#between this and him growling a boys who flirt with her he's invested

[littlefankingdom]

Bruce in Batgirl (2000) be like: I bring the "battle" in custody battle. *physically fights David Cain everytime he sees him over who keeps Cassandra*

[svchengss]

king of hearts | d.sc

PAIRING. dong sicheng x reader

GENRE. high school!au, fluff, slight angst, kind of e2l

WARNINGS. none (lmk if i missed any!)

WORD COUNT. 6.7k

SUMMARY. sicheng’s subtle flirts are not working effectively but it only motivates him to try and woo you more. the devil sure works hard but dong sicheng works harder.

PLAYLIST. king of hearts

TAGLIST. @floraljae @clovdless @mashiihearts @ndr1271 @kunrengui (shoutout to mashi for being a major help in the process of writing this <3)

// just to let you guys know, reblogs and feedbacks are appreciated !! thank you for reading :D

music was blaring through the multiple loudspeakers scattered around the school grounds, booths of various interests that were set-up by the clubs being swarmed by visitors and ecstatic oohs and aahs from the ones playing games can be heard intermittently. the annual school festival of redlands high, an event that is looked forward to by every single student there. or maybe not, you’re quite unsure of the self-made data.

you immediately made a beeline to the dance club booth which is managed by yangyang, the president also holding the title of your best friend. a cartoonish grin crept up on his face when he spots you walking towards him.

“so, what do you think? looks legit, huh?” he crossed his arms together, observing the design of the booth with a proud smile. the set-up is definitely eye-catching, not much decorations going on, adding to the simplicity of the white theme with gold touch-ups. you browsed through the plastered posters on the board, inviting people to sign up for their upcoming audition. looking up to the signboard hanging outside, you showed a thumbs up towards him, muttering a quick ‘perfect’.

“so what exactly is your booth doing? there’s not much… activity going on?” you scratched the non-existent itch on your left eyebrow. the boy in front of you gave you an eye roll before explaining that there will be mini dance games - or just dance as he worded. an amused sound left your lips as you bent down, dropping your signature in the guestbook on the wooden table.

“are you coming to the stage shows tonight? i heard there’s a new band performing,” your ears perked up instinctively upon hearing the words. after your sister graduated high school, nobody paid any attention to keep the band going. the zikas, a trio that made the music club strive back then. either the newer batches were too lazy to make an effort or too scared if they weren’t up to the already high standards of the school.

“i’m going if you’re going,” you simply stated, which made yangyang flash you the same grin from before. you said your simple goodbyes when people started lining up to try the just dance game at his booth. after he reminded you to wait for him by the statue, you went off to check out the food sales, eager to fill your growling stomach since this morning.

you can do this, sicheng. you can do this.

he made sure to double check the tuning of his guitar for one last time before joining the rest of his bandmates on the stage. his tall and slim physique surely left an impact, seeing that some of the audience suddenly became more invested in the performance compared to the others. he’s wearing some band’s shirt - probably green day since it’s quite similar to your sister’s posters in her room, black leather jacket and his black hair middle parted. not to miss the silver pendant necklace on his neck, sparkling under the spotlight.

the moment he struck the pick through the strings of his electric guitar, the drummer and bassist followed after, producing a melody that is pleasing to your ears. he held the microphone closer to his mouth, singing the lyrics as you bobbed your head up and down to the covers they sang - american idiot and helena are the ones you recognized since you’ve heard the songs so often. yangyang on the other hand kept on sipping the chocolate milkshake in his hand, vibing with the music as well.

the next song was a sentimental one which you assumed is a self-composed one, since you’ve never heard this song before. before you know it, the performance is over and the audience have started packing up their belongings to hang out somewhere else or go home.

“good job everyone, we did well,” yuta, who played the bass earlier, high-fived the rest of the band with a sly grin on his face. guanheng chugged the mineral water down his throat before stashing his drumsticks into the bag while sicheng was lost in his thoughts. he doesn’t know why but you stood out from the crowd, only able to see you just now. he wouldn’t say it’s a crush, not knowing anything about you but it definitely made him feel something. a trigger in his heart, not knowing where it leads to. but what he does know is that you caught his attention.

“and you know what he said? i’ll come back crawling to him just like his other exes. what the heck is even that?” you took out the binders from your locker while listening to ningning rant about her love life. since you haven’t had any relationships before, you’re not really a professional in this aspect of life so you just kept your mouth shut to avoid giving useless advice.

“that sounds so rude, he’s such a jerk,” you commented, taking the first bite of your sandwich afterwards. the tea-spilling session eventually came to an end when she reached her class first and you kept walking to mrs. walker’s, english being your first period. nothing exciting really happened in that class except someone got their phone confiscated for texting in class - just the usual things. classes later, it’s finally recess when you met up with ningning and yangyang in the cafeteria.

“first of all, cut him off. block him. everywhere,” yangyang emphasized the last word, knowing how much of an idiot the guy can be. you just scrolled through your socials, double tapping on certain posts that caught your eye. owning a cat looks fun, you made a mental note to bring the idea to your parents later. the bell rang which signals that classes are starting back soon and the same cycle of events continues before it’s time to go home.

you observed yangyang’s sharp moves, following to the beat of the song echoing in the dance room. it’s currently half past seven and he’s still here, beads of sweat running through his hair. and why would he stay in school so late, you may ask? obviously, he’s here for a reason and it being an upcoming dance tournament is the most accurate one. while you’re here, sitting on the floor, back against the mirror and legs straightened out with your phone in your hand. it amazes you how the goofy boy transforms 360°, being all serious when he’s in his element.

“let’s go home, i’m tired already,” he panted out breathlessly, using a cloth nearby to wipe his sweaty forehead. you wait for him by the glass door as he packs up his things when the lights in the music studio also switched off. you wondered it must be the band guys so you paid no attention whatsoever. of course, your predictions were right when you saw two lads stepping out.

since yangyang is taking too much time tidying up the dance studio and the music studio seems unoccupied, you decided to check it out for a bit. it’s been a long time since you last entered the room, always accompanying your sister for her extra practice when you were younger. not much has changed, except some additions of instruments can be seen. not seeing anything in the dark condition as the room is only illuminated by the faint lights from the hallway, you pushed the switches down only to be met by a gasp.

“what are you doing here?” the tall boy approached you, a stern look visible on his fine features. your eyes scrambled around the room in an attempt to find any logical excuses for your ‘break-in’ but to no avail. your tongue was dry, not a sound escaping your throat when you heard yangyang’s voice, signalling your cue to exit the room and escape from the tension building between you and the boy. he just shook his head, the black hair bouncing left to right as he finally caught on.

it’s you, you’re the girl from the crowd. and your name is y/n.

the walk home was filled with one-sided conversations where yangyang kept on babbling about how he should improve the choreography he created earlier while you only added small comments. your mind is filled with embarrassment, too much that you feel slightly mad at yourself. why didn’t you say anything earlier? now, you look like a complete idiot with communication issues in front of that boy.

“yeah, and remember that pasta? we should definitely try it again, it’s like, so good,” yangyang said, earning a nod from you when you saw the boy from last night’s music studio tragedy approaching your table. you tried to look away but it was too late.

“dude, just wanna let you know that mr. park is seeing us after school,” your grip on your fork loosens up when you realized he wasn’t talking to you. maybe he forgot about the incident? you really hope so.

“yeah, totally. thanks sicheng,” yangyang playfully winked at the latter, earning a disgusted look from him who started walking away. he glanced back at you with a smug smile on his plump lips, making you freeze up again.

he didn’t.

“are you okay, y/n? feeling sick?” ningning furrowed her eyebrows upon seeing your sudden change of demeanor. you shrugged her off and continued to consume the macaroni placed on the tray in front of you, mentally cursing at yourself for the poor life choice you’d made. well, at least you know that his name is sicheng, right?

oh boy, you’re in for a long ride.

you can’t wait to go home and snuggle under the covers, today has been a long and tiring one for you. you had three pop quizzes as if all the three teachers intended so, your class had to run multiple laps during p.e. and so on. you’re already planning your routine in your head, trudging your way to the lockers when you saw him leaning against yours, scrolling down his phone.

“crap,” you muttered under your breath.

there it is, the smirk on his face returns when he spots your figure approaching. oh, how you wish you could wipe it off his face. he moved a couple steps backwards to give you some space to arrange your things before locking it, turning your head towards him.

“i’m sorry, why are you here again? and if it’s because of last night, then i’m sorry if it bothered you or anything,” you huffed out.

“what? i didn’t really care, it’s not like you were stealing anything, right?” he squinted his eyes, eyeing you up and down suspiciously, laughing shortly after seeing you get riled up.

“damn, you really need to learn how to take a joke. y/n, right? i’m sicheng, nice to meet you.”

“why exactly are we having this meet-and-greet or whatever this introduction is?” you crossed your arms, waiting for his response. but he didn’t, immediately turning on his heels and making his way towards the stairs, probably going to the studio.

“jerk,” you cursed under your breath, walking out the school building.

“what? you got accepted? seriously?” ningning’s voice echoed against the cafeteria walls, earning surprised and annoyed glances from other students who were either satisfying their grumbling stomach or simply having conversations. yangyang softly nudged her elbows using his, asking her to lower her voice down before telling you to go on. you were quite surprised as well, the acceptance email was not what you expected to receive. when you filled in the application form, it was just a mere shoot-your-shot agenda to see if you’d make the cut. although this is just a camp, you’re still unsure of what lies ahead.

“yeah, it starts next week. but i’m so nervous though,” you sipped the iced coffee in your hands. you’ve only watched videos of people producing their own music from scratch which you start to take an interest in. however, you’ve never done it hands-on before, only having basic music theory knowledge thanks to the piano lessons your parents signed you up for when you were young.

“you’ll do awesome, i promise,” yangyang gave you a reassuring smile, making you release some tension from the overthinking you’ve had since you received the email last night.

“thanks yang.”

now, here you are on the first day of attending the internship camp. you stood in front of the tall mirror hanging on the wall, straightening your cardigan and applying some makeup onto your face as touch-ups. it’s currently 7:40 in the morning, the earliest time you’ve ever woken up on a saturday. your siblings are still swallowed in their states of sleep. you double-checked the contents in your tote bag, making sure that no important things are left behind. you totally don’t intend on leaving a bad first impression on your first day.

after bidding a swift goodbye to your parents who just woke up, you drove your mother’s old honda to the completely new destination - mbyte studios. the tall building with light grey and blue painted walls definitely made it stand out, a futuristic look catching the eyes of the passersby. taking a deep breath, you entered the main lobby before being escorted to a room on the second floor. you assume it’s a waiting room for all participants of the camp, scanning that majority of the occupiers might be college students. you thanked god that the camp takes place on weekends so your high school senior life won’t be interrupted that much.

DAY 1

your eyes widened when you spot sicheng with the same white and blue tag you’re wearing, seated on the sofa. what the hell is he doing here? you avoided acknowledging his presence, trying to make yourself as unnoticed as possible heading over to occupy the seat farthest from his. after quite some time staring at the paintings hanging on the wall, a middle-aged lady with a petite figure entered the room, making you sit up straight.

“welcome to mbyte studios! i’m the assistant director, mrs. hwang. first and foremost, congratulations on being accepted. it’ a pleasure to witness the start of your musical journey embarking here. i believe that we should know each other first?” she gestured for any volunteers. sicheng stood up from his seat, charisma evident in his stance which left quite an impression on the others. the strong confidence in the way he speaks made the woman smile amusingly.

some names later, it was your turn to introduce yourself. the moment you stood up, he immediately recognized you and you were sure you caught him making some faces. the ice-breaking session went well thankfully, mrs. hwang elaborating on the social rules and the itinerary throughout the whole six days. one that caught your attention was assisting the producers on making a track from scratch, just like you had dreamed of.

when it was finally time for lunch break, you shot up from your seat to get away from sicheng as fast as possible but to your dismay, he beat you to it, jogging up towards your standing position.

“i didn’t know you were into music, what’s the sudden occasion?”

“it’s none of your business actually,” you sneered back, obviously not favouring his attention.

“woah, relax. you’ve got quite a temper, don’t you? by the way, we’re having lunch together,” he placed his phone onto a nearby table, pulling a chair for you.

“just eat on your own, i don’t have the appetite,” you flash a sarcastic grin before disappearing into the women’s restroom. he just laughed bitterly at your response before walking towards the food counter, joining his newly made friend, jaehyun. being the same age, they’re easy to click.

DAY 2

“today, we’ll be focusing on the recording process. you’ll be assigned into groups that will have a tour of the whole department. our staff will facilitate each group,” the manager said loud and clear. you remembered his name was johnny. the tattoo on his shoulder really stands out, considering the fact that he’s always wearing a sleeveless shirt.

but what are the odds when your groupmate is none other than the guy himself, sicheng. it’s like the universe truly resented you for having to be associated with him at any event. your group was escorted to the farthest recording studio on the floor. to say that this was a great experience is truly an understatement, making you observe the gears used in astonishment. you hate to admit it but sicheng has a handful of knowledge on this particular topic, always correctly answering the questions directed by the staff. maybe it wasn’t quite surprising upon knowing that his career choice is a singer, not that you care anyways.

again, nothing out of the ordinary happened today, except that you and sicheng had lunch on the same table. of course, it’s not that you accepted his offer but he welcomed himself to the spot. being the quickly favoured participant among the rest, obviously they welcomed him with open hands. he placed himself among the two guys sitting at the right corner, eyeing you whose eyes are still not leaving the article you were skimming through. with the last spoon of food shoved into your mouth, you quietly excused yourself from the group. sicheng just watched your movements in subtle signs of annoyance.

with the final task of doing microphone check-ups, day two of the camp ended with a breeze. you can’t wait to go home, get into a warm bath and spend the night watching netflix. it was a tiring one indeed but you’re not one to complain. pushing the car keys into the ignition slot, the sound of the engine starting is still nowhere to be heard even after a couple of retries. you rested your forehead onto the steering wheel, cursing silently in your head, having to get a taxi and call your mother about this incident. you’re sure to be receiving a handful from her, not to mention her soft but stingful remarks.

“hey, are you okay?” a deep voice interrupts your stressful state of mind. looking up, it’s sicheng with a concerned look on display. you hesitantly shared your problem, making him press his lips together probably thinking of a solution.

“you know, i don’t really know how to fix your broken engine or whatever but i know someone who can. let me just ring him for a sec. and you’re coming home with me.”

and that’s how you ended up in the front passenger seat, sicheng steering with one hand and the other rested on the windowsill. the faint music from the radio can be heard, probably a song by jon vinyl. you’d steal quick glances to see his other hand dancing in the air, enjoying the rhythm of the song playing. besides that, it was silent as both of you are preoccupied with your own things - sicheng on the road while you on your phone. he tried to make small talk but you would say it’s unrequited, only replying with short sentences. after a good ten minutes drive, the sight of your brown painted gate becomes a sign for him to stop the moving car.

“your car is safe with my friend so you shouldn’t worry about it or anything. also, what’s your number? it’ll be easier for, you know the car business of course,” he reached over to unbuckle your seatbelt, handing over his phone to you after. the close proximity made your breath hitch, the dewy scent of his perfume diffusing into your nose. not too strong, he has a good taste.

“thanks and um, i’ll buy you a drink later. just for today.”

“are you asking me on a date?” there it is, the significant tug on the side of his lips making its presence once again.

“stop being so narcissistic and move along please,” you rolled your eyes before giving him a small wave, stepping into your property. sicheng stared at the numerals on his phone screen, a small, proud grin etched on before driving off the lane.

“how was the camp? met any cute boys?” the first thing you hear in the hue of the blue monday morning is ningning’s chirpy voice. sometimes you wonder how she gets all boosted up at this hour of the day. yangyang is the polar opposite, his appearance as if he just got out of bed, the hood of his denim jacket resting on top of his auburn hair.

“it was good and no, no cute boys. but sicheng was there,” you replied nonchalantly, a mischievous grin crept onto her lips. you can almost predict the words that are going to spill out of her mouth.

“what’s up with her?” yangyang yawned, his eyes lazily gaze at you. you just lifted your shoulders, having no idea whatsoever. a ping sound was heard from your phone, notifying that a new message is received.

unknown: hey sicheng here

unknown: ur car may be ready tmr. want me to drive u there?

listening to your heart, you were about to type ‘no’ but remembering the fact that your parents will be busy the whole day tomorrow and yangyang is coming home late once again, you have no choice but to accept the lad’s help.

now you’re back in his vehicle, the same spot as before. you’ve only noticed now that a musical note charm is hung on the rearview mirror, a semiquaver to be exact. you’d say that it looks authentic, gold specks shining when sun rays hit the surface. observing the interior of his car, there are quite a number of small decorations.

“can we get coffee first? my treat for the car and the ride,” you suggested, looking at him whose eyes are focused onto the road. the traffic is quite pleasing today, nobody honking mindlessly at the other drivers and flipping each other off with the famous middle finger gesture. his side profile does look charming, some type of earrings dangling from his ears. if you’re going to be honest, his appearance does seem to be your type. you’re not one to say about his persona though, always managing to bother you at any time of the day.

“sure, wanna go to the new cafe? i heard it’s good,”. you just nodded while he skillfully steered the steering wheel, moving the car to the new destination. you turned your eyes to look outside from the car window, seeing the one hundred and one manners of the citizens. a mother struggling to take her child who’s having a tantrum out of the toy shop, a young couple having their romantic meal in the french cafe. the motion of the car stopping awakened you who was being distracted by your clouded mind.

from the moment you stepped into the place, the interior caught your attention. the light brown painted walls with black furniture complementing each other perfectly, making a retro-like appearance. the funky song playing faintly in the background surely is a mood-setter, just how you like it. even the barista serving you is being friendly, making a couple of small talk in the midst of operating the machines.

you would say that it was a pleasureful day for you. the exquisite taste of latte washing down your dry throat, getting your car back without too much babbling from your dear mother and the gap between you and sicheng closing in for a little.

the last sentence baffled you for a second.

DAY 3

sicheng’s eyes shot open from the short slumber he was trying to get - failing miserably even, upon spotting you enter through the door. he pulled the chair beside him in hopes for you to get his message and take the seat. a frown made its way onto his face when you just waved at him, making your way to another spot a few chairs to the front. he scoffed, head tilting slightly before approaching you instead. you shot him a puzzled look, roughly translating to ask him what he’s doing here.

“i just want to be close to you. now focus,” he redirected his eyes onto the muscular man who just entered the room. he’s a songwriter - the best one in this company to be exact. you were focused on each point he explained, making small notes on your laptop. it’s not always that you’ll get a chance to be guided by a four-time award winning songwriter, might as well gain some benefits from it.

“another tip i have is to use all types of chords. remember, do not stick to the same ones, you’ll lack creativity. for instance, use major, minor, dominant, diminished, and augmented. i promise you, more ideas will be flowing and better quality songs will be produced. you got me?” the questioned, earning buzzing sounds of positive responses from the hall.

DAY 4

another day of group work, you’re given the task to create a melody according to the themes given - for your group, it’s love. looking at sicheng, he’s already on his electric guitar, strumming mindlessly to find the perfect note to start on. the rest of you are now juicing out some thoughts on this particular sense of human nature.

“love gives us thrill, the feeling of excitement, the feeling when you’re uncertain about something but when you have that special someone with you, you’re sure to wing it all,” jaehyun suggests, earning nods of approval from the rest of your groupmates.

“you’re a pro at this, mr. romantic,” you teased him, earning a soft chuckle. a dimpled smile is etched onto his features, rosy cheeks and his eye smile making you fawn. prince-like visual and a sense of humour? a two in one package, totally.

“not really. i guess i’m a sucker for romance movies,” he rubbed the back of his neck. your small conversation came to a halt when you heard a crooked, loud sound coming from the rough strum on the guitar strings. you turned around to see sicheng gazing directly towards the both of you, a sharp one even. jaehyun just blinked his eyes before catching onto the situation unfolding in front of him while you’re still being completely oblivious. you tilted your head in confusion, unsure of what’s gotten into him.

it’s the day that yangyang has been looking forward to since the past few weeks, his dance tournament. you’re seated with ningning on the bleachers, music from the loudspeakers echoing through the walls. with the cheers of the bewatchers whenever someone captivated them with a trick or dance move, usually the risky ones, it truly is a loud atmosphere.

“now, welcoming contestant number 43 to take the stage,” the host announced, you and ningning clapped with all your might, shouting words of encouragement as well. yangyang took a deep breath before lifting his right hand up, cueing for the music to start playing. just then, there’s the sound of someone plopping down on the hard surface next to you - sicheng. he’s looking casual today, a light yellow hoodie replacing his usual dark clothings.

“what are you doing here?” you shout whispered while ningning raised her eyebrows at you.

“didn’t yangyang tell you? i’m here to watch him dance,” he countered your question before darting his eyes back to the boy who’s busy popping on the dance floor, tinashe’s song playing in the background. he ended his routine with a moonwalk, making his way to the end of the stage. you’re confident that he’s going to win the competition, looking at how precise and clean his moves were. all the late night practices he had eventually paid off when he’s announced as the second placer. nonetheless, he’s still proud of himself, not to mention you and ningning who have been with him throughout his whole journey.

“you did well,” sicheng welcomed him with a fist bump which he reciprocated back. you didn’t know that they were this good of friends.

“i’m starving,” he rubbed his hand onto his stomach, making you remember that your stomach has been rumbling since you only ate a cereal bar that morning. you were about to catch up to yangyang and ningning who were walking fast ahead when you felt a tug on your shirt, looking down to see sicheng crouching down to tie your loose shoelaces.

“you might fall,” he placed his hands into the pockets of his hoodies, waiting for you to come along.

“um, thanks,” you muttered out before catching the glances given by your friends, later teasing you about the scene.

roars of students can be heard coherently, filling the basketball court. the basketball captain, a tall one with black charcoal hair is shooting a three-pointer. the players are then called over to their respective sides for whatever strategy their coaches will be implementing in the third-quarter. the home team is currently leading by five points, knowing that the players wearing the significant red and black jersey have been training their asses off for a while now.

but why exactly did you come to the game tonight? besides from the main event happening in the moment, the other reason is now standing in his position, strumming his electric guitar producing a funky sound that vibrates through the walls - a cue for the start of another buzzing stage. sicheng has been bugging you about watching him perform tonight and after quite some time evaluating, why not? when he finally caught you among the crowd, he flashed you a flirtatious wink. right before the band bowed as gratitude to the audience, he gave you a gesture to wait for him at the back of the gym.

“you came! but seriously, thank you,” he rested the sparkly white guitar against the wall, enveloping you into a hug. this is new, you tried to hide the flustered state of yours as you reciprocated his movement. from the corner of your eyes, you can see a black-haired guy approaching the two of you, followed by one with long, white hair and a bandana nicely keeping the fluffy strands in tact.

“ooh, who’s this?” the first one wiggled his eyebrows, later introducing himself as guanheng, the latter named yuta. to your surprise, the bond between you and them are quick to form with guanheng piloting the conversation. not to mention his subtle jokes making you giggle at times.

“well y/n, your little boyfriend here is getting jealous so we’ll excuse ourselves for now. see you whenever,” guanheng banging his drumsticks into the air while yuta gave you a quick wave before disappearing into the store room of the gymnasium. the nickname they gave sicheng surely made you a bit shy.

boyfriend?

DAY 5

you’re seated in front of the computer screen, your chin resting on the palm of your hands and the tabs of different colours left untouched. you redirected your gaze onto the projector screen, the words ‘arrange, mix, edit and master like a pro’ on it. a long sigh leaving your lips, you try to remember what the producer said earlier.

don’t make the song sound too repetitive

a good buildup promises a good melody

you can have a certain instrument playing only on one part for cinematic impact

DAY 6

“i’m hyo and you’re,” she moved the wheels of her chair to the back a bit to take another look at the clipboard resting on the desk, “sicheng, y/n and jaehyun, right?” the three of you nodded in harmony, anticipating for the next order that will be given.

“okay cool, we’ll be brainstorming first,” and she proceeded to explain what the requirements for this project are. you mouthed out the important points she gave, soft rock, heartbreak and drums. you’re on a roll today, contributing your countless ideas during the first few minutes of the discussion. sicheng just looked at you discussing with hyo, your lips pursed slightly. his gaze seems full of adoration, even jaehyun said so.

“any objections?” hyo looked over to the rest.

“i think she made some great ones. i’m sure this project will come out fresh,” jaehyun voiced out his opinions, sicheng nodding after. he went straight to handling the instruments , you and jaehyun collaborating for the mixing process. hyo eventually chimed in on some times, giving small advice whenever you seem stuck in the brain. with the hours ticking by, you’re feeling more satisfied than ever with your earphones in, listening to the final product created.

all of the participants are then assembled in the hall again, waiting for a final speech by the director which formalizes the end of the camp. sure, you’ve earned worthy knowledge throughout the six days. but if you’re being brutally true to the sound of your heart, it would be how you came to learn sicheng’s true antics. he might be the cocky guy who thinks they have the power to do anything but in truth, he’s just some guy with an honest heart, honest intentions to know you better.

summer break, your most anticipated event for the past few weeks. the moment the last bell rang, that scene in high school musical 2 kept replaying in the back of your head, the students doing a parade in front of the lockers picturing how your little heart is doing backflips in your chest right now. all the beach trips ningning planned is making you feel dizzy. you turned around to a voice calling out your name from the end of the hallway, your eyes catching the sight of sicheng jogging towards your spot. he stopped in front of you, hands on his knees catching his breath.

“are you free tomorrow night? there’s a party at guanheng’s and you know, it would be really cool if you join,” his fingers tracing onto each other, waiting patiently for your response.

you didn’t even have the time to process his invitation when ningning crashed her body against yours, yangyang following suit.

“a party? y/n would totally love to come, right?” ningning nudged your arms softly while yangyang tried to stifle a giggle. you were about to mouth out a ‘what?’ before sicheng cut you off.

“cool, you guys should come too. tomorrow at 10,” he and yangyang exchanged finger guns gestures before leaving the three of you. you just stood there in disbelief, eyeing them up and down before ningning dragged you to the parking lot. a stringful of grumbles escaped your lips, making the guy laugh obnoxiously.

“i can’t believe you guys did that,” you extended the seat belt, buckling it to the slot beside you.

“please. but you do want it, right?” you can’t deny, what she said was true. plus, you should have some fun and distress before having to go back to the usual dull routine of yours.

“how do i look?” you turn around, revealing the baby pink crop top and flare pants on your legs. it’s not your best outfit but giving the cliche excuse - you have nothing to wear, the two articles totally complements each other

“you look hot, that’s all i gotta say. right, yang?” ningning lifted her head from the headboard, glancing over at yangyang who’s going over his messages.

“yeah totally,” he lifted his hands, giving you a thumbs up. you threw a jacket onto your shoulders and grabbed the black purse on your dresser, glancing at the wall mirror one last time.

from the moment you stepped into the venue - guanheng’s place, smells of alcohol lingered around your nose, a group of people cheering ever so loudly over a game of beer pong, some already passed out on the couch. not to mention a brownish stain on the carpet - probably from someone throwing up. the mess would take a whole day to get rid off, you note to yourself. your friends are no longer to be found, both of them getting affiliated with god knows what. your eyes scanned the living room for sicheng but his presence is still nowhere to be found.

you decided to step towards the kitchen bar, pouring a drink for yourself. the mixed sweet and sour taste of it remained on your tongue for a couple of seconds. looking over at the snacks served, you grabbed a strawberry flavoured lollipop from the clear bowl. the crowd is cheering loudly for some type of incident happening at the back of the room, the music has been turned up to be a little louder than the volume before and you’re suddenly getting a little bit overwhelmed. you grabbed your purse and stepped out, inhaling some fresh air and looking up to the starry night sky.

“y/n? where have you been?” sicheng approached you from behind, making you a bit startled.

“sorry, hanging out outside can calm me. where did you go?” you popped the lollipop into your mouth.

“some jerk decided to throw up in front of me,” you pinched your nose with a disgusted expression, making him roll his eyes.

“do you want me to accompany you out here?” he offered. you just nod your head, placing yourself on the patio with him following suit. the sweetening flavour empowering your senses. it’s definitely much more calm out here, allowing you to clear up your mind. it’s not that you hate the atmosphere in the house right now, you’re just not in the mood.

“you know, you look pretty,” you turned around to meet his face. his brown eyes brimming with unconfessed love.

“shut up, stop with the jokes,” you lightly land a smack on his arms.

“what if i say i’m not joking?” he looked straight into your eyes, trying to find any emotion inside you. the sudden seriousness is making you feel much more awkward so you forced out a laugh, turning your attention right back upwards. the stars are shining brightly tonight, you can almost spot a constellation.

“i know what you’re doing, dong sicheng. just stop it already, it’s not working on me.” denial, that’s what you’re experiencing in the hot minute.

a gentle tug can be felt on your wrist, his eyes still not leaving yours.

“didn’t anyone tell you before? you’re really pretty. like, i can’t even describe it to you. you’re just,” he leaned over to caress your cheeks, “pretty,”.

what jaehyun said on the other day is true, after all.

love gives us thrill, the feeling of excitement, the feeling when you’re uncertain about something but when you have that special someone with you, you’re sure to wing it all.

your heart is beating so fast, it could fall out of your chest at any moment now. even the faint music blasting through the speakers inside the house can’t flush down the sound of your heartbeat. you’re not used to this, the sudden need of the significant skin to skin contact that symbolizes love between two individuals.

“can i?” his face in a very near proximity from yours, whispering into your right ear with his honey-like voice. you pulled the candy away from your mouth and nod, giving him the approval he needed before he dived in. heat rose from your stomach to your chest. you could only focus on how soft his crimson lips felt on yours, invading your privacy by all senses. you felt the kiss expand beyond your bodies, whirling you round, swirling you into the stars. he pulled away with a soft smile, you thought you could melt right then and there.

“wow,” that was the only word escaping your throat. your jumping heart still hasn’t settled down yet, your very first kiss still feeling surreal. you could see that sicheng is very much mirroring your emotions, his slender fingers grazing over his lips - the one that has come in contact with yours.

“the strawberry lollipop is sweet,” he commented, making the both of you laugh.

a ping from your phone awakened you from the gushy eye contact with him, unlocking it only to find yangyang’s text message. the second part of it made you fluster.

yang: yo r u coming in or what? and congrats for the kiss, we thought we’d have to wait longer for this

[rae-arts777]

because i'm a sucker for a fake dating AU, 7 & soudam? or kuzuhina? or any DR ship your heart desires babe

Kuzuhina cause I love you Bryn

(Btw this is NOT a short fic hahaha, I ended up writing 2288 words)

He’s My Boyfriend, Yeah That’s it..

#7 Fake dating

Summary: Fuyuhiko needs a plus one

“Why?” Hajime felt like the yakuza was pulling his leg.

Did Fuyuhiko seriously ask him to hang out? More importantly, did he just ask him on a date?

“Listen bastard this isn’t exactly an ideal for me either.” The shorter male growled, “I hate attending these family functions alone.”

“Why don’t you just go with your girlfriend?” Hajime asked

“PEKO IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!” Fuyuhiko snapped, “I mean! Fuck! One she’s like my sister, we’re just close! Two she’s busy! I’m fucking proud she has her own plans rather then hovering over me! And I’m sure as hell not going to ruin that by asking her to come with me!” he explained

“Ok but why me? Aren’t you and Kaz really close?”

“Please that pink hair bastard won’t last a minute in a room full of yauzkas”

“Uhhhh….Nagito?”

“Is that a joke?”

Hajime sighed, guessing he really was Fuyuhiko’s most reliable option, “Ok fine, I guess it gives me an excuse to get out of the house.”

“Good, come on, we're going shopping.”

“I have a suit a home” Hajime protested

“No offense but I'm a hundred percent certain your suit is not suited for a yakuza gathering. Consider this as my thank you for dragging you to my shit family function.”

Before Hajime could protest further, Fuyuhiko grabbed his wrist and dragged him out. Despite the size difference, Fuyuhiko was surprisingly strong. Hajime sighed, he knew there was no point in protesting.

Hajime felt as if he tried on the whole store at this point. Every time he saw the price tag, he felt like he wanted to die. He felt a little bad for allowing Fuyuhiko to spend this much on him for a suit for a one time use.

Stepping out of the dressing room with the last outfit on, “Are we done yet?” Hajime groaned.

Fuyuhiko looked up from his phone and froze. Hajime for sure could pass for a common yakuza. Fuyuhiko cleared his throat and walked towards him.

“It’s missing something.” Fuyuhiko grabbed a red tie and applied it to the taller male.

Hajime felt tense with how close Fuyuhiko was. He watched as the shorter male took his time adjusting the tie.

“Umm..there..” Fuyuhiko turned him around to the mirror “You look good, better then nothing I guess.”

“Why do I feel like a sugar baby?” Hajime jokes.

“Oh shut the fuck up tall bastard.” Fuyuhiko handed his card to the retailer, “He’ll be wearing this out.”

“What are you going to wear?”

“I already have something picked out at home. I'll change when we get there.”

The retailer returned Fuyuhiko’s card, “Thank you for shopping with us.”

“Yeah thanks for the help.” He nodded, “Let’s go Hajime.” the yakuza walked out.

Hajime grabbed his bag and started to follow, but was stopped by the retailer.

“I just wanted to say, you and your boyfriend are super cute together.” She smiled.

“Boyfriend?” Hajime was taken back.

Did they seriously get mistaken for boyfriends? Did they act like boyfriends? Who else thought it? Should he correct her?

Hajime stared at the retailer who had a big smile on her face.

“....Thanks, yeah my boyfriend and I appreciate your help.”

“Shop with us again soon!” she waved him bye as he left.

Trying to catch up to Fuyuhiko, he felt his mind racing. Why didn’t she correct her? Why did it not bother him? Hajime shook his head. No, it was just easier to just say yes cause they have somewhere to be, no time to explain, yeah that’s it. Better she told Hajime and not Fuyuhiko.

The two arrived at the Kuzuryu manor. Fuyuhiko led Hajime inside, there were already a few guests.

“Just stay here.” Fuyuhiko sat him at a table, “I’ll be back in a second.”

Hajime looked around, it was hard to believe these were the people Fuyuhiko hung around with daily. Awkwardly he fidgeted with his hands, he was thirsty. There was a mini bar across the room, he just needed water. It wouldn’t hurt to get up for a few seconds for water.

Hajime made his way over the minibar. The bartender glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Who are you with?”

“Oh I’m just here with Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, I just wanted water.” Hajime explained.

The bartender sided with Hajime as he got the boy a glass of water.

“What are your relations to him?” Was this an interrogation?

Hajime hesitated “I’m...here as...his plus one…”

“A date?”

“Yes...date...he’s my...boy..friend.” Hajime drugged out. Shit he did it again.

“Boyfriend? Huh. Well guess you never know huh? Enjoy your evening.” The bartender turned to help another guest.

Hajime shuddered and took his water back to the table. Why did he say boyfriend? He could have just said friend. This was different from the store, the bartender will most likely tell Fuyuhiko something. Shit.

As Hajime’s mind was racing, he was pulled out from a tap on the shoulder.

“Hey.” Natsumi sat next to him.

“Oh, hey Natsumi '' Hajime sighed in relief, at least there was one more person there he knew.

“Did my dipshit brother drag you to this?” She asked.

“Well he needed a plus one, and I needed an excuse to get out of the house. So I sort of agreed to this.”

“I see, speaking of that asshole, where is he?”

“He said he needed to change real quick. I think he should be back soon.”

“Bastard! Leaving you here all alone! Sorry my brother dragged you on a sucky date. Come on, you’re coming with me.”

Before Hajime could protest, Natsumi was already dragging him away. How is it that he's been dragged by both Kuzuryu today?

Fuyuhiko returned to the table, dressed in a more fancy suit for the occasion. Real quick he noticed Hajime was gone.

“That fucking bastard!”

Fuyuhiko started to walk around looking for him. Deep down he was worried, he shouldn’t have left Hajime alone in a room full of people like this. God knows who he’s with. Scanning the room, Fuyuhiko’s eyes finally landed on Hajime, but his blood boiled.

Hajime is wrapped up in a group of Natsumi’s friends. A guy resting his hand on Hajime’s shoulder. It was clear the male was trying to flirt with Hajime.

Fuyuhiko stormed up to them, “Hey.” Just as the guy turned around, Fuyuhiko struck him in the jaw.

“Jesus Christ bro!” Natsumi yelled “Seriously?! Why are you attacking my friends?!”

“Well tell your fucking “friend” to keep his hands to himself!!” Fuyuhiko snapped.

Hajime flinched, shit he felt like this was a little bit of his fault.

“Why do you care so much?! Hajime is just trying to enjoy himself!”

“I care because-” wait, why did Fuyuhiko care so much? “Because…..” he grabbed Hajime’s arm and pulled him towards him “isn’t it obvious? I brought him as my date! Cause! We’re dating! Yeah! That’s it!” Fuyuhiko proclaimed, the heat rising on his cheeks.

Hajime felt his whole face turn red, did he hear him right? Natsumi looked between the two, studying both their faces.

“Oh. My bad bro I didn’t know!” She smirked at Hajime, “I’m surprised you didn’t mention you’re dating my brother.”

“Oh well...it’s..” hajime looked at Fuyuhiko “We just recently started dating!”

“Yeah!” Fuyuhiko chimed in, “We..started dating...this past week!”

“Yeah..uhhh, Fuyuhiko asked me out.” Hajime smirked a bit “I seriously never seen him so flushed, he was all so shy and nervous. Had a letter and everything. It was just so cute.”

“HUH?!” Fuyuhiko glared at him “I think you’re remembering things wrong! Yeah I asked you out but YOU were the one who was all shy! You guys should have seen him! The bastard was practically sobbing because he was so flustered.”

Natsumi smirked watching the two, “Please tell us more!”

“Yeah please do!” another person chimed in

“Where did he confess?”

“How long have you liked him?”

“Have you two gone on any dates yet?”

“So is he like your eye candy?”

“Wait, the boss likes men?”

Hajime and Fuyuhiko were bombarded with questions. The two looked at each other, well there was no turning back now.

The supposed yuzuka gathering turned into a hearing of Hajime and Fuyuhiko's love story, everyone was invested. The two tried to bounce off of each other’s stories, but also both tried to embarrass the other in some way.

“If I remembered correctly, you were the one staring at me in the locker rooms.” Hajime smirked

“Like hell I was! You’re one to talk! You’re not slick, you were practically drooling over me in there. Now that I think about it, you did tell Nagito that you liked me.” Fuyuhiko chuckled.

“Oh...well I do guess saying I like chihuahuas is the same thing.”

“THE FUCK YOU SAY?!”

The room busted out in laughter.

“Awww you two are just two cute.” Natsumi smiled, “I didn’t know bro was such a romantic!”

“Shut the fuck up you bitch.” Fuyuhiko growled.

Natsumi just smiled, “I have to say it was such an interesting story, but I think we’re all tired of hearing about your love life.”

Thank god, both of them sighed in relief.

“We want to see! So give us a kiss!”

“WHAT?!” Both of them yelled at her.

“Yeah, kiss him!”

“Kiss!”

“Come on!”

The whole room was chanting for them to kiss.

“I mean it’s natural for you two. YOU DID SAY your first kiss was in your classroom late at the end of a school day.” Natsumi snickered, “So is a simple kiss a problem?”

The two males looked at each other, feeling their cheeks turn red.

“Ok…” Hajime said

“No problem, no problem at all....” Fuyuhiko mumbled.

The two awkwardly faced each other. They fumbled with their hands not knowing where to place them. Fuyuhiko grumbled and rested his hand on Hajime’s waist. Awkwardly, Hajime draped his arms over Fuyuhiko’s shoulders. Hajime looked down at him, he never saw Fuyuhiko so nervous.

“Everyone is staring…” Hajime whispered.

“yeah...I know...can’t really turn back now..” Fuyhukio tried to avoid eye contact.

Hajime slowly leaded down, he felt Fuyuhiko’s grip tighten a bit around his waist. Testing the waters, Hajime brushed his lips against the yakuza, giving him one last chance to back out. Even though their lips were barely apart, the shorter one mumbled something the taller one could not pick up. Hajime was taken back when Fuyuhiko actually closed the gap.

Their lips felt awkward at first, smooshed against each other, but they worked with it. Hajime felt himself lean in deeper, as Fuyuhiko brought a hand up to cup Hajime’s cheek, trying to pull the taller male closer against him. The two almost forgot they were in a room filled with people watching him. Almost.

They quickly broke the kiss when they heard a flash of a camera. Fuyuhiko head shot around to see Natsumi holding her phone up with a shit eating grin.

“DELETE THAT!!!” Fuyuhiko screamed

“No thank you!” Natsumi ran off laughing.

Before he chased her, Fuyuhiko turned his attention to the crowd “WHAT?! You got what you wanted! Now fuck off!” He then ran off screaming at Natsumi to delete the picture.

The rest of the night is uneventful. Some people came up to congratulate Hajime and Fuyuhiko on their couple status.

Hajime could not stop thinking about the kiss though. He looked over at Fuyuhiko who was chatting with someone. It didn’t seem like the kiss was getting to him as much as it was to Hajime.

Hajime felt his heart tug a bit. He guessed the kiss did not mean much to Fuyuhiko. I mean why would it? They weren’t even dating. But also, what now? Were they going to stage some big breakup or something?

As the party ended, Fuyuhiko walked Hajime out to the car he had arranged to take Hajime home.

“So….that was something..” Fuyuhiko said.

“Yeah...sure it was..” Hajime looked down at his feet.

“Sorry..for forcing you into that silly narrivate.”

“Oh it’s nothing..I mean it was kind of fun...well I mean..I played along so yeah..” Hajime nervously chuckled.

“yeah ...yeah…”

“You know...funny enough, earlier that retail lady said you and I were cute..heh she thought we were boyfriends, and ummm, I didn’t correct her..” he explained.

“Is that so…?” Fuyuhiko said.

“Yeah...so haha. Anyways I guess we can stage a breakup or something like that.”

“Yeah we can..or we can do something else rather than lie again..”

Hajime looked up to meet Fuyuhiko’s gaze, the shorter male had taken a few steps closer.

“We can make those previous lies true..I mean like...the story about our first date. I honestly..umm fuck...I mean if the park and dinner is an good ideal for you as a..first date..” Fuyuhiko's gaze focused on Hajime’s tie.

Hajime felt his heart race, did Fuyuhiko just ask him on a date?

“I…” Hajime grabbed Fuyuhiko’s hand, the shorter male looking up to meet his gaze, “I would really enjoy that..”

Fuyuhiko blushed and nodded. He let go of Hajime’s hand and opened the car door for him.

“Text me when you get home.”

“Yeah I will.” Hajime got into the car.

“hajime ..”

“yeah ?”

Fuyuhiko grabbed his hand again, and kissed his palm “despite what happened, I..really enjoyed tonight.”

“Yeah me too,” Hajime smiled.

The two waved goodbye and Fuyuhiko closed the car door. He waited on the side of the crib until the car was out of sight. Fuyuhiko rubbed his face, mumbling, feeling his face become flushed again.

“Fuck.”

[haus-seeblick]

Suptober Day 6: “Who Brings a Gun to a Cemetery?”

For Day 6: Cemetery Boys

Rating: General Audiences; Ship: Pre-Destiel; WC: 3,219

POV Outsider (Original Male Character); full tags on AO3 or below the cut.

Summary: Jerry Wallace has seen a lot of satanic rituals. A lot. Candles and daggers, pentagrams, hoods and chanting; you name it, he’s seen it. As the head of security — and only guard — of Sullivan Cemetery, he’s bound to have run into the occasional devil worshipper. It doesn’t even faze him anymore. There’s not much Jerry Wallace hasn’t seen.

In which: Jerry Wallace encounters Dean Winchester, supposed Satanist.

On AO3 Here (or read under the cut!)

Full Tags: POV Outsider, This poor cemetery guard doesn't know what to do about Dean Winchester, Dean seems insane, BAMF Castiel, Early Seasons Dean and Cas, Pre-Relationship Dean and Cas, Pre-Friendship Dean and Cas, somehow they still manage to flirt though, POV Character is briefly threatened by Dean Winchester but it all ends OK,Humor

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

Jerry Wallace has seen a lot of satanic rituals. A Iot. Candles and daggers, pentagrams, hoods and chanting; you name it, he’s seen it. As the head of security — and only guard — of Sullivan Cemetery, he’s bound to have run into the occasional devil worshipper (and worse. People dig up graves for really unsavory reasons). It doesn’t even faze him anymore. There’s not much Jerry Wallace hasn’t seen.

But tonight, as he sweeps his flashlight back and forth across the dewy grass, making his rounds and sipping on his steaming coffee, something stops him short. He narrows his eyes and cocks his head to listen. There’s a scuffling sound up ahead, from just outside the Bennett mausoleum. It sounds too big to be any of the usual animals. Humans, then. Jerry sighs. He was hoping for a quiet night, so he could make himself comfortable under the lamp at the cemetery entrance and read the book his teenage son, Andrew, had lent him. Cemetery Boys, it’s called. Jerry finds it fitting.

A man’s rough voice rings out from around the corner of the mausoleum. “Dammit, Sam, you can’t give me any hints?”

Jerry blinks at the audacity. Who sneaks into a cemetery at night and doesn’t even try to be quiet about it? He decides to give these particular satanists a little scare, just to teach them a lesson. He switches off his flashlight and gently sets his precious cup of coffee on top of the nearest headstone. Time to have some fun.

He sneaks on silent feet across the grass, clutching his flashlight tight in hand and deciding which tactic he wants to use. The reliable old jump scare? Flashlight beam to the face and an earsplitting yell — it’s worked well on thrill-seeking teenagers in the past. Or the more tricky option, creeping around and making ghostly sounds to unnerve the trespassers so thoroughly that they leave? More time investment, but also more amusing in the long run — Jerry decides on Option Two.

The wall of the mausoleum gives him excellent cover to start his performance. He sidles up along it, to the very edge. The intruders are just around the corner, and it sounds like one of them’s rummaging around in a bag of some sort. Jerry rolls his eyes. Probably some weirdos with spray paint, here to deface the walls of the mausoleum with symbols that take ages to wash off. Jerry opens his mouth and is about to emit his first long, ghostly moan, when the same voice as before pipes up again.

“Picking the lock didn’t work, Sam, I’m telling you, it’s gonna take longer. You gotta hold her off.”

The other person — Sam — doesn’t reply, though. Jerry furrows his brow. Who’s being held off? He decides to get a better picture of the scene before initiating his plan. Very slowly, he pokes just the right side of his face around the corner. The front of the small white building is washed in moonlight, the nearest lamp a ways down the path.

There’s a man crouched outside the mausoleum, maybe in his late twenties, from what Jerry can tell in the low light. He’s wearing an oversized leather jacket over a patterned shirt, with jeans and sturdy-looking boots. His short hair is spiked a bit in the front.

He doesn’t look like a satanist. Jerry stays very still, breathing shallowly and watching.

The man has both hands in a medium-sized duffel bag, rooting around. The contents of the bag are clanging and thudding. With a triumphant exhale, the man stands up, crowbar in hand. Jerry balks. This is already a step beyond chanting and spray paint. Again, nothing he hasn’t seen before, though.

What Jerry couldn’t see while the man was crouched, that now makes itself clear, is that he has a mobile phone pressed between his shoulder and ear. As the man advances on the door with the crowbar, he barks into the phone, “Update, Sammy. You still kicking?”

Jerry can’t make out Sam’s muffled response, but it obviously displeases the man, because he whacks the crowbar against the mausoleum door with a frustrated growl. “Watch your back. Figure out what the hell I’m supposed to burn!” He flips the phone shut and stuffs it into his jacket pocket.

This is getting stranger and stranger. Jerry watches as the man goes to town on the mausoleum door, an offense that Jerry would usually be more inclined to stop from happening. Something about this man, though, about the way he carries himself and the way he talks, is holding Jerry back.

He’s very glad about his decision to stay put about ten seconds later, when the man drops the crowbar to the ground with a clang and pulls a gun out of his jacket. Jerry doesn’t even carry a gun. His heart starts beating and his palms prickle with sweat. He didn’t sign up for this. Who brings a gun to a cemetery?

The man steps back a couple feet, points the handgun at the lock, hunches his shoulders, and fires. Jerry barely has the wherewithal to throw himself back around the corner and press his hands over his ears before the shot goes off. He feels it reverberate through the wall, twice, as the man fires again. Fully out of sight now, Jerry gingerly lowers the zipper on his jacket and reaches into his chest pocket for his radio. He needs to call this in. This is way above his pay grade.

“Dammit!” the man yells. The gun must’ve been ineffective. Jerry mentally pats himself on the shoulder. He requested upgrades to all mausoleum locks after a series of break ins last year, and it looks like the security company came through.

Jerry hears the keypad of the mobile phone beeping as the man punches in a number, then there’s muffled ringing. Jerry uses the sound as cover to pull his radio out and to inch his face around the corner again so he has a visual of the scene.

The man’s phone rings and rings. With another frustrated yell, the man slaps it shut and paces back and forth in front of the door, one hand running through his hair, the other still holding his gun. After a few moments, he stops in his tracks. He’s facing Jerry’s direction, silvery moonlight throwing his cheekbones in sharp relief. He looks like a respectable young man, really. Jerry wonders where he lost his way.

There’s a set of complicated emotions working their way across the man’s face. His eyebrows are pinched in concentration, eyes squeezed shut, lips moving as if he’s talking to himself. This lasts about ten seconds before he throws up his hands and glares at the sky.

“Oh, come on!” he shouts. “Get your harp-toting ass down here! Castiel!”

Jerry, who prides himself on never swearing, thinks: What the fuck.

The man is obviously disturbed. He needs a doctor. Jerry glances down at the radio in his hand, and presses the emergency button. He can’t afford a conversation with dispatch; the man will overhear. This will at least get someone out here.

When Jerry looks back up, he twitches. There are now two men in front of the mausoleum. The newcomer is wearing a long trenchcoat and standing stiffly. He’s facing away from Jerry, looking at the gunman, sensible shoes planted hip-width apart. His messy dark hair blends into the shadows.

Where on earth did he come from? Jerry darts his eyes around. The mausoleum is on a slightly raised part of the cemetery, visibility clear in all directions. Even if the trenchcoat man had approached from the opposite side of the building, Jerry would have seen him.

“Cas,” the gunman says, voice heavy with something like — relief, perhaps? His tense posture relaxes slightly and he claps the trenchcoat man on the shoulder. “You took your time,” he accuses. “Can you open those doors?”

The trenchcoat man, Cas — is this Castiel? Jerry cannot keep up — turns slightly to regard the doors.

“This is why you prayed to me?” Cas’ voice is deeper than the gunman’s, rougher. He speaks like a robot. “Heaven is at war, Dean. You call me to help you break down a door?”

Jerry’s brain is spinning. Are these… actors? Cosplayers? He learned about cosplayers from Andrew. Some of them do have very elaborate costumes. Jerry squints at Cas’ back. This doesn’t look like a costume, though. Cas looks like a tax accountant. Like he should be at home with his family at this time of night.

“Sam’s in trouble,” Dean’s saying, an ever-so-slight pleading edge to the words. “I gotta get in here, Cas, or he’s gonna meet a real bad end. I know you’ve got the mojo, come on!”

“I do not exist to do your bidding,” Cas replies. He strides over to the doors, though, trenchcoat flapping around his calves. “I do not serve you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re a warrior.” Dean’s hovering at Cas’ shoulder. “Can you blast ‘em?”

Cas lays a hand on the doors, long fingers splayed against the metal. Jerry glances down at his radio again. The red button is flashing, indicating that he’d called for help, but he can’t hear any sirens yet. He hopes they send enough officers for two grave-desecrating weirdos.

“Stand back,” Cas says. “And tell the man behind the wall to stand back, too.”

“What?” Dean’s head whips around.

Jerry hastily pulls his head out of sight, heart racing. Oh, no. He’s seen enough. He can ID these two for the cops later. He doesn’t need to be on the scene.

He turns heel to run, but makes it only two steps before a hand grabs his collar and yanks him back. The air is knocked out of him and he yelps, feet scrabbling on the pavement as a strong arm drags him around the corner. He lands on his butt in front of the doors, palms scraping on the ground. He quickly raises one over his head in surrender.

“Please— please, I have a family!” He keeps his eyes averted. Dean’s boots are inches away from his legs. “Don’t hurt me, I won’t say a word, I promise!”

“You the guard?” Dean crouches down in front of him. Oh, lord, the gun is trained on Jerry’s face. He whimpers and nods.

“Great. Give me the keys to the doors. Stat.” A palm appears in front of Jerry’s chest, held out in expectation. He hesitates. Isn’t that aiding and abetting?

No way. He’s at gunpoint. He nods again, fervently, and fumbles in his pocket for his ring of keys. His hand shakes violently as he drops them onto Dean’s outstretched palm. He sneaks a peek up at the men.

“Cas,” Dean says, tossing the keys to the trenchcoat man. “Figure out which one it is. I’ll deal with him.”

Cas catches the keys. “So, you do not want me to break the doors?”

“No— just—” Dean closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, lips pressed together. “Just unlock them.” Cas scowls, but begins slotting the various keys into the mausoleum lock.

Dean turns back to Jerry and waves a hand in front of his face. “Hey,” he snaps. Jerry meets his eyes, conscious that he must look utterly terrified. He hopes it’ll appeal to any sense of humanity in this gun-toting lunatic.

“Whatever you think I am, I’m not,” Dean says, quickly and gruffly. “I’m not some pervert tryin’ to get my rocks off with Sleeping Beauty in there. I haven’t got time to ease you in slow, so here it is: ghosts are real. There’s one after my brother. I can gank it, but I gotta burn some hair or somethin’, something keepin’ it here. That’s all. Once Cas opens the doors, I’ll be in and out. We don’t have to get nasty. I’m even saving your doors from gettin’ blasted, as a favor. ”

Jerry picks and chooses what to process of that. “You have a gun pointed at me.”

Dean glances at the gun, like he’s just now realizing he still has it trained on Jerry. He lowers it. “Sorry. Had to let you know I’m serious. You gonna let me do my thing, or we gonna have a problem?”

The police will be here soon, Jerry thinks. It’s not my responsibility to stop this maniac.

“No problem,” he says. Dean nods once, satisfied, and in that moment, the lock clicks. The doors swing open heavily. Dean springs to his feet and races toward the mausoleum.

“Awesome, Cas!” he shouts, slapping a palm against Cas’ chest as he passes. Cas looks after him, a bemused expression on his face.

“I don’t know what to burn!” Dean hollers from inside.

Jerry is so far past trying to understand any of this. He nurses his scraped palms, huddling on the cold pavement and thinking of the book Andrew gave him. He wanted to finish a few chapters tonight so they could talk about them over breakfast tomorrow. He hopes he gets the chance.

Jerry is tough, but his eyes sting a little as he thinks about it.

“Dean is a good man,” Cas suddenly says, in that mechanical way of his. “Righteous. He won’t harm a human.”

Jerry stares at him in disbelief. There’s nothing he can say to that, beyond “Okay.” Cas just nods, and turns to gaze into the darkness of the mausoleum. There’s a lot of scraping and clattering echoing from the room inside, as if Dean is dismantling the place. He probably is, Jerry thinks miserably as the sound of breaking glass reaches his ears.

Dean comes storming back out of the room, assorted items piled in his arms. Jerry recognizes the doll that’s usually propped up behind the glass of the Bennett daughter’s crypt, and a locket that hangs behind the mother’s. A whole array of other personal effects that Jerry spends his nights guarding also end up on the pavement at Dean’s feet. Dean dives into his duffel bag, pulling out a can of gasoline. He douses the whole pile in the acrid-smelling stuff — Jerry’s nostrils sting and he coughs, scrabbling a little farther away. Dean pulls a lighter out of pocket and flicks it several times, cursing when it doesn’t ignite.

“Allow me,” Cas says, stepping forward. He pauses. “Close your eyes.”

Jerry throws an arm over his eyes without a second thought, just catching sight of Dean doing the same. His jacket sleeve does very little, though, to shield his eyes from the brilliant blue-white light that rips through the darkness. It feels like a bonfire, there one moment and gone the next, leaving the tips of Jerry’s hair singed. He cowers, eyes pressed shut, heaving huge breaths.

“Damn, Cas,” Dean says, voice tinged with awe. “Thanks for the assist.”

Jerry lowers his (slightly smoking) arm and peers at where the pile of belongings once lay. It’s completely gone, reduced to ash, just smoldering dust on the pavement. How on Earth—

In that moment, Dean’s mobile phone rings. He frantically plunges a hand into his jacket and rips it out, flipping it open.

“Sammy?” he asks sharply, pressing the phone to his ear. The voice on the other end mumbles something and Dean sags in relief, dragging a hand over his face. “Close call, huh? Yeah, glad it worked.”

Jerry tunes out the rest of Dean and Sam’s conversation. His eyes travel from the smoking pile of dust, to Cas (who’s standing motionless, staring at Dean), to the open mausoleum door, to his own hands, trembling in his lap. A light catches his eye off to the side and he follows it, realizing it’s his radio, abandoned on the pavement, red emergency light still blinking steadily. He gazes at it like a lifeline.

“Is that— Did you—” Dean’s voice is suddenly closer, right next to Jerry, and he quickly looks up. Dean’s looking at the radio, too. His phone is closed in his hand; he must be done talking to his brother.

“The cops coming?” Dean demands, gesturing at the radio. Jerry doesn’t want to let on, he doesn’t, but faced with this strange, complicated, definitely violent person, he can’t hold out. He nods.

“Dammit,” Dean mutters. Just then, the first siren wails in the distance, growing louder by the second.

Finally.

Dean groans and rushes over to his duffel bag, throwing the can of gasoline back in and grabbing the crowbar off the ground to toss that in, too. “Leave the keys, Cas,” he snaps at the trenchcoat man, who still has Jerry’s key ring dangling from his fingers. Cas drops the keys on the ground.

“Can you zap me to my car?” Dean hoists the duffel over his shoulder and faces Cas. “I won’t make it if I run.”

Cas steps closer to Dean, until he’s right in front of him. Their noses are just a few inches apart. Jerry, with nothing else to do but wait for his rescuers, watches them. Dean takes what looks like a shaky breath. His eyes flick down to Cas’ mouth. “You gonna stare, or you gonna help?” he asks, but it comes out small, a weak attempt at bravado.

Cas reaches out and places his hand over Dean’s left shoulder. “I’ll go with you,” he says, deep and measured, and in the next second, they’re gone. Just gone.

Jerry could swear he heard the flapping of wings. He sits there, numb, staring at the spot where they vanished.

Eventually, the yellow beams of flashlights dart across the front of the mausoleum and voices break through the fog in Jerry’s brain. A hand lands on his shoulder. “Sir, are you all right?”

He’s saved.

There’s a lot of questions from the responding officers, a lot of Jerry having to recount what he saw, picking and choosing details — which of course renders his story utterly implausible — and a lot of nobody believing him; there’s a breathalizer test — humiliating — that of course comes back clean (whether that’s better or worse for him, Jerry’s not so sure), and a round of paperwork, and finally, finally, Jerry is allowed to go.

He stumbles down the cemetery path in a daze, passing his long-cold cup of coffee, still perched on its headstone. He snags it and throws it away in the trash can at the cemetery gates. The officers said they would lock the mausoleum and the security station; Jerry was supposed to go home. He stops briefly at his station, though, to grab Andrew’s book.

He’s not quite ready to go home yet. He’s not sure what to say.

Jerry makes himself comfortable in the front seat of his car, overhead light on, and cracks open his book. He starts to read.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Welcome to Backwater ch.9 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Stretch is getting a chance to meet the local Sheriff and to say he is not excited would be an understatement.

Read chapter 9: ‘Addressing the Public’ on AO3 

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

For his first day off from the grocery, today sure seemed like it was determined to make its mark so he couldn’t possibly forget it. At this point, it was about burned into Stretch’s memory, for sure.

First there was Doris who added her clues into his trick r treat bucket, then the town assholes showed up for their serial killer practice. Then, as a treat, he got to have the double punch of a lunch with Edge, a sweet and sour mixture of possibly flirtatious revelations coupled to an unwanted chat about his own traumas, served warm over some delicious pie.

Now it looked like he was about to get a sequel to the Assholes: Part Deux, the Assholes’ Revenge, in the form of a sheriff filled with blustering indignation and accusations, and all Stretch had was a mouthful of pie to defend himself. Worse, his only witness had already paid the bill and left.

Stretch swallowed his last bite, chasing it down with water when it tried to stick in the back of his throat as he went over possibilities. He could try to explain the situation, but if there was one thing he’d learned from living in Ebott, it was that if a Monster was talking to the cops, it was best to keep it short, sweet, and polite. Don’t try to explain or admit to shit, ‘cause they’d be more than happy to add another line to the list of things to harass you about.

Seriously, he missed being able to shortcut, this whole facing trouble head-on thing wasn’t for him.

The sheriff huffed again, loudly, and it fluffed up his broad mustache like a human-shaped walrus. He propped fists about the size of a baby’s head on his broad hips and growled out, “So? Is that it? You’re here startin’ some trouble in my peaceful little town?”

Stretch looked up into those mirrored sunglasses. If they were standing, Stretch would probably have a couple inches on the guy, but sitting here in the booth the sheriff loomed over him ominously, his own distorted reflection showing back his nervous face.

“no, sir,” Stretch said politely. Stick with the basic, that was good for a start, and hopefully Red would be willing to bail him out if that became necessary. At least Red wouldn’t have far to go.

The rest of the diner was staring, not a single fork was engaged as they watched the latest scene in the town drama unfold. Not that he blamed them, this was probably about the most action they’d seen in weeks, but he did sort of wish someone would be a little concerned rather than eagerly interested. Waiting to see if maybe the local sheriff was gonna slap on some cuffs so they could whip out their phones for a nice tiktok video while he was getting read his rights?

“No?” the sheriff demanded. His sunglasses reflected the overhead light, making Stretch wince back. “I heard you were out there riling up the corn yesterday. And today you were playing dog days with the doggerel boys?”

That was true, except how it wasn’t, and a trickle of sweat was winding its way down Stretch’s spine despite the air conditioning. Before he could wheeze out another ‘no sir’ or any other answer at all, a sudden, booming laugh filled the entire diner, loud enough to echo from the greasy grill before rolling back out to rattle the windows. The sheriff hooked his thumbs into a belt with a buckle so big that could probably double as a satellite dish, guffawing loudly, “Aw, you ain’t in any trouble, I’m just joshing ya, boy!”

Oh. Ohhhh, this was only a little goodnatured small-town hazing, that he could deal with, if he managed to swallow his quivering soul back down where it belonged. Stretch tried on a smile to match the sheriff’s ongoing laughter and found that it fit pretty well, all things considered.

“can’t be joshing, my name is stretch,” Stretch said with cautious humor. “but i guess stretching me would be an entirely different meaning. think they gave that one up in the middle ages.”

The sheriff bellowed out another laugh that practically shook the silverware, actually bending over to give his knee a loud slap. Around them rose other chuckles around mouthfuls of pie and how strange was it that he could feel the difference between people laughing at him and laughing with him. There was a certain fondness in that laughter, in the warm expressions coming his way from townsfolk that he sort of knew; these were people who’d bought their toilet paper and fresh apples from him on any given day, who’d give him waves and smiles when he passed them on the sidewalk and maybe it was an unusual form of kindness, but their humor still made unexpected tears prick in his sockets.

Stretch grabbed his napkin and dabbed hastily at his face as if he were wiping away sweat before anyone could see and misunderstand. How could he explain to them that in all his life, he’d never felt such a wash of overwhelming fondness from anyone except maybe his own brother.

(Not even from the person who’d told him so often and so tenderly that he loved him…until he didn’t, fucking hell, he wasn’t thinking about that right now, he wasn’t.)

The sheriff was obviously no fool and already his expression was softening into remorse, maybe coming up with an apology that Stretch desperately did not want, not for this. Rescue came almost too late and from an entirely unexpected source. Granny Collemore was so short Stretch could only see her steel-gray hair piled up in a messy bun over the top of the booth as she approached, but he heard her hollering well enough.

“Buford, you let that poor boy alone!” There was a smacking sound of a cane hitting flesh and Stretch couldn’t see where the blow struck, but the sheriff, Buford, let out a yelp, hopping on one foot as he frantically rubbed his shin.

“Sam Hill, granny, I was only playin!” he grumbled. He pulled up the leg of his trousers to examine his granny-inflicted wound. There was a reddened welt on the skin, already shading to purple.

“You hush yourself,” Granny huffed, “I’m half-past give-a-shit today and you may be the sheriff in these parts, but you ain’t too old for a hiding!” Granny shuffled into view, her cane hooked over one arm. She reached out with her wrinkled hands and Stretch leaned over obediently to let her to cup his face gently in her palms as she clucked with concern. “Does he look like he’s up for your shenanigans?” she groused loudly, “‘specially since this feller is working over at the grocery with Red, bless his heart.”

“That a fact?” Buford pushed his hat up and offered a crooked smile. “Must be a brave soul, then. Well, you tell that sonavabitch I’m gunning for him this Sunday. He better be there with silver bells on and you tell him that whatever aces are up his sleeves, better make sure they ain’t spades, ‘cause that’s the reverend’s favorite cheat.”

“i’ll do that,” Stretch agreed, a touch bewildered. Hell, he’d thought Red was joking when he said the sheriff was his poker buddy.

That sounded like an exit line, it was starting to look like Stretch was going to make it out of here unscathed, and he might have if Granny hadn’t put in, happily, “Anyhoo, Buford, you just miss seeing Edge. He was here sharing a slice of pie with our new fella.”

Dark eyebrows rose up over those mirrored lenses and Buford hooted a laugh, “Oho, that how it is. On a date with our Edge, were ya.”

Great, that was exactly what he didn’t want getting back to Red. Enjoying a little flirting was one thing, but not if it started the wheels of the gossip train turning. With his luck, it would crash right into a dumpster fire. “uh, no, no dates, just pie.”

He did not expect Buford to suddenly look a little offended, those eyebrows drawing down into a frown behind his glasses. “Why in the Sam Hill not? Ain’t he your type?”

“Uh.” Stretch looked around a little wildly, away from Granny and Buford to see the rest of the diner was still watching them with interest. No, not just interest, there was an awful lot of sly looks there and whispering behind hands, along with soft expressions and doe-eyes…

Oh. Oh, shit, it was worse than he thought. They were invested, everyone in this diner was taking sides and they were choosing the romance option, this was bad, this sort of thing was infectious and the last thing he needed right now was an entire town of matchmakers trying to hook him up with the local hottie. It was like an unsolved Agatha Christie took a sudden, sideways turn into a Hallmark Gyftmas movie.

Buford and the rest of the diner were all waiting for him to explain why he and Edge weren’t dating and Stretch was sitting here, fumbling around at the pass.

“we’re not dating, we’re just—” Stretch coughed awkwardly, hesitating. The truth was ‘it’s complicated’ was probably most accurate, although ‘barely met acquaintances’ was a close second, or even the generic, ‘he’s my boss’s baby bro whose ass i am definitely not staring whenever i see him but also his smile is really nice and—' “—friends,” Stretch finished, lamely.

Buford nodded like he’d offered not a nugget of wisdom, but an entire ten-piece with the tangy sauce. The light reflected in his mirrored gaze as he said, kindly, “That ain’t a bad thing.”

Relieved, Stretch let out an unsteady laugh, “kinda surprised you don't think i'm a cousin or something.”

Buford snorted loudly at that, “Son, you boys don't look a thing alike.”

And that there was another surprise to add to his daily total. In Ebott, Stretch was constantly getting mistaken for Papyrus or Sans, even his own brother once or twice. Half the time, people either didn’t know his name or didn’t care to, and Backwater was a strange place, no question, but that sure didn’t mean it was bad.

Buford didn’t seem to notice his shock as he went on, “Now there’s a boy who could use some en-ter-tainment. Works too hard, damned if he don’t.”

Now that was a clue looking him right in the face and Stretch took the Velma leap and pounced on it, trying for a little discreet nonchalance, “yeah? what does he work so hard at?”

A shame Buford seemed to be pretty quick on the draw. He gave Stretch a shrewd look, “He ain’t told you?”

“no, sir,” Stretch sighed glumly. Seriously, he was the worst Velma ever.

Buford went ahead and poured salt into the open wound with another short laugh, “Naw, I’ll ain’t stepping in that cow pie. I’ll let him talk to ya about that. But see if you can’t get him to slow down for another--” Buford gave him a sly wink and actually hooked his thick fingers into air quotes, “’friend date’, wontcha?”

Then he grunted as Granny Collemore jammed her elbow into his soft gut, tutting loudly, “You never did shake the ants outta your pants did you, Buford! Let those boys alone, they'll go at their own pace.” To Stretch she offered sunny, toothless grin, “Come on, and walk an old lady out.”

“yes, ma’am,” Stretch said. Hey, he might be an idiot, but he was no fool. He stood up, ready to make his getaway, halted only briefly by Buford snatching up his hand and giving it an enthusiastic shake, though his grip was gentle on the delicate bones.

“Welcome to town, Stretch,” Buford told him. For once he was completely serious as he said, low, “and don’t you worry about those boys.” He tapped the side of his nose, his broad finger reflected in his sunglasses. “I know what happened, it’ll be taken care of.”

“i appreciate that,” Stretch said, and he meant it. He turned and followed after Granny, only dodging ahead to hold up the door so she could shuffle out.

“Thank you, sonny,” Granny huffed as she made her slow way through the door. “These old bones ain’t as spry as yours. You should head on home now, there's a storm a’comin'."

Stretch looked up into the cloudless sky in confusion, greeted by endless blue.

“Oh, you can trust me," Granny grimaced and rubbed at her hip, "these joints don't lie."

“i will,” Stretch agreed. After his lesson with the corn, he was taking the townsfolk at their word and if granny said a storm was heading this way, he expected to see clouds blowing in any minute now.

He left Granny to make her way home and headed back to the store. Red only grunted when he came in, didn’t even look up from his book as he hooked an absent thumb towards his apartment. There was a bag sitting on the table and when Stretch looked inside, there was a sandwich neatly covered in plastic wrap, a bag of chisps, and a bottle of juice. He was still full up on pie, but it would make for a nice, simple dinner, good thing he had Red up there looking after him. Maybe he should suggest to Red that he get a tattoo, a nice heart engraved on his arm with ‘Mom’ in the middle, since now he had one.

Stretch took the bag upstairs with him and opened the window. He took a moment to breathe in the already cooling air, a herald to the coming storm.

The book was sitting where he’d left it last night when he’d dragged himself off Red’s sofa, limbs spaghettied from sleep and his mind noodly mush. He’d brought the book along without even thinking about it and now the hardcover seemed to mock him with the necessary knowledge hidden somewhere within those pages.

Welp, there was only one way he was gonna get the info out of it and that didn’t mean beating it against his skull until the words shook out. He picked it up and settled to sit cross-legged on the bed, bracing himself for what might well be hours of boredom as he turned it to the first page.

And frowned. At the top of the page was a family name, ‘Anderson’, along with the date, ‘1884’. There was a short selection of first names beneath it and next to each was what looked like a telephone number and an address.

“what the hell?” Stretch muttered. He flipped to the second page and it was the same thing, only the name was ‘Armstrong’ and there were a lot more first names to go with it, someone was getting busy on the weekends, for sure.

Stretch flipped to the next page, and the next. All of them had the same thing, a last name, then a collection of firsts with a number and an address. Finally, he flipped back to the title page. There, right underneath the scrolling text declaring the book ‘The Informal History of Backwater’ was a tiny addition he hadn’t noticed before, stating in a small, stark font, ‘Municipal Directory.’

For a long moment, Stretch could only stare at it, until the words started floating in his sight. Laughter bubbled up suddenly, fizzing in him like a shaken soda. "sonofabitch," Stretch burst out, snickering madly. The damn thing was a glorified telephone book and Edge had flat-out given him his damned address already, practically gift-wrapped it! And he'd almost refused to take the damn thing! Guy wasn't only sexy, he had jokes and if he wasn't already a treat to the senses, that would have upgraded him to a bone-ified snack.

Address had to be in here, all Stretch needed to do was find it. The book was bigger than he would’ve thought from a small town, but from the look of it, they never took anyone out, only kept adding on. Occasionally next to a name he saw an abbreviated ‘dec.,’ so maybe this was a bit of town history, after all, kind of a family tree, anyway.

It still took him awhile to find their names, flipping through the book. The names were alphabetized, but that didn’t help much when the family he was looking for didn’t have a last name. Finally, under the surname ‘Skeleton’, he found them.

“should’ve tried that to begin with,” Stretch muttered. He read the entry, following along with his finger, only to pause in confusion when it came to the date recorded neatly by their names. It listed them as arriving in town over a decade ago and if that was when they came to Backwater, then whoever printed this needed to proofread a little better, because that was impossible. Monsters had only been on the surface for a couple years, not quite three now, so it had to be a mistake.

Except, Edge struck him as the kind of guy who was pedantic enough that there was no way he wouldn’t bitch until it was fixed; anyone who ate their pie like it was a military maneuver wouldn’t be able to stand such an egregious error. And he’d made sure to give Stretch the book, so he damn well knew he’d be seeing this. So what the hell did all this mean?

What did any of this mean?

Stretch sank back against the wall behind him, tipping his head up so he could stare at the ceiling. There was a crack in the plaster in one the corner, spidering off into a shape like a lightning bolt and that was exactly what Stretch felt like he’d been struck with.

What the hell was this place? Some kind of fairytale, where one day in town was a week on the outside? If he hopped on another bus and made his way to the next town over, would the papers tell him it was next Tuesday or the next century?

It was enough to inspire him to check his messages. Stretch fumbled for his phone, opening the text app for the first time in days. The amount of alerts made him wince but it was the last message that roused that endless ache in his soul back up to true pain.

I understand that you’re hurting, brother. You don’t have to tell me where you are. You don’t even have to call. All I ask is you send me a message every once in a while to let me know you’re all right. Please.

Stretch closed his sockets and swallowed against the sudden knot in his throat. Before he could rethink it, he typed a hasty, i’m all right and sent it, then lurched over to shove his phone into the nightstand drawer, slamming it shut.

Even so, he couldn’t help listening, straining to hear but there was no vibrating buzz, nothing to indicate a return message.

Good enough.

Stretch took a deep, shaky breath, then dragged the book back over and studied the entry again. Red’s address was the store, no surprises there, but Edge was listed under 637 Wood’s End Drive.

Wood’s End. Seriously?

Welp, it was one mystery solved, anyway, even if he’d skipped the meddling kids part. Now all he needed was to plan a field trip.

A sudden flash of lightning lit the room, putting the fake bolt on his ceiling to bitter shame and the sky outside seemed to burst, rain pouring down and pelting through his open window. Stretch scrambled over to slam it closed, shaking away the damp on his hands. All the sunshine from earlier was gone, the sky darkened into angry, swirling storm clouds as the downpour drenched the parched earth.

Yeah, field trip was postponed on account of rain, but not for long. He’d get there and maybe once he showed up on Edge’s doorstep, he’d finally get some real answers.

For now, though, all Stretch wanted was a towel.

tbc

[the-last-cuddlebender]

Happy FFWF cuddles! 😊 What are the fluffiest things you've ever written, and why do you think they're the fluffiest?

HAPPY FFWF,  MY FRIEND!!!

oh this is incredibly difficult and took me quite a while to think about omg why must you do this to me, peaches?????

Hmmm...the fluffiest and why...

I am a sucker for Kataang taking care of each other, and I think that drives the majority of my fluff. Just the TLC, y’know? And happy crying. Oh gosh, happy crying. I think I’ve only managed to do it once in the readers with I’m Here, the whistle-speak fic that holds my heart on a string, but gosh do I love it when I write something sweet and a lil tear comes to my eye. What I’m writing usually isn’t that good when it happens, but I get so invested that it just comes out. It makes writing worth it to me💕

I really, really, REALLY love the fluff in Eyes of Ash from Aang bonding with the other young master airbenders right after he gets his tattoos. Aang having big brothers is my kryptonite I stg:

One of the bison landed on the cluster of young masters, and he pawed through the lump of bodies until he found the smallest, laughing one. He picked Aang up by his scruff between his teeth and grumpily shuffled away. Curling up, he held the boy in his front paws and looked almost like he was trying to hide his skyrider under his chin. He bared his teeth and growled at the pouting young masters climbing over him like an infestation.

Moonlit Stitches is my favorite fluff-piece that I’ve written, I think. I haven’t been able to duplicate the magic of that fic yet. It’s just the little things about describing how things feel and how things feel that I think make it so fluffy, if that makes sense. It takes the fluffy feel from the outside and puts it inside

Katara curled her hands into his robes and ran her fingers over the thick weave. The material was gentle and delicate as it slid under the pads of her fingers. It was thin but densely woven, and its many stitches made it welcoming to the touch. It was beautiful and vibrant from a distance, and it was reliable and sturdy even after years of abuse.

From afar, it looked untouched, but Katara felt around the dozens of bulging scars in the fabric. She had stitched up every one, and as she tilted her head, inviting him deeper, one of her hands sought out the patchwork of scars on his exposed torso up towards his shoulder. She had stitched up those, too. They were nearly invisible except for the welting bumps that they made under her fingers. They were proof of a thousand near-misses—flirts with what she didn’t like to think about. She had already seen it before. They broke and built him like wooden beams snapped and replaced by steel, like a broken bone fusing thicker than before.

One of his hands slid up her back and down the length of her arm, pulling her hand away from the evidence of bad memories. He kissed each of her knuckles while his other arm shifted around her waist.

And then he held their hands out like they were dancing.

Katara smiled. Aang didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. His eyes spoke so much for him that he could live mute and never need to write his thoughts, but his smile was a wonder of nature, like sunshine curled across his face, and his laugh was a gift that he wanted to share with the world.

All the Spirits and the Ancients themselves could not keep her from the soul who would ever damage his smile.

Aang often got lost in his need to make her his, but Katara quickly learned that intimacy was the last thing that concerned. He wanted to kiss her and touch her. He wanted to make her smile at silly jokes and laugh at his antics. He wanted to need her—to train himself to make her his focus. Two people only ever belonged to one another if they did. It was never a matter of leaving a mark on the other person. It was him putting her mark on himself—him pulling her closer so that she might fill the void he wanted so desperately to fill with her.

He wanted to chase her, not to catch her but to give her reason to want to run with him.

And as he swayed her softly, she leaned into his lead until they were two pendulums dancing in the moonlight.

Aang being a little shit like in Dip in the Bed is always fluffy to me because smartass-ery is just adorable for some reason:

Aang’s smile was as bright as his eyes were gentle. They were half-lidded, too. His whole posture was a broken coil pretending to still be a spring, but that didn’t stop him from trying. He laid on his side and rested his face on one fist, eclipsing her in his shadow. He studied her like she was a painting he was seeing for the first time—like he was just now finding every hidden meaning buried behind each brushstroke.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” Aang said, like he always did. His voice was warmer than his robe had been when it came off the fire. 

Katara stared for longer than she liked. Every part of her wanted to move. She couldn’t. Maybe all of this was a dream. Aang said he would be gone for a week at the least. It had been only a few days. He had to fly all the—

Aang touched her cheek and hummed their song. And though only his thumb brushed under her eye, the whole of her felt like it was hugged.

He was home early.

That bastard.

But the fluffiest of all, imo, is that which I haven’t released yet, and it’s a kindof essay-type post of all things😅 It’s a little rambling about "Avatar’s Love” and what I think it means (all a result of the TSR analysis lmao), and the whole of it makes me cry like a BABY and makes me so dang HAPPY every time oh my gosh:

...It was the same notes played to a different melody that was as familiar as it was new. It was the same partner in a different dance and a new song created together. Each beat of the song is different, and so is each step of the dance. There are an endless amount of ways to say ‘I love you’, and there are just as many infinite ways to say ‘I love you, too’. It can be someone standing silent beside you, or it can be someone not beside you filling your silence.

It was passing on a betrothal necklace as a gift to a daughter. The love is still there. It’s just in a different form—the same notes but rearranged with a new player creating a new song.

It’s a story coming to a close, but the longing for more is what makes it complete.

The song ends, but only for a while. Silence meant a moment to breathe...

(ALSO JUST EVERYTHING ABOUT MEET ME BY THE RIVER ON GOD I JUST SVNEOIUBVNERIPFBNDFB)

[ramblings-of-a-foolish-mortal]

Constellations in your soul - C2

///Preface: this chapter has dissociation and some self deprecation in it. After releasing the first chapter I realized that some warnings might be in order so that people who are sensitive to the topic don’t suffer because of it. I hope you enjoy it and as always, comments and suggestions are welcome. :)///

 Sirius sat on a toilet lid in the abandoned bathroom, holding up his arm up in an uncomfortable position while holding his shirt in his lap. Remus had spent a solid 10 minutes inspecting him to see what injuries there were before he’d even started to put Sirius back together. Remus held a grimace on his face and briefly brought his sleeved hand to his nose, like trying to wipe away a scent or a smell. 

“Jeez, blood has a strong smell…” his grimace faded as he rolled up his sleeves, kneeling back to get a better look at what he was doing. 

   “So, remind me why we never use magic to do this?” Sirius leaned back a bit before Remus gently reminded him he needed to sit up straight for this. Haha, straight.

   “Because healing spells are complicated, and while I may be smart I’m not about to rearrange your ribcage for something I could easily do with my hands.” Remus frowned as he spoke, mumbling things under his breath as he took note of them. His face scrunched up a little bit when he was concentrating, and his eyes remained focused on his target. His intense glare was one you didn’t usually want to be on the receiving end of, and it was pointed right at Sirius’ chest. Right now, he appeared to be trying to glare Sirius’ injuries out of existence. “What happened to make her this mad? I thought she doesn’t usually beat you like this unless she thought you did something?” Remus’ voice cracked when he said ‘beat’ like it caused him pain just to think about it. 

Aww, you really think he cares about you Sirius. He just feels obligated to help you, you’re a burden in his life and thorn in his side. 

   I know…

 “Uh- It wasn’t really anything bad,” Sirius shifted to prop his arm up on the water tank of the toilet, “She got upset at Regulus because he burnt the bacon, but I distracted him. At least, that’s what I told her, so she got mad at me. It’s not really that-!” Sirius growled quietly when Remus pressed on his side, pain flaring up his side and in his lungs. Shit that hurt… 

   “Sorry,” Remus muttered as he stood, walking over to an empty stall at the end of the row and coming back with a briefcase full of muggle first aid supplies. They’d hid it in here last year when Sirius had first explained what his family was like. Remus was very astute and had noticed Sirius consistently sleeping on his stomach and changing in the bathroom rather than the dorm, like the other boys (among other things like pained expressions and groaning in his sleep, which Sirius had no memory of doing.) Remus pulled out bruise cream and started spreading it across Sirius’ back and chest. 

   Sirius felt his face flush, looking up at the ceiling. “Take me on a date first, Remus.” A small, possibly awkward laugh left him, immediately replaced with a grimace as his ribs shifted slightly. Great… now he thinks I’m weird. I mean, he probably already did. I’m so fucking awkward why am I like this? 

  It’s because you’re worthless. Awkward? Closer to repulsive. He’s seen you beaten and bruised and broken so many times. Do you honestly think he still sees you the same way as before? Sirius’ grimace faded as he stared at the ceiling. 

    He cares, I know he cares. If he didn’t, he would’ve run away a long time ago. 

    PLEASE. You, James, and Peter are the only people who would accept him for being a werewolf. He’s got it SO much worse than you, and yet you make him take care of you. Bend to your whim.

   Just shut up…

   “Sirius, are you alright? “ Remus looked up at him from his crouching position at his side. Sirius looked down at him, leaning forward slightly. 

   “Yeah?” Remus held his eyes for a moment, studying Sirius for a moment, then offered him back his shirt. 

   “I finished. Your shirt might stick a little bit, but once your skin absorbs it you should be good. We’ll want to change the bandages on the cuts in a couple days.” Remus smiled slightly, offering Sirius a hand. Sirius took it, pulling himself up. 

   “Wait, there were cuts?” Sirius frowned slightly. “I didn’t think… I didn’t think I felt any cuts… “ Remus gently touched Sirius’ back, right between his shoulder blades. 

   “Yeah, there were some right here, and a couple on your upper shoulder. Make sure not to move your arms too much. At least as best as you can.”

   “Yes, Nurse.” Sirius sent a smirk at Remus before trying to pull his shirt on, face immediately contorting into a pained expression when his arms went over his head. Remus laughed quietly. 

   “Aww, do you need help getting your shirt on?” Sirius glared at him, pulling his shirt down, huffing quietly. “I’ve been reading a First Aid book published by a muggle health organization. It’s incredibly informative. I really enjoyed reading it too.” Remus let himself smile while closing, clipping, and rehiding the bag of First Aid supplies. 

   “You’re such a nerd, Remus. I mean, why would you read when you can climb trees or flirt.” Sirius waited until Remus was next to him to start walking back to the dorms with him. 

   “Because I find books much more enjoyable than people. They’re quiet, usually, and don’t require me to move very much. Pair that with the inevitable social interaction required when surrounded by other people, I tend to avoid people when I can.” Remus glanced over at Sirius as he spoke. Sirius had to tilt his head up slightly to look at Remus’ face, noticing how his hair reflected the torchlight. Well hot damn, I’m just too gay for this shit.

   Sirius laughed at himself quietly, and they walked the rest of the way to the dorm in comfortable silence. Once Sirius climbed into bed, he carefully laid on his back and stared at the ceiling, thoughts racing through his mind as everything from How can I frustrate Professor McGonigal tomorrow to Should I leave James and Remus and Peter so they can finally have some peace? 

   His thoughts continued to wander as he fell asleep, pulling the blankets up another inch or two before drifting off.

   While Sirius lay sleeping, Remus lay awake in his bed, trying to distract himself from the repetitive image of Sirius’ bruised and welted chest. Under different circumstances, Remus would’ve been incredibly embarrassed and flustered touching Sirius like that, but the bruises, cuts, welts, and scars had him in a significantly darker mood. Why would they hurt Sirius like that… actually, nevermind, they’re bastards with no souls. The better question is: Why does Sirius put himself in harm's way like that. He knows he’ll get it worse than Regulus, but yet he still chooses to take the blame for things, even small things. This is the worst I’ve seen him injured since second year…

Remus frowned at the memory of Sirius laying in his bed, asleep and severely injured. That day he’d traveled via firepit to Remus’ house after having almost been beaten to death by his own mother. 

He could remember clearly the moment when he ran downstairs to see what had caused such a loud thump in his living room and panicked at the sight of Sirius covered in blood and bruises. It had taken quite a bit of both muggle remedies and magic to heal Sirius. They were lucky Remus’ mother knew First Aid and his father had become acquainted with healing spells through his work. He’d sat by Sirius for days, making sure he was okay, keeping him safe, getting him water and food and anything else he needed. Remus had been glaring at the wall with such fervor he’d given himself a headache. He groaned quietly, turning to his other side. He could hear Sirius breathing and chose to focus on that. The steadiness of his breath was calming, though Remus heard him occasionally heard Sirius’ breath hitch in his chest when he inhaled too deeply, heaven forbid he have a good night’s rest. I will have to invest more time in First Aid. It’s quite useful… 

Remus closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep, after a long time of his mind disobeying him, he started to ease into foggy rest.

A few weeks had passed since the first day of the term without much transpiring in the way of excitement. James was still preparing for his first big stunt of the year, and Sirius had been busy helping him. They hadn’t gone to bed until late the previous night due to planning what had to be their biggest, awesomest project yet, a map that would be able to track the students and teacher. One only they would be able to use. 

Because of the late-night, and subsequent awful sleep, Sirius woke up at the unholy hour of 05:00 AM. He didn’t normally rise this early, but after waking up in a cold sweat from a nightmare he wasn’t too eager to go back to sleep either. Slowly, he sat up and blinked slowly. His mind and body felt like they were dry and stiff, not wanting to move exactly when he needed them to, and he felt phantom pains from the dream stacked on his physical injuries. While fighting his lethargy, he got out of bed while grimacing as his rib cage shifted, then rummaged through his suitcase, yet to be unpacked, and then padded towards the bathrooms. His hair was likely a mess, but that would be fixed with a shower. And if it was still knotted, well, Remus was the only person he really let mess with his hair. James pulled too hard and hurt him, and Peter was so clumsy that the one time Sirius had let him touch his hair, it’d ended up so mangled it took Remus 3 hours to untangle. Sirius opened the doors to the bathroom, beginning to wash himself off. The water slowly woke him up enough to function, though there was still this lingering fog similar to silt covering his mind. A thought hit him in the middle of washing his hair, Today is gonna be shit… He frowned, frustratedly glaring at the wall. No, today is going to be FINE. I’m going to go to class like every morning. I’ll joke around with James, flirt with some people, and it will be good.

He stayed in the shower for another several minutes, simply because he felt like he didn’t have the energy to leave. When he finally gathered himself, he wasted more time while drying off. By the time he’d finally made it back to the boy's dorm room to put his dirty nightclothes in a basket by his bed, the other boys were up. One look at Remus told Sirius he hadn’t slept well either. They exchanged a mutual look of ‘You too, huh?’, before Remus broke eye contact to pull his sweater over his shirt. Remus had a tendency to only be semi-functional in the morning and preferred not to speak until after breakfast.

Sirius walked over to his nightstand to grab his brush, reaching out and halting when his hand closed around nothing. It’s not here… He glanced around the room and saw Remus holding it up in one hand while smiling slightly. Ah, there it is. Sirius sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Remus while James threw himself on Remus’ bed. Remus brushed out Sirius’ hair, occasionally using his fingers to untangle knots the brush wouldn’t pull through easily. 

 “You guys look absolutely awful. I keep forgetting you’re grouchy in the mornings.” James turned to lay on his back, watching Remus’ expression pass through 3 or 4 emotions before settling on mild dissatisfaction. Most people probably wouldn’t have noticed but, well, James had been his friend for 4 years and picked up on some things. Sirius knocked on the top of James’ head, grabbing his attention. 

   “Well, you see, James, when two people-” Sirius had a grin on his face before Remus cut him off. 

   “Late night, little sleep, you’re a baby,” Remus spoke in a quiet mumble, probably still half asleep. 

   “Yeah, you’re one to talk James. If you don’t get your beauty sleep you’re grumpy all day! At least Remus turns functional after 3 gallons of coffee.” Sirius grinned as he spoke, though it was partially to cover up concern. He knew Remus hadn’t gotten to sleep until the small hours of the morning. I wish I could add more hours to the night, or knock him out. He might actually get some decent sleep if we drugged him… Remus poked the hairbrush over Sirius’ shoulder, catching Sirius’ eye and pulling him out of his train of thought.

   “Here.” It came out barely audible as Sirius moved out of the way so that Remus could pull on his shoes. “Breakfast… Coffee… Tired… “ Remus shoved his hands in his pockets and started to trudge down the stairs. Sirius watched him leave, eyes trailing from his back to his muted and messy blond hair. He’s frickin’ adorable when he’s tired… Sirius smiled slightly, then glanced to his side where James had been only a few moments before, though now there was only an empty spot on the bed. Did he already go down to breakfast? Or did he go to flirt with Evans? Sirius stood up, walking into the common room just in time to see Lily telling off James for being a bother this early in the morning. 

 Sirius felt himself smile when he saw James trying to look sincere while staring at Lily with doe eyes. For some reason, James seemed to think it was hot when she was angry, though Sirius didn’t really understand it. He turned, continuing towards the Great Hall for breakfast, climbing out of the porthole and meandering down the hallway towards their normal spot for breakfast. Remus had all but claimed the spot as solely theirs. Even though he was so tired and usually the last one awake, he was also the first person to breakfast every day. Well, almost every day. Sirius glanced at the portraits on the wall, letting his thoughts drift. He knew Peter probably wouldn’t be there until the last 10 minutes, considering he wouldn’t be waking up for another 30 minutes at least. Sirius felt the smile melt from his face while looking at the portraits on the wall, a kind of quiet resignation worming its way into his brain. These wizards have all done great things. Only half of them have gone to Hogwarts but all of them have made some kind of great achievement… I’ll never make it on this wall… or into someone else’s wall, I won’t be on my own wall in my room by the time I’m old enough to move away… His body stiffened for a moment. I won’t be on my own wall… Since when did he want to be on his own bloody family tree? Since when did he want to be part of his own piece-of-shit family in his whole life? He turned, walking the rest of the way to the Great Hall. Of course, you want to be on your own wall, with the rest of your family. You’re just like them. Manipulative, hurtful, abusive. You’re so full of yourself you’re constantly playing the victim because nothing is ever your fault. How many other kids in this hall do you think have parents like yours? Probably all of them. They don’t have the kind of money your family does, they don’t have your kind of house, your parents' jobs, your siblings, the noble life. You’ve got it so much better than them and yet you think you have it bad? What kind of pathetic kid are you?

 Sirius’ nails bit into his palms as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He knew the voice was right, but what could he do about it now? He’d already told Remus 2 years ago. His skin crawled at his own deceptions. I made Remus worry about me. I whined to him about my problems even though he has worse problems than any of us. Especially me.  His thoughts turned and tumbled through his mind until they seemed to fade out. Like turning translucent. He watched the doors to the Great Hall pass overhead while his head grew lighter and his emotions turned into a little ball of chalk in his chest, compressed and hard and out of the way. He sat down at the table, sending a smile to Remus out of habit. Remus will worry… He didn’t talk most of breakfast, though he wasn’t incoherent. He frowned slightly when breakfast was over. I thought… I just sat down to eat. My food is gone… I guess I ate… Sirius stood up, watching his plate disappear before walking to his first class of the day, his satchel slung over his shoulder. I hope I can pay attention…

Almost an hour later he was finally able to start paying attention to his class, jotting down messy notes while flipping to a page in his Potions book. Sometimes he'd get spacey like he had earlier today, which was a pain because he had trouble focusing when he did that, and then he'd have to catch up on notes… which inevitably meant extra work. A mental groan pushed into his thoughts, along with yet another round of awful thoughts. Why won’t you just shut up for a while, huh? It’s not like I’m a COMPLETE failure. I have decent grades, at least. It’s hard to focus with all the noise in my head. He quietly growled at his papers, frustrated at his own lack of attention. Maybe I’ll just live under a bridge and join a troll. Or I’ll live as a stray dog. At least then I won’t take up unnecessary space. At least- His thoughts were interrupted by Remus touching his arm. Little bits of electricity raced around where Remus touched the fabric of Sirius’ shirt as he shifted his gaze from the parchment to Remus’ perfect face.

    “Are you okay?” Remus spoke quietly, mostly mouthing the words. His touch on Sirius’ arm lightened like he was about to pull away. Sirius nodded, then shot him a winning grin.

   “Ooh, Remus. It’s so nice to know you worry about me, but I’m fine.” Sirius purposefully made it sound flirty, letting his eyes close a little while pushing a small smirk. Remus arched an eyebrow at Sirius in what seemed to be suspicion or maybe just irritation. Sirius watched Remus for only a moment but felt his smirk turn into a smile, turning back to his work. “Really, I’m okay. Thank you for asking, though.” As he turned back to his work, his mind felt clearer, though he felt strangely cold once Remus retracted his hand, returning to his work. As Sirius continued taking notes and working, he felt more at peace with Remus there. He knew that Remus cared, and he knew Remus would be there if he ever needed him.

 The thoughts didn’t entirely go away for the day but it got easier to ignore them, or at least make them quieter. Most of the day passed tediously slow, except the few times he got spacey again, as opposed to the first class that had passed almost in the blink of an eye. Sirius couldn’t even remember concretely if he’d actually gone to those classes, though he was sure he had because he had a nonsense compilation of notes from all the classes combined into an incomprehensible document. It wasn’t until after dinner that he realized how tired he was. He’d spent all day either on the run between classes that were on opposite ends of the castle or trying to be coherent in class while spacing out. As he started walking back to Gryffindor Tower, James smacked the back of his head as he ran past Sirius. Snapped out of his stupor, Sirius glared at him while smiling.

 “You DIDN’T.” Sirius felt his smile grow wider before Remus stepped up next to him and took his bag. After a brief smile of thanks to Remus, Sirius took off after James, chasing him down the hall and dodging around people.

 “Get him back for me, Sirius!” Peter called out to Sirius, cupping his hands so Sirius would hear him. Remus smiled slightly, glancing over at Peter for a moment.

 “They are pretty ridiculous.” Remus shifted Sirius’ bag higher on his shoulder as he spoke. Peter let Remus have the moment before hesitantly opening his mouth to speak.

 “Hey, Remus?” Peter glanced up, raising his head quite a bit to see Remus’ face, which was almost an entire head taller. “How far away until the next visit to the shack?” Remus’ face lost the smile. Their group had started referring to full-moons as ‘visits to the shack’ in an effort to normalize their conversations about it without letting everyone in a general vicinity know about Remus’ condition. Remus let out a quiet sigh, seeming to sag slightly.

 “It’s two weeks away. Supposed to be on Wednesday. Though I don’t know if that’s 100% accurate.” Remus glanced out the window momentarily to look out the window onto the Hogwarts grounds. He saw the Whomping Willow in the corner of the visible grounds through the window. Remus could only stand to look at it for a moment before returning his gaze to the floor inside the castle. Peter nodded beside him, then turned down the hall towards the Gryffindor Tower.

 “I have some chocolate from the house-elves. If you want some? I’d be happy to share, it’s honestly too much for me.” Remus smiled as Peter spoke. He was very sweet, and could usually see when someone needed something and acted on it frequently. That in its own right was very brave. Remus knew more people than he chose to count that rarely acted when they saw someone in any kind of pain.

 “That would be wonderful, Peter. Thank you.”

By the time Remus and Peter made it up to the tower, James was sitting on the common room couch talking to some younger students about the quickest routes between different classes, and Sirius was nowhere to be found in the common room. He’s likely laying in bed, he seemed very tired earlier today… though he also seemed upset. I wonder what’s bothering him? Peter pulled a bar of chocolate out of his bag, handing it to Remus, smiling.

“Let me know if you want any more, I think I’ve got two more bars.” Peter sat down on the couch a moment later. 

“Thank you, Peter. I think I’ll go to bed, though. Today has been rather tiring.” Remus gave a short wave to Peter and James, returning Peter’s smile. He unwrapped part of the chocolate bar and began to eat it as he walked up the stairs to the boy’s dormitory, trying to think of what could be bothering Sirius. Maybe someone said something about his parents? Or someone may have said something unkind about Peter or me? In all honesty, it could have been anything, I shouldn’t be worrying too much. Remus’ thoughts stopped when he saw Sirius draped over his bed. He hadn’t even bothered to get under the covers, hair a mess all over his pillow, sprawled on the bed with one hand under the pillow. God, he’s gorgeous… Remus broke from his stupor, holding the chocolate bar in his mouth, then set his bags by his bed before walking over to Sirius, pulling back his covers and spreading them over the sleeping boy. Remus sat down on the edge of his own bed and watched Sirius for a moment, wondering what had exhausted him so thoroughly. It only took him a few bites to finish the chocolate bar. He pulled out a book as he took the last bite and felt a little disappointed that it had disappeared so quickly.

He shifted back on his bed until his back was propped up against the wall, opening the book he’d been reading to the bookmark. It was a muggle book he’d borrowed from his mother, and he enjoyed the story very much. It was about a simple, calm hobbit that got pulled into an adventure he wasn’t entirely ready for, Remus related to the character a little with all of the insanity James and Sirius pulled him into. The character was relatively soft-spoken, though not to be spoken over, and very protective. Remus smiled as he curled up, enjoying a quiet evening of reading The Hobbit and listening to the sound of rain. 

///Thank you for reading. I don’t know how quickly I’ll be able to get these done, But i will try my best to post every other week, they may come more often, long chapters might take a little longer. :) Have a wonderful week and take care.///

[shinobi-imagines]

please read my story ㅠㅠ

Hi everyone! It’s been a minute... I don’t really come on Tumblr much anymore, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t write! I just wanted to take the time to plug my new KakaOC fanfic called, The Price of Simplicity (read on fanfiction.net or ao3). 

The story starts in Kakashi’s ANBU days where he meets a civilian named, Tsuru. He finds her incredibly annoying, loud, yet she still draws him in for some reason. Soon, he finds out that Tsuru is terminally ill and is destined to die at a young age. While it is Tsuru could never fully understand the life of a shinobi, Kakashi realizes that the two aren’t so different. 

I would really appreciate it if you guys could read, comment, like, follow, and support my work! I will leave the first chapter under the cut!

The darkest times of Kakashi Hatake’s life were in his youth. The time which many advise you not to waste were tossed in the throes of war for Kakashi. He was bitter. So bitter for so many years and often wondered what the point of living was. However, he swore to himself since he was a little boy that suicide was not an option. Suicide was for cop outs like his father was when the man had left his son that one brutal night. So, Kakashi contemplated to the best way or any acceptable way for a shinobi to die.

By twenty-three, Kakashi was already a well established ninja in Konoha. He had climbed the ranks quickly and by the time he was sixteen, he had already become an ANBU captain. Here he was. Nine years and still an ANBU. Seven years and still a captain. Kakashi had stopped caring for rankings the moment he understood the burden that came with excellence.

“It’s settled then!” his “eternal rival” Gai yelled fiercely. “Kakashi, you’re coming out with us tonight!”

Gai hadn’t changed much in Karachi’s eyes. He was still annoying and much too intense, but Gai was perhaps the only person Kakashi found some comfort in. However, Gai’s attempts to get Kakashi to socialize was starting to get on his nerves.

“Tonight,” Gai continued, “you and I will battle over and over again! We’ll see who the best drinker is! We will see who can get the most girls! We will see-”

“You can stop,” Kakashi denied cooly. “I won’t be going out.”

“I think you misunderstand,” Gai almost growled. “This is no request nor is it a simple invitation. It is a challenge!”

Kakashi sighed. Had he said no to Gai’s demand…well…no wouldn’t have been an acceptable answer. It was Kakashi’s fault in the first place for telling the man he was given a day off the very next day.

Gai had come to visit Kakashi who was getting treated at the hospital for some injuries and a checkup from his previous mission. Although Kakashi hated being in the hospital, it was routine to go and Kakashi liked having routines.

Kakashi let the sounds of Gai drown out as he looked up at the ceiling wondering what he’d gotten into. The two walked down the hall way towards the lobby of the hospital when a girl walked by. Neither of the ninjas noticed her. She was just a patient wearing clothes provided by the hospital. She seemed rather happy and walked with a smile on her face that is until she tripped over seemingly nothing and fell fatefully right in front of two ninjas.

“Are you okay?” Kakashi asked offering a hand to help her up.

“I’m fine!” she replied obviously flustered. She ignored the hand that Kakashi held out and rushed past the two before they could get a glimpse of her face.

“She looked a little young to be in the hospital,” Gai noted out loud.

“Yeah,” Kakashi concurred. “But you never know what happens in someone’s life. Look at me, I come here all the time.”

The bushy browed man merely blinked unsure if Kakashi was being serious or had told a joke.

Night came in almost no time. The sun had gown down and the village lights turned on. There were no kids out on the streets during this hour unless they were trying to sneak into bars to get their first tastes of alcohol with some thrill on the side. Honestly, Kakashi could spot those kids in the farthest corner of the bar from over a mile away without the help of his Sharingan. They were visibly attempting to contain their excitement and attempting to ignore the fact that they stuck out like a sore thumb.He probably didn’t realize that he was glaring at the boys, but Kakashi’s friends surely did.

“Hey,” Asuma called out to Kakashi. “Just let them be. They’re just having fun.”

“Yeah!” Genma jokingly snapped all too stoic man. “The party’s here, Kakashi!”

In Kakashi’s mind, he was thinking about how ungrateful those kids were acting. People like him from a young age put their lives on the line so that people like them could be safe and away from war. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? They didn’t know war because people like Kakashi had made it so they wouldn’t need to know war. Finally caving into his friends’ desires, he rejoined the group with a shot of sake which was met with a round of cheers from the other four men.

“Oh, Raido!” Genma drunkenly whispered to his friend sitting beside him. “Look at that lady who just walked in. Isn’t she pretty?”

Genma’s drunk whisper reached everyone’s ears, and certainly at the door was a very pretty woman with blonde hair that looked almost white and a pair of gray eyes. She wore a tight black dress with long lace sleeves and a pair of black heels. Talk immediately began circulating around the bar. Some speculated, she might have been a model although she looked a little short to be a model. Others theorized the girl was an actress, however, no one had seen her in any sort of production before.

Whoever she was, she seemed to be alone. Kakashi noticed that she had the same light of excitement and innocence in her eyes as the underage fellows who thought that they had beat the system. A naive girl at a bar alone only screamed danger. As predicted, a rugged man with a red flush spread across his cheeks approached the woman.

“Do we stop him?” Raido asks the group.

“I don’t know,” Asuma added.

“Did she not come with anyone?” Genma inquired further.

“If no one’s going to to take this chance, then I-” Gai stopped abruptly as Kakashi got up from his seat towards the girl who was clearly about to be harassed.

“Oh,” Asuma said surprised, “I guess even Kakashi can’t resist a beautiful damsel in distress.”

In truth, Kakashi just about had it with being surrounded by such annoying people. He slowly walked over watching as the drunk man flirted with the girl who looked unsure of what to do.

“Are you new here?” the man slurred. “If you are, I’ll buy you a drink and I could show you around the village tonight.”

“Uh,” she stammered, “no. I was actually born and raised here. Also, I don’t drink.”

“Eh? No way. A pretty face like your’s is something no one could forget!”

The stranger leaned closer and placed a hand on the woman’s knee. His face was right beside her ear when a shadow casted over his back. The woman looked up to see Kakashi with a dark glare in his eyes. It honestly frightened her too.

“If you don’t want any trouble,” Kakashi started to advise, “you’ll go back to your seat.”

“And who do you think you-” the man cut himself off as turned around. “K-K-Kakashi-san! What a surprise!”

The woman watched as the man stuttered like a baby before Kakashi.

“P-Please,” he got up and bowed, “excuse me!”

Kakashi glared down the man as he cowered and rushed away bumping into various chairs on his way back. He heard the woman sigh in relief. When he turned his glare to the woman, she jumped. He noticed that all the girl had her table was a cup of water. Kakashi recalled that the woman had claimed that she doesn’t drink.

“Oi,” Kakashi called out to who seemed like the dumbest woman alive, “are you stupid?”

“Excuse me?” she asked taken aback.

“Hey,” Gai rushed over to his friend, “calm down. You have to excuse him, he’s been really tense lately! Let us take you home. You can trust us, we’re noble shinobi of Konoha!”

“You heard me,” Kakashi ignored Gai. “Are you stupid?”

The woman pouted. Gai could see the flames blaring between the two intense stares.

“Well, who are you to interfere in someone else’s business?” she exclaimed in disbelief at the man’s audacity.

Before Gai could mitigate the situation any father, Kakashi and Gai saw the woman’s expression change from one of annoyance to surprise. As if on cue, another woman barged in.

“Tsuru nee-san!” she screamed angrily.

“Oh!” cried out the woman named Tsuru. “If it isn’t my little sister! Fancy seeing you here, Hyo-chan!”

Then a sound like the crack of lightning made the whole bar still. Hyo slapped Tsuru right across her face. This shocked even Kakashi because he was intending on reprimanding the dimwitted girl, however, this other woman with dark hair stepped in.

The two, who had claimed to be sisters, seemed to be related in only subtle ways. While Tsuru’s hair was light and long, Hyo’s hair was dark and short. Tsuru was much prettier than Hyo who’s appearance looked to be no more than average. However, the two had the same pale complexion and the same shade of gray eyes. Both were also rather short.

Another striking difference between the two was the existence of a Konoha hitae-ate around Hyo’s forehead. She wore the standard shinobi outfit. Judging by what he could see, Karachi deducted that Hyo was probably someone who was less invested in how she looked as opposed to her older sister.

“Wait outside for me, nee-san,” Hyo’s voice was quiet and demanding. It sent cold air throughout the silently stunned bar.

Without complaint, the older sister did as she was told.

“Wasn’t that a little too far?” Gai questioned Hyo. “You shouldn’t disrespect those who are older than you.”

Hyo glowered at the bushy browed jonin, “If she were your sister, you’d want to slap some sense into her too. The bitch keeps sneaking out of the hospital.”

For a moment, Kakashi noticed Hyo’s eyes grow grim before returning back to its original intensity.

The hospital? Kakashi realized that Tsuru was the girl he had tried to help up earlier that day.

“But still…” Gai’s voiced trailed off.

“I apologize,” Hyo bowed to the two men. “I hope my sister didn’t cause too much trouble for my seniors. I’ll be going now.”

Once the dark haired girl was gone, Kakashi said, “Gai.”

“Yeah,” Gai started, “I know. That Tsuru girl is the girl from the hospital.”

“Yes, but there’s something more than that.”

“Hm? What might that be?”

“She doesn’t seem to be a ninja, but she sensed her sister coming.”

“You’re right!”

“Oi!” Asuma called out to the two. “If you’re done making a ruckus, come join us for Kings’ Game!”

Gai marched happily back to the table amongst their friends. Kakashi too headed back, but with Tsuru in the back of his mind.

To put the facts together, Tsuru was undeniably beautiful; however, Kakashi had never seen her around before. She probably had some sort of condition that keeps her in the hospital. And it seemed that although she didn’t appear to be a kunoichi like her sister, she showed signs that she was a sensory type ninja which was a rare talent to have and develop. A spy maybe?

In the end, the group of inebriated and rowdy men certainly provided as a much needed distraction for Kakashi. While Kakashi didn’t really laugh or smile that night, he had to admit that he was rather entertained. Perhaps he was too accustomed in reading into things. Things aren’t always as they seem; but as one of Konoha’s elite shinobi he couldn’t help but think of all possible scenarios from the best to the worst.

Nonetheless, Kakashi woke up with a raging hangover the next morning. Probably from all the thinking.

[at-the-exd-of-everythixg]

][Mahogany and Rhys for ship headcanon meme][ 1 || 2 || 4 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 11 || 12 || 14 || 16 || 18 || 22 || 23 || 25 || 28 || 29

@blind-mutant

1. Who makes the first move and how?

Mahogany does! They bring Rhys a bunch of rats and flowers and flowers with rats buried between them. They took some creative liberties.

2. Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?

Rhys is since he's considerably smaller, weaker and Mahogany is so clear sighted about what they want in life. Mahogany can usually smell these moods from him and it immediately calls for some good Wendigo cuddles and aggressive rolling in the nest and cooing over how smart and how tricky Rhys is. Worst comes to worst??? Sex.

4. Who can’t keep their hands to themselves?

Mahogany since they had to be told to be aware of their personal space when they and Rhys first met. But when he let's them touch him freely? Holding his hand, hugging him, carrying him when they can and kissing Rhys is the best! They get huffy if they can't touch him at least once lt twice an hour.

6. Who would they ask if they ever had a threesome?

Oof uhhh,,,,if they were to find and know a more friendly other wendigo then probably them but I also imagine that if Rhys had someone he wanted to keep around and introduce to Mahogany then they would accept that person into their pack and be happy to take care of their new mate. Ngl if Rhys talks 'bout Blue then I imagine Mahogany silently considers her part of the pack when they smell how sad and in love Rhys was.

7. What do they get up to on a night out?

Well, mostly just sneaking about to get meat but Mahogany likes wandering about places at night and crawling along walls and overall seeming creepy. They like looking into windows and staring at sleeping people which,,,,Rhys slowly nods at that and just gets them to the nearest park or forest where they demand to know how playgrounds work and Rhys, a full grown man I guess, has to slide down a small plastic child's slide so his 6'9 lover can nod and clap.

8. What do they like in bed?

Rhys loves it when they bite him and wrap their arms around him to tug him closer to hold him close as they lift him up. He likes overall reminders that they can crush him yet he's the only one who can put his fingers in their mouth and be completely safe.

Mahogany loves it when Rhys bites them too and they love it when Rhys is always a bit rough, like forcefully spreading their legs or tugging their hair when he's feeling so good. They like having their attention on him. Oh and eating him out.

9. What is the most embarrassing thing they have done in front of each other?

Rhys tried to hunt with Mahogany but couldn't even catch a running squirrel before he slid off a steep edge and fell into a river. Mahogany fished him out and caught a bird in midair. He sulked in the bath for hours.

Mahogany isn't ever really embarrassed by stuff? But one time they went out in nothing but Rhys's shirt and wondered why he had suddenly raced after them, red faced and trying to apologise to a woman as he patted their bare butt back into the motel. He laughed tho when they asked if he was going to slap it more.

11. What do they hide from one another?

Rhys hides a surprisingly big amount, both small and large issues due to the fact that Mahogany acts on heart rather than thinking. He doesn't want them to know how someone had called him a freak earlier or that he wasn't a wendigo. I feel like Rhys often manipulates Mahogany for their safety and that even includes a time he told them that it was dangerous to go outside when maybe it wasn't really??

Mahogany often hides stuff that has happened to them or about the Wendigo history. Rhys hardly knows anything about their kind and he doesn't know about certain incidents like how someone tried to attack them earlier. They see no reason to worry their mate and they don't want Rhys to get upset like he always does if someone may be leaving gifts for Mahogany and always leaves the smell of a potential mate around.

12. What first changes when it starts getting serious?

Mahogany beings to get extra protective and officially starts calling Rhys their mate as well as trusting him entirely while Rhys officially starts to get worried at times for their hunts and becomes a lot more receptive to Magni bringing him gifts and their more possessive touches.

A bad side is Rhys becomes more stern on bath times and crying doesn't work anymore to make him soften up ;_;.

14. When one has a cold, what does the other do?

Mahogany panics and goes on a wide range stealing episode of getting as many clothes as they can to add to the nest. Curls up around Rhys to keep him cool or even wears more clothes if they're too cold for him. Whines and cries since they obviously think he's dying and if I'm honest, I wouldn't put it last Mahogany to get a human or a mutant to try and make him better. Spends most of the time crying and pressing their face against his to try and breath in his illness and take it away.

Mahogany is so confused when they get sick but it's in the summer and they can't keep anything down at all and start bloating. Probably tries to carry on as normal but Rhys has to be stern and make them lay in the nest. Like Pascal, an ice bath is needed and having to put their hair up while telling them fairy tales as they cry and sneeze repeatedly. Mahogany probably refuses to eat and only does when Rhys begs them and even then its slowly licking/drinking/slurping some watered down chicken soup he got for them.

16. When the zombie apocalypse comes, how do they cope together?

Oh god, Mahogany is in heaven. They get to eat people??? And not get yelled at??? Rhys undoubtedly has a breakdown or two but Mahogany is loving being able to play about with zombies and they're actually kinda chubby in this verse due to eating so much. I imagine it's a 50/50 of people wanting to be near or away from the pale mutant who is technically dating a form of zombie and honestly there's a point where Rhys probably has to have Mahogany wear a collar so others feel safe. Overall? They do pretty well! Especially with Mahogany's hunting.

But oh man scremaing has ensured at there being some sort of wendigo-zombie apocalypse. Mahogany suddenly being surrounded by forms of their own kind??? Angst.

18. When they fight, how do they make up?

Rhys apologises and it depends where they are because his apologies range from sex to getting them meat and a story. Most of the time he has to wait an hour or two because Mahogany wants to sulk and they have their hair spiked up around them to ensure he can't get near. And growling. They look like a sea bunny slug when they're mad so all he can do is sit near and wait for grumpy snuffling as they eat their meat and lick his fingers.

Mahogany hunts for Rhys and depending on how big the fight was is now big the animal is going to be. A small scuff? A rabbit. A big screamer? Mahogany drags a moose through the door and I mean. One of those fucking huge ones. They're bleeding but it's worth it to see Rhys's face when they drop it in front of Rhys and offer love making and bath times.

22. Where does their first kiss happen?

Well, technically when they first had sex on that surprise thread we did but I'm also soft at the idea of them kissing in an apple orchid because Mahogany heard that Rhys was hungry so they just....broke in and took him apple picking aka lifting him up to trees to get apples while listening out for the owners and whoop Rhys is turning around to kiss them and oh their hips are wiggling and they're chuffing loud enough to alert people better run!

23. Where is their favourite place to be together?

Anywhere with nature! Rhys probably learns to love it so much when he associates it as the safest place where Mahogany likes cuddling and rolling in the snow and swimming with him in quarries during the summer. Also having sex up against trees is great for details I probably should not get too deep into here.

25. Why do they fight?

Mahogany is rather protective and gets huffy when they can't kill humans who hurt Rhys, despite whether he agrees with it or not most of the time. He also needs to worry about how little care they give when going out to hunting and the harm they do to themselves.

A bigger issue is probably over how insistent Mahogany gets over Rhys becoming a wendigo because they see how mutants get treated and their Rhys is a mutant, so what if he gets treated badly? They get anxious and huffy more over it, desperate for their mate to be safe for good.

28. Why do they get jealous?

Mahogany gets jealous of anyone who dares goes near their mate with lustful smells. But then Mahogany just has to make Rhys smell more like them and cover him in more bites so he cannot be mistaken as free mate for anyone at all. He belongs to someone and that someone is staring angrily through a window and yeah you better slowly back away and ask why there's a tall naked person pressing up against the glass and snarling and good Rhys better be running back quickly to not let an imprint of a vulva stain the glass. Rhys is too good and too wonderful and no one should take their mate but Mahogany.

Rhys would 100% freak out and I'm laughing at that freaking out if Mahogany starts getting meat left for them and smelling arousal everywhere. Huffy gremlin man when he hears a pleased chirp as Mahogany gazes at the honeycomb pieces that got left for them and honestly I'm too invested in the idea of a mysterious creature flirting with Mahogany and Rhys just "seriously??? I get an undead - last of the species probably - lover and yet someone better still comes along??" Shshnsns

It has just occured to me that maybe this question means what they may be jealous of each other oh boy. But yeah uh, Mahogany is always jealous of how good Rhys is with human stuff and how smart he is. He always has to clean up their messes and he much better at general life stuff than them while I think Rhya would be jealous at Mahogany capabilities and how unafraid they are to get what they want and their openness.

29. Why do they fall a little bit more in love?

Mahogany falls in love with how Rhys just...accepts them how he's the only one who doesn't seem to care as much about what they are. They adore how sweet he is and how easily Rhys goes along with whatever they do and how darling he is about the way they think.

Rhys falls more for just how dedicated Mahogany is for everything about him. Rhys wants food? They're going out to hunt. Rhys wants to feel warm, awkwardly dragging blankets over him. He also likes their refreshing views and how Mahogany sees him as perfect and wonderful to be unique. They hear the phase "best thing since sliced bread" and immediately say that Rhys is better.

[lord-explosion-baku]

Dancing’s Not a Crime (Unless You Do It Without Me) pt. 8

Pairings: Bakugou x fem!reader, Todoroki x fem!reader

You flirt and tease with a certain hotheaded classmate of yours without realizing how far it has escalated and someone gets a little jealous.

Warnings: swearing, angst, fluff

A/N: I was kinda scared that I couldn’t continue the story but my good brain finally knocked on the imagination door and yelled for five hours so here we are! This is probably one of my longer stories but I reread it and it went by so fast??? How does that happen.

Part 7

“Oh my god,” Mina said examining your neck. It had been a few days since Bakugou had left a hickey on your neck but it still shown against your skin. You had to take extra precautions with it, making sure nobody could see it (even though you knew Aizawa already knew about it when he made a comment about having a nasty “bug” bite in the morning) so you covered your neck with concealer but you had sweat it off during your homeroom class. There was no hiding the mark from Mina. “It’s HUGE!” She gushed tracing a finger over the raised skin.

Your head was in your hands. “I know,” you mumbled into your palms.

“I was right. I was so right,” you could hear Mina’s smile in her voice, “you and Bakugou. You guys are so steamy together. A fiery couple.”

“Mina, keep your voice down,” you gave her a slight push. You were sitting at a table in the cafeteria, waiting for the rest of the Bakusquad to join you. Bakugou has given you “permission” to sit with them over the weekend. You told him you didn’t need his permission but you knew you probably wouldn’t sit with them if he hadn’t told you that you could. You thought back to that day and blushed. “We’re not a couple,” you said out loud.

“Because you’re a stubborn piece of shit,” Mina laughed. “And because you don’t wanna hurt Todoroki’s feelings. ‘Just friends,’ my ass.”

You frowned at the mention of Todoroki’s name. Sure, you didn’t want to hurt his feelings but you already did, you have been for awhile now without realizing it. Yes, you didn’t want to make him jealous but he already was, which he clearly displayed by punching Bakugou in the face. And of course, you really wanted to “just be friends” with Todoroki but you couldn’t deny the feeling you got in your stomach when he was so close to your face, when everything about him, his eyes fixed on you, his cool breath blowing against your ears, and his warm familiar voice embraced you through every letter he articulated. You shook your head.

You looked over to the table where Todoroki was sitting with Yaoyorozu. You knew he could feel your gaze on him, he always did, but he didn’t turn towards you. Instead, he continued a conversation with the raven haired beauty.

“What did he even say when he say the hickey, by the way?” Mina asked.

“He said he was going to kiss me,” you said, absentmindedly, poking at your food.

For once, Mina was speechless. Her yellow and black eyes widened at what you had said, her mouth hanging open.

“Wait-“ you started as Mina bounced up and down in her seat, “I mean, he said it differently. Like, I was leaving and he just- I don’t know! Stop looking at me like that!”

“Did you kiss him? OH MY GOD, DID YOU KISS TODOROKI!”

“Mina, shut the FUCK up!” Some other students were starting to look your way and your cheeks were burning from your blush. You whispered, “no! I didn’t kiss him. He said he wouldn’t kiss me while I was... thinking about Bakugou. Not while I had a hickey from him.”

“Ohhhh my god,” Mina drawled out, quieting down, still bouncing, “oh man, he must be livid, knowing that Bakugou stole your first kiss away from him!”

You considered that for a moment before saying, “Bakugou wasn’t my first kiss. Todoroki was**. I mean, I don’t know if it counts but if we are being technical...”

“What? Was it like a cute like ‘we’re innocent elementary schoolers that don’t know better, let’s kiss like our parents,’ childhood friends type of kiss? Because that doesn’t count.”

“No,” you said. You had doubted that either you or Todoroki had ever seen your parents kiss. “It was earlier this year.”

Mina’s jaw dropped for the second time today.

Before she could say anything more a tray was slapped on to the table across from Mina where Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero we’re sliding in. Kaminari was saying something about the relationship between Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Sero looked obviously bored while Kirishima tried his best to look invested in the conversation.

“Who fucking cares?” An angry voice growled next to you as Bakugou slid into the table seat. Your body temperature rose rapidly and your heart started pounding against your chest. Why were you suddenly so nervous? His arm brushed against your shoulder and it sent your body a tingling sensation that you did not invite. You spent the entire weekend, not only fighting but also making out with this boy, and suddenly you were a nervous school girl? You thought about excusing yourself.

Kaminari ignored Bakugou, “I’m just saying! Even though F. Scott Fitzgerald dedicated all his novels to her, even though he loved her so damn much, Zelda deserved better than him. Zelda deserved the world.”

“I agree,” you choked in. “He didn’t support her craft even though, with her support for him, he became a world renowned author. He dismissed her passions and she was struggling with her mental illness he never got her the proper help when she needed it. He loved her, sure, but he probably would have preferred to have her as a pet than as another person with her own thoughts and aspirations.”

Kaminari grinned at you. “I’m glad I’m not the only one enjoying American lit!”

Bakugou huffed. “I enjoy it plenty, idiot!” He said opening a sealed container revealing something thick and chunky you couldn’t identify. It was a yellow substance enveloping a rice ball. “I just think it’s a waste of time, dwelling on a bunch of dead people,” he mumbled into his steaming plate.

You stared at his food trying to figure out what he was having. You looked down at your simple cafeteria lunch and back at him as he took a bite of his, whatever it was. He saw you eyeballing his food and held his chopsticks up to your lips. It smelled delicious. “Want a bite?” He asked.

You parted your lips and he plopped a bite sized portion into mouth. A warmth enveloped your tongue. At first you were taken back by how spicy it was but there were tangy and rich elements that paired with the heat perfectly. It was smooth and sensational. Bakugou watched you taste his food carefully. You swallowed.

“Wow,” was all you could say.

“It’s Thai pineapple curry,” he said offering you another bite that you gladly took. You blushed, realizing that Bakugou was feeding you in front of his friends who were politely trying not to stare at the two of you.

“Wooow,” You said again more dreamily, swallowing the second bite that was even better than the first. You were adjusting to the heat level of the curry. “Compliments to the chef!”

“I added a good level of coconut milk to the curry to balance out the spice. I like my food hot but the coconut milk definitely helps give it a richer element,” he said while he took a bite of his own.

“Wait, are you saying that you made this?!”

Kaminari snickered while Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Everyone is always so surprised that I cook.”

“Bakugou, this is incredible!” You beamed at him.

You could tell he was trying to hide his relief with a smug smile. “It’s not even my specialty. If you want, I could you cook you dinner sometime. Maybe this week?” He said offering you another bite that you gladly took.

Without thinking about it, you smiled and said, “that would be really nice.”

“So, it’s a date.”

You nearly choke.

~

“Go out with me,” Bakugou had pinned you pinned to ground in the middle of the grassy field. You had found Bakugou at a park after he had turned his location on. You had been frustrated and you wanted to fight.

“I thought I told you,” you struggled underneath his hands, “don’t give me anymore dirt on you! Ventum est ad partum*!” A gust of air shot from you causing Bakugou to fly back. He easily landed on his feet. You bounced back up.

“You used your quirk. That’s cheating!” He shouted as you ran at him kicking your feet in the air aiming for his face. He caught your leg and held it mid-strike. “And illegal,” he mocked.

You grabbed his arm that held your leg and tried swinging around him so you could knock him down but he let go of you at the last second causing you to fall flat on your back, knocking the wind out of you.

“Tough luck, princess. I hope you don’t rely on your quirk more than your body in combat. You never know when you might be handicapped.”

You groaned. As if you didn’t hear that enough from Aizawa.

Bakugou rolled onto the ground next to you. He was close enough that you could smell that familiar toffee scent. It was curious but nice. He traced a finger over your shoulder blade, sending chills down your body. “What’s one date gonna do?”

You whined, “I’m not done fighting.”

“That’s too bad. I am. I can head home now, unless you wanna answer me.”

You turned to him. He had a soft expression on. One that you hated. You were so used to the pissed off, power hungry, winner winner, Bakugou, that when he was... friendly, for lack of a better word, you didn’t know what to do with him. You didn’t know how to react. It was easier for you when he was your competition. It was easier for you when you didn’t want to kiss him.

“Well then,” you said, giving him a daring look, “you can head on home.”

He scoffed and rolled on top of you, again, straddling you. You leaned down towards you ear and whispered, “say it like you mean it.” He kept his lips by your ear. When you didn’t push him away, he started to kiss your neck, around the spot he had left a hickey the night before. You let out a moan, permitting him to continue.

~

Mina had her hand gripped on to the side of table, holding it as if she would fall over if she were to let go, Kirishima, widened eyes, stared straight up to the ceiling, his face almost as red as his hair, Sero, who had finished drinking his water, sat frozen with his empty bottle pressed again against his lips, and Kaminari stared at you and Bakugou, a stupid smile curling up on his face.

At that moment you felt like you could die.

You looked at Bakugou, who was casually eating his Thai food, unphased by what he said.

“Hhhh-ummm,” You stupidly managed to vocalize something. Bakugou took another bite of his curry, a subtle smile painted on his face. “Okay,” you finally said, grabbing your chopsticks to start digging into you lunch.

Bakugou picked up his plate and poured some of his curry on top of the rice the school had given you.

“What’s nice about curry is that it can make any plain meal turn into a good one,” was all he said. You mentally cursed at yourself for being so easily influenced by good food.

Everyone at the table continued as if things were normal.

~

Bakugou was waiting for you at the bottom of the steps of UA high with arms crossed and a cool expression in his face. Your heart skipped a beat upon seeing him. Why was he waiting for you?

“So,” he said as he started walking with you down the long path the lead up to the school, “what do you say Thursday night? I could pick you up from your place around 6:30/7:00 and we could walk to my place, where I’ll be cooking for you?”

“Um,” you stuttered out suddenly very nervous, “could we maybe do it Friday night? I know my dad and he doesn’t really like me doing too much on weekdays. He’s pretty serious when it comes to school and I can’t really lie to him about my work load.”

“Friday works too.” You continued to walk and the back of his hand brushed against yours a little more than a few times. God damn, this kid. You knew exactly what he was trying to do. “Would I be pushing it if I asked if I could walk you home right now?”

“Yes,” you fired back immediately, your heart pounding. You couldn’t risk him seeing Aizawa. You didn’t know if he would be staying later at school to grade, if he’d be out patrolling, or if he’d already be home, waiting for you. And you didn’t like Bakugou being so fucking nice.

He gave you a funny look but he didn’t question you. “Oookay.”

“There is something you should know,” you stopped walking and looked up at Bakugou. He nodded allowing you to continue. “My dad, he’s pretty cool with me being, uhh, independent of him but he’s... slightly old fashioned.”

“Alright,” he said waiting for you to continue. You bit your lip. “So... what? Home by ten and all that?”

“No, not like that,” you tapped your foot nervously. “He’ll want to... meet you.” He already knows you, Jesus, he’s going to get a kick out of this.

Bakugou laughed. “Yeah, that’s really fine.”

It’s really not. “Kay.”

“You know, you’re funny,” he said as you continued to walk.

“How so?”

“When you’re fighting, or rather, whenever you’re in action, you’re so confident and poised. You know what the fuck you’re doing and you don’t let anybody get in your way,” he said then he looked you up and down. You were pulling your fingers through your hair, nervously. “And when you’re in a casual setting you’re different. Not bad, different, I think it’s cute but you get nervous or timid. Unsure of yourself. Polite, almost.”

You’re one to talk, you thought. Around everybody else he was a hot headed monster, when the two of you fought against each other he was unforgivingly flirtatious, and when he was alone with you he was a goddamn gentleman. It was confusing.

“It’s like when you use your quirk, you become a different person.”

Goosebumps were raised on your skin. A different person. You dreaded that. Your quirk, did things to you that you didn’t have control over and, of course, Bakugou of all people had noticed that.

“Yeah,” You half laughed. “I’m really funny.”

~

** I plan on explaining the Todoroki kiss in “If He’s The Cold Then She’s The Disease” If I ever get it lmfaoooo

*Ventum est ad partum- To summon a wind

The next chapter is gonna dig a little bit into the reader’s and my OC’s past. Give a bit of face to her villainous bio parents. Fun stuff. My neck hurts from head banging to bohemian rhapsody.

Part 9

Tag list: @colagirl5 @izzy206-2001 @chanelxberlinstark @funfettiiicake @fangirl-on-bitches @colorbookshd d @doriichii @meggy126 @tortuga-sanchez @thatpandajournal @lilacbunni @fabulous-dani @quenixy @reliefofcomedic @sami-raye @geektastic84 @chickennuggetsarequestionable @yournewstalker @rubycubix @maizonolovemail @yandere-inamorata @ayeputita @brightbunny @animefreak774 @unprofessional-inhumanbeing @miitaart @thewinterserpent @ferntea @bemyhero-academia @allfortodoroki @graceyouwithmypresence @theugliestahegao

[michael-langdon-appreciation]

Ship request for a Cody character? I’m 5’2 I am smol, medium length brown-black hair with brown eyes, I love to cuddle, the horror genre is my favorite thing ever, I usually wear all black or bright pink there’s no in between, or soft sweaters,I’m sarcastic, sassy, witty, and bratty most of the time but pretty kinky cuz I’m a masochist and again a brat hehe, I love to read books and fashion stuff, I really like psychology and writing and I obviously I luv cody too much :p 💕 thnk uu

I’m loving this pink and black aesthetic with my tumblr babes, I need to invest in this I think! I ship you with: Hawthorne!Michael

You brat. Michael wants nothing more than to show you what happens to those who think they can get away mouthing off to him but an even worse fate befalls those who stand him up. He paces the library, letting his rage seethe till it bubbles over and Michael finds himself tearing down the hallways and slamming his fist against the door to your bedroom. You break off your conversation with Madison and pull up your pink sweater, ‘He’s here.’ You mouth and Madison grins wolfishly.

She skips over to the door, ‘Sorry, no Boy Wonders allowed.’ 

The door slams open anyway and Madison jumps. Michael stands in the doorway with a face of thunder, ‘Leave.’ 

You expected Madison to back you up, but one look from Langdon and she’s running out the door. ‘MADISON!’ You cry, shook that your friend would leave you with the lion. But then again, Langdon did bring her back, you wouldn’t push his buttons if you were in her position. However, you’re in a much worse situation. 

Langdon seizes you by the throat, shoving you down into the bed, ‘You flirt with me.’ He hisses, ‘You sway those fucking hips in my direction, wink at me during dinner and slip me that note all while those little pink knickers are on show.’ His hand rips your offending panties clean off your body, ‘Then you leave me waiting.’ Michael’s teeth bite into your collarbone, ‘I am a patient man, but I do not wait for anyone.’

‘Better make it worthwhile then.’ You challenge, ‘I don’t cum for just any boy.’ 

A growl escapes Langdon as he turns you over and shoves up your back skirt so your ass on display, ‘You’ll be cumming rivulets by the time I’m done with you.’ His hand grips a handful of your ass, ‘You’ll be desperate, this ass shining red as you leak with my essence.’ He laughs darkly, ‘I’m going to stuff you so full you will feel me for days.’ 

[fanficshiddles]

Let go, Chapter 6

Loki was preparing for opening the club for the night. He was determined that he was going to find out the mysterious girls name. He was almost tempted to keep her hostage until he learned her name, he was that desperate.

Valkyrie could tell he wasn’t quite with it. ‘Your head is elsewhere today Lackey.’ She said as she joined him while Alex was behind the bar preparing.

‘I’ve already warned you about calling me that.’ Loki said through gritted teeth, glaring at her.

Alex swiftly moved along the bar, not wanting to get involved. He had seen and heard rows between them both before, it wasn’t something that he enjoyed witnessing.

But Valkyrie called him back. ‘Boyo, get back over here.’

Alex rolled his eyes and moved back down towards them, looking a little anxious between the two.

‘I’m not the only one who has noticed Loki is rather pre occupied tonight. Am I?’ She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Alex expectantly.

‘Well… I… Uh… A little.’ Loki raised an eyebrow at the kid, who was quick to add on to his explanation. ‘But I mean, pretty girls do that to us, don’t they? And it’s fun trying to work them out.’

Loki smirked. ‘Good save, kid.’

Valkyrie rolled her eyes and stormed away. Loki turned his attention back to his hands, there was a green glow surrounding them and he was mumbling something under his breath.

Alex was intrigued but he waited until Loki was finished before interrupting him.

‘What are you doing?’ 

‘Make sure that my mysterious girl gets this in her drink, will you?’ Loki handed Alex a tiny dissolvable pill.

‘Sure… What is it?’

‘It is just a little something to make her a bit more susceptible to telling me her name… And to me.’ Loki winked and leaned over to pat him on the shoulder.

But Loki’s hopes for the night didn’t quite go as planned…

First The Grandmaster made an unwanted appearance, to Loki’s utter annoyance. He didn’t realise that he was back in town and he was not in the mood. He claimed he just returned for his melting stick, as he had a few problems of his own that he had to deal with.

Second, when Loki’s mysterious girl arrived, The Grandmaster seemed to take a shine to her. Loki was irked to no end as he watched the old git join her at the bar.

But then he was distracted for a moment as one of his dancers needed assistance as there was a man getting too familiar and she wasn’t happy, he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

While Loki grabbed the man from the shoulder and twirled him around to give him a telling off, he didn’t see Alex put the pill into the drink that the mysterious girl ordered and hand it to her. But The Grandmaster took her drink instead, insisting it looked better than his own. So he downed it all in one go…

Once Loki dealt with the idiotic man, he went over to the bar and Alex gave him the nod. Signalling that she had the drink and he’d put the pill in.

But Loki noticed that something seemed off, as she didn’t seem any more open or willing towards him.

Though someone else was... Much more than normal.

‘Come on then, big boy. Are you going to show me a good time while I am here?’ The wacky Grandmaster reached up and cupped his cheek.

Loki looked at him with his eyebrows up in alarm. The mysterious girl next to them just laughed as she watched poor Loki being flirted at on a whole new level by The Grandmaster.

The Grandmaster tried to drag Loki onto the dancefloor but when Loki dug his heels in and refused he got a slap on the arse instead.

The trickster looked around the club and looked at Alex with wide eyes, mouthing at him to help. Alex just shrugged, he was too busy at the bar. Loki then laid eyes on Valkyrie, who was watching the entire thing from upstairs on the balcony. He tried to get her to help by glaring and mouthing that she was to get down there instantly, while he was being pushed across the floor by The Grandmaster’s hands on his arse still, but Valkyrie just laughed and raised her glass at him.

The mysterious girl turned to Alex and motioned him over, once she had been able to drag her eyes away from the scene that unfolded on the dance floor.

‘Who exactly is that insane looking guy?’ 

‘He’s called The Grandmaster. He’s… Not from around here.’ Alex cringed as his boss was trying to keep things civil on the dancefloor while said insane guy tried to grind against him.

‘Well, that’s kind of obvious.’ She stated plainly, looking over her shoulder to them again but quickly turning back to Alex with a hand over her face. ‘Why is he so horny for your boss?’

‘Uh. He’s often like that.’ Alex shrugged.

‘Right… What is the deal with your boss anyway? He seems so intent on knowing my name.’ 

‘You’ve certainly caused quite a stir with him. He’s used to getting what he wants, and he usually always wins in the end. It might be easier on you, on all of us, if you just told him your name.’ Alex tried pleadingly to give her puppy dog eyes, but she wasn’t buying it.

‘But this is so much fun.’ She grinned wickedly and took the drink from Alex. She turned around on her stool to watch what was happening on the dancefloor again.

Loki eventually managed to get The Grandmaster to turn his attentions on one of his dancers, so he was able to escape and sneak back to the bar. Looking slightly worse for wear, with flushed cheeks and his body was tensed up.

The mysterious girl grinned at him. ‘Well, that was quite something. I wasn’t sure about coming back tonight, but boy I sure am glad I did.’

‘Glad that you found my misfortune to be so amusing, darling.’ Loki said, putting his charm and charisma straight back on.

‘Oh that will keep me happy for a long time, trust me.’ She laughed.

‘Surely that means I should earn your name now?’ Loki slid onto the stool next to her and nodded at Alex for him to pour him a drink.

‘Hmm. I don’t think so.’

‘Well, if you don’t tell me your name then I shall have to come up with a nickname for you in the meantime.’ Loki put his finger to his lips, deep in thought about what to name her.

She raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Think carefully.’ She said in warning.

Loki just smirked at her attempt of threatening him. It was cute.

‘I have the perfect name.’ Loki grinned and winked at Alex when he handed his drink over. Alex just rolled his eyes and moved away, not wanting to be part of it. He didn’t think it would end well. He just wasn’t sure for which party yet.

The mysterious girl narrowed her eyes at Loki, waiting for his response. Expecting it to be something insulting or ridiculous.

‘Firefly.’ Loki grinned.

‘Firefly, really?’ She laughed. ‘Well, it’s not as bad as I thought.’ She shrugged, downing some of her drink.

‘Glad you like it. Because that is what I will call you, until I learn your true name.’ Loki whispered, leaning in closer to her.

She put her hand on his chest and slowly pushed him away from her, giving her more space. Loki just cocked an eyebrow at her.

‘I think there is more chance of pigs flying than me telling you my name.’

‘Oh, I could most certainly make that happen my little Firefly.’ Loki winked at her and lifted his hand up, palm upwards.

There was a light hum and green light as he caused a mini pig illusion to appear and then he flicked his wrist, making it fly around the room. Causing a slight stir as everyone looked at the fake flying pig.

‘Unbelievable.’ She shook her head and rolled her eyes, Loki just kept looking at her with a big grin on his face.

When the club closed, Loki had to get help from his security to guide The Grandmaster out. Him being really drunk and still horny for Loki because of the damn pill didn’t help. Loki thought about using the melting stick on him, but then he decided against it because he had a feeling that would somehow backfire on him. No doubt he would get haunted by The Grandmaster as a ghost and he shuddered at the thought.

Valkyrie joined Loki back inside once everyone had left.

‘Well, was your night a success? Did you find out her name or just get molested by The Grandmaster all night?’ She asked, smirking in amusement.

Loki gave her a glare and growled. ‘I did not get her name, but I have named her. So that will do for now.’

‘You are investing way too much time on her. Don’t let her worm her way into you.’ Valkyrie warned him.

‘Not at all. I simply aim to find out her name and bed her for a night. She’s just a little challenge that needs a bit of extra time, is all.’ Loki said cockily.

[jeonsdear]

Sweet Dreams Part 3

Fandom: BTS

Pairing: Jimin x reader

Summary: Just in that moment, you felt Taeyongs lips graze your neck and your eyes found Jimin’s. Hoy hell. Parts: [1] , [2] , 3

Warnings: low-key sexy times(very low-key though), blunt language

Words: 1575

A/N: This was very fun to write I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. Someone proposed a 4th part and I might just be really invested in this story so if you have any requests for further chapters feel free to drop by my ask box! Enjoy!  Also sorry for any mistakes, English isn’t my first language lol. Comments and reblogs are always appreciated ❤️ Keep the requests coming (x) , my collection of stories (x) .

Read it on Archive of Our Own

Jimin was drunk. Jimin was so drunk he danced upon a table in the middle of the rented club in Seoul. Granted, he probably wasn’t even that drunk considering that music just simply made him dance whenever and wherever. It was hilarious nonetheless. Hoseok looked like he’d be joining his friend any second and a few of Seventeen’s members were in the process of hyping your best friend up. This party had been the idea of Taehyung, wanting to celebrate his birthday in a big fashion. Half of Korea’s idols were invited which had made you put on your best party clothes - earning quite a few appreciating stares. Jimin’s eyes might have lingered on your low neckline and exposed legs are little too long to be considered gentlemanly. But hell, did you feel good. 

‘‘Taehyungie I can’t believe you’re getting old.’’, you teased him with your arms around his neck, making him laugh. ‘‘I can’t believe I have to fight off all these men. Honestly, I’m surprised Jimin is dancing that carelessly on that table while half of nct is hitting on you.’’ You choked out a laugh, hitting him on the arm. ‘‘Oh stop it.’‘ You felt thin arms circling your waist and when you moved your head you realized Jennie was hugging you, trying to push you towards the dance floor.  ‘‘C’mon Y/N, put that outfit to good use!’‘ And that’s how you ended up shaking your hips and moving your arms to the music, surrounded by a group of girls and boys equally enjoying the beats.You forgot all about your surroundings until Jennie stopped you dead in your tracks making you aware of the pretty girl practically grinding against Jimin. Wait what? But before you could even wrap your head around the nsfw action a few feet away from you, you felt hot breath fane your ear. Taeyong. ‘‘I had no idea you could dance like this!’‘ You couldn’t help but blush, especially when his hands found a place on your leather-clad hips.  ‘‘Thank you...Jimin... has been teaching me I guess.’‘ He smiled, low chuckle reaching your ear. ‘‘Yeah I can see where you got it from’‘ His eyes were fixed on Jimin and the way he moved his hips while having a girl pressed against him. Fucking hell. The jealousy taking ahold of your body came with a force you had no idea how to control - so you didn’t. Your lips formed into a thin line before you smiled up at Taeyong. ‘‘You’re sure you can dance?’‘, you teased him, fully aware of the effect your long lashes had on the pretty boy gripping your hips tighter.  ’’Excuse me? Wow okay I bet I’m better than Jimin c’mon’’ A second later you felt him against your body, moving his and yours along to the music. You could see Jimin moving his hands down the girl’s back, coming to rest on her ass. You were livid. Drunk or not, you wanted to drag the girl away from him and scream right into his face. Just in that moment, you felt Taeyongs lips graze your neck and your eyes found Jimin’s. Hoy hell. His eyes widened in recognization and then shock. He noticed the Idol that had his hands all over you, his own leaving the girl’s body.  You did not know what he could read in your eyes, whether it was jealousy, hurt, passion or desperation but you could see him swallow before Taeyong demanded your whole attention. He could dance. Oh how he could dance. So you did, too. Everything you’ve ever learnt you showed off on this dance floor, fully aware of the sensuality your body engaged in.  Only fair Jimin had to watch. And he did. The other girl long forgotten.

The next time you felt someone grab your hips and pull you towards a hot body, you knew exactly who that was. Jimin’s smell and touch was so deeply ingrained in your soul, there was no chance you’d ever miss it. ‘‘What are you doing?’’, he growled in your ear, painfully digging his fingertips into the leather of your skirt.  ‘’Done getting off on the dance floor?’‘, you countered, a little shocked about your bluntness. But dear god, you were way past the point of caring.  ‘‘I...Y/N!’‘ You turned around, now facing your best friend. His hands moved up to your waist, brown eyes boring into yours. ‘’I could ask you the same thing’‘, he said with a heaving chest. ‘‘Why, I’m just dancing Park Jimin.’‘ His snort was to be heard to the back of the room. ‘’Yeah that’s why half of this room, male and female, would like to disappear with you right now.’‘ You smirked, shrugging. ‘‘ I know how to move my hips, what can I say.’‘ ‘‘And who taught you how to move these pretty little hips?’‘ His voice was unbelievable low and you couldn’t help but shiver. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. Oh this was so wrong. You brought your lips closer to his neck, softly touching the hot skin between his shoulder and jaw. ‘‘My female instincts’‘, you whispered right into his ear before you pulled away from him, sending him a look that made Jimin bite his lips and realize how jealous you really were, before you walked over to Taehyung who had witnessed the whole spectacle with the biggest grin of the existence. ‘‘Thanks’‘, you offered before taking the glass out of his hand and emptying the content. ‘‘I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Have fun Tae.’‘ ‘‘Yeah Tae, we’ll see you tomorrow.’‘, you heard Jimin say before he pulled you towards the entrance and out of the club.

Back at the dorm

‘‘Y/N stop.’‘ You practically threw your shoes off you as soon as you stepped into the boys’ dorm, not quite sure why you didn’t go home.  But all you could think about was not to press your lips against Jimin’s in order to make him forget the girl.  You were fuming. You were absolutely fuming and Jimin accusing you of basically fucking on the dance floor didn’t alleviate your feelings of annoyance. ‘‘Oh don’t you dare when you were the one grinding against this girl while having a hand-full of her ass!’‘ ‘‘I wasn’t thinking, Y/N! I didn’t even realize I was doing it!’‘ ‘‘Yeah your brain was in your dick’‘ The bell of laughter coming out of his mouth made you throw a couch pillow at him. ‘‘If I had thought with my dick, you would have noticed. Trust me.’‘ Your eyes automatically found said body part. Hidden by black jeans. ‘‘Believe me, I didn’t realize I was dancing with her. I don’t even know her name.’’ ‘’Not very gentlemanly.’’, you pointed out. ‘’True, but then again Taeyong wasn’t either by flirting with you and having his hands up your skirt.’’ You moved into the kitchen, looking for some water.  ‘‘He didn’t have his hands up my skirt. He was very gentlemanly.’’ You opened a water bottle to drink a few sips before hopping onto the counter. Sighing. '’He wanted to.’‘ ‘‘Can you just stop? The only reason I tagged along was because I had to watch you get hot and heavy with that girl. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m all sweaty I need a shower’‘ You were about to hop off the counter but Jimin was faster, moving between your legs and holding your face between his hands. ‘‘As hot as your jealousy is, I need you to understand that I don’t want her. I don’t want anyone but you. All I could think about when I saw Taeyongs hands on you was how much I wanted this to be me. You drive me absolutely crazy, whether dressed like today or in sweats and messy hair. And you don’t even know.’‘ He almost groaned the last part, only giving you a few seconds to process everything before he leaned in to press his warm lips against yours. God, so soft.  It felt like coming home. Such a cheesy thought but your whole body recognized the familiarity of the man softly caressing your lips. Jimin wasn’t hesitant, all the times he had fantasized about doing exactly this caused him to know exactly how he wanted to feel and taste you. And you melted into his touch, returning the kiss without an ounce of shyness because this was Jimin. You had been dreaming about these lips for such a long time that you didn’t think you could ever get enough of this. And holy hell, this boy could kiss. The moan you both let out was a testament of how badly you had wanted this.  ‘’Jimin...’‘, you whispered into the kiss before you deepened the kiss, making him pull you towards him by your hips. Jimin put all his need, longing and love into this one kiss hoping you understood. Understood that this wasn’t the end of your friendship, but the extension of even more love.  His tongue caressed yours and while your fingers found his hair, your legs wrapped around his hips. ‘‘Don’t you dare put your hands on another girl’s ass ever again’‘, you murmured against his lips when you both had to break the kiss to get some air. He grinned, his eyes shining mischievously. ‘‘Only yours, pinky promise.’’ You both knew you had to talk about this. About you. But right now?  Making up for lost time was way more important. 

                      😙🌹💞💕🍑🌈😙💞🍯🌹💞🌈💞🍭🍑💞💞🌈🤧

[kaikookie]

k-drama, k-iss.

 Member: Kim Taehyung

Genre: fluff + kiss scene

Word Count: 1,827

Author’s Note: a little scenario I thought of for this week. Been busy writing college essays, but I still wanted to post something... hope you like it!

“Yes....yes....yes....YES!! Finally!” you scream, pumping your fists in the air in victory. A big smile appears on your face, as you continue to squeal on the inside. You lean back into the couch in Taehyung’s living room. 

“It’s a good day,” you think before focusing your eyes back on your laptop screen. 

Your arms freeze in the air and your smile immediately drops. This long awaited celebration has been cut short. 

“Are you freaking serious!?!” you exclaim, “I waited twelve episodes....I waited a month and half for THIS!?!” You let out a groan and plop against the back of the couch. Part of you wants to keep watching, and another part of you wants to chuck the laptop across the room. In your defeated state, you hear Taehyung finally speak up. 

“Jesus, what’s wrong with you? What happened?” asks Taehyung looking up from the phone in his hand. 

You grab your laptop from the table and place it on your lap. You quickly rotate the screen to face Taehyung and show him the drama that you were watching. You push yourself up to tuck your legs underneath your weight. 

“This. Right here. What do you see?” you ask. Your fingers tap quickly against the screen. You’re too heated to care about anything right now.

Taehyung straightens to prop himself up from the couch and examine the screen. He cocks his head to one side before responding.

“Ummm, isn’t that the drama you’ve been obsessed with? That’s Kim....Kim something,” he responds, eyes scrunching together trying to remember the name of the lead actor.

“Yes... look that’s not what’s important right now. Look carefully...what are the leads in the show doing right now....?” you comments slowly.

“Kissing? What they do in every single drama? Am I still not getting this?” Taehyung chuckles. He starts to deflate back into the couch, sinking into the mountain of blanket and pillows supporting his back.

You press the spacebar on your laptop, and rewind back back a few minutes to the beginning of the kiss scene.

“No, the lead actor is kissing, but the lead actress is just standing there... like.... like..like a dead fish!” you exclaim.

Taehyung bursts out laughing. “This is what you’re all riled up about?”

You slump in your seat. This drama was the reason you stayed awake on Wednesday and Thursday night every week for the new episode to come. This drama was the kind where you would prepare ramen and snacks around your bed to binge on while watching. This drama was also one of the dramas where it takes forever for the leads to realize they liked each other. This drama was an investment of your time that could have been spent on homework, but was decidedly more important than anything a professor could assign.

“Tae, I know you’re my best friend, but you obviously don’t understand the profound sadness in my heart right now.” I tell him jokingly. You slumped into the couch, finger mindlessly pressing the back and forward arrows on your keyboard, each time getting sadder and sadder at the kiss scene.

Taehyung lightly flicks the top of your forehead, scoffing at your dramatic reaction to something so irrelevant, “Well, in the drama, the lead actress is surprised right? Like she didn’t even know that the lead actor liked her. That’s why she just stands there like a dead fish.”

You scoff, “How can she not notice? The lead actor was so obvious that he liked the girl! He gave her flowers, and made her ramen when they stayed the night. He practically did everything for her. Like c’mon, anyone would realize that the guy had a crush on the girl....”

Taehyung lifts one of his eyebrows and looks at you.

“What you’re saying is that, if you were the lead actress, you would be able to tell?” Taehyung teases. 

“Of course, I would have had the kiss done within the first five episodes. And I wouldn’t be just standing there, frozen, while the guy kissed me,” you comment dryly.

“You would respond to the kiss too? Wow, that doesn’t sound like the Y/N I know,” Taehyung replies quickly.

“Well, believe me or not, that’s exactly what I would do,” you say firmly.

You look back at the screen of your laptop. The scene has changed from kissing to conversation between the leads. The actress covers her mouth with one hand and has the other arm outstretch to keep the distance between herself and the actor. You scoff in your head.

So cliche.... Who would have thought that the recently popular drama would have such a reused scene.

Suddenly, your vision of the laptop screen is blocked by a hand reaching across your view. The hand cups your cheeks to rotate your head.

Your attention is now on Taehyung. He leans in and says, “Are you sure about that?”

“Wha-” you get cut short.

His lips crash onto yours. The hand cupping your cheeks move to cradle the back of you neck to bring you closer. Your hands automatically move to grip the laptop sitting on your lap, body freezing as the shock of what is happening wash over you. He leans in closer to you and you’re engulfed the smell of Taehyung. 

You don’t know what to do. As he ghosts his lips across yours to place another gentle kiss against your lips, you sit frozen on the couch, mind blank.

Taehyung leans back and all you see is a cocky smile on his face.

“Just like the k-drama...see?” he comments.

“Wait, Tae....what was that? Did you just...kiss me?” you stutter.

“Yep,” he quickly replies, a smile stuck to his face, “and you acted just like the lead actress....frozen, to put it in nicer terms.”

“But...but...you still didn’t answer why..” you continue, unable to utter a complete sentence without babbling like a fool.

“I wanted to prove you wrong. You were so adamant that you knew everything, how you were so sure that you could tell if a guy liked you...” he reasons. He is back to looking at his phone, scrolling through whatever social media he has as if he didn’t just kiss you a second ago.

You blink rapidly, not believing the things coming out of his mouth, “That doesn’t mean you can kiss me all of a sudden! It’s not like you like me or anything!?”

“So what if I do!?” Taehyung suddenly says, head snapping up, “So what if I do like you....I’m not going to be sorry that I kissed you.”

“What?” you respond almost deliriously, “what are you talking about Taehyung?”

Taehyung sighs, and his head falls downwards. He moves and angles his body towards you. However, you try to move back as much as the couch lets you too.

“I....I like you. Can’t you tell?” Taehyung says defeated, “I’ve liked you ever since third grade. I go crazy every time you talk to me on the phone since I get to hear your voice. You have no idea how happy I get when you come over to study because I get to watch you the whole time.”

“But... no way, I would have noticed,” you say quietly, shocked at the sudden confession.

He raises both of his brows and averts his gaze to the kitchen. Dishes from the food that Taehyung made sit on the table. You look back at Taehyung. He moves he gaze and settles on the counter where the TV stands. The tulips that Taehyung bought for you out of the blue stand tall in a clear vase.

“I think that drama was supposed to be a wake-up call for you from destiny,” he jokes.

He plays with the ends of the sweater that you are wearing, something he tends to do when he’s bored or nervous. The fact that his head is still down shows he’s the later. The OST from the drama is playing in the background along with the faded sounds of conversation between the actors. You finally have the guts to look up at Taehyung as opposed to staring at the pillow that ended up on your lap. 

You only see the top of Taehyung’s hair. The strands falling slightly as he hangs his head in seeming defeat. The boy you knew from childhood who swore to protect you for life looks so small sitting right in front of you. 

“Y/N, say something, you’re killing me here,” he says quietly, still looking down. Taehyung chuckles nervously, eyes fleetingly meeting yours before moving to grab your hands to fiddle with your fingers now that he’s moved past playing with sweater.

Despite wearing a large hoodie, you notice how big Taehyung has gotten, something you never saw before. With him being so close, his frame fills up more than of your view. You always loved how he could envelope you in a warm hug whenever you felt drained from school. You love it whenever he playfully whispers jokes in your ears at the library to keep your spirits up during hard days in school.

A thought creeps into your mind. Why do I like knowing the fact that Taehyung likes me? 

“Again...” you whisper under your breath. You feel like Taehyung can hear the beating of your heart from a mile away.

Taehyung snaps his head up to face you, “What....what did you say?”

“A-Again...kiss me again...” you try to say as bold as possible, heat filling your cheek. “N-nevermind...ignore what I just said,” you try to cover up.

Taehyung stop fiddling with your fingers. He finally looks up and gazes into your eyes. A smiles spreads across his face, and he drops his face down once again to bury it in his palms.

“Y/N....don’t ever say that to anyone else besides me okay? You’re killing me here...you’re so cute...” he groans.

Your cheeks are already flared red. The room feels too warm, and too small. The actors flirting on your laptop screen seem to mock you as the couples playful hold hands, walking down the street.

When Taehyung lifts his head, his gazes settles on you once more. You can’t look away. Your eyes scan face. His tousled hair, his lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Taehyung reaches for you to hold you down, but you wish you could jump around to release the tension in the room. You begin to move and push your way off of the couch, but Taehyung grabs you again before you could.

“Y/N, you’re not going anywhere...” Taehyung growls playfully, and he leans in for another kiss. He grabs you hands and drags them up to rest around his neck.

Slightly more prepared than before, you close your eyes and brace for the contact. You notice how soft his lips are. His bangs brush against your eyebrows when he pulls you closer to deepen the kiss. Your hands unconsciously weave their way though his hair. You play with the hand near the nape of his neck, and he shivers in response.

His hands travel down your sides to firmly rest on your hips. You respond to the kiss, tasting him with your tongue, and Taehyung opens his mouth with a low groan.

When the both of you finally pull away, you can see the blown out pupils of Taehyung’s eyes. Expression serious and unwavering, he continues to gaze at you in silence. His heavy breathing keeps your nerves on edge, and you wait for him to say something. When he doesn’t, you speak up.

“Well...say something...because I like you too,” you say quietly.

His trademark cheeky smile breaks across his face and pulls you into a tight hug. He lays along the length of the couch and you’re on top, limbs tangled. He buries his head in the nook of your neck.

“I think that k-drama is the best drama I’ve ever seen...” he murmurs.

You relax into a smile and rest your head on Taehyung’s chest. You couldn’t agree more.

[concussed-to-pieces]

For The Pack; Part Two

Fandom: WWE

Pairing: Baron Corbin/Roman Reigns/Female Reader

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: Who's thirsty?! I've missed you guys! Tagging @toxiicpop, @oraclegazes, KING CAPTAIN @hardcorewwetrash and the leading authority on A/B/O, @writergrrrl29. Enjoy!

Part One

!WARNING!: This is of the Alpha/Beta/Omega variety, and involves knotting.

The hardest part was telling your parents.

You usually ended up staying with your folks over the summer to save money, unmated as you had been. When you called to tell them that you wouldn’t be returning to your old room, it was like a bomb went off.

“And why not?!” Your father’s Alpha voice boomed over the phone, making you grimace. Baron looked up from his laptop, a snarl jerking at his lip. Roman glanced at him, seeming a little startled at his sudden reaction.

“I’m staying with my mates, Dad. I’m…I’m mated now.” You confessed. “I don’t want to leave.”

“Mated? You…since when? Did you present? When the hell did this happen?”

“That’s none of his fucking business.” Baron grunted under his breath, quiet enough that the phone didn’t pick it up. Roman nodded in agreement.

“Can I talk with Mom, please?” You asked over your father’s sputtering, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Put Mom on the line.”

“Hey, I’m the Alpha in this household! I-! Yes it’s them, w…honey I was…fine. Here’s your mother.”

“How’s my favorite pumpkin doing?”

“Hi Mom.” You felt relief wash over you. Normally if your parents scrapped you got caught in the middle, but your mother sounded like she was in a good mood. “I’m doing pretty well. Just wanted to let you guys know I won’t be staying at home this summer.”

“Did it finally happen?” Your mother asked excitedly.

“Yeah, I um…” Omega tangled up in your throat, turning your reply into an awkward mumble of, “I’m a…I’m a Beta.” You didn’t mean to lie, it just kind of…happened. Both Roman and Baron looked up at that, Baron’s frown deepening while Roman just appeared confused. But your parents would never accept an Omega child! They were both Alphas. It would be too flimsy of a lie to claim to be an Alpha as well. A Beta would squeeze by. Maybe.

Your mother sounded ready to burst. “Oh pumpkin, what good news! I had a feeling you know, your cousin was just the same. Both parents Alpha but they produced that tough little Beta. I’m sure it’s a massive weight off your shoulders to not have to worry about that anymore, especially since you’re a Beta. Best of both worlds, no Alpha responsibilities and none of that...heat business. You met your mate at school? Tell me all about him!”

Your head was spinning and you sat down, pressing a hand to your aching forehead as you did your best to humor your nosy, well-meaning mother. She made a noise of disbelief when you revealed that you had not one, but two mates, both Alphas. Your father popped in and out of the conversation via speakerphone, inserting an invitation to a weekend stay between your mother’s flustered gushing and your own quiet answers.

“Are they there, can I talk to them?” She finally asked.

You tensed up. “Uh, n-no they had…football stuff. To do. Practice. You know, sports things.” Baron growled, narrowing his eyes as you made a pleading be quiet gesture. “They have to perform well to keep scholarships and stuff, it's all very official. Look, I have to run, Mom. I'm going to be late for a...study hall. I'll talk to you soon, okay? I love you.” You hung up the phone and dropped your head into your hands, groaning loudly. “They want us to come stay for the weekend. They want to meet you guys.” You muttered through your fingers.

Roman raised an eyebrow. “They think we’re up to no good or something? You’re acting like this is a death sentence.”

“I panicked.” You wiped at your eyes. “I don’t want you guys to think I’m ashamed of either of you or what I am. But I…look, Omegas have a reputation, I’m not stupid. I know how my parents will react if they know I’m an Omega.”

“How will they react?” Baron’s voice had dipped into a deadly serious tone.

“I know they won't react well, that's for sure. They might disown me, they might try to keep me locked up or something to save family face. I grew up on stories of Omegas like everyone else. I know I’m a menace, possibly a homewrecker. I’m supposed to be a flirt, I’m supposed to be able to lure guys like you two into my bed so you can knock me up and I can make more Alpha babies and then make problems when your actual mates show up. I know what I’m supposed to do, okay?” You snapped, hating yourself for doing so.

“Hey, hey.” Roman tugged you in between he and Baron, snuffling over your hair. “Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Baron offered no comforting words, just wrapped his arm around your shoulders and hugged you tightly to his side. He rubbed his jaw against your cheek, scent marking you. You nuzzled into his neck and Roman sighed heavily, resting his forehead on your shoulder.

“It’s just more bullshit Alpha crap.” Baron said quietly. “My parents were into it too. Parading my huge ass in front of relatives like I was the cream of the crop. Shit, they tried every trick in the book to get me to present.”

“I presented when I was six, man. I’ve got nothing.” Roman grimaced. “Did they dose you up?”

“Oh hell, the herb mixture? Yeah, fuck that shit. Was like fuckin’ quinine, awful.” Baron made a disgusted face. “First the herbs. Then doctors visits, charms. I had the fuckin’ circles, candles, talismans, you name it, they tried it. They wanted to label me so bad, you have no idea.” Baron fell silent again, staring at the floor and rubbing your shoulder.

“We have to go.” Roman said after another minute. “If we don’t, your parents will think you’re lying about everything, not just the Beta thing. You can’t afford for that to happen. So we’ll go, right Corbin?”

“Yeah, we’ll go.” Baron replied, a little more clipped than normal. “We won’t abandon our Omega. Our Omega.” He stressed the word, locking eyes with you.

You mustered up a weak smile. “Thank you. Both of you.”

“Also, 'sports stuff'? We're hurt. At least call it 'drills' or 'scrimmage'. Sheesh.” Roman scolded, getting a half-smirk out of Corbin and a giggle from you.

…

Your mother met you at the door with a warm hug, smiling fondly. “And how is my favorite only child?”

“I’m fine Mom, it’s good to see you. I’d like to introduce my mates, Baron and Roman.”

“Such handsome men! Good thing you’re a Beta, how else would you keep up?” Your mother winked and you flushed with shame. “I’m the mom around here. It’s so nice to meet you! You’ll have to forgive them for being such a late bloomer. Their father and I did everything we could to speed the process but…these things take time.”

You could feel Baron straighten up behind you, the larger Alpha all but smothering you with his closeness. Roman, on the other hand, seemed totally at ease, accepting your mother’s hug quickly. “We were okay with it. Things could have gotten dicey if we hadn’t both been there at the time of the imprint.” Roman pointed out. “I mean, last semester Baron and I were in opposite dorms. I’d say everything worked out just fine.”

“Hello boys.” Your father put his hands on your mother's shoulders, easing her to the side. “Would you like to come in? You'll have to forgive her, she's a little excitable for an Alpha.”

“Oh I'm sorry, is this not our only child coming home with their mates? I guess I'll just go sit in the living room and do some cross stitch and not be invested in my child's life.” Your mother snapped. You cringed while your parents glared daggers at one another.

Roman squeezed your hand as if to say it's alright.

Oddly, Baron was the one to break the uncomfortable stare down by stepping forward and extending a hand to your father. “Baron Corbin, sir. Number sixty-eight, offensive lineman, Golden Gloves boxing champion. Various other accolades in my high school career. I have Alpha documentation that my family can present, should the need arise.” His tone was positively icy. “It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Your father appeared to have been suddenly struck dumb, shaking Baron's hand quickly. Which was just as well, because you were too. Your mother tittered, seeming a little confused. You'd never witnessed anyone shutting down your parents with such obvious intent.

Roman cleared his throat. “Um, Roman Reigns. Number ninety-six, defensive tackle. My parents can also provide documentation, if uh, if you guys want it.” He grimaced. “We have an imprint witness, if you need that too.”

“No no, sweetheart please. We just got a little carried away, I promise we aren't one of those families!” Your mother protested, ushering everyone inside. “Documentation isn't necessary, we're just happy they have a mate, two mates even!”

Dinner was monumentally awkward, your father almost dead silent as your mother chit-chatted with Roman and Baron and you picked at your food. How on earth were you supposed to survive this weekend?!

Your mother finally asked for your father's help in making her trifle for dessert, excusing the two of them to the kitchen.

“You okay?” Roman muttered over your head to Baron. “You got real formal earlier, man. Remember, we're supposed to be making this easier for them.”

“I know.” Baron slid his hand up your back beneath your shirt, rubbing in small circles here and there. You had relaxed at his touch, but suddenly he unhooked your bra, making you freeze. He then leaned in and whispered, “You are our Omega. We don’t want you to be ashamed of that.”

“I’m not, what the heck are you doing?” You hissed, glancing at the kitchen doorway. Your parents would be back any second, was Baron crazy?! He dragged his fingers up your stomach and then slipped them into your bra, making you suck in a breath. He toyed with your nipple for an agonizing minute, running slow circles over it with his index finger and smirking as it peaked.

Roman was apparently in on the plan as well, his own hand under the table to shove up your skirt and play with the waistband of your panties. You covered your mouth to stifle your whimper of don't stop, torn between fearing your father’s repercussions and wanting your Alphas hands on your body. “Omega, only you could love enough for the both of us. Only you could be this hungry just from us touching you.” Roman murmured, “Our Omega. No Beta could handle us.”

Not crazy, you realized, they didn’t like that I lied.

“Cutie, do you want to know what we’re going to do to you this weekend?” Baron asked softly. “We’re going to show you exactly why a Beta wouldn’t be good for us, why we need you. Understood?”

“Starting right now, with your parents in the other room.” Roman added, two fingers tugging down your panties and pressing into your body swiftly. You gasped, grabbing the edge of the table. “Gonna’ take care of our needy Omega like good Alphas should.” He whispered.

Both Roman and Baron resumed eating their dinner as your parents footsteps drew near, Baron’s hand pulling your thigh against his own while Roman’s fingers curled inside you. You squirmed in your seat and Baron’s grip tightened. He traced 'OK?' into your thigh, raising an eyebrow when you nodded furiously. He then proceeded to place the heel of his sneaker against the inside of your ankle, pinning your leg. Roman mirrored the motion on your other leg, leaving you spread wide open beneath the table.

For all intents and purposes Roman looked totally focused on his food. The only real indicator that he was up to something was the little satisfied noises that he kept making into his meal. If you hadn't been so wound you probably would have gotten the giggles. As such you had to keep your tight hold on the table, biting your lip to stay silent while your slick pooled around his fingers. He was teasing, just gently pulsing and shifting his fingers inside you, the heel of his palm rocking back and forth over your clit.

Baron had engaged your mother in a conversation about her trifle recipe, your father piggybacking into the talk in a transparent (and no doubt in vain) effort to impress Baron. You bucked your hips under the table and you felt the solid curve of muscle in Baron's calf twitch nervously against your leg. Roman dug his fingers in, stroking firmly up towards your stomach while you tilted your pelvis, slouching a little in your chair. You could barely bring yourself to care, slipping a hand down to cover Roman's so you could grind against his palm fiercely. You heard his breath catch in his throat and a surge of warmth flooded your body, sending familiar tingles down your legs as you tried not to shudder visibly.

Roman carefully slid his hand free once you had relaxed, bumping his jaw against your cheek in an affectionate gesture. He then pushed some of the trifle onto his spoon with his thumb, licking his fingers innocently.

You were more than shocked at the fact that he'd been able to get you off, essentially silently, with your parents right across the table. Roman had never struck you as a particularly subtle individual, always the louder of your two Alphas. You chanced a sideways look at Baron, noting the smug little smile he wore. Oh, they had put some thought into this, Baron running interference while Roman did what he would.

“Pumpkin, are you feeling okay? You're all flushed.” Your mother asked worriedly.

You nodded, straightening up and pressing a hand to your own cheek. “I'm fine, just a little tired from the trip is all. Sorry I'm not much for conversation.” You apologized.

Baron took your hand and kissed your knuckles, his smile softening. “Should we hit the hay earlier tonight? I know you wanted to show us the neighborhood tomorrow morning for our run.”

“Oh, you all run together? That's so sweet!” Your mother seemed perfectly content to embrace whatever came out of Baron's mouth. He must have asked her in-depth questions about her recipe, that sly, overgrown punk.

“It's a community sort of exercise, served us pretty well overall.” Roman shrugged. “Morning or night, doesn't matter as long as you're pounding the pavement with your pack, right?”

“Very true.” Your father agreed. “Almost forgot you were over there, big fella'. Baron's been dominating the conversation.”

“Hey, somebody's got to.” Baron shot back defensively, his smile vanishing. “Plus, I really wanted that recipe. Trying to expand my arsenal for when we have an actual kitchen at our disposal.”

“I'm totally fine with Big Banter doing the talking, great stuff comes out of his mouth once you get him started.” Roman grinned, reaching around you to bump Baron's shoulder with his fist. “And his toaster oven cooking is already leaps and bounds ahead of mine. You ought to try his Gouda panini. Amazing.”

“Reigns is talking it up. I make grilled cheese.” Baron dismissed, making both yourself and Roman huff.

“You make fancy grilled cheese.” You corrected, getting a quick chuckle out of the taller Alpha. “Fancy, delicious, gooey, melt-in-your-mouth grilled cheese.”

“We don't even have a toaster oven, could I do them under the broiler?”

Your father groaned at your mother's question, shoving his chair back from the table and beginning to collect the dirty plates from the table. “Give me a hand clearing the table, will you Roman? I swear to God, some Alphas around here should be Betas.” He grumbled.

To their credit, Baron totally ignored his barb and Roman did hesitate before opening his mouth. For about two seconds. “Look, if Baron keeps me well-fed, I don't care if he's an Alpha, Beta or an Omega. He'd bring nothing less to our relationship. Right, Big Banter?” Roman gave Baron a pointed look. Corbin had a death grip on your hand under the table.

“Yeah.” Baron replied finally, tilting his head a little. “I mean, we'd be thrown together no matter what, I don't think it really makes any sense for me to deny what I'm good at just to fit some preconceived idea of what Alpha is. I'm good at cooking, I like doing it. Just like Roman is good at keeping our space clean, and your kid is good at teaching. That's how we met, you know, they helped us out because we were failing our English class.” Baron started telling the story of Braun to your mother while your father sulkily shuffled the dishes to the kitchen. Roman kissed your cheek, patted Baron’s shoulder and got to his feet to join your father in the other room.

…

“You must be fucking wiped out.” Roman said worriedly. Baron had curled up on your bed the second you shut the door to your room, abandoning his normally-stoic exterior for the moment. “I know that was way more talking and interaction than we agreed on. I'm sorry, man.”

“It was worth it. I just need to recharge now.” Baron sounded exhausted. Social engagements always left him drained and either needing space or more care than usual. You immediately went to work kneading the knots in his shoulders and neck, feeling the stiffness in his motions. He hummed into the bedspread, relaxing slightly. “Was it worth it for you, cutie?” He mumbled.

You nodded shyly, forgetting that he couldn't see you. “It was definitely unexpected.”

“We figured you could use some reassuring. My parents weren't as bad as Baron's, but they still did some of that goofy, 'Betas and Omegas are inferior' stuff.” Roman looked sad. “We know you're not inherently beneath us, and we're not above you just because you surrender to us. Okay?”

“Okay.” You paused, continuing your motions. “I...Thank you for sticking up for me. Both of you.”

“You're our mate. Your well-being is important to us.” Baron said simply. “I expect you guys to be on your A game when we have to visit my parents. I'm not lying to them about you. Maybe we'll mess with them though, say that Roman is the Omega. He's good-looking, right? Built to ensnare or whatever.”

“I dunno' if I'm Omega levels of good-looking.” Roman smiled, tipping your chin up so he could kiss you. “You, on the other hand. Jesus. That was hot earlier.”

You blushed, looking down at Baron's back. The larger Alpha beneath you nodded as best as he could. “Damn right, that play was well executed. Did you like us working together, cutie?”

“Oh gosh, I...well, yeah. Yes. Absolutely. I...I mean, it's kind of embarrassing to say, but I loved the way you guys put your legs over mine to keep me still.” You confessed, your belly twisting nervously. “I was all open and defenseless but it wasn't...scary? I don't know, really. You two make me feel safe.”

“That's good. That's what we're all here for.” Baron said approvingly. “Making each other feel safe, like everything is okay.”

“Alright, scoot over. I'm tired too.” Roman flopped down on the comforter. He tugged you into his arms, snuggling you for a moment and then releasing you so you could get dressed for bed. “You're so pretty when you're coming apart for us, you know that?”

It was still strange to you how open Roman was sometimes. You smiled, kissing his forehead. “You two are the good-looking ones. You make my job easy.” Some rummaging in your old dresser secured a well-worn pair of pajama shorts and a tank top. You debated on the shirt for a second or two. Usually the more skin contact, the better when it came to Baron and Roman. But you would hate for your parents to accidentally walk in on anything that could upset them.

There's nothing wrong about laying in bed with your mates, your brain protested, shirtless or not! You frowned and pulled the tank top over your head. You drifted off quickly when you laid back down between them, lulled to sleep by the familiar sound of Baron's deep breathing and soon enough, Roman's rumbling snore.

A dream of sensation slowly crept into your sleeping mind. Large hands on you, gently gripping here and there. Fingers stroked your hair and you nuzzled into the touch, making a pleased noise. There was the press of lips on the inside of your right thigh, soft, tender kisses and nips making a trail from your knee upwards. It was Roman, you could tell even in your dream, and then Baron started up on your left thigh. The feeling of his chin strap of facial hair contrasted wildly with Roman's goatee, helping you differentiate even with your eyes closed.

You arched your back lazily, stirring to consciousness under the ministrations of your Alphas.

“I've dreamed about doing this to you.” Roman whispered, “We've dreamed about doing this to you. Will you let us?”

His hair slipped through your fingers, always so hard to keep hold of.

“Cutie, he asked you a question.” Baron's voice thrummed through your body. “We asked you a question.” You cupped his cheek and he laid his head on your thigh, purring in his throat at your touch.

You opened your eyes, met with the sight of your Alphas looking up at you expectantly. You nodded, smiling sleepily at them. “Mmhm.”

“If you're too tired, we can leave you alone.” Roman said softly. “It's just been a long day for us and you. Makes us feel stronger if we can give you something. Together, y'know.”

“Mm, yes please.” Your voice was a drowsy plea, and you watched Roman swallow hard while Baron growled quietly.

“God, you’re so pretty.” Roman murmured, Baron’s fingers hooking into the tops of your pajama shorts and peeling them off as the other Alpha spoke. “Always eager for us, always good to us. How did we get so lucky?”

“We are yours, all fucking yours. Don’t forget that.” Baron lapped at the curve of your hip, nipping the soft area until you squirmed underneath him. “You’re ours to tease and love and mate, and we are all fucking yours, cutie.”

Roman put your right leg over his shoulder, playfully nudging his nose against your folds. Then Baron was spreading you open for him, large fingers slicked already by your dreamy longing. Roman bit his lip, looking up at you for a second before lowering his mouth to you.

You arched your back at the feeling of Roman’s eager tongue on your pussy, Baron’s satisfied snarl loud in your ears. “Oh cutie, fuck. You are literally the best thing I’ve ever seen. Best thing we’ve ever seen. S’ a fucking privilege to be in this fuckin’ bed.” You whimpered when Baron bumped his forehead into Roman’s temple, Roman pausing so Baron could lick over your clit with sharp little lashes of his tongue. Roman dove back in before Baron was done, the sensation of both their mouths tangling in the absolute best way possible. Baron nibbled on your lips while Roman stroked your entrance with his tongue, the two of them devouring you with single-minded purpose. Roman’s hand was firm on your hip, holding you as still as he could manage.

You threw your head back, pressing a fist to your mouth in an effort to keep quiet. You had no idea what time it was, no idea whether your parents were still awake, and the last thing you wanted was them waking up to your Alphas making love to you with their mouths.

Roman was achingly tender, trying to keep eye contact while he sloppily devoured your cunt, trying to watch your face while he ate you out. Baron was obviously attempting to be quiet, his usual growls and grunts of satisfaction half-stifled as he suckled gently at your clit and pressed kisses to the curve of your pubic mound when Roman pushed him out of the way.

There was a breathless pause when you were on the very edge of orgasm, teetering in the sweetest pain you had ever experienced. Roman looked at Baron, and Baron looked at Roman, everything coming to a halt for a second. You weren't sure who leaned in first, all you knew was that suddenly their mouths met with intent and the heat behind their kiss made you whine and jerk your hips up. Roman hummed, grabbing a handful of Baron’s hair to hold him still. “Huh.” He said when they finally parted, staring at Baron. “You...yeah? That's okay?”

Baron nodded slowly, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Hell yeah.”

You knew then that you had found something truly rare in your mates, a trio bond of equal affection. You sat up, propping your body up on your elbows as you begged for a kiss, something to finish you off.

Baron was first, fingers taking over on your pussy so he could give you a taste of yourself. Roman followed suit, thumb circling your clit in white-hot rotations as he nipped at your lower lip, then pressed kisses to Baron’s neck. The larger Alpha accidentally groaned a little louder, flushing in the dim streetlight glow from the window. You barely spared a thought for your parents at the sight of that, reaching out to both men and holding them close. You muffled your cry with the fabric of Roman’s shirt, rocking against them as you came. Roman buried his face in your hair, whispering praise, and Baron nuzzled your cheek, that smile firmly in place.

The two of them lowered you back to the bed, your whole body a quivering mess. Roman pressed himself to your back, humming and rubbing his hands down over your shoulders and arms. Baron laid your head on his chest, wrapping an arm around Roman’s shoulders to tug him even closer. Roman raised his head to give Baron a peck on the cheek and you saw him smile out of the corner of your eye.

“Sleep now cutie.” Baron murmured, kissing your forehead.

You could feel Roman’s cock slotted firmly up against your back and reached for it, fingers clumsy with exhaustion. Roman caught your hand, kissing each finger before returning the appendage to Baron’s chest. “B-But you guys…” You yawned, “…just put in all that work, ought to get somethin’ for it…”

“We did that because we love you. Not because we wanted something in exchange.” Roman’s voice was firm. “You’re our Omega. It’s our job to keep you happy and safe, so you don’t have to feel like you need to lie about who you are.”

“It’s not you guys m’ worried about, s’ my parents.” You protested, sleep dragging at you.

Baron sighed heavily. “We can protect you from damn near anything, you know that. We’re with you all the way, okay? We aren't scared of some toothless old Alphas.”

“But-“

“No buts.” Baron gently smoothed the hair back from your face. “Sleep. We’re here, Omega. We’re here and you’re safe.”

You drifted off even while you were still protesting, barely recalling mumbling some nonsense words and then snuggling back into Roman.

…

The morning run was much needed. You knew you’d promised to show them around the neighborhood, but you were distracted by thinking on what they had said last night.

“So you don’t have to feel like you need to lie about who you are.”

You shook your head, bouncing back and forth as you waited for Roman and Baron to catch up. You had no problem with who and what you were. Or so you claimed. You frowned. Omegas were well-known in respectable society as inconvenient, the dirty little secret people hoped their mates wouldn’t find out about. Your heart ached as you wondered how many Omegas were lucky enough to have what you had, the unconditional affection of a mate (or mates) that actually cared about you.

“Hey, you’re doing it again.” A large hand rumpled your hair and you squawked indignantly, swatting Corbin away. “Thinkin’ a hole in the wall. You damn nerd.”

“I can’t help it sometimes.” You mumbled, making his fond smile fade.

“You wanna’ talk about it?”

“I worry about other Omegas.” You blurted out. Baron blinked, seeming confused. “I know I’m very, very lucky to have you guys to protect me and keep me happy and stuff. But…I also know what people think when I say I’m an Omega. I know what people think of me. And I--it makes me sad, you know?”

“What makes you sad? I’ll kill it.” Roman threatened, having finally caught up.

“Just the fact that I’m scared about what my parents will do if I tell them I’m an Omega. The fact that Omegas are always viewed as…well, as outliers, the ones that ruin things.” You said hesitantly. “What about the ones that aren’t as lucky as I am? The ones that can’t afford suppressants and all that? Is it really their fault when they get knocked up? Can you even blame them in that instance? I mean, I know you guys don’t have heats or anything but you’ve seen me, I’m not ashamed to admit I get totally desperate and it’s just…” You searched for the right words. “You two keep me safe and sated. Why is it everywhere else, that need is made into a fucking joke? Alphas rip each other apart in some heat of the moment dispute and it’s seen as badass. Betas can’t have kids and it’s talked about but they aren’t belittled for it.”

“Being needy and affectionate is viewed as a weakness to be taken advantage of.” Baron said bluntly. “Plenty of scumbag Alphas and Betas are more than willing to stick their cock in whatever slick hole they find, and if that warm body also happens to be someone who will be incredibly easily stimulated, enthusiastic and overwhelmed into submitting to their every whim, well.” He shrugged, brown eyes sad. “That’s that.”

“It’s not right.” Roman frowned. “It’s fucking sketchy.”

“I didn’t say it was right. Look, we can’t fix everything out there, okay? Reigns and I are just a couple of dumb college jocks. But I fucking love you. We. Fucking love you. You’re our mate, our everything, our strong Omega. You’ve got this heart in you that’s fucking incredible and we’re the luckiest Alphas on this damn planet.” Baron pressed his forehead to yours as tears started trickling down your cheeks. “Whatever you choose to do, we’ll follow your lead. I think you should be up front with your parents but I can’t make that choice for you, okay? I know how hard it is to lose touch with your family.”

“I don’t want to lie to them.” Your voice was barely there.

“Then don’t. We can all sit down and talk about this like adults. We’re your Alphas, you’re our Omega. We’re here to cherish and defend you. Even when it comes to your parents.” Roman reassured you. “We’ll throw down any time, any place, understood?”

“I know, I know. You two are amazing.” You sniffled, making Roman 'tsk' and pull you into a hug. “I’m just scared.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, cutie.” Baron’s face hardened. “You’ve dealt with the presentation forcing, just like I did, and if anything it obviously put you off your feed. Your parents have exactly zero justification for being disgruntled about who you are.”

“Okay.” You said softly, face still buried in Roman’s chest.

Baron rumpled your hair again. “Dry them tears. You’re gonna’ be just fine.”

…

You felt like your tiny breakfast was about to make a sudden reappearance. Per Roman’s idea, you had shakily asked your parents to join the three of you in the kitchen for ‘an important conversation’.

You twiddled your fingers in your lap and Corbin covered your hand with his own. Across the table your mother looked on expectantly. Your father had his arms folded. His facial expression was…not encouraging.

“So I lied to you guys.” You began quietly. May as well just say it. “I’m not a Beta.”

“Knew it.” Your father grunted. “Told you.”

“I…I don’t understand, pumpkin. Why would you lie to us?” Your mother asked slowly. Her eyes widened as the truth seemed to strike her. “Oh no. You’re not…oh no.”

“This whole thing was a lie? Are you even mated? Or are you just using that as a cover up?” Your father spat, “You know, to protect your spotless reputation as an O-”

Roman abruptly stood, back ramrod straight. “Don’t finish that sentence.” He warned the other man. Baron nodded in agreement. “We are respecting your authority by being honest. Don’t throw that respect in our faces.” Roman obviously had the ability to be formal himself. “Your child knows the image that Omegas have.” Your mother flinched at the word. “They were afraid to tell you, afraid of how you would react.”

“So which one of you is their real mate and which one is just along for the easy ride?” Your father needled. “I know how you stupid meathead frat boys operate.”

Corbin shoved his chair away from the table so hard it toppled over when he got to his feet, his fists clenched at his sides. “Baron, no.” You said quietly, laying a hand on his arm.

“He’s insulting us, but more importantly he's insulting you.” Baron stated bluntly. “You expect me to just-”

“What I expect is for the two of you to let me handle this to the best of my ability, okay?” You interrupted, still quiet. You weren’t angry, if anything you were encouraged by the support your Alphas showed for you. But this was something you needed to do. Baron exhaled harshly, remaining where he stood. Reigns sat back down. You cleared your throat, focusing on your mother. “Mom, I know I can’t be anything except what I am. It’d be like asking you or Dad to be an Omega. It hasn’t been easy to adjust, my body does weird stuff that I don’t fully understand yet. I’m hoping it will get easier with time.”

“I just wish you had told me, pumpkin.” Your mother whispered, her appearance distraught. “Maybe I could have…I don’t know, I don’t even know.” She raised her eyes to Baron. “Are you boys even imprinted on them? Or was that a lie too?”

“We have an imprint witness.” Baron said tightly. “Seth Rollins, infirmary head. He’s a Beta. I was first and Roman was hot on my heels when it happened.”

“I promise we wouldn’t lie about something like that, ma'am.” Roman added.

“I was…I got my first heat right after finals. I felt like I was going to pass out, I could barely walk.” You recounted the events of that fateful day. “Baron and Roman were able to get me to the infirmary. They had both been scent marking me as a way to keep people from bothering me until I presented.”

“How convenient.” Your father muttered.

Your mother suddenly snapped, turning on her husband angrily. “If you do not keep your mouth shut I'm going to go completely insane, will you just for once in your life be quiet?!” She raged, stereotypical so-called ‘Alpha’ temper out loud and proud. You noticed Baron shudder out of the corner of your eye.

Your father glared down at the table sullenly.

You cleared your throat, drawing her attention again. You were well-used to your mother's explosive swings of aggression. Mostly you were glad it wasn't aimed at you this time. “The nurse, Seth, was the one who knew what was wrong with me, and he clued me in on the fact that two Alphas scent marking me was a little...weird. Not unheard of, naturally. But sort of rare.” You shrugged. “The rest is history.”

“We love your child, ma’am. More than anything in this world.” Reigns’ voice had gone soft, a little waver evident. “We want to keep them safe and happy. And something that was making them unhappy was lying to you two.”

“So why do it, then?” Your father didn’t seem to know when to quit.

“Because they love you, even after the shit you put them through with presenting.” Baron snarled. “Funny how that works.”

“We’ve all heard the stories, Mom. You and I both know there are parents out there that have definitely tried to keep their Omega kids a secret. Or they’ve outright disowned them, kicked them out into the street and refused to even acknowledge their existence. I felt like I had a right to fear your reaction.” You said plainly.

Your father stood and Roman did the same, staring the older man down. Baron moved closer to you, close enough for you to reach back and touch him if you wanted. “I’m not going to be threatened in my own house.” The eldest Alpha finally blustered. “I want you all out. And you’re not coming back, understand? I knew this was fishy from the very beginning, and I refuse to tolerate a lying, scheming Omega, trying to tear apart my authority.” He hissed.

Roman’s growl sounded like thunder in your ears and you hastily grabbed hold of his wrist. “No, no. Don’t let him get the best of you.” You instructed. “All he’s trying to do is piss you off so you scrap with him. Any good lying, scheming Omega worth their salt knows that.” You did your best to keep your lower lip from quivering. Now wasn’t the time for a breakdown. You had to be strong for your Alphas. “This is kind of how I figured it would go. It’s alright, Roman.”

“Shouldn’t have even bothered with this.” Roman seemed to be having difficulty forming words through his anger.

“Agreed.” Baron grumbled, “I lived with this bullshit. I thought you guys might be different, but hey, why prove me wrong?” He asked bitterly. “S’ too bad, I was looking forward to having someone to talk about recipes with.”

“Now wait, boys, I-“ Your mother began to protest and Roman snapped his teeth.

“Do you believe that your kid is a walking embodiment of the Omega stereotype? A stereotype that, need I goddamn remind you, Alphas and Betas came up with?” He growled. “Or do you believe that their secondary doesn’t change who they are as a damn person?”

“I don’t know!” You mother cried. “They’re my only child, I don’t want to lose them! But…”

“You’re wasting our damn time.” Baron snorted when your mother trailed off. “I think we should go. Before Pops has heart failure.”

“Can I hug you?” You asked your mother. She bolted around the table quick enough to make Baron tense up, but he relaxed after she started crying into your shoulder. You rubbed her back, feeling like the older one all of a sudden. “It’s okay, Mom. I’m sorry.”

“This is such a mess.” She hiccuped. “Oh pumpkin, what an absolute mess.”

You got the feeling that your parents would have one of their infamous fights tonight. The selfish part of you was thrilled that you wouldn’t be there for it.

…

“So this is home sweet home.” Roman said proudly, unlocking the door to the in-laws apartment. His parents weren’t home but they had tucked the key into an envelope with a note about the dishwasher being broken and left it under one of the patio bricks. From the looks of things Roman’s family was…well off. A small pool, the in-law apartment, and beside it the main house with a well-kept lawn.

Mostly you were just glad to not be in the car anymore. The trip had been long and your sedan had been jam-packed with all the stuff from the dorm room. Baron seemed to share the sentiment, stretching his arms out over his head and groaning loudly when his spine popped.

“Mi casa is you casa or whatever.” Roman continued, grinning as you laughed. The two Alphas had done their best to cheer you up during the drive, Roman singing along (badly) to songs on the radio or Baron trying to get your favorite snacks whenever they stopped for gas. You appreciated their effort, your mood brightening up with every attempt. It reminded you of how incredibly lucky you were to have them.

“Um, I told my parents about who you are and my mom said she kinda’ rigged the bedroom a little better for you and stuff.” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t really…know what that means and she didn’t explain.” He admitted.

“Probably padded the corners and stuff. It’s kind of like childproofing.” Baron supplied, wandering to the kitchen. “Omegas have a rep for being thrashy. ‘Course, that’s probably just more Alpha bullshit.”

You shivered at the implication, grimacing. “Well, that’s a comfort.”

“Hey, let’s just see. If it’s bad we’ll rip it apart together, okay?” Roman bargained, a mischievous grin on his face.

You sighed, trailing along behind him past the kitchen. “You’re on thin ice Reigns.”

“Oh yeah, I’m totally scared of you.” He opened the door to the bedroom, stepping inside, and you quickly followed. It was…well it certainly wasn’t what you were expecting.

Baron whistled, meandering around you. “Huh.”

The whole room was done in a series of soothing tones, with light curtains. A large mattress on a platform frame took up most of the room, along with a series of chairs. You moved forward in a daze, reaching to touch the blanket on the bed. It was ludicrously soft under your hands, and you kneaded your fingers blankly into it for a few seconds.

Roman picked up another envelope on one of the pillows, his brow furrowed. “Dear Roman and company,” He read aloud, “although your father and I can’t be there right now, we would like to extend a warm welcome to your new mate, and hello again Baron. I think I was very thorough when it came to research. I wanted it to be a surprise. As I’m sure you know, it’s pretty hard to find inoffensive and, more importantly, accurate information on Omegas. I tried to decorate with things that are soft because there was a mention of over-stimulation issues. I hope we did well. We’ll see you at the end of the week. Eat what’s in the fridge.”

Tears filled your eyes and you crumpled beside the bed, the soft blanket ending up in a pile on your lap. “Cutie, shh, it’s okay.” Baron soothed, crouching and wrapping you in a hug.

“Damn Mom, you’re alright.” Roman said with no small amount of admiration in his tone, kneeling next to you.

“It’s so nice.” You managed to say through your tears. “This is really soft. I just…sorry, I’m overwhelmed right now.”

“Shit, you and me both.” Baron muttered.

Roman shrugged. “She’s a mom first, I guess. Here, hop up on the bed and we’ll get you changed for a swim.”

“I d-don’t have a swimsuit though.” You blubbered, still allowing yourself to be stood upright on the bed.

Roman winked up at you as he unzipped your jeans. “I know.” Baron made a noise like he’d lost all his breath, clearing his throat when Roman glanced over at him and flashed him a grin.

“Oh.” You reeled for a minute while you caught on to what Roman was saying, his deft fingers already divesting you of your jeans. “Yes, yesyesyes Alpha.” You begged, whining when Baron groaned fuck under his breath. “Can it be here? Right here?”

“Wherever you want, Omega. We’re ready when you need us.” Roman said softly.

You bolted from his grasp, quickly tearing off your shirt and underwear so you could chuck them in a pile over the side of the bed. Baron didn’t seem to be able to help the incredulous snort of laughter he let out, grinning broadly. “Cutie, Jesus Christ, you damn near broke your neck. Be careful.” He teased, urging you into his arms. “What do you want from us? What does our needy Omega fuckin’ crave?” He asked, hoisting you up easily to rest on his hips and rubbing his nose against your own. “You need to get finger fucked? Devoured? Or do you need your Alpha’s dick in you?” Corbin’s voice had dropped to a filthy growl, his mouth pressed to your ear. You nodded rapidly with a whimper. “Needy Omega wants our cocks, Reigns.”

“Is that so?” Roman murmured, a finger trailing over your shoulders. “I suppose we should. They’ve been very strong lately, y’know. Deserve a reward, I think.”

Baron laid you down on the bed and propped himself up for a minute, just watching you wriggle on the blanket. “I’d like to fuckin’ plow you right through this mattress sometime.” He said conversationally. Roman bit his lip and began fumbling to get his hair tied back. “But right now I want you to ride me, Omega. I want you to ride me and take my knot and then I’m gonna’ fucking pin you to my hips and buck into you until you scream.” Baron’s grip on the blanket tightened, his hips rocking down into the apex of your thighs. “Sound good?”

“Christ, Baron.” Roman’s voice had a gravelly undertone to it that made you want to arch your body in surrender. “Your fucking mouth, man, I swear to God.”

“What, too much?” Baron asked, all worried brown eyes as he looked up. His worry faded when both you and Roman shook your heads. “Oh, shit, you like it too Reigns? Uh, okay. That’s…I mean that’s pretty cool. What...should I say something else?”

“Yes.”

Baron chuckled, like he could hardly believe it. “Okay, okay.”

“I like it when you say what’s going to happen.” You offered after Baron was silent for a few seconds.

“I wasn’t fucking around when I said great stuff comes out of your mouth.” Roman mumbled, seeming almost embarrassed.

“Reigns, your whole…I dunno’ man, how enthusiastic you are and shit? It’s great.” Baron swallowed hard. “Really great. So I’ll talk, yeah? About how this little Omega pussy is gonna’ take my fucking knot and milk me for everything I’ve got. And then Roman is gonna’ fuck you open, wide fuckin’ open and he’s gonna’ do it until you drench him, yeah? Then he’ll fill you up, sate you on this soft blanket so you feel amazing. Sound good?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about.” Roman bared his teeth, whole body trembling eagerly. You weren’t faring much better, the low roll of Baron’s voice quickening your pulse to a thundering cadence.

Baron smirked, patting your hip. “Scoot over so I can lay down, okay?” You hastily obliged, a giggle bubbling in your throat when Baron’s shorts got tangled up around his ankles. Roman swallowed the giggle with a hard kiss, fondling one of your breasts and making you whimper into his mouth.

“You wanna’ mate them, don’t you Reigns?” Baron asked, moaning in his throat when Roman replied by rolling his pelvis against you, forcing you down onto your back. “Yeah, I bet you do. So fuckin’ eager, I bet you’re already dripping for them, aren’t you?” Baron asked. “Don’t fuckin’ deny it Reigns.”

Roman went still for a second, then fought with the zipper on his pants. “The fuck would I deny it for, I’ll show you fucking dripping, Corbin.” He snarled, gesturing to the obvious wet spot on his boxers. “I get fuckin’ hard and leak precome and it’s a Goddamn mess every fucking time I-” Roman’s frustrated rant was cut off when you leaned up and mouthed over the front of his boxers. Baron sucked in a breath and Roman bucked his hips forward, pressing the arch of his cock against your tongue. “You see what you do to me, Omega?” He asked, a hand on your chin tilting your face up to look at him. “I’m almost as slick as you are, huh? It’s because I want you. I want you.” He said firmly.

“Look at how hard he is for you, cutie. Look at what you do to us.” Baron said quietly, reaching to tug down the waistband of Roman’s boxers until his cock was free. “See, look at how much he’s leaking already, Jesus Christ Reigns.”

“I can’t h-help it man.“ Roman stammered as Baron dragged a finger lazily up the underside of his cock. “I just feel how needy they are and it’s like, an instant boner. I…shit, m’sorry.”

“It’s okay man, you’re Alpha too. We don’t exactly have to follow my lead.” Baron shrugged. “Just thought it’d be fun. It’s kind of cool going last because then you can fuck your knot in and out of them a few times before they get too tight for you to move.”

Roman made a stifled noise in his throat, watching you lap at the head of his cock.

“You maybe wanna’ have them suck your cock while I knot them?”

“I don’t know if I’ll last.” Roman confessed quietly. “This isn’t a heat rut, y’know? I’m not…stamina won’t be up to par.”

“Alright.” Baron chewed on his lip for a second, seeming to be thinking hard. “Oh! Oh...okay Reigns, take a seat.” You looked up at Baron, thoroughly confused as Roman obediently got off the bed and settled himself into the chair next to it. “Now, tell me what to do.” Baron said, standing and crossing his arms.

Roman licked his lips. “Strip.” He said finally, grinning nervously when Baron began unbuttoning his shirt. “No no, like…shit, like nice. Smooth. Make them ache.” He ordered, Corbin snickering a little as he slowed down.

“Like this?” Baron asked, sliding his fingers into the waistband of his boxer briefs and stroking himself.

You voiced your desperation with a keening whine, please Alpha! Roman relaxed a little, leaning forward in the chair. “Lay down on the bed and have them straddle you. Omega, I’m gonna’ say stuff but you just…I mean, you do what you like, if you wanna’ do what I say that’s fine, if you’re not okay with it tell me. Baron, I want you to just lay there.”

“All over it. Get up here, cutie. Fuck, look at those thighs.” Baron breathed, clapping a hand over the back of your right leg. “You’re gonna’ get fucked, Omega. You’re so fucked.”

You straddled him and rested on his pelvis, stroking his cock and watching it twitch in your hand. Your whole body was tense with anticipation and Baron groaned, clenching his fingers into the blanket when you reached down and collected some of your slick to coat his cock. “I want to be good for you.” You said sweetly.

“Oh Jesus, naughty Omega.” Roman gasped, “Sink onto that fucking cock then, no teasing. I want you to ride him into a lather, show him you’re in charge, okay? You fuck that cock good, you make those noises, don’t you dare hold back. Your Alphas are here and we’re going to fill you up, fuck you until we’re empty, yeah?” Roman looked up at Baron for confirmation. “Yeah?”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Reigns.” Baron snarled. “Hell yeah. You ride me until those thighs are fuckin’ quivering, cutie.”

You scooted up his body and held his cock so you could slide it into your pussy, hearing Baron’s grunt when the head of it finally breached you. It always felt so good, so right when you were being claimed. This was different, though, like you were claiming him. Baron was yours. Roman was yours. The notion hit hard. You were used to thinking about submitting, about being owned and taken care of. But here, now, you were taking your pleasure from your willing Alpha, instructed to do so by your other Alpha. The idea of being even partially in charge made your back straighten, and you raked your nails down Baron’s chest as you settled fully onto his cock.

“Mine.” You said softly.

Baron’s eyes went wide and then he covered his mouth with his hand, making an attempt to stifle his startlingly loud moan. “Fuck, when you say that I just…shit, ride me, mate me.” He pleaded, flinching and then stilling when Roman carded his fingers through his messy hair.

“Shh, just me. Omega, you want to ride his cock, yeah? He’s yours to fuck, so fuck him.” Roman demanded, making you circle your hips.

Baron cried out and started panting when you rolled your body, rubbing your clit against his stomach and then raising yourself up on your knees until just the head of his cock was in you. “Oh Jesus Christ, please, please cutie please I need you-” The way his voice sounded when he was begging sent a fresh wave of warmth through your body and you couldn’t help but oblige, eliciting a satisfied growl from Roman when you started a fast paced rocking motion on Baron’s cock.

“This is mine.” Your breathless statement made both of them groan, Baron’s voice cracking a little. “It’s mine.”

“It’s always been yours, always been fuckin’ yours.” Baron said desperately. “The second we were imprinted I was yours, all yours, why’d you wait so long to claim this cock? S’ fuckin’ yours.”

“Omega, nip at his ear and whisper whatever the hell you want. He loves that shit.” Roman snickered at Baron’s facial expression. “You’re welcome, Corbin.”

“Oh God, oh fuck just…” Baron trailed off when you leaned forward and started licking at the shell of his ear. His whole body shuddered violently, cock throbbing in you.

“Someone likes that, huh?” You whispered, teeth grazing the skin. Baron whimpered. “You like having your Omega take your knot, Baron? You want me to squeal and beg for you?”

“Oh God yes.” Baron choked. You ground yourself down onto his cock and he wrapped his arms around your waist, pinning your hips to his own. “Fuckin’ keep talking Omega, keep talking, keep saying dirty shit fuck me, you are the best.”

Roman’s fingers were in your hair abruptly, his mouth pressed to your ear. “Tell him how good he makes you feel.”

“Christ, so good!” You cried out and Baron snarled, fucking his knot up into you as it swelled.

“Tell them how good they feel around your cock, Baron.” Roman instructed.

“The absolute best I’ve ever had, want you to feel me in your fucking belly, Omega, come on my fucking knot because I’m gonna’ fuck you through it, fuck you through it, fuck me fuck me mate me you’re so fucking beautiful I just want-” Baron’s ramble was a heated frenzy of motion and words, his knot finally settling deep enough to make your stomach ache sweetly and you came with a loud moan of his name. “God yes, yes! Fuck, drench my fuckin’ dick because I’m gonna’ fuckin’ come in you, gonna’ come-” Baron seemed to dissolve into nothing but snarls and mutters of gonna’ come, his whole body tight under you when Roman murmured something in his ear. “Yes.” Baron said finally, pinning your hips to his own and then coming with a gasp. “God, Jesus, Reigns, makin’ me fuckin’ twitch in them.” He groaned, you echoing the noise as his knot jolted and rubbed at your walls.

You collapsed on his chest, breathing hard. Baron stroked your hair, sucking wind himself. He reached out and clumsily grabbed the back of Roman’s neck, hauling the other Alpha in for a kiss. “You’re both incredible.” Baron panted. “Holy shit, Reigns. How’d you know about the ear thing?”

“I pay attention.” Roman grinned.

“Thank you for that.” You huffed, making both of them laugh. “Thank you so much. Now get in me before I pass out.”

“You still…okay, wasn’t sure if you would after all that.” Roman said, helping Baron ease you off his body so you could lay down on your stomach. “You can just stay right there, I’ll fill you up like that.” He continued calmly, a hand coming to rest on the small of your back. “Baron can stroke your hair while I knot you, you’ve done so good. What a good mate you are.”

“The best.” Baron agreed, his breathing still a little ragged.

Roman slipped a hand beneath your hips and arched you up, just enough for him to slide home. You whimpered at the sensation, able to weakly rock against his hand with every deep thrust. Baron hummed quietly, his fingers digging into your hair and massaging your scalp. You closed your eyes in bliss, your cheek pressed to the pillow as Roman practically covered you with his body. Baron’s voice was shot but he still managed to demand, “Faster, Reigns. Get them to come again.”

“I don’t need to, I just-” You began to protest and then Roman pulled you up and backwards onto his cock, crushing every last inch into your cunt. His knot slid in and out of you, over and over in a maddening rhythm as Roman grunted in your ear and mouthed over your shoulders hungrily.

“Omega, this is fucking yours.” He snarled, and you felt his hand slide to grip the base of his cock below his knot for a moment. “And yours only. This fucking throbbing cock is for you, for you to mate and claim and own, it’s yours, it’s all yours, Jesus Christ we love you so fucking much-” His knot popped in one final time, cock arching hard against your belly and you screamed as you came, Roman growling and fucking you through it with furious, sharp bucks of his hips. His knot secured him firmly and he rocked against you, back and forth while he kept talking. “God yes God fucking yes come on me, oh God you’re so beautiful like this, so good for us, Jesus-”

You were speechless, your pussy in spasm around his cock as he muttered and Baron crooned softly, kissing your forehead. “You’re amazing, cutie.” He praised, his smile warm. “He’s gonna’ fill you up, thank him being so good to you, okay?”

“Thank you, Alpha.” You whispered.

You felt Roman shiver violently as he came, pelvis jerking out of tempo. “Anything for you.” He murmured, kisses landing on the back of your neck and shoulders. “Anything for you. We love you.” He dragged his finger through the hot trail of slick and come that was trickling down your thighs, rubbing his thumb over his index to smear the combination. “Christ Big Banter, look at this fucking mess.” He sounded proud.

…

Roman played with your hair absently as Baron read slowly from one of your books. The air conditioner hummed quietly in the window, comforting background noise to the rumble of Baron’s voice. You rolled over onto your back, sneaking a hand through the crook of Baron’s elbow and linking the three of you together. The scent of comfort and content wove through your senses in a soothing manner.

“Whatcha’ thinkin’ about?” Roman asked, his voice drowsy.

“You two.” You answered simply.

Baron threw a leg over Roman’s, giving the both of you a stern look. “Interrupting the story is not good behavior, guys. Takes a lot of brain power for me to string these words together.”

“M’ sorry, Corbin. Make it up t’you.” Roman mumbled, already half-asleep.

You craned your neck to kiss Baron on the cheek, smiling at him. “Keep reading? I promise I won’t interrupt again. It's one of my favorites, and I like when you read. You sound nice.”

Baron blustered for a minute, his face endearingly pink when he cleared his throat and started back in. “...and when, released, he sprang to his feet, his mouth laughing, his eyes eloquent, his throat vibrant with unuttered sound, and in that fashion remained without movement, John Thornton would reverently exclaim, 'God! you can all but speak!'" He stopped, clearing his throat again. “Shit.”

“You alright?” You asked softly.

“Yeah, yeah. M' good. It's just...I mean, I like pack stuff.” Baron's eyes closed for a minute, his jaw working. “For the pack, y'know?” He muttered.

You took the book out of his hands and placed it on the bedside table, then pulled Baron in close to rest his head on your chest. Roman was already snoring and you gently petted Baron's hair, making the larger Alpha close his eyes and sniffle a little bit.

For the pack.

Part Three

[avengerofyourheart]

Mini Matchmaker Pt 3 (Steve Holiday Mini Series)

Happy New Year, my lovelies!! I was trying really hard to have this ready for NYE cause that’s when part of it happens but work and life made that impossible. But here it is!! I really hope you like this! I had all the fluffy feels while writing it, so yeah. :D Let me know your thoughts! <3

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Mini Matchmaker Pt 3 (Steve Holiday Mini Series)

Characters: reader x Steve, Bucky, Clint, Natasha, OC Justice, Laura Barton, Sam, Maria Hill, others mentioned. [modern AU]

Summary: A surprising phone call leads to another dinner, plus New Years Eve plans go awry. 

Warnings: Fluff! Lil angst. Mention of death and car accident. Illness I guess? 

Word Count: 4.2k (I’m a wordy birdie)

Tags are at the end

<<<Part Two   Part Three   Part Four>>>

Mini Matchmaker Series Masterlist

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The day after Christmas was a rude awakening, returning to the awful world of retail clothing and the demanding general public. Everyone and their dim-witted cousin had descended upon the mall to return ill-fitting clothes, otherwise unwanted gifts, and basically to annoy you. You didn’t know how many more times you could say, “Without a receipt I can only give store credit and that’s with the tags still attached” because every single time, the customer was baffled and infuriated at your inability to fork over the refund money without proof of purchase. Shocking.

You had spent your (late and shorter than usual) break hiding in the bathroom just so you didn’t have to see another person for 15 minutes. You repeated the mantra of “only a few more days, only a few more days…” to keep you from snapping right then and there.

Thankfully, two days later things had calmed down and you were able to have an actual lunch break. Natasha had joined you halfway through and was currently devouring your basket of fries, but lucky for her you weren’t that hungry. If you never saw another mall food court again, it would be too soon. The combined smells were nauseating. Only a few more days, only a few more days…

The buzzing of your phone on the laminate table brought you out of your stupor, your heart leaping at the name displayed on the screen. Steve. Natasha’s eyes followed the sound and she gripped your arm in almost-painful excitement.

“Answer it! Answer it!!” she physically shook you. She was just about as invested in this budding possible relationship as you were at this point.

“Ow! Okay, okay!!” you peeled her fingers off and swiped to answer the call. “Hello?”

An unexpected, young voice came through the phone, “Hi, Y/N! It’s me, Justice!”

“Oh! Hi, sweetie!” you waved away Nat’s shocked expression at your use of that term of endearment. “Um…does your daddy know you have his phone?”

“No. He’s in the kitchen. Do you want to come to the party tonight? We’re going to Uncle Clint’s work and you should come and play with me!”

“I don’t know, honey, could I talk to your…”

Just then you heard a deep, male voice in the background. “Who’re you talking to, peanut?”

“Y/N.”

“Oh, yeah? What did she say?” he replied, seemingly unconcerned.

“She asked about you and I told her about the party, can she come?” her small voice full of hope.

“Wait…did you really call her? Let me…oh, shit..” you heard a rustling on the line as Justice resisted giving up the phone, it would seem. “Hi, Y/N! I’m sorry...”

“You said a bad word, daddy!” Justice yelled in the background.

“Yes, I know, princess. I was just surprised, let me talk to Y/N, okay?” he cleared his throat and turned his focus on you. “Y/N, I’m so sorry about that, I thought she was kidding.”

In the meantime, you were having a laughing fit regarding the exchange between this wonderful man and his adorable daughter. “That’s okay,” you said when you regained some of your composure.

“Jimmer likes to pretend to have conversations and usually my phone is locked but I must have left it open on the table. I guess she found your photo in the contacts and called. She’s a sneaky one…”

“So it would seem,” you grinned. “How are you, Steve?”

“I’m, uh…I’m good. Really good, how are you?” he asked.

“Better now,” you replied with a touch of flirtiness. “So, what’s this about a party?”

“Oh, it’s just a get-together for Laura’s birthday at the restaurant. Nothing big. I mean, you can come! I’d love it if you did and I actually wanted to call, but I thought it might be too much too soon, you know? Apparently my daughter disagrees, so…”

You laughed, “I appreciate her direct approach, I must say. And definitely not too much or too soon. Tonight, you said?”

“Yeah, I know it’s short notice, so please don’t feel obligated.”

“Oh, not at all! Um…yes. I’d love to come,” you agreed without much thought, hoping there wasn’t something you were forgetting about tonight. It was then that Nat started poking your arm.

“Great! I’ll text you the details.”

“Looking forward to it,” you smiled, trying to avoid the redhead’s finger assault. “Will it be the whole gang then?”

“I think so, yeah. Is that okay?”

“Of course! I had a great time the other night. Can’t wait to see everyone again. Um…could I bring a friend?” you asked hesitantly, Nat finally pausing in her poking.

“Oh…sure. That should be fine,” he replied, sounding a little distant. “The more the merrier…”

“Great! Somehow I let it slip to Natasha about Bucky’s comment the other night and now she won’t leave me alone about it. She’s resorting to physical assault at this point,” you let out a dry laugh, Nat currently gripping your arm at the moment. Being her friend was painful sometimes.

“Natasha! Oh, right! Yeah, of course, she’s welcome to come. Bucky will be over the moon.” Steve’s voice had returned to normal, now making you realize that he may have been jealous of a potentially male ‘friend’ you might bring, perhaps? So cute.

“I’ll see you tonight, then. Tell Justice goodbye for me,” you said. It was only proper, since she was actually the one who called.

“I will. See you soon, Y/N. Bye.”

Hanging up, you turned to Nat with a smirk, “There, you happy? You’re coming tonight.”

She was actually so gleeful that she was speechless, a sight you never thought you’d see in your friend. Nat practically launched herself over the table in excitement, the tight hug almost bruising as she squealed her thanks. Boy, if this was her happy, you really didn’t want to find out what she was like if you pissed her off. Ow.

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Stepping out of the Uber in front of the restaurant, you placed a hand on your stomach to calm the butterflies fluttering there. Natasha climbed out after you and came to your side. You took a deep breath as Nat caught your eye. She wiggle her eyebrows at you, a smirk on her bright red lips. You laughed and nudged her with your hip, then stepping forward to open the restaurant door. The place looked busy, a few people sitting on benches waiting for a table. You were met with the hostess, a lovely girl with shoulder-length dark hair and strong features.

“Hi, welcome to The Archer’s Bow, do you have a reservation?” asked the brunette.

“Actually, we’re here for Laura’s birthday? Steve invited me and…”

“Oh, of course! You must be…” she glanced down at the list before her, “Y/N and Natasha! Clint mentioned you were coming. Follow me, please. I’m Maria, it’s nice the meet you.”

“Nice to meet you as well, Maria,” you responded, following her lead. You walked through the packed dining room, careful not the whack anyone with your bag, until Maria opened a door into a private banquet room filled with your new friends.

“Here you are, ladies. Enjoy your night,” the hostess smiled, stepping aside for you to enter.

“Thank you, Maria,” you returned the smile.  

Seeing hooks on the wall with coats, you and Natasha removed yours and deposited them along with your bags.

“Hey, Y/N!” you heard a voice behind you. “Glad you could make it. “

“Hey, Sam! Me, too,” you answered as he pulled you into a quick hug with a peck on your cheek.

“And who is this lovely lady?” the handsome man inquired.

“Sam, this is my friend, Natasha. Nat, this is Sam of the ‘special lady friend’ fame,” you grinned as Sam reached for the redhead’s hand. He lightly gripped her fingers and touched his lips to the back of her hand. Ever the flirt.

“Lovely to meet you, Natasha,” he smirked. “And I will claim that fame without regret because it brought Y/N into our lives and now you as well.”

Natasha giggled, “Nice to meet you, Sam. We are forever grateful for that.”

“Oh, yeah? How grateful?” Sam cocked an eyebrow, then freezing as he heard a throat clear loudly behind him.

The attention of all three of you turned to the man behind Sam, arms crossed over his chest, the muscles of his arms straining against the dark maroon material of his long sleeved Henley. Longish dark hair was tucked behind his ears and a smile graced his handsome face. Natasha nearly swooned under the gaze of his bright blue eyes.  

Sam stepped away as he dropped Nat's hand, sending a hard look in the brunet's direction. "Hey, man."

"Sam," he answered curtly. He warmed his tone, shifting his focus to you and Nat, “Hey, Y/N. So who do we have here?"

You jumped in, "Bucky, this is Natasha, my best friend. Nat, this is Bucky, Steve's business partner and friend."

"Hello, Natasha," Bucky spoke at a deep voice, almost a predatory growl, as he captured the redhead's hand.

Nat flushed and squeaked out a "hi", allowing Bucky to lead her further into the room. As the man passed by the two of you left standing, you could've sworn you heard Bucky whisper the word "dibs", much to Sam's dismay.

You offered a pitying smile in Sam's direction, the man muttering, "Figures," as he moped away. Poor Sam.

"Y/N!!" You heard a small but loud voice as a girl with bouncing curls swiftly launched herself at you. Luckily your arms were empty so you caught her in a hug and then sat her on your hip.

"Hey, Justice! Thanks for inviting me, sweetie!" you smiled at the girl, her arms looping around your neck. Her dad was close behind and came to your other side.

"Hi, Y/N," Steve smiled, pressing a lingering kiss to your cheek, his beard tickling slightly. He slid a hand to rest on your lower back as your free arm looped around his waist.

"Hello," you grinned, leaning into his side. "So, you have a photo of me in your phone?" you teased, speaking in a low voice.

His cheeks tinted pink, realizing he was caught. "Wanda took a few the other night so I snagged one. Hope you don't mind."

Flattered, heat rose in your own face as you replied, "No, I don't mind."

"Good," he smiled.

"I'm hungry, daddy!" exclaimed Justice at too high a volume for her being right next to your ear.

“Soon, princess. Let's see if Uncle Clint is ready.”

Justice wriggled in your arms and you set her down, watching her scamper off toward her cousins. Steve kept you close as you both walked toward the group surrounding the table. They all greeted you warmly with smiles and hello’s as you took a seat beside Steve. Nat was seated beside Bucky, who was utterly enraptured by your friend. She was gonna owe you big for this. Like naming their firstborn.

Clint entered the room from the kitchen, dressed in black pants and a white chef’s coat, his signature half-apron and the ever-present towel slung over his shoulder.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here to celebrate the birth of my wife, my baby mama, and the love of my life who luckily are all the same person,” the room burst into laughter as Laura swatted his arm. “For tonight’s meal we’ve got some of Laura’s favorites along with a few new surprises. Here comes the first course.”

Two servers then entered each carrying a large oval tray laden with individual appetizers on a plates. Clint gave his wife a kiss and then walked around the table toward you and Steve.

“Y/N! Welcome to my humble establishment. Glad you could join us,” the sandy-haired man declared.

“Thanks, Clint. This place is amazing! Everything smells so good. I hope it wasn’t too much to add a few people,” you said apologetically.

“Nonsense! No trouble at all. Anything for my man Steve,” he replied, gripping his buddy’s shoulder. “Well I better get back to it. Enjoy the Tuna Tartare, it’s delicious.”

“Thank you, I will,” you said, turning back to your plate as you marveled at the presentation. It looked incredible and tasted even better.

The whole meal was wonderful, even better than Christmas, if that were possible. The conversation flowed and wine was poured. Steve leaned into you often to make small comments about conversations regarding people you hadn’t met yet or mentions of work you didn’t know much about. By the end, you were all stuffed but once again, Clint demanded that there be dessert.

Laura’s favorite dessert was no ordinary frosted cake, you discovered as Clint dimmed the lights and brought out a gorgeous looking convection with one long lit candle on top. Every one sang and once she made a wish, Laura blew out the candle to applause.

Clint cut into the dome-shaped desert that looked like it was covered in toasted marshmallow fluff.

“Have you ever had Baked Alaska?” Steve asked.

“No, I haven’t but I’ve heard it’s amazing!” your eyes lit up at the prospect of trying something new.

Clint explained he had made 3 flavors of homemade olive oil gelato: pistachio, fresh raspberry, and coconut. Each flavor was layered in a dome mold topped by a layer of vanilla cake and once inverted, the dessert was expertly decorated in fresh meringue and placed under the flame of a broiler for the toasted marshmallow look. A slice was placed before you and as you took a bite, your eyes nearly rolled back into your head, it was so incredible.

“Oh, wow,” you groaned, digging in for another bite as you completely ignored your full stomach.

“Good, huh?”

You nodded emphatically with your mouth completely full of the heavenly dessert. Steve smiled at your reaction and turned to his own plate.

Once dishes were cleared, Laura opened her presents. There was even a small one from you and Nat, which Laura declared was unnecessary but you insisted. It was a certificate for an hour long massage plus free babysitting, which nearly brought her to tears. You could only imagine how being the mother of three allowed very little “me time”. She thanked you profusely and even hugged both you and Nat.

As the night drew to a close, Steve pulled you aside.

“I wanted to cement plans for New Year’s Eve, are you into the whole Time Square ball drop thing or…”

A cringe on your face, you shook your head, “Not really. I’m not a big fan of enormous crowds and utter chaos.”

Steve laughed, “Okay, I’m with you there. Then how about I get dinner reservations for a restaurant in the city? I can pick you up at your place around 8?”

“Sounds perfect,” you grinned.

Steve pulled you into a warm hug as you said goodbye, then physically peeling Nat away from Bucky’s side. There were declarations of “I’ll call you” and “Text me” from them both. Headed back to the city, the both of you giggled like schoolgirls, completely taken by these amazing men. Who knew the good ones had been hiding just outside the city?

________________

The rest of the week was much smoother and easier to handle as you looked forward to your date with Steve. He would text you a few times a day, that unstoppable smile on your face with each notification. New Year’s Eve arrived and you were working the morning shift. Natasha had plans with Bucky that night and you were happy for her, although you hadn’t heard from Steve yet by early afternoon.

Just as your shift ended, you checked your phone for the time to make sure you would have a few hours to get ready for tonight. On the screen, you saw a text from Steve.

Hey, call me when you have a minute.

Huh. Okay. You hit the icon for his name and heard ringing as the call went through.

“Y/N, hi. Listen, I am so sorry, but Justice has a fever and I don’t know if I can make it out there tonight.”

Your stomach dropped, “Oh. Um…okay, I understand.” Clearing your throat, you tried to hide your disappointment. It wasn’t his fault. You couldn’t be upset at him being a good father.

“I really don’t want to cancel, I promise you. Maybe….”

You waited with a flicker of hope, “Maybe?”

“I mean, I don’t want to get you sick…but maybe you could come here. If you want. I wish I could do it right and take you out, but Jimmer’s being really clingy and won’t let me out of her sight. I still want to see you, though, I know that’s selfish of me…”

You interrupted, “I want to see you, too, Steve. I mean, I’ve probably already been exposed to her germs anyway. I’d love to come over tonight.”

“Really? That’d be great! Should we still say 8 o’clock? Or maybe earlier, I could order a pizza for us all.”

“Pizza sounds perfect. 7 okay?”

“It’s a date. Sort of,” Steve said.

You laughed, “I’ll see you then.”

______________

Climbing the steps up to Steve’s home much more confidently this time, you knocked on the heavy wooden door before it swung open to display a handsome Steve with Justice in his arms.

“Hey, come on in,” he smiled.

You shrugged off your coat and hung it up, setting down your bags on the floor.

Justice was snuggled up to her father with a blanket over her. You could see her face was flushed and it was heart breaking to see the girl you had come to know without her spark of constant energy. Her eyes fluttered open, then untangling herself from her father as she reached for you.

“Oh, um…she hasn’t really wanted anyone else so far. Do you mind?” asked Steve.

“Of course not,” you replied, taking Justice into your arms as she laid her head on your shoulder.

Steve stretched his arms and back a little, which was probably necessary as he had most likely been holding the sick girl most of the day. You were glad you could offer him a break.

“Pizza should be here in a few minutes. We’ve been watching a movie in the living room.”

You followed the man in and sat down on the couch, Justice shifting so she was curled up in your lap. Steve pressed play on the movie as he sat down beside you. Pizza arrived and the two of you ate while also coaxing the sick girl into eating a piece of toast. After a few bites, she refused it but took sips of water along with children’s Tylenol to reduce her fever.

Once the movie was over another began to keep her entertained. Over time, she had changed positions and was now laying across both of your laps with her head on yours and her legs across her father’s. Steve had his arm around you as you lifted the sweaty curls off the girl’s forehead. Partway through the movie, Justice’s breathing slowed and she finally fell asleep.

Shifting very slowly and gently, Steve gathered her in his arms. “I’m going to try and lay her down,” he whispered.

Standing up, you stretched after staying in the same position for so long. You walked over to the bookshelf and read some of the titles displayed. Hearing him enter the room again, you turned.

“Well, I think she’s out for the night. I hope. What do you want to do until we ring in the new year? I’ve got slightly more grown up movies and some wine…”

You grinned, “That sounds good. Or… this might sound silly, but I brought some games. It’s a tradition in my family to play cards or board games on New Year’s Eve.”

“That sounds…oh, hold on…” Steve phone was ringing, so he paused to answer. “Hey, Laura, everything okay?”

He stepped into the hall so you turned back toward the shelves of books.

Upon returning, he hung up, “Huh, well, it looks like Laura’s coming over with the kids. Clint is working late and she came to the sam conclusion you did, having already been exposed to germs. So she’s going to be here in case Justice wakes up and she insists we go out.”

“Wow, that’s so kind of her,” you spoke, stepping closer the Steve. “Do you want to?”

“I do, just…maybe not too far away? Just in case?” he questioned.

“Of course, yeah,” you replied.

“Okay. Well, she’ll be here in a bit, so…do you mind if I get a little cleaned up before we go? Holding a sweaty toddler for most of the day gets you little gross.”

You chuckled, “Sure.”

Once Laura arrived and put a movie on for the kids, Steve checked on Justice one more time before you two were shoved out the door. Steve drove to a cafe not to far from his home. He offered to grab a table and stay indoors but you suggested taking two hot chocolates to-go and strolling around town.

Walking side by side, the conversation flowed easily with Steve clasping your gloved hand within the first few minutes. He showed you around the area and even walked past the offices for his construction business. He and Bucky had both been working for different companies for years until the two of them broke out on their own. It had been a struggle at first, but now they had a steady clientele and enjoyed being their own bosses.

The subject eventually drifted to the death of his wife, Peggy.

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything…”

“Not at all, I promise. She was a huge part of your life and you need to keep that part alive for Justice’s sake. I don’t mind, really. Tell me about her,” you inquired.

Steve took a deep breath and began. He had met Peggy at basic training for the army, which surprised you. Steve had joined to pay for college but Peggy was naturally ambitious and grew up with her father and grandfather in the military. He fulfilled his time but got out as soon as he could, narrowly avoiding being deployed. Peggy stayed in and did two tours, which was rough, but he waited for her. He proposed shortly after she came home and they were married months later. He worked construction as Peggy moved up in the ranks, “breaking glass ceilings and busting balls along the way”. Those were her words.

Justice was a surprise, but a pleasant one. Peggy took time off after the baby came but eventually went back to work. Steve worked his schedule around hers, which was much easier to do once he had his own business. There were hard times, but they were happy. They made time for Justice and for each other. Until one stormy night, a truck drifted into the oncoming lane and hit Peggy’s car head on. She died on impact.

Steve sniffled, his eyes glassy as he finished his story. “I’m sorry, I haven’t talked about this in a long time.”

“I’m glad you told me,” you assured him, giving his hand a squeeze. The two of you had been walking down by the river, now pausing to look out on the water as a cold breeze ripped through you.

“Truth be told, I’ve tried dating a few times, but it just never felt right. I didn’t fit in with the regular dating scene and any woman I met, I felt like I couldn’t be myself with, you know? At what point do you bring up having a kid? Or being a widower? One or the other might chase them off, but both? Maybe that’s why I’m so comfortable with you. It all came out within the first 2 minutes of meeting you,” he chuckled thickly.

Tugging on the lapels of his coat, you turned Steve’s body toward you. “Bless those pointy elf shoes for bringing us together,” you joked, eliciting a honest laugh from the man as he threw his head back.

Smile on your face, you brought a gloved hand up to caress his bearded cheek. His hands gripping your hips, he leaned forward, eyes flickering to your mouth. He brought his lips down to meet yours, gentle and soft at first but becoming more intense in no time. Heat filled you, despite the cold, as you ran your fingers through his thick, soft hair. Steve pulled you forward, your body flush against his with large hands firm against your back.

A loud boom and a burst of light surprised you, breaking away from Steve suddenly. Fireworks exploded in the sky and reflected on the water, almost giving the illusion of mirrored displays.

“Happy New Year, Y/N,” he said, breaking the silence.

“Happy New Year, Steve,” you replied as he captured your lips once more.

If this was how it was beginning, then you knew this upcoming year was going to be amazing.

Part Four>>>

_____________________________________________

Eep!! Gotta say, that was a much better New Year’s than mine. ;) It was a bit longer than anticipated, but I hope you enjoyed it!! I put question marks next to a possible Part 4 because I’m thinking of extending this series at least one more part!! But most likely not until a certain holiday in the middle of February. ;) Let me know your thoughts on this part and if you’d like to see more of Steve and Justice!! I love you guys!! 

I’m still figuring out a new tag system, so I’m not sure if I’ll add anymore for the next part. But you’re welcome to ask!!

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