#also that right before they left the podium one of them said 'remember: IT'S GONNA BE MAY'

[yourockthebeatofmyheart]

Thinking about that time NSYNC got a star on the Walk of Fame on April 30th (obviously) and they streamed it on youtube everything was chill other people were giving speeches about how cool and influential they were, and then the moment the guys went up to speak the video crashed

[p-antomime]

ㅤ 𔘓 ─ ##. what a poly relationship with haruchiyo & senju would be like!

ㅤ— minors don’t interact.

ㅤcontent + warnings: 18+, including: hard dom!haruchiyo, switch!senju, praise kink, cum play, fingering, edging, oral sex (f! receiving), body writing, pet names, exhibitionism, voyeurism, mff, creampie, phone sex, use of sex toys, cnc, hair pulling, degradation, public sex, guided masturbation, breath play, unprotected sex, role play, thigh fucking, masturbation.

ㅤpairings: bonten!sanzu haruchiyo x afab!reader x aged up!kawaragi senju

tokyo rev. masterlist!

ㅤ🏷 tagging: @festive @ambrodias @wakasa-wifey @haruphilia .

taking a deep breath, inhale and exhale

so let's start with Kawaragi Senju, why? Well, why not?

Senju wouldn't have known you for very long, especially since you had come in transferring from one university to hers

and the first bump into each other would be embarrassing, to say the least.

you were looking for a room in a lecture that the professor had pushed to your class and Senju would be trying to escape from this lecture

and you had to be running down the corridor in the opposite direction from her, right?

as a result, you accidentally bumped hard into one of Senju's shoulders and she ended up falling on the floor on her butt with an annoyed grunt

not only were you late, you were also clumsy

Senju would be a little irritated, yes, especially since her butt was throbbing and her shoulder hurt, but her irritation dissipated a little as soon as her pretty eyes rose up and faced the person above her, standing with a hand raised to help her up

you were stunning, now that Haruchiyo's little sister was on the floor looking at you like a lost kitten your skirt was exactly level with her face

and Senju felt her own cheeks heat up and immediately tried to get up without your help not because she was proud, but because she suddenly felt shy and embarrassed to be like that in front of someone so beautiful

❝ You don't have to worry about me ❞, was the first thing she said to you as she got up from the floor and you pushed her hand away thinking Senju was still angry

❝ Sorry, I'm... I'm late, I was trying to get to the auditorium faster ❞, you spoke nervously trying to analyze her body for any bruises, even though the tumble was just a measly scare

❝ Auditorium, hm? ❞, she raised her eyebrows wiping her own clothes and looking at the floor with her cheeks still red, ❝ You were going to that lecture?❞

❝ You too? ❞, you asked nodding and Senju cracked an embarrassed smile

❝ I was doing the opposite, actually... ❞, she clenched hands nervously before clearing her throat, ❝ But if you turn left and go down the stairs, you can get the fastest elevator to the auditorium, it's kind of a secret from the veterans here, don't tell them I told you, ‘kay? ❞, you opened a smile before nodding in agreement

❝ Okay! I won't tell them... ❞, you turned around to keep walking and then remembered that you forgot to thank her, but when your head turned to the side to look at Senju again, she was already walking towards you

❝ Gonna take you there, just so you don't get lost ❞

and it was exactly after this that Senju spent the rest of the day in that boring lecture watching you pay attention to what that old man was saying on the podium

maybe you had a new friend

and Senju was a great friend, really, she was always trying to help you with homework, if you needed a partner to do a seminar worth a grade, she was ready at your side, if you just needed someone to pass the time doing absolutely nothing productive, she was there

but, damn it, she kept remembering the way your skirt almost brushed her face the first time you two bumped into each other at a stroke of luck and it wasn't her intention to end up wanting to be more than just your friend.

it just happened.

Senju liked the way you smiled and even the way you made fun of her sometimes, calling her "little baby" because she was the youngest of three siblings, but at first she thought it was just normal feminine admiration.

yes, she used these words to explain to Takeomi

she thought it was the same feeling as when she passed by on the street, saw a pretty girl and smiled at her in silent greeting

the difference was that Senju's heart was pounding like crazy in her chest every time she saw you coming on campus and that she was ashamed to comment to Haruchiyo or Takeomi, and even Wakasa or Takemichi, about it

and that fateful day came, the day you arrived at the university with lips smeared with lip gloss that you said tasted like strawberry

Senju's brain went into a tailspin, all day long she was fighting with herself to stop staring at your lips too much and you were finding her strange all day long

at the end of the day, there are just the two of you getting ready to leave and she was staring at you during the long minutes it took you to pack your things while still sitting on your chair in the college lounge

❝ Are you nervous? ❞, she would ask approaching your table after you raised your face to look at her with a shrug

❝ No ❞, you replied, swallowing hard and watching Senju sit on the edge of the table in front of you

❝ You don't lie very well ❞, she let out a slight chuckle, ❝ Can I do something?❞, you frowned

❝ Depends... ❞, your hands landed on her thighs and it was at that moment that Senju knew you already knew what she meant

she leaned forward to bring her hands to the nape of your neck and now you could feel her still calm breathing against your face

❝ May I taste your gloss? ❞

and then you whispered a breathless "Yes" and in a few seconds later her eyes went from yours to your lips and the two of you ended up kissing in an initially shy, extremely slow manner

your lips really tasted like strawberry and Senju’s tongue eventually curling into yours as you let her takes over the kiss was so soft, warm, comforting almost

It was a gradual rhythm until her hands squeezed the back of your neck with no intention of letting you out of the kiss anytime soon and yours were wrapped around her blouse pulling her closer

unwittingly, really unwittingly, your fingers eventually slid from the collar of Senju’s blouse to her breasts and groped them almost in a primal instinct, they were so soft and cuddly, maybe they would remain so if they were between your lips.

you imagined it at that time more than you should have and a faint moan, almost a grunt actually, reverberated from your mouth to Senju's and it was instantaneous that she pushed her body against yours more and just then her hands fell on the bar of your shirt threatening to lift it up and take the situation to another level, further

❝ W-Wait! ❞, you pushed her back, breaking the kiss, your breathing ragged and unable to think straight as soon as Senju pressed lips eagerly against one side of your neck in light bites and licks, ❝ If someone comes in... the door... ❞, your sentence died down and formed a groan as soon as she slid her hands down your shirt and squeezed your waist now without any fabric stopping her

❝ I don't really care about that ❞, she whispered against your neck in a low voice dripping malice before scratching your back without much force with her short nails and you almost agreed, but fear spoke louder than desire

❝ I-In your room, Senju ❞, and before you even finished speaking Senju immediately pulled her hands out of the inside of your shirt slowly, placing them on your hips and staring at you, ❝ I want it in your room ❞, your eyes darted away from hers in embarrassment

minutes later the two of you were hurrying across campus with Senju leading you by the hand to her dorm room and it was a stroke of great luck that her roommate was not present at the moment

because seconds later, as soon as the door was locked from the inside, the younger of the Akaashi siblings was pressing you against her bed with lips over yours and hands groping every piece of your body they could find

at that end of the day, you eventually learned that Senju was too good with her mouth and your legs could barely walk straight back home, but honestly you didn't want to have to go through the embarrassing situation of having to say goodbye to her roommate in the middle of the hallway after having sex there

so, even with Senju trying to convince you that her roommate didn't care about this kind of thing, you preferred to go home and said goodbye to her with a little tender kiss.

the next day, you swore to God that you wouldn't bring it up with Senju because you thought that it was really just a delirium between the two of you and that the friendship would remain the same.

it was a cute mistake, just when you approached her for the first class of the day, Senju gave you a warm smile and leaned over to place a kiss on your cheek, making you embarrassed and look away

maybe you had a friend who wasn't just a friend now; in essence, your relationship remained almost the same, except that occasionally Senju would get too clingy and before you knew it she would be between your legs sucking and licking you in such a precise way that it was hard not to moan out loud

especially since most of the time when this happened, the two of you were in the college bathroom, in the library or in the amphitheater

when you least expected it, Senju was dragging you to a dinner party at the Akashi brothers' house on a Saturday and just as you arrived in front of their house wearing a nice, light dress, the one who answered the door was not her, but one of the two men living there.

and you thought it was Takeomi

❝ Takeomi? ❞

❝ You could say I'm a better version of him ❞, he was a tall man, pink hair extremely different from Senju's, two scars decorating each side of his lips, glowing orbs as clear as hers, you felt a little vulnerable in the face of his fixed attention that looked nowhere but your eyes, ❝ Y/N, right? Senju warned us that you were coming tonight, come in. ❞

you sat right between Senju and Haruchiyo not knowing that it would probably be the most suffocating night of your life

every time Senju put one hand on your knee, your body tensed and Haruchiyo's eyes slid from his sister's hand to her calm face and then to your embarrassed one

he knew his own sister, but still it seemed that they were working together to embarrass you in front of Takeomi

and damn Haruchiyo was so charismatic it was hard not to be charmed by the way he carried himself, he was bold, Senju was careful

you felt like you were betraying his little sister all that night because your attention was completely on Sanzu, and this feeling spread even more when he was willing to offer you one of his jackets because it was cold at the time you realized you needed to leave

when you got home, your body spent a long time lying on the bed in your room, the cologne impregnating Sanzu's coat entering your nostrils, knocking out your brain and making you think about him more than you should

and then your mind started to want to think about Senju just to keep the presence of her older brother out of there and inevitably you started to remember that very day when your fingers dug into her soft breasts and her mouth was busy on your neck

inevitably, a discomfort began to rise between your legs and reluctantly one of your hands reached beyond the hem of your dress so that you could slide fingers into your panties and begin to play with your clit and wet folds

you bit your lips to stop any incriminating sound from escaping and eventually you found yourself with the face sunk against Haruchiyo's jacket, nose still busy inhaling his cologne, back arched and angled back and your ass pulled up as high as your hips

your body was almost leaning over the bed and mind shamelessly began so much as to imagine that the fingers between yours legs were Senju's, would she like to see you like this? Completely exposed? Would Haruchiyo like that?

oh wait, why are you thinking about your little girlfriend's older brother at a time like this?

you gasped in frustration as you slid two fingers into your wet hole, beginning to move them in a desperate rhythm, your mind was torn between wanting Senju's presence there and Sanzu's and just as you came, eyes rolling up and your girlfriend's name falling from your lips as "Haruchiyo" resounded through your mind, the feeling of guilt washed over you like a torrential rain

you didn't have the courage or lacked the shame even to answer the later messages Senju had sent you that day

but she didn't need to know that there was someone else in your mind besides her when you masturbated, right? Right.

gradually, you started to pull away from Senju because the more you attended the Akashi brothers' house, the more you were attracted to Haruchiyo while also wanting to be by her side

it was a frenzy of exhausting feelings and she thought that you wanted nothing more to do with her and ironically also started to pull away

it got to a point where Senju was depressed without going back to the dorm because she preferred to sleep at home in her own cozy room and it was obvious that Haruchiyo just like Takeomi could see how closed off their little sister was

and you felt your heart almost jump out of your mouth when you found Haruchiyo on his motorcycle in front of the college entrance on a Monday

did you try to go around him and almost run out the other side of the campus? Yes, but he caught you in the middle by the sleeve of your shirt and then pulled you into the first empty room he found on the way.

❝ I-I have class... ❞, was the first thing you said as soon as he locked the door from the inside

❝ Missing one won't kill you ❞, he retorted before crossing his arms over his chest, ❝ So? What happened between you and my sister? She's been coming home more depressed every day ❞, you swallowed dryly.

❝ We... ah, Haruchiyo, you know, problems happen... ❞, you shrugged your shoulders in an effort to deflect and looked away from the floor

❝ And who’s the problem? You or her? ❞, Haruchiyo stood in front of you with a raised eyebrow and you wanted to answer: 'Oh, neither of us, you're the problem'

❝ I think I must be liking someone else and I didn't want to hurt her, she knows the person and... anyway, I have class... ❞, you tried to step to one side and one of his arms got between you and the door

❝ But if it's a girl, Senju would... ❞

❝ It's a boy ❞, you interrupted him and Haruchiyo stared at you for a few seconds before a wicked smile appeared on his lips

❝ Got it ❞, he leaned toward you with his eyes moving down from yours to your lips and then back to your orbs, ❝ What do you think about stopping by our house today? ❞

— Oh, come on, honey, you can do better than that, can't you? — Haruchiyo rubbing your exposed clit with the palm of his hand as two of his fingers continued to widen your pussy in conjunction with two more of Senju's.

And how did you end up in this situation? With Sanzu on one side and Senju on the other, two different pairs of hands exploring your body as if you were a porcelain doll and your nerves being overloaded with pleasure and overstimulation.

Oh, yes. Haruchiyo had made you miss the rest of your college classes and taken you by motorcycle to his house where Senju was lying on the couch in baggy pajamas looking like an abandoned kitten. And then he snitched on you to his little sister saying that maybe you liked him. At first you died of embarrassment and seconds later you nearly choked to death as the younger Akashi siblings' mouth covered yours in a needy kiss.

At the present moment you had your legs wide open, pussy wet and on display to be used by the two siblings in any way they wanted, shirt pulled up with your breasts also exposed with Senju sucking and licking them. It was the first time you were being touched by two pairs of hands and also the first one they were making you cum twice so fast. It was hard to pay attention to what Sanzu was saying, but every time he called you his slut, his whore, your walls contracted against those four fingers and you felt as if it wasn't possible for anyone to feel such pleasure from being degraded.

— You can give us one more, can't you? — The older brother leaned over to watch your face as he curved fingers inside you and you gasped desperately as wrapped fingers in Senju's hair while she was busy licking your breasts. — Just one more time and we'll let you go, ‘kay?

Yes, just one more time. One more time. One more time.

Your mind repeated this like a mantra until you came again. This time your whole body contracted and you felt as if there wasn't a shred of sanity left in your head. And then in the middle of your orgasm, you missed Senju's lips on your breasts. Why did she stop sucking them?

Your eyes looked down and shame burned inside you at being able to be in the middle of such a fucking lewd scene. Your pussy was squirting and his younger sister was busy licking your wet folds and thighs, collecting the juices leaking from your entrance while Haruchiyo held your cunt open between two fingers to ease her access. You almost felt yourself cumming again just looking at it.

— She’s such a sweet and obedient little doll. — Sanzu said, looking up to you with a satisfied smile. — But, the next time I touch you, I’ll break you.

— Not if I do it first. — Senju replied with her glossy lips.

and then, after that day, you had to fight with your own shame every time you going out with the two of them together.

honestly, you were so used to going out only with Senju that Haruchiyo had to remind you of his presence by grabbing your waist and being a caring man that he never needed to be because he was used to people falling at his feet immediately

the first time you went out with Sanzu, and only with him, the two of you went to a clothing store that he wanted to accompany you to after hearing you remark to Senju that you needed some new clothes

such a good future boyfriend, right?

wrong, he came with you to the store only to feel your body with his hands and make you feel ashamed among the clothes on sale

his fingers squeezing your ass, caressing your hips, slipping between your legs to rub your covered pussy

and then, when the two of you were walking home, Haruchiyo not only enjoyed watching you walk on trembling legs because of the discomfort of being sexually frustrated all afternoon, but he didn't even bother to relieve you when you got home

he just said: "Call Senju when your pretty little bunnycunt is aching until you can't take it anymore" before he smirked evilly, turned around, dropped you off at the front door and walked off nonchalantly

and you followed his orders like a good puppy, Senju answering your call almost immediately and guiding your movements against your dripping pussy over the phone

you didn't know that having someone guiding your actions through indirect speech, with no touch but your own, felt so good, your brain needed more of this stimulatio

as time went on, it became obvious who was in control of the situations in the room and who was taking the reins outside it: Haruchiyo and Senju respectively

it was unacceptable to Sanzu to have someone other than himself in control of two bodies, but his younger sister was willing to argue sometimes

which occasionally ended with Haruchiyo making his little sister suffocate between your legs and edging you for long minutes because he wouldn't let you cum easily either

and there were countless times when he made you take him from behind over his office desk at Bonten only to cum inside you and let you back into Senju's arms with your pussy leaking with his seed

Haruchiyo was icky and Senju, possessive

then, as already said here, you can already expect his little sister returning you to his arms with "belongs to Senju" written with semi-permanent marker over your crotch and an arrow pointing to your pussy

in the bedroom, it was almost a fight over who could give you the most pleasure and it felt so good to be between those two siblings while Sanzu's hands were busy massaging and squeezing your breasts and Senju's knee was between your legs rubbing your swollen clit

even with the silent competition between the two of them, somehow the relationship worked out, in the end, above the pride of the two of them was: you

so...

it wouldn't be hard to have the two of them playing at edging you on the subway, in the park... in the middle of class with vibrator controlled by Senju

or with Haruchiyo rubbing your clit while he was more distracted and busy answering a call from Rindou

oh, I almost forgot!

role play.

fuck, role play with Sanzu making you wear a schoolgirl uniform while Senju watches blushing, Haruchiyo fucking your thighs with you dressed like that and making you ask your "Sensei" not to do that to you

and if his little sister wanted to eat you out after he used your thighs as masturbation material, maybe she would need to get rid of the cum between your legs by picking it up with her fingers and pushing it into your mouth or maybe licking that area as well

Sanzu simply doesn't care.

but.

there is one thing they both converge in not caring about

you know what it is?

playing consensual non-con with you

what does it mean?

who knows, I'll leave it to all of your brains to think about it and maybe gonna elaborate on this sentence another day.

[imthebadguyyy]

Temporary Fix

Pairing - Lewis Hamilton x Reader (fem!F1 driver!reader)

Fandom - F1

Summary - You're the only female F1 driver, and you're damn good at your job. Oh, and you also have a friends with benefits relationship with a certain 7x World Champion.

Warnings - smut, best friends -> lovers, slight exhibitionism

A/N - you have the second merc seat in this, so Valterri isn't here : (( not proof read

Sometimes, you hated yourself for following your passion. Driving a F1 car had been your dream ever since you could remember. The long process from karting to F1 had been a difficult one. When you were seven, you had a go kart track manager that you couldn't race there because you were a girl. That had cemented your will to be the best you could be, and you had done it.

You had made it into a Mercedes F1 seat after spending two years in Williams. It was safe to say that you were one of the best drivers, with killer instinct and an excellent eye for overtakes. The likes of Mika Hakkinen, Niki Lauda, Jacques Villeneuve and others had praised your skills, naming you one of the best talents in the current driver pool.

But the glory, the fame, the praise, sometimes you wished you could just evaporate into thin air. This was one of those times. Press conferences sucked, they really did. Reporters and journalists thought they were entitled to ask you the most sexist of questions, brushing them off by saying it was 'just a simple question'. Sometimes the drivers you were paired up with defended you, like Seb or Pierre or Lewis or even Kimi. Sometimes people didn't want to say anything, or they just laughed it off or answered for you.

This was not one of those times. Charles was supposed to be your partner for the press conference, but he wasn't feeling too great so you were on your own. It had started off fine, with the usual questions like 'how are you feeling about the race?' 'is it gonna be a good weekend for Mercedes?' and then it had gone to 'Do you think you being the only woman here, you should have a special suit?' or 'Are you sure it's a good idea for you to continue another year in F1?' that's what had irked you off.

With a roll of your eyes and a shake of your head, you bit back the cutting response that had sprung to your lips, opting to simply look disapprovingly in silence, speaking more words in the quiet. Eventually, the conference was over, and you made your way out of the hall, deep in thought, so lost in your own world, you didn't notice when a pair of arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you into one of the nearby storage closets.

Your protest of "Hey!-" was cut off by a pair of lips pressing to yours, strong arms wrapping around your torso. "Heard you had a bad day with the press" Lewis mumbled against your lips, brow furrowing when you sighed and let your head drop onto his shoulder. "Yeah they're such fucking jerks" you replied, closing your eyes. "I'm sorry you have to deal with them every time" he continued, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "Eh, I mean I'd rather not talk about it" you continued, letting your fingers trace a pattern on his chest.

The silence in the room was disturbed by the ringing of Lewis's phone, making you jump softly. "Bono" he answered, looking down at the screen. "Pick it up"

"Hello?"

"Lewis, we're waiting for the meeting? And is Y/N with you?" Bono's voice rang through the tiny closet, as you turned to look at Lewis with wide eyes. Shit, the debrief. "Yeah, I'm coming! Oh, and I'll see if I can find Y/N" he replied, making you suppress a smile. The moment he put the phone down, the both of you burst into giggles, before he leaned down to press another kiss to your lips. "Well, we should go" he said, biting back a smile when you sighed, and cuddled into his shoulder. "Fine"

"But I'll make it up to you tonight baby" he continued, as a shiver ran down your spine. Oh yeah, you two had a friends with benefits situation going on too. No biggie

Except, well, you know you couldn't tell anyone, and you were definitely in love with each other, but I mean, of course it was better to be stupid and just simply refuse to acknowledge those feelings for each other.

♥︎☾☁︎

It had happened, when Lewis won his championship in Turkey. The team had thrown a (socially distant) party, and you had gotten just a little more drunk than you should have, but the champagne was flowing, tequila shots were being taken, beer was being chugged so you just jumped in and had a few more glasses of wine than you should have, and participated in a few rounds of shots.

Before you had known, a pair of hot lips had crashed onto yours, and your arms had tightly held onto a broad pair of shoulders, as the pair of you had stumbled up to your hotel room, crashing backwards onto the bed. Your drunken mind had been sober enough to recognise the 'Still I Rise' tattoo across his back when he tugged his shirt off.

At the same time, Lewis had recognised your face, heart speeding up ever so slightly because holy shit he was making out with you, and he really, really liked you. Before he knew it, your dress was down to your knees, and his shirt was a rumpled mess on the floor, your friendship gone far beyond repair, but only in the best way possible.

The next morning, you had let out a groan when the sunshine had flashed into your eyes, rolling over to find Lewis lying next to you, his arm wrapped around your waist as he slept peacefully. Your heart rate had sped up, and you had shot up, scaring the living day light out of Lewis. He had awoken with a start, confusion present in his brown eyes, before realization had sunk in, and he had shot out of bed, wrapping one of the towels around his lower body.

But before the two of you could get awkward, he had strutted over to you, grabbing your face in his hands before pulling you in for a kiss that made you feel weak and light headed.

And then the both of you came to the conclusion that you two wanted something loose and flexible, something fun with no commitment.

But was it what you wanted?

♥︎☾☁︎

Sometimes debriefs could drag on. And on. And on. Eventually, the engineers left the room, leaving only Toto, Lewis, Bono, Angela, James and yourself in the room. Over the years, it had become like a family for you, and you loved them to absolute bits. The mood in the room had changed, as you all joked around for a while.

Watching from the other side of the room, Lewis couldn't help the smile that etched itself onto his face, when he saw you throw your head back with laughter at something Toto said, inhaling sharply when your neck came into clear view, a sudden urge to mark you up settling in on his body.

It was a thrill, to think of how many times you had come undone on his fingers and his tongue, how many nights you begged for him to fill you up with his cock. It was a thrill to think of all the times he had cried your name out in ecstasy while your tongue worked wonders around him. And yet, here you were, acting as if you two were just best friends, not two people who could barely keep their hands off of each other.

Just two nights ago, he had made you scream his name so loud, the person the next room, who just happened to be Daniel, had not let him hear the end of it. Thankfully, the Aussie hadn't realized it was you in his bed. Two nights ago, he had made you see stars, and after that you had rewarded him with the performance of his life to Nights Like This by Kehlani.

Snapping back to reality when a slight poke was applied to his shoulder, Lewis looked over to see Angela looking at him with a slight smirk on her face. He strongly suspected that the woman definitely had some sort of inkling about the both of you. How ? No idea. But she was a crazy smart woman, and was bound to have figured out that he was seeing someone.

It didn't help that atleast half the people on the grid had at some point teased him, telling him the both of you were made for each other. It was like the universe was pushing the both of you to be together, and he kept pushing it away

"So are we feeling confident going into this weekend?" Toto asked, grabbing his attention from the smirking blonde.

"Yup!" Your cheery answer elicited a smile from everyone in the room. "Yeah I think so" he said, watching as you flashed him a quick smile. "Okay, then, I think we're done for now. Any questions?" Bono asked, scanning a data sheet in front of him. "No, i'm good" you replied, reaching over to grab your phone. "Yeah me too" Lewis said, far too concerned with what was going to happen later that night to pay his full attention to Bono.

"Okay then. We'll see you tomorrow"

And with that they departed. Before Lewis could follow you, a hand grabbed his and he turned to see Angela, Toto and Bono looking at him expectantly. "So whose got you all distracted and flustered?" Angela asked, earning a smirk from Toto. "What? No one" he replied, slapping himself mentally for being all day dreamy during a meeting. "Oh really? I'm willing to bet you didn't hear anything I said during the meet except the last bit" Bono said, smiling when his driver got visibly flustered.

"So do we know her?" Angela continued, watching him closely for any giveaway reactions. "How would you know her if I don't like anyone?" Lewis said, hoping to God it didn't come across as awkward as it sounded.

"Never said you liked anyone. I'm saying you're in love with someone" Angela said, watching as her friend's eyes widened in shock, and he shook his head profusely. "Okay are you on something? I'm just gonna head back to the hotel now" he murmured, confused, and somewhat taken aback by her bluntness.

Ignoring the looks on the others faces, he made his way out to the paddock, trying his hardest to make sense of his feelings. Was a casual relationship with you what he wanted? He wanted so much more than that.

Lewis knew, deep down in his heart, that he wanted to hold your hand in public, and kiss you right on the lips in front of everyone when you shared a podium. He wanted to be able to call you his, to not just spend the night with you, but to spend all his days with you. But you didn't want that.

Or so he thought.

♥︎☾☁︎

Back at the hotel, Lewis busied himself with working out, trying to push all his frustrations out via the workout. He knew that you were going to turn up in the night, and he looked so damn forward to seeing you each night, but god, he hated it when you left in the morning. Every morning when your warm body slipped out from under the sheet, his arms would tighten for a moment, before your giggle would bring him back to reality and he'd hastily draw back, smiling at you. His favourite moment was when he came to your hotel room in Spain. In the morning, he had woken up before you, and before leaving, he had pressed a little kiss to your forehead. The most gorgeous smile had curled onto your lips, and his heart had melted into a little puddle when you rested your cheek on his hand

And then in Monaco, when he had taken you to his apartment, you had woken up before him, and he had woken up to the sight of you bringing a tray of pancakes and fruits, followed by a soft kiss to his cheek.

It was those moments he cherished, but it was those same moments that confused him.

His train of thought was broken when a knock echoed in the room, as he walked over to the door, opening it to find : you

"Hey" you greeted him, walking in and shedding your jacket. "Hey" he replied, reaching for a towel to wipe the sweat off of his body. "Wow um, is this a bad time?" You asked, eyes trailing down his abs, watching as his body glistened in the fading sun light. "No its fine, I just finished my workout. You hungry?" He continued, biting back a smirk when he saw your eyes roaming his body.

"W-what? Yeah, i, um, suppose - yeah" you murmured, mind already far down the gutter.

"For food darling, not for sex" he said, making you blush and let out a small gasp. "Lewis!" You chided, shoving him softly. "You know you were thinking it" he mumbled, pushing you up against the wall. "Yeah I was" you whispered back, yanking him forward by his shoulders, slamming your lips against his.

Lifting you up from the waist, he pressed his body further into yours, one of his hands wandering down to your ass, squeezing harshly, earning a moan from your lips. Taking the opportunity, he pushed his tongue into your mouth, groaning when you let your core grind against him.

Leading you towards the bed, he stopped in confusion when you stopped him, maneuvering him towards the balcony. "Want you to fuck me against the window or in the balcony" you gasped out, earning a moan from him.

"Right where anyone could see us, hmm? Didn't know you were into that baby" he growled, grabbing your earlobe in between his teeth, earning an airy gasp from you, as the wetness threatened to seep down your legs.

"Mmhmm" was all you could muster, your mind so clouded with desperation you couldn't form a single coherent thought. The only thing you were aware of was that only Lewis could make you feel the pleasure you wanted to feel, only he would take you to that little piece of heaven, only he would hold your hand and fuck you into oblivion, and he would still be there to clean you down with a sponge softly.

"If you insist"

Grabbing you roughly, he slammed your body against the massive hotel room window, ripping the mercedes team shirt you were wearing off of your quivering form, letting it drop to the floor, before he hooked his fingers into the material of your jeans, tugging the denim down your legs

With a soft groan, you pulled his nike shorts down his legs, moaning when his cock came into view, the throbbing in between your legs making you whimper, arousal and need growing tenfold in your tummy.

"Please" you whispered, meeting his eyes, so he could see the pure desperation in your eyes. "Please what?" He said, a certain roughness you hadn't heard before creeping into his voice

"Please fuck me" you moaned, gasping when he brought his hand up to your neck, squeezing ever so slightly. "Oh trust me doll, i will. But first, i want to have you dripping wet and ready for me. I want to make you cum on my fingers, so you're wet and ready for my cock. Do you want my fingers princess?" he continued, feeling his arousal grow when you whimpered and whined.

"Words baby girl. Or I'll just leave you here with your pathetic fingers. I bet you can't even reach all those spots inside you that make you scream, when your tiny little fingers try to please yourself. I bet you just feel like sinking into yourself, but the thought of my fingers keeps you awake. Do you do that, sweet girl? Do you pretend your fingers are mine when you're touching yourself, hmm?'

When you didn't answer, he delivered a smack to your ass, groaning when you moaned at the pleasurable sting. "Yes" you whispered abashed.

"Don't be shy baby. Its okay. I know you feel so good when I love on you. I can see it when you scream my name" and with that, his pointer finger began circling your clit, rubbing circles around it before shifting so he was rubbing the sensitive bud directly.

Your moans of ecstasy were music to his ear, a smile gracing his features, as he let his middle finger slip into you, thrusting it in and out of you. Your soft cry of "fuck" cracked when he shoved his pointer into you as well, scissoring them in and out of you

"Oh fucking hell Lew-" "Shh my darling, i didn't say you could talk, did I?" He said, fingers working at an indescribably quick pace, as the knot in your tummy tightened and threatened to loosen. "I'm gonna-" "go ahead baby" he murmured, using his pointer and thumb to pinch your clit roughly, as you came around his fingers with a scream

"Good girl. You wanna put that pretty little mouth to use somewhere else?" he asked, watching as you dropped to your knees eagerly, (just like I would do irl) reaching up to rest your hands on his hips.

"Someone's eager to suck my cock hmm? Be a good girl for me, and don't waste time" he ordered, a shudder running down his body when your nails traced the veins on his cock, and then as they reached downwards, your thumb circling his tip, collecting his pre cum on your finger. Then you shoved your thumb in your mouth, swirling your tongue around it, before sucking softly on your digit, rolling your eyes back. You were snapped back to reality when Lewis roughly yanked your head up, pure arousal clouding his pupils

"You better use your mouth right now, or i swear i will leave you here alone to pleasure yourself" he threatened, moaning when you took his tip into your mouth at once, sucking softly before swirling your tongue upwards.

The feel of your tongue on him made him buck his hips into your mouth, the unexpected movement pushed him quite far back in your mouth, looking up at him, you hollowed out your cheeks, taking more and more of his cock into your mouth, the sounds he was making above you fuelling you. You took him as far back as you could without gagging, as a strangled moan of "Fuck Y/N!"left his lips. He grabbed your hair, tugging upwards, the tingling on your scalp sending shockwaves of pleasure through you. "Fuck baby, you're gonna have to stop now, I really want to fuck you now" he growled out, pulling you up before pushing you towards to balcony railing

Lining up with your entrance, he watched as you let out a shaky breath, eyes falling shut, as you clenched in anticipation.

"Are you sure you want this Y/N?" he asked, eyes searching your face for any sign that he was being too rough, or that you didn't want what was coming next

"Turning your head around to face him, you pulled him in for a passionate kiss. "I've never been more sure baby" was your affirming reply.

Kissing you back with the same fervour, he slowly pushed into you from behind, the both of you groaning in sync when your walls enveloped him. "fuck you feel so good darling. So fucking tight" lewis moaned, making you moan as well as the pleasure coursed through your veins.

Reaching around you, Lewis rubbed your clit while he continued to snap his hips against yours, making your breasts bounce against your chest, your hands gripping the balcony railing for dear life. Thank god it was dark.

He continued to rub and pinch you clit, before swiping his fingers through your wet folds. Then he shoved his fingers into your mouth, prompting you to suck on them

"Be an angel and suck on my fingers for me" he growled, moaning when your mouth eagerly closed around his fingers, sucking them with fervour.

Snapping his hips into you desperately, his hands encircled your waist, pulling you back to meet his thrusts, swishing his fingers around in your mouth. "Fuck baby thats it, i'm gonna cum" he groaned, capturing your earlobe in between his teeth, moaning when you clenched down on him again

"Oh fucking hell-" with a moan, he came into you, pulling his fingers out of your mouth to rub your clit again, sighing with satisfaction when you came around him with a scream of "Lewis!"

Panting, he dragged you back to the bed, both of you collapsing into the covers.

Your chest rising and falling rapidly, you curled up into his chest, letting your head droop onto his shoulder, as his fingers traced his initials onto your hip.

"Well princess, we seem to have a problem here" he said, as you snapped your head up to look at him in confusion.

"I think i'm in love with you"

♡☾☁︎

A/N - part 2? Also feel free to drop a comment, i'd really appreciate it 🤍 thank you so much for reading 🤍

[adezahnae]

While We’re on a Little Trip (Part 2)

A/N: Here is Part 2 of While We’re on a Little Trip!! Enjoy😊❤️

Warnings: Smut, morning fuzzy sex, oral (male and female receiving), cursing, slight fighting, slut-shaming, Y/n snaps XD

Tagged People: @ahgasearmyfan @whoreforshuaaa

Your POV

Today is the day...I finally graduated from High School! I jumped out of bed and ran to the closet. I heard Jaehyun stir awake. “Princess?” He called in his morning voice. I bit my lip. “Good Morning!!” I replied in a sing-song voice. He chuckled. “I’m surprised you’re still able to walk.” He said. I smiled and went back to him, crawling on his lap. “Maybe it’s just you getting too old for me..” I said teasing him.

He quirked an eyebrow. “I’m getting old?” He repeated. I nodded my head biting my lip. He held onto my hips and pushed me down on the bed, crawling on top of me. “Jae! What are you doing?” I squealed. “You think Daddy’s getting old?” He asked kissing my neck. I giggled. “Noo! I apologize!” I said. “Daddy’s gonna make you pay for that...” He whispered in my ear. “But I have to get ready!” I whined. “It’s only 10:34, your graduation doesn’t start until 12.” He said.

“But I’ll take forever!” I tried to protest. “I can wait. You’re gonna pay.” He said with a teasing smile. He traveled down to in between my legs and spread them. He took of my underwear and threw them behind him. I giggled and then let out a moan as he began kissing on my nub. His tongue flicked it and I arched my back. “Daddy..mmm...” I moaned.

He slipped his tongue past my folds and made patterns. I felt him place two fingers inside. I gripped his hair. “Yesss!!! S-So good!!” I moaned. He then pulled away and turned me around my stomach. He gave me a smack on my butt making me jerk forward with a nasty smile. He lifted up my hips and pushed inside me. He started off at a hard pace. I gripped the sheets and yelled out in pleasure. “Is Daddy still old?” He asked me as he spanked me. I shook my head. “No! Daddy’s not old!” I said.

“Are you gonna take it back then?” He asked me. I nodded. “Uh Huh! Ohhhh my gosh I’m close!” I cried. He went faster and I released on him. He pulled out and kissed my back. He landed a hard smack that made a tear form in my eyes. He seen it and kissed my cheek. “Now apologize.” He said. “Sorry Daddy.” I said. He pulled me back up and kissed my lips. “Daddy forgives you.” He said. I smiled and pushed him against the pillows. “Can I finish you off Daddy?” I asked. He nodded. “Yes you may...” I took him inside of my mouth, still tasting myself on him.

He groaned and ran his fingers through my hair. I went faster and sucked harder. He threw his head back. “Good job Princess..” He whispered. I smiled and continued to give him head. He began to force down my head at a fast pace, while he’s groaning. “Right there Princess, don’t stop...” He whispered. I felt him getting bigger in my mouth, signaling that he’s close. Just as he was about to release, his phone rung. He groaned out in annoyance and grabbed his phone.

He rolled his eyes at the caller ID. “Who is it?” I asked. “Your mom.” He said. “She still has your number?” I asked sitting up. “During our divorce, I was told to still keep contact with her until you graduate from school. You can keep going she’s not important.” He explained. I gave him a funny face and shrugged my shoulders. Why would I pass up on giving this man head? “Hello?” He answered while leaning his head back, trying to keep in his moans.

“Hello Jae. What are you doing?” She asked. “I’m getting head, why?” He replied bluntly making me giggle. “You’re still fucking my daughter huh?” She sighed. “Yes now what is it that you want Mia?” He asked. “I just miss you but you’re still there fucking my daughter like the slut she is!” She yelled. I frowned at her words. His hand came to my cheek and caressed it. “It’s okay.” He mumbled. I smiled and kissed his hand, continuing to suck him off. He groaned out and placed a hand on my head.

“I hate you so much...” She said. “That makes two of us...fuck baby don’t stop, just like that.” He moaned. I heard my mom groaned out and hang up the phone. He hung up as well and threw his phone on the side table and leaned his head back. He finally released in my mouth and I swallow. I pulled away and looked up at him. He gave me a kiss on my forehead. “Thank you Princess..” He said. I nodded. “You’re welcome..” I said. “Go and get ready. We have to be there by 11:30.” He said. I nodded and went to go and get my dress and graduation gown from the closet.

I sat in my seat for the graduation, nervous as ever. It was a good type of nervous. I was one of the students who were next in line for my diploma. My group finally made it up stage and I seen that Jaehyun was in the crowd looking at me. “You’re beautiful.” He mouth to me. I smiled and nod slightly. “Miss. Jung Y/n.” The Principal called out. I heard everyone clap and cheered for me as I accepted my diploma. I seen that Jaehyun was recording me while he clapped.

I smiled and waved at the camera. He smiled back and waved at me. “She will now like to give a speech.” The principal said. I went up to the podium and cleared my throat. “To everyone here today, getting their diploma, I’d like to say that we made it! Through the struggles of meeting deadlines, the feeling of being at the bottom because we couldn’t get a grade up, and mainly, the feeling of just wanting to give up. We made it here, to this stage, with the help of ourselves, our parents, our mind, and our teachers. I know many of you know my dad, Mr. Jung. He also one of the number one teachers here. He helped me through it all, not because I’m his daughter but because he cares. He cared for all the students that he had taught and even the ones in the entire school. He wouldn’t of build the school if he didn’t care about the students. He gave me the power I need to push through it all, even when him and my mom we’re going through a divorce. He kept my head up. He did the same for all of us, we must do the same for him in the future. Why? Because we are the future. Class of 2020 is the future...Thank you all..”

I bowed to the crowd as the clapped and cheered loudly. I looked up at Jaehyun to see him with a smile on his face. I blew him a kiss and he blew one back. “I love you.” He mouthed. “I love you too!” I mouthed back. I took my way down the stairs and back to my seat.

“CONGRATULATIONS!” I heard friends, students, and my family yelled as I walked through the door of me and Jaehyun’s house. I gasped and covered my mouth. I squealed and hugged Jaehyun who was behind me. “Thank you soo much Daddy! Truly!” I cried. He hugged me back and comfort me. “It’s okay, Princess. You did it, not me.” He said. I lifted my head up and he wiped my tears. He kissed my forehead and smiled at me. “Go and get ready for your party!” He said. I ran up the stairs and went to our closet to pull out my dress. I got dressed in it and went back downstairs to enjoy my party. Everything was perfect, it was amazing. I was having such a good time with everyone and getting presents from everybody. I looked over to see my mom, storming in the door. She went straight to Jaehyun.

Jaehyun’s POV

I was enjoying everyone here. They were all having a good time with Y/n. Is it bad to say I want to marry her? She’s everything I could have asked for and she means everything to me. She looked so beautiful in her dress and it twinkled in the light, making her only stand out. I pulled out my phone to look at rings. I’m not gonna marry her just yet, just a promise ring to see how she will take it. As I was looking I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around to see that it was Mia.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked. “I want to talk to you! Like I said earlier!” She said. “Y/n has now graduated, we do not need to speak no more.” I said. “I’m taking my daughter back.” She said. I scoffed. “No the fuck you won’t.” I said. “Yes I am!” She yelled. “After you called her a slut earlier?” I asked. “You put that girl through so much shit Mia! Do you not get that or are you just dumb?” I exclaimed. “I’m taking my daughter from you. She’s mine NOT YOURS!” Mia yelled.

Everyone in the house stopped what they were doing and turned to us. “Mia, Y/n is mine. To be honest, she’s none of ours. She is turning 20 in a week!” I said. “How is she yours?! You were married into our family! She doesn’t have your blood!” She yelled. “Remember that paper you told me about? And how quick you signed it? Mia, you signed your rights away. She isn’t your daughter anymore.” I said. I heard Y/n gasp. “Y- You did what?” She whispered. I turned around to see tears welling up in her eyes.

“Y/n it’s alright. I’m here.” I comfort her. I couldn’t stand to see her broken like this. “Stop comforting that slut!” Mia yelled. “MIA! WATCH YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!” I yelled. “To everyone who doesn’t know, Jaehyun is fucking Y/n! Yep! She was just sucking his dick earlier when I called!” Mia said to everyone. “What?!” I heard Y/n’s grandmother say. “Yes this is their house! They live together as boyfriend and girlfriend! This is not a daughter and father relationship! Y/n is a slut! She’s been fucking him ever since me and Jae we’re first engaged!” Mia yelled out to everyone. “Just how you were messing around with Doyoung?” Y/n said pulling away from me. “YOU WRONG JAE BEFORE HE WRONGED YOU! AND NOW YOU’RE HERE TRYING TO TURN THE SHIT ON US! JAEHYUN TOLD ME THAT WHEN YOU WE’RE ON YOUR LITTLE TRIP, YOU WERE FUCKING YOUR BOSS, DOYOUNG! AND NOW HE’S LEFT YOU AND YOU’RE PREGNANT WITH HIS CHILD BY 8 MONTHS! YOU ARE THE SLUT! I’M SICK AND TIRED OF BITCHES LIKE YOU!” She yelled.

“Watch how you talk to me! I’m you-“ “WHAT MY MOTHER!? YOU AREN’T SHIT TO ME BUT A FUCKING ANNOYANCE!” Y/n yelled getting closer. Mia slapped Y/n across the face making everyone gasp. “Mia!” I yelled. Before I could do anything, Y/n slapped her back and punched her in the face making her fall to the floor. Mia gasped holding her cheek. Y/n was about hit her again until I pulled her back. “Stop it Y/n! She’s pregnant.” I said. She back away with a tear stained face. “Get out....GET OUT!” Y/n yelled while she held onto me and sobbed.

“Get your ass out of here and do not come back again..” I said. Mia got up and left the house. “I hate you all, fuck you all! I hope you know that this isn’t over Jae!” She yelled getting inside her car. Y/n then teared away from me and ran upstairs to our bedroom. I turned to everyone. “Everyone, please get your things and go. Don’t worry about cleaning up, I’ll do it all myself.” I said. People shook their heads.

“We don’t hate you if that’s what your thinking. Y/n is an adult and if she wants to be with you then so be it. You’re all she has. Go up to her and comfort her. We’ll clean up.” Her grandmother said. Many other people began to agree. I smiled. “Thank you all, you are the best..” I said. Her grandmother nodded and started to get things up.

I went upstairs to our bedroom and knocked on the door. “Baby?” I called. She turned around and ran to me and hugged me.

Your POV

She really did this....she did this...why? What did I do deserve this? I didn’t do anything to her, but she hurts me in this way? I heard a soft knock on the door. “Baby?” I heard Jaehyun called. I instantly turned around and ran to him. I hugged him while I cried. “Shhh...” He said while walking me into the room and closing the door with his foot. We sat on the bed and held each other. “What about everyone else? What about the party and-“ “Hush Princess..it’s alright.” He whispered while kissing the top of my head. “But everyone knows! What about!-“ He cut me off with a kiss to the lips. “They accept, Y/n...” He said with a smile. “What?!” I exclaimed. He nodded his head.

“They don’t care..” He said. I smiled and hugged him again. He placed his hand on my cheek but I winced away. “Oh I’m sorry...hold on.” He said. He got up and got a cool rag. He placed it on my cheek and kissed my forehead. “I know it hurts but it’ll go away soon.” He said. I looked in his eyes. “Jae...” I whispered. “Hm?” He replied. “I love you...so much...” I said. He smiled and kissed my lips again. I pulled him in closer and we began to make out.

He pulled away, stopping me from going any further. “There’s people down stairs.” He said. “And we have to get going soon.” He said taking the rag away and walking off to put it up. “W-Where are we going?” I asked. He chuckled. “Did you forget our trip to Hawaii that quick?” He asked, rephrasing my words from yesterday. I laughed and went to the closet. “Oh..the party had my mind all scrambled and I forgot.” I said. “It’s alright. Get your bags so we can get ready.” He said. I nodded. “I’ll go back down stairs to tell everyone that we’re le-“ “No.” I said cutting him off.

“No?” He repeated. “Can we go together?” I asked. He smiled and held out his hand. “Come on..” He said. I took his hand and walked back down the stairs. “Everyone, I’d like to let you know that me and Y/n are leaving in 10 minutes. We thank you all for coming and enjoying your time here.” Jaehyun said. He turned to me. “You want to say anything?” He asked. “Thank you all. And my apologies about my m- I mean Mia..she’s still not accepting the fact that she’s divorced with this man.” I said.

“You mean your man?” My grandmother said. “I-“ “We all know! It’s alright to say! We accept you all the way!” A student said. I smiled at their words. “T-Thank you! It means a lot..” I said. Jaehyun kissed my cheek and smiled at me. “Thank you! Come on let’s go and get everything in the car.” Jaehyun said. We went back to retrieve our bags. We got inside our car and waved my grandmother goodbye. She said that she would house sit for us.

[unfinishedsweetsimphony]

salvation and sanctuary

[requested by anon m]

~Sapnap x Reader, SMP!Wilbur Soot x Reader~

Summary: In this world, your soulmate is the one who will save you from death. Also, in this world, the gods of destiny thought it would be funny to make the soulmate connection Minecraft themed. 

Genre: SoulmateAU! Fluff, elements of hurt/comfort, smudge of angst. Headcannon format

Pronouns: They/them (Gender-neutral)

Warnings: Near-death situations, short reader, captial letters and cursing.

[a/n: THAT’S IT IM SIMPING FOR M! Thank you so much for requesting and supporting my work. It truly means so much to me. I’ve decided to do hybrid of bullet points and blurbs for this one because I wanted to have some ~variety~ in the format of the soulmate fics. Additionally, I did a mix of both by doing ‘irl’ Sapnap and SMP/c!Wilbur Soot. I hope that’s okay with you, m. I hope you enjoy, have a lovely day <3 Edit: Sapnap expressed discomfort of fanfictions including his first name so I changed it!]

╒═════ ▬ ★✦★ ▬ ═════╕

                  Sapnap

╘═════ ▬ ★✦★ ▬ ═════╛

★ It all began at a PC café.

★ (Y/N) was a regular since it was a nice change from their all-too-familiar room and the coffee and pastries were the best.

★ On the other hand, this is Sapnap’s first time at a PC café. 

★ Usually, he would just use the setup he has at home but he figured that he might as well try it at least once.

★ Plus the café was having special where first-timers get their first hour and snacks free

★ And who was he to decline free shit?

★ (Y/N) and Sapnap crossed paths when he sat behind them playing Minecraft, (Y/N) noticed, and (Y/N) offered to join him.

★ The two bonded over the game and played together until they were out of money and remembered “wait, we could just use the pcs we have at home and keep this party going”

★ They get up to head to their respective homes and that’s when the height difference was noticed.

★ “Oh my god that’s fucking adorable.”, Sapnap thought.

★ Cue the eyebrow raise from (Y/N)

★ “Shit I said that out loud.”

★Both of them continue to hang out as friends for months.

★ One of these hang-outs, they were going down a really crowded sidewalk.

★ They had to hold hands so they didn’t lose each other. (cha cha real smooth)

★ But in a particularly dense part of the mass of people, (Y/N) was pushed out into the street.

‘Who’s idea was it to go here? We should’ve gone at a different time and avoided all this-’, Sapnap’s thoughts were interrupted by the lack of warmth in his left hand. ‘Shit, where’s (Y/N)?’, Sapnap panics and tries to crane his neck to find them in the crowd, ‘Damn them and their smallness.’

Finally, he sees them getting pushed around and makes his way towards them. Nick was almost to their side when (Y/N) gets pushed out into the road. They stumble and fall pretty bad, hitting their head. Nick decides to forgo ‘Excuse me’s and ‘Sorry’s; he just needs to get to them before they get hurt further.

(Y/N) manages to sit up, disgruntled and loopy; not registering the speeding car headed their way. ‘Oh no. Move. Move. Fuck, fuck, shit, shit’, Sapnap’s body goes into autopilot and he lunges forward, grabbing (Y/N) to his chest, the inertia causing him to fall back on to the sidewalk. “Holy fuck, that was close.’, he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, “Are you alright? We should get to the doctor.”

★ Right then, it happened.

★The soulmate connection within clicked.

★ After a visit from to the hospital, they decided to make it official with a cute date at home since (Y/N) needed their rest.

★ “What’s up, what’s so funny?” “This is the greatest day of my life and I almost got fucking run over today.”

╔════◈◉◈════╗

  SMP!Wilbur Soot

╚════◈◉◈════╝

◉ (Y/N) was Eret’s sibling and has known Wilbur since the drug van. 

◉ At first they were just an apprentice trying to make a quick buck and in for a good time, but soon they fell head over feels for Wilbur.

◉ So when Wilbur proposed to start a nation, (Y/N) was right by his side.

◉ As for Wilbur, he has always been fond of (Y/N).

◉ He always admired their work ethic and loyalty and fell in love with their daring spirit and clever mind.

◉ The two can usually be seen making drugs, working on political documents, and teasing each other about their height.

◉ “Will, I swear to god if you rest your arm on my head one more time I’m gonna-” “Oh what’s that? I’m sorry I can’t hear you from all the way up here.”

◉ That earned him a swift kick to the back of the knees which made him topple like a Jenga tower. Tommy nearly burst his lung laughing.

◉ Together they were the feared duo, an unstoppable force on the battlefield and on the podium.

◉ Skip to to the moment where Eret has his hand over the button.

“To think, we were family. That I trusted you, believed you, and defended you!”, (Y/N) looked at Eret with such disdain and hurt that he flinched. “I’m sorry...”, he began, “It was never meant to be.”

BOOM!

What was supposed be one crater turned into a minefield of explosions. Wilbur was knocked back, but (Y/N) was quick to act and pulled Wilbur away from the other blasts. Tommy and Tubbo were already running, with Tommy leading the way. (Y/N) caught Sapnap aiming a crossbow in Wilbur’s direction and threw themself into the way, much to Wilbur’s dismay.

Their health quickly dropped, but they fought through the pain and turned to fire back at Sapnap. Their arrow hit the mark and distracted him enough to get away.

In the bunker Tommy made, they took a moment to heal themselves. Wilbur finished wrapping up the bandages around (Y/N)’s back and sat down next to them. “Thank you.”, he handed them some bread, “For saving me back there.” (Y/N) gladly accepted the food and gave him a genuine smile, “Hey, I’m with you ‘till the end of the line. Don’t worry about it. I know you would do the same for me”

“Hey guys, I think you should check the chat.”, Tubbo interjected.

The two did just that and they saw it.

WilburSoot has just earned the achievement [Guess I fell for you]

melodious(Y/N) has just earned the achievement [Guardian Angel]

[sirisuorionblack]

Wonders in the Rain

Remus Lupin x CEO!Reader

Summary - After being unemployed for very long Remus reluctantly allowed his best friend to find him a job as the PA of her boss. And he would forever be grateful to her for that.

Warnings - Metions of death. 

A/N   This is also a fic written for @leydileyla 's 1K followers celebration. And now this fic is by far the longest I’ve written with 4K words. So, enjoy!

You groaned, throwing your pen onto the pile of papers and stood up from the confinement of your study desk and slowly walked towards the coffee machine to fill in the third cup of coffee since the morning and it wasn’t even past noon.

It was difficult and exhausting being the CEO of the most renowned company at the age of 21. It was certainly something you hadn’t expected when two years ago your mother said it would be you who continues her legacy and take care of the company in her death bed. You weren’t ready when you were announced the CEO right after the funeral, the grief inside you never had time to dissipate.

You remember so vividly as you stood in the corner of the room, dressed in all black, eyes swollen as the aftermath of losing your world overnight took a toll on you. Your little brother, at the mere age of 11 looked up at you with wide eyes unknown of what was going on as he clung to you, tightly and you held him as tight, afraid you would lose him just as you lost…the man who the cause for the illness of your mother. Her husband, your father, whose name spurred rage in you as you recollected him arguing with your mother and leaving you and your brother to watch as your mother collapsed onto the floor. 

You smiled pleasantly as your eyes fell on the beautiful woman you had the privilege to call your mother. It was her last picture. Your brother and you were huddled in her arms, a wide smile on your face as your mother kissed your forehead, your eye closed as your brother looked at you, his head thrown back as laughter engulfed him. It was like the time was frozen and you would rather be that girl - carefree and filled with happiness than…you, life so dark you can’t see anything except for the little shine that you so dearly held close to you in protection - your brother.

That was all in your life. Brother and company. Nothing in the orbit of love. It disgusted you ever since you saw your father leave. You despised that feeling of giving someone so much of yourself only for them to dust it off as though it was nothing but a speck of dirt. 

“Ms (L/N)?” your trail of thoughts were interrupted by a sweet voice. You composed yourself, placing the photograph on the table and turned around. It was Lily Evans, an employee of yours who you could very well say was close to you. She knew everything about you, from what you do first in the morning to your drastic sleeping schedule. She almost knew how you would react in every situation yet you couldn’t label your relation with her.

“Yes,” you turned around, avoiding her eyes. She stepped into your lavish office the only person ever having the privilege of being allowed to.

“So, there is this really good friend of mine-” she started with a feared voice only to be cut off by you.

“Evans, please, if this is some sort of a recommendation-” You said and paused as she hurriedly said, “No, no, no. I mean, yes, but he really deserves it,” 

“Fine, what is it?” you said, sighing as you once again took a seat behind your messy desk. 

“I’ve heard people say things about you never having a PA and my friend is actually, I mean, would actually love to take that position,” she said awkwardly. You smirked and leaned back on your chair, looking at her intently as she blushed under your intense gaze. 

You shook your head, “Fine, but I want to meet him and then I will decide,” 

You watched as Lily’s was brightened and she nodded enthusiastically, “Just an hour and he will be here to meet you,” 

You hesitated thinking of your schedule before she said, “You are free the next few hours,”

“And how do you know that?” you asked, raising your eyebrows. 

“I just heard,” she said, looking at the soles of her shoes. 

You rolled your eyes, “No wonder I can’t keep any secrets,” 

You were known for many conspiracy theories and gossips. It was difficult at the start, many breakdowns later you were broken enough that all those knives passed right through the holes, never affecting you. 

You were not excited about the arrival of Lily’s friend and time passed so quickly that before you knew it there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” you mumbled, too endorsed in your work to even look up or comprehend the sudden presence. 

“M-Ms (L/N),” you heard a deep voice say. The voice was new and one you had never heard of and your head automatically whipped to look at the source, startling the poor guy before you. Scars were littering his face and had a failed attempt at masking the exhaustion. He looked weak although there was a pleasant aura surrounding him, buzzing around him with energy. 

He played with the hem of his denim jacket, shifting from one foot to another. His ripped jeans and slightly dirty shirt telling he wasn’t prepared for this meet. He gulped, “My name is Remus, uh, Remus Lupin,” 

You blinked and stood up from your chair, “Who-why are you here?”

Remus’ eyes widened, “I-um, I, Lily told you wanted to see me. I mean, like wanted to meet me before you gave the, uh, the job,” 

For the first time, Remus saw you smile. Remus always admired you, the power and authority that radiated off you was bewildering when considered you were just 21, a year younger than himself and a successful CEO while here he was jobless and wandering around aimlessly. 

Of course, it hurt that ego instilled in him but he wasn’t gonna lose the opportunity of having some money in his hand to pay off his bills. Working as a PA to a girl younger than you wasn’t often considered a better one, and his mother told that very thing when he had called her minutes ago. 

You chuckled, “Take a seat,” you sat down and beckoned him to a chair placed on the opposite side of the desk. You closed the cap of your pen as Remus awkwardly walked towards the desk. 

“So, tell me something about you,” You said, your eyes boring into his eyes. They were gorgeous to Remus and it was terrifying when the reality set in that he was sitting before the (Y/N) (L/N). Someone he had admired only while scrolling through his phone and watching the news. 

You shook your hand dismissively, “I’ll rephrase that,” you sat in a more comfortable position on the chair, “Tell me about the companies you’ve worked for before, your qualification and some basic information about you like your age and things. If you don’t mind, that is,” 

“No, no, of course,” Remus said, “I just graduated from my university and I’ve worked for a minor publishing house for about six months,”

“And why aren’t you working with them anymore?” You asked but immediately asked him to continue as the subtle melancholy wove into his facial expressions and his fingers twitched. 

“Um, I studied English literature and yeah,” He said, shrugging and finally a small smile formed on his face.

You chuckled, shaking your head, “Where are you from?”

“Wales,” he said, without leaving a gap and was weirded out to find the odd feeling in his stomach as he saw you smile and chuckle over again in the short span of time you had met him. 

“Beautiful,” You glanced at the desktop placed on the side of your table and then looked back at him, “It's not gonna be an easy ride of you being my PA you might know the controversies that sparked in the past,”

“Yes, mam,” Remus nodded, his hands that were tightly clasped together was sweating profusely. 

“You will be sent an email that will let you know about the rest of the details. Make sure you read it thoroughly,” You said, glancing at the computer screen again. 

“Yes mam,” Remus said, fiddling with his fingers. 

“Also, the date when you can join will be mentioned in the email itself,” you smiled at him, “And that’s about it,” 

“Oh, alright,” Remus stood up slowly. 

“Your appointed, Mr Lupin,” You said once again and watched as the glow finally found his face after your confirmation. He grinned happily and said, “Thank you very much, Ms (L/N),” and dashed out of the room without another word, leaving you feeling extremely happy for some reason as you returned to your tedious paper.

Two months, that’s how long you had known Remus and over time it was appropriate to say the two of you grew closer.

You had never had anyone to stand behind you and guide you to what is right, it was always you, yourself alone in the vast arena named society feeling scared and little in the insides while having a brave facade outside. It was extremely difficult to push everything aside and struggle to move forward alone and without proper guidance.

But ever since Remus was appointed two months ago, he had never left your side. It was as though somebody had stepped beside you on the high podium you stood on, facing what was worse than galloping hordes. The comforting aura radiating off him calmed the burning insecurity and fear drilled into you. He stood like a guard, a mentor and a…friend. You’d go a far as to say family as you saw the ways he behaved with your brother.

Remus never made you regret a thing in your regretful life. It was almost bewildering in the start at what he could do. He had made a tiny hole in the wall you had created for yourself from the world. And the little crack Remus created bombarded him with everything he knew that you wouldn't have told anyone else.

You weren’t aware how he knew all those things about you that even you didn’t. It was as though he knew exactly what you would do before you even thought of it. Remus Lupin did wonders to you.

And (Y/N) (L/N) did wonders to him. Remus couldn’t calm his nerves the first day he walked into your office in that posh suit and saw that bright sparkle in your beautiful eyes. He fell. Quite literally, it was extremely awkward when he tripped over his own foot and had to hold onto the door handle. But you had a smile and beckoned him inside saying it happens all the time and how you had to change the layout of the office. 

Just as Sirius Black - the love god as he demanded to be called - predicted, by the end of the first month, Remus was smitten over you. He couldn’t find a reason to dislike you in fact, every minuscule detail he learned about you just made him like you more.

One drunken confession to the “love God”, Remus was clear of his feelings to you and he was never one to understand his feelings, rather run away from them and he had lost a handful of relations like that and he never wanted to do it again yet there wasn’t a chance he could tell them to you and the victim of the mess of his love life was James (Remus thought he deserved it). 

Remus groaned, leaning back on his chair and rubbed his eyes. He received the mail for the annual conference that would be held where thousands of companies would be having a discussion. It was a really good idea but you hated it and just yesterday he had listened to you speak passionately against it, although Remus just heard the first few sentences and the rest of them falling into his deaf ears as he stared at you. 

“Remus,” Lily shook his arm, “Remus!” 

“I'm listening,” He mumbled and he didn’t have to see her to know she would have rolled her eyes. 

“What is the email about?” She asked. 

“Read it yourself, Evans,” he said with a sigh.

“Is this what you would have told to the love of your life?” she said but he could hear her voice drawl as she read the mail. Remus mumbled, “I don’t love,”

“Sure you don’t, Lupin,” she scoffed. Remus knew what was happening and who she was referring but he would dare say it himself and be teased relentlessly. 

“So, why are you groaning to attend a conference,” Lily asked. 

“She hates that,” Remus said, still not opening his eyes. 

“Ah, she hates everything,” Lily said and he failed to notice the smirk on her lips as he defended you and glared at her. 

“First of all, it’s overseas and she said they would be poorly organised. Second, she doesn’t hate everything, alright, you just don’t know what she likes,” He said, sitting straight on his chair. 

“Sure, sure, Remus,” She said, teasing and left not before ruffling his mass curls, “You suck, do you that?”

”Yep, ask James of it!” She said, winking at him as Remus groaned, disgusted. 

“Ms (L/N),” Remus managed to leave his seat 30 minutes later, mentally preparing himself. You looked at him with a bright smile and beckoned him in by waving your hand enthusiastically. It physically hurt Remus to think he would be the one delivering the news that would wipe the grin off your face. 

“The annual conference-” Before Remus could even complete his sentence he saw your mood shift completely by how you slammed your head against your study desk. He winced. 

“When is it?” He could hear you mumble. You would be thoroughly pissed if he told when it was. Remus shifted his weight from one foot to another and said, “Day after tomorrow,” 

“Day after tomorrow!?” you yelled, whipping your head to look at him. Remus nodded apologetically. 

And here you were two days later, in your private plane flying to a place where you dreaded to go. Although the only good thing in this was seeing Remus in a causal outfit other than his tailored black suit even that was overpowered by the fact that it was seven in the evening. 

“We will be there in about two hours,” Remus said, scrolling through his phone, “You can take a nap and once we reach there we need to get to the location they sent by a car they have arranged,” 

“They arranged a car?” You asked, blinking at him.

“Yes, they did,” he shrugged, closing his phone and keeping it in the holder. He looked into your bewildered eyes.

“Do we have a backup plan?” you asked, glaring at him. 

“We-no? Why do we need a backup plan?” He asked, puzzled. 

“Remus, do you remember when I told you about their ability to organising things?” You said, looking at him accusingly. Remus took a deep breath, he had not just forgotten them but ignored them too. 

“Uh,” He gulped and rubbed the back of his neck, “We-”

”Lupin, I swear I am not walking miles!” you scolded. And for some reason, Remus’ damned mind could predict exactly what Sirius would have said at the moment and was almost tempted to say the exact words he would have said, “I’ll carry you, don’t worry,” but Remus knew better.

“You won’t, promise,” He gave thumbs up, “Now, you get your needed nap, yeah?”

“Would you leave?” you asked, staring into Remus’ eyes with mixed emotions and he couldn't place a finger on what exactly it was to give a response, so he resorted to the good ol’, “Do you want me to leave?” 

You took a deep breath. Did you want him to leave? You were torn between yourself. One part of you wanted him to stay with you, having no strength to battle with your thoughts alone although he wasn’t going to do much, his sole presence was comforting for you. The other part was scared. Scared of what he could do and just fear blocking every thought of yours. 

But the fear, somehow, for the first time was brought down and you whispered, “Stay,” and who was Remus to disobey that.

After two exhausting hours confined in that plane, the first thing you did once you got off the plane was crack your joints while walking outside and Remus stood on the side chuckling at you. 

“Well, you are the one who is supposed to do it,” You said, rolling your eyes with a smile. He walked to your side, “I don’t exactly ‘cause I knew how to sit on a plane,” 

“Oh is it now?” You scoffed. 

Remus hummed, “Yep!” 

“How else do you sleep in that uncomfortable seat?”

“You wouldn’t kill me if I said, would you?” He asked, looking at you cautiously.

You shrugged, “It depends,” 

“Alright. Um, that’s not reassuring but I’ll tell - you don’t sleep when you on a plane,” Remus said and watched as you whipped your head towards him and glaring.

“What sort of a creature are you?!”

“A good one,” 

“Ooh, getting brave now are we, Lupin,” You bumped your shoulder with him and Remus chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Remus, how long will it take?” You asked glaring at him, who spoke frantically to someone on his phone. The two of you were still in the airport after an hour or so and just like you warned the car has not yet arrived. You huffed and looked at the large window panels that showed the exit of the airport. The sun had already set, not a speck of it in the sky. It was pitch black, the half-moon already shining with the stars in its company. 

You always loved staring at the sky. It not just reminded of your mother but her interpretation. She always considered the moon to be herself when she was younger. The little stars close to it were you and your brother and the rest all were her employees and comrades. She later said the moon was you and the stars behind you were every single person you would meet and the beautiful night sky was reserved for a special person. However, you tried to oppose her point, she stood her stand and told you that one day you will understand it and perhaps it was about time you did. 

You felt someone touch your hand and when you turned to look, Remus was crouched before you, his scarred hand on top of yours. His bright eyes were apologetic as he stared into your eyes. He was confused about how watery it was. Remus scrunched his eyebrows, “Are you alright?”  You nodded with a smile. Remus sighed and held your hand tightly in his.

“The car didn’t come, isn’t it?” you asked with a smirk. Remus ducked his head low. He always felt extremely guilty when he couldn’t do the job he was given and certainly not when he ignored the instruction. 

He was surprised to hear you chuckle, “It’s alright,” You said, grinning at him.

Remus’ eyes widened, “Really?” 

You shrugged, “There isn’t much that I can do now, is it?” 

“I-I’m really sorry,” He hoped you would accept his apology. 

You laughed, “It’s OK, Remus, calm down and think of how we are going there now,” 

“Yes, about that the organizer said they would arrange us a motorbike,” Remus grimaced in anticipation of your reaction.

“Really?” You asked, your eyes widened in excitement. 

“Yeah, it’s actually there at the exit of the terminal,” he said. 

“Ah! Can we use it then?” sitting on the edge of the seat you asked him with a childish excitement making Remus’ heart swell happiness. He stared at you with a mild smile on your face as he chuckled. 

“That’s why it is there in the first place,” he said and watched your eyes lit up with no concern of the sass in his words that usually wasn’t ignored. 

“I wanna see it!” You stood up abruptly and pulled him up with you. Although getting slightly intimidated by how he towered over you, the profound excitement of finally seeing a motorbike coursed through your veins like fire. 

Remus chuckled, “Yes, of course,”

He couldn’t believe it. Remus couldn’t believe the sight before him - his ever stoic boss had her jaw dropped to the floor as she saw the motorbike.

It all quite made sense if he had to think of it, it was impossible for you to drive it down the streets anywhere back home but here it was rather unknown of your arrival, so you could zoom through the streets as you whished without a sense of fear. It was one of the reasons why you chose to travel in the night while announcing you would be leaving the country in the morning. 

“Ahh, this is so beautiful!” you gushed, walking closer and running your hand across the seat, “Can I drive? Please?” 

“As you should. I dunno to drive that,” Remus said, shrugging. 

“It’s alright,” You waved your hand, dismissively, “I’m not gonna judge,” 

As you swing your leg over the bike seat and adjust your coat, you said, “My mum got me one for my 18th birthday and I was obsessed over it, like that’s was my only means of transportation,” 

“That’s brilliant,” Remus said as he planned the first thing he would do once he is back home. 

You and Remus were high on adrenaline as the two of you zoomed into the night. The feeling of cutting through the air with wide grins and hollering happily was indeed beautiful and in the back of your mind, the astonishment of how long it had taken you for being like this again baffled. 

But it all went down once the light drizzle became fully-fledged rain. Having to park the motorbike by some bus stop, the two of you held your jackets above your head and ducked inside, still grinning. 

“Ah, the bike is getting wet,” you said, the thought dampening your mood. 

“This doesn’t seem to be stopping any soon,” Remus said, taking a deep breath as he scanned the surroundings. It was pitch black except for the moon shining down at you. It was such a sight for sore eyes when Remus turned to look at you, your coat was tightly wrapped around yourself, your hair dripping with the rainwater, your eyes shining as you watched your surrounding. You looked divine. 

Remus didn’t know what he was thinking when he took hold of your hand and ran out of the bus stop. “Remus! What are you doing!?” You yelled as he pulled you to the middle of the deserted road.

“You said to me once you loved dancing in the rain!” he said, pushing the water out of his eyes. 

“But-” You looked around, the adrenaline still rushing inside and it indeed was your dream to be out in the streets dancing while rain poured down and the night sky guarded you. Remus let go of your hand, his eyes never leaving you as your legs slowly started moving as though by nature of the memory. 

Time slipped through your hands and before you knew it, after all the laughter, you were back in Remus’ arms, staring into his eyes. You always loved them, feeling as though they held mystery amidst them although always raw. You knew on your fingertips how he felt at that moment when you could just see his eyes but now, it was unknown. 

Remus had a gentle smile on his face as he protectively had his arms wrapped around your waist, a reassurance to himself that you were indeed protected from anything and everything. He leaned down to keep the two of you close and warm. 

“Remus,” you whispered, silently.  He smiled, allowing his eyes to shut as the echo of his name tumbling from your lips ran in his ears and before he knew it before he had control on himself, Remus blurted, “I love you,” 

He was stunned to hear the tiny gasp leaving your mouth and his heart was wrenched out when he saw the disbelief and incredulity in your eyes, “What’s wrong?” 

“What’s wrong!?” you yelled and Remu was taken aback, “Is that what you ask after telling me you love me?!”

”I am sorry," his statement ended more like a question as he looked at you with wide eyes. The rain was still pouring and he didn’t know if it was the rain or your own tears in your eyes. 

“Jerk!” You yelled, your fingers holding his drenched shirt tightly as your chest heaved rapidly. 

Remus wasn’t confused, he was beyond just confused about your reaction. You were yelling at him like he was some stupid but never letting go of him and now he was never the best at these messes. 

Clearing his mind off all the thoughts he cautiously moved his hand to rest on the side of your cheek and watched as your eyes closed, your own hand moving to hold his tightly.

Remus leaned down and kissed your forehead. He had never seen you more vulnerable as a sob escaped your lips and you slammed against his chest, your arm tightly wrapped around his torso. 

It was the first time in three years had you been kissed on the forehead and that alone proved to you that Remus was different. He is your night sky.

Remus held you tightly in the comfort of his arms as you whispered “I love you” into his shoulder. He never knew when the rain stopped. And now the surrounding was fragile. It was just you and him in the deserted street, the freshly smelling earth, the stars and moon shining down at you…and love.

[possum-rat]

(Y/n) talks to the dead

Previous 

Next

Normally waking up to the Undead hovering over you would scare anyone shitless. But (Y/n) was slightly less startled. "SHI-WHA? WHO ARE? WHAT?" (Y/n) yelps as they fall out of the bed in a mess of blanket and clothes. Two skeletons stand on either side of their bed staring blankly at the opposite wall. Chain mail armor on the one stationed on the left side of (Y/n), and an odd mixture of gold and neitherite on the right. The one on the right turns toward (Y/n) before crouching down as holding out a hand toward them.

(Y/n) takes it hesitantly staring up at them. "Wha?" They murmur as the skeleton nods a slight smile in place. "I'm Violetta Beaux. If that's what you're wondering my dear." They state simply in a soft tone. Violetta then gestures toward the chain mail wearer and says fondly "that's Isidora Blanc" Isidora merely nods as their mentioned.

"Why are you here? I mean- I don't mean to be rude or anything but..." (y/n) trails off confusion evident in their expression. "Clementine told us," Violetta replies gently. Nodding still confused (Y/n) lets the covers fall from their shoulders. Stepping from the mess of blanket under them they walk toward the bathroom.

--

Staring at the mirror intently they sigh. Their once (S/c) now more grey and sunken. Dark purplish rings under their eyes with a crazed look. Reaching their hand up (Y/n) gently presses the purplish-pink swollen delicate skin. Breathing out in pain (Y/n) removes their hand before testing their nose. Nothing seems to be broken, just a little swollen or painful. Pulling out a washcloth (y/n) dampens it and cleans the dried blood from their face.

Feeling slightly better (Y/n) turns on the shower before heading into their 'Room' and grabbing some clothes: a tan trench coat stopping at (Y/n) thighs, a white collared shirt, grayish-black jeans, and long socks with their favorite boots. (perfect for kicking any super straights)

Once finished with the shower they pull on the clothes in the privacy of the bathroom. Mentally (Y/n) thanks themselves for placing the bathroom into a room with a door away from any visitors. As (Y/n) steps out of the bathroom the smell of freshly baked bread greets them.

grinning to themselves (Y/n) notices that Violetta is beside the furnace pulling out a loaf of golden bread. "(Y/n)? Oh hey dear! I made bread. Here take some!" She says cheerfully as she places the loaf on the small kitchen island. Isidora seems to be slightly more emotional than before as she gazes at the bread. Staring at the bread (Y/n) asks "You can make bread?" Isidora replies gruffly "Best at it. She also makes a killer cake."

As Violetta pulls out a giant Long sword she hums happily as she slices the bread with the sword. The whole sight is comical. As (Y/n) takes a slice of the bread they take a bite and proceeds to melt. You know the kind? Like when you eat something so good you've literally just ascended to heaven momentarily-yeah that's what the bread tastes like.

"Told you," Isidora says simply. By the time (Y/n) ate around half the loaf with the other two they've gotten a message from Wilbur.

<WilburSoot> (Y/n) help. Tubbo and Tommy are on a tangent.

smiling slightly (Y/n) stands up from the chair and makes their way toward their chest. Squatting down they pull out their sword and a few potions. Violetta stops (Y/n) before they leave. "Dear take some armor I have an extra unused she's plate and helmet. Stay safe okay hun? Isidora will go with you." (Y/n) nods and waits patiently-well as patiently as one with horrible attention spans can-

"and here you go, hun." She says as she hands an enchanted netherite chest plate and helmet to them. (Y/n's) eyes widen as the heavily enchanted armor falls into their ownership. "You can't-Are-wha-" they stutter as Isidora takes the armor from (Y/n) and gently places it onto (y/n) making sure it fits snugly. "Come on kid. I'm your bodyguard or some shit today. Come on."

---

as the two of them walk into L'manberg Wilbur freezes staring at Isidora. "(Y/n)? Your aware that there's a skeleton standing beside you?" (Y/n) nods and says "Yup. They're my grumpy bodyguard or something!" Isidora did not like being called grumpy apparently as (Y/n) yelps as Isidora punches (Y/n's) shoulder.

"I- uh okay. Anyway, Tubbo and Tommy are over there mind watching them?" Wilbur asks tiredly as he rubs the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

(Y/n) nods and skips toward them happily. "No, He's always like...Psst hey, kid...wanna buy some content? Do we have manhunts? Or speed runs." Tommy laughs as he does a horrible American accent. (Y/n) chimes in "įⱮ Ⱥ ꝈįͲͲꝈƐ φįϚϚ βȺβӋӋӋӋӋ" Tubbo coughs in audio tune before dying with laughter. Tommy does his famous cackle. "What the actual fuck?" Isidora murmurs as she stands a few feet away. Tubbo frowns tilting his head confused his long brown ears flopping down.

"what? I just heard a series of tapping?" Tubbo says confused. "Oh, she just said " what the actual fuck." She's nice that way." (Y/n) says happily.

Isidora frowns while flipping (Y/n) off. "Yeah Love you too bitch." They call grinning.

Tubbo frowns and asks "Wanna go to the nether?" (Y/n) nods but freezes momentarily as everything suddenly grey. Like a cave. But instead of the normal ruggedness of a cave, it's like a box. (Y/n) shivers as they gaze around at the freezing room. A small Fox is curled up in one of the corners along with a brown spotted cow. As (y/n) walks closer the Fox opens an eye before closing it in disinterested. An arrow sticks out from its coat staining the white fur on its throat rusty red.

"Fungi?" (Y/n) asks in awe. The Fox yawns before nuzzling closer to the cow. The cow opens its down brown eyes before giving a soft content "Moo." Gasping in delight (Y/n) cheers "Harold?" The cow thumps his tail before standing up unsteadily and clopping toward (Y/n).

Harold bobs his head as he moves toward them, stopping infront of them he nuzzles into (Y/n's) outstretched hand. As (y/n's) fingers brush over the slightly rough texture of Harold's fur they blink.

The stone claustrophobic-inducing box is no more. Instead (Y/n) is surrounded by people in chairs staring up at a podium. A Man with curly Horns with various golden trinkets stands there. He's clearly slightly hungover.

"That was pretty easy. And you know what I said, the day I got unbanned from the DreamSMP, and the day I said I was running... an election that I won by the way?" The man's voice booms deep and clear demanding to be heard "I said; "Things are gonna change". I looked every citizen of L'Manberg in the eyes and I said; "You listen to me... this place will be a lot different tomorrow." Let's start making it happen. My first decree, as the president of L'Manberg- the EMPEROR! of this great country-! Is to REVOKE the citizenship of WilburSoot, (Y/n) and TommyInnit! Get 'em outta here! Get 'em outta here! You're no longer welcome!"

All though (Y/n) may not understand what's going on they have enough sense to stand up from their seat and bolt. Isidora stands on the outskirts of L'manberg waiting under the shelter of a tree. Isidora straightens up upon seeing (Y/n). She sighs and holds out a hand. Voices of the deceased begin screaming in (Y/n's) head.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU LEAVING?

"HELP THEM"

"STAY HOME"

"STAY"

"run"

As Isidora's hand closes around (Y/n's) they're suddenly wrenched from L'manberg, and back home. (Y/n) pulls their hand from Isidora's grip to press their palms into the sides of their head. "Please- make it stop." They whisper. Their eyes claimed shut as they press their back against the wall sliding down. Schlatt's voice echos loudly "Oh, it was so easy! Until further notice... WilburSoot and TommyInnit are merely a memory of L'Manberg. A relic- A relic of the past. A reminder, of the darkest era this country, has ever seen- and I guarantee you all; dear citizens... Tonight, that changes. We are entering into a new period of L'Mangerg- a period, of prosperity! of strength! of unity."

Sitting down for a few minutes they stand up before rubbing their eyes and turning toward the two women and saying quietly "Stay here. Please I don't want either of you to get hurt." they state with a certain authority that none of the three knew (Y/n) possessed. (Y/n) then walks toward their chests before digging out the materials needed. Choosing to take their half-finished crossbow, and sword, along with the armor they were currently wearing, a few potions, and pick along with food, as they walk toward the door they hesitate before returning to the chest and pull out a few End pearls along with their totem.

----

At around 3 am (Y/n) finds a half-assed base. Sighing slightly they duck into the base holding up their hands in surrender as a sword is healed to their throat. It doesn't help that the voices are still shouting. And expressing their distaste or agreement at the current predicament.

"Jesus (Y/n) where the hell have you been?" Wilbur sighs as he makes eye contact with them.

"Went by my base to grab some stuff we'll need. No, we aren't going to my base." They say as they sit atop the crafting table beside Tommy. Leaning back against the wall they glance down at Tommy. He's visibly distressed. (Y/n) taps the air infront of them withdrawing a potion of their own creation they like to call "Anti-Insomnia, sleep your problems away :)"

Pulling out a small vile of it they grab 2 cups that for some reason Wilbur had. Pouring a few drops into the cups they hand them to each of their accomplices saying "It'll help you sleep. It'll take your mind off of it." Tommy nods and asks "Wait you know Greek mythology right? Didn't you and Techno talk about it?" (Y/n's) lips curve into a faint smile at the memories.

they nod and ask "Yeah. I remember that." Wilbur asks "what's your favorite story?"

they nod before thinking. "Eros and Psyche." The words fall from their lips effortlessly. As (Y/n) begins to ramble they stare at the opposite wall.

"Psyche is a princess so beautiful that the goddess Venus becomes jealous. In revenge, she instructs her son Cupid to make her fall in love with a hideous monster; but instead, he falls in love with her himself." Tommy's head lolls before falling against (Y/n's) shoulder. (Y/n) tenses up slightly but upon realizing that it's only Tommy they continue.

"He becomes her unseen husband, visiting her only at night. Psyche disobeys his orders not to attempt to look at him, and in doing so she loses him. In her search for him, she undertakes a series of cruel and difficult tasks set by Venus in the hope of winning him back. Cupid can eventually no longer bear to witness her suffering or to be apart from her and pleads their cause to the gods. Psyche becomes an immortal and the lovers are married in heaven."(More info: here ) (Y/n) finishes their story glancing down at Thomas.

"hey? (Y/n)? How's Lilith doing?" Wilbur asks quietly. (y/n) freezes before rubbing their face and rubbing the faint scar on their neck. "No clue." Wilbur frowns and asks "What'd you mean?" He asks as he shifts to a more comfortable position. "Haven't seen her since she broke our engagement...rather brutally for my taste. Like I understand sure, I may not be the best person but burning down a house then murdering your fiancé? That's a bit much even for me. Like where's the pizzazz?" (Y/n) laughs quietly as they stand up and pull off their coat draping it over Tommy.

Wilbur frowns. "Wait. You only have one life?" He asks. (Y/n) nods as they rummage in their pocket before pulling out a small simple ring with a frog upon the center. Slipping it onto their finger with the other array of various rings they stretch and turn toward Wilbur. "Jesus Christ (Y/n). You need to be careful!" Wilbur chides. (Y/n) narrows their eyes at him before grumbling quietly "yeah yeah."

---

[just-dreaming-marvel]

Out Of Time ~ 125

MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 8,010ish (YIKES)

Summary: The team works together to stop Aida. Goodbyes are had.

Y/N and Daisy gasped, both waking up on the floor of the Zephyr. Simmons was helping Daisy and Yo-Yo was with Y/N. 

“Were you able to save Mack?” Yo-Yo asked, looking between Daisy and Y/N.

“I’m so sorry,” Daisy replied.  The Zephyr was shaking.

“What’s going on?” Y/N asked, looking around.

“We’re being shot out of the sky,” Piper replied.

They helped Daisy and Y/N up and they stumbled to the front of the Zephyr.

“How many hits have we taken?” Daisy asked.

“Three,” Piper answered.

“The Zephyr’s like a tank,” Agent Prince stated. “She’s holding together.”

“Yeah, but we had to pull the plug on everything except for flight control to keep the Framework running for you guys.”

“So we can’t fight back,” Simmons stated.

“Or see where it’s coming from,” Daisy added.

“Yes, we can,” Y/N said, causing them all o look at her. “I’m going to go onto the top of the Zephyr. If I get a look at the jet shooting at us, I can portal myself onto it. I can stop them from the inside.”

“Y/N, that’s too—“

“I’m doing it. It might be our best shot at the moment.”

Then a portal opened and Y/N appeared on the roof of the Zephyr. She anchored herself onto the roof with her powers. She looked around, through the clouds, for the jet. Seeing it, she focused don’t eh roof and opened a portal to it. On the other jet’s roof, Y/N used her powers to blast a hole through the top and jumped inside. The man flying the jet shot the Zephyr again before turning to head straight for the Zephyr.

“Who are you?” He turned around. He was tall and buff with a Russian accent.

“I’m just here to kick your ass,” Y/N replied.

With her hands glowing both red and purple, she pushed them towards each other to form a ball. Her hands were vibrating slightly with the amount of power coming from her. 

“Who the hell are you?” He asked.

“I’m Lady America.”

Y/N aimed her hands at the man, pushing the ball of power to hit him straight in the chest. The man, who turned out to be a LMD, disintegrated into thin air. With the jet still aimed at the Zephyr, Y/N jumped back through the hole she created. Leaping backwards through an open portal, Y/N blasted the jet into pieces. She landed, hard, on the floor of the Zephyr.

“Y/N!” Simmons and Daisy exclaimed, rushing to her side.

“Are you okay?” Daisy asked.

“I’m fine,” Y/N answered. “Looks like you got the power back on. Are we headed to the others?”

“Davis has the coordinates,” Simmons replied. “We’re on our way there.”

“Good.” Y/N nodded. 

“Can we now talk about why you didn’t save Mack?” Yo-Yo asked.

“It’s not that simple,” Daisy responded.

“Then explain it to me. What stopped you? He was right there with you, no?”

“Yes, but, Yo-Yo,” Y/N began, “he didn’t want to come.”

“Oh, you only bring back the people that matter to you, not to me!”

“You know what? I’ve known Mack longer than you,” Daisy argued. “And he mean as much to me—“

“You promised! You promised me!”

“We tried! He didn’t want to come back!”

“Who cares?! You knock him over the head, you break his legs, you kick him through the exit! It was a video game!”

“He didn’t want to leave Hope!” Y/N exclaimed.

“Hope? His daughter?”

“You know about her?” Daisy asked. “Because I didn’t. Not until I saw her face.”

“She’s dead.”

“Yeah, well, in there, she’s 10,” Y/N said. “And she’s bring and adorable, and she means the world to him, even if it’s not a real world…. And I get that.”

“I’m sorry,” Daisy apologized to Yo-Yo. “He wouldn’t have left her for anything.”

“Even me.”

“He didn’t remember you, Yo-Yo.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Then I’ll go remind him.”

“No, no, no,” Daisy rushed as Yo-Yo headed to go plug herself into the Framework.

“Yo-Yo, no,” Y/N grabbed her had. “Do not—“

“I’ll go get him out myself,” Yo-Yo stated.

“Do not do that.”

“Besides the fact that going into that world as an inhuman is the worst idea ever,” Daisy started, “we need you here, making sure that the real Mack stays alive, or it’ll all be for nothing. Coulson and May just woke up next to Mack with no idea where they are or what they’re up against.”

“Daisy, Y/N,” Piper called. “We need to show you something.”

Piper guided them to the screen and played the recent news conference. General Talbot was at the podium. There was a banner on the TV that said ‘sabotage at SHIELD’.

“Like I said,” Talbot talked to the reporters, “with an explosion that size, we still have a lot to sift through at SHIELD headquarters. The entire area is sealed off, but, no, I can’t rule out Daisy Johnson’s involvement.”

“It’s been playing on every channel,” Piper told them.

“Sir,” a reporter called out to Talbot, “any truth to reports that Director Jeffrey Mace’s body has, in fact, been found?”

“I have have no new information about that,” Talbot answered. “But I can assure you, the manhunt for the members within SHIELD who remain at large is still our top priority. We can only assume that they’re behind this attack.”

“General!” A different reporter called out. “There are rumors that former Avenger and SHIELD Agent, Y/N Rogers, could also have been involved. Do you have anything to say about that?”

“Not at the moment. Though the hunt for both Rogers and the other fugitive former Avengers is still on going. Look, they’re terrorists, and we’re not gonna rest until we take them down and find out exactly who’s responsible.”

“Who gave them my name?” Y/N asked quietly, completely confused. “No one should have seen me with you guys, we haven’t touched ground. Why would he—“

“Talbot’s never let the idea that we’ve been hiding you, go,” Daisy replied. “He just wants a way to end us once and for all.”

~~~

Setting the Zephyr to hover above the drilling platform, Daisy, Yo-Yo, and Y/N took the isolation pod down. As they exited, Coulson and May exited the top doors. Coulson was carrying most of May’s weight.

“Oh, perfect timing,” Coulson commented. “Hi, everybody.” Daisy took May from Coulson. “She’s very weak— Oof!” Y/N had latched herself onto Coulson in a hug, which he quickly reciprocated. “You left,” he whispered, holding her close. “You woke up and you disappeared.”

“I know,” she responded, quietly. “I’m so sorry.”

“And Mack?” Yo-Yo asked as Coulson and Y/N let each other go. 

“Down below,” Coulson answered, leading Yo-Yo and Y/N towards the doors. “We have to keep him attached to the equipment. So before we can wheel him o—“ The platform shook from an explosion, causing the three of them to lose their balance. Coulson grabbed onto both Yo-Yo and Y/N. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Yo-Yo responded with a nod.

Coulson pried open the doors. The three looked down to see the explosion making its way up the shaft. 

“Go!” Coulson shouted.

The three ran the other way, getting launched forward by the explosion. 

“No more elevator,” Coulson grunted.

“Where are the stairs?” Yo-Yo asked through the comms as they pushed themselves back up.

“They’ve collapsed, too,” Simmons informed from the Zephyr. “You need to get off the rig now. Repeat, the structure is about to crumble! Guys, you need to get in the containment module and in the air! Now!”

“No.” Yo-Yo shook her head.

“You got to get in here before this rig goes down!” Daisy yelled from the module.

“No, I won’t leave without Mack, not his time!”

“There’s no time!” Simmons responded.

“No! We can’t leave without Mack!” She headed for the burning elevator shaft.

“Yo-Yo, no,” Coulson exclaimed, grabbing onto her. “Come on! We got to go!”

“No!”

“We have to get out of here!” Y/N shouted. “I’m so sorry, Yo-Yo. But we have to—“

“I have Mack,” Simmons informed.

“What?” YN questioned, quickly making herself appear in the Zephyr.

She gasped as she saw Mack, still hooked up to the machines, Fitz, and Aida, unconscious on the floor. The floor was wet all around them.

“How….?” Y/N asked.

“Let’s go home,” Simmons replied, over the comms.

~~~

As the Zephyr began descending into the base’s hanger bay, the damage from the explosion was more than Y/N had imagined. The base was almost complete rubble.

“Who did this?” May gasped.

“You did,” Daisy replied. “To stop him from coming after us.”

“To stop who?” Coulson asked.

“You,” Simmons responded.

Armed with flashlights and guns, they headed into the destroyed base. Walking the halls, Y/N was reminded of memories from what felt like another lifetime ago. Wires and other things were hanging from the ceiling. They climbed over over objects, layering the floors. Thankfully, the insolation room was barely damaged, allowing them to put Fitz and Aida there. After checking the base, they met back on the Zephyr.

“Looks like we weren’t detected flying in,” May informed.

“We can’t stay long,” Coulson said. “Probably shouldn’t have come here.”

“We have to refuel,” Simmons said. “Also, we had no choice.”

“Because of that room?” Yo-Yo asked.

“It’s the only place that can contain Aida’s teleportation ability.”

“It’s outfitted with technology we used to stop Gordon,” Y/N explained. “The first guy we encountered with that particular skill set.”

“She’ll remain inside until we can decide what we want to do with her,” Daisy said.

“Why don’t we chop off her head like last time?” Yo-Yo wondered. “You need a volunteer?”

“Let’s take a moment and think about that, Sweeney Todd,” Coulson responded. “She’s a real person now, and she—“

“She saved Mack,” Daisy interrupted. 

“She made herself real in order to escape Radcliffe’s programming, so… now maybe she’s different.”

“I highly doubt that,” Simmons said. “People don’t name themselves ‘Madame Hydra’ if they’re open-minded.”

“I’m with Simmons on this one,” Y/N said. 

“She did what you said in the Framework,” Yo-Yo added. “Seems better safe than sorry.”

“No more killing,” May stated. “There’s been enough killing.”

“Which leads to the next question,” Coulson said, looking at Simmons.

“What do we do with Fitz?” Y/N asked.

Simmons was silent for a few moments before stepping closer to May and Coulson. “What do the two of you remember of your Framework lives?” She questioned.

“As much as I remember about this life,” Coulson answered. “The only different is, I know—“

“It wasn’t real,” May interrupted. 

“So it’s like you woke up from a dream,” Simmons said.

“No. Not a dream, Simmons. A life.”

“But this is you, right? I mean… does it feel… as real as…” Simmons left out a shuddered breath, trying to stop herself from crying. She walked away from the group.

“She’s afraid Fitz will be the same guy he was in the Framework,” Daisy said.

“No,” Y/N said, “that’s not it.”

“She’s afraid he still loves someone else,” Yo-Yo said, before walking away herself.

Y/N bit her lip and walked out of the Zephyr. She found her way to her old bunker. The ceiling at collapsed on top of the bed and the walls were blackened from the fire. But it was still her room, with her things still in it.

“I locked this room up,” Coulson said from behind her. “In case you ever showed back up again… I.. I came in here sometimes, when I felt I needed your help.”

“I don’t know what’s going on anymore, Phil,” she whispered in response, still facing away from him. “My old life… the life I knew… is completely gone. Almost every part of it…. Nothing is the same anymore. And I— I don’t like it.” 

Coulson stepped closer to her, coming to her side. “Where have you been, Y/N/N?"

“Running for my life… don’t worry. I’ve been safe. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“But, Y/N, what happened? You collapsed in my arms and then were in a coma for 6 months… you wake up and don’t even say good bye.”

“I couldn’t. The new Director and Talbot were after me. And you needed to focus on saving Daisy. Which you did…. That was more important.”

“Y/N…” Coulson stood in front of her. “You were important too… just tell me, during that 6 months, what happened?”

“Something’s coming…. You know I’ve never been wrong about that. But this time… it’s something bigger. Something so powerful, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to stop it. But I’ve been tasked to.”

“Tasked to? By who?”

“The Stones.”

“Stones? I don’t under— the Tesseract. Loki’s scepter. Is that what you’re talking about?”

“There are six Infinity Stones, two of them you’ve named. My powers come from them for the soul purpose of stopping whatever’s coming.”

“Do you know when? Or what exactly it is?”

“I don’t.” She shook her head. “I just know it’s coming soon. And that I need to be ready when it does.”

“I’ll fight by your side when it does. The whole team will. You don’t have to do this alone.”

“You can’t. I won’t let you or the team put yourselves in harms way like that. This will be something I have to do, alone.”

“When will you get it through your thick head that you’ve never had to do anything alone? And that you never will? You’ve always had someone, me, Fury, Tony, Steve, Bucky, the Avengers, this team. You’ve never needed to do anything alone. When the fight comes, I will be there, by your side, like the good ole days.” 

Coulson grabbed her hand. As he grasped onto it, Y/N heard a voice in her head. The voice of one of the Stones.

“He will not be at your side,” the rough voice stated. “Neither will this team. This will be your last mission with them before the time comes where you will fight and his life with end.”

Tears formed in her eyes as the voice spoke, leaving as quick as it came. She pulled Coulson in for a hug, cherishing one of her last hugs with her dear, old friend.

“I’m going to be there,” Coulson whispered. “Always.”

~~~

Y/N, Coulson, May, and Daisy were talking in the Zephyr when armed army men with guns came towards them. They held their hands up.

“We need to extract Fitz from that room!” Simmons came yelling from behind, freezing at the sight before her.

“Hands in the air!” One of the men shouted. “Don’t move!”

“Slow down,” Coulson said calmly. “We’re not the enemy here. Let’s just keep our cool—“

“You shut your robot mouth,” Talbot ordered coming up to them. “Or I’ll have these men weld it shut for you.” 

Staring at Talbot, Y/N missed the nod one of the army men gave to another. The man standing right in front of Y/N, firing a silenced gun. Y/N gasped as the bullet entered her abdomen and she fell to the ground.

“Y/N!!” A chorus of shouts were heard. Y/N put pressure on her bleeding wound.

“Nobody move!” Another man shouted.

“Well, at least we know Rogers here isn’t the robot,” Talbot stated.

“We’re not robots, Glenn!” Coulson exclaimed. “Let one of us help her!”

“Yes, they are!” Talbot told his men. “You assume each and every one of them is a damn C-3PO unless you hear otherwise from me! One of you eyes on Rogers at all times! If she so much as teleports, take her and someone else down. And this one!” He pointed at Daisy. “If she so much as blinks, take her down. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir,” the men responded.

Taking deep breaths, Y/N tried to focus on stopping the bleeding. A soldier came above her, pointing a gun down at her.

“Is all this really necessary?” Coulson asked, trying hard not to worry too much about Y/N.

“Necessary?!” Talbot responded. “It’s essential. Unless you can explain to me in 50 words or less why I found Jeffrey Mace’s body washed up on the beach with his bones quaked apart, days after I found this base in flames, flesh melting off of robot bodies, 12 SHIELD agents in critical with burns or broken bones. Three dead… double hits to the heart and crushed frickin’ skulls! Can you explain that?”

“I can try.” Coulson went on to try and quickly explain as Y/N tried to find some power that she held to heal herself. “…And then the base under the oil rig fell into the sea.”

“You expect me to believe a word of that?”

“I could show you,” Y/N grunted.

“Shut your damn mouth, Rogers! You’re going straight to Raft once this is over.”

“She’s everywhere!” A man shouted over the soldier’s walkie-talkies, shots being fired in the back ground. “Aah!”

“What’s that mean, Coulson? ‘She’s everywhere.’” Talbot looked at Y/N, seeing as she was still there. “Who’s everywhere?” He looked around “Where’s that Speedy Gonzalez girl? Who’s attacking us?!”

“Aida…” Y/N panted, quietly. “Aida got out.”

Suddenly, the soldiers were on more alert as the isolation module appeared in the Zephyr. Fitz and Piper were in it. With everyone distracted, Y/N’s hand glowed green, turning the time back to before she was shot.

“May!” Fitz shouted. “Take off now! We have to move! If she can find us, she’ll kill us all!”

“Davis had her down for the count,” Piper stated.

“They won’t listen to me! She can’t be stopped!” Fitz hit against the window. “May! May! You’re the only other person that knows about the inhumans we tested.”

May quickly looked around and took off for the front of the Zephyr.

“Hey!” Talbot shouted as guns cocked.

“Try it,” both Daisy and Y/N said, threatening the soldiers. 

Y/N had appeared next to Daisy. Daisy had a hand out, while both of Y/N’s were near her sides, glowing purple. Talbot pointed his gun at her head.

“Let’s see what happens,” Y/N taunted.

“How did you— you were— we—“ Talbot stammered.

“Don’t ever underestimate me, again.”

The stand-off stood firm, even as the Zephyr began to lift from the ground.

“If you drop your guns, you can come with us,” Daisy said.

“I don’t suggest staying,” Coulson said. “But the Zephyr’s leaving with or without you.”

Daisy and Y/N stepped forward. Talbot quickly lifted his hands up in the air.

“Fall back!” He ordered his men, who immediately listened.

Y/N and Daisy kept their threatening stances until the soldiers were off and the ramp was up. Coulson and Daisy both rushed to Y/N’s side.

“Are you okay?” Coulson worried.

“I’m fine,” Y/N swatted them away.

Daisy lifted Y/N’s shirt up. “There’s a whole lot of blood,” she said. “But no wound. Did you—“

“Turn back time and heal myself?” Y/N interrupted. “Yep.”

“Since when?”

“The Stones,” Coulson whispered in realization. He met her eyes. “Y/N, exactly how powerful are you?”

“More than I care to admit,” she answered, pulling her shirt down. “Now, let’s go meet up with the gang up front.”

Simmons went to see Fitz as Y/N, Coulson, and Daisy made their way to the front.

“May needs to keep us on the move,” Daisy said.

“Or Aida will be on us like a flash,” Y/N added.

“Even Yo-Yo couldn’t…” Coulson stopped, freezing in place. “Wait a minute. Where was Yo-Yo during that standoff?”

Daisy and Y/N looked at each other. “No.”

The three of them ran to where Mack’s body was still plugged into the Framework. They saw Yo-Yo plugged in beside him.

“Damn it,” Y/N muttered.

“Yo-Yo has no idea what she’s in for,” Daisy said.

“For that matter, neither do we,” Coulson said.

~~~

“I’ve set autopilot to change bearing, altitude, and speed every couple of minutes,” May stated as Y/N and Coulson walked into the control room.

“I hate playing defense,” Coulson said. “But if Aida drops in on us before we figure out how to stop her, it’s—“

“Game over,” Y/N finished.

“Any word from Piper since she HALO’d out?” May asked, tapping some control screens.

“Not yet, but she knows what to do if this doesn’t go our way.”

“It has to go our way. And then… you’re gonna explain why you drank that bottle of Haig without me.”

“Fair enough, but we’re gonna beed another bottle to discuss what happened with that bottle.”

“Have you two kissed yet?” Y/N asked, leaning against a wall, arms folded over her. “Cause the vibe I’m getting is that you have or that you really need to already.” The two gave her a look. She held up her hands. “You know what? I’m going to see if Daisy needs help keeping an eye out on Mack and Yo-Yo.”

Y/N quickly disappeared through a portal to Yo-Yo’s bedside. Daisy was standing near their two unconscious friends, typing on a laptop.

“Hey,” Y/N greeted, only to be met with silence. “Okay… I don’t know what I did. But talking to me might—“

“Your powers confuse me and frustrate me,” Daisy cut in, focused on the screen in front of her.

“Okay… care to go into any detail?”

“It’s just… it’s slowly becoming clearer that you have been hiding things from us.” Y/N sighed. “Why?”

“To keep everyone safe. That’s why I haven’t said much about my abilities, it’s also one of the reasons that I couldn’t stay here after waking up.”

“I thought—“ Daisy sighed. “We used to be close. We used to understand each other. And now…”

“Now, we still do. Circumstances have just prevented us from keeping the bond.”

“Why were you with Tony?”

“Why did you call Tony?”

“Cause I knew if anyone knew where, or how, to find you, it would be him.”

“Smart.” Y/N nodded. “I’ve been… secretly dating both him and Bucky.” She cringed, saying it out loud was a lot.

“Bucky? As in the Winter Soldier?”

“Yes.”

“Wow.” Daisy nodded. “Impressive. How long has this been going on?”

“Actually, a few days. Tony and I were in the middle of our first date, since everything, when you called.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. You calling showed me a different side of him. He willingly let me go. He’s never done that— well, in that matter, before. It was nice.”

“Tell him the next one’s on me.”

Y/N laughed. “I will… Daisy… I’m proud of you.”

Daisy looked over, confused. “Thanks? What’s… what’s going on?”

“Nothing.” Y/N plastered a small smile on her face. “I just felt the need to say that.”

Coulson walked in, studying Mack and Yo-Yo’s vitals. Daisy went back to focusing on the computer screen.

“Vitals are stable,” Coulson commented. “That’s good.”

“We should’ve forced Mack to come back with us,” Daisy said.

“Literally,” Y/N added.

“Wasn’t your decision to make,” Coulson said. “Either of yours.”

“Yeah, well, now we might lose both Mack and Yo-Yo,” Daisy added.

“Again, not your call.”

“She went in with no extraction plan, no idea how to find Mack,” Y/N said with a sigh. 

“I think I may have been able to help her with that,” Daisy said, still working on the computer. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No!”

“What?” Coulson questioned, him and Y/N moving closer to her. “Did you do something?"

“No, this was not me. I didn’t—“

“Are you guys seeing this?” Simmons asked, coming into the room. “What’s happening to the Framework?”

“What do you mean?” Y/N wondered, following Simmons towards the control room. “What’s wrong?”

“The Framework’s disappearing. Daisy.”

“I’m on it!” Daisy replied, typing faster.

“How long before the Framework’s completely gone?” Coulson asked.

“Fitz estimates between 12 and 20 hours.” They paused in front of a screen analyzing the Framework. “Looks so innocent, just numbers and symbols. But each thread of code has a corollary in the Framework— a favorite blouse, a schoolhouse, a newborn child— they’re all blinking out of existence forever.”

“Mack and Yo-Yo?” Y/N questioned.

“There’s no guarantee that they’ll survive until the end. Fitz and Daisy are doing everything they can to protect them and devise an exit.”

Coulson pulled out his ringing cellphone. “General Talbot,” he told the women. Simmons walked away and he answered it, putting it on speaker for Y/N to hear. “General, I’m relieved that you’re still alive.”

“Three of my finest aren’t so fortunate,” Talbot responded, “and I have no idea what killed them.”

“We lost good people, too. The short answer is they were murdered by a vanishing banshee made of matter from another dimension.”

“You expect me to put that in my report?”

“I’ve died and come back to life. I have a cybernetic hand. I’ve been to another planet. This stuff happens in SHIELD.”

“There’s not going to be a SHIELD, not since Director Mace’s autopsy report was leaked. I’ve got a dozen intelligence agencies who now know that Mace wasn’t an inhuman.”

“What?!” Y/N exclaimed. 

“They know SHIELD lied about it, and they’re wondering what else you might’ve lied about.”

“That was your lie, Talbot,” Coulson argued. “Not ours.”

“Damn it, Phil, you’re missing the point. There’s an international intelligence inquiry tomorrow morning, and I need you there to defend SHIELD.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Damn it, Coulson, so is a vanishing banshee. Phil, I’m not gonna get up on my hind legs and beg for buttermilk. But you or one of your right hands needs to be there to take down these spooks before they take down SHIELD once and for all. That’s an order.”

“I wish we could, General, but my team and I are Aida’s primary target. Our presence would only endanger the lives of everyone there. Plus, you decided to shoot one of my right hands and threaten to put her in Raft.”

“Phil—“

“If anything changes, you’ll be the first to know.” Coulson hung up.

“I’ve never liked that guy,” Y/N muttered, shaking her head. Daisy then came into the room.

“Is that a good-news face or a bad-news face?”

“It’s a weird-news face,” Daisy replied. “Robbie Reyes just stole his charger out of a SHIELD impound garage outside of Dover.”

“Robbie Reyes?” Y/N repeated. “Who’s he?”

“Right,” Coulson said, “I forgot you weren’t there for that. Let’s just say, don’t get on his bad side. He—“

“Turns into a flame-headed demon,” Daisy interrupted. “May’s rerouting us to Dover now.”

~~~

Daisy went and met up with Robbie Reyes, bring him back to the Zephyr. Y/N and Coulson met them in the cargo bay.

“Mr. Reyes,” Coulson greeted, shaking the younger man’s hand.

“Coulson,” Robbie responded.

“This is Y/N Rogers.” Coulson motioned to Y/N. “She—“

“Aren’t you currently a fugitive?”

“Does it matter?”

“How’d you find Aida?” Coulson asked him.

“There was a—a tear in the dark world when she was created. It’s how I escaped. The thing in me is drawn to dark matter the way your GPS tracks my car.”

“So you’re saying Aida’s made of the same stuff as the Darkhold?” 

“Yeah.”

“What’s the Darkhold?” Y/N asked.

“It’s an ancient book of spells and unspeakable power. It’s made of dark matter from the hell dimension.”

“Okay…” Y/N nodded. “And just when I thought my life couldn’t get anymore weird.”

“The rider wants to send them both back to where they came from.”

“I hope that means hell,” Daisy commented.

“Hell is relative. Dimensions, space, planets—it’s all connected. Plenty of them qualify as hell.. The Earth is just one territory in a war that’s been going on forever.”

“Can you beat Aida?”

“I don’t know. But what I do know is the demon in me hates her in ways I’ve never felt.”

“We all feel like that,” Coulson said.

“Why do you have that?” Daisy asked, looking behind Coulson and Y/N. They turned to see May holding a head.

“It was in the module with the LMDs Robbie destroyed,” May answered. “Do we know who he is?”

“No, looks like Aida’s been busy,” Coulson replied.

“She could’ve duplicated anybody,” Y/N said, shaking her head.

“I’ll run facial recognition,” Daisy stated, “see if we can ID this guy.”

~~~

The next morning, May, Robbie, Y/N, Daisy, and Coulson got on a quinjet. Coulson was on the phone, trying to get a hold of someone. They were all currently on their way to the SHIELD inquiry.

“We’ve ID’d the head,” May stated, holding up a tablet for Daisy, Robbie and Y/N to see. “He’s one of the senior Russian analysts invited to the SHIELD inquiry today, and look who he’s bringing as his plus-one.” She changed the picture and Y/N took the tablet from her. 

“This is the Russian guy I tore to bits on the jet,” Y/N stated. “The one that was targeting us on the way to the oil rig. How has he… Aida. Damn it.”

Coulson sighed, hanging out the phone again. “I’ve left messages for General Talbot,” he said. “But he’s not answering.”

“What’s Aida’s play here?” Daisy questioned. “Why have the LMDs attend this?”

“My guys is to drive the final nail into SHIELD’s coffin.”

~~~

Arriving at the SHIELD inquiry, there were dead soldiers lining the halls. Gunshots and shouts were in the distance. They ran towards the sounds. Robbie and Y/N got in there first, seeing a duplicate of Daisy rush off. Robbie followed it while Y/N pinned the two LMDs down with her powers. May and Coulson began firing at them.

“Y/N, let them go,” Coulson directed. “Check on Talbot.”

With a huff, Y/N let them go and went over to Talbot. He had a bullet to the brain.

“There’s still a pulse,” Talbot’s right hand told Y/N.

“Everybody out— now!” Coulson ordered the others still in the room. “And get some medical help.”

“Phil,” May called, looking at the Darkhold on the floor. “They’ll be back for that.”

Coulson quickly grabbed it as medical came rushing in.

“Y/N, go!” Coulson ordered. “Find Reyes and Daisy! Help them.”

Nodding, Y/N rushing out of the room, searching for Daisy. Y/N ran into a storage room just in time to watch Robbie’s head turn into a fiery skull.

“What the actual hell,” she mumbled, frozen by the door.

Robbie used the chain to attack the LMD security officer. She heard a swish behind her.

“Hello, Y/N,” a voice greeted. Y/N turned around to see Aida. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Can’t say I feel the same,” Y/N responded.

“You are the one thing I never planned for in the Framework. You’re also the one thing that could have truly made me unstoppable.”

“Here’s the thing, Aida, my powers don’t work like that. So even if you would have stolen my DNA and tortured me, you would have never gotten my abilities.”

Aida growled. “We’ll see about that.”

Raising her hands in front of her, Aida shot electric beams at Y/N. Y/N quickly deflected them by using a portal, sending them into Aida’s back. Letting out a cry, Aida stumbled forward. This allowed Y/N to shoot a purple energy beam Aida’s way. It hit her before Aida disappeared. On guard, Y/N spun around multiple times, waiting for Aida to reappear. She never did. Coulson and May ran up to the room, where Daisy and Robbie were panting.

“I missed it, didn’t I?” Coulson questioned. “You guys together, and we missed it. Damn. Come on. We got to go. Come on!”

He started running down the hall, with May following. Y/N turned to look at Robbie and Daisy.

“Do you want to run with them or do you want me to just open a portal to the quinjet?” Y/N asked, pointing in Coulson’s direction. “Cause I really don’t feel like following them.”

~~~

“This must be Aida’s payback cause I quaked her skinny ass out that window,” Daisy stated, marching towards the front of the Zephyr with the rest of them following. “She’s gonna send Daisy-bot after Daisy-bot to assassinate people.” She kicked a wall in frustration. “So stupid.

“She won’t have to,” May said. “As soon as the video of your LMD shooting Talbot in the head gets out, SHIELD is dead.”

“It’s worse than that,” Coulson added. “Daisy’s not just SHIELD. She’s inhuman. Not to mention the fact that Y/N appeared not long after. They could make it look like they were working together.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re right. It’s the same tactic Aida used in the Framework. Unite people in their fear of inhumans. But instead of a Cambridge incident…”

“It’s me,” Daisy said. “I’ll be the monster. She wants the same racist state that she had in the Framework. This is her plan! She’s won.”

“No, she hasn’t,” Y/N argued.

“I’m with Y/N,” Coulson agreed. “Okay, maybe she won today. But like Robbie said, we’re part of a bigger war. This isn’t the Framework. We’re awake, we’re unified, and frankly, pissed off enough to risk everything to stop her.” Coulson turned to Robbie. “I need the Darkhold.”

“What?” May exclaimed. “No! No one’s ever reading that damn book again.”

“I don’t want to read it. I want to use it as bait. Aida’s human now. She feels what we feel, including fear.”

“No,” Robbie responded. “I’m sorry, man. I’m taking it.”

“She’s got to be terrified we’ll use it to stop her.”

“She’s also terrified of Robbie,” Daisy added. “As soon as she saw his chain flame on, she teleported out.”

“That’s not exactly true,” Y/N said. “I may have had a run in with her. Then she teleported out.”

“You two together,” Coulson said, pointing between Y/N and Robbie. “Could you destroy her?”

“Maybe,” Robbie shrugged. “But it’s like Daisy said, she won’t let me anywhere near her.”

“I can get you near her,” Y/N offered. “And she won’t even be able to sense you coming.”

“I think I have an idea that might solve all our problems,” Coulson stated.

“We’re running out of options,” Simmons said, appearing on the upper level. 

“There isn’t enough power on the Zephyr to protect Mack and Yo-Yo,” Fitz said, joining her. The two headed downstairs to the others.

“Then we’ll have to go back to base,” Coulson responded.

“That’s a terrible idea,” May said.

“I agree,” Daisy added. “The military, Aida, more LMDs are probably waiting for us.”

“Maybe, but I’m tired of hiding,” Coulson said. “Let’s take the fight back home.” Coulson turned around and walked up to Fitz-Simmons. “Look, I know you two still have a lot to work out, but right now, I need you on the same page, okay?” They nodded before Coulson looked back to the others. “Alright, May, take us back to HQ.”

~~~

On the way back to HQ, Y/N hung out near Fitz. His thoughts were so loud that Y/N couldn’t help but hear them.

“It’s not your fault, Fitz,” she said quietly, standing behind him.

“You don’t know,” he replied.

“I do. Cause I can feel your thoughts and cause I know what happened. It wasn’t you. It was Aida, it was the Framework.”

He slammed his fist against the table. “But it was me! Cause I remember it! I did it!”

“Fitz.” She reached to put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. “You’re not a bad person, Fitz. You’re just, human. Please don’t be so hard on yourself… I… you just need to know that I care. That I always have and always will. You’re… you’re like my little brother I’ve never had. Actually… at this point, you’re closer to me than my actual brother.”

Fitz turned around. “Why are you talking like this? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “I just… I don’t know, after this mission, when I’ll see any of you again.”

“You’re lying. You know something.”

Y/N looked down. “It’s my burden to bare Fitz. You already have too much. Just remember, you’re family.”

~~~

Y/N was sitting in one of the pilot’s seats, staring out the window. May came and sat beside her.

“What’s got you so quiet?” May asked.

Y/N rolled her head to look at May. “You really want to know?”

“Nope.”

“Yeah, didn’t think so.” Y/N faced the window again. “I used to be terrified of this… the thought of falling to my death. I think I’ve done it so many times now that I’m numb to it.”

“Yeah, I get that… I remember the first months with you on the team. You got shaken so easily.”

“I had a lot going on, a lot that I wasn’t dealing with.”

“Like now?”

Kinda… now’s… different. We’ve all been through so much. I’m really not allowed to get as shaken as I used to.” She looked down at her hands. “Can’t really afford to do that on the run.”

“You going to stay on the run?”

“Really have no choice… it’s okay. I’ve found a place I’ve been laying low at. It’s nice… don’t… May, don’t wait too long to make a move on Coulson.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t lie to me. I can read your thoughts. Just… I wouldn’t advise waiting too long. Every moment is precious. Don’t waste it.”

~~~

It didn’t take too long for the Zephyr to land at HQ. May and Coulson went to check it out while everyone else stayed on the Zephyr. Y/N was laying in the isolation module when she sensed it.

“Aida,” she whispered.

Y/N stood up, quickly creating a portal to the hallway outside of where Fitz-Simmons was located. She had never been inside the room they were in, so she couldn’t exactly get herself in there.

“No!” She heard Fitz shout through the door.

“Beg me to let her live,” Aida’s voice directed.

“I’ll do whatever you want,” Fitz pled. 

Y/N grabbed the door handle, slowly using her powers to melt it away. She didn’t want Aida to quickly do anything.

“We can go away,” Fitz continued. “Start again.”

“Too late,” Aida responded. Y/N could hear Simmons gasping. “This is making me feel better. Fitz, why do we feel better when we make someone else suffer?”

“Because there’s something wrong with you,” Simmons replied. “You psycho-ooo.” She grunted.

Pushing the door open slightly, Y/N got enough of the room to be able to create a portal. She did, behind Aida, who had a screwdriver in Simmons’ chest. Putting a finger over her lips, Y/N signaled Fitz to be quiet. Aida pressed the screwdriver in further.

“Stop,” Fitz begged as Simmons cried out. “Stop, stop, stop, stop. Please, please, spare Jemma.”

“So it’s Jemma now?” Aida taunted. “Trying to humanize her. I’m afraid you’re gonna have to do better than that.” Aida turned the screwdriver.

“Fitz, please,” Simmons begged. “I’m scared. Make her stop.”

Glancing back at Y/N, Fitz noticed green floating from one of Y/N’s hands to Simmons back. Y/N was turning back time slowly, so that the damage wasn’t as bad. The other hand had red and yellow coming from it, heading towards Aida’s head.

“The Darkhold!” Fitz exclaimed. “That’s the only way we could beat you. Let Jemma go, and I’ll go get it for you.”

Aida grasped onto Simmons neck.

“You did this, Fitz,” Simmons said.

“I’m so sorry, Jemma,” he apologized.

“Coulson’s reading the book. He’s firing up the gateway right now… Come on. Please. Let me take you to it.”

Aida glanced down at Simmons. She put her hand in front of her and let out an electric beam. Before it could hit Simmons, Y/N appeared between them, getting shocked instead. Y/N fell to the ground, half conscious. Aida threw Simmons on top of her.

“No!” Fitz shouted.

Aida grabbed him, shoving him up against the tech. “I’m gonna kill everyone you love right in front of you,” Aida whispered. “And there’s nothing you can do.”

Aida pressed a kiss to the side of Fitz’ face before teleporting off. Fitz, breathing deeply, quickly rushed towards Y/N.

“Y/N, Y/N,” he grabbed her, resting her head in his lap. “Are you okay?”

“I’m… fine…” Y/N grunted. “I can’t believe she was fooled by that damn Simmons LMD.”

“Did you do it?”

“Aida won’t be able to teleport outside of the base boundaries. There also might be a slight chance she thinks she’s going crazy.” Fitz helped Y/N sit up, grunting. “That hurt.” She rubbed her chest. “I should have just let the LMD take the brunt of it.”

“You think you could portal us to where the rest of them are?” Fitz helped her onto her feet. 

“Of course. But why the hurry?” Fitz shot her a look. “Fine, fine.” She opened a portal into the base. “Let’s go.”

Fitz and her stepped through it. The use of all her powers for the last few days was beginning to take a toll on her. She’d never done as much with them as she had been, before. Staying outside of the room, they watched through the windows of what Y/N remembered as one of the common rooms, though now destroyed.

Aida was facing them, her wounds slowly healing from where the real Simmons had shot her. Simmons was standing just out of the doorway, gun still aimed at Aida.

“You’re trap failed,” Aida smirked. “Your weapon can’t stop me.”

“I know,” Simmons responded. “I just really wanted to do that.”

“Now it’s my turn.” Aida marched towards Simmons with Coulson following. She spun around to face him. “Don’t you get it? You can’t kill me.”

“Maybe not,” Coulson replied. He gripped onto Aida’s wrist. “But I’m pretty sure he can.”

Grunting, steam began to flow from Coulson’s head. Coulson normal head disappeared, being replaced by a fiery skull.

“Okay,” Y/N said, pointing at Coulson, “no one told me that part of the plan.”

Aida and Coulson, or Ghost Rider, began fighting. Aida teleported them away.

“They won’t be able to go far,” Y/N stated. “I can sense them a few hallways down.”

Fitz-Simmons and Y/N took a portal to where Ghost Rider and Aida were fighting. He was gripping onto her wrists, burning her. She looked over at them as she was set aflame, turning into ash. Ghost Rider lifted her skeleton up and threw her against the rumble at the end of the hallway. Ghost Rider then disappeared, bring Coulson back. The others slowly made their way towards the pile of dust.

“Is she really…?” Simmons wondered.

“Yeah,” Coulson panted.

~~~

Y/N had taken a walk through the destroyed base, by herself. She was on her way to meet the others when she heard Robbie and Coulson talking.

“I don’t know how you live with it all the time,” Coulson said, his voice coming closer. “I’m just grateful ghost rider kept its part of the deal and went back to you.”

“You know why he made the deal in the first place, right?” Robbie questioned.

“I do.” I’m dying, Y/N heard Coulson’s thoughts. 

She bit her lip, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to stop the tears. The Stones had basically told her this already. She just wasn’t prepared for it to be true.

“Are you gonna tell the others?” Robbie asked.

“No,” Coulson answered. “And I’d ask that you don’t either. I will when it’s time.”

Y/N waited until the hallways met up and acted like she hadn’t heard anything. But the look that Coulson gave her… she knew that he knew, she knew. Giving the men a small smile, she followed them into the room with a round machine.

“You really have to leave right away?” Daisy asked Robbie as him, Coulson, and Y/N entered.

“Yeah,” Robbie answered. “I have to get this book someplace safe… Keep an eye on my brother?” Daisy nodded.

“The gateway’s almost ready,” Simmons informed.

“Don’t need it. I’ve learned a few things since you saw me last.”

Robbie turned away and whipped his chain out, causing it to fire up. He spun it around over his head before forming a center in front of him. A orange portal formed, staying put as Robbie turned around to grab the Darkhold from Coulson.

“I don’t envy you,” Robbie told Coulson.

“I was gonna say the same to you,” the man replied.

Taking the book, Robbie turned around to face the portal. He glanced back at Daisy, once last time, before stepping through the portal. The portal disappeared, with Robbie along with it.

“What did he mean by that?” May asked.

Before May could answer, Mack and Yo-Yo quickly entered the room. 

“We picked up radio chatter on the Zephyr,” Mack informed. “The good news is, is that Talbot is alive. He’s in a coma, but alive.”

“The bad news is they know we’re here,” Yo-Yo picked up. “And they’re on their way.”

“Yeah, you should go while you can,” Fitz said.

“Yeah, we’re all going,” Coulson responded.

“No, I’m gonna stay. This is my fault—Aida, the LMDs, all the deaths. Those aren’t on SHIELD. Those are on me. And, uh, I can explain art I built the LMD that shot Talbot. That way—“

“Fitz,” Daisy called. “We were all in the Framework together. We understand how confusing and screwed-up that world is. And trust me, it’s gonna take me years to process everything that happened in there. But the one thing that I don’t need time to understand is that we are all in this together… I tried to take the blame for everything not too long ago. I dyed my hair. I ran away. I thought that separating myself from the team would help me protect it. But in truth, I know of just lost myself. And you—you were the one who pulled me back in. This is not on you, okay? We all lost ourselves in there. And yeah, it might take you a long time to forgive yourself. But speaking on behalf of the team, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“If there’s a price to pay, we pay it together,” May stated.

“Amen,” Simmons agreed.

Y/N took a shuddery inhale, causing them all to look at her.

“I… I wish…” she swallowed, trying to stop her overwhelming emotions. “I wish I could pay it with you guys… But, my price is death. If they get a hold of me, they will kill me. Talbot proved that… I’m so sorry.”

“Y/N,” Coulson stepped up, “you have done more than was asked of you.”

“No,” she shook her head. “I haven’t… cause this is my team. And I didn’t stay… I should’ve stayed. I…”

“Is this the last time you’ll be with us?” Daisy asked, voice wavering. 

Y/N let a tear fall as she looked at Daisy, pausing before she nodded. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “But there’s something I have to do… something’s coming… and it’s up to me to stop it.”

“We’re a team,” May stated. “It’s up to us.”

“Not this… this is… bigger than all of us.”

“So, this is good bye?” Fitz questioned. “Like, actually a good bye?”

“I’m so sorry…. I wish I could pay the price with you.”

“No,” Coulson said, grabbing Y/N’s hand. “You’ve already paid many prices… you go, you run, we’ll pay this one. You’ll just get the next.” The group laughed.

“You were my first friend out of the ice,” Y/N whispered. “Thank you.”

“I was one of your biggest fans,” Coulson smiled. “It was an honor.”

He brought her in for a hug. They held each other tightly, crying into each other. The others slowly gathered around, forming a group hug. With all of them crying, they stayed close until Y/N felt that it was time to go. Separating, she wiped away her tears.

“You guys should go,” she said before swallowing. “They could be here any second.” She looked at each of them, slowly opening a portal beneath her feet. “Stay safe. The world needs you. All of you. And I love each and every one of you. Thank you for this… this family. It’s been the greatest honor being apart of this family.”

And she disappeared through the portal beneath her feet.

next chapter >

NOTES: from now on the taglist when be added by a reblog. I will reblog it using my second account, @just-dreaming-marvel-2​. Just so that my main page doesn’t get too cluttered.

If you want to be added to the tag list, please dm me or send in an ask.

[blewink]

heated // kth

warnings: dom!taehyung, sub!reader, fingering, daddy kink, cum play?, you get the jist

word count: 3.1k 

a/n: hi its been a while ! i hope you’re all still here, schools a bitch but i still love writing :) send in a request if you’d like :p also let me know if you’d like a part two bc i have many ideas

-blue

You always hated mock debates because your professor would always place you against your biggest competition, Kim Taehyung. Even though you two were on the same team, you both were top of your class since middle school and always trying to be better than each other. And oh so lucky for you, you were now at the same college and both on the debate team. 

“Ms. Y/N”- your thoughts were interrupted by your professor, who was sitting in the first row of seats in the empty auditorium. “You and Taehyung to the podiums please. Your first topic is global warming and how it affects the younger generation.” You were confident in yourself and usually you never doubted your senses. As you walked up to the podium, a chill ran up your spine, it was abnormally cold in the auditorium and the short uniform didn’t help you at all. 

The bright lights filled the stage, providing the slightest bit of warmth. You looked to the  other podium, seeing Taehyung already looking back at you, you scoff and roll your eyes, looking back down at your paper which you had already begun writing notes on. “Do either of you need more time to prepare?” Your professor asks, you both shake your heads in response, “Okay Taehyung you may begin.” You gulp, sure you were good but so was Taehyung, and his handsome face didn’t help you either- wait what?

“Global warming is an ever growing issue that impacts the entire world, but more so for the incoming generation, as they are the ones who will be needing to tend to the dirty world that the older generation left behind.” God he’s good. He continues, 

“The younger generation now has to clean the mess this older generation has left behind-” 

“My opponent here is simply restating what he just said, so I’ll take it upon myself to continue. This younger generation essentially has no more childhood because they now have to come up with ways to make sure they have a livable future,” You take a short look at your notes, “A great factor causing global warming is carbon dioxide emission. We now see more of the younger generation taking this into consideration and we see more of them riding a bike or walking to places rather than using a car.” 

While speaking, you can feel Taehyung's eyes burning into your body, making your cheeks heat up. You glance at him and he’s biting his lip, making you quickly look forward to your professor. He always did this, trying to make you flustered and make you trip on your words. It worked the first couple times but you eventually became accustomed to it, this time being no different. 

A couple minutes passed and the debate went smoothly, however it took a heated turn at some point and you two were practically at each other's throats. This topic was something you were very passionate about, as it was the whole reason you were going to school for. So when he mentioned that big corporations' emissions levels didn't have a real impact on global warming, you were quick to fire back at him. 

You completely ignored everyone's looks at you as you were eager to make sure Taehyung knew he was in the wrong. You were quickly interrupted by your professor, “Y/N that's enough, your point was proven. Please take the rest of the hour to calm down in the rest area in the back room.” He points behind you and you quickly apologize and make your way behind the curtains and into the back hallway.

You hear some mumbling behind you and footsteps following yours. You turn and of course, it’s Taehyung. “Hey y/n, you good?” You take a deep breath before answering him, “Yeah I’m good, just what you said wasn’t right.” You finally make it to the back room and lay across one of the couches in the room. You hear him sit on the couch just across from yours. “How could I be wrong though? I did my research and it said that big companies don’t contribute as much CO2 emissions as common people.” Is he really still on this? You were getting pissed off, “Did you really come in here just to piss me off more?” 

You sit upright to face him, he has a smug look on his face, meaning he was up to no good. “Baby, you have got to loosen up, you’re too cute when you’re all flustered.” He gets up and walks to the door and locks it before walking back over to the bookcase. Your cheeks flush at the pet name, “You’re not doing this to me again,” You get up and walk over to him, “You’re not gonna pretend to flirt with me just to distract me from the debates.” 

His fingers trace the book spines, making you wet you panties a bit, fuck you and your stupid hand kink. He hums, “Well, for one, the debate is over and there's nothing to distract you from. And second,” He pauses and faces you. His arm wraps around your waist and pulls you close to him, your faces are meer centimeters away now, “Who said I was pretending?” Your eyes are wide and you can’t believe a word he says. You back away from him, laughing, “You’re kidding right? Alright who set you up to this?” 

He laughs at your response, his voice dips lower than usual, “You are so oblivious, aren't you baby?” The pet name and his deep voice make your knees feel weak and you let out a small whimper. You quickly cover your mouth and pray that he didn’t hear that. His movement freezes and you look over at him, he laughs again, “Did you like that? Hmm?” His eyebrow cocks up, but you stay in place and quiet. 

He walks toward you and you step backwards until you feel a table hit your lower back. He presses his whole body against yours and brings his lips to your ears, “I asked if you liked what I said, I’m gonna need a response from you.” You nod but it seems to not be enough for him, he grabs the backs of your thighs and pulls you up and places you on top of the table. His hand reaches for your chin and he forces your eyes to meet his, “I need you to say yes or no, do you understand pup?” The new name makes your knees impulsive close but his body between your legs blocks them. “Yes.”

“You need to tell me if you want to stop because if you don’t, I won’t. Do you understand me?” You quickly reply ‘ yes.’ His lips dive into yours, his saliva tastes sweet and his tongue deepens the kiss. His hands quickly untuck your dress shirt and he carefully unbuttons it, his hands travel to your breasts. He gives them small squeezes, making you moan into the kiss. You pull away and unclasp your bra, revealing one of your biggest secrets, your nipple piercings. 

You earn a gasp from him and your face goes warm, “No point in being embarrassed baby, you’re absolutely stunning.” He ducks down and sucks on your nipples, which were hypersensitive. You’ve soaking through your panties at this point, he stops his actions, “Wait, do the piercings make them more sensitive for you?” You nod, forgetting the vocal rule, which it seems he did too as he continues his actions. His teeth lightly tug at the barbs, making you moan. You slap your hand over your mouth, remembering you aren’t too far from the main stage. “No no no, I wanna hear baby.” Feeling careless you move your hand away. 

He pulls you off the table, eager to hear your noises again, “Take your skirt off for me baby” You unzip your skirt from the side and let it drop. He removes his tie and dress shirt and he unbuckles his belt, quickly ridding himself of his pants, leaving him in only his boxers. His cock was very visible and pressed against the fabric of his boxers. “Lay on the couch for me.” You do as you're told. 

He comes up to your face and quickly kisses you, he moves to your neck, then trails down to the hem of your panties. He spreads your knees apart, and traces the wet spot on your panties, “Awe did my little pup ruin her panties?” His finger barely grazes the fabric on top of your clit, “Only because of daddy’s words.” You both freeze and you immediately start to apologize, “I’m sorry let’s just pretend-” He stops you, “No it’s okay. Daddy likes the name.” He winks at you and pulls your panties off. 

He drags his finger down your slit and slightly presses into your hole. The teasing makes you whine, “More daddy.” He looks back up at you, “Tsk tsk, we must not have manners huh?” “Wha-” A hard smack to the side of your ass cuts you off. You let out a choked moan, “Mmm little pup must like that.” He pulls your hips up and turns you over, on top of his lap. His hand rubs your ass before he gives another hard smack. He gives about five more before the pain turns into pleasure. “Look at you such a little mess, your poor little pussy is leaking all over the couch. Such a dirty little pup aren’t you?” You finally realize your pussy was indeed leaking, your inner thighs felt cold and you felt yourself dripping. 

“Please daddy, touch me.” His hand was now cupped over your cunt, “Thank you for using your manners, where would you like daddy to touch you?” You press against his hand, “Clit, hole anywhere, please” Your voice is barely a whisper, but he complies. You’re still laid over his lap and he spreads your legs apart and rubs your clit with small and slow circles. “I wanna see your little cunt leak some more, that okay with you baby?” You nod your head, “Yes daddy.” 

His movements slightly increase in speed, making your body shake in pleasure, you feel more of your juices leak out of you. “Fuck baby, you get so fucking wet, all for me isn’t that right?” “Yes daddy, all for you.” He plunges two fingers into your needy hole with ease, you immediately clench around him. His fingers fuck you at a moderate pace and he then adds a third and soon a fourth. His fingers are long and press against your sweet spot. His other hand rubs your clit, “So close, keep going” His fingers keep pumping in and out of you, “That’s it baby, cum for me. Make daddy proud.” His words send you over the edge, your orgasm pummels your body. His fingers ride you through your high, he pulls his fingers out, leaving you feeling empty. 

You sit up back on your legs. You notice the obvious wet spot on the couch, Taehyung gets up and rids himself of his boxers. He sits back down and pats his lap. You notice his size now, he’s long and thick but you know you can take him. You straddle his lap and you can already feel the tip of his cock pressing at the entrance of your cunt. “Take it when you're ready,” You want to tease him so you take his cock and rub the tip along your pussy, coating in your juices. You bring it back to your hole and you lower yourself slightly onto the tip, barely taking him. He’s quick to notice your teasing and gives a slight smack to you ass, “Don’t be a brat, take the cock like it’s yours-” You lower yourself completely, cutting him off. 

His hands immediately go to your waist and you moan because his cock is pressing directly on your sweet spot, you whisper into his ear, “Holy fuck, I could literally cum right now you’re so big.” Your sentence ends in a squeak as your body shivers. Your cunt is still completely stuffed with his cock, you lift yourself slightly and fall back down. His grip tightens with every time you come back down, “How the fuck are you still so god damn tight? Did I not prep your little cunt enough?” You shake your head, “No you did fine, just fuck me” 

He flips you onto your back, “Oh I’ll fuck you alright.” His hips immediately snap against yours, the fast pace makes you hold onto his shoulders. Your whimpers and the sound of skin slapping fills the room, “That’s right, such a good pup for me. Taking my cock so well aren’t you?” You nod. He brings his lips to the side of your neck, sucking lightly and licking. He grabs one of your legs and brings it to the side of him, his cock goes deeper than before and abuses your poor sweet spot, “Gonna cum.” His cock pumps in and out of you, “You gonna cum all over this cock aren't you baby?” Your nails dig into his skin and your body buzzes. 

You feel something wet splash onto your inner thighs and look down, “Did you cum?” you ask, a little confused. “Not yet baby, that was you. You can squirt?” A shocked expression covers both your faces, “I guess so, no one has ever made me cum like that.” A slight blush fades on your cheeks until you realize he still hasn't cum. He grabs your hips as though he’s ready to get up but you whisper in his ear, “I want you to cum in me.” 

Not a second passes and his hips snap against yours, giving you a hard thrust deep inside you, making you shiver in overstimulation. He continues and his grunts get higher in pitch indicating he’s close. You purposely squeeze around his cock and say, “Fill me up, please, I’ll do anything. Please-” You gasp as you feel his hot seed spill into you. He doesn’t stop until he milks himself completely. He pulls himself out and his seed quickly follows after, and you quickly lift your hips, attempting to avoid making a mess on the couch under you. 

He quickly gets up and heads to the bathroom on the other side of the room, grabbing some paper towels, wetting a few. He quickly walks back and places some under your bottom, you assume he’s going to wipe off your cunt but he pulls your hips down, making his cum spill out of you. You shiver at the sensation, but Taehyung’s fingers quickly spread his cum all over your cunt. He scoops a bit from your leaking hole and he brings his fingers to your mouth, you comply and suck his fingers clean. “Good girl.” The praise makes your cunt squeeze, allowing more of his seed to spill out onto the paper towels. 

You then feel a cold towel wiping between your thighs, cleaning up the mess created. “Jesus, I’ve never had a load this big, I swear, sorry it’s such a big mess sweetheart.” There’s genuine concern coming from his voice, making you blush a little. “It’s fine, you don’t have to worry about that.” He cocks an eyebrow up but his eyes are still glued to your cunt, “So my baby’s taken loads this big before?” You close your thighs out of embarrassment, but Taehyung’s quick to open them back up, “Answer the question.” You shake your head, “Not by a guy, I just have toys that do” 

The confession makes your face burn red and Taehyung hums and quickly finishes cleaning you and the couch up. You both quickly get dressed as best you can before Taehyung continues the conversation. “Listen I do like you, like a lot. I’m not trying to make this a one time thing.” You feel relieved knowing it wasn’t a one time thing, knowing someone like him doesn't come around too often, “Well it’s a good thing I’m not either.” He grabs the sides of your face and kisses you gently on the lips. You kiss him back and let your eyes flutter closed. It’s more intimate than the ones before, you’re the one to pull away for air. His lips are pink and covered in saliva and you can assume yours are too.

“So what are you doing after this?” You’re still trying to fix your skirt, by flattening the front, “Well nothing really, just the tournament tomorrow” He grabs your hand and interlaces his fingers with yours, “How many toys do you have baby?” You bite your lips and it takes you a second to recall you every growing toy collection, “Quite a bit.” He hums, seems like he likes doing that, “Well why don’t you take daddy to your apartment and do a little show and tell for him, hmm?” Your cheeks go red again, despite him already having been balls deep inside you. “What exactly do you mean my show and tell?” He brings you closer to him, “You tell daddy about your toys, then you show me how you use them.” You’d never shown anyone your collection before, but it made you excited. You quickly opened the door and tried to walk as quickly as you could back to the stage, as it was the quickest way back to the parking lot. You weren’t expecting anyone to still be there but your professor called out your name just as you two were about to leave the auditorium. You quickly turn to Taehyung to ask him, “Did you give me any hickies?” His eyes widen and stare at your neck. Amazing, how lucky could you be. You quickly pull your hair out of your ponytail and try to cover your neck. “Hey Professor Yu, did you need something?” She comes closer to you before saying, “Did you and Taehyung figure things out?” You quickly nod, “Yeah it was a simple misunderstanding.” Taehyung quickly interjects, “You could say she just needed to scream it out.” Professor Yu’s face twits in confusion, “Well good, I can’t have my two best kids at each other's throats. Speaking of, you look like you might have bumped into something there.” You laugh it off and say it was just make up you were trying out in the backroom, which for some reason she believes. “Well, I’ll see you two tomorrow morning at 7am sharp. You two have fun until then.” She turns away and Taehyung quickly shouts, “Don’t worry we will!” You jab your elbow into his side, “Jeez could you be more obvious?” He laughs at you but drags you out by the arm to your car, “We better get home quick, it’s gonna be a long night.”

[poptod]

Pull the Stars Out of the Sky (And Gift Them to Me), pt. 11, (Ahkmenrah x Reader)

Description: Thunder for the God.

Notes: this is it! the final chapter. I wanna say thank you to a few people cause I rarely ever respond to comments directly, mostly cause i never know what to say, but @diasimar, @edteche2, @moon-stars-soul, @crewman-penelope, @hah0106, thank you so fuckin much for your comments!! it really kept me going while i was working and really motivated me. im rly worried this last chapter is gonna disappoint but i gotta post it at some point! WC: 1.7k

+

A feast was held. Of course it was––the only way Egyptians knew how to celebrate was with plenty of food, plenty of booze, and lots of sex. Already people wrote songs of your exploits, performing them as they waited for you and Ahk to appear in the courtroom now filled to the brim with the people of Memphis. Clashing drums and lutes accompanied by harps and singing voices all came from behind the walls, but the room Ahk prepared himself in remained mostly quiet, occupied only by you and himself. Piye was busy tending to the citizens with the help of Gyasi, who offered his services in helping the now-blind vizier.

"I never thought to see this day," Ahk said softly, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His outfit, which had taken about an hour to get on (plus makeup), left him the striking image of the Pharaoh you had first met––drowned in gold, in gemstones, reeking of rich, spoiled tastes.

"What, that you'd be attending a party in your own honor?" You asked with a chuckle.

"No," he said, turning to you, "I didn't think I'd see you willingly stand beside me."

"I didn't either. I hated you."

"Rightfully so," he mumbled. "I'm sorry, again, for how I treated you."

"You could've been a lot nicer while kidnapping me."

"I know. But you're happy now... right?"

"Yes," you said, grinning. "What would you do if I wasn't?"

"Abandon everything," he said with a careless shrug. "Run away with you. Leave it all behind."

"Even with a feast outside those doors?" You asked as you stepped closer. He took advantage of that, pulling you in by your waist and smiling when your chests met.

"Well, I might have to go to that first. But afterwards, I would go anywhere for you. Do anything. You are mine, now," he said, growing soft as his lips brushed against your temple, "and I have fought long to prove it."

"I think you belong to me more than I belong to you," you chuckled.

"Perhaps you're right," he said, swaying with you to the muted tunes of harpstrings. "I don't mind either way as long as you love me."

"I do," you mumbled.

"Say it," he said, parting from you to look you in the eye. His hand came up to your face, stroking the soft skin of your cheek as he gazed into you, searching for words he had longed for all this time. "Please."

"I love you, Ahk."

There he went again––tears down his face, dripping into and caught by the smile that spread across his rosy lips. He leant in to kiss you, still wet with those salty tears, but you happily returned his affections.

Until his kiss grew deep, devolving into him biting at your neck again, pressing himself against your body till your back inevitably hit a wall. He sandwiched you there, running his hands from your chest to your hips and back up to your face.

"Now then, your people wait for you. Don't disappoint them by not showing up," you warned him, but there was little resolve in your tone, already torn up by the blush pervading your cheeks.

"I'll be quick," he muttered against your skin, followed by a laugh when you groaned.

"But you can also do this later, when you can take your time," you said, but couldn't stop yourself from smiling even as you tried to push him away.

"I can do it twice."

"Ahk!"

"Call my name again, love," he said, drawing away from you with a shit-eating grin.

"We can do this after," you said as you fully pushed him away. "Even during, depending how the evening goes."

"I like how you think," Ahk said, offering his hand to you with a cocked chin raised high. "Ready to go?"

You nodded.

The doors before you opened, and a short walk up to the throne led you to overlook the crowd, scanning over every citizen's face whose eyes fell to you. Without a word spoken from you or Ahk, silence fell in the hall crowded past the brim. Torches flanked either side of the long room, illuminating the moving heads, as well as marking the searing smoke of meat and the plates of food presented out on the many tables.

It was not unlike the feast for Amun, but this time the only human images standing on a podium were you and Ahk. No more golden statues. Now what remained was the Pharaoh in all his glory, glowing as though blessed with an ethereal light, sheer silk with sewn gold cascading from him like a comet trailing the sky.

Once most everyone's attention was on the Pharaoh, he spoke.

"I know that much of my rule has not been through peaceful times," he said, meeting the eyes of every listener. "I thank you all for your patience with me. We have seen the rising of my brother's empire, and it has ended in ruin––we have seen the death of three Pharaohs, myself included."

A quiet laugh murmured through the crowd. Out of the corner of your eye, you spied Piye sticking to the wall by themself. You jogged over, whispering a beckoning, before taking their hand and personally leading them up the pedestal.

"I am sure you have all heard of what I've done. The events that have come to pass. Whether or not you have the whole of the story, or any true part of the story, is what worries me. I want all of you to know why I did what I did––why, exactly, I am not a heretic. You deserve that much."

Ahk spoke as though conversing with an old friend, something you were sure made his approval rating amongst the populace skyrocket. He continued that tone of voice, that familiarity, as he recounted the long events of the past few months, from your appearance in the castle (which he labelled as a gift from the Gods), to Ma'at herself locking Amun into the sky. They all listened closely, believing every word of their loving Pharaoh.

"I did what I did to protect myself, my people, and my friends. They were necessary evils. But now I have Ma'at's blessing, and I take my rightful place as your Pharaoh," he said with a growing confidence that boomed in his projected voice. "I am Ra's Son once more."

An eruption of cheers and shouts burst your ears, and you grinned from ear to ear, glancing to your side to watch for Ahk's reaction. He was smiling as well, prideful as he deserved. Piye held their own small smile as well.

Instruments came back in full swing, humming and thrumming with the vibrations of the tall chamber. Though at first they were the melodies of many songs, playing one after the other without pause, they converged into a tune that filled your head, seeping into the thoughts of every listener. You paid little attention to the words they sang in perfect harmonies till a word caught your attention––your name. Looking out across the citizens of Memphis, of Kemet, you realized they were singing about you.

The fire that reigns on the burning King will never yield to the sword! The spells that remain pour down in the rain as the Nile boils in the sea

What wonders they bring! This thunder for the God, Amoke and the hundreds that sing the name of the God, Amoke

Pray to the earth for a saving grace As the magi searches the planes The dead, they seek The living antique a God of his own who can't rest on his throne Call to the name of the holy

We sing to thee! Sunset for the God, Amoke Sing praise for thee! Thunder for the God, Amoke Thunder for the God, Amoke! The beauty of the God, Amoke!

Your mouth hung open as you watched them sing, ignorant to Ahk, who was now smiling at your shocked expression.

"... and so will you be remembered," Ahk murmured, his arms wrapping around you as he came up behind you. "A God for all of time.”

“My Amoke."

~+~

You had access to great temples––to places of worship hundreds of years old, intricately detailed spells shown on every wall, bases of golden statues littered with flowers and offerings. Instead you stuck to your tiny altar, hidden away in one of the smaller storage rooms not in use. Ahk didn't quite understand it, but he allowed it happily, and left you alone to your devices.

The only item standing on your altar was a tiny statuette in the form of Mahjur. If Ahk found out that was who you were praying to, you weren't sure what he'd do, so for the time being you kept it secret. Besides that, it was nothing more than a table you set incense and tiny plates of food and water on.

It was the only light in the room––the tiny rushlight, the lit incense drawing smoke into the air. Layers of it fell above your head, knelt low in respect of the God who had helped you.

Physical feeling fell away, and in that moment, your forehead pressed to the table, you realized the many prayers you'd sent into the stranger of an underworld were being answered at last.

A single, high note rang in your head as the image of open, glowing eyes pierced your thoughts.

"Is Ahk ssssafe?" They asked in a whisper in your head that you could barely hear.

Yes, you thought, keeping your eyes closed to maintain the connection.

"... you haavvvvve.. other questionss... correct?"

Amun is an all-powerful God, yes?

"Yes."

How did we escape him? How did we hide away? Why did he not pluck me from the sky? How did we survive the ire of a creator God?

"Ahk hasss cccertain experiencess... with Gods. He issss ssssmart. He isss untraceable by annnny Gods' mmagggic."

How? You pleaded.

"He hass died annnnd come back. He issss... undead. No longer human. Nnnnot entirrrrely."

You swallowed thick, forcing yourself not to open your eyes from surprise.

And Piye?

"A mmmmagi. Invvvvissssible. Too... absorbed innn the world.. to see," they hummed, glowing eyes still probing your thoughts.

... and me?

There was silence for a moment, and the eyes blinked, but remained within your head.

"You... are not.. hhhhuman," they whispered.

Your eyes flew open.

What?

––––––

If you want to hear the song I wrote about in this story, I actually recorded it and you can find it here.

[mahalidael]

Those Familiar Spirits

(*sprints up to the podium* FIRST FLYNN FANFIC. sort of. if you don’t count the phantomrose96 one, but flynn doesn’t actually appear in that one so make of it what you will)

Danny was two years old when the police came to their house. He must have thought the flashing lights were fireworks; he ran outside alone to look.

He saw uniforms, a funny black and white car, and a great deal of shouting between the grown-ups. It was July, and very muggy. Flies buzzed around the police cars’ lights as Mom and Dad talked very quietly, and Aunt Alicia yelled, and the police said ma’am, please, we’re trying to help, could you just, ma’am. Ma’am.

Danny ran up to get a better look but was promptly swept up by a police officer and carried back inside as he craned his neck to hear what they were saying.

Mom went inside for a minute and made him and Jazz sit on the couch. She told them gravely, “We’re just going to talk to the nice policemen, okay? Don’t go out there.”

Danny huffed. Jazz noticed his irritation and spoke up. “Can we watch TV if we stay inside?”

“Mm-hm,” said Mom, looking out the window at the lights again, already standing up and gravitating towards them.

Jazz reached for the TV remote and hit the power button with an ease that a four year old will only exhibit when provided with sufficiently busy parents. Danny started chewing on his shirt sleeve as images flashed on the screen; they were big kid cartoons that he had no interest in.

“Mom?” said Jazz, peeking up over the back of the couch.

Mom paused in the doorway and addressed one of the policemen before turning back to Jazz. “Just a second — yeah?”

“Where’s Flynn? He likes this show.”

“Um,” said Mom.

She cleared her throat.

“That’s what the policemen are going to help us with. I’m sure he’ll be back before it’s over.”

Their cousin was not back before it was over. He wasn’t back at all, but this, like most everything else from when he was two years old, fell through Danny’s memory like it was water.

...

Jack had been wary of his sister-in-law coming over for a week. He’d also been wary when Maddie described her sister’s marriage as “getting better” and said that she was “calling off the divorce.”

Anyway, within two days of the visit Danny had gotten it into his head that his uncle’s name was Damn-It-Bob.

But the most disconcerting thing was that Jack couldn’t do much about the situation. Alicia was a notoriously private person, and considered the matter of her marriage between herself, Maddie, and Damn-It-Bob. Trying to get close enough to be allowed into that inner circle was an exercise in self-endangerment. He had tried exactly once in college, and the dislocated wrist he’d gotten out of that arm wrestling match nearly cost him his scholarship.

Getting through to Damn-It-Bob was even more frustrating. Alicia, at least, cared about Maddie’s studies. She didn’t understand them, but looked on with interest as Maddie expertly extracted a sample from the latest ghost specimen and held it up to the light for her sister to see.

Damn-It-Bob was worse than an outsider. He was a snob.

Damn-It-Bob looked like if Alicia didn’t already have a pickup truck, he’d drive a Prius, and if he ever tried tikka masala he’d brag about it. Jack had to assume that if Alicia married him, they had to have some kind of common ground, but damn if he couldn’t figure out what it was. And apparently neither could they.

He had a degree in aerospace engineering, which he constantly emphasized was a really useful science. Alicia didn’t even have to work at the logging company if she didn’t want to keep up the family business.

He tried to charm the kids with pictures of the rockets he’d designed. It worked on Danny, which, yeah, okay, he was two years old, but Jazz seemed to pick up his intentions and tried to steer Danny away. Jeez. If Jack left her alone for five minutes, she might be doing calculus when he came back.

And then there was the kid.

He didn’t even notice that he was there until the Walkers were standing in the living room. Jack had walked behind Alicia to hang up their coats and suddenly saw him standing right behind her.

The kid hadn’t said a word in the entire thirty-minute production of his family coming inside — or if he had, he hadn’t been listened to. He had this sort of rust-colored hair that stuck out in all directions, like they tied up a big ponytail on the top of his head and chopped it off instead of giving him a real haircut.

Getting closer,  Jack finally saw why the kid wasn’t talking. He had his nose buried in some book. Oh, so he was one of those, Jack thought. He hadn’t personally been a child who devoured books like a woodchipper, but Vlad had.

In any case, silent reading hour was over. “Hey, bucko!” said Jack. The kid nearly jumped out of his skin, one hand snapping the book shut like a cell phone at the end of a tense call. “Thirsty for knowledge, I see? We’ve got more down in the lab.”

He shrunk away. Alicia noticed and put a hand on his shoulder as she turned her attention away from Maddie. “—so that’s how the union settled. And you two remember Flynn, right?” she said, ruffling the kid’s hair. “We brought him to Danny’s baby shower. He was so shy back then you thought the table was set by a ghost for a solid thirty minutes.”

Maddie’s eyes landed on Flynn and lit up in recognition. “Oh, yeah! I remember. You were at least a head shorter last time we saw you.”

Flynn nodded, staring at his shoes. He hugged the book to his chest like it was a stuffed animal.

Alicia and her husband chuckled politely. “Well, you might have seen him earlier if you didn’t pull out your toys to try and find that ghost,” said her husband, less politely.

“Bob, could you please be civil?” Alicia said under her breath.

“The event was delayed by an hour and we missed our flight over a bunch of—”

“Damn it, Bob—”

“It was a poltergeist, technically,” Maddie laughed nervously, stepping between them, a note of oh lord not this again in her voice.

“Hey, kids, how about we go down to the basement and check out some cool gadgets?” Jack was itching to take Flynn and the children downstairs. He had to ditch the conversation before it went south. “Wanna see what ghost bones look like?”

Flynn actually looked like he was going to respond to that, but Damn-It-Bob cut in. “Flynn probably wouldn’t be interested in theoretical science. He likes studying useful things.”

Yeah, ectoscience was theoretical. You could tell it was bad because it was italicized.

Jack resisted the urge to get passive-aggressive right back. Not in front of the children. “There’s plenty of physical things in the lab that I’m sure Flynn’s gonna love. Every kid loves lasers. Right, Danny?” he queried his son, who was chewing on the leg of the coffee table.

Danny blew a raspberry, which he assumed was a yes. Jack managed to whisk them away before the Walkers started swearing at each other.

He put Jazz and Danny down in the little area of the lab that they’d sectioned off with a foldable plastic dog gate, where Jazz made herself busy putting all the crayons in a straight line before Danny picked them up and started scribbling on the rubber tiled floor.

“So, Flynn! We’ve got some whosits and whatsits to check out. That catches ghosts,” Jack said, pointing at the gadgets skewed across the counter like exploded, “this blasts ghosts, that catches and blasts ghosts, and this is a hot dog maker. What do you wanna see first?”

Flynn shrugged and shuffled an inch backwards.

Okay, this wasn’t going anywhere. Which was odd — they’d opened up the ops center to tourists in the past for alternate revenue, and kids always seemed to be the most excited about the gadgets.

Plan B, he guessed. “What’s that book about, anyway?” he said.

Flynn hesitantly held out the book. Jack took it. It was a big, heavy book, with a hard cover titled The Collected Jack London. Jack went to open it to a random page, but was interrupted when his leafing caused something to fall out from between the pages.

It was a flower. Flynn quickly snatched it off the floor and took his book back, scowling. “It’s sabatia geu — sabatia geutianoides,” he muttered. “It’s one of the rarest flowers in Arkansas, so I can’t pick another one.” He then very carefully flipped to another page in the book, counting the page numbers in whispers until he found the one he was looking for and slipped the flower back inside.

Ah. He could work with that. “Really? Is it the rarest one you’ve got?” he said, posing a challenge.

“Uh, I have Stern’s medlar, but just a leaf I got off the ground. They’re cruh — crit — crit-i-cal-ly endangered.”

“We’ve got some samples of a pretty rare plant ourselves.”

Flynn’s eyes lit up. “Can I see them?”

Jack took Flynn off into a side room. This room was mostly like the last, though being closed to visitors, it was far less organized. He picked Flynn up and lifted him over a heap of spare parts on the floor. “Watch your step.”

A cacophony of containers were heaped on a table in the center of the room. Only a few of them were planter pots that they’d already owned; the rest were old shoeboxes and burned-out pots and pans. They were all filled with soil. Their occupants stretched their purple-black stems towards the overhead sun lamp.

“Rosa sanguinea, also known as the Massachusetts blood blossom,” said Jack. “They were grown in the 1600s — apparently they release an anti-ghost vapor. Unfortunately, we can’t prove whether it works, since we don’t have any intact ghosts to test it on, but they’re delicious.”

“That’s so weird.” Flynn rubbed a black leaf between his fingers, as if he expected the color to come off. “Roses aren’t normally hardy enough to grow inside. And the leaves are naturally black?”

“Yep. Well, maybe. We think they were mutated by long-term exposure to ecto-energy. The biggest patch of them is around Salem, and that place is a hotspot for the natural portals to the dimension ghosts live in,” he said, pointing at the pictures of such that they’d pinned to the corkboard across the room. Jack himself couldn’t believe some of the places that they’d found natural portals in. One of the pictures on the corkboard was of a portal they’d found in a public toilet. “They’re stubborn little buggers, but only in ecto-energized soil — we had to cart the dirt in these pots all the way back from Massachusetts.”

Jack snapped his fingers.

“I’ve got an idea.” He picked up a blood blossom growing in a mason jar and handed it to Flynn. “That’s yours now. Take it back to Arkansas, and it’ll protect you from ghosts.”

“Really?” said Flynn, seemingly more awestruck by the plant itself than any properties it might’ve had. “I can have it?”

“All yours! After all, who knows when you might need it?”

...

Flynn hadn’t wanted to leave Arkansas. He hadn’t wanted to sit in Mom’s funny-smelling truck for ten-odd hours while listening to them argue about money, and ghosts, and damn it Bob, would it kill you to put the toilet paper in the holder the right way just once?

At some of the rest stops, Flynn had stood in the bathroom and stared in the mirror. The door was right behind him and Dad hadn’t left the stall yet. He could just turn around and run into the woods, so Mom and Dad would talk about something other than their horrible marriage.

Because Flynn was ten years old, and the problem that he saw was nothing as complex as an incompatibility of personality, or people growing apart. The problem he saw was that they needed to shut up about the divorce.

That was all he wanted. Something to come in and make them shut up, and make the divorce go away, and put things back where they were supposed to be.

But obviously that’s not how things work. Flynn went outside and picked dandelions that were growing at the edge of the parking lot, and he held them outside the window while they were driving so the seeds would scatter all along the road, and he still ended up visiting Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie in New York, and Mom and Dad were still fighting over stupid stuff.

Flynn kept trying to put off the tour. He knew that Dad would hate the lab. He stuck with real things, metal and chalk numbers — never mind that one of the major points of contention was the slew of Young Living boxes sitting in their garage. A better statement was that Dad rejected any science he didn’t think he could exploit. Like, son, wildflowers are nice and all, but you know that the real money’s in saffron, right? It sells for twenty-five hundred a pop and it’s not getting any cheaper. Just think about it, son.

“ —converts ectoplasm into a power source.” Aunt Maddie was showing them something embedded in the lab wall. Flynn didn’t really like ectoscience either, but that was mostly because the topic freaked him out. He didn’t like when his friends played that pencil game that let you talk to ghosts, much less when his uncle talked about ripping them apart mmmolecule by mmmolecule.

It just felt kind of rude. They were people, at some point. Everyone knew a dead person.

“Quaint,” said Dad, turning over the hot dog maker he had found on the counter. “Very quaint.” It was his usual word of condemnation. “What’s that hole in the wall?”

It was barely a hole. Not so much because of size, but because it was so badly occupied by a tangle of wire that actually entering it would be impossible. Aunt Maddie said: “Our prototype for a stable portal into the ghost zone.” Dad scoffed, but she smiled tightly and ignored it. “With a reliable and stationary portal, we can collect data faster.”

“And it took you ten years to think of that?”

“Bob, if you don’t want to see it, you can just wait in the guest room,” said Mom, rubbing her temples.

“No, it’s fine, Alicia.” Aunt Maddie sighed. “We’ve been thinking of it. It just took this long to make sure building a portal large enough for a human to enter would be safe. A few years ago, a friend of ours was injured by one that wasn’t any bigger than a car tire — precautions needed to be taken—”

Dad put up his hand in a ‘halt’ gesture. “So, wait. You know that those things can hurt people, and yet you build a big one in your basement, and let your kids in here ?”

“They’re at a safe distance — they’re not even on the same side of the lab,” said Aunt Maddie, eyes narrow.

“Oh, thank goodness you let your toddlers play some paces away from a potential biohazard! ” Dad threw up his hands in fake relief. “I guess that makes it okay, then!”

Aunt Maddie looked like she was gearing up to shout. But she glanced at her kids in their little corner hutch, and seemed to think better of it. “Look, Bob, I — help me understand. Five minutes ago you were calling ghosts ‘fairy tales,’ and now you’re getting on about potentially endangering my children with something that, by your own logic, shouldn’t do anything. What’s your real problem?”

“My ‘real problem’ is that, ghosts or not — and there are certainly not — the fact that someone got hurt at all tells me that you’re tampering with something that you don’t understand—”

“Bob, that’s enough —”

Seed dispersion was one of the fundamental adaptations of the plant world. A seed that dropped straight down from its parent plant was a dead seed. It wouldn’t be able to access sufficient nutrition, water, or light so close.

Mom exiled him and Dad from the lab so she could have a good talk with Aunt Maddie. Uncle Jack awkwardly let them sit on the couch and watch NCIS with him.

“I just think that pseudoscience has no place in being the primary income for a family,” said Dad.

Uncle Jack nodded with a poorly disguised grimace.

“Anyway, have you heard that lavender has anti-autism properties?”

Uncle Jack suddenly excused himself to go to the bathroom. Luckily, Dad seemed to think that the distant laughter was coming from the TV.

Dandelions had a nasty taxonomy. They were wind-dispersed, able to fly up to sixty miles away from their parent plant, where they isolated and readily speciated. This was a large part of the reason why Flynn couldn’t appreciate them without every adult in an eighty-mile radius screaming it’s a weed!

By Sunday, Mom and Dad couldn’t be in the same room together without shouting.

By Wednesday, they wouldn’t speak to each other at all.

By Saturday, they started calling the divorce lawyer again.

That night before they went back to Arkansas, Flynn slept on his aunt and uncle’s couch. He could hear Mom and Dad talking in the guest room above. At indoor voice levels. He didn’t know whether that was good or bad.

The potted blood blossom sat on the end table atop Jack London.

He was woken up at two in the morning when something spritzed him in the face like he was a cat. Flynn squinted in the darkness for what it could be and was immediately spritzed again. He wiped the spray off his face and jolted at the sight of a red smear on his wrist.

A faint hiss was coming from the end table. Flynn watched as the blood blossom emitted a quiet red steam into the air.

He looked around the room nervously. Then he looked out the front window.

At the very end of the street, between the buildings, there was a faint green glow that looked very much like Uncle Jack’s pictures.

Well, of course dandelions were weeds. When something survived too well, humans inevitably got all up in their business, trying to trammel them in. It was a weed because it didn’t cooperate with that.

Flynn didn’t need to pack his bag; he had already loaded everything from the trip back in, but he added some more anyway. He got a knife, a frying pan, and a BIC lighter out of the kitchen. And of course, he took his book and the blood blossom.

Then he walked out the front door for the last time.

It was a muggy July night, and all the lights in the windows were out. The streetlamps pooled in the road. The green light creeped into the alleyway on tiptoe.

Flynn stood before a hole in the world and found himself alone. The hole didn’t appear to properly occupy the alley. It looked like a bad photoshop in person. Just standing a foot away from it, he could feel the static electricity. It felt like it was ruffling his hair in a gesture of approval.

There was a deep hum that might have been the portal, or the flies buzzing around it, or Flynn’s heart getting ready to tear itself from his chest in excitement or fear. He did not know which.

The blood blossom was beginning to overflow its mason jar with red condensation. Flynn poured it out onto the ground. It mixed with the dank puddles in the mundane depressions of the concrete that, absurdly, continued to exist in the presence of something so otherworldly.

Flynn reached through the portal. It felt like cold water — strange, but not icy enough to be unpleasant.

This was what he needed. Something he didn’t know, somewhere his parents couldn’t find him. He could find shelter with those familiar spirits for a little while, and his blood blossom would protect him as his parents looked for him, and then he would come back and they would be so happy and angry to see him that they wouldn’t talk about the divorce again for another year at least, and it would be nice, and it would just be so nice, it would just be so nice when he got back.

And then the light consumed his vision.

...

Twelve years later.

“Jazz? Did you just come through the portal?” Danny squinted at the readout on the specter speeder — the constant green light of the ghost zone made it hard to read at times.

“No?” she said over the speeder’s radio. “I’m still in the lab, why?”

“Because the radar’s picking up signs of life.”

[joontier]

Ramen Rivals

synopsis: Rivals in the kitchen, rivals even with ramen -  two rivaling restaurateurs fight over the only cup of instant noodles left in the convenience store

pairings: kim seokjin x reader (oneshot)

rating:  R | genre: classic e2l trope; gourmet chef! seokjin and reader ; smut; humor; fluff ; crack | warnings: swearing, explicit sex, kitchen sex, implied bathroom sex, multiple orgasms

word count: 12k RIP MY BRAIN

a/n: Ahhhh, his is actually a re-written version of one i posted way way back 2018 LOOOL idk what to feel anymore after this akfaowiejfoawe the last parts are actually heavily unedited ACK 

navi. 

Kim Seokjin. 

That’s it. That’s the name. That’s the tweet. 

You never knew three syllables could affect you this much, could bring you this great distress. The mere mention of it makes you reel, roll your eyes, ball up your fists, makes the tiny hairs on your nape stand on end. 

Long story short, Kim Seokjin makes your blood boil. 

It doesn’t help either that he was Adonis himself – complete with cat eyes, plump lips, and a dashing smile, or that he has rock-hard abs hiding underneath that white double-breasted jacket, or that he busts out corny ass dad jokes as much as he winks at people (which is a LOT of times, by the way), or that he’s an undeniably an exceptional chef (such as yourself, duh) and has now erected a gourmet restaurant next door to rival yours, OR the completely obvious fact that you two have history. 

The short period of time in the past that you shared with him wasn’t exactly one you would be embarrassed of, or something you want to forget. Instead, it’s the exact opposite. You’re ashamed of the fact that you hadn’t gotten over it until now, three years later. He was your OGF – Mr. One Great Fuck. Kim Seokjin still holds the belt for the title of making you cum six consecutive times in a single night. How he managed to do that and how nobody else has measured up to that, you’ll never know. 

You’d initially met him at Les Coulisses Du Chef in Paris, where you had enrolled yourself in a patisserie class to expand your knowledge on French pastry and hopefully get a certificate for it. You’d been meaning to take the class since forever, yet you’d been waitlisted year after year until last year when one of the applicants had backed out, they’d called you in, merely half a month before the program started. 

Three weeks into the semester, Seokjin had introduced himself to you, or rather, had told you a dad joke as an introductory preview of his personality. You’re glad he did though, else you would have been surprised if you discovered the kid was part Greek god, part chef, part dad jokes, and .01% brain cell. 

“What do you call a fake noodle?” asks .01% brain-cell-man seated beside you, rolling up his sleeves to reveal the prominent veins on his forearms. You’re momentarily distracted by the action, completely missing out the question he’d just asked you. “Sorry, what?” 

“What do you call a fake noodle?” Gosh, you shouldn’t have asked him again. If only he knew the number of times you’d hear- “Impasta!” He snorts, holding a fettuccine noodle in one hand and the other clutching onto his tummy as he doubles in his laughter. 

You’re just standing beside him, slack-jawed, unsure if this was just a sick dare. Who was this guy? Was he even in the same class as you? Was he high? Perhaps he mistook flour for coke? His laughter dies down when he sees your face, sans-reaction. 

“Wait, you understand English right? Um… comprendre English? Oui?” 

“Yes, I can understand English.” 

“Then why didn’t you laugh?” You raise a brow. This stranger just comes up to you, tells you a lame joke, and now he expects you to laugh? 

“This is gonna sound real mean, but it was really an old joke...and a lame one at that,” you retort, your face crumpled into one of faux pity. 

“Hey! No need to make it personal!” he counters, placing a hand over his heart, face contorting into a grimace. “You, Rafa!” He half-shouts, pointing an accusatory finger to someone behind you. “You said it would be a great ice-breaker!” Your eyes follow the Rafa he’s pointing at, the latter quickly shakes his head, telling you he doesn’t know the man in French. 

“Is this man bothering you?” Rafa nods sadly. 

“What?! How dare you turn the tables on me?? I’m your only friend!” You turn to glare at pasta guy, who continues to wail behind you. Rafa snorts from across at the sight of pasta guy making a fool of himself behind you and eventually takes pity on him. 

“I’m sorry, Jin’s just been meaning to talk to your since the start of semester, so he’s asked me for advice on how to approach you...I told him to tell you a good ‘ole joke in the kitchen since we’re all chefs here...I didn’t actually think he’d take it...seriously.”

“Wow! Betraying and exposing me all at once!! Why won’t you just fry me alive in olive oil, huh? That would be less painful.” Jin-pasta complains, arms gesticulating wildly in the air. You watch them unabashedly bicker in front of you concurrently amused at the whole spectacle. 

The three of you become close friends soon thereafter, Jin claiming your trio as the ‘Kitchen Musketeers’. Yes, he managed to convince the entire class to call your tiny group of friends that name. And yes, that wasn’t the worst idea Seokjin had in mind when he was considering a name for your trio. You didn't even want to start to reminisce about the rest of Seokjin’s bizarre suggestions: Charlie’s Cooks (to his defense, you did have a substitute mentor named Charlie), Gourmetbusters, Pecanpuff Girls, The Three Sausagees (more like two sausages and one bun). You’ve always cringed at the last one.

Despite your trio’s antics, Rafa considers himself the third wheel more than anything. Rafael was not oblivious to the crush on Seokjin that you’ve been harboring for months. 

It was the day of your graduation from the short course you’d taken - the three of you decided to have a celebratory wine party at Seokjin’s rented apartment. That same night was when you found yourself drunk on pinot noir and Seokjin’s lips. The rest was history. 

Finding the bed and the rest of his apartment empty the next morning, you took your leave and fared your walk of shame along the streets of Paris with teary eyes and a bruised heart. 

Your Mr. OGF also turned out to be Mr. One God-Tier Fucker. Or perhaps the title also belonged to you, Ms. One Gigantic Fool, who thought that maybe she could have been more than a one-night-stand between two colleagues whose relationship could never be more than a professional one. 

Colleagues. The apparent ‘label’ lets out a boisterous laugh at your face. Gosh, you’re a pathetic fucking fool. 

Thankfully, your flight back to Korea was scheduled that day as well,, so you wouldn’t have to see Seokjin’s pretty face any longer or rather - what you wouldn’t admit even to yourself - you wouldn’t be able to confront the face of the truth you wanted to hide deep beneath the recesses of your heart. 

At least, that’s what you thought. 

One and a half years after you got your certificate in Paris, you had finally saved enough money to start your business - a gourmet restaurant situated in the heart of Gangnam. You already had patrons from the restaurant where you previously worked, and the opening of Canapé had garnered more customers than you initially expected. 

Business had been thriving for a year, that is, until someone decided to erect a new gourmet restaurant just beside yours. Having a rivalling establishment wasn’t new news to you, neither did it truly bother you as to no longer having the monopoly in gourmet restaurants located in this part of Gangnam. 

A week after the opening of your neighbor’s Ambrosia - you decided to bring over a friendly bottle of wine you had shipped straight from France with the hopes that you can become acquainted with your fellow restaurateur. 

As you move along the crosswalk and reach Ambrosia’s podium outside intended for the maitre d’, you shift your weight between your legs, an unconscious habit that only Seokjin took notice of. Ridding your thoughts of the man who shall no longer be named, you let your mind wander off to your own worker’s description of the alleged owner. 

Out of all your staff’s depiction of Ambrosia’s owner, it’s your sommelier’s and manager’s descriptions that have struck you the most. 

Yoongi, your timid sommelier, tells you that the owner was a stout man in his mid-forties with Caucasian features, while your manager, Jinhee said he was a man around your age with a face and built that could easily pass for a K-Pop idol. 

You were leaning towards Yoongi’s description because Jinhee would have most likely mistaken a real idol for the owner since there were plenty of celebrities who hung out in Gangnam and would meet up in restaurants like yours. Either way, celebrity look-a-like or not, you were determined to meet your neighbor. 

“There’s someone outside, Hobi,” a busser informs the maitre d as he wipes the last table for the day. Three pairs of eyes look at you through the glass. 

You continuously peer from the outside as you can’t see much from due to the darkness inside, where only a few dim lights are on. “Go on then, Hobi,” the owner states, nudging the maitre d towards the door. 

Hoseok takes a glimpse of you through the glass panel and faces the owner. “Hyung, she seems pretty. Why don’t you do it? You ought to have a proper girlfriend right now. It’s about time you move on from your love interest in Paris! Plus you’re the owner of the restaurant!”

“Hobi, I still have to do kitchen check, remember? And for the record, I have moved on from her. Chop chop.” Hobi gives him an incredulous look, highly doubting his boss had already forgotten about her. “Right away, Mr. Seokdon Ramsay.”

You’re drawn from your thoughts when you hear the melodic sound of the bell as the door opens and a man with a bright smile comes out. “Hello! My name’s Hobi, can I help you with anything?”

“Um..hi! I’m from Canapé just across the street… are you, perhaps, the owner of Ambrosia?” 

“Oh! I’m not the owner…I wish I was though if I had someone pretty like you looking for me…” You laugh awkwardly in response, unsure of what you should reply to such a line. The two of you remain standing there, staring at each other. “Um...is the owner there then? It would be nice if I can speak to him or her or them…” you let out a small cough, looking away.

“Right! Of course, sorry about that! I’ll tell him to come out.” Hobi scurries back inside and soon you hear incoherent yelling and laughter from inside the restaurant.

“Hyungnim! Hyung!!” Hobi calls out once more, eyes searching wildly for Seokjin. “What now?” Seokjin emerges from the kitchen with the busser in tow. “Hyung! She’s fucking hot! And I feel like I’ve known her from somewhere…plus she says she’s from our neighboring restaurant! I told you, you were the one who should’ve gone out there. By the way, I think she’s calling wine o’clock too – and the bottle she’s holding looks like expensive French Cabernet Sauvignon!”

Seokjin narrows his eyes at his maitre d, “You seem to have been spending a lot of time with that sommelier from across the street.” The owner of Ambrosia shakes his head at his friend, who pushes him towards the door. “Hurry! You wouldn’t want to keep a pretty girl waiting!”

You’ve been waiting patiently outside, shifting your weight from one foot to the other as you watch people come and go. The streets of Gangnam was always lively, and it still surprises you at this point that you had decided to put up a restaurant in the midst of the hustle and bustle of a city like such because you’ve always wanted to erect one by the countryside with the whole organic theme going on. Nonetheless, you were happy with your decision of establishing one in Gangnam.

The bell dings again, and as you turn on your heel to check the much-anticipated owner of Canapé, you nearly drop the pricey bottle of red wine in your hands. It’s Mr. man-who-shall-no-longer-be-named. You’re stood there shell-shocked, mouth agape at the man in front of you.

He hasn’t changed one bit, well, except for the more handsome features. He’s changed his hairstyle too, now opting for an exposed forehead instead of those bangs he’d impulsively cut by his own in the middle of the night. His shoulders remain the same, miraculously; just an inch wider and he could’ve been a great replacement for a meter stick at Encore, the clothing store that offered bespoke clothing just down the road.

“_________?”

Seokjin starts to speak, yet you can’t seem to bring yourself to do the same. There’s too much you wanted to say, ask , and rant about that your mouth remains hanging open awkwardly – almost as if you’re squawking. You bow in embarrassment, apologizing for your behavior and run back to your restaurant.

The Gourmet Chefs Association of East Asia was holding its annual even today at The Andaz Seoul and you just had this gut feeling Seokjin was going to be there. With yesterday’s discovery that your neighboring, rivaling, restaurant was owned by none other than Kim Seokjin himself, you already had an inkling he was invited to GCAEA’s event tonight.

Your suspicions had been confirmed as one of the event’s producers sent you an email earlier this morning, that which contains the list of nominees for the title of GCAEA’s Chef of the Year – the same title that was bestowed upon you just last year. Seokjin was the first nominee for this year’s awarding ceremony.

Kudos to him. Despite knowing that your hatred for him was fueled by more personal reasons, you knew deep down inside the recesses of your brain that he was a really, really talented chef. Probably just as good as you – of course, you can easily admit that you’re still lacking in plenty but you don’t think your pride will allow you to accept defeat from Seokjin just like that after all he’d done.

You only had the chance to look at Seokjin for a good seven seconds yesterday, but it had taken you at least seven hours, a tub of ice cream, and a Captain America movie marathon to reassure yourself that having seen him so close yesterday wasn’t just an actual nightmare.

As much as you hated to admit it, he remained just as handsome as he was three years ago. What you couldn’t get over with though, was how he actually smiled at you yesterday. That little fucker had to audacity to show his perfect little pearly whites at you! All over again, you’re reminded of how he left you in his room the morning after, or how much of a fucking fool you were for having believed that the two of you could’ve been something more than friends.

Rearranging your dress for the nth time today, you take another look at the mirror, twisting and turning to see if there might be some thread hanging off the hems of the dress. You’re starting to question your decided outfit for the night. You had a dress done just for this event – or more specifically, what sort of dress Jinhee had ordered to be sewn just for this event.

It hugged your curves perfectly – the dress a perfect merger between modest and seductive. It had a nude-illusion base with silver sequins sewn onto the thin fabric and a low-cut neckline that gives everyone a lovely view of your cleavage.

This one could easily pass as an evening gown for a Miss Universe candidate. You felt confident, beautiful, and sexy but at the same time you felt like you wanted to just huddle yourself up in your duvet in the corner of your room and eat ice cream. You weren’t uncomfortable with showing skin from time to time, but having been clad in a double-breasted jacket on a daily means it felt strange having your neckline displayed in public.

Your phone dings, indicating a text message. Yoongi had offered to be your chauffeur for this evening, of course, after being coerced and bribed by Jinhee into doing it.

[yoongles 🍷 ] 6:43pm

hurry up, or i’ll leave you behind

[you] 6:43pm

yoongs

It’s MY car WE’RE using

you don’t even have my keys yet

[yoongles 🍷 ] 6:45pm

u get the idea, woman

dont keep me waiting

“Well maybe if you won’t stop texting, I’ll be quicker,” you grumble to your phone, placing it inside your purse so Yoongi won’t bother you any longer. Doing one last twirl in the mirror, you grab your necessities you’ve gathered on your bedside table and sweep them into your purse.

“You clean up nicely, boss.”

Squinting your eyes at Yoongi with his words, you send him a grateful smile nonetheless. “I’m gonna take that as a compliment.” This was the closes thing to an actual compliment that you were ever going to receive from Yoongi in your entire lifetime, so you were sure to keep his words close to your heart.

Taking your car keys from your purse, you toss them to Yoongi who catches them deftly with one hand. “Ooh, you looked cool when you did that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You gave me a compliment, so I’m going to give you one in return. As a token of gratitude.”

“Remind me never to say anything to you ever again.”

“Hey! You talk back like that to the woman who’s giving you money for your daily needs?! And you won’t even open the door for me?” you ask your past neighbor-turned-sommelier-turned-close-friend. “It’s called a salary, Ms. _______. And I receive that as compensation because I give you my services in exchange for it. Plus, I’m already seated here,” Yoongi shrugs, adjusting the rear view mirror.

Rolling your eyes, you begrudgingly open the door to your backseat, exerting much effort in swinging one leg after the other with your incredibly tight evening gown. And, of course making sure the short train won’t get caught between the car doors.

Yoongi checks if you’re all good through the rear-view mirror and once he sees you buckle up, he lets the engine roar to life. You take out your phone from your purse to see if you’ve received any other emails, only for the phone to get flung from your hands – including you.

The car surges forward all of a sudden and Yoongi steps on the breaks just in time. You hear Yoongi curse under his breath, looking over his shoulder to check if you’re okay. “Shit! I forgot you drove a Maserati!”

“I think the more appropriate thing to do is to ask me if I’m still okay…Also, it doesn’t matter what kind of car I drive, because I think you forgot how to actually drive at all.” You complain, adjusting the seatbelt across your chest, the sudden jolt leaving a diagonal red mark just by your collarbone.

“Well, you aren’t dead, so technically speaking, you’re okay.” Unbelievable. You let out a loud scoff, unable to think of anything wittier to say. “Just please get me there in one piece, Yoongs.”

You manage to get to the hotel in one piece. Thank heavens.

The small talk you made with Yoongi on your way to the hotel had temporarily taken your mind off the jitters but now that he’s left you standing by the entrance of the hotel, the nerves had definitely returned, tenfold. You’re also unfortunately dropped off at a spot where a standee of yours holding the Gourmet Chef of the Year award is staring back at you. God, you hated that photo. They did not give your eyebrows justice, at all.

You exhale all your nervousness away as you take the steps to the lobby. “_______!” Someone calls out, the voice too familiar to miss out on.  “Sunbae!” You turn around to see one of the most revered chefs in Korea, and definitely one of your favorite mentors, Choi Jiyoung. The woman nearing her fifties extends her arms out in greeting and you give her a tight hug. You had worked under her supervision in the past, and she had taught you almost everything you knew about Korean cuisine.  

“Ah, it’s been too long darling! Look at you! You’ve grown into such a beautiful woman!” Misun praises as her grip on you tightens and pulls you by the elbow, “Surely, there’s a lucky man that has swept my sweet _______ by now!” Your senior adds, punctuating her sentence with a wink at the end.

“I’ve been pretty busy these days… and dating hasn’t really crossed my mind recently.”

‘That’s because the last man I’ve wanted to date was three years ago and he’d just considered me a one-night stand and now after I’ve struggled to burn his existence from my memory and to be very frank with you, I really haven’t gotten over him and now he just so happens to be the owner of the restaurant beside mine. Also, he’s stealing my customers.’ Comes your real answer inside your head, but you’ll never tell anyone that.

Jiyoung pouts at your answer, but taps your forearm, “We’ll talk more about that inside. Come on darling, the event is starting.”

Seokjin sees you finally enter the lobby, eyes scanning the few people scattered around the area as you look for a familiar face you could approach. All eyes are on you, yet you don’t notice, like always. You don’t realize how beautiful you are, blushing furiously under the simplest compliments. You’ve got this certain charm that certainly draws people towards you, all the more when they get to know you better, just like what you did to him.

Seokjin remembers the first time he’d actually seen you – on the television. He’d been scrolling aimlessly through the channels, trying to look for something to watch as he waits for the water to boil for his ramen. He’d accidentally stopped by Channel K99’s ‘Choi Jiyoung Kitchen Specials’ reruns during midnight when he checked his phone after it dinged, alerting him of a notification on his email: just another alert to renew his ‘KOREA’ magazine subscription, where he’d secretly get new recipes, try them out, add a little twist, and serve them to his customers at his parent’s restaurant.

As he was about to press the off button on the remote, you enter the frame as the camera pans out when Choi Jiyoung introduces you as her new assistant and protégé. For some reason, this show just got all the more interesting for Seokjin, who’s clearly drawn to you and not the scrumptious seafood platter that Chef Choi was preparing.

He’d followed you on all his social media accounts after that night, even going as far as turning on his notifications for each post you made. He was unsure what had drawn him to you in the first place – whether it be the fact that you were probably the first female chef he’d seen in Korea that was just about his age (that or he really just didn’t pay any attention to women in the same field during the early years of his career), or that you were unbelievably skilled at such a young age with apparently, a lot of culinary awards and certificates under your belt.

Funny enough, Seokjin wasn’t really one to delve into the world of pastry but judging from your most recent Instagram posts during those days, you had taken interest in patisserie, which only caused Seokjin to attempt baking his own first croissant. He finally understood your enthusiastic devotion for it ever since. Then came Les Coulisses Du Chef, where Rafa, an exchange-student-turned-friend of his from his culinary school days had secured him a slot for a semester at the prestigious school of gastronomy in Paris to get a certificate on French pastry.

He wasn’t expecting you though, out of all people, to join the official list of the class as well, last minute.

It took him three weeks before he finally spoke to you, much to Rafa’s exasperation. Seokjin would keep nagging the French man, telling him how much he wanted to talk to you, yet he can’t seem to grow some balls to do so. In annoyance, he’d told Seokjin that the best way to break the ice was to tell a joke – this time, much to Seokjin’s chagrin. He’d never thought secondhand embarrassment was a thing until Seokjin actually heeded his advice and told you about the ‘impasta’. Surprisingly enough, it worked, so voila!

If only you knew how nervous Seokjin was during that time, clammy hands and all. In fact – if only you knew how jittery Seokjin was whenever he was near you. He’s pretty sure he’d ruined his credibility and career after busting out that lame ass joke Rafa had told him, but it turned out to be the only way he actually got closer to you so he was partly grateful for Rafa’s advice – reputation be damned. 

Just like tonight, the moment his eyes fall on you, he feels like he’s being drawn back to his room, eyes trained on you as you diligently followed each of Chef’s Choi’s directions, or that time he’d first spoke to you back in your French patisserie class. He diverts his gaze elsewhere from the fear that you might catch him staring.

“Hey, man. Isn’t that ________? The girl you’ve been crushing on since forever?” Minjae asks, elbowing Seokjin at the waist. The latter grimaces slightly in pain, before reluctantly letting his gaze settle on you once more.

Jungkook returns from the bathroom, joining the duo by the reception. “Wow, who’s that?” the younger man asks, nodding towards your direction. With Jungkook being a fairly new member of the association, curiosity is getting the best of him with all the faces he’s seeing.

Similar to a little kid at a toy shop, he’s constantly asking his hyungs if the people he was seeing were the actual people he’d seen on the internet or on the television. Minjae, who indulges every question of the maknae of their small circle of friends with great enthusiasm, answers Jungkook. “That’s _______, Kook.”

“No way! That’s her?! As in the _________?” The only female chef in Korea who received her first Michelin star in her twenties?! As in ________ Choi Jiyoung’s protégé?!”

“Yes, Kook, that’s her alright. And also the same ________ who will hear you soon enough and will find you weird if you don’t keep your voice down.”

“She’s also the same recipient of the award your Seokjin hyung is nominated for this year,” Jiwon adds, wriggling his eyebrows at Seokjin.

“That’s so cool!” Jungkook exclaims as their whole group watches you approach the infamous Choi Jiyoung. “Hyung, do you think she’s single?” Jungkook asks to nobody in particular, considering they were all his hyungs. Minjae and Jiwon glance at Seokjin who returns their glances with a light glare.

“Why don’t you go find out after the party then?” Seokjin suggests, ignoring that certain pang of jealousy that blossoms in his chest at his own proposal.

“Tell me you’re kidding, hyung.”

“Huh?”

“Come on! That’s your girl! You’re going to let go of her just like that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kook.”

“Hyung. I may be the maknae, but I am neither blind nor dumb. Anyone with two eyes and a functioning brain will know you have the hots for her.” Minjae and Jiwon snicker at the younger one’s comment. Seokjin, albeit being second to the youngest, gives them a glare the makes them cower behind Jungkook.

“Am I really that obvious?”

“Well no. But every time we go out, the only notifications that pop up in your screen are her posts on Instagram. Don’t you think that’s a tad bit…pathetic, hyung?”

Ooh and aahs  come from the two other men, who are reveling at the harsh bluntness of Jungkook’s words. It’s the maknae who receives Seokjin’s side-eye next. “Need I remind you who’s the older one here?”

“The point exactly! We’re not getting any younger, hyung. Better ask her out now…before I beat you to it.” Seokjin’s mouth falls open in astonishment, while Jungkook just smiles at him in return. “Come on hyung, they’re calling us inside.”

“Well, well, would you look at that stunner over there?” She comments, nodding her head towards someone over your shoulder. There he was, the infamous Kim Seokjin, clad in an all-black ensemble, a single silver chain necklace hanging on his neck. His hair is swept to the side, revealing a bit of his forehead.

“Oh boy.” Jung Chungae fans herself as your greatest rival turns sideways, showing off his side-profile while animatedly telling a story to a fellow colleague seated with them. “Oh how I wish we could just go back to our golden years for just one night!” The rest of the table laughs at Chungae’s comment.

“I personally think you and that man would make a great couple.” Jiyoung says, leaning towards you.

“The other man sat on his right doesn’t seem to think that way though,” Chungae says, picking on her dessert, whispering ‘cute guy from same table’ discreetly. As if on cue, the rest of the ladies, you included, turn your heads towards Seokjin’s table. True to sunbae Chungae’s implications, there was another man beside Seokjin who was staring back at you. You believe Jungkook was his name… nevertheless, you get shy under his stare, averting your eyes back to the presently attractive flower arrangement at the center of your table.

The servers pile inside in pairs, approaching each table to take your dessert plates. You see the host rise from his chair and take the stairs to the stage. He taps the microphone, checking if the audio was working, “To announce this year’s Gourmet Chefs Association of East Asia – Chef of the Year award, may I call on Ms. _________.”

Minjae nudges Seokjin as you stand up from your seat. “Hyung, quit it before other people see you.”

“Come on now, get your ass up and walk her to the stage!”

“She can perfectly walk on her own though?”

“Come on, it’s plus points both for her and the crowd! Give these oldies a show, idiot.”

“N-“

“Hyung, if you won’t do it, I will.” Jungkook says from across the table, eyeing you as you excuse yourself from the other ladies in your table.

Seokjin stares at Jungkook and purses his lips. He discards of the napkin on his lap at once, lightly throwing the piece of cloth on the table. As he stands up, few murmurs of curiosity follow him as he approaches you.

“Ms. ________, may I?” You’re surprised when somebody suddenly appears on your side, offering his arm out for you to hold onto. You hear sunbae Jiyoung quietly cheer you on, nodding her head once to accept Seokjin’s display of manners. The rest of the audience likewise cheers the young man on with a few men whooping and a number of ladies cooing at the sight.  Frankly, it wasn’t even that long of a walk until the stage but a part of you was grateful, knowing for yourself that you truly weren’t used to wearing long dresses like these. 

As you both reach the stage, with your hand hooked around Seokjin’s elbow, he places another hand atop yours for extra support. The action seems to have the opposite effect. Suddenly all too aware of the proximity between you two, a shiver runs through your spine, secretly hoping the gulp that you make at the sensation goes unnoticed. At the end of the stairs, you give him a curt bow and say your thanks, unable to look him in the eye.

The emcee hands you the microphone and an envelope, containing the name of the awardee. You tap the mic once, then twice. “This is on, right?” The audience laughs in response. “Woops, sorry,” you apologize meekly before starting your half-impromptu, half-practiced speech.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank, first and foremost, the board of judges who have bestowed upon me this same award this time last year, and now I have had the greatest honor to announce the awardee later on. I would also like to send my gratitude to all those who have been my mentors here in Korea and overseas – for I have taken your pieces of advice to my heart and they have guided me wonderfully throughout these years, especially sunbae Choi Jiyoung, who has molded me into the woman and chef that I am today. Also, here’s a special mention to Chef Lee for having prepared this wonderful course for us this lovely evening – I absolutely admire how he manages to make Korean staples like Kimchi Jjigae and Pajeon so…flavorful like it’s been made with his entire heart and soul poured into each detail. Wow. Could we have a round of applause for Chef Lee tonight?”

The audience complies quickly with your request while Chef Lee gives you a bow of gratitude by the doors of the event hall.

“Lastly, I would also like to acknowledge the presence of a beloved mentor of mine, back when I took patisserie classes back in Paris – Mr. Frank Boucher, who had, by the way, also prepared his signature Apple Tarte Tatin for our dessert tonight. So without further ado, the Gourmet Chefs Association of East Asia – Chef of the Year award goes to, drumroll please!” Your tongue feels like it got stuck in your throat, but you pull yourself back to reality quick enough so no one else notices.

“Kim Seokjin! Congratulations!”

Seokjin had just barely gotten back to his seat when he hears his name being called. He stands up, beautiful facial features twisted into one of confusion. “You won Chef of the Year bro! Congrats!” Minjae pats Seokjin’s butt briefly before pushing him back towards the stage.

As you hand him the trophy, you give each other a small smile, likewise posing for the cameras. The photographer gestures for you to scoot closer to each other with his hands. It’s getting harder to fake your smile. You wanted nothing more but to go home. Or maybe you could pass by Canapé and take a bottle of wine home for yourself 

Thankfully, the awarding the Chef of the Year signals the nearing conclusion of the event, and as soon as you get back to your seat, you send a text to Yoongi, telling him that the event will be over in a couple more minutes.

The event ends quicker than expected, and you find yourself bidding goodbye to everyone else as soon as the emcee officially ends the ceremony. You badly wanted to go home and rest, with only a few hours left for sleep before another work day starts.

You see Yoongi pull up by the entrance after a few more minutes. “How was the party?” You tell him what happened during the event, completely leaving out Seokjin’s appearance and antics. “Let’s just drop you off by your apartment first then I’ll go drive back to the restaurant to grab something.”

“I can go with?”

“It’s fine Yoongs. Besides, we have work in a few hours. You already sleep during work, what more if I keep you awake for an extra couple of minutes tonight?”

Yoongi just shakes his head at you, saying nothing else in reply. He finds you uncharacteristically quiet after a big event like this and wants to ask you about it, but you seem too lost in your thoughts that he doesn’t want to bother you any further. You arrive at his place shortly and as you get down from the car to switch places, you give him a hug and thank him for being your chauffeur. “Oh, and _______? Your French Cabernet Sauvignon is at the third row from the top. And drink at home, please. See you tomorrow.”

Passing through the main entrance of your restaurant, you turn on a few lights by the wine rack to aid your search for the alcoholic beverage. You make a beeline for the wooden structure attached to the wall. Third row from the top… reaching out, you grab on a bottle, reading out its name, ‘Chateau Pichon Longueville 2015 Pauillac’. This will most likely do the trick.

All of a sudden, a knock comes from your door, startling you out of your wits. Quickly, you scurry to the kitchen, looking for something that can protect you in case this person means harm. Your extensive collection of knives is what comes into your mind first, but you wouldn’t want them to be considered murder weapons, in case the worst scenario comes into play.

So you settle for the rolling pin, clutching the cylindrical utensil tightly in your hands. “Who’s there?” you call out, hoping the fear wont seep through your words. “Um, it’s Frank. Frank Boucher. Is that you inside, _______?”

Letting your hands fall to the side, you cautiously near the door, still clutching the rolling pin in your hands. You can’t be too sure nowadays. You sneak a glace through the glass panels to confirm his identity. Breathing a sigh of relief when you see it really was your mentor back in Paris, you set aside the rolling pin and unlock the door.

“_________!”

“Ah, and to what do I owe this pleasure, Chef Boucher?”

“I wanted to talk to you back at the event, but I’m guessing you left early…”

“Um, yes…still a lot of work to do tomorrow.”  

“Can I get you anything, perhaps? I- I grabbed a bottle of wine just now… would you like some? Or water maybe?”

“Wine is always a great choice, _______. Also I’m here to tell you something important, but I’ll let you grab two glasses first, for our usage.”

“Of course! Please feel free to sit anywhere you like.”

“Quaint restaurant you have here, ______. This is the same Canapé you told me in your email right?”  

“Yep! Would you mind a few crackers and goat’s cheese to go with the wine?”

“That sounds perfect, though you really don’t have to bother yourself with all of that…” You shrug off his comment, reassuring him that it was the least you could do after having taught you so much when you were back in Paris.

You finally get everything ready, one hand holding a plate full of crackers and cheese, while the other holds two wine glasses. As soon as you get seated, Frank takes upon him the honor of opening the bottle, pouring a sufficient amount of the beverage onto your glasses. “I meant to give this to you personally earlier, but I could no longer find you after the party ended.” He hands you a white envelope with your name and Canapé’s address printed at the back. 

“You’ve been invited to the Asian Gourmet Conference in the Philippines next week.” You choke on the wine you’re drinking, embarrassingly turning into a coughing mess in front of your mentor. He looks at you expectantly as you open the envelope.

“Wait. This is real?! No way!” Frank laughs at your reaction, excitement evident in your voice as you skim over the words indicated on the paper. “Oh my goodness! This is such a great event! And the opportunities! Please bring the wine home, Chef Boucher! It’s on the house.” The French man laughs harder at your offer, but he doesn’t decline.

“I’m glad you’re this excited, because you’re going with Seokjin.”

Immensely thanking the heavens that you were looking down the whole time while reading the document, else your mentor would’ve seen the instantaneous scowl that graced your face at the mere mention of the-man-who-shall-not-be-named.

You force a smile onto your features before looking back up at Frank. “Kim Seokjin? As in Kim Seokjin who just won GCAEA’s Chef of the Year Award earlier?”

With slumped shoulders, you lean farther backward in your seat. The Asian Gourmet Conference was one of the most anticipated conferences in the whole of Asia. It was an event highly awaited by many in the culinary field, especially one of its main events where they invite gourmet chefs from all parts of the world to compete for the best dish ever and a $200,000 prize.

The contest was another thing though, because two representatives will be vying for each country, so the winning pair will get to come home with $100,000 each. You really wouldn’t have put any thought into who your partner would have been if you were.

Your head fills with dread at the thought of having Seokjin as your partner. It was bad enough that he owns the gourmet restaurant next to yours, and that he’d attended GCAEA which caused more unwanted interactions with him.

“Yes him. From what I’ve heard, people say he’s a rising star, and that his newly established restaurant was getting a lot of good reviews.”

“It’s the restaurant next to mine, chef.”

“Ha! Seems like you’ve finally met your match, darling. Pretty sure that can apply romance-wise as well…”

“Why does everybody keep shipping us?” You wonder, subconsciously vocalizing your thoughts.

“You two look like you have his-…I think… you two would just look great together!”

“Ship? You know what ship means?” You look at him incredulously.

“It’s when you like the idea of two people together right? My daughter says it all time because of these Korean boys with bright hair – actually, when she knew I was going here to attend GCAEA as a guest she kept on nagging me to buy her albums and these sticks…”

“Sticks?”

“Yeah, the lightning ones?”

“Lightning?” You stifle a laugh. “You mean lightsticks, right?”

“Whatever they’re called, _______.” Frank Boucher gives you his infamous glare.

Nearly snorting at the sight of your mentor looking physically and mentally exhausted with trying to keep up with his fangirling daughter, you offer him another bottle because he seems like he needs it more than you do.

Your conversation falls into talking about your current lives and the stresses of running a restaurant, with Frank eventually leading the conversation about the person you’d least likely enjoy talking about. He tells you about your neighboring rival, how he’s done just as well with his own place like what you did with yours. He’s proud that both of his students had established their names in Korea’s gourmet society even at such a young age.

The clocks finally hits ten thirty and Frank takes this as his cue to get going.“Great! Your plane ticket and hotel booking has probably already been sent by my secretary to your email. The convention is only for three days, but the two extra days are on me. Take it as a gift for Canapé’s opening. Go enjoy yourself, _______”

Forcing another bright smile onto your face, you bid your goodbye to your mentor, locking the front door of your restaurant as he leaves.  Five days with Seokjin. May the gods have mercy on you.

The four-hour flight to the Philippines had been excruciatingly awkward. To say the least.

You hadn’t talked to each other for the most part. In fact, the only time you had interacted with each other was when you’d waken him up because you had already landed at the airport. The both of you had barely spoken to each other even on your way to the hotel. Occasionally he’d ask you questions that only warranted monosyllabic responses from you.

You’re glad that weariness passed as the only excuse for the lack of interaction. The moment you’d met up at the airport, fatigue had already been evident in both your faces, so your pair had ended up with alternating sleeping schedules during the length of your flight and up to the taxi ride to your hotel.

Only a few words were shared between you when you’ve finally arrived in front of your rooms – something along the lines of ‘good night’ and ‘see you tomorrow’. As you let sleep take over you that night, you pray that everything will go smoothly for the entirety of your stay.

“Lovely afternoon to all of you present here today at this year’s Asian Gourmet Conference!” Excited applause falls amongst the crowd, cheering on different countries, even though they screamed the most for Team Philippines. The host greets the audience and the participants one more time, before proceeding to the guidelines of the event.

“For the first challenge of our main event, we’d like the chefs to cook two staple dishes from their respective home countries – but with a twist! Our chefs will have to use Filipino ingredients only! This is where we put their creativity and talent to the test. To our chefs, please be reminded that we will be giving you an hour to prepare your fusion dishes. While you guys are cooking, I’ll be going around to interview almost fifty chefs who have come from all parts of the world just to join us today.”

You start brainstorming with Seokjin the moment the host leaves the stage. “You’ve been to the Philippines a few times right? You’ve tried some of their food?” your partner asks, turning to you. You’re surprised he even remembered…if you had recalled properly, you had only mentioned it once back in Paris that you did visit the Philippines on occasion.

“Um, yes…I’ve been here a couple of times,” you reply, racking your brain for any Korean dishes that might hold any similarity with Korean staples. “I only remember Sinigang, and Adobe…”

“I’m pretty sure they call it Adobo here Seokjin,” you make no attempt to suppress the giggle the escapes your lips as he mistakes computer software for food.

“But the challenge is only to make our home country’s staples with Philippine ingredients… so this shouldn’t be that big of a fusion problem since rice is also considered a vital part of their meals here…”

“You think good ‘ole Bibimbap will do? Pretty much all the ingredients are available here…What else could we have?” Seokjin asks, taking a notepad and a pen from his jacket. “We can have tteokbokki for the appetizer and bingsu for dessert.”

You get to cooking right after you and Seokjin agree on the ingredients you were going to use. Maybe working with Seokjin wasn’t so bad after all. Not even fifteen minutes into the competition, you see a few girls cheer Seokjin on, ceaselessly calling your partner “Seokjin oppa!” They screams only seem to spur Seokjin on, who’s now showing off his knife skills. You roll your eyes as you shake your head, crushing the garlic a little too hard against the board.

“Jealous much?” your partner asks. You can feel Seokjin smirking beside you.

“You wish, Kim Seokjin.”

“Whatever floats your boat, ________,” he sighs, “If only my partner could also send me words of encouragement rather than staying silent the whole time,” he mumbles to himself, thinking it wasn’t loud enough for you to hear.

“You and I both know this mouth is better at something else.” You turn to him, giving Seokjin a playful wink before setting the ingredients to the bibimbap on one side. He nearly drops the knife he’s holding at your comment, obviously scandalized by your innuendo.

Even with the time racing against you, everything was still going as planned, you just needed to hurry with the final parts of the dishes and you’d be able to beat the buzzer which was bound to ring in less than twenty minutes. That is until the salt container placed on top of this tall arrangement of pots topples over the shaved ice you’ve prepared for the bingsu. You see the ice melt before your eyes, and you quickly move to the container, removing some of the ice that was turning into water.

“Shit! Sorry ________!” He drops the pans he held in his arms onto the sink, scampering to your side afterwards. “Can I help –“

“No! I…It’s fine, Seokjin, just…just go back to whatever you were doing earlier. And please be careful next time.” Seokjin nods curtly, before going back to clean the pans. “______, why does it smell like something’s burning?”

“Fuck!” Cursing under your breath, you hurry towards the pot where the rice was cooking. As you remove the cover, the smell of burnt rice and a failed dish wafts through your nose, causing you to take a deep breath as you attempt to calm yourself down.

Reluctantly, you scoop out the rice that wasn’t burnt and place it onto the stone pot and start plating your bibimbap. Seokjin likewise helps you finish plating the tteokbokki and bingsu in silence.

Needless to say, your burnt rice didn’t make it through the first round. It didn’t mean that you were disqualified from the competition though, but in order to win the cash prize, you will have to make it through all three challenges of the event. That same evening as you take the cab back to the hotel, the despondence in the air is thicker than ever.

“See you tomorrow, ______.” Seokjin says, giving you a small smile as he stops in front of his door.

“Right. See you tomorrow, Seokjin. Sleep well.”

It’s ironic how it was you who actually needed that phrase and not Seokjin. You’ve watched the clock tick away, turned on the television for something to watch on the local news channels which were thankfully spoken in English, you had also resorted to Netflix on your phone, but all to no avail.

Admittedly, you had finished an Iced Americano in fifteen minutes earlier this morning but you figure it’s the entire ‘burnt rice’ accident that’s keeping you awake at this hour. Heaving a deep sigh, you lift the covers off your body, put on a hoodie and headed outside.

You pause by Seokjin’s door momentarily, with the strong urge to knock on his door and apologize for your lack of professionalism earlier this afternoon. Seokjin didn’t really mean to pour the salt over the ice at the event, and the way you reacted was unnecessarily rude.

Seokjin was probably asleep though, and you didn’t want to further embarrass yourself by waking him in the middle of the night. Retracting your hand that was merely inches away from his door, you turn on your heel and decide to apologize to him first thing in the morning tomorrow. Maybe even get him an extra something to show the depth of your regret and guilt.

After having asked the receptionist for directions towards the nearest convenience store, you’re suddenly regretting having worn shorts on your way out – the exposed skin of your legs prickling as the chilly evening air bites at it. Spotting 7-Eleven just across the street, you walk quickly towards the convenience store, desperate to feel warmth in this cold night.

The mellifluous sound of the bell echoes throughout the small store as you enter, that particular smell of convenience stores wafting through your senses. You decide to explore the shop a little, trying to look for something to eat.

Quite ironically, you’ve cooked nearly a thousand dishes in your lifetime, and having to cook another shouldn’t be that much of a burden but when your mind is swirling with thoughts just like tonight, you can’t seem to bring yourself to cook even the simplest dish – like it’s too great of a task to burden yourself with.

So during times like this, you turn to instant noodles, the ultimate lifesaver since your culinary school days. Hopefully no one from GCAEA or the AGC finds you like this, a dignified gourmet chef who’s starting to establish her name in the culinary field, crawling convenience stores in the middle of the night and slurping instant noodles away like it’s her last day on Earth.

You finally get to the noodles section, where you see a man in a hoodie, likewise skimming through the same aisle as you. The receptionist had told you to be wary of sketchy-looking people especially during the wee hours of the morning so you hurry with your own search as you look for a certain brand of cup noodles. Shin Ramyeon.

It should be here somewhere… As far as you’re concerned as a consumer, it’s being exported to over a hundred countries now so it must be here. Going over the entire aisle one last time, you finally see the red cup, reaching over the lone cup of Shin Ramyeon left on the shelf. The problem was, you weren’t the only one who was reaching for it.

Why do those fingers look insanely familiar?

Your eyes widen gradually as you slowly trail them up to see the owner of those hands. Of course, who else could it have been? You call out each other’s name at the same time.

“Seokjin.” “________.”

“You can have it.” You spoke in unison again.

“It’s fine really, you can have it. I’ll just look for another brand,” you tell him, handing over the cup with perfectly controlled reluctance.

“Would you mind if we shared, perhaps?” You stare at him, completely taken aback by his offer. “Or not…I mean- forget I even said that… Here take it.” He hands the cup to you and starts to leave.

“Jin! I- I don’t mind sharing.” Biting on his lip, he attempts to hide the smile that slowly etches into his face as he hears the nickname only you have for him. He turns to face you again. “Okay.” Seokjin gives you a smile, grabs the cup noodles from your grasp and orders you to look for seats while he pays for your shared midnight snack.  

Slowly, you trudge towards the limited number of seats they offer at the convenience store and find a spot by the windows. Seokjin arrives at your table a couple of minutes afterwards.

It was now or never. You owed Seokjin an apology after having rudely declined his offer of help during the event, even when the whole fiasco was just an accident. You figure if you don’t apologize for your unjust behavior, guilt is most likely going to eat at you for a very, very long time. Seokjin’s dejected yet still beautiful face will haunt you in your dreams.

As Seokjin busies himself with adding the ingredients onto the paper cup, you take this opportunity to speak up. “Jin,” you start, the nickname sending Seokjin’s heart into another frenzy. “About the bibimbap earlier, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, ________. It was my fault anyway. I should be the one apologizing right now, but…hold that thought for a moment…” He looks away, letting out a sneeze. “….it’s the powder seasoning, sorry… As I was saying, I’d also like to apologize about what happened earlier, I mean if I didn’t try to carry so much, the salt wouldn’t have toppled over.”

“Hey! I should be the one apologizing right now! Stop stealing my thunder!” You pout, begrudgingly taking the small carton of milk Seokjin bought to go with the ramen. You can’t say you aren’t pleasantly surprised at how he remembers this habit of yours too. For some reason, he remembers how you always have milk ready whenever you eat something spicy.

“Anyways… I also wanted to apologize for my rude behavior towards you back at the event. It was an accident, yet I reacted badly and declined your assistance. It was only after the event that I realized that we’re supposed to be helping each other, and not treating each other poorly.”

“Don’t worry yourself too much about it, ______. Besides, we still have two days to redeem ourselves right?” Seokjin sends a warm smile your way, one you cannot help but return.

“What else are you waiting for? The ramen is getting cold and lonely.”

“You sure you aren’t talking about yourself?”

“You know, I’m thinking maybe you should get your own instant noodles,” Seokjin comments, fingers curling around the paper cup.

“Okay, okay, geez.” Throwing your hands up in defense, you thank him for paying for the noodles and the milk before pulling your chopsticks apart and digging in. As you take your first bite, Seokjin suddenly speaks up.

“Is it just me, or I am really very anxious right now…what if someone might see us?”

“Last time I checked, there’s nothing wrong with eating inside a convenience store.”  

“No, no. But we’re like… owners…of restaurants…that serve gourmet food…yet here we are, at half past twelve in the morning, sharing cup noodles like it’s the last meal in the world due to a zombie apocalypse.”

“I get how you feel, but I don’t think we’d agree on the zombie apocalypse part…”

The conversation flows naturally between the both of you, like two friends casually catching up with each other’s lives. Seokjin was in the middle of talking when you hear the pitter-patter of rain outside. Tiny droplets of water slide down the glass panels, slowly turning into heavier ones.

You look at each other. “Should we?”

“We can wait this out if you’d like…” Seokjin proposes, though he isn’t so sure he wants to go with his offer either. The sudden downpour doesn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. “Forget what I said, we should leave before this gets worse. Wait here.” Seokjin stands up,  goes through each aisle of the convenience store, and returns to where you’re seated. “Damn, they just ran out of umbrellas.”

“We could just run back the hotel…it’s just one crosswalk away.”

“You sure about that? What if you get sick?”

“Let’s just hope we won’t then.” Seokjin gives you a nod in approval. “Before we go out though,” he pulls his hoodie off his torso, giving you a slight show of his abdominals as he raises his hands. You abruptly look away, before nasty thoughts overcome you.

Placing his hoodie over both your heads, Seokjin peers down at you. “Ready when you are.” The quick sprint back to the hotel has you both screaming and laughing at the same time. You weren’t surprised that Seokjin’s hoodie barely served its purpose. You were both drenched from the neck down, attracting unwanted attention from people with your appearance.

With less than a few more steps before you reach your hotel rooms, you feel trepidation bubbling in the pit of your stomach. What’s going to happen now? Were you supposed to forget what happened between the two of you three years ago just like that? Was your midnight ramen run officially a clean slate?

Seokjin has his back facing you, the thin, white material of his shirt clinging sinfully to his skin. Every second spent with Seokjin was the best form of punishment in both ways “Are you going to sleep?” You don’t think that was going to happen anytime soon, now that you’re once again blessed with his visuals and perfectly sculpted body.

Seokjin turns to face you, waiting for your response. You shake your head no, eyes unabashedly staring at the outline of his six-pack. The man lets out a cough, drawing you out of your reverie. “Wanna keep warm for a bit and talk over hot chocolate?”

Why do you get the feeling it’s not just hot chocolate that’s going to keep you warm tonight?

“Sure.” Your voice comes out small, swallowing loudly as he unlocks the door to his room. 

The tension in the air is so thick that you’re actually having difficulty trying to breathe normally. Seokjin sets his wet hoodie on the floor before meeting your eyes, pupils already dilated. He momentarily holds his stare, eyes raking all over your equally drenched body. He points a finger sideways, “Hot chocolate.” Subconsciously chewing on your bottom lip, you nod, unable to form any coherent words in your head.

As he heads towards the kitchenette, you rub your face with your hands, before placing a hand over your chest. “Calm down, girl. It’s not like you’ve never seen abs before.” This is like Paris all over again, and you weigh the possible outcome of this situation. If you’re reading the signs right, Seokjin is clearly just affected as you are. Are you really willing to wear your heart out on your sleeve like this one more time? You rack your brain for answers, yet all it does is betray you with images of the rippling muscles underneath Seokjin’s shirt.

Ah, fuck it.

“Jin?” you call out as you reach the wall separating the kitchenette. Just as you peek through the divider, Seokjin rakes a hand through his temple, his hair now pushed back and forehead visible. You practically hear your resolve shattering into pieces.

Taking initiative, you close the distance between the both of you, connecting your lips with his in a feverish kiss. He tastes spicy – just like the ramen you’ve shared just minutes ago, but god, your favorite ramen and Seokjin’s lips; if that ain’t the hottest combination in the world – both literally, and figuratively.

You kiss Seokjin fervently like you’re going to crumble if his lips aren’t connected with yours. One hand of his raises to get rid of the scrunchie holding your hair up in a ponytail, and he lets his fingers card through your wet hair gently. The intensity of his kiss practically devours you, his hands grabbing hastily at your clothes. He’s itching to take them off your body, yet you feel the hesitation in his actions, waiting for that sign from you before he can do so as he pleases.

Pulling away to take a breather, you tug your hoodie up and off you, with Seokjin helping you with the task. "You don’t know how much I’ve longed for this, fuck." He seizes your mouth with his once more like a man starved.

Seokjin groans as he finally gets a view of the amount of lace you’re wearing underneath your hoodie. “I’d love to have you in your lingerie another time, but for now, let’s get you naked for me, hmm?” You’re barely allowed a second to fully comprehend his statement about lingerie and another time before Seokjin discards of the red lacy bra you have on and attaching his lips to one of your nipples.

Gasping at the sensation, you arch your back so that you’re practically pressing your chest against his face, greedily asking for more. Hooking a finger inside the waistband of your gym shorts, Seokjin easily tugs your shorts down along with your underwear.

He grabs you by the waist and lifts you up to the counter for his convenience. You shiver slightly when your ass comes in contact with the coldness of the marble. As if on instinct, your legs spread wider, seemingly inviting him to come closer to you.

“You’re so fucking hot, you know that?”

“Mhmmm,” your words are muffled as you ardently kiss him. Seokjin brings his lips back to your breasts, biting and pulling at one while the other gets kneaded under his palm. Equally just as impatient as you are, Seokjin lets a hand trail in between your bodies, tentatively brushing against your core to gauge your reaction.

Your body quakes in anticipation, and Seokjin teases you even further by slowly rubbing the pad of his finger on your clit. “Jin, please,” you beseech. “Gotta prepare you first, baby girl.” Letting your head fall back at the sensation (and the pet name!), Seokjin decides to give you what you want, seeing as though you were wet enough that taking his cock right now won’t be a problem. He finally slides a finger inside, your body trembling at the intrusion. God, it’s been too long.

Okay, honestly speaking, you really didn’t take interest in another man when Seokjin entered your life three years ago, and now that you’re back here in this compromising situation with his finger sliding in and out of you languidly, you feel like you could just cum at the thought of it alone.

Seokjin adds another finger, continuing the pace. You moan wantonly as Seokjin curls his fingers, your velvety walls clenching around his digits. He can tell you’re getting close, but he knew it wasn’t enough.

Without having to slide his fingers out of you, Seokjin grabs at one of the chairs and pulls it towards himself so he can sit.

He hooks his arms under your thighs and pulls you closer, merely centimeters away from your cunt. Your cheeks are set ablaze at his brazen action, opening your mouth to say something, falling speechless yet again as Seokjin’s lips come in contact with your nether lips. The man licks a bold stripe along the length of your folds, your hands instantly finding purchase on his hair as you’ve got nothing else to hold on to. He repeats the action all over again, this time adding his fingers to slide in and out of you and toy with your clit. A few more licks and a particular curl of his digits, Seokjin makes you cum for the first time again in three years, so hard that you’re body’s trembling even after he sets your legs down 

You’re breathing heavily, resting your forehead on Seokjin’s temple. “Mind taking a shower with me? It’s important to bathe after running the rain” Seokjin looks up at you, eyes pleading.

“I would, if I’m still able to walk.”

“Who said you were going to walk?” Seokjin maneuvers you on top of the counter, placing his hands under your knees and on your back, carrying you bridal style towards the bath. As soon as he settles you down onto the tub, he turns the faucet on and leaves you there for a moment, telling you that he was just going to grab something from his luggage.

You rest your head against the edge of the tub as you wait for Seokjin. You slowly feel exhaustion taking over you, but when you hear Seokjin’s muted footsteps against the carpeted floor, your eyes pry open only to see Seokjin in his boxers, holding a bath bomb in his palm. You gulp. This was going to be one hell of a night.

Just like before, Seokjin has you cumming thrice in the bath, once when he took you from underneath, making sure that the water fell perfectly on your clit for added stimulation as he slid his length in and out of you. He’d made you cum when you rode him as well, water sloshing everywhere at your naughty shenanigans in the bath. Even after two orgasms, Seokjin just won’t quit, having bent you over as you faced the wall, pounding you from behind.

Seokjin, with his libido seemingly running 24/7 tells you he wasn’t done with you just yet, saying he’s still got three years worth more of fucking to give you. He wanted to give you the most unforgettable sex of your life, and boy, was he adamant about it.

Seemingly not having had enough of you yet after helping you scrub almost the whole expanse of your skin, he finds himself getting hard again at the sight of you in just his shirt and nothing else.  You meant to sleep by that time, but as soon as Seokjin spooned you, you’d felt his clothed erection already grinding against your ass. You no longer kept count of how many times he made you cum.

The sunlight peeks through a tiny slit through the curtains, the heat perfectly hitting your face, causing you to wake up. Your body is sore all over, and as you roll to the other side while stretching out your limbs, you spot next to you empty.

Of course. You’re a fucking dumbass.

Hastily grabbing your clothes strewn across the floor, you head out of his room, tears already brimming in your eyes. Your vision is getting blurry by the second, and you angrily swipe at your cheeks as you feel a singular tear roll down. As you curse Seokjin under your breath, you bump into none other than the devil himself. “Oh! You’re awake?”

You don’t answer, stepping aside so you could go back to your room and rethink your life decisions.

“Where are you going, _______?”

“Out of your room, and hopefully out of your life as well.”

“Wait - ______! What are you talking about?” Seokjin extends his hand to grab your arm.

“Don’t fucking touch me, Seokjin.” The venom laced with your words makes him reel, retracting the arm he had held out to reach you. “I really never meant anything to you, hm? Fuck, I have probably reached desperation to return back into your arms that easily.”

“Desperation? That’s all it was last night? And the one three years ago?”

“I should be the one asking you that question!”

“What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? Are you really that fucking dense, Seokjin? You were the one who left me alone in the room that morning, and now you’ve done it again. Congratulations on having a new notch on your belt. And I’m a fucking fool for even thinking you felt otherwise!”

“You think I left you that morning?”

“I’m not done yet—what did you say?”

“You were the one who left that morning!”

“I did not! When I woke up, you weren’t there, nor were you anywhere inside your entire apartment! Do you know how embarrassing that was!” You pause, lips trembling, “F-For someone who actually meant something to you only seeing you as just some one-night stand?! Someone who you could use to get your dick wet?!”

“You like m-“

“You’re missing the entire point here, Kim Seokjin!”

“What’s happening here?” A raspy voice asks, the familiar mop of curly hair coming into view. Rafa?

“Oh my god! You like me, fuck! I could just kiss you right now!” Seokjin doesn’t even hesistate, already leaning towards your face and connecting your lips. You almost melt into his arms at the sensation, but you pull away just as instantly, tears freely rolling down. “Am I really just a joke to you, Jin? Have you ever even taken into consideration my feelings, even once?”

“______, darling. This is all a misunderstanding. Well, I did leave that morning, but I just went out to Rafa next door to shower. I—you looked so peaceful as you slept that I really didn’t want to bother waking you up to tell you that I can’t shower with cold water and it’s like déjà vu all of a sudden and…wait!” Seokjin drags poor Rafael who’s still looks like he’s half-asleep. “Rafa can verify the truth!”

Rafael sighs, once again caught in the middle of something he no longer wants to be a part of. “It’s true, ______. This guy’s pretty much in love with you. It’s just an unfortunate fact that this same guy has plenty of annoying habits that gets him in trouble most times. Just like not being able handle water that is below 26 degrees Celsius.”

You’re looking back and forth Seokjin and Rafa, trying to study their features if they’re being questionable or not. Finding no trace of mirth in their eyes, you turn to Seokjin. “You really didn’t leave me that morning and… today?”

“No. I could never. I’m a fucking dumbass for not thinking about what you could’ve felt that time and today…or telling you that I was just heading out to Rafa’s to shower because for some reason my heater isn’t always functioning…” 

“Glad to know you’ve finally acknowledged that you’re a bloody idiot.” Rafa speaks up, narrowing his eyes at Seokjin, taking a sip from his mug. Since when was that in his hands? Rafa sees you stare at his mug, and answers your silent question, “Was planning to drink this while it was hot earlier but I don’t see anything wrong with drinking cold coffee while watching a live action soap opera.”

“Funny how a night of fucking like wild rabbits can do so much to people,” Rafa adds, scoffing as he retreats back to his room. You lean your head towards Seokjin’s chest, embarrassed out of your wits. Seokjin puts an arm around your shoulder pulling you closer to him. “Don’t mind Rafa. He’s just jealous.”

“I can perfectly hear you, Kim Seokjin!”

© hhyungz 2020. All rights reserved.

[dickgrcyscns]

Coney Island

Coney Island, Steve Rogers. A one shot based off of Coney Island by Taylor Swift. Written in a females perspective, I’m sorry loves. (Also, I literally hate Steve’s ending in endgame but it provides me with a lot of angst so 🤠). (Also, also, this is highly unedited pls dont come for me I know it’s bad).

Summary: In which you and Steve always skirted around your feelings for one another, one day, it was too late for the both of you. 

Set During: Pre and Post-Endgame

Word Count: 1257 words

Gif used is not mine!

Over and over Lost again with no surprises Disappointments, close your eyes And it gets colder and colder When the sun goes down

There were many things to love about Steve Rogers: he was kind and forgiving. You noticed that the first time you met him at the Avengers tower. He helped you pick up papers that were pushed out of your hands by an intern working for Stark. It was cliche to say, but that was when you started to fall for him. You knew who he was, there wasn’t a person that walked on this earth that didn’t. And that meant you knew that he was a man out of time. A man not meant to be there. A man that would never truly be yours. But you fell for him regardless, your heart slowly became his. In some ways, his heart became yours as well. 

Leaning on the doorway to the room he had taken up in the Avengers tower after the battle in Wakanda, a small smile rested on your lips. You tried your hardest to show him something during this time, to try and make him feel better. But you had both lost your friends, people you cared about. The two of you were grieving and in different ways. “Steve.”

“Yeah,” his words were short, tone hitting the bottom of your heart.

“I’m about to make breakfast,” you looked down at your hands. “Do you, uh, want anything?”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay,” you turned around, only to look back at him for a moment, “and Steve, if you ever need to talk to someone, I’m just down the hall.”

“I don’t need to talk to anyone. I’m fine.”

Were you waiting at our old spot In the tree line by the gold clock Did I leave you hanging every single day?

Steve slowly began to seclude himself as the years past you guys by, he was losing hope in getting everyone back. You would try to talk to him, try to get him to do things with everyone that was still there, but he had made himself more comfortable alone over anything else. It shattered you to see him that way, speaking to people only when necessary. He wasn’t the man you had fallen in love with. Not at all. And it killed you to watch him not even bat you an eye. 

You tried your hardest to talk to him, to get him to spend time with you. Trying to give him a person to vent to, a person who was there for him. You always vowed to be that person. But he shrugged you away for five years, wanting nothing to do with you. So, you found yourself retreating. Grieving your friends that you lost as well as a man who was still living. Someone who was only doors down from you. Someone who used to wrap you in his arms, tell you everything was going to be fine while placing kisses on your face. A man who used to say he loved you. 

A man who now stared at a picture within a compass, remembering a past love of his constantly. While you sat out in the field, looking up at the stars like you used to do

Were you standing in the hallway With a big cake, happy birthday Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest gray?

When everyone figured out how to time travel due to Scott, Steve found a sense of purpose again. He refused to meet your eye, but you saw his face change. You saw the hope glimmer in his eyes again. You saw it all. It was something you had tried to get him to feel for a while. Smiling sadly to yourself, you turned on your heel. At least he had hope. 

You all did. 

This was the closest you had come to bringing them all back. All of your friends that you had lost, reuniting families and friends who had lost each other. Bringing back the people this world so suddenly lost. But you knew Steve was excited for another reason. 

He had always been the man in the wrong time. The ability to travel time gave him an opportunity no one could deny. He could get his greatest gift, a life with Peggy. The woman he was always in love with. Because it was never you. 

A universe away And when I got into the accident The sight that flashed before me was your face

Fighting was never easy, fighting an alien army was even harder. You felt unprepared for what was coming, that the fight was unbalanced. There was no hope for a moment, that was before the portals opened. Scattered with bumps and bruises, you turned to smile at Steve as your friends began to come out of them. He smiled back, falling to his knees as Sam and Bucky both came out of them. They were okay, everyone was okay. 

“Avengers,” Steve smiled. “Assemble.”

And that you did. You pushed on despite every part of your body telling you it was done. Your body was in pain when you turned to look at Tony, his suit now holding onto the stones. Panic ran through you, you knew what this meant. You got everyone back but at what cost? Losing Nat and Tony. 

You only caught his last statement, “And I am Iron Man.” Before he snapped his fingers. Eyes watching as the alien army began to turn to dust, including Thanos himself. A sob left your lips as you watched Tony collapse. 

This was it. This was what war did to people. 

But when I walked up to the podium I think that I forgot to say your name

In all fairness, you knew this was your last time seeing Steve like this. You knew you were losing the man you had fallen in love with. He didn't say anything about it, but what did he need to say? He was in love with Peggy Carter and wanted to take the chance to be with her. Well, that would have been a start, but it wouldn’t have made it any easier to watch him leave. Tears formed in your eye, Bucky’s arm draped across your shoulder. The both of you knew what was coming, you could read it in his eyes, he was going back to the time he belonged in. 

“I’m gonna miss you buddy,” Bucky said with a sad smile, looking at his friend. 

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” 

“Good luck, Steve,” You smiled at him for what would be the last time. You had to take the chance to tell him how you felt right then, if you didn’t, you were sure that you would have beaten yourself up about it. “I love you.”

I'm on a bench in Coney Island wondering where did my baby go?

I was quiet when you returned to that same bench he had met Sam on, he was much older and had lived an epic life full of love. But that didn’t mean you felt any better about it. In fact, you had been left alone to mend your broken heart. And sometimes you sat there, staring out on the water wondering what brought you to falling for him. What was it about him that you just couldn't let go?

Maybe you would never have an answer. But maybe that's okay to not have one. 

[caffeinatedwasteland]

Campus Memories part 2

Notes: So this took like forever for me to do, only cause I didn’t wanna cut these scenes out of this part. I’m hoping later on to maybe do different routes? I’m just having a fun time writing something for the first time.

Words: Around 2k

The walk over to the science building was longer than I remember it being, occasionally glancing at the classrooms in passing I looked for any sign of the man I’m looking for. Deciding it might be easier to head to the faculty office to see if they have seen Eren. As I make my way closer towards the office I can hear two voices getting more distinct, standing out from the distant chatter of other students and faculty in passing. Rounding the corner I see Eren, or at least I think it’s Eren. With his hair still pulled back, putting most of his weight to one side as he speaks to the man across from him. The other man looks completely opposite to Eren, with his neatly styled blonde hair, freshly groomed beard and glasses resting above his nose. His clothes also give off a much more dominant presence than Eren, his button up looking freshly ironed with no creases, his fancy looking watch resting on his left wrist.

A light brown overcoat tossed over his left arm. Looking at the two and from both styles and how they seem to carry themselves it’s as if different cultures were communicating with one another, making me wonder how they could possibly know each other. Given their standing by the faculty office, maybe the man he’s speaking to is his professor? That could explain the ‘authoritative’ aura surrounding the blonde man, but Eren seems too relaxed to be speaking to someone with authority over him. Eren is clearly more carefree when it comes to not really minding his posture or how he presents himself in public, with a strong free aura about him, while the man in the suit who I can now only assume is the "Zeke" he talked to on his phone, is more dignified, and very "elite" with how his posture is perfect, everything looking tidy and sharp, like someone that doesn't leave any detail go unnoticed. 

As I get closer to the two I can make out words in their conversation. “Don’t be so overly dramatic Eren, you act like I asked you to walk miles.” The blonde man says with a slight chuckle. Before I had realized I was a few steps from them and I felt the man’s gaze catch my own. I go to speak but before any words come out he speaks first “Is there something we can help you with?” I hadn't noticed until now, but now that his strong presence is pointed towards me, I couldn't help but freeze as I was not expecting the sudden shift in focus he had, he didn't change his demeanor in any way compared to when he was speaking to Eren, but now that he's talking to me, I start to wonder how Eren can talk to him as an equal and not be crushed by the pressure he exerts.

 After what felt like an eternity I stuttered with simple words without even thinking. "A lost wallet? And you came all the way here to return it? Such a polite thing to do, I apologize for my scatterbrained brother's lack of attention bringing you trouble." He says as he politely bows his head to me in a respectful manner just before turning to Eren. "Well? I think you owe them an apology, don't you?" He says without giving it a second thought. The pressure I was feeling instantly went away as I noticed Eren's sudden realization of what was going on and how he suddenly bows his head down further than the tall Blonde figure next to him and without any control over his tone he basically shouts "Thank you for bringing this back! I'm sorry to trouble you! I will repay you in any way I can!" This sudden focus of both tall men bowing to me made me feel very self aware so I started reassuring them that it was no problem at all as it was just the right thing to do.

I sent Eren a small smile as I handed back his wallet and he thanked me once more before the man who I now know is Eren’s brother spoke up, “This might sound odd, but now that I’ve gotten a closer look at you, do you not work at the Coffee Cart?” I look at him slightly confused but nod “Oh yeah, I do, that’s how I found Eren’s wallet actually.” He nods his head, placing his hands in his pockets as he leans back slightly “I get my coffee there all the time, the owner happens to be one of my friends. Send Pieck my regards.” 

As I’m leaving the building I hear my stomach growl, when was the last time I ate? It must’ve been around when I first got to work this morning. Normally I get something to eat after my shift but I got caught up in returning Eren’s wallet. Deciding I might as well just get something to eat here since I’m already on campus before I head back to my dorm. While making my way closer to the cafeteria I hear a familiar voice behind me, I turn around to see Eren running towards me. “Hey! I hope this doesn’t come across as creepy. But I wanted to repay you for the trouble of finding me.” He pauses as he stops in front of me, looking a bit flustered. I raise my brow at him waiting for him to continue “Plus, Zeke wasn’t gonna let me leave without offering to repay you. Which I already planned to do! But uh, he suggested I treat you to some food given what time it is. So if you wanna go grab something to eat, Wanna come with me?” He looked down at me nervously shifting his weight from side to side. I adjust my bag on my shoulder and smile back “Sure, that would be nice. I was going to just grab something from the cafeteria before heading to my dorm anyways.” Eren’s eyes seem to light up at my accepting his invitation and he falls into place at my side “So, since we’re going to be eating together...what’s your name? I’m Eren by the way.” He pauses for a second before quickly adding “But you might know that from finding my wallet.” He lets out a nervous chuckle and scratches the back of his neck before turning his head to face me as we walk. “Oh, right! Sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s y/n, it’s nice to meet you Eren.” I hold my hand out to him to shake, his larger hand wrapping around mine, giving a quick shake.

“Cool, y/n, gotcha, I’ll be seeing you around then.” He adds as he lets go of my hand and we start heading to the closest fast food place we both agreed on, “Kenny’s.” The walk toward the restaurant felt short as we spent the time just making small talk, even exchanging contact info, laughing at silly things, even petty things such as pointing out someone's fly being open. Before we knew it we had already arrived at our destination, I even forgot we were getting food by how invested I was in our conversation! It was really unexpected that I would make a friend just from bringing him back his wallet but it’s something I wouldn’t change. Plus despite seeming intimidating upon first glance Zeke seems to be polite and clearly cares a lot for Eren, hopefully he wasn’t offended by me feeling intimidated by him. 

I reach out and open the door, holding it open for Eren, the scent of varying dishes hitting my nose as I look over to see the hostess leaning forward with her chin resting on her hand and other arm on the podium in front of her before she notices us. She looks at us for a second and with what seems like her best attempt at covering the fact she is tired and just wants her shift to be over, forces a smile before picking up two menus and sets of cutlery from in front of her “Table for two?” She questions plainly. I nod at her as she starts sluggishly leading us to our table and I glance around the restaurant. It’s nothing fancy, just a little family style restaurant with warm lighting, booths lining the outer walls, each one having its own window and light hanging above it. In Between the rows of booths there sit some smaller tables, the whole restaurant is coloured with neutral browns and other plain colours giving it a more homey feeling. More well known for their breakfast foods over their lunch and dinner options, a good place to go after a long night of partying.  The hostess stops by a booth and places down the menus and cutlery “Your server will be with you shortly” she adds before turning around and heading her way back to her post at the podium, yawning as she walks. Eren and I pick up our menus, scanning over them to decide what to order. I get pulled from my thoughts by a voice asking us for our drink orders before I go back to browsing the menu. Deciding on my order I close the menu and place it on the end of the table, looking across the table at Eren I raise a brow, noticing his gaze following after the server as he walks away. “So I noticed you've been distracted by him ever since he showed up to take our drink orders, do you... you know... swing that way? Maybe have a thing for our server?” I question, Eren quickly turns back to face me “What? No! It’s not like that” he quickly waves his hands to dismiss the idea “he's my friend Reiner, but he's always so focused on work he probably didn't notice I was around” he lets out a small laugh adding “that’s so like him too, I’m just waiting for him to notice so I can bug him about it.” 

Eren puts down his menu as our server, Reiner, makes his way back to our table and places our drinks down in front of us and picks up the menus. As he takes my order I take my time to take in his appearance, he’s tall like Eren is but he’s more broad and muscular, even more defined by his work uniform. He has short blonde hair neatly styled, golden coloured eyes and a neutral facial expression. He looks rather intimidating, but Eren doesn’t seem bothered. His voice is deep, he’s polite but seems to take his job seriously, in contrast to the hostess. Reiner then turns his focus to Eren and his eyes widen slightly before relaxing “Oh Eren, I didn’t realize it was you” he states, looking more casual than before. "Responsible as always, aren't you, Reiner?" said Eren in a sarcastic but respectful way. "Haha, I guess so, what brings you here anyways? I don't see you here often" said the blonde man, his tone way more friendly than before but not losing that polite feel to it, either he must have worked in customer service for a long time before, or he's just naturally polite despite his looks. "Just repaying y/n here for them helping me out." said Eren as both their gazes turned to me. "O-Oh, it was nothing much, really. Just doing what anyone else would do" I hastily reply as the sudden attention catches me off guard. "Not many people would just straight up go across the whole campus to return a wallet! Even more so with all its contents still inside! You are a really good person, don't demerit yourself!" Eren replies adamantly, as if me not acknowledging my actions was somehow disrespectful to him. "He's right, you know. Not many people would go through all of that just to do a good deed, I respect that." added Reiner to it, just as adamantly as Eren but without the same amount of energy behind it that Eren put into it, but at the same time without losing the impact. I can feel my cheeks warming up as I can't help but smile at the compliments and end up just graciously admitting my loss in this argument and accept the praise. 

Reiner then picked up the menus and went to put our orders in at the kitchen. I then shifted my focus back onto Eren to find he was already staring back at me, leaning his chin in his hand “So, what do you think of Reiner?” he questioned while raising a brow before taking a sip of his drink. “He seems nice, I wouldn’t have figured you’d be friends” I reply with a short laugh when Eren looks at me confused, “not in a bad way, you just don’t look like you would hang out” I quickly add, nervously ruffling my hair, hoping I didn’t just accidentally offend him. Eren starts laughing as I just stare at him and tilt my head waiting for him to speak “Yeah, Reiner and I only met through some mutual friends of ours, so I get what you mean,” he says between his laughs. I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was when our food arrived, and it seemed like Eren was as well given we didn’t talk much and mainly focused on eating. 

When Reiner returned with our bill Eren quickly grabbed it before I could even glance at the total “You really don’t have to pay for me, Eren” I insisted while reaching out to grab the bill from his hands before he moved it out of my reach “No way! y/n I told you that I was gonna pay you back for returning my wallet and that’s what I’m gonna do!” Eren pushes my hand back and then opens the little book holding the bill, his expression falling slightly as he reaches to grab his wallet and seems to be counting bills. He pulls out some bills and places them in the book before looking sheepishly between Reiner and I, a faint flush to his face and ears before he mumbles “I might be a little short on cash” I immediately reach for my bag on the booth seat and start to look for my own wallet as I hear a laugh, but it’s too deep to be Eren’s, I look over and see it’s Reiner but he’s clearly trying to muffle it with his fist “Eren hand me the bill, will you?” He questions after clearing his throat. “Well you aren’t too short, so I guess I can cover you this time. But you owe me” Reiner adds, reaching into his pants pocket for his own wallet, I quickly retract my hands from my bag and quickly wave at him to stop “y-you don’t have to do that! I can just pay whatever is left on the bill!” Reiner looks over at me with a smile “No, it’s fine, Eren said he was gonna pay you back right? He still is. He just now owes me a little bit for helping to do that.” Eren nods his head “Thanks Reiner, I really owe you one now. Seriously don’t worry about it y/n, I’d feel bad having you pay after I made you come here.”

 Reiner waves his hand to say goodbye to us as he leaves with the bill in hand, wishing us a good night. I quickly find my wallet and place a few bills on the table as a tip for him after Eren has already started to head for the door. When we reach the door Eren holds it open for me and once we’re outside he says “Hey it’s pretty dark out here now, would you like me to walk you home?” I glanced around, noticing the street lights had come on already. As much as I would enjoy spending more time with Eren as I head back to my dorm, I worry about how my roommate would react to seeing him. She’s not a bad person just can make some weird and embarrassing comments at my own expense and I’d rather not have her be like that when I just met him. “That’s really nice of you, and I really appreciate the offer but I think I’ll be good to go by myself. Maybe next time you can walk me back?” I smile up at him and adjust my bag on my shoulder, hopefully he doesn’t think my offer of walking me home next time is too forward or something. I just had a really fun time with him and hope to be able to hang out in the future. 

Eren spends a moment just staring down at me, his eyes searching my face but for what I’m not too sure. “Alright, but you have my number so let me know you get there in one piece.” My smile widens at his response, he doesn’t seem weirded out by my comment so that’s a plus.  “Okay, I’ll send you a text so you know I’m alive” I joke as I turn to head towards the dorm, mentally preparing myself for the teasing I’ll get from my roommate when she finds out why I didn’t head straight back to our dorm after work.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 15: The Warning (originally posted on April 26, 2021)

AN: Dread it, run from it, the end is near. Part 1 of the two-part Part 2 finale has arrived. And with this two-parter, we will officially be halfway through Alternate Future. What could Parts 3 and 4 possibly hold for us? Well, that's for later. Right now, we return to Homeworld which means we once again won't be fully focusing on Steven, and we will also see a certain Gem in action.

Synopsis: Lars and the Off-Colors return to Earth with an urgent message.

Cast:

Matthew Moy as Lars, Dante

Enuka Okuma as Rhodonite

Kathleen Fisher as Fluorite

Ashly Burch as Rutile Twins

Erica Luttrell as Padparadscha Sapphire

Christine Baranski as Hessonite

Shelby Rabara as Squaridot, Demantoid's Peridots

Olivia Olson as Citrine

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Amy Sedaris as Yellow Zircon, Blue Zircon

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Jennifer Paz as Mean Lapis

Charlyne Yi as Navy, Eyeball

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid

Uzo Aduba as Demantoid's Bismuths

Miriam Hyman as Demantoid's Bismuths

Deedee Magno-Hall as Black Pearl

Dee Bradley Baker as George the Light Prism

Zach Callison as Steven

Kate Micucci as Sadie

Indya Moore as Shep

Nancy Linari as Martha

Featuring Hugh Laurie as Doctor Laurie

--

Hushed whispers filled the grand hall as many former Gem aristocrats filed in. Behind a holographic podium were posters of the prosecuting Zircon's smug face with the word "HOPE" underneath the picture in very big letters. When the last of the ex-nobles arrived and the doors shut behind them, out came Yellow Zircon with a prideful spring in her step as she took her place at the podium.

"Good day to you all." Yellow Zircon announced as she presented the speech prepared for her today. "As you all know, the Gem race has now entered a new golden age thanks to Steven Universe, the son of Pink Diamond, and the Crystal Gems." As she spoke, an image of Steven and the Gems appeared behind her. "But don't think they have good intentions."

Suddenly, the hall turned a bright red as a big red X was crossed over the Crystal Gems. "With the loss of our caste system, our weapons, armies, colonies, and the Diamonds' control over us, our kind has become weak. Perhaps weak enough to be conquered."

The former nobles began muttering to each other with concern while Yellow Zircon stared at the speech in confusion. "Wait, this is my speech?" she quietly asked herself before returning to the subject at hand. "Anyways, their pacifistic ways could soon be the end of us all. That is why as a potential democratic leader of the Gems, I promise to restore our old ways so that we may be better prepared for a possible invasion. Thank you everyone for your time."

The other Gems began clapping and cheering while Yellow Zircon walked backstage, continuing to examine her speech when she ran into her campaign manager, a seemingly docile Ruby with her gem on her stomach. "Oh, Navy was it?" she asked the Ruby. "I'm pretty sure my speech is all wrong. I could've sworn I had something different planned earlier!"

"Oh don't be such a worrywart Zircon!" Navy laughed, slapping the taller Gem on the leg. "I just made a few changes, that's all! Which reminds me, you got some special guests arranged for your next speech, so do make a good impression on them!"

"Okay, if you say so." Yellow Zircon reluctantly obliged and kept walking, leaving Navy alone to snicker maliciously as she pulled a black egg-shaped communicator from her gem. "This is Agent Navy, come in Black Rutile." She said to the egg as it produced a holographic image of her superior.

"Ah, Ruby, so glad of you to call." Black Rutile said delightedly. "How has your infiltration of the Zircon's campaign going?"

"All according to plan my Rutile." Navy saluted the hologram. "She doesn't suspect a thing."

"Excellent." Black Rutile grinned. "Once she's in power, we'll come in, reveal our goal to the galaxy and initiate our coup. I knew I chose the right Gem for the job."

"Oh, you're too kind my Rutile." Navy giggled. "My magnanimous, visionary, absolutely gorgeous Rutile!"

"Okay, now you're just brown-nosing." Black Rutile scowled. "Morganite should be meeting with you shortly, so keep an eye out for her while I go gather forces." She commanded. "Over and out."

--

Meanwhile, on a different part of the Gem Homeworld, the Sun Incinerator began to make its landing at a spaceport where many Gems were either departing from Homeworld by spaceship or returning home. But this crew in particular was only here for a quick pitstop.

"Well, here we are back on Homeworld Off-Colors." Lars declared as he and his motley crew of Off-Color Gems disembarked from their pilfered vessel to look around the spaceport. "Man, it's wonderful how much Steven has changed everything."

"Yeah, once these ships were out conquering worlds." The left Rutile replied.

"But now they're out spreading peace and fixing what they broke." The right Rutile remarked.

"We can sing Steven's praises later." Rhodonite said, getting her fellow Gems back on track. "We came back here to refuel."

"Yes, we know Rhodonite." Fluorite said slowly. "I'm just going to take a breather over there." She then pointed over to a little hangout spot where different Gems were striking up conversations. "How about you?"

"I'm just going to explore a bit." Lars answered. "Anyone coming with?"

"I'm gonna go over there to where those other fusions are." Rhodonite replied as she pointed to another hangout spot populated with cross-Gem fusions just like her.

"Guess that leaves me and Paddy to watch over the ship." The left Rutile said.

"Our crew shall go their separate ways for the time being." Padparadscha declared sweetly.

However, as the Off-Colors briefly split up to relax, a sinister plot was brewing without their knowledge. Emerald and a squad of Black Pearls were hiding inside one of the unoccupied ships, having been spying on the Gem team this whole time. "My Rutile, I have visual on the Sun Incinerator." Emerald said into a communicator. "At long last, it'll finally be mine!"

"Yes Emerald, the sole reason you joined my alliance." Black Rutile said sarcastically. "But remember that once you finally reacquire the Incinerator, you are to rendezvous with your teammates and provide our transport to Earth."

"But what about your dropship, my Rutile?" one of the Black Pearls inquired. "Can't you use that to come to Earth instead?"

"I'm currently using it to reach Blue 4." Black Rutile explained. "Lars will no doubt use another ship to reach Earth, but by then it'll be too late for him"

"Understood." Emerald nodded as the communicator shut off, and then she turned to the Pearls. "You heard her, move out!"

"Yes, your Emerald." The Black Pearls monotonously replied and marched towards the Sun Incinerator.

The Rutile twins noticed the squad of Pearls marching to them and decided to ask what was up. "Uh, hello there." The left Rutile nervously greeted. "Don't think we've ever seen you Pearls around before."

"Forgive our intrusion, we were only created not too long ago." The leading Black Pearl apologized with a bow. "My fellow Pearls and I are working for a higher power who believes she can bring peace to Homeworld."

"Ooh, look at those Pearls over there!" Padparadscha exclaimed. "I don't like the looks of them Rutiles, they look suspicious!"

"Yeah, that reminds me." The right Rutile said. "Who is this higher power you're working for?"

"She refuses to disclose her identity at the moment," another of the Pearls said. "but she doesn't like a certain friend of yours very much."

Before the Rutiles and Padparadscha could comprehend what the Pearl said, a pair of crystalline thigh-high boots clinked loudly as their owner snuck aboard the Sun Incinerator, and they turned around to discover that it was Emerald.

"We've been discovered!" Emerald yelled before she raced further into the ship. "Pearls, seize them!"

"Emerald?!" the Rutile twins exclaimed in shock.

"Emerald has stolen the ship!" Padparadscha added as Lars, Rhodonite, and Fluorite raced to discover what had happened.

"So we meet again Emerald!" Lars said angrily as Emerald began to take off in her reclaimed ship. "What do you have planned this time?!"

"I think the better question is, what do WE have planned!" Emerald corrected just as furiously. "You're so distracted by the destruction that Steven has caused, you're just as blind to his impending fall! Now Pearls!"

The Pearls summoned their spears and threateningly pointed them at Lars and the Off-Colors. But just then, three silhouettes that have been watching things play out made themselves known by emerging from the shadows to strike.

The first Gem had orange skin, a red-orange gemstone at the center of her chest, a red and white jumpsuit with black shoulder pads, a blue-purple cape, and a pale yellow afro that came together at a widow's peak. She was the first of the trio to attack, plunging her sword into a Black Pearl's chest and causing her to poof.

The second Gem was a Peridot with rectangular chartreuse-yellow hair, her triangular gem replacing her left eye, a medium green jumpsuit with dark green shoulder pads and a four-pointed star symbol on the torso, a light green cape, dark green leggings, and medium green boots with yellow triangles on her knees. She lifted a metal crate into the air with ferrokinesis and tossed it at another group of Black Pearls, poofing them as well.

Finally, there was a Gem Lars easily recognized. Citrine was also a member of this trio, whaling on Black Pearls as they tried to dogpile her, and she was wearing a cape as well. It was black, matching the mask she wore over her eyes.

"Citrine!" Lars cried excitedly as the three Gems fought off the seemingly growing mob of Pearls. "Hey, who are those other two Gems?"

"Lars, long time no see!" Citrine replied while backhanding a Black Pearl in the face. "I can introduce you to my new partners later, now help us out!"

"Finally time to put my new musti-yuddha skills to use." Lars declared while taking off his cape and gloves to fight the Black Pearls. "Come at me bros!" he challenged the Gems as he put up his fists, using his newfound Indian boxing skills to punch, kick, grab, knee, and elbow his way through the Pearls.

"Nice moves there my friend!" the yellow afroed Gem complimented Lars before they, along with Citrine and the Peridot, stood back to back against the Pearls while the Off-Colors watched. "What do you call that kind of fighting?"

"It's an Earth type of combat called musti-yuddha." Lars explained as yet another Black Pearl charged at him. "SHORYUKEN!" he yelled, uppercutting the Pearl into the air before it poofed, and her gem clattered on the ground.

"I've got to get me some of those lessons." Rhodonite said to herself.

"The human is stronger than we were led to believe!" one of the remaining Black Pearls gasped in shock. "Everybody retreat!"

With that, the Black Pearl squadron officially withdrew from combat, leaving Lars and his Gem allies to collect themselves.

"So, like I was gonna say, meet some new friends I made since you were last here." Citrine introduced her new partners.

"You may call me Hessonite." Hessonite greeted Lars with a handshake. "Former commander of Yellow Diamond's army turned ally of the Crystal Gems and Gem vigilante. Pleased to meet you."

"I'm her sidekick, Peridot Facet-4E3M Cut-7ZY." The Peridot introduced herself. "Though most call me Squaridot due to my hair. Much like my former commander turned partner, I have once antagonized the Crystal Gems before Steven showed me the light. Well, after quite a few setbacks, of course."

"I'm Lars." Lars replied as he pointed to himself, and then to the Off-Colors. "Meet my teammates, the-"

"We know full well about you and your exploits Lars." Hessonite cut Lars off. "Citrine told us about you when we first crossed paths, and she has proven useful to my cause."

"Excuse me, but what cause?" Fluorite asked Hessonite.

"The detainment of a Gem revolutionary known as Black Rutile!" Squaridot dramatically announced as she presented an image of the Gem in question. "For the past couple years ever since Steven began the process of reforming the Gem empire, this felon has been gathering up an army to rebel against him and the Crystal Gems, and now that the Spinel incident has come and gone, Black Rutile has finally decided now to initiate her plans to destroy him and conquer the Gem race!"

"Wait, why does Black Rutile have it out for Steven?" Lars asked when he came to a realization. "Wait, I remember her! She came to Earth once and interviewed me about my experiences with Steven! Is that all a part of her plan?"

"Indubitably," Citrine answered. "She's been gathering as much info as she can on Steven, the Crystal Gems, and almost everyone they've ever met in preparation for her forthcoming invasion. She knows everyone's strengths and weaknesses, and will use them against us with extreme prejudice."

"Black Rutile may seem like a genial reporter," Hessonite continued her sidekicks' explanation. "But it's all an act to disguise the cunning, devious, opportunistic, sociopathic monster she is underneath. Black Rutile was a former member of White Diamond's court and a fearsome warrior during the Rebellion with a burning vendetta against Pink Diamond because she believed Pink always got what she wanted by whining & crying all the time instead of doing any actual hard work to deserve things."

"So she hates Pink, big whoop." Rhodonite snarked.

"It's not just Pink, my dear fusion." Hessonite stated, putting a gloved hand on Rhodonite's shoulder. "By proxy, she has a hatred for Steven and the Crystal Gems because they continued her work by reforming our society, and some aren't very kind towards Steven's decisions."

"We were surrounded by those Black Pearls, but a trio of caped crusaders have come to save us!" Padparadscha cheered.

"Yes, thank you for adding to the conversation Sapphire." Hessonite muttered, glaring at Padparadscha before she turned back to Lars. "Recent intel we have gathered tells us that Black Rutile has inserted a Ruby spy into Yellow Zircon's democratic campaign, feeding her nothing but lies to inspire Gems to rebel against Era 3. I'm planning on infiltrating a speech she is giving, but I need help." She grabbed Lars by the hand and gazed at him with determined eyes. "Tell me Lars of the Stars, are you with us?"

"Well, with intel like that, I don't see why not." Lars declared, taking Hessonite's hand and giving it a firm shake. "I'm in!"

With that, the Off-Colors had some new allies by their side, and a new adventure to go on. One that might be their most dangerous yet.

--

Meanwhile, the remaining Black Pearls continued fleeing from Hessonite's squad and found somewhere safe to hide, where their leader turned on a communicator on her wrist.

"Black Pearl-6G9, report!" Black Rutile barked to her subordinates.

"It is the Hessonite, she has struck once again." The Pearl stated. "And it seems she has allied with the so-called "Lars of the Stars" to undermine your hard work."

"That traitor has been a thorn in my side for too long." Black Rutile snarled irritatedly. "A real shame too. She and I got along quite swimmingly before she went to retrieve that Prism." She then remarked nostalgically. "But enough about my backstory. The Zircon is preparing to make her speech soon. I need what's left of your force to protect her at the auditorium in Igneous Square no matter what. Affirmative?"

"Affirmative, my Rutile." Black Pearl-6G9 nodded and shut off her communicator before she turned to her fellow Pearls, nodding to them as well.

--

Later that day, Lars & Hessonite stood atop a building and gazed down upon the Gems gathered at Igneous Square where Yellow Zircon was set to make another speech. Also on stage with her were a group of Black Pearls, her mysterious campaign manager Navy and their special guest Morganite.

"Good day my fellow Gems." Yellow Zircon announced while Lars followed Hessonite down the building and blending in with the crowd. "As you can see, I brought a very special guest with me. I'd like you all to please give a warm welcome to the legendary designer, Morganite!"

"Wait, she's with them?" Lars whispered to Hessonite as Morganite stepped up to the podium. "But she seemed so chill when we first met her!"

"Looks can be very deceiving Lars." Hessonite advised her human ally. "Black Rutile has supporters all across Homeworld and their former colonies, but Morganite here is a part of her inner circle."

"Wait, inner circle?" Lars asked. "You mean she's got, like, a whole legion of doom by her side?"

"I wouldn't put it that way, but yes." Hessonite answered. "Now shush."

"Thank you Zircon for the marvelous introduction." Morganite said gratefully to the Zircon before she turned to the audience with a speech prepared. "Today shall be the end of Era 3. The end of the Crystal Gems, who have acquiesced to gaslighting and manipulation for thousands of years. At this very moment, hundreds of lightyears away, Steven Universe continues lying to the Gem race and brainwashing the mindless masses to his so-called "peace and love", while hypocritically abandoning all in actual need of his alleged assistance!" As Morganite went on, her speaking became more and more dictatorial until she began outright shrieking every word that came out of her mouth. "Once WE are in power, we shall return to our ways of conquering and terraforming, starting WITH PLANET EARTH! AND SOON STEVEN SHALL REALIZE THAT IF HE AND HIS MOTHER WEREN'T SUCH IRRITATING BRATS, HE WOULDN'T BE HIS OWN UNDOING!"

The Gems in the audience all began cheering and pumping their fists, chanting Morganite's name as she took a bow and began to leave the unnerved Yellow Zircon to take back her podium, until someone else took the microphone.

"Steven gaslighting and manipulating?" Lars hijacked the podium to make his own speech. "Frankly my friends, you're all dead wrong! Sure, he and I got off on the wrong foot more times than I can count, but I know that he is an actual good person. A fact that you are all just blind to for the sake of being mouthpieces for a complete maniac! You're no revolutionaries; you're just a bunch of proud clods! And another thing-"

"Hey pinky, get off the stage!" one Agate jeered while the Black Pearls began to surround Lars onstage.

"You shall come quietly human for questioning." The lead Pearl ordered, spear pointed directing across Lars's neck.

"Uh Hess, little help here!" Lars cried out nervously. Suddenly, a golden blur emerged from the crowd and easily dispatched the Pearls, along with any other Gems trying to get on the stage to attack Lars.

"Come on, let's head to my lair!" Hessonite stated before the screen behind the podium began to short-circuit before finally, Black Rutile appeared on it. "You."

"Ah Hessonite, so glad you could make it to the eve of my grand takeover." Black Rutile purred in greeting. "And look, you even brought a plus-one! Lars of the Stars, am I right?"

"Master, I sincerely apologize for my failure!" Morganite dropped on her knees and begged for Black Rutile's mercy. "It was the human who tried to expose me!"

"Save the apologies Morganite, I'll send in reinforcements later." Black Rutile replied before turning back to her pair of foes. "And as for you, go ahead and run around this planet all you like, 'cause you won't find me anywhere on it!"

"Well, where are you?!" Lars yelled.

"That is highly classified." Black Rutile responded with a sneer. "Not that you would care, you rose-colored hippie. Toodles!" With that, she disappeared from the screen, leaving the pair aghast at her sudden appearance before one of the Gems spoke up.

"Can't you see, Steven is forcing us to waste ourselves away being all caring and helping, when we should be returning to enslaving!" a particularly vigorous Pyrope yelled. "Who's with me?! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE!"

"YEAH, OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE!" a Jasper agreed, inspiring the other Gems to chant those same words.

"OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE!"

"It's worse than I thought." Hessonite muttered nervously while she and Lars made their escape. "She's manipulated them all."

"Do the Diamonds know about this?" Lars asked his new ally.

"I'm not sure, but that will definitely get their attention." Hessonite replied as they got further away from Igneous Square, where the chanting kept on going and Yellow Zircon stared in shock at what just happened.

"Was I just a tool for a fascist cause?" Yellow Zircon muttered in utter despondence while Navy stood behind her with an evil grin.

"Fascist cause? No." Navy grinned as she retreated into the shadows. "Tool? Oh so very much."

--

Not too far away from Homeworld was the former colony of Blue 4, a once pristine colony that has fallen on hard times due to its ruler's neglect of her subjects. And far from Blue 4 on its own little asteroid was the Palace of Light, formerly the capital of Blue 4 that was the current residence, or rather a prison, of the ex-elite Gems Pyrope and Demantoid.

"Day….I've lost count, of our imprisonment in the Palace of Light." Demantoid muttered robotically to herself as she sat across from Pyrope in their shared cell. "I have been making countless plans to break out of this cell and exact our revenge, but a certain someone just keeps debunking them all."

"Well, it's not my fault that most of your plans will fail!" Pyrope said haughtily. "Kind of like how it was your fault that we lost to Steven!"

"My fault?!" Demantoid yelled back as she hopped up and marched over to meet Pyrope's gaze. "If it weren't for your arrogance, we wouldn't be stuck in here with no status, no weapons, and no hope of escaping!"

Suddenly, the destabilizing forcefield that prevented the pair of Garnets from escaping shut off, allowing them to leave their cell with no trouble.

"Who could've possibly done this?" Pyrope wondered, looking around at how only their cell was deactivated while the others were still operational.

"I believe I can answer that for you." A voice answered pridefully as she marched towards the Garnets and revealed her identity. "Black Rutile, at your service. Long time no see you two."

"My stars, THE Black Rutile?!" Demantoid gasped in recognition of the Rutile. "Where have you been all this time?! Why are you only now helping us when you could've been useful during our clashes with the Crystal Gems?!"

"I've been plotting their downfall for quite some time Demantoid." Black Rutile answered. "I suppose you have been disenfranchised by Steven, much like my compatriots here, no?" she then asked as White Topaz, Aquamarine, Eyeball, Lapis 1J9G and Holly Blue emerged from behind her.

"So, you've been plotting your own rebellion, just like Rose Quartz?" Pyrope asked as she gazed at the Gems Black Rutile has gathered for her alliance.

"Indeed, and I believe you both deserve seats in it." Black Rutile replied as she took the pair's hands. "Now then, are you with me?"

"I am with you." Demantoid accepted the offer. "But only if she gets left here."

"No no no, she should be left to rot while I join you!" Pyrope demanded.

"Uh, something wrong you two?" White Topaz asked.

"It's all her fault we lost!" the Garnets blamed each other with fingers pointed, but they were quickly proven wrong.

"No, it's neither of your faults." Black Rutile stated as she brought up a projection of the pair's final battle with the Crystal Gems using the Light Prisms. "It's all because of Steven that you lost. That cunning, devious, opportunistic, sociopathic monster wanted you out of the way because you had no place in his dystopia, but there is room for you in the utopia I will soon build. Now let me repeat myself," She deactivated the hologram and looked back at Pyrope & Demantoid. "are you with me?"

"Okay, we're in!" Pyrope exclaimed, shaking the fearsome Rutile's hand. "Now tell us, what do you need us for?"

"I am planning on going down to Earth to strike at the Gems when they least expect it." Black Rutile explained, leading the group out into the main area of the Palace while pulling out another hologram from her visor detailing her plans. "Once we detain them once and for all, we shall indoctrinate the Gems they have brainwashed into their so-called Little Homeschool to our cause and overwhelm the Diamonds with our superior armies. After that, we'll have to discuss lat-"

Suddenly, the signaling of an urgent message cut off Black Rutile's plans. "One second everyone." She muttered before taking the message. "Ruby, report!"

"My Rutile, we need you!" Navy exclaimed fearfully. "The Zircon has already been seized since the speech, and now Morganite & I are on the run!"

"Yes, I'm well aware of that." Black Rutile said while pinching the gem on her face. "That Morganite, always such a self-important coward. I shall send in backup posthaste!"

"Oh thank you my glamorous Rutile!" Navy cheered. "I am so honored to be in your presence like always!"

"What did I say about the brownnosing?" Black Rutile shut Navy up before the message ended, then she turned to her minions. "Holly Blue, 1J9G, keep Lars of the Stars away from Earth no matter the cost."

"Understood my Rutile." Holly Blue obliged with her master's salute. "Come along terraformer."

"Really, we're going all this way just to get revenge on Steven?" Lapis 1J9G snarked. "You know, we don't have to make all these super complicated plans, we can just go down and kill everyone."

"Bite your tongue Lapis!" Holly barked at the Lapis Lazuli. "Is that the way you want to speak about someone who promised you your friend back?"

"No your clarity!" 1J9G squeaked in fear of the Agate's terror.

"Very good." Holly Blue replied pleasantly. "Now, let's return to Homeworld."

As the pair of blue Gems departed, 1J9G looked back at Black Rutile with a sneer while the alliance was being unknowingly watched.

The Light Prism George let out a gasp at what he just witnessed and began speaking in Gem Glyph to his fellow Prisms, who had now taken forms similar to his own. The three of them nodded, knowing just who to call.

--

Meanwhile, back on Homeworld, Lars and Hessonite had finally escaped the mob of furious Gems and found themselves standing before a pair of large doors at a tower.

"Welcome to my lair, Lars." Hessonite declared as she placed her palm on a scanner that allowed her entrance into the room. At the top of the steps was a large & elaborate computer system, along with the Off-Colors, Squaridot, and Citrine all waiting for the pair's return. "This was once Yellow Diamond's bubbling chamber before Era 3, and I've heavily repurposed it to suit my vigilante needs."

"Lars, you're back!" Rhodonite cried, and the Off-Colors all gave Lars a big hug as soon as he reached the top of the steps.

"Lars is coming back!" Padparadscha cheered.

"So, what's the situation like out there?" the right Rutile asked Lars as he took a seat at a workbench covered with gadgets either being built or fixed.

"It's worse than what Hessonite led us to believe." Lars muttered. "Black Rutile has brainwashed so many Gems into thinking Steven is the bad guy by using that Zircon's presidential campaign as a mouthpiece for her beliefs. And remember Morganite? She's one of her supporters."

"Are you serious?!" Rhodonite exclaimed in shock, since the last time she met her former superior, Morganite seemed so ambivalent towards Era 3. "I could never forgive her for how she treated us, but this is just going too far!"

"My thoughts exactly." Lars agreed. "Morganite gave a big speech about how the Crystal Gems are even more oppressive than the Diamonds were, but I took to the stage to argue against her claims. And then came a message from Black Rutile."

"What was she like?" Fluorite asked the undead human.

"She seemed so condescending, yet utterly monstrous at the same time." Lars answered. "When Black Rutile ended her message, all the Gems at the auditorium started chanting about their support for her. It's almost like those fascist regimes I read about."

"Holy revolution Lars!" Squaridot cried out. "We must warn someone, pronto!"

As Lars continued discussing the events at Igneous Square, Hessonite sat down at her massive computer and began putting down her findings on the screen before calling up Blue Zircon. "Zircon, this is Hessonite."

"Hessonite, glad to hear from you." Blue Zircon greeted the Garnet. "How's your investigation of my opponent going?"

"I had a little help exposing her." Hessonite stated, turning her screen to focus on Lars a bit. "This human and his Off-Color friends were at Spaceport Epsilon when their vessel, the Sun Incinerator, was hijacked by its former owner Emerald. Now I've enlisted them in helping me stop Black Rutile, and even had Lars accompany me to Igneous Square where Morganite made a speech at Yellow Zircon's conference."

"What were you two able to gather?" Blue Zircon asked.

"She turned out to be merely a puppet for Black Rutile's syndicate through the installation of a navel-Gem Ruby as her campaign manager." Hessonite continued with her findings before another message came through. "One second, have to take this." She tapped on the new message, which came out as a series of symbols that seemed unrecognizable to Lars when he took his place by Hessonite's side.

"What is that?" Lars asked, gazing at what he believed to be gibberish.

"It's Gem Glyph, the language of our people. Allow me to translate." Hessonite answered. "FROM GEORGE. SOS, PYROPE, AND DEMANTOID ESCAPED. BLACK RUTILE AND OTHER GEMS BROKE THEM OUT OF PALACE OF LIGHT. PLEASE SEND-, and then it just stops. Like the writer was captured before they could finish."

"Uh, one question." Lars said. "Who's George, and who are those Gems he's talking about?"

"George is what your friend Steven calls one of the Light Prisms that formerly belonged to yours truly." Hessonite answered as she stood up from her chair. "And Pyrope and Demantoid are a pair of high-ranking Garnets much like I who owned two other Light Prisms, before Steven confiscated them and we defeated the pair. It seems Black Rutile has recruited them into her alliance." Then she turned to Blue Zircon. "Zircon, send a warning to Steven!"

"I'm sorry Hessonite, but it seems my communication line to Earth has been compromised!" Blue Zircon exclaimed nervously. "How can we possibly warn the Crystal Gems now?!"

"Simple," Lars answered courageously. "we go back to Earth."

"You all can go ahead, I'll hunt down Ruby and Morganite." Citrine announced.

"Right, good luck out there big guy." Lars agreed before Citrine hugged him. "And thanks for the hug, but can you let me go?"

--

Later, Lars and the team returned to the spaceport where the Sun Incinerator was once in to search for another ship. "Where do we find a ship now?" Squaridot asked hurriedly.

"Simple, we take mine." Hessonite answered as she pointed to her warship, a large, orange inverted pyramid that stood tall and proud over all the others. At least, until it was destroyed by a saw blade made of water that instantly cut the ship in half.

"Oops, sorry about your ship!" Lapis 1J9G called from above with a laugh. "But seriously, I'm being forced to do this because my boss loves to make everything super-complex."

"Now what do we do?" Rhodonite asked nervously while the terraformer flew off.

"Easy, we take another ship." Hessonite instantly formed another plan and dashed to a different vessel parked nearby.

It was a green spaceship that was in the shape of a massive octahedron and had four long, claw-like prongs extending from all four sides. Lars instantly recognized this other ship as the Destiny Destroyer, the one that Emerald used to chase him and the Off-Colors after they stole the Sun Incinerator.

"So, taking another one of Emerald's ships, huh?" Lars wondered. "Ah, just like the old days when Emerald was after our heads, eh gang?"

"We are going to steal the Destiny Destroyer!" Padparadscha answered while everyone boarded Emerald's warship, all except Citrine, who had already volunteered to remain on Homeworld.

"Stay safe there Citrine." Lars promised Citrine before he went inside to pilot the ship out of Homeworld.

"Godspeed Lars of the Stars." Citrine replied as the Destiny Destroyer finally took off and left the planet. "There goes one of the bravest creatures I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

"Where is he?!" Citrine heard Holly Blue scream as she, Morganite, Navy, and a squad of Gem guards stormed Spaceport Epsilon in search of Lars. "You, Citrine, where is Lars?!"

"Lars isn't here right now." Citrine answered sardonically as she summoned her weapon from the gem on her stomach, a massive war hammer. "But if you'd like, I'll tell them you said hi and you give up."

"Well, it seems you finally caught us." Morganite announced as she put up her hands. "Go ahead, cuff us all."

"Quit acting so defeatist, our old ways are on the line here!" Holly Blue yelled before summoning her whip. "Now, any last words before I execute you for defying our master?!"

With an uncomfortable twitch in her eye, Citrine dropped her hammer and spread out her arms. "Go ahead." She snarled. "Bring it on."

--

"You really believed you can try to stop us little Prism?" Pyrope cooed mockingly to the three captive Light Prisms on Black Rutile's dropship. "Once we get rid of Steven once and for all, we'll use you three to raze everything he loves to the ground, and you'll be utterly powerless to stop us."

While the other two Light Prisms hugged each other in fear, George bravely took a stand against the Garnet, and yelled some form of retort in Gem Glyph.

"Oh keep quiet you." Pyrope shut George down immediately before turning away from the Prisms to meet Demantoid, who had now received perfect replicas of her former limb enhancers. "And how are you doing Demantoid?"

"Splendidly!" Demantoid exclaimed. "I feel like we've never met Steven to begin with!"

"Yes, you can compliment me for recreating your limb enhancers later." Black Rutile said to Demantoid. "Right now, I've set a course for one of your old colonies because I require your Peridots and Bismuths for a special task."

"What kind of task?" Demantoid asked while the dropship settled down on a planet covered with green hi-tech structures.

"You shall see." Black Rutile said as she, Demantoid, Pyrope, White Topaz, Eyeball, and Aquamarine disembarked to greet some Peridots and Bismuths nearby. "Salutations worker Gems!" she energetically greeted them. "Have I got an offer you certainly can't refuse."

"Demantoid?" one of the Peridots gasped at the sight of her former superior. "But we were told the Crystal Gems stopped you!"

"Well, you were wrong." Demantoid stated. "Black Rutile here has broken me and Pyrope out, and now we've joined her for revenge!"

"We have come to this little planet because we want you." Aquamarine announced. "We need more soldiers for our army, and you have the perfect amount of brains & brawn for the job."

"Fat chance you uppercrusts!" One of the Bismuths yelled as she stepped forward. "Steven would never allow you to control anyone in this era!"

"That's because this era will soon be over!" Black Rutile argued with the Bismuth. "Once I am in power, I will be the sole ruler of all Gemkind! You really think this is any way to talk back to your future empress?!"

"Oh, they will find out about this." The Bismuth said, quietly angering Black Rutile. "And they will stop you no matter what."

Black Rutile was utterly enraged at this kind of rebellion, but she kept a cool head even as she pulled a bowie knife from her gem and held it at the Bismuth's gem. Then suddenly, as if a completely different Gem replaced her, Black Rutile abruptly stabbed that Bismuth in the gem on her chest, and slowly scraped it down her gem while the Bismuth screeched in pain. When Black Rutile removed her knife, the Bismuth's form split in half just like her gem before she was finally shattered.

"Get rid of her remains." Black Rutile ruthlessly commanded to the frightened masses. As another Bismuth picked up her coworker's remains, Black Rutile turned to the other worker Gems. "Now let me repeat myself. I have an offer you most certainly can't refuse!" she said to the Peridots and Bismuth with cheer like she didn't just sadistically shatter another Gem. "Are you with me?"

"We're with you." Demantoid's terrified subordinates muttered.

"I can't hear you." Black Rutile insisted.

"We're with you!" the scared Gems repeated much louder than before.

"Peridots?" Black Rutile then asked the Peridots.

"We're with you!"

"Bismuths?" Black Rutile asked the surviving Bismuths.

"We're with you."

"And what about you?" Black Rutile said to the Bismuth she just shattered with her knife. "Oh right, shattered!" Then she started giving out orders. "Topaz, I need you with me to find more recruits. Aquamarine, Ruby, keep watch over our new recruits." She once again turned back to the Peridots. "And I got a few questions for you."

"What do you mean Rutile?" one of the Peridots with her gem on her chest asked.

"First off, can you call me "my Rutile" from here on out?" Black Rutile commanded. "Second, what's a Gem gotta do to find some corrupted Gems in this era? And three," She reached for her gem and pulled out a massive bubble containing various chunks of Cactus Steven. "what can you do with these?"

--

At long last, Lars, the Off-Colors, Hessonite, and Squaridot had left Homeworld via the Destiny Destroyer, ready to jump to hyperspeed, return to Earth and warn Steven of Black Rutile's plans.

"Ugh, I'm pooped!" Lars groaned as he slumped back in the captain's chair. "Think when we get to Earth, I'll go back to my old house and take a nice long nap before we save the planet and then head back into space."

"It would be nice to see Earth again, without threatening its existence though." Hessonite smirked, gazing out at the infinite sea of stars, planets, comets, and all sorts of cosmic scenery. "How about any of you?"

"Uh captains, we have a problem!" Rhodonite yelped as she stared at the radar screen. "It's the Sun Incinerator, and it's shooting right at us!"

"Emerald!" Lars grumbled as he pounded his fist on the armrest. "Come out and fight like the so-called commander you call yourself!"

A viewing screen turned on, allowing the team to see Emerald, sadistically excited to finally get her revenge. "How are you Off-Colors, now that you're on your way to destruction?"

"You won't take us down Emerald!" Lars bravely declared.

"Famous last words human filth." Emerald responded hatefully. "I've been begging, no, pleading to get my vengeance only for Steven to heartlessly take it away from me with his dumb little Era 3! Well, once Black Rutile is in power, she will render all of this era's laws null and void in favor of returning the Gems to the terrifying conquerors they were born to be!"

"Fat chance One-Eyed Jerk!" Squaridot cried out before she suddenly realized the hypocrisy of her retort.

"Engines to hyperspeed, quick!" Lars commanded his crew.

"Already on it Lars." Fluorite announced as she retreated to the engine room.

"We are under attack by Emerald, but we shall win!" Padparadscha declared eagerly.

The Destiny Destroyer's thrusters burned brightly as the ship prepared to leave the space above Homeworld and make a break for Earth, leaving the Sun Incinerator in the dust.

"Oh no, you don't!" Emerald yelled, forcing her ship to go into hyperspeed as well in hot pursuit.

--

The chase soon began in hyperspace, with Emerald continuing to pursue her purloined Destiny Destroyer while Lars and his crew were set on their path to Earth.

"Keep firing!" Emerald yelled, commanding her subordinates to fire her ship's blasters.

"Do a barrel roll!" Lars yelled in response.

"I'm sorry, a what now?" the Rutiles wondered in unison.

"You know, like in the video games!" Lars added. The Rutiles quickly caught onto this and began spinning the ship in a perfect circle.

"Actually, I don't believe that qualified as a barrel roll." Hessonite snidely corrected. "It seemed to me more like a-"

"Can't let you do that Hessonite!" Lars interrupted the orange Gem in a thick accent.

"Do what?" Hessonite replied.

"Ruin the joke." Lars answered. "Turn this around and start firing!"

With that, the Destiny Destroyer was flipped around to face the Sun Incinerator and began firing from its prongs.

The Sun Incinerator began to sustain heavy damage, much to Emerald's fury, and she gave another command to her subordinates. "RAIN FIRE!"

"But my Emerald, your Destroyer!" one of the Citrines serving as a part of Emerald's crew replied fearfully.

"JUST DO IT!" Emerald roared. The Citrines did as they were told and fired the Incinerator's blasters at the Destroyer, now causing the enemy ship to start falling apart as well.

"She's falling apart!" Lars cried as alarms sounded, signaling that the Destiny Destroyer didn't have much time left. "How much longer till we leave hyperspace?!"

"We've just arrived at our destination!" Squaridot yelled when the Destiny Destroyer finally left hyperspace and now hovered close to the planet Earth. "And good timing too, this ship is gonna fall apart!"

With not much time left till the Destiny Destroyer's destiny is to be destroyed, Lars thought up a plan right on the spot. "Everyone in my hair!"

"Come again?" Hessonite asked, one half of her monobrow raised.

"My hair's like a portal, and on the other end there's a lion Steven owns who's been brought back to life with powers like mine!" Lars explained. "But I think we're all gonna have to get in one at a time, so fusions are out of the picture!"

"You got it." Fluorite replied as she de-fused into Titanite, Lavender Jade, Iolite, Rubellite, Indicolite, and Verdelite, who all dove into Lars's hair.

"Don't forget us!" Rhodonite said as she de-fused into her Ruby and Pearl, who got into Lars's hair next.

"I wonder how this even works." Squaridot wondered just as Hessonite grabbed her and shoved her into the hairy portal. "Hey, quit it!"

"Lars has made an unorthodox plan to escape Emerald!" Padparadscha yelled while Hessonite grabbed her under her arm and dove in after Squaridot.

"What about you Lars?" the left Rutile asked, sticking her hand in Lars's hair.

"I'll cover things from here, just find Steven on the other end if he's nearby!" Lars ordered.

"Okay, be safe." The right Rutile said before both twins fully dove into the portal, leaving Lars as the only one onboard the Destiny Destroyer as he slowly stepped forward. Just then, Emerald showed up on the viewscreen.

"Any last words before I finally destroy you, Lars?" Emerald grinned maliciously.

"Yes, yes I do." Lars declared, glancing at a big red button that really stuck out from the rest of the green ship, and then looking back at Emerald with a smirk. "Hope you don't mind losing another ship!"

And so, Lars punched the button, causing the alarms to sound. "WARNING, SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED!" an automated voice declared. "PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND PROCEED TO THE ESCAPE PODS!"

"No, what are you doing?!" Emerald shrieked in terror at what was in store for her beloved ship.

"Saving the universe, that's what!" Lars declared before he shut his eyes and dropped to his knees. "Sadie, Shep, Mom and Dad, Steven, everyone." He whispered to himself. "I'm sorry."

With that, the Destiny Destroyer finally detonated, and its remains began careening towards Earth's surface. As Emerald watched from her prized Incinerator, she went ballistic. "NOOOOOO! YOU MAY HAVE OUTSMARTED ME AGAIN LARS, BUT I STILL HAVE THE SUN INCINERATOR!" she screamed angrily while her Citrines stared awkwardly at her. "Mourn with me!"

"Emerald!" Black Rutile yelled as her hologram appeared behind her green subordinate, giving her a scare. "I've been watching the entire battle. You almost had Lars right there, but then he had to press the self-destruct button!"

"I apologize my Rutile, please forgive me!" Emerald bowed for her black-colored master.

"Eh, you win some, you lose some." Black Rutile rolled her eyes. "Head to my current location at once. It's finally time."

"Yes, master." Emerald nodded in compliance as the hologram disappeared. "At long last, vengeance will be mine."

--

After the Destiny Destroyer began falling to Earth, everything else was but a blur to Lars. All he could remember were all his friends from Beach City gathering around the wreckage before being taken away somewhere.

As he slowly opened his eyes, he could barely make out four people standing by him in a hospital bed.

"Astounding, his heart rate has slowed dramatically, but he is still alive!" the muffled voice of a doctor exclaimed in astonishment. "Also, is the pink skin something he had all his life?"

"No doctor, it's been a thing for almost three years now." Lars's mother Martha answered. "I think it all started when he was abducted by aliens."

"S-Steven. Steven." Lars groaned lethargically as he fruitlessly reached out his hands for Steven. "Steven!"

"Doc, I think he's coming to!" Sadie yelled.

"Lars!" Dante Barriga exclaimed as he and his wife raced to their son's side. "Please, give us a sign that you're all right!"

"Steven, need Steven!" Lars cried out as he tried to get up out of bed.

"Mr. Barriga, please remain in your bed!" the doctor advised Lars. "You thankfully suffered no serious injuries, but you've just woken up from a coma sustained from that crash!"

"No, I think he's trying to tell us something!" Shep stated as they kept Lars stuck in his hospital bed. "You want to see Steven, right?"

"I need Steven, he in big trouble!" Lars replied, slowly beginning to regain some grasp of his words just as a nurse came in.

"Doctor Laurie, our patient has one more visitor." The nurse told the doctor. "He said a bunch of "Off-Colors" told him everything."

"I'm here Lars!" Steven exclaimed as he rushed into the hospital room to be by Lars's side. "Hessonite and the Off-Colors told me what happened when they came flying out of Lion's mane!"

"Steven, finally!" Lars cried happily as he grabbed Steven's shoulders. "Listen, I need to warn you! You and the entire planet are doomed!"

--

Meanwhile, as men in black suits began cleaning up the Destiny Destroyer's remains and taking them away for further inspection, the Sun Incinerator zoomed past Beach City, now with Black Rutile, White Topaz, Aquamarine, Eyeball, Lapis 1J9G, Demantoid & Pyrope, some Peridots and an army of cybernetically-enhanced Cactus Stevens on board.

"My Rutile, I've got bad news!" Eyeball exclaimed as she got reports back from Homeworld. "It's about our forces back on Homeworld. Holly Blue and Morganite have successfully been detained by a Citrine in league with Hessonite."

"Is that so?" Black Rutile wondered while she sat in a meditative pose, examining all the data she had collected on Steven and the Crystal Gems. "Well, they weren't going to be useful to me until further notice anyway." She got back to looking at all her data and began deleting what she found to be useless. Most of them involved Ronaldo. "Seriously, why do they keep hanging out with this human if he's such an irritating rat?!"

"My Rutile, we are en route to the Alpha Kindergarten and Facet Five." One of the Peridots announced. "There, you will find the Cluster Gems you seek."

"Excellent." Black Rutile replied, steepling her fingers together before she stood up. "My friends, our finest hour will soon be upon us. Once we have enough fodder to terminate the Crystal Gems, our next stop will be returning to Homeworld, where we shall overthrow the Diamonds and take their empire for ourselves."

"Yeah!" Aquamarine, Eyeball, Emerald, Demantoid, and Pyrope cheered. White Topaz was very unsure of herself while 1J9G just rolled her eyes irritatedly.

"We're here." Black Rutile added as the Incinerator finally touched down in the Alpha Kindergarten, and she disembarked from the ship. "Ah, reminds me of the Zeta Kindergarten where I first emerged. So many memories of far happier times. Now tell me, where is the control room?"

"It should be nearby." A Peridot announced as she used a GPS on her screens to guide the rebellious Gems through the Kindergarten until they discovered a green elevator pad that led them straight down to a large, green hexagonal room. "We have arrived."

"Finally." Black Rutile muttered as she looked around at the tube-like structures littered about the control room. Poking one of them with her bowie knife, the tube began to shake a bit before it began growing into a strange Gem monster with multiple limbs that had a gemstone made from the shattered remains of other Gems. "It's alive! Alive!" she gasped excitedly. "Everyone, wake them all up!"

"Uh, are you sure boss?" White Topaz stuttered, insanely unnerved at the creepy atmosphere of the control room. "I think I'll just wait back at the ship with those cactus things."

"You are not leaving us, you coward." Aquamarine barked, holding White Topaz back with her newly reclaimed wand. "You will assist us in awakening these experiments so we can use them against Steven! Are we clear?!"

"Yes ma'am." White Topaz replied meekly and got to work on awakening the other Cluster Gems.

"Hey, I'm just as scared as you are Topaz." 1J9G said to White Topaz. "I'm only here so I can get back at Steven for taking my friends away, so I'm not that interested in the boss's psycho vendetta either."

Soon, more and more Cluster Gems began to awaken from their slumber, feebly grasping at their captors while their gems projected other Gems in pain. And Black Rutile was utterly excited to see them all.

"Yes, yes!" Black Rutile cheered, her cries of joy echoing throughout the control room. "THEY'RE ALL ALIVE!"

--

And so it begins. This was quite probably the longest chapter of Alternate Future I've written yet, and I'm definitely quite proud of it. Was Black Rutile to your liking folks? Was she evil enough yet still had some form of a point? Well, I hope you're excited to see more of her as she takes center stage in the final chapter of Part 2, Enemy of my Enemy! After that, I'll be going on another hiatus. But when we meet again for Part 3, I've got tons more where that came from!

[simplybakugou]

The Villain -- Ch. 8: Coming Clean

A/N: the fact that I started this in 2018… I’M SO READY TO FINALLY FINISH THIS SHITTY STORY SO I'M SORRY IF THIS IS ACTUAL GARBAGE, I'M JUST DONE WITH THIS LMAO

Pairing: villain!bakugou x female!reader

Warnings: swearing; a little steamy 👀

Word Count: 3,539

Remember, if you want to be tagged in future chapters, comment below and I’ll add your username to the list!

LINKS TO NEW CHAPTERS

✐posted 06.03.2020✐

Bakugou kicked open the door to the Kamino Ward, feeling absolutely enraged with his fists clenched at his sides. “Where are you, Warp Gate fucker?!”

Kurogiri felt himself flinch behind the bar as Bakugou trudged inside the building, slamming his palms down onto the table. Even he felt himself shudder under the piercing gaze of his vermillion eyes, shifting in place in discomfort.

“What is it, Ground Zero?” Kurogiri asked.

“What the fuck did you do to the Comission Center? I didn’t give you any orders to pull that shit,” Bakugou grunted, feeling his palms sweat as little sparks erupted from his palms subconsciously.

Kurogiri looked back at Bakugou plainly. “With all due respect, Ground Zero, I don’t think what you’ve been doing has been benefiting the League of Villains. In addition…”

Kurogiri paused looking up to meet Bakugou’s gaze. “It seems to me that you have personal feelings for (H/N), which is what is holding you back. And frankly, I do not support this as our cause is completely different from those heroes.”

Bakugou laughed humorlessly, not believing a single word he was hearing. “Alright, let’s say you don’t trust me, which I don’t give a fuck about because I’m the leader for a reason. But who the fuck was with you ‘cause there no way in hell you’d be able to cause that much damage with that shitty quirk of yours.”

Kurogiri sighed. “The second person in question was a fake. There was no one else there. I used explosives to cause the damage to the area. Those heroes misread what they saw and relayed the information incorrectly. We must increase the pace in which we’re taking to finalize our goal: destroy every single hero there is.”

Bakugou scoffed, nodding along to his story. He didn’t believe what he was saying, realizing that Kurogiri was most likely covering for the person most likely behind all of this. Nevertheless, Bakugou was willing to put up with Kurogiri’s antics… for now.

“Alright… I’ll let it go for now, but next time tell me first before you do some dumb shit like this,” Bakugou said curtly, pushing back and moving towards the exit. He stopped in his tracks, looking back at Kurogiri in annoyance. “And I don’t like that shitty girl either so get that thought out of your fucking ass!”

***

“Are the reporters all out there?” You asked, wanting to peek behind the curtain in the conference hall.

Tsubaki, the one who called you immediately following the incident at the Hero Public Safety Commission Center, peeked through the curtain gasping at the sight. “There’s so many of them out there!”

You sighed, your heart feeling heavy due to the large amount of people in one room awaiting for Natsuya’s speech as well as the reason for the press conference. Although you were never close to him, you felt awful about what had happened to Hawks as he was a major hero when you were still a teenager in U.A.

“I’m surprised Yamashita got so many people here at once in such a short amount of time!” Tsubaki exclaimed.

You nodded in agreement. “I mean, what else would you expect from the Chief of Police?”

Natsuya emerged from the conference room where other officers, the head of the Hero Commission Center, and other officials followed. Natsuya shot you a small smile, his nerves skyrocketing as he was instructed to go out onto the small stage placed in front of all of the reporters. The curtain pulled back and flashes of cameras glowed in the room as the reporters rapidly took pictures.

Natsuya took a deep breath, standing in front of the podium as he was chosen to deliver the news to everyone. You stayed behind the curtain with Tsubaki and other heroes who attended.

“The events that took place yesterday were horrific and outright evil. We have confirmed that the villain Kurogiri and an unidentified second villain were the ones responsible for this atrocity. We have also confirmed that villains Dabi and Ground Zero were nowhere to be seen during these events, therefore are not responsible. Nevertheless, the League of Villains are still held accountable for this, and will be held accountable for the health damage that hero Hawks faced. The hospital also confirms that Hawks had his quirk taken away from him through the Quirk-Destroying Drug that hadn’t been used for years since Shigaraki was the original leader of the League of Villains.” Natsuya continued to relay crucial information to the crowd as they typed vigorously, trying to keep up with him as he spoke. 

“What do you plan on doing, (H/N)?” Tsubaki asked you, half-listening to Natsuya and half-anticipating what you were going to say.

“If it wasn’t clear before, it’s clear now,” you stated. “We have to take down the League, no matter who stands in our way.”

***

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?” Natsuya’s concerned voice came through the speakers of your car as you drove down the highway.

“Stop worrying about be, Tsuya, you’re going to burst a blood vessel,” you joked. “I’m just visiting home. Things are getting suffocating so I just need a breather.”

“Alright, let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Natsuya said, causing a smile to tease at your lips.

“I know I can rely on you for anything. I’ll talk to you later.” You ended the call, parking your car in front of your childhood home. Exiting your vehicle, you stood in front of your house where your father still resided, hesitant to enter. Your fingers curled into fists, deciding to not go in anyways and you made your way towards the opposite direction of the street. 

Since your mother’s passing, your father had been adamant about his disapproval of your passion and profession. No matter how many honorary medals or titles you earned, your father never approved of anything. By the time you had officially become a pro, having just graduated from U.A., your father vowed to never speak to you again. It had been years since you’d spoken to him and you were nervous to encounter him again despite how many times Natsuya, who still was in contact with him, pushed you to make the first move. But you simply couldn’t. 

You didn’t know where you were going, your feet taking you down the trail. Your old neighborhood was quiet and pleasant, trees, flowers, and bushes littered almost everywhere. That was why it felt like second nature for you to walk to the old park by your home, one that you and the rest of your friends from U.A. would spend time after school. But once you had finally reached the park, you felt heartbroken at the sight.

The previously lively park with acres of land and trees had been ripped apart, now a construction site with heaps of trash littering the area. It had been too long since you had last been here so you knew things would be different. Nevertheless, you hopped over the fence that stood in front of the site to keep away trespassers. You didn’t care about the consequences at the moment, wanting to sit somewhere, not caring where it was so long as you were able to clear your head somehow.

There were numerous cranes and other machines and equipment scattered across the yard. Having picked a random one, you used your quirk to push yourself atop an excavator. A deep sigh escaped from your lips as you looked out into the horizon. You could see your house from here and even some of your friends’ old homes. You stared particularly at the biggest house in the area, the Bakugou house, that was now empty. After Bakugou had turned to the League, his mother and father left the city and no one knew where they resided now. It seemed wherever Bakugou went, he brought pain and misery along with him.

“The hell?!” A certain gruff voice exclaimed from beside you. You looked to the left, eyes widening at the sight of Bakugou staring back at you with a similar expression. He was lying on the ginormous machine. You hadn’t noticed him as the space was so large and your mind was racing at a thousand miles per minute that you couldn’t even acknowledge his existence.

Before you could open your mouth to utter even a word, Bakugou was quick to jump down from the machine, avoiding you at all costs. But you were even quicker to create a gravel barrier between him and the fence using your quirk, trapping him in the space. Bakugou cursed under his breath as he was too flustered to react quick enough. You created an elevator-like step underneath Bakugou’s feet, maneuvering him back up the excavator. He didn’t utter a word nor did he attempt to flee this time, staring at you silently as he stepped back onto the machine.

You were surprised, looking at him curiously. “You’re not going to try to run, Katsuki?”

Bakugou sighed, plopping back down onto the metal surface, criss-crossing his legs. He scoffed, avoiding your gaze. “And you’re not gonna arrest me, hero?”

You rolled your eyes, pulling your legs to your chest. You wrapped your arms around them, leaning your head on your knees. “I’ve got a lot on my mind right now. And what about you, villain, you’re not going to wreak havoc on a city?”

Bakugou smirked at your wit, shrugging. “You’re not the only one with a lot on their mind.”

You sighed for what felt like the hundredth time all day. You were tired, absolutely exhausted. It seemed like you were battling the whole world at times, especially with the best pro heroes being targeted now. What happened to Hawks made you feel unsettled, like the League was going after specific heroes. It didn’t seem right that just as Hawks had advised for you to back down from any League related business, he was permanently out of commission. And it made you feel disquieted as the fear that Bakugou was behind this attack was in the back of your mind, no matter if he was there at the site of the attack physically or not. It made you feel like you couldn’t continue fighting for his innocence and you had to hold him accountable now.

“Were you the one behind the attack at the Hero Commission Center?” You asked bluntly, astounding Bakugou with your straightforwardness.

“Tch, as if I would be behind the attack that hurt my fucking boss.” The words echoed through your head, despite Bakugou mumbling it in an attempt to not let you catch on. But you heard every word, the words that you were waiting to hear for years.

“What? Your boss?” You repeated in shock.

Bakugou’s vermillion eyes flitted over to you, shining brightly against the beam of the setting sun. “You heard me. Hawks is my boss.”

He chuckled humorlessly at your bewildered expression, your lips parted as you attempted to find the right words to say and your eyes like the shape of saucers. “Got nothin’ to say? It’s what you’ve been waiting for all this time.”

“You’re an idiot,” you grunted, angered to no end. Bakugou looked at you, confused beyond words. 

“What?” He knew one day he would have to come clean to you, the one person who saw through his act. He anticipated tears, confusion, shock, and happiness. But you were reacting in a way he had not expected.

“It’s about time you came clean!” You exclaimed, your voice echoing through the streets.

Bakugou closed the space between the two of you, clamping a calloused hand over your lips. “Be quiet! You’re gonna let the whole world fucking hear!”

You shook his hand from your face, turning your body to face him completely. Crossing your hands over your chest, you glared right at him. “Tell me, tell me everything.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, looking off into the distance and avoiding your gaze once more. “There’s nothing to it really. Hawks and the Hero Commission Center came to me right after the Kamino Incident to act as a double agent. Those shitheads still want me working for them to find the real leader behind the League but I’ve got no clue right fucking now.”

He glanced over at you, and although he would never admit it, he felt slightly intimidated under your glaring stare. “What? That’s everything, I mean it.”

“So you have nothing to do with the League, right?” You clarified, wanting to make sure that Bakugou was innocent. “You never hurt a single person, right? All those people are telling lies, right? You didn’t kill Shigaraki?” You were referring to all the people who were witnesses and victims under Bakugou’s supposed kidnapping.

“Can’t say I’m completely innocent. I’ve definitely hurt people, punched a civilian or two to make sure my act was solid and believable. But I didn’t kidnap or kill anyone.” Bakugou felt slightly relieved once your stare faltered a little. “All I know is the real leader is acting like me and putting up with my act. Seems like whoever it is, they want me to take all the heat and blame for now. And that person’s the one who killed ole crusty face, not me. I was just the one who found his body and was blamed for it.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion. You had dreamed of this day, the day where everything would make sense and you would understand Bakugou’s actions. But here you were, utterly confused beyond belief. “Why would the real leader go along with your act? How is it benefitting them?”

“My guess is that it’s probably someone on the other side. A hero, officer, someone in the commission center? One of those fuckers has to be fooling all of us and running this shit on the sidelines.” Bakugou paused momentarily, looking ahead. “With me around, that asshole can put the blame all on me while working with that Warp Gate fucker. But I’m close, I know that for sure. Soon enough I'll be allowed to finally be free and not have to worry about living this fucked up life anymore.”

You continued to look at him, smiling at the sight of the ends of his lips curling upwards a little. You had missed that smile. “And what do you plan to do? Once you’re free and don’t have to follow anymore orders?”

Bakugou shrugged, running a hand through the ash blonde spikes on his head. “Do whatever the fuck I want. Can’t be a hero, that’s out of the question. I’ll worry about that when I’m free.”

You smiled and nodded, a weight lifting off your shoulders. You felt a surge of relief run through your veins, a feeling you could never describe into words. You felt proud for believing in him all this time, believing that he was innocent. And you missed him, missed your dear friend from childhood.

“It must’ve been lonely… dealing with this and losing your adolescence,” you muttered, looking away from Bakugou and looking down at the horizon where the sun had painted the sky with orange and pink hues. Bakugou looked over at you, startled by your statement. There you were, not blaming him for anything, not for the lies or the deception. Instead you were selflessly worrying about him and the time that was taken from him living his life. 

“Calling me an idiot… you’re the real idiot here,” Bakugou grumbled, narrowing his eyes at you.

You looked over at him, confused by his words. “What?”

Bakugou stood up, taking a few steps towards you, and kneeling down in front of you. His face was inches from yours, alarming you from his quick movements. He stared into your (E/C) eyes for a moment, sighing again and looking down at your feet. “I was told that all I had to do was keep this act up and soon I’d be done. But now Hawks is outta the picture and I don’t know what the fuck to do. I can’t do this alone, I need help. That asshole behind this is probably gonna pull another one on me and then I’ll be helpless. My head’s all fucked up right now.”

“And as if my head isn’t already fucked from all this villain-hero shit goin’ on…” Bakugou swiftly pushed you back down onto the cool metal surface of the excavator, his body hovering over yours and his hands pinning yours on either side of your head. His legs straddled your body down as his scarlet eyes pierced right through yours. A whimper escaped your lips as your cheeks heated up from the proximity of your bodies. Bakugou stared down at you, his face twisted in dubiety. “You’re makin’ it worse, driving me fucking insane. You’re the only one who’s ever believed in me, and you’re driving me insane. You’re making me fucking fall for you.”

The world felt still in that moment and you didn’t even feel the breeze drift off in the air. All you could was the intimidating stare Bakugou had on you, sending shivers down your spine and his touch sending electricity down your veins. “What are you-?”

Before you could finish your question, Bakugou closed the gap between your head and his, slamming his lips on yours. A gasp escaped your lips as he pushed his lips roughly against yours. He lowered his body on you, hips grinding into you. You pried your hands free from his hold, one hand clutching his blonde locks while the other gripped onto the nape of his neck, wanting him closer to you. You felt hot and bothered, bothered at how turned on you were by this whole situation.

Bakugou’s lips were warm and soft against yours, moving in a rhythm you were having difficulty keeping up with. He made your body feel a way that you had never felt before as you felt hot yet cold at the same time. You were gasping for air, moans escaping your lips as you could barely keep up with his body grinding against you. You had never felt this way, no one made you feel this way, not even Natsuya.

That was when yours hands went down to Bakugou’s shoulders, pushing him back up and his face away from you. Bakugou stared down at you, angered that you had cut this moment short as you both attempted to catch your breaths and come down from the high you were on.

“Natsuya…” You uttered simply, causing Bakugou to scoff harder than he ever had. He didn’t care for your police boyfriend, never really caring for him even when you were teenagers. 

“Forget it,” Bakugou grunted, standing to his feet and jumping down to the ground.

“Katsuki, wait!” You called out, sitting up and looking down. But you were too late, he was already gone.

***

You kicked a loose piece of gravel on the path, your hand shoved in your pocket as you made your way down the cemetery. Your other hand went up to touch your lips as the images of Bakugou’s body atop of your own made you feel both flustered and guilty. You cared for Natsuya so much as he was your closest friend and you had just quite literally cheated on him. But he never made you feel the way Bakugou did when he was around you. Nevertheless, it didn’t excuse your actions and you knew you had to make it right once you got back.

But now you stood in front of the main reason why you even visited your hometown: to see your mother. 

You knelt in front of her tombstone, clapping your hands together and bowing your head. “It’s been a while, Mom. I’m sorry I haven’t visited.”

A sigh escaped your lips as you sat your rear down in front of her grave, staring at the engraving of her name. “I don’t know what to do, Mom, I feel so conflicted. I’ve been waiting for this moment, waiting to find out about Katsuki’s innocence. And now I know about it, and I think he was indirectly asking me for help. But he… asked me in such an odd way, like he had been waiting a long time to do�� that.”

Your hand rose and pressed against the cool stone, your finger tracing the engraving. “I want to help him. I want to be there for him while also doing my job. What do I do, Mom?”

You sat there for a few minutes, as if you were waiting to hear a response. You chuckled, shaking your head at yourself. What am I even doing?

You rose to your feet, making your way back to your car until a blunt object hit the back of your head, causing your body to crash into the dirt. Your head was throbbing and you felt the object hit the same spot again, a scream erupting from you in pain as you attempted to take a look at the perpetrator.

A man laughed. “You couldn’t just keep your nose outta this one, huh, hero?”

And just like that, the world went black.

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