#asked her for her permission to write it forever ago but i finally did and im so happy with how it turned out

[mushiewrites]

Summer Afternoons

the final day of lee!George week....I can't believe this is over already omg. I just wanna thank everyone who participated or encouraged those of us who did, it honestly means so much to me ): ur all adorable and this was so much fun to do ): Anyway, today was a free day, and I chose to do a concept from the lovely @wishitweresummer (found here!) - it was originally lee!dream but Im insane and throw george in any situation so, yeah. This has been in my head every single day since the day summer posted it so.....I hope you enjoy! (also, remember to use the # "mushies lee!George week" if you participate! thank u!)

I also wanna mention - even though this is the last day of lee!George week, feel free to come back and do these prompts whenever you'd like! (and still use the hashtag so I can see as well!)

day 7 - free day! / prompts found here!

(lee!George / ler!Dream / ler!Sapnap : 2.5K words)

“George? Dream?” 

There was a soft knocking sound coming from outside of the room, followed by the twist of a doorknob and the creek of the door slowly being pushed open. George stretched his arms out, moving to bring them up to rub at his eyes but finding he only had movement in his right arm. He opened his eyes sleepily to see Dream curled up beside him, his left arm under the blonde’s head acting as a pillow as he continued to nap peacefully. He turned his attention to the sound of the door shutting, seeing Sapnap walking towards the bed, moving quietly and being careful to not wake Dream. 

“Hm?” The older boy mumbled, stretching his free arm above his head with a soft groan as he arched his back towards the ceiling until his body was shaking slightly. He let himself drop back down against the bed, moving a little closer to Dream to cuddle into him tighter. George turned his attention back to the younger boy standing at the side of his bed, watching his knees hit the side of the mattress every few seconds as he swayed back and forth on his feet. 

“I didn’t know where you guys went. I checked your room, and when you weren’t there I just figured I’d look here. What are you doing?” Sapnap spoke in a whisper, not wanting to disrupt the comfortable softness surrounding them. George rolled his shoulders back a few times and leaned his head to the side, wincing as it popped loudly before doing the same to the opposite side. He yawned and grabbed at Sapnap’s left hand, pulling lightly and giving him a gentle smile.

“Napping. Cuddling. Come here, please?” 

Sapnap giggled at the request, rolling his eyes with a fake sigh before climbing up onto Dream’s bed with the older two. He settled himself into George’s right side, laying his head over the brunette’s arm to mirror Dream. The younger boy threw his arm over George’s torso, letting the tips of his fingers land over Dream’s forearm. He ran his fingers up and down the skin a few times, biting his lip with a smile when the blonde let out a small squeak and the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile. Sapnap withdrew his hand so he didn’t accidentally wake him with his movements, not wanting to interrupt any rest Dream was able to squeeze into his busy schedule. 

“How long have you guys been napping?” Sapnap asked, closing his eyes with a smile as George knocked the hat off of his head and began carding his hand through the curls beneath it. The younger boy nuzzled himself into George’s neck, smiling against it when he felt George start to squirm slightly, feeling the elder’s cheek press against his forehead as his smile grew wider with an attempt to hold in the giggles that threatened to spill out at any second. 

“Whahat time is it?” George replied with a giggle as he squirmed slightly further towards Dream, trying to subtly escape Sapnap’s beard from scraping against the curve where his shoulder and neck connected. 

“Uh, it’s….not even one yet.” The younger boy fished his phone from out of his pocket, checking the time and then locking it before setting it on the bedside table to his right. George hummed in acknowledgement, furrowing his brows together as he thought about when they had first gone to Dream’s room to lay down.

“I’m not sure, I don’t even think it’s been an hour.” It was Sapnap’s turn to hum in response to George’s answer, nodding and pulling back slightly to lean part of his head on the soft pillows beneath them. 

“Well, we have all the time in the world to nap now.” Sapnap felt the rougher part of a tiny feather sticking out from one of the pillows graze his ear, shaking his head and moving it back slightly to get away from the light tickly feeling. 

“A Sap-nap. Get it?” George couldn’t stop himself from bursting into chirpy giggles, trying to stay as quiet as possible, turning to bury his face into Sapnap’s shoulder to help him muffle the noises he was trying to keep down. His attempt was ruined when Sapnap aimed a knuckle at his most sensitive rib, rubbing in a few times and giggling to himself when George squealed into his shoulder. 

“Yeheah, I get it, you little idiot,” Sapnap whispered closer to George’s ear, grunting when he felt the feather tickle over his ear again. He sat up onto his elbow, running his hand over the pillowcase to try and find the fuzzy culprit. “Hold on. There’s a stupid little fucking feather or something poking out, it keeps tickling me.” He continued to rub against the pillow with the palm of his hand, gasping when after a few seconds he was able to locate the annoying object. He held it up for George to see, grimacing at the little white feather in between his fingers. 

“That’s the thing that was bothering you? It’s like, not even two inches!” The elder rolled his eyes at Sapnap’s dramatics, chuckling at the pathetic looking thing in his hand. He watched as the younger boy twisted his lips up into a smirk, already sensing where this was going.

“You’d know two inches pretty well, wouldn’t you, Georgie.”

“Hey! What the fuck is that supposed to-”

“Nnnnh….shut up.”

The boy’s immediately pressed their lips into thin lines, turning their attention to the very sleepy looking blonde boy who was angrily looking back at them. He rolled his eyes with a huff, moving to stretch in a similar manner that George had just minutes before. 

“Oh Dream, I’m so sorry, George woke you up!” Sapnap spoke softly even as he threw the older boy under the bus, making George gasp in offense and whip his head towards the younger boy with his jaw dropped.

“I did not! You’re just as guilty! If it wasn’t for you and your stupid feather, this wouldn’t have- AHAHAHA HEY! STOHOHOP!” 

It seemed Dream wasn’t interested in anything George had to say, having taken Sapnap’s side and using the hand he wasn’t lying on to squeeze along the left side of George’s rib cage. The brunette squealed and launched himself into louder cackles as Sapnap joined in, rubbing his knuckle into his worst rib once again and making Dream follow suit on the opposite side. 

“WHY! S-STOHOHOP! PLEHEHEASE, G-GEHEHET OFF!” George twisted his body the best he could, pulling at his arms but whining when both boys sat up slightly, leaning an elbow over each of George’s forearms to make sure he stayed down against the blankets. “THIHIS IS- NAHAHA IT’S SOHOHO MEAN!”

“You woke me up, George. If you ask me, I’d say that’s mean!” Dream countered his complaint, giggling when George’s laughter jumped an octave as Sapnap swiped the white feather over the smaller boy’s tricep. Dream stopped his tickling, his attention now on the tiny object in Sapnap’s hand. “Where on earth did you find that?” 

“From your stupid feather pillows! It kept poking me in my ear so I just….pulled it out.” Sapnap explained sheepishly, giggling when Dream broke out into bright giggles himself. 

“Let me see.” Dream motioned for Sapnap to pass him the feather, his smile growing as George began to screech when Dream dangled it over his open underarm. 

“What’s wrong, it’s like, ‘not even two inches!’” Sapnap mocked the elders previous comment, feigning a horrible British accent to add injury to insult. George squirmed as Dream grabbed his shirt sleeve between his pointer and middle fingers, stretching it down and inching the feather closer to the opening. 

“Nonono! No, plehehease, I didn’t dohoho anything!” 

“You woke him up, darlin’!” Sapnap noted happily, a hint of his southern drawl shining through and giggling when Dream reached over and poked at his cheek in response to the accent. 

“Darlin’.” Dream repeated, mostly to himself, making the other two laugh. The blonde watched as George threw his head back into the pillows with his eyes shut, recognizing this as his chance to pounce. He quickly shot his hand forward, wiggling the soft point of the feather directly into the center of George’s armpit, eyes widening with amusement when George jerked his body towards Sapnap with a cackle. 

“NAHAHAHA no! Nohohoho NOHO! D-Dreheheheam!” George kicked his feet against the bed as he continued his cackles, feeling Dream dragging the feather in circles under his left arm, making a huge spiral and drawing it tighter as he would reach closer to the center again. 

“Wait, there’s no way it’s that bad. Let me try!” George opened his eyes just in time to see the two pass the feather between them, this time jolting towards Dream when Sapnap ran the feather quickly up the side of his neck to make him squeal. 

“Dohohon’t! Stohohop!” The elder cried out as Sapnap traced the feather directly under George’s ear on the side of his neck, grinning as Dream used the hand he wasn’t leaning on to softly grip George’s jaw to hold him in place. 

“Don’t stop? Well, if you insist, baby!” 

Dream let out a tiny wheeze when George shrieked at his statement, trying and failing to shake his head out of his grasp. Sapnap knew how sensitive the spot under George’s ear was and took pity on him, quickly following Dream’s lead and shoving the feather up George’s sleeve and into the hollow of his right armpit. He was much less precise with his movements, wiggling it around over any spot he could to find the best reaction. Sapnap stopped and observed his movements when George screeched, noticing where the feather was tickling. Dream let go of his jaw, allowing the older boy to thrash his head from side to side as he lost himself in his own laughter.

“Oh, this is a good spot, huh, Georgie?” Dream leaned over as Sapnap spoke to watch the feather saw back and forth over the inner side of his underarm, where the muscle was pulled taunt and put on display with the way Sapnap was holding his arm down. 

“Nohoho no! Plehehease not- nohOHHOT THEHERE!” The oldest boy was in near-hysterics at this point, kicking harder against the blankets and making them curl into a messy pile beneath him. 

“Not there? Okay, what about….here?” 

George began howling suddenly when Sapnap turned the feather in his hand and started poking into the skin at the center of his armpit softly with the rougher part of it. Dream placed his hand on George’s chest and gently pressed down, keeping him stuck to the bed rather than keep trying to fling himself forward and side to side to get away from the feather. 

“Wait, I want another try!” Dream whined after a few minutes of watching George laugh himself silly. Sapnap sighed in fake annoyance, handing Dream the feather once more and smirking as he replaced Dream’s hand on George’s chest with his own. 

“Oh my gosh, you’re such a little squirmy thing today, aren’t you?” Sapnap commented with a smirk, pleased with the way George’s blush seemed to deepen at the remark. He turned to bury his head into Sapnap’s shoulder again, groaning and breaking into cackles as Dream slid the feather into his sleeve and traced the rougher stem of the feather in little circles under his arm. 

“Just so giggly, Georgie.” Dream commented quietly, continuing his torment.

“N-Nohoho more, plehehease! Plehehease, softer!” George pouted through his laughter, revealing himself from his hiding place in Sapnap’s shoulder and flashing Dream his teary eyes to show him just how tickled out he was. The blonde immediately complied, caving instantly and switching the feather to the soft part to continue tracing tiny circles along the sides of his armpit. 

“Dream, I think our kitten is a little tired out, don’t you think?” George was surprised to hear the statement from Sapnap but was thankful he did, taking in a much needed breath of air when Dream reluctantly pulled the feather back out of his sleeve and turned to his left to place it on the bed sheets beside him. 

“What happened to you, tough guy? Giving up so soon on torturing our little Gogs, hm?” Dream seemed equally as surprised as George, giggling through his accusation as Sapnap shook his head with a slight blush rising to his cheeks. George continued to laugh his little heart out, turning back towards Sapnap and burying his face into the curly haired boy’s neck to hide and muffle his lingering giggles.

“Come on, Dream, look at him! He’s being so soft and shy, how can you torture him when he’s like this?” Sapnap questioned back, moving his palm from the center of George’s chest and instead wrapping it around the smaller boy’s torso and pulling him closer. 

“Okay, I guess you do have a point there.” Dream lifted up to lean on the palm of his hand, allowing George to move his arm from under him and loop it completely around Sapnap instead. 

The two younger boys laughed at the way George immediately clung to Sapnap, unable to wrap their heads around the fact that George was allowing himself to be so soft with them. Dream wasn’t about to ruin it by commenting on it though and instead slotted himself behind George, wrapping his left arm around the tiny waist in front of him and allowing Sap to adjust his arm to hang over Dream’s shoulder, successfully encasing George in the tightest, most comfiest cuddle hug they could make.

Within seconds the two heard George’s breathing even out, letting them know he had finally fallen asleep. The two whispered back and forth for a minute before deciding to nap as well, both closing their eyes and cuddling in close together. There was a comfortable silence blanketing the room, only to be broken seconds later by Dream. 

“Hey Sap?” He whispered, lifting his head up slightly and opening one eye. He watched the youngest boy scrunch his nose at the disturbance, a slight smile forming anyway before he answered. 

“Yeah?” 

“Don’t think I won’t remember that the feather tickled your ears.” He watched as Sapnap dipped his head down to bury his face in George’s hair, catching a glimpse of the reddening cheeks before he was completely hidden from Dream’s view.

“Try me and I’ll tape it inside your belly button.” 

Dream whined quietly at that, feeling his own face heat up as his attempt to tease Sapnap majorly backfired on him. 

“Whatever!” Dream spat back, closing his eyes and settling back down against the smaller boy in his arms. He pressed his forehead to the nape of George’s neck, smiling through his blush as he fell asleep to the sounds of Sapnap’s raspy giggles, and the thoughts of exactly what he was just threatened with playing out in his mind.

[angelpregdreams]

maggie the midwife (1)

I made a midwife oc forever ago, and wanted to finally write some things for her, expect her to return in future birth scenes c;

content: fpreg, birth

Behind her, Maggie heard her charge groan in pain. Currently, the midwife was dunking her hands in a bowl of warm water, knowing it was almost time to check the progress the babe was making, if the mother was so inclined. Maggie doubted that would change much since the last time she asked, but if the babe lingered too long, they both might be in danger soon.

“Well, Ida, what do you want to do? The contractions haven't changed much in the last hour.” Maggie asked Ida, the other woman laboring loudly, standing beside the edge of her bed. Ida grunted, her head thrown back as she came down from the height of her pain. 

“I do-don’t want…” Ida mumbled, before groaning and giving Maggie a lingering, dirty look, “b-but the child is impatient.”

Maggie knew that was the stubborn woman’s relenting and permission, Ida was nothing if not constant, and her blaming the babe for what the midwife must do was especially common as of late. Nodding in solidarity, Maggie came over to the woman, leaning behind her and placing her hands on her hips, rubbing a bit to ease the pressure that grew between Ida’s hips as she got closer to pushing. 

“Children often are, especially babies,” Maggie remarked quietly, the other woman groaning as the next contraction took control over her. She waited for Ida to relax just a bit before slipping one hand over the laboring woman’s swollen opening. Her vagina was puffy and warm in her hand and Maggie coaxed her to relax so she could prod her fingers inside of her to check dilation. Her fingers wiggled slightly, before bumping something fleshy and slick. 

Eyes wide, and thankful Ida couldn’t see her, Maggie quickly regained control and pulled her fingers out. “Babe is about to crown, Ida. With your next pain I want you to push.” 

Ida groaned loudly but nodded, her hips rocking under Maggie’s grip as she breathed and waited for the next contraction to overtake her. Behind her, the midwife adjusted herself to be able to fully look up at Ida’s swollen cunt from behind, seeing the flesh bulge and fluid leak between her hairy lips.

“Ohhh…” Ida moaned, bucking her hips awkwardly and throwing her head back, “it’s coming!” 

“Good girl,” Maggie cooed, rubbing her hips and giving the woman a smile she couldn’t see, “push!”

Moans and groans turned into long cries as Ida pushed down, straining with the pain. Her fold bulged outward, a squirt of fluid landing on the rug underneath her as Maggie urged her on, “yes! Just like that, breathe when the pain eases.”

The rhythm of Ida’s labor settled comfortably as she continued to push with her contractions. The child in her was large, bigger than Maggie had thought the woman capable of carrying. Suddenly she was very aware that she did not know who the father was and she had never bothered to ask the birthing woman, and Ida had never bothered to say anything either. Gnawing on her cheek, Maggie watched as a sliver of the head appeared but quickly retreated as the pain eased. 

“F-Fuck! It’s so big,” Ida cried, her chest heaving as she struggled to remain still. She rocked her hips in Maggie’s grip, “I need to move.”

Sensing her primal urge, Maggie sat back and let Ida adjust as needed. The other woman groaned and dropped into a deep squat next to the bed and began to push, barely leaving enough time for the midwife to drop deep enough behind her to see the head rush into a wide crown in between Ida’s swollen folds. The woman screamed, and she paused for a split second to catch her breath where the head sat at her entrance and did not recede again. 

Maggie smiled again, awkward behind Ida as she tried to keep an eye on the progress while able to support the mother. “Keep going, just like that.” 

“A-ahhhh!” She continued to scream as the pain came over her again and pushed. A small gush of fluid dribbled around the head, joining the rest of the fluid on the now stained rug, the head lurching into an even wider crown as Maggie watched in awe. She had never seen a head quite so big. Her training kicked in and as Ida stretched wider than both of them thought possible, Maggie reached out and cupped the woman’s straining sex. “Too big!”

Unable to say anything to that, the midwife simply let her scream and cry, her pushing was the most important thing and she was doing wonderfully. 

The head strained at the widest point, holding Ida open until finally her pussy lips gave and the head lurched out into Maggie’s hand. A huge gush of fluid covered the head and her hand, flooding the rug as Ida cried out in relief. 

There was no way the child’s father was not a giant, even by human standards. The massive head hung between Ida’s thighs, her pussy leaking massive amounts of birth fluid as she sobbed and waited for her next contraction. 

Maggie supported the head, still awkwardly behind Ida and leaning slightly under her leaking, swollen cunt to keep her support right. Small price to pay for mother and baby to be comfortable.

Surprisingly, with the next pain, Ida pushed and the child practically dropped out of her and into Maggie’s waiting hands. 

“Yes! Good girl,” Maggie joined in Ida’s crying, bringing the babe up between the woman’s legs and up to her bare chest. The babe wiggled uncomfortably and Ida instinctively rubbed the child’s back and heard a cough, then a cry. The midwife smiled, excited to see her birth turn out well, “there we go! You did so amazing, Ida.” 

[myanxietydemonaretootired]

So... I was bored and watched lesbian tiktoks for like an hour. Then I was like, I wanna write something cute and wrote just a small thing but I liked it.

Available on Ao3 too :]

I kissed Emily Prentiss

Two days ago, Garcia came to the bureau with four tickets for a new club that had recently opened a few blocks near her house, the "Jennifer's Body" nightclub. She had been waiting for months for it to be up and ready for business.

"C'mon, JJ! We really need to unwind and I swear, it'll be totally fun! Also, hello, the name. Jennifer's Body has to have Jennifer's Body! Your beautiful JJ Body!" She took my hand and lifted me up from my chair. "Please, let's dance! Let's dance."

"We haven't had fun in forever. I'm IN!" Tara joined in the conversation.

Tara backed up Penelope and started dancing with her. I couldn't help but laugh. I have been under a lot of stress, we all have. This job sometimes makes us forget to love life and to take time for the little things, like a good night out with friends. And who better to remind me than the one and only Penelope Garcia? We should start paying her for it. I looked at Emily, expecting her response to Penelope's offer.

"I heard girls called Jennifer drink for free." She said. It was all it took.

"Let's go, ladies," I say, and we go to get ready.

I never imagined a nightclub like this one. All the pink, purple and mirrors with phrases like "so hot" and "beautiful babe" written with what appears to be lipstick. The whole place was made for girls by girls. As soon as we set foot here, Garcia and Tara lost themselves in the music and started dancing surrounded by all the other girls who happily embraced them, especially Tara, so many of them tried to dance with her. I get it. She looks amazing, in a black dress with some see-through parts, and Pen did her make-up. Well, she did everyone's make-up. Garcia also looks great, in a tight dress with puffed sleeves and she put hot pink extensions on her head.

However, I can't stop staring at Emily. A sleeveless red bodysuit with a cut down the middle and tight black shorts, there is a little space between her bodysuit and her shorts where you can see her skin. I don't know why I keep looking at that space, it's hypnotising. I feel my mouth dry and I drink another cosmopolitan. Girls surround her and ask permission to touch her while they dance. That's a little intrusive, right? Does she feel comfortable with it?

One of the girls is complimenting her hair, which I did. Curls in her shiny jack-black hair. I remember how my breath stopped the moment we got too close. She said: "Don't be shy, sit here." She pulled me onto her lap as I curled her hair, winning one point from our weird flirtation-ship competition. Who can make the other one the most hot and breathless without any sex? I don't get it. How can she make me feel like this? How can someone have so much power over my feelings without...

Well, without what? Do I like her?

I look at Emily flirt with that girl; she's pretty, I guess; a cute short girl with a buzzcut. Emily eclipses any woman and enby in this room. The outfit hugging her figure and I can just trace every part of her over it. I feel like a psycho staring at her this way, I don't feel myself but oxygen is not entering my body. I must have gone mad, I feel asphyxiated. I want her to get away from buzzcut girl, I want us to go running to a bathroom stall and just kiss each other. I would grab her by the neck, and she would hug my waist. We would use the wall as our only support because our legs aren't responding. I'd ask for permission to deepen the kiss. I'm biting my lip just imagining it.

I make my way to her, putting myself in between the other girl and my Emily. I notice she's been staring at me too, and I smile because I know she wants this too. I whisper in her ear "Can I kiss you?"

"God, finally."

She envelopes my mouth with hunger, hugging me. I grab her by the face, her hair all over my hands.

I kissed Emily Prentiss.

[captainsophiestark]

AP Test Season

Platonic!Shuri x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2023!

Fandom: Marvel

Day 24 Prompt: "Is it over? Is it really over?"

Summary: Shuri's in Santa Monica to help her best friend through quite an ordeal.

Word Count: 1,071

Category: Fluff

A/N: @bandshirts-andbooks this is for you, I don't know if you remember but literally forever ago you sent me a request for platonic!Shuri and reader and because I can't read I didn't see the word platonic so I said I wasn't comfortable writing for her. Ngl it's 100% haunted me since I was going through old requests and realized that I'd completely missed the word platonic lmao, so here is a fun and sweet fic that I hope you like! Sorry for my terrible reading comprehension lmao

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I staggered out of the building, head throbbing, sunlight burning my eyes. I almost tripped on the first of the stairs and did a header down the whole set, but thankfully, someone else reached out to steady me before I could.

"Y/N! Are you alright?"

I turned, blinking blearily at Princess Shuri, one of my best friends in the whole world. She stared at me, concern written across her face as I took a deep breath in and out.

"Is it over? Is it really over?" I asked, my voice croaky from lack of use. Shuri nodded.

"Yes. It is really, truly, completely over."

"Oh thank God," I sighed, flopping back dramatically. Shuri laughed, guiding me over to a retaining wall outside the school where we could sit together shoulder to shoulder while I recovered.

I'd just finished my last AP test of my last year of high school, after a grueling two weeks filled with four-hour tests. It had been literal hell, and had almost killed me, hence the current brain fog. But I'd made it. And now, I never had to take another one of those stupid things as long as I lived.

"Come on," Shuri said, standing and holding out a hand to me after giving me a few minutes to recover. "You cannot sit on this wall in a stupor all day."

I scoffed. "Watch me."

"No! We have fun things to do! You survived your last round of testing, we should be celebrating!"

That peaked my interest enough to get me to sit up straighter. Shuri grinned, and I sighed, giving all the way in with an eye roll. I slid off the retaining wall, landing on the sidewalk next to Shuri and trying to muster as much energy as I could.

"Alright, Your Highness, you're in charge, because I don't have the brainpower left to contribute. Where to first?"

"Just follow me!"

Shuri took off down the sidewalk, smiling and laughing under the sunny Southern California sun, and her energy was infectious. A smile spread across my own face as I followed her, and with every step in the opposite direction of my school, I felt my strength returning.

Shuri led me to the Santa Monica pier, site of a scene from one of our favorite movies, Hannah Montana: The Movie. We wandered up and down the pier, grabbing snacks and taking ridiculous pictures together, then made our way into Pacific Park. We rode the rollercoaster, the Ferris wheel, and did every single other thing that looked remotely interesting until the sun started to set.

"Shuri, you are a literal lifesaver," I said as we strolled towards the end of the pier together. "Seriously, I think I would've just been catatonic for the rest of the day if you hadn't been here to pull me out of my funk."

She laughed. "I am glad I could help! It's been fun to be in California with you."

"Agreed. Couldn't imagine a better start to the summer."

We shared a smile, clinking our bubble teas together as we turned to watch the sun sink slowly into the ocean. Finally, once it got dark to the point that the lights of Pacific Park glowed as bright as the stars behind us, we turned and headed for home.

Shuri was staying with me and my family while she was in town, and as soon as we walked through the door, I felt a wave of exhaustion crash over me. My shoulders slumped, and I let Shuri take the lead as we wandered through the kitchen.

"Okay! So I thought we could make some popcorn and have a movie marathon to finish the night-"

She stopped mid-sentence as she turned around to smile at me and found a zombie smiling back. She huffed a laugh, a small smile coming to her face.

"...Or maybe we could do facemasks and watch something shorter, then go to bed."

"The second one," I said, nodding. "But let's keep the snacks part."

"Deal!"

Shuri and I loaded up on all our favorite foods, then headed upstairs. Thankfully, it was a Friday, so we could stay up late without me having to worry about going to school tomorrow.

We picked out facemasks, then decided on watching Wizards of Waverly Place from my queen sized bed with her laptop. The Wakandan tech got a higher quality image than even our TV downstairs, and we never had to wait for it to buffer.

My phone timer went off a little ways into the episode, telling us it was time to take off the facemasks. We took even more dumb pictures together of our faces in the mask before removing them, rubbing in the remaining serum as we flopped back into bed. We snacked for the rest of the episode, and I made it through without falling asleep. Once it ended, Shuri closed her laptop and shut off the lights as I sank down underneath the covers.

"Goodnight, Y/N!" she said as she climbed in on her side. I sighed and muttered a goodnight back. Then, even though I was quickly losing the battle to stay awake a second longer, I spoke up again, holding true to the sleepover tradition of continuing to talk after saying goodnight and shutting off the lights.

"Shuri?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for today," I said. "Seriously, AP test season sucks, and knowing we'd get to celebrate and have fun on the other side of it is the only reason I didn't just draw a cat on the DBQ page of my AP History test and call it a day."

Shuri laughed. "I won't lie, I would have liked to see your cat drawing. But I'm glad I could help you get through this. I had a lot of fun, too."

"Wakanda's next, alright?" I said. "Now that I'm done with classes, there's nothing stopping me from coming for a visit this summer."

"Deal! There are so many things I want to show you in person. T'Challa will not know peace as long as we're in the palace together."

I laughed, opening my eyes enough to share a smile with my best friend. We did our handshake, and then I rolled over and closed my eyes again, ready to go to sleep for real.

"I'll see you in the morning, Shuri," I sighed. She huffed a laugh.

"I don't expect to see you before one in the afternoon. But I will see you tomorrow."

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury

Marvel Taglist: @valkyriepirate @luv-ghostie @songbirdcannabe @infinetlyforgotten

[quietwingsinthesky]

i swear to god im going to write real fic again eventually but in the meantime here’s 2k of even & doctor angst and regret

“Don’t look at me like that,” Even says, softly. They won’t cross his TARDIS, won’t come closer to him. He doesn’t notice until he takes the first step, and they mirror him, keeping the console and the humming engine between them. He can only just see half of their face around it. “You don’t get to be disappointed in me.”

“How can you tell it’s a disappointed face? It’s a new face. Could mean anything.” He keeps walking, as though they’ll give up and stop and let him near. He catches them touch the console gently as they circle it, then snap their hand away like they’ve been burned, up to their chest to squeeze at- Nothing. They find empty air, and for a moment, they do freeze in place long enough for him to see the whole of them before they press their hand down and seem comforted by whatever they feel through the fabric of their shirt.

“It’s your face,” they answer. They sound uncertain.

They also aren’t wrong.

“What happened to you?” he asks, in lieu of saying something worse when they’re finally not trying to retreat from him. He dares a step closer and watches them tense like a frightened animal, shoulders drawn tight to make themselves smaller. He’s pictured finding Even, if they were alive, a thousand times over. When he was kinder to himself, he used to imagine that they’d grab his hands, overexcited and begging permission to touch more without being able to ask. (A regeneration ago, and he knows he would have pulled them in tight, buried his nose in their hair and held on until someone else interrupted him. Now, he’s not so sure, but he knows he wouldn’t let go of their hand.)

“I followed the Master,” they say. Their eyes cast away from him.

“You seem to be doing that a lot these days.” Even crosses their arms.

“Where else could I go?” they ask, standing in the middle of his TARDIS. Somewhere within her, their room is still waiting, untouched since they left.

They left.

“Home,” he intones, seriously, “where you’re supposed to be.”

Their mouth opens slightly in surprise before it curls around a sudden, “I can’t go home! You broke me!” The Doctor stops. All of him, from mind to body. Even one of his hearts misses a beat and leaves him with an aftermath of vertigo before it falls back in line. Even hadn’t raised their voice, but what tore through the air between them had been so angry- And had they ever been angry with him before? Just once in all their time together?

He watches their brief outburst crumple back inwards. Even blinks rapidly, pawing at whatever is beneath their shirt like it can steady them.

“Back with Donna,” he says, much quieter than he intends. Even blinks again, eyes clearly watering despite their attempts to stop it. “Making sure she’s safe.” He hasn’t let himself say her name in a long time. As though locking away the names of the people he cares about could keep them with him.

“Oh,” Even says, “you meant-”

Pettily, he adds, “You promised.” Whatever vulnerable thing had lighted on Even’s face when they heard Donna’s name evaporates, and that, he knows, is his fault. The brief vindication of their guilt isn’t worth it.

“What did you want me to do?” they beg. “Lie to her forever? Live my whole life with my best friend without being able to talk about any of the things that made us friends?”

“Did anyone tell you it would be easy?” he snaps. “Yes! She would have been safe!” You would have been safe, he couldn’t bring himself to say. He wants to believe, has to believe, that Even had ended up somewhere okay. Their present choice in company said otherwise, but more than that… He wonders if they know he can tell that some of their fingers are the wrong length. He’d almost thought he was misremembering, but they’re more incongruent upon further inspection — the shade of their skin slightly changed and the way they move. And that’s the part of them that he’s noticed has been modified. If there are others, he’s starting to think he just hasn’t seen them yet, not that they aren’t there.

They did a good job not answering his question earlier.

“I couldn’t live like that!” Even cries, cheeks finally stained with their first escaped tears. They flinch from the feeling of them, scrunching their eyes shut and failing to stop more. “Not with people I- I-“ Even makes a terrible noise, choked. The Doctor takes an unconscious step towards them, though he can’t make himself reach out to help. Their hesitation is too familiar to him, and his mind fills with a horrible litany of don’t stop there, say you didn’t learn to stop there from me, that can’t be the one thing you learned from me you didn’t forget. “With people I-“ Even makes a valiant second attempt. They fail. “People I cared about,” they finish, their failure obvious to themself and weighing heavily. “Care,” they correct, “care about.”

The TARDIS gives a warning hum as she nears her destination. He and Even both look up with recognition when they hear it.

He looks back at them before they do him. They gaze up at the TARDIS, towards the followable source of the noise — though the true source is somewhere else, much deeper within her. Their cheeks are still wet and their eyes are slightly red and puffy, but for those few seconds, their expression is one he’s missed so much that his hearts ache seeing it again: all wonder and delight at the TARDIS bringing them somewhere new.

And then their smile falls into a confused frown. They look at the Doctor, and then, gaze jumping to focus just over his shoulder instead, ask, “Doctor. Where are you taking me?”

He doesn’t have to answer. It was obvious where he thought they were supposed to be.

He’s going to say something, though. Maybe about the rarity of second chances.

Even’s expression goes blank. Against the contrast of their continuing tears, it’s unnerving. Without a word, they scan the TARDIS console. He doesn’t realize they actually know what they’re looking for until they’ve found it and dragged one lever into place with a protesting squeak. The TARDIS groans as she brakes in time.

The Doctor’s vision narrows to Even’s hand on the console. He doesn’t realize what he’s doing until his own hand is outstretched, and he hears the smack like a gunshot. Even jumps back, their eyes wide before they duck their head and brought their hand up against their lips. His palm stings slightly. On the tip of his tongue is a reprimand that dies before escaping. He’s standing as close to Even as they’ve allowed him to this entire time, and they’re cradling the hand he’d slapped away from the TARDIS’s controls.

They’d drawn the TARDIS to a halt properly, too. Not a guess or a reckless grab at any random button to throw them off-course.

They let their hand fall. There was a little red mark on it where he’d made contact.

“No,” they say.

“Even-”

“No,” they repeat. It scrapes out like a sob from the back of their throat.

“Then come with me.” He reaches out to touch their shoulder, and they move it inches from the tips of his fingers. “There’s room for you. You’ll meet Clara. You’d like Clara.” He has to say something to fill the air, or he’s going to keep staring at that fading red mark on their hand, feeling the skin on his palm slowly stop tingling. “You do the same thing with your eyes when you’re upset. You’ll have me outnumbered.” He wants Even’s eyes to go wide again and their lip to tremble, if only so he can point it out, just how similar they look and how well Even would get along with Clara if they were ever in the same room.

But Even doesn’t. They look exhausted instead.

“I already have a TARDIS to go to,” they say.

“Yes. Mine,” he insists, like he can make them stop before they say what he knows is coming. He’s still trying, though. He has to try.

“Mine.” He chooses to believe they’re just echoing what he said. (He misses when they did that, their voice catching the last words of his sentences and chirping them back again. He misses being caught in the loop himself, tossing a phrase back and forth until they couldn’t keep from laughing too hard to continue.) He chooses to believe that up until they say, voice strangely light compared to the rest of this conversation, “Missy will kill me if I’m late.”

He does not let his face fall. He does not let anything cross it, not anger or bitterness or grief.

Nonetheless, Even tilts their head slightly, brows knit, and adds, “I really can’t live here. Your TARDIS bites,” almost like an apology.

“And hers doesn’t?” He grips the TARDIS console, the contact with her controls calming him from the cool metal beneath his palms to the brushes of her consciousness against his own. He watches the stalled engine vibrate.

Even eyes him for a moment and cautiously steps closer into the space beside him. When he doesn’t move, they lay their hands on the console as well, mirroring his own. They twitch, once, a preemptive flinch and then, rest. He can feel every inch between their shoulders. Ghosts of laughter muffled against his coat or surprised grabs at his arm for reassurance haunt him. Even’s fingers curl, and they bring their hands together rather than keeping them outstretched and flat.

“No, actually,” they answer. “I think she’s too grateful for when we found and fixed her.” The Doctor chances turning his head to peer down at them.

His eyes catch on a shock of color amid their more subdued attire. They shift, and the color is swallowed up, melting into metallic grey, and revealing itself again the next time they adjust their stance. It’s a necklace, he realizes, chain interlaced with… something else. He finds the other spots of color easily, neon greens and yellows and blues. They look familiar.

“She does sometimes land us too close to walls, though,” Even continues. He can hear them smiling. “Most of the time, Missy stops before she runs into them. Most of the time.” He smiles despite himself, only half-listening as he studies their necklace or what he can see of it before it disappears beneath their shirt.

They’re beads. The pieces soldered into the chain are cheap, plastic beads.

The Doctor’s wrist feels suddenly bare, despite this wrist never having worn what it misses.

Even meets his eyes. They worry their lip between their teeth as they do, their effort to maintain it clear, and for that reason, he doesn’t look away for their sake like he might have otherwise.

“Would you really let me come back?” they say, slowly and carefully.

The Doctor doesn’t answer.

And he doesn’t answer.

And he doesn’t answer.

And finally, he says, “Yes.”

Even exhales and looks away. They squeeze their eyes shut.

When they extend their hand, it’s the Doctor’s turn to try not to flinch. He thinks he does an okay job of it, and if not, they aren’t looking anyway. The feel of their fingers wrapping loosely around his wrist is both new and familiar. Their adjust their grip as they bring his hand towards them, getting used to the changes they should have been expecting but that he knows they still weren’t, despite hearing his new voice and looking at his new face and knowing it wasn’t even the first he’d had since they’d last touched him.

Even draws his hand close to their chest and hesitates. They squeeze it once and continue. They hold it to their chest. He finds the outline of something beneath their shirt. They press his hand closer, eyes shut. The Doctor feels out the edges of the hidden object, round and hard, with no give but its own heat, its own energy pulsing with a steady rhythm that Even must feel in their chest constantly with it so near their skin. He runs his thumb over it again.

“I can’t stay with you.” Another apology. Their other hand comes up to cover what’s left of his that the first didn’t.

The Doctor finally knows how he could convince them. He can read it in the way they hold on. He knows exactly what he has to say to make it impossible for them to leave.

“Keep me close,” he says instead. Even huffs a little laugh.

“I try.” They release his hand, and with his invitation gone, he doesn’t try to take more than they’ve allowed. They aren’t running from him anymore. He knows how hard that is.

When he puts the TARDIS in motion again, he does everything he can not to think of Even’s intended destination, where or what or who it is, and to exist in the few moments they have together.

(He finds the box tucked into a corner of his own room, though he knows he didn’t leave it there. The TARDIS wants him to have it back. He takes out cheap, stretchy plastic bands and multicolored beads and lays them in a dozen rows of different shades before he makes anything from them. It goes much slower when he’s the only one sorting them out.

He strings them together, one by one. He tries to remember the colors he saw. He remembers their original order, but some were lost along the way and what’s the point in a friendship bracelet that doesn’t match?

Clara comments on it when she sees it. She says it’s cute, with a quirk to her mouth and eyebrows that says she’s confused but humoring him.

The Doctor tries not to take it off again, for however long that might last. He hopes it’s at least until Even sees it.)

[newpathwrites]

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

VI. Making it Official

Winta smirked. “I thought you were going to ask my permission to marry Mama… You really surprised me.”

Now Din was taken aback. Ever since things had been settled with Bo-Katan, he’d actually thought about this quite a lot… but had yet to work up the courage to speak with Omera about it. “If I did… would that be alright with you?”

“Yeah, Din. Of course it would. And I’m confident she’ll say ‘yes’, too.”

Din tilted his head. “How confident?”

Summary: It all starts coming together!

Note: A couple years have passed now, and both Winta and Jai have grown up a bit more. I’m probably not being very consistent with ages, but I imagine Winta around 15 and Jai as 17 here. I hope that Winta’s maturity and her strong bond with Jai come through in the writing.

A LOT of things happen in this chapter, and every one of our characters will have at least one major life event - even our lovely village!

Warnings: Mild, non-explicit sexual references.

Read on AO3

————————————————————————

The next two years or so passed quickly, Jai becoming an integral part of the family, as if they’d always been there, and a valued member of the small community.  In fact, it was hard to remember a time when there weren’t two armored warriors living amongst them.  

Based on Din’s recollection of their arrival at the covert as an infant, Jai figured they were likely approaching their eighteenth name day.  How different a life they were living now, as they careened toward adulthood, than what they’d imagined just a few short years ago.

Pretty soon, though, they’d have to make some decisions.  While Jai adored Sorgan, they were certainly no farmer.  Din was well enough into his middle age to settle into this halfway life, but Jai, young and ambitious, knew that their future didn’t lay here, even if it would forever be the home and the family to which they would return.  What did that future hold?  Mandalore?  A life outside the creed?  They really didn’t know…

Bo-Katan had recently doubled down on efforts to recruit Jai into her inner circle, having proved themself on several levels in the handling of the darksaber, securing her transition into power.  It was Jai’s logic and methodical persuasion, appealing to Bo-Katan’s sense of duty and Din’s unshakeable honor, which had allowed the symbolic blade to pass between them peacefully and legitimately, all parties unharmed.  Din had cried actual tears when he thanked Jai later, finally set free from the darksaber’s oppressive presence in his life.  

Jai had skills - unique ones, that could do some good.  If only they knew what that ‘good’ should be.  Somehow Mandalorian politics didn’t seem like the right cause… But disposing entirely of their upbringing, problematic as it was, didn’t feel right, either… Decisions, decisions…

With all of these questions rolling around in their mind, Jai took comfort in one thing they knew for certain…  That no matter the ultimate answer, their newfound family would support them… and would always welcome them home…

——————————

“Really, Jai… Is there anything I can say or offer to convince you?”

Jai shook their head.  “I’m just not ready to make that kind of decision yet, alor.  I need to think through some things…”

Din’s voice cut through the awkwardness then.  “Kryze,” he interjected as he approached.  “How many times does the kid have to say ‘no’?  Jai told you they need more time, so let them take it…”

Bo-Katan rolled her eyes dramatically in Din’s direction.  “Stars, you two are difficult.”  She turned back toward Jai.  “Just… think about it.  You could have an important place on Mandalore - quite an honor at such a young age.  I’m sure your guardian would agree?”  She glanced at Din again before acquiescing.  “I won’t bring it up again, but my door is open if you’d like to discuss further, alright?  You, too, Din - if it will ease your mind.”

Jai nodded.  “Okay… thank you.”

Reluctantly, Din expressed his agreement.  He didn’t want to hold Jai back, but Bo-Katan was a relentless force - he had to be sure that Jai wasn’t pressured into something that wasn’t in their best interest.  They weren’t even of age yet - there was plenty of time.

But was there, really?  With the darksaber out of his hands, it was like Din’s life had opened up before him.  So many things that he’d held back on for years out of fear of loss were now within reach - like his commitment to Omera and Winta… and more pressingly, Jai… who would probably fly off into their adult life any day now and leave Sorgan behind them.  He’d have to talk to Omera about some things as soon as they got back.

A flash of metal in Din’s peripheral vision brought him back to attention, lightning reflexes activating to catch the piece of armor Axe had chucked in his direction.  

“ Dank farrik , Woves.  Was that really necessary?”

Axe just smirked.  “I’m going to get you one of these days, vod…  So, what do you think?”  Din attached the reworked piece into his vambrace and inspected it, turning his forearm in different directions in assessment.  “It’s better, right?”

“That’s perfect… nice work.  Thank you.”

Axe clapped him on the shoulder.  “Not a problem, Din.  There’s a bit of shavings left over.  Did you or Jai need anything small made?  Otherwise, I’ll throw it into the stores.”

Din thought for a moment.  “No, I don’t think so.  Hold on to it for someone who needs it “

“Sure thing.  Safe travels.”  With that, Axe nodded in Jai’s direction and turned back toward the forge.

Jai spoke up, turning over an idea in their mind.  “Din, do Winta and Omera have any beskar?  They might like to have something small - just a symbolic thing… like Grogu has his chainmail…”

“Do you think they’d like that?”

Jai knew Winta would.  She’d been chatting with Jai quite a bit recently about Mandalorian training and asking a lot of questions about the creed.  “Absolutely, I think they would.”

Hmmm… that gave Din some… ideas .  Maybe he could use just a very small amount for a couple particular items…

“You mind if I go talk to Axe before we leave?”

Jai shook their head, grinning under the visor at their successful manipulation - done with the best intentions.  “Yeah, Din… take your time.”

——————————

“Winta…” Din called out to her, lowering his fists as he saw her cautiously approach the clearing where he and Jai had made a habit of training each morning.  “Is everything alright?”

She responded immediately to the worry in his voice, answering, “Oh, yes, everything is fine!  Don’t worry!”

He tilted the visor expectantly.  “Do you… need me for something?”

Winta stood there awkwardly opening and closing her mouth in indecision before turning toward Jai who made an encouraging gesture and whispered, “Go on… ask him.”

Din looked between the two teenagers in confusion.  Apparently he wasn’t in on the secret.  “Go ahead, Winta.”  He relaxed his stance a bit hoping it would induce her to finally speak whatever she’d come all the way out here to tell him.

She visibly steeled herself and stood a bit taller before speaking with feigned confidence.  “I want to train with you.”

Okay… this was not what he’d expected - she’d never shown interest in that before .  “Why?”  Din rarely minced words, even with the beloved teen, becoming an independent young woman before his eyes.

She had apparently come prepared, speaking in a rehearsed fashion - probably Jai’s doing.  “Well, you and Mama are getting older, and eventually, someone will have to take your place in protecting the village.  I know I’ll never have your skills…” She gestured to the two Mandalorians.  “But I’d like to be able to do my part - the way Mama has been doing for years.  If you could teach me self defense and some basic fighting skills… and maybe some strategy, too… I would be very grateful.”  She paused and looked at Din square in the visor, now speaking unscripted.  “And while we’re at it, I want to learn about the Way.  It’s part of my family.”

That last part hit Din right in the heart.  Stars , this girl was so much like her mother.  He had to give himself a moment to regain his composure.  “That’s a very noble cause, Winta.  Of course you can train and learn about the Way.”

Her eyes lit up.  “Really?”  She looked between Din and Jai, the former nodding affirmatively and the latter clapping her on the back and whispering, “You did great!”

——————————

As it turned out, Winta was a natural, picking up on various moves rather quickly.  Din was duly impressed, if not a bit skeptical.  He wondered amusedly if Jai had already taught her some things in preparation.  He would press them on it later.

The morning ran quite a bit longer than usual, a legitimate training session for Winta rather than the simple sparring match the two experienced Mandalorians typically engaged in to keep up their already established skills.  They sat down together in the shade, exhausted, passing around the canteen before making the trek back to the village.  Helmets had been discarded in the grass, as even the curious villagers knew better than to put themselves in the line of fire when their resident Mandalorians had all their weapons out.

Din cleared his throat with a hint of nervousness.  “While we’re all together, there’s something I’d like to talk to you both about…”

They both stopped and looked at him, the seriousness in his voice bringing them to full attention.

He turned to the older teenager first.  “Jai, Omera and I were thinking… I mean, I know you’re nearly of age, and we won’t be offended if you… What I mean to say is…”

“Whatever it is, just say it.  I won’t be upset with you.”  Jai’s tone was comforting, betraying their anxious curiosity at Din’s very uncharasteric lack of confidence.

He inhaled deeply before getting it out.  “Omera and I would like to adopt you, before you turn eighteen - if you would like that.”  He looked at Jai nervously, awaiting a reply.

Winta’s mouth opened wide with surprise, and she turned to Jai with joyful eyes.  Jai met her gaze and then looked back to Din with an indecipherable expression before bursting into tears, overcome with a kind of emotion they’d never felt before.  Din’s heart sank, thinking this was certainly a negative reaction.  But Winta knew better, scooting to Jai’s side and enveloping them in her arms.  “Can you believe this?  We can be siblings!”  Jai nodded vigorously, unable to voice their happiness through the sobs that were racking their body.

Finally they regained a bit of their composure, wiping at their tear-stained face.  “I’ve never had parents - at least not ones that I can remember.  Oh, my stars - this was a very feminine reaction, wasn’t it?  No offense, Winta.”  She swatted Jai’s shoulder playfully as they finally looked back at Din, smiling so wide their cheeks hurt.  “Yes, Din - I would love that.”

“You had me worried there, verd’ika,” he replied with a soft chuckle, standing and offering Jai a hand to pull them to their feet and embracing them warmly.  “But there’s one more thing…”  

He turned to Winta, anxiety radiating from his form.  She braced herself in hopeful anticipation.  Was he finally going to ask if he could marry her mother?  But the truth was so unexpected, she went still with shock.  

“Winta, I’d like to adopt you, too.”  He took in her shocked expression and backpedaled, fearing that he had overstepped.  “I mean… if that’s something you’d want… I know you have a father - I don’t mean to…”

She came back to her senses as she registered the insecurity in his voice and threw her arms around his neck before pulling back to look at his face.  “Din… you’re the only father I’ve ever really known.  I think maybe I can have two.”  She smiled broadly.  “I love you, by the way.  I don’t think I’ve ever said that - but it’s true.”

He smiled.  “I love you, too.”  He shook his head in amusement.  “You’d think by now that I’d be skilled at reading your reactions, but you both had me quaking in my armor.”

Winta smirked.  “I thought you were going to ask my permission to marry Mama…  You really surprised me.”

Now Din was taken aback.  Ever since things had been settled with Bo-Katan, he’d actually thought about this quite a lot… but had yet to work up the courage to speak with Omera about it.  “If I did… would that be alright with you?”

“Yeah, Din.  Of course it would.  And I’m confident she’ll say ‘yes’, too.”

Din tilted his head.  “How confident?”

A true Sorganian and budding rumor mill herself, Winta replied with a conspiratorial air.  “Well, I asked her recently if she thought you’d ever get married, and she said you’d never talked about it.  But when I asked if she wanted to marry you, she said ‘yes’ - no hesitation.”  She nudged his shoulder.  “You should ask her.  We can make it official - our family.”

He hummed.  “Well, then… maybe I will.”

——————————

When they arrived back at the cabin, Jai had made a bee-line for a bewildered Omera, embracing her and allowing the tears to fall freely again.  It took a moment, but she eventually realized what was happening.  “Din asked you, hmmm…”  Jai just nodded against Omera’s shoulder as she ran a comforting hand over their back.  “We love you like our own, sweetheart.  It was time we made it official.  I’m so glad that makes you happy.”

Jai pulled back, furiously wiping the tears away, embarrassed to have lost their composure so completely twice in just an hour.  They laughed as if in realization.  “If you told me back when I was a kid that our gruff beroya would be my father, and that I’d have a real family on an unmapped planet in the outer rim, I would never have believed you… But I couldn’t ask for anything better than this.”

Omera smiled.  “Neither could we, Jai - really.  I thank the stars every day for bringing you to us.”

“You all need to stop making me cry.”  Jai braced themselves against the new onslaught of tears, successfully fending them off.  “Nobody say anything emotional, please.”  Equal parts humor and earnestness came through in their voice.

Winta sidled up beside them, resting her hand briefly on Jai’s shoulder in support.  She cleared her throat loudly, and once she had everyone’s attention, she made her announcement.  “I think that in honor of our newfound siblinghood, Grogu, Jai, and I should have a sleepover in the barn tonight - just the three of us.”  She looked at Jai pointedly, gesturing toward the two adults making audience.  “ Don’t you think so, Jai ?”

Din started to speak.  He had a pretty good idea what she was scheming.  “Winta… I don’t think…”

But Jai beat him to it, looking back at Winta and nodding in an exaggerated fashion.  “Yes… that’s a great idea…”  They bolted out of the cabin quickly, Grogu in tow, before Din could make another protest.

Din sighed as Omera looked at him in confusion.  “Did my daughter just arrange for us to have… sex time ?”

He looked at her for a moment with a strange expression before snorting with laughter.  “No, I don’t think that’s what she was getting at… but we should probably take advantage while we have the chance…”  

She chuckled softly, shaking her head at her daughter’s odd behavior.  “I suppose you’re right… let’s enjoy it then.”  She kissed him once, lingering a moment, before putting on her most suggestive expression, still giggling a bit at the strange situation.  “I’ll see you tonight.”

He huffed, smiling in amusement.  “I look forward to it, cyare.”

——————————

And what a night it was - no interruptions, no magical toddlers opening their locked door from another room, no teenagers awkwardly commenting on their poor attempts at being quiet.  While they adored their growing clan, it was nice to have a few uninterrupted hours just for them - to just be in each other’s presence without anything else needing their attention.

Eventually, they’d nodded off to sleep, bodies still wrapped around each other, after a wonderful evening of slow and sensuous intimate activity and long conversation - things not typically indulged when one has children sleeping in the next room over.  Omera wondered humorously as she fell into slumber if she should thank her daughter for this in the morning.

Omera awoke as sun filtered in through the small window to Din absentmindedly running a hand through her hair.  He didn’t seem to realize she was awake and was staring off into the distance, apparently deep in thought.  

She reached a hand out to push a lock of hair off his forehead as his gaze turned toward her face.  “Good morning… You look pensive.  Is everything alright?”

He grinned at her lovingly, but the serious expression remained on his face.  “Yeah… everything’s fine…”

“What is it, Din?  You’ve got that look like you need to tell me something.”

He chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her.  “You know me too well, cyare.”  He paused, gathering his fortitude.  “Uhhh… I think Winta did this because she wanted to give us an opportunity to talk…”

She gestured for him to continue.  “Okay… out with it…”

“I…”  Din paused again, looking down at their bare forms.  “Hold on.  This isn't right.  I should at least put some pants on…”  He started to rise, but she pulled him back down.

“No - quit stalling…” she scolded him.

He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, letting out a long exhale.  “Okay… You know I’m committed to you…”

She put a hand to his cheek.  “Of course.  I’ve never doubted it for a second, Din.  And you know I feel the same.”

“Well… I was thinking… Now that everything is settled with the darksaber… and there’s little risk of Bo-Katan murdering me…”  Omera nodded, grinning in amusement.  “We could take the marriage vows - and make it official… maybe at the same time we do the adoption.”  He looked at her nervously, and Omera found it humorous that after all these years he would even consider the possibility that she might say ‘no’.

She smiled at him affectionately.  “That would certainly satisfy the town gossips, wouldn’t it?  Of course, Din.  I would love to marry you.”

“Yeah?”  He sounded almost surprised.

She nodded and brought her forehead to his.  “I love you… cyare …”

He chuckled at her use of Mando’a.  “I love you, too… sweetheart …”

She laughed and pulled him towards her to kiss him soundly.  “Come on - let’s get dressed and tell Winta the news.  She’ll be very pleased with herself.”

——————————

None of the five members of their small family were ones for drama or frills, and it was decided that they would simply take both the Sorgani and Mandalorian vows in the privacy of their own home.  There was nothing to prepare and no need to wait, so they held their small ceremony sitting around the kitchen table just before second meal that same day.  Din planned to register everything with the New Republic later to give the marriage and Jai’s adoption legal standing.

Omera had adopted Grogu already, several years ago, to ensure that the long-lived toddler would have legal guardianship if anything were to happen to Din.  But they included him in the adoption vows anyway, making clear that all three children could call Din and Omera their parents and each other siblings.  They were now, in every sense, a real family.  

Jai managed to keep their composure - barely - as their new siblings enveloped them in an affectionate embrace while Omera squeezed their hand from across the table.  Eventually, Winta broke away to go wrap her arms around Din's neck from behind his chair whispering, “Buir…”, to which he responded by grasping her hands where they rested across his chest and whispering back with a smile, “Ad’ika…”

But Winta didn’t indulge in affectionate gestures for long.  There was much more pressing business at hand.  “I think it’s time for marriage vows…” she exclaimed, sitting back in her seat.  “Stand up.  Hold hands.”  She gestured for them to get moving.

“Stars, we’d better do what she says,” Omera muttered with humor, glancing at Din as she got up from the table.  He did the same, coming to stand in front of her and taking her hands in his own.  She smiled at him brilliantly, and he couldn’t help but wonder how he got here.

Din had once believed that he’d likely not make it to his thirtieth name day, given his line of work and the general animosity he encountered toward his kind.  But somehow he got to this place - now on the other side of forty - living a peaceful life with a beautiful partner who he probably didn’t deserve, three amazing children, and a village who welcomed him without ever knowing his face - and still managing to serve his people in spite of everything by helping to rebuild their planet.  Maker, he must be the most fortunate man in the galaxy.

They spoke the vows solemnly but with affection.  Din kissed Omera deeply when they finished, for the first and only time disposing of his self-consciousness with such things in front of an audience - and for once, the children simply smiled at the display instead of poking fun, gleeful to see their parents so happy together.

“I have something for you.”  He spoke softly in her ear as she embraced him, moving to pull something out of his pocket.  She pulled back to look as he held it out in his hand.  “I heard it’s a tradition here to exchange rings, so I asked Axe to make one for you from my armor.  It’s up to you if you’d like to wear it.  I just thought it was right for you to have it.”

She slipped it on her finger and admired its shine in the light.  “Din, when did you have this made?  We only decided to take the vows this morning…”

He blushed slightly.  “My last trip to Trask.  I may have had some encouragement.”  He looked briefly toward Jai who grinned bashfully.  “Do you like it?”

She nodded and kissed him one more time.  “I love it, Din.  Thank you.”

“Good, I’m glad.”  He pulled himself away from her and walked around the table to stand beside Winta.  “I’ve got something for you, too.”

She looked up at him in surprise.  “Din, you didn’t have to…”

“I wanted to.  Like you said, it’s part of our family.”  He pulled out a small pouch and laid it in her hand.  “Go ahead.  Open it.”

She opened the pouch carefully to find a beskar pendant shaped into a mudhorn - the symbol of their clan.  For the first time during this momentous occasion and the emotional events leading up to it, Winta allowed tears to sting her eyes.  “Thank you, Din.”  She huffed out a teary laugh.  “We only talked about this yesterday .  You were already planning on giving this to me…”

“Well, the two of you…”  He gestured to her and Omera.  “You’re mandokarla… You live the spirit of the resol’nare… And anyway, now it’s your right.”

Winta smiled.  “So I’m like… an honorary Mandalorian?”

Din nodded, chuckling and squeezing her shoulder affectionately.  “Yeah, something like that.”

——————————

It had been agreed upon that the news would be kept quiet until the day’s work at the ponds was done, so as not to distract the village from its own sustenance.  Winta was vibrating with excited energy, barely containing herself while she worked.  She managed to keep quiet for an impressively long duration, but by the time the last baskets were being pulled out of the water, she could no longer hold it in.  The news spread quickly.

What was a village to do in such circumstances but to have a celebration?  And Winta, the schemer, planted the seed with one of the village elders to ensure that one more surprise would be had on this eventful day.

The celebration was in full swing.  Nearly every member of the village confronted the happy couple and their lovely children to offer their congratulations.  Din and Jai, honored as they were to be recognized so kindly, were quickly reaching their limits for socialization.  But just as they whispered to each other that they might slip away to take a break, a circle formed around them as the crowd went quiet.

The village elders approached holding an old bottle of spotchka.  Omera seemed to realize what was happening and exclaimed, “Oh, stars!  Who’s idea was this?  I don’t know if…”

Winta nudged her shoulder.  “It was me… They understand it may not be possible for them to take a sip - at least not out here in front of everyone.  Don’t worry - I thought of everything …”

Omera smirked.  “I see… carry on then…”  She gestured to the elders to continue while Din tilted his helmet in confusion.

The oldest approached the two Mandalorians.  “It is customary to welcome new members of our village by offering them a sip of our first bottle of spotchka - the sweat and blood that has allowed us to survive here.  We never offered it to you both out of respect for your creed.  But someone…”  She looked at Winta.  “Thought you deserved to experience the ritual, anyway.  And we all very much agree.  It’s been long overdue.”

Another approached with two small glasses, and a bit of spotchka was dispensed into each, before offering them to Din and Jai.  The two armored celebrants froze then, drinks in hand.  A small bit of panic spread through the crowd.  Had they managed to offend them anyway?  

In reality, Din and Jai were whispering to each other privately through their helmets’ built-in audio, coming to an agreement about their next move.  They turned their visors to look at each other briefly, and then their free hands went to the lip of their helmets, and they lifted them fully off their heads.  

The reaction was comical, really - an entire village standing agape, mouths hanging open in shock, as they took in their beloved Mandalorians’ faces for the first time.

Din looked around apprehensively, not expecting quite this dramatic of a reaction, but finally, he raised the glass as if in toast and murmured a nervous “thank you” before bringing the glass to his mouth and taking a sip.

Now everyone was looking at Jai, who felt they might die under the weight of so many gazes.  Maker, this may have been a mistake.   But they gathered their confidence and took a small sip, their first ever of the strong liquor, before coughing out a gracious “thank you”, as well.

One of the elders who seemed to be the only one unaffected by the reveal, came closer, inspecting the two thoughtfully before looking in Omera’s direction and stating loudly, “He’s… grayer than I imagined - but quite handsome.  Good for you.”  Omera laughed as Din’s face reddened.  The woman then turned her attention to Jai and said matter-of-factly, “You - you look real smart.”

“I’ll take smart over handsome any day.  Thank you.”  Jai’s quip broke the ice as the crowd fell into quiet laughter and finally moved on from their shock, returning to their usual celebratory behavior.

Din turned to Jai.  “You alright?”  While he had grown somewhat accustomed to the feeling of being helmetless around others, he remembered how nerve-wracking it felt the first few times.

Jai exhaled and nodded.  “Yeah… this feels weird, but I’m okay.”

“Want to sneak away for a few minutes?”

Jai breathed out in relief.  “Maker… Yes, please…”

——————————

The celebration went on well into the night, the guests of honor huddled together around the bonfire, looking every bit like the happy family they were.  Winta looped one arm through Jai’s and lay her head on their shoulder, while Din pulled Omera into his side, Grogu trying desperately to stay awake in his lap.  

Din had always loved his life here, and the people with whom he shared it, but now there was an undercurrent of calm and contentment that he’d never felt before - not in his ship, and certainly not in the covert.  He belonged somewhere, and he was loved and accepted there, regardless of intact creeds and religious ideals.

Jai, though, while feeling incredibly blessed by their good fortune in finding such a wonderful family and community, felt no such sense of self-fulfillment.  Their adult life was only beginning, and they were encountering more questions than answers.  What did they want from their life?  How could they reconcile their sense of duty with their intellectual ambitions?  And why couldn’t they picture doing any of these things with a family of their own?

They looked at Din and Omera, enjoying a kind of intimate companionship that felt absolutely foreign to Jai’s mind.  Omera was the lifeblood of this village, born to be a mother and a leader, and Din had found the balance he’d been looking for - one where honor and service still left room for personal happiness.  They looked at Winta, who already knew exactly what she wanted from her life despite being several years Jai’s junior.  Grogu, at least, hadn’t beat Jai on that front yet, but the ageless child would do greater things one day than any of them.  

They all seemed to know so definitively who they were and what they wanted…

But who was Jai ?  What did they want?  They didn’t really know.  Religious indoctrination nearly from birth had stripped them of a sense of personal identity and agency, which they were only now beginning to recover in the safety of this new life.  Jai felt very much like they were on their own with this.

But at least, they thought gratefully, they were not alone…

————————————————————————

Thanks for reading!

Next chapter

[vinjaryou]

💕 Thank you for sharing those writing questions with me, my dude. They're very good. Also, I have a few here for you in return! 1. Share a song that makes you think of [fic title] 5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write? 18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

you're welcome! I have quite a few memes in my drafts that I need to post/answer, eep, lol (and I might have reblogged your latest one too, XD)

a list of fanfic writer asks

1: share a song that makes you think of...

Did you have a specific one in mind you wanted to ask about? For this one though, I'll go with a more recent piece - both Godsmack's Under Your Scars and Seal's Kiss From a Rose both get me thinking about kintsugi. To get a little more specific, the former when Reilena notices the peek of one of Vincent's scars that he's tried to hide, and then when he gives her permission to undo his shirt and bare some of them to her, and the latter is when the piece turns more tender and sweet heat, the quiet end of the song going with Vincent's silent 'thank you' as they fall asleep in each other's arms.

5: what's a fic idea you've had that you will never write?

That is a very good one, because I'll generally jot down any idea I have, it just depends on whether or not it ever GOES anywhere, so I can't really say I'd NEVER write it, lol. I have notes for a werewolf AU - literally just a single scene - and then a random Tekken/FFVII scene that I still kinda want to put to paper just because I really like it (and it hammers in that Vincent Valentine would make more sense in the Tekkenverse than Akuma ever would, yes I am still very salty about him being randomly stuck in the Mishima storyline no I will not get over it, lol).

I have a bad tendency to put fics on indefinite hiatus more than just not write them - I have 3 multichaps that have been abandoned for different reasons, but I still have the notebooks and writing for them if I ever wanted to pick them back up (and I still know how one of them ends, even though I never wrote the actual ending, lol).

That said, I have a couple AUs with a former RP partner that I've put on a permanent backburner because they bring up pretty iffy memories. So I think we'll go with that. I'll never write (more) for those; the notes and scenarios that have been written will just stay in their folder for now.

18: what's one of your favorite lines that you've written in a fic?

'If it is a sin to love another, then may I be forever damned.' Wrote it in an unfinished Ancient Egypt Yuugiou canon/oc fic literal decades ago, and it still sticks with me to this day. Will I ever manage to work it into another fic? Hopefully, because I feel that it could work with Vincent and Reilena, too.

For a couple more recent ones...

“You deserve to live, to love and be loved, Vincent. You have atoned enough.” - Lucrecia Crescent, to sleep, and dream of the sweet

---

“Can’t, or won’t?” Bluntly asked as he held an ashtray out, waiting for Vincent to drop the spent cigarette butt inside. Setting the plastic tray back on a nearby table, Cid leaned against the wall beside his friend, his own cigarette still stuck between his lips. “Maybe I don’t know yer entire life story – you keep that shit locked up tight, and it ain’t my place to ask just now – but what I do know is that we don’t have a lotta time left, and if you don’t do anythin’ now, it’s gonna be one more thing to add to yer list of regrets before our final showdown.” - Cid Highwind, if i had asked you out that night

(taking liberties with that last one, because I just really like how bluntly Cid tells Vincent to go say something dammit, XD)

[ohthatstragic]

I'm Very Sure - p.m

a/n:  i’ve been keeping these to myself for ages.. finally got the courage to post it.. i have like 5 other ones too, i can’t stop myself.. if you have any ideas for future fics pls send them in, i’ll be glad to do them, i sort of focus on maverick and rooster currently. maybe hangman too! i hope i did these guys justice in here

if you have critique for me pls give!! i want to know what you guys think so i can improve for you

also pls don’t repost or translate any of my work.. i don’t give you permission to do that.

pairings: maverick x reader, hangman x reader

wc:  5,411 (i have a problem where i can’t not write 4,000 words)

warnings: uhh creepy dude at bar for like ten seconds, its fluffy, ocean kissing, heavy flirting at one point from hangman

summary: you have feelings for maverick ever since you two met when you were called back for the ‘suicide’ mission (TG:M), now when you’re called back yet again for another insane mission, you have to confront your feelings. maverick seems disinterested so you flirt with hangman for fun.. who knows what happens after.

also i know it's take me to bed or lose me forever i just thought take me home sounded cuter for the current moment ;(

Sat down on the side of your dishevelled bed, a fleeting sigh escaped your lips. You had just gotten the call from Admiral Simpson - you were being called in for another mission. It was around a month after you flew that suicide mission with the Dagger squad, mentored and trained by Maverick. The group of you were still so close and you kept in contact. You truly did love them all - although you loved one of them more than the rest, and in an entirely different way.

A disgruntled and frustrated groan rattled your chest as you stood up and ran a hand through your tousled hair. Just as you were about to start packing things for your journey back to Miramar, San Diego, your phone buzzed to life. The theme song to Hawaii Five-O disrupted the peaceful silence that was lingering in your bedroom and you reached down to answer the call. A smile formed on your face as you read the name "Natasha" plastered across the top half of your phone screen. Your thumb tapped on the green answer button, and the silence returned in your bedroom as you put the phone up to your ear. "Hey," You said, sinking back down on your bed.

"Hey, Y/N," Phoenix smiled through the phone. "We're all headed down to The Hard Deck at five, you wanna come?" She asked. You thought about it for a moment. It would be nice to see everyone again and have some fun before you had to be deployed.

"Sure. I'll see you there, Phoenix." You hummed as your eyes wandered around your room, eyes landing on the photo of you all on board the naval ship from a month ago. A smile picked at the corners of your lips as your mind reeled back to that moment. Jake had taken the photo, his arm outstretched and taking up the left hand side of the picture. You stood behind him, grinning as you were sandwiched between Phoenix and Bob. Phoenix had her hand wrapped around your neck and Bob was stood beside Coyote who had a hand on Fanboy's shoulder, crouching in front of the four of you. Payback, Rooster and Maverick were crouched a bit lower, big grins on their sweaty faces. The latter two had just pulled off a miracle stunt, escaping an enemy base in an old F-14.

"Great, see you later, Y/C/S." Phoenix said and you hung up the call. Your home screen popped up and you looked at the time - four in the afternoon. It left you an hour to shower, get ready and head to the bar which was around ten or fifteen minutes away.

****

It was five fifteen when you pulled up to the bar, spotting Penny sweeping the porch. You hopped off your pearlescent purple Ducati Panigale, kicking out the stand. Casting your eyes across the lot, you only spotted a few of your squad's cars - them being Phoenix, Bob, Hangman and Coyote. He wasn't here yet, thank god. As you swung your leg over the motorbike's middle, Penny caught eye of you.

"Well look what the tide brought in," She laughed, placing a hand on her hip as she stopped sweeping for a moment. "Y/N, it's been a while!" Penny said, starting to walk down the steps and toward you. You walked forwards.

"It has," You laughed back, looking a little sheepish. "I've, um, been busy." You shrugged, hoping she didn't ask anymore questions about it. It was both a lie and not a lie, you had been busy. Busy trying to forget about a certain person who had completely taken over your mind and heart.

"I get that," She smiled. "The others are inside. Coyote's gettin' mad at Hangman 'cos he keeps beating him at pool." An amused laugh escaped her lips as she glanced back at the open door. "I'm out here sweeping since it's pretty dead in there. For now.."

"The evening rush is always a wild card," You said, wrinkling your nose in displeasure at the thought of weaving in between drunk, sweaty bodies. "You either get awful people, or you get easy-going people. Let's hope it's the latter!" You chuckled lightly. Penny nodded her head in agreement, grinning at you.

"Come on in and I'll getcha a drink. I need to check the bar anyway." As you walked up to her, she placed a hand on your shoulder and walked with you into the bar. "I love your outfit by the way, it's stunning." She said, glancing down at your choice of clothing. You sported a soft beige string bikini top and slapped a baggy, thin shirt over the top, rolling the sleeves up to your forearms and tying it up in the middle of your stomach. On your bottom, you wore a pair of fraying, white linen shorts that reached your upper thigh.

A smile appeared on your face as the two of you reached the empty bar. "Thank you, Penny." You smiled. Penny slipped behind the bar and leant against it with one hand, the other sitting on her hip. She gestured to the drinks, silently asking what you wanted. "Can I get a vodka and lemonade, please?" You asked and nibbled on your bottom lip. A loud array of laughter suddenly erupted in the quiet room, garnering your attention. You quickly looked over to the source of the sound, spotting your squad, looking smart in their beige naval uniforms. A smile instantly reached your face as you watched Hangman high-five Phoenix. Looking back to Penny, she was finishing off your drink and placing a straw in the glass.

"Didn't think you'd want to mess up your lipstick." She grinned with a wink. You laughed and reached out your hand to grab the cold glass.

"Thanks, Pen," A soft giggle escaped your lips as you turned to walk towards the squad.

A low whistle penetrated your ears. "Well, if it ain't Y/C/S." Hangman grinned from behind the pool table, his eyes sliding up and down your body, checking you out. As the cocky pilot announced your name, the rest of the squad turned around excitedly, grins immediately breaking out on their faces as they saw you.

"Y/C/S!" Fanboy, Payback and Coyote cheered from the left, sat on some barstools. They stood up to greet you with open arms. You hugged them back happily, closing your eyes momentarily as you inhaled.

"Hey guys!" You giggled at them, looking to Phoenix next. She smirked and walked over to you, engulfing you in a tight hug.

"Good to see you." She said, pulling away from you, but leaving a comforting hand on your shoulder. "How's it going?" Phoenix asked quietly. You wrinkled your nose at the question, glancing between her eyes and the floor. She smiled, standing aside so you could say hello to the rest of the squad. "I get it." She mumbled.

Your eyes met Bob's as he stood up from his chair opposite the pool table, once again brushing himself down from peanut shells. "Hey, Bob," You grinned, holding your arms out for a hug. He bashfully moved forwards to accept it, his arms wrapping around you. "It's good to see you're still in one piece. I know how Phoenix can fly sometimes." Bob chuckled at your words, and a sudden slap at the back of your head made you laugh.

"Hey! Watch yourself, Y/C/S." She warned you with a smirk, pointing a threatening finger at your amused face. You held up your hands in defence, trying to suppress another laugh. As you turned back around, Bob had suddenly grown a couple inches and put on some muscle, and turned into a cocky blonde.

"Y/C/S." Hangman smirked down at you, staring into your eyes. "Still kickin' I see." He joked, earning a gasp from you.

"Hangman, we all know that you'd be the one to stop 'kickin', if it were to happen." You smirked back at him, folding your arms against your chest. He broke into a laugh and pulled you into a warm hug, and you graciously hugged him back, his cologne overwhelming your nose.

"No Maverick or Rooster then?" You frowned, noticing their absence. A little pang of pain and a ball of warmth shot through your chest as you mentioned his name.

"Rooster's coming a little later I think. Mav should be here soon though." Coyote said, glancing between you and Phoenix. You hummed as your heart started to batter against your ribcage in anticipation, and you sipped your drink, trying to calm your nerves.

Around fifteen minutes passed as the group of you surrounded the pool table, cheering at Hangman and Coyote. Fanboy's eyes suddenly left the pool table. "Have no fear, the Captain is here," Fanboy snickered. A grin formed on his face as he backed away from the table and made his way towards the aforementioned pilot. "How you doin', old man?" He asked. You looked up to watch him, finally catching sight of the man who had been causing you heartache. Swallowing thickly, you tried to rip your eyes away from Maverick but they refused. He looked amazing.

Maverick sported his usual white tee with his infamous patched bomber jacket, with a pair of jeans to match. His famous black and gold aviators sat on his nose as a handsome grin slipped onto his lips as he grabbed Fanboy's hand, pulling him in for a bro-hug, and then moved onto Coyote. "Hey man," Mav chuckled. You looked away for a moment, waiting for everyone to say hello. Hangman, Phoenix, Bob and Payback gave the captain a welcoming hug, exchanging warm greetings. As you looked back at him, his blue eyes met yours and your heart rate increased; a bashful smile picking at the corners of your lips.

Maverick grinned, walking over to you and engulfing you in a big hug. "Y/C/S," He hummed as his arms wrapped around your middle. Your arms snaked themselves around his neck and you pressed your head against his shoulder, his familiar and comforting cologne filling your nostrils. A soft giggle escaped your lips and your eyes never left his. "It's been a while." He chuckled and pulled away, although his hands lingered on your waist a little longer than usual. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Hangman and Phoenix watching you like a pair of curious cats.

"Yeah," You breathed out, a little breathless from the encounter. You hadn't prepared yourself to see him, you didn't think you needed to. You thought this would be a walk in the park. You were wrong. "Who would've thought we'd be back here so soon?" A bashful giggle escaped your lips and it made Maverick grin.

"Well, I'm not complaining about the company," He said quietly, eyes still glued to yours. "You got a drink?" Maverick asked, eyeing your empty hand. You quickly glanced down at it and gasped softly.

"Oh, yes, it's on the table over there." You said, almost too quickly. His eyebrows raised at your sudden reply, and you immediately regretted how fast you had replied. It wasn't personal, it was just you being you... a nervous wreck around him.

"I'm gonna go get a beer." He smiled, before walking off in the direction of the bar. Your smile slowly dissipated as you turned back towards the group, Hangman and Phoenix's eyes still fixated on you. With a heavy sigh, you walked over to the duo, and Hangman held up his arm for a hug. You gratefully accepted it, groaning.

"Ugh," You grumbled. "I forgot how hard it was." Your eyes slowly searched for the captain, who was currently stood next to a blonde woman, and clearly having a good time with her. Their loud laughter could be heard from over here. Hangman rubbed your shoulder in an attempt to comfort you.

"I think you should go and talk to him, Y/N/N." Phoenix said, taking a swig of her beer. As she swallowed, she shrugged. "What's the harm in it?" She added, looking at Hangman who didn't seem too convinced. He let his arm fall off of your shoulder as he leant back against the barstool behind him, his eyes finding yours.

"Well, if he doesn't wantcha, I know someone who does." Jake wiggled his eyebrows, a grin breaking out onto his face. Looking away, your cheeks flushed pink at his words and Phoenix noticed, starting to laugh.

You tried to hide the smirk that threatened to slip onto your face at any moment. Well, if Maverick isn't interested, then what's the harm? Jake is undeniably hot, and it wouldn't hurt to flirt for fun. "Really now?" You looked back at the pilot, who was visibly surprised at your answer. As was Phoenix. "C'mon, Bagman.. let's play some pool." You said, walking back to the pool table.

"You're on." He quickly said, relishing in the different attention you were giving him. Phoenix was in shock at your attitude. "You sure you wanna do this, sweetheart?" Hangman asked, throwing you a teasing look. The nickname twisted your stomach into a knot, and you weren't particularly fond of how it made you feel.

"Oh, I'm sure," You said, grabbing the plastic triangle atop of the green-carpeted table. "I'm very sure." You mocked Hangman, remembering what he had said to Rooster all that time ago. His eyes narrowed at you, and a sly smile reached his lips. You quickly grabbed the pool balls and slotted them into the triangle, some of them clacking together.

"Seem like you're experienced with balls, honey," Hangman said, and you glanced up at him, eyes falling to the way he was gripping the pool cue. "I like an experienced woman." He finished off flirtatiously, glancing between yourself and the balls.

"You're out of luck then," You said, leaning up from the table and grabbing a hold of the other pool cue. Looking into Jake's eyes, you smirked. "Because I'm a virgin." Hangman's brows furrowed momentarily, his eyes sliding down your body again. He swallowed thickly, obviously speechless. You moved to the bottom of the pool table, where Jake was stood, and placed the white cue ball in the lower half of the table. "Ladies first." You mumbled to him with a cheeky smile. Leaning over, you made sure to poke your rear out towards Hangman, your fingers feeling the coarse carpet on top of the table as you lined yourself up for the shot.

"You got this, Y/C/S." Bob said from the side with a smile on his face. Phoenix stood next to him, throwing you a quizzical look, gesturing between you and Jake with her eyes. You shook your head at her and smiled, before looking back at the table.

"Wait, whaddya get if you win?" Fanboy called from behind you. You thought for a moment.

"If I win, Hangman owes me one hundred bucks. If he wins.. he can do or have whatever he wants I guess. But we don't need to discuss that, because it's not gonna happen." You said nonchalantly, looking back at Fanboy. A chorus of 'oohs' erupted, making you smirk. Looking up, you saw Hangman rolling his eyes at your dig.

Pulling back your arm, you swung it forwards, the cue ball smashing into the other balls with a loud clack. A striped ball sinks down into a hole and you smirk to yourself. You moved to the right side of the table, staring up at Hangman as he watched you. You never took your eyes off of him as you hit another shot, sinking another ball. You could see him tense his jaw as he shuffled in his spot, biceps flexing in frustration. The amount of self-restraint this man had to not just fuck you right here on this table right now is ground-breaking.

"Lucky shot." He said with a shit-eating grin. You leaned up from the side of the table and cocked a brow.

"Is it now?" You said, narrowing your eyes at him, smiling. You leaned back down to set yourself up for another shot, but you caught sight of Maverick heading back over to the group of you. You felt your breath hitch. Despite the warm and comforting feeling in your chest, you ignored it, and hit your shot, merely missing another sunk ball. A frustrated groan left your lips and Jake didn't miss it. He smirked at you, pouting sarcastically. You turned away from the pool table as he walked towards you, his eyes never leaving yours. You refused to back down.

"Like I said, sweetheart, lucky shot." He chuckled and moved in between your legs, placing his arms either side of you, forcing you to lean back as he leaned forwards, his eyes glancing between you and the cue ball. Your breath hitched in your throat from the closeness between you two, making your heart race. A few wolf whistles from Coyote and Fanboy made you blush. The pair of you were chest to chest, and you could feel his body heat radiating off of him. Deep down, you weren't complaining. But deep deep down, you were wishing Hangman was Maverick.

"Let the pool champ show you how it's done." He mumbled in your ear as he pulled back his muscular arm, your gaze slowly moving to his flexed bicep. As you looked back at your arrogant opponent, he smirked. "Like what you see?" Hangman swung his arm forwards, the sound of balls clacking together rang through your ears. His eyes never left yours as he leaned back from the table, walking to the left side of the table.

As you turned around, your gaze immediately fell on Maverick, who's eyes were as hard as steel. Your eyes trickled down his hands, which were gripping his bottle of beer so hard that it could most likely shatter at any second. Confused, you couldn't help your brows furrowing together as you watched him stare daggers into the back of Hangman's head. Soon enough Maverick looked away from your blonde opponent and glanced at you, softening his eyes. You quickly ditched the confused look upon your face, relaxing your brows. Averting his gaze from you momentarily, a small smile slipped onto his pink lips. You noticed his fist relaxed as the pair of you shared a warm look. Not wanting to make anything awkward you smiled back at him, and returned your attention back to Jake. Shaking off the perplexing encounter, you furrowed your brows again so that Maverick wouldn't be able to see them. "Lucky shot," You scoffed mimicking Jake. Reaching for your almost empty drink, you swung the remnants of the liquid back. You tried ignoring the vivid image of Maverick's angry face in your mind.

"Aw," Hangman pouted mockingly, pushing his lips out. "Is someone a little upset?" He said, breaking out into a mischievous grin. You cocked a brow, sauntering over to him, slowly, holding his amused gaze. Hangman's eyes narrowed in curiosity as you neared him, entering his personal space.

"Honey," You sighed quietly and flicked your eyes between Jake's eyes and lips, watching his Adam's apple slide up and down his throat as he swallowed. "If I was upset, you wouldn't even need to ask." With a roll of your eyes, you slipped on a confident façade and threw a simpering smile his way.

Around fifteen minutes passed and you and Hangman had sunk most of the balls with a bit of flirting here and there. It was now down to him to sink the black eight ball, in which you were watching wistfully, preparing to accept a loss. "You've got him, he's easy, Y/N/N," Maverick suddenly appeared next to you, his shoulder at least two inches above yours. "He's yours." He said, glancing down at you. The butterflies and feelings returned within you as fast as they left - which was never. You felt your knees weaken as he smiled down at you, watching his gorgeous pale blue eyes crease at the sides. 

"You think?" You choked out, swallowing back a nervous laugh. Glancing at Hangman, you saw he was watching you and Maverick closely, his eyes narrowing with what seemed like jealousy. You looked back to the captain who still had his eyes on you. A faint blush creeped up your cheeks. You let your eyes falter for a moment, glancing at his lips.

"He's easy, sweetheart. You got this." Maverick smirked and took a sip of his beer. He leaned down and placed his lips near your awaiting ear. "Show me what you got." Your eyes fluttered as his hot breath caressed the side of your bare neck, a warm wave of pleasure washing over your body. Your mind began to race with unspeakable images of the captain and you, his lips attacking your neck with warm kisses, a breathless moan escaping your lips, making Maverick smirk. A sudden and loud clack pulled you back to reality.

"Shit!" Hangman grunted as he watched the black eight ball merely miss the hole he was aiming for. A soft pair of "ooh"s slipped from Coyote and Payback. His hardened gaze met yours, and you smirked at him, cocking a brow.

"Let the pool champ show you how it's done." You said cockily as you mocked Hangman's previous words. In all seriousness, after that, you were silently praying that you wouldn't miss. Leaning down, you set up your shot, silently calculating the angle you'd need to pull this shit off. As you swung the pool cue forwards, the whole squad watched with anticipation. The loud clack of the cue ball smacking against the black eight ball made you blink quickly, your eyes never leaving the final ball. A thud sounded as the black eight ball fell down the corner hole, securing your victory. The squad jumped up and cheered for you, mostly happy that you had beaten Hangman.

"Yes!" Bob cheered and fisted the air in celebration. You were absolutely flabbergasted as you stared in disbelief, glancing between the pool table and an unhappy looking Hangman. You instantly turned to Maverick who's face was in complete awe.

"Hell yeah!" Mav chuckled. A loud giggle escaped your lips as you stared at his beaming face. It took everything within you to hold you back from running up and kissing him. A grin spread from ear to ear on his face as he watched you. Maverick walked towards you, his gaze never faltering from yours.

You blushed as he neared you, your heart going ballistic inside your chest. A sudden shiver travelled down your spine as Maverick's eyes fell to your lips for a split second. "Want a celebratory drink?" He asked quietly and raised his brows, nodding towards your empty glass.

"Who am I to disobey my captain?" You giggled again as he held out his arm jokily, and you grinned, graciously accepting his offer. "Oh, and Hangman," You turned to the sulking pilot, his eyes glancing between yours and Maverick's arms and your eyes. "GGs, thanks for buying the next few rounds." You winked at him, in which he smirked back at you, running his tongue across his teeth.

"Beginner's luck." He winked and set the pool cue down as he picked up his bottle of beer. You rolled your eyes at him, turning back to face Maverick. "Shall we?" You smiled, nodding towards the bar.

"Let's." He chuckled as the pair of you wandered towards the dark wooden bar, weaving in between the busy crowd. Maverick made sure you reached the bar before he had to quickly dip for the toilet. "I'll be back in a moment." He said, sending a reassuring smile your way. You smiled back, relishing in the warm feeling that he had unknowingly been giving you since he first walked in.

"Hey, gorgeous." An unfamiliar voice tickled your ears, and you whipped your head around to find an average height young man leaning against the bar, with his body facing towards you. Internally you groaned. "All alone?" He asked, eyeing your body. Instinctively you folded your arms to cover yourself, feeling uncomfortable.

The man sipped his beer, still staring intensely at you. "No, I'm waiting for a.. uh.. friend." You mentally slapped yourself to hesitating on what to describe Maverick as, knowing you had just outed yourself as being single.

"So you're single?" His eyes lit up at the sudden discovery, his tongue slipping out to wet his lips. "You can't be," He stuttered, his eyes falling all over your body again. "Not with a smoking hot body and a gorgeous face like yours, sugar." The man moved closer this time, reaching out a hand to touch your arm.

"Hey, take a step back, son." Maverick suddenly appeared beside you and you instantly relaxed, swiftly looking up at him. He easily towered over the man; his eyes hard and unforgiving. Mav's voice was deep and almost dark as he slipped a protective hand around your waist, pulling you so close to him that you could almost hear his perfect heart beat. "Get outta here." He said, placing himself between yourself and the man.

"Hey, hey, I was just joking around," The man said quickly, looking sheepish. Maverick was much more built than the skinny lad who had taken an interest in you. "I'll go." He said, muttering what sounded like a string of profanities aimed at your saviour as he wandered off.

Even as the man left, Mav's grip on your waist didn't falter, and he still stayed close to you. You could hear his heart racing from the adrenaline rush. "Hey," You softly said, making him look down at you. "Thank you." A smile formed on your lips as you watched him, his lips spreading into a smile too.

"It's not a problem," He mumbled, looking down at you with soft eyes. Your heart melted at the sight, and you almost fell in Maverick's arms. "You alright?" He asked, brushing a stray strand of hair behind your ears. You nodded, rendered speechless at his touch. "Vodka and lemonade?" He asked again. You nodded. Again. "Alright." He beamed, reluctantly glancing away to Penny. Her eyes found yours as Maverick ordered your drink, a bright and big grin breaking out on her face. You blushed and looked away with a bashful smile.

"Thanks, Pete." You giggled, feeling brave enough to use your captain's first name. You could swear you saw Maverick's cheeks flush at the use of his real name.

"Don't mention it, Y/N," He said with a bashful smile, looking away from you. The sound of your name rolled off of his tongue so smoothly making your stomach do flips. "Bradley's here." His hand quickly fell from your waist and you immediately felt your heart fall. Pushing your feelings aside, you glanced to where Rooster was walking and grinned, lifting an arm to wave at the aforementioned man.

"Hey Mav," Rooster's smooth voice travelled to your ears. "Y/N?" He asked, instantly smiling at your presence. His fingers came up to pluck his aviators off of the bridge of his nose and folding them onto his white tee beneath his signature Hawaiian shirt, revealing his pair of warm, brown eyes.

"The one and only." You laughed. A smile picked at Maverick's lips as the sound of your laugh rang through his ears, a soft, happy hum emitting from his chest. "How's it going Rooster?" You asked the newly graduated pilot who was currently smiling back at the two of you.

"Not bad." He replied, catching sight of Phoenix. You glanced at her as she waved Rooster over. "There's Phoenix, catch you later." Rooster quickly departed with a genial nod, and you turned your attention back to Maverick.

"How's it going with Rooster, by the way?" You asked and Maverick turned towards the bar, with you following his action. "He seems to have changed how he feels about you." You added, resting you forearms against the bartop.

"It's gonna take some time," He said. "It's not gonna be easy for him to forgive me." He finished, glancing at the ground - obviously thinking back to the tragic accident that killed his RIO and his best friend, Goose. Your heart ached for him. You just wanted to hold him in your arms. "My father went missing when he was a pilot in the Navy. I never found out what happened - it's all classified information." Maverick finished, taking a slow swig of his beer.

"I'm sorry, Mav." He only shook his head and smiled, looking at you with soft eyes.

There was a moment of brief silence as Penny served your drinks with a kind smile. You both thanked her before moving away from the bustling bar. The pair of you set your drinks down on a table within your group. Taking a sip, you pondered for a moment as your gaze found the ocean. "Wanna swim?" You nodded towards the white doors, a cheeky look breaking out onto your cheeks.

"I don't like that look, Y/C/S." Maverick gave you a lopsided smile, glancing between the ocean and yourself.

"It's the only one I got." You replied, trying to hold back a giggle as you quoted Hondo and Maverick. He rolled his eyes, setting his beer down and you swiftly grabbed his larger hand with your smaller one, silently enjoying the way his rough hand felt against yours. Pulling him out the doors and past a confused Dagger squad, the pair of you laughing together like maniacs.

"Hey!" You squeaked as Maverick slipped his hands underneath your waist and knees, picking you up. Instinctively, your hands snaked around his neck as he ran towards the sea, you screaming at the top of your lungs at him. "Mav!" You screamed once more before he jumped in with you. Seawater enveloped your body and you scrambled to the surface, gasping for air. "You son of a bitch!" A loud roar of laughter erupted from the captain as you swam towards him and jumped on him, wrapping your legs around his middle.

"You looked a little hot, I thought you needed a swim to cool down." He smirked, staring up at you as he snaked his arms around your waist, watching droplets of water slip down your amused face. You felt the pads of his fingertips caress your bare skin and you couldn't hide the bright blush that flowered across your cheeks.

"You could've asked first." You mumbled, staring at Maverick as the gentle waves lapped against the two of you. "This was an expensive shirt." You added, breaking out into a giggle as the captain rolled his eyes at your comment.

"I'll replace it." He said quietly. You moved closer to him, squeezing your legs around his waist as his arms pulled you in, your noses almost touching. The mere closeness of you two was enough to set your heart on fire.

"With what? It's sold out now." You wrinkled your nose at him.

"One of mine." He replied, glancing at your eyes. You swallowed in shock at his comment, feeling almost breathless. There's no way he just said that.

"I'd like that." You muttered back and bit down on your bottom lip for a moment. Maverick leaned in towards you, his lips grazing against yours, teasing you. "Mav," You whined breathlessly, making the captain smirk. "Kiss me." You added. Maverick's eyes lit up as they met yours. He didn't waste anymore time in waiting to kiss you.

Maverick planted a soft kiss on your lips and slowly pulled away, waiting for your reaction. You smiled and leaned forwards to capture another. An even bigger smile formed on his face as he leaned in towards you too, his lips connecting with yours. His nose brushed against your cheek as the two of you kissed in the sea. You couldn't believe what was happening.

"I think," You mumbled in between kisses. "I love you." You mumbled again, making Maverick pull away. Your eyes widened in fright, but he only smiled at you, brushing a hand over your cheek. Your anxiety-ridden, churning stomach suddenly settled and you felt at ease, a warm shiver washing over your body.

"You think?" He asked, pressing soft kisses to the side of your lips and upon your jaw. His jokey question made you laugh and his smile only grew as he watched you, the crinkles beside his eyes growing.

"I know I do." A soft, hushed sigh slipped from you, and you couldn't hide the smile that broke out on your face. "Take me home or lose me forever, Captain Mitchell." You murmured against his lips, pressing a gentle kiss upon them.

Maverick dropped his head for a moment, his eyes looking up at you through his wet lashes. "Show me the way home, honey." He grinned, melting into your kisses as the two of you floated together in the ocean. "I love you too, Y/N."

my masterlist

how to request something

tag:

@darkcrowart

@crow-obsessions - i hope you don't mind the tag, i just saw your post about older mav fics,,, ;( <3

[jayeeintheclouds-inactive]

hi omg i just binged your child kazuha x child reader and my heart is so warm 😭 could i possibly request for you to write ab the wedding and how it goes 😭💞 tysm and no pressure if you don’t wanna write it :D

(view full masterlist here)

HI FIRST REQUEST <3

anyway you have such a big brain bestie 🙆‍♀️ i wasn't sure if you wanted a child wedding (as in they pretend to get married) or an actual wedding after they grow up so i did both

Notes: YOU AND KAZUHA GET MARRIED (thrice) UGH CONGRATS, fem! reader, child! reader x child! kazuha, fluff, timeskip, adult reader x adult kazuha, reader is still very sassy 😦, tw cursing

Summary: Kazuha keeps his promise.

a/n: i think i made it a little too long but 🤠 whatever more fluff

a/n 2: THIS IS SO SELF INDULGENT HELP

a/n 3: unedited because it's long and i'm going to burst into tears from simping

The first time you and Kazuha get married, the both of you are barely eight years old, with little to no idea of marriage.

It was merely meant to be pretend, playful, with no deep meanings or intentions. Yet to Kazuha, it felt like all he ever wanted.

He's taking this too seriously, you scoff to yourself as Yoimiya giggles and tries to comb your hair, despite your hand constantly swatting hers away.

"He's joking," You try to convince her, only to receive more giggles, "He's not being serious. Stop playing along, Miya-chan."

You finally realise he's serious when Yoimiya pushes you down the leaf-filled, makeshift aisle, only to see Kazuha dressed in his favourite yukata standing at the other end.

He's smiling, stupidly too. You don't know why he's smiling, and you don't know why you are smiling too. The both of you eventually break down into giggles, forgetting how you were so opposed to this pretend marriage in the first place.

Yoimiya excitedly takes her place beside the both of you. She clears her throat, and pretends to read off from a storybook. "Hello, uh, fellow soft toys! Today, we will be watching Kazuha-kun and Y/N-chan get married! Yay!!"

"Just like I promised," Kazuha grins, and you almost punch him. You don't because you don't want to ruin the yukata Yoimiya put on you. Also because it would not be normal for the bride to punch the groom on the wedding day.

"So uh," Yoimiya scratches her head, seemingly pondering on something before deciding the toss the book away, "Whatever. Just say your vows and kiss!"

"What the hell," You mutter under your breath.

Kazuha ignores you, but takes your hands in his and squeezes them, bringing a blush to your face. "Y/N-chan, you are the love of my life, and I will love you forever and ever. I will never stop reading my haikus to you and I will always stay by your side."

You blush furiously, and click your tongue. Who allowed this kid to be this smooth for an eight year old?

Unlike Kazuha, you fumble over your words. "I, uh, I agree to marry you, Kazu-kun, and I uh, will also love you forever. I think."

"You stole my lines," Kazuha teases you. You kick his foot.

Yoimiya jumps up and down. "Anyway! You may now kiss the bride."

"What about the rings?" Tomo pipes up from his audience seat.

"Oh my god the rings, the rings, THE RINGS!" Yoimiya screams and jumps around again, and you and Kazuha sweatdrop as you watch her run around your "wedding venue" trying to find makeshift rings.

Yoimiya ends up making two rings out of long leaves.

You look at the leaf ring Kazuha put on you not too long ago, and you think it's not actually half bad. Huh. Who thought firegirl was this skilled at crafts?

"Is it time to kiss the bride now?" Kazuha asks cheekily, and you snap your head up. You are extremely appalled at his cheeky audacity, and the fact that Yoimiya is enthusiastically nodding her head and granting Kazuha permission.

Kazuha smiles, and you can't breathe. His smile is beautiful, so so beautiful, and you would've stared at his pretty lips more, if they weren't already in contact with your pink cheeks.

-

The second time you and Kazuha get married, it is impromptu and the both of you are alone.

Kazuha twirls you around in his arms, and grabs your hands again with a soft smile on his lips. It has been quite a while since the two of you have been alone together, and Kazuha had suggested spending this precious alone time by dancing with you barefoot on a grassy field under the moonlight, all isolated and alone where no one would disturb the both of you.

There was just something about the feeling of excitement, pure adrenaline rushing through the both of your veins knowing that you could potentially get caught or have someone witness the private, intimate moment between the two of you, yet it was that feeling that kept you and Kazuha's friendship-relationship alive.

Speaking of your relationship with Kazuha, who really were you to him? Were you still his best friend, his childhood crush, or just someone he probably lost feelings for? Was he still being your friend out of pity? Did he just feel too guilty about leaving you?

"You're overthinking again," Kazuha whispers, and pulls you close to his chest. "I know you are."

You look away. Your eyebrows are furrowed, and anyone would've mistaken it for annoyance, but not Kazuha, because he knows you too well.

Kazuha sighs, and gives you a small smile that almost looks sad. He deftly intertwines your fingers, which makes you look at him. His gaze towards you is so sincere, and you feel your heart race; as if it didn't already before.

"Were you worried about what you meant to me?" Kazuha says, his voice getting low and sending shivers down your spine, "Don't be. I promised to marry you in the past, and I don't intend on breaking that promise any time soon, or ever."

"Smooth fucker," You curse with hot cheeks. Kazuha only chuckles, and kisses your forehead.

When he pulls away, his right hand lets go of your hand to cup your cheek. He's smiling, and you resist the urge to smile with him.

You do so eventually.

Kazuha lets out a soft laugh, and you curse the gods for making him so angelic. "Will you, L/N Y/N, take me as your lawfully wedded husband?"

You snort, and he twirls you around again. You play along anyway. "The hell is this impromptu marriage vow? I do. Will you, Kaedehara Kazuha, take me as your amazing, beautiful, narcissistic wife?"

The both of you are only teenagers when you say this, and yet it feels like a real wedding. "I do," Kazuha replies without hesitation.

He leans in, painstakingly slow if I may add, as if building suspense. Your eyes close, waiting for his lips to meet yours. With how long he takes to initiate the kiss, you almost think he's trolling you.

"I'm starting to think you're pranking me," You grumble, eyes still closed, and you hear him snicker.

A second later, his lips are on yours. He stole your first kiss, and you were completely okay with that.

-

The third time you and Kazuha get married, it is the actual, official day of your marriage.

It is the day the both of you have looked forward to, even more so since Kazuha got down on one knee and slipped a ring 100 times better than that leaf ring years ago onto your finger.

Kazuha was a man who had a good command of language. Some called him poetic; others called him a hopeless romantic who always had a way with words. He always prided in the fact that in no matter what situation he faced, he could always find the right words to get the exact reaction he wanted.

Yet, why was it that when he saw you walking down the aisle in your traditional kimono, he couldn't form a single sentence to describe your beauty?

You would've laughed at the sight of seeing Kazuha wordless and dumbfounded (in a good way) for once, had it not been your wedding day.

"You look beautiful," Is all Kazuha can say to you when you stand next to him, but from his misty eyes and his expression, you know he's more than sincere when he says so.

You choke, and fail to stop your tears from flowing out. "I know."

Yoimiya is the wedding officiant, hired by Kazuha just for reminiscing. For once, you have never seen Yoimiya look so calm, peaceful, much less emotional ever.

The blonde girl stuggles to hold back tears of joy as she reads out the actual, not-at-all-joking opening ceremony script. "Dear friends and family of the b-bride and groom, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the marriage of L/N Y/N and Kaedehara Kazuha."

When it is time to say your vows, Kazuha forgets all his nervousness, and surprisingly belts out the vow he practiced countless times yesterday.

"Y/N," He begins tearfully, "I kept my promise."

You don't need to hear the rest of his speech to burst into tears.

[goldengoddess]

hi i have a kaz x reader request!! can you do one where kaz proposes to the reader?? that seems so cute tbh

will you marry me - kaz brekker

pairing: kaz brekker x reader

a/n: i listened to helpless from the hamilton musical while writing this so do with that what you will,,,, kaz would definitely do this just so u know (idk if kaz would consider marrige but if he did this is how it would go)

warnings: nothing ?? proposals ? kaz it a tiny bit more touchy :)

kaz brekker was not one for romantic gestures, frankly he it quite the opposite. every confession of love was silent, hidden, usually given in the privacy of his room.

but he knew you.

and he knew that proposals were meant to be romantic gestures. they were meant to represent the start of a different era of love. he’d heard you tell nina about a hundred times how romantic your parents proposal had been. he’d seen the dreamy look in your eyes the time a public proposal had happened in front of the two of you.

so he was dead set on making sure his proposal to you was everything you wanted it to be. and if there was one thing dirty hands was good at, it was making a solid plan. and a couple solid back up plans.

so he was very annoyed to see your annoyed face on the morning he was going to propose to you. 

you grumbled as you walked across the room to the kitchen where you could finally get some coffee. over her own mug, nina chuckled at your state. “looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed” she giggled and took a sip of what was probably hot chocolate. 

you mumbled a quick ‘fuck you’ and made your way closer to kaz. you quickly planted a good morning kiss on his cheek like you always did. it was part of your routine, that way he knew it was coming and was never surprised or taken aback by the act. your grumpy mood chipped away a little at the way that kaz’s lips quirked upwards as you pulled away. 

you shuffled over to the coffee pitcher just as jesper made his way into the room. he was humming something under his breath and you leaned your head closer so you could listen.

you furrowed your brows in confusion, “jesper? why are you humming the wedding song?”

he stopped in his tracks and shared a quick look with nina and then kaz. he turned to you and grinned, “no reason! just in a good mood, excited for our job later today.”

you huffed and shook your head, “at least one of us is.”

the rest of the day went by the way they always do before a big heist: slowly. it consisted of jesper running around the slat pumped up with too much adrenaline. inej taking out all of her smaller knives from their hiding spots (who knew she kept three under the couch cushions) and strapping them to her sides. wylan drawing out the outline of the mercher house one more time. matthias grumbling about the legality and necessity of what they were doing. nina sitting on his lap so he would shut up. 

and kaz, your sweet kaz, going over the plan in his head while observing you. 

later on, as you were all in your respective positions for the job, you couldn’t help but wonder why kaz had paired the two of you together. when the two of you had started dating, he had told you that he couldn’t trust his own instincts around you. and for that reason, you were always paired with another crow and he usually worked with jesper of inej. but not tonight. 

“kaz?” you questioned, “why are you and i working together tonight?”

you didn’t notice the way his hands hesitated on the lock that he was currently trying to pick. he turned to you and your breath caught in your throat, like you were seeing him for the first time again. it was midnight, there was little light anywhere. but somehow the moonlight illuminated kaz’s face perfectly. he looked beautiful. 

he shrugged and went back to his lock, “just thought it could be interesting to switch things up. this job is simple enough, nothing will go wrong.”

his words set you off slightly. your kaz would never take a chance like that. it wasn’t his style. kaz tended to ignore the odds, but never when it came to you. he’d promised a long time ago to not let his own grudges or greed put you in harms way. what was different about tonight?

before you could ask him, the lock clicked open and kaz swung the door to the hallway open. he extended his arm in invitation, “after you.”

you narrowed your eyes at him but stepped into the room. you took a deep breath and felt yourself relax at the oddly familiar scent of roses. you scanned the room and felt a smile slip into your face at the sight of yellow roses. waking closer to them, you ghosted your hands over the petals. 

you looked over at kaz with a small smile, and found he was already smiling at you. “your favorite flower” he said, stepping right next to you. 

you nodded your head in awe, you hadn’t seen yellow roses in a very long time. kaz dipped his hand into the vase and snapped the step of one of the flowers. he turned to you and handed you a single rose. you grinned and took the flower from him, tucking it gently into your backpack. “thank you honey” you giggled and then quietly moved down the hall. 

kaz stopped you in front of a room with a golden and elaborately decorated door. he motioned for you to open the door and you nodded your head, following his instruction. when you walked in the room was practically empty. the only thing inside was a glass case at the center of the room. you tip toed closer and found a tiny jewelry box. you slowly opened the glass casing and grabbed the small jewelry box, assuming this was the ‘big prize’ kaz had claimed they would find during this job. 

“open it” you heard kaz say from behind you. 

so without looking at him, you opened the tiny black box. what was inside, took the air out of your lungs. it was a tiny silver ring with a shiny black stone at the center. without realizing, you let out a little gasp. 

you started turning your body to face kaz, “kaz what is-”

but before you could say anything you found kaz kneeling on one knee, firmly holding onto his cane for the balance. you let out yet another gasp and nearly dropped the likely expensive ring in your hand. 

“angel” he started speaking

“kaz,” you interrupted him breathlessly, “what are you doing?”

he gave you his favorite mischievous smile, the smile that didn’t quiet reach his eyes but shined playfully in his eyes. “i’m doing my best to propose darling.”

another gasp on your part. 

he chuckled, “i have spent a lot of my life closing off my heart. making it impossible to reach. but then you came along and broke down my walls brick by brick. and impossibly, my heart became yours forever. so i thought it was only appropriate to put a much deserved ring on your finger. so, what do you say angel? will you marry me?”

you let out a small sniffle, happy tears falling down your cheeks. “yes! i want to marry you, i do!” you laughed happily and rushed over to kaz.

you helped him to his feet and he smiled, “excited are we? you’re not supposed to say ‘i do’ just yet darling.”

you lightly punched his shoulder. you moved your eyes to his lips and then back to his eyes, asking for permission. his grin and the quick nod of his head told you everything and you surged forward to kiss him. 

after a few seconds you pulled back and you know that you’ve never smiled as brightly as you are in that moment, “you never fail to surprise me brekker. can’t believe you pulled off a fake heist just for me.”

“i’d do anything for you” he answered quickly. 

“even marry me?”

“especially marry you.” 

taglist;

@vintagebitc @obiwansjedi @thegirlwiththeimpala @hybrid-in-progress @mrs-brekker15 @mrsbrekkers @simplyluvzuko @ode-to-joy @gallysonegoodlung @sixofshadowandbone @castielcouldbeasecretdentist @meiitanoia @caaarstairs @itisroe @the-jess-life @xsamsharons @heavenlymidnight @wtfrae @dreamer-writer-fangirl @bookishcrows @tulipsxbooks @thehighladyofday @seven-halfbloods

if your name is in bold it means i couldn’t tag you!

[writteninkat]

hi🧚‍♀️✨ can i request a headcanon for bakugo getting fucked up that his s/o isnt answering the door lol, it can be in the dorms or something. so this morning, my mother was knocking on my door and i woke up but was too lazy to answer it. she gradually started to knock and call louder until she started a fucking earthquke and i thought my door was gonna blow the fuck up. that shit scared me that i finally called back and she thought i couldnt wake up or i fucking died god it was terrifying. that just feels like something bakugo would do lmao. have fun writing💗✨

a/n: lmao this is hilarious cause i do this shit too often to my mom

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You were supposed to be ready by ten am buy now it's fifteen minutes past ten and you're not in the common area nor are you answering your phone. As much as Katsuki thinks of it as a pain in the ass, he decides to walk up your room with a frustrated huff.

How could you forget your date today? You were the one who was so excited for it, you were the one who planned it and you were the one who bugged him all week for it. Where were you?

Katsuki ignores the 'good morning's and 'hello's of the girls he pass by, knocking on your door softly. He remembers how you got mad at him for banging on it the first time and now he's being extra careful not to make that same mistake again.

"Hey idiot. Wake up." He calls but it's silent. He furrows his brows, knocking on your door again but this time, adding a little bit more pressure on his knocks. When you still don't answer, he begins to grow irritated.

"Hey dumbass, weren't you the one begging me for this date? Wake up already." Katsuki huffs, clicking his tongue as he stuffs his hands in his pockets.

"That's so cute? The both of you are going out on a date? Ribbit." Tsuyu asks, coming out of Uraraka's room with Hagakure right behind her. "Mind your business, damn extras." Katsuki continues to knock on your door as the girls continue gushing about how cute the both of you are.

"That's adorable! So what kind of date is it??? Carnival? Cafe? Mall? A picnic?" Hagakura gushes to which Katsuki sets off tiny explosions in his palms as a means of intimidating his nosy classmate. "To hell I'm answering your shitty questions." He growls, "And dammit why isn't this idiot answering her door?!" Katsuki roars, now already banging on your door.

His irritation is slowly alters to worry. Memories of you crying to him about how tired and stressed out you were this past month creeps to him, causing his heart to beat irregularly. His palms are sweating, his breathing is shallow and he can't help but feel his body shake in worry and anxiety.

"Dumbass answer the door or I'm blowing it up!" Katsuki yells, placing his palm on your dooras he stares at it in worry. He grabs onto the doorknob, trying to twist it both ways but to no avail- it's locked.

"Have you tried calling her-" Katsuki cuts Momo off, "I did! Five times already before I came up here!" Katsuki's tone is laced with worry as he continues pounding on the door.

"I'll go call for Aizawa sensei." Hagakure rushes towards the elevator as the rest of the girls stand back in worry as Katsuki tries to shake your doorknob open. "Fucking dammit Y/n this isn't funny! Open this door now! I'm getting worried for you, you idiot!"

As Katsuki pounds and shouts worriedly at the door outside your room, you, in the other hand, found your old iPod with your old favorites still in it while you were looking for your blow dryer an hour ago. Now you're listening to Rhianna's S&M in full blast with your headphones on as you took your sweet time perfecting your winged liner.

You ignored Katsuki's calls the first five times while you were getting ready, not wanting to get yelled at for being so late. After what felt like forever, you finally perfected your eye liner. You smile, setting the liner down before seeing your door explode open in the mirror.

You turn around, glad you wore your clothes before doing your make up. "Y/n???" You hear Katsuki yell through all the smoke, making you cough. You stand, opening your window to let all the smoke out:

"Katsuki what the hell? Why did you blow up my door for?" You ask, only to be pulled in to a hug. You can feel Katsuki's heartbeat clearly as you are pulled against him. "You fucking idiot! I was worried sick!" Katsuki yells, his arms tightening around you even more.

"What the hell is happening here?" You look around, furrowing your brows at your friends' worried eyes. "Katsuki was banging and shouting at your door for you but you never answered. We got worried so he used his quirk on it." Momo explains to which you sigh at.

You pat your boyfriend comfortingly before pushing him softly away, smiling at him. "You're adorable, you know that?"

Katsuki narrows his eyes at you, "Call me that one more time. I dare you."

Before you can take him up on that challenge, Aizawa walks in, looking completely and utterly upset about the state of your room. "Katsuki you'll be doing community service for the rest of the weekend for entering the girl's side of the dormitory and for breaking school property." He says, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Sir, I was somewhat responsible too so what if I took half of Katsuki's C.S and we do it at Sunday?" Aizawa looks at you as if you've grown two heads and you take his silence as a chance to pull Katsuki by his wrist and up your window.

"We already asked permission and were granted it. We're gonna go on a date now, bye!" You pull Katsuki along with you out the window as the blond uses his quirk to propel the both of you upwards and to the rooftop.

You two run to the other side, hands clasped together. "You know we're gonna get punished even more because of this, right?" Katsuki asks, eyes straight ahead as you smile widely.

"Who cares about school rules right now??? I wanna go pet the kittens in that new cat cafe!"

[pixie88]

A/N | I’m struggling to write atm, but I did this photo edit a while ago and over the weekend I came up for an idea for it. I hope this will get me back to it! This is just a one shot set way into the future.

Summary | Dean and Alana throw a costume party at Jack’s...

Word count | 486

Masterlist | The Neighbour

Warnings | 18+ Only! Fluff.

Pairings | Dean x Alana.

Comments welcome.

Enjoy!

She looked over herself in the mirror once more, Dean creeps up behind her, "you look stunning!" he kisses her shoulder. She turns noticing his nineteen forties costume, "you look handsome!" she wraps her arms around his neck and presses her lips to his.

His hands rest on her hips, she pulls away a little, "we better get going," he winks, she sighs knowing he's right.

She was just as excited as him....

Later...

They arrive at Jack's hand in hand, all of their friends and family are there already, they all think they're here for a get together while Alana's parents are over visiting their daughters and grandchildren.

"Oh, Marilyn Monroe and Eliot Ness!" Cas calls over to them, "are you ready?" Dean asks her, she smiles brightly at him, "parents and siblings first?" he nods as they make their way over to the bar.

Alana orders a bottle of champagne and a load of glasses as Dean rounds up their family at the bar, "so what's this important thing you have to tell us?" Mary asks them both as Dean hands them all a champagne flute, Alana turns round holding hers in her left hand showing of the sparkle wrapped around her finger.

Both their Mothers notice it and squeal with excitement, "you're engaged!?" Dean pulls Alana her in and kisses her cheek, "yes, while we were away, I asked her, and she said yes!" he stared at he couldn't believe how lucky he was that she said yes, he's brought back to reality when they are both attacked by their Mum's.

"Congratulations to you both! I'm so happy!!!!" Ronnie wraps up her daughter, "I knew he was a keeper!" she whispered into Alana's ear, making her smile. Pete smirks as Alana looks over to him as her Mum pulls away, "Pete isn't it great!" Ronnie looks to her husband.

"I'm glad it's finally out!" Pete winks, "you knew!" Ronnie looks at him, shocked, "Of course I did! Dean asked me for my permission!" Pete shrugged.

Two weeks before...

Dean felt nervous this was it, there was no going back, they walked hand in hand, the lights lit up the Colosseum as the day fell to night over the Italian sky.

He freezes on the spot, bringing her to a stop, she turns towards him, he stares at her, "Dean?" she smiles back at him. He gets down on one knee, pulling out a small black box from the inside of his jacket, "Alana, before you I didn't care who I woke up next to...but now? You are the only woman I want to wake up to every morning and go to sleep with every night for the rest of our lives! I love you more than you will ever know...will you marry me?"

She smiles down at him, "YES!" He pushes the ring onto her finger, he jumps up claiming her lips, he had never felt happiness like this before.

She had changed him forever...

@secretaryunpaid​​ @aussieez @munstysmind​​​ @palmaviolet​​​ @gloriousalmondvoiddreamer​​​ @rookiemartin​ ​​ @deandreamernp​ ​​ @leigh70​ ​​ @reallyloudstudent​ ​​ @peonierose​ ​​ @pixie-b​ ​​    

[genshinlover101]

Hi, Hydro Alchemist Anon. Seriously, i appreciate everything you written. They’re so creative and well written, and forever have my gratitude.

May I request a scenario, based off an idea you gave me in one of your parts? It’s a bit of a joke request? Remember how Jean’s Hydro Alchemist S/O offer to pranks Lisa, Noelle, Amber and Klee by putting them in bubbles? What if Jean’s Hydro Alchemist was given permission to do so? How would each of these characters react to Jean’s Hydro Alchemist S/O trapping them in bubbles, saying they’ll be stuck like that for day until they calm down? And how would Jean react afterwards?

Again, thank you so much for writing my requests.

Jean Watching S/O Prank Mondstadt

Character: Jean x Hydro Alchemist Reader

Characters Involved: Lisa, Noelle, Amber, Klee

Warnings: none

A/n: Hi hi, thank you so much. I enjoy writing requests like these specially when I see a connection between them so it’s nothing much. I got you though as long as you enjoy them <3

Link to prt. 1

One day, in particular, Jean had paperwork up to her earlobes while still being driven to insanity by her comrades. Lisa was insistent Jean spared a tea break for her, Noelle was overexerting herself leading to a lecture from Jean, Amber was gliding into illegal areas, and Klee only had arson on her mind. 

The door slammed open to your lab, there stood Jean huffing and puffing in exhaustion. “I need your help,” the poor girl was worn to the bone. Jean only resorted to violence when verbal no longer worked. 

“What’s up?” You ask carefully while working on your latest project. 

“I think I finally want to take you up on your offer...” Jean was not only verbally but visibly stressed. You perked up in excitement, you offered her multiple times to use your experiments as resources but she had never once accepted it till now. “I can no longer deal with those children.” 

“Say no more.” You spin on your swirly chair over to a specific drawer that carried the same potion that Jean had fallen victim to not too long ago. “Remember this?” You twiddle the vile between your thumb and middle finger. Of course, Jean remembered and exenterated her eye roll showed she in fact did. 

• First on the prank list was Lisa, Jean’s secret admirer. she was sitting in the library lazing around with a fresh cup of tea, “There she is,” you said targets sighted. You two hid behind a bush watching her through an already propped open window. Although Jean was feeling like a menace today, she didn’t want to harm Lisa or the books surrounding her.

You grabbed one of the four glass vile in your pocket, rattling it in your hand. You weren’t worried about hurting her via the shards of glass, you knew they would just reflect off your bubble.  “Alright Jean, this should contain her in that spot till you release her with your Anemo.” 

You quickly chuck the vile at Lisa and a giant bubble engulfs her. You knew being such a relaxed woman she wouldn’t be too upset. The moment she saw hydro she knew it was you- “Did Jean put you up to this again?” The mage asked you, trying to use her own vision to release herself.

“Sorry Lisa, I hope you out of everyone understands.” Jean cheers with glee and gives you a big hug with her arms wrapped around your neck. The relief that this plan would actually work was a massive weight off her shoulders.

• Your next victim was Noelle. Jean requested you be more sympathetic with her because of her fragility, she was doing nothing wrong it was just she didn’t know her own boundaries. You two spotted the maid doing her daily workout on the border of Mondstadt City. She was jogging but a moving target shouldn’t be a problem.

You grabbed another flask and aimed it a little ahead of her position. “I’m sorry Noelle,” both you and Jean prayed she would understand that she needed to rest and this was the only way they could get her to. You launched the vile at her, bullseye. Noelle found herself in a sticky situation and all you two saw was a look of pure concern.

Jean and you both went over to explain the situation in detail, Noelle being the most understanding out of your victims was expected. Once Jean formerly apologized to her, Noelle just laughed it off and asked her not to forget about her in the bubble.

• Next was Amber. She was practicing for her next gliding tournament but in the worst ways. The poor girl was unintentionally creating a problem for Jean, gliding on top of the cathedral or even gliding into the citizens. Trapping her in this bubble would be the best for everybody.

“Don’t miss,” Jean said clutching onto your shirt as you were aiming at the flying girl in red. You tossed the vile and it collided with her glider, encasing her in a giant bubble as she floated to ground-level. You could tell her sheer panic. 

“Nice shot!” Jean laughed excitedly, giving you a quick double high-five before explaining the situation to Amber who was already trying to escape. 

“Hmm only because it’s you Jean I’ll allow it. You could���ve just asked ya know?” As if Jean hadn’t already though.

• Finally was the monster herself, Klee. You both knew she would be the most resistant. Luckily you caught her at a moment of peace in Whispering Words while she was scouting out the next victims of her fish bombs.

Jean stays silent behind you as to not break your focus, you grab the last vile in your pocket and aim it with precision. Bam, within seconds Klee was stuck in a miniature hydro bubble. Although you couldn’t hear, you could see Klee trying to escape and banging on the walls of her confinement.

“Perfect!” Jean shouted, not only was Klee stuck but she wouldn’t be able to brainstorm ideas for new bombs accurately.

“Awwwh- not big scary Master Jean again.” Klee pouted in the bubble after spotting her, folding her arms assertively.

“You’re a lifesaver,” Jean gave you a great big hug accompanied with a quick smooch. “Ah~ For today, just today, I’ll finally be able to relax and complete my work without disturbances of much. All thanks to you my love.” She separated from you quickly and made her way to go claim Klee.

[keepingupwithpotters]

If you’re taking prompts

“You’re really warm.” and

“Come back to bed. Please” for jily pls??

I am laughing at for jily like I'm capable of writing for anything else. I promise you, even if it is about two unrelated characters, I'll find a way to make it about jily

Also finally put the drabbles on ao3 as promised so you can read this there as well

Fretting over Lily Evans was nothing new for James, but this time might’ve put him to his early grave after all.

He touches her forehead discreetly, trying not to disturb her sleep. She went in and out of her slumber all night, giving him a scare half the time with her nonsensical mumblings. He doesn’t recall when exactly he fell asleep too, not long ago according to the rising sun, but that’s how he finds himself next to her now.

Blinking his eyes woozily, he gives himself permission for a moment of bliss before jumping into action, pretending they are lying side by side not because she is burning like a furnace, but like he always wakes up next to Lily, this hair tickling his shoulder not unusual.

He can only guess what prompted her to call him last night. A bitter part of him thinks it’s because she knew he would come running, no questions asked. It’s hard to ignore that part when that was exactly what he did, probably before he even hung up the phone. There is, of course, always the chance that it was the side effect of her running fever. One should not underestimate it, he learned that firsthand all through the night.

The pretense falls apart when he feels Lily’s skin, panic rising inside him all over again. He has spent the whole night trying to make sure her temperature didn’t pass 40 degrees, hand ready over his phone for the minute it did. It feels like it has risen again, her cheeks flaming bright to prove his insight right.

“Aren’t you gonna kiss my forehead?”

She startles him, with the question or her half open eyes smiling dozily at him, he doesn’t know.

“Why would I take advantage of the ill, Evans?”

Her smile gets softer, fonder. “That’s how my mom used to take my temperature.”

He’s never been able to say no to that smile.

She closes her eyes with the kiss, looking content and peaceful, not at all like the bedridden patient she is supposed to be. He lingers one second longer than necessary.

He has forgotten the purpose of the act until she looks at him expectantly, waiting for his verdict.

“You’re really warm.”

She doesn’t care for his furrowed brows or less than satisfactory explanation when she snuggles into him, purring, “Thank you, so are you.”

“That was not a compliment, Evans.” He tries to hide the fact his breath hitches when she burrows her face in his neck. “That means I am doing something very, very wrong. Are you sure you don’t want me to call anybody else?”

Her hold on him tightens even further if possible. She sounds like a petulant child when she whines her refusal. He can imagine, and feel, her pout.

He tries to untangle himself from her, but she looks so offended by his actions that he feels the need to explain himself. “I need to wet these rags again, and you need to eat some breakfast so you can take your antipyretics.”

She opens her mouth to say something, another refusal going by her displeased expression, but he jumps from the bed before she can tempt her more.

He goes to the bathroom first, thinking maybe some cool water would do him good too. She is already asleep by the time he comes back, hand reaching out to where he once laid on the bed. He places the damp clothes on her forehead with a grin, letting it take over his face while she is not able to see it. The pills he found when he rummaged through her medicine cabinet are put on her nightstand, waiting for his arrival with some food.

Preparing some eggs and toast helps him gather himself a little more, the habitual routine putting his brain on autopilot. The morning feels like something out of James’ dreams with Lily cuddling him in the bed and him making her breakfast, he finds it necessary to remind himself the true nature of the situation as he fills a glass of water for her.

She is awake when he enters the room, following his motions silently as he puts the plate on her side too. He is just about to sit on the chair by her bedside when she stops him with a hand on his arm.

“I promise I’ll eat something in a minute. Can you just… come back to bed? Please?”

His will already weakened since he woke up, he finds that it crumbles completely when he hears her voice so weak, tone so pleading. He lays down on his previous place without saying anything, her head finding his shoulder immediately.

A small hand traces patterns on his chest, nails tickling the heart underneath with every swoop. They could probably live in that relaxed bubble forever if the question nagging inside him just hadn’t popped out unexpectedly.

“Why did you call me yesterday, Lily?”

The finger drawing flowers, stars, and initials never stops its movement. “Because I had a high fever, and I didn’t want to go to the ER.”

“No. I mean, why did you call me?”

He holds his breath in anticipation of her answer, and she stills momentarily too before shaking out of her stupor. “I wanted to be with you.” Her voice sounds so small. “I always want to be with you, you know that.”

There is relief ballooning inside him with her words, mixed with something he dares not name. He hums softly as a response, neither denying nor confirming her assumption.

“We can stay in bed for one more minute, then I’m gonna make you eat that breakfast, Evans.”

“Two, because you just took advantage of a sick person’s honesty and I deserve it.”

“Deal.”

He’ll let her pretend like he won’t do anything she asks for. They both know it’s a lie anyway.

[sunnyville36]

Mamihlapinatapai {part 5}

I am so excited to share the last part of this story with you.  It means so much to me to be able to share my work and have people enjoy it, so thank you to everyone who has read this little fic.  Huge shout out to the extremely talented @fizzydrink698 for being an inspiration to my writing and an all-around sweet and supportive human.  And the biggest thank you of all to my beta reader, @harry-on-broadway, for being the most encouraging and wonderful friend, without whom I never would have had the confidence to write this, let alone put it out into the world. 💜

Hope you enjoy the finale of Mamihlapinatapai.

Need to catch up? {overview} {part 1} {part 2} {part 3} {part 4}

Pairing: Bang Chan x Female Reader

Themes: royal au, medieval au, court intrigue, arranged marriage, original characters, mutual pining, slow burn

Warnings: smut, emotionally abusive parents, usage of degrading names

Rating: Mature

Word count: 6k

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

As Soft As Petals  |  Kingdom of Gu, present day

It was late into the evening, maybe even so late it was actually early, and you were standing outside the prince’s door, frantically knocking on it.

“Y/n, what’s happened?!  Is everything alright?”

You walked straight into the room, not even bothering to wait for Chan to invite you in.

“It’s my mother.  I can’t find her anywhere.  I assumed she went with a separate wagon party the way she came when we left Lajor, but everyone in the servants’ quarters says they haven’t seen her in hours and I’ve looked everywhere I can think of and - “

“Shh, shh, Y/n calm down, it’s alright,” Chan said, taking your hands in his.  You were full on hyperventilating at this point, your body starting to physically shake with worry.

“I-I just… these past few weeks I almost lost you and then we almost went to war and I can’t handle not knowing where she is.  I just can’t imagine what I’d do if she - ” your voice caught in your throat, unable to bring yourself to say your worst fear.

“I know, I know, but it’s going to be alright,” Chan soothed.  “I’m sure she’s fine and we’ll find her, but you are in no state now to continue looking for her.  Why don’t I ask a few of the guards to keep searching the palace grounds, and I’ll send a rider to Lajor to make sure she would have made it back with us?”

You looked up at him.  “You would do that?”

“Of course, Y/n, this is your mother we’re talking about.  We’ll do everything we need to until you know she’s safe,” he said, guiding you gently with him towards the door, knowing you wouldn’t want to let go of his hand based on the vice-like grip you currently had on it.  He leaned his head out into the hallway, calling for one of the guards stationed at the end and relaying what he wanted done to continue the search for your mother.  All the while you were watching him with an expression of awe and gratitude.  It still surprised you, how he seemed to know exactly what you needed, and even more so that he was willing to do whatever it took to do it for you.  He walked you back into the room, taking the both of you to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Thank you,” you breathed out, still catching your breath from your moment of distress.

“You don’t need to thank me,” he said gently, leaning down, his lips ever so slightly grazing the crown of your head.

You felt a shiver run through you.

“Your Highness,” you lifted your head to say something, hoping to avoid talking about what he had just done, but were stopped in your tracks by the look on his face.

“I was actually hoping to see you tonight.  I need to tell you something, Y/n.  And you might not like what I have to say, but I can’t keep denying it for the rest of my life.  These last few weeks have shown me that I can’t take anything for granted, so I intend to stop right now.”  He paused and stood up, giving you room to stop him if you wanted, but when you remained silent he took that as permission to keep going.

“I’m in love with you.  I think I always have been.  I’m in love with the way you hum that same silly tune to yourself when you’re doing chores.  How you can read a map of any terrain, how you’re not afraid to correct me when I make a mistake while drilling our sword fighting techniques.  I’m in love with the smile you get on your face when you ride through the woods and the way your hair looks when the light shines on it through the trees.”

You were aware your mouth was slightly open, your eyes staring at Chan like a dumbstruck deer, but you couldn’t quite wrap your head around the words he was saying.  You’d always known you still had feelings for him, and could only dream he reciprocated those same feelings.  But hearing him say all the little things you didn’t even notice about yourself, hearing him say he loved you for those things, your mind was at a loss for what to do.

“I love how you care for our people, how you always have their best interests at heart.  How you would be willing to never speak about these feelings I know we both share so as to not jeopardize your ability to serve me, to serve them.  But most of all I love that you see me.  Not the statesman or the fighter or the ruler, just me.”

You made up your mind then.  To hell with the king’s threats, with the questions your mother had asked you about responsibilities and sacrifices.  You had been making the greatest sacrifice of all for the last sixteen years, but no more.

You launched yourself at him, his arms wrapping around you immediately and your lips meeting his.

It was somehow exactly like that night five years ago and nothing like it at all.  You’d both grown in experience since then, having had other partners over the years.  Your lips moved smoother against one another’s, and it was more passionate than it was gentle.  But you felt that same feeling of euphoria glowing inside you, knowing that you were here with him and he was here with you and you were both finally admitting to what you’d always felt but never dared to acknowledge.  You felt yourself sinking into him, willing to let the tide of his love carry you away if it meant you could stay in this moment forever.  Your lips parted from his, Chan titling your head up to look at him.

“I need to hear you say it.  I need to know that you love me, too.”

You took his face in your hands, willing your voice to convey how sincere you were.

“I love you Chris.  I love the way your hair is always ruffled in the morning and that you sing to yourself when you think no one can hear.  I love how you take three cubes of sugar with your tea instead of two.  I love your determination to better yourself and your dedication to better your people.  I love that you have always treated me as an equal.  I love your dimples and your eyes and the way you make me feel safe when my hand is in yours.”  You brought your thumb up to wipe away a single tear that was sliding down his cheek, his eyes shining as he listened to your words.  “It has always been you, Chris.  It will always be you.”

He smiled then, that same blinding smile that had bound you to him from the day you met.  He kissed you again, then began moving his lips down the side of your neck, your head tilting back to allow him more skin.  His hand reached back and in a few quick motions the laces of your bodice were loose enough for your dress to fall off your shoulders.  He kissed downwards over your chest, and your breath hitched as the dress moved lower and lower, eventually dropping to the floor, leaving you almost bare for him.

Your hands came up to thread through his hair as you mocked, “You are entirely too clothed for my liking, Your Highness.”

At that, Chan whipped his shirt over his head, exposing his soft skin and toned abs, then pulled you to him, tone light but face serious. “I never want to have to hear you call me that ever again.”

“Chan,” you laughed, lightly smacking his chest, “what we’re doing right now is staying confined to this room; I’ll still have to call you that in front of everyone else.”

“Fine,” he all but growled, “I will settle for never hearing it in this room.  For now.”  His lips returned to pressing featherlight kisses to your jaw and found your sweet spot below your ear.  A sigh escaped your lips as Chan lifted you up and placed you under him on the bed, your hands roaming over his shoulders and back as he shed the rest of his clothes and removed the final layer separating you from him.  You could feel his hardness against your dripping core and you looked down, holding in a moan when you saw how big he was.

“Ah ah ah,” the prince purred, “I don’t want you to hold anything back tonight.  I have waited so long to have you like this, and I want to hear every sound that falls from your lips.  I want to know how good I make you feel, Y/n.”

Even if you’d wanted to, you couldn't hold back the sinful sound that left you as he brought his mouth to suckle and nip at your breast, his hand reaching down to rub the pads of his first two fingers against your heat.  Slowly, he increased the pace and the pressure as he kissed down your body, bringing his head between your thighs.  You moaned when you felt his tongue lick a long, languid stripe up your core, then brought your hands to tangle in his hair as he stroked small circles against your sensitive bud.  Desperate for him, you pulled his head back up to meet yours, back arching as you whimpered, “Please Chris.”

He lined himself up with your entrance and slowly pushed in, the feeling of him against your walls far better than you’d ever imagined.  Being this close to him, feeling his cock reach places inside you you hadn’t known could feel this good, the intimacy was almost overwhelming, so you clung to him, reveling in the feeling of being with the man you loved.

“How did I get so lucky?” Chan was whispering, praises falling from his lips.  “Fuck Y/n, you’re so beautiful, an angel, my perfect girl.  Taking me so well, like you were made for me.”

“I was,” you breathed out, “all of me is yours Chris, only yours.”

His thrusts increased then, both of you teetering on the edge of your highs.  You captured his lips in another burning kiss, sealing your love as the ecstasy coursed through you both.  You laid there for a few moments, relishing the weight of his body on yours and the quiet sound of his heartbeat.  Then Chan rose and fetched a cloth to clean you both, your body already starting to succumb to the pleasant exhaustion.

When he returned to the bed you heard his voice whisper one last I love you before you drifted off in his arms.

Runaway  |  Kingdom of Miroh, 28 years ago

The girl had been running for two days.

She’d prepared her knights and her attendant, told them the story she’d fabricated for them to repeat, and paid them handsomely for the trouble she was surely causing them.  Her parents would be frantic, but eventually they would mourn her and move on.  The kingdom would survive without her; in fact, it had to, because she knew nothing would ever make her return, force her to take on a responsibility she never asked for nor wanted.

Only five more miles to the border, she thought.  Then I can start over, be whoever I want to be.

By the time she reached the marker for Gu, she could barely stay upright, having taken as little rations with her as she dared.  She wandered across, hoping some small border town would be close by where she could eat, maybe get some rest.  After another few miles some buildings started to pop up, small cottages and what looked like a market and an inn.  The girl squinted at the prices on the inn’s sign, trying to remember the conversion rate of the currency she’d brought with her.

“Hey!  I saw you come in to town; you look a little lost.  Can I help you find anything?”

The girl realized the voice was talking to her, and turned to see a boy about her age, maybe seventeen, tall with shaggy brown hair, looking at her curiously.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the boy said.  “It’s just… you seem to be having a little trouble reading the sign and I-I’m uhh... pretty good with numbers; I could help you, if you’d like?”

“Oh umm… yes… p-please… thank you.”

The boy walked closer, the girl showing him the money she had so he could count out the equivalent of the price.  “So, is your family visiting from Miroh?”

The girl balked at his perceptiveness.  Despite all her planning, she hadn’t thought about what she would tell anyone when they asked for her story.  She tried to come up with something quickly, stumbling over her words.  “Umm no, m-my parents are… they’re uhh… they died.”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry to hear that,” the boy said, looking at her sympathetically, and the girl felt like he really meant it.

“Well, umm, here’s what you’ll need for a night’s stay here,” he continued, handing her back the money.  “If you want I can show you a good place to eat that’s close by; you look like you could use a hearty meal.”

Despite knowing him for all of two minutes, the boy seemed trustworthy.  And he was right, she could definitely use some nourishment.

“That sounds nice,” she answered.

“Great!” the boy said, stepping down from the inn’s doorstep and walking towards the village center, the girl following.  “I’m Minhyuk, by the way.  What’s your name?”

“My name’s Julietta.”

Revelations  |  Kingdom of Gu, present day

You awoke, startling for a moment at the unfamiliar surroundings until you remembered what had happened the previous night.  Smiling to yourself, you turned in the sheets, expecting to see Chan laying beside you, but you were met with emptiness on his side of the bed.  You frowned, scooting over and feeling the spot still warm from his body.

He must have only just left, you thought.

You glanced over and noticed a small note sitting on his bedside table, letters written in his artful penmanship.  You picked it up, eyes running over the words.

Good morning my love.  How I wished to have you wake up in my arms, but I’ll only be gone for a few minutes.  I’ve gone to speak with my father about something, and when I return, the whole kingdom will be able to hear my name spoken by your beautiful voice. 

A wave of dread washed over your entire body, threatening to pin you to the spot where you sat.

Chan knew his father could be cold, knew he was a callous man who cared for little more than his own self-interest and what he deemed acceptable.  But you knew he’d always believed maybe he could change the king, could open his heart to the same degree Chan and his mother had shared.  You, however, never saw the man through such rose-colored glasses, having been the recipient of his threats and intimidation too many times to believe he could be redeemed.  And your beloved prince was about to find out the true depths of his father’s loathing towards the relationship you shared.

You sprung into action, body moving without thinking as you dressed in last night’s clothes and ran from his chambers, heading to the throne room.  Maybe you could reach him in time, spare him the pain of hearing his father’s rejection.  You’d have to convince him you didn’t want to bring your relationship public, and he’d be hurt, devastated, but it would be nothing compared to the anguish of what he was about to bring on himself.  Or the punishment he was about to unknowingly inflict on you.

Chan was nowhere to be seen in any of the hallways leading to the throne room.  Your feet moved faster, desperately trying to prevent what was about to happen.  But when you burst through the thick oak doors, you saw Chan kneeling at his father’s feet.  Both men looked up to face you, Chan’s expression one of blissful optimism, his father’s one of knowing anticipation.

You were too late.

“Hello, Y/n,” the king said darkly, mouth morphing into a sneer.  “You already know what he’s asked me, don’t you?”

“Your Majesty… please...”

You shuddered at the sound of your own voice, tone betraying your agony, your fear.

“You never told him, did you?” he questioned, the trace of pity in his voice making you all the more uneasy.

“How could I?” you sighed.

The king nodded contentedly, then motioned for the guards on either side of you.  You felt their hands capture your arms, body going all but slack in their hold.  You couldn’t find the strength to fight anymore.

Chan had stood up and was now looking frantically between you and his father.  “What is the meaning of this?!” he asked, tone laced with bewilderment and shock.

“I’m sorry Chris,” you murmured, heart breaking at the look on his face.

“Christopher,” King Bang said, standing and approaching his son, “do not fear.  I will take care of this disobedient whore and then you will be free of her influence.  I should have never let her remain for as long as I did, look what it has done to you, my ingenuous boy.”

You felt it, the moment Chan realized what his father was implying.  His whole body shifted, backing away from Geun as he spoke, voice void of emotion.

“What did you just say?”

For once the king seemed genuinely surprised, eyebrows raising and voice the tiniest bit unsteady as he answered, “I-I mean, certainly that’s the only reason you would ever come to me with this request.  Clearly this woman has convinced you to denounce what I’ve taught you about tradition, about knowing one’s place, through what means I dare not say; but I don’t blame you Chris, this is my fault.”

Chan stopped moving then, having almost reached your side.  His face contorted into an expression of dismay, of grief, as he shouted.

“Are you really so ignorant, so far removed from reality, that you think my actions are a sign of disloyalty?!  Of neglecting my responsibilities?!  Because they are nothing of the sort.  And even if they were, Y/n would not be responsible for convincing me to do anything.  Your outdated principles and misguided sense of your own virtuosity could have done that on their own!  You were blind to a plot happening in your own palace because of your desire to have me bend to your will, but I won’t let you do it anymore.”

He turned, ordering the guards, “Release her, now!”

“You will do no such thing,” the king’s enraged voice rang out.  “Christopher, you will never get my permission for this.”

He turned back to Geun, eyes furious but voice calm.

“I was not asking, father.  I will marry her.  And I am not betraying you, or our kingdom, or our traditions.  And I’m not doing it because she seduced me.  I’m doing this because I love her.  Because she supports me, and cares for me, and knows our people intimately, probably better than I do.  And because, for my whole life, she has been the only person besides Mother who has ever truly loved me for who I am.  So you’ll have to throw me in prison too if you intend to stop me, because I refuse to be here without her.”

“No!” you yelled, straining against your captors, energy rushing back to your body at his words.  “No, Chris please, you have to let me go!  I’m so grateful we had last night; it was the best night of my life and always will be.  I knew the consequences I might face, and getting to tell you how much I love you was worth every one, but you were never supposed to suffer because of me.  I can’t let you do this.”

Your pleas were interrupted by a herald entering the room.

“Your Majesty - “

‘WHAT?!” King Bang whirled on him, outrage blatantly evident on his face.

While the king was distracted, Chan shoved the guards away from you and took your shaking form into his arms, cradling your head against his chest.  “Y/n, you’ve protected me and sacrificed for me my entire life.  Let me be the one who takes care of you now.”

His whispers stopped when you heard the announcement of the herald.

“His Majesty King Peter Soleil of Miroh is here with his wife, Queen Margaery, as well as one of our palace servants, Julietta, Your Majesty.  They are insisting on an audience with you.”

“Your mother?” Chan questioned, meeting your equally confused face with his own.

The king glanced to where the pair of you stood, rolling his eyes obnoxiously.  “Fine, bring them in.  Let these two have their last embrace before I rid us of her presence.”

The herald opened the doors, and there stood your mother, dressed in a beautiful gown you could tell was made for royalty.  She entered, followed closely by the king and queen of Miroh.  You’d seen them a few times over the years at various palace functions.  They seemed like steadfast and benevolent leaders, reflected in their small kingdom’s reputation for nonviolence and generosity.  In fact, the only turmoil you could remember them being involved in was the disappearance of the crown princess, several years before you were even born.  Not much was known about the circumstances of the disappearance, but it was said the king and queen had never given up hope of finding her.

They came to a stop in the middle of the room, the sovereigns flanking your mother.  Looking at the three of them, you couldn’t deny the resemblance of your mother to the elder two people, and a memory stirred in the back of your mind.

“King Peter, Queen Margaery,” King Bang addressed them tersely, “I would say I am pleased to see you but I am at this moment engaged in a personal matter and would like very much to return to it.  If you could please explain why you have one of my palace servants here with you playing dress up, I would appreciate your cooperation.”

“Certainly,” came King Soleil’s placid reply.  “We are here on a personal matter as well, one that Julietta, and indeed Y/n, are involved in.”

Chan’s arms tensed around you, preparing to defend you against any allegation, any harm or threat or danger to your wellbeing.  But, as had happened once before in that very room, no one was prepared for what the Mirohan king said.

“You see, Julietta is our daughter.  Almost thirty years ago, she left our kingdom, because she felt trapped in a life we had not prepared her for.  Her mother and I should have supported her, should have taught her to confide in us, but we were very different people then, and different rulers too.  We would have done what you are attempting to do to your son, forced her to betray her own self to mold to our will.  However, when she left, we saw how wrong we were, and vowed to do better.  Now, Julietta has come back into our lives for the sake of her daughter, our granddaughter, Y/n.”

Every set of eyes in the room was trained on you, your own frozen wide in disbelief at what was happening.  King Bang seemed to be at a loss for words, having fallen back into his seat on the throne.  Your mother left her parents’ side and walked to you, smiling tentatively.  Chan reluctantly released his hold on you as she took your hand and brought you to stand with her away from the others.

“My dear, I know how much of a shock this must be to you, and I am sorry, so very truly sorry for never telling you,” she said quietly.  “But I was ashamed… When I ran away, I did what I thought I needed to do at the time.  Looking back it may have been reckless, irresponsible and selfish even.  But most importantly, it had been my choice.  And I took that from you, the ability to choose what path you wanted in life.  I thought we would be better off away from the life I grew up in, and for a while we were, with your father.  But when he died, I was adrift and had no idea what to do and somehow we ended up back in a palace and at the whim of an arrogant king, but this time without even an inkling of the power I once held.  I thought about returning with you to my parents then, but how could I be sure you wouldn’t resent me for forcing you into the life I had tried so desperately to escape?  I struggled with my choice for years, until eventually I saw that you were happy with your training with the prince, getting to do all the things you used to do with your father that would have been scorned had you been the one in the boy’s position.  But then I saw the signs of your feelings for him, your realization of the insurmountable barriers that would prevent you from being together, the way you resigned yourself to unhappiness.  I knew I could do something about it, but I had to be sure you were ready to accept the responsibilities that would come with having the ability to be with the man you loved.”

You looked up at her, recalling your conversation at the coronation, and she nodded.  “I am sure now.  Which is why I went back to Miroh, back to my parents and the position I despised a lifetime ago.  Because if I can give you the ability to make this one choice, maybe I can make up for all the other mistakes in my life.”

“Mother... “ you started, wanting to tell her you understood her choices, that you didn’t think they were all a mistake, but were quieted by her hand on your cheek.

“I know you are quick to forgive, just like your father, but let me take responsibility for this.”

You looked back at your grandparents.

“They won’t force you to accept,” Julietta said.  “That was my one condition.”

Your head was spinning with the onslaught of new information.  Searching the room, your gaze locked with Chan’s, reading the utter adoration in his eyes that you knew mirrored your own.  You knew his father would never accept your relationship at your current status.  And despite feeling confident you wanted a chance to make an impact as a ruler, you didn’t know everything about what it would mean to take on this responsibility.  But there was one thing you were absolutely certain of.

You turned back to your mother, squeezing her hand.  “Thank you.”

She led you back to the group, your hand linking with Chan’s as you came to stand beside him and your grandparents.

“We are aware of the young people’s affection for each other…” King Soleil began, but King Bang seemed to have recovered himself enough to realize what the other was about to say.

“That girl will NOT marry my son!”

“Geun,” your grandfather warned, “that girl is my granddaughter, a Mirohan princess.  I strongly suggest you watch your tone when you speak about her in front of me, or anywhere for that matter.  Now, it was already quite unreasonable to want to prevent your son from marrying a woman he loves, but it would be wholly irrational of you to deny a match for the prince to the heir apparent to the throne of Miroh, wouldn’t you say?”

You stood up straighter, feeling Chan’s hand tighten around yours.

The king was silent for a while, but finally gave an acquiescent sigh.  “Very well.”

The two of you smiled but kept your composure, bowing to the king and turning to your grandparents.  They pulled you both in for a hug as you thanked them, saying they were eager to get to know their new grandchildren, and your heart skipped a beat at those words.  You didn’t hear anything else after that, your focus entirely mesmerized by Chan who was pulling you towards the door, your pace quickening before breaking into a run as you left the castle, heading for the stables.  You rounded the building first, then felt him reach around your waist as he gathered you in his arms and spun you around, laughing his brilliant laugh and pulling you close to him as he placed you back on the ground by the pond.

“Does this mean I have to call you “Your Highness” now?” he asked, giggling at your stunned face from the use of the term.

You playfully put your hands up to shove him, but he captured them in his own, kissing your knuckles and bringing your palms to rest on his chest.  You could feel his heart beating as you knelt your head to meet his and heard his soft voice ask.

“Y/n, will you marry me?”

You had never been happier to say yes.

Epilogue  |  Kingdom of Gu, 1 year later

You were standing in front of the mirror, your mother behind you pinning your hair into an extravagant twist when a joking voice came from the door.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”  You turned to see the smiling face of the queen of Lajor.

“Korenna!” you exclaimed, dancing happily in place, too afraid to move while your mother continued her styling as your friend came to sit next to you.

“You look stunning, Y/n, truly.  Chris is going to lose it when he sees you.”

Chris, your mind echoed lovingly.  You’re marrying Chris today.

“And how come I don’t get a hello from my favorite little princess?” you teased.

“Paige is a bit preoccupied practicing her petal tossing abilities with her Uncle Felix,” her sister responded.  “She definitely has the upper hand in technique, but I’m not sure who looked cuter in the flower crown.”

“Speaking of flower crowns,” your mother said, turning you to face her, “Chris left this for you.”

You looked down at her hands where she held a sealed letter, on top of which rested a single wildflower.

Your mother saw the tears prick in your eyes and started to gather up her things, motioning to Korenna.  “Let’s give Y/n a moment before the ceremony while we - Oh! Your Majesty, my apologies, I didn’t see you there.”

You turned to see King Bang milling awkwardly at the entrance of the room.  Putting the gift from Chan down, you ushered your mother and Korenna out then came to sit in front of his father.

The two of you had avoided each other as much as possible over the last year, which hadn’t exactly been hard since you had moved with your mother to Miroh to catch up on all the instruction you’d missed these past twenty-three years.  You’d seen him at the Four Kingdom Competition and at various dinners and balls, but Chan always made it a point to keep you as far away from him as possible.  You weren’t going to complain about it to your fiance, but you’d almost wished he’d let the two of you talk, tension clearly still lingering between you.  And though this visit was unexpected, considering you were going to be family after today, now seemed just as good a time as any.

“What can I do for you, Your Majesty?”

“Actually, Y/n, I-I came here to apologize,” the king said, his voice sounding almost as taken aback as you felt.  “I have spent my whole life avoiding saying that phrase, but I realize now you are one of the few people I feel I really must say it to.”  He took a deep breath before he continued.  “I’m sorry for the death of your father, I’m sorry for my insults and threats over the years, and I’m sorry for trying to keep you and Christopher from being together.  I had no right to try to do that, whether you were noble-born or not.”  He paused, and you could tell it was getting harder for him to keep his voice steady.  “After my wife died… I had this blind rage I felt towards everyone, but especially towards you, and when I finally took the time to analyze it, I realized I had been jealous.  Jealous of your skill and your talent, but mostly jealous of my son’s devotion to you.  This year has shown me that I was wrong to think his love for you would turn him away from me or his responsibilities; in fact, his happiness at being with you has only strengthened our relationship and made him a more present, more thoughtful ruler.  So I came to apologize, and to thank you for bringing the light back to my son’s eyes.”

You were stunned, but grateful, and the king seemed to read that in the expression on your face.  “You don’t need to say anything,” he said, standing up and heading for the door, “I just wanted you to know.”

You stopped him before he could leave, placing a hand on his arm.  “Thank you.”

He nodded and shut the door, leaving you alone.  You turned your attention back to the envelope on the desk and gently opened it, unfolding the paper in one hand and holding the blossom in the other.

Y/n,

Since the beginning, my love for you has grown like the roots of a flower.  Even on this day, we are but tiny buds, only just beginning to sprout.  I look forward to every day we’ll spend in the garden, tending to our love until we reach full bloom.  And just as flowers slowly fade, may we grow old together, enjoying the memories of those sunny days when we used to ride through the meadows we planted.  Know that my love for you will remain long after our petals are reclaimed by the earth, my beautiful wildflower.

Yours forever,

Chris

You held back the tears threatening to spill down your cheeks, placed the flower in your hair behind your ear with trembling hands, and walked out to meet your mother standing at the entrance to the courtyard.

She took your arm in hers as you made your way to the aisle.  You saw Minho and Felix on the right, both grinning from ear to ear, and Korenna and Paige on the left, the younger’s sparkling dress and tiny braid matching the elder’s.  And in the center you saw Chan, looking to be on the verge of tears, but his blinding smile on full display.  Your mother walked you to him, your gown glinting in the light of the setting sun.  He took your hand in his and held it while the priest recited the hymns and blessed your marriage, pronouncing you husband and wife.

Later, while the celebration was in full swing inside the ballroom, the two of you made your way out to the balcony.  He took you into his arms, both of you swaying to the music floating out on the breeze.

“You look breathtaking tonight,” Chan whispered.

“You told me that earlier, Your Highness,” you responded, wiggling your eyebrows at the term he used to hate, recalling the conversation you’d had the first time you shared a dance on the balcony.

“I know,” he said smiling, catching on to your words.  “I wanted to tell you again.”

You pulled his lips to yours, kissing him before whispering, “We’re married.”

“I know that too,” he responded, the two of you giggling and bringing your foreheads together.  He reached up to tuck your hair that had come loose behind your ear, revealing the flower, and you let the feeling of peace wash over you, knowing you had a lifetime together.

“I love you, Chris.”

“I love you too, Y/n.”

{end}

[tobesobri]

When the Lights Go Out (Halloween fic; 8k)

𝖆/𝖓: first off, happy Halloween yall! This is my second favorite holiday and so I really wanted to get something up in celebration of it! I’ve talked a lot on here about having trouble with writing recently and so I do what I normally do with writer’s block and I just leave what I’m stuck on and go off to write something random, which is what this ended up being. So, my writing style is definitely different and maybe not great, but this is just for fun so I don’t care! I still hope you enjoy! There’s spookiness (not too much), enemies (frenemies) to lovers, pumpkin carving, smut, alcohol consumption, and giant skeletons 💀 (oh and Harry dressed as Tarzan 🥵)

my masterlist  🎃 my askbox

𝕸ost people’s Halloween traditions weren’t too complicated; usually involving cult-favorite scary movies—ranging from Halloweentown to Nightmare on Elm Street—handing out Snickers and Kit-Kats to tiny trick-or-treaters, or just getting wasted at a friend’s haunted house party down the street. Their friend group, on the other hand, opted for a pumpkin carving contest every year on Halloween at Jason Hallow’s house, and, yes, his favorite holiday is Halloween because of his last name. And so, a few years ago when they were all undergrads together, he began hosting the annual carving contest at his house, in which they all paired up and, at the end of the night, whichever pair’s pumpkin came out the best—as judged by Jason, the resident Jack O’ Lantern expert—won whatever candy was leftover. That and marathons of R-rated horror flicks as well as occasional breaks to go out in the neighborhood and scare some of the kids while dressed in terrifying monster masks and slightly drunk off their asses from too much Tennessee whiskey.

Jason’s house was, hands down, the place to be in their neighborhood. Everyone who came by always wanted to join in on their festivities, and one year, they’d been just drunk enough to let a few of-age neighbors join in. This year, though, it was different. The stakes were higher. They were competing not only for the candy, but also for the much envied twelve-foot tall skeleton Jason had found at Home Depot which currently sat in his front yard amongst his other outrageous decorations. The skeleton was definitely the most noteworthy and had been the center of plenty group photos from just about every one of his neighbors since he had brought it home and especially tonight. In fact, every time the doorbell rang and he greeted another group of kids in his gory doctor costume—because Jason was in med school after all—every one of them squealed about how much they liked his skeleton. And so it almost pained him to have to give it to one of his friends after tonight, but if he’s being honest, he has nowhere to store it—he’d purchased it completely on a whim—and next year they will compete for it all over again anyway.

Tonight is also different because Harry and Y/N are not getting along. They all knew this beforehand, but simply brushed it off until they realized it was much worse than anyone had imagined. They had a horrible friendship—if one could even call it that—ever since they’d met as freshmen pre-law students six years ago. Sometimes they got along, but mostly, they bickered non-stop at each other, which all their friends took as misguided flirting. They got along for about six months once, after a drunken hookup, until, of course, Y/N hooked up with someone else and set off the volcano that was their relationship all over again. It had been calm recently with both of them needing each other’s help through their vigorous law school studies. So, a truce had been made and they tolerated each other at best. Tonight, though, the monsters had truly been unleashed and neither one of them had stopped picking at each other since they’d arrived.

It began on the street, when Harry took the spot Y/N had wanted to park in. Then at the door, when he asked her how her midterms were going and she felt like stepping on his toes until she crushed them. Which was perfectly logical since his was barefoot and mostly naked in his stupid Tarzan costume he’d recycled about four times now since they’d all known each other. He only wore it when the weather was warm, as he claimed, but they all had a suspicion he wore it so that he could watch Y/N drooling over him all night.

She wasn’t innocent either, in his defense, at least not this year when she came dressed in a sexy Beetlejuice costume, something none of them ever thought was possible. But she made it happen. She wore a too-short black and white vertical striped t-shirt dress—which had rips in all the right places, particularly across her chest—and a pair of neon green boots that were Doc Marten knock-offs she had found online. Other than that, she had spray painted the front bits of her hair a grey-green color and did her makeup to match the theme, dark purple smokey eyes and a green color used as contour. It looked good, she looked good, not that Harry would ever say that out loud.

Jason’s entire living room and dining room floors were covered with plastic tarps. He’d set up the usual fold-away tables and chairs for everyone. It was an easy clean-up job that wouldn’t leave pumpkin guts smudged into his hardwood floors or, even worse, the beige carpet in his living room. And, as always, he had a line up of various pumpkins on his kitchen counter—and the necessary kit of carving tools—ready to go. They usually didn’t start until nine-thirty or ten, once everyone arrived and had a few drinks in them and they had all agreed on what movies to watch. This year was a marathon of The Conjuring franchise, because Jason had spent way too much money on a box set and he would not be wasting them. Nobody objected anyway because the movies held a sentimental value to all of them. Every year since the beginning when a new movie came out, they all managed to go see it together, and also cause a horrible ruckus in the theater. Although they’d almost been kicked out a couple times, it was still some of the best memories together they’d ever had.

There was also that one year, when Annabelle Creation came out and Y/N and Harry were getting along on account of the LSATs, that they’d secretly gone home together. And then, of course, pretended it never happened.

That had been the second time they slept together, the second time she’d woken in his bed, with Harry’s annoyingly toned arm wrapped all the way around her, and the last as well because Harry got into a serious relationship their first year of law school and that had been the end of things.

Well… not completely the end. At least not until tonight.

“Okay we’re getting started!” Jason announced over both the music and the television, which someone turned down before Jason continued. He stood, wobbling, on one of the foldable chairs, for no other reason than the bottle of vodka in his hand. He was teetering on the edge sobriety and really didn’t give a fuck if he fell off. “Y’all know the drill! Isa’s handing out the cards. No whining. No trading. Or you’ll be disqualified.”

The cards in question were riddles that they had to match up with the answer. Half of them got the riddle card, the other half an answer card and that would determine who their partner was.

Y/N both wanted Harry as her partner and detested the idea at the same time. She was all for it because, well, he was hot dressed in nothing but his small piece of brown loincloth fabric hanging loosely on his hips. But at the same time, she knew they wouldn’t win together and she really wanted that skeleton.

The riddles were all hand-made by Jason on his computer and then laminated in his girlfriend’s school’s teacher lounge however many years ago. They all knew every answer to every riddle by now, but it was still a much more fun way to pair up than picking names out of a hat.

Y/N read her riddle twice, having absolutely no recollection of the answer to it, however—which was probably due to the alcohol she’d consumed herself within the past hour. She wasn’t all to blame, though, Harry had a lot to do with it too. She was still mad at him, for what she wasn’t sure, but she also could not stop herself from stealing glances at him and the only way to stop feeling so many confusing things about Harry was to drown it all away.

She read her riddle one last time: The person who built it sold it. The person who bought it never used it. The person who used it never saw it. What is it?

Her brain felt like mush after the third read and she hoped someone would find her first and give her the answer. She peeked around at people’s cards as they all tried to find their pair, some of them meeting up immediately and getting the prime pick of the pumpkins. It had dwindled down to just a few of them and she finally waltzed herself up to Harry, grabbed his card from his hand without his permission and read it.

In bold, 16-point Helvetica font, it read: A coffin.

Of course.

She rolled her eyes, shoving his card against his stupid bare chest and groaning audibly. “Figures I’m stuck with you.”

When she finally looked up at him, though, she wasn’t all that upset about her odds as she pretended to be. Not with the way his face set into a devilish, wicked, up-to-no-good look that made her want to rip him from the room and rip his useless Tarzan costume off too while she was at it.

He had also been drinking, which was made even more clear when he opened his mouth. “You’ll always be stuck with me.” And then he leaned in a little bit, his smirk widening and his eyes darkening and the sweet smell of vodka on his tongue strengthening, “Forever.”

She hated the buzzing in her stomach he caused, and hated that she liked knowing they probably would, at the very least, know each other for the rest of their lives. It had already been six years since they met and she still hadn’t managed to shake him off. And now they were finishing up law school together and getting offers to work at the same firm together. There would be no escaping him, not that she really wanted to.

The only time she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him was when he had a girlfriend. She hated seeing him in her classes, in her study groups, her circles, at her internship. He was always there, though, rubbing it in her face as she had once done to him. Hers was just a dumb hookup, partially just to spite him, and his was… well he dated the girl for entire year before they broke up and he seemed genuinely heartbroken over it. It had been serious, and Y/N had been seriously miserable the entire time. Even more so when she found out they’d split up and she just about threw a party while Harry moped around campus. She couldn’t help it, though, she’d liked him ever since they met, but then they just sort of… didn’t get along all the time.

She knew he liked her too, at least a little bit, or he’d never have slept with her twice. How much he actually liked her though was still up for debate, and so she chose keeping their weird hate-love relationship over ruining all of it by admitting her feelings for him. Plus, she liked working with him and getting his help on exams and papers too much to ruin that as well.

Y/N grabbed the third to last pumpkin, an unopened carving kit, and led the way to two lonesome chairs. They sat closest to the door, and farthest from the dining room and Jason, in their own little corner where they had enough room to stretch out given that no else had laid any claim on the other side of their table yet.

“So,” Harry began once they were settled and Y/N began opening the kit of tools, “what are we making?”

Before giving him an answer, she laid out all the tools on the table in front of them, next to their poor misshapen pumpkin, and then reached down into the side of her boot and pulled out a black sharpie; she’d learned a couple years back to start brining one. It might have been cheating, sketching her design beforehand, but Jason never outlawed it.

“I’m making Jason’s favorite Tim Burton character and you’re in charge of the guts.” She dictated confidently, slapping the sawing tool and the large orange plastic spoon in front of him so he could get started right away.

He eyed the tools for a moment, then the pumpkin, and then finally her. “Absolutely not. I’m not doing all the shit work while you do the fun stuff.”

“Thought you’d be used to that.” She half-mumbled, but he still heard her over the rest of the noise in the house. And, frankly, she was right. When they had interned together last year, she always handed off the demeaning tasks to him, like getting the coffee or making copies, while she did the much more interesting parts of the job. What she didn’t know was that she didn’t make him do anything. He always did it so she didn’t have to.  

He sat back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest, arms that her eyes—which were completely out of her control at that point—glued to immediately. He’d been working out ever since the break up and finally filled out the Tarzan costume a lot better. He’d always had a nice body, she knew that, but now… now he made her dizzy.

“I’m not doing it. Least not all by myself.”

She gave up then, mostly because she lost her will to argue against the pout of his lips and the flexing of his biceps—which weren’t ridiculously big, but they were subtle and modest and very much bigger than they had been this time last year when he’d dressed up as a shirtless baseball player. Most all of Harry’s costumes involved some level of nakedness and not much sense, but she didn’t complain too loudly. And his arms were definitely bigger now than they had been the last time she was in his bed and he was over her.

“Fine.” She groaned, grabbing the mini saw tool and then standing to begin carving a hole at the top of their pumpkin, around the stem. She made it big enough for them to be able to stick their hands inside, and then once she was finished, pulled the stem piece off and set it aside for later, chopping off some loose bits of pumpkin shreds first.

Despite his earlier protests, he was the first to dig into the pumpkin, standing as well and going hands first into the thing where he pulled out fistfuls and dumped it into a pile on the table. They went back and forth digging out the insides of the pumpkin until finally, Harry grabbed the spoon and really went in. And she didn’t even bother offering to help, and instead stared, again, at his stupid biceps and especially at his hands, which were slick from the pumpkin juice. She shuddered remembering where his hands had once been, and then pulled herself together remembering how long ago it had been and how very little interest he’d shown in picking up where they’d left off pre-girlfriend.

Once the pumpkin was fully gutted, they both sat again, and cleaned their hands off on the paper towels Jason had set up on each table.

She was the first to begin the process, sketching out the design with her sharpie of Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas. She’d carved the character before, but still needed a reference picture on her phone to get all the details right. And Harry watched her the entire time, memorizing her face for the millionth time while she concentrated, and sometimes he stared at her hands, too, hands he also found himself reminiscing over, to the point of needing to cross his legs so it wasn’t made visibly clear what he was thinking about. He was starting to regret recycling the Tarzan costume.

While they all worked, Jason answered the door and handed out candy about once every five minutes. The best part of their tradition wasn’t the pumpkin carving itself, but rather, the atmosphere. They loved the feeling, the adrenaline rush of it all. How messy everything would eventually get, how loud they all were. The anguished shouting when someone messed something up. The sounds of Thriller playing in the background mixed with the loud jump scares from the horror movies played all night long. It was heaven to any lover of Halloween (and they all loved Halloween).

She’d let Harry start the carving of the design, informing him what parts were staying and what parts needed to be cut away, before she ventured into the kitchen to grab them both a drink. On her way back, she paused for a moment, just watching Harry work over in their corner. The sight of him almost made her want to finally admit how she felt. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if he rejected her, at least then she’d know.

But then Zoe plopped down into her empty chair next to Harry and crushed everything back down like an aluminum can being recycled. She tossed back about half of her Smirnoff after Zoe had scooted closer to Harry and grazed her fingertips across his arm—the one he wasn’t using the carve the pumpkin. And at first, he ignored it, but then he set down the tool, pushed his hair back with his clean wrist and offered Zoe one of his annoying little smirks that Y/N always thought he saved just for her. But now, seeing him use it to flirt with Zoe, she felt stupid and betrayed. And stupid again for feeling betrayed.

She had no claim to him. She just had her memories, as inconvenient as they were at times. But that was nothing and it’d been so long that he showed any interest in her, in anybody, that for her to be jealous now was just pure selfishness. As much as she hated Harry sometimes, she still wanted to see him happy again.

Y/N made her way back slowly, eying what others were doing, until finally joining Harry again just as Zoe went back to her own pumpkin.

She was quiet for a moment, sipping on her drink, watching him as he got back to carving, before cleaning her throat as she finally said something, “What did Zoe want?” And she tried not to sound anything other than curious, but the way Harry glanced at her, with a raised brow, she knew she needed to be so much more subtle.

He took the other cup from her that she hadn’t drunk from and replenished his blood alcohol level. “She just asked me what I was doing after this.”

Instead of opening her mouth and being obvious, she just set her drink down and grabbed both the carving tool and the pumpkin from Harry to take over. He’d already done way more work than she had, so it was about time they switched anyway.

He eyed her curiously still, even though he allowed her to continue where he left off as he leaned back in his chair and took a break, downing what was left in his cup as she worked.

“You’re not jealous are you?” He finally asked, after a few moments to let his brain marinate in the alcohol in order to brave that question in the first place.

“No.” It was sharp. A piercing rejection he felt dig its claws deep into his heart. He couldn’t tell if she was lying or not, but if not, it hurt. More than he was willing to admit, even to himself. He wanted her to be jealous. He always did. That was part of the reason he’d gotten a girlfriend. And of course she was also part of the reason they broke up, if not all of it.

He nodded, “So it wouldn’t bother you if I went home with Zoe?”

He noticed her brief hesitation, when her hand stopped moving and she took in a breath of air, but then she settled again. “Doesn’t bother me what you do, Harry.”

Again, he nodded, still watching her just to get a sense of her reactions. Of course he had no plans on going home with Zoe. He just wanted to know. Where they stood. How Y/N felt about him. Whether she thought about their nights together as often as he did. When they were studying together and she’d shift her hair behind her shoulder and he’d get a whiff of her shampoo and be taken right back to one of those nights, and the nights that came after that when he got lost in that scent on his pillows until it eventually dissipated and left him craving more.

He tried again. One last time. If he still didn’t get the response he was hoping for, then he’d give it up and leave her alone. So, he sat forward, crossing his arms on top of the table, close enough to her now that the buzzing in her stomach reappeared even though she never braved a single glance at him. He was close enough that the smell of his cologne overtook the odor from the pumpkin. Close enough that she felt his breath on the side of her face when he spoke.

“So, I’ve just been imagining the way you’ve been looking at me all night then?” His voice was just above a whisper, and soft, caressing her ears as the sound crept its way inside of her. As it seeped into all the places the alcohol had been, although Harry was always something way more potent than whiskey or tequila. He made her head spin, made her feel everything and nothing at the same time. Made her heart flutter so much at times it hurt.

His words sunk in and all her motions stopped as she froze in place. She stopped carving their pumpkin, stopped blinking, stopped breathing. Staring blankly at their half-finished design until he was wrung out from her system completely. That never really happened, though, because he was staring at her, watching her with those glinting, impatient eyes, waiting for an answer. There wasn’t even the familiar hint of a smirk or a bit of amusement on his face anymore, either, that might have calmed her nerves. Because at least if he seemed to just be messing with her, she could play that game with him, but this was different.

He leaned forward a bit, trying to get her to look at him, to say something, anything, really. He’d be satisfied enough with her lies at this point. But he also knew the absence of an answer alone was all he really needed. He didn’t feel like he was getting ahead of himself, seeing the way her body reacted to him, by assuming that she felt, at least somewhat, the same way he did about her. Because if she’d been the one to ask if she was imagining how he’d been staring at her all night, he wouldn’t deny it.

Just as she opened her mouth, just as she had gathered enough words to form a coherent sentence, the room went dark. Pitch black, actually. The lights all around them flickering off, the television going blank, the music cutting out. And once the startled gasps and dramatic, drunken yelling had subsided, they were left in a ringing silence, so completely opposite to what they had been moments ago that it was painful for their ears to adjust to.

“What the fuck?” They heard Jason’s voice in the darkness and then, finally, a bit of light as he turned his phone’s flashlight on.

“Did the power go out everywhere?” Someone else asked.

And while everyone panicked, all Harry cared and thought about was Y/N’s hand wrapped tightly around his own on his lap. He wasn’t exactly sure when she’d grabbed for him, but once he realized she was there, he didn’t really care too much about the lights anymore. What he did care about still, however, was whether she’d ever answer his question now. If he’d ever get to hear what she was about to say just before the darkness cut her off.

A few of them stumbled about, making plans to go outside and check on things while everyone else stayed inside and waited. The room went dark for a few more moments as Jason left, but then someone else turned their flashlight on, and shined them at the ceiling so that there was at least enough light so that they didn’t have to sit in complete darkness.

If it wasn’t Halloween, the power going out wouldn’t have bothered her so much. Outages happened happened all the time. But now, in the middle of the second Annabelle movie with all sorts of other spooky shit around them, she couldn’t help but be terrified and imagine the worst. Like… what if there was a killer on the loose who had cut their power. What if the killer was chopping up Jason and the others and then eventually heading inside to do the same to all of them?

“Hey,” Harry mumbled beside her, inching closer and rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand, realizing she’d grown tense when her grip on him had tightened. “You alright?”

Hearing his voice again, she let out a breath of air and tried to relax. She watched way too many scary movies and this was most definitely not one of them. Just a power outage, possibly due to everyone being home and using lots of extra electricity on their lights and decorations. She had no reason to panic. Although it could be blamed on Harry as well, if he hadn’t made her an astronomical amount of nervous just before.

She nodded until she realized Harry couldn’t even see her very well. “I’m fine.” She finally affirmed, and, to his dismay, took her hand away from his.

They sat in their own silence for a while, listening to the quiet conversations around them, particularly to Zoe and Julie who were trying to look up any information they could even though their phones were slow from the lack of Wi-Fi and service.

After a little while, she found his hand again in the dark, and this time, she wasn’t afraid from the power going out, but rather what she was about to say. Because if there was ever an opportunity to spill your guts to Harry Styles, it was in a dark room where his grassy green eyes weren’t all over you, sucking every ounce of courage from your bones.

Her voice was in a whisper, and she finally looked at him, or rather in his direction. To the outlines of his face, of his nose and his cheekbones. Even though she couldn’t find the green, she knew he was there, waiting, listening.

“You haven’t been imagining anything.”

She couldn’t quite see it, but his eyebrows had hit the ceiling and before he could question her further, she continued.

“I was miserable when you were seeing Liv and so fucking happy when you broke up.” Her voice shook, but she didn’t let that stop her, “And then miserable again because you didn’t want me. And maybe you still don’t, but it would really bother me if you went home with someone else.”

The quiet almost ate her alive for the next few seconds when he said nothing and she didn’t have his features to go off of. But then, she felt him getting closer until, finally, his lips were at her ear.

“I’ve always wanted you.”  

The buzzing was back but this time it was debilitating. Especially when he faced her and cupped his free hand along her jaw. And especially when he tilted her head back slightly to meet his lips, which had pretty good aim given their predicament. She missed the way he felt, she realized, once he was kissing her. Once he had scooted closer and released his hand from her grip on his lap. Once he grabbed up the other side of her face and pulled her closer. And then her hand was left to fend for itself on his thigh, and she, almost unconsciously, drifted her touch closer and closer and closer…

He moaned softly into her mouth when she toyed with the flimsy piece of fabric tied around his waist with her fingertips. And finally, she pulled apart from him, catching her breath before whispering, “Do you think they’d notice if we left?”

He shook his head, “Don’t think I care if they did.”

And so they were off. Trying not to draw too much attention to themselves even though she slightly tripped over the leg of the chair and he tried not to giggle too loudly while helping her. His hand fell into hers again as he led the way out of the living room, down the hall and into Jason’s guest room, closing them both off from any light source completely, not that they really cared too much about seeing each other; they just wanted to feel each other again.

And as soon as Harry had closed the door behind her, that’s exactly what they did. As she wrapped her arms around his neck; as he felt his way around her waist, he kissed her like he hadn’t kissed anyone in years. Like he was a dry, cracking desert and she was a vast river flowing through him.

He took brave steps towards the bed blindly, backing her up further into the dark room and managing to not trip over anything when he finally made it to the bed. They’d both, on separate occasions, spent the night in Jason’s guest room before, which helped when maneuvering around in the dark. For instance, Harry knew that Jason kept his secret stash of condoms in the bedside drawer. Harry had no idea why, but he was thankful for it right now, when, after laying her back on the bed, Y/N had already begun undoing his costume—with such quickness, he was sure she’d studied how the thing was connected to his body so that she knew exactly how to get if off if need be—and, within the next few seconds, tossed the flimsy Tarzan loincloth out of sight.

Which left him in just the black thong he wore underneath. If it were up to him, he wouldn’t have even bothered with it. But, when he had first gotten the costume and tried it on without anything, he imagined all the wardrobe slips and potential boners might not be in everyone’s best interests. So, he went out and bought the smallest pair of underwear he’d ever owned, tucked himself inside of them, and called it a day.

Those, too, were stripped from his body in a matter of seconds, or at least pushed down his thighs to where they no longer covered what they were intended to cover. But then she flipped them around, so that Harry was on his back this time, splayed across the bed and she was finally ridding him of the thong all together and not wasting any time getting her hands on him and he wondered, with how quick she was to get to this point, if she had been thinking about this all night. And if she had, then he would definitely have to whip out the Tarzan costume more often.

He seemed to sink into the mattress once he felt her mouth close on him, his eyes fluttering shut and his mouth hanging open involuntarily when he hit the back of her throat. He had no idea how he’d gone so long without her, or why either. Why had he been so stupid? Why did he let her think he didn’t want her? Why did he deprive the both of them of this? Of the way she felt circling her tongue around the tip of his cock, the way he knew she was looking at him even though he could physically not open his eyes or come down off his cloud long enough to tell her how good she felt. How much he missed it. How much he was probably in love with her, even if that might have been crossing some sort of line.

“Forgot how big you were,” she whispered, giggling almost shamefully after wiping her mouth on the back of her hand and giving him a break to actually breathe properly again.

“Think we both know that’s a lie.” He was out of breath already and he was right, although she wouldn’t feed his ego no matter what he said. Although she remembered his cock perfectly fine, she wasn’t exactly used to it. And maybe she had momentarily forgotten what he had hidden under his costume. It’d been two years since they slept together, and the first time it happened they’d been drunk.

She didn’t say anything else, just tried to hide the blush on her face—even though he couldn’t’ see it anyway—by taking a mouthful of him again. She didn’t let him come, though, of course, and he didn’t expect her to either. She never had before. She always led him get right to the edge, to where he was panting and writhing and digging his fingers into her hair, on the verge of screaming her name into the dark, and then she’d stop. Pull him from the back of her throat and leave him a sopping, moaning mess.

He’d somewhat recovered when she crawled on top of him and and sat on either side of his hips with her hands planted on his chest. And now that their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could see the curve of his lips as he smiled up at her and even the sinister little twist of his mouth just before he grabbed hold of the hem of her dress and ripped it off over her head, letting it fall onto the bed next to him. He wished they had just a little bit more light, but at the same time, it turned him on having to see with his hands instead. Having to reach up and cup her breasts in his palms and rely on his memories for a better visual than the one he currently had. And as she came down to kiss him again, there was one thing for sure he didn’t need any light or anything but his fingers to do.

He tossed her bra into the same vicinity as her dress and within seconds had his hands all over her again, and his tongue as well, wishing she was on her back so he could worship her in all the ways he desperately wanted to, but also aware that the power could flick on at any moment and he really didn’t have the time.

Not that she had asked, and maybe she just hadn’t thought of it yet, but he still, while continuing to make out with her, reached over, pulled the drawer open on the nightstand and reached inside to locate the box of condoms.

However, once he did, and he didn’t find what he was looking for, he sat up and pulled apart from her, twisting himself a bit in order to see inside the drawer. His other hand held onto her hips so she didn’t fall off of him as he searched the drawer. But, soon enough, he was laying back again, groaning as if he was in physical pain.

“There’s no condoms.” He muttered between his teeth and just that one little sentence ruined his entire night.

“It’s okay.” She assured, continuing to whisper just as he did so that no one would hear them through the thin walls. “I mean… we’re clean right? And I’m on birth control…”

He ran his fingers through his hair, looking up at her and trying to decide if it was a good idea or not. She was right, of course, but even so there was always a possibility. Even with condoms there was always that same possibility too. He knew one thing for certain. If he remembered correctly. There was absolutely no way in hell he’d be able to pull out, so that really wouldn’t even be an option either.

“If you don’t want to though, that’s fine.” She spoke again amongst his silence. It’s not like he would hate the potential consequences, and of course he would not hate feeling her without a stitch of anything in between them, he just needed to be reassured that’s what she wanted, truly.

“I do, just um… are you sure you’re okay with that?”

She nodded first and then, confidently, “Yes.” As she fell back into place over him, her lips came to his ear this time, “I want to feel you coming inside of me.”

His whole body shuddered, needing her more than he quite possibly ever had. And as she tucked her panties to the side and guided herself onto him, he would most definitely go outside and cut the lines himself if the power decided to come back on before they were finished.

“Forgot how wet you are…” He whispered, heart fluttering at the way she laughed while fucking him. He never forgot either, not quite. But feeling her again now, pooling around him, warm and snug, he again wondered why in the living hell he kept himself from her for so long. Sure, they didn’t like each other most of the time, but their first time together had been hot, drunk hate sex and ever since then he’d chased that feeling with other people, none of them ever quite adding up to her. He wondered if she thought the same. No one ever making her feel the way he did either. If, when she was with someone else, she thought of him instead.

He knew he wouldn’t last long the second she put her greedy hands on him, and so her being in control now was slightly dangerous. He wasn’t ready for it to be over, even if he was racing the clock, even if he could just take her home from here and do it all over again, properly. He didn’t want it to end as quickly as it started.

So, he flipped them back over, getting her on her back like he’d wanted to earlier. Slipping a pillow under her backside to get a better angle and letting her sink all the way through the mattress this time. He remained inside her the entire time, only making quick, shallow movements to avoid the sounds of their skin slapping against each other. But he gave up being careful about their noise level after she begged him to go faster, after he reached between them and rubbed his fingers over her clit to catch her up with him.

She tugged at his hair while he kissed her, breathlessly and without much of a second thought this time about how loud they were being. He assumed all their friends knew about them anyway, even if she chose to be ignorant to it. They all speculated about the secret hookups and the mindless flirting that was disguised as harmless bickering. So, he just stopped caring the closer and closer he got.

That was until he buried himself as far as he could inside of her, his hand wrapped around her throat the way he remembered her liking, and he felt the scream building beneath her skin, beneath his palm. Quickly, before her noises led to everyone barreling into the room to find out what was going on, he clasped his hand from her throat to her mouth instead. Holding tightly as she let it out, his eyes pouring into hers like a lake of shining emerald waters getting her to stay there in the room with him. So that she didn’t close her eyes and float away like he had before.

He titled her head to the side, kissed up her jaw to her ear. “Mm, I missed the way you sound.” He wanted to tell her how he thought about her pleads and her moans and her yells late at night when he was feeling particularly alone. When he wanted nothing but her, to either be inside of her, or to just have her there next to him. But all of that got caught in his throat, and instead, as he continued burying himself into her, he whispered like a growl in her ear, “Missed how well you take me.”

And although it made her moan, made her eyes cross and her fingernails scrape across his shoulder blades, he wanted to tell her that he missed how they fit together. How where he ended she began so seamlessly no one else could hardly compare. There had always been a seam with everyone else, with Liv, a visible divide between him and them, soldered together haphazardly. But with Y/N, it was smooth, flowing together as if they were the same person.

His hand slipped from her mouth as he began losing control, and soon she was the one having to cover the noises. Though, this time, she just simply pulled his lips to her own and felt all the vibrations escape from his throat against her skin, her teeth, her tongue. She breathed in nothing but the air from his lungs, and held onto his tightly as she began to unravel.

His moans quickened and quickened until she felt his release, warm and deep inside of her, just as her own gave way, until his body began to give out, until he was panting and no longer able to hold himself up over her. And so once they both descended from their cloud, once their wave had crashed onto the shore, he planted himself beside her, their chests in rhythm as they cough their breath.

And before either of them even managed to open their eyes or breathe steadily again, the surge of the power coming back on dimmed the haze. Their room was still dark, but light seeped under the door and the rest of their friends cheered from the other room as the music began again. And for a brief, stupid moment, Harry thought about fucking her again and letting her scream all she wanted, but that fantasy was cut short when he remembered their friends would soon realize they were missing.

“We should get back.” She mumbled. Although she made no sudden movements to get up. She even closed her eyes again, still off in another world.

And so Harry risked it, just for a few more moments, anyway, where he rolled closer to her and slid his hand up her jaw softly, pulling her attention toward him again as her eyes fluttered open, waiting.

“I was miserable when I was with Liv too. And we broke up because she knew I spent all my time thinking about someone else.” He swiped his thumb across her cheek, realizing for the first time that he’d probably royally fucked up all her makeup and then hoping she wouldn’t come to her senses and kill him for it.

“And who might that be?”

He smiled, sweetly this time unlike all his asshole smiles, and just as he glanced at her lips, ready to kiss her again, he was cut short.

“Yo, where are Harry and Y/N?” It was Jason, loud and clear and possibly headed their way to investigate his missing party guests who had snuck off together in the dark. Jason didn’t know that yet though, and as much as Harry would like none of their friends to find out, it wouldn’t exactly look great the two of them waltzing out of the guest room together. Harry’s curls in shambles, fresh scratches all across his back, and Y/N’s makeup smudged. There was simply no use in hiding what they’d been up to, it was written all over them.

Harry grabbed her clothes and handed them off while he went on a search for his own tiny pieces of costume. And just as they got decent again, there was a knock on the door.

“You guys in there? You better not be doing what I think you’re doing.” Jason warned and Harry and Y/n looked at each other for a moment before busting out laughing.

Harry got to the door first, throwing it open to a very surprised Jason, who then narrowed his eyes when he saw Y/N come up behind Harry.

“God, not in my guest room!” He whined as Harry pushed pass Jason, a looking Y/N following shortly behind, “Now I have to clean the sheets again! I just did them yesterday.”

“Sorry, mate!” Harry called over his shoulder, glancing down at Y/N quickly to give her one of his cocky little winks. And once they had reached the main room again, as he fell back into his chair, she realized just how many scratch marks she’d left on him, and wished he’d worn a costume with a shirt to cover it up.

She drowned out all the whistling and the comments about how everyone knew she and Harry were up to something, about the bets won and lost. All she heard was Harry’s voice in her ear, telling her how much he missed her and she wondered if it was real. If he really did miss her, or he just missed fucking her. If, when it was no longer October 31st, they’d just go back to normal. Like the horse-drawn carriage turning back into a lumpy, ugly pumpkin.

Harry noticed this, of course, because he’s a law student and notices everything, but just as he leaned in to ask if she was okay, she pulled away.

“I just, uh, need some air.” And then she was gone before he could do or say anything. She used through the front door, abandoning their poor pumpkin and headed toward her car. She’d left the keys and her purse inside, but it didn’t matter. She just leaned against the passenger door and gazed up at the stars, thankful for the clear night and warm weather.  

And, of course, he was beside her not too long afterwards. She’d heard his footsteps against the pavement, knew he’d probably follow her out anyway.

He cleared his throat, half watching the same stars she was and half glancing at her. “Did I do something?”

“No, it’s um…” she faltered, her eyes falling to her feet. “Think I just had too much to drink.”

“Oh… I’m sorry. I—” she cut him off before he got too far in the wrong direction.

“No, I mean…” she pushed off her car then and faced him, “Are we just going to go back to how we always are after tonight? Because I don’t know if I can do that. But I never know what you’re thinking, Harry. Do you even like me or do you just like sleeping with me sometimes and arguing with me all the rest of the time?”

He continued to watch her for a moment, almost waiting for her to tell him she was kidding. But when she just ran a nervous hand through her colored hair, he realized she wasn’t.

He waited for a group of kids all dressed in various Star Wars outfits to pass by them before he began. “I guess I thought I was clear, but obviously not enough… I don’t just want to sleep with you every couple of years and pretend we don’t like each other in between. I think we’ve already wasted enough time, don’t you?”

She nodded once his words sunk in.

“Can we go finish our pumpkin now? And win the stupid skeleton. So I can take both it and you home with me?”

Again, she nodded, but this time it was matched with a smile. “Who says I want to go home with you?”

He rolled his eyes and threw an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close enough to kiss the top of her head as he steered them back toward the front door. “Guess it’ll just be me and the skeleton then.”

They both glanced over at the giant thing stuck in the middle of Jason’s front yard, still attracting every young person like it was a princess at Disneyland, and then she looked up at him again. “On second thought, I might like to see that.”

He shook his head, opening the front door for them, “M’sure you would.”