#anyways it started getting bad when i was drinking/popping in my car on a winter night n felt i was gonna have a heart attack

[wavcheck]

i am enjoying everyone’s commentary on using clonazepam

[simonsrosebud]

what if kevin & dalton had been set up instead of meeting on their own?

(pls accept this as apology for not posting any kalton for MONTHS)

kevin doesn’t have a date to the banquet.

normally, it’s fine.  he’s taken allison or renee to the last few, as friends.  but this year, renee has something going on with gwen, their freshman dealer who is somehow only a year younger than himself.  and allison got scooped up by ricky, the other freshman dealer. 

“what happened to us being dates?  i thought it was unspoken?”

allison shrugs and pushes her hair behind her shoulder.  she has her arms crossed as she leans against the doorframe to kevin’s bedroom.  “sure, but ricky has a crush on me and it’s fun playing around with it.”

kevin sends her a look.  “ew, don’t look at me like that.  as if, he’s like a baby to me.”  kevin opens his mouth, but gets cut off.  “you could get a date easily, it’s fine, we’ll help.”

and she’s right.  later that afternoon she shoots a text to the team groupchat.

allison:  kevin needs a date, any and all genders welcome.  must be hot, good at socializing, and able to withstand his complete lack of care for them esp once he starts talking exy. 

allison:  i expect a nominee from each of you.  good luck soldiers.

and kevin’s going to kill that girl.

the freshmen don’t answer, of course.  all of their friends are freshmen, and they’re also just too scared to respond to the foxes sometimes.

aaron responds first, suggesting he just take one of the vixens.  neil chimes in by saying that marissa girl is fucking social alright.

kevin doesn’t get why allison can’t just set him up with one of her friends.  she has a strict rule against any of the foxes dating her non-exy friends, but it’s just an banquet. 

matt comes in last, but instead of the groupchat it’s just to kevin.

matt:  i have a friend named dalton.  he’s in his masters to become a professor but he’s chill. he’s nice and fun too, the best guy i know

kevin knows he shouldn’t be shallow, but...

kevin:  picture?

matt responds almost instantly.  a picture of his friend sitting across from him at starbucks on his laptop.  he looks caught off guard, like matt took the picture without warning.

is he with him right now?

kevin:  maybe.

he drops his head back and rubs his eyes.

an hour later, the door opens.  neil comes in first.  matt is on his heels, and someone else trails in behind him.  kevin sits up.

neil looks at him.  in french, he says, “i wasn’t a part of this.”

kevin stands, and responds back in french.  “you let him in.”  neil shrugs at that, and continues down to the bedroom.

matt nods at him with a smug smile.  “do you still have your psych 101 workbook?  i have to take it next semester and i don’t wanna buy it.”

kevin frowns.  is he not going to introduce his friend?  “uh, yeah.”  he turns to his desk and rummages through the drawers to pull it out.

“oh, this is dalton, by the way.  he’s a friend from sophomore year.”

there it is.  kevin turns back, book in hand, and nods at dalton.

dalton smiles, calm and charming, and tilts his head a bit.  “he’s lying.  i was his TA.”

kevin gives a smile.  it’s small and faint, and mostly fake.  he can’t help it.  he doesn’t care for small talk like this.  how old does that make dalton?

also, how did matt befriend his TA?  kevin’s never spoken a word to the majority of his own.

“can’t imagine having to deal with him in class,” he says, jokingly.

matt doesn’t defend it, just shrugs and moves on.  “hey, did you find a date to the banquet yet?”  he wiggles his eyebrows.  

kevin’s gonna kill him.  he stuffs his hands into his hoodie pocket so he can ball his fists.  “not yet, no.”

he nods, nudges dalton.  “kevin’s on the exy team, too.  he’s the only one without a date to the winter banquet this year,” he says.  “allison, remember allison?  she’s on a manhunt to find someone she approves of for him.”

dalton considers it.  “that sounds like allison.”

kevin refrains from frowning.  “have you met her?”

dalton has, just one time when he and matt went to a football game this fall and made a pit stop to matt’s room.  it’s also when he met neil, albeit very briefly.  neil had too much going on to give him the time of day.

“once, a month or so ago.”

when matt and dalton get into the car, dalton turns halfway in his seat to fully face matt.  “he doesn’t have a date?”  matt shakes his head.  “is he into guys at all?”

matt glances at him.  “yeah, he’s bisexual.”

dalton raises his eyebrows.  “um, hello?!  why didn’t you set him up with me?!”

matt frowns and shoots his friend a look.  “why do you think we just went over?!  i took psychology freshman year!”

dalton’s gonna kill him.  “but you didn’t say anything about me to him.”  matt rolls his eyes and waves him off, and dalton sits back in his seat.

“i know kevin, i know what i’m doing.”

he crosses his arms.  “you’re the worst wingman i’ve ever met.”

but low and behold, kevin texts matt a few hours after his visit.

kevin:  how do u know dalton would want to be my date to the banquet?

matt:  bc he literally told me so

kevin:  fine, ask him if he wants to go and i’ll take him.

when dalton climbs on the bus behind matt, it takes him only a moment to spot kevin and make his way over.

the banquet is five hours away, so the foxes and their dates are changing into their formalwear once they arrive.

dalton has joggers on, and a long sleeve henley that’s a size too big.  his collarbone hangs out as the collar hangs low.  he wears a soft smile, and pushes a hand back through his hair. 

he looks hot.

dalton looks even more hot dressed up in his suit.  he keeps at kevin’s side at first, and talks to both matt and dan from time to time.  allison even pops up once to inquire about him, since he wasn’t one of her picks.

dalton and matt seem to joke around like they’re best friends.  but he doesn’t ever remember matt mentioning him.

then again, if kevin had friends outside of exy, he may not introduce them to the foxes, either.

he finds his way back to kevin’s side at their table, where he’s talking to a trojan player.  after a while, kevin turns to him.  “you don’t have to stick by my side, if you don’t want.”  he almost feels bad.

dalton shrugs and smiles.  “what if i want to stick by your side?”  the way that kevin reacts shows that he wasn’t expecting that, and dalton’s smile turns shy.  “um, i don’t mind, really.  i’d feel bad leaving you alone.  i’m your date.”  he takes a sip of his drink.

“okay.”  it barely leaves kevin’s lips, but it’s enough to make dalton happy.

“you can even talk exy to me, if you want.  i can pretend i know how it works.”

kevin’s heart seizes.  “you don’t know exy?”

dalton grins.  “i’ve never even seen a game.”  he leans closer.  “teach me?”

so he does.  for the next half hour, they sit and kevin blabbers on, and dalton listens and asks questions.  and then they sidetrack somehow to talking about marvel movies and what they suspect will happen in the next spiderman movie.

dalton swears to die on the grave that peter parker is a bisexual icon.

“you can take that title, instead, though.”  his grin is cheeky.  kevin lightly kicks his ankle and rolls his eyes, but he’s heavily amused.

“what about you?  what are you?”

“gay,” he shrugs.  “not much to it.”

“did you… when you told people, how did they react?”

dalton’s head tilts just a bit, and his smile starts to fade.  “some people don’t like it, but it was fine for the most part.”  and after a moment.  “why, are you okay?”

kevin nods.  

dalton doesn’t believe it.  and he supposes he doesn’t know kevin enough to say that, but there’s something about the way kevin doesn’t verbally respond to it that sits weird in his head.

he props his chin in his hand.  “i told my roommates i was gay the first week of freshman year.  my roommate knew, but we had two suitemates, and one of them kinda stopped talking to me after that if he could help it.”  he flicks his eyes up to meet kevin’s.  “my uncle asks me at every family function if i’ve got a girl yet.  he’s known for seven years, now,” he says.  “and thanksgiving is now hosted at my house because my grandmother told my mother that i was unwelcome in hers.”

harsh.  

“i’m sorry.”

he doesn’t know what else he’s supposed to say, really.  he barely has family as it is, but he can’t imagine losing them now because of something so small.

but dalton just shrugs a shoulder.  “it’s okay.  think about it this way, if i was still in the closet i wouldn’t be your date right now.”  he cracks a smile.  always smiling.

that’s when kevin notices just how close their faces are.  and how he keeps glancing at dalton’s mouth.  he sits back.  not here.

dalton goes to the bathroom, and matt takes his seat.  “how’s it going with dalton?”

kevin frowns.  “fine, why?  did he say something?”

matt’s face is indescribable.  “no, but i see you guys getting all close and stuff.  just flirt with him, dude!  he obviously likes you.”

yeah right.  “i-i don’t think so.  he’s just here because i didn’t have a date.”

matt drops his head for a second.  “kevin, after you first met him he scolded me for not setting you two up.  he doesn’t watch exy, and he’s not here for the famous kevin day, just give him a chance.”  kevin looks to the side, where dalton’s on his way back talking with dan at his side.  they’re getting closer, so he talks fast and quiet.  he stands.  “don’t fuck this up, he’s hot and nice,” he whispers, and grins when dan slides into his side.

“we wanna dance.  boys?”  she looks expectantly at both kevin and matt.  matt doesn’t have a choice, but he’d never say no anyway.

dan pulls kevin up and shoves him lightly into dalton, who catches a hand on his waist.  kevin wants to squirm out of it, but not because he doesn’t like dalton, or dalton’s touch.  just because the idea of liking dalton scares him a bit.

but dalton lets go when he finds his balance.

“i don’t- i can’t dance.”

“yeah right, i’ve seen you at eden’s before.”

when he was belligerently drunk.

“you don’t have to.” dalton’s voice is soft behind him.

matt slides his gaze to kevin.  don’t fuck this up.

he turns.  how has his life come to this?  “no.  i will, if you want to.”

dalton grins, lopsided and happy.  “yeah?”

he hopes he doesn’t regret it.  “yeah.” 

so dalton takes him by the hand and leads him after matt and dan.  the majority of the foxes are in the midst of the crowd as well, but they don’t pay them any mind.  there’s enough people that kevin can pretend he’s at eden’s.

kevin is a terrible dancer.  dalton notices it right away and laughs.  when kevin gives him a look he says, “follow my lead.  just sway a little.  nod your head to the music,” kevin looks up at him while he dances, but catches dalton’s eyes instead.

he looks away and falls out of rhythm.  “sorry,” he mumbles.

“it’s okay.”  dalton gently takes kevin’s hands and puts them on his waist.  it feels illegal.  his hands feel like dead weights, he doesn’t know what to do.

is he blacking out right now?

but then dalton’s moving his hips and dancing, and laughing.  he’s having fun and kevin wants to have fun too.

he moves his hands from dalton’s waist to around his neck, and dalton hesitates with his hands near kevin’s hips until kevin nods.

dalton’s fingers dip into his hips.  his one finger taps along the beat of whatever song is playing, while he lightly sings along and bounces back and forth.

it’s dark on this side of the court with the exception of some colored lights darting around.  the designated dancing spot.

kenna is kissing jack in the crowd.

kevin looks back to dalton, singing with a smile plastered on his face.

no one would notice.

kevin’s fingers twitch against dalton’s neck.  but someone could.

he’s already out, but that doesn’t mean he’s kissed a boy in public yet.

he drops his arms.  “i need some air.”

dalton let’s go, “are you okay?”  but he just nods and takes off, off of the court and down the hall to the locker rooms.  the foxes have their things in the away men’s locker room.

kevin sinks down on the bench.  he plays with the bracelet around his wrist, courtesy of betsy in case he needs something to fidget with.  opposed to panicking, that is.

that woman is never wrong.

kevin likes dalton, that’s not in question nor is it really the problem.  the problem is that he doesn’t know what his problem is.  if it’s what people will say when they see that he truly is into men.

being told something versus seeing proof that it’s real are two different things.  he’s learned that, dealt with it more than once.  the last time it was the proof of the raven’s bullying and abuse.  being told that kevin and riko’s relationship isn’t what the fans fantasize it is versus then seeing proof that it isn’t anything that they thought, for example.

kevin had to deal with backlash like that for months after the raven’s investigation post championship game.  him being bi isn’t the same, of course, but he doesn’t know how to predict the behaviors of his fans.  he doesn’t know what they’ll support or not.

but he likes dalton.

“hey.”

one of the freshmen, eva, stands in the doorway.  “stop running 

you don’t have to be scared of people seeing you dance, you know.”

kevin frowns.  “i don’t care about dancing.”

“yeah, but you care about dancing with your date.”  they cross their arms and lean against the doorframe.  “no one cares.  half this team is a little gay, anyway.”

once they’ve changed for the night in the hotel room, dalton hesitates from where he stands by the bed.  “are you okay?  you seemed a little jittery all night, i just... i wanna make sure everything’s fine, i guess.”

kevin looks up, but doesn’t answer. 

stop being so afraid of everything.

he opens his mouth to say something, but he doesn’t know what he can say.

he sighs.

dalton’s standing there, arms crossed, concerned.  kevin swallows his fears as he makes his way across the room until he’s standing right in front of dalton, and slides a hand behind his neck to kiss him.

dalton hums, surprised.  after a moment he brings a hand to kevin’s chest, and there’s a second where kevin thinks hes going to be pushed away.  instead his fingers dig into his hoodie and he pulls kevin closer.

dalton’s smiling as kevin pulls away.  “about time,” he mumbles, and kisses him again.

the back of dalton’s knees hit the bed by accident, but he drops down to sit and gently pulls kevin by the strings of his hoodie.

kevin isn’t new to sex, so to speak.  he’s not the most experienced, but he’s had his fun.  it’s the only reason he’s confident enough to scoot dalton further back and kiss him into the mattress.

dalton wraps an ankle around the back of kevin’s knee.  he curls his fingers into his hair and leans his head back when kevin kisses down his neck.

they wake up to kevin’s phone blaring.  matt’s calling.

kevin only acknowledges the fact that he has his arm around dalton for a second before he checks the time.

they’re late.

wymack’s gonna kill him.

kevin sits up and shakes dalton as he answers his phone.  “hey you guys are awake right?  coach is pulling the bus around then we’re loading up.”

kevin’s out of the bed and throwing his shirt on, tossing dalton’s hoodie to him.  “yeah, we’re coming.”  dalton’s eyes go wide and that kicks him into gear as he realizes the situation.

they look a mess as they run around.  they’ve really only got one pair of clothes and their suits to frantically shove into their bags.  kevin pulls his sneakers on without socks and dalton’s got his on with the laces all undone as they jog down the hall.

at least they brushed their teeth.

dalton drops down to tie his shoes in the elevator, and when he stands kevin takes the liberty of carding his fingers through his hair.

he shrugs.  “bed head.”

dalton can’t help but smile.  “might wanna pull this up a little,” he mumbles, and that’s when kevin realizes that he’d accidentally put on dalton’s long sleeve henley.  the shirt he’d been wearing last night before it got dropped to the floor.

dalton pushes the shirt up so it’s not hanging lower on kevin’s collarbone.  he’s got a nice hickey that needs hiding.

“they’re never going to let this go,” kevin says.

dalton leans back against the elevator wall.  “i’ve got some juice on matt if you ever need.”

kevin smiles, just a little.  despite him worrying all during the banquet, last night was so good.  he doesn’t want it to end as soon as they step off of the bus.  he doesn’t want dalton to be a one night stand, he doesn’t think.

he takes a step forward and kisses dalton against the wall once more.  he pulls away when the elevator dings.

matt smiles to himself as he watches them come around the corner.  he tries to tame it, at least.

kevin and dalton are the last on the bus.  kevin’s spot in the back is open, so they go back there.  dalton toes off his shoes as soon as he sits down.

kevin is on the aisle side.  his chest skips when dalton’s hand lands gently on his thigh.  he doesn’t hate it.

it’s dinner time when they get back to a rainy palmetto.  dalton had fallen asleep on kevin’s shoulder a half hour ago, and jolts awake when matt whoops and shouts to get out of his way so he can run off the bus for the bathroom.

“sorry,” dalton says quietly, scratching his head and yawning into the back of his hand.

“i didn’t mind.” kevin stretches his legs and pulls his shoes on.

dalton’s car is in the gated stadium parking lot.  kevin walks him to it, head ducked because all he’s got on is dalton’s henley.  no one anticipated rain.

dalton turns after unlocking his car, and sticks a ripped off folded note into kevin’s palm.  kevin puts it right into his pocket for safe keeping.  “so are you gonna call me after this?”  dalton’s hair is falling wet over his  forehead.

he nods, mouths the word yeah but nothing comes out.  and dalton can’t help himself, so he takes a step forward and kisses kevin one last time, gentle as he hesitates with his fingers hovering over his cheek.

kevin’s  got nothing to lose at this point, so he curls his hand alone dalton’s neck and steps closer.

he only pulls away because the team is most likely watching, and someone whistles.  “i’ll call you,” he nods.  he shoves his hands into his pockets and ignores the rain as he watches dalton drive out of the parking lot.

he turns towards the maserati and sees andrew shakes his head.  kevin looks down at himself.  he’s halfway to soaked.  not ideal for such an expensive car. which leaves one option.

kevin slides into the front seat of his father’s car.

wymack can’t wipe the smug look from his face.  “so-“

“no.”

[wherevermyway]

why can’t we drink forever? (1/2) // minsung // 18+

one: i will only complicate you series navigation: [desktop] [mobile]

⚠ POTENTIAL TW: READ WITH CAUTION! ⚠ pairing: lee minho x han jisung rating: explicit! 18+ warnings/tags: creator chose not to use archive warnings, explicit sexual content past character death, alcohol abuse/alcoholism, depression, edgy cynical depressed jisung, ambiguous/open ending. word count: 5,883 also on AO3

originally posted: 20 january 2021

After being arrested for driving under the influence, Jisung learns that money can buy his way out of jail time, but it can’t buy his way out of his feelings.

disclaimer: this is a work of fiction! any reference to persons in this work of fiction are purely coincidental. the characters referenced from Stray Kids are  interpretations loosely based on their personalities in the group and do  not represent the real people behind the personas. if this, or any of  the content included in the warnings above make you uncomfortable,  please stop reading now.

“I don’t know how things got this way, Sungie, baby. I’m worried about you.”

A sarcastic huff leaves the lips of the young man seated in the passenger seat of a sleek, new all-white Audi. He kicks his feet up on the dash, earning a frown from the middle-aged woman driving the vehicle. The young blonde stares out the window as he fumbles around his hoodie pocket. Out comes a white pack of Marlboro Gold cigarettes and an engraved silver lighter.

“You and me both, ma,” he tuts as he pops a white cigarette up from the pack into his mouth, flicking the dial of his lighter as he takes in a deep breath. He jams a finger down on the window button, the crisp winter air blowing the grey cloud around, the acrid scent of burnt tobacco filling the car. “Guess if we knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be in the car now, huh?”

“Maybe you’d have gotten into a better university,” his mother sighs as she shakes her head.

A devious smirk curls up on the young man’s mouth as he brings the cigarette up to his lips again, taking a long drag. He knows better than to verbally respond with a cynical quip.

Maybe I’d be fuckin’ dead.

Alcoholics Anonymous sounded like a cult following: a twelve-step programme where all of its members had to follow a strict code, be mentored by a sponsor, and thank some bullshit deity to be given a new chance every day. “Every day is a new chance,” the cult leader would say at the beginning of every meeting. “May God grant us the serenity…”

“I’m Jisung, and the courts told me I’m an alcoholic, so I guess I’m an alcoholic,” the artificial blonde shrugged his shoulders, the ghost of burnt coffee still dancing on his tongue as he spoke.

The mindless cult drones spouted off a casual “hi, Jisung,” in monotonous, unenthusiastic unity as the young man sat down.

“How did you get here?” The meeting’s leader was relentless in prodding the young man. “You’re not obligated to tell us, of course,” which was a boldfaced lie, “but acknowledging your problems might help your recovery.”

Jisung brought the styrofoam cup full of lukewarm, acrid coffee to his lips and took a long sip. He winced at the taste and pursed his lips as he made eye contact with the leader. “I was abducted by aliens, man, now I’m here. Shit was crazy.”

The leader frowned, ready to interrupt Jisung.

“Nah,” the young man kicked his feet out from under the metal fold-up chair, flipping his hood over his head with his free hand. “I got drunk, went out to get more booze, then hit a tree on the way back and the cops pulled me over since my headlight was out. The internet wasn’t lying when they said all cops are fuckin’ bastards.” His quip earned a laugh from a few younger members, whereas several of the older people shook their heads in frustration.

“Please,” the leader sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “let’s refrain from political commentary. Thank you for your,” there’s a pause as the leader clears his throat, “for your candor, Jisung. Now that we’ve introduced all of our new attendees, why don’t we move along with the next step in the meeting?”

The meeting was pointless, all of the same shit that Jisung had read about in the fliers that were handed to him with his sentencing. He had to endure twelve months of this, but it wasn’t like he was doing much else with his life, anyways. Jisung poured the last of the disgusting coffee from the cardboard takeaway box into his cup, then tossed the box into the large rubbish bin at the end of the table. One last cup of free shitty coffee before he left; it would pair nicely with the cigarette he so desperately craved.

“Hey!” A bright voice came up behind him and Jisung rolled his eyes at the way optimism dripped from the trill. He slowly turned around, taking a sip of the cold coffee in his cup. A young man with neon pink hair, probably the same age as Jisung, smiled widely as he stuck his hand out. “I’m Felix, nice to see someone here that’s about my age.”

Jisung gingerly accepted the hand and shook it twice before quickly sticking his hand back into his pocket. “Charmed. How long are you stuck here for?”

“Oh!” Felix shook his head, smile still wide on his face as he pensively looked down to his shoes. “I’m not here for… well, I’m a psychology major.”

Of course he was.

Felix tucked his hands into his jacket pockets and tapped his foot twice as he continued to smile at Jisung. “I’m also new here and was hoping I could make friends.”

Jisung shook his head, reaching into his hoodie pocket for his pack of cigarettes and familiar silver lighter. “I’m not a good influence. Don’t think I’d make good friends with someone so… nice.” He meandered a white cigarette out of the packet with a single hand, then tucked it behind his ear, lighter still tucked into his palm. “No offence, dude.”

The smile finally fell from the pink-haired man, who quickly pulled his hands from his pockets, “wait, wait!”

Jisung cocked an eyebrow at the man, biting his tongue as he felt the clawing at the back of his head, his synapses screaming a plea for him to get a hit of more nicotine.

“I don’t wanna sound desperate,” Felix ran his bottom lip under his teeth as he looked around nervously, “I just really wanna talk with someone that’s so different than me. I’ll even buy you dinner or something from the diner down the street.”

As insulting as the words ‘so different than me’ came off to Jisung, desperation was a bad look for anyone. “You got a car?” Felix nodded twice, biting his lip as he stared at Jisung. “Lead the way, psycho student Felix.”

Felix’s eyes went wide and his bright smile came back, beaming brighter than before. “It’s psychology, not psycho.”

The blonde rolled his eyes as he plucked the cigarette from behind his ear and tucked it in between his teeth. “I know what I said.”

The food at the diner was mediocre at best: rubbery scrambled eggs and burgers made from frozen patties that were likely a concoction of rejected organ meat slurry and textured vegetable protein. It was cheap, but it was always good. Rich in comfort, lacking in quality: the antithesis to Jisung’s life.

Jisung hadn’t been here in two years, not since his friend turned on-again, off-again boyfriend Changbin left for university, halfway across the country. This was the place they’d come to at three in the morning after hitting up a house party, where they would drunkenly curl up with each other and swap kisses that tasted like stale beer and watery coffee.

This was the place where Changbin broke up with Jisung for the final time, Changbin citing that they wouldn’t be able to stay in contact much anymore. However, he hadn’t told Jisung that he was sleeping with someone that graduated a couple years prior and was conveniently attending the same university as him.

That night tasted like vodka and strawberry soda, the latter of which Jisung never let grace his tastebuds again.

The blonde scowled down at his orange juice, watching the ring light above their table shimmer and ripple in the liquid. He hadn’t heard from Changbin in two years, and he was as bitter about it as the black, burnt edges of the hashbrowns that stuck to his plate.

“You okay?” Felix poked his fries with a fork, bringing one to his lips as he scanned Jisung’s expression.

“Are any of us okay, psycho student?”

Felix furrowed his brows and set his fork down against his plate, chewing on the crinkled french fry a bit before he swallowed. He folded his hands together and rested his chin against the interlaced fingers. “No, like,” he shrugged, eyes shifting around a bit, “I mean it. You seem kinda distant.”

Jisung rolled his eyes up to meet Felix’s and he cocked his eyebrow. He was starting to regret tagging along with this kid he barely knew, feeling like this was less of a potential friendship and more like a therapy session. “You don’t know me, man.”

“No, but I know people.”

“You’re a sophomore psychology student, dude. You don’t know shit.”

The pink-haired man sighed, back thudding against the plasticky booth. “I guess you’re right about that. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to know, though.”

“Your funeral, then.” Jisung followed suit, leaning up against the booth with a bit more tact, swinging his arm around the wood frame. “I had my first sip of alcohol when I was thirteen. Got bored when my parents fucked off to Italy on some shitty trip without me.”

Felix tilted his head up like a dog, suddenly alive with renewed interest.

“They’re only parents in blood and title.” Jisung looked down at the table, scratching inanely at a chip in the pale green linoleum. “I was raised by nannies and tutors until I was fifteen. Most parents would probably panic when they leave the house, coming back to an empty liquor cabinet. My parents? Nah, they just restocked it and told me not to drink too much at once.”

“That’s,” Felix’s voice trailed off as he looked away, milling over the new information.

“It’s fucked,” Jisung finished the sentence, then brought the plastic cup of orange juice to his mouth and took a long sip. He set the cup back down and pulled up the sleeve covering his left arm, presenting the flesh over the table. Felix visibly recoiled as he eyed dozens of scarred lines littered across the skin, some marks still relatively fresh. “Their response to this? ‘We’ll get you into therapy and you won’t do this again.’ It was always the best money could buy, but their money didn’t do shit to my brain.” He shuffled the cloth over his arm again, ignoring the look of pity Felix offered him.

“If money could buy them a better son, they would’ve traded me out, like upgrading a car on a lease.”

Felix stumbled over his words a bit as Jisung rifled through his pockets, pulling out his phone and his wallet. “You still wanna make friends with someone like me?”

It took a moment, but Felix tentatively nodded his head. “Doesn’t sound like you have many friends to begin with,” he nervously sputtered out.

Jisung cocked his head to the side and licked his teeth as he smiled. “I don’t do friends. But life’s full of surprises. Anyway, gimme your phone so we can swap contact info.”

They exchanged phone numbers and Jisung dropped a couple of bills on the table. “Don’t worry about it,” he said as soon as Felix opened his mouth to protest, “you’re a university student and I’ve got my shitty parents’ cash to burn.”

“I’ll see you next week?” Felix questioned as Jisung stepped out of his shoddy 2003 Toyota Camry.

Jisung nodded once, tipping his index and middle fingers off of his forehead. “You got it. Thanks for the ride, mate.” He slammed the door with a fake smile that faded as soon as he turned around. Sure, Felix was the antithesis of everything Jisung was, but he could prove to be a source of entertainment over the next year.

Despite being cynical and vehemently anti-religion, Jisung always said a quiet prayer to himself as he opened the door, hoping his parents weren’t home when he arrived. Today, it seemed like luck was on his side: his mother’s keys weren’t on the key rack, and his father had yet to return from some bullshit ‘business trip’ off in China. Perhaps it was Morocco or Norway; they all blurred together in a haze of indifference. All Jisung was sure of was the fact that his father had probably taken one of his mistresses away to some foreign country he was pretending to secure a business deal in.

“Everyone’s favourite fuck-up is home!” Jisung shouted in the empty vestibule, his voice echoing against the cold walls. He didn’t expect a response, so when he was greeted with a comfortable silence, he smiled to himself. He kicked his shoes off and unceremoniously tossed them into the corner by the key rack.

His heavy, heel-first footsteps echoed as he made his way towards the kitchen, pulling a bottle of wine out of a glass display cooler as he padded towards the main refrigerator. He pulled out a box of takeaway Indian curry from the night prior, setting both the box and the bottle on the marble kitchen island, shuffling his feet towards a drawer. He retrieved a fork and a wine key, tossing them onto the countertop as he pulled out his phone, pack of cigarettes, and his lighter.

Jisung opened the bottle of wine as he sat down on a stool next to the counter, tossing the cork towards the rubbish bin, shrugging as he missed. That was a problem for later, and he didn’t feel like dealing with it now. Completely ignoring the takeaway carton, Jisung grabbed the wine bottle, then took a long guzzle directly from it. He winced a bit as the flavour of fermented floral grapes perfumed his mouth with a sharp, sickly rotten scent. The bottle clattered loudly against the marble, the echoing reminding Jisung of just how alone he was in such a large house.

“Fuck it,” he muttered, bringing his phone up in front of his face, scrolling through one of his playlists until he found the right song. With a few taps, some Drake came through the kitchen speakers. Jisung turned up the volume to near max, his head subconsciously moving to the beat of “In My Feelings”. He took a cigarette from the pack on the table and lit it, the tip turning from paper and plant to a red, ashy ember as he inhaled.

Was he allowed to smoke in the house? Of course not.

Did Jisung give a shit? Absolutely not.

A text message popped up as Jisung aimlessly scrolled through his various notifications. He opened it, barely scanning through the entire message from his mother until his eyes stopped on a blue phone number. His eyes narrowed, poring over the entire message. “A coworker of mine offered to be a sponsor for you: Lee Minho. He’s a few years older than you, but he’s nice. Here’s his number, please reach out to him.”

Jisung sarcastically scoffed, locking his phone as he placed it back on the countertop, swapping it for the bottle of wine. He took a drag off of his cigarette, then took another long swig from the bottle. “We admit we’re powerless to alcohol,” he mutters the first step under his breath as he slams the bottle down on the counter.

“Maybe I don’t fucking care.”

Jisung woke up on the couch to the sound of heels clacking against the hardwood floor just before eight in the morning, his fingers jostling an empty bottle of scotch on the floor as he brought his hands to his face.

“Get cleaned up, please.” His mother’s voice was accompanied by bright spotlights suddenly shining directly on his face. “I’ve invited Minho over to meet with you.”

“I didn’t ask you to.” Jisung’s voice was low and gravelly, groaning as he sat upright. The world spun, his body carried by the false inertia his mind had created.

His mother trotted off to the kitchen, shouting over her shoulder. “I know you didn’t. I did it because I care about you, Sungie.”

The blonde rubbed his clammy hands against his face again, attempting to wipe the sleepiness from his eyes. He grabbed his phone off of the floor, then wobbled his way upright, the living room spinning around him in a familiar sense of uneasiness.

“You don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself,” he muttered under his breath.

Somehow, Jisung managed to make his way upstairs to his room, stripping an article of clothing off with each lazy step from his bedroom door towards his personal washroom. By the time he got to the glass enclosure of the shower, he was totally stripped bare. Jisung distantly stared at his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror, a gaunt and ashy doppelganger staring back at him with a pained, empty look on his face.

Instead of stepping into the shower, Jisung approached the mirror, subconsciously bringing his hands to touch his flushed face. His cheekbones were more prominent now than they were earlier in the year, dark circles painted in broad strokes under his eyes. His gaze trailed down the scars he had inflicted on his arms and on his thighs, reminders of the failed attempts to take his own life that he was now forced to carry with him, wearing each line and mark as a badge of shame.

A warm tear rolled down his face as it contorted into an expression of terror and hurt, before he took his fist and crashed it into the mirror in front of him, a spiderweb of the impact left behind in the cracked glass as he pulled his bloodied knuckles away. Some glass shattered to the floor, some still wedged in the gaps between his fingers, and Jisung stared at the crack that split his reflection into several fragments.

How he was still alive was beyond him.

“Mrs. Han, please,” a lilted, unfamiliar laugh travelled up the staircase as Jisung slowly made his way down towards the first floor. He squinted at the noise that caused his head to throb, realizing that someone unknown speaking to his mother, likely the Minho she had mentioned earlier. With each step he took towards the drawing room, the voice got louder, each staccatoed laugh more pronounced.

“Jisung, come sit,” his mother said, replacing the genuine smile on her face with a fake, ‘Vaseline-on-the-teeth’ smile. She motioned towards the empty space on the couch, opposite from the young brunette that turned around.

Jisung met his eyes and it suddenly felt like his surroundings cracked and shattered around him, like the mirror upstairs. Rich brown eyes glistened behind the black and gold browline glasses that rested against the bridge of his nose. Rose-tinted lips curled upwards in a shy smile, revealing large, rabbit-like front teeth that rested softly against his bottom lip.

“Hi,” the stranger said with a gentle wave, “I’m Minho. Resident biochemist at the pharmaceutical company your mother works for.”

As Jisung made his way over to the open spot on the couch, he squinted, refusing to break eye contact with the strange invader. It felt like he was a wild animal on display, about to be poked and prodded by zookeeper staff or by scientists in some sort of underground, off-the-books laboratory. It would fit, after all, since the man was some sort of scientist.

“I’ll let you be,” Jisung’s mother says, rising to her feet. “Maybe you should tell Minho about your little misstep last night, hmm?”

Jisung rolled his tongue over his bottom lip and shook his head sarcastically. “Go enjoy your overfilled glass of wine at nine-fucking-thirty, ma. I’ll be here spilling my guts to a stranger that gives more of a shit about me than you.” Minho winced and his expression fell from cheerful to shocked.

The men stared at each other, Jisung’s gaze layered with arrogance, and Minho’s heavy with awkward discomfort. “So,” the younger man kicked his feet up onto the coffee table, pulling a pack of cigarettes and his trusted lighter from his sweatshirt pocket, hoping to wrap up the conversation as soon as possible. “I know you work with my mother, you’re an alcoholic, and your name’s Minho.” As quickly as Jisung could take in a breath, the cigarette between his teeth was lit, and he was glaring at the intruder through the grey haze that came between them. Their eyes met again, Jisung growing more and more wary by the second. “Why should I pick you as my sponsor, when I feel like you’re just gonna snitch to my mother?”

Minho’s jaw looked like it was clenched too tight, his bottom eyelids squinted upwards as he studied the younger man in front of him. They watched each other, eyeing each micromovement the other’s face made. About halfway through Jisung’s cigarette, Minho finally broke the uncomfortable eye contact, and took a deep breath. “I’m not asking for you to trust me, or to spill your life story,” he shifted, sitting upright, “but for you to see me as a mentor when things get hard and you want to dampen your feelings with alcohol. I’ve been there, Jisung.”

Indignation washed over the younger man’s face, quickly replaced by a familiar wave of arrogance. Jisung shook his head, ashing his cigarette directly onto the floor. “Doubt it,” he tutted, licking his teeth as he nodded his head, staring at the ring on Minho’s finger. He smirked to himself, then turned his head away and up towards the ceiling. “Looks like you’ve got someone that loves you. I don’t know what that feels like; never have, never will.”

The elder chewed on his bottom lip, clenching his fist as his eyes subconsciously scanned the ring on his finger. “Had.”

“What?” Jisung turned his head back towards Minho with a look of disgust on his face, ashes falling from his cigarette.

The brunette sighed, leaning further into the couch, nervously running his thumb over his balled up fingers. “He’s the reason I turned to drinking, to fill the void he left in my heart when he died.”

Shit.

For the first time in ages, Jisung felt a slight pang of regret twinge in his abdomen.

Minho swallowed hard, almost as if he were holding back his emotions. “We were married for five years, together since high school. You’d think I would’ve known the signs, but Chan was so good at hiding things, hiding his pain from everyone.”

The ember in Jisung’s cigarette died out as he found himself enraptured in Minho’s story.

Chan was Minho’s high school sweetheart. They started dating their sophomore year of high school, both attended the same university, and they got married when they were twenty. To Minho, Chan was everything. They supported each other, making the other man stronger and gave them a reason to go on.

Minho had no idea that Chan was severely depressed, holding his true feelings to his heart. Not long after Minho’s twenty-fifth birthday, Chan disappeared, only leaving a journal behind. It had started off with an apology, that if Minho found his journal, that it was too late to save him and that Chan had simply given up. On nearly every page, Chan reiterated that it wasn’t Minho’s fault, that Chan was just too far gone beyond repair, that Minho had given him a new lease on life, but it wasn’t enough.

Exactly three weeks after Chan had gone missing, police were on the doorstep of their shared home.

“Dental records,” Minho whispered, his eyes distant and glazed over as he lost himself in the memory. “That’s how they knew it was Chan. I don’t remember much after that, but I thought that I could find the answer to why Chan took his own life at the bottom of a bottle.”

Jisung’s grip on the arm of the couch was so tight, his knuckles had turned white and they were starting to ache.

“Several bottles,” Minho continued, “several bottles and several near-death experiences waking up in the hospital later, and I still hadn’t figured out the answer. I figured that maybe I’d see him again if I drank enough. Now,” he folded his arms, tucking his chin into his chest, “I’ve accepted that I’ll never know the answer to that question, that I need to live on for him. If there’s an afterlife, maybe I’ll get to ask him myself. Until then, though,” Minho rolled his teary eyes up to meet Jisung’s uncomfortable gaze, “I just want to atone for not doing enough before. I want to help others that are hurting, you know?”

They continued to stare at each other for what felt like hours, until Jisung finally shook his head. His voice cracked as he tried to speak. “Sorry,” his apology was shockingly sincere, “I guess I spoke before I thought.”

Minho awkwardly smirked, dismissively waving his hand in between them. “Don’t worry about it. I just wanted you to know that I’ve been at rock bottom and that there’s a way up and out, as long as you’re willing to put in the effort.”

Maybe Jisung was willing to give Minho a try.

At first, Jisung agreed to meet with Minho once a week after the mandatory AA meeting he attended. It took seven visits spanning seven weeks before Jisung eventually opened up about the neglect he faced from both of his parents, the emptiness he felt from being raised by nannies, feeling like money was more important than his own life.

Ten weeks in, they started hanging out on the weekends. Their relationship shifted from mentorship to friendship, and it was somewhat a relief that Jisung finally had someone he could trust enough to call his friend.

Week fourteen was when things started to shift further. Jisung hadn’t consumed alcohol in eight weeks, and things were clearing up, slowly but surely. He had been meeting with Felix more and more, too — maybe they weren’t quite friends yet, but Jisung was at least trying.

Things were looking up for the first time in Jisung’s life.

At week sixteen, Jisung stayed over at Minho’s apartment, convincing him that he needed to watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The blonde had vehemently pressed that it was, quite possibly, one of the best series of all time, animated or otherwise. After some gentle pressure, Minho finally caved, and they sat on his couch, diving into the show and into some mediocre takeaways.

They had gotten through the first three episodes and Minho finally relented that, yes, it was a good show and that, yes, Jisung was right.

“I knew you’d like it, dude,” Jisung snickered, playfully poking at Minho’s chest. The corner of his lips tugged upward into a crooked smile, and he wore Minho’s seal of approval as some sort of badge of honour.

The brunette turned away, softly smiling into his shoulder as a rush of crimson started to tint his face. “You’ve got me trying all sorts of new things, Ji,” Minho rubbed the back of his neck for a moment before he flashed his teeth at the younger man. “So much for me being the mentor here, huh?”

Jisung sucked his bottom lip in between his teeth at the nickname, trying to ignore the warmth blossoming up his face. He tried to stumble out some sort of response, but he caught himself getting lost in the way that the overhead lights shimmered in Minho’s eyes, highlighting the soft amber and warm bursts of hazelnut that erupted around his pupils. His expression started to falter, and he felt a familiar rush of excitement bloom in his chest, causing his nerves to come to life all around his body.

He remembered that this was how it felt right before he shared his first drunken kiss with Changbin, but something about this felt different. Perhaps it was the fact that Jisung was completely sober, but he desperately wanted Minho to kiss him, to want him back. However, Jisung wasn’t sure if it would have been a good idea, pondering over if Minho was really ready to start a new relationship, especially with someone he was supposed to be mentoring.

“Something on your mind?” Minho’s voice was soft as it gently guided Jisung back to the moment. “You’re kinda spacing out on me.”

“No, no,” Jisung stumbled around the words he wasn’t sure he could say, suddenly distracted by the television in the background. “I guess I was just thinking about the show.”

Minho’s head tilted to the side, concurrently lifting his brow in confusion. “You guess?”

Jisung waved his hand in between them and readjusted his posture so he was further away from Minho. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve seen it so many times, but it’s one of those shows that you watch and you see something new each time and—”

Warm fingers were suddenly on the side of Jisung’s face, pulling him back into Minho’s space. “You’re a terrible liar.” The voice was soft, yet assertive; low, but so loud. Jisung’s eyes went wide as Minho’s apartment blurred around him, his vision suddenly taken over by the sight of the brunette’s face right up next to his. In front of him.

Before Jisung could process what was happening, he was subconsciously pressing his lips into Minho’s, trying to remember exactly how kissing worked. It was years since the last time he had any practice, but it all came back to him as Minho helped guide Jisung’s face with his hands.

Minho’s tongue was soft, warm, and damp as it gently pressed up against Jisung’s lips, wordlessly pleading for entrance. Without letting his mind mill over the fine details and concerns he possibly had, Jisung parted his lips. Timidly, he rolled his tongue around Minho’s, his hands quivering as his fingers scrambled for purchase in Minho’s hair.

Unlike anyone Jisung had kissed before, this felt right, even if there were some uncomfortable grinding of teeth and awkward nose bumping. Within a reasonable amount of time, they slowly became experts at training the way the other wanted to be kissed. As if Minho could read Jisung’s mind, he would interrupt his soft kisses with gentle nips and grazes at Jisung’s bottom lip.

“Please,” Jisung’s voice cracked as Minho pulled his teeth down his bottom lip, “my neck, I…”

Minho swiftly moved his lips from Jisung’s, peppering tiny pecks against his jawline to his ear, stopping to take the blonde’s earlobe into his mouth with his tongue, grazing the tender flesh between his teeth. Jisung’s back involuntarily arched as the grooves of Minho’s teeth pulled at his sensitive skin, the sensation causing his nerves to come to life with an electrical jolt from head to toe.

The brunette chuckled, his warm breath brushing up against the tiny hairs on Jisung’s ear. He said nothing, simply moving down to press a few soft kisses to the skin just below the younger man’s earlobe. Minho’s lips were soft, gentle, only to be quickly replaced by a sudden, harsh bite into the tender flesh.

A yelp, accompanied by uncontrollable twitching, came from Jisung, who was simultaneously melting into Minho, but also pulling away. The elder’s fingers dug into the blonde’s waist, keeping him in the same position, not allowing him to escape. Jisung’s yelp had faded into a whimper, which evolved into a moan as Minho sucked the flesh between his teeth, quickly repeating the process several times in various spots along Jisung’s neck.

The moans were increasing in volume and breathiness, Jisung subconsciously, frantically rutting his pelvis into the couch. Minho must have caught on to this, letting go of Jisung’s waist to ease him down onto the couch. He pressed his lips to Jisung’s again, dancing his fingertips down to the waistband of the younger man, who was completely blissed out.

“Can I help you with this?” Minho’s voice was somehow both soft yet assertive as his palm pressed against Jisung's clothed erection.

Words eluded Jisung, verbal language suddenly turning into complex algebraic equations that didn’t translate from his head to his tongue. Instead, he groaned in affirmation as he hopelessly rolled his hips upward, finding himself pitiful that he was so desperately craving for Minho to just keep fucking touching him.

Things started to blur in a haze of wanton desire. Minho’s hand gently stroked Jisung’s cock, paying special attention to the way that his fingers and palm brushed against the head. Involuntary twitches took over Jisung as he whimpered and mewled, his shoulder blades grinding into the couch. Minho continued to nibble and bite at Jisung’s neck, occasionally whispering words of assurance and praise into his ear.

“You’re doing so well,” as he slowly dragged his hand from the base of Jisung’s cock up to his head.

“I can’t imagine how incredible you would feel around me,” as he gently thumbed the slit, rubbing precum around the sensitive head and causing Jisung to bite the back of his hand as he failed to stifle a cracked moan.

Jisung’s breaths turned erratic and he was nearly convulsing as his body started to twitch. Minho shifted his weight to his knees, slowing his strokes just enough so that he could awkwardly shift one leg off of the couch to position his head in a way he could take Jisung into his mouth.

“What are you—” Jisung started to question, until he found himself losing control of his body as Minho rolled his tongue around his cock. “Fuck, Minho!” He clamped his eyes shut, arching his back upward, hitting the back of Minho’s throat as he convulsed, his orgasm suddenly completely taking over him. “Minho,” he whined and unclenched his fists; “Minho,” he panted and opened his eyes; “Minho.” With one last breath, he was back to reality.

This had to have been the closest thing to heaven that Jisung thought he would ever experience.

Jisung had stayed over at Minho’s that night, too tired to function like a normal human. They slept on the couch together, necks crooned in uncomfortable positions all night long, bodies stiff from the unnatural firmness that Minho’s couch held. The next morning, they chose not to discuss the night prior, but they did exchange some soft kisses, until Jisung protested, mentioning that their morning breath was distracting him from actually enjoying the kiss.

Their weekends continued on like this: spending time watching a couple of episodes of their chosen programme until they got distracted and lost within each other. Nothing progressed further than handjobs, the occasional blowjob, and the one time that they rolled around naked, making out for so long and so intensely that the way they pressed their bodies together caused Jisung to come without any additional stimulation — and, hey, they liked it.

The budding relationship between them was confusing. During the week, Minho acted like the appropriate, wise mentor, with Jisung as his eager pupil. When the weekend came around, however, all bets were off. In everything but title, they were boyfriends for all intents and purposes. Every time Jisung tried to bring it up, Minho would shut down, saying that he wasn’t ready to really think seriously about it yet.

So, Jisung didn’t press. He was sure that their intimate interactions were causing conflicting emotions to arise within Minho, emotions he probably had been ignoring since Chan’s death, trying to shove them down as time went on. Even though he wanted to navigate the full spectrum of sexual experiences with Minho, Jisung remained silent until Minho was ready.

[theladyofdeath]

A Rainy Day in October {Elriel}

31 Days of Halloween: Day 7.

All installments co-written with @snelbz​

Based on a prompt sent in by anon: “ Hi ! For your Fall prompts, can i request an elriel where they are stuck at one’s appartement because of a very rainy autumn day ... and like, you know , maybe there is only one bed or something 😆 - anon “

Autumn/Halloween 2020 {Collection}

The rain was pouring, soaking Azriel’s hoodie as he ran from his car to the landing of the apartment complex. He tried to shake off as much water as possible as he hurried up the stairs, wondering how much the items in the large paper bag he carried remained dry. 

He had called Elain that morning, after he’d gotten the call saying that work was cancelled for the day. They were expected to start paving a back road just outside of the city, but paving in the rain was a nonexistent talent.

Which meant he got to spend the day with his girlfriend. 

He’d stopped on his way and had picked up a bottle of premade mimosa, some chicken, bacon, and cheese croissants from the deli, and a giant bag of caramel corn.

Elain’s favorite.

He knocked on the door just after ten, and waited for her to answer.

When she did, he didn’t expect her to still be in her pajamas.

He chuckled and asked, “Not getting dressed today?”

“Nope,” she said, popping her lips on the P noise. “We’re having a lazy day.”

“A lazy day, huh?” He asked, walking in and setting the bags on the floor. He immediately tugged the hoodie off, only to find that his t-shirt beneath was soaked, too. “Could that lazy day include putting my clothes in the dryer?”

Elain shook her head as she laughed quietly. “Yes, and I’ll get the sweats and t-shirt I wore home the other morning.”

The reminder of what had taken place between them only a few nights before had Elain’s cheeks heating and Azriel smirked. “Okay.”

He headed towards her laundry room and tossed his clothes in the dryer. He was unbuttoning his jeans when Elain appeared with a bundle of clothes in her arms.

“I can’t believe you made it to your door in those,” he said, nodding to the bundle in her arms as he yanked off his jeans and tossed them into the dryer before pressing start. “They swallow you.”

“Yes,” she agreed, “they do, which is why I love them.”

“That’s the only reason you love them?” he asked, amused, as he pulled the sweatpants up over his briefs.

“That,” she said, slowly, “and because they smell like you.”

“Smell like me?” he repeated, pulling his shirt over his wet hair. “Hopefully I smell good.” 

“Delicious,” she promised, and then he was charging at her, lifting her up, and tossing her over his shoulder. She laughed, bracing her open palms on his lower back. 

He carried her back to the living room, where Elain had already lit candles and taken out every single blanket she had ever bought and put them on her couch. 

“Lazy day, huh?” Azriel asked, and he dropped Elain down on the couch. 

She bounced a few times on the cushions before coming to a still. Her grin was still wide when she said, “Yes. It’s cold, it’s raining, we both have the day off, and I’m ready to eat junk food, get drunk, and watch ridiculous Halloween movies.” 

Azriel shook his head, slowly. “I knew there was a reason why I loved you.”

That was new for them, saying  I love you, and every time Azriel did, it made him feel completely and utterly alive. 

Elain’s smile softened. “One of the many reasons, I hope.”

Azriel smirked. “It’s a long list, I promise.”

He padded back over to the door and got the paper bag before bringing it back to the couch.

Elain was elated by his choice in snacks and she popped the cork off of the mimosas, drinking it straight from the bottle. They were snuggled up on the couch watching the Nightmare Before Christmas when Azriel said, “So I have a question.”

“Shoot,” she said, popping a piece of caramel corn into her mouth.

He waited for a second then said, “How would you feel about...moving in together?”

Elain froze and Azriel quickly added, “I know it’s only been a few months.”

Elain didn’t say anything, just stared at the caramel corn that stayed a few inches from her mouth, frozen in midair. 

“Please say something,” he said, quietly.

“I just… I wasn’t expecting that,” she said, laughing, softly.

“No, I know, I just…” He started rubbing the back of his neck, a usual sign that Azriel was panicking inside. “We’ve been best friends for ten years, Lainy. I’m in love with you. I have always been in love with you, since the ninth grade. I just...we’re with each other every day, anyway, you know? And, you’ve been sleeping at my place, and I’ve been sleeping here, and doesn’t it just make sense?” 

“You want to move in with me...because it makes sense?” she asked, lifting a brow.

“No,” he said, quickly. “I want to move in with you because you’re the last thing I want to see before I go to sleep and the first thing I want to see when I wake up.”

Elain’s eyes softened as she leaned back into him. “We’ll see.”

“We’ll see?” he asked, chuckling. “See on what?” 

“We know a lot about each other, Az, but we’ve never lived together,” she said, simply, taking another chug from the mimosa bottle. “I have to know what you’re going to be like to live with before I live with you.”

He knew that little smile on her lips.

She was playing with him, teasing him.

“And is there something that might be a dealbreaker that I need to know about?”

Elain pretended to think long and hard about it, which resulted in Azriel poking her in the side. She giggled, pulling one of her many blankets up over her body, and halfway over Azriel. “Leaving the toilet seat up.”

Azriel huffed a laugh. “Leaving the toilet seat up?”

“Leaving the toilet seat up,” she confirmed, nodding. “What if I had to go in the middle of the night? I mean, I wouldn’t turn the light on, because turning the light on in the middle of the night is torture. And, if you left the seat up, I’d sit down, and fall into the toilet, then I’ll be tired and mad and, disgustingly enough, probably wet from toilet water. So. Yes. Leaving the toilet seat up is a dealbreaker.” 

“Hmmm,” Azriel began, his arms around her tightening. “Alright. I guess I could follow that rule. Anything else?”

Elain sighed, tapping her chin as she thought. “Flowers. I like to be brought flowers from time to time, even in the fall and the winter. I like to have them in a vase on the table, year round.” 

Azriel tried to control his spreading grin. “Alright, I can do that.”

“Are you remembering all of this?” she asked.

“Yes,” he promised. “Anything else?” 

She looked up at him. “You have to promise to always kiss me goodnight.” 

“Always?”

“Always.”

“Every night?”

“Every single one.”

“And if I don’t?” he asked, unable to stop that spreading grin. 

Elain shrugged, pressing her lips together, trying to look serious and so miserably failing. “I’m kicking you out.”

“Well then I guess I’ll have to make sure I remember to do that,” he paused, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Every.” Kiss. “Single.” Kiss. “Night.”

The kiss lasted longer this time. But when Elain pulled back, her brown eyes were sparkling. “If you can agree to those terms, I guess we can move in together.”

He smirked. “Who’s apartment will we live in?”

“Oh, this one,” she said, without any hesitation. “No doubt.”

Azriel snorted. “I was hoping you’d say that.” 

It was true that his studio apartment didn’t have much room, even though he did love the aesthetic of it. Elain’s was practical. She had her bedroom - their bedroom - and then her spare room, along with a nice, big bathroom and a kitchen that had a giant island in the middle of it.

Not to mention the massive living room and outside balcony. 

His studio apartment was about as big as Elain’s kitchen, alone. 

“How about a pet? Are we getting a pet, if I move in?” Azriel asked. 

“A pet?” Elain hummed. “Maybe a cat. I like cats. You like cats.” 

“I do like cats,” Azriel agreed. “I wouldn’t mind a little black kitten.”

“An all black cat?” Elain asked. “They say they’re bad luck, you know.”

“They’re spooky, I like spooky,” Azriel argued, lightly. 

“Spooky,” Elain mused, trailing her fingers up and down his jaw. “I guess I can do spooky, if it means I get my flowers.”

“I’ll always get you flowers. And I’ll cook you dinner when you’ve had a long day.” He caught her hand and pressed kisses to her fingertips. “We can go on those god awful early morning hikes you love so much.”

“I love early morning hikes,” she muttered.

“I know,” he said, kissing her, softly. “And I’ll gladly go with you.” Even though he loathed the mornings.

“What else?” She breathed. 

“I’ll rub your back after work,” he promised. “And, I’ll clean, and do the laundry. I’m very good at folding clothes.”

Elain laughed, breathily. “Is that so?”

“Yeah,” Azriel whispered. “I’ll also bring the mail in every day and make sure the toilet paper and shampoo are always stocked.”

Elain grinned, kissing him, yet again. “Gods, you’re the perfect roommate.”

“I know,” he agreed, making Elain laugh. “Is that a yes, then?”

Elain pulled back and took his face into her hands. “Of course it’s a yes.”

As the rain continued to beat on the windows, Azriel showed Elain many, many more ways he could be her perfect roommate.

[lost-in-the-80s]

You Don’t Want My Love - Chapter 5

Pairing: Duff McKagan x reader

Words: 3,115k

Summary: Guns n Roses hires a new tour assistant, but nobody thought that Duff would fall for her.

In this Chapter: Y/N is back on the road with Guns n Roses. Will things with Duff remain awkward?

A/N: Hello, my friends! This chapter is very cute. I have a little spoiler about the next chapter: It’s going to be Duff's pov.  Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it!

Tag list: @roger-taylors-car @ladieswttda @teasid @metalheartofgold  @slashscowboyboots @ginny-rose-sixx @rumoured-whispers @vinylvintage​ add yourself to my tag list :)

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

It was a bright sunny day in Los Angeles when Y/N got inside a taxi to go back on tour with Guns n Roses.

The so-called one-month pause became two as soon as Nikki Sixx, the bassist of Mötley Crüe, overdosed and the whole band had to go to rehab, leaving Guns hanging without a band to open for.

She still remembered when Tom called her telling her that they had lost the contract and that the band was feeling very down. However, Aerosmith showed up with a golden opportunity, they wanted Guns to open for them on the European leg of the tour. 

So here she was, on her way to the airport to meet with five crazy rockers who, as much as she disliked to admit, she had missed a lot.

These two months out of the road were great for her. She spent the holidays with her family in North Dakota and visited her friends in L. A and finally helped Rose with a part of the rent for the apartment.

She also enjoyed her time doing one of the things she loved the most: go to the beach and get a good old suntan. That was the best part about living in L.A in her opinion, the whole year felt like summer, completely different from the snowy and cold winter in North Dakota.

One week before going back on tour she attended an appointment at her favorite hairstylist, renovating its locks that were now quite long. Giving herself a spa day before going back to the bus’ couch, as Tom would go with them on tour again.

These two months also allowed her to think a lot about Duff. In the first days she was feeling blue, the way he spoke to her during that afternoon and how he didn’t talk to her after that hurt. He even switched places with Steven on the plane back to L.A, just so he didn’t need to sit beside her.

During December she questioned herself about what had she done that could’ve let him so angry at her, but after spending two weeks away from Los Angeles, she got to focus on other things, and following her mom’s advice she decided to give time to time and see how things would.

Izzy helped her with that process too, they crossed paths one day at a park, she went there with her friend’s nephew as she was babysitting and he was skating there. The two of them talked for a few hours and he told her that Duff was just in a bad week, that she shouldn’t take it personally, which made her lose that guilty feeling she was having.

Guilty and Sad, that’s how she was feeling in the beginning. But now she had convinced herself that whatever she had felt for Duff was over. She told herself plenty of times she just felt like that because she was feeling lonely and he had been nice to her.

So now, arriving at the airport, she was 100% sure that she’d look at Duff and her heart wouldn’t skip a bit. They’d talk and she wouldn’t stutter or blush and things would go as they were meant to be.

Walking through the crowd of people inside the airport she finally spotted a tall fuzzy blonde head. Duff. They were just a few meters away from her, making a smile appear on her face.

“Y/N!” Steven shouted waving, not sure if she had seen them.

She raised her hand waving back at him.

“Hello, fellas.” She placed her bags on the ground stopping in front of them.

“Wow, look at you, all tanned!” Slash exclaimed, opening his arms and walking towards the girl to get a hug.

“You know, every time I was about to put a shirt on, I listened to your voice saying that they were the biggest expression of my bad taste.” He said when they let go of each other, smiling at her.

“So you stopped wearing them?” She tilted her head while smiling.

“Nope.” He turned around showing the back of this t-shirt, where “Fuck off I’m out” could be read.

She shook her head, giggling a little.

“I want a hug too!” Steven popped up beside her, involving her in a bear hug, lifting off the ground. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Stevie.” She giggled.

“Do you want a hug too?” She looked at Izzy, smirking.

“No.” He said and the two of them laughed. 

“Well, I want one.” Duff showed up in front of her, opening his arms.

She hesitated for a second, but moved forward and wrapped her arms around his body. 

When he involved her, a certain electricity ran through her body and she wanted to never let go of him. He smelled of cigarettes and cologne though she could smell a small hint of vodka, as if it had stayed in his jacket after he washed it. 

He lowered his head to hers and said close to her left ear. “I’m sorry for being an asshole with you.” His voice was low, as if he was sharing a secret that only she could know about.

The sound caused goosebumps on her body, as she answered in almost a whisper. “It’s okay.”

They let go of each other and suddenly she realized that they had been hugging each other for quite a while, since Tom had arrived and they didn’t even notice.

Duff moved away rubbing the back of his neck, starting some conversation with Slash.

“Hey, Tom! How were your holidays?” She gave him a quick embrace before stopping beside Steven, who hugged her from beside and rested his face on her shoulder.

“It was good, I was missing the kids already.” He smiled tenderly.

“You have kids? I didn’t know that.” She moved one arm away from Steven's grip so she could hug him back.

She looked down and thought that he looked just like a child when they’re bored and start to get sleepy.

“Yes, I do. Here,” He took his wallet out of the blazer’s pocket, showing her some small pictures he had in it. “this is Jenna, she’s 10,” He pointed to a ginger girl with lots of freckles. “and this is Brian, he’s 6.” He showed a boy wearing a baseball hat.

“They’re adorable, Tom! I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for you to be away from them all the time.” Y/N smiled at him seeing that he truly loved the kids.

“Yeah, it’s difficult, but it’s a part of the job. It’s thanks to my absence that they’ll be able to go to college.” He put his wallet back in the pocket and adjusted his glasses.

“You’re a good father, Tom.”

He grinned at her words.

“You really are. Can I meet the kids someday?” Steven asked, lifting his head off of her shoulder. 

“When the tour is over, let’s have dinner together. I’ll take them and Martha along.” He grabbed his bags from the ground.

“Sure! That’d be cool.” Steven smiled, letting go of Y/N.

“Anyway. Where’s Axl? We need to be on the plane line in 15 minutes.”

“He’s late.” Izzy showed up lighting up a cigarette.

“Not so late,” Duff said, pointing towards the other side of the airport. 

Y/N looked and at first, she couldn’t see anything, but then some ginger locks in a flannel shirt showed up. 

“You’re late.” Tom said, starting to walk towards the line. 

“Sorry, Erin was keeping me busy… if you know what I mean.” He smirked.

“Jesus.” Y/N made a disgusted face while following Tom.

Inside the plane, she found herself in a seat between Steven and Slash. Duff, Izzy and Axl on the other side of the corridor while Tom was sitting one line ahead, beside an old lady.

“Oh man, I wish I could bring Ana with me.” Slash complained.

“Who’s Ana?” Y/N asked smirking.

“My python. I bought her last month.” He smiled turning towards her.

“You mean a snake?” She widened her eyes. 

He nodded.

“You have a snake as a pet?” She shivered under the thought, she was terrified of snakes.

“Yes, they are lovely creatures.”

“I’m scared to death of them.”

“No way! But they’re nice!” He turned his body towards her a little, ready to start an argumentation.

“I grew up on a farm, Slash. One of them passed right in front of my feet when we were plowing the land.”

“Did it bite you?” He moved his hair away from his face, lifting an eyebrow at her.

“Well...no.”

“Then why are you scared? They aren’t violent animals. They just attack if you scare them. Dogs kill more people per year than snakes.” 

She paused for a second. “Yeah, you’re right. But still, I don’t think I’ll ever visit your house now.”

He giggled. “Do you have any pets?”

“We always had lots of dogs. They’re easy to train and help you with some chores.” He nodded at her. “I have a cat. Though I don’t know if I could call him mine yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“I left him in ND when I moved to L.A. I just see him when I visit my parents now.”

“What’s his name?”

“Thomas.”

Slash laughed. 

“What?”

“Thomas, you know?” He laughed harder.

Y/N frowned at him, not understanding.

Then Slash pointed to the seat in front of him, where Tom was sitting. 

She looked at Tom, then at Slash, then at Tom again and finally understood. Her cat had the same name as Tom. 

Y/N laughed, she had never stopped to realize that until now.

Out in the distance, she didn’t see Duff looking at her and smiling when she laughed. 

----

Arriving in London, they followed up with their normal activities. Did the soundcheck, had an interview and went backstage to get ready.

“Do you think I should tease my hair?” Axl asked Izzy who simply shook his head as a response.

“God, I’m nervous,” Duff said walking back and forth inside the room. “I need more vodka.”

“No more drinking, you need to calm down.” Y/N pointed at him, then pointing to a black couch at the end of the room, meaning that he should sit down.

“That’s why I need vodka, love.” He walked past her, going after more booze.

The nickname made her cheeks burn and she tried her best not to smile.

“Fuck, I’m nervous too.” Slash said.

“Why are you guys so nervous? You’ve done lots of gigs like this before.” She asked, frowning.

“No, we haven’t, Y/N,” Izzy said, sitting on the couch while looking for his cigarettes. “We’re in another country, a whole different crowd.”

“It’s our first time outside from home.” Duff said, reappearing in the room and sitting beside Izzy.

“Plus, It’s Aerosmith, fuck! We can’t fuck this up.” Steven added, while trying to choose a t-shirt. “Y/N. The black or the white one?” He showed her the two blouses.

“The black one.” She pointed with her pen. “You guys just need to breathe, everything will go fine. I’m sure about it.” She smiled at them, trying to calm their nerves. 

“Shit, I think I’m gonna freak out.” Duff exclaimed, drinking almost half the bottle down. 

“Not now. I need you good okay?” Axl crouched in front of him. “Just take long breaths, it’s no big deal.”

Axl started breathing slowly, soon being followed by Duff, that seemed to get calmer.

“Guys, you have to go. You’re in in five minutes.”  She said looking at her wristwatch.

“Fuck! I’m not ready yet!” Axl complained, rushing towards their bags looking for his clothes as he was still in his travel clothing. 

“Oh, God, not today!” Izzy rolled his eyes, starting to smoke the third cigarette.

“What do you want to wear tonight?” She asked, sitting on the floor beside him. 

“My leather pants and the leather waistcoat.” He looked at her. “Find them and I’ll find the shoes and my bandana.” 

Moving to Axl’s second bag she started looking inside, throwing some of the clothes on the ground. “Got the pants!” She yelled, throwing them in his direction. 

“Not this one! I want the cowboy leather pants.” Axl complained.

“Axl!” Izzy interjected. 

“Fine, fine!” He lifted his hands in surrender.

After a few minutes, he was ready, running down the corridors while putting his sneakers on. 

“You should watch the gig,” Steven said. “You’ve never watched one.”

“That’s because I always have to organize your mess.” She giggled a little.

“No, seriously, I think you’d like it.” 

Thinking for a second she answered shrugging. “Why not?” 

“Yeas!” He smiled before getting onstage. 

Finding some equipment boxes on the side-door of the stage, she climbed on a big one, sitting on it and placing her agenda on her side. 

The gig started and she understood why everybody was getting crazy about them. 

Axl moved around as if he had eaten batteries for breakfast, jumping, running, screaming and singing. His voice was incredible and he was fierce, just what you need for a frontman.

Slash had lost all his shyness. Dancing, jumping and playing like a god. Every note that left his guitar sounded magical, precisely right. And even though she couldn’t see his face, she could tell that he loved doing that.

Izzy was like a black cat in the night, that you just notice if you pay attention. He moved around calmly, playing his guitar and singing the backing vocals so peacefully, as if he was born to do that. 

Steven, well, now she understood why they called him popcorn. His hair bounced up and down as his head accompanied the drums he was playing. He smiled and sang along and if he could, she was sure he’d get up and dance to the songs.

But nobody caught her eyes like Duff did. The velocity with which he moved his fingers, the way his head kept up with the beat of the song. The way he walked so majestically with his long legs crossing the stage in a few seconds.

He was beautiful, a masterpiece in her opinion. And she knew that there was no use in trying to fight, she was already in love with him. 

----

After the gig, they did the check-in in the hotel, taking a quick shower before stopping in a restaurant for dinner. 

Joining two tables together, they sat down. Tom and Izzy taking the borders, Axl, Slash and Steven taking one side while Y/N and Duff took the other.

It was a simple restaurant, nothing fancy, and as they talked and ate Y/N couldn’t help but feeling like she was having dinner with old friends of hers.

“So I get home and grandma is complaining that Axl was sleeping on her couch and that she wants him out of the house.” Slash was telling a story about when Axl used to sleep in his basement.  

“I go downstairs and say ‘Axl, you have to find somewhere else to stay, bro’ and he’s like furiously throwing his things inside this backpack while giving me an angry look.”

Axl was laughing at this point.

“We got in my mom’s car and I started driving him towards the place where Izzy was crashing and I was like ‘Why did you sleep on her couch, dude? I had told you not to do that!’ and he looks at me with that ‘I’m gonna kill you look’, he opens the door and jumps out of the car!”

“What?” Y/N asked.

They were all laughing.

“I was pissed.” Axl answered.

“Pissed? None of us saw you for three days!” Slash added while Duff wiped some tears away from his eyes. 

“I needed time to calm down.” Axl replied calmly, still smiling as he lifted his glass to drink from it. 

“This is the best story you guys ever told me!” She said after she stopped laughing.

----

Leaving the restaurant they started walking towards the hotel, they all went in front, leaving Duff and her behind.

It was a cold night in London and Y/N had definitely forgotten that their winter was actually cold.

A cold breeze got her when she turned a corner and she shivered, hugging herself. Her sweater was definitely not enough for a night like that. 

“Here.” She looked to her side and saw Duff taking off his leather jacket and handing it to her.

“You don’t have to.” 

“Y/N. Take the jacket.” He smiled at her.

She took it, her cold fingers touching his warm hand slightly. 

Putting the jacket on she realized it was big on her, the smell of his cologne mixed with Marlboro hit her nostrils and she hugged the jacket closer to her body, wishing that it was him who was involving her. 

A few minutes passed by and they finally reached the hotel. Entering the lobby the warmth welcomed them in and she smiled. 

“On which floor are you?” Duff asked.

“Fourth.” She started to take the jacket off. 

“I’m on the sixth.” 

“Yeah, I know.” She smiled. “Thanks for the jacket, Duff.”

“It’s ok.”

They stopped for a second, looking at each other almost as if they were in trance. 

Duff put a lock of her hair behind her ear and licked his lips.

“Y/N.” Tom’s voice cut the atmosphere, making her jump slightly and look in his direction. “Are you coming?” He pointed to the elevator.

“Yeah, just a sec.” 

Looking at Duff again, she gave him a small smile. “Good night, Duff.”

He leaned down, lightly kissing her cheek. “Good night, Y/N.” 

Getting in her room she quickly changed into some comfy pajamas. She stopped in front of the bathroom mirror when brushing her teeth and soon realized that she was smiling.

Her face seemed to be tickling where his fingers had brushed ever so delicately over. And she could still feel the warmth of his lips against her skin.

“Oh, Y/N. You are so fucked now.” She said to herself, walking towards the bed and jumping on it. 

She laid there, but she couldn’t sleep, his face and voice filling her mind along with the memories of him playing onstage. 

Her hair, which had stayed inside the jacket during the walk to the hotel, was smelling like him.

She turned around, facing the illuminated building in front of the hotel while smiling.

Yes, she was fucked. But she was feeling so happy that she couldn’t even get mad at herself for feeling like this. 

[ciggylungz]

Rivals. c2

Rivals: chapter 2

3.2k words

Summary: Y/n and Harry are both CEO’s of their parent’s companies since they inherited the businesses from them, they’ve been rivals since they were kids- now that they’re professional adults how will their rivalry affect them?

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When Friday rolled around Y/n was excited, she’d had a grueling week and been working 18 hours a day for the past 6 days so she was more than thrilled to have a break. Friday’s were usually pretty tame in the office, but just her luck that day a new product design was dumped on her desk and she was tasked with going through the mountains of papers filled with advertisement ideas, promotion pictures and commercial ideas for the new line of clothes and perfumes coming out for the winter season since they were a few weeks away from December. Due to the time crunch she couldn’t really afford to push it off, so she sat at her desk and reviewed everything well past her normal hours.

It was around 7 in the evening when she pulled out the bottle of tequila she kept in her desk for late nights like this, grabbing some ice from the office kitchen and a tonic water from her own mini fridge stashed in the closet in her office. She kept the lighting low, her eyes already feeling the strain of the fluorescent bulbs and fine print papers after hours of reading and she’d like to save the headache for the next morning if possible.

She was a tad bit startled when a knock sounded at her office door, she glanced to the clock seeing it was nearing 10 at night and she knew her assistant left at 8 so she was a surprised by the interruption. Of course, he had to be the one knocking. Even through her mild intoxication she could tell that curly mop of hair as him, his face joining his locks a second later as he waltzes into her office. His lips were tugged in a small smile, hands holding a binder with a plastic bag cradled in his left one.

“Ah! Getting a bit wild in the office tonight? Tequila, you naughty girl!” he gave her a fake disapproving look companied with a stern finger pointing between her and the now half empty bottle. Y/n was always a bit looser after a drink, so she didn’t have her usual bitter comeback loaded she instead felt a strange shot of happiness? Relief? Fondness? She couldn’t put her finger on it. It was too foreign of a feeling to be associated with the man. The woman didn’t understand why she didn’t feel the sense of loathing tugging at her when he spoke, instead she let out a small laugh before flipping him off.

Harry was surprised yet pleased at her reaction. He always loved tipsy y/n, the booze seemed to soften her overly serious nature and make her a bit sweeter. They had some of their best moments together after they had a good buzz going, they’d even had a few instances of cuddling during their alcohol induced haze. He remembers those times fondly; he thinks back on them at times when they’re arguing or in the middle of a grudge holding session. Harry knew she’d never admit it, but deep down behind all her walls she really was a loving, sweet girl. She always had been yet her pride and fear of vulnerability would never let her admit it.

“Hello Harry, any reason you’ve broken into my place of work?” she tipped the glass back to her lips, taking another sip of her cocktail as she waited for his response. She watched him set his things down, shrugging his suit jacket off before rolling his sleeves to his elbows. “Saw you through the window, was workin’ late myself. Thought misery needed a bit of company, and knowing you I knew you’d probably need a designated driver for the night miss tequila.” He lifted his eyebrows in a slight teasing manner, a smile growing on her lips as she giggled quietly, raising her hands in surrender. “bad habits die hard, huh?” she retorted, the smile didn’t drop from her features and Harry loved it. She always had such a beautiful smile. Her plushy lips molded into the shape, her braces did their job giving her a perfect even smile. She had a genuine smile on, he could tell by the way it met her eyes that seemed to brighten when she was in a good mood. She was beautiful. He truly didn’t understand why she had always been so self-conscious. he hated when she’d talk negatively about her looks, weight, body etc. He’d always found her to be a very beautiful woman, and her strong personality amplified that even further.

“That they do miss Y/l/n, they do indeed.” He agreed with a nod, reaching his hand into the previously noted bag pulling out some bread, followed by small slices of cheese and finally a container of grapes. They both shared a love for the particular grouping of food, often having it for snack as kids or packing it when they went on little trips with their friends. It was their thing in a sense. He might amp it up a bit to feel a special bond with her in some way, even if it’s just over a love of the same foods.

“Brought some goodies, might share with you if you’re nice to m’.” Harry made himself comfortable on the couch, toeing off his shoes to leave him in his red dress socks. He liked to have accent colors when he dressed for work, often opting for pocket squares, socks or collar pins to tie together his outfits. He had decided early on just because he was in a work environment didn’t mean he had to dress boring, he worked in fashion for Christ sake so he enjoyed a bit of complimentary accessories. Tastefulness is key though, and he knew how to pick them right.

Y/n polished off her drink, reaching to pour herself another mixing it with a coffee straw she snagged from the kitchen during her original venture out. the woman shrugged slightly, taking a sip with a little smack of her lips at the strongness. She went a bit heavy on the tequila this time around.

“Eh, I’m on a diet anyway.” Her response amused Harry, chuckling lightly before popping a grape into his mouth. He always appreciated someone with a quick wit, and Y/n checked that box for him. He was starting to realize she checked most of his boxes regarding things he found attractive…and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

__

It was nearing midnight when Y/n started to show signs she was fully drunk. Her head bobbed slightly, body lightly swaying and Harry saw her eyes flutter every so often. He could read her like a book, he knew she was stressed, tired and wasted just from a single glance. The man found it quite cute, she looked so soft and cute when she was in this state. She radiated that type of energy that made you want to hug her; she wasn’t as guarded and flighty. She looked utterly trashed but relaxed and he didn’t mind the drunkenness if it meant she wasn’t as worked up as usual. She worked hard; the woman deserved to let loose once in a while.

“Hey, think it’s time to head out hmm?” Harry slowly sat up as he spoke, stretching with a few quiet pops of his joints. Y/n lifted her head slightly, giving him doe eyes and a pouty lip. “but I have work to do…” a hiccup sounded after she spoke, making her body jolt slightly. “It’ll be there on Monday, it’s late and you’re wasted love. C’mon time to go, hey don’t get all misty eyed on me it’s okay. Swear it’s alright, everything will get done.”

Harry frowned mid-way through his sentence seeing her eyes gloss with tears. She could be quite an emotional drunk, she bottled up her feelings 24/7 so in any sort of weakened state she began to crack. Harry had seen it only twice in the thirteen years of knowing her. The first time they were 15, she’d just broken up with her boyfriend at the time who was a total douche and he’d spent the six months the pair were together practically bullying the girl and mainly spending the time they had together fucking her. she had gotten absurdly drunk and walked to Harry’s home, sobbing and shaking only to spend the rest of the night cuddled into his chest. it was a toxic relationship and Harry always hated that guy; he gave the boy a few swift kicks to the ribs a few days after the incident. The second was during spring break, the pair were freshly 20 and someone had groped her at the club. Y/n had a panic attack on the bathroom floor and Harry sat with her the whole time, even though the filthy floor was sticky with booze and god knows what else he didn’t even think of leaving her behind.

Y/n took in a deep breath nodding her head slightly, letting Harry put the bottle back in it’s hiding spot and organize her papers before getting himself situated and heading to the car. With some episodes of tripping over her own feet and dizziness he’d managed to get her into the passenger seat, buckling her and joining her in the vehicle.

__

 “Y/n no, you can’t smash the window! Where are your house keys? Put the rock down”

Bargaining with someone who’s intoxicated was never easy, but he was worried about the woman chucking a random stone through her first-floor window instead of just unlocking the door. Drunk minds aren’t the soundest he supposed seeing as he was prying a rouge rock from y/ns hand.

Eventually the keys were located and used to forge entry into her modest town house. Unlike her parent’s y/n wasn’t into flashy mansions and cars. She didn’t see a purpose for such a large home when she was the only resident, plus it creeped her out knowing there would be more room for potential squatters if she had opted for an 8-bedroom 6-bath mansion like her parents had for the 3 of them. She was never someone who fancied showing off expensive thing, she found it tacky and risky because you’re flashing to people that you have expensive things to steal. So, when she purchased a home, she opted for a modest 2-bedroom town house and she really did love it.

Harry was greeted with a subtle scent of cedar and nutmeg, reminding him y/n always opted for fall themed candles and home fragrances. She felt it made places feel cozier and warmer. contrary to her guarded and sometimes cold personality, she always wanted her home to feel welcoming.

Her décor was nice, a large leather couch with some dark red throw pillows along with a fuzzy blanket folded and draped over the back of the furniture. Some arm chairs also filled the Livingroom, art hung evenly on the wall and a tv mounted right in the center of the adjacent wall. A nice area rug and coffee table really finished off the center room, it was an inviting set up and Harry had to resist the urge to sit on the large couch that seemed to be calling to him as he started walking her up the steps.

The bedframe groaned as she flopped herself down on her mattress, a content sigh leaving her lips as the woman kicked off her shoes. “mmmm love my bed, missed it.” The woman placed an affectionate pet to her pillow, Harry laughing slightly at her antics whilst searching her dresser for clothes to change her into. Pinching a pair of sleep shorts and a tshirt before tossing it on the bed making his way into her bathroom so she could change in private.

Once the girl was situated, he reappeared, picking up her dirty clothes and putting them in her hamper for her. everything was going well, they weren’t fighting and she seemed to really be enjoying his presence but because Harrys an idiot he had to ruin it.

“maybe if you weren’t such a raging bitch, I wouldn’t have to come take you home and you’d have a boyfriend who could huh?”

He intended it to be their playful teasing, how they usually pick on each other and make rude comments but it came across harsher than intended. He sounded utterly mean and spiteful, and after Y/n had spent the evening warming up to him and even enjoying his company that felt like a smack in the face. Just when she thought maybe he’d changed or wasn’t so bad he had to make a comment, picking a topic she was already very sensitive about because all her previous relationships were very abusive and put her in the position she was in now of being so guarded and cold she was left to a life of loneliness.

There was a beat of silence, Harry registering his tone and how he’d just switched the atmosphere entirely. There was no sense of playfulness anymore, just hurt and anger. He regretted ever opening his mouth, seeing the woman look away from him with veins visible on her neck from the restraint she was using to hold back her tears. She cursed herself for drinking, it always made her more sensitive and she felt like a fool for not seeing Harry was just waiting for her to become vulnerable so he could strike back even when truly it wasn’t his intention, his actions left her with only that theory to believe.

Y/n cleared her throat and shot him the best glare she could while her eyes burned with tears begging to escape. “You can see yourself out Harry.” The dismissal was curt and quiet, there was no option for bargaining or pleading because she didn’t want to hear anything else he had to say. Harry knew when to pick his battles with her so he knew it was best he left, sighing slightly before leaving the bedroom making sure he locks her front door for her on his way out. he’s never wanted to beat his own ass so bad in his life.

__

 As much as Y/n tried to hide it under her cold, blunt exterior- she was extremely insecure and broken inside. She never learned how to express her emotions or hurt. Y/n never had parents there to guide her nor comfort her in her times of need. She’d never had anyone who cared about her to look out for her besides neglectful nannies who left her to her own devices most of her childhood. She was emotionally stunted, and it had made her vulnerable to shitty people her whole life. It led to her having a 17-year-old boyfriend when she was 13 that pressured her into losing her virginity and emotionally abused her the entirety of their year long illegal relationship. It put her in the position of having a revolving door of toxic abusive relationships with cruel boys who treated her poorly, her father was never around so she never had an example of a good man so she resorted to getting attention and validation in whatever form she could even when it was harmful and a façade to use her body and status. The woman was never taught how to handle her emotions and it led to her clawing for control in any way she could, any sort of distraction and turned her to dark, destructive behaviors in her teen years that still haunt her in the form of physical and mental scars now that she’s in her adult years. She’d practically had to raise herself, and now that she’s grown, she’s running the company that stole her parents from her. she can’t tell who she hates more, her parents or herself.

Harrys word seemed to pop the stitches on an internal wound she thought was close to healing. While he was joking, she couldn’t tell. It was said with such a bitter malice it made her skin crawl. Sure, they’ve been mean to each other for 13 years but in her vulnerable state and the knowledge he had of her past his words seemed deliberate and cruel for the sole purpose of hurting her. not a stupid joke like he’d intended.

She couldn’t get it out of her head, she spent the remainder of the weekend nursing her hangover and a wounded soul. Her mind was screaming self-hating words, cruel statements towards herself and pushing her to look for comfort in another person again even when she knew she was vulnerable to falling back into the arms of yet another man who wasn’t good for her but she couldn’t bring herself to care enough about herself to make the best choices for her. she felt like she had something to prove to Harry, herself and the universe that she wasn’t so horrible that no one could stand to be around her even if the person she chose only stuck around to leech off her. it was a stupid mindset, one that’s left her torn to shreds numerus times since her early teenage years but the spiral Harrys verbal bite sent her into had her internally turning back into 14-year-old y/n who just wanted to feel like she mattered. She was setting herself up for pain again, she knew it. But like she stated before, old habits die hard.

and y/n decided she must be a glutton for punishment when her fingers started typing in the familiar number of her ex.

[just-another-ficwriter]

Locked Up

Pairing: Reader x Sweet Pea

Words: 1000ish

Warnings: Mentions of blood, violence, implied harassment

Summary: Y/N and Sweet Pea find themselves bonding when they’re forced to spend a night in the cells.

Notes: Filling my last square on my @riverdalebingo card, Prison AU! Thank you for helping me with the idea @elliemaemusicals!

She hears him before she seems him.

A loud grunt, a heavy sigh, a voice insisting he’d done nothing wrong.

And then he rounds the corner, his hands held behind his back, guided by the same sheriff that had brought her in.

“Tell that to the guy you put in hospital.” The older man says through gritted teeth, pushing the teen into her neighbouring cell and locking it behind him.

He kicks the bars with his boot, practically hissing. “Yeah well he shouldn’t have touched Toni like that.”

“I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it boy.” Sheriff Jones runs a hand done his face, an anger lingering in his tone. “But we have other ways of dealing with things now.”

And then he’s gone, disappearing back into the hallway and leaving them both alone in silence.

She doesn’t mean to stare at him, or rather the mess he’s in, but she can’t help it.

With bright red swollen knuckles, a gash on his forehead that’s still bleeding out and a black eye already forming, he’s quite the sight.

“Something bothering you?” He huffs, and it takes her a second to realise he’s staring back.

She doesn’t answer, just looks away with a shake of her head.

“That’s what I thought.” He kicks the bars one more time, the sound echoing off the walls before he falls to the floor with another sigh.

-

The silence between them is deafening.

She doesn’t even know him and she hates it.

He’s sitting with his back to her now, a large green snake looking back at her instead. She isn’t stupid, she knows what his jacket means.

She’d heard of the Southside Serpents, or rather been warned about them from her Mom. A dangerous gang from the wrong side of town that she swore she’d never get mixed up with.

Only now she’s sitting one cell away from one of its very own members and she can’t help but wonder if they’re really that different anyway.

He still doesn’t say a word when the sheriff reappears again with first aid and tells him to clean himself up.

-

She watches him struggle for ten minutes until she breaks.

There’s only so much of him muttering under his breath and sighing dramatically that she can take.

“Need help?” He turns to find her hands already reaching out between the bars, about to shut her down with some sarcastic remark when he realises it might actually be impossible to do it himself when he doesn’t even have a mirror.

He mumbles something she assumes is a please as he pushes the stuff towards her so she can make a start.

He can’t help but whine as she dabs at the cut on his forehead, inhaling sharply as she apologises but doesn’t ease up. He wonders if it’s pay back from him being rude earlier.

When she moves to his hands, his cheeks turn a subtle shade of pink at the feel of his fingertips dancing against his skin.

He prays she doesn’t notices, and she says nothing if she did.

“Thank you.” She smiles at him when she’s done and he finds himself a little breathless. “I’m Sweet Pea by the way.”

She gives him the same puzzled look most people do when he says his name, eyebrows knitted together. “Y/N.”

-

“How long are you gonna keep me here for?” The sheriff, who had decided to introduce himself as FP now she’d been there a few hours, chuckling as he passes her a sandwich and a glass of water.

“All night kiddo.” Sweet Pea watches the way her mouth drops open before she begins to protest.

“No please you can’t, my Mom will go crazy-“

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you drunk underage and decided to wonder the streets.” He points out, giving her a stern look that dares her to argue back.

She bites her tongue until he’s gone but doesn’t miss the way Sweet Pea’s eyes linger on her now.

“Something bothering you?” She mimics the first words shared between them, only now they’re both laughing.

“You don’t look drunk.” She shrugs at his observation, taking a sip of her drink.

“I guess getting arrested sobered me up.” She sits on the floor, scooting as close to his cell as she can, silently inviting him to do the same.

He follows her lead with a smirk. “First time I take it?”

“I’m guessing it’s not yours.” Her eyes roam over his jacket again, more boldly this time and he looks away briefly. She senses his awkwardness and changes the subject. “How come you’re here?”

“Punched a guy who didn’t know how to keep his hands to himself.” He notes the way her expression changes, something soft in her eyes as she gives him a sympathetic smile.

Maybe not all gang members are as bad as her mother claims them to be.

-

“What’s your favourite colour?” She asks the question over her shoulder. They’re sitting back to back now, so close they’re almost touching.

“Easy, green.” She shakes her head, she should have known. “Whats your favourite food?”

“Pizza always.” He scoffs at her answer, about to argue that burgers are much better when FP interrupts them again.

“Alright kids times up, your free to go.” She blinks in surprise. They’d been so caught up in getting to know each other and asking silly little questions back and fore, she hadn’t noticed they’d talked the whole night away.

He waits until they’re both out in the car park, the morning sun just starting to rise in the sky before he speaks up. “Wanna get breakfast?”

He’s looking down at her with such hope in his eyes, she could never say no. “Only if it’s from Pop’s.”

He fakes horror, a hand clutching his chest but he’s already grinning. “Where else?”

Riverdale Winter Bingo Masterlist

Forever Taglist: @p-marie-sp

Sweet Pea Taglist: @80sand90simagine @wildberryyyy @hopelesslylosttheway

[pappydaddy]

A Lumberjack and A Mullet ii (b.h.)

  A/N: This is the requested second part to A Lumberjack and A Mullet. This piece still references a bad home life and child abuse. However, this is going to focus more about Billy and the reader finding safety and happiness in each other, but unfortunately, there will be mentions of the abuse. Once again, this is not a good depiction of someone suffering through this situation since I am once again trying to keep this on the lighter side of things. 

Disclaimer: This is an imagine that involves a very sensitive topic. This imagine contains mentions of child abuse, violence, and an unhealthy home life - please read with caution. Reader’s discretion is advised.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Fem!Reader

Show/Movie: Stranger Things

Requested

Loosely inspired by Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift bc I was listening to it when I started to write it and this happened.

Part One | Part Two -You’re here! | Part Three 

Warnings: Mentions child abuse, violence, and an unhealthy home life. Reader’s discretion is advised.

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation

Here are some resources from child abuse advocates:

- Child Maltreatment from World Health Organization   - Children Rights Organizations in Canada/some U.N.

If you or anyone you know faces the issues/treatment addressed in this imagine, please, please know that you are not alone, that someone out there can help you and understand what you are going through. Please never hesitate to reach out to organizations and advocates in your area. My DMs are always open for anyone who needs someone to talk to. Once again, please reach out to someone if you need help - there are tons of people to help.

- not my gif - 

Billy Hargrove wasn’t a good idea. He was a heartbreaker, a playboy of great proportions, everyone saw it. Many have fallen victim to his charming ways and were left with their hearts bleeding in their hands. Even Y/N’s friends (who were far from angels themselves) were warning her about him, but they didn’t see the Billy she saw. Somehow, in that fateful Saturday detention, they managed to break each other’s walls down with a smile. The tenderness in his touch shocked Y/N when they first held hands, but it shocked her, even more, when he had the same tenderness when he had held her in his arms for the first time. 

  They had become dependent on each other. They were each other’s safe space. Even now, as Y/N cowered in the corner of her darkroom, flinching every time her father’s fist collided with the weak wood separating them. The wood cracked, it was only a matter of time until the door finally broke. Standing on shaky legs, Y/N trusted her gut - knowing that she had to get out of there in the case today was the day that the door gave out under the strong punch of her father. Her heart thundered, drowning out the thump of knuckles against the splintering wood as she grabbed her book bag. Slipping on her raincoat, she yanked open the window. A few raindrops fell through the open window, but she slipped through anyway, pulling the hood over her hair. 

  The night was darker than normal for ten at night, the rain clouds attempting to smother the moon’s light. The drop from her room was scary, her room being on the second floor and all. Her bag hit the wet grass before she eased herself out the window, her fingers gripping the ledge in terror. The soles of her converse kept slipping against the wet siding - her fingers becoming slick as rain pounded them. Squeezing her eyes closed, she kicked off the side of her house, her grip finally letting go of the ledge. For a moment, she felt weightless as she plummeted to the ground, her knees bent in anticipation of meeting the ground. With a squish, her feet met the wet grass, water splashing up on her ankles as she let out a hiss, her ankles stinging from the impact. 

  Without a second thought, she slung her book bag over her shoulder and booked it to the nearest payphone. Despite it being quite a ways away, it was still closer than Billy’s house. As rain pelted down on her, drenching her raincoat, she felt warm tears slipping down her face - a stark contrast from the cold rain. The phone booth door rattled as she pulled it open, slipping into the clear booth. She took another breath, watching the raindrops fall, the yellow light from the streetlight casting down on the lonely booth. As her eyes followed the racing raindrops down the plexiglass, she thought about Billy - trying to halt her tears and trembling body.

  They had just finished another Saturday detention, once again ending up sitting on the hood of Billy’s car just like they had for the past three months. Y/N sipped at her soda, tucked under Billy’s arm as he leaned against his windshield. The winter months were melting away just like the snow that had covered the group a few weeks ago. Y/N leaned against Billy’s chest, the pair watching the stars as they sat in content silence. “Do you want a sip?” She suddenly asked, craning her neck to look at Billy, twisting to practically lay beside him as she extended the almost gone soda to him. 

  He dropped his eyes from the twinkling stars to look at her. “Sure, are you done with it?” He asked, gently taking the fast-food cup from her. 

  She nodded, her hand falling to rest on his chest, her head resting on his shoulder as she gazed up at him. “Yeah,” His strong jaw clenched as he took the straw between his lips, drinking the rest of the lukewarm soda. She smiled at him when he glanced down at her, leaning down to press his lips against her in a peck. Y/N hummed against his lips, her legs wrapping around one of his jean-clad legs. “I never want this to end.” She stated, her other hand coming up to twirl one of Billy’s blonde curls around her finger. 

  “Never want what to end?” Billy asked, his deep voice rumbling in his chest. She sighed at the feeling of the vibrations in his chest, his large hand tracing random shapes on her hip. 

  “This. You and I laying here,” She clarified. “I never want to go home.” She muttered the hand that once rested on his chest reaching down to pick at the blanket Billy had thrown over them in an effort to keep them warm longer. 

  “Pretty soon, that won’t be your home, I’ll be your home,” Billy told her, squeezing her closer to him. She hummed, pulling the blanket up farther before laying her hand back on his chest. “After we graduate, and I mean right after we graduate, we’re loading up my car and heading to California to start our life together.”

  “Do you really think I’m California material?” She asked, peering up at him again. 

  “I know you are.” He replied confidently. 

  That’s another side of Billy nobody but she saw: the dreamer. He had big dreams of moving back to California someday, getting back into surfing.  She sighed, peeling her drenched bag off her back. Pulling out a few quarters, she slipped them into the payphone, picking up the receiver before quickly dialing the number she knew by heart. Instantly, she heard the ringing as she drummed her fingers against the phone, glancing over her shoulder. She always felt like she was in a horror movie when she was out during the night, especially when she stood in a phone booth at night. “Hello?” A young voice spoke through the phone, making Y/N let out a breath. 

  “Hi, Max. Can I talk to Billy, it’s important.” She rushed out to the younger girl, recognizing the voice immediately. 

  “Yeah, just a second.” She answered her. Y/N could hear Max faintly call for Billy, saying that she was on the phone for him. She supposed Neil was out since Max was the one answering the phone. It was only a few beats of waiting until she heard the shuffling of Max trading the phone off to Billy. 

  “Hello, babe, what’s up?” He asked. Y/N could already see him leaning against the wall by the phone in a white wife-beater, the phone pinched between his shoulder and his ear, his arms crossed over his chest with a smile on his face showing off his perfect teeth. 

  “I need you to pick me up, I jumped out my window.” She rushed out, trying not to get distracted by the visual of him. She heard him jolt on the other end. 

  “Where are you, I’ll come to get you right away.” 

  “The payphone, the one I usually call you from.” She told him, knowing that he knew which one she was talking about. 

  “Okay, stay in the booth, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” With that, he hung the phone up, but Y/N wasn’t offended. This was how it normally went when she called him to pick her up. He would always hang up right away, her safety being the only thing he worried about. He would drop everything run to her. She silently hung the phone up, leaning her back against the plexiglass. Closing her eyes, she listened to the rhythmic sound of rain hitting it. A ghost of a smile stretched onto her face as another memory flooded her mind. 

  Billy held her in his arms as they laid on the grass. They watched the fireworks, their faces lighting up with each explosion of colour in the sky. Her hands gently played with his hair absentmindedly. It was the Hawkins’ Fall Festival, armed with games, fireworks, fall-themed foods, and an overcrowded field. Even though they were camped out far away from the festival itself, they still marveled at the extravagant fireworks it had. “Pretty good third date, huh?” Billy’s voice interrupted the fireworks, making her turn her head from the loud pops. She was shocked to see him already looking at her, his eyes soft as they flicked over her face. 

  “An extremely good third date,” She corrected him, pressing a kiss to his cheek before settling back to watch the remaining fireworks. “The Fall Festival has never been so enjoyable for me. Thank you.” She whispered not lifting her head to look at him as she spoke, her eyes dancing across the dark sky the colourful sparks fell - fading out completely before they fell to the ground. 

  She felt his arms tighten around her, then his lips pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her hair. She signed instinctively, melting into his warm embrace. “You don’t have to thank me,” Billy spoke against the top of her head, his lips lingering as he took in the scent of her shampoo. “Did you put perfume on to the top of your head?” He asked, pulling away as he caught a strong whiff of her perfume - a scent that drove him crazy and sends his mind whirling.

  “Yeah,” She admitted quietly before looking up at him defensively. “I read about it in Cosmo so I wanted to try it out, what are you going to do about it?.” 

  Billy let out a barking laugh, squeezing her affectionately as she started to laugh along with him. “You’re adorable.” 

  The sound of Billy’s car pulled her from the memory. Fluttering her eyes open, she was met with the blinding lights of his car speeding towards the booth. With a squeal of his tires, he pulled over to the curb. Grabbing her bag from the ground, she pushed the door back open. In a blink of an eye, Billy was out of the still-running car and wrapping her in a hug. Her bag dropped to the wet concrete as her arms settle over his shoulders, his hands pressing into the small of her back to press her flush against his body. 

  They clung to each other, hands fisting each other’s clothes. “I am so glad you’re okay.” Billy murmured into her neck as he swayed them gently. Her smaller hands let go of his rain jacket, her hands resting on his jaw to pull his face from her neck, their eyes meeting. 

  “I’m always going to be okay as long as you’re with me.” She whispered. Not even a second later, his lips were on hers, the force of the kiss nearly knocking her over. Automatically, her fingers buried themselves into Billy’s soaked curls as their lips moved together, pouring all their love into the kiss. Fireworks exploded within them, just like they exploded in the sky the night of the Fall Festival.

  She knew people said that Billy wasn’t a good decision, that she should run, but she also knew that she would never run and that he was the best decision for her. The was abundantly clear now as his lips caressed hers with the utmost care and love, his hands holding her as if she’d break if he held her any tighter. 

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: West Coast Avengers #4: FINALE

December, 1984

So things are going well for the West Coast Avengers so far, huh?

Well, at least Tigra got out of the ocean and same for Wonder Man and the pool? That’s something??

Anyway.

How have things been going for the West Coast Avengers?

Last times on limited series: A west coast branch of the Avengers was formed on Avengers chairman Vision’s request, head up by Hawkeye and with a roster of Mockingbird, Tigra, James Rhodes Iron Man, and Wonder Man.

Their first team activity was to beat the crap out of the Shroud, a friend of Tigra’s who followed her to the new Avengers Compound under the mistaken impression that she was in some kind of trouble. Then Hawkeye offered to let Shroud join the Avengers for taking a punch so well but he declined. For some reason.

Next, the West Coast Avengers assembled to try to take down bank robber the Blank, who robbed one (1) bank before the city escalated to calling in superheroes. He also personally offended Wonder Man by escaping him but c’mon Simon, you could do better for a nemesis. Although the Blank is still a better one than the Grim Reaper. After escaping the Avengers via explosion, the Blank had Graviton pop into existence right in front of him.

In the previous issue, the West Coast Avengers help Los Angeles deal with the unseasonable winter summoned by the Casket of Eternal Winters over in the Thor book. Since Wonder Man is still bummed over the Blank, Tigra and the Shroud help him track the guy down but find out that Graviton is now the Blank’s boss. Tigra and Shroud get tossed out to the ocean along with the Blank (for being annoying) and Wonder Man is held at the bottom of a pool until he stops blubbing.

How will our heroes get out of their various water themed predicaments??

I don’t know about Wonder Man but thankfully Tigra is exceptionally good at treading water.

She has to hold up Shroud who was knocked out on impact and she activates an emergency signal beacon that’ll summon the other Avengers.

Only god and Tigra knows where she was holding that.

... Maybe pouches aren’t so bad as a costume element.

Also, Blank has gone completely missing after hitting the ocean. He doesn’t appear in the rest of this book but he’s not dead. He doesn’t have any other appearances for twenty-five years but eventually shows up in a Spider-Man #580 (also written by Stern) where he’s up to his old bank and armored car robbing and then getting in over his head with superheroes ways.

In a way you have to admire that he absolutely did not change after twenty-five years and is still doing literally everything we saw him do last issue. In another way, you have to wonder why he would move to New York when he was going to leave LA due to having superheroes.

Rob banks in the Midwest, you fool!

Anyway.

Tigra treads water until Iron Man shows up and scoops both Tigra and Shroud out of the way and wooshes them to Avengers Compound.

After dropping them off, Iron Man apparently went back and tried to find the Blank with sonar scans but couldn’t locate the dope. He speculates that he got caught up in an undertow but don’t worry. As discussed, he just goes underground for 25 years.

Iron Man wants to head off immediately and get Graviton but Hawkeye tells him to settle down.

Hawkeye is the voice of reason against the hot-heads. Its amazing where character development can take you.

Hawkeye: “I’m worried about Wondy, too... But we can’t just go smashing our way into Graviton’s lair! He’s one of the toughest guys the Avengers ever fought! The first time we went up against him, he held ten Avengers at bay... Including Wonder Man and Thor! I wasn’t there, but reading Captain America’s report on the incident made me glad I wasn’t!”

But Iron Man should know this already... he was one of the Avengers in that report.

Iron Man says he’ll need to spend more time going over the Avengers files.

Iron Man: “Iron may have fought Graviton, but I haven’t!”

Hey! Rhodey reveals his identity to the others, just like he considered doing. And just like he was afraid of, Hawkeye begins to treat him like an amateur!

Rhodey counters that he was the Iron Man during Secret Wars and did a good job saving Hawkeye’s ass during that.

But more, Rhodey’s hot-headed attitude reminds Hawkeye of himself during the kooky quartet days and wonders how Cap ever put up with him. So paying it forward, he walks back and says he was out of line to call Rhodey an amateur and that they’ll need his power to take down Graviton.

Assuming that Wonder Man is being held hostage and won’t be able to help, Hawkeye decides that the first order of business is going to need to be finding him and getting him out of whatever trouble he’s in.

For that, they’ll need to plan ahead. So Mockingbird pulls up some landsat maps and Tigra gives them the cool scoop on the layout of Graviton’s mansion.

Later, at said mansion.

Two lady escorts are whispering by the bar about what an awful creep Graviton is. Its pretty great.

Lady 1: “... He’s... certainly a striking figure of a man! But he gives me the creeps! I hate the way he paws me... I’d rather take a bath in a pool of slugs! And if you tell him I said that, I’ll call you a liar to your face!”

Lady 2: “Don’t worry! After the way he handled those super-powered party-crashers earlier, I won’t put anybody on his bad side! Assuming he has a good side! What a bore! At least he pays well!”

Its good to know that even as a super-powered guy taking over organized crime, Graviton still has absolutely no personal charisma.

There’s a wunk thwak at the door so one of Graviton’s goons goes to check it out and gets a gun shoved in his face by some new visitors.

Its popular villain Madame Masque! Head of one of the Maggia crime families! And her goon Louis!

She demands to be taken to Graviton at once and she is because would you argue with a mask with unnecessary rivets?

Madame Masque: “I heard there was new talent in the area -- working to consolidate the Southern California gangs. Talent interests me.”

Graviton: “And is that your only interest?”

Madame Masque: “No, I also love power. I’m told you’re quite a... powerful man!”

Ew.

Graviton brags about his control of GRAVITY and Madame Masque tells him he’d best watch out for the Avengers. She hears they started a new group locally and Avengers means trouble. Especially since her old enemy Iron Man is part of the new team.

He laughs off this warning because he has an Avenger at the bottom of his pool just to show off.

Graviton: “Observe... the late Simon Williams, perhaps better known to you as Wonder Man! His strength was quite remarkable, but no match for my localized gravity fields! It was a simple matter to hold him to the bottom of my pool until he ran out of air!”

RIP Wonder Man. Uh, again.

Actually Graviton mentions that even though Wonder Man has stopped blubbing, he’s still holding him to the bottom of the pool because the fool has come back to life once.

Louis, the goon, reacts in shock at seeing a dead lifeless body in the pool so Madame Masque hauls off and slaps him.

Graviton is very impressed at her management style that he begins to propose something, something salacious if I had to guess, but then some repulsors hit the pool with a KROOOSH.

In this Avengers book, an Avenger arrives to avenge.

Iron Man: “Graviton... and Madame Masque! Now, isn’t this a cozy little scene! Too bad I have to break it up!”

The armored Avengers starts aggressing at the various minions, including knocking Louis into the bushes.

Inside, the bartender takes off her bartender outfit to reveal a Mockingbird outfit underneath. I suspect that maybe this bartender is actually, in secret, Mockingbird.

She contacts Hawkeye and tells him to put phase 2 into operation.

Meanwhile, outside, Graviton uses gravity to slam Iron Man to the ground but for some reason the effort is making him feel light-headed.

Madame Masque notices and asks Graviton whats wrong but he insists that he’ll crush Iron Man but then enter Mockingbird SPANGing her stave off Graviton’s gravity shield and dunking on him.

She also reveals in thinky thoughts that as Bartender Bobbi, she drugged everyone’s drinks. Graviton still being up she attributes to him having the constitution of a moose.

Still, I’m laughing at the West Coast Avengers using their prep time to just up and drug everyone. Even if the big boss has resistance to status effects it’s a hilarious work smarter moment.

Hawkeye’s sky-cycle swoops down but Graviton just knocks it away.

In another hilarious move, that’s not Hawkeye on the Sky-Cycle.

Looks like him but it’s not.

Because ‘Hawkeye’ is a dummy and if Hawkeye came up with the idea to disguise himself as Louis, then he’s no dummy.

And if he’s ‘Louis’ then I’d bet that Madame Masque isn’t the real article either. Process of elimination leads to an obvious answer there.

But again, they put a Hawkeye dummy on a Sky-Cycle hoping Graviton would deflect it into the bushes to deliver Hawkeye’s equipment to him. Amazing!

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the pool, Wonder Man has stirred to life and has been struggling against Graviton’s power ever since Iron Man arrived. His efforts collapse one side of the pool.

Startled by that, Graviton’s concentration slips, giving Wonder Man enough of an opening to claw himself out of the pool and clobber the supervillain.

Graviton manages to cushion against the blow because, sure, gravity can do that. But then Iron Man grabs ‘Madame Masque’ and flies off to start phase three of the strategy.

The villain flies off after Iron Man, still affected by the drugs but fighting through it. Because “can’t let that Avenger make me look bad in front of her!”

Whoever decided to play on Graviton’s ego has a big brain.

Graviton hears ‘Madame Masque’ scream and swoops down to find her alone.

Because Iron Man had to do some prep.

Iron Man: “Welcome to Substation #5! They tell me that the entire southwestern power grid feeds through here! I figure that should give me enough power to beat anybody... including you! So, unless you’ve gotten smart and want to give up -- you’d better make your move, sucker!”

Graviton has not gotten smart.

But the West Coast Avengers’ plan is pretty smart.

They had Mockingbird infiltrate Graviton’s mansion and drug everybody. They had Hawkeye and a ‘Madame Masque’ show up to get Graviton to reveal where Wonder Man is, play on Graviton’s ego and libido, and I assume keep him from going wild if he has a squishy person standing next to him. And they crank Iron Man up on so many watts so he can go toe-to-toe with Graviton if he hasn’t already passed out from the aforementioned drugs.

It’s a good plan.

Probably going to cause some blackouts but... uh... look. Worthy cause?

Iron Man: This is incredible! I can feel the energy surging through my armor! There’s no sensation that even comes close to this! This is what it means to be Iron Man... this is what it means to be invincible!

Of course, Rhodey isn’t Tony. In fact, the West Coast Avengers doesn’t really have a really techy/sciencey person?

Wonder Man used to be one of Tony’s peers but he hasn’t touched science since coming back to life.

Hawkeye invented anti-gravity once but never really returned to that well.

Oh, Mockingbird has a doctorate in biology. But she’s gone full into the spy/costumed adventurer thing.

Anyway, even though Rhodey is able to blast everything Graviton throws at him, the cables he used to link to the substation can’t handle the thousands of mega-volts and begin to melt.

So just as he repulsors Graviton onto his ass, a power surge short circuits the armor.

‘Madame Masque’ runs to help Graviton but PSYCHE ITS TIGRA

She used the little cat trinket established last issue to take on her human form which looks enough like Madame Masque in the sense that she has black hair and a generically attractive body type.

Graviton manages to put up a gravity based force field and fend off attacks from Iron Man, Wonder Man, and Tigra. But knocking them away almost floors him.

Then Hawkeye and Mockingbird come Sky-Cycling by and Hawkeye shoots some tranquilizer gas arrows because, hey, why not pile on more sedatives?

Graviton brags that its a simple matter for him to increase the weight of the gas so its hugging the ground instead of his lungs.

Then he passes the fuck out.

GOOD JOB TEAM!

I honestly never thought I’d see a superhero fight end by sedating a man so much that he passed out and probably should be rolled onto his back.

The U.S. Marshals hauls away Graviton while the news shows up to interview the West Coast Avengers. But Hawkeye excuses the team saying they have another important mission to finish.

Mockingbird: “‘Important mission?’”

Hawkeye: “My barbecues are very important!”

HAH!

Yeah, the Avengers all return to Avengers Compound to finally eat Hawkeye’s steaks.

That was what was truly at stake this whole time.

Tigra says it was lucky that she was wearing a mask because she was as shocked as ‘Louis’/Hawkeye.

Wonder Man says that he can actually survive without food, water, or air but he doesn’t really enjoy it.

And Hawkeye says that just in case things had gone horribly wrong (because he’s a responsible team leader) he’d left word with the New York Avengers to assume that they were all dead if they didn’t call back by midnight.

But when he later did call back, Vision taped a congratulations message to play to the whole team.

... Vision are you so busy that you couldn’t just talk to them?

Pre-recorded Vision calls the team Avengers, cause they are. But apparently it makes Wonder Man and Tigra realize that their misgivings about deserving to be on the team have gone.

Beating up Graviton is a great ego boost.

So that’s the West Coast Avengers limited series! But like the panel says, the team is coming back for Avengers #250. The big 2 5 0, two teams!

And the team will get their own ongoing book in about a year which will go on for 102 issues. Oof. Dunno if I can keep up the two a week pace but I have a year or twelve weeks to think about it.

Follow @essential-avengers​ because West Coast Avengers! Right? Who doesn’t love a second team in a different location? The X-Men have like three or four teams, the Avengers can have two! Also like and reblog because I’d appreciate it.

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Hey...I am AN ABSOLUTE jercy TRASH like A HUGE JERCY FAN and I was wondering if you could like a one shot of jealous percy...I have seen a lot of jealous jason fanfics but never really saw a jealous percy!!! Thank you and I LOVE YOUR BLOG SO MUCH...

Hello darling Anon!! Adore that you're #jercytrash (is there really any other way to be????) and I'm so happy you enjoy the mess of content i have🥺💙all the heart eyes

Anyway I loooovvveeeeeddddd this prompt and this is evident by the very many words I couldn't help but write! I do hope you love it as much as I loved writing it☀️please excuse any mistakes it's like 3am here and Ciara be tired as hell

Masterlist

"Are you coming to the party tonight?"

"Gods no," Percy shivers, face pulling into a look of distaste.

"Why not I heard Annabeth is gonna be there," Leo's eyebrows waggle, earth eyes sparkling.

He wants to laugh, to cry a little too. If only that is the blonde he is so infatuated with.

"Nah bro those parties always end up much wilder than they need to be and nine times out of ten they're shut down by the cops."

"That's half the fun Jackson!" Leo's smile widens.

"I'm good thanks, my idea of fun is sitting here playing Playstation and gorging myself on M&Ms."

"Will you at least promise to come on the trip this weekend?"

"I don't know man," He shakes his head, "I've got a psych test to study for and there's like three assignments due by the end—"

"Oh excuses, excuses Jackson you haven't gone out once since we started. It's gonna be winter break soon and we won't see each other for at least a month." Those brown eyes are puppy wide.

He sighs, half-ready to give in, "Who's gonna be there?"

"The usual gang. And Jason finally gets to come this year! His dad is on a business trip so he isn't spending the weekend for once."

Percy's ears get hot and he hopes they don't look flushed, "Oh that's nice I guess. If you leave me alone tonight I'll come on the trip."

Leo's answering whoop is enough to make him laugh. When he collapses on the couch, after waving goodbye to his friend, there is a warmth blooming in his chest.

Three hours, five packets of M&Ms and a stream of curse words at the TV later, he finally decides to head to bed. But as he's shoving on a pair of sleep shorts there's a knock at his door. He frowns, considers ignoring it but his mind whirls with all the possibilities.

What if someone got hurt? What if someone needs his help? What if someone is....oh gods he doesn't want to think about it. He brushes his fingers against the wooden headboard, rubs at his head, grabs his elbow and then he takes a deep breath and opens the door.

"Peerrccccyyy," A slurring, smiling Jason Grace stumbles into him.

"Jason?" He grabs hold of the blonde's arms and pulls them both into his apartment, "What are you doing here?"

"I came over because–" Pearl white teeth flash, "Wow you're so pretty." Those golden hands grab Percy's chin, pulling their faces together until there is nothing but tension and breath between them.

"What are you doing?" He swallows.

"Has anyone ever told you your eyes look like emeralds glistening at the bottom of a river?"

"Uh no can't say they have," He wants to laugh but Jason's lips are so close and his hand is still on Percy's face and oh gods he needs to move before he does something he shouldn't.

"Have we kissed before? No I'd remember that." Eyebrows scrunch, "I think you have a beautiful mouth."

"I think—" He inhales sharply as Jason's fingers dance along his collar bone, "I think we should get you to bed."

"Aw," Full pink lips pout, "But we are having so much fun."

"I think we'll have more fun when you're sober."

The blonde giggles, "I'm not drunk silly. I only had like... fifteen shots of vodka."

"Jesus Grace how are you even standing?"

"When you're this tall it takes forever for the liquor to do its thing and you need a lot of it otherwise it all goes to your toes and you never get drunk."

Jason is frowning again and all Percy wants to do is kiss the crease in his forehead and pull him closer. Instead he tugs him by the hand and guides him to the bed.

"Where will you sleep?"

"I'll take the couch." He pushes the blanket aside and let's the blonde fall into the sheets.

"Are you sure? You can always stay with me?" Those blue eyes are bright and big and so full of, of, of... "I promise I won't kick you. I stopped doing that in first grade."

He can't hold in his laugh this time but when he recovers enough to reassure his friend he'll be fine he is greeted by the peaceful sight of a sleeping blonde. He shakes his head softly, allowing himself a moment to take in the scene. Tangled white sheets, golden hair, soft deep breathing, a tiny splattering of freckles, and the wonder of tomorrow carried on the wind that stirs the chiffon curtains. This moment will live within his soul for the rest of his life. Of this, he is certain.

***

The treadmill beeps incessantly indicating the end of the session and the end of Percy's day. He's about ready to pass out from exhaustion and he couldn't be happier. The days are long and blurry and he would do anything to escape the weight on his chest. A blue-eyed, golden-haired weight. He snorts at the innuendo. If only the actual person was sitting on his chest, entertaining each other. But no it's just the feeling, the emptiness, the lack of anything weighted. His eyes shudder closed as he steps into a red-hot shower and let's the memories of his last meeting with the blonde wash over him. There is a time, mere months ago, where Percy would have scoffed at these feelings. Would have told himself it was ridiculous and stupid and there were much more important things to be focusing on than some boy. But every interaction with Jason Grace feels like the middle of a fireworks display, feels like crawling into the sun, or falling off a cliff only for the water to catch you. Every interaction feels electric. And he cannot help but overanalyse each touch, smile, lingering look. Are they for him, or for the world? Jason had always been easy. He could make you feel like the most important person in the world just by glancing at you. It was beautiful, magnetic, but it also meant Percy never really knew if anything they did was genuine. If the extra squeeze when they hugged was as a friend or something more. If those blazing eyes over the campfire was a trick of the light or... But tomorrow it's their annual WastedWinter trip and at the very least he can look forward to a few nights of bad decisions and sinful delights.

The day dawns bright, cloudless, and icy cold. He breathes in the fresh winter air and lets the sting travel through his lungs. There are few things as lively as the winter morning air. With a look through his apartment window to see the birds flying and the wind shaking the trees awake he ducks into the shower and gets ready for the trip.

At exactly eleven a knock echoes through his apartment. He clicks submit on his assignment and races over to throw the door open.

"Good morning Jackson! You're looking especially radiant this find day."

"Must be the seaweed face mask I put on last night."

"Oh," Annabeth Chase frowns, "And here I thought you got down and dirty with someone."

He snorts, stepping aside to let her in. "No such luck Princess, I'm down and out on laundry."

She smacks his arm, grey eyes sparkling, "I hope you know you're driving for most of this."

"Is this because I'm the only one who can be trusted to get us there in one piece,"

She gives him an incredulous look and then turns her nose up, "No Jackson it's because the rest of us want to get wasted and you don't drink."

"Ah, glad to know I'm of some use to the group."

"Oh you're plenty useful," She winks.

He laughs at that, mind flashing to the fling they had at the start of their undergraduate years. Both had realized pretty early that life was leading them in different directions and it would be better to stay friends. But tumbling in the sheets with her had been fun while it lasted.

"Alright who's in our car?"

"We got me, you," She starts tapping her fingers, "Leo, Jase and Rey,"

"Great so I'll be talking to myself for most of this trip." He rolls his eyes.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well Leo and Reyna will fall asleep about five seconds after we start driving and you and Jason will talk incessantly about gods knows what, which leaves poor old me."

"We will not!" Annabeth's ears go pink as she glares at him.

"Mhmm okay Princess."

"Shut it." She grumbles, shoving him.

Some minutes later they're all piling into the car: Percy driving, Reyna in the front, Leo at the back on the left, Annabeth in the middle and Jason on the right.

"Hello everyone ready to roll?"

"I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night," Leo mumbles and then he's fluffing his pillow against the door and closing his eyes.

"What was he doing?"

"Engineering project," Jason grins, "He forgot and had to sit up all night to submit before we left."

"I'm also out," Reyna throws up an uncharacteristic peace sign and settles into her seat, eyes already shut.

"And her?" He asks, a little sore his right-hand passenger is ditching him for dreamland.

"No idea," The two blondes shrug.

Percy refrains from rolling his eyes and puts the car in gear. With a final check to make sure everything is in its place he pulls onto the road and starts the long journey to Lakeside Lodges.

The music is soft, some pop song that everyone is raving about, and the city is alive with the lunch hour rush.

"Jason," Annabeth starts, "What are you doing for the structural—"

Percy tunes them out, content to let their university talk become background noise. He glances at the rear-view mirror and sees shining blue eyes staring intently into serious gray ones. He looks away, focuses his attention on the road.

Sometime later they leave the city behind, the sound of cars and sirens and endless people fading into calmer, more lilting noises. The quiet of the empty road, and the crackle of the radio, and the soft chatter from the backseat. He cannot help but feel at peace, feel as if the world is balanced just right.

Annabeth giggles, catching his attention and he watches in the mirror as Jason lays a hand on her thigh and laughs into her shoulder. Quickly he adverts his eyes, swallowing the sinking feeling and turns the music up to distract his thoughts.

"Percy," At tap on his shoulder. "Pers?"

"Yea what's up?" He smiles and it feels like surgery with no anaesthetic.

"Did you hear what Jase said? It was such a stupid joke I said you'd appreciate it."

He shakes his head, "Wanna tell it again?"

"Nah," Jason mumbles, "Won't be as funny the second time."

"Aw come on Jase," Annabeth pouts, "For me?"

He watches from the mirror as those blue eyes light up, "What do you mean for you? I thought I was telling the joke for Mr Driver?"

She giggles, shoving at his arm, "That's what I mean."

Percy isn't sure he can't take anymore of their whatever it is so he clears his throat and asks them for a pack of Sour Patch Kids.

"Oo I love those!" Jason gasps, rummaging around in their snack bag. A packet drops into the cup holder and he thanks the blonde.

"Jase throw them at me, let's see if I can catch!"

The six gummies shoved in his mouth turn bitter as he watches the two giggle and joke and share space. By the time Jason throws the last gummy Annabeth is practically in his lap to catch it. Percy wants nothing more than to get out of this damn car. His skin is hot and he's sure his blood is about two degrees away from boiling. The stones in his stomach are stacking up like rock scultputres. Pretty but destructive. Nothing can get passed but nothing can leave either. And the heavy, sinking feeling certainly doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Finally though they arrive at the lodges and after check in he practically vaults himself out of the car and disappears into a bathroom.

There staring in the mirror he can see his misery reflected back at him. His green eyes are stormy, and there seems to be a permanent crease in his forehead. His mouth is down turned and his hair is in a state of complete disarray. Tugging at it when he's frustrated is an unbreakable habit.

He stays in the little bathroom for longer than he thought because he is sharply pulled to the present by a rap on the door.

"Percy?"

"Coming," He sighs. He straightens his back, attempts to tame his hair, and plasters a smile on his face.

"You good?" Frank frowns when he walks out.

"Yea sorry, drank one too many slushies."

His friend laughs, "Tell me about it. I think my tongue is going to be stained red for a month."

"I mean that's your fault. Blue is clearly the superior slush."

"Blue is the worst flavor," He scrunched his nose, "It isn't even a flavor. They somehow managed to give colour a taste."

"Well red is nothing but iced medicine."

"Hey guys," Frank waves their friends over, "Percy thinks blue slushies are the best flavour, care to tell him he's wrong?"

There is a pause amongst them and then everyone is talking at once.

"No,"

"I mean I kind of agree."

"Green is obviously the best."

"There is no way, it's red all the way."

"What about-"

"Okay!" Annabeth shouts, "Let's settle this WinterWasted style,"

Leo rubs his palms together, a gleam in his eyes.

"Everyone who says red stand on one leg, everyone who says blue stand on anything but the floor."

They all shuffle around, pushing each other over and generally causing chaos but soon they're in their spaces. Everyone observes the room.

"That's four to red and three to blue." Leo announces.

Jason, Percy and Hazel are standing on the couches and counters. Piper, Annabeth, Leo and Frank are on one leg in the middle of the lounge.

"Yes! We won." Frank smirks, "Alright losers you know the drill."

"No!" Percy yells, "We're missing a person. If Reyna joins us then we're even and we go into death round."

"Okay Jackson, I see you can't take the loser title sitting down so we'll get Reyna's opinion. But if she chooses us you guys have to drink and jump." Frank's black eyes sparkle with mischief.

Percy narrows his own, pinning his gaze on his friend, "Deal Zhang."

Just then Reyna walks in and seeing the odd scene sighs heavily. "What are we trying to settle? We haven't even had lunch yet."

"First of all it's six o clock so it's a little late for lunch and secondly are you Team Red Slush or Team Blue Slush?"

She scoffs, looks over them and grins, "I'm Team Purple because grape is obviously the only valid flavour."

Everybody groans, cursing her.

"Grape is the absolute worst Arellano." Leo gives her a look of disgust.

"Mhmm," She simply smiles.

"Well if you had to choose between blue and red which one?" Percy asks.

She taps her head for a moment and then looks to the ceiling in exasperation, "Guess I'll choose Red."

"Hell yes!" Frank whoops, laughing as the blue team groans. "Guess who's doing the BigFalls jump tonight!"

Percy grumbles but there is a light in his eyes and as he swats away a hand ruffling his curls he decides it was worth it, even if his friends are wrong.

That night they all stumble to the GreatCliff, an area that had witnessed many a fall, kiss, and confession. Most importantly a place that held some of their favourite memories.

Percy, being the only fully sober one, constantly counts his friends, making sure none of them have gone over-cliff or landed in a ditch somewhere. Soon enough they make it to the clearing and lay down the picnic basket and their towels.

"Alright losers," Piper smirks, "You ready for this?"

Hazel pouts, "Do we have to?"

"Yes!" Annabeth exclaims, blonde curls bouncing as she jumps up and down in excitement.

Jason whispers something in her ear and she dissolves into giggles. Percy looks away, refuses to let their closeness ruin his night, weekend, forever.

"On the count of three," Frank starts.

Reyna takes off her sarong and settles down on the blanket with a smirk.

"One..."

Hazel bounces nervously.

"Two..."

"Don't get hypothermia," Piper laughs.

"Three!"

Jason, Hazel and Percy are sprinting, racing for open air. With a yell they jump and then they're free falling, flying, screaming.

Percy hits the water in a neat dive, barely flinching at the icy temperatures. When he comes up for air the world is noisy with laughter and cheering. He waves to his friends at the top of the cliff and checks to make sure his fellow jumpers are okay.

Hazel is grumbling about being fully sober again and Jason's teeth are chattering but there are smiles on their faces and stars in their eyes and Percy knows the weekend has just begun.

They all swim up the stream and climb all the way back to the cliff where a small fire is crackling and their friends are dancing sporadically to a bawdy ukelele tune being played by Leo.

"Oh gods," Jason groans, "How are we already at this stage of the night."

"Whatever Pipes put in the punch is going straight to our lungs," Annabeth giggles.

Reyna shakes her empty glass in confirmation and request. Soon everyone is hopping and bouncing and singing badly around the fire. Percy settles into the blanket and watches his friends. They are full of life and magic and he can't help but tear up at the love he has for them. Even Reyna is joining the revelry, laughing bright and beautiful at something Hazel says.

His attention catches on the twirling figure of Annabeth. And then Jason grabs her mid spin and pulls her to him.

"Dance with me,"

"Of course Mr Grace," She bows.

They draw together, his hands on her hips, her head on his chest, swaying slowly. Annabeth mumbles something and Jason's shoulders shake with laughter. She looks up, their eyes meeting. Percy can't stand to watch anymore. Abruptly he gets up, throws the blanket aside and stalks into the trees.

"Pers?" Someone calls. He doesn't bother to respond.

He hears scattered conversation and then footsteps are running towards his retreating figure.

"Percy wait!"

He manages to hold in a groan as he realizes who followed him.

"Pers slow down, what's going on?"

"Nothing," He grits, "I just needed some air."

Jason laughs, "We are literally in the middle of a forest how much more air do you need?"

They're still stalking through the woods, dead leaves cruching under their feet.

"Come on, what the hell happened? You just up and left?"

Percy stops in his tracks, whips around to face the blonde, "I'm surprised you noticed."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You've been so wrapped up in Annabeth all day I wouldn't be surprised if you forgot to breathe unless she told you to." He spits.

Jason's face crumples, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Percy instantly regrets his words but he can't take them back, "Just nevermind. I'm going to the cabin. Be careful walking back." He turns to walk away but a golden hand on his arm yanks him back

"Um no, you're going to explain right the fuck now because this isn't like you at all."

"Isnt like me?" He laughs sharply, "What isn't like me?"

"This," Jason motions up and down, "You walking away, being angry with us? What is going on?"

"I'm just tired," He sighs, "Can we drop this?"

"No Percy. I've seen you tired. I've seen you so exhausted you couldn't even see straight. I've seen you sad and angry and frustrated and happy and excited and calm but I have never seen you so... volatile. So just tell me—"

"I'M JEALOUS OKAY!" He yells, "I. Am. Jealous."

Jason reels back, lightning eyes blinking, once, twice, widening, "You're jealous?"

"Yes," He breathes, "And I'd appreciate it if we stopped talking about this."

"Oh," Is the blonde's intelligent reply.

"Yea oh," He scrubs at his face, running a hand through his hair.

"You're jealous of me? If you liked Annabeth why didn't you just say so? I wasn't flirting with her, we were just being dumb. I've had a few too many tequilas and she's hilarious and gods I'll back off I swear I didn't mean to hurt you. I'll even hype you up to her if you—"

"You are such an idiot," Percy growls and then he grabs the blonde by the t-shirt, pulls him in and sears their lips.

Jason tastes like the sky, like winter breezes and lightning storms and home. He tastes like home.

When they break apart Jason is gasping, mouth opening and closing.

"Do you get it now?"

"You- and I- and we- and Anna- and just- and-"

"Are you speechless because you don't know how to let me down easy or because I took your breath away?" Percy winces.

He needs to know. Needs to understand if this is a one-sided thing, if he's been dreaming up their dynamic all these months.

"Do that again," The blonde breathes.

A slow smile spreads across his face and then Percy Jackson cups Jason Grace's cheek and comes home at last.

[snowbarryiscoming]

The First Time- J-Hope

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO OUR HOBI, OUR SUNSHINE, OUR BABY, OUR JHOOOOOOPE.

For the past few days, I’ve been stuck in my house because of the winter storm that’s been here in Texas, so I haven’t been on the internet for days, and it feels weird but it’s interesting to see how we rely our entertainment on the internet. 

Anyways, as I’ve stated before, my Korean translations come from Google as I do not speak Korean, although now I do want to visit Korea 

And I do apologize if some of these are shorter than the others, since I don’t really know what to do sometimes. But hopefully you guys like it

Thank youuuuuu

You were currently at home, binge watching Grey’s Anatomy, bundled up in your blanket which a bowl of popcorn in front of you. 

Your boyfriend, Jung Hoseok, was at the dance studio learning the dance for the new song. He had texted you before he started and let you know that he might come home late. You already knew that, since always gave his 110% into every dance he learns. 

As you continued your binge watching, your phone rang with your boyfriend’s face popping up on the screen. Pausing the show, you answered it with a smile.

“Hey, jagi. Gogineun eottae?” (hey, baby. how’s it going over there?)

“Aju joh-a. Sonyeondeul-i chum-eul baeudolog dowa. Nan dangsin-i geuliwoyo.” (very good. just helping the boys learn the dance. i miss you)

“nado dangsin-i geuliwoyo. Naneun oneul bam dangsin-eulbogo sip-eo gidalil su eobs-seubnida.” (i miss you too. i can’t wait to see you tonight.)

“Balageondae.” (hopefully)

It was hard for you sometimes, because you knew that for the most part, you didn’t see him until the day after, you were usually asleep by the time he came home. 

“Salang haeyo, aljyo?“ (i love you, you know?)

“Al-a.” (i know)

After a few more minutes talking, you both hung up and you resumed your show as he resumed to his dance. 

Around 4 o’clock, you began to feel hungry, so you decided to make some dinner for the two of you, even though he wasn’t home. 

And then you got an idea. 

If he couldn’t come home to you, then you’d go to him. 

Packing up the dinner, dessert, drinks and everything in between, you headed out the door and texted one of the boys for the address to the studio. You had never been there, but you thought it was time to change things around. 

Once you arrived to the studio, you got out and grabbed everything and headed inside. Jungkook was there waiting, as you told him to help you find Hobi. 

“Hi, Noona.”

“Hey, Kookie.”

He gave you his famous bunny smile as he led you down some halls. 

“Smells good.”

“Naneun jeonyeog-eul mandeul-eossda.” (i made dinner) 

“Moduleul-wihan?” (for everyone?)

You gave him a look with a smile as he gave you a teasing smile while he opened the door. When you walked in, you saw your boyfriend dancing his heart out. He didn’t notice you until he heard Jungkook and glanced into the mirror and saw you. He paused the music and turned to you while trying to catch his breath. 

“Baby.”

He walked over to you and placed a kiss on your lips before glancing at the picnic basket.

“Naneun jeonyeog-eul gajyeowassda.” (i brought dinner)

“Geunyeoneun geugeos-eul mandeul-eossda.” (she made it)

Hobi smiled at you as you set the basket down. He pressed a kiss on your cheek as he placed a hand on your arm.

“Uli jogeum meog-eul su iss-eoyo al gessjiyo? Meonjeo mamulihagessseubnida.” (we can eat in a little bit, okay? let me finish up first)

You nodded and he went back to his dance as you took a seat next to the basket with Jungkook sitting next to you. The music started again and you glanced at Jungkook, who was on his phone. You scooted over to him and rested your head on his shoulder, and it made him glance at you, but he did nothing to stop you. Your eyes were focused on Hobi, only Hobi, and the way he danced. 

You loved to see him dancing, as you thought it was sexy. He was such a good dancer, but you never really told him that. 

Jungkook wasn’t paying attention to your or Hobi at all, but when he felt you slipping he readjusted your position so that you were resting on his thigh. 

“Hoseok.”

He was waving his hands to get the older boy’s attention and Hobi glanced at him through the mirror. He stopped the music and went over to him only to notice you had fallen asleep waiting for him

Again

“Naneun geunyeoleul jib-eulo delyeo galgeoya. Annyeonghi jumuseyo, Jungkook.” (i’m going to take her home now. goodnight, jungkook)

“Annyeonghi jumuseyo.”

Hobi took you home along with the dinner that you made, which had now gotten cold. He felt bad for you, since you made dinner, drove all the way to the studio just to fall asleep. 

You woke up from your sleep in the car ride home, Hobi in the driver’s seat.

“Uli jib-e galgeoya?” (we’re going home?)

“Joesong haeyo. Neon yeogikkaji waseo naleul gidalimyeo jamdeul-eoss eo.” (i’m sorry. you came all this way and you fell asleep waiting for me)

“Dangsin-eun mianhal pil-yoga eobs-seubnida. Neoneun chumchuneun geol joh-ahae. Chumchuneun dong-an segsi hae boyeo.” (you don’t have to be sorry. you love to dance. and you look sexy while you dance)

Hobi smirked. “Segsihan?” (sexy?)

“Maeu segsihada.” (very sexy)

“Uliga jib-e dochaghal ttaekkaji gidalyeo.” (just wait until we get home)

Any slumber that you felt prior was now replaced with excitement. You bit your lip as he placed a hand on your thigh and squeezed. Your eyes met his and you could tell he was excited as much as you were.

Once you got home, he went into the kitchen to set the dinner down and you followed him, wrapping your arms around him. 

“Segseuleulhago sipji anhdamyeon.” (if you don’t want to have sex)

“Naneunhanda. Cheoeum in geon aljiman salanghaneun salamgwa hamkkehago sip-eoyo.” (i do. i know that it would be my first time, but I want to do this with the person I love)

He turned around and gazed into your eyes as he smiled. Pressing his lips to yours, he pulled you close by your waist as your hands went up to cup his cheeks. He tapped the back of your thighs and murmured jump on your lips, and you did so. He carried you to your bedroom and set you on the bed. Without wasting another second, he discarded himself of his clothes and then you of yours. 

He looked to you for confirmation and you nodded, letting him know to continue. Grabbing the condom, he rolled it on and was then pressing his length into you, filling you up to the brim. 

“Hobi.”

His hands found yours and your fingers interlocked with his as he began to thrust into you. He let out a moan, which made you even wetter. Hearing him moan was like music to your ears. 

“Deo ppalli. Deo sege.” (faster. harder)

“Hwagsilhae?” (you sure?)

You nodded and he let go of your hands to flip you over onto your hands and knees. He lined himself up again and you moaned even louder when he filled you up. Your hands gave in and you moaned into the pillow as he thrusted harder, faster, deeper, just like you wanted. Every time he moaned, it made you wetter and each thrust brought you closer to the edge. 

When you hit your climax, it came all at once. You shouted his name, he had you in his arms, your head was tilted back against his shoulder. His climax happened during yours, you felt his warmth filling up the condom as his hips were stilled against your backside. He gently laid you on the bed as he hovered above, placing a kiss to your shoulder as he pulled out, making you gasp.

“Joh-eun?” (good)

“Nollal manhan.” (amazing) 

Once he got everything cleaned up, he got into bed with you and cuddled you while he played with your hair. 

 “Naega neomu neujge chum-eul chuneun geos-i dangsin-eul goelob hinayo?” (does it bother you that i dance so late?)

“Aniyo,hajiman ttaeloneun oelowojibnida.” (no, but it does get lonely sometimes)

Hobi was silent before he glanced at you. “Nawa hamkke chum-eul chuleowassdamyeon?” (what if you came to dance with me?)

“Mwo?”

“Jeon-e chumchuneun geol bwass-eoyo. Igeos-eun uliga hamkke deo manh-eun sigan-eul bonael su issdolog.” (i've seen you dance a little bit before. this would let us spend more time together)

“Dangsin-ui salm-ui ilbuleul nawa hamkke nanugo sipseubnikka?” (you want to share a part of your life with me?)

“I love you.”

You gave him a smile and leaned up to kiss him.

“And I love you.”

And so each time there was a new dance, you were there with him to learn it and help the boys learn it. 

Hobi wanted you in his life and he would share anything he could just to have you there by his side, which you will be

Always

[wlntrsldler]

Maybe (Bucky Barnes Roses Series)

Prompt: Bucky tells Y/N he’s the Winter Soldier. The next day, he’s taken by the government and that’s the last Y/N sees of him... until they cross paths again. But what if Bucky doesn’t remember her? 

ROSES MASTERLIST

ROSES | SAFE INSIDE | MAYBE

-

I don't know what's going on

Where you came from and why you took so long

All I know is that I feel it

Like it's the realest thing, I mean it

Since that day, you and Bucky reconnected. It was like the two of you were getting to know each other all over again. To him, it was exactly that. To you, it was like re-visiting your favorite memories and making new ones all at the same time. At first, he was apprehensive with you and you couldn’t really blame him. 

The way he started to remember things came to him at first in one huge wave. He told you one day he woke up and he swore he felt you leaning against his chest, deep in sleep. Then like a wave, all of these memories of you two drinking wine from paper cups, dancing to terrible pop music, cooking together, being intimate, just flooded his memories. It was overwhelming. He said he went to your work the following day, wanting to make sense of the memories he started to recall.

After that sudden revelation, his memory started to trickle in little by little. You would get calls from him, sometimes during the most ungodly hours of the day, and on the other side of the line, would be a sheepish Bucky, whispering the details of the memory that popped into his dreams that night.

One time was at 3 in the morning, you woke up to the special ringtone that you set up for Bucky. 

“Hello?” You asked groggily.

“Hi, Y/N,” Bucky whispered. You could picture the blush on his cheeks. He would always apologize for waking you but he was too afraid that he’d forget what he remembered. He was tired of not knowing his past. He was tired of not knowing you. “’M sorry for waking you but I remembered something.”

You chuckled, “No worries, Buck. What did you remember, sweetheart?”

“We were in my old apartment, the one you talked to me about... and we were just watching a movie, it was a cartoon. Disney, I think? I don’t know, it was like a girl with long hair and she had this lizard pet? She was blonde-”

“Tangled.” You cut him off. You thought about the memory, fondly. He would always be muttering something about how his hair looks so much better but her hair had the ability to heal, so it wasn’t fair. “It was your favorite.”

“Really?” He laughed. You heard his sheets rustle over the phone. He was trying to get comfortable again. “Can we watch it next time you come over, doll?”

“Of course, Buck.” You sat up, knowing that you won’t be able to go back to bed after this. It always happened, but you didn’t mind. You enjoyed talking to Bucky and as much as your body hates you for never getting proper rest, Bucky made sure to make it up to you by bringing you coffees and giving you massages. “Now, continue.”

“Oh right,” He trailed off. “So, we were watching Tangled, right? And there’s this knock on the door and it’s this old lady and she just smiles at me once I open the door. She goes, “Just in case you and your lady haven’t had any supper yet, sonny.” Do you remember that?”

“I do,” You giggled, bringing yourself back to that day. “We were sitting on your couch and we didn’t want to get up. We were convinced that it was the most comfortable place in the world. We were about ready to starve to death. Then, Mrs. Ruddminski, she was your neighbor. She looked after you, you know. But anyway, she stopped by and gave us a home cooked meal. We ended up eating out of the pot she gave us, still on the couch. We fell asleep like that.”

“That sounds nice.”

You could sense his smile through the phone. You knew just how much those little memories meant to him. It’s the details that he was chasing after. He wanted to stop and look at the smaller parts of the big picture. He wanted to remember what you two shared. You kept thinking back to the times before everything happened. For such a long time, you deprived yourself from even thinking about him, fearing for his safety. And now here he was, safe and with you, and now he brought the key to unlock the memories you tried so hard to forget. 

“Y/N.” His voice snapped you out of your thoughts.

“Oh, sorry. Yes, Bucky?”

“I said, I won’t keep you up any longer.” He repeated. “Goodnight, Y/N. Thank you again.”

You whispered a “goodnight” and waited to hear the click of the line before you confessed, again, your love for him to nobody on the other end.

Something changed when I saw you

Oh, my eyes can't lie

You said, "They're so damn blue

And I love how you're so forward

Is it too soon to say I'm falling?”

It wasn’t unusual for you to spend much of your days in the tower with the team. They knew that you were an essential part to Bucky’s recovery and truthfully, the team grew fond of you. You were always pleasant to be around, never complaining about the team’s bickering, no matter how annoying and how often it happened. And you were patient. 

“I don’t know how you do it, Y/N,” Tony confessed to you one day after Bucky’s session. “You must be getting tired of this.”

“Not at all.” You smiled fondly, watching Bucky emerge from the other room. “For him, I’d wait a lifetime.”

Here you were, sitting closely beside Bucky, watching Tangled for the first time since. He would exclaim how he remembered some parts of the movie and curse himself for remembering more of the movie than the time you two spent watching the movie. You just reminded him that you didn’t mind that he didn’t remember because you were gonna stick around to remind him. 

“Thank you, Y/N.”

“No problem, Buck.” You replied, beaming at him. You redirected your attention back to the screen, seeing that the scene with the lanterns was about to happen. “Look, it’s your favorite part.”

You felt him shift his eyes from you to the screen. You took this opportunity to sneak a glance at him. Bucky’s eyes lit up as the music started to play. The glow of the screen reflected beautifully on his blue eyes, immediately taking you back to those many times that you two watched it in his small apartment. His eyes flickered to look at you, his Adam’s apple bobbing harshly. His hand inched closer to yours, your breath suddenly getting stuck in your throat.

He hasn’t touched you since he first remembered and yes, you were yearning for the day you would feel his arms around you again, but you also knew that he needed to take his time to fully recover. So when his hand touched yours, just for a brief second, your eyes welled up with tears. His hands were just as soft as you remembered and his touch was just as warm as you imagined. Bucky saw the single tear rolling down your cheek, his reflexes too fast for you to hide your reaction. 

“What’s wrong?” He removed his hand quickly, feeling like he did something wrong. “Is everything okay?”

You wiped the tear from your cheek, “Everything’s good, Bucky.”

“Then why are you crying doll?”

“You haven’t touched me in so long.” You whispered, giving him a soft smile. You hoped your eyes could convey the love you had for him because you knew that there were no words in the world that could even touch what you wanted to say. 

Bucky hesitated for a moment before intertwining his fingers with yours. He sighed at the familiarity of it all. It felt right. “I’ve wanted to for so long, in the most innocent way but I’m afraid of hurting you.”

You stared at the way his thumb rubbed across the back of your hand tenderly. Your heartbeat accelerated at the simple gesture. You raised your intertwined hands and placed a light, feathery, kiss to his, “You could never hurt me.”

So maybe

Maybe we were always meant to meet

Like this was all our destiny

Like you already know

Your heart will never be broken by me

Since the day Bucky held your hand, he started to show more affection towards you. He still held himself back from touching you with his metal arm but his flesh arm always found its way to the small of your back or back to your hand. And every single time his hand touched your skin, there was a burning sensation there. It was like your body reacted that way to show you that it’s all real. He’s real. He’s actually beside you. 

You were at work, finishing up a shift, when you heard the sound of his Steve’s voice talking to the hostess. You clocked out and rushed to the front of the restaurant to find a distraught Steve. 

The blond man’s eyes widened when he finally saw you. “Y/N, thank God! You have to come with me right now. It’s an emergency.”

Those words were all it took to take you back to the time you lost Bucky, all those years ago. Your head started to spin and your mouth got dry. You couldn’t even form a coherent sentence, you just nodded furiously and followed Steve out of the restaurant. 

During the ride to the tower, Steve explained the situation to you but you’d be lying if you said you were paying attention. The words that left his lips entered your brain in jumbled chunks. “Bucky... hurt... bad... mission.. HYDRA.” Those were the only words you comprehended in the twenty minute car ride. 

When you arrived at the tower, you left Steve behind, rushing to get to the medical wing. You’d been there a handful of times getting patched up after incidents in your silly adventures with Bucky. A few times from slipping in the kitchen due to your failed baking attempts turned to food fights. Another few from nights you spent throwing up trying to outdrink the super-soldier duo. 

You saw Bucky. And it hit you. 

There was no way you were about to lose him, not again, not ever. He was making tremendous progress, according to Tony. He was starting to remove himself from the Winter Soldier, his trigger words almost falling short. It would only take a few more sessions to completely remove it from him. 

Now, he laid there, broken and bruised on the hospital bed with tubes and ties attached to him. His metal arm was gone, the ragged edges of it showing that it wasn’t removed voluntarily. You raced to be by his side, not knowing or caring, if he even felt your presence. You took a hold of his hand, leaning against it to silent your sobs. 

Steve arrived at the medical wing not too long after you. Wanda and Nat looked at the scene in front of them, sadly. Wanda took a step forward, almost opening the door to Bucky’s room to comfort you, but Steve stopped her. 

“Give her some time.”

The young girl nodded, looking at Nat as their cue to leave you alone. The trained assassin followed Wanda as she exited the medical wing, giving Steve’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. 

So is it crazy

For you to tell your friends to go on home?

So we can be here all alone

Fall in love tonight

And spend the rest of our lives as one

“Y/N, you shouldn’t waste your talents by working as a waitress.” Tony said, as you handed him the tools to fix up Bucky’s new arm.

“I need the money, Stark.” You sighed, looking over the sketches you designed for Bucky. “Not everyone has an inheritance they can fall back on.”

“I just got a billion dollar idea,” He dropped the tool on the table and faced you. You cocked an eyebrow, urging him to continue. “Work for me.”

You scoffed, “Yeah, right.”

“I’m dead serious, Y/N.” He pointed at the millions of papers on the table. “You designed this. You’re talented, kid. What do you say?”

You pretended to ponder it for a minute, but you knew deep down it wasn’t really a question. “I guess I’ll put in my two-weeks notice tomorrow.”

Tony let out an overly-excited “Yay.” before returning to work on the arm. 

You continued to help Tony on the arm until late into the night. All you could think about was how excited Bucky would be when you tell him you now work in the tower. You kept looking at his room, hoping to see some changes. It’s been two weeks since the incident and Bucky still hasn’t woken up. 

Although the team would never say it out loud, you could tell they were starting to lose hope. The HYDRA attack was strong, so strong that it was able to take down a super-soldier. Sitting in on the medical reports made your heart sink to your stomach. You knew the doctors were trying their best to tiptoe around the fact that Bucky had a small chance of waking up. The only people who shared your optimism were Steve and Tony. 

Steve was just as in denial as you. Bucky is his best friend and he wouldn’t know what he would do if he lost him again. Especially after the loss of Peggy, Steve knew the loss of Bucky would internally kill him. And Tony refused to believe that Bucky’s demise would be caused by HYDRA. “Bucky’s too strong for that, he’ll pull through.” He said, everyday. Sometimes you started to feel like the words were losing their meaning. 

It was 12:37AM when Tony called it a night. The arm was finally starting to take shape and you were excited to see the final product. Tony bid you a tired goodnight and retreated to his room. You, on the other hand, made your way to Bucky’s hospital room, as you did the past two weeks. You first slept on the couch the first three days but after you got back from work on the fourth day, there was a small bed installed in the corner of the room. You knew it was Tony and Steve’s doing, they didn’t have to own up to it. You appreciated it, to say the least.

“Hey, Buck,” You whispered, like you did every night. “The arm’s looking good. I can’t wait for you to try it out. I designed it, you know. I hope you like it.”

“I’m quitting Olive Garden, by the way. Tony managed to convince me to take a job here. Crazy, right? I don’t know how I’ll handle working for Stark but I’ll make do. Plus, I’ll be seeing you more often so it makes it all worth it.” You continued, placing your hand above his. “It’s been two weeks, Buck. I’m going insane here. Maybe you can pull off another miracle and come back to me one more time?”

You used your other hand to wipe the tears off your face, “I don’t care how long it takes but just come back to me, yeah? I lived without you once and I don’t think I ever wanna do it again... Goodnight, sweetheart. I have many more stories to tell you when you wake up.”

I should take your hand and make you come with me

Away from all this noise and impurity

'Cause I feel like you're too perfect

And I don't mean just on the surface

“His injuries are severe, Y/N.” The doctor reiterated sadly. “I don’t think I can confidently advise you to keep him in this state.”

“So what do you suggest, huh?” You spat, your lips trembling. “You wanna pull the fucking plug? You wanna give up on him, is that it?”

“Y/N,” Steve held your forearm, trying to calm you. You looked back at Steve. He looked defeated, tired, worn out. “It’s been a month and a half and no progress. Maybe we should start thinking of other options.”

“Like what, Steve?” You asked, your anger bubbling up inside you. “You wanna give up on him too?”

“No, never,” He assured you. “But we need to do something other than waiting.”

“The only other option is to trigger the Winter Soldier inside him again to enhance his body systems again.”

“I know, Y/N, but he would be able to live.” 

“He’d live in agony again, Steve.” You stated, sitting back down in your seat. “He worked so hard to remove that from himself. It’s the one thing that destroyed him the most. Nothing that destroys someone can ever be the way they’re fixed again.”

Steve nodded, knowing that you were right. “Alright, so what do we do? Let’s come up with a plan.”

That entire day was spent with Steve, Bruce, and Tony, trying to figure out a way to trigger the Winter Soldier’s abilities without actually triggering the Winter Soldier. To your dismay, the cure wasn’t found that day but you weren’t about to give up. And you tried your hardest to ignore the sympathetic looks from everyone as you said, “Let’s reconvene and figure this out tomorrow.” You weren’t giving up on Bucky.

You slid into the covers of the bed inside Bucky’s room. Tony brought some of Bucky’s pillows from his room for you to use. It was a week ago when he first gave it to you and his scent was slowly starting to fade. You laid on your back, eyes screwed shut. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard, was it? Especially not for Bucky. He had already gone through so much. When will life finally say enough is enough? If there was anyone in the world who needed a break, it was Bucky. 

You waited for sleep to take over your body in the eerie silence. The only noise was the hissing of the machines and the sheets rustling under your body as you moved around. 

“Y/N?” A hoarse voice croaked out. 

Your eyes shot open. You immediately sat up, “F.R.I.D.A.Y, turn on the lights please.”

When the lights flickered on, your eyes met the blue ones that you never thought you’d see again. 

So don't be scared, I am too

'Cause this chemistry between me and you

Is too much to just ignore it

So I'll admit it now, I'm falling

“How are you feeling, Bucky?” Clint asked, patting him on the back as he leaned back on the couch. 

Bucky looked over his shoulder, the black metal of his new arm in his peripheral vision, “Feeling like i’m not a day over 100.”

Clint laughed at his joke, mumbling a, “Good to have you back.” before disappearing into the crowd of people. Tony decided that after a coma, Bucky needed nothing less than a gathering of his favorite people.

“My favorite people?” Bucky cocked his head to the side, confused. “A party with just Steve and Y/N?”

Tony glared at him, “Ouch. I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that.”

Alas, despite his refusal, Tony threw him a party. It wasn’t Stark-sized, which Bucky was thankful for, but it was a significantly larger crowd than he was used to. There were 30 people in total but the one he was looking for was nowhere to be found. 

“Looking for someone?”

Bucky turned around and saw you, smirking at him. He instantly smiled, getting up to wrap his arms around you. You snuggled into his chest, loving the feeling of him against your body. After Bucky healed, he was no longer shy with his affection. The night he woke up, he kissed you the second you were close enough to his face.

“I heard you, you know.” He confessed, breathless after you pulled away. “I was screaming trying to tell you that I wanted to come back to you and that I would do everything in my power to. I can’t leave my best girl again.”

“Bucky...” You cried, your hands cupping his face. “I love you.”

“I love you, Y/N.” He replied. Your heart bursted in your chest. He loves you. “Hearing you talk and knowing you were by my side through it all made me realize that my biggest fear is losing you. So for the time that I’ll have you, I’m making sure I use it wisely.” 

Wisely, he did. He kissed you at every chance he got, took you out on dates the minute he got cleared, and always reminded you how much he loved and adored you. 

“Wanna dance, soldier?” You asked, pointing to the dance floor. 

Bucky extended his hand for you to take and you obliged. He pulled you close to his chest as the soft melody swayed your bodies back and forth. He breathed in your scent, sighing in contentment when he felt your lips ghost over his jaw. 

“I never stopped loving you, even through those years.” You said, lifting your head from his chest to look at him. 

“You made me fall in love, twice.” He said. “And somehow, I’m still falling for you more and more everyday.”

So maybe

Maybe we were always meant to meet

Like this was all our destiny

Like you already know

Your heart will never be broken by me

[justjessame]

Starting Over Chapter 35

We had HOURS to fill before we needed to show up for forced social time at Connie’s, and while a HUGE part of me wanted to pull Bucky back into the house and make every single room OURS - he had to unpack and I had to get prints ready for my audition portfolios and I had a special one to make for Sarah.  While I worked in the spare room - where Dad had set up the rest of the tools of my future trade - a photo printer that I would have probably fainted had I seen it prior to the Snap and all of the software that would give me the upperhand in taking what my camera and my eye had taken and work it into something even more amazing - Bucky put away his clothing and books.

He checked in with me as I worked to find the best shots.  Asking if I wanted something to drink or snack on, or just to drop a kiss on my temple.  Occasionally he’d take a peek and gasp at what he’d see - forcing a smile to creep onto my lips. 

“Are you honestly impressed -” I looked up at him, studying his face as he stared at the images on my laptop that I had up trying to see which angles would work best for what I wanted to show prospective gurus.  “Or are you just trying to make me feel good about myself?”  

Bucky shook his head and bit his lip.  “I can’t find the words to even describe how amazed I am by this -” he pointed at the pictures that were in front of us.  “How can you SEE these shots?”  

I shrugged.  “How can you flip a knife without looking at it and NOT lose fingers on your right hand?”  He snorted.  “It’s just one of those quirks I guess.”  I pointed to a stack of finished pictures that weren’t going in my portfolio.  “Don’t let me forget to put these in an envelope to take with us?”  

“Sure,” he reached for them, but waited until I nodded permission before he picked them up.  They were the pictures I’d taken of Bryn on the day that Walker had - well they were the day that Bryn and I had spent in the park with bubbles and my camera.  “This is Connie’s little girl, Bryn?”  I smiled and tilted my head in affirmation.  “She had fun with you,” his smile grew as he went through the stack.  “She likes the bubbles.”  I giggled at how much fun she’d had with those damn things.  

“She also likes filling the swear jar,” I warned him.  “She’ll shake you down even if you catch yourself before you get the entire word out.”  He raised his eyebrow.  “Her daddy’s promising a trip to Disney and I swear she thinks she’s partially funding it.”  

“I hear the mouse is expensive.” Bucky was grinning at me when he set the prints back down beside me.  Leaning closer, he let his lips trail along my jaw.  “How much longer are you going to be?”  

“I could be tempted into a break,” I murmured, eyes fluttering closed as his breath got closer to that sensitive spot just under my ear.  

Humming his agreement, I was in his arms and in our bedroom before either of us could complain.  After all, all work and no play -

“Tell me again,” I was muttering as Bucky drove the Mustang down the street as I gave him terse directions to my best friend’s house, “why are we doing this?” 

“Because your friends want to see you,” he had the top down and his grin was ALMOST worth it.  Almost.  “They missed you, Brooke.”  I sighed.  “I’ve known you for less time than they have, and I missed you while I was gone.”  My heartbeat stuttered.  “They want to celebrate having you back, let them?”  

“OK,” I agreed as we pulled into an empty spot that was close to the house, but the amount of cars I was seeing lining the street was giving me more than enough anxiety.  Connie and Joey lived on a residential street that had good parking for the area - and there weren’t many empty spots. Not enough to make me feel like the words “tiny gathering” was going to be a reality.

I had the envelope with Bryn’s pictures in my bag and Bucky took my hand after he made sure the top was secure and the doors were locked.  We could hear the sound of music as we got closer to the front door and I was feeling the churning grow in my stomach, his fingers gave mine a comforting squeeze as the front door opened before we cleared the top step of the porch.  

“There you are,” Connie’s face looked a little too forced perky to make my stomach less knotted.  Her eyes a little too wide, her smile a little too twitchy.  “Brooke!  Bucky!”  I stared at her, wanting like hell to turn the fuck around and go home.  But I didn’t get a chance, because she was pushed out of the way and someone NOT from our group came out and I knew precisely what she hadn’t texted or called to warn me - what she hadn’t had a chance to say -

“Hey, Brookie!” Kelly Taggert, wearing something tighter than anything I had ever owned in my entire life, sauntered out and slithered up to Bucky’s free side.  “YOU must be Buck BARNES, the Winter Soldier!” I watched as her long pointy fake nails, painted a poisonous looking pink, danced up his arm.  “My, aren't you built like a brick shithouse?”  

My eyes felt like they were going to pop completely out of my head.  I opened my mouth, but before anything could come out, Bryn came marching out and screamed for money for her swear jar.

“What’s that?” Kelly stared down at Bryn like she was speaking some foreign language never before heard.  “Connie, what's she saying?”

“You said a swear word,” Connie’s lips were so thin I was impressed she could get words through them. “You owe the swear jar a dollar.”  

Kelly laughed, a loud donkey bray of a noise and I blinked.  “Sure, honey, catch me later.”  Her nails seemed to sink into Bucky’s arm, which was pretty amazing since she was on his left side.  “Come on, hot stuff, let’s go introduce you to everyone.  Brookie needs to catch up with Connie.”  

I was stunned.  Just fucking stunned.  I watched as she yanked Bucky away from me and through the door.  He stared at me, I imagine hoping for a rescue, but all I could think was - honestly I’m not sure I have a thought in my fucking head.

I listened as the donkey braying continued even as the door shut behind them, leaving Connie, Bryn, and me on the porch.  I was still blinking, trying like high holy fuck to figure out what the hell just happened.  

“She overheard Mertle telling Mrs. Guinness that we were having a get together tonight for you and Bucky.”  Connie’s lips were still narrow and so were her eyes, locked on her closed front door.  “Joey tried to cut her off, but how do you uninvite someone you never invited?”  

“She -” I shook my head.  “Did she just -”  I blinked.  “Bryn?”  Bryn took my hand, the one that Bucky had held less than a minute ago.  “Sweetheart, stay very far away from that terrible woman, ok?”  I looked down at my goddaughter and watched her nod solemnly up at me.  “She’s a very bad thing.”  Another nod.  “And here,” I reached into my bag and took out two dollars.  “This is for what’s about to happen.”  I figured I’d better pay up, because it might get ugly.

“Brooke -”  But I was already opening up the front door.  Kelly Taggert was NOT a friend of mine and Bucky Barnes was MY fucking boyfriend, so this was not the day.

I found her trying to wrap herself around him.  While he was doing the best dodge and weave I’ve ever seen an adult man ever do - I had a feeling that Joey and the guys would be trying to draft him for some sport teams.  Squaring my shoulders, cracking my neck, I took a deep breath and heard Connie come up beside me - 

“She’s not worth it,” she muttered.

“No, she isn’t,” I agreed.  “But he IS.”  

I walked forward with a smile plastered on my face.  I watched as my friends - Joey, who was working on getting a buffet together and his brother, Mike was helping while trying like hell NOT to stare at the spectacle that was Kelly.  I saw Mary  and Tawny, of the often off and on coupledom with Sam (who wasn’t around, but that was kind of to be expected) who nodded with a grin at what they could sense was coming.  Carrie and Chris were cringing at the scene that Kelly presented, but when they caught sight of me, the cringes morphed to smirks.  Mertle was shaking her head, but then again she was the parent here. 

“There you are,” I gave Bucky HIS smile, the one that ONLY he got, and he looked at me like I was an angel come to save him.  “I lost you there for a minute.”

“Hey,” his voice was deep and low, and ANY normal human would have picked up exactly what he was throwing down AT ME.  Kelly Taggert wasn’t even CLOSE to normal.  

“Aw, isn’t it sweet that you two are like besties.”  She sneered at me, and I rolled my eyes at Bucky.  “Brookie here has ALWAYS been besties with the boys.”  

“And Kelly here has ALWAYS been flat on her back with whoever pays the most attention to her at the moment,” I smiled at her.  “Isn’t that right, Kelly?”  I watched as her eyes narrowed and those pointy, ugly ass nails dug a little harder into Bucky’s Vibranium arm.  “Read the room, Kel, you’re not welcome.”  

“I was invited,” she sneered and I raised an eyebrow.  “I was.”

“By who?”  I asked, looking around the room.  “It’s MY welcome back party, right?”  Everyone gave the affirmative.  “And correct me if I’m wrong, but was Kelly one of our gang?”  

“That would be a NO,” Mary offered from the corner with a snort.  “Kelly was only part of the gangbang - after the games.”  OUCH, that might be a tad -

“And since she slithered in here, latching onto YOUR guy,” Connie stepped up beside me, suddenly less worried about me smacking Kelly with more than words.  “And INSULTING MY child -”

“Wait, WHAT?”  Joey slammed down the platter he was holding.  “What did this bitch say about Bryn?”  “Daddy!”  I snorted, ut-oh, I guess Bryn didn’t count that two bucks I gave her towards Joey’s swearing.  

It took less time than I expected - Kelly was out of the house with a bye-bitch, don’t let the door - and she threw out a threat that she wouldn’t darken Mertle’s salon with her business again - to which Mertle tossed back that -

“That’s alright, dear, we aspired to a higher class of clientele anyway.”  

Once she was gone, Bryn got her cash from Joey for the “bitch” comment - even though I technically didn’t use my two dollar pre-pay, and then the party got back on track.  Bucky was wrapped around me faster than a blink and I was enjoying myself more than I expected to - finally handing the photo packet to Connie.

“Oh my God,” she gasped, showing everyone the pictures I’d taken.  “I swear, Brooke, this is why your Dad was so -” 

I rolled my eyes, smiling as Bucky’s lips met my neck.  “You know, technically no one has met you,” I murmured.  

“Yeah, well, I met Kelly, wasn’t that ENOUGH?”  I laughed, but insisted on introducing him to everyone - and it went far better than his first introduction into the group. 

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Winter Whumperland Day 3: Caught

Summary: Written for Winter Whumperland Day 3. Set in a Modern AU, follows up on Day 2 'Alone'. All alone in the middle of a forest covered by snow, Hiccup makes his escape during a trip. But what has lead up to this?

Rating: Mature

Characters: Hiccup, Viggo, Ryker

Pairing: Vigcup, past-Hiccstrid

Words: 4 376

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: “Escape in the Snow”

Whumpee: Hiccup

Author’s Notes: From this point on, it's going to be confusing as events will not be told in order just because of the order of the prompts. At least from Day 3 through 7. I've never done anything like this before either, so this was an interesting project to work on.

Anyway constructive criticism is appreciated!

Enjoy!

@amonthofwhump

Ao3

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The Grimborn Empire is a company that focuses mostly on export and import. They have centers where trucks load and unload their wares and they have ships and containers to bring those wares to other countries overseas. There are many, many employees working under the Grimborn name.

But the headquarters, so to speak, is a tall building that stands in the city of New New Berk and that is where Viggo works.

His office is on the top floor and overlooking the city. Though quite sparse, the interior is as fancy as one would imagine and screams CEO. At the desk Viggo usually sits, his back facing the large, thick windows that make up the wall behind him.

At the moment, however, he's facing one and stands there as a slow afternoon passes. Hands clasped behind him, he watches the traffic down below.

With no work needing to be done, he's waiting for a meeting that is supposed to start in another hour or so. He has a particular disdain for waiting and doing nothing, he's just wasting precious time that could be spent on something useful.

If it wasn't so short, he would've used it alright. He would've gone by the house and see how his little pet project is doing, but alas!

So instead he has to think smaller and ponder if he should tell his assistant to grab him a coffee. He would go down to the local coffee shop he used to frequent, but the one barista he liked in that establishment is no longer working there. So he doesn't see the point in going himself.

Turning away from the view, Viggo decides that's what he's going to do. He approaches his desk with the intention to press a button on his phone to call his assistant in. She should come stumbling in seconds later like a hen without her head, rightfully in a hurry if she wants to keep her job.

But it's as he leans forward, index finger hovering over the little button of doom that she so dreads to have him use, that something on his computer screen draws his attention.

An alert? Of what? And how long has that been there?

It's a little black popup on the bottom right and it's barely noticeable. It certainly hasn't drawn his attention.

With urgency does he pull his expensive leather desk chair back. Viggo takes a seat and rolls back in, taking the mouse and clicking on it.

It appears to him that someone is on his home computer. That in itself wouldn't necessarily send an alert to his device at work, but when someone enters a certain password to gain access to a place they aren't supposed to be in, well, then Viggo likes to know who.

There is no one in the office but him, so he feels safe enough to open up an app and a different window pops up. This one allows him to see who's using his home computer. It takes him a little while to find the right one, but he finds it.

When he sees it's Hiccup, he's somehow not surprised.

A deep scowl appears on his face and Viggo growls. This isn't the first time he's caught Hiccup breaking a rule behind his back, but this is one of the worst he could've broken. That boy never learns.

How long has he been searching through his stuff? He wishes that alert came with a timestamp or something to help him see it. He isn't a tech genius, that's for sure. And does Hiccup even know what he's looking at?

He looks much too focussed, eyes quickly moving across the screen with the speed you'd expect from someone with his brain. Viggo would've been enamored if he wasn't so alarmed.

But then he's torn out of his thoughts as he sees Hiccup visibly react to something he must've found. His reaction is terrible as he visibly reels from something Viggo cannot see.

He doesn't know what it is that Hiccup's found, the feed has no sound either, but Viggo can see him quickly unravel on screen and it's a joy to see.

The quick jerk of the chair backward, the disbelief, the tears in his eyes, the telltale shaking of his shoulders as he begins to sob, following by his hand covering his mouth and then his face he folds in on himself.

It's all on-screen and that means Viggo can see him sink further and further in his breakdown.

All he does is hum thoughtfully.

"I have to say, Hiccup, whatever you must be looking at, I think you deserve it."

However, this does present him with a big problem. Hiccup isn't a fool and Viggo won't be able to tell what he's found, what he's been looking at. He doesn't have a good view of how well Hiccup is with electronics either, though that he's made it this far is certainly telling.

This is troubling. And worse is, he'll have to tell Ryker and he'll be expected to make his final decision about the boy. Because it's been much too long already and Hiccup still hasn't learned his place.

Viggo sighs in agitation and leans back in his chair, gaze still on the screen.

"Well, well, well, you've been especially troublesome, my Dear Hiccup. But now you've really forced my hand."

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

"A trip?" Hiccup cautiously asks, looking up at Viggo from his seat at the table.

There's a brochure that's been shoved into his hands. It looks like it's somewhere far away from where they live now, far away from civilization as a whole. It's of a place in the mountains, somewhere snowy. Clearly the perfect place to go when someone has a stump for a leg.

With how isolated it is, he'll still be stuck with just Viggo and Ryker. They might be counting on his leg to keep him inside and that Hiccup will know better than to wander through the woods in the freezing cold.

"Yes, a trip. It's the 20th, that means the holidays are fast approaching and I desire a break from work." Viggo tells him and Hiccup almost dares to raise an eyebrow.

Viggo? A break from work? Yeah, when pigs fly.

This just makes this whole sudden trip all the more suspicious, however. Here's the thing, this brochure isn't promoting some lodge or a resort or anything one would go to for a holiday getaway. It's one made of a fishing town by the name of Newport, using its beautiful sights as a way to lure people in.

This isn't the kind of place most people would go to when they think "vacation" and certainly not Viggo Grimborn. So what is the true purpose of this?

Maybe he should ask something first.

"So what'll happen to me?" Hiccup asks, assuming that he won't be left behind to starve.

He could order takeout, though. Make a quick getaway with the pizza courier, but that's the kind of stuff that will only happen in comedy movies. He wishes he can watch one again someday.

Hiccup wants to chuckle, but he chokes his amusement.

"You'll come along, of course. I realize you haven't been outside much," At that Hiccup can't help but give Viggo a glare. It's one that says 'you mean not at all?' But when he returns it just as strong in warning, Hiccup has to do his part and avert his gaze.

His jaw is still blue from the other day and his hand still painful and blistered from the boiling water that ended up spilling in that confrontation.

"What I was trying to tell you is that we both need new surroundings and this way I can spend more time with you." Viggo continues and Hiccup feels like what he's spouting is bull. Ryker is rolling his eyes in the background so loudly they can almost hear it.

Whenever Viggo is home, Hiccup is either one of two things; Completely neglected or clung to constantly, like he has a needy child that won't leave him alone. There is no in-between and it was particularly bad in the beginning three months of his stay.

"What happens to..." Hiccup hesitates, trying to find the right word to use. "The family cat?"

He hopes his choice of words will bring the cat in question some favor. The cat is a two-month-old kitten, one Viggo bought him as a gift when she was a month old.

Well, as a gift and as leverage.

"She'll go someplace where they can take care of her, don't worry," Viggo answers before he downs his drink. If he didn't know any better, Hiccup wouldn't have worried when he told him not to.

Hiccup looks back down at the brochure, brows knitting together in worry.

There is not one part of this that isn't suspicious and he fears what he may find on this "trip".

No, wait. Maybe this isn't as bad as he thinks.

"I... look forward to it." Hiccup tells him without a smile or anything that could possibly be mistaken for enthusiasm. He couldn't fake it even if he tried.

Viggo is displeased with this, but at least he doesn't see this as an excuse to 'discipline' him.

"We're leaving tomorrow morning. Get started on dinner and pack after." He orders him and leaves, walking away from the table.

Hiccup watches him go before his eyes move to the text on the brochure.

This trip might not be such a bad thing. Because even though he'll be spending even more time with his abusers, leaving the premise means the invisible fences keeping him in will be down. The plan he's been working on to get help from the outside is going to be ruined, but maybe that's not so bad. Maybe it's not even necessary and he can finally see an opportunity to escape.

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

If you're as rich as Viggo Grimborn, chances are that you don't take any of the conventional means of travel.

Why take a public flight if you can use your personal boat to make the trip there? And unlike with a car, you don't need to stop at a restroom for gas, food, drinks, or a restroom.

And since the brothers are aware of his mother's dragon sanctuary and his affinity for dragons, the last thing they want is to energize him by putting him on a plane and bringing him the closest to flying that he's been since they picked him off the street that faithful night.

The joke's on them, however. The breeze blowing along the shore is enough to give him that high.

That's the thing with keeping someone like him confined to the house. The smallest gust of wind will invigorate him, the feeling the Grimborn Brothers wanted to suppress most.

Hiccup is leaning over the side of the boat, knees on some leather seats, trying to catch as much of the wind as he can. It combing through his hair feels like heaven to him and it's like it's telling him that it's missed him.

Viggo scowls deeply at the display.

"You know, if you want him to stop enjoying himself so much, you should tell him why we're really here," Ryker advises his younger brother from the steering wheel.

Viggo would tell him to keep his eye on where they're headed, but instead, he looks thoughtful.

They've already left, Hiccup can do no harm here. What's the worst he can do? Throw himself overboard and make things easier for them?

Besides, he doesn't have the heart to hurt someone, the cat has proven how soft he is. While packing, Viggo had to resort to smacking him just to quieten his endless questions about the place they were sending her to while they were away.

Frighteningly enough, a yet unbroken spirit caused Hiccup to glare back at him, Viggo remembers the look well. If it could kill, he'd be dead.

After everything that's been done to him, that will to fight that he's been carefully ripping out of him piece by piece is still there. The boy bounces back quickly, a concerning thing.

But cracks have formed, cracks that made him not lash back out after that smack.

They're almost there, they've almost broken him. That's why this getaway is so important.

So Viggo approaches.

"Henry." Hiccup is torn out of his thoughts of his Bud by a name that isn't his and he tenses up immensely.

It's a cover name because unusual names like his tend to be more memorable than one as simple and common as that.

For as much trouble as his birth name has given him growing up, he prefers it greatly over whatever name Viggo has given him.

Plus, he knows it's just another method. He's changed his clothing, his eating habits, everything down to what brand he brushes his teeth and washes his hair with. So what is a name change?

"... Yes?" Still Hiccup responds, not feeling like getting hit again. The bruise on his jaw is still far from fading and there are many more beneath his clothes. His ribs hurt when he breathes too deeply. Just bruised, most likely.

But he must've not responded in the correct tone, with the correct face, or maybe he just took too long. Because he's smacked on the back of his head for whatever he's done this time. He'd flinched before it came and anger is what remains. All he knows is anger and fear and shame.

He can't remember what joy feels like.

All those negative emotions swirl inside and he has to swallow them, lest he be hurt worse and mysteriously break his wrist again. He flexes his hand on memory.

Look a certain way, sound a certain way, move a certain way, do this, do that, what Viggo wants is an obedient robot. A robot with very specific qualities and functions.

"Sit down." Viggo orders him and Hiccup listens, taking his knees off the seat and sitting down. He smooths his expression as best as he can while the older man comes down next to him.

He wants to take his hand, intertwine their fingers, but Hiccup draws his hand back. Viggo insists, taking hold and squeezing tight enough to hurt.

If he had a wish for pain, he would've squeezed back. He knows it's a game he sometimes used to do with Astrid.

And Snotlout, but that was more arm wrestling, he loves doing those. Hiccup is usually victorious in those and Snotlout is usually left with the bad taste of defeat.

Once in a while, however, he'd let him win. It always felt so good to see him smile, hear him holler in joy, watch him throw his fists in the air. That was always followed up by gloating and the flexing of his muscles, which consistently almost made Hiccup regret letting him win.

Gods, he almost forgot he used to do that. Sometimes he almost forgets he had friends at all.

Sometimes it feels good not to remember what you used to have.

"Henry!" Viggo calls him out his pleasant memories, the occasional reprieve, and tightens his grip some more.

It hurts because he's holding his left hand, which is the one covered in bandages. He can feel the burning pressure in those blisters grow.

So Hiccup quickly figures this isn't something he can win and submits quickly, loosening his hold and looking down.

In return, Viggo's hold on his hand lightens, too.

"So, Henry, you've been troublesome."

"Have I?" It's a genuine question, but it must've come out too sarcastic for Viggo's taste. A third strike and he'll be looking at another punishment.

The only reason he's so lenient now is that someone might catch them.

When he first arrived, a mere painful squeeze wasn't all it took to shut him up.

Maybe he's wrong. Maybe there was a bit of a Viking in him, too. Was, because he's very aware of how obedient he's been. He barely meets Viggo's eyes as of late, certainly not when he doesn't have permission. He hates that he can't.

"You've been troublesome." He repeats and watches for a reaction.

There isn't one, Hiccup's gaze is still downcast and that pleases him.

What he can't tell is the way his brows have furrowed. Is it anger again? Pain? Perhaps it's a mix of both. Let's just throw another pinch of shame in there as well.

"We've tried many things to make you fall in line," By trying to abuse the disobedience out of him, but Hiccup can't say that. "But you remain too stubborn. That is why we're going on this trip. This is meant as a way to finally persuade you."

"And you thought a nice trip up the mountains after everything you two have done would miraculously make me fall head over heels in love with you?" Hiccup mutters quietly under his breath, hoping he isn't heard too much.

"I'm warning you, Henry, this is your last chance." There is that name for the third time, but all Hiccup can focus on is the choice of wording.

His eyes are widened with alarm.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'last chance'? Last chance before what?" He asks. Nothing is ever just an accident with this man, that has to be on purpose and Hiccup wants to know why.

There's a beat of silence before Viggo answers, apparently wanting Hiccup to wallow in it.

"I know you've been messing with my computer. You believed I wouldn't find out, but the cameras on my property aren't just on the outside." Viggo explains and Hiccup stares at him with growing realization, caught redhanded.

"The bookcase you pick books from without permission, the bathroom while you shower, the living room where you watch your documentaries and tasteless movies, there are hidden cameras all over the house. Including on my personal computer." He continues to add and panic is about to erupt with Hiccup.

So he's been keeping watch on him from work all this time? But Viggo never punished him for breaking the rules when he wasn't home.

No leaving the house, which he never could anyway. No unauthorized snacking or drinking, not that there is anything to snack on in that house. He knows about Ryker's personal stash, but he's only stolen from there once and that wasn't without consequences. No entertainment and finish your chores, not even the books belonging to his keeper or the tv were allowed to be touched.

Those are only the rules he can count at the top of his head and Hiccup broke so many more then those. Sometimes the second Viggo left. So if there really are cameras all over the house keeping watch over him, why did he never show any knowledge of his childish rulebreaking?

His panic makes him forego the role of obedient little love.

"No, that's a lie! There are no cameras, you're just trying to get under my skin!" Hiccup shoots up, tearing his hand back. It hurts, but he cares little.

"Don't raise your voice at me, Henr-"

"Oh, stop it with that stupid name! It's Hiccup! I'm not letting you get-" While it is Hiccup who first cuts Viggo off, the latter is swift to return the favor.

He rises and backhands him with one seamless motion. Both for speaking out of turn and raising his voice. The ring on his finger cuts into his cheek.

Hiccup comes to glare at him, now silent as he holds it. He wants so badly to hit back, but knows that he can't.

He did try it once.

Once.

He sits back down and slumps forward in defeat.

"Did you honestly believe I would allow you to roam freely in my home without eyes and ears on you at all times?" The ears part is a lie, but Hiccup doesn't need to know that. Besides, Viggo feels satisfied with that look of alarm appearing on his face.

"Henry, I chose you because you were smart. Is that a lie? If it isn't, can you figure out the rest?" He asks and then leaves in a foul mood.

But yes, Hiccup can and he does.

He's telling the truth. And Viggo wouldn't be telling him all of this, disclosing the fact that he's been secretly watching him through hidden eyes all over his home, without reason him. Clearly, he's been keeping that fact to himself to reveal later when it would be of some significance and today is apparently that day.

This is Hiccup's "last chance" to fall in line. The sudden disclosure of secrets, the unexpected trip to somewhere cold and remote, putting his cat in a regular shelter for 'safekeeping' instead of one of those fancy hotels Viggo definitely has the money for...

His last chance...

If Hiccup doesn't fully submit to Viggo by the end of this trip instead of only half-submitting when he has no other choice, they're going to...

His hand falls limp to his lap, overcome with shock.

The fear has always been there. He's seen them on the news, missing persons that ended up found, but in a grave instead of alive.

If he doesn't become what they've taken him to be, they're going to kill him.

From his position at the steering wheel, having watched it all go down, Ryker smirks in delight.

"He's figured it out."

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

It's not like Hiccup is surprised to learn that his situation could end this way.

When he was first abducted, woken up in a bare dimly lit room, he'd once wondered if he was the first one or if there'd been others before him. People who'd mysteriously gone missing, went through the same stuff he has, and were never found. Not alive, at least.

But to think that, that day has already arrived...

No, he shouldn't be surprised. The very fact that plenty of people have had less, much less, time than he was given, people who were taken from the streets only to end up dead the very next day, makes Hiccup feel very lucky.

But should he still worry about his fate? He's finally made his escape and he's far away from the cabin now.

They arrived not even two days ago and settled into what was supposed to be home for the next two weeks. Funny, Hiccup hasn't been home for months.

His careful planning has been all for naught. In the end, he had to work on pure impulse to get him out of trouble.

He shouldn't be proud of it and he probably won't be. There was a reason for all that planning, all that waiting and enduring. He's sure he'll regret it later, whether he manages to get away from Viggo or not.

Hiccup supposes that matters little now. He's out here, wandering through a forest covered in a layer of snow that's at least a foot thick. He's not dressed properly for the cold, wearing just a hoodie and jeans, and he's not in perfect condition either. On top of the bruises and the hand, he's gotten injured in those two days.

His upper back burns and it's been burning since their first evening in the mountains. The horrible memory attached to it wants to break free and be a hindrance in his escape. Trudging through the snow and trembling awfully, he tries not to let it.

Besides his head is pounding. He doesn't know why that is as he doesn't know exactly what happened, what knocked him out. He just knows that he blacked out and woke up with an aching head.

An aching head, a burning back, and a foot in agony. He'd dropped something on it in the confrontation that lead to his escape. Now he's using a shovel to help him limp through the trees, a shovel of which the spade has blood on it.

A lot has happened in two days. A lot. There's something he has done that he can never atone for.

His last chance has passed.

It's dark out, too, making this trip through the woods ten times harder than it already is. It's pure agony to use his broken foot, but he has no other choice but to since his left his a fake.

He can feel the pain radiating up his leg through his ankle. He's had to stop several times just to take a breather, the used air from his lungs leaving in white puffs. But each time, his will to escape triumphs over his pain and he continues to drag his way forward. Bit by bit, step by step, giving up is not an option.

And yet, there's the threat of panic erupting and stopping him. Having a stubborn will is good and all, but it's useless if he doesn't get out of here.

Sure, he got away from Viggo, but he has no idea where he's going now. His hope is to find a road or the town they docked at, but he could be heading deeper into the forest for all he knows.

If he is, then what? Will he never see his friends again? Will his parents be able to move on, will they ever have closure? Will Toothless ever be up in the air again?

Hiccup's arduous limping comes to a halt and he slowly turns to look behind him. It's only because of how strongly pure white snow contrasts against the blue-ish black of the night that he can see the trail he's left behind. If Viggo is searching for him, it won't be hard to find him.

He's shivering, clinging to the shovel that's a clumsy crutch at best, and looks at the way ahead of him. He doesn't feel hopeful, he doesn't know what exactly he feels. Nothing besides pain and a possibly very foolish drive forwards.

Whether the cold lulls him into a false sleep during his endless wandering or Viggo puts an end to his life himself, this forest will be his grave if he doesn't find his way out.

For better or for worse, it's a big enough reason to keep on pushing through the pain and keep going onwards.

[singswithmicoff]

Here is a short story I wrote for @isearchedtheyooniverse for the @exolssecretsanta event. I hope that you like it. Merry Christmas!!

It's also available on A03.

Baekhyun Byun looked around the baggage claim area for a sign of his former college roommate, Chanyeol Park. He had met Chanyeol their freshman year of college when they were paired as roommates. They had gotten along so well that they continued to live together for the remainder of college. After graduation, Baekhyun returned to his hometown while Chanyeol had stayed to complete his master’s. 

Even though they were halfway across the country from each other, they had remained close, talking almost every day and getting together for trips as their schedules allowed. Baekhyun made several trips back to their alma mater, as well as a vacation to Turks and Caicos the previous winter. This would be Chanyeol’s first time to visit Baekhyun in his hometown. He had finished his master’s degree and was coming to interview at the mental health facility that Baekhyun worked at.

“Yah, Baekhyun!” 

The shout startled Baekhyun out of his daze and he snapped his head around to find his friend. It didn’t take long to spot the six foot tall man, and Baekyun felt his face break out into a large grin rivaled only by the grin Chanyeol sported.

“Loey!” 

Baekhyun rushed to the man, taking in his features. He was always amazed by how attractive Chanyeol was. He was tall with wide brown eyes. His hair was dyed a light brown and peeked out from under his hat along with his ears that stuck out in a way that had endeared Chanyeol to him from the moment they met. Baekhyun allowed himself to think, just briefly, about the crush he had always had on his friend as Chanyeol hugged him tightly.When they pulled back, Chanyeol smiled brightly at him. 

“It’s been too long! I can’t believe I’m finally going to get a chance to see the infamous hometown of Baekhyun Byun.”

Baekhyun reached for Chanyeol’s carry on, but Chanyeol pulled it out of his reach. 

“Once you nail this interview, you’ll get to spend so much time there you’ll regret all your choices.”

“If only. I’m not convinced they’ll agree,” Chanyeol replied as he threw an arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders. They watched the baggage carousel as it began to produce suitcases.

Baekhyun leaned into him slightly, inhaling his scent. Even with the hours spent on the airplane he still smelled wonderful. 

“They’ll hire you on the spot. Even if you weren’t qualified, the need for a male therapist coupled with the overwhelming need for more therapists in general... There’s basically nothing you could do to not get hired.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Chanyeol laughed and pulled away to grab a large metal suitcase. “This is mine.”

“You’ll crush it,” Baekhyun said. “Ready to hit the road?”

Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s hand and nodded. “How far is it again?”

“It’s about an hour and a half,” Baekhyun answered, leading them out of the airport. “If there’s anything special you want, we may need to stop somewhere here for it. I’m afraid we’re a bit podunk.”

Chanyeol laughed and followed. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. I’m only here for a few days anyway.”

“Longer when you get the job.” Baekhyun looked around the parking lot for his car.

“If I get it,” Chanyeol replied.

Baekhyun gestured at his car and popped the trunk. “When. When you get it.”

They filled the ride to Baekhyun’s house singing along to the playlist Baekhyun had made that reminded him of their time in college. Baekhyun loved how, regardless of the time spent apart, they were able to slip back into each other’s lives as if they hadn’t been apart. He was glad to have a chance to spend time with Chanyeol, someone he still considered one of his best friends.

“This is it,” Bakehyun said as he pulled into the driveway of a modest ranch house. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”

Chanyeol looked at the house as they climbed out. “I’m sure it’s wonderful.”

“Sehun should be moved into his new place by the time you move here, so you can stay here until you find your own place,” Baekhyun said, letting Chanyeol into the house. “We both thought he’d be in already.”

Chanyeol took in the house. He had seen bits of it during video chats with Baekhyun, but it was nice to see it in person. 

“If I move here. They might hate me.”

Baekhyun shook his head and offered Chanyeol a pair of slippers. 

“They’ll love you. Anyway, once he’s moved out, you’ll have a room to stay in. Until then, unfortunately, you’ll be stuck sharing with me.”

“It’s hardly the first time,” Chanyeol replied, placing his shoes in the storage rack. “At least now you’ve got more than a twin bed.”

Baekhyun laughed as he thought about the semester they had spent squished on a twin bed in an attempt to save money and maximize the space they had. 

“Never again. I was so glad when Junmyeon graduated at semester.”

“Especially when he insisted on paying rent to keep us from trying to squeeze another person in,” Chanyeol said.

Baekhyun laughed again. “I’m pretty sure Minseok would’ve snapped if had we after living with Jun’s mess.”

Chanyeol followed him down the hall. “How they managed for two years, I’ll never know.”

“That’s my studio, there’s room for all your equipment...well, not the drums but we could always figure out a space.” Baekhyun pointed at the first door on their right as they came down the hallway. “There’s a half bath here across the hall with the shower and tub between it and the other half bath.”

They stopped at the end of the hallway and Baekhyun gestured at the closed door to the left. “That’s Sehun’s room, soon to be yours. Then I’m across the hall.”

Chanyeol followed him into the doorway to their right. “You’re so confident they’ll hire me. I wish I was half as sure.”

Baekhyun shrugged. “I know you. I know them. I know the needs. You’ll be a great fit. Plus, I’m putting it out there because I very selfishly want my best friend to live in the same place as me again.”

“Fair enough.” Chanyeol laughed and looked around the room. There wasn’t much furniture: a king size bed, a dresser, and a 50 inch television mounted to the wall across from the bed. It felt like Baekhyun though. “Plus you’re afraid to live alone.”

“I’m not afraid to live alone,” Baekhyun exclaimed.

“Sure you’re not.” Chanyeol laughed.

“I’m not!” Baekhyun insisted. “I’m just a social person and I like to have people around the house.”

“Well, if they hire me, I’ll take you up on your offer to stay here,” Chanyeol said. “It’d be fun to live together again.”

Baekhyun nodded in agreement. “Just like old times. Except instead of getting wasted on a Tuesday, we go to bed at a reasonable time.”

Chanyeol laughed. “How very exciting.”

“That’s how we roll,” Baekhyun laughed again. “Do you want to take a shower or anything? We’ve got about an hour before everyone gets here.”

Chanyeol nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. Get some of that airplane funk off.”

“Okay, cool. There’s clean towels above the toilet.” Baekhyun gestured at the closet. “You can store your luggage in there...there’s room to hang stuff if you need. And I’ll be in the living room setting up if you need anything.”

“Great, thanks, Baekie.”

Baekhyun smiled and left the room to give Chanyeol his privacy. He wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt nervous, but he did his best to put it out of his mind. It didn’t take much to get ready for the night, but it gave him something to do. He went into the pantry and pulled out cups and plates. There were snack trays and drinks in the garage fridge but he didn’t want to put them out until people started to arrive.

“Honey, we’re home!” Sehun shouted as he came into the house with their friend Jongin.

Baekhyun set down the plates. “Just in time. Chanyeol’s in the shower. I’m getting things set up.”

Jongin appeared from around the corner. “I can’t believe I’m finally going to meet the infamous Chanyeol Park.”

“When are you going to tell him you love him?” Sehun asked.

Baekhyun pushed him. “Shut up! He could hear you.”

Sehun shrugged. “Good. He should know.”

“There’s nothing he needs to know,” Baekhyun replied. “If you’re going to be bratty, at least help me set up.”

“You should tell him,” Sehun said.

“Go get the trays and drinks from the fridge. And quit being an asshole or I’ll drink your beer.”

Two hours later the group was gathered in the living room.

“We should play a game,” Sehun said, grabbing another beer.

Baekhyun shrugged. “What kind of game?”

Sehun smiled. “Truth or dare.”

“How old are you again?” Baekhyun rolled his eyes and took a drink of his water. He wasn’t much of a drinker and was trying to pace himself.

“Never Have I Ever,” Jongin suggested.

Amber, one of the therapists from the agency and one of Baekhyun’s closest friends, laughed. “Even better! It’ll give us a chance to get to know Chanyeol.”

“Can’t we just play Cards Against Humanity or Azn Flush?” Baekhyun asked.

Hazel shook her head. “I’m not playin Azn Flush with you again. It’s not fair.”

Baekhyun made a face. “I’ve told you isn’t our fault you aren’t Asian. You’re a bad Koreaboo.”

Chanyeol laughed. “Let’s just play Never Have I Ever, Baekie.”

Baekhyun pouted. “They’re just trying to get me drunk.”

“I’ll go first,” Sehun replied. “Never have I ever experimented to see my sexual orientation.”

Everyone except Hazel took a drink. “You always forget I’m the token straight girl. I’ll go next. Never have I ever watched an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

Chanyeol was the only one not to drink that round and took his turn. “Never have I ever really liked a Justin Bieber song.”

Baekhyun glared at Chanyeol. “This isn’t fair!”

Jongin laughed. “I’ll go. Never have I ever sent nudes.”

“I hate you.” Baekhyun retorted, continuing to glare.

It went like this for another ten rounds, with Sehun keeping a close eye on Baekhyun’s glass and refilling it whenever it looked like it was close to empty. Baekhyun could feel himself getting tipsy as he took a drink each round.

“Never have I ever had a crush on someone I lived with,” Amber said.

Sehun went next after they had taken their drinks. “Never have I ever had feelings for someone in this room.”

Baekhyun finished his drink and stood up. “That’s it for me.”

Chanyeol stood up and took his empty cup to the kitchen. “Me too, I think. It’s been a long day.”

“It’s great to finally meet you,” Amber said. “I look forward to working with you.”

“It’s great to meet you too,” Chanyeol replied. “You’re all so sure they’ll hire me.”

Baekhyun waved his hand at Chanyeol. “They’re gonna snap you up before another agency has the chance. Amber and I like you so they basically have to hire you.”

Amber laughed. “It’s true. They value our opinions highly.”

“You guys are welcome to stay, you know where the extra bedding is,” Baekhyun said. “Feel free to keep hanging out.”

They all said their good nights, and Chanyeol followed Baekhyun to his bedroom. Baekhyun was barely through the door before he began to strip down to his boxers, leaving his clothes in a heap on the floor. Chanyeol followed and left his clothes on the floor next to Baekhyun’s. Once in his boxers, Baekhyun collapsed onto the bed.

“Don’t you want to brush your teeth and wash your face, Baekie?” Chanyeol asked, much more sober than his friend.

Baekhyun shook his head and pulled the blankets over him. “Too sleepy. Come snuggle me, Loey.”

Chanyeol smiled. “Let me wash up and I will.”

Ten minutes later Chanyeol climbed into the bed next to Baekhyun who immediately wrapped himself around the taller man. 

“I love you,” Baekhyun mumbled against Chanyeol’s chest.

Chanyeol hugged him close and whispered, “I love you too, Baekie.”

Baekhyun woke up the next morning, still wrapped around Chanyeol. He froze as he remembered he had told Chanyeol he loved him. It wasn’t the first time the pair had told each other they loved one another, Baekhyun just hoped Chanyeol didn’t realize the different type of love he had meant when he said it. Baekhyun squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in Chanyeol’s chest. He was nearly back to sleep when he felt Chanyeol run his fingers through his hair.

“I wish I could wake up to this every day,” Chanyeol said in a low voice, Baekhyun felt his voice rumble through his chest and froze. “I wish you weren’t in love with Sehun.”

Baekhyun lifted his head, confused. “What are you talking about? I’m not in love with Sehun.”

Chanyeol swore, startled. “I thought you were still asleep.”

“What makes you think I’m in love with Sehun?” Baekhyun questioned.

Chanyeol looked up at the ceiling. “Last night, you drank because you’d had a crush on someone you lived with. And because you’ve had feelings for someone in the room. Then you couldn’t wait to leave the room.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and poked Chanyeol in the side. “I’ve lived with you...and had-have feelings for you.”

“Me?” Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun, unsure. “You...you have feelings for me?”

“...yes.” Baekhyun blushed. “I’ve  been in love with you since like midway through freshman year.”

Chanyeol laughed. “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Baekhyun sat up and moved away from Chanyeol. “It’s not funny! What was I supposed to say? What if you didn’t feel the same? You’re my best friend, Chanyeol, I couldn’t risk it.”

Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s hand. “I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at how ridiculous we both are. Baekhyun, I’ve liked you since our first week of freshman year when you didn’t tease me for being homesick and crying myself to sleep.”

Baekhyun punched Chanyeol in the arm. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“For the same reason you didn’t. I was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same,” he replied.

“Well I demand you take me to breakfast to make up for making me suffer all these years,” Baekhyun said.

Chanyeol laughed. “I can do that.”

-

“I can’t believe you’ve lived here a year and still haven’t unpacked everything, Sehun,” Jongin said as he refilled his drink.

Chanyeol shook his head. “It won’t be a year for like two more months. He moved out right before I moved in.”

Jongin raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “No, he moved in in August because it was hot as fuck. Baekhyun nearly passed out.”

“I interviewed in October.” Chanyeol looked at Sehun then at Baekhyun who avoided his eyes. “Baekhyun? You told me Sehun was still living with you when I interviewed and that’s why we had to share a bed. Sehun, you slept there.”

Sehun laughed into his drink. “Did I?”

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun again. “Baekhyun! When did Sehun move out?”

Baekhyun bit his lip. “...August?”

Jongin cackled. “Did you seriously pull the ‘there’s only one bed’ thing on him?”

Baekhyun shot him a dirty look. “Shut up! I didn’t know how to tell him how I felt.”

Chanyeol laughed and pulled Baekhyun to him. “You’re lucky I love you, Baekie.”

Baekhyun curled into him. “I love you too.”

Jongin and Sehun pretend to gag but Baekhyun ignored them and pressed a kiss to Chanyeol’s shoulder. His small lie had been worth it.

[nightmaretyrantvantas]

 Ok guys its finally finished!!

Introducing the last two main families in my anxciet au!

Please meet the princes

The Prince family

( from left to right)

Rebecca Prince

The boys’s Mother, goes by the names Mother, Ma, and Bec-bec

Her and Diana have been married for 7 years at this point, and been together for about 10(they met and started dating on and off since high school until they got back together permanently during college)

Punk mom punk mom punk mom punk mom punk mom-

She raised roman on her own for his first year before remus was born, in which she started dating Diana again more seriously

She majored in nursing and later in  sociology in college before dropping out to take care of her boys and raise them right

Shes currently going back to school for the sociology degree inbetween her current job

She works as nurse and receptionist at a doctors office in town

Shes in her mid forties current time( where roman is 22, remus is 21, and kingley is 14)

Shes a pretty tough love kinda parent, and doesnt mind rough housing with her boys when they get too out of line and rowdy( they all enjoy the playfullness of it)

But compared to Diana she is not the scary when angry parent, and she can actually be pretty lenient with the boys depending on the situation

She also tends to be the one who gives into their requests and in kingley’s case, puppy eyes, though she puts on a tough front when she does

Rebecca is such a softie for her family I just i cant she loves them so much

She makes dad jokes just to annoy and embarrass her sons, but only makes either classic dad jokes or purposely really bad ones

100% supportive of her older boys’s relationships, and loves to tease Roman about Patton all the time

She also enjoys building things, and helped build the play structure and treehouse that are in the backyard.

Shes probably the reason Remus has no filter, as she has little filter herself

Her hair is naturally honey brown but she dyed it recently to make a statement to a shitty coworker so currently her hair is purple blue and pink

Shes usually pretty reserved around anyone thats not her family, so its a bit of a shock when people see her playful and rowdy compared to her reserved, professional front

Remus prince

The middle child at 21 but hey he can (legally) drink!

Wild feral trash man no matter what, but now hes got a switchblade and two brothers hed fucking kill for( though he wont admit it about roman)

Hes dating Logan and shows a slightly softer side to him only, and hes ride or die with his boyfriend

He tried college but it didnt suit him, so he ended up dropping out and instead getting two part time jobs: one as a vet assistant and one as a bartender, both located near his current apartment

Hes been best friends with Ethen for as long as he can remember, they grew up together and he considers Ethen a brother practically, and remus would probably be in a bad place without him and Remus recognizes this

He has a love for theater and acting that he shares with his older brother Roman and was in pretty much every school performance growing up, and even majored in theater for a bit when he was in college

He also writes alot of original short horror stories 

Hes an adrenaline junkie and loves doing reckless things for the fun of it( usually dragging Ethen or Logan along with him)

He doesnt have a youtube channel of his own but he pops up frequently enough on Ethen’s channel when joining him for explorations that Ethen’s subscribers know him well, and love seeing him in videos

Hes only got two filter and their names are Logan and Ethen 

He wants to get a snakes as pets just as much as Ethen but Their apartment has strict rules 

That did not however stop him from bringing home a in rehabilitation small fresh water turtle home from work one day, and its the only exception to the no pets rule because Remus fought tooth and nail over the fact it was part of his JOB DAMMIT HES KEPPING THE TURTLE IT NEEDS CONSTANT CARE--

ahem. anyway the turtles name is Sir snappy and he adores her

He LOVES teasing both his brothers, even if it means getting teased back he can usually take what he dishes out

usually.

He also has a drivers license but does not currently have a car as he is trying to save up to buy a motorcycle 

Kingley “King” Prince

The youngest of the family!! The also the shortest!!

He goes by the nickname “ King” and has for a couple years now

Hes fourteen and hes very upbeat and cheerful!

Hes also one of Andy’s best friends( He isnt crushing on andy dont listen to remus) and theyve been friends since second grade

Did I mention that they have sleepovers as often as they can? Because they try to. Usually King, andy, and Liam are nearly glued to the hips unless they cant be

Hes got a wild imagination and lots of ideas that he loves to share and try to put out as songs, stories, drawings, etc

He has severe ADHD and takes medication to help him narrow his focus more, as well as to keep his energy levels more consistent so he wouldnt be hugely energetic in the morning and dull and falling asleep by noon. But the medication doesnt effect his creativity sometimes it even helps boost it because he can focus better on his ideas instead of getting too many ideas at once to focus on and work on

His hair has blonde highlights in the winter and looks nearly fully blonde in the summer

Hes got his mama’s caramel brown eyes and tanner skin, as apposed to his ma’s more peachy skin and green eyes

This boy loves to wrestle and roughhouse, hes got alot of energy that needs to be ran out by bedtime and what better way then wrestling his older brothers for the tv remote when they visit? Or playing games at the park or in the backyard until the sun goes down 

He also loves to sing and draw, he can usually be caught humming and you can find doodles all over his homework and school assignments

He also got braces when he was 12 and he loves them and always gets new colors for them as often as he can convinces his parents to agree to

Roman Prince

The eldest brother at 22!

He works at the local theater as a theater tech and assistant director and also performs in a good chunk of the plays put on as well

He loves his job, especially when they put on musicals

He has a college degree in directing and one in music composing

Hes known his boyfriend patton since they were kids since their families are really close, 

He also writes his own short plays and stories that are sometimes performed at his work!!

Oh and this boy our boy roman can cook, hes learned all his cooking from his parents and absolutely loves cooking and learning new recipes and experimenting with old recipes! He also brings extra food into work to share with his coworkers and the actors in case someone doesnt have food with them or the money to buy something( as some of the workers there are broke college students or high schools trying to get experience) He and Patton share this hobby and sometimes have playful cooking competitions in their kitchen!!

Hes got a huge dvd collection that fills tree shelves of a bookshelf in their apartment 

He also holds some acting lessons to younger workers at the theater in the case someone is struggling with a role or performace

Roman is also a very smooth motherfucker in the romace department when he wants to be. Hes romantic and pays alot of to little details and goes all out for date nights, whether theyre at home dates or going out dates he tries to make it as perfect to you as possible

Also he speaks spanish and likes to sing to Patton in spanish to swoon him on a bad day

Diana Prince

The boys’s other mother! Goes by Mama, Mum, and baba

Shes in her late thirties early fourties

did I mention theyve been married for years? I did? Good good

Diana is a blunt sweetheart with a bubbly, snappy personallity and a fiery temper

Shes really good with kids and has a degree in child psychology and works as a guidance counselor at the local high school

She also helps out at their neighborhood’s church with events and sometimes helps with services as an organ player

She plays piano and has been since she was young, she can also play the guitar

She absolutely adores her family but watch out if they break a rule or get themselves into trouble she is the stern one and does not let them get out of trouble. Puppy eyes are wasted on her you do the crime you do the time and the extra chores no arguing.

That is not to say that she wont listen and hear her boys out though, its just normally after hearing them out theyre still in the wrong( pray for remus is he ever got arrested for anything cough cough the homecoming incident cough cough)

Shes been friends with Emile since high school and sees his boys almost like her own, and cares for them as such. 

She speaks spanish and told Roman and the others from a young age, but Roman is the only one who kept with it strongly, Remus only uses it when he angry and King is still learning

Shes an amazing cook, on par or even better than Emile( a statement that has been yet to be confirmed)

She is also a confirmed lover of making big meals 

She loves being outdoors and playing with her kids

She also enjoys doing embroidery as a relaxing hobby

And lastly introducing...

The Daniel family!!

(from left to right)

Olivia Daniels

Logan and Liam’s mom! Shes a psychology professor at the local college! 

Shes been going by the name Olivia for about 16 almost 17 years now and shes never been happier!

Olivia is technically their step mother, as she joined the family after Logan and Liam were born, but very early in their lives( Logan was 10 and Liam was three)

shes in her mid thirties

Her and richard have been married for 12 years and are still going strong!!

olivia is more of a gentle soul kinda person, shes peppy and softer spoken and has a very soothing and trusting presence to her. Shes easy to make laugh and loves making people smile

She also enjoys bringing treats to her classes for her overworking students

Shes not much of a cook but she does try dammit

Looks super sweet but shes a force to be reckoned with if you fuck with her children let me tell you

She wouldve made an excellent therapist had she gone into that field, shes good at listening and offering solutions

She also paints in her spare time!! And sells her paintings at local art shows!!

Shes got the worst sweet tooth ever Richard has to hide sweets in the house

She also works at the same college Logan attends, same with his father

Shes the only blonde in the family with green eyes

 Logan Daniels

Out sassy skeptic! He’s 20 years old and currently attending college with a biology major and a astrology minor!

Hes pretty reserved at first glance, being the calm and common sense to both his best friend Virgil and his boyfriend Remus

But hes such a dork when you get to know him. He could go on for hours and hours about his interests(something Remus loves listening to)

He lives in a single person dorm on campus and works in the student union as well as does tutoring sessions for high schools for extra credits

Hes been dating Remus for a good four almost five years , and they met in freshman year of high school

His dorm room is covered in various posters for astrology and bands he enjoys, as well as a few old theater posters from Remus’s old performances

He was  goddamn punk during high school, and Virgil loves to bring this up to embarrass him

He likes to always wear business casual unless hes staying in, and even then sometimes he keeps to his fashion habits a little too hard

Hes a decent cook, but he doesnt refuse the offer of someone else cooking for him either( or even going out to eat now and then) 

Hes a very large and firm skeptic and greatly enjoys debating with virgil different aspects of his beliefs and paranormal experiences, and functions as the one between them to reason away happenings with logic as a way to ease Virgils nerves. 

But he IS willing to see his best friends side of things if he is provided solid proof. 

He also makes plenty of appearances on Virgil’s channel for a variety of reasons, and his fanbase really likes him

Hes also a very protective older brother, and is not afraid to verbal destroy anyone who hurts his little brother(much to Liams angsty horror) 

He does have a car that he put Remus on his insurance for, so if his boyfriend ever DID need to drive it he would without complications

Logan also does join the boys on explorations, though this is a more rare occurance as he’d rather help them edit the videos and put them out in a timely manner

Hes pretty good at managing his student budget, but he has those moments of splurging randomly for things( as we all do sometimes)

Hes got a really REALLY nice laugh that not too many people outside his inner circle have heard

His eyes are a dark blue just like his dads, and he keeps his dark brown hair messy but practical

Liam Daniels

Logan’s baby brother! Our boy is 13 years old!!

Hes andy’s other best friend, and the final link to their little trio

Hes the more stoic of the three, as he is entering his rebellious angsty teen years a couple years early. 

He loves space and the ocean, and wants to be a marine biologist someday.

Hes not the best at being social, thats why hes got King as their talker and hes the snarky fighter

This boi is alot fiestier than he looks but only his friends and family know that, and he will throw down if you even just look at his loved ones the wrong way( despite his height)

He doesnt always get social cues either which makes him come off kinda rude in situations but I promise he doesnt mean it 

Someone got his mothers sweet tooth but cant have too much sugar because it messes with his body too much

like when he crashes from a sugar high he crashes hard and its BAD

Hes the shortest of his friends, just barely half an inch shorter than Andy

He always looks half tired and like he needs coffee but he cant have coffee so...

he loves to read and his room is filled with so many books!!

He also has a stuffed animal collection but shush about that its a secret

Hes also a spicy food lover( at least to a point, nothing too extreme) 

He likes baggier clothes because theyre more comfortable, and he prefers comfort of fashion

His eyes are a brighter blue and he keeps his hair alot neater than his brother’s

Hes also very snappy, with a comeback for almost everything

Richard Daniels

The dad!! He works as a chemistry professor at the college and a part time physics teacher at the local high school( switching days)

Hes very tall at 6′2(compared to the rest of his family)

He looks really strict but hes surprisingly laid back about alot of things( though rules and discipline are NOT one of those things) 

He is in his early fourties

He took care of the boys on his own for logans first ten years and Liams three before he met Olivia

Hes got the scolding parent look and The Tone mastered and sometimes even uses both on his students to get them to behave, with wildly successful results

Hes very logical and skeptical of things “unrealistic”

Was a stressed out stick in the mud before he met his wife, as he was a new single father trying to secure tennure in a teacher job

Hes the cook in the house, and is really good at it.

hes a more silent understood supporter of his children, as he is much more reserved than his wife

But he as the biggest soft spot for her 

He always tries to raise his boys with a strong balanced set of values and manners

He also can play lacrosse, and was considered the best player back in school

He doesnt have a good relationship with his family aside from his mother, so the boys have only met their grandma on that side, as he doesnt want any toxic mindsets or ideals influencing his children( especially Liam)

compared to Olivia  he isnt soft spoken at all but he would rather dissolve issues with communication and clarification, not anger or violence( yeah LIAM)

He also enjoys watching documentaries and doing casual photography from time to time

And its finally done!! All for families are complete and posted!!

Im really proud of these!! Especially the prince family photo! It took me days to figure out the poses...

All art referenced is credited to @aimasup @underdog-arts and @fangirltothefullest !!

Anyway i hope you guys enjoy! And hopefully soon ill be posting some writings for this au too! And posting more drawings! Enjoy!!

Taglist

@phantommoonpeople

@sweetsweetemo

@leesacrakon

@amazable01

@starbucks-remy

@jemthebookworm

@max-is-tired

@seriously-a-dragon

@sar-kasstic

@soupspam

@strawberryjellystuff

@aimasup

@unsocialchapeau

@underdog-arts

@fangirltothefullest