#and yeah each one of these dudes is far from the 'kindest'

[sketching-shark]

Why do people hate the Tang Monk so much why are we shaming a human character for being human? Also isn't he also repenting for his crime against the Buddha like that the point of his character that he isn't perfect .

I think it's mainly because of all the monkey torture times that Tang Sanzag instigates, and probably also because of a number of his holider-than-thou moments & the fact that he doesn't really seem to change that much for the better throughout the course of the journey. People should feel free to chime in if I'm getting it wrong, but I think a lot of this has resulted in an understanding of the og classic monk as a person who was more a hindrance than a help for the journey because he always thinks he's in the right no matter how many times it gets everyone into trouble.

HOWEVER, I feel I do need to agree with you anon in that the monk should be given a little bit of a break in terms of current pilgrim shaming because well there are actually a number of very good reasons why he would act the way he does, with Sun Wukong attempting to murder him not long after they met being one that comes to mind immediately. I feel like it also can't be forgotten that Tang Sanzang's childhood and early youth were pretty tragic and traumatic as well, what with his father being murdered before he was even born & then his mother sending his newborn self floating down a river after biting off his little toe so she could recognize him afterwards because if she didn't then the bandit chief that she was forced to marry would have surely killed him (hence why the monk who found him named him River Float). And then after all of that and after an eighteen-year-old Tang Sanzang finally brought the bandit chief to justice his mom ended up committing suicide.

And OF COURSE we can't leave out the fact that the Tang monk's three pilgrims are extremely dangerous yaoguai, with Sun Wukong once being a powerful warlord who challenged all of heaven & didn't care at all about humans, Zhu Bajie having killed and eaten a multitude of humans, and Sha Wujing having done the same with it also being implied that he ate numerous past incarnations of Tang Sanzang himself. As I've said before, that sort of thing would ensure that anyone would probably spend a good chunk of their time traveling with such companions also crying and falling of their dragon horse (another being that tried to eat him). And it's not just the pilgrims, but the entire journey is based around instances of other yaoguai trying to devour or rape Tang Sanzang, which I would be willing to bet would make him extremely paranoid and add to his tendency to lash out, especially if he knew he was aiming his fear and frustration at a "safe" target (namely Sun Wukong, who can't do anything against the monk without getting a vicious headache & who lives with the fear of what might happen to himself and his beloved monkeys if he doesn't complete the journey).

Finally, while it is true that Tang Sanzang is a reincarnation of Golden Cicada (the second disciple of Buddha who was condemned to reincarnate ten times for having disrespected Buddha) I do think it is crucial to note that unlike figures such as Zhu Bajie (who was also condemned to reincarnate for his crimes against heaven but who retained all his memories of who he was in that past life), Tang Sanzang has absolutely no memory of these past incarnations. If anything he's very proud and pleased to have been chosen by Guanyin and the Tang Emperor to undertake the arduous journey to the west, rather than seeing it as something he needs to do to atone for past sins. Of course Xiyouji makes it clear that Tang Sanzang is far from a perfect person, but the reader knowing something of his past lives vs. what he himself knows does introduce an interesting theological questions as to whether the beings of earth could be said to genuinely be atoning for past wrongs if they have no memory, let alone any understanding, of what they messed up the last time around. I need to note that I really don't have a firm grasp on how the Buddhist and/or Daoist and/or Confucianist sense of reincarnation works, but if anyone who knows more than I wants to give some more information on atonement vs. punishment vs. privilege as understood through the philosophy of reincarnation please do so!

[livelle]

Your writing is so cute! ☹ got me all smiley

UR SO COOL OMG PLEASE SAVE SOME TALENT FOR THE REST OF US!!!!

If you dont mind could you do a Tommy one were he accidentally reveals he has a partner one stream? And they just happen to be right next to him?

♡THANK YOU HAVE A AWESOME DAY♡

a/n: dude. THIS IS THE BEST REQUEST EVER AND ALSO THE KINDEST WORDS EVER OMG-. I love you so much, like this actually made my day like a 100 times better. I am so grateful for you, and I really did my best on this one ;) I am so happy I can entertain you with my work. Now, go get a snack or something to drink, and have fun reading!

ᴏᴏᴘꜱ?

a Tommyinnit/ You!!!

summary: you were chilling in Tommy’s office, as he was doing a stream. He brought you up, he did a lot, but something was different this time, which made you look at him with wide eyes out of shock.

NO PRONOUNS USED

ROMANTIC

SWEARING ( like two times I think? )

You smiled as you plopped onto the comfortable chair in your boyfriend’s office. You plugged your phone in to charge, it almost all being a habit now. You looked up at Tommy, seeing him giving you a small kiss on your temple and a big hug. He had to lean down, and he whispered a soft: ‘Love you’ before sitting down on his office chair behind his desk. You watched him as he set everything up for his stream, and could tell when he started it. His voice got loud and he looked extremely excited all of a sudden, making you put a hand on your mouth muffling a laugh. He gave you a look from his place, a smile, and then got to work.

As you scrolled through your phone, you thought about it all. Tommy had bought this chair for you. Just for you, so you could be here when he streams. A smile made it’s way back on your face. You loved being around him, always insisting to go with him to things, and this reminded you he did also. Your eyes gazed at him, his blonde soft curls falling perfectly along his face, his tall figure laughing as Tubbo made a joke in VC. Just admiring him already made you blush, to be honest. It was almost like the distance between you now was already too far, having the need to hug him, and be close to him. It was nice though, that he loved physical touch. You did too, not with everyone, but with him, you loved it.

‘OH GOD CHAT’ he yelled, as you realized Tubbo and Sneegsnag left the voice channel. ‘DO I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU.’ You were busy though, having downloaded Duolingo on your phone a couple days ago. The process of learning a new language was fun, so, you decided to give it a try. You didn’t quite hear what Tom was saying to his chat, only hearing parts of what he did this week. ‘And Wilbur was being so awkward, because me and the gang were in Brighton right-‘ he went on. Sometimes though, he trailed off, feeling like he was just talking to a friend and not thousands of people he didn’t know. ‘And we had to SLEEP at Wilbur’s! It was so damn cold I’m telling ya, and the man stood up at like 7 am like- WHAT DOES HE THINK.’ You giggled to yourself, remembering last week. He continued. ‘So we were just all in bed, y’know SLEEPING. He wakes us all up. WHAT THE F*CK. And he shakes me awake and then gives me a weirded out look, and I’m like WHAT WIL, right??? And he says “why are you cuddling y/n” LIKE THAT’S SO AWKWARD AND WHY DIDN’T HE KNOW WE WERE DATING??!’ He shot a hand to his mouth as he said it. You turned your face quickly, hearing what he said and looking at him with wide eyes. ‘What??!!’ You yelled at him, also slapping a hand to your mouth, because chat will now know you were here. You guys looked at each other for a solid 5 minutes long, not knowing what to say. ‘Oops’ Tommy said looking at chat, but they were freaking out.

So here you were, on Tommy’s lap answering some questions from chat. ‘YEAH SO SURPRISE CHAT, I SUPPOSE, AS I COULDN’T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT. Y/n is my partner, we’ve been dating for some time, but we weren’t sure if we should tell you guys but I guess I just did’ you both had laughed at his words. You revealed how you were always sitting just out of frame, which made chat surprised and finally figured out why Tommy was looking that way so much during his streams. He was playing animal crossing, so he continued, doing it together. This finally gave him the opportunity to be with you on streams though, and also for you to show off your animal crossing character LMAO. People made screenshots of your characters together, Twitter saying this was ‘the cutest stream ever’. You were very blushy still, but you never had so much fun.

After the stream, as you were heading home to go to bed, he threw his arm around you. ‘It’s all okay with you right? I’m sorry still.’ He said. ‘Oh no Tom no! I loved it, I had so much fun and I think this is the right choice, even though it was a coincidence.’ You answered, looking up at him with a smile on your face. ‘I think so too. I’m glad I don’t have to hide you anymore, since you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I DIDN’T DO IT ON PURPOSE THOUGH’ he said, which made you laugh at him, but also made the butterflies in your stomach go wild again. ‘I love you, Tom.’ He stopped walking, stood still on the street and kissed you lovingly. ‘I love you too, baby.’ He said then, before holding you close again, making your way back home.

a/n: YOOOO REQUESTER I STILL WANNA MENTION THAT THIS WAS THE BEST EVER. like I loved making this and ty so much for your idea! U are the best and have made me so happy. Now, I just woke up, I’m gonna get ready now. Hope you liked this, you’re the best. BUH BYE!!!!!

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

quick slug: ur three favourite things about each hypmic characters (could be anything) GO

Off the top of my head as fast as I can, let's go, things I like about each Hypmic character

(Under cut for length; gets increasingly incoherent as the list goes on... sorry)

Ichirou

According to Gentarou, if he were to be bodyswapped with Samatoki, his immediate reaction would be to try to drink the water in a vase in Samatoki's office

Love his rapping (non-manga). Super consistent rhythm, hella easy to work with

Loves curry; good fucking taste king

Jirou

Even though he "hates" Saburou outwardly, he still looks out for Saburou constantly and cares for that little fuck. Wonderful boy

His singing voice is hella pretty actually

"The popo? More like the poopoo!"

Saburou

Requiem

I love how fucking rude he is to adults. Normally, you'd think that a battle between an adult and a young teen wouldn't be fair to the teen, right? WRONG this kid is savage as shit god bless

Love his hacker stuff; good taste, kid

Samatoki

He's so fucking stupid (affectionate)

He's the most generous, kindhearted motherfucker alive for those he sees as part of his family

This tough-ass gangster has an extreme passion for vintage clothing

Juuto

Whenever there's a live show, the audio producers have to turn down his voice actor's mic because he's so much louder than the rest of the cast. This once backfired when they accidentally turned down all of MTC and made Samatoki and Riou completely inaudible

Delightful how much he goes "tsk, tsk, tsk *glasses glint*" when Samatoki's angry and then has a hairtrigger temper

Wears gloves; good fucking taste king let's go glove-wearing gang

Riou

Kindest person in the entire cast. He offers Doppo calming tea at their very first meeting despite Doppo being an utter stranger. Why does Riou have it? Who the hell knows? He just wants to feed everyone he comes across. The grandma instinct

I have ultra-intense feelings about topics related to war, so I find it hella compelling that a character whose entire sense of identity is based around being a soldier takes issue with war and violence towards other people. He isn't willing to take the slightest chance to hurt someone else and tries to restrain his teammates if they go too far. The person he respects most is one who questions their orders to do harm and urges him to do the same. This strength of Riou's moral character is my favorite thing about him, and I wish, I wish, I WISH we got to see more of it and its development.

He and Dice are homies and he willingly takes care of Dice and gives him money with zero expectation to ever get it back. He and Dice respect one another so much. Hell to the fucking yeah.

Ramuda

I keep talking about this, but when left to his own devices, he keeps on acting again and again in ways that are contrary to the way he was raised that actually show care and affection for other people. That is a hell to the yes from me

Man he works so hard for his fashion line which he does really seem to care about. He's got a crap ton of other shit on his plate but he puts his heart and soul into that damn fashion line. Good for him

His interactions with Gentarou and Dice are just phenomenal. He cares about them and their happiness so much. Beyond simply taking care of Dice, he takes care of Gentarou too. Remember when he met Gentarou and one of the first things out of his mouth was that Gentarou was kind for telling the lies he does? Ramuda got a bunch of information on this random dude from Chuuouku, and his first words out of the gate were shit that cut right to the core of Gentarou and told Gentarou something he needed to hear. Fucking radical, Ramuda. Fling Posse is your creation

Gentarou

The creativity he shoes in all of his acting moments is top class. Love his sense of humor; he's fucking funny as hell to translate too

The care he shows his friends by defending them verbally constantly. The way he is so perceptive of their boundaries and yet is still always there as a rock to support them

His intense dedication to his brother's cause and investigating the depths of Chuuouku's corruption. On a similar note, the fact that ACAB is his middle name

Dice

PHYSICAL FUCKING PROTECTION BABY Dice is all about that, Dice is all about being there whenever you need him and however you need him. Is he gonna make a big fuss about it? Nah, he's not gonna say SHIT, he's just already there, that's what I'm talking about, Fling Posse POSSE

Damn good rapper; love listening to him go off

Dude's been dealt a shitty fucking hand and it clearly gets him down at times, but he's so good about standing right back up and continuing on. The perseverance. The positivity of this bitch

Jakurai

Amuses the fuck out of me with his constant dedication to making some of the most questionable decisions known to man

Jakurai's a good dude, though, even though I keep bullying him. He cares a lot and really goes above and beyond for many cast members. He needs to take better care of himself, but there's a good reason why Doppo and Hifumi trust him to the extent that they do and why Ramud and Hitoya trusted him as much as they did

Man. Okay his friendship with Ramuda. Not the falling out, but the part where Jakurai realized he was overstepping Ramuda's boundaries, backed off, and then devoted his energy to making sure Ramuda knew it wasn't his fault that Jakurai overstepped Ramuda's boundary and that Ramuda wasn't bad for having a boundary/sensitivity in the first place. Also, seriously - we can all agree that Ramuda is fucking obnoxious, right? I say this with utmost affection, but he would be so damn hard to get along with for most people. But Jakurai has virtually endless patience for him and keeps letting Ramuda learn new things and experience new things with him in a safe environment. That's good. That's really fucking good

Hifumi

The way he talks is so fucking goofy god bless. He sounds like what you'd get if you asked an alien to describe a teenager with their only knowledge to base this off of being a collection of 90s rom coms with bad subtitles

Yo this bitch is kind as fuck. He's scared as hell of all women but his number one concern in the stalker situation is the pain she's in and all her discomfort

This courageous motherfucker. I swear to god. The lengths he goes to in order to overcome his trauma is flat-out inspiring. Let me also just say while I'm here - this trauma happened at least ten years ago, right? And he still struggles with it on a daily basis, and canon says that's fucking fine because he's going at his own pace and I am SO! DAMN! HAPPY! they don't put a time limit on his recovery can we get a fucking hell yeah in the chat

Doppo

Bitch he's emotionally astute as fuck!! Saving Hifumi and Jakurai's sorry asses you go king

Wonderful with kids, caring mofo

In the manga when Hifumi gets knocked out and Doppo goes fucking berserk or when Hifumi is harassed at an office work party and Doppo straight up clocks the manager - that's the good shit. I love it when Doppo flips off the handle when people refuse to see the same Hifumi he knows and loves. That's good. He's demanding that the world treat Hifumi better, because if it doesn't, he'll stand the fuck up and make it

Sasara

Thanks to him, I can read the Osakan accent almost seamlessly now which is deadass a vital skill to have in my field so thanks Sasara

He's crazy manipulative which is hella fun to see in a character

He made himself into a walking stereotype in order to distract other people from causing each other (and himself) emotional pain. Who's the true Sasara deep down, though? Does Sasara actually know? Look at this avoidant mofo... I'm glad Rei's teaching him to communicate

Roshou

CARES FOR HIS FUCKING KIDS so DAMN MUCH; they clearly mean the WORLD to him and he's supporting them in every which way. And the kids love him back! Because he's great at his job! It wasn't his dream, but he rose to the challenge and GAVE THESE KIDS WHAT THEY DESERVE fucking phenomenal I love you Roshou

and that's honestly a great thing in its own right, because while he's clearly hung up on not achieving his dreams, he's also damn happy with these kids. And I love that. It's great that they're showing that you don't need to be a super high achiever or a dreamer to find your happiness. You can always make your place in whatever community you're in

Funniest motherfucker alive when he's not trying to be. Get Sasara's ass

Rei

Funny as hell how sketchy he is; extremely entertaining

The balls of this man to name himself MC Mastermind as his public display name. Off the charts

Without him we'd be missing four of the main cast members so I guess I should say thanks

Kuukou

God this glorious BITCH he has no filter! Which means all of his love can come out in its pure, unadulterated, crass form!

His self-control and discipline are hella inspiring and a reminder to always do better. "Slug, you're saying this because you wanted to be a monk-" Yes I most certainly am

Unerringly insistent on helping those who are at a point where they can't help themselves. Refuses to let them down. The Platonic ideal of the rickroll

Juushi

His vkei mode is enormously fun to read. Love that he keeps bothering Hitoya with it. Keep it up! Someone has to do it!

Was bullied for being himself and then leaned the fuck into it. Was more of himself than ever. Man, the guts of that. You go, Juushi, you fucking go. You radical son of a bitch

I like Juushi a lot (he's a good kid) but I like a lot of other characters more since Juushi doesn't push a lot of buttons for me BUT I am very grateful that he pushes buttons/resonates with so many other people. It's wonderful that he's here for the people who need him or want his story in their life

Hitoya

The conviction with which Hitoya talks is fantastic. He could convince the most wretched cast members to turn their lives around. Now go do that on Jakurai

Man's got a motorcycle hELLLLL YEAH BAAAAAABY WHOOOOOOOOOOOO I wish I was allowed to ride a motorcycle

For all of his shit about being inferior to Jakurai, that didn't stop Hitoya from being the friend that Jakurai needed all along. It didn't stop him from caring about Jakurai's well-being, and it was finally that care - and the notion that maybe Jakurai didn't think Hitoya was worthy enough to care about him - which drove their friendship apart. Then with all his shit about telling Juushi to get out of his office and stop crying, Hitoya cares about this kid enough to give him the resources to fix the issues causing him to cry. And for all his shit about not standing Kuukou, he gives Kuukou an opportunity to help someone else and finally prove his worth. Hitoya cares so fucking much and puts up a front to look like a cool guy. That's bullshit, of course, because the coolest thing of all is caring as hard as he does. It's a good thing his loved ones already know the extent of his love hiding behind that exterior

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

@lulubellule-kfp your oogway sucks tai lung and kai are flawed/hurt not pure evil rant has changed me spiritually, and honestly, I can’t even give Oogway credit for ‘intervening’ with Tigress.

Oogway is presented as the Wisest and Kindest and Best.

(btw this is very biased and emotional and hammered out in ten minutes and i do love the movies tbh some stories are surface level deep and that's cool)

Oogway is maybe better understood as Thinks He's Wise, Charming Rather Than Kind, and Flawed Like Everyone Else But He's Also The Most Powerful So He Gets To Decide What's Right And Wrong.

his biggest flaw (to me) is in imposing his own idea of the world on everyone else, no matter what the cost, and never self reflecting on how it might be serving him- Even as it hurts and destroys so many others

(grain of salt- we the audience are limited in what we 'know' by what we've been shown so far) (kai and tai lung did do bad things, they did choose to hurt people... and so did oogway. and not having that acknowledge is frustrating. not bad or wrong but, frustrating)

When does Oogway finally do something to help Tigress? Why, after one of Po’s randomly spilled menus happened to flutter into his hand.

Oogway, being dead set on his own philosophy of /there are no accidents/ he orders takeout and chuckles when it gives Shifu food poisoning. The valley is in danger from a rampaging violet dude who’s destroying everything and everyone one in his path but hee hee destiny.

Tigress puts HERSELF forward, willing to fight Boar in her master’s place- and Shifu cuts her off. If she can’t fight like him, then she can’t be ready to fight at all, apparently. So Shifu decides to send a scroll asking for help fighting Boar, and Oogway, deciding that it also wasn’t an accident that Tigress asked to fight Boar, tells Shifu to send Tigress with the scroll instead. Shifu agrees “DO NOT FAIL ME” and Tigress does her thing collecting the Cleaner, Comedian, and Dancer.

(Sidenote: The difference between Tigress instantly seeing how amazing each of them are even though none of them use moves like hers, verses Shifu refusing to accept that there is any other way of being good than HIS way until he literally sees it happening is hmmm yes well, good job mentoring him Oogway, that’s a perfectly healthy mentality to be clinging to, how the heck did Tigress end up more emotionally balanced than the guy raising her) (im gonna give credit to the people running Bao Gu orphanage or actually maybe just the fact that Tigress spent part of her childhood around so many people not like her but who learned to accept her as a friend)

When Shifu gets pissed at Tigress for ‘failing him’ (even while he fails to listen when she tries to tell him how amazing these four people are actually, Shifu would rather die than be wrong. Healthy!), Oogway does go talk to Tigress…… to fire her up for fighting Boar. Alone.

Which is, apparently according to him, the Thing The Universe Wants To Have Happen, and that’s why he’s going along with it. Because he sure as heck didn’t sTOP Shifu from raising Tigress under yet another painful crushing weight of expectation, like he already did with Tai Lung. Nooo, it took a random flyer flying into Oogway’s claws before he was like you know what, maybe Tigress completely giving up her sense of personal identity in a desperate bid to win the love of her father figure is wrong actually. Wow who'd have thought!

Or does he even care about that. Does he only care now because ‘the universe’ seems to be saying so? TIGRESS LOOKS BASICALLY GROWN UP IN THE SHORT HOW LONG HAS OOGWAY WATCHED SHIFU MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE WITH HER THAN HE DID TAI LUNG AND DONE NOTHING? TO HELP?

Oh yeah and then, when Tigress gets the tar beaten out of her by Boar because she’s still trying to use the forms Shifu insisted she should be using (even as it is literally getting HER killed), Oogway not only doesn’t do anything to help her, he makes Shifu stand there and watch as he almost loses ANOTHER student, ANOTHER (almost) ADPOTED CHILD.

And? AND???? Oogway could have healed Shifu whenever he wanted? Just like he could have TALKED TO TIGRESS whenever he wanted! For fucks sake if he’s so in tune with the universe and so wise, why didn’t he just wander around the nearby villages and FIND the other Five himself? TIGRESS FOUND VIPER AND MONKEY WITOUT ANY DIRECTIONS OTHER THAN AN OCCUPATION TITLE! THEY WERE RIGHT THERE!!! MONEKY’S BACKSTORY SAYS HE AND OOGWAY EVEN MET BEFORE!

'oogway knew shifu and trigress needed to go through all this in order to grow as people'

PAIN ISN'T THE ONLY WAY FOR PEOPLE TO GROW. SOMETIMES PAIN BREAKS PEOPLE! SOMETIMS CHALLENGES AREN'T WORTH THE SUFFERING IT TAKES TO SURVIVE THEM!

and SOMETIMES IT LEAVES PEOPLE WEAKER THAN BEFORE- SEE, SHIFU BEING UNABLE TO OPEN UP FULLY WITH TIGRESS AS A FATHER THE WAY HE DID WITH TAI LUNG, BECAUSE-- OH WOW, THAT ENDED BADLY AND SEEING THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN TAI LUNG AND TIGRESS HURTS AND SCARED SHIFU!!!!

it's almost as if all three of them could have used the guidance and support of a wise and kindly older friend.... instead of series of tests and trials to 'help them' become whatever they were 'meant to be'

Oh but oogway was saved by pandas and now theres a panda orphan being raised in the village nearby (am i really supposed to believe oogway wouldn't notice PANDA right next door to him) and if a flyer from his dad’s noodle shop leads to shifu getting food poisoning then everything must be part of the grand plan to someday make a panda oogway’s ‘true heir’ or whatever.

Hm? What’s that? Po’s only an orphan because a warlord killed his mom and destroyed his home? And all that happened ALSO because of a dumb prophecy and an obsession with destiny?

Oh wow that also must be the universe talking and totally not be a thing oogway maybe could have helped with or something.     

(i don't think oogway was trying to hurt people or be selfish. but intentions are only useful in so far as they might make you change course once you see the damage you are un-intentionally causing, and ooogway... seems to have failed that spot check. which, you know, fair, most of us do. he just happens to be causing a lot more damage than a normal person would be capable of)

Oogway's pacifism is both extreme and twisted.

He won't 'fix' mistakes or accidents because he believes it's all part of some future destiny... but inaction is also an action with consequences, and who is he to decide the destiny of others by even deciding they have one?

Well. He's the most powerful guy around. It's not like there's anyone around to challenge him or prove him wrong.

....Po, sweetie, now that you're enlightened an all, could you go to the spirit realm and kick oogway's butt a little? for me? thanks dude love u

On the other hand, Po and Tigress being the anti-Oogway and Shifu respectively gives me life.

like yes! always try to be better, always try to help! be accepting of others differences and pain and traumas and do everything you can think of to be there for them when they need it! Admit when you fail! Admit when you mess up! Make friends and reach out- Ask for help when you need it too!

You don't have to be perfect to be a friend!

It's better to know and accept that you won't ever be perfect, actually, and still decide that you are worthwhile. And that so is everyone else.

TLDR: oogway's ability to find inner peace and ascend off to retirement even while everything around him is going to heck is a very inward-facing thing, which says a lot about him. I think maybe he needs to re-do his spiritual enlightenment, i think he missed a spot. But if his only goal is to break away from earthy attachments and pain and people in general, well, gold star for that. He succeeded. I sure as hell wouldn't want to.

funny thing is, i only ended up watching kfp because my depressed nephew is into taoism and wanted someone to talk about the movies with. thats not destiny tho, oogway, that's just being a friend

[mizunetzu]

hi!! i just found your blog and i may or may not have binged all the fics 😼😼 i was wondering if you could write a dabi or hawks x male reader where the reader is a rly gentle and kind barista and dabi/hawks is just wHIPPED for him? i think thatd be mad cute 👉👈

LMAOOO DABI + HAWKS TIME TURN IT UP-

——————

Headcannons - Dabi and Hawks whipped for their local barista

⚠️Warnings - kidnapping (dabi)

Pronouns - male, he/him

——————

Dabi:

Ok so like hear me out

At first

AT FIRST

you didn’t catch this mans eye

In fact, he didn’t go to the coffee shop you worked at much because yknow...villain...

But it was late at night one day yk

And mans was like “oh boy, i sure am thirsty after committing homcide and robbery”

N the first place he sees

Dun dun dun

Is the 24 hr coffee shop you worked at HAHAHA

So he goes in, preparing to like-idk, threaten ur life for a cup of coffee or smth mean n whatnot

The door bell rings, and you turn around and give him the KINDEST MOST GENTLE-EST SMILE HES EVER SEEN

As a villain, and just someone who looks out of the ordinary in general, he never got much of that

SO WHEN HE SEES THIS...MAN SMILING FUCKING SUN RAYS AT HIM

HE FREEZES

You ask him if he’s ok, and DAMN UR VOICE WAS SO SOFT IT WAS BARELY INAUDIBLE WHAGSHDHEH

Mans usually isn’t at a loss for words but HE IS NOW

Instead of threatening you for a cup of coffee, he actually orders like a normal person

He’s the only one in the cafe since it’s so late, and you had the late night shift lucky you

He sat in the corner with his coffee in silence, occasionally stealing glances at you sweeping the floor or counting the money in the register

what was this foreign feeling in his chest whavabwhshs

He didn’t notice when you walked up to him

mans almost roasted you alive

LMAO BUT HE DIDNT SO IT OK

“Are you doing okay? Do you want a refill?”

He wasn’t really thirsty anymore but he did get a refill because he wanted to stay and watch you work some more like a creep

Yeah, one refill turned to three and he ended up talking to you for the rest of the night AWW

He was honestly suprised you didn’t know he was a villain, with the dark coat and scars and stuff

He ended up buying more coffee to take back to the league with the money he stole HAHAHA

Toga, sipping on her third coffee: yo why u buy so much damn

Dabi: 🤠

He started coming over more and more in the dead of night, on the days you worked which he totally didn’t find out by sneaking into the back room of the cafe and checking the schedule

You, somehow, didn’t find it suspicious that he’d always visit whenever you worked

One day, on one of the numerous times he’s visited, you mentioned how you used to be a bartender before switching over to being a barista

Something just...clicked

He’s a villain, right? Why’s he going so far to appeal to you, when he could just kidnap you and convince you to join the league?

So he did just that

You woke up in their weird club bar room hideout, tied to a chair with dabi and a few unfamiliar faces

Dabi lowkey felt bad (even for him) because even though you were literally just kidnapped, you gave him one of those heartwarming smiles

Even if it was a bit scared and forced, and probably a coping mechanism out of fear

“Look I ain’t gonna hurt you, dude. You’re one of my favorite people, so I’m offering you a deal.”

“Siiiiiiimp.”

“Shut the fuck up, Toga.”

Dabi nudged the girls side.

A girl with blond hair and a school girls uniform pointed a knife at you. You flinched and dabi kept talking

“You said you used to be a bartender, right? I’m sure you can help this guy out behind the counter. Join us.”

Dabi motioned at Kurogiri. He waved, LMAOO

“Join me...please”

As scared as you were, you couldn’t deny the fact you had a soft spot for this scarily intimating man who’d sit in the corner and sip coffee everyday at work

Hell, sometimes (all the time LNAJS) you joined him and you’d talk for hours

And hearing this guy say “please” for the first time?

You nodded slowly, and dabi smiled

It was a nice smile, even if it was a bit scary

How could you possibly refuse?

——————

Hawks:

Since he wasn’t yknow...fucking iilegal and a villain, he came by to your coffee shop during the day

He was workin, caught and turned in a villain yk the usual

And he was kinda far away from his house, n he was gettin kinda hungry

He was flying around the city, when he spotted your lil coffee shop

Well, it wasn’t really a coffee shop, more like a food stop that so happens to sell coffee n drinks aswell

And hEY

you just opened up too, it was a relatively new place

My mans hawks supporting new & local businesses <3

He goes in right

He sees yakitori on the menu and goes :D

So he goes to order

And sees this,,, BEAUTIFUL HANDSOME MAN BEHIND THE COUNTER

“Hi Mister! What can I do you for?”

YOUR VOICE WAS LIKE FUCKING ANGELS SINGING WHAGSHW

I think the main reason hawks was drawn to you was the fact you didn’t treat him like a celebrity and kissed his ass n whatnot, mainly bc you didn’t really keep up nor care about the trending hero’s and stuff (no offense to hawks and none taken)

He choked on his yakitori when you walked up to his lil table and asked for a picture for ur grandpa (who was a BIG fan, unlike you)

MANS REALLY HAD TO PUT ON HIS MOST CHARMING SMILE AND PEACE SIGN THIS SIMP IM HDHEIDIE

He kept going out of his way to visit ur shop frequently even though he lived preeeeetty far off

I mean mans has wings so it ain’t a problem but-

This simp-

He doesn’t show up in his hero outfit (unless he’s coming from patrol) so you didn’t really see him as “Hawks the hero”, more like “Keigo, the man who has stupid endeavor shorts and likes yakitori”

It’s really sweet he shows up in stupid graphic shirts and sweatpants he looks comfy-

He openly flirts with you, and at first you laughed and smiled because you didn’t wanna be rude (it still did things to Keigos heart)

but then

Ur laughs n smiles when he drops a stupid pickup line? They real

The way you offer to take over ur coworkers shifts just to see if Hawks stops by? It’s love just admit it

The totally unfair discount you gave him on yakitori, not mentioning the way you know how Keigo prefers it by heart? Just ask him out already DAMN

You two didn’t have any personal info on eachother, no numbers, emails, hell, Keigo didn’t know your first name (in Japan, you don’t really go by first names unless ur with fam or close friends yk?)

So when you nervously hand him his box of yakitori one day?

Hawks is like 🤠👍?

He opens it and sees:

“(Xxx)-xxx-xxxx -call me, and maybe we can, I don’t know, go out on a date and get to know each other more, yakitori-kun? ~(Y/n)

So ur first name was (Y/n), huh

HES WHIPPED

HES SIMPING

He looks over at you, hiding ur face and sneaking glances at him while ur coworkers stiffing snickers and nudging ur side

GOD TAKE HIM NOW

you bet ur ass hes calling u later and saving ur contact as “My yakitori man (Y/n) ✨❤️”

——————

Thank y’all for 700, by the way !! I love you all !!

[unhealthyfanobsession]

in the kindest, sweetest, most supportive and most lovable way possible, FUCK YOU for that last piece of torture that you posted. i cried. I SOBBED!!! write another chapter and make me feel better pls <3 i’ll give you a hug bestie

Many people have asked for another part, but this one was by far my fav. Yeah ofc I can write another part. Hope this fixes everything besties!!

Part 3: All Too Well. (PART 1 ; PART 2)

“You’re an idiot,” Azriel said, leaning against the railing of Elain and Lucien’s townhouse.

“You’ll have to be more specific than that, Az.” Cassian ran a hand over his face. He’d stepped out into the hall to get a second to breathe. A second away from taking about Elain and Lucien’s wedding. Elain had been going on about arranging things so Nesta and Eris would walk down the aisle together. The preening prick couldn’t have been smiling more.

And the worst part was that Cassian had no right to be mad. Mad that what? Eris was proud to be with Nesta? Happy? Showing her in public that he was glad to be with her?

Yeah. What an asshole.

“Nesta,” Azriel said with an eye roll. “You know, the worst kept secret in Velaris.”

“You know,” Cassian sighed.

“Dude, everyone knows. The only thing we don’t know is what you did.”

“I…” Cassian sighed. “I wanted to keep it a secret, and she… she knew she deserved better than that.”

Azriel said nothing. He simply took a deep breath in, stepped closer to Cassian, and lifted his hand to smack him upside the head.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I don’t know, ok! I… I she doesn’t get along with you guys and she and Rhys get into it whenever they’re around each other and Mor… fuck, Mor…”

“Congrats Cass,” Azriel shook his head. “You definitely won’t have to worry about how anyone will react to you dating Nesta now.”

“I feel bad enough already, Az. No need to rub it on.”

“So fucking do something about it.”

“She’s with Eris now. He’s good for her.”

“The last thing Nesta needs is someone as uptight and stone faced as her,” a new, lighter voice entered the conversation.

“Elain,” Cassian sighed. “I’m sorry. This… this is supposed to be about you and Lucien.”

“Yeah, and I’ve been shoving Eris’ name into the conversation beside Nesta’s all night because that’s just natural for me.” Brown eyes rolled so far back into her head that Cassian thought they might fall out.

“I thought you were rubbing it in because you were pissed at me,” Cassian shrugged.

“Eris will never treat Nesta the way you did.” Elain glares, arms crossed over her chest. “He’s proud to be with her, proud of how she reflects on him. Beautiful, successful, what man would be stupid enough to toss that aside.” Azriel snickered behind them.

“I know I fucked up.”

“But,” Elain went on, “I’ll never find Nesta crying in the bathroom of my engagement party over Eris.”

“She-”

“Yeah,” Elain nodded. “I asked her what happened and she didn’t even have to say anything. You’re the only one who she has ever cared about enough to wreck her that way.”

“She won’t talk to me.” Cassian swallowed. “I want… I want to make it right but she ignores my calls and whenever I see her she’s with him and he…”

“I’ll handle it.” Elain rolled her eyes. “Honestly, men.”

It was a few hours later, Cassian near crawling out of his skin, when Elain said. “Nesta, my caterer is trying to charge extra for the utensils, but I asked in an e mail a while back if that was included and they said yes.”

Nesta looked up, brows knitted together. “Do you still have the E mail?”

Elain nodded. “They’re saying that because it’s not in the contract it doesn’t matter.”

“Bullshit.” Nesta rolled her eyes. “I swear, I could make a killing just explaining basic contract principles to people getting ripped off by businesses. Give me the number. Im going to deal with this now.”

“It’s on the blue sticky note in my office.”

Nesta’s eyes were spitting grey fire as she stalked out of the room, and Cassian saw the opportunity for what it was.

Slipping quietly into the hall, he followed Nesta into Elain’s home office and clicked the door shut behind himself. Standing in front of it.

“What are you doing?” Nesta looked up at him.

“There’s no utensil debacle,” Cassian grinned sheepishly. “Elain agreed to help me get you alone.”

“Traitor,” Nesta cursed under her breath. “It doesn’t matter what you have to say, Cassian.”

“Please, just… just hear me out. Please.”

Nesta crossed her arms over her chest. Jutting her chin in permission.

“I miss you.”

“Nope,” Nesta moved out from behind the desk, trying to push past him. Cassian held steady. “Let me out. I’m not going to let you do this to me again.”

“Come on Nes,” he leaned in closer, lips brushing against the shell of her ear, large hands resting comfortably on the curve of her waist. Squeezing with just a touch too much pressure, the way he knew drive her insane. “Tell me you don’t think about it. Tell me you don’t remember what it felt like when we were together.” He held tigger with one hand, letting the fingers of the other one ghost up her arm, “when a millimeter of space was too much to keep between our bodies.” Nesta took a sharp breath in. Cassian pulled her closer, and nothing had ever fit in his hands so perfectly. “Tell me you don’t remember standing in front of the fridge at 3am, pretending to contemplate what you wanted when you knew I was going to go out and get the ice cream you refused to keep because you thought it would stop you from eating the whole pint.” Nesta laughed, but what had once been a beautiful, trilling, sound, was now choked and bitter. “Tell me you don’t remember us, Nes. Tell me you don’t think about it.”

“Of course I think about it!” Nesta spat, “It was the best thing that ever happened to either of us, Cassian. We both know that! We were… those Sunday morning’s belonged in the fucking Louvre they were so perfect.” Cassian nodded in eager agreement, lips cracking into a smile. “And then you took a fucking knife to them because you were too much of a coward to call this what it was. To love me in front of your friends. Don’t you dare,” Nesta shook her head, fighting hard to break herself from his grip. Cassian held on the way he should have held on weeks ago. “Don’t you dare fucking ask me if I remember. I remember all of it. I wish I could forget. I wish that I could surgically remove every piece of you from my brain!”

“You don’t mean that,” Cassian whispered, forehead leaning against hers.

“Yes I do.” She glared, their skin pressed against each other, so close that the force of her stormy glare was a sea of rage crashing right up against him.

“I’m sorry.” He said, hands sliding up until her face was gripped in his palms. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I was an idiot. I was a fucking idiot. I was running scared. I didn’t mean any of it. I love you, Nesta. I love you so much I can’t breathe some days. We were everything.”

“I’m sorry too, Cassian.” Nesta took a hard breath in. “I’m sorry that I ever let you be everything. Because when you couldn’t show up for me, when you couldn’t love me in public, for a moment, you took everything with you.”

“Please, Nes, we can get it back. We can get it all back.”

“No,” Nesta shook her head. “I’m not going to let you break me the way you break all of your promises. Not again.”

When Nesta tried to push past Cassian, this time, he let her.

Watched her walk back to Eris. Watched her smile, soft and content.

She would never cry over Eris the way she cried over Cassian, Elain had said.

But maybe… that was the point.

[purplylinos]

strawberry blonde ♡ shin ryujin

♡ genre; lovesick reader, mutuals to love interests??

♡ pairing(s); volleyball player!ryujin x bookworm!reader, gn reader

♡ word count; 950

♡ description; mesmerized is quite frankly the only way you could describe yourself every time shin ryujin came into view. she was goddess like, yet all you could do was admire from afar.

♡ notes; this was purely self indulgent;; and i thought it would be good for our one year anniversary together! i adore ryujin and albeit i don’t have an itzy masterlist at the moment, i would be more than happy to make one if i happen to get multiple requests for their members! this wasn’t originally what i had scheduled to post next but i thought it would be best to put out good quality work rather than bad quality requests! i hope you enjoy <3

ryujin. shin ryujin.

she was stunning, no one could deny that regardless of how hard they tried to. she was good at everything. top of the class, spent her free time doing charity work, captain of the volleyball team.

volleyball player ryujin was what captivated you most. not saying that the other ways you could see her were just as lovely to watch and take note of.

your best friend, minju, was the team’s setter, which gave you a free pass of sitting on the bleachers after school. originally, that time was used to read through the newest books that you had managed to catch at the school’s library, but ever since the third week of practice had started, ryujin had your full-blown attention. the way she moved to try and get to the ball, calling shots and directing the other girls on the team, it was all too captivating. your heart nearly flew out of your chest every time she threw a glance at you, the way her dark brown eyes darted across the bleachers before landing on you. it felt like time stopped each time she made eye contact, giving a kind smile before allowing her gaze to return to the ball flying over the net. yet, even after multiple minutes of her no longer gazing at you, your heart could never calm down. it didn’t take long for minju to catch on to your ‘far away’ love interest at all.

“hey, what are you thinking about?” minju had asked. the two of you were at the park, laying on a hill. your eyes darted across the sky as minju lightly nudged your side, raising an eyebrow. “you don’t get lost in the clouds like this very often,” she added, sitting up on her side with a curious glint flashing through her eyes. you let your eyes fall to meet your best friend, a small smile inching onto your lips.

“it’s nothing important,” you answered, subconsciously picking at the hem of your sweater. minju rolled her eyes playfully, tilting her head to the side.

“i beg to differ. i see you staring at the volleyball team whenever you come to practice, i just can’t tell who.” minju paused before resting her chin in the palm of her hand, “do you like someone on the team or something?” heat rose to your cheeks at the question, pursing your lips together before allowing your gaze to return to the sky. 

“why does it matter? you’re going to end up telling them and making me look like a creep,” you answered quietly, sighing heavily.

“so.. you do like someone on the team?” minju asked, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. 

“and what about it?” you confirmed, folding your hands on your lower stomach and letting your eyes follow the clouds dancing across the sky. “there’s a chance that she doesn’t even know i exist,” you mumbled. minju frowned and let her face hover over yours.

“i talk about you all the time, dude. i’m sure they all know who you are at this point.” your eyes widened as you looked at your best friend, completely appalled.

“what? minju!” you exclaimed, pushing her chest. minju fell backwards as giggles bubbled from her lips, a hand coming to cover her mouth. 

“i’m not telling them anything bad, i promise! just random facts and stuff, that’s all.”

“and stuff? minju, they probably think of me as a complete dork.”

minju shrugged, allowing herself to fall back onto the grass with a content hum. “i doubt it.”

the walk back from the park was rather serene. you had said goodbye to minju after some time, allowing you both to split ways for the evening. the sun was beginning to disappear behind the horizon, all of the daily-seen critters returning to their trees and burrows for the night. you watched your shoes tap against the concrete before feeling a harsh bump on your shoulder, catching you off guard as apologies immediately spilled from your lips. you looked up with a hot face, locking eyes with no other than ryujin. she had a kind smile on her face, laughing quietly. “dude, hey, it’s okay,” she answered, placing a hand on your shoulder. your ears grew hot at the touch, nodding in response as your brain tried to form a coherent sentence. “hey, you’re the one who watches our volleyball practices right?” she asked, tilting her head with a soft hum. your breath caught in the back of your throat, inhaling sharply before giving a bright smile.

“yeah, that’s me,” you replied, cursing your voice for having an incredibly obvious (to you) waver to it. ryujin grinned and pushed her hair out of her face, which had been dyed a fresh, strawberry blonde looking color.

“right! i think you’d make a good cheerleader in the stands,” she noted, shoving her hand into her sweatpants’ pocket. “you know what? i have a challenge for you,” she stated suddenly. you nodded, urging her to continue. “wear my number to our next game,” she added boldly, a grin appearing on her face. “cheek, wrist, hand, i don’t care where. just wear it.” your heart was beating so hard, you were sure that ryujin could hear it.

“wear your number to the next game,” you repeated, nodding with a smile. “sure, got it.” ryujin grinned and gave a wink, beginning to continue to walk down the sidewalk.

“see you around,” she called out over her shoulder, leaving you with an extremely hot face and shaky limbs. had one of the prettiest, kindest girls ever really ask you to wear her number to the next volleyball game?

shin ryujin’s number. on your cheek.

hell yeah.

[shorkbrian]

OOOOO okok.... kirishima with a darling who’s his study partner by chance (college) and he just like,,, falls in love with them! but she have a boyfriend so :(((( but he decides the best idea is the take her by the hair and “lovingly” fuck his new little girlfriend, even though the cries pouring out her mouth are anything but... and he just. forces her to be his girlfriend and you’re just miserable babey

Bro bro bror bror b rorr bor rbro rbo

Prelude - He’s like a stereotypical jock, but is super kind and friendly and just a big HIMBO lololol.

Pairing - Kirishima X Reader

Prompt - At the top

Warnings -  NSFW, full non-con here folks. Kirishima doesn’t let reader tell him no. That is NOT cool y’all. Consent is always required.

Music -  https://youtu.be/2k5w6eTxGXk 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You’re good at most subjects but this one just really flies over your head. When you went to the teacher, she paired you up with the only other person in the class that seemed to be having trouble, Kirishima. The teacher figured that the two of you could work through the material together.

You didn’t mind. Kirishima seemed like a decent guy, even though he was very physically intimidating. He was on the football team, built like a literal brick wall, but his personality was sunshine and rainbows. The man always greeted you with the brightest smile when you showed up to study.

For the most part, the two of you struggled to get work done. Kirishima could do no more than three problems before getting frustrated or bored, and he’d start making funny faces at you, maybe kick your shins underneath the table to get you to pay attention to him. When you finally looked up to see him with his face contorted in the weirdest way possible, you’d burst out laughing. That’s how the two of you got kicked out the library for a month, had to meet at a coffeeshop to study.

Kirishima liked coffee so sweet that it made you sick, almost gagging after taking a sip of his drink when he offered. Likewise, Kirishima couldn’t stand your tea, said it tasted like “old lady water” and needed sugar. You learned a lot about each other, and eventually reached the point were you would consider the two of you to be friends.

You were friends. Until he decided you weren’t`

——

Today you two are in the library, both of you struggling over your worksheets. A tapping on your shoulder alerted you to the presence of your boyfriend, and you were promptly hopping to your feet, smiling and hugging your boyfriend. He wanted to come see you, spend his lunch break together, so you had told him to meet you in the library, where you and Kiri had rented a study room.

“Midoriya! Hi baby.”

With a kiss on the cheek, your boyfriend was b lushing, pulling out a chair at the table so he could sit down. “Hey, who’s this?”

He was gesturing to Kirishima, who was glaring at your boyfriend. That was odd. Usually the redhead had no problem meeting new people, maybe he was just grumpy because he was trying to study?

“Oh, this is my study buddy, Kiri. Kiri, this is my boyfriend, Midoriya!” Midoriya nodded at Kirishima, and Kiri gave a flick of his head in return, before hunching over to scribble furiously at his paper. Yeah, he was definitely irritated at having his studying interrupted. Unusual, but you figured you should be supportive of the redhead taking his studies seriously.

“Hey babe, let’s go eat out in the courtyard - I don’t wanna make Kiri uncomfortable.”

Your boyfriend nodded, getting up from the seat he had just plopped down in, before giving a sheepish wave to the as the two of you exited the room.

“I’ll be back, sorry!”

you whisper-yelled to Kirishima before the door swung shut.

There was small talk as you and your boyfriend made your way to the pretty courtyard of the college, filled with flowering trees and cozy benches for couples (like yourselves) to sit on.

It was peaceful, sitting there, chatting with your boyfriend while he shared his sandwich with you. He was working as an intern for a big engineering company, and you could tell he was happy about his work as he animatedly recounted what he had done so far that day, pausing every now and then to gulp down a bite of sandwich.

But as all good things must end, your boyfriend had to leave after his lunch break was up, checking the time on his watch and gasping as he realized he had spent way too much time talking to you.

He apologized profusely for his abrupt exit, giving you a brief, slightly messy press of his lips against yours before he gathered his bag, shoving the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. Midoriya waved, skipping backwards, making you chuckle when he tripped and almost fell.

You loved your boyfriend, thought of yourself as the luckiest girl for getting together with the kindest, sweetest man you had ever met.

——

Returning to the private study room, You were surprised to see Kirishima still hunched over his paper, still scratching out numbers. His grip was white-knuckled on the pencil.

“Uh, Kiri? You okay dude?”

“Yeah, it’s whatever, I’m fine.” He didn’t sound fine. The man sounded angry.

Figuring he just maybe needed some space, you shrugged “... I need to go get a book real quick. Need anything?”

“No.”  Was his short reply.

Kirishima was normally a bubbly, friendly person. Why was he so irritated all of a sudden? Did this have something to do with your boyfriend interrupting the study session? 

You pondered over this as you walked through the shelves, partly glad that you weren’t having to dodge other students. You and Kiri usually choose times that the library was relatively empty, just in case the redhead made you choke in laughter again. 

Finding the aisle your book should be in, you meandered slowly to the end, scanning the shelves. Ah! There it was, on one of the higher shelves - but luckily you could still reach if you went on your tippy-toes.

A  big hand slipped around your waist, and suddenly you felt cool air on your backside, as if someone had flipped up the edge of your skirt. You tried to whirl around, smack whichever dumb idiot thought it’d be funny to feel you up, but you were pushed up against the bookshelf before you had the chance, shelf almost rattling with the force.

“Hey—!” Another hand clamped over your mouth, smothering your rather loud protest. The giant hand covered more than half of your face, and you couldn’t help but gasp. Was this really happening? Were you really about to get groped by some meathead senior?

“I’m really disappointed (Y/N).”

Wait.

“I thought what we had was special, thought that I was the only one you looked at like that. That hurts.”

Kirishima?

The hand on your waist dipped lower, and yup - he had flipped your skirt up, was running his hand the top of your panties, feeling the fabric between his fingers. You struggled - tried to kick back, headbutt him, twist out of his grip - but the man was too big. He slipped a finger underneath the elastic waistband of your panties, pulled it back, let it go so it could snap against your skin; make you flinch.

“Newsflash (Y/N), your ‘boyfriend’ doesn’t actually love you. You could do so much better than a little Twink like him. You need a real man, someone who can take care of you and give you what you need, give you anything you want.” What was he talking about? The hand at your mouth was clamping your jaw shut, putting so much pressure against the lower half of your face that you couldn’t even open your mouth, just let out angry whines.  When his other hand traveled around to the front of your body, dancing over the flesh of your hip,  you wiggled, trying to put up a fight. It was useless.

Kirishima shoved his hand down your panties, groaning lowly into your ear when his fingers grazed the tuft of curls above your pussy, before dipping further down to stroke gently over your folds. You shivered, angry whines giving way to distressed whimpers, wanting to yell, scream for the librarian that you knew was at their desk. 

You were hanging on his arm, trying to pull his giant hand away from your face, but there was no point. The man spent hours in the gym, building up his muscles to make him better at football, and it coincidentally made him better at holding you against his body while he slipped a finger into your now-wet cunt.

The side of his thumb was flicking at your clit, his middle finger slowly dragging across your walls. You held back a groan when it thrusted in deeper, passing by your g-spot on the way in. Kirishima noticed.

“Did you get tired of waiting for me to make a move? So needy for a cock to fill you up that you ran and got a boyfriend?” What? You shook your head no, but his fingers clenched down tighter over your face, and you froze in pain.  “I was gonna be so romantic for you, get a bunch of flowers and one of those big stuffed bears. Ask you to be my girlfriend.  But you just couldn’t wait, could you? Had to go and ruin everything.”

His voice was low, his breath tickling your ear and making you shiver as he whispered, practically growling. You had never seem him irritated, let alone angry. You were scared. Another finger slipped into your pussy, and you keened, scrabbling at his arm at the sudden stretch. Kiri snickered.

“Gonna have to take a few more to get you ready for me babe, I’m not a little stick like your stupid excuse for a ’boyfriend’.”

Tears sprang to your eyes. You loved Midoriya, had ever since you met him. He was shy and nervous, but he was also sweet. Midoriya would never treat you like this, would always ask if you wanted to make each other feel good, ask before he so much as looked at you. Kirishima was a brute.

Another finger entered you, and while the stretch stung, you also felt pleasantly full. His thumb was still moving over your clit, and with a muffled wail your hips twitched in the air, grinding down on his thumb as you suddenly came.

Kirishima didn’t stop. He huffed out a quiet laugh, gave your a wet kiss against your neck. “See? Knew you were meant for me. I love you baby, gonna make you feel so good.”

Blinking, you were trying to come down from the height of your pleasure, flinching away from Kiri as his fingers slipped out of you. Oh god, you didn’t want him to keep going. Muffled cries left your lips, desperately trying to get Kirishima to stop, slow down, please wait, but the man was determined. Your panties were pulled to the side, and something big nudged against your entrance. 

“Sorry baby-“ Kiri grunted, beginning to inch his way inside your tight pussy. “You’re just so sexy ’n pretty, can’t hold myself back.”

The mushroom head of his cock popped past your opening, and you squealed in pain. You were wailing behind his hand, and the man could feel the tears dripping onto his fingers as he held your mouth shut, could feel your lips moving as you cried “Stop, stop! Hurts, oh god Kiri it hurts.“

“Shit, baby I’m sorry, ‘m sorry.”  Without moving, you heard the sound of him spitting, and then felt his hand bump against where he was connected to you. He had spit in his palm, and was the rest of his girthy cock with the slickness, practically jerking himself off into your cunt. You cried harder.

“Shh, shhh it’s okay. I’m gonna take care of you. You’ll get to cum again, don’t worry. Bet your shrimpy little bitchboy never had you cumming twice, did he?” His voice turned sour at the end of his sentence, filled with venom at the mere mention of your boyfriend. 

Kirishima moaned, wet hand coming to rest on your hip as he slowly, slowly began inching forward, forcing his cock into your body. It still hurt, but not as much as it had at first - the slide easier with the addition of the man’s spit. It felt like he was pushing himself in forever, his cock could’ve been in your throat by the time his balls pressed flush against you

. He was bottomed out, and you were gasping, struggling to suck in air around your sobs and his giant hand. The redhead stilled, allowing the two of you to adjust to the sensation. While he waited, Kiri brought his hand up to your hair, sweeping it away from your neck so he could kiss the tender flesh their, hair still in his fist.

“You’re so good for me, look at you takin’ all of my cock. Fuck, fuck - you feel so warm.” He whined between kisses, pulling your hair to tilt your head back as he kissed towards the front of your neck. You shivered as the pain zinged through your scalp, sharp and prickly.

The man pressed up behind you had waited long enough. With no warning, he drew back his hips - cock sliding out of you. He was so /big/.  You wished he had prepared you more, at least then you wouldn’t be sore as he pressed back into you, setting up a rhythm of slow, long thrusts.

He was pulling your head back by your hair, making your head rest against his shoulder against your will, your hands still clutching desperately at his arm. Shoved against the bookshelf like this wasn’t very comfortable, but neither was getting your pussy wrecked by a man twice your size. 

Gradually, Kiri’s pace increased, your pussy working to lubricate itself and making each rapid thrust end with a squelching sound and the slap of his plump balls against the top of your clit.  Truthfully, Midoriya had never fucked you this good, but you were fine with the young man’s sexual ability. He would finish inside you, then lick out his cum until you were squirming and writhing on his tongue, and then Midoriya suck at your clit, shove his fingers into you and fuck you fast until you squirted, leaving the both of you in bliss.

Kirishima had carnal desire, sucking dark marks into the column of your throat, accidentally tugging your hair on each thrust, making you climb further onto your tiptoes to try and alleviate the pressure. He was getting rougher, throaty moans being punched out of him on each thrust - the man tried to quiet himself down by burying his face into the crook of your neck, biting down onto your skin. It just made you sob harder, the pain and pleasure mixing and sending you hurtling towards another orgasm.

And then he slammed into you so hard that your feet lifted off the ground, your body held up by his hand in your hair and the cock filling your pussy. A wail escaped you, his hand silencing it, and you came, twitching in the big man’s hold. 

“Oh, fuck, oh my god baby you’re so amazing oh my god, oh my god-“ Your toes brushed against the ground again. Kirishima was slouching his back so he could pummel into your smaller form even harder, babbling into your shoulder as his hips stuttered when he reached his own orgasm.

You sobbed as you felt his warmth filling your insides. 

Kirishima stayed there, leaning his head against your shoulder while he sucked in air, breathing raggedly. On every sob, you could feel his length inside you, and you were so disgusted.

His breathing evened out. Your sobbing quieted down into measly sniffles. Kiri let go of your hair, scratching at your scalp to alleviate the stinging sensation that he knew he must’ve caused by pulling on the strands.

“I’m gonna take my hand off your mouth now, can you be quiet for me?” You nodded, and the brushing grip was released from your face. 

You stayed silent, hand coming up to massage at your jaw where his big fingers had dug into the tender flesh.

“Good. Wanna go back to my dorm to clean up?”

Shaking your head, you barely choking out a panicked “N-no!”, almost forgetting to be quiet in your haste to respond.  Kirishima sighed behind you, pressing his chest against your back as he did so.

“Baby, I said I was gonna take care of you. I wanna take care of you. We’re going back to my dorm.”

He slowly slipped out of you, wincing as the air hit his dick.  With his length leaving you empty, Kiri smoothed your panties back into pale, then wiped his cock on the underside of your skirt before tucking it back into his pants. You wished you hadn’t chosen a skirt that morning when you were getting dressed.

Without another word, Kiri gently turned you around to face him, his eyes filled with a warmth that they always seemed to hold whenever the two of you locked eyes during a study session. His big arms encircled you, pulling you into his broad chest as he squeezed, the hug surprisingly gentle, almost calming. It would have been an amazing hug, if only the man hadn’t raped you beforehand.

  A jacket was being wrapped around  the bottom half of your legs, Kiri securing it so that you wouldn’t flash anyone when he picked you up in his arms, carrying you bridal-style. You rubbed at your eyes, trying to scrub away the tears as your ex-friend carried you towards the library exit, smiling down at you fondly.

“I love you, you know that? I’m gonna take such good care of you baby.” You ignored him.

“And don’t worry about your old boyfriend, I’m going to talk to him and break the news that you aren’t interested in him anymore. You’ve got something much better now.”

[variousqueerthings]

Daniel LaRusso: A Queer Feminine Fairytale Analysis Part 1 of 3

Disclaimers and trigger warnings: 

1. These fairytales are European, although there’s often overlap in themes globally. I know European fairytales better, which is essentially the reason I’m not going to branch out too far. I opted to also stick to Western movies so as not to narrow things down, but also in particular “waves hand towards all of Ghibli” amongst many others. There’s a reason the guys in Ghibli are so gender.

2. TW for discussions of rape culture and rape fantasies

EDIT: FUCK I’M A GOBLIN CHILD! FORGOT TO PUT A MASSIVE MASSIVE THANK YOU TO @mimsyaf​ WHO HAS BEEN THE NICEST, KINDEST EDITOR ON THESE THOUGHTS AND CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH TO THEM AND GENERALLY IS A WONDERFUL PERSON!

Part 2

Part 3

1. Introduction

I recently wrote a little thing, which was about Daniel as a fairytale protagonist – specifically one that goes through some of the kinds of transformations that are often associated with female protagonists of fairytales.

I used quotes from Red Riding Hood, Labyrinth, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Dracula, which, as an aside – the overlap between fairytales, horror, and fantasy and the ways each of those genres delve into very deep, basic questions of humanity and the world is something that will always make me feral. I will be generally sticking with fairytales though. Also I am very excited about some of those Labyrinth concepts going around!

I’m going to use “feminine” and “masculine” in both gendered (as in relating specifically to people) and non-gendered (as in relating to codes) ways throughout this, depending on context.

To be binary for a moment, because sample-sizes of other genders are low, women are usually able to fall into either feminine or masculine arcs, although sometimes the masculine-coded woman can become a “not like the other girls” stereotype and the feminine-coded woman a shallow cliché – in both cases they’re also under more scrutiny and judgement, so it’s always worth asking “is this character not working for me because of the writing or because I have ingrained biases? (Both?)”

Men don’t often get feminine-coded arcs. Because. Probably a mix of biases and bigotry. But there are some that seem to have slipped beneath the shuttered fence of “Sufficient Narrative Testosterone,” and Daniel LaRusso is one of them.

2. Some Dude Comparisons (Men Doing Manly Action-Hero Things like being trans symbolism and loving your girlfriend… seriously those things are hella manly, I wish we saw more of that onscreen…)

a. Neo

Much like Neo The Matrix, whose journey is filled with transgender subtext and specifically and repeatedly references Alice In Wonderland, Daniel doesn’t go through quite the kind of hero's journey usually associated with Yer Standard Male Hero, especially the type found in the 80s/90s.

Neo is my favourite comparison, because of the purposefulness of his journey as a trans narrative and the use of Alice. But I’m sure there are other non-traditional male heroes out there (but are they trans tho? Please tell me, I want trans action heroes).

Neo “passes” as a socially acceptable man, but online goes by a different name - the name he prefers to be known by - feels like there’s something inherently wrong about the world around him and his body’s place in that society, and then gets taken down the rabbit hole (with his consent, although without really “knowing” what he’s consenting to) to discover that it’s the world that’s wrong - not him. And by accessing this truth he can literally make his body do and become whatever he wants it to.

Yay. (The message of the Matrix is actually that trans people can fly).

Neo is – kind of like Daniel – a strange character for Very Cis Straight Guys to imprint on. He spends most of the first movie unsure about what’s going on, out of his depth, and often getting beaten up. He is compared to Alice several times and at the end he dies. He loses. He has to be woken up with true love’s kiss, in a fun little Sleeping Beauty/Snow White twist. Yes, after that he can fly, but before that he’s getting dead-named and hate-crimed by The Most Obvious Stand-In For Normativity, Agent Smith, and being carried by people far more physically capable than he is (people who also fall outside of normative existence).

Trinity and Neo in The Matrix. The fact that a lot of the time neither of them is gendered is something. Literally brought to life by true love’s kiss.

I’m not about to argue that Daniel LaRusso is purposefully written along these same thought processes, so much as the luck of the way he was written, cast, directed, acted, and costumed all came together in the right way. And this is even more obvious when compared to That Other Underdog Fite Movie That Was By The Same Director as Karate Kid.

b. Rocky

The interesting thing about Rocky is that he is (despite being a male action icon) also not written as a Traditionally Masculine person. Large portions of Rocky – and subsequent Rocky films – are his fear and insecurity about fighting vs his inability to apply his skills to another piece of work and wanting to do right by his girlfriend (and future wife), Adrian. The fighting is most often pushed onto him against his will.

Much like in Karate Kid there is barely any fighting in Rocky I. Most of it is dedicated to how much Rocky loves Adrian and the two of them getting together. The fight is – again like in Karate Kid – a necessary violence, rather than a glorified one (within the plot, obviously watching any movie like this is also partly about the badassness of some element of the violence – whether stamina or the crane kick, it’s all about not backing down against a more powerful opponent).

Rocky is played by Sylvester Stallone. He’s tough, he’s already a fighter (albeit in the movie not a great one yet), he’s taking the fight for cash – so although he’s also soft-spoken and sweet, you’re aware of the fact that he’s got those traits that’d make a male audience go “Hell Yeah, A Man,” or whatever it is a male audience does watching movies like that… cis straight men imprinting on oiled muscle men sure is a strange phenomenon, why do you wanna watch a boxing match? So you can watch toned guys groaning and grappling with each other? Because you want to feel like A Man by allowing yourself to touch the skin of other men?

Apollo and Rocky in Rocky III. This sequence also includes prolonged shots of their crotches as they run. Sylvester Stallone directed this. This was intentional. Bros.

Daniel LaRusso is not built like that. But that doesn’t really have to matter. Being smallish and probably more likely to be described as “pretty” than handsome, and not having a toxic masculine bone in his body does not a feminine archetype make. It just makes a compelling (and pretty) underdog. 

c. Daniel

So where does the main difference really lie? Between Rocky and Daniel? Well, Rocky has the plot in his hands – Daniel, largely, does not. Rocky is acting. Daniel is reacting or being pushed into situations by others. Just like our boy Neo. Just like Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Snow White – just like some of the women in some contemporary(ish) fairytale films like Buttercup (Princess Bride), Dorothy (Wizard of Oz), or Sarah (Labyrinth).

This isn’t a necessary negative about stories about girls and women, so much as looking at what it is girls and women in fairytales have/don’t have, what they want, and how they’re going to get it. It’s about power (lack of), sexuality (repressed, then liberated), men, and crossing some taboo lines. It’s also about queerness.

3. The Karate Kid Part One: Leaving Home

Daniel LaRusso is a poor, skinny, shortish kid (played by a skinny, shortish twenty-two-year old) who doesn’t fit in after having been taken away from the home he was familiar with against his will. Not every male protagonist in a fairytale leaves of his own will, and not every female protagonist leaves under duress – Red Riding Hood, for example, seems perfectly happy to enter the forest. However generally a hero is “striking out to make his fortune,” and generally a heroine is fleeing or making a bargain or being married off or waiting for help to arrive. She is often stuck (and even Red Riding Hood requires saving at some point).

Daniel then encounters a beautiful, lovely girl on the beach, puts on a red hoodie (red is significant), is beaten up by a large, attractive bully, loses what little clout he may have had with his new friends, and generally has a mostly miserable time until he befriends and is saved by Mr Miyagi. To do a little Cinderella comparison: Miyagi is the fairy godmother who pushes Daniel to go to the ball in disguise as well, and that disguise falls to pieces as he’s running away.

Then Daniel asks for help, Miyagi gets him enrolled in a Karate Tournament, and starts teaching him. Daniel wins the tournament and gets the girl, the end.

While Daniel has chutzpah and is a wonderful character, none of the big events are initiated by him, except for the initial going to the forest/beach (and within all of these events Daniel absolutely makes choices – I’m not saying he’s passive): Lucille takes them to California, Miyagi pushes him to go to the dance, Miyagi again decides to enroll him in the tournament and trains him, and only because Kreese doesn’t allow for any other option, Ali is the one who more often than not approaches Daniel, and even their first encounter is pushed by Daniel’s friends.

Daniel really is at a dance/ball in disguise and receives a flower from a girl who recognises him through said disguise, it’s unbearable! It’s adorable! I get it Ali, I fucking get it!

Daniel’s main journey within this – apart from not getting killed by karate thugs (love u Johnny <3) and kissing Ali – is to learn from Miyagi. He’s not necessarily a full-on feminine fairytale archetype at this point, although there are fun things to pull out of it, mainly in the context of later films and Cobra Kai: the subtext of karate and how that builds throughout all the stories, the red clothes, the themes of obsession, his being targeted by boys whose masculinity is more than a little bit toxic and based on shame… more on all that coming up.

He doesn’t technically get a home until they build him a room at Miyagi’s place, but he definitely leaves the woods at the end of this one, trophy lifted in the air after being handed to him by a tearful Johnny and all.

And then they made a sequel.

4. The Karate Kid Part Two: Not Out Of The Woods Yet

Daniel’s won the competition, Kreese chokes out Johnny for daring to lose and cry, more life-lessons are given (for man without forgiveness in heart…) and Daniel and Ali break-up off-screen, confirming that TKK1 was not really about the girl after all, which, despite Daniel and Kumiko having wonderful chemistry, is also an ongoing theme. Daniel enters the screen in The Most Baby-Blue Outfit seen since Tiana’s dress in Princess and the Frog? Or that dress in Enchanted? Maybe Cinderella’s (technically silver, but later depicted as blue)? 

(Sidenote: At everyone who says Sam ought to wear a callback to that suit,  you are correct and sexy).

Surprise, Miyagi’s building him a room.

Double-surprise, Miyagi needs to go to Okinawa.

Triple surprise, Daniel reveals he’s going with him, because he’s his son dammit.

The Karate Kid Part Two is maybe the least Daniel-LaRusso-Feminine-Fairytale-Protagonist of the three, because it’s not really his movie. Daniel runs around with Kumiko (aka the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen), continues to be The Best Non-Toxic Boy a middle-aged Okinawan karate master could ask for, lands himself another Built Karate Rival (twice is just a coincidence, right? Right?), and eventually doesn’t die while wearing red again – twice: When Chozen almost strangles him to death at the Miyagi dojo and then during the final fight. The Saving Of The Girl (both the little girl in the storm and Kumiko) actually puts him in a more traditional masculine space than the previous movie did, even if the main theme of the film is about compassion and kindness and by the end, once more the boy whose masculinity is built on rockhard abs and matchsticks is on his knees. Daniel just has that power over big boys. It’s called kick/punch them in the face hard enough that they see stars.

There’s an aside to be made here about how much Daniel really is an observer in other peoples stories in this, although he is the factor that sends both Chozen and Kumiko into completely different directions in life (Chozen and Kumiko main characters when?) Anyway he comes out of it presumably okay, despite being almost killed. Maybe a few therapy sessions and he’ll get over it. Too bad Terry Silver is lurking around the corner…

5. The Karate Kid Part Three: The Big Bad Wolf

Alright people have written Words about the third movie. It’s fascinating. It’s odd. It’s eye-straining. It’s like olives – you’re either fully onboard the madness or it’s too off-putting for you (or you’re like. Eh, don’t see what all the fuss is about either way...). It’s basically a non-consensual secret BDSM relationship between a guy in his thirties (played by a Very Tall twenty-seven year old Thomas Ian Griffith) and a 17/18 year old (played by a shorter twenty-eight year old Ralph Macchio).

Also recently we got more information on Mr. Griffith’s input on the uh… vibes of the film. Apparently it wasn’t just The Sweetness of Ralph Macchio’s face, the screenplay (whatever that amounted to in the first place – release the script!), the soundtrack, the direction to not tone it down under any circumstances, the fact that Macchio categorically refused to play a romance between himself and an actress who was sixteen, no: it was also TIG coming up with fun ways to torture Daniel’s character and suggesting these to the director. Clearly everyone has fun hurting Mr Macchio (including Mr Macchio).

The point is that aaallll of that amounts to that Intense Homoerotic Dubiously-Consented-To D/s subtext that haunts the movie and gives a lot of fun stuff to play with. It’s also a film that – if we’re analysing Daniel along feminine-coded fairytale lines recontextualises his role in this universe.

The Fairytale goes topsy-turvy. Through the looking glass. Enter Big Bad Wolf stage right. Karate is a metaphor for Daniel’s bisexual awakening. 

“Oh, when will an attractive man touch me in ways that aren’t about hurting me?” he asks after two movies of being hurt by boys with rippling muscles. “Why do men continue to notice me only to hit me? Do you think wearing red is making me too noticeable? Anyway, Mr Silver looked really good in his gi today.” 

Daniel’s diary must be a trip.

[gryffindorcls]

Step In The Light

Summary: While on patrol, Adrien notices that his Lady is nervous and upset, so he gives her a good luck charm that had been gifted to him by a "very good friend". In return, she helps him realize that he was in love with the giftee all along. Length: 5,936 words Hello, lovely readers! This was written for the 2020 JV Art and Fic Trade on Discord. There is accompanying art for this fic by @supergirl9130.  Be on the look-out for it soon! The song featured in this is "Extra Ordinary" sung by Lucy Hale from “Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song”. Enjoy! (Shout out to my betas for this fic, @falling-oceans and @chanceuseladynoire!) --- AO3

Fanfiction

“Hey, Chat, do you think we could skip patrol tomorrow?” Ladybug’s words stopped Adrien in his tracks.

Worry poked at the back of his mind as he gave his partner a once over. He could feel a crease setting in his brow as he watched Ladybug look at the ground and shift between her feet.

“Is everything alright?” He took a step towards her. “You never cancel patrol at the last minute.”

Ladybug clutched her yo-yo against her chest and shook her head. “I’m fine! I just have to do something tomorrow.”

“Are you sure? You seem kind of upset.” She looked like she needed a hug.

With a groan, she slumped and buried her face in her hands. “Ugh, yeah. Please don’t worry about me. I’m just really nervous. It’s something I’ve never done before, and I hope I don’t make a complete fool out of myself.”

Adrien slung his arm over Ladybug’s shoulders and pulled her close. “My lady, you are one of the most amazing people I know. You’ve shown the world time and time again that you can do anything you set your mind to.”

Her muscles relaxed under his touch, sending his heart into a frenzy. Even though he was doing his best to move on from his crush, there were still some residual feelings that caused a few involuntary reactions. However, Adrien knew that Ladybug needed him to be his friend, and he was determined to fill that role.

He was grateful for how his friendship had evolved with his partner since she’d become the Guardian in Master Fu’s stead. Even though they had been comfortable around each other for a long time, now that their mentor was gone, their trust in each other had increased exponentially, and lately, his Lady seemed to enjoy their casual touches far more than she used to. Today was no exception.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Chat, but I’m not so sure I can do it this time.” Ladybug scooted closer to him and nuzzled against his side.

He swallowed and tried not to focus on the feeling of her head pressed against his collarbone. “And why is that?”

“Because I’m a klutz, and I just know something is going to go wrong.”

“You a klutz? No…”

She laughed. “Yeah, Tikki definitely helps me stay on my feet. I’ll have you know that when I’m not wearing a magical suit that enhances my reflexes, I’ve been known to trip on air. One time, I walked into the same door three times after spilling coffee on my best friend and dropping all my books down the stairs.”

“Oof.” He stifled a chuckle. “I’m sorry to hear that, but if it’s any consolation, clumsiness is an endearing quality.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup, there’s this girl in my class who’s kind of clumsy, and I know she gets embarrassed, but it’s honestly adorable.”

“You might think it’s adorable, but it seems to get worse when I’m nervous. I don’t know how cute it’s going to be if I wind up tripping and destroying everything in the room. I’m a disaster.”

“An adorable disaster.” He corrected, his lips curling into a smile that hurt his cheeks. “Just like Mar...I mean, my friend.”

“It sounds like she and I would get along.” Adrien could still hear the worry in her voice.

“Probably. You two are a lot alike.” He tapped his chin. “Well, except for the fact that she always seems to freak out when she’s around me. She’s amazing though. She’s smart, talented, generous, and an incredible friend. You would like her.”

Ladybug pulled away from him, crossed her arms, and smirked. “Ooooh! Does someone have a crush?”

Heat rushed to his cheeks, forcing Adrien to turn his head away from hers. “No! She’s just a friend.”

“Ugh, if I had a euro for every time I heard my crush say that about me, I’d be richer than he is.” She leaned back. “Poor girl. You’ve probably broken her heart every time she’s heard you say that.”

“What do you mean?”

“My brain stops working every time I’m near my crush, and if she’s as nervous as you’re saying she is, this girl is probably madly in love with you.”

Adrien fixed his eyes on the ground below and tried to process Ladybug’s words.

I can’t be in love with Marinette.

True, she’s the kindest and sweetest girl he’d ever met in his entire life, and he’d be lying if the idea of dating her hadn’t crossed his mind in the past. But she’d told him that she didn’t have feelings for him...unless she’d been lying. She didn’t like him like that. Marinette was…

“Just a friend,” he whispered to himself.

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Ladybug nudged him with her elbow. “Just something to think about, kitty.”

“But you’re the only girl I’ve ever fallen in love with. I mean, it’s different now, but still, I’ve never really loved someone the way I loved you.”

“I’ve recently learned that love comes in many different forms. Even the romantic kind. Maybe you love her, too, and you just haven’t realized it yet?”

“Hmmm...I guess that could be true. But what do these other loves feel like?”

“I don’t know. I think it depends on the person. Honestly, I wish someone had this conversation with my crush. It sure would have made things a lot eas...OH NO.” Her hands flew to her face and all the color drained from her cheeks. “That’s going to make things even worse!”

Startled by her reaction, Adrien pulled her back into a hug. Her body trembled in his embrace, driving a wave of panic through his chest.

He held her tighter. “What’s wrong?”

“My crush.” Her rasped words barely made it past her lips. “He might be there. I don’t know, but if he is...I can’t do this, Chat.”

“Come here, my lady.” With his arms still wrapped around her, Adrien held her until the tension in her muscles began to subside. “I’m here.”

“I can’t even get through a sliding glass door when I’m with him! I really am going to ruin everything!”

“No, you’re not.”

“I might.”

“Well, if you’re anything like the girl I know and you do break something, I can guarantee that your friends will still like you. I think it’s literally impossible to not like her.”

“Yeah, but I’m not her.”

It would be nice if you were. Adrien shook his head. NO. Stop that! Marinette is just a friend. Ladybug is sad. FOCUS.

He wracked his brain for a solution to her problem.

What would Marinette do?

The idea hit him like a truck. “Sounds like you could use a good luck charm.”

If his lady needed a little extra luck, he was going to give it to her.

“I’ll be right back. Wait right here!” He hopped onto his feet, scurried behind a chimney, and called off his transformation.

“Kid, what are you doing now?” Plagg groaned. “At least tell me you brought some cheese for me to eat before you make me transform you back.”

Adrien shook his head and reached into his coat pocket. “Ladybug needs my help.”

“Uh-huh.” Plagg crossed his arms. “And it’s not something you can do while you’re still Chat Noir?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll transform again before I go back.” He fished around for a few seconds before pulling out his “Marinette Lucky Charm” and waving it in front of his Kwami’s face. “I just needed to get this.”

Plagg’s eyes grew wide. “Uhh, what exactly are you planning on doing with that?”

“I’m going to give it to her.”

“To who?”

“Ladybug.”

“Oh, no, Adrien, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You could accidentally…” Plagg was cut off by a shrill ring that pierced to the silence.

Adrien fumbled around his pockets until he found the culprit behind the noise. He pulled his cellphone into the night air and silenced it by smashing his fingers against the screen.

“Whew, that was a close one.” He repocketed his phone and looked at Plagg. “Okay, what were you saying? I have to get back to Ladybug soon.”

"Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to say..." Plagg was cut off again.

Adrien’s phone buzzed in rapid succession, prompting him to take it out once more. He swiped his fingers across his lock screen, he squinted as the space around him illuminated.

Nino: [20:17] dude

Nino: [20:17] DUDE

Nino: [20:17] why aren’t you picking up ur phone??

Nino: [20:17] DUDEEEEEE

Nino: [20:18] I need to know if you’re going to the masked singer jr thing @ school tomorrow

Nino: [20:18] alya is about to buy tickets

Nino: [20:18] she needs to know if we should get 2 or 3

Messages continued to bombard his phone as he desperately tried to type out a response.

Nino: [20:18] do you think ur dad will let you go?

Nino: [20:19] alya is telling me that she needs an answer RIGHT NOW...like immediately

Nino: [20:19] bro?????

“What is it now?” Plagg hovered above Adrien’s phone. “Don’t you have to get back to patrol?”

“Yeah, I do.” With a frustrated huff, Adrien pulled out a wedge of Camembert and tossed it to his Kwami. “But I just need a few minutes, okay? Then we can talk before I go back.”

Plagg shrugged, landed on Adrien’s shoulder, and began devouring the cheese. "You know what, kid, do whatever you want. It's about time we moved on from all of this nonsense anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean? If you have something you need to say, just say it. I’ll stop texting and listen."

"Doesn't matter anymore. Carry on."

Doing his best to ignore the chewing next to his ear, he finally managed to compose a response before Nino had the chance to send any more messages.

Adrien: [20:20] Tickets for the what?

Nino: [20:20] THE BOY LIVES

Nino: [20:20] alya was getting ready to BLITZ ur phone

Nino: [20:21] you lucked out my dude

Nino: [20:21] can u come with us??

Adrien: [20:21] I don’t know what you’re talking about

Nino: [20:21] it’s for that singing competition based off that tv show 

Nino: [20:22] there’s been flyers for it all over the school

Adrien closed his eyes and tried to picture one of the flyers that Nino was talking about, but nothing popped into his mind. He’d been relatively out of it over the past few weeks. His father had pulled him out of school for countless photoshoots, and every time he’d actually attended class, he’d been too tired to function. However, with his father out of town and his evening free from patrol duties, the thought of unwinding at an event with his friends sounded really nice.

Adrien: [20:23] I still don’t know what that is, but it sounds cool!

Nino: [20:23] so that’s a yes??? 

Adrien: [20:23] Yeah

Nino: [20:24] SWEET! it starts at 8

Nino: [20:24] alya is making signs for us to wave

Nino: [20:24] she’ll give you one when we meet up tomorrow

Adrien: [20:24] Signs?

Nino: [20:25] yeah for marinette

Marinette.

Just reading her name on his screen made his heart skip a beat.

Marinette was going to be there.

Ladybug’s words rang through his head, but he shook them away. Marinette was definitely just a friend. He was looking forward to seeing his friend, and he knew that the feeling in his chest was a totally normal response to his excitement.

Nino: [20:25] marinette lost a bet or something and now she’s singing tomorrow

Nino: [20:25] that’s why alya is trying to snag these last minute tix

“Chat?” Ladybug’s voice carried across the rooftop, giving Adrien the push he needed to wrap up his texting conversation. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! I’ll be right there! Don’t come over!” Adrien called back, tapping his fingers furiously on the keyboard.

Adrien: [20:26] Sounds good! I’ll see you tomorrow!

He shoved the phone back into his pocket, called for his transformation, and ran back to Ladybug.

As he approached her, he noticed that her eyes were filled with concern. “Are you sure everything’s okay? You were behind the chimney for an awfully long time.”

“Oh, yeah that...don’t worry about it.” He waved his hands dismissively before holding out his lucky charm in an open palm. “Anyway, this is for you. I think you need it more than I do.”

Instead of seeing the smile on her face that he’d been expecting, Ladybug stared intently at the charm in his hand, as if she were waiting for it to explode or spontaneously combust. She sat quiet and unmoving, and Chat began to fear that she had been turned into a statue by an unseen Akuma.

“M-my lady?” He swallowed in an attempt to combat the desert that had suddenly appeared in his mouth, but his efforts proved to be fruitless. “Did you want to borrow it?”

Her eyes remained locked on the charm. “Chat, where did you get that?”

“Well, I got it from that friend I was talking about. The girl in my class?” Using his other hand, he scratched the back of his neck. “You know, the one you think I have a crush on.”

“Oh my God.” She opened and closed her mouth a few times. “This isn’t happening.”

“I’m sorry. You don’t have to take it.” He closed his hand around the charm and began to retract his arm.

“No!” She grabbed his hand. “I want it, but…”

“What is it?”

“I-”

“My lady, are you okay?”

Her eyes flitted up, locking their gazes together. “I need to know something.”

“Ummm, okay?” His internal body temperature rose under her unwavering stare. “What...uh...what is it?”

“Have you ever imagined yourself in a romantic relationship with the girl who gave you that charm?”

“I don’t understand.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay, let me put it this way, have you ever thought to yourself ‘I wonder what it would be like to go on a date with her’ and then played it out in your head?”

Of course, I have.

“I, uhh…” He swallowed again.

It’s Marinette. But she’s just a friend.

“Chat, I need an answer.” The desperation written on her features did not ease his frazzled nerves. “Please.”

“She’s just a friend.” His words were beginning to sound like a lie. “She’s always been just a friend.”

She leaned in. “Are you sure?”

“No.” His response tumbled out before he had the chance to censor his thoughts.

Adrien clamped his free hand over his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. She’s just a friend. Marinette is just a friend. There was no way that she was anything more than just a friend...right?

“You love her.” Ladybug looked away, smiled towards the heavens, and released a tear-filled laugh. “You really love her.”

“I...love her?”

His brain was slowly arriving at the solution to a problem that had been plaguing his subconscious for months. Loving Ladybug had created a hazy and beautiful cloud that consumed his thoughts and dreams, but embracing the idea of loving Marinette swept the confusion away. True, he’d always love his Lady, but he could no longer deny the ever-present voice screaming the truth in the back of his mind.

“I love her.” He arched his back, held up his arms, and declared it to the heavens. “I love her!”

“Yes, you do. You really do!” She launched herself at him and pulled him into a tight embrace. “I’m so happy!”

“You are?”

“Yes! I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. I just...I never thought it would happen like this. Oh, Chat I…” She stopped and pulled away. “I might cry.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you’d be so happy to see me paired off with someone else.” He snorted. “Should I be insulted?”

“No! No, I just...I’m sorry. My words...I…”

“My lady, are you okay?”

“What? I’m freight! I mean grine! I mean...NO…” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m fine. I’m just so happy. You have no idea.”

“You sound just like her right now.”

He closed his eyes and allowed his thoughts to wander back to Marinette. A familiar warmth filled his chest and made his heart soar. It was a feeling that he’d lost the day his mother disappeared. It felt safe. It felt secure. It felt like home.

But his happiness proved to be short-lived as a second realization hit him like a tsunami. “But she’s in love with someone else...just like you are. I can’t go through something like that again.”

“She’s not.” Ladybug shook her head. “You keep comparing her to me, and, kitty, if she’s anything like me, I can promise that she loves you.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.” She reached out and gently pulled the charm free from his grip before standing up and unsheathing her yo-yo. “I’m suddenly feeling a lot more confident now. I have to go, but I promise to give this back to you the next time I see you.”

“Thank you, my lady.” Chat hopped onto his feet. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

“No, thank you, Chat Noir.” She clutched the charm against her chest. “For being the coolest cat I know.”

“I guess I am pretty paw-some.” He pretended to flip his hair, eliciting a giggle from his partner.

“My wonderful, dorky, Chaton.” She tossed her yo-yo and hooked the wire around a chimney on an adjacent rooftop. “See you soon.”

“Good luck tomorrow!” He called out as she swung off the roof and into the distance.

***

That night, sleep became his enemy as thoughts of Marinette bombarded his mind. Adrien tossed and turned for what seemed like an endless number of hours before falling into a fitful, dreamless slumber. When the alarm on his phone woke him up, he wanted nothing more than to throw it across the room and sleep for another week.

But he knew that staying in bed was not an option. If he didn’t get ready, he wouldn’t be able to go to school. If he didn’t go to school, he wouldn’t see Marinette. And if he didn’t see Marinette, then there was a good chance that his head might explode.

With a groan, he pulled himself out of bed, brushed his teeth, and managed to find an outfit that matched before grabbing a piece of toast and hopping into his family’s car. During the short journey, he closed his eyes and rested against the cool glass.

By the time he reached the school, he was half asleep and was barely aware of his surroundings as he made his way to the classroom. He’d grumbled a few half-hearted hellos to his friends before slumping into his chair and putting his head in his arms. It wasn’t until Marinette came barreling into the classroom five minutes after class started that he snapped out of his sleep-deprived haze.

Despite finally feeling awake, school was a nightmare. The knowledge that Marinette was sitting behind him drove him to the brink of insanity. She was only a few feet away, and there was nothing that he could do about it in the middle of class.

At lunch, she’d run back home to finish her costume, leaving him with no other option but to go home and eat. As he sat alone at his dining room table, he considered how life would be different with Marinette as his girlfriend.

If they’d been a couple, then he most likely wouldn’t be sitting by himself in an empty, loveless room. He’d probably been dragged over to her house and been allowed to watch as she excitedly put together her costume for the show. He’d have been granted the opportunity to become a part of her inner world, a place that he knew was full of creativity and wonder. He’d have been there to celebrate her little victories and encourage her through her downfalls. He wouldn’t have been alone.

And he didn’t want to be alone anymore.

He wanted to be with her.

He was going to ask her out.

Adrien dropped his fork on his plate and pushed away from the table. He rushed back to his room, flopped into his desk chair, and turned on the computer.

“Oh, good. You’re back.” Plagg whizzed into view and landed on the keyboard. “We’re almost out of cheese. It’s time to order more.”

“Not right now.” Adrien opened a new browser and began a search for local flower shops. “I only have a few minutes before I have to go back to school.”

Plagg looked at the screen and crossed his arms. “That’s not cheese.”

“That’s right.”

“And why not?”

“Because I’m pretty sure Marinette would rather have some nice smelling roses over a stinky wheel of Camembert when I ask her out after the competition tonight.”

Plagg flew in front of Adrien’s face and blocked his view of the monitor. “Please tell me you’re serious.”

“I am.” Adrien shifted his body to get a better view of the screen. “Why do you care? Usually, you make fun of my...oh how do you usually put it? ‘Stupid human love rituals’.”

“Have you really moved on from Ladybug? For real this time?”

“Yeah.” A burst of happiness coursed through his system, causing a smile to form on his lips. “I guess I have.”

“Then tonight is going to be even better than I thought it was going to be.”

“Why are you being so cryptic lately? Last night and now this. What are you talking about?.”

“Oh, nothing!” Plagg dove into the trashcan next to the desk. “Don’t mind me. I’m just here for the show.”

He rolled his eyes and resumed his search. He didn’t have time for his Kwami’s cryptic shenanigans. He was on a mission.

Adrien was determined to make tonight perfect.

***

That night, Adrien got to the school within five minutes of the first act going on stage. After taking his time choosing an outfit and picking up the roses he’d ordered, he knew he’d be cutting it close. Luckily, his friends were waiting patiently on the school steps upon his arrival.

If he hadn’t been so nervous, he’d have been infinitely more impressed by the way the crew of the Masked Singer Junior competition had transformed the courtyard. At one end, there was a stage with a black backdrop that almost looked as if it was studded with stars. Large speakers had been placed at either end of the stage. The rest of the space had been filled with rows of folding chairs.

The school had managed to get Alec Cataldi to MC the event, so as each act was ushered onto the stage, he riled up the crowd with jokes and charm. Throughout the competition, Adrien had been vaguely aware of the other performers, but he’d been focused on his mission--Operation: Ask Out Marinette. He tapped his foot as the anticipation built in his gut. He didn’t know how he’d feel when he finally saw her, but he didn’t know if he could wait much longer.

After over a dozen acts, Alec once again sauntered into the spotlight with the next contestant in tow. The singer wore a black cat mask that covered half of her face, a rhinestone-studded tiara that sparkled under the lights, and an electric green dress with a flared skater skirt that ended just above the knees.

Alec waited for the courtyard to fall silent before bringing the microphone up to his face to speak. “Is everyone having a good time so far?”

Everyone around Adrien screamed and clapped.

“I can’t hear you!” Alec held the microphone towards the crowd and held his other hand up to his ear.

The audience released a deafening roar.

“Excellent! Our next contestant calls herself Princess Kitty! How are you feeling tonight, Your Highness?” Alec put the microphone in front of the girl’s face.

“Purr-etty good, Alec!” Adrien’s ears perked up at the sound of her voice. “I was feline kind of nervous before, but now I’m cat-tastic!”

Everything came to a screeching halt.

He knew that voice.

He’d heard that voice tease him countless times.

He trusted that voice with his life.

That was his lady’s voice.

And she was dressed like him.

“She looks so good!” Alya held up her phone and snapped several pictures. “I can’t believe she pulled all of that together in one night! My girl is the best!”

“Your girl? Alya, who exactly do you think that is?” Adrien shifted nervously in his seat. “You don’t know that person, do you?”

“You really can’t tell?” Alya switched her phone’s camera to video mode. “And here I thought you’d recognize her right away. You did buy her flowers after all.”

Marinette.

He shook his head. “No, that’s impossible.”

They can’t be the same person.

“Of course it is!” Alya laughed dismissively. “I helped her get ready earlier tonight. I just didn’t realize how cool all of that was going to look under the lights.”

Adrien knew in his heart that the girl on the stage was his lady, but his mind told him that his partner couldn’t possibly be that close to him in real life. There was no way he’d fallen in love with the same girl twice. He wasn’t that lucky.

Or was he?

Marinette was his every day Ladybug, and he’d often thought that she’d make an incredible Miraculous holder. He’d once told himself that he’d love whoever was behind the mask, but he knew deep down that was a lie. Every time he’d scratched the surface of the truth behind his lady’s secret identity, he’d only been happy when Ladybug was Marinette.

He wasn’t just in love with any girl.

He was in love with one girl.

I’ve been in love with Marinette all along. The burst of clarity eviscerated the remaining fog and struck him with an overwhelming sense of admiration that brought tears to his eyes.

Of course, it was her. Of course, he’d fallen in love with the same girl twice. Of course, Marinette was Ladybug.

“Wow!” Alec’s voice cut through his thoughts, forcing him back to earth. “What’s the secret to all of your confidence, Princess Kitty?”

“Well, last night I was a tiny bit nervous, and I was given a good luck charm by someone very close to me. I already had one from him, but having a second one is making me feel extra lucky.” The girl on stage held up two colorful, beaded charms that were both held together by red string.

“See!” Alya snapped a picture, blew it up on her screen, and showed it to Adrien. “That’s the charm you made her for her birthday. She carries that thing everywhere. And I’m guessing that the other one is the charm that she gave you.”

“Yeah.” Adrien couldn’t take his eyes off the image on Alya’s screen. “It is.”

“Hold on...she just said that it was given to her last night. Did you two see each other last night? Wait! Is that why you got her flowers?” Alya grabbed his shoulders and turned him towards her. “Are you two secretly dating?”

“I...uh...I…” There were too many things happening all at once for Adrien to properly process Alya’s questions. “N-no?”

“But you did see her last night?”

“Ummm...well…” He found himself breathing a sigh of relief when he was cut off by another roar from the crowd.

Alya switched her phone back to video mode and shook her head. “You’re off the hook for now, Sunshine, but I know there’s a story there.”

Adrien returned his attention back onto the stage, mesmerized by the love of his life.

She flashed a dazzling smile to the crowd. “Tonight’s song is dedicated to the coolest cat I know, and I’m just hoping he catches on before the performance is over.”

Me! his mind screamed, She’s talking about me! She’s doing all of this for me!

“Ooooh! Sounds like we have a romance brewing tonight! Any chance we could get the name of the lucky guy?” Alec winked at the crowd.

She chuckled. “A lady never tells.”

“A lady? Pardon me, Your Highness, but I thought you were a princess.”

“Purr-haps I’m both.” She turned her mask-shrouded gaze towards the crowd, but Adrien felt as if her eyes were fixed on him. “Maybe I have more than one mask.”

“How mysterious!” Alec’s laughter bounced off the walls surrounding the courtyard. “Well, good luck, Princess Kitty! The stage is yours!”

A hush fell over the crowd as the music started blasting through the sound system.

I'm imprisoned, I'm living a lie

Another night of putting on a disguise

I wanna tear it off and step in the light

Don't you, don't you?

The voice that rang through the courtyard was clear and pure, sending the audience into a frenzy and rendering Adrien speechless.

So now I'm knocking at your front door

And I'm looking for the right cure

I'm still a little bit unsure

'Cause I know,

Yeah I know

That most people see me as ordinary

But if you look close you'll find I'm very

Interesting and hard to know

You can never tell where this might go

'Cause I'm not your average, average person

I don't know much, but I know for certain

That I'm just a little bit extra, extra

I'm just a little bit extra ordinary

As the first refrain came to an end, another revelation hit him at full force.

This was a declaration of love. Marinette loved him. Out of all the people in the world, she loved him.

All this time, he was the other boy.

Even without his good luck charm, he was the luckiest person in Paris tonight.

I can see it from the spark in your eyes

You believe in all the things you deny

You wanna fly and leave your worries behind

Don't you, don't you?

Well now I'm knocking at your front door

And I'm looking for the right cure

I'm still a little bit unsure

'Cause I know,

Yeah I know

She was reading his soul with a song, and while he felt exposed, the familiar warmth returned to him once again. Her sentiments wrapped around him like a blanket and promised him a life filled with love and devotion. He wanted nothing more than to love her just as fiercely in return.

That most people see me as ordinary

But if you look close you'll find I'm very

Interesting and hard to know

You can never tell where this might go

'Cause I'm not your average, average person

I don't know much, but I know for certain

That I'm just a little bit extra, extra

I'm just a little bit extra ordinary

He didn’t think he could love her any more than he already did, but he was wrong. As the song came to an end, he was struck with the sudden and urgent need to go to her. Adrien stood up and tightened his grip on the bouquet. “Hey, I need to go do something. I’ll meet up with you outside.”

Worry flashed across Nino’s features. “You okay, bro?”

“Yeah.” Adrien swallowed against a dry throat. “I just need to go ask out Marinette before I lose my nerve.”

An ear-shattering shrill emanated from Alya as he turned and quickly made his way through the crowd. The rest of the world faded away with each step. He kept his gaze fixed on his destination, determination driving every cell in his body forward.

His feet kept moving until he finally saw her. She was sitting on a chair behind the makeshift stage with her mask in her lap and her chin resting on an open palm.

“Marinette,” he called out, “I need to talk to you.”

Her head snapped in his direction. “Right now?”

He took several long strides towards her until they were only inches apart. Adrien took her hand and gently coaxed her out of the chair.

“I came to get my lucky charm back.” He laced his fingers through hers and couldn’t help but smile as he watched the tips of her ears turn bright red.

She turned her head away and bit her lip. “That’s all?”

“No.” He held out the bouquet for her to take. “I was also hoping that you’d finally accept a red rose from me.”

Her breath hitched. “With all of it’s intended meanings?”

“Yeah.” He took a step closer to her and leaned his forehead against hers. “Did you mean what you sang?”

She took the bouquet and held the flowers against her chest. “Every word. I don’t want to hide anymore.”

“I love you so much, Marinette. Both in and out of the mask.” Tears that had been building in the corners of his eyes threatened to fall. “I don’t know where this will go either, but I want nothing more than to find out.”

“Oh, Adrien. I’ve loved you since the day you handed me your umbrella, and when I thought you loved someone else I tried to move on, but I couldn’t. And if it weren’t for that, I would have fallen for Chat in a heartbeat because he’s not only the greatest partner I could have asked for, but he’s also the most wonderful person I know.” He watched as her gaze flitted to his lips, and without hesitation, he closed the remaining space between them.

Their lips crashed together in a dazzling explosion of electricity that awakened every inch of him. Fireworks exploded inside him as his heart pounded against his chest. He lost himself in the sweetness of her lips and the faint scent of vanilla that clung to her hair. Kissing her immediately became his favorite thing, and he never wanted it to end.

All too soon, Adrien reluctantly pulled away, only to alleviate the burning in his lungs. He cursed his need for air.

“Wow.” She was just as breathless as he was. “Can we do that again?”

“My lady, we can do that whenever you want.” As he spoke, he felt the soft brush of her lips against his.

Adrien moved in for a second kiss, but the sound of Alec calling for the contestants to return to the stage stopped him in his tracks. He groaned under his breath.

Marinette looked up at him and smiled. “How about you come over tonight and we can continue this conversation without a hundred people looking at us?”

“I’d like that, but I don’t think they’ll let me stay out much later.” He deflated. “I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

She leaned in and whispered into his ear. “Who said I was inviting Adrien over?”

Her warm breath against his skin sent a shiver down his spine. “What?”

“I’ll leave the hatch unlocked.” She pecked his cheek, winked, and began walking towards the stage. “See you tonight, kitty!”

Adrien traced his fingertips along his cheek, the skin still tingling from the touch of her lips.

Wow, he thought, unable to hide his excitement any longer, I really am in love with that girl.

[wholesomemendes]

Meet The Parents

Mendes Triplets Au (Peter Mendes)

Summary: After a small slip up at the Mendes’ family dinner one night, Peter decides it’s about time that he brought you home to his parents.

Author’s Note: This is part of the Your Teddy Bear universe (the fic is linked here) but it can also be read on it’s own. You might appreciate some of the time stamps and wording better if you have read my other fic already, but it is still adorable and fluffy if you didn’t read it and it will still make sense. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did rereading it and as always please leave me some feedback, I love hearing what you guys have to say!

The mouthwatering smell of dinner filled the home of the Mendes family, the six of them all taking their respective seats at the kitchen table. The triplets had all decided that it was time they came home from college for a weekend, all of them wanting to watch another one of Aaliyah’s hockey games and have their mother’s home cooked meals.

“So Shawn, how are things going with Ellie?” Shawn’s face lit up at the thought of his girlfriend and he swallowed his food before responding to his mother.

“Absolutely amazing. We finally went out to dinner this week because with my hockey practices and her work schedule, and school of course, it’s been really hard to get together. But I mean it always gets tricky around hockey season and we both know it, it’s been over a year which is crazy. She’s incredible though and things are going really well.”

“That’s great to hear. Why don’t you bring her up for dinner soon? We haven’t seen her in forever,” their mother beamed, their father sharing an approving look next to her.

“Yeah, I’ll talk to her, I’d bet she’d love that,” Shawn replies, not even thinking before he’s nudging his brother that’s seated next to him, “Peter, you should bring Y/n, too.”

The once energy filled room turned silent, both of their parents' mouths hung wide open while Aaliyah looked at the youngest triplet skeptically. Suddenly incredibly interested in his food, Peter began pushing the meat on his plate around, head dropping to hide the nervous blush on his cheeks.

“Um, Peter is um,” Karen cleared her throat, trying to find the right words when she knew her son was panicking on the inside, “Is this Y/n your, um, your girlfriend?”

Peter’s face burned brighter at his mother’s words. “Shit dude, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about it,” Shawn whispered, guilt eating him up inside over exposing his brother’s relationship.

“It’s ok,” Peter whispered before lifting his head up to meet his parents' confused stares. “Yeah, um, she’s my girlfriend. But it’s only been like 4 months so…”

“4 months?!”

“Karen, let the poor boy talk,” Manny sighed, noticing the anxious look in Peter’s eyes.

“Damn, Pete. I’ve never even seen you talk to a girl.”

“Aaliyah, stop. Now how about you tell us a little about her, son.”

“Oh um,” Peter cleared his throat, running his sweaty palms along his jean covered thighs, “Well she’s really nice and extremely beautiful. Um, she’s funny, too. I don’t really-I don’t really know what else to say.” He let out a nervous chuckle, heart racing inside of his chest.

“I think it’s wonderful that you have a girlfriend, Peter,” his mother told him softly, heart bursting with joy that her bashful son had found someone of his own, “How did the two of you meet?”

If it was possible for Peter’s cheeks to get any redder, they would have as he mumbled out his response, “At a party.”

Aaliyah scoffed at her brother’s response, “He’s making this up. There’s no way she’s real.”

“Aaliyah!”

“What? You’re trying to tell me that first, Peter, PETER, goes to a party? Since when does that happen? And then second of all, he talks to a girl there? So in one night he managed to not only go to a party, but also score a girlfriend? I find that hard to believe.”

“I didn’t want to go to the party, Raul and Shawn dragged me there,” Peter muttered, “Besides, she approached me, it wasn’t like I went up to her.”

“See, I don’t believe that either.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Raul chimed in, swallowing a large piece of steak before continuing, “She’s hot, too. Unlike all the nerds in his classes.”

“Raul, be nice,” his mother warns, sending a disapproving mom glance his way causing him to raise his hands up in surrender. “Well, Peter I think I speak for all of us when we say we’d love to meet her. That is if you feel comfortable with it.”

“I’ll talk to her, it’s just- I don’t want her to be uncomfortable at all. We haven’t talked about meeting each other’s parents yet and it’s the most serious relationship I’ve ever been in, I don’t want to mess anything up. Especially not with her.”

“We understand. No pressure at all, just talk to her.” Peter nods with a small smile on his face, relieved when his father begins to ask Raul about his love life.

“You know, nothing serious right now, just a couple dates here and there.”

“There’s really no one you’re interested in right now?”

“Oh, I’m interested in a lot of girls right now, but I doubt anything serious will come out of it. I’m just not really looking for a relationship at the moment.”

Aaliyah lets out a little snort of laughter at Raul’s words, “Stay safe. I’m not ready to be an aunt yet.”

“Aaliyah!” _______________

The commotion from the rest of the family in the living room could be heard from the kitchen where Peter and his mother were cleaning up dinner. Peter had always been a momma’s boy, so it was no surprise when he offered to help her with the dishes. “So, do you want to tell me more about this girlfriend of yours?”

Karen watches as her son turns a bright shade of pink, but also doesn’t miss the hint of something other than nerves in his eyes. “I, um, what do you want to know?”

She places a comforting hand on his upper back, knowing the wheels are spinning inside of that intelligent head of his, “Whatever you want to tell me. Or if you don’t want to tell me anything at all that’s ok, too.”

“Well, she’s so different than me, Mom.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, no not at all,” he smiles at the thought of his girlfriend, knowing that she’s probably munching on some random takeout she ordered while watching netflix as he speaks, “She’s extremely outgoing and is really well known around school, but not in a bad way. She’s just so social that everyone seems to know her. Her personality just evens me out, you know? Like she helps me get out of my comfort zone sometimes, little by little, and she’s always there next to me every step of the way. And she has this soft side that I’ve only seen her use around me. It makes me feel special, Mom. No girl has ever thought of me as anything other than Shawn and Raul’s brother. Then she comes around, takes one look at me and starts a full on conversation with me. And I’ll be honest I had a secret crush on her before we had even met, but how could I not? She’s just-she’s incredible, I don’t know.” He shakes his head with that lovesick grin on his face, Karen’s heart growing over how fondly her boy was talking about this girl that was obviously incredibly important in his life.

“Have you told her yet?” she asks cautiously, not wanting to overstep if he hadn’t even admitted it to himself.

“Told her what?”

“That you love her?”

“Oh, um, yeah actually. Just last week.” Karen’s smile grows even wider as she brings Peter into her arms, his head automatically coming to rest in the crook over her neck.

“Peter, I’m so happy for you. You know I would love to meet her, but if you don’t think either of you are ready for that, that’s perfectly fine, too.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he sighed, melting more into his mother’s embrace even though he towered over her by at least half a foot. “I’ll talk to her about it, but I’m scared. I’ve never brought a girl home before and I don’t want to do anything stupid.”

“You brought a girl home for dinner before? Oh what was her name, was it Jasmine?”

Peter groaned, releasing his mother from his grasp, “I was only a sophomore in high school, that doesn’t count. Besides, we only dated for like 2 months or something, I don’t even think it was that long.”

“Still, you have nothing to worry about, I’m sure she’d love to come,” Karen assured him as she placed a light kiss to his cheek before turning back to the dishes.

“I know, it’s just, I love her. I’ve never loved anyone like this before and it’s frightening. For one of the first times in my life I don’t know what to do and I can’t come up with a logical answer behind it.”

“You’ve gotta stop thinking with that brilliant head of yours and start thinking with this-” she stabs his chest lightly with the tip of her finger- “This is what will get you far with that girl, ok? You’ve got the kindest heart of anyone I know, Peter, and I have a feeling Y/n sees that, too. Just talk to her and if it helps, invite her over when Shawn brings Ellie, maybe it’d make her feel better. But talk to her, see what she needs.”

“Ok I will. I love you Mom, thank you.”

“I love you, too Peter, but it seems like I’ve got to share your love with someone else now. And I couldn’t be happier about it.” _______________

“What are you doing next weekend?” You look over at Peter from where you were finishing your nightly routine in the bathroom, seeing him staring up at you with hopeful eyes while laying on his bed.

“I don’t know, I don’t think anything. Why, what’s up?” you asked as you shut the light off in the bathroom before making your way towards your handsome boyfriend. Sitting on the edge of the bed, you turned to face him, running your fingers through his hair enough to make him lean into your touch. “It’s nothing, I mean it’s something, but it’s not that big of a deal, unless you think it’s a big deal then I guess…”

“Peter,” you chuckled, watching his frightened eyes look up at you, “Take a deep breath. There’s no need to worry, you can talk to me about anything.”

“I know, it’s just…” he paused, not knowing how to actually bring it up. He wondered how pathetic you would think he was when you found out he was worrying himself over asking you to meet his parents, “It’s just, my parents want to meet you.”

“Oh, they do?” You’d be lying if you said your heart rate didn’t increase a little bit at his words. You obviously had met a boyfriend’s parents before, but that didn’t make it any less nerve wracking, especially because this was Peter’s parents you were talking about, the people who gave birth to the only person you had ever proclaimed your love to outside of your family. You may have won over the hearts of his brothers, but if you didn’t win over the hearts of his parents as well, you didn’t know what you’d do.

“Yeah, um, Shawn might have accidentally brought you up when we visited them two weeks ago and they seemed really excited to meet you. My mom especially, she invited you to dinner right after hearing about you. If you don’t want to go it’s fine, I don’t know if it’s too early or anything but…”

You shut his ramble up with a kiss on his lips, hovering over his body slightly to reach him. “I’d love to meet your parents bubs,” you mumbled against his lips, watching a wide grin form on his face when you pulled away.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” You could feel his heart beating frantically under his t-shirt and you knew that even though your heart was beating equally as fast, you had to be the calm one in the relationship unless you wanted him to have a heart attack. Swinging a leg over his body, you straddled his waist, causing his breath to hitch in his throat. A smirk formed on your face as you leaned in to place a string of gentle kisses onto the base of his collarbones leading up to his jaw, wanting nothing more than to spend time with your boyfriend, who looked especially hot in his grey sweatpants tonight, rather than worrying about screwing everything up with his parents.

“Mom said, um,” Peter’s words were caught in his throat as his brain began to fog up from the way your lips felt on him, his breathing beginning to quicken for a completely different reason then before, “She said you can, you can come to dinner with Shawn’s girlfriend if you-shit- if you don’t want to go alone.”

“I’m a big girl, I can go alone,” you muttered into his neck, beginning to suck hard enough on the soft skin on his neck that you knew it would leave a mark in the morning. His hands that had been basically frozen at his sides all night found purchase on your hips from your actions, a satisfied smirk growing larger on your face as a result. You brought a hand to rest on his chest, feeling his quick heartbeat under your palm while you pulled away from his neck to look into his wide eyes, “Pete, your heart’s racing.”

“Yeah, it kinda does that when I’m around you,” he whispered, averting your gaze in an attempt to hide his blushing cheeks. It was crazy how your mood could go from wanting to kiss every inch of him and leave marks behind in every place, to wanting to hug the shit out of him and squish his cheeks. So that’s exactly what you did. You laid your body on top of his, wrapping your arms around his neck as you inhaled his signature scent, “I love you so much, Peter Mendes.”

Peter wasted no time collecting you in his strong arms, pulling the blanket up to cover the two of you. “I love you too, angel. So-” he emphasized each word with a kiss on your head- “so, so much.”

Your heart burst at his words and you cuddled tighter into his warmth, “Let’s talk more in the morning, ok? But there is no doubt in my mind that I want to meet the people that created my favorite person.”

“You’re amazing, how’d I get so lucky?” he mumbled into your hair, “I already know they are going to love you as much as I do.” _______________

“Peter calm down, you’re more nervous than I am,” you laughed, placing your hand on his jittering leg. He averted his eyes quickly from the road to look at you and you could see the fear bubbling inside of them. “Bubs, what’s got you so worried? Do you not think they’ll like me?”

Moving one of his hands from where it was fidgeting against the steering wheel, he placed it over yours on his thigh, rubbing soothing circles onto your skin. “No, that’s not it at all, angel. They’re going to love you so much, there’s no fear in my mind about that. It’s just,” he sighed, squeezing your hand lovingly, “I’ve never taken a girl home before. I mean I did once when I was a sophomore in high school, but it wasn’t anything serious so it doesn’t feel the same. I just don’t know what to expect because I’m really serious about this, about us.”

“I don’t know what to expect either and that’s ok. Everything is going to be fine.” You brought his hand up to your lips and a smile graced his face at your actions. “And Peter...I’m very serious about this, too. I think now was the right time to take the next step for us.”

“I love you,” he whispered, eyes tearing away from the road for a slight moment to look you in the eyes.

“I love you too, bubs.” _______________

“Ok, ok, this is fine. We’re fine.”

“Peter, breathe. It’s going to be-”

“Peter! I’m so glad you made it,” Karen exclaimed, wrapping her son up in her arms. You stayed to the back, not wanting to interrupt their tender mother-son moment. You saw Karen whisper something into your boyfriend’s ear, allowing you to take a deep breath to calm your nerves before they broke apart. When the two separated, she turned to you with a wide smile on her face, “You, my dear, must be Y/n! It’s so nice to finally meet you!” You returned the smile immediately, offering a hand for her to shake, but she dodged it completely, choosing to bring you in for a hug just as she did with Peter.

It was strange how comforting it felt to be with her, you had known her for all of one minute and you already felt calmer in her grasp. Must be her special mom talent, “Thank you for having me tonight, Mrs. Mendes.”

“Oh please, no need for formalities. Call me Karen. Now why don’t the two of you come on in, dinner will be ready in a few minutes.” Karen ushered the two of you inside and you were met with one of the most delicious smelling scents you ever had the pleasure of smelling. It was very clear that Peter got his cooking skills from his mother, even if you didn’t know his father’s cooking this scent easily mimicked one you’d find in the boy’s apartment.

“Hey son,” Manny greeted, pulling Peter in for a hug just as his mother did, “When are your brothers getting here?”

“They were right behind us when we were driving down. I assume they’ll be here in a couple minutes.”

“Perfect, just in time for dinner.” His father patted his shoulder lovingly before moving to face you, “Y/n right? I’m Manny, Peter’s father.”

He enveloped you in a hug as well and you could see the loving personality Peter had in both of his parents. “It’s so nice to meet you, thank you for letting me join you for dinner,” you smiled, watching Manny’s eyes crinkle beneath his glasses.

“Of course, I must say we’ve all been looking forward to meeting you. Peter has said some great things about you.”

“Dad…” Peter whined as he came closer to you, wrapping an arm around your waist, “She doesn’t need to know.”

“Oh stop worrying, like I said, all good things.” With one last smile, Manny left the two of you, choosing to head towards the door where Shawn and Raul had just loudly made themselves known instead.

“Hey, we’re here!” You immediately recognized the voice as Shawn’s and for some reason, knowing that the two other triplets were here brought you a sense of comfort. Suddenly, you felt an arm sling around your shoulders, lightly bringing you into a playful chokehold, causing you to jump slightly from the fright. “Welcome to dinner at the Mendes’ house, newbie,” a husky voice whispered in your ear and you rolled your eyes, slapping the arm around you hard enough to make them release it without hurting them.

“Get out of here, Raul.”

Raul held his arm gingerly, a smug smirk on his face, “Hey, I’m a Mendes, you can’t kick me out. You on the other hand better watch it, missy, and stop injuring family members, you don’t have the superior last name to keep you safe.”

“Raul, stop.” You could tell by the sternness in your boyfriend’s voice that he was trying to assert some form of dominance over his slightly older brother as he pulled you tighter to his body, but Peter’s soft boy persona didn’t put a dent in Raul’s smirk.

“Hey, it’s your girlfriend you’ve got to control. She’s in the house for all of five minutes and she’s already breaking my arm.”

“Please, I barely touched you. I feel bad for all of the girls you’ve been with if your body is so fragile.”

“Damn, dishing it right back. I always knew you had a keeper, Pete.” Raul ruffled the curls on Peter’s head as the younger triplet tried to swat his hand away. Pleased with his work, Raul stepped away, shooting a teasing grin both of your ways before heading off to pester his poor mother. Peter sighed, scrunching up his glasses higher up his nose as he desperately tried to fix the mess of curls on his head to no avail.

“Come here,” you cooed, soft hands replacing his own on his head. Running your fingers gently through his hair a couple of times, you smiled to yourself when you felt his hands go instinctively to your hips, applying such little pressure that you wouldn’t have known they were there if you hadn’t already trained your body to sense Peter’s light touches. “I hope winning over your parents is as easy as winning over your brothers,” you whispered as you placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

He blushed from your touch, leaning slightly into your hands that were placed delicately on his jaw, “I already know they love you. I can see it in their eyes.”

“And I love you.” You placed one last kiss on the tip of his nose as his mother announced that dinner was ready before heading towards the kitchen to offer your help. Peter watched from his seat at the table while you carried in dishes with his mother, his younger sister coming downstairs and following suit to grab some plates. He was typically the one that helped his mother, but when he saw you head over there on your own, he figured he should take a small step back and let you replace his help for a night.

Dinner went by without a hitch, both of his parents asking you basic questions about school, your interests, and your hobbies as you all ate. You were sat between Peter and Shawn, your boyfriend’s hand intertwined with yours under the table at all times. This caused a few comical moments when he would be so focused on what you were saying that his nondominant hand he was using to eat with would completely miss his mouth, but the embarrassment was short lived once you squeezed his hand reassuringly with a loving smile on your face. Karen and Manny absolutely adored you. They saw the way Peter looked at you and you returned that look every time, telling them everything they needed to know about the two of you without either of you uttering a single word. Aaliyah was more interested in what mascara you used (she claimed hers was always drying out and getting clumpy and apparently you had the greatest eyelashes she had ever seen) than how her brother was looking at you, but you were grateful all the same that she was comfortable enough to talk to you.

As the plates became bare on the table, the boys began to stand up to make their way towards the couch to pick a movie as they always did when they came back home. You stood up alongside Karen, moving to grab some plates before Peter grabbed your wrist to stop you, “It’s ok, angel, I always help Mom with the dishes. You can go pick out a movie with Raul and Shawn if you want to.”

You shook his hand off lightly, offering him a reassuring smile, “I’m fine. I’m more than happy to help.”

“But-”

“Peter, why don’t you go with your brothers. Y/n and I can have some nice girl talk while we clean up,” Karen suggested as she took some plates to the sink, leaving the two of them alone.

“Are you sure, angel? I do it every time it’s not a problem-”

“Bubs, it’s ok, I want to help. Go, I’ll meet you in there when we’re done.” You kissed the curls on top of his head before picking up more dishes on the table.

You and Karen cleaned in silence for a few moments, only speaking when she told you her preferred way of cleaning, until she spoke up, “You know it’s so wonderful that you were able to come out tonight. I’ve been wanting to meet you since he first told me about you at our last dinner.” “I’m so glad I could come. Thank you for dinner, it was so delicious, I know where Peter gets his cooking skills from,” you laughed, earning a sincere chuckle to leave Karen’s lips as well.

“Yeah, well I’m lucky one of them can cook. I don’t know how they’d live if that boy couldn’t make his way around the kitchen. Those other two troublemakers are hopeless,” she sighed with a disapproving shake of her head.

“You’re telling me, one time when I came over Raul almost burned down the place just trying to make pancakes.”

“Oh those boys, they are a handful aren’t they.”

“They are, but in the best way possible. You can tell they were raised right, they are some of the best people I’ve ever met.”

“Well thank you, I tried. Imagine trying to run after three little gremlins, that was my life 24/7 when they were kids.” You grinned at the thought of three little boys, all with an identical mop of curls on their head that bounced around while they ran away giggling from their worried mother. “Peter was always the calmer of the bunch though, always a big momma’s boy. I’m just so happy that he’s found someone like you.”

“I’m so happy to have found him. I honestly don’t think I deserve him sometimes, he’s just such a beautiful soul.” Your eyes found their way to your handsome boyfriend on the loveseat in the living room, head thrown back in laughter over something his brother had said. You admired the way his nose scrunched up when he smiled and the crease lines on his cheeks from his evident happiness.

“Don’t sell yourself short, honey. I may not have known you long, but just by talking to you tonight and the way Peter has talked so highly about you, I can tell you’re a wonderful person as well. And you know what they say, a mother’s intuition never lies.” Her focus went back to the dishes for a moment as she pondered her next words carefully, “You know, even though I never told anyone this, I always had a slight fear that Peter wouldn’t be able to experience young love like his brother’s have.”

You paused your movements for a moment, your attention fully on her now, “What made you think that?”

“Well, Peter has always had his goals set straight. It was always school and grades and a job, which is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but he never let himself stray from that path even if it meant he could be happier. He never had the courage to talk to a girl either, he’s always been my shy little boy, and I don’t know. I was just worried that he might be too in his head to let himself be open with someone like he is with you.”

Tears were beginning to well in your eyes at her words and you quietly sniffled to yourself to try to tame the emotions that were threatening to spill from your chest, “That means a lot to me that Peter chose to open up to me. I haven’t prioritized dating either since I’ve been in college, so we’re learning together, but I’m willing to take whatever he will give me. I think very highly of your son and I’m very serious about this with him.”

“That’s all I could ask for,” she told you sincerely, placing the last clean dish in the cupboard before bringing you in for a tight hug, “I know the two of you haven’t been dating awfully long, but you are always welcome to come over for dinner. We’d all love to have such a kind hearted person at our table.”

“Thank you, I truly can’t thank you enough.”

“No need to thank me. I should be thanking you for bringing so much joy to my son.” She pulled away with a smile as she motioned to the living room, “Now let’s go see what those troublemakers are up to.”

Upon approaching the boys, Peter’s eyes immediately caught yours and he motioned for you to join him, lifting the blanket so you could snuggle up next to him. “How’d it go in there?’ he asked, hand coming up to play with your fingers, “Did she scare you away yet?”

“No,” you laughed lightly, “She definitely didn’t scare me away. I don’t plan on going anywhere for a long time. You’re stuck with me, loser.”

“I don’t know, being stuck with you? Sounds to me like I’m a winner.” He brought your hand up to his lips, placing a light kiss before wrapping his arm around your shoulders to pull you into him. The loud chatter of voices came to a minimum as Manny pressed play and you couldn’t help but think about how lucky you were to be welcomed into the Mendes household.

[everlarkbirthdaygifts]

Happy Birthday, mellarkablegirl!

Happy Birthday, @mellarkablegirl​! We hope you’ve had a wonderful day so far, and that there is some epic cake forthcoming in your future! To keep your party going, the lovely @endlessnightlock​ has written a story just for you!

I hope you enjoy this best friends to lovers Everlark! Rated M for content of a sexual nature.

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

I toss another rock into the air, and, just like the first one I threw, it pings off the window of Peeta’s bedroom. I wait anxiously, worried it could be his mom or dad I’m going to wake up, since there’s no sign of movement inside his house at all, and certainly nothing from his room. 

Yes, it’s one a.m., but he ought to know to look for me by now. We wake each other up like this all the time. I know things will be awkward after everything that happened the other night, but still- that doesn’t mean he’s going to ignore me now, does it?

I cross my arms over my chest and huff. What in the heck is Peeta doing up there? 

“Peeta!” I loud-whisper his name harshly, irritated. I should probably just let things go for tonight and let him sleep, but I won’t have any peace until I talk to him- I’ve been going crazy since the other night, and I know we can’t keep ignoring each other, can we?

Besides, he’s used to me waking him up by now anyway. 

We've been best friends and next-door neighbors since we were six- Peeta brought me over a picture and a chocolate cupcake the day my family moved into the house next to his. After that, we played in my back yard for hours, digging up bugs and playing made-up pretend games, laughing together the rest of the afternoon.

Fortunately, I’m not left debating whether or not to go home for long, because his window opens and a head full of tousled blond curls appears. I’d recognize Peeta anywhere with that hair- the color is so light the moon reflects off it. It doesn't matter that I can’t see his face. 

“What are you doing out there?” he says, his voice thick like I woke him out of a dead sleep. 

”I wanted to talk to you, ” I say, shrugging.

“Why didn’t you just send me a text or something?” he clears his throat and leans further out the window. 

I frown up at him- and with the way I'm standing underneath the security light, I know he can see my face. What does Peeta think he’s going to do- have a whispered conversation with me from up there- doesn’t he want to talk to me? It makes me wonder if he’s been avoiding me, too, as I suspected. 

“Can you come down here, please? I wanted to talk to you.”

He glances behind him, hesitating. Anxiety rears its head and starts gnawing away at me. Did I ruin things between us?

“Yeah, just give me a few minutes,” Peeta says, sounding resigned. He quickly disappears inside his room and shuts the window behind him. 

While I wait for him to come downstairs, I climb up his back porch steps and sit on the wooden swing. Leaning back further, I pull my hands inside the sleeves of the sweatshirt I’m wearing to keep them warm- it's one of Peeta’s from freshman wrestling, and I swiped it from his room three years ago. It’s warm and comfortable, and it smelled like him at the time. 

While the scent is gone, his sweatshirt is my go-to comfort item, paired with shorts or sweats. It's not like Peeta would have worn it much longer anyway- he had his big growth spurt that summer, and he got so much taller and broader than me I would drown in his clothes now. 

It was around the time I started feeling differently about him, I realize now. We’d always been close- Peeta’s my best friend, and I love him as much as I do my sister or my mom and dad. But until that year, I’d never fixated on the way he smelled or how his eyelashes would light up in the sun or how his shirt sleeves grew tight around his biceps and forearms. 

I’d certainly never given any thought to the way the edge of his underwear and that strip of skin between the waistline of his pants and the bottom of his shirt would peek out if he lifted his arms above his head. That left me so hot and itchy every time it happened; I couldn’t look him in the face after.

“Hey,” Peeta greets me quietly, stepping out on the porch and closing the door gently behind him. I scoot over on the porch swing to give him room, making sure to provide him with a wide berth. He won't look at me; shame makes my face burn.

I was planning on being the one to bring it up, but suddenly it's as if my mouth is frozen shut. Darn it- there are so many things I need to say. 

I open my mouth, glance over at him staring down at his hands like he doesn’t know what to say either, and rapidly shut it again. 

You're the one who began this, I tell myself, you need to start this conversation.

”Peeta, hmm, listen.” He turns his head to look at me, and I force myself to speak again, staring into those blue eyes I know so well. ”I’m sorry-”

Peeta’s face drops, and he interrupts me. ”Please don’t say you're sorry, I can take anything but that right now, ” he says, “just don’t say that.”

I look down at my hands. ”But I ruined everything.”

He groans, and I peek over at him again. ”What do you think you ruined?” he whispers, a bit frantic-sounding. ”Katniss-”

It was about the same time- late enough so that Mr. and Mrs. Mellark were both in bed. Neither sets of our parents used to let us stay out so late, but since we’ve both turned eighteen and it’s our senior year, I guess they figure we’ll be out from under them soon anyway, so why bother with a curfew. Either we’re going to get into trouble, or we’re not.

We’d been sitting, talking about the dumb shit going on at school, namely some drama involving Josh Marvel and his on again off again girlfriend Clove Adkins. 

Peeta groaned- ”Dude just won’t shut up about her in the locker room. Katniss-” 

We were laughing together, and god, how happy his laughter made me. It warmed my body that night like sunshine on a freakin spring day, and while I know how sappy that sounds, it's the truth. That feeling- it made me feel reckless. 

”He won't stop talking about how she's the hottest girl in our class-”

”You don’t think she’s the hottest?” 

Peeta looked at me like I had lobsters crawling around on top of my head. “Are you kidding me? Hell no. No, not at all. You know I'm not an ogler.”

I laughed. ”Don’t act like you don't.”

He was growing uncomfortable, I could tell, but that didn’t stop me.

“Who do you think is, then?” I prodded him.

Why was I doing this to myself? I knew I wouldn’t like whatever answer he gave me. 

I guess I had a perverse wish for some honesty from him because, at that moment, it seemed better to know what he thought, even if it meant I would be found wanting in comparison to the Cashmeres or the Lavinias of the world. 

”I don’t think I want to answer that,” he said, his voice tight.

“Why?” I asked, turning in my seat. I was going to hate myself for it later, I knew it- but as an idiot in love with her best friend, I wasn’t already pathetic enough. This display tonight would definitely push me over the edge. “It’s not like I’m going to go hunt her down for you or anything.”

He turned away from me then, staring straight ahead. My stomach plummeted the moment I realized I was going to get my answer. 

“What exactly do you mean by the hottest?” He finally asked.

“I think the term hottest is pretty self-explanatory.”

Peeta shifted on the swing. “No, because there are all kinds of attractiveness. I mean, I’m not attracted to guys, but Finnick and Gale are both pretty hot-“

“You’re avoiding the subject,” I said flatly. Bringing up other guys was a rookie move- “come on.”

“Who do you think is the hottest then?” He asked, turning to face me.

You, I wanted to tell him- and you're not just the most attractive, you’re the kindest, and the warmest, and I’d probably give my life for yours. “I’m not the one who’s supposed to answer!” I said, instead.

“It’s only fair,” Peeta said. “You know, you’re so- I wonder if you’ve ever been attracted to anyone, Katniss, even a little bit.” 

I scowled at him, covering the hurt with a frown. Where was he getting at with this, turning the tables on me? And how dare he say that- he had no idea how I felt or how attracted to someone I was. He didn’t get to do that.

“Not that there’s anything wrong if you aren’t,” he continued, the words spoken too easily considering the way he’d broken my heart with his carelessness. “I like you the way you are- you’re just so pure. You don’t even notice what’s right in front of your face half the time.” He looked over at me then, with a weird half-smile. “Come on, Katniss- tell me I’m wrong.” 

I stared at him, hating myself for beginning this conversation almost as much as I hated him for saying those things to me.

Peeta’s eyes held a challenge, sitting on the porch swing in the dark the way we’d sat for years and years leading up to that night . Endless nights during which we’d grown up together. I’d say I fell in love with him here. 

And now, my heart was aching. I bit down on my lip to keep it from trembling.

I can’t say precisely why I did it: maybe it was the way he was looking at me, perhaps it was the frustration I felt with my inability to just say the words to him. 

Whatever caused it, at that moment, I think I lost my mind. 

While Peeta’s gaze remanded steady and unwavering, I moved closer to him. My heart was racing a million miles a minute, but still, I got my knees beneath me on the swing and leaned in, resting my hands on his shoulders for support, balancing in that precarious position. 

And then, before I had time to talk myself out of it, I kissed him. His breath rushed out against my face right as I pressed my lips to his. 

I’d never kissed anyone before. I was terrified, hoping I wouldn’t screw it up. 

But there was also exhilaration and feeling completely overwhelmed by Peeta’s soft, warm lips under my own. 

It was perfect. 

He was perfect. 

The breath caught in my lungs when he stiffened under my hands and mouth, and for half of a second, I panicked. Before I had time to think about it, he relaxed as if he’d only needed a moment to get used to the idea that I was kissing him.

I pulled back a little, closing my eyes and resting my forehead against Peeta’s. His skin was so warm against mine. I wished it wasn’t so dark, and I could see him better, those minute details of his face I’d never been close enough to take in before.

“Did you just…” Peeta began, but his words trailed off. 

Instead of saying anything else, his hands came to my face, framing it for a moment before tilting it and kissing me back; I guess it wasn’t the time for words. I knew he’d kissed a few girls before, so I wasn’t surprised when he took over what we were doing, but not aggressively. He moved his lips against mine, and I responded. It felt like gentle, tingly caresses. 

Peeta’s arm went around my waist, and he pulled me closer. I wasn’t sure where to go, so I just leaned into his body. 

God, it was amazing- all my senses were in overdrive, his body felt so good against mine, and the way he smelled? I just kind of wanted to bury my face in the side of his neck and never leave. 

He shifted a little, and I wobbled, still unbalanced. I was positioned awkwardly next to him, but I wasn’t sure how to rectify it. If I moved, he might stop kissing me, and I never wanted him to stop. It felt like we were in some alternate reality, in a bubble that would burst if one of us had a misstep.

Peeta must have sensed my trepidation; I don’t think he wanted to stop either. “Sit on my lap,” he murmured between kisses, “it’ll be easier that way.”

My pulse was pounding as I swung my leg over his thighs. As I settled on him, I swallowed roughly- I couldn’t believe we were doing this. His body felt so sturdy and warm and hard under me, and I was shocked to realize just how much straddling him affected me. My lips weren’t the only thing tingling- my whole body was a live wire.

“Katniss,” he murmured my name, his voice lower than I ever heard it sound before. His hand went behind my neck again, and he moved into me. This time, his lips parted, and mine opened automatically, my tongue darting out to meet his without a thought. Everything we were doing seemed as natural as breathing, each move requiring no thought. Instinctual.

I moaned into his mouth as his tongue caressed mine. I had no idea this would feel so good, all of this. We were both breathing hard, and I ran my fingers up the sleeves of his t-shirt to touch those strong arms I’d been admiring for years.

He sighed.

Peeta used the arm around my waist to pull me closer to him, and I had no choice but to lay against him, my breasts pressing into his chest as my bottom landed on the hard lump of his erection between my thighs.

Oh my god- it was like all my fantasies were coming true.

And then Peeta said those words that put a screeching halt to everything we were doing. “It’s you,” he pulled away from my lips just long enough to tell me, “only you.”

“Only me what?” I asked, ready to kiss him again. 

My brain must’ve taken leave of my body. I couldn’t remember what we’d talked about while sitting on Peeta like this. The only thing I could think about was how good it felt with him beneath me.

“The hottest- the most beautiful. Whatever you want to call it, it’s you.”

His words froze me in my tracks. 

Why couldn’t he have kept quiet? “You don’t have to say that,” I said, sitting back to look at him. His lips had swollen, and his eyes looked heavy-lidded as he stared up at me.

I didn’t want to talk about this- I didn’t want to consider that my best friend would flatter me that way just because we were fooling around. I mean, he’s a guy. Of course, he was going to enjoy doing this. 

Couldn’t I just have this night? I was under no delusions that things would go further than this. “I’m not-”

“You don’t believe me,” he said incredulously, his eyes darting back and forth between mine. “Why don’t you believe me?” 

I shuttered my eyes, finding it was impossible to look at him. “There’s no way you think that about me. How could you?”

Beneath me, Peeta’s whole body went rigid. He was silent for so long, the air between us grew tense. It was strange having him suddenly so distant while we were in such an intimate position. 

“Are you saying I’m lying?” he finally asked.

I shrugged- yes, I did think that. What was there to say?

I guess my gesture spoke volumes because, just like that, every one of those good feelings between us dissipated. 

Without looking at him, I climbed off of his lap and stood next to the swing. I don’t know exactly how I managed it, but everything seemed screwed up now. “Peeta, I’m-”

He wouldn’t even look at me, staring down at his hands. “I don’t know what you want me to say-” he interrupted.

“I don’t know what you want me to say!” I countered, “I just, I don’t want you to lie to me. Just because we did, just because we did that,” I waved my arm at the swing before quickly tucking it back around myself in a protective move, “doesn’t mean you have to tell me that. God, I just- I expected better from you.”

“Better from me? Katniss-”

I couldn’t do it. I just- “I’m just going to go, okay?” I stopped him. I felt like I was going to be sick. 

Peeta heaved out a loud sigh. “Of course you are,” he sounded tired. 

He stood abruptly, going inside the house with a slam of his door, leaving me second-guessing everything we’d done. 

“Why did you assume I was lying to you that night?” Peeta asks, warily.

“Why did you sat that to me?” I counter.

“Because I meant it, every word of it,” he says, shifting restlessly in the porch swing, his fingers trailing the loops of a chain suspending us from the porch ceiling. “I’m not a liar, Katniss.”  

No, he’s right. I’ve never known Peeta to lie, let alone lie to me. Sometimes he can be brutally honest when he’s frustrated. I think I figured out that he was telling the truth already. I just didn’t know what to do with that information.

He turns to face me again. “Why did you kiss me? You weren’t just trying to prove a point, were you? I don’t want you to kiss me to get me off your back or something.”

I let out a breath. “That wasn’t it. Well, it was a little at first, but you were an ass.” “Katniss, the only reason I want you to kiss me is that you want to kiss me.”

“I did want to kiss you,” I say. “I did,” I add at his look of skepticism. “I liked it,” I admit shyly.

“Why, just to see what it was like- did I seem like someone safe to fool around with?”

I frown at him. He makes me want to smack him- is he that obtuse, or does he think I’m shallow enough to kiss him, my best friend, because I wanted to kiss someone, anyone? 

But the more I study his face, the more I realize he’s anxious, and his anxiety soothes mine. He seems to be hanging on by a thin thread, waiting for my answer. 

Does this mean he wants me too?

And just like that, I know I’m the one holding the cards, as crazy as that seems. 

Lucky for Peeta, he’s the only prize I want to win.

“Because I like you,” I say the words confidently as I sit close to him, hip to hip, laying my head on his shoulder and turning my face into his t-shirt. “I want you to be more than my friend. I have for a while.”

“How long is a while?” Peeta asks, and I can’t help but hear the happiness in his voice as he threads our fingers together and rests them on my leg.

“How long has it been for you?” I ask, instead, feeling shy. He needs to fill in some details- I’m not comfortable being the only one laying my feelings out. 

“Since I met you.”

“That can’t be true,” I say.

“It’s completely true. Ask Dad- that night after you moved in- when we stayed out until the lightning bugs came out? That night I went home and told my dad I was going to marry you.” Peeta lifts my hand to his; he plants a kiss to my knuckles and rests his head against mine.

I stare at our joined hands, my mind racing. 

“So I thought you were just fooling around with me, and you thought I was a liar,” he continues. “And neither one of us was right.”

I think I’m in shock over the way this evening has changed everything between us- it’s like I don’t quite know what to do with myself. “I mean, if you want to say yours was a lie of omission, then that was true. And I liked kissing you,” I admit, teasing Peeta.

“Yeah?” he asks, scooting forward on the seat and turning to face me. He drops my hand to push those loose hairs that escaped from my braid out of the way, tucking them in behind my ear. His fingers linger under my chin, the flat of his thumb caresses my cheek. 

I shiver, my reaction giving me away. 

“Me too,” Peeta says, smiling widely, “does that mean you want to do it again, now?”

And then we’re kissing- and on the Mellark’s porch swing at least, all is right with the world.

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Chapter 2 -- Perfect Harmony | Charlie Gillespie

Summary: Emily Fox is a talented 17-year-old with a passion for all things music. Her dream is to become a successful singer-songwriter one day. But to achieve that dream, she needs to get into one of the most prestigious music schools in her district – it’s all been part of her plan since she was six. Sadly enough, those schools cost a ton of money that her parents don’t want to invest. They don’t even want her to pursue her dream. So, now Emily’s hustling, working at the music store to save up to get into college. That’s until she meets Charlie, an annoying seventeen-year-old boy with the same dream as her. The only difference is, he’s just doing it. He doesn’t need a fancy college to pursue his dream to become famous with his band. He just writes his songs and books small gigs here, there and everywhere. Will meeting Charlie defer her from her dream college, or will he actually help her achieve the dream?

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x OC (Emily Fox)

Warnings: mentions of death, sexual assault

Important note: the characters of Charlie, Owen, Jeremy and Madison are based on the characters they play on the show and i do not own their names, only OC are mine. The songs aren’t mine either, they’re all from the show except for one.

Chapter Two 

~|Emily Fox|~

Tuesday mornings are somehow the worst. I don’t know if it’s because I spent too long at the Music Store cleaning up and trying to forget about the cute guy with the pretty eyes, or if it’s because the weekend is so freaking far, although closer than it was yesterday. “Hey, Muffin, time to get up. You got to get to school,” Uncle Mitch’s voice wakes me up that morning a second before my alarm goes off. I hate him for always coming in to wake me when I’ve got my alarm set for 7. “Thanks, Uncle Mitch. I’ll be down in a couple minutes,” I tell him with one eye open. “Promise me?” I open my other eye too, only to find him looking at me with that worried look in his eyes. The one that he always has when he thinks I’m nearing rock bottom again. “Promise,” I reply and wink at him to reassure him I’m fine. “Can you go downstairs and make me some coffee, please?” He nods his head curtly and turns on his heel to leave my bedroom, so I can get ready and he can go make some coffee. Throwing my blankets off me, I turn on some music and start getting ready whilst jamming to all the tunes in my music library. It takes me about fifteen minutes until I’m dancing down to the kitchen where Uncle Mitch hands me a coffee and an already buttered toast. “I’m glad to see you dancing again,” he tells me with a smile before sipping from his own coffee. There’s a small smile tugging at his lips, showing his pride a little. “Have you been writing again too?” I shake my head in response. “I mean, I do have like a small verse and a chorus for a song, but I’m really stuck.” Mitch presses his lips together into a somewhat sympathetic smile. I shrug. “I’m sure it’ll come back at some point. Who knows where I’ll get some inspiration.” I finish my toast and coffee quickly, kiss Uncle Mitch on the cheek before grabbing my backpack and heading out the door to school where I meet up with Madison. “Hey Hot Mama!” her voice chimes through the hallway as I’m at my locker unpacking and packing books. “Hey, Chica!” I greet back. “How was work yesterday? Haven’t heard from you at all.” I close my locker, shoulder my backpack and follow her down the hall to our first class of today. “Locked up pretty late last night. Had some of the worst customers ever. First a Karen thinking she knew more about bass guitars than me. Then this dude that thought he was just so slick. It was disgusting. Such a douchebag.” “I sometimes wonder why you still work there,” she shakes her head disapprovingly. “Because I need to pay tuition for the college I want to go to, Mads. Not everyone can get a scholarship.” Madison has received a scholarship from her number one college she’d wanted to go to since she was ten. Mostly because her parents want her to go there, but it’s been planted in her brain ever since then and it hasn’t changed. Especially not when she’d received the message she was going to be able to go on a scholarship. “I know, Ems,” she rolls her eyes at me, knowing how lucky she is, “But I mean, you still could work somewhere else?” I halt in the middle of the hallway, causing another student who was walking behind me to bump into me. I mutter a sorry before turning back to Madison. “There’s nothing I’m better at or feel more at ease than between music instruments, Mads. You of all people should know that.” She tuts then nods her head in agreement. “I know, I know…” she links her arm with mine, “But still… You could have a different job if you wanted to.” She wiggles her eyebrows and I know exactly what she means. However, I don’t answer because as much as I know what she means, she knows my answer without me having to say anything. And that’s how we leave things before going to class. Madison is a sweetheart. We’ve known each other since Kindergarten and there’s no one else I’d rather spill all my secrets to or giggle uncontrollably with when Uncle Mitch says something weird or the Queen Bee, Brianna, says something incredibly dumb. She’s been my rock with Uncle Robert’s death, telling her mother to send me and Uncle Mitch food when we didn’t feel like cooking. She’s listened to my endless rants about Karens and douchebags at the shop, and my heart-wrecking cries when Jake broke up with me last year. Not only that, she believes I can do anything I set my mind to, especially become a successful singer-songwriter. Madison is the only person on this planet I truly need. Madison, Uncle Mitch and Uncle Robert, were he still alive. Nothing more, nothing less. With all of that running through my mind – along with the cute douchebag from the Music Store – I don’t even notice where I’m walking until I’m bumping right into someone. “Oof! Sorry! I—” When I look up, I realize I don’t even want to apologize. I’ve apologized to him more than once and for all the wrong reasons. “Jake.” My apologetic expression changes to a what I hope would be a scowl. Although, let’s be honest, when bumping into an ex-boyfriend you used to love with all your heart, your broken heart still does a little leap. “Emily, hey!” he greets and a smile shines through. I’m not going to lie, I kind of missed that smile. Who wouldn’t miss those perfect plump lips curling up into a perfect smile? Dammit, Emily Fox, focus. Remember this boy broke your heart into a thousand more pieces when it was already broken. “What do you want?” I ask bitterly. “Brianna and I are throwing a party at my place tonight, if you’d like to come…” he trails off at the end, scratching the back of his neck, knowing all-too-well I wouldn’t for any money of the world go to a party thrown by Brianna and Jake. I’d much rather die. “I have to work,” I tell him simply, which is not a lie. Ash asked to close tonight. “Oh, okay…” he trails off again. “Anything else?” I raise an eyebrow at him, hoping, praying, wishing, I can get out of this situation as soon as possible. He opens his mouth to say something, and I nearly want to punch it close, but I refrain from doing so, especially when he closes his mouth again. “No, I’m sorry for bothering you…” He looks more regretful than he did when he broke up with me. “Uhm… I’ll see you around, I guess.” “Yeah,” I simply say and watch him as he walks away from me. There’s nothing I hate more than seeing Jake in the hallway. It’s just another painful reminder of what we were and were not. Just another painful reminder of the worst year of my life thus far.

After school, Madison and I head to the Music Store together. She needs to pick up some groceries from the store on the other side of the street, so she figured she’d walk me to work. While she talks the entire walk there, I keep thinking about Jake, but mostly about the cute douchebag from yesterday, wondering if he’d come back today. He did seem persistent. “See you tomorrow, Ems,” Madison says, waving at me as I enter the store. “See ya, Mads!” I shout back before closing the door behind me, the bell ringing overhead. “Thanks so much for closing up today, Emily,” Ash says first thing when she sees me. “Oh, that’s no problem.” “Just finish up with the last couple of customers and then sweep and sort the cash register.” I nod my head, understanding every single one of my task at hand today. While customers roam around the store, I grab my textbook English and finish up the exercise we’d started making in class, but none of us finished. Someone’ll ask me if they need me or ring the bell obnoxiously if they want to pay. “Hey, could you help me out with something?” I look up from my book to find a tall blonde guy in front of me. His hair falls in swoops, framing his face nicely. The kindest eyes I ever did see. He looks a bit nervous too, which makes me wonder why. “Sure, what can I help you with?” I move from behind the counter as he leads me towards the drum section. “I’m looking for drumsticks, but I can’t seem to find them…” he tells me, fidgeting with his jacket. I stare at him for a moment and blink a couple of times. “Oh, you won’t find them here, sweetie. They’re over there!” I point to another side of the store. “I’ll show you,” I beckon him with my finger and, with him in tow, make my way over to where we keep our drumsticks and other accessories for the music instruments. “Here they are!” I point to the racks filled with different kind of drumsticks. The boy scans the area and then picks out a pair he likes best. “Thank you,” he says with the sweetest smile. “So, you’re a drummer,” I state more than ask as we both make our way back to the cash register. “Yep, I’m in a band with my two best friends. Sunset Curve, we’ve been playing bars in Los Angeles for a while now, but don’t seem to be too lucky to find some sort of manager that could help us out, you know?” I make a mental note to check out Sunset Curve, and simply nod my head while putting his purchase into the register. “19 bucks please,” I tell him with a smile. “I hope luck is on your side soon…” I trail off, realizing I don’t know his name. “Owen,” he says as if reading my mind. He hands me the nineteen bucks in cash. “Emily,” I introduce myself, “Hey, if you want, our Music Store holds open mic nights on Saturdays, once a  month or something, if you ever want to bring your band down here? Music execs scout out here sometimes too.” Owen’s smile widens, making my heart swell with happiness. “Thanks, I’ll remember that.” He taps the counter once, then says, “And thanks for helping me find these.” He holds the drumsticks up so I can see. “You’re very welcome. I’ll see you around, Owen.” “Yeah, see you around, Emily.” He’s definitely gay. But the sweetest guy that’s ever walked into the Music Store in forever. He was so nervous and fidgety; it was kind of endearing. What a kind soul. I hope he gets what he’s wishing for.

It finally starts to slow down in The Music store around half past six, just before closing time. So, I begin to sort out the sheet music that’s been scattered around by musicians. I’d almost even forgotten about Cute Douchebag until the bell over the door rings and he’s walked in. I look up with a smile at first, thinking it’ll be the last paying customer of the day, wanting to greet them. But when I see him with his cute-ass beanie and his adorable brown eyes and his sweet smile, the smile falters.

“Make it quick, I’m about to close up.” I turn around to head to where the sheets are supposed to go. It’s silent for a moment until I hear him cough behind me.

“Can you ring these up for me, please?” he asks, handing me a pack of guitar picks. A little confused about his sudden change of behavior, I nod my head slowly and put them into the cash register.

“11 dollars 96, please.” Our eyes meet for a second when he gives me the money, and a jolt rushes through my entire body. I’ve never seen eyes so vivid and full of color. Everyone always says brown eyes are boring. But his. His aren’t. His are near gold.

Focus, Emily.

“Hey, would you mind if I played here for a while? My parents are kind of being jerks and I kind of have to escape, if you know what I mean…” he trails off near the end, our eye contact breaking as he casts his gaze to the floor.

“Uhm, yeah, sure. Just stay out of my way as I clean up.” He shoots me a thankful smile before scooting over to the guitars and picking out his favorite to play on. I need a moment to regain my composure before I can actually begin cleaning up.

And that’s how the Cute Douchebag and I spent our evening together. With his sweet melody flowing throughout the store as I clean up and count the money in the register.

“You done yet?” I ask him once I’ve grabbed my backpack and the keys to lock up. The boy looks up at me again with those golden eyes of his, making my knees feel weak. Why does he have this effect on me? This doesn’t make any sense. He should repulse me by the way he acted the other day, not make me feel weak in the knees. Nothing makes sense anymore.

“Uhm, sure yeah.” He gets up and puts the guitar back in its place before walking over to the door with me. “My name’s Charlie, by the way,” he tells me when he turns once he’s outside on the street.

“I don’t care,” I lie.

“I’m pretty sure you do, Emily.” Him knowing my name catches me off guard for a moment and not even just because it’s creepy that he knows it, but because it weirdly sounds good rolling off his lips.

“What makes you so sure of that, Charles?” I notice his full name – if that’s his full name – catches him off guard too. “That’s what I thought. Now, please, leave, so I can have a pleasant rest of the night.” He raises his eyebrow, seeing right through me. I know it. He knows it. But he still turns and leaves with that obnoxious beautiful smirk of his.

I hate that he makes me feel this way.

Taglist: @parkeret​

Lemme know if you want to be on my taglist for this story/any of my other works!

[rainy-day-gracie]

Old Friends 4

Spencer Reid x reader

This chapter includes more of Reader’s backstory, I included a brother, but if you don’t have a brother... just do whatever you want. More fluff!!

Enjoy :)

Chapter 5 has been posted!!

Chapter 4:

“C’mon, smarty pants! We can do it!” I was practically yelling in between pants and heaves. “So close!”

“I hate you so much,” I heard him wheeze. 

I was the only one in the world that could convince Spencer to go on a jog through the city, and I think he was regretting that decision severely. “Do it for donuts!” 

When we finally reached our end destination, he practically collapsed onto a nearby bench, his chest heaving up and down. 

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” I asked with a smile. “We’re close to the cafe and the subway, so we won’t even have to walk that far.”

“For the record, it definitely was that bad, YFN. Don’t try and sugar coat it.” 

I grabbed his wrist and pulled him off the bench. “We need carbs, right now. Carbs covered in chocolate and sprinkles, let’s go.” 

He groaned and followed me into the cafe. “Where will we get changed into work clothes?” 

“They have bathrooms at the BAU. Stop whining-“ I stopped talking as soon as I saw who was in front of me. 

Morgan looked just as surprised to see us, sweaty, tired, and together, at 7:30 in the morning. His surprised look quickly changed into an amused one, and Morgan started chuckling. “Well, hello, lovebirds.” 

“Hello, Morgan,” I said, feeling like I was caught. But we weren’t, right? We’re not dating, and all we did was go for a jog together. “Um, good morning.” 

I could feel Spencer’s nervous energy rolling off of him. “Hey, Morgan.” 

Morgan gave one last chuckle, and left the cafe without another word. Through the window I could see him pulling out his phone. There was nothing we could do about it now. 

It was only our luck. I chuckled slightly at the thought, and turned to the cashier. “Four chocolate covered donuts with sprinkles, an unsweetened iced tea, and a large coffee with lots of milk and sugar please.”

---

I sat at my desk, trying not to laugh at how Spencer winced every time he had to move his legs. Morgan kept looking over at us and chuckling. 

I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t a big deal. No matter what happens, we’re still old friends. We aren’t dating, and a jog in the early morning together isn’t exactly romantic. 

During our lunch break, JJ came up to me. “Why is Morgan giggling like a four year old?” 

“Well, Spencer and I went on a jog together this morning. We went to a cafe after and Morgan was there also.” I explained in a low voice. “He’s now convinced we were on some kind of date, which we weren’t.” 

JJ looked dumbfounded. “Spence must care about you more than we thought. No one’s ever been able to get him to go on a jog before.” 

I laughed. “Well, I think he now hates me for it so-“ 

“Hello, wonderful people!” Garcia called from the railing. “We have a case!”

---

“First victim, Bethany Conlin, was found beaten to death just outside of a small town, Pagosa Springs, Colorado.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Pagosa Springs?”

Garcia looked confused. “Yeah, What is it?”

“Oh um, nothing, it’s just my hometown.” Not much of a home anymore. 

“Oh cool! Anyways, a second victim, Cassie Holloway, was found by some hikers by a commonly traveled trail in the woods. Also beaten to death.”

I tried to keep tears out of my eyes. Cassie? 

The team quickly talked over theories for a profile. The only thing I heard was, “Wheels up in 30.”

Before we left, Spencer and Morgan both pulled me aside. 

“What’s wrong?” Spencer asked quietly. 

“You could barely keep it together in there.” Morgan added. 

I took a deep breath. “Cassie... She was my best friend until I moved away. She was the sweetest...” I squeezed my eyes shut to keep the tears from falling. “And she was murdered.”

They were both silent. 

I opened my eyes, anger replacing my sadness. “Let’s catch this son of a bitch.”

---

Hotch gave assignments on the jet. “Rossi, Reid, YLN, go to the ME to find out what you can about the bodies. Morgan, JJ, you guys go to the dump sites. Prentiss and I will interview the families.”

“Actually, Hotch,” I interjected. “Could I possibly interview the families? Um... Cassie Holloway was my good friend, and I’m from Pagosa Springs.” I looked down at the file in my lap. Cassie’s file.

Hotch considered it. “That would be alright. They might share more with you if they already know you. And YLN?”

“Yes?” 

“I’m sorry for your friend.”

---

Cassie’s parents looked exactly the same as they did when we were 10. Her mom had dark red hair, and her dad was bald. I used to think they looked scary, but now they just looked sad. 

I cleared my throat when I walked into the room. “Um, Mr. and Mrs. Holloway? I don’t know if you remember me but-“

Her mother gasped. “YFN? Is that you?”

I gave a small smile. “Yes, I’m here to catch Cassie’s killer. Um, have you seen her recently?”

Her father sniffled. “We saw her two days ago. We had dinner together, and... she was fine.” He erupted into a fit of tears. 

It hurt me in my chest to see this kind man that had practically raised me until I was twelve so broken up like this. “Did she mention anyone that had bothered her? Or someone she might’ve rejected? I know she’s a local bartender, maybe someone there?”

Her mother shook her head, rubbing her husband’s back. “You know Cassie... everyone loved her.” 

It was true. Cassie was one of the kindest souls I’ve ever come across. “One last question... does she know Bethany Conlin?”

Both of her parents looked at each other, then back at me. “Yes,” her mother breathed. “They were sorority sisters together in college.”

---

“Hotch!” I called across the station. “Bethany and Cassie were sorority sisters in college. They both went to Colorado State, they hadn’t spoken in a couple years, but it couldn’t be a coincidence that they both ended up dead in a week's period.” 

“This makes it highly likely that whoever is doing this went to college with them.” Hotch pulled out his phone. 

“What do you need, bossman?” Garcia called over speakerphone. 

“Garcia, Bethany and Cassie were sorority sisters in college. Can you find any incidents with the two of them that stand out or could be a motive?” I didn’t realize how fast my heart was beating until I stopped talking. 

“Hmmm... nothing jumps out, but I’m going to investigate further! Goodbye, my lovelies!” 

As soon as we hung up, the local sheriff approached us. “We just got an anonymous tip saying a third body would be found in an old abandoned bar on the edge of town,” the sheriff paused, and looked at me. “The caller said you had to be the one to find it first. Otherwise, and I quote, ‘there will be more than beaten bones next time’.”

I took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

---

The abandoned bar smelled like stale beer and mildew. I felt an odd chill when I entered the door, Hotch and Emily waiting outside. 

Pulling out a flashlight, the eerie bar creaked with every step I took. It wasn’t until I saw the pair of feet lying on the ground that made me stop, the bar falling silent. 

Slowly rounding the corner, I saw the torn clothing and broken body of a young man, probably the same age as me. I looked at his pale hands, and then I saw the ring. A plain gold ring that read ‘be strong for me’. 

“Oh my god,” I whispered. 

My feet couldn’t carry me fast enough out of that bar. I ran outside, desperate for fresh air, and I heard shouts calling after me. 

“YLN!” Prentiss chased me until I stopped to lean against the car, my head in my hands. “Hey, you’re hyperventilating!”

I slowed down my breathing enough to gasp a few words. “The body... a ring... my fault... oh my god, this is my fault!”

Prentiss pried my hands away from my face. “What is happening?” 

“The body,” I gasped. “He was my brother... and I know who did this.”

--- 

The team all gathered at the station. I hadn’t spoken to anyone yet except for Hotch and Prentiss, and after hearing my story, they didn’t have any doubts about who it was either.

Spencer walked into the quiet room the police had given us, looking at me with a worried face. I nodded at him, just to say it was going to be okay. 

“Growing up, my father owned a large share of an oil company. When he died when I was very young, he left my mom everything he owned, which was a lot.” I thought back to when Mom first got the call about the car accident. My dad and his mistress were killed on impact. “We moved here to Pagosa Springs, a fresh start. But my mom was so upset about my dad’s death that she started drinking. Excessively.” 

I took a deep breath. “She would scream and shout and disappear for days at a time. We’re twins, my brother and I. We were eleven. I was about to graduate high school at a very young age and I didn’t know what to do. When I went off to college for the first few years and stayed with my aunt, my brother would call me every time Mom was off drinking. When he was a teen, he got into drugs and pills and anything he could get his hands on. And I wasn’t there to help him.”

“But Cassie was.” Hotch guessed. 

“Yeah, she's the reason my brother got clean. They fell in love and both went to Colorado State together. She gave him a ring to wear whenever he started to have cravings again. One time, Cassie called me when I was at MIT, saying her friend, Bethany, was raped and couldn’t go to the police because her parents would stop paying her tuition for ‘causing a scene’... she said my brother, YBN...” my voice broke for the first time. “She said YBN beat the crap out of Bethany’s rapist. His name is Kenny Rogers, and from what I’ve heard, he was a sketchy dude with a massive temper even back then.” I closed my eyes. “Anyway, that’s most likely who our unsub is.” 

“You’re YBN’s sister,” Spencer said. “After having his ego blown massively, Kenny probably carried that hatred for anyone that was related to YBN. And YFN has been in newspapers, articles, even on TV. Something probably caused Kenny to snap recently, his trigger, and he felt the need to hurt YFN somehow to really get back at YBN.”

Hotch called Garcia. “Garcia, we need all addresses on a Kenny Rogers.” 

---

Kenny Rogers was guilty. No doubt. When the team went to his place, they found pictures of all the victims and Kenny tried to run whenever they broke down the door. 

I stayed behind at the station. I couldn’t trust myself to not shoot Kenny on sight for what he had done. 

“Hey, Hotch?” I asked when they got back. “Could I take a few days off? To take care of things...with my brother?” 

Hotch gave me a pat on my shoulder. “Take as much time as you need, just let me know when you’re coming back.” 

“Of course sir, and thank you.”

I made sure to pull Spencer aside before he left. “Thanks for... um, helping me explain... earlier. I was worried they wouldn’t think it was connected, and you already knew all that stuff about my childhood.”

“Of course, you know I would do anything for you.” Spencer stood there for a minute, then suddenly embraced me tightly in a hug. That wasn’t something he did very often, or at all. “I just...” 

I chuckled slightly, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I know, Spencer.” 

---

After the team took off on the jet, I checked into the local hotel. It was nice and rustic, homey. 

I called Spencer when I had settled in. 

“Hey, how are you doing?” He asked. “The team seems to be getting more and more impressed by you with each case.” 

I gave a snort. “Well, that’s a relief. I was scared after my life story they would see me as some kind of kicked puppy. And, I’m okay Spencer. At least, I’m going to be.”

“What will you do about your brother?”

I felt a melancholy smile on my lips, playing with the loose threads on the blanket. “He’s been cremated, and tomorrow I’m scattering his ashes in the mountains. It’s what he always wanted. I hadn’t spoken to him in years, but he always wanted to come back home, and I couldn’t wait to get away.” 

Spencer was quiet for a while. “Hey, YFN, I just wanna tell you... you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. You went off to college and still took care of your brother at age twelve, you took a gap year to take care of your sick mom, and in your first few months at the BAU you’ve been able to impress every single team member... and they aren’t easily impressed.”

Happy tears pricked my eyes. “Well, um... that was one of the sweetest things anyone’s ever said to me. And Spencer?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you... so much.”

Spencer cleared his throat, like he was debating about saying something. “Um, YFN?”

“What is it?”

His voice lowered, like he didn’t want the team to hear. “In college, I... I was wanting to propose to you.”

My heart seemed to flutter and butterflies pounded in my chest. “Um... you’ve never told me that before. Why didn’t you... do it?”

He thought for a few moments. “Well, you were going to take care of your mom, and I was going to the FBI academy... also, I didn’t think you would say yes.”

“Wow... um, I don’t really know what to say.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

I gave a slight giggle. “You, speechless? I never would’ve guessed.”

Spencer laughed. “Well, goodnight, YFN. I’ll see you soon.”

“Goodnight, Spencer.”

[wolf08]

Igniting the Fuse

A fic for @zutaraweek

Summary: Zuko can’t stand Katara’s obvious contempt towards him. Determined to fix their relationship, he asks Aang and Sokka for help, who, in turn, devise a series of team building exercises with the intention of sparking friendship between the water bender and the banished Prince. They hadn’t anticipated sparking something more. Pre- (and post-) Southern Raiders. Zutara.  

Available on A03 and FanFiction.net. 

Prompt: Loosely inspired by the prompt “Fuse” (Zutara Week 2020) Genre: Romance/Humour Words: 4293 Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.

A/N: Hi! Please accept my humble offering to the ATLA fandom for Zutara week. :) I’ve only ever written fics for the Naruto verse, but I just finished ATLA last month and have been fangirling about Zutara and the Gaang dynamics ever since. When I learned that Zutara week was just around the corner, I just knew I had to write something. Enjoy. :)  

***

Igniting the Fuse

Now that he was part of the group of vagabond do-gooders (who he used to think were his sworn enemies), Zuko felt a sense of contentment and purpose like he’d never felt before.

It had been an excruciating uphill battle filled with awkward encounters and blows exchanged to finally convince them that he was on their side. But he’d persevered because Zuko just knew he was destined to be here, with them, to support their quest of defeating his father.

Thankfully, in the end, they accepted him.

Well, all except for the water bender, that is.

Katara, the last water bender from the Southern Water Tribe, who had the biggest heart and kindest smile that Zuko had ever seen, utterly despised him.

She made no effort to hide this fact, with how she always sat as far away from him as possible, sneered at his (attempted) jokes, and ignored him point-blank whenever he spoke.

As the Fire Nation’s banished Prince with a prominent scar on his face marking him as such, Zuko wasn’t unfamiliar with this type of treatment. But what made it different with Katara was that (a) she was avoiding him out of pure dislike – not fear (hell, he’d faced her in combat before and knew she could hold her own against him), and (b) it was Katara.

Why did it have to be her who hated him, of all people? She was level-headed, compassionate, and strong, in other words, she was an embodiment of everything that Zuko wished he himself could be.

And, not to mention, she was rather easy on the eyes and nice to be in the presence of (though, of course, Zuko would never dare admit this out loud).

Perhaps the worst part of all of this was that Zuko knew her hatred was justified. After she’d let her guard down in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se by confiding in him and offering to use her few drops of sacred water to heal Zuko’s scar (a gesture that Zuko would never ever forget), Zuko had responded by siding with her enemy and trying to kill her.

So, yeah, Katara had every right not to trust him ever again.

But that didn’t mean Zuko wasn’t going to give it his best shot anyways. After all, he was a changed man now. He was determined to reconcile for his sins. Earning Katara’s trust wasn’t just something he wanted – it was something he needed to fulfill his personal quest for redemption.

Not that Zuko had a clue where to begin.

After numerous fruitless attempts to force an interaction with her around camp like some school boy trying to get a girl’s attention, Zuko realized he needed help fixing his relationship with Katara.

He cast a wistful glance at Katara’s tent before turning towards the sea, where Aang and Sokka were currently fishing.

Zuko sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy, black hair. Despite being a little weird, Aang and Sokka were the most helpful sources of information around, with one of them being Katara’s brother and the other being, well, the Avatar. So he slipped off his shoes, hiked up his pants, and waded out to meet them.

Their fishing tactics were a rather theatrical sight, with Anng literally blowing fish out of the water with some air bending technique and Sokka spearing them as they flung into the air.

Zuko cleared his throat.

Aang, who was wearing nothing but his orange underpants, beamed at the sight of him. “Zuko! Have you come to help us fish?” he asked. “It’s not really my thing, but Sokka needed a hand.”

Zuko shook his head, folded his arms, and proceeded to explain his dilemma. The other boys listened attentively.

“Have you tried being, well, nice to her?” Sokka asked with raised eyebrows. “Katara likes everyone. It shouldn’t be that hard to get on her good side.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Of course I’ve tried being nice! But I guess I just suck at it.”

After a moment of deep thought, Aang’s eyes lit up. “I’ve got it!” he said, clapping his hands together. “We’ll do team building exercises to foster trust. When Katara sees that you can trust each other, I’m sure she’ll like you more.”

But Zuko wasn’t entirely convinced. “This isn’t Air Temple preschool, you know,” he grumbled.

“No, no, I think Aang’s onto something here,” Sokka said with a smirk. “No offense dude, but your social skills suck. Structured ice-breakers are exactly what you need.”

“What? My social skills don’t suck!” Zuko shot back, but Sokka just shook his head, still smirking.

Then, in a deep, mocking tone, Sokka said, “Hello! Zuko here. I sent an assassin after you. Can we be friends?”

Aang covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.

Zuko’s eyebrow twitched, his face burning. “Okay, fine. Let’s try your stupid team building then.”

“Great!” said Aang. “Let’s start after lunch. We’ll handle everything Zuko, so don’t you worry about a thing.”

***

In an effort to gain Katara’s support for their day of team building, Aang and Sokka selected an activity that she was sure to enjoy for the first exercise: surfing lessons – an activity that was, quite literally, right in Katara’s element.

It wasn’t a bad idea, Zuko admitted and side-eyeing Katara’s enthusiastic response to Aang’s proposal of the activity. Her blue eyes were brighter than he’d ever seen them.

Shortly after, the four of them, with the additions of Toph and Suki, were gathered around the shore, with the girls in their swimming attire (cropped shirts and shorts for all but Katara, who wore a white skirt overtop) and the boys in their shorts. Then, Sokka explained that there would be no surf boards.

“No surf boards? How’s that supposed to work for surfing?” Toph asked, voicing Zuko’s concerns.

Katara stood, a smile on her face. “I’ll bend the water to make you float – you’ve just got to balance,” she said. Toph raised her eyebrows and crinkled her nose and Zuko made every effort to refrain from making the same face.

The water bender proceeded to demonstrate. With her feet pressed to the rolling waves as if she were on a solid surface, she jumped and glided in a shower of water droplets, her arms outstretched, like she was sliding through snow or sand. In a way, it looked like she was dancing, Zuko observed, and he wondered if he could really do that too, so effortlessly.

The demonstration came to the end and Katara approached the group. “All right – who’s first?” she asked cheerily, while wringing water from her thick, brown hair.

Zuko avoided eye contact.

“I’ll go!” Suki beamed and hopping to her feet.

And said Kyoshi warrior, despite not being a water bender, made it look rather easy too, in Zuko’s opinion, his confidence boosting ever so slightly. Suki jumped and twirled on the water, laughing the entire time, clearly having a blast. Sokka wolf whistled as Suki neared the shore at the end of her turn. She met his eyes and blushed before leaping into his arms with a big smile.

Zuko watched the interaction from the corner of his eye and wondered if he could ever get Katara to feel that comfortable around him.

Yeah right.

Aang went next and he glided over the water with ease (though it was hard to tell if he was truly surfing or floating over the waves with air bending). Even Toph took a short turn, despite her obvious discomfort over being parted with solid ground.

“Zuko’s turn!” Aang exclaimed after everyone had gone, like he was afraid Katara would forget about him.

Zuko caught her gaze and was met with an icy stare. More like she doesn’t want me to have a turn.

He got to his feet and sloshed through the shallow water before turning to the group in anticipation.

With mixed emotions, he noticed that Katara was smiling at him now, her eyes bright once more. What’s with the sudden mood change? he wondered while returning the smile with much hesitation.

Then Katara raised her arms and he was off.

“Whoa!” he gasped, arms outstretched for balance, while the water carried him upwards and backwards, towards the sea. He pivoted and widened his stance for stability, while he adjusted to the strange sensation of a rapidly rolling current against his bare feet, and his total loss of control over where he was going.

Despite this, before long, Zuko began to relax, leaning into the waves’ winding motions, feeling a thrill with each dip and jump, as he climbed higher and higher and farther out to sea.

And then – SPLOOSH!

Like a rug being tugged from beneath his feet, the water supporting Zuko vanished, falling back to the sea – along with said fire bender.

He fell into the water in a rather undignified manner, limbs flailing. When he came up for air, spluttering, to his displeasure, just about everyone was doubled-over laughing.

Zuko gritted his teeth as he swam towards shore, glaring at the mischievous water bender.

“Oops,” she said with a shrug, though she didn’t look the least bit sorry.

Well that was a flop… literally, Zuko thought with a grimace as he trudged along the beach and shook water from his soaked hair.

Aang had the decency to try to look apologetic though tears were streaming down his face.

***

“The next activity better not end like that,” Zuko hissed when the boys regrouped. “How about we try something where she has to trust me this time? Because clearly the other way around doesn’t work.”

“Hm. Maybe you can teach everyone something. What are you good at Zuko?” Sokka asked.

“Fire bending.”

“Well, you can’t exactly teach everyone fire bending.”

“Oh, I know!” Aang piped up. “Zuko isn’t a bad dancer. He nailed the Dancing Dragon formation.”

Zuko dismissed the suggestion immediately. “That wasn’t a dance! And you’re out of your mind if you think I’d ever teach dancing lessons.”

A moment of silence passed while all three boys contemplated their next move.

“It’s probably best if I don’t hire another assassin and like… save her from it. Right?”

“Yes, Zuko. Best we table that idea.”

***

Zuko felt a little more confident about the second activity that Aang and Sokka planned for the group.

“We’re going rock climbing!” Aang exclaimed and gesturing to the ropes and makeshift pulleys he and Sokka had fastened to the cliff side earlier. For the most part, in Zuko’s opinion, this activity far exceeded the last because he and Katara would be on relatively even footing as far as their bending was concerned.

“Everybody partner up!” Sokka instructed. “I call working with Suki!”

“And I call Toph!” Aang shouted, which garnered suspicious looks from both Toph and Katara. “I thought we could work on our teamwork?” he added to the earth bender sheepishly.

Toph smirked. “Whatever you say, Twinkletoes. Gosh, I’m popular, huh?”

Through narrowed eyes, Katara directed her attention to the person she was evidently stuck with.  

Zuko tried his hardest to seem friendly, though he was suddenly uncharacteristically nervous. “You can go first, if you want,” he offered.

Katara lifted an eyebrow. After a moment, she said, “All right then,” and turned towards the cliff, her braided hair flipping over her shoulder as she did.

The rock climbing ensued, with Toph practically flying up the wall while she bended parts of the cliff side to jut out like stairs. Momo was doing quite well himself from a little further down, not even holding onto the rope, though Appa dutifully spotted him anyways.

Despite not having any distinct advantages, Suki flourished in this activity too, scaling the wall like a ninja. “Atta girl, Suki!” Sokka cheered on from below. She responded with a glowing smile at her rock climbing partner.

Zuko turned his attention to his own rock climbing partner, who was faring well, though not quite as well as the other climbers. Her movements were a little clumsy and she clung to the rope and handholds like her life depended on it. After all, with each step she climbed, the water bender ventured farther away from the comfort of the sea behind them.

There was no way Zuko would let her fall though, considering the death grip he had on her rope. He needed to prove he was the most trustworthy rock climbing partner she could ever have.  

Taking a page out of Sokka’s book, Zuko decided to egg his partner on. “You’re doing great!” he called.

Unfortunately, his comment prompted an icy glare. “Are you mocking me?” Katara snapped, as she freed her blue sleeve from a protruding twig that had snagged it.

“No...,” Zuko snarled through gritted teeth.

This is impossible! I can’t even compliment Katara without her getting mad!

She proceeded to climb in silence without sparing him a glance, and Zuko couldn’t think of what to say, so he just sighed and frowned in her general direction.

How on earth was this activity supposed to bring them closer together now?

She’s probably clinging to the rope for dear life because she doesn’t trust me to stop her from falling, Zuko thought with a scowl.

But then he was struck with a brilliant (and morally questionable) idea.

What if Katara’s rope were severed… for some reason… and Zuko caught her?

Now, Zuko was no expert, but saving someone from falling seemed like the ultimate gesture of trust if you asked him.

Surely Aang and Sokka would disprove if Zuko deliberately severed Katara’s rope, but she was maybe only twenty feet up – so surely, even if she did fall, she’d survive.

Before Zuko had properly thought through his plan, he’d sent a barely discernible fireball – no more than a small collection of sparks – up the cliff side. It went undetected by the others, who were focused on their rock climbing tasks.

With the softest of hisses, the fire made contact with the rope about ten feet above Katara’s head. The rope began to fray immediately but no one seemed to notice. Until –

“Whoa!” Katara exclaimed as the rope started to give. She clawed for the nearest handhold and gripped it firmly while looking around with wide eyes.

Now, Zuko thought, dropping the rope and racing towards the cliff.

By now the others were catching on to Katara’s predicament.

“Oh no, careful Katara!” called Aang.

“Hold on!” cried Suki.

“Just drop!” Zuko shouted from below, his arms outstretched. “Don’t worry – I’ll catch you!”

Katara peered down at him, like she was mentally calculating the risk of doing what he asked. When she met his eye, Zuko felt a swell of anticipation for a reason he couldn’t quite place.

Then, something determined entered Katara’s eyes and she directed her gaze beyond him, towards the sea.

The rope snapped and Katara began to fall.

Zuko braced himself for the impact, his arms at the ready.

I won’t let you down!

And then – WHOOSH!

Zuko faced an impact but it wasn’t the one he was expecting.

An aggressive current of water slammed straight into Zuko’s legs, knocking him off his feet.

“What?” he gasped as he lost his footing, toppled sideways, and fell to his back. Spluttering, he watched in disbelief as Katara bended a neat stream of water through the air, stepped into it, and directed it towards the ground to safety. She landed beside Zuko with a splash – soaking him from head to toe.

Katara straightened up and regained her composure, brushing off the front of her blue dress, as the water drifted back out to sea.

She turned to Zuko like she was just noticing him for the first time. “Oh!” she said while extending her hand. “You okay down there?” she asked, eyebrows raised and the slightest mischievous glint in her eye.

Zuko accepted her offer to help him up, but didn’t have it in him to celebrate the kind gesture – he was far too embarrassed and couldn’t meet her eye.

As soon as he was on his feet, he retreated and stomped away. “I’m fine,” he growled while shaking water out of his hair for the second time that day.

***

“The next team building exercise will be different. We’ll use our words this time,” Aang decided during a brief rendezvous with Sokka and Zuko.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Zuko asked, eyebrow raised.

“You’ll see – I’ve got a plan. Just make sure you’re sitting beside Katara when we gather round the campfire after dinner. Trust me.” He patted Zuko’s shoulder and flashed him what he probably thought was a reassuring smile, but given their track record with team building exercises thus far, Zuko didn’t feel so confident.

“Fine,” he said anyways because he didn’t have anything to lose.

***

True to his word, after the sun had set, bellies were full, and Aang had summoned everyone to the campfire, Zuko claimed the spot beside Katara, even though he had to wrestle Toph in the process of squeezing in between them.

Katara gave Zuko a weird look and motioned to get up.

He grabbed her sleeve. “Wait – stay here,” he said before he could think better of it (and immediately regretting the motion).

She startled and opened her mouth to respond, but thankfully, Aang chose that moment to command everyone’s attention and start the activity. Zuko released a breath.

It turned out the activity was rather simple. Each person was required to share a compliment about the person on their right – and once everyone had a turn, they were to repeat the exercise in the other direction.

Zuko was skeptical about the cheesy activity having any effect on his relationship with Katara but he figured he might as well try.

He frowned and glanced at Katara, who was on his right, noticing the firelight dancing in her blue eyes. He would have to share a compliment with her first.

I’ve got one shot so I need to think of something good, Zuko mused while absently bending the flames from the campfire into little loops.

His first thought was to comment on her water bending, which was quite good as far as he’d seen. But would that just remind her of the times she’d used her water bending against him?

Then what could he say about her to get her to like him?

It was Sokka’s turn to pay a compliment to Suki.

He turned to the brunette Kyoshi warrior with a wide smile and an arched eyebrow, and said, smoothly, “Suki, you are as radiant as the sunset.”

Suki’s face lit up and her lips curved into a shy smile. “Oh, Sokka,” she sighed and shoving his arm lightly, in a friendly, teasing manner.

That’s it! That’s the reaction I want from Katara, Zuko thought, his chest tightening at the very prospect of it, but would complimenting her physical appearance have that effect on her? He wasn’t sure.

By the time Zuko tuned back in to the activity, Aang was telling Toph that she was the most terrifying girl he’d ever met.

Zuko watched the exchange in anticipation for surely the earth bender would take offense to the remark. But instead, she punched Aang’s arm and beamed. “Thanks, Twinkletoes!”

Would Katara want to be called terrifying? Honestly, Zuko thought she was the farthest thing from terrifying (unless she was really angry). No, Azula was terrifying. And Katara was… well, not like Azula.  

Toph turned to Zuko next, gazing up at him with a cheeky smile. “Oh, this is easy. Thanks for the entertainment in the water today. I haven’t laughed that hard in weeks!”

Zuko bristled with anger for a moment, but when he realized everyone was chuckling, and he remembered that he would much rather them find him funny than evil, he swallowed his pride and smiled. “You’re welcome,” he mumbled.

“Okay, Zuko’s turn!” Aang prompted, and then, suddenly, everyone was starting at him expectantly.

Zuko swallowed. “Okay,” he said before turning towards Katara, whose arms were folded and was watching him from the corner of her eye.

Here goes, Zuko thought. He said the first thing that popped into his head, inspired by Sokka’s earlier success.

“You’re… as beautiful as the… ocean?”

Now, Zuko wasn’t sure what reaction he was expecting, but, strangely, no one seemed to react at all. In fact, the entire group was eerily silent, their eyes trained on him, including Katara’s.

Suddenly, Zuko felt nervous. I did something wrong, didn’t I?

He turned towards Sokka for support, but only then, to Zuko’s horror, did he notice that Sokka and Suki’s hands were clasped together.

Is Suki his… girlfriend?

That hadn’t occurred to Zuko, honestly. He’d dismissed the idea because surely Suki was too good for the guy.

But maybe he was wrong. Maybe they were so close because they were dating. And maybe, by mimicking Sokka’s behaviour, Zuko had inadvertently suggested that he wanted to date Katara.  

He felt his face heat up.

I could use some of Uncle’s calming tea right about now.

Then, Katara was on her feet. She avoided eye-contact when she growled, “Really? Don’t have anything to say about my abilities, do you? I’m just some damsel in distress to you, huh?”

And then she stormed off, effectively ending the team building exercise. Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

I should have just called her terrifying.

He followed her.

***

Katara was perched on a rock near the ledge of the cliff, overlooking the sea and star-sprinkled night sky. She was hugging her knees and her shoulders were slumped.

Zuko approached with caution. “Hi,” he said when he was within earshot.

Katara glanced at him and turned away quickly.

He sighed.

Why do I suck at everything?

“Um, let me try the compliment thing again,” Zuko mumbled, not sure how much Katara was paying attention to him but going for it anyways. “My uncle taught me how to control lightning using the principles of water bending. I never really thought about water bending much, but since then, and since I saw what you can do, now I appreciate it more. It’s a… beautiful ability. And it’s strong. Like you.

“And that’s… what I’m trying to say.”

Katara glanced at him again, and to his relief, there was something kinder in her eyes.

This encouraged him to continue. “And I’m sorry for everything I did before. Please tell me how to make it up to you because I’m trying but I don’t know what I’m doing.”

After a moment, Katara’s lips curled into the smallest of smiles. She turned towards the sea. “You could reconquer Ba Sing Se in the name of the Earth King. Or bring my mother back,” she said sadly with a humourless chuckle, like what she was proposing was ridiculous. She buried her face into her knees.

Later that evening, after a brief consultation with Sokka about the story of his mother’s death, Zuko made plans for what would end up being the most effective team building exercise yet.

***

Many days later, Zuko found himself standing on a dock overlooking the ocean and a sunset painting the sky a glowing medley of pinks and oranges.

He had just returned to camp after a long trek with Katara to track down her mother’s killer, with the intention of executing revenge, but Katara ended up sparing him in the end – while still finding the closure she needed.

Zuko had learned more about Katara’s motivations and abilities on the trip, including her impressive repertoire of water bending feats.

To put it frankly, Zuko had no shortage of compliments to give her if they ever played that campfire circle game again.

And now that he understood Katara better he was filled with hope that maybe, just maybe, she didn’t hate him anymore. Though he wasn’t completely sure.

Katara was sitting at the end of the dock with her toes dipped in the water. Aang was beside her and speaking about the importance of forgiveness.

She got to her feet and faced the two of them. “Thanks Aang, but I didn’t forgive him. I’ll never forgive him.”

And then she turned towards Zuko, a smile blossoming on her face. Zuko’s breath caught in his throat.

“But you,” she said and drawing closer, “I am willing to forgive.”

Before he knew quite what was happening, Katara pulled him into a tight hug. Zuko was startled at first – hardly able to believe what was happening.

I did it! he thought in awe, thinking back to how envious he had been of Suki jumping into Sokka’s arms on the beach.

He smiled in spite of himself and returned the hug with equal enthusiasm, his heart racing.

But then, abruptly, Katara retreated. She stared at Zuko from a short distance away, looking positively radiant in the light of the sunset. A strange expression crossed her features. Embarrassment? Anxiousness? Zuko wasn’t sure. But then –

“I’m not flirting or anything, you know,” she said.

Not… what?

Katara seemed to remember that her hands were still on Zuko’s shoulders and pulled them back quickly. “I forgive you and that’s – that’s it!”

Zuko was still processing her words when she scurried past him, down the dock.

He gaped at her retreating form. “What was that about?” he asked.

Aang, who had been hanging back from the exchange, approached. One of his eyebrows was distinctly twitching. “Well, after the team building exercise around the campfire, everyone thinks that you… well, you know.”

Oh.

Zuko put his head in his hands, face burning. Something told him he was going to need a lot of help, and maybe even a new round of team building exercises, to figure out this new development in his and Katara’s relationship.

[slightlymore]

rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want so we can spread the love and link each other awesome works.

tagged by: @hyucksie one of my fave authors on this platform pls read their work 🤧 thank you for the tag!

pride universe: I actually can't believe I wrote the "pride" series this year in spring/summer, like it feels years ago,,,,, I put the whole universe (with haechan's "cute" and jaemin's "no thank you" as well) because this universe as a whole has been the most emotionally vulnerable collection I've ever written and all three have a very special place in my heart ❤️ (johnny's "rumours" is the only one basically just pwp in this universe but it was necessary for the good times 👁️👅👁️)

oh no mr suh please don't spank me: what a fic bahahah the first that reached 2k notes 🥺 and the most well received ever. I wrote it so easily too, it was done like in two days. a delight for me too 🥴

soulmates collection: here too, I want to put all three fics I've written so far in the collection ("my soulmate loves wine", "red" and "lean on me"). I personally really love how the concept formed as I was writing and I'm happy that they're still fics you can read individually without reading them all in order or anything. also I'm glad that I've been able to showcase a side of doyoung I couldn't explore in pride or in my other fics before (also an excuse to write as many doyoung fics as possible? 🥴🥴🥴) I'm also very excited for the wips in this collection: "hardest to love", "fragment", "and who are you?", "green" and haechan's backstory "I will not vanish"

songs challenge: this one was so so so so hard 😭 and I'm happy to have challenged myself to this hehe my favorites are haechan's "coming home", doyoung's "fly away with me" and jeno's "love song"

the cave: this one came to me in a fever dream and it's the fic ive re-read the most myself (I don't read my own fics because,,,🤢🤢🤢 yikes, but I like this one a lot ahahaah)

special mention | fighting for dominance: this is probably one of my favorites smut and it's my first ten fic, I also re-read this from time to time for,,,, 👀👀 science

tagging: @notnctu (fave person in the universe 🤧 im confessing rn 🥺❣️), @strawberrymilkandcigarettes (the person that has been on my side all year and helped me improve so much 🥺 also the person that has been hyping me non stop which has been so helpful), @sunflowerforhaechan (basically my tumblr bestfriend ❣️), @spookyhyuck (you know the meme of the dudes communicating with their brains? yeah that's us), @hyunniejaehoney (the prettiest and kindest person I know ❣️)

no pressure to do the tag!!