#and I start hurriedly stuffing seconds and minutes into my mouth and refusing to swallow

[lightblueminecraftorchid]

they call me the griever because halfway through a thing I enjoy I’m already sad that it’s closer to being over

[silksoftstars]

Secret family

Pairing: Steve Rogers x fem!Reader, platonic!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Characters: Reader, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, OC daughters, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Sam Wilson, Vision

Summary: You're Steve's wife and he hid you from SHIELD and the Avengers, because you have healing powers. When Steve got heavily injured from a mission, Bucky calls you, so you and your daughters visit the compound to heal Steve.

Word count: 2800+

Warnings: Injuries (mentioned), a little bit of angst but not really, fluff, Dad!Steve (if that's a warning)

A/N: Honestly my heart is breaking with this gif. Also it took me way too long to write this, because my stupid self accidentally deleted the story when I was halfway done.

You were currently at work, when you got a call from Bucky, your husbands best friend. A wave of relief washed over you. Steve and Bucky had been on a mission for the past few weeks and it was the first time you heard from them since you said goodbye to Steve.

A call was good. It meant they were back from the mission and you would see them again soon. You weren't surprised that Bucky called you instead of Steve, it was their agreement to keep you safe that they would take turns on calling you, so nobody would get suspicious.

You took your phone and answered the call with a smile.

"Hi Buck," you greeted happily.

"Hey Y/N," Bucky answered and paused. You could hear by his tone that something was wrong and your smile immediately fell.

"So umm" the brunette continued and stopped again. He sounded exhausted and worried.

"What's going on? Are you hurt? Talk to me," you urged and started chewing on your lip, something you always did when you were nervous or troubled.

"No I'm good. It's just.. Steve got hurt badly and he doesn't want you to know, but I figured that you would want to know. I kind of hoped that you would come to the compound and heal him. Only if you want to of course," Bucky explained hurriedly.

You took a deep breath and started planning in your head. You would need to leave work early and pick up the kids from the babysitter.

"I'll be there in 30 minutes tops. But I'll have to bring the kids, is that alright?" You asked, while you already cleaned your desk and started packing your bag.

"Yeah sure, I'll wait outside of the building to et you through security. See you," the soldier answered.

"See you. And please take care of yourself too," you ordered. You knew that if Steve was injured Bucky wouldn't be completely fine. They would always try and push each other out of harms way. You deeply admired their friendship, but sometimes it led to the boys making stupid irrational decisions.

"I promise," you heard Buckys sigh but you decided to ignore his unwillingness, so you just gave an agreeing hum and hung up.

-

You opened the door of your car and jumped out. You had parked you car in front of the compound. You closed the door and opened the door of the backseat. Your four-year old daughter Jamie looked up at you. She had a frown on her forehead and clutched her teddy to her chest. Jamie had always been a smart sensitive child and she knew something was wrong.

You undid her seat belt, lifted her out of her seat and placed her on the ground. You closed her door as well and walked around the car to open the other door. Your other daughter, Sarah, was only one year old and currently asleep.

You gently picked her up and adjusted her in your arms, so she sat on your left hip, secured by your arm. Sarah whimpered in her sleep and her tiny hand gripped your shirt. The other one was in her mouth.

"Shh" you hushed her and rubbed her back. She fussed for another few seconds, but then stilled again.

"Mommy? I'm scared," Jamie whispered as she walked up to you. Tears had gathered in her eyes.

You walked up to her and smiled reassuringly while pulling her into your side.

"It's alright, sweetheart. We're visiting Daddy and Uncle Bucky," you told her while you started walking towards the compound. You placed her hand on the back of Jamie's head and side hugged her slightly.

When you walked closer, you saw Bucky sitting on a bench in front of the entry. He had already spotted you and patiently waited for the three of you to come over.

"Hey," you smiled at Bucky. Jamie squealed in delight when she saw her uncle and ran over to him to jump into his arms.

The man caught her with ease and lifted her from the ground to bear hug her. He ruffled her blonde hair and chuckled.

"Hey there," Bucky grinned. His face was bruised and he had a busted lip. You walked up to him and you hugged, mindful of the two girls you both were carrying. You placed your free hand on Buckys chest after he had let you go and send your powers through him. His face and all other injuries disappeared in mere seconds.

"You shouldn't have," Bucky protested.

"Well I wanted to," you answered him and smiled gently.

"Where's Daddy?" Jamie asked and tugged on Buckys shirt impatiently.

"We'll go see him right now," the brunette said and then added towards you, "the team doesn't know you, they might me surprised, but I'm sure they'll love you. I'll introduce you first and then we'll see Steve"

"Okay sure," you shrugged. You were a bit nervous, but after everything Steve told you about his team, you were a little more confident.

Bucky led you inside of the compound and closed the door behind the two of you. Jamie pressed her face into Buckys shirt, clearly scared of the new invironment and the cool white walls.

"Hey Friday, please tell the team to gather in the common room!" Bucky ordered. You furrowed your brows and tried to figure out who he was talking to, when a female voice answered.

"Right away, Sargeant Barnes," she said and you jumped and looked around, searching for the person who spoke.

"Tony's AI," was the answer to your unspoken question.

Bucky led you through several hallways towards what you guessed was the common room.

"Steve is in the medical wing. They stabled him and they knocked him out with some medication, because he refused to sleep," Bucky told you while walking.

You came to an open room and heard voices inside. Jamie seemingly heard them too, because she pushed herself away from Bucky and reached for you with a look of panic on her face. Her stuffed animal was still in her one hand.

You took her from Bucky onto right hip, trying to balance the two girl out. While Jamie latched onto you like a lifeline, Bucky took his goddaughter Sarah from you. You smiled as a thanks and together you made your way into the room.

The brunette moved himself partly in front of you and held Sarah close to him, his protectiveness shining through.

"Why are we here, Frosty? And why do you have a baby?" You heard a voice, that you recognized as Tony Starks.

Bucky stepped to the side and placed his hand on your shoulder. Jamie decided to risk a peak at the people only to quickly look away again.

However you could understand that it was a little overwhelming. Jamie had always been a shy girl and in front of her were standing or sitting nine people, all staring at us.

"Mommy there's Iron man," she whispered in awe into your ear. Bucky chuckled and smiled at you in amusement.

"So guys, this is Y/N Rogers, Steve's wife. They baby is Sarah and that is Jamie. They're Steve's daughters" the soldier introduced you, while ruffling Jamie's hair.

"Excuse me...wife? Daughters? Did you hit your head?" Tony spluttered.

"Steve and I agreed that we should keep our relationship and especially our daughters a secret. With him being a super soldier and me being a mutant, our kids are in danger and we wanted to protect them," you explained gently.

"But it's Capsicle, he can't have kids," Tony protested, crossed his arms and pouted. You had to swallow down a laugh, since you didn't want to seem rude.

"Tony you're a child," a redhead scolded him with a stern look, "I'm Natasha, you can call me Nat," she added towards you.

"Daddy says that you're really cool and that you can even take down Uncle Bucky," Jamie said and peaked out from your shoulder again with wide eyes.

"He said that huhh?" Natasha grinned at Bucky playfully.

"Do we need introductions?" Bucky asked, clearly trying to distract everyone. You decided not to call him out on it.

"I think I'm good. I believe I know your names," you smiled and scanned over the people. There obviously were Tony and Nat, you had immediately recognized Sam Wilson, Doctor Banner and Clint Barton. The twins Wanda and Pietro sat on the couch and Vision stood behind Wanda.

Steve had showed you pictures of the Avengers and told you storys because you were curious about his second family.

"So you're a mutant?" Wanda asked you curiously.

"Yeah I have healing powers. That's why I'm here now. To heal Steve," you explained.

"So you can heal? How does it work? Do you have limits?" Bruce asked and pushed back his glasses. He looked rather adorable with how his obvious shyness and his curiosity battled.

"I mean I can't raise people from the dead and I can't heal chronological illnesses but pretty much every injury. But I have to admit that you, that I haven't tried that much other then simple injuries" You answered patiently.

Then Sarah woke up and started fussing in Buckys arms, in which response Jamie started crying as well. Wordlessly you took Sarah from Bucky and started to calm your two kids. You knew that Sarah was fed and that her diaper was clear so either she was tired or irritated by the new environment.

Jamie on the other hand was distressed because she was overwhelmed by all the new people, the knowledge that something was wrong with her dad and that her little sister was crying as well.

"Come on let's sit down," Bucky said, when he saw your struggle to held both of the girls in your arms and led you to the couch where Wanda and Pietro were placed.

I sat down on the edge and Jamie slid into your lap and hugged you tightly, while you rocked your weeping baby.

"I'm sorry guys," you apologized while you went on to calm your girls. Sarah had gone over to quiet sobbing.

"Oh don't worry about it, there's always someone in this compound crying," Sam quipped and smirked at Clint who responded with a huff.

Pietro scooted closer to me and tapped on Jamie's shoulder. She glimpsed up at him and he gave her a smile. Then he poked her side and she giggled slightly and hid her face again.

"Are you hiding from me?" Pietro asked playfully and poked her again.

"Mommy he talks funny," Jamie whispered and looked at Pietro again. She was talking about his sovokian accent.

"That's sounds cool, can you teach me to talk like that?" Jamie asked her blue doe eyes, that she clearly had from Steve, sparkled in admiration.

"I don't know if I can. But I can try," Pietro answered with a boyish grin.

"Can I play with him?" The blonde girl asked you and after your nod she jumped onto Pietro with a giggle.

You knew you could trust the enhanced boy, so you switched your focus on Sarah and rocked her until she was asleep again.

When you looked up again, you noticed that all of the Avengers were watching you. You smiled a little shyly.

"I kind of want to see Steve now," you said and looked at Bucky, then added "Can you watch Jamie and Sarah? I don't want to take them to Steve if he is hurt. They can see him later."

Bucky nodded and gently took Sarah from your arms and rested her head on his upper flesh arm. You got up and looked around. Your eyes found Bruce.

"You were interested in my powers earlier, you could come and watch, I mena if you want to," you awkwardly proposed and fiddled with the hem of your shirt. No-one had offered to show you to the medical wing and you were lost, especially that Bucky now wasn't at your side anymore.

But for you it was more important that Jamie had someone in the room she knew and trusted. And you didn't want her to see her dad hurt.

"Yeah sure that would be great," Bruce smiled widely. He looked like a kid that just had gotten it's favorite candy.

"I think I'll come too," Tony decided and jumped on his feet. He casually took you by the arm and led you out of the room, Bruce on your tails. You looked back and caught Bucky's gaze, who reassured you with a smile.

You were deadly worried ever since Buckys call but you had tried not to show it. But now your nerves were reaching a new high and you just wanted to see the love of your life and hug him.

Luckily the three of you had reached the medical wing and Tony opened a door for you. You walked in and a startled gasp escaped you. Steve was laying in a hospital bed in a gown.

But the worst part was his messy hair, his pale, drained skin and his bruised, beaten up face. It broke your heart. You covered your mouth with your left hand while you stepped closer.

Almost scared you reached out and cupped the side of Steve's face and traced his cheekbone carefully.

"So how does the healing work?" Tony asked and plopped down in a chair. You jumped and pried your eyes away from Steve.

"Tony!" Bruce hissed and send me an apologetic glance.

"It's alright. Uhmm so basically it's like I have this power and I can feel it inside of me and I can send it into his body and the wounds heal and the power returns. At least thats what it feels like, it's kind of hard to explain," you shrugged and looked back at Steve.

Since you could no longer look at Steve, looking that horrible so you put your hand on Steve's chest and started your healing.

You all watched how the bruises and injuries healed and the color returned to his cheeks. A relieved sigh made it over your lips when you saw you husbands eyelids flutter and they slowly opened. A frown built on his forehead as he blinked and adjusted his eyes to the light.

"Hey Stevie," you cooed and stroked over his cheeks again. Steve's eyes found mine and they glittered full of love and admiration but also confusion.

"Hey Y/N/N, what are you doing here?" He asked and scanned the room his eyes lingering on Tony and Bruce for a moment. Apparently a silent conversation, that I didn't understood, took place and soon enough was Tony dragged out of the room by Bruce, despite his protests.

"Bucky gave me a call, said you were heavily injured. So I grabbed the kids and drove here as fast as I could," you explained and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You shouldn't have. Being even near my workplace puts you in danger," the blonde protested half heartedly.

"Well I'm rather on the run with you then in this world without you. Please just for a minute let me appreciate that your alive and then you can continue your speech," you begged and pouted for good measure. That always seemed to do the trick with Steve.

"Alright baby, come here," he sighed in defeat and stretched his arm out for you. With a big smile you crawled into his arms and hugged him tightly.

Then you tipped your head up and kissed Steve gently, trying to pour all of your love into it.

"I love you. I love you so much. I swear my heart stopped when I saw you lying in this bed and your face all busted open," you told him. The soldier held you tighter and tucked your chin under his head.

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll be more careful next time. I love you too. So so much," Steve answered and stroked over my arm.

After some time of silence Steve shifted slightly and then spoke again.

"How about you stay here for a few days and get to know the team? And then we have a talk about what's going to happen from then on. How does that sound?" Your husband suggested.

"That sounds great," you smiled and cuddled into the man.

You knew everything was going to be fine. Steve was perfectly fine, the Avengers didn't hate you and your family was happy.

You were happy and you knew that whatever the future would hold for you, you, your husband and your daughters would stand through it.

[cyraclove]

“I hit you with my car and was the only one to visit you in the hospital” with modern BotW Zelink would be amazing :') (you can choose who gets hit and who visits! it works very well both ways)

Link stared into the windows of the flower display, his eyes traversing the plethora of multicolored blooms for the hundredth time. He’d been standing there for a solid ten or fifteen minutes, the tinny muzak of the hospital’s gift shop threatening to drive him out of his mind. The furled petals of a bouquet of yellow roses shook softly as the refrigerated case’s motor kicked on, looking almost as though they were laughing at him.

He decided against those.

Swallowing hard, he absentmindedly rubbed his palms together as he took stock of his ribbon-bound options yet again.

Sweaty. Why was he so sweaty?

Just pick some, you idiot, barked a voice in his head.

“Excuse me, sir,” said a foreign female voice that startled him from his thoughts, “Do you need some help?”

He turned to see an older, brunette woman with the roundest eyeglasses he had ever seen smiling pleasantly at him, her hands clasped behind her back. ‘Alma’, her nametag read.

He shook his head, scrambling for words. “Oh, uh…no, ma’am,” he stammered, attempting a sorry excuse for a smile, “I’m just…browsing.”

“Are you looking for something specific?” She asked, peering into the cooler. “We have flowers for just about any occasion. Flowers can say a lot just on their own, you know.”

How about some that say, ‘Sorry that I hit you with my car, complete stranger,’ he thought to himself. Link chuckled uncomfortably, knowing that he was definitely going to have to lie to this woman. “I’m here to visit my, er, friend. She was…in a car accident.”

Read on AO3

Alma nodded solemnly, clucking her tongue. “Oh, how terrible. I’m very sorry to hear that. People really can be such careless drivers these days, can’t they?”

“Yes,” he said through his teeth, “they certainly can be.” His eyes were drawn to a bunch of sickeningly pink ‘It’s A Girl!’ balloons, a nearby oscillating fan causing them to bob violently every minute or so. The screech of the colliding mylar made his stomach churn, and he silently wished for death.

“Well,” Alma began, a cool burst of air escaping the display when she opened the door, “I’m sure that we can pick something perfectly lovely that’ll have your friend feeling better in no time.”

The woman pursed her lips as she surveyed the case, humming thoughtfully. She eventually gathered up a bouquet of light blue lilies, their pointed petals tipped with white.

“What do you think of these?” she asked, “We just got them in from Necluda. This variety is called the ‘Silent Princess’, I believe.”

Before he could answer, Link’s phone began to ring, the shrill tone making him jump a bit. He grinned sheepishly at Alma as he fished it from his pocket, groaning inwardly as soon as he glimpsed the screen. Tapping his thumb on the red ‘ignore’ button, he tucked it away.

“Those are great,” he replied, “I’ll take them.”  

Alma smiled brightly, motioning for him to follow her the checkout counter. “Excellent,” she chimed, “Can I put them in a vase for you?”

His phone rang again. Link felt his eye twitch.

“Uh, sure. I mean, yes, please.”

“Would you like to add anything else? We have these precious sand seal plushies that would be just ador—”

“Just the flowers will be fine, thank you,” he said, more hurriedly than he’d intended. Snatching his phone from his pocket, he turned away from the counter and held the cell to his ear.

“What do you want?” He hissed.

A jovial cackle came from the other end of the line.

“Well, if it isn’t CHU’s resident asshole.”  

Link pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he inhaled deeply. This was, decidedly, the last thing he needed right now.

“You called me, Revali,” he snapped, “Do you actually need something, or did you just want to be a dick?”

“You wound me, Link,” the other young man drawled, “Oh, no—wait. I’m not the one who’s wounded, am I?”

Link clenched his jaw, the snip of Alma’s scissors on the flowers’ stems suddenly and inordinately loud. He glanced up at the woman only to have her swiftly look away, feigning focus on her task.

“You’re quite the hot topic on campus,” he heard Revali sigh, “I’m almost envious, what with the way everyone’s got your name in their mouths.”

“Who’s talking about it?”

“Who isn’t talking about it? Link, you hit a woman with your car. In the quad, for the love of Hylia. How’d you even manage that, anyway?”

“Okay, look,” he nearly seethed, “It was not in the quad, it was the intersection next to the quad. And it was an accident! I had the right of way, I didn’t see her, and the—the walk sign wasn’t even on!”

“Was she on the crosswalk?”

Link balked as he conjured up the memory from the other day. It had all happened so fast; one minute he was putting on his turn signal, and the next a young blonde woman was sprawled out on the road in front of his car. “I mean…well, yeah, she was on the crosswalk.”

“Then she had the right of way. Pedestrians always have the right of way, genius.”

“I’m hanging up now,” he muttered, disconnecting the call to the sound of Revali’s raucous laughter in the background. His near equal on the university archery team, Revali and Link were self-proclaimed rivals; well-known ‘frenemies’ to the rest of their teammates. While Link undeniably respected him for his skill, he could also be a real pain in the ass.

Releasing a weighty sigh, he faced the counter again, only to be met with a piercing glare of disapproval from the woman standing behind it. His blood ran cold as he and Alma locked eyes, hers narrowed in wordless acknowledgment of his sin. Approaching the register, Link flipped his wallet open and removed his credit card before sliding it toward her across the grey acrylic.

“Ring up the seal.”

-

The ride up the elevator was gruelingly slow, the jarring ding! of the door opening on what seemed like every damned floor made Link’s head throb. The air inside the garishly carpeted box was stuffy and stagnant, the scent of antiseptic stinging his lungs with each inhale. He looked down at the overpriced stuffed animal in his arms and frowned, its judgmental button eyes boring into him. The sluggish chug of the ancient machinery as it whined to a stop was nauseating, jostling him just enough to make him dizzy.

He finally stepped off and onto the tenth floor, referring to the clumsy, smeared numbers written on his palm in red pen. Link wandered down a white linoleum hallway, the idle hum of incandescent lights buzzing overhead as he peered at room numbers; the water in the vase sloshed softly as he went. With the plush tucked under one arm and the flowers cradled in the other, he raised his fist to knock tentatively on a door marked 1003.  

“Come in,” responded a quiet voice from the other side. Link instinctively held his breath as he pressed down on the door handle, inching it open.

The room was cold and clinical, painted and furnished in subtle greens and dull blues. Aside from several dim wall sconces, a large westward-facing window adorned with heavy curtains was the only source of light. Pushed up against the center of the back wall was a slim hospital bed, and in it sat a woman that Link had seen only once before—unconscious on the asphalt in front of his sedan. Her eyes flickered up toward him as he entered, darkening with realization mere seconds afterward.

“What are you doing here?”

Link froze, his thoughts scrambling as both his legs and tongue refused to move. All he could do was stare at her, eyes trained on the clunky, neon-green cast that enveloped her left arm. A purply-green bruise around the size of golf ball sat just below one of her eyes, swallowing the tiny freckles that peppered her cheeks. Her bottom lip puffed out, an angry cut splitting it vertically down the middle.

She looked awful.

And she had somehow managed to be strikingly beautiful at the exact same time.

“Well, I came to, uh,” he started, his words leaving his mouth before he had time to appropriately process them, “I came to see…how you were feeling.”

The young woman scoffed, turning her head towards the window. It was then that Link noticed the sutures running along the underside of her collarbone. Guilt roiled in his stomach for the millionth time that day as she began to speak.

“Let’s see; I’ve got bruised ribs, a couple of chipped teeth, and a concussion. Oh—and my arm is broken,” she replied in a biting tone, “So, I’m not great. Thanks.”

After a moment, he took a few tentative steps nearer to her bedside. He watched her gaze gradually slide in his direction, meticulously studying his movement. Link sighed, looking down at his feet with a shake of his head. His chest felt suffocatingly tight, as though someone had his lungs trapped in an ever-tightening vise.

“Look, I know that nothing I say right now is going to make any of this less shitty,” he told her, “and I’m sure that I’m the last person that you wanted to see today. That being said, it would’ve been even shittier of me to not at least try and come apologize to you. Because I messed up, big time, and I’m really, really sorry.”

The young woman said nothing in response, absentmindedly picking at her fingernails as she considered his repentant declaration. Her brows knitted above her sea-like eyes, consternation marring her delicate features. Link’s resolve just about shattered when he saw the impending tears brimming at her waterline.

“And I brought you this seal,” he blurted out, placing the patchwork creature on the bed near her legs, “You just seemed like, uh…a seal person.”

To Link’s relieved surprise, the corner of her mouth quirked up as she looked at the stuffed animal. Picking it up and setting on her lap, a watery giggle burbled from her chest as tears slid down her cheeks. The chuckle soon morphed into a full-on laugh, a bright, contagious sound that filled the room. Unable to help himself, Link smiled, and was soon laughing with her despite not entirely knowing why.

“It’s cute,” she sniffled, wiping at her eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s really cute. Thank you.”

They smiled through the remnants of their laughter as it faded out, leaving the two in silence again. The setting sun bathed the room in rosy amber and cast fractured, pinkish shadows on the walls. Unsure of what else to do, Link set the bouquet on her curiously empty bedside table. It was then that he paused to take stock of the rest of the room, realizing that it did not resemble what he imagined the hospital room of someone who’d just been hit by a car to look like.

It was devoid of any other flowers save the ones that he had brought, and missing were cards and balloons from well-wishing friends. He furrowed his brow, and his heart sank when the most likely reason for the lack of gifts dawned on him. She must be in Central for school, he thought, and all of her friends and family were wherever home was. Or, even worse—they were around, but couldn’t be bothered to come and pay her a visit. Turning back to face her, he gestured to her plaster-clad arm.

“No one’s signed your cast,” he noted.

She gave him a queer look. “What do you mean?”

“Uh, that’s the thing to do isn’t it? Have your friends write their names on your cast? And put, uh, I don’t know…stickers on it.”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never broken an arm before,” she replied, shooting him a sly look. “I haven’t got many friends, either, I guess,” she added under her breath, face falling.

“Do you have a Sharpie?”

“Oh, um, I think I have a few in my backpack. It’s just over there, on that chair. Should be in the little side pocket.”

Link made his way over to a grey pleather armchair and unzipped the pocket in question, reaching inside to pull out several permanent markers. Returning to the bedside, he held them out to the blonde, presenting her with her choice of color; black, red, or blue. She looked up at him from beneath delicate lashes, grinning as she selected the blue one. She extended her arm, and he sat on the edge on the bed as he gingerly braced it with his free hand. After popping the cap off with his teeth, he scrawled his name on the lime-colored cast as gently as possible.

“Link,” she murmured when he’d finished, “I just realized that I didn’t even know your name until now.”

It was true. He knew her name, simply because he’d had to ask for it at the front desk, but they had never been properly introduced. Not surprising, considering the circumstances under which they came to know one another in the first place. He’d never seen her around campus before the other day, leading him to assume that they must not run in the same circles. That had to be the case, because hers was not a face that he would’ve forgotten.

“My name is Zelda,” she said, “Even though you probably know that already.”

“I do,” he admitted, “but it’s nice to officially meet you. Zelda.”

Her eyes crinkled at their corners when he reached out to lightly shake her fingers that poked out of the cast. He stood up from the bed, shooting her a quick smile before crossing the room to return the markers to her bag.

“Thank you for the flowers,” he heard her say from behind him, “Oh, and for my seal.”

“It’s the least I could do, I think,” he responded, “I mean, considering.”

“Still,” Zelda went on, “It was kind of you to come. I just…I appreciate the company. It was getting a bit lonely here.”

Link stilled at that. So, she really was alone. He almost didn’t want to believe that not even her own parents had bothered to stop by, that not a single friend had sent a card. It had to be a mistake; there was no way that such an enchanting person had no one to call on.

“The, uh, food here must not be very good, huh?” He tried.

She cocked a brow at him. “What?”

“Hospital food. It’s notoriously bad,” he clarified, attempting to mentally signal to her that he was, in fact, going somewhere with this. “If you want, I could bring you something. Later, I mean, for dinner. I think I probably owe you that, don’t you?”

It could have been the sunset, but Link swore that a blush darkened her cheeks ever so slightly when she smiled at him, nodding. “That sounds great, actually.”

“Alright, it’s a date, then,” he announced without thinking, wincing immediately afterward, “I mean, uh, sounds like a plan.”

“Here, let me put my number in your phone,” she offered, holding out her good hand. He fished it from his pocket and handed it to her, watching as she tapped in her contact info with her only her index finger. After a short discussion about what kind of food she’d like to have, they said their goodbyes with the promise of seeing one another later that evening. Link closed to door carefully behind him, glancing back into the narrow window to see Zelda admiring her flowers.

He shuffled into the elevator, wedging himself in between a group of nurses and weary-looking man with a fussy toddler on his hip. It was humid and it was loud, and anyone else might have wanted nothing more than to go home and go to bed. Link stared at Zelda’s name in his phone as the elevator made its agonizingly long descent back down to the lobby, already counting the minutes until he’d get to ride back up again.

-

-

-

I adored this prompt so much, I made it its own thing on AO3. Thank you for the ask! This was so much fun!

[sonicgetsrawed]

Prompt: (?) Varian and Hugo go on an adventure, but in the end one of their crushes gets found out

Ok so my thought on this was 2am ice cream run lol!! So have some high school boys being awkward as fuck! With just a sprinkling of bad dad! Enjoy!!!!! 

Hugo drummed his fingers against the steering wheel of the car, idly scrolling through his phone as he waited for Varian. He should’ve known the younger wouldn’t be ready in time, whenever he said ten minutes it usually meant thirty. Although he couldn’t really blame him, they were sneaking out at two in the morning and Varian’s dad was extremely protective. It had become a tradition of sorts, ever since Hugo got his license he’d pick up Varian and they’d go on some kind of nighttime adventure. They usually ended up at the nearby park, talking under the stars until the sun started to rise. He would never regret finally swallowing his pride and asking for Varian’s help fixing up his truck, he was easily his best friend now, but he’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want more. They had a rough start but after the hours spent together working on his car, which Hugo still didn’t know why Varian agreed to help, they grew closer, and he wanted to grow closer still. He thought it was just a crush at first, his adoptive mom, Donella, told him it was, but the more he denied his feelings the stronger they grew. Logically he knew the relationship probably wouldn’t last, he was only sixteen after all, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

His eyes darted to the two tickets to the homecoming dance that stuck out ever so slightly from the sun visor. Dances weren’t really his thing, he just knew that Varian really wanted to go, so he could sacrifice a night for Varian’s happiness. And tonight was the night he was going to ask. His stomach doing a flip at just the thought, his cheeks heating up. He jumped as the passenger side door opened, dropping his phone.

“Shit.” Hugo grumbled, reaching down and fumbling around for his phone, smiling in success when he found it.

“Sorry.” Varian said, slinging his backpack into the backseat as he climbed in, the dark circles under his eyes evident even in the dim lighting.

Hugo frowned at that, whenever Varian brought his bag it wasn’t a good sign. He didn’t know much about Varian’s home life, but he did know his dad could be intense. He didn’t think he ever hit Varian, although he had heard their screaming matches from time to time, and there were the odd times that he’d kick Varian out of the house for days on end. It was a strange relationship Varian had with his dad, he either didn’t let him out of his sight or was putting Varian down, there was no in between. Hugo watched as Varian closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the headrest. He looked absolutely exhausted, his dark lashes resting against his cheeks as his chest rose and fell softly. He almost looked like he was sleeping if it wasn’t for the way his eyebrows were furrowed together, a frown on his face. Hugo gently brushed Varian’s bangs from his face, the younger’s eyes opening, his blue eyes blinking up at Hugo. Hugo quickly pulled his hand away, his cheeks reddening again.

“So, where do you want to go?” Hugo asked, his eyes on the road in front of them, even though he had yet to move, hell he hadn’t even turned on the car. He didn’t ask about the bag, he didn’t ask if he needed a place to stay, it was just something that they didn’t talk about, and he absolutely would not ask if he was okay. If Varian wanted to talk about it he would, and Varian extended him the same courtesy, he never talked about his biological family.

“I don’t know.” Varian said, nibbling at his bottom lip as he glanced back at his house, a light flickering off in one of the windows. Varian squeezed his eyes shut again for a second as he let out a sigh. “I could really go for some ice cream.”

Hugo resisted the urge to brush Varian’s hair out of his face again, Varian glancing over at him, his eyes shining with unshed tears. Instead Hugo nodded, turning on the car. “Ice cream sounds amazing.”

It didn’t take them long to find a place for ice cream and soon enough they were sitting in the bed of the truck ice cream in hand. Hugo shot a quick text to Donella letting her know where he was. He was lucky she gave him enough freedom to come and go as he pleased as long as she knew where he was. It was nice, but sometimes he wished she cared a little more, he rarely ever got a reply from her. He tucked his phone away in his pocket, licking his ice cream cone before it could get on his hands. “I thought you’d want to go to the park.” Hugo said around a mouthful of ice cream.

“I guess not.” Varian said with a shrug, stabbing at his sundae with his spoon rather aggressively, paying no mind to the melted ice cream that leaked onto his hands. “I needed a different adventure. Change of scenery, you know?”

“I still wouldn’t call ice cream an adventure.” Hugo said with a laugh.

“Then you’re missing out.” Varian responded, using his spoon to point at Hugo, the ice cream splattering across Hugo’s face.

“Hey!” Hugo shouted, wiping the ice cream away, Varian laughing all the while. Hugo couldn’t help but smile himself.

“I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean for that to happen.” Varian chuckled, holding his stomach as he continued to laugh, his ice cream now abandoned.

Hugo hummed, cleaning his glasses with his shirt, his cone balancing precariously on the vehicle. “And I didn’t mean to do this.” Hugo lunged, his fingers digging into Varian’s sides. It got the desired effect, Varian laughing even harder as he rolled back, trying to fight off Hugo’s hands.

“Please… Hugh… I’m sorry.” Varian breathed out between laughs, tears streaming down his face as Hugo continued his attack.

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” Hugo teased, smiling down at Varian, practically on top of the other boy, his fingers finally slowing to a stop. His hands still lingered on Varian’s sides, watching as Varian’s laughter died down and he wiped the tears from his eyes, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he caught his breath.

Varian awkwardly cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening as he took note of their position. “Umm, could you- uh, you know?”

“Oh, sorry.” Hugo said, his own face flushing as he became hyper aware of their position. He scrambled off of Varian, swinging his legs back over the end of the truck already missing the warmth Varian provided. He focused on his ice cream cone, ruined on the ground, instead of the way he so badly wanted to keep Varian pinned there, kissing his soft lips, the taste of ice cream still lingering on them.

“Thank you.” Varian said, shimmying to the edge of the truck as well, his mostly melted sundae in hand.

“What?” Hugo asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he glanced up at Varian. He almost wished he hadn’t, the younger looking up at him through his eyelashes, the street light hitting him just right to make it look like the blue in his hair was glowing, he was almost otherworldly looking in the best way.

“I just- thank you. For always being here for me, for being so understanding. Just for being a good friend, I guess.” Varian said, returning his attention to swirling the melted ice cream with his spoon. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but he swore there was a blush coating Varian’s cheeks. It was probably just wishful thinking on his part.

Hugo nodded, ignoring the slight sting of being called a friend. “Uh, you too. With the whole friend thing.” Hugo said, lightly punching Varian’s shoulder in what he hoped was a friendly manner. Hugo cringed at his own action, why did he have to be so damn awkward when he was trying so hard not to be awkward? Varian must’ve thought it was odd, the car shifting with his movements.

“Umm-“

“I got you something.” Hugo interrupted, deciding it was now or never. If he thought about it too much he’d back out.

“You did?” Varian asked, finally giving up on his ice cream and setting it to the side, his eyes twinkling at Hugo’s words.

“Yeah, uh, just wait here for a second.” Hugo said, leaping off the back of the truck, his hands sweating as he grabbed the tickets. He took a deep breath, trying desperately to calm his beating heart to no avail. This was it he was going to ask Varian to the dance. Their relationship would never be the same regardless of what Varian said, things would be different, there would be no going back. There would be no going back. Hugo slowly lowered the tickets, his face dropping as he realized he couldn’t go through with it, he couldn’t risk losing Varian forever. He stuffed the tickets into his jacket pocket with a sigh of defeat, plastering the fakest smile on his face as he made his way back around. “You know, silly me, I must’ve forgotten it at the house.”

“That’s okay.” Varian said, a brief flash of disappointment flashing across his face before he hopped off the bed of the truck and threw his ice cream out. “Drop me off at Rapunzel’s?”

“Sure.” Hugo responded simply, settling behind the wheel as Varian got into the passenger's seat. It wasn’t the first time he’d dropped Varian off at his cousins house. Apparently her and her fiancé knew the extent of Varian’s home situation and wanted to get custody. Varian, however, refused to leave his dad. And that’s about the extent Hugo knew. He wished he knew more so he could help, but he also respected Varian enough not to push for information. He wanted to help, he just didn’t know how.

“You could stay at my place.” Hugo blurted out, the words ringing in the silence of the vehicle. He could feel his cheeks beating up once again, the longer the silence went on the redder they became. He didn’t dare look in Varian’s direction.

“Wha-“

“Never mind! To Rapunzel’s then?” Hugo replied hurriedly, starting the car and driving down the familiar road to Rapunzel’s house before Varian even gave a slight nod. Silence filled the car once again, it always did on nights like this. Hugo hated nights like this when Varian looked so down on himself, when he wasn’t his chatty self, when he was sad. He wanted to take all that away even if just for a moment, but he was too scared to do anything, to pull Varian into his arms and hold him tight, to stroke his hair and whisper soothing words, to place a reassuring kiss to his lips as they talked about everything and anything. He was too scared and it fucking sucked.

“Thanks for driving me.” Varian’s voice brought him back to reality, the car stopped in front of the modest home, the white picket fence blinding even in the middle of the night.

“No problem.” Hugo said, shaking his head in hopes of clearing it from the last of those pesky thoughts. Varian shot him an odd look but otherwise didn’t say anything on his behavior, before getting out of the car, Hugo followed suit. He grabbed Varian’s backpack from the backseat, slinging it over his shoulder as he jogged around the car to meet Varian. “I’m serious, Goggles, if you ever want,” need, but he didn’t dare say the word, Varian would outright deny him if he did. “To stay at my place Don won’t mind. I- we’d love to have you.”

Varian smiled softly, the soft yellow light flickering on in the house behind him making his eyes sparkle. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” Varian said, taking his bag from Hugo, nether noticing the two tickets that fell from Hugo’s jacket.

Hugo’s hand lingered perhaps a moment too long over Varian’s as he handed over the bag, but the younger didn’t say anything in protest. “Goodnight.” Hugo said, daring to place a soft kiss to Varian’s cheek, his own cheeks heating up as he did, his lips tingling from where they had connected with Varian’s soft skin. He didn’t wait for a response, a wide smile on his face as he got back into his car and drove away, sparing a glance at the rear view mirror to see Varian place a hand over his cheek, a soft lopsided smile on his face.

“Goodnight.” Varian whispered, his heart skipping a beat in his chest, his cheek unusually cold now that Hugo’s lips weren’t there. He let his hand drop as he watched the car disappear around the corner, an odd sensation filling him. He’d never really given much thought to his relationship with Hugo outside of friendship, but now he knew he really should. Hugo had always been there for him, willingly dropping things on a dime to come to his aid, he was smart and funny, and charming, and despite his snarky and stubborn attitude he put others first. The more he thought about it the more he was starting to realize he might actually have feelings for his best friend, and for some reason that thought was more comforting than scary. Varian smiled to himself, shooting Hugo a quick goodnight text for good measure before turning towards the house, something crinkling underneath his shoe. He bent down, eyebrows furrowed as he picked up the wrinkled slips of paper. His lips quickly turned to a smile when he realized what it was, two tickets to the homecoming dance.

Varian brought them close to his chest, a giddy laugh bubbling up as he smiled into the night sky. Things were looking up for once in his life. He couldn’t wait to spend homecoming with Hugo. He could have Rapunzel help him pick out an outfit, maybe even convince his dad to let him stay at her house for the weekend. One thing he knew for certain was that he now needed to ask Hugo, and he was okay with that.

[hardyimagines]

Part 5 — Agreement

—————————————————————

This is a wild one but can you do an arranged marriage au with Alfie??? The reader doesn’t really like him at all and she’s suuuuupppeerrr scared of him (cause he’s ya know, a violent gangster). I think it would be nice for the reader to not like him and you can build on them actually falling in love with each other over a period of time? — @wowjeena

Warnings: LITTLE BIT OF SEX

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4

—————————————————————

The sky above was bright blue with white clouds drifting past. The sun was blinding and beaming, heating the girl’s skin as she stood beneath its heavy rays. It may have been beautiful outside, but it was still freezing. The sun’s rays felt like a blanket, embracing her as she waited for the yapping dog in the yard to go to the bathroom. Pip, that was his name, had been walking around the grass for the last ten minutes, searching for a place to use the restroom. The girl on the porch had lost her impatience long ago, probably around the time when she’d lost all feeling in her, now, numb feet. “Pip, come on!” She begged softly under her breath, watching intently as the little white animal finally began to sniff in a circle. He halted, squatted, and finally went to the bathroom. A small grin crossed her face as the little mutt instantly darted back toward the warm house. Dipping between her parted legs, he continued to bark as his wet paws slid along the glossy floor.

Cyril lifted his head from the food bowl that was on the floor in front of him at the annoying intrusion. The bits of food he was chomping on were ground down to nothing but mush until he leaned over to gobble down some more. A low growl left the back of the mastiff’s throat as the much smaller pup attempted to take some of Alfie’s pup’s food. “No, pip.” The girl warned quietly, but she made no movement to pick him up. What if he lashed out angrily and started trying to bite her because she pulled him away from the food. It was one thing to open the door and let the animal go to the bathroom, but it was another to pick him up and baby him so that he didn’t eat any of Cyril’s food.

Nobody else was awake yet and as her cold feet moved along the floorboards so she could get another bowl and fill it with some food as well, she hoped someone else would wake in the next five seconds. She really didn’t want him to accidentally get ahold of her finger instead. It was wishful thinking though, to hope someone would come into the kitchen right now. The creaky cabinet opened with a soft tug. She moved several boxes around in hopes of finding some special brand of dog food but there was nothing in sight. She squinted slightly before directing her eyes to Cyril’s bag of dog food. Pip would just have to settle for the cheap stuff. The girl pinched the bag before prying it open and dumping some of the bits into a hole. Pip yelped excitedly before running toward her, tongue flopping out of the side of his mouth, to get to the food. It was unexpected and startled the girl so, by reflex, she dropped the bag and the food scattered along the tile. “Shit-“

In the corner of the room, a soft snort of amusement could be heard, followed by a gruff noise of disapproval. The girl turned sharply in surprise, once more, expecting to find her father stood there, but it was Alfie. His hand was pressed against the countertop as he eyed the scene. “That’s a fucking mess if ive ever seen one.” He muttered, ushering toward the floor where Pip and Cyril were practically fighting to eat more than the other. “Better get them away, yeah, or those fucking dogs are gonna have the worst stomach aches, aren’t they?” He stepped forward and pressed his hand gently against the middle of her back, to nudge her toward the mess. “Go on, dove.” She refused. “Alfie, I can’t.” Her hands smoothly lifted and pressed against his tight chest. Nudging him back gently, she whimpered. “Pip could bite me.. he’s hungry, just wait until he’s finished.”

Alfie sent a look of disbelief toward the girl. Pip, the little rat dog that was walking beneath Cyril to gather more of the food than his little body could hold, was small enough to fit in Alfie’s hand. “That thing there, yeah, is a fucking seed compared to Cyril.” He squinted. “If you, right, can look after a mastiff and sleep in the same bed as one, then you, right, you can approach a little pup like that.” His hand fell away from her back, grazing the length of the silky nightgown before he stepped around her. She watched as he leaned over and smoothly hoisted up the heavy bag of dog food. He set the oversized plastic on the countertop before then hunching over to lift pip. His belly was swollen and he made little whining noises under his breath. “See, now he’s fucking stuffed.”

Cyril, on the other hand, knew better. The mutt was laid on the floor with his paws stretched out and his head resting on the floor. He knew what his limit was and he didn’t push it. The girl lowered herself down on the floor to begin cleaning up the leftover food, but Alfie smoothly hunched over. “No, no, no, get up, right, come here.” A small frown stained her lips and her brows were drawn together in an expression of confusion as she looked toward the man. “Alfie, if I don’t clean up, my parents will get mad at me-“ His hand lifted to her shoulder. “Come here.” He instructed once more, silencing her. The confusion on her face deepened further, but she stepped toward him again, their bodies nearly brushing. He held pip in one arm, his thumb gliding along the puppy’s face and his other hand stroked the bone of her shoulder. He didn’t want to see her on her hands and knees cleaning, Cyril would eventually lick it up.

Extending his arm to give Pip to the girl, he felt her stiffen tensely beneath his touch, but his hand moved around to her back, holding her in place. “Hang on, look, right, he’s not going to hurt you, pet, just like Cyril didn’t.” She squinted. “That one dog did though. You can’t compare every animal I see to your dog, Alfie, he’s well-behaved.” She set her hands on her hips before swallowing tightly when she looked to the white dog in Alfie’s arms. Yes, he was cute. Yes, he made her heart feel full and heavy because she instantly fell in love, but she didn’t want to touch him. Distancing a little bit, the baker slowly hunched over and set the dog on the ground, watching as he immediately curled up. He wouldn’t force his wife to pet Pip, but he didn’t want her to be afraid of every mutt out there. Alfie smiled fondly toward the dog before lifting his gaze to his wife. “Right then, I’m not going to force you to, I just thought it would help.” She shifted slowly. “I appreciate you, I really do.. but it’s hard for me. I don’t want to pet dogs, I can’t tell how they’re feeling or if they’re ready to maul me.” The girl began to turn away, but when Alfie took hold of her hand and spun her back toward him, she melted beneath his gaze. His knuckles lifted to her jaw, lazily tracing her warm skin before he leaned in and brushed his nose against her own. “Right, pet, you can just fucking pet Cyril, mh?” The touch was foreign as he rubbed her jaw, but it was very welcomed. She’d kissed him goodnight, so now it was only fair for him to kiss her goodmorning.

The moment was ruined though at the sound of the girl’s mother, complaining under her breath about the stench of dog food and the lack of already-made coffee. Agnes didn’t know her daughter was here because Edgar hadn’t mentioned it, so when she turned the corner in her robe, mumbling under her breath in disapproval, she gasped loudly at the sight of Y/N, pressed against Alfie. “What on earth-“ Agnes whispered before directing her gaze to the pebbles of food and then the large mutt sprawled out on his back. “Y/N?” She stuttered to get the name out. “What are you doing here?” She ushered toward the dog. “And what’s that thing!?” Cyril, in comparison to Pip, was a beast. The girl withdrew herself slowly from Alfie’s arms, her lips burning from want. All she’d felt was his hot breaths wafting over her lips. Whimpering at the loss of the kiss that had almost happened, she looked toward her mother in confusion. “That’s Cyril, our dog.” Agnes lifted her gaze to the child.

“What’s he doing rolling around on my floor! He sheds, look at the filth!” She cried out, hurriedly moving toward the pantry in the corner to retrieve some sort of something to clean up the dog hair that was spreading. Her daughter rolled her eyes briefly before moving toward Cyril. “Come here.” The girl cooed before pointing toward the space beside Alfie’s knees. “Go, sit.” Y/N instructed. Agnes grumbled in disappointment before moving around the table. “Why is there dog food all over the place- why haven’t you cleaned it up?”

Alfie was growing rather agitated by the neverending questions. He noted the way his wife stepped forward to help, but his fingers circled her arm, dragging her back and into his chest. Agnes was perfectly capable of cleaning up the accident and he wasn’t going to stand around and watch his girl do it all. His fingers ran along her side, rubbing it lazily before he decided to speak up. “We were in a bit of fucking trouble last night, yeah, needed a fucking place to say and Edgar was kind enough to point us to a room. And I told her not to clean up that fucking stuff, right, yeah I did, because it was an accident, innit, yeah Agnes looked at Alfie beneath her lengthy eyelashes, studying him briefly before she resumed her task of cleaning. “Trouble?” The woman spoke up, as if asking for clarification. Alfie wouldn’t give her any. “To put it simply.” He nodded before looking down at his wife again. “But, we don’t want to be a bother, so we’ll be on our way.” The man leaned over to ruffle Cyril’s head before grunting. “Outside.” He ordered the mutt, smirking to himself when the animal rushed off.

Agnes stood. “Oh, you don’t have to go.” She tried. “I mean, you can if you’d like, but don’t feel pressured to.” She whispered, studying the man. Alfie grumbled lowly. Seeing this woman face to face and knowing that she used her daughter as a way to make money made him sick. He really was tempted to knock some sense into her, but he remained still, expression calm. Had they not scammed him, he wouldn’t have married a girl perfectly fit for him. “We do, actually, I’ve got business to tend to.” Alfie muttered. “We just needed a place to stay the night. Edgar helped us, now we’ll go.” Before Agnes could say much else, Alfie moved around the white table in the center of the room, heading directly past Agnes without so much as a farewell. His wife clutched on to his sleeve, not falling behind even a little bit. She kept up with his quick stride, allowing him to lead her out of the house and toward the vehicle. Cyril was sitting beside the back door, waiting for it to be opened so he could climb in.

“Alfie?” The girl spoke up when they were alone outside. She stared at his expression, lips twitching as the man yanked the back door open to let the pup into the car. “Alfie?” She tried again. Why did he look so upset? The man shot a look toward the girl, one of warning. “Get in the car.” He said firmly before lifting himself into the driver seat. She scrambled into the passenger side before tilting her head when he cranked the car and pulled out of the driveway. The wheels on the car rode over the gravel before meeting the smooth pavement. She studied him. His brows were furrowed in a hard stare and his hands were tapping against the steering wheel. “What’s wrong?” She whispered quietly, afraid to be at the other end of his anger. She’d seen him lash out before on workers and she really didn’t want to be on the receiving end.

He didn’t even look toward her when she spoke so she clenched her jaw. Reaching over, she gripped his arm. “Alfie?” The muscles in his jaw clenched. It was visible, even beneath the hair that blanketed his skin. She sighed in annoyance when she was once again ignored. “Bastard.” His lips twitched at the insult. Licking his lips, he turned down an unfamiliar road and stopped the car. The girl studied their surroundings before slowly looking toward her husband. He finally turned his head so his emotion infested eyes could study her own. “Do you want this?” He whispered.

A little ball of concern welled up inside her stomach. Studying him with a raised brow, her eyes ran over his features. “Want what?” She whispered, searching for clarification. “This- this marriage.” He looked away then. His words sounded so.. soft. He moved his stare to the straight road ahead before he relaxed. The muscles in his jaw unclenched and his broad shoulders slouched. “Do you want to be married to me?” He asked again. The question took her by immediate surprise. How was she meant to answer that. A week ago, she would’ve said no. No, no, no, and no. But now, as she looked at him, she found that there would definitely be a hole in her heart if she ever lost him. The girl swallowed quietly before moving her hand to the back of her neck. “Alfie, I...” the man silenced her with a mere look. It was a yes or no question, not a detailed answer. “Right, I just need a fucking yes or no.” He uttered.

The car engine was turned off as he rotated in the seat to face her. “Your parents, right, they forced me on you. I should’ve backed off the second I found out, right, I fucking should’ve, but I didn’t.” She studied him as he spoke, watching the way he lifted his fingers so he could mess with his facial hair. “And what?” She asked softly. “Now you’ve changed your mind about wanting to be with me?” The little nerves in her stomach seemed to triple and then spread, as she asked the question, attacking every muscle and bone in her body, weakening her. A throaty chuckle escaped the man’s throat, his stomach rumbling with his laughter as he shook his head in disbelief. “No, pet.” He stated simply before continuing. “The opposite. I, right, I’m falling for you and I want to give you the fucking chance to get out before this ends up being.. too serious. Right, I’ve never had my fucking heartbroken and I don’t ever intend to.” He whispered almost inaudibly. “So this is your way out.”

Her heartbeat was drumming so wildly and loudly, she felt as if she were losing the ability to hear anything else. Alfie Solomons was offering her a way out because he didn’t want to fall in love and then have his heart broken. She’d never do that to him though. Staring at him, so bare and vulnerable, she saw the real Alfie in that moment. In the beginning, yes, she would’ve leaped for the door the second he offered her a way out, but now she knew him. She understood him, maybe not fully, but for the most part. Her small hand lifted to fist in the front of his shirt, fingertips gliding along the cloth before she lifted her other hand to his cheek. It was her turn to instruct him. “Come here.” She whispered breathily, her tone so pleading he couldn’t have said no if he had wanted to. She leaned forward, allowing her forehead to rest against his own as her nose brushed his as well. “I’m not going to ever break your heart, Alfie. So long as you don’t break mine.” Her hand moved to the underside of his chin, cradling it as she lowered her head and pressed her lips against his own. The kiss was soft and slow, neither of them in any rush to deepen it. They really did have plenty of time.

His large hands fell away from the steering wheel so that he could instead cradle her curvy waist. His thumbs traced her hip bones, urging her just a little bit closer. She obliged, though she moved a lot closer. Her leg lifted from the leather seat she was perched on and slid over his lap. She lowered herself down and onto his thighs, situating herself comfortably on top of him. Her mouth was much softer and gentler as it moved against his rougher and quicker one. It was a nice contrast that the pair seemed to enjoy equally. His lips slanted perfectly against her own, kissing, licking, and nipping at her mouth eagerly. She laid her hand on his cheek to slow him down just a little, but before she had the chance, a wave of warmth flooded her and she moaned into his mouth.

She felt at a loss of control when her hips sunk forward and she rubbed herself against him. She was brought back to when he had her on top of his desk, kissing her like he wanted to devour her. And god, she had wanted him to. This was different though, their actions werent spurred by anger, they were slow and initiated solely because of.. well her. She was pushing him to go a little further, but he didn’t do anything until she rubbed herself against him again. Her lips spread upwards, forcing the kiss to break as his mouth was then met with her teeth. He didn’t ask questions when she continued with her little grinds, rubbing herself against him desperately. He had to swallow down several moans and grunts that threatened to leave his lips as she continued with her teasing. Kissing and grinding would only lead to one thing and when she felt the bulge, growing harder and harder by the second, beneath her, she smirked.

Alfie was grateful for the tall buildings, shielding the sun from pouring down on his red cheeks. He couldn’t believe the girl had the bravery to do this in broad daylight, but it only made him like her more. His hand curled around her own and their wedding rings tapped against one another. Within a span of a few seconds, Alfie had rolled the girl over and pressed her back flat against the seat. Kneeling on top of her, his greedy hands moved to her thighs, parting them so he had a nice spot to lay. She was still in her nightgown so the blue fabric slid smoothly out of the way due to her new position. He was dressed. White shirt tucked into his dark brown trousers where a belt hugged his hips. She couldn’t help but smirk at his attire. It would be much more difficult and time consuming for him to rid of his clothing. “Alfie..” Her fingers moved to his chest. Stroking the fastened buttons al the way up to his neck, she undid the top one, freeing a thin amount of skin so she could stroke the curly hairs that poked out of his flesh. “I want you.”

The confidence in her tone and the lust that swam in her gaze made his arms feel weak as he held himself up on top of her. “Not here.” He whispered quietly. He didn’t care about being caught and he didn’t care about being in the car, but he did care that this was the first time the pair of them were going to be intimate and he didn’t want to look back on it and realize how horribly unromantic it was. She deserved a good first time with him. “We’ll go home, yeah, it’ll be much nicer, pet, I promise.” He started to draw back, but the vice she had on his arms halted him. “No, please.. Alfie, this is perfect. I don’t care about going back home.” He stared down at her droopy eyes as she spoke. Licking his lips, his eyes fell away from her to study the alley he had parked in. What if people looked in and saw her. She was his. He’d have to kill someone for ogling his beauty. He rubbed his teeth together before slowly moving his hand to her locks. Stroking them back and out of her face, he nodded gently. “Right, pet, but I’ve got a bad fucking back, so you’ll have to be on top.”

The girls cheeks reddened at his words. He spoke about sex as if it were common, like lunch or a walk in the park. She squirmed beneath him slowly before sitting up so they could switch positions. She’d never been on top before, but she wouldn’t tell him that. Her hand used his shoulder to stablize herself, struggling only briefly to get on top of him. Alfie grumbled lowly, shrugging off his coat so he could rap it around her shoulders. The black material swallowed her whole, but that was good because nobody would get a good view of her. Alfie slumped on his back, hand sliding to her front. He pinched the silky fabric she wore before dragging it up slightly she wasn’t sitting on it. “Right, pet, we can’t exactly fucking strip here, can we?” She flushed once more before moving her hands to his chest. “That’s okay, we‘ll make sure we can next time.” Her fingers pressed into his chest, before her palms joined as well. Nervously moving one of her hands down and to the space in between them, she brushed her pointed finger along his crotch, stroking the bulge that resided there. Alfie wasn’t red anymore. He’d had sex enough times to be confident with every inch of his body. He didn’t really care. If someone found him appealing enough to sleep with him then what was the worry with worrying. Folding his arm beneath his head, his hand slid into her nightgown, thumb grazing her belly. The leather seat clung to her knees as she shifted her weight. Lowering herself down so that she could lift her weight off of him and undo his belt, her mouth skimmed his own. “Were you lying to me before?” He spoke gruffly against her lips. “Lying about what?” She asked almost instantly, fingers smoothly undoing the belt before pushing it to the floor. Her fingers smoothly undid his slacks before she opened the fabric. Alfie hummed softly as she relieved the tight tension caused by the restriction of his trousers. “About having sex.”

She straightened beneath his accusing stare. Shaking her head, she tutted beneath her breath. “As much as I’m sure you’d enjoy taking my virginity, Mr. Solomons, I’m sorry, but I have done this before. Only a few times, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy it more than me, but..” Alfie tilted his head, studying her rosy cheeks and lengthy lashes. “A few times?” He shuffled slowly before speaking again. “With different men?” The girl folded her arms slowly before speaking. “Do you want to screw me or interrogate me?”

The amusement that shone in the man’s eyes made her smile herself. “I’m just curious.” He told her truthfully. His hand snaked up higher and higher beneath her gown, fingers stroking and caressing every inch of her skin. “One man. Three times. I thought I loved him, but he was just using me. The sex didn’t even feel good, I don’t know why I..” She fell silent, lips pursing in thought. “Sorry, forget I said all that, just.. it was just one guy.” Alfie’s eyes darkened as she spoke. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt the sudden urge to absolutely destroy whoever had hurt her. Used her. “That’s alright, pet. Don’t apologize.” The man pushed himself up so he was sitting. “Sex is suppose to feel good, innit. You just fucking picked the wrong person.” Her eyes fell to his chest, studying the curls at the top of his shirt. “And now?” Her eyes lifted to his as she spoke. He tilted his head. His tongue traced his lips before he responded. “Now, I think, right, you’ve picked the right person.”

Her cheeks pushed upwards with her smile and her hands lifted to the sides of his neck, holding him in place. “God, I really hope so.” She whispered. “Strangely enough.. you are the sweetest person I’ve ever met.” Her compliment was enough to make him laugh, but he swallowed it down. He could tell she was being very genuine and despite the fact that he was, in fact, a dangerous gangster, he couldn’t help but focus on the fact that her words were true. How was he the kindest person? He wasn’t kind to begin with. Well.. only to her. The car was quiet then, both of them eyeing the other with a look of hope. They didn’t want to be heartbroken and something told them that they wouldn’t ever have to be. Alfie pulled his hand out from beneath her gown and instead cradled the back of her skull so he could kiss her. This time, the kiss was soft and sweet. There was no lust hanging in the air, it was passion and the beginning of what could only be called love. There was no rush to have sex with him for she realized that they were married and they had all the time in the world. Course, that was foolish thinking, but she was young and naive and it was expected.

——

Days passed. Days filled with passionate kisses and deep conversations. They talked about their pasts, revealing secrets to each other that they’d never shared with anyone. Rarely did they spend time apart, even at work. Alfie either wouldn’t let her leave his office or would follow her downstairs to talk her ear off while she tended to the laundry. This was definitely the honeymoon phase. The pair were infatuated with each other, but it didn’t bother anybody.

It was 4 in the afternoon and Alfie was growing more and more tense as the little clock in the corner ticked on, reminding him that no matter how much he hoped to get work done, it wasn’t going to do itself and he definitely had a deadline. His finger lazily messed with the ring on his left hand before he sighed, unable to focus on the work that needed to be completed because he wanted to go downstairs and see his girl. His jaw popped as he opened his mouth before leaning back in his seat to stretch. Just as he was about to stand to go check on the girl, the door opened and she piled into the room. A line of dirt stained her cheek and her dress was filthy. Her hands were no better but when she smiled at him, his attention was focused solely on that. It was so vibrant and heart-warming. He looked away. He wasn’t sure when he had become this loving teddy bear, but he really didn’t like it. He felt so weak.

“Alfie?” The girl spoke up when she was ignored. Laying her hands on her hips, she studied the man in front of her. Nothing had escalated between them apart from the amount of times they kissed a day. The man’s eyes seemed to realize that he was being spoken to though he still hadn’t heard her call his name. “Mh?” He looked to her. “Fucking hell, sorry, pet, my brain, yeah, it’s a bit all over the place today, innit, what’d you say?” The man rose up from his seat before moving around the cluttered desk so he could be closer to you. His arms folded over his chest and when the thin white shirt he wore revealed the muscles that flexed beneath, she lost her train of thought for a moment. Forcing an innocent smile, she looked up to him. “I was coming to see if we could leave a little early today? Go home.. have some dinner?” The question was hesitant and he could feel it radiating off of her. His arms fell from their position across his chest to instead plant into the desk as he leaned back against it. “No more washing to do?” He grunted. The girl smiled in amusement. “No, I finished the laundry a while ago... if you have work to do, Alfie, it’s fine, but could I go ahead and go home? I need a bath and I’m so tired.”

The bearded bloke studied her with an expressionless stare. Though nobody else could read the emotions that floated in his gaze, she sure as hell could. Moving toward him, her hands lifted to his chest, resting there. Alfie swallowed thickly. Imagining the girl at home in the bath while he was stuck at work was not something that sat well with him. “I-“ He stood. “No, pet, I can come home with you, that’s alright. But for future reference you, right, you don’t need to fucking ask me if you can leave.” He planted a kiss to her forehead before moving his hand to her lower back. Reaching over his desk, he grasped a white folded before lifting his coat as well. Folding it over his forearm, he smoothly cleaned the clutter of his desk by pushing it into the top drawer and twisting the lock. Leading the girl out of his office and down the stairs, he looked toward Ollie who was doing all the locking up. “My office too, lad, don’t have the key on me.” Ollie sent a short nod toward Alfie before bidding the couple goodnight as he scurried off to lock the remaining doors. Only one door would be left untouched so the remaining workers would have a way to exit as well in a few hours.

Alfie’s arm hooked around his wife, holding her close to him as the harsh wind did its best to embrace her instead. The walk home went by quickly, but only because Alfie was teasing her about how much of a mess she’d made by doing laundry. She scoffed at the very thought. “This is from fixing your oven. The bakery was unable to run.” She looked up at him and he looked down at her, a glint of pride in his eyes. He leaned down and she leaned up, meeting him in the middle for a soft kiss. She knew that was his way of thanking her. After two more kisses and a slap on her bum, the couple arrived back to their home. She twisted the knob and pushed them thing open, stepping into the warmth. “Pet, you’ve got to start locking this fucking thing, right, remember what happened last time?” The girl arched a brow before turning to face him. “Actually, Alfie, That was your fault. You didn’t lock it when you left.” Alfie pursed his lips at your words before tossing his coat on to the back of the sofa and squinting to remember. He bit his cheek before nodding. “Still,” he lifted a finger. “we both need to remember to lock it then.”

The man stared down at the girl as she began to back up, her fingers slowly lifting to the buttons on her dress. “Yes sir.” She hmphed before turning on her heel. “I’m going to run a bath, so,” she looked over her shoulder as she began to climb the stairs. “Are you coming?” The cocky smile she wore on her lips was enough of an answer. She knew he was. Her footsteps moved a little quicker when he began to step forward and it suddenly felt like a race to get to the bathroom. The girl nudged the door open with her arm before stepping into the cold room. Leaning over so she could fill the tub with the hot water, her fingers returned to their initial position on her dress. When Alfie practically busted through the door, his shirt was halfway undone, both of them close to ridding of their first item of clothing. They did so simultaneously. Slinging her dress to the floor as he tossed his shirt, he got to work on his trousers and she busied herself with removing her undergarments.

The cold air licked at her naked form the second that she stood bare. Alfie followed directly behind her, goosebumps spreading along his skin. He leaned over the tub, hand curling around the faucet so he could turn it off when it was full. “Come on, pet.” The man lifted his leg over the tub so he could step into the water. She followed after him obediently, eager to be submerged. He lowered himself down first so that she could sit in front of him and lean back against him. Their bodies molded together perfectly and within seconds they were both much calmer. His hands laced around her own. Stroking them slowly as he cradled her. It was quiet, apart from the few droplets that fell from the faucet and splashed in the tub. “Alfie.” The girl hummed softly as she adjusted the position of her head on his shoulder. The man gave no actual response apart from a soft hum of acknowledgement. “Now would be the perfect time to touch me.”

Her words caught them both by surprise, but because of his position, he couldn’t see her blush. She craned her neck around so that she could kiss his neck and he looked down at her body, admiring what he could see. He wasn’t shy at all, but he was taken aback. He hadn’t expected her to request that at all, but he wouldn’t say no. “Is that your way of telling me you’re done waiting?” He whispered against her ear before slowly moving his hand to her stomach. Caressing the smooth skin beneath his palm, his hand traced a line from her belly button all the way up to her breasts. He drew sloppy shapes on her skin before drawing another line back down, this time past her belly button. He smiled at the quiver in her breaths as his finger neared the space between her thighs.

“Spread your legs.” He whispered just as lowly again. She obliged without hesitation, thighs resting against the tub as she gave him the advantage and upper hand. Her hands moved to his arms, rubbing them lazily as his hand slid south. His finger traced her inner thighs before slowly sliding toward her slit. The girl shyly turned her head to the side and pushed her face into his neck, letting out a quiet exhale of approval. The man bit his lip before slowly running his digit along the length of her most sensitive area. He wasn’t one to waste time, she learned that very quickly. His finger brushed along her clit once and then once more, drawing a little buck from her hips. He couldn’t hide the smirk that danced across his lips. His free hand moved to her pelvis, holding her securely against him. “Easy, pet, yeah, Ive got you, right?” His finger continued to dance along that bundle of nerves, pressing and rubbing at just the right pace before his finger slid toward her entrance. Her breathing was already audibly ragged and when she spread her thighs even further, he knew she wanted more. Pushing his finger into her slowly, he drew it in and out a few times before moving his other hand down to resume giving attention to her clit. She groaned gratefully before lifting one leg and draping it on the outside of the tub. Curling her toes, she whimpered in enjoyment. “Alfie..” She bit her bottom lip.

He could feel her clenching around his finger as he drew it out and then sunk it directly back in. She groaned out again and he had to adjust his thighs to hold her in place as her body began to slide along the slippery tub. His finger began to move a little quicker, but when she slid down once again, he growled, slowing his pace. “I don’t think..” She smiled lazily before cupping his cheek. “fingering is meant for the bathtub.” She sat up slowly, legs feeling weak and stomach aching from want. “Forget the bath, lets go to the bedroom.” She whispered, already pushing herself up and into a standing position. Alfie watched the water droplets race along her skin before he slowly rose with her. He couldn’t say no to that. She scrambled out of the tub and once again it was another race, but this time, he was chasing after her. She slipped and slid along the slippery hallway before grinning as she came to a stop outside the bedroom door. Shoving the wooden thing open, she froze in place at the sight. Alfie came to an instant halt behind her, his eyes roaming the inside of their bedroom.

The girl’s dresses were thrown all around the room, ripped and unwearable. Frames he owned were shattered and ruined, knick-knacks had been destroyed. The bed looked as if someone had tried to saw it in half because of how much stuffing was slung around the room. Her shaky hands lifted to her lips, brows drawing together in fear. “Alfie..” Her small hand reached for his arm, dragging him in front of her. The couple were stood in absolute shock, both naked and wet, staining the wood floor beneath them with the water that fell from their body. Their bedroom was a wreck and they had no idea who’d done it.. or if the culprit was even gone. Alfie’s eyes scanned the room, eyes dropping to the girl at his side. “Go get your clothes on.” He whispered before pushing her gently back toward the bathroom. She nodded hurriedly before spinning around on her heel. Face to face with her stood a man, twirling a blade in his hand. He shot a devious smirk toward the girl, eyes falling to her body. Instantly cowering away, her hands lifted to shield her body. “A-Alfie.” The man growled lowly before looking over his shoulder to see why she hadn’t gone to the bathroom as he’d said. His dark eyes followed her gaze to the end of the hall where a man stood. He didn’t recognize him. All he could focus on was the fact that his wife was completely naked. Dragging her instantly behind him, he clenched his jaw protectively before pushing her back and into the bedroom. Slamming the door roughly and suddenly, he twisted the lock. This would buy them at least a little bit of time to get dressed. “Now!” He barked. “Find some clothes!” His hand pushed through his hair as he rummaged through his thoughts to try and find out who the hell that man was and what the hell he wanted.

—————————————————————

Part 1   Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

Tagged: @thatsamegirl @peakyhoegh @centerhabit @favouritereadings @goodiesintheclosetlove @buckypetal15 @kitcatimpala67 @crldrr @jamierdr @lyraeluna @jakechillenhaal @vanillafarts @multireality @emiliesnowflake @ellar21 @kirah34 @ihclipse @zazasblogxx @candicxe @xjes @a97girl @john-lemons @rhiannon-the-troublemaker @qarhmn @amamkogr @callisen @hardygal69 @amontoya0110 @captstefanbrandt @meer0rauschen @emerald-bijou

[dontreadthistrashgarbage]

Pt.1

"Is that foreigner the manager from that viral video?" Byeongkwan wondered aloud as a new boy group and their staff hustled down the hall to their waiting room.

The other boys of A.C.E craned their heads to look after the receding backs of the rookies. "It has to be right? There's not exactly a lot of foreigners that work as managers." Chan said thoughtfully.

"What video? What?" Jun asked, clueless as to what his younger members were talking about. Seyoon and Donghun turned back as well as Byeongkwan pulled out his phone.

"This video went viral last week cause a sasaeng tried to grab a member but their manager stepped in." He pulled up the clip and showed it to his hyungs.

The video showed the rookie group making their way into a building when someone rushed up and grabbed one of the younger members, he didnt look to be older than maybe fifteen. Before the boy had any chance to react beyond an obvious expression of fear, a tall female foreigner with light brown short hair in a wolf style cut, and a very fit physique, stepped between him and the fan, forcing her grip to break. The manager didnt break step at all as she put her arm behind the boys to keep them moving, a quelling expression on her face as she maintained eye contact with the sasaeng for a few seconds before security stepped in to remove the troublemaker. The sasaeng had looked startled herself for a moment before becoming visibly upset at the interruption.

"Woah, awesome." Jun responded, eyebrows high, "That was so smooth."

"That was cool." Seyoon nodded in agreement and instinctively glanced up to see if any of the staff was still in sight, though they were long gone.

"She didnt get in trouble did she?" Asked Donghun with a slight frown.

"I don't know, she was just here so maybe not?" Byeongkwan shrugged, putting his phone away and also glancing down the hall again.

"She didnt get in trouble." The boys jumped, not noticing their own manager, Minseok, having come up behind them as they were watching the video, "Sorry, didnt mean to scare you." He grinned.

"Aaahhhh, you scared me hyung." Chan whined, rubbing his beating heart.

"How do you know she didnt get in trouble?" Donghun asked curiously.

"I've chatted with her in the manager room. She's an interesting person." Before the boys had a chance to ask what he meant he changed the subject, "anyway get ready to go, it's almost our turn." They wasted no time switching to work mode and moving out.

"To a successful third week!" Guerin called out, holding up her shot glass. The two other managers met her cheers and they all drank their soju.

"For you! It's only been one week for me." Minseok shook his head as he automatically refilled the shots for the other two. Guerin chuckled and immediately refilled his as well. Politely speaking it should have been Jinyoung's job to do that but Guerin was an enthusiastic foreigner so neither of then bothered to correct her this time.

"Well thanks anyway for meeting me out. It's been fun but very tiring!" She added, setting the soju bottle down, then picking out one of the many late night snacks they had ordered and munching happily. While officially working she kept her makeup and jewelry fairly neutral she took socializing as an opportunity to match her looks to her personality. Today she wore an orange lip stain with light orange and yellow on her eyelids. Her normal earlobe studs were replaced with fun mismatched dangling earrings drawing attention to the rainbow feather tattoo behind her right ear.

"Ya, why do you keep looking at your phone?" Jinyoung challenged Minseok as it buzzed again. It had been going off fairly frequently for the past twenty minutes.

"Is it your girlfriend? Tell her to join us! The more the merrier." Guerin mentioned through her chewing.

"Funny you should say that..." Minseok trailed off with a guilty expression. The other two paused to look at him, Guerin already with another bite halfway into her mouth. "Its not my girlfriend, but I've just been informed we're getting company."

Her expression quizzical, she shrugged and stuffed the large bite of food into her mouth. It turned out to be poor timing.

"Hyung!" A man's voice exclaimed, approaching their table. Guerin, with chopsticks still in her mouth, cheek bulging, peaked up to see three members of Minseok's charges, A.C.E, coming toward them. She dropped her chopsticks as Minseok and Jinyoung stood to greet the newcomers. "Oh shi-" she started in english stopping just in time and jumping up as well, hitting the table with a loud clatter. She covered her mouth as the others and some surrounding people looked at her and hurriedly tried to swallow while bowing apologetically. Now standing at their table with alternating combinations of hoods, hats, masks and glasses was Seyoon, Byeongkwan and Donghun.

Minseok and Jinyoung looked amused, Byeongkwan and Donghun seemed concerned and Seyoon had his standard smile in place as she managed to quickly choke down her food at greet them. Minseok introduced everyone in the meantime, before turning to them after everyone sat back down.

"Guerin? Isn't that a Korean name? Where are you from?" Byeongkwan asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm from America but my name is difficult for Koreans to pronounce so I chose a Korean name." Guerin explained.

"I was going to bring food back." Minseok said almost defensively to the trio of unexpected guests.

"We know we just didnt want to wait." Donghun said.

"We also wanted to meet your friends." Seyoon said, looking at Guerin.

"You've already met me." Jinyoung responded looking at them as though waiting for the full story.

There was a beat as Guerin looked around and just as she filled in the blanks Byeongkwan confirmed, "We wanted to meet Guerin."

"What? Why?" She asked, confused.

"You're famous." Donghun said before turning to Minseok, "Can we join you? Should we order more Soju?" Minseok sighed and nodded, signaling to the server and calling for more Soju.

"Let's order more snacks too." Seyoon piped up.

"Oh, please help yourself, eat as much as you want." Guerin gestured to the selection of food.

"They need to keep to their diet-" Minseok started and Guerin gave him a look, "They're healthy, active young men. They work hard and they deserve to eat."

Minseok rolled his eyes, he had heard this before. Jinyoung piped up jokingly, "She just wants to make them fat to decrease competition."

Guerin gave the same stern look to Jinyoung, "Excuse me I make sure my boys eat very well. I refused to allow them to be unhealthy for aesthetics. Besides. A splurge once in a while never hurt anyone." She finished the sentence with another mouthful of food.

Seyoon looked at Minseok, "Can she be our new manager?"

Byeongkwan and Donghun raised their newly filled shot glasses for a cheers the Guerin heartily joined with the three boys while Minseok and Jinyoung shook their heads pretending to be offended.

"We got a glimpse of that famous expression you made." Donghun said after the cheers.

Guerin set her glass down and proceeded to refill everyone's shot glasses.

"Ahhhh I see. You're talking about that video with the sasaeng." There was a reserved tone to her voice as she glanced at each of their faces to read their expressions. No one spoke for a moment as she waited for their confirmation and they struggled to find the words they wanted. "Please dont worry about offending me, you can be... ah what's the word I want? Frank? Direct? Honest? Straightforward? Aahhh informal?" She settled on the word she knew after floundering in English for a moment.

"Direct." Byeongkwan added helpfully.

"Yeah, exactly. You can be direct." She smiled taking another sip of soju.

"Did your company scold you?" Seyoon asked.

"Hmmm, not really? They understood my reaction but there was some negative feedback from netizens so we had a talk about what to do next time." Guerin frowned and took another bite of food.

"What were people complaining about?" Byeongkwan asked around a mouthful of food.

"Mostly that I looked scary or acted to aggressively. Honestly most of the responses were very positive and supportive. They saw I was trying to protect the boys. I was very touched by a lot of comments." She smiled softly glancing away with an almost shy expression. "I was really only bothered by the ones criticizing Seungbin for not standing up for himself." Her expression changed again as she frowned the shrugged and looked up.

"It could look bad to some that a man needs to be protected by a woman." Donghun added thoughtlessly. Both Seyoon and Byeongkwan looked at him in alarm. He immediately panicked seeing their expression and the raised eyebrows on Guerin, "I didnt mean it like that I just meant that's what other people migh-"

"I get it." Guerin finished her shot then indicated Donghun to fill her glass with a playful wink as he obliged looking guilty. Seyoon shoved him playfully.

"It was one of the sentiments. As a man he should have done something himself. For starters he's very young, he is only fifteen and a very slight frame at that. Even then, an idol has to be careful with their image, they cant be seen being rude to fans, even terrible sasaengs. Additionally they've just debuted, so not only is their image even more impressionable, but it's not something he has experienced before. He was frightened and shocked. There is no shame in that. Lastly, I used to work in security so my response wasnt planned, I just saw someone who was in trouble and reacted." She gestured to Donghuns glass encouraging him to drink with her. They clinked glasses and drank together.

"Noona, you're drinking a lot." Jinyoung nagged playfully.

She looked surprised, "It's just soju and I've only had about five shots." She looked at the alcohol content on the bottles and laughed, "this is nothing! I'm feeling very pleasant right now."

Minseok sighed, "Noona you sound like an old man." She stuck her tongue out at him in response.

"Maybe if you babies were better at drinking you wouldnt need to shame my talents." Minseok pretended offense and Jinyoung raised his hand with a fake attempt to smack. "Aaahhh see what happens." She teased him and he sighed and looked away, calling for another bottle of soju.

She turned back to the A.C.E members that had been digging into the food on the table, "I love seeing our kids eat well." She patted her own cheeks with a cute smile.

"AWW NO NOONA not your aegyo ugh." Minseok complained loudly.

"I didnt mean to aahhh it just happened I was so happy." She covered her face but couldnt hide her embarrassed laugh.

"Hyung no, it was cute!" Seyoon interjected.

"You only say that cause she wants to stuff you full of food!" Jinyoung interjected, "you wouldnt say that if you had to see that all the time."

Guerin smacked Jinyoung lightly on the arm and ignored him as he pretended serious injury, "yah, you heard him. I'm CUTE." She shot Seyoon a cutesy wink and peace sign and his smile froze in place before he shot back his own wink and finger hearts. Byeongkwan and Donghun jumped onto scolding him while Guerin held a hand to her heart, as she played along.

Once they finished goofing off Byeongkwan spoke up again, "Guerin-SSI-"

"Just call her Noona, it makes her happy." Minseok sighed, looking at his dumb foreigner friend as she shot him an exaggerated scrunched face smile before turning back to Byeongkwan.

"You dont have to call me noona if you dont want to. But you dont need to be formal with me, I prefer to be friendly." She clarified.

"Noona, you said you worked security? What was that like?"

"Ah! Yes! It was rad! It was awesome. I worked as an independent contractor so I did everything from bouncing at bars, to private events like wedding and fundraisers, or even big fancy events like fashion week." She pulled up a sleeve and flexed, flashing an impressive bicep and patting it proudly, "I liked the work, and I was good at it." She pulled her sleeve down, preening slightly at the impressed expressions on the faces of the men joining her at the table.

"Cool! Why did you stop?" Seyoon asked.

"Well I moved out here to teach English, but then I really loved it so I wanted to stay. A lot of security work here only pays well if you can be armed, but getting my license for that would be tricky because I'm a foreigner. So I wanted a job that would still let me help people but pay well and my friend suggested this to me." While she talked she served a piece of food to everyone at the table, gesturing that they eat more. "Now I just get my jollies by giving piggyback rides and challenging men to arm wrestle just to put them in their place. And also feeding babies." She teased, feeding Minseok directly as she said so.

"Ya." He protested around the food in his mouth.

"Shhhh baby, or I'll tell your boys how many times I beat you at arm wrestling." She said, posing cutely with her finger to her cheek and fluttering her eyelashes.

The table erupted in a mixture of approval and dismay, Guerin cackling at the response and ending with everyone doing another cheers and shot.

"Darn! We should have gone with you, she sounds cool." Chan said with a slight pout. It was the next day and they were all in the waiting room getting ready.

"She's just what Minseok said. Interesting." Seyoon nodded.

"Were a lot of foreigners like that when you lived overseas?" Jun questioned Byeongkwan.

"Not really. She definitely has taken up some Korean traits well but even then she's really forward and comfortable and..." he paused.

"Loud?" Donghun offered.

"Definitely loud." Seyoon nodded in agreement.

"Arent all foreigners loud?" Chan asked.

"Not as loud as me. Hi guys!"

"Noona!" Byeongkwan jumped up. Donghum and Seyoon looked shocked and embarrassed.

"Noona, we didnt mean it as a bad thing." Donghun said as he and Seyoon bowed. Chan and Jun bowed in greeting as well along with Guerin after she patted Byeongkwans shoulder fondly. She smiled in response.

"Not at all, I know I'm extra. It means I'm extra, I'm above and beyond the normal level. I'm not offended at all, most of all because it's the truth." She waved off their guilty expressions.

"Noona, this is Jun and Chan." Seyoon introduced the remaining A.C.E members.

"It's nice to meet you! You'll have to join us next time so I can feed you too!" She grinned at them, "You can call me Noona or Guerin, whichever you are most comfortable with."

"What brings you here?" Jun asked politely.

"Minseok said he was here, he left his airpods behind last night so I brought them to him, the lightweight." She joked.

"Stop talking trash behind my back." Minseok complained walking back into the room and handing each of the boys a beverage from the vending machines.

Turning to face him directly, "hello my favorite lightweight. You drunkenly left your toys behind after one bottle of soju but I'm here to save the day!" She held out his airpods, the pulled back abruptly, "hey wheres my drink?"

Minseok sighed, "Seriouslyyyy?" He whined and pouted lightly.

"Oh my god. No. So cute. Aahhhh." She handed over his airpods and averted her eyes, fanning herself. Minseok looked proud at his win for a fraction of a second before he met the gazes of all five A.C.E members.

"Hyung..." Jun said in shock.

"You've never..." Byeongkwan started. Seyoon and Chan just started giggling while Donghun visibly cringed.

"Oh you guys stop, it was cute. He did it for me cause I'm weak for that sh... that stuff." She pressed her lips together at her catch. "Anyway its time for me to head back to HEET. It was nice seeing you guys again, and nice meeting you Jun, Chan." She bowed and left.

The boys waited a moment before Chan spoke up, "Okay I think I see what you mean."

"She makes me feel like I've been in a pool too long." Minseok grumbled disingenuously before going to put his airpods away.

"I like her." Jun stated, "She seems fun."

The boys of A.C.E were surprised by the unexpected reception in the party room. As soon as the five boys entered there was loud cheering, shouts of "surprise!" And "congratulations!". For the first time since their debut they had finally gotten their first, second and third wins. It was an emotional time, and seeing so many familiar faces cheering them on didnt stop the tears.

Unexpectedly, outside of their usual staff and friends was HEET, Guerin (their manager) who had become more familiar and a second foreigner.

Guerin waited until last, sporting bright pink lipstick this time, then offered a hug of pride and congratulations to each of them that they accepted before she introduced her team HEET and her friend, "A.C.E, this is my friend Charlie." She grinned, "She works at the zoo as a vet intern, I've known her for a while and I think you'll get along."

The members were instantly interested, "The zoo?"

"That's incredible!"

"How cool!"

"Do you treat all the animals?"

Guerins pretty friend smiled shyly but proudly, her pink and purple hair standing out against her fair freckled skin. "I'm just an intern but I'm learning so much, and I'm getting a lot of hands on experience."

"Your korean is so good!" Donghun offered excitedly, smiling genuinely.

"What's your favorite animal to work with?" Jun asked, pushing past Chan and Donghun as Charlie blushed.

Guerin hung back, smiling proudly at her friend, Seyoon close by while his members grilled Charlie.

"It must be nice to have someone from a familiar culture close by." Seyoon said to the short haired woman, easily his equal in height.

"Yes! And she's amazing! I wanted to be a zookeeper too but..." Guerin's smile became somewhat forced, "Well, it didn't work out."

Seyoon didnt know how to respond to that. It was a public place and seemed like a sensitive topic so he said the first thing that came to his mind, "You should give me a piggyback ride."

Guerin almost choked as she was shocked into laughter, "A wh- you want a piggyback ride?"

"Yeah. We got our first three wins. You should give me a piggy back ride to the snacks."

Without any hesitation whatsoever Guerin offered her back, "Hop on the snack train."

Minhwan, the leader of HEET, saw her motion, "Noona no, please that-".

Before he could finish his sentence Seyoon had hopped on. If he had stopped to think for a fraction of a second he might have caught the panicked and frozen expressions of most of the other guests in attendance but there was a person to be cheered up and snacks to be had so he missed it until he had been dropped at the buffet table.

He was reaching for a plate to demand Guerin load it up for him as well before he caught the faces of those around him and hesitated. Guerin, however, either didnt notice or care as she took his plate. Seyoon watched as she loaded the dish with all kinds of foods, paying no attention to their caloric value or sodium levels before shoving it back to him.

"Here. Eat." Her face lit up with joy, from what he couldnt exactly tell. As she ushered him away he noticed she did the same thing for all the members of her group, loading them up with food and happily encouraging them to eat. HEET was a talented group from a new company, the boys had an age gap from 15 to 23 but all seemed well fed and athletic despite differing body types. Seyoon noticed these details through catching up with members from his own staff and munching through his heaped plate.

"So you've only been in korea for a year?" Chan asked in disbelief.

"Well, living here. I've taken language classes and visited Guerin while she was here so I knew I wanted to do more." Charlie looked shyly down, "I'm sorry, I know my korean isnt good."

"No, its amazing! You're doing so well!" Jun responded enthusiastically, "you must be excellent to be able to intern in the vet field!"

Charlie blushed and covered her face.

"Boys if you could let my friend breath that would be amazing." Guerin cut in.

"Ah, I'm sorry we didnt mean to embarrass you." Donghun turned polite as the three bowed apologetically.

"Just be nice to her. I know you have it in you. Chan, come here let me feed you." Guerin continued, dragging the maknae away toward the table where Byeongkwan hovered. Guerin wasted no time feeding up the two young men, ignoring any protests from Minseok about their diet.

"Can we make you a plate?" Jun asked Charlie, suddenly inspired.

"If you want to, if you're hungry too..." she trailed off, overwhelmed by shyness.

"We can share." Donghun said, stepping up with her and Junhee. Her face flushed a little at their proximity, they either didnt notice or didnt care.

As the party progressed A.C.E. made sure to make their rounds and thank their staff. Thrpughout the night Seyoon found himself with a desire to drift to Guerin over and over. Whether she was with Minseok or her charges or her friend he was drawn to her side. The downside is it often ended with what might be considered inappropriate interaction. Besides the piggyback ride she had given him, they had exchanged cringey aegyo to each other, clung to each other laughing and finally he had challenged her to arm wrestling.

"Really? You want to in front of everyone?" She asked with an expression of concern.

Seyoon waggled his eyebrows, "Loser buys meat."

"Oh, I guess we'll find out the limits of your food budget then." Guerin laughed.

Charlie didnt outright cheer Guerin on but she did let out a muffled laugh of anticipation heard only by Jun and Donghun who happened to be near her.

"Do you think Guerin can win?" Jun asked Charlie skeptically.

"Oh, yes. He might have a chance in leg wrestling. But Guerin focuses a lot on strength training. Dance will do a lot but..."

Donghun nodded, familiar with the concept from his period in the military. His psyhique had changed when it went from soldier to idol. Junhee nodded as well, a bit more idly as though he didnt quite buy it.

A table and chairs had been located as Seyoon refused to back down. The two contenders clasped hands and for a moment gazed directly into each others eyes.

Guerin inhaled and said quietly so only Seyoon could hear, "Ah, its cheating for you to be so handsome." After which she clinched her eyes shut and pressed with all her might. Seyoon, despite his surprise, recovered and fought against her as best he could but ultimately he lost.

Guerin was not a gracious winner. She stood up, both arms in the air and walked around the room to calls of support while Seyoon recovered. It was easier for him to pretend to wallow in shame than to acknowledge the flutter he had felt in his chest from her unexpected comment.

"Maybe he could beat you in leg wrestling!" Byeongkwan proudly shouted from the sidelines, completely uninvited.

Guerin paused for only a moment before Minseok put the kibosh on that idea. Guerin laughed and propped an elbow on the shoulder of her friend. "Poor Minseokie, I've been thwarting you all night. I'll have to respect your wishes at some point." She secretly felt relieved, the brief eye contact she had made with the younger idol had made her heart race and wasnt sure she wanted his legs on her like that... [lies] a traitorous part of her brain added. She quickly pushed the thought down.

"Minseokie, have you eaten? Let me feed you." She tugged playfully at his arm.

"Do you ever think about anything other than food?" He grumbled but passively went along with her.

"What else is there?" She joked as she lead him off.

Seyoon watched them retreat as Donghun, Charlie and Jun came up to him.

"It was a close match!" Charlie said politely.

"Are you okay? You look weird." Jun asked.

Seyoon gazed up at them forlornly, "You've seen how much she loves food. I'll need to get a loan to feed her meat."

"Oh yeah you're totally screwed." Donghun said with a nod.

"You might as well close your bank account now." Charlie said with feigned sympathy this time.

Seyoon groaned dramatically and sank to the floor, covering his eyes, "I was so looking forward to my first paycheck."

[thatwriterchickrachel]

Mysteries at Midnight - 25.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe; Chat Noir/Ladybug

Characters:

Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug)

Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug)

Alya Césaire

Adrien Agreste

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Nino Lahiffe

Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug)

Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)

Madame Bustier (Miraculous Ladybug)

Chloé Bourgeouis (Miraculous Ladybug)

Nathaniel Kurtzberg (Miraculous Ladybug)

Lila Rossi (Miraculous Ladybug)

Additional Tags:

dance au

Ballroom dance

College

Grown up AU

Royalty AU

Language:English

Read on Ao3   [for reliable updates please read on Ao3 I forget about tumblr]

Chapter 1                        Chapter 2 Chapter 3                        Chapter 4 Chapter 5                        Chapter 6 Chapter 7                        Chapter 8 Chapter 9                        Chapter 10 Chapter 11                      Chapter 12 Chapter 13                      Chapter 14 Chapter 15                      Chapter 16 Chapter 17                      Chapter 18 Chapter 19                      Chapter 20 Chapter 21                      Chapter 22 Chapter 23                      Chapter 24

Chapter 25 - Betrayed

Summary: Marinette runs late, a short but sweet coffee date, and of course, betrayal.

Marinette struggled to wake, her eyes stinging against the morning light. She took a moment, face covered by a pillow as the events of the night before flooded back.

Nathaniel was Dessinatuer; and Chat had denied her identity.

Marinette shot up from her bed, pillow flying across the room and landing with a soft thud. She had rung Chat… and Chat had recognised her voice. Surely, he didn’t realise though, Marinette reasoned running her fingers through her hair. He didn’t say anything once she had clarified; he had been half asleep.

“Yeah,” she mumbled to herself. “He was half asleep. He didn’t... he doesn’t...he can’t.” She put her head in her hands, breathing slowly until her phone beeped at her.

She stretched back to pick it up, it slipping from her hands as she read the screen in panic.

Alya: Girl, where r u? Classes r about to start

Marinette was up and running around the room, throwing on clean pants and a large jacket before stuffing a change of clothes into her dance bag and almost forgetting her phone, lying on the floor. She picked it up but it refused to come to her whilst the cord still held it to the wall. Marinette threw an apple into her normal bag and grabbed her keys before locking the door and rushing down the stairs, trying to tug her hair up into a decent ponytail, only to have her hair-tie snap.

With a groan, Marinette shook her head and pulled her hood over her face instead, hoping she didn’t look like a train wreck as she all but ran to campus. The bell rang as she reached the edge of campus, but the grounds were deserted, meaning she was now officially late.

“Marinette?” The soft voice broke Marinette’s jog and caused her to trip and land on her knees. The boy came over to help her.

“A-Adrien, hi,” Marinette replied, keeping her face angled down so he couldn’t smell her morning breath.

“You’re running late too huh?” he asked with a smile, trying to catch her eye.

“Yeah, I really gotta get moving,” Marinette said, repositioning her bag on her shoulder.

“Oh, right, sorry.” Something in his tone wasn’t right.

“A-are you okay?”

“Uh, well…” he hesitated but then shook his head. “You’re late and so am I, I won’t keep you.” He gave a small wave goodbye and walked towards his building but Marinette couldn’t help but follow him with her eyes. His shoulders were slumped and his hair didn’t look brushed. Hadn’t he had a photoshoot that morning though?

She couldn’t stop herself as she jogged to catch up to him.

“Let’s get coffee,” she said, mustering her courage.

“What?”

“We’re already latte for class,” she winked. “What’s another ten minutes?” she reasoned and there was a small spark in Adrien’s eyes.

“I think you’ve been hanging around Chat Noir too much,” he replied and Marinette felt her cheeks flush, “but coffee sounds good,” he finished with a smile.

Five minutes later they were sitting a booth in the café, hands wrapped around their drinks in silence.

“So… are you gonna tell me why you asked me out?” Adrien asked and Marinette looked up in shock.

“Wh-wha- I didn’t ask-” she stammered but he gave a good-natured chuckle.

“Relax, Mari. I was joking,” Adrien said, reaching a hand towards her but she pulled away a little. He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. Just a bad night, I guess. Had trouble sleeping,” Marinette replied before taking a long sip of her latte to stop her from confessing.

“Ah, seems we were both afflicted. Rough night for me too.”

“Is that why you skipped your photoshoot this morning?”

“What?”

“What?” Marinette asked quickly, realising what she had said.

“Why would you think that?” Adrien asked, his eyes searching hers.

“Um, well,” Marinette swallowed hard. “Your hair isn’t as… what I mean to say is… there’s no hairspray. It sits naturally today, and that’s not a bad thing,” she added hurriedly. “Plus, you haven’t got that… model look, today.”

Adrien raised an eyebrow. “Model look?”

“Well, no I mean, you always look good, and you are a gorgeous model, I just mean that, um, like, you aren’t wearing make-up or anything and you skin is natural too, like your hair.” She let out a sigh of defeat, she wasn’t saying it right. “What I mean is, you look- You don’t look like Adrien Agreste today. You look… normal; like a run-down college student.”

“Oh,” the boy sighed, letting his normally perfect posture slump as he rested his head in his hand, elbow on the table. “And here I thought I had everyone fooled,” he said with a sad smile.

“Hey, you probably do,” Marinette said with a kind smile, this time leaning closer to him. “I just know you’re been going through a lot, and this whole Volpina thing isn’t helping,” she added quieter.

“I’ll be okay, Mari. Chat and Ladybug perform this weekend. I guess for Volpina I’ll be the prize they compete for,” Adrien muttered.

“You know Ladybug would never think like that. Chat Noir either,” Marinette told him, reaching to his elbow.

“I guess you’re right,” he said, watching her hand wrap around his arm in comfort. He looked up at her, and it was clear this was the first time he was seeing her properly. “Did you, um,” Adrien struggled not to laugh at her. “Did you get dressed in a hurry?” he asked.

“Oh god,” Marinette pulled away from him again, hurriedly tugging her hood down to inspect it. She saw the polka dotted sock hanging from the collar and cringed as she shoved it into her dance bag.

“I woke up late,” she sighed after a moment, running her fingers through her hair, wincing at the tangles before giving up and twisting it into a bun, hoping that there would be enough strength to hold it there without a clip. It fell to her shoulders, of course and Marinette let out a small grumble about impossible hair

“I might be able to help with that,” Adrien said after it was clear her hair wouldn’t hold. He fiddled with his bag and pulled out a comb before offering to her.  Marinette took it hesitantly but smiled, tugging her hair out and beginning to comb it. The boy just watched, almost mesmerised until Marinette handed his comb back, feeling more than a little self-conscious.

“Everything okay?”

“Y-yeah,” it could have been the light but Marinette thought she saw his cheeks turn a little pink. “You just… You look nice with your hair down,” he stammered and Marinette knew her face was turning tomato red.

“You two have some explaining to do.”

The voice broke Marinette and Adrien’s moment, both of them looking up to see Alya, the girl almost fuming and Nino awkwardly standing behind her as people turned to look.

“Uh oh,” Marinette muttered.

“Uh oh is right, missy,” Alya said harshly as Nino ushered Adrien to the side. “What is this? Did you skip class? Were you two on a date?” Alya almost squealed and Marinette slapped her hands over her friends mouth, laughing nervously when the boys looked back at them.

“Oh my god, keep your voice down,” Marinette hissed. “This was not a date. It was-”

“Did he pay for the coffee?” Alya asked, eyebrow raised.

“No, we went halves, but Alya, that’s not-”

“Seriously, Agreste? This girl asks you for coffee and you make her pay for her own drink?” Alya said, raising her voice again as she turned to the blonde boy.

“Oh my god, Alya, stop! Shut up!” Marinette almost shouted, her cheeks flush, her heart now pounding with embarrassment.

“It’s not like that,” Adrien replied quietly. “I offered, she said no… is that… should I have…?” the confusion on the boy’s face was so innocent Marinette shook her head.

“No, Adrien, don’t listen to her. I appreciate that you offered, but it was my idea for coffee,” she said quickly, not wanting him to feel bad again. “It was only fair. Plus, I did offer to buy yours too, and if we hadn’t compromised, we never would have even had coffee,” she added with a smile that seemed to reassure him.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Marinette said politely, turning to Alya, fury in her eyes as she grabbed her bag and Alya’s arm, dragging both out the door of the café and around to the back of the building. It had started raining at some point, but Mari didn’t mind, at least not yet.

“Look, I was late because I had a bad night last night, and when I got here, Adrien was late and he seemed so upset. I just had to try and cheer him up… and it worked, he’s not so glum anymore.”

“What happened last night?” Alya said after a moment, pulling her umbrella from her bag.

“Well, I got home from Adrien’s and-”

“Back up! You were with Adrien yesterday?” Alya’s eyes were wide.

“Well, yeah I went to surprise him. He said he was bored and stuck with homework so I went over to keep him company,” Marinette glossed over the details of their study, talking briefly about his comments on her project and how that boy was really obsessed with anime.

“Alya?” The girl had pulled out her phone a few seconds before and was now frozen staring at the screen, umbrella tipping to the side.

“M-mari… The Ladyblog was hacked,” Alya said quietly.

“What!?” Marinette took the umbrella from Alya, covering them both as she saw the post.

"This was posted to the Ladyblog this morning." Alya muttered as she tapped on the picture. It was a photo of her design for Ladybug's dress, the image clear as if someone had held her notebook when taking the photo. Marinette felt her stomach churn and knot itself. She had only finished that sketch two days ago.

"H-h-how? How did they get this? How did it get on the blog? You are the owner of the blog, only you can approve posts, Alya!" Marinette's voice began to rise in panic.

"Someone got in, they must have someone found out my password," Alya sounded on the verge of tears. "Ladybug is never going to trust me again,” Alya said after a moment, her hand hands dropping to her sides, her phone slipping into a puddle.

“She's going to think I did this," Alya heaved a huge sob and Marinette put her hand on her friend's shoulder after picking up the phone and wiping it off.

"Ladybug will understand, trust me," Marinette rubbed her thumb into her friend’s shoulder trying to soothe her as she struggled to contain her panic. Someone had gotten their hands on her design book and been looking for it. Someone who knew she was designing for the competitions. Someone who needed something for Volpina…

Marinette felt herself seethe as she caught a flash of red hair pass the alley they were standing.

"I'll see you in class," Marinette managed to get out before storming off in the direction the hair had gone.

~~~~~~

“Whoa, babe, what’s wrong?” Nino asked as Alya shuffled back into the café, her umbrella open and trailing behind her, tears streaming down her face and her phone clutched in her fist.

“Alya?” Adrien stood and helped close the umbrella while Nino lead his girlfriend to the booth. “Where’s Marinette?”

Neither Nino nor Alya seemed concerned with the girl’s whereabouts in that moment, only the image on Alya’s phone. Adrien took the phone gently from her hand and looked at it.

It was a beautiful design of a red and black ballroom dancing gown, no doubt Ladybug’s dress for the tango competition. Adrien saw the signature in the bottom fabric of the dress and felt anger surge through him as he saw the intricate MDC signed like in every other page of Mari’s book. Someone had access to Marinette’s design book, something she held so precious to her.

The caption beneath the image read:

A bug can’t change their spots, and with a dress like this, it’s no wonder they won’t make it far this weekend. Looks like Madame Bustier doesn’t know much about fashion or dancing. The secrets out, Ladybug. Now everyone knows how disappointing you truly are.

Adrien had to pass the phone back before he threw it across the room. Once he had calmed himself, he realized what Alya was so upset about.

“Ladybug is never going to trust me again,” the girl sobbed.

“Babe, Ladybug trusts you. She knows you would never do this. She’ll understand,” Nino reassured, his arm around her shoulders. The boy looked to Adrien and he stuttered.

“Y-yeah, Alya. Nino’s right. I know Ladybug,” Adrien said, sitting across from them and reaching out to Alya’s hand clutched around her phone. “If there is one thing I know, it’s that Ladybug will not hate you.”

The girl’s brown eyes looked up at him, her glasses slightly fogged; but he could see she knew he meant it. After all, she knew he was Chat Noir, and no one knew Ladybug like Chat Noir. She nodded slowly and calmed herself before gasping.

“Mari! Oh god, I just left her, she’s gonna hate me!” It was as if Nino and Alya had only just noticed her absence. “It’s her design, I’m so stupid. She’s probably devastated! I have to go find her,” Alya said, struggling to get up with Nino blocking her in.

“Alya, she is a big girl. She’ll be ok-”

“Marinette!” Alya cried, clambering over her boyfriend to go to her friend who had just re-entered the café, looking tired and deflated. “Mari, I’m so sorry! I didn’t even think about how you would be feeling about this!” Adrien could hear the hiccup in her voice and shot Nino a look but he was already up and leading Alya back to the table as tears sprang from her eyes again.

“It’s okay Alya, it’s not your fault,” Marinette said with a small smile as she followed them to the table. Adrien could see something else in her eyes though. Disappointment, maybe?

“Hey, are you okay, Marinette?” Adrien asked as the dark-haired girl slid in beside him, her hair damp and sticking to her face.

“As okay as I can be,” the girl sighed, resting her head on the table in defeat.

“Where did you go?” Nino asked as Alya sniffed beside him.

“I… I needed a moment, and then I thought I saw Dessinatuer but it was some other kid with similar hair.” The girl groaned.

“You remember his hair?” Adrien asked in surprise. “Do you remember anything else about him?”

“Vaguely,” Marinette replied after a moment, pulling her face from the table. “I mean, I met him one night at the club with Chat Noir… How do you know about Dessinatuer?” she asked after a moment and Adrien froze. Was he not supposed to know?

“He’s friends with Chat Noir and Ladybug, remember?” Alya chimed in quickly, her voice surprisingly level. “Plus, he follows the Ladyblog. It’s no surprise.” Adrien shot her a grateful look.

“Oh, right,” Marinette sighed before her phone beeped. “Ah crap. We are gonna be late for dance class, c’mon guys.”

“Are you girls sure you’re okay for class? I mean, we don’t know who or where Volpina and her assistant are,” Nino said, standing and stopping the girls from rising.

“Nino, I appreciate your concern, but if Ladybug and Chat Noir aren’t backing down, we can’t either.” Adrien swore Marinette’s eyes shot to him as she spoke.

“Okay, fine. But if you don’t feel it, don’t dance,” the boy insisted and Alya pushed his glasses back up his nose.

“Thank you for your concern babe, but we can take care of ourselves.”

Adrien swore he heard Nino mutter something along the lines of ‘sometimes I wonder’, but it was lost in the noise of people getting their last orders before rushing off to class.

The girls picked up their bags and Adrien and Nino followed suit, only as they filed out of the café, Adrien found himself in step with Alya, Nino and Marinette behind them. The rain had stopped, but the dark clouds were threatening more to come.

“This is so not good,” Alya said quietly to him. “Do you think Ladybug knows?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, but you know she would never blame you for this,” Adrien reassured.

“Volpina is causing more and more trouble though, what are we going to do?”

“We don’t do anything. We leave it for Ladybug and Chat Noir. We look out for each other but at the end of the day, Volpina has her reasons for going after Ladybug, and only they can stop it.”

“I wonder why she chose Ladybug,” Alya wondered aloud, and Adrien bit his lip. Even if he had decided to tell Alya, now was not the right time.

Adrien held the door open to the room for Alya and let Nino and Marinette follow; but before they entered the class properly, Adrien grabbed Marinette’s hand.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, eyes boring into hers.

“Yeah, I’m just annoyed. Someone got to my sketchbook, someone I trust. I feel betrayed… but honestly, I’m a bit more concerned about Ladybug’s costume now,” she added with a smile, though whether it was real or not, Adrien wasn’t sure.

“Okay, well, you can always come over and watch anime if you feel like you need some inspiration or something. I’ve got a ton you can choose from,” he added with a smile as they walked into class together and Marinette laughed in reply but it was drowned out by a shriek.

“Adrikins!  What are you doing with her!?” Chloe screeched.

Confused, Adrien took a moment to realize he still hadn’t let go of Marinette’s hand. He loosened his grip, but it was Marinette who pulled away, her cheeks red as she tried to slink away to get changed.

“Stay away from him! Everyone knows you only cause bad luck; I mean, look at poor Ladybug’s reputation! And that hideous costume you designed for her! I wouldn’t be surprised if Ladybug dropped you and squashed you like you deserve,” Chloe continued.

“Chloe, enough!” Adrien snapped. “She’s having a tough time as it is. There is a reason Ladybug is her friend and not yours. You need to stop being so rude,” Adrien frowned, and Chloe’s mouth fell open.

“How dare you! I’ll have you know Ladybug and I are extremely good friends! We’ve hung out multiple times, and I have the selfies to prove it,” she boasted.

“Are you two close enough to know Ladybug’s identity?” A new voice asked. Lila had helped Marinette escape to the change rooms and had come back to taunt the blonde.

“Not even that stupid alley cat she hangs around with knows. Ladybug is smarter than that,” Chloe tried to defend herself.

“So you don’t know, then?”

“Of course not. Do you?” Chloe was fuming now.

“Well we have been friends for, like, ever; so yeah,” Lila smirked. “I’m the reason Ladybug even exists.”

“Is there an issue?” Madame Bustier’s voice echoed through the hall. All the students looked up surprised at the red-haired woman who rarely raised her voice.

“No, Madame; I don’t have an issue at all,” Lila responded innocently.

“Mademoiselle Bourgeois?”

Chloe was silent for a moment, still visibly fuming. “N-No Madame.”

“Good, now partner up and let’s get ready for today’s lesson,” Madame Bustier instructed and all the students were silent as they followed up. Adrien almost speechless at what had started, but his hand was still warm from Marinette’s.

Shaking his head, he hurried to change and begin the lesson.