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furious-rogue-stuff · 3 years ago

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Heat Chapter 31: Ballad - Part 2

After a lot of setbacks and a ridiculous amount of interference, I bring you the conclusion! Part 2 is a supersized chapter, so I hope you’re all ready strap in for some drama.

Pairing: Javier Peña/F!Reader

Rating: Mature/Explicit 🔞

Character Count: 21,000+

Summary: After a devastating setback, you provide Javi the solace he needs, but when an abrupt act of sabotage strikes, you find yourself struggling with the stress of secrets. Will the pressure of shielding him from the truth drive you both apart?

Warnings: Javier Peña being the sweet baby we want to protect with our lives. Graphic descriptions of sex, including explicit depictions of oral (f receiving) and unprotected sex. Descriptions of dom/sub play, cum play, creampie eating, size kink, praise kink, rough sex, body worship kink, and dirty talk. Allusions to hurt/comfort, emotional trauma, retaliatory behavior, violence, verbal assault, stress, poor coping mechanism, and being put professionally in compromising positions. Some Dom!Javi, Sub!Javi, Sub!Reader, Possessive!Javi, Stressed!Reader. In the vein of Narcos being a bilingual show, and Javier Peña being fluent, I felt it was apropos to include Spanglish and Spanish throughout.

Heat Masterlist

Previous chapter - Chapter 30: Ballad - Part 1

Chapter 31: Ballad - Part 2

As Javier makes the long journey back from the jungle with Christina secured into his custody, you're long asleep, having come home, taken a hot bath, and crawled into your bed alone. Your mind was whirring on Javi, and once exhaustion had pulled you under into heavy slumber, your unconscious took over – weaving a stress-dream that conflated every concern you had into a bolt of trepidation that unfurled around you. The feeling of anxiety pulling you under; the pressure of people counting on you while some unseen foe sabotaged your work; the awful terror of being chased by something in the darkness of a dimly-lit path. The cliché of stressful specters haunting you as you fall into the quicksand of your dreaming world. Most of it was incoherent, but then you're suddenly riding in the front passenger seat of a classic Cadillac.

The road before you is mountainous and winding – overlooking lush promontories off in the distance and a wide valley below under a cerulean tropical sky. There's a song melodically playing in the car, and you reach for the dial to put the music up before the rays of the sun catch in your eyes as they glare across the windshield. You finally look over and see your mother is driving.

She's bopping along to the song, fingertips thrumming to the beat of the salsa ballad over the steering wheel, smiling over at you before retuning her bright, easygoing gaze to the road.

Yo perdí lo mas querido cuando perdí a mi mama, (Todo tiene su final) Pero seguí pa lante y pa lante (Todo tiene su final) Has como yo nunca eche pa tras (Todo tiene su final)

Turning to look into the backseat, you find your father is sat directly behind your mother. He's looking out his window at the scenic view, not paying the song any mind, seeming to be lost in thought.

The glint of something catching in the sunlight pulls your attention to look at Javi, who's sat behind you, after he reclines back and stretches his left arm sidelong over the spine of the backseat, causing the sun to flash in the face of his silver watch. He smiles at you, brown eyes gleaming with warmth.

Todo tiene su final, nada dura para siempre,

Tenemos que recordar que no existe eternidad

"¿Y que miras?"

You turn back to stare over at your mother. "I'm looking at them sitting in the back, Ma," you snicker.

She grins before looking over at you. "Who?"

You shift to gesture to the backseat, but then you look in the rearview mirror and see the backseat is empty. Confused, you turn and confirm Javi and your father aren't there anymore, and it makes you sad. You feel it sit heavy in your chest.

You've just turned back to ask her where they went, when you suddenly wake up with a jerky motion in bed.

Lying there, you try to process what that even was, brow furrowing as your eyes crinkle to keep the tears at bay. You turn your head to look at the alarm clock, seeing it's still early in the morning. With a frown, you roll onto your side and reach for the pillow laced with Javi's scent. You hug it and close your eyes, feeling a bout of melancholy, but unsure why the dream is tugging at your heartstrings. Sure, you rarely dream of your mother outside of the recurring nightmare of the accident, but this was light-years from that.

She was happy. Her smile, the way her eyes crested with mirth, and the calm she exuded are imprinted in your mind's eye now. It was how you always remembered her as a small child. But seeing that version of her juxtaposed with your father looking as he did the last time you'd seen him – wearing the dark blue guayabera and black slacks with his hair swept back – while Javi smiled at you, clad in the same outfit he wore the first time you'd interacted at the top of the stairs at the embassy? It had you pensively trying to decipher what it could all mean.

Then, your cell phone starts ringing on the nightstand, jolting you to sit up and reach for it.

"Hello?" you greet, voice still thick from disuse.

"Shit. Did I wake you?" Javi's hushed baritone rumbles in your ear.

"No. I'm just lounging lazily in bed. How did it go?" you retort as you shuffle up to lean against the headboard.

"Good. I found her and got her out. We just got back to Bogotá a little while ago," he tells you coolly.

You let out a relieved exhale. "Great. I'm glad it worked out," is your reply, running your fingers through your mussed hair as you ask, "What happens now? Do DOS officials escort her back to the states?"

He grunts before parceling out, "I'm taking her to Miami on the first flight out. Franklin has agreed to cooperate, so I'll likely be gone a couple of days."

Biting your lip to stifle any sound of disappointment from grunting free from your chest, you instead smoothly retort, "Can't help personally make sure her ass doesn't wander off into cartel hands again, huh."

His raspy chuckle fills your ear. "Pretty much. I also want to make sure no fucking around happens as far as Jurado's crooked bastard lawyer is concerned," he rumbles glibly, then drawls, "I hope Franklin can decode the ledger enough to outline the structure of the Cali operation. See who's on the take, how far up in the government they are—"

"You need to be careful, mi amor," you find yourself blurting out. "If these stooges are at risk of being exposed, they're liable to cause you trouble."

"I don't want you to worry, cariño. I'm prepared to deal with it. Numbers don't lie, so once we have the ledger decoded, they won't have any political currency," Javi assures you. "You gonna be all right on your own?" he jibes, tone becoming that impish husk you know too well means he's smirking goadingly.

"Hah, more than all right, chavón. Right now, I just need to get the pep to get up and do laundry—"

"I thought you were going to do that the other night after work?" he drawls amusedly.

"I was! But then it was rainy and cold, and I didn't get another chance to all week," you complain as you toss the blankets and snicker, "A certain special agent monopolized a lot of my free time, you see."

"Hmm, well I think not having the convenience of a washer-dryer in your apartment, you know, like the one at my place? Is more the cause than me monopolizing your time, guapita," he counters puckishly.

"You would think that," you chuckle and stretch back to lounge into the pillows you've just propped. "Yet another needed amenity to add to the list, I suppose."

"It would seem so. Anyway, I have to go. I'll call you as soon as I can," Javi murmurs before purring, "I love you."

You can't help smile. "I love you too. Now hurry up and finish nailing these fuckers so I can have you to myself," is your saucy chime.

"Sí, patrona," he chuckles, huskily drawling, "Be good. Talk soon, querida."

"Good luck. Bye," you silkily lilt in his ear before ending the call.

Javier smirks and pockets his cell, eager to get the fucking show on the road.

He and Christina had made it back to the base in Medellín by dawn. The only time he wasn't at her side was when she'd gotten swept away by medical personnel there to take her vitals and examine her for possible injuries before ushering her to a private barrack where she could have a hot shower and change into some clothes they'd managed to throw together for her. Javier had taken that time to clean up and get into his current outfit, and once their ride was refueled for the trip back to the capital, they boarded and helicoptered back to Bogotá. Christina was picking at her breakfast, surrounded by guards in the holding room at the airport while he'd stepped out to a quiet corner to call you. Thankfully, the custom officials had arrived just as he'd ended the call to finalize her documents out and check them both onto the commercial flight back to Miami.

By the time they're both escorted to the private waiting area on the second level of the airport terminal, Javi's feeling pretty settled, all things considering. The guards wait outside, leaving him to coddle the distraught woman. He watches her reticently sit still, eyes closed and clearly uneasy. So, after some pacing and idle glancing out the vestibule window to the bustling terminal below, Javi feels compelled to assure her – to put her at ease. The PA announces the arrival of the aircraft destined for the flight to Miami, so he glances over at her and sees she's opened her eyes and is staring off straight ahead.

"In less than an hour, we're on that plane," he remarks and fidgets a little before deciding to sit in a seat that's part of the row of chairs behind hers. "Your husband knows. He'll be waiting for you," Javier adds, hoping that will help quell whatever she's feeling. When she says nothing and doesn't acknowledge him, he rumbles, "It's all behind you, Christina."

It was the wrong thing to say.

She snidely snickers, tone disparaging as she deadpans, "And you think I should thank you for that?"

Javi soberly tucks his chin down, realizing how cavalier that must've sounded to her. "No. No, I don't," he mutters contritely, glancing at the back of her head while he internally admonishes himself for being such an asshole.

"No, you think you're a hero, because you, what, executed a bunch of farmers to get me out so that my husband would testify for you?" she rhetorically accuses, flippant and berating.

Ruefully, Javi leans back in his chair as he declares, "I did what I had to do and I'm sorry for what happened to you."

When she turns and unsympathetically looks at him, Javier steels himself. The way her eyes water as she shakes her head at him unnerves him, but then, she sullenly scathes, "No. No, you're not. And you know it." She pauses to stare coldly into his eyes as she levels, "You're a piece of shit," before turning away from him and staring off in appalled disdain, internalizing all her misery and profound doubts about her future.

He has no retort. There's nothing he can say to refute it, because deep down, he feels deserving of the rancor. It sits bitterly in his stomach as he just absently grips his right hand to squeeze the knuckles of his left while he absorbs the seething hate he's now left stewing in.

It's the longest half hour of his life.

Once the flight is ready for boarding, Javier's security entourage retrieves him and Christina to escort them through the airport terminal en route for the gate. He's steeling himself for the three and a half hour flight when his cell phone starts ringing in his leather jacket's pocket.

"Yeah?" Stoddard is on the line, asking him if he's with Christina Jurado. "Yeah, we're about to get on the plane. We'll be in Miami—"

"Boss. Franklin Jurado was killed in lockup."

Javier stops dead in his tracks. He absorbs that like getting shot in the chest with a stun grenade. His mouth goes dry and his stomach drops, unable to shake the sudden bout of vertigo the news sinking in has him feeling while the entourage stops and turns to look at him.

"When?" he grouses, anxiety turning his blood cold in his veins and tangling around his ribcage while he tries to keep a stoic regard as Christina stares at him with bleary-eyed worry, frown shallowly etched in her fair features.

"This morning. Log shows he was taken out of solitary to the phone banks. Another prisoner shanked him in the carotid artery. He bled out before a medic could get to him," Stoddard elaborates in a tense tone.

That sends a chill down Javi's spine and has the tendons in his jaw reflexively trembling as he wars to keep his expression guarded. "Let me call you back," he mutters tersely and ends the call, staring at Christina for a grueling few seconds before he flicks his gaze at the men in the security detail and gestures for them to double back.

The main guy approaches him for a quick huddle, in which Javier declares that they need to get to a secure room immediately. Once they herd Christina back down the corridors to an interrogation room within the terminal, Javier sits her down, and struggles to find the words.

"What…what's going on now? Aren't we going to miss the flight?" she stammers, lip quivering and frame trembling.

He can see it in her eyes. She's disassociating, protecting herself; already knows something bad has happened, but it's his responsibility to voice it – make it reality to her.

"Christina. Something happened. This morning…" Javi pauses, swallowing around the panic welling in his chest. "Franklin was killed this morning."

Her blue eyes well over as a shaky sob catches in her throat before she exclaims, "H-How?! What—how could that have happened?! You said he was in protective custody—"

Javi rests his interlaced hands on the tabletop and leans forward to explain, "He was in solitary until the call came in to move him into protective custody, but before he could be transferred out as scheduled in the afternoon, he was taken to answer a call. It…it was a ruse to isolate him—"

"You fucking bastard!" Christina hiccups, disparagingly exhaling an unhinged laugh before dissolving into a flitting sob. "They killed him. As soon as they knew I was out, they put in the order to kill him," she hisses, cheeks getting blotchy as she starts to weep.

Javi feels the pang of guilt stake into his chest as he watches her start to quake with the onslaught of emotions. He's worried she'll start to hyperventilate, but then she's suddenly lashing out, screaming, "This is all your fault! You put the target on his back!" Christina barrels up out of her seat and rails, "Everything was fine before you fucking manipulated us to cooperate, and now Franklin's dead because of you! And you don't even care," pausing shakily to scoff at him before sneering acrimoniously, "Oh no, you get to go back to your life. To whoever the fuck you talked to that made you so happy while I sat here like a fool as our lives got completely massacred!"

Javier is sitting in the tempest of her verbal assault, outwardly keeping his features etched in an unreadable mask while inwardly wound up, unable to find a voice with which to deescalate her. Especially when she plops down dejectedly in her chair as she slams her hands down on the table before whirling away from him.

She buries her face in her hands as uncontrollable sobs wrack through her before she succumbs to the grief, bawling violently and wailing hopelessly. "I hope they take everything away from you," she rambles bitterly in between stuttered breaths as she hazards a withering look over at him from the corner of her watery vision. "You deserve to lose everything you care about and love. Whoever you were talking to while my life was ending? I hope you lose them and feel what it's fucking like, you son of a bitch—" her voice cracks when she can no longer muster the will, so she bows her head and scrubs her fingers into her eyes as she truly falls apart. "Just fucking s-stay away from me. I can't stand the sight of you!" Christina shouts at Javier before crumbling in on herself and folding her arms protectively around her head.

She feels more than hears him move back, and by the time she glances up, Javier is storming out the door and gone from her view.

Numbly, she continues to sob for a while by herself in the white box of a room until the officials who'd been part of her security detail come in and brief her that she will be flown privately to Miami to take custody of her husband's body and be placed in protective custody until other accommodations could be made.

Unaware of the devastating turmoil that's played out, you've spent most of your morning toiling away doing house chores. It helps center your thoughts and neglect fretting about the hidden meaning of your dream. Instead, you dedicate your energy to other things you've unintentionally neglected around your place. So, after putting on a gray baggy sweatshirt and loose drawstring trousers once you'd washed your face and brushed your teeth, you stay comfy and relaxed while keeping busy.

After setting several cycles of laundry to wash downstairs, you cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, watered your plants, dusted the furniture, swept and mopped the floors. You even made time to do some belated-spring-cleaning from your closet while the laundry was drying – arranging stacks of books and magazines you've read through into different piles for donation, and organized the shelves of clutter.

After unloading the dryers and hefting the heavy basket up the stairs to your place, you went to work folding and setting things over the unfolded ironing board in your bedroom, thinking about idle things you could do once you were finished with everything. You'd even taken down your curtains to wash, and are on the stepladder rehanging them up over your windows – thinking about maybe calling Ellis to see if he and Anita wanted to have dinner later – as you arrange them on the curtain rod by standing on your bare tippy toes to fluff the top of the drape when you dimly hear what sounds like your door being opened.

When it slams shut, you startle and hurry down the steps to sprint over to look down the hall.

You are taken aback to see Javi stalking intensely across the length of your apartment in a storming rush at you.

You're completely baffled and quickly unsettled by his heavy footfalls and how broad and angry he seems to be – until he's practically on you, and you see the haunted-yet-furiously-determined look carved in his features while something desperate flashes in his dark, molten eyes.

"Ja-Javi-?!" you stammer before he literally sweeps you up against him and kisses you with raw yearning, hands hoisting you up as he hastily takes you to bed.

You don't know what's happening, or what's come over him, but something deep inside you takes control, setting all your concerns aside and focusing on reaching for him.

With ardent desire, you pull him onto you and deepen the kiss, trying to anchor him, but Javier jolts back and stares dazedly down at you, brows knitting together as he impatiently yanks his leather jacket off and rears back to fling it away before he tugs you by the backs of your knees to the edge of the bed. You gasp in surprise and end up arching in pleasure when he shoves your sweatshirt up to expose your bare breasts before pursing his mouth over a studded nipple while his hands sharply yank your trousers down your legs.

"Ah!" you cry out when he suckles hard on your pebbled flesh and rips your panties off – tearing them at the hip seams before possessively palming his feverishly warm hand at your cunt. You bury your hands in his hair and tug as you moan from the fierce onslaught; desperate to make him feel as good as he's making you feel. "Javier—"

He suddenly shifts to haul your hips to the edge of the mattress before he kneels at the floor and buries his face between your legs. You whimper airily when his nose presses into your mound and he just breathes in your heady scent while his hands fondle a possessive track up your curves in order to palm your breasts. Before you can wrap your lust-hazed mind around what's happening, Javi roughly pinches your nipples and rolls them between forefinger and thumb as he nuzzles his face into your pussy and growls. His cock strains against his fly once your addictive, heavenly tang flavors his ravenous mouth, making it easy for him to get pussy-drunk and revel in devouring you with greedy need.

Your legs instinctually crane open when he drags his tongue up your weeping seam before he spears it into your molten cunt while he continues to tease your nipples with possessive flicks of his fingers. "Oh god!" you cry out and writhe, desperate for more and still beside yourself – trying to dimly figure out what's going on. "Please, please, Javi—"

He lifts his head up to stare with searing dominance up at you, which has your heart flipping in your chest. "Need this. Need you," he husks in a baritone octave you've never heard him use. His dark brewed eyes are blown out with urge, and the pitch of his tone has shivers going up your spine. "…Take it off."

You fumble to pull the sweatshirt off and discard it, hiccupping breathily as his brown eyes rake down your completely nude and flushed form before staring at your dripping pussy and burying his face there once again.

In the delirium of your arousal and overwhelmed, albeit confounded awe, Javier eats your pussy like his life depends on it. And to him, right now, it does. He's lost and wrathful, utterly and profoundly devastated by the last 24 hours, and the only thing he's desperate to hold onto for fear he'll splinter apart is you – being grounded in you.

His tongue plucks an orgasm so fierce from you that you sob, left to grip the bedding and ride his devilish appendage in mindless bliss. Even when you mewl a helpless plea of, 'Javi, por favor,' he refuses to stop, and you're trying to scrape your willpower together, but then his mouth purses over the hood of your clit as he plunges two fingers into your fluttering pussy, igniting you with desperate pleasure all over again.

Stardust glimmers in the backs of your eyes as he suckles and finger-fucks you into another incinerating orgasm that's left you a sweat-sheen, flushed and ruined mess on the bed, panting hungrily to keep your lungs filled with air.

Javier groans after he withdraws his fingers from your rippling sheath and sucks them clean. Your heavy lidded eyes stare up at him as he stands so he can loom over your boneless form and admire you. It burns him, stoking something feral and protective in him. His eyes covetously caress over every expanse of skin, sculpted curve and flexing sinew of your body before he leans down and rests his forehead against your midriff.

"Please, please, mi amor…" you breathlessly murmur, hands clumsily petting the back of his hair and sifting through the tufts of curls at his nape.

You feel Javi shiver and think he's going to come lie on top of you, but instead, he shifts up and away. For a few panicked seconds, you worry he's going to leave, but when you force your gaze to focus, you end up watching him tug and yank his clothes off. His boots bang against the side of the dresser after he kicks them off. He then snatches his watch off and tosses it carelessly on the nightstand, and shoves the remainder of his clothes off before he brusquely gets between your thighs and just shoves his cock into your aching sheath.

Even after the amazingly powerful orgasms he's already given you, every muscle resists the thick, ramming intrusion of him bottoming out in your pulsing pussy. "¡D-Dios mío, Javi!" you gasp, overwhelmed and feeling so full as he groans and grips one of your legs up and spreads you open for him by clutching the other to be pinned aside at the back of the knee.

With a squeeze of the calf muscle his hand is gripping, Javi starts fucking you with feral abandon. He looms over you and watches your awed expression blossom with rapture, eyes screwing shut to the ecstasy of his cock pounding head-on into that delicate pleasure clustered deep inside you. The way your mouth falls open and your shoulders arch into the bed while you moan is like a divine grounding point for him. Javier is no longer lost in the furious black hole he'd been sucked into less than an hour before. Instead, he's dialed in on a heightened level – present and basking in the moment as he rocks you with such pleasure that you whimper a needy cry and toss your head back in delight.

It's a sight that proves you are safe and his and not in danger of being taken away. That he's your anchor and focal point at the height of being the most alive you could be.

It's his salvation.

Your toes curl and your eyes flutter as you sob a breathless wail just as your orgasm hits and tears you asunder, leaving you a drenched, quivering and burning heap of melted sinew that can only grip the bedding hard enough that your nails hurt, as you stare up drunkenly at Javi like he's some kind of marvel you're unsure is real.

His cock is throbbing inside you to the rhythm of his beating heart, and you blink the dew from your eyelashes and gaze sultrily up at him. The way his shoulders are wound up and his chest broadens from every deep breath he's taking, and how dark his eyes are as they stare into yours has the clutch of your pussy soaking over with a whole new flood of arousal.

He can feel the heat of you thrumming around him, and the way you stare hungrily up at him is something primordial and heavenly, all at once. So, Javi paws his large hands down to cup your lower half and lift you effortlessly in order to make room for him to plant his knees onto the bed as he adjusts over you.

Once he's in reach, you yank him closer and wrap your arms around him, pulling him into your embrace so you both can kiss voraciously.

Javi breaks the kiss so he can cup your face and stare scintillatingly into your eyes as he grouses, "Sorry, I'm sorry—"

You shush him and nuzzle his cheek. "Nada de eso, mi rey," you murmur, pressing soothing kisses to his flushed features before whispering, "Need you to make me yours, Javi."

He stutters his exhale and starts worshipfully kissing you as he shifts his knees and adjusts to better rock forward into you.

The sensation of him nestling into the deepest part of you has you both moaning, reveling in the carnal splendor of belonging to each other like this. And when he pistons his cock into that ruinously wonderful angle with every pull and slam in and out of your silken pussy, you mewl and pivot your pelvis up, meeting his every thrust.

The way your knees dig for purchase into the sides of his ribcage while your nails half moon into his back is the perfect amount of pleasure-pain to unravel that pent-up knot loose in him. It sears up in him and has Javi pounding his need into you with so much fervor that his balls slap against your drenched perineum as you whimper at how it feels like he's spearing up into your womb. It's so lewd, yet so fantastic that he's fucking you like this – making you feel so right and tethered to him, that you climax right as his cock swells inside your clenching sheath. He shouts your name before coming rough and hard in you, hips grinding into you as he spills his seed in shuddered thrusts while you curl into him and moan before dissolving into reedy mewls.

Just when you think you're utterly disassembled and reeling with overcome delight, Javi pulls out of you and shifts to glide down your body while you pant and tremble in the afterglow of such soul-shattering sex. You smile as you feel his full, pouty lips brush a loving-yet-possessive path down your torso, thinking he's going to maneuver up and off the bed to get a damp washcloth and give you tender aftercare. But when he adjusts your splayed legs so he can fit his shoulders between them before looping his arms beneath you, you're on sex-addled delay – until you feel him bury his face in your pussy again.

"Oh—" you gasp, alight and awed as Javi licks into your cunt, curling a hand around your hip to grind his fingertips over the hood of your clit. "Oh my god, Ja-Javi, w-wait, you-you're—" is your enthralled protest, but the rest dies on your lips as he moans into your drenched heat and keeps licking and suckling your puffy pussy while it weeps your comingled afterflow.

You're so beguiled by his ravenous need of you that you're quickly spun up into a dizzying arousal that has you bucking with urgency for the roll of his tongue and the press of his lips before you cry out and climax again.

The salacious, debauched passion with which Javi claimed you this time has you high and flustered, as you weakly lay sprawled out on the bed. You feel him rest the side of his head against your inner thigh with a gruff, accomplished sigh, so you dreamily stare down at him and shiver when you see how heavy-lidded his eyes are as they flick to look up at you. Javi can feel the thrumming pulse of your femoral artery against his ear, taste your joint orgasms on his tongue, see the sinful heaven of your post-sex glow as it roses over your dewy skin, and hear your out of breath awe as you pant while you regain your senses.

Seeming to finally have his fill of taking you apart with exhilarating pleasure, Javier kisses a path back up your warm skin and settles to lie on top of you, looping his arms protectively around you and dissolving when you encircle him lovingly – enveloping him in your embrace. He nuzzles your damp neck and breathes in your sweaty skin once he's nosed into the hairline behind your ear. You sigh, completely fucked-out and content to lay like this with him forever.

But then that nagging little voice that is your reason starts needling you. What the hell happened?! He was going to Miami just this morning, and then he storms in here like a furious lion and dominates you like it's the end of the world?

Dimly, you want to ignore all that, but then you realize Javi's hugging you so tight to him – like he's afraid you'll leave, that he'll lose you. It's enough to snap you back into yourself, so you rub his back and pet the back of his hair, hoping it'll make it clear you're ok and not going anywhere. Still, his embrace doesn't wane in passion or protectiveness, so you hum a questioning sound before kissing the side of his head.

"Javi…what happened?" you whisper, continuing to soothingly caress his back while you start combing your fingers through the back of his sweaty hair. When he doesn't answer and just buries his face further into the crook your neck, you decide you need to shake him loose of whatever this is. "I mean, having you fuck me silly was earth-shattering and amazing, stud, but you've got me wondering," you croon silkily, expecting him to scoff or snort in shameless humor, but he doesn't. Instead, he grunts almost as if he's embarrassed with himself. So you frown; realizing you need to take the measure – to switch to the alpha now. You nudge your head into the side of his and murmur firmly, "Hey. Talk to me, Javier. Tell me what's wrong?"

He's tangled up with shame and dealing with the slow burn of his guilt, so it takes Javi a minute to muster the courage to shift so he can look at you. When he does, he's disarmed by how gentle and unguarded your expression is. He feels so unworthy of it right now, so he begrudgingly lets you go so he can shy away as he scrubs the back of his palm along his mouth absently. When he suddenly can't meet your gaze, you shimmy close and cup his jaw before caressing your thumb along the span of his cheek.

Javi leans into your touch and exhales a tense breath out of his nose before steeling himself.

"It's all over. Everything fell apart…Jurado got killed in prison," he sullenly blurts, and when you tense, he looks up into your eyes. "His wife…it was bad. I—I don't know…" Javi's voice falters, getting thick with tangled emotion, and he's suddenly feeling the most loathsome he's ever felt, stripped and emotionally raw. He feels suffocated by the turmoil and the doom of impending failure.

But then you sit up and wrap your arms around him, unabashed and fierce as you tell him imperiously, "You will not do this to yourself. I will not let you tear yourself apart over this, Javier. Do you fucking hear me?"

His tense grunt catches in his chest, and before he can rationalize it, he buries his face in your chest and just…breathes while he encircles you with desperate longing. You hold him tight and nuzzle the crown of his hair, feeling him breathe through the overwhelming stress he's trying to shed. It's something you think resembles a mild panic attack, and the more he breathes and concentrates on being in your arms, the more the tension eases from his shoulders. Eventually, he becomes pliant and relaxed in your embrace, so you kiss the top of his head and susurrate, "We don't have to talk about it any more."

He lifts his head to rest it on your shoulder, squeezing you tight. "I can't avoid it. First thing Monday, I know Crosby is going to pull the plug on all of it—"

"Crosby flew out of the country end of day yesterday," you cut in earnestly, and he leans back and stares in confusion at you. "Him and his wife went to Tennessee to see their son, Gavin. His wife had their kid, so Crosby is not who you have to worry about right now," is your assured musing as you affectionately trace your fingertips over his brow and fan them across his forehead to pet his wild wisps of hair back for him. Javi exhales and closes his eyes, soothed and feeling centered by your doting grace. So much so, that you're able to coax him to lay down in bed so you can keep brushing your touch over his chiseled, handsome features.

His back hurts and his shoulders ache from the raid the night before, so he's more than content to lie still in your comfortable bed, with the pillows propping his head while you press gentle kisses to his temple, cheek, between his brows. Your heart hurts for him, but you will keep that hidden, ignoring it just as you're ignoring your sore muscles and debauched post-coital state. None of it matters to you right now when you just want to protect Javi from his own self-critical disdain.

After a heavy silence, Javi lets out a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry," he hoarsely mumbles and turns his face to rest his forehead against your cheek. "I fucked it up. I…I didn't see it coming, so it's on me—"

"What didn't you see coming?" you ask, tone so no-nonsense that he opens his eyes and gives you a hapless, puppy-dog look. "Explain it to me," is your insistence as you run your fingers through the hair behind his ear.

He's a bit disarmed, so it takes him a minute to collect his thoughts and shift to recline sidelong so he can look at you intently as he parcels out his thought process. "The fact they killed Franklin within hours of me securing Christina out of captivity means there must be a leak somewhere. No one outside of my team was supposed to know about the operation," he explains, and you give him 'the look' – the one he's learned to spot when you hear something you thought was a given but because he clearly hadn't considered it, you want to mask your reaction from him. "What, what do you want to say?" he presses, brows furrowing and dark-brewed eyes staring intensely at you.

You hesitate and shift awkwardly as you keep brushing circles behind his ear. "Javi…I don't want to forecast something you know now—"

"I want to hear it. Tell me," he insists and stills your hand from coddling him with its mesmerizing stroking of his hair. "Don't hold back on my account," is his tenacious rumble.

Pursing your lips, you feel a little too bare – literally – so you grab a pillow and hug it, then go into your assessment. "You said Search Bloc wasn't involved. So right there, that makes me think you went with those right-wing paramilitary outfits…which means AUC," you pause, and when he doesn't refute it, you continue, "That means, your C.I.? It was the same one you passed information to—that then gave intel to Los Pepes. That's why you went to Medellín. Even if they didn't have a back channel alliance with Cali, you brought that woman out of the jungle. The moment she was registered with the embassy—that they began processing her documents to travel back to the states with you? That would've been flagged and passed to any number of crooked officials on the take."

Javier absorbs that, and doesn't feel any better, but then you sigh before setting the pillow aside so you can shuffle closer and really spell it out.

"Franklin was killed in custody – U.S. custody. That means correction officers were bribed to take him to the slaughter and duck out while the hit was carried out. So, tell me: how the fuck were you supposed to prevent that?"

His eyes widen and jaw relaxes. Shoulders slumping, Javi can't help scoff at your assessment of things before huffing flatly, "Well, shit…"

"Exactly. This is a bigger problem you were never going to solve for. Not within the parameters you're forced to operate in. Franklin Jurado didn't have a chance. It's not your fault that he didn't cooperate when he had the opportunity to," you declare with analytical objectivity and caress your hand along his shoulder before gliding up to cup his cheek. "The system is corrupt on both sides. The grift is always in. You are not going to change that with this mission. It takes an entire society to choose to fix it, but at a hefty cost…so, I don't want you to lose yourself thinking this is your cause, Javi."

Unbidden, his mind replays something his father had said before he left Laredo. "…don't try to change it. More likely, it'll change you."

When his gaze flickers self-consciously away and his expression becomes crestfallen, you think you've gone too far, and are about to apologize, but then Javi lets out a heavy exhale from the depths of his soul and unburdens himself. "I—I know, but I can't let it go. I have to try…and I know it's worth it. I just…today, I had to face what it would be like to lose everything, for real – not like the last time in Medellín, and…" he pauses and looks in your eyes as he croaks, "I don't want to lose you like that, but I've done so much shit in order to take down Cali, it's only a matter of time until that comes back on me and I get what I deserve—"

"What?!" You are so shocked by this morose outlook of his. "Where is this coming from? You're not going to lose me," you adamantly refute and wrap your hands around his nape, feeling soothed when he loops his arms around you and hauls you up into his lap so he can hold you. It means this isn't something deep-seated, so you press, "Why would you think that; that you deserve any of that to happen?"

Burying a hand in the back of your tousled hair, Javi pulls you close so he can center himself before divulging everything that happened with Christina.

You listen, hearing how aggrieved and irate she'd been, and after he mentions the things she specifically said to him, sparing no detail, Javi leans back and looks into your expression, expecting to see your eyes flare with understanding and empathy – like he's seen come over you countless times before.

Instead, he's taken aback when he sees how furious you are. Clutching his shoulders, you rear back and harangue, "Is that bitch still in custody?!"

Javi blinks at you before retorting bemusedly, "She should be halfway to Miami by now. I had them fly her on the private plane—"

"If I ever see her, I'm going to rip her fucking head off," you tell him ferociously, expression seething as you vent, "Who the fuck does she think she is, talking to you like that?! She's the stupid twit who married into a cartel's operations, but she wants to project her bullshit life and idiot-ass decisions on you?! She's fucking lucky I can't get my hands on her, because I'd beat her fucking ass—"

Nonplussed, Javi marvels at your wicked temper, and realizes dimly that he's never seen you this angry towards someone else. Usually, he's been on the receiving end of your anger, so seeing you get this enraged over someone you've never even met kind of impresses him, albeit also puts everything in some warped kind of perspective for him.

"—You really let that dumb bitch make you feel some kind of way about your life?!" you're scathing now and tucking your chin angrily down to glare at him, and Javi can't help his brows quirk upwards and look helpless. "I swear to god, Javier, you ever let someone else make you feel bad like this, and I'm kicking your ass too. Why the fuck would what that bitter, salty bitch have to say while she lashes out like a fool ever matter to you?!" is your charge now, before you huff and go to scurry off of his lap as you indignantly mutter, "Some stupid gringa puta pendeja bruta anormal de la vida, wishing fucking evil on you. Fuck her—!" Javier reels you back, and when you look at him, he's fucking grinning at you. Outraged, you scathe, "Is this funny now?!"

"No! I just…shit, it's fucking hot seeing you get this fiery and have it not directed towards me, for once," he shamelessly rumbles and licks his lips while his eyes crinkle in that soulful way that warms your blood. "It's a good thing she's in protective custody—"

"Yeah, as if that fucking matters. The bitch can get got, clearly. She's lucky I don't outsource ass-whoopings!" you slash acerbically and shove at his shoulders. "And I mean it. You are to never let anyone speak to you like that. I don't fucking care if they're God come to earth!" you declare as you fussily cup the hinges of his jaw and emphasize your point by tugging him forward so you can press your forehead to his and growl, "¿Me entiendes, mi amor?"

Javi is buzzing with pride, lit up with brazen delight. "Fuck yeah, I understand," he purrs heatedly and brushes his nose cheekily against yours before stealing a peck on your lips.

You grunt bossily, dominantly tangling your fingers into the back of his hair and tugging to possessively bring him to meet your passionate kiss, which becomes wanton with desire before you break it, suckling on his bottom lip and hissing, "Show me that you understand, then."

"Fuck," he groans, feeling arousal zing down into his cock at your taunt. "Any way I want?" Javier husks and caresses you worshipfully as you provocatively lean mischievously out of reach of his lips, clicking your tongue as if you're deliberating over his petition.

Coquettishly, you cup your hands to glide down his shoulders and squeeze his deltoids as you purr, "I'm a total mess, my joints are jelly, and I'm still tingling from before, but sure…what do you want to do to prove it, hermoso?"

He doesn't even need to think about it. "I want to eat you out from the back," Javi shamelessly tells you, smoldering eyes narrowing impishly at your little gasp and blushing cheeks.

You bashfully giggle and grin when he mercilessly kisses you while his hands guide you to undulate over his lap so you can feel how hard he is for you. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you melt into him as he starts brushing tender kisses along your jaw, nuzzling you when you sigh lusciously and nod your consent.

Just as he pivots up onto his shins and picks you up to shift you both in bed – eyes scintillating with the promise of sinful worship of your body, his cell phone starts ringing from his leather jacket's pocket.

"Fucking hell," Javier growls and flops back onto his heels before carefully setting you down on your back to the bed. "…I gotta get that, querida."

You pout goofily and kiss his cheek before flattening out on the mattress and unlatching from his strong frame, but not without cheekily pinching his ass as he clambers over you to bound up from bed and head for his jacket. He shoots you a bossy, amused grimace as he tugs his underwear on before yanking the phone out of the jacket and answering it.

"Peña," he barks into the phone and impatiently scratches at his mussed hair as he idly paces towards the door.

"Boss. Are you in the capital?" Chris Feistl is asking. "We finally got in touch with our C.I. Gotta brief you on something big."

Pressing the heel of his hand into the center of his forehead moodily, Javier grouses, "Yeah…I'll be at the embassy in an hour. There's a lot of shit we need to start back on square one on too, so tell Stoddard to secure the conference room and I'll meet you there."

While he's talking, you retrieve your silk robe and slip into it, then gather your tousled hair and pull it up into a messy bun. Once he ends the call, Javi turns to see you comically waddle to the edge of the mattress before huffing and flopping down onto your side. "Give me a minute, and I'll make you something to eat while you shower—" you're chiming in a silly sigh as you shake your legs out and try to force some strength in them after the marathon railing Javi gave you.

Smug, Javier snorts and sits next to you so he can affectionately caress the hourglass shape of your side. "I don't really have much of an appetite right now, preciosa—"

"Zip it. You're going to eat, because I know you don't bother with it when you're running around, being secret agent man," you clamp your hand on his forearm and give it a playful squeeze. "Don't fight me on it, stud."

He chuckles and rolls his eyes sardonically. "Fine, but you're going to shower with me, mi gatita malvadita," he caveats and leans forward to kiss your lips tenderly while you snicker at the silly new pet name he's seemingly appropriated from Sasha: my wicked little kitten.

The bossy look he gives you has you relenting amusedly. After all, it's a stipulation you're more than happy to acquiesce to, and once you're both showered, you fix him something to eat while he quickly gets dressed.

After he's fed and properly sated by you relentlessly hugging and kissing him until you decide he can leave, Javi promises, "I'll be back tonight, corazón."

"Alright, be careful. I love you," you murmur before pecking him on the lips.

"Love you too," he husks and reverently cups your cheek in a loving caress before he heads out.

Feeling bowled over and a bit wrung out from the physical and emotional whirlwind, you manage to waddle back to your bedroom, change the sheets and blankets, then collapse under a fluffy throw on the plush duvet and take the nap of all naps. You sleep so long that the next time you wake is at the sound of the door being unlocked before it yawns open. Groggily, you stretch and rub at your eyes to clear the sleep from them so you can look at the alarm clock. The apartment is dark until Javi switches the hall light on and comes into the bedroom with a bag of takeout from the tapas place you both like held in one hand.

"Shit, baby. I didn't mean to wake you," he rumbles as he sets the bag on the dresser and comes to sit at the side of the bed to lean over and kiss your forehead.

You snicker, "It's alright. I need to get up. I guess someone ran me ragged today." Javi chuckles, and you smile as you sit up and lean heavily into him once he encircles your waist and noses into your mussed hair. "Did your guys have something good to report?" you ask softly after stifling a yawn into the back of your hand.

"Pfft, fuck no," he deadpans, so you grunt and sit up to look into his resigned expression. He lets you shimmy up to sit next to him, and at your questioning hum, he decides to confide the latest problem in his operation. "So…their C.I. is this guy who works as the personal security systems head for Miguel Rodríguez. My guys gave him a codename – Natalia – for the official record. They did that to throw off any suspicions that it was anyone actually within the Cali inner circle, if it were to ever leak," Javier is explaining. He pauses to wring his hand down his face, a telltale sign he's frustrated. "The guy went MIA all day yesterday. Then, he called them today and said Cali knows we have an informant; that they even referenced the codename Natalia."

Frowning, you brush up against him and loop your arms around his torso. He sighs and leans into you, resting his head against yours. "What're you going to do? Pull the C.I. out?" you ask.

Huffing through his nose, Javi shakes his head. "It's not that simple. He's given us Miguel Rodríguez's new location, so we need to come up with a plan to raid the place, but he said they're all paranoid and on high alert, so we can't risk it right now," he tells you, grousing, "If we were to pull Salcedo out now, the cartel would know he was the informant and go to ground. We can't risk that."

You flatten your lips out and hum, nuzzling into the side of his neck to hide your pensive expression. "You have that kind of time?" you can't help ask, though.

"Not in the least, but we can't rush this now either. Not when we have fuck-all ways to decode the ledger currently…" he grumbles and gets aggravated with himself, so he wraps his arm around you and gives you a tender squeeze. "Think I'm done bitching for the rest of the day, bravita. Let's have dinner?" he charismatically changes the subject and nudges you playfully before kissing your cheek when you snicker and affectionately scratch at his side.

"Mmm, are you going to serve it to me, boss man?" you purr and bat your lashes flirtatiously at him.

"I will, under one condition," he retorts smoothly, and when you hum for him to name it, he drawls, "Put on that sexy fucking nighty? The silky one?"

You can't help grin, especially when he lays it on thick by giving you his big brown puppy-eyed look. "Aww, que dulzón," you chuckle and kiss him lusciously on the lips before murmuring, "Strip down to your skivvies, and we have a deal."

Javi smirks ruggedly, totally fine with that.

Once you wiggled into the burgundy baby doll and lounged into the propped pillows on the bed, you delightfully wait as he struts back into the bedroom with the takeout plated and balanced like he's had experience waiting tables – able to balance two plates in one hand while he holds two drink glasses in the other. His broad, golden-skinned physique is on display in all his glory thanks to having nothing but his gray boxer-briefs on. My god, this man is going to be my undoing, you can't help think in a pining sigh.

When he hands you your plate and maneuvers to settle into bed next to you, you can't help lilt affectionately, "I really could get used to this."

Javi smirks, hands you the glass, and clinks it with his. "Good."

And, to a degree, you totally do get used to it.

You and Javi spend the weekend together, where he repeats this wonderful treatment of serving you in bed almost every meal, either before or after he's fucked your brains out. Not to be outdone, though, you manage to wrangle him into a nice hot bath and full-body rubdown each night, dotingly caring for him and easing his aching, sore muscles with talented prowess.

This honeymoon period extends into the workweek, and you're both so settled that it's hard to worry about the doom and gloom of what will happen once the ambassador returns. At the very least, Javi was able to apply some pressure stateside to push the Colombian government to not make any drastic decisions for a few weeks, suggesting that doing so could sour the officials in charge of dispensing impending aid funds from the State Department. It was a gambit, but for now, it seemed to cool Botero's jets, so Javi and his guys were able to explore other options.

By the time Wednesday morning rolls around, you and Javi are dialed into this routine, so when you each get a reminder that your bi-weekly status report is scheduled for today, you're both buzzing to have an excuse to see each other in the middle of the unusually hectic day.

"—Oh! By the way, Trevor sent me a new batch of movies, so do you guys wanna come over Friday night? We can have a movie night redo," Ellis is remarking affably after detailing all the updates for your upcoming meeting with Javi.

Reclining in your chair, you beamingly smile. "I'd love that. I'll ask him. Hopefully he'll be free," you chime convivially as you organize your desk before gathering your folder.

"And hopefully he doesn't stand you up this time," Ellis singsongs, and you throw a paperclip at him. "I'm only kidding!"

"Want me to bring anything over?" you change the subject as you pull your compact mirror out of your purse to check your appearance.

Ellis can't help smile, glad to see you so content and smitten. "Bring whatever he likes to drink. I got the rest handled," he snickers and does the finger guns at you. "Anita's going to make that chaufa rice you like—"

You gasp excitedly. "Really?!"

"Yep! She's been craving it, so she's getting all the ingredients and going to town," he chuckles as he checks his watch. "While you're in that meeting, I have a touch-base with Devon about the CIA station chief's resources. I'll let you know how that goes."

"Cool. See you then," you remark as you get up and strut off to make a quick stop before heading up to the DEA department.

For his part, Javier is having to keep his guard up around his staff to not make it obvious just how better his mood is, considering how fucked the agency's actual day-to-day is currently. He just can't justify looking like a content man when his professional life is pretty much in tatters, with his field agents feeling on pins and needles over the impending fallout that's to come if they can't take down the Cali cartel.

He'd spent his morning clearing tons of operations across all the DEA field offices, and another chunk of time hearing the latest status from Chris and Dan on what was happening within the cartel's inner circle. Security was doubled, staying edgy and much too paranoid to make any moves against them right now. Seemingly, though, in his paranoia, Miguel Rodríguez was keeping quiet while his brother still lobbied for the surrender deal. The narco killings had pretty much ceased, or at the very least, weren't spilling out into the general public to end up with negligent collateral damage. He figured that was something he could at least point to as a positive, if confronted—

"Boss, got a sec?" Stoddard pops his head into the doorway, and Javi checks his watch, seeing he has a few minutes to spare before your meeting, so he waves him in.

You arrive by elevator and waltz into the department, greeting a few people you pass before you look ahead and see that Stoddard and Javi are in conversation in his office. Deciding to hang back, you stroll idly over to the suspect board that takes up most of an entire alcove wall in the bullpen. You remember seeing a similar one in the old DEA department, back when Steve and Javi were hunting down the Medellín cartel. This one, however, seems much larger, outlining the structure of a more versatile organization. It comprises the fours capos along the top, with lines delineating their networks, known associates, and what it's suspected each manages. You can't help notice that some suspects don't even have photos as you skim the board with mild curiosity.

"Director! Sorry to keep you waiting. The boss is ready for you," Stoddard approaches you and gestures for you to go on ahead as he hustles by, seemingly sent off on some very important errand.

Smiling, you stride over on your spool heels and in your belted navy pencil dress, entering the office and finding Javi rummaging through his drawers for something. He's wearing a nice charcoal suit and a burgundy jacquard contrast dot patterned tie over the crisp dress shirt you ironed for him this morning. "Good morning, Agent Peña," you greet with serene charm.

Javi flicks his gaze to you and can't help smile broadly at the sight of you holding two coffee cups in your hands while balancing your folder to be pinned against your chest by your left forearm. "You're a sight for sore eyes," he tells you in a hushed rumble as he stands and frees your right hand by grabbing the coffee cup you hold out to him. "And, you're psychic," he remarks as he pulls the chair out for you before returning to sit behind his desk.

"Oh?" you chime and set your folder onto your lap to balance your cup between your hands onto it while he takes a long drink of coffee.

Exhaling a pleasant sigh, he grunts in the affirmative before elaborating, "I got a bag of coffee candies when I bought these yesterday," he taps at the nice box of fancy chocolates sitting on the uncluttered corner of his desk. "Which, I got as a thank you for your intern. I thought I shoved them in a drawer, but now I can't find 'em. Will she like the chocolates I got, at least?"

"Oh, she's going to love those," you chuckle warmly and have to suppress the fawning look you want to give him. "She should be in soon," is your unspoken suggestion; that he can pass the gift to Francesca sometime today.

"Great," he retorts before leaning conspiratorially over his desk to drawl, "So you know, it's taking every ounce of self-control I have not to kiss you right now."

You feel the apples of your cheeks radiate with your blush. "No te pongas atrevido," is your airy admonishment, arching a chiding brow at him all the while you're fighting the sly smile tugging to crest your plush lips. "I distinctly remember an agreement about keeping professional while at the embassy—"

"Well, I'm only saying I want to versus actually doing it, so, I think that counts as behaving," he remarks in a honeyed tone before adding with a soulful look, "It's an exploitable loophole in the agreement—"

"It most certain is not," you contradict and make a casual gesture to the surroundings as you laconically counter, "Your office is a proverbial fishbowl. One much-too-friendly glance or overheard come-on, and the gossip will spread like wildfire through the building."

Javi obstinately raises his brows and purses those delectably pillowed lips of his. "Tan terca," he sulks in a faux huff before taking a long drag from his coffee cup.

You snicker, despite yourself, and set your cup on his desk so you can open your folder. "Would you like to hear how your team is fairing, or not, querido?" is your smooth musing, one that becomes a sultry purr when you draw out the term of affection.

The heat that warms his brown eyes and softens his features is priceless.

With a grunt, he leans back in his chair and absently chews on his bottom lip before rumbling, "Yes, by all means, mi directora."

Primly, you sit back and toss your hair behind your shoulders before clearing your throat and smiling at him with your eyes as you start detailing the latest on his team's progress.

While he's listening intently, Javi can't help stare. Really, he truly can't help it. You look so in your element, confident and poised. He finds it infinitely sexy. It also helps that you're telling him a lot of great feedback about his team.

Handing over a copy of the status to him, you detail, "I think your team is on target to complete the pilot ahead of schedule, which to me indicates a real aptitude for it. Once we complete the program with them, we'll be sending out a survey to assess their feedback."

"Wanna go out for dinner tonight?"

You willfully purse your lips and glare at him. "Are you even listening?" is your sassy murmur, trying hard not to crack a smile at his infuriatingly handsome, smirking features.

"I am, and it sounds like my team has come a long way from being pains in the asses, so it saves me the trouble of cracking skulls," he tells you in a velvety chuckle and finishes his coffee with a smooth hum before pressing, "So? I shouldn't need to stay late tonight—"

"I might, though. My team needs to figure out the onboarding for Medellín," you cut in and wrinkle your nose at how he pouts at you. "Are you going to be free Friday night? Ellis invited us to his and Anita's place for dinner and movies," you offer conspiratorially after leaning forward in a way that any outside observer would think it's just you shifting to disclose something top-secret to him.

"I have a check-in with the deputy ambassador end of day, but nothing else that should keep me late," Javi retorts coolly before smiling as he wryly quips, "And I definitely will not miss it this time."

"Hmph, you better not—" you amusedly begin to jibe.

"Uh, um, 'scuse me, guys—sorry to interrupt!" You and Javi turn to look at Ellis as he vacillates in the doorway, looking very frazzled as he says your name and hastily blurts, "—Something's going on at security. They're not letting Francesca up, and it's kind of devolving into a whole thing, so we need to go straighten it out."

"What?!" you exclaim, perplexed as you look over at Javi before standing as you ask, "What kind of thing?"

Sparing a tense glance over at Javier, Ellis strides towards you and confides, "Garner, the head of security, is saying her visa is no longer valid, and they're refusing to let her up, regardless of her clearance."

"That doesn't even make sense! If her visa was really expired, we would've been alerted, so—" you pause your verbal stream of consciousness and tense as a foreboding feeling trickles down your spine before you turn to look at Javi and put your guard up as you parcel out, "I-I'm sorry. I gotta go handle this—"

"I'll go with you," Javi states as he stands and grabs his cell phone from the desk, pocketing it in his blazer. "Maybe I can help. DEA has a little more pull than you guys. No offense," he quips, trying to lighten your mood.

You hesitate, worriedly knowing Javi getting involved on your department's behalf will definitely stand out in all the wrong ways.

"Well, I am interrupting your meeting, so it would be a good pressure tactic," Ellis offers as a tiebreaker, and glances between you too.

With a determined look, you nod, deciding it's a minimal risk. With a stop off at your office to leave the folder and grab your purse, you set off to get to the bottom of things.

Once you three arrive downstairs at the security office, you find Francesca flustered, almost at the point of tears, blotchy-skinned and trembling anxiously as she sits in what you would consider to be a vestibule-style holding room that separates her from the front desk. Flashing your embassy badge, you curtly give your name and ask for Phil Garner, the head of security at the embassy complex.

The stout man meets you and tries to usher you into his office, but you insist, "Seriously, Phil. What's going on? You got my intern sitting there like she's a shoplifter!"

"I understand, but we're just following protocol. Her badge got flagged at the security counter, and when we pulled her up in the system, it showed she no longer has a valid visa—"

"She was literally here yesterday, Phil. So how the hell does that even make sense? It has to be a clerical error of some kind," you cut in, fierce and sharp-eyed as you argue while Ellis is assuring Francesca through the glass that they're sorting it out.

Javier knows Garner pretty well, so he covertly gestures over your shoulder with a sidelong tilt of his head for him to huddle to the side with him as he suggests, "At the very least, you could let the director talk to her and calm her down. She's turning red as a tomato in there."

Phil nods and signals for his guard to let you and Ellis into the room while he and Javi talk about possible ways to rectify this.

"I'm so sorry, Francesca!" you're emphatic as you hug the anxious young woman and assure, "We're going to sort this out. It has to be some clerical thing—"

"That's what Wayne said at the security counter, but then when he looked me up, it said my visa is expired?! What does that even mean? I have a month left in the semester, so is that going to affect my school?" she's stammering in a nervous chatter.

"No way, Fran. We'll get this fixed. It was likely someone stamping the wrong form, you'll see," Ellis offers and squeezes her shoulder reassuringly.

You ask her to explain every single thing that happened once she arrived at the embassy. As Francesca does so, you glance out the glass wall and see Javier with his hand on his hip and impatiently gesturing with his other at Phil and what looks to be some kind of official from the Form Processing department who'd just arrived. You can somewhat make out him telling her there needs to be some kind of remediation to give Francesca a temporary waiver to move freely at least, but the official keeps shaking her head at Javier. They both just keep insisting what he clearly doesn't want to hear, and you suddenly feel like there's something amiss.

He looks over and catches your worried gaze, so he says something to Phil that shuts the man up and has him nodding before he goes to get you from the room. Once you stride over to where Javi and the official are, you try to keep your cool as she tells you that Francesca was flagged anonymously as a candidate for expulsion from the country.

"…So let me get this straight. You're telling me, that out of the blue, someone anonymously put in a complaint about her, and that is enough cause for you to pull a student's visa without any prior notice?!" you scathe cuttingly and level the sallow, glowering woman with an icy look that has Javi thankful you're not directing it at him. "I want to speak to your superior and sort this out. Phil, in the meantime, what are the options here? She cannot be held like this," is your imperious, no-nonsense insistence.

"Well, she needs to apply for a revalidation of her visa, but that could take weeks to approve, and technically she can't leave the embassy—"

"Let's pretend that I'm not going to accept that, and that I'm going to unleash holy hell for both of you if you try to hold this girl and ship her stateside without any cause," you interject with a disarmingly exacting tone that flares awe in Javi as he is relegated a mere spectator of your vehemently calm dressing down of these two people. "If I call the ambassador and get him to fax his personal exception to allow her to be released into my custody so she can at least get her affairs in order, are either of you going to fight me on that?"

"No fight from me, director," Phil surrenders.

The official hesitantly seconds, "N-None from me, but unfortunately I don't have the clearance to sign off on that—"

"That's fine," you cut in before turning to glance with a cool, professional air at Javier as you civilly state, "I apologize for the inconvenience, Agent Peña. I'll be sure to reschedule our status report at a time of your earliest convenience, and I appreciate you trying to lend your assistance in this matter. I don't wish to monopolize any more of your time."

Javier reads you loud and clear. "No trouble at all, director. Good luck," he retorts smoothly before shaking the official and Phil's hand, then offering you a curt nod in farewell as he turns and breezes out of the security office.

He spends the rest of the day wondering what the hell happened while you have to end up getting Ellis to reschedule the rest of your appointments in order to personally resolve the issue. You manage to get ahold of Crosby, and without any qualms, he faxes his exemption sign-off and makes the calls to essentially give Francesca a stay until the Form Processing department can justify the invalidation of her visa. The poor girl is overwhelmed and scared, so you talk everything through with her, counseling her to try and get her things in a place that if she did need to leave suddenly, it could be prepped for you and Ellis to help ship everything to the states for her, worst-case scenario. You also suggest that she speak to her professors and see if they can allow her to submit final papers, or take exams early.

"—I'm more than happy to speak to anyone at the school on your behalf and stress that this is not your fault," you're telling her now as you drive her home to her dorm.

"That would be great," she exhales, but you can hear how downtrodden she is. "Do you think there's a chance it won't get resolved in my favor?"

"The fact they can't justify it…" you begin to answer, but then trail off before amending, "It's best to be prepared, though. Luckily, you're close to the end of the semester anyway, so aside from being an absolutely ridiculous inconvenience, if you can get your professors to cut you a break, it might not be so bad—"

"But wouldn't it affect my ability to apply for a visa for next semester?" she worries.

Submerging your frown, you reassure, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

You drop her off and insist that she call you so you can go to the university and vouch for her, and once she's in her building, you drive back to the embassy, feeling dejected as you ruminate about the suspicious turn of events. Once you park and walk into the building, you try to shake the stress off, but can't help feel resentful and angry at the clearly broken system.

When you enter the workspace of your department, you can't help frown at the empty cubicle that used to be Francesca's. Her laptop is stored in your desk while a box with all her knickknacks sits on your couch. You go to sort through it to make sure all her belongings are accounted for, when you see the box of chocolates Javi had on his desk nestled on top of her cardigan sweater that normally hung on the back of her chair for days when it got nippy in the office.

Your heart feels heavy at the sight, and just when you plop your purse down onto the couch so you can reach into it for your cell phone, someone knocks on the sidelight of your office.

"Bad time, director?"

Turning, you have to douse your quick flare of disdain towards Bill Stechner, as he smugly stands in your doorway and slips his hands in his slacks pockets.

"Station chief. No, not a bad time," your tone is pure frost as you stride casually to your desk. "How can I help you?"

"You mentioned getting some status reports on the resources on my team that are in your pilot program. I figured I'd stop in and see whether I could grab those. If you have them, that is," the smarmy man snidely drawls as he leans his shoulder into your doorjamb.

"Actually, I do," you retort with the smoothness of an icepick as you pluck the report from your files and turn swiftly to offer it to him. "Not bad. It would almost seem like they're naturals at it."

Stechner offers you a facetious smile. "Happy to hear it," he drawls and takes the report from you. "By the way, I've been hearing great things about the system you've implemented. Hopefully, you'll be able to get the Medellín linkup running soon too. Inter-office setbacks not withstanding, of course," he lobs with conniving aplomb before smiling and tucking the form he's rolled up into the interior of his jacket.

You knew it, so you can't help counter, "Nothing that won't get sorted out soon."

"Oh, I don't know about that. User error or not, setbacks involving the visa process are notoriously tedious and time-consuming. Definitely the kind of thing that even with the ambassador putting in a good word, it won't expedite things," he drawls with a cunning, knowing look before goading, "Anyway, you have a good night," and then strolls out of your office.

Seething with vicious rancor, you haggle over the merits of running out and kneecapping the bastard. You had a sinking suspicion that this whole incident was a form of sabotage. It's clear to you now that this was the surreptitious man's way of payback for scuttling the majority of his resources he wanted to be part of the pilot program. You're just managing to suppress your impulses for revenge when Ellis rushes into your office.

"Shit, how'd it go?" he asks, referring to things with Francesca.

"Close the door."

Disarmed, Ellis shuts your office door and watches as you kick your heels off in a flare of temper and stalk around to your desk as you begin to rifle through it for something. "Uh, did I miss something?" he chortles before sitting on the edge of your desk to watch you look for what he realizes is your stationary with department letterhead. "Gonna write a stern letter to someone?"

"No. I want to write letters of recommendation for Francesca in case this doesn't work out," you hiss before slamming the stationary onto your desk and glaring at him, muttering, "And, I'm going to Medellín to do the linkup in person, so do me a favor and start looking at itineraries between now and next week. Whatever works best for our schedule, just go ahead and lock it in with the team there."

"Oook…you're not gonna tell me why, are you," he worriedly crosses his arms and frowns at you.

"Nothing for you to worry about. It just needs to get done, and I want to be there to see it through. Doing it remotely is hellish and not an option anymore, as far as I'm concerned," you tell him, pausing in your angry sulk to ruminate over something. "Also…I need you to give me a phone number."

"Who's number?"

While you give him the details, Javier is in his office, hoping you'll call him so he has an excuse to go home and meet you there.

The idea of going to your place and waiting for you hadn't appealed to him, hearkening back to when he'd waited that harrowing eternity for you to come home after the Danvers episode. The only thing that shakes him free of the forlorn feeling that starts to well in his chest from recalling that awful experience is the thought of how ferocious you'd been today.

Javi has always admired that, and frankly, it always awes him how you could intimidate anyone without being vindictive or mean. You were just someone that commanded respect, and he'd be lying if he tried to deny that it hadn't been a complete turn-on to see you in your boss lady element.

He's fondly replaying how you'd looked at him like a self-assured leader in the security office when his satellite phone starts ringing. Scowling, he begrudgingly answers it with a curt offer of his surname, as per his standard.

"Hey, man. I've been on assignment. Just got back and heard about what happened," Steve's raspy drawl fills his ear, and Javier relaxes. "The whole thing's fucked up."

"Yeah, that's my assessment of it as well," Javi laconically drones before rubbing the tense spot between his brows. "Assignment, huh?"

"Yeah. Spent a spell in the Everglades, trying to infiltrate some drug runners who were moving coke – aka big time shit," he sarcastically quips, earning a wry grunt from Javi. "Anyway, I wanted to check in. Make sure you weren't getting ready to hang fuckers upside down by their heels—"

"Absolutely not. That would be downright un-American, Steve," is his cavalier deadpan, which gets a dry chuckle from his former partner. "How're things with Connie and the kid?" he warmly queries.

"You know Connie. She's good. Olivia's getting ready to go to pre-kindergarten, which terrifies the shit out of me," Steve sighs. "Aside from work, things are real good, I guess."

Javi hums thoughtfully at that, becoming a bit pensive. "Hey…while I have you, I was wondering something," he haltingly muses, and when Steve grunts for him to continue, he rubs at his cheek before forging on. "When you decided that you wanted to take the next step. That you wanted to…that things with Connie had gotten serious? How did you make that move? I mean, did you just know and went for it? Or did you two decide on it together before you made the move—"

Steve cuts in on his rambling, gruff tangle of questions with, "Holy shit. Are you askin' when I decided I wanted to marry her?" When Javi sets his jaw and leans back tersely in his chair with a huffy grunt, Steve chuckles rambunctiously, "Is this for real?! Are you finally going to make it official? Get down on one knee—ask her to marry you—?"

"Christ. Just forget it," Javi grumpily huffs and feels like a flustered idiot as he impulsively rubs at his moustache before pinching his bottom lip admonishingly. "I wasn't looking to get my balls busted—"

"C'mon, Jav. I ain't bustin' balls. I'm just genuinely amazed here," Steve insists in that wily tone of his. "So I take it things are really good, then?"

Tersely, he sighs and decides to relent. "Yeah. They've been great, actually, all things considering," Javi retorts musingly. "And fine, sure… I've made it no secret to you that I wanted to make it official with her—"

"Jav, I'd specifically hassle you cuz I knew how uneasy any mention of getting married would get you, so don't bullshit me now," Steve cuts in sardonically. Javier rolls his eyes and scoffs, so his friend continues, "I asked her dad for permission to propose to her and for his blessin', and then I took her to the bowling alley we first met at, got her a beer, and got down on one knee."

"…That has to be the lamest proposal I've ever heard, Steve," is Javier's laconic derision.

"Hey, give me a break! It was about the sentiment, and Connie said yes, so," his former partner chuckles. "You got a ring yet?"

"Fuck no, I don't have a ring," Javi mutters in a hushed tone into the phone. "I'm just…fuck, never mind—"

"Well, whatever, bud. All I'll say is, I expect to be your best man, so don't let me down," Steve gravels tauntingly.

"Goodnight, Steve," he obfuscates flippantly instead. "Give Connie my love."

Once he hangs up, Javi can't help ponder things further, wishing suddenly he could get advice from a comforting, familiar source.

Huffing at himself, he decides to do just that, so he grabs his cell phone and makes a long-distance phone call.

"Peña residence."

"Hey, Pop. Hope it's not too late," Javi greets tentatively.

"Ah, mijo! No, you caught me before I made it to the recliner. How are things?"

"…They're ok. I, uh, I'm sorry for not writing you. It's been busy here," he mumbles before shaking his head and deciding to not be such a dummy and just get on with it. "I was actually wondering if I could ask your advice."

His father sagely hums, intrigued. "You sound like you need it. Go ahead. Shoot."

"Well, first off, I took your other advice, and got her back…" he can't help drawl.

"Oh, that's great news, son. I'm happy to hear it!"

Javi stands from his desk in order to pace, which he does on impulse; unable to stay still while on the phone, especially when he's prying out his stream of consciousness and working through it out loud. "Yeah, well, I've been thinking…and we've been talking about making plans together," Javier pauses before huffing deprecatingly and getting to the point. "I don't have a great track record here, Pops, so I guess I was wondering what you think would be the smart move?" he asks and idly runs his hand over his hair.

"Smart usually doesn't have anything to do with it, mijo," Chucho chuckles. "Do you love her?"

"Yes," Javi declares, without hesitation this time.

"Well…is she still not the 'marrying kind'?" his father rasps.

"I—" Javi pauses, realizing you hadn't really discussed that since that initial conversation. "I don't know. We haven't explicitly talked about that since we've worked things out."

"But you have been making plans together?" Chucho inquires musingly.

"Yeah. We haven't disclosed our relationship at the embassy yet. There's a lot that has to happen before we do that, but…we've talked about getting a place together," he tells his father and drops down to sit on the leather sofa, staring pensively out at the empty bullpen and workspace outside of his office. "How did you do it? I mean, when you asked Ma?"

Chucho lets out a fond sigh. "Oh, that was made simple for me. Your mother asked me if I thought I could see myself spending the rest of my life with her. I said I could, so, she smiled and said, 'Well then, we should get married some time before then.' I saved up my money, got the ring, and asked her soon after that," his father regales tenderly, which settles a warm tickle behind Javi's breastbone. "It's different for everyone, son. But you both should probably get on the same page before you get yourself all wound up over it," he can't help rasp amusedly.

"Hmph. Yeah…there's that," Javi laconically mutters as he loosens the knot of his tie. "Thanks, Pops."

"You're welcome, mijo," Chucho drawls, but can't help tease, "Glad that at the very least, I still have a chance at nietos."

Javier groans and drags his palm down his face. "Well, on that note, I gotta go," he drones, earning a wry chuckle from his father. "Cuídate, Papá."

"Tú también, mijo."

Feeling unflustered now that he's talked to his father, Javier looks at his watch and decides to head down and make sure you're ok. He finds you furiously typing away at your laptop, wearing those eyeglasses that help ease the strain on your eyes from staring practically unblinkingly at the computer screen. Your department is vacant, and the dull hum of vacuuming coming from the offices across from yours is the only other sign of life, so Javi knocks lightly on the sidelight of your door.

You glance up and find him standing there, and the serene smile that softens your features has him feeling punch-drunk. He notices your discarded heels on the floor at the foot of the couch, and he can't help grunt curiously. "Everything all right?" he murmurs before striding over as you eagerly save your work and shut the laptop.

"Yeah…just a little aggravated still," you mutter and tidy up your desk to quell the impulse to jump out of your seat and tackle him with kisses. "I'm sorry about the hassle of all that—"

"No hassle. I just wish I could've helped more," Javi reassures with a velvety drawl and casually slides his hands in his slacks pockets. He sees the box is still on your sofa, so he rumbles, "Ellis mentioned you took her home."

With a forlorn sigh, you remove your glasses and rub at the pressure point at the bridge of your nose. "Yeah. That really sucked," you grumble, fretting, "I don't think it's going to get resolved fast enough to not impact her plans. I just—" you pause, deciding you don't want to mention Stechner's involvement, or let him know about your suspicions on his underhanded motivations, so you clear your throat and huff instead, "I just want to fix this."

Sitting on the corner of your organized desk, Javi grunts in understanding. "I know you do," he rasps softly and gives you a soulful look with those molten chocolate eyes of his. "Wanna spend the night at my place?" he proposes in a low murmur, smiling as he adds cockily, "I'll make my stir fry."

You crack a smile and shake your head sardonically at him as you store your laptop in your drawer and lock it. "It's too late for all that—"

"Have you eaten at all today?" he can't help turn the tables on you, giving you a lopsided smirk when you have to coax your features into coyness. "Uh-huh. C'mon, gatita, let's go—"

You swat his arm with faux-snippiness and purse your lips at him. "Quit it, you," is your hiss as you grab your keys. "We have appearances to keep up—"

"Yes, ma'am," he wryly draws out as he goes to grab the box in order to carry it down to your car for you. "Although, I can't make any promises when it comes to behaving in the elevator," he teases as he lopes out.

Snickering, you retrieve your heels and put them on, shoulder your purse and tote, then shut your office light and lock the door before falling into step to the foyer with him, where he presses the button and smugly winks at you. You scoff and fight the wily smile that's quirking your lips as the elevator arrives.

Once you both step in and the elevator doors slide shut, Javi steals a kiss from your lips while he balances the box under his arm, keeping it pinned in place to his hip while his free hand cups the small of your back. You get lost in the warm, comforting smell of his cologne and natural musk, reluctant to part from it even when the elevator dings your arrival to the garage level.

Impishly, he pecks you on the cheek and lopes out like nothing once the doors slide open. You can't help snicker, amused and ridiculously fond of his hunky swagger.

Unbidden, your heart flutters, and for a moment, all the stress that you're carrying inside you is quelled. So, you follow his lead, ignoring the foreboding worry that still loiters in the back of your mind.

Dutifully storing the box in the back of your hatchback for you, Javi gives your waist an affectionate squeeze before letting you slip into the driver's seat. You smile as you watch him strut off to get into his SUV across the parking level, and once he's in, you drive off and see he's not far behind the entire drive out of the embassy complex and the short distance to his apartment building.

After you descend to the ramp, put the security code, then drive down and park in the visitor's spot, you take a moment to worry whether you're making the right decision about not telling Javi about Stechner's latest scheming behavior. Part of you doesn't feel right about keeping anything from him, but the objective side of you knows Javi will be furious and liable to confront the man, regardless of whether it plays into his hands or not. You've had to practically bellow at him the last time – when you'd showed him the note Stechner left you, so you can't help think that if he knew Stechner was pointedly retaliating against you? That he went out of his way to mess with Francesca's visa just to prove he can sabotage you, personally and professionally? Javier would surely blow his top and tear all obstacles in his way asunder in order to put his hands around the man's throat.

Just as your fretting starts to tangle you up, Javi pulls into his spot, so you submerge the angst before it can settle over your features and exit your car.

He chivalrously takes your tote from you and puts his other arm around you to escort you up to his apartment.

"Wanna hear something funny?" he husks as you get into the elevator and presses the button to his floor. Grunting curiously, you nod, blinking up at him. "So, Stoddard comes into my office before our meeting today to tell me that he heard something a bit scandalous might've happened between one of the guys you have running the training and the girl in records management on my team," he tells you and gives you a faux-stern look as you gasp. "Oh, yeah. Super scandalous. He wasn't sure if you were aware or not, so he wanted to give me a heads up, in case you brought it up during our meeting—"

"I've heard nothing!" you exclaim, nonplussed. "How is this funny?!" you snap and put your hand on your hip as you lean against the polished elevator wall.

"Ah, because I then told him that was something I needed him to counsel our staff on, and told him he had to immediately go give her a verbal warning before anymore gossip spreads," he tells you with a devious little smile before taking your hand and towing you down the hall to his door after the elevator opens and you just gape at him, astounded. As he unlocks his door and holds it open, he drawls, "Told him that he should discourage the staff from fraternizing at work—"

"Oh my god," you scoff at him. "You freaking hypocrite!" is your comical jeer as you saunter into his place and toss your purse onto the leather chair before whirling on him when he locks the door and chuckles smugly. "And what exactly is this gossip?!"

"So, your guy, Devon? I guess he and Noreen – from my records management division – worked late in one of the conference rooms this week, and got walked in on while he had her perched on the edge of the conference table with his hand up her blouse. She had her legs wrapped around his waist, lipstick prints all over his mouth and neck. They seemed to be 'indisposed,' as Stoddard put it," Javi regales with unabashed humor as he puts your tote aside and pulls you over to sit on his lap after he plops down onto his comfortable sofa. Your expression is priceless, so he bounces his brows at you when he adds, "Luckily, it was a colleague of hers that walked in on them, but you know the embassy. It's a fucking sieve for gossip."

"I can't believe it," you laugh and cover your hand over your mouth, baffled. "I never would've thought. Wow," is your amazed chuckle. "Oh lord, can you imagine what it would be like if everyone knew about us?"

Javi pouts. "I can, and have, but someone doesn't want to get 'indisposed' with me at the embassy—"

"Bien gracioso," you snicker and lean sidelong into him. "Guess I'll need to tell Ellis so he can have a talking to with Devon."

"At the very least suggest he lock the fucking door next time," Javi jokes, and you laugh and nuzzle his neck. "Alright, you lean back and relax while I make dinner," he rumbles and kisses your cheek before settling you to recline into the comfy sofa.

Melting, you stretch your tired bones and kick your shoes off, merrily watching Javi get to work in the kitchen.

Once he's plated a hearty helping of rice and steak stir-fry into a bowl, he hands it to you and sits next to you, content as you eat and chat more about the unexpected love connection between both your teams.

Then, after you both have your fill, Javi leaves everything to soak in the sink and herds you into the bathroom to strip and take a quick shower, where you both unwind after the long day under the warm water before drying off and moving to the bedroom. He surprises you when he thwarts you from going to the dresser for a nighty and instead tows you to the bed. Pulling the covers back, he sits you on the edge, and sits to brush up behind you so he can start massaging your shoulders.

You hum in appreciation, dipping your chin down and giving him access to kneading the muscles in your upper back and easing the tension out of the sinew at the nape of your neck. Dreamily, you let the towel fall to drape around your lap so you can plant your hands sidelong onto the bed when Javi caresses his warm hands down your back, sculpting his palms down your sides.

When he brushes a soft kiss to the back of your neck, you shiver. "Mmm, I could get used to this," you breathily murmur.

He chuckles, grabbing your lotion bottle and dispensing some of the silky cream into his palms. "Just easing the tension, baby," he quips, and you snicker as you cheekily lean back into him. Javi thinks about mentioning having spoken to Steve and his father, but decides you've had too much of a stressful day to get into a heavy conversation the mention of the topic he'd conversed with them over would certainly lead to.

So, he works on massaging the smooth, fragrant lotion into your supple skin, working you into a sensual trance that before you know it, leads to him stretching you to lay on the bed so he can knead his thumbs into the small of your back. You sigh, relaxed and pliant under his hands. Pleased, Javi discards the towels and shuts the lights off before tucking you into bed and spooning you lovingly.

It's sheer serenity, and the next thing you know, you're waking up the next morning feeling utterly refreshed. Relaxed and cozy in bed with Javi pressed up against you.

After stretching, you feel him brush up against you, warm and pulsing. A wiggle of your derrière confirms it's definitely the hard length of his morning wood nestled against you, and you can't help rub against it.

He grunts interestedly and encircles you tighter to him before rumbling a wordless purr behind your ear. You reach backwards to card your fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck as you grind back into him with a sultry little mewl of desire.

A fondling hand between your thighs and a nip to his jaw later, and you're having passionate sex, the kind that's yearning and hungry, but delectably tender as you rock into each other in your spooned positions. You love being enveloped in his embrace, curling backwards into him and moaning his name over and over as he fucks you from behind and groans huskily into the side of your neck.

When your orgasm hits, Javi prolongs it by rubbing ruinously over your clit with his talented fingers while he bucks into your rippling heat until his climax burns through him and blooms heat into your core. It's exquisite, and you both end up basking in the post-coital bliss, feeling grounded and settled.

By far, it's the best way to start your day.

Going through your morning routine, you agree to come over to his place after work before you kiss each other lovingly and set off to tackle your hectic schedules.

After your morning meetings, Francesca calls and asks for help speaking to the dean at her school, so you have Ellis reschedule a few appointments so you can meet her and make the rounds. The recommendation letters and Francesca being so well-liked by her professors help secure the accommodations you'd suggested, and once you've met with everyone, you treat the exhausted girl to lunch at a nice café just off of campus.

And now that you're away from the embassy, you're able to pull out her laptop and ask her to confirm a few things regarding the top-secret assignment you'd had her working on for you through the bulk of her internship. She's happy to show you the progress, and make suggestions for how to complete the code, but is curious when you ask if she thinks the function you want to add will hold up.

"—I think so, but why would you want to collect that?"

"Because I have a feeling someone is trying to exploit the system we've just implemented by trying to backdoor in via the pilot program. If that's the case, this will help me track any anomalous activity. Among other things…" you disclose to her, and she nods, showing you a patch to achieve what you're looking to track.

By the time you drop her off to her dorm – providing her with her boxed up belongings from the office and smiling when she beams at the box of fancy chocolates – 'They're a 'thank you' gift from Javi' – you feel a little better, but nowhere near over being angry.

You're feeling like you weren't able to do enough to rectify things. It continues to stress you out, and your mood doesn't improve when you return to the embassy and find out that while her visa has been fast-tracked for revalidation, there's no way it will clear in time for Francesca to salvage her stay to the end of the month. Aggravated, you have to swallow your fury and focus on the rest of the workday before you call her and give her the news after your last meeting.

Javi gets home in the evening to find you wearing a housedress and studying something on the laptop sat in front of you on the coffee table. He can smell the delicious aroma of dinner waiting on the stove for him while you're sitting lotus style on the floor, with your back against the sofa, rapt in what you're reviewing. It must be top-secret, because as soon as he drops his keys, wallet, and phone to the credenza and lopes over, you swiftly shut the laptop and set it aside. He doesn't get a chance to ask about it when you clamber up from the floor and practically launch yourself at him, kissing him with ravenous hunger. Enthralled, Javi picks you up and carries you to bed, where you tear at each other's clothes and fuck rapaciously.

It's completely wild, stress-relief sex – something Javi is very well-versed in, so he's more than happy to be that release for you, especially when he gets to surrender to your fierce, feral side.

Mind-blown and dazed after being ridden by you like your life depended on it until you both got off practically in unison, Javier dopily smiles up at you when you sigh and lean forward to worship him with doting kisses.

Once showered and in your fluffy robe and slippers, Javi lets you sit him back on the couch while you saunter over on aching muscles to serve him dinner. His stare is pining as he watches you putter around in the kitchen, in search for a pasta strainer. When you crouch down to look in a lower cabinet, you can't help wince at the protest of your muscles.

"Ugh, I could've really used a nice, long soak in a hot bath," you lament on a sigh as you find the strainer in the opposite cabinet from the one you'd just shut.

Grunting derisively, Javi decides to lope over and help you. "I always let you set the shower to scorching hot," he jibes and sidles up next to you so he can hold the strainer while you dump the pot of noodles in it in order to drain the warm water out in the sink.

"Hah, exagerado. The water's not that hot—"

"Baby, it's scalding as fuck sometimes. We come out pink as lobsters," he sneers comically, and you giggle after bumping your hip into his with a scoffed sound. "I'm serious, and you can't deny your idea of bathing involves being boiled or steamed alive—"

"Oh, cut it out," you snicker as you toss the noodles in with the delicious hybrid of Puerto Rican Bolognese you made, expertly stirring it all together before artfully scooping some in a bowl for him. "I just really prefer a nice hot bath sometimes, and tonight is the kind of night I'd love one, but your dumb apartment doesn't have a bathtub," you complain goofily and smirk when you feel your pajama-bottom-clad stud grunt and purposely lean into you so he can peer over your shoulder and watch you plate another serving for yourself.

"Fine, your place's bathroom is better, but you have to admit my living room is bigger—"

"Yes, but my bedroom is larger and I have more closet space than you—"

"And no air-conditioning, or a convenient in-apartment washer-dryer," he drawls, squeezing your waist affectionately to move you out of the way from the stove so he can pick up both bowls while you scoff and retrieve the forks and drinks. "I also have the better location, the in-building perks, secure parking—"

"But no nice balcony to have any plants, and no bathtub," you counter as you both move over to sit next to each other cross-legged at the coffee table to have dinner.

Exhaling noisily through his nose, he shoots you a soulful leer before smirking and remarking aloofly, "Then maybe we should get our own place together, one that checks off all of our boxes."

You pause the stirring of your fork and glance over at him while the butterflies of something effervescent and longing begins to flutter in your tummy. His stare is dark-brewed, deep and warm and intensely admiring you as he tilts his head in an almost teasing gesture as he hikes his brows in an expressive, unspoken taunt.

"Yeah…maybe we should," you confidently muse and go back to stirring your pasta, smiling when you feel him minutely tense, as if he hadn't expected you to agree. "And in a location that's close to Don Gilberto's, but not as far out as my place. Oh, and pet-friendly," you add to the list, and pop a forkful of spaghetti into your mouth.

The searing wave of pride that settles in his chest has him feeling charged and buzzing as it crests up into his eyes and softens his handsome features. "Alright. We'll start looking," he remarks coolly before digging in to his serving of dinner.

Needless to say, you're both in such a good mood, feeling settled and anchored in something hopeful and full of possibility.

After stowing the leftovers and washing dishes, you both contently head to bed, where you make love and fall asleep cuddled in each other's amorous embrace.

As you both get ready to head off to work the next morning, you confirm your plans for a couple's movie night at Ellis and Anita's, and once he's kissing you goodbye before you slip into your driver's seat, you can't help feel giddy. After all, you're looking forward to spending time with him amongst your closest friends. Doing the things normal, non-covert-couples do with other couples on a Friday night.

Javi's looking forward to it, too.

His father's advice is pinging around in his thoughts throughout the day, stirring him to plan for maybe having a deeper conversation with you about future plans – not just talking in generalities. Apartment-hunting as a couple was something he's never done before, and really, he can't help feel a little anxiety about what it will be like, especially when he's got so many other things juggling in the air. Professionally, shit is a mess. And no matter how much he wants to pretend it shouldn't dictate your plans together, it most definitely does, so Javier figures you both have to talk through exactly what you both want, sooner rather than later.

Heading into his meeting with the deputy ambassador, Javi expects to hear updates that will only make his timetable worse, but instead is surprised to hear that Crosby won't be returning for another couple of weeks. His wife, Nancy, had ended up needing to get an emergency procedure done, and while he was a tough and badass Navy man, Crosby was not about to leave his wife to recuperate alone. So, the deputy ambassador would strictly be punting major decisions back and keep things afloat in the meantime, which was the reprieve Javier was not expecting, but was damn glad for.

While he's counting his good fortune of not having Crosby around, you're exasperated to not have the ambassador available to help reverse things with the visa issue. On top of that, Ellis tells you that the travel ban is still in effect, so he isn't able to coordinate a trip to Medellín for the linkup…at least not in an official capacity. So, you decide to put in for a couple of days of time off – that way you can drive up, do the linkup with your team at the field office there, then visit with family and help with the wedding prep. You're eagerly putting in for the time before you realize that you didn't consult with Javi before doing so.

The fiercely independent part of you scoffs. This is your work. Javi runs off to do shit without consulting you all the time. You can't wait for the ban to lift, not with a deadline looming and shit to do for your cousin's wedding. If he doesn't like it, then tough, is your testy thought. Still, it bugs you a little – gets added to the growing list of things you decided to keep from Javi strictly because you want to handle things the way you want without hearing his contrary dissent.

Shelving the worry, you head to Javi's to change out of your work clothes and wait for him so you can both head over to Ellis and Anita's together. You stop on the way to get a bottle of his favorite whiskey and one of that amazing Chianti to take over with you.

Javier arrives maybe half hour after you and finds you busying yourself by sorting the laundry from the hamper to be tossed into the wash.

"You and laundry," he snickers as he waltzes over and pecks you on the lips before stripping his blazer and undoing his necktie. "Leave that. I'll do it later—"

"Just admit that you like it when I clean up after you," is your ribbing retort as you abandon the sorting and flop onto his bed to watch him get dressed. You're already in a cute long-sleeve violet turtleneck top and black pleated skirt, so you get to watch him strip out of his suit and into a pair of gray Levis as he snorts and shakes his head contrarily at you. "C'mon, admit it," you heckle as he pulls on the chambray cuff-sleeved button up he just pulled off of a hanger before shrugging his sculpted arms into it and yanking it over his broad shoulders.

"Yeah, sure, fine. I like it," he relents as he deftly buttons the shirt closed and tucks the hem into his jeans before zipping them up and grabbing a dark leather belt to loop them with. "But you're also a weirdo that loves doing laundry," is his tease as he leans over and steals a kiss before fastening his belt closed and going to grab his boots from the closet.

"Says the dork who's content to stack piles of laundry all over the place – shoving them in corners or stuffing them in the machine like a slob," you razz and hop off the bed to retrieve a pair of flats you think will go with your outfit once he's moved to his dresser to brush his hair.

Amused, Javi purposely crowds you from behind and starts relentlessly nuzzling kisses into the back of your neck as he herds you out of the bedroom once you've slipped the shoes on. "I'm not a slob. You're just a neat freak," he counters smugly and suckles a daring kiss into your jaw, since the turtleneck shields your neck from his puckish lips.

You gasp and swat at him to stop before whirling in his arms and pinching pressure points just under his armpits. "Tan jodón," you scoff derisively before fiddling with his shirt collar and smiling when he paws his hands over your ass. "You have to behave tonight. No groping me during the movie-watching—"

"Look who's talkin'. You just keep your hands to yourself, gatita," he challenges charmingly, patting your ass as he kisses your lips. "Now, let's go, before I just take you to bed and spank this sassy ass for fucking teasing me," he growls provocatively and gives you a sexy, smoldering look that makes you tingle.

With the bottles in hand, you arrive at Ellis and Anita's no more than 15 minutes later. The married couple greets you both jovially and ushers you in to their cozy abode. In no time, Ellis is pouring drinks for you both and chatting while Anita sets the table for dinner. You help her plate the delicious food and carry it out while the guys talk.

"Did she tell you yet?" Javi can't help query at Ellis while you all settle in at the table.

"About?" Ellis blinks and looks between you guys.

You elbow Javi playfully. "With all the visa craziness, I hadn't gotten the chance, chavón," you snipe amusedly at him, and Javi just chuckles and takes a sip of his whiskey. "So, Stoddard reported to him that Devon and Noreen – a resource from Javi's team that's part of the pilot – were caught fooling around in one of the conference rooms," you tell Ellis.

"What?!" your deputy incredulously gapes and balks over at Javi. "For real?!"

"Yep. I told him to give Noreen a warning," Javier retorts before digging into the savory Peruvian-inspired dish. "Mmm, this is delicious."

"Thank you! Family recipe," Anita chimes brightly and drinks her iced tea. "So? Does that mean you have to reprimand Devon?"

"Well, I don't know about a reprimand, but I do think Ellis needs to sternly warn him about the gossip and needing to be more discreet," you remark musingly before taking a bite of chaufa and swooning from how tasty it is.

"Me?! I'm giving the warning?" Ellis whines and crosses his arms.

"Yes. Javi's deputy did the warning on his end, so my deputy should do the same," you smoothly retort before wryly adding, "Plus, it would be some real hypocritical shit if I was chiding him, after all."

Javi blows a raspberry and puts his arm around the back of your chair. "Very hypocritical, director," he drawls glibly.

Anita laughs, and Ellis grunts in defeat. "All right, but I'll have to squeeze that awkward discussion in sometime before you leave for Medellín for the linkup," he offers casually and takes a drink from his glass. You feel Javi's arm minutely tense behind you, and you internally swear and squint your eyes scathingly at Ellis. He's on delay in comprehending when he remembers you mentioning how Javi had been terse about you wanting to go to Medellín despite the travel ban when you'd brought it up to him previous. "Oh, uh, yeah—sorry," he lamely blurts, and you want to facepalm.

Instead of getting all gruff and surly, Javi surprises you by simply glancing at you and rumbling, "When would you be going?"

"Next week. I'll do the linkup, then spend a couple of days running around to help with all the wedding stuff," you answer, feeling a bit of relief when he just hums and takes a drink from his glass.

"If it wasn't for the deadline, we could just wait until the ban lifted, but that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon, with everything going on—" Ellis' ramble abruptly hits a speed bump when Anita covertly kicks him under the table. "—Anyway! We got tons of movies to pick from for tonight. My brother, Trevor, is in media distribution out on the west coast, Javi, so he's always sending me the latest movies," he goes on to gush as you finish eating. "What're you guys in the mood for? We got action, dramas, a ton of comedies—"

"I'm in the mood to laugh," you tell him as you help Anita clear the table.

"I'm good with whatever," Javier remarks good-naturedly and nods his thanks when Ellis tops his drink off.

Genre decided on, you four end up sitting in the dark and viewing the first selection – a Robin Williams comedy. Javi enjoys it mostly because of how much you laugh and snicker goofily into his shoulder.

This? Being with you on the loveseat, with his arm around your shoulders with you snuggled up into his side? He never knew before how content something so simple could make him feel. It also is nice to share in the levity with others.

He chuckles when Ellis is putting in the next comedy and you're arguing with him about some of his previously atrocious movie selections. "—Oh my god, you should've seen the stupid Patrick Swayze movie he made us watch!" you heckle while Ellis insists it was a fantastic flick, even while Anita shakes her head imploringly at Javi, assuring him it was not. The next movie is one you're all laughing at, the hilarity of the mismatched couple dealing with the hell of sinking their combined fortunes into a proverbial money pit of a house being surprising zany and filled with tons of slapstick comedy. But, it's when your friend puts in the most ridiculous premise of a movie you've heard of in a while into the VCR that Javi delights in your snarky repartee with Ellis. "—So, this is The Terminator, who is an undercover cop, passing himself off as a kindergarten teacher?" you can't help give the synopsis as the upcoming attractions play.

"Yep!" Ellis chirps and puts his arm around Anita as she cuddles into his side, under a fluffy throw.

Javier vaguely knows the reference, but says nothing as he leans back in the loveseat and wraps his arm around your waist. "Sounds like I'll be having to seriously suspend my disbelief for this one," he jokes, and you snicker, looping your arms around him and resting your head on his shoulder.

The movie has its laughs, and you enjoy having Javier chuckle or snicker into your hairline as he gives you an irreverent squeeze every once in a while. The next movie Ellis chooses once the credits roll is really hysterical, and you find yourself laughing effervescently at the eccentric wedding planner who's making the father of the bride utterly miserable. You don't expect the movie to end up pulling at your heartstrings a little when Steve Martin reminisces about watching his daughter grow from the small little girl she was to the convivial woman she is at the end. Javi looks at you from the corner of his eye and sees how your eyes gleam with a faraway emotion. It strikes him as a veiled longing, but then you turn your face to nuzzle into his neck, and heat wells in his chest.

Once the movie's ending theme plays and the credits scroll, you look over at the clock on the wall and decide to call it a night.

"Those were great picks," you tell Ellis.

"Yeah, the cop one was especially ridiculous," Javi seconds, snickering, "Although, I think the kids account for all the funny parts."

"I'm kind of glad my students aren't as young as that. I don't know if I could keep a straight face if they were constantly talking about boys having a penis and girls having a vagina," Anita laughs while she turns the lamp on.

"Pfft, right? That movie was free birth control, as far as I'm concerned," you joke as you slip your feet back into your flats.

Javi is taken aback by that, but doesn't let on to it, instead cataloguing it for later.

Gathering your purse, you and Javi thank Ellis and Anita for a wonderful time, promise to do it again sometime soon, and wish them a goodnight before strolling out through their courtyard to his car.

You feel a little sentimental after that last movie, so you're not aware of the stolen glances Javi's giving you as he walks you to the side of the car to open the door for you, nor the few while he drives. It isn't until he's stopped at a traffic light that he looks over at you with a glint in his eye you can't quite read that you sense he's ruminating with something.

"When were you gonna tell me you were going to Medellín?"

Despite yourself, you fidget in your seat as you retort, "I told you about it last week—"

"You said you needed to go. There was nothing planned then," he cuts in with a terse mutter, eyes back on the road once the light turns green. "You told Ellis not to say anything—"

"No, I didn't. I'd mentioned how cagey you got about it when it came up last time," you amend, feeling a bit defensive, for some reason. "And anyway, I was going to tell you, but we've both been busy. I wasn't keeping it from you."

Javi stews on that before remarking, "There's been plenty of time for you to mention it. The fact you didn't—"

"I didn't because, frankly, I've not been in the mood to justify things to you. Not after the last few days I've had," you interject curtly and cross your arms in the way that signals to him you're getting peeved. "It's not a big deal, Javier."

"Why can't you do the linkup remotely like the one you did last week?" he questions as he turns down the avenue towards the block his apartment building is on.

"Because that was a pain in the ass process that took double the time," you answer crisply before crinkling your brow and glowering at him. "Doing it in-person is going to be infinitely easier, and I told you I have to help run errands for the wedding—"

"Yeah, but that can wait, can't it? No reason to be traveling while the ban is still in effect—" Javi mutters and spares you a glance when he sees your shoulders wind back. "What? What is the problem with waiting?"

"Because I don't want to wait?" you counter imperiously before snapping, "I don't get on you about your itinerary every time you go off somewhere, so I don't like you grilling me like I'm doing something wrong—"

"I'm not grilling you," Javi insists, glaring sidelong at you as he drives down the ramp to his building's parking garage. "Look, I know you're pissed off about what happened with your intern, but I don't see why you're suddenly wanting to rush to Medellín when shit is still so volatile—"

"Because I have things that are very important to me that I want to get handled!" you huff, getting very irritated with him now. "What is this – is your work the only shit that matters? Is only what you do important enough to give you leeway to go wherever, at the drop of a hat?"

Javier pauses after he rolls the window down in order to punch in the code for the security gate. "What? No! I didn't fucking say that," he grumbles, puts in the sequence, and drives down once the arm lifts. "I'm only wondering if something happened for you to now be so goddamned gun-ho about going next week—"

"Yes, something happened. A deadline that's always existed is getting closer, and I want to get this done so all the work I've poured into this system amounts to something," you cut in, tone cavalier and on edge. "I have a lot riding on it being successful, and it really means something to me, seeing as Ellis and I have spent fucking years lobbying for it. And now that I'm so close to getting it fully operational, you're questioning me like I'm just planning a frivolous trip to the middle of a warzone—" you're detailing snippily all the while he zoomed down the ramp and pulled into his parking spot, and once he puts the car in park and turns the engine off, Javier grips the steering wheel and intends to just listen, but then you misrepresent his point of view, so he whirls on you.

"Ok, you want the truth?" he barks before leveling you with, "No – I don't think any of that is important enough for you to violate a travel ban. Shit here is day-to-day fucking dangerous, and I don't want you going anywhere if you can help it—"

"You don't think my work is important?"

Javi pauses in his tirade when he sees how wounded you are, even though your tone didn't waver in it's icy monotone.

"Fuck, no—that's not what I meant to say—" he begins to correct, but you turn away.

"No, it's what you think, though," you accuse in a murmur. "You don't think my work matters."

"Querida, that's not true," he husks tensely and reaches for your shoulder, but you shy away. "I didn't mean it like that—"

"Do you know how fucking scared and worried I always am when you go off to god-knows-where without ever consulting me, or even bother fucking telling me before you fuck off on your dangerous operations?!" you verbally lash now, glaring at him as you shout, "I have never made you feel like what you do doesn't matter or isn't fucking important, even if it's something I don't think is worth the risk—that it could lead to me losing you. Do you know how much that fucks with me? How crazy that makes me feel?!"

Javier doesn't know what to say, and when he just glowers helplessly at you? It makes your heart hurt, so you turn away, scoffing in exasperation.

"You're not the only one dealing with shit. Having to contend with fucking sabotage or the threat of losing everything," you seethe in a sullen tone and angrily unbuckle your seatbelt as the hurt and stress of everything begins to wear you down. "I'm not just sitting here waiting for you to succeed. I have my own plans, and I've worked hard to get here. My work means something, even if you don't think any of it matters—"

Contrite, Javi insist, "I don't think that, mi amor. I just—I just don't see the urgency—"

"I think I'm going to go home," you announce as you rub at your forehead in frustration.

"We're already home," Javi grouses and puts his hand on your shoulder. "Just come upstairs—"

"No, I want to go home to my place," you tell him despondently before opening the door and adding, "I just want to be alone right now."

He feels a spike of distress twist in his gut at how upset you sound. "Baby—"

You're rushing out of the car, keeping your expression turned away from him so he doesn't see how hurt you are as you exhale, "It's fine. I'm just gonna go."

Shutting the door, you sprint to your car and get in before Javi can try and stop you. You hear him shout your name, but you concentrate on pulling out and driving off, only sparing a glance at the rearview once you're heading to the garage's exit ramp.

You see Javi standing in disarmed disconcertion in the reflection, looking tense and bewildered. He gets smaller and smaller in the rearview, and your eyes brim over with tears as you drive away from his building, feeling horribly guilty and overwhelmed by the dueling sense of betrayal you have.

In a depressed daze, you make it to your apartment complex, park, and mope across the courtyard up to your apartment. While you're crawling into bed, stripped and feeling hollow in your chest, Javier is pacing the length of his apartment, smoking a cigarette and bewildered. He's trying to piece everything together, to understand just why the conversation took the turn into an argument like it did.

She's fucking stressed, you asshole, the harsh, self-flagellating part of him irascibly sneers.

Stubbing the cigarette out into the ashtray with a furious huff, he sulks by propping his elbows on the counter and running his fingers angrily in his hair before pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes and snarling at himself. You told her the things she cares about weren't important enough—after having to lose her intern so suddenly, no less. You're a fucking asshole.

Upset now, Javier pours himself a glass of whiskey and chugs it before hissing from the burn. She asked to be alone, so just give her space, then apologize, his reasonable, albeit hopeful, conscience insists, so he begrudgingly pours himself another double before downing it in a swallow and drops down on the stool in order to wait for the buzz to kick in.

Once it does, Javi decides he'll tell you exactly how he feels, be honest about how uneasy it makes him when you're so stubbornly willing to go off on impulse the way you do – without regard for yourself. How it makes him anxious, and spurs him to want to make you reconsider.

How much he yearns with the need to protect you.

And, he decides to profess that he wants more than just to find a place together.

That he loves you, and sees himself spending the rest of his life with you.

He doesn't know how unsustainable things will become in the weeks to come, and how it will change everything in his life, but for now, his goal is to make the most important thing in his life an even higher priority.

His goal is to prioritize you, and prove what matters to you matters to him. So, he crawls drunkenly into bed and passes out on the thought of doing just that, first chance he can.

________________

Read Chapter 32: Daze

Spanish-English Glossary:

Yo perdí lo mas querido cuando perdí a mi mama, (Todo tiene su final), Pero seguí pa lante y pa lante, (Todo tiene su final), Has como yo nunca eche pa tras, (Todo tiene su final) = I lost the dearest thing when I lost my mother, (Everything has its end), But I continued forward and forward, (Everything has its end), Do like I do and never slide backwards, (Everything has its end)

Todo tiene su final, nada dura para siempre, Tenemos que recordar que no existe eternidad = Everything has its end, nothing lasts forever, We have to remember that there is no eternity

¿Y que miras? = And what're you looking at?

Guayabera = Traditional Latin American button down/formal dress shirt worn by men; usually worn by men to look distinguished

Mi amor = My love

Cariño = Darling/sweetheart

Chavón = a man that's pestering you

Guapita = Sassy/foxy/daring/testy lady

Sí, patrona = Yes, madam/ boss lady/mistress

Querida/querido = Affectionate term, akin to expressing one's want and desire

¡D-Dios mío, Javi! = Oh my g-god, Javi!

Nada de eso, mi rey = None of that, my king

Gringa puta pendeja bruta anormal de la vida = American bitch dumbass stupid idiot of life

¿Me entiendes, mi amor? = You understand me, my love?

Hermosa/hermoso = beautiful (female); beautiful (male)

Preciosa = Gorgeous; precious

Mi gatita malvadita = My wicked little kitten

Corazón = Heart; pet name to signify how deeply you love someone

Bravita= Tough girl; feisty girl

Que dulzón = What a sweetheart

No te pongas atrevido = Don't get bold

Tan terca = So stubborn

Mi directora = My director (female)

Mijo = short for "mi hijo", a term of endearment akin to "my son/sonny"

Nietos = Grandkids

Cuídate, Papá = Take care of yourself, Dad

Tú también, mijo = You too, my son

Bien gracioso = Real funny

Exagerado = Exaggerator

Tan jodón = Such a pain in the ass; Such a fucker

The song referenced and translated above is "Todo Tiene Su Final" by Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe.

Thanks for reading! Please consider leaving a comment and sharing your feedback. I would be eternally grateful.

#Heat - Narcos fanfic #Javi x Querida #Javier Peña #Javi Peña #Javi Pena #Javier Pena Narcos #Javi Pena Narcos #Javi Pena fan fiction #Javi Peña fan fiction #Javi Peña x Reader #Javi Peña x F!Reader #Javi Peña x You #Javier Peña x Reader #Javier Peña x You #Javier Peña fan fiction #Pedro Pascal #pedro pascal characters #Narcos #Narcos fan fiction

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1plus1kiyoomi · 4 years ago

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Chapter 23: Home

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After 5 long years, your family finally moves to a new house. It’s bigger than the house Kiyoomi first lived in. Since you have kids now, so more rooms must be added. You don’t even know how your husband managed to find such a big house that is close to the city.

Kia is beyond excited to have her own room after 3 long years of sharing it with her younger siblings “Wow! My room is so big!” Kia says in awe, her eyes wandering her new room. She climbs up the bed and jumps on it, letting out a series of laughter every time the sole of feet recognize the springy feeling. “I love my bed! It’s big and it’s all mine!”

“Kia, be careful or you’ll fall,” Kiyoomi warns her. Done checking with Kia, he follows Mina and your family dog, Momo, inside her new room. “Do you like it?”

“Where’s Momo’s bed?” Mina asks as she looks around the room for the said thing. The Shiba Inu follows behind her like a loyal servant.

“I thought you wanted Momo to sleep beside you?” Kia’s eyes turn wide in joy as she runs to her father. She raises her arms so Kiyoomi bends down and she gives him a kiss on the cheek.

“Momo, give papa a kiss too!” Mina cheers and the dog jumps on Kiyoomi. He catches him with his hands and stretches his arms away from his body.

“We’re not close enough to be kissing,” Kiyoomi tells Momo and puts him down. Momo resembles his cousin, Komori, so Kiyoomi feels awkward showing affection towards him.

Kiyoomi leaves Mina to discover her room, which is very kid-friendly since that’s what he specifically asked the interior designer of the house when it was being built. He then heads to where you and the twins are. From your posture and way of speaking, it seems like you’re having an argument with your youngest children.

“What’s wrong?” Kiyoomi asks you, casually putting a hand on your hip and pulling you close to him. He eyes Kin and sees the scowl on his son’s face. Kiyoomi sticks his tongue out, childishly mocking him.

“Stop that. He’s your son,” you scold your husband and he stops making fun of Kin. “Kin and Mira wants to sleep in their rooms.”

“Then, let them? Does it really matter?” Kiyoomi answers and the twins nod, agreeing to his words.

“We’re big now!” They tell you in unison.

“You’re three and you don’t want to sleep with mama anymore?” You sigh in disappointment.

“Are you scared on your own mama?” Kin frowns and you nod dramatically. Kiyoomi gags at your acting and you nudge his side with your elbow. “Do you want Kin to stay with you?”

“She has me,” Kiyoomi butts in and Kin gives him an unamused gaze.

“You’re not even home most of the time...” Kin rebuts with confidence. Kiyoomi grimaces at his son’s words and you just laugh. “Right, Mira?”

“Right!” Mira just agrees to whatever her twin brother says.

“Listen to the kids, Omi,” you whisper to him and he rolls his eyes. “Please set up the table in the garden. It’s almost dinner time.” You kiss your husband’s cheek and then you hear Kin chant that he wants kisses too. You fulfill your son’s wishes before skipping happily to your new kitchen.

The three of them set up the table just like you requested, while the two older girls help you in the kitchen. “I’m cooking the meat now,” Kiyoomi tells you as he takes out the meat from the freezer. You hum and continue cooking the other dishes.

“Go help your papa set up the table,” you order Kia and Mina. They wipe their hands clean before going out to help their father.

Kin and Mira keep running back and forth from the kitchen to the garden as they carry one plate at a time. Kia and Mina are arranging the table cloth and wiping the benches clean. Momo is helping by making sure that no bugs or birds are landing on the plates and being cute of course.

“Do you want meat?” Kiyoomi asks his kids. They don’t answer him as they are too preoccupied with other things.

Kia hears him and answers, “I’m not in the mood to eat meat papa.”

“Momo, do you want meat?” The dog barks at his question and points his forefingers at him. “You’re my favorite child for a reason.”

“Why is Momo your favorite child? You said you’re not even close enough to kiss!” Mina pouts and glares at her father.

“Mama said favoritism is bad!” Kia reprimands her father, her hands on her hips. “We are your children! You should love us equally!”

“Right! Love us equally!” Mira echoes her sister’s words, putting her hands on her hips as well.

“I thought I was your favorite!” Kin complains and Kiyoomi’s eyes dart at him.

“You don’t even like me!” Kiyoomi complains back and Kin raises his forefinger up as if he’s going to make such a great point.

“But mama said you specifically asked for me, which means I am your favorite,” Kin explains and just when Kiyoomi is about to make a retorting statement, Mira shouts.

“Papa! The meat is burning!”

“Shit!” Kiyoomi curses as he tries to weaken the fire. The garden falls dead silent as his kids stare at him in disbelief and shock. Their father could curse? “What?”

“You said a bad word!” Kia gasps dramatically.

“Said a bad word!” Mira mimics Kia’s dramatic gasp.

“No I didn’t!” Kiyoomi tries to argue, attempting to sound believable.

“Papa, stop lying. Even Momo heard it...” Mina says in disappointment. The barks as if he’s agreeing to Mina.

“Remember when I said I’ll buy you a trampoline when we move houses?” Kiyoomi tries to change the topic so he can escape his children’s interrogation.

“Shit!” Kin says loudly, and as if on cue, you go out to the garden and hear your three year old son cuss with all of his heart.

“Sakusa Kiyoomi! How many times do I have to warn you about not cussing in front of the kids?!” Kiyoomi face palms and glares at Kin. The younger boy just shrugs and runs to help you with the dishes you are carrying.

Before dinner starts, you want to take a picture of your family for keepsake. Sadly, that isn’t easy to do with four kids.

Mira and Kin are fighting over who gets to sit on your lap, leading to the twins crying. Kia is restless and hungry and just wants the picture to be taken but her siblings are acting up, which leads to her acting up as well. Mina is shy and hiding behind Momo. Kiyoomi is trying his best to make the twins to settle down so he attempts to take Kin away from you, but the boy just grabs his hair and tugs on it quite harshly.

In the photos taken, you have no good ones as expected. Kia is frowning at all the pictures. In one picture she’s rolling her eyes in irritation. Mina’s face can’t be seen since she’s hiding behind your family dog. Kin is still grabbing Kiyoomi’s hair and scratching his face, holding whatever is close to him. Mira is wailing on your lap and is screaming ‘papa’ since she wants to be with Kiyoomi now. Meanwhile, you and Kiyoomi look so tired and haggard in the photos. The only one who looks good in the photos is Momo. The dog is just sitting and smiling with his tongue out. So much for just one family picture.

Dinner finally starts after that chaotic pictorial and you say your thanks before eating. Kiyoomi cuts the burnt steak he cooked into smaller pieces and attempts to give it to Kin. His son rejects it so Kiyoomi sighs and takes the meat out of his bowl.

“I’ll eat it!” Kia volunteers and lifts her bowl so Kiyoomi can put the meat in it.

“I thought you were not in the mood for meat?” Kiyoomi raises an eyebrow at her but gives her the beef anyways.

“I changed my mind,” Kia reasons.

No, she didn’t. Kia hasn’t changed her mind. She really doesn’t want to eat the steak but when she saw Kiyoomi’s sad expression because of Kin’s rejection, she felt bad for him. She can’t scold Kin about rejecting food yet since he’s young, but she has to show him that the food their parents are providing them is special

“It’s good papa,” Kia compliments her father. Kiyoomi smiles at her and he continues to cook meat. She eats what he gives her without complains. Seeing his sister eat with gusto, Kin asks for meat and eats it.

“Me too!” Mira gives her bowl to Kiyoomi which he gladly puts the sliced beef in. She happily eats it and even feeds her twin brother with it.

Kia watches her father’s face light up in satisfaction which makes her feel blissful.

——————————————————————————

It’s 12AM and Kiyoomi feels a small hand tugging on his finger. He wakes up from the touch, and sees his son with an almost crying face. “Hi, buddy. Why are you up?”

“Want to sleep with you,” Kin answers, pulling his little blanket close to his chest. Kiyoomi’s heart softens. Kin may act like he hates his father, but deep down he wants his attention and affection too.

Seeing his son’s scared image, he jumps out of bed and picks him up. If Kin is scared, so must be Mira.“Okay. Let’s go get your sister first.” He walks to Mira’s room as quiet as possible so he doesn’t wake you or any of his daughters up.

Kiyoomi sees Mira’s door open so he quickly checks the room and doesn’t see her there. He hears murmurs from Kia’s room and also notices how Mina’s room is empty.

“Don’t be scared. Nee-chan is here!” Kiyoomi overhears Kia speak. He peeks at the small opening at the doorway and sights Kia putting Mina and Mira to bed. “Do you want me to tell you a story?”

“Yes...” Mira answers, shifting closer to Mina so they can cuddle. Momo is sleeping at the end of the bed, unbothered.

“We are going to have a new baby sister!” Kia confidently announces.

‘That’s not a story! That’s a gossip!’ Kiyoomi chuckles and then enters the room, which surprises his three daughters. “What are the three of you talking about that is keeping you awake at this?”

“Papa! Tell us a story!” Kia tries to hide their recent conversation, but her expression is giving it away. She looks like a deer that has been seen in the middle of the road. “Mina and Mira were scared so they went in my room to sleep.”

‘They’re still sleeping together in one room after all.’

“Okay. I’ll tell you a story. What kind of story do you want?” Kiyoomi gives in and sits on Kia’s bed. He puts Kin down on the bed and he snuggles close to his twin sister immediately.

“About you and mama!” Kia giggles as she joins in her other siblings.

“Again?” Kiyoomi raises an eyebrow at her. Kia loves hearing stories about the two of you. It puts her at ease.

Kiyoomi starts to share a random story about you and him during high school. Your first time meeting his family exactly. And midway, he hears his children snoring soundly so he stops speaking. He then notices Kia looking out her window.

“Go to sleep...” He tells her.

“Papa, I am so happy you’re my father,” Kia says out of nowhere, taking Kiyoomi aback. “I don’t think I would be this happy if you weren’t.”

“I’m happy you’re my daughter, too.” Kiyoomi kisses the top of her head and then smiles at her.

Kiyoomi is thankful.

Kiyoomi is very thankful that she is his daughter. If he didn’t meet Kia 5 years ago, he wouldn’t know where or who he’d be now. Having children changed him and probably made him a better person. He still can’t go on a crowd on his own, but if he’s with his kids, everything possible for him. Kiyoomi is willing to go out of his comfort zone if it means his children’s happiness.

Kiyoomi thankful that you gave him a chance to prove that he can be Kia’s father. Not just Kia, but also Mina, Mira and Kin. He knows how stressed you are with having to take care of 4 kids and him not being around most of the time, but you still stayed. You never gave up on motherhood, your children and him. He falls in love with you again and again every single day just for it. You are the best thing that has happened to him.

Kiyoomi is thankful that he has a house where you and your children are in. He doesn’t go home everyday but he knows that when he does, you’re there to welcome him. Kia is there caring for her younger siblings with you. Mina is there drawing on the living room, while her dog, Momo, sleeps on the couch. Mira is there running after her twin brother and making sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Kin is there watching everything you do because he loves you so much. You’re there raising your children with sincerity and love. You and your child are there waiting for him.

Kiyoomi is thankful that he gets to go home to where the five of you are.

Sakusa Kiyoomi is thankful that you’re his home.

“I’m also excited for my new baby sister,” Kia mentions again. Kiyoomi for sure knows you aren’t pregnant because if you are, you would be complaining about it again. Or are you hiding it from him?

“Did your mama tell you that?” He asks for assurance that this is only part of Kia’s imagination and random child babbles.

“No, but I’m sure that mama has our baby sister in her stomach.” Kia closes her eyes and hugs Mina who is beside her.

“Okay...” Kiyoomi lets it pass and slowly drifts back to sleep, too tired to go back to your room.

Morning comes and you wake up to an empty space beside you. “Kiyoomi must have gone jogging...” You yawn and stretch your arms up. It’s already 6AM but you don’t hear any of your children chant the word, “mama” so you stand up and check on them. The silence is too rare that it’s scaring you.

Mira’s, Kin’s and Mina’s rooms are empty so you get anxious. You’re telling yourself that maybe Kiyoomi brought them jogging with him so you’ll feel better, but your anxiety grows since you know that Kiyoomi will never bring the four of them with him. Momo goes out of Kia’s room so you run to it, in hopes that your children are all there.

They are, and your husband is also there.

Kia and Mina are tucked in Kiyoomi’s armpits. Their hands holding onto their father’s shirt. Mira’s face is flat laid flat on Kiyoomi’s stomach, but her body is on the bed. Kin is on his thighs, the small boy hugging the muscular leg. You let out a silent giggle at the cute sight in front of you.

And all that happiness fades when you suddenly feel lightheaded. The feeling of being nauseous hits you so you run to Kia’s bathroom, which wakes everyone in the room up.

“Babe, are you okay?” Kiyoomi asks you he shakes his kids off his body.

“See, papa? I told you mama has our baby sister in her stomach!” Kia states as she rubs her sleepy eyes.

“We’re having another child?!”

End.

——————————————————————————

Thank you so much for supporting my first ever story here. This will forever have a special place in my heart. I hope you all enjoyed it ♥️

#haikyuu sakusa #sakusa x you #sakusa x reader #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #sakusa kiyoomi smau #sakusa smau #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu smau #haikyuu series #hq imagines #hq smau #hq x reader #hq sakusa #sakusa fic

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gospelofme · 4 years ago

Text

Clone Dads and the Weird/Creepy Things Their Kids Say.

Clone x female reader

It was late at night and Kix was driving back to his in-laws. You and kids were asleep, having tuckered themselves out at the lake. The road was quiet, his in-laws lived out in the middle of nowhere. Forest and farm fields on either side.

They passed an old, abandoned house and he glanced at the mirror and could see his youngest daughter, Louise (named after his mother-in-law), waving out the window.

“What are you waving at baby?”

“The clown that was in there.”

“......oh.” Kix made a mental note to never go down this road again.

————

Sipping his second cup of caf, Wolffe walked by the kitchen table, his 6 year old daughter Mira was hard at work on a drawing. He watched her coloring and looked at the drawing.

“Who’s that?” He asked.

“That’s me in my bed!” She replied, looking for another color.

“And who’s that?” He asked, pointing at a man she had drawn. Thinking maybe she’d say him.

“That’s the man that watches me while I sleep.” She said this in the most casual, unconcerned way ever.

“........who?” Wolffe frowned, trying to keep his voice unconcerned.

“He watches me from the closet. Sometimes he gets really close to my face, but I just tell him to go away and he disappears.”

“Uh huh.”

Wolffe scanned all the security footage of the house, focusing intently on the cameras in his girls rooms. He had Mira’s room, Jailyn’s room, and Fern’s room displayed on the screen. No one else came in, besides just him or his wife checking on them. And nothing was ever near the closet. None of the security alarms had been tripped either or he’d have known it immediately.

You walked through the door with groceries, spotting your husband with an Arsenal laid out on the table.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Wolffe said causally, cleaning his blaster rifle, night vision scope attachment on the table. He spent the night sitting on the foot of Mira’s bed, armored and helmeted, with a blaster rifle on his lap just in case.

————

Fives looked up from his datapad, glancing at his son as he played on the family room floor.

“Here, some for you and some for me.” His son said, divvying up blocks.

“Who are you playing with buddy?”

“My friend Tevyn.” Darr replied.

“Oh, cool.” Fives didn’t understand imaginary friends, but you had said they were normal.

Later that day, he was walking with Darr on the way home from getting ice cream.

“Bye Tevyn!” Darr said, waving to the air.

“Where is he going bud?” Fives asked.

“Home.” Darr replied, pointing to the cemetery.

Later that night, you and Fives sat in bed scrolling through your datapads.

“He probably was pointing next to the cemetery.” You said, trying to sound reasonable. You kept scrolling through the register of those buried in that particular cemetery.

“To what?!” Fives asked incredulously.

“Sssshhhh!” You shushed him.

“The other half of the cemetery?!” Fives whispered with the same incredulous tone.

————

Kix was enjoying a quiet evening with Wolffe, drinking beer and watching a bolo ball match. He looked over at his wife, you were gabbing away with Wolffe’s wife about some crazy police case.

Five of the kids were sitting around the kitchen table playing a game (Jenga). Kix’s newest daughter, Louise, was busy suckling at her mother’s breast.

“I’m glad the kids are getting along.” Kix said during a commercial break.

“Yeah, I was worried my girls would convince Kaia to gang up on Jesse.” Wolffe nodded.

“Oh there’s still time for that.” Kix shrugged.

“Why are celebrities so famous?” Kaia asked at the table. Fern suddenly slammed her hands on the table,

“BECAUSE THE ILLUMINATI!! THAT’S WHY!!” She declared. Kaia considered this and nodded.

“Yes, that makes sense.” She agreed.

Wolffe and Kix looked at each other, then at their wives who shrugged.

“We have no idea where she picked that up. I suspect it was Hardcase, but he has so far denied it.” Wolffe said, popping a snack in his mouth.

————

“So I heard your friend was in the hospital. Is he okay?” Jesse asked his son over dinner.

“Yeah, he had to have surgery.” The boy replied, poking at his carrots.

“Oh, why?” You asked, pausing from making a funny face to get your other son to eat his food.

“I think it’s because he swallowed chewing gum and it got stuck in his heart or something.” Your son replied.

“Um, honey I don’t think-“ you were about to reply when the baby suddenly spit his food out all over your face and lekku. Your husband and son bursted into laughter.

“What the?!” You muttered, looking at Jesse. The baby laughed while watching his father laugh.

“Sorry babe, I was trying to make faces at him to get him to open his mouth for you and...I guess he found it too funny.”

————

Rex walked by his sons room where they had been playing with dolls he had brought them from a deployment. They seemed to be discussing something but they were talking too quietly. He didn’t want to spy, so he shrugged and let them go about their playtime.

He walked passed again just in time to hear his 5 year old declare,

“The holonet is a liar!! Babies don’t come from there!! It’s when mommy and daddy are really happy! Not a bunch of worms eating a bouncy ball!!”

“What?” His 7 year old replied, sounding baffled.

Rex hurried back into the living room where you were relaxing with a glass of wine.

“Hey hon, um....I think Gregor saw more than we had thought...”

“Motherffu-“

“Mommy! Can you tell me where I came from!!” Gregor yelled as he marched into the room.

————

Cody didn’t have children yet. But he and his wife were discussing the possibility. They often babysat the kids of the other soldiers for practice. He would’ve thought they’d be apprehensive, but they all quickly took him up on the offer.

That made him a little uncomfortable, but he was up to the challenge. One evening he had offered to watch Wolffe’s girls while he and his wife went out on a date. It was rare that Wolffe asked him to watch his kids, but Cody had passed the rigorous questionnaire and interview. He felt like he had leveled up then.

“We’ll be back at 11pm, make sure they’re in bed by 8pm please.” You said as Wolffe ushered you out the door, giving your rear a playful slap.

“Thanks again Cody.” Wolffe said, smiling. But his eyes held that deep threat that said, I’ll skin you alive and wear you as a robe if anything happens to my babies. Cody believed it too.

His wife arrived a little while later to help after she got off work.

“Wow!! Your eyes are so pretty!!” Mira said, grabbing your face.

“Oh! Haha, thank you.” You replied, not used to having a small child staring so intently into your eyes.

“I want to wear them on my charm bracelet.” She whispered. You tried to make the smile on your face not look freaked out.

“Oh, heh heh...well, um...thanks?” You replied.

“You’re welcome!” Mira said happily, bounding away to go play with her sisters.

You and Cody shared a look.

“Maybe it’s because Wolffe has a cybernetic eye?” You offered. Cody didn’t reply.

Later, after the girls were fed, you watched Cody play a video game with them. The dancing program tracked their movements, requiring that they perform dance moves well enough to earn points. You giggled as they all tried to mess each other up. Cody was better with kids than he thought, you realized.

Eventually the girls were tucked into bed and asleep, you and your husband relaxed on the sofa and waited for Wolffe and his wife to come home.

“I want kids more now!” You said, giving Cody a kiss.

“Oh? Want to practice making them later?” Cody asked. You giggled.

“Only if you shake your butt like you did earlier!”

————

Rex walked into the house, removing his helmet with a sigh. He could hear the kids playing and giggling down the hall in the family room. He placed the helmet on a table by the entrance to the family room.

“Daddy’s home!!” You announced, standing up and falling dramatically into your husbands arms.

“Oh honey, it’s been so tiring all day. I’ve been promoted to Queen so I’ve had to Knight all the toys.” You said regally. Rex laughing.

“And behead some!!” Orvin said, you nodded.

“Oh, well can I kiss the Queen?”

“Ooooohhh, you may!” You replied, accepting a kiss from your armored Knight.

“Ewww, mom move so I can hug dad!” Orvin said, squeezing between you two. Rex picked up his oldest son easily, but still acted like it was a challenge.

“Oh!! Gregor, come tell Daddy what you have on your face!” You called, suppressing a giggle. Rex gave you a confused look as his youngest son came running up. He had his fingers held under his chin, dangling and wiggling them. Rex picked up Gregor as well, one kid on each hip.

“What’s that supposed to be?” He asked with an amused smile.

“A beard of testicles!!!!”

“A beard...of....of what?”

“Testicles daddy!!!” Gregor wiggled his fingers more noticeably. He heard you snort with laughter. It clicked.

“Tentacles kiddo! Tentacles!!” Rex clarified.

“Yeah!!! Testicles!!!” Gregor repeated.

“Well, we’ll work on that pronunciation.”

Tag list

@simping-for-fives @jgvfhl @carlycrays @nelba

@leias-left-hair-bun @baby-queen-zen @halzore

@porgnugget @escapedthesarlacc

#star wars #the clone wars #star wars the clone wars #clone troopers #clone trooper x reader #Captain Rex #commander wolffe #commander cody #clone trooper fives #arc trooper fives #clone trooper jesse #arc trooper jesse #funny fic #clone dads and the creepy/weird things their kids say

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thekidultlife · 4 years ago

Text

Plot: After an unexpected encounter with Yoon Jeonghan during a baby shower, more memories unfold from your mind, and his.

Genre: slice of life, angst

Pairing: Jeonghan + fem!reader + Mingyu

Warnings: a bit of explicit language

A/N: Many thanks to my incredibly amazing beta reader, @secndlife, for helping me make this beautiful! Also, I would like to express my gratitude to @xuseokgyu for taking the time to make lovely banners and even a teaser for this series! You are both a joy to work with and I am so blessed to have you both help me. 🧡 Lastly, to our followers and readers who are continually supporting this blog despite its inactivity, thank you! More details about my future works will be addressed after this fic.

Taglist: @haotheheckk, @jeonjungkaka, @soonhoonsol, @fluffyhyeju, @minkwans

“If you love me like you tell me, please be careful with my heart. you can take it, just don’t break it — or my world will fall apart.”

🍁🎧🧡

The cobbled pavements of the narrow alley you were walking on were damp from the rain that had recently poured. It was chipped and uneven in some places, and your thin-strapped sandals would sometimes slip and get stuck between the cobblestones. Despite the imperfections of this street, you had come to love it, just like every other self-respecting college student living around the vicinity. Behind you, the signage of restaurants and thrift stores flashed in bright neon blues and violets, blending with the honey-golden glow of the lights coming from the shops and apartment buildings that rose around you.

This alley was the most beautiful place to go to in the city.

It was a beautiful Saturday night, too, and in your opinion, you had spent it well.

You were walking back to the dorms with your friends and a couple of seniors. You were in the back of the group, where it was quieter. Clutching your arm was Jung Mirae, one of your roommates, who was struggling to walk straight after too many beers.

In the process of half-dragging Mirae, an alarm from your phone rang. You hasted to get it switched off.

Bright laughter pierced the stillness as the ones just a few steps ahead of you, Park Hyewon and Lee Joonyoung, your best friends besides Mirae, kept on cracking jokes that would make the whole group roar with laughter. You giggled at their ridiculousness occasionally while trying to keep Mirae on her feet.

Hangout nights are incomplete without these two, you thought to yourself, as you studied long-legged, pink-haired Hyewon and the tall, broad-shouldered Joonyoung. You watched as they made mean comments at each other and then made up for the teasing by giving each other kisses.

“Gross!” someone called out from behind you, and you could not help but smile.

Joonyoung turned around and playfully gave the finger to the person who had shouted out. "Go get yourself a girlfriend, Sunwoo! It's clear to me that you’re in need of love.”

The group snickered at Joonyoung's words.

As you listened to everyone talk about how good the night was and how hellish the next week would be with final exams coming up, you felt cold fingers touch your cheek.

You turned to Mirae, who was looking up at you with quizzical—albeit drunken—eyes.

“Hey, Y/N." Mirae’s voice was loud and clear in the narrow alley. You brushed her hand away gently. "Why are you crying?”

“What do you mean?” You put a hand over her mouth and tried to tell her to stop spouting off nonsense, but it was then that you felt it—the wet trickle of tears on your face. Surprised, you wiped them away with your hand.

It was true.

You were crying.

The walking paused. Footsteps ceased over the cobbled pavement as everyone halted to look over at you. Your cheeks reddened at the unwanted attention.

“Y/N, is something wrong? Here, let me have Mirae.” One of your classmates reached out to take Mirae.

“Thank you.” I think I drank too much, you despaired, as you kept wiping at your face and waving people away. You made attempts to control your emotions, but nothing could stop the tears from coursing down your cheeks.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” you kept saying over and over with a hoarse voice that almost didn’t sound like you. “Keep walking, please! Don’t mind me. I think I just drank too much.” You gave a shaky laugh and rubbed your eyes. “I get like this sometimes. Sorry.”

“You did not drink too much tonight, though,” someone commented dubiously. The others agreed and continued to look at you with confused expressions. "You never do."

“Jin-ah is right. And you don’t ‘get like this sometimes,’ babe.” Just a few feet away from you and leaning against Joonyoung, Hyewon crossed her arms. Her face, full of concern over your sudden outburst of emotions, made her look as though she hadn’t spent the night drinking as much as the guys did. “What's wrong?”

“I really don’t know, to be honest.” You pushed a strand of hair away from your face and made a poor attempt to smile at Hyewon. "I think it’s just the beer. Really."

Hyewon looked like she didn’t want to stop questioning you.

Please don’t ask me anything more, you begged with your eyes.

Joonyoung nudged Hyewon casually.

"Okay." Hyewon shrugged as she reluctantly conceded to your lame answers. She walked up to you, linked her arm with yours, and turned to grin at the others placatingly. “Let’s go home for real, gang! I think my girlfriend here just needs to sleep.”

Everyone nodded, put on happy faces, and eagerly put the awkward scene behind them. They once again started with the jokes and laughter and even managed to loop you into their silly conversations. However, their eyes avoided you most of the time, and their jokes were careful. You sensed that nobody wanted to have any part in pulling any triggers you might have. Tonight was no time to be sad. With finals coming up, no one needed any sort of emotional baggage. You felt bad for making them cautious, but you were also grateful for their thoughtfulness about your feelings.

The happy atmosphere became short-lived, though, as five minutes later, a sound cut through the alley and through the facades that everyone was putting up for your sake. It made all of them stop in their tracks once more. Even Hyewon stiffened beside you.

The sound perfectly explained everything that was going on with you, and there was no hiding it now.

Your alarm was playing again.

“Oh, fuck.” Hyewon let out a huge breath and squeezed her eyes shut. She looked as though she was trying to block out the sound. “Y/N, for goodness’ sake, don’t be an idiot. Don’t listen to it. Turn it off—”

But of course, like an idiot, you listened.

“Hey there. If you find yourself listening to this, then it means we have made it to Year 3. Please meet me at the same place where we are tonight: the art pier, one hour before the day ends. I'll be the stupid-looking guy standing by the yacht statue while holding too many roses. I love you. Happy Anniversary!"

This alarm shouldn’t be ringing—because you didn’t make it to Year 3.

“Please turn it off.”

Joonyoung, who was right behind you, reached for your bag, rummaged inside, and pulled out your phone. Glaring at the screen, he shut it off and dropped the phone in the bag again.

The alleyway was silent for a while.

Hyewon sighed. And then she leaned against you and said softly, “Let’s go home.”

The cobbled pavements of the narrow alley you were still walking on were damp from the rain that had recently poured. Hands would steady you from behind when your thin-strapped sandals would slip and get stuck between the loose cobblestones. No one drunk should walk on this alley with its imperfect pavements, but you had come to love it, just like every other self-respecting college student living around the vicinity. As you passed, the signage of restaurants and thrift stores flashed in bright neon blues and violets before melting into the ever-constant amber colors of the street lights.

This alley was the most beautiful place to go to in this city.

It was a beautiful Saturday night, too, and in your opinion, you had spent it well. But you weren’t supposed to spend this night here. Not in this place, despite its beauty, no.

You were supposed to be somewhere else.

You were supposed to be with someone else.

“I know that everybody here is trying to be nice, but let me say it for all of you here, so you don’t have to wonder how it sounds.” Joonyoung kicked a crumpled beer can out of his way as he walked. “Fuck Yoon Jeonghan.”

“Oh, please, Lee Joonyoung.” Hyewon sounded tired. “Thank you for making Y/N more miserable.”

“What do you mean? Bubs, I’m not the douchebag who—ah, whatever.” Joonyoung shrugged and flung middle fingers up the sky. “Wherever you are, Yoon Jeonghan, fuck you!”

“He’s completely drunk,” Hyewon said apologetically, looking around her; some of the campus seniors with you were friends of Jeonghan’s. “Sorry.” And then, looking at Joonyoung exasperatedly, she hissed, “Joonyoung. Cut it out.”

“Let him be,” you said in a drained voice, “let him be.”

You were supposed to be with Yoon Jeonghan tonight, but you weren’t. He was long gone, and all you have left of him was something that you had somehow forgotten to remove, something you wished so desperately to forget.

All you have left of him was his voice—frozen in time through that alarm.

The rest was memories and history.

🍁🎧🧡

Mingyu sips from a coffee mug and nods in understanding as you finish speaking. He leans back on one of the steps of the townhouse, where you both sit. Cars drive down your neighborhood street, their headlights coloring the concrete road with hazy white and yellow lights. You watch their signals blink as they find spaces to park. Leaves continue to fall, and some end up in your hair. You feel Mingyu brush them away. You smile and do the same for him.

It is way past midnight, and here you both sit, snuggling to keep warm against the cold night air and talking about a love long gone.

“So,” Mingyu traces the rim of his coffee cup as he puts the pieces together, “you and Jeonghan-hyung dated during uni days?”

You nod. “Mm-hmm. We dated for two years. And then we broke up during my junior year, which was when that alley story happened.” You look at your boyfriend in mock suspicion. “Not that I’m complaining, but are you sure you want to listen to this story? Because we don’t need to talk about this if you aren’t comfortable—”

“—No, no, baby, I’m okay!” Mingyu chuckles a little bit as he turns to you. “I’m perfectly fine. I really want to know. If you’re not comfortable talking about it, though, we could just put it behind us.” He smiles at you. “I’m okay either way.”

He had stepped onto a minefield of your past without warning. He’s not supposed to be okay either way. You keep staring at him, not believing what he said.

“But, babe…” You sigh as you look at him. “Instead of talking about how Jeonghan and I ended up dating years ago, why don’t we talk about other things first?” You keep searching his face for any sign of uneasiness, any sign of hurt or confusion. “Like, how you felt when you found out. Or, how to avoid getting ambushed by stuff like this in the future.” You lean against him. “I don’t want something like this to happen again, no matter how great we both are at handling surprises. I think this is a good time to talk about things we haven’t talked about yet. Exes, our most embarrassing moments—” you giggle as Mingyu laughs at your last words. “Hey, I’m serious here!”

Your mind recalls the events of the night. You remember twirling in front of your full-length mirror to admire your new dress. You remember how perfect Mingyu had looked when he stepped out of his car and walked up to you. You remember the car ride, the conversation that you had about meeting his family and kissing underneath the porchlight of Aera’s house. You remember the baby shower: meeting Mingyu’s parents, Kim Aera, and Mingyu’s other friends. You remember how happy and secure you felt with Mingyu beside you as he introduced you to his family and some high-profile friends. You remember the crib and the games.

You remember Choi Seungcheol’s surprised expression and shaking Yoon Jeonghan’s hand for the first time in years. You remember Kwon Soonyoung’s drunken announcement.

“So, the former flames have finally met!”

“Well, I guess I got surprised when I found out that you guys used to date,” Mingyu clarifies, “but if we will talk about whether I had strong, negative feelings about the whole thing...” his voice trails off as he looks at you.

“...Uh-huh?” you prod.

Mingyu shakes his head. “I didn’t have any.” He squeezes your hand reassuringly. “You don’t have to worry about me. To be honest, what surprised me the most was the fact that I handled the situation pretty well. Back when we were still at Aera’s house, I really did my best to be careful with how I took in the whole thing. I took care not to show how surprised I was with my expressions, my words...”

“Mm-hmm.” You nod along with him as his voice trails off. “Yes. I agree. You handled it pretty well. But I am still so sorry for dropping that bomb on you that way.” You look up at him with an apologetic expression. “We haven’t really talked about past relationships that much yet, so...”

“Y/N, please don’t overthink.” His face hovers inches away from yours as he looks deep into your eyes. “See?” He makes all sorts of cute expressions, and you couldn’t help but smile. “I’m okay.”

You become willing to believe him, but then you catch him looking at you with a twinkle in his eye.

“Although,” Mingyu adds, “I did feel a bit self-conscious.” He sighs dramatically, and he pouts—adorably. “I mean, he’s the Yoon Jeonghan. You dated the Yoon Jeonghan that most girls nowadays are swooning over. Who am I compared to that?”

As he continues to make such cute faces while saying the most outrageous things, you stare at him, open-mouthed. “What the hell.” You had seen through his joke, of course, but you could not help but look at him incredulously. “Is my boyfriend actually saying this to me right now while looking so drop-dead gorgeous beside me? Is he really comparing himself right now to someone else?”

Mingyu ignores your words and continues. “Yoon Jeonghan, actor extraordinaire, ranking twentieth at this year’s Asia’s Sexiest 100. Hmm. Yes.” He considers his words and nods. “I did feel intimidated. He’s good-looking and is amazing at acting and—”

“—Whoa, whoa, whoa.” You put your mug down beside you, and you giggle as you take Mingyu’s face in your hands. “You are one gorgeous person, too, and I am so, so in love with you. Stop comparing yourself to him.” You nuzzle his face, smiling. “I know you’re just joking about this, but please. Stop.”

He continues to look at you with a playful pout, but his eyes turn darker voice drops a notch lower. “Make me.”

You feel him grin against your lips as you make him stop speaking.

At the back of your head, you remember Kim Aera’s words when she talked about her husband.

“Not all women are as fortunate as I am, you know? Some of us meet such crappy guys that it’s a miracle I ended up finding someone worth the wedding vows.”

You aren’t one to believe in fortunes, so you try to think about all the things you must have done right to deserve a man such as Kim Mingyu. More importantly, you wonder if you would be able to keep him by your side.

Too much thinking, too much thinking, you chastise yourself as you kiss Mingyu harder, wanting to erase everything from your mind.

“I love you,” you say after a while.

“I love you, too. But where were we with your story?” Mingyu lets go of you and takes his mug once more. Leaves still fall from the trees. The streetlights glow brighter as midnight darkens. A green sedan stops directly across you both, and you watch as a man staggers out of the driver’s side.

“Well, if you really want to hear all about it, it would take us all night.” You look up at him with an enticing, hopeful smile. “Do you want to stay the night here? Hyewon and Joonyoung would be thrilled to have you. We can do storytime together with them.” You shake your head. “I still haven’t said a word to them about meeting Jeonghan again because we only went upstairs to get coffee. Hyewon will get a kick out of this.”

Mingyu laughs softly. “I can imagine.” He kisses your forehead before taking your hand. “Let’s head back inside.”

No more cars drive down your neighborhood street. No more hazy yellow and white headlights color the dark concrete road. Mingyu takes your hand and pulls you up from the steps. You feel him brush away some leaves from your hair once more. You look up at him appreciatively, and you do the same for him. Across the street, a glaring woman opens the front door for the drunken man from the green sedan.

You retreat indoors for the night. You think about how to tell Mingyu everything. And when Hyewon opens the door to greet you both, you wonder if she and Joonyoung would help you get the facts right about how you and Jeonghan started and how you and Jeonghan eventually ended.

With all these thoughts in your head, you faintly hear your phone ring in your purse. Getting a sense of déjà vu from the story that you had told Mingyu earlier, you feel chills run up and down your spine as you pull your phone out.

“Who’s your midnight caller, girlfriend?” Hyewon goodnaturedly teases as she takes your empty mug from your hand. Her face looks flushed, and you remember that she and Joonyoung had been drinking when you left them earlier. “Joonyoung! Mingyu’s here!”

“I have a confession to make,” you say as you look at the caller ID. “Mingyu and I ran into Jeonghan and Seungcheol at his cousin’s baby shower.”

Hyewon’s face pales at your words. “You what?”

“We did,” Mingyu says softly, scratching his head while smiling at Hyewon. “He’s a good hyung of mine and Aera’s in the industry. We’ve been friends for a long time, but I didn’t know that he and Y/N used to date.”

“Huh,” Hyewon breathes out. “All these years, the only way we could see him was on TV. We never ran across him, ever. And now we find out that he’s good friends with your boyfriend’s family.” Hyewon raises her eyebrows and shakes her head. “Imagine that.”

“You met Jeonghan?” Joonyoung bounds into the foyer, which suddenly becomes crowded with the four of you there. “Was he with anyone else?”

“Just him and Seungcheol-hyung,” Mingyu answers.

“Let’s not talk about this here. Come on in, you two. We still have some pizza, chicken, and beer.” Hyewon manages to push the two guys into the living room. She turns to you, clearly wanting to talk to you in private, but you put up a hand.

“Hold on.” Your phone is vibrating in your hand, and you hastily answer the call. “Hello?”

🍁🎧🧡

He leans on the railings of the rooftop bar, a drink in one hand and a phone in the other. As he gazes at the city below, he knows that he has had too much to drink. The lights have started to pulse too much. The numbness inside him has finally reached his fingertips. He considers stopping to drink this last glass, but his call finally goes through.

At the sound of the voice on the other line, he decides that he needs this one last shot of bourbon.

“I know that it’s too late to call you now,” he whispers almost inaudibly, “but if I don’t say this tonight, I probably never will.”

He lets go of the empty glass in his hand, and he watches as it shatters on the ground.

“I miss you,” he says, oblivious of the curses and complaints from the people around him. “And I know that you’re in a happy place now, but I—” A painful pause ensues as he stands there, lost for words. Shifting his weight from one foot to another, he tries to ignore the ache in his throat and the burning in his eyes. “—I just wanted you to know that. Everything about this call feels wrong because I know that I am not supposed to and that I have no right to call you anymore, but I will never stop wondering how these words sound like if I don’t say it right now.” A tortured grin spreads across his lips. “I miss you.”

The phone falls out of his hands, and he blindly falls to the ground to pick it up. Sharp fragments from the broken glass cut through his skin and the material of his pants, but he doesn’t feel the pain. He is too numb right now. He couldn’t even feel his legs. As he futilely tries to smoothen the cracked screen on his phone, he hears a loud voice coming from a megaphone.

“And cut!” The director’s voice rings loud and clear throughout the rooftop bar. He walks over to Jeonghan, who is still trying to bring his phone back to life. “Okay, did I suddenly step into some shitty romance movie after the break? What was all that?” The director impatiently turns around and gestures to the crew behind him. “I need a medical kit here; and another phone, please. Geez. What has gotten into you tonight?”

“Sorry,” Jeonghan says apologetically. “I just got too immersed with my role.” He shakily stands up. “And I can’t feel my legs.”

The director shakes his head. “Look, Jeonghan, I know that you love ad-libs. I love your ad-libs, too. You know that. But your last lines threw me off.” He squints his eyes suspiciously at Jeonghan. “Where did you go tonight? You were fine the whole day, and then you suddenly get picked up by your friend. The minute you come back to work, you’re a different person.” He shakes his head again and walks away. “Read the script and pull yourself together. We’ll be taking a short break. And apologize to your co-star for spouting out all that mushy stuff!”

“What was that about?” Seungcheol has appeared from out of nowhere, arms crossed. “Why were you telling Jihoon that you missed him?”

Jeonghan laughs. He gestures weakly with his hand as he answers, “It’s the bourbon.”

“Who on earth actually drinks half a dozen shots while filming?” Seungcheol pauses as he studies Jeonghan’s face. “And why are you crying?”

“I’m not.” Jeonghan wipes away something wet from his face. “Stop bitching, Cheol, and just help me sit down somewhere.”

“Oh, Yoon Jeonghan.” Seungcheol sighs as guides Jeonghan to the nearest steel chair. “You said you would be able to come back to work after the baby shower! God, I was an idiot for believing you.”

“This is not about the baby shower,” Jeonghan protests weakly as he leans back against the chair. “Leave me alone and let me rest. Please.” He closes his eyes.

“So," Seungcheol fishes around for words, "what was that about?"

Jeonghan doesn’t answer.

Seungcheol sighs again. “Was she the one you were ‘talking to’ in that phone call?”

Silence.

“Jeonghan—”

“—She looked happy.” Jeonghan’s voice is calm, but tears still escape his closed eyes. He leans to the side as though he wanted to sleep. “They looked happy. And when I saw them kiss by the front porch when we got to Aera’s, I felt funny." He grins. "I felt funny because a part of me got hurt—” He pounds his chest. “—Right here.” His grin widens. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just like this because I haven't seen her for a long time."

The rooftop bar is buzzing with activity: the director is making changes with the camera angles, someone is adjusting the brightness of the floodlights, and the extras are practicing the not-so-easy art of blending in with the scene. Jeonghan hears someone sweep the broken glass from the tiled floor.

“Mingyu is a good guy,” Seungcheol offers sympathetically. “At least we can both be sure that she will be alright.”

“Mm-hmm.” Jeonghan continues pounding his chest with his bandaged hand. “I know.”

“You are my first romance, and I’m willing to take a chance that till life is through, I’d still be loving you.”

🍁🎧🧡

The cobbled pavements of the narrow alley that he is walking on are still the same. It feels damp, even though no rain had poured that night. It is still chipped and uneven in some places, and he remembers how your thin-strapped sandals would sometimes slip and get stuck between the cobblestones. Despite the imperfections of this street, he knows that you loved it. But while you had loved this place for its bright lights and broken cobblestones, he had loved it for what it contained: the restaurants and thrift stores, all of which still had signs that flash in bright neon blues and violets.

And he loved them because of the memories he had created inside them—memories that he had made with you.

He vividly remembers the first plate of spaghetti that you shared at Georgie’s, a quaint restaurant that would have been considered Italian but for the sweet spaghetti sauce that it serves. He has not forgotten the taste because he still goes there on Thursdays. And he has never forgotten the way you had laughed while eating spaghetti as he confessed that he wanted to date you.

“You have no idea how ridiculous that sounds coming out of your mouth,” you had said while pushing away your plate. Your eyes had been gleaming with humor then, but your voice had been guarded and careful. “To put it simply, sunbae, I am not going to date you.” You had shrugged, and locks of your hair had tumbled across that denim jacket that he had loved seeing on you. “You know why.”

He had known then.

You had never fallen in love before. That knowledge should have made him cautious, but he admits to himself now that it had made him all the more desperate to snag that spot in your heart marked, “First Love.”

It was at Georgie’s that you had first rejected him, but it was there that you also said yes to him a few months later. Twirling pasta in your plate, you had murmured, “Okay. Let’s date. But Yoon Jeonghan—” Your voice had shaken. And then you had looked at him.

“Please be careful with my heart.”

He had answered that with your first kiss.

At signless thrift stores that are scattered a few stalls away from each other, Jeonghan remembers patiently waiting for you as you picked clothes for him and art supplies for yourself. He remembers how you would stand to the side to let Hyewon and Mirae haggle with the storekeeper. He remembers your apologetic expression when you felt like Hyewon or Mirae had taken the bargaining too far. He smiles as he remembers how embarrassed you would be during those times.

And then he smiles wider as he remembers Hyewon’s sharp fingernails that had dug on his shoulder when she pulled him aside during the first time he tagged along for the shopping. He chuckles as he remembers how menacing she had looked.

“If dating my goody-two-shoes Y/N is payback because I broke your best friend’s heart a few years ago,” Hyewon warns darkly, “then you’d better know that I’ll be coming for you. And I have no qualms whatsoever about tearing you to shreds. You got that?” She had dug her nails deeper at that point.

“I don’t care what history you had with my best friend,” he had answered calmly. “I am dating Y/N because I love her. That’s all there is. You’re reading way too much into this, Park Hyewon.”

“Am I?” Hyewon had scoffed, clearly unconvinced. “Yoon Jeonghan, why are you dating Y/N? The real reason, please."

"I love her," he repeated. "That's all."

"No. That's not it. I refuse to believe that’s your reason. And we both know here that you can’t fool me with that crap.” She had let go of him then, but not before throwing out a few more words that sounded like a prophecy. Throwing up her hands in the air and rolling her eyes, she had said, “I’m calling it: you’ll only break Y/N's heart.”

Funny how Hyewon turned out to be right.

“This alley is the most beautiful place to go to in the city, isn’t it?”

At that moment, Jeonghan stops in his tracks. He stops reminiscing.

He whirls around, his eyes wide and almost sober, searching for the owner of that voice. His heartbeats quicken. He clenches his jaw as another knife of pain stabs through him at those words.

You used to say the same thing to him. You used to say those words while holding his hand or whenever he would kiss you unannounced while you walked this street. You used to say those words while looking up at him. He would never get lost anywhere in the world, but he used to get lost in your eyes when you did so.

He squints his eyes, certain that it had been you who had spoken. But as his vision focuses on the owner of the voice, he feels his heart sink inside him.

Of course, it wasn’t you. Jeonghan laughs at himself and his stupidity.

It wasn’t you. It was some stupid co-ed echoing the words that any college student would say about this street. It wasn’t you because you were long gone from him now, and he had nothing left of you but all these memories that still plague him in this fucking alleyway.

It wasn’t you because Jeonghan had done what Hyewon had said that he would do.

A hand grabs his arm. “Let’s go, Yoon Jeonghan. You shouldn’t be here.”

Jeonghan recognizes Seungcheol’s voice. He grins at his friend’s frustrated face as he trips on a stupid loose cobblestone. “Hello, there. Why do you keep appearing out of nowhere? And did you also think of Hyewon while following me along this legendary street? You only loved this street because of Hyewon, but you still feel it, right?” Jeonghan helps himself up and absently studies his dirtied pants. “The nostalgia this place evokes?”

“Shut up,” Seungcheol snaps, “just shut up. You know, I expected you to act more maturely than this, Jeonghan.”

“What?” Jeonghan laughs. “Can’t a guy walk in peace?”

Seungcheol stops walking. He lets go of Jeonghan’s arm, and he faces Jeonghan with a furious expression. “You have no right to get hung up over Y/N,” he says with a poisonous tone. “You have no right at all.”

Seungcheol’s words slice through Jeonghan like a blade he didn’t see coming. He wasn't able to brace for it. He didn’t expect those words to come, especially from Seungcheol.

“You broke her heart.” Seungcheol’s tone is more fit for a eulogy than for a conversation with his best friend. “You made a choice years ago. What did you expect the ending to be? You can’t cry now.” His face softens. “Be a man. Accept that she’s moved on. Did you see her face earlier at the baby shower? She didn’t even look at you with any hurt or anger.” He presses a hand on Jeonghan’s shoulder. “She looks happy. Was she surprised to have seen you? Yes. But she has clearly moved on, and so should you.”

There is silence for a while until Seungcheol hands him a face mask.

"Spare yourself the hell you'd experience from gossip rags and wear the fucking mask. You look terrible and stupid, coming here without any disguise at all. These aren’t uni days anymore, dumbass."

The cobbled pavements of the narrow alley that Jeonghan and Seungcheol are walking on are still the same. It feels damp, even though no rain had poured that night. It is chipped and uneven in some places, and both men could still remember how easily one could trip and fall on the slippery cobblestones. But despite the imperfections of this street, they both know someone who had loved it for what it was.

Yes, you had loved this alleyway for its bright lights and broken cobblestones. Seungcheol had loved it because of your friend Hyewon, but Jeonghan had loved it for what it contained: the restaurants and thrift stores, all of which still had signs that flash in bright neon blues and violets.

And he loved them because of the memories he had created inside them—memories that he had made with you.

But now he realizes that this alleyway is a literal Memory Lane, bringing him back to the past and clouding his judgment of the present.

As he walks past Georgie’s, He remembers your words again.

“Please be careful with my heart.”

Friday has barely ended, and Saturday is just about to begin, but when Georgie’s fades behind him, he laughs. He laughs like the idiot that he is, and tears pour out of his eyes as he does so.

“I will be true to you—just a promise from you will do: from the very start, please be careful with my heart.”

🍁🎧🧡

The truth has finally hit him.

Everything that he had with you—all of it—is now just memories and history.

And his conviction that he should stop riding this rollercoaster of emotions about you becomes even more pronounced when his phone vibrates, and he picks up a call.

“Where are you?” a woman’s voice asks, worried. “I’ve been up all night waiting at your apartment.”

Seungcheol mouths, Who is it?

Jeonghan flashes the phone at Seungcheol.

It was Jung Mirae.

“I love you and you know I do—there’ll be no one else for me. I promise I’ll be always true, for the world and all to see. Love has heard some lies softly spoken, and I have had my heart badly broken; I’ve been burned and I’ve been hurt before.”

🍁🎧🧡

Mingyu stops staring at the ceiling and turns to look at you. You are sleeping beside him, tucked under his arm, and he is happy. He had spent the night with you, going through your memories and learning from them. He had spent the whole night immersed in the past that you had inside you.

Yes, indeed, he had learned a lot about you tonight. And as he presses a tender kiss to your forehead, he whispers something that you did not hear. He whispers words that he just wants to prove to you with actions.

“I’ll be careful with your heart,” Mingyu whispers as he kisses your hair, your neck, your bare shoulder, “because I know how it feels to get hurt, too.” If you had been awake at that point, you would have seen the pensive, faraway look in his eyes as he walks down his own cobblestoned path—his own Memory Lane. If you had been awake, you would have worried about his expression like he knows you would. So he quickly smiles at your peaceful, sleeping face.

“I have a story, too,” he adds softly, “but I’ll save it for later.” He hugs you close to him. “For now, I’ll just be content with taking care of you.” He kisses your lips, and you stir. “Of us.”

When your eyes open, he shyly ducks under the covers, his twinkling eyes peeking at you. And as you protest that it was late and that he should sleep, he laughs softly, and he nods. “Okay, okay. I’ll take care of you.”

“What?” you ask, uncomprehending. “Say again, baby?”

“Nothing.” He hugs you close again. “Just that I love you.”

You fall back into sleep at his words, and he keeps watching you until his eyes close on their own.

“I love you,” he whispers again.

“So I know just how you feel: trust that my love is real for you. I’ll be gentle with your heart—I’ll caress it like the morning dew. I’ll be right beside you forever, I won’t let our world fall apart. From the very start, I’ll be careful with your heart.”

Author’s Note: Thank you very much for reading! I know that I have been very slow and inconsistent with my updates, but as long as there are unfinished WIPs on this list, please expect me to keep posting, no matter how sporadic. Tell me what you think about this part on the askbox, comments/reblogs! Thank you! - Leanne.

#seventeen #seventeen scenarios #svtcreations #seventeen angst #yoon jeonghan #yoon jeonghan angst #jeonghan #jeonghan angst #svt scenarios #svt angst

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lumini-317 · 4 years ago

Text

Hello!

This will be my official “introductory” post!

My real name is Erica, but I go by many names. My nickname repertoire includes but is not limited to: Lumi, Lumini, Cricket (I have a habit of rubbing my feet together, lmao), Jinx, Eri, Er, EriJoy, Sunbaeby, and Aceir (my real name but in alphabetical order).

This is my first ever Tumblr blog. I’ve had it for a while but have rarely posted anything, that along with the fact that I’m on mobile is kind of a mess so I apologize for mistakes and all that.

I have 3 older brothers, an older sister, and a younger brother.

I’m an ambivert. Sometimes I love hanging out with bigger groups of people, other times I dread it.

I’ve taken the “16personalities” test 4 times and all 4 put me in the “Diplomat” category, however I got “Advocate” (INFJ) 2 times, and “Protagonist” (ENFJ) and “Mediator” (INFP) 1 time each.

I am LGBTQ+. I’m asexual, aro+panromantic flux, and while I feel like I’m genderfluid, the changes are very subtle and so I sometimes just go with agender, gendervoid, or neutrois. It’s a lot less complicated that way. I’m ambiamorous, and also pronoun apathetic!

I love whump. I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember but only found the whump community maybe 3(?) years ago.

I also love K-Pop, C-Pop, J-Pop, and Asian dramas, mainly K-Pop and K-Dramas, though.

I’m a HUGE multistan. ATEEZ, SKZ, TBZ, EXO, BTS, Red Velvet, SHINee, iKON, MONSTA X, TWICE, TO1, WANNA ONE, SuperM, X1, MIRAE, Ciipher, Golden Child, Purple Kiss, BAE173, SF9, IU, ONEUS, ONEWE, The Rose, PIXY, LUCY, STAYC, WEi (which I pronounced as “way” for an embarrassingly long time), Dreamcatcher, Brave Girls, TXT, ENHYPEN, SNSD, KARD, AKMU, SHAUN, Gaho, NCT, GHOST9, 1team, SE7EN, Cross Gene, D1ce, AB6IX, CRAVITY, BLACKPINK, CIX, VIXX, f(x), 4Minute, CLC, YEZI, B.I, Wonho, (G)I-DLE, EVERGLOW, SEVENTEEN, BROOKLYN, Ha Hyunsang, DAY6, GOT7, Teen Top, BAP, TREASURE, UNIQ, etc! It goes on, far longer than I can list. I am also very much against fanwars, they disgust me.

I’m also a HUGE animal lover, and a big softie. I can’t even squish insects. I don’t care that they can’t feel pain and don’t experience emotions, I just can’t bring myself to. I make it my mission to save any type of animal I come across. I find toads in our koi pond and immediately pick them out and take them to a safe place. I help turtles across the road. I got a mouse out of a puddle and revived it, releasing it when it was healthy enough. I saw a snail on a piece of wood that was going to be thrown on a fire and carefully pulled it off and put it somewhere else. So far I’ve found 5 stray cats (Piper, Toothless, Felix, Kai, and Kit Kat—all were found as skinny, sickly kittens) and took them in, raising them as my own. I rescued a chipmunk from certain death-by-cat. I’ve even saved a few baby raccoons, ducklings, lizards, spiders, and snakes in my time. And I’ll keep doing so for as long as I live.

I love writing, drawing/sketching, and painting, however I’m not confident that I’m good at any of those things, lmao. I mean, I don’t think I’m the worst, but my finished “works” often leave me unsatisfied with my “skills”. But of course, that won’t stop me from trying to improve!

I’m a maladaptive daydreamer. This can cause issues in some places while helping me out in others. On one hand, it makes doing chores and such kind of difficult. Like one time I had to take care of my dad’s pigeons while he was fixing our shed and one time he pointed out how slow I was with the chores. His words were something along the lines of, “I’m already almost done with what I have to do and you’re still working with the pigeons.” Also, it (and maybe ADHD if I do have it?) made school a nightmare for me. But it’s also helpful because then during church it’s really easy to keep myself occupied while the pastors go on about their Magical Sky Daddy™’s son throwing a tantrum and killing a figtree because it didn’t have any figs and how that story should “challenge” us or something.

The characters in my daydreams are weird, though. They merge and separate with each other to make different characters depending on the situation. Most of them don’t have definite genders. Only a handful of them have names because they’re always merging and separating like some kind of Shadow Clone Masters or something. Stuff like that.

One of my characters is for sure a demi-boy, though, and his name is Kyler.

I brought this up because I was watching The Andy Griffith Show and Andy was giving Opie a lecture on how many poor kids there are in the world and used the ratio “one and a half boys per square mile”. Opie then says that he’s “never seen a half a boy before”. Kyler just sort of pops into (fake) existence, jumps off the couch, and throws his arms in the air while saying, “Half a boy, right here!” I burst out laughing. Thankfully it didn’t seem weird, since my parents started laughing at Opie and thought that I was just laughing at it, too.

Any-who.

If I daydream while I’m standing, I’ll often pace and gesture with my arms while moving my lips. Sometimes I’ll even whisper. If I’m sitting down, I usually fidget a lot (such as pick at my shirt and rub my feet together), stare into space, and move my lips or whisper. My family sometimes ask me, “Why are you whispering?” Or, “What are you grinning about?” And I just shrug because I don’t know how to explain it to them without risking them calling someone to pray over me, lmao. I mean, I wasn’t even allowed to have imaginary friends because that was “evil”. When I was about 7, I told my parents about my imaginary unicorn friend and they gave me a lecture and “prayed over me”. It was embarrassing and awkward for me.

I’m suspicious that I might have ADHD, but don’t have the money to actually get a professional diagnosis. I’m also too scared to ask my parents about it.

Speaking of which, my family and I don’t see eye-to-eye. I mean, they don’t know it because I’m good at hiding it, and they think I agree with mostly everything they do but boy, is it a mess.

You see, they’re evangelical conservative Christians. “LGBTQ+ people are going to hell”, “ThE LeFt ARe eViL AnD ARe TrYiNg To BrAiNwAsh OuR ChiLdrEn”, “Trump was sent by God”, “Intersex is fake”, “Women must submit to men”, “You should get married no later than in a year or ‘the temptation’ to have sex might become too much”, the whole bit.

Meanwhile I’m over here with my (imaginary) pride flags, just existing as an agnostic leftist who wants everyone to have equal rights, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, and would rather redo my horrifically atrocious kindergarten closing program role than pray to a god who (if they/he/she/it/whatever exists) gives cancer to kids and killed millions of innocent animals and people in the Bible.

But they have no idea that this is how I feel and now expect me to be baptized within the next month to show that I have “accepted Jesus Christ as my savior”. Yeah...that’s gonna be an awkward discussion...

Anyway, that’s just some things about me. Sorry that I got sidetracked a few times, lmao!

I look forward to posting more and maybe even making friends!

Thank you for reading (:

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exn0bisstudios · 4 years ago

Note

As a preface: no need to answer if you don’t feel comfortable with it,I know people sometimes don’t like these questions so no pressure if you’re one of them! Who likes kids, who would like to be a parent (if their partner also wanted that of course!), and who is good with kids? Thank you!

Well, firstly, thank you for your concern! I'm okay with these topics so long as it's not about me personally, so don't worry! That said, though, I'll put this under a cut since the topic might be uncomfortable for some people.

CW for: talk involving conception, infertility, pregnancy, miscarriage

Edited 5/16 - Changes to include more inclusive language. My apologies!

Since we're talking about the ROs and kids, let us talk about MC too for a sec.

It should be noted that it is typically challenging for a Seer to bear children/impregnate someone. The corruption that comes with their Void powers usually renders them infertile, or at least close to. However, it's not unheard of for a Seer to have children. Still, it usually results in a difficult pregnancy and can be dangerous to both the carrier and the child. Additionally, any child born from a Seer (either parent) would be Dream-touched.

That said, as we know, MC is a very special Seer. Canonically, their powers have not rendered them infertile, though their kid would still end up Dream-touched. However, I will be leaving it up to players to decide if their MC can or can't have biological kids for other reasons. And, obviously, adoption is also very much an option!

Now on to the ROs!

Mira

Mira likes kids well enough, and they're usually very good with them. They struggle a bit with dealing with noble children. Still, Mira's kind and empathetic nature tend to have children warming up to them regardless. They used to help take care of the young recruits back at the Order, both daily routine stuff and some training.

They would absolutely love to have a family one day, but it's something they kinda push to the back of their mind and try not to think about. Their lifestyle doesn't lend itself to the stability and safety necessary for raising children, considering they could be killed in action any day. They think it would be grossly irresponsible to have a family, then end up dead somewhere and leave them hanging. Mira was an orphan themself, and they know firsthand how hard life is for kids on their own. They have no desire to contribute to that lifestyle or put their own potential child through that.

If there ever came a time where they could lay down their weapons for good, though, then yes. They'd want to start a family in whatever way they could. Though not opposed to having biological children, both masc & fem Mira would prefer to adopt. Again, being an orphan themself, they would choose to take in a child. Mira would ideally like 2-3 kids so they can have a big family to grow old with, and they'd be a very supportive and doting parent. They'd probably struggle with discipline.

Nova

Children confuse the absolute shit out of Nova, and the way mortals procreate admittedly terrifies them. Nightmares are not born in the same sense that mortals are; they just kinda pop into existence fully formed. When Nova first learned about mortal procreation, they had a minor mental breakdown. The idea of another, smaller living thing growing inside someone strikes them as distinctly horrific. They've done their best to accept the idea at this point in their life, but mainly they cope with it by ignoring its existence. They see a pregnant person and basically go, 'suddenly I have no eyes.' Babies and children continue to confuse them despite their best efforts, and they have no idea how to interact with them. You put a child around Nova, and you're liable to hear them genuinely asking the kid why they are so small and dumb.

Nova's mortal body is also infertile by design. They chose this shortly after they realized they actually enjoyed sex and would do it again. They don't know if it would be possible for them to become pregnant/impregnate someone, considering they're not actually mortal. Still, they didn't want to risk it.

The only time Nova would consider starting a family is if it was something their partner(s) really, really wanted. They'd sit down and have an honest talk about how it's something that they know nothing about, that the process scares them, and that they are absolutely going to need help learning how to handle it all. But, if their partner is willing to accept all that, Nova would be willing to try. Though again, they don't know if they can procreate with a mortal, so they'd probably recommend going for a surrogate or adoption. Eventually, Nova'd grow into a good parent, very supportive, and surprisingly level-headed.

Stella

They don't have too much of an opinion on children, which shows in how they don't really know how to interact with them. Stella feels super awkward around kids, and they're more likely to tell them to shoo. Their own childhood has tainted their views, and being around children brings up things they'd rather not think about. Honestly, the fastest way to make Stella disappear is to put a child nearby.

Deep down, though, they like the idea of starting a family. It would take a lot of encouragement to get them to admit that. It'd take even more to help them process long-ignored family-related trauma and unlearn a whole lot of unhealthy habits. With the proper support from their partner(s), though, they'd really like to give things a try. Fem Stella wouldn't mind carrying a child. Still, both fem & masc Stella generally don't care if their kid is biological or adopted.

Stella would make for a very nervous parent, and they'd be absolutely terrible at discipline. They'd probably helicopter and be overprotective and would have to be reminded by their partner(s) that things will be okay.

Désiré

So a bit of history: Dez is one of the only two ROs who already has child-rearing experience. His best friend and second-in-command, Alix, was born and raised in the brothel with him. While he grew up to be an errand boy and bodyguard, she became one of the courtesans. He took up smuggling and worked his ass off to get them out of there, but unfortunately, Alix became pregnant before they could escape. Alix's son, Dimitri, was born in the cabin of the first ship Dez ever owned.

Alix eventually married Catarina, the crew's healer, who has acted as Dimitri's other mother. Thus, while Dez is 'officially' Dimitri's uncle, he has always been his only father-figure. Dimitri is 14 by the time of the game and is still a very active part of Désiré's life. You'll actually get a chance to meet him in-game since he's got a place on Dez's crew (he's the cabin boy)!

Now that history is managed, it's safe to say that Désiré would love to start a family one day. It doesn't matter to him how, though going the biological route, let it be known he's excellent at tending to pregnancy needs. He's a wonderful parent, generally gentle while supportive and encouraging, and is comfortable being stern when it's called for.

Vittore Simone

Sadly I can't get into the specifics of Vittore Simone's thoughts on kids and family without it becoming a spoiler. However, I can say that he vowed when he was young that he'd never have kids and has never thought of it since. Going forward, it would never be something that crossed his mind unless brought up by his partner and would be something he'd defensively refuse at first. Later, he'd come back with apologies and to have a more open conversation on the matter to express his reservations and fears.

Suffice to say that the idea of being a father absolutely terrifies him, and he has always taken great pains to avoid it ever happening. Even just the thought is enough to send him into panic attacks. His partner will need to be patient with him and accept that this is something he may genuinely never be able to do for the sake of his own health and any future child's. It would take a lot of time, reassurance, work, healing, support, and understanding before Vittore Simone ever agreed to give parenthood a shot. It will not be an easy road for him or his partner. It would likely be a road that never truly ends, and he'd need to be sure that they can both accept that without damaging their own relationship. He would try, though. He would do his damnedest. And, thankfully, there will never be any doubt that he genuinely does love his kid.

As a father, initially, he would constantly be terrified he was hurting his kid somehow. He would struggle with being overly permissive & overprotective at the same time. He's liable to have a panic attack any time the kid cries for the first several years. His partner will have to help him get through 'I'm a terrible father, this was a mistake' breakdowns periodically. Slowly, though, he'll build some confidence and be more comfortable interacting and expressing himself with his kid. He'll always be supportive, and he'll work his hardest to be sure his family knows he loves them unconditionally. His partner will have to accept the role of disciplinarian, though. That's never going to be something he'll be able to do on his own (but of course, he'll be there to support them in those conversations. He doesn't want to make them the 'bad guy' by any means).

Andrai

The other RO with child-rearing experience! Andrai has 15 younger siblings (yes, you heard me correctly) and absolutely adores them all. They're all grown now, but he loved taking care of them when they were little, and he still dotes on them whenever he can, in his own way. In general, he loves kids. He just thinks they're adorable. And, despite appearances, he's excellent with them. Kids love this man, they flock to him, and he has no problem with that. It confuses most onlookers.

The idea of starting his own family turns him to absolute mush. And, he'd love to, so so much. Adoption, biological, and surrogacy are okay with him. It would be up to his partner to limit exactly how many kids they have since Andrai would just say he wants them all. He makes an excellent dad, albeit quiet, and is unwaveringly supportive. He's comfortable with discipline and is the type to encourage self-assessing behavior. He's excellent at giving advice and genuinely just likes spending time with his kids and being involved in their lives.

He's probably not the one you would peg as the 'domestic bliss' type, but he absolutely is.

Vzridmi

She's very comfortable with kids since communal rearing is very common in ork communities, and she'd love to have a family one day. Some kids unused to orks might find her a bit intimidating just because of her size, but in general, children think she's fun to be around. She doesn't necessarily think about it too much, though, at this point in her life. It's not something she sees as being on the table for quite some time - she has research and exploration to be doing, after all.

Whenever she was ready to settle down for a family, she'd be comfortable with carrying a child herself, surrogacy, or adopting. She would really like to have at least one biological child if possible, though. She would make for an entertaining mother, excited about her child's life and ever-supportive of their interests and pursuits. She's comfortable with all the aspects of child-rearing. Still, She would definitely need her partner's advice if they ever discovered their kid was dealing with bullying. She'd need to be reminded by her partner not to be overprotective - she's not above threatening others with her war-hammer if they upset her baby.

#none of the ROs would be bad parents and they'd all love their kids #but some will definitely need more time adjusting than others #Anonymous #answered #TTO: Main Tag #TTO: Lore #TTO: Answers #TTO: RO Asks #Mira Twilight #Nova Dreamreaver #Stella #Désiré Desrosiers #Vittore Simone Armati #Andrai Freestrider #Vzridmi Ri'kho've #pregnancy cw #infertility cw #miscarriage cw

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kpopaddicted06 · 4 years ago

Text

The Neighbour – one shot

Summary: I didn’t knew moving would bring so many changes in my life.

pairing: ATEEZ Wooyoung x reader

genre: highschool au

type: fluff, angst

words: 8k

warnings: mention of - panic attack, anxiety, drugs, gang, violence; school bullying (kind of)

A/N: I hope you’ll like the story; have a wonderful day & thanks for reading it

I just moved in Seoul with my family yesterday. We came to this city because of my dad’s job promotion. He’s now a manager at a financial company here, my mother is working as a chef at a restaurant here too.

It’s saturday, my father is currently at work to meet with his boss and discuss some things before he’ll start working on monday. Me and my mom are at home unboxing our stuff when we hear the doorbell.

"Baby, can you open the door?" My mom yells from the second floor.

"Sure!"

When I open the door I’m greeted by a woman about my mom’s age. Her hair is black and she’s giving me a beautiful smile.

"Hello, sweetheart!"

"Hello. Can I help you?"

"I'm your neighbour, Mrs Jung. I just came to welcome you into our neighbourhood and invite your family over tomorrow for dinner, so we can get to know each other." Just when she’s done talking, my mom arrives behind me and answers her.

"Oh, hello! My name is Mirae and this is my daughter Y/N. We would love to come over for dinner, thank you for the invitation!" My mom smiles sweet at the lady in front of us.

"Great, I’ll be waiting for you around 7PM." Mrs. Jung responses delighted.

"Alright, see you tomorrow!"

We bid our goodbyes and I close the door.

"She seems really nice. We’re already making friends here Y/N." My mom is more than happy to make new friends already, since she’s a social butterfly, totally the opposite of me. I'm a shy introvert that becomes anxious around strangers or big crowds.

It's already sunday afternoon so we’re getting ready for the dinner with our neighbours.

I choose to wear a black blouse and a grey skirt with black boots. I let my hair down and put some light makeup on. After I take a final look at myself in the mirror to make sure I look good, I head down where my parents are already waiting for me.

When we arrive at our neighbours’s house, Mrs. Jung opens the door for us with a smile on her face just like the first time I’ve met her.

"Welcome! Please enter."

"Good evening, Mrs Jung." I say smiling back at her.

"Hi. Thanks again for inviting us. This is my husband, Hyungsik."

"Hello, it’s nice meeting you." My father says after my mother introduces him.

"Hello, I'm glad you could make it. My husband and sons are in the living room, that's straight ahead. I have to go back into the kitchen now or I’ll burn the dinner." She laughs a little then leaves through a door on the right.

In the living room the rest of the Jung family are sitting on a couch. Mr. Jung sees us first and comes to introduce himself, followed by two boys. He then presents us his sons and the older one, Wooyoung, scans me head to toe, then makes eye contact with me with an expressionless face and I can feel how my cheeks are getting warm from the blush, because I don’t like it when someone gives me attention. After a moment he averts his gaze from me.

He’s wearing a red hoodie with black sport pants, his hair is black and a little long, he also got a lot of piercings and rings. He looks really handsome and seems to be around my age.

We all wait in the living room for Mrs. Jung to finish the dinner, while my parents are discussing about their jobs with Mr. Jung. Wooyoung is on his phone sending messages to someone and from time to time I can see a little smile on his face. His younger brother is watching a show on TV and I'm thinking about how would be at my new school tomorrow. I hope someone will approach me first and I’ll make a new friend, because I’m very shy around people, especially strangers.

"Dinner’s ready! Please come and take a seat at the table." Mrs. Jung announces us happy.

At the table my mom sits to my left and Wooyoung is at my right.

Mrs. Jung prepared a feast for this dinner. The food looks and smells so good so we start to eat right away.

The dinner goes without any big events taking place, except Wooyoung's little brother making a fuss that he wants to eat while playing games on his phone, but his mother scolded him saying it’s not nice to play while eating, especially when guests are over.

After having the dessert, we head back in the living room to continue the chat.

"So, Wooyoung, how old are you?" My mom asks him.

Everyone turns their attention to Wooyoung, who didn't pay any attention to us the whole night and continued sending messages on his phone. He locks his phone and looks at my mother now.

"I'm 17 years old."

"Oh, you’re one year older than Y/N then. That's great, I hope you can become good friends then. You see, she's very shy and it’s hard for her to make friends." Wooyoung looks at me for a second and sees that I’m embarrassed because of what my mother said.

"What school do you go to, Y/N?" Mrs. Jung asks me.

"I go to The High-School of Arts."

"That's where Wooyoung goes too. Then you can go together tomorrow morning and he can show you around and help you." His mother's suggestion makes Wooyoung click his tongue in annoyance but doesn't say anything.

"That’s not necessary, but thank you. I can manage by myself, plus he may be busy and I don't want to bother him with this." I say hoping she will drop the subject.

"That's nonsense. He isn't busy and has enough time. Right, Wooyoung?"

"I will give you a ride tomorrow and help you out." He says without looking at me.

"See, I told you he'll help you."

"Thank you..." I say shyly in his direction but he doesn't acknowledge me.

After a little while, I announce that I’ll head back home to prepare my stuff for tomorrow.

"I will head home first to get ready for my first day at school tomorrow. Thank you for inviting us over for dinner, I had a great time."

"You want to leave already? Wait until I take my purse, I think I left it in the kitchen earlier."

"No, mom, you don't need to come. I will go back first, you can enjoy the rest of the night."

"Then let Wooyoung accompany you back." His dad suggests.

"It’s not necessary..."

While I was speaking Wooyoung got up from the couch.

"Let's go." He says and starts leaving already.

I quickly go after him while saying a "Good night." to his family at the same time.

He opens the door for me and I thank him.

The walk is only a few minutes but it’s awkward as neither of us talks.

He opens his mouth to say something only when we are in front of my house’s door.

"We’re leaving at 7:20 AM, so be ready by then."

"Ok. Thanks for coming with me and driving me tomorrow too, but you don't have to help me at school, I’ll manage by myself." I say smiling a bit while he has his cold gaze on me. He doesn't say anything, just turns around and leaves.

The next morning I wake up at 6:00 AM to make sure I have enough time to get ready so I won’t make Wooyoung wait after me.

I take a shower and then get dressed in my new uniform for school. The uniform consists of a white blouse, a grey skirt and a black jacket. I pun on some black shoes to go along with it and apply a natural makeup. I tie my hair in a ponytail and finish my look with a pair of earrings and a necklace to complete my look. I take a look at the clock too see it’s 7:15 AM.

When I get out of the house, Wooyoung is already waiting for me. He’s leaning against his black car looking down at his phone screen. He doesn't seem to notice my presence yet so I take a better look at him. He’s wearing his uniform, a white shirt with a black tie, black pants and a black jacket. His hair is parted in the middle, it’s a wet hair style that really suits him. He’s also wearing a lot of earrings and rings just like last night. When I move my attention to his face I observe he’s looking at me with a smirk on and a raised eyebrow. He caught me staring at him.

"Let's go if you’re done checking me out."

I widen my eyes at his words and I can feel the blood rushing to my face already, making me blush. I only nod in response.

He goes to passager’s side and opens the door for me. I get in saying a "thanks" and avoiding his gaze, still embarrassed.

When he gets in the car too, we put on our seat belts and he starts driving. Soft music is playing through the radio.

"We have to take three of my friends with us. They can be very loud so I'm sorry if they make you feel uncomfortable."

"It's ok." I say even if I'm already feeling a little anxious to meet new people.

We stop the car in front of a big house and I see three boys coming out. They are laughing loud enough to hear it from the car. When they spot me inside the car, a confused expression takes place on their faces. They get in the back seat and look at me then at Wooyoung, waiting probably for him to introduce me.

"She's my new neighbour, she’s going to our school too. Her name is Y/N. My mother asked me to drive her."

They all look at me smiling and say "Hi!" in unison.

"My name is San, pretty." The guy in the middle with black hair says and gives me a wink that makes me blush. He smiles at my blushing face and I can see a cute pair of dimples showing.

"Please ignore him, Y/N. That's how he is with everyone." The boy on San’s left says with an eye roll and San pouts at his statement. "My name is Yeosang." His hair is blonde and he has a mullet.

"My name is Jongho." The last one says with a polite smile.

"It’s nice too meet you all."

After that Wooyoung starts driving again so we won't be late. After a minute or so, San starts speaking again.

"Y/N are you in our class?"

"No, I'm a year younger than you guys."

"She's in Jongho’s class." Wooyoung says without moving his eyes from the road.

"Oh, I can help you with our classes then, and I will give you my notes so you know where we are currently with our lectures and catch up." Jongho tells me excited, probably because he found out we are the same age.

"That would be great, thank you so much." I smile back at him. I thought I will fell anxious with so many strangers but they are really friendly so I feel kinda comfortable with them.

Jongho is telling me about how are the teachers for the rest of the ride and some other school related things.

When we arrive at school, Wooyoung parks his car next to another black one, where four boys are standing beside it. When we get out, they came to greet the boys from our car. When they land their eyes on me, San starts talking first.

"She's Wooyoung’s new neighbour, Y/N. She's in the same class as Jongho."

"Hello. My name is Seonghwa." He's taller than the others boys I was in the car with, his hair is blonde and he has a kind smile. "I'm two years older than you, so is Hongjoong." He gestures to his right to a guy with blue hair. He has even more piercings than Wooyoung and is wearing a lot of other accessories.

"Nice meeting you." He says with a polite smile like Jongho did.

"I'm Yunho, it’s nice to meet you." He looks like a cute puppy with bright eyes. His hair is blonde with some pink strands too. He's the tallest among all of them.

"I'm Mingi." A boy with almost the same height as Yunho says. His hair is a light shade of brown and he’s wearing a pair of sunglasses. He has a cute smile.

"Yunho and Mingi are the same age as me." San adds.

"It’s nice meeting you all!" I say with a big smile. They all seem like nice people and unexpectedly I don’t feel anxious around them, considering we just met.

I didn't expect that I will meet so many people on my first day. Wooyoung seems to be a social butterfly, and all his friends are really good looking, just like him.

"Let's go to our classes or we’ll be late, and I'm sure Y/N doesn't want that on her first day." Hongjoong says gesturing for Jongho to lead the way for me.

We all part ways and leave to our classes.

"I will come with you guys." Wooyoung says taking the lead.

Me and Jongho follow him and after we’re in front of our class Jongho goes straight inside. When I try to enter too, Wooyoung stops me by grabbing my wrist.

"I will give you a ride back too after we finish classes. Just wait for me beside my car." He then leaves, not waiting for my response. I look after him a little then go inside the class where I take a seat next to Jongho.

All the classes are a bit boring, but Jongho is making small comments during them, funny ones, and also helps me catch up so I feel a little better about them.

It’s lunch time. Jongho and I are seated at a table in the middle. He said it’s their group’s table. When I sit down I see the people in the cafeteria looking with confusion in my direction.

"Jongho?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are they all looking at me?"

Jongho opens his mouth to answer but a voice behind me beats him first.

"Maybe because it’s the first time when another person besides us eight sits at our table." San says smiling at me and taking the free seat on my left.

"Oh... and why is that?"

"Well you see, we don't really have other friends beside each other." He chuckles a little and scratches the back of his neck.

"Why?" His answers only leaves me more confused. Yeosang replies to my question as he sees San is not helpful.

"Because they all think we are some kind of gang or something like that. But that’s not true. They’re all just rumors."

"Ok, but you had to do something for that rumor to go around." I say a little surprised to hear that, because they seem like good guys. I see them exchanging a strange look between themselves before Seonghwa answers me.

"Well, we actually got in some trouble one night at a club, it ended up with us fighting some other guys. We got in some trouble at school too, because we used to skip a lot of classes last year and had some little fights too. We were friends with some kids that graduated last year, and because of them we ended up doing all that. They kind of had a bad influence on us but now we are trying to study hard, avoid problems and we have a full attendance too. Unfortunately the rumors don't die that easily."

"Oh... Well you are doing great then, because I would have never thought you did all that if you wouldn't have confessed." I say a little lost in thoughts, trying to process all of this.

"Are you going to leave us too after what you heard?" San asks searching for an answer on my face.

"Why would I? You clearly changed and I'm sure you weren't that bad last year as you make it sound." I say with a little shy smile as all of them are looking at me. My guts tell me they’re good guys, even if I only met them today, because they didn't make me feel anxious being around them. I find it easy to talk with them, which is unusual for me to do with new people.

"If you still want to be friends with us don't expect other people to talk to you." Yeosang tells me.

"I'm good with being friends only with you guys. I never had a lot of friends anyway, so I won't lose anything." I say sincerely.

"By the way, where are Wooyoung and Mingi?” I see all of them tense a little at my question.

"They had something to do. Let's finish our lunch." Hongjoong says with a dark face, so I don't continue the subject anymore as I don't want to get in their business.

It’s already the time to go home and Seonghwa, Yunho, San, Yeosang and Jongho left with Seonghwa’s car. Hongjoong left one hour earlier. The boys told me he had some problems to solve. I'm beside Wooyoung’s car, waiting for him as he told me to do this morning.

As I wait for him to come I start thinking about how today was a pretty good first day. Thanks to Wooyoung I made a lot of friends. I never had such a large group of friends.

After a little while I hear Wooyoung and Mingi talking so I look in their direction. Mingi waves at me as a goodbye and leaves.

"Did you wait much?" Wooyoung ask as he unlocks his car and opens the door for me.

"Just a few minutes."

He nods his head and gets in the car too. The drive is quiet but I don't feel awkward in Wooyoung’s presence this time. When we are at a stop he turns to look at me.

"So, how was the first day?"

"Pretty good. The teachers were boring but I had fun thanks to your friends, so thank you for introducing us." I say shyly a little as he keeps his eyes on me.

"I'm glad you get along." He says and then turns his head and keeps driving.

The rest of the drive goes by in silence, none of us saying anything anymore.

"Thanks for driving me today, Wooyoung."

"I’ll see you tomorrow morning at 7:20 AM."

"You will drive me again? I don't want to be a burden."

"I will drive you everyday. It’s not a problem for me, plus we’re going to the same destination." He says without letting room for any arguments.

"Ok.. Thank you. Bye Wooyoung."

"Bye, Y/N."

The next two weeks Wooyoung drives me and his friends to school everyday. We got closer and it’s fun hanging out with them. I’m starting to like it a lot here.

This morning there’s only us on the way to school as he told me his friends are going with their own cars today and Jongho is going with San, because he doesn't have the age to drive yet.

Today the boys seem to be in a bad mood when I meet them at school and I don't know why. When I tried to ask Jongho, he said it’s nothing and to not worry about them.

I'm on my way to the classroom when I hear Wooyoung calling my name, so I stop and turn around to face him.

"I can't drive you back today. All of us will leave earlier since we have to go somewhere."

"Are you starting to skip your classes again like last year?" I ask in hope they don't pick up their bad habits from last year.

"No. We just have something to solve." He is a little frustrated by my question.

"What?"

"That's none of your business Y/N." He says narrowing his eyes at me and in a dark tone.

"O-oh... Sorry for asking." I turn around and leave fast. Now I can see why the others might be scared of them. Wooyoung looked pretty intimidating just now as he got mad. This is the first time I see him look so dark and I didn't like it.

I spend the rest of the day alone as they all left. When I hear the ring, I pack my things and get ready to go home.

Right before I try to leave, some girls gather at my desk and stop me from doing so.

"Do you need something?" I ask biting my lower lip as I'm becoming overwhelmed by their presence.

"How did you became friends with the boys?”

"I'm Wooyoung’s neighbour and he introduced us."

"So are you close with Wooyoung?"

I’m thinking what I should respond her when it hits me, she probably wants something from me.

"What do you want?"

"I want Wooyoung’s phone number." She says restively.

"Then ask him for it." I say quickly as I can feel by heart starting to beat faster than it should. I can feel my breath getting a little irregular too.

"He refused already, but I won't give up. So you have to give it to me." Her voice is irritated.

"I can't do that, if he didn't wanted to give it to you then he doesn't want to talk to you. Sorry but I need to leave now." I say and I start running past them to the bathroom. When I enter I take a deep breath and try to calm down. After that I leave to the bus station.

When I arrive home I feel a little tired so I take a nap before I start working on my homework.

The next day Wooyoung isn't waiting for me to go to school together. Maybe he’s mad at me..

When I arrive at school, Jongho is nowhere to be found, he didn’t attend any of the classes today.

I write a message in our group chat to see if something happened but nobody answers me... They still don't answer for the rest of the weekend and I start thinking if maybe something happened to them or I if I did something wrong so they’re ignoring me on purpose. They don't answer any of my calls either.

I ask my mother if she met Mrs. Jung and if she saw Wooyoung. She tells me that Wooyoung is staying at one of his friends for the weekend. Something is telling me that this might not be the whole truth. Something feels off and I have to find out what is it.

On monday, Wooyoung is waiting for me in the morning to give me the usual ride to school like he didn’t just ghosted me the whole weekend.

"What happened? None of you answered me and I was worried. Are you ok?" I ask concerned.

"We are fine. You didn't have to worry about us. We just had a full weekend, that's why we didn't answer. Now let's get going or we’ll be late."

"You could have at least tell me you’re alive..." I say pouting and looking at the ground.

I feel a hand ruffling my hair and I look up meeting Wooyoung eyes.

"I'm sorry. I will answer you next time. Don't be upset Y/N." He says smiling at me. It’s the first time I see such a big smile on him, and that made me smile too.

"I'm glad you’re smiling now. You’re more beautiful when you’re smiling rather than pouting." He says with a look that I don't really understand what it is.

I try to avoid his eyes and pass through him to enter the car trying to hide my blushing face and I think I hear him saying "It makes me want to make you happy." My heart skips a beat at that.

For the entire car ride to school none of us speaks. Unfortunately we were alone today as San drived Yeosang and Jongho.

At school all of them come and apologise for making me worry about them and we get back to our normal routine.

I go to my third class without Jongho, because it’s an optional class I choosed. After that is over, I go to meet with the boys for lunch. On the hallway I hear a voice calling my name, and when I turn to see who’s calling me, I see the girl that wanted Wooyoung’s phone number coming my way.

"I don't like it when people run away in the middle of a conversation." She says annoyed.

"Sorry... I needed to be somewhere."

"I don't care." She rolls her eyes at me. "Now give me the number while I'm asking nice."

"I still can't do that..."

"Then arrange me a meeting with him."

"Why don't you go and talk with him yourself? He's in the cafeteria now."

"Good plan. I will tell him you invited me for lunch with them. That will be my chance to ask him out."

"That’s not what I meant. I was just saying you can go and say whatever you want directly to him, not me."

"I like my plan better. Now let's go."

She grabs my arm and drags me in the direction of the cafeteria. She doesn't let go of me until we are at the table where the boys were chatting. When they spot us both, they look at me, ignoring the girl beside me, the one I don't even now the name of..

"Boys this is..." I trail off looking at her to say her name.

"I'm Yuri, but I'm sure you already knew that." She says smiling at Wooyoung. They still look at me, not Yuri, so I speak again.

"She's here to eat with us..." I say a little uncomfortable and the boys notice that.

"We don't have enough space for another person. You can leave." Yeosang answers irritated by her presence.

"But you still have an empty space." She says sitting down, next to Wooyoung.

Wooyoung looks for the first time at Yuri and speaks.

"That's Y/N’s chair. Now get up." I could sense the anger in his voice.

"Why would I? She can find another place to sit. I want to stay beside you." She flutters her lashes at him trying to look innocent.

All the boys are now looking with disgust at her.

"Leave already. Don't you get it that we don't want you here?" Mingi snaps at her.

"Hey! Let's all calm down. I will just take another chair." I say fast before they get angry, because I don't want to see that. But before I can manage to take another chair Wooyoung gets up and takes Yuri by her arm to make her stand up from her seat.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" She says a little scared of him and the dark look he’s giving her. He doesn't listen to her and makes her get up and pushes her a little to the side away from the table. Then he takes my hand gently and makes me sit down instead.

"Let's eat now." He says like nothing happened and all the boys start eating. Wooyoung puts his tray with food between us and motions with his head for me to eat. I can hear Yuri scoffing from behind.

"Why would you want her instead of me? I don't understand. She's ugly and doesn't even talk much. She's dumb and..." But she doesn't get to speak more because Wooyoung rushes up and heads towards her. Seonghwa and San get up quickly too and try to stop Wooyoung from doing anything reckless. I also get up surprised.

"Say something bad about Y/N ever again and I will make your life a living hell." Wooyoung growls at her. I never heard that tone from him. His voice made me shiver.

"I suggest you to leave before you regret messing with one of us." San speaks this time and if looks could kill, Yuri would be six feet under.

"But-" Yuri tries again but she's cut off by Seonghwa this time.

"Leave or I will take you out personally and you won't like that." He says in a cold tone and I can see the fear growing on Yuri’s face. She gulps and leaves in a hurry.

I look around us and all the students are staring at us. I feel my heart rate going up quickly so I run out of the cafeteria. I can hear the boys calling after me with concern in their voices.

I run on the hallway but I don't make it far as I lose my balance and almost fall, but a pair of arms wrap around my waist catching me before I hit the ground. When I look up I see Wooyoung’s concerned gaze on me.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"I just need some air..." I say softly hiding my face in his chest as I don't want to see anyone right now.

He takes me out by the back door of the school. The rest of the boys come quickly too, having concerned looks on their faces. After a few minutes when I start to feel better, I decide to tell them what’s actually going on.

"I have anxiety... That's why I ran outside the cafeteria. It was too much for me..."

"You should have told us that earlier, Y/N." Seonghwa says.

"Yes, we would have tried to avoid that kind of situation if we knew." Wooyoung tells me a little disappointed.

"I'm sorry..." I murmur looking down.

"It's ok. We know now, so we will take care of you. You don't need to apologise for something like this, Y/N, you did nothing wrong." Hongjoong tells me softly.

"Thank you for helping me and for understanding." I say with a little smile on my face.

After our classes are done, I say my goodbyes to the boys and I head back home with Wooyoung.

The next few days the boys constantly made sure that I was feeling ok and took care of me. Wooyoung wouldn't leave me alone any second, so he would walk me to all of my classes, even though Jongho was already with me.

I’m really grateful for having such good friends. I’m truly happy for meeting them.

On friday night we all gather at Seonghwa’s place for a movie night, since his parents are leaving the town for the weekend.

I’m staying between Wooyoung and San on the couch, and we watch ‘Frozen 2’ at Mingi’s request. He said the first one was really good and needs to see the second part too, so we all agreed when he started whining.

I’m feeling a little tired, since last night I had trouble sleeping, so I start dozing off in the middle of the movie. My head falls on Wooyoung’s shoulder. He sees I’m asleep and tells the boys to keep quiet not to wake me up, then makes sure to cover me with a blanket and that I’m in a comfortable position.

I wake up feeling a little bit too warm, so I try to remove the blanket from me when I feel a hand is placed on my waist. I look behind me and I realise it’s Wooyoung’s hand. We are still on the couch at Seonghwa’s place. I try to remove his hand and get up without waking him too, but he only tightens his grip on me and comes closer. I could feel his soft breath on my neck as he nuzzled his nose in my hair.

I instantly start to blush and my heart starts beating like crazy.

I try to get up again but he wakes up this time, still not letting me go from his grip.

"What time is it?" He asks with his raspy morning voice, causing me to get shivers down my spine as he’s still breathing on my neck.

"I d-don't know..." I curse in my head at my stuttering. "We should get up, we’re still at Seonghwa’s place..."

"Five more minutes." He says getting even closer to me, not leaving any space between ourselves anymore.

I gulp and attempt to calm down my heart. I won't be surprised if he can feel it too considering how close we are to each other right now.

After a moment I hear a ‘click’ from a phone, announcing a picture being taken and I look up to see Seonghwa doing just that.

"Hey! Delete that!"

"Not a chance. You both look so adorable. I’ll send it in our group chat for the others to see it too."

"Noooo!! Seonghwa please!" I start whining at him.

"Too late, Y/N." He says laughing at my pouting face.

"You are mean." I say narrowing my eyes at him.

"Seonghwa don't upset her or I’ll kill you." Wooyoung says from behind me with a threatening voice.

"Easy tiger, I was just teasing her. I have to be careful around you now Y/N, or Wooyoung will attack me." Seonghwa smirks while saying this and then gives me a wink. Making me wonder what he means by that.

"Let's go Y/N. I will drive you home." Wooyoung gets up from the couch, helping me too.

It's been a week since the movie night, and since then Wooyoung began to act different around me. He was beside me all the time, excepting my classes and at home. Even then he would send me a lot of messages or call. He would always sit beside me and even suggested another family gathering for saturday. It was better than the first one we had when I just moved there.

It’s been already two months since I moved here, time flied fast. I’m feeling really good being here. Me and the boys became really close, and they didn't do anything strange anymore since that one time when they disappeared without any explanation for two days. They helped me be less shy than before. I also don't feel as anxious anymore since they’re always with me, making me feel relaxed and safe just with their presence.

It’s sunday morning, and Wooyoung just called me asking if I have any plans this afternoon. The answer was no, so he told me to be ready by three because now I have and he’ll come get me by then. He didn't say where we’ll be going but he mentioned that it’ll be just the two of us.

It's been a while already since I started to realise I might have feelings for Wooyoung, but I could never bring me to tell him that. We’re friends, so I tried to get over it to not ruin our friendship, but being around him all the time and getting all the attention he was giving me just made my feelings grow further.

It's already three. I'm wearing a cream blouse with a grey plaid skirt and I got some gray high boots to match. I‘m opting for a natural make up look, put on some accessories, I did my hair in waves and I got a matching purse to complete my look. I glance at myself in the mirror when I get a message from Wooyoung, announcing he's waiting for me outside.

When I leave the house, my eyes land on Wooyoung. My breath gets stuck in my throat, he’s breathtaking. His outfit is composed of a white shirt and white pants, that he paired with some sneakers. This is totally the opposite of his usual black outfits. He made his hair into a ponytail, wears a white bandana and got some accessories to finalise his look. This style suits him a lot. When I look at his face, his mouth is slightly open, but he closes it when he realises I catched him staring too.

"You look gorgeous." He said with a big smile that made my heart skip a beat.

"You look very handsome too." I say avoiding his gaze.

"Let's go. I want to show you a place." He says excited while opening the car door for me.

After an hour of driving, we finally reach our destination. We stop in front of a huge park. Inside it, cherry blossom trees are welcoming us on each side of the main path, and further into the park there’s a lake surrounded by benches. The wind makes it rain with cherry blossom flowers and the whole place starts to feel magical. I’m overflowing with joy seeing the beautiful scenery around us.

"Thank you for showing me this beautiful place." I tell Wooyoung and hug him out of excitement.

He wraps his hands around my waist too, hugging me back, then says: "Let's go seat on a bench. I have something to tell you." with a nervous tone.

After we take a seat on one of the benches, he turns his face and locks his beautiful eyes with mine, taking my hands into his. My heart pounds faster at the small gesture.

"Y/N, I don't know how to tell you this, or when the perfect moment to do it would come, but I think waiting for the perfect moment won't take me anywhere, so I decided to make one by inviting you here. I didn't really mention it, but this is actually a date."

"Really? A date?" I ask surprised by his words.

"Yes. Now the important thing I wanted to tell you." He takes a deep breath to calm his nervousness. "I like you, Y/N."

I look at him surprised, thinking I might have heard him wrong.

"Are you being serious right now?" I can see him getting sad after my question.

"Yes... Well, if you don't feel the same it’s fine, but I’d like us to continue being friends, if that’s not too uncomfortable for you and- " I cut him off.

"I like you too, but I couldn't believe what you just said, that's why I wanted to make sure I didn’t misunderstood you." I say with the biggest smile on my face.

He looks at my face like he’s trying to capture this moment in his memory.

Then he comes closer, coups my face with his hands and kisses me. I’m taken by surprise by his sudden move but I soon start kissing him back, and I could feel his lips turning into a smile against my mouth. His lips are soft and move gently against mine. I put my hands on his chest while we deepen the kiss. When we break apart, we rest our foreheads together.

Wooyoung takes my hand and intertwines our fingers, bringing me to stand up.

"Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"Ok. Let's go eat something."

Wooyoung took me at a restaurant where we eated some pasta and cheesecake for dessert.

"Wow, the food was amazing. Thanks for the dinner."

"I'm glad you liked it. This is my favourite restaurant, so we’ll probably come here often on our next dates."

"Next time I want to try their tiramisu."

"Already planning what to eat next, sweetheart?" Wooyoung says laughing a little at me and my love for food. I hear him saying an "adorable" under his breath and I blush.

He drives me home and walks me in front of my door.

"I had a great time. Thanks for today, Wooyoung."

"I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Goodnight, princess." He says then kisses my forehead and turns to leave.

"G-Goodnight..." His pet name made my heart flutter. I head inside fast to hide my pink turning face. If he keeps being like this my life span will get shorter.

The next morning Wooyoung greets me with a kiss on the cheek and a big smile.

After we arrive at school, all the boys are already there, waiting for us. When I get out of the car, San comes and hugs me.

"Congratulations!"

"For what?" I ask confused.

"For your new relationship, of course!" Yunho says on his way to hug me too.

"You already told them?" I turn and ask Wooyoung.

"We knew he likes you, and also his plan on inviting you out and confess. And we kinda guessed you might like him too after we saw how you act around him." Yeosang explains, giving us a teasing grin.

"We need to celebrate!" Shouts Mingi.

"After school. Congratulations, you both deserve to be happy." Seonghwa says while smiling with affection.

We all leave to our classes and after school we go to celebrate, as Mingi suggested.

We came to a pastry to have some cake, and of course a lot of teasing from the boys, to Wooyoung for being a coward with his confession and for me because I was being so obvious about liking him. Although I think I did a good job since Wooyoung didn't knew about it. Unfortunately I have to cut this happy moment, because I need to ask them something.

"Guys... Remember when you left without any signs of being alive that weekend?" I can see them sharing a look.

"Yes... Why?" Hongjoong responds.

"What did you do? Why did you avoid answering my question back then? I need to know the truth. I don't like to be lied. After so much time together you can trust me, I hope you know that..."

"It’s not about trust. We do trust you, Y/N." San says softly.

"Then?"

"It’s just... If we tell you, maybe you’ll look at us in a different way..." Wooyoung says a little sad.

"Whatever it is, I don't think that would change how I see you." I try to reassure them.

"You know that we said people think we are a gang?" Hongjoong asks me sighing.

"Yes, I remember."

"Well we kinda were one, because we used to ..” he takes another breath before finishing his sentence “..sell drugs… That’s what we did that weekend too. We went to sell the last drugs we had left, so we’d finally be done with this whole thing. We wanted to change, so we stopped after that day. It was the last time Y/N, we promise, and we didn't want you to find out because we are ashamed about it.." After Hongjoong is done talking, all of them let their heads down, being unable to look at me.

“Did you consume too?”

“No, we didn’t.” San answers firmly.

I get up from the chair, all eight heads now turning to look at me.

“I need some time to process all of this. I will leave first.”

Wooyoung gets up too and reaches for my wrist, grabbing it.

“Can I drive you?”

“I would like to be alone right now... And some fresh air will help me think better.” I say as I remove his hand and leave.

On my way home I’m lost in my thoughts, thinking about what they said again and again. I can’t believe they sold drugs... Even if they stopped, they still did something wrong... I just got together with Wooyoung and I find this about him.

The next two days I told Wooyoung I will take the bus to school, and I avoided them. I feel guilty avoiding them, because everytime I met them in the hallways, they would look at me with pain in their eyes…

On the third day, Wooyoung is waiting for me outside my class room. It was time to go home, so I tried to avoid him and leave but he called my name, so I stopped on my tracks and turned to face him.

“Y/N... I know I messed up and I’m really sorry. Please stop ignoring us... I know what we did was wrong and illegal, but we stopped now. I swear we won’t go near any drugs ever again... Just please forgive us...” He says with a pleading face and my heart breaks at the sight.

“I’m glad you understand that what you did was wrong... but I don’t know what to do right now... Woo, let me have some space for a few more days, ok?”

“Take as much time as you need. I won’t put pressure on you. I just wanted you to know you mean a lot to us, to me.. and we miss you already.”

“Thank you for understanding, Wooyoung. I’ll leave now, bye.”

“Bye...” He says in a small sad voice.

On Saturday I write them a message in our group chat, saying that I want to meet up.

We’re all gathered in a park. The boys look at me with what I can only describe as hope.

“What you did was wrong.” I start off. “Still, you seem to understand that and you’re trying to make things right now. I appreciated this and I want to be by your side in this process and help you.”

“Does this mean you forgive us and still want to be our friend?” San asks excited.

“Yes, San.” When the boys hear my answer, they quickly envelope me in a big group hug.

“Thanks for coming back to us, Y/N.” Wooyoung says, giving me another hug, and I hug him back tightly as I’ve missed him.

After a month, everyone at school found out about my relationship with Wooyoung. We also told our parents, and they were extremely happy for us.

We’re really happy together, he’s so good to me. He’s caring, understanding, and helps me a lot when I have any problems. Thanks to him I’m also getting more open and comfortable around people I don’t know. He brings out the best in me and I’m grateful for this.

We’re on a date at the Amusement Park. We’ve been on almost all the carousels, the only ones left are the big ones, as I'm scared of heights.

Wooyoung won me a cute puppy plushie at one of the games. We also ate a lot of food, especially coton candy; everything went great today.

"Hey, I want to ride one last thing before we go."

"Which one?" I ask as I look in the direction that he's looking too, only to see The Big Whell. My eyes are widening at the sight of it.

"No! No! You said you’re fine if we’re not going on the big rides." I say shaking my head, not wanting to even get close to that thing.

"I am, but I want to enjoy the view from up there with you, baby. Please, I promise nothing will happen to you. Don't you trust me?"

I sigh in defeat seeing his puppy eyes. He knows I can’t refuse him if he does this and he smirks at me, proud he won me over so easily. He then starts dragging me excited to the queue of people.

We wait in line for about 30 minutes until our turn to get in one of the boxes comes. We sit down and I grip Wooyoung’s hand as we start moving up. I hide my face in his chest and he laughs a litter. I could feel his vibration through me.

"It’s not funny..."

“Baby, please look at me.” He says softly, but I don’t look up, so he frees his hand out of my grip and coups my face with both of them, bringing me face him.

“We are already up, please look at the view, I promise you will regret if you don’t, it’s really worth it. I want to look at it together with you.” He says pleading me with his eyes and I nod my head in response. His face breaks into a beautiful smile at this.

I look out the window and my mouth opens a little at the sight that hits me. He was right. It’s so beautiful. It’s already dark outside so the city is illuminated. Everything looks so small from here.

I turn to face Wooyoung and he looks at me too.

“I love you, Y/N.” He just tells me this for the first time.

“I love you too, Wooyoung.” I say and he kisses me gently. He tries to pour all his love for me in the kiss and I respond back with the same amount of affection.

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baroquebucky · 5 years ago

Text

carne asada

a/n: hey guys ! i feel like there’s no latina fanfics out there and being salvadorian i think that SUCKS so I’m here to change it >:) i included translations for the Spanish parts so even if u don’t know it you can still enjoy it ! Feel free to request :-)

in which you culture timothée goes to the family carne asada for the first time

“mon amour how does this look?” Timothée asked, emerging from the room in a loose button up shirt and nice pants. He looked great, much too formal for a Hispanic cook out though. You smiled at him, “ay amor, it looks good, maybe put on some jeans instead of dress pants though” you teased him, watching his face flush red before he quickly went back into the room to change once more.

You quickly replied to your moms text, telling her you would be on your way in a couple minutes. Soon timothée rushed out of the room, look at you for reassurance. You smiled sweetly at him, standing up and walking over to the nervous boy.

“they’re going to love you bebe i promise you, the worse that can happen is that they hate you and call you un baboso or something” you assured your boyfriend, laughing as his eyes went wide. “I’m joking! They already love you” you giggled, placing a small kiss on his cheek before turning around and swiping the keys off the table, walking to the door and making sure you weren’t forgetting anything.

“you ready?” You turned to your boyfriend, he smiled at you softly before running a hand through his hair and nodding, you tossed the keys at him and he caught them quickly. You held the door open for him and he laughed at how you bowed slightly for him, quickly following suit. You locked the door and headed to your car.

The drive there was relaxing for you, laughing and pointing things out from your childhood as you drive into your neighborhood. Timmy tried his best to pay attention, but his mind was racing, he always read how Hispanic parents were always so critical of everything, how could he not be scared?

“amor? estás poniendo atención?” (are you paying attention) you looked at him, he quickly turned to you before focusing back on the road. “oh what? yeah sorry- just really nervous still” he replied, biting his bottom lip for a couple seconds before letting out a shaky breath. Although he didn’t know Spanish you always spoke it around him, translating after he would look at you like a helpless puppy, so he had picked up on a few phrases.

You never felt bad when you talked to him in Spanish since he did the same thing to you but in French. Sometimes just to get back at him you would talk to him in only Spanish and he would get frustrated because the little Spanish he knew flew out the window when you spoke. Between the slang words you used, how fast you were speaking and how attractive he found you speaking Spanish was the boy was mesmerized.

“angelito you don’t need to be nervous, i promise you they’re going to love you” you assured the nervous boy, placing a hand on his thigh as he continued to drive. He relaxed a little bit, smiling at you for a second before pulling into your street. He let out a shaky breath as he parked the car, looking in the mirror to check his hair one more time. He quickly rushed out of the car to open your door and help you out, you gladly took his hand as he locked the car. Even from where you were parked you could hear the music blasting and the sound of your family bickering and laughing. You smiled, excited for your boyfriend to experience a real carne asada with you and to meet your family.

“you ready?” You asked him, “not at all ma cherie” he spoke, you felt his hands get clammy, you smiled at him, kissing him in the cheek. “Wipe your hands on your jeans and calm down” you giggled, walking up to the front door, as you were about to ring the doorbell the door swung open to reveal your mom.

“mijita! ay te e extrañado tanto mi amor! Que chula te miras” (darling! I’ve missing you so much honey, you look so cute) your mom began, taking you into a warm embrace and scanning you all over to take in any differences from the span of several months since you had visited. “I missed you too mom” you replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“y este bicho guapo?” (who’s this handsome boy) Your mom began causing you to burst out laughing. “mom this is timothée my boyfriend” you smiled, moving to the side so timmy could hug your mom.

“muy bien conocerla” (it’s so good to meet you) timothee spoke, cringing at his broken Spanish. “It’s okay i know English” your mom smiled at the boy, taking in all his features. “oh okay good because my Spanish is horrible” he laughed nervously, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear.

“so good to finally meet you! y/n tells me about you everytime we call” your mom smiled at the boy, you both blushed deeply and he let out a small chuckle. “come inside! You have to meet everyone else!” Your mom moves aside, letting the two of you step into your childhood home. You took your boyfriends hand, leading him in the house, your mom quickly stopped you, letting timmy go in. “si te sacastes uno bueno” (you did get a good one) your mom winked at you and you nodded “ya se mama” (i know mom).

“Y/N!” Your older brothers shouted from the backyard, getting up from their seats and walking over to you, timothee was tense at your side. “hey guys!” You squealed meeting them halfway and giving the two of them a hug, you were the youngest. “how have you been?” You oldest brother, Alex asked. As you were about to answer their eyes landed on timothée. “actually i don’t care, is this the famous timothée? Im Alex” He asked, going over to say hi to the boy by your side, timothée went to extend his hand to shake your brothers hand but it was quickly swatted away by Alex. “nah man give me a hug!” He smiled at your boyfriend and you smiled at the two of them. Timothée hes usted for a second before hugging him back. “It’s good to finally meet you guys! Y/N always tells me stories about the two of you,” your second eldest brother Bryan went in to hug timothée next, towering over him.

“I’m assuming about how he would play with her braids?” Brayan laughed pulling away from the hug after a couple seconds. Timothée let out a breathy laugh, nodding his head. “well if you guys want we have two seats open for you guys” Alex spoke, “mainly for you tim” Bryan added, pushing you away slightly and you furrowed your brows at him, punching his arm. “I leave for like 5 months and this is how you treat me?” You joked as he shoved you once again, laughing as you stumbled a little while trying to overpower him. “well you guys have fun meeting everyone else!” Alex spoke before heading back into the backyard.

The two of you stood in the living room, you turned to timothée. “How you holding up amorcito?” You asked the boy, taking his hand in your and rubbing circles on the back of his hand with your thumb. “pretty good actually, your family is fun” he smiled at you, “i think your brothers like me” he giggled and you nodded at him, “watch by the end of the night they’ll love you more than me.”

The two of you walked into the kitchen, around the small table were two of your aunts and your mom all talking and eating.

“Hola!” You spoke up, cashing your two aunts to turn around and stand up, rushing to hug you. “Ay y/n! Tanto tiempo a pasado!” (y/n! It’s been so long!) Your first aunt spoke as she hugged you tightly, “que Bonita te miras” she spoke, moving to the side so your other aunt could hug you. “Ay mi amor que grande estás ya” (oh love you’ve grown so much) your second aunt spoke, squeezing you tightly as you hugged her back.

“este es mi novio timothée” (this is my boyfriend timothée) you spoke, introducing the beautiful boy next to you, he waved awkwardly, “hola como están?” (hi how are you guys) He spoke nervously as your aunts smiled at him. “Ay que precioso eres!” (You’re so cute!) Your first aunt smiled at the boy, giving him a small hug. “Your eyes are beautiful!” Your second aunt told him, he blushed deeply thanking her. You both stood there for a couple minutes making small talk with your two aunts before finally heading out to the backyard to find your dad.

“okay you’re gonna meet my dad next, trust me he’s super sweet, don’t be scared” you smiled at your boyfriend, you could tell he was shaking from nerves. You stopped him for a second, pulling him into a side hug, wrapping your arm around his waist. “angelito i got you, no matter what i love you okay?” You assured him, he smiled at you and planted a kiss on your cheek, “i love you ma cherie” he spoke, less nervous and ready to meet your dad.

You pulled him along, scanning the backyard to look for your dad, your eyes soon landed on him and you rushed over. “Papa!” You shouted, he whipped his head around and a smile overcame his features, he had missed his little girl so much. “baby! how have you been?” He asked, smiling as he hugged you and kissed you ontop of your head. You sighed into his chest, a smile on your face, “I’ve been good and you? anything new?” You smiled up at him, pulling away and standing next to a newly nervous timmy.

“nothing much, i see someone is new with you though” your dad stated, looking at timmy, scanning him from head to toe, he looked like a good kid, because he was, but you knew your dad was gonna give him a hard time for at least a minute to see his reaction. “Dad this is timothée, my boyfriend” you smiled, timothée immediately extended his hand out, “h-hey it’s good to meet you sir” he spoke, you could hear it in his voice how scared he was. Timmys mind was going a mile a minute, making sure he didn’t do anything to make your family hate him.

“so you’re the one that stole my girl away from me huh?” Your dad spoke, timothée had no ideas what to say. “Dad! Don’t scare him away” you pouted, scowling at your father. “I’m just messing with him! So tell me about yourself timothée” you dad smiled, sitting back down and motioning for your boyfriend to do the same, he quickly followed suit and they fell into conversation, making your dad laugh and talking about his life with him and some funny stories when he began to ramble.

You smiled softly, going to get some food for you and timothée from the kitchen. As you were playing the meat and rice you looked out the window and saw your dad and timothée laughing, you were so happy that your whole family approved, it was rare. Your last boyfriend your dad hated and your mom loved, another guy you brought home they both hated, they had never both liked anyone you had brought home until now.

Your dad glanced at the kitchen window, you were caught up in conversation with your aunts and mom about drama in the community. Your dad turned to timothée, demeanor changing to a more serious one.

“so what exactly are you intentions with y/n? You’re this famous actor with millions, yet you choose to be with a Hispanic girl who isn’t even famous” your dad spoke, skeptical of what he wanted. Timothée looked at your dad, turning to the kitchen window and he could see you covering your mouth in shock at something your mom told you. He smiled at the sight of you. “Listen sir, I love her, so much. She’s so smart and there’s never a dull moment with her, I can’t go a day without her correcting me on something and making me a better person. She always makes me smile and helps everyone around her before she even thinks about herself. I’ve never met anyone more resilient than her, she’s tough and hard headed and is great at debating things she’s passionate about, I fell in love with her because she’s so amazing and we make such a great team, she keeps me grounded and i can’t see my life without her.” Timothée spoke, he was confident in his answer, stuttering a bit here and there, a smile on his face as he talked about you and moved around a bit in the chair.

Your dad looked at him for a second, a stern look on face. Timothée thought he was about to pass out when he met your dads eyes. Your dad smiled at him, pulling him into a hug. “I’m glad you’re with y/n, you’re a great kid and you’re very talented. Welcome to the family mijo,” timothée felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders, he has overjoyed that everything had gone smoothly.

“hey what did i miss?” You asked, seeing how your dad and timmy were laughing it up and any signs of nervousness were gone. “nothing much” your dad spoke and timmy smiled up at you, helping you with the plates, he got up, letting you have his seat and pushing the chair in a little before taking his own seat.

“well, here is the most authentic carne asada con arroz you will probably ever get, dig in timmy t” you smiled. He thanked you and quickly got some meat, mumbling an “oh my god” before stuffing his face full of the food. You laughed at how eager he was to finish the food, not making a noise as he ate, too busy enjoying every second of it.

“that was the best food I’ve ever had” he spoke, slightly out of breath as he wiped his mouth and drank some water. You smiled at him, still eating your food, “told you it was gonna be fine” you replied after you had swallowed the food in your mouth.

Timmy fit in perfectly after a couple of hours, he got along really well with your brothers, playing a few rounds of beer pong with them and a couple of your cousins. He was amazing with all your aunts, instantly charming them with one smile, all of them talking about him in Spanish since they knew he didn’t know it.

After the sun had set your cousin suggested that you all play Loteria, and who the hell was going o reject that? You dug up all the cards from your room and passed them out to your brothers, timmy and your cousins.

“wait! Why doesn’t timothée read them” one of your cousins suggested, laughing at the thought of him struggling. You looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders, “why not? Pass me the cards” he laughed, everyone cheering him on.

“el sol” he began, smiling since he knew that one. “El para- para guas?” He furrowed his brows as everyone giggled, turning to you he whispered, “ma cherie how do you say that?” You smiled at him, “el paraguas” you replied, he then repressed it louder, everyone clapping as he moved onto the next one. It continued like that for a couple more cards until your cousin got loteria, gloating about it until your brother beat him. Eventually you were stuck reading the cards since no one else wanted to, timothée decided to sit the round out, wanting to hear you talk Spanish as much as he could, your accent cane out when you were around your family and he was living for it.

Eventually everything wrapped up and the two of you were tired, saying goodbye to everyone. “Adios tia ay me manda mensaje para que podamos hacer ese jardin que quiere” you hugged your aunt and timothée felt his heart implode with love, he didn’t know what you were saying but he was in love with how you said it.

After saying goodbye the two of you walked out hand in hand, giggling at something’s that had happened earlier. “Oh my god and when your aunt called out your uncle i almost spat out my drink” timmy laughed, opening the car door for you. You laughed remembering how he had sputtered and nearly choked.

“Did you have a good time?” You asked him, looking at him as he put his seatbelt on. “Of course, it was amazing angel” he smiled, leaning over the console to kiss you. You leaned in and kissed him quickly, pulling away so that he could start driving. “My family loves you bebe” you smiled, looking at the curly headed boy. “I’m glad they do, because i don’t know what i would do if they didn’t” he laughed nervously. Timothée stayed parked for a while, letting the car engine heat up and choosing a Spotify playlist.

As he put the car in drive you looked at him, a smile on your face as you spoke up. “Te amo Timothée Chalamet” he turned to face you, a blush tinting his cheeks and a bashful smile on his face. “Je t’aime y/n y/l/n” he responded, kissing you one more time before pressing play on his phone and driving away from your house, the two of you laughing and singing along the whole ride back.

#timothee chalamet imagine #timothee fluff #timothee chalamet angst #timothee chalamet x reader #timothee chalamet fluff #timothee imagine #timothee blurb #timothee x you #timothee x reader #timothee chalamet x latina!reader #timothee x latina!reader #timothee fanfic #timothée fanfic #timothée x reader #timothée chalamet fluff #timothée chalamet imagine

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be-dazzled · 4 years ago

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Miraxus Day: Family is Family

Laxus Dreyar, Mirajane Strauss November 8, 2020 Dedication: To my small Miraxus family. I love you all.

Writer’s Corner: Of course I’m not gonna forget. This is such a mess. I was going back and forth with drama, comedy, drama and comedy. It’s all over the place! But I hope you guys still appreciate it. Let me know what you guys think.

HAPPY MIRAXUS DAY!

All rights reserve to Hiro Mashima, original creator.

Masterlist

---

Family. That’s all Laxus ever wanted – a family. He used to believe that a mother, a father and a child made a family. But Laxus came into a world his mother had just left and all he had was his father. He thought maybe the two of them were enough but Ivan’s quest for power had consumed him and eventually, Laxus was not enough anymore.

Gramps came into his life and introduced him to a new home – Fairy Tail. But even then, his concept of family never changed. Laxus still considered his father as family, the only one he had aside from Makarov. And so, when Gramps was forced to excommunicate Ivan, Laxus considered it the highest betrayal. Because what father could disown his own son? What family would choose strangers over one’s own flesh and blood?

His dear Gramps destroyed Laxus’ family and he was so filled with hatred and darkness that he started to believe that there was no such thing as family. Only power.

Little by little, he had become his father – so obsessed with power that he was willing to step on and destroy what his grandfather held closest to his heart. But deep inside Laxus knew it wasn’t the search for power that pushed him to declare the battle of Fairy Tail. It was his hatred of his grandfather who chose a bunch of strangers over his own son. It was his loathing of Makarov, who created his own family in Fairy Tail, and left Laxus alone and lonely. Without a family. He was so consumed by his hatred that he failed to see that the only reason Makarov protected Fairy Tail was so that Laxus would never feel lonely ever again. That he would always have a family.

He was beyond saving but Makarov never gave up on him.

It was a long road for Laxus but in the end he came to finally understand what Gramps was trying to tell him. That family was not only defined by blood but most importantly, it was about love. In the end, he finally realized that he had family and all along, he was home.

But something was still missing.

---

Laxus’ return to the guild did not usually call for some big celebration because they did not need Laxus to create some ruckus. They got Gray and Natsu for that. Recently, however, it wasn’t only the Thunder God Tribe whose faces lit up every time the big boss came back from his long missions. One pair of blue eyes gleamed upon his return.

Mirajane Strauss. Now, that’s the woman who knew the importance of family. She had dedicated her life to protect her own.

“Welcome back, Laxus.”

There was surprise in the dragon slayer’s eyes but one that was welcomed. He gave him a soft smile, one that was considered meager as compared to Mirajane’s.

“I hope you weren’t charged with so much damages.” Mirajane started a conversation while she took the accomplishment report from the S-Class mage.

“I’m not Natsu.” defended Laxus, “nor Erza.” His orange eyes followed the Head Waitress as she read the report and filed it in the books. He planned on taking the day off and getting some much deserved rest. However, the job request Mirajane just handed to him was going to put a dent on that plan.

“Don’t forget about your promise.”

Laxus did not. He was a man of his words and when Mira decided to cash in on that promise, he would definitely honor them. But the thought had kept him up some nights. Knowing Mirajane, she’d cash in soon and would probably make him do things he’d never do as long as he was alive. Despite his inhibitions, he still agreed to go on a job with Mira. They argued about their meeting point: him wanting to pick her up from her house and Mirajane wanting to do the opposite. His pride was not having it, so, they settled on meeting halfway.

“Oi, Demon. Don’t make me do weird things.”

It was one of his wisest decisions to leave before Mirajane gave him details of the job.

“I won’t!” Mira shouted after him and the Dragon Slayer disappeared behind the wooden doors.

The next day, they met right in front of the guild, where they mutually decided was fair for the both of them. Mirajane led him to a residential district, lined on either side with common bungalow houses. Laxus was right to worry about that bright smile and even brighter blue eyes, when, at the end of the block, they were welcomed by a nice middle-aged couple about to leave them five crazy boys to care for the day. In short, Mirajane just dragged him, the great Lightning Dragon Slayer, Laxus Dreyar, into a baby-sitting job. Him? Makarov’s grandson about to follow into his footsteps in leading Fiore’s strongest guild? One of the most respected mages of whole Earthland? A Dragon freaking Slayer? Going to babysit a crazy bunch on a sugar rush? No way, Ma’am. Not in this lifetime.

If Mirajane wanted to spend her day babysitting, that’s up to her. Not Laxus Dreyar.

But if Mirajane said they were going to spend their day babysitting, that’s what they were going to do.

That’s how Laxus Dreyar found himself in the middle of all that chaos: dangling two thrashing boys in either arm; head throbbing, ear splitting from all the screaming; staying really, really still in the middle of the kitchen floor because there were loose marbles all around him. The reason why he was in the middle of marble island was with him too but instead, she was wobbly carrying some easily breakable plates.

“Kids! Don’t run around please.”

Laxus tilted his head on the side, just a little tilt, and wondered how Mirajane could keep the honey on her voice despite those little spawns of the devil making their job a tad harder than usual. If it was up to him, he’d fry the little demons and call it a night. Five evil boys, at their age and without a nanny? What were that middle-aged couple thinking? But Mirajane was nothing but patient with those kids, like she had always been with the grown-ass children back at the guild, and she was pretty good at it. So, Laxus was going to trust Mirajane with whatever crazy plan she was going to come up with.

“Do we have a plan?” asked he, trying very much not to be condescending, even though he was really close to just squeezing the squirming boys into silence, with his bare arms.

“Put me down, spark plugs!”

Laxus had learned earlier in life, you have to be stern with these boys or you would never get the respect you deserve. So, he stared down that little demon and pulled the most deadly glare he had mastered.

“I’m gonna show you plugs if you don’t keep quiet.”

Which, his inexperienced ass had taught him, was not a very good idea, since the boy with mahogany hair discovered a higher pitch for his screaming.

Definitely not the best idea.

“So?” He turned back to the woman who at least was the more experienced between them.

All the answer she could offer him was an apologetic smile – beautiful but apologetic smile. Then, not like it was crazy enough – that Mirajane was out of any ideas, crazy or not – the universe was really testing them. Five, eight and ten year olds never listen to anything an adult says. Because when you tell them not to run around, they bump into you while you’re carrying a tower of ceramic plates.

So, Laxus had to step up and use some magic. He charged the marbles with small static to clear up a way for Mirajane.

“Cool!” one of the kids exclaimed and the two stubborn rascals in his arms stopped squirming for freedom. The kids all demanded he do it again, cheering him on until Laxus caved in.

Now, he wasn’t the kind of man who got pushed over and ordered around. No one could make Laxus do what he didn’t want to do. But those kids were looking at him like was some kind of a hero. And so, Laxus charged the marbles again so they rolled around the kitchen floor in some entertaining fashion. The boys didn’t move an inch.

Kids were too easy.

Easy to win over and had no loyalty, at all.

Because now they were entertaining their eyes with Mirajane’s Take-Over magic. Who even thought a pink giant lizard was cool?

Traitors.

His static charged marbles rolling around every direction was way, way cooler.

Laxus did not feel abandoned by his disciples. No way. He decided to sit there at the couch, comfortably at that, and scoffed at those simpletons who thought a blue bunny existed in this world. Geez. His great magic skills were a waste on those kids. Laxus glanced towards where the giggly laughters were coming from.

What a bunch of school girls.

Laxus was just thankful he didn’t have to waste any more energy on children’s play, quite literally. But his plan on spending the rest of the night slipping into a nap – and letting Mirajane do all the babysitting – was put on hold when, at the corner of his eyes, he saw a nonthreatening silhouette standing under the arch. Not a second later, a little girl holding a blue bunny stepped into the light. They held each other’s stare, one studying the other. Then, the little girl with the long reddish, brownish hair approached the big guy on her parent’s couch.

“Who are you?” interrogated her. “And why are you lazing around in my house?”

Laxus thought she was very articulate for a little girl.

“Laxus.” He offered his name. “I’m your bab– I’m your guardian for tonight.”

“You mean my babysitter?”

One orange eye twitched at the word. It was enough Laxus had his argumentative baby blue eyes at home; he didn’t need another one on his job too.

“Guardian. Alright?” insisted the big guy. “Now, it’s past your bed time. Why are you still up?”

“Those brats woke me up.”

She climbed onto the couch and settled next to her babysitter. The way she casually dropped he word ‘brat’ pulled the corners of Laxus�� mouth just slightly up but the spark of amusement in his eyes showed that his interest was piqued.

“Is that your girlfriend?”

Laxus’ orange eyes followed her stare and saw Mirajane turning back to her original form. But one who never shared about his life, the guardian a.k.a babysitter tried to dodge the bullet.

“Didn’t your parents tell you not to talk to strangers?”

She nodded in response. “Stranger Danger.”

Laxus wanted to ignore the kid but she had other plans.

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“So, why are you still talking to me?”

“You gave me your name. So, you’re not a stranger.”

Laxus kept his lips shut just in case smarty-mouth took the hint and would just go away. Turned out, she wasn’t as smart as he thought she was.

“Is she your girlfriend?”

Couldn’t get the hint.

“I could be dangerous.”

“You’re a big guy lazing around a couch.” She gave her a look that made him feel like he was stupid. “How dangerous can you be?”

That was not only Little Miss Smarty Pants being such a smart pants but also being the ingenious, unintentional snark that she apparently was. Laxus could feel another headache coming.

“How old are you again?”

“Eight. Is she your girlfriend?”

Laxus eyed the girl, giving her one of those serious, intimidating look he used to scare the people in his guild with. It did not make her budge, not even just a little. Laxus just had to admit defeat. The little girl was not going to drop the subject until she was satisfied with an answer.

“Sort of.”

Appearing satisfied with that, the smarty pants whipped her head to the side to study the lady who was making her brothers guffaw. In just a matter of seconds, she already made up her mind about Mirajane. “She isn’t that pretty.”

That was a surprise for Laxus. As far as he knew, Mirajane Strauss was every man’s dream. Sometimes, a woman’s too. Guys wanted her. Girls wished they could be her. But, what did an eight year old know?

The girl turned to face him again and, in a matter-of-fact tone, told him he could do better.

Laxus folded his lips to keep that thin line on his face from pulling wider. He didn't want to be the one to tell Mirajane that an eight year old girl just flatly told him that Laxus was out of Mirajane’s league. He couldn't fault the child for being that honest. Kids didn't lie.

"You think so?"

"Yeah." The little girl answered around a big yawn. Then, she leaned on the big guy and rested her head against his arm, pulling her blue bunny tight to her chest. “Way better.”

It maybe wasn't right for him to feel good about that but he did. Sure, he wasn't going to win the best secret boyfriend award but the woman being so lovable made him doubt himself. Laxus knew he wasn't the friendly, approachable type. Kids were either afraid or just dismissive of him. He had improved over the years but sometimes, as much as he told himself it didn’t bother him, Laxus was worried that he wasn’t as likeable as Gramps, who was grooming him to be the next Guild Master. There were times he’d think he made a breakthrough, like earlier, when those boys looked up to him like he was the greatest thing in the world. Then, all of the sudden, he wasn’t. But thanks to this little girl sleeping soundly beside him, Laxus felt a lot better.

---

“She said that?”

Mirajane showed no signs of being bothered or insulted by a little girl calling her ‘not that pretty’. In fact, she was more surprised that Laxus was the one hogging their conversation. He tried to repress the enthusiasm in his voice and expression but the Dragon Slayer was never this chatty. On their walks, Laxus always played the audience and Mira would always talk his ears off.

“Don’t take it too personally.”

It was very late in the evening and the two managed to put the kids to sleep before the couple came home to relieve them. Guardian missions paid well and Laxus finally realized why.

“Those boys gave you a hard time, huh?”

“It’s like we never left the guild.” Mirajane’s giggles were abruptly cut off by the sudden gush of wind.

Laxus noticed it. So, he shrugged out of his large coat and draped it over Mira’s shoulders. To keep himself warm, he shoved his hands inside his pant pockets and slid closer to her as they continued with their walk home. Bickslow said something about sharing heat or something. He said girls liked that.

“Mina’s just like you.”

The declaration made Mirajane turn to him, a bit surprised. The little girl obviously hated her. “Really? How so?”

“She snores when she sleeps.”

Yeah, she thought. She pulls your hair and pretends to sleep too.

“Oh.” Mirajane didn’t really know what to make of it. She was sure she didn’t snore. Or did she?

“And talks in her sleep.”

Mirajane didn’t think she did that. But that wasn’t the thought that caused her stop and fall behind. Looking back, she realized that from the client’s house up to now, they’ve only been talking about the boys and their sister, Mina. Laxus even had that warm expression on his face when she talked about the little girl who slapped and kicked Mirajane when she tried to pick her up from the couch to place to bed. But when it was Laxus who carried her away, Mina snuggled up to him and slept in his arms, like a baby.

“Mina’s really…” Laxus struggled, although he tried not to show it, to look for the right word to finish his sentence. “C-cu–. Mira?” He only noticed Mira’s absence when he looked at beside him and she wasn’t there.

“Oi,” Laxus came back for her. Worry and confusion made lines appear on his forehead, “what’s wrong?”

She stared at him, studying his features slowly changed as years passed by. Mira remembered the time when he was just a little boy, the cute young golden boy who doted on his grandfather. The little boy whom people expected great things from. Vignettes of his growing years played in her memory, his highs and his lows, until her reminiscing brought her to the here and now, staring at the man that Laxus had become.

“Mirajane.” His voice was laced with equal concern and warning.

“Do you know why I took this mission?”

She was proud of him, of how far Laxus had come. He started as a sweet kid; broken by what Laxus took as his grandfather’s betrayal when he sent away Ivan; until he found his way back home.

“I’m not in the mood to play guesses, Mira.”

And he realized that family was not only defined by blood but also by love. That we may be born into a family but sometimes, when we are lucky, we find one or we get to create our own.

“Because I wanted to see how you’ll be around kids.” Without knowing it, tears had started to roll down her cheeks. Mira rested her hand over her belly, feeling the bump that wasn’t there yet. “Now that we’re expecting one.”

The cruel, November wind slapped on Mira’s tear-stricken cheeks. It was late and the streets had been emptied. From Laxus’ expression, she was glad they had the privacy to have that conversation. Mira dropped the hand on her belly and tightened the large coat around her body with it. For the first time since she received the good news, Mirajane got scared. She got scared as she stared into Laxus’ widened eyes and found no emotion in them. She took a step back, mind in complete mess.

Did he not want the child? Would she be raising their child on her own?

Questions ran around and about her mind. But Mirajane was strong. In those quick moments when he said nothing, she tried to rebuild a life that was just in ruins.

Mira took a deep breath, mustering the courage to tell him, “You… you don’t have to do anything. I–”

But before she could finish her sentence, Laxus had bridged the small distance she placed between them. He dropped his head on her shoulder and once again, they fell into complete silence.

“I’m just tired, Mira.”

Laxus words were muffled by the collar of his coat but Mirajane could hear the croak in his voice. He didn’t say anything after that but Mira noticed his shoulders lightly shaking. When he shifted his head to nuzzle at the crook of her neck, she felt his warm tears. Right there and then, without Laxus saying anything, Mira finally understood his feelings. She gently patted the back of his head, silently telling him that it was okay. They were going to be okay. They were going to figure it out, together.

Laxus then wrapped his arms around Mira’s slender figure, tighter and tighter, until her fears were squashed. The thought of messing it up as first time parents tentatively crossed her mind but she wasn’t afraid of it. Because it was Laxus. Because she was going to embark on that journey with Laxus. Because even in his small voice, she heard his words over the low howling of the November wind.

“Thank you, Mira.”

Family. That’s all Laxus ever wanted – a family. Even if his definition of it had changed over the years, one stood the test of time. Laxus was the luckiest man alive to have known a family defined by blood, by love and now, by both.

---

Bonus:

Laxus did not know regrets. He believed that everything that happened – good or bad –were, simply, opportunities to learn.

But now he was starting to regret when he told his wife he wanted a daughter.

“I hate you, Papa!”

His three year-old hit him with a fist in the face. Now, being the daughter of two of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail, his daughter’s punch could not be taken lightly.

“Princess, you need to eat your vegetables.”

“No!”

“But it will help you grow.”

She crossed her arms and barked a definite, “No!”

If she was a boy, Laxus’ glare would do the trick. But when it comes to his little princess, Fairy Tail’s ninth guild-master could not keep a straight face, how much more a frown.

“But–”

“See? This is why you shouldn’t spoil her.” Mirajane, with a slight bump on her tummy, moved around her husband to her seat at the dining table. She wasn’t too far along but already showing. “Fayna, you need to eat your vegetables.”

The Dreyar daughter did not say a word but only gave her mother a look that said, ‘make me’, which Mirajane did not appreciate coming from a three year old. It also didn’t help that pregnancy hormones cut her patience by half; so, Mira stared back at her daughter and the two ended up in a silly stand-off, while the father took the cowardly way out by just waiting for them to stop.

Just another day at the Dreyar House.

Laxus knew exactly how it would end – with his little princess crying to her daddy.

Fayna’s baby blue eyes brimmed with tears. Laxus just had to count to three until his little demon conceded to the other demon in the house, curl up to her daddy and cry to him.

“Mama’s being mean, again?”

Fayna buried her face against the dragon-slayer’s chest and nodded, clutching on his father’s pressed shirt.

“Laxus!”

The dragon-slayer shrugged but gave his wife an apologetic smile. Papa Laxus was definitely whipped and totally twisted around his little princess’ finger. Mirajane did not like it one bit. She didn’t like to always play the bad guy and she told him about that. Laxus promised he would try to be stern with the little demon. When the time came, he’d be the one to discipline her.

Laxus sought her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, his orange eyes begging for understanding. Mirajane just rolled her eyes and Laxus mouthed quick thanks.

When the day came that his daughter wanted to learn magic and eventually joined the guild. When she finally went to her first mission without her Papa and Mama. When Fayna finally sought her independence, he’ll subject her to the same discipline the Guild Master puts all the kids at the guild. No special treatment for his Fayna.

But for the meantime, while Fayna was still his baby girl and she still liked her papa, Laxus wanted to spoil his little princess.

#miraxus #miraxus day #miraxus day 2020 #laxus dreyar #mirajane strauss #be-dazzled #lamira

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saedii-gilwraeth-simp · 4 years ago

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Another World - TDC Holidays - Day 5

Like, comment and reblog please and thank you

DAY 5

AU: HIGH SCHOOL

POV: KATHARINE

I need a car was the conclusion Katharine came to when she nearly hurled in the school parking lot after stumbling off her sister’s motorcycle. Arsinoe chuckled as she rubbed her back and gently tugged the helmet off Kat’s head to let the fresh air in and Kat breathed, slowly standing up and glaring at the dangerous monstrosity her sister called “her baby.” Usually, she would ride in Mirabella’s car but their older sister was sick at home.

“Never doing that again,” Kat said as Arsinoe pulled their backpacks from the seat compartment and put Kat’s helmet in there, her own still perched under her arm. She locked the bike and cast Kat a look.

“It’s not even that bad, I don’t get what you and Mira don’t like about it,” Arsinoe says, handing her her pack. Kat growls, takes it and turns towards the front steps of their school. Arsinoe calls out to where Jules stands at the base of the steps before kissing Kat’s forehead. “I’ll meet you here after school, yeah?” Kat nods and Arsinoe jogs across the road to join her friends. Kat crosses after, not looking over at her sister. She knew Arsinoe would invite her over if she asked, but Jules, Joseph, Billy and Emilia were Arsinoe’s friends, not hers. She didn’t belong there.

She quickly darted up the stairs into their school, passing through the halls like a ghost to get to her locker. She unlocked it and tugged at it with all the force she could muster, growling at the jammed door.

Kat didn’t even notice the person coming up beside her until her locker swung open and hit something that went “umph.” Kat frowned and half closed her locker again to see a girl rubbing her nose. Kat winces and steps towards the girl, feeling awkward and guilty.

“I am so sorry, are you okay?” The girl nodded and Kat gently took her wrists so that she could check the girls face. She nearly swore.

She had just hit Bree Westwood, also known as the head cheerleader and second most popular girl in school, in the face with her locker. Shit. This was it, this was the end, the moment where no one would ever interact with her again. They watch each other for too long and Kat ignores the way her heart races under the scrutiny of this tall and pretty girl.

“I’m okay. Are you?” Bree says and Kat frowns in confusion, “no one opens a locker that aggressively if they’re perfectly fine,” she clarifies and Kat nods in understanding.

“I’m fine, the door just got stuck so… yeah,” she says rubbing her arm nervously. “Sorry about hitting you in the face,” Bree laughed and Kat rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

“It’s fine, locker grate bruises are all the rage these days,” Bree affirms, her voice warm. The bell goes off behind them and Kat jumps slightly. “I’ll see you around Kat Queen,” she winks and then is gone.

“I’m just saying that the greatest bop of all time is Shania Twain’s ‘Man! I feel like a Women’ followed by Nelly Furtado’s ‘Promiscuous’ and then the entire Queen discography,” Arsinoe rants as Kat sits beside her, gesticulating like she’s a professor on the subject. Her table laughs and Kat questions her sister’s sanity.

“I think you’re too deep in nostalgia. Modern rappers have changed the landscape of what consists of a bop,” Billy contests, waving to Kat. Arsinoe turns to her boyfriend, pointing a fork in his face.

“Is this your way of saying you think ‘WAP’ should be at the top of this list? Oh and Kitty, Bree Westwood is staring at you,” Arsinoe says the first part with incredulity and the second so fast Kat almost doesn’t catch it. Kat snorts before her brain registers all of the information. She looks over to the “popular table” and catches Bree Westwood indeed staring right at her, warm honey eyes curious and smiling. Kat smiles back with a small wave, hoping that the bright fluorescents of the cafeteria washed away the blush striped across her cheeks. Bree winked at her and the blush got worse.

“Arsinoe, what’s she like?” Kat leans over and asks into her sister’s ear. Arsinoe turns and considers the question.

“Mira says she’s nicer than you might think. If you want to talk to her you should. Get out there again, y’know?” Arsinoe assured her gently. Kat nodded and stood from the table.

“I’m gonna go practice my piano,” Arsinoe nods and squeezes Kat’s arm lovingly.

Arsinoe is unsuccessfully trying to coax Kat back onto her motorbike when someone behind her calls her name.

Grateful for the opportunity to stall, Kat turns, only to begin to wonder whether the motorbike would have been a better option. Bree Westwood approaches her and Kat tries not to be distracted by the fact that she’s in her cheerleading uniform because that amount of leg and what it does to Kat’s heart should be considered criminal.

“Hi Bree,” Kat says awkwardly, “What’s up?”

“Hey Kat,” Bree says happily. “I was wondering if you might like to get dinner with me on Friday night? Like, a date?” Kat doesn’t speak, her brows furrowing in confusion. She thanks everything that that is the moment Arsinoe nudges her in the shoulder blade.

“Uh, I- yeah, that sounds good,” Kat stammers and Bree smiles so wide Kat assumes it hurts her and then skips off.

“Get it Kitty,” Arsinoe says as she pushes a cycle helmet into Kat’s arms.

“I can’t believe you’re going on a date with my best friend,” Mirabella murmurs as she helps Kat get ready for her date. Kat hasn’t been able to stop blushing. “It’s so exciting,” she continues as she puts a light layer of makeup on Kat.

“Yeah, nicely done Kitty,” Arsinoe affirms from her perch leaning against the bathroom doorframe. “But text me if it starts going badly, I’ll make up some emergency,” Kat snorts gently.

“With you, it’s not often that you have to make up an emergency,” she teases and Mirabella puts down the mascara wand, giggling.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I am a completely responsible young adult who never gets herself involved in emergencies,” Arsinoe says, sticking her nose in the air snottily. Mirabella seems to not be able to handle it, wheezing heavily as she laughed, curling over, coughing the dryness from her cold-impacted throat. It’s impossible that Kat and Arsinoe won’t also catch the same cold next week and the week after that respectively, but for now, they giggle closer to each other.

Finally, finally, they manage to sit up and Mirabella finishes Kat’s makeup. The doorbell rings and before Kat can stop her, Arsinoe is out of the bathroom and undoubtedly sliding down the stair banister even though Mirabella asks her to walk down the stairs every day. Mira helps her to her feet on the low silver heels she wears.

“You’ll be fine, Bree is super nice,” she says, before letting Kat go in front of her down the stairs.

“… and have her home by 11, which is a really chill curfew, so don’t break it,” Kat hears as she comes to stand next to Arsinoe’s shoulder, finally seeing Bree, looking like something out of her dreams with a sky blue dress that reveals miles of leg and makes her eyes pop.

“11, got it. Hi Kat, you ready?” Bree says with a smile of a thousand suns. Kat took a breath.

“I’m ready,” she takes Bree’s hand and lets her lead Kat to her car.

Tag List: @poisonerrose, @nataliaarronn

#three dark crowns #one dark throne #two dark reigns #five dark fates #kendare blake #queen katharine #bree westwood #queen arsinoe #queen mirabella #billy chatworth #another world #holiday special 2020

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cultureisdarkbeer · 5 years ago

Text

All My Love

A new book from the

Rooted in Friendship series

Chapter 1&2 Now Posted!

Read Here

Jeffrey had dropped off Samantha’s clone’s children(Jenna, Miri, and Finn) earlier, and they shyly sat together on the back swing until Maggie carried two books out onto the back porch and handed them to her daddy. “Read Dada.” Mulder didn’t think Finn, who could pass for his doppelganger, was interested in being read to. Maggie solved that too by handing Finn one of the dog’s tennis balls. She laughed and clapped in between motioning with her arm. “Throw, Finny!”

Scully snapped a photo of Mulder sitting on the porch swing with Maggie on his lap, Jenna and Mira on each side of him reading, while Finn ran and played fetch with the dog. While the dog was good at retrieving, releasing was another story, which led into a game of keep away. Scully grumbled to Mulder that the dog was untrainable, but Mulder knew the dog was smarter than he let her think.

Mulder had just finished the 2nd book when Scully stepped out onto the porch and asked “Girls? How would you like to play a game?”

They nodded. Maggie slid off her daddy’s lap and all three followed Scully. Scully took Miri and Maggie’s hands, smiling at Jenna as they went down the steps. Scully gave Mulder a quick wink at the bottom. “Let’s get your brother, that way Uncle Mulder can play with his grill. Do you all like chicken?”

Mulder chuckled at Scully and her rationing out the red meat consumption to just a few times a year. He shook his head with amusement and went inside to hit the bathroom quickly before firing up the grill. After seeing Doggett’s tailgating ‘grill on wheels’, Mulder decided to invest in a large cranberry colored Weber for himself.

The shrieks, laughter and shouting he heard coming from the yard seemed to rise higher and higher; it was obvious they were having fun. Mulder’s curiosity had him propping his shoulder on the corner of the house and watching the theatrics. Scully and Miri seemed to be on one team, challenging Finn and Jenna. Maggie was just mimicking, giggling and chasing the others. The game was Beckons Wanted. Scully had played it as a child and was now teaching it to her own child. The sentiment was not lost on Mulder.

“They caught me, Miri. Help me!” Scully yelled. Miri looked at her brother and sister and ran as fast as she could towards Scully. Maggie ran to Miri, fell once, but jolted upright quickly. A couple of pool noodles tied into circles formed the bases for the game; the object to free your teammate without getting touched by the opposing team. Miri almost made it, but Finn who had been farther away picked up speed and caught her. “Got you, Miri! We won, Jenna!”

Maggie made it to the group of four a few seconds later hugging Finn around the leg, “Got U! Finny!”

The children fell to the ground laughing and screeching. A breeze blew Scully’s hair, her cheeks rosy from playing; carefree, the soft smile gracing her face as she watched the children, all of it enough to make Mulder’s heart pound.

Maggie got to her feet and grabbed Scully’s legs. “I got! Mama!” Scully dramatically sank to the grass where she was included in the pouncing and uncontrollable laughter. The game ended and the girls laid their heads on Scully. Her fingers combing through the fine strands of their hair. Finn stretched out with his hands behind his head looking at the sky.

Mulder’s eyes moistened, recalling Scully many moons ago holding Theresa Nemin’s baby. All the layers of emotions when he watched her that day were the same ones coursing through him now. Watching how Maggie interacted with Finn, Jenna and Miri brought back memories of Samantha, the good memories, of his own childhood. He wanted Maggie to have those experiences too. Finn galloping towards him brought him back from his reverie. It was like looking in a mirror of the past. Finn even ran like he did.

Slightly winded from his sprint, Finn stopped in front of him, “Uncle Mulder?”

“What’s up Finn?”

“Well I like chicken, but well … I really like hamburgers!” he blurted with a hopeful expression on his dirt streaked face. “Do you have any?”

A huge smile enveloped Mulder’s. “I think I can hook you up with one, buddy,” he said, giving Finn a high five, and ruffling his hair.

“Yes!” The boy whooped, thanking Mulder and ran back to the others, pointing for Maggie as he gazed up at the sky. “Look, I see a turtle.” Everyone laid down in the fragrant grass, Maggie sidled over until she was right beside Finn. “See?” He pointed again.

“I see it, Finn,” his sister's agreed.

Mulder stifled a laugh when Maggie said, “No Finny! Willy Driggun!” That’s my girl, he thought heading to check the grill. Fifteen minutes later chicken, steak and various vegetables were sizzling nicely … including one hamburger.

Mulder flipped the T-bone and the flame surged. “Looks just about ready,” Mulder informed William who had just arrived with Molly. William fidgeted, looking back at the house like he was waiting for his mother to come save him. It made Mulder second guess if William was having a good time. He piled the steaks and chicken on the platter and headed inside with the puppy happily wagging his tail, sniffing the air behind them.

Scully cleared the plates once everyone had finished eating, returning with coffee, cake and cookies. Way too much food even for the clan they had there. William stood as Scully sat down and Mulder could see his hands shake while he handed him a father’s day card.

“This is from Molly and I,” William said, his breath shallow. Molly was at the other end of the table and began gnawing at a frayed nail. Now Mulder knew something was up.

Scully gave no clues away, avoiding his eye contact all together, pretending to brush away some crumbs from the table. Mulder took the envelope and opened the card. The card read, The Only Thing Better than Having You For a Dad, is My Children having you for a Grandfather . Inside was a small picture of an .. ultrasound.

“Scully?” Mulder questioned, searching her face. A smile creeped at the corners of her mouth.

“Is this serious?” he asked William, holding the black and white photo up, trying not to get prematurely excited.

He only nodded, but it sent an explosion of joy into Mulder’s chest. “William, this is... congratulations. Right? Wow. This is.. wow.” He laughed and hugged his son. Unexpected and he was certain, unplanned, it would be a hard road ahead for the two of them. Even so, it was a welcomed miracle.

@ms31x129 @baronessblixen @season4mulder @babygirlmulder1018 @muldermakesmehorny

#xfiles fanfic #txf #mulder and scully #xfiles #txf fanfic #rooted in friendship #todayinfic #x files #txf fic

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fallen029 · 5 years ago

Text

Familial Partings

They were both asleep.

The kinda sleep you get when you're tangled up in the blankets (and another person), after having been so tired, so exhausted the night before that you just passed out, eventually, and were dead to the world. The kind of sleep you got when you were completely free of all responsibility the next day and had no intention of awakening at the dawn. Perhaps even noon.

The kind of sleep that typically eluded the cantankerous dragon slayer and pretty eyed bartender.

Mirajane usually had to be down at the bar just as the dark sky began to lighten, in order to properly open up the place for daily business. Laxus, on the other hand, typically either found himself out on a technical S-Class that required him to be up early and, when this wasn't the case, adhered to a strict regimen of training that involved early morning attention. Both were rare to escape these constraints.

But when his woman, his demon, told Laxus the afternoon prior that she was going to be off the entire next day, well, fuck, all his plans went right out the window and all he wanted to do was be with her. In ways they typically couldn't. She giggled at the idea of sleeping in and then going out to brunch together while Laxus imagined their evening together, later that night, with a fancy dinner and, hopefully, a happy ending.

It was perfect. It was great. It was...flawed, because they forgot one essential thing.

"Well, it's over, boss. I'm packin' it in."

They had the least accommodating family/friend group in the world.

"Bickslow, what?" Laxus grumbled as he stood there, still rubbing sleep from his eyes, as he held open the front door to reveal one of his bodyguards. "What's going on? And what's with that box of stuff in your hands?"

"It's for you," he said simply. "And Mrs. Boss. To remember me by. Nice skivvies, by the way."

Laxus refused to be shamed for his special heart adorned boxers from his love in his own house. Still, he did step behind the door a bit more, a snarl in his tone as he questioned, "What's going on? You offin' yourself or somethin'?"

"Nope."

"Right, couldn't be that lucky."

"I," Bicslow informed him as, when the man wouldn't take the box he outstretched to him, the seith instead moved to drop it on his doorstep, "am hitting the road."

"I'm going to hit you if you don't fuck off."

"Ah, boss, you sly dog, you," he snickered as, the five wooden babies to circled the man's head, gave off their own unsettling chuckles. "I loved ya, you know that? The entire time."

"Bickslow," Laxus complained as the seith pushed up his sallet. "Seriously, are you fucking dying or something? Because if this is some kind of ruse-"

"No ruse. Just some man to man loving."

"Yeah, that's great, but I was having some dragon to demon loving and snuggling going on before you started knocking at my door. So if you're all set-"

"After you take this box of my belongings, I will be."

"If that's all it takes-"

"Dragon, what's going on?"

Mirajane was there then, peeking around the door as well. Bickslow whistled lowly, at the sight of her in her robe and Laxus, immediately, took to dragging the woman closer to him with a glare.

"Bickslow here," Laxus grumbled, "was just leaving."

"Mrs. Boss," the seith greeted instead. "Ah, this is so hard. I'm tearin' up, out here. I hoped to just speak to the boss here- No. You know what? I can't anymore. Do this. Call the two of you that. Mirajane. Laxus. Two of the dearest friends I know. We've had some ups, we've had some downs, but I just want you both to know, throughout it all, I saw you both for what you really were; my girlfriend's sister and her sister's boyfriend."

Again, his sallet was pushed up, to wipe an eye, and while Mira was staring in awe of this, Laxus only narrowed his own eyes.

"What exactly is going on here?" he questioned the other man. "Bickslow? What's up with you? Are you high? Or on some sort of illicit drug? Because Freed's the guy you go to with that shit. Not us."

"Illicit- Ah, Laxus. You always were a bit outta touch, eh? Me and my controlled substances. You and your alcoholism."

"I'm not an alcoholic!"

"Well," Mira began and ugh.

"We were quite the pair at one time, weren't we?" Bickslow questioned. "Why, it feels like just a few days ago, we were slinging back shots up at the guild and getting shitfaced while mackin' all all the hot girls."

"We've never done that. Together. And you've definitely never done that at all, with anyone." Then Laxus glanced to his side at the frowning Mirajane and insisted, "Neither have I."

"And Mirajane. Blessed Mirajane." Bickslow sighed softly, his dolls somehow harmonizing with this. "Feels like only yesterday I was sitting up at the bar, while you were there, working the bar."

"I mean," the woman remarked, "that's such a generic memory it probably did happen yesterday."

"Long were the days, huh, guys?" Bickslow whistled low. "I remember, Laxus, the first time we met. There I was, knee deep in your grandfather's pants-"

"What?" Mira asked as Laxus growled.

"Pockets," the slayer complained. "You were trying to pickpocket him and I caught you."

"I'm glad you look back on that fondly as well," the seith snickered. Then, looking to the woman, he said, "Then us, Mira, we were always clandestine, huh? Never could get that timing down."

"What are you talking about?" the woman questioned as Laxus was trying to decide if it would be worth it now just to strike the other man down with some lightning.

"Don't play shy," Bickslow insisted. "Coy. Obtuse. Dense."

"I'm not playing anything," Mira assured him and Laxus, though not wishing to, had to nod at that.

She wasn't.

"I was the one you were originally after," Bickslow went on. "Remember? In the beginning? You were this close to bein' mine and then the bo- Laxus. Laxus swooped in and stole you away."

"I...don't remember that at all."

"'cause it ain't what happened," Laxus assured her.

But, of course, Bickslow only shrugged as he insisted with varying inflection, "Tomato, tomato. What's important is that, after all this, all the ups and downs, all the secrets and stories, revelations and rendezvous. The trips! The adventures! That time I passed around your sex tape like it was a hot commodity."

"Alright, time to leave." Laxus didn't even sound pissed. Couldn't force it. Just took a step towards the other man, menacingly, while Mirajane made a face. "Now."

"I'm goin', I'm goin'," the other man insisted, taking a step back of his own while his babies, always fearful of being struck down by the slayer, flew further back as well. "I just, uh, wanted to give you guys this." And Bickslow kicked at the box then. "It's some stuff, you know? For you guys to keep? Give it to your kid. When you have one. 'cause oh, man, I just know you'll have one. Or two. Or three. But give 'im this. In remembrance of me and all. I probably wouldda been his favorite uncle."

"Bickslow...are you sick or something?" Mirajane asked as Laxus, still tense, eyed the other guy with uncertainty.

"Nah," he told her with a shake of his head. "Nothin' that sad. Just the sadness of partin' from your friends. Your family."

"Parting for where?" Laxus questioned, suspect of the seith's motives.

"Dunno yet, honestly, bo- Laxus." The man frowned then, looking at his feet with a shrug. "Where does a dark knight like me go, eh? When he's done here? A place like here? Fairy Tail. Can't rightly force myself to walk into the hall, get this old thing removed." And his stuck out his tongue, flashing his guild marking. As it was slurped back up, between his teeth, he said, "Think I'll probably keep it for now. A member in name. In spirit. But-"

"Where," the slayer questioned again, sounding more serious now, "are you going, Bickslow?"

"Wherever the big open road takes me." He laughed then, humorlessly, as he shook his head. "My parents were wanderers, you know. Travelers. With a circus! I'm not much one for that sorta thing these days, but I think their restless spirits, their travelers hearts, their wonderlust, its all built up inside of me, leading me on, yeah? I came here, to Magnolia, to Fairy Tail, because I needed a home. And friends. And family. But I've gotten that. I've tasted that. And while I'm thankful for it, for every single person who showed me any portion of that, throughout my years here, it's just time. For me to move on to the next phase in my life. The road's callin' and me and my babies are answering. I'll miss you. Both of you. Especially you, Laxus. But if you came to me, with the same request, I'd grant you with the warmest send off I could think to give. So I hope you return the favor."

They all stood there for a moment, the three of them, while the dolls floated about aimless, but captivated by their father's words. Mirajane and Laxus felt that, honestly. Captivation. He'd never spoken so eloquently, so from the heart, his true heart, not that character he chose to portray when they all got together. This was the real Bickslow, speaking to the real Mirajane and Laxus, and though their relationships all intersected and entwined so heavily, the idea of him unweaving his abruptly didn't bring them hesitance, but rather understanding.

After all, who knew better about the metamorphosis of one's life and standing more than Mirajane Strauss and Laxus Dreyar?

"Oh, Bickslow," Mira gushed as she jumped forwards then, from her place in the doorway, to go hug him. Tripping over the box at their feet in her gusto, she fell into the arms of the man, who hugged her tightly in return, and they weren't the most strained relationship of their Thunder Legion/Strauss sibling power group, but certainly one of the more underrated. But as they embraced that day, tightly, there felt like there was nothing stronger than the bond between them. Into his shoulder, she whispered, "I hope you find whatever you're looking for. Out there. And come back, of course, to visit. And definitely sooner before Laxus' and I have a kid. We haven't even had our wedding yet-"

Laxus cleared his throat then, feeling it necessary, because atop all the other chaos their morning had provided so far, he was not looking forward to either of those discussions again. But as Mira and the seith broke apart, but made something of a face and, stepping over the box, came to at least pat the man on the shoulder.

"You'll do well," he insisted to the man. "Wherever you go. I expect you to. Here or there, you'll always be a part of the Thunder Legion."

He sniffled then, Bickslow did, but didn't raise his visor to wipe his eye. Instead, he nodded at both the duo who were just realizing they were rather undressed to be on Laxus' front porch step, and were slinking back into the house.

"Oh, the Thunder Legion," Mirajane recalled to the man then. "Have you broken the news to them yet? Have they taken it well? I can't believe you're leaving them behind."

"Freed and Ever are both very understanding people," he told the woman simply. "Or, at least, I think they will be. When I tell them."

"Bickslow," Laxus warned, but the man only waved a finger at him.

"Na-ah, man," he chided. "You have no control of me anymore. Remember? I'm going to be a man of the streets again. So keep check of your pants, eh?"

It felt storybook. A fitting end. And though both Mirajane and Laxus, still rather sleepy and dazed by what happened, could stick that moment in their mind and treasure it always. A snapshot of their frequently aloof, but (not) always well-meaning friend. They'd all grown so close, in a new way, the past few years, as the Strausses incorporated themselves with the Thunder Legion, and become much closer to a blended family than groups of friends.

And if anyone in the family were the mother and father figure, it was the demon and the dragon.

When she moved to pick up the box, however, something crossed Mirajane's mind and, as the man wasn't completely off the property yet, she called out to the seith, "Hey, Bickslow, what about my sister? Are you guys going to try and stay together through this?" Then, frowning, she asked, "You're not trying to leave town wtihout telling her, are you?"

"Ah, no, you know it's not that," the man insisted as he glanced over his shoulder. "Me and the kid are destined to be."

"Then-"

"She's coming with me."

And Laxus didn't know why, after so many examples of this never being the case, that he ever thought he could just have a peaceful day at home, with his woman, and no interference from the rest of them. The morons they called their friends. Their family.

How naive. How idiotic.

There was a mad rush then, as Bickslow left, for Mirajane to change into her dress before tugging the still attempting to get dressed Laxus out of their home and all the way over to Bickslow and Lisanna's apartment where she didn't even knock.

Just threw the door open to come and stand just inside, her darkest gaze in her bright blue eyes, keyed in on where her sister was, at the moment, packing up a box in the front room.

Bickslow was standing before Lisanna, clearly having rushed right over to inform the woman of the impending doom that would soon be upon them. And oh, as Mirajane looked ready to wag a finger or two, Lisanna knew it was, without a doubt, upon them.

"Mira," Lisanna started, a frivolous hope to get out in front of something she, clearly, was going about to be steamrolled by. "I was going to tell you, but-"

"When?"

"Well… I was going to leave a note, I mean."

"Lisanna-"

"I have to be my own person now." She shot up, Lisanna did, from where she was putting away trinkets and things. Making a face over at her sister, she insisted, "I need to branch out on my own. Away from you. And Elf. And even Laxus. Natsu. Master. Happy. You've all become such a safety net for me, since I've come back, and it's stifling my growth. You all wanna bottle me up and protect me, but you can't. I'm a grown woman and I can do what I want. I have to do what I want. This has all been weighing on me, on us, me and Bickslow, for so long and we just feel like we've become stagnant here and we need to go, we have to go, to find ourselves, our real selves, and if you take that from me, if you stop me from doing that, then what was the point, Mirajane? Of me coming back? From Edolas? What was the point in any of this?"

While her plea was impassioned, it was not nearly as throughout or planned as Bickslow's from before which is probably why, without even a second of thought, Marianne retorted, "You're not leaving. End of discussion. Dragon-"

"Yeah?" He was standing behind her, hoping to fade away from what was about to be a huge sister blow up, he just knew it was. "Mira?"

"Lisanna is moving in with us. She's not ready to be on her own. Clearly."

"O-Okay, demon."

"No!" Lisanna had seemed nervous, ill-prepared, before, but now she was animated and stalking over to her sister while Bickslow and his babies quickly busied themselves with pretending to pack up as well. "You can't do that. You don't own me, Mirajane."

"I didn't say that I did," her older sister huffed. "But if you're making irrational decisions like this-"

"It's not irrational! I just told you that we've been thinking about this for a long time and-"

"Oh, have you?"

"Yeah!"

"Or has he? Huh? Are you thinking for yourself," Mirajane challenged. "Or are you letting your stupid boyfriend do the thinking for you?"

Bickslow, during this sisterly duel interlude, eventually found himself walking up to the woman, but still out of her perfrials, just to call out, "Hey, Laxus. I was meaning to ask you before-"

"Not the time," the man complained from behind his girlfriend as she stood, berating her younger sister, before him.

"-do you think you and the future missus would mind keepin', oh, all the shit in my apartment while I go on my lifetime sabbatical?"

"Bickslow, what?"

"Also, I'm behind on rent this month and if the landlord sees me leavin', he'll have my hide, so maybe either pay the man or take the stuff outta here under the cover of darkness?"

And suddenly, Lisanna wasn't the only one behind scolded for her dreams of a brighter future.

This was how, as neither the slayer nor demon had thought to close the front door, the others found them. Freed, Evergreen, and Elfman. Though an unusual trio, they weren't so unusual that day as Ever and Elfman had met Freed at the guildhall where, upon finding neither of his sister were working that day, the muscular man suggested they go around and see if each of them would like to do some sort of big, group outing that day. It had been a bit, since they'd had either a party or a nice group dinner. Just long enough that Ever and Freed, while hesitant, weren't completely oppose to that idea.

Which, like Laxus, was their mistake. For assuming they could ever just all exist, all of them, in their Thunder Strauss hybrid, as anything more than jumbled masses of moronic tendencies.

They'd heard the arguments brewing, both between the sisters and the two men, before they approached the still opened front door and, at the sound, all three hesitated for a moment. But then Elfman was rushing forwards because Lisanna and Mira fighting never spelled anything good while Freed rushed to defend Laxus (or save Bickslow; he wasn't too sure yet) and Evergreen had to sigh, the deep kind of sigh she reserved for just such moments where she realized, with certainty, that the choices in her life which led her to this very moment were surely punishment for some past life transgression.

Surely.

It was the only answer.

It took a bit to settle things out. Laxus was agitated, now twice over, and Mirajane was near hysterical over the thought of losing her sister, which only, in turn, revved Bickslow up and, for Lisanna, put her in the same state as her sister. Freed and Elfman, though they wished to help, did little as Freed, immediately, set in on Bickslow about irresponsibility and his proneness to it while Elfman, being a Strauss, quickly became just as hysterical and oh, Evergreen hated being the only level headed person in the group.

"Enough," she finally barked at all of them. It was less her voice though and more her slamming the front door of the apartment behind her that caused them all to pause, just long enough for the woman to give them all a harsh glare from behind her glasses, as if tempting them to remove the barrier. "Look at you. All of you. Why do we always have to be like this? It's almost as if we shouldn't all be around one another if-"

"Yes!" Bickslow, who at the moment had his shirt balled up in Laxus' fist, who was lifting him slightly off the ground. Turning in the slayer's grasp, he grinned over at where Evergreen stood by the door. "That's what me and Lissy are sayin'. It's time to move on."

"I'm confused," Freed admitted, taking a step back then. "I thought Laxus was berating you about rent?"

"I," the slayer grumbled as, anger fleeing, he tossed the seith back down to the ground, "am."

"But-"

"Who cares about their rent, Laxus?" Mirajane cut Freed off. Turning her dark eyes on her boyfriend then, she said, "They can't leave. Do you hear me, Lisanna? You can't."

"Where do you even wanna go, sis?" Elfman asked, eyes wide and pricking with tears already. "Huh? And runnin' out with him-"

"I'm," Bickslow complained from where his babies floated about his head, fretting, as he laid crumbled on the ground, "a catch."

"She risked catching something from being with you, anyways," Ever muttered with a frown.

"We're just going away," Lisanna insisted then. "For awhile. That's all."

"That is not all, Lisanna," her older sister retorted. "Bickslow came over and told us this big, long monologue about how he's going to go off, for years even, to go find himself or something. And if you're going with him, then what? You're planning on being away for years too? He gave us a box of things to give to our child to remember him by."

"Your what?" Elfman, suddenly, wasn't so focused in on his younger sister. Eyes darkening as well, he stomped over the small apartment towards Laxus. "You! Knockin' my sister up before even marryin' her-"

"You better stay away with from, Elfboy," Laxus retorted simply, turning to face the larger man with a glare. "I'm ready to fucking end all of you."

"A child?" Freed, who'd had his hand on his hilt before, when speaking to Bickslow, had drawn his sword at the oaf's approach of his idol, but lowered it some then as he looked to the oldest Strauss sibling. "Mirajane, are you with child?"

"I got a potion that can fix that," Ever offered her dryly as she inspected her nails.

"What?" She was wholly confused now. "No, I'm- Well, I guess you can never really know-"

"You better fucking know," Laxus retorted while Lisanna looked to her boyfriend.

"You did what?" she questioned as Bickslow only scratched at his head.

"I told you that I couldn't leave without seein' the boss one last time," Bickslow said.

"See," Lisanna insisted. "Not rile up. Or tell our plan."

"Your plan? So you were going to do it?" Mirajane shook her head. "Just leave in the middle of the night. Just like that. Just a note. And be gone."

"You don't understand," her younger sister replied simply. "The note would have explained everything. Probably way better than Bickslow would have."

"Yes," Freed mused absently. "As it is, I still cannot discern whether this imagined pregnancy has sprouted from."

"Don't care," Laxus retorted. "Better not leave this fucking room."

"Unless," Mira sang, thoughts drifting from her sister and to something far more precious.

"I'm telling you," Evergreen insisted to the slayer. "A few drops from this potion and-"

"So should I pummel Laxus or not?" Elfman griped.

"Not," Freed answered, "unless you want to be skewered."

"Don't worry," the slayer grumbled. "Wouldn't happen in the first place, Elfboy."

"You-"

"I'm not pregnant," Mirajane finally decided to declare for all of the interested parties. "And even if I was, that's not what this is about. Lisanna, if the two of you are going on some stupid vacation for awhile, fine, but Bickslow said it would be years before we saw you again. Is that true or not?"

This, finally, seemed to be the tense moment all the previous actions were building towards and Lisanna took a breath, a short one, before nodding her head at her sister and remarking, "It is."

"Lisanna." Elfman, finally, came to rush back over to his younger sister. Tossing his arms around her, his anger for Laxus was immediately washed out by his fears for his younger sister's future. "You can't do that. Just run off like that. For years? How am I supposed to go on, huh?"

"Well," Evergreen remarked simply, "you did get a trial run."

When this resulted in a look from Freed, she merely huffed and rolled her eyes.

"You're not thinking," Mirajane declared for her younger sister. "At all."

"You have no idea," Lisanna retorted, "if I am or not. You just don't like the idea because the tow of you want me to stay here forever."

"Yeah," Elfman agreed. "We do."

"Why," Mirajane questioned, "is that a bad thing?"

"We want it for ourselves," their brother kept up. "Don't we, big sis?"

"We do," she finished.

"But I," Lisanna insisted to them both, struggling her way out of Elfman's vice grip, "don't. I don't, okay? I like Fairy Tail. And I like Magnolia. But it's all I've known since getting back from Edolas. And that's not what I wanted for myself, when I returned. I wanted to see the world. To live. To really live. Again. And I have the chance to do that, with my boyfriend, who I love. We can travel around, experience new things, all together. The way I always imagined. And...I know I should have talked to the two of you about it before, that this is all so sudden and unreal to you, but the only reason I didn't is because I knew what you'd do. How you'd act. And look! You're doing it right now. I'm not...leaving to hurt you. I'm leaving because I need to. Fairy Tail's fine. My life here is fine. But I want something more. You both already found your more and that's great, but… It's my turn. And I need to do it without you. Both of you. I love you. And I'm sorry. But I'm going to go no matter what you say."

This felt like a rather touching moment for the Strauss siblings and, as Lisanna looked deeply into her older sister' similar blue eyes, she saw the flare die out in them before, eventually, Mirajane moved closer, dragging her sister towards her, and as the two embraced, Elfman only stood by, crying softly into his hands.

It was observed by Laxus and the others, silently for a moment, before suddenly, something seemed to occur to both Evergreen and Freed.

"You're," Freed questioned with a frown at the other man, who was finally shoving up and dusting himself off, "leaving?"

"For years?" Evergreen couldn't help it. She was hurt. And it was so hard to get her to that state, that painful reaction to the actions of another, but oh, man, she was reeling then. Coming closer, she was practically spitting as she accused, "And you were going to not even say anything? Just leave us a note? How dare, Bickslow? How fucking dare you?"

And suddenly, the humerous aspect of the Strauss siblings getting so worked up over something wasn't as funny or observational as it was previously. Experiencing it now for themselves, Freed and Ever both went through their quickly cycling stages of grief while Laxus, put out by both groups, watched with a frown.

"I'm not," he insisted when, in the end, Mirajane and Elfman released their sister and Freed and Evergreen both tapped their friend in the arm, "paying their back rent. Or keeping this shit in our house."

"Oh, dragon, yes you are," Mira decided for him with a frown and, though he didn't wish for it, he was weak to the woman's commands.

The demon still had some hold over her sister as well, as it turned out, and marched her down to the guildhall to give a proper farewell to her friends as well as explain her plans to her master. Laxus, however, got stuck on Bickslow duty, which meant helping him figure out his rent situation as well as, with the help of Freed and Elfman, carrying boxes back to he and Mirajane's place.

Evergreen was thankful for the attention never rightly being placed upon her and slunk away to escape either such fates.

Still, they all met when the time came, down at the train station that evening. Elfman was sobbing and Mira looked about ready to do the same, but both Bickslow and Lisanna felt far better with this arrangement than either had about sneaking away under cloak of darkness. Wouldda been fitting, Bickslow felt, for a dark knight such as himself, but sometimes, even the darkest of knights gotta tap into their emotional side.

And boy, Laxus seemed to have ruptured his own.

"Awe, dragon," Mira mused staring up at the man as he rubbed at the tears in his eyes, watching as Bickslow and Lisanna gave one last wave before boarding their train. "You're gonna miss them too, huh? You big softy."

But it wans't that. At all. Rather, after paying way more than just one missed months payment on rent, Laxus had a feeling it wasn't so much the oppressive nature of stagnancy the pair were escaping, but rather some other unpaid loans. Which, no doubt, Mirajane would stick on Laxus. And the second he paid them? The pair would return, but need money to do so, given they fled so far, and he was trying to start a life with his demon, have that little baby demon she was so craving, but fuck, how could he, when she was bleeding him dry?

Laxus wasn't crying for Lisanna and Bickslow's departure.

He was teary-eyed over their eventual return.

Still, it was rather lachrymose that evening, when they all went out to dinner together. Just the seven- Five. Five of them.

It felt incomplete.

"Well," Mira said after taking in a deep breath, seated at the table and looking around at all who were left. "This is for the better, right? Nothing happens without change. Progress. And they probably won't even be gone that long. I bet. So...we shouldn't be too sad. And Lisanna's right. She needs a chance to grow all on her own. Away from us. And it makes perfect sense to send her away with a man who plays with wooden dolls and seems to have some untreated, underlying mental deficiencies and… Dragon...tell me we did the right thing."

Dropping his menu, he moved to lay a hand on the woman's arm as he said, "Honestly, Mira, I have no idea."

"Laxus-"

"I don't," he insisted as the others frowned at him as well. "But I didn't know about gettin' with you. But I'm glad I did. I didn't know about hanging around with your family so much, once we were together, but that's turned out for the better. Wasn't sure how to feel about it, when your sister and Bickslow started getting so close. That's worked out fine. Wasn't sure about how I'd feel, when I came back to the guild, all those years ago, after my time away. I'm thankful I did. And fuck, I didn't know what to do when that stupid kid pickpocketed my grandfather all those years ago, but bringing him to the guild, introducing him to Freed and Evergreen? That was the best thing that ever happened to any of us."

"What Laxus is trying to say," Freed interceded, "is that you don't know, when someone's happening, if it will turn out for better or worse, but you must allow these things to take place. Or you turn out as Lisanna and Bickslow both feared; stagnant. It will be an adjustment for us all, but… I am content in Bickslow's reasoning and need for a departure. Should I return, I hope to welcome him with open arms. Should he not, I wish for the moments where I miss him to be filled with the same understanding I currently hold. Were our lives a reverse, I'd hope him, and all of you, to send me on my way just the same."

"We're mages," Evergreen offered simply though she did sound rather down and would spend the next few days staring into full wineglasses rather than empty. "We roam. It happens."

"Lisanna's such a man," Elfman insisted though, honestly, he seemed to still be attempting to assure himself of this fact, no doubt attempting to fight off the fading shock over the whole thing. "I bet she'll do great out there in the great unknown."

"It's part of life, demon." Laxus moved to pick his menu back up. "Leaving. Coming back. Going again. This might be home, but...sometimes you just need something else. Something you can't find here."

Mirajane nodded, a sad yet understanding one before, softly questioning, "But what happens if of the rest of us go? Or if we all go? Then what?"

"We pay less," her dragon tried to raise her spirits, "when we go out to eat."

But it didn't seem to work.

Still, Mirajane had dealt with and lived through far worse sudden changes in her life. In the grand scheme of things, this one hardly felt that momentous at all. So the days went on and then it was weeks and, slowly, things fell back into a new normal.

A month was approaching when Mirajane was given another day off and, the night before, she and her dragon were sure to spend it well. Which led to them being rather lazy the next morning, in rising, and when they both did wake, even, it wasn't out of a desire to.

No.

Rather, they both felt it.

A presence. Multiple. In their house.

"Oh, gosh, Laxus, put some pants on."

"Oi, boss, don't flash my woman, alright? Lissy's innocent."

The slayer, in his haste, stumbled into his kitchen that early morning in the nude only to find the intruders that sat around his kitchen table, eating bowls of cereal weren't exactly strangers. In certain ways, as he uncharacteristically blushed and rushed back out of the room, he kind of wished they were.

"What," Laxus growled, "are you doing here?"

"We have," Lisanna retorted as she shoved her bowl away, no longer hungry, "a key."

"For fucking emergencies!"

"Lisanna?" Mirajane had strode into the room by then, thankfully in a robe unlike her counterpart. "Oh, it is you!"

"Yeah, sis," Lisanna giggled as the older woman rushed right over to toss her arms around the younger. "It's me."

"What are you doing here though?" Mira questioned before, as she hugged her sister tighter, deciding, "Never mind. I don't care. Oh, I'm so glad to see you. I just don't… Are you both okay? Or-"

"We're great," Bickslow assured her, his babies lying dormant on the kitchen table. "It's a strange thing though; after camping out in the forest for a few weeks, we suddenly realized we kinda, well, you know."

"I know?"

Lisanna titled her head back up in her sister's grasp. "We like living in an apartment."

"Or a house," Bickslow said. "The worst part of going out on a job, after all, is the campin'. Why'd we think that we'd like it as the entire entree? Who knows. But now we're kinda homeless and-"

"Mira, no!" Laxus suddenly began to yell from the other room, running in to stop what he could hear, could literally feel, beginning to start. "Don't do it! Don't-"

"You can stay here," she giggled as he was too late, always too late. "With me and dragon."

"You mean it?" Lisanna questioned.

"Until you get back on your feet, sure," she agreed and he'd been wrong.

To cry.

To allow his hubris to get in the way.

Because, yes, he wouldn't have liked to pay to get the pair of them out of a jam, but oh, this wasn't going to be a jam, was it? The two of them living with him? This was going to quickly turn into never-ending torture.

"Still can't call you boss, I guess," Bickslow snickered with his tongue out, babies floating about as they mimicked this noise in a haunting fashion. "Not Laxus' either. Nope. Landlord it is!"

He should have stayed asleep, the slayer should have. Always. Any time. Whenever they were near, whenever they were close, he should just shut his eyes and pretend they were there. Like a little kid thinking he'd seen a ghost. Or an adult knowing, yet forcing himself not to believe he'd seen a ghost.

It didn't quite matter. Whether your eyes opened back up or not. Reality was reality. And Laxus, after all these years, had finally been duped into becoming the thing Bickslow got over on the most.

A landlord.

"Everyone's back together," Mirajane cheered, that evening, when they had all the rest of them over to celebrate.

While Elfman embraced his sister and Freed and Evergreen grilled Bickslow on his misadenvuter the past, oh, less than thirty days, Laxus only sat sullenly on the couch, watching with his head in his hands as the demon patted him on the head.

"Yeah, demon," he grumbled softly to himself. "They are."

It had been a bit. And everyone knows the first rule of every sitcom; at the end of the episode, everything goes back to how it was before. This was inevitable.

#Miraxus #Bixanna #Elfever #Freed Justine #Thunder Strauss Tribe #Fairy Tail #Fanfiction

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