#because again that would be such a funny twist when everyone is saying he's silly/crazy for doing it pfft

[yuukei-yikes]

hi just stopping by again to say i love your kagefuture comic and im so proud of shintaro in the last one LEGIT SOMETIMES I FORGET HES SO SMART but he totally is and come to think of it the fact that he 100% understood exactly what happened with kano is sending me into the ether like. hrfgghhhhhhhhhhh of COURSE kano would fall for the one guy who is actually able to see through him . and that also he would HATE THAT SO MUCH. theres just something about a lovehate relationship with the One Guy who you have no choice but to be vulnerable with that sets my brain on fire and you are doing it like nobody else so thank you x1000000 million

(i end up talking for a million years abt kanoshin in this reply i hope u can forgive me)

THANK UUUU yeah shintaro's a total idiot but he's not like. an Idiot. in fact when i made pt11 i was like man, shintaro would SO notice it's kano. he would take a look at the cat food and be like oh. kano. but i was like man im just gonna let kano be good at what he's good at.

so as soon as shintaro realizes ayano genuinely doesn't know what's going on, he puts the pieces together IMMEDIATELY. like of COURSE this and this and this happened. he even knows he turned into ayano out of panic. kano tries acting so nonchalant and easygoing but by this point shintaro knows him pretty well and knows he's very easily flustered. i go a little crazy imagining kanoshin first getting together in kagefuture, and not the first sick twisted situationship. the second sick and twisted situationship 8 years later (me with the kagefuture timeline because kagefuture is 10 years after str but ayano and shintaro dated for 2 years so theyve been broken up for 8 years and kano and shintaro had a little rebound sick twisted thing for a bit after and um yeah. it wasn't dating i guess they just angrily kissed sometimes and shintaro took a lot of am i gay quizzes. and then they stopped because it was evil and fucked up obviously)

kanoshin first getting together in THIS situation is a lot more wholesome and very much slow slow slow SLOW burn. kano slowly setting his sight on shintaro AGAIN because the thing is HE LIKES HIM he's always liked him. putting the horrors aside, there's something not only comical but sort of endearing about the way kano thought about shintaro because he KNOWS he's lame but he still thinks he's cool and he considers him their hero. like he really did just have a silly little crush on him... and he was dating his sister. YEP.

so i think it's funny if that crush never really goes away and it's just kinda there. i think jin's onto something when he describes kano as a flirty guy, it's just not in the way he means (=straight) so... i think he'd just normally hit on him and not mean anything by it and it's just their casual banter whenever they see each other which i doubt is that often anyway. that's just how kano acts, with everyone in fact. but shintaro sort of acting bashful about it and shit and kano with his teeny crush being like oh.... oh... well i mean really WHO does it hurt if i kiss him a little and he lets me lmao it's not that serious!!!

but shintaro's NOT A GUY U CAN JUST DO THAT WITH. are u kidding. shintaro's a romantic son of a bitch he doesn't care about that casual shit. and he's immediately stressing about how it'd work and what it means and if he's serious and what he should do. shintaro is so determined to act Mature and Not Awful like he did in his previous relationship and he kind of ends up blowing out of porpotion kano's initial intentions. like the situation REALLY escapes kano's hands... he got into it just cause he liked shintaro a little bit and ends up REALLY liking him.

something so so so SO comical about kano being like what's the damage. i'll invite him over. and then acts insane when shintaro never fucking leaves like my dude this is ON YOU

but kano can't let himself have anything good and can't really believe Anyone would want to have a relationship with him or if he even WANTS a relationship at all while accidentally falling in that dynamic with SHINTARO out of all people. who IS already sitcom situationing with ayano 'cause of the three kids

slow slow slow burn. because if the thing with ayano's baby craze didn't happen, eventually kano would've given in and he would've given shintaro a real chance. alas.

[pinheadbella]

I have a project involving the TDI reboot in the works BUT I will have to go on a liiiittle rant about season 2 first. So SPOILERS BELOW

Season 2 has really great character dynamics and challenges that make me want to like it more than season 1. Bowie and Raj being officially boyfriends. MK and Julia being an evil alliance. Ripper and Axel softening each other up. And the challenges finally aren’t just slightly different obstacle courses/races.

The problem I have is how…disjointed everything feels.

The slide challenge felt weird without Scary Girl. If she wanted to try to be normal (and fail), then she should’ve been around to see the death trap that was the four point slide. And you know she would’ve gone crazy when Damien went tumbling down.

Chase being stuck to Emma during the sap challenge would’ve been funny. Emma didn’t really do much in the sap challenge besides some slapstick with animals. So literally sticking her with her ex when she genuinely doesn’t want to give him another chance would’ve been cool.

Speaking of Emma, why was there literally no acknowledgement of her and Bowie being friends this season? Never interacted. Please you can’t do this to me I wanted closure or them to be besties again or SOMETHING

Millie would have been insane in the bridge challenge. She would’ve fallen back into her judgmental ways to figure out how everyone would answer. And maybe, just maybe, that would get people that Bowie isn’t the only evil person involved in that notebook strategy. I mean, Millie wrote that thing. Wanted to make that into a book. And compound this with Millie shoving Damien down that slide. You got a player who wants to win but goes about it in the wrong way. She’s not malicious, mind you. She just doesn’t realize that what she says or does is wrong until someone calls her out.

Caleb and Priya is a genuinely cute couple. And Caleb being a genuinely nice guy only to be framed as a Justin or Alejandro because of a misunderstanding is a neat twist. But I don’t like how the others get sidelined when Prileb becomes the focus. And when all they say about each other during the team phase is either “we’re a great alliance” or “he’s so amazing,” I kinda wanted them to hook up sooner instead of yknow HALFWAY INTO THE SEASON I mean Ripper and Axel hooked up early-

-which is a perfect transition to Ripaxel. I like how Ripper is less mean because of his crush on Axel. I like how Axel went into the game wanting the be nice. I like how sweet it was for Ripper to write a poem for Axel after finding out she loves poetry. And I actually cheered when they kissed. But then they kept kissing. And kissing. And just making out or flirting whenever they were on screen. I don’t like that that’s what their relationship became. I thought we were gonna get some more serious heart-to-heart stuff that ties back to what Ripper hinted at back in season 1. That his family sucks. And maybe Axel could sympathize with that since she’s too busy training to really connect with people. But nooooo literally throw out all their personality and backstory that’s the way to write them off.

Rapid fire for the characters that I don’t have much to say GO

Nichelle: I think it’s fitting how she quit cause she puts her career over the show. Although it could be handled better so her whole “I don’t need you, Hollywood” thing isn’t shoved down our throats

Damien: I wish he was less of a scaredy cat and more of a nerd and a straightman like he was last season. After leaving last season as a hero, you think he’d be a bit more confident at the start.

Zee: He’s at his best when he’s silly and wanting to be friends with everyone. He’s at his worst when he’s saying things he definitely shouldn’t.

And the thing that I thought was going to be the overarching plot. The cheating arc. I really thought the hockey bros were gonna struggle with this. That Chris causally dropping that he’s okay with cheating would break them or make them call foul. But nope. Now those guys are there to be silly. They are entertaining and I still love them. But I fear that they’re gonna get out of the game without leaving much of a mark on the rest of the cast. And let’s not forget the active cheaters. Ripper only cheated in one challenge. But he wasn’t in on the first two cheating schemes. Why did he want to help all of a sudden? And why not make Axel, who was upset about the cheating, be upset at her new bf for helping? Bowie got the most punishment and all we get is a confessional from Julia saying how she gaslit him out of the game? I ain’t buying it. He could’ve gotten more time to actually play fair, prove himself, and come up short. But an even earlier merge didn’t help. Speaking of. Julia and MK. I liked the initiative they took to keep winning. I liked how both of them like messing with people to get what they want. But uuuuuggghh. They really are getting away with it, huh? Just got a beat down and now they’re free of charge. And at this rate, I see one of them making finale and ultimately losing there cause oooOOooooo villains never win Total Drama. So predictable…

…so what if there was a different way to connect all these pieces together? What if I rearranged the challenge order and the elimination order to give everyone their proper amounts of growth? What if some arcs from the original season 2 get tweaked so that every character can contribute in a meaningful way? What if Priya and Julia aren’t the main good and bad guys again? What if some unresolved matters from last season are brought back? And most importantly, what if everyone treated this season like the “grudge match of the century” that Chris said it would be?

I want relationships tested

I want more morally gray moments

I want new allies to join forces and old ones to falter

I want players to go in thinking they know what they’re doing only for someone to screw everything up and make them rethink their life choices

Most importantly…

…I want to write Total Drama Island: Hard Reboot

A season with all the challenges and interactions I loved in season 2. But with different people taking charge. Different power dynamics. A fight for control over the game that’s so intense that you won’t know who the main hero or main villain is anymore. Which’ll make the journey to the finale all the more fun.

So be on the lookout for updates! I’ll be starting school back up soon so this may take me a while ^^’ But I got a whole google doc full of bullet points so it’s gotta become a cohesive story eventually, right?

[twisted-up-in-wonderland]

I know this just supposed to be a funny meme, and it totally is, and I love it, but I still feel the need to sort them how I think the actual 7 sins would go. Because my brain got stuck on it. 😂

Wrath with Riddle, Greed with Azul, and Vanity/Envy with Vil are fine, A+. (Both Greed and Vanity/Envy are green because I ran out of colors. RIP 💀)

That leaves Sloth, Pride, Gluttony, and Lust.

I know Pride was probably a play off of lions having prides (I mean, he IS super proud don’t get me wrong, but my guess is the pun was the real seller here) but Leona fits better with Sloth. He’s always napping and slacking off, and has even been held back because of it. He has Ruggie do so much for him because he doesn’t want to do it. Once he is motivated he is very talented, but he would rather sit back, relax, and take super long cat naps. Like, I love Leona but the dude needs to chill on the melatonin. Now, I personally believe a HUGE reason for this is that Leona suffers from depression, and I know from experience that depression makes it so hard to make you want to do anything. But, on the surface level, the lack of activity and ambition makes Leona the perfect candidate for Sloth.

So who would get Pride then? Believe it or not, I would actually give Pride to Idia! I know this seems like a crazy one, but hear me out: I know Idia is in the dorm based off of Hades and the Underworld and everything but the sheer absolute gall. The arrogance. The ego. The PRIDE. To think that you can defy death itself and bring back someone from its clutches just because you say it’s so. Not to mention that, when he’s talking about his skills in gaming and tech, Idia can get pretty boastful there too. Downright insulting to those he deems less skilled than him (ie basically everyone). He may be a nervous wreck when it comes to social interactions, especially those held in person, but Idia has some serious Pride simmering in him as well. (Haha fire pun! 😏🔥)

Now, for Gluttony and Lust I’m gonna do a bit of stretching because… well. I gotta. I have Malleus and Kalim left guys cut me some slack! 😭😂

For Lust I’m assigning it to Kalim because that boy has so much lust… lust for life. Kalim is a ball of energy and happiness and optimism and seems to be the living embodiment of all forms of positivity - for better and for worse. He is just constantly having fun and living life to the fullest and that is kiiiiiiinda his problem. Hence it being the sin he represents. While assigning Lust to him doesn’t utilize Lust in the traditional sense, it still technically works for him. Kalim is just drowning himself in life’s joys and wonders and not paying attention to what he should be. Or who he should be. Careful there Kalim - while you’re dancing in joy, you might just stomp on a snake in your obliviousness… 🐍

That leaves Gluttony with Malleus. I’m gonna be honest guys, I struggled with this one. But then when I was thinking of how I was twisting Lust to suit Kalim… what if Gluttony isn’t simply about food, but just about wanting? And while it can 100% be argued that Malleus does not want anything that he does not deserve or shouldn’t have, he does want. He wants to not be lonely. He wants people to not be afraid of him. He wants to stop forgetting events. He wants to get invited to events. He wants to make his family proud of him. And, again, all of those things are not bad things to want at all by any means, but poor Malleus is stuck wanting and wanting and wanting and until the MC shows up it seems like he will never receive what he wants and will just continue wanting forever. So, for the sake of fitting everyone into the sins, Malleus gets Gluttony.

Okay, sorry this got long and again sorry for this analysis on what was really just a silly little meme post. But my brain went “OOH A THING!” and so I had to. 🙈

[rocorambles]

Meeting in the Middle

Pairing: Sakusa x reader

Genre/Warnings: NSFW, Yandere, Misogyny, Controlling Behavior, Degradation, Non-Con/Rape, Spanking

Summary: Sakusa shows you that he’s more than capable of meeting you in the middle and listening to you for a change. But be careful of what you ask for.

A/N: This is for the Poly Wives Angst Collab~ RIP us and our never ending collabs we create for ourselves.

If someone had told you five years ago that you’d be dating one of Japan’s most eligible bachelors, a professional athlete fawned over by media and fans nation-wide, the epitome of the strong and silent type, you would have laughed in their faces. What is this? Some silly fairytale? The childish checklist of “things I want in a boyfriend” you’d written in middle school?

But life has a funny way of working and you find yourself in an obnoxiously lavish and rowdy nightclub, made only more crazy by the surprising appearance of some VIPs.

It seems like volleyball has somehow become Japan’s national sport overnight and although you aren’t necessarily the biggest follower of anything remotely athletic, even you know exactly who the rambunctious trio catching everyone’s eyes are.

You can’t deny there’s more than just a bit of appeal in the way their button up shirts cling to toned muscles, but you’ve never been one for crowds and you stray to the emptier corners of the establishment to avoid being swept by the crowd of excited fans. But when Atsumu cheesily winks and flirts as he signs scandalously bared skin of female fans, you mockingly gag, only to whirl in embarrassment when you hear an amused snort from behind you.

“Not a fan of Miya Atsumu?”

Staring wide-eyed and slack jawed when someone asks you a question is very rude and you want to answer. But you don’t trust yourself with basic human speech when Sakusa Kiyoomi is staring at you expectantly. So you shake your head side to side instead, heat rising to your face at the small upward curve of his lips.

“Neither am I.”

Atsumu never lets the two of you live down how he’s the one who technically brought you together, even if it was at the cost of his pride. (You chuckle when you remember his loud squawking when Sakusa recounts the dialogue exchanged at your first meeting.) But even months later, even after Sakusa has officially introduced you to the rest of the MSBY team, even after they’ve accepted you as part of their cozy and rowdy family, you can’t stop feeling impostor syndrome.

Dating Sakusa still feels unreal and you can’t help but feel like you’re living someone else’s life, stuck in a rose-tinted dream, playing dress-up and make believe as you parade around in clothing far more luxurious than you’re used to, whisked around on your lover’s strong arm as you follow him around the world from match to match. And as lovely as it is, you long to truly make this relationship your own, to feel the rawness and grittiness of love and life, to experience the charm and comfort of being true to yourself and knowing Sakusa loves you just as you are.

But your desire to be with him, to call him your own trumps your own wishes and you find yourself quickly backing down everytime you suggest something that he’s quick to turn down, desperate to appease and please him even at the price of your own desires.

He’s never outrightly rude about his preferences, never raises his voice. But somehow that makes the judgement and disdain in his dark eyes that much more apparent. You remember a rough day of work you had, the relief you had felt about being able to swiftly swap your constrictive work apparel for a pair of worn-in shorts and a baggy t-shirt. Your outfit would certainly not win any fashion awards, but you blissfully sigh at how comfortable you are as you call a local pizza shop, ordering delivery self-indulgently.

You could feel yourself becoming one with the couch you’re lounging on, the television playing in the background. But even in the hazy in-between of sleep and alertness, your eyes snap open when the door opens and you lazily smile as your boyfriend enters your shared apartment, returning from another grueling practice.

“You look like you’ve had better days.”

Your smile slips, anxiety flooding through you as you self-consciously curl in on yourself while his lips purse, eyes scrutinizing your sloppy appearance.

“Umm, yeah...tough day at work-”

“Maybe you should freshen up with me. You might feel better in a...real outfit.”

You know better than to think that it’s really a suggestion, cursing yourself, humiliation coursing through you when you think of how foolish you were to get so comfortable so quickly. You’ve seen the caliber of the women who lust over your boyfriend unabashedly despite his long-time relationship with you. You need to try harder. You need to be better.

Self-deprecation rips you to shreds as you painstakingly groom yourself, donning a dress you know Sakusa loves, applying a full face of makeup and a spritz of his favorite scent. And despite how exhausted you are, how much you’d rather be slumped on the couch, gorging on a slice of pizza, it’s all worth it when you see the appreciative look in his gaze as his eyes rake over your figure.

But worry gnaws at you once more as the doorbell rings and his eyebrow raises questioningly at the interruption. It’s a painful walk of shame as you plaster on a fake smile, tipping the delivery boy, the usually tantalizing smell of cheese and grease only making you nauseous as you bring the box to the dining table.

“What is that?”

“Dinner…”

Your voice trails off and you feel so small, so pathetic as Sakusa’s face borders disgust as he observes the offensive item.

“You didn’t cook?”

The disappointment in his voice has you spewing excuses and apologies, your heart shattering when he merely waves off your ramble, telling you he’d order a salad from elsewhere and to enjoy your meal.

You never order pizza again and a steaming hot plate of freshly cooked food is always waiting for Sakusa when he returns home while you patiently wait for him with a painted face and impeccable outfits.

Your friends and family tell you how grateful you should be, how envious they are as they oggle your latest high-end designer pieces, cooing over how picture perfect the two of you always are, staring wide-eyed at your gorgeous home, not a speck of dust or object out of place. Who would have thought that you would be the epitome of the ideal housewife in such a short time?

Yes, you wonder. Who would have thought? Certainly not you.

If only they knew how deep down the deception goes, how lost you are in this pretend world you’re stuck in. And your heart twists and turns when your friends share about the little and big spats that happen behind closed doors, giggling and sighing in an understanding you’re not part of when they playfully complain about how much work love is.

But it’s always worth it in the end because the good always outweighs the bad if you’ve found the right person (not to mention the makeup sex is a bonus). Or so they say, but you wouldn’t know what any of that feels like. Sakusa doesn’t leave room for any arguments, any disagreements, any hint of anything less than a perfect relationship.

Even in the privacy of your bedroom, you feel like you’re in a cheesy porno, dressed in the prettiest white slip dress decorated with dainty lace and a string of pearls around your neck. You feel like a doll as you’re positioned on the bed, eyes demurely looking down, letting Sakusa do as he pleases while he guides you, calloused hands roaming over your skin. You’re sure he means for it to be pleasurable and intimate, and you can’t deny that he knows your most sensitive areas, shuddering when he grazes over your hardening nipples. But there’s a coldness to his movements, a calculating aspect in the way he examines you, dark eyes scrutinizing every inch of you as if they’re looking for a blemish, a reason to lecture you on not taking care of yourself.

Yet as predictable and standoffish as he is, he does know how to pleasure you and you writhe underneath him, moaning, lower lips dripping in your own arousal. But you whimper when he growls at you to stop moaning so loudly, to stop acting like a slut.

“I’m dating a lady, not a whore.”

The words cut you, pain and emptiness mixing with the rising pleasure, muddling into a confusing and overwhelming mess insides of you. You don’t trust yourself to speak, hot tears pricking at your eyes, unsure whether a moan or harsh words would slip past your lips. But you know that neither will work in your favor, so like always, you hold your tongue, doing whatever you can to keep your lover happy. You close your eyes, letting yourself get lost in the tightening knot inside of you, submitting to the waves of pleasure that crash over you as you cum, fingers tangling in the rumpled sheets, back arching in ecstasy.

Only when Sakusa is asleep, his back turned to you, the two of you cleaned and freshened up, do you let your tears stream down your face, feeling more alone than ever in your shared bed.

You hold out longer than you should, much longer than you should, in the hopes that things will improve, that Sakusa will loosen up, reveal his true self to you, let you reveal your true self to him. It’s just early dating jitters, early relationship issues. Things will get better.

Except it’s months later and things aren’t better. If anything, they’re worse and you can feel the weight of his expectations and the stress of perpetually living by a prewritten script crushing you.

It’s time to put an end to this charade.

It’s just another uneventful night and you idly stare up at the ceiling as you wait for Sakusa to join you in bed. Your heart is racing, throat feeling dry and choked up as he slips under the covers. You’re terrified, of Sakusa’s reaction, of ending everything, of starting from scratch. But you know it’s the right decision and when he finally settles in beside you, you begin to speak.

There’s only the sound of your trembling voice as you quietly tell him how you’ve felt all along, how everything has felt so prim, proper, fake, how everyday just feels like another session of rehearsing your lines, making sure you meet whatever standard he’s set for you. You want passion, real love, fights, laughter. You just want to be yourself. You just want to be with someone who loves you exactly the way you are.

“Kiyoomi, maybe we should break up. I don’t think we’re right for each other. I don’t think I’m what you want. I don’t think I’ll ever be what you want.”

“You’re right. Despite how much time, work, money, and patience I’ve spent to better you, you haven’t changed at all.”

You’re left reeling from the matter of fact harshness of his words, the slight exasperation in his tone, as if this is all your fault, as if you’re just a bothersome misbehaving pet.

“Prim and proper? Passion? Fights? So you’re tired of manners? Tired of being a respectable woman? You just want to fight and fuck like animals?”

You open your mouth to protest, anger licking at the open wounds his verbal assault leaves behind. But before you can retort, the air is ripped out of your lungs in a stunned yelp as your body is swiftly flipped over, your face shoved into the mattress until it’s a struggle to breathe, fabric and cushion all you can taste.

Your arms flail as you struggle to breathe, nails clawing at the sheets, arms trying to push yourself up against. But it’s no use against Sakusa’s strength and just as specks of black begin to enter your vision, fingers tangle with your roots and you gasp as your head is harshly jerked up, neck bending painfully back, jaw forced open from the strange position.

You whimper, tears beginning to blur your sight as a calloused hand turns your face until you’re staring at a condescending impassive countenance.

“If you want to be treated like a slut that badly, I’ll be a good boyfriend and give you exactly what you want. Ass up. Now.”

There’s no room for disobedience and spurred on by fear and pain, you listen, awkwardly shuffling into position, shame heating your face at how exposed you feel. But it’s only the start and you scream as a heavy strike lands on your bare ass, more and more blows raining down upon you, until you’re sobbing for mercy, agonized cries forced from your mouth, thighs trembling at having to support yourself through the torture.

Your upper body slumps in relief when the hits finally stop, but you flinch when fingers methodically prod at your entrance. You instinctively try to lurch forward, away from the touch, but it’s no use and you clench your eyes in humiliation at the sloppy wet sounds betraying your arousal.

“This is the wettest I’ve ever seen you. You really do like being used and treated like a bitch.”

You wish you could deny it. You wish you had the spirit to talk back, maybe even spit on that handsome face. But all you can think of is how full you feel as Sakusa’s cock slams balls deep inside your dripping hole, how deep he is inside of you from this angle, how overwhelmingly pleasurable the mix of pain and lust is as he uses you like you’re nothing more than a warm breathing sex doll.

All you can do is lewdly moan and take it, tears slipping down your face, drool seeping into the ruined sheets, eyes rolled back in your head. The coil in your stomach tightens and tightens no matter how hard you try and hold it at bay, desperately trying not to cum, not to inadvertently admit your body’s betrayal as it succumbs to every thrust. But it’s too much, the unfamiliarity of this brutal pace, the overpowering sensation of his tip reaching new depths inside of you, and you shatter to pieces, pussy convulsing, body twitching, pleasure like you’ve never felt before surging through you.

All through it Sakusa continues his relentless rhythm, a sneer marring his flawless face as he watches you suffer through your orgasm, writhing underneath him. It’s disgusting how much you love this, pathetic, pitiful, and yet he’s harder than he’s ever been, more turned on than he ever thought possible. And all it takes is a few more thrusts before he’s spilling inside of you, a strong hand holding you still and tight to him as his groin presses against your ass, not an inch of space between the two of you as he paints your insides white.

Maybe you had a point all along. You’re absolutely filthy and wrecked and he grimaces at the tear, sweat, and sex stained mess he touches as he shoves your exhausted body away from him. Yet there’s a certain appeal to your disheveled appearance, how ruined you are because of him.

How beautifully you break.

Well if you have no desire to improve yourself, he can learn to meet you in the middle, learn to let you be the low-life whore you have no desire to move up from. After all, that’s what you said love is, right?

Accepting each other’s differences.

[mypoisonedvine]

Seeing Red | bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x actress!reader (part 5)

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4)

series summary: bucky used to brag that he didn’t have a celebrity crush, or really care about famous people at all, which is what made him the perfect person to start working for a celebrity like yourself.  except, of course, it’s just his luck that he’d fall for you.  

word count: 3.2k

warnings: more smut (we’re picking right up where we left off last chapter) including some shower shenanigans and lots of dirty talk, relationship conversations, mention of bucky’s military background, really that’s just it...

Maybe it had been hours in Bucky's arms, maybe it had been a lifetime.  You were floating on air, suspended in pleasure as he rocked your body against his, still fucking you even though he'd already come once and you'd come too many times to count.

"Bucky," you whined, back arching even though you figured you were too weak for that.  "Baby, please— s-so good, you're so good…"

Metal fingers pinching your nipple sent your body into overdrive, exhausted inner muscles clenching around him as you cried out.

When he leaned down and kissed you again, you were afraid that you'd be too out of it to kiss him back.  But thankfully you managed to reciprocate, grabbing the hair at the back of his neck to hold him close as you whimpered softly against his lips.

He pulled back just enough to look down at you with dark, half-lidded eyes.  "Fuck, I'm gonna come again," he moaned like he was just as shocked as you were.  

"Yes!" you encouraged feverishly.

"This perfect little pussy is gonna make me come again, baby, is that what you want?  Want me to put another load in this needy cunt?"

"God, yes," you sobbed, his words so perfectly balanced between sweet and filthy.

"Well, I'm gonna," he promised through his teeth.  "Fuck, I'm gonna give you everything, pretty girl, I'm so close."

You couldn't remember the exact words you used but you were definitely begging him for it, completely lost in your need and, apparently, totally lacking in shame.

That weak, broken, desperate moan as he came inside you for the second time in a night… you wanted to bottle it up and keep it for rainy days, and sunny days, and all the days you'd ever see because it was just absolutely fucking divine.

"Don't move," he demanded with a whisper, "fuck, don't move, please."

"Couldn't if I wanted to," you laughed quietly.  He started laughing too, but not so much a 'this is funny' laugh compared to a 'is this real?' laugh.

"Fuck," he breathed, "that was… I didn't know I could do that."

"We're all learning new things about ourselves and our body's capabilities tonight, trust me."

"I'm gonna attempt to pull out without my dick falling off, okay?"

You chuckled through your exhaustion.  "Fingers crossed!"

You couldn't decide which was more lewd: the way it felt, or the way it looked.  In credit to the first, you were confident that even through the numbness that had begun to spread through your body, you still managed to feel every detail of his cock against the spongy ridges of your channel as it slid out of you, followed (of course) by the warm, slow ooze of come dripping down onto your sheets.  As for the second, well, his cock looked pretty glorious as it bounced back up against his abs, incredibly still hard but certainly starting to soften, glistening with your slick and his come and looking so lovely that you were compelled to sit up and lick it clean.  You would've if you weren't (1) so exhausted that you were sure you'd never sit up ever again, and (2) confident that any more stimulation to Bucky's poor cock would just be painful for him.

"Jesus fuck," he sighed as he watched his come leak out of your abused, swollen hole, admiring his handiwork; you giggled from both the odd feeling of his gaze on you like this and the comical way his swearing had deteriorated over the course of the night into half-assed blasphemy.

He fell down beside you on the bed, looking up at the ceiling before glancing to you with a smirk that was clearly tired but still plenty smug.  “God, I haven’t come twice in a row like that since… I don’t know if I’ve ever done that before, actually,” he laughed.

“I know for a fact I’ve never come that many times in a row,” you giggled.

"I uh… I need a shower.  And a year-long nap," he announced with a deep sigh.

"Use mine," you offered.  "I'll join you in a minute if you can promise to keep your hands to yourself."

"I don't know about that," he chuckled, "but I can definitely promise to keep my dick to myself."

"That'll do," you smiled as you watched him stretch and get up, grabbing his discarded boxers before slipping into your bathroom.

You took another deep breath and fought against the giddy smile that refused to leave your face.  Though you knew you had no right to be so happy over something as silly and frivolous as a guy, you let yourself get excited about this guy.  This guy who had made you feel safe when you thought you never would again.  This guy who had been a friend to you when it seemed like everyone else just wanted to get close to an alleged celebrity.  This guy who had already given it to you better than anybody ever had only to do it again without even stopping.

As likely as it was that your infatuation with him was preventing you from seeing all the flaws that every person and relationship were bound to have, it was hard not to think that this guy was everything you’d been waiting for.  Now all you had to do was try not to fuck it up.

//

Bucky sighed as he stepped into the stream of hot water, careful not to slip as his tired legs begged for more rest.  It was a hell of a workout, but then again, he'd never felt quite this good after a real workout.

It was all a little too good to be true; he was sort of assuming that he would wake up any minute now, in his own bed downstairs and with a mess in his boxers to take care of.  And he wasn't even mad about it, because who could be mad about a dream this wonderful?

If he was going to wake up soon, he was going to take advantage of the time he had left in his dream.  After a few moments alone, you slipped into the bathroom and opened the glass shower door, looking like everything he'd ever wanted with your messy hair and post-sex glow.

"Don't hog the hot water," you groaned as you pushed him aside, but you were smiling a little and he was perfectly content to just watch you from the corner anyways.

Well, not just watching; of course he had to reach out and run his hands over your skin, feel the warmth of you pressed against his body as your eyes fluttered shut and your head fell back against his chest.  You hummed contentedly at his touch and the sound went straight to his cock, which swelled a bit where it was pressed against your hip.

You reached up and wrapped your hands around the back of his neck, his hands moving up to gently run over your breasts and stomach where the water was hitting.

He hesitantly ventured into kissing your neck before finally sliding his hand between your legs and grinning at the feeling of his own come leaking out of you.  You were so sensitive that you gasped and shivered just from that little touch, your little moans enough to drive him absolutely crazy (if he hadn't been already).

Two fingers slid into you easily; he decided to take credit for stretching you out so well, both of you sighing as he pushed in deeper.

"Bucky," you groaned, "can't… can't come again…"

"I'm just helping you wash all this come outta you, baby," he explained, though he was sure you heard the mischievousness in his tone.  "There's a lot… I filled you up real good, didn't I?"

You nodded and bit your lip, and he alternated between studying your face and looking down at his fingers slowly pulling out of you as the shower washed away his come and yours.

"I don't think this is all me," he whispered against your ear.  "I think you're getting wet again, princess…"

When you nodded again, your hips bucking slightly in his hand, he went ahead and brought his two slickened fingers to your swollen bud, drawing lazy circles around it as you moaned slowly.

"What're you getting wet for, huh?  Haven't you had enough?"

"Never get enough of you," you whimpered, as if you just magically knew the exact thing to say in that moment to make his cock twitch and his heart twist.  

"I'll be real gentle, honey, gonna take you there nice an' easy…" he trailed off, adding a bit more pressure but maintaining his relaxed pace.  You whimpered and writhed against him, your smooth skin sliding against his so easily with the water washing over both of you.  

He could feel your walls tightening around his fingers when he pushed inside again, smiling when you gasped and clutched his hair suddenly.  He figured you were sore, but he also figured you would stop him if he hurt you, so he just did his best to stay slow and sensitive as he found your swollen spot inside you and curled his fingers into it.  Your whispered curses were music to his ears; technically that would make your body his instrument, and that might be cliche but it wasn’t exactly untrue.

“Want a little more?” he asked below his breath, responding to your nod by rubbing your clit with his thumb.  Your back arched, and as beautiful as it was, it also caused your body to push away from his; he held you down with his free arm to avoid spending even a moment without you against him.

“C-close,” you stuttered, and he hoped the little chuckle he let out didn’t sound too condescending; just shocked, like he intended it,

“I thought you couldn’t come again,” he remembered, fighting his smirk to kiss your neck gently.

“I thought so too,” you sighed, your hips rocking against his hand as your breathing picked up.  “Fuck, don’t stop…”

It was subtle, but he felt you shudder and shake in his grasp, a new wave of warmth soaking his fingers.  He was careful not to let the water wash your come away as he brought the soaked fingers to his lips, eagerly tasting you as you watched him with heavy eyes.  “Want a taste?” he offered, but when you went for his fingers he kissed you instead, revelling in the little hum of satisfaction you released when you tasted yourself on his tongue.

It was you that pulled him closer and deepened the kiss further, weaving your fingers into his hair and moaning a little when he grabbed your waist.

“I should’ve known showering with you wasn’t going to actually be a productive bathing experience,” you laughed when you pulled back, noticeably staring at the way water droplets trickled down his chest.  

“Fine, I’ll let you actually do your whole shower thing,” he relented, “as long as I can borrow your shampoo.”

“Sure, but you’re gonna smell fruity and delicious afterwards,” you warned.

He chuckled a little as he leaned back into the stream of hot water to wet his hair.  “Don’t I already?”

//

You’d never had such an easy time falling asleep in someone’s arms, honestly.  It was so comfortable that you were actually a bit confused when you woke up alone, already pampered by the idea of spending the morning cuddled up with him.  Thankfully, with him living here most days, he was never too far off; you heard movement downstairs and realized he was probably making breakfast for himself since he was one of those natural early risers while you had dozed until— you glanced at the clock to check— 9:53, later than usual for a night you hadn’t been drinking.

Well, Bucky had taken the empty beer bottles from your nightstand for you, but you still remembered that you’d been drinking a little.  Yet certainly most of one beer couldn’t be to blame for you making a move on him; no, that was a purely sober idea, something you’d wanted to do for quite some time, in fact.

Perhaps it was a little misguided.  Maybe it was technically an inappropriate workplace relationship since you were, in a sense, his boss.  But, of every impulsive decision you’d ever made it was definitely your personal favorite.

Hopping up and slipping on a little flowy robe just to not be naked anymore, you rushed downstairs and found Bucky in the kitchen flipping a pancake in the pan.  He glanced back at you, looking a little conflicted, before you observed the plate of assorted fruit waiting for you on the bar.

“Wow, pancakes,” you nodded.

“And fruit,” he reminded you, like you weren’t already munching on a slice of a clementine.  “So it’s healthy.”

“Is this a taste of the ‘Bucky Barnes Boyfriend Experience’?” you chuckled, picking up a grape to eat next.  “Cause so far I’m a fan.”

Bucky’s head whipped around to look back at you, and your face got warm as you realized you'd been assuming that this was a 'getting together' sort of rendezvous and not just a one-night stand.  And maybe that wasn't a fair assumption, based on the way he was blinking back at you in shock.  “Orrrr maybe this is just the ‘Me Misinterpreting Things Experience’ and you just like to use some culinary comfort to soften the blow of the ‘about last night’ talk.”

"No, no," he shook his head, sighing a bit as his expression softened.  “I guess I kind of assumed you were going to regret it."

“Regret… last night?” you finished for him, thoroughly befuddled as you watched him flip the pancake onto a plate which he handed to you.

“Uh, yeah,” he scoffed, like it was obvious, before handing you the container of maple syrup.

“Why?”

“Well,” he shrugged, “��cause it’s you, and it’s me.  You’re a movie star and I’m the guy who drives your car.  You were having a fun night, you got… caught up in the moment, and I was just in the right place at the right time.”

You took a moment to process that as you chewed your pancake, thankfully managing to swallow the bite before you burst out laughing.  “Oh my god, is that— is that really how you thought this was gonna go down?  After everything that happened last night?”

“Yeah, these aren’t morning-after pancakes, these are please-forgive-me pancakes,” he admitted as he poured another dollop of batter into the pan.  “Can’t you taste the difference?”

"Wait, wait,” you shook your head incredulously, “you thought I was gonna regret sleeping with you, and you still went through with it?"

He laughed a bit at that.  "You were grinding on me and sucking on my fingers.  You must think I'm a saint if you think I could resist that."

“And this was supposed to be your apology… for taking advantage of me…” you tried to reason aloud, still not totally understanding how he could ever question that you would want him.

He shrugged.  "I mean, I dunno… I was prepared to get fired today so you wouldn't have to see me around.  So I guess it was sort of a goodbye, too."

"Was it worth it?  I mean… was the sex worth losing your job?" you asked.  “Hypothetically.”

"Worth losing the paycheck?  Definitely,” he announced, quiet but confident.  “But worth not seeing you again?  No, I don't think so.  When you came down here I was just thinking about how I'd rather keep you as a friend than lose you as a lover."

"That's… poetic," you mumbled.  "Luckily, you don't have to choose.  I fully intend on keeping you around.  If you don't mind."

"Why would I possibly mind that?" he laughed.

“I guess I just feel guilty because if the press finds out you’re my boyfriend, they’ll be all over you.  Your past, your family, any ex-girlfriends…”

His lack of a response made you anxious again.

“Wait, I’m sorry, this conversation is sort of confusing: are you my boyfriend?” you asked nervously.  He laughed, flipping the pancake before looking back at you with a smirk.

“If you want me to be.”

“Yeah,” you answered, perhaps a bit too eagerly, “I do.  If you’re… into that.”

“I am,” he assured.  

“Think of it like a promotion!” you offered with a grin.

“Trust me, I do,” he nodded.  “Does this position come with a raise?”

“No, but a lot more benefits,” you winked.  “And, unfortunately, a lot more baggage.”

“Right, the press.  You really think they’re gonna care?” he raised an eyebrow.

You laughed sympathetically at his innocence.  “Oh my god, you have no idea.  From now on, when we leave the house it’s strictly business— anything else and they’ll be on you like white on rice.”

“Well then we’re not gonna be leaving the house much,” he snickered, “because now that I’ve got my hands on you once, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay away.”

You smiled as he started to lean over the bar to kiss you, but when he moved in just close enough you held up a piece of fruit in front of your mouth, which he took a bite out of instead.  “Slow your roll, Romeo, I’m trying to have an important conversation and you’re trying to distract me.”

“Was it that obvious?” he frowned, sliding another golden brown pancake onto a plate for himself and turning off the stove.

“What I’m trying to tell you is that this is serious stuff.  It’s not too hard to keep it a secret for a while but… it’s just a disclaimer before you agree to anything.”

“Do you give all your potential boyfriends this talk, then?” he asked coyly.

“Well, since I got big I’ve really only dated one guy and he was even more famous than me so... no,” you answered awkwardly.

“Oh, right,” he nodded, getting a little more serious.  “What was it you said they were going to investigate, again?  My past, my family, my ex-girlfriends,” he remembered.

“Yup,” you nodded.  “And any, you know, criminal convictions or whatever.”

“Well, none of those, not much family, barely any ex-girlfriends,” he enumerated, “but a lot of past.”

You solemnly contemplated eating another grape, hoping you had managed to maintain some nonchalance.  “How bad are we talking?”

“Not bad, necessarily,” he mitigated, stopping mid-sentence to grab the pancake with his hand and eat it straight, “but, you know… military.  So not exactly good.”

“Didn’t blow up any orphanages, right?”

“No, not quite,” he laughed, “but I wasn’t a conscientious objector, either.”

“Okay, just keep in mind they’re going to scrutinize everything you ever were before you were my boyfriend,” you informed him.

“‘Your boyfriend’ is the most important thing I’ve ever been.”

The comment took you aback— mostly in a good way, but you weren’t prepared for him to get sentimental like that.  You especially weren’t prepared for the effect it would have on you.  So you, being you, deflected it with a sudden topic change and a raunchy joke.

“Jeez, are you a sadist or something?  ‘Cause I can’t hardly sit in this chair properly, I’m so sore,” you winced.  

“That,” he announced with a grin, pointing at you with the half-eaten pancake in his hand for emphasis, “is the ‘Bucky Barnes Boyfriend Experience.’”

[blackwidow-bby]

By the Poolside - Wanda Maximoff x fem!Reader

Hiya~~ have a little summer fic as a ✨treat✨

I also don’t own Marvel or their characters

Warnings: it’s not too crazy, maybe some suggestive language but keep it 18+

Today had really been a sweltering day. One of those days where you weren't called on a mission and the pool at the tower looked too tempting. When the situation allowed, you loved to sunbathe during the summer. Unfortunately it was your job that rarely allowed it, being a S.H.E.I.L.D. agent. Luckily, you took residence in the Avengers tower where, of course, Tony had to have a pool in place for everyone.

Sometimes you think he had it installed just to make his famous parties more fun, but who doesn't enjoy a nice cool swim from time to time.

As you laid in bed, the temptation continued to call out to you. Your skin buzzing to be outside. What could it hurt to relax the whole day? You got up in search of a good bathing suit that would assure the most sun exposure. Finding an almost revealing black strapless bikini would do, you shed your pajamas and grabbed a towel.

-----

The sun was a lot stronger than you thought, having already began sweating before you finished applying your tanning lotion. Delicately you pulled your hair back into a tight ponytail and and twisted the length into a bun securing it in place.

"Good to see another face. I was starting to think I was all alone in the tower today."

Her voice caught you by surprise, obviously thinking the same, but had immediately comforted you knowing who it belonged to.

"I didn't take you for the sneaky type, Wands, but I guess there's a first for everything."

Wanda had been the object of your desire since you first laid eyes on her. She was visually stunning with her high cheekbones and full lips. Green eyes that practically bore into your soul every time they found your gaze. Her voice was borderline angelic to you, and her accent adorable.

Turning around to look at her caused you to quickly compose your growing desire. She was wearing an all white one piece swimsuit with a low dip in the back and a little cut out on her chest. You had never seen so much of her body before, it really took you by surprise. Wanda's usual fashion sense mostly consisted of t-shirts, pants, and a zip up jacket from time to time. Seeing her in something that hugged all of her curves the way it did, hit all new nerves in your body. You silently held back a groan at the sight.

"Considering I wasn't even trying to sneak up on you, really shows how good of an agent you must be Y/N." she looked you over with a smirk. All you did was give her a playful roll of your eyes.

"Well maybe you can make it up to me by putting some of this tanning lotion on my back. I'm not flexible enough to reach it myself." you gave her a little wiggle of your eyebrows that you doubt she saw as she didn't respond to your playful gesture.

"It's the least I could do." Wanda took the bottle from where it sat on the lounge chair. You watched closely as her nimble fingers gently squeezed the bottle to obtain as much as she thought was enough. Your eyes followed every single movement she made with her hands. Putting the bottle down, rubbing the lotion on her palms...

"I can't put any on your back if your front is facing me." Your face flushed, but you were willing to blame the heat as quickly as possible if need be. You turned your back to her and maneuvered yourself backwards to make it easier for her to apply.

You could've sworn your body almost failed you when you narrowly avoided whimpering when she placed her hands on your shoulder with the lotion that was way too cold for how Wan-...the sun made your skin feel. Her thin fingers worked your skin so slowly and professionally it was as if she took the care of your body more serious than you did. Her electric touch made chills a long term placement upon your arms. When she started to inch lower down your back you almost coughed when she slipped her hands under the band of your bikini top. You had been so enthralled with the young woman behind you that even simple ministrations sent sinful feelings between your legs. You silently thanked both Wanda and your attraction for the lack of thoughts in your mind. The redhead creating a lack of any thoughts or commands to enter just by existing. Certainly drawing a blank with every small touch and rub and dragging of fingers.

Your poor heart was bounding out of your chest as Wanda's fingers got awfully close to the sides of your breasts. Silly Wanda, that's all covered by bikini top, no need to apply lotion there. Controlling your breathing became harder and harder but eventually she moved away from your ribs and ventured to your lower back. A small part of your brain was thankful Wanda cared so much about sun exposure, because she was definitely taking her time and making sure every spot of your back was touched. You let your eyes fall closed for a brief moment until you felt her lean forward.

"Now it's time for you to do me." Wanda whispered very close to your ear, you felt every bit of her words on the shell. The shakiest breath fell from your lips at the abrupt closeness that you fully missed when she backed away to turn around.

It's like your brain was short circuiting at the entire exchange, no thoughts crossing your mind, just trying to find the motor skills so that you could return the offer back to Wanda. Amidst trying to squeeze out some of the lotion on your hand, your eyes caught sight of Wanda lowering her straps down her arms to give you better access to her back. She didn't have nearly as much skin exposed as you did, but the sun is a wrathful star and would fully take any opportunity to burn all those that bare themselves to it.

Your hands were shaking with desperation to attach themselves to her bare back. Any opportunity to touch your crush was enough experience to fuel the thoughts that would come later in the night when you wanted to wind down and imagine a future that may never come to fruition.

Finally your hands landed. You started at her shoulders just as she did you. Her skin was much softer than you expected. Even though she had been exposed to the sun, her back still felt unfairly cool under your touch. You focused on trying to move your hands as gracefully as Wanda had earlier. It must've worked since you heard Wanda let out the softest sigh at your movements, lulling her head to the side like you were rubbing sore muscles. When you thought you applied enough to her shoulders you worked your way down. You couldn't help but notice Wanda leaning her back into your touch, everywhere your hand hit. You also couldn't help slipping your fingers under the hem of her swimsuit, only to cover every inch in tanning lotion, you know...to help Wanda out. But whenever you did, she would shudder and let out a light sound, like she wanted you to hear but was concerned about it happening too often.

"That felt so relaxing, maybe I should make you give me back rubs regularly." Wanda was smirking again at you after she got up from your lounge chair. "You're very good with your hands."

That last comment made you choke. You could swear she was doing everything in her power to fluster you, but why? Could she be interested?

"I don't think it would take much to force me to rub you." Wanda's eyebrows shot up. Did you really just say that? "I- I-I mean rub your b-back or l-like your arms or something is what I meant." Nice save Y/N. You truly thought you saved that situation until Wanda suddenly busted with laughter. It wasn't that funny was it? She must've noticed your confused face cause she started walking up to you very slowly. She took your hand from your side and pulled you flush against herself, snaking her arms around the back of your neck.

"Won't take much for you to rub me, huh?" Oh you were really short circuiting now. Was she into you? Like...really into you? While you were struggling to take in what was happening, Wanda was leaning closer. The closer she got, the wider your eyes went. Her lips came so close to yours but stopped just short of the kiss you only thought of in your dreams.

"You're cute but I like you much better when you're nervous like this." Your brain was still malfunctioning. Not yet caught up to what was perspiring before you. Only one thing playing on repeat, "You think I'm cute?" Wanda giggled against your lips and tightened her hold around your neck finally bringing your lips together. The kiss could've knocked your legs from under you had you not already been leaning forward on Wanda. Her lips were soft and cold against your heated face. She smelled sweet like strawberries and banana boat.

You felt her start to pull away, so reluctantly you followed suit. Her arms remained wrapped around you.

"What do you think?"

[gabriellereed]

Matty wanted to be as cool as Ashitaka growing up.

That was funny, because the Matty she was staring at now was cool in a way that seems as effortless as breathing. Like when Gabi first saw him. He was perfectly askew and undone; hair mussed, pupils as big as saucers. Shirt artfully unbuttoned. He looked gorgeous— and not in despite of the disarray, but because of it. Matty was the person everyone wanted to be close to at the party. Gabi immediately understood why every pair of eyes in the room gravitated towards him.

He looked like some kind of ... bacchanal deity. And Jesus, he was so nice too!

"I mean-" Her face still feels a shade red. "I've yet to see you shoot a bow yet, but. I do understand why everyone in the room was looking at you." Another twitch of her lips. "I think you turned out pretty cool."

Even if he was now congratulating her for living out fantasies.

She only smiles at that, the expression quickly replaced by the look of one gobsmacked when he starts insisting his movies ... weren't any good.

'They're bad,' he purports.

Bad haircut. Bad editing. A much tinier Matty!

Gabi makes a noise of indignation on behalf of his younger self, seizes his arm again and gives it another silly little shake.

"That seems extremely untrue." There's a heavy undercurrent of skepticism coloring her voice. How could his videos not be good? When his room was so cool, so different than the tastelessly sleek quarters of so many other wealthy men. When Matty himself had such .... charisma. "I can already tell you're a creative type. And I feel like I would have loved little Matty and all his movies."

An exhale, and a fond smile. A pause before she presses a kiss to the corner of his eye.

Gabi thinks, but doesn't quite say aloud: I already love this version of you now

Even if she has to scour youtube like a private investigator, she still wants to watch his movies. If only to smile. Appreciate the person he was ten, fifteen years ago, see what kind of artistic choices he leaned into. There's so something so ... goddamn charming about it, it makes her heart twist.

Just like when he smiles at her again. Makes a joke about keeping a ball of yarn on hand. It felt ... freeing, honestly, sharing these things with him after their intimate encounter in bed. It felt easy. The memories weren't all pleasant; that doesn't change how nice it feels to watch Matty receive that information, respond with affectionate smiles or the assuring rub of her back.

It just reinforces what she already knows about Matty: how kind he is to her, how easily they mesh.

And then there's the other topic.

'How did you meet Selene?'

Oh. Right.

Gabi feels something cool seep over her, a tiny pinprick of worry. That was her best friend— how was she going to receive the news of this? And how could she best convey to Selene that for her, this wasn't just ... a one stand or hookup. It was the farthest possible thing, what she felt for him.

"I met her at a women's leadership conference, actually." Gabi twines both arms around Matty's neck, enjoying the feeling of being so secure. There's a smile at the memory. "I was just out of college and I thought she was the coolest thing ever. So self-assured, you know, already doing crazy stuff at this huge company? But I made myself go up to her and it turns out we were so similar. She was really reassuring."

Gabi knew what Matty meant to Selene— she could see it in the way her eyes crinkled up with fondness. Protectiveness, too. And since Gabi has plans to be around Matty for a while, as long as possible, for as long as he'll have her ... she really hopes she'll understand. Hopes, that when she talks about him, Selene will be able to sense all the care and affection and love behind her words.

Matty loved hearing all about … everything. The fact that she had a thing for Ashitaka, who Matty wanted to be like more than anything in the world growing up. It just seemed perfect. Twin flames, right?

"Yeah? I wanted to be as cool as him when I was growing up."

Matty grinned, charmed by the fact that she thought they looked alike.

"Not many people get to live out their childhood fantasies. You're welcome," he teased, grinning as she rolled away, laughing.

It seemed to be the YouTube videos that really drew her in. She was grabbing his arm, crawling on top of him, insisting that they watch them together. Matty grimaced.

"They're bad. We're talking about pre-puberty Matty. Short. Skinny. Bad haircut." He shook his head. "Not to mention the really poor editing."

Matty wasn't sure if she could handle that!

At the mention of her sister, and her childhood temper, Matty smiled. The more she spoke, the more she seemed like an incredible person. The kind that had the strength to still have a relationship with her sister, despite how complicating it must've felt. And still working on her crocheting, all these years later.

"I'll try not to upset you, then. And if I do, I'll keep a ball of yarn around."

Matty kept his arm around her, smiling when she kissed the corner of his mouth.

"How did you meet Selene?" Matty wondered. There was no use in avoiding the topic any longer. He wanted to be with Gabi, and he was sure that Selene would understand, right? Even if things had moved kind of quickly.

[igotbulletproof-insomnia]

Adopting Bangtan 09

01 previous

AN UNLIKELY WEDDING

You bit your lip as you stared at your phone. You had an email from Jimin and Taehyung’s mother. Song Jieun was your old coworker who you had adored, but who also tricked you into taking care of her children so that she could get married without worry. Your respect and opinion of her had gone down significantly with that move, but you… didn’t exactly understand, but you did appreciate that she gave her children to someone who could properly take care of them instead of leaving them to fend for themselves which had seemed to be her original plan.

What’s wrong?” Seokjin looked up from the video game he was playing, ignoring the cut scene he had watched a dozen times before now to focus on you. You could hear the younger boys playing in their bedroom, the sounds of legos clattering and mouth-made explosions louder than what their closed bedroom door could block off. They were sounds that had become familiar in the past six months, sounds that used to be made by one child and were nowhere near this boisterous.

“Nothing,” you shrugged while you scrolled through the email a second time and tried to sort out your feelings. Seokjin’s stare burned into your cheek and rolled your eyes. “I mean it, nothing is wrong. Just…” You could feel your face twisting into a dissatisfied expression and tried to relax it back into something more neutral. There were times when you found you could rely on the eldest of your children, and times when you thought it was better to keep things to yourself, and you weren’t sure which one this was.

“Someone emailed me,” you hedge. “I’m just trying to decide how I feel.”

“That’s your worried face,” said Seokjin. “You only make that face about work and about us. But you also whine when you’re worried about work, so it’s about us, isn’t it? Which one of the kids is failing school?”

“No one is failing school,” you laugh. “Namjoon could be doing better, but I’m certain he just doesn’t care as much as his teachers want him to. Neither does Yoongi…. You know, as a teacher myself, I should probably be more concerned.”

“You’re appropriately concerned,” Seokjin reassured you. “Why should you worry about things you can’t control? You’re just going to age faster.”

“You’re going to stop calling me old one day.”

“Lying isn’t healthy,”

“Says the kid who lied his way into adoption.”

“I took advantage of my situation. That’s not lying, that’s cunning.”

“I didn’t raise you like this,” you say, standing.

“No, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? I’m raising myself, six kids, and my guardian. I can’t tell if I’m doing a piss poor job or not.”

“Language, Kim Seokjin!”

“Dinner, seonsaengnim!” he shouted back. The problem was, you aren’t sure if he successfully distracted you from your concerns or if you successfully distracted him from you.

===

Song Jieun’s email bothered you intermittently throughout the week. It’s not like you forgot she existed. You’ve received a hefty sum into your bank account every month for taking care of the boys, enough to make you wonder exactly why her new husband didn’t want to take care of them when he would probably be spending a lot less money if they were under his own roof. So no, Song Jieun wasn’t someone you forgot existed unlike like you could the rest of your kids’ parents, she just… wasn’t relevant. So it bothered you that she was trying to make herself relevant now, after six months of silence.

“You’re doing the thing again,” Seokjin poked your face. You startled, unaware that he had approached, but thankfully kept your coffee mug full. “What are you so worried about?”

“Nothing,” you say for the umpteenth time that week. “I’m not worried about anything.”

“You’ve been ‘not-worried’ since last Thursday,” Seokjin argued.

“So then why do you keep asking me what’s wrong?” You didn’t have to turn to see the weighted stare he gave you, you could feel it. That was the thing about your kids, all of them. They had a way of making you feel like you were the one in trouble, you were the one being raised instead of the other way around. Some days you were convinced that they were the ones keeping you around, explicitly for financial reasons.

“If you’re just going to insist on being stubborn,” Seokjin sighed. He poured two cups of coffee, one for himself and one for Yoongi, and turned the kettle on for Namjoon. The other boys would be zombie-walking their way into the kitchen for breakfast soon, so you and Seokjin set to work preparing leftovers from dinner a few nights ago.

“Song Jieun wants to visit the boys,” after a long, silent moment, you finally admit your concern. The kettle was puffing it’s pre-whistle warning, so you turned it off, sitting the pot on its wicker table mat until Namjoon made his way to the table.

“Who’s Song Jieun?” asked Seokjin. “Which boy? Not me, right?”

“No, of course not you, silly. You won’t even tell me your parents’ names. How am I supposed to know when they come to visit?”

“Trust me, they won’t,” Seokjin’s tone left no room for discussion, just a sad or regretful sort of resentment.

“If you say so,” you shrugged off your curiosity, familiar with how closed-off this kid got when it came to his home life before you. “Song Jieun is Taehyung’s mom and Jimin’s stepmom.”

“The coworker who tricked you into adopting them?”

“That’s what you got out of that?”

“Isn’t that what happened?”

“That’s besides the point,”

“That is the point.”

“What’s what point?” Namjoon shuffled into the kitchen.

“Our guardian is trying to decide if the twins should see their mother.” Seokjin answered.

“That’s not what I said,”

“That’s what you were going to say.”

“Everyone else gets nice, obedient, adoring children,” you grumbled. “I get sassy monsters who boss me around.”

“You raised us like this,” Namjoon said absently.

“I did not, you raised yourselves.”

“Same thing,” both boys speak in unison.

“I’m giving you two away.”

“Good luck living with Yoongi without us,” Seokjin shrugged. “You’ll be begging me to come back by the end of the week.”

“Joke’s on you, this is the end of the week.”

“My point still stands.”

“Okay, I quit, I won’t win this one,” you literally throw your hands in the air.”

“Good,” Jin grins at you in that cheeky way he’s mastered, taunting you.

“So what’s this about the twin’s mom though?” asked Namjoon. “I thought she…” he trailed off, but you understood what he was saying, or rather, what he didn’t want to say. I thought she didn’t want them.

“Yes and no,” you say. “She just… it’s… not exactly complicated, not if I were in her position, but… let’s just say, some people are stupid and not everyone has the same priorities.”

“Song Jieun chose to make herself happy over taking care of her kids?” Seokjin translated. “She didn’t want to take them to live with her new husband?”

“More or less,” You agree, taking note of the bitterness in his tone.

“You’re not allowed to get married,” Namjoon mumbled from the table.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re not allowed to leave us or get rid of us because you want to be married,” Namjoon repeated. He’s obviously still half asleep from the way he lays his head down in his arms, but your heart clenches just a little bit from the casual desperation he speaks with.

“If I were to get married,” you said, “my future spouse would know that they come in eighth place anyway. I’m not getting rid of you, even your original parents would have to fight me. God will have to fight me.”

“But you’re still not allowed,” said Namjoon.

“Drink your tea, you’re talking crazy,” said Seokjin. “Our guardian will have to actually date first, and we all know that won’t happen.”

“The disrespect, I tell you!”

It’s after breakfast and during the chaos of getting seven young boys dressed and prepared for school when Seokjin knocks on your bedroom door frame, wearing an anxious expression.

“... Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“What’s up?” you asked. Seokjin walked fully into the room and closed the door.

“About… the twins? I… I don’t know what you’re thinking about, and that’s valid, but… I think you should maybe let them see her?” Seokjin didn’t fidget like the rest of the kids did. He leaned against the door, arms crossed and focused his eyes fully on you. It was moments like these when you realized exactly how mature your eldest was, and you recognized that most of it wasn’t because of you. Namjoon and Yoongi were you. Seokjin had probably been raising himself for longer than he’s lived with you.

“Okay,” you said.

“I just… if it was me, I would want to know that she still cared, right? And she does, I guess. You mentioned that she sends them money, and she wrote you a letter asking forgiveness, so that has to mean something. I just don’t want them feeling abandoned like the rest of us. Not if they don’t have to.”

“I’m just worried that it will confuse them even more,” you admitted. “It took weeks before Jimin would talk to us openly. Jieun-ssi isn’t going to stay. She’ll come for an afternoon or a day, take the kids out, spoil them, and then bring them back here, and they’ll both be wondering why. And I don’t know how to answer that question.”

“With the truth, obviously,” Seokjin rolled his eyes. “You’re always straight-forward with us. Why should this be any different?” Because they’re younger than you were. Because they were given away, not abandoned. Because their parent still cares from a distance. Because I don’t like making you all cry. Because picking up pieces has never been fun.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” you said instead. “I’ll think about it.”

“Okay,” Seokjin nodded, and you can see him visibly deflate, relieved to be finished with the conversation. “That’s all I wanted to say. Don’t forget to take your lunch with you.”

“Make sure all the kids have theirs,” you countered.

“It’s funny because you thought I didn’t already do that,”

“I love you, Kim Seokjin,” was your response.

“I love you too, I guess.”

=======

Your talk with Seokjin gave you a new perspective, but you still felt apprehensive about everything. You just didn’t like the idea of hurting Jimin and Taehyung any more than they already have been. What type of guardian would you be if you just let them walk back into heartbreak? What if this was just a one-time visit and Song Jieun never came to see her children again? What do you do when the boys ask to see her again? You had been lucky that you only had to have one conversation about not being able to take the boys to see their mother in the last six months, but if Jieun could make the time and the trip to come visit, then what will be your excuse now? What if this visit was actually a prelude to taking the boys back home with her?

Oh.

Huh.

So that was the real problem then. You didn’t want the boys to leave you. As much as you groaned and complained about taking in so many kids -- usually just to yourself, but sometimes your stress got the better of you in front of the kids -- you loved them. Each one of them, you loved and adored them and the thought of any of them leaving you or being taken away hurt. Not only that, but where in the hell would any of those parents get off, what right did any of them have to come to you and even fix their mouths to ask you for “their” kid back? You had words prepared for each and every so-called “parent” of all seven of your boys, copies of your lost child police reports, drafts of parental rights transfer papers, the phone number for several NCPA lawyers, and a fist just itching to make contact.

But what if Taehyung and Jimin preferred to be with Jieun anyway? She is their mother. She raised them for years, even if she was Jimin’s stepmother. You’ve only had the “twins” as you and the older boys had taken to calling them, for six months. Why would they want to stay with you?

“Okay, but she didn’t say she wants to take the kids,” you told yourself against the slew of depressing thoughts. You retrieved your phone from your pocket and opened your emails. Finally pressed reply. “She just wants to visit. A visit is… safe. It’ll be okay.”

Probably.

=======

Later that day you received a new email. Song Jieun will be in town that weekend. Tomorrow.

It took a lot of effort for you not to swear and make plans to take the kids out of town.

=======

Song Jieun was pretty. She wasn’t particularly tall or “skinny” like what TV liked to portray, but she was hippy and had a cute face and short hair that she curled most days. She favored dresses with blazers or oversized sweaters and skinny jeans, with pale makeup and dark pink lipsticks. It was easy to pick her out at the cafe she asked to meet at. She sat alone off to the side, a coffee already in front of her, but two plates with fruit-decorated cakes were also placed nearby. You considered telling her that the boys weren’t allowed any sweets right now. It wouldn’t have been a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. They weren’t allowed sweet things like cakes until after dinner and only when they behaved well. Still, you decided that was just your frustration and jealousy talking. You didn’t want to punish the two boys because of their mother, so you bite your tongue and hold your bitterness and let it go.

“Jieun-ssi,” you greet uselessly, as the moment Taehyung and JImin saw her they sprinted across the room to tackle the woman in hugs. Jieun’s smile stretched across her face and she cooed and made cute noises as she greeted her sons in return. You felt something creep in your chest that felt a lot like jealousy. But you weren’t jealous. You couldn’t be. You just hugged them this morning when they tried to tickle you awake. You held both of their hands from your house to the cafe. You had nothing to be jealous of, they were your kids now.

“How have you been?” Jieun asked when you sat down across from her. Jimin and Taehyung were already seated and digging into the cakes she bought for them. You barely had a chance to answer before your chatterbox was rattling off every activity he’s done for the last six months to his mother. Jimin grinned and threw in his two-cent’s worth every few minutes, but generally let Taehyung carry the conversation for him. And you, in spite of all of the emotions pressing on your chest and clouding your judgement and making you really, really want to shake Song Jieun, you enjoy yourself. You watch your boys -- your boys -- smile and chatter and sing and show off for their mother. You wonder if they’ll be okay going home, if you’ll have tears to clean up later, or arguments to break up, or just pieces to sort out and glue, but right now the kids are happy, and right now, that’s what you’ll enjoy.

=======

Taehyung climbed into your bed that night. He should have been asleep an hour ago at least, you’re sure, but he’s seemed to have a lot on his mind since this afternoon, and you’ve been letting the kid have his own space to figure out his thoughts. As hyper as he normally is, Taehyung is also prone to moments where he just sits and fiddles and thinks and you’ve learned that it doesn’t do any good to bother him about it.

“Can’t sleep?” Taehyung shook his head as he slid across the blankets to bury his face into your shirt. You curled an arm around his shoulders and held him close.

“Mommy…” Taehyung started and trailed off. “Is Mommy happy without me?”

It felt like your heart stopped with the words of his question, but you continued to brush his hair with your fingers. It was a difficult question to answer. You wanted to be honest, but you also didn’t want to hurt him. Unfortunately, there weren’t too many ways to answer without hurting Taehyung one way or another.

“What do you mean?” Taehyung was quiet for another short moment before he spoke again.

“Mommy… didn’t seem sad. And she said she’ll see us another time. And… she got married, but she didn’t want to keep me and Jiminie… So I started wondering… is she happy now? Happier than she was before when it was just me and her and Jiminie? Did we -- I don’t think -- I --�� And the kid seemed to break then, all of the tears that hadn’t been shed for six months seeming to finally culminate into an emotional outburst. You shushed him, holding him just a little more tightly, and the fingers in his hair moved down to stroke his back. This was the thing you had wanted to avoid, and while part of you felt satisfied to be right, most of you just fought your own tears. It hurt to see one of your kids so hurt. You aren’t a stranger to crying children, but this emotional distress was something that never got better. You thought that maybe Jieun had talked to the boys beforehand, maybe Taehyung had dealt with his emotions before he came to live with you and that was why he seemed so well-adjusted. Clearly, Taehyung had just been living in denial, or maybe with the belief that his mother would come back for him “later,” that you were only a temporary home.

“This isn’t your fault, Taetae,” you murmured. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Sometimes… sometimes adults make hard decisions. We think we’re doing the right thing and… sometimes it’s hard to see if we’ve made the right choice or not.” You sighed, picking through your words super carefully. “I think… I think that your mother made what she thought was the best decision for both herself and for you and Jimin. She believed she would be happy with her new husband. But she did not believe you and Jiminie would be happy. So she put you somewhere that you could be. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, but I’m still sad,” Taehyung cried harder.

“I know,” you said, “and that’s okay. I would be sad too.”

“I just want my mommy back,”

“I know.”

“I don’t want you to get married,” Taehyung said suddenly, long after his sobs had calmed down. Tears still fell, but slowly now. “I don’t want you to send me away too.”

“If you listen to your Jinnie-hyung, he says that won’t happen because I don’t date anyway.”

“Mommy didn’t date for a long time… and then she did. And then she got married.”

“I won’t get rid of you even if I did get married, Taetae,” you told him.

“You’re still not allowed to get married,” he argued. “Or date. You have to be mine forever and ever, okay?”

“No matter what, I will be yours forever and ever,” you agreed.

“Can I sleep here tonight?” Taehyung asked. “I'm comfy and you make me not sad.”

“Of course,” you said. “You’re comfy like a teddy bear, I don’t want you to go.”

=======

In the morning, Taehyung was bouncing off the walls, screaming as he chased Jungkook around the house. Jimin was curled into a corner of the sofa, giggling while he watched his brothers play and encouraging Taehyung in his antics. You could hardly tell that Taehyung had an emotional breakdown the previous night. You knew he was far from being “over” his feelings about his mother, he was only eight and the feelings were complicated. But he was happy for now and that made you happy. You’ll deal with the noise and the chaos and shout at the kids yet again about running inside where things were breakable including themselves as long as they kept smiling.

Surprisingly, it was Namjoon who came knocking at your door after bedtime that night. Similar to Taehyung, he didn’t speak or ask permission, just closed the door behind him and slid into your bed. Buried himself beneath the blankets and stuck his head beneath the pillow and tucked his gangly limbs into a ball. You were familiar with these moods, but haven’t seen one in years, not since you took in Seokjin. So you finished the chapter you had been reading, turned off the light, and sank down to lay your head on your pillows. Similar to Taehyung, Namjoon would speak when he was ready, when he found the right words to use to express his feelings.

“You really won’t get married, right?” Namjoon whispered beneath the pillow next to you. His voice was heavily muffled, but you’d been waiting for him to speak for some time. You just didn’t expect for him to continue a joke conversation from several days ago.

“What’s wrong with me getting married?” you asked.

“If you get married, you’ll have to get rid of us.”

“There is no world where I will give up any of you just to get married, Namjoon.”

“But that’s what happens, isn’t it?” said Namjoon. “Adults… if they aren’t married, but they have kids… they get rid of them so that they can date. Because kids get in the way. Because it’s stupid to take care of other people’s kids.”

“Why does it sound like you just called me stupid?” Your sarcasm probably wasn’t appropriate for the moment, but the words slipped before you thought about it.

“We’re really lucky to have you, we know that,” said Namjoon. “But that just means --”

“Namjoon, I’m going to stop you right there,” you cut him off before he finishes. You remove the pillow from his face so that he can hear you clearly, and card your fingers through his hair. “I didn’t create any of you. I didn’t ask for any of you. But I have you. And I love you. I adore you. I will tear apart skies, drain oceans, and vanquish God if it will keep you all safe and happy, okay? If your parents ever come back for you, I will press charges against them and make it so that they can never look at you, let alone hurt you ever again, do you understand me, Kim Namjoon? You and Yoongi and Jungkook and Seokjin and Hoseok and Taehyung and Jimin, you’re all mine. You’re my kids, all seven of you, and I will be damned if any lover or spouse, or anything at all, comes between me and you. I don’t say that because it sounds good -- although seriously, you have to admit that this is one of my better speeches,” -- at that, Namjoon giggled, the noise muted and soft, but a win was a win -- “but I say these things because I mean them. I will put a brick in the hospital for you, Joonie.” You hesitate, but continue anyway. “If it weren’t for you, I may have left the country at the end of that year. Teaching is fun, but I wasn’t super happy before. But then you asked me to take you home and you were so cute that I got attached almost immediately. I didn’t want to take you to the police and have them send you to your parents. I liked having someone to come home to. I liked taking care of you. Most people go get a pet or a lover when they’re feeling lonely, but here’s me, collecting kids like you’re pokemon cards.”

“No one collects pokemon cards anymore,”

“What, is Yu-Gi-Oh back in style?”

“What even is that?”

“The coolest card game ever. Period.” Namjoon laughs again, and you feel accomplished.

“It’s not that cool if I’ve never heard of it,” Namjoon argues.

“Joonie. I love you. But even I know you aren’t the coolest among your classmates.”

“I’m the coolest out of all my friends!”

“I won’t argue about that. I’m also sure that in your group of friends, ‘coolest’ means ‘knows the biggest words and has the best grades.’”

“You’re just jealous,”

“Absolutely. I wish I knew as many words as you do. Imagine how much fun I’d have fussing at you kids in Smart People language!”

“Why are you like this?”

“Please, other kids wish they had someone as cool as me taking care of them.”

Namjoon cuddled closer to you in the bed, laying his head on your shoulder and gripping your pajama shirt. You spend a few minutes massaging his scalp, a soothing gesture for you just as much as it is for him. After a few minutes, you begin drifting off, believing Namjoon is on the verge of sleep as well.

“Are you really okay?” he asks. “With taking care of all of us? You don’t… want to go back home?”

“I am home, silly,” you flick the side of his head gently. “I love you. And even if I wanted to go back to my home country, don’t think I won’t take each one of you with me. I said you’re mine. I mean it.”

“Okay.”

And it’s not that you don’t believe him, but you know your kid. You know he internalizes things and finds convoluted ways to take blame for other peoples’ problems, including your own. You know it will be a while yet before he truly accepts and believes you when you say you want to keep him and enjoy taking care of him. But you also know that he wants to believe you and he’s trying. You idly wonder if you’ll have to have some sort of discussion in the morning, an announcement over breakfast that no children will be displaced in the event of an unlikely wedding. You dismiss the thought, deciding it was more likely to incite panic and give you a headache more than anything else.

To find more of my child-bangtan fics, select the "Collecting Strays" tag at the bottom of this page ^_^

[fandoms-are-my-friends-1321]

Holy Matrimony

This is my first time writing for the Prodigal Son fandom, but I’m still excited either way. This was requested by @jiejie-eonni-onee-sama, and the idea is so adorable and funny. Gif and characters are not mine. Hope you guys enjoy it!!!

Description: Malcolm plans to propose to his girlfriend during their date at a fancy restaurant, but some of the team and his family arrive to make sure he doesn’t blow it. An unexpected quest also makes an appearance

Warnings: just some mild swearing, spoilers for season one, and a brief description of a crime scene, but otherwise none

“I know this is a big night for us, but you didn’t have to rent out one of the fanciest restaurants in town. I’m perfectly fine with a night in at home.”

Malcolm turned to look at his girlfriend of eight months as he continued to button up his white dress shirt. “Come on, Y/N. It’s going to be wonderful I promise. Besides, I would do anything for you.”

That was very true. This was the longest relationship that Malcolm had ever been in, and Y/N was different. He was worried after what happened with Eve, love would never return into his life. It did, however, and he was grateful to Y/N for all she had done for him so far. Tonight was the night he was going to show how much he loved her.

“Our cabs here,” Y/n said as she straightened her outfit. “You ready for go?”

“Yeah, just a few more minutes. You can go ahead down stairs, and I will catch up with you in a minute,” Malcolm responded. While Y/N was a little suspicious as to why Malcolm needed to stay back, she shrugged it off and walked out the door of the apartment. Once Malcolm was certain that she was gone, he opened a drawer that was located discretely under the bar.

He pulled out a small velvet box, and inside was the ring that he planned to propose to Y/N with. His family and friends were all supportive of this move, and yet he was still a little worried. He took a deep breath and placed the box in his suit jacket. “It’s okay,” Malcolm whispered to himself. “Nothing could possibly go wrong.”

Sunshine tweeted happily. “Thanks, Sunshine. The next time you see the two of us, you’ll have a new mom to look after you.” With that, Malcolm opened the door and dashed down the stairs to the cab. The giddy energy he felt fueling his steps.

——————————————————————————

The couple sat in a rented out section of the restaurant. Malcolm didn’t want to raise any extra attention when he proposed to Y/N, and while renting an entire room might have been much, he didn’t want to risk it. His family already had to much attention focused on them because of his father, and he didn’t want anymore.

“Excuse me, but I’m going to go use the restroom before our food gets here,” Y/N said as she stood up from the table.

“Sure, that sounds great! I’ll be waiting here doing nothing in particular,” Malcolm stuttered as he fidgeted in his seat. Y/N smiled at him as she walked out of the room. He’s a lot jumpier than normal, she thought, Perhaps he has a recent case on his mind. In fact, the only thing Malcolm had on his mind was her, and he mentally screamed as he placed his head in his hands.

“Oh my god he’s going to blow it. My son needs to get it together.”

Outside of the restaurant, Jessica Whitley was standing outside with a pair of binoculars, her daughter Ainsley by her side. They were leaning against the brick wall of the building across the street. The pair was trying to spy on Malcolm and make sure that he didn’t mess this up.

“Well, you know how my brother can be,” Ainsley replied as she examined her fingernails.

“Your daughters right,” Gil chimed in as him and the rest of the team walked up to Jessica and Ainsley. “Malcolm Bright does whatever Malcolm Bright wants to do. We can’t control him.”

“I’m his mother for crying out loud, so I have more control than you think. What are you guys doing here?”

“Coming to see how Malcolm will manage to pull off this proposal. Same as you guys,” JT stated.

“I think you guys are being to hard on him,” Dani commented, “As much as Malcolm loves Y/N, he will know exactly what to say.”

“That’s right! From my statistical analysis, their love for each other is 100% legit,” Edrisa added in as she appeared from behind Gil, Dani, and JT. “Also, it’s a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Whitley.”

“Likewise,” Jessica said with a smile. “Well, looks like the gangs all here.” The group waited and watched as Y/N returned to her seat at the table. The couple had begun eating, but the group that they didn’t know was waiting outside began to twist with anticipation.

“That’s it! I cant take this anymore. I’m going in,” Jessica declared as she shoved the binoculars she was using over to Ainsley. With determination, Jessica strides across the street. All the while Ainsley and Gil were trying to drag her back, but it was to no avail, and they began to follow her too. The rest of the team was close behind. However, another lone figure was lurking in the shadows.

“Holy crap, this pasta is the best I’ve ever had. No offense to your cooking of course,” Y/N said through a bite full of her food.

“None taken,” Malcolm replied with a chuckle. “I know how much you love Italian cuisine.”

“You know what I love more than pasta?”

“Day time television?”

“No, silly. It’s you! Ever since we first met at that crime scene, I just felt a connection with you.”

Malcolm couldn’t help but grin at the memory. Y/N was also part of the team, and the two had met during a case at a Bakery. At first Malcolm didn’t understand how Y/N was able to eat pastries while a man’s guts were strewn across the floor. Then he soon realized that she had witnessed a lot of crime scenes in her day.

This had to be the right moment. Somewhere deep inside, Malcolm knew that it was time to pop the question. Malcolm took a bite of his pasta, and tried to begin his proposal. However, when he saw his mom walk through the entrance of the room, he nearly choked.

“Mom! What are you doing here?! How’d you even know we were in here,” Malcolm questioned as he whiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Oh please dear, finding you wasn’t that hard. I came in because you need to stop stalling and do what you came here to do,” Jessica replied.

“Well I was going to say it, but-,”

“Jessica please, come back outside and let the kid do his thing,” Gil insisted as him and Ainsley enterted the room as well.

“Gil?! You’re here too? Let me guess the whole rest of the team is here,” Malcolm added with a wave of his hand. The rest of the team slowly made their way into the room, and Malcolm let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, now that everyone is here. May I please finish?”

Everyone nodded eagerly, and so Malcolm turned back to his girlfriend, who was still in shock by all the people who had just shown up out of the blue. It was a lot, but Y/N didn’t mind. Malcolm grabbed her hand, and Y/N’s E/C eyes met his icy blue ones. “Ever since I met you Y/N, my life has changed for the better. When I’m with you, the darkness in the world fades away. Now while I wasn’t expecting so many people to be here for this, I’m still certain that this is the right-.”

“Now hold on, my boy. Before you say those oh so famous words, aren’t you forgetting the one person that’s not here?”

The entire party froze as Malcom’s father, Dr. Martin Whitley, emerged from a dark corner of the room. Gil, Dani, and JT all pulled their guns from their holsters. “Holy shit,” JT said, “I thought this dude was in prison?”

“Yes,” Jessica snarled. “That’s exactly where he should be.”

Martin simply rolled his eyes at his wife and the others. “Oh come on now, you can’t expect me to miss the biggest day of my son’s life do you? I promise I will go back as soon as everything is done. Gil will make sure of that I’m sure.”

“Damn right I will, but for now I’m reluctantly allowing this to happen. No funny stuff though,” Gil said. Martin simply nodded as he gestured for Malcolm to continue.

Malcolm took a deep breath and focused his attention back on Y/N. “Well, as you can see my life is pretty crazy. I have a serial killer for a father, a mother who can sometimes be just as crazy.”

“Hey, that’s not very nice,” Jessica said as she pretended to be hurt, but her smile gave it away. Malcolm shook his head as he continued. “All of these people support us, and I plan to support you until the day I die, which hopefully will be a long time from now. So, without further ado,” Malcolm got down on one knee, and opened the velvet box. The central diamond in the ring sparkled due to the chandelier light from above, and Y/N let out a gasp. “Y/N L/N, will you marry me?”

“Of course I will!! Now come here my soon to be husband,” Y/N pulled Malcolm up by the lapels of his jacket and kissed him on the lips. At first her boldness caught Malcolm off guard, but he relaxed into the kiss. All the while cheers filled the room, and Martin even gave a few claps himself.

“So, will I be invited to the wedding,” Martin asked with a raised brow.

“Unless you happen to escape again, I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” Gil retorted as the cuffs snapped on Martin’s wrists. However, Martin only laughed at this. If he escaped once, he could easily do it again, and nothing was going to stop him from seeing another big moment in his son’s life.

[whattodowithkpop]

Act Natural (Seventeen)

Title: Act Natural

Pairing: Seventeen x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 4K Words

Writer: Whattodowithkpop

A/N: This one was so much fun, even though it took me a long time... If you have a favorite scenario please let me know in the comments! I love hearing everyone’s opinion! 

*****

The Kpop group Seventeen had a photo shoot today, shooting concept photos for their new comeback. The boys saw all the cameras ready to shoot their photos with a new camera crew since they were doing a special comeback. They greet the camera crew and introduce themselves. Throughout the shoot different members would converse with the different people in the crew, becoming friends with them and enjoying each other’s company. Minghao had ended up meeting a personal assistant to one of the main cameramen. Somehow, the two of them hit it off, laughing in their own corner when they both had time. 

He had just finished his shoot and was going to the corner where she was currently standing. Jun smirks at him, causing Minghao to pause to speak with his friend.

“What are you guys doing over there, being all secret.” Jun teases, wrapping his arm around Minghao’s shoulder.

“Just conversing.” Minghao smiles, not catching Jun’s indications.

“Just don’t get too crazy over there.” Jun winks, pushing Minghao towards the corner.

He finally understood what Jun was implying, making him go red from nervousness. Making him worry that it looked suspicious, just the two of them laughing to themselves. When he reached her, she saw his red face and questioned it. 

“Is everything okay? Is it too hot in here?” 

Minghao stutters through his sentences as he continues to switch eye contact between her and Jun. “No, I’m fine...” 

She offered many times to get him some water or a fan, but he declined, making him even more nervous. Jun watched the whole thing play out from his seat, laughing at his friend as he stuttered through your conversations.

She was a big time soloist in Korea. She was known for dabbling in a range of genres which made her have a diverse group of fans. She loved working with different producers, showing different sides of herself in each album. She had worked with Mad Clown, San E and even Bumzu. Bumzu had high regarded for Woozi and bragged about him to her, making her begin a desire to work with Woozi. 

She was ready to work on her next album, while being on the prowl for the next producer she would work with. Her mind quickly thought of the Seventeen member.  He, of course, said yes without hesitation and they both began to work on the album together. 

Everything started smoothly, but as the two worked longer together, the more awkward Woozi became. He began to become more aware of how close he was to her when arranging the tracks or how they would stare at each other as the music played through the room. Because of this, he began to play notes wrong on the keyboard, accidentally freezing up the producing program and forgetting to save some of the work. She, of course, found it adorable and didn’t mind the minor set backs. 

Sadly, for Woozi, this continued until the album was finished and it even continued when they both worked together more frequently in the future.

Seungkwan was paired with a famous female MC to co-host the award show with. Thankfully, he had already known her pretty well, so it made him less nervous. He thought it would all run smoothly, but he was sorely mistaken. As she was introducing the nominees, his co-host unexpectedly does a cute, funny dance, followed by a silly wink directed at Seungkwan. 

Seungkwan knew he wasn’t supposed to fall for her from this small act, but he suddenly lost focus on the entire world around him, except her who stood in front of him. The silence was noticed by all the guests, causing them to chuckle at the scene before them. The Seventeen members definitely laughing the loudest. 

“Ah, you must have fallen for me.” Seungkwan’s co-host smiles awkwardly, feeling shy herself. This statement breaks Seungkwan out of his trance enough for him to remark back.

“Well of course, who wouldn’t fall for you!”

There was a dancer at the dance studio that the Performance Unit frequented. The unit would see her in passing, but occasionally she’d be there finishing up a routine or practicing a new dance. Usually ending up in a short conversation from both parties.

A certain leader began to become interested in her and would try to find any excuse to see her. Most of the time, she’d practice in the wee hours of the morning so she wouldn't disturb the big names in Kpop that came a little later in the morning. Since Hoshi knew this, he’d go ahead of the rest of the Performance unit so he could chat with her alone. 

He did this for about a week and a half and the rest of the unit became suspicious of Hoshi. They decided to go early with him one day, to see what Hoshi does when he leaves that early. Hoshi tried to protest, but the rest weren’t having it. 

They arrive at the dance studio, just as she was finishing up her routine. She notices the group through the window, shooting them a friendly smile through her messy hair. She collects her things, leaving the room the way she found it. She walks out of the practice room and greets the members with a bow. They smile at her with their own bows. They begin a conversation, just like they usually do if they run into each other any other day. 

Hoshi stays quiet as he watches his members chat with her so casually and comfortably. He pouts slightly, upset that every time he tried talking he’d stutter and trip over his words. She notices the quietness from the leader, making her ask if he was okay. He just nods, afraid he was going to say something stupid. He was silent for the entire conversation, making the rest of the boys laugh. They finally understood what Hoshi was doing so early in the mornings. “Hey, would you like to watch our practice?” Jun asks suddenly, surprising Hoshi greatly.

“Oh, thank you for the offer.” She laughs, covering her mouth in nervousness. “I really have to get going. Next time though.” 

“That’s be great, right Hoshi?” Jun elbows him, causing Hoshi to jump.

“Yeah, it’d be great!” He rushes out. “I mean, yeah, if it works out that’s fine.” He clears his throat, avoiding her eyes.

She laughs as she makes her way to the door. “Hope to see you tomorrow.” She waves as she exits the building. 

“So that’s what you’re doing so early in the morning.” Dino teases the older one, making Hoshi blush. 

“Let’s go practice!” Hoshi ignores the youngest as he walks into the dance room, smiling brightly as he thought about her last comments.

Vernon had gone with Minghao to see the modeling world. He had nothing to do and Minghao was going alone just for a clothing check, so Vernon offered to go with him. 

When they arrive, they see a bunch of models getting ready in various stages of the process. Some were getting make up done, some were already getting dressed. Vernon follows Minghao through the models getting ready. Minghao tell him to wait by the door as he goes into a room. Vernon obeys, looking around the room. He walks towards a rack of clothes, looking at the various materials coating the rack. 

He reaches out to look at the outfits, admiring some and feeling confusion on others. 

He reaches for an extravagant dress when he, suddenly, brushes hands with someone else. He looks up to see a woman looking at him. She had her head tilted in curiosity as she stared into his brown eyes. Vernon pulls his hand away quickly, apologizing quickly. 

Now, usually, Vernon was cool and collected, but this woman made him nervous. Mostly because of his embarrassment on their first meeting, but also because the way she looked at him. 

“Are you a model?” She asks him, breaking from his thoughts. 

“Oh, no.” Vernon dejects immediately. “My friend is.” 

“Oh.” She nods with a smile. “I’m glad you’re here!”

Vernon’s heart skips a beat, making him hit his chest discreetly. 

“Wait here.” She commends, turning towards a changing room. 

Vernon shakes his head, confusion written all over his face as he tries to get ahold of himself. She comes back out in the dress, making Vernon smile at its beauty. 

“Can you help me?” She asks him, gesturing to her zipper. Vernon nods calmly, while his insides burn in panic. 

His shaky hands zip the dress to the top and button the small clip at the top. 

“All set.” He smiles as he backs away to give her room to turn around.

“Thank you so much!” She exclaims, turning to face him. “Everyone here is so busy, they don’t have enough time to even help with a zipper.” She explains with a small frown. 

“Glad I could help.” Vernon smiles at her. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry for my rudeness.” She frowns fully, bowing in apology as she introduces herself.

“I’m Vernon.” He greets back. 

“Well, Vernon, I’m so sorry I have to go and finish getting ready.” She smiles sadly. “Thank you again!” She shouts as she walks briskly back to the other models. 

Vernon watches her walk, smiling to himself as he watches her trip a couple times. 

“Okay.” Minghao interrupts his thoughts, making him look over to his friend. “I’m all good.”

Minghao’s attention moves behind Vernon, his face twisting into confusion. Vernon turns to see what he was looking at. 

“I forgot.” The woman breathes out of breath. “I should treat you to a meal for my gratitude.” 

Vernon chuckles at her red cheeks and slightly disheveled hair. “It’s really okay.”  

“Even if it’s just ramen.” She pleads. 

Vernon agreed and they swap numbers before saying their goodbyes. 

“I was gone for five minutes.” Minghao sighs with a smile as he looks at Vernon, elbowing him. 

Vernon laughs, looking down at his phone with the new number projecting from the box.

There was a reporter for a famous site that covered all things Kpop. It started as a joke among the members when Wonwoo told them that he found her beautiful and funny and that she was his type. Every time she would come on screen Wonwoo would get teased by the others, but he didn’t mind since it was a silly joke. 

That was until, he found out he had to be interviewed by her, then the joke wasn’t so funny anymore. The rest of seventeen couldn’t stop laughing and teasing the poor, shy boy. That’s when he became hyperaware at how cute she was and now realized how much he actually did like her. 

The day of the interview was a sight. When they met, he couldn’t even look at her in the eye, talking to her in almost a whisper. During the interview, Wonwoo kept forgetting to listen to the question and had to ask for her to repeat many times. His words would get jumbled and it was as if he couldn’t even speak Korean. 

The directors asked for a break, giving Wonwoo a small sense of relief to help clear his mind. Unfortunately for him, she approaches him to talk, hoping to get him more comfortable. 

“Hey, you’re doing a great job!” She compliments him, smiling widely.

“Oh, thanks.” He nods, looking to the floor.

“Don’t be too nervous, there’s no scary questions, I promise.” She tries to assure him.

He made it through the interview, but it will be the most awkward interview to watch. Carats will understand though, and find Wonwoo’s nervousness adorable.

Jeonghan had finally brought his sister over to introduce her to everyone. When Jeonghan introduced her to to Seungcheol, he immediately felt his heart rate quicken. 

She was beautiful and the more he got to know her,  he fell in love with her personality as well. It didn’t take him long to develop the biggest crush on Jeonghan’s sister, and it didn’t take long before that certain vocal team member noticed. Jeonghan teased the poor leader relentlessly for his crush, but Coups didn’t mind as long as she wasn’t onto him. 

One day, Jeonghan’s sister came to visit the boys at the dorm, showing up unannounced for a surprise visit. When she arrived, Dino announces her arrival, causing Seungcheol to whip his head towards her direction. 

She greets everyone as she makes her way into the room. She makes her way up to Seungcheol, causing him to back up from nervousness and trip over a shoe, sending him tumbling backwards. 

He held his hand out to try to catch himself, but failed miserably. She immediately reacts, leaning down to his level. 

“Are you okay?” She asks, concern flooding her eyes. 

Her close proximity made him unbelievably nervous. He tried to speak, but he was left making incoherent noises. 

“Could you be any more obvious?” Jeonghan shakes his head.

Jun was going to see his childhood friend from China. They hadn’t seen each other since 8th grade, when she moved away. She had gotten in touch with him recently and decided to come visit him in Korea. 

He was excited, since the last time they saw each other, he was in his awkward stage and she were almost out of hers, so now he was going to be able to show her his cool side. 

The morning that the flight got in, Jun and Minghao went to the airport to pick her up. The two China boys didn’t wait long until they heard a feminine voice call Jun’s name. 

Jun turned and froze when he saw her. She had definitely finished her awkward stage and had become extremely woman like. Jun couldn’t speak as he studied her, not expecting her to be this attractive. 

Minghao introduced himself before saying hello for Jun since he was still not fully done processing the situation. When they both realized what was happening the two of them laughed lightly at Jun’s quietness. Her laugh broke his thought, bringing him back to reality. He realized he had been staring and groaned quietly, since his plan to show her his cool side right off the bat had failed.

“I swear I’m usually cooler than this, you just caught me off guard!”

A famous singer from America announced her visit to Korea for her world tour. Seventeen was a huge fan of this American singer and it was common knowledge she was a huge fan of them too. The two accounts had made many communication through Twitter, making plans to meet up while she was visiting Korea. 

It also was common knowledge among the Seventeen members that the singer was Joshua’s big time celebrity crush. Unbeknownst to the poor American boy, some of the boys had planned a scheme with her to tease Joshua. She agreed, of course, because she, also, had a big time celebrity crush on Joshua. 

The day came for her to meet Seventeen. Joshua was so nervous, but also really excited. They make their way to the front of the Pledis building, where they agreed to meet her. Seventeen let Joshua enter last, all wanting to see his face when he saw her. When Joshua entered the building, his eyes immediately focused on her. She wore a beautiful dress, clearly dressing up a bit for the occasion of meeting a big time celebrity group from Korea. Joshua and her eyes made eye contact, making the rest of Seventeen elbow each other in excitement. Joshua’s mouth fell open slowly as he looked at her, making her laugh quietly. 

“Joshua, you’re going to catch flies.” She smiles at him, bowing in greeting.

He was usually so hyper that no one would ever be able to tell he was nervous. He hardly ever was nervous to begin with, but when he met his favorite actress his nervousness was evident. She came to the agency to discuss with the CEO about releasing a song she had written. The CEO told everyone in the company about her visit and told everyone to remain calm. Poor DK couldn’t prepare himself enough.

She walks into the building, being greeted by many artists from the Pledis entertainment company. She spotted Seventeen and made her way over to them. She greets them politely before expressing her admiration for the group and their performances. Normally DK would excitedly talk about some of their songs, but he was silent through the whole discussion. She turned her attention to Dokeyeom, addressing him personally.

“Dokyeom, I really enjoyed watching Excalibur.” She mentions, smiling brightly at the vocal. 

His face heats up at this comment. He bows low and thanks her. She laughs at his cuteness before walking closer to him. 

“Maybe we can do a drama together.” She tells him before bowing once more before leaving the room to meet with the CEO. 

His face brightens before he runs the opposite direction as he screams through the halls.

Mingyu has done a lot of variety shows, however one sticks out in his mind, and many of the fans minds. 

Mingyu was recording with a singer form one of the popular girl groups from SM Entertainment. She saw EXO, Super Junior, and all the boys consisting of NCT on the regular. Some of those performers from those groups were also in the recording. The MC asks the same old question that they all do. 

‘Which man here is your ideal type?’ 

Everyone was expecting someone from NCT or EXO since she knew them all so personally. She looks straight into Mingyu’s eyes with a huge amount of confidence, she gave him a sly smile before letting his name fall from her lips. Many of the guests on the show gasped and ‘ooed’ in surprise. They turned to Mingyu to hear his response. 

The only thing that came from his mouth was a hoarse attempt of words as he coughs loudly, making everyone laugh.

Joshua’s friend from the states came to visit Korea for a month. When Joshua introduced her to everyone, many of them warmed up to her quickly. Jeonghan had some difficulty warming up to her, it was just because he was being a bit stubborn. He did eventually warm up to her, but by the time he did, she had built a wall around herself.

Jeonghan felt bad that they got off on the wrong foot, so he tried anything and everything to make her comfortable. However, her shy nature made it difficult for her after their initial meeting.

Jeonghan started bringing her coffee, easing into a friendship with her. She was always shy when he brought it to her, but she was always grateful. It even started to break down her heavy wall she had built.

One day, she came by the practice room. She carried many drink carriers full of the warm, caffeinated beverage, maneuvering carefully around the obstacles that the building threw at her.

She uses her back to push open the door, entering the room and announcing her arrival. They all ran up to her, greeting her and taking a beverage each. Jeonghan was the last member to greet her, doing so with a big smile as he took the coffee from her hands.

“A peace offering.” She tells him as he sips the coffee. 

He looks at her quickly, seeing her smiling face as she looks at him with friendly eyes. He smiles back, suddenly feeling nervous around her.

“To peace.” He jokes as he tilts his drink towards her, getting a giggle to escape her lips. 

“Oh, look what I got!” She exclaims, catching the attention of a few of the other members. 

She unzips her jacket, revealing the seventeen symbol on the shirt she wore. 

“Yea, represent.” Mingyu cheers along with the others. 

“And.” She continues, pulling the jacket off her shoulders to reveal the back of the shirt which had the name of a certain vocal unit member. 

“Oooo Jeonghan’s name.” Some of the boys tease, watching as Jeonghan’s face lights up. 

He wasn’t able to control himself when he saw his name in big letters. Jeonghan begins to jump around the room, exclaiming cheers of joy. This makes her laugh, which only makes him happier as he watches her get more comfortable by the second.

“He’s being very expressive today.” Joshua laughs, having a pretty good idea as to why he was in such a good mood.

Every member had their make up artist. Their make up artist that knew exactly how they liked their make up. 

However, sometimes other make up artist would fill in for others. Some were understudies that had watched the main makeup artist work on the member before. Thankfully for Dino’s current situation. 

Dino’s main makeup artist was currently at the hospital giving birth to her new baby girl. Serendipitously, she had an understudy that had been under her for three months, and was really quickly picking up the ropes. Dino has never met her before, but was not worried because the other make up artists gave her good marks on everything.  

The door to the waiting room opens to reveal a young girl with a make up bag in her grasp. She bows respectfully to each person in the room as she made her way through the crowd to get to the desk she was familiar with. She places the bag down on top of the desk before looking to find Dino to get him ready for his stage. He was just off to the side, laughing with some of the members who were waiting to get ready. She waits for a short break in conversation before asking Dino if he was ready for his make up. 

Dino answers a loud yes as he turns towards the voice. He sees her and immediately freezes, his breath hitched with his eyes wide as he looks at the girl setting out make up supplies. It wasn’t hard for the other members to see what was happening, making them snap Dino out of his state with loud laughter. 

Dino goes to sit in the chair, hoping she would be able to finish quickly so he didn’t have to sit there in a bundle of nerves. Thankfully for him, she was outgoing, asking him questions and talking most the time. However, every time she leaned in close to get a better look at the make up, Dino would tense, holding his breath as she looked at the small details. He was thankful for the makeup covering up some of his burning face. 

It felt as though the make up took forever, but it was done quickly in reality. Dino stands quickly, bowing in thanks before stumbling over to the other members. He kept catching himself looking over to her as she packed up all of her supplies. He felt a bit sorry for his quick exit and felt as if he should thank her properly before she left. 

He waits until she leaves the waiting room, not wanting to have an audience. He catches her right outside the door, calling out her name to get her attention.

“I just wanted to thank you properly for doing well today.” Dino gets out, gulping nervously as he occasionally looks to her shoes to compose himself. 

“I was really happy to do it.” She smiles brightly. “Thank you for being so easy going.” 

Dino smiles back, finally feeling comfortable enough to keep eye contact. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Chan.” She bows as she begins to part ways from him. Dino’s heart skips a beat at the fact he would see her tomorrow and at how she used his real name. 

“See you tomorrow!” He shouts out loudly, catching the attention of some staffs in the hallways. 

As he retreats back into the waiting room, the smile on his face sticks to his face for the rest of the time as he anxiously awaits their second meeting the next day.

MAIN MASTERLIST

[fablesrose]

Because I Am

Description: Worth and the heart are very fragile things. Sometimes it’s good to know when to walk away.

Pairing: Dr. Stephen Strange x reader

Word count: 2,136 

Warnings: break-ups, implied cheating

A/n: This was written for @angelinathebook‘s 300 follower writing challenge, congrats on 1,000 followers babe! The prompt I chose was “You’re not worth it,” it will be in bold. Enjoy!

Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Late, again.

I checked my watch, seeing the minute hand tick past the hour mark. I sat in the cafe only a couple streets away from my flat with my favorite drink and scone. It had been nice to take the morning off, but I was hoping my boyfriend would join me like I asked him to.

This marks the third date that he’s either been late, or not shown at all. It was starting to look like it was going to be the latter. I started to wonder if he was losing interest again. The last time that happened the only reason we got back together was because of the time apart, we thought we were different people so we gave it another go.

But never had he forgotten my birthday. That made me wonder if he got caught up with his duties in the sanctum. He always was a workaholic. And because of that he’s on his third chance.

Chances. Everybody knows I give a lot to many. Maybe too many to too many people. Every chance given is a piece of my heart that’s cracked. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it doesn’t pay off. Sometimes even then, after more were given than was deserved, they have the audacity to ask for one more.

I sighed and shook myself out of my thoughts, coming to the conclusion that Stephen wasn’t coming. It’s alright, I’ll just pop by the New York sanctum to say hello. I grabbed my drink and headed towards the London sanctum, the one I study in. Not very often do I enter the sanctums in my casual clothes, but everyone knew I wasn’t due back to work until later this afternoon.

I said hello to those I passed in the hallways and eventually I reached the doors to the other sanctums. Still sipping on my drink I walked through and wandered the hallways trying to find my over worked boyfriend. I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t find him. He’s always moving and I wasn’t as familiar with this one as the one in London. So instead I went to the library where I knew I’d find Wong.

“Welcome Y/n.” Wong didn’t look up from his book as I approached.

“Hey, Wong,” I perched myself on the corner of the desk and craned my neck to see what he was reading, “Spiritus pax, et imperium… That’s a good one I’ve heard. Haven’t gotten around to it.”

Wong nodded to show he heard me, but didn’t make much of an effort for small talk.

“Wong, have you seen Stephen today?”

He looked up at me, “No, he texted and said he was spending the morning with you.”

That doesn’t seem right, “That’s odd since he didn’t show for breakfast two hours ago...”

We both shrugged at each other.

“Oh well, I guess I’ll wait for him to get in, I took the whole morning off.”

Wong turned back to his book, “You are welcome to stay as long as you would like.”

“Thanks.”

I stayed perched on the desk and pulled out my phone. I started to scroll through Instagram to pass the time. Eventually I scrolled through all of the new posts and decided to hop over to Stephen’s profile.

It took a long time to convince him to get one and he hardly ever used it, as shown by the next to no pictures posted. He had more pictures in the tagged section, most of them tagged by me. I flipped over there and scrolled to the bottom to start at the beginning.

I enjoyed scrolling through pictures of us that I had taken. Some of them were silly, far and spread between cute moments on adventures. I particularly liked the one where we sat together on the Ferris Wheel. Stephen had taken my phone when I pulled it out to take a picture of the view. He quickly used his long arms to snap a picture of him kissing my cheek. He caught me laughing with my eyes closed, and managed to angle so the colors of the sunset were in the background. It was my favorite picture.

I finally reached the top with the most recent pictures when I noticed one that I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t uncommon, Stephen had other friends that tagged him in things, so it wasn’t the first I didn’t know.

The picture was part of a brunette’s face, her hair clearly messy from just waking up. The picture had the purpose of catching the background, and clearly visible was Stephen looking over his shoulder at her. He had a half smile and was wearing the shirt I got him only a couple of weeks ago. That’s how I knew it was recent, despite it being posted just this morning. I noticed he was wearing the shorts he usually wore to bed which made my heart start to sink.

The caption read: Look at how cute my boo is! He’s so sweet to make me breakfast, Love you!

I could tell my the picture that it wasn’t Stephen’s apartment, and all of it together caused my stomach to twist.

I didn’t look up from the picture, “Wong?”

“Hm?”

“Were those his exact words? That he was hanging out with me?”

He looked up from his book again, looking a bit puzzled, “No… He said he was spending the morning with his girlfriend. Why?”

I tapped the side of my phone for a moment before deciding to show him the picture.

“Wong, what does that seem like to you?” I held my breath, waiting for him to call me crazy.

He took a deep breath, “It looks like he’s cheating on you.”

I sighed heavily, “That’s what I thought...” I boosted myself off of the table, “Well! I guess my morning off is being cut short. If you need me I’ll be next door.”

Wong nodded at me with a concerned look on his face, but didn’t move to stop me.

I quickly went to the London sanctum and changed into my instructor robes. I didn’t have a set class, instead I went where I was needed, giving a helping hand with the children.

I taught the classes with a heavy heart, but I surprised myself with dry eyes. It’s impossible to stay in too bad of a mood when you are in the midst of little ones, though. They giggled when they were supposed to be concentrating, and made funny faces when they concentrated too hard.

Before I knew it, the end of the day came. All the classes scheduled were completed, and I wasn’t booked on the night shift at the sanctum, so I was able to go home.

I was packing up my things after the final class of the day when a little girl tugged on my sleeve. She pulled a beautiful flower from behind her back and stretched her arm out towards me. She whispered timidly, “Happy birthday, Miss.”

I was shocked. In the midst of everything going on I had forgotten it was my own birthday, and hardly anyone knows when it is. I squatted down to her level and looked up towards the exit to see some of the older students who I have taught for ages looking at the scene expectantly. I smiled and waved softly at them before turning my attention back to the young girl handing me a flower. It had magical golden sparkles dripping around and on the petals, mesmerizing me.

I gently took the stem from her hand and held her cheek in one hand. I kissed her hairline quickly but softly, “Thank you, little one. I love it.”

She beamed up at me and bolted to her fellow students.

I didn’t want to crush the flower in my bag, and I knew I couldn’t walk home with the flower out in the open, but I also wanted to enjoy the slight sprinkle that had started on the glass windows, so I quickly used my sling ring to open a portal just big enough to place the flower in the glass of water I remembered I left on the counter this morning.

I walked home slowly, hearing the soft pat pat pat of the rain against the pavement next to me was soothing. By the time I reached my flat my hair was just wet enough to stick to my face. I left the lights dim and started to make myself dinner. I wasn’t sure how everything was going to go from here, I didn’t know what moves I would have to make, or what he would do in turn. So, instead of worrying or even reacting to it, I was going to think, I was going to continue as I have, and I wasn’t going to let it rule over me.

At least, that was my plan until Stephen himself walked through my flat door, using the spare key he keeps. He was still in his sanctum wear and his hair was dripping, slightly tinged white from the gel that no longer kept his hair in it’s place. I couldn’t help but smile at the look.

“Hey, are you doing okay?” His features formed into something that was almost concern, but not quite, and all of the sudden the quiet little moment of him looking silly and not a care in the world was broken.

My smile faltered slightly, “Yeah, why do you ask?” I subconsciously picked up his ring of keys that he dropped on the counter. I did it often, so he didn’t notice when I subtly removed my flat key as I was fiddling with it.

“Wong said you were upset.”

“Ah...” I turned back towards the stove to give my meal a stir, “You- You didn’t come to breakfast this morning.” I guess I was doing this, I just hope I could do it slowly.

“Oh, was that today? I got a call from someone who needed some of my guidance in the Hong Kong sanctum.”

So now he was blatantly lying to me. Fantastic.

“I saw you wore that shirt I got you today, I’m glad you like it.” I kept my voice calm, even, and terribly bland. I was afraid if I showed anything, I would show everything.

There was a pause where I’m sure Stephen was puzzling over what that meant. I heard the click of his phone unlocking and then the sharp intake of breath.

“Did you...” He trailed off nervously.

I turned just enough to see that he had Instagram pulled up on his phone. I hummed softly, “So...” I turned to lean against the counter and face him, “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

He was caught off guard and started to sputter silently. Maybe I was secretly hoping for a good explanation, that was his sister or a cousin who’s place he crashed at for whatever reason, his neighbor was feeling sick, and they have that kind of relationship, anything, really. I kinda think I would have bought it too.

But no, instead, after he stopped sputtering, he fell silent completely. He offered no explanation, not even a lame excuse. I nodded to myself and pushed myself to stand. I walked to the door and opened it, standing to the side to let my now ex-boyfriend pass.

“You could have just said you were losing interest Stephen.”

He had just stepped across the threshold when he turned around, “Y/n, one more chance. Please.”

Even him asking was breaking my heart again. Just like all the other times someone asked for just one more chance. I decided I just couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t lose anymore of myself to giving one more chance to those who didn’t earn it.

“No.”

I started to close the door before he asked, no, he pleaded, “Why?”

I paused and held his gaze firmly, “You’re not worth it.”

I closed the door the rest of the way and when he made a move to keep it open I used the sling ring I slipped onto my finger to make his hand fall through, keeping him from stopping me. I locked the door and slid to the floor.

It was done.

I finished my dinner slowly. Everything seemed so bland, but I didn’t regret it. I was just so tired. Maybe I should have seen the signs. All I knew was that I lived a nice life full of wonder and magic. And that was enough for me.

Later that evening I gently touched the sparkling flower I was given. I played the conversation in my head over and over. I gazed into my own eyes in the mirror as I approached the last lines.

“Why?”

“You’re not worth it.”

Because I am.

Tag list: Send me an ask or a message if you want to be added or removed!

@kitkatd7 @snarky--starky @confetti-its-an-imagine-blog @kaogasm

[givemestories-givemelife]

Blueberries, Lavender & Hot Matcha Tea  (Part 2)

A SasuHina ficlet

PART 1| Part 2

AN: THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THOSE WHO COMMENTED, OR RE-BLOGGED, OR LIKED THE FIRST PART TO THIS FIC. It truly means more than I can say. Helped a lot with motivation and it’s super cool to know that people are reading the things I write. I hope the follow up chapter doesn’t disappoint <3

Summary: Hinata has a run in with a familiar face.

Warnings: Brief mentions of grief and anxiety (because Hinata’s a nervous butterfly) but nothing remotely heavy. Also there’s alcohol consumption.

Word count: 6167

                                   __________________________

Lavender

Hinata knows that she needs to start putting herself out there. She can’t stay holed up comfortably in her room while years of her life pass on by, listening to cigarettes after sex under the safe warmth of her white fluffy blanket that still smells like her late mothers perfume, and sniffing essential oils like they’re some kind of soft-core drug to distract her spiralling thoughts from every embarrassingly mortifying predicament she’s ever found herself in.

She’s been trying really hard not to think about spilling her extra hot matcha latte all over this potentially handsome stranger a few days ago. She thinks - potentially - because she did not have the courage to look at the man's face after maiming him and probably ruining his expensive suit!

Hinata’s sure she must have ruined his entire morning, which must have ruined his whole day, and now he probably hates her. Oh goodness, Hinata strongly dislikes the thought of people out there in this world walking around hating her.  

Wow, these thoughts are entirely useless, she really needs to stop her brain from going down these awful paths.  

Today Hinata has decided to try really hard not to wallow in the comfort of all her numbing guilty pleasures.  

So, when Sakura Haruno, the loud and outgoing girl with pretty pink hair, who always smells like strawberries and vanilla from her photography course asked if she wanted to hangout and work on their portfolio’s after class; Hinata was thankful for the distraction.

They had spent that afternoon drinking green tea at the kitchen table in Sakura’s little homey apartment, showing each other their favourite pieces and sharing feedback.

“You have to include this one, it’s so cute” Sakura gushes, pointing at a print of children finger painting; a mischievous little boy is smearing bold red paint all over the face of a girl whose expression is twisted in pure terror.

“You have a real talent for capturing the essence of people.” She continues in a dreamy tone, “it’s like you’re able to capture the moment they’re most alive, even if it’s just the little moments, y’know?”  

Hinata blushes at the complement, “th-thank you Sakura.”

“It's kind of ironic that people are your main muse considering how afraid of them you are.” She teases.

“I’m not sca-AhyH!”

Of course, that’s the moment a woman with a giant blond ponytail barges through the door brandishing a bouquet of peonies making Hinata squeal. “Sakura I swear to god if you ate the last of the ice-cream again, I’m gonna- Oh! hello there.” The crazy flower lady stops mid-threat noticing a stranger in her apartment.

“Ino this is Hinata from class, Hinata this is my roommate Ino.” Sakura introduces, failing to constrain her laughter.

Ino’s demeanor does a 180 as she gently rests the flowers on her lacquered kitchen counter and approaches Hinata in a trance like state. “Your hair is so long and gorgeous, it totally reminds me of the violets we have at the flower shop -- you have to let me braid it.” She breathes and Hinata’s eyes are as wide as the sky outside.

“Ino, tone it down you’re going to scare her.” Sakura chides, rolling her eyes, not at all surprised by her roommate's antics. “Do you always have to act like such a spazz?”

“I am but a simple girl who is a slave to all things beautiful.” Ino proudly counters running her fingers through blue strands and Hinata mentally notes that she smells like a garden.

Sakura’s phone vibrates on the kitchen table, “it’s Naruto,” she says glancing at the screen. “Wondering when we’ll be coming over.”

“I don’t know, an hour or two? Tell him we’re bringing Hinata!” Ino adds excitedly and starts to braid blue hair without permission. “You should come out tonight with Sakura and I, meet the rest of the gang.”

“Oh.” In high school Hinata was never able to make friends with girls, and spent most of her time in the photography club’s black room developing pictures. Her introverted nature made it difficult to connect with people, but in this moment, the prospect of meeting Sakura’s friends, and the inclusive enthusiasm from these girls is making Hinata a little emotional. “I-I don’t know.”  

“Hinata, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to, but I think it could be good for you,” Sakura encourages.

“Carpe diem bitch,” is Ino’s convincing addition.

Hinata giggles, absent mindedly sniffing her wrist searching for the comforting sweet scent of the fragrance she’s wearing today, “yeah, okay.”

Ino makes a pleased sound and saunters over to a kitchen drawer to snatch a pair of scissors and clips the head off of one the peonies, then ties it into the base of Hinata’s braid. “You really have no idea how cute you are Hinata,” she coos observing her work in admiration and Hinata feels warm all over.

Hinata likes the rapport between Ino and Sakura, there’s something about their friendship that she finds inspiring.  

When they split what’s left of the chocolate ice-cream and start getting ready for a night out, Hinata can’t help pulling out her camera and snapping shots of Ino with her shades of purple and Sakura’s vibes in red. Hinata feels outshined in her usual high waisted mom jean and oversized grey patterned sweater.  

But that’s okay, she still feels like one of the girls.

~~~

Ino had made a strong case for wanting to get her steps in for the day, (since her fitbit said she had only reached 8243 so far) convincing the girls to walk to Naruto’s apartment instead of taking the bus. On their stroll Sakura and Ino began giving Hinata character profiles of everyone she was going to meet and Hinata found them to be quite amusing.

Ino playfully starts with, “Shikamaru’s like, my best bro. I’ve known him forever, smartest guy I know but a total stoner and he doesn’t give a fuck about anything.

“Choji gives the best hugs and he loves giving them, so if he looks like he’s going in for one - just let it happen - you’ll hurt his feelings if you don’t.”

“Naruto and Kiba are basically the same person and are the biggest loudest dorks on the planet,” Sakura chimes in, “but they’re also super friendly and kinda funny if you can get over their lack of brain cells.”

“Then there’s Sasuke,” Ino says, and hearing that name strikes a familiar chord with Hinata, triggering flashes of fond memories. “He’s really hot, but kind of a dick,” Ino hugs herself smiling at a distant memory, “basically, we all know each other from going to the same high school -”

“Ino and I had the hugest rivalry back then because we both wanted him.”  

“What happened?” Hinata really wanted to ask if they were talking about Sasuke Uchiha, but didn’t want to interrupt the momentum of their story.

“We were so stupid causing all sorts of drama in our little social circle nearly tearing it apart, and Sasuke wasn’t having any of it, one day he told us to grow the fuck up and to leave him alone.” That did kind of sound like something Sasuke would say, but that would just be too big of a coincidence, wouldn’t it?

“We both cried.” Sakura snickers sheepishly.

“Eventually we finally realized that friendships should be forever-”

“And boyfriends are whatever.” Both girls enthusiastically finish the rehearsed line making silly faces at each other.

Hinata giggles at that, whishing she had taken a picture, “awe, that’s so cute.”

“And now he’s one of our good friends, but I just want to warn you that he can be cold and he can be mean and if he says something dickish, please don’t take it personally.”

Hinata hums, only half listening to Ino. Was it possible that when Hinata arrives at this apartment she was going to be face to face with the childhood friend she hasn’t seen in over a decade?  

Guess she’ll just have to wait and see.

~~~

When Hinata enters the apartment, her senses are immediately overstimulated; it smells salty like ramen and sour with beer which clashes with how clean and pristine the space actually is. It’s decorated with blacks, whites and a few splashes of colors, but overall has a very minimalist feel.

Hinata barely has time to kick her shoes off before she’s surrounded by strangers, and can’t stop the heat from suffusing her face from the disorienting barrage of unwanted attention.  

“Hey bitches!” Ino yells at the group, “we’re here! We know you missed us!”

“This is the beautiful Hinata,” Sakura adds, and Hinata really wants to hide under a rock somewhere. “Be nice okay, she’s really shy.”

“Hey I’m Naruto.” A blond man appears beaming at her, outstretching his hand. “I have never seen eyes that look like your eyes before!”

“Oh.” Hinata went to shake his hand but was interrupted by another hand grabbing hers and kissing it, which is so uncalled for.

“And I’m Kiba, don’t listen to that guy, he’s a complete moron.” He says with a wolfish grin and Hinata has no idea what’s going on anymore.

When she tries to turn away, she’s met with the kind face of a stout man in a green Zelda t-shirt with his arms wide open for an inviting hug. She decides to accept her fate by awkwardly stepping forward wearing a confused pout, and lets the arms of a stranger wrap around her in what is surprisingly one of the best hugs she has ever received. He smells nice, Hinata thinks. Savoury and warm like a thanksgiving dinner. For a moment she actually feels safe, like a veil has been thrown over the sudden wave of chaos, giving her a quiet moment for her heartbeat to settle, “I’m Choji, it’s really nice to meet you Hinata, try not to worry so much, everyone here is harmless, I promise.” He says, rubbing gentle circles on her back.

When Choji pulls away, he sends her one last reassuring smile before padding off towards the ponytailed man currently dying of laughter, and joining him on a leather couch. Choji grabs a handful of potato chips from a bowl on the marble coffee table and starts earnestly snacking.

Snacks! Snacks sound really nice right now! Tasting tasty things can sometimes be a good distraction when Hinata is overwhelmed. She self-consciously shuffles forward towards the provisions, drawn towards the colorful array of fresh fruits, grabbing a small handful of blueberries and popping one of them in her mouth. She tries to ignore the pair legs in her periphery... she needs a moment before making another introduction.

Hinata jumps feeling a presence directly behind her, she twirls around to see Naruto pulling back appearing extremely guilty.

What was he doing?  Was he pointing at her hair?

“Hehehe, sorry about that,” he says, smiling sheepishly, and scratches the back of his head, “I was just pointing out to my friend here, how beautiful your hair is, what a wonderful shade of blue,” he made a weird face directed at someone over her head, “are you enjoying those, blueberries?”

Okay.

Hinata hears more laughter coming from ponytail boy on the couch.

Weird.

Hinata turns to see who Naruto is looking at and-

Oh.

Sasuke?

Sasuke was here.  

It was her Sasuke!

She instantly looks away, eyes wide, staring down at the hardwood floors.

Well, not her Sasuke. But an older version of the one she knew as a child. The one she met that one summer years ago and spent nearly every day with him before her mother fell ill and her family moved away in the wake of tragedy.

And he was... Glaring at her? No, he was glaring at Naruto? He kind of looked like he recognized her, but why would he be glaring?

“This is fucking stupid,” Sasuke seethes and takes off towards the kitchen, where Kiba and Ino are talking and drinking.

Ouch.

Sakura approaches Hinata with a glass in hand, Hinata stares at the ice clinking as she offers it, “vodka soda, with lime?”

Well, one drink couldn’t hurt, Hinata thinks.

She glances over at a brooding Sasuke leaning on the kitchen island sipping his beer.

She might need it.

~~~

It’s nearly an hour later and Hinata feels the dread sinking deep into the pit of her stomach. She desperately wishes she could conjure up some courage, approach Sasuke, and see how he’s been after all these years, but he still hasn’t left from his spot in the kitchen.  

She’s starting to believe that maybe he doesn’t recognize her, which is a rather sad thought.

Hinata also appears to be at the butt end of some sort of mean inside joke that she doesn’t understand, ponytail bo- Shikamaru and Naruto joined Sasuke in the kitchen and kept making not-so-subtle glances her way -- but whatever -- she’s a big girl, she’s not going to cry about it even if she wants to.

Currently she’s sitting on the puffy leather couch between Choji and Sakura, Sakura is sharing the memes she’s saved onto her phone this month with Ino and Kiba while Hinata stares down at the melting ice in her drink and Choji attempts to calm her with platitudes.

Hinata doesn’t regret coming tonight despite feeling like the biggest fool in existence.

After all, tonight she actually has the opportunity to reconnect with someone she still thinks about, even after all these years.

She has always wondered what had happened to that bratty boy she met that one summer.

The sinking feeling grows deeper and Hinata feels her heart beating in the drums of her ears.

She takes one last tentative sip before downing the rest of her drink and summons every ounce of bravery she didn’t know she had to strengthen her resolve.

She stands from the couch with shaky determination ignoring Choji’s concerned inquiry, then forces one foot in front of the other strait towards the guiding bright lights of the kitchen.

The easy conversation awkwardly dies down when she arrives beside Naruto and Sasuke. She feels both their gazes land on her, and Hinata spots an ugly orange magnet on the stainless-steel fridge Sasuke is leaning on that has the phrase - believe it! - stamped on it and chooses to direct most of her focus on the positive affirmation.

“Uh, hey Hinata, you doing okay?” Naruto asks, slightly taken aback. Hinata nods still focusing on the magnet, face heating up as the beginning of a buzz tingles in the corners of her mind. “Can I get you another drink?”

She looks down at the empty glass she grips and nods again, muttering a quiet thank you, and handing it over. He takes it and moves further down the island to chat with Shikamaru and starts making her another.

“Hi Sasuke,” she forces passed her chapped lips.

“Hello Hinata.” Sasuke says, sounding about as uncomfortable as she feels and she looks up, hopeful, to meet his burning gaze and quickly looks back at that stupid orange magnet.

“So, you do remember me?” She asks, confused as to why he’s been ignoring her since her arrival.

“I remember how two days ago you ran into me quite rudely, burning me with tea.”

Hinata’s brain short-circuits.  

“Wait what!?-”

No! No no no no no. Impossible. No.

“-That- that was you? oh my god, oh no! I am so sorry about that, I really wasn’t looking where I was going, I-I can’t believe this, I swear you just came out of nowhere though, oh my goodness, I can’t believe that was-”  

“Please just stop before you give yourself an aneurysm.” Sasuke lifts his hands in a placating manner and Hinata snaps her mouth shut. “So that’s not how you seem to know me?” He asks, further rankling as the conversation drags on.

“So you don’t remember me.” She says mostly to herself, completely humiliated by this entire exchange, every time she opens her mouth it’s like falling down a flight of stairs -- Hinata seriously wishes she would reach the bottom already.

“Remember you from... where?”  

“I-I mean I guess it’s not that surprising, we were only nine or ten at the time and it-it was only one summer... over a decade ago... You-you never really did call me by my name either.” Hinata says focusing on her twiddling fingers, her voice barely above a whisper, a pensive smile framing her lips at the memory.

There’s a long drawn out silence before Sasuke slowly asks, “...Tomato face?”  

Hinata feels her face burn red at the old moniker, nodding. “Yeah...”

“Hyuuga, Hinata. Shit. Yeah. I do remember.”

The culminating tension finally releases from the moment and Hinata smiles at the black and white tiles breathing just a little bit easier.

He remembers.

“Wait... Did I hear you call her a tomato?” Naruto returns with a mildly amused Shikamaru in tow, handing Hinata her drink, and looks between the pair completely intrigued.

~~~

It didn’t take long for the word to spread that Hinata and Sasuke were childhood friends and everyone congregated into the small-ish kitchen asking curious questions.

It also didn’t take long for everyone to lose interest when Naruto nudged Hinata and started grilling her for embarrassing details of what a prepubescent Sasuke was like, earning him a surly glare. Hinata shyly shrugged saying, ���I-I don’t really remember, it was a long time ago.”  

Safe to say -- Naruto didn’t buy it, but surprisingly didn’t press further, and the group dispersed, leaving them to reacquaint.

The conversation between them after that was unfortunately still quite awkward, thankfully, Hinata wasn’t entirely to blame.

They exchanged small talk, Hinata mentions that she actually works at Heaven’s Little Corner and was just coming off her shift early when she ran into him the other day, and Sasuke talks about going to school and getting a Bachelor's degree in Business and how he focused on E-commerce after graduation. Overall, their -- re-connecting -- consisted of the typical pleasantries involved in catching up, and Hinata couldn’t distinguish if she was disappointed or relieved when their conversation came to a lull and she couldn’t think of anymore pointless verbiage to drag it along.

What she really wanted was to reminisce over hot days on the beach, collecting tiny crabs to occupy the sandcastles they built, and how Hinata had found sand in her hair days after the event. She wanted to talk about ice-cream and food fights and sneaking out to gaze at the stars in the night sky way past their bedtime, and how they pondered if aliens exist.

“I think the universe is too big for there not to be something out there somewhere.”  

She remembers Sasuke saying, thoughtfully looking up.

“I-I think you’re an alien.”

She said back, earning her an indignant huff.  

“Whatever tomato face.”

She wanted to talk about how simple everything was when they were kids, how she misses that naivety and how scary the world had revealed itself to be over the years.

Hinata was never good at making friends, even as a child, but she could still look back and she knew that Sasuke was one. He had been the last mark on her childhood that had made it a good one, the last moments she had to truly be a kid before she lost her mother, the truest love she had ever felt, forcing her to grow up.

Instead silence overtakes the kitchen and they both stare at their drinks unsure of what to say.

Sasuke isn’t how she remembers him at all. Yeah, he has the same face, just matured, and the same haughtiness, but the spark for life that had once inspired her seemed to be gone.

Which is an unfair thought to have, she admits, but she can’t stop herself from thinking it.

“Well I think it’s time to go on an adventure,” Naruto awkwardly offers.  

“An adventure?”  Hinata repeats, eyes growing wide.

“Naruto’s idea of an adventure is leaving the house and walking around the block.” Sasuke says rolling his eyes.

“Hey anything can be an adventure if you let it!”

~~~

It smells like damp grass and Hinata nearly jumps out of her skin as Naruto’s roar of triumph echo's off the surrounding buildings, catching the glow in the dark frisbee Kiba threw him. Sakura and Ino had joined them in their late-night excursion and Hinata can’t suppress the giddy giggles from watching them stumble about attempting athleticism when they are clearly four or five drinks deep.

She snaps a few photos and decides that she likes Naruto’s philosophy of approaching even the mundane aspects of life as an adventure.

This whole day certainly has felt like one.

Hinata puts her camera away, feels the chill in the October air, and pulls her scarf tighter. She casts a glance over at the park bench where Shikamaru was smoking a joint to see that he’s now casually chatting about... string theory? -- to Choji, who continues to nod his head like he understands.  

Her trailing gaze then lands on Sasuke and-  

Hinata immediately looks back towards the glowing air bound frisbee.  

He was watching her - he looked suspicious - Hinata doesn’t know of what.

“Hey Sakura,” Hinata tries to call out, voice wavering, “it’s getting late, I think I-I should start heading home.”

That seems to put a halt on the physical activity for a moment, she’s then hugged by every frisbee player.

“It was nice meeting you Hinata.”

“Come back any time.”

“Yes please! We need more girls in our group, Sakura and I are severely outnumbered.”  

“Are you sure you don’t want us to walk you?” Sakura slurs slightly, pulling away from the tight embrace.

“I’ll be fine, thank you Sakura,” Hinata smiles at her newest friend and turns to leave but stops at the bench to wave goodbye at Choji and Shikamaru, earning her a warm smile and a lazy nod. She looks at Sasuke’s arms proudly crossed over his broad chest and says, “it was nice seeing you again Sasuke.” And makes her way down the busy street, casting one last glance behind her just in time to see Sakura jump on Ino piggyback style to catch the frisbee in an impressive display of drunken camaraderie.

She smiles wider to herself. Wow. Today was a good day. An Adventure! Even if seeing Sasuke again was really weird and awkward and not at all how she wished it could have gone, she still met a lot of new people – Sakura's friends are so nice! They made her feel right at home and didn’t make her feel too weird about being shy and -

“Hey, Hinata.”

Hinata startles, hearing the sound of her name accompanied by footsteps catching up and her breath hitches when she turns to see Sasuke slowing down next to her.

“S-Sasuke? What are you-”

“I’m going to walk you home,” he snorts like it’s obvious, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black jacket, “it’s late.”

“Oh,” Hinata hugs herself, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious and maybe even a little nauseous as they walk in silence, their steps in sync.  

She can feel the heat of his gaze on her and Hinata makes a point to stare at the crispy autumn leaves on the pavement – yeah – Hinata has no idea what to make of this.

“You know it finally makes sense now, why I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”  

Hinata trips over nothing, “you what?”  

Leaves. Look at the leaves. The beautiful burnt orange leaves. Just. Keep. Looking.

“At the coffee shop, there was something about you, I couldn’t get you out of my mind. Guess I thought you were familiar somehow.” Sasuke shrugs, with an air of nonchalance as they cross the street.

“Oh,” Hinata’s starting to feel warm, she doesn’t know if it’s from their quickening pace, the two drinks she’s had or how Sasuke is close enough for their shoulders to brush.

“It’s kind of crazy that we’d run into each other like this, after all these years.”  

Hinata stops walking and Sasuke mirrors her. There’s something in his tone that catches Hinata off guard, something almost fond? Hinata looks back in the direction of his friends, they’re about five blocks away now.  

Sasuke seemed... different than how he’s been all night -- more open somehow. Maybe he feels weird about their earlier interactions too, but didn’t feel comfortable acting this way in front of his friends? Sasuke’s always been a very private person, even as a child.

“Yeah it is,” Hinata bites her lip and throws him a timid fleeting smile, silently wishing she knew what was going through his mind.

“So, why did you come back to Konoha.”  

“I-uh-” Hinata starts playing with the hem of her sweater and reminds herself it’s good to open up, “-wanted to figure out this life thing for myself – be independent - if my dad had his way, I’d never leave home or do anything that wasn’t part of his plan-” she tapers off, distracted by the approaching sound of music, a dumb smile spreads across her face when she sees an old skinny man on a sparkly bicycle riding past them on the road blaring ‘Dancing Queen’ from an oversized speaker he probably installed himself -- he seemed so – in the moment, like all that existed was him and the music filling the streets that he owned – Hinata silently mourns the missed opportunity of capturing that moment forever in a-

“You were saying,” Sasuke pokes her shoulder harder than necessary, bursting her from her reverie, and starts leading her down concrete stairs away from the bustling main road of the city, towards the waterfront.

“Right,” Hinata continues feeling energized from the random encounter and embarrassed from being caught drifting away in a daydream when they were in the middle of a conversation, “it was – uh - hard to leave my sister, but she encouraged me to go, that I should at least attempt to do the dream chasing thing.” Hinata pats her shoulder bag in reference to her camera. “I saved up some money and here I am, making it up as I go.”

“Hm, you always were snapping pictures everywhere you went.”  

Their steps slow to a stop once they reach the cold metal railing where tourists gather during the day overlooking the docks, but it’s mostly quiet at this time of night.

It smells cold from the breeze and salty from the ocean. The lampposts must need changing because the only light is from the half-moon in the cloudless sky, casting them in dark shades of blue.

Hinata takes a deep breath observing the skyline and the colorful lights reflecting in the undulating ocean waves, then asks the question that’s been bothering her since their seemingly kismet reunion. “What do you remember after all this time?”

“I remember...” He trails off, Hinata doesn’t miss the sly edge in his tone. “That I had told you I’d marry you one day,” his voice is deep, almost gravely when he takes a slow playful step closer and Hinata swears her heart skips several beats noticing their breaths mixing in the cold air between them. “And that... you were technically my first kiss.” He says with a sarcastic snort, stepping back, and gesticulates somewhere behind them. “You can’t tell them about it though. Especially Naruto, the idiot would never let me live it down.”

Hinata blushes at the memory and attempts to mask her frown with an indignant pout, trying not to take the jeer personally.

Sasuke always did like to mess with her.

“You were my only kiss.” Hinata then whispers without thinking and regrets it. She immediately hates the implications -- like she’s some inexperienced-love-sick-twenty-something, who’s never gotten over her childhood crush.

Hinata sighs, briefly drowning in her own self-deprecating thoughts, gripping at the railing, eyes a passing ship, and pretends she can’t feel him studying her, surprised by the admission.

“What do you remember?” He asks back, finally breaking the silence.

She bites her lip, thinking, a rush of memories flashing one by one, settling on their goodbye -- her sobbing because she had to move away to a new city thousands of miles away that had special doctors who could treat her mother, how Sasuke was speechless and could only squeeze her tight in the first and only hug they had ever shared.  

She remembers how he always told her she should stand up for herself, even against him, and she remembers how sometimes when she was around, he’d bite his tongue, holding back petulant sneers.

There’s a small quirk to her lips when she softly says, “Looking back, I-I always thought that we brought out the best in each other.”

There’s another long silence and Hinata once again feels the heavy weight of his gaze examining her, he reaches out and she stiffens when he gently grips the base of her braid touching the bright pink flower there.

“Did Ino do this?” He quietly asks, and there something hidden in his voice that shifts the mood of their conversation, and he’s close again, close enough for their visible breaths to once again mix, his fingers trail down towards the tail end of her braid.

“Uh huh.” Hinata breathes, watching his fingers play with the tip of her strands.

“Why can’t you…” he starts to ask, unsure, but curious, “never mind.” He let’s go of the braid, huffing lightly in frustration and leans on the railing, looking out towards the roaring waves.

Hinata’s stunned by his sudden apprehension. "Why can’t I what?”

“I said never mind.”

“But… I- I want to know.”

“Why can’t you look at me?”  

“Oh.”  

Sasuke sighs, “you don’t have to answer.”

Hinata bites her lip hard, internally wincing. “I-it’s not just you it’s most people really.” She starts, racking her brain for the right words “- It’s -it’s embarrassing… Well everything is embarrassing but, I get anxious about nothing all the time? And looking at people. I don’t know. I get paranoid that they can hear my thoughts or something? Not that I’m thinking about anything weird, well sometimes I am… it’s easier when they’re not looking back at me... Anyways... I guess it’s just become a bad habit now…” she sighs and smiles bitterly at the mess that just flew out of her mouth. “So, to summarize, looking at people kind of sometimes really freaks me out?”

“I see,” Sasuke says, Hinata glances at his mouth, he’s smiling a little, it’s almost warm in an amused sort of way, which completely disarms her.  

Hinata’s tongue feels dry, “uhm, do-do you ever feel anxious?”  

“Never. I get annoyed or frustrated with people very easily though, which can be problematic, not that I care”

“I guess some things never change then.” Hinata teases gently.

Sasuke smirks, he seems ready to retort with a quip but retreats and opts for something entirely different, “are there things that help you with your anxiety?”

There’s something about the question that makes Hinata feel warm all over, she never really gets to talk about these kinds of things without it feeling like it would dampen the mood, but there’s surprisingly no judgement in his tone, he seems genuinely curious, which encourages her to open up some more, "I find different scents to be calming, so I wear whatever my current favorite essential oil is on my wrist every day and whenever I feel too overwhelmed,” Hinata begins to explain in a rush pulling her sleeve up to demonstrate and presents Sasuke her wrist, “I close my eyes, count down from ten and-” Hinata’s breath catches in her throat and her eyes fly open when Sasuke gently pulls her forward by the wrist and she feels the softness of his lips brush over her pulse, then draws in a slow breath to scent the fragrance she chose to wear that day, “...and... sniff.”

Oh goodness, is it getting hot out here? Because Hinata’s face feels like it’s about to burst into flames. Hinata debates pulling her arm back but is currently enraptured by the softest look she’s seen on the Uchiha’s face this evening.  

This feels way too intimate, and Hinata thinks she likes it. Hinata thinks that maybe this is what’s been missing in her life. The feeling of being close to someone in more ways than just proximity. Is it possible she’s been physically and emotionally touch starved for years without realizing it?

That’s a thought that petrifies her. How sleeping on your basest human needs can become a habit, and you find yourself going through the trivial motions of existence, not bothering to search for more, for something that makes your heart sing, twist, and turn into itself the way that muscle pumping blood through her circulatory system at a quickening pace is doing right now.

“Lavender,” Sasuke murmurs against her wrist and his breath feels hot on her skin, Hinata struggles for breath when the sensation brings her back to the present moment and she realizes that she’s been staring directly into his darkened obsidian eyes, boring into hers and she finds herself unable to look away. A subtle look of achievement flashes through them when he softly asks, “you okay there?”

Is she dead? Is she imagining this? This whole situation with the soft touches coinciding with depressing epiphanies triggered by Sasuke smelling her suddenly seems completely absurd, and Hinata’s not sure she’ll be able to form a coherent sentence any time soon.

“I uh, uhm.” There’s definitely something wrong with Hinata’s voice when she attempts to speak.

“I think that...” Sasuke smoothly adjusts their hands to interlock their fingers and his hand feels so warm in hers, “you should go out with me.”

What is happening?

“No.”

Hinata kinda meant to say yes, but sure, no works too?

“What?”

“I mean, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Hinata winces slightly. Gosh what is she even saying? Is this some sort of weird defense mechanism because she’s afraid of getting hurt?  

Sasuke nods slowly, narrowing his eyes, “why not.”

Don’t you have to risk getting hurt to get anywhere in life that’s worth while?

“I-I don’t know.”

“Hn.” Sasuke breaks eye contact and lets their holding hands fall. Hinata reels at the loss of warmth. He turns away from her and crosses his arms over the railing and looks out towards the dark rhythmic waves of the ocean. Hinata worries her bottom lip between her teeth as she studies the man before her. The moonlight is hitting the sharp angles of his face just perfect, and Hinata’s in awe. He’s all grown up now, and by default that means Hinata is too. Yet, here they are, the oldest they’ve been, and still the youngest they will ever be.  

Nostalgia floods through Hinata’s system, deciding to grab the moment instead of letting it pass. She’s not sure when she pulled the camera out of her bag, but the flash went off before she understood that she was taking a picture.

Sasuke jumps slightly at the flash and is pulled from his brooding thoughts, shooting her a puzzled glare.

“Sorry, that was kind of weird of me. I just – I just thought you-you looked erm... nice in the moonlight?”  

A bewildered look flashes across Sasuke’s face before a small smile begins to form and he laughs! He actually, genuinely laughs while shaking his head in what appears to be disbelief.  

The only thing Hinata can do is smile sheepishly distracted by how handsome he looks when he lets go of his composure, the light in his eyes makes him look younger, like the Sasuke she knew all those years ago.  

Hinata wonders if any of his friends get to see him like this.

He looks down at the pavement, shoulders still shaking, smile still present and pinches the bridge of his nose while taking in a slow breath and on his exhale, he reaches into his pocket, pulls out his phone, unlocks it, hands it over and says, “give me your number.”

Hinata tentatively obliges, pulling open the add new contact page, filling in the blanks then handing it back. Sasuke starts typing something in his phone and asks. “Do you work Sunday?”  

“Uhm, yes?”  

Hinata’s phone buzzes, when retrieving it from her bag she sees a text from an unknown number.

>> I’m going to come by after your shift and I'm taking you out. Don’t even bother using your mouth to respond.

Hinata feels her fingers tingling and tries to open her mouth to speak, closes it, bites her lip to try and stifle her giggles and resists the urge to slap herself in the face for acting like a complete airhead.

She pushes her fears aside one more time tonight...

And takes the damn dive.

<< Okay <3

                __________________________

AN2:  Wow, okay. A month later and I have the second part to this little story. This is the first time that I’m posting something I didn’t just throw together in one sitting. I’ve also never posted anything that was longer than 1200 words and it’s unexpectedly a little nerve-wracking??? OKAY SO, I guess there’s going to be one last chapter and it’s going to be like 90% SasuHina interactions? And spoiler alert they’re finally going to make-out. I have this SasuHina headcannon where they’re both private people who generally keep to themselves -- so people think they’re a boring couple, but when they’re alone together it’s like they’re in their own little world, and that’s the dynamic I’m looking forward to exploring in the final part.  I’m not sure when it’s going to be up since I have a bunch of other stuff I need to work on so it depends on how the inspo hits me, but I do have plenty of fun ideas!

[charliesradiodemon]

Charlastor Week Day 3: Cooking

(I’m cheating here lmao sorry. This one was gonna be the Human AU fic but then I had a better idea for both prompts in terms of direction

Also is this fic about a healthy relationship? Nah.

Warning: contains blood, talking about cannibalism and murder)

Day 3 Cooking 

“Alastor!“ a sharp gasp made Alastor whip his head around to the shack’s door. Blood had splattered across his wicked grin. He found the silhouette of who he recognized was Charlie standing at the door. He couldn’t see her expression due to the outside light behind her obscuring her face, but he could only imagine the delicious horror that graced her features.

The bloodthirst set in once more and the one thing he wanted to see was his lover and prey’s face twisted in horror and despair before her sweet light drained from her eyes.

It was too bad. Charlie was a special gal who was closest to his heart than anyone ever could ever get. In a way he did find a kind of love with her in their three years together. She was always lovely and interesting and the fact that she hadn’t bored him yet surprised him. It certainly was a crying shame that his favorite prey was about to meet her end now that she’d seen too much. He had no doubt that he’d miss her as he savored each delicious piece of her.

Through the obscurity, Alastor could see that she brought her clasped hands to her chest. “You...” she paused.

Alastor approached slowly, a butcher’s knife in hand. “Yes, Charlie?”

She stood in place and didn’t move. While he appreciated her thoughtfulness to not run away and just accept her fate, Alastor was partially disappointed that he couldn’t give chase to the doe. After all, they always tasted best when they desperately fought for their lives. “You’re the New Orleans Butcher...” she whispered just enough for the two of them to hear.

‘She even whispered my secret. What a lovely, thoughtful girl.’

With a wide grin, he replied with confidence. “Yes indeedy! And what are you-“ he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks unable to continue.

Once he was close enough so that the light that obscured her face dissipated, Alastor found a small smile on her lovely face. She even seemed to be suppressing a laugh even.

“And here I was worrying about that...”

His smile remained but faltered slightly at the sight. What about this situation was so funny? Did she not understand what was going on? He almost felt concerned for the strange woman. “Worrying about what my dear?” Why was this so funny to her? She was about to die by her lover’s hand!

“Alastor... I think we’ve been hiding some crazy secrets from each other.”

The man tightened his grip on the bloodied butcher’s knife in his hand. “What do you mean?”

She stepped closer with her relieved smile in place, impossibly calm as she approached slowly. “I’ve been thinking about the future a lot recently. And I know this is selfish of me, but one day I’ll have to leave. And I was thinking, when that time came I’d never see you again. I’ve always wanted to see the good in people and see them go to Heaven, but you... I-I was sure you’d go to Heaven and I’d never get to see you again. And it’s awful, but somehow... I’m relieved,” She was now in front of him, no trace of fear in her eyes. Only a soft smile full of joy and tearful relief. Alastor had no idea how to react. He couldn’t move his legs let alone lift his arm to end the odd woman.

His lover looked up at him, her brown eyes clear even under the dim light. But then she blinked and Alastor could have sworn he’d snapped. Her sclera glowed a brilliant red while the iris was a golden ring around her black pupils. The sound of something sprouting from Charlie’s head took his attention away from her eyes. Two long horns sprouted amongst rapidly growing golden hair.

“M-my word...” Alastor whispered, not knowing what else to say. His heart pounded in his chest, making him feel all sorts of emotions. But none of those emotions were negative in the slightest.

“I’m sorry if this is too much for you. I didn’t want you to see me this way.” Seeing his expression and hearing his tone, Charlie’s gaze fell to the floor in assumed dejection. She probably looked like a hideous monster to him. She acted too hastily and now she had to be ready for whatever came next.

“What are you then, my love?” The words made Charlie’s eyes widen in shock. The term of endearment truly caught her off guard and for a moment she didn’t know what to do other than look back up at him with the same shocked expression he had just a moment ago. “You can tell me Charlie.”

His expression softened back to the smile she was familiar with as if a moment ago he wasn’t planning his next meal around her. His darkened eyes were almost loving. If he was frightened at all, he was good at hiding it.

Charlie clasped her hands together, suddenly feeling awkward and shy. “I-I’m a demon. I’m from H-Hell.”

It came to Alastor as a surprise. She was the single most pure creature to exist. What had she done to earn her eternal damnation? “It can’t possibly be. You’re the sweetest little thing to grace the Earth. Tell me, how is it you ended up in Hell?”

The ease of his questions only surprised Charlie further. It was as if this was just a normal occurrence and he was asking her about her day. “I was born there.” She replied truthfully, attempting to sound natural about it.

Alastor, butcher knife still in hand, placed his free hand on her shoulder and continued, “So when you said you had to go home one day, did you mean that you were going back to Hell?”

Charlie nodded and suddenly she was drawn into his arms. “You silly, sweet girl.” Charlie felt the handle of the butcher’s knife pressing against her back, but she wasn’t worried. She trusted her Alastor, not like the cleaver would harm her anyway. She reciprocated the hug with a small smile until she realized something.

She peered up at him with a questioning look. “And what about you? How long has this been going on?”

Alastor hummed as he thought for a moment. “About seven years or so,” he said casually as if he were just speaking about the weather. It nearly unnerved Charlie that he was so casual and calm about this. Then again, she wasn’t any better with her own secret.

“So I suppose I’ll be seeing you in Hell one day.” He chuckled, pulling away slightly to look her down.

He failed to mention what exactly he did with those he slaughtered. He also failed to mention that Charlie herself would have eventually ended up as another source of food for him once he felt she outlived her entertainment.

“I’ve been here for three. Wow... I never would have suspected!” She pulled out of his embrace, not realizing that she was now covered in blood.

“Yes that is the point, darling. If everyone suspected, well I just wouldn’t be here now would I?” He laughed with a shrug. To his surprise, Charlie let out a closed-mouthed giggle. Then again she was a demon, murder must not mean much to her.

Alastor raised his eyebrows and grinned widely. “So as a demon would you approve?”

“I mean as a demon I’m supposed to. I’m supposed to “tempt” people to sin. But I also don’t necessarily like it. I... really don’t actually.” she said hesitantly as she turned her gaze to the bloodied workbench in the corner. It still held the fresh corpse of a man Charlie couldn’t recognize.

‘What was he going to do with the man? None of the bodies of his victims have ever been found... The only thing the New Orleans Slasher would leave behind were splatters of blood and bits of his victims.’

Alastor belted a hearty chuckle. “You’re not a very good demon, dear.”

“Ah yeah...” she huffed an awkward chuckle as she turned her attention back to her lover in front of her. “My dad’s reminded me of that for a while now...”

“I bet. Now as much as I’d love to continue this conversation, this isn’t the place for that my love,” he nodded to the door and shot her a reassuring grin. “Why don’t you head back in the house and once I’m done out here we can talk.”

Charlie smiled half relieved and half gratefully. She leaned up and kissed the part of his cheek that was free of blood. “Sounds good. Do you want me to make you anything?” Her demonic form dissipated with another blink of an eye, which Alastor watched with full interest before walking back to the workbench.

“Coffee would be nice sweetheart. Oh and I must apologize. It seems I’ve left a mess on you.” he gestured toward her front and Charlie immediately looked down. She jumped in surprise and then sighed.

Charlie pouted and inspected her dress. “Al, you need to be more careful! I’m really not supposed to do this but...” she paused and snapped her fingers. A rush of hellfire consumed her for a split second before revealing a spotless dress on the slasher’s cleaned lover. He was at a loss for words at the spectacle. Charlie let out a content breath and continued, “This is my favorite dress!” She turned and made it back to the threshold before turning back to Alastor, who looked dumbfounded. “Please make sure to wash up before you come back in please? Blood isn’t fun to wash up you know.”

Alastor awoke from his daze. He nearly burst out laughing, but merely chuckled at the odd request. “Yes dear.”

Once the door closed, Alastor went back to work feeling a strange sense of ease, excitement and intrigue all in one sensation. Who was once his prey and simple ingredient was now his confidant. It almost felt good keeping someone who knew of his hobby around strangely enough. Maybe it was the sudden rush of adrenaline?

Or maybe it was because he’d realized that he’d taken a demon for a lover. And while he did genuinely love Charlie in a strange way, knowing now that she was a demon only seemed to spark a new feeling of excitement that he refused to extinguish. “A demon...” he muttered as he cut away at the bone of his latest kill. “The little dear is just full of surprises.”

He made quick work of his preparations. Once he packed and stored his future meal in a natural underground freezer, he wiped off the excess blood from his person, per Charlie’s request. The underground storage was at the peak temperature to store meats now that the first snowfall coated the ground. Properly packed, the human flesh would hold up longer. He’d make a fine meal later, but first he needed to chat with his lovely demon waiting for him.

He found her in the sitting room, reading a book peacefully with a pair of steaming cups beside her. When she heard his footsteps, she looked to the door and smiled. “Your coffee’s waiting for you.”

Alastor took the cup closest to his unoccupied chair and took a sip. “Thank you darling. Now, I hope you know I have plenty of questions. And I’m sure you do too.” he walked to the sofa and set his coffee cup down on the coffee table. He pat the seat next to him, to which Charlie smiled and obliged. He took her hand in her’s and let their clasped hands rest on the cushion between them.

The little demoness turned to face him, looking like she was ready to burst. “Alastor, I actually only have one question for you.”

“Go on.” he replied calmly.

She tensed. Alastor detected this sign of distress but remained unmoved. “Did you... ever feed me human...?” Charlie asked shyly. She prayed that her thoughts were wrong. She pieced together that he probably ate his victims seeing how he put so much care into the butchering of his victims.

“Oh no dear, I would never,” he replied promptly. He felt Charlie relax as soon as he said it. She wouldn’t know how to feel if she found out that she ate human meat. She’d had so many meals at Alastor’s house that once the idea entered her mind, she feared for the worst. “Not only would it be rude to feed it to someone who would not appreciate the taste of human flesh, I am also selfish. I don’t have it often, but I’m willing to share with you if you-“

Once her question was answered satisfactorily, she cut him off. “Nope! No no no thank you!” She shook her head wildly and crossed her arms into an ‘X’. “You can have all of it.” once she finished speaking, she placed her hand back into his grasp and plopped her head onto his shoulders with a sigh.

Alastor chuckled and took another sip of coffee while it still steamed in its cup. “How generous of you, dearest. You’re a demon are you not? I’m surprised that you have an aversion for human flesh!”

“Haha... yeah... I’m just not the biggest fan...”

They spoke for a bit longer before the grandfather clock reminded the pair of the time.

“Oh! I haven’t prepared dinner yet!” Charlie cried. She let go of Alastor’s hand and stood. She made her way toward the kitchen before turning to Alastor. “What would you like for dinner? We still have venison.”

Alastor stood as well and grinned. “Allow me to assist you my love. I’m sure my talents with flesh will help you greatly.”

Charlie scoffed and nodded. “Alright come on funny guy.”

It didn’t feel right, but she was happy. Sure he committed heinous actions, and he probably intended to turn on her one day, but Alastor was still the same Alastor she knew. It was awful but she wasn’t fazed by his hobby for murder and consumption of other humans. Once she was gone, it was inevitable that he’d one day find himself in the fiery pits of Hell and reunite with her. It didn’t matter what he did at this point. As long as he stayed by her side, she’d be content.

[eldritch-elrics]

this summer, me and my brother watched four whole shows. at long last, here is my comprehensive review of all of them!

in the order we watched them, these shows were:

avatar the last airbender (ATLA)

mob psycho 100 (MP100)

demon slayer / kimetsu no yaiba (KNY)

fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood (FMAB)

they were all very very good!

i’m not going to try to rank them, but, as is probably obvious by the state of my blog, my favorite was FMAB :) if i had to pick a least favorite, then, it would probably be KNY—not by any fault of its own, but just because it didn’t appeal to me quite as much as the others. still a very good show!

i will review each show by:

giving a quick plot-based pitch discussing the show’s hook or appeal

discussing one element that i believe it does better than any other show on this list—in other words, a quality that i think it stands out for

discussing one element that didn’t appeal to me or that i had issues with—a criticism

putting forth my favorite character and favorite episode or arc, just for funsies

including various other commentary. mostly positive, as, again, i did really like all of these!

(i’ve tried to make this whole thing free of specific spoilers, but if you’re planning on watching any of these shows and want to go in more-or-less blind, it might be best not to read this.)

first of all, i’d just like to discuss all four of these shows as a whole! it was definitely interesting watching one after another and noting similarities between them.

all of them have siblings in them! which is, perhaps, fitting, as i watched them with my brother

two include a pair of siblings in which one has powers and one doesn’t (at least at first), and part of the narrative involves getting better at using those powers (ATLA, MP100)

two include a narrative centered around a pair of siblings and something tragic that happens to them, resulting in the older one being traumatized and forced to train to become a soldier, and the younger one turning into something (arguably) inhuman. the protagonist’s major goal is to return his younger sibling to the way they were before (KNY, FMAB)

ATLA and FMAB are both fantasy political dramas, which is rapidly becoming a favorite genre of mine

most of these are historical, or historically inspired in some way, which is interesting!

all of these shows are really really good at character building. all the main characters are interesting and complex, and the relationships between those characters are similarly nuanced and very well written. they make you really care about both the protagonists and the side characters!

avatar: the last airbender

pitch: as the ever-growing imperial force of the fire nation threatens the earth and water nations, a kid from the long-lost air nation turns up and it turns out he can control all four elements and he has to save the world and all that. sorry i tried to write this pitch like five times and realized that well at this point i think everyone reading this will know the plot of avatar

stands out for: avatar has possibly the best worldbuilding i have ever seen in a show—it takes the time to introduce us to so many places and aspects of its world, both explicitly and subtly. the main highlight of this is the magic system. by creating a magic system based in body movement, the process of using magic and learning to use/control it better becomes immediately obvious to the viewer. combine that with the philosophy behind each type of bending and the way that characters take bending inspiration from types different than their own, and you’ve got a system that is complex, flexible, believable, internally consistent, and just plain fun! it makes action sequences a blast. i especially liked the moments when bending was stretched to its limits in totally logical ways (metalbending, bloodbending). not to mention the way that bending is seamlessly integrated into the world of avatar! the example that comes to mind is the earthbending-powered transport system of omashu. a whole essay could be written on that topic alone!

criticism: i know this is a sentiment shared by many people, but the first season was kind of boring to me. some of the humor and the plots felt hit-or-miss. of course, it needed to take that time to establish the world, and it does a great job of doing that. it just didn’t hook me until the second season.

favorite character: i love toph she’s so much fun :) iroh is a close second! and zuko is great, too, of course

favorite arc: i loved ba sing se a ton, especially the episode when they get there and everything feels off. it felt so resonant with real life, in a very fun way. there’s a reason “there is no war in ba sing se” is a meme…

other commentary: what can i say? it’s a classic for a damn good reason. the plot is tight, and it does a great job raising tension and introducing new elements and twists. i also love the care put into the antagonists, especially azula, who has a fascinating arc.

mob psycho 100

pitch: a middle schooler and a charismatic con artist team up to smite ghosts using extrasensory powers. thing is, only the middle schooler actually has ESP, and it happens to be really, really powerful. can he navigate the difficult world of middle school while also getting a better grip on his powers—and his bottled-up emotions?

stands out for: the way that MP100 uses animation is excellent. it takes a little getting used to but it’s just so fun, combining all sorts of different techniques to create an experience rich with drama and emotion. it’s playfully exaggerated and self-parodying, adding to the show’s fantastic sense of humor as well as its truly emotional moments.

criticism: the way that ESP works makes suspension of disbelief tricky. it’s a great feat to introduce a character who is essentially all-powerful and still make them interesting (even in fight scenes), but at times (especially the second season finale) it felt like a magic system with too much breadth and too few limitations. this might just be my bias for hard magic systems talking, though.

favorite character: other than mob and reigen? probably teru. he’s loads of fun AND all the season 1 episodes he’s in slap hard

favorite episode: the one where the girl asks mob out on a date as a dare.. it’s super cute

other commentary: thank you mp100 for being the leftist propaganda we all deserve <3

in all seriousness though, this show is a blast!! it does a great job switching between silly and serious in the blink of an eye. i also really appreciate the way that it balances comically huge stakes with much smaller, more personal stories. for example, the conflict between mob and reigen in season 2 is especially well-done. in general the emotions just feel so real? characters whose emotions tie into their powers are an excellent trope, and mob is a wonderful protagonist who exemplifies this really well.

finally, on a more critical note—there are so many characters in this show! and it feels like only a handful are fleshed out? however, this may be due to the fact that it’s not an adaptation of the entire manga (which i haven’t read). there’s a lot more to go! more characters to dive into! so i probably shouldn’t try to critique it in the same way as a finished work.

demon slayer / kimetsu no yaiba

pitch: demons kill a boy’s family and turn his sister into a demon, so he decides to try and figure out a way to turn his sister back into a human. what follows is a demon-killing adventure that’s in equal parts harrowing, poignant, and hilarious.

stands out for: there’s not much i can say about this other than “please just take a look” but the art and design is phenomenal. it does a much better job of integrating 2D and 3D than a lot of other animated series, and overall it is just so so pretty! all the character designs are complex, memorable, and fit the characters perfectly. the color choices are interesting and satisfying. i also really like the sound design? not often that i notice that in a show. i’ve watched so many KNY amvs by now lol it’s just amazing animation

criticism: the narration style leans too heavily towards tell instead of show. this is mostly an issue with the first few episodes, but i got super annoyed by how much the show would narrate every single one of tanjirou’s thoughts instead of letting us infer those thoughts through his actions and reactions—the latter, i think, would have been more emotionally impactful. sometimes silence speaks louder than words! tanjirou was also not the world’s most compelling protagonist in my opinion, though i think that mostly has to do with my own tastes.

favorite character: *holds up zenitsu* I Just Think He’s Neat. i actually kind of lost it when he first used his powers, like… damn i love characters with weird relationships with their magic like that. i also think the narrative about how having a solid foundation is sometimes more important than knowing a ton of different moves was really powerful. and he’s just funny! pathetic boy i love him

favorite arc: really just the whole spider arc. fucked up man… i love it. they pulled off that last twist so well, and all the family stuff was so weird and complex and emotional…

other commentary: it’s just a really solid and very well-written show! the team of tanjirou, zenitsu, and inosuke is so much fun… bro bonding :) i also quite like the horror elements; it’s fucked up but in a good way. finally, this is very specific, but the demon that can alter buildings/rooms through drumbeats? appealed to me very much. it’s a cool and unique power!

fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood

pitch: two kids do some fucked up alchemy and end up getting parts of their body stolen by god. now they’re on a quest to get their bodies back, but find themselves wrapped up in crazy government conspiracies and alchemy more powerful than they ever could’ve imagined…

stands out for: plot. by this i mean less overall concept (though the overall concept is pretty great too), and more that the pacing and progression of the story is extraordinarily tight. for the most part (the first few episodes are a little weak but i’ll let it slide), it does an excellent job establishing its premise and building on it logically, adding layers and layers that extend naturally from what we already know. everything has a reason for happening; everything is revealed in good time and all the twists are super satisfying. there’s great balance between exciting moments and quiet moments. it’s just very good at being a story!

(fun fact: i’m reading the manga right now and so far it’s even better paced than the show, which is super interesting! it’s especially good at how it lays out pieces of the backstory and then fills everything in later in a really satisfying way.)

criticism: this is incredibly specific but it’s what comes to mind as something that bothered me: winry’s character arc was really disappointing. for most of the series she’s a pretty strong character, but in the end it feels like she gets pushed aside, defined only by her relationship with ed. what happened to her wanting to take action more? that was a specific desire she expressed—wanting to be less passive! since she’s such an important character, i wish she could have had more presence in the last season other than as a sounding board for the elric bros’ emotions. (even though her one scene in the last episode was really good and emotional…)

favorite character: other than the elric bros, absolutely ling. he fits into multiple of my favorite character archetypes (fun, silly, bastard, gets possessed…) and he’s just overall a delight. plus his relationship with greed is really really good. bro bonding at its peak!! (my other favorite is pride. i will not say why because spoilers. but if you know me.. you know)

favorite episode: this is really really hard to choose but i’m gonna go with envy’s death because. holy shit.

other commentary: i’m a really big fan of the complex and nuanced way in which FMAB breaks down militaristic, imperial regimes from the inside. many of the characters have done awful things, and the story forces them to grapple with that and accept that all they can do now is be better in the future. the moral complexity is just really good! characters with flaws—we love to see it!

finally, parts of this story seem so so catered to Me Specifically that it’s no wonder i got so into it. like just the entire premise? the way that so much of the conflict is built out of identity crisis and exploring the nature of consciousness and human vs inhuman? beautiful. i love ed and al so much

*

if you made it all the way to the end, thank you so much for reading!! glad to have finally gotten this done (3 months late…) and put all my thoughts down. i hope this inspires someone to try watching one of the shows i discussed!

[ellewritesathing]

So Close  -  S.S. XLIV

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Masterlist   Prev. | Part 44

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A/N: guys it’s super crazy to me that we’re almost at so close’s one year anniversary and i just wanted to take a second to say thank you for going on this journey with me 💕 here’s to two more seasons (maybe? i’ve heard 6b is trash so i might just skip it lmao)

Every time you and your friends defeated some evil force of nature, there was an eerie quiet that followed. This time that lull was spent cramming for finals and destressing with pack movie nights that almost always turned into sleepovers - at that point, you were spending more time at Lydia’s and Stiles’ houses than you were at your own house. As weird as it was, life felt good. 

At least, it was good until Lydia dragged you and Malia to Macy’s to find dresses for the winter formal. 

“Do I have to wear heels?” Malia asked. She was looking at herself in the mirror, paying special attention to the red heels Lydia picked out. “These are severely uncomfortable.” 

“No,” you said, at the same time that Lydia said: “Yes.”

You rolled your eyes as Lydia launched into her signature ‘it’s senior year’ speech. The first few times, it was endearing and convinced you to do it her way, but by now the effect had worn off. You zoned back in when Lydia hit the ‘it’s our last winter formal of our entire school career. Doesn’t that mean anything’ point. 

“But this is my first winter formal,” Malia said, turning away from the mirror with a frown. 

“And I’ve still got another one next year,” you said. 

“Semantics,” Lydia said with a shrug. When neither of you responded, she sighed and pulled you to your feet as she reached for Malia’s hand. “I didn’t want to play this card but I almost died this year, multiple times.” She squeezed your hand. “You did die.” She turned to Malia. “And your mom tried to kill you.” 

“What does that have to do with us wearing heels?” you asked. 

“Everything! We should be making the most of the life we have left,” Lydia said. Neither you nor Malia looked very convinced. “Okay, fine. It has nothing to do with wearing heels. I thought I could guilt you into doing things my way, but clearly, you two are made of stone, so forget it.” 

She started storming away when you laughed and grabbed her hand again. “Come on, Lyd,” you said, stifling a laugh at how annoyed she still seemed at you and Malia’s indifference to shoes. “You know that if it meant that much to you, we’d wear stilts to the formal.” 

Lydia’s pout faded slightly. She flicked her eyes over to Malia. “Really?” 

“Really,” Malia repeated. After a touching second of comradery, she added, “But, to be clear, these shoes are as far as I’m willing to go.” 

Lydia had an evil look in her eye. The kind of evil that she only got when she received free reign over everyone’s outfits. You’d bet she’d already picked out suits for the guys, judging by the look in her eye when she said, “Deal!” 

---

You loved Lydia, more than almost anyone else in the entire world, but if she patted you with blush one more time then you were going to snap. She was your best friend, you reminded yourself. She knew what she was doing. She taught you how to walk in heels so, of course, you wouldn’t fall. You loved Lydia. 

Lydia patted your nose with a dash of highlight and smiled. “There. You were gorgeous before but now-” 

“Now they can see me from space?” you asked. 

Malia stifled a laugh from the bed while Lydia tried to bite her tongue. “If that’s how you want to look at it,” Lydia said as she packed up her brushes. Malia had managed to escape. “What time are the guys supposed to be here?” 

“I changed the time on Stiles’ phone forward an hour to make sure he wouldn’t be late,” Malia said. 

You frowned and twisted around in your seat to look at her. “Wait, but I put an alarm on all Scott’s clocks to go off at every fifteen-minute interval.”

“So you’re saying they don’t know what time it is, they're wasting more time by arguing over whose time is right, and delayed by constant alarm bells?” Lydia asked. You and Malia looked at one another awkwardly for a moment. Lydia let out a sigh and grabbed her keys off the vanity. “Let’s go pick them up.” 

“I call shotgun!” Malia said as she got to her feet. 

“No way!” You caught her arm, partly for stability and partly to stop her from barreling into the passenger’s seat. “You’re in a suit. I’m in a dress.” 

“So?” 

“So, you can slide into the back,” you said. 

“Ladies-” Lydia cut in before Malia could call your argument stupid, but you knew she was thinking it. “Neither of you are riding shotgun if I leave without you.” 

With a final look at one another, you and Malia followed behind Lydia and piled into the car. You’d already found something new and equally dumb to talk about within a few minutes as Lydia drove. 

She was surprisingly calm, considering what happened at the last dance she went to, and it clicked that maybe that’s why she planned out every last detail of this night. Your heart ached for her but you spotted a broken down Jeep on the side of the road and your attention drifted. 

Malia turned the radio before rolling down her window as Lydia pulled over. Scott and Stiles didn’t even notice you guys at first because they were too busy arguing over the alarm that wouldn’t shut up. 

“I’ve heard if you show some skin then you’re more likely to get a ride,” Malia called out to them when she got bored of their bickering. Honestly, you wanted to hear more about the fourteenth way that Stiles was going to dispose of the alarm, but you got why she cut to the chase. 

Stiles’s heart didn’t skip a beat; not even a second later and he was rolling up his pant leg. “This enough or should I ditch the tie and a couple of buttons?” 

None of you bothered to hide your laughs or rolling eyes as he broke into a very clumsy dance. You pushed open your door as Stiles started shimmying off his jacket. 

“Hey, do you want to get it before you lose your pants, or have we changed our minds about the formal?” you asked, a silly smile still plastered on your face. 

Stiles froze when he saw you, jacket around his elbows and mouth slightly open. His hair was slightly messed up in the wind, face lit up by the light of the passing cars and setting sun. You wished you could have frozen this moment, this version of him where he was so carefree and happy. 

Lydia was the one who snapped you out of it. “Oh, my god. Are you two going to stare at each other like that the whole night?” she asked. 

You gave a nervous laugh and slid into the middle. “Come on. We can call Noah to pick up the Jeep.”

Scott hit Stiles’ arm and then they packed into the seats next to you. It was awkwardly quiet but then Malia turned the music back up and Lydia asked about Liam, and everything was back to normal. Not quite the frozen moment you replayed in your head, but happy. The happiest any of you had been in a while. 

Stiles was unusually quiet on the way to the school, though he did bounce his leg and bite at his nails. In a winning move to make you feel nervous, he stared out the window the entire time and only snapped out of it to open his door after Lydia parked. He held the door open for you after he got out. 

You mumbled a thank you, feeling awkward as you teetered out of the car in Lydia’s heels. Now that you were at school and looking at all the cheesy decorations, you felt a little sick. And then Stiles touched your hand. 

“Hey, look, I wanna apologize for being so weird,” he said. “You just, uh- you look good. Like really good. And I’m so bad at these things. So, uh, I’m sorry for being weird.” Stiles took a deep breath and rolled his wrists to motion toward you. “Okay, you talk now.” 

You laughed and took his hands in yours. This night felt like when you’d first come back and you were both annoying everyone by hiding your feelings from one another. “You had me worried there for a second. I thought the dress might have scared you off.” 

“Oh, no. The dress definitely did not scare me off,” Stiles said with a nervous laugh. “Did I mention you look really good yet?” 

“No, I don’t think you did,” you hummed. You lifted his hand to your mouth and kissed it. He stared at your hand as you let it fall to your side again. “Why are you looking at me like that again?” 

Stiles had that look in his eyes from the moment frozen in time on the side of the road. He was happy, if a little disbelieving and preoccupied. “You’re wearing the ring. Did something happen to the chain? Did it break?” 

“No, the necklace is perfect,” you said quickly. He put your hand over his to get a better look at his mom’s old ring. You could still remember the day the two of you stole it; Claudia was so mad but Noah thought it was hilarious. Your voice softened at the memory. “I didn’t think it would fit but it was so big on me back then. Lydia was the one who pointed out that if it was your mom’s then it should fit now that I’m not eight years old.” 

“Always full of ideas, that one,” Stiles mumbled as he looked at the ring. He ran his thumb over it carefully.  

You smiled, looking at him instead of the ring. This would be another moment you’d keep forever if you could. Instead of saying something so incredibly cheesy, you said, “Yeah, and Malia was the one that pointed out that if it got stuck, she could cut my finger off and Deaton could stitch it back up.”

Stiles laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like her.” In a quick move, he turned your hand over in his and interlaced your fingers. He shot a glance at the school. “Alright, let’s get this over and done with.” 

“That’s the spirit, babe.”

You held onto Stiles a little tighter than usual, partly due to the heels and icy ground and partly just because you could. Once you got inside, he tightened his grip as yours loosened. You guessed it was partly due to the people and the noise and partly just because he could. 

It took a minute before you found your friends scattered around the gym. Liam and Hayden were awkwardly dancing under the disco ball. Corey was counting how many pixie stix Mason could fit in his mouth at once. Lydia was talking to (or rejecting, hard to tell at that distance) one of the guys from the lacrosse team. Lastly, Scott and Malia were against a wall, drinking punch, and talking softly.

Actually, the last thing you noticed was the photo-booth in the corner. You gave Stiles a mischievous smile and tugged on his arm.

“No way.���

“We’re already here! And you look so nice in your suit.” 

“A photo-booth is where I draw the line. I’ll do dances. I’ll let Lydia do my eyebrows again. I’ll crawl over broken glass for you. I’d even eat cilantro for you. But there is no way we’re doing the photobooth.” 

“Well, I don’t see any broken glass or cilantro, so photo-booth it is.” 

Stiles groaned but followed after you anyway. As a result, he was pouting and pretending to be grumpy in the first set of photos and you were lovingly harassing him. It was only in the second last photo that he broke his composure and started laughing. In the very last one, he kissed you. 

The next set of photos were just of the two of you kissing. The third set was the best; both of you were laughing and playing around. And then Lydia tracked you down, bringing Scott and Malia with her. Those photos with all of you crammed in the booth were hilarious, but not nearly as funny as when Liam, Mason, Hayden, and Corey tried to shove their way in and Coach banned you all from using the photo-booth. 

You turned to the dancefloor in a laughing heap. Malia was by far the best dancer (Stiles was arguably the worst, though Liam gave him a run for his money), and she took turns dancing and jumping around with each of you. Liam twirled you around a few times until you tripped over your heels, he caught you, and Stiles told him to keep his dirty little werewolf hands to himself. Liam pressed an impulsive kiss to your cheek before disappearing into the crowd with Hayden before Stiles punched him. It was nothing but dumb, teenage fun. 

And then a slow song started playing. 

Bits of your group broke off to get punch or find a dance partner, and soon it was just you and Stiles. He dropped his eyes for a second before taking a step closer and holding out a hand to you. You tilted your head at him. 

“Typically, when one goes to a winter formal one dances with their date,” Stiles said. 

“Does one?” 

Stiles had a barely contained smile on his face. “One does. How the dance is initiated varies on formal to formal basis, but generally once initiated, the invitee and the inviter dance.” 

“Wait. Aren’t the invitee and inviter the same person?” you asked, tilting your head to the side. “Should I go so you can pull a Billy Idol and dance with yourself?”

“Oh my god, would you just shut up and dance with me?” Stiles asked, shaking around the hand he offered you. 

You grinned and took his hand in yours, placing your other hand on his shoulder. “I thought you’d never ask.” 

Stiles rolled his eyes but it faded away to a reluctant smile after a few seconds. Neither of you knew exactly how to dance, so you just swayed together. Fairly far apart at first, but you moved closer and closer together as the song went on. Eventually, the song ended and your head was tucked into the crook of Stiles’ neck, with your hands on his shoulder blades and under his jacket to keep warm. 

The songs were cheesy and the decorations were cliche. This night was everything you and Stiles liked to make fun of, and yet … there the two of you were, slow dancing to fast songs and smiling like idiots. 

You kissed the spot on his neck just below his jaw and rested your chin on his shoulder to whisper in his ear. “Hey, thank you for this.” 

“Of course,” Stiles said. “Besides, it’s not like there was any broken glass or cilantro around.” 

“Shut up.” You laughed and pulled away slightly. He was amused when you looked at him, and you fell a little bit more in love with him when you saw his smile under the purple LED lights. “Do you wanna get out of here?”

Stiles tilted his head. “And go where?” 

“Anywhere you want,” you said with a shrug. 

“You just want to take advantage of me in my post-dance haze,” Stiles teased. 

“Of course. Have you seen you in that suit?” 

Stiles got flustered and started sputtering a response as you laughed and untangled yourself from him. You promised to meet him outside as soon as you told Scott you were leaving. He wasn’t too surprised by the fact that you guys were ducking out early, but Malia made a joke that wiped the teasing smile straight off his face. You left them bickering with one another and left to find Stiles. 

Though the music was still loud enough for you to hear once you were outside, it faded as the gym doors closed behind you. You didn’t realize how much you’d needed the quiet until you were out in the cold, with the fresh air stinging your lungs and waking you up. 

Stiles was waiting just outside the gym for you, talking to his dad on the phone. Apparently, he’d replaced the Jeep’s flat tire and gotten Parrish to drop it off at the school. Noah had just stopped talking about the formal and started talking about proper driving safety when you wrapped your arms around Stiles' waist. 

Noah started berating him not paying attention when Stiles burst out laughing. He sputtered out an apology while you did everything in your power to keep him laughing and awkward. When Noah got grumpy and hung up, you laughed and he turned to glare at you … which only made you laugh harder. 

“You’re a real pain in my ass, you know that?” Stiles asked. He was trying very valiantly to pretend to be mad at you, but his mouth was turned up at the corner, giving him away. 

“Oh yeah?” You leaned in closer and whispered, “Then stop holding my hand.”

“No way in hell,” Stiles said, managing to pull you in even closer. You laughed and stumbled into him. The two of you shuffled to the Jeep without letting go of each other, laughing and stubbornly refusing to let go of each other. 

Even as Stiles drove, you held his hand and harassed him from the passenger seat. You were feeling something you hadn’t felt in a long time; the feeling was light and airy. Happiness, you thought. 

Looking at Stiles in the light of the diner’s parking lot, you didn’t just think it was happiness - you knew it was. A sneaky little dark feeling in your heart told you that you’d never feel as happy as you did again. It didn’t matter though, you were so used to being sad that you could tune it out. 

Or at least, you thought you could. 

It was more difficult to tune out the sadness once you were inside. Stiles was rambling on about everyone at the formal and how glad he was that he never had to go to another high school dance. He meant well, but all it did was remind you that he would be leaving in a few months. 

“Hey, what’s with the look?” Stiles asked, pushing his empty plate to the side. 

“I don’t have a look,” you said defensively. 

“You totally have a look and you’re looking at me with your look right now,” Stiles said. He paused and tilted his head, but tried again. “Okay, now you look confused but still. What’s wrong?” 

You sighed and shook your head, moving your glass out of the way so you could lean your elbows on the table. With your head resting in your hands, you sighed. “This is your last high school dance.” 

“Yeah, so?” Stiles asked. He reached his hands across the table but they were still too far away to hold yours unless you moved. 

“I’ve still got a year of them,” you said, looking up from his hands to meet his eyes and shrugging. “That’s all.” 

“Oh, God,” Stiles groaned. He pulled his hand back to cover his face with them. “I’ve been a total ass this whole night. I’m so sorry.” 

“Hey, that’s not what I meant,” you said, reaching across the table to grab his hands. “I know you’re just excited to graduate, and I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. I’m just a little bummed that you’re all moving on and I’m still staying here.” 

“You shouldn’t have to be bummed,” Stiles said. He moved his hands around to hold yours and gave you an encouraging smile. “How long have you felt this way?” 

“Since you and Scott started elementary school and I was in kindergarten.” You laughed at your own joke but Stiles was still looking at you with a concerned look on his face. It was sweet. You ran your thumb across the outside of his hand. “I don’t know … since you started working on the big plan post-graduation and I realized I wasn’t graduating.” 

“Seriously? That was months ago,” Stiles said, moving closer. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

You shrugged. “You were excited. I didn’t want to ruin it.” 

“You could never ruin anything,” Stiles said. He squeezed your hands and leaned over to kiss you. 

You smiled at him, lifting a hand to his cheek. Without thinking, you blurted out, “You promise you won’t go to college and forget about me? Trade me in for some weirdly flexible dance major?”

“I will never, ever forget about you,” Stiles promised. “Alright? No matter what. No matter how many dance majors come my way.” 

“I love you.” 

“I love you, too. Hand me your purse?” 

Despite your confusion at the sudden change of pace, you put your purse on the table as Stiles slumped into his seat and dug his wallet out of his pocket. He started looking through your purse without explaining what he was looking for. Eventually, Stiles took out the strip of photos with the two of you, tore it in half, and shushed your protests. He tucked one half in front of his driver’s license. 

“There. Now I’ll look at you whenever I open my wallet or get pulled over. Which, uh, you should know I get pulled over a lot.” Stiles laughed under his breath and tucked away his wallet again. 

“Thank you,” you said quietly. 

You were going to lean across the table to kiss him when Liam barrelled into you as he scooted into your booth. Stiles was in the process of biting his head off when Scott slid in. And then Lydia. And Malia. And then Mason, Corey, and Hayden stole some chairs from nearby tables and huddled around the table. 

“What? You guys didn’t think you were eating without us?” Liam asked. 

You rolled your eyes and messed up his hair. “Of course not, biscuit. I could never get rid of you.” 

“Yeah, you’re like gum under my shoe,” Stiles mumbled. 

He and Liam started bickering and you laughed. There was that light, airy feeling again. As long as you had your friends, it didn’t matter where you all ended up. 

You’d love each other all the same, even from a phone call away. 

Tagged: @ietss​  @used-avocado​

[mcmorn1ng]

okay, but in all seriousness I love shinwon so much. I honestly think he’s that amazing and that nice and that good natured. maybe I’ll never know shinwon’s real personality but like...... I can speculate like a crazy person. shinwon is probably one of pentagon’s most loved members who every single person is close with. nobody is awkward with him, even if he said that he is with yeoone. once that episode came out, and everyone was like “yeah they’d never be seen together if it wasn’t for group activities” ggu still really loves when people call them awkward. he loves that concept and he always urges shinwon to be more distant with him because he thinks their dynamic is funny. so shinwon tells all the fans never to say that again because yeoone is so annoying about it. every member of pentagon loves shinwon so much, and vice versa. they’re the most comfortable with him with wooseok thinking that shinwon is the funniest person he’s met. they all think of shinwon as the kindest member in pentagon, and even when he thinks of elaborate plans to prank them they still love him so much. yuto says that shinwon changed the most since debut, and he sees all the effort he’s put into being a singer. hui says that shinwon doesn’t have a twisted personality and never gets angry. kino says that shinwon is one of the members who always listens to him even if he knows he’s not interested in the topic. yanan talks to shinwon very often, and shinwon even downloaded messenger so that he can talk with him overseas. hongseok says that shinwon has a fragile and sensitive mindset, even if he seems silly. jinho says that although if he whines all the time, shinwon is one of the people in pentagon who will always do everything his members ask. I have no doubt that shinwon stands to be one of the most integral members of his group that has given support and encouragement to each and everyone of them. shinwon only wanted to debut because he wanted to stand on stage with all his friends and he practices so hard and withstands so much just for them. without shinwon pentagon would never be the same, and without pentagon, shinwon wouldn’t have wanted to become a singer at all