#and then suddenly one of the girlies is standing on the table acting out an entire poetry book

[greyeyedmonster-18]

(look, keep watching and it just gets more insane, which is fine and S1 is the least offensive, what a wild ride but

i forgot that one of the characters sleeps with his grandmothers INHOME CAREGIVER.

also theres a hilarious scene S1 where all the kids are in a like...burger joint just casually reciting poetry verses.

one of these things may or may not make it into the fic)

(oh, also and then i'll leave-- i completely forgot that in the second season of Friday Night Lights, two of the teens KILL A MAN and DUMP THE BODY OVER A BRIDGE INTO THE RIVER.

rest assured that will not be happening in my au but like.

it would be fucking Peter and MARLENE doing it if it was.)

[detectivestucks]

Date Crasher

18+ Content Minors do NOT interact

Pairing: Modern AU Kakashi x F!Reader

Summery: Your toxic ex-husband Kakashi crashes your first date since the divorce and you fall into his baby trapping scheme when you look to use him for a one night stand.

Warnings: NSFW, Baby Trapping, Public sexual acts, Hair Pulling, Fingering, Oral, Unprotected Penetration, Degradation.

Word Count: 3.4k

Anon Ask

Tonight was a big night. After months of wallowing in self pity you’re finally doing it. You’re finally going on a date. You’re not expecting to find love on the first try or anything, you just want to dip your toe in the dating pool. Maybe even splash around a little bit. A hot makeout session and maybe even cuddles would be nice. Nothing serious, just a small ego boost from a nice guy. 

It had been forever since the last time you were on a date. You didn’t know how to dress for one anymore so you just wore your favorite outfit. Was it really girly? Yeah, but it looked cute and you felt confident. Nothing could make you feel more beautiful than your sparkly pink body con dress. The fabric stretched over your hips just right, tapering in to hug your thighs and accentuate your coke bottle figure. 

As you gaze in the mirror you realize this is the prettiest you’ve felt ever since your ex husband cheated on you. You scan yourself up and down as you soak in the figure of a woman you had since forgotten. A tear begins to well in your eye before you blink it away and grab your bag to leave.

You head to the restaurant and wait at the bar for your date to arrive. After your second tequila sunrise you decide to slow down, not wanting to be drunk before your date arrives despite how calming the liquor is to your nerves. You chase the lime wedge around the bottom of your glass with the tiny ink colored straw when you hear a woman clear her throat. You begin to stand as your eyes glance up to meet the hostess.

“Evening miss, your table is read-”

The small woman gasps as a strong hand comes down on your shoulder pushing you back into your seat.

“She won’t be needing that table. Now scram.”

Her tiny frame, after a quick nod, disappeared from view as she slipped through the crowd that mingled around the bar. Hand still pressed on your shoulder, there was suddenly a warm tickle in your ear.

“Now just what do you think you’re doing here?”

“Moving forward”

“Oh no sweetcheeks, you’re not moving anywhere. Did you really think I’d let my wife go outside wearing that slutty get up?”

“I’m not your wife anymore.”

“You’ll always be my wife. When will you realize that. I own you, sweetie?”

You shove his hand off of your shoulder and make to stand up and leave when his other hand grabs you.

“Not so fast, babe. We’re not done here.”

“Yes we are.” You say, ripping your arm out of his grasp. “Now, I need to call my date and reschedule seeing as you’ve officially ruined my mood.”

“Don’t bother. He’s not coming.”

You freeze and turn around. “What did you do?”

A coy smirk grows beneath his mismatched eyes.

“Kakashi, what did you do?”

“I gave that twerp a proper warning outside to stay away from my wife.”

You let out a huff in frustration. “I’m not your wife!”

“YES YOU ARE!” he boomed the words so loud that the restaurant fell silent.

Your eyes flick around the room in embarrassment. “Our nullified marriage license would disagree.” You give one more glance around the bar. “Can we please not have this fight in public?”

“We wouldn’t have to fight at all if you’d just let me come home.”

”You’re not coming home because you cheated Kakashi. You broke our marriage the moment you stuck your pecker inside another woman. Don’t blame me for the fruits of your labor just because they taste bitter.” You grab your purse and start to head towards the door.

“There you go with your high and mighty speech again.”

“Leave me alone Kakashi.”

“No, not till you see reason.”

“You’re the one who needs a reality check.” you say haughtily as you walk away.

Kakashi is hot on your tail as he once more grasps your arm. He pulls you out of the restaurant, dragging you down the street.

“Kakashi let go of me! Let go!” Your arm tries clawing him off of you but he drags you into a vacant alleyway and shoves you against the wall. Your hands are pinned against the rust colored brick on either side of your face. Hot breath fills your ear with that sultry deep voice.

“What were you going to do with that little punk, huh? All slutted out in your favorite pink dress? Were you gonna let him touch you?”

Kakashi rolls his hips into you and you feel that familiar sensation of fear and arousal blended together. 

“Were you gonna give my pretty lips away to some other man?”

He lunges in to kiss you, swirling his tongue around your mouth before biting down on your lower lip. Tears splash down your cheeks during his forced passion. You didn’t want this. You wanted an awkward first date with a nice guy, but instead you’re trapped under your toxic ex husband.

Kakashi lets go of your wrists to grab covetously around your waist, pulling you in and squeezing you against his defined chest. His kiss becomes more desperate while you vainly attempt to push him off of you. 

“You’re never going to find someone else who knows you like I do sweet cheeks. No one else will ever satisfy you the way I do.” 

His lips ghost over your cheek and trail down to your chin. You can’t help the way it steals your breath.

“No Kashi.”

“No baby, you don’t get it. We belong together.” He starts kissing your neck, softly lulling you into a state of compliance. “We still have a future together.”

“Kakashi, please.”

“Please what baby? What does my good girl want?”

You didn’t know what to say. You wanted him to stop and leave you alone but you also wanted him to keep going and touch you the way he used to. What he says is true, no one makes you feel the way he does. No one can make your skin flush the way he can. No one makes your legs shake like he does. 

“Come on baby, what does my sweetcheeks want?”

Your eyes close as you breathe “Kiss me.”

“Gladly”

He restrains your hands above your head with one hand even though you were no longer fighting him and with the other her laces his fingers through your hair just above the nape of your neck. He pulls your head forward till your face is crashing into his, squishing your nose against his in a searing kiss. He rubs his pelvis along your hip as he sucks on your tongue, pulling it from your mouth into his. You moan into him and he knows he’s won back his little wife temporarily. 

“Moanin like a little whore, huh? Is that what you are?” he teases “You daddy’s little whore?”

You look up at him through your lashes hating how much you loved how he degraded you.

“Yeah, you’re daddy’s whore alright which means I get to take these.”

Kakashi’s hand slips from your hair and pulls up the hem of your dress, phishing underneath for your panties. He rubs his fingerpads over the fabric, massaging your clit and making you squirm. Just when his hand works you into a fever, he slips under the elastic band and yanks them down to your knees where they fall to the asphalt in the dark alley, pooling around your shoes. 

“Now she’s dressed like a whore.” he whispers into your ear as he brings his hand up to cradle your heat before dipping his pointer and middle fingers past your folds. A gasp slips from your lips and the cocky smirk on his face makes you twist in frustration. He loves the control he has over your body. He loves how he plays you like a fine tuned instrument. His fingers disappear inside of your gummy interior as he buries them deep within your walls quickly and repeatedly. You moan and squirm in his grasp. The squelching sounds from under your dress become louder with each stroke of his hand.

“Please Kashi, slow down, I’m gonna…” but you were growing too dumb from his hand to continue.

“Gonna what baby?”

“M’gonna…gonna”

“Speak sweetcheeks”

You choke out your next words, “m’gonna cum”

Your eyes cross and a creamy substance surrounds Kakashi’s knuckles. He withdraws his hand and smells his fingers, loving the sweet stench. Lapping up your tangy juices from his knuckles, he licks his lips before feeding you his fingers to finish it off. 

“Looks like someone remembers who she belongs to. Let's get my slut home.”

“No wait!”

Kakashi pockets your underwear before pulling the skirt of your dress above your hips and exposing your entire sex. He then slings you over his shoulder so the whole street would see your bare cunt as Kakashi carried you to his car.

“Kashi, put me down!”

One arm hugging around your kicking legs, with the other he buried his knuckles back into your slit, finger fucking you into silence as he walked.

“Kashi, s’so embarrassing” you whisper between gasps, head dangling upside down while one hand claws at his shirt, the other clutching your purse.

Many sounds of surprise and disgust were heard from onlookers but Kakashi didn’t care. He relished in the power. He enjoys embarrassing you the way you embarrassed him in your meaningless divorce. 

As he carries you into the parking garage a group of drunk men saw you and catcalled. Kakashi asked them if they wanted a taste of your gushing wet pussy and two of them agreed eagerly. 

“Kakashi, no!”

“Quiet slut!” he yells with a harsh smack to your ass. 

You whimper as the stranger’s hands run up the back of your thighs and grip your stinging cheeks before you feel his steamy breath against your labia. He laughs before diving his tongue into your unconsenting cunt. The man moaned from your sweet fluids and began to bury his face in your warmth. 

“Say thank you, Y/N”

“T-thank you, ahh!”

His tongue began scooping out your tangy arousal before his friend became impatient and pushed the man away to get his fill. Both of his hands came down on your ass as he stood behind you and began to suck on your clit. 

“Don’t just moan like an ill-mannered whore. Thank the man.”

“Thank you sir!” you say through clenched teeth.

“Thank you for what?” Kakashi barked

“Thank you for sucking on my pussy!”

You scream and shake before more cream comes dripping out of your entrance. The second stranger gladly slurps it up before Kakashi continues walking you to his car. Your freshly wet sex feels cold against the night air as he makes his way through the garage but your face is hot with embarrassment.

Once you come up to the royal blue Corvette he sets you down, both hands cupping your face to kiss you tenderly before he spins you around and bends you over the hood of his car.

“You love being a little slut. Look how wet you are cause some strangers wanted a snack.” Kakashi slapped your plush behind violently, making you scream.

“But you’re done being their toy. Now it’s my turn.”

He slaps you again, both the sound of the sting and your scream reverberate off the concrete walls. Kakashi hurriedly unbuckles his pants to free his raging cock from its confines. He presses the tip to your folds which part easily for him, welcoming him back to his rightful home.  

A whorish groan spills out of you as the familiar stretch loosens your silky walls. 

“Yeah, that’s right, groan for your daddy.”

You close your eyes and hum, the embarrassment ebbing away slightly as his strokes satisfy an itch that you cannot scratch all on your own. 

“That’s right baby. Remember me? Remember how good I make you feel?”

You try to ignore him as your body reacts in bliss. You didn’t want his words tainting the utter euphoria it is to have him inside of you. 

“No one else can do this to you. Not like I can.”

“Please shutup.” you slur between gasps as he pounds into you with loud wet slaps. 

Your hands had been bracing the hood of his car but your outburst of sass made him steal your wrists and pin them behind your back. With one hand he restrained you, with the other he fisted your hair just like in the alleyway.

“Don’t you dare speak to me that way, little slut.”

He snarls and though you hate him, you loved how rough he was being with you. 

“I’ll speak to you however I want, cheater.”

“You’ll respect your daddy.”

He pistons into you to quiet your retort as your hips collide with the car’s paint over and over. You can’t help the way he causes you to unravel when speared on his dick like a spit. 

“You’re mine sweetcheeks. Always will be.”

He pulls your hair as he leans down to kiss your neck. You let out a grunt of discomfort from the tug and it only reaffirms his control. 

Soon he stands up to his full height again before pumping away inside of you. Your eyes cross as you feel your legs give out from the intensity of the throbbing in your cunt. Each harsh thrust steals your breath away till you babble on his cock and cum comes gushing out. 

“See baby? All mine.”

He takes you and shoves you into his passenger side seat before slamming the door shut.

“Hey! Kakashi, let me out!”

Kakashi rounds his car and gets in the driver’s side.

“What the hell? You have the child lock on? Are you insane?”

He doesn’t respond. He only turns over the engine.

“Just cause we fucked one time doesn’t mean we’re getting back together. I just needed to get my rocks off.”

“Stop being a brat. We’re going home.”

You were livid. He was quite literally abducting you and you had no way of stopping him. You groaned knowing you were at the mercy of his sick mind and were going to have to pay for an Uber to come back and get your car whenever he released you from his dumb games.

“If I hear any more of your sass that pretty pussy’s gonna get it once we’re home.”

You purse your lips together before chewing on the inside of your cheek. This man is out of his mind. He’s delusional. He seriously thinks you’re just gonna go along with all of this?!

He pulls up to the house, opens up the garage and parks inside. You wait not so patiently for him to round the car and open the door for you.

“Fine, I’m home now. You can leave.”

Kakashi’s hand swiftly strikes your face. You cup your cheek in shock.

“Don’t tell me to leave my own home.”

The glare you give him would frighten most but he’s completely indifferent to your rage. 

“I’m not leaving my wife or my home ever again.” he grabs you by the hair and pulls you close to his face. You can smell the hint of mouthwash lingering on his tongue as he speaks. “Do you understand? You’re not moving on from me. Ever.”

The way he snarls at you almost makes you believe he cares. Like he must love you but alas he doesn’t know how to love. He only knows how to fuck and it’s easy to get them confused. 

“Drop the act Kakashi. This was just sex and you know it.”

He spins you around so he is behind you. One of his hands comes up to your neck and the other to your chest where he gives you a good squeeze. 

“This isn’t just about sex and you know it. Now walk.”

The two of you stumble to your once shared bedroom and he throws you down on the mattress. Climbing in, the springs give way under his weight and he positions himself over your body. 

“I’m gonna take good care of my pretty baby. Gonna make sure she’s satisfied like a good husband.”

You roll your eyes in response and he slaps your face once more. You look up at him gobsmacked. “I said to stop behaving like a brat.”

Kakashi pins your arms above your head and lunges in for your lips. His mouth strays from your lips and greedily explores your body, licking and nipping your neck, collarbone, and chest. His hands slide from your wrists up your palms and his fingers slip between yours. Your back arches up, pushing your chest up into his. He grinds up against you, mindlessly relieving his aching member while he happily invites his lips to roam wherever they please. 

You fall back into your old ways, moaning as your skin is tickled by him. Was he a walking red flag? Absolutely, but did he know how to touch you? 

“Yes”

Kakashi groans as he lifts your dress, pulling it off of your figure. You raise your hips and then your shoulders as he drags the fabric up and over your head. Your naked silhouette lay bare beneath him and the drool quite literally falls from the corner of his mouth. 

You feel the warm droplet splash your skin as he unbuttons the front of his pants. Hands brushing up along your sides, sliding under your shoulders, and clutching your back. Muscular physique pressing against your form before he lines up his tip. 

It slowly pushes past your sopping lips before parting your gummy interior, seeking to bully against your cervix and push his precum up into your uterus. Soft little mewls sputter from your mouth, clenching around the girth that has always brought you ecstasy. 

A creamy ring already forms around his base and he can feel the coolness of the bedroom air with each withdrawal as you paint him in an increasingly thick coat of your arousal. The chill is a stark contrast to the warmth of your walls that he plunges back into rhythmically. 

He is never letting you go again, no matter what you say. You will stay by his side. He will ensure it. Thoughts of moving back in and living out the rest of his life with you consume his mind. His pounding triples in enthusiasm and your body is pushed up the bed slowly. 

Your hands move to clutch his chest when he flips you to your belly. One leg is settled between his knees and the other is bent by your waist. The angle’s deep and stroking a spot so sweet you forget about the other woman who broke your marriage. 

The blankets scrunch from your fingers clutching them tight as you brace yourself for his beating. Snapping hips pummeling into your cheeks as you look back at the towering frame behind you.

“Yes sweetie, you can cum. You don’t have to ask.”

Your eyes squeeze shut as your legs quake beneath him. Fluid drips down onto the bed from the pleasure that rips through you leaving goosebumps in its wake. 

Still shaking from the aftershocks, Kakashi grabs a pillow from the head of the bed and stuffs it beneath your hips, then closes your legs between his own. 

He falls to all fours, thrusting up into you with every drop of passion in his body. Your sensitive cunt clumps around him unable to handle how his mushroom head pulls along your silken interior. Your moans echo around the room, body twisting in pleasure. Curses flow from his tongue as he grunts, dropping to his elbows to kiss the back of your neck. 

Little ‘I love you’s’ are whispered into your ear as punctuated thrusts slam into your abdomen. His seed bursts all over your walls coating every centimeter of your insides. Kakashi rolls you on your back, swinging your feet over his shoulders and continues fucking his hot fluids deeper, leaning down and tilting your pelvis up to keep his spend inside. He lets himself grow soft in you as he keeps you pinned beneath him. 

His soft pointed nose nuzzles behind your ear, and you feel his grip on your arms tighten before he says the words,

“I’m coming home for good cause this baby’s gonna need a father and I know you’re ovulating today.”

Masterlist

[cutieeva]

Oh shit ! I truly thought that (Y/N) has gone mad but it wasn't that way when I read the second episode !! 😔😔 I am sad for girly yet excited to read the next that's why please please please update fast 😘😘 (Also I love your writing, officially in love with you)

Bullied

Female Reader

Warnings : Bullying. Violence.

⌜ Thank you dearie for loving my art of writing, it never fails to makes me happy and here an belated update. ⌟

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒

Loving someone itself is an act of selfish so why is leaving the relationship seen so heinous ? Sometimes one's own sake of happiness is needed more than another's if fallen out of love. The sooner (Y/N) understand the better.

"What is going on in that table ?"

"Is the girl okay ?"

"Why is she making a big deal about all ?"

"He is such a lovely boy yet she is so nasty accusing him for cheating ?"

"If I had a boyfriend like that I would die from happiness".

"He should break up with her".

"She seem toxic".

"(Y/N) ! Stop it and get up". Sophia's irritated voice reach her ears and (Y/N) couldn't help but feel all is jumbled. All is unclear. All is numb because does her suffering doesn't matter ? Yes, perhaps she is overreacting yet is it her fault when he was the one to lie about everything ?

Slowly her (E/C) eyes met Sophia's and other accountances she calls friends and her heart dropped.

Her pale face in snarl.

Other's cheeks red from thoroughly shame.

Another can't even share a glance at her.

The beautiful woman standing in awkward.

The guests are whispering, increasingly harsh, scary and the workers worried.

And lastly Cameron, stood looking hurt. In pain than she was and all her beliefs, reality begin distorting.

Is she a nuisance ?

Is she really overreacting over everything like others ?

Is she the one in wrong for not trusting him ?

Is being dated on bet and built an relationship on lies is alright as long as the faulty party apologize ?

If once the trust she believes was broken in the worst way, then is she the one to create drama ?

Are lies not serious ?

Do lies have little meaning ? Is playing with someone else's feeling is a small price for a relationship she didn't even realize ?

Is she overreacting ? "Am I overreacting ?" Despite people surround her, her own few people even the boyfriend she loved once yet why she suddenly feels so alone ? Lonely ? And hopeless ?

Daze with piling doubts and thousand pairs of eyes watching her, her hand yanked by Cameron. "I am sorry, I apologize for the scene". Smiling like a good man he hold her shoulder and walk her limp body to his car he drove.

In the entirety none dare break the ice in air while Cameron was in disappointment, (Y/N) in utter confusion. All she discover is that she has fall out of love, maybe from the moment he said 'I am now' in front of the men along losing herself. For the fear to let go she latched onto him, gifting him the second chance only to realize her suspicious, love turn into anger and anger form an hatred. An hatred she didn't knew. An hatred so deep she was unable to see his goodness anymore only searching faults.

Her entire being of happy, blunt, forgiving shaped into such a stranger her own eyes have harder to see from the clear fog. She shaped into a vicious, incredulous person. A person she never even dreamed to become.

"Get off". Cameron's that soft, smooth voice rip her from the creeping shadows of words inside her mind and her haze gaze glance to find herself house. His home they decide to turn into their love nest.

Sliding down from the car, she walked towards the lift without waiting for him to follow and press the cold metal button. Her eyes dried from the tears that caught her reflection in the shining metal and she couldn't help find the dark circles weight heavy under her eyes, rim edges red and hair— a mess with barely appropriate clothes on. She looks nothing alike the neat, fresh (Y/N).

She looks wasted, used and worn off self— the door of the lifts snap her out again, she blink twice before stepping in properly. Their floor came faster than she expect and the moment the doorknob twist open. She close her eyes ready to be face with angry lashing, words like knives twisting her guts yet none came.

Rather he remove his coat, wash his hands and smile. "What shall we eat then ?"

She merely stare at him.

He continue to smile. The smile she doesn't find warming, sweet.

"Maybe something different. Like Pollo al Ajillo, in English known as Garlic Chicken ? Hmm ?" A single word didn't slip her lips, standing at her roots.

And without her reply he decided. She watched him not moving her an inch cooking, smiling like a normal couple. Minutes bled into hours and little to no care he serve the food, finally ripping her from her roots and sat her beside him.

Stomach churn in no hunger and eyes burden to open, she look at him. "Let's take a break". The metal spoon his fingers held pause, his smile creased.

"I-I need spac—".

"You don't". He cut off smoothly. His smile wider to it's length than before and the spoon between his fingers lay on the wooden table. "I know what happen today was a little overboard but do not worry. It was my fault after all and it's alright. I forgive you". Soft his eyes he push the plate of food to her, an gesture to eat.

However she couldn't. Her eyes couldn't rip from the oblivious face, acting all normal, when nothing is. Nothing is normal. Their relationship is falling apart, their love draft from one another and trust long out of the picture.

He so easily utter his denial. She doesn't need space, perhaps she doesn't but wouldn't he at least ask the reason behind ? Even if it's known still ask and not play the game of pretend. It's exhausting because they are a real couple not actors in a play.

"Would you not ask me why ?" Her voice in end crack.

"Would it make a difference ?"

"Yes, a lot". Honestly she shares, it will help her a lot to understand the real Cameron, the one who she fell for or the one she saw when the illusion shatter.

He turn his head to her. "We are doing alright. It will be fine. Look am I not improving myself ?" No, she only sees him now complying to her wishes easily.

"I need space". She look away, his face reminding her of those cherish days. "We both need space". She finished, adamant on seperating even if it's for a moment she wants to breath, the tightness on her chest is too much and the alarming mistrust.

Once a pot is broken, even with the finest potter's hands can't fix the remained lines of past.

"Okay". To her surprise he agreed "I see, you need time to cool your head". With that he stood up and went to their shared bedroom leaving her and the cold food behind.

Her finger hold the spoon to take a bite of the dish however few inches from her lips she pause. Staring at the food and can't help but cry of unable to eat at the end. Merely thinking how without waiting for her choice, he cooked the food, only giving an illusion of choices.

☾

When one announce their break up. People's first reaction is : 

"Did he cheat ?"

"Did you cheat ?"

"Is he abusive ?"

"Manipulative ?"

"Controlling ?"

"A bet". (Y/N) would say. "I was a bet he was dared to date and in process he fell for me but he always treated not less than a princess and after I found out he begged, confessed his love. From then he always is perfect. Even ignoring my overreaction". All the voices stopped altogether. The harsh, doubtful all pause because in this picture nothing is wrong apart from the fact he was a liar, who lied and fixed himself for better. He really did but can it patch the wounds of her shattered faith in him ?

People always say second chance can change lives, do wonders and in her she saw. She can see why they give second chances yet she can't bring herself to love anymore. She is angry, stuck on the phrase where all laughed at her like a clown, whispering, betting for how long would she last.

Was she a human or a puppet ? He never defended her, he never share his thoughts with her. She doesn't even know him anymore. She really really is lost.

Even walking towards the metal gates of university seem heavy, scary. Her mind already twisted her vision of people laughing, hating her. Being the center of attention she so wants to be away from. Her (E/C) eyes glance around walking to her class recalling not to stumble upon them or him. She is enough exhausted. She doesn't need more.

BANG! She flinched, her nerves jolting.

BANG! Her eyelids snapped shut, shielding herself from the brutality.

BANG! The sound of flesh colliding with metal reverberated through her ears, leaving a buzzing ache. A human body, crumpling like a rag doll.

"Poor him. He should quit or complain". Not so subtle whispers like flicker of fire circle around, reaching her ears.

"Shouldn't he die at this rate ?" Cruel.

"What a bore. Really ? Everyday ? Isn't it such a nuisance—". Cruel. So, so cruel. Just because a person can't help himself doesn't give these people the chance to pity him. To paint him— the victim the cause of his own suffering. His silence was twisted into consent, his helplessness fuel for their merciless ridicule.

Cruel. Cruel. Cruel. Cruel. Laughter like devilish cackles echoed, faces feigning sympathy, eyes gleaming with fox-like innocence. Cowardly souls, masking their true nature.

She, too, wore a mask, hypocrisy veiling her own darkness.

That's why in a blink of an eye. Her once neat clean palm painted in crimson, stretch of iron reeking the air, painful grunts and horried screams and distorted yells is making no sense to her. She can't understand the aching in her palm, the cries of the familiar boy's underneath her, chanting of word fight and her own tears rolling down.

"Fight. Fight. Fright. Fright". The crowd roar fueling her more and more and more. Why are they encouraging ? Yet why does it feel like she is revelling in it ?

"(Y/N) ! Stop beating Adrian". Oh. Her palms ache because she is punching his face, painted in crimson because it's his blood, cries belong to Adrian who lay beneath her helpless like that boy he was seconds ago using as a ragdoll.

How wonderful.

She can't stop. She punch and punch and punch and punch uttering only three words. "I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry". Not to the bully— no never to Adrian. Never to the boy who is violent to innocent. It's to the victim, to the unknown jester of everyone's joke. For Everyone's play. For the system that enable Adrian's cruelty into fun.

She is sorry for blind. She is sorry for foolish. She is sorry for being coward. She is sorry for ignoring him. She is sorry for wearing mask of pretense herself. She is sorry for falling into the lies of Cameron. She is sorry for saying yes to his proposal. She is sorry for overreacting. She is sorry for suspecting. She is sorry for losing trust. She is sorry for not being happy with a perfect boyfriend.

She is sorry for fell in love.

She is sorry for.....everything.

To herself.

To everything.

☾

Dry tears stain her (S/C) cheeks as in empty space she stare, leaning on the chair in front of director's office. The woman's words faded into background noise, inaudible over the cacophony of her thoughts.

Her mind replayed the chaos: the frantic struggle, the flash of anger, the blur of fists. She couldn't recall who intervened, pulling her back from the brink of destruction. By then, he had already crumpled, unconscious. Her tangled hair bore witness to the scuffle, matted from the grasping hands of his minions, few blood dotted her blue jeans, a crimson constellation from her own nose. Her torn t-shirt hung askew, shoulder exposed while he— lay worse. Broken. Lifeless almost.

Yet no remorse stirred in her stomach, surprisingly. Instead, a lingering sense of justification lingered, eclipsed only by the anguish she felt for the victim. The one she had been compelled to defend, driven by a primal urge to protect she only dreamed.

"(Y/N), can you hear me?" The director's voice cut through the tension. "Do you comprehend the gravity of your situation? You're at risk of expelled !" An humorless laugh almost slip from (Y/N).

Expelled for what ? Punching a deserving scum to death while he punch an innocent boy to death when his skin wasn't even healed from the stitches of wounds Adrian left on him ?

(E/C) eyes stare at the female director who's blue glossy eyes stare at (Y/N) like she was a demon of chao when in her view, the real corrupt could be the adult, this lady who blind these physical, emotion abuse. Pain so small like (Y/N)'s bet and huge imprinting like that boy's scars for eternal to remember. Become something that etched in their memories, their experiences, though grave and painful, would be reduced to cautionary stories, diluted by time and retelling. The true weight of their suffering would remain unspoken, lost amidst the faint whispers of a forgotten past.

The tense standoff ended when the director's blue eyes darted past (Y/N), as if catching something She sighed audibly, her expression softening. "Get out. Reflect on your actions and the reasons for your two-week suspension. Expulsion is off the table." She mused confusing (Y/N)'s daze self a little and when she stood up, walking out of the room.

She understand meeting his concern eyes. Her boyfriend must have used his power.

Cameron swallowed under her intense gaze, part his lips to say when she continue to walk, aware of the pain in her body suddenly.

Alone in the empty hallway, she felt a fleeting sense of peace, liberated from the weight of others' judgments. Her footsteps echoed off the walls as she moved, ghost-like. Her eyes drifted to the scattered belongings on the floor, remnants of the chaos. She bent to gather them, her movements slow and deliberate.

A sudden twinge of pain shot through her knee as she crouched. (Y/N) winced, noticing the cut, a crimson gash on her pale skin. She gingerly touched the wound, her fingers tracing the tender edge. This time she felt like crying with clarity, like she knew what she was crying for along a need. Tears swell within her (E/C) eyes waiting to fall.

"It will hurt more if you cry". Calmly she gaze beside her. To the lockers where the boy slumped, his face still smeared with blood. The indifference surrounding him was palpable, as if no one cared about his suffering. (Y/N) press her lips, pulling a white handkerchief to hand him.

He accepted the handkerchief, his fingers brushing against hers. With gentle movements, he wiped the blood from his face, revealing a canvas of bruises and wounds beneath. For the first time, (Y/N) saw his true complexion – pale, with a hint of rosy undertones. The vibrant hues of his injuries – purple, blue, and crimson – stood in stark contrast to his delicate skin.

As the blood was wiped away, his features emerged, and (Y/N) noticed the sharp angles of his cheekbones, the gentle curve of his nose, and the softness of his lips.

"I am sorry". It fell out before she could revise or add.

"Don't be". He shake his head. "Everyone's coward. Even me". (Y/N) desire to protest of his own situation.

"I am talking about you". She blink. "You are Cameron's girlfriend". He utter like a fact. "All business major knew about a bet on a girl. They just didn't knew who until one of Cameron's friend told about your relationship making everyone realize who she is but wasn't sure". Her breath hitched. So they did. All did.

"I too, because I am from business major. Yet I was a coward to not say the truth or at least..." He tailed off. "Warn you". He finished heavy silence weight the air. (Y/N) inhale, not finding words to explain the mess of feelings she is having. Indeed both were jester of everyone's joke.

As she scoffed, her gaze trailed his movements, expecting him to walk away. But instead, he swooped down, his lithe frame folding into a crouch beside her. His amber eyes locked onto her knee, the cut a tiny, crimson gash.

Without a word, he reached out, his fingertips grazing her skin as he applied a band-aid. A shiver danced up her spine at the gentle touch.

"You know you're also being bullied?" His voice was low, concerned. Her eyes lift to his focused ones on her cut, whispering a "No".

"Bullying is not only physical you know. It can be emotional too. And what is happening to you is bullying too. An emotional one where he took advantage of your trust, then play with your feelings, manipulate you into staying in the relationship when you clearly in daze of the complexity and not in right state. If he truly cared about you, wouldn't he have asked how you felt or given you the space to think? Wouldn't he have prioritized your well-being over his own desires? But instead, he rushed you into this relationship, disregarding your boundaries and emotions". His words felt like sting of bees she couldn't process as the image of Cameron's pained face when she accused of him cheating in front of others.

His pure happiness when he pull the chair for her in front of her parents.

His patience when she was crying so suddenly and at the restaurant.

Her colleagues Sofia and others disturbed faces and harsh whispers.

"No. No. He is not perfect, yes. He is not good entirely. He is a liar but he improved. It is I who has problem. I fall out of love, mistrust him and..." Her throat felt dry to speak and she swallowed having difficulty seeing. The problem lies in her. She is the odd, fallen one.

The boy finally gaze his amber eyes and said. "If Cameron really is a good person. Not perfect, good. Then why in the first place are you lashing out and angrily pushing your anger on Adrian ? And in a mess mindset ?" It left (Y/N) shunned. Because truly did she blames Cameron for her misery. Hates him for his mockery of perfection. However never did she blame him for his entanglement to this relationship based on lies for her was truth.

"Let's assume Cameron is a good person who genuinely cares for you and loves you deeply, but isn't able to let you go. However, if being with him no longer brings you happiness— not because of his flaws, but because your feelings have changed and you're staying solely out of guilt or obligation, don't you think it's time to reevaluate? For your own sake, shouldn't you prioritize your happiness even if it's selfishness ?"

As he stood, dusting off his pants, (Y/N) lifted her gaze to meet his. His eyes held a gentle intensity. "After all, loving someone is, in itself, a selfish act," he added, his voice low and thoughtful.

"I am saying this because you came out of your cowardness for me and I for you". the boy said, wincing as he gingerly touched his jaw. "I should get to the nurse," he added, his voice laced with discomfort.

She swiftly stood up, her hand brushing against his arm with an awkward yet tender touch. "Let me help."

"No, it's okay..." He trailed off, his mind reeling as a wave of dizziness washed over him. His legs weakened, and he swayed precariously, almost toppling over.

(Y/N)'s eyes widened in alarm as she swiftly grasped his arms, her grip tight.

𝑻𝒐 𝑩𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅

☾ ────────

[hennyjwrites]

Hi! I have a fluffy Aaron Hotchner request:

Aaron with a BAU reader who LOVES all things stereotypically “girly”, like always wearing cute skirts and pretty tops, being up to date on the latest fashion trends, and having the cutest stationary possible, the whole works. But something happens and she starts feeling insecure about being so girly in a very professional and male dominated field. Aaron saves the day by giving her lots of reassurance (and maybe even a kiss <3)

Everyone was used to your bubbly personality, and colorful clothing. Some were confused on how you could remain so cheerful and nice, with your job. All you saw was grueling and horrible things everyday. But somehow you still remained a nice woman with an even more beautiful personality. That's what drew Aaron Hotchner to you. Everyone knew you and your fiancé were complete opposites but that's why you both were perfect for each other.

A case in Alaska had everyone's fuse short. The police officers who were supposed to be helping you with the case, were icing you and your team out. It was like the battle of the forces between you guys. The BAU team tried their hardest to not let the snobby comments, and run over interviews bother them but it was getting hard. You walked through the station, in your pink t-shirt, and light pink jeans carrying trays of coffee and donuts. You were trying to ease everyone's minds.

Your team graciously took your offer with small smiles and thank you’s. Walking through the precinct, setting the snacks down on the officers desk, some took your gesture nicely. As you went to sit one down in front of an officer, he looked up at you.

“You think filling us up with coffee and donuts is suddenly going to put us on the same side?” He spoke standing in front of you. The vein in his forehead was bulging to the point it looked painful. You were confused, you were just trying to do a nice gesture for everyone. “I just thought-“ you spoke gently in order not to cause an issue.

“You thought what, pinky?” He smeared. “You thought that coming here, dressed like a kid handing out treats like a easy going bitch, would make everyone all of a sudden get along.” He took a step close to you, making one of the other officers take a step closer to the situation in worry. “Hey, Mike, why don't you just lay off?” She spoke up. “No! How about Mrs. Pink Perfect over here take her smug team and get the hell out of my town!.” His outburst made you jump.

Your team snapped towards him from his outburst. Aaron could see from your body language that you were timid. “What's going on here?” Aarons stone cold voice interrupted. You peaked up at him, a look of sadness on your face. Looking between both, you and the cop, Aaron frown dropped more. “Watch how you talk to my agents, officer, we understand that we are in your jurisdiction but don’t forget that we were invited by your boss. The next time this happens you will be reported for insubordination.”

When the officer backed down Aaron looked at you as a sign to follow him before turning on his heel. You followed behind him quickly, setting the treats on a nearby table. Aaron waited for you to enter the room before shutting the door behind you.

“Are you alright honey?” His tough unit chief act dropped to the loving man you knew he was.

You sighed, looking down at your clothes. “Maybe I do look like a child,” you thought. “I'm fine Aaron.” You smiled, sadly making him frown at you. He knew when you were lying.

“Whatever, officer Jones said to you, just know it wasn't true.” He told you, ignoring your untrue statement.

You sighed knowing you couldn’t hide anything from him. “Do you?” You paused. “Do you think I'm childish?” You asked, sadly. Aaron looked at you confused, but waited for you to elaborate more. “Officer Mike said that I look like a child from my outfit choices.”

“Baby.” Aaron spoke softly. You looked up at him, with a saddened look. Aaron could feel his heart breaking at the sight. “I think that you are the most wonderful woman I've ever met. Your clothes bring out the brightness in everyone's world, especially with this job. Don't let someone ruin your style.`` He picked up your chin, and placed a small kiss on your lips.

When you smile into the kiss, he pulls away to see your small smile. “You alright?” When you nod your head. He pulls you towards the door. “If it makes you feel any better, his suit is too tight, he's cutting off the circulation around his throat.” He mumbled, making you giggle as you walked out the room and back to your job.

[my-castles-crumbling]

New Chapter- Clandestine

Please see the full AO3 work for disclaimers and the first chapter :)

CW: Transphobia, some internal transphobia, detailed description of dysphoria, descriptions of abuse

It was as if everything and nothing changed, simultaneously.

The holidays passed as they always did- he wore a dress full of ruffles and frills and pink and lace. He was gifted bows and makeup and all things girly. He was expected to all but curtsey at guests and was lumped in with Bellatrix and Narcissa and Andromeda.

Sirius was singled out- though this year in a bad way, because of “The Sorting Incident.”

He still shivered with discomfort when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He still wanted to throw up when he saw how the dress he was given accentuated curves rather than edges.

But at night…at night, he and Sirius stayed up, hidden under blankets and giggling, and decided together that between them, he would be called Regulus. That way, the two of them would both be named for stars.

And Sirius laughed and said he could even still call him “Reggie,” and their parents wouldn’t even know a thing. He lived for the moments Sirius would whisper his new name. The way it made his chest fill with emotion.

--

Knowing that there was a word for what he was, that there were people like him, kept him slightly sane at first, even as he continued to dress in skirts and frills and get bouts of nausea when he looked in the mirror.

But then it began to eat at him that it could be years before he could do anything about it. Before this could be anything more than a game, or a secret between himself and Sirius.

And soon, that made it worse.

Because now…now he knew. He knew there was hope. There was hope that he could someday actually act like a boy all the time, instead of just behind the closed door of Sirius’s bedroom.

And hope was a dangerous thing, because every time someone used the words she or her or girl, it was no longer a small, piercing needle prick. It was a huge stab, like a knife. Because he knew it didn’t have to be like that.

--

The night after he and Mother went shopping for new dresses in January, Regulus went to bed early- his stomach had been bothering him all day, after standing in front of the mirror in Madame Malkins and enduring the comments about what a pretty girl he was while he allowed her to measure his skirt.

He tried to swallow down the nausea. He tried to ignore the cold sweat that was almost constant, now. But he wanted to scream. He wanted to yell and cry and roar; I am not a girl.

--

By February, Mother thought he had become ill. He had daily stomach aches, he was getting sick multiple times a week. He avoided going into public, and he hated interacting with anyone. It was almost physically painful to hear people refer to him as a girl. Because he wasn’t.

Mother and Father were worried. He had always been their golden child- the one who didn’t put up a fuss and listened to anything they asked of him. Suddenly, he was too ill to put up the charade. Were they worried for him? Maybe. But they were definitely worried about pretenses. How would others talk about the Blacks having a child that was so quiet, so frail, so recluse?

--

The only way he was happy was when he curled up in his bed, eyes squeezed shut, picturing himself as a boy. Picturing the people around him calling him Regulus. Looking down at his body and seeing Sirius’s flat chest there.

--

It was March 27th when he broke.

He’d been hiding and suffering from debilitating stomach aches and cold chills and retreating to his own head for two long months.

March, and they were eating at the dinner table- Regulus, Mother, and Father.

And his parents were talking of Sirius, of how he’d gotten into trouble with his little friends again, of how he was such a horrible son, a disappointment and a let-down.

Regulus tried to ignore it. He tried to choke down food that tasted of ash.

Until Mother said primly, “Regina will do well at Hogwarts. She has always been our good little girl.”

And he just whispered miserably, almost without thinking, “I’m not a girl,” and left the table without a word.

He slept soundly for the first time in months.

--

The first time, Mother and Father pretended it hadn’t happened. But it was addicting, to say it out loud: I’m not a girl.

It made him feel real. Like he wasn’t some sort of crazy ghost, screaming from a void where nobody could hear him. It was real. It was true. He was finally acknowledging it.

When he said it, his stomach stilled. His body temperature returned to normal. He could eat. He could sleep. He could breathe.

So he kept saying it.

And they didn’t ignore it again.

--

He was hit. They knew how to injure without leaving marks and which spells hurt the most without leaving a trace. He didn’t dare write to Sirius- what could he do, anyway? It was worth it, he decided. Even as he winced with every movement, he felt alive.

And to his parents’ fury, he just kept quietly insisting- I’m not a girl.

He never sassed, never yelled. He didn’t have Sirius’s bravery or resolve. It terrified him to say it, each time. But he had to say it. He was finally feeling something other than nausea and discomfort.

--

He was sent to a private mind healer.

He sat in the old fool’s office, refusing to speak. Refusing to take it back. He was forced to go three times a week. The old man yelled at him. He threatened and insulted and screamed. He ignored it.

He kept saying it.

Because it felt true.

They couldn’t change that.

--

Sirius returned from his first year at Hogwarts and was shocked by Regulus’s quiet rebellion. Daily, now, he was insisting he was not a girl. Daily, he received punishment. Daily, he ignored it.

He was definitely suffering the consequences. He was constantly in pain. He was horribly skinny from the times his parents had refused him meals. He was quiet, and flinched at loud noises or quick movements.

But he was not a girl. And he held on to that knowledge like a talisman.

From his expression upon first seeing him, Regulus couldn’t tell if Sirius was horrified or proud.

But Sirius just started referring to him as Regulus in front of the whole family, started going on and on about his brother, and soon, Sirius was in even more trouble than Regulus, himself. Because he encouraged it.

“Yes, Mother, I’m very encouraging,” Sirius would smirk.

But Regulus wasn’t Sirius, and he couldn’t make grand gestures. Underneath, he was terrified. He was so tired of the way he was being treated, and he was barely holding on. He couldn’t change his appearance or do anything about his revelation. He wasn’t that daring. He told Sirius he wished he could. But what would they all do? What would they say? Already, Mother and Father were saying he was crazy and disgusting. Their family was spreading rumors. He wanted so badly to do more. But he was hardly hanging on now.

--

Sirius had picked a fight with him the night before, something about touching his new broomstick that Mother had purchased for him in Diagon Alley- a bid to push the two of them apart. Regulus had sworn up and down that he hadn’t touched it. Normally, that would have been enough, but Sirius had gone to bed in an absolute rage, screaming at Regulus about what a horrible person he was.

It had hurt. It had confused him.

Until now.

Because across from his bed, sitting in the armchair, was Sirius, holding a chunk of his hair. “I was mad at you for touching my things…so I cut your hair off,” he said simply, sounding as if he was talking about the weather.

And Regulus just gaped.

Sirius narrowed his eyebrows. “Yell, Reggie. Now.”

But he couldn’t. Instead he jumped out of bed and ran to the mirror across the room, only to see someone in the reflection that he hardly recognized.

It was interesting, how much of a difference a haircut could make. Because suddenly, he had a jawline, and his hair looked boyishly messy and not at all like a girl’s. In his big nightshirt that he had stolen from Sirius, he almost looked like a…like a boy.

His stomach felt light. The goosebumps that erupted over his spine every time he looked in the mirror didn’t come. He grinned, feeling like he was dreaming.

And then he felt the tears come.

It was horribly surreal to finally begin to see the image he had always seen in his head actually come to life in front of him. It was as if someone had softly taken his hand and whispered into his ear, You’ll be okay. You aren’t crazy. You are a boy. You’re doing the right thing. He felt more real and more like himself than he ever had. All from a stupid haircut.

So he fell to the floor crying and shaking and Sirius sighed and muttered, “Well, we can work with that,” and began screaming about revenge and how Regulus had deserved it for what he’d done and soon Mother and Father were there and for a split second Regulus thought they might try to attach his hair back somehow but they didn’t. They just screamed at Sirius and pulled him from the room and before Regulus knew it everyone was gone.

And even though he could hear Sirius’s yells from far off, all Regulus could feel as he sat on the floor and stared at his own reflection was appreciation, because for the first time in almost five years, he didn’t want to throw up when looking at himself.

--

Regulus didn’t see Sirius again for three days. He tried to sneak into his room, to bring him food and to check to make sure he was okay, but someone always caught him. It was only after the third day, when Sirius was finally allowed into the rest of the house, that Regulus was able to talk to him, to crawl under his covers that night.

He seemed untouched, but Regulus knew that wasn’t true.

“Sirius…you didn’t have to…” Regulus muttered, but Sirius interrupted. “You look good, Regulus,” Sirius grinned. He seemed to want to ignore whatever Mother had done to him over the past few days.

And Regulus couldn’t help but grin back, because even though he felt guilty about it, he was so happy.

Sirius chuckled, but his expression soon turned somber. “Listen, Reg…I…if you want this…let’s do it, yeah?”

Regulus stared for a long moment. He thought back to the moment he’d looked into the mirror, the pure joy he’d felt. The lengths to which Sirius had gone for him.

He nodded.

-----

Read the work in progress here!

[thebestmc]

Not a chance

A/N: Thank you for all the support❤️

CW: Techno x reader, High school au, Seniors, typical High school shit. The MC’s actions and mannerisms are based on my own, please understand this is a story where Y/N is really prominent. Switching between first and third person.

master list

<last chapter|next chapter>

“Wow, is that a girl the famous Technoblade can’t get?” Dream cooed putting a hand on Techno. “I can get any girl Dream.” Techno rolled his eyes and pushed Dreams hand off of his shoulder. “Yeah? Let’s make a bet then.”

"What kind of bet?" Techno arched his eyebrow, "I bet you 400$ that you can't make miss Y/N L/N fall in love with you and sleep with you in 2 months." Dream smirked, there was no way Techno would win. "Well, Dream you're setting yourself up because there's no way she won't fall for me." Techno looked so confident, "Well, to make things more interesting, I told Schlatt to pursue her as well. Good luck, Techno." Dream laughed and walked off.

Now that would make things difficult, J Schlatt had been your best friend until freshman year, and everyone knew you were head over heels for him. But you two drifted apart, why? Well, no one knows for sure. Well, now he needs to find you before Schlatt does.

He pushed through the crowd scanning it to find you. A few minutes later he saw you standing next to Schlatt laughing and talking with him. He put on his usual cocky smirk and walked towards the two of you. "Mind if I steal her from you Schlatt." He asked but was caught off guard when you said; "I can answer myself just fine. No, I would not like to speak with you. You could've asked like a normal person but instead you acted like I'm a fucking object that should be shared." you crossed your arms and walked off. "Hey, wait." Techno reached for your arm. "I apologize, it wasn't my intention to make you feel like an object. Please Y/N, I'd like to talk." “Not a chance." You pulled your arm away.

‘God, can’t he take the fucking hint.’ I thought to myself, he’s so infuriating. Why the fuck is he suddenly so interested in talking to me. He’s had 3 years to do that. I just want to punch that fucker in his smug face.

Now. Back on task, where the hell is Audrey. I went searching again, finally I found her. “Hey girlie, how’s the party!” She smiled at me, she’s so kind and welcoming. “It’s...” I debated whether I should tell her about Techno. “It’s great! But I’m getting tired I’m going to go home!” I pulled an excuse out of thin air. “What? No you can’t go!” She whined holding onto my arm. “Let’s play a game!” She got up on a table, “Come on everyone! Spin the bottle!” She shouted.

We ended up in a circle with George, Sapnap, Clay, Luke, Niki, Schlatt, Minx, Audrey, and Techno. “Alright! We all know how to play! Y/n, you go first!” Audrey insisted motioning to the bottle. “Uh, sure why not!” I shrugged and grabbed onto the bottle and spun it. I watched in spin in a circle holding my breathe as I watched it slow down. It landed on...Audrey! My lips touched hers,our eyes shutting as she placed a hand on my cheek. Sap, Schlatt, and Luke cheered us on. We both pulled away, “Bestie! You’re such a good kisser!” She laughed and kissed my cheek quickly. “Okay my turn!” Audrey span the bottle excitedly and watched it land on Clay. Audrey leaned forwards and kissed Clay. It was an extremely fast kiss to Clay’s dismay. “Your turn green man!” Techno pushed Clay playfully. Clay span the bottle and it landed on...me.

Tag list: @zefrenchturtle @losingvienna @lovelysmp

[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home: Chapter 9

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: Yondu finally confronts Reader about the late night escapes, and invites himself to tag along, to Reader's dismay.

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: Just Reader and Yondu this chapter.

Word Count: 3,953

You jumped right out of your skin but somehow managed not to cry out, whipping around to see Yondu's silhouette standing in the doorway to the kitchen. It was a bit of a terrifying sight if you were to be honest. You'd hate to see it in a dark alley.

"What the fuck!" you whisper-yelled. "Don't do that! You trying to give me a heart attack!?"

"Don't change the subject. Where ya sneakin' off to?" Yondu had intended to use the voice he used when trying to intimidate an opponent, the one he uses when trying to get the message across that he's not going to take any shit, so ya better just cough up what he wants to know. However, it came out sounding a bit more like the tone he used to scold Peter with when he'd get caught sneaking girls on the ship after curfew.

You did your best to look unfazed and close the door. "First off, it's my house. I'm not sneaking, I'm just going. And what are you doing sneaking up on me?"

You were trying to turn the tables on him, but he wasn't going to bite. "It's the middle of the night and yer being awful quiet about it, ya really try'na tell me that's not sneakin'?"

"Yes." You tried to keep your tone even, but it was hard not to sound annoyed. "It'd be rude to wake up the others."

"Uh huh. Well if yer not sneakin' then why not turn on a light?"

"Don't need it. Lived here all my life. Know the place just as well in the dark."

"Right..." Yondu eyed you, sure that you'd come up with an excuse for anything else he'd throw at you. Might as well just cut to the chase. "Where ya going?"

"Out," you reply, "For a walk."

"You're going for a walk, in the middle of the night?" He could hear it more now, he sounded like he was getting ready to threaten to ground you. Not exactly the tone he was going for. He blamed it on the lack of sleep. Brain must be instinctually reverting to "Yell at Quill" mode. Stars knew he did it enough when Quill was a boy that it became second nature.

"Yes." You cross your arms over your chest, only to realize it made you look like an argumentative teen. Oh well, too late now. You kept them crossed.

"So, you suddenly just up and decided, in the middle of the night, that ya'd fancy a walk, in the dark, in the forest?"

"Yes." you reply again, realizing a second too late that he shouldn't have known where you were headed. "No- Wait I-"

Yondu chuckled. "Save it. I see everything... And I've been mighty curious to know what you've been sneaking off to do at night."

You stare at each other in the dark for some time before you break the silence. "I have the sneaking suspicion that you intend to follow me."

"You'd win that bet." Yondu said with a grin that you could barely see in the dim light.

You roll your eyes. "You'll get bored. Better off to just go back to bed."

"After you." Yondu gestured towards the hall from the doorway. You could hear a smirk in his voice.

You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose. "I'm not leaving alone, am I?"

"Nope."

You really wanted to leave, and obviously you would prefer to do it alone, but if bringing a suspicious passenger was the only way you could do so, and likely the only way to prevent this happening again, you'd suppose once wouldn't kill you. In fact, denying could potentially only make his suspicions worse, and you didn't feel like possibly being reported to Fury over nothing if he got the wrong idea. You had been on enough jobs to know how quick a misunderstanding could go south. "Ugh. Fine. But you know curiosity killed the cat." Still, it wouldn't hurt to try and convince him to stay behind.

"Ain't a cat. Not even sure what a cat is." Yondu chuckled, fully aware that he was being irritating. He might not have exactly known what the Terran idiom meant, but he still knew it was just an idiom. Enough experience with Quill had taught him that Terrans say strange things.

You look up to the ceiling "Just hurry up."

Yondu disappeared in the hall to pull on his boots and returned a moment later pulling on his duster jacket. You had to admit his silhouette was actually even scarier with the addition of the jacket, but you didn't let it show.

You wordlessly motion him out the door and shut it behind the two of you. The walk across the yard to the tree line was awkwardly silent until about a couple meters away.

"So what ya keep coming out here for anyway?"

You answered with a question of your own. "You been spying on me?"

"Not exactly. Just happened to notice ya out the window a few times, and thought it was odd that you'd be sneaking out of yer own house."

The two of you broke the tree line, finally walking amongst the trees. "I told you I wasn't sneaking."

"Sure, sure," Yondu chuckled. "Ya didn't answer my question, girlie. What's out in this-here forest that keeps ya coming out here at night?" He kept pace with you as best he could. Your steps were sure, the ground was littered with rocks and sticks, but your gait never faltered. You clearly knew these woods well, and it was evident you knew just where you were going. You hadn't even bothered to use a light. Yondu would almost think you had night vision if he didn't already know better that Terrans didn't.

"Nothing. I just come out to enjoy the scenery. Relax a bit," you finally answer.

"Ya know, yer almost a good liar." Yondu chuckled.

"I beg your pardon!" you say, offense fully clear in your voice.

"What? Take it as a compliment," Yondu laughed, unfazed by your outburst. "But yer gonna have to do better than that to pull something over on me. I can spot a lie lightyears away." Ok so he might have been exaggerating, but you didn't need to know that. "And that there, that wasn't the truth."

You scoff. "What do you know? You don't know anything about me and you're really going to stand there and act like you do?" The nerve of him. You should have just pretended to go back to bed and then came back out later, or better yet, oiled the hinge on your bedroom door the other day when you noticed it starting to squeak. Probably what alerted Yondu to leaving.

"I know more than you think." Yondu countered, nearly tripping on a large branch.

"You don't know anything about me." You repeat. You started walking faster out of spite.

A smirk fell over his face. If you wanted to be difficult, fine. He could just have fun teasing you until you loosened up, and he had a feeling he knew just what might push your buttons.

"I know yer ticklish." He grinned, seeing how you visibly tensed.

You run a hand down your face. "You guys aren't going to let that die, are you?"

"Nope," Yondu chuckled, "it's too funny."

"It's not," you say, glad the dark was hiding the blush you could feel on your cheeks.

"I think it is," Yondu disagreed, reaching out to poke you and chuckling when you jumped and flinched each time his finger connected with your side. He grinned, mentally drawing up the theory that you didn't like to show weakness.

You swat at his hand and tell him to quit.

He laughs, but thankfully obeys, saying, "Aw, cheer up now. It ain't that embarrassin'... though I do wonder now why that Fury guy would keep an agent around that seems mighty vulnerable to torture..." He was teasing, of course. Just trying to get a rise out of you. It worked.

You throw him a look of daggers and he holds up his hands in a relenting gesture. "Don't worry, secret's safe with me, girlie," he teased, continuing to grin before nearly tripping again. He sighed, beginning to search his pockets for a light. There was no sense tripping around out here in the dark. You may apparently know this forest floor like the back of your hand, but he didn't, and he most certainly didn't feel like rolling an ankle.

He spoke up again. "I also know yer hiding something."

You freeze for just a moment and then turn to him. "No. Nice try."

He closed the meter wide distance between you. "Ya can deny all ya want, sweetheart, but I can still tell."

"Whatever." You turn and start walking again, this time at a regular pace.

"Don't give me that," Yondu said, finally finding a light in one of his inner pockets. He flipped it on and you instantly covered your eyes, which had been adjusted to the dark and very much didn't like the sudden intrusion of the bright light.

"Agh- Turn that off!" you scold.

"What for?" Yondu asked, he had also suffered slightly from the sudden brightness, but at least he could see where he was walking now.

"Well, besides the fact that you just blinded me- you'll attract bugs."

"Ah right. Yer scared of creepy-crawlies. My mistake." Yondu laughed, making a show of shutting the light off. "Wouldn't want ya to be all scared stiff like ya were earlier."

You glare at him best you could with your eyes trying to adjust back to the dark. "I'm not scared of bugs. I just don't feel like getting bitten up by a bunch of midges. The bites itch like hell."

"I dunno... ya looked pretty scared of whatever that bug was in the kitchen today." Yondu teased, but he did make a mental note that midges sounded quite unpleasant.

"That was a spider," you say, then muttering, "...and that's different."

Yondu hummed. "Seems a lil' funny that you'd put a giant one in my boy's bed then, seein' as yer so scared of 'em yerself."

You stumble over your words for a bit, before admitting that you hid the fake spider before the incident with the real one happened, adding, "-and I wasn't scared of it!"

"Sure ya weren't..." Yondu said teasingly. "Guess ya won't be bothered if I tell ya about the big one crawling on yer shoulder then." He repeated the same trick as earlier, imitating a running spider on your shoulder with his fingers and laughing when you jumped a mile and smacked at his hand.

Face flushed with embarrassment at falling for the same trick twice you say, "You're an asshole."

"Yep," came Yondu's reply. Theory confirmed: You hated showing weakness. After a few steps he spoke again. "Where we goin' anyways? Ya seem pretty sure about this path. Get the feelin' we ain't just wanderin' aimlessly."

You sigh, but relent. What could it hurt? "It's just a little further."

"It where ya go all the time?"

"No, just most of the time." you admitted. "Sometimes I do just... 'wander aimlessly.'"

"But not tonight."

You sigh again. "No. Not tonight."

After a bit you finally happen upon a small clearing. In the middle of that clearing was a large old oak tree. Its trunk was nearly two meters in diameter and had lovely patches of moss growing on it. Thick branches poked out just low enough to climb on, it was beautiful in the dim light of the night, but it was even more beautiful in daylight.

"Here," you say, "This is where I go. This is my favorite tree."

Yondu was actually stunned for a moment by the magnificence of the the tree, and that didn't happen often. "I can see why. It's certainly a purty one..."

He walked with you closer to the tree and broke off to walk to one side as if he intended to do a lap around the trunk.

"Careful," you say, not wanting him to go any further around the more shadowy part of the tree, "Ground's got a bit of a soft spot over that way. Wouldn't want you to sink in."

Yondu, who, like anyone, obviously wouldn't enjoy that happening, stopped his journey and headed back your way. Better to stay with the person who knew the land, at least when he couldn't see for himself if he was about to fall in a hole.

You approach the tree and sit at its base, gesturing an invite for Yondu to do the same if he chose. He did. You look up at the thick branches and say, "My dad used to bring us out here."

"Us?" Yondu questioned.

"My brother and me."

"Didn't know ya had a brother."

"Didn't ask."

"Would ya have said if I did? Ya don't exactly seem the most forthcoming type." Yondu laughed lightly.

You huff in response. You look back up at the branches and remember the time you and your brother would climb the old tree. sometimes even your dad would try climbing with you, even though he wasn't as agile as his children. You remembered the fun, the laughter, the three of you playing chasing games around the tree. They were some of your fondest memories of before your dad got sick. Before he couldn't take you and your brother out to the tree anymore, though of course by that time the two of you were old enough to make the trip on your own, though it never was quite the same.

You had sat in silence for a bit before Yondu asked, "So what's eatin' ya?"

"What?" you ask, pulled from your thoughts.

"I've kinda gathered ya wouldn't be comin' all the way out here in the middle of the night if everythin' was all fine and dandy, so what's got ya down, girlie?" It seemed obvious to Yondu from what he observed that this would be the case. After some thought, he realized he only caught you heading towards the forest on bad days, like when Rocket messed your kitchen or the night you fought Quill. You were here, therefore, something must be wrong.

"Nothing."

Yondu didn't buy it. "I noticed you disappeared for a long while in the middle of that movie Quill wanted to watch. It have anything to do with that?"

"I told you, I'm fine." you say bitterly. It honestly irritated you how accurate his assumptions were, but just because he was right didn't mean you had to affirm his assumptions.

Yondu sighed. "Alright then, be that way."

After a few moments Yondu breaks the silence again. "So... where are yer family? I know ya said yer daddy's passed, but what about yer mama? Or this brother ya mentioned. Where they at? Why ya out here in that big house all alone?"

You inhale. You considered not answering, but then thought it couldn't hurt much. You could talk a little since he wanted to be nosy. Not like you were going to spill your entire life story, just the sparknotes. "Well, my mom's gone. Died giving birth to me."

"Oh." Yondu was almost sorry he asked. "And yer brother?" He now assumed you were the younger sibling, but he felt it would be in bad taste to mention it. He hoped talking about him might lighten the mood.

"Gone too." you answered.

He winced. He hadn't expected to hear that you were alone alone. "How?" Yondu asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." you replied.

Yondu saw you draw your knees up and rest your chin on them. He realized he shouldn't push his luck. "Sorry to hear that."

"Why? You didn't do it," you say sarcastically. "It's life. Everyone dies eventually." You un-hug your knees and lean back against the tree. "Just how it goes. Life's a bitch and then you die alone."

Yondu catches a crack in your voice but doesn't mention it. He frowns. "Come on now. There's more than that. Ya don't got to spend the rest of it all alone and miserable." He said this because he had to believe it himself. How close had he come to doing just that when his crew mutinied? If Kraglin hadn't still been loyal and if Rocket and Twig hadn't helped with an escape plan, he'd've been slain by the hands of the Kree- if he was lucky, or back in the slave barracks- if he wasn't. He'd never have gotten the chance to save Quill, and even if he hadn't intended to make it out alive, he couldn't deny he was grateful the ship had gotten to him and Quill just in time so that he could spend more time with his boy.

He didn't know your exact age, but he thought you looked at least a little younger than Quill. That was too young to have such a bleak outlook on life. If even he could find even a shred of happiness to cling to, then surely you could as well. He continued, "Surely ya got ya some friends- Or ya could find someone and settle down... start a family.... fill that house of yers with little ankle-biters- Hey, where ya going?"

Your breath hitched and you had stood up quickly, walking back the direction you came. "I'm heading back. You can follow or stay here. I don't really care," you say, trying to keep your voice even and not looking at him as you walked towards the edge of the clearing.

Yondu hurriedly stood to catch up with you. Sure, he could eventually find his way back without you, but he couldn't deny he'd get back much quicker with a guide that knew their way back in the dark. "What'd I say?" Yondu asked, correctly assuming he had said something wrong.

"Nothing. It's just late. Time to start heading back." You still wouldn't look at him, and he almost thought your voice sounded strange, like you were fighting not to cry or something.

Yondu followed you quietly, wondering if he should press the issue or not. He decided to not, convinced he would only make it worse. He hadn't intended to dig up any bad memories, he hadn't expected to find out you really were alone, although it was a sentiment he could empathize with. It's how he had been during the mutiny and Tazerface killed all his good men. Surrounded by people, and yet utterly alone.

He didn't know what it was exactly, but he knew he wanted to make it better. You weren't a child, but still, all he could see now was a sad little girl with no mama or daddy. No brother, no family. All alone. He thought to himself that if he had a heart it might be breaking. Or at least cracked a little.

He made another attempt at conversation, hoping to smooth things over. "So Quill says ya like to shoot arrows?"

"Um... yeah. A bit."

Did he hear a sniff? Surely not.

"Maybe ya could show me how ya Terrans do it sometime."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." You sniffed again, and Yondu thought he saw your hand come up to your eyes as if to wipe them.

Aw hell. You were crying. Damn. He wasn't sure what, but he was sure it had to have been something he said. He cursed himself. He hated when people cried. Bad enough when someone he stole from tried whipping out the waterworks, even worse when Quill would cry when he was scared or hurt as a boy. The only thing worse than seeing someone cry, was watching as they tried desperately to hide it, but yet couldn't quite stop. 'Cause that meant they weren't trying to get anything from you, they were just genuinely in too much pain to keep it together.

He had to do something to make you stop, so he did the only thing he could think of. He whistled.

A gentle melody played from his lips and you gasped as a streak of red shot through the air. You stopped in place from the shock and before long, you could see the outlined shape of what you could only describe as a fat little troll. It was cute, and so unexpected that you couldn't help but huff out a laugh.

You finally looked at Yondu and he saw the hint of a confused smile playing over your lips. Much better.

He could see the question in your eyes and went ahead and answered without you needing to speak. "Just thought you could use some cheering up." he said. Nice to see he's still got it. That trick always worked to cheer up Quill when he was little.

"I'm fi-"

Yondu cut you off with a shrug. "Yeah. Yer fine. Got it." He whistled again to call his arrow back. "Well this was mighty entertaining, all this... nature and whatnot. Should probably get a move on so this old man can get some sleep." He exaggerated a yawn before walking forward, prompting you into motion as well, seeing as you were the guide. "I'm sure Bug and Twig would like it out here if ya ever decided ya wanted to come out here when the sun's actually out."

You hummed. "Maybe." You tried not to stare as you walked together out of the forest. Had he really just used his weapon... to draw you a picture... to cheer you up? You wanted to laugh but you bit your tongue as you remembered he had also used it to kill a spider for you earlier that day. For as rough as he portrayed himself to be, he was definitely displaying big softie energy. That thought did make you laugh.

"What?" Yondu asked, hearing your snicker from beside him.

You shook your head, now grinning. "Nothing."

"Uh huh." Yondu said, mild suspicion in his voice as he side-eyed you. Whatever. It was better than hearing you try not to cry.

After awhile you finally broke the tree line and made your ways back across the yard and to the backdoor.

You reached the door first and pulled out your key.

"Good to see ya have some sense." Yondu said. "Quill said Terrans always leave their doors unlocked."

You gave him a look as you unlocked the door. You wanted to refute that, but you knew that, at least in the rural areas where you lived, people actually did tend to do that. You settled for saying, "Well, not everyone does. But still, it'd be really irresponsible to just go and leave the door open to any stray passerby with a bunch of obvious aliens inside."

Yondu scoffed.

"What?"

"Ya Terrans thinkin' yer the only ones in the universe. Callin' anyone not from Terra 'alien.'"

You frowned. "Sorry."

Yondu grunted and waved you off. "Eh. Ya'll get there eventually. S'pose if this place wasn't as backwards as it is then we wouldn't be able to lie low here."

You tried not to be offended at that, because he was right. That was literally the reason they were able to hide here.

The two of you re-enter the house and manage to get back to your respective rooms quietly. You changed into something more comfortable to sleep in without waking Mantis and settled into bed.

Before falling asleep you thought about the clearing and your tree. About how you needed to warn Yondu not to walk too far towards the backside of said tree.

You should really find the time to install a sturdier trap door on that tunnel.

[headcanonsandmore]

Hermione and Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Weasley

Summary:  A Romione WLW AU, with Hermione and her best friend Veronica 'Ronnie' Weasley, the sweet redheaded girl who... well, who Hermione finds herself very confused about.

This fic was inspired by a similar AU scenario fic by @hillnerd. As with everything Hilly does, her fic is amazing, but hopefully my fic doesn’t look too bad by comparison. 

                  Read on FFN.                                      Read on AO3.

~~~~~~~~~

Hermione Granger had a problem.

Well, not so much a problem. More of a…. confusion. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

And it had to do with her best friend. Veronica “Ronnie” Weasley.

Ronnie was funny, sweet, kind, and athletic. Over six foot tall, with a mane of long red hair and a mass of freckles, she immediately caught the eye. The boys couldn’t help but notice her, and many of the girls either admired her or felt jealousy towards her. Hermione had lost count of the time she’d seen Dean and Seamus staring at Ronnie from across the common room. On a few occasions, she’d even seen Neville blush after Ronnie had smiled at him.

Not that Ronnie noticed any of this. The redhead had always felt lacking, either to her older brothers or to her younger sister Ginny. Ronnie was, like all her siblings, good at schoolwork, but she had never felt like she could stand out. She had confided to Hermione that, even if she had done well, no-one would ever think much of it, since her brothers had all done it before.

And then there was Ginny. Ronnie’s little sister was about almost a foot shorter, and with more of a nervous energy than that of her older siblings. Hermione had often wondered whether the Weasleys all had a set amount of passion, and that those of a shorter persuasion tended to be more on-edge than their lankier siblings. Granted, this theory didn’t necessarily explain why the short Charlie was so relaxed, while the taller Percy was the exact opposite. Maybe the Weasleys all just reacted differently to their circumstances.

Ronnie was not an intense person. In fact, Hermione found her almost supernaturally relaxed and affable. More prone to telling a chuckle-inducing joke as opposed to an over-the-top prank that was the preferred tactic of Fred and George.

Hermione preferred Ronnie’s way of doing things. Hermione liked a lot about Ronnie. Even if Ronnie personally thought her own matey-ness with people made her unattractive, Hermione couldn’t imagine why such friendliness and kindness could be considered unappealing.

To boys, of course. Yes, just to the boys.

Hermione had the distinct impression that Ronnie felt lacking compared to her little sister. Maybe it was Ronnie’s lack of interest in “girly” things, or her seeming-inability to act with “decorum” (as Hermione’s parents would have put it). It was common for Ronnie to wear a pair of hand-me-down school trousers instead of skirts because, as she herself put it, she hated having to worry about whether people could see up her legs.

Hermione always found herself flustered whenever Ronnie joked about this. Ronnie did have very long legs after all.

She had been friends with Ronnie for years, ever since the Halloween of first year. They hadn’t exactly gotten along before then but, since the incident with the troll, they had become firm friends. It was nice being friends with someone else in the girls dormitory; Lavender and Parvati had never really clicked with Hermione. Ronnie was the first female friend Hermione had ever had.

And then third year had happened.

The two of them had fallen out over their pets. Crookshanks and Scabbers had never gotten along and, at one point, it had looked like Crookshanks had eaten Ronnie’s rat. It had been really lonely not speaking to Ronnie for all that time.

But they had become friends again, and things had settled back to how they had been before.

Well, not exactly.

Ronnie had always been a good friend, but Hermione hadn’t understood why she had missed Ronnie so much when they weren’t speaking. She certainly hadn’t missed Harry in the same way, which was even weirder considering that Harry was a boy.

Hermione had missed Ronnie’s smile, her laugh, her beautiful red hair, the way she would throw an arm around Hermione’s shoulders as they walked to class, the way she would bound up to her and hug Hermione tightly, and the way she would stretch out in the common room so that Hermione couldn’t help but notice her-

Yes, she had certainly missed her friend Ronnie. The same friend who made butterflies appear in Hermione’s stomach whenever Ronnie smiled at her. The same friend who began to inhabit Hermione’s dreams in ways she was becoming very confused about.

Hermione had hoped that… whatever this was would disappear over the summer holidays, and she could just enjoy her friendship with Ronnie with no extra complications.

No such luck. Fourth year had just made everything even more confusing. Harry and Ronnie hadn’t spoken for a while after Harry’s name had appeared in the goblet of fire. Hermione had desperately tried to patch things up between them but, in the end, they had worked it out themselves after the first task.

It was good for them to be a trio again. Although Hermione, Ronnie and Harry had always been a bit unusual. Parvati and Lavender had always been giggling over it, asking both Hermione and Ronnie about which of them Harry was dating. Hermione had always rolled her eyes at this. To her, Harry had always been like a younger brother. Like all younger brothers, he was always getting into mischief and being annoying, but he was her brother nonetheless.

Ronnie had always laughed her head off whenever this question was proposed by Lavender and Parvati. Harry was “her best mate”. End of. Nothing more to say.

But… well, as the Yule Ball approached, suddenly Ronnie stopped laughed and started blushing, avoiding Hermione’s eyes.

‘It’s none of your business,’ she had mumbled, her ears flashing their tell-tale pink.

Hermione had felt her heart slowly sink, although she tried to avoid thinking about why.

Sure enough, the day before the Yule Ball, Hermione had asked Harry about who he was taking, and the boy who lived had blushed scarlet.

‘Er… I asked Ronnie.’

Hermione dropped the book she was holding. The two of them were in the library.

‘What? You mean… you…’

‘I-I don’t know, okay!’ Harry stammered. ‘It’s just… I needed a date for the Ball and Ronnie’s my best mate, so it made sense.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah.’

At that moment, someone tapped Hermione on the shoulder. It was Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang champion.

‘Excuse me, may I have a vord?’

Harry looked at the Bulgarian suspiciously.

‘Yes, it’s fine,’ Hermione said, leading Krum away into the next aisle of bookshelves. ‘Which section are you looking for?’

‘No… I… er…’

 *

 ‘Krum?!’

Ronnie’s face looked horrified. It was several hours later, in their dormitory.

‘Well, it wasn’t as if I was going with anyone, so why not?’

‘He’s eighteen, Hermione!’ Ronnie said, urgently. ‘He’s way too old for you!’

‘He’s not dating me, Ronnie,’ Hermione replied. ‘He’ll be more like a chaperone than anything else. Besides, it’s just one ball. It’s not like he’s asking to marry me.’

‘I should think not!’ Ronnie’s face was strangely angry. ‘You’re too good for him.’

Hermione felt her cheeks blush.

‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘Er, congratulations about you and Harry, by the way.’

‘You… you know about that?’ Ronnie asked.

Hermione nodded, wondering why the mood suddenly felt so tense.

‘Yes, he told me earlier. It was nice of you to go with him.’

‘You think so?’

‘Yes. I think you’ll have a great time.’

Hermione hoped that her voice didn’t sound as falsely-cheery as she suspected.

 *

 The Yule Ball was something of an event. It was interesting hearing from Viktor Krum about what Bulgaria was like, but she found herself distracted. Possibly due to the fact that Ronnie and Harry were sat only a few chairs down the table, and kept giggling over stuff. Ronnie was wearing a very lacy dress that Mrs Weasley had only managed to get third-hand; since Ronnie was so tall compared to most girls, her clothes had always been a bit… well, difficult to acquire on a budget. The dress was a few inches shorter than her normal summer shorts were, and Hermione had got the distinct impression that Harry was trying not to stare too much when they had walked through the crowd with the other champions and their partners.

Hermione probably would have enjoyed the dancing too, except that she kept looking round to see what Ronnie and Harry were up to. Ronnie’s hair was long and had a sweet flowery scent that seemed to follow it around the room. Her smile was wide as she danced with Harry, and the way she kept laughing made it difficult for Hermione to concentrate on her own dancing. Why was she so distracted?

‘Vould you like a drink?’ Viktor Krum asked, after a very fast song had finished.

Hermione nodded, and he left for the buffet table.

At that moment, Hermione noticed that Harry and Ronnie were walking towards the balcony area.

Deciding to catch up with them, Hermione darted between several other couple, and poked her head out through the curtains.

Her stomach turned to lead.

Harry was kissing Ronnie on the mouth, and Ronnie was kissing him back.

Stumbling backwards through the curtain, Hermione pushed through the crowd and began to make for the exit. However, she bumped into Ginny and Neville.

‘I’m… feeling a bit unwell,’ she mumbled. ‘Could you tell Viktor Krum that I’ve had to leave?’

Ginny and Neville nodded, but looked concerned and a little confused.

Hermione didn’t stop hurrying until she had arrived back in her dormitory. She washed her make-up off, changed into her pyjamas, and climbed into her four-poster bed.

She had started crying before her head even hit the pillow.

 *

 ‘So… yeah.’

‘Bit weird, but… well, that’s it.’

It was the next day. Harry and Ronnie were talking to Ginny about what had happened. Hermione was eating her breakfast without looking at any of them.

‘So… are you two dating?’ Ginny asked.

Ronnie laughed nervously.

‘No; but… well, we’re gonna see how things change. If it’s not our cup of tea, we can stay friends instead.’

‘Yeah,’ Harry said, cheerfully. ‘Take a bit more than kissing for us to stop being best mates.’

‘Yeah, but…’ Ginny said, her eyes darting to Hermione and then back to Ronnie. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Er, yeah,’ Ronnie said. ‘H-Hermione, what do you think?’

Hermione blinked hurriedly.

‘Oh, I’m sure you two will be very happy,’ she said, a little too cheerfully. ‘I hope you don’t me being a third wheel, then. Anyway, we need to get to first period now.’

Harry nodded, and stood up.

Ronnie remained sitting, looking at Hermione with a slightly confused expression on her freckled face.

Ginny gave a sigh, and went back to her breakfast.

 *

 The next few weeks were not fun for Hermione. Ronnie and Harry had always been a duo and, now that they were sort-of together, Hermione had never felt more like a third wheel. Even though both of them were clearly trying their best not to exclude her, she couldn’t help but feel miserable.

And that wasn’t even getting into the way her heart would thump painfully whenever she caught Ronnie looking at Harry.

It was ridiculous. Hermione couldn’t be jealous! What was there to be jealous of? Harry was like a brother to her, so it clearly wasn’t that.

No, it was something else.

It was Ronnie.

Hermione was in love with Ronnie.

She tried to not think about this. Which normally would have been difficult. But luckily, they were both helping Harry about the second task, which took up a lot of time and mental headspace. And their coursework was so time-consuming that Hermione barely had time to think about her feelings for Ronnie.

Could girls even fall for each other? Hermione had read about that sort of thing happening, but she never would have imagined that it would happen to her.

The day before the second task, she (along with Ronnie) were helping Harry with his preparations for the second Triwizard task, when the Weasley twins arrived.

‘Ronnie, you and Hermione have got a message from Professor McGonagall.’

‘What?’ Hermione asked, confused. ‘She can’t seriously ban us from helping Harry, can she?’

‘No, she just wants you and Ronnie to go to Dumbledore’s office.’

Hermione exchanged confused glances with Ronnie.

When they arrived at Dumbledore’s office, they were not the only confused people there. Cho Chang was also there, plus a young girl speaking in fluent French who was presumably Fleur Delacour’s little sister.

Dumbledore explained about what the second Triwizard task was, and how it would include all of them. Each of the champions would have a hostage, who would be in an enchanted sleep at the bottom of the great lake. The hostages would be perfectly safe underwater, and would return to normal once they were brought back to the surface of the lake.

‘Professor,’ Hermione asked, raising her hand. ‘I don’t understand; why has Harry got both me and Ronnie as his hostages? And where is the hostage for Viktor Krum?’

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

‘Miss Granger, you are Mister Krum’s hostage, not Mr Potter’s.’

Hermione’s eyes widened in confusion. Viktor Krum? She was his “the person he would miss most”? Why? She’d been to the ball with him, but that was it. She hadn’t really spoken to him much since, aside from apologising for leaving the Yule Ball early. Why was she his hostage? Surely, he had friends from Durmstrang that would be a better pick?

Hang, on. Ronnie was Harry’s hostage. The person Harry would miss most.

So, that meant Ronnie was…

Hermione felt her heart sink. She couldn’t even look Ronnie in the eye, but she felt the redhead tense next to her.

Maybe Harry and Ronnie will become a full couple after he rescues her in the task, Hermione thought, miserably, as she slipped into unconsciousness from the sleeping spell Dumbledore had casted, I guess there never was any hope for me…

The next thing Hermione knew, she was treading water in the middle of the great lake. Viktor Krum was pulling her towards the shoreline. Her uniform felt heavy and sodden.

‘Where’s… where’s Harry and Ronnie?’ she asked, as Madam Pomfrey bustled them over to a tent nearby. ‘Haven’t… haven’t they come back yet?’

Madam Pomfrey patted her hand in sympathy, and tutted under her breath, as if she’d quite like a word with the person who came up with the idea for the second task.

A portion of pepper-up potion later, plus some warming spells, and Hermione was stood on the shoreline with Cho Chang and a very worried-looking Fleur Delacour. The French girl’s hostage was still down in the lake. Cho had put an arm around her.

‘They’ll be fine,’ the Ravenclaw was saying. ‘The judges won’t let any harm come to- oh, hello, Hermione.’

‘Hello. Have… have Harry and Ronnie got back yet?’

Cho shook her head.

There was a shout from the crowd, and Hermione looked round. Three people had just surfaced in the middle of the lake. Hermione could see a mane of very familiar red hair. Dashing past Viktor Krum (who seemed intent on chatting to her about something), Hermione wade into the shallows of the water. Fleur Delacour and Percy Weasley joined her.

‘I’m fine, Harry,’ Ronnie was saying, as Harry helped her towards the shore. The two of them were stood awkwardly in the shallows. Percy had stopped fussing over Ronnie, and had gone to find them some warm blankets, followed by the Delacour sisters.

Harry leaned forward and kissed Ronnie on the lips.

Hermione felt her heart sink and, turning away, she walked out of the lake, ignoring Viktor Krum’s renewed attempts at conversation, and left for the castle. People looked at her in confusion as she pushed past. She was glad that she had been given the pepper-up potion, as the February wind whipped through her.

Before she knew it, she was lying in her four-poster bed, crying her eyes out. She had somehow managed to close the curtains around her before she broke down completely. When was she ever going to get over this? She had no “claim” on Ronnie; after all, Ronnie liked boys, Ronnie liked Harry. And, next to Harry, why would Ronnie possibly look at Hermione? A bookworm. A girl. Just the best friend.

‘H-Hermione?’

Ronnie. Oh, god, Hermione thought, she can’t see me like this…

‘G-go away, Ronnie.’

‘What, and leave you miserable? Not on your life.’

‘I’m-I’m fine, Ronnie. J-just a bit exhausted from the task.’

‘Did… did Krum do something to you?’

‘No!’ Hermione exclaimed, pulling back the curtains of her four-poster. ‘Of course not! He’s barely even held my hand! What… how could you…’

‘W-well,’ Ronnie said, her ears turning pink. ‘You were “the person he would miss the most”, after all.’

Hermione stared at her for a second.

‘I don’t see Viktor Krum like that,’ she said, earnestly. ‘He’s… well… like a chaperone.’

‘He fancies you.’

‘You mean like Harry fancies you?’

Ronnie looked as if Hermione had slapped her.

‘You… you saw him kissing me, then?’

Hermione nodded.

‘Is that why you’re crying?’

Hermione mentally cursed. Her cheeks were still wet with tears.

‘I’m… I’m very happy for you both.’

‘Don’t insult my intelligence, Hermione,’ Ronnie said, hotly. ‘You’re clearly upset about it. What, you fancy Harry or something?’

‘What? No!’ Hermione said. ‘Harry’s like a brother to me! Why would you-’

‘Well, what’s your problem, then?!’ Ronnie exclaimed, coming to stand barely a few inches away from her.

‘Don’t be… it’s… well…I-’

‘Hermione, what is it?’

‘It’s not Harry that I fancy, Ronnie; it’s you!’

There was a deafening silence.

‘I… I shouldn’t have said that,’ Hermione mumbled. ‘Sorry, forget I-’

‘No, what do you mean?’ Ronnie asked. ‘Do… do you mean that?’

‘Y-yes,’ Hermione whispered. ‘I’m sorry. I know you don’t see me like that. I’ve ruined our friendship-’

Hermione stopped talking. Because Ronnie had suddenly leaned forward and was kissing her on the mouth. Hermione’s brain seemed to disengage. Ronnie’s lips were soft and delicate as they pressed against Hermione’s. The redhead’s body heat felt like a warm fire against her, despite how little they were touching.

A few seconds later, although it could have lasted for hours for all that Hermione knew, Ronnie pulled away slightly.

‘Do… do you really mean that?’ Ronnie whispered, her hands tender as they interlaced with Hermione’s. ‘You… you really fancy me?’

Hermione nodded, feeling very confused.

‘Yes. Ever since… actually, I don’t know when. But… why…’

‘I… I fancy you, Hermione,’ Ronnie said, softly. ‘I… I thought you didn’t feel the same way.’

‘You fancy me?’

‘Er, did I not just kiss you? Would have thought it’d be a giveaway…’

Hermione giggled.

‘Okay, I believe you. But how-’

The door opened. Harry poked his head through.

‘Everything okay?’

‘Yeah,’ Ronnie said, cheerfully as she held Hermione’s hand. ‘She’s okay. And so am I.’

‘Cool. And… did you both…’

Ronnie nodded.

‘Fantastic!’ Harry said, grinning. ‘I’m so happy for you two!’

‘W-wait, what?’ Hermione exclaimed, utterly at sea. ‘Harry, did… did you know?’

‘I guessed. Besides, me and Ronnie work better as friends anyway.’

‘You… you two aren’t a couple?’ Hermione gasped, looking between them both. ‘I thought… after you kissed at the lake-’

‘You are one daft maid,’ Ronnie chuckled, pecking her on the cheek. ‘But that makes two of us, eh?’

Hermione smiled, as she held Ronnie’s hand. Maybe, on occasion, the best friend did get the girl. Even if they were also a girl, too.

 ~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you enjoyed it!

[headinthestaticsky]

Extras for The Dusk Calls for me.

Authors Note: While I plan out the next few chapters of my story, enjoy these memories I did for the re-write I did on Wattpad.

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions and a attempt of SA

Time: This Takes place a year before the beginning of The Dusk Calls for me.

"Makes me feel like flying

Top-down backstreet driving Dusty road all alone

Tip my hat Puff of smoke, smoke

Makes me feel like flying

I just run ."

American Gurl by: Kilo Kish

I was finally out, those words of bile my mother and sister spew toward me finally pushed me over the edge. Yet those words finally got me back with my father in Forks, where I always belonged.

Flashback: One Week Ago.

"FLEUR! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" My erratic mother Renee yelled from downstairs.

My heart started beating out of my chest, what did I do this time? I walked into the dining room, Renee and Isabella were sitting at the table across from where I was sitting. Bella had a smirk on her face relishing in the tension between Renee and I.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You always have to cause trouble don't you?' She replied back, malice laced her voice.

"What? What are you even talking about?"

"Bella told me you've been saving money to go see your father in Forks." She spat at me.

My rapidly beating heart sunk down into my stomach, I had been trying to see my dad in Forks for a year now. My mother refused to get me a plane ticket herself, she always told me I reminded her too much of my father and that I didn't need to be around him anymore than I already was which wasn't often.

"Mother, it's my money I can do with it as I please," I said calmly though I could feel the rage beginning to boil in my blood.

"YOU AREN'T GOING!" She yelled demandingly.

I couldn't control myself, it was as if someone else had entered my body.

"WHAT IN THE HELL IS SO WRONG FOR WANTING TO SEE MY FATHER!?"

"I'M NOT GOING TO WASTE THAT KIND OF MONEY ON YOU!"

"Well you aren't now aren't you? It's my own money and I will use it however the hell I want to!"

"Oh don't you..." Renee started.

"Are you going to tell me you would be doing the same thing if Bella was the one wanting to go see dad?"

"She isn't a trouble maker." She snapped back.

"How am I a trouble maker? For wanting my mother to be kind and considerate? For wanting my mother to treat me with respect? To get an ounce of love from the frozen, undead heart inside your chest?" I asked, my face heated up it felt like it was burning.

"If you can't stand to be around us so much why don't you just move down there to Forks?"

"I will, just give me the rest of the money for the plane ticket and I swear to god the second I walk out that door I will NEVER come back!"

"Fine..." I turned away from her before she could say anything else. Before I reached the stairs I turned around again, looking directly at Bella.

"Get away from her while you can Isabella, or you're going to end up being just as toxic as she is." I then left before they could say anything else.

Flashback over: 2 years before the Original story begins.

I looked to the side, staring out the window. The desert plains had disappeared while I slept and now the lush green forests overtook the view. The fog wasn't heavy but the skies were covered with dark grey clouds and a downpour of rain. The cold weather was a lot more favorable in my opinion, the sun couldn't burn my skin much here. The plane had begun to shake signaling that the plane was beginning to land. I couldn't wait to see my father again, I hadn't seen him since my 12th birthday. When I got off the plane I stretched, being cramped in a small plane for an almost 3-hour flight wasn't exactly the most comfortable.

I walked through the crowded airport, scanning the area for my father. I bumped into some disgruntled couples and quickly left before I was caught in the crossfires of their mood.

"Petal?" I heard from behind me. I turned around quickly recognizing that voice, it could calm me down before I got into trouble.

"Dad..." I said fondly before running up to hug him.

My heartfelt I little more full, and the pain my mother inflicted on me was healed for the time being. We walked out together, each of us was carrying a bag. The wind was strong today and my hair was flying all of the places. Its cooling touch raised goosebumps on my skin, mom didn't buy any warmer clothes for me so I was stuck in the typical Arizona tank tops and shorts. Luckily for me, the car was already warmed up so I dethawed quickly. We drove for a few minutes in silence, the roar of the engine and other passing cars were the only sounds filling the space.

"So, how have you been? I feel like I haven't seen you in a while." Dad said.

"I've been better, you know how mom is," I mumbled.

"I don't know what happened to her, she wasn't like that in high school. If she was I wouldn't have even wasted a second on her."

"I know you would've dad...she's cruel for sure. She's just good at hiding it from people she wants to impress."

"Yeah, she is."

The drive was a giant wave of nostalgia, being 16 now and seeing all of the familiar sites and views brought back fond memories. The old ice cream shop dad use to take me to, the reservation that Sam and Leah lived on, it all brought me back. It also fueled anger, however, as my mother constantly kept me under the brutal radiation of the sun.  Dad must've seen the look on my face and put his hand on my shoulder.

"It's going to be okay Petal, you're away from her now." He comforted.

"It's not just her dad... Bella's acting like her too."

"That's a shame... it really is."

"Yeah... it is." I sighed.

"I just can't wait to get back home, the attic is calling for me."

Dad chuckled before speaking again.

"You know... I heard you just got your license... So I got you an older car."

"You did not have to do that dad."

"It doesn't get in until next week, so I'll have to drive you to school until then," Dad said as if that would balance out the fact he got me a car.

"That's fine dad. What is it?"

"It's an old Mustang, a Fastback."

"Thank you, dad..."

"No problem Petal.

When we pulled into the driveway of our small but beautiful home the nostalgia fully set in. The colors were exactly the same, and the grass was just as muddy and dead as before.

"Well I cleared off some shelves for you in the bathroom, your room was a bit dusty so I just cleaned it for you," Dad explained as he helped me take my luggage upstairs.

"Sounds good, thank you again, dad, I love you."

"Love you too Petal." He kissed my head before closing the door behind me. The room was bare, I would have to fix it later on. I collapsed on my bed, facing the ceiling.

"I'm home."

September 17th, 2004.

"Dad I have to go, I don't want to be late on my first day!" I exclaimed throwing on a leather jacket.

"Petal I am almost ready, I never knew you were so much of a bookworm." He joked, ruffling my hair.

"Dad I am an entire school year ahead of where I should be... I take my education very seriously." I said, trying to hide the growing smirk on my face.

"Alright alright let's go," Dad said, taking my arm and pulling me out the door.

We were only driving for a little bit when I decided to roll the window down, I placed my arms on where the window used to be and rested my head on them. My hair blew out of my face and the cool mist of Forks hit me. When we arrived at the school dad was scanning the parking lot looking for a place to park when he passed right by a group of people. They were all gorgeous, their faces seemingly perfectly sculpted, and they all had the same colored eyes, golden. My eyes locked with one however, they were filled with pain for a second before melting into shock. something strange filled my chest and my heart began to race. As we drove past them I gave him a smile, hoping to ease his shock.

Timeskip: September 30th, 2004

Something was up, the boy I saw outside that window, Jasper Hale was more than what he seemed. He was freezing cold all the time, and I swore I saw his eyes turn black for a split second when he saw a boy from another make a gesture toward me. It was strange really, we had been friends for a few weeks but he seemingly had a protective...energy over me. But at the same time, I still felt something... I couldn't explain it. It was as if we were connected to each other in some way. My dad had to take my car to the shop and he couldn't pick me up today so I decided to take a trip to the library, hoping to find some new material to read.

I didn't realize how long I had been in the library until I looked out of the small windows of the building. The sky was darkened and daylight was running out, I checked out a few books and left not wanting to be stuck walking in the night. I was a few blocks home when I heard 3 men talking behind me.

"Oh looks at this one..."

"She seems perfect for us."

"Come here girly... we just want to talk."

My heart raced and my pace quickened, speed walking home. I tried taking weird turns and cuts but they wouldn't fall for the bait. I decided to run for it hoping my legs would be quick enough to evade them all. I was then pushed against the wall 2 minutes into my escape again, the smell of alcohol made me want to retch.

"You aren't very good at listening to orders." One murmured, his face was inches away from me, he breathed in my scent and began to chuckle.

"Don't be too hard on her... I like ones that fight." Another said

"Make this easy on yourself girl..."

One reached down to take off my clothes when he was suddenly thrown back a few feet into the air. I just stood against the wall shocked, I saw Jasper standing over the man before making his way over to the other two men. They both took off leaving their "friend" behind but Jasper zoomed toward them. His speed was inhuman and his strength was unprecedented yet I couldn't stop myself from moving from my spot. The other two men were flown into the air and scream on impact. Jasper grabbed them both by the throats.

"If you EVER try to touch her or any woman for that matter like that again... I. will. kill. you!" He growled before releasing them down on the ground. They gasped and ran again, babbling in terror toward one another.

Jasper walked toward me with a guilty look on his face, his hand reached out for mine and I took it without even thinking.

"Come with me Darlin' I have a lot to explain to you." He said softly, his mood had completely changed with me.

We walked for a few moments in silence, I side-eyed him for any shift in behavior, when it didn't I decided to interrogate him.

"How did you do that?" My voice trembled.

He sighed before replying.

"I'm a vampire." He said blatantly.

I looked at him and laughed thinking it was a joke... when he didn't join I stopped and looked at him with shock.

"You're serious?" I said, my eyes widening again.

"Yes I am, I've been 17 for...141 years. I got changed during the Civil War."

"Damn... you're old... wait were you in the Civil War?"

"Yes, I was drafted to the Confederate Army when I was 17..."

"Yikes..."

"You're telling me, I ran away the first chance I got... I wasn't going to fight in some war that was fueled by warped and disgusting ideas just because I was forced to. I never thought the way they did... I never understood why someone could think so low of a human being just because of his skin."

"That's very brave of you."

"I had just made it to Galveston when I decided to take a break... I ended up on a beach... that's when I ran into an immortal named Maria. She was creating an army and decided that I would be a good fit for it."

"She changed you against your will?"

"I didn't even know what she was doing until I felt searing pains from my arms all the way up to my neck." He explained rolling up his sleeves and showing me his scars."

I traced the teeth marks on his forearm before looking up at him again.

"I'm sorry that happened to you..."

He looked up at me in shock.

"You... you feel sympathy for something like me? I'm a monster..." He said sincerely.

"It wasn't even your choice as to what you became... and I don't think a monster would've saved me back there. Face it, Jasper, you're a big softie who's had bad experiences in his long... long life."

He chuckled before glancing at me, we made it back to the house, dad still wasn't home yet. We walked into the backyard, sitting in patio chairs and looking up at the stars.

"There's something else I have to tell you." Jasper admitted in the darkness.

I looked at him in confusion, what else did he have to tell me? He's a werewolf too?

"You're..." He hesitated. "You're my mate." He said quickly.

"What? How... vampires have mates?" I asked in shock.

"Yes we do, and we instantly know when we've met them. Didn't you feel it, when you looked out that window at me? It was enamour... love, something I have never experienced before."

"I haven't either... but I have to admit I felt something too. I just didn't know what it was, I felt connected to you somehow though. But... I'm 16... falling deeply in love isn't exactly something I planned."

"I understand completely. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do. I understand I am a vampire... this is a lot to take in." Jasper said lowering his head in shame, his curls covered his eyes.

I sat up and turned to him.

"Hey, hey it's not just because you're a vampire honest! I just need to think things through... we can still talk in and out of school I won't push you out." I said a bit faced-paced. I didn't want to hurt his feelings he did just save me after all.

He looked and me and grabbed my hand.

"Take all the time you need Fleur, I will accept your answer no matter what is it." He said sincerely.

"Thank you... Jasper."

"It's not any trouble." His face lit up all of the sudden, car headlights entered my line of view. I felt my hand by dropped by his cold one and a whoosh of wind flew my hair forward. I turned back around and he was gone.

Timeskip: October 16th, 2004.

It was hard, weighing the pros and cons of being with Jasper.

Pros: We were soulmates... destined to be with each other, He knew my limits and respected my boundaries, he gave me a choice, not forcing me into something I might not want to do, and he was a kind and gentle soul. We understood each other, our hearts and souls were connected and I would never find someone else I would be so close to.

Cons: He was a creature who thirsted for blood... a thirst he didn't always have the best control over, Being in a serious relationship at such a young age was a huge commitment I didn't even fully know who I was... would I ever be able to find out who I am being so committed to someone If I did become involved in a relationship two things would happen... I would die and leave him lonely for eternity, or I would be turned into a vampire... leaving my family behind.

My mulling over of the pros and cons was interrupted, a girl had cleared her throat. I looked up realizing I was still in the school library, standing in the back of the constant isles of books. I turned to the voice and my eyes were shocked to see Rosalie Hale looking at me.

"Rosalie? Is there something you need?" I asked.

"Let's go for a walk, I need to talk to you in private." She said she seemed tense about something.

I checked out the books I got before following her to the outside, we walked near the edge of the woods. The dead leaves and grass crunched underneath our feet.

"I know Jasper told you about us... and he told me that you wanted to think somethings over with him." She started.

"Hey... I just wanted to let you know I would never tell anyone about you guys... And I'm not trying to hurt Jasper with me thinking our relationship over. It's just a lot of process." By the time I finished that statement she laughed and patted my shoulder.

"Don't worry Fleur I completely understand why you want to think over some things... I would too if I were in your shoes. Besides, I trust you... I get a good vibe off of you." Rosalie replied smiling at me.

"I want to get into a relationship with Jasper I do but... I don't want to leave my father... he's all I got right now and I'm all he's got."

"Hey, I promise no one would force you into becoming a vampire in our family... I especially wouldn't force you to."

"Really?"

"Yes of course... It's nice to meet someone with a respect for mortality."

"It's just... I always to do certain things... like going to that art school in Cayon City Oregon... the Art Museums down there are amazing... and I always wanted to kid when I was older... a little boy." I explained smiling fondly at the thought.

"I did too... I always wanted a son."

"But at the same time... I wouldn't want to spend all my time with Jasper... only to leave him alone for eternity you know?" I asked her hoping she would get my point of view.

"Of course... I can tell you've been conflicted these past few weeks about it. But I wanted to vouch for Jasper... he's willing to do anything for you, and his thirst for blood has never been more controlled than when he's been with you. He won't take you away from your family either... he would never want to hurt you in any way possible." She explains turning toward me to look me in the eyes so the message could really sink in.

"Thanks, Rosalie..."

"Of course...give Jasper a chance, I promise it'll be worth it." She said.

"I will... I'll talk to him tonight, thanks for the guidance."

"No problem."

Timeskip: October 16th, 2004: 10:12 PM

Dad was gone, he had to work late down at the station tonight. My palms and legs shook nervous to tell Jasper my decision. I was sitting in the same spot I was in when Jasper told me I was his soulmate... the cool air calmed my nerves slightly before I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Fleur? You said you wanted to talk to me... are you okay?" Jasper's voice asked worryingly behind my closed lids.

"Yeah, I'm fine... I just wanted to give you an answer about... everything."

He sat down adjacent to me and nodded, wanting me to continue.

"I will get into a relationship with you... thank you for giving me the time to think about things."

He smiled before asking me if he could kiss my cheek. I said yes of course and it seemed my body melted in bliss and content. All the past weeks' tensions and worrying left me and it was replaced with love... and a sense of stability. We looked up at the stars and I pointed toward the largest one in the sky.

"You see that one?" I said.

"Yes, I do Darlin'."

"That is the star of the path I started with you..."

[prettyboyjackhughes]

-Little Crosby- |D. Cozens| [Part 1]

It’s finally here! @workhorsefromwhitehorse24​ and I have been working on this for a while now and I can honestly say that this is probably my favorite thing we’ve collaborated on! This was a little outside my comfort zone but I enjoyed writing it so much! Hope you enjoy! Let us know what you think!!

“Ava Grace I’m home!” Dad calls from downstairs. I sit up and grab my sweatshirt off of the floor. 

“Coming!” I say as I pull it over my head and run out into the hall. I attempt to make it down the stairs without dying but almost fail as I get to the bottom step. “Whoops! Sorry!” I yell as I knock one of the pictures off the wall. He stands in the kitchen doorway and watches me, amused, as I fix the picture then turn to face him, a grin on my face. He had been gone for 2 weeks on a 5 game road trip, resulting in the Penguins going 4-1. Dad scored a pair of goals in the first two games. But sadly, it wasn’t enough of a push to get them to the playoffs. 

“Hi Daddy!” I say, running to hug him. He lifts me off the ground and kisses the top of my head. Dad and I have always been super close. It’s been just him and I for years. Ever since I was born, it’s just been Dad and I. Grandma and Grandpa were always in the picture too, along with Aunt Taylor. The 4 of them have been my entire world and my family for the past 17 years. My mom has never been in the picture since she and Dad had me when they were super young, before Dad was in the NHL. Dad had moved from Nova Scotia by himself when he was 15, down to Faribault, Minnesota. Mom and Dad met within his first week of school. Dad tells me I look just like her but from what I can tell, the older I get, the more I look like Dad. But basically one thing turned to another, Dad had his first taste of freedom, being away from his parents and all, and 9 months later, I was born. As soon as Grandma and Grandpa found out, they moved Taylor and everything else down to be with my dad and help out with me. But one Saturday, Mom dropped me off with Dad and told him she had decided she wanted more than raising a baby and my dad so she left me with Dad and left. I’ve never heard from her, except for one birthday card when I turned 6. Grandma and Grandpa raised me alongside Taylor until Dad’s first season in the NHL. That’s when he moved me to Pittsburgh with him. I mean, before he was in the NHL, he made sure that he was a part of my life and made sure I knew that I was his little girl. But it hasn’t really been that big of a deal that Mom hasn’t been in the picture since I’ve had Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Taylor, plus all of Dad’s teammates through the years. It’s been a ride, having a dad like I do. I mean, he’s pretty much the face of the NHL and one of the greatest players to ever play hockey, being Sidney Crosby and all. Everywhere we go, he gets recognized so it was always hard for him to come to my things as I was growing up. But he always made sure that someone was there for me, whether it was one of my grandparents or Aunt Taylor. But even through all of that, my dad is my best friend. I’ve never needed anyone else. 

“I missed you so much!” He says, setting me down and looking at me. I smile and nod.

“I missed you too! Nice set of goals by the way. Sorry about the playoffs...” I say, smiling as he walks into the kitchen. He shrugs as I follow him into the kitchen and sit down at the table, watching him wander around the kitchen, making one of his shakes he always drinks.

“It was a long two weeks for sure, but I’m glad I have you to come home too.” I nod and smile.

“Oh Sweetheart, before I forget, we’re going up to Toronto next weekend for the Leafs’ first playoff game, for your birthday. We’ll spend two weeks up in Toronto.” The Penguins missed out on the playoffs, ending their season early. But my Leafs made it to the first round of the playoffs. He smiles as my face lights up. The Toronto Maple Leafs are my favorite team. As disappointed as Dad was in me when he found out, he still supports it, just happy that I like hockey. My favorite player is Mitch Marner, which is a player Dad approves of. He raised me on the ice, around his team and made sure I loved hockey as much as he does. I played for 6 years but I decided I liked watching hockey better than playing. 

“Really? We are?” I say, giddy. 

“Yep, I think Tanger and Geno are going to come with us. I invited Taylor too, figured we could make a whole vacation of the trip. We can go out to dinner, shopping, all the fun, girly stuff you love. Oh and there’s a surprise flying out to see you too.” Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin are Dad’s alternate captains and my honorary uncles. Up until about 4 years ago, I had 3 honorary uncles. Marc-André Fleury, the Penguins' goalie and now the Vegas Golden Knights’ goalie was the third. He and Dad are still close which means he still claims the third honorary uncle spot. When he got married in 2012, I was the flower girl. I’ve actually been in all 3 of my “uncle’s” weddings. They’ve been a huge part of my life since I was little, even when Dad was trying to keep me out of the spotlight.  I smile, pushing my hair out of my face. I think the thing that everyone always finds so interesting about Dad and I, is that he did such a good job keeping me out of the spotlight up until I was old enough to understand what was going on. But as soon as I started going to events with him, everyone knew I was his daughter. I mean, I look and act like a female version of Dad so it makes perfect sense that I’m his daughter.

“Ava girl, do you want to see if one of your friends wants to come with us? Might be a little boring to spend your birthday weekend with a bunch of old people.” Dad says, finally sitting down with his gross shake. I nod and laugh, thinking of who I could invite. I go to Shady Side Academy in downtown Pittsburgh, which is a big, fancy private school. There’s a little over 1,100 kids that go to my school, but only about 70 of them are in my grade. 

“Oh, I’ll invite Carter. Let me text her and see if she can go.” Carter James has been my best friend since 2nd grade. She’s my total opposite and somehow, it works. 

“Okay Honey. I’m going to go lay down for a little bit. Our flight left pretty early this morning so I’m pretty tired. Go ahead and order something for dinner. Anything but pizza please.” I pout a little, my bottom lip jutting out. He smiles and drops a kiss on the top of my head as he walks out of the kitchen and up the stairs. I walk out to the living room and flop on the couch, getting on my phone to watch Tik Tok for a while. Suddenly, the door to the house flies open and my Aunt Taylor waltzes in.

“Hello my absolute favorite niece in the entire world!” She calls, dumping her purse and everything in her hands onto the bench by the door. Grandma decorated the entire house. Dad was going to hire a decorator but Grandma insisted and somehow, Dad ended up liking what she did with the place. 

“I’m your only niece so I hope I’m your favorite. But hey Aunt Tay. What’s up?” I asked, sitting up.

“Nothing much. Just came home to drive my big brother crazy and talk about your birthday trip with you. How excited are you? Hey wait, isn’t it your 18th birthday?” I smile and nod again. Aunt Tay is a little scatterbrained and once forgot how old I was turning and bought me a 13th birthday card. I was turning 11. But of course, she always means well and loves me a ton. 

“Carter is coming with us. Do you know what the surprise is? Dad just told me there is one but didn’t say anything else.” Taylor grins as she nods.

“I’m not telling you but just know this, you’re gonna be really really excited.” She says, sitting down on the couch by my feet. 

“So how’s things at school? Still thinking about going to UPenn?” She asks, tapping her thumb against my knee. I sigh.

“Ugh I don’t know anymore. I fell in love with UPenn when I visited there with Grandma last fall but I don’t know if I want to be that far away from everyone. I mean, it’s only 4 hours but going from how things are now to that? That’s a lot to process.” She nods, watching me. 

“Well Honey, you know your dad would make sure you had a car on campus and everything. So you can always come back home and visit. But I mean, it’s been you and your dad since you were a baby. Maybe it’s time to go out on your own a little?” I cringe a little at the thought.

“I don’t wanna leave!” I say, falling into Taylor’s lap and drawing out the end of the word. She laughs and smooths my hair down. 

“We’ll figure something out. You’ve still got time, Ava Grace.” She says and somehow, those words make all the anxiety I have about college and everything else coming up in my future fade to a dull roar instead of the screams it has been for the past couple weeks. I’ve always been able to talk to Dad about anything which is why he and I have such a good relationship now. But the one thing I haven’t been able to talk to him about is college. Dad went straight from high school into the NHL. He always claims to understand but I’m pretty sure it just confuses him sometimes. 

“Okay you two, it’s very hard to sleep when all I can hear is laughing and carrying on.” Dad says, coming back downstairs. 

“Yeah yeah, keep it down, Patrick.” Taylor says, looking up at Dad. Dad hates being called by his middle name which is why Taylor calls him that. He rolls his eyes and bats her hand away as she reaches up to poke him. When the two of them are together, Grandma always says they act like they did when they were little. 

“Have you girls figured out everything for us leaving on Thursday? Ava, is Carter going with us?” I grab my phone off the arm of the couch and turn it on, quickly reading the notifications on the screen.

“Yeah she’s going. And she’s gonna be here in 3, 2, 1!” I count down as the door bursts open again. Carter and my Aunt Taylor are two peas in a pod. They’re practically the same person which is why I love them both so much.

 “Hello Crosby family!” She shouts, sliding across the floor and landing on top of me.

“Oh this is going to be a long two weeks.” Dad says, laughing and rubbing his forehead. 

“So we’re going to Toronto for your 18th birthday? And to see the love of your life? Hell yeah this is going to be a great trip.” Carter says, looking up at me. 

“Okay, Carter James, slow down please.” I say, patting her head. 

“Wait, isn’t the legal drinking age in Canada, 18?” Carter asks, sitting up and looking at Dad.

“Oh my God Sidney Patrick. You’re taking your daughter to Canada to drink for her 18th birthday?” Taylor says, looking over at Dad with a smirk on her face. 

“Taylor Jane, you’d better cut it out or you’re not going anymore.” He says, shaking his finger at her. Carter and I laugh and Taylor rolls her eyes.

“She’s responsible enough to handle this. You two are the ones I have to worry about.” Dad says, pointing at Carter and Aunt Taylor. 

“Tanger and Geno are going too? Oh this is going to be a blast!” Taylor says, rubbing her hands together and grinning evilly. Dad’s head drops into his hands and the 3 of us burst out laughing. Carter and I spend the rest of the evening planning our trip out while Dad and Aunt Taylor watch the St. Cloud game. The week leading up to our trip to Toronto flies by, but my excitement for the game only builds. It’s not the first time I’ve been to a Leafs game, nor is it the first time I’ve gotten to watch my favorite player play. But it’s happening on my 18th birthday and that makes it even more exciting. 

Thursday morning, two days before my birthday, Carter wakes me up by bouncing on my bed. 

“We’re leaving today!” She sings, bouncing more. I roll over and groan. 

“Carter James, it’s too early!” I say, shoving her. She laughs at me and I sit up.

“Come on, we’re going to dinner with the love of your life tonight!” She says. I jump out of bed and look at her, eyes wide. I’m 100% a Mitch Marner fan girl. Carter thinks it’s hilarious but she’s the exact same way for Patrick Kane. We ran into him at the Stanley Cup Finals one year and she was speechless. 

“What are you talking about? Dinner with who?” I ask. Dad walks in and is now standing in my doorway.

“I called in a few favors and we’re going to dinner with Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly tonight. How does that sound?” He says, as my mouth drops open.

“Oh my God thank you thank you Daddy!” I say, running over to hug him. He smiles and Carter laughs. 

“She’s gonna faint as soon as she sees him. Total freak out.” Carter says, crossing her arms and laughing. 

“I am not! I’ll be perfectly fine. It’s just another hockey player. Not like I’m in love with him or anything.” I say, pointing at her. She rolls her eyes and we both laugh.

“Where my favorite birthday girl?” I hear a deep voice call from downstairs.

“Geno, it’s too early for you to be this loud. Shut up.” I hear Taylor say.

“I take it G and Tanger just got here?” Dad calls and Taylor groans in response. 

“Alright girls get ready and we’ll leave in a little over an hour. Go down and say hi to everyone first though.” I nod and follow Dad downstairs, Carter tagging along behind me. 

“Hi Uncle Geno, Uncle Kris!” I say, running to hug both of them as they stand up from where they were sitting on the couch. Taylor is taking up the other end of the couch, facedown in a pillow. “Are you excited for your birthday trip?” Kris asks, patting my back as he hugs me.

“I’m so excited. Do you know what my surprise is? Dad still won’t tell me.” Geno laughs, still too loud for Taylor apparently because a pillow goes flying across the room and just misses his head.

“Tay, go drink some coffee please, you’re being a brat right now.” Dad says, patting her head.

“I know surprise. You like a lot.” Geno says, crossing his arms and looking down at me. I raise an eyebrow. I’ve been the victim of one of Dad’s surprises before and let’s just say he doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to surprises. 

“Is it bad that I’ve been your best friend for 12 years and I still can’t understand what he’s saying?” Carter asks, leaning over to me. I laugh and Geno looks between the two of us.

“Who you? You Ava’s best friend?” Carter rolls her eyes and nudges Geno, who laughs again and hugs her. “Alright, Little Crosby, let’s get this show on the road.” Kris says, pointing towards the stairs. I smile and rush upstairs to get dressed and grab my bags. I pick out a pair of black leggings and a peach colored Adidas sweatshirt. I change into the clothes and put my pajamas in the dirty clothes. I put on mascara quickly, finishing everything off with some lip gloss. I grab my Birkenstocks and slip them on. 

“Okay, I’m ready!” I call as I drag my bag down the stairs behind me. I again attempt not to die on my way down the stairs. But yet again, I fail.

 “Oh God, Little Crosby.” Kris says, somehow managing to catch me as I trip down the last 3 steps. 

“Your daughter is a human wrecking ball. You know that, right Sid?” Dad laughs and nods.

“I haven’t killed myself yet. So far, we’re safe.” Everyone laughs and I smile. All these people filling this house are my entire family. They’ve raised me and I wouldn’t be who I am without all of them. 

“Okay, let’s get going! Our flight leaves in 45 minutes!” Dad calls, attempting to herd us all towards the door. Taylor has finally had her coffee and returned to the world of the living. 

“Toronto here we come!” She calls as we all get out the door and into the two cars we’re taking. Dad locks the door behind us and turns to look at me.

“You excited, Ava Grace?” I nod and he hugs me to his side.“I hope this lives up to your idea of the perfect 18th birthday.” I laugh and nod again as we head to his car. 

The drive to the airport and the flight to Toronto are pretty boring but Kris and Taylor keep everyone entertained the whole trip. Carter finally crashed after the Red Bulls she had while we were waiting for our flight to get called in the airport, leaving me to my own thoughts pretty much the entire flight. When we land in Toronto, everyone is pretty excited for the next two weeks. 

“Little Crosby surprise time!” Geno calls from the back of our group.

“Geno, we’re still in an airport. Keep it down a little please?” Carter says, patting his arm. Dad scoffs and looks between me and Carter.

“He’s right though, your surprise is right through those doors.” Dad says, pointing towards the exit of the airport. I see Taylor pull her phone out of her pocket and start recording me. I hand my bag to Kris and look over at Geno who motions me towards the door. I walk towards the doors, which slide open. I glanced around then back at Dad and Taylor who followed me out.   

“Little Crosby!” I hear a very familiar voice yell over the buzz of the airport.

“Oh my God! Uncle Flower!” I shout, rushing towards my uncle Marc and hugging him.

“Surprise!” Dad calls, smiling as I hug Marc.

 “So you were my surprise?” I say, stepping back and looking at him.

“Yep, I was the big wonderful surprise. Hope you weren’t too disappointed.” He says, smiling as his arm rests around my shoulders.

“I figured you’d want all of your uncles here for your big 18th birthday. So we worked it out and got him here for you.” I smile, quickly hugging Dad before returning to hug Marc again. 

“Alright well, it’s time to get heading to the hotel. We’re going to dinner at 6:30 tonight. Geno, Flower and Kris are taking Tay to something that I know nothing about. And you’re okay with Carter going with us?” I nod as Marc leads us and the rest of our group to the waiting van. 

“I’m taking a nap when we get to the hotel. You woke me up too early this morning.” I say, nudging Carter as she slides into the van next to me. 

“Sounds like a plan. The Red Bull ran out.” She says, laying her head on my shoulder. The two of us manage to fall asleep on the 20 minute drive to the hotel. Geno shakes us both awake when we get to the hotel. We sleepily wander into the hotel and wait in the lobby while Dad and Tay get everything figured out. The adults herd us all over to the elevator and into it, somehow managing to get us all to the conjoined rooms we have for the next two weeks. As soon as we make it into the rooms, Carter and I collapse onto the bed we’ll be sharing and fall asleep. 

About 2 and a half hours later, Dad comes in and wakes us up.

“Girls, we have about an hour before we have to leave for dinner. Go ahead and start getting ready.” He calls as he closes the door behind him. I sit up and stretch, the excitement building in my chest all over again.

“Okay, I think I’m gonna curl my hair and wear that frilly, layered red skirt with the white sweater and my little brown boots. What about you, Carter?” I ask, looking back at her who is still laying in bed. 

“So I have to dress nice right? I think the army green pants romper thing with my jean jacket, Vans and straight hair. Sound good?” She asks, finally sitting up. I nod and get started curling my hair. She gets started on doing her makeup while I work on my hair. Somehow, we both end up being done with plenty of time left to spare. So we do what typical teenagers do and spend the extra 15 minutes we have, on our phones. Dad comes in and the two of us follow him down to the elevator and out to the car. It’s some super nice, fancy car; just like the one that lives in our garage except on home game days. Dad lets Carter play music which automatically, I can tell, he regrets as Cotton Eye Joe plays for the third time. Carter is having the time of her life and I can’t help but laugh along with her. When we get to the restaurant, it’s one Dad and I came to, back when we came to Toronto for some charity event a few years ago.

“Alright, how excited are you?” Dad asks, as he parks the car and we climb out. I squeal a little and Carter laughs. Dad smiles, draping his arm around my shoulders as I link arms with Carter. The 3 of us waltz into the restaurant and walk up to the hostess.

“Hello, Mr. Crosby. Your two guests are already seated.” I squeeze Carter’s arm and we squeal a little together. As we follow the hostess to our table, back in the back, we pass a table with two teenage boys. One looks Carter up and down, obviously checking her out, while the other locks eyes with me. I smile, forcing myself to look away as we disappear into the back, private room Dad reserved for us. 

“Holy crap, did you see those guys?” Carter whisper-yells into my ear. I nod, trying to focus on the fact that Mitch Marner is standing a few feet away from me, a grin on his face, instead of the guy I just saw.

“Hey Sid. This must be Ava and Carter. Nice to meet you girls.” Mitch says, reaching his hand out. I shake it, the smile on my face impossibly large. Morgan Rielly stands next to him and shakes our hands as well. As we all sit down, I happen to glance around the room and see that both of the boys are looking into the room. As much as I want to pay attention to what Mitch, Mo and Dad are talking about, I can’t. I’m too distracted by the boy I saw. Carter, apparently can’t either. 

“Ava, they were literally so hot. Can I please go get their numbers?” She asks, nudging me when she catches me staring again.

 “No! Dad will kill me if he catches me talking to a boy!” I whisper-yell, glancing up at Dad and Mitch. 

“Ava Grace, that could be your freaking soulmate and you’ll never know because you won’t let me go get their numbers!” I roll my eyes and glance over my shoulder at the boys’ table. Sadly, they’re gone and I sigh, looking over at Carter.

“They’re gone anyway. Not like we’re ever gonna see them again anyways.” I say, glumly, resting my chin on my hand. She shakes her head. “There went your soulmate.” I sigh, knowing she won’t let me live this down. Dad clears his throat, pulling Carter and I back to the conversation happening at the table.

“So Ava, I hear you’re a pretty big fan of mine.” Mitch says, leaning on his elbows against the table. I smile, taking in all of his features.

“Yeah, you’ve been my favorite since you came into the league. Dad’s always a little disappointed when I don’t tell people he’s my favorite player.” Mitch and Mo laugh. The rest of the evening, conversation flows easily and Carter and I both have a blast. As I glance at my Apple watch and see the time, Carter nudges me again. 

“Your dad is looking at you funny.” She says, nodding her head towards Dad. I look up, my eyes meeting my dad’s gaze.

“It’s getting late, are you girls ready to head back to the hotel? Your aunt and uncles should be getting back soon too.” Carter and I nod and I turn to look at Mitch.

“I’ll be wearing your jersey on Saturday night. Don’t disappoint me. Also it’s my birthday so a goal or two would be nice.” Mitch and Mo laugh as Dad smiles down at me. 

“I will try my hardest. Glad we could spend the evening with you lovely ladies. See you on Saturday after the game? There’ll be passes for your whole group at the ticket desk.” My face lights up and I know Carter’s does too.“Okay great! See you then! Good luck!” I say, standing and hugging Mitch. Mo shakes Dad’s hand and then the two of them head out. 

“You two seemed very distracted all during dinner. Was everything okay?” Dad asks as the 3 of us head back out to the car after he pays.“Yeah everything was fine. Dinner was super good and fun. Carter just saw some cute boy and wouldn’t shut up about him.” Dad laughs and rolls his eyes.

“Hey, in my defense, your daughter was looking too so it wasn’t just me.” Carter says, crossing her arms. Dad’s head whips around as we climb in the car.

“A boy? What?” I groan internally and elbow Carter. I’ve never been that into boys. I mean, I’ve thought plenty of boys were cute and had quite a few guy friends but I’ve never had the time or the effort that comes with having a relationship. So it’s never been a topic of conversation for Dad and I. 

“Nothing, it was nothing. Don’t worry about it, Dad.” I say, trying to avoid the topic. 

“It’s interesting though. I was just talking to your uncle Kris about how you’ve never had a boyfriend or anything like that. Which is fine with me because I know what boys are like.” Dad says as we drive back to the hotel. Carter is dying sitting next to me, her hand pressed against her mouth to avoid laughing out loud.

“I-I know...I’ve just never had the time or wanted one.” I say, burying my head in my hands. 

“Well you don’t need one. You have all the guys you need in your life. Me, your Uncle Geno, Uncle Kris, Uncle Marc, and Grandpa.” Carter finally bursts out laughing and Dad looks in the rearview mirror at me. 

“I’m serious, Ava Grace. Why do you need a boyfriend?” Dad has never really been the overprotective dad. He’s protective for sure but he kind of lets me do my own thing most of the time. He knows if I need to, I’ll come to him or one of the other main adults in my life. But he lets me make my own decisions and figure life out by myself. This whole ‘no boyfriend’ thing that he’s doing right now is new. 

“I guess I don’t. You’re right.” I say, putting an end to the conversation by turning and looking out the window. Thankfully, Dad doesn’t push any farther. The 3 of us ride in silence, the radio off, the rest of the way back to the hotel. Once we get into the hotel and up to our rooms, I tell Dad goodnight, give him a hug and a kiss then follow Carter into our room. Carter distracts me from the disaster of a conversation that was with Dad and forces me to watch some cheesy rom-com with her. I fall asleep midway through and sleep in late the next day. Taylor takes Carter and I out shopping all day on Friday while my dad and the uncles do who knows what. The topic of boys is avoided all day, All night at dinner on Friday, we catch up with everyone. I fill Marc in on what Dad’s latest old person moment was, even though he’s only 33. Everything seems so perfect and happy but I keep replaying the conversation with Dad over and over again in my head. 

Saturday morning, my birthday morning, Carter wakes me up with cake in bed. It’s a tradition we started when we were 12. Every year on our birthday, the other girl brings the birthday girl cake in bed. It’s one of my favorite birthday traditions. 

“Happy birthday Little Crosby! You are adult now!” Geno calls, leading the rest of my family into my room. Dad brings up the end of the line and walks over to the bed. He hugs me, pressing a kiss to my forehead.“Happy birthday my sweet girl.” He says, smoothing my hair down and getting all teary-eyed. 

“I can’t believe the young lady you’ve grown into. You are beautiful, strong, independent and so responsible. I...I didn’t think things would end up this way, especially with your mom not being in the picture. But I look around you and I see all these people who helped raise you and I know, you’ve turned out more than okay. I love you Ava Grace and will always love you. Happy birthday.” Dad says. I take another bite of the cake Carter brought me and smile up at him.

“I love you so much, Daddy. Thank you for everything. Thank you everyone for everything you’ve done for me. I love all of you.” They all share a sappy smile and I keep eating my cake. The rest of the day, we hang out at the hotel, lounging around before the game tonight at 7. Marc and Geno see how many pieces of pizza they can eat while Dad keeps score. Taylor paints Carter’s nails and I pick at mine. Kris sneaks out to buy me ice cream and comes back with at least 10 different kinds, all of them my favorite in one way or another. 

Carter and I start getting ready around 4:30 so we’re ready to leave by 5. I straighten my hair and do just light makeup. I dig my Mitch Marner jersey out of my bag and put it on with some black leggings. Carter wears the jersey of the only Leaf she likes, Frederik Andersen. She opted for black ripped jeans instead of leggings. Everyone else is just dressed casual. Marc did wear a Leafs hat just to please me. The drive to the arena, Carter gets to play music again. She plays our ‘Hockey Game Hype Up’ playlist, something we made a few years ago. Even though I’m the music person, she’s much better at putting playlists together. I’m only really good at finding one or two songs I love and just playing them over and over again. As the songs ‘Auston Matthews’ by Svdvm and ‘Toronto Maple Leafs Anthem’ by JDME play back to back, we pull into the arena parking lot. No matter how many times I’ve been to Scotiabank Arena, it never ceases to amaze me. I think I’ve been here a grand total of like 15 times in the last 10 years, solidifying it as my favorite arena. 

“Come on Ava, let’s go watch your boy play.” Carter says, linking her arm through mine. She leads me and the rest of our group into the arena. Everyone else heads to the box but I decide to stay down in the main area and wander around a bit, making sure I get the full experience again. All around me, Leafs fans are hurrying to one place or another. I take everything, wanting to remember this for the rest of my life. As I’m walking down a small set of stairs, I collide with a pretty solid body. And of course, with my human wrecking ball abilities, I manage to take both of us down, all the way to the ground. “Shit! I’m so sorry, are you okay?” I ask, sitting up and looking at the boy I collided with. He sits up, looks at me, down at the ground, then back up at me. His eyes are huge.

“I-Oh my God. Yeah-Yeah I’m okay! Are you?” He asks, jumping to his feet and reaching his hand out to help me up. I take his hand and he pulls me to my feet. “Yeah I’m all good. Sorry for taking you out. I’m known for being clumsy. Like the jersey by the way.” I say, pointing to where the number 16 is stitched into the arm of his jersey. The same number sprawled across my back.

“Hey, I like yours too. Marner your favorite player?” I nod, pushing my hair back out of my face.

“Yeah, I grew up a Penguins fan because of my dad but the Leafs are my favorite team.” He smiles and nods. He looks so familiar but I can’t place where I know him from. Talking to him comes so naturally and it seems like the world just goes on around us while we stand there and talk. Before I know it, they’re starting the lineup announcements.

“Oh shoot, I gotta get going. Enjoy the game!” I call over my shoulder as I run back towards the box we’re all sitting in. Of course, I trip up the steps and almost fall. As I glance over my shoulder, I see the boy with a smirk on his face. I blush and mentally kick myself for first off accidentally tackling a cute boy then tripping and almost falling in front of him. As I rush back into the box, Dad eyes me with a raised eyebrow. I huff and flop into my seat next to Marc and Carter. Carter glances at me out of the corner of her eye and smirks.

“Why are you all red and bothered about?” I bite my lip and Marc looks over at me.“I accidentally tackled a cute boy…” I say, burying my head in my hands. Carter and Marc laugh and Marc pats my back.

“There there, Little Crosby. I did much worse to your aunt Véronique.” I laugh and lean my head on his shoulder. Geno and Kris are behind us, teasing Taylor as Dad watches what’s going on down on the ice. His hand is resting on my shoulder, absentmindedly squeezing and releasing in a protective way. As I sit there, watching the game, all I can think about is the boy. But as I do, I think about the conversation Dad and I had last night in the car. Did he really mean what he said? Would he really get upset if I did ever decide to have a boyfriend?

[tojishugetiddies]

Key: e/d = energy drink, h/l =, hair length, h/c = hair color, e/c = eye color, y/f/v/c = your favorite videogame character

Here's an extra long chapter! I had a lot of fun with this one lol

Link to prologue:

Link to ch.1

Chapter 2

y/n's pov

"Really? Okay that's great! So I'll be meeting him here and show him around the studio. Yeah, of course! No problem! Bye." *click* Well it seems today is my lucky day! I got an applicant for a roomie! Only problem is... it wasn't my potential roommate I talked too.

It was Mr. Shigaraki, the owner of a big corporate conglomerate of hospitals, labs, and warehouses. When I tell you this man is loaded, he is LOADED. Although I heard some rumors that he might be involved in human experimentation. But imagine my surprise when I found out his son would be my roomate if I gave him the okay! I'm actually quite a fan of his son, whenever I have free time I watch his streams. They are pretty entertaining, especially when he, Dabi, Spinner, Twice, and Toga play Overwatch together. I never knew some of those curse words even existed!

Well, I better go to bed early, I have the feeling I'm going to need a good rest. I head to my room and change into a t-shirt and panties, slip into my bed, and I feel Bingus curl up near my feet. And with that I slip into the land of unconsciousness.

 

~Time skip to the next day~

You woke up early and made sure everything was ready. You put on some casual clothes, a baggy black hoodie showing a kitten with a ramen bowl, and some skinny jeans. You cleaned up the apartment, stocked the cabinets with some snacks, got soda and energy drinks in the fridge, and made sure to organize your room. You organized your video games and consoles, and made sure some were charged.

By the time you finished you were kinda tired to you took an energy drink out of the fridge and took a couple of sips. Bingus stalks over and starts to scream at you. "Oh shit! I forgot to feed you! I'm sorry Bingy." You said. As you walked over to get his food he kept screaming at you. When you finally put the food in his bowl and gave him fresh water he finally stopped screaming at you. But not without making a 'mrrt' sound at you and turn around sassily going to his food. "Always gotta be such a drama queen Bingus I swear." You shake your head in amusement.

You check your phone an look at the time, "huh, he should be here in about 5 minutes." You mumble to yourself. You pet Bingus for awhile until you hear a knocking at your door. You are so nervous! 'Okay, be cool y/n, just treat him as a regular person.' You walk towards the door with your heart beating a mile a minute. You open the door and...

Tomura's pov:

Welp, time to meet my potential roomate I guess. I wore a baggy black hoodie, black pants, and my iconic red shoes. Kurogiri warps me in front of the apartment. I feel anxiety course through me. With a deep inhale and breathing out a sigh I put my fist to the wooden door and knock. I hear faint footsteps come closer and as the door opens I look down a bit to see a small female woman.

I examine her discreetly and notice she has shiny h/l h/c hair and she has big round e/c eyes. "Well, are you going to let me in or are you just gonna keep standing there?" I say. I see her jump a bit and she apologizes. "Whatever. You gonna show me the apartment or what?" I say annoyed. She let's me in and the first thing I see is a fluffy calico cat sitting on the island in the kitchen batting what seems to be a can of... e/d? She turns around just as the cat bats the can to the floor spilling the drink. I look at her and she looks both mortified and offended, it's pretty amusing, I smirk a little.

"Bingus! What. The. Fuck?! You little shit!" She says while she approaches the mess, picks the can up an puts it back down near the cat. I can see her give the cat an exasperated look, and when I looked at the cat I swear, if a cat could make a smug face with a shit eating grin, this cat would have it. I chuckle at the interaction, it was certainly not going to be boring here it seemed. The cat looked at me and started...screaming? How the fuck? "Bingus don't be rude to him he might be living here!" You tell the cat. The cat pauses and seems to examine me before screaming again then running away into what I assumed was y/n's room. Well. That was...something.

By the time he snapped out of his thoughts you had already cleaned up the mess and just chug the drink then throw it out. Okay so you definitely weren't like other girls, good, he gained some respect for you, but only a little. "Shall we continue our tour?" I nod my head. She shows me the common room, then the kitchen. We head into the next room and I look around. There's pencils, paint, some canvases, a desk, a lamp on the desk, some erasures, sketchpads, markers, you get the point. It was an art room. I walk towards a painting of a silhouette of a person on a hill sitting beneath a tree looking at the dark night sky with beautiful stars and constellations. "Wow, you made this?" I ask. She blushes embarrassed and says "Yeah... It's an important painting to me, because it's a painting of one of my memories, when I was living in the countryside." She looks off into the distance, seemingly recalling that specific memory.

She snaps out of it and asks "Shall we return to the tour? All I have left to show you are the bathrooms, my room, then what will be your room if you choose to room with me." She smiles softly and I nod my head. She shows me the bathroom in the hall and tells me that that is the only bathroom with a tub and shower, but our rooms have basic toiletries. She shows me to my possible room first. "Here is your room if you wanna be my roomate!" She says. I examine the room; dark red walls with white accents, a wooden floorboard and a basic queen sized bed, a bedside table, a dresser, desk, etc. This might not be so bad after all.

We head to our last stop, to be honest I expected something frillish and girly but to my pleasant surprise she had a pretty cool room. The walls were f/c with accessories such as a neon sign that says 'Fuck You', a poster of CORPSE, and another of y/f/v/c. Then I noticed the game consoles. "Wow you have a Nintendo 64? I haven't seen one of these in years!" I say impressed. That's when I realised that not only will I be rooming with a girl, that same girl is cute as fuck, likes energy drinks, and places video games! I never met a girl who played video games in real life besides Himiko, but she is like 4 years younger than me so I don't really count her. And y/n is pretty nice too. I wonder if she watches my streams? Fuck, that'd be pretty hot. I snap out of my inner thoughts by y/n asking me how the apartment is. I tell her I really like it and would be glad to room with her. She looked so happy when I said that, but blushed and went back to normal. We exchanged numbers and promised to keep in contact and agreed to me moving in here in about 4 days. I act all bored but really I can't wait to move in.

We part ways at the door and when she closed the door I texted Kurogiri to pick me up. Suddenly I'm really tired, having interactions with a stranger, a girl nonetheless really drained me. As I walk into the portal then step out into my room Kurogiri asks how it went. I gave him a short summary and when he was satisfied he left to tell father. I fall onto my bed and sigh. Y/n... huh. You are pretty interesting. I wonder how long it will take until you betray me...no, she wouldn't...right? I mean after all, she was really nice and inviting, she didn't seem to mind my scars, and her eyes lit up when we briefly talked about video games. My betrayal issues rise inside of me, making me anxious and wary. We will see, for now I'm too tired to think anymore. And with that as I get comfortable in my bed I fall asleep, thoughts of y/n swarming my mind.

[gorochanfanclub]

Change of Plans

Majima x Original Female Character

Summary: Alternate Goromi origin story. Majima is trying to train his assistant to be a hostess for his latest Kiryu scheme, but gets more than what he bargained for...

Contains: Goromi, sexually suggestive content, a couple curse words, a very jealous Majima

A/N: Haven’t posted anything here in a hot minute but had this idea and wanted to share. Only reason I didn’t make this an x reader is because the way I wanted it to end, it wouldn’t have worked :/ The only really defining traits of the woman in the story are that she’s a very tall American, has big b00bie, and her name is Hiromi. Also... please don’t take this too seriously >.< it was just something silly I thought of lol. This isn’t usually the type of style I like to write in, but I thought it might be fun to make something not so serious or heavy for a change! I hope you all do enjoy it!!

Running her hands down her body, Hiromi looks at herself in the mirror, turning slowly to view herself from every angle possible. The pink leather shines and gleams in the dim light of the dressing room, flashes of snakeskin detail sparkling in the mirror. She barely felt her ass held into the garment, the highest parts of her thighs getting a cool breeze from the fishnet stockings on them. Her broad shoulders poked out the top, her breasts pushed nearly to her chin. 

The entire ensemble was loud, definitely something she couldn’t possibly imagine herself wearing usually. However, she hadn’t been the one to pick out this outfit in the first place, her boss did. Majima, in another one of his crazy antics, had dragged her to a cabaret club of all places, thrown the clothes in her arms, and shoved her into the back room, demanding she change instantly. 

Groaning, Hiromi wonders if Majima really intended for her to leave the room dressed like this. It showed so much skin. She barely remembers the last time she was out in public showing this much skin, even swimming, Hiromi always opted for more conservative attire. 

A loud knock at the door draws her from her thoughts, her employer’s voice shouting yet muffled by the wooden slab. “Hey, Hiromi-chan,” he barks, “Ya been in there for a while now. How long does it take for you to put a dress on?” 

Looking back at herself in the mirror she grimaces. “Majima-san?” she calls over her shoulder, “Do you really want me to wear this?” She pauses, “What is this even for?”

Even through the door, she can hear her boss groan. “I don’t pay ya to ask questions, Hiromi-chan.” 

“I know you don’t, sir,” she snaps back, “You pay me to drive you around. Not wear…” her eyes find her reflection once more, “less than modest clothing.” 

The doorknob starts to giggle at her remark. “I’m sure ya look great,” Majima mutters, saying something under his breath afterwards Hiromi can’t quite hear. “I’m comin’ in, ya decent?” 

Nodding with a hum, Hiromi watches the door fly open, her boss standing in the doorway, the cabaret club’s owner hot on his heels. Eyeing her up and down, Majima soaks her up. A wicked grin plasters itself on his face. “Hot damn, girly!” he exclaims, “Ya look great! The boys are gonna eat you up.” 

Blinking rapidly, Hiromi stares at him with eyes like saucers. “‘Eat me up?’” she repeats, “Don’t you think this is…” she can’t finish, only looking at the vast amount of skin showing from under her clothes. 

Majima tilts his head, “It’s what? Don’t like what I picked ya?” 

Hiromi shakes her head rapidly, “Uh, no it’s fine, it’s just a little… revealing… is all.” 

Making his way across the room, Majima claps a gloved hand on his assistant’s shoulder. “Of course it is!” he shouts, his booming voice echoing in the room, “When yer in this line of work, ya gotta show off the goods.” With a flirtatious wink that makes Hiromi’s cheeks feel on fire, he adds, “And trust me, girly... you got ‘em.” 

Majima then steps back, looking her up and down once more before stopping at her breasts. The dress was barely holding them in and it made Majima chuckle, “Not to mention, I think Kiryu’s got a thing for big knockers like yers.” 

“What?” Hiromi snaps, “This is a Kiryu thing? You’re dragging me into this now?”

The one eyed man only shrugs, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I? Yer on my payroll and I gotta use the tools I got on hand. Right now sweetheart, that’s you.” 

Slumping her shoulders, Hiromi knows it was best to simply accept her fate and take her orders. There was no arguing with Majima once his heart was set on something. The man was not only stubborn, he was determined. Sighing, she asks, “Alright, what would like me to do, sir?” 

Cackling maniacally, Majima claps, rubbing his leather gloves together in anticipation. “That’s more like it!” he shouts with glee. 

He then steps to Hiromi’s side, wrapping an arm around her bare shoulders, leading her past the club owner and out into the main section of the club. “Now,” he explains, “here’s the plan; yer gonna use,” he gestures to her body, making a particularly large gesture to her chest, “all this, to lure Kiryu-chan in, right?” 

Hiromi nods in acknowledgement as he continues, “Get him all buttered up ‘n’ shit. Then…” he snaps loudly in front of Hiromi’s face, making her jerk backwards for a second, “I’ll swoop in for the kill- start disrespectin’ ya and all. Kiryu’s a real gentleman, there’s no way he’ll pass up the chance to fight fer a girl’s honor.” He ogles her breasts once more, “‘Specially one as busty as you.” 

The woman stutters nervously and incoherently before clearing her throat, “Do you really think I’ll be able to win him over, Majima-san?” Looking down, she rubs the back of her neck, “Kiryu seems to be a rather tough nut to crack. I’m not sure if I’m cut out for this.” 

Walking them to a table in the back Majima chuckles once more. “I know yer, not,” he states blankly, much to his assistant’s surprise. “That’s why I’m gonna train ya…” 

Before she can protest, Hiromi feels herself being shoved onto the plush velvet sofa behind her. With a huff, she flops down, looking up through her hair to see Majima situating himself next to her. 

Sitting up and brushing her hair out of her face, Hiromi meekly asks, “Wh-what kind of training do I need, sir?” Looking down, she notices how far up her risque dress has ridden up. With a faint blush dusting her cheeks, she tugs it as close to her knees as possible, the action completely foiled by the lack of fabric the dress had. 

Leaning back, Majima makes himself comfortable. Crossing one of his leather clad legs over his knee, he sighs, “Gotta make sure you can handle Kiryu-chan.” Noticing the look of absolute fear on her face, he grins, waving a hand in dismissal, “Just relax, girly girl, we’re just gonna do some talkin’.” 

Majima reaches inside the inner breast pocket of his jacket, pulling out his packet of cigarettes and nonchalantly lighting one. As he inhales, a nostalgic smile works its way across his lips, tugging gently at the corners, “Y’know, I used to do this fer a living. Kinda miss it too…” 

He turns slowly to the woman on the seat next to him, “So yer in good hands, Hiromi-chan, nothin’ to worry yer pretty little head about.” 

She nods, taking his words in. Hiromi takes the chance to admire Majima as he prepares for his training session with her. The way the smoke floated around his head, it made him look like an angel, resting above the clouds, looking down on the world that belonged only to him. 

Majima could feel her eyes on him, watching him intently. Suddenly he felt nervous about being here with her, especially with the way he had dressed her, she was practically naked. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all… 

“Nuff about that, tho,” he beams, snapping himself from his dull stupor, pulling Hiromi from hers as well. “Let’s get down to it,” he sighs, raising a inquisitive eyebrow, “Ya ever done anythin’ like this before?” 

Touching a finger to her cheek, Hiromi tilts her head in thought. Majima smirked, finding the action somewhat cute. “Well…” she starts, “I’m not quite sure how ‘this’ all works but… I used to flirt a lot with men at the bars back in my clubbing days,” she turns to her boss with an expectant look, “Does that count, Majima-san?” 

Nodding, he smiles brightly, “That’s exactly the way you gotta act. Talk ‘em up, get ‘em to buy you more drinks,” he points a finger at her, “and usually I wouldn’t say this but since these’re special circumstances… there’s no such thing as ‘too handsy.’ Kiryu-chan’s been in prison fer ten long years, I imagine a perv like him would go wild havin’ a nice little thing like you pawing all over him.” 

Hiromi grins, nodding as she takes in her instructions. She hums, “I think I’m beginning to understand what I need to do.” 

Majima leans back, fluffing up his jacket then smoothing it down as he situates again, “Alright then, we’re just gonna pretend that I’m Kiryu-chan and yer gonna do yer best to win me over.” 

The woman nods shortly leaning back herself. In an instant, she crosses her long legs at the knees, the heel of her left foot tapping the glass table in front of them with a heavy thud. 

The action shocked Majima. His eye looks down to the pink stiletto next to his own thigh, the toes so dangerously close to grazing his leg. Trailing his gaze up her toned legs, he notices the fishnets end right at the thickest part of her rather voluptuous thighs, the elastic squeezing them ever so slightly. 

Following her body further, Majima trains his eye on the way the dress hugged her body in all the right places. From the way it strained against her hips, bunched slightly at her waist, then nearly ripped at her chest, he realized maybe he went a little too far with the outfit. 

Finally, his gaze meets her face. A blush threatens to creep onto his cheeks with the way she is looking at him. It was almost like she had flipped a switch inside her. The usual stoic and no nonsense Hiromi he relied on during a day to day basis was gone. In her place was a tigress, dark eyes staring him down like a wounded prey, ready to be devoured. 

Majima swallows, trying his best to keep his composure. He grins again, hiding his discomfort, “Hello there, my name is Kiryu Kazuma, what’s you’re name?” he asks, doing his best impression of the deep voiced Kiryu. 

The woman tilts her head with a wicked grin, “Hiromi. It means ‘generous beauty.’”

And what a beauty she is, Majima thinks to himself before tilting his own head in confusion, “‘Hiromi?’ That’s a Japanese name, ma���am. Don’t you think you’re a little tall for a Japanese lady?” 

Majima feels something grace his leg and he looks down to see one of Hiromi’s pink shoes rubbing itself gently up and down his thigh. She chuckles, “Astute observation Kiryu-san. In fact, I’m from America. Have you ever been?” 

Shaking his head, Majima shrugs, “Can’t say I have, Hiromi-chan. In fact, I’ve never left Japan.” 

Suddenly, the soft sensation of a foot rubbing his thigh is lost. Majima nearly lets out a displeased groan, choking it back at the last second. When he looks up to meet her face again, he is greeted with her leaning forward, her left hand supporting her and her right resting on the sofa in the spot her foot had previously been. 

“You should make a point to go sometime, Kiryu-san,” Hiromi mutters, her voice barely above a sultry whisper. Her hand begins to trace up Majima’s leg, palming his thigh gently, “I’m sure you’d get lots of young American ladies on your arm, what with you being so big and handsome.” 

This time, Majima isn’t able to hold back the blush on his cheeks. Here he was, sitting in a cabaret club with his long legged, scantily clad, foreign, assistant, and she’s fondling him like they’re lovers. It didn’t help that she was so close he could smell the mint of her gum from earlier still on her breath. 

“Maybe I’d rather stay right here,” Majima counters, “Why go to America when I have a gorgeous American girlie on my arm right now?” 

With a laugh, Hiromi’s fingers dig into the muscle on Majima’s thigh. With them so close to his manhood, Majima couldn’t help himself from jumping in shock. She really took his instruction to heart when he told her to get handsy. Swallowing, Majima wasn’t sure how much longer he could take this. 

“You flatter me too much,” Hiromi laughs. Batting her eyelashes she smiles that predatory smile once more, “But… I can’t think of any other place in this world I’d rather be, either.” 

Flattening her palm once more, she trails her touch up Majima’s leg, onto his toned stomach, feeling every contour of his chiseled torso. Taking her other hand, she hooks a finger underneath Majima’s chin, forcing him to look at her, also bringing him a bit closer. 

“I’ve got everything I could possibly want right in front of me…” she whispers. Instinctively, Majima grabs her hip, desperately needing someplace to put his hands. This earns a light chuckle from Hiromi, “Touching already, are we? At least buy me a drink first.” 

Looming over her shoulder, he waves to the club owner to bring something around. Turning his attention back to the woman in his arms, he nearly stutters, “So, Hiromi-chan, ya got any special guys in yer life? Can’t imagine a sexy little broad like you going to bed alone.” 

The hungry gleam in his eye starts to grow, almost matching her own hungry gaze. She smiles, grazing her fingertips across Majima’s collarbone, “There might be one, and if he plays his cards right tonight…” The grip on his jaw tightens as she pulls his ear to her lips, “I might just go home with him.” 

With fake shock, Majima opens his mouth wide, “That so? Well I hope I do, then. Wouldn’t want to pass up the opportunity to wake up next to ya.” His grip on her hip strengthens, his gloved fingers squeaking against the leather of her dress. 

Continuing her motions on his chest, trailing over the edges of his tattoos, Hiromi asks coyly, “Do you have any ‘special’ women waiting for you at home, sir?” 

Majima only chuckles, “Now, if I did, would I really be at a place like this, lettin’ you fawn all over me?” She only shrugs, “You might, I couldn’t possibly know.” 

Shaking his head, Majima smirks, “Nah, I only got one lady in my life, and that’s you, darlin’.” 

Hiromi chuckles, pulling away from Majima once more. The loss of her hands on his skin leaves him feeling lonely and cold. However, suddenly, he finds Hiromi spreading her legs, arcing one over Majima’s hips to straddle him. 

Hovering her bum just above him, she grabs his shoulders, one of her knuckles outlining his jaw. She mumbles against his cheek, her breath causing the hairs on the back of his neck to raise, “Then I think we should enjoy our evening together, Kiryu-san.” 

Kiryu-san. 

Up until she said that, Majima had completely forgotten he was supposed to be training her for a night with Kiryu. Suddenly, the idea of having to watch her touch Kiryu and whisper into his ear the way she was doing to Majima right now seemed extremely unappealing. 

Something inside him boiled at the thought of that. He wasn’t sure what it was but with the way her lips were grazing his jaw and the way her weight was pressing upon him, he wasn’t sure he could stomach watching her do all the same things to another man… a man that wasn’t him. 

Leaning back, he meets her eyes, still dark, still hungry. Majima’s good eye darts to her lips, plump and covered in a hideous, gaudy pink shade that didn’t suit her at all. He was half tempted right then and there to kiss it all off, just to return her to her natural glory. 

Still playing the game Majima had abandoned a long time ago, she smiles, “What do you say, Kiryu-san? Can’t we have some fun?” 

Hearing her say his name again was just enough to pull Majima from his daze. Tapping her hip, that he previously had been gripping for dear life, he mutters to her, “Alright, get up, this isn’t gonna work.” 

Hiromi instantly stops her motions, furrowing her brow at her boss, “Wait- what?” 

Majima, with a bit of difficulty, and reluctance, pushes his assistant off him, sending her stumbling onto the velvet where she previously sat. “I said this ain’t gonna work, girly.” Standing up he glances over her body once more, taking in all the curves, “Kiryu ain’t gonna fall for all that. The guy may be a pervert but he ain’t stupid.” 

Sitting up as fast as she can Hiromi shakes her head, “What do you mean? Was I doing something wrong? Maybe I could try again. Was it too much?” she sputters, desperate to please her boss. 

Was it too much? Majima scoffs internally. She nearly was grinding against him and she had the audacity to ask if it was too much. Fact of the matter was, she was way too good at this, Kiryu wouldn’t have stood a chance. Five more minutes and Majima himself would have lost control.

Waving his hand to quell her blabbing, Majima shakes his head, still trying to pull himself back to reality. “Nah, it’s useless. We’ll have to think of something else. Yer just not cut out fer this, dollface,” he lies. 

Hanging her head in defeat she sighs, “I’m sorry, Majima-san, I really was trying.” 

Sighing himself, Majima feels a pang of guilt, “Don’t worry about it.” His eye falls to the hem of her dress that had ridden up a little too high. Finding it hard to breathe looking at her, he turns away, “Why don’t ya go get changed? That old thing is ugly as fuck anyway.” 

Hiromi nods, standing up and smoothing her dress down, “Yes, sir,” she states. Before she turns to leave, she looks down at herself one more time. She chuckles once then glances to Majima, “It’s a shame no one will get to see it, though… In fact, it might actually look pretty good on you, Majima-san.” 

At that comment, a lightbulb shines in Majima’s head. He darts his attention back to his assistant, eyeing the pink leather dress. “Say that again, Hiromi-chan,” he commands. 

Her smile falls, face contorting in confusion again. She slowly repeats herself, “‘It might actually look pretty good on you?’”

Of course, Majima thought. If Hiromi couldn’t get Kiryu to fight him, Majima could. What in this world would piss Kiryu off more than embarrassing him in front of an entire cabaret club by having drinks with a yakuza in drag? And if that didn’t work, Majima knew he could think of something on the fly. 

“Hiromi-chan,” Majima starts, “Yer a genius, I could kiss you right now.”

Her eyes go wide as her face goes dark with a blush, “You could... kiss me?”

Realizing what he just said, Majima nervously rubs the back of his neck, “Jeez, it���s just a figure of speech. I just mean... oh nevermind... come here a sec. I wanna see somethin’.”

Doing as she’s told, Hiromi walks up to her boss meekly. Majima moves to stand beside her, comparing his height and build to hers. Seeing how similar they were, he asks, “Say, Hiromi-chan, looks like we’re about the same size.” 

She only nervously nods, “Why, yes, sir. I’m a rather large woman and, with no offense to you, you’re a rather slim man. It isn’t too far fetched to think we’d be a similar size.” 

Grabbing her shoulders, Majima shoves her towards the back of the club, to the dressing room. “Great, now go take that thing off… and hand it to me when yer done.” 

“Hand it to… you?” 

***

After a long hour of doing his hair and makeup, Majima came out of the dressing room looking like a new man or in this case… woman. 

While he may not have had the assets to fill the garment out, Hiromi couldn’t deny that it indeed fit him like a glove. Not to mention, the pink faux snakeskin looked so much better on him. 

Arms crossed as she watches him prance around, fully drowning himself in his new character, Hiromi shakes her head in disbelief, “I had no idea this is what you had in mind as a backup plan but… color me impressed, sir. This might just be your greatest scheme yet.” 

With a feminine chuckle Majima flutters his eyelashes, “Why, thank you Hiromi-chan.” Stopping for a moment, he looks into the mirror, a scowl on his face, “Just need a name to match this pretty face.” 

Perking back up, he whips around, “I got one. Goromi.” Gesturing between them, he nods, “It’s my name and your name put together. What could be more perfect?” 

Hiromi nods, chuckling, “Very clever, sir.” Turning her wrist over, she checks her watch, “Majima-san, it’s getting late, should I phone Kiryu-san and have him swing by?” 

A manic grin spreads across Majima’s lips, the anticipation of violence making him giddy. “Do it. I think it’s time for Goromi to make her debut…” 

[renjunfromthestars]

work too much

Pairing: Mark + reader, Established relationship, Med School/Doctor!Mark (I can’t stop thinking about this omg)

Genre: Fluff, angst if you squint, and it’s me so a little bit of crack LOL

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1.4k 

Summary: It’s the middle of Pandemic; there’s been a lot of changes to your life, but Mark is one of the only things that have always been constant, and you’re thankful for that. But Mark in typical Mark fashion is stressed and tends to over work himself, so you always try your best to support him in your own way

Can be read as an extension to more than or as a stand alone

Notes: proof read? ofc not. but I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again...Mark is a little awk and always works so hard (poor bby), so imagining him as a super stressed pre-med major (now Doctor!!) still absolutely wrecks me thank you goodbye 

---

When the pandemic hit, it was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because online school definitely saved your grades (chegg also played a supporting role in this). And a curse because you and 7 million people suddenly found yourselves in a pandemic, and a pretty serious one at that.

When the news first came out about a small viral breakout in China, you didn’t think much of it. You were scared shitless when news of a recurring Ebola epidemic came to your attention, WebMd-ing every symptom and prevention technique so obsessively to the point that Mark had to confiscate your laptop for a second. 

“Objectively it’s a really serious viral disease, but your chances of getting it are astronomically low. A vaccine was already developed since the first serious breakout in 2014. Plus, most of the cases are in Africa, and it’s very contained-” Mark stops. “Are you even listening?”

“I am,” you protest. “But I’m still going to be scared no matter what you say.”

Mark sighs, sitting back down on the couch after gently placing your laptop on the coffee table. 

He ruffles your hair playfully, and your frown only gets deeper. “You silly, silly girl. Take my word for it, you’re fine.”

To be honest, you really should, but anxiety doesn’t discriminate, not even when you have a very knowledgeable boyfriend in medical school.

When you snuggle into his side and wail jokingly (or are you?) about being afraid of dying for the 4th time that week, you can almost see the defeat flash in Mark’s eyes. Yet, he doesn’t complain, and tells you things are going to be okay while wrapping his arms around you comfortingly. 

For Mark, you’re eternally thankful. 

When the pandemic hit, you didn’t really mind quarantining. You had the necessities: toilet paper, a Netflix subscription, and Mark, not necessarily in order of importance of course. The early months of the pandemic gave you a perfect time to recharge from all the grad school craziness. What really drove you insane were the lack of people taking social distancing and quarantine orders with a grain of salt. Mark scolds you when you say it’s just another form of natural selection, that you like to think that those kinds of people peaked in high school. 

Mark on the other hand, is having the opposite experience, Because of the severity of the virus, he graduated from Med school a whole two months early to join other health care workers in the fight against covid. Mark is a smart guy; he’s cautious and plans accordingly-but you’re not going to lie- Mark being in the hospital scares you.

Although he doesn’t like to talk about it, you can tell things are stressful for him from the way his shoulders droop when he thinks you aren’t looking. Dark circles around his normally twinkling eyes, and you’re not even exaggerating when you think you see a white hair or two. 

Mark doesn't like to talk about it and you understand, instead showing your support through your actions; you time dinner so that it’s ready right when he comes home, and are sure to give him time to recharge on his own. Mark also has trouble sleeping at night because of his work schedule, so you ordered a white noise machine in an attempt to soothe him. It works, but the poor boy still looks stressed in his sleep, with his eyebrows slightly furrowed and tense. You consider asking him to take some time off from the hospital, but Mark has a big heart and you believe in him. It’s a big part of why you and Mark get along so well, you think,--you have an uncanny ability to know what the other needs, even if they aren’t necessarily aware of it.

“Are you mad at me?”

You’ve just switched off the light. At 8:30, it’s a little early for most people to go to bed but you don’t mind it- you know he’s exhausted, and you don’t want to pressure him to stay up. If it were up to you, you’d be watching Netflix all night. 

When you turn to look at him in the moonlight, he looks so worried that you feel your heart tighten a little.

“Of course not,” you frown. “What makes you say that?”

Mark scratches the back of his head. “It’s just that you haven’t really been talking as much to me lately. Because of the extra shifts I’ve been taking at the hospital lately, I know I haven’t been spending as much time with you, and I feel bad about it, I really do, so I understand why you’d be mad-”

As he rambles on, you deadpan a little. He seems so tightly strung it’s almost comical. When he notices you sighing, he almost combusts. 

“I’m really, really sorry (y/n). I promise I’ll make it up to you at a later time. You’re so important to me, I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking you for granted-” He stops when you reach across the covers to cradle his face.

You lean in to kiss him, and he’s so confused that it takes him a moment to close his eyes. 

His lips are a little chapped, but you don’t mind, instead making a metal note to buy him a little watermelon lip smackers later, and yes-lip smackers because imagining professional Doctor Mark using lip smackers is hilarious to you.

When you pull away, you’re nose to nose, foreheads touching. You’re both silent for a moment, a quiet understanding passing between you two.

“I love you so much,” he whispers. 

A smile begins to spread across your face. You know you shouldn’t tease him, but you do anyway.

“I know you do.”

“Tell me you love me too,” he almost whines, and you can’t help but stifle a laugh. 

“Don’t laugh, this is a serious matter,” he grumbles, wrapping his arms around your waist.

You give in, pecking him on the lips once more.

“You silly, silly boy. Of course I love you too. You don’t even need to ask.”

Mark closes his eyes, and when he mumbles something about not knowing what he’d do without you, your heart nearly melts. 

You close your eyes too, and as you both slowly drift to sleep, you think about how life's going good despite it’s new changes—pandemic and all. You have Mark, and that is something that will never change.

Bonus

Mark scratches the back of his head, glances at you, the little neon green tube in his hand, and then back at you. All you do is just beam at him.

“And?”

“Of course I love it, but uh, isn’t it a little girly?” he says sheepishly. 

You pinch his ear playfully and he turns the slightest shade of pink.

 “Don’t disrespect the lip smackers, it comes highly recommended not to mention coveted among almost every teenage girl.”

“But I’m not a teenage girl,” he mumbles, and you spring into action, mustering the most disappointed face you can.

They should honestly give you a honorary degree in acting, because when Mark looks at you, he might as well act like you just told him your dog just died.

He uncaps the little stick and quickly applies it all over his lips, rather intensely. When he looks back up at you, he flashes you the most awkward smile and thumbs up you’ve ever seen in your life. With his lips unusually pink and waxy from the over application, he looks like a clown, so what other choice do you have, but laugh. 

Mark catches on pretty quickly, and kisses you in retaliation; he tastes like watermelon.

“You’re an evil, evil girl,” he murmurs, “But I love you anyway.”

“All jokes aside, you’re going to actually use it right?” (you used your own hard earned money to get this for  him, a whole two dollars and twenty five not including tax )

“Of course I will. I love everything you give me.” (You know this is a lie, he doesn’t like it when you give him a smack on his butt.)

[purpleyellow]

Clueless

Seventeen 14th member

Hayun’s masterlist

“The introduction of Hayun’s love interest and her beef with his friend”

a/n: Feel free to let me know your thoughts as well as send me some requests💙. Ask box is also open to random chats.

“Noona!” Yugyeom screamed engulfing Hayun in a tight hug and briefly raising her off the ground “I’m so glad you came”

“Of course I’m here, happy birthday by the way” Hayun snorted, reciprocating the hug and making room for Mingyu, Minghao, and DK to congratulate him as well. Looking around the private area of the club, the girl waved back at some of the JYPE idols without failing to notice one of the Twice girl’s walking up to her.

“Yugyeom-ah, did you really have to invite her?” Jade rolled her eyes, draping an arm on the boy’s shoulders and sizing her up. The other girl tilted her head to the side and pressed her lips in annoyance.

Hayun and Jade’s relationship was a little tough. 

Ever since their groups debuted, the two rappers got constantly compared to each other. And while Hayun knew she shouldn’t get affected by it, she couldn’t help but get insecure when a lot of people seemed to use Jaidee as an example of why they thought she had to leave Seventeen to join a girl group. It didn’t help either that they never addressed the situation or tried to interact when their groups were getting to know each other. 

So even though it seemed reasonable to just move past other people's opinions and the rivalry they pressured on them, the topic stung Hayun a little, and the girl found herself avoiding staying close to the other idol and interacting peacefully, even after everybody appeared to have moved on from it.

“Jaidee, just go back to your place” The seventeen member rolled her eyes while Yugyeom stared at them amused, far too entertained to deal with their bickering.

“My place?” Jade widened her eyes and chuckled aimlessly “It’s my friend’s party. Look around a little and you’ll see you’re the one  who doesn’t belong here”

“Seriously, you talk like a preschooler” Hayun pursed her lips to prevent her from ironically laughing as Jade opened her mouth to say something else, getting interrupted by two people approaching and standing in the middle of them.

“Noona, great to see you here. Let’s go sit with your members” Bambam chatted happily while pulling Hayun to where the rest of the 97 line was. Jackson on her other side gestured for Yugyeom to take Jade back to the other side of the table.

“Jackson, ” Jade called out and waved for him to follow her, making the girl roll her eyes again. The boy looked between them before sighing.

“Wait a minute, I’ll come back,” He told Hayun before going to where the Twice member was.

“She really doesn’t let him live” The girl snorted while approaching the table, mindlessly messing up Jaehyun’s hair and getting an annoyed greeting as he tried to fix it again.

“She usually does, it’s just your presence” Bambam deadpanned pulling a chair for her to sit next to Minghao and smirking before saying with a girly voice “Don’t worry he’s coming back”

“He can stay there if it’ll keep her away from me” Hayun mumbled, getting slapped in the arm by Minghao. “Ouch, what was that for?”

“Let the girl be,” Mingyu said from his seat, making her roll her eyes at him before winking at Jungkook who was looking back and forth with wide eyes “You should be the mature one in a situation like this”

“How is this my fault? All I did was arrive and-”

“Next time arrive quicker” DK joked, making her sigh and rest her weight on the chair. 

“So, what’s good tonight?” Hayun asked and looked down at the dance floor and then back at the group, who had returned to their usual conversation. The girl was just starting to focus on one of Eunwoo’s stories when suddenly a chair got pulled to her side and someone sat there with his arms on the back of her seat.

“What did I miss?” Jackson asked no one in specific and looked at her, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear and fiddling with her piercing “Is this a new earring?”

“I think I’ve had this for a while now but thank you for asking” Hayun chuckled, patting his thigh before looking back at whoever was speaking.

“Ah, interesting” The boy mumbled and looked around again, not so discreetly pulling his chair a little closer to hers. Hayun leaned her head on his shoulder without much thought making a smile creep onto his face. “Don’t you think we’re a little out of place here? I mean, they’re all the same age and-”

“Are you calling me old?” She raised her head with an amused yet questioning smile and Jackson rolled his eyes while shaking his head.

“No. I’m trying to see if you want to go someplace else.” He told her with a smirk and gave her a wink.

“Go where bro? I’m not going to the lion’s den just because you’re too cool for the young kids” She scoffed leaving him with wide eyes

“Wow, don’t put it like that, you know Jade is my friend” He started to say with a goofy grin but got interrupted again.

“I’m your friend too” Hayun laughed, missing how his smile dropped a little “Shouldn’t you be at least a little concerned by me getting eaten alive”

“As long as I got you both under control nothing is happening” He patted her on the back and got up “I’m going to the bar, do you want the usual?”

“Sure, thanks” The girl nodded and looked back at the table. She hadn’t realized but all eyes were on her as they had watched the end of the exchange happen “What?”

“Dude, that was your cue” Bambam smirked, taking a sip from his cup.

“My cue for what?” She frowned when Mingyu held his head in exasperation and Dokyeom giggled at her lost expression.

“Your cue to go with him” Minghao pointed out amused and when Hayun looked at him for more clues he raised his eyebrows “Are you serious?”

“Jackson has been flirting with you for like, months” Mingyu exclaimed with a high pitch tone and restraining himself from standing up and extending his arms to where the boy was “He just told you he wanted to move spots and gave you the perfect situation to tag along. Why are you still here?”  

While the mini-speech had made sense to her, Hayun couldn’t help but laugh at the idea. Sure Jackson was attractive and she enjoyed his presence a lot, but the view she had of him didn’t surpass the one of a friend.

“You’re all overreacting, we’re just close like that” She waved them off making him groan and some of the boys laughed.

“He doesn’t act like that with anyone but you actually” Bambam crossed his arms and leaned back on his seat “Just watch him for a while and you’ll get what we mean”

“Actually, just go there yourself” Minghao rolled his eyes and grabbed the seat of her chair, tilting it until Hayun had no choice but to get up before she fell on the ground. 

“Wow, aggressive much” She fixed the skirt of her dress and walked towards the bar. The girl could see where they were coming from, but part of her didn’t actually believe Jackson could have some sort of feelings for her. Not those kinds of feelings at least.

Confronting it while she didn’t have expectations made sense to Hayun as she walked down the stairs, finding him standing with his back facing where she was coming from, which allowed her to sneak to his side and poke his ribs.

“Hey, thought you were going to wait upstairs” Jackson smiled circling an arm around her waist as Hayun leaned her forearms on the counter.

“Well from what I’ve heard you wanted me to come with you from the start” She smirked not meeting his eyes and hoping he would catch her hint.

“I did actually, thank you for noticing” Jackson smiled, playing with the ends of her hair and watching the bartender mixing up the drinks.

“Cut the crap Jackson” Hayun rolled her eyes turning to him “Have you been flirting with me?”

“Yes. Do you want to go on a date?” It was his turn to smile and Hayun found herself speechless.

“What?” She stared at him with wide eyes and he shrugged

“I figured I should make up for the time it took you to even realize I was flirting,” He said as if it were nothing, and Hayun’s mouth dropped.

“That was smooth” She laughed getting out of her trance and he stared at her with expecting eyes.

“So, do you want to?” He held her face with one hand and brushed it with his thumb, the action felt a little too nice to the girl and she blinked a few times trying to find her words.

“I need to be honest with you here. I don’t really see you like this” She said and he took a step back, opening his arms and looking at her.

“Do you think I’m attractive?” He asked as if it were nothing and the girl tilted her head to the side.

“Uh, sure but-”

“And I’m guessing you’re not annoyed by my presence,” He asked again and she shook her head making him get closer to her again, giving her a side hug and a kiss behind the ear “Then if you agree on the date, that’s enough for me to make you change your mind about how you see me”

Grateful for the bartender finishing up in that second, Hayun stared at the boy’s side profile as he took the drinks from the man, suppressing a smile when he turned to give her hers. 

“So, what do you say about that date?” His tone wasn’t teasing and she could tell he was genuinely waiting for her to either decline or accept it.

“Yeah, let’s do it” She let out a relieved laugh when his face broke into an adorable smile. 

Letting Jackson lead her back to their table, Hayun paid more attention to his hand resting on her back and how even sitting he was usually trying to keep some sort of contact between them. Half of her unusually giddy from it, and the other half wondering what the hell had just happened.

[everybodyscupoftea]

frat jj smut pls the girlies want it

alrighty anon, in all my years of fandom i’ve honestly never written smut. normally i’d stick to that bc i don’t think i’m a good enough writer to do it justice, but in honor of 100 followers, i’m willing to give it a shot. but you gotta promise to cut me some slack :)

(warning: nsfw)

Let’s say you’re at a party, you and JJ had both been drinking pretty heavily. You’re feeling pretty loose and five drink JJ has arrived. He’s sitting on the couch that’s been shoved into the corner, talking to some of his friends from one of his classes, and you’re sitting on his lap, playing with the rings on his fingers.

He shakes your hand away and starts inching it up your thigh pretty inconspicuously, but you know what he’s up to. You press the bottom of your cold beer bottle on his neck to get him to knock it off, but JJ only grabs that hand and holds it tightly to your side, refusing to let go even when you tug on it.

“My drink,” you whine, wanting a sip to distract yourself as his hand finally makes it to the bottom of your skirt.

“Be good,” he says lowly to you, so that no one else in the circle can hear, as his fingers slip under the seam.

You shiver as his cold rings touch the warm skin of your thigh, and with your free hand, you grab his wrist, trying last ditch to stop him.

“Baby,” he warns, as you pinch the back of his hand.

You lean in close to whisper in his ear, “Upstairs?”

JJ lets go of your hand and moves his almost immediately before pushing you up and standing up too. Grabbing your hand, he hurriedly wishes everyone goodbye and pulls you out of the circle, up the stairs into his room.

Before you could say anything, he was kissing you. It was slower than you thought it would be based on how JJ was acting downstairs. He had a hand on your jaw and lifted your chin up before sliding his hand in your hair to hold your head in place.

You reached up to flip his hat around as he moved his mouth from your lips to your cheekbone. He trailed kisses down your cheek to your jaw and down further to your neck, using the hand in your hair to tilt your head to the side a little for better access.

His other hand was rubbing light circles on your hip, and he slid it around your waist to grab your ass just as his kiss made it to your neckline. JJ pulled away and whispered, “Bed?”

At your nod, he led you over and sat down, motioning for you to sit on his lap. You straddled him as his hand went up to knock his hat off, and you grabbed his wrist, whispering, “Leave it on.”

He responded with a cocky grin, “You like the hat, huh?”

“You know I do, asshole. Now are you gonna do anything or are you gonna leave me high and dry like last time?”

“Like last time,” he started defensively, “last time was a special circumstance, it was midterms, baby, I was fucking tired. Plus you promised you’d never-“

You cut him off by kissing him and tugged at his shirt, trying to signal him to take it off. He pulled away and took his off, quickly following that with yours. JJ picked up his kisses where he left off, trailing them across your breasts.

With a shaky breath, you rolled your hips down, looking for some friction and his hands gripped your waist, holding you still. You groaned, “Come on, J, do something for fuck’s sake.”

He laughed and stood suddenly, lifting you into the air. You squealed as he practically tossed you onto the bed and crawled on after you. JJ pushed your legs open, “What do you want me to do, baby?”

“J, you know what I want,” you whispered shakily as his hands ghosted up and down your thighs, inching higher and closer to your center every time.

“I don’t think I do, what is it you want?” he asked again, fingers dancing along the edge of your panties along your inner thigh.

Gritting your teeth, you looked him in the eye, “Touch me, you-“ and before you could finish your thought, he was pulling your skirt and panties off, fingers finally where you wanted them.

You moaned as his mouth went back to your chest and your hands went to the bed, clutching at the sheets. JJ dipped one of his fingers into you, the ring on it pressing along the edge of your entrance as he curled it towards him.

“Fuck,” you mumbled shakily as he pumped it in and out a few times before adding another one.

He pulled his head back from your chest and grinned at you cheekily, “You’re pretty wet for me, baby.”

“Shut the fuck up, J, or so help me-” you started, only to be interrupted by your own moan when his thumb finally started rubbing your clit and the fingers inside pressed against your g-spot.

“What was that?” he asked, pressing again.

Your legs started to tremble as he kept it up, head falling back, and you were panting as he added a third finger and started speeding up.

“Please, J.”

“Please what?”

“Fuck me,” you finally managed through gritted teeth.

“As you wish,” he said, curling his fingers up one last time before pulling them out to reach for the bedside table where he kept the condoms. JJ tugged his shorts and boxers off and rolled it on. He pushed into you slowly, groaning loudly as he sat still for you to adjust. He gave a few small thrusts, “Fuck, you feel so good.”

You echoed his groan as he reached between you to rub your clit. Wrapping one leg around his waist and an arm around his neck, you pulled him down into a kiss and snapped your hips up to meet his. He took it as permission and started thrusting faster, the finger on your clit speeding up in time with his thrusts.

“Not gonna last long,” you told him, legs shaking again as your breaths started coming faster and faster.

JJ was groaning lowly into your neck, and he lifted up to look you in the eye, “Hold it for me, baby.”

“No,” you whined, just wanting to come.

“I’m almost there, just hold it for me.”

You did your best and tried to focus on not coming as he kept thrusting, finger just pushing into your clit now instead of rubbing like it had been.

“Fuck,” you stuttered out and he groaned one last time, sweat dripping down the side of his face onto your bare chest.

“Come for me, sweetheart.”

And you did, eyes never leaving him as he tossed his head back, hat still on, and came into the condom. JJ pulled out and got rid of the condom before gently lowering himself back down onto you. You wrapped your arms and legs around him, pulling him as close as possible.

He buried his face into your neck and the hat was scratching your cheekbone, so you reached up and tugged it off, tossing it to the side. JJ pressed his head further into your hand as you scratched his scalp and combed his sweaty hair back.

He hummed and you felt more of his weight press you down. You laughed, kissing the top of his head, “You falling asleep, bub?”

“Whaa?” he mumbled and you laughed again.

“Go to sleep, J.”

“Love you,” he slurred, sleep taking over.

“Love you too,” you whispered back and fell asleep yourself.

[ssajj]

Believer

Your dogs fall in love first.

2.2k

TW for mentions of a minor injury

The week after you move into your new place, you find a good dog park to take Bloom to. She's been barking like a mad woman, letting you know that she's done trying to watch you unpack your stuff. She wants out. 

"Okay, girl!" You laugh, gently pushing her down. You made the mistake of taking her leash out in front of her, so now there's no turning back. You clip it to her collar, scratching behind her ears as her tail thumps on the ground. "Let’s go find that dog park, huh? 

The walk doesn't take long. Bloom is kind of terrible on leashes though, so you're pretty sure she's walked a couple more miles than you have because of how much she's weaving around. You're still hoping that she'll settle down a bit as she gets over, even if her energy and spirit never fail to make you smile. It sounds cliche and maybe a little dumb, but you really don't know what you'd do without her. 

Once you get to the park, you take her leash off, nudging her gently so that she'll run off. She bounds off, running to the biggest group of dogs. They welcome her gladly, all sniffing each other's butts. You scoff and find a bench to settle down on, pulling out the paperback you brought with you. It's easy to relax here, even if the dogs are loud and it smells a little strange. Bloom is happy, you're happy, and the sun is shining.

--

You start taking her every weekend. There are certain dogs she seems to get along with more, other regulars. Soon, you start matching dogs to people. One in particular stands out. He's absolutely gorgeous and you're pretty sure the dog that's obsessed with Bloom belongs to him, not that you've worked up the courage to go talk to him. You don't even know what you'd say. 

Of course, that changes the day said dog decides to tackle you to the ground. 

It's an accident. You know it is. The dog tries to go for Bloom, but a slip means she slams full force into you. 

"Oh," you groan, putting your hands above your head. Both dogs are trying to kick your face. 

"Roxy!" You hear a man shout. Before you know it, the dogs are replaced by the cute man you've been eyeing. "Are you okay?"

You nod, shifting your weight in an attempt to stand up. The man offers a hand, which you take gratefully. "Strong dog."

He laughs a little, but you can see concern on his face. "Yeah, Roxy's a tough girl. Are you sure you're okay? You went down pretty hard."

"I'm fine, promise," you laugh, running your hand through your hair. Bloom's pressed close to you, nosing at your leg. You scratch behind her ear. "I'm okay, girlie."

"What's her name?" 

"Bloom."

The man smiles. "This is Roxy."

"Hi, Roxy!" You pet her, leaning down to let her lick your face. "Please don't try to murder me again."

Before you can ask the man's name, his phone starts blaring. You've never heard a ringtone so loud, noting that a few other people looking over as he answers his phone. His face closes off as he answers. To you, he seems like a completely different guy in less than a second. 

"Okay, I'll be there ASAP," he says, hanging up. "Sorry," he looks back at you. "I have to run. Work. C'mon, girl."

And with that, the mysterious cute guy is gone. 

You go back to petting Bloom. "I'm turning into an old spinster," you whisper to her like you were sharing a big secret. She just licks your face. 

--

You don't see Roxy or her owner for almost two weeks. When they show back up, the man looks beyond exhausted, settling down on a bench and folding his legs under himself. In a moment of boldness, you go up to him. 

"Is it okay if I sit here?" You gesture to Bloom and Roxy, who have already found each other. "I should probably get to know you. Looks like our dogs are dating."

He startles, making a wave of guilt rush through you. You're a little reassured by the way his face brightens when he looks at you. "Of course."

"I didn't get your name last time."

"Oh! I'm Luke. You?"

"Y/N," you tell him, settling down on the bench. The two of you watch your dogs run around together. "Roxy seems like a sweetheart."

There's not a single person on planet earth that doesn't love it when you compliment their dog. Luke isn't any kind of exception. "She is! I'm glad you're not holding it against her that she slammed into you."

You shrug. "She saw Bloom and got excited. Happens. God knows Bloom has taken me out on more than one occasion."

"Roxy loves her. She isn't usually the most social dog on the planet, you know? Like father like daughter."

"You're both being pretty social right now," you point out, making him laugh.

"You got me there. Maybe you two are just special."

A blush spreads across your face. It's stupid, but you can't really help it. "Bloom is definitely special. Is it lame if my dog is my best friend?"

Luke shakes his head. "Nah Roxy's my best friend. Got her after I was discharged."

"Military?"

"I served in Iraq, yeah."

You whistle. "Damn."

Unexpectedly, his response makes you snort. Your brow furrows. "What?"

"People usually thank me for my service. I don't think I've heard "damn" before."

"Oh!" You feel like a bit of an idiot. "Oh, was that like, super insensitive of me?"

"It's kind of refreshing, honestly," he shrugs. "Maybe don't go around saying that to everyone who served, though."

"Noted."

--

Luke and Roxy disappear again. It's probably not a big deal, and you're definitely dramatic for worrying. It isn't like you know his schedule, so you don't actually know how much he goes to the park. You don't know anything about what he does outside of taking his dog here, either. Bloom always seems a little sad when Roxy's not around to play with. 

"Your girlfriend isn't here, huh?" You ask Bloom, letting her rest her head against your leg. She's getting tired, making you gather your stuff up to head back home. 

As you stand up, you hear a voice calling your name. Bloom goes sprinting off, suddenly getting a bunch of energy. You look over and make eye contact with Luke, who's walking towards you. 

"Hey!" You greet him. "Haven't seen you in a few days."

"Work." He looks between you and the bench you just vacated, his face doing something you can't quite place. "Are you leaving?"

"Bloom seemed sleepy, but I think Roxy showing up changed that."

The two of you settle down. "I don't even know what your job is."

Luke grimaces. "Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI."

You can feel your eyes widen. "Holy shit."

At least that makes him laugh. 

"You hunt serial killers, then? Sounds super safe and not at all time consuming."

You end up talking for a long time. It isn't until Bloom and Roxy come back to you that you notice the sun is starting to set. Luke looks just as startles as you. 

As you pack up your things, you feel a gentle hand land on your arm. "Hey," Luke says softly. "Is it okay if I ask for your number?"

You grin. 

--

Insomnia hits you hard a week later. It's been over two days since you've slept for more than an hour at a time. Bloom keeps whining, obviously aware that you weren't acting right. She settles down on the bed next to you, her head resting on your chest. 

"Sorry we can't go anywhere, sweetie," you whisper as you pet her. "I can barely even function enough to go to work."

She licks your face. 

--

As you're staring at the ceiling for the millionth hour, your phone starts vibrating on the table next to you. 

"Hello?" You answer without looking at the screen. 

"Y/N?" 

Oh shit. "Luke?"

He sounds nervous. "I hope it's okay that I'm calling. You just- Roxy misses Bloom."

"Too tired."

"What?"

You belatedly realize that you should probably try making sense. "Sorry. Insomnia is really bad. Too tired for the park."

"Aw, Y/N. Is there anything I can do to help?"

You shake your head no before actually saying the word into the phone. 

--

Bloom is ecstatic the next time you take her to the park. She drags you through the fence and you practically have to tackle her to get her leash off. 

"I would have offered to help, but you looked kind of cute." You look up to see a smiling Luke. He grabs your hand to help you straighten up. "You're a little dusty now."

You snort, brushing off your shirt. "I guess you were just here for moral support, then?"

He nods. His face sobers a bit, ducking his head so he can look you in the eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Come on. You sure?"

"Yeah. I got a full ten hours of sleep last night," you say, resisting the urge to wrap your arms around him and snuggle into his chest. You don’t know what's wrong with you. Before, you figured that as you got to know Luke, you'd lose interest. It's what usually happened when you started talking to a guy. You weren't sick of Luke, though. Actually, your heart was racing. 

His smile comes back. "Good! Roxy and I missed you guys."

--

You're asleep when the phone rings. "What the hell?" You ask, groggy. "It's like, 3am. The devil’s hour."

Whoever is on the other end pauses, the breaks out into laughter. It's a woman. "You didn't say she was funny!"

There's a rustle on the other end of the line, and you think you can hear the woman swear. "She has insomnia!" You can hear someone talking faintly in the background. Even if your brain is fuzzy, you can recognize Luke's voice. "You can't call her so late! Or at all!" Another pause, then his voice is louder. "Y/N, I'm so sorry about that."

"What's happening right now?"

"The team is out drinking. Garcia thought it'd be funny to grab my phone. No clue how she got my password."

"Why'd she call me?"

Luke sputters. You wish you could see his face. "I've just talked about you. And Bloom! They know Roxy made a friend."

More yelling in the background. The line disconnects shortly after, making you snort. 

You just go back to sleep. 

--

His face is bright red the next time you see him. Just like always, Bloom and Roxy go off on their own. You slide up next to Luke. 

"So," you start. "Were you hungover on Saturday?"

He groans. 

--

"You're limping!" You cry, running toward Luke and putting your hands on his shoulders. Roxy's at his side, so you unclip her before moving back to Luke. "What happened?"

"Hey, hey," he tries to soothe you, because he is a ridiculous man who is trying to comfort someone while he's injured. "It's just my leg."

"Sit down!"

You walk with him over to the nearest table, holding his hand as he gets himself situated. 

He doesn't let go of your hand like you thought he would. Instead, he squeezes it. "I got grazed. It'll be sore as hell for a few days, but I promise I'll be as good as new." He reaches forward with his free hand to brush the hair from your face. Your heart freezes, but he doesn't seem to notice. He just looks soft. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Not forgiven," you grumble. 

--

After you've known Luke for a couple months, you decide to start walking Bloom and Roxy together. 

"I think they're in love," you tell Luke, watching Roxy as she kisses Bloom. "I'll start getting ready for their wedding."

Luke snorts. "This is definitely the most attached Roxy's ever gotten to another dog."

"Same with Bloom."

It's nice, walking around with Luke. He's sweet, he's funny, and you can tell that he cares about you, even though you don't know if it's platonic or romantic. Either way, you know how you feel about him. It's almost enough to scare you off, but you've planted your feet in the ground next to him. You aren't going anywhere. 

"I don't really connect with people, either," Luke says suddenly, looking over at you. "So I'm glad that you met you, Y/N."

You feel warmth spread over you. "Oh. Thank you. You're not too bad, you know." You knock your shoulder against him, smiling when you manage to make him stumble. Luke is a sturdy guy. Huge muscles. You wonder how easily he could lift you, how easily he could envelop you. "How's your leg, by the way?"

"Good!" He nods. "It's all better by now."

Once the walk is over, you agree to his suggestion to do it next week, as long as Luke isn't on a case. 

--

"Should I ask him out?" You ask Bloom, who wags her tail in response. "Is that a yes? I don't speak dog. You're not being super helpful."

She just stares at you. 

--

Before you can ask Luke out, he asks you out while you're walking the dogs. 

"Hey, Y/N." You note that he sounds nervous, his usual demenor gone. "I have something I want to ask you."

"Yeah?"

After a moment of hesitation, he continues. "Do you want to go on a date with him?"

You smile widely enough to break your face. "I'd love to."