#because the teacher au is not as great as it could and should be

[ashwhowrites]

Wrong story

Heavily inspired by the film Miller's Girl. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it because Jenna Ortega is excellent 👌🏻

Modern AU

⚠️smut, smut and more smut

Summary - Y/N has a crush on her teacher, filled with inappropriate thoughts she needs a release. So she writes it out...and accidentally sends it to him.

I hope you guys enjoy this and love it! 🫶🏻

Y/N knew it was a horrible idea to have a crush on her English teacher, but she couldn't help it. The second she walked into that class and saw him standing there in dress pants and a button-up, she was in trouble.

The first week, she did not learn a thing. She couldn't think straight when he'd look over at her. His dark eyes, his long hair that rested perfectly on his shoulders, and the tattoos that peaked through his rolled-up sleeves. She wondered if he had tattoos elsewhere, and how much of his skin was inked. Did he have naked skin that she could mark herself?

She also knew it was inappropriate to think about him the way she did. She spent so many nights in her dorm room alone, dreaming of being fucked on his desk. She wanted his hands all over her, his teeth on her skin and his tongue tasting her.

Now, she had more control over her thoughts and could pay attention in his class. Before she knew it, her writing and understanding skills blew him away. He talked to her about her work, always praising, and challenging her.

"Another great assignment," He said as he placed her paper in front of her. She clenched her thighs as he walked past, his scent lingering behind.

"Thank you, Mr. Munson."

He turned around and gave her a small wink, and she felt like she melted into a puddle.

"You are all dismissed, have a good weekend."

~

"He was so checking you out," Tate teased as she and Y/N left the classroom.

"Will you shut up! He was not," Y/N scoffed.

"Another great assignment, wish you used those fingers for more than just typing," Tate said in a seductive voice, deepening her voice to sound like Eddie.

"Oh stop," Y/N laughed as she shoved Tate. "I wish, but he probably has a girlfriend, someone his age. And not someone he'd lose a job for dating."

"Believe what you want, but I've got two eyes and I watched as he landed on your ass yesterday when you wore that plaid skirt. I bet he was having little schoolgirl fantasies." Tate gasped with a huge smile.

"Do you think of anything other than sex, you perv?" Y/N teased as they walked out of the building.

~~~

Y/N couldn't lie, she thought about what Tate said all weekend. Was he checking her out? Or was Tate poking at her crush?

Y/N folded her laundry and her hands touched the red and black plaid skirt. She felt a smile stretch across her face as she thought back to Tate.

Maybe she should see for herself?

~

Y/N felt a rush of confidence as she walked into Eddie's class. Her skirt flowed against her thighs and her black long-sleeved body suit hugged her body.

She'd deny it but she spent extra hours getting ready in the morning.

"You little slut," Tate snickered

"What?" Y/N asked, acting dumb as she stood in front of Tate's table.

"The skirt, the tight bodysuit. Someone is putting on a show."

"I just...wanted to find out for myself." Y/N shrugged, it wasn't a big deal.

"Ms. Y/L/N, mind taking a seat?"

Y/N turned around to see Mr. Munson waiting for her. She blushed and quickly ran to her seat, a quiet apology on her tongue.

"After you finish your book for the independent reading, I want you to write a story written in the same way as the author."

Y/N felt the color drain from her face. She didn't know the book she picked would matter. And there was no way she could write a story and face him after he read it.

~

The second class was over she walked up to his desk. Tate watched with delight as she stayed in the back.

"Um, Mr. Munson," she said shyly.

Eddie looked up and smiled. She felt her heart race as his full attention was on her. His eyes looked into hers.

"I wasn't aware the book we chose would matter, and the book I've been reading is a tad mature." Y/N blushed.

"That's alright. You are an incredible writer and I don't think you'll have any difficulties." Eddie explained

"That's not the issue. The book is um," she leaned down so Tate couldn't hear. Eddie noticeably shifted as her face got closer to his. His eyes were quick to look down at her chest before snapping back up. "It's smut." She clenched her eyes shut in embarrassment.

Eddie felt his face heat up as he coughed, "Oh! Um you...uh...yeah. Different book then?" he stuttered out.

"Thank you, Mr. Munson," she said before she rushed out of the room. Eddie couldn't help but look as she walked away. He bit his lip as his eyes traveled down to her exposed legs, then up to the roundness of her ass and the way her hips moved.

He jumped out of his daydream when Tate coughed. She sent him a little knowing smirk then went out after Y/N.

~~~

Y/N finished a different book and stared at the blank paper on her computer. The assignment was due tomorrow and she had gotten nowhere in the past week.

She couldn't focus, all she could think about was the dirty words in her other book. She was guilty of imagining the male lead as Eddie, so now she was distracted by how sexually frustrated she was.

She opened a new tab and let her imagination go wild. All the dirty images flowed into words as she typed. She clenched her thighs as she wrote about him. She needed it out of her system so she could focus on her real paper.

~

Finally, at midnight she finished her real paper. Her eyes burned and her fingers were sore but she finished the assignment. She yawned as she sent the paper to his email. Once she heard it send, she shut down her computer and headed to bed.

~~~

It was Sunday morning and Eddie dedicated the day to reading through all the papers he had to grade.

He looked through his email as he rested in bed, still in his boxers and naked chest. His laptop rested on his stomach as he scrolled until he found the one he was searching for.

He smiled once he found Y/N's name. He knew he wasn't supposed to have favorites, but she was so creative and smart. He was her top student. He loved watching her work and seeing the passion she had. It was something they had in common.

He opened her story and began to read it.

"Her skin was burning with desire as his skillful hands slithered up her thighs. She panted as he tugged her skirt down to her ankles, the air hit her bare cunt as she shivered. Her nipples hardened as he looked at her, his deep brown watched her expression as he slipped a finger inside of her. He felt his own desire crashing over his body like a wave. She put her hands behind her, her palms flat on his desk as she threw her head back. With her back arched, her hard nipples teased right in his face. He couldn't help but lean forward, wrapping his warm lips around her left nipple, swirling his tongue around the flesh. Another finger slipped inside of her, then another.

He was three fingers deep in her soaked cunt as his teeth scraped against her nipple. He removed himself with a pop before he moved to her neglected one. Just like the left, he wrapped his lips around her right nipple. His tongue played with her as his fingers picked up their pace. "

Eddie swallowed as he felt himself getting warm. He felt like he should have stopped reading. They discussed doing a different book, did she change her mind? He felt dirty for imagining himself in the fantasy, and even worse that he imagined it was her cunt around his fingers and her nipples in his mouth.

He scratched at the itchiness in his facial hair as he debated on reading further. He also wasn't sure if he'd be allowed to grade this.

He skimmed past a few paragraphs, maybe it was a big opener or something.

"His hard cock pulsed as she bent over his desk. His right hand worked down his body, he grasped his cock in a tight grip as he slowly jerked himself as he looked at her.

"Spread," his demanding voice cut through the thick air. She obeyed, her breasts against the wood as she bent fully over. She spread her legs apart, she waited for his next move with anticipation. He growled as he watched her cunt spread open, he licked his lips as he watched her wetness start to drip down her thigh. She shivered as she felt it.

"Touch me, please," she pathetically whimpered. He smirked at the sound of her wrecked voice. She panted as she heard his heavy footsteps move towards her. His left hand trailed up her spine, up over her shoulder, then harshly gripped around her throat. She choked as he cut off the air to her lungs. His hot breath fanned against her ear as he bit and tugged on her earring.

"I'll touch you when I want to touch you," his voice was low and deep. And his grip on her neck tightened. She felt her body growing weak as he controlled how much air she'd receive. He waited a few seconds before he released her. She gasped as she choked for air, her head feeling light. But she loved every second of it. Every second of being nothing but a body for him to touch, a body for him to fuck, a body for him to torture. He removed his hand from his cock, the building orgasm set aside as he focused on her ass in the air.

His right hand came down to slam down on her ass. The skin burned and flamed as he smacked it over and over. She gripped the desk until her fingers went white, her lip bleeding from how hard she bit her lip to stay quiet. The sound of his skin slapping her flesh echoed throughout the empty classroom. He growled as her skin changed colors and how his handprint burned into her."

Eddie looked around his room, almost scared that he was going to be caught. He felt his cock pulsing in his boxers and he fought to ignore it.

"Finally his thick and hard cock slid inside of her. Her soaked cunt happily stretched open for him. Her legs shook as he fucked her hard. The desk squeaked under their bodies, his hands bruised into her hips. She clawed at the wood as he took no mercy on her. He was fucking her so hard that her body jolted forward with every thrust. She wanted to turn her head to see him, but when she tried his hand pushed her head against the desk.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it? Wearing those tiny skirts to my class with that sweet cunt so easy for me to see. Do you think I don't notice you spreading open your whore legs when I'm lecturing? I can't imagine what you think when you fuck this pathetic cunt, but I know you think of me. But no toys are as big as me, huh?" He mocked. She whimpered at his words, knowing he was right. "And no toys are fucking you as good as me."

"Fuck, Mr. Munson, you fuck me so fucking good." She moaned"

Eddie stared at the screen in shock. Did he read his own name? Was she writing this as...herself? Eddie shivered at the thought, the movement caused his cock to move, and his tip hit something cold and wet. Eddie set his laptop next to him as he threw off the blankets.

He felt embarrassed when he looked down, a huge wet spot of pre-cum stained through his boxers. The pulsing was too hard to ignore, so he reached down to palm himself softly. Just a little touch to ease the ache. The simple touch caused him to moan loudly. He wanted to pull his hand away before he got too caught up but his hand at its own mind.

He slipped his hand inside his boxers, slowly jerking himself as he threw his head back. He sighed at the relief as his cock pulsed in his hand. His eyes looked over to his laptop, and his free hand reached over to scroll.

"He pushed himself fully inside of her, forcing her to feel just how big he was. He sighed in delight as she clamped around him. Like her cunt didn't want him to go anywhere. She was tight and wet, a perfect mixture to make his head spin.

"Feels like you were meant for me," he moaned. She began to move her hips back to match his rhythm. His hands were tight on her hips as the sound of their skin smacking filled their ears. She was moaning and whining, every sound drove him closer to his release."

Eddie moaned as he jerked himself faster. The images flashed through his head as he read. His head was thrown back in pleasure as he pictured her soft body bent over his desk. He was guilty of thinking about it before. Guilty of thinking about her hands and lips wrapped around his cock as he fucked her throat in between classes.

"She came with a loud scream of his name, her body limp against the desk as he fucked her through it. His hands were gentle as he traced up and down her spine, but his cock still drilled inside of her. She shook in sensitivity as he chased his orgasm.

"Cum for me, Mr. Munson," she whimpered, "fill my slutty cunt with your cum. Make me yours."

Eddie felt his eyes roll in the back of his head as he panted. His hand jerked himself faster, the feeling of bliss in his stomach. He read the last sentence over and over until his body thrashed as he came. His sticky cum painted his hand and stomach as he jerked himself empty. He imagined filling her cunt, and stuffing her full. The idea of his cum dripping down her thighs made him shiver.

He pulled his hand away with a hiss when he felt himself grow sensitive.

He took a few minutes to collect himself. Then the guilt rushed in. He slammed his laptop shut with his clean hand. He just jerked himself off to a student's smut. What the hell was wrong with him?

He got out of bed, legs a little shaky as he moved to his bathroom. He washed his hands and cleaned off his stomach. He couldn't look at himself in the mirror without disgust. He was an adult, he should have closed it the second he saw it was a sex story.

~~~

Eddie sat at his desk, his leg shook with anxiety as he waited for his class to come in.

His eyes looked up and caught hers. She offered a small smile as she walked in. He looked away and pretended to be busy with his desk work.

She tried to ignore the blow she felt as he ignored her. Maybe it was a hard morning for him. She walked over to Tate's table as they talked. Eddie noticed she wore a different skirt with a tighter-fitting top. He felt displeased with himself as he felt his cock get a little hard. He couldn't look at her without thinking of her words. And the disgusting thing he did while reading it.

"Y/N, please don't make me ask you to take your seat every day."

His tone was sharp and annoyed. Even Tate looked at him confused as Y/N blushed in embarrassment again.

"Sorry," she rushed out as she raced to her seat

"Don't say it, show me." He snapped

She shrunk in her seat, her eyes looked to Tate to see if they were thinking the same thing.

The whole class period he never once looked her way. Which was odd because he always looked over at her. Even when she raised her hand to answer all his questions, as she always did since she was the only one who listened to his lectures. He just ignored her and waited until someone else answered, even if it took minutes.

She couldn't help but feel neglected. It wasn't a big deal, but it made her feel like shit.

She sighed in relief as the class was dismissed. Tate walked over to her as the two began to walk out.

"Ms. Y/L/N? Can you stay back a second?" His voice called out

Y/N gulped and looked nervously at Tate. She sent a small smile and closed the door behind her. Leaving Eddie and Y/N alone in an empty classroom.

"Yes, Mr. Munson?" she asked, her voice shaking with nerves as she looked down at him.

He stood up and grabbed a stack of stapled papers from his desk. He looked into her eyes as he handed it over.

"Can you just read the first paragraph, please? To yourself is fine."

She took the paper, confused. But she did as he asked. The color drained from her face as she read the first few words. She sent in the wrong paper.

"I'm so-" she went to apologize but Eddie cut her off.

"This behavior is highly inappropriate. We discussed you would change your book. Not only is it against the school's rules, it is not appropriate to write about a teacher in that way. If you have a crush, write in a diary, not my assignment. And I'll need a new paper if you want to pass this class" His voice had no emotion as he scolded her. She wanted to shrink until he couldn't see her anymore. She was so embarrassed.

"I understand," she whispered with her head down, she would never be able to look him in the face again.

She kept the papers as she began to walk towards the door.

"Oh and Y/N?"

She turned around, her eyes on the floor.

"Even if this school doesn't have a dress code, I think you should dress more appropriately."

Any sort of confidence she ever had vanished with his words. She didn't say anything, she turned around and raced out the door.

Hot tears streaming down her face.

"What happened?" Tate asked as she held the crying girl in her arms.

"I sent in the wrong paper and now he knows I have this giant crush on him. You were wrong! He doesn't like me at all. And he wasn't checking me out, he was judging me for wearing slutty clothes!"

"He said that to you?" Tate gasped

"Not in those words, but he said if I had a crush I need to write it in my diary and not his assignments. Then he said I need to wear appropriate clothes in his class." Y/N cried as she hugged her best friend tighter.

"What a dick! He has no right to talk to you that way." Tate growled.

"Let's just get out of here," Y/N sighed as she let Tate go.

~~~

Y/N dreaded going to class the next day. She printed out the correct paper this time. Her head was low as she walked silently into the class, she dropped the paper on his desk. She didn't bother to look at him, no idea if he looked at her or not.

But of course, he looked. Her perfume alerted him that she was there before any movement did. He watched as the new papers landed on his desk and she walked silently to her seat. He eyed her outfit, completely different from anything she ever wore.

She was covered in clothes from head to toe. A big hoodie on her body with baggy sweatpants. He felt guilty seeing her body deflate in her seat. He knew he was wrong to ever say anything about what she wore but he couldn't handle seeing her in outfits he wanted to tear off. It didn't work, even in a hoodie and sweatpants he still imagined what was underneath.

The class seemed to go on for hours for both of them. She never looked up from her desk.

"Does anyone know the answer?" He asked out loud, his eyes already moving to her frame. He was met with silence.

"Do you happen to know, Y/N?"

She shrunk as he said her name, his and the whole class's eyes on her as she looked up.

"No, sorry" she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. It pained him to see her high head so low. She shined with confidence and he took it away for his own selfish reasons.

"Her hand wasn't raised, Sir," Tate growled. She wasn't sure what Eddie's problem was but she knew it wasn't because he disliked that paper.

"My apologies," Eddie said with a tight smile. He answered for the class as he continued his lecture.

He dismissed the class a few minutes early. Barely able to keep himself together. He watched as Tate wrapped her arm around Y/N's shoulder as they walked out.

~

Eddie spent the night grading Y/N's new paper. He wasn't surprised by the perfect story she told. He was glad he didn't destroy her writing ability like he did with everything else.

The next morning he placed the paper on her desk. The compliment left his lips as a routine.

"Excellent work,"

She gave a small hum as she didn't look up. No thank you or smile sent his way. He ignored the pit in his stomach as he moved on with the class.

"The next assignment will be with partners, so please find someone you are comfortable to work with."

Eddie gave the class time to find someone as he grabbed the rubric for the assignment. He figured he'd see Tate sitting up front next to Y/N when he looked up, but he felt a lump in his throat when he saw Alex sitting there.

Alex was a good student, he was dedicated and smart. Since when did he know her?

Eddie passed out the rubric, he tried not to eavesdrop on the conversations happening around him.

"We'll probably have to work outside of class, so maybe I can get your number and address?"

Eddie kept the growl in his throat as he walked past Alex and Y/N. He hated the way she smiled and nodded.

It was dumb but Eddie acted out of jealousy.

"You'll get weeks and weeks of in-class work time so don't worry about working out of school hours." A huge lie, he jeopardized his lesson plans and would deal with the consequences later.

"Bummer, I was kinda using that as an excuse to ask you out," Alex said, Eddie watched as she blushed and giggled into her hand.

He shouldn't be jealous. He knew that. He's the reason they can't even look at each other. He acted childish and was cold. He rejected her and embarrassed her, and fuck did he regret it. He regretted making the adult decision, he wished he caved. He wished he smashed his lips against hers and turned that story into reality.

"Maybe you don't need an excuse?" She shrugged with a smile. Alex was cute and he always caught her eye. Not the way Eddie did, but it was clear that would never happen. It was selfish, but maybe Alex could make her feel better about herself again.

Eddie gulped as she wrote down her number and passed it over.

~~~

Shortly after that, Alex and Y/N spent more time sitting next to each other in Eddie's class. He watched the class work together, his eyes kept shifting towards her. It had been a long week of no words shared between them. She still covered her body and kept her head down.

All she focused on was Alex. She kept her eyes on him and never once shifted to Eddie. But his eyes were always on her.

They kept laughing and she smacked his arms. He'd smile at her reaction and push to make her laugh harder.

"Please stay focused," Eddie demanded from his desk. His annoyed tone made Y/N finally look up. He stared at her as she didn't look away. He didn't move a muscle, he hoped if he stayed still she wouldn't look away.

"Sorry, we'll go back to the project," Alex said, Eddie growled as he spoke. Y/N snapped out of her daydream and smiled at Alex as they went back to their assignment.

"This Friday I'm throwing a party, and I would love to see you there. Maybe as my date?" Alex asked, he sent a warm smile her way as he held her hand.

She felt her heart race and smiled.

"I would love to."

~

Friday arrived faster than Eddie wanted. He knew he wasn't supposed to be upset that she was going on a date. He should have been happy for her, but all he felt was jealousy.

"Wow, wow and wow."

Eddie looked up as he heard Alex's voice. He looked in the direction of Alex's eyesight and felt his breath being kicked out of his lungs.

Y/N walked in with a huge smile, and a flowy black dress framed her body. She wore light makeup that made her face light up. Her confidence was back.

"You like? I was thinking of this for our date," Y/N said as she wrapped her arms around Alex's neck.

Eddie rolled his eyes as the couple leaned in for a kiss.

"Take your seats," Eddie demanded, and the couple pulled away.

"Sorry, Mr. Munson," she said, smiling as she took her seat and dragged Alex to sit next to her.

Eddie ignored the shiver her voice sent through his body. Hearing his name leave her lips sent Eddie into a spiral.

During the class, Eddie focused on not blowing up. His hands were in a tight fist, and his fingers were white. He clenched his jaw as Alex's hand rested on her bare knee.

He watched as Alex whispered in her ear. Eddie didn't what he said, but the way Y/N's eyes went huge and her mouth opened with a gasp, made him guess a few things. He watched as her thighs clenched together and Alex squeezed her knee before it traveled up her thigh. His hand went higher and higher until it disappeared underneath her dress.

The class was dismissed and Eddie couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Y/N, can I speak to you?"

Y/N and Alex stopped at the door

"Um, yeah," she said confused, Alex pecked her cheek goodbye as he walked out.

"Can you shut the door?"

Y/N was confused but closed the door, and then walked over to his desk.

"How can I help you?" she asked

"I'd appreciate it if you and your boyfriend kept your focus on the project and not each other," Eddie said he stood tall as he placed his hands on his desk and leaned forward.

"The project is finished, Mr. Munson. And we still have a few days before we turn it in. I don't think we are doing anything wrong." she argued. She was tired of him telling her what to do with her life.

"Him feeling you up underneath a table isn't doing anything wrong?" He argued, his eyes dark as he glared over at her. He leaned forward, even more, his face close to hers.

She tried to ignore the heat she felt between her thighs as he leaned over her with his tight shirt bulging out his arms. His tie dangled in between them as she looked up at him.

"And whispering in your ear? I'm sure I can think of a few things he had to say." Eddie said as he rolled his eyes

Y/N couldn't help but feel an exciting feeling bubble in her stomach, was he...jealous?

"What do you think he said?" she asked, as she leaned forward. Her voice was low as she looked into his eyes. She could see the lust in his eyes as he licked his lips.

"Something along the lines of wanting to be under your dress, between your legs, and make you scream his name," Eddie growled. He watched as she smirked, a tingle worked through his body.

"Was that his thoughts or yours, Mr. Munson?" She challenged.

"Pardon?" Eddie asked, his tone a little shocked as his eyes widened.

Y/N didn't back down, she placed her hands on his desk, mocking his posture, as she leaned forward.

"Nothing, it just seems you are kinda jealous? I mean you shouldn't be, right? Since you had me in the palm of your hand and sent me away." Her words sent more tingles down Eddie's body.

He chuckled in mockery as he bit his lip. He smelled her perfume, turning his brain into a puddle. His lips were inches away from hers, teasing him as they puckered.

"You'd like that, huh? You've got Alex, and still wondering about me? Shame for that poor boy."

"I think I would. He's cute and knows how to touch me. But he'll never be you, Mr. Munson." She confessed, the more she spoke, the closer they got. Their words went down to whispers.

Eddie felt that jealousy burning through him again at the thought of Alex touching her.

"You are jealous. I can see it," she smirked. Now she had him in the palm of her hand. She tossed all her fucks out the window as she grasped his tie in between her fingers. "So why don't you do something about it?"

Eddie took her challenge and ran with it. He knew there wasn't a single thought in his head that was going to send her walking away like last time.

He wanted to cave

He stood up, his tie falling through her fingers

She watched as he walked around the desk, but she didn't move. He walked over to the door, the sound of the lock turning as she waited.

She gasped when his hands landed on her hips, and he shoved her body against his. She loved the feeling of his hard chest and cock pressed against her.

He pushed aside her hair and pressed his lips against her neck. She moved her head to the side, giving him more room as she melted into his touch. His lips were hot and wet against her soft skin, he moved close to her ear, sucking on the skin right below it.

Eddie's hands trailed down her body and bunched up her dress. He removed his lips from her neck and pushed on her back. She took the hint and bent herself over his desk. He held her dress against her back with his left hand, she shivered when he yanked down her underwear with his right hand.

"Did you touch yourself when you wrote that story?" He asked, his right hand massaged her ass.

"Not immediately, but I did when I woke up." She confessed, her thoughts took her back to when she read it over and over as she fingered herself. No idea she sent it. "Did...did you?" She shyly asked, her eyes staring forward at the whiteboard.

She jolted forward when his right hand cracked down on her ass. She gripped the desk as she moaned when he cracked down a second time.

"I did," he admitted, she felt a smile spread across her face.

"Really?" She asked she turned her head to look at him. She purred in delight at the hungry look in his eyes as he stared at her ass, his hand massaging the skin gently as the skin burned.

"I read it when I woke up, soaked my boxers before I even got to touch myself. Quite the imagination you have, pretty girl."

She blushed when his eyes snapped up to hers. He gave her a cheeky smile.

"I came so hard, thinking of painting the inside of your pretty cunt." He reached up and unzipped her dress, she stood up so it fell at her feet. She kicked it aside and turned around.

She stood face to face with him, her body naked as she reached and unbuttoned his shirt. He sat back and let her strip him, he loved the feeling of her hands skimming down his chest as she worked his belt.

She dropped to her knees as she pulled down his dress pants and boxers. She licked her lips as she softly wrapped her hands around his cock. He moaned as her touch set him on fire.

She licked up his length then wrapped her mouth around his thick tip. He dug his hand into her hair as she forced him further down her throat. She kept taking him until she felt herself gagging around him. He praised her as he bucked his hips forward. She felt his tip hit the back of her throat, she didn't pull back until he did.

She panted as his cock left her mouth. He felt amazing in her throat and tasted better than she imagined. She couldn't help but grow even more excited as he waited to see what he felt like inside of her.

She raised to her feet and jumped on the desk, she spread her legs open and grabbed the tie that still rested around his neck. She yanked the tie as he smirked. He allowed her to drag him forward, his lips hungrily landing on hers. She moaned as his tongue easily slipped inside her mouth. Their tongues battled as he slipped two fingers inside of her.

He swallowed her moans as he fucked his fingers inside of her, stretching her out. She tried to keep up with the kiss but struggled as his fingers felt amazing inside of her.

Eddie pulled away but kept his fingers pumping inside of her.

"I knew you'd be tight," he moaned as he removed his fingers. She watched with heavy eyelids as he sucked his fingers clean.

"Just fuck me," she whined as she clawed at his chest.

He laughed at her eagerness, but he wasn't patient himself. He grabbed his cock and lined his tip with her entrance. She spread her lips open as he began to shove himself inside of her.

Her head was thrown back as he filled her completely, she felt herself being stretched by his length.

His eyes were lost as he stared at his cock moving inside of her. He watched as he pulled out, his cock soaked in her before he pushed himself back in. He loved how easily he slipped inside of her.

He wrapped her legs around his waist as he picked up his pace. All his pent-up aggression, regret, and jealousy flowed through him as he took it out on her.

She gasped and whined as his pace quickened. His skin smacked against hers, and she let her body fall back. Her body jolted and her breasts bounced with every thrust. His hands touched up and down her body. He touched every inch of skin he could reach. He loved watching as her eyes shut with bliss and her body gave into him.

"Fucking beautiful," he moaned as he leaned down to smash his lips on hers. Her brain spun as he fucked and kissed her all at once. His hands were soft as they skimmed down her stomach, goosebumps rising on her skin. Then his hand slipped between their bodies as he began to rub her clit. He removed his lips from hers to kiss down her chest, biting the skin.

"Fuck, Mr. Munson, getting close," she whimpered. She wasn't surprised by how fast her orgasm was approaching. Her body has never felt anything like this. His kiss, his touch, and his cock worked perfectly together to make her stomach burn.

Eddie had flashbacks to her paper, growling as he remembered the fire he felt when he read his name. And how she begged to be filled by him.

"Yeah? You wanna cum? Soak me in your cum?" He teased, his fingers moving faster against her clit as she shook beneath him.

"Please, please," she begged

Somehow his pace got faster and she could feel his balls slapping against her. It didn't take long for her to snap and the instant relief of an orgasm washed over her.

She reached up and gripped his neck as she came. She bit into his shoulder to silence her screams.

Eddie hissed as her teeth sunk into his skin but he loved it. He hoped it left a mark and he could see it every morning before she came into class.

"Good girl," he praised softly into her hair, he gently removed his fingers from her clit. Careful to not make her too sensitive as he chased his orgasm.

"Fill me up, Mr. Munson," she whispered heavily into his ear. Her hands tugged on his hair. His hot lips landed on her neck as he silenced his own moans and growls as he emptied himself inside of her.

He gave a few final thrusts as he pushed his cum inside of her. He breathed heavily as he slipped out of her. He slipped his arms around her body as he pressed her against him.

She panted and waited for the air to return to her lungs before she pulled away.

"Yeah, you definitely read it." She joked as she let out a breathless laugh.

He chucked with her and pecked her shoulders and neck. His kisses moved up and all around her face.

He stepped back and grabbed her dress, he helped her get it on as she slipped off the desk with wobbly legs. He turned her around as he zipped the dress, kissing her spine until the material covered the skin.

She turned the favor and helped him get dressed. He was fully clothed and she noticed her cunt was still bare.

"Where is my underwear?" She chuckled as she looked around the classroom floor.

"Right here," Eddie teased as he waved it in the air. She rolled her eyes and tried to grab it but he raised it over their heads.

"Nah uh, I think I'm going to keep this." He said as he slipped her underwear into his back pocket. The sight itself made her cunt pulse. "I think you should walk out of here with my cum dripping down those thighs as you tell little Alex that date is no longer happening." His voice was deep and dark as he wrapped his hand around her neck.

She turned submissive all over again under his touch. She nodded without a single thought. He smiled and pecked her lips, slowly pulling away so she'd chase his lips.

She pouted when his touch left her completely and he grabbed paper and a pen from his desk. She watched as he scribbled something down.

"This is my number and address, I'll see you tonight, don't bother dressing up. It'll be on my bedroom floor, anyway." He winked as he slipped the paper into her hand.

She sat shocked as he smirked unlocked the door and walked out.

But she couldn't help the huge smile across her face when she saw her underwear peeking out from his pocket.

Tags!

@bmunson86 @mxcheese @ladymunson @michaelfuckinglangdon @z0mbie-blah @biittersweet @mirrorsstuff @somethingvicked @micheledawn1975 @ago-godance @magnificantmermaid @tlclick73 @hargrovesswifee @cityofidek @silky-luxe @lokiofasgard616 @loving-and-dreaming @eddiemunsonsbitch69 @thegemaqua @ashlynnkennedy @strangerthingsstories5255 @harringt8ns @pleasinghellfire @whoscamila @stusdollface93 @gretavankleep37 @bellaisswagger @arlxt

[soobnny]

classmate au | sim jake

❝ i’m sorry we only got 26/30 on this worksheet ❞

heeseung | jay | JAKE | sunghoon | sunoo | jungwon | ni-ki

jake…

oh jake.

student athlete and math genius jake

you’re in the same class but he feels so far because he hangs out with his rly pretty friends

u can only look from afar

he’s always a tiny bit late to class

always drawing attention to his pretty boy face 😞

at 7:30, the bell rings and classes start

at 7:31, jake walks into class late

but the teachers always give him a pass bc how could they not when he smiles at them like that and apologizes like that

even ur teachers are down bad

he probably becomes your class representative for that one strict teacher’s class bc they always have a soft spot for jake

u want the deadline of the homework extended? ask jake to message them

he sits in the middle seats

not too prim and punctual to be at the front

but still likes school enough not to completely goof around at the back

sometimes your math teacher lets you do quizzes and worksheets by pair

(it’s the only way some of you can get a passing grade)

by statistics and some type of sampling, you end up getting partnered up with jake

“hi, good morning,” he’d greet with his infamous smile

now you get why all the teachers swoon for him

he’s so cute. this is going to be a problem

this is going to be a BIG problem

you were already bad at math, and now there’s a big pretty distraction sitting next to you

though, tbh, you were also relieved when you heard your name with his bc he’s ltrly known as a math genius

he’s one of the students that teachers excuse for their math contests

and wait 😭 did he just say something to u? did he ask about a formula bc u honestly have no clue

“(name)?” he’d shake your shoulder gently and it’s enough to bring you back on earth

“sorry, did you ask something?”

“oh, i’m done … if u wanted to compare answers? or if u trust me enough?”

you trust him enough

he’s ltrly THE carry

jake will speedrun differential calculus like he’s writing the alphabet

uh oh.

why does he look so HOT with his pencil and the way he writes numbers

you’re going insane

you should never be paired with jake ever again

but by some twist of fate, you always end up as jake’s partner in numerous activities

lab work and experiments and communication reports?

“jake and (name),” the teacher would announce

ofc… typical of friends, they HAVE to push you around as you walk to your seat beside jake’s

while you’re of great help with anything else, you’re starting to feel bad about his literal carry in math tho

“are you sure it’s ok? i’m just rly horrible i’m sorry,” you’d apologize

he would just laugh and dismiss your concerns

“nooo, it’s okay. i’m fine! i can tell you didn’t get enough sleep last night”

(you spent the night binging a new show that came out)

your stomach doesn’t feel so good after that one.

who gave him the right to NOTICE things now???

when your teacher returns your paired worksheets, he has the GALL to apologize

a big fat 29/30 will be written on top and he’d say “oh i’m sorry we had one mistake 😕” like BOY SHUT UP !!!!

after your partner shenanigans, you’d start talking more in the classroom

he’d give u a fist bump if u bumped into each other in the hallways while walking with ur respective friend groups

sometimes even shout your name to get your attention only to wave at you

“why are you smiling like that?,” sunghoon would ask accusingly

and you know what? jake has no shame

“(name). she’s pretty cute, no?”

BYE absolutely no shame

so now, when he speedruns an activity, you’ll find him hovering around you until he starts to make conversation

if the teacher leaves early ?? suddenly he’s transported to the seat next to yours and flirting

being friends with jake is chaotic…. bc that would automatically mean being friends with HIS loud ass friends

pretty friends have upgraded to pretty LOUD friends

they’re so annoying too

“jake and (name), can you buy us water?”, heeseung would ask

WHY R U BUYING WATER FOR HEESEUNG

but jake’s already taking your hand and dragging you away bc he will take every opportunity to hang out with you alone

BTW computer science god idk i just got the vibes

during valentines that year, he codes you a little website please end me

mind you, you aren’t even together yet

he just codes for you as a friend 😂😂😂 as if anyone’s believing that

oh and he also avails those anonymous services so you’ll just be receiving flowers from the student council throughout the day

“oooooh, who are those from,” he would be smiling like it’d be so painfully obvious it’s from him

“do you like them?” NOOOOOOO he just wants to know ok!!! tell him you love them please

OK back to normal no more valentines

when class dismisses, you’d find him lounging around the basketball court with heeseung

sweaty….. wet hair…. oh dear

jake is a sight to see when he’s playing basketball

u usually sit at the bleachers anyway bc ur friends enjoyed watching

he is SOOOOO annoying esp now that you’ve grown closer over the months

he’d make stupid plays and draw attention to you 100%

“if i get this shot in, will you go on a date with me?”

cue the screams and the teasing and the fake vomiting as you’re pushed around

OFC he makes the shot

he’s sim jake, math genius AND student athlete

“so, tomorrow after class?”

“huh?? i thought you were joking??”

“what? no! have i not been obvious? i ltrly flirt with you evry chance i get??”

“well… idk! maybe you do that with everyone!”

“only you”

OK WISH I WERE YOU THEN 😒😒😒😒😒

note. credits to user @.luvknow for the layout of this post! let me know what you think! please discuss these with me i’m crazy

[ellecdc]

A Man With a Plan (prologue)

prologue // p1 // p2 // p3 // p4 // p5 // p6 // p7 // p8

Remus Lupin x whimsical!reader - Hogwarts Era (no Voldemort) - Soulmate AU

A/N: Hello! I've been stuck in my head about the idea of a whimsical reader (think Luna Lovegood) after reading the many sweet writings of other writers on Tumblr (specifically @ moonstruckme)! I totally ship a character like this with Remus because I feel like Remus has a tendency to overthink and get stuck in his own head and a character like this would be a breath of fresh air for him and balance him really well. Please note: whimsical does not = stupid! Rather, quite smart but people find her odd and reduce this to lack of intelligence. This is my little prologue, a sort of soulmate-esque AU - what do we think? Do we like this idea? Would we read it???

CW: swearing (cuz it's Remus 'Werewolf McSwearWolf' Lupin's POV, duh)

If there was one thing people ought to know about Remus John Lupin, it was that Remus was a planner. At any given point, it would be safe to assume that Remus had a plan.

As would be typical of Remus Lupin’s luck, however, most of his plans got fucked to shit.

Example A:

As a child, Remus planned to grow up to be a wizard like his da, or a nurse like his mum. That plan was fucked to bits just before his 5th birthday when Fenrir Greyback damned him to a life of lycanthropy and a side serving of prejudice. 

Example B:

Remus Lupin planned to never be accepted to Hogwarts on account of his previously stated damnation. That plan also went sideways when an owl dropped a letter into his porridge on the morning of his 11th birthday, containing an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Remus’ da told Remus it was likely a mistake and they would rescind the offer once they learnt of his lycanthropy. Once again, plans were nullified when headmaster Dumbledore himself showed up on the doorstep of the Lupin Cottage after not receiving a response from them.

Example C:

Once he confirmed his acceptance to Hogwarts, Remus Lupin planned to be completely invisible throughout his time at school. This meant: no embarrassing himself, no bringing attention to himself, and absolutely, under no circumstances, would he make friends.

Of course, as should have been expected, this plan was fucked upside down and backwards seven ways to Sunday when the likes of James Fleamont Potter and Sirius Orion Black set their sights upon him.

Though Remus Lupin did have a plan, he was still just a boy. He’d been homeschooled his entire life due to being unable to explain his absences to muggle teachers as well as his scars/injuries from every full moon, and the village kids were quite fearful of the scarred boy. All this to say; he’d never had friends before.

So, sue him for relishing in the interest these boys seemed to have in him.

No matter: Remus could handle this. “How?” You may be wondering. By a plan, of course! 

Remus Lupin would allow these two (and Peter who went about befriending the boy in a much gentler way, so let’s make it three) friends, and planned to ensure that they never learned of his lycanthropy. He’d only just made friends; he wasn’t about to lose them. 

Of course, Sirius being the nosey fucker he is, James being the doting mother hen he is, and Peter being far too perceptive for anyone’s good – that plan was fucked to shit as well.

Remus, then, planned then to never let anyone else ever learn his secret again.

That plan was once again fucked by none other than Sirius Black and his unfortunate ‘prank’ on Severus Snape that could have cost Remus and Severus both of their lives, or at the very least, their lives as they knew it.

Remus Lupin then planned to never forgive Sirius Black for that horrible, thoughtless prank. 

Remus was admittedly not all that sad to say that this particular plan was shot too, though he ensured Sirius suffered at least a little during the process of his forgiveness. 

So, as he sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall in September of his 7th year listening to his friend’s wax poetic about their different love interests or conquests that they had made over the summer (i.e., James’ love for Lily, Sirius’ many hook-ups, and Peter’s enthusiastic support of them both), Remus made yet another plan.

Remus John Lupin planned to never, ever, fall in love. 

Moony, it would seem, had other plans. 

Continue to the first chapter here.

[patolemus]

Sterek fic recs: High School AU Edition

In honor of my conversation with @darling-winnie about same age!Sterek, as well as my promise to @oldefashioned, here are some high school au recs!

1. Double Cherries (And 'Extra' Hoodies) by undercoverbastard

“No, no - wait - don’t tell me,” Stiles suddenly said, leaning forward and grinning at the boy directly on his right, eyes gleaming with joy and mischief as he spoke. “You want… a salmon burger, swiss, with fruit, and a vanilla shake. Eh?”

Derek scowled, shoving his menu at Stiles as he slumped back. “No,” he said plainly. Stiles pouted.

“Too bad! That’s what I’m penning you in for, Eyebrows,” Stiles said, scribbling on his notepad as he stood and began to walk away. Derek huffed, opening his mouth to give Stiles his actual order, but the only word he got out was ‘I’ before Stiles waved him off without even looking back at Derek or down at the notepad, stride unbroken, as he recited:

“Double cheeseburger, half swiss, half cheddar, no pickles, curly fries, side honey mustard, strawberry milkshake, extra thick, double cherries.”

+.+.+

OR: alive hale family, alive claudia, and high school friends stiles/derek - all wrapped into one, based on a joke from a TV show i watched when i was 7, and then got wildly out of control!

Notes: adorable, I love their banter and the conection they have. Alive!Hale family is always such a treasure, and Claudia and Talia's friendship is great here. It's completed.

2. i wanna dance with somebody (who loves me) by bleepobleep

Derek gets in an accident and loses a few years of his memory; suddenly everything is different— he's not a freshman loser anymore, but a popular senior, captain of the basketball team, a shoo-in for prom king, too, and he should have everything he's ever wanted— except he doesn't seem to be friends with Stiles anymore.

Notes: Derek is not having a good time. Pookie just wants to be with his best friend but it turns out they're not best friends anymore and the world doesn't make sense because of it. A little angsty but it all works out. It's completed.

3. Don't Kiss and Tell by Hedwig221b

Paige has finally got the boyfriend she always wanted. The only thing is, said boyfriend doesn't touch her, doesn't kiss her and spends all his time with Stiles Stilinski. You'd think they were dating, or something...

Notes: When I tell you I go feral for this au every single time I read it! Hedwig has the best unhinged obsessive sterek fics and I'll swear on that, don't even try to change my mind. Poor Paige is definitely being led on here, and both Derek and Stiles are assholes in this one, but they're in love and they're completely devoted to each other, so it's okay (I know it doesn't make sense now, but it will. Trust). It's completed.

4. But Then What... by Stoney

Senior year is almost over, and all Stiles needs to do is keep his head down to survive. A teacher calls in a favor, leaving him stuck tutoring Derek Hale, one of the most popular jocks in school and a member of a group of douchecanoes who have bullied Stiles for years. He's someone Stiles totally hates. Totally. Like, doesn't like him even a little bit. DEFINITELY isn't attracted to him.

Except that is a total lie. Fuck his life, seriously.

Notes: Typical Jock/Nerd enemies to lovers only it's Stiles being incredibly paranoid and angsty all of the time lol. They both had me shaking my head because my babies truly don't know how to communicate, but we got there! Eventually. It's completed.

5. Just The Same by foxlavander

Something is seriously up with the captain of the lacrosse team. There's just no way Derek Hale is human. *** “I was wondering if you're even human. You move so quickly. I mean, it's ridiculously fast. No human should be able to move that fast, y'know? It's unfair for us. I mean, it's obvious you work out, and I don't, so that could be why, but like...I was just wondering if you were human, that's all.” “Stop talking, Stilinski, or I'll—” “Put me on the bench all season?” Stiles asks knowing full well that Derek Hale can't threaten him with shit.

Notes: This one is so good. Stiles is onto you, Derek! But seriously, they're so awesome in this one. And Derek bakes and he wants to open up a bakery and it's adorable. I love them and I love the Hales, everything is great. Look out for the werewolf reveal! It's completed.

6. The In Which Stiles Is Secretly Magic series by apocryphal

All Stiles wants from life is to learn to control his magic, keep his grades up, and not die horribly while saving Beacon Hills from supernatural threats. It's all going pretty well until Derek Hale, werewolf extraordinaire, has to go and ask him on a date. That asshole.

Notes: The lore for magic users in here is honestly so good. Love the world building! The Hales are alive in this one as well, which for me is always a plus. A little bit (maybe more than a little bit) angsty but it ends well. There's a few things going on, but basically Stiles is basically Deaton's apprentice and there are Rules(TM) he has to follow as a magic user. He's pretty badass though! The series is technically not finished, but both parts in the series are completed.

7. cheer up, babe by graveltotempo

He was the basketball captain. And he was a cheerleader. Can I make it any more clear? OR: Derek Hale thought he had his crush on Stiles Stilinski under control. And then Stiles decided to show up to school in a skirt.

Notes: Derek spends all 20k words thirsting over Stiles, as he should. Stiles gets to wear a skirt and be generally awesome. They are disgustingly sweet together.

8. Made Your Mark on Me (A Golden Tattoo) by writteninthewolfstar

Beacon Hills High and Lycan Heights High are well-known enemies. Derek Hale, Lycan Heights' star quarter-back, is well-known for being aggressive and arrogant. Imagine Stiles surprise when he discovers that Derek Hale is actually his soul-mate.

Notes: This one is very sweet. There's insecure Stiles and absolutely lovely Derek. It's abo with Omega!Stiles and Alpha!Derek, and it's actually pretty wholesome. Derek is like public enemy number one of BHHS and a jock, Stiles is a loner, and when they turn out to be soulmates they have to navigate what that means for it. It has 13 out of 14 chapters, last updated in March of 2024.

9. too busy being yours to fall for somebody else by whiry

Stiles, worried that Scott may actually leave him behind because of his newfound popularity, is desperate to cling to something away from the drama of Lydia Martin's amazing parties and the woes of high school lacrosse. What he finds is Derek Hale, a guy who seemingly hates Stiles at first, but slowly, and insistently, becomes friends with him. As their friendship grows, Stiles starts to wonder if they could ever become something more or if pushing what they have will lead him to being alone for good.

Notes: Also very sweet! It's strangers to friends to lovers, and Stiles falls out of love with Lydia without even realizing because he's fallen in love with Derek. The Hales are alive in this one, yay! The way sterek bonds over music is also so good! It's completed.

10. Stupid Over You by Wolfspurr

It's a Friday night, and instead of enjoying any of the numerous things he'd rather be doing, Stiles has been roped into dinner with his dad at the Hale's. On the plus side, Derek Hale will be there. On the minus side, Derek Hale will be there, and Stiles already has a hard enough time not making an ass of himself in front of the hottest guy in school. There's no way this can end well.

Notes: Overall amazing fic! Stiles is his oblivious awkward self that we all know and love, Derek is completely smitten with him. All this wrapped up in a dinner with the Hales and the Stilinskis. That's it, that's the fic. It's completed.

11. Six Minutes by CosmoKid

“What do you want?” Derek practically grows when Stiles is near enough to hear. He can definitely feel the werewolf vibes coming from the guy as well as the fuck off vibes that roll off him in tsunami-sized waves. Stiles has one thing he needs to say to Derek, but he also has eight million questions to ask him about the werewolf thing and he can barely sort out his thoughts as it is, let alone when there’s a ridiculously attractive werewolf who’s basically Adonis staring at him. Derek takes another drag of his cigarette and raises his eyebrows at Stiles expectantly. He shivers and blurts out, “Six minutes.” That makes Derek smirk, but it’s so condescending that even Harris would be impressed. “No offense, Kitten,” Derek starts and Stiles just narrows his eyes at the nickname. Derek keeps his eyes trained on Stiles as if to dare him to challenge the nickname. Stiles bites his tongue and resists it. “But you’re not really my type.”

Notes: This is not your typical high school au, but it's a nice change of pace. It's got werewolves, which we love, and bad boy Derek. Stiles stood no chances lol. It's completed.

12. The covalent bonds series by HaldFizzbin

Awkward Nerd Derek has been crushing on Handsome Jock Stiles since forever—so getting paired with him on a Chemistry project is definitely the best/worst thing that's ever happened to him.

Notes: I went on a little Nerd!Derek and Jock!Stiles fixation the other day so here we have it. Derek is awkward and funny and insecure and we love him. Stiles is Stiles, and he's awesome. The series is not finished, but all the parts of the series are complete.

13. It's Always Been You, Dumbass by stilinskisparkles

“Alright, cool, we should go,” Stiles says breezily, dusting off his hands as he stands. “We should?” “Yeah!” “But… Do you even care about photography?” “Not as much as I should,” Stiles plants both his hands on the table, bracketing Derek in, “You’ll have to correct my miscreant ways.”

Notes: Stiles is helplessly pining, Derek is painfully oblivious and the absolute last to find out. Somehow, they still go on like three dates together. It's pretty great, and it's completed.

14. can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time? by whirl

There's something strange about Beacon Hills. Stiles can't really put his finger on it, but the way certain classmates look at him at school and the way certain adults look at him in the grocery store has him curious. And it's not the sort of pitying looks that his mom's coworkers used to give him, but these ones are longer, more searching, like they're looking for something. Not to mention the weird noises that sometimes come from the woods when he runs, too human to be animal and too animal to be human. Plus the way the Hales have seemed to sequester themselves to the wild and give Stiles serious Cullen family vibes. But Stiles, like everyone else apparently, ignores it. Until it becomes too great to ignore and he has to investigate for himself and find out what is actually going on in Beacon Hills. +++ Or, the one where Stiles and Derek meet, hate each other, slowly get to know one another, and fall totally head over heels for each other all while avoiding curious classmates, an angry ex-girlfriend, and, oh yeah, imminent death.

Notes: This one is kinda crazy but in a good way! It's 120k words long so be prepared for that, and Stiles finds out about werewolves. Derek, pookie, I'm rooting for you all the way! Also Cora, my beloved. I adore her. Stiles is pretty confused all the time for a while there. It's completed.

15. scary stories and roasted goods by graveltotempo

“I have more, you know?” grumbled Jackson, clearing his throat. “Okay, fine. Here’s another; a man goes is staying at a hotel for the weekend. On his way to his room, he notices a door with no number on it-” “An albino woman with white skin and red eyes committed suicide in that room years ago,” finished Erica, inspecting her nails with a smirk. “We know that too.” “A babysitter goes to put two children to sleep in their room and notices a large creepy clown statue in the corner-” he tried again. “Get out of the house, we don’t have a clown statue,” said Allison, tried to hide a laugh at the flustered expression on Jackson’s face. “Two roommates in a room. Sarah says that she wants to go to a party and Mary wants to stay home-” “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn the lights on?” said Derek, and Stiles laughed, looking at him with sparkling eyes. OR the cheerleading squad, the lacrosse team and the basketball team go camping.

Notes: Another cheerleader!Stiles and Jock!Derek. I love them your honor. It's all very sweet and Derek pines as he ought to do lol. Don't worry, there's light at the end of the tunnel. It's completed.

That's all I have for this one. I probably have more in my TBR but I guess we'll find out. If I ever get there. My sterek TBR only ever grows and I never seem to be able to finish fics as fast as I find them lol. Hope you guys like these!

[hisunshiine]

—college nights, diner fights | jjk

pairing: waiter!jungkook x waitress!reader au/genre: diner au, e2l, angst, smut, fluff rating: M wc: 9,664 warnings: POV switches (obvious, tho) mentions of domestic abuse and alluded infidelity (parents not pairing), JK's mom has terrible boyfriends and his dad is a petty "Disney" dad, Reader's parents are better but not around often, mentions of Jungkook having to protect his mom from the bad boyfriends, mean teachers, enemiesssssss, triggering middle school memories can be brought up upon reading the banter of middle school JK and reader LOL but also not LOL, swearing, vulgar statements, forced proximity, secret mutual pining, a drunken physical altercation/assault at work (mild), mentions of blood, minor cuts/scrapes, kissing, tattoo tracing SMUT warnings: oral (f receiving), praise an: shoutout to my beta readers @colormepurplex2 @downbad4yoongi @mrsparkjimin18 @peachiilovesot7 for helping me get this thing done in time despite me being on vacation and dragging my feet! thank you all so much for the motivation, for brainstorming, and just all around positive feedback! summary: If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen! You and Jungkook have been enemies for as long as you can remember—elementary school even—and when Seokjin hires him despite knowing this, you have to call a truce during working hours. When an incident at work leads Jungkook, and you, to put things into a different perspective, will the heated diner fights become a passionate college night? Or will it fizzle before it can start?

Bangtanstrology Writing Event hosted by ME of @bangtanwritershq

My Big 3 are: Sun (Member): Gemini- Jungkook, Moon (How They Met): Scorpio- Late Night Diner, Rising (Trope): Libra- Enemies to Lovers

Part 1: Elementary School

Elementary school is supposed to be fun. For you, 11 years old and in the fifth grade, elementary school is perhaps the best time of your life so far. Your dad signed up for career day, and you are excited beyond measure for him to come in and meet with your class to talk about his job.

It’s rare that you get to spend time with your dad, as his job keeps him pretty busy. The fact that he was able to show up today was a miracle in and of itself, but he negotiated presenting first so that he could leave first to get to work. 

“Everyone, please welcome our first parent speaker, Mr. Cha.”

Your classmates applaud as your dad steps forward to the podium in the front center of the classroom and you beam from ear to ear. He looks all spiffy—hair styled well, suit pressed, and shoes shined. 

“Good morning, boys and girls, I am Mr. Cha, and I am here to speak to you about my career. To be honest, I have two jobs,” he pauses as the kids, including you, look at him in both awe and confusion, “I am the father to that little girl right there,” he points to you and you giggle. “That is a full time job all on its own, but for the other time spent working, I am a plastic surgeon.”

You can’t help the pride you feel from your classmates clapping as your dad shares. He talks about the schooling needed to get to his position, shares study tips for the transition to middle and high school, which—while still some time away—will be good to begin practicing even now. 

“You’re so handsome, Mr. Cha! Have you ever had any work done yourself?” one of the students asks during the question time.

“Ah, great question! I have tried some of the treatments that we offer at my clinic, because if I don’t believe in it, why should others have faith in me and the services I offer?” he explains. “I had a colleague of mine fix my deviated nose bridge, which I injured playing basketball in college, and I maintain my skin with various anti-aging treatments as well. It’s important to start taking care of your skin even at this age! Princess, come help me please.” Your dad gestures to you, and you rise from the chair, only a little embarrassed at him using your nickname. “Help me pass these out to your classmates.”

You begin walking around the room, placing the small cardstock printouts on each of your classmates’ desks as your dad continues speaking.

“These are coupons for my office. You can give these to a family member, or if your parents will allow you to come in, we offer a free consultation to check your skin, and a reduced rate for any skin care products or procedures for any of my princess’s classmates and their family.” He wraps up his presentation there, pulling you into him for a side hug as he smiles at your classmates and the other parents waiting in the wings to present. “Thank you for letting me present, I’ve got to run because I have a rhinoplasty scheduled today, and I need to prepare, but I had a lot of fun talking with you all today!” As your dad kisses your forehead, he whispers a quick goodbye as he leaves your classroom. You’ve never felt so proud.

🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️

“Okay, everyone, let’s line up for P.E.,” Ms. Kim directs, and you jump in line with your peers to walk down to the field. Your classroom teacher disappears for his break as Ms. Kim takes over, and thus ensues a battle between your class as you play ‘Capture the Flag’. 

“The rules are simple,” Ms. Kim explains, “a ball is placed on each side of the field in that box.” She points at the four cones creating a safe zone with a kickball inside of it. “Once the game begins, players have to cross the midline into ‘enemy’ territory to try and capture the ball and bring it back to their side. The other team has to stop you from stealing the ball by pulling the flags to remove your waistband—no tackling! Understand?”

“Yes, Ms. Kim!” 

“Good. If your belt is pulled off, you stand off to the side at the cone here, okay? That’s the jail. To rescue your teammates from jail, you have to high five them. You must return to your side before attempting to go after the ball again. Once a player enters the box, they are safe, but they cannot stay in there forever…” 

You tune out Ms. Kim because you already know how to play, and instead busy yourself with wrapping the tan belt around your waist, adjusting the position of the three blue flags hanging from it. The red team moves to their side of the midline, and you stretch your legs idly as you wait for the teacher to blow her whistle. 

🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️

Huffing, you pout as you walk to the jail cone, re-attaching the waistband that your classmate pulled off. He’s put you in jail several times now, almost as if he’s targeting only you during the game. It’s getting a little irritating, since Jeon Jungkook is the fastest boy in the fifth grade, but he’s spending all of his time chasing you instead of helping his team win. Even now, he’s guarding the jail so your best friend can’t come to save you again.

“Dang, JK, you pulled her flag again?” Kim Taehyung snickers loudly as he jogs over to where you’re held captive.

“Can’t let the princess get everything, now can we?” he taunts, a sarcastic tone to his words.

Kim Taehyung, unable to whisper to save his life, leans into Jungkook and asks, “Do you think her dad worked on her face? No way she’s that pretty on her own.”

Your feelings are split between irritated and pleased at the backhanded compliment. 

“She’s not that pretty, it looks more like her dad messed up her face, ‘cause she’s so ugly,” Jungkook counters, and it’s hard to decipher if his cheeks are red from playing or from talking about your looks.

“But, you said last week that she was—”

Ms. Kim’s whistle blows to end the game, and you miss the end of Taehyung’s statement. Walking away from the two fools, you barely get a foot outside of the jail zone when a sharp tug at your waist stops you in your tracks. You look down and see your belt missing, and hear a soft thud a few moments later as it hits the grass in the opposite direction several yards away.

Taehyung is laughing, his large boxy grin behind his hand as Jungkook smirks at you. 

“You lost.”

The two then take off towards where your teacher is collecting the game belts, leaving you to backtrack to get yours.

“What took you so long? Everyone else has already returned to the building. Taking your time  to head back to class is not good sportsmanship.”

“But, Jungkook—”

“No excuses. Hurry up and get inside.”

Jogging back to the building, you get another scolding when you reach the classroom, with your teacher telling you that just because your dad is a surgeon and came for Career Day does not mean you get to behave this way. From the corner of your eye, you watch as Jungkook eats up every second of the scolding, seeming to enjoy the way you wilt as it continues. As you walk back to your seat, you don’t see Jungkook stick out his foot, and you trip loudly as the desks and chairs nearest you clatter and clang as you try to regain your footing.

As the boys snicker at your forced clumsiness, you vow to yourself that Jeon Jungkook is the worst person to exist, and you will hate him for as long as you live. 

Part 2: Middle School

Jungkook’s had a hard week. Chuseok just ended, and he had to spend it with his dad’s family instead of with his mom this year, per their divorce agreement. He’s partially thankful because it allowed him a moment to rest. His hypervigilance with his mom’s new boyfriend is tiring, and his grades are suffering for it. But Jungkook is tired of these men sniffing around for a piece of the ‘supposed’ alimony his mom receives from his dad, because everyone was aware when the CEO of Jeon Industries divorced his wife and married his secretary. Jungkook begged to switch schools, but his parents refused, despite it being reported on several news outlets for a month in sixth grade. 

Eighth grade hasn’t been so bad for him though, no one talks about the divorce anymore, and Jungkook is able to be just Jungkook, known for his athletic abilities and gaming. He was able to guilt his dad into a new gaming computer, since he forgot to take him back to school shopping, and Jungkook is able to help his mom pay the bills each month with the earnings he makes betting on Overwatch. 

So when he returns back home, tired of hearing tales and seeing pictures of the trip to Cancun with the new baby that conveniently interrupted the planned shopping trip, to see his bed holding a Nike box with the shoes Jungkook begged his mom to get at the start of the year, he’s elated. He erupts into shouts and whoops of excitement, running to the kitchen to hug his mom.

“Ouch!” she can’t hide the wince as Jungkook pulls back from the embrace.

“I didn’t even squeeze you that tightly, Mom. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing, you know how clumsy I am, I ran into the dining room table the other night—”

Jungkook doesn’t even think as he reaches for the hem of her shirt, barely lifting it to see an ugly burgundy bruise spreading across her abdomen.

“Mom! Did he do this to you?” Jungkook demands, fury building in his body. 

“N-no, honey, you know how I c-can be,” she stutters through the lie, but they both know the truth. 

“Mom, if he did this because of money, just return the shoes, it’s fine.”

“No. I bought those for you. You deserve them.” His mom is resolute, turning away and adjusting her shirt as she goes back to cooking dinner. “Plus, we broke up. He won’t be back.”

Up in his room, Jungkook readies the shoes for school tomorrow. He has a few nice things, his dad is a CEO after all, but after the divorce, Jungkook chose his mom, and his dad took it personally. His dad didn’t understand, but the choice was clear to Jungkook. His dad had a new wife, but his mom had no one. Jungkook couldn't leave her too. But his dad became spiteful after that, and so Jungkook can’t take most things his dad buys him to his mom’s house, including certain clothes and shoes. 

It’s why he’s so upset about his dad missing back-to-school shopping, because those were usually the only things he was allowed to take to his mom’s, but this year he has nothing new. Not until his mom bought him the Nike Dunks he’s been coveting. Jungkook is happy, proud of his mom for choosing him over the newest boyfriend, and lying in bed, he finally feels like maybe his life isn’t so bad. He hears a knock at the door, and his mom’s tired feet shuffling to answer it.

“Please, Jongyeon-ah, I promise, it won’t happen again.” 

Jungkook rolls over, grabbing his headphones to drown out the sounds of the pleading, good for nothing, weaseling himself back into his mom’s life.

🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️��️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️

 “Yo, Jungkook, those dunks are fly!”

Jungkook props his shoes up on the desk next to his in class, showing off the brand-new kicks to Taehyung.

“Yeah, they're limited edition.” Jungkook knows his response is a little douchebag-esque, but he doesn’t care. He’s wanted these shoes for the longest time, and after all of the bullshit he dealt with during Chuseok and now waking up to see that greasy slimeball his mom said she was done with shirtless at the table for breakfast, he just wants to pretend for once that his life is perfect. 

“Take your crusty shoes off my desk,” you scoff. Jungkook ignores you for a few seconds, leaving his feet where he has them propped on your desk. He hates that you called his shoes crusty, knowing that they’re not. They don’t even have a speck of dirt on them! He made sure of that upon his arrival, being overly cautious with each step and wiping away any blemish he perceived to be there.

“Awe, is the princess jealous she doesn’t have the limited edition dunks?” Jungkook can’t pinpoint when this rivalry started, he just knows that for as long as he can remember, the two of you have been enemies. 

“There’s a reason the supply is limited. It’s because they’re ugly and they stopped making them once they realized someone would have to be an idiot to wear them. You sitting here with them just proves this point.” You push his crossed feet off your desk and he lets you, but Jungkook holds you in his glare.

“One day you’ll stop being a hater, drowning in all that Haterade you’ve been drinking,” Jungkook makes a play on words, and his friends ‘ooooh’ and high five at his middle school burn.

🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️

At lunch, Jungkook precariously steps between the seats to avoid damaging his shoes. His shins are starting to hurt from how he’s walking to avoid creasing his sneakers, but it’s worth the pain to him. He’s successfully avoided getting any food on his shoes from the sloppy eaters, and as he makes the last stretch to the door, a loud yell catches him off guard.

“Watch it!”

Nayeon, one of your lackeys, warns everyone as she’s bumped by you and her red sports drink goes flying. Jungkook is stuck between tables, backpacks cluttering the aisle and Nayeon’s body flailing taking up all of the space. It all happens in seconds—a hip check, a flying drink, and the contents now strewn across the floor and Jungkook’s new sneakers and laces now stained a bright red, dripping across the leather and fabric of his brand new, limited edition Nike Dunks. 

“Oh my god, Nayeon, you are so clumsy!”

Jungkook gawps at you, unbelieving, as your annoying voice fills the silence that took over the room only moments before.

“So sorry, Jungkook. Nayeon bumped into me and then she spilled her haterade—I mean Gatorade—all over your new shoes! I hope those weren’t hard to get or anything! I’m sure your CEO daddy can get you a new pair.”

Jungkook storms from the room, seething at your audacity. If you had any idea about his life, would you treat him this way? He wishes you could walk a day in his shoes, maybe you would realize that life outside your perfect, princess bubble is not always sweet, and would think twice before being a bitch to him, but it’s too late for him to change his view of you. You are the devil’s spawn and Jungkook has never hated someone as much as he hates you.

Part 3: High School

Getting into BTS-U should be easy for you, what with your dad being an alumnus, but you don’t want to rely on nepotism. You’ve been working your ass off for good grades all four years of high school, and the final determination of your competency is about to start. Only one student can represent your high school as the Youth of the Year, winning prestige and honor by being granted early admission into any four-year university in the country of their choice without needing CSAT scores. 

The last of the trials, the oral interview, is scheduled for today and as you sit outside the room in the creaky, overly hard chair, your heart pounds. Of course, the final two students competing for this merit would be the two students who despise each other the most in the school, making the competition that much more important to you. 

You cannot lose to fucking Jeon Jungkook.

“We’re ready for you!”

The chipper voice startles you from your thoughts as you steel yourself to go into the final challenge. 

🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️🍽️

“Thank you all for your participation in the Youth of the Year program. As you know, the contenders were all very high achieving and will have plenty of options available to you for your future. Do not let not being named deter you from the future awaiting you all. Now, today, we interviewed the two finalists from this wonderful school, and while both were outstanding, one student really opened up and shared a vulnerable side to him that inspired us. He has already begun an incredible journey in his young life, showcasing a will to succeed. Jeon Jungkook, please stand.”

The crowd in the auditorium bursts into applause as you burst into tears. The one good thing about this ceremony is that the finalists do not sit on stage, so in the chaos and celebration, you are able to sneak away to the bathroom. Jeon Jungkook looked so shocked to have been chosen, but you knew that he couldn’t actually be shocked. His mom stood up with him, hugging him with pride, and your parents couldn’t even be bothered to show up for such an important moment. 

You tell yourself it’s not a big deal, that you have done well and will most likely have the same options for college as Jungkook does, but being a Youth of the Year finalist is not the same as being the Youth of the Year. What really hurts you the most is that if the roles were switched, Jungkook’s mom would be there to hug him and tell him he did great and fought hard. If you had been chosen, you still would’ve been alone, but at least the loneliness wouldn’t have hurt as much. 

The judges who interviewed you must think you don’t need the help, that you have everything you could ever want, so why would they choose the spoiled little rich girl? Why would they choose the girl who eats dinner with the maids, who read bedtime stories to herself growing up, the girl who has everything—everything except a family that loves her more than their careers and supports her unfailingly?

Facing the mirror, you reach for your purse and pull out the small makeup pouch so that you can erase any evidence of the sadness you feel today, brimming with the unshed tears of yesterday, and prepare your battle face to go back out there and be cordial as the runner up. Another battle you’ll face alone. 

Part 4: College at BTS-U

“Welcome to Jin’s Diner, have a seat wherever you’d—what the fuck are you doing here?”

The chiming of the door opening caught your ear, so you’d turned to greet the newest customer, except instead of an overly tired trucker or a group of post-clubbing college students, you’re faced with one Jeon Jungkook.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” he asks, eyebrow pitched and smirk full of snark.

“No, I kiss your father with this mouth. Now get out.” You go back to wiping down the counters, ignoring the stare of your arch-nemesis as you finish cleaning.

“Now, now, Baby Cakes, let your new coworker into the diner so you can finally get the help you've been asking for.”

You turn to the owner’s son, Kim Seokjin, mouth gaping open in confusion. “Coworker? I thought you read through the notes I made on all of the applicants?”

“Yes, I did, and they were very helpful. He’ll be working nights with you, so show him to the back while I grab a lock for his locker and a uniform.”

“Sir—”

“Now, Cakes.”

Seokjin disappears into the hallway towards his office, and you turn back to Jungkook, who’s standing smugly with his arms crossed watching you.

“Ugh, keep up, small fry.” 

Jungkook’s black boots squeak along the freshly mopped floor as he hustles to catch up with you. The doorway behind the counter opens into the kitchen, where the two line cooks, Hoseok and Yoongi, work diligently. Hoseok is sitting next to the recently delivered products with a clipboard in hand as he counts the items, while Yoongi is wiping down his area before the rush begins. You clear your throat loudly to gather their attention.

“We have a new waiter, his name is Jeon Jungkook, but he shall go by Small Fry, I think.” The smile on your face is devilish, and the two men snicker as they take in the newbie rushing in behind you.

“Wait, why am I ‘Small Fry’?” he asks, only a little out of breath from having to round the counter and catch up to you.

“Because everyone who works here gets called a food nickname, helps with the creeps, especially on nights.”

“I’m Suga,” Yoongi greets, “and this here is Hobi-Honey, but we just call him Hobi for short.”

“And I’m Baby Cakes, as you heard bossman say.”

“What’s your real name again, Small Fry?” Yoongi asks, his platinum hair shining in the fluorescent kitchen lights.

“It’s Jungkook,” he answers, emphasizing his name as he glares at you.

“Hmm, Baby Cakes, I think he might be better suited to Cooky…”

“Isn’t that too close to his name?” you argue, hoping to keep Small Fry, but when you see Hobi shake his head, you know you’ve lost.

“Fine, Cooky it is then! Next new hire will be called Small Fry no matter what!” you concede, waving Jungkook to follow you towards the back of the kitchen.

He trails you quietly as you push a swinging wooden door with a circular window in it and lead him into the employee lounge. Seokjin is whistling to himself as you enter, twirling a metal lock around his finger. You look around the room, surprised at how quickly he had everything ready.

“Great, you met Suga and Hobi then?” he asks, nodding at the door you just entered.

“Yes, I figured it would be best to do that first on the way here.”

“So, Jungkook—”

“He’s Cooky,” you interrupt, but Seokjin just shakes your rudeness off.

“—Cooky, this here’s the lounge. The door you just entered is used while you’re on shift for breaks and such. When you arrive for your shift and leave for the night, it should always be through the door behind me.” He gestures to a purple-handled door. “To the left are the employee cubbies, and to the right, we have the laundry station, small kitchenette, and door to the staff bathroom.” 

You nod at the TV mounted on the wall next to the swinging door. “The remote always stays on this table,” you tap the main table in the room that seats six, “and we typically keep the TV on ESPN, MTV, or my personal favorite, HGTV.”

“Thank you, Cakes. Now, your Jin’s Diner gear stays here, we’ll wash it for you after each shift you work.” Seokjin points to a stacked washer and dryer in the corner. “Just throw it in the wash after your shift each night. We’ll put it back in your cubby for you once dry.”

Jungkook nods, but he looks a bit overwhelmed from all of the information. You take the lead and sit down first hoping he’ll follow you. You know Seokjin talks fast and moves through the employee information even faster, and despite not liking Jeon Jungkook, you need the help on your shift since Mochi quit to focus on his last semester.

You grab a permanent marker and white label from the center of the table, tossing it across to Jungkook with a little more force than necessary.

“We each have a cubby, with a small locker inside. Use this to write your name and then claim an empty spot, and you can also write your name on the tags of your uniform.”

Seokjin grabs plastic-wrapped clothing articles from the cabinet next to the laundry station and approaches the table, too, tossing down the new clothing. 

“Your gear. Shirt, apron, and a ballcap. If you want a visor instead, let me know. Black, khaki, or blue jeans, black non-slip shoes, keep the blingy jewelry at home.”

“Dammit, I was planning to choke him with his chain after the first shift.”

Seokjin levels his gaze at you, and you know you’re pushing your limits with him. 

“I’ll have you follow Baby Cakes around to learn the drill for taking orders, but mostly you’ll be bussing tables tonight. I’ll work on the final processing of your paperwork in the meantime. Cakes, come with me while he changes.”

You follow Seokjin out of the lounge and back towards the office. He opens the door and steps back to allow you to enter first, shutting the door behind him as he follows you into the room.

“You need to tone it down. I know you said that you and he have some bad blood, but we need the help and he’s the best applicant we have.”

“It’s deeper than that, Jinnie, he’s literally been tormenting me since elementary school. We work with heavy-duty machinery and cutlery. You might come in one morning to find that one of us has stabbed the other to death.” You push out your bottom lip and give him your best, roundest, watery puppy eyes. “Is that what you really want?”

“What I want is to have a fully staffed evening shift so that my best girl can stop having bags under her eyes and complaining about her feet hurting every shift.” Seokjin smiles teasingly at you. “Plus, you need a good annual review to get a raise, and training new employees looks good to the owner.”

“Your dad is the owner! You can just tell him to give me a raise!”

“I could…but this is so much more fun. Who knows, he’s kinda hot…maybe you find out that the reason he’s picked on you your whole life is because he has a crush on you.”

“That fallacy is just a way for the patriarchy to continue to push abuse acceptance and the ‘boys will be boys’ agenda.” You cross your arms, but overall you know Seokjin is right. You’ve always prided yourself on being able to adapt well to situations, put a fake smile on when you need to deal with rude customers or your parents missing another monumental event in your life. “But fine. At work, it’ll be a ceasefire. That’s about all I can promise you.”

“I thought you said there would be a ceasefire!” Seokjin yells at you from where you sit in his office. Jungkook is seated next to you, slouching in the chair with his head turned away towards the wall. You can see his jaw clenching every few seconds as Seokjin continues berating you. “Instead, I got a call from a family friend that you two were so busy yelling at each other for not doing your jobs that you effectively stopped doing your job!” 

You huff as you roll your eyes, turning away from Jungkook’s severely hot—no—aggravating jawline, (where did that thought even come from?) to respond to Seokjin.

“That’s not even what happened last night! This idiot decided to fuck with the seating and of course, since the big game is tomorrow, we had a lot of people stop in and it was noisy. I was trying to seat the guests who were being louder and rowdier on one side so that our regulars,” you glare at Jungkook, who’s still refusing to look at either you or Seokjin, “could dine in peace, but when I ran to the back to restock the napkins for the bar top, he seated people himself. He’s not the host. He’s still a newbie! It’s been, what? Three, four months?”

“...Four,” Jungkook mumbles, but you ignore it.

“And so then poor Mrs. Hana ended up dealing with the hooligans who disrupted her meal, and yes, it was when I was trying to explain to him how seating works—”

“I know how seating works, it’s not rocket science!”

“So then why would you mess with the flow of the diner and seat them there?!”

“Because you,” Jungkook finally breaks the stoic act and turns to face you abruptly, so much so you almost visibly jump, “kept seating the large groups in your sections, which meant that you were giving yourself the better tips and leaving me with the geriatrics who barely leave anything!”

“Are you serious? You think I was trying to take tips from you? I hate dealing with the sports crowd! I would have gladly traded with you if you had said something to me, but you were too busy ignoring me when I was trying to talk to you about dividing up the floor—”

“—you talk to me like I’m a child, so of course I was ignoring you, you dolt—”

“—really piss me off, you think I would stoop so low, probably because it’s what you would do—”

“Shut up, both of you!” Seokjin’s eyes have a hardness to them you are not used to seeing. He’s usually laid back, but the stress lines on his face speak to an underlying tension you aren’t aware of. “Look,” he takes a deep breath, rubbing his hand over his eyes briefly, “this can’t happen again. Mrs. Hana could’ve broken her hip slipping on the spilled soda, and her son is debating suing us. My dad is obviously handling this situation, but that means your jobs are on the table. If her son demands it in exchange to avoid a lawsuit, I can’t stop it.”

It settles on you at that moment, how severe this is. You know that the little, old lady regular slipped and fell, but both you and Jungkook rushed over to help her up, comping her meal and walking her outside to sit quietly and assess how she was feeling while waiting for her son to arrive. Not only that, but he didn’t seem mad when he picked her up—just worried about if she was in pain and if she needed to go see a doctor. Apparently, after the shock wore off, his anger set in.

“I’m sorry, Seokjin. It won’t happen again.”

“Get to your shift, I’m sure Nam—I mean Porkchop—is ready to go. Remember, Suga will be late today, the championship game is tonight. So no more ignoring the hooligans and Cooky,” Seokjin gives his leveled glare to Jungkook this time, “Baby Cakes is in charge. I know you’re eager to prove yourself, and you’ve done well so far, but she’s worked the aftermath of championship games before.”

Jungkook stares back at Seokjin, a low humming tension filling the room before he answers with a “Yes, sir.” 

The diner is louder than Jungkook’s ever heard before as he goes around clearing tables now that the game is over. His coworker, Yoongi, did amazing from what he saw on the screen. BTS-U wore their white home jerseys with purple and black lettering, so it was easy to see when number 3 hit the game-winning three-pointer. 

Now, as the same white jersey is stepping into the diner, all of the fans cheer and bang their cups and silverware to congratulate the MBC Cup National University Basketball Championship’s MVP for the win tonight. 

Jungkook looks across the dining area, where he sees you kneeling on the countertop clapping your hands above your head. The uniform dress that you chose for tonight has risen higher up your thigh than normal—probably from the way you climbed up onto the counter—giving Jungkook a pretty good view of the skin leading up to what he’s sure are lace panties. He’s walked in on you changing one too many times to not know your preference. 

He can’t look away from you; something about the sheer energy radiating off of you is magnetic, as if you’re lit from within, and before he knows it, he’s moving closer to you. Jungkook knows he can’t stand you personally, but physically? He’ll never admit this aloud—not since Taehyung almost told you the truth back in elementary school— but you’re the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. 

He doesn’t have much time to ponder your looks as you bring two fingers to your lips and let out a loud wolf whistle, setting you off balance with the action. Luckily he’s already been pulled into your orbit, because he catches you with two strong hands on your waist before you can fall off the counter.

“Thanks, Cooky!” you say, eyes alight and voice pleasant, as if you’ve forgotten who Jungkook is to you, and who you are to him. 

“No problem, Baby Cakes.” Jungkook helps you climb down, and when you bend forward to place your palms on the counter to dismount, he sees his hypothesis on your panties is right. His eyes remain on your ass as you extend a leg to the floor, and despite the trouble the two of you got into before your shift, Jungkook can’t seem to care to remember why he shouldn’t be enjoying the view.

“Congrats, Suga!” Jungkook watches as you launch yourself into Yoongi’s arms, giving him a loud smooch on the cheek.

“Thanks, Cakes, that last shot was for you.” He winks, and Jungkook doesn’t understand why he’s feeling so affected, but he wants to blame it on those panties you unknowingly flashed for the irritation he feels toward his friend for flirting with you. She’s your enemy, Kook, get it the fuck together.

Jungkook stalks away, grabbing his bussing bin and rag so he can clean up the table of the group in line to pay.

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“Fuck you and your sorry-ass school!” 

Jungkook turns his head to see you standing feet shoulder-width apart with your arms crossed, looking so much like the evil bitch he’s come to know. Only this time, it’s directed towards an EXO-U fan, by the looks of the silver and black shirt he’s sporting.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

You command the space well, and had the man been sober, he probably would have listened to you when you gave him the polite option to leave on his own two feet. As luck would have it, the man grew more belligerent with each passing moment, causing Jungkook to run and grab Yoongi from the back to help handle the situation. Jungkook doesn’t like what he’s hearing when he returns to the front.

“You dumb cunt, we don’t have to leave! Come over here, baby, suck my cock like you suck their players, bet that’s why they won, huh? Saw you all over their star player earlier, let me get a piece, bitch.”

Jungkook wants to lunge at the man, but Yoongi beats him to the table, effortlessly grabbing the man by his arm and neck to yank him from his booth seat.

Jungkook gets to his other side, helping the man walk towards the double glass doors as Yoongi mutters menacingly at the patron.

“Best not show your face around here again, if you know what’s good for you. Find another place to eat, and we won’t beat your ass.”

Yoongi lets go of the man once they clear the sidewalk into the parking lot, the man’s friends stumble out behind, but Jungkook shoves the man hard, and he falls to the ground. He feels no remorse for the man; he reminds him too much of the creeps his mom dealt with: stench of alcohol on their breath that grew with each vulgar word that rolled out of their mouths, animosity leeching from their greasy skin—Jungkook needs to wash his hands and splash his face. 

Fleeing inside, he bypasses you cleaning up the mess the rowdy table left behind, unable to hear the words you say clearly enough to decipher them. He knows that it’s almost time to close up and he has a few tasks to do to help speed up the process, but he’ll get to them in a minute. He just needs a minute to shake off this feeling, and then he’ll be okay to do the final cleaning for the evening, and find out what you said.

You’ve always hated dealing with the championship game guests, but always loved being with the crowd because of the thrill and your love for the game. The shift wasn’t terrible work-wise, as Jungkook really pulled his weight throughout the shift, allowing you to be in charge as the hostess and main waitress, filling in where you needed and bussing tables as the guests rotated through the double doors.

And you can’t lie, when you almost lost your balance on the counter, it was kind of hot that he was there to catch you, and help you down safely. With his jawline that can cut glass and his warm hands sitting large on your hips, you were a little sad to have them drop away, but you hid your disappointment in congratulating Suga and then moved on with the shift.

Of course, such a perfectly good shift had to end with a douchebag. To your surprise, when you turn to look to Jungkook for help, he’s already approaching with Suga in tow. And damn your worst enemy if he doesn’t do the second hottest thing of the night, vanquishing the drunkard with the sailor’s mouth from your sight, his foul friends trailing behind. 

You clear off the table, the half-eaten food discarded in the trash and you realize that it needs to be taken out now before the last of the tables are done. Jungkook speed walks past you, so you call out to him, “Cooky, take the trash out, please!”

You finish sweeping under the table, then wipe down the booth’s table as Suga also returns inside, pausing to check on you.

“Everything good, Cakes?”

You nod, placing a hand on your hip as you reflect on the incident. “Yeah, he was a real fuck boy, but you and Cooky saved me just in time.”

“Always…I’m surprised Cooky was so worked up when he called me from the kitchen. Usually you two are at each other’s throats, I would’ve thought he’d enjoy seeing you deal with a rude customer.”

“Well, we did get yelled at earlier by Jin for last night, so we promised to work together and drop whatever rivalry we have during working hours. So maybe that’s it.”

“Mmm…maybe. Well, let me go help Hobi, this last wave will keep us later if I don’t.” Yoongi takes a few steps to round the counter, then calls back out to you, “The trash is about to overflow, Cakes!”

Frowning, you notice that Jungkook has yet to return to take out the trash. Glancing around the room, you see most of the tables are in stages of eating or waiting for their food. They all seem well and distracted with clips from the post-game coverage, so you decide to take out the trash yourself. Maybe the truce between you and Jungkook isn’t as intact as you think. 

Grumbling to yourself, you tie off the bag and lift it from the bin, foot angled to keep the wheels from sliding across the floor from the tug. You eye the replacement black bag, but decide to put it in once you return from the dumpster. 

You hate taking out the trash; you love feminism but some tasks are just made for men. You refuse to use the loud trolley with the janky wheel, so you carry the bag gingerly, resting it down every few steps as you make your way across the sparsely lit back parking lot.

“Well, if it isn’t the bitch who didn’t let me finish my meal.”

You snap your head around, eyes roving for the source of the raspy words, finally landing on the douchebag discharged from the diner only 10 minutes ago.

“We didn’t charge you for it, so I suggest you leave before this turns into a real problem.” You keep your eyes on him, watching as he shifts around on his feet, inching closer to you. You hold your stance, refusing to look weak in case he decides you’d make a good target.

“Maybe if you come suck me off like a good girl, I won’t leave a bad review online about how much of a cunt you’re being. Matter of fact, throw in some pussy, let me fuck you properly and I bet all that attitude will drop. You just need someone to tame you.”

The man lunges for your left arm, his meaty fist closing around your wrist and you pull back to break the contact but he’s strong. You yell out, stumbling back away from the trash bag and he follows, heavy footfalls adding to the sounds of the evening. 

“Let go, you freak!”

You jolt your arm, wrenching it in as many directions as you can to try and relax his grip but he pulls you closer to him until you can smell the ethanol on his breath as he places his other hand forcefully on your shoulder. 

“I said I wanted you on your knees, stupid bitch,” he utters, and reflexively you punch him in his dick. He groans and releases you, hunching over in pain. You make out a figure stepping through the service door, and you call out for help. Attempting to step around the man, you only make it a few steps before you feel the weight of the man bearing down on you again.

“You stupid bitch!”

You try to run, but the man has the back of your dress in his grip so instead, your shoes scrape the asphalt in the same place repeatedly. A loud thwack of flesh on flesh sounds right before you’re released, dropping the short distance to the concrete. Your palms and knees feel the sting of the gravel but the relief of being out of the man’s hold overpowers any lingering pain as you scramble to your feet. 

Behind you, Jungkook is pummeling the man in the face, and you pause for a moment in shock before you rush back to him, grabbing his bicep to stop him from swinging again.

“Cooky, stop, I’m okay! Jungkook!”

He freezes, turning to look at you as if to see if your statement is true, and seeing that you’re serious, he appears to deflate a bit, no longer an attacking watchdog but a protective knight, making sure his charge is unscathed.

“Let’s go.” He gestures for your hand and you place yours in his, letting him guide you away from the groaning sack of trash and the garbage bag on the ground.

The fluorescent lights of the break room are blinding after the darkness of outside. Vaguely you hear Jungkook yelling at the others working, followed by the clattering of kitchen items, but you’re so out of sorts you don’t even realize that Jungkook has maneuvered you into a chair and is gently checking your knees, palms, and arms. He brushes off the remaining dirt from your skin.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

His voice sounds pained, and this pulls you from your thoughts and back to the present with him. 

“Um, I don’t think so.”

“Where all did he touch you? It might not hurt now, but once the adrenaline dies off, you might feel it.”

“Um, my arm, my shoulder, I can’t…I don’t know.”

“It’s okay, let me check your neck…he grabbed your dress and pulled you, so I wanna make sure it won’t bruise.”

He takes your face in his hands delicately, tilting your head to expose your neck to his view. The proximity has your head spinning, his cologne enveloping you as he leans closer, a hand leaving your cheek to allow a finger to trail across your neckline. You know he’s just checking to make sure that there’s no lingering marks, but you don’t think that the after effects of tonight will be anything anyone can see. He grabs a glass of water for you, and you sit quietly while he tends to the minor cuts on your palms from the jagged gravel in the parking lot. 

Time seems to pass as you’re deep in thought, but you’re not sure how much until Seokjin appears, his purple and white painted face replacing the doe eyes and clenched jaw. He looks frazzled, as if he just left an after-party for the championship and was pulled into work. You realize after a moment that that’s actually what happened, and chuckle at yourself. He says your real name, pulling you out of your laughter.

“I’m so sorry this happened, luckily Jungkook was there. I don’t know what I would've done if something happened to you.” Seokjin pulls you into a hug, and you reciprocate, squeezing him tighter as the feeling of being held feels good. He pulls away sooner than you like, but he continues talking to you about what’s been going on since you’ve been sitting in the employee lounge.

“Look, don’t worry about staying and cleaning up tonight, okay? We’ve got everything under control. Hobi called the cops and Yoongi made sure the guy didn’t flee before they came. He’s in their custody now.”

“What about Jungkook?” you ask, uncharacteristically using his given name.

“He’s giving his statement to the police now. They’ll want to talk to you too, but I can put it off for tonight if you need,” Seokjin offers kindly, but you want to get it over with.

“It’s okay, I’ll speak to them now.”

“If you’re sure. I’ll grab one of the detectives now and they can take your statement, and then I’m sending you home. Jungkook will drive you, okay? You’re still a bit shaky.”

You look down at your hands, seeing the tremble Seokjin is referencing and nod. There’s no use in putting up a fight. All of the men you work with have now proven that you’re safe with them. Seokjin walks over to the door, popping his head out to call for an officer, and he paces quietly as you recount what happened, starting with the attacker growing belligerent in the dining area. Once finished, Seokjin grabs Jungkook from where he’s talking with Yoongi outside the door, ushering him to take your belongings and get you home.

You follow along, compliant, waving goodbye to the others as Jungkook pulls off into the main road back towards campus.

“You live by BTS-U, right?”

“Yeah, at Omelas, next to the train tracks.”

Neither of you speak again until he parks, turning off the engine to his jeep.

“Here, let me help you.” Jungkook grabs your backpack and climbs out of the SUV, coming around to the passenger side door to open it for you. You jump out and lead the way to your first -floor apartment. Unlocking the door, you flip on the lights as you toe off your non-slip work shoes.

“My roommate is out of town visiting her parents this weekend.”

Dumping your purse onto the kitchen counter, you walk further into your home, Jungkook trailing you slowly. He kicks off his shoes, socks shuffling quietly along the carpet as he enters your living room after closing and securing the front door lock. He places your backpack on the couch, and the two of you stand there awkwardly.

“Um, do you want some water or something? I have juice, milk, beer…” you trail off, uncertain.

“Water is fine, thanks.”

You grab a glass from the cupboard, filling it with ice water to return the favor from earlier as you bolster your courage to thank him. You hand him the glass and before you can think too hard, you just start speaking.

“Jungkook, I just wanted to thank you, for coming out there and, you know, saving me. I know we don’t get along much, but you really came through and I appreciate it.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen, blinking up at you from where he’s sitting on your couch. He takes a long sip from the glass, and he seems uncertain if he wants to speak but does so anyway.

“It was nothing, really.”

“Why, um, why did you help me, I mean—I’m just saying, oh this is coming out wrong—”

“Look, I’ve had a lot of practice dealing with creeps like him. I’ve had to do it plenty for my mom, and I just don’t like to see anyone getting hurt, not even my arch nemesis.” Jungkook tries to joke it off at the end, but his tone reveals so much more to you about what he’s not saying.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was like that for you back in high school.” You sit down next to him, closer than you normally would with your backpack taking up part of the seat, but you don’t mind it. You feel safer being closer to him.

“I mean, why would you know?” he asks, leaning back into the couch and taking another sip. “You have a perfect family, I’m sure nothing like this happened on the weekly at your place.”

“No, but like, my perfect family isn’t what everyone thinks it is, either. My parents didn’t pay attention to me, always busy working and what not. Honestly career day, back in like fifth grade was the only time one of my parents made it to something, and even then, it was so my dad could advertise his business. I felt so sheltered growing up, like I had no life skills. It’s why I work at the diner.”

Jungkook digests your words, understanding blooming through his chest. 

“I get that. It’s funny, I remember that day so well, I was so jealous of you, because your dad showed up for you. I guess our dads are the same though…I think if I had grown up with my parents still together, I would’ve felt like you do. My dad kind of left me behind when he remarried, you know? In a way, that made me less sheltered, because when I was with my mom, I had to grow up fast. I couldn’t always have the nicest things because she couldn’t always afford them.”

“I didn’t realize that you had to split time between them. One of my friends, Jimin? He told me about how your dad wouldn’t let you take things back and forth between houses.”

“Why did he do that?” Jungkook looks a little scandalized, and you’re sure it’s because Jimin is one of his best friends. He’s the one who recommended that he apply to Jin’s Diner in the first place, and how you knew to warn Jin to not hire Jungkook, not that it worked. “I didn’t know you were close with Jimin!”

“We used to work together…you actually replaced him. It’s why we were hiring in the first place. But, he told me that because he was trying to get me to ease up on you one day. I was complaining about something and he was trying to make you more human, I guess.”

Jungkook just nods. You know he probably realizes there’s no reason to be mad, it was all in the past and Jimin was coming from a good place when he revealed that.

“Well, it’s true. My dad is kind of the worst. My mom saved up to get me some Dunks back in middle school because my dad couldn’t be bothered to take me back to school shopping. As if I didn’t grow a foot and 3 shoe sizes.”

“Oh fuck, you know, I’m sorry for making Nayeon spill her drink on your shoes. That was really evil of me.”

“We were like 13? 14? All middle school girls are evil.” Jungkook chuckles. You’re relieved at how gracious he’s being, but a little annoyed. You turn to him to say as much, but he continues to speak. “Honestly, I don’t even know why we went toe to toe like that. We probably would’ve been best friends if we had combined our smarts. You were really great during the Youth of the Year competition. I’m sorry that you didn’t win, I think you deserved to.”

Jungkook is looking back at you now, with his pretty doe eyes, sitting so close to you. You don’t know what to say so you don’t say anything, instead focusing on his star-filled eyes and the way they’re staring into your own. His arm moves slowly, lifting to bring his hand to your face, curling a tendril of hair behind your ear.

“It’s getting pretty late now, I should get home,” he starts, but his eyes speak volumes and it doesn’t seem like he wants to leave just yet. “But there’s still one more thing I need to apologize for.”

Your eyebrows furrow, confused as to what incident it could be when his lips meet yours in a tender kiss, not too forceful but not shy either—just the right amount to let you know this isn’t a mistake. It takes you a few seconds to respond, but when you sense Jungkook about to move away you pull him in closer, keeping his lips where you can access them. It’s not enough though, so throwing caution to the wind, you straddle him as your tongue swipes for entry, pushing him further into the couch as you lean into his fit body. He groans at your boldness, large hands planted firmly on your ass as the kiss deepens. You feel dangerously high, lacking oxygen, but you can’t stop—you don’t want to stop. He’s intoxicating.

His fingers tighten imperceptibly, and you know he, too, is at the end of his air, so you break apart, chest heaving as you stare at his lips, red and plump from the kiss. 

“That was your…apology for? Or you were…apologizing for…kissing me?” you pant, trying to catch your breath.

“Both?” he says with a cute, bunny-like smile, “one, for hating you all these years, and two, for kissing you out of the blue.”

“And if I want you to apologize to me more?” you half-question, half-goad, and Jungkook gives the right answer, leaning into you once more so he can kiss you hard, teeth nipping at your bottom lip before pulling away.

“That’s something I can do.” Jungkook uses his strength to flip you onto your back on the couch, knocking your backpack out of the way and onto the floor. “Is this okay?” He searches your eyes for your consent to his hands on your thighs, fingertips skimming the hem of your dress. 

You nod, and he trails them higher until he’s grasping the band of your panties and sliding them down without haste. You enjoy the commanding presence he takes on, unlike the people you deal with on a daily at work, indecisive with what to order, he knows exactly what he wants, and when Jungkook pushes up your dress and buries his face between your thighs, it takes everything in you not to climax right then. His tongue flits around your clit, teasing you as his hands massage your thighs while keeping them wide for him. 

“Jungkook,” his name is a breathy whisper in the air as your fingers curl around his locks, tightening your grip when he flicks closer to where you need him. “Please.”

You wiggle your hips, searching for more friction from his tongue but he just pulls away, tutting his tongue at you for being bad. You sit up slightly to glare at him.

“Patience, baby.”

Whining, you lay back on the couch with a huff. “This is why we hated each other bac—oh, fuck me,” you finish with a moan as he flattens his tongue across your pussy and stimulates every nerve he can cover. Wrapping his lips around your clit, he begins to suck, gently flicking his tongue every few seconds as he positions two fingers at your dripping center. Delving inside of you, the plunge of his fingers reaches the ache inside of you, causing your legs to tremble as he fine-tunes your body like an instrument. 

“Feels so good, mmph, fuck,” is all you can manage to say as he continues to pump his fingers, the squelching of your walls suctioning them back in with every tug out only making you wetter. Jungkook hums, and the thrumming sensation curls your toes. Arching your back, you tug his hair hard as you mewl loudly from the impending orgasm.

“You can do it, baby, cum for me,” Jungkook praises, “you’re doing so well, squeezing my fingers so tight, watch me.”

When his mouth once again finds its rhythm on your core, it takes just a few seconds of making eye contact with Jungkook, doe-eyes wide as he watches you enjoy his tongue, before you shiver and melt into the euphoria he’s bringing to your body. 

“That’s it, fuck—you look so pretty, baby.”Body spent, you stare up at the ceiling blinking as you come back to earth. Jungkook tucks himself behind you, holding you in his arms. You look down at the arm over your waist, your fingers lightly tracing the tattoos on his exposed full sleeve. You can feel his bulge, know that there’s so much more…apologizing you both need to do after years of being enemies, but you have all night for that. And in the morning, you don’t know what will happen, if there will be more to come after tonight, but what you do know is that at this moment you don’t hate Jungkook; not even a little bit, not even at all.

🍽️🍽️🍽️

© hisunshiine 2023. All rights reserved. 

thank you for reading!!!

[softspiderling]

i’ll call you mine

summary:

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I think you’d really like my friend Jaycee.”

Jaycee. Cregan imagined a blonde, not much different from his cousine. The girls in her sorority looked like a dime a dozen. He couldn’t say he was particularly enticed.

“I’m not really looking to date right now, Sar,” Cregan hedged and Sara only groaned.

“Oh come on, Cregan, I really think you should-“

Cregan didn’t really hear the rest of Sara’s words, because Jace walked into the lecture hall, his eyes scanning the seats before stopping on Cregan, giving him a small wave. Cregan lifted his hand to call him over, before shoving his bag off the seat.

“Hey Sara, I gotta go, class is starting.”

OR; Cregan has a crush on this guy in his class, and his cousin wants to set him up with one of her sorority friends. Also, he’s still kind of in the closet. Good times.

pairing: jacaerys velaryon x cregan stark, modern au!

warnings: slight ooc, comes with modern aus, imho

word count: 2,1k

author's note: the jacegan/haylor 2.0 brain rot is real. this idea came to me literally this afternoon and i just wrote it down lmfao. hope you like it <3 plss pls pls leave some kind words/reblogs! this is for jacegan nation <3

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Cregan had always known he was into guys ever since he was younger. Whenever he was hanging out with his friends, they moaned and talked about Rhaenys, the singer of the The Conquerors, and occasionally about about the drummer Visenya. Cregan tried to chime in as much as possible; they were pretty. He was just impartial to Aegon, the lead guitarist. If Cregan ever chose to tell his friends he was into guys, he didn’t think they’d judge him, they had seemed fairly unbothered when one of their teachers had turned out to be gay.

But Cregan had never felt the need to tell anyone he was into his guys; after his first two girlfriends everyone had assumed he was straight and Cregan never corrected them. While he did have an occasional crush at a player from the opposing team or a frequent customer at the coffee shop he used to study at, it was never something he found worth pursuing.

That changed, however when Cregan got into university. Every other guy was insanely hot and made him question if he ever was into girls in the first place. One especially, Jace, from his Gender Politics class, had Cregan sweating every Wednesday morning, with his lean arms, his brown curls and the freckles on his nose.

“Hello? Are you even listening to me?”

Cregan frowned, pressing his phone harder against his ear. His cousin, Sara, had been chatting about her sorority for the past fifteen minutes and he had clinked out about the second time she said “so rad.”

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I think you’d really like my friend Jaycee.”

Jaycee. Cregan imagined a blonde, not much different from his cousine. The girls in her sorority looked like a dime a dozen. He couldn’t say he was particularly enticed.

“I’m not really looking to date right now, Sar,” Cregan hedged and Sara only groaned.

“Oh come on, Cregan, I really think you should-“

Cregan didn’t really hear the rest of Sara’s words, because Jace walked into the lecture hall, his eyes scanning the seats before stopping on Cregan, giving him a small wave. Cregan lifted his hand to call him over, before shoving his bag off the seat.

“Hey Sara, I gotta go, class is starting,” Cregan said, effectively cutting her off. She only sighed and he could basically see her rolling her eyes at him.

“Fine. But you’re not getting out of this so easily.”

He knew he wasnt.

“Bye Sar,” Cregan said, ending the call just in time to see Jace scoot into his seat. He looked great, as usual. The sunglasses on his head pushed his curls back slightly, his button up open over his white tank top.

“Hey, who were you talking to?”

“Just my cousin,” Cregan said, sliding his phone into his pocket. “You look good.”

“Thanks!” Jace said, beaming at him. “Have you done today’s reading?”

Cregan nodded, pulling a face as he opened his Macbook.

“Yeah and it was awful.”

The lecture passed quickly, just like it always did when Jace was there. Cregan wasn’t sure what it was about the other guy, but they just instantly clicked the first time they talked. It just felt like they were supposed to know each other. When the professor ended the lecture, Cregan and Jace both packed their stuff. Cregan always looked forward to Gender Politics, not necessarily because it was an interesting lecture, but because it was the only class he had with Jace. He hadn’t been bold enough yet to ask him to hang out privately.

“Alright, I’ll see you next week, right?” Jace asked, shouldering his backpack.

Cregan nodded, giving Jace a grin as the brunet turned to leave. To Cregan’s surprise, he stopped, looking back at Cregan.

“Hey, I don’t really know if it’s your thing or not,” Jace started, making Cregan hold his breath. “But there’s a party tonight at Alpha Phi. Do you maybe want to go? With me, that is?”

Surprised, Cregan was stunned for a second before he nodded, an easy grin on his face.

“Yeah, sure. Sounds like it could be fun.”

“Cool,” Jace said, pulling his phone out of his pocket, handing it to Cregan. “Put your number in, I’ll text you the details.”

Gingerly, Cregan typed in his number, making sure it was correct, before handing it back to Jace.

“Cool,” he repeated, his cheeks pink. “Um, I’ll see you tonight then.”

Cregan nodded and Jace saluted at him, turning to leave.

“Don’t keep me waiting, Stark!” he called over his shoulder.

The frat house was packed when Cregan arrived a little after ten later that night. This was a bit out of his comfort zone. While he liked to go out every once and then, frat parties weren’t really his thing. He only went once, during his intro week, and Sara had promptly danced on the tables in her bra. He was mortified.

He had been contemplated asking Sara to come, so he wouldn’t be by himself, but inviting Sara meant questions. Why are you going to a frat party? Who’s Jace? How come you never come to frat parties when I ask you to come?

Cregan really didn’t want to deal with any of those questions. So he sucked it up and went by himself. Squeezing past the people at the front door, Cregan immediately smelt cheap alcohol, sweat and beer. He just hoped he’d find Jace soon. With some difficulty, Cregan shouldered into the living room, looking to find a familiar head of curly hair, when he finally spotted Jace by the backyard door. Though he wasn’t by himself.

A prettt dark skinned girl was pressed into his side as she talked, her blonde hair curling around Jace’s shoulder. Cregan couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy. Jace had asked him to go to the party, why was he cozying it up with someone else?

When Cregan saw the girl lean in even closer to whisper in Jace’s ear, making him bowel over in laughter, he couldn’t help but feel a pit of disappointment in his stomach.

He should’ve known.

With a small groan, Cregan rubbed his eye, turning on his heel to leave, bumping into several people, but he ignored their exclaims. Of course a guy like Jace was straight. He had probably asked Cregan to come to be his wingman or whatever. Resigned, he took his phone out, texting his cousin.

Cregan: you can go ahead and set up the date with your friend

sara: omg!!! finally!!! i promise you guys at eso perfect for each other

He felt bad for letting Sara set up the date, but honestly, maybe her friend was cute and could help him get over this crush on Jace.

“If I had known that you were in such a bad mood, I would have set the date for another day.”

It was close to noon the next day, and Cregan was staring daggers into the foam of his coffee. It was just his luck that Sara had managed to set the date right for the next day, and she hadn’t even given him a chance to back out again. He was still in a foul mood. After he had left the party last night, Jace had been texting him a handful of times. He hadn’t really made up an excuse to text him back yet.

Jace: hey, got a beer waiting for you. when are you gonna be here?

Jace: ?

Jace: not cool, dude

Cregan still didn’t know how he was supposed to see Jace in class for the rest of the term. He considered just dropping the class, maybe retaking it some other time. He leaned back in his seat, as Sara checked the time again.

“Your friend’s not really big on punctuality, is she?” Cregan asked and Sara gave him a look.

“Jaycee’s not-“ She broke up, her eyes widening in recognition. “Nevermind. Finally.”

Cregan craned his head to look at the entrance, hoping to get a look at Jaycee before he had to talk to herc but there was no girl to be seen. Only Jace.

Wait.

Cregan nearly choked on his own spit when Jace walk into the cafe, raising his hand to wave at Sara as he approached their table.

“That’s your friend Jaycee?” he hissed, his eyes wide.

“Oh yeah, good thing you’re bringing it up,” Sara said, distracted, as she waved Jace over. “Don’t tell him I’m calling him that, he hates it.”

Jaycee.

Jacey.

Jace.

Holy fuck. He had it all wrong.

“You were setting me up with a guy?” Cregan asked incredulously and Sara only turned her head, giving him a look.

“Cregan, I’ve known you were into guys since like 10th grade, how dense do you think I am?”

Cregan gaped at her and she glanced over to Jace, before she looked back to him.

“Close your mouth and don’t embarrass me in front of him,” she muttered under her breath, before she stood up, raising her voice. “Hey Jace.”

“Hey Sara,” Jace said, giving her a quick hug, pushing his sun glasses up.

“Jace, this is my cousin Cregan,” Sara said, turning back to introduce him. Cregan barely had time to close his mouth, before Jace looked at him, his eyebrow raising.

“Cregan, hey.”

“Hey,” Cregan replied, his cheeks growing hot. Sara glanced between them, her eyes suspicious.

“You guys know each other?“

“We have Gender Politics together.” - “Your cousin stood me up last night.”

“What?” Cregan asked, confused. Jace only looked back at him, like he was daring him to prove him wrong.

“Uh, I think I’ll let you guys talk…” Sara said slowly, giving them one last look before she went left. Cregan glared daggers at his cousin’s back, before he looked at Jace, who seemed to be amused, more than anything else.

“I didn’t stand you up last night,” Cregan started; he didn’t like being called flaky. He would never stand someone up, much less Jace.

“I asked you to go to a party with me and you didn’t show up without even giving me a heads up,” Jace pointed out. “I’d call that standing me up.”

“I was there,” Cregan replied, frowning. “There was this girl all over you when I arrived, I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Jace frowned at him, his lips pursed before it dawned on him. “Oh, you must be talking about Baela.”

Cregan raised his brows at him.

“Baela, my cousin,” Jace clarified and Cregan felt all sorts of embarrassment run down his back.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

Cregan leaned back in his seat, dumbfounded. “So you were asking me on a date?”

Jace stared at him. “Was it not obvious?”

“I don’t really tend to go to parties on a first date,” Cregan pointed out and Jace winced.

“Okay, fair enough. But I wasn’t sure if you were into guys or not, and I figured a party was a safe bet in case you weren’t.”

Cregan grunted, seeing the logic in Jace’s plan. “Well, I am into guys,” Cregan said, even if it felt a little weird to say it out loud. Jace lifted his head, a smile growing on his face.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Cregan replied, pausing. “I’m also into you.”

Jace flushed, nodding, shifting on his feet. “Cool…. Me too.”

They just stared at each other for a few seconds before a loud groan came up behind them.

“For the love of god, just sit down, Jace!”

Sara maneuvered Jace into the booth, pushing him next to Cregan and more or less slammed another coffee in front of them.

“Just to be clear, this was my doing. I accept thanks in cash and venmo.”

“Get out of here, Sara,” Cregan snapped half heartedly as Jace only snickered into his coffee. Sara lovingly flipped him off, flicking her hair to the side before she exited the cafe.

“So Sara is your cousin?”

“Let’s not talk about Sara,” Cregan said, scooting closer to Jace, dipping his head, leaving him enough time to pull away if he wanted. “I’d much rather talk about us.”

“I’d much rather not talk at all,” Jace quipped, before he closed the last distance between their faces, putting his lips on Cregan’s in a soft kiss.

Cregan was fine with not talking for a while.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

author's note: YOOOOO so what are we thinking?

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Emperor | Yandere Qin Shi Huang

Yandere Pantheon College AU (4/7) | Master List

“Mao Mantai!”

The Chinese club supervisor and professor for advanced languages was quite the character

Oddly enough slamming through the shoddy facilities he’s allowed to have classes in

That is when he doesn’t find a neglected classroom on the elite side to teach his kids or hold club activities in 

“Mr. Huang you cannot teach your classes in here!”

“Ha! As the emperor of the Chinese club, I see no reason I should leave. In fact, I think you should leave on the account that you’re irritating me. Students!”

“Yes sir!”

Because of his…emperor complex(?) he’s the hardest person to reign in when it comes to the average teachers attempting to ‘unionize’ 

Not that he doesn’t believe in the cause

He’s just so set on just existing where and with what he wants because he can

He’s not one for all the legalese

At least that’s before you petition him

“Uh Qin are you in here? I was told the club gained some new exploits….”

“Qīn'ài de rén! Glad you finally decided to come by you’re just in time for your fitting!”

He’d stolen one of the elite lounges for himself 

filled with all the luxuries they shared lounges or just the average lounge in general

Coffee maker, shaved ice maker, half a kitchen, 

nice furniture–courtesy of those dedicated club members

He was quick to make sure it screamed Chinese royalty in here

Shooing off the students and some teachers who were always at his beck and call 

You make your case

“Qin I think it’s great that you got this room but I heard that you beat up the guidance counselor and that one teacher that came to confront you—we really can’t have you—”

“Red or green, Bǎobao?”

“You really set the group behind because we–wait what?”

“Red or green for your hanfu! Now that I think about it maybe I should just have you match mine!”

“...why does this matter?”

“Every emperor needs his empress!”

“What?! But I’m a–”

“As an emperor, the path is where I lead!”

Honestly, he’ll have you eat, play board games with you, and have you sit in his lap before hearing you out

It’s a real negotiation when he’s being serious

As an emperor, he doesn’t feel the need to go through paperwork or intimidate the elite side into respect because he’s more than prepared to do whatever he feels like to get what he wants

You might have to just back up Brunhilde and have her debate with him 

And through much deliberation

He’ll finally agree

…with some conditions

After all, they were all fighting the same foe

“Hǎo! Now let’s talk about my conditions!”

“Whatever you want we can do it. It’s a pleasure to officially be working with you.”

His first manner of business is making sure you wear some article of Chinese fashion that matches his

“Do I have to wear this? Some of these are just so…out of my style.”

“It’s either that or I could cover you in another mark of mine…that actually might be better…”

“Ah! On second thought I’ll let you overhaul my closet.”

The second demand is that when you’re on break you’re doing your work on his lap

Wherever that might be

Third, should anything happen to you average or elite he better be told, and he’ll deal with it himself

“I think these are reasonable terms.”

“I agree thank you for being merciful, Emperor Qin!”

“I’ll say! Brunhilde don’t play up to his weird fantasies!”

“Oh Huánghòu, you’re anger makes me want to ravish you!”

“N-n-not here!”

“The path is where I lead!”

[bubbleddisasters]

(Can’t believe I’m writing my first ever x reader (kind of) this but the Self Aware Au is so interesting to me)

Code Escaping: Heartstabyl Edition.

(All Students (can be viewed as platonic or romantic, Orthos is strictly platonic though)

Gender Neutral Reader!

——-

After several attempts, and failures, they finally succeeded.

They got through

To your world.

What next? Try and Find you, Rush to your side first thing and try to casually explain that a video game character broke out of their code to see them?

Maybe set things up first? Comfy living, then an easy way to find you? Or go off clues from things you used to say or areas he saw behind you? Or did he get lucky and he’s two feet away?

Man, He should have checked the code for your location…..No time to lose!

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

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒚𝒍

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

𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 🌹

——

Truth be told, he got quite lucky.

A library is where he arrived, one he recognized as your hiding spot to study, or simply relax.

So, he found every tome he thought relevant on what he needed to know of the basics of your world, aswell as the one he last witnessed you study, and sat himself in the seat next to where you usually did, awaiting your arrival.

Was it timely? Perhaps, Perhaps not.

You’d been slightly (Very) annoyed that for some reason, none of your Riddle cards would show his appearance. The Chibi was no where to be seen, and your homescreen vacant of him.

So as you made your way to your spot, you nearly shrieked because either thats a damn good cosplay or Riddle Rosehearts was very casually reading the history textbook your teacher assigned while sitting four feet away from your usual spot.

Steel blue eyes scoped to check the noise, and sat up instantly.

“Just as I expected, you’d arrive here sooner or later. You certainly took your time, however.”

Before you could process the fact he sounded suspiciously like Ciel Phantomhive, he quite literally summoned a tea set. Out of thin air.

And was just staring. Most definitely waiting for you to sit down casually like he didn’t summon an entire china set with piping hot tea in a magicless world.

This was the real deal. Mommy Issues Supreme was now officially your problem. Good Luck.

————————

𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒚♣

——

He remembered the name of the bakery down the street you visited.

As a joke, when you’d finished book one, you’d ordered a Strawberry Tart. He couldn’t exactly remember if you actually ate it, or gave it away, but it was funny, regardless.

Using Paint the Roses, he altered a napkin into a very nice resume, and he got a job there.

When Trey up and vanished from your homescreen, you’d gone to get a pastry to cheer yourself up. Not the best coping skill, but hey, it works.

It was pretty late, and it seemed they were closing up, so you planned to just be in and out, not wanting to make their job any harder.

The little bell rung as you entered, and the little alarms in your head went off when you arrived at the counter, and a-wait, why would someone cosplay at their job? Trey and working at a Bakery fit together, but…wait a second. Thats not a wig, and thats not contacts either.

If Ingame Trey was missing, and this guy looked exactly like him…..Nope, Not Possible.

Trying to play it casual , you ordered the usual and once you had it, sat down as you normally would.

But when you took a bite of your treat, it tasted like….Strawberry. Then Chestnut. What the hell.

You unintentionally had an odd staring contest with the current cashier, who then held out a scarily familiar pen, chuckling a bit as he placed it on the counter.

“Surprise.”

After making his way around the counter, he sat down on the other side of the table, doing his best to not freak you out too much.

“Yea, I know this might be a bit confusing, and It’s probably not easy to process all this, so take your time, and I’ll answer any questions you have.”

Great, because you had several.

——————-

𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓♦

——

Social Media Stalking but not Stalking was his forte.

The first thing he did was make pretty much every account he could on medias he knew you had. Like Tumblr.

He decided it would be way too freaky to just pop up out of nowhere, so as he was thinking and exploring, he took a few selfies and photoshoots here are there.

And WOW. They blew up. At first he thought it was the general math of Attractive Guy + Good Photos of him = Alot of Views. He had sorta kinda forgot other people knew about Twist until he noticed the flood of “Cater IRL” and “THE Cater Cosplay” comments. Which gave him an idea.

After the annoyance of all your Caters being lost in the code sauce, you messed around online until you accidentally pulled up a page with the greatest Cater Cosplay you had ever witnessed.

You had to do a double take when the follow button said “Follow Back”. You complied with the buttons wishes and followed them back.

After a while, you somehow ended up dming back and forth with him, and his strangely Cater coded texts. You also discovered that it apparently wasn’t a cosplay, and just his natural appearance was scarily similar to Caters..and his name was Cater, which was accidentally revealed by a Starbucks barista calling out after finishing making his drink while you were calling.

Part of you suspected that this could be the real Cater, with all the math adding up, and the other half of you called you a fucking idiot for that.

Little did you know the first one was exactly what Cater was hoping for.

With that, he managed to do some kinda social media stalking ( but not like, Rook Levels, DW) and found your general area based on area matching (TY Google Maps!) and nearly jumped for joy when he realized it was where he was too.

He subtly managed to sneak that in conversation, and set up a meetup between you two, a brunch and phone shopping. Weird Pick on the last one, but you decided not to judge.

The first thing he said when you arrived confused you, alot.

With a bright smile, he waved you over.

“Hey! Long Time no see!”

Ignoring the aggressive red flag in that statement with a simple “Maybe he meant since we called” as if you didn’t call him last night to plan this out, either way, you scooted in.

You two got so distracted chatting, at one point making up a game of fake gossiping the craziest things to see if anyone reacted, and for your own entertainment.

Because of that, your drink went warm, and as soon as you mentioned it, you got your answer to the “Where did my Caters go.” question.

Why? Because, as if this had happened before, he simply refroze it. Magically.

As you stared in pure awe and confusion, he grimaced upon the realization his cover was pretty much blown.

“Whoops…Lets just pretend that didn’t happen, and I’ll explain later, ‘Kay?”

You just had to pray nobody witnessed that, as Area 51 did definitely did not sound like Cay-Cays ideal Vacay.

——

𝑨𝒄𝒆♥

—

He thought it would be fucking HILARIOUS to prank you, as, unfortunately for you, he ended up in your house, only to find out you were asleep, which gave him the opportunity to PUA (Prank Upon Arrival)

For the next several hours of your waking life, Ace of Hearts playing cards of varying sizes would be infesting your house, or when you’d put something down and look away, there was either a card on it or it had been replaced by a card.

You were also robbed of leftovers you’d been saving, and a few snacks by this card demon.

After you left the house vacant (you fool), the Knave struck again, this time sneaking out and guessing your next move, heading off to a cafe because you needed caffeine after the card madness, until you had already ordered, and you had turned on Twist while waiting for your drink.

Quietly, he slid into the chair infront of you as you grumbled.

“He’s not on the homescreen either—Where the hell are all my Ace cards?”

Hehe, Infront of you. This is the best setup ever.

Leaning back on the chair, he couldn’t contain a grin as he faked obliviousness.

“I dunno. Maybe try looking around a lil’ more?”

Not paying much attention to who was talking to you in your moment of despair , you sighed, swiping back to the home screen.

“They’re not those kinds of cards.”

“Aren’t like, five of them card themed?”

“Four right now, since Ace has seemingly gone and fucked off to another dimension:”

“Yeaaa, about that. It was not as easy to do as you’re making it sound. Just saying.”

You looked up for a split second, then did a double take and nearly skyrocketed out of your chair, making indecipherable confusion noises while he laughed his ass off, totally soaking in the success of his perfect surprise you had unintentionally enabled.

While you stood frozen in shock, he simply grabbed your things, put them in your hand, S̶t̶o̶l̶e̶ grabbed your coffee, and whisked you out the door.

I pray for you, good luck dealing with him.

——

𝑫𝒆𝒖𝒄𝒆♠

——

Woke up in either your garage or kitchen, and was confused. Rightfully so.

Since he couldn’t really find you around, but at least recognized this as your house, he just waddled around more or less, fixing random things here and cleaning up there while trying to find clues to where you might be, or if he should just wait here.

He finally found a grocery list, which you had forgotten, and spent the next 10 minutes trying to find the nearest grocery store while unintentionally locking himself out of the house in the process, so made the genius decision to hope you were still at the grocery store and dashed over.

You’re doing great, dude.

Anywho, he got lucky, because in the middle of carrying off your shopping bags, your notification that your AP was full went off, and as you went to use it, you noticed a severe lack of Deuce on your homescreen.

This lead to sitting on a bench and getting distracted trying to figure out why the hell this glitch had only affected your Deuce cards, so you weren’t paying much attention when you heard a voice somewhat far off but close.

“Oh hey! There you are!”

Assuming it was for someone else, you continued trying to fix the “glitch”, then paused when you heard the voice from before right infront of you.

“Do you need help with carrying those bags?”

The words “I’m good, thanks.” died on your tongue when you looked up, only to be face to face with the guy you’d been suffering trying to figure out where he went for 20 minutes. Ingame. In a VIDEO GAME.

Internally, you practically short-circuited, after you panicked, he started panicking, and you both ended up in a weird confusion panic that had the energy of the spidermans pointing at eachother meme.

Great job! You have now acquired a German Shepard Golden Retriever mix in human form.

————

Bonus :

——

𝑪𝒉𝒆'𝒏𝒚𝒂⤵➟

——

Unlike most of them, he had absolutely zero trouble hopping into your world.

However, instead of revealing himself right away, he decided to be the ghost of good deeds and mischief. And a random black cat you’d suspiciously find on your window sill demanding pets or cuddles.

Luckily transforming, flying, invisibility, and the rest of his magic ability seemed to work just fine.

Sometimes, you’d randomly find things placed in unusual places, spoons on the ceiling, for example, the paintings or pictures sometimes randomly taking on very funny faces, teacups and plates floating around at 2am, leaving you to assume it was a sleepy hallucination.

Other times you’d be aggravatingly trying to fix something, look away for one moment, and not only was it fixed, it looked almost brand new. Or you’d open the fridge or pantry, and notice the lack of food, then open it again, and i’d be filled to the brim.

You never noticed anything too strange on Twist itself however until you got bored one day, and decided to replay Heartstabyls chapters, only to realize Che’nya was…completely missing.

Out of sheer curiosity, you checked his Pomfieore Chapter appearance. Nothing. Gone.

Trying to see if it was just the WIFI connection, you moved rooms, only to see a blink of purple in the corner of your eye.

Lounging in the air by the window, tail swaying lazily, he peeked over, then grinned his signature grin.

“Nya-ice to meet you~”

———

Yay! Thats all!!

Holy shit I can’t believe I wrote this, feel free to take me out (Date or Assassination I really don’t care)

Alright! I might do more but they might not be in dorm order, see ya!

[joonsytip]

Anonymously Yours || Joshua Hong

Pairings: Joshua x Fem!Reader Genre: Fluff, Angst, Humour (broken coz mine), high school au, enemies to lovers au, strangers to lovers au, anonymously yours au. Synopsis: After an accidental text message turns into a digital friendship, you and Joshua start crushing on each other without realizing you both see each other frequently in real life. Notable Mention: You both hate each other's guts.... Word Count: 18.6k Inspired By: Mexican Flick - Anonymous yours. Warnings: profanities, Joshua acts dumb one big time, mentions of periods, tears and tears but mostly fluffy, protagonists don't know how to act around each other (lmk if I missed any) Banner credits to my baby @wannabeyourshua . Also, it's your birthday present from me, hope you like it! Taglist: @wannabeyourshua @hoeforhao @kimmych @chocolatekdramakpopfreak @starlight-night0 @alyssng @imsjane @i-dont-give-a-fok @gaebestie @meowmeowminnie @hanniehaeism

Please heart, comment and reblog, would really help to keep me going <3

[SVT Flick : Fic Masterlist] [SVT Masterlist]

Unknown Number:

[3:05 AM] Hey!

It was great meeting you! Maybe we should meet again sometime soon :)

What do you think?

You:

[3:09 AM] It's 3am for god's sake???

You got the wrong number!

Unknown Number:

[3:10 AM] Haha, not funny! It's me.

You gave me your number at the party :(

[3:12 AM] They gave you the wrong number obviously.

Now stop right there & let me sleep!!!

The blaring sound of the alarm is hurting your ears and adding to your headache.

"Ugh, I can't even sleep without getting interrupted.", you groan but manage to lift your body to do two trivial things. One, stopping that goddamn alarm. Two, checking your phone.

8 AM. The time glares back at you.

You have a class at 9, well assignment submission to be more precise and you're still in your bed, half awake, half grumpy.

Next half an hour goes in a blur as you gobble down your breakfast and smoothie that your mother makes daily, it's almost like a tradition and good part is that you don't hate it. The only bad part is that the same conversation that follows everyday of them insisting you to join the family business and you dismissing them because you have a passion that you want to turn into profession.

Currently you're waiting for your best friend, Hyerin, who's never not late to pick you up.

Some insights on Hyerin, she's your best friend, have been your friend since when you knew could pronounce that term. She's pretty, easy going, quite popular and star player of the school's tennis team.

Hyerin Calling....

You don't have to pick up that call so rather you are running straight down the block knowing that she's waiting there with her jeep.

"Babe, I'm late because of her.", she says as she points at her younger sister, Hyejoo who is seated in the backseat.

"I admit. But you know the other 99 times of 100, we're late because of whom", she immediately quips back in her defense.

You roll your eyes, bored of their banter and turn on the radio to have a vibe to jam to till you the reach the school.

As soon as you cross the threshold of the school, Hyerin is hijacked by Jeonghan, her tennis partner and Hyejoo situates herself with basketball teammates when she spots them.

And you're left alone.

And you're used to it.

The final bells rings indicating that you should be now sprinting to the class to avoid the grudges of your literature teacher.

You are with your full concentration tangling the wires of your earphones around the phone while climbing up the stairs when you suddenly bump into someone.

Your head whips up to see the other person, glaring at you having his shirt stained in coffee which he was supposed to drink.

"Sorry, very sorry", you take out your handkerchief and just as try to dap on the shirt, that person backs away.

"Please give your number, I'll pay for the dry cleaning.", you say politely.

"No need, I can pay for myself", that person grumbles, "Do me favour and from next time keep your eyes open while walking."

He says and walks away leaving you speechless and infuriated.

"What an ass, I was trying to nice.", you mutter before sprinting to the class.

Joshua is already having a bad day so when the only thing he was looking forward to, coffee from his favourite café got spilled on his shirt because of some girl who can't walk straight, he is vexed.

Fortunately, he doesn't have classes within next hour so he goes straight to basketball ground. He has been enrolled into this high school recently so he has no friends, neither he intends to make any.

He fishes out his phone and taps on a contact who's name he doesn't know and proceeds to send a text.

Joshua:

[9:35 AM] Hey, sorry for waking you up last night.

Stranger:

[9:36 AM] No worries, I fell asleep right back.

Joshua:

A heavy sleeper it seems lol.

Stranger:

[9:37 AM] You can say that. And whoever did this to you is so mean, they could have told you no instead of doing this.

Joshua:

[9:37 AM] Ikr. I was at this party last night when my best friend insisted me to ask her number coz according to him I was checking her out.

Stranger:

[9:40 AM] Didn't work out for you :(

"Hey cutie, are you new here?", Joshua who is now quietly watching the match is called out by Hyejoo.

"I am.", he responds right away.

"Wanna play with us?", Hyejoo asks twirling the ball on her index, a sly smile set on her lips.

"Yes.", Joshua simply says and jogs down to the play arena.

"Before we get started, I'm hosting a party today and you're invited.", Hyejoo says, her expecting eyes staring at him.

"Thanks for the invite but sorry I won't be attending.", Joshua replies and extends his hand, asking for the ball.

Hyejoo immediately backs down, tossing the ball , "Then you don't get to play."

"What?", Joshua's face twists in a mix of confusion and rage.

"You heard it right.", Hyejoo taunts him further.

"Are you being serious?", Joshua chuckles in disbelief, "Such a spoilt brat."

Hearing this, Hyejoo's friend Jisung walks upto him and grabs his collar in aggression, "What did you say?"

"Exactly what you heard. You're her bodyguard or what?", Joshua smirks.

And the next second a hard punch lands on his face. Just as he was about to retort the sports coach shouts, "The group over there, you're all going for detention."

A series of groans are heard.

You look around in utter disappointment. Well, detention room could and should never be appealing to anyone.

It's your fault you're here because you couldn't cure your curiosity when you saw a text from the familiar unknown number and your hands immediately to had respond back even after getting two warnings from the teacher.

Sitting idle never does you good, so you deck your bag on the desk which is going to act as a makeshift pillow and next you rest your head on it.

Joshua enters the room and the first person he spots is you, who had deprived him the privilege of drinking morning coffee.

With a scowl set on his face, he walks past you and sits on the corner most seat.

Next, a smile plasters on his face as he takes out his phone goes through the conversation between him and the stranger.

Mrs. Yoo walks in with all her glory knowing she's very much despised by the students not because she's an ass of a person but for her detention projects she puts everyone through.

You heave a sigh, unbothered to greet the teacher.

Her heels clanks sharply against the floor as she walks to the teacher's desk and taps her finely manicured nail against the table with a sickening sweet smile plastered on her face, sweet enough to make everyone else present in the room barf out.

"I'll get to the point straight. Block your calendars for Saturdays & Sunday, 2 to 5, every week.", she orders, unphased by the string of protests coming in.

You exchange glances with Hyejoo, who looks equally terrified.

"But I have classes", you speak up, "And I guess everyone has some or other sort of commitments as well."

"That's for you and everyone else to manage. Should have thought before.", she points her eyes at you and moves on, "I'll create a gc and add everyone of you. So the venue of next meetup will be shared across. And I want full attendance.", her voice holds the authority and every single being present there knows that they would be attending otherwise the wrath of Mrs. Yoo is not something anyone would like face.

Sundays are no more Fundays.

Hyerin's are rich rich. So whenever her parents are out of town for business, both the sisters throw parties and invite the whole town, okay not whole but they'll be almost there soon.

And you are present in each of them, as a pure obligation and to be a good friend to Hyerin.

Parties are not your thing, it never was and it's safe to say it will never be. Because your social batteries are weak and that's why while everyone is doing beer pongs or fuzzy duck or whatever questionable things, you sit by the pool, in calm, legs dipped in the cold water.

"Oh there's my girl!", you hear Hyejoo as she sits beside you.

"Congrats, you found me.", you shrug and swing your legs lightly in the water, making a brief eye contact with her.

"Thanks for coming.", she says leaning on her shoulders, "I know parties are not your thing but your presence matters. And thanks for these dresses? Like I don't know how you do it everytime, you have magic in your hands ."

"Don't go all sappy on me, Joo.", you chuckle and lay your head on hers, "But thanks for the words."

"Anything for you, love.", she smiles and closes her eyes basking in your presence until she hears a call of her name.

"Gotta go.", she immediately gets up and sprints to the hall as she yells, "Tell me whenever you wanna leave, I'll drop you off!"

You shake your head and take out your phone.

You:

[9 PM] You there?

Unknown Number :

[9:01 PM] Hey!

Just pulling a marathon of Victorious.

[9:02 PM] Cool! Cat Valentine my love.

Do you like parties?

Unknown Number:

[9:04 PM] Depends on the people, both accompanying and hosting.

What about you?

You:

[9:05 PM] I don't exactly like parties.

I'm that miserable wallflower :(

Unknown Number:

[9:07 PM] Come on, you're not miserable, it's just that you don't feel it, you're not into it.

You :

[9:09 PM] Maybe....

Joshua stares at the phone screen a little longer before chucking the phone on the bed. He sighs and his thoughts drift away to the same old wistful thinking.

There's a knock on the door and he hums in acknowledgement, allowing the person to enter.

"Make space for me, I'm tired.", Mingyu is already nudging Joshua who lets out a grunt but shifts anyway.

"If you're tired, go to your home and sleep on your bed.", Joshua remarks in an agitating tone but both of them know that he's actually far from that.

Mingyu laughs and snuggles closer to him, "That's not how you treat your best friend.", he playfully quips, "I have a match on Sunday, you're coming right?"

"When have I missed any of your matches?", Joshua rolls eyes, "Mixed Doubles?"

Mingyu nods, "The practice is thinning me tired.", he then taps on Joshua's arm and the later extends his arm so Mingyu can lay his head on.

"How's new school?", Mingyu asks.

A bit of silence before Joshua answers, "It's okay."

"Made new friends?", Mingyu asks with concern.

"No. Don't wanna.", Joshua says, "I'm just doing it because I have to."

"Tried talking to your mom about this?"

"Gyu", he trails off even though he has so much to say.

"I'm all ears Josh. Even if it's the same old talk, I'm willing to listen. Please tell me.", he insists.

"I had promised dad, that I'd become like him.", Joshua stills when that exact memory flash in front of his eyes, "After his death, I have fully devoted myself to studies so that I can get accepted to the best law academy. My mom always keeps on encouraging me and I know she wants to keep my dad's profession alive through me because she thinks I'm as much interested She's not at fault for doing so but..."

Mingyu waits with all the patience in the world, just for his friend to pour out everything, so that it hurts him less, so that his suffocation lessens even if in miniscule amount.

Pouring out is always better than bottling in.

Joshua relents for a moment but he knows that the listener is never going to judge him, that he's always there to share the burden so he continues, "When I was younger it was fascinating, I wanted to become lawyer but in recent years I don't feel the same. Heck, I don't even know what I like or what I'd like to have in as a career but it's definitely not something in law."

Mingyu listens and he worries a lot about his best friend because he knows that Joshua isn't particularly vocal and impulsive. He's neither outspoken nor indecisive.

If it had been him, Mingyu would have relayed his thoughts to his parents and worked a way out but it's not him.

It's Joshua.

It's Joshua, who would never willingly hurt his mother, even if it costs his mental health and choices.

It's Joshua, who on Mingyu's fifteenth birthday gifted him a Yonex Racket because Mingyu wanted one from long time but his parents weren't interested to invest in such an expensive racket. It had costed Joshua all his savings. It also costed Joshua his ears for all the scoldings he got from his and Mingyu's parents.

Mingyu is perceptive.

Joshua is also perceptive except for times when it comes to himself.

"Take your time Josh. We're too young to be worried about stuffs.", Mingyu says and turns to the other side, "Set the alarm at 6. I have practice."

"You're so bothersome.", Joshua quips with no seriousness instead setting the alarm on his phone but only after kicking Mingyu on his shin, "Go change into something comfortable atleast."

Mingyu just hums and Joshua pulls over the comforter.

Mrs. Yoo stands patiently and all the students wonder why in the world they are standing outside an abandoned playground.

"I am gonna divide everyone in teams of two and you're gonna paint the walls of this playground.", Mrs. Yoo smiles wide as she sees the distress showcasing on the faces of her students, "and do gardening."

"What's the meaning of us doing all this?", you voice out in genuine concern.

"To make you all aware of the privileges you have been availing all your life.", Mrs. Yoo answers, "And I decide when the detention will be over so behave accordingly."

As if it wasn't already nauseating, Mrs. Yoo decides it's best if you pair up with Joshua Hong.

The same Joshua Hong who can't look at you without glaring.

"So let's start with making the soil bed", you say not looking at him as you two manage to gather some wooden sticks and tie the ends together.

Joshua hums disinterested and suddenly pours the bag containing manure into the bed without soil.

"Stop! what are you doing?", you scream as if facing a mid life crisis and he glares at you again.

You sigh, "That's not how it's done. We'll have to put a layer of soil and level it first --"

"Fine.", he cuts of you and starts pouring the soil bags one after one.

Your eye twitches and you think Joshua Hong can't be this dumb. He is definitely trying to stress you out.

"You're not helping at all, if you're doing it wrong.", you relay your mind to him and it irks you more when Joshua's response is same, it comes in form of his glare.

You glare back at him and he finally says, "Okay, do it yourself then."

He walks away and you're actually relieved because being in his vicinity is becoming the bane of your existence.

Suddenly your phone dinges and you smile looking at the notifications.

Unknown Number:

[3:26 PM] I'm having a really bad day ಠ_ಠ

You:

[3:28 PM] Yours wouldn't even compare to mine.

There's this boy whom I really can't tolerate but we keep on meeting.

Unknown Number:

[3:29 PM] Lol Same! There's a girl and I don't want her to even breath in my direction.

You: [3:30 PM] Damn, we're in same predicament huh.

Unknown Number:

[3:31 PM] Guess so... Gotta go, bye.

You:

[3:32 PM] Bye bye! He's coming towards me again, gosh ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ

Unknown Number:

[3:32 PM] Goodluck, I guess...

Joshua laughs as he sends the text. The lingering smile on his face immediately vanishes when his eyes lands on you.

"Do you prefer to paint with brush or rollers?", you ask Joshua who's busy watching something on his phone.

He presses pause button on the screen and looks at you, "First of all, I can't paint to save my life.", he states, "So brush or rollers doesn't matter. It's same for me."

You nod and hand him a roller, "You won't be much help here too, so please do a favour and with start painting the walls these rollers, roll up vertically please. Don't change the direction."

"Who are you to order me around?", Joshua glares at you.

You think you are going to get hernia because of stress he's giving you lately.

"I'm someone who knows how to paint so instead of running your mouth why don't you try utilising those hands of your?", you spat out and turn around walking to the opposite side.

Joshua sees red.

He thinks he's going to have appendicitis because of the stress you're causing him.

You smile looking at the beautiful hues in the paint buckets.

Atleast something is able to calm your nerves.

"Don't you think he's handsome?"

Suddenly an arm is thrown over your shoulder that almost causes you to topple to the front.

"Who?", you quirk your brows questioningly at Hyejoo.

"Duh, who else your  partner. Joshua Hong.", she answers and turns you around so now you have to look at Joshua again.

You squint eyes at him, "He definitely looks good but he's an asshole."

Hyejoo smirks, "Really? I thought he's a cutie. Anyways, I like him."

You make gagging noises, "You have had not less than thousand crushes and that's totally cool but please not him."

"As if I'd listen to you."

"Yeah whatever. Maximum a week and then you will get to a new guy as always.", you mumble, "So fine."

Hyejoo leaves after Mrs. Yoo warns her to not pester anyone.

You sigh in relief and take out your phone.

You:

[4 PM] Whatcha doing'

Unknown Number:

[4:01 PM] Something I don't know how to do...

You:

[4:02 PM] Lol why?

Unknown Number:

[4:03 PM] Pure Compulsion.

You:

[4:03 PM] Ugh sucks.

Unknown Number:

What sucks more is when you have no one who understands you.

You:

[4:04 PM] Know that feeling.

I feel like no one understands me as well.

Unknown Number:

We have been talking for few days now and we don't even know each other names.

So may I know your name?

You stare at your phone screen, re-reading the text that had just appeared. Suddenly a pleasant idea pops in your mind and you happily type that away.

You:

[4:08 PM] I have an idea.

We won't share our names, any personal details, voices messages or pictures.

We'd be anonymous and get to know each other for real.

What say?

Joshua's face morphs into something that's both confusing and amusing. He doesn't think much finding it fun to try something new.

Joshua:

[4:10 PM] Let's that do.

Anonymous, saved.

Anonymous :

[4:10 PM] Anonymous, Saved :)

Joshua stands up holding the roller and tries to follow what you said. He dips the roller into the paint bucket containing orange paint and starts rolling it up vertically section wise.

He is having fun, too much fun that he accidentally spills the colours on the white tee shirt he is wearing underneath the jacket.

"What the hell?", he grunts, looking at his now stained tee, "Why doesn't anything work out for me?"

He feels emotional all of a sudden. He feels vulnerable, every thoughts that were pushed at the back of his mind starts to resurface.

He remembers the day he lost his father.

He remembers the moment when the girl he liked left the city one day and never came back.

He remembers --

"Hey, are you okay?"

Joshua hears you and falters at the tone of concern in your voice.

He simply nods and faces the wall.

"I can help you", Joshua stiffens but immediately relaxes when you say further, "to fix your tee."

"Do you have spare clothes?"

Joshua turns to face you and nods.

"So go get changed now and give me this tee.", you state and he throws an incredulous look.

"Are you planning to ruin my tee?", he asks, "What are you gonna do with it?"

"You'll see.", you say rolling eyes, "Hurry up, we don't have forever."

Joshua gets changed and hands you the tee.

You search your bag and take out your sewing kit.

Joshua sees your hands skim through the bag again and this time you fish out a bunch of cloth patches.

Next hour passes in a blur as you cut the ends of threads with scissor.

"It's done I guess.", you sigh and look at Joshua, "Manageable? Looks descent?"

He gapes at the tee in your hand and then he gapes at you.

You think he's cute with those bambi eyes resembling that of deers.

He is shaken out of trance by your light nudge.

"Woah, you're....", he manages to speak out, "so good... You gave this tee a whole new look and it's obviously trendier then the previous one."

You smile at his compliments. A smile that doesn't reach your eyes.

"Glad you liked it." you hand him the tee and start to assemble all the scattered tools and clothes putting them in your bag.

Then without another word, you get up and start to walk away.

Joshua ponders as he sees your figure diminishing from his sight, "Why did she look sad even if I was complimenting her?"

"Damn, did you see that!!", you scream absolutely astonished when Hyerin & Jeonghan won the break point of the game, leading the first set 5-3.

"That's my sister!", yells Hyejoo and looks at you, "She's so good, if she wasn't my sister, I'd have been a fan."

The next game starts soon with Jeonghan doing the first serve and that ends quickly both of them sweeping the game with 40-0. Mingyu and his partner Seji are down by a set.

"Come on Mingyu! You can do better than this!"

You heard a very familiar voice not from far and crane your neck to see Joshua cheering up the opponents.

Must be his friends from previous school, you think.

"Oh my god, Josh's here too.", Hyejoo squeals and you roll eyes choosing to ignore her.

You are recording the match when you feel Hyejoo fleet from your side and it doesn't take a genius to figure out she's going to Joshua.

With the camcorder still recording you turn and through the lens you see a very agitated Joshua who's constantly ignoring whatever Hyejoo is saying.

A smile creeps upon your face.

Joshua suddenly turns and your gazes meet through the lens.

And you freeze.

Joshua squints his eyes at you before walking away and towards the players resting area which makes you realize that the opponents won the second set and you should be doing the same.

You hurriedly run over only to see a pissed off Jeonghan which is scary because the guy is always full of mischiefs and is a moodmaker.

"What happened Han?", you ask and the stare he gives you is enough to regret speaking up.

"Seji, she's his ex Y/N.", Hyerin explains further, "They used to play together and since they didn't end up on good terms it's kinda hard for him to see her and play against her." That clicks, why Seji seemed so familiar to you.

You give a nod of understanding and next you're crouching in front of him and he looks at you in confusion, "Whatever that happened must have happened for a reason and it's all in the past Han. I think it's an opportunity for you."

Jeonghan perks up, "Opportunity?"

"Yes opportunity.", you pat his arm, "For you to get over her and to discard all those lingering feelings. Also to get the cup and lift that trophy. You could have it all sorted Han, it's your now or never moment."

Hyerin listens to you mesmerized and Jeonghan cracks an all toothy grin.

"Thanks Y/N.", he acknowledges, "For making me see things clearer."

You get and huff, "I don't want your thanks. Just win this match and treat me to BRs."

"Okay deal.", Jeonghan extends his pinky and you hook yours to his.

"There's still time, strategize your play", you say looking at the timer, "All the best guys!", and you run away.

"Thank God, Seji has gone to washroom.", Mingyu sighs in relief, "She's already pissed off since she knew we're playing against Jeonghan and if she heard all this, I'd be in trench because you can't motivate the shit to Seji like that girl did."

Joshua glares at his best friend, "Why is this falling on me? Neither I'm playing with you, nor I'm the ex boyfriend. So keep me out of it. If Y/N impresses you that much why don't you ask her for motivation directly."

Mingyu smirks, "Oh Y/N it is. Joshua Hong why do I get this feeling that you're not on good terms with her? I mean your tone says that."

Damn Kim Mingyu for knowing his best friend so well.

Joshua scoffs, "I think you have better things to worry about.", he gets up, "If you loose today, I won't allow you crash at my place for a month."

Mingyu dramatically gasps, "Are you in your right mind? You're scaring me Josh, please don't do this."

"So win this match.", Joshua smirks, 'Think this as your motivation to win."

Mingyu and Seji loose the match.

While you are celebrating with your Hyerin, Jeonghan and Hyejoo, Joshua is getting pestered by Mingyu.

"Are you serious right now?", Joshua asks in disbelief, "You just lost to them and know you want to know if Hyerin is single?"

Mingyu nods quietly liked a kicked puppy but he has no shame at all.

"Really?", Joshua asks again to confirm and when Mingyu doesn't respond he kicks his shin, "Fine. I'm going."

Joshua trudges through the crowd to find someone.

He finds you.

"Hey", he greets and you just nod at him.

"Uh can you help me with something?", he tries to sound as polite as possible, "I just wanted to know something."

"Go ahead."

Though he's cursing at Mingyu in his mind, nonetheless he asks, "You're good friends with Hyerin right?"

"Yeah we are best friends.", you say proudly looking at her as she holds the trophy and chats with Jeonghan.

"Is she single?"

The smile drops off your face and you throw a death glare at Joshua.

"Why do you wanna know that?"

Beads of sweat accumulates on his forehead as Joshua stumbles upon his words, "I-I, well-- It's..", and he finds this sudden urge within himself to explain it you before you misunderstand further, "Mingyu, my best friend, he wants to know about her."

"Didn't he just loose a match?", you ask him while your questioning gaze is fixated at Mingyu.

"Exactly! That's what I told him", he explains, "But he's like that only so if you could tell me.."

"She's single.", you respond to shut him up.

Joshua quietly cowers away.

"She's scary.", Mingyu laughs, "I thought she was going to bite off your head."

"Asshole.", Joshua quips, "She's single. Go shoot your shot."

Mingyu's eyes twinkles and skips away immediately.

Later, Mingyu manages to get Hyerin's number.

Mingyu and Hyerin are dating.

"Please Y/N", Hyerin literally corners you in your own bedroom, "It's just a double date--"

Your face contorts in distaste, "And with whom? Joshua Hong. No. Never. We both can't tolerate each other."

"Oh come on darling", Hyerin tries to persuade you, "I have talked to him, he seems good. Plus I've heard he was the star player of his previous school's basketball team. A heartthrob, you can say."

"He's good to you, because you're his best friend's girlfriend.", then you declare, "Otherwise he's an asshole."

"He's cute.", Hyerin corrects you.

"You know Hyejoo has been crushing on Joshua for sometime right? Why don't you ask her?", you sort to your last resort.

"Please, I don't her around when I'm chilling or on dates.", Hyerin sighs, "You know she's hard to handle and we both get her but other people can be uncomfortable sometimes. Last time at practice she said something ridiculous to Jeonghan, ofcourse as a joke but it was really off.", she shudders at the memory, "Jeonghan's always laid back so he let it pass."

"Okay. But why do you need us? Go on dates alone, spend time with each other."

"Because I want you to know Gyu and Josh better and same for Gyu.", Hyerin says grabbing your hands and sighs when she sees confusion written over your face, "Look even though we have just started dating but I think I like him. So I want you to know my boyfriend and his friend, you know, so you it's fluid between the four of us."

You understand. You are happy that you're her confidant. Everything makes sense except Joshua.

But when Hyerin gives you those puppy eyes, who are you to deny her.

"Fine. I'll go with you."

Mingyu gapes at Joshua in disbelief.

"What?", Joshua almost mewls and chucks a pillow at Mingyu, "Stop staring okay?"

Mingyu sits up on the bed, "So you have been talking to someone you don't know and what if that person turns out a psychopath."

"She's not a psychopath, Gyu", Joshua is immediately retaliates.

"She?", Mingyu is amused, "What if it's a he and a 50 year old weirdo?"

That sends Joshua off. After some moment of contemplation he says, "Whatever. They don't even know me and it's fine we just share our minds with each other."

"Dude you always that I'm crazy but I think it's you. You're the crazy one.", Mingyu pouts and scoots over to where Joshua is seated, "So about the double date...."

"We're not having this conversation again.", Joshua retorts.

"Why?", Mingyu now lays on Joshua's lap and looks at him, "Y/N is such a cool person Joshy. You'd love it. She's definitely better than that person you're chatting coz we know her."

Joshua rolls his eyes and places a hand over Mingyu's mouth, "We don't get along at all so no."

Mingyu bits his hand lightly and Joshua flinches in pain.

"Do me this favour Joshy, please.", Mingyu pleads, "We'll have a lot a fun I promise."

"I'm seeing her everyday Gyu, courtesy detention class. I have no will to see her more."

Mingyu's phone dinges a notification and his eyes narrow into slits as he reads it and Joshua knows it's definitely not something beneficial for him because--

"Y/N agreed to it.", Mingyu announces almost shoving his phone to Joshua's face as the later read the text from Hyerin saying the same.

He slaps away his friends hand, "Still a no."

"I thought we are best friends.", Mingyu says sadly as he gets up and takes his bag, "But seems I was wrong. Anyways, I'll get going."

Joshua knows Mingyu is pulling the best friend card yet he let's himself indulge into it once more.

"Fine.", Joshua hollers, "If I don't have a great time, I'll really cut you off Kim Mingyu."

Mingyu grins from ear to ear.

"Y/N, we got a call from your school.", your mother says. You don't like where this conversation is going.

"They informed us about your detention.", your father adds, "Why didn't you tell us?" "It's just a detention dad which will be over by the end of this week.", you say taking a bite of your sandwich even though your appetite was gone. "Y/N", your mother places her hand on yours, "You need to be serious about your studies. Your grades gonna decide your university. Remember that you'll have to take over your father's Pharma company because it's for you. This is our legacy." You are tired of the same old conversation. "I don't want to", your voice cracks as tears prick at the corner of your eyes, "I want to study fashion technology. I want to be a designer!" "We already had this discussion Y/N.", your fathers alerts and you are getting off the chair. "Getting late.", you say slinging your bag over, "Bye." Your parents look at each other solemnly. You can't pinpoint which part of the day went fine for you till now. Because everything was going wrong. First the conversation with your parents during breakfast, second Hyerin informing you about not attending classes today at the last moment over a text, third being late in the class and hearing a earful from the teacher and lots more to account for. Now, as you got some free time before the detention class starts, you decide to sew the remaining series of sequences on the piece of cloth you are currently working on.

You are pulling the needle from the backside when it pricks your index finger.

You're immune to this, it doesn't even sting much but your eyes are teary and you curse out in mumbles.

The tears start to roll your cheeks, you sob silently hiding your face behind your palms.

"Why did you agree to this double dating thing?"

You could see Joshua towering over you but don't raise your hear.

"I could have managed Gyu but just because you agreed I couldn't do so.", Joshua says angrily, "You are so annoying you know--"

"I'm sorry", you stand up, raising your head and your gazes meet.

Joshua instantly freezes when he sees your bloodshot eyes and hears your body racking sobs.

"I know I'm annoying. I'm sorry.", you cry out, "I-I'll just do something."

"Y/N--"

"I'll cancel out on them last minute with some excuses. I promise.", you are wiping your never ending tears as you continue, "So that from next time if they propose something you can always shut them up by saying that I bailed out last time."

"Hey please stop crying.", Joshua gently holds your arms as he crouches to look at you eye to eye, "Please tell me what do I need to do so that you can calm down?"

You don't respond and Joshua renders in panic as he feels you shaking under his touch.

Before the gears in his head could start turning he pulls you into embrace.

And when you still don't stop crying he gently rocks you and hums a soothing melody. His one hand strokes your hair and the other firmly hold you to his chest.

Your cries reduce to sobs until it stops.

"It'll all work out.", he says still rocking you and your hands fist on his shirt at the back.

"But it never works out", you whisper meekly.

"It will. I promise.", his says softly and with so much sincerity that it makes you want to believe him.

You pull away and ask, "You think it will?"

Joshua smiles as he wipes your tears and cups your face. His response comes in form of a soft smile and a firm nod.

"Now sit right here", he backs you and sits you up on the chair, "I'll be back quickly. Don't leave!"

He runs off halfway and calls Hyerin to know what's your favourite food or drink or anything that you make your mood shift even a bit.

And around 20 minutes later he returns with a bag full of cheese puffs, strawberry juice cans and butterscotch flavoured ice creams.

He pants but is relieved to see that you are still there and most importantly not crying.

But your rummaging through your bag.

"What are you searching for?", Joshua asks and sits beside you.

"Band-Aid", you sigh in defeat, "Of course I don't have it today. What a shitty day to be alive."

"I have it, wait a minute.", he fishes out one strip and asks, "Did you get hurt?"

"I pricked my finger with the needle.", you say extending your hand and he looks at you in concern as he applies the ointment and then wraps the Band-Aid.

"Don't worry, I'm used to it.", you try to lessen his worry, "If you do sewing with hands, you're gonna get a lot of it."

Joshua's wide eyes meets your as he realises what you're saying is correct and you find him adorable.

"Here", he hands the bag, "I got these for you."

You tear the seal and a broad grin sets on your lips.

"How did you manage to get all these?"

"Called Hyerin and run to nearest convenience store."

Your heart swells a bit, "You really didn't have to but thanks. I really mean it."

"I hope this helps you get through the day.", Joshua says and takes the ice cream stick you're offering him.

"It definitely will.", you thank him again, "I'll repay you by cancelling the double date. I promise."

Suddenly the idea doesn't sit well with Joshua.

You rack your brain hard to come up with an excuse so that the double date gets cancelled.

Looking at the time, you're about to pull your hair in frustration when your phone rings.

Hyerin calling ...

Panic surges within you causing you miss her call. You immediately call her back.

"Hey love, meet you at the arcade. I'm loving this dynamic between you two.", her suggestive tone confuses you, "I wanna know what's going on between you and Josh. Start getting ready, Josh will pick you up at 7 sharp. Bye."

"Wait what?", you squeak out, "Hello?? Rin?? Hello??"

What does she mean by that, you thought.

It was already 6:30 PM and you don't even have Joshua's number.

"Let's get ready Y/N.", you say to yourself, "If Joshua comes then fine, if he doesn't come the possibility of which weighs more, still fine you get the wear the dress you have made."

Your mood instantly lifts and you search through your wardrobe for that one dress which you have been meaning to wear for a while now. You had completed stitching the dress last month. It turned out really pretty, more than you had expected.

You had cried tears of pride and finished two tubes a butterscotch flavoured ice creams that night.

When you spot it, you caress the dress with gentle hands before taking it out and laying it on the bed.

It's a simple wrap dress, except for, you have recreated the whole dress using some torn out velvety clothings from your mother's old garments. You favourite part is that tie around which you reconstructed from a bodice and put the sequencing overall.

Green always looks good on. You're confident this one also would.

Putting on the dress, twirling around in pure joy and after being done with the makeup and pairing it with your favourite shoes you waited for Joshua.

Sharp at 7, your doorbell rings and you sprint down the stairs grabbing your sling bag to open the door.

"Wow", Joshua blurts out, eyes wide and mouth agape.

He's enchanted.

Your soft giggles breaks his reverie and he curses himself for being so obvious.

"You clean up nice too.", you actually word out the complement because Joshua is really damn good looking.

With his hair brushed back, you can see his exposed forehead and fine lined brows. The blue polo shirt that has been half tucked under the white chino pant is definitely enhancing him.

He's glowing under the strip light and you're sure he'd glow even more under the moonlight.

"Thanks", Joshua breathes out.

"Don't you have something to tell me?", your lips curl up as you say stepping out and close the door, "I was surprised when Rin--"

Joshua doesn't step back.

So when you turn you're words stuck in your throat as you almost bump into him.

But you don't bump into him. Rather there's hardly an inch of gap between you both as you stare at each other wordless.

You think he has kissable lips.

Joshua thinks you have beautiful pair of eyes.

You think his cologne smells nice.

He thinks no one ever did justice to any shades of green as much as you.

You think he has beautiful pair of eyes.

He thinks you have kissable lips.

So he leans down slowly and you don't back off. His breathes fan over your face and your hands find his.

He entwines his fingers through yours and you close your eyes.

He dips down further and is within the cusp of having luxury to put your lips together when the shrill ringtone cuts the atmosphere.

You open your eyes wide and Joshua yanks his hands backing off. You are frozen in place for a few seconds until Joshua's call of your name shakes you up.

He clears his throat and scratches his nape when you look at him.

"Gyu called.", he looks at everything and anywhere except your eyes, "They have reached and waiting for us. Let's go."

You grimace at the sudden change in atmosphere.

It's awkward and suffocating.

You both don't talk to each the whole time Joshua drives you to the arcade.

"Hey love, hey Josh", Hyerin greets as soon as you enter followed by Joshua.

You clinge to your best friend's arm and wave at Mingyu. He waves back with a huge grin.

"Guys", Mingyu calls out, "I checked the bowling ally and booked us the next slot. Let's go."

You have to unwillingly let go her arm when Mingyu extends his for her to hold.

But just before she goes, she whispers in your ear, "Did something happen between you two?"

Your eyes go wide for a moment but before she could catch up to it, you deny it. Her gaze lingers on your face trying to find any inconsistency but thankfully Mingyu ushers her away.

You and Joshua are left behind.

Joshua isn't looking at you at all and you ponder over the fact if you're going to have a good time it has to be with Joshua and this dynamic between you two has to change immediately.

"Do you want to go there?"

Joshua perks up and follows your gaze to the bowling alley where both of your best friends were having fun.

"Well.... actually no. Don't wanna interrupt them", he says, "I want to try basketball though."

"That's my favourite!", you are grabbing him by his hand, "It's that way."

Joshua smiles and he thinks that he could get used to your presence.

"You try first.", you say as you buy the tickets.

"Fine. Next round's on me.", he say taking his position infront of the machine.

You take your camcorder out and just out hold the device when Joshua scowls, "It's illegal to shoot without permission."

You realise that he's right and you mutter a quick sorry before switching off the device and shoving it into your bag.

When you look up again, Joshua is rolling of the sleeves of his shirt and while doing it he's looking damn hot  for some reason.

You gulp nervously and look away.

When you're courageous enough to back at him, he's brushing his hair with his hand.

Again, for some reasons he's looking damn hot.

You think you'd combust if you stay there another moment so you say, "I'll be waiting there", and fleet away.

No matter how much you try, your straying eyes lands on him and you get a whiplash from his chiseled jaw. He must have had his side profile sculptured.

You wonder if Joshua had been always this easy on eyes or it's your hormones talking all of a sudden.

Trying a way out of distraction you decide to text Anonymous.

But before you could apprehend your fingers type away a text that makes you groan upon reading it.

You:

[8:07 PM] How do you know if you like someone?

The lack of response comes from the other side makes you ponder if you had asked an invasive question.

Did you come out too cringey, you sigh in defeat and rest your phone on the table.

"Y/N!", you hear Joshua yell, "You gotta come here."

You would have waved him off if not he had that cute little pout set across his lips.

"Don't tell me you're not able to cross level 2", you laugh straight at his face.

"As if you're the highest scorer.", He retorts.

"So naive", you tsk taking your position in front of the machine.

Joshua goes to recharge the card and returns quickly to tap it on the scanner.

You swiftly pull him beside you and he looks at you startled.

You think he's startled because he's clueless.

He is startled because of the proximity between you both.

"W-What are you doing?"

"Obviously, we're both gonna play.", you say casually, "Otherwise there's no way to crack this unless you climb on this keep on keep ducking the ball in & out."

"Wait what?"

"Look as soon as the balls start rolling, keep on picking and throwing them up.", you set aside your sling bag and tie your hair up in a messy bun, " One thing try to aim when the basket slides to your side, I'll aim on mine otherwise other balls would collide with each other and fall off."

Joshua blinks.

You wait.

Joshua is still confused.

"Look, I have wanted to try this with someone for so long.", your pleading tone resonates with Joshua.

"You haven't tried it before?", he asks, "The way you gave the instructions I was pretty much sure you're a pro at it."

"I did try it with Hyerin.", you lament, "But given she's into sports, her arcade skills are zero."

Joshua snorts at this and gets ready to fulfill your wish.

"We're gonna beat this machine today.", he raises his fisted hand for a fistbump and you gladly reciprocate.

Your cheat key fails at Level 5 but you are happy.

Same for Joshua because he couldn't recollect when was the last time he had this much fun.

"Are you sure they don't get along?", Mingyu asks with a huge grin set on his lips.

"I don't know about Y/N but Joshua upped himself by delivering himself at her door today.", Hyerin smirks.

Mingyu rolls eyes, "Don't you think I didn't notice Y/N literally giving hearty eyes to Joshy."

Hyerin doesn't comment anymore, she just smiles.

That night after dropping you off at home, when he basks in the memories of the spent evening, Joshua realises he has got a text from Anonymous.

Anonymous:

[8:15 PM] How do you know if you like someone?

Joshua:

[10:45 PM] Sorry, had a busy day today.

Do you like someone?

Anonymous:

[10:47 PM] I'm not sure???

I think I like him, the same boy whom I used hate.

Joshua:

[10:48 PM] Should I be happy? What about me?

Kidding! Feelings works funny because I think I'm starting to like the girl I told you about before.

Anonymous:

[10:49 PM] Oh? Should I be happy?

We're really in same boat lol.

Hope we can sort it out.

Joshua:

[10:50 PM] Touché.

Detention classes are going to end today.

You should be feeling ecstatic but you have a glum aura around you as you splash the paint on the wall for one last time.

"You're amazing you know."

A small smile forms on your lips but Joshua doesn't need to see that.

"I just complimented you, are you seriously gonna ignore me?", Joshua bumps his shoulder to yours but you don't budge.

"You are gonna keep doing that?", Joshua let's out a sound of annoyance, "Fine, just remember I had no other choice."

Before you could ask or ignore, you are being turned around in a moment, in the next you are being dragged you have no idea where.

Mrs. Yoo smiles as she watches you both. She just wanted you both to stop hating on but what seemingly she's a getting a lot more than she bargained for.

Hyejoo glares at the two of you and though she isn't sure if she's serious about her feelings for Joshua, a green monster of jealousy starts to invade her mind.

You are pulled inside an empty room which you never knew existed and now you're being cornered by the guy who's causing your hormones to react horrendously whenever around him.

"W-What are you doing?", you gulp nervously, looking everywhere but at him.

"Why are you ignoring me?", he says in a desperate tone and it makes you feel bad.

Because I get nervous around you, I think I like you.

You want to say it all loud and get everything off your chest but you don't.

"I-I'm just being moody", you lie partially, "I have gotten my periods."

Joshua looks relieved, "So you're not particularly being hostile towards me? Oh that's fine. I get it."

You sigh in relief.

Then, his worrying gaze is scrutinizing your face, "Are you in pain? I shouldn't have dragged you here, really sorry. Do you need me to buy to anything? Do you want to eat ice creams--"

You hush him by putting your finger on his lips, though you wish if you could put your lips on his instead.

"I'm fine Josh.", you tell him, "Since today detention classes are ending do you wanna go somewhere with me afterwards?"

Joshua agrees in a beat.

Mrs. Yoon has a teasing grin across her lips when you both stand side by side waiting for her to give you the slips which marks the end of detention.

"I'm impressed how you both went from almost plotting murder to gardening together real quick.", she says with an underlying tone, "Oh, painting too. You've learned to breathe in each other presence, that's what I wanted. You're free to go."

You both quickly mutter a thanks to her and head towards the exit.

You wait for Joshua as he goes to where his bike is parked.

And he groans when he see Hyejoo waiting for him there.

"What do you want?", he asked bluntly, as he pulls his bike and wears the helmet.

"I want to sit on that bike of yours.", she says coyly, "Can I?"

"No.", Joshua says as he prepares to flee, "As I have told you before I have no interest in you. Please stop seeking attention from me all the time."

Her gazes turns shearer as she asks, "So who do you have interest in? Y/N?"

Joshua stiffens for a moment before deciding to ignore her wholly and riding away.

"He didn't even deny it, wow", she scoffs, "Fine, let's see how this goes."

"Such a beautiful place exists and I didn't even know about it?", Joshua laments, "How did you find this place?"

You smile looking ahead, sound of the waves calming you in an ineffable way.

"Accidentally.", you say after sometime, "But this is where you'll find me if ever you couldn't get in touch with me."

Joshua's heart tightens within his chest as he asks, "Why are you showing your safe place to me? Who else knows about this place?"

You don't respond right away and Joshua waits patiently.

"Hyerin, Hyejoo and someone I used to know, knows about this place.", you look at him with warmth in your eyes, "Now you know it too."

Joshua had never imagined that a person who got his coffee spilled, became his detention partner would also be the one who would cry in front of him because of having bad day to be cheatmates at an arcade game.

Joshua never got the slightest intuition that the person whom he hated the most would also become the person he'd be liking the most.

"I want to become a fashion designer. But my parents want me to manage our family business of pharmaceuticals.", your words, tone, aura, everything is emitting sadness, "I have tried to convince them since the day I found out about my passion but they won't let me. The discussion goes nowhere."

Joshua listen, not entirely but somewhat relating to the situation.

"Tell me about you, Josh."

Joshua finds you staring at back him.

He thinks for a while, trying to put together the words for you to make sense and then speaks, "My dad was a lawyer. And I respected him a lot, so I think because of that I found law intriguing.", he pauses and heaves a sigh, "After his death, I promised mom that I keep his profession alive through me. It was an impromptu decision I had made. I was barely 12 years old then."

You listen and empathize with him. You could take a guess where this is going and if not entirely, you can also somewhat relate to him.

"As I grew up, the realisation gnawed at me. I didn't find law intriguing anymore, I don't wanna be a lawyer anymore."

Joshua sounds so dejected that you wanna put his head on your shoulders and wrap your arms around him in an embrace.

But you only caress his back.

"I have tried to tell mom about it but I didn't yet have the courage to actually tell her yet because she's still so immersed in dad and the memories he left. She doesn't even change the old television we have which barely works coz it was one of dad's favourite possession."

He suddenly blinks almost comically, bambi eyes getting rounder and lips parted in awe.

"You're really cool you know!", he emphasises on the adjective for you to get the sincerity of it, "You already have a passion and you know what you want to do. Unlike me."

"You realize it's never too early or too late to find one's passion. We are too young for figuring out our entire life. There's time. There always a right time.", you too emphasize, "Maybe you don't know today but maybe you'll know it tomorrow or someday."

Joshua finds your words oddly comforting and true.

"You can try to make your mom understand little by little. Like how about convincing her to replacing the television or anything else that could be replaced. When and if she agrees find the right time to bring in the topic and get it to her slowly. She'll understand, after all she's your mother."

What you just say, tastes bitter in your mother maybe because you wished for your parents to understand you as well.

Joshua must be knowing how to read minds, because he says, "I would like you to use your advice to yours as well. Show your parents what you wanna do and why you wanna do it. Show them your dedication."

"I'll try.", you smile at him.

"I'll try as well." he echoes you.

When he left home today, he had a mission on his mind that was to get your number.

Because when he asked Mingyu for the same, he quoted something along the lines,

"You need to get it yourself. How long until you don't suck at getting numbers?"

Infuriating, cocky of a best friend Joshua has.

When he drops you at your doorstep, Joshua had those words on the tip of his tongue until you pull of his helmet and kiss his cheek.

Joshua.exe has stopped working.

It's too late when Joshua comes back to this realm because he hears a door slam and you're have successfully sprinted into your house.

Next time definitely, he promises to himself.

You:

[6:30 PM] shared a playlist

Anonymous:

[6:35 PM] I just went through the songs list and I must say you're a music nerd fr.

You:

[6:37 PM] That I am. This playlist represents me so I just gave you a glimpse of what I am.

Anonymous:

[6:39 PM] FYI your playlist has many of my favourite songs as well. We're so similar.

"Are you texting that random stranger again?", Hyerin grimaces as she situates herself between your legs, trying to take a peek at your phone.

When you ignore her she asks again, "What's going on between you and Joshua?"

"Nothing.", you answer simply, knowing Hyerin won't buy a penny of it.

You shift so that Hyerin falls flat on the bed and you lay beside her.

"Rin, even though I have been talking this guy--"

"Don't have no idea whether you're talking to a guy or a girl or a bot or whoever!", Hyerin huffs, "Look I know you like talking to them, share interests and all but can you seriously think about Joshua. You like him, don't you?"

You sigh in defeat, nothing goes past your best friend, "I do like him, Rin."

"I freaking knew it! You both are so obvious!", Hyerin laughs, "And cute."

"I'm going to tell him someday maybe.", you say, "Even if he rejects me, I can console myself saying atleast I tried."

"Before you do that, why don't you meet this Anonymous.", Hyerin suggests, "I mean look, I know you have crated an attachment towards them. So meet them in person, get to know each more and do tell them that you like Joshua."

You blink at her owlishly.

"What I mean is, sort things out. First go meet Anonymous so you know they're not some weirdo and if they're not great you got another friend. Then confess to Josh about your feelings.", Hyerin expectant gaze falls on you hoping you got what she's trying to say.

"Okay!", you say and she can almost see that see a lightbulb going off in your head, "I'll meet anonymous first, then... then we'll see."

"Then you'll confess to Josh, if he doesn't do it first.", Hyerin scoffs, "Please we know the amount of time you're both spending."

"What about Hyejoo?", you ponder, "Doesn't she also like Josh?"

"Look, I'm very much surprised Joshua made it past a week okay? But I really want her to see Jisung's the one for her. That poor boy, I don't know how many heartbreak he suffers everytime my sister chooses a new crush, chooses someone who's not him."

"And tell her to spend a day without Jisung, she'll go berserk.", you continue to add points, "I wonder how long until she realises it's been him all this time."

"I know right, she's so goddamn stubborn.", Hyerin laments, "Hope she doesn't pull something stupid to get to Joshua because he doesn't even have an ounce of interest towards her."

"Good for me I guess?", you shrug and get an 'aww' on return.

You immediately pull up your phone and send a text.

You:

[7:25 PM] I was wondering if we could meet up?

Anonymous:

[7:30 PM] What about your rule of not knowing each other personally ?

You:

[7:31 PM] The one who made the rule is trying to break it, so .....

Anonymous:

[7:32 PM] Ok cool, let's meet.

You:

[7:33 PM]

Okay day after tomorrow, 5 in evening at Crimson Café. Sounds good?

Anonymous:

[7:33 PM] Fine by me.

How are we going to recognise each other lol?

You:

[7:34 PM]

I'll be wearing a purple beret hat with a bear logo on it.

Anonymous:

[7:35 PM]

I'll be wearing a green sweatshirt with Los Angeles written on it.

You:

[7:36 PM] Noted. See you on Thursday!

Next day when you cross the threshold of your school canteen, it's not Hyerin who gets hijacked by Jeonghan.

He hijacks you.

"What does the school heartthrob want from me?", you quip nonchalantly, "And you have a treat pending so...."

Jeonghan rolled eyes, "Oh my god, fine. After classes end, let's go to that bakery shop nearby. I heard they sell the best black currant cakes."

"Deal!", you bump his shoulder, "I'll be waiting by the exit. Will drop a text."

Jeonghan gives a nod, pats your head and part ways to attend the class.

Joshua has been occupying mostly of mind nowadays and you wonder if he was just a mere crush anymore. You also realise that you could have texted him asking if he's attending school today or not but you don't have his number.

You ask him for it next time, you take a mental note.

As promised, Jeonghan takes you to the bakery and after placing your orders Jeonghan finally ask a favour from you.

"It's the final project and I have no clue how to design the cover.", he tells you, "So could you please help me with it?"

Jeonghan knows you would definitely help him.

"Han, look to be honest, I have a lot of assignments and project to deal with", you explain, "So there's a limit on my end to provide you support. It shouldn't be taking long, we need to decide specific days and anyhow get it done by that."

Jeonghan sighs in relief, "Y/N you could have literally said no but you're an angel.", he grabs your hands and expresses his gratitude, "I'll mail you all the details and you have a look. Then we can decide on the rest."

"Sounds like a plan and you know I'd never not help you if I could.", you assert, "You are a good friend."

Jeonghan would never admit but his heart swells with emotions. For him too, you have been a good friend. Not always in touch maybe, but the one he can confide to anytime.

You let out a yelp when your pulled against his chest, as Jeonghan gives you a side hug.

"Dude what's gotten into you?", you scrunch your nose looking at him with pointed eyes.

"Well definitely not someone who goes by Joshua Hong.", he teases.

You gasp, almost scurrying away from him.

"Hyerin that little snitch!", you gruff in disbelief and Jeonghan laughs.

Joshua doesn't see you in school. He searches but you're neither in the canteen, nor with Hyerin or any of the classes he thought you'd be.

"Looking for Y/N?"

He hears a familiar voice and doesn't like it at all.

Hyejoo stands in front of him, her lips curled up in a smirk, arms crossed over her chest.

"If you know then tell me or mind your own business.", he deadpans.

Hyejoo definitely knows where and with whom you are because she had overhead you two while passing by and the absolute joy she got because that would definitely be a fuel to fire.

Joshua decides to walk off but what he hears next cause him to halt.

"Be careful Josh. Y/N maybe not be all what she seems to be.", Hyejoo says.

She continues on realising she has successfully garnered his attention, "I'm only saying because I care for you."

"What are you trying to imply here?", Joshua asks.

She chuckles, a mocking tone cutting through which Joshua fails to notice, "Did she ever breakdown in front of you?"

Joshua stills. A moment later he nods.

"You'll often have to handle that, not a big deal", her lips curl down as if in worry, "But as days goes she'll be blaming every irrelevant things on you. You won't be able to tell her that things are not working out for her because she's not trying."

Joshua is rooted to ground, he only listens.

"I assume you already know about her safe place."

Joshua feels like someone had poured a bucket of ice water on him.

"Your face says you know it.", Hyejoo taunts, "It's always like this. She's difficult to handle."

"What do you mean by always?"

"It was same with Junsik, her ex.", she utters hurriedly.

Joshua doesn't know what he's gonna do with all these information he just acquired.

"Let me take you where she is now."

That's how Joshua finds himself standing outside the bakery. Through one of window walls he sees you laughing at something Jeonghan was saying.

His hands balled into fists as he watches Jeonghan pulling you into his embrace.

You look so happy that Joshua's mind lingers back to the memories shared between you two and he doubts if you were ever this happy when you were with him.

When he sees Jeonghan feeding you, his heart constricts too tightly in his chest.

He realises that he doesn't like the intimacy between you and Jeonghan.

He realises he wants to swap places with Jeonghan, that he should be the one who gets to hug, to feed you or hold your hands.

He realises that he likes you.

He likes you a lot.

"You like her, it's so obvious", Hyejoo says impassively, "But does she like you back?"

Joshua has his minded clouded with all sorts of nonsense Hyejoo fed him with that anger seeps through his veins and clutters in his heart as pain.

He blames himself for believing that you would have some sort of liking towards him and he is indignant because you acted as if you would reciprocate his feelings.

Joshua leaves with a heavy heart and he might not have noticed the tears that were pooling his eyes.

Your eyes stray in anticipation everytime you sense someone passing by your table.

You wait for Anonymous as decided at the Crimson café with lot of expectations and only one hope for the person to be not any weirdo.

You:

[7:10 PM] I'm already in here.

Took the table nearest to the counter, the view looks good from here :)

You quickly send the text and rest the phone on the table as you take out your sketch book and start doodling.

Joshua is still heartbroken for which he really looks forward to meet Anonymous.

Today, he just wants to forget everything and have a good time.

To get you off his mind, to push back the career choices, he only wants that.

He heaves a deep breathe standing outside the café and his lips curl up as he reads the text he just received notifying that the one he's going to meet has already arrived.

Joshua pushes the door, walking in.

All hope dissipates instantly when he sees you, wearing a purple beret hat with a bear logo, sitting at one of the two tables nearest to the counter, other one being empty.

Joshua doesn't think anymore, he just sprints out of the café.

You sigh bored, finally getting your head out of your sketchbook and check the time.

You:

[7:24 PM] You didn't forget about meeting me today right??

Are you stuck somewhere?

It's 8 now, neither do you get a response of your texts, nor does Anonymous shows up.

You:

[8:03 PM] Are you still coming?

Did something happen? Are you okay?

Please just drop a text whenever you get this, I'm worried...

The clock strikes 9 and you're dragging your body out of the café.

You are worried. You are exhausted.

Not trying to read much into it, you coax yourself into believing that there must be a valid reason for Anonymous to take a raincheck on you. That you'll get a response and may be an apology later.

Next day when you wake up, the first thing you do is check your phone.

No messages.

You huff in annoyance but don't let it ruin your mood because today you have a mission.

To get Joshua's number.

Not a big deal, you could have easily gotten it from Hyerin but you believe it's best to be a little brave and get it from the person himself.

Generally, you have often bumped into him for the past few day but today, somehow it's hard to find him. You even doubt if he's attending school today.

But that doubt dissolves when you see him in the canteen, snacking on a snicker bar and scrolling through his phone with a bored expression.

A grin sets on lips as you walk up to him and occupy the seat across him.

He lifts his gaze from his phone and his heart drops when he sees you.

"Hey", you say, "I have been searching for you."

Suddenly, there's a screech and Joshua is dragging out his chair as he stands up.

Your curious eyes try to meet his but he doesn't look at you.

"Josh--"

"I have a class now.", he says and leaves.

You are confused and you are worried.

If he's having a bad day you want to help him, as he had done for you.

If he's bothered by something, you want him to eat up your ears by ranting it all out.

If he's tired, you want to put his head on your shoulder.

"I'll let him have his space for today.", you mumble in distaste, "But I miss him. I'm so miserable."

Next day you bump into him in the hallway.

"Hey Josh", you greet, smiling wide.

Joshua is stoic and you notice it.

"I have some work at library.", he says and just as he was about to take a turn you grab his wrist.

"Did something happen?", you ask with uncertainty, anxiety creeping in you slowly.

"Can you unhand me?", Joshua quips sharply, "If you haven't noticed it, I'm feeling uncomfortable."

You immediately release his hand and take a step back "I-I'm sorry --"

"Save it.", he says, "What do you want anyway?"

Your mind runs thousand miles on the memory lane to come up with anything you could have done to upset Joshua.

But nothing comes up. Absolutely nothing.

"I just want to get your number."

There you just had to say it when Joshua is vexed at you.

A scoff leaves his lips and he glares at you, "What are you playing at? Don't you already have my number. Stop messing with me."

You think you're hearing everything wrong. You look at him as if he has grown another head and a pair of lips which are uttering absolute nonsense.

"How could you do this to me?", he asks, his gaze peering into your soul and wrenching at your gut, "I feel like you're always breathing into in my neck. And it's suffocating."

"What did I do, please tell me." , you plead in helplessness, eyes glistening with unshed tears and you all get in return is a condescending look.

"Stop pretending, oh my god", Joshua whispers in a threatening tone, "I don't want to see to you anymore.", with that he leaves.

You suck in a sharp breathe and close your eyes letting those tears fall. A sob throbs out of you and you are unbothered with the looks you're getting from those passing by.

Your mind only reels the words Joshua had spat out, the bitterness and hatred from them getting to you.

Joshua is the only good thing that has happened to you in a long time so you refuse let him go just like that.

Whatever it is, you're going to fix it.

"Mrs. Hong?"

"Y/N?"

You chest tingles in mirth as you ask, "How have you been?"

"Been good dear.", she answers in her calm voice, "What about you?"

"Okayish, I'd say.", your voice wavers, "Just stressed with finals and career choices."

"You should do whatever you feel like doing.", she advices, patting your head.

"My parents want me to handle the family business which I don't want.", you ramble, knowing that ranting about it to everyone won't change anything.

"Then fight for it", Mrs. Hong says, "Go to hell and back, take all of it. It's always better to try than to have regrets for life."

You nod, somewhat finding new confidence to have the conversation with your parents again.

"Your son must be lucky to have you as a parent, Mrs. Hong.", you comment with sincerity, "You know there's one thing I have always wanted. For my parents to ask me what do I want."

You place all your items on the checkout counter and solemnly tell her, "Mrs. Hong, you should also ask your son what he wants. You know as we grow up, we discover new interests, our choices change. You're a sensible parent so I want you to be the cool mom and support his descisions, whatever it maybe be."

Mrs. Hong stiffens for a moment. Her mind reels back to a lot of things and she has been complacent with Joshua on this matter.

"Mrs. Hong?", your concerned voice reaches her, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

You are suddenly pulled into her embrace and she thanks you.

"You might have unknowingly done me a huge favour.", she whispers on the top of your head.

"He has been cranky lately", Mingyu hums as he recollects, "Mostly cooped up in his room, doesn't even open up to me."

You and Hyerin grimace at his words.

"Did he shout at you?", you ask in hopes that it's only you but it's just a phase and Joshua is mad at every one.

Mingyu pouts because he knows the answer he's gonna give you is nowhere going to make you feel better.

"No, actually we went to arcade yesterday. He blew off his steam at that poor basketball machine but we're good. Like normal, just he's a bit more serious nowadays."

You slouch down and Hyerin glares at her boyfriend.

"It's okay, love. I think you should confront him asap.", Hyerin wraps her arm around your shoulder as she throws pointed eyes at her boyfriend.

Mingyu seems to take the hint and says, "I'm there to help you, just tell me what I need to do."

"For the starters, give me his number.", you insist, almost on verge pleading, "If I can't get through him, then help me to meet him alone."

"Okay ma'am!", Mingyu immediately takes his phone and sends you Joshua's contact.

"Thanks Gyu", you say and getting up sweep a glance at the couple, "Gotta go, I need to help Han to design the cover."

"Keep us posted Y/N."

You nod in acknowledgement at Mingyu's words.

Walking down the alley, you contemplate a lot of things, life is tough, yours is toughest.

Nothing seems to work out for you.

You want a career, your parents don't resonate with you.

You like a guy, he suddenly starts to hate your entire existence.

Taking out your phone you open Mingyu's chat to save Joshua's contact.

Just as you proceed to add it to a pops up appears.

Do you want replace the contact name from Anonymous to Joshua?

Your eyes go round like saucers as you re read the sentence again and again.

You trace back and confirm that it's actually Anonymous.

Joshua Hong is actually Anonymous!

"What are you playing at? Don't you already have my number. Stop messing with me."

Joshua's words ring in your mind and everything made sense to you now. That also meant he had come to the café and left without meeting you, misunderstanding the whole situation.

You immediately call Jeonghan only to cancel on him.

Next, you're calling Mingyu and as soon as he picks up you say, "Gyu, please anyhow bring Joshua to that old park, I need to talk to him, it's urgent."

Joshua is startled when Mingyu suddenly barges into his room and starts tugging on his sleeves.

"I need a help from you Josh", he says and Joshua could sense the urgency in his voice, "We have to be somewhere."

As an unsuspecting and good friend he was, he immediately agreed on it.

Suddenly he is dropped off outside the park with Mingyu saying, "Go inside and you'll know it", before riding away in his bike.

Joshua stands there for a moment, utterly confused but anyways walks into the park.

You wait for him, biting off almost all of your nails.

You figure out his silhouette approaching and you could also see his face morphing from confusion to distaste on seeing you.

"Is this some kind of prank?", Joshua yells out, "Very irritating."

You are prepared to hear all the harsh words and off word gazes you're gonna get.

You are also adament to dissolve the misunderstandings and confess your feelings for him today.

"I think there's a misunderstanding, you need to listen to me.", you speak stepping ahead.

Joshua doesn't respond and you take it as your cue to continue.

"I asked Mingyu for your number today.", you continue carefully, "That's when I came to know you are Anonymous."

Joshua scoffs, "You really think I'm gonna buy it? What do you take me for Y/N?"

"I'm not lying --"

"Oh so you're telling you bumping into me right after I texted you that night is pure coincidence? Pairing up for detention classes was also a mere coincidence? Don't you know it's quite weird, how I got to see you each and everywhere, often, more and more just after I hit you up with those texts.", Joshua's gaze is enough to cower you down, his words just added to his condescendness towards you.

"What are you getting at?", you ask bracing yourself for another set of insults you knew that are going to come your way.

"You clearly knew that it was me the whole time.", he spats out, "You just wanted some attention because of the petty princess you are. Oh did I mention attention seeker too?"

"You're not in your right mind Joshua.", you warn him, "Don't say anything you're going to regret later."

"I'm not gonna regret anything. The only thing I regret is meeting you. Do you always do this?", he asks rather accuses you and you shot him a look.

"Do what?"

"Make guys believe that you like them and them tangle them into a trash relationship?", he chuckles bitterly, "I almost believed that you like me until I saw you with Jeonghan. Are you gonna take him to your safe place too? Were you gonna treat us the same as you treated Junsik?"

You freeze on hearing that name.

"How do you know about Junsik?", your eyes sting and voice falters, "What do you know about him?"

"Does it matter now?", he disregards you totally, "You are really sick for playing me like that because I really liked you..."

You perk up at his words, the pain in your heart never subduing but tearing it into infinite pieces.

"But fortunately, it isn't too late.", his words are venomous, more than he could realise, "I want to see you ever again. So do me a favour and never show your face again."

Your sobs doesn't stop until you're biting your tongue to the point where the metallic taste fills your mouth.

You lift your gaze to look at him past your wet lashes, "I also liked you Joshua, like a lot. Gosh I might be in lov-", you fist your hands focusing on them to not break down, "But your wish is granted."

You only say that much before walking past him.

The door to your heart, through which Joshua was making his way is cemented now.

"He said what?", Hyerin is raging and you are the one actually keeping her in check instead of getting comforted.

"Kim Mingyu what kind of bastard your best friend is?", she yells at her boyfriend, "Why are you even friends with him?"

"I still can't believe Joshua could say all this.", Mingyu mumbles, "I was quite sure that he liked you back and he obviously liked talking to Anonymous which turns out to be you."

"Leave it guys", you speak meekly through your sore throat, "It's all over--"

"It's not over, how dare he bring up Junsik?", Hyerin is sure she's going to commit manslaughter today, "What does he know about him?"

"I wonder", you sigh and lean against her shoulder.

"And he thinks, you were gonna double time him and Han?", she throws Joshua another punch at the gut in her head, "Who does he think he is? That bastard I'm-- I'm gonna ugh!"

Mingyu breaks into cold sweat on looking at his girlfriend, grimaces on watching you and fumes in anger when thinks about Joshua.

"Something must have happened, he ain't always like this.", Mingyu comments and is met by a death glare from Hyerin but he continues, "We need get it out of him."

"Whatever guys", you climb on your bed, laying down, "If you want me as your friend then never bring up Joshua ever again. I'm being serious right now.", you pull over the comforter and point your index towards the door, "Thanks for coming but now you both please get out."

Once the door slams shut, all the tears you've been holding stream down as you indulge in self dejection and that broken heart of yours bleeds in scarlet red. A colour so beautiful yet vicious.

A colour that Joshua gave you so brutally.

Joshua Hong was cruel to you and you pledge you're not going to give him the luxury to hurt you again, you're going to be unbothered, apathetic and indifferent to him.

Joshua Hong is a just stranger to you now.

Joshua doesn't immediately leave from the park. He takes a seat on one of the rusty swing and cools down. And while doing so his mind lingers back on the recent episode he had with you.

Joshua is generally a calm guy, a bit cranky but mostly calm. So when his own voice echoes in his mind saying those words to you, he topples with guilt.

He knows he went overboard and he was the actual sick one for bringing up your ex into the conversation.

But words once said cannot be taken back.

Letting the emotions get consume you is never a wise choice and Joshua made that mistake today.

His heart constricts when he remembers your tear stained cheeks, hurt eyes and maimed demeanor.

"I also liked you Joshua, like a lot. Gosh I might be in lov-"

He laughs. He is humored at how sincere you sounded when you were lying.

A Jack of Fools.

You are watching an interesting movie on your phone when someone taps you on your shoulder.

You crane your neck to see Jeonghan, seriousness ghosted over his face.

"What happened?"

He heaves a sigh and takes the sit across you.

"Before you start", you say getting up, "Let me bring something to eat."

Joshua enters the canteen and is displeased to see it extremely crowded. He searches and gladly he finds an unoccupied seat which he quickly takes.

On sweeping his gaze he finds Jeonghan occupying the table in front to his so he seats with his back faced to the later.

That's when he sees you passing by and hears a screech of chair. You place the food tray on the table as you take the seat opposite to Jeonghan's, and behind you is where Joshua is seated.

You don't notice Joshua.

"Spill.", you say, passing him a plate.

Jeonghan relents. He stays quiet for a moment before he's speaking, "It's about Seji."

You nod and wait for him to continue.

"We've been talking again.", he says and he wants to say a lot more but he cuts it down to, "My feelings are resurfacing."

"Your feelings for her were never gone.", you shrug poking the food on your plate you continue, "Look I don't get what the concept of being on & off is, so either you both get back or cut each other off. Otherwise I'm sorry but this looks very toxic to me."

"You're always so brutally honest", Jeonghan mops, "and have a clear conscience that's why I always confide in you."

"Oh, it's nice to hear that, someone just called me liar, sick and all sorts of synonyms it could go for.", You say meekly.

Joshua who has been eavesdropping, in his defence he had no choice as they sat behind him, it was all audible.

Jeonghan gasps in disbelief, "Who do I need to chain on? Tell me."

You give him a knowing smile and Jeonghan understands.

"Joshua berated you?", he ask gently, "I thought you were going to confess your feelings to him?"

Joshua freezes.

Then he hears a sob.

"Please, please don't cry. I don't know what happened but he doesn't deserve your tears.", Jeonghan rushes over to you as he hands you his handkerchief, "Gosh, I can't believe someone could hurt you so much. Promise I won't ever bring him up again, stop crying please."

You shake your head, wiping your tears, "I-I liked him a lot Han. And he said I was gonna double time with you and him."

Joshua hisses, he's ashamed.

Jeonghan sees red when he hears this, "He said what? No, I need to find him and beat the shit out of him. What a jerk, good riddance Y/N. Curse him all out now."

"Please Han", you tug on his sleeves, "He doesn't deserve any of this attention. I don't even want to hear his name anymore."

Jeonghan seethes but he decides to let it go for now. He would definitely deal with Joshua later.

"How about I take you that bakery? We can have everything you want!", he tries to cheer you up.

But you shake your head in protest, "You already bribed me so much for a mere cover design Han. I shouldn't rob you anymore."

Jeonghan rolls eyes, "Please it's not a mere cover, it requires so much effort and even though you're crammed with your tasks, you decided help me diligently."

"Fine.", you say, "You better sort things out with Seji and I'll text you when I work over on what discussed on before."

Joshua is this close to turn around, the apologies being on the tip of his tongue.

But you are leaving and Jeonghan follows you not before throwing a glare at the back of the person about whom you both just had a conversation.

Jeonghan knew about Joshua sitting exactly behind you this whole time.

"Hey mom", Joshua greets as he sits on the tool, "You wanted to discuss something?"

Mrs. Hong is standing by the kitchen counter, your words have been ringing in her head since that day and she wants her only son to know that he doesn't need to feel burdened if at all he has been feeling so.

"I want to ask something and I'm expecting an honest answer from you."

Joshua straightens in his seat as his attentive eyes fixates on his mother.

"What do you want to do Shua?", she elaborates when she see creases on his forehead out of confusion, "As in your choice for a career?"

Joshua's eyes goes round, as this was totally unexpected to him, something he had been meaning to bring this topic but never had the courage.

It suddenly felt like a blessing as he collects his thoughts and frames the sentence in his mind before speaking out.

"Mom, I don't want to be a lawyer.", he says and waits for his mother's reaction.

Mrs. Hong falters a bit but she quickly regains her composure.

Joshua notices, it's natural and expected, so he continues, "I don't know what I want to do but it's definitely not law mom. Just for clinging onto it because it was dad's profession, I don't wanna regret it later, have depression and blame everyone for it."

Mrs. Hong walks over to her son and pulls him into her embrace, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I wanted to mom but I didn't have the courage to break your heart, knowing how much you treasure everything related to dad.", he whispers, voice wavering, "But won't dad be happier if I follow my passion and live in content?"

"Yes, he'd be so happy. I'm sorry for being so ignorant", Mrs. Hong sobs, "I should have been more attentive. You're allowed to do whatever you want Shua."

Joshua smiles in relief, a big weight being lifted off his chest.

"Thanks mom.", he say sincerely, "Thanks a lot."

"We both should be thanking that girl.", Mrs. Hong laughs, wiping her years and also patting her son's back.

"Who?", Joshua quips up.

"Oh you wouldn't know her." she says, "She made me realise that parents often take matters related to their children for granted and for providing them expect something in return."

"Please thank her on my behalf.", Joshua requests.

Next day, Joshua reaches the classroom as soon as he could because it's the only class he shares with you.

He just wants to see you.

You enter the class minutes after he does. Joshua's gaze is on you, you are aware but your gazes never meet, not when you walk past him and sit in the back.

In today's class, you are gonna get to know the project topics and will be assigned partners for completing the same.

Joshua hopes he get paired with you.

You pray to get assigned with anyone but Joshua.

"You can choose your partners.", the teacher announces, "In groups of two."

You groan, definitely luck not your side because you knew no one except one and the one you knew you'd never pair up with him.

Joshua is sure that universe is giving him a chance and with his new found confidence, he walks upto the walks to your desk.

When you see Joshua walking your way, you think he's gonna pass by but instead he halts infront of you.

You are going to be unbothered, apathetic and indifferent to him.

"Hi Y/N..", he says with hesitancy.

You don't even spare him a glance.

Even though he's sweating and up on his toes, he asks, "Will you be my partner for this project?"

"No.", you say resting your face on the palms of your hands, still not looking at him, "Thanks for asking though."

"I'm sorry Y/N.", he just wants you to look at him atleast but you don't make any effort to do so, "I went overboard that day. Said many things I shouldn't have. I just--"

"You have said all the things you wanted to say because you wanted to hurt me.", you crane your neck to lips curl up in a mocking smile, "You don't have to apologise to look good to yourself specially when you don't mean it. Don't be a hypocrite and let's pretend to not know each other from now on."

You are standing up, grabbing your notebook as you continue, "Since you don't want to see my face, don't talk to me."

Joshua's words are coming to bit him back as pure venom.

You take out your phone, "Look here, I'm doing this infront of you so that you can get assured."

Joshua's curious gaze falls on the screen and his heart drops when he gets your intention.

"See I'm blocking your number.", you press on the block button and your thumb hovers over the delete button, "And now I'll delete your contact. Rest assured, you won't be bothered by me."

Joshua stays rooted to the ground until the teacher calls his name.

Fortunately, you don't get paired with Joshua.

"I don't want to see his face, let alone talk to him", Hyerin barks, literally barks, "You're calling in for your best friend's murder, I'm warning you."

Mingyu agrees that he's hypothetically plotting a murder by letting his girlfriend meet his best friend.

"Babe, when I said we need to get the root of this, we are gonna do so.", Mingyu warns Hyerin, "Now, when Joshua walks in through the door, I'll talk to him. You only speak when needed."

Hyerin huffs, "Lucky that I love you."

Mingyu grins and pecks her lips.

The door creaks open and Hyerin scoffs, "Here comes the idiot."

Joshua doesn't have a good feeling, specially seeing Hyerin who's constantly glaring at him and he thinks that's enough to drill holes into his skull.

"Hi guys", he tries to initiate a conversation, "Why did you wanna meet?"

"First, what you did Y/N was very lowly", Mingyu says, "I'm very disappointed in you."

Joshua sits quietly, hanging his head low.

"What do you know about Junsik?", Hyerin interrogates, "How do you know him?"

Joshua fiddles with his fingers and sits wordless.

"We're not here to look at your face, you better open that stupid mouth of yours like you had done that day.", Hyerin barks again, her patience wearing thin.

"Hyejoo told me about him.", Joshua says and looks up at her.

Hyerin stiffens, all the words she was about to gurgle gets stuck in her throat.

Joshua finds an opportunity and he relays everything that happened to the couple.

"You should have asked me about Jeonghan atleast.", Mingyi sighs, "And how could you bring up Junsik when you don't even know a thing about him?"

"Junsik was Y/N's first, well only boyfriend till now", Hyerin reveals, "who had dumped her over a text because he fell in love with a new chick in the school he just got transferred to. He just threw away a relationship of two years just like that."

"She has been aloof since then. Always reluctant to make friends, didn't show interest in other guys", she looks dead in his eyes, "Until you came along. But it's her bad luck, you also turned out to be a douche. And she was so excited to meet Anonymous until you intently stood her stood. I hope karma to be an actual bitch to you."

Joshua feels like he has been pushed into the trench, like what he deserves.

Hyerin feels humiliated because she had never thought that her sister could be so much of a menace.

She gets up and Mingyu looks at her alarmingly.

Placing her hand on his hand in assurance she tells, "Hyejoo needs to be taught a lesson so I need to go. I'll drop by Y/N's to apologize to her."

"Babe, don't blame yourself okay?", he says affectionately as he wraps his arms around her waist, "It's not your fault. Just go & handle the things your way."

She turns to look at Joshua, "I wonder how long you have known Hyejoo to believe all the shit she uttered that day."

The door slams and Joshua breathes out.

"I like her a lot, Gyu.", Joshua says in distress and Mingyu scoffs.

"Who, Hyejoo?", he counters, "Because that's the only plausible option I can think of."

"Right, I deserve to be mocked.", he admits, "You're so dumb Joshua Hong."

"Stop being miserable than you already are and if you are ready serious about Y/N, then make it up to her and confess your feelings.", Mingyu suddenly grins as he says, "I hope you get rejected five times before she accepts you."

Joshua could only grimace at his words. You couldn't pinpoint since when it started but you have been receiving some items with a cute note everyday. First time it was a mini bouquet that was kept in your locker with the note saying-

Like a bouquet tied with twine, I can be yours if you will be mine.

From, Your Anonymous

You didn't read much into, thinking someone must have mixed up the locker numbers. Next day, you found a miniature panda with another note saying- In a room full of basic brown bears, you are my panda.

From, Your Anonymous This time the gears in your brain turn harder when you reread the note. A lightbulb goes off and you find the literal meaning of the words at the end.

Your Anonymous means Your Anonymous in literals who is none other then Joshua Hong. That note and the teddy goes straight into the trash can. Third day, you find a strawberry juice can and a note which makes you snort.

You're the grenadine in my tequila sunrise. Without you, I'm just this strawberry juice.

From, Your Anonymous. "Now he's playing on my weakness.", you mumble eyeing the can, not having the heart to chuck it into the trash can.

Joshua watches as your stand there in dilemma with a grin set on his lips. The strawberry juice can ultimately doesn't show up in the trash can.

One day, you are climbing up the stairs reading an article on your phone when you bump into someone.

Very surprising, you find Joshua in front of you.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?", he asks and you dismiss him immediately turning to go on a seperate way when he says, "It's urgent, please."

You tail behind him as he leads to you a random empty class. You lean against the wall, Joshua stands at a distance.

"Tomorrow is my mom's birthday and I bought her a dress.", he starts explaining, "I accidentally tore a button...."

Silence fills in the air and Joshua watches you intently for any reaction. He watches your eyes go wide in absolute disbelief and next you're hitting him on his arm,   "Such an idiot", another hit, "Where's the dress? We need to fix it soon." Joshua is overjoyed but he doesn't show. "It's at home.", Joshua says, "Do you want me to bring it to school?" You roll eyes, "Have you thrown the remaining 1% of your brain in gutter?" Joshua nods, resembling a kicked puppy. An adorable kicked puppy. Your heart twists abnormally in your chest, no he's not the guy you like anymore, get a grip on yourself, he can be all cute but it doesn't effect you anymore-- "Y/N?" "Yes?" "So..."

"Oh yeah-- I don't have classes anymore so if it's okay with you then we can go now.", you offer curtly, "Since her birthday is tomorrow, we don't have time." You awkwardly stand in the middle of the hall as Joshua goes somewhere seeking for his mother. You hear their voices, not able to make anything coherent out of it as the padding sound of footsteps against the floor increases. Joshua walks in followed by his mother so when you see her you almost shriek in shock, "Mrs. Hong?" "Y/N?", Mrs. Hong, pushes her sone aside and runs to hug you, "Oh my, what a pleasant surprise!" Joshua stands as confused as ever as he watches you both gush about each other. "Shua", his mother calls, "I was talking about her, she's you were seeking for. Thank her yourself." Joshua feels all the air leaving his lungs at once. It's you, again. The same girl who he had trash talked straight on her face. The same girl who is present in his house just to help him. The same girl who he likes loves. He leads you to his room and the entire time you could sense the sudden shift in his aura. Crossing threshold of his room, hits you with a surge of Joshua. You look around, watching a large poster of LeBron James pasted on the wall adjacent to his bed. A huge stack of books about economics pilled up on his study table and a neatly made bed. "Here", Joshua lays the dress on the bed and hand you detached button, "How long will it take?" You deadpan, "Hardly 5 minutes." His face falls like tons of brick and it's so obvious that you had to stiffle a laugh. The dress is beautiful, you think but it's plain, too plain for your eyes and your hands itch but you should have no business with dress apart from stitching that button back. Joshua notices and he knows what's going on inside that mind of your. He trusts you, he wants you stay longer so he plays it down, "Don't you think the dress is simple. I bought it because that colour is beautiful and rare." You perk up at his words and Joshua swears he could melt into puddle if he'd stare at your doe eyes one more second. "I could stitch a flower towards the left flange of the dress.", you ponder over and ask, "What's her favourite flower?" "Daisies", he answers. "Oh that will be comparatively easy", you clasp your hands in excitement, "A simple satin stitch would do." Joshua looks at you with all the attentiveness in the world. His heart swells and he realises that it's been long he has stopped crushing over you. His heart yearns for you and maybe that's the reason he was hurt and raged seeing Jeonghan with you. He admits to loving you, he hopes that you'd give him another chance just to show that how much you mean to him. "Give me the dress", you are already searching designs on your phone, "It will take around 4-5 hours. Come and get it by 9." "Can I be with you?", he asks and you shot him a look. "What are you gonna do, except for bothering me?", you quip back, "Don't you hate me?" "I lov-- I won't bother you promise. Just let me be with you." His underlying tone resonates in your ears and heart does flips when you look him in the eyes. Brimming with emotions (read: love) "I don't have any other choice, do I?"

"Can you stop staring at me?", you finally blurt out, "Also, if you could not breathe on my neck!" Joshua doesn't bother listening to you, he's just having the time of his life watching you closely, basking in your presence. You are almost done with stitching the embroidery and Joshua yet again raises his hand to your mouth urging you to eat the pastry, one of the enormous amount of items he bought for you, emphasizing it's his way of saying thanks. "I can eat it myself--" "But both of your hands are occupied." This reasoning would take you nowhere. He has been acting as a lovesick soul, touch starved body and happy fool around you. And it's certainly not helping your heart in keeping check. You have finally embroidered the daisies and it turned out prettier than you had expected. "You can work magic on fabrics you know.", Joshua sincerely complements you, "Thanks a lot Y/N." "No big deal.", you smile, "Mrs. Hong is an amazing woman, she deserves all the love." Joshua gleans but suddenly remembers the purpose of crashing in your place. "Hey, there's a basketball game at my previous school on this weekend and I'd be playing, would you like to come?", Joshua asks. You look at him with a scowl on his your face, "Why don't you ask your Hyejoo to come with you?" Joshua almost scurries but it will be a lost battle if backs down now. "Am I not being obvious?", Joshua asks all seriousness ghosting over him. "What?" "Am I not being obvious with my feelings?", Joshua asks again. "What are you insinuating?" "I want you, only you, and no one else to come to my match. You matter to me because..", he breathes in, breathes out, shuts his eyes, open them just to say-- "I love you, Y/N." He does it. Says the words he had been meaning to tell you, the words those set themselves on the tip of his tongue whenever he saw you. "Josh..." He smiles at the slip of his nickname from you and leans in to you. "I was so mad when I saw you with Jeonghan, because I was jealous.", he admits, "I wanted to be the one feeding you, wanted to be the one hugging, to be the only one to closely watch that beautiful smile of yours." You are rendered speechless. But Joshua has so much to say. "The outburst I had, it was only because I realised I have been in love with you and the possibility of you not reciprocating, was hurting." He rummages through his bag and you see him taking out a jersey. "You don't have to say anything now.", he smiles and pats your head, "Think through and", he hands you the jersey, "Let me know on the match day." You lay the jersey on your bed and see a 17 imprinted on white below the name Joshua. Joshua is by the door when he calls your name, "Whatever your decision is, I'll respect it.", and he's out of your room and house. You don't know much about basketball but you know when a player gives their jersey to someone prior to a match, what do they want and what can the indications be. You let out a scream and immediately fetch your phone to dial a number, "Hello, Rin...."

It's matchday. Joshua is nervous. Partially because of the game, partially because of you. When Seungcheol, a good friend and teammate of his from previous basketball school team had requested him to play one last game before they officially strike out his name from the team list, Joshua agreed instantly. A farewell game, he thought. The team does warm ups and stretches before the game starts. Joshua steals glances at the courtside every now and then but fails to find you. He's afraid that you won't come at all and his heart would shatter into millions. "Hey, looking there often won't make her magically appear.", Seungcheol knows and he teases, "I never thought our best shooting guard would be playing shooting hearts too." "Oh juicy juicy", Soonyoung, another teammate, who's also the centre of their team quips in when he overhears the two, "Joshua Hong is in love!!!", he shouts a little too loudly out of enthusiasm and now the whole team knows. The warm up is over and the game starts in twenty minutes.

Joshua checks his phone for one last time to see no notifications of your name and remembers you have his number blocked and contact deleted. Dejected, he switches off the device and deposits it to the collector, heading to change into his jersey. The game is already into the second quarter and Joshua's team is leading by only four points. Soonyoung slips causing his dribble to be cut and the opponent's point guard steals the ball and scores a two pointer. Soon the whistle blows and both the teams head to their respective locker rooms. As soon as Joshua enters the room, he's slammed against one of the locker by Seungcheol. He groans in pains at the sudden impact. "Listen dude, I get you're vagued but please don't let the team down. Coach is already contemplating on substituting you.", Seungcheol is frustrated, but he cares, "I want the best shooting guard within the entire school to score points. Stop being diverted and focus on the game." "Sorry", Joshua gruffs out, "I will--" "What the hell? Unhand him right now Mr.!" The whole locker room pivot their attention on the source of the voice. Joshua thinks he's hallucinating when he sees you standing in front of them, hands crossed over and brows cocked. Wearing his jersey and having his jersey number, 17 painted on your left cheek. Seungcheol looks at you, then he looks at Joshua to get the confirmation he needs. "It's her guys.", he announces with a huge grin as his hands free Joshua. Suddenly the locker room fills with  whistles, hoots and hollers. "Hi! Thanks for coming. I'm Soonyoung by the way.", a guy with questionably dyed hair greets you. "Hi, I'm Y/N...", you greet him back and gulp nervously when you realise all pair of eyes are on you. "We don't need to be here anymore it seems.", Mingyu tells Hyerin and the later nods, the two leaving to occupy their seats at the courtside. "Thanks in advance for saving the match.", Seungcheol comes to you and says, "And I'm Seungcheol, the captain." Then he looks at Joshua, "You have 10 minutes", and announces, "Clear out the room guys!" Everyone follows, all of them greeting you with huge grins making their way out. Now the two of you are left and the atmosphere turns heavy. You walk upto Joshua and grab his arms to shake him out of the trance. "Hi", you giggle. "You came...", Joshua whispers. You are about to say something but suddenly you feel yourself loose a footing as you are slammed against the locker, hands pinned over it. Joshua hovers over you, his body pressing yours and if you entire focus isn't on his lips, you could have heard both of your hearts beating rapidly. "Can't believe you agreed to be all mine, I don't deserve you ", he whispers leaning closer. "Just kiss me & seal the deal.", you bite your lips, gaze flicking to his eyes. "Gladly.", he smiles and closes the gap. Your lips are just touching when the whistle blows. You laugh, giving him a slight push, "Times up." Joshua tries to get back on you immediately but you manage to run out his grip and the room yelling, "Earn your kiss, babe!" And Joshua takes it personally. You never knew basketball matches could be this exciting and you regret not attending them previously. Oh the man, Joshua Hong is, your eyes are glued to him as he runs around the court with that sweat glistening glow on him. The game is now into it's last quarter and you squeal as Joshua scores a two pointer extending the lead. Everytime he scores, his teammates cheered looking at you and you're sure that the whole arena knows that Number 17 of home team is either trying to woo you or you both are already a thing. It's a few seconds until the game ends and opponents foul Joshua. All the players stand behind the three points line and the free line extension. You are brimming in anticipation as you see Joshua taking position at the base of the line. The home team needs their shooting guard to score the three points from the long shot. The long field goal which would seal the win. The referee blows the whistle, a cue for Joshua to shoot his shot.

Joshua takes a deep breathe, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The arena is pin drop silent all eyes on the man on the line. You breathe hitches when Joshua raises his hands holding the ball and looks at you. "This one's for you!", he yells and releases the ball looking forward. You swear the time slows down as the ball revolves on the ring, you admit dramatically, before it falls into the basket. The arena blasts with cheers and Joshua is already hurled over on his teammates' shoulder as they hail his name. You see him. He sees you. Then you're running down the stairs and jumping over the partition to reach him. The team hollers when they see you in the court. Putting down Joshua, they push you to him, circling the two of you as they chant in delight, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" You grin looking at him which turns into a gasp when he suddenly grabs your hips and lifts you up. "Am I worthy of getting a kiss now?", he asks, smiling cheekily. Your response comes in form of you dipping down and placing your lips on his. You feel him smile against your lips as they slot into each other perfectly and he holds you to him tighter. "Get a room!" You both hear a yell, knowing it came from Mingyu. You are the one who breaks the kiss but Joshua pecks you one more before putting you down. The teases never simmer down for the rest of the evening.

"Thanks for all backing me up the whole time I was talking to them, my parents even started looking for universities for fashion technology courses.", you sigh in content, resting your chin on your palm. "You did a lot more for me. Talking to my mom, making me signing up for the varsity training program and whatnot.", Joshua makes sure you know how grateful he'll always be. "Oh by the way I changed your contact back to Anonymous.", you inform him. "You can't do this your boyfriend!" Joshua props beside you, with pouty lips and doe eyes. "I can. I already did.", you deadpan. "Why should my contact be saved as Anonymous?", he tries to snatch your phone, "Change it to babe, love, sweetheart anything. "You glare at your dramatic boyfriend, "Because that's where it started. You are my Anonymous." Joshua grins, finding it somehow cute and romantic at stance. "Anonymously Mine.", you say. "Anonymously Yours", he echoes.

Do not copy, re-post, translate, or share any of my works on other platforms! All stories are copyrighted, joonsytip. ©️

[impulsiveasshole]

Finally getting around to rewatching DP after being immersed in fanon and all the gritty DP x DC AUs and this shit is so unserious 😭😭😭

EDIT: S01EP04 00:43 DASH CALLED DANNY A TWINK? WHAT?

EDIT: Only halfway through season 1 but like, hello misplaced aggression! Like I know Danny's like 14 but I personally would love more rage in fics 😈Also S01EP12 1) wtf do you mean "Technus will rule the internet if he wins this videogame" ??? that's not how that works??? 2) Lancer in drag, love that for him

EDIT: S01EP16 04:48 "By the way, this isn't water, if you catch my drift." - Dash

please lord please tell me they did not do a piss thing in this children's show I am begging you please no 😭😭😭

EDIT: S02EP01 I know there has been some discourse about Sam not being a great character/friend. All through S01, I thought that they just didn't develop the trio's friendship and severely underutilized Tucker making them all kinda not great characters or friends? They're also all 14 so I give them a slight pass at being not the best people. But like, Tucker saying Sam's ideas getting Danny in trouble them flashing back to DANNY DYING AND SAM LITERALLY BEING A BIG REASON DANNY DIED??? AND HER BRUSHING IT OFF AND ASKING FOR FAVORS? Like could the writers pretend these characters like each other at least a little?

Also, Desiree didn't initially need the word "wish" to be used in her first appearance to cause havoc. idk if props should be given for trying to be more orderly with the characters?

EDIT: THEY KILLED OUR BOY! AGAIN!

EDIT: On "The Ultimate Enemy," 10 min in and so many thoughts! 1) elements super popular in fandom are being introduced which is super fun to see the blueprint (ghostly wail, dark Danny/Dan, Clockwork, Box Lunch, etc.); 2) I've noticed Lancer being a super stereotypical tv teacher which, as an educator, kinda bums me out. Most of the time he's really cruel to the students which in some ways makes sense because it's a kids show and the way all the adults are portrayed could be explained as "adults through the kids' eyes." But still, I'm sure they could write the adults as absent or unsympathetic to adolescent struggles without being outright awful people abusing their authority over students? e.g., being fully aware of the bullying happening and doing nothing because Dash is an athlete, making comments about people failures and taking frustration out on students. This is why I love seeing the fandom writing Lancer as a sympathetic adult who tries to meet Danny where he is and worries about him. I think there are glimpses of that in canon but more often than not Lancer is terrible; 3) I have personal beef with the perpetuation in the episode of a single test being a deciding factor for students' future success and the idea that working in fast-food is a disgraceful job. Fuck that honestly.

[wangxianficrecs]

💙 Caught in 4k by KizuKatana

🔒💙 Caught in 4k

by KizuKatana (@kizukatana)

E, Series, WIP, 184k, Wangxian

Summary: A night-hunt goes wrong, and Wei Wuxian is scapegoated for the death of the Jiang Sect Leader and the destroyed core of the Jiang Sect Heir. As punishment, his core is taken and given to Jiang Cheng, and he is stripped of his cultivation credentials and expelled from the sect. What everyone forgot was that Wei Wuxian was wearing the standard issue body camera that each cultivator wore on training missions and high-risk night-hunts. Struggling to make ends meet, Wei Wuxian finds his way to Caiyi Town with the doctor who performed the surgery, a partial core still secretly in place. His application to work at Cloud Recesses is summarily rejected by the hard-edged Second Jade of Lan after an unfortunate initial encounter. But things change when someone hacks into the Jiang systems and releases the footage of what happened. Kay's comments: The series is still a WIP, but the main story is complete! I am so weak for Kizu's modern AUs with cultivation, they are great. Especially the world building and how the cultivation society might function in a modern AU shines in this story. Definitely not a story for fans of the Jiang family, but a story for everyone who wants to see some retribution for the things Wei Wuxian went through. Here, Jiang Fengmian dies during a night-hunt accident where Jiang Cheng's golden core gets destroyed and Madam Yu makes Wei Wuxian give his golden core to him, unfortunately for her, his body-cam is still filming everything. Wei Wuxian finds himself taken in by Wen Qing and her family and we get the sweetest found family and Dadxian vibes here and then meets Lan Wangji as well, who's highly judgemental at first but soon finds himself drawn to Wei Wuxian as well. This story really got it all, the drama, the horny, the softness, the restitution & humor. Excerpt: Still Wei Wuxian forced himself to at least try one last time. “You could also interview me. Have me talk to your best talisman experts,” Wei Wuxian said, forcing himself to keep the desperation out of his voice. “Interviews are scheduled based on receipt of proper credentials and references.” “I don’t have any, at least not right now. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be a great teacher.” “No references, no interview.” “Come on. Look, ask me anything about talismans. You’re an experienced cultivator, right? So you must know enough to at least interview me to see if I know what I’m talking about.” “Simply ‘knowing about something’ is not sufficient. Our lecturers are renown cultivators, and masters in their fields. No references, no interview.” Wei Wuxian felt frustration well up in him, especially at the reminder that Lan Wangji didn’t see him as a cultivator. No one would, in his current condition. Why would they? He didn’t have a functional core, which was the main scale against which all cultivation efforts were measured. He thought he had done a good job of not getting his hopes up about the teaching position, but the suffocating feeling constricting his chest was calling him out for being a liar. He should have known better. Why did he never learn? Some people had luck on their said, but Wei Wuxian had never been one of them. “Right. Of course. Because it would be impossible for someone who wasn’t born to the fucking clan nobility to ever actually be good at something, and the cost of taking the mastery test makes sure that other people can’t do it!” Lan Wangji’s lips parted slightly, like he might say something, but his expression was as opaque and emotionless as before. Wei Wuxian didn’t need to sit around and listen to him defend the clan system. “Good to know that the Lan are just the same as all the other sects,” Wei Wuxian continued, his lips twisting into a sarcastic smile. “Thanks for making that clear.”

pov alternating, modern setting, modern with magic, yu ziyuan being an asshole, dysfunctional jiang family, jiang family bashing, canon divergence, golden core reveal, burial mounds ensemble as family, golden core transfer, golden core transfer fix-it, top lan wangji/bottom wei wuxian, dual cultivation, strangers to lovers, misunderstandings, meet ugly, families of choice, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[denwritesandcries]

Heart Stealer – S.S

Pairing: shauna shipman x fem!reader

Summary: In which Shauna Shipman steals not only your favorite pen during class, but your heart too.

Word count: 3,4k.

Content: no crash!AU, cursing, suggestive, fluff, mutual pining, making out, weird teenagers who don’t know how to communicate, everyone hating on jeff (as they should).

Note: This is basically 3,4k words of reader simping over Shauna.

English is not my first language.

You're not sure when exactly you started noticing her, like really noticing her, but now you can't stop. It's like there's a part of your brain dedicated to cataloging every little detail about Shauna Shipman that you can find.

Maybe it was that time in english class when she turned to the side and shyly asked you to borrow a pen without looking in your eyes. Until then, you had never paid enough attention to your surroundings to know that she always sat next to you.

Anyway, you give her your favorite blue pen without giving it much thought, but when class is over Shauna just puts her own things away and leaves without giving you a second glance.

A week passes and it's as if she hasn't spoken to you; Shauna doesn't give your pen back, which is a bit rude, but you buy a new one – it's not the same, that pen was really good – and start paying a little more attention to her after that.

‘Cause damn, she's a really pretty pen thief.

You don't quite understand why she keeps it, she doesn't use it; That's one of the first things you notice, that she doesn't write with blue ink, just basic black.

Whatever, you won't bother her for that, admiring the way her hair falls over her shoulders during class is much more worth it.

That's probably when it was then, because after that you start to notice her everywhere you didn't before, red flannels catching your eye in the hallways. You find yourself learning things without even realizing it, recording everything you come to adore about Shauna Shipman; the way she wrinkles her nose when she doesn't understand a question on the test, how she always keeps her voice low when talking to people or how she's the first to raise her hand to answer what the english teacher asks in class just because she wants to show that she knows.

You swear you're not a stalker at all. The fact that she probably doesn't even know about your existence isn’t relevant. Are you a little obsessed, though? Yes, definitely.

It was just a silly crush then, that is, until your cousin Jeff started dating the captain of the football team, Jackie Taylor.

Jackie is good, great in fact; too good for Jeff who could be extremely clueless most of the time, but that doesn't matter, they are together and everyone at school knows that wherever Jackie Taylor goes Shauna Shipman is right behind, you can't have one without the other. So you start hanging out with both of them by extension, because as much as an idiot Jeff is, he manages to be a pretty bearable cousin – most of the time –, as well as being your ride home.

The four of you end up forming a little group with a really weird dynamic that works to a certain extent; with Jackie-Shauna being Jackie-Shauna, you and Jeff annoying each other every chance you get, Jeff and Shauna ignoring each other's existence, Jackie being really sweet to you – not really a change since she's your lab partner since the beginning of the year – and you and Shauna hardly ever speaking, but still side by side so you don’t third wheel whenever Jeff and Jackie go out.

That last part doesn't work well as much as the rest, not for you, at least.

You all end up hanging out a lot, which means Shauna is now everywhere, not just in the hallways or the class you share, she's really everywhere and boy, you are fucked.

You go with Jeff to the football games so he can cheer on Jackie – it sucks having to rely on the ride – and Shauna, of course, is there. She's the fastest of the Yellowjackets, you can tell, because your eyes can't stop searching the field for a second when you're in the stands. She is the fastest and is not afraid to face when someone from the other team says or does something stupid during the game, her face red and sweaty from the activity.

One day Shauna curses the game referee who dares to give her a red card for punching – and breaking – the nose of a girl who made fun of Jackie for committing a foul during the second half. She manages to do this without screaming at any point, which ends up being the thing that surprises you the most.

She doesn't look guilty at all as she puffs out her chest and lifts her chin at the girl with the bloody nose and makes her way back to the locker room; all you can do is stare at the whole thing with your jaw dropped because no one should have the ability to look that good after beating someone like that.

Shauna must feel your stupefied gaze on her, because when she turns around, her brow is furrowed and her big brown eyes stare at you with a mix of irritation and confusion: “And what are you looking at?” she asks.

You immediately steps back, because Shauna Shipman may be hot, but she's also scary as fuck. “N-nothing!”

If she didn't think you were weird before, she certainly does now.

You were right about that, now Shauna is the one staring at you. She stares a lot, all the time. You think she doesn't care that you know that, but she looks away whenever you look back at her anyway. It's strange and makes you nervous in a somewhat humiliating way, because she remains quiet and with a serious expression staring into your head even when you're just at school simply talking to some friends she doesn't know.

What ends up being embarrassing is how you're learning that you like her being so shameless like this. It's one more thing to learn about her. Your brain simply registers automatically: ‘Things to adore about Shauna Shipman’; She’s not shy about tackling whatever interests her – and look, it’s you! –, until they face her back, then she becomes shy as if she was actually being subtle; she’s good at fighting but avoids confrontation; she has an opinion on absolutely everything but generally lets people decide for her. You want to know more, more and more.

You work part-time at a pet store after school and Jeff usually leaves you there when he’s not busy, accustomed to your commute. On the days he can't, however, he tells you and you go walking, it's not that far.

Now, one day he just doesn't tell you that he won't be able to take you and you're left waiting for him like a fool on the curb in the school parking lot, damn it, Jeff.

Until Shauna's voice takes you out of your inner despair.

"Do you want a ride?"

When you lift your head there she is, her arm resting on the open car window, a dark red flannel folded up to her elbow and oh my god.

Oh, I want more than a ride, you think.

“Yeah,” you say and give her a small smile as you approach the car, “That would be good.”

She nods in acknowledgment without meeting your eyes as she reaches over to open the passenger door for you. That's another thing you noticed: Shauna doesn't tend to keep much eye contact and in your case she seems to avoid it completely.

You don't bother trying to fill the silence, there's not much to talk about when Jackie isn't around, Shauna doesn't seem to like it when you talk to her, so you don't expect this time to be any different.

But it is.

“Want to pick a song?”

“Huh?” You blink.

“A song,” She repeats, pointing with her chin to the glove compartment without taking her eyes off the road for even a minute – Shauna has always been a responsible driver.

Occurs to you why it's different this time. It's not the first time Jeff has left you in the parking lot, that idiot, but it's the first time Shauna has come to your rescue, even though she's seen you in this situation before. Now she's giving you a ride and trying to talk to you.

Which means, holy shit, Shauna Shipman is talking to you because she wants to.

"Of course!” You rush to open the glove compartment to check the small selection of CDs in there, not giving much thought when Shauna takes the exact route to your job without even asking.

You choose one and put it on the radio, leaning back in your seat waiting for the first song starts, then Shauna straightens up in her seat and says to you smugly:

“Oh, you probably don’t know this band, they’re very underground, but I really like it.” She nods with a smile.

An amused snort escapes your chest, “Queen's underground for you?”, you tease with a raised eyebrow.

Shauna lets out an outraged squeal and tightens her grip on the steering wheel: “They were!” she insists, “At least until they became trendy.”

"Right." You laugh because you're not going to upset her when she has the most adorable pout on her face.

You spend the short trip listening to the most unknown Queen songs that Shauna's CD brings together – these are the good ones! – and for what seems like the first time, you and her actually talk and the happiness you feel is greater than you could have imagined. When the road comes to an end, Shauna seems extremely disappointed at having to leave you and you try not to think too much about what that means.

This small event seems to turn a key in your relationship and you and Shauna seem to get closer all of a sudden, not that you're complaining.

She takes on the responsibility of being your personal chauffeur after school, taking you from one place to another with no hesitation as if it had always been that way.

“What if that asshole forgets you again?” She asks with those sad eyes staring at you – that's another change, now she looks you in the eye! Which ends up not being so good when it comes to denying her things.

“Shauna, that asshole is my cousin.” You scold weakly.

"So?"

Well, you can't question that.

You show up to her training when you don't have to work and you don't miss the way she seems to brag about it to her teammates, which only makes you show up more and more, even though you know nothing about football; you study together in the library, even if you only share one class; you, her and Jackie walk together between classes in the hallways and even stand side by side waiting to leave when Jackie disappears with Jeff at some stupid party.

You learn new things about Shauna every day and reading her is better than any other book you've ever tried. At some point, in your head, 'Things to Adore About Shauna Shipman' becomes 'Things to Love About Shauna Shipman' and it feels right.

She likes practically any food that contains meat and puts barbecue sauce on absolutely everything, leaving you horrified when she does this to a steak that is bleeding from being so rare when you have lunch together; She likes the warm, expensive beer that Lottie Matthews serves at her parties, she doesn't like getting drunk, she likes the taste, Shauna is weird like that and you're even weirder for finding it endearing. Sometimes, when you're outside smoking with Natalie and her sad emo friend, Kevyn Tan, Shauna comes over with a cup of beer in her hand – just one, she insists, because she's going to drive later – and sits down next to you quietly with one hand casually placed on your thigh while enjoying the drink; she lets Jackie dress her for these same parties, but she always chooses a piece of clothing that stands out, usually one of her flannels, she seems to have thousands of them; Shauna likes to read, but she loves classics, 'real books' as she calls them, with long words and old vocabulary, the second you pay attention she talks about them for hours and hours. You learn to like it too and Shauna seems to completely melt when you're the one who makes a Virginia Woolf or Emily Brontë reference when you talk.

One day, the team practice happens earlier and Shauna apologizes profusely for not being able to leave you at work, you dismiss her worries with a quick hug before leaving – not noticing the way she freezes in her place – and Jeff quickly agrees to take you there, he won't admit he missed you, but you know he did.

Later, the bell on the store's door signals someone's entry and when you turn from your spot at the counter, Shauna is there.

You tend to serve some Yellowjackets quite often, mainly Misty Quigley buying cat food; sometimes Van and Tai buying food for the abandoned dogs near the trailer park, Mari buying a hamster every two weeks – you have no idea what she does to make them all die or run away so quickly –, Nat showing up simply to hangout and smoke from time to time. You get along relatively well with all of them, but Shauna had never appeared until now.

She's still in her blue and yellow uniform, hair pulled into a ponytail and face softly red. The sight makes your throat dry.

Shauna looks a little like a lost puppy when she comes up to you at the counter.

“Hey,” she mumbles.

“Hey,” you reply, a smile playing on your lips. And then, just because you can't resist: “Did you run here after practice just to see me?”

Shauna seems like a deer caught in the headlights, “No!” She denies it, as if she hadn't been caught doing just that, "I just realized I leave you here all the time and I've never been in the store before."

You don't say anything and she simply shrugs innocently before starting to circle the place and you watch her with an amused snort.

She's not a pet person, you might say, but she apparently finds a fascination in staring at the colorful fishes in the aquariums when you come from behind the counter to restock and organize missing items on nearby shelves.

It's a small store and it's a pretty slow day with just you and another employee working in the back, so you and Shauna get into a relaxed mood spending time together when she decides she's going to stay until your shift ends without saying anything.

The company is good. At some point you jokingly say that since Shauna is here she could help you move the food packets because they are too heavy for you and she just goes there and does it. The way she lifts a bunch at once makes your breath hitch and you want to run your hands over her flexed biceps and you notice how Shauna hides a smile, as if she knows.

After that it's like there's a very thin line waiting to be crossed between you. Maybe it's always been there and you never noticed.

There are things about Shauna, things you like to think she says or does only to you, that your brain catalogs more than others, especially in moments when you're alone, like now.

Things to love about Shauna Shipman, you think; the way she subtly gasps when you need to rest your hand on her waist to pass through the store's narrow aisles; the fake annoyed look she gives you when you say something so stupid you just know she's pretending not to like it; the way she ends up snoring with laughter and scaring a customer you were serving after something you said and then she refuses to talk to you for the next fifteen minutes – the long that she can – giving you a dirty look because It's your fault, dammit.

But Shauna doesn't leave, no matter how angry she claims to be with you.

Things to love about Shauna Shipman, you think again, when your shift is over and she simply grabs your hand and leads you to her car, stating, "Let's go get ice cream."

She hates her middle name as much as she hates cute nicknames – you think it's just because she doesn't have one – and she won't tell you what it is because she doesn't want you to use it on her one day; her favorite color is blue, dark blue, but she usually wears shades of red because she says the football uniform is enough; she marks her books with lots of post-it notes of different colors, to remember her favorite chapters, phrases and quotes and revisits them almost daily; she keeps a hand on you whenever you're near, on your shoulder, your hip, your thigh. One day you left her reach when she had an arm around you at a party to get more drinks and when you came back she asked what she had done wrong, looking at you with those sad brown eyes.

Shauna takes you out for ice cream even though it’s already dark, an anxious air hovering between you. She grabs your favorite flavor without you having to tell her which one it is and you sit on the hood of her car, shoulders brushing together.

“You…” Shauna starts hesitantly, eating the bitterest chocolate ice cream she could find, “Do you wanna come to my house?”

You've been to Shauna's house before, but only with Jackie and Jeff. Never alone. Is different. You both know it's different.

"Yes." You say, hoping you don’t sound as desperate as you are, “I’d really like that.”

The smile she gives you makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

You only have time to unbuckle your seatbelt when Shauna parks in front of the house before she's on top of you watching you with dark eyes.

“Are you just going to stand there and watch me?” You scoff with more confidence than you actually have, your hands finding her waist.

Shauna looks completely outraged and in a second her lips meet yours without permission just because she knows she doesn't have to ask.

Her mouth is still cold and slick against yours from the ice cream, but her entire body is hot as dough ready to be molded in your hands. She wraps her arms around your neck, hands pulling your hair tightly and you feel her smile against your lips when she hears your low moan.

“Is that enough action for you?” Shauna asks mockingly, breathing fast, her practice uniform clinging to her body.

“Hm-hm,” you deny, a drunken, passionate smile painting your face, “Not as much as I’d like.”

Shauna looks like she wants to reply to what you've said, but then you're leaning in again, lips meeting hers with more urgency, tongue pleading for passage at the seam of her mouth, and it's all heat and electricity as she pulls you against her body. Your hands separate her t-shirt from the uniform shorts quickly and slide underneath it, short nails scraping the happy trail softly across her toned stomach and Shauna whines.

You can't help but break the kiss, Shauna follows your lips with a needy expression.

"What?" She asks, frustration bordering on her voice.

You shake your head and bite your bottom lip, “It’s really good,” you say. Shauna arches an eyebrow. "It's perfect. Touching you– it’s perfect.”

The way her hips thrust into yours and her face turned completely red tells you that she liked what you said a little too much.

And then Shauna is opening the car door, hurriedly sliding out and pulling you with her, mumbling an anxious “let’s go” as you stumble your way into the house.

You laugh when she fumbles with the key in the lock and she gives you an annoyed look, cutting off your laughter when the door opens and she presses you against it, pupils completely dilated, hands shaking to touch you.

It occurs to you then that maybe Shauna was just as obsessed with you as you were with her.

She looks at you, big brown eyes needy and asking and you don't hesitate to kiss her again and it's all heat and skin and it's right.

Another thing to love about Shauna Shipman: the way she gasps in surprise and pleasure when you turn her around and press her against the door.

[erexart]

Language barrier

Pairing: Rengoku x gn! y/n

Context: fluff, modern au, Kyojuro is bilingual

A/n: Hello, this is my first time writing something so I hope you’ll like it <3

Thank you @meowzfordayz @neiptune for being the first readers. I’m also tagging @thebomb-thebird-andtheburntbitch because the 3 of you are my biggest inspo and why I wrote this🌸

———————————————————————————————————

Kyojuro yawned and rubbed his eyes. The book he was holding on to threatened to fall from his hands as he realised it was getting late. The clock showed that it was almost midnight, and he took it as his cue to finally go to sleep. As he was about to turn off the lights, he noticed the figure in bed beside him suddenly stir, and he couldn’t help but crack a smile.

He looked over, but much to his surprise the love of his life was not asleep yet. He quirked a brow in amusement.

You laid silently with one hand on your stomach and the other hovering in the air. Your eyes were closed, but your index finger was moving, slicing into nothing. It looked as if you were drawing something as your finger stroked the air, or perhaps conducting an orchestra. You stopped mid-stroke and muttered under your breath, a curse perhaps. Kyojuro only watched for a solid minute before he shifted and laid closer to you.

“My love? What are you doing? I thought you were asleep.”

“Something bothered me, and I can’t seem to get a grasp on it.”

“Oh?” He kept quiet, urging you to continue as he watched your index finger move up and down in one swift motion. Judging from your tone of voice, you hadn’t been asleep at all.

Your head turned towards him, eyes fluttering open to meet a pair of his bright coloured irises. “I can’t seem to memorise the ‘ha’ column.”

Kyojuro’s smile widened, and his heart feels full. You had been trying to learn his native language for a week now. Although he had told you he did not mind the fact that you don’t speak Japanese, your insistence on learning his mother tongue made his heart soar.

You practiced with him every day, memorising the stroke orders of most common kanji characters and tried to have small conversations with him. He is a wonderful teacher. Despite your lack of knowledge and poor memorisation skills, he was patient and loving and kind through it all. Tonight, when you tried to recap your lessons for today, a column of hiragana characters became scrambled. It had nagged on you and kept you awake.

“Well, that should be easy enough!” His volume rose a bit in excitement. Moving his hand, he interlocked it with yours, the back of your hand facing the both of you.

With the other free hand, his index finger stroked the back of your hand gently.

It formed the character “ は“

“How do you pronounce that?” He questioned, smiling at you.

“ ‘Ha-‘ right?”

“Correct!”

He scribbled on your hand again. This time forming the character “へ“

“he”

“Good job!”

His touch was gentle and comforting, making your eyes droop from relaxation. You decide to close them and let your sense of touch guide you.

This time his scribbling formed the character “ふ”

“fu?” You answered much quieter

“Yes, great job my love.” His volume dropped, sensing the tiredness in your pitch. “What about this?” He wrote down the character “れ“

Your brows furrowed and your eyes opened half-lidded at him.

“That’s not in the ‘ha’ column.”

He chuckled, happy that you remembered what he taught you. “But do you know what it is?”

“It’s ‘re’ like the start of your family name.” You heard a prideful gasp came out of him.

“Wonderful, that’s amazing you remembered.” You could feel him squeezing your hand a bit, warm and gentle, making you feel sleepy once again. You feel like drifting off but kept yourself awake enough as he wrote down the next one. You bit your lip. You know it’s in the ‘ha’ column but you don’t know how it sounded.

“Can you do that again?”

“Of course.”

His index finger traced the back of your hand again, this time much slower and gentler, as If he’s trying to coax you back into relaxing.

“I don’t…know that one.”

“That one is pronounced ho”

“…right..”

The character “ほ” popped up in your mind, and you kept quiet trying to combat the drowsiness and memorise the stroke order you felt.

He went silent for a while. His lack of commentary stirred you awake.

“Kyojuro?”

“Ahh..I thought you went to sleep?” You laughed. “No, not yet, but you writing on my hand is making me sleepy.” He only responded with a thoughtful “hmm”

“Alright, let’s test your kanji.” You sighed, not prepared for the sudden quiz.

“Oh no…I’m going to suck at this.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll use the ones you’ve been learning so far.”

“Alright then...”

His finger moved in skilful motions, stroking right, down, right, right, with precision. He was going slow so you could catch up and make sense of the stroke order. It was difficult but with some concentration you made out that he had written the kanji “描く“ on the back of your hand.

“Ega- ku, -to paint something.”

“Yoku dekita!”

You laughed at his response.

He scribbled another kanji down, and you immediately recognised it because you’ve been practising on how to write it almost every day.

“Well now you’re just trying to write your own name.” You quipped, with a small smirk.

“I’m not even done yet, and I am both impressed and flattered you remembered!” You chuckled lightly at him, and it sounded like music to his ears.

His name was not that complicated, but he continued anyway, caressing your skin gently just to reinforce your brain into remembering the stroke order. He went slowly, his touch causing you to drift off more and more with every stroke. By the time he had finished the “郎” from ” 杏寿郎” you had already gone to sleep.

Seeing that you were finally dead to the world, he pulled on your hand and kissed it gently. Your silent reply was all he needed to confirm that his mission was successful. Pulling back, he decided to write down one final kanji before retiring for the night. He wrote more of a sentence really, and his eyes widened in excitement when he realised he hadn’t taught you this yet.

“ずっと大好きだよ。”

Smiling, he turned off the lights, wrapped his arms around you and went to sleep.

[upsidedownwithsteve]

Bad For Business: Level Nine

Steve Harrington x fem!reader [2K] An enemies to lovers au. Arcade coworkers, who love to hate each other, get too competitive about Dig Dug and share a mutual annoyance for the kids that like to pester them. Choose your own adventure by picking an option at the end of the chapter.

Steve found you in the staff room, five minutes before the arcade opened its doors, pretty in a black tennis skirt and a cut off version of your staff shirt that Murray definitely would’ve written you up for. 

He was hesitant, lingering at the open door and ignoring the way Robin snickered behind him, shaking her head and grinning as she counted out the cash in the till. The boy glared at her before he cleared his throat and walked into the office with more confidence than actually felt. 

You looked up, wide eyed, still fuzzy from sleep because it wasn’t even nine o’clock on a Saturday morning and Steve Harrington was holding out a takeaway cup for you, the smell of coffee and caramel in the air. 

Maybe you were still dreaming. 

“Wha-?”

“Two sugars, right?” Steve dipped carefully from his own cup, one that smelled much less sweet than yours. 

You took his offering, blinking at him. You nodded. “Yeah, uh, thank you.” You took a sip, humming at the sweetness, the sugary caramel syrup that Steve must’ve known to ask for too. “You didn’t— you didn’t have to.”

The look you were giving him must’ve suddenly been too much, ‘cause Steve turned all shades of pink, gaze lowered as he gazed at you through his lashes, shrugging and bashful. “S’alright. Just thought, y’know, us calling a truce on the war deserved some sort of celebratory drink.”

You snorted, eyeing him in a way that Steve could only describe as flirtatiously. It was almost too much to handle. 

“The war?” You grin and it’s teasing. Still sharp, still dangerous but it’s playful and pretty. “That seems dramatic. Do all wars end in the front seat of someone’s car?”

It was jarring, hearing you talk about it. It had happened two days ago and Steve hadn’t seen you since due to the way the work schedule had panned out. He’d spent each hour of his shift wondering if he should call you, if he should walk up to your front door with some flowers and a smile that was sweet enough to charm your mom. 

It was even more jarring, imagining that, trying to court you like he did with the girls he chased in high school, Hershey’s kisses in their lockers, soft touches behind teachers backs, the promise of a date to the diner to share a milkshake that ended with strawberry kisses. 

It wouldn’t have worked on you and Steve liked that. So he settled for a peace offering instead. Sugary coffee and a smile that looked like a challenge. Steve loved that you grinned back the same way. 

“Only the great ones,” he hid his smirk behind his cup and didn’t even pretend that he wasn’t watching your ass as you laughed and walked away. 

—————

Maybe it was the way the caramel coffee was still coating your tongue hours later, maybe it was just because you hadn’t stopped thinking about Steve since he dropped you off two days ago. 

You didn’t even really recall walking through the puddles to your front door, but you remembered the way your legs wobbled as you scrambled up the stairs to peel off your sticky underwear and suck in a deep breath before falling into your bed. Your shirt smelled like the boy and rain for hours after, lingering on your skin and you resented having to dump it in your laundry basket. 

Maybe that’s why you hunted Steve down on the arcade floor, missing the way he smelled, the way he touched you, the way he tasted. Not that you were ready to admit it. Not yet, anyway. But you figured offering the boy a blowjob would be just as sweet a gift as your favourite coffee. 

“Hey, Harrington?” 

You found him amongst a group of kids, hushing them as they groaned at the crane machine that was supposed to dish out a He-Man figurine, shaking the machine in hopes to dislodge the box from the awkward angle. Steve managed it, rolling his eyes when the small crowd cheered and threw themselves at the machine. 

His eyes widened when they fell on you, lit up in neon pink and purple, shades of bubblegum and lilac on your skin, the length of your legs that were visible from under your skirt. “Hey, uh, yeah? What’s up?”

You played coy, hands held in front of you, fingers twisted together as you smiled and gazed at him from under your lashes. You could be sweet too. You nodded towards a game that sat in darkness, the screen off and the buttons covered in a layer of dust. 

“Donkey Kong isn’t working.”

The boy frowned, following your gaze to the machine that had the piece of paper stuck on it, ripped and stained from months of wear. It was hanging by one piece of curling sticky tape. 

“What—? Uh, it hadn’t been working for ages, what do you—” 

You blinked, setting Steve with a stare. There were kids lingering, distracted by the bells and jingles of the games, but still within earshot. “Can you help me fix it?”

Steve looked perplexed, gaze flickering from you to the broken down machine and back again. 

“In the back, Steven,” you tried not to roll your eyes. “Can you come help me in the back room? Where the wires and sockets and shit are? You know, alone?” 

“Oh!” Steve startled into action, stumbling into an annoyed Dustin Henderson as he made his way towards you, hand outstretched to grab yours. It was an odd sensation, a strange sight that Argyle frowned at, but no one questioned either of you as Steve led you through the packed arcade in a rush. The old server room wasn’t really filled with servers at all, but Murray insisted the sign made it look official. 

It was a tiny box at the back of the arcade, a few fuse boxes on the walls for the machines, a maxed out power unit that kept the games brightly lit and singing. There was an old chair, stuffing filling out of it, a broken A-frame that once displayed a sign for Dungeons and Dragons meetings. But none of that mattered when Steve was shutting the door behind you both, the only light a barely there glow that was more pink than orange. Power units blinked green and red, and neither of you noticed how the socket for Donkey Kong was actually lying on the floor, disconnected and forgotten about. 

Steve noticed nothing as you pushed him against the wall, lips parting and hands catching your waist. You tutted, lips pushed into a mock pout and your chest plush against his. “Ah, ah,” you whispered. “No touching.”

Steve groaned, head falling back and thumping against the wall in defeat. He took his hands from your hips, clenching them into fists at his side instead. “That seems counterproductive, princess,” Steve grumbled. 

You tsked again, smoothing your hands up his chest, fingers tracing the line of his jaw. You tapped one against his lips, heartbeat picking up when they parted almost automatically, his warm breath ghosting your skin. “S’not,” you murmured, “I just figured it was my turn to treat you.”

Steve’s brows rose, interested, intrigued. “Oh?” Steve’s hands twitched out before he remembered himself, fingers lingering on the hem of your shorts. “A treat, huh? That seems awfully sweet of you.”

You hummed, leaning in to kiss at his cheek, peppering affection over the boy, making him breathless. Steve blinked, eyes unfocused as he gripped at his own jean legs, doing his best to do as he was told. 

“I know,” you said, mouthing down his neck, greedy for the taste of him. “S’weird, right?”

Steve blew out a breath, swearing as you pulled at his collar, yanking the cotton out the way so you could nip at the skin where his neck met his shoulder, kissing the bruise better. “So weird,” he agreed, but his voice sounded shaky, far-away and dreamy. Your hands came to his belt, pulling at the buckle once as you looked at him questioningly. “Oh, fucking Christ, yeah.” He nodded furiously and you slid the leather out from the loops with a snap and a smile. 

You dropped to your knees, bare skin on the warm floor, sockets and wires heating the room. Steve’s cheeks were flushed as he looked down at you, a rosy pink that was made worse by the lighting, his eyes glazed over as he raised his hands to his hair and grabbed, still obeying your order of not to touch. 

“You don’t— fuck—” Steve grunted when your fingers made quick work of his zipper, his cock already half hard and pushing at the constrains of his jeans.  “You don’t have to do this if—”

You grinned, all pretences of playing sweet fading away as you got your fingers around Steve’s length, his cock kicking up against your palm as stroked him through his boxers. “If I don’t want to?” You interrupted. “What if I told you I really wanted to?”

Steve let out another unholy noise, hands tugging at his hair as he tried to keep himself in check but your words went straight to his cock. His hips twitched forward and you took the opportunity to roll his jeans and boxers down enough to free the length of him. 

“I think I’d die happy,” Steve mumbled, his jaw slack as he stared down at you, hissing through his teeth as you took him in your hand and pumped him once, twice. “Fucking hell, princess.”

“That makes for a short war,” you hummed, leaning forward to kiss the tip of him, grinning when Steve lost all sense of control and brought his hands down to your head. He didn’t push, didn’t thrust, just carding his fingers through your hair and held on for dear life. “Does that mean I’ve won?”

You licked a stripe on the underside of his cock, sucking the head, letting it rest on your tongue as Steve tried not to curl his body over you in defeat. He was a goner, the sight of you on your knees for him making you look more powerful than ever. 

He nodded, head bobbing frantically as you took him into your mouth as much as you could. Steve was big, thick from base to tip and he was already nudging at the back of your throat when he was only half way in your mouth. That didn’t seem to matter though, because Steve was clinging to his last thread of control at the feel of your throat swallowing around him. 

“Oh fucking hell, shit honey,” Steve was babbling now, his house wrecked, his hand cupping your jaw, his thumb pressing sweetly to the corner of your lips that were already slick. “Yeah, Christ, you win— you can win everything. All of it, whatwver you want, just - fuck - please don’t stop.”

You pulled off him slowly, smiling when he whined, your hand slick with your spit and Steve’s pre-cum, his cock throbbing against your fingers. You looked up, doe eyed, less than sweet with your lips swollen from him, your skin flushed all pretty. You leaned in to kiss at his hip bone, your free hand pushing up his shirt so you could love on him a little more, his cock pressed against your cheek as you continued to stroke him close to the edge. 

It was easy to rest your chin on the soft of his tummy, still pumping his cock nice and slow, holding Steve’s gaze. You weren’t sure what part of the game this was, this whole love to hate relationship that was feeling less like a competition with each day. ‘Cause Steve was looking at you with a heavy gaze that was filled with longing and something else, something that you were sure was always there, even when his cock hadn’t been between your lips. 

“Say 'please' again,” you whispered. 

Steve grinned, a choked out laugh leaving his lips, mixed with your name and it was the prettiest fucking sound you’d ever heard.

“Please, princess.”

[safely-in-vhagars-belly]

Games in the library 18+ MDNI

Aemond x reader (Tutor/gamer au) Fluffish and also smuttish

Tags: smut, library fucking, public sex and nerdy gamer references.

Cool devider credits: saradika

🔷Summary: Your GPA is tanking and you need help. Luckily there is the grumpy antisocial Aemond to help you out.

🔷Author's note: Based on tutor aus but I made my own spin on it.

🔷Wordcount :7324

🔷Warnings: Au universe, smut, desk fucking, p in v, dom/sub, reader x aemond, fluff, gamer references, cozy gamer gf and shoot-em-up bf (found something else? Let me know)

There have been quite a few storms lately, causing more rain and making the world a little gloomy. You don’t mind, however. You have always been a fan of rain. Unlike today, where it’s an extra reminder how much you rather spent inside, cooped up with a good game with a warm cup of hot chocolate, not running around your campus with your bag above your head, as if life depends on it.

You are relieved when you make it inside, in the beautiful library that was built long before you began this study. You notice a silver-haired boy with a missing eye sitting in the corner of the room, with his math books in front of him, impatiently glaring around, unaware you are already there. “Hi!” you enthusiastically say, placing your Starbucks coffee cup and handbag on the table in the big messy library you just entered. It’s a saturday so most students would not want to be found death here at this time. 

You have a reason to be here, sadly. You are failing math, falling behind more and more on the subject. So your professor, Borros assigned you a very unwillingly tutor, Aemond Targaryen. He sighed when Borros suggested he should tutor you, even going as far to say that there is no use in tutoring someone who does not want to learn. There is truth in that, but the issue is not that you don’t want to learn. It’s something else.

Aemond glares at your cup before standing up and checking the time on his expensive smartwatch. “Why are you late?” Great. You were afraid of not getting here in time, seems like your Starbucks trip took a little longer than you had planned out.

You take out your phone. You are exactly 5 minutes late. There was a big line in front of Starbucks. And you forget you had tutoring today, to begin with. “I—uhm—forgot the time.” You lie.

He looks at your Starbucks cup accusingly. If it had feelings, the cup would feel attacked, perhaps even insulted, before it would hop off the large wooden table and into a nearby trashcan, ending itself. You would gladly follow it in the rabbit hole trashcan.  “I’m sacrificing my free Saturday for you. The least you could do is get here on time.” There is always a bit of a gruff, Gringe-like edge to his voice as if someone just stole his presents and he is pissed.

You huff. He acts so high and mighty, and yet you know there is nothing personal about this. He does not help you because he is some godly angel. He helps you to get points. This is not a charity project for him, or a social project this is cold selfishness and part of his plan to become the best student of your class, likely a step 4 in his 10 plan step to world domination.

You smile sweetly when adjusting your ponytail. “You aren’t sacrificing anything. You get points and the chance to become Borros’s TA.’’ You tell him, dangling his reward in front of him as if it’s a carrot, just in case he thought about bailing.

He dreams of that position for some reason, though you can’t for the love of the gods figure out why. Perhaps for status, power, future learning references or just to get close to Borros? Your teacher  had hinted that if he could somehow get you to improve your grades, there might be a chance he would become his teacher's assistant. That was enough to sway Aemond into teaching you.

Aemond briefly pushes his gold-rimmed glasses back on his nose, smirking at you.  You feel a little nervous under his gaze. “Correct. That means that I decide how this lesson will proceed.’’ 

His cryptic description makes your mind wander back to the familiar gutter you have come to know so well. You  make a mental note to stop reading dark romance books with tutors for a while. 

You ignore him. That makes him eager to get your attention back. “No calls, no texts—for the next hour, you are at my mercy.” Sweet gods.

His soft pink lips briefly smack before breaking into a grin that sends shivers down your spine. You are thankful for the small bolero that covers your dress.

Aemond is a huge nerd. Kinda cute, but he doesn’t know how innuendos work. And he is certainly not aiming his innuendos at you. 

“Okay. So, you’re like good at math, right?’’ you ask, a little insecure. You are worried he might not actually teach you anything at all, though he is smart, his hands almost always scorching through the air as though Borros is personally offending him with his questions. He reads advanced math books whenever you and your girlfriends hang out in the library, shooting glares whenever you are too loud, giggling or gossiping.

He seems insulted that you think so lowly of him.”’I’m the best in our class.” You never really kept eye on who is the best of the class, and you do not really ever cared. Who cares, as long as you keep up your GPA it is all fine.

But you are not dumb, you need to keep him as your friend for now. At least your ally. Your accomplice? You don’t know. You think you would be all the way at the bottom. ‘’Impressive.’’ You say, but you can’t bother to meet his eye before taking a sip of your very delicious pumpkin spice late.

His head tilts slightly when he narrows his eyes suspiciously, reading you as a open book. He huffs. “I can tell you don’t give a damn. Take out your notebooks, study books and whatever else you might need. It is time we start.” Whatever else you might need? You feel dread and anxiety fill your chest as you become aware of your thoughts traveling already far away from the lesson.

He brought an adorable little digital clock, that he puts on the table gently, before turning it on, exactly 120 minutes. He really does not want to be here a second longer than he has to be.

You faithfully take out your notebooks decorated with Sanrio stickers, Pokémon stickers and panda stickers, as well as your textbook, and your collection of Hello Kitty gel pens. You put it all out for him to see, flicking the textbook open in front of you. 

Aemond stands up, briefly looking over your handwriting in your notebook. He wets his lips before speaking. “Good girl.”

You roll your eyes.

He gets up from the chair across the table, walking to the empty seat next to you. He sits down, glancing at some of your previous sums, together with little drabbles and doodles. “So—what do you have problems with?” 

You can feel the warmth of his body and smell the fabric softener he uses on his clothes. He probably does his own laundry. 

This will be a long hour. You sigh, before summing it up. “Addition and subtraction, analog time, multiplication and division…’’ And you forget dozens of other things.

Anything and everything that involves numbers. You have been that way since a kid, throwing tantrums whenever you were forced to do math or make a puzzle. Your brain blacks out whenever you are forced to make a sum, and after a while your brain is just completely fried.

He wrinkles his nose, thinking. “So, everything?’’ he summarizes dryly. 

You nod. “Yep.”

His good eye slightly widens. “I can do this,” he mutters, to himself more than to you. He taps on an empty page of your notebook with his fingers.

‘’Write down ‘twenty-five plus eighty-seven’.”

You obey, faithfully writing the sum down in your notebook with your favorite Hello Kitty glitter pens. 

Aemond looks at the pen with a sigh, bending over your notebook to see what you wrote down. His brows furrow. 

You try your best to focus on his voice and his words rather than the fact that he sits so close to you and smells like fresh strawberries.

‘’Alright. Next, write down ‘one hundred and fifty-nine plus ninety-four’.” Again, you write it down as best as you can, in a reasonably readable handwriting. You hear him curse under his breath, exhaling.

“Five hundred and thirty-two plus six hundred and fifty-six..” 

You write a bit faster, messing up a few of the numbers in the process. You are glad you are starting with the addition sums, as they come the easiest to you.  

“Lastly, three hundred and fifty-five plus four hundred and sixty-six.’’ He looks at your sums. With one glance at his face, you can tell you’ve already fucked it up. “I said ‘one hundred and ninety-five’, but you’ve written down ‘one hundred and fifty-nine’. I said ‘six hundred-and-sixty-five’, but you wrote down ‘six hundred and fifty-six’.” 

Great. He must think you are doing it on purpose. Embarrassed, you quickly scratch out the numbers you wrote down before sighing, cursing yourself for thinking this was going to solve anything.

“Are you doing this on purpose?” he wonders. “Do you even want my help?” The nerve of this man. 

“What do you think?” you snap, placing the cap back on your Hello Kitty gel pens. “You think you’re my first tutor? You think you’re the first who’s tried to help me? I’ve done all of this before, but none of it matters. Nothing will stick anyway.” 

Your voice becomes squeaky. You blink rapidly to avoid ruining your mascara. He must think you are so stupid. You are. So, so stupid.

Aemond looks over your work again, sighing and rubbing his face. “No,” he murmurs quietly. “You turn them around. Some of the numbers.” 

That has been an issue since you were introduced to numbers. That and the bigger they get, the bigger the chance you mess it up.

“No shit,” you huff, searching your handbag for your tissues. You find them buried under your perfume bottle and use them to wipe at your eyes. 

His feet move under the table, briefly touching yours.

“Don’t get mean. Just making an observation.’’ He scratches behind his ear. “What do you mean, ‘nothing  will stick’?” 

Great. He will piss himself with laughter when he hears this.

You’d rather not tell him, or anyone, really. It is embarrassing. You are a twenty-two-year-old girl who can’t divide the simplest numbers and, without a digital clock, you’d get nowhere on time. You wouldn’t even know the time. People can and have taken advantage of that just to bully you. “It’s complicated,” you say.

His usual gruff voice softens. “Alright. So, tell me.”

What is the harm? you wonder. Who is he even going to tell?

“I’ve got a non-verbal learning disorder,” you mumble. There. He knows.

“What?” he asks, a little too loud for your liking. Even if he had whispered, it would have been too loud. There is no one here, yet you are worried somehow someone heard.

You growl back, “Non-verbal learning disorder. NLD.” 

It is a little less common than dyslexia—a lot less common, actually. You have heard that dyscalculia and NLD is a very common combination. That might be the reason you are so horrible at math. Part of your brain just refuses to understand it, which frustrates you, which makes you upset, and all that means you’d very much rather not do math at all. 

Aemond becomes very quiet before admitting something you never thought you’d hear. “I’ve never heard of that.” 

Where could he have, though? He is very clearly a math expert, not a learning disorder expert. 

You look at your polished pink nails with gold glitter.

“Hm. Not surprised. You are perfect after all, aren’t you?” you ask.

He becomes grumpy and unbearable, as you become mad and perhaps jealous that he is so perfectly fine and normal, and boring. “Fine. Don’t tell me.” 

Aemond takes out his phone. You thought they were ‘forbidden’. Didn’t he say so earlier? You glare, insulted. You have a social life, after all, and the world suddenly seems far more beautiful than it had been before you began your suffering here. 

“So, are you telling me you don’t know how late it is now?” He shoves a Wikipedia page in your face. He looked it up.

You take out your phone. “Of course I do. It’s fifteen-thirty.” 

You don’t say the correct time. You say ‘fifteen-thirty’. Fifteen thirty. Not half over past something, am or pm bullshit. You say it how it is. It’s fifteen-thirty.

Aemond draws a clock in your notebook. You quite like the way he uses your Hello Kitty gel pen for it. “And in analog time, that would be?” He wonders, his voice trailing off when his one remaining good eye glances at you.

You shake your head as he draws two hands on the clock, and multiple numbers. “Oh, no one cares about those lame old clocks,” you smoothly lie, and it is part of the truth. 

No one uses those old lame clocks anymore. Everyone and their mother has a cellphone. Why bother reading a clock if you have a cellphone? And in your case—why bother reading a language your brain seems to not understand anyway?

Aemond sighs, reading you easily. He scratches the clock out. “You can’t read them, can you?” He asks after he has scratched them out. You can either deny it or lie about it but why waste energy and time?

This man is too observant. 

“I know that the big one up means ‘twelve’,” you say with a little smile, very proud that one thing did decided to stick.

You can see it on his face—it’s becoming more and more clear that you don’t need a tutor. You need a miracle.  

He blurts out a question. “How did you even leave high school?” he asks. You don’t think he meant to hurt you, but he still does.

“How did you lose your eye?” you ask, lashing out.

Aemond sits up a little straighter. “That’s quite a personal question—” 

You smile back, still furious and hiding your displeasure by ripping your nails.  “Exactly.” you groan.

“Fine,” he mutters. “I’m sorry. I’m impressed, if anything.’’

Fake sympathy. Yeah. 

This is a waste of time, you didn’t learn years ago, why would you learn it now? Why did you even came here to begin with? A little voice reminds you of just why you came over. “You don’t need to lie to me. I know I’m stupid,” you mutter when playing with your bracelet. 

Aemond grabs your wrist, letting go almost the second his skin touches yours. “You’re not stupid. I know you can be very clever and an absolute pain in the ass when you want to be.” He grins. “Just… not with numbers.” He closes your notebook.

“Really?”

You know you are clever on other fronts. It’s just difficult to believe you aren’t stupid when you see how advanced your peers and friends are and you still struggle over middle school math.

He nods. “Yeah. I remember for a while in History and Language that you were a threat to my position as best student.’’ 

You’d liked History for a while, it’s true. You were good at it—that is, until you got a social life and it became an afterthought. What might have happened if you had stayed on that path?

You don’t understand why he wants to be the best. “I mean, you are already first in math, aren’t you?” 

He should not push for perfection as much as he does.

He shrugs. “I don’t care. I have to be the best in everything.” It sounds empty. You might not be the only one with problems.

You try telling him what you think. “That’s a little… unhealthy.”

He snaps at you, suddenly scowling. “Well, I don’t have a rich daddy to pay my way into school.” 

Ah. That is his issue with you. He thinks you’re a rich little girl that has a daddy that pays for everything.

You stare at your pink nails, briefly ripping at them before speaking. “I don’t either. Mine died when I was two. I have a stepfather, but he’s too busy fucking my mom and arranging vacations to Dorne for the two of them to bother with me.’’

Aemond’s chest sinks a little, regret written across his face. “I’m sorry.” 

He sounds sincere. And, just like that, you realize your math session has turned into a therapy session. 

You laugh despite your sadness. “Look at me, trauma-dumping all over you. Sorry.” 

You open your notebook at the same moment that Aemond grabs your fingers.

“I think you’ve earned a break.” He awkwardly lets go of you again.

That’s fast. “We haven’t solved a single sum,” you say. “I mean, we can solve one. I think this one is doable…” 

You look at your crossed-out sums. Oh, yeah. That happened. 

His silver-haired head nods up and down, but he does not answer at first, staring at your nails. “Perhaps not. But we have discovered why you have issues with this. Go take a break. That’s an order.”

He cheekily smirks at you, causing butterflies to flutter in your stomach. Perhaps not butterflies—perhaps just straight-up lust. You want to pull this guy in by his sweater and give him a good tumble.

You lick your lips. ‘’Yeah? What will you do if I don’t, sir?’’

He leans in a little closer, his eye flickering to your ruler lying untouched on the table. “Let’s just say… you wouldn’t like to find out.’’

Aemond takes a bottle of water from his bag and a sandwich while you grab a hot chocolate from the machine in the library and a freshly baked muffin from your bag. 

You eat your muffin and then take out your Nintendo Switch bag, starting the device up for a brief moment of relaxation. You play Animal Crossing for a few minutes, forgetting the world around you as you’re sucked into your peaceful little island.

Aemond is very silent as well, staring mostly at you.

“I’ve got one too.” You are sucked out of your island and back into reality. 

‘’Huh?’’ He nods to the switch.

He means a Switch. You didn’t think he would be into games. You think he would be too busy studying, really.

“What game are you playing?” he asks, tilting his head, coming a little closer so he can see for himself, almost touching your skin in the process as he clumsily bumps into you. ‘’Sorry.’’ He murmurs.

“A very intense one,” you comment as a compilation happens on your screen. You want to restore your island from desertcore to cottagecore and right now, one of your villagers has decided to be a menace. 

On Aemond’s lips grows an almost dreamy smile as he stares at you playing on your Switch. “Oh—like Xenoblades? Zelda? Hades?” 

You’ve heard of all three, but haven’t played them. They are not games you think you would like. They sound difficult, full of combat, full of puzzles and full of realisation that you are stupid. So you stay far, far away from them.

“Animal Crossing!” You turn your Switch so he can see your former desert island as you turn it back into a cute aesthetic-worthy village. 

He tries to blink, but he only has one eye so it looks a little awkward. “That is your definition of ‘intense’?” 

It can be. It can be so intense you rage-quit. Some of these animals have no manners—you’ve certainly bullied a fair few off your island. 

“You try terraforming your island when a lazy villager sits in the way!” You point with your finger to the panda cub that sits in the way, right where you want to plant a bush. “That’s Chester, and right now he’s making my life hell—” 

The panda, or Chester, enjoys a sandwich while smiling at your avatar, unaware of the misery he is 

causing.

“That panda is?” Aemond asks, confused. “The panda is the issue? Can’t you tell him to move?” 

That would be so helpful. But, unfortunately, no—that is not an option. 

You nod, turning your Switch back to you. “He just won’t leave. I can hit him with a net, but he would hate me,” you mutter. “Pushing him is useless. He’s, like, glued to this spot.”

Aemond smiles to himself. “Perhaps he is saying we should return to studying.” Chester would say that, the menace. He has not given you his photo either, the bear knows too much.

“He says to me that I can have five more minutes,” you say, smiling and blinking your eyes innocently. 

He sighs deeply, exhaling before putting his arm under his head, watching you terraform around your island. “Cute.” He sits up straight, blushing and quickly pointing to your Switch, decorated with stickers from Stardew Valley. “I meant, uh, the stickers.” He quickly mutters, and you can’t hide your own smile.

The stickers are cute, but you can’t help but wonder if he wasn’t talking about something else. “Thanks, they’re from Stardew Valley.” 

“I heard that game—” Whatever Aemond would say next would forever be a mystery. He is rudely interrupted by your fan dumping all over him, telling him the plot, the main features, and your personal opinion of the game in the world-wide record of 4 minutes as you ramble. “You’re kinda supposed to help this town flourish by bringing crops you grow, artisan stuff, to this community center. You can also romance and have children and have a pet. There is like magic too, but I wish it was more fleshed out-’’ You shut up quickly. You put your switch down.

He nods, but you can tell you are losing his interest. 

“You can slay monsters, too,” you blurt out. “And you have different swords, weapons and stuff. Sorry. I kinda ramble.”

“I like it. It’s cute when you ramble.’’ Damn it. You feel your cheeks redden. Aemond watches the rain outside, before asking another question about Stardew Valley. ‘’Can I kill my spouse?” he asks as a follow up. 

You know the modding community is very active, but they are like about dogs and cat breeds, about teleportation hacks and making portraits better. Not about you know, full-blown murder. “No…”

He frowns as if that surprises him. “Is there warfare? Can I take other people’s farms? Is there a princess for me to save?” No, no, and no.

You understand you two play different games.

“No, not really. It does have multiplayer, though.”

Aemond’s scoffing little smirk returns but it does not meet his hurt and very glossy eye. “I’m kinda a loner.” He laughs but there is a hidden sadness there. A sadness you relate too all too well.

“I am, too,” you say. 

“You have dozens of friends.”  You can still have friends and be alone.

He refers to the girls that you hang out with. Are they friends? You don’t hang out aside from the weekend. You can’t call them, if something has happened to you, and they definitely don’t know you game or have NLD. 

“Yes,” you say, “but…none of them game, I guess? Like, in that way, I’m alone. And I don’t make friends easily. Not everyone likes the games I play. Some wouldn’t even call it gaming. So, what kind of games do you like to play?”

He suddenly becomes interested in his very well cared for nails, and you know you hit a weak spot.

“Crusader Kings II, Zelda, Hades, Xenoblades and shooters.” He tells you. ‘’Mostly single-players.’’

You don’t know Crusader kings, but judging by the name, you do not have a cute farm at day and a run a witchy cozy coven at night. “The bloody ones.”

He snaps his head to you, smirking a bit.

‘’Zelda is not bloody.’’ Before he looks at your hair and your lipstick. ‘’I think you actually like it, if you gave it a chance.’’ He says. ‘’I mean, there is dozens of npcs to talk to, a wonderful open world, and ingredients to forage and outfits to collect and to find. In a way, it is Stardew Valley but without the Valley.’’

He definitely heard about Stardew Valley before. ‘’You know a lot about Stardew.’’

He nods. ‘’My sister, Helaena, she plays it a lot. I wouldn’t know how to play it, however.’’ He confesses, slightly tilting his hands. ‘’It’s beyond me how you get anything done with a time limit and a stamina bar.’’

You smile, and you never thought you would in his company. ‘’Describe the story. Of that Zelda game.’’ 

He needs some time to think before telling you the main story. ‘’You see, with an adventure game that’s…that would defeat the purpose of playing. So: You are a hero, named Link. After 100 years, you awake in a shrine, and you hear a voice, and you need to save the kingdom and the princess.’’ It sounds very …male-written and male-aimed. You aren’t sure Zelda is for you.

You have another problem with it too.

‘’That sounds horrible. Imagine waking up from your nap, and suddenly you got to save the world.’’

At first he is confused but the moment he knows you are joking, he laughs, a very delightful sweet and welcoming sound. ‘’It starts very locked, but there’s so much you can do in the game, in my honest opinion it's one of their best entries in the series. There’s cooking, horses-’’ Horses? There are horses? And cooking? ‘’There is combat, but you learn quickly, at least I did. The monsters are actually clever, and in the beginning, its best to avoid them until you get decent weapons.’’ You aren’t sure. Combat? The monsters in the skull cave of Stardew Valley regularly kick your ass.  ‘’There are puzzles too-’’ That is where you draw the line. No puzzles.

‘’Hell no. I hate puzzles.’’ You did as a kid, and still as an adult you can’t figure out how some people enjoy putting together these images, made up of 1,000 pieces and when they finish it, they destroy it too. Like what is the point? And it does not help you can never figure out where to start.

‘’I know.’’ That catches you off guard. Aemond does not pressure you into it. He simply accepts it.  ‘’But they are fun. We can solve most problems in multiple ways. You can’t fuck this up, if you are scared of that. Even if you die, you can restart as many times as you like. And no one is going to call you stupid for it.’’ He promises you, when leaning in a little closer, touching your face gently.

‘’Not even you?’’ You ask, for confirmation, not sure why you care but you hate for him to laugh at you for doing something very rookie. 

He shakes his head.  ‘’No. It took me a lot of time to get the hang of it too, if you must know.’’ So he is not as perfect as he pretends to be. ‘’I already told you: I don’t think you are stupid.’’

You lean in a little closer to him, staring at his soft pink lips. You make your voice as dry as possible. ‘’What if I call ‘’Link’’ ‘’Zelda?’’ You ask him with a cheeky grin. Nothing annoys Zelda fans more than that.

He grins back, but has faith in you. ‘’I know you won’t.’’ That is true. You know that the Princess is called ‘’Zelda’’ but the person you play as is called ‘’Link.’’ To confuse the two would be like calling JojaMart Pierre’s general store.  

‘’But what if I do?’’ You ask, getting a little cheeky. ‘’Hm? Sir?’’ You ask, pushing his buttons a little more as you grin. 

He needs to make an effort to hide his smirk, quietly muttering when eyeing the stickers on your switch. ‘’Don’t push me, we are alone after all, and I’m very bored.’’ He murmurs, sending a shiver down your spine when his voice gets that rough edgy little dark edge.

‘’Are you …Interested?’’ You ask, surprised.

He lifts his head, a bit insulted. ‘’You think I would not avoid you like the plague if I wasn’t?’’

All this time you thought he hated you, but he had a crush on you. ‘’I thought you hated me! That I annoyed you!’ 

He blushes, quickly cleaning his glasses for some reason. ‘’No, I just don’t like it when I can’t control my feelings. Like I become very different around you.’’ You noticed. He puts walls around himself.

‘’You become a little angry bird or a Goomba.’’ You know for sure he knows what a Goomba is, and you know it as well. They are the adorable little creatures from Mario games that try to murder Mario and look grumpy.

He chuckles, mortified by your description.

‘’Please, no, gods, not a Goomba.’’ 

You do find the courage to tell him your final thoughts, before flipping your notebook again, picking up where you left with the sums. ‘’If it helps, you are kinda cute too, Aemond.’’ You tell him, and you mean it. ‘’Not that I’m into Goombas, but..Yeah. You’re cute.’’ You tell him.

He nods, absently before he becomes serious again. ‘’Did you ever try motivational tutor lessons?’’ Motivational what?

‘’What uhm do you mean?’’ You ask, a little lost.

He shrugs, smiling. ‘’Well, people are more likely to succeed if there is a reward for them in it.’’ You notice him biting down at his lips, avoiding your eyes.

‘’And uhm, what would my reward be?’’ You ask your body to betray you within mere seconds as you think of how he will reward you. You, on the couch on top of him when fucking him-

He grins, when slowly touching your legs, going to the space between your legs, to where your dress ends. ‘’Whatever you like,’’ he purrs softly in your ear. ‘’ A cup of coffee, a donut…’’

You nod, a little disappointed and curse your dirty mind. That man is a saint for trying with you. Aemond reaches out to grab something close to your textbook and your eyes follow his fingers. ‘’People are likely to succeed more if they are disciplined too.’’ He is just teasing you, you tell your very dirty minded mind.

You know he will make you stand in the corner or perhaps take your phone away. ‘’And what would my punishment be?’’ You ask, dryly when you copy the sums from the textbook.

Aemond sighs. ‘’I won’t do anything you don’t consent to, that is the first lesson.’’ You were taking a sip of your cold coffee and nearly spat it out, all over your textbook as your cheeks burned with interest.

‘’But if you are into a little motivation, I guess I can show you another use for this pretty ruler.’’ He mutters, tapping with the ruler against the palm of his hand. You notice he has excellent self-control. This will be fun.

Yet you are surprised, that the red sweater glass-wearing sniveling little best of the class into BDSM. ‘’You’re into Kink?’’ You ask, your voice is a bit strangled.

‘’That’s not an answer, little brat.’’ 

He totally is. Gods, just your luck, stuck with Aemond Targaryen who is secretly into brat taming. Whatever sums you wanted to make, will certainly get fucked up now.

‘’Do you expect me to really learn better?’’ You hope he understands that your brain is just not a regular brain. It won’t magically solve things now that you are motivated. 

Aemond shakes his head. ‘’I kinda don’t. But it’s alright, love. I won’t get upset with you. Not really, at least.’’ He tells you with a grin. ‘’But I won’t lay a finger on you until I get your consent.’’ Such a gentleman. 

‘’Fine, you’re free to touch me.’’

On his lips, grows a dangerous smirk as he grins, before sitting next to you. ‘’What is the square root of 48?’’ He puts his left hand on your knee and slowly makes his way to your thigh…

Fuck. ‘’Uhm, 4.’’ You blurt out. It is a gamble but you don’t care.

Aemond chuckles before tsking as a disapproving teacher, before grinning and telling you the correct answer. ‘’That would be 6.’’ You growl, a little angry you didn’t know it. But he softly murmurs in your ear, when his hands go over your body. ‘’Take off your coat.’’ He tells you coldy. 

You let out a little squeak. He grins, adding softly. ‘’Again, if you want to, of course.’’

‘’I want you to strip too.’’ You tell him after you have taken your coat off. 

He chuckles, thinking you can’t defeat him. That you don’t know his weakness. But he told you, earlier today without him realizing so.  ‘’You can ask me questions but I know a lot more about math-’’

You interrupt him, smiling.

‘’What year did the Titanic sink?’’

Aemond gawks at you, before thinking deeply. It is a random event that did kill people, but it had no major consequences. ‘’1910?’’ He guesses. You grin. 

‘’1912, take off your shoes.’’ You tell him.

‘’Fuck.’’ he murmurs, but obeys. ‘’If I go with the train at 9:20, and the train takes half an hour-'’ No way you will get that one, so you take your dress off, zipping your zipper down and exposing your black bra and matching knickers. Aemond’s breath catches slightly, exhaling when his pupils enlarge.‘’Good girl.’’ That is enough to worsen your arousal and to harden your nippels. Aemond watches as it happens, a pleased contemptuous smile on his lips. 

‘’Tell me, little Brat. Darwin’s father has four children, Red, orange, yellow and-’’ It is a pattern question. A clear question. Red orange yellow are colors represented in the rainbow. ‘’Green?’’ The moment you said it, you repeat the question silently before growling.

‘’No! "It's Darwin!” You grow out.

He chuckles. ‘’You can keep your pretty knickers and bra on. I want you to sit on my lap.’’ You sit down on his lap, making sure to rub him a tiny bit in the process, to make him wild. He groans in your ear when forcing your ass down. ‘’Such a naughty little brat. And so wet for me too.’’ He murmurs in your ear when his fingers smoothly slide in your knickers, before toying with your folds, touching before inspecting your wetness. You twist on his lap, trying to force the finger to move deeper, harder, and rougher. Aemond pulls you tightly to his chest to avoid you moving at all.

You enjoy his control more than you should. ‘’Fuck…’’ You quietly mutter. He muses happily to himself as you squirm and twist on his lap. 

‘’So tense, are we shy, little brat?’’ He is toying with you, torturing you.

‘’Aemond, please.’’ You beg, helplessly as he begins to fuck your body with his fingers, and you happily fuck his hands, clenching yourself whenever you are allowed. 

You need to find release soon, and he knows it very well judging by his smirk. ‘’I’m afraid I won't listen to that name. You will call me Sir or you will refrain from speaking at all.’’ He says, and your fucked up little brain enjoys it too much.

That is so hot. He has an authority kink. ‘’Fuck!’’

He grins, as he takes a stance behind you.

‘’I’m afraid I can’t allow such crass words.’’

Oh shit. You feel your heart race and your stomach flutter with lust and butterflies and your curious mind wanders. ‘’Aemond…’’ He grabs you briefly by the throat, but he does not make it hurtful. He raises a brow. 

You look at your shoes.

‘’I meant, Sir…’’ Your face is pressed down against the wood of the table, before Aemond growls.

‘’Nothing will save you now, little brat. You are all mine.’’

He grabs the ruler and your cheeks are spanked first with his fingers before he moves on to the iron ruler, hitting your cheeks with precision but hard enough for you to like it. You squirm on the desk, certain you leave a trail of wetness as Aemond uses the ruler on both your ass cheeks, finding a torturous rhythm. And yet you like it. You want it to happen again, you want to brat. ‘’Fuck,’’ you cry out as three of his fingers enter your pussy. His left hand is feeling you up, when his right continues to punish you for your sins. ‘’Sir, sir please!’ You moan.

‘’Are you sorry?’’ He asks, between fucking you on the desk with his hand and spanking you. You nod, furiously. He sighs, letting go of you and his fingers leave your spent wet cunt. ‘’Good. Don’t be naughty again or I will punish you again.’’ He warns you. You want to brat. And you want to brat so hard that he will punish you with his cock this time. 

You bring your own fingers to your entrance but before that you can shove them in, Aemond has grabbed your wrist, painfully twisting it. ‘’Seems like someone can’t behave herself.’’ You nod, furiously as if you regret it deeply. Aemond sighs. ‘’Pull my pants down for me.’’ He tells you, and you inwardly cheer. You get to work, unbuttoning his jeans for him and pulling them down first, before staring at his boxers which barely hide his erected cock. 

You pull his boxers down too, freeing his cock as the red swollen tip is pushed in your face, with clear precum on the edge. ‘’Get on the desk.’’ He tells you. ‘’Bent over it, the way I know you want to.’’ You know what he means very well, and you obey, bending over the desk so he could take you on it.

He sighs before grabbing one of your hands and wrapping your fingers around his cock. ‘’Make me go wild, and I’ll fuck your little needy pussy.’’ You obey, your back turned to him as you try to please him with your fingers rubbing his head and his balls. 

You are bended, and Aemond opens your legs roughly and sharply, before going inside of you with his cock, filling you all the way with his length as you silently whisper. Aemond starts to trust and you become lightheaded and carried away on your pleasure. He fits so well. ‘’Sir,’’ you weakly mutter as he fucks you on the table, your book and hello kitty gel pens still present. Aemond grunts as an animal before grabbing the ruler, smacking your cunt this time, causing you to cry out in pleasure. ‘’Sir!’’ You repeat your own cry, before slamming your hips against his own, begging him to finish you. ‘’Please!’’ 

‘’Such a needy cunny. I’m going to come inside of you, little Princess. You are going to tell all your little whore friends about this, that you got fucked by a man in the library, used as a glorified slave. You will tell them how red and throbbing your little pussy was, and you will not tell anyone it was me. Is that understood, or do you need me to fucking explain it another way?’’ You understand, but you would love another explanation because it sounds so dirty.

‘’Another way. I’m pretty stupid.’’

He glares as if he disagrees with that.

‘’Very well.’’

Aemond grabs you by your hips again, fucking you.

‘’’N-no, Aemond, I have a party tonight-’’ You tell him, begging him to be a bit gentle.

He groans. ‘’I don’t care. Fuck your parties.’’

He did not get invited.

‘’Nhn!’’ You cry out as his cock cruelly fucks you, not giving a damn about your warnings.

Aemond’s lips briefly kiss your sweaty forehead. 

‘’Delicious, such a good cunny.’’ He murmurs, rubbing your cunt until blood sticks to his fingers. You need a little push. Just one tiny push. ‘’And now, you will come for me, my slut. When I tell you, you will come all over my cock, soaking me.’’ You nod, bracing yourself.

Aemond fucks you harder and faster and it becomes difficult to hold your orgasm in. You need to release it, you need to find a release fast. ‘’Sir, please.’’ You beg, helpless. He grins, spanking your needy pussy.

‘’I know, but try to show some self-respect, my little brat.’’ 

You wordlessly wail. He sighs, before impaling you thoroughly and resting his hands on your hips. He whispers in your ear. ‘’Come.’’ You obey, freed from a prisoner and let go when you two fuck each other roughly, your muscles hurting from the rough fucking on the desk. And finally, you come all over his cock, just as he promised you would. He takes you two more times after that, bringing you close to two other orgasms, before denying those two. You are taken without warning and lose your control, coming all over him, earning you a spanking and a rough fucking before he comes inside of you as well, with a lot of curse words and grunts. 

‘’Fuck, Y/N.’’ He murmurs, in your ear. You put your underwear and bra back on. The timer ends, revealing that two whole hours have passed. Aemond dresses himself quickly too, looking at your messy hair and glassy eyes. 

You become aware of the feelings and the urge to run far away from them. ‘’I have to go.’’ You tell him.

Aemond stops you, gently and you know he has become himself again, dropping the dom-act.

‘’No. You seem to know some things about Kink, but after playing with my ladies, I give them aftercare. You deserve a bagel, or a donut, or fuck it, another Starbucks if you want. If we were at my place, I’d prepare a bath for you or give you a message.’’ He rambles on. ‘’Let me buy you something nice for your lunch, and at least walk you home.’’ He asks, no, begs. Your face melts at his sweet manners. 

You put your stuff in your back, as Aemond zips up your dress for you, careful to avoid your hairs. He has done this before. You wonder how many times and with who. ‘’She is judging us.’’ He suddenly whispers, nodding to your hello kitty gel pen. 

After two hours he has become just as mad as you have. ‘’She knows too much, I might drown her into my Starbucks later.’’ You tell him.

He does not approve of that idea.

‘’That would be sad and torture.’’

‘’Fine, I’ll just…put her in my pencil case.’’ You do as you promise him, putting the gel pens in your pencil case.

‘’That’s it, good girl.’’

He winks before following you to Starbucks.

‘’Hey, uhm Aemond?”’ You ask after you are waiting for your order. Aemond looks around a little amazed. He has never been here before, calling it a capitalistic hell. 

‘’Yeah?’’ his hands nervously play with his rings. He can be so adorably shy.

‘’What are you doing tonight?’’ You wonder, hoping you don’t regret this. As in, he does not say no.

‘’Not much, I might actually play Zelda. Why?’’ He wonders.

‘’Want to come to this party with me?’’ You blurt out with a smile.

a/nthank you for reading let me know what you think. there might be a part 2 but i havent decided yet.

The eh creatures above the a/n are goombas.

[comics-and-fanworks]

Hi! I found this Drabble and was curious on how you’d write your own story around it because of how amazing you are! So, if it’s not too much trouble, do you think you could write a Maribat story around this prompt please? Thank you!

“It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it.�� Of course these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered.  She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair.  The rise and fall of his chest.  The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear.  It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.  

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty apartment living room.  It had been another dream of something that was impossible.  She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread.  But she longed to make that dream a reality.

It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying them was that in every one it was the same boy.  Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them.  Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment.”

Hi! So sorry for taking so long! I’m currently in college and it’s killing me slowly, there’s been a lotta ups and downs, and my mental health is realistically not where it should be. Thank you so much for being patient with me, I really should have gotten this done sooner. Also I didn't know which batboi you wanted so I put them all on a wheel and spun it. I also rewrote some of the scenes in Miraculous like Lila's first appearance to make her a bit craftier and such.

I love this prompt! Thank you for suggesting it to me and for your sweet words! I hope you like this super cute Soulmate AU!

Also heads up this is super long and only loosely adheres to canon! The thing is so long because it took so long for me to get this done, one thing led to another and here we are. This thing is pages long and has 23,741 words. P. S, some of this was written on my phone sorry if the formatting is inconsistent! Also, let me know if I miscalculated ticket prices or made mistakes, and I’ll fix it! How I did the math was I googled a Disneyland Paris ticket price, took the highest value, multiplied that by the number of students going (They had a pass for ages 3-17 that I used for the students), and then did adult ticket prices for the two teachers. I multiplied those by seven days and added the results. My result came up to about 9,667 not including tax, so I chucked on a few extra thousand to account for Lila pocketing some of the money. 

TW: swearing, mentions of bullying, and minor violence, hints of PTSD, mentions of death

~~~~~~~~

Marinette knew the minute she had her first dream about him. She was sitting on a couch in a library working on her designs. A faceless man approached her, holding two mugs, and set one down in front of her, gently kissing her head. Despite her inability to identify this man, she felt safe with him and could feel love and affection swelling in her chest. He set his mug down and sat beside her, chuckling as she snuggled up. In comfortable silence, they worked on their own projects, not a care in the world.

When Marinette woke up that Saturday, she immediately called Alya. "Girl guess what? I just had my first soulmate dream!" She quickly removed the phone from her ear, correctly predicting the excited shriek from Alya. "Oh my gosh, Marinette! This is amazing! Did you see his face? Was it a guy? Was it Adrien?" Marinette jumped out of bed, an extra bit of pep in her step. It was going to be a great day, she knew it! "Yes, it was a guy. I couldn't see his face though... so that rules out Adrien." She hadn't even thought of that. Everyone knew that you wouldn't see your soulmate's face in your dreams until you met them! She would have to face the reality that Adrien was not meant to be hers. Alya heard her tone change, and thought quickly, "That doesn't necessarily mean that! People are reporting that they haven't seen their soulmate's face even though they had already met them in real life because the time wasn't right! Maybe Adrien is your soulmate but now isn't the right time because his supervillain of a father who could make Hawkmoth look like a saint won't let him date. Or girl have you considered that your soulmate could be a superhero? Lois Lane stated that she knew her soulmate before she saw his face in her dreams because he had a secret identity that obscured it! Your soulmate could be Chat Noir," Marinette made a face as she styled her hair, " or one of the vigilantes from Gotham! The way I see it is that you have three options. 1. It is Adrien, it just isn't the right time. 2. You haven't met them yet. 3. It's a superhero." Marinette laughed, "What if they're a supervillain?" "No way girl. You’re too sweet and pure for a villain. Anyways-" An Akuma alarm sounded, cutting their conversation short. "Welp, that's my cue. I gotta go Mari, duty calls!" And with that, Alya hung up to chase down the Akuma, while Marinette shouted out, "Tikki! Spots on!"

There she was, hiking through the woods with her soulmate. She still couldn't see his face, but she immediately knew why they were there. He wanted to show her someplace special, somewhere he'd never taken anyone before. Eventually, they found a stream, and she turned to see her partner rolling up his pant legs and taking off of his boots. "Throw a stick in the water to see how strong the current is. If it's too strong we'll have to turn pack." His voice was slightly garbled so she couldn't identify it, but she could clearly hear what he said. Picking up a stick she tossed it far out into the creek, watching as it lazily floated away. With that, she took off her own hiking boots, and the two made their way into the creek. The water was cold and she almost lost her footing, only to be caught by strong arms and pulled against her soulmate's broad chest. Marinette couldn't help the blush rising to her face as he held her. She could feel his gentle breath by her ear, along with the steady rise and fall of his chest. She could fall asleep listening to his heartbeat. He whispered, "Careful love. I don't want you getting hurt." He helped her stabilize and the two continued to make their way up the creek until-

Marinette woke with a start to the sound of her alarm clock. She cursed the thing, of course, it had to go off when she was getting to the good part. She realized as she rushed to get ready for school that she was able to identify something about her soulmate, they were both adults in this dream. She had been having them for a few months now, but this was the first time she could figure out any detail about when they would meet. It also didn't rule out any of Alya's theories either. She kissed her Maman and Papa and sprinted to school, thanking her lucky stars that she wasn't late. However, she was in for a surprise when she arrived at Mrs. Bustier's classroom. There was a new girl sitting in her seat, while the whole class gathered around her. Alya noticed her and waved her over. "Marinette! This is Lila Rossi! She just transferred here and she's from Italy! Guess what girl? She knows Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale too! She saved Jagged's cat and he wrote a song for her, and she taught Clara some of her most famous dance moves! She also works with Prince Ali on environmental charities!! She's so amazing!" Marinette paused. Jagged Stone doesn't have a cat, he has Fang the alligator, and Prince Ali focuses on charities for children, not the environment. She could also remember Clara doing all of her own choreography, so her suspicions were already raised. She had serious doubts about the girl in front of her, and despite wanting to voice them she held her tongue. "It's very nice to meet you, Lila! I'm Marinette the class president, welcome to Dupont." Lila looked her up and down and gave her a saccharine smile which only raised Marinette's suspicions even more. "Hello, Marinette! I hope we can be good friends! Alya tells me you like fashion, I happen to be a personal friend of Hubert de Givenchy, so maybe I can introduce you to him!" Marinette's eyes narrowed, Hubert de Givenchy had passed away in 2018, and if Lila really knew him she would have known that. Her classmates looked on with bated breath, clearly believing Lila knew these famous people.

"Oh, you knew him?" Lila nodded, "I was so sad to hear when he passed away in 2018. He really was an inspiration of mine," Marinette said, watching as Lila's eyes widened, but was impressed with how quickly she recovered, "Oh I know! I misspoke earlier, I meant his nephew!" Before Marinette could reply, the bell rang. Alya turned to her and said, "Marinette I hope you don't mind. Lila has really bad tinnitus from when she saved Jagged's cat from getting run over by a plane. She struggles to hear so we gave her your seat." Marinette looked around and noticed no one was in their normal seats. If Lila had her seat, it meant the only place left to sit was alone in the back. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I really would have appreciated it if you waited for me to get here. I have no problem with Lila sitting there if she needs it I just wish you would have-" Lila cut her off with fake tears, "Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to cause problems I just wanted to be able to hear the lessons! I can move to the back if that makes things better." Shit, she was good. Marinette looked around at her classmates who were now glaring at her. Did they not hear what she said? She had no problem with Lila sitting there if she needed it, she just wished someone would've let her know! "Don't worry Lila, you can stay there it's not your fault. I guess Marinette has decided to have an attitude today," Alix said, glaring at Marinette. "I just said I wished someone would have let me know!" Marinette shouted. "Girl it's just a seat it's no big deal. Why are you acting like a child about this?" Alya crossed her arms looking at her. "It's not even about the seat," Marinette started, "It's about you making a decision that affects me without talking to me about it!" "Well, we figured that since you're our Everyday Ladybug you'd have no problem with it. Come on Mari, you're supposed to be nice." Adrien scolded, and before she could defend herself the second bell rang, signaling the start of class.

She dreamed of walking down the streets of Paris, her soulmate nowhere in sight. However, she felt happy, it was a good day. She was going to her favorite bulk fabric supply store and texting some friends about the project ideas that danced in her head. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, she knew this path by heart. She was planning on buying fabric to make a new spring line when she ran straight into someone, how embarrassing. Looking up, there was her soulmate, with his clouded face. He chuckled and asked where she was going in such a rush, and she stuttered out an apology. He offered to walk with her, making Marinette smile, they must have done this before many times.

The next few months were rough. Later that first day she had gone to talk to Alya and had presented evidence to prove Lila was a liar, but her best friend had simply shaken her head and told Marinette that jealousy was not a good look on her. Marinette had been stunned, she had nothing to be jealous about until Alya told her that everyone could see Lila had a crush on Adrien. Alya's words still burned in her brain, "I can't believe you Marinette. To try and ruin another girl's reputation because of a crush. You need to take a good look in the mirror." Marinette couldn't fathom why her best friend wouldn't listen to her and decided to go for a patrol as Ladybug. Then while she had been passing by the park, she had overheard Lila telling Adrien that she was the fox hero, Volpina. She had to say something, Lila might not realize how much danger she was putting herself in by making those claims. So she swung down, (and tried her best to keep her cool) and explained to Lila that there was no fox hero and that if Hawkmoth had overheard her she could be in danger. Of course, that caused Lila to get akumatized. To make things worse, a couple of days later Lila had cornered her and threatened her! Despite everything, she still believed her classmates would come around and see the truth.

That was exactly five years ago. Marinette really should have had less faith in the people around her. Lila got her expelled, Alya disavowed their friendship, and Adrien betrayed her worst of all. In his endless quest to avoid any confrontation, he pressured her to keep quiet, and when she didn't he turned his back on her. Marinette had quit trying to expose Lila years ago, but the brunette had kept her promise. Adrien just watched as their class left her out of their plans, destroyed her things, and ripped up her work, among other things. When she confronted him about why he was allowing this to happen, he just shook his head and told her it never would have if she had done what he said. Her heart shattered, and she prayed that her soulmate wasn't Adrien. The only people she had in her corner were her parents, Luka, and Kagami (who had quickly seen through Lila's bullshit after she'd tried to lie her way into Marinette's room), Nino, and Kim (they snapped out of it after Lila accused Marinette of pushing her down the stairs), and she had the newfound support of Nathaniel, Juleka, and Rose. The last three didn't want to rock the boat or have Lila's wrath directed towards them but had expressed seven months ago that they figured out Lila was lying, but after Marinette was nearly knocked into the path of an oncoming car, they began to be more vocal in their opposition. Chloe had also stepped back from tormenting Marinette, the two girls never talked, but were never hostile. Her friends couldn't do much while they were in school, and since they were busy with their own lives, Marinette truly felt alone. Even under the mask as Ladybug she was alone, witch Chat Noir had gotten so frustrated with her constantly refusing his feelings, that he'd almost completely stopped showing up two years ago. Her only solace was that Paris seemed to be on her side with that one, and whenever Chat Noir did emerge he was met with anger from the citizens he'd broken his oath to. On top of all that, Marinette hadn't had a soulmate dream in years, which terrified her to her core. Did her soulmate die?

"Tikki, I haven't dreamt of him in years! What's wrong with me!?" Marinette sobbed, holding onto a pillow on her bed. Most of her days ended like this, with tears. The Kwami were kind enough to protect her from akumas during these times, after realizing that Marinette was only putting herself at risk by bottling up her emotions. Her room had changed since the Lila Era began. She had taken down all of her photos, save a few, her bright pink walls seemed to lose their hue, and she only ever designed for commissions, simply because she knew she needed a portfolio for college. Tom and Sabine had tried their hardest to get their little girl out of Dupont, but her transfer papers kept getting "lost." They tried to get her into therapy, but with Hawkmoth around every therapist had a waitlist that was beginning to enter into years. Tikki was growing more concerned with each passing day, her Chosen was close to breaking. "Oh baby bug, there's nothing wrong with you! Soulmate dreams are different than regular dreams because they're tied to real people in this world. The interesting thing about them is that they show up when you need them." "But I've needed them! I need to know I'm not alone, that I haven't been abandoned, and that the universe doesn't hate me enough to take away everything," Marinette just sobbed harder before she froze, "What if Adrien really is my soulmate and that's why I'm not having dreams? I'm unlucky as it is, so this would be on par for me," Tikki was horrified that Marinette would even think that, and before she could say anything, a new voice cut her off. "No. That brat is not your soulmate, I won't allow it." There was Plagg, in her room, holding a familiar silver ring in his paws. "Pigtails after what he's done to you, as Adrien and Chat Noir," Marinette and the other Kwami gasped, "I won't let him. I won't let him hurt you anymore! Marinette I am so sorry, I should have done this a long time ago, but I let my gluttony and my pity for the kid cloud my judgment. I let him fail you inside and outside of the mask, Kitten I promise you I will never let a black cat holder hurt you again." Plagg nuzzled against her cheek, gratefully accepting Marinette gently kissing his head letting him know all was forgiven. "Besides! His karma is coming for him, but I have to warn you too. He's going to try and pursue you romantically because he doesn't like who his soulmate is." Marinette perked up at that, "Adrien knows who his soulmate is?" Plagg nodded, "Yep. One Lila Rossi. A liar and an enabler, how fitting. He had rejected her because at the time he was still convinced that Ladybug was his soulmate, but now that that's not true, he's turning his attention toward you. He found out from Alya that you had a crush on him, and so even though he knows you aren't his soulmate he's going to try and pursue you anyways." Marinette's brows furrowed, deep in thought. No wonder Lila was so obsessed with Adrien, and it explained why she wanted to get close to him. What Marinette needed was a plan, so she hopped out of her bed and made her way down to the kitchen where her parents were talking. "Maman, Papa. Would it be alright if I took a mental health day tomorrow?" Her parents seemed to light up at the thought, seeing this as an opportunity to give their child a break from her tormentors. "Of course! In fact, why don't you take the whole week off? You're ahead on your work and haven't missed any school this year. We'll call the school tomorrow and take care of everything." Sabine said, right before she and Tom were tackled by their daughter for a hug. With time to plan, Marinette made her way upstairs to begin her work.

It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it.  Of course, these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered.  She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair.  The rise and fall of his chest.  The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear.  It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty room.  It had been another dream of something impossible.  She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread.  But she longed to make that dream a reality. It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying it was that it was the same boy she had dreamed of before.  Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them.  Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment. Marinette quickly snapped out of her sorrow when she had a realization: She had dreamt of her soulmate again! She couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face. A knocking on her trapdoor snapped her out of her thoughts, and her mother's voice brought her back to reality, "Marinette sweetie? Are you up? I have some news. We couldn't have timed this better, it's your spring break, so we don't need to worry about problems from Damocles or Bustier! Also, your class has left for their trip, so there's no way you'll bump into them! Alright, that's all I've got, go back to sleep." Marinette couldn't sleep, not after hearing that great news! The kwami were already waking up and grabbing their food from the minifridge she kept in her room, while Marinette dashed to her wardrobe. She had made herself an outfit a while ago but was too afraid her classmates would ruin it. It was a short light pink sundress, perfect for today's weather. She was going to spend the day out on the town enjoying her life. She had a considerable chunk of fun money saved up from her commissions and decided that she deserved a self-care day.

She had just left her favorite brunch spot and was making her way to her fabric shop of choice, texting her friends who had gone on the class trip. Marinette was the only one who was purposely excluded from it, and while her friends tried to drop the trip, Mrs. Bustier made them go because if that many people dropped there would be no way the class would hit their fundraising goal. Marinette was pretty sure some of that money was going straight into Lila's pocket, but she wasn't class president and had no way to get her hands on the class's records. Marinette didn't know the average price of sending 13 students plus two teachers to Disneyland Paris, but 12,000 euros seemed like a lot. And the worst part: she was still expected to contribute! Marinette was so wrapped up in the sheer ridiculousness of it all, that she didn't realize where she was going until she ran right into someone! As she began to fall, she felt a strong arm grab her by the waist and suddenly she was standing upright and looking up at the man she had just run into. He was stunning, at least 6'2 with medium-length dark hair he kept neatly styled. His tan skin radiated warmth, and his muscles were clearly defined by the dress shirt he was wearing. As her eyes trailed up from his sharp jawline, she froze when she saw his eyes. They were a rich green, held a deep, almost mysterious gleam, and were as sharp as a panther's. Like the cat, there was something wild about his eyes, hidden just below the surface. The only thought running through her head was a simple, 'He should be Plagg's next holder.' Suddenly the man staring at her let out a deep chuckle that rumbled in his broad chest, "What's the rush little Lily?" His voice was deep, with a sort of sharpness to it, like this kind of conversation was new to him.

"I, I am SO sorry sir! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ran into you! I hope I didn't mess up your outfit!" Marinette was in full panic mode, the most attractive man she'd ever seen in her life and she just made a fool of herself. Instead of the rage she expected and was used to, he only smiled, "No harm done. I don't have anywhere I have to be, and besides you only bumped into me, you didn't spill anything on me. Can I ask where you're going? My family has just arrived from the U.S. and I was exploring the city." Marinette blushed, he looked so intimidating, but so far he'd been nothing but kind. Still, she had learned never to drop her guard, but... If he wasn't from here she supposed it wouldn't hurt to be polite. "I'm going to some of my favorite fabric shops in the fashion district... I'm a clothing designer and I was going to pick up some to start working on a spring and summer collection," She decided to take a gamble, "If you have nothing to do I can show you around." He smiled, "I would love that Ms...," "Marinette, and you are?" "Damian." Marinette smiled as the two began to walk toward the fashion district together, "Well it's very nice to meet you, Damian, even if it was in interesting circumstances."

When Damian heard his father talking about going to Paris to investigate the Hawkmoth situation, he quickly volunteered to go along as well. His official pitch was that he was closest in age to the young heroes of Paris, and would have an easier time getting them to talk. He also said it would look good to add a bit of international travel and education abroad to his resume. However, he had a secret reason for wanting to go to Paris: to meet his soulmate. Younger him would have scoffed at the thought, but he was not the same person he was when he first came to his father. Thanks to his brothers and Jon (mostly Jon), he had grown as a person, and now that he was close to graduating high school, he was beginning to think about the rest of his life and how he wanted to spend it. Of course, there were the staples, going to college, starting at least 5 charities for animals, and inheriting the cowl, but a part of him wanted more. A part of him didn't want to be alone. So he started looking back at all the soulmate dreams he'd been having since he was thirteen. Even though he'd dismissed it at that age, he at least had the foresight to write everything down, and using his Batfamily-honed detective skills, he deduced his soulmate was somewhere in Paris. One dream stood out to him, he was standing on a sidewalk in Paris when his soulmate crashed into him. From the way she spoke in the dream, he deduced that this was when they would meet. So there he was, standing on the exact sidewalk in the exact spot. He knew how ridiculous he must've looked as he texted his family, his official story being that he was going to look for clues about the heroes. Right as he was about to reply to a snarky text from Tim, he felt a small mass crash into him with way more force than it should have. He quickly spun around and caught the woman, and as he stabilized her he was able to get a good look at her. The first thing Damian noticed was how small she was, at least compared to him, however, she did have quite a bit of lean muscle. Her skin was pale, with a slight pink undertone to contrast her shoulder-length ebony hair. Her cheeks were lightly dusted pink with small patches of freckles, and her lips were ruby red. She almost resembled a porcelain doll. She was gorgeous, but what really took his breath away was her eyes. Framed in long dark lashes they were a beautiful deep blue. They reminded him of an ocean, deep and rich and sparkling under the sunlight. This had to be his soulmate. He learned her name, Marinette, and she invited him to go with her to the fashion district. Damian was content, while she may not recognize him as her soulmate yet, it was undeniable that she felt the same pull towards him that he felt towards her.

Before she knew it, Marinette had spent her entire spring break with Damian. She couldn't help it, she felt drawn to him, like she needed him to breathe. What surprised her the most, was the dream she had the night after she met him. She was sitting atop a building as Ladybug, watching the sunset, and next to her with the black cat Miraculous, was Damian. They watched the sun sink below the horizon, and suddenly the sky erupted into fireworks of all colors. The show ended with a sentence spelled out in fireworks "Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit." She knew the moment she opened her eyes that Damian was her soulmate, and from the texts, she'd received, he knew it too. The two of them agreed to take it slow, they were still very young and had just met. However, as the mini vacation went on, the pit of dread in her stomach began to grow, and she would have to return to school. She had told Damian what was happening with Lila, Adrien, everything. Needless to say, Marinette was surprised when he told her he would be in her class, and that he wouldn't let them do anything to her (Little did they know Tom and Sabine heard them, and Damian had just won their approval). So when he arrived to pick her up, he made sure they got to Dupont early. Marinette gave him a tour, and as they were walking he stopped to talk to people. "Don't you normally hate talking to people?" "Normally I do my Lily, but in this case, I do not mind. However, I do have an ulterior motive. By talking to these people, I've created an alibi. Look over there," Marinette looked over and saw Sabrina and Alix watching them and whispering, "Those are two of that liar's sycophants right? Well now that they've seen that you spent your time before class giving me, a new student, a tour, if Lila claims that you did something to her, two of her own followers have seen evidence disproving it. So either they mention that there's no way you could've done it because they saw with their own eyes that you have not even interacted with her, or they say nothing and you know what kind of people they are." It was brilliant. Marinette was a little miffed she hadn't thought of it before. The two walked to class, and Marinette whispered, "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Adrien will give you the most problems. I heard from a friend that he was interested in me, even though he already knows who his soulmate is." "Is it Lila?" "Yes. I know enough about her to know that she's incredibly selfish, she hated it whenever Adrien gave me any attention, because-" "Because he was her ticket to fame and fortune, and if he had picked you she would be locked out." "Exactly. I do not doubt that the second she hears your last name, she won't give a shit about Adrien and will focus her full attention on breaking us apart." Marinette was shocked when Damian told her his last name, she may be oblivious but even she knew who the Waynes were. Plagg joked that it was the Universe trying to make up for how shitty it had been to her. She was not expecting the wicked grin Damian gave her as they arrived at their classroom. "I would like to see her try."

Before the two could reach their seats in the back of the room, Marinette was yanked away from Damian by Kim and Nino, "We don't know who you are but you don't deserve her!" Kim shouted, holding onto Marinette. "Yeah! Mari's the nicest dudette the world has ever seen, if you hurt her we'll kick your ass!" Nino said as he put himself between Damian and Marinette. There was a small moment of awkward silence before the group laughed. Marinette had warned him that her two best friends would try something like this, especially after she told them that he was her soulmate. Taking their seats at the back of the class, the group chatted about their spring break, until Lila walked in with the rest of the class. She readied a fresh accusation to fling at the ravenette but caught herself just in time. WHO was that gorgeous man sitting with Marinette? He put Adrien, a freaking model, to shame. Everyone else seemed to share that sentiment, and Alya was about to start demanding answers when they were spotted. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as the man glared at them. Marinette waved to Rose, Juleka, and Nathaniel, who quickly took their seats near the group of outcasts while Damian Batglared the rest of the class. "Can I help you?" He asked in an icy tone, one that demanded immediate answers. Alya balked, "We, we were just curious about you, since you're, um, a new student here." Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, "My name is Damian Wayne, yes, from that family. I came to Paris with my father for a business trip, and to find my soulmate, Marinette," Little mutterings of "no way," "That's impossible," and "I didn't think that bitch would have a soulmate," filled the room. "I plan on staying until graduation, and from there I will be going to college with Marinette. Let me make one thing clear: I will not hesitate to retaliate against anyone who tries to hurt my soulmate in any shape or form." Nathaniel could be heard whispering, "Oooh, I like him," To the rest of their little group, who nodded in agreement. After waiting for a second for anyone to challenge him, Damian turned back to Marinette, and almost like a switch flipped, began showing her pictures of his cat.

Lila couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Damian Wayne was in her class, the richest, most eligible bachelor in the world was in her class... and his soulmate was fucking Dupain-Cheng! She swore this had to be some sick joke. There was no way that THE Damian Wayne (whom she had instantly recognized because she had seen him once at a charity ball her mother had taken her to and committed his face to memory) had someone as pathetic as Marinette as his soulmate. The universe truly was cruel. She'd thought she was lucky when she found out Adrien was her soulmate and was devastated when he told her over the break he was going to pursue Marinette. But now? Now Lila knew she must be the luckiest girl in history! Glancing over at Adrien confirmed her belief, the dumbass pushover glared at his rival, and she knew he wasn't going to back down. This was perfect. All she would have to do is separate Marinette and Damian, use the mountain of evidence against Marinette that she made over the years to convince her future husband that his soulmate was no good, and then bam! In a few short years, her name would be Delilah Wayne! Adrien's persistence would only help her case, especially with Marinette's former crush on the blond it would be so easy to frame her for cheating. She would have to be careful though, just from the look in his eyes she could tell he would be much sharper than the rest of her classmates had been: he would be her greatest challenge yet. For now, she would bide her time, and perfect her plan.

Lila made her first move at lunch. She and Alya were sitting at a table, observing Marinette and her friends talking with Damian. "He's so kind to them, why is he such an asshole to us?" Alya muttered. Ah, an opening. "Well, I don't think it's really his fault. I mean he did say that he had come to Paris to find his soulmate, and well, Marinette IS a pathological liar," Lila said as she picked at her food. Alya nodded, "I just can't understand why they still hang out with her! They know what she does to you, they know she's a bitch!" "I think it's a mix of sunk cost fallacy and denial Alya. Nino and Kim have known her since they were little, so I think the reality of Marinette being a bully just can't compute for them. As for Juleka, Rose, and Nathaniel, I think they feel indebted to her or something," Alya nodded, agreeing with her logic. "Girl you're so in tune with people it's crazy!" 'Yes I am,' Lila thought, 'You have to be able to read people to trick them.' "Alya... Can I tell you something? Something bad happened between Adrien and me over the trip." The reporter's head snapped around to her, "What did that bastard do?" Lila began to channel the sorrow she felt when Adrien confronted her over the break, "He... He told me he didn't want me!" She wailed, just loud enough for Damian to overhear, "He called me a liar and all of these awful names, and he told me he was in love with Marinette and that he knew she felt the same for him! He told me if I told anyone about this he'd ruin me!" She cried. It was amazing that Adrien had just handed her this opportunity, completely unaware that he'd done so. As Alya promised revenge against Adrien and the whore who stole him from Lila, the girl in question carefully glanced over to see Damian looking right at her. Perfect. When Lila had decided on this plan, she decided the initial bonding point would be that they had both been betrayed by their soulmates. If Damian was emotionally vulnerable he would be that much easier to manipulate, it would also be the perfect story to pitch to the media as well, they were both betrayed by their soulmates and fell in love!

Lila was quiet for the rest of the day, waiting eagerly for their classes to end. She had a feeling that Adrien would make a move and wanted to be there to see what she'd have to work with. She made an excuse to leave class early and quickly hid behind the stairs. She had to wait a bit for them to leave and spent the time doing research about Damian on her phone. So he loved animals, was passionate about the arts, and was a master swordsman and martial artist. He also spoke seven languages including Italian!! Lila sighed, he was perfect. Finally, the bell rang, and students began making their way out of the building. Lila knew Marinette usually spent some time helping the art teacher before she left, so she was certain Adrien would wait for the girl. Risking discovery, she poked her head out and saw her plan falling into place. Adrien was standing at the top of the stairs, clearly waiting for Marinette. He was muttering to himself, about how it wasn’t fair, about how he couldn’t understand how Marinette could trust a stranger she’d just met. Lila had to keep herself from letting out an amused snort. Isn’t that rich considering their class’s track record? 

She had to wait for about fifteen minutes before she heard laughter coming towards the entrance of the school, it was Marinette, laughing at something Damian had told her, “Oh my gosh, are all your brothers on crack?” she gasped for air, “Sometimes it feels like it,” Damian chuckled. The two were about to walk down the stairs when Adrien stepped in front of them. “Hi, Mari. Can I talk to you, please? Alone.” Wow. Lila didn’t know Sunshine Boy could have such venom, she figured he must’ve been directing that at Damian. Lila could only imagine the glares between the two boys, not daring to poke her head out now and get caught, however, when she thought she heard footsteps back into the school she took out her phone and pressed record. “Why? So you can pressure me into silence again? If you need to tell me something, say it now because Damian and I have plans.” Lila had known about Adrien’s high road advice, and that Marinette had been so in love that she listened. She doubted the ravenette would fall for that now. Lila waited with bated breath to see what Adrien would do, and could not believe what she heard. “I think you should stay away from him. You only just met him, he’s probably lying about who he is Mari. You saw how he treated our friends-” “He has been nothing but kind to MY friends. That’s so rich coming from you Adrien. Lila comes along and lies about everything and it’s totally fine, I meet my soulmate and now suddenly you care about honesty?” “It’s a different situation and you know it Marinette. Lila’s not hurting anyone and if you expose her she could be akumatized.” “What about me Adrien? What if I’m akumatized because of the lies that have ruined my reputation, my belongings are destroyed, when I’m being excluded from practically everything? Do I not matter to you?” “What- no Marinette you matter to me! Besides it’s not that bad and you’re our Everyday Ladybug so-” “SO WHAT? So I’m supposed to accept being mistreated and abused? What are you even here for Adrien?” Lila could tell that Marinette was losing her patience and for a moment, she genuinely wondered if this would be what got her rival akumatized. Adrien took a deep breath, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend.” Perfect! Adrien had given her just what she needed. Lila kept recording because even if Marinette didn’t respond how she wanted, she might say something Lila could doctor later. And it would seem that Marinette was finally shaking off her shock, “Are you crazy? Adrien, I haven’t loved you since we were thirteen, since you made it clear that not rocking the boat was more important to you than me. Besides, I’ve met my soulmate, and yeah we haven’t known each other long, I want to focus on getting to know him.” Adrien did not back down, “Come on Marinette! I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I know we’re meant for each other. The reason I know he’s not good for you is that you’re MY soulmate!” Wow. Lila wasn’t expecting such a bold lie from the blond, he must have been banking on the fact that Marinette had no way of knowing that Adrien was HER soulmate. Now that she had what she needed, she carefully snuck through the bushes and as soon as she turned a corner, she booked it for home. She wasn’t going to risk slowing down to look behind her, she figured since the two were still arguing that she’d successfully completed her mission. Soon it would be all over the media, ‘Model Adrien Agreste Ditches Soulmate for Useless Nobody: How Lila Rossi Saved the Day and Won Damian Wayne’s Heart.’ Lila knew she had a lot of work to do, and couldn’t wait to get started.  

After a long day, Damian returned to the upscale apartment his father was renting during their time in Paris. Marinette hadn’t been joking, her class was a nightmare! Damian had been skeptical at first, no way people could be that ignorant, but after what he saw today, he realized it ran deeper. They looked at Lila the same way people looked at him: They wanted something. Marinette had told him that Lila lied and faked evidence conveniently showing she knew famous people in their fields of interest, so it was likely they followed her because they wanted her to boost their careers. The Ladyblogger, someone who should have known to fact-check followed Lila like a sycophant, either knew she was lying or was really bad at her job. Then there was the other big problem in the class, Adrien Agreste. He seemed to believe he was entitled to Marinette’s love, despite his soulmate making it clear she wanted nothing to do with the blond. He had texted Nino about the Adrien-Marinette situation, and the DJ had filled him in. Marinette used to have a crush on and did some very crazy things to get his attention (Nino had also admitted the class had pushed her into some of the crazier situations), but Adrien either ignored her or was oblivious. At the time this was going on, he had a massive crush on Ladybug and still had a crush on her until recently. Googling the Parisian hero, he found a few things that made his blood run cold. First,  Ladybug had stated that she would never date a civilian (smart) in an interview. Second, the videos he’d seen from when Chat Noir was acting showed the hero displaying the same entitled behavior Adrien did, along with a couple of the same speech patterns and body language. Finally, Ladybug and Marinette looked very similar. There were some differences, but he couldn’t deny that the two could be sisters. A theory was forming in his head, Adrien had been Chat Noir, and after being rejected constantly by Ladybug, decided to set his sights on someone who looked similar to Ladybug. It was clear he still believed Marinette was a sweet, naive girl who would never say no to him, so he potentially thought he could pressure her into accepting his feelings.

  Damian was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice that his father and Tim had returned home, however, they certainly noticed. Bruce decided that this was one of those moments where Damian might need some fatherly advice, and Tim decided he wanted to hear whatever was giving Demon-Spawn trouble. It must be interesting. “How was your day Damian? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you lost in thought,” yes he could. It was right after Damian had been brought back from the dead. He watched his son’s head snap up, “I… I’m fine. My day was fine.” “No, you’re not fine. Something’s been on your mind since B mentioned going to Paris, so you can either tell us what’s up or I’ll hack your phone.” Dammit, Tim not now. Damian sighed, surprising both that he wasn’t putting up more of a fight. “The reason I wanted to come to Paris was that I had figured out my soulmate was here.” 

Tim dropped the coffee mug he was filling, and Bruce stared at his son in shock. “Oh my gosh! Did you meet them yet? What are they like? When will we meet them? How did you meet them-” “Tim.” “Sorry B,” “Start from the beginning Damian.” “I met her last week. She was going to buy fabric and bumped into me. We spent every day of her spring break hanging out and getting to know each other, and I was lucky enough to be in her class at the school you enrolled me in. I also found out she had been having trouble with some of her classmates,” “Is she drama-prone?” “Tim let him talk,” “Not necessarily. She’s being bullied and has been for the past few years. Her classmates are the typical users we encounter at Galas and believed her bully because she promised them she had connections. My main concern isn’t the bully, I can deal with her, but a boy in her class has begun to show some alarming behavior... From what I’ve figured out, he was the hero Chat Noir, and I think he’s become obsessed with Mari- my soulmate because of how similar she looks to Ladybug. From my information, I know that he has never shown any interest in her before and that when they were younger she used to have a crush on him. I also know that for whatever reason he’s no longer active as Chat Noir.” “So your theory is that because he no longer has access to his obsession that he’s shifted targets to someone he thinks he still has power over in order to pressure her into fulfilling his fantasy?” “Yes. However, I don’t think he’s realized that. I think a part of him genuinely believes he has feelings for her. I did some research on him, and he grew up with a very controlling and sheltering father, so he’s still incredibly naive, that or he’s so deep in denial he’s become delusional. He still seems to believe that staying silent about my soulmate’s tormentor purposely lying to ruin her reputation and all the physical torment she’s receiving is the right thing to do.” Bruce raised an eyebrow and Tim clutched at his pearls. “So how do you plan on handling this?” Bruce was worried, they needed to find out why Chat Noir was no longer active, if Damian’s theory was true and the former Hero of Paris got akumatized he could still be a massive threat. However, Damian was his father’s son, “I looked into some of the old posts on the Ladyblog before it… strayed. From some clips, I think my soulmate might actually have a connection to Ladybug.” Tim raised his eyebrow, “Damian it’s not that I don’t want you to be happy, but she sounds a little too good to be true. An amazing talented woman who just happens to know celebrities and heroes? Isn’t that the same thing that girl with the weird hair on the Ladyblog claims?” “Well, my soulmate can actually back up her claims.  Her class has had the most akumatizations minus the pigeon man, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Ladybug noticed, and my soulmate is connected to one of the most popular boulangeries in Paris that Ladybug has been seen stopping by. I was going to go out on patrol, and if I couldn’t meet Ladybug that way I’d find a way to see if my soulmate could get her attention.” Bruce nodded. The spotted heroine had been incredibly elusive, and he was beginning to suspect magic was involved. He gave Damian his blessing, and as his youngest son left to get ready for patrol he and Tim turned their attention to a new mystery: Figuring out who his son’s soulmate was.

Paris was beautiful at night. Damian stood atop the Eiffel Tower, looking out over the city. He could almost run the path between his classmates’ homes by muscle memory alone. While he may not like them for their treatment of Marinette, he knew his soulmate still cared about them to some degree, and if anything happened to them it would kill her. He was debating swinging by Marinette’s home but decided against it. While he felt like he could trust her with his life, their relationship was still too young to bring the baggage of a hero into it. He almost didn’t pick up on the gentle thud behind him, and when he turned to snap at Tim for bothering him, he froze. “Mari? My Lily?” He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing in front of him was Ladybug… who looked exactly like Marinette. Her costume had changed since her initial debut, but there was no doubt who the woman in front of him was. This whole time his soulmate was also the hero they were trying to contact. “Damian? You’re Robin?!” “And you’re Ladybug.” That seemed to snap Mari out of her stupor, “I can explain! Please don’t be mad!” He would address that last bit later, but for now, he just leaned against the railing and watched as she began pacing back and forth. He’d wait all night if that’s what Mari needed to get her thoughts together. “I became Ladybug when I was thirteen. I was chosen by the Guardian of the Miraculous, and he snuck the Ladybug Miraculous into my bag.” “Forgive me but what’s Miraculous?” “Oh right,” He watched as Marinette took off the red and black earrings, “Miraculous are magical objects that are often worn as jewelry. Each Miraculous is connected to a Kwamii, and each Kwamii is the embodiment of a fundamental force of the universe,” A bright red flash came from the Miraculous, and next to Marinette was a floating Ladybug-like creature. The little Kawaii-thing flew up to him, and he carefully held up a hand to allow it to land. “Hello! Damian Wayne, Robin, Son of Bruce Wayne, Grandson of the Demon, and Heir to the Cowl. I am Tikki, the Kwamii of Creation! I am bound to the Ladybug Miraculous that my Chosen uses, and am the source of her powers! If you’ll excuse me I’m going to refuse with Marinette, it’s awfully chilly up here.” With that Tikki zipped back to Marinette, as soon as the two touched a bright red flash appeared and Ladybug stood before him again. “The previous Guardian, well long before he left and left the title and other Miraculous to me, lost two Miraculi, the peacock and the butterfly.” “Which are being used by Hawkmoth and Mayaura.” “Exactly.” Damian nodded, their theory was correct, magic was involved with the Paris situation. 

“Lily, didn’t you used to have a partner?” He watched his soulmate huddle into herself and immediately got off the railing to comfort her. “I did. Chat Noir wielded the Black Cat Miraculous of Destruction. He was my other half, my balance. Over time he got it into our head that because our Miraculi were complimentary, that meant we were soulmates. He began flirting with me constantly, calling me these embarrassing nicknames even when I asked him to stop, and would needlessly throw himself into danger to try and impress me. Eventually, he got tired of me turning him down, and he started missing battles and patrols. When he did show up he’d just get in the way, saying he’d help me again if I admitted we were soulmates. It got so bad his own Kwamii took the Miraculous back from him and brought it to me. I used to have temporary heroes I could count on, but they’re out of the question because their identities were exposed or they’ve chosen Lila’s side.” Damian hugged her tightly, he wasn’t one for physical affection but she was the exception. “So you’ve been alone this whole time? Oh my, Lily I’m so sorry,” he sighed, “Does Adrien know you’re Ladybug?” Marionette’s eyes widened, amazed he knew who Chat was. “Not that I’m aware of. He thinks we look really similar, but he’s seen Ladybug and I in a room together so I doubt he thinks we’re the same.” Damian nodded, “Mari I promise you I’ll help you through this, I just need you to trust me. My brother Red Robin and my father Batman are here-“ “BATMAN IS HERE?!?!” “- yes love. We’re here to help you take down Hawkmoth. I’ll help you take down Lila and figure out how to deal with Adrien, and then as soon as we graduate I’ll steal you away to Gotham.” He looked into her eyes and watched as a hopeful spark began to reignite. 

It was time for phase two of Lila’s plan. She was going to paint herself as Damian’s ideal woman, not by exactly mirroring his interests, he’d catch on to that. A good idea would be to lean into his love of animals. She had researched some well-known animal charities, and even though she really hated getting dirty, she had gone to a volunteer event the other day. Sure, the puppies were super cute, but Lila would rather spend her time working on her manicure. But now she has photos, timestamped photos. She took extra care to make sure her hair and make-up were absolutely perfect, checking on her secret weapon one last time before she left. She was going to save it until she absolutely had to, it would be either her killing blow or her final saving play. As she walked to school, she mentally mapped out her plan for today. She would brag to her class about her volunteer work, and show them the photos on her phone, then she would spread a rumor about seeing Marinette talking and being affectionate towards some random guy. ‘Lila Rossi!’ she thought, ‘You can do better than that! He would see through that in a heartbeat, they spend all of their time together.’ She decided to settle on making Marinette look bad. She’d have to be sneaky, Damian was clearly aware of her tricks and would be on guard, but Lila still thought she had a window of opportunity to convince him Marinette was the evil one. She went into a coffee shop and ordered an iced coffee, Lila wasn’t going to drink it, it was simply a prop she’d spill on herself as a direct result of Dupain-Cheng. She hated to sacrifice her favorite outfit but consoled herself with the knowledge that this would be rags compared to the luxury she’d wear as the girlfriend of a Wayne. Now she just had to decide how she’d spill the coffee, would she make it look like Marinette shoved her? No… too complicated. How about tripping? That won’t work, the little brat’s gotten too smart and now specifically looks for it. She would make it look like Marinette ran into her, and while it wouldn’t do as much damage as she’d like it to, it would be good to show Damian that his soulmate was WAY too clumsy to represent the Wayne Family. She was excitedly daydreaming about all the galas and events she’d go to, hell maybe she would start an acting career! Lila was so caught up in her fantasies that she almost ran into Alya! “Hey, girl! Don’t you look lovely today!” Lila smiled, “Hey Alya! I think you’ve got me beat today! Have you seen Damian? I’m worried Marinette might have said some things about me… and I wanted to talk to him and show him I’m not the person she says I am.” Alya scowled at Marinette’s name, “Ugh I bet she did! But she’s not here today. Her parents called and said she’d gotten sick over the weekend. Damian called in sick as well, and come to think of it, Adrien isn’t here either! Today should be an easy day for you!” Lila had to force a smile, this screwed up her plan damn it! Oh well, maybe if she got the chance, she could poke around Marinette and Damian’s lockers to see if there was anything she could find, it would also be a good chance to strengthen her hold on the class. If Lila is anything, it’s flexible, and she would never let an opportunity slip by.

Damian was looking around Marinette’s room, marveling at just how much his soulmate had accomplished. It looked less like a bedroom and more like a design studio, with mannequins adorned with projects ranging from just starting to fully complete, the walls papered with designs, and the occasional photo of friends or loved ones. Just underneath the papers, he could see the faint hint of a light pink painted wall. Bolts of fabric were arranged against another wall, organized by color and material, as well as a massive piece of wall art made to conveniently store different yarns. There was a closet filled with cases of embroidery floss and other art supplies. Under Marinette’s loft bed was a table with two sewing machines, a modern one able to do large-scale embroidery and Esme. Esme was Marinette’s pride and joy, a vintage singer sewing machine that was practically indestructible. Esme has been through everything, leather, denim, silk, you name it she’s sewn it. When she wasn’t in use, she was kept on her own table, in a place of honor within the room. Beside Esme was a vase of white lilies he’d given her, and a massive book. This was Marinette’s logbook, in which she kept meticulous records of everything: Who commissioned her, how much they paid, what they wanted, how much of each material she had, where it was, and other expenses. It seemed like wherever Damian looked, he saw something new. She made clothing, shoes, hats, jewelry, accessories, and the evidence of that was in her controlled chaos. Even though it was smaller than the Manor, he loved it, he loved everything about Marinette’s home and her family. They were warm and inviting, and it was reflected in their home, and in the daughter Tom and Sabine had raised. Marinette’s room was like her, bright and full of unique colors and energy. She was currently moving Esme to her spot of honor, and opening a special compartment in her desk. From the compartment, she pulled out a vintage sewing box that looked almost ancient (I’m sorry but they made the Miraculous box an EGG when they could have done something that could blend in). 

As soon as Marinette opened the box, sixteen bright lights shot out of it, flying around the room. “Alright everyone listen up!” Mari clapped her hands together to get the light’s attention. They eventually came to a stop in front of her, and Damian looked at them in shock. There were… SO many Kwamii, and apparently there was supposed to be more his soulmate had to recover from around the world. “This is Damian, my soulmate. He’s-” Marinette was cut off by the excited shriek of some of the Kwamii, “He’s going to help us take down Hawkmoth and Mayaura and rescue Duusu and Nooroo. He and his family are superheroes from Gotham and-” “He’s going to be the next Cat,” Plagg interrupted, the seriousness of his tone taking everyone by surprise. The cat Kwamii flew over to Damian, holding a small ring. “The Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous are connected. One cannot be active for long without the other.” Damian’s eyes met Plagg’s, “And how do you know I am compatible with the Miraculous? I am Marinette’s soulmate but that doesn’t mean I am a match for you.” Plagg cackled, flying around Damian, who stood with his arms crossed, “You’ll do just fine! Much more serious than my last holder for sure! You are more compatible than Adrien was for the simple reason that you are deeply connected with Destruction itself. You come from a tragedy on both sides, a father driven to fight an endless war to avenge his parents’ murder, a mother who needed a pawn and heir to an empire of assassins. Not to mention, the Lazarus Pit.” Damian froze at the mention of the pits, and for a moment, he could almost feel the blazing fire of twisted life rushing through his veins. “Damian? Are you alright? Plagg? What did you do?” Marinette gently rested a hand on Damian’s cheek, she could tell he was reliving something… Plagg simply flew back towards the box. “I’m doing things differently this time Pigtails. I had some time to think… I need to be more responsible for you and for future cats and bugs. Nothing should be hidden between partners, and I know you love him, I know he loves you, but there are people in his life who will not approve. I think he should be the one to tell you when he’s ready. It’s a conversation that needs to be had for both of you. There can be no more secrets.” And with that, the Kwamii flew back over to Damian and gently placed the ring in his hand. The weight of it seemed to snap him out of his flashback, and he looked down at the ring in his hand. He remembered what he’d seen from the videos, he knew the basics of the Black Cat’s powers, and combined with his training, he would be formidable. “I’ll do it. What do I have to say to transform?” Plagg smirked, “Alright kid, all you’ve gotta say is, Plagg claws out!”

Alya was out with her class, chilling in the park after school. They had stopped and gotten smoothies and were working on their own projects in comfortable silence. Alya was busy chasing two leads: What were the Waynes doing in Paris, and where was Chat Noir? Sure, he didn’t do much in most Akuma fights, but he was still one of the heroes of Paris! Come to think of it, no new heroes had been called up since Hawkmoth discovered their identities. She had to take a little bit of pride in that, they were so good that Ladybug couldn’t find any good replacements. She thought about asking Lila for the inside scoop, but with how stressed her bestie had been lately due to Adrien and Marinette’s actions she decided against it. That was another mystery: Marinette. When had the switch flipped? What caused the switch to flip? Was she always like this and Lila was just the first to uncover it? She was also curious about Damian, why would nobody Marinette have such an impressive soulmate? She figured his bad attitude was Marinette’s fault, although, from the articles on her laptop, he’d never been the most approachable or friendly. ‘An asshole for an asshole,’ she thought. Although she’d noticed Lila had been eying Damian since he arrived, maybe she was giving him the benefit of the doubt? Alya shook her head and went back to her research. Something had happened to Chat Noir and Ladybug has been silent about it. She had her theories, and normally she’d run them by Nino, but since the two had broken up all those years ago… Alya sighed. Marinette split the class in two and nothing has been the same since. The Girl Squad was disbanded, she and Nino broke up, and class events rarely hit their goals because if the bully wasn’t invited, her supporters wouldn’t go either. Alya groaned and shifted positions, she NEEDED to finish her research about Chat Noir's disappearance. It’s been forever since she uploaded  Ladybug and Chat Noir content to the Ladyblog, even Alya would admit her blog had started to shift towards Lila content only. Just as she was beginning to give up, a message popped up on her screen.

Hello Ladyblogger. I have some information you might be interested in.

Alya stared at her screen. Was this a scam? She tried to click off the message, but it stayed. She should close her computer, and ask Max to take a look at it, but… what if this person was an inside source!? Carefully she typed out a reply.

Who is this? Why should I trust you? 

Her elusive new friend was quick to respond.

That’s funny. You were so quick to trust before. What changed?

She didn’t know if she should be freaked out or offended, but her curiosity would get the best of her.

I got betrayed by someone I thought I could trust. Now what do you want?

Oh, you got betrayed alright, or to be more exact, you’re currently being betrayed, you’re just too deep in denial to realize it.

‘What?! What could they possibly mean by that?’ Alya thought as her eyes narrowed and she looked around at her friends.

Look if this is you Marinette I don’t want any of your bullshit.

My name isn’t Marinette. It’s Red, and I happen to know about Chat Noir’s whereabouts or his lack thereof. But, if you want the file, you’re going to have to do me a favor.

Oh shit. There were many things Alya was willing to do for a lead, but she had a couple of lines that she refused to cross.

Oh Yeah? And what kind of favor is this? 

I need you to look into your class’s multiple akumatizations.

The feeling of wielding a Miraculous was exhilarating. Domain’s whole body was practically vibrating with an energy he’d never known. It felt like everything was amplified, he wanted to, no he needed to run, and could feel his senses sharpening and his emotions, or at least how he felt them, intensify. ‘This must be what Starfire feels like,’ He thought as he admired his new suit. It was all black with acid-green accents and made from the same material as his Robin suit. Instead of a belt tail and ears, he wore a long cloak with a hood, and two tiny bits poked up to form the ears. The cloak was lined in gold and the ears were tipped in gold as well. A solid black domino mask hid his identity, and his eyes were a bright shade of acid green to match the accents on his suit. The suit itself was made of a similar material as his Robin suit and was solid black, but if you looked at it in the right light, leopard spots were visible. He’d said to hell with the bell, and holding his cloak on and the sash-belt that doubled as a tail were held in place by a deep green cat’s eye gemstone His boots and gloves were solid black, and fitted with braces for extra support when landing. At the tips of his gloves were retractable claws that glistened in the light, and they were slightly curved so he could use them to grab onto buildings and climb. He still had the baton, but a sword was really more his style, but even still he marveled at the magical weapon. “Before you make your debut, you should come up with a name so you aren’t put on the spot like I was,” Mari said as she looked him up and down in the new suit. Damian thought for a moment, “Panthère de Nuit. Night Panther.” his soulmate let out a pleased hum, “Letting Hawkmoth know he faces a more dangerous apex predator?” “Indeed my Lily,” Marinette smiled, and with a quick, “Spots on,” the two were ready to begin Damian’s first patrol as Paris’s new hero.

The two heroes raced along the rooftops, with Panthère de Nuit easily keeping up, a credit to Damian’s training and time as Robin. The two finally came to a stop on a rooftop near the Eiffel Tower, they could see their class in the park below. “Okay, the second Alya sees us, she’s going to try and flag us down for an interview. Do you want to speak with her?” Damian thought for a moment and shook his head. “No. Since Lila has taken over her blog, I don’t think she is a reliable source of information. I do not trust your local news here as well, they seem to lean into rumors. Is there anyone reliable we can talk to?” Ladybug looked around and spotted a familiar parasol. Aurore. The two had gotten to know each other better since Marinette distanced herself from her classmates, and she found out that the blonde ran her own Ladybug-themed blog called On the Spot. While Aurore didn’t get the close-up Akuma footage that Alya had, she was far more accurate in her reports. She recorded information such as the time of akumatization, rough location, and the direction the akumas had been seen traveling from. She had meant to begin working with Aurore and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to start. “See that girl over there? The blonde one? She runs her own blog, On the Spot, and while it’s less popular than the Ladyblog, it is more accurate. We can talk to her, but we need to make it look natural, so our class doesn’t think we ignored them. 

As luck would have it, an Akuma decided to make an appearance. Frozer was back and seemed to be determined to turn Paris into a winter wonderland. “He has ice powers similar to Mr. Freeze, and the Akuma is in his ice skates,” Marinette said as the two rushed into battle. “The easiest way to get the skates would be to immobilize him. If we could somehow trip him, you could cataclysm the skates and release the Akuma.” Damian nodded, “Not my first time dealing with ice-themed villains. I can distract him, while you try to use your yoyo to catch him off guard. Do you want Batman and Red Robin to help with this?” “No. If Hawkmoth finds out they’re in Paris, he’ll for sure try to target them. Please be careful,” Damian gave her a reassuring smile. “Darling I promise I’m not the type to pick fights I can’t win.” With that, he leaped into action. Frozer had sent a blast of ice towards his classmates, which Panthère de Nuit skillfully blocked with his blade. The world around them seemed to, well, freeze as everyone took a moment to process what just happened. “And who are you?” Frozer asked as Hawkmoth’s signature mask appeared over his face. “Panthère de Nuit, the new black cat.” Frozer laughed, “Oh? So Ladybug’s finally replaced that mangy feline? Well no matter, you’ll be just as easy to defeat!” With that, several more blasts of ice were thrown at Damian, who easily dodged, blocked, and reflected. Frozer seemed to pale, if that was even possible, and began to back up for a hasty retreat. Damian couldn’t help himself, “What’s wrong? Not used to fighting a competent Cat Miraculous holder? Too bad.” His eyes met Ladybug’s and he nodded, the sound of her yoyo zipping through the air, and the thud from Frozer hitting the ground confirmed their plan had worked. Damian simply waltzed up to Frozer, and one Cataclysm later, a dark butterfly made a break for it, only to be caught and purified by Ladybug. “That was amazing! I didn’t even have to use my Lucky Charm! Well, I still have to reverse the damage but, you know!” Ladybug exclaimed as she did just that. Damian looked at his ring to check how much time he had before he transformed back and noticed the little pawprint was still full. Weird, he’ll have to ask about that later. A crowd of people had begun to gather, including their classmates and Aurore, Ladybug noticed her and smiled, which encouraged the blonde to ask her questions. “Hello, Ladybug! Great job with the Akuma, that has to be a record!” “Thank you! Aurore is it? Of On the Spot?” The blonde nodded excitedly, “Although, I can’t take all the credit. My new partner was amazing!” Damian sensed this was his cue, and stepped up to answer Aurore’s next question, “Who are you, and what happened to Chat Noir?” With one last glance at Ladybug, Damian spoke, “My name is Panthère de Nuit, and I am Ladybug’s new partner. Chat Noir, as well as some of the temporary heroes, have been permanently retired. The Black Cat Miraculous was taken from him by his Kwamii, who felt he was no longer worthy to wield it,” This was met with cheers from the surrounding civilians. “I promise to do a better job and be a reliable and competent hero that Ladybug and all of Paris can count on. All I can say to Hawkmoth and Mayaura is that your days are numbered.” And with that, the two heroes left to roaring applause. 

Adrien was watching his TV in horror. Plagg, not Ladybug, not the Guardian, PLAGG had taken his Miraculous. His own kwamii had betrayed him, did Plagg even have the power or right to take the ring from him? And now, he was seriously in a bind. If Plagg took the ring, it was safe to say that Ladybug had no idea who he was, and most likely had no idea who her new partner was so he couldn’t ask her to get it back for him. Not to mention the last time they spoke, they weren’t exactly on good terms. Yeah in retrospect skipping patrol and all those akuma battles wasn’t his best idea, especially because that soured his relationship with the people of Paris. If his dad had taught him anything, it was that public opinion mattered a lot, and now he couldn’t exactly count on the public’s support for Chat Noir. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, his best chance of EVER getting a Miraculous again was to pretend to support this new cat, and hope that gets him Ladybug’s attention. Adrien let out a groan and flopped on his bed, his whole life was a mess. Plagg had taken his ring and hadn’t even given him a chance to fix his mistakes (He’d been given many chances), Lila was his soulmate and causing trouble in the class, and then Marinette shows up one day with Damian Wayne claiming to be her soulmate! He’d looked it up, and it really was Damian Wayne, and not some imposter using his name, but it was still so frustrating! He couldn’t figure out just why Marinette was so smitten with the man when he seemed like such a terrible fit for her! Marinette was kind, compassionate, and warm while Damian was cold, selfish, and quite mean. Adrien had been nursing a small crush on Marinette for a while and had known about her crush on him before Alya told him. He still loved Ladybug but realized after a while that she really might not feel the same way, and he couldn’t help it when a brilliant girl like Marinette was in his class. It didn’t hurt that she and Ladybug could be sisters, but he just figured he had a type. What he couldn’t figure out was why she was so focused on Damian when she’d been in love with him for years! “Calm down Adrien,” he muttered to himself, “Mari’s always been a hopeless romantic, so it’s probably just the fact he’s claiming he’s her soulmate.” He also needed to do something about Lila. Sure, he still believed the high road was the best way to go, but he had never expected things to escalate to the point Lila and their class were physically harming Marinette. Walking over to his closet and pulling out a whiteboard and some markers, he began to work on Operation Win Back Marinette.

Across Paris, another student was working on a plan: Alya. She had been working on her newest lead, and chatting with her new friend, Red. True to his word, Red had given Alya information about Chat Noir and Panthère de Nuit. What she knew so far was that Chat Noir’s behavior had gone on longer than anyone in Paris had realized, and that this was not Panthère de Nuit’s first time as a hero. In return, she had compiled a list of all her class’s akumatizations, and why they were akumatized. She slowly began to notice four outliers in their class: Marinette, Damian, Adrien, and Lila. Damian she could explain away easily, he had just gotten to Paris and hadn’t had the chance to be akumatized yet, but that was where easy ended. Marinette had a few failed akumatizations, in which she was always able to break out of Hawkmoth’s control. Alya chalked it up to Gina teaching her some meditation methods she used, but what was harder to explain was why Marinette was almost akumatized. The first time made sense, she had just been expelled, but the others were a complete mystery. Adrien hasn’t been akumatized (I’m not counting Cat Blanc or Ephemeral), but it almost seemed like the akumas never targeted him. She had seen him express negative emotions before. Then there was Lila Rossi, who had been akumatized into Volpina a scarily high number of times. Drawing from her own experience as Rena Rouge, Alya knew that the Fox Miraculous was all about illusions, and an Akuma based off of a Miraculous will share its powers, but in a weaker state. Come to think of it, there were times Lila was akumatized into Volpina that didn’t fit. She would be crying because Marinette had bullied her, and still turn into Volpina. Alya knew that you would only turn into an akuma twice if you felt the same emotions both times, such as Mr. Pigeon, so something wasn’t adding up. Opening her laptop, she typed out:

Red? Are you on? I have a few Questions.

She waited nervously, tapping her fingers on the desk as she checked her phone.

Yeah. What’s up Ladyblogger?

Alya could’ve kissed her computer, she felt like she was closer than she’d ever been to uncovering something big.

I was going back through the list of my class’ akumatizations and noticed a couple of outliers. Do you have any information on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, and Lila Rossi?

I never thought you’d ask. Here’s what I have.

Red sent over a bunch of files, with a ton on Adrien and Lila, and very few on Marinette.

Why does Marinette only have like, three things?

She isn’t a public figure like the other two, well at least under that name. Ever heard of MDC? That’s her. You aren’t a true celebrity if you don’t have an MDC original. 

Marinette was MDC?! This was news to Alya, but she guessed it would make sense. Marinette had stopped making them things a few years ago, saying she was too busy. If she was covertly running a fashion empire that would explain it. However, one last thing still haunted Alya, especially as she began to click through the files on Adrien and Lila. She paused for a moment, Red had sent her camera footage from the day Marinette was expelled, but why was it labeled as Lila’s file? As she pressed play and began watching, she began noting some inconsistencies. Before returning to the video, she typed out one last message. 

Red? I’m starting to think I’ve been lied to. 

For the next week or so, all anyone would talk about was Panthère de Nuit, and the hype was justified. He’d been spotted a few more times since Frozer, at Akuma fights and on patrol, and was just as skilled as his first fight. Videos were made speculating about his powers if he had any new ones, and where he could have possibly gotten the skills he used in his fight. The most popular theory came from Aurore, who hypothesized that Panthère de Nuit was not new to being a hero. The public was still a little apprehensive, since they remembered what they’d been through under Chat Noir, but were rapidly warming up to the man. Of course, a certain someone claimed to have more info than she did. Marinette sat in her spot with Damian by her side and rolled her eyes as Lila went on and on, “I’m so happy I was finally able to convince Ladybug to replace Chat Noir! I’ve been telling her for years that he isn’t a good partner, but she’s so sweet and sentimental, so she was hesitant to get rid of the partner she’s had since the beginning. Maybe now that he’s not around to get jealous, I can convince her to give you all your Miraculous again! Well, some people might not be worthy of wielding one, but that’s their own fault.” The class snickered and shot looks at Marinette and her friends, who simply ignored them. Lila had no way of knowing that some of the class would never wield any Miraculous again, their identities had been exposed and it was too much of a risk. Lila went on and on, even when Ms. Bustier came in and tried to start class. However, someone caught Marinette’s attention: Alya. Her former best friend was sitting with her laptop open to the Ladyblog analytics page, and she was watching Lila with narrowed eyes. She would occasionally stop and type something out. Her concentration seemed to stop when Adrien walked into the room, and Marinette quickly looked away to avoid eye contact with either. Damian shot a glare at the blond who was trying to get Mari’s attention, and the ravenette paid him no mind. Nino (Who still had connections in the Adrien fan club) had informed her that the model talks about her at his shoots, and when people ask if they’re dating he never denies it. “He’s trying to create a public narrative,” Damian had explained, “If the media picks up the story and the public catches on, it could spread like wildfire. Remember how everyone thought Ladybug and Chat Noir were in love and destined for each other? That resulted in people pressuring Ladybug to admit feelings she didn’t have.” The group nodded, clearly understanding that Damian was worried the same thing would happen to Marinette.

Adrien made his next move at lunch. Marinette and Damian, along with their friend group were going to spend their lunch at a nearby cafe. The group didn’t want to deal with Lila, and wanted to be able to discuss their topic privately: Reopening an investigation into who Hawkmoth is. Marinette had a theory board about it that she had made with Alya when they were younger, but the two stopped when they had their falling out. As they were leaving, Adrien approached them. “Hey, Mari! So where are we going for lunch?” I know a great place-” “We? Dude, you haven’t been caught dead anywhere near us since middle school,” Nino practically growled and crossed his arms. The ending of their friendship had been… explosive. Nino had gone to Adrien after he figured out Lila was lying, hoping to gather support to expose Lila and save his childhood friend’s reputation, and was horrified to find out that Adrien knew and pressured Mari to keep quiet. The following argument resulted in Nino being akumatized into Maskless, who was determined to “remove the masks” and expose people for who they truly are. It was a difficult fight for Ladybug, and after it was over, Nino disavowed the two boys’ friendship for good, the last thing he’d spoken to Adrien before now was, “I just can’t be friends with someone who would sacrifice a friend to avoid having to deal with a little discomfort. Talk to me when you grow a spine and maybe I’ll forgive you.” And the future director had kept his promise. This was the first time he’d spoken to Adrien in years. The callout seemed to catch the blond off guard, and he stumbled out, “Well uh, my father wanted me to talk to Marinette about an internship, so I was going to do that today at lunch. So Mari where do you want to go eat?” And with that Adrien made a move to grab Mari’s wrist, but was blocked by an angry Kim and pissed Damian. “Didn’t your dad teach you it’s rude to grab someone without consent?” Kim snarked. Nathaniel, Rose, and Juleka nodded, with Juleka working up the courage to add, “You’re forgetting that you aren’t the only model in the class anymore. I’m in the same gossip circles you are now, and I know you’re trying to make people think that Adrienette is a thing.” “That’s not true I-,” “Enough,” Marinette cut in, Adrien gave her a hopeful smile, while the others snickered. “Adrien, I already have plans with my friends and it would be rude of me to cancel at the last minute. Plus I seem to remember two very important things you’re conveniently forgetting: First, the conversation in which I very clearly told you I wasn’t interested, and second, the letter I received in the middle of class a year ago from your father telling me I’ve been blacklisted from the company. And from the looks on both your and Lila’s faces I can conclude you both had something to do with that. If Gabriel wants me to work for him, he needs to start by addressing the elephant in the room and the damage he’s done to my career before I could even graduate. Come on guys, we need to actually get something to eat before lunch is over,” and with that, Marinette and her group sidestepped a disappointed Adrien and made their way toward a cafe.

After they’d gotten their food, they got to work on their theory of who Hawkmoth was. “Here’s the list of people I considered before I knew for sure he had a partner,” Marinette set a stack of papers down, “And here’s the list of suspects after I had to start over once Mayura came onto the scene.” That list was twice as long and seemed to radiate an aura of frustration. The others each took papers and began crossing out people that they knew couldn’t be Hawkmoth. “Soooo… I think we can rule out some people based on the fact they don’t have time to be Hawkmoth or Mayura. Like we know they aren’t any of our parents because they’re too busy with work,” Rose chirped as she crossed off names with her sparkly pink Pom Pom pen. “So I hate to be that person but are we sure Mayura is Hawky’s only partner?” Nathaniel asked, playing with a pencil. Damian nodded, “Surely he has to have someone else. He can’t guarantee that someone in Paris is going to feel upset enough to attract an akuma even though Paris is a big city. It would make more sense if he had someone working to actively cause akumas,” the group seemed to be stuck for a moment after the obviously innocent people have been ruled out. The problem with Akumatizations is how little solid evidence is left behind. Hawkmoth can emotionally hijack someone and leave behind no DNA or fingerprints, or really anything. 

Damian had (and none of them except Marinette knew this) checked the databases the Justice League and Batfamily kept on the various super criminals of the world only to have it turn up empty, so the group was stuck… until a new voice cut in, “You’re assuming he’s smarter than he really is. I should know, I’ve helped him before.” Chloe and Sabrina stood in front of their table, with the heiress making a point to sit herself down at the head of the table and continued, “Be honest with yourselves, I’m not the only person with an attitude problem in Paris who didn’t care how many akumas I caused. There are many more who don’t care, and those people are the backbone of Hawkmoth’s operation whether they realize it or not. Unless you and Ladybug have a plan to make everyone in Paris act as sweet as pie, you need to stop acting like Hawkmoth is a genius. He thrives off dumb luck and takes advantage of problems others cause.” Marinette froze at the mention of her alter ego, “Why do you think I know Ladybug?” Chloe snorted and gave Marinette a look, “Dupain-Cheng you got that wannabe reporter an interview with her! Despite your family’s lack of financial wealth, you have connections coming out of your pigtails. If anyone in this hellhole keeps regular contact with Ladybug it would be you. Anyways, Hawkmoth isn’t the brains of the operation, that could be Mayura if she would stop going along with all his ridiculous schemes and grow a backbone. In the few times I’ve willingly helped him, it was clear that his plan was only cobbled together at best and completely on the fly at worst.” “Why did you help him in the first place?” Rose blurted out, and realizing her mistake she quickly covered her mouth. 

Chloe simply sighed, “I guess I do owe you all an explanation since I was responsible for most of your akumatizations. When I agreed to help him, I was at my lowest. He prays on weakness in any form it comes in. I was always taught that I was born lucky, and everyone else was just lucky to be born- yes Kim I know what show I’m referencing- and for the longest time I believed it. I believed I had the right to act the way I did, and my parents encouraged it, but as I started getting older, it became clear that I didn’t inherit my mother’s talent so she started distancing herself from me. My father tried to fill the void by just giving in to everything I wanted. I know he loves me, but he wanted to be my friend instead of my parent, and that whole dynamic messed me up even more. Then I met Marinette fucking Dupain-Cheng, a girl who my parents taught me to consider less than dirt beneath my feet… but she somehow had everything I wanted,” Chloe clutched the smoothie in her hand, and couldn’t meet Marinette’s eyes, “Your parents love you so much, and are so involved. They made it to every event our class had, while mine couldn’t be bothered, they encouraged you when you failed and promised to help you, while my mother would scream at me and tell me I was a waste of her time. They helped you learn how to deal with your problems instead of paying them to go away. I was and still am, so jealous of you Marinette. I’d give anything in a heartbeat to trade places with you, but instead, I did the only thing I knew how to do: I lashed out. I made your life hell for years, long before Lila came around, in fact, I’m surprised that you didn’t dump our class sooner. In all the years I bullied you, not a single one of them helped you, they avoided you, and the second you stood up to me they tried to act like all those years just disappeared,” Damian, who was mainly focusing on how Marinette was reacting, quickly noticed the shame on the faces of their friends. While he wanted to rage at them for what they’d done to his soulmate, he stopped himself, he knew he couldn’t now that he was Panthère de Nuit if Hawkmoth found an opening… He focused back in on Chloe’s story to try and calm down, “Anyways, when Ladybug came onto the scene, I immediately latched onto this idea that if she was my friend, all my problems would be fixed. I would have an amazing friend who would get my parent’s attention and make all my problems go away, but I screwed it up royally. When I found the Bee Miraculous, I thought it was a chance to redeem myself. I should have just returned it to Ladybug instead of causing that train accident, I thought if I showed her that I could be a hero then maybe she’d accept me. She kept giving me chance after chance, and I kept fucking up because I would let my ego get the better of me. When I lost the Bee Miraculous, when I realized Ladybug wanted nothing to do with me, and when I realized it was all my fault, I broke. I was convinced that I was destined to destroy anything good in my life, and that was when Hawkmoth approached me about becoming Miracle Queen. I was so emotional that I forgot who I was talking to, and gave him everything he needed to convince me to join him. After that… I was bitter, bitter at the world, Ladybug, Zoe, you name it I was upset at it because something had occurred to me during that time. I realized that I was never born lucky, that’s you Marinette, I was actually the one lucky to be born- shut up Kim let me have this- even though you were going through hell, you still had people in your corner who support you unconditionally. I know Ladybug hates me, I know you do too, but if she really wants to defeat Hawkmoth all she needs to do is get him at his lowest, and Mayura will follow him down.” With her speech over, Chloe and Sabrina simply got up and left, leaving a stunned table in their wake. “Get him at his lowest…” Marinette murmured to herself, and she kept muttering it all the way back to school. 

As the school day neared the end, Marinette had gone to the restroom, promising to meet Damian by her locker. As the Wayne heir waited, he heard a gentle, ‘ahem,’ and turned, expecting to see his soulmate. Instead, he felt his blood pressure spike as he was face to face with the ravenous wolf that looked at him as if he were a gullible lamb, a.k.a, Lila. She looked a mess with puffy red eyes and mascara streaks down her face reaching her chin, it was clear to anyone she had been crying. Damian narrowed his eyes, this might not be one of her fake crying episodes, but it clearly was still a carefully laid trap. They were alone, with no witnesses to watch what was about to go down. Lila hesitantly held her phone out to Damian, and tears began rolling down her cheeks again, “I… I thought you should know,” she sniffed, pressing the play button. Damian listened with a raised eyebrow to the conversation Lila had supposedly recorded, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend,” Adrien’s voice could be heard loud, and clear through the recording, Damian opened his mouth but Lila cut him off, “There’s more hang on,” Soon after, his Lily’s voice could be heard, “Adrien, I have loved you since we were thirteen-” With that Lila stopped the recording and began to cry, “I know Marinette’s probably told you all these nasty things about me… but it felt wrong to say nothing and let her keep manipulating you like this when I know what I heard.” With that, Lila went back to sobbing and wailing about how her bully ‘stole’ her soulmate and was a filthy cheater. If anyone else was around, they would have caught the Bat Glare Lila herself was too wrapped up in her act to see. Damian wasn’t surprised Lila stooped this low, in fact, he wasn’t surprised she didn’t stoop lower and try to fake a pregnancy or something, but it dawned on him that this was the perfect opportunity to end Marinette’s torment and he decided to take it. “Oh, you were there for that conversation too?” Lila froze, and looked up at him with fresh tears still rolling down her cheeks, “E-excuse me?” A deep laugh that rumbled like thunder cut through the tension. “Do you seriously think I would have let Adrien speak to my Lily alone when I knew he would try to pull something? And do you seriously think I wouldn’t consider the possibility someone could have been listening in,” With that, Damian pulled out his own phone, shooting Lila a vicious smirk. “Let me fill you in on what you conveniently missed,” As he pressed play, the smirk only grew as he watched the color drain from Lila’s face and his voice played from the speaker, “Agreste there is no way you are her soulmate. I saw Marinette in my dreams, and she saw me in hers. Besides, I know your soulmate is Rossi. She was determined to make a scene today at lunch, and it tipped me off that you would try something like this. I suggest you listen well Agreste because this is the only time I will be kind enough to give you some advice. Leave Marinette alone. All you have done is hurt her and allow others to hurt her. You have stood by and watched as a petty ectoparasite burrowed into Marinette’s class and allowed her to spread her manipulative disease. Even if by chance you have somehow seen the light and exposed the truth tomorrow, which we both know you will not do because you are too much of a coward and care more about what other people think of you, it’s too late. You have blown all your chances, and Marinette is far too good for you, someone who will throw her to the wolves to avoid a minor inconvenience. So stay away Adrien, if you know what is best for you.” With that, Damian placed his phone in his pocket and looked back at Lila. 

“You know, I really ought to thank you, Rossi, you tipped me off to Agreste’s plan and allowed me to collect evidence to foil your own. I have that entire conversation recorded from the moment he approached my Lily, and I have already been recording this one too,” Lila’s eyes widened and she looked like she was about to faint, so Damian moved in for the kill, “Do you really think you’re the first one to try and pull a stunt like this? I am from one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the world, did you really think you would be the first to lie about my soulmate? How convenient, you happen to have a recording of Marinette supposedly accepting a confession from Adrien, and that you finally worked up the ‘courage’ to tell me the first moment I am alone and Marinette is not here to defend herself. I will give you some credit though, your editing skills could fool someone who is not looking for signs of manipulation, and could have definitely fooled our gullible classmates, which brings me to my next point,” Damian channeled his rage into a calm, icy glare, “You will cease tormenting my soulmate immediately. I am not afraid to expose your lies and underhanded tactics to our class, but let me give you some more incentive. Before, Marinette did not have the… legal resources to handle you properly, but I have my family’s lawyers on speed dial Rossi. Marinette is not my wife yet, but the same protections that cover the Wayne family extend to her. So if you know what is good for you, you will shut your mouth and never speak ill of my soulmate again, or my lawyers will see what other secrets you have been hiding.” Taking that as her queue to leave, Lila booked it toward the exit like the devil was on her heels. Operation: Lila Wayne was clearly dead in the water, and Damian would be sure it stayed that way. Once she was gone he took a deep breath and got his emotions in check, just in time to see the love of his life jogging towards him. “Sorry! I realized while I was in the bathroom that I left some stuff in the art room!” He smiled as the familiar feeling of warmth returned to him. It was wonderful, being in love.

Alya just got finished pacing around her room for what felt like the hundredth time. She stared at her computer, open to the video she had yet to publish, and the one that would be the final nail in the coffin for her career. She knew deep down she had to do this, it was the only way to atone for all she’d done. A chat popped up on the screen from Red:

Are you okay Ladyblogger? I know this is a tough decision, and I’m here for you. 

Alya smiled, over their many late-night conversations, Red had become a good friend and close confidant. She’d never meet up with him in person, that was online safety 101, but he’d helped her come to some difficult conclusions.

Yeah. Just trying to settle my nerves a bit. I know I have to do this, it’s the right thing to do, and lately, I’ve struggled with that.

You’ve got this. I think it will go over better than you think it will. 

With that, Alya closed her eyes, counted to ten, and pressed the upload button. A video titled after one of the worst things she’d ever said was now on the front page of the Ladyblog, a video she could never take back.

Marinette and Damian were in her room, munching on a variety of cookies and discussing their plan to end Hawkmoth’s reign of terror once and for all. Their brainstorming was interrupted when a notification popped up on Marinette’s phone, and a new video had been posted to the Ladyblog. The two shared a look and a shrug, sure, why not? It wouldn’t hurt to see what Lila was saying now, instead, they were met with a thumbnail of Alya sitting at her desk, and a video called ‘A Good Reporter Always Fact Checks’ was staring back at them. Damian pressed play, and the two sat back to see what this was about. 

“Hey everyone, it’s the Ladyblogger. This video is VERY different from what I normally post, and it needs to be because I have a lot I need to say. Many years ago, when I was just starting out I posted a video about a girl named Lila Rossi who claimed that she was Ladybug’s best friend. That video has been removed, but at the time I thought nothing of it. A girl who was my friend confronted me about it, and rightly, called me on the fact I had no evidence to prove anything Lila had said. Instead of fixing my mistake, I told her that a good reporter always fact-checks, but that wasn’t what I did. I am here today to apologize to her and to all of you for failing you. I neglected to do the right thing and gave a liar a platform to spread dangerous misinformation, but I also took that liar’s side and turned against the best friend I’ve ever had. 

I met Lila Rossi when I was thirteen, and I along with most of my classmates naively believed every word that came out of her mouth like it was gospel. She told us that because her mother was a diplomat, she had gotten to meet and work with all these famous people and that she could talk with them and help our careers. We were so excited, there was someone who could help us reach our dreams and she was doing it out of the kindness of her heart. Hindsight really is 20/20, and looking back there was no way any celebrity in their right mind would be that deeply involved working with a teenage girl to the extent Lila claimed. I can’t speak for my classmates but I know a part of me kept believing her because the fear of pissing her off and then it all turning out to be true kept me loyal to her. I was a coward and afraid that if I questioned her I would lose out, and that later turned into fearing what I’d done in her name if it turns out she was lying. This resulted in me interviewing her and publicizing her lies and misinformation, giving her a platform to fuel her own ego. To put it simply: I didn’t fact-check, and now everyone is paying the price. I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so, sorry. Taking her videos down doesn’t fix the damage she caused, and just saying I’m sorry won’t either. It sounds cringy but I promise to do better, but I don’t expect you all to stick with me now that I’ve proven not to be a reliable source. For accurate, truthful information, check out Aurore’s blog On the Spot. She’s a great reporter and has done a much better job than I did. I would also like to apologize to Ladybug, and not just for giving Lila Rossi a platform. I want to apologize for all those shitty things I did to try to figure out her identity and push LadyNoir even after she clearly expressed multiple times that she was uncomfortable. Most importantly, I want to apologize to my former friend and ex-boyfriend,” Marinette’s eyebrow raised a bit, “They caught on to Lila’s bullshit years before I did and tried to snap me out of it because they cared about me. But instead, I dug my heels in and participated in icing them out from the class, and stood by while they were harassed. I broke up with my boyfriend over this whole mess because I was appalled he’d take Lila’s “Bully’s” side when the truth was that they were the ones being bullied. All I can say to them is that I’m sorry and that they don’t have to forgive me. My teacher taught us that we always need to forgive and be the bigger person, but forgiveness isn’t something owed, it's earned. I’ve acknowledged my wrongdoings but I haven’t yet begun to work to make things right. So to that girl who was my best friend and one of the best people I’ve met: I should have trusted you. This isn’t your fault, it’s mine, and I am so sorry for what I’ve done.” Marinette sat and stared, stunned at Alya’s admission and watching in awe as the blogger exposed Lila’s lies to the world. Out of all the people to do it, she never thought it would be Alya, Lila’s self-proclaimed BFF. However, it also meant the last variable in her plan was taken care of, so walking over to the Miraculous box, she took what she needed and gave a variety of Miraculous to Damian. Standing on her toes she kissed his cheek and whispered, “Text Red Robin and Batman, tell them to meet us at the Eiffel Tower at Midnight. And if you would be so kind, please take these Miraculous to their most recent holders. I know I said I retired the old heroes, but we’ll need most of them again. I have one errand to run, and I’ll meet you there.” Damian nodded, and kissed Mari’s forehead, “Be careful my Lily.” and She hesitantly broke away from his embrace, transformed, and snuck out through her balcony. 

Alya was scrolling through the comments on her apology/Lila Rossi exposè video, it was a habit she never could break. Yes, there were quite a few harshly criticizing her, and a couple were straight-up name-calling, but the majority of people were happy she’d seen the light and were encouraging her not to give up on her dream. Her phone was blowing up with texts and calls from her classmates (and quite a few angry voicemails from Lila), but she couldn’t bring herself to care. A part of her felt at peace, even though she mourned the loss of her dream. A knock on her door snapped her out of her spiral, it was probably her mom coming to give her a pep talk and reassure her she did the right thing. But as she opened the door to her room, a familiar set of pigtails nearly made her jump out of her skin. “Hi… I came to talk,” Marinette said, and Alya moved back to let her in. This felt so right, but wrong. It called back to the many sleepovers they had, laughing about boys and reading superhero comics, but this time it was like two opposing soldiers laying down their arms in a tentative truce. Marinette decided to break the awkward silence, “So I saw the video. I have to admit, I certainly wasn’t expecting you to expose Lila like that.” Alya gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Neither did she. She’s been blowing up my phone with voicemails calling me every name she can think of and promising to ruin me. Well, she’s too late 'cause I already did that.” Marinette looked over at the comments, skimming through them. “Not necessarily. You apologized, admitted you were wrong, and have already begun working to undo some of her damage,” “But that doesn’t excuse what I did to you, to Nino, and your friends.” “No, it doesn’t, but you’ve owned up to it which is admirable. What snapped you out of it?” Alya smiled softly, “I made a friend who got me to stop and think… and also got me access to the school’s cameras. I don’t know how much of the video you watched but I played the video from the day you got expelled and it showed Lila framing you so Damocles and Bustier are in some hot water right now.” Marinette laughed, genuinely, it felt so strange for Alya to hear, “About time! I can’t help but wonder how many other people they messed up, besides us.” “Oh, a lot. I plan on exposing more, but that’s a problem to take out another day.” Marinette perked up a bit, “Speaking of taking out problems, I need your help with a big one.” Alya nodded eagerly, ready to make up for her years of inaction. “I asked Aurore to post this too, but I need you to post this article,” Marinette handed her a piece of paper to read, as she read, her brow furrowed a bit, “You’re not planning on taking on Hawkmoth, are you? Oh my god, you are. I don’t know what secret weapons stash the Waynes have but-” “Tikki spots on,” Standing there, in her room, was Ladybug, where her former best friend once stood. Before Alya could find her words Maribug, no, Ladynette, no, Ladybug cut her off, “I have a plan but I’m going to need Hawkmoth to panic thinking the Miraculi are slipping out of his grasp. We need this to bait him out.” Alya was stunned, and began to stammer, “Of course! I-” “You said you wanted to work to make things right, so if you’re willing,” Marinette held out an oh-so-familiar fox necklace, “I’ll need Rena Rouge’s help too.”

Chloe was sitting in her room with Sabrina, pretending to be invested in whatever show they were watching. In her mind she kept replaying that day she spotted Marinette and her group in her favorite cafe. The conversation she had… she had never expected to spill her heart out like that. Her mother always told her that she could never be vulnerable, she could never let others see any weakness, and yet there she sat pouring out her heart. Eventually, Sabrina had to leave, they did have school tomorrow, and the heiress was left alone. Alone was something familiar to Chloe, especially since her Icarus Moment, as she called it, was something she dreaded. She knew her parents would leave her out to dry in a heartbeat, she knew Zoe had her own life and that the two sisters would never be close, and she knew all her daddy’s employees would quit the moment they found something better. All she had left was Sabrina, so she clung on for dear life. She’d stopped treating her friend like a servant a long time ago, and even when she was at her worst, Sabrina stuck by her. Initially, it was out of fear, Sabrina knew that if she was going to swim with sharks it was better to be a remora. She had many chances to leave but stuck around time and time again and Chloe realized that maybe Sabrina really did care for her. Then there was the hot mess that was Adrien. He’d tried to give Chloe the “Her lies aren’t hurting anybody” speech a while ago, but the heiress wasn’t having it. This girl had humiliated her and needed to pay. She and Sabrina decided to gather information, and that was how they overheard Adrien making Marinette agree not to do anything and later Lila threatening Marinette. 

Chloe had always felt a little bad for the baker’s daughter, she was madly in love with Adrien but had no idea what he was really like, he could be incredibly manipulative if it meant avoiding an uncomfortable situation. She knew that Marinette wouldn’t trust her to outright accept help from the heiress, so she decided to back off entirely, a cease-fire of sorts. It helped that this coincided with her revelation that she was jealous of Marinette and her family. When Damian Wayne joined the class and declared himself Dupain-Cheng’s soulmate, Chloe thought, ‘About damn time.’ She’d seen how the former class president was treated and knew she most likely had another major stressor (Chloe theorized she was Ladybug’s woman in the chair, working behind the scenes), so she was a bit relieved to see the universe finally being kind to the ravenette. Unfortunately, it also marked the turn for Adrien to go off the deep end. He had confessed to Chloe before that he knew about Marinette’s crush, but that he was pretty sure his soulmate was Ladybug, and he’d also said that she’d be his second pick if that didn’t work out, and she certainly got an earful when he found out his soulmate was Lila. After she and Sabrina returned to school after their run-in with the Mari Squad, Adrien stopped her and asked her to help him win back Marinette. “Agreste,” She remembered snapping, not bothering with any nicknames, “You’ve lost your mind. Dupain-Cheng finally, FINALLY has something positive working out for her and you, one of the main sources of all her anguish think you can just waltz back in? You don’t really love her Adrien, you said it yourself she’d always be your second choice, and when your first choice fell through and your soulmate turned out to be Lila you sought out your consolation prize. Let me give you some advice: Life isn’t a fairytale, you can’t expect Marinette to wait for you forever or to completely throw away her life for you.” She doubted Adrien would get the message, but at least she tried. If she was naïve, Chloe would wonder if this marked the start of the end of their rivalry and the beginning of a new friendship, but the logical part of her knew that the damage she did was too great. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a sound coming from her balcony. She groaned and got up, thinking a pigeon had crashed into the door and was now stunned on the floor. But when she opened the door, she was shocked, there was Ladybug and Rena Rouge on her balcony. Ladybug smiled gently, and in almost a whisper asked, “Is Queen Bee available?”

The three women arrived at the Eiffel Tower just before midnight. Their arrival was acknowledged by a majority of the Miraculous team and Red Robin. Batman stood back, silently observing. Marinette could feel the nerves rising in her stomach. There was Batman, in person, and he was here to help her. Alya seemed to be going through a similar mental process, trying desperately to act professional and not fangirl, until Red Robin greeted her, “Well, well, well. Gotta say I wasn’t expecting to see you here Ladyblogger!” Alya’s jaw dropped, “Red??” Tim threw his head back and laughed, “Yep! I needed some information for our investigation, and figured I’d help you off the sinking ship in the process.” Before Alya could reply, Batman spoke, “Speaking of information, we were able to figure out That Hawkmoth and Mayura are Gabriel Agreste and his assistant Nathalie Sancoeur by hacking into various cameras to track the akumas, and from there we monitored his activity through his security system,” “For the record I’ve seen better security from Rogues like Crazy Quilt,” Red Robin interjected, Batman sighed and continued, “We have solid evidence that will hold up in court, so our main objective will be to catch him,” the Dark Knight turned to Ladybug, “So I’m assuming you called us here because you have the plan to do that.” Ladybug nodded and stepped forward to begin to tell the team her plan, “So as most of you know Hawkmoth and Mayura get their powers from the Kwamii within their Miraculous, that’s the same thing that gives us our powers,” She clarified for the Gotham heroes, “All we have to do is remove the Miraculous from them, and their transformation will be dropped and they’ll be powerless. However, the tricky part is actually getting them to come to the fight themselves. The nature of their Miraculous allows them to create minions to fight for them, hence the Akumas and Sentimonsters, so it’s very likely that they’ll try and distract us so they can escape. We have a mostly full Miraculous team, minus the mouse, rabbit, ox, and horse, but those can easily be given to other holders to fill that void,” The group felt a mix of emotions at the realization that some of their classmates had still yet to try and make amends for what they did, but knew that it was for the better until they could fully trust the former team members again. “So in order to get them out, we need to get them to their lowest, a point in which they’ll be so desperate that they’ll feel like they have no choice but to face us themselves, and we’ll do that by making them think that everything is slipping out of their grasp.”

Adrien had just gotten home from school, and turned on the TV in his room, flopping down on his bed. His day was AWFUL because the night before Alya had made a video on the Ladyblog exposing Lila completely out of the blue. Needless to say, the class was furious, and then their fury was directed at him when they found out he’d known the whole time and the things he did to keep Marinette from exposing Lila. He’d tried to argue that yeah he’d made a mistake, but no major damage had been done and that the small stuff could be fixed, so they should all just move on and be friends again. That had only added fuel to the fire, and all of this was before Marinette and Damian walked in. Adrien could practically feel his blood pressure rising at the thought of his rival’s name. He’d changed Marinette, encouraged her to stand up for herself, and in Adrien’s opinion was shaping her into a toxic person, but it seemed like he was the only one who could see it! More and more people gravitated to Mari like moths to a flame, and she was enjoying quite the popularity spike while he and Lila were seemingly deemed the school’s outcasts. If he still had his ring he would go to her as Chat Noir and demand that she stop the bullshit and fix everything, but he couldn’t even do that. Lila had contacted him, screaming that he’d ruined her plan to split up Dupain-Cheng and Wayne, and if he’d just followed her lead, he’d have what he wanted and she’d have what she wanted. For once he wished he listened to Lila, especially when she told him that Damian had a recording of his confrontation with Marinette and her rejection. His lawyers explained that there was nothing he could do,  the Wayne family was a legal juggernaut so even if they did have a valid case, they would simply be able to drag it out until the Agrestes had no choice but to drop it, the same thing Gabriel had done to countless people before. They drilled into his head that any move he made against Damian Wayne would bring the wrath of his lawyers and that for once, Adrien was in a position of weakness. 

He was brainstorming ideas on how to convince Marinette to leave her soulmate when the TV switched over to breaking news. “Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit will be meeting with members of the Justice League and Justice League Dark today in order to transfer over the Miraculous to the hero teams. According to statements from Ladybug posted to the Ladyblog and On the Spot, ‘Hawkmoth’s attacks have become far more brazen, and in order to assure the safety of Paris, I felt it was necessary to entrust the Miraculi, including the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, to people who can properly protect them,’” The screen cut to Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit handing over what was supposedly the Miracle Box to the superheroes Batman, Red Robin, Zatanna, and Doctor Fate, The box was almost in Zatanna’s hands when a loud boom caught the attention of the heroes, and as the camera turned to show what they saw, Adrien gasped. There were Hawkmoth and Mayura on the back of a massive multi-headed dragon Sentimonster, with an army of akumas and amoks floating around them, ready to turn at least half of Paris into their own army. A burst of fire was shot from one of the heads of the dragon, with Ladybug, Panthère de Nuit, Batman, and Red Robin easily dodging. Zatanna and Doctor Fate, along with the Miracle Box disappeared in the familiar smoke of an illusion from the Fox Miraculous breaking, in fact, the whole area seemed to disappear, and when the smoke settled, it showed the heroes and villains trapped in a large Shell-ter. It struck Adrien that this was never a poorly executed plan that Hawkmoth discovered, this was an ambush. Realistically, he knew he shouldn’t get involved, he didn’t have a Miraculous and would be putting himself in great danger. However, he was convinced that if he showed Ladybug that he could still be a hero, she would have to give him a MIraculous, and he could prove to Marinette that he was the best match for her. So he left for the battlefield.

Everything so far was going according to plan. Hawkmoth and Mayura had taken the bait and were now trapped in the Shell-ter with the Heroes. Rena Rouge was working overtime, creating illusion after illusion to confuse the devious duo. Carapace’s Shell-ter was holding strong, preventing anyone from entering and potentially getting akumatized. Vipereon was given the rabbit miraculous as well and was currently hopping between dimensions and using Second Chance to reset the fight and figure out the next moves they should make. King Monkey (with help from the Mouse Miraculous), Pigella, and Caprikid were using their respective powers to work with Batman and Red Robin to try and throw off Hawkmoth and Mayura’s concentration. Meanwhile, Ryuko, Panthère de Nuit, Purple Tigeress (also using the Ox Miraculous), and Rooster Bold were handling the massive dragon Sentimonster. Ladybug herself was along the outskirts of the battle, with Miss Hound and the “new” Bee hero Swarm. Ladybug was using her yo-yo to get her allies out of the way of various attacks, and waiting for the signal from Vipereon to use Lucky Charm. Swarm was waiting for an opportunity to use Venom to stun either Hawkmoth or Mayura, while Miss Hound was using the Horse Miraculous to teleport around to take shots at hitting the villains’ Miraculous. All of the heroes were connected with earpieces so they could communicate and monitor how each other was doing, and so far everything was going smoothly. 

For the first time in forever, Ladybug was beginning to feel hopeful that this nightmare would be over soon, when Miss Hound caught everyone’s attention, “Ummm… Why is Adrien trying to get in? Does he know that Hawkmoth is his dad?” Red Robin dodged an attack from an enraged Mayura, and quickly answered, “Not that we’re aware of. Although we did find out that he was Chat Noir, so maybe he thinks he can help,” Ladybug sighed and declared she would handle it, swinging off to the border. Sure enough, there was Adrien, banging on the Shell-ter, and he perked up as soon as he saw her. The only thing standing between the former partners was a magical green wall. “What are you doing here Adrien? It’s not safe!” Ladybug crossed her arms and glared, she did NOT have time for this! “I’m here to help My Lady! So tell Carapace to drop Shell-ter and let me in,” The blond boy shot her his best Chat Noir smile, while Ladybug simply raised an eyebrow, “I can’t do that Adrien. Lifting the shelter would allow thousands of akumas to escape and terrorize Paris. It would be too much of a risk and put too many people in danger. Besides you don’t have a way to fight, so you wouldn’t be any help.” She hoped that would put an end to it, but she was wrong, “But I can help! If you give me a Miraculous I can help you defeat Hawkmoth. Please Ladybug we’re partners, we’re soulmates! I should be there fighting with you!” Adrien was persistent she’d give him that, but there was no way she’d let him in, potentially ruining everything when they worked so hard. “No Adrien, I will not be giving you a Miraculous! Every single one of them is in use right now and to take one away from someone would put them in danger. Besides, you already blew your chance when you were Chat Noir! You proved that you were never in it to protect people, and you were barely a decent partner! There were several times Hawkmoth almost won because you were goofing off or just didn’t even show up. Finally, you aren’t my soulmate, you never were. Just go home, go home, and sit this one out,” That seemed to cause him to only get more upset, “This is because of the new cat isn’t it?! He’s convinced you I’m some awful person so you’d give him the Cat Miraculous instead of me! It’s mine, not his! Master Fu chose me! I am the real holder of the Cat Miraculous, so you have to do what’s right and give it back if you’re such a ‘real hero’!” Ladybug sighed, “And Plagg, the Kwamii of the Cat Miraculous took it away from you because he felt you were unworthy to wield it. Why would I give it back to you then? Leave Adrien.” With that, she turned away, ready to rejoin the battle, but stopped dead in her tracks, “I should have known all along Ladybug, you aren’t a real hero. You’re just a narcissistic, pathetic, lonely girl pretending to be this great, benevolent hero because, in your real life, nobody loves you. Nobody wants you. I used to think I was your soulmate, and it’s clear I’m not because there’s no way such a vile person like you could ever have one. This is the only way you can get attention, and you strung me along in the process! If anything, you’re just as bad as Hawkmoth!” Adrien spat, before storming off. Ladybug took a deep breath, fighting back tears. It hurt to have someone she cared about, and used to love say such vile things about her, but now was not the time to lose focus, she had a battle to win. 

Diving back into the fray, she quickly tugged Caprikid out of the way as Hawkmoth tried to strike him. “You good,” He asked as the two regained their footing on a building, “You left your earpiece on so we kinda heard all of that. Panthère de Nuit looked ready to kill him at one point, and the rest of us would back him up if you want.” Ladybug chuckled a bit, “Thanks but the Miraculous Team is adopting the Bat’s no-killing rule. I’ll be okay, no, I’ll be amazing once we end this!” “Then I’m happy to inform you that it’s time for Lucky Charm,” Vipereon chimed in, “Swarm! Miss Hound! Take the shot! Lucky Charm!” Panthère de Nuit Cataclysmed the Sentimonster, causing cracks to form, destabilizing Hawkmoth and Mayura, with some help, the Amokized pendant was caught and quickly broken. Swarm hit Mayura with Venom, and her Miraculous was taken with Miss Hound’s fetch, leaving a defeated Nathalie, and Hawkmoth standing alone. Ladybug would have to move quickly so Hawkmoth couldn’t Akumatize Nathalie, and looked down at the Lucky Charm in her hand: A lily. Looking around, she quickly developed a plan, Grabbing a few supplies, she made her way to the tallest point within the Shell-ter, and set a trap for the Akumas. Sure enough, the allure of a flower overpowered Hawkmoth’s control over the butterflies, and as a result, they left the villain powerless. The heroes were quick to surround Hawkmoth, and with no Akuma and nowhere to ruin, it looked like his reign of terror was over. “You’re done Hawkmoth, you lost,” Ladybug declared as she jumped down to meet the villain. His cane, which contained a small blade, was ripped out of his hands by Batman, who did not want to risk the former villain attempting to stab Ladybug out of desperation. Seeing as he had no way out, all Hawkmoth could do was sigh in defeat and remove his Miraculous. Once it was securely in Ladybug’s hand, Carapace let the shelter down, and one Miraculous Ladybug later, the destruction of the battle seemed like a distant memory. 

It was like waking up from a dream. For a moment, no one said anything, what was left to be said? News helicopters were now flying overhead, as people began to gather around. A few stunned police officers made their way to the front of the crowd to arrest Gabriel and Nathalie, and as they were marched away the crowd erupted in a roar of jubilation. The Miraculous heroes were quick to leave the scene, and not a moment too soon, since their transformations dropped shortly after they landed on a distant roof. As the rest of her team celebrated, Marinette turned to look at the Eiffel Tower, where it all started five years ago. It didn’t feel real, Marinette looked down at the celebrating crowd below,  she was happy, but she also felt lost in a way. Being Ladybug had been such a huge part of her life, and she hadn’t really planned what she’d do once Hawkmoth was defeated. She was snapped out of her thoughts when a familiar arm wrapped around her waist, “Hey,” Damian murmured. She could feel a smile growing on her face, “Are you doing okay my Lily? I thought you would’ve been celebrating as well,” Marinette leaned into his side, “I feel like I won the lottery… but I’m not sure where to go from here. I’ve been Ladybug for a good chunk of my life, all the plans I made revolved around being Ladybug and responding to Akumas. Now I don’t really know what to do with myself,” “Come to Gotham,” Tim shouted at the pair, effectively ruining the moment. Damian turned, shooting Tim a glare over his shoulder. “He’s not wrong you know,” Batman started, getting everyone’s attention, “You’ve proven yourself to be incredibly capable, and now that the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous are back in your possession, the threat they pose has been taken care of. We would be honored to have you join us and the rest of the Gotham Knights.” Marinette was stunned, she stammered over her words trying to piece together a sentence, “I, I don’t know what to say-” “How about yes?” Damian asked as he leaned in for a kiss. “Alright then. yes. “ Marinette responded as her eyes fluttered closed. Before their lips could meet, the moment was ruined, “Get a room!” Tim called, resulting in a groan from the couple, and laughter from their friends. 

Marinette took one last look around her bare room, almost everything was gone except for her bed and a change of clothes. This was her last night in Paris for a while, maybe forever unless she came back to visit. In the month since Hawkmoth’s defeat, all of Paris had been in a state of constant celebration, and tonight there was supposed to be the biggest party of all: to wish Ladybug good luck and farewell as she joined the Batfam and by extension the Justice League. She would be the only hero moving up to the big leagues, with the rest of the Miraculous holders involved in the final battle releasing a statement that they would be permanently retired until further notice. They cited that it would be too dangerous to have so many Miraculous out and active on a permanent basis, potentially giving supervillains multiple targets to go after, and the potential danger each Miraculous could pose if they were to fall into the wrong hands. They wished Ladybug well and stated that they’d always be ready if she needed them again. Panthère de Nuit was publicly revealed to be Robin, the vigilante from Gotham, along with a slightly watered-down version of why the Bats were in Paris in the first place. No one really cared about the schematics, Hawkmoth was gone, and people could live their normal lives again. Marinette plopped down on her bed, sighing as she watched the Kwamii fly about the room. There really was nothing left for her in Paris, Hawkmoth and Mayura were gone, the rest of her class finally apologized, Lila was exposed and she’d just graduated high school alongside her soulmate. All she had to do now was go to college in Gotham, build her fashion empire, and help defend the world whenever she was needed. She was excited, who wouldn’t be? That excitement was dampened by a sense of melancholy, Paris was her home and she had so many good memories here, some she could remember vividly, like her soulmate dreams. “Hey Tikki?” The little Kwamii paused, floating over to her champion, “Now that I’ve met Damian, am I going to stop having soulmate dreams? I mean I’ve never had them consistently before… but it would be weird for them to suddenly stop right?” Tikki sat for a moment in Marinette’s hand, pondering her chosen’s question. “Well, it depends. Soulmate dreams work differently for different people, but you primarily seem to get them when you’re in a situation relating to hope. When you’re either full of hope or desperately need it, that’s when your dreams seem to come to you. They act like a promise, a promise that all will be well. So I imagine that you may occasionally have one when you need it most or when you feel particularly hopeful. Anyways, I hope you’re ready, it’s almost time for the party to start!” Tikki cheered as the Kwamii surrounded the two. 

Damian sat atop the Eiffel Tower as Panthère de Nuit, he watched Ladybug (It’s Lady Miracle now, he reminded himself) as she made her way across the rooftops to him. She was followed by cheering from the crowd of people, who all seemed to surge forward towards the celebration. Occasionally she would stop to pull a few people out of the crowd who looked like they were having trouble, but nonetheless, she was making good progress. She landed next to him gracefully, and he stood to meet her. “Hello my Lily,” he whispered as he pulled her into an embrace. “How was your last day in Paris?” She hummed contentedly as she kissed him, pausing a moment to snuggle closer. “It was good. I finally got apologies from the rest of the class, and anyone else who believed Lila. I only had to deal with Adrien for a few minutes, he tried to convince me to stay in Paris and go to college with him instead of leaving for Gotham. Papa showed him the door. And I also finished up the last of my packing! I’ve never seen the room so empty, it’s kinda scary.” Damian sighed, It seemed like Adrien would always be a pain in their sides, he couldn’t do much, but he seemed determined to be a constant presence in their lives. The two decided they wouldn’t focus on it now, they had a celebration to attend to. 

The heroes wove their way through the crowds, talking to people, and occasionally stopping at vendors to purchase some snacks or merch. Eventually, the two made their way to where the old Ladybug and Chat Noir statue stood. There were plans to take it down and replace it. “It should just be a statue of Ladybug, I only came to help defeat Hawkmoth, but she has been fighting him the whole time,” Panthère de Nuit explained to the mayor and various sculptors and architects that were discussing it. Ladybug was munching on a chocolate croissant from her parents’ booth, when someone spoke, “So this is it huh? You won and now you’re just packing up and leaving?” She turned to see Lila standing there, arms crossed and looking a mix between furious and annoyed. ‘Annoyed Hawkmoth didn’t drag me down with him,’ Marinette thought, swallowing the bite of croissant. “Hello, Lila. Yes, I got invited to join the Justice League, so I’ll be spending a few years in Gotham training with Batman. How about you? Got any plans?” It was a bit of an antagonistic question. Since Gabriel Agreste was exposed, the brand Gabriel had been in a perpetual death spiral. Adrien, with the help of the board of directors and some lawyers, was able to stabilize the company, but it was going through a serious rebrand and may have to downsize. So Lila’s future as a model was shaky at best. Lila however, did not show any uncertainty, “Oh I’m probably going to continue modeling, after I finish college that is. Who knows, maybe I’ll leave that behind and branch into acting. Now,” her gaze hardened, “Let’s drop the pleasantries shall we? Hawkmoth is gone, so I expect I won’t be having any more trouble with you-” “Unless you decide to work with a terrorist again. The only reason you haven’t been arrested is because there isn’t enough evidence Lila.” “And it's going to stay that way. You have no reason to go snooping around my life anymore, and besides,” Lila shot her a smirk, “I’m sure the Justice League wouldn’t like it if it got out that their newest member was stalking an innocent model, accusing her of outlandish crimes.” Ladybug laughed, “Considering some recent revelations about you I don’t think I’ll have a problem convincing them you’re anything but trustworthy. So stay out of trouble, because you’ll certainly end up getting in over your head, and someday no one will be around to bail you out.” Lila made a sound similar to an outraged chicken, and placing a hand over her heart she cried, “Is that a threat?” an obvious attempt to make a scene. Ladybug simply shrugged, “Nope. It’s a warning. Do with it what you will,” and with that, she walked over to Panthère de Nuit, and the two swung back up to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks. The show was amazing, the symbols of all the Parisian heroes lit up the sky, and Marinette contentedly sighed as she leaned into Damian’s side. Life was good. After a couple of minutes, the grand finale began, with the final fireworks spelling out: Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit.