#and i was told to be counselor and instructor at the same time

[theloveinc]

i'm honestly not as tired as yesterday but i thought this dumb camp couldn't hit me any harder...... i was so fucking wrong

work beat the crap out of me today so to my two anons... responses will be delayed ... i sorry!!!

[bluejaysandblackbats]

The Flames That Burn The Brightest

Fandom: DC Comics, Titans (Fab Five), Arrowfam

Summary: Donna Troy is working as a teacher at a high school, and to her surprise, she comes face-to-face with an old flame who just so happens to be the new guidance counselor.

Chapters: 3/?

Characters: Donna Troy, Roy Harper, Jade Nguyen, Lian Harper, Garth of Shayeris, Dick Grayson, Wally West

Relationship(s): Past DonnaRoy, Past CheshRoy

Additional Tags: Teachers AU, No Powers AU, Donna Troy-centric, Platonic Soulmates Dick & Donna, Parent Roy Harper, Lovers to Friends, Friends to Lovers, Romantic Fluff, Reunions

Chapter Three: First Day of School (Donna's POV)

I started my day an hour earlier. Waking up before the sun gave me time to think. Introduce myself to my students, reviewing the roster, and my lesson plans for the first week. It was all I could think about. High school. I was in my late twenties, struggling to redefine myself, and Garth mentioned something about a shortage of instructors at his school. He made the kids sound so sugary-sweet. I told him to count me in before I had time to think. But I’ve done nothing but think about it since then.   I used to photograph models for a living. Teaching teenagers wouldn’t be anything like that. 

I fed Figaro dry cat food and a little bit of raw salmon before I made my breakfast. He looked up at me with his big gold eyes, probably confused about our early breakfast time. “Eat up, Figgy. Today’s a special day,” I whispered. I tried to hope for the best, but I was frightened. 

He rubbed his cheek against my ankle. It’d been the two of us for a while. The tea kettle whistled, and I poured the hot water over my silicone tea bag. I made the blend the night before—hibiscus and orange with tiny tinges of green tea. I didn’t take sugar in my tea. I used a spoonful of honey and a drop of lemon. I twirled my tea with a spoon before taking it to my bedroom. I lay my outfit out on the bed before taking my towel and caddy to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and showered. My morning routine was strict. I did everything in the same order for over a decade. Make my tea piping hot, brush my teeth, shower, moisturize my face, check my emails, curl my hair, get dressed, and do my stretches while I watch one of my VHS tapes. I watched the same ten movies on VHS in my living room. Dick hates it. This morning, it was the 1996 Romeo and Juliet . I rarely watched the whole movie in one sitting, but this morning I had extra time.

A fitting choice, because I’d be teaching first and fifth-period freshman English classes. My main subject was Photography. Garth said the principal would let me structure the class however I wanted to. My alarm went off shortly after the credits rolled, and I grabbed my bag, camera, and keys. It was a fifteen-minute drive across town, and it took every second of those fifteen minutes to prepare myself for the walk to the front office. Garth was on the phone when I arrived, so I checked my mailbox and headed to my classroom. I spent the better half of two months decorating it and rearranging my seating charts, so I was proud to see my vision perfectly actualized. I placed a syllabus on every desk along with an icebreaker worksheet. Garth stopped by and knocked on my door. “Hey, Donna. I had a little something for your first day. It looks great in here by the way,” Garth smiled as he hugged me and set a little box on my desk. 

“Can I?” I asked. Garth nodded excitedly as I opened my gift. It was a little blue walkie-talkie that hung from a lanyard. It was a lot like the one I had when we were kids. “Oh, Garth, you’re too much.” I laughed as I put it around my neck. 

“Just a reminder that you’re among friends,” Garth smiled, “It works. Oh, and—.” He plugged in the charger and set it on my desk. “I almost forgot to give it to you.” 

“And look… Here’s the best part. You can change the settings depending on the range you wanna reach,” Garth explained as he showed me on his walkie-talkie. “Have you seen Roy yet?” 

Roy? Garth never said anything about Roy being there. Not once. “You didn’t say Roy would be here,” I whispered.

“I didn’t? Do you guys have a problem with—?”

“No, I just—. I had no idea he worked here. Did you mention it to him at least?” I questioned. I loved Garth. Don’t get me wrong, but… How could he glaze over something like that?  

“Um… No… I meant to, but we had summer tryouts for sports and conditioning… He’ll be here late today. Are you guys gonna be okay working together?” Garth asked. 

“Uh-huh. Yeah, we work—. We’ll work great together,” I stammered. Garth nodded. 

“Dee wants to have you for dinner this weekend if that’s okay,” 

I nodded and smiled. “I’d love that,” I answered. 

Garth left me to set up. The first bell rang half an hour later. A few freshmen poured in, instinctively looking at the board for the seating chart. “Good morning, I’m Ms. Troy… And like most of you, this is my first day here,” I smiled, “Welcome to English 9.” 

One of the boys in the front started poring over the first few pages of the syllabus. I nodded. “Ms. Troy, what is your policy on food in the classroom? It doesn’t say anything about it in the syllabus.”

“It’s first period, so I’m sure some of you missed breakfast. Don’t make a mess and there won’t be any issue… Oh, and no nuts,” I answered, “Great question, Luca. That being said… Do you guys want to do the syllabus first or the icebreaker? Show of hands. Everyone who wants to get the syllabus out of the way raise your hand.” 

I had an alright group of kids for the first class. The kids seemed like they were half-asleep, but they did their best to participate. “Okay… Icebreaker it is! Feel free to walk around—.” 

One of the girls came up to me and asked me if I had a pet. It was one of the questions on the worksheet. “Yeah, his name is Figaro,” I answered. She smiled and nodded as she wrote ‘Ms. Troy’ on her worksheet. 

The icebreaker perked them up while I set up the slideshow for the syllabus. “Pass them up and return to your desks,” I gently commanded. After we settled, I explained the classroom rules, and we wrote a journal based on a prompt. Some of the kids read theirs aloud. One of the girls wrote a compelling short story about a bird that people-watched. It was a solemn tale of loneliness and miscommunication. It was a beautiful start to my teaching career. 

The dismissal bell rang, and I let them leave. During that time, I immediately set up the next class’s syllabi and seating chart. Photography . My wheelhouse. I looked through my photographs and smiled when I came across a photo of Garth, Roy, Wally, and Dick when we were kids. A candid picture of their happy faces from a simpler time. I had several copies of that photograph. It was one of my favorites. The guys had the same picture. We’d been through so much together. A few of my students poured in. All different ages and one of them entered holding a teddy bear. I quietly sat in the seat in front of them and tapped their desk. “Hi, I’m Ms. Troy… You must be, Adrian. How are you today?” I whispered. They nodded.

“D—? Do I have to put him away?” they whispered. I shook my head. 

“I’m nervous today, too… The icebreaker isn’t graded. It’s just something you can do if you’re comfortable. It’s not for everyone,” I reassured them. They handed me a note. 

“I’m a boy… My dad’s still getting used to it, so he calls me a she a few times… But—.” 

I looked at him and nodded. “Understood… Should I read it now?” I questioned. 

“Mhm,” Adrian whispered. I smiled and nodded. 

“I’ll give you some space while I read your father’s note at my desk. Is that alright?” I asked. Adrian nodded.

[twopoppies]

Hi Gina! I need your help to find 3 different fics, I tried by myself but I guess I don't remember enough correct details, 'cos ao3 tags are not helping! 1 Louis works at a summer camp every summer and he has some sort of epiphany when H grows into himself. 2 They are both boxeurs and they hate each others. I'm pretty sure they're training to the World Champs. Or maybe the Olympics?? 3 They are in two different bands and L accuses H of having stolen a song from L. It's a 90's AU. Thank you!

Okay. I think this might be the first one:

Like an Endless Summer by objectlesson (E, 87K)

You just wanna go fawn over Styles as soon as possible,” Zayn grumbles.

“I do not. Plus, he probably got ugly this year. Eighteen is an awkward time...I bet he’s got acne and one of those terrible fuckboy haircuts all the hipsters are getting these days, with the shaved sides? Just watch, the first year we’re gonna get any time together is gonna be the first year I don’t have a stupid crush on him.”

---

Or, Louis is a riding instructor at a summer camp, and Harry is a fellow counselor who he’s been successfully managing his crush on for the last two summers. That is, until Harry shows up this year leveled up and lethal, and all Louis’s formerly perfected veneer of nonchalance melts like a popsicle in the sun.

Link is to a download

The second I don’t think I know. And I believe the third is this one:

Remember Me Fondly by kiddle (M, 74K)

“You’ve told the beginning of the story so many times. I want to hear the end.”

Louis laughed, scratching at his chin. “I can’t say I really know when the end happened.”

“How about the tour of ninety-five?”

“Alright.” Louis took a deep breath. “But it took a few steps to get there. What would you like to know?”

Penny cleared her throat.

“How did you first meet Harry Styles?”

Grunge legends Fearless Doe topped the rock charts in the ‘90s, but they spent the decade kicking Smudge off their heels. From lawsuits to jaw-dropping scandals and a surprising joint world tour, the two bands share a complicated history.

Twenty-five years later, frontmen Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are finally ready to sit down and tell the world their two sides of the same story.

Truth may vary.

Anyone know the second fic they’re looking for? Or have a different opinion on the other two?

[starstwinkleplanetsshine]

Daughter of the Sea

A note about this chapter--- I have been writing this fic for a very long time. When I started writing it, the show had not come out yet. Because of that, you'll notice I use the book descriptions of all the characters. That being said, I want to make something very clear: Leah Sava Jeffries IS Annabeth Chase and she always will be. She is not only beautiful, but radiates the raw power, strength, intelligence, and cunning that we love about our Wise Girl. Rick chose her for a reason, and she is my Annabeth. My choice to write with book descriptions and not TV descriptions has nothing to do with her. Thank you for understanding <3

Chapter Six: My First Dream (Read on AO3 here)

Most days, my training went like this: Cadence training me with throwing knives, climbing the lava rock wall (I could usually make it to the top without being burned, and even if I was, apparently Poseidon kids are resistant to fire, which was a plus), taking monster-fighting and Greek history classes, and practicing sword drills with our strange sword instructor, Quintus. Every few days Chrion would take me down to the beach, or the lake, or the creek, and teach me how to use and control the abilities given to me by my father. Most of the time, he just ended up drenched, but he always told me I was “doing a good job” and that I had to “remain patient.” 

Whenever I asked if Percy had a hard time learning to control his powers, the centaur simply told me to not compare myself to my brother. That was a pretty hard thing to do, though, since he seemed to be the best Halfblood at camp, maybe even the best in the last few centuries, according to the way people spoke about him. It was clear that everyone was nervous for whatever battle might be coming, but at the same time, most people seemed to have unwavering faith that if Percy was involved, they had nothing to fear. And if it was Percy and Annabeth, whoever that was, everything would be okay. 

I was just coming back from one of those training sessions with Chiron when two girls came running up to him, their faces painted with worry. One I recognized as Clarisse, head counselor of the Ares Cabin, all decked out in battle gear and holding her electric spear. The other was a beautiful girl I knew as Silena, head of the Aphrodite Cabin. 

“Annabeth is back.” Clarisse said, although I could tell by the sound of her voice it wasn’t the good news it should be. 

“And the rest of her companions?” 

They both shook their heads, and the centaur took off without another word. 

By the time I had caught up to Chiron, he was standing at the bottom of the hill in front of the Big House, talking to a beautiful blonde girl with gray eyes. And from how red and puffy they were, I guessed she had been crying. I assumed she was Annabeth, and a pit formed in my stomach. 

“--so loud, and then everything started shaking and I ran for my life. I was back in the Labyrinth, and by the time I turned around to go back for him, the tunnel entrance had collapsed. I tried for hours to clear a path, but it was no use. I didn’t know what else to do so I…” she started to get choked up again, “I came back home.” 

“You did the right thing, my dear.” Chiron placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. “Percy is a capable hero, if he is able, he will find his way back.” 

“What do I do now?” A small crowd was beginning to form around the pair, and the centaur looked around nervously. 

“For now, we wait. Wait for his return, and whatever happens, we go from there.” 

Annabeth nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. 

“But for tonight, you need rest.” She nodded again, and I just then noticed how horrible she looked. I mean, she was obviously pretty, but she looked like she had spent the last week and a half sleeping on the ground. She had twigs and leaves stuck in her hair, her fingernails were short and caked with blood, and there was dirt smeared on every bit of exposed skin. Gently, another camper with gray eyes put their arm around her and guided her back towards the cabins. As soon as the confused crowd had dispersed, Chiron turned back to me. 

“I think it best we give Annabeth some time before introducing you two.” He spoke as if a million other things were running through his mind at that moment. 

“What happened to Percy?” 

The centaur sighed. “Annabeth and Percy were sent by Hephastus to fix a problem in one of his forges. When they got there, the trouble was bigger than they previously thought, so Percy sent Annabeth away to deal with something else. He chose to face the biggest threat alone, due to his abilities and skills. Next thing she knew, Mt. St. Helens had its biggest eruption in decades, and she couldn’t get back to Percy. For the moment, he is lost.” 

I stared at him in shock. 

“Are you saying he…my brother…caused a volcano to erupt?” 

Chiron nodded. 

“Is that something I can do, too?” 

The centaur shook his head, looking defeated. 

“It’s something you should never do, and something I’m sure Percy did by accident. I shudder to think of the consequences this will have.” I could see by the look on his face that this was not a time to joke. 

“He’ll be alright though, won’t he?” 

Chiron met my eyes, and his expression was sad. “We can only hope, my dear. We can only hope.” 

And with that, he climbed the hill to the Big House, leaving me on the lawn. 

The dreams started that night. 

I opened my eyes to a bright blue sky dappled with white clouds, birds flying over my head. I could feel tropical breezes blowing past and hear the crashing of waves, and sitting up, I saw a sight ten times more beautiful than I had imagined. Stretching out as far as I could see was a gorgeous lake with yellow sand. It looked like an ocean, it was so big, but something inside me told me that it was fresh water, not salt. A new party trick from my dad, I guessed. 

I looked behind me and saw tiered gardens going all the way up a hill, a grove of impressive cedar trees, a lush meadow, and at the top, a large cave. There were all manner of beautiful flowers and trees growing on the hill, and the scent drifting down was intoxicating. The whole thing looked like something you would see on a postcard with “wish you were here!” scribbled onto the back. 

I stood up and immediately could tell something was wrong. All of a sudden, the sun hitting my skin was too bright and every inch of me started to burn. It started as a tingling, then moved to a dull pain, and then a searing, as if white-hot flames were engulfing my body. I tried to scream, but no sound came out, and so I did the one thing I could think of—I ran into the water. I ran until I was up to my neck, and as soon as I did, the pain vanished. I stood there trembling, wondering where the pain had come from, when I saw movement on the beach. 

About a hundred yards away from me, a girl about my age was walking down the hill towards a shape on the sand. She was gorgeous, with a simple, greek-style white dress and her caramel-colored hair in braids laced with gold. Even from so far away, she radiated beauty and goodness. I strained my eyes and tried to see what she was walking towards, but it wasn't until she bent down over the figure that I realized what it was—

A body. 

I felt a jolt up my spine and a gasp escaped my lips. Don’t ask me how, but I knew immediately that it was Percy. Even from this far I could see a mop of dark-brown hair, the same shade as mine, and I could see how tattered his clothes were. He looked like someone who had just got blown out of a volcano, which, apparently he had. I had no idea how he could have survived, or made it here, or where here even was, but I was sure of one thing: my brother was alive, and he was safe. At least for now. 

The girl was just about to place her hand on his forehead when she stopped and slowly turned her head around. She seemed to be searching for something, and in a terrifying instant I realized she was searching for me, like somehow she knew I was there. 

Her eyes were just about to land on me when I woke up. 

I ran as fast as I could to the Big House. I had no idea what time it was, but it was light out and I saw a few of the Apollo kids already up and starting their day, but not many other people were milling about yet. I didn’t even know where to find Chiron, since it was so early, so I just went to the main room where most important meetings happened, the same place I popped out of the fireplace. 

I swung open the door and was surprised to find it already occupied. 

There, sitting in his wheelchair so that he looked like a mortal, was Chiron, with a very tired Annabeth sitting on the couch across from him. As soon as the door opened, they both looked at me. 

“Percy is alive.” There was probably a better way to say that, but it was too early to think. 

“Who are you?” The gray-eyed girl looked like she was about to slice me open with the knife strapped to her belt. 

“Annabeth, this is Angie. She is, umm, Percy’s sister.” Chiron’s voice was tired, as if he hadn’t slept well, either. 

Annabeth's mouth fell open in shock. 

“His what?” 

“She arrived at Camp a few weeks ago, two days after you went into the Labyrinth.” He told her about my arrival, and about what Hestia had revealed to us. He didn't once stop to ask if I wanted her to know my life story, but he must've thought she needed to know. 

“Percy is going to freak out.” Was all she said after a long silence. 

“What is it you need to say, Miss Jackson?” Annabeth flinched a bit at my last name. 

“Oh, right. I had a dream.” They both perked up. 

“Go on.” 

I told them what I had seen, about the island and the girl and Percy lying on the beach. I saw the briefest hint of recognition flash across Chiron’s face, but he kept his mouth shut. Annabeth looked very confused. 

“I don’t understand any of this.” 

“Neither do I.” I admitted to her. “But I just have this feeling…I know he’s alive.” 

Annabeth looked at me questioningly, as if she wasn’t sure what to think of me yet, but didn’t say anything else. I stood there awkwardly until Chiron cleared his throat. 

“Thank you for telling us this, Angie. If you get any more of these dreams, please let me know. But for now, Annabeth and I have more to discuss.” 

“Oh, yeah, right. Sorry about that. I’ll leave you to it.” 

The last thing I heard as I closed the door behind was Annbaeth’s voice, and it sounded like she was fighting back tears, 

“She looks just like him.”

[pagesoflauren]

Meet Cute: The Copy Machine

feat. history teacher!Ari Levinson x teacher!reader

Summary: Ari is mad at the copy machine. Luckily, you're an expert.

Warnings: fluff; mentions of serious injury to the hand

A/N: Here's the first installment of Meet Cute :) I had fun with this one.

What is this series?

Suggest a character/scenario

Masterlist

The temptation to kick the copy machine is strong, but Ari knows that if he breaks it, the cost to repair it–or worse, replace it–will come out of his paycheck. 

Being a history teacher already paid less than being an agent. He wasn’t even a full-time instructor; he taught an elective class for upperclassmen on Jewish History & Social Issues. 

Most of them were punks, but they still worked hard. He had heard from student wellness counselors that he was well-liked because of his laid-back demeanor. 

Currently, he was anything but laid-back as the copy machine gave him an error sign and beeped in protest at anything he did. 

He suspects he’s been grappling with this monstrosity of a copy machine for nearly ten minutes and his patience is wearing thin. He sets his hands on the sides of the machine, hangs his head, and lets out a growl of frustration. 

“You shouldn’t do that,” a voice comes from behind him. 

Looking over his shoulder, he spots you in the doorway. 

He hasn’t had much of an opportunity to talk to you other than a formal introduction and a nod of acknowledgment as you pass him in the hallway. 

You had been standing out to him, though. He liked your smile and your reputation precedes you; sometimes the students who needed extra food to tide them over during the day could find it in the top drawer of your desk. 

“The copy machine can smell anger. Also, I don’t think it responds well to anyone trying to assert their dominance over it.” 

Ari gives a laugh, though it’s diluted by his anger so it comes out half-amused. 

“Well,” he turns and steps aside. “Any ideas on how to get it to please print out the quizzes I have for my next class?”

You set down your mug and walk over, studying the screen and pulling the paper drawers open. Then, wedging your thumbnail into the edge of a button, you push it to the side slightly and press it down with another finger. 

Suddenly, the copier hums to life and begins to churn out Ari’s needed papers.

“How did–?”

“This button’s finicky,” you tell him. “It needs to be in the right position to work.” 

“That’s all I needed to do?” he asks incredulously.

“Yeah. I’ve been trying to get the administration to get a new copy machine for the past year and a half but nothing’s changed.” 

“Damn bastards.”

You laugh, beginning to exit the room and sweeping up your mug on the way. “Your words, not mine, Mr. Levinson.”

“Ari,” he offers. “Call me Ari.” 

Nodding, you smile at him. “Okay, Ari.”

He likes the sound of you saying his name. 

“How does being a teacher compare to your previous employment?” 

His time as a Mossad agent was the talk of the faculty when he first arrived and he wasn’t eager to share anything about his experience. If he told a story once, he would have to tell it again at least a dozen times. 

With you, though, the words come spilling out. “It’s a change of pace, for sure. But still thinking on my feet. Every class is different, you never know what’ll get thrown your way.” 

“Yeah, these kids are quite the curveballs. Do you miss it, though?”

He looks down.

“I’m sorry,” you begin, “I shouldn’t have asked–”

“No, it’s okay. Guess I gotta talk about it sometimes,” he cuts off your apology, eyes tacked on his left hand as he holds it up and opens and closes his fist. 

The ghost of pain is still there and he remembers how it looked right after the incident, though he blinks away the image. 

After surgery and PT, he wasn’t the same agent anymore; he didn’t have the same abilities as he did before. 

“I miss it. It was really hard to accept it.” 

“I can imagine,” you say gently. “It’s frustrating whenever something doesn’t end on our terms.” 

Before this conversation, Ari wasn’t able to generate the proper words to describe his anger towards the situation. He tried to make analogies, tried to find a famous example of it, and failed every single time. 

And there you stood, watching the copier spit out pieces of paper for his class. 

He feels warmth crawl up his neck, over his cheeks, and settle in his head. His heart flutters and he can feel the sting of a proverbial arrow in the dead center of his back. 

Oh, shit.

The bell rings faintly outside the teacher’s lounge and you look towards the sound, the movement making Ari snap out of his daze as he stared at you. 

You sweep up your coffee mug. “Oh, gotta go. I’ll see you around, Ari.” 

His feet carry him to the threshold of the copy room, watching you as you cross the teacher’s lounge to the door and disappear into the busy hallway. 

The feeling in his chest gives way to an ache and Ari purses his lips before laughing to himself. He’s teaching at a high school and having a high school crush on his coworker. 

You’d see him around. He’d make sure of it. 

Permatag: @caffiend-queen @fckdeusername @lou-la-lou @bangtan-serendipity @stargazingfangirl18 @lovemarvelousfics @rainbowkisses31 @richonne4life @damnndeanndamnn @meetmeatyourworst @tinyplanet-explorer @vivien-1211 @unknownmystery22 @nerdygirl8203 @xoxabs88xox @mariaenchanted @gotnofucks @denisemarieangelina @myoxisbroken @kelbabyblue @pspice639 @maynay43 @just-another-wretched-egg @jennmurawski13 @avantgardium-leviosa @random-butterfly @rachelderivia @kenzieam @bluemusickid @asiaaisa77 @angrybirdcr @inactivewhore @velvetcardiganbucky  @madbaddic7ed @mysweetlittledesire @omg-mymelaninisbeautiful @buckymydarlingangel @mayasreadingnook 

Chris tag: @onetwo3000 @patzammit @astheworlddturns @inlovewiththefictionalcharacters @maeleeme @tvckerlance @thiskindahotkindamusic @fizzahocleirigh @marantha @justile

[mooniefics]

bye bc i have not been able to get the thought of like,, you working as the candidate manager for the warrior program (aka glorified babysitter / school counselor) and reiner slowly falling for u over the years

—  you’d first met him around a month after he returned from paradis, after he was finally debriefed and given countless ideological assessments, and he was just exhausted by the time he was finally allowed to see his family again but he still woke up early the next day to go with gabi to training. he saw how happily gabi greeted you, how warmly you smiled back, and he thought that if anyone was taking care of his little cousin over the years he was gone, he was grateful that it was someone who came off as nicely as you did.

—  your first conversation initiated after gabi dragged him over by the arm and introduced the two of you herself, but you didn’t get to speak long before you all had to go your separate ways. the way you tucked a piece of gabi’s hair behind her ear and gingerly wrapped your arm around her as you led her off to her classes for the day makes his heart flutter.

—  you two made small talk when you ran into each other, sometimes talking about the kids, sometimes talking about yourselves, nothing terribly personal, but he always found himself feeling much lighter after he got to see you.

—  reiner accompanied you once when you chaperoned the kids’ recreational time in town and sat on the bench beside you while you both watched them all play around at the park you usually took them too. your voice was soft and affectionate as you told him that you sometimes forgot that they were just children, letting it slip that you couldn’t help but feel disheartened that they had been made to grow up so fast. you were worried that he, the one revered as the most loyal warrior, would report you for disrespecting the methods of marley, but he only sighed, smiling sadly as he replied, “me too.”

—  one day when the kids were training, you and the warriors were standing to the side watching them, discussing casually amongst yourselves as you watched them run laps with all their gear. on the last go around, udo fell flat on his face, and before reiner can even turn to see your reaction, you were already running over to make sure he was okay. the exercise instructor forced you to wait for udo to make it to the end on his own, but as soon as he reached finish line, you rushed him away into the main school building. when you didn’t return for a few minutes, reiner ventured in to see where you’d gone, he found you both in an empty classroom—you kneeling in front of udo, handkerchief in hand, gently wiping the tears and dirt from his cheeks and telling him that he had done a good job, that everybody makes a mistake once in a while, that he was just as capable as the other candidates. he stood beside the door, listening to you comfort udo, feeling his own eyes watering as he did. he wished he had someone like you when he was young.

—  the first time the two of you had a proper, in-depth conversation was the evening that the mid-east allied forces had declared war against marley, the only two left at the privacy of his quarters, sharing the last bottle of wine leftover between yourselves. the facade of perfect patriotism that you had both been careful to maintain had dissipated, whether because of the alcohol or because of the gravity of such impending doom weighing at your hearts. he’d learned that you’d been apart of the warrior program yourself, an unselected trainee in the class just a year below his own. you told him that was how you’d managed to secure yourself this position, but he said that it was much more than that, that you were a natural at a position that require such patience and compassion. the way your lips had turned up into the smallest of smiles made his cheeks flushed. 

“i heard the war is going to be mostly naval. i doubt we’ll have to worry about any of us being shipped out to fight any time soon.”

you took a long sip from your glass, finishing off what remained, taking in a deep, pensive breath. “god forbid they send any of those kids away to the battlefield. god forbid they send you away.”

“me?” he said after a moment of silence, an odd sort of tightness cinching around his heart and lungs, squeezing tighter with every fine detail he noticed in your sorrowful expression—warm eyes filled with sympathy, mouth drawn down into a delicate frown, brow slightly knitted.

“you’ve seen enough. you’ve gone through enough, more than anyone should have to go through by themselves.”

reiner felt a lump beginning to form in his throat, an almost tangible ache echoing through his chest. that was the first time someone had ever told him that before.

—  despite the worsening tension of war, reiner saw that you were just as cheerful as ever with the kids, bringing them sweets and desserts you made yourself when you got the chance, taking them out on their weekly outings and making sure they were doing alright just as normal. but he could see the way your face would shift when one of them piped up with something regarding the current battle being waged, spouting out the same propaganda he’d been force-fed for his entire life. you would only smile, patting them on the shoulder or rubbing their back, responding with a simple assertion that you were sure marley’s troops were doing great out there before changing the subject

“they’re so young. sometimes i forget they’re only children.”

your words from the park bench flitted across his mind, the words that you silently spoke when your eyes widened at gabi’s proclamation that marley’s glory would forever prevail, or when your lips pursed briefly at the four of them squabbling over who would inherit which titan.

“they’re too small to be holding such big weapons. those rifles they give them are taller than they are. it’s.. it’s...”

perverse? distressing? horrible? it was all of those things, and so much more. but you saw it. you didn’t egg them on like porco or zeke, you congratulated them without drenching it in more and more lies. you didn’t see them as soldiers-in-training, you didn’t see them as warriors, you saw them as they were. as children. you cared for them like he did.

—  when the time came, you were shipped off to fort slava alongside the warrior unit, your training and your extensive experience working with the candidates for the past five years serving as the justification for your necessity. though reiner had wished to be around you more often, he didn't at all enjoy it in this context. seeing you in a full soldier’s uniform, skin dusted with dirt and gunpowder, a helmet that only seemed to have more and more dents and scratches in the metal with each day that passed—it felt so incredibly wrong. you didn’t belong in the trenches of war, and yet he still saw you running about every morning, previously soft hands becoming roughened and scarred, growing thinner and thinner from the stress and minuscule rations that were barely enough to get everyone through the day. and yet you were lively, still tending to the kids and attempting to give them a space away from the warfare outside when you could all retire to the unit’s dugout at night.

—  one night, reiner had woken from his sleep and was too restless to return to it, unable to ignore the distant sounds of gunfire and shouts from outside, staring up at the ceiling from his bunk and allowing himself to drift away into his thoughts. he remembered all the nights he’d spent like this in his own home as a child, barely able to force himself to sleep for a few hours despite knowing that he had another long day of training ahead of him. but he turned over on his mattress at the sound of soft murmuring, the sound of sheets shifting and the quiet protest of the flimsy bed frames squeaking. in the dimness of the lantern that sat at the foot of gabi’s bunk, he saw you seated at her bedside, looking down at her as you spoke.

“are you okay? do you want me to wake up reiner?”

he couldn’t make out gabi’s mumbled response, but he saw the small silhouette of her head shaking from side to side on her pillow.

“i know he’s been looking tired lately, but i promise that he won’t be upset if we wake him up for a moment.”

another unintelligible reply from the young girl just barely occupied the air. a part of him wanted to step out of his bunk and see what she needed, but another, more persuasive thought kept him still, laying silently, watching on to see how you would tend to her. he knew that gabi admired you deeply, the fact that you’d managed to win her over was something that impressed him, but at the same time didn’t surprise him at all. he couldn’t imagine how anyone could dislike someone as gentle and thoughtful as you.

“you’re a big girl, gabi, so am i. but that doesn’t mean we don’t all need a little bit of help sometimes. it’s scary out here, and i’m so proud of you for holding your own out there. it’s okay to be scared.”

you were quiet for a moment, allowing for gabi to speak, a hand reaching out to gently stroke the side of her head and run through her hair. a quiet, genuine laugh slipping from you when she concluded.

“i promise i won’t tell anyone. i’ll get back to my bunk as soon as you get back to sleep. deal?”

he caught the end of an affirmative nod from his cousin, and the two of you fell silent. you stood for a moment to tuck the covers around her, sitting back down and returning to your soothing motions, looking almost like a dream in the glow of the soft illumination at your side.

he realized in that moment what that feeling in his chest was, the one that made his throat tighten just the slightest bit, that made him feel light as air for those few fleeting moments before the spell of you in his gaze was broken by some menial interruption. but the interruption didn’t come this time, nothing to remind him to bury his feelings and not ruminate on them long enough to figure out exactly what they were. he had been running from this revelation for far too long, and he knew exactly why—because it would be unfair to burden you with these feelings that he knew he shouldn’t have.

he loved how you made him feel. he loved seeing how cheerful you were even when it was too early in the morning for him to even be properly awake himself. he loved seeing how you smiled when the children hung onto you on your days out. he loved that you could see the appalling indoctrination of marley’s military might on it’s citizens for what it was. he loved how you saw him for more than his failure four years ago. he loved how tender you looked stroking his younger cousin’s hair, assuring her that you wouldn’t leave her until she was fast asleep. he loved you, honestly and wholeheartedly.

it was a selfish desire, a longing that he would have to keep to himself for your sake. but, in moments like these, where the vision of having something more seemed so close to his outstretched grasp, the thought of sharing his final years together rather than in a respectful coexistence, he found it so difficult to resist temptation. 

if only he had more time.

24 / 7 reiner brainrot. i have an unfathomable amount of love for this man ( ; ω ; )

[kookie-doughs]

Y/N L/N AND THE HALFBLOODS

Percy Jackson X Reader -Y/N L/N met Percy Jackson and everything was now ruined.

CHAPTER 8: I Really Hate Water

The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur. Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth and sometimes Luke, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache. The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. I had struck around with Percy the whole time unless it was dinner time or night where I spent with Luke. Chiron tried to teach Percy and I archery, and we found out pretty quick he wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. He didn't complain, even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail. It was hilarious. While I on the other hand, could compete against Merida and Hawkeye with wining in favor of me. Foot racing? He sucked. The wood-nymph instructors and I left him in the dust. I told him not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods. But I guess, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree. And wrestling? Forget it. Every time he got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize him. Luckily I took some martial arts class back then and stood some chance against her. "There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble. The only thing he really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur I guess. But hey, He's better at canoeing than me. I don't even know how I drowned all the time. Percy had to save me a couple of times. I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching us, trying to decide who our Olympian parent was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. I was as strong as the Ares kids, or as good at archery as the Apollo kids. I have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork, luckily I didn't have Dionysus's way with vine plants. Luke told me Percy might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But I got the feeling he was just trying to make him feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either. Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real parent. Nothing came. I tried not to think too much about my mom and dad, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save them, to bring them back.... Even D/N would do...

I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my parent, whoever they were, make a phone appear? Thursday afternoon, three days after we'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor. We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good. The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long. Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me. We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be Percy's partner, since this was his first time. And then my turn after his, so I had to train with another kid from the cabin. "Good luck," one of the campers told us. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years." "Maybe he'll go easy on me," Percy said. The camper snorted. By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea. I turned to talk to Percy and he had done the same. "Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo." I wanted to try going against Luke as well. I wasn't confident with my skills. The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in his shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used Percy for a punching bag. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon. "This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique." He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of his hand. "Now in real time," he said, after Percy had retrieved his weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?" He nodded, and Luke came after him. After a while of clashing, Percy tried the disarming maneuver. His blade hit the base of Luke's and he twisted. Clang. Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of Percy's blade was an inch from his undefended chest. The other campers were silent. He lowered his sword. "Um, sorry." For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak. I had a huge grin on my face. I had no idea why, but I was proud. I was so close on giving him an encore and all that. "Sorry?" Luke's scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!" I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted. This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor. After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?" Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword... ." My time with Luke wasn't as amazing as Percy's was but I wasn't that bad. Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover and Percy at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall. Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, but the lava had almost gotten me. Percy and I's shirts had smoking holes in it. The hairs had been singed off our forearms. We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, I was resting my back on Percy's since I felt like any moment they'd drown me. Percy then ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D. His face turned a sickly shade of yellow. "Fine," he said. "Just great." "So your career's still on track?" He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?" "Well... no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask. "He just said you had big plans, you know... and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?" Percy said. Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete." "Well, that's not so bad, right?" "Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest... and even if you did, why would you want me along?" "Of course I'd want you along!" Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving... Must be nice to have a useful skill." I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. Percy and him talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods. Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins. "Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad." "Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?" Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job. When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos." "Zeus, Poseidon, Hades." "Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what." "Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld." "Uh-huh." "But Hades doesn't have a cabin here." "No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that." "Why though? What would children of Hades do then? How would they fend themselves?" "I-I don't know... Its not my idea not adding Hades!" He shrieked as if he was at fault and felt guilty. "But Zeus and Poseidon—they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?" Percy changed the subject. Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx." Thunder boomed.. . . . . .. I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make." Grover nodded. "And the brothers kept their word—no kids?" Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo—he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia... well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter." "But that isn't fair.' It wasn't the little girl's fault." Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill." He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where we'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill." I stared at the pine in the distance. The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. "Grover," Percy said, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?" "Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini." "And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?" "No. Never. Orpheus came close... . Percy, you're not seriously thinking—" "No," Percy said. "I was just wondering. So... a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?" I looked over to him warily. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems." "And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special." Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were—you know—you'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?" I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than us. "What about me?" They looked at me. "Chiron said you didn't know I was a half-blood..." "We didn't. When you didn't forget who... Mrs Dodds was. We thought you just saw through the mist. Then when I saw you with Percy that night... and your parents aware of me and the camp. I assumed you were... a half-blood." "How about now? What do I smell like?" He looked at me gingerly then at Percy, "Nothing. You smell too human. Even for a very minor god. That's why there are plenty of satyrs then are confused as to why there's a human here. That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual. At last, it was time for capture the flag. When the plates were cleared away, the horn sounded and we all stood at our tables. Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head. I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?" "Yeah." "Ares and Athena always lead the teams?" "Not always," he said. "But often." "So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do— repaint the flag?" He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one." "Whose side are we on?" He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And Percy's going to help." The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded—shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities—in order to win support. Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped. Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem. That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet. Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble. "Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxide shields coated in metal. "Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?" Luke looked at me and laughed. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here—Chiron thought these would fit. Do you want to be border patrol with Percy or come with me?" I smiled at him, "Tempting offer but I think I'll stay with Percy." "Your lost." He smirked then ruffled my hair. I went over to Percy who was holding a shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. Our helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes. "Looking at real good." I laughed. He frowned at me. "Like you look that different." "I am sporting this helmet just fine excuse you." I said picking up a dagger from the table. Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!" We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north. Percy and I managed to catch up with Annabeth without him tripping over my equipment. "Hey." She kept marching. "So what's the plan?" Percy asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?" Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something. "Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?" "Border patrol, whatever that means." "It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust. "Okay," he mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team." "I don't want to be near the creek." I said anxiously. "Maybe I should just go with Luke..." Percy then took my hand. "Since when have I ever let you drown? Don't worry. I'll be there for you." He smiled. With a pout and a worried look I stuck out my pinky said, "Promise me." "I swear I will never let you drown. I will save you with all I can." He swore connecting our pinkies. "Everyone knows pinky promises are better than Styx." We laughed and made our way to our station not letting go of each other's hands. It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed us next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees. The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong. The leather grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball. There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right? Far away, the horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory. I lied down on the ground. "This is so boring." "Stand up, who knows when an enemy will show up." He scolded pulling me up. "I don't know... I think I'd rather shrivel and die." I shrugged. "Plus I know I got a knight in shining helmet to save me." "I mean yeah of course you do." "Luke's like few meters away after all." I smirked. He turned to me with a frown and a 'not funny' face. Which made me laugh. Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by. I stood up and Percy pulled me behind him as he raised his shield instinctively; I had the feeling something was stalking me. Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating. On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark. "Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed. Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords—not that that made me feel any better. They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run and leave Percy. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin with no more than 9 inch dagger and Percy Jackson. I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. They surrounded me and Percy, while Clarisse thrust at us with her spear. Percy's shield deflected the point. My hair stood on end. "Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric." Percy groaned and I pulled him back. Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt. They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing. "Y/N!!" Percy yelled but he had a sword pointed at his throat. "Give her a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab her hair." I managed to get to my feet. I raised my dagger, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now my arm numb. "Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared." "The flag is that way, let her go!" Percy told her. "Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guys who made our cabin look stupid." "You do that without my help," I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say. Someone took a hold of Percy so the sword was no longer pointed at him. Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise arm, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shish-ke-babbed. As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut. Seeing my own blood made me dizzy—warm and cold at the same time. "No maiming," I managed to say. "Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege." "Y/N!! I will kill you all!!" He was thrashing around. "Let her go! She can't swim!!" "It's fun seeing your girlfriend suffer ain't it?" Clarisse laughed. The guy finally pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash. They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die. I was sinking. I couldn't breathe. The water was pulling me for what felt like 10 meters deep. Blood were coming out at every wound I had. I was loosing consciousness. Help me. Please... -With Percy- Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get you, but you weren't there. "Hey, she's missing?" One of the cabinmate said. "What? It's like 3 meters deep. She's just there." Clarisse scoffed. "I's telling you she's can't swim! Water pulls her down! I will kill you if she doesn't survive!" Percy managed to get power from somewhere and got out of the hold. He knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water. Then he jumped down. Hoping to see you somewhere. Muttering your name over and over in hopes to catch you. Save us He heard from his right. When he turned he finally saw you at the bottom. He swam with all could and got a hold of you. To haul you up. Finally surfacing, Percy panted and laid you of the ground. Pumping your chest. When the water finally came out of your mouth. Percy turned to glare at the people. Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. He slammed one in the face with his shield and used his sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, he caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig. "Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!" She probably would've said worse, but Percy smacked her between the eyes with his sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek. -Back to you- Coughing myself awake. Water came out of my mouth. "Percy..." I called. He turned so fast that I was surprised his neck didn't snap. "Y/N!" He ran to me and pulled me in a hug. I couldn't move, I felt tired and weak. "I want to sleep." I could feel my wounds stinging. Cold air hitting it. I felt sore despite barely moving. Then I heard yelling, elated screams, we both turned and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse. "A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick." They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the horn. The game was over. We'd won. Percy carried me still with an angry expression and tense body. I wanted to reassure him but I knew it wouldn't work. Luke looked over and saw us. I could see his sudden shift of emotion. He wanted to approach but he was surrounded by every cabin. We then heard Annabeth's voice, right next to us in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero." I wanted to turn to see her but I couldn't. I could barely keep my eyes open. "Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head. She was now in front of us. I felt Percy tense up once more. "You set us up, You put us here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out." Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan." "Because of you, Y/N is like this." The venom in his voice were obvious. "I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help." "I didn't. But Y/N did! And what did you do?! She could've died!" Percy was shaking. I could feel it. "Calm..." I managed to whimper. "What's that?" Annabeth pointed at Percy's neck. "A sword cut, obviously." "No. It was a sword cut. Look at it." The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared. "I—I don't get it," Percy said. Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at our feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy." "What—" "Just do it." He came out of the creek and immediately I could feel myself better. Percy almost fell over, but I managed to hold him. "I got you." I panted. "Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus... ." Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest. The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "Stand ready! My bow!" Annabeth drew her sword. I drew my dagger and pushed Percy behind me. There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers. It was looking straight at me. Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, Y/N, run!" She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her—an enormous shadow with teeth—and just as it hit me, I was pushed aside as Percy stumbled backward and its razor-sharp claws ripping through his armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. "Stop that!!" I screamed and somehow managed to grab her. She turned to me sharply and stared me down. As if she was waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump me. It approached me and settled down at my feet, sitting down as if she was an obedient dog. She watched as I catch my breath. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet. By some miracle, I was still alive, and wasn't even hurt. I instantly turned to look uat Percy. His chest wet, and I knew it was badly cut. Another second, and the monster would've turned him into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat. Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim. "Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't... they're not supposed to... How did..." "Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp." Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone. Clarisse yelled, "It's all Y/N's fault! Y/N summoned it!" "Be quiet, child," Chiron told her. We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared. "You're wounded," Annabeth told Percy. "Quick, Percy, get in the water." "I'm okay." "No, you're not, Y/N get him to the water," she said. "Chiron, watch this." "No... She doesn't do well in water..." Percy choked. I carefully swung his arm around my shoulders and without thinking twice, I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around us. Instantly, I felt weak. I could feel the pulling me down. Some of the campers gasped. Percy who could barely stand few minutes ago got a hold of me. I could feel my consciousness loosing once again. "Look, I—I don't know why," Percy said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry... But I need to get out of here. Y/N---" But they weren't watching Percy's wounds heal. They were staring at something above our head. "Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um..." By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident. "Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good." "It is determined," Chiron announced. All around us, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it. "My father?" Percy asked, completely bewildered. "Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earth shaker, Storm bringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God." Percy looked down at me. I wasn't sure what but I had the feeling it was somewhere along the lines, 'I am the reason you drown every time you step on water.' "You're claimed..." I managed to squeak. Percy stepped out of the water. "Congratulations." I smiled weakly.

Previous | Masterlist | Next

UwU Here's another chapter I am sorry for some holes in the story -kookie-doughs

Taglist?

@gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @the-natureofme @booknerd-3000

[majesticbrownjawn]

The Best Man

Things get complicated when the best man looks like him ⬆️ But probably not complicated in the way you’re thinking.

Oldie from Wattpad. ‼️Chris=Erik‼️ I ain’t feel like going thru and changing his name. Deal with it. I wrote it with Erik in mind though. Enjoy boos❤️

——————————

His hands unashamedly gripped her ass, making her jump in shock.

"We can't do this Chris..." her voice faded out in the most unconvincing way, letting him know she was enjoying the moment as much as he was. When he pressed his lips against hers, she kissed him back, forgetting where she was and focused on his tongue entering her mouth. Ms. Johnson was quickly brought back down to Earth when her phone started vibrating in her hand, reminding her it was almost time for the mother/son dance. Sanai was a stickler for things being on schedule and wanted everything to be perfect for Bryan's big day, which to her meant keeping to the strict time table she mapped out.

She finally broke away from the younger man, staring him down with a frustrated look before disappearing into the large crowd of people to find her pursuer's best friend and the groom--her son.

***

Sanai Johnson was a woman with a plan, well, at least since she had become a mother at the age of 16. She fell in love with her son's father, August, and she thought he felt the same until he disappeared six months into her pregnancy. He was from the other side of the tracks, the "right" side. His parents were wealthy and he had earned a scholarship to a prestigious university a few hours away. When he finally showed up fours years later begging for Sanai to take him back so they could be a family, it was way too little, too late. From the moment he stepped back into their lives, he proved to be a great father to Bryan, and that was all she wanted from him. He on the other hand, had just stopped confessing his love for her just over a year ago before their son's 25th birthday--when he showed up to Bryan's party with a woman who looked just a few years older than the birthday boy himself.

It was funny, after all these years of refusing him, Sanai was actually contemplating giving August another chance and then he shows up with with some young girl. Oh well, she thought. She had bigger fish to fry, like planning the wedding she never got to have. It's not that she couldn't have gotten married in the past or sometime in the future for that matter, she was still in her early 40s, but could easily pass for someone a decade younger. She'd loss count of all the times people mistook her for Bryan's sister. Her buxom figure, glowing skin and beautiful features added to her appeal, but she always fell just shy of being completely confident in her appearance.

Where she lacked confidence in the physical, she made up for it in business and street smarts. While August was doing God knows what those four years in college, she graduated from high school early and started working at a museum. Little did she know she'd fall in love with art history and would later become one of the most sought after and well paid art curators in the country. She got to where she was by working hard and staying focused, which for her didn't leave much room for romance.

The wedding weekend had finally come and the guests had started to arrive at her large estate. She planned a series of events designed to make the large 250 person guest list feel a little smaller. This first event, brunch, was purposely hosted at her home to make everyone feel a little more comfortable mingling and getting to know each other.

"Chris!" Bryan was ecstatic to see his best friend who was more like a big brother to him. He flew across the foyer and embraced Chris, who he hadn't seen in almost three years. The two met when Bryan was in the 7th grade and Chris was in the 10th grade at a basketball camp. Chris was Bryan's counselor and the youngster immediately took to the older boy, following him around and following his lead in almost anything he did, except when Chris moved to China. Ms. Johnson wasn't having that. Both men studied business at the same university and started learning Chinese in high school, continuing through college. After graduating, Chris decided to take a job in Beijing making just under seven figures at a budding tech start-up.

"It's been too long, man." Chris was just as excited to see his friend, but was always more reserved than him, being careful to save his energy for just the right time. He knew this weekend would be full of exciting and possibly emotionally draining moments, so he decided to ease his way in.

"So your mom got it like this now? No wonder she invited the wedding party to stay here. This place is massive." He looked around absolutely impressed with his surroundings.

"I know right? When's the last time you've seen her? Like right after I graduated?"

"Yea--high school, I think. Maybe when you moved into your dorm freshman year."

"Well, she's around here somewhere. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. Let me show you where you'll be staying."

***

Sanai was the kind of woman who always had things under control, but her son's wedding had her out of sorts. She was so hell-bent on everything being perfect that she was stressing about every little detail. She did a self-check about 30 minutes ago, realizing her worries were affecting the time she was having, so she took a couple mimosas to the head to take the edge off.

After settling in, Chris made his way back downstairs and gave himself a tour of the home. Along the way, there was a woman who he couldn't stop looking at from afar as she weaved in and out of the crowd. The red dress she wore was what caught his eye first. Then as he closed in on her, her familiar smile pulled him in, making him wonder if he and Bryan went to college with her because she seemed to know a lot of people here. He approached her from behind, placing his hand on the small of her back and leaned into her, introducing himself.

"Hi, I'm Chris. Do I know you? You look so familiar." When she turned around and he finally got an up close look at her, he immediately knew who she was. "Ms. Johnson?"

She smiled and answered, "In the flesh." Instead of letting her go, he froze, still holding her close as she now faced him.

"Uh, uh--it's good to see you," he finally spoke up, his arm still holding her tight. "You haven't aged a day. You're so...beautiful," he blurted out. It was like he was seeing her for the time. In a way he was, this was his first time seeing her as a man.

"Thank you, Chris. It's good to see you too," she replied blandly, gently patting him on his chest, trying to release herself from his grip. Despite trying to get away from him, Sanai certainly noticed what a handsome man Chris had become. She was on the taller side for a woman, but he easily towered over her at 6'4". His frame was full, with just the right amount of grown man thickness she liked. The rest of brunch Sanai was slightly distracted by Chris, partly because she was so shocked at how much he'd grown up and also because she thought she caught him watching her. It was probably just her imagining things.

That night after dinner at the house with the bridal party, Sanai was cleaning up the living area when she felt a quiet presence enter the space.

"Can I help, Ms. Johnson?"

"Oh, please call me Sanai, you're grown now, Chris."

"Ok. So tell me Sanai, what's your secret?" She looked at him confused. "I meant what I said earlier. You haven't aged. It's incredible. You look incredible." He didn't try to hide the fact that his eyes couldn't stop taking her body in.

She blushed at his comment but tried her best not to act phased by his repeated mention of her looks.

"Well, you certainly have changed."

"I hope that's a good thing," he smirked. "How are you dealing with Bryan getting married? I assume it can't be easy to let go of your only child. And you're single, right? I'm sure you've thought about how lonely it may get, him not being around as much."

"Bryan has been on his own for a while now. I'll manage."

"How?"

"How what?"

"How will you manage, Ms. Johnson?" His tone seemed a bit suggestive, but she figured maybe it was the wine she drank playing tricks on her.

He was, of course being suggestive in the slightest way. His immediate attraction her earlier today threw him off initially, but that wasn't going to happen again this weekend. He decided everything else he'd say and hopefully do to her his weekend would be very deliberate.

"I mean, I'm sure you have needs, right?" He moved closer to her, so close that she had no choice but to look at him As his tilted his head sideways at her seductively.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"I think you know exactly what I mean, Sanai." Chris' hand slowly traced up the side of her body, carefully following the curve of her hip upwards, stopping just below her bust. She watched his hand closely, allowing his touch to send a shiver up her spine.

"Your behavior is so inappropriate Chris." She said it so sternly that he momentarily forgot he was a grown ass man now who could pursue her without worrying about getting in 'trouble.'

He lifted his hands in surrender and openly watched her as she nervously cleaned up a few more things before heading upstairs. He noticed the way her breathing picked up when he touched her. The goosebumps on her arms told him she enjoyed his hands on her, despite her calling his actions "inappropriate." Chris laid in the bed that night, thinking about her and trying his best to ignore the nagging feeling of his dick hard-pressed against his shorts. The hornier and unsatisfied he was, he figured, the more persistent he'd be about getting a taste of Ms. Johnson.

***

The following afternoon, the bridal party gathered in the foyer of Sanai's home to learn the tango for the reception. After the instructor paired everyone up, Sanai noticed Chris was missing, but remembered he didn't have a partner because as the best man, it was his job to walk the grandmothers and her down the aisle.

"Looking for me?" She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"No, Chris. Why would I be?" She figured if she acted like she was uninterested in his attention that he'd leave her alone. She had another thing coming though. The more time Chris spent in her presence, the more his desire for her increased. Even if he wasn't able to see straight through her hard-to-get act, it wouldn't have stopped him from doing all he could to get her.

He bent down and bowed, lifting his hand to hers, "May I have this dance?" He grabbed her hand but she quickly yanked it away.

"Come on, don't be like that, Sanai."

"Maybe you should call me Ms. Johnson after all."

"I'll call you whatever you want. Just dance with me. Please." He was a little surprised when she took his hand and stood close to him. He took the lead, already familiar with the sensual dance. His hand rested low on her back and he used it to push her lower half into his. Front to front, Sanai could feel Chris' bulge brushing up against her as they moved across the foyer.

"You know I had a crush on you back in the day right?" He whispered closely to her face.

"Excuse me?" She cackled at his comment but he pulled her closer, feeling like she'd walk away from him at any second.

"Honestly, I wasn't even tryna be Bryan's friend at first when we were kids...I just needed an excuse to be around you," he continued. "You were just so creative and kind. I didn't know a mother could be so damn beautiful." Sanai blushed at his memory of her.

"I used to love to come over so I could see you walk around the house in those baggy t-shirts with no bra. Watching you in them little ass shorts had me on hard every time. I can't tell you how many times I had wet dreams about you, Ms. Johnson."

Sanai could feel Chris' excitement pressing up against her. Wisdom urged her to break away from him, but her body begged her to stay put. It had been so long since she allowed a man to be this close to her. And he just smelled and looked so good.

"Are you serious? Why are you telling me this now?" She shouldn't have asked, but her curiosity and her attraction to him was getting the best of her.

"Because it's the truth...and because I always fantasize about being close to you, just like this." The pair was face to face, their foreheads pressed against the other's. Lucky for them, no one would think anything of it because the tango called for that intimate positioning.

"You always fantasize? Or you used to?" She asked her question while looking him square in the eyes.

"Can I cut in?" Bryan's father looked at Chris suspiciously for a moment before taking Sanai's hand and trying to shake off the notion that his son's best friend was doing what it looked like he was doing—pushing up on Sanai. Their interaction would have looked innocent to the average person, but August recognized game when he saw it. He stayed close to Sanai the rest of the day just in case his suspicions about Chris were correct.

***

Hey, can you come downstairs for a minute please?

The text came in to Sanai's phone after 1 a.m. that night.

Who is this?

Guess 😈

I don't have time for games. Who is this?

It's Chris. I want to apologize.

Sanai made her way downstairs cautiously, as not to wake anyone in the house. When she laid eyes on him, she immediately knew she was in trouble. Chris wore a pair of silk pajama pants that left little for her to imagine about how girthy he was and the way his arms looked in the wife beater he wore was already doing things to her.

"He's Bryan's best friend..." She reminded herself as she approached him.

"Do you always talk to yourself?"

"Don't be cute, Chris."

"I hope I'm cute to you."

"I thought you want to apologize for your behavior?"

"Oh yea, I do." The pair was whispering trying not to wake anyone, especially Bryan. It would be hard to explain why they were down here whispering at this hour. Her home was large enough that no one would have heard them anyway, but that fact eluded them both in the moment. "Is there somewhere we can talk without having to whisper?" he asked.

She looked him over trying to decide if she could trust him being alone with her. He'd been so bold the last few days.

She decided she probably couldn't trust him, but still answered, "Sure, follow me."

***

So there are three, maybe four 🤔completed parts to this miniseries but the series itself isn’t completed. Hopefully posting this here will motivate me to finally finish it (it’s been like two years 🥴) I know y’all are waiting on Delicte part 4. Wrote on it some tonight and plan to have it up in the next week. Thanks for reading🖤

[kwanisms]

Tales from Camp 09

«« previous || masterlist || next »»

➮ artist!Minghao × art instructor!Reader

wc: 5.5k

summary: Minghao knew what he was getting himself into when he signed up for a figure drawing class. What he didn’t know was how the instructor would affect him, distracting him from his drawing.

genres/themes/au: fluff, smut; non idol au, camp counselor au, artist au

warnings: adult dialogue, female reader, sexual content (18+ mdni), smut warnings under the cut!

a/n: sorry it took so long to finish this! I lost inspiration for this series but it has been renewed! I hope you like this and look forward to Soonyoung's which is the next one! Also @yoonguurt here's your Minghao content. Thank you for reading and as always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only. banner made by me. I do not allow reposts or translations of my works. All my works are ©️ kwanisms.

smut warnings: unprotected sex (wrap it up), multiple orgasms, slight thigh riding, oral (f receiving, m receiving), edging (f receiving), face riding, nude photography

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

"That is quite possibly the sweetest thing I've ever heard," Jeonghan said softly. Jihoon threw a handful of grass on him, his cheeks burning as the others snickered in the dark.

"So what happened after that?" Minghao asked. Jihoon shook his head. "I told you, that's the only story you're getting out of me."

Minghao scoffed and looked into the fire. "What a tease," he murmured and Jihoon kicked his knee lightly. "Then why don't you tell us all about your muse."

Color flooded Minghao's face as he looked away from the older man and back into the flames. The others exchanged looks before they started agreeing, asking Minghao to tell them the story.

With a heavy sigh, he looked up, eyes scanning the circle before he dropped his gaze back down. "Fine," he said finally. "I'll tell you about the time I met the most gorgeous, wild, and insanely funny woman I have ever met."

"Don't let your fiance hear you say that," Seokmin joked and Minghao looked up, fixing his gaze on his friend. "What makes you think they aren't the same person?" he asked, ignoring the jaws of his friends dropping as he finished his sentence.

Had he known what he was getting himself into, Minghao would have never signed up for a figure drawing class that year. He would have continued walking but now that he was setting up his station while others filed into the room, filling the empty space around him, he couldn’t find it in himself to pack up and leave.

His eyes fell on a beautiful woman who entered the room. She was absolutely stunning. He wondered if she was the model for the class. His suspicions were confirmed when she moved behind a small screen to undress.

Averting his eyes, Minghao returned his gaze to his station, making sure everything was set up before a voice spoke up. Minghao looked up to see another woman, more stunning than the model, walking and shutting the door. She smiled around at the class. “Welcome,” she said softly as people began taking their seats.

Minghao took his seat as the instructor stood at the front of the class. “Good afternoon, everyone. My name is (Y/N) and I will be your instructor for this summer course!” A wide smile appeared on her face as she glanced around. Her gaze stopped as she scanned the room, her eyes landing on Minghao and the two froze for a moment.

To say you were nervous for your first class was an understatement. You were downright terrified. You were new to teaching. You were finishing up your master’s degree and decided to teach a class on figure drawing for the summer.

You had just set your things down and looked up at the room when you saw him.

You waited for all the students to file into the room before you walked in, holding a portfolio carrying case in one hand and a coffee in the other.

The door shut softly behind you as you walked in. You moved to set your things behind the desk in the room and smiled at the model for the day. She was a classmate of yours who focused on painting. She volunteered to be the model when your original model cancelled.

He was gorgeous. Tall and slim with broad shoulders. He had shaggy black hair and round wire frame glasses perched on his nose. You looked down in embarrassment, hoping no one caught you staring at him.

Once the last students had filed in and taken their seats, you cleared your throat, drawing everyone’s attention, including his.

It took all of Minghao’s willpower to force his gaze away from you as the class began and to focus on drawing the model instead of you as you walked around the room. It didn’t take long for his mind to start wandering and imagining that it was your body in that upright sitting position.

He was aware of close you were getting to him and he would be lying if he said his heart wasn’t starting to race with every step that drew you closer and closer to him.

He could feel you eyes on him and his work. You stopped behind him, watching as he moved his hand effortlessly. ‘He certainly has talented hands,’ your brain said before you had to force any impure thoughts from your mind. 

Your praise was going straight to his head, and not the one on his shoulders.

You stepped a little closer, watching as he slowly sketched the model’s frame. “Very good, Minghao. You’ve got the proportions correct. You have a fine eye for detail,” you whispered with a smile.

Minghao felt his cheeks grow warm.

As you continued to move about the room, Minghao felt himself relax and he took a deep calming breath before starting again with renewed vigor. The second time you passed by, Minghao tried his best to ignore you but your perfume invaded his senses and he could feel his cheeks heat up as something else began to rise.

Somewhere in the room, a phone went off. Minghao let out a sigh of relief as you moved to the model’s bag behind the screen to check. A few moments later, you emerged with a bathrobe folded over your arm and walked up to her.

Minghao watched as you whispered something in her ear and offered the robe. She took it and stood up, putting it on and hurrying behind the screen. Everyone looked around in confusion. You grimaced at the class before speaking.

“I’m sorry everyone,” you started as the model finished dressing and hurried toward the door with her things, offering an apology to you once more. You shook your head and smiled at her. You turned back to address the class.

“There has been an emergency with Sooyung’s family so she has to leave. I am sorry to start off the course this way, but seeing as we don’t have a model now, I’m going to have to cancel class for today,” you said with a slight frown. “I’m going to call some favors in and see if I can find a substitute.”

The class scrambled to pack their things up. Minghao moved slowly, not wanting to rush out of the class like everyone else. Before long, he was the last person. He was aware of your eyes on him as he zipped his travel case closed and latched his carrying case for his pad closed.

He shouldered his belongings and looked up, his eyes meeting yours for the first time since class began. The two of you froze, eyes locked with one another. Minghao finally moved, tearing his gaze from yours and moved for the door.

As he passed you, he heard you call out to him. “Have a good day,” you said softly. Minghao paused at the door and turned his head to look at you, a smirk now resting on your lips. “Thanks,” Minghao replied. “You too,” he added. Your smile widened and Minghao felt his heart tighten just a little as he forced himself out the door.

This was going to be a long summer.

It had been five weeks since the class began. There had been numerous models, some male and some female. Minghao had drawn every single one of them without question. Plenty of his classmates had dropped out of the course by now and only a small handful remain, but your ability to turn him into a flustered mess hadn’t left.

As he filed into the classroom, Minghao noticed it was only him and one other student in the room. ‘Where are the others?’ he wondered as he took his usual seat and started setting up. The other student, a girl, was already set up and playing around on her phone as she waited for class to begin.

Minghao knew he was being quite obvious with his attraction to you. Whether or not you were attracted to him was a whole other story. He hoped the few times he had caught you staring weren’t a figment of his imagination. He wondered if the not so subtle flirting was playful or if you were really into him. For now, he would pretend the signs were all there.

He could dream, right?

Minghao heard the sound of a bag thumping on the floor and he looked up. You had arrived. You were currently texting, typing away rapidly on your phone, your brow furrowed and your bottom lip pushed out in a slight pout.

Minghao looked down at his hands, a smile tugging at his lips at how cute you looked. When he looked back up, his smile fell when he saw how exasperated you were. He watched as you let out a heavy sigh and sat at the desk, resting your forehead in your hand. ‘I wonder what’s wrong,’ Minghao thought as he watched you.

After a few moments you sat up straight and looked around. One more student had joined the class, a very quiet guy who loved to use watercolors in his work. You stood slowly and moved to shut the door now that class had begun. Minghao noticed how nervous you looked, the way you paced slightly, playing with your fingers.

After a few moments to seemed to make up your mind on some course of action, nodding to yourself and moving to stand before the three of them. You cleared your throat softly, drawing the attention of the other two seeing as you already had Minghao’s attention. “Good afternoon, you three,” you said, your voice cracking a bit.

“Is everything okay?” Minghao asked suddenly, causing your eyes to move to meet his. “Um, actually, no,” you said truthfully. The other two exchanged glances with Minghao. “Let me guess,” the other guy said. “The model cancelled?” he asked. You hung your head in shame and nodded. The girl let out a sigh and moved to start packing up.

“Which is why,” you said drawing her attention again. “I’ve decided that I’m going to be the model,” you finished. Minghao’s eyes widened. He saw the girl glance at the other two guys quickly before looking back at you.

‘You were going to be the model for the day?’ Minghao’s brain was screaming at him. He needed to leave. He couldn’t go around drawing nude pictures of you. He wouldn’t be able to hide his attraction to you now if you started taking your clothes off.

“I understand if this is a little bit awkward, but this is my fault. I’m supposed to supply the model for you to draw and they keep ditching. So this is the only option I can think of. I won’t be entirely naked, but I want to give you all the opportunity to get points for this class so this is my solution,” you finished, glancing around at the three.

“So you won’t be entirely naked?” the girl asked. You nodded, turning to her. “Correct. I’ll just be wearing a robe,” you responded. The girl nodded. “Okay, I’m fine with that,” she answered, sitting back into her seat and relaxing. Minghao relaxed, too. The other guy nodded. “Sounds fine to me,” he said. You nodded in response and crossed the room to the screen, grabbing a black robe from your bag.

“I’ll only be a moment,” you said as you disappeared behind the fake wall. A few moments of silence later, you reappeared, tying said robe closed. Minghao’s breath hitched in his throat. If he had thought you were beautiful before, now you were breathtaking. 

The robe was silk dyed a deep onyx. On the back and on the front near the bottom hem were printed flowers of various shades of pinks and reds. You moved to the small stage, stepping up onto it and moving to sit in the chair. Minghao watched as you took great care in positioning yourself.

You loosened the robe a bit, allowing one side of the neck to slip down your shoulder, exposing your collar. You got comfortable in your pose, sitting back in the armchair, resting your chin in your palm with your elbow resting on the armrest. Once you were ready, you nodded to them and the three set to work.

The room was totally silent except for the sound of pencil against paper and the soft ticking of the clock in the background. Minghao took his time, sketching your frame lightly before he was satisfied with the result and he went in a little darker, adding emphasis where it was needed.

It was nice to draw without you walking around the room but now he was nervous about whether or not you would like how he drew you. Would you find his interpretation of yourself odd? Would you be weirded out? Minghao didn’t know.

Time passed quickly it seemed, the ticking of the clock being the only indicator that time was passing at all. At the two hour mark, you cleared your throat and the three looked up at you. “I think that’s all for today,” you said softly. The other two began packing up quickly but as always, Minghao took his time.

Once the others had left, you stood up and moved around the room, peeking at Minghao’s drawing. He sat up straight and his eyes met yours. He glanced from you to the drawing before him. Your eyes widened as you looked. “Oh uh,” Minghao said quickly as he stood. You ignored him and approached the paper.

You looked from the drawing to him. “I-is this how you see me?” you whispered. Minghao rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Uh, heh” he chuckled. “Y-yeah, kinda,” he replied. Your eyes were drawn back to the page.

He was an incredible artist, there was no doubt. In just a short amount of time, he had nearly completed the drawing of you. There was this sort of aura you had around you in his work. “What's this?” you asked, fingers trembling as you reached up to lightly touch the shading around your person.

“It’s your light,” Minghao explained. You looked from his drawing to him, your brows knitting together slightly. “My light?” Minghao nodded, a small smile on his lips. “Yeah, it’s kind of hard to explain, but you just have this light. Like, an energy you radiate. Maybe it’s just my mind being weird, but it’s just how I see you,” he said with a shrug.

You smiled at him as he finally looked up to meet your eyes. The two of you held each other’s gazes as you had in the past but something was different this time. Minghao could see it in your face. He knew that look. It was the same one he masked when he looked at you. A look of want. A look of need.

Without thinking of the repercussions, Minghao had you pushed up against the wall, his lips on yours as your fingers tangled in his hair, his hands holding your hips against the wall. A soft moan left your lips only to be muffled by his.

The next moment was a flurry of movement, as Minghao’s hands lifted the silk robe above your thighs, gathering it at your waist. You hands moved from his hair to his shoulders as one of his thighs pressed against your naked core.

You let out a gasp as the feeling of his denim jeans against your clit. “What?” Minghao breathed in your ear. “Do that again,” you whimpered. Minghao presses his thigh against you again. Your hips rolled against him weakly, another whimper leaving your lips. “Keep going,” Minghao encouraged. 

You continued, rolling your hips, grinding against his thigh as your orgasm approached. Before it could spill over, Minghao pulled his thigh away. You let out a whine glancing up to meet his gaze. Minghao had a sheepish grin on his face. “Uh,” he finally said, clearing his throat. “This is,” he hesitated. “Different.”

“A good different or a bad different?” you asked, worry filling your mind. ‘Was this it? Had you crossed a line? Had he crossed a line?’ Minghao smiled, reaching up to caress your cheek. 

After your encounter in the classroom, you and Minghao had started to spend more time together, outside of the classroom, of course. Minghao often asked you to come over to his studio. He would cook you dinner, the two of you would watch a movie, and after eating, the two of you would clean up together.

“A good different,” he stated before pressing a soft kiss against your lips.

One night, a few weeks before the end of summer, Minghao invited you over for dinner. He was being especially touchy that night, kissing your neck and cheek, wrapping his arms around you as the both of you cooked dinner.

After finishing your movie, meal, and two bottles of wine, you were standing at the kitchen sink, washing the dishes when Minghao came up behind you. You felt him snake his arms around your waist, nuzzling his face into your neck. You let out a giggle.

"Are you almost done?" he asked softly, his lips pressing against your ear. You nodded. "Yes," you said as you rinsed off the last plate and set it to dry. "Good," Minghao said grabbing your hips. "Come with me," he said as he dragged you away from the kitchen and into the living area. 

“Close your eyes,” he whispered and you gave him a grimace before sighing and closing your eyes. You felt his hands brush against your neck as he untied your apron and removed it. “What are you doing?” you asked. You heard him shush you as he leaned in, pressing his lips to your neck, an involuntary shiver running down your spine. “Hao?” you asked softly.

When he didn’t answer, your eyes fluttered opened. “Hao,” you repeated. He pulled back to look at you. “Yes?” he asked softly, his fingers playing with the hem of your skirt. With the way his eyes watched you made it impossible for you to form a sentence so instead you looked down, cheeks flushing. Minghao chuckled softly.

“If I asked you to do something for me,” he started, his fingers brushing against the skin of your thigh. “Would you?”

You cocked your head to the side. “Like what?” you asked. Minghao’s lips twitched into a smile. “Take your panties off,” he whispered. You felt heat rise in your cheeks and your walls clench around nothing. “W-what?” you whispered, uncertain you heard him correctly.

When his smile widened and he said nothing, you knew you heard him correctly.

You reached down slowly, grabbing the material of your skirt and started to hike it up your thighs until you could slide your panties down your legs, letting them drop to the floor and stepping out of them, all while maintaining eye contact with Minghao. He didn’t look down until you dropped your skirt back in place.

He reached out, grabbing the back of your thighs and pulled you closer until you climbed onto his lap, straddling him with your thighs on either side of the mattress under him. His hands slid down your back, following the curve of your ass as he stopped to grab, guiding your hips to grind against him.

You let out a soft moan as your core brushed against the denim of his pants. “Hao,” you breathed. He smiled, pressing his lips against your jaw. “I know, baby,” he whispered as he laid back on the mattress. “What are you doing?” you whispered. He smiled up at you. “Getting into position,” he replied, his hands reaching for your hands. He tugged gently, coaxing you to move forward.

“What are you doing?” you asked again, this time a giggle escaping you as you moved forward, no longer straddling his hips. “I want you to sit on my face,” he said softly, causing a gasp to leave your lips. “You want me to what?” you whispered. Minghao gave you a sweet smile. “You heard me,” he said rather than repeating himself. You shook your head. “I can’t do that,” you whispered.

“I promise, (Y/N), I know what I’m doing, so just get up here,” he said, giving your ass a light slap. You let out a sigh and moved, kneeling with his head between your thighs. You didn’t lower yourself completely, still terrified of smothering or squishing him. Minghao grabbed your hips and pulled you down, his tongue immediately making contact with your sex.

Minghao nodded, his hands running along the tops of your thighs. “I want you to,” he repeated. “Please?” You worried your bottom lip between your teeth as you stared into his eyes.

“What if you can’t breathe?” you asked. Minghao shook his head. “I know what I’m doing,” he simply said. “I promise you won’t smother me,” he added. “Although, that wouldn’t be a bad way to go,” he said thoughtfully with a wink. You narrowed your eyes at him, earning a laugh in response.

Minghao had no intention of letting you up, his grip on your hips tightening as he brought you impossibly closer, his tongue moving mercilessly against your clit. Your body grew hotter and hotter, heat gathering in your abdomen as your orgasm approached you. Involuntarily, your hips started to move as you tried to near your orgasm quicker. Minghao lifted your hips, his mouth leaving your core and you whimpered in protest. “Hao!” you whined. He merely chuckled as your impending climax ebbed away.

You let out a loud gasp, covering your mouth with your hand.

‘He wasn’t lying,’ you thought. ‘He really does know what he’s doing.’ You looked down, reaching one hand down to comb through Minghao’s hair. His eyes were shut as he focused. A moan slipped past your lips as his lips wrapped around your clit and sucked. “Shit!” you cursed, fighting the urge to shy away from his mouth.

“Why did you do that?” you asked breathlessly as he brought your hips closer to his face again. “Just trust me,” he said before continuing the assault all over again.

He repeated this several times, bringing you closer to your high only to pull away and let it slip away from you that by the fifth round, you were a shaking mess. “Hao, please,” you pleaded, eyes shining with unshed tears from the pent up tension and frustration. Minghao smiled, bringing your hips back down to start all over again.

Every flick of his tongue against the sensitive bundle of nerves sent tremors throughout your entire body, moans and whimpers of his name leaving your lips as a sort of plea to let him let you come. You felt the heat rise again, your legs shaking as your orgasm neared you again. 

Fully expecting Minghao to pull away again like he’d done so many times before, you were surprised as he held you in place, attacking your swollen clit with more ferocity than he had before. Your orgasm was rapidly approaching and before you could warn Minghao you were about to come, it hit you all at once, stars blinding your vision as you came hard on his tongue.

It wasn’t until you grabbed his hands, pleading for him to stop, that Minghao let go of your hips, letting you off and fall to the side as you came down from your high. Minghao sat up, wiping his chin and fixing you with a bright smile. You gently pushed his shoulder with your foot. “Stop looking so smug,” you whispered. Minghao moved, hovering over you. “Can you keep going?” he asked, reaching to caress your cheek. You nodded slowly.

Minghao gently rolled you onto your back before stripping himself of his shirt, tossing it aside and leaning down to kiss you, settling himself between your thighs, his lips trailing from your lips down to your neck where he started nipping at the sensitive skin, sucking light marks. “Someone is needy,” he joked, noticing the way your hips moved, begging for friction.

“I just made you come and you already want to go again?” he asked. You moaned in response and Minghao could help but chuckle as he sat up, hands undoing his belt and zipper quickly. “If you want me that badly,” he started reaching for the hem of your shirt and pushing it up. “Then this has to go,” he finished. You sat up and removed your shirt quickly, tossing it aside and laid back down.

Minghao shook his head, chuckling as he leaned back down, pressing his lips against the newly exposed skin of your collar. He hands moved slowly against your skin, tickling you while leaving a trail of fire in their wake. “May I remove this?” he asked, fingers skimming your bralette. You nodded, watching as he pulled you up and removed the thin material, discarding it with your shirt.

His head moved, lips pressing against the soft skin of your breast as he laid you back slowly. Your fingers combed through his hair as his tongue found your nipple, circling it slowly before taking it into his mouth. You let out a deep sigh, your back arching as he teased the sensitive skin, one hand moving to cup your other breast. You moaned as he kneaded the soft mound.

“Hao,” you breathed. “Hmm?” he hummed in response, letting your nipple fall from his lips. “I need you,” you replied, eyeing him hungrily. Minghao knew that look and he wasted no time as he freed his lower half of the confines of his clothes, adding them to the pile on the floor.

Taking himself in his hand, he gave himself a few languid strokes as he guided the tip of his length to your entrance. His eyes met yours and you nodded, giving him consent to continue. He pressed his cock against your wet folds, rutting against you a couple times before he lined himself with your slit.

“Hao,” you whimpered as he slowly pushed into you, letting out a hiss. “Holy shit,” he growled, sliding in further until he was buried inside you. Giving you only a moment to adjust, Minghao lifted your leg, hooking it over his hip before he slowly began thrusting.

Soft moans filled the room as he moved, giving you a few shallow thrusts before thrusting into you deeper. Your back arched as his cock rubbed against your walls. “Fuck, don’t stop,” you moaned, your hands grabbing fistfuls of the sheet below you. Minghao’s grip on your leg tightened as he pounded harder into you. “Ah, right there!” you whimpered.

Minghao’s lips met your skin as he buried his face in the crook of your neck, his hips never faltering. His name left your lips, mingled with moans as your climax began building. Sensing this, Minghao slowed, pulling out of you. Before you could protest, he rolled you over on your stomach and spread your legs. He easily slid back into you, leaning over your back as he thrust into you from behind.

“Fuck, Hao,” you gasped, your face falling into the mattress as he pounded into you. He grabbed a pillow from the headboard and folded it in half. Halting his movements for only a moment, long enough to lift your hips and place the pillow under you, he propped your hips up, giving himself move leverage.

Your fingers curled into the sheets as he moved again, his thrusts faster, harder, and well aimed. “God, you feel so good,” he hissed, leaning over your back to whisper in your ear. The change in position caused him to thrust deeper, his hips hitting your ass, filling the room with the sounds of skin against skin.

“You have no idea,” you answered breathlessly, enjoying the way his lips pressed against your skin, his tongue occasionally slipping out to swipe at the bitten skin. “I’m getting close,” Minghao whispered in your ear. You pressed your hips back against him, moaning loudly. “Fuck,” he cursed.

His thrusts mimicked his words, growing more and more erratic. “Don’t stop, Hao,” you whispered. Your orgasm was close, so close you could almost taste it. With a few more thrusts, he threw you over the edge, clenching your walls as you came with a moan of his name. Minghao followed closely behind, burying himself deep, muffling his moan by sinking his teeth into your shoulder as he emptied himself inside you. 

Once you both had come, he collapsed on top of you, both of you panting to catch your breath.

After a few minutes, Minghao rolled off you, onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “You’re incredible, you know,” he said softly. You scoffed and he turned his head to look at you.

“You’re amazing too, you know,” you answered. A smile formed on his face as he turned onto his side, still staring at you. “You look so beautiful right now,” he whispered. You smiled back at him. “Take a picture,” you joked. “It’ll last longer.” Without a word, Minghao rolled off the mattress and walked over to his desk, grabbing his camera and returned to you. “Can I?” he asked.

“I was joking, but sure,” you said with a laugh as he held the camera up, fiddling with the controls before snapping a photo of you. “You really are gorgeous,” he said as he lowered the camera, his eyes scanning your body. He could feel himself growing hard again. You sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. “Already?” you asked softly, taking him in your hand. He let out a hiss at the contact.

“Since you were so good to me,” you said quietly as you stroked him slowly. “It’s my turn to be good to you,” you added lowering your head. “Oh,” you said looking up at him as he was about to drop the camera on the bed. “Keep the camera out,” you said with a sly smile, a mischievous glint in your eye.

Minghao mimicked your grin, holding onto the camera as you took him in your mouth. He held up the device, looking through the viewfinder and snapping another photo. “Holy shit,” he breathed, one of his hands moving to comb through your hair. “You’re amazing.”

You pulled back, replacing your mouth with your hand. “Take as many photos as you want, Mr. Photographer. Something to remember me by,” you said coyly. Minghao’s hand moved to cup your chin. “I think I’d like more than pictures to remember you by,” he whispered, moaning as you took him back into your mouth.

“Fuck, (Y/N).”

You pulled back again. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” you asked, continuing to stroke him, using your saliva as lubricant.

His second orgasm washed over him and he didn’t have time to warn you before he was coming in your mouth. The camera dropped to the mattress as both his hands grabbed your hair, holding you in place as he rode out his second high, using your mouth. Once he had finished, he let go of your hair and stumbled backwards a few steps, falling from your mouth.

“That I want to keep seeing you, even after the summer ends?” Minghao asked. You smiled, trying to hide it by biting into your lower lip. “Do you?” you asked. Minghao nodded, his eyes fluttering shut as his second orgasm drew closer and closer.

“I think I’d like that too,” you whispered, not giving Minghao a chance to respond as you wrapped your lips around his cock again, taking him further into your mouth.

“Yeah,” he said as he moved to sit on the mattress next to you. Fixing him with a stare, he looked up as you batted your lashes playfully. “I definitely want to see you more,” he added. You leaned in, pressing your lips to his. “Sounds good to me,” you said after pulling away for a moment. 

Minghao pulled you in for another kiss, pulling you down as he laid back on the mattress. “Again?” you asked as he pulled you on top of him. “I can’t help it,” he said with a grimace. “You do things to me,” he added with a wink.

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

When Minghao had finished his story, he looked up to see all eyes on him. He grinned sheepishly and looked down at the fire as everyone started talking at once. "Wow," Soonyoung said, also fixing his gaze on the fire. "That was kind of hot," he said. Minghao let out a laugh as the others agreed.

"Well," Minghao said, looking up at his friend. "Why don't you share yours with us? I know for a fact that your story is a lot raunchier than mine," he added. Soonyoung broke into a smirk and nodded. "Alright," he said and sat up a little straighter. "I guess I'll go next."

[horrorstoryfanfics]

Summer To Remember: Part Four

So I haven’t updated in a while because I’ve been editing this part for the last week or so. I’m really embarrassed at my inability to write smut. So I kept erasing and rewriting and just doing that cycle. I hope you guys enjoy this though. Also sorry about the fact that my mind is FILTHY. I’m also sorry for making you guys wait so long ! 

WARNING: This chapter contains filthy, ungodly smut. And a slight daddy kink.

Previous

I woke up to the feeling of Montana shaking me awake, my eyes barely opening before I shot up. "Hey, we gotta go take our showers before morning prayer," She mocked with clapped hands as she grabbed her stuff.

I stretched as I got up and grabbed all my necessities, "Thanks for waking me, I thought I set and alarm."

She winked over at me, "Ain't a thing babe."

We all finished picking out our clothes and started walking over to the shower together.

"So what's going on with you and Xavier?" Montana wiggled her eyebrows while she set everything on the bench.

I grabbed my toiletries out of my bag and looked over, "Pretty much the same thing as you  and Trevor except the sexual tension isn't cranked to a 12." I gently pushed her shoulder as I started stripping.

Brooke looked over at us anxiously, "Uhm guys...there's no privacy."

Montana smiled while rolling her eyes, "Brooke, you're acting like I haven't seen your bod before." She tossed her shirt over her head onto the ground.

I looked between them both about to say something before Brooke's beet red face said, "Yeah but that was at the gym!"

"And this is at Camp, Brooke take a chill pill. I'm not going to judge you or check you out or anything," I stated, attempting to make her feel a little bit better about the situation.

Eventually we all were showering and kept our eyes at eye length before Montana looked me up and down, "Xavier's in for a treat."

I splashed some water at her before laughing.

"And so are you," She paused, "His bod is rockin'."

I cocked an eyebrow questioningly. Wondering if they had been a thing before.

"We did it a couple of times when we first became friends," She waved her hand, "We both soon found out it was better for us to just be friends without the benefits."

I nodded, listening as she went on. "He's packed. Gives Trevor a run for his money."

Mine and Brooke's mouths dropped. Trevor was something, to say the least. So anyone coming close must be gifted as well.

"He'd kill me for telling you this but he has a major Daddy kink."

My eyes bulged, "Why are you telling me?" the heat rose to my face as my mind started to be really crafty.

Montana shrugged nonchalantly, "I see the way you've been eye-fucking," She came up beside me and rubbed her shoulders against mine, "I'm just trying to make it more fun for the both of you."

I wasn't expecting all this info but it definitely was going to be fun to use to mess with him.

After we showered, got dressed, and made ourselves look presentable we all met at the front of Camp in a giant circle.

I couldn't help but gawk at Xavier who was in some very short shorts. His toned thighs just out in the open. My mouth almost salivating at how good he looked.

"Alright, now that we're all here let's join hands." Mom said. I reached my hands out, grabbing Montana and Ray's. I bowed my head and drowned out her religious words as my mind raced to other things. I'll have to thank Montana later for the mental images.

When we were done we all dropped our hands and Trevor stepped into the middle. "Now, since I'm the activities director I've made a list of what everyone will be doing today." He clutched a clipboard tightly as he scanned over it, "Ray and Brooke you're cleaning the kids cabins, Y/n and Xavier you're helping Bertie in the kitchen, Chet you're helping Margaret, and Montana," He shot her a wink, "You're helping me check the canoes. Everyone got it?" We all nodded, "Alright good, let's go."

We all broke off into our pairs and made our way to our respected areas. Chet feeling like he got the short end of the stick again as he sulked away.

"How'd I get so lucky?" Xavier cooed beside me holding his hands behind his back as we walked.

I smirked, "I feel like you're going to be asking yourself that all summer."

He pursed his lips into an "Oh" and followed me into the kitchen. Bertie wasn't around at the moment so I sat down on a stool and waited, looking over to Xavier.

He put his hands on his hips and leaned on the counter top across from me, "Now I don't want you two fighting over me. Keep it civil." He tried to be serious but I could see the smirk creeping up in the corners of his mouth.

I rolled my eyes playfully, "No promises....daddy." I whispered the last word and Xavier jumped up quickly about to say something when Bertie came in.

"Ah," She dropped a box onto the table, "My favorite girl and my new boy toy." She sent Xavier a wicked grin.

I laughed lightly, "Hey Bertie, what do you want us to do?"

She chuckled deeply,"I know a lot of things he could do." She looked over to him, checking him out from head to toe, "But it ain't got to do with the kitchen."

Xavier's face twisted, you could see the regret of him ever making that joke. I decided to save him, knowing that she could go on all day.

"Ooohkay Bertie, let's stop before he passes out," I laughed lightly as I raised my hands, motioning for her to calm down. Even though it was funny to see him so embarrassed.

She just shrugged it off, "Well, you guys can sort through the pantry, clean the dining hall, and make sure that the appliances are clean."

"And what're you going to do?" His arms were crossed and his lip was turned into a sneer. He didn't know her like I did, she was best at giving orders. Only doing work when she was the last resort.

She threw her hands out and looked around, "I'm going to supervise." Xavier rolled his eyes. "But before I do I'm going to go smoke, you two get started." She pinched his elbow, causing him to flinch before she headed outside.

I sighed and went into the closet, pulling out all of the cleaning supplies we would need. I had a feeling Bertie's smoke break would last longer than it should. In one hand I held the broom and in the other I held up a rag, "Okay," I raised them into the air, "Pick your poison."

He huffed as he snatched the broom out of my hand, leaning down to pick up the dustpan. I started filling a bucket with soap and water as I let the rag soak in it, eventually carrying it out into the main part of the dining hall.

Plopping the bucket down on the bench as I started to ring out the cloth, bringing it over the table I looked up to see Xavier sweeping. He was sort of dancing while he moved with the broom. He looked so in his element. I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from turning up as I let out a little giggle.

He stopped immediately and turned around, gripping the end of the broom and sticking his knee out, "I'll have you know I'm one of the best aerobics instructors in all of  L.A. You shouldn't make fun of me." He huffed as he turned his nose up.

I rinsed out the rag into the bucket, "I wasn't making fun," I looked back up and met his eyes,"I was admiring." I took the bucket and moved onto the next table, accidentally sloshing some water onto the floor.

"So that's what you do when you're not being a counselor?" I raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued.

He continued to sweep around the table I was working on, "Yeah...but what I'm really trying to do is become an actor."He turned to the side showing his crisp jawline into the air. His eyes had a light twinkle at the mention of his dream. "I trained at Stella Adler," He said boastfully.

I thought about him on the big screen. It fit. He was destined for more than just a minimum wage instructor. His face and fashion screamed star.

I pursed my lips, impressed. "You could definitely do it, make it big. Thousands of girls fawning over you." I said as I finished another table and moved onto another.

He dragged the broom as he got closer only stopping to put his knee on the other side of the bench and leaned across the table, only centimeters away from me. "Yeah, but all that matters is the one girl that I want." Even though no one else was around it was said with a hushed tone, making sure that only I could hear it.

It made my heart flutter quickly, for the first time I was at a loss for words as I just dropped the damp cloth into the bucket and moved on. He smiled to himself as he ran his tongue quickly over his lips. He continued to move with me and sweep where I was.

"What about you? What do you do?" He wanted to know more, the mysteriousness of you almost swallowing him whole. You weren't anything like your mother so he wanted to know you, all of you.

"Well," I started, dragging the cloth over yet another table, "I work at Blockbuster for the time being, our love of movies is the same," He quirked an eyebrow at my comment, "Except I don't really have any dreams or a set plan of anything." I sighed and brought my eyes to watch the cloth glide across the table, "My whole life I was told to do something, to have a set career, doctor, lawyer, housewife. But none of those are me....so I'm just testing the waters, just enjoying being free." I nervously looked back up at him I felt like I shared too much and that maybe he would be turned off to the idea of me now since I don't have a set course.

Instead his eyes were glistening. "Righteous," He whispered. Little did you know he was amazed, amazed at how cool you were. He didn't know everything that you went through but he could tell there was some unknown pain in your eyes. He wanted to accept it, accept you, all of you. He was feeling things he didn't really think he could feel anymore.

The door creaked open as Bertie finally came back, "Well it ain't looking too bad in here." She walked around admiring what little we had done. "I'm gonna start in the pantry." She walked back to the backroom as I moved to another table.

Xavier came and sat where I was working he set the broom down and just lounged casually. "Hey!" I exclaimed, "If we don't finish we'll never get out of here."

His bright blue eyes looked up at me, piercing right into my heart. "Well that's not such a bad thing, I could be stuck with you anywhere baby." Elbow rested on the table as his hand held up his chin lazily.

I stopped and looked over at him with a grin I couldn't keep at bay, "Being with you is great but wouldn't you rather be somewhere more....comfortable?" I was throwing the bait out there, hoping he would bite.

His eyes widened just enough for me to see the change in them. His momentary loss of cool was gone as he leaned over and patted my hand as he stood up. "Then I'll just get back to work." He squeezed my hand before letting go and bending down to pick up the broom.

"Fuck!" He yelled, I shot up and ran around the table.

"What happened?!" he was holding his hand as he winced in pain, I carefully pulled it into my own. There was a tiny amount of blood coming from his finger.

"Splinter," He mumbled.

I pulled him along into the kitchen and patted the counter top, "Hop up." He did so as I started looking around the cabinets for the first aid kit, before finding it under the sink. I brought it beside his thigh and opened it quickly. I grabbed a couple of bandages and thankfully there was a pair of tweezers in there.

"This is gonna sting a bit," I held the tweezers in my hand as I moved between his thighs, reaching for him. He obliged and I took his finger carefully before looking at his face. His eyes were heavy and half lidded as he looked down as me, his lips pulled into a tight line.

I ignored his lustrous stare as I pinched his finger, bringing it close to my face. I brought the tweezers down and carefully pulled at the piece of wood that pierced his skin.

"Ow!!" He exclaimed. "Stop being a baby," I said as I reached over his left leg and grabbed a band-aid. I wrapped it around the little cut before bringing it up to my lips and kissing it lightly.

"There, you're all better." Without thinking I placed my hands on his thighs for support, not realizing what I had done until I saw the greedy smile plastered across his face.

I was about to pull my hands away when he cupped my face and roughly brought it to his. His lips were moving so quickly it was almost hard to keep up. My mind was reeling, not really processing that he was kissing me.

He tasted sweet and addictive. Especially when his tongue started to lick at my bottom lip. I gasped lightly as I parted my mouth, opening it up for our tongues to glide against each other. My hands moved from his thighs, up his chest, until they found their way at the end of his hair, tugging lightly at the roots. He moaned at the feeling, leaning back slightly to tilt his head to admire my puffy lips and glazed over eyes.

He smiled before he put his hands on my waist, yanking me into him. I started to impatiently  grind into his hips as he moved once again to plant wet sloppy kisses all over my lips. Smiling into the kiss and gently biting his bottom lip. Eliciting another small moan as he opened his mouth, this time I fought for entrance as my tongue circled his.

He was squeezing my hips and rocking me into him. He leaned back and a string of saliva strung between the two of us. The silver strand only breaking when he began to talk. "Baby, you're playing a dangerous game. Once I start I won't be able to stop." His eyes were darker than before as his mouth parted again. I started kissing his jawline, then down his neck.

"Who says I want you to stop?" I whispered, tickling his skin with my breath before licking a thin stripe up to his ear, nibbling softly. His eyelids fluttered as I made my way back over to his lips.

We heard a shuffle behind us as we both pulled away and directed our eyes over to the noise.

Bertie was standing there drying off one of the plates, "Don't stop on my count." She smirked. "I'm enjoying the show." Shooting a taunting grin our way.

I laughed breathlessly as I buried my face into his neck, he gently caressed my head before pushing me back carefully and jumping down from the counter, "Come one," He intertwined my hand with his, "Let's go, I think we're done for the day." He started to lead me out of the doors, Bertie mumbling a "I don't think you guys did enough." Before we left.

Xavier was sprinting across the camp, dragging me behind him. "Come on," He laughed. I laughed with him, out of breath, as we stumbled our way up the steps to the boys cabin.

He pushed the door open while looking around making sure it was free of any of the other councilors. It was only a bit dim so he didn't even bother turning on the light. When the coast was clear he pulled me inside swiftly and closed the door, pinning me against it.

"I should've kissed you last night, I had no idea you tasted so good." He leapt back onto my lips with feverish sloppy kisses. My hands slid down his torso as I tugged at his shirt, eager to rip it off. He pulled away as I tugged the fabric over his head and threw it to the side. I took a moment to admire his chest as my hand grazed down his peck to the top of his shorts. I put my finger through the belt loop and yanked him back into me roughly.

He grunted as our lips connected, pulling me up in the air as I wrapped my legs around him. Not once breaking the heated kiss. He started to walk over to one of the beds as his grip tightened. Once we reached the bed he gently laid me on my back as he stood back.

"Are you ready?" His chest heaving from the intensity of our make out, his hands gripping the end of my shirt, waiting for my okay.  

I bit my lip and nodded quickly. His infamous smirk appeared as he quickly yanked the shirt over my head. His eyes looking over me hungrily as his hands reached around to unclasp my bra and throw it to the side. Naturally I covered myself, my heart beating quickly.

He grabbed both of my wrists softly and pulled them away, leaving me exposed. "Baby," He whispered deeply as his eyes scanned my chest before stopping on my eyes, "Don't get shy on me now." He leaned down and gave me a slow passionate kiss before he started kissing down my neck. Stopping at my collar bone and licked a circle before sucking down harshly, no doubt leaving a mark.

I gasped and threw my head back locking my fingers in his hair. After he was satisfied with the mark he traveled down to my right nipple and flicked his tongue several times before wrapping his lips around it and sucking, eventually releasing it with an obscene pop. My teeth dug into my bottom lip as I muffled the load groan erupting in my throat. His mouth was glistening with spit as he looked up at me, "Don't hold back." He kneaded my other breast, "I want to hear how loud you can get."

He reached down and tugged my pants off, whipping them away with a swift yank. All that was left was my underwear. He ripped them off, a harsh tear heard through the room. My eyes widened but I was too lost in lust to care about them now.

His middle finger felt cold against my folds, moving it up and down harshly before shoving it into my hole. I moaned out as his finger came back out. "You're soaked," He chuckled darkly. He shoved his finger in again, this time pumping ferociously. A mixture of lewd squelches and my high pitched moans filled the room as he kept going. He added another finger, deliciously stretching me out as his palm slapped against me. His other finger rubbing my nipple.

My stomach knotted quickly as I thrust my hips up to feel him deeper. He suddenly stopped and pulled out. I sat up slightly, whining at the loss of stimulation.

He chuckled deeply. "Don't worry sweetheart, you'll cum. But when you do it'll be on my tongue." He shoved his fingers into my mouth and I began sucking on them, collecting all my juices with my tongue. Groaning against his fingers as our eyes were locked. His eyes were hooded with lust and his mouth agape, a grunt making it's way to his perfect pink lips.

"You seem to like your taste," he drew his hand back slowly trailing it down my body until it landed right above where I wanted him to be. He slowly backed up and leaned down, "Now it's my turn." Eyes never leaving mine as he became level with my core. My heart accelerating at the anticipation.

A cocky smirk adorned his face before he dove forward and licked a slow agonizing stripe up my slit, a loud moan escaping me. He put his hands on my thighs to spread them further to get a better angle.He started to move his tongue quicker, working it across. He was lapping at my folds like a starved man, moving his tongue to swirl around my clit before puckering his lips and sucking hard. "Fuck!" I screamed, I felt him smile against me before he shoved his tongue into my hole.

A pornographic moan elicited from my lips as I tried to thrust into him. He began tongue fucking me heatedly, his nose brushing against my clit as he worked. "Fuck daddy.."I groaned. This made him moan into me, sending vibrations all over my core as I moaned again. Moving back up to my bud he began to suck again as he shoved two fingers inside. "X-Xavier," I groaned out choppily. I felt the twisting build up start to form in my stomach as he kept working.  

"I'm close," I reached down and intertwined my hands in his hair, tugging him closer to me as I rode his face. My core rutting into his mouth. His hands hoisted my legs over his shoulders as he dove even closer, moving quicker than before as his fingers shook against my clit. His tongue diving deeper into me.

I threw my head back and scrunched my eyes shut as I let my release wash over me. Screaming out as his tongue stilled, letting all my cum seep down onto his tongue. He lapped up all of it before pulling back up. Lips glistening with my release as he swiped his tongue across them.

"Can you go again?" He leaned over and pushed the hair out of my face, the intimate gesture making my heart swell. I tilted my head to the side as I hoisted myself up reaching over and grabbing the impressive bulge fighting against his pants. My hand rubbing back and forth, only stopping to circle my thumb around the tip.

"I need you to fuck me," I stated. His mouth was agape and his eyes were feigning to close. "Your wish is my command," His cocky smirk displayed as he leaned back on his knees and popped the button on his pants. He stood up and gripped the zipper throwing them down, underwear included. My eyes were bulging as how beautifully big his dick was. Montana wasn't lying.

I got on my hands and knees and crawled over to the edge of the bed, mouth watering at the thought of bringing him between my lips. I leaned down, about to put the tip in my mouth but before I could he gripped my hair bringing me back up to face him.

"I'd love to see you choke on my cock but I need to be inside of you. Now." He said the last word so sternly it made me shiver. He gave me a rough kiss before pushing me back down onto my back.

The bed squeaked as he sunk back onto it, crawling over top of me. He looked primal, ready to ravage me at any second. "Are you on the pill?" He asked.

"Yes," I said quickly, the thought of him fucking me raw had me clenching around nothing. "Xavier," I whined, "Please cum inside me."

He grunted lowly, grabbing the head of his cock and running it across my clit and down to the center, stopping it at my soaked entrance. My stomach tensed as he hovered there. "So worked up," He chuckled proudly, "Don't worry baby, I'm going to fuck you so good." Without warning he dove inside of me in one fluid motion, making us both cry out at the sensation of my walls clenching around him.

"S-Shit!" He yelled, "You're so fucking tight." He pulled back slowly before bottoming out entirely. Both of us moaning as he administered hard thrusts repeatedly. His hands gripping my hips so tight I expected them to snap. Mine made there way to his back as I scratched it, gripping tighter with each thrust. "Y/n..."

He lifted my hips up into the air as he roughly slammed me down onto him repeatedly, the new angle changing the feeling entirely.Our skin slapping together was echoing through the room as he dove deeper, balls deep.

He wasn't letting down as I shrieked, dropping me down roughly onto the bed and grabbing my ankles, bending my knees into my chest. This new angle was even better. He pushed my legs back as far as they could go as he spit raunchily down onto my clit, the warm liquid oozing down onto our connection sent me into a spiral. The familiar clenching in my stomach came back as I hissed, "I-I'm going to cum."

"Hold on baby, me too." His thrusts got rougher as he rammed into me, pushing my legs so far back I knew they'd be sore in the morning. "Please daddy, fill me up." I moaned again as my walls tightened against him, he hissed in pleasure as he began to get sloppy, his release finally coming. "Okay," his breathing was heavy, "cum."

I let go as I let out another lewd moan, throwing my head back into the pillows and lazily rutting into him. Nearly passing out from the intensity of my orgasm. He let out a godly grunt as he pulled me as close as possible into him. His liquid spilling inside of me.

After a couple seconds he pulled out and replaced his cock with his fingers, gathering some of the release. He smirked as he brought it up to my mouth. Without hesitation I wrapped my tongue around his digits before puckering my lips and sucking the rest off. He looked down and tsked playfully. "There's still so much." I opened my mouth to say something but was stopped by him ducking back down and slurping it up. My legs were twitching before he finally brought his head back up.

He licked his lips before leaning over my fucked out body and kissing me again. He slid his tongue across mine, the mixture of our two releases mixing to make an intoxicating formula that made me want more. Unfortunately he pulled back, dropping himself beside me on the bed.

His breath was heavy as his chest rose quickly. "Y/n...that was wicked."

We both looked over at each other just taking in the moment as we scanned over each others features. His forehead glistening with sweat and his lips parted heavenly. He scooted closer, placing his hand on my stomach as he drew light circles. "That wasn't your first time right?"

My brows furrowed, almost offended before I flipped the switch and decide to mess with him. I looked away, pretending to be nervous as I fiddled with my hands, "Actually..." I looked back over at him with big doe eyes, "It was."

His eyes popped as his head shot forward, "Oh my god really?!" He began to get nervous, "If I would've know I would've.." I brought my hand to his mouth, shutting him up as I laughed. His pretty brows scrunching together in confusion.

"No you dweeb, I've had sex before." I laughed again, moving so now we were face to face. I smiled from ear to ear, loving his expression.

"I just thought with Margaret and all.." He trailed off, looking at me with red cheeks.

I laughed, "If she had it her way then yeah, but I follow my own rules." I turned on my back and looked at the ceiling my breathing finally starting to become normal as I came down from my high.

He brought his arm to my side as he carefully brought me into him, against his chest. I could feel his heart beating. I closed my eyes and listened to the rhythm calmly. Feeling hands come up to stroke my hair gently. I felt so content and I didn't want this moment to end.

He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of loud footsteps coming closer.

We looked at each other wide eyed and afraid, quickly pulling the blanket to cover both of us as he squeezed me into him tightly.

The door opened and Trevor walked in, I gasped as I hugged Xavier tighter.

He flipped the switch on, turning around and looking directly at us. "Nicce." He hummed. "You guys better get dressed," He pointed over at me, "Your Mom's looking for you. And it's almost chow time." He smiled goofily before heading back out.

"Oh god," I mumbled, hoisting myself up. I scattered looking around the room for my clothes, grabbing my bra, shirt, pants, and picking up my torn underwear. I groaned as I crumbled them up and threw them at him. "Now I've got to go commando."

He leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. "Hey, you won't hear me complaining." I squinted at him before getting dressed. His eyes burning into my skin as he watched me the entire time.

"Hey!" I swatted his leg, "You gotta get ready too!"

He jolted up and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me so I was straddling his waist. "You're distracting." Our noses were touching lightly as we smiled sweetly at each other. He plastered a kiss across my lips, one that was different than his previous lust filled smooches. This one was full of passion and was slower, savory. We both broke out into wide grins. "We gotta go handsome."

He groaned as I got up, snatching his clothes dramatically.

"Hey," I walked behind him, placing my head on his shoulder and wrapping my arms around his waist, giving his shoulders and neck light kisses. "We've got all summer."

Taglist: @felicityofbakerstreet

[yourkeeperoftherunners]

Talk + Vodka = Truth (Marvel AU)

Plot: AU The Avenger caught the blonde stalking him for the past few weeks and he wants answers.

Characters: Hawkeye/Ronin!Changbin (SKZ) x Yelena Belova!Felix (SKZ), plus mention of Black Widow!Minho, Kate Bishop!Yeji, and other MARVEL characters

Rating: PG-13 (Language, spy behaviors, the Snap/the Blip, Red Room, assassin work, death, drinking, mention of PTSD)

Notes: This one shot is based on the MARVEL x SKZ moodboards I’ve been making for fun. The story is set between the events after Black Widow, Avengers: Endgame, and before the Hawkeye Disney+ show. If you’ve not watched the first two films and wish to avoid spoilers, please skip this story. Additionally, the contents of this one-shot are fictional and were created for fun.

Happy Birthday Changbin!

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

“You sure you’re old enough to be here, Kid?”

The blonde rolled his eyes, before reaching into his jacket to produce an ID.

The waiter and the man seated across from him watched as the ID was handed over. The former scanned the front and sighed as he passed it back to the blonde.

“Sorry, guess The Blip screwed you over - you look young for your age,” the waiter apologized. “What can I get you?”

“Vodka,” the blonde replied. “How much for the bottle?”

Changbin raised a brow and stared at the young man seated across from him. This guy could put away a whole bottle of vodka? It didn’t seem right, plus that was pretty unhealthy to be drinking that much. 

“Let me check with the bartender on that,” the waiter said. He turned to face Changbin and asked if he wanted the usual.

“Unless he intends to drink the entire bottle, I’ll take whatever vodka he wants,” Changbin responded.

The waiter excused himself and went to check on the vodka situation.

“Drinking a whole bottle of vodka in one go is bad for your liver,” Changbin noted as he folded his hands in front of him.

The blonde snorted and quipped that Changbin sounded like his brother. The comment made the Avenger raise a brow and he straightened up in his seat.

“The bottle is gonna cost you $35, tip not included,” the waiter announced when he returned.

Before Changbin could grab his wallet, the blonde beat him to it and placed a crumpled $50 into the waiter’s hand. “Keep the change.”

The waiter unfolded the bill and immediately left to grab the bottle and some glasses for serving. The place wasn’t busy for the early to mid-afternoon, but Changbin had a feeling the waiter wasn’t used to getting a larger than average tip during this time. The pair watched as the waiter returned within seconds with the bottle and two glasses.

Changbin flashed the waiter a light smile and told him to take it easy. He slid the bottle closer and opened it, before pouring some of the contents into one glass and nudging it across the table. “So, wanna tell me who the hell you are and why you’ve been stalking me for 2.5 weeks?”

The blonde barely had the glass raised to his lips when he heard the questions. He looked up from his glass and parted his lips slightly in shock. This made the Avenger snicker as he poured some vodka into the other glass for himself.

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

About a month and a half after burying Tony and Minho, Changbin noticed that the same blonde guy would show up in various places around the same time. The guy tried to be less obvious with disguises and using remote ways to track him, but after working with Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. for years, the Avenger’s picked up on people attempting to trail him.

Earlier today, he sensed he was being followed and urged his new protege to take Lucky and get somewhere safe. Sure Yeji gave him lip for trying to protect her, but the last thing he’d want is for her to get killed, thanks to someone hunting for him. Once the young woman had left with the dog, he hung around the area and pulled his bow on the blonde, who had a regular sidearm pointed at him. For a while, he tried urging the blonde to drop the gun before he shot first, but the blonde remained defiant with his gun pointed at the Avenger. What made them stand down was the sound of a siren and the blonde looked a little concerned when he heard the alarm.

Changbin made up his mind and told the young man to follow him so they could get under cover somewhere to finish the matter. He chose this hole-in-the-wall place that he visited at times during The Blip, often sitting and brooding over his missing family in between kills.

The blonde swore in Russian and put his glass down. “All right Old Man, I’ll make this easy for both of us. Name’s Felix. My employer told me you killed my brother and that I’m supposed to bring you in. But before I do that, why did you do it? He was telling me before The Blip that the Avengers were his real family, not me or our parents.”

Changbin tilted his head as he looked closely at the blonde across from him. If the kid wasn’t an assassin, he looked like the good kid you’d find in a suburban neighborhood, probably playing sports and making lots of friends. But the Russian, the mention of his brother again – wait, was this...?

“Min,” he offered in a soft voice.

The blonde nodded sharply and he picked up his glass again. “He’s dead, thanks to you. I’d like to know why you killed him, before I decide if I wanna bring you in dead or alive.”

The Avenger stiffened when he heard the accusation. His partner told him to go for counseling after fighting Thanos, as he was suffering terribly from losing Tony and Minho. Talking to the counselor about Minho was hard and the former couldn’t convince him that it wasn’t his fault that Minho insisted he sacrifice himself for the Soul Stone. Telling his kids that their Uncle Min wasn’t coming home was horrible, as they asked where he was and talked about their favorite memories of the red-haired “uncle” they had come to love.

“Do you know anything about Thanos and the Infinity Stones in that goddamn gauntlet he wore?” Changbin asked after prolonged silence.

When Felix shrugged, Changbin sighed and pushed his glass away as he recounted the attempts to stop Thanos from killing Vision for the Mind Stone, losing everyone he knew, then trying to get the stones again to undo what happened 5 years ago.

“It was the shrinking guy’s idea, some kind of time heist,” Changbin said. “Minho and I went to some planet in space, while the others went elsewhere in time for the other stones. We get there, this creepy red skeleton guy tells us that one of us has to sacrifice ourselves –”

“So you chose my brother?”

“YOH! I wasn’t done talking, you little shit,” Changbin snapped as he narrowed his eyes. He took a deep breath and groaned as he tried to explain what happened next. This was the hard part whenever he went to therapy – it was difficult to talk about Vormir without getting choked up and replaying the images of Minho using a stun function in his cuff to distract him, and Changbin trying to grab his hand to stop the former spy.

“Damn it, I told him I was supposed to do it!” Changbin yelled as he slammed his fist on the table. “He actually tried to keep shit together after The Blip. Me, I, I lost it. I lost my whole family. My partner. My kids. All while we were at home, having a normal day. Then I went out and I hunted down every bad guy, every gang, every criminal organization, everyone that survived and didn’t deserve it!”

The Avenger hung his head and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep it together without crying. He could hear Minho’s voice, urging him to let go of his hand on Vormir.

“Let me go.”

                                        “No. Please don’t.”

“It’s okay...”

The blonde took small sips from his glass as he watched and listened to the Avenger. Despite hating his time in the Red Room, he has to give his instructors some credit for teaching him the art of lying and reading a target’s body language. Based on what he’s seeing right now, the Avenger is telling the truth and Minho actually sacrificed his life to save the world. Which means, his employer lied or she exaggerated the story a bit, just to force him to cut his time off short. It wouldn’t surprise him – Val refused his request for a pay raise before handing over Changbin’s information for his next assignment.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m working for a female version of Dreykov, Felix thought. He put his glass down and stared across the table at the Avenger.

“Surprisingly, I believe you,” Felix replied. “Last time I saw my brother, he was going on about how he was trying to do good and forget about...yeah, well he was telling me how great things were with the Avengers before the Accords.” He played with his glass and tilted his head slightly. “You weren’t...dating my brother, were you?”

Changbin jerked his head up at the question and he paused for a few seconds, before laughing loudly. The blonde shot him a quizzical look and Changbin shook his head as he tried to compose himself.

“Oh man no, no way. Min was my colleague and sometimes, he thought it was funnier to ignore most of the shit I said,” Changbin said. “I swear he did it to piss me off, but other than that, we were friends.” He propped his elbow on the table and looked thoughtful as he recalled their mission in Budapest.

“He ever tell you about Budapest?”

Felix nodded and recounted his story of running from Dreykov’s project, otherwise known as Taskmaster, while protecting a serum to remove the brainwashing effect on the other Widows. “He makes me bleed out a bit, then we’re crammed in an air vent. An air vent. Think I saw tic-tac-toe games scratched inside the vent.”

“Wait, in the subway?”

“You mean it was the same vent you two hid in after you tried to kill Dreykov?” Felix asked. “That must have been...”

“Oh that was a weird three days!” Changbin laughed. “He got so annoyed by me complaining that I was hungry and said I was too loud. Once we got outta Budapest, he complained on the Quinjet that it was amazing I had someone in my life at all. But wait, what do you mean by ‘tried to kill Dreykov’? I thought Min said it was a hit – I saw the building go up in flames after the guy’s daughter went in. Don’t tell me that guy’s your employer.”

Felix made a face and he picked up his glass again.

“We’re going to be here a while...”

[theartofdreaming1]

Partners - Part 8: The Breakthrough

Rating: T

Pairing: DickBabs

Summary:  Looking for ways to take down corrupt Chief Redhorn, Dick and Barbara make a surprising discovery. My DickBabs police officers AU.

You can also read this chapter at AO3 or start from the beginning on my blog

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

Over the course of the next weeks, their regular jobs and their work for the Circle claimed most of Dick and Barbara’s time. While they were making good progress building their case for the feds, there was still one thing missing - even with their combined efforts, they had not yet managed to get anything substantial on Chief Redhorn himself.

“As long as we have nothing to charge Redhorn with, we can’t make our move,” Amy had explained in their last meeting with a grave mien, “it’s too dangerous - by the time something might come up to indict Redhorn as well, he could have figured out who supplied the FBI with the info necessary to take down his cronies and knowing him, he will have made some ‘arrangements’ so that won’t ever happen again - and frankly, I’m not willing to take these chances.”

Barbara’s “digital hunting expeditions” hadn’t yielded anything of interest either.

“Ugh,” she’d grumbled irritably after yet another attempt that left them with nothing to show for but an evening wasted,”this is pointless; Redhorn is of the old school - probably does everything face-to-face that isn’t already well-established in this syndicate he has been building up since the 90’s! He probably doesn’t even know that his computer has a calendar function!” 

Barbara had closed her laptop with a huff.

“If we want to get our hands on some incriminating evidence, we’re gonna have to track down some good old-fashioned paper trail - and finding that is going to require a freaking miracle.”

***

“Hey, remember that miracle you mentioned a week ago?”

Barbara looked up from her laptop, her previous frustration from another pointless try morphing into confusion, “uh-huh?”

She looked at the bags with their takeout in Dick’s hand, amused: “Why, did you find our miracle while getting Chinese?”

“Maybe,” Dick replied, visibly excited.

“How so?” 

Barbara stowed away her laptop in the compartment of the coffee table, while Dick was setting up their food on the table top.

“Well, I actually dropped by Hogan’s before getting our food and he told me something that could be a potential lead,” Dick explained, handing Barbara some chopsticks and her dumplings before plopping down on the couch.

“Spill.”

“Well, Hogan’s heard some rumors of Redhorn being in a pretty bad mood recently and that he seems to be on a pretty relentless search for someone…”

Barbara’s heart lurched. 

“Well, that doesn’t sound exactly good for us, does it?”

“That was my first thought as well,” Dick admitted honestly, taking a bite of his spring rolls. “However, according to what Hogan picked up, it seems to be related to something or someone super personal to Redhorn - apparently Mac Arnot complained about getting told off for asking “too many damn questions”; and well, as you know, Arnot always prides himself on being all chummy with our dear Chief.”

“Ugh, terrible sycophant that man.” Barbara said, her disgust displayed plainly on her face.

Dick let out a chuckle.

“You don’t have to tell me twice - he was actually enrolled at the academy at the same time as me; despite rarely attending our lessons, he surprisingly managed to start off his career as an inspector, which is not even an official position at the BPD - but we’re getting off the track here. The real question is: Who is Redhorn looking for? If he’s that secretive about their identity and connection to him that he won’t give plain orders and explanations to his lackeys, it must be someone really close to him…”

Dick trailed off with a knowing look in his eye, clearly creating a pause for dramatic effect as he was preparing to drop a bomb on her.

Barbara couldn’t help rolling her eyes fondly.

Always with the theatrics.

She gestured for Dick to move on, almost dropping the dumpling that was wedged between the chopsticks she was holding in that same hand.

“Well, it’s conjecture, but Hogan remembered that, way back, when he was still in harness, there had been rumors of Redhorn having gotten married- what if he’s looking for his wife?!”

“His wife?” Barbara echoed, surprise evident on her face. In her mind, she combed through the scarce information she had gone over during her research, but she drew a complete blank on the chief’s marital status. To be fair, she hadn’t considered nosing around in such private, familial matters (she might act as an information broker, but she was no creep) and Redhorn didn’t exactly strike her as husband material or a family man, but now that she was looking back on it, the complete lack of information on his marital status was kind of odd-

“Now that you mention it, I don’t recall having seen any information on Redhorn’s marital status whatsoever,” Barbara said carefully.

She noticed the excited spark in Dick’s eyes.

“At the very least, it sounds suspicious, doesn’t it?”

Barbara nodded, “Definitely worth checking out.”

“Of course,” Dick mused, clearly trying to rein in his excitement over this new potential stepping stone in their investigation, “even if Redhorn is looking for his wife, there is still the question of why - has she been kidnapped by other criminals who could be blackmailing him? Has she simply left him and he’s trying to get her back?” He gestured vaguely, as if to illustrate the endless possibilities.“But my point is, if Redhorn is married, his wife could potentially have information that could be useful to us.”

“Well, how useful that could end up being for us really depends on how attached she is to her husband,” Barbara pointed out, “she could invoke marital privileges and refuse to testify against her husband even if she knows of his wrongdoings... If she wants to leave him, however, she might be more inclined to help us…”

Dick nodded, a grin on his face: “Should that hypothetical wife exist, that is.”

Barbara chuckled, already shoving the half-empty take out container to the side to make space for her laptop.

She snatched her computer from the table’s compartment, opened the lid, and booted it up: “Let’s find out, shall we?”

***

Now that she knew what she was looking for, it didn’t take Barbara long to unearth the sought-after information:

“Here we go: 23 years ago, Delmore Redhorn, age 31, married Mary Wallmer, age 20, in a private ceremony in the small fishing town of Snug Cay-” a few clicks on her touchpad and a couple of strokes of her keyboard later- ”Mary was born and raised in Snug Cay, born to Albert and Lucille Wallmer, recently deceased, no siblings.”

Barbara’s eyes raced over the texts and documents, sifting through them for relevant information.

“While in high school, Mary worked at the nearby summer camp as a counselor. After high school, she enrolled in an office course to train to become a secretary… Then worked as a secretary for a small housing firm in Blüdhaven for a while… until the owner of the firm was assaulted and shot dead in his office in broad daylight, with Mary right in the next room.”

Barbara felt Dick next to her shudder. What she read next did nothing to allay her own contempt for the perpetrators of this crime:

“Apparently, the firm had had a few properties over at Avalon Heights, in Freddy Minh’s territory, something the mobster hadn’t appreciated.”

Dick let out a sound of disgust.

Barbara read on: “First responder to the crime was a certain Officer Delmore Redhorn… the wedding took place six months later.”

Scrolling through the data, Barbara tried to find any other entry of employment for Mary. Nothing.

“Doesn’t look like Mary took up another job after that.”

“Not that surprising, considering...”

“From the wedding onward, there is very little info on Mary herself… hmm, a nearly dormant facebook account, maybe that’ll yield something later… oh, wait, here’s something!”

Barbara’s eyes widened.

“Oh.”

When no further elaboration followed, Dick shifted closer, trying to catch a glimpse of what she was staring at.

“What’d you find?!”

Barbara moved the laptop so Dick could get a better look at her screen: “A birth record.”

Looking up from the screen, Dick looked at her uncomprehendingly: “So?”

“It’s not Mary’s birth record - it’s from thirteen years ago; it’s the birth record of her son.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“And the father?”

Barbara tapped her screen, “Redhorn.”

“Huh.”

“Yup... A wife and a son would definitely qualify as “close connections”, don’t you think?”

Dick grinned: “Kinda.”

Barbara smiled back, buzzing with excitement, now that this angle opened up a whole new perspective.

“Give me another hour to figure out whether this is connected to Redhorn’s troubles,” Barbara declared confidently, about to dig deeper into the piles of data ready at her fingertips. She paused briefly, looking at Dick, who had moved to the edge of the sofa, about to get up, “would you-”

“- put on some coffee?” He finished her sentence for her, smiling.

”Way ahead of you.”

***

About one hour and two cups of coffee later, Barbara was ready to present Dick with the findings of her latest cyber expedition:

“Okay, so let me show you this online chat: It’s mainly frequented by well-to-do middle class moms in the Gotham-Blüdhaven-area and their exchanges are mostly a mix of discussions on the deficits and benefits of local schools, challenges of achieving a good work-life-balance, complaints about their unruly offspring, and tips on where to find an excellent yoga instructor - but one thread stood out among the rest: A concerned user talking about how the recurring rumors of corruption in the police department and mayoral office are worrying her because she’s afraid her husband could be wrongly accused of being “mixed up in such dreadful things”. The user name? SnugCayfish78.”

Dick let out a whistle.

“Sounds like you’ve struck gold.”

Barbara grinned triumphantly: “Right? And there is more, my friend… Aside from recurring mentions of her concerns, SnugCayfish78 also dropped this bomb two weeks ago:

“He doesn’t tell me much of his work (I know that he doesn’t want me to worry), but I can tell that ever since another of his subordinate officers was arrested, something is weighing heavily on my husband… If only there was a way for me to ease his burden. Has anyone any ideas? Maybe the social calendars I’ve been keeping all these years will finally come in handy! Being able to show that my husband has only ever been in contact with the upstanding members of the public that have been so deeply invested in building up the Blüdhaven we know and love now, must certainly prove that my darling would never associate with such dishonorable policemen that are involved in corruption! Hopefully, this will be enough to lay my husband’s worries to rest.”

… and that’s the last entry from this account. Coincidentally, that is also the date Redhorn’s son posted his last picture on instagram.”

Dick gave her a meaningful look.

“Sounds to me like Mary just realized that her husband might not have been some innocent bystander in the sea of corruption that makes up Blüdhaven’s elite and decided to go underground. As an added bonus, Summer break started last week, so even if Mary just grabbed her son and left, there’s no danger of inquiries from school.”

“Would fit with what we have found out so far,” Barbara agreed, “of course, there is still the question of what Mary’s planning on doing with the information she has at hand and what Rehorn’s planning to do once he finds her…”

Dick hummed in agreement, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Considering how her entire world view has been turned on its head, she probably doesn’t even know what to do now that she has discovered her husband’s vest is anything but squeaky clean,” he reasoned,”but maybe she’d be open to handing over this evidence she’s kept unintentionally all these years.”

“Maybe,” Barbara agreed, “nothing I have found suggests that Mary had been involved in Redhorn’s illegal activities in any way; I guess she was truly ignorant of them until now. As for Redhorn - keeping in mind how he appears to be unwilling to deploy his goons in the “usual” manner, I guess we can assume that he actually does care about Mary and doesn’t want her and their son to get hurt… That being said, I have no idea whether his love for them wins out over his sense of self-preservation,” she finished grimly.

Dick nodded, steely determination displayed openly across his features: “Which is exactly why we need to be the ones to find her first.”

“Agreed.”

“You think you can find Mary and their son before Redhorn does?”

Barbara gave Dick a confident smile: “Even if Mary was a Luddite like her husband - she’s in hiding with a teen; I’ll find them, don’t you worry.“

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

to be continued.... here.

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

Notes:

Nightwing #33: Mac Arnot talks to Dick in the cafeteria of the police academy and Dick finds out that they are supposedly in the same class although he hasn't seen Arnot attend any of his classes; Arnot just shrugs it off, explaining that he's "kinda advanced"

Nightwing #42: Chief Redhorn makes Mac Arnot an Inspector (based on shifty recommendations), while Dick gets turned down when applying for a job at the BPD

Nightwing #47: Chief Ebersol (who was appointed Chief while Redhorn took off for some time, hiding from Blockbuster, I think) points out that the BPD doesn't have an official position of Inspector, while Arnot lets Ebersol know that *he* will be running things in the background until Redhorns gets back... oh and he vaguely threatens Ebersol's family (I flipping hate Arnot, ugh)

Nightwing# 71-74: Mary Redhorn (née Wallmer) is important in this story arc; she's Redhorn's wife and is from Snug Cay (although they got married 33 years ago in the comics), Dick followed her all over Europe when police and Blockbuster's goons were coming after her for having a journal that detailed Redhorn's social contacts with plenty of questionable characters; in the comics, Mary's just super naive and probably wanted to use this journal to clear his name, having no idea how closely her husband was entangled in the corruption that is running rampant in Blüdhaven - I wanted to make Mary a little less clueless and give her a bit more agency/motive by having her be protective of a son that I made up

Nightwing #59: Dick wants to drop by Freddy Minh's in Avalon, only to find that Freddy Minh has been dead for some time, his empire now run by his wife, Madame Minh (I assume Chuck Dixon is referring to Avalon Heights and not Avalon Hill, because Avalon Hill is on the outskirts of Blüdhaven, basically in the middle of nowhere, whereas Avalon Heights is situated a bit more centrally, with access to some docks, according to the map in Nightwing Secret Files and Origins #1)

[humansofhds]

The Rev. Judith Hoehler, BD ’58

“I had not intended to go on into a ministry. I really had intended to take a year out and go back into foreign service, but after I had been there for about six months studying, I knew that this was the place where I wanted to be. I felt my calling was in theology and ministry.”

Judy Hoehler is one the first seven women to enroll and receive a BD degree, which would later become the MDiv degree. She is also among the first denominational counselors at HDS, representing Unitarian Universalism.

A Time of Rejuvenation

Judy’s path to HDS began in South America. 

She explains, “I had been a Spanish major in college and had received a fellowship to do graduate work in Latin American studies at the University of Chile in Santiago. The more that I studied down there, the more I realized that the questions I was asking about how I wanted to spend the rest of my life were theological questions. And so, I decided to take a year off, since I was slated to go into foreign service, and go to divinity school, where I could address some of these issues.” 

In the spring of 1955, a friend encouraged Judy to apply to Harvard Divinity School. It was opening its doors to women for the first time that fall, and what was more, Paul Tillich was coming to HDS.

“It was going through a rejuvenation,” Judy explains, “and I thought it would be a very exciting place to study. I lived in Massachusetts, and my brother had gone to Harvard, and so, when I got home, I went and applied and was accepted as one of the seven first women.”

We Were Pathbreakers

When she arrived, Harvard had no dormitory space for women. Dean Douglas Horton and Mrs. Mildred McAfee Horton presented a solution. The Harvard Press building was undergoing renovations to become Jewett House, a home on Francis Avenue for the Dean, so the School had rented another house on Francis Avenue from the ambassador to India, Professor Galbraith, for the new dean and his wife.

Judy recalls, “It was a large house, and the Hortons very graciously opened two of the rooms to two of the woman students, and that was for Letty and for me.”

Shortly into the school year, Mrs. Horton held a tea for the seven women students at her home. Mrs. Horton was the former president of Wellesley and the founder the WAVES, the women's navy during the second world war, at President Franklin Roosevelt’s request.

“She had a tea for us because she thought we would benefit from hearing her experiences in breaking into an all-male bastion. It was a wonderful afternoon. All seven of us saw ourselves as breaking new ground.”

One example Judy recalls is the first day of classes, which was also the first day that morning prayers in Memorial Church’s Appleton Chapel were open to women.

“Up until that time, Radcliffe College students had been able to come to morning prayers, but they would have to sit in the main sanctuary of Memorial Hall and listen to the prayers through the choir screen. So Letty and I got up early. We were determined to be the first women to attend morning prayers, and we were the first women that day to get there. We later learned that George Buttrick, who was the university preacher that had come the spring before, had insisted that his wife be allowed to come to morning prayers, so in fact, she was the first woman. But Letty and I certainly saw ourselves as pathbreakers.”

Accepted Inside, Rejected Outside

When classes began, unlike Letty who had been a Bible major at Wellesley, everything was new to Judy.

“Every course opened up my mind to whole worlds that I had not been aware were there. I really was blessed with some superb lecturers, such as Tillich. Another plus that should not go unmentioned was the fact there were so many denominations, and eventually, world religions represented there. That was something that really did enrich education at Harvard.”

Judy and Letty fell in with a group of graduate students very early.

“They were all strongly in favor of women's education at the Divinity School. The faculty seemed very supportive. They seemed to not make a distinction, faculty such as Conrad Wright, George Williams, James Luther Adams, Paul Tillich, Richard Niebuhr, and Krister Stendhal. I felt very little prejudice at that time. If there was any, I was not aware of it. But Letty was. She spoke about it to me. Even after, I only noticed it in little subtle ways. For example, if we were in some discussion around a table and I said something, then later what I had said was brought up, it would be attributed to one of the male students. Other than that, I did not feel it.”

Both Letty and Judy did denominational work and met with much more prejudice in seeking ordination than either had at the School.

“In the 1950s there was a perception that the proper role for women in the church was in religious education or pastoral work rather than engaging in intellectual scholarship, theology, or official ordination.”

Even so, Judy applied for ordination in the American Unitarian Association, a very liberal denomination that had ordained quite a few women at the turn of the century. By the time Judy applied though, that had changed. There were only one or two women ordained, older women whom Judy knew.

“In my interview, I was told that I had a fine record, and I would do a good job, but unfortunately, since it was a congregationally run denomination, the congregations probably were not yet ready for women in leadership positions.”

Afterward, Judy compared interview notes with her classmate William Jones, who applied at the same time.

“It was interesting because we were both told the same thing, only his reason being that he was African American, and mine being a woman. William went on to become a professor of theology, and, of course, I went on to become a pastor, although it took a little while. It was not courage so much as a real desire to do ministry that allowed me to move forward. It was a passion to show churches that women could be pastors.”

Women Can Do the Work

There were two phases in the admission of women to Harvard Divinity School. The first was granting women access to the institution. The second was reckoning with the implications of women entering the conversation in terms of texts, doctrines, practices, and church history.

Judy explains, “The second stage happened after we left because the women's movement was just getting underway when we were students there. Our primary focus was on proving that women could do the work and women could, in fact, become pastors and theologians. I think we did succeed because Letty and I were the only two students to graduate with honors out of the 25 to 30 graduating students three years later in ‘58.”

Judy and Letty were also the only two of the first seven women to complete the three-year BD/MDiv program.

“It was an exciting time, particularly the textual criticism that was emerging called feminist works,” Judy recalls.

By the mid-1980s people like Clarissa Atkinson, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Phyllis Trible, and Letty Russell were all producing work looking at scripture, religious history, and theology from a female perspective.

“They were simply mining history from a different point of view. By the time I returned to Harvard in 1985 as an instructor in preaching and denominational counselor for Unitarian Universalism, more than half of the students were women. That was quite a remarkable change.

“I think the School should look back on the involvement of women, beginning in 1955, with pride, certainly. But with humble pride. It was a good thing that they opened admission to women, but seven women, or nine if you count two who were part time, in our entering class of over 120 was not a very big thing. HDS was not the first of the professional schools to do this at Harvard. However, once HDS decided to do it, they did it well.”

A 60-Year Co-Ministry

Attending HDS changed Judy’s life in many ways.

“I had not intended to go on into a ministry. I really had intended to take a year out and go back into foreign service, but after I had been there for about six months studying, I knew that this was the place where I wanted to be. I felt my calling was in theology and ministry.”

One moment that helped shape Judy’s future life and ministry was when she met Harry Hoehler, a Unitarian looking to enter the ministry. Harry and Judy eventually married, and Judy became a Unitarian bent on ministry as well.

“I was pregnant when I graduated, or very soon after. We had three children relatively close together, and so, I decided to put off ordination until the children were a little bit older. But I was doing a lot of work. In the early ‘60s, the women's movement was beginning to blossom, and I was doing a lot of lecturing in churches. Around ’65, I was on the first denominational committee that went around to Unitarian churches looking for new ministers and give them a training session. It was required before they could get names from the department of the ministry. It was about a day-long workshop on being open to calling women as pastors because by then, we were getting a number of very talented women into the Unitarian ministry as well as ministry in general.”

Judy identifies her “solid grounding in intellectual, academic theological and Biblical work” as one of the most important things she took away from HDS.

“It made writing sermons more central to my ministry because I began to see that the role of the pastor really is to interpret the scriptures for the contemporary scene, how one's faith was to be acted in the present time. That's certainly what governed all the lectures I did on women, women in society, and women in the church.”

She recalls, “As students, Letty and I used to complain, as did other classmates, about the fact that we really got your training by doing student work in little churches around the state. Although there were pastoral theology classes and so forth and the School was supposed to train you for the ministry, we felt there was not much training for it.

“I have to say, though, that through my years in the ministry, what has stood in good stead for me has been the very rigorous grounding that the faculty required of us in our courses in theology, church history, New Testament, Old Testament. That is something that stays with you. It whets your appetite so you continue studying, and working, and joining groups like the Boston Ministers Association, where you read papers to one another.

“I think that's really my greatest gratitude to the Divinity School. And the fact that the Divinity School was so open to the many branches of Christendom and ultimately of world religions. It led Harry and me to both be involved in interdenominational, interreligious work, through our whole ministry. It’s been 60 years that Harry and I have been in co-ministry, and it has been a very rich life, I must say.”

Edited by Natalie Campbell; original interview by Rich Higgins / Photos: Harvard Divinity Bulletin and Andover-Harvard Theological Library

[wintaejk]

Jungkook’s FIC REC | OS 2

I had too many links on the other post. Here is the second part of my Jungkook’s fic rec but with others themes.

Again, all those fictions belong to the amazing authors who wrote them, not me. I want to thank them once more. 

(f) = fluff

(a) = angst

(m) = mature

magical au

— Trick or Treat: Howling for You (F) (M) — by @fortunexkookie​

The way your Little Red Riding Hood costume lured over a fuckboy in a half-assed werewolf costume was a little cliche, but god damn was he beautiful. He promised he had plenty of big things to show you, and you took him up on the offer, not realizing that you might’ve bitten off more than you could chew.

werewolf au | established relationship | +14k

— rottenfolk (M) — by @junqkook​

a look was as hazardous as chemicals, a kiss as perilous as poison; his eyes and lips felt akin to a cure, but he was purely venom.

faerie au | royalty au | +13k

Commentary - If there’s only one one-shot I could recommend you to read of all tumblr, it would probably be this one. For me, it is rare to acheive such a level of mastery in fantasy fictions. Writing is already complicated, but when you have to place the readers in an unknown universe, it is even harder.                         However, the real brilliance of this story is the end. Because the end is supposed to satiate the reader in a way or another, it is supposed to offer what all the reader craved: a sort of closure. But here we all are, waiting for a sequel, because this story will make you want a next episode. And that is the brilliance, because you will surely never forget a story with that kind of power.                         So those are some of the reasons why this fiction is for me a mix of art, smartness and excellence ; and also why you would be missing something huge by not reading it.

— overdrive (M) — by @junqkook​

you thought meeting jungkook was just a coincidence, but the universe didn’t deal in coincidences.

vampire au | soulmate au | enemies to lovers | +13k

— Crescent Bound - Jungkook (F) (M) — by @parkhabits​

A pact bound by the moon. A secret kept only amongst themselves. Each of them experiencing their own cycles of heat.

werewolf au | friends to lovers | +12k

— Room 109 (M) — by @lavishedinjimin​

Having Jungkook as your apartment buddy was a lot to get used to. But with one early day, your heat comes up much stronger than usual, and you were desperate for an alpha’s touch.

werewolf au | roommate au | alpha!jungkook | +6k

— after dark (M) — by @seokoloqy​

Jungkook has served the royal family for generations, seen them live and die countless times. When it comes to you, he can’t watch you wither away too, but your lust for one another makes it harder and harder to stay apart.

vampire au | royalty au | knight!jungkook | +8k

— Life’s Blood (F) (A) (M) — by @littlenoona​

You produce blood cells at an increased rate when blood is lost, effectively, you cannot bleed out. This ability has served you well so far, even gaining you a rare friend, and you’ve made it your source of income, but it also has its downsides, one of which you’ve managed to avoid successfully, until now.

vampire au | +13k

— you come in waves (A) (M) — by @angelguk​

if jeongguk had a choice, he would destroy the sun. it’s not like he needed it for warmth due to his werewolf abilities making him a scorching radiator. it would also help his heart. because you look delectable in that stupid bikini.

werewolf au | friends to lovers au | 4k

— tell me your secrets (i’m all ears) (F) — by @jinpire​

You’re not afraid of Jeon Jeongguk. Even if he’s probably some kind of bear or giant cat shifter, and just a hint of his irritation had your instincts vibrating beneath your skin like a live wire. Your thumb brushed over the plastic dome of mini-Levi’s head, taking comfort in the cartoon scowl and dead eyes, the tiny grey sticks of his 3DM gear. Small could be pretty fucking powerful too.

shifter au | college au | bunny!kook | +6k

drabbles: nooks and naps - foxie moxie (don’t pull my tail) - look before you leap  - fluffles and kerfuffles

— Pomegranate Seeds (M) — by @taetaebaepsae​

Jungkook thinks he’s found the perfect new roommate, but little doesn’t he know you’re just aching to corrupt him.

demon au | roommate au | virgin!jungkook | +4k

other themes

— Every Kind of Way (F) (M) — by @taehyungforreal​

{Three little vignettes, three completely different experiences, same perfectly wonderful boyfriend JK.}

strangers to lovers  | established relationship  | +14k

Commentary - I remember when this fiction was posted. I read the teaser a few days before, and I was waiting for it. I remember the exact date of the release of this story, and let me tell you it never happens to me. But this is how much I liked this story. This masterpiece.                         This fiction is 95% made of smut. This is a warning if you don’t like that. However, what I like about Ashley’s works is that smut is not only smut (okay, sometimes it’s just pure filth but whatever). It’s not the first time I’ve read a piece of work of her and that I’ve been so thankful of reading her. Because the stories she writes are realistic. Sex is not always perfect. Sex is not always like in porn. Sex can be embarrassing. And this is why I love what Ashley writes, because she always have that realistic point of view on life. And sometimes it’s also nice to not turn everything into porn.                          What is very likeable - I said likeable? I meant loveable, sorry - about that story is also the three different stages of the relation of Jk and reader. This is also something I like about her writings. Life evolves, relationships evolve, and so does sex. So in this story, you will experience three different Jungkook. And it’s three reasons why you should read this fiction, three reasons why you will probably love it.                          One thing is sure, this chef-d’oeuvre will leave you wondering if your eyes have been burnt by the smuttiness or blessed by all the talent of this writer.

— tattooed two (ft. kth) (F) (M) — by @httpjeon​

your boyfriend’s best friend joins you for a night you’ll never forget.

tattoo artist au | established relationship  | poly au  | +8k

— Inkling (A) (M) — by @gguksgalaxy​

Jungkook is your brother’s boyfriend’s co-worker, they own a tattoo and piercing parlour. In other words, he’s tall, gorgeous, has his passion literally etched into his skin, looks incredibly good in a man-bun, and is semi-unattainable for you. Why? Well…you’re not entirely sure but him ditching right after a very heated make-out session sure isn’t a good sign. His extremely poor mood the next week sure isn’t either, but the only way to fix it is to face the beast head-on. Right?

tattoo artist au  | +17k

— Freak-quency (M) — by @taehyungforreal​

His eyes sparkle and he fights back a smile when he asks you why. “Is it because I didn’t give you something else to swallow like I said I would,” he questions, halfway through a much less subtle adjustment of his growing erection. Yoongi was right, he wants to be in trouble.

rockstar au  | established relationship  | +8k

— Boots (M) —

3000+ words of Ashley kinking on Jungkook’s boot. That’s it.

rockstar au  | established relationship  | part of Freak-quency  | +3k

— Heartbreaker with a Heart of Gold (A) (M) — by @filmflowersbangtan​

It was around this time almost three years ago when Jungkook moved to LA after his band got signed to a famous record label. He told you that he’d keep in contact with you. That he’d visit as much as he could. That he loved you. But about a month after leaving, he stopped texting and calling as much. And then a mere week after the band’s first EP dropped, Burning Rabbit was a sensation.

rocksatr au | ex lovers  | +3k

— Brother’s best friend (M) — by @lavishedinjimin​

In which Y/n owns a smut blog dedicated to her crush and brother’s best friend, jungkook. it was all fun and games until he finds out about it and acts it out with you.

brother’s best friend!jungkook  | +5k

— Sugarplum Elegy (F) (A) (M) — by @bymoonchild​

You know no bounds nor depth with Jungkook. While your fuck buddy loves sleeping in your bed and doing laundry for you with his favourite fabric softener, you are in love with a mysterious honeyed, velvety voice on Soundcloud. All’s fine, until you find out that the voice that metaphors your heart to a sweet sugarplum melody actually belongs to the boy who has been taking up a special spot in your bed and in your heart, strumming at your heartstrings all this while.

friends with benefits  | college au  | idiots to lovers | +17k

— The Kids Aren’t Alright (F) (A) (M) — by @sketchguk​

Sneaking around with Jeongguk during your Christian retreat is complicated when you’re both dedicated to your jobs as co-youth group counselors at your father’s ministry.

friends with benefits  | pastor’s kid!reader  | +10k

— Gym (F) (M) — by @hobiwonder​

Jungkook has a crush on you and has been watching you work out at his gym. One day you finally confront his obvious crush.

business woman!reader  | fratboy!jungkook  | older reader | +8k

— Gravity Check (M) — by @gimmesumsuga​

The one where Jungkook is your oh-so-handsome climbing instructor.

climbing instructors!jungkook  | strangers to lovers  | 14k

— The Monogamy Monologues (F) (M) — by @kpopfanfictrash​

The year? Some point after college. The occasion? Namjoon is getting married and the Rich Man’s Crochet Club has convened once again. Somewhere between the drinks and the laughter, everyone has the same realization: Jungkook has never been in a serious relationship. In the name of all that is holy (Overwatch and booze), the club’s mission is revived. Now though, their goal is much more perilous. Now, they aim to find Jeon Jungkook a girlfriend. (Part of The Rich Man’s Crochet Club series)

fuckboy!jungkook  | wedding planner!reader  | strangers to lovers  | +42k

— The Virgin Volume (F) (A) (M) —

This fic exists in the RMCC universe. It takes place before RMCC and is the story of how Jungkook lost his virginity. To quote Seokjin/Namjoon: “What Jungkook doesn’t know won’t hurt him and – let’s be honest – his story is hilarious. One pump,” Seokjin laughs, sounding like a hyena. “One pump and he’s done.” // Ducking his head, Namjoon tries not to smile. “It was a rookie mistake,” he protests, defending their friend. “Jungkook was overexcited and couldn’t control himself. He got better.”

college au  | friends to lovers  | prequel to TMM  | +6k

— everlasting (A — by @kimvvantae​

being able to love the same person forever is a blessing given from the heavens. to you, however, eternity has become a curse.

reincarnation au  | 18k

— Performances (M) — by @littlenoona​

The same handsome guy has been appearing at your performances and you become more and more interested in who he is - now you’re dancing only for him, despite a hall full of people.

strangers to lovers  | professional dancer!reader  | +6k

— Matching Hearts (F) (A) — by @gukwluv​

a drunk call to your ex boyfriend leads to a night of fun adventures that make you wonder why you even split in the first place.

exes au | +3k

— locker room talk (M) — by @minnpd​

You end up having a rather heated talk with Jeon Jungkook in the locker room when he announces he has been chosen for the audition you both participated to.

dancer au | enemies to lovers | fuckboy!jungkook | +5k

— not quite lovers (M) — by @junqkook​

hiring jeon jungkook as your personal assistant happens to have more than one perk.

workplace au | friends with benefits | ceo!reader | +15k

— By Its Cover (M) — by @gimmesumsuga​

The one where Jungkook makes a very bad first impression.

workplace au | enemies to lovers | 21k

— Mind in the Gutter (F) (M) — by @kpopfanfictrash​

Starting over is never fun. Especially not when you decide to take the phrase fully to heart; new job, new city, new coworkers and new relationships. When you are dragged to a happy hour by your new co-worker, Taehyung, you end up sitting beside a (very) cute, (very) shy IT worker named Jungkook. Several drinks later, he mentions he is in a professional bowling league with his friends and you rather enthusiastically invite yourself along. As time passes and you begin to grow closer, you still find it impossible to read Jungkook. Working in the same company and seeing each other so often, it is only so long before one of you snaps. But who?

workplace au | bowling au | strangers to friends to lovers | +18k

[merakiaes]

Halloween - Xavier Plympton

Pairing: Xavier Plympton x reader

Requested: Yes. 

Prompts: None. 

Warnings/notes: Part two? Comment if that’s something you would want. If the interest is there, I’ll make a part two where they get to know each other a bit better. This isn’t proofread so sorry in advance for any mistakes and sorry if it’s bad. I didn’t really know what to write for this one, hopefully my future Xavier pieces will be better😅 Send in more requests!

Wordcount: 2485

Summary: Halloween, the only time of the year when the spirits can leave Camp Redwood. Bobby takes the squad with him to a college party, where you’re one of the hostesses. 

Halloween. The only time of the year when the trapped spirits of Camp Redwood could step over the border and wander off into the world.

Granted, they couldn’t really get much further than Los Angeles, the very place they had been trying to escape by signing up as camp counselors in the first place, as they had to be back by midnight. But after being stuck in that wretched place, constantly surrounded by death for over thirty long years, anything was better than there.

The first times they discovered this loophole, they had, of course, tried to stay outside camp after midnight, but every time, they would pass out and wake up inside the border again. They were really stuck, and Halloween was the only time the curse was lifted.

Most years, Benjamin, his mother and brother would go off with Bobby as the camp wasn’t safe for him and he couldn’t visit them there, while the other spirits went off on their own.

But this year was different. This year, the Richters were on Ramirez guard duty, and Bobby’s college just so happened to be throwing a Halloween party with an 80s theme. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.

Bobby brought his car up to the camp early that morning, waited right by the border and called out for the spirits, letting them know of the festivities they were going to be participating in that evening and no one made any protests to it.

On the contrary, Montana and Xavier practically fought their way to the front seat, Xavier coming out on top at the end of it and forcing Montana to take her place in Trevor’s lap in the backseat. Not that she was complaining.

You went to the same college as Bobby and had made yourself acquainted with him as you shared more than a few classes. You would say you were good friends, but you didn’t really hang out other than in an academic purpose.

You were a sorority girl and a popular one at that, and he had always been kind of an outcast. Probably not very surprising, as his dad was the infamous Mr. Jingles.

He had told you the entire truth about what really happened at Camp Redwood, about Margaret Booth being the real villain and how she had framed his father to get away with fulfilling her twisted needs.

But he hadn’t told you about the way they were ghosts at camp and that he regularly went up to see them.

Even though you were pretty much the only one who believed the story about his dad and Margaret Booth, it seemed a bit too farfetched that you would also believe in ghost stories, and even though you didn’t hang out on a regular basis, he wasn’t ready to lose the only living friend he had.

It was your sorority that was hosting the costume party, and you were… not too thrilled about it. You may have been a sorority girl, but you were in it all for the friendships and sisterhood, and less so for the parties and boys.

Majority of the men of the 21st century were pigs, especially the frat-boys. To them, everything was theirs, objects and women alike. Although really, to them, there was no distinction between the two.

And their rich dads feeding their massive egos and toxic masculinity with ideas and promises that they were going to be at the top of the world one day didn’t make things better, either.

The sexual revolution had been even more intense during the 20th century, but at least then they’d had some manners about it. When finding out the theme of the annual party, you had found yourself wishing you were actually in the 80s.

But unfortunately, time travel had yet to be discovered, so all you could do was put on a smile, get dressed in some skimpy outfit consisting of a bright purple bralette, a black mesh top and a skintight leather skirt, and go around the party greeting everyone like the good host that you were.

Only half an hour into the party, you had been hit on by more guys than you could count, of which none had made a courteous approach.

It was always the same. They would slide up next to you with a smug, self-righteous smirk, touch your hair or your face while ogling your chest or legs, and ask in a voice they probably intended to be seductive but came out as anything but, “Wanna get out of here?”.  

Every time, you would smile and politely turn them down with the excuse that your sisters were counting on you to looking over the order at the party, and every time you got the same response.

“Whatever, you’re not that hot, anyway.”

At this point, you were so used to it you didn’t even bat an eye, which was actually really sad, because it shouldn’t have to be that way.

Eventually, you just retreated to the back of the living-room, leaning against a wall with an untouched drink in your hand as your friends and enemies danced along to ‘You Spin Me Round’ by Dead Or Alive in all their drunken glory, all dressed in neon, mesh and headbands and behaving as if they wouldn’t have to go back to studying early the next morning.

By the time Bobby walked into the house with everyone else in tow, the party was raging on, the entire house feeling as if it was shaking with life.

After having had to adjust themselves to the new century the previous years they had gone out during Halloween, they were all astonished at the familiarity of it all.

The costumes looked just like their actual clothes, and the music blasting from the speakers was the very same music that had been the latest hits during the time they were still alive.

“Oh, Bobby, this is tubular!” Montana gasped excitedly as she looked around the room, holding on to Trevor’s arm tightly.

Chet nodded, looking around with equally as much fascination. “Toooh-tally tubular!” He agreed.

Bobby chuckled, but before anyone could say anything else, Xavier had grabbed a hold of the human boy’s sleeve and tugged on it, looking rather distraught as he stared at something at the other side of the room.

“Bobby. Who’s that?” He asked, eyes not once blinking.

Bobby and the other’s followed his line of sight and instantly caught sight of you where you stood, looking over the room in a bored manner with your arms crossed over your chest.

Your hair was styled in wild curls, your hips hugged beautifully by a black leather skirt and your stomach and arms on display underneath the black mesh, your chest barely covered by the lilac bralette.

You were unlike anything Xavier had ever seen, and he had seen a lot of lightly-dressed girls during his time as an aerobics instructor. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you, his head spinning at sight of your smile.

“She’s hot.” Montana was quick to comment, to which Bobby chuckled once again.

“Yeah, she is.” He agreed. “And she’s totally out of our league. Out of anyone’s league, really.”

Xavier finally tore his eyes away from you, turning to look at the human beside him. “You know her?”

He shrugged. “We’re in the same classes.” He informed. “She’s the only one I’ve told about my dad.”

“She knows about us?” Ray spoke up for the first time.

“No…” Bobby hesitated, watching as yet another guy approached you, having to hold in the snort when seeing the annoyed and disgusted look overcoming your face. “I kind of left out the whole… ghost part.”

“Introduce me.”

Bobby averted his gaze to the blonde boy beside him, eyebrows raising in surprise at the demanding tone in his voice. “What?” He inquired, to which Xavier yet again let his eyes leave your form to look at him.

“Introduce me. To her.” He demanded, eyes flickering over to you for a brief moment before looking back to Bobby, adding in a more hesitant voice. “Please.”

Bobby hesitated, looking between the two of you. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea, Xavier.” He admitted but having felt their stares burning into the side of your face, you had already spotted them, and wasted no time in heading over in their direction, eager to get away from the conversation you were currently forced into.

“Oh, thank God, you’re here.” Was the first thing you said to Bobby as you got close enough for him to hear you over the music, dumping the drink in your hand at a table on your way. “I’m at the brink of going crazy.”

You came to a stop before him, your arms crossing over your chest, which only made it even harder for Xavier to tear his eyes away from your… assets.

“I take it you’re not having a very good time, then.” Bobby smirked, amused.

You met his eyes with a playful glare, before looking around sourly. “I would’ve rather stayed at my dorm, watching a movie or something, but oh well.” You snorted, turning back to look at him. “What to do, right?” You asked, attempting a small smile.

He returned it with one of his own, and you suddenly became very aware of the stares from the people he was with, direction your eyes to them. Your eyebrow raised slightly at the sight of them. All of them looked like they were pulled straight out of the 80s.

You hummed, giving them all a once-over before turning back to Bobby. “So, are you going to introduce me to your friends?” You asked, and Bobby quickly snapped into it.

“Oh, right.” He realized. “Guys, this is (Y/N). (Y/N), this is-“

“I’m Montana.” The only girl in the company stepped forward, holding her hand out to shake with a big smile on her lips. “I just have to say, your bod is like, rad. Do you take aerobics?”

“I-“ You were at loss for words at the sudden compliment, your eyes widening slightly. But nonetheless, you took her hand in yours, shaking it.

“I do actually.” You answered, chuckling. “I haven’t met anyone who’s into aerobics around here before. It’s not really a thing anymore. Where did you say you were from?”

She smiled proudly. “Los Angeles, born and raised.”

You hummed, narrowing your eyes slightly at her, trying to process her face in your head, but came out with a blank. “Weird.” You said. “I haven’t seen you around before, and there’s only one aerobics studio left here.”

She only shrugged and smiled, and Bobby took the wheel from then on, beginning to introduce everyone else.

“This is Ray, Chet, Trevor, aaand… Xavier.” He introduced them. All of them gave you a smile and a small ‘hello’ accompanied by a wave each, and you kindly returned it all, until your eyes finally met with the last person to be introduced.

You had never been one to believe in the clichés always used in chick flicks about love at first sight, but as you met his eyes, you could’ve sworn you felt the rest of the room just… melt away.

He was absolutely gorgeous, looking as if he was pulled straight out of a magazine.

A feeling resembling a high came over you and your body moved on its own as you held his gaze, your hand coming out in front of you. “I’m (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you.” You said, smiling, and he wasted no time in taking your hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

“I’m Xavier.” He introduced himself, even though Bobby had just introduced him a second ago.

You smiled and nodded, holding his gaze for a moment longer before turning to look at Bobby again. “Well, you know the drill by now.” You told him. “Drinks are in the kitchen where they always are, and if there’s anything else you need, I won’t be far away.”

Bobby smiled, leaning in to hug you quickly, an act of friendly affection that you accepted with open arms.

“Thanks, (Y/N).” He told you, letting you go and turning to his friends. “Let’s go get some drinks.”

They didn’t need to be told twice, all of them heading in the direction of the kitchen without a second thought, weaving their way through the people crowding the room. But Xavier didn’t move from his spot, his eyes staring down at you.

For some reason, however, you didn’t mind, simply looking up to meet his eyes with a small smile.

Your head tilted to the side slightly as you inspected his face, eyes narrowing as your smile widened. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” You asked carefully, finding him awfully familiar.

A nervous smile overcame his features, but you thought nothing of it as he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” He answered.

You hummed, analyzing his face for another moment before shaking yourself free of your thoughts, chuckling. “Sorry, you just look so familiar.” You confessed.

The sound of your laugh instantly caused his smile to widen, and his confidence quickly rose when you let the subject go. “I guess I just have one of those faces.” He shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess.” You chuckled again, smiling. You were quiet for a few seconds, your eyes leaving his to gaze around the room.

In one of the corners, you could spot your sorority sisters playing beer pong with some guys from one of the fraternities, and by the looks of it as Savannah had her tits out, they were playing the hit-or-strip version.

The sight brought a slight sigh from your lips, and you shook your head. You could only comfort yourself with the knowledge that your other sisters would look after her and keep her out of harm’s way. God knows she wouldn’t be able to do so herself in the state she was in; she had never been able to hold her alcohol very well.

“Look…” You began, finally tearing your eyes away from the scene and turning back to the blonde boy in front of you. “I know this is kind of sudden and that we don’t know each other very well but… would you want to get out of here?”

You smiled sheepishly, fiddling with the large bracelets on your wrists. “I’m not much of a party person and I’ve been desperate for an excuse to bounce since this thing started.” You confessed.

But rather than finding your sudden and bold request strange, he only smirked, holding his hand out for you to take. “I go where you go.” He told you without as much as a second thought.

You raised an eyebrow at that, but smirked at him and put your hand in his, and wasted no time in leading him towards your dorms.

[crackimagines]

Megumi Sakura as a Professor AU (Time-Skip)

Geez, ya’ll are evil, you know that?

—–

School-Live! AU Masterlist Here

“Five years have passed since Garreg Mach had been invaded.

So much has happened since then. 

The Church of Seiros, Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the Adrestian Empire have delcared war on each other, meaning that a majority of our students have become people we have to fight.

And k

Megumi’s hand stopped when realized what she was about to write.

(Megumi) “…And kill.”

(Megumi) …Killing the children…

Her students were no longer children, but the fact remained that they had to harm people she cared so much for.

Megumi couldn’t bring herself to finish the journal. 

She had dusted it off after leaving five years ago. She was amazed it was still here after all this time. Though it seemed a little pointless now since she couldn’t even write in it.

With a sigh, Megumi closed her journal and set it back onto the table, cleaning up her desk a little.

Megumi looked off to the window where she had put the new flowers in. 

The ones the Black Eagles class had given here had obviously wilted away, and felt appropriate to replace them to help her feel at ease.

Though truth be told, no amount of redecorating would make everything feel the same. A majority of the Monastery was in ruins with debris from the battle everywhere, and only now were soldiers trying to clean up some of the blood that was splattered here and there.

She remembered the battle like it was yesterday, trying to evacuate as many of the students as she could before making her escape with the rest of the church forces.

Megumi was willing to die for the students if it meant saving them, but luckily it had never come to that.

When Imperial forces isolated her in the monastery, they were planning to keep her prisoner until they realized that she wasn’t a combat instructor, and Edelgard personally came to speak to Megumi.

(Edelgard) “Megune-…Professor Sakura. Thank goodness you aren’t hurt. Men, release her immediately.”

The soldiers let go of her arms and nodded.

Megumi knew the rest of the class was with her, but it seemed Edelgard and Hubert were the only ones who knew she was still here.

(Hubert) “Worry not, we do not plan to kill you…Unless you cause trouble for us, of course.”

(Edelgard) “Bluntly put but…not inaccurate. I would never want it to come to that. Professor Sakura, I can only give you this advice, stay out of this war. This is not an order but…a request from your student. Please.”

Megumi had done a very good job of that, helping out any wounded in the Church. She was never on the frontlines, nor did she think she ever could.

The idea of killing someone was sickening to her, and she refused to even think about hurting her former students.

She only returned to the Monastery because of a promise she made five years ago. The classes and their professors wanted to return in five years for the festival to have a big class reunion. 

They originally made the offer to Byleth, but Megumi was quickly dragged into the discussion, alongside Manuela and Hanneman.

Even though she knew the state of the Monastery, she wanted to keep that promise.

And she was glad she did, because Byleth was still alive after all that time.

A knock on her door brought Megumi back to the present, and she turned to the door.

(Megumi) “Come in!”

When the door opened, she involuntarily jumped seeing Byleth come in. She wasn’t used to his green hair back then, and she certainly wasn’t used to it now.

(Byleth) “Hey, Megumi.”

They both smiled at each other, and Byleth sat down on her bed as she turned around in the chair.

(Megumi) “What do you need, Byleth?”

(Byleth) “I’m just checking up on you.”

(Megumi) “M-Me?”

(Byleth) “It’s good to see you again after all these years but…where have you been?”

(Megumi) “I mostly stayed in Church and Kingdom territory helping out any churches or medical facilities as much as I could.”

(Byleth) “Were you able to find any of our old students?”

Megumi stayed silent for a moment. She had wished to see Mercedes or Manuela or anyone, frankly, but…

(Megumi) “No there…There wasn’t anyone I recognized.”

(Byleth) “I see.”

(Megumi) “Ah, but I’m happy to see you all now! If it meant waiting five years to see everyone healthy then it was well worth the wait-”

(Byleth) “You don’t have to pretend you’re okay with me, Megumi.”

Megumi’s smile slowly went away as she stared at the floor.

(Byleth) “These last five years, you’ve been all by yourself?”

(Megumi) “…Yes.”

Her voice had become quiet all of a sudden.

(Byleth) “And now you’re caught up in this mess too…”

(Megumi) “I…I can’t leave any of our students behind, Byleth. M-Maybe you can convince them to join us! That way we don’t have to hurt them and-”

She looked up from the ground and at Byleth, and saw the face of someone just as broken as she was.

(Byleth) “I want nothing more than to go back to those days, Megumi, but…”

(Megumi) “It’s impossible, I know…”

She looked back at the ground, her vison going blurry.

Byleth noticed that she was shaking now.

(Megumi) “The students, they didn’t deserve this fate…!”

(Byleth) “Megumi…”

Her fists started to curl up as teardrops landed on them.

(Megumi) “Why…? Why do we have to hurt our students?! WHY DO WE HAVE TO KILL THEM?! WHY COULDN’T WE HAVE JUST BEEN ALL TOGETHER?!-”

She wanted to scream more, but her words turned incomprehensible as she started bawling. 

Byleth hugged her as she continued sobbing. Although the way he was holding her was very awkward, he still tried his best to comfort her.

Five years worth of emotional pain was finally being released, and Megumi finally had someone to be there for her, just as she was there for her students.

Deep down she knew how she was hurting was only the beginning.

Now that Byleth was back, the war had truly begun.

And that meant that the students she loved were going to die one way or another.

Blue Lions

Megumi would’ve been absolutely heartbroken seeing how Dimitri was. How someone so caring and sweet turned into such a bloodthirsty person.

When she first tried approaching him, Dimitri cursed at her, saying that she was a pest.

Like Byleth, she desperately wanted to say something to snap him out of it, but nothing was working.

Although hope of seeing the Dimitri she knew would come back was fading, she still persisted.

When he finally did return to his old self, she was sobbing tears of joy. She cried harder when Dimitri came to apologize to her.

As for the rest of the Blue Lions, she was devastated when the news of Dedue was brought to her, but had the same reaction when Dedue finally found his way back to the group.

She was so proud of the others for the people they’ve matured into, and was happy to lend an ear to anyone who came to her.

Of course, the former Blue Lions class still referred to her as Megunee.

Golden Deer

Megumi was thankful that mostly everyone was kept intact despite such dire circumstances.

When Claude started making snarky remarks as the two waited for everyone else to arrive, including Byleth, she hugged him, needing to hear that her students weren’t affected by the war.

By the time everyone had come back, she was thankful to see them all again. Obviously they had troubles and everything wasn’t perfect, but the fact they all matured and stayed together was the only thing she asked for.

Of course, the former Golden Deer class still referred to her as Megunee.

Black Eagles

Against her better judgement and what Edelgard warned her, she wanted to stay with the Black Eagles class when they returned to Garreg Mach and occupied it.

With the Adrestian Empire essentially fighting everyone, Megumi knew that this path was going to be very bloody and that no happy ending would be rearing its head.

Manuela, Hanneman, Catherine, Shamir, Seteth, everyone she worked with and called dear friends were going to be siding with the Church, which meant against them.

She couldn’t bear to face any of them, knowing they’d call her a traitor. At least that’s what she thought, none of them ever got close to Megumi again, since they were mostly killed at the second battle of Garreg Mach.

Since she had stayed at Garreg Mach, Megumi decided to be something of an emotional counselor for the Black Eagles Strike Force.

Dorothea, Linhardt, and Bernadetta frequented her the most.

Of course, the former Black Eagles class still referred to her as Megunee.