughs and smacks her tail against his waist. “Next time, hm? Perhaps there is a boldness to you...”

After this scene, this reckoning, he knows he’ll be blushing at the thought of her hand in his by the morrow.

#ffxivwrite2021 #ffxiv fanfest #g'raha tia #ff14 fanfic #mywriting #sorry for being like this!!!!!!!!!!

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feed-your-neopets · 4 years ago

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Valdemar x Devil!Lucio Fluff (One-shot)

Writer Preface:

First, I haven’t written fanfiction in years. Nor have I read a book recently. So, don’t feel bad about pointing out grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes. It’s been a while since I’ve done anything like this. Also, my knowledge of the science and medical world is pitiful. Please, let me know if I said something ridiculous.

Second, it is cannon that Lucio has a New Jersey accent. It may enhance the story to imagine him with it, because I did while writing this.

Third, this is just slow, awkward, fluffy Valdemar x Lucio stuff. I was trying to piece together how a relationship could even develop between them, and I love the challenge of unlikely, cursed pairings. I was thinking this would probably take place in Muriel’s route (so, smoll SPOILERS from this point on). I would think Lucio’s social circle would be dwindling since – ya know – he merged with the Devil and all. Lucio would definitely be longing for friendship and companionship. Valdemar will humor him if it means they get new things to study. Get that bag, Valdemar.

---

The salon was one of the few rooms left in the palace where one could find some peace. Ironic, as this room was once one of the livelier places in the palace. After all, the salon was where Countess Nadia would entertain her guests. Now, it was an echo of its former self.

Since his resurrection and merging with the boss, Count Lucio ran with a different crowd, and these new guests had a habit of “borrowing”. Not that Valdemar cared about the state of the rooms throughout the palace, nor the drunkards who sloppily paraded through the hallways with pockets full of silverware. However, the room was simply lacking. It was not quite the same without Countess Nadia’s fingers gliding across the ivory keys with precision and grace. Instead of the haunting melodies of a grand piano and the idle chatter of the other courtiers, the room was filled with the distant echoes of intoxicated partygoers reciting a rather impolite folk song about a sea captain’s cousin.

However, Valdemar was paying little attention to the commotion outside and quietly sipped their tea. They chose instead to focus on the decorating choices they felt were an improvement. For example, the dying flowers wilting in waterless vases were a nice touch. Additionally, the portrait that Count Lucio had commissioned in his mother’s likeness had some alterations. It was laying waste on the ground below where it was once proudly hung. The vandalism was done with such intention that Valdemar was certain the count had crossed out the eyes himself. Valdemar pondered if he had done so in a fit of rage. The count had such a temper, and judging from his interaction with his mother, there was a lot of emotional baggage to unpack. While the symbolism was a tad on the nose, Valdemar appreciated the irony none-the-less. It was Lucio who murdered his own mother. It was only fitting he should be the one to remove the light from her portrait’s eyes too.

Without much warning, the doors of the salon burst open with a bang; shaking the few portraits that still hung on the walls. Yet, Valdemar sat unflinching despite the abrupt entrance from the count.

“Alright, I’ll catch you guys later.” called Count Lucio to a chorus of guttural cheers and whooping from the end of the hall. Valdemar peered at the count from over their teacup as they took a long sip. They had been wondering what was taking the count so long. He had been the one who had requested a meeting with them. To keep them waiting seemed in poor taste.

“Crazy guys.” chucked Lucio to himself before turning his attention to Valdemar. “Hey, there you are! Where have you been? You weren’t at last night’s party. You missed Vulgora tackling several new recruits. You should have seen them go at it. We were taking bets and everything.”

“Hm.” hummed Valdemar as they peered into their teacup, finding more interest in the way the tea leaves settled to the bottom of their cup than Lucio’s story. However, Lucio did not seem to notice as he reenacted the punches and kicks of last night’s tussle; knocking over a chair in the process. “But hey, don’t worry about missing it. They’ll probably do it again tomorrow night. You’re gonna love it.”

“I am sure, my count.” lied Valdemar.

Lucio seemed convince Valdemar was genuine, and with an exaggerated groan, he slumped into the chair next to them. Valdemar watched as he adjusted the scabbard on his waist, the end of which clanked aggressively on the hardwood floor. His legs then spread out for maximum comfort as he sunk into his seat. It would seem he was finally situated, and he looked merrily back at Valdemar expecting them to speak first. The quaestor closed their eyes. Admittedly, their patience was wearing thin. With a short sigh, they placed their teacup on the table and prepared themselves to address the count.

“Is there a reason you have called me here today, my count?” asked Valdemar as politely as they could muster.

A spark of realization lit in Lucio’s eyes. “Oh, yeah, that’s right! I gotcha something.” said Lucio as he started rummaging through a small satchel. “I felt like we left it kinda weird at that old broad’s house, and I been wanting to make it up to you.”

“Old broad?” whispered Valdemar to themself as they searched their lexicon for a translation.

“Yeah, you remember. I gave you her heart. I was weird about it, but you were just asking for your payment.” explained the count. “It is nothing amazing, really. You probably have twenty of ‘em, but I was traveling through the market, and I saw it, and I thought - do you know who would like this? Quaestor Valdemar - so, I got it. No big deal, ya know?”

From his bag, Lucio pulled out an adult human skull. Embedded in the eye sockets were large rubies that burned in the orange glow of the setting sun. The count placed his gift in Valdemar’s hand, who made quick note of the condition in which the skull was in. In short, it was nearly perfect. The dental work was most fascinating to Valdemar. Not a single tooth was crooked or missing. No sign of disease or decay. Whoever extracted this specimen knew what they were doing. Valdemar was so transfixed by the skull, they almost forgot Lucio was still in the room.

“Yeah, I thought you like that.” said Lucio as he leaned forward in his chair. “I got that off a guy who was selling all kinds of wild, kooky stuff.”

Valdemar was quiet as they studied the skull. They were far more impressed by the specimen itself than the embellishments. Gemology was not at the top of their list of the most appealing subjects, and frankly, they thought the rubies were rather gaudy.

As they pondered the feasibility of extracting the gemstones without damaging the bone, a visibly nervous Lucio shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the silence between them.

“I -uh- I got it because the eyes remind me of your eyes.” said Lucio. As the words left his mouth, he instantly wished he had just swallowed them instead. He was not prepared for Valdemar's undivided attention. Their eyes were fixed on Lucio. Their expression was blank. Their entire form was eerily motionless. He immediately felt the need to elaborate. “Ya know, because the rubies are pretty - pretty like your eyes.”

To Lucio’s relief, the compliment was enough to break their stare. No one had ever called their eyes pretty before. Creepy. Unsettling. Unnatural. But never pretty. Pretty was a meaningless word. Pretty was objective. Pretty could not be measured. Pretty was unscientific. Yet, the word bounced around in their mind, unextrapolated and uncategorized. Valdemar wanted to dissect its meaning. They wanted Lucio to elaborate. What did it mean to have pretty eyes?

"Hey, is that thing broken?" asked Lucio. who had unknowingly grounded Valdemar from their slow spiral into the definition and interpretation of the word pretty.

"Pardon?" asked Valdemar.

"Did that bastard give me a busted skull?" asked Lucio gesturing to a fissure starting from the bottom of the eye socket across the cheekbone.

Realizing what the count was referring to Valdemar had to stifle a laugh. "No, that is a zygomaticomaxillary suture. You'll notice the second one, right here." They turned the skull to allow Lucio to see the other fissure reflected on the other cheekbone.

"Oh, so it's okay then? It's not broken?" asked Lucio.

"This specimen is in excellent condition." reassured Valdemar. A moment passed between them before the quaestor softly cleared their throat, and managed a polite thank you to the count. They fully intended to investigate the skull further for any clues of what may have lead to the specimen’s demise. They loved a good mystery. Afterwords, it would look lovely in their display cabinet - pretty ruby eyes and all.

“Right, so that guy I got this skull from. He has other things too. Goopy things in jars. Dead things in jars. Dead things out of jars. Drawings of bones and meaty parts. Books. Does any of that sound interesting to you?” asked Lucio.

Valdemar considered Lucio’s offer before replying, “I suppose that I am always in search for new specimens to add to my collection. Additionally, this could be an opportunity to ask the merchant where the rest of the remain’s of this specimen can be found.”

Their response seemed to greatly please the count as he leaned back in his chair. For the past few nights, he had done nothing but party - which he loved to do, and would surely want to do again - but sitting with Valdemar, as the sun lowered into the horizon felt nice. Not to mention, they knew a lot, which Lucio appreciated. Having them around could be quite helpful to keeping his kingdom. Additionally, he was curious as to what was under their bandages. His money was on horns, but it would be fun to confirm his suspicions.

“Great, I’ll take you down there sometime.” said Lucio. “And, if you see anything you like, consider it yours.”

While material possessions never interested Valdemar, the idea of discovering something new was quite alluring. Perhaps, the merchant had a sealed jar of an entirely forgotten disease, or maybe they would uncover an ancient tomb that described a real account of an unsolved death of an entire village. The more they thought about it, the more exciting the prospect became.

“Would now be an appropriate time?” asked Valdemar who had moved to the edge of their seat. Their body was stiff with anticipation, as they leaned over ever so slightly towards him. A coy smile spread on Lucio’s face. He knew the moment he agreed, Valdemar would be sprinting for the door. Frankly, it seemed cruel to make them wait another moment for his answer.

“I’ll have someone fetch two cloaks and a carriage.”

END.

#lucio x valdemar #devil!lucio x valdemar #valdemar x lucio #valdemar x devil!lucio #lucio #count lucio #devil!lucio #lucio the arcana #valdemar #quaestor valdemar #valdemar the arcana #courtiers #the courtiers #fluff #one shot #one-shot #fanfic #fanfiction

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ohshcscenerios · 4 years ago

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Neighbors

Chapter Two

Poll Result: Lotus

Haruhi had hoped for a warm sunny day, hoped that the last remnants of summer would bless them on their morning walk, but with autumn also came gray skies and wet pavement. It had rained in the early hours, before the sun had risen, which left their day chilly and damp.

Haruhi zipped her jacket to her neck and stuffed her hands into its pockets, already regretting leaving her apartment. She could have made them breakfast herself but the twins insisted they treat her to one of campus’ hidden jewels; the Lotus.

“I spoke to my Spanish professor after class last week and she said the Lotus has the best tea in the area.” Hikaru said over his shoulder, taking the lead a few steps ahead of the others.

“Do they have food too?” Haruhi asked.

Kaoru playfully ruffled her hair with a giant grin, “Yes they have food.”

“Always the little piglet.” Hikaru teased.

Haruhi huffed, “I haven’t eaten yet remember? We’re getting breakfast.”

Hikaru slowed down to walk beside her, “Well what are you in the mood for? I’m sure they have a nice selection.”

Haruhi slumped her shoulders and quickened her pace, “Let’s just see when we get there.”

A ten minute walk around the west greenhouse and through a winding tree path led them to a small building at the edge of campus. The black pavement merged into a wooden walkway, one of the many details the little restaurant used to create its natural ambiance. Bushy ferns tastefully hung along the covered entrance with a small pond bordering the building, hence the wooden walkway also acting as a bridge. True to its name, lotus flowers floated atop the still water.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” Haruhi said as they neared the entrance.

Hikaru nodded, “My professor said it’s where a lot of psychology majors come to relax. I can see why now.”

Kaoru rushed ahead so he could open the door for her. Together they stepped inside and found a table in the corner by a large window overlooking the pond. They took their seats and Hikaru ordered a pot of green tea for the table and a plate of various mochi to share.

“Hey look who’s here Takashi.” A familiar voice said from behind Hikaru’s back. He didn’t need to turn around to know who had just joined them.

Mitsukuni and Takashi rounded the table, one with a giant grin and the other with a small smile that could barely be described as a smile. Hikaru pointed to the empty chairs beside him to which they gladly accepted, settling themselves at the table across Haruhi and Kaoru.

“What brings you to Lotus?” Mitsukuni asked cheerfully.

Kaoru shrugged, “We wanted to treat Haruhi to breakfast. This little tanuki doesn’t leave her apartment.” He jokingly nudged her side with his elbow which earned him an annoyed eye roll.

Mitsukuni leaned over the table towards Haruhi, “Oh you’ll like this place, it’s very pretty and the food is delicious. Takashi and I come here all the time after dojo practice.”

Takashi nodded in agreement.

“So why haven’t you taken us here yet senpai?” Hikaru teased, leaning into his senior.

Mitsukuni chuckled, “Like you said, Haru-chan never leaves her apartment. We didn’t want to go unless we all could go together. That was the whole point of living next to each other, right?”

“Yeah,” Kaoru sneered, turning his attention to Haruhi, “That was the whole point and yet you stay locked up in your apartment studying.”

“Well excuse me for taking my education seriously. You know, not everyone can act as carefree as you two. Some of us have a future we need to work hard for.” She scolded.

“But they’re somewhat right Haru-chan,” Mitsukuni piped in, “You can’t lock yourself away all the time, especially when we’re right next to you.”

Haruhi crossed her arms and frowned, “Kyoya locks himself away too but I don’t see anyone complaining about him.”

“Well…” Hikaru’s voice lacked confidence, as if he wasn’t sure how to continue, “He’s really not alone though. Tamaki usually spends most of his evenings with Kyoya.”

Haruhi cocked her head to the side, surprised to learn this. She didn’t know her friends were hanging out so much. Perhaps she really was missing out on a lot of fun by choosing to study by herself. Her friends did move into the neighboring studio apartments on her floor so they could all be together and yet she’s only eaten dinner with them a handful of times. By only prioritizing her schoolwork she was neglecting her friends who severely downgraded from their extravagant comfort to be close to her. Not to mention two of her friends only had one year left until they graduated university and moved forward.

Maybe she should reconsider how she’s been living…

Haruhi sighed and looked between her friends sitting around her, “I’m sorry guys, I didn’t mean to offend you. I know you all moved onto campus so we could be together but I’ve been so busy with staying ahead of my schoolwork, I guess I never realized…”

Kaoru wrapped his arms around her shoulders and brought her close for a tight hug. “You’re so cute, even when we’re annoyed with you.”

Haruhi struggled against his hold, trying to free herself by pushing against his side, “Thanks I guess?”

Hikaru leaned back and draped his arm over the chair’s back, seeming to consider a devilish thought. His smirk turned into a wicked grin while he watched Kaoru tussle Haruhi’s hair. He looked to his side and saw his seniors watching the two with entertained smiles, seeming to enjoy their two friends behaving so naturally, just like the old days when they would tease and laugh in an abandoned music room.

“I know how you can make up for neglecting us Haruhi,” Hikaru spoke with a smug confidence, watching her gather herself again as she re-situated herself in her seat.

“Oh yeah?” She asked, tugging at her jacket sleeves, “and how can I do that?”

Hikaru smiled, “Considering today is Friday… you should skip classes today and spend the rest of the weekend with us.”

Haruhi shot him a look, “I can’t do that and you know it.”

“Why not?” Kaoru asked, “We don’t mind skipping classes with you. We practically take the same classes anyway and I have a feeling we wouldn’t be missing much.”

“This isn’t high school anymore you guys, we can’t just skip class and expect everything will be ok!” Haruhi reprimanded. “Professors aren’t the same as high school teachers. Who knows what we’d miss. Plus they could dock our grade because of our absence, Absolutely not.”

“Takashi and I don’t have classes on Fridays so we could join you guys!” Mitsukuni added, ignoring the warning in Haruhi’s eyes.

“Hunny-senpai, you of all people would know better.” Haruhi chided.

Takashi shrugged, “We’ve missed you Haruhi.”

She locked eyes with Takashi and saw a sadness buried beneath his usual stoic gaze. It nearly made her gasp to see her silent senior with pleading eyes.

She sighed, “Even you Mori-senpai… Have I really been that horrible?”

“Yes you have,” Hikaru said matter of factly, crossing his arms sternly, “and you now must pay the price.”

“What do you say Haruhi?” Kaoru asked quietly, nudging her side again.

What should Haruhi do?

Vote Here - (poll will close at 9:00pm ETS)

Next chapter update should be up by 10:00pm ETS

#ouran high school host club #ohshc #choose your own adventure #tamaki suoh #haruhi fujioka #Kyoya Ootori #hikaru hitachiin #kaoru hitachiin #takashi morinozuka #mitsukuni haninozuka #ritsu kasanoda #umehito nekozawa #fanfiction

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amazingmsme · 4 years ago

Text

Careful Distraction

AN: This is my fic for the fic exchange I did with @tickle-fic-chick , sorry this is late, been kinda hectic with the end of summer. But here it is, I hope you like it! Enjoy some geraskier fluff & check her out if you haven’t already!

Geralt made his way back to their camp after receiving his pay for the contract. It was a fairly simple job, a small nest of nekkers for a decent amount of coin. The town was more hostile towards witchers, and Geralt knew from experience with this particular town that it would serve them better to stay in the woods rather than the inn. He smiled upon seeing Jaskier and held the bag of coin up triumphantly. Jaskier smiled back before dipping his head back down. He walked over to Roach, storing it in one of her saddle bags.

Jaskier seemed to be busying himself, fiddling with some string and something small in his hands. He finally addressed him once he sat down beside him.

"Alright, take off your shirt."

Geralt nearly gave himself whiplash, "Excuse me?"

Jaskier rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb Geralt, I saw that nekker tear into your side. Off with it then," he said, clapping his hands as though that would make him comply.

Geralt grumbled to himself, starting to undo his armor. Jaskier smirked triumphantly and Geralt couldn't help but roll his eyes. When he tossed the armor piece aside, Jaskier could see the torn bloody shirt clinging to his chest.

"Mhm, just as I thought. Take that off so I can wash it after I patch you up," he said. Geralt was already halfway through taking it off when he paused, fixing Jaskier with a look. "I'm fine, I don't need any "patching up."" Jaskier raised a brow, eyes darting to the deep open gash on his side.

"Pft, sure you don't."

"Really, it's fine Jaskier. It'll be healed and scarring over in two days time. Trust me, I've had worse," he said, tossing his bloody shirt aside. Jaskier held the needle over the flame.

"Yes, but that still poses a risk for infection, however small. And wouldn't you prefer it heal in one day rather than two?" Geralt finally resigned, sitting up a bit straighter and moving his arm out of the way. "Excellent!" Jaskier went and grabbed a bottle of disinfectant and a cloth from one of his bags and came back. He sat down and poured the contents of the bottle onto the rag, gently dabbing away the blood. "Besides," he spoke as he worked, "Just because you've had worse doesn't mean you don't deserve a little bit of care when it's needed." Geralt only scoffed.

With the wound now clean, he began his meticulous work. Piercing the skin with the needle, he pulled it through, watching the thread run to the other side. Geralt never even flinched, the last of his potion still providing relief from the small pain. He repeated the motion and created the second stitch, and the skin began to pull closed.

Geralt watched him work. "How'd you get so good at that?"

"My mother liked to sew, and I enjoyed her company. She taught me how when I was still young. But you've given me lots of practice," he said with a smirk. Geralt couldn't decide if it was a chastise or a tease. He decided it was a bit of both.

"Hm," was all he said.

"This should heal nicely," Jaskier said, pulling the needle through the skin once more. With each gentle tug of the thread the flesh beneath his hand tightened. His fingers grazed Geralt's side making him jerk underneath his hand. Jaskier pulled away with a worried look.

"Oh my gods I'm so sorry! Did u hurt you? I can be more gentle, I-"

"Jaskier," Geralt said, his voice tired but soft. "You didn't hurt me, I'm just-" he stopped himself and rethought his wording. "I just felt weird is all," he said, hoping that would suffice. Jaskier hummed in thought, tilting his head to the side. His lower lip jut out almost in a pout.

"Oh," he said. It wasn't what he expected, and he had a feeling that wasn't the whole truth. But now wasn't the proper time to pry. Geralt couldn't leave the situation if he didn't like his questions. And the last thing he wanted was for the man to feel trapped. He worked mostly in silence after that, the only sounds being the crackle of the fire and his low hums.

He finished, leaning back to examine his work. "There you go, all fixed up!" Geralt looked down at his stitches, nodding in approval. He changed into a new shirt and settled into his bedroll. Jaskier has just finished putting away the medical supplies when he went to grab his dirty shirt.

"Leave it. It can wait 'til tomorrow," he said.

""It really won't take that long," Jaskier said, looking over his shoulder at the nearby river.

"Come to bed, it's late. I already kept you awake long enough." When Jaskier looked at him, hair tussled and skin glowing in the firelight, their bedrolls pushed together, he really couldn't say no. He laid down next to him, snuggling underneath the thin blankets. Geralt hummed, rolling over on his side that wasn't sewn shut. He soon fell sleep with Jaskier pressed against his chest, an arm thrown over his body.

They both woke well rested. By the time Jaskier rose, Geralt was already up and in the water washing his clothes. Jaskier made his way over to him.

"I said I could do that," Jaskier said. Geralt smiled softly at him.

"I know, but you've already done more that you had to," he justified. "Besides, I didn't want the stain to set for too long." He was just about set the shirt on a rock to dry when Jaskier spoke.

"How's it look? Your side I mean?"

He shrugged. "Haven't looked."

"May I?" he asked, gesturing towards him. Geralt nodded, coming closer and raising his shirt. Just as he had predicted, the wound was completely healed over. He smirked at Jaskier, "Told you it was fine."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes but it would still be healing without those stitches," he said, prodding around the fresh scar gently to make sure there was no bruising or any other cause for concern. Geralt's breath quickened, short huffs of air through his nose. When Jaskier looked at his face, he noticed the corners of his lips fighting to form a smile. Could he be... no it wasn't possible... but what if?

Be lightened his touch, using his nails to drag across the skin. Geralt flinched away violently, the smile on his face undeniable by now. "A bit ticklish are we?"

"No," he tried to deny, but as soon as that word left his lips, Jaskier scratched his blunt nails along the base of his spine. Geralt barked out a loud laugh, arching his back to get away from those wicked fingers. He twisted his body, trying to reach behind him to grab Jaskier's wrists.

"I can't believe after all this time you lied to me Geralt! I also can't believe I haven't found out sooner based on that reaction."

Even without the telltale sign of a blush, Jaskier had memorized every minute expression. The wide eyes, flared nostrils, and puffed out cheeks: Geralt was embarrassed. And it was adorable. Jaskier beamed.

"It's just me, no need to be embarrassed," he said casually, moving to flutter his fingers across his toned, bare stomach. Geralt took a step back, smiling so much his dimples were showing. The one on the right side was more prominent, carving out a crevice on his cheek. He grabbed Jaskier's wrist, holding it away from his body.

"I'm not," he all but growled. Jaskier tilted his head innocently.

"Not what? Embarrassed, or ticklish?" he teased. Geralt glared at him.

"Both." Jaskier was grinning from ear to ear, tongue poking out between his teeth.

"Hate to break it to you, but you are." He slipped his hand to his other side and squeezed. Geralt barked out a laugh, quickly trying to stop the flow of laughter that was soon to follow, but the damn broke. He doubled over, deep yet bubbly chuckles spilling from his lips. Jaskier rose his voice to be heard above the laughter, "You really are."

"Nohohoho!" Jaskier couldn't tell if he was denying the obvious still or if he was protesting his current treatment. He raked his nails over the muscle on his stomach, and Geralt threw his head back as booming laughter erupted from his chest. He squirmed away, but didn't bother to shove him off, not putting in that much effort to actually escape. But in the flurry of fingers and rumbling chuckles, neither of them watched their footing. They both let out a yelp as they tumbled into the stream with a loud splash. Geralt emerged from the water, sputtering and wiping hair from his face while Jaskier's bright laughter filled the air.

"You are so in for it," Geralt said with a glare. Jaskier propped his chin in a hand, resting his elbow on his knee.

"Oh am I?" he asked, eyes half lidded and was staring at him in an almost dreamy way. Geralt wasn't paying attention, too busy pulling back his wet hair.

"Yes. As soon as I get my hands on you-" Jaskier wasn't sure how he would've finished that sentence before drilling his thumb into his exposed armpit. His arm crashed down to his side, head tilted back and mouth opened wide as cackles flew from his mouth.

And if they were both soaked to the bone well past lunch time, well, neither would complain.

#geralt #geralt of rivia #jaskier #geraskier #geraskier fic #the witcher #the witcher fic #the witcher tickle fic #ticklish!geralt

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bbmyungho · 4 years ago

Text

Snapdragon - Yeonjun

member/group: Yeonjun/TXT

genre: fluff, angst, kingdom!au, bestfriend!yeonjun, royal!reader, Soobin’s also there

TW: MINOR CHARACTER DEATH

Sunlight warmed my eyelids as I woke, peeking through the curtains flowing in the breeze from my cracked window. My whole body felt warm in the few rays that reached it, my blood running like smooth golden honey as I further relaxed into my pillows.

“Oh your highness~!” My pest of a best friend called through my rooms; I heard him shuffling around in the front room, going ahead and preparing myself for his weight crashing onto me in a few seconds. “It’s time to wake up!!” He screeched, jumping on me and wrapping me up in a bone crushing hug as soon as he collided with me.

“Nooooo~” I whined out, struggling to turn further away from him in his grasp and shove my face into my pillows. “Can’t we just lay here, just for today?”

“Unfortunately, no. The stupid witch lady will be here to tutor you at 9 o’clock and then we have to hang out, obviously.” Yeonjun finally sat up, relieving me of his weight as he bounced up and down, shaking my mattress and, consequently, me.

“Oh, come on, I like Ms. Moon. A lot more than Mr. Kang, for sure.” I peeked at him, smiling sleepily at the pout on his face.

“Don’t care, she takes up your time and energy shoving ‘knowledge’ in your head when you could be paying attention to me.” He crossed his arms and pouted at me even more intensely, causing me to laugh before shoving my head back into my pillows and sighing contentedly. “Oh, if you get up now, you’ll get to see Soobin serving breakfast.”

I immediately shot up. “He’s back from the lower village? I thought he wasn’t going to turn up until lunch!” I smiled. Yeonjun shrugged.

“He got back early.” He hummed, moving off of me so that I could start getting ready for the day and hopefully catch sight of the cute kitchen boy who had managed to steal into my heart over the past few months, closing and locking the window as I ran into my bathroom. “Wear the goldy-colored thingy for him, it looks cute on you!”

“Good morning, your highness. Yeonjun.” Soobin greeted us as we approached the table, a smile breaking out onto my face almost immediately upon the sight of his cute tussled hair.

“Good morning, Bin. How was the lower village?” I asked, taking my seat as he began gathering dishes for us.

“Oh, it was nice. Nothing new, really,” he stopped and smiled fondly, “I found some snapdragons on the side of the road on my way back. They’re your favorite flowers aren’t they?” He asked. My heart skipped a beat, face instantly reddening as I looked wide eyed at Yeonjun.

“Yes, they are.” Yeonjun smiled as he answered for me, earning himself a small flustered kick from under the table, Soobin sparing a glance and a smile my way before he brought mine and Yeonjun’s breakfast over to us.

“I picked you one, but it got crushed on the way back.” He pouted. I blushed all the way up to my ears as I watched his back retreat into the kitchen, taking my time to zone in on whatever Yeonjun was saying while we ate.

“Don’t you think it’s about time you two get together already? He obviously likes you, too.” Yeonjun said. My spoon dropped with a loud clatter in my flustered state, face reddening even more at the thought that Bin might have heard before he actually reached the kitchens.

“Yeonjun~, you’re making me blush. What if he hears?” I whined, covering my cheeks as the boy next to me just chuckled evilly.

“Sorry, your highness.”

“Okay, rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!” Yeonjun groaned at the sight of my fist, perched proudly over his scissors. “Oh, come on. You’ve lived here all your life, you’re so hard to find between all of these corridors and tapestries.”

“Ohh, if only we’d found you sooner, darling.” I teased, patting his head as he pouted. He started to count, prompting me to run off and find a place to hide, laughing evilly as I retreated. There was only so much to do in the castle, but hide and seek never got old given all of the passages on every level.

“Ready or not, here I come!” echoed through the halls as I skidded around another corner, a fairly loud thud ringing in my ears as I was spent sprawling back by something hard.

“Oh, I’m so sorry your highness. Are you okay?” Soobin asked concernedly, discarding the plates he’d been carrying before offering me his hand.

“Oh, Soobin, I’m- I’m really sorry, no need to apologize. I... should’ve been looking where I was going.” I took his hand sheepishly, allowing myself to be pulled from the floor and into Soobin’s chest; it was much more pleasant now that I actually got to stay there for a while, warm and soft. His arms were very comforting, holding me tight before I could trip and fall again.

“No, I understand. You have a game to win, no?” He teased, smiling at me. I laughed lightly, shyly unraveling myself from his arms once I realized they were still there.

“Your highness?” A familiar voice from behind me pulled me harshly from the warmth I found in Soobin’s presence, whipping around to see Yeonjun with a stupid smirk on his face.

“Uh, I should be going.” Soobin muttered, grabbing his plates and nodding at both of us before scampering down the corridor behind Yeonjun. We stood there in silence for probably another minute, my stomach in knots, before Yeonjun got started.

“Soooo-”

“Shut up.” I brushed myself off annoyedly, giving him a devilish smile in return.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to ruin the moment, but you’re needed in the throne room. Your father is having a meeting with some of the officials and they’d like you to be in attendance, especially since your coronation is coming up.”

“What’s the meeting for?” I asked. Yeonjun swallowed thickly, his eyes scanning down to the floor nervously before meeting mine.

“On the shore. A navy ship came in with no one and nothing on it.” Yeonjun said. I stopped in my tracks.

Sometimes I felt ready for my coronation; I knew I could be a good leader, just like my father (but better obviously), and our people would be happy and feel cared for by their monarchs. But then, moments like this... as I grew, I was involved more and more in the actual politics of it all, I knew more and more and more. I couldn’t and I wouldn’t tell anyone, but I was terrified.

“Hey, hey, it’s probably just some petty thieves, I don’t know. Maybe they took the men hostage or something so they wouldn’t alert anybody of their hideout or whatever. I’m sure it’s nothing, I’m sure they’ll turn up somewhere.” Yeonjun took my silence as his cue to attempt to console me, but it still didn’t do much to ease my nerves.

“Still, my men are being held hostage. Sure, I’m glad we’re safe here, but what about them?” I asked. Yeonjun stood in silence, a pained look worrying his features before he pulled me into a hug.

“It’ll be okay your highness. I promise. And hey,” he said, pulling back, “maybe they met another one of our ships and decided to get on it or something. Transfer missions, and we’ll get a letter a couple days late explaining everything. Or maybe they got tired of breaking their backs for you and yours and they’re just hanging out on an island somewhere, yeah?” He attempted a chuckle, making me smile in response.

Even if it was fake, it made me feel a little better. I wasn’t a child, I wasn’t naive enough to believe that maybe he was right, not deep down. But I was grateful to be able to walk into my meeting with my head held high, my eyes drifting over every once in a while to meet Yeonjun’s smiling face. Or, when a certain kitchen boy came stumbling in to offer us a small snack for our troubles, to see his blushing cheeks and soft tussled hair.

“Oh, yeah, by the way,” Yeonjun said smoothly as we walked back to my chambers that night, “what was going on with you and Soobin earlier?” I groaned and shoved him lightly, earning a laugh for my suffering.

“Nothing happened, I fell like an idiot and he helped me up.” I grumbled, my hands coming to my cheeks to cover my blush.

“And then he held you for like two or three extra seconds before I interrupted.” Yeonjun quipped.

“Yeah, hey, by the way, thanks for interrupting us, jerk.” I pouted. Yeonjun threw his head back in laughter, nudging me with his shoulder as we walked.

“Sorry, your highness. Won’t happen again.”

“Yeonjunnie~!” Soobin called, eliciting a laugh from me and I’m sure an eye roll from Yeonjun. We were having a picnic out in the gardens, sampling food for the coronation and just goofing around, when we decided to play a game of tag while we were exploring.

“Does he usually just give up and hide?” Soobin asked.

“He’s not overtly fond of running for long periods of time.” I shrugged. Soobin giggled (my heart?????) and started walking in the opposite direction.

“How about we split up and make a circle of the gardens? We’ll find him eventually.” Soobin proposed.

“Yeah, sure.” I smiled and ran off towards the other end of the gardens, the small labyrinth coming into view. I remembered showing it to Yeonjun when he’d first come into our walls, guiding him through and teasing him by running ahead of him. A sneaking suspicion told me that he would be hiding in there, so I trotted in, yelling ‘Yeonjunnie~’ all the way through.

“Yeonjun!” I called one last time into the depths of the maze. I knew he was smart (well, smart enough), and he’d been in this maze plenty over the past two or so years, but I still couldn’t help but worry about him. We were like two sides of the same coin, I didn’t like to have him too far away from me for too long. “Yeonju-”

“AHH!” I jumped back with a yelp as a lanky figure sprung out from the row next to me, grabbing me and spinning around with a gloating laugh.

“Yeonjun!” I smacked him softly, a teasing groan parting his lips as he poked my cheeks.

“I got you~” He smiled, pinching my cheeks and poking my sides in quick succession to tease me further.

“Yeonjun, that wasn’t funny, I was scared you got lost or hurt.” I sulked, pushing his shoulder and sending him back into a bush.

“Hey! If anything in this garden is going to hurt me, it’s you!” He stuck his tongue out, pushing himself up and coming to sling an arm around my shoulder. “Sorry for scaring you, your highness. Now let’s go find Soobin!”

It was coronation night. Everything had been going to plan, I don’t know what happened. The food was delicious, the music was wonderful, the palace was decorated in beautiful blues and golds, snapdragons and coriander lining the halls, all in celebration of me.

Before I knew it, Yeonjun was grabbing me and running, up the stairs and directly to my rooms.

“Stay here, don’t move no matter what. I’ll come back to get you, don’t worry.” He’d said. That was almost an hour ago. I’d stayed huddled under my bed, blankets wrapped tight around me, my once perfectly done hair and perfectly fitted clothing all in ruins as I sat silently sobbing under my bed. I couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything. Anything but screaming and groaning coming from the halls. I felt sick, but I was scared to move for fear that someone would burst in and find me doubled over, dry heaving and panicking.

All I could think of was Yeonjun, Soobin, probably being put to use to fight away whoever had laid siege to the palace. Under any other circumstance, I would’ve smiled and laughed at the mere thought of Soobin, in all of his clumsy, bounding glory, weilding a sword. This time it just made me feel sicker.

With a heavy sigh, I rolled out from under my bed, creeping forward towards the door out to the hallway. As soon as I cracked it open, I saw two bodies. Guards. There was silence, even in the distance now. I hoped it was because people were hiding, not because there wasn’t anyone else to scream. I crept out slowly into the hall, moving towards the larger corridor at the end of it. I peeked around the corner, relief flooding over me when I saw Yeonjun standing outside of one of the doors.

“Yeonjun!” I called to him, his face whipping around in surprise. I ran towards him; his face was a little battered, he was covered in blood, but I didn’t care. He was right there.

And then, he tensed. He jumped back anxiously when I tried to pull him in to me, his eyes never once meeting mine.

“Yeonjun? What’s wrong?” I asked. I attempted to search his face, but I couldn’t see him. “Do you know where Soobin is, is he okay?”

“Uh, I-“

“Yeonjun!” My heart jumped at the sound of Soobin’s sweet, deep voice, booming through the halls. I turned to see him coming towards us, a desperate smile plastered on my face as he approached. He was okay.

“Soobin, I-“

“We need to get out of here, soon, before anybody gets brave.” He spared a glance from Yeonjun over to me, his eyebrows furrowing before he looked back at Yeonjun. “Before anyone finds the heir, especially here with us. None of us are gonna benefit from that.” With that, he pushed past us, not even a second glance or the slightest bit of remorse as I watched his retreating back. I tore my eyes away, looking back to Yeonjun, waiting for him to say that it was all a stupid twisted awful prank that he was super super genuinely sorry for pulling, or that it was a spontaneous drill, or that it was anything other than what it really was.

“Yeonjun?” My voice cracked as I waited for him to respond. I waited for him to look up from the floor, but he never did; not my Yeonjun at least. The one that looked at me was broken and a traitor. I hated him.

“I’m sorry, your highness. I really mean it this time.”

“No-“

“Yes. I mean it, I’m so, so sorry.” If I had been any dumber, I would’ve believed it when I thought I heard his voice crack. I would’ve believed that maybe he felt an ounce of remorse for any of this. If I were any smarter, I would’ve tackled him to the ground before he got the chance to walk away and taken him to the dungeons myself.

But I wasn’t: smarter, dumber. I was just sad and defeated and almost positively alone. I watched him leave, just as Soobin did, and I sat there and cried.

“How did you do this, dad?” I muttered to the painting hanging up in the great hall. I was struggling to balance the crown on my head, running through the words I would say to my people in just a few moments. Dad never struggled with these sorts of things, or at least it was never quite as obvious.

Both of my parents had been taken in the siege; a good portion of jewelry and gold had been taken, and the original crown that I was supposed to wear was nowhere to be found. Most of the people in attendance that night were traumatized, injured, or dead.

The doors opened onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard, and it was time for me to act like royalty again. I swallowed a lump in my throat as flags with depictions of Yeonjun and Soobin dropped from the banisters above me, shading me from the sun. “These are highly dangerous, highly capable individuals. Don’t let their looks fool you.” Not like they did me. “If you must engage, do so. Do whatever it takes. Protect yourself first.”

#kpop #kpop imagines #kpop fluff #kpop angst #txt fluff #txt angst #txt imagines #txt #txt yeonjun #choi yeonjun #yeonjun fluff #yeonjun angst #txt au #yeonjun #yeonjun imagines

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jungkookiebus · 5 years ago

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Birdwatcher | intro | kth

Genre: nonidol!au, spy!au, eventual possibility of angst, smut maybe? who knows Pairing taehyung x reader, but his fic is from Tae’s POV Word Count: 2.3k Warnings: mentions of weapons, use of a gun, spy stuff and more spy stuff, there is violence in the way of a tussle but nothing gory, there will probably be future violence Summary: Kim Taehyung, or codename Nova, has always run a tight ship when it came to espionage and in the last seven years you haven’t had the faintest idea of his actual job. It all came crashing around him when he received a message from a mysterious woman in an alleyway who knows too much and whose words are laced with poison when she threatens you. If there is one thing that Taehyung doesn’t take lightly, it’s threats against his most precious asset.

“This is inconvenient,” Taehyung muttered under his breath.

He sat behind the wheel of his car, decked out in his expensive suit, ready for the evening, until those plans got pushed back a little. His hands clutched the wheel as he stared straight ahead, headlights illuminating three men standing in the alleyway. He only wanted to take this way as a shortcut, but he had no idea he was being tailed and he wanted to kick himself for not paying more attention. Slowly, he reached down for his phone and long pressed the one, dialing your number. His headphones were still in, so he sat still as the sound of ringing filled his ears, willing you to answer your phone quickly.

“Hey,” you said breathlessly. It sounded like maybe you were just getting out of the cab.

“Hey, babe…,” he started.

“Don’t tell me you’re running late at work again.”

“It’s a minor thing. I’ll barely be late.”

“You better promise, Kim Taehyung.”

“I promise. I love you.” He always said it with such conviction. Who knew when he’d get to say it again if at all?

“I love you.” You sounded happy, hopeful, and in complete ignorant bliss which is where he wanted to keep you for forever.

The line went dead as you hung up the phone. The three men were slowly approaching his car as he went through a mental checklist of what he had. Swallowing hard, Taehyung stepped out of the car, hand on the door as he stood behind it.

“What can I do for you gentlemen this evening? I have somewhere to be.”

“You’re not going anywhere, smartass,” one burly man snarled.

“There’s no need to be rude,” he mock pouted.

“This is the end of your run, Nova.”

Nova. Taehyung’s code name within the agency and famous on the lips of all criminals. He was illusive and always out of reach, there before you knew it, and gone before you could blink. Master of disguise, languages, and weapons; he had it all. To you, he was just an exec at a top marketing firm traveling for work and staying late to work on projects. He even had the façade; the agency having rented out a floor in a high rise downtown and equipped with “employees”. They registered the fake company name, employees had badges with the company logo, and all were briefed on what to do if visitors were to arrive. When there was no one besides the agents, they worked hard to procure information for Taehyung, booked him flights, gave him intel, and prepared his missions. When you came to visit, you would see the same faces, say the same names, talk about past and future projects and no one missed a beat. Taehyung was grateful for the front when it came to you, keeping you out of harm’s way as much as possible.

“What makes you say that?” he asked while unbuttoning his suit jacket so that he could get to his chest holster easier. The light from his headlights obscured their vision to what he was doing. He stepped lithely around the door to stand in front of it and face the men.

“Don’t come any closer!” one man said holding up a gun.

Taehyung smirked as he heard the nervousness laced in the man’s voice. His stance was off, he noticed, and his grip on the gun was loose. What a shame.

He was unnaturally fast in his movements, having already mapped out how this would go from the beginning. Even before he made the phone call to you, he was planning out his moves. The closest thug moved in fast, but Taehyung was faster. Bent at the waist, his left leg came up and around, foot connecting with the side of the man’s face. Temporarily stunned, the man moved backwards and the next was already on top of him but before he could close in, Taehyung dropped down, hands planted on the asphalt as he swept his right leg around and knocked the second man onto the first. Standing fast, he jerked his arm in front of him, releasing a small device from within his sleeve and held it in his palm facing the next man. Within the second he closed his eyes; he pressed a button that flashed a light so bright it thwarted the man in his path. Taehyung kicked out directly in front of him, foot connecting with the man’s chest as he flew backwards into the brick wall of the nearest building. The second man was on his feet once more and charging in Taehyung’s direction with a snarl. Reaching into his suit jacket, he undid the clip on his holster and drew the gun, pointing it at the man who had now stopped short.

“I don’t have to kill you,” Taehyung panted.

“Yea, but I gotta kill you.”

From seemingly out of the nowhere, the man pulled a knife from somewhere behind him and swiped close to Taehyung who felt the breeze from the man’s swing. Moving backwards and ducking, Taehyung was expertly dancing around the man as he swung wildly.

That was when his phone rang. The small trill of the ringtone he had assigned to you filled his ear as his phone vibrated within the car. He could simply not answer, but then you’d start to worry, and he couldn’t have you sending the troops to look for him. Reaching up quickly, he pressed the button to answer.

“Hey!” he tried to keep his breathing even as he dodged yet another sloppy blow from the man.

On the next upswing he was able to connect with the man, grabbing his wrist and twisting it back painfully.

“Where are you?! Whatever is going on at work can’t be that important, Taehyung.” Your stern and angry voice filled his senses. In any other situation and if he were any other person, he would probably be upset with you for acting so unfairly, but honestly, the sound of your voice put him at ease and allowed him to focus.

“I swear I’m going to be there soon, baby, just don’t go home.”

He continued to twist the man’s arm until he was down on his knees, face twisted in pain before Taehyung landed a punch square between the man’s eyes, knocking him out.

It was when the hair raised on the back of his neck that Taehyung knew something was wrong.

“I’m expecting you here in less than fifteen minutes.” Your voice broke through his thoughts as he looked around quickly, trying to find the source of his uneasiness.

“Yea, less than fifteen minutes. I’ll see you there,” he said before ending the call.

The alley was quiet save for the sounds of the city.

“Oh, Nova.”

The voice was smooth with an edge that could cut glass. A woman in dark clothing stepped out of the shadows. A dark, wide brimmed hat cast her face in shadow. She wore a long, black jacket and from what he could tell, a dress and high leather boots. He examined her from head to toe as she stood in the middle of the alley.

“I see you took the bait.” He heard more than saw the smirk.

“Who are you?” He raised his gun again, body ready if anything were to happen.

“It’s irrelevant who I am, but more of what I know…Kim Taehyung.”

His breath caught in his throat as she uttered his name. The thing that was most sacred to him and only known by those closest to him was now public knowledge to someone he didn’t know.

“How do you know my name?” he asked as his grip tightened on the gun.

“Yet another irrelevant question. Come on, Taehyung, I know you’re smarter than that.”

“Iris?” Taehyung whispered.

He heard the extremely faint hum of his A.I. whir to life in his ear.

“Hello, Nova,” the soft melodic, yet robotic voice sounded in his ear.

“Facial scan.”

“Scanning.”

Taehyung was always equipped with contacts so that Iris could assess his surroundings and report back to him within seconds.

“Her face does not come up in any databases but based off slight difference of color at her hairline and the smoothness of her hands compared to the discolored skin on her face, she is in disguise. Voice recognition also does not pull up any files.”

Taehyung wasn’t scared of a lot of things, but something about this woman rubbed him the wrong way.

“Now I’m going to need you to cooperate,” she said as he walked forward, turning a phone in his direction.

At first, he thought it was a video, but upon closer inspection it was video footage of you sitting alone at the restaurant just around the block. He lowered his gun as he leaned in closer. You sat at the table, wine glass in hand, and looking down at the delicate gold watch he had bought for you last year. He felt his heart seize in his chest with fear, but he made sure his face stayed placid.

“The man at the table behind her is one of mine. I say the word and she’s dead right before your eyes.”

He gritted his teeth, hoping his eyes were conveying the anger he felt all the way down to his gut.

“What do you want?”

“I need you to do something for me.” She smiled at the end of the sentence and her teeth glinted in the dim lights of the street, casting her in a more evil shadow that unsettled him.

She casually strode up to him, knowing he wasn’t going to do anything to her so long as you were in danger. The closer she got, the more details he saw. She was in disguise; a good one, but a disguise all the same. The only thing that was real were her eyes. A dusty gray, they seemed even more menacing under the hat, sometimes in a shadow and sometimes not. She smelled strongly of roses and it burned in his nose as she leaned into him. Subtly, he shifted so that he was angled away. He almost didn’t want her to touch him, but she pushed upwards on her toes as she brought her lips to his ear and whispered.

Taehyung’s car fishtailed out of the alleyway, causing oncoming traffic to slam on their brakes and honk their horns, but no one existed to him as he sped down the road. Within minutes he was at the restaurant parking perfectly curbside, running past the valet, and into the restaurant. A startled hostess opened her mouth to greet him as he dashed past her and into the dining area. You saw him as he approached, worry written across his face, clothes disheveled, and…

“Is that blood!?” you exclaimed as he walked up and grabbed you by the hand.

You tried to stop him, but he was determined to get you out of the restaurant as fast as possible. The man that was sitting behind you was gone, but that didn’t stop him from scanning the room as he went. Other diners and staff stopped eating or walking with trays to gawk. Taehyung was a force normally, but when threatened he gave off an aura that no one wanted to fuck with. He had you out of the restaurant and in his car in what seemed like seconds.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?!” you yelled as he got in and pulled away from the curb, headed in the direction of home.

“_____,” he began, licking his lips and looking over at you nervously. He knew you saw the fear laced in his eyes. He was normally a strong person, a rational person. He was the type of person that never got disturbed by anything, but tonight was testing his boundaries.

“I’m going to need you to listen to me very closely. There is a lot I need to explain and there won’t be a lot of time because I need to prepare.”

He was already dialing the number to his “secretary”, that much you could see as her name popped up on the screen set in his dash.

Within one ring, she picked up and answered smoothly, “Good evening, Nova.”

“What the fuck?” he heard you whisper under your breath. Taehyung looked at you sideways, gauging your reaction to what he was about to say.

A car honked as he ran another red light, swiftly moving in and out of cars in a way you had only seen in movies.

“I’m going to need you to initiate Strawberry Protocol.”

The line went silent and Taehyung heard her clear her throat softly.

“Did you get that?”

“Yes sir, I will initiate Strawberry Protocol and inform the others. Will there be anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

And the line went dead. Taehyung looked over at you again, fear written into your every feature.

“There’s a lot you won’t understand and a lot of it won’t make sense, but I’m going to need you to trust that everything I say is true and vitally important for you to know.”

“Taehyung, what are you saying?” he heard your voice quaver as your tears began to fall.

“Well, let me just rip the band aid off and say that there is someone after me, who has threatened you, and I am,” the fake leather of the steering wheel crackled in protest as he squeezed it harder. All he could think of was her turning that video around and you sitting within feet of death, unaware of what was really going on. He had spent the last seven years keeping you in the dark, out of the way of danger, and living peacefully. But this woman, this enigma had come from the shadows knowing his name and threatening you in the same breath and that was the woman’s first mistake, “irrevocably pissed off.”

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