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lumosinlove · 2 years ago

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April Part One

cw: brief mention of past abuse & anxiety

I wish that when I said your name you would appear

Sitting next to me

The Rangers were already in the playoffs, clinched and waiting to see who they’d face-off against first. It had always made Sirius a little antsy but also a little pleased when they played a team that was already in position. They would be hard to predict. While the Lions fought for their spot—win this game, and they’d be headed towards what would hopefully be another short summer—the Rangers would either be taking it easy, hoping not to have any injuries, or they’d be so high on the thrill that they’d come out harder than ever. Sirius didn’t understand why people bet on hockey. It was a hard game to predict. So much of its balance and beauty sourced straight from the players themselves, energy flowed through from one man to the next. Sirius knew well what sort of toll a break in that system could take.

Now though, Sirius simply dipped around Finn’s stretched wide arms and shot the basketball straight into the hoop.

“Fucking Christ,” Finn panted, cheeks bright pink as he leaned his hands on his knees. “Whatever, man.”

Kota laughed, retrieving the ball and tossing it between his palms. “Your brother’s better than you at this, Harzy, I gotta say.”

Finn pointed at him while Kasey let out a loud laugh. “Don’t ever say that.”

“Oh, man,” Kasey said through his laugh. “I gotta call him right fucking now.”

For a moment, Sirius thought Finn was going to throw Kasey’s phone across the court.

Hannah laughed, too, lifting them hem of her shirt to wipe at her sweat. “If you ever want to rile Finn up bring Alex into the competition. That’s for sure.”

Sirius held his hands out for the ball and grinned. “For sure.”

It was nice, keeping this game running. Sirius found that it got him out of his head, out of the house, and forced him not to spend all of his free time with Remus—something he tended to gravitate towards. Remus would go out with Lily, or Leo and Thomas, and Sirius would text the basketball group chat and throw on his shoes. He loved hockey, and he knew Remus loved him, but even he could admit that he got to be a little much whenever playoffs were potentially coming into the picture. Remus would let him babble, but kiss him on the cheek and ease him in a different direction. Sirius had never had anyone so gentle before, not including Pascal probably.

Still. Sometimes he couldn’t help it.

“So, I’ve been thinking about what we know about Logan,” he began, and he was met by groans—the loudest from Finn.

“I’m not dissecting Logan’s game with you.”

“He’s the opponent now!” Sirius said. “It’s not personal.”

“I’m not saying it is,” Finn flashed his hands for the ball. “I’m just under strict orders from Remus to get you to relax.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Non.”

Finn arched his brows. “Wanna see the text?”

Sirius waved him off. “We have a good opportunity here.”

Finn made a basket. “Nope.”

Sirius’ eyes moved to Kota. “D’accord, fine, let’s talk more about Alex.”

Finn dropped his head back. “This is supposed to be a fun game of funball.”

Hannah snorted. “Funball does not sound like something you do in public.”

“Oh, just play already,” Finn said, though he still seemed out of breath. “I swear to God, if Leo was here we’d have all your asses beat already.”

Sirius watched the garage door close behind him as the car chirped and locked. He inhaled and let out the breath before pushing through the side door, just off the kitchen. He still had moments to marvel at the fact that it actually felt like the kitchen. His kitchen. Their kitchen, the two of them. He could smell something Remus was cooking, or maybe it was takeout, he didn’t care, but Remus was there, inside, waiting for him.

“How was everyone?” Remus asked when Sirius let the door slam behind him. He was at the stove, cooking. There was the iPad beside him, and a game was running—no, not a game. Tape. Remus was cooking dinner and watching game tape at the same time. Sirius was honestly a little turned on.

“Good,” Sirius smiled, coming up behind Remus and settling his hands on his hips. “They told me I needed to relax.” Sirius nosed against his neck, pressing a light kiss there. “But I’m not the one watching tape right now…”

Remus smiled and licked a bit of sauce from his thumb. “Well. We all have our moments. We��re very close to the playoffs, aren’t we?”

“One game away, actually.” Sirius pressed Remus tighter to him.

“I had twenty bucks with Kasey that you tried to talk Logan’s game with Finn.” Remus tapped the spoon against the pot before settling it in the rest. “I’m a rich man.”

Sirius laughed. “True, but it’s not from Kasey’s twenty bucks. Hey.”

Remus tilted his head back against Sirius’ shoulder. “What?”

Sirius pressed a thumb to Remus’ jaw, running it gently along the edge until he reached his bottom lip. “You okay?”

Remus tapped the spoon again. “Of course I am, why?”

He applied gentle pressure until Remus’ head turned and Sirius could kiss him, once again gently, but this time on the lips. “Je t’aime.”

Remus hummed happily. “Fiancé.”

Sirius pressed his mouth against Remus’ cheek. “Husband.”

“Not yet,” Remus laughed.

“Soon. Let’s go right now. Marry me.”

Remus turned in his arms, pressed his hands to Sirius’ cheeks. “My mother would kill me.”

“We’ll have another wedding. We’ll have ten, if you want.”

Remus just stood there, smiling at him, for a long moment. Sirius leaned into his touch, his fingers that had begun gently combing back his hair. Remus pressed a feather-light kiss to his mouth. “A wedding is a celebration. A piece of paper. A law.” He brushed their noses together. “You’re already mine in far more ways than that. So, I don’t need ten weddings.” Remus pressed a harder kiss and laughed. “I need you to taste this sauce and then take me to bed.”

“Oh? Yes, Captain.”

Remus laughed and slapped his chest. “Shut up.”

They ate at the kitchen island counter, iPad between them and shoulders brushing.

“This feels so weird and wrong,” Remus sighed as they watched yet another clip of Logan, clad in blue.

“I know,” Sirius said. “But this is such a big game for us. It could give us the edge we need. Besides, if it makes it better, the Rangers are already in the playoffs. We’re not taking anything away from them and Logan besides a few points that they don’t even need.”

“I know. God, I know, you’re right. But at one point we’ll have to, if we want this. What time’s our flight on Tuesday?”

“Very early. We get into NYC at, like, six in the morning.”

Remus rubbed his eyes. “God. All right.”

Sirius pressed a kiss to his temple. “Sleep on my shoulder the whole way there, mon loup.”

Remus just leaned into him, but his eyes were still on Logan, frozen on their screen. Alex was in the frame, too, behind him, waiting for a pass.

“Gonna be weird for Finn.”

Sirius bit his lip, nodding. “Ouais.”

Logan couldn’t deny that he was counting down the minutes. He knew that the Lions’ plane would be taking off sometime in the early hours of the following morning. Finn had sent him a very chaotic video of him packing his suitcase that consisted of seemingly random clothes being thrown past the camera and into the bag while he shouted “don’t care just coming to see BABY,” while Leo, on the other side of the bed, tossed his own clothes in as if he were shooting baskets on a court. It hadn’t helped how restless he felt. All he wanted was to see them again, and the weeks that had passed had been the slowest of his life. They’d called, FaceTimed, but it wasn’t the same.

“Anyway,” he heard Saint say, and the noises of the Rangers’ locker room faded back into his ears. Tape being ripped off of shins, the clatter of sticks being put back on the rack. “They’re basically about these kids, stuck on this island, looking for a treasure that went down with this ship. Some shady stuff goes on with the parents, people knocking each other around for it. It’s a good couple books, haven’t read the third yet though, it’s not out yet.”

Something about that made Logan look up. Island. Shipwreck.

“The Crucio series?” Logan asked. “The books?”

“Yeah,” Saint nodded from where he was stripping in his stall, then paused in surprise and looked him up and down. “Why, you’ve read them? I’ve never seen you with a book in your hand, Tremblay.”

“Oh. Non, I…” Logan swallowed. He’d almost just explained that no, it wasn’t him, but Finn. Instead, he realized that this moment could mean more, that it was an opportunity. It would be a bit awkward now, the conversation had begun to move on he’d been silent for so long, but he sat back against his stall and spoke through a dry mouth. “Non, but my—boyfriend loves them.”

He didn’t really look at anyone when he said it, but in the brief silence that followed, he forced himself to look up. He caught Saint’s expression first. After all, the reply had been for him. Saint had perhaps paused for a moment, but if he had, Logan hadn’t looked up in time to see it. Saint just nodded with a thumbs up and continued explaining the book’s plot to Luke—who was definitely staring at Logan.

In the end, it was Percy who spoke to Logan first.

“Who…Finn?” It was a small check, a just-making-sure-I’ve-got-this-right. His light eyes were wide, and Will, too, was staring, lips parted around what Logan thought might be a faint smile.

“Ouais,” Logan said, and suppressed a shiver, warm all over. “Finn.”

Percy grinned wide. “God, yes.” He laughed. He and Will shared a look. “I mean, oh, yeah, he never shuts up about books he loves.”

“Sat in OKN’s living room for hours. What was that one series? With the—I don’t know, the zombies? I think he read those, what,” Will shrugged. “How many times do you think?”

Logan knew. “Five.” One of them had been aloud to Logan during that first summer together.

Finally, there was Alex. He didn’t quite look at Logan, but put a hand on his shoulder as he got up, faced ducked low and out of view, and went into the hallway. Logan wasn’t perfectly sure it was an invitation to follow him, but he did anyway. He was flooded with an overwhelming urge to thank Alex, for everything. He’d been a sinking stone more than once in his presence, Finn, too, and Alex had kept them afloat each time.

He turned into the hallway and was hit in the chest by tight arms around him, slapping him on the back.

Alex’s hug was hard and his voice was hoarse. “I can’t say—I’m so—fuck, glad you two pulled through. Jesus—” He laughed breathlessly in Logan’s ear. “That was really hard to watch for a while there.”

Logan wasn’t sure what to say, a lump in his throat, so he tried to think of what Finn would have said. He returned Alex’s hug slowly, then tightly. “Tell me about it.”

Two more pairs of hands appeared on his shoulders.

“Finally.” Will was grinning.

“Finally is right,” Percy said from his other side. “Come on, we’re going for a beer. Yes, right now. Okay, fine, not right now, but we deserve it, okay? You do, we wondered if you were ever going to tell us. Tried to tell you you could, but, y’know. You stubborn fuck. But, really, about Bambi—fucking finally.”

Will slapped Logan’s chest. “Do you know how long we’ve been waiting for this? And then the hockey gods bring us back together and we get to be there for it? Fuck yes.”

“You knew?” Logan said. “You knew. How?”

“Come on, man.” Will shook his head and looked at Percy, putting on a bad imitation of Logan’s accent. “Finn, do you want to, ah—um, hm, study together on the bus? And by study I mean practically spoon?”

Logan covered his face as Alex laughed and joined in.

“Oh yeah, Logan, Tremzy, do you—will you come spend the entire summer with me and sleep in my bedroom on the “floor” instead of the guest room?”

“Should we get breakfast together every day and not invite anyone else?” Percy said.

Will grinned. “Oh, totally, and let’s sneak up to the roof later?”

Before Logan knew it he was laughing, hard. He covered his eyes. “D’accord, stop, stop. Oh my God.”

“And, and of course they way he came charging back into the house looking for you that last time. ‘Course, you had already gone fucking tearing out of OKN after he left.” Percy whistled. “Hard to misunderstand that one.”

Logan smile dropped slowly. Almost like whiplash. He stared between Will and Percy, who was slowly seeming to realize what he’d said. Alex, too, looked stricken.

Percy swallowed. “Not—Fuck. Sorry. That was—like, a hard time for you and—and I’m gonna shut up now.”

“You didn’t…” Will began carefully, shifting on his feet a bit. “You didn’t know he came back for you, huh?”

Percy sighed when Logan shook his head. “Same old Finn and Logan.”

“Quoi?”

“Your love is fucking loud, man,” Percy said. “Always has been. You just weren’t listening to each other.”

Logan smiled, but what Percy had just said was playing over and over again in his mind at full volume. He came back for you he came back for you.

Logan remembered running out of the house. He tried not to remember.

“Like I said,” Percy tapped their temples together. “Same old Finn and Logan.”

“Hm,” Logan said. “Actually, not quite.”

“Oh, no?”

Alex grinned knowingly and Logan smiled back, shoving Percy and Will back towards their locker room doors.

“You know Leo Knut?”

The Gryffindor Lions have made quite the comeback this season. I really don’t think any knowledgable sports fan would have given them a flying chance after the way their year started. Not to mention, with the loss of top forward Logan Tremblay, the months really only got worse for Lions fans. But here they are, led once again into playoff position by Captain Sirius Black. We’ll see where tonight takes us, see if the Lions can pull through against the Rangers.

Sirius admired the ring while Remus was sleeping sometimes. It could cast small multicolored shadows against their headboard, or even Remus’ neck and jaw when his hand was resting on his softly rising and falling chest. Their alarm was set to go off any minute—up at 3:30 for a horribly early flight to New York. Something in him always woke up before alarms. His mind somehow knew it was time, flooding itself with thoughts. Sebastian Montague’s save average, needing Evgeni to go up against Luke Deveaux, Alex O’Hara, not so much like Finn’s playing style, Logan there, favored slap-shots, he would shoot from the blue line, always had—

“Hm,” Remus sighed sleepily as the phone began to ding softly.

Sirius put a hand over his bare chest, rubbing softly until Remus opened his eyes and looked at where Sirius was propped on his elbow, gazing down at him.

“How long have you been awake? No, wait, let me try and guess.”

“Not too long. I just want to get on this plane already, I guess.” He traced a finger down Remus’ chest. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Mm-hm. C’mere.” Remus rolled until he could push Sirius back into the bed and pillows with his weight. He leaned in for a kiss.

“We have to go.”

“Not yet we don’t. I set it a bit early.”

“Quoi?” Sirius asked into his kiss, then watched as Remus pressed his mouth to his chest, then his stomach. “Why? 3:30 wasn’t early enough for you?”

Remus just grinned up at him from where he was kissing his hip, hand easing over Sirius’ half-hard cock. “Needed some time for pre-game rituals.”

Sirius let his head drop back into the pillows.

The airport was quiet and sleepy. Sirius looked around at his team, draped over chairs, Leo with his eyes closed and his head on Finn’s shoulder while Finn, mouth dipped against Leo’s hair, read softly to him from a book. Sirius smiled at the sight. The Cubs had told the team about their approach to going public—and it wasn’t much of an approach at all, not a planned one, at least. The only decision they were making was to hide nothing. None of them would have sat the way Leo and Finn were sitting then, not before. Sirius was happy for them—whatever happened tonight, at least that weight was off of their shoulders—but as he watched Finn pause to press a kiss to Leo’s head, he couldn’t help the old spike of fear, the urge to look around. He knew that he and Remus both still caught themselves doing that sometimes. He didn’t know if he had it in him to do it for the Cubs, too. Someone was going to take a picture sooner or later, he’d said that to Finn, who had only shrugged. So will we. He hoped to God it was as easy as that for them. It deserved to be that easy.

“Here, Cap.”

Sirius looked up to see Thomas holding out his coffee order.

“Merci, T.”

Thomas smiled and nodded at Leo and Finn. “What I wouldn’t do to be in Leo’s position right now.”

“Oh? Didn’t know you liked Finn that much.”

Thomas laughed and sat beside him in the leather gate chairs. “I just mean, you know, with the love of your life. Well, one of them, I guess, speaking as Harzy. Like, I think we can agree they’re soulmates. Jesus Christ.”

“Miss Noelle, huh?”

“Yeah,” Thomas sighed, long and drawn-out. “It’s a weird feeling, you know? Hoping for short summers but wanting to spend time with all the people you love, too.”

Sirius nodded, but he was also silently counting himself lucky. Besides Regulus, who came home on weekends sometimes, he had everyone he cared about right here with him, every single day. He hadn’t thought about that before. He looked to Kasey, who was forced to miss Alex and sometimes Natalie. Finn and Leo, who now would always have some part of themselves waiting to see Logan again. Remus, who loved his parents and his brother, and only got to see them ever so often. Did Pascal wish he had more time to be a father to his children? Probably.

“Cap?” Thomas asked tentatively.

Sirius looked at him. “Oh. Sorry. Sorry, just…that must be so hard. Especially—I mean I am thinking about it a lot this season. We all are.” He glanced at Remus, who was sitting with Layla and Lars, no doubt talking about Layla’s latest test in her PT program. “I don’t know what I would do. Really, I don’t.”

Thomas’ brown eyes went far away as he nodded, but he seemed to realize this and spared Sirius one of his contagious smiles as he took a sip of his coffee. “On a happier note…” He spread his hands, eyebrows raised expectantly. “Wedding plans? C’mon, man, keep me in the loop.”

Sirius laughed. “When would any of us have time to make wedding plans?”

“Center ice wedding? Everyone’s in skates?”

“Jesus Christ, no.”

“You sure?”

“No,” Sirius laughed. “I mean yes, ouais, I’m so sure.”

“Someone could skate down the—”

“Non.”

“Hey guys. That one mine?” Cole sat down on the other side of Sirius.

“What’s up, rookie, here’s your sugar-milk, oh, I’m sorry, I mean frapa-whatever.” Thomas said. “Hey.” He leaned in, knowing look on his face. “Your girl’s staring again.”

Cole groaned, but he was smiling, pressing a hand up to half cover his face. “T, she’s not my girl.”

“Not yet. Y’all are in it to win it. I see it, baby. I can feel it.”

Sirius frowned. “I’m missing something.”

Cole just narrowed his eyes at Thomas and took a conveniently long drink of his coffee.

“Oh,” Sirius said. “Is this about you and Layla?”

Thomas threw his head back and laughed. “See? Even the oblivious Captain Black is aware!”

“Shh.” Cole did look interested, though. “I don’t—we’re not…like, nothing’s happened. It’s probably not even allowed anyway. A PT and a player?”

Sirius blew out a breath, bringing his cup to his lips. “Deja vu.”

“What? Oh. Sorry.”

Sirius shook his head. “Non, it’s fine. Well…do you want something to happen?”

Cole just looked at him.

Thomas snorted. “This is his ‘I’m talking to Sirius Black about my love life’ face.”

Cole threw the cardboard heat-guard around his coffee at him which Thomas caught and put on his Sirius’ head like a crown. Sirius batted it away.

“Boarding, boys,” one of the assistant coaches called, clapping his hands to wake the dosing players. Olli blinked awake like he had been sleeping for years. Leo pried his eyes open across the way and Finn gave his nose a pinch with a laugh.

“Oh, saved by the bell,” Thomas said.

“Shh,” Cole said. “I’m watching you.”

Thomas lowered his voice into a stage-whispered. “Drink your sugar-milk and ask her out.”

“She babysits for Dumo’s kids,” Cole whispered. “If she said no that would be—” Cole made a pained face. “Awkward.”

“Do you prefer awkwardness or regret?”

Cole huffed. “Thomas.”

Sirius couldn’t help but laugh as he stood up. “Boarding, boys. Boarding.”

Even as he walked away he heard a final murmured, “Sugar-milk,” and then a, “Bean water.”

The wired type of exhaustion hit Sirius halfway through the short flight, which wasn’t great because it meant by the time he thought he could have napped, they were getting off the plane. The hotel was nice at least, and Sirius could feel the team’s energy. Maybe it was partly getting to go up against Logan. No doubt, no matter how painful it was, Logan would be filled with the same type of adrenaline.

He and Remus didn’t talk a lot as they threw their bags down at the hotel door. Remus just stretched and then wrapped an arm around Sirius’ waist, pressing up to kiss his cheek.

“Gonna nap,” he said.

“Ouais,” Sirius nodded. “Might get something from the buffet downstairs, then I’ll join you?” He pressed a quick kiss to Remus’ mouth and made sure he had his key card. “I’ll try not to wake you when I come back in.”

“Hey, wait.” Remus wrapped Sirius’ hands up in his own. “Don’t just sit down there and worry. You’ll have all of our tape session for that. All of morning skate, and warm-up, too. Just…”

Sirius smiled and took Remus’ face between his hands. “You know…you’ve been pretty focused on me.”

“So? You’re my fiancé.”

“So, it’s one of your tells.”

Remus made a face, fingers ruffling gently through the hair at the back of Sirius’ neck. “What tell?”

“When you’re worried. You focus on everyone else.” Remus’ smile faltered and Sirius leaned down to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “It’s why you’re so loved, it’s why you’re an amazing PT, but it’s also something I know about you as the person who, in my opinion…loves you the most.”

Remus was quiet for a long moment, fingers still twisting through Sirius’ hair, then carding it back at his temples. Sirius let him sit with it. He just watched those golden eyes flit between worry and something else, something that he wasn’t saying, as he watched Sirius’ dark strands slip through his fingers.

“What happens if we don’t win tonight?” Remus finally said.

“Then we don’t win.” Sirius swallowed. “Then we finish the season and we have a very long summer.”

“Don’t say that like you’re okay with it. Not for my sake.”

“Re…”

“Don’t—” Remus closed his eyes, let one of his cheeks fall heavier into Sirius’ palm. “Don’t say my name like that, baby.”

“Loup,” Sirius said, but let Remus pull away. “Mon Loup…”

“No, I’m fine.”

“The beginning of the season, you weren’t playing well. Now you’re playing better but you feel like its not enough.”

Remus just looked back at him, as if he were trying to figure out how Sirius already knew. He sat down heavily on the bed, hands going behind him, holding him up. He tilted his head to look up at Sirius, eyes sad.

“You think I don’t know?” Sirius went down on one knee in front of Remus, hands smoothing comfortingly over his knees. “It used to be all I thought. Every second of every day. Doesn’t help that that’s the only question we ever get asked, either.”

Remus groaned and dropped onto his back, bouncing slightly against the mattress. “Fuck.”

The word came out tight with tears, and Sirius just rested his cheek against Remus’ thigh. “What can I do. Hm, baby?”

“I don’t know,” Remus sighed, wiping at his eyes. “Fuck, I don’t know. I’m—I am fine, really. I think it’s like—Logan, too, like it’s just weird and—I forgot what it was like playing against friends. I’m always so focused on Grayback, like, like the—the enemy, you know? And Alex is wonderful, but I don’t mind beating him. I just—it’s Logan, but it’s—me.” He looked down at Sirius. “It’s stupid.”

“Non,” Sirius said, and rose, laying down beside him. “Non, it isn’t.”

“I focus on beating, only now I just want to—win.” He looked at Sirius. “But I’ve already won, look at me. Look what I have? It feels like jinxing to even get that greedy, even if I know that’s what we’re supposed to want. A—you-know-what. S-T-A-N-L-E-Y.”

Sirius couldn’t help but smile. “Sometimes I forget how superstitious you are.”

“Ugh.”

“Pretty sure you’re worse than me.”

Remus laughed a little, too. “It’s exhausting.”

“That’s because us two, we’re not just tying our shoes in a certain order. Look at Thomas. His routines come from time. He puts his right glove on first, he can’t buckle his helmet until the first face off, because he’s been doing that since he was in a child, or in minors.” Sirius leaned in, letting Remus nestle against his arm. “You and I? Non, mon loup, we’re trying to do so much more than that. My routines came from desperation. That’s what Heather taught me. When I was young and I got something wrong, I didn’t get a nice toasted sandwich and a good try.” Sirius tried not to let his eyes go far away, tried to keep the feeling that something was coming towards him, a hand, just out of the corner of his eye, tried not to turn his head and flinch. He just kept his eyes on Remus. “Non. That’s not what I got.”

Remus reached up to lay a hand on Sirius’ cheek, because of course. Of course he could tell. He smoothed it over the hair behind Sirius’ ear as if saying nothing’s there. It’s just me. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. He knew Sirius didn’t like to talk about it. “Is that why you make your honey and toast?”

Sirius pressed a gentle kiss to the sad look on Remus’ face. “There was this kid I used to play with—and I was always in the age group above me, ouais? I was just as good—better, even—but everyone was bigger. And not very nice.” He smiled. “I don’t think you appreciate getting your shots stolen by a seven year old when you’re nine or ten.”

Remus shook his heads. “Kids can be cruel.”

“Ouais,” Sirius said. “But so can adults. There was this one kid, though, named Théo, and sometimes he would give me half of his sandwich. Oh, Loup, it was…” Sirius closed his eyes. “C’est parfait. Perfect, Remus. It was so simple looking back on it now, but do you think my mother was sending me to practice with a perfect, crunchy, sweet sandwich? Non. Protein, Sirius, protein.”

A softer smile had come across Remus face. “Honey. Théo had your sandwich?”

“I have Théo’s.”

“You started making them yourself.”

“When I got out of the house, ouais. No one else was going to. Well—Celeste started making them for me. Don’t think I ever told you how I cried the first time she did. Freaked Adele out. But nothing will ever taste as good as Théo’s when I was seven.”

“What happened to him?”

Sirius sighed. “He…well, he plays in Vegas.”

Remus blinked, then his eyes widened. “Théo as in Théo Angevine?”

“As you would say—yep.”

Remus pushed himself up on an elbow. “Does he know?”

Sirius shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s never given any—hm, sign? Sign that he remembers.”

“Huh,” Remus let himself fall back onto the bed. “Well, I don’t think he’d forget playing with Sirius Black. Haven’t you talked?”

“We saw each other at the award ceremonies my first year, when I got the Calder. But I wasn’t exactly friendly then, was I?”

Remus made a non-committal noise and pulled Sirius closer to him.

“What I was trying to say about me and you,” Sirius said, letting Remus hitch a leg over his hip. He smoothed a palm over the soft material of Remus’ sweatpants, pulled tight around his muscles. “Is that…we’re not the same, our reasons for being the way we are are different, but similar for you, non? Who more than you would want a little bit of control right now?”

“I know but, I just…I thought I had learned to let some of it go,” Remus said. “After my shoulder. Anything can happen and there’s nothing I can do to change that. But…but now I find myself doing all my old little anxious tricks. Just not stepping on some part of the fucking floor and it’s just…”

“I know,” Sirius sighed, and let Remus groan and bury his face in his neck for a moment. “I understand…Re, you were thrown back into a world you never expected to see again.”

“Yeah,” Remus huffed and it was warm against Sirius’ skin. “Yeah, that’s true.”

Sirius bit his lip against a smile after letting them be quiet for a moment, rubbing Remus’ back. “You know what clears my head sometimes?”

Remus pulled back and arched a brow at the daring expression on Sirius’ face. “No…what?”

“Do you want…a pre-game ritual?”

Remus laughed. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”

“Ouais.” Sirius smoothed his hand down Remus’ side. “Really. What can I do, tell me?”

Remus thought for a moment. “If you need food, go, but…maybe we can nap together? I know we usually sleep apart before games, but I kind of just need to…snuggle.”

Sirius just pressed a kiss to his mouth and arranged Remus the way he knew he liked best for a nap—Sirius spooning up against his back.

“I want you more than five Cups,” Sirius whispered against the back of Remus’ neck when his arms were locked firmly around his waist.

“Baby, I love you. But not everyone on the team feels that way. Nor should they. This means a lot to them. To you, too. To me. I just…I don’t know. People still see me as some weird…outlier. Anomaly. I know that.”

“Maybe you have to stop seeing yourself like that.”

Remus only let out a long sigh and pushed harder into Sirius’ chest. “Yeah.”

Sirius pressed a kiss to his shoulder where he knew part of his scar ended. “Rest, mon coeur. Rest.”

Logan checked his phone again and leaned against the wall of the coffee shop he was standing in front of. He knew Gryffindor had made its way to New York early this morning, but he also knew that Finn would be on his way, no matter how tired he was, because Logan had told him to come. He’d planned it. He wanted time with Finn over breakfast, Leo over lunch, both of them at dinner—no matter what happened during the game. It felt right this way.

Suddenly there were hands over his eyes and a voice in his ear, lips brushing his skin.

“Hey, is that star New York Rangers winger Logan Tremblay, can I get an autograph, do you think?”

Logan smiled, almost turned and kissed him right then. “Hm, maybe. But you’ll have to follow him first.”

Finn laughed, dropping his hand to rub gently up and down Logan’s back—a gesture that was all Leo, Logan recognized. He looked up at the coffee shop Logan was standing in front of and made a face. “Look, I love you, but I can get us way better breakfast than this. Like, you should’ve let me take you down to the Village, baby, let me get you something sweet.”

“We’re not getting breakfast,” Logan said. “Not right now at least. After, we’ll get breakfast. Before morning skate.”

Finn looked down at him. He had that purple under his eyes. That damned, gorgeous purple. He was tired from traveling, but Logan was excited to remind him that he and Leo wouldn’t be in the hotel tonight. They’d be with him in his apartment. It could wait, though. This first.

“Okay…” Finn said slowly. “After what? What are we doing here?”

Logan smiled because his plan had worked, and nodded across the street. There, standing tall with its great stone lions and broad stone steps, was the New York Public Library. Finn wouldn’t have looked twice at it, too used to its presence. It had hidden itself in plain sight.

“We’re going to the library,” Logan said as nonchalantly as he could, working on not letting himself smile too much and put his hands in his pockets.

And then, Finn knew. He didn’t try to hide any part of his slow, realizing smile.

“Allez,” Logan said, and headed for the crosswalk.

“Okay,” Finn said softly, and followed him.

They made their way up the steps slowly, taking their time.

“Are you sleeping better now?” Finn asked, and there was a slight tremor in his voice. He was still grinning.

“Sort of,” Logan shrugged. “You? Leo?”

“Sort of. Miss you, though.” There was his hand on Logan’s back again, warm between his shoulder blades, like he just couldn’t quite help himself, but also like he wasn’t sure how far he could go. Logan reached up and stroked his knuckles briefly across his jaw, just to show him it was okay, before they reached the revolving library door. In the reflection of the glass, Logan saw Finn softly smile to himself and touch the spot where Logan’s fingers had been.

Logan found them a table. The chairs weren’t the same, of course, none of it was like it had been at Harvard, but they sat across from each other anyway, just as they always had, and it didn’t take long for them to break into laughter. Finn muffled his with his hands, steepled fingers, brown eyes bright as they darted over Logan’s face.

Logan crossed his arms on the table, leaning in. The ceilings were high, and the other seats were more than half full, people reading, or working with headphones on. Discussing quietly, turning pages, going about their lives.

“Just another first for us, huh?” Finn asked, and mirrored Logan’s position.

They’d sat like this a million times. Logan used to eye Finn’s fingers, always fiddling with something. Now, it was the strings of his sweatshirt. Long, capable fingers, red at the knuckles, nothing like Logan’s. Back then, Logan hadn’t let himself get too close to thinking about taking those hands in his, but the urge flooded him now—and so he did.

“You’re always warm,” Finn smiled down at their hands, eyes looking a little clouded—happy. “Good blood circulation and all that, or whatever. Le’s always cold, you know? Just makes you want to wrap him up.”

“You, too.” Logan held Finn’s fingers between his own.

Finn just smiled. “Nah, you’re just warm. And now you’re getting all quiet on me, making me nervous.”

Logan laughed. “Nervous to kiss me?”

Finn smiled, ducking his head a little, only then his eyebrows pinched together after a moment, and he gave a single, tiny nod.

Logan couldn’t hide how surprised he was. He leaned forward a little more, trying to catch Finn’s eyes again. “Harzy?”

“Not because I don’t want to,” Finn said quietly. “Just—because part of me thought you’d never want to.” His eyes flit up to the ceiling, around the library. “Not here anyway. Not like this.”

Logan kind of hated the word never. Maybe it was only because he had felt it for so long. He knew Finn was right. He hadn’t given any sign until recently that he’d wanted this. He hadn’t been ready, sure, but he hadn’t exactly joined Finn and Leo’s conversations about it. Every time they had brought it up, he’d been right back there at the airport, seeing those invasive pictures of Remus and Sirius. Why had it taken distance for him to want to be close to them like this? Something in him ached because of that.

“I love you, Lo.” Finn said, then too a breath, like the next words took courage. He leaned down and pressed a firm kiss to Logan’s knuckles. “I love everything you are. But you have a habit of backing out on me sometimes.”

Logan closed his eyes for a moment as the words settled over him, but nodded. “I know.”

“I’m not angry,” Finn smiled a little. “I just…I can’t believe we’re here. I can’t believe you…”

“I know,” Logan said. “I—Finn. I know you—you came back for me. When you first left for Gryff.”

Finn’s fingers tightened around his. “You…Did Percy…”

“Ouais. He did, and…” Logan swallowed hard. Words came slowly to him, but, God, at least they came now. And he had Finn’s brown eyes to ease himself into. “This might sound strange, but…thank you. Thank you for coming back for me.” He watched Finn’s eyes fill with tears, watched them glance away, shying away from the memory. “Mon rouge, even if I didn’t know it, and when I didn’t act like anything you did or said would ever make any difference, it did. It all did, and you help me—break the habit. Break into my self. The person I want to be. With Leo and you.”

Logan looked at the necklace around Finn’s neck, his necklace, and the shadows beneath his eyes and the hopeful tilt of his chin.

“I want to kiss you now,” Logan whispered, almost harshly. He moved his hand to Finn’s wrist, thumb over his pulse point. “I want you.”

Finn just closed his eyes, but he was smiling, a pleased quirk of one corner of his mouth. Logan leaned in until their foreheads brushed.

“Tell me that this is okay,” Logan said, because, after that, he needed to hear it.

Finn looked at him. He had tears in his eyes, and he shook his head softly. “Logan. Come here.”

The kiss was gentle. The man sitting a table over turned a page. Someone answered a phone that had been ringing. Logan reached up to cradle Finn’s cheek, ran his thumb over the lilac, delicate skin beneath his eyes, over the high of his cheekbone, and tilted his head to kiss him again.

When they did part, they stayed leaning on their elbows, close.

“Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t kiss back then,” Finn said quietly and took a curl of Logan’s hair between his fingers, then brushed a thumb over Logan’s full bottom lip. “Not sure I would have ever gotten any homework done.”

Logan smiled. “I would rather kiss you than graduate.”

“Well, that’s kind of my point, Tremblay.”

Logan pushed lightly on the side of the head, mussing his hair more than anything, and Finn just took the new angle it provided and ducked into another kiss, more needy, tongue slipping into Logan’s mouth. Logan felt his cheeks warm, the sheer want he’d been trying to keep in check since parting with them surging to the surface.

“Hm,” Logan laughed as they parted. “We’re in public, O’Hara.”

“Oh, are we?” His next kiss was even dirtier, and Logan just sighed happily and sank into it.

“Hey,” Finn said as they were walking back down the library steps. They were close, edging on touching. “About the voicemail…”

“I deleted it.” Logan looked up at him. “I didn’t listen. You asked me not to.”

Finn blinked. “Oh.”

“But—I’m listening now. Okay? If you ever…” Logan sighed and pressed a kiss to Finn’s shoulder over his jacket, the closest thing in reach.

“Man. You fucking romantic,” Finn laughed, pushing a hand through his hair. “What you got planned for Le?”

“Not telling. I’ll see him this afternoon, after our morning skate and our tape session.”

Finn nodded, still grinning widely. “Fine, fine. God, I can’t wait for tonight.”

Logan groaned. “Don’t talk about it. Time isn’t moving fast enough.”

“Oh, yeah?” Finn threw an arm around Logan’s shoulder. He’d done that a million times, but this felt different. Especially when he leaned in close and let his mouth brush Logan’s jaw as he lowered his voice. “What do you want me and Leo to do to you tonight, baby? What have you been thinkin’ about, huh?”

Logan turned his head up to glare at Finn, their noses brushing. “Shh.”

“One way to make me shh.”

Logan pushed up on his toes to kiss him. He half missed because they were walking, but Finn’s smile was worth it, so was the kiss he pressed to Logan’s cheek.

“This feels good,” he sighed. “This feels so good. Can’t wait for Le, too.”

Logan tilted his head to rest against Finn’s chest. “Ouais. Me too.”

“Cab?” Finn asked, but he looked like he already knew the answer.

“Non, not yet,” Logan said. He reached up and pressed his palm to Finn’s where it dangled over his shoulder. Finn smiled as their fingers laced, as if they’d been meant to do that, waiting, always. The sun, peaking out from a long winter, was warm, and he caught snatches of conversation of the people passing them by. “Let’s walk a bit first.”

“Hey, baby. Just checking in before the game. How are you? You’re probably at morning skate right now, but…yeah! Okay, good luck, you’re gonna crush it—but if you don’t you can come here and crush me, if you want, baby cakes. I’m, like, half kidding. Okay, bye, love you, bye!”

Thomas snorted out a laugh as the message played in his ears, Noelle’s familiar voice. He knew she was stuck at home with a shoulder injury and he could hear the sounds of her stand mixer in the background, along with the television. God, she was probably in those tiny cotton shorts, that hugged her thighs like nothing Thomas had ever seen. Thomas wanted to run his hands down her shoulders, feel the dip of her muscles, the way she liked, move her dark hair to one side and kiss her neck, right near where her fleur-de-lis tattoo was by her ear.

He typed out a quick text: I love you x 3(thousand).

“Okay,” Remus said as he fell down beside him on the exercise matt. “Here’s what I’m thinking for Logan—actually, first, do not tell Sirius we’re having this conversation.”

Thomas snorted as he clicked his phone off. “I was about to say.”

“He think I’m—well, I am in my own head, but we cuddled, I feel better, but also, game time. So.”

Remus began outlining a play, drawing invisible lines around an invisible rink on the matt between them. Thomas was happy to see him like this—it was a big improvement from the beginning of the season—but he was really only half listening. He was mad at himself for it, they needed this game, everything was on the line, but this longing was new.

He hadn’t been in such a serious relationship during his career. There had been other girls, yeah, but none of them called him to wish him luck. They didn’t talk him through making his favorite post-game meal over the phone, even when they were exhausted themselves. Their bodies didn’t sit perfectly between his hands, he would never have done absolutely anything to see them let go completely, and fall apart into him, to take him in and let him fall apart, too, until they were sated and whole.

“Thomas?”

Thomas looked back at Remus. “Yeah. Yeah, sorry.” He sent Remus a sheepish look and held up his phone. “Just—missing Noelle.”

“Hm,” Remus’ eyes turned sympathetic. “In a horny or a sad way?”

Thomas cracked a smile. “Aren’t they sometimes the same thing?”

Remus smiled back. “Unfortunately.”

“What’s this about Cap thinking you’re in your head?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, it’s just—” Remus cut off, narrowed his eyes.

Thomas held up his hands. “What?”

“He says when I’m worried about myself, I focus more on other people.”

Thomas hummed and looked at Remus. Remus looked back. Finally, he cracked the finest of a smile.

“Are we soulmates or something?” Remus repeated Thomas’ words from their first goal together back to him.

“The good, the bad, and the ugly—it would seem so. Hey.”

Remus tilted his head at him.

Thomas reached out to knock him lightly in the shoulder. “You never let us down.”

Remus offered a smile tinged with sadness, and he knocked Thomas’ shoulder back. “You’ll see her soon.”

“Yeah,” Thomas nodded. “It’s just—it’s like I have so much that I’ve ever wanted. Feels shitty to want more.”

Remus had begun nodding halfway through his sentence. “No, yes. Exactly. Fuck, exactly, no, that’s what I said.”

“I just miss her, and I have a Cup—”

“I got him, I just want the C—”

They’d spoken at the same time, and snorted into laughter. Remus groaned and rolled onto his back on the matt just as Finn walked in.

He raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

“Ah, Harzy,” Thomas sighed, leaning back on his hands. “We’re just basking in the love and longing, man.”

Finn just let out a low whistle and lay out a matt beside them. “I don’t need to bask. I’m soaked through with it.”

“Fucking English major.”

Finn pressed the soles of his shoes together, pushing his knees out. He sent Thomas an incredulous look. “You are, too!”

Thomas just held up his hands. He looked to Remus, staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling, and looked back down to his phone where there was a long string of hearts from Noelle. Say hi to my bb bro for me.

“Why’re you—you two are never quiet.” Finn looked between them.

Remus picked his head up and sent Thomas what he knew was a guilty look, and Finn scoffed.

“You were plotting against Logan.”

Remus pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Not Logan. The Rangers. Look, we won’t do it in front of you, but you know we have video review later, right? You’re gonna have to sit through that.”

Finn made a face. “Yeah…”

Thomas laughed. “Your competitive instinct’s kicking back in now, huh?”

Finn raised his chin defiantly. “If I lose to the love of my life, I’m going to perish.”

“Okay there, Harzy. How’s Leo feeling?”

Finn smiled. “Good. He’s meeting Lo now. It’s first kiss day.”

Remus shook his head. “First kiss?”

Finn just turned his smile towards the mat as he switched one leg out to stretch in front of him, then pushed himself up, heading for the treadmills. “First kiss day.”

“Oh yeah? What about you?”

Finn just sent them a peace sign in the mirror as he got the treadmill up to speed. “Already got mine.”

Logan felt pleasantly sore from their morning skate as he waited for Leo outside of the hotel the Lions were staying at. He was also starving, but that could wait. After all of this waiting, the day was going by in a blur. He’d been fierce on the ice, even Coach had said so—maybe even with a little bit of surprise that Logan was in such top form the day he would be going up against his former teammates. He didn’t blame anyone for being wary. He had been wary himself. He’d half expected to wake up this morning filled with dread, but looking back on it now—how could he have? All of his closest friends would be right there. He wouldn’t share their uniform anymore, but they were there—and some of his oldest friends now, too, dressed in his new blue.

He could picture himself walking down the tunnel now and skating out to a roaring Madison Square Garden. He could almost picture standing shoulder-to-shoulder against Finn at a face-off, Sirius and Alex with their sticks raised and waiting to win the puck as soon as the ref dropped it. He could almost picture himself pulling his stick back to slam a puck past Leo’s right shoulder, those blue eyes trained on him through his mask. Almost.

Then the hotel’s double entrance was being pulled open by two doormen and Leo was walking through a little bashfully, wrapped in a light sweater against the April air. He didn’t see Logan immediately, and it gave Logan a chance to just look. He’d hoped for a glimpse of the team during morning skate at MSG, but in the end he hadn’t quite had the courage to go venturing down to the visitor’s locker room. Almost, but not yet. Leo looked ready, though. Logan didn’t even know if he was starting in goal tonight, it could be Kasey, but Leo still looked ready. The feeling only increased when Leo finally saw Logan, waiting for him just down the steps. Logan had tried to dress inconspicuous, if only not to draw any fans—not to not be noticed. Part of him—and this part was so new that it almost didn’t feel like him at all, like running a hand through short hair after a haircut—wanted the entire world to stare as he took Leo for his own, everyday, broad-daylight happiness.

Leo stopped at the front of the steps and stared down at him, lips a little parted, eyes soft. Even disbelieving, Logan thought, and he didn’t want that. He wanted Finn and Leo to believe him. Believe this. So, he withdrew one of his hands from his pockets and held it out silently, palm up. Waiting.

Leo got a look in his eyes then, telling Logan he knew exactly what was about to happen, and all of Logan’s careful planning went right out the window because no sooner had Leo walked down the steps and strode up to him, than did he take Logan’s face in his hands, lean down, and kiss him hard on the mouth, right there in the sunlight.

And didn’t that certainly feel like what Logan had needed all his life. Careful Leo, gentle and willing to please, now taking him by storm.

It didn’t last long, hard and happy. Leo put his palm into Logan’s like they’d done it a million times instead of just thinking about it. “Where you taking me, huh, Tremblay?”

Logan let out an embarrassing sound, half laugh, half something love-struck. “No hello? I had a plan.”

“That was my hello. And I think we all know how good we three are at following through on perfect plans. Besides, I don’t want to have a plan to kiss you. I just want to do it.”

Logan was going to slip right through the sidewalk cracks. This was different than it had been with Finn—Leo wasn’t unsure at all, and it made it easier. Finn had been just as thrilling, but this…this was syrup and honey and sugar. “You’re sure you’re all right skipping your nap?”

“Are you, all right, Grumpy?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “I don’t get grumpy.”

“Oh, sweetheart. That’s funny.” Leo brought their hands up and kissed Logan’s wrist, face tilted up to the sun. “You know what I never got?”

Logan could only shake his head, staring. He hoped they weren’t crossing a street soon, because he didn’t think he could look away from Leo’s face. He was always lit up to Logan, but this was different. His smile poured out light. He was so happy. He’d never seen Leo this happy before. Not for the Cup, not for anything.

“In, like, high school, right? There was never some nice boy waiting outside of class for me. Backpack, headphone sharing, I don’t know. It feels so…young, like I want a different version of it now, but the same idea? And—and…That’s how I felt just then.” They did finally stop at a crosswalk, in the shade of a tree. Leo looked down at Logan and Logan had to reach out and press a hand against his chest. He could feel Leo’s heart, flying. This was so different from Finn’s quieter, more timid want that he’d seen this morning. Logan understood why Finn had taken more time to melt into the easy happiness he’d worn on their walk home, but seeing Leo like this…Logan felt breathless.

Leo kissed his wrist again. “When I saw you waiting out there and I just thought—that’s him. There he is. He’s waiting for me. And, God damn, Lo, you have this smile that you give me sometimes…” Leo closed his eyes like the thought was something that tasted sweet.

“Look who’s talking,” Logan murmured, and they both smiled because it was a phrase they’d picked up from Finn.

Leo pressed a finger to Logan’s mouth, thumb brushing his bottom lip. “Yeah. That one right there.” He kissed Logan gently, thumb still between them, a little salty. “It makes up for all the lost time. It really does. Makes me feel like why would I ever have wanted anyone then when you were out here waiting for me, you and our boy.”

Logan tangled their fingers together and kissed him properly, aware that he was surrounded by busy people as he pushed up on his toes a little, even as Leo eagerly met him. It made him smile all over again.

“Allez.” Logan used their linked fingers to pull him around the corner instead of across the street where the light had changed. “You’re walking the wrong way.”

The cafe was small but busy, and their knees knocked together as they sat side-by-side at the tiny, round table that’d they’d barely caught. Leo set down the quiche and almond croissant he’d picked out for them to share, barely missing a beat before swiping up a bit of the almond paste that had leaked out and sucking it off his thumb.

“Hm, I was right, you’ll love this thing.”

“Oh?” Logan asked, and tried to ignore the insane hammering of his heart as he glanced for the fourth time at a couple who had obviously clocked them from the moment they’d stepped into the cafe. A man and a woman, just engaged by the way they had been admiring the diamond on her slender finger before they’d looked up and the woman had used that hand to excitedly hit her partner, alerting him to Logan and Leo’s presence.

“I see them, too,” Leo said softly to him now, and Logan looked back at him. His blue eyes were closer to how Finn’s had been now. Wondering. Waiting. Understanding. Hesitating. Logan heard them call his name for their coffee’s. Logan? the voice said. Logan? Waiting. So much waiting.

“Leo,” Logan said softly, and then leaned forward, fingers gentle at Leo’s jaw, and kissed him. Slow, easy, aching. A loud group of women talking by the door, an elderly couple sitting beside them, someone still waiting in line jostling their table with their shopping bags. Kissing Leo. He tasted like the sweet almond of the pastry. Logan did like it, but he wanted it again and again from Leo’s lips only. He wanted this again and again and again. He pulled back just as slow, barely giving them any distance at all. Just enough to see Leo’s blue eyes blink open. “Thank you for waiting for me.”

Leo’s brows drew together, lips pressed together in a smile brimming with emotion, and he nodded slightly, careful not to disturb the air between them.

“Of course,” he whispered. “God, Logan. Of course I did. Of course we did.”

Leo kissed him again, short and sweet, and then held up a piece of the croissant. “Here, so you don’t get grumpy. I’ll get our drinks.”

Logan just rolled his eyes and took it gently from Leo’s fingers with his teeth before Leo got up. He hummed happily as he chewed, Leo setting his creamy coffee in front of him. “Alex took me here, and I thought you would love it. He said to mention his name and we’d get everything free, but…” Logan wrinkled his nose.

“I know how you feel about extra attention, baby.” Leo laughed and tucked a hand around Logan’s shoulders. They’d never been able to do that before, not like this. The way Leo held him was close. Romantic. “We’re the last people who need anything for free.”

“If Finn was here, we’d be best friends with that couple and all of those people by the door,” Logan said.

“The barista,” Leo smiled. “Probably the chef, too.”

Logan laughed. “Ouais, true.”

Leo took another bite and sighed. “Ugh. Maybe it’s all right after all if you’re in New York. I can visit these croissants all the time now.”

Logan gave him a shove, but leaned in close so Leo would keep his arm where it was. They sat like that for as long as they could, knowing they had to get back to the rink soon. It wasn’t exactly an approved pre-game meal, but Logan had never felt more energized, more awake. He was alight with how he couldn’t stop touching Leo, how Leo couldn’t seem to stop touching him. He all but melted back into his seat when he felt Leo’s large palm smooth over his thigh. It wasn’t a come-on. He was just touching back. Touching, and laughing, and closing all the space that they’d had to allow for before, like sewing up and mending a tear in cloth.

As they left, hand-in-hand, Logan couldn’t help himself. He risked a glance towards the couple. The woman was watching the rest of the cafe, thumb smoothing happily over her ring, but he locked eyes with the man. Logan prepared himself for the worst, as he always had. A glare, or even just an awkward darting away of the eyes. But the man only smiled and mouthed Go Rangers. Logan smiled back, small and shy, but flashed a thumbs up with his free hand and let Leo lead him back onto the street.

They held hands for the short walk back to the hotel and Logan felt like he was saying goodnight after a first date as they stood there by the doors, once again at the bottom of the steps. Leo rocked forward on his feet once, gazing down at him.

“Can’t wait for tonight. We’ll just meet at your place? Coach always keeps us later for games like this.”

“I know,” Logan said. “Yeah. I’ll have some food for us.”

“What’s this?” Leo’s eyes widened. “Logan Tremblay—cooking?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “I can make pasta. You know this.”

“Hm, we’ll see about that.” Leo put his hands on Logan’s waist and pulled him in nice and close. “Oh, and one more thing.” His smile turned challenging, confident. He leaned in and spoke so that his words brushed Logan’s mouth. “You’re not getting a single shot past me tonight, Tremblay.” He kissed Logan slowly, words in between. “Not. A single. One.”

Logan just kissed his grinning mouth. “We’ll see about that, Knut.”

#vaincre lumosinlove #vaincre spoilers #wolfstar #sirius black #remus lupin #wolfstar au #o'knutzy #lelo #finnlo #lionfish #Logan tremblay #Leo knut #finn o'hara #harry potter #Harry Potter fic #lumosinlove ocs

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judebellswife · 3 years ago

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Hi can you do part 2 of baby in American love your writing

LIFE IN AMERICA — Christian Pulisic

summary: when christian and y/n share their normal country life in america with luca and their toddler psalm, penelope

☀️ this will be a part 2 of ‘baby & america’

warning: english is not my first language

cmpulisic

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cmpulisic Good morning from Rumble and Daisy ☀️

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jadonsanchoo10 Where is Luca??

cmpulisic He’s outside with y/n, feeding the chicken 🐣🐣

luciaanderson You have twins? 👀

jjsmither_ Yea they have twins girl, i guess they’re about 1 year-old 👀👀

luciaanderson Is this the first time he post about their twin?

sethia009 Only y/n posted about the twins, like their daily normal life but this was the first time for christian

luciaanderson Rumble and Daisy are so cute tho 😂

matthewhoppe9 I think these are the only two babies who smile like that early every morning, like i mean i need that energy

cmpulisic They LOVE being wake up early every morning 😂

y/username

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y/username My little Luca Damien Pulisic 🥺 This was when he is 1 year-old and he just love to take shower in the sink 😂 can’t believ he’s 3 years old now. His blond hair 😍

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aliciablueleey What’s the twins name, y/n? i mean full name

leulaatia.2 It’s Rumble Honey Pulisic and Daisy Blair Pulisic.. not sure, but as i remember y/n once posted on her ig story

cmpulisic Gosh he will cried everytime i tried to pick him up, i don’t know why he love that sink so much

deedee_pulisic He’s obsessed with our house sink 😂

bellahadid I have a feeling that he's going to be really good at cooking in the future, he'll probably be a good cook

y/username How do you know? 😂

cmpulisic

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cmpulisic Rumble love chicken 🐓

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y/username

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y/username ‘Luca friends is thirsty mummy’ — Luca

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daisydialias y/n are you gonna go back to london?

y/username We decided to let our children live in the suburbs of America, so that they can have more fun activities, nature, horses and everything. They also really love it too

cmpulisic Oooh 🥺 he has such a sweetheart

kellypulisic My grandson

cmpulisic

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cmpulisic Luca and Maddy are bestie 👀 @deedee_pulisic

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angelbaby_ree This is what i want, the country life just you, your kids and love of your life

deedee_pulisic Maddy is a big sissy to Luca and Luca always her little baby brother to her 🥺

y/username That’s so cute

markpulisic Are you and y/n gonna visit me and you mom tonight? with deedee and her husband too?

kellypulisic @markpulisic Of course they’re all gonna be here tonight, Mark 🤦🏻‍♀️

y/username Yes haha 😂 why not? Luca, Rumble and Daisy miss their grandmama and grandpapa so much already

kellypulisic Tell them i miss them too

y/username I will ❤️

y/username

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y/username Officially lost my evening with this man (on the right side) 🤖

Luca, Rumble and Daisy after visit Christ mom and dad for dinner, they decided not to leave their grandparents side… wanted to spend their night with Maddy too

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markpulisic Daisy is like a baby version of deedee

y/username I’m about to say

kellypulisic Rumble is a mini you, y/n

cmpulisic And Luca is tiny version of me 😂😂

rlc Let’s get drunk tonight

y/username Haha but no no, i would love too but everytime Christian drunk.. it’s just too much ‘s’ and egg

nick_taitague Fast swimmer

cmpulisic Duh ofc, what do you expect??

y/username

Liked by dele, sanchooo10 and 661.729 others

y/username Thank you @sanchooo10 for ruining my surprise :)))

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sanchooo10 It’s my pleasure

y/username This suppose to be a surprise!!!!

christianmatepulisiclove His curly hair all gone 😳

y/username He just cut his hair 😢 i love his curly hair too but the twins always grab and pull his hair so 😢😢

cmpulisic I didn’t know you love my long curly hair that much baby

y/username I married you and your CURLY HAIR 😩

dele y/n you should come and surprise me too, with Luca, Rumble and Daisy ofc

y/username Trust me, one day i will 😂 but idk when 😀

y/username (IG story)

#football imagines #football fanfic #christian pulisic fluff #christian mate pulisic #christian pulisic imagine #christian pulisic x y/n #christian pulisic x reader #christian pulisic blurb #christian pulisic imagines

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bluejayblueskies · 3 years ago

Text

i cannot stop thinking about tma hell's kitchen au

(@f0xesand0wls thank you for enabling me)

- elias is the head chef, and peter and gertrude are his sous chefs. there are 20 total chefs in the competition: red team: jon, tim, georgie, daisy, naomi, agnes, gerry, jordan, helen/michael, oliver blue team: martin, sasha, melanie, basira, mike, jude, julia, jared, jane, manuela

- the black jackets are jon, martin, tim, sasha, georgie, and melanie, and the finalists are jon and martin. the winner is probably martin, but it doesn't really matter, because the actual plot of this is a jonmartin rivals-to-friends-to-lovers slowburn

- annabelle is the one who puts all of the film and audio together at the end. jmart watch the show once it's put on television and go 'what the fuck i didn't say any of that' because that's how reality tv is babey

- martin is one of those chefs who does poorly at the beginning but gets better and ends up in the final two. even though he's not on the same team as jon, jon is like 'this guy sucks' and maybe martin messes something up for jon early on and jon decides he does not like martin.

- jon is so nervous that he's going to screw up and get sent home early (he doesn't have formal culinary training and feels deeply underqualified) so he's very stiff and overly professional at the beginning. he relaxes over time as he becomes more confident in his own cooking and as he does well at challenges and dinner services.

- somewhere around chapter/episode 5, martin tells jon that he doesn't have any formal culinary training and that he said he did in order to get into the restaurant job he had prior to coming on the show. he's been cooking for his mother since he was ten though, and jon surprises himself by saying that that's a lot more impressive than studying technique in france or something. that's the catalyst of their transition from rivals into friends

- somewhere around episode 8, jude (who got switched to the red team a few episodes prior) gets eliminated, but on the dinner service before she does, there's an incident in the kitchen and jon's hand gets burnt pretty badly (not so badly that he has to go home, and he fights through the rest of dinner service because of course he does). he insists he doesn't have to go to the hospital for it, and elias reluctantly agrees and has the medic look at it. in the dorms later, martin helps jon unwrap it and put more burn cream on it and change the bandages and... yeah <3

- daisy and jon do not get along at first, and daisy actually tries to sabotage jon early in the season/fic. jon nearly gets eliminated because of it and he is not happy. then, a good few episodes later, the red team wins a challenge and they go on some sort of outdoorsy award and something happens and jon saves daisy from getting seriously injured. they're on better terms after that.

- when jon, tim, sasha, martin, melanie, and georgie get black jackets, elias (like every actual season of hell's kitchen) brings their family members/friends in for them to see. jon gets his grandmother, tim his brother, sasha her mother, georgie her best friend alex, and melanie some of her ghosthunt uk (the restaurant) friends. the only person martin has is his mother, and they tell him that she was too sick to come, but he can't shake the feeling that she just didn't want to. she didn't even agree to make him a video. it's a very awkward affair, and after the challenge (which tim wins) jon stands by martin while they're... idk, peeling 200 pounds of potatoes or something and they talk about it and they talk about a lot of their personal lives. for most of the competition, they're very aware that they're on camera at all times, but jon decides that being there for martin is more important than worrying about that.

- jon wins the next black jacket challenge and, when asked who he wants to invite on the reward, invites martin. they get to go wine tasting in a beautiful vinyard together and then they get some time to sit in the vinyard and just relax. martin probably realized he had a crush on jon around... episode/chapter 8? pretty soon after his admission that he doesn't have formal training. this episode is when jon realizes that he has a crush on martin, and the wine tasting suddenly seems very romantic and he gets very flustered. martin just thinks he's getting nervous since they're getting closer to the end of the competition.

- it's martin and jon in the finals. martin has tim, melanie, basira, and agnes on his bridage and jon has sasha, georgie, daisy, and gerry. in the middle of the entrees, something goes very wrong in martin's kitchen (not because of martin, because agnes burns like... ten racks of lamb or something ridiculous like that) and it looks like martin might not even be able to finish and he's freaking out just a little bit, so jon does something incredibly stupid and tells sasha to take charge of the kitchen for a moment and goes over into the other kitchen and pulls martin aside and takes martin's hands in his and is like 'it's okay, you're okay, everything's going to be okay. you're extremely talented and an amazing chef and an amazing person and i love you and this is not your fault and you're going to go back out there and get things back on track.'

jon goes back to his kitchen, elias yelling at him the whole way, and martin kicks agnes out and gets his kitchen back under control and they have no other issues that night. and martin's brain completely skips over the 'i love you' until the end of service, when the adrenaline wears off and they start to clear down and jon gives him this smile and suddenly martin remembers and he's like 'oh fuck'

but jon doesn't say anything about it so martin assumes he hadn't meant to say it, because of course he didn't, because they're competing for a job and $250,000 and he probably just heard jon wrong or something. jon probably said 'i love your cooking' and martin's just being stupid and letting his crush get away from him. so they both go back and sit in the dorms and wait for elias to call them up to his office. meanwhile, jon also remembers that he accidentally let i love you slip and he's having a bit of a crisis about it because on the one hand he meant it, but on the other hand he should not have said it then and martin hasn't said anything, so maybe he didn't even hear.

still, martin needs to thank jon. so he's eventually like 'thank you for what you did back there. i don't think i would have made it through service without what you said.' then, after a moment, because it is a competition: 'why did you help me? you could have let me drown and you'd have a secure win'

and jon just shrugs and says, 'because you needed help, and i... i care about you. i didn't want to see you fail. you are a good chef, martin, and i... i know you deserve this job just as much as me. you can go work at elias's restaurant and i can go back to mine and... and that'll be okay, if that's what happens'

and martin realizes suddenly that jon lives across the country from him normally and he doesn't know if he'll be able to see jon after this (chefs are busy people, after all, not a lot of time for family and such) and before he can really think about it he's like 'i wouldn't be okay with that' and then when jon just looks at him he clarifies, 'i... i don't want to just go back to living in [washington?], working all day and coming home to an empty apartment, and you'll go back to [new york?] and i... will i even see you again? because it's been so nice, being here, being with you, and i want to see you again, jon. every day.' he hesitates a moment, then decides fuck it, if i'm wrong, at least i'll only be embarrassed for a little while longer and says, 'what you said during service. did you mean it?'

and jon, tentatively, is like, 'that you're a good chef? yes, martin, i meant it, of course i did' and martin's like 'no, the... the other thing you said. right in the middle of it all. i- i don't know if i heard you right, and i just... i need to know if you meant it'

and it would be easy for jon to say no, to pretend like he didn't. but instead, he sits next to martin on the couch and takes martin's hand in his and nods and says, 'i... i've meant it for quite some time, i think' and he smiles at martin, a little bit shy, and martin's overwhelmed with affection and he reaches for jon's face, leans forward, and--

and the phone rings. unfortunately. because elias made a decision

- martin's door opens and jon's doesn't. jon thinks he should feel crushed, and he does feel disappointed, but mostly he's just so, so happy for martin. martin is stunned, and tim and sasha and georgie and melanie and basira and daisy are waiting for him below to congratulate him. martin's stuck in a round of thank yous when he turns and sees jon, who's run down the stairs to join the celebration and is looking at martin with those same eyes he would get when he was determined to win a challenge or finish a dish that needed two more minutes in one minute. and then jon just hugs martin, so tightly martin can barely breathe, and he mumbles into martin's neck, 'i would very much like to kiss you, but i very much do not want our first kiss to be on national television' and martin laughs and hugs jon tightly in return and mumbles back, 'i love you too, jon. just in case it wasn't obvious' and even though jon just lost, he's never been happier

- (they watch the show when it comes out together half a year later, in the little bit of free time they have around running their own respective restaurants, and they spend the whole time picking it apart

jon: okay i did not say that, where did they even get that from??

martin: god do i really look like that from behind...

jon: oh christ. martin, i- i think they thought i wanted to have sex with you. ugh, they've put on weird romantic music. red lighting. i hate this. i clearly did not--no, martin, don't give me that look, you know what i mean.

martin: wow, this makes us look like terrible chefs

and, at the end:

jon: christ, of course they were recording us in the dorms after the last service. this is a cooking competition, not a romance.

martin: eh, it was a bit of a romance.

jon: hush, i'm trying to watch. they're about to announce the winner. i don't have much hope for this chef martin; after all, he did burn that risotto back in episode 2--

martin, trying not to laugh while he glares at jon: oh my god jon let it go)

#tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin #i have so many aus already rolling around in my head begging to be written but 👀#have another incredibly obscure one relevant solely to my own interests lol #my fic #my writing #basically lol this is... a lot

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wbearv · 4 years ago

Text

A different day off - b.c (f, sg)

Word count: 2.2K

Summary: Chan likes to spend his day off doing nothing at all, but when he receives a call that you’re sick? well, screw his day off.

a/n: something more fluffy coming to ya! I didn’t really proofread this at all so I’m sorry if there’s any mistakes! I hope you like this <3.

masterlist

As the very busy person Chan is (really, he should just sleep a little bit more), he usually spends his days off laying in bed doing nothing. Those days when he can enjoy the peace and quiet of his room without having to worry about anything work related are rare, but he cherishes them to the max.

The sound of his phone ringing startled him since he made sure to tell everyone the day before not to call him unless someone was dying. Someone better be dying for him to have to move from his very much comfortable position.

The screen was lit and your picture came up next to your name.

“y/n,” he sighed. “It’s my day off.”

“Hey Chan, I’m Seungmin, I’m sorry to call you but,” your flatmate said, stopping while you half cried half sniffed in the back because you couldn’t reach the plushie that just fell to the floor. “y/n is pretty sick, and I’m supposed to leave to catch my flight in twenty minutes, could you tell Minho and ask him to take care of her while I’m gone? I tried to call him but he’s not picking up.”

“Minho is out practicing for next week-” the line went silent for a second just for Chan to speak again “you know what? Forget Minho, I’ll go myself. Be there in 10”

“Thank-” Chan hung up while the sound of keys resonated in the background. Seungmin left the phone on the table and turned to look at you, laying on the couch like a whining soul.

And that was how, after stopping by the pharmacy to pick up cold medicine Chan arrived at your apartment a few minutes later. When your flatmate opened the door, he quickly entered the room and went straight to the sofa where you were half lying half sitting. You looked really pale, there were dark rings underneath your eyes and your nose was really red and puffy from all that sniffing and paper tissues. When you turned to the door, expecting your brother, you were really taken aback by him.

“Chan?” The smile that grew on your face immediately once you saw him is interrupted by a nasty coughing fit, which you direct away from him and into the cushion underneath your head.

He rushed to sit next to you, rubbing your back while you let all that coughing out. “Easy”

“Well, I have to leave now or I’ll miss my flight. Keep me updated and take good care of her! see you in two days, don’t die on me” and with that, he closed the door and left, leaving the whole apartment silent.

While you closed your eyes and let your head fall back into the pillow, Chan explored the apartment with his eyes, taking note of the mess around you. Tissues are strewn about and there were empty cough drop wrappers littered across the coffee table. He noticed the cute pics from last summer’s camping trip where you drunkenly told him you liked him but completely forgot about it in the morning, so he never brought it up again. There were a few pics of you and Seungmin from where you first came to this apartment, another one with Minho and your parents… but one caught his eye. You both were smiling and had ice cream stains all over your face while Chan had his arm around your neck, and you were looking at each other with fondness.

He unwillingly smiled and let his head remember those moments you’re your coughing snaped his attention back to you. Chan frowned, and got up to pick up the medicine from the plastic bag he brought.

He grabbed a spoon from the drawer and sat back next to you “I brought medicine.”

You smiled grateful with your eyes still closed, feeling a shiver run through your body, feeling weaker as time progressed “You’re an angel, Channie.”

Chan tried to ignore the rush in his chest from hearing your voice say that nickname that you only use on very special occasions “Yeah, well, you owe me one, y/n.”

You’re still smiling, but your expression showed just how weak you were at the moment, making him more worried.

“Take this” he said taking a spoon full of medicine and approaching it to your face “open up.”

You obliged and swallowed the medicine, your throat hurting and not being able to swallow correctly. Suddenly, you shivered and frowned your brows.

“You have fever” Chan said picking up the thermometer from the cabinet next to you.

“No I don’t” you said sitting up a little bit to take a sip of the tea Seungmin made before leaving “I might be sick but I haven’t had a fever in ages, I doubt it. I just have to get up and freshen up a little bit and then I’ll be f-”

You were cut by Chan, who walked straight to you with a very serious expression on his face and a thermometer on his hand. He put his hand on your shoulder and pushed you down on the couch again, making you sigh in surprise.

“No, you’ll get your temperature checked and then you’ll lay down and sleep while I prepare you some soup so you can eat” he said with an authoritarian tone.

“But-” when you opened your mouth to complain, he took advantage of it and put the thermometer inside your mouth.

“But nothing. Close” Chan said looking straight into your eyes.

You closed your mouth and when he placed one of his hands in your neck to keep your head up, using the other one to check your forehead’s temperature, you felt how your cheeks got redder and redder by the second.

The thermometer’s sound was the only thing that could be heard in that moment, appear from your labored breathing. Chan took it out of your mouth with his hand, leaving one still around the nape of your neck.

“Jesus Christ y/n you’re burning” he said looking at the numbers in the screen “even your face is getting so red” you touched your cheeks and looked at him again. “come on, you have to rest.”

He grabbed your arm and helped you get up from the couch, placing his hand on your waist to help you balance and carrying you to your bed. Feeling the hot skin tightly against yours, you tried to convince yourself that the fever was the one to blame for your skin feeling like it was on fire.

When you were already lying down on your bed and covered with your blanket, you sighed in content.

“There.” Chan standed back. “Better?”

You looked at him with pure affection with your puffy eyes and smiled softly. “Yeah, it’s perfect.”

Chan smiled nervously and hurried back to the kitchen “I’ll make you some soup now, rest while it cooks.”

When he made his way back into your room with a freshly cooked bowl of soup, he found you sound asleep and smiled fondly. Chan placed the bowl in the table next to your bed and bowed down to kiss your temple, then turned the lights off and made his way out of the room.

But then he heard your voice and froze.

“Chan?” she whispered with a soft cough “can you lay down with me?”

He straightened up in surprise, turning around to face you. Even though it was dark, your face was slightly visible thanks to the dim light coming from outside of the room. And when you smiled at him shyly, he swore his heart skipped a bit

“Um,” he murmured nervously.

“Just lay with me? Please?”

The way you looked at him with your eyes was enough to make him leave any intention of refusing “Okay.” He sighed.

He took off his sneakers and, when you opened the blanket for him to get inside, he gently laid down, careful not to crush you or make you uncomfortable in any way.

You didn’t fall asleep, but enjoyed the silence and how Chan’s body felt next to you. A little while later you spoke softly “Hey” you said, your hand brushing his under the blanket “Thanks for coming over. I really needed this.”

Before he could stop himself, he placed his hand on her cheek, letting his thumb gently caress her skin.

“Of course,” Chan says softly. “I’ll always be here when you need me.”

You didn’t know if the fever was the one talking or you just let your filter slip because of your vulnerable state, but when the words left your mouth, you didn’t stop them “I really really like you Chan, I wish you could see me as something else than your best friend’s younger sister.” And before he had the chance of replying, you were sound asleep.

You didn’t notice it though, but for a solid hour, Chan couldn’t sleep, not one bit. Not after what you just so wholesomely honest said.

Just a couple hours later, you opened your eyes, blinking a few times before finding Chan peacefully asleep next to you.

You’re so close to him, close enough to appreciate how his honey skin glows with the faint rays of sun that come through the door and how his chest rises and lowers slowly with every breath he takes. You can also see how tight his arms are now that you can take a closer look. You supress the urgent need to caress his arm while you sigh, your head pounding, less than what it did a few hours ago but still hurting pretty bad.

You looked at Chan again, feeling really grateful for him. He actually came here today, and on his day off of all days. He took care of her and made her soup – even though it was long forgotten next to them.

A stray lock of his hair fell into his eyes when he slightly moved his head. Gently, without thinking, you reached across and slowly moved it to the side while admiring his face in the process. Chan stirred slightly, and his eyes fluttered open. You opened your eyes as wide as you were able and felt a sudden urge to pull your hand away as fast as possible. But when he smiled at you, your hand didn’t move one bit.

“Hey,” He whispered. “How are you feeling?”

“I am really feeling better” you smiled and closed your eyes to slightly change your position, your hand landing next to his leg. Chan felt nervous all out of sudden and, when his phone alarm boozed off, he got up and grabbed it.

“Wow, it’s gotten late. I should probably head out.”

But before he is able to leave, you grab his arm.

“Wait, um.” You nervously sat up a little “Do you wanna— can you maybe—” You sighed slightly and looked at him straight into his eyes. “Do you wanna stay?”

“I-” Chan opened his mouth “I have practice tomorrow and-”

“I know, I just, I really don’t want to be alone right now.” You cut him off.

He looks at you with a conflicted expression.

You’re about to tell him never mind— that it’s okay, and he’s right, he should leave before it gets any later— but then a slow smile appears on his face.

“I guess Seungmin won’t mind that I grab one of his pyjamas”.

A few hours and two bowls of soup later, you’re both ready to go to bed. Your fever went up a bit and you were feeling kind of dizzy, so you were avoiding getting up from the sofa.

Chan got closer to you and grabbed your hand to help you get up, but you instead made him sit again, very close to you this time.

You looked at him, feeling dizzy at how awesome he was. You must have stared for quite a while, because Chan looked at you worried.

“What?” he said, slowly caressing the arm that was outside of the blanket.

You locked eyes with him and, without thinking, you moved your head forward and kissed him.

Chan was surprised at first, but after a few seconds he returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm. He intertwined his fingers with your hair and pulled you closer into the kiss – if that was humanly possible.

It ends too soon, though, when after just a few moments Chan pulls away.

“y/n” Chan sits straight and looks at you “You don’t mean this, you’re just sick.”

You look at him with your eyes filled with love and affection and place your hand on his cheek. “Chan, I absolutely mean this, believe me” and you got closer to him again, only a few centimetres between your mouth and his.

“Why do you only confess to me while you’re drunk or have a fever, y/n?” he said, looking at you with affection.

“Wait, what?” you said confused. You did not recall confessing to him apart from just a few seconds ago.

He smiled at your confused expression and lifter your chin, so you looked at him again “Nothing, doesn’t matter” and he closed the space separating you again.

And maybe the following morning Chan wakes up with a sore throat and a somewhat stuffy nose, but he doesn’t really care. What are days off for if it is not for enjoying them? You just have to learn how to accept the consequences.

#chan fluff #bang chan ff #bang chan #stray kids fanfic #stray kids fluff #stray kids imagines #stray kids headcanons #stray kids ff #bangchan imagines #bang chan headcanon #skz imagines #szk fanfics #skz ff #bang chan scenarios #bang chan fluff #stray kids scenarios

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berriusagi · 4 years ago

Text

Stomach Bug Ch3

Future Plans

Thank you everyone who’s reading this fic and enjoying it. It really means a lot that you guys like this fic so much.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Everything settled down once Alfred stepped in the announce dinner, Jason was forced to relinquish Marinette so she could regain her footing and settle her stomach. Damian helped steady her as she took a few slow deep breaths to calm her stomach. Dick still much too animated, was herding the two youngest into the dining room where the table was filled with a large array of food plates set out and silverware pristine.

Damian helped her to a seat beside himself making sure she was comfortable before taking his seat much to the amusement of his family. “What?” he glared, catching his family all staring at him with a mix of glee and surprise.

“Oh nothing, just didn’t take you for a helicopter boyfriend.” Jason chuckled taking his seat and started to pile his plate full of Alfred’s amazing cooking.

“She’s pregnant, she should be careful.” Damian glared filling his and Marinette’s plate with all the vegetarian options he could find.

Marinette sighed softly watching Damian’s antics, a small smile on her face as he set her plate down in front of her, “Thank you Dami.” She whispered trying hard to ignore the three brothers across from her making exaggerated cooing and gagging noises at them

Bruce shook his head a fond smile on his face as everyone got their food and settled in to eat a comfortable silence falling over them as everyone enjoyed the meal. Of course, this is the Wayne household so silence never lasted long and it was Bruce to break it this time.

“So, Marinette why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself and you’re planning now that you’re pregnant, what do you plan to do for school?” Bruce asked sipping on some wine as he watched the two youngest.

“Schooling won’t be a problem. I was already doing online classes, so it won’t be a problem keeping up with my classes. As for the future I just want to do what is best for the baby and my future.” She smiled sipping on some water.

“And we’ll be there to help her out every step of the way,” Harley grinned, reaching over to ruffle Marinette’s hair.

“Of course, however, we should discuss her living arrangements.” Bruce nodded, setting his glass down pointedly ignoring his three eldest dramatically rolling their eyes and their comments of, ‘oh Christ’ and ‘he has to stop at some point.’

Harley just looked him in the eye and crossed her arms, “She will be living with her mothers, we can provide for her just fine Bruce. She should remain somewhere she is familiar with and comfortable so she doesn’t stress herself out.”

“I understand that, however, I’d very much like to get to know my son’s girlfriend and would like to know that she always has someone with her.” Bruce said eyeing both women at his table, “I don’t mean to sound rude but you two are well-known guests at Arkham.”

“Ivy and I haven’t gotten thrown into Arkham since we got Marigold,” Harley glared, getting to her feet, “And I don’t like your tone you are not just going to swoop in and take my daughter just because she’s carrying your grandchild Bruce. She is staying at home with us where we can help her and make sure she is happy and comfortable.”

“I don’t mean to insult Harley.” Bruce said, raising his hands in a calming manner, “I want what is best for her as much as you. We can get her a private doctor who won’t go to the press if they find out whose child she is carrying. We can watch over her in the event of you two having to handle up on other matters of less legal means.”

Tension filled the room as the kids watched Harley and Bruce go back and forth with their arguments and reasoning for why it would be best for Marinette to live with them as opposed to the other. Jason seemed greatly entertained enjoying the show while Dick seemed to want to play mediator trying to cut in but failing each time as they just grew louder. It wasn’t long until the room was filled with Bruce’s stern voice and Harley’s animated accented speech.

“Maman,” Marinette shouted, effectively shutting down the argument as Harley turned to look at Marinette, “Maybe we can compromise?” she asked a bit quietly.

Harley sighed, sitting down, and waved her hand signaling for Marinette to continue as she grabbed a roll biting into it as she waited for Marinette to say her piece.

Marinette took a moment to breathe and collect her thoughts before turning to look at Bruce, “Mr. Wayne, do you want me to live here?” she asked, getting his nod of confirmation, “Maman, and Mum you still want me to stay at home?” she added looking over at Harley and Ivy getting their nods as well.

She nodded, taking another moment, “How about we have a sort of… custody agreement?” she asked, trying to think of the proper words, “All my schoolwork and projects are at home and I don’t want to completely relocate this late in the year. I can still stay with my moms’ during the week and on the weekend I can stay here. On holidays all of us can come over and spend the break here.” She said looking between the adults, “That way I’m still with my moms and you all can still get to know me and you can keep your eyes on me since no one thinks I can function now that I’m pregnant.”

The adults fell into silence thinking the proposal over. Harley let out a sigh letting her head fall back in her seat, “I suppose it’ll do but if anything happens to you while you’re here we are locking you in your room away from Bruce.” She quickly threw in.

“And if either of you end up in Arkham then she’s being moved to the manor immediately.” Bruce tacked on staring the two women down.

“So… doesn’t everyone agree to the terms?” Marinette asked, looking between the two a bit warily as they continued to stare each other down.

“It’s a good compromise.” Ivy said putting a hand on Harley’s arm, “Right Bruce?”

“Yes it is,” Bruce nodded, finally tearing his eyes away from Harley to look at Marinette, “I’ll have Alfred prepare a room for you.”

Marinette nodded a soft smile on her face as the tension began to leave the room as everyone went back to quietly eating. Until Jason decided to cut in, “You met Demon Spawn through a pen pal assignment, right? How’d that go?”

Marinette giggled softly as Damian got this slightly pained look on his face at the mention of how they met. “I used to go to school in Paris, we had a pen pal assignment. We would send letters back and forth at first it was only for the assignment. I’ll admit I wasn’t aware he was from a well-known wealthy family and since it was just for school we didn’t share many personal details at the beginning.” She admitted.

“What was it that caused the snowball?” Damian asked, leaning back trying to remember.

“You mentioned in your letter that you were in the middle of a feud with your brothers because one of them threatened to eat Batcow and another hid Jerry the Turkey around Thanksgiving.” Marinette said giggling at the memory, “I was so confused that you had farm animals, and then the next letter you sent pictures of your animals. I still have them in an old photo album somewhere.”

“From there we just started talking more when the assignment was due to end she sent me her email and we continued to talk through that later it turned into video calls then we swapped numbers when she came to Gotham.” Damian finished pointedly ignoring his brothers looking at him as if he was a clone.

“Why did you move to Gotham?” Dick asked looking at Marinette a bit curious, “Not many people pick Gotham when they’re looking for new places to live.”

“I came to Gotham because that’s where my moms live. They adopted me a little over a year ago and I was flown out here once the adoption was all finished.” She said her formerly bright and happy smile fading away to a more somber one.

“You mentioned projects.” Jason quickly cut in drawing Marinette’s attention, “are they school projects or hobbies?”

“Oh, they’re commissions for an online store I have. I like to keep them in one spot part of why I don’t want to leave home just yet it’ll take a while to properly pack everything up so nothing is ruined.” She smiled a bit of her shine coming back, “I run a small online boutique and make clothing. The sweater and jeans I’m wearing I actually made. I don’t often buy premade clothing unless it’s to customize.”

Once the sudden round of questioning came to an end other conversations began to flow smoothly after that everyone taking turns to ask a question or to throw out an answer. The tension from the previous custody argument seemingly forgotten as the Wayne boys took turns trying to learn as much about Marinette as possible. However, Marinette made it a tad difficult for them to get any real personal information on her as she seemed to masterfully skirt around certain questions while making it seem like she wasn’t dodging the question.

If anyone noticed her doing so they didn’t comment on it. Soon the plates were cleared away and Alfred was coming out with a plate stacked with macarons of multiple colors and flavors. Alfred walked around and set down a few macarons on everyone’s plate before disappearing back into the kitchen with a few leftovers for him to enjoy. Everyone kindly thanked Marinette for bringing the dessert even though she didn’t have to as they each picked up their cookie to take a bite.

Soft chatter began to fill as the boys began complimenting Marinette on the macarons as they all enjoyed the sweet cookies. “These are delicious Marinette where did you learn to make them?” Dick asked his cheeks ballooned out like a chipmunk as he chewed.

Marinette giggled happiness filling her as everyone enjoying her dessert, “I grew up in a bakery most of my life so baking is just second nature at this point.” she smiled, “I usually make bread for the week on sundays so it’s one less thing we have to worry about getting at the store.” she added.

The Wayne boys nodded as they enjoyed the cookies and continued with their previous attempt of questioning Marinette though didn’t get very far once again. Marinette seemed to know how to handle questioning quite well to answer a question by not giving an answer at all and it didn’t even bother them.

All too soon dinner came to an end and the Isley-Quinzels had to leave so that Marinette could get to sleep for her classes in the morning. They all stood at the front door saying their good-byes and planning when best to drop Marinette off on the upcoming Friday. “We’ve also already found her an OB-GYN we’ll send over the information and when we have appointments settled we’ll be sure to notify you if we keep this doctor,” Ivy said as she pulled on her coat.

“You trust this doctor?” he asked looking at her as the boys were busy trying to say their good-byes to Marinette.

“We won’t know for sure until we’re in her office. Marinette is a good judge of character if she doesn’t trust the doctor then we won’t continue to go to them.” Ivy said as Marinette kissed Damian on the cheek before coming over to join them, “We’ll keep you informed on how everything goes but we won’t be able to set up an appointment until sometime next week.”

He nodded and opened the door for them, “You three have a safe night and I’ll see you on Friday Marinette.” Bruce smiled gently patting her back as she nodded following her mother’s out.

“Have a nice evening Mr. Wayne.” She smiled softly up at him as they all left heading down the stairs as Bruce closed the door and turned to face his sons. He let out a tired sigh watching as they all seemed to be ganging up on Damian trying to interrogate him about Marinette to learn as much as they could before Friday rolled around.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

@myazael @beautiful-disasters-sunshine @moonlightstar64 @moonlitceleste @stainedglassm @casual-darkness @mochegato @ultimatetornshipper @heemsanddamemes @nathleigh @qualitypeacepainter @killer-frost-ladybug @maskedpainter @demonicbusiness @dood-space @trippingovermyfeet @emimar7 @indecisive-mess-named-me @changelinggarden

#daminette #damianette #damidad #mominette #maribat #maridami #ml x dc #teen pregnancy #Stomach Bug

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tillthelandslide · 4 years ago

Note

Hey lovely! How are you? I know you're working super hard on your WIP but I wanted to know if you could take this little request? It's my birthday today!! (October 6th) and I just want to know how Henry would celebrate it with me, I need some softy content for my little heart ♥️♥️ thanks love!!

Hi my love. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I hope you have the best day.

Henry would spoil you rotten today

He'd wake you up with a soft kiss to your head, pushing the hair out of your eyes, muttering a "morning my love. Happy birthday" as your eyes fluttered open

He'd then place a kiss against your lips, kal jumping up to kiss you too, making the both of you laugh

He'd bring you breakfast in bed. A card on the tray with a red rose siting on top

You'd open the card whilst eating reading the words "Happy birthday my love. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am the luckiest man alive to have you in my life. You ground me and you have taught me to so much about what it is to be a man and to be kind and loving. I promise I will spoil you everyday, especially today to show you the love that you give me. I love you so much and hope you have the best birthday"

He'd then run you both a warm bath, with your favourite scents and bath bombs. Littering the surface with red rose pettles and placing candles around the edge of the tub. Turning off the light and covering up the windows to add darkness to the room so that the candles would glow even in the morning dew

He'd carefully remove your close, pressing sweet kisses to every part of skin which was exposed to him, helping you get into the bath, him sitting behind you, cradling you against him

His lips would press against your shoulder as his fingers slipped between your folds, muttering sweet nothings into your ear as he drew moans from your lips

He'd then clean you, still whispering nothing but praise and I love yous into your ear

Once you were dressed he'd lead you downstairs into the living room where he had placed happy birthday banners on the walls. Your cards and presents placed neatly in front of the sofa

You'd sit down on the sofa and one muscular arm would cradle you against him whilst the other passed you your cards

You'd open your cards from family and friends, even some from previously costars of Henry's who you had befriended over the years. They were all filled with lovely messages and it made tears spring in your eyes

"one second love" he'd say, getting up to run upstairs, coming back down with a big card in his hand, passing to you to open

You'd open it and see all of the cast and crew from the witcher 2 had signed it. All writing lovely messages, the ones that stood out were, Joey's, Freyas, Anyas and Laurens who had taken to you quite a bit. You kissed Henry knowing he had organised it and muttered a thank you and an I love you to his lips making him smile

He had taken this day off from filming the witcher 2 to specifically spend time with you

He'd then pass you gifts he had bought you, some items of clothing you had wanted and some pieces of jewellery. But the ones you loved most and had you crying were the sentimental ones, like a photoframe containing a picture of the both of you and kal. A set of your favourite books which were limited edition, with unique artwork on the covers. A beautiful ring which had yours and his initials engraved on the band.

He would then pass you a fancy box and you'd open it seeing a new piece of lingerie, which would make you smirk and laugh as he'd say "it's a gift for you and for me" nerdily

"Can send me some pictures when I'm away" he'd say suggestively making you giggle and kiss him again. He'd push the box away and pull you into his lap and you'd have slow and sensual sex on the sofa

The rest of the day would be spent doing your favourite things

All before he'd surprise you with a zoom call from your parents and family

Followed by a phone call from his parents and video messages from his brothers

He'd bring out more presents that your family had sent, some more of your favourite things and things you had wanted

His family put together a Jersey care package, containing all your favourite chocolates and wines from Jersey, along with some smaller gits they had bought you

He'd then cook your favourite meal for dinner, candles lit around the room again and a glass of red wine in your hand

You'd finish and he'd lead you upstairs to your bedroom

"How about I try out the new set you bought me?" you'd say suggestively

"I'm the one who's supposed to be giving the presents. Not receiving them" he said making you chuckle. You'd run downstairs to get the lingerie, going into the bathroom to slip it on.

You'd come back into the bedroom, his eyes scanning your figure a "jesus christ" slipping from your lips as he admired you

"The most beautiful birthday girl" he said and the night would be filled with nothing but passionate and loving sex

Hope you like this darling

Have the best day, you deserve it. I love you

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rainydayhogwartsimagines · 4 years ago

Text

Fred with a Muggle!reader:

Warnings: swearing, sexual innuendos

He met you after the battle of Hogwarts.

He needed something from Charlie and Charlie wanted to meet in a muggle bar

"I can't get over the fact that you frequent a bar. With a muggle running it. And she knows you're a wizard." Fred admitted.

"I'm not the only one that frequents here, a lot of ministry members come here too." Charlie shrugged.

Fred had heard a lot about you, Charlie saying you often listened to people's problems, occasionally giving them free drinks if they've had a lousy day.

He'd never actually seen you. Charlie was always shit with descriptions

That's when a glass was put in front of Charlie and Fred looked over

Your hair was in a ponytail, a dishrag over your shoulder and a black cami that seemed to make your eyes pop.

"The usual?" You asked Charlie.

"Thanks dear." He nodded as you poured a glass.

"And you?" You asked Fred.

The second your eyes met his you felt something similar to a shockwave go down your spine.

"....Uh.... I'm... Not much of... A drinker.." Fred said making Charlie raise a brow.

"We have different sodas. If you want any of that." You said.

"... Root beer." He finally said making you nod.

From that point on, Fred showed up every Wednesday, it being the most empty so he could talk to you in peace.

"Hi Weasley." You said not even looking up from the book you were reading.

He sat at the bar.

"interesting story?" He asked.

You lifted the book so he could see it's title "Fantastic Beasts and where to find them"

He rose a brow. "How'd you get your hands on a wizard book?" He asked.

"It had a muggle release. I bought it after finding out it was real." You admitted.

Fred chuckled. "Curious about the wizarding world?" Fred asked.

"how can I not be? This world I live in... It's boring." You said.

"Surely it's not that bad." Fred said.

"Oh but it is. See I'm supposed to be a productive member of society. This isn't considered that apparently." You said.

"screw society." He shrugged.

"I think I'm beginning to really like you Weasley." You said with a smile.

He gave you a smile and your heart pounded.

Since then Fred basically visited you every day now.

He'd watch you work if you were too busy but on the empty days you'd sit at the bar with him.

Today was an empty day, much to Fred's luck.

"Hello there." You greeted.

"Helllooo" he said sitting down.

You sat next to him, a look of obvious exhaustion falling over your face the second you made contact with the chair.

"long day?" Fred asked.

"Long. Long. LONG. Day." You sighed.

"the ministry men just kept coming in. And that's not a problem. The problem is they all order the same damn drinks and I'm always on my feet" you groaned.

"prop your legs up on me, I really don't care." Fred suggested. You did, moving the chair closer.

"I have a question." Fred said.

"I have an answer." You replied.

"Do you own this bar?" He asked.

You nodded. "Used to be my brother's." You said.

"What happened?" Fred asked.

"...There's a reason why I'm allowed near magic." You said.

It registered with Fred what you meant.

"Your brother's a wizard?" He asked.

"He was." You said.

Fred frowned.

"He died in the battle for hogwarts." You said softly.

Fred realized your last name... Your brother saved his life.

"Sorry... Was Charles L/n your brother?" Fred asked.

You nodded.

"Your brother saved me." Fred said.

You blinked.

"You... You're the wizard he...."

You swallowed looking in Fred's eyes.

"Fred.... Thank you." You said.

"For what?" He asked.

"For not letting my brother's sacrifice be in vain. Charlie tells me how much you've helped people after the war... I'm glad you're living your life." You said sincerely.

He almost expected anger from you. But instead you were grateful.

He looked in your eyes and you looked in his.

Fred finally got the nerve to kiss you.

You looked forward to seeing him every day now, always smiling as he entered

He'd kiss you from across the bar making you smile as you worked.

One day you decided to close early though and Fred wanted you to actually see the wizarding world.

So he took you to the burrow to meet his parents for the weekend.

You were nervous the entire time but he kept reassuring you that Molly would fucking love you

Spoiler alert: she did.

Harry didn't seem to mind you either, you shaking his hand.

It felt nice for him to meet someone and not have them go "OH MY GOD YOU'RE THE BOY WHO LIVED!"

"So what do you do for a living?" Arthur asked.

"I uhm. I own a pub." You admitted.

"So that's where Fred has been running off to." George chuckled.

Percy walked in and you rose a brow.

"....Wait you're their brother!?" You said.

Percy gave you a "Don't you say a word" look but George blinked.

"How do you know Percy?" Fred asked.

"He comes to the pub every now and again." You admitted making him facepalm.

Fred and George gaped.

"Our brother. In a bar? Have you no shame Percy?" George said.

"Fred's girlfriend owns that bar, which he goes to everyday, and I'm the spectacle here?" Percy asked.

"Yeah because you have a constant stick shoved up your--"

"OKAY GINNY!" Percy cut her off making you laugh.

Fred wrapped his arm around you with a smile.

You ended up really enjoying your time there, answering questions Arthur had about muggle objects.

You went to bed early your first night there Molly sitting down with Fred

"We love her." Molly said.

"Really?" Fred asked.

"She's amazing Fred. Truly." Arthur agreed.

Fred felt relieved hearing this.

He showed you all sorts of things in the wizarding world

Your personal favorite was butterbeer.

When you had to return back to the muggle world you were kind of disappointed.

But you started making weekend trips to the Burrow a regular thing.

There was this one night you were really busy though.

This time the Weasley's came to you.

"What are you all doing here?" You asked.

"Y/n, I need an ale!" Someone yelled making you groan.

"Give me a table." Fred said. Him helping out wasn't uncommon.

"Five." You said, handing him a notepad

The family watched you two in action, both of you working around each other in impressive yet strategic ways.

"Can we help?" Ginny asked.

You whipped around and nodded.

"If you come across any empty glasses, clean them." You said. Molly and Arthur sat watching their children all assist you.

"Shit!" You grumbled as the jukebox glitched again.

"Repairio." Hermione said making it work.

"You are a godsend Granger. Truly." You said with a laugh as you sped past her.

Your balance skills with treys of alcohol was honestly impressive

Along with Fred and George's speedy order taking.

Before you knew it the bar was empty.

You finally turned off the open sign and hugged Fred.

"Thank. God." You whined.

He chuckled and Ron gaped.

"This is what you do? All day? No magic?" Ron asked.

You nodded.

"Goddess. Your girlfriend is a goddess." Ron said making you snort.

Fred kissed your head and you sighed pulling off the apron.

"Alright. Tell me we're going home, I am exhausted and looking forward to Molly's cooking." You said making Fred's brow raise.

"Did you just call... The burrow home?" George noticed.

"...I guess I did." You shrugged.

Fred already was forming wedding plans in his head.

George, Fred and you all rode separately from the rest of the group.

"Alright. Be real with me. How many times have you shagged on the bar?" George asked making you choke on air.

"Christ George!" Fred gaped.

"I'm just saying, it's right there!" George said.

"....Like three times, but that is besides the point!" You answered.

"I knew it!" George said.

"and how, pray tell did you know that?" Fred asked.

"One of your shirts were behind the bar." George said making both of you groan.

Fred didn't mind helping you out during the busy days.

A secret passage to the wizarding world being right next to it didn't hurt either.

Fred and you now had been seeing each other for about a year.

The Christmas season was a nice one, spending it with his family

Molly made you a sweater, which during the winter never came off.

Fred however was gearing up to ask you to marry him.

You already moved in with him after your six month anniversary.

Now he was fidgeting with a ring in his pocket as you worked.

"So this would go... Here." You muttered to yourself.

Fred just had to find the right time.

"Fuck, why is the scotch missing a cap?!" You groaned.

When it was just you and him.

The bell on the door rang, indicating the last customer left and Fred used a quick spell to shut off the open sign.

"thanks." You sighed as you found the missing Scotch cap.

"Hey. Why don't you take a break?" Fred suggested.

When was the right time to even ask you?

You nodded and sat next to him.

"What's in your pocket?" You asked noticing him keeping rather close to it.

Well. Now was the perfect time!

Fred swallowed and leaned forward taking your hands into his.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too. Are you dying or something?" You asked concerned.

"what? No-- no." He shook his head.

"I love you so much and I want to make you happy for the rest of our lives." He said making you raise a brow.

"What--"

He pulled out the ring and your eyes went huge, looking at him and then the ring.

"Fred..." You breathed.

"Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He asked.

You looked at him almost the exact same way you did a year ago, the same shocked and vulnerable expression on your face as you held his hands.

"...Yes Fred!" You said before he slid the ring on your finger and kissed you.

He called his brothers-- all of them, telling them with no context to get their asses to the burrow.

They all did, now standing confused in the living room.

"Why are we here fred?" Bill asked, Fleur equally confused.

"I'm waiting on mum." Fred said as she finally walked down with Arthur.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked.

"I asked Y/n to marry me." Fred said.

"and I said yes." You said making everyone gasp.

Molly was a happy crying mess, hugging you saying she gained a new daughter.

Harry was happy that you weren't going anywhere along with Ron and Hermione.

Charlie was cracking a massive smile.

"This happened because of you Charlie." You said with a laugh.

"Finally! She gives me credit!" Charlie said making you laugh.

"welcome to the family Y/n." Arthur said with a smile.

A few months later you were married, the bar eventually making it's way into diagon Alley

You closed down the original location but made the second one equally comfortable.

Every night without fail, Fred would find his way to a seat at the bar and would watch you work.

Harry would occasionally visit with Ginny, you two being the first to know about their engagement.

"I've got the coolest in laws ever!" You'd say making Fred chuckle.

You would have days where the family would sit around after closing, telling you stories of hogwarts before the war as you sat in a chair with Fred, him holding you in his arms with a smile.

You wouldn't trade any of this for the world. Because this is where you belonged.

This was your home.

#fred weasley x you #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley

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sunkissedpages · 3 years ago

Text

instead of you [part eighteen]

pairing: [best friend’s brother] tom holland x college!reader

summary: you didn’t expect to spend your summer pretending to be your best friend’s girlfriend- then again, you didn’t expect to fall for your best friend’s brother, either.

warnings: swearing, mentions of +sex

word count: 2k

series masterlist

“Sam and I will take the bunk beds.”

The room was a decent size. It was definitely bigger than Sam’s dad had made it sound. A large window on the back wall flooded the space with natural light and offered a view of the city below. By the door was a small fridge and a countertop with a sink and a couple of burners built in so that guests could cook their own meals. There was a queen sized bed jutting out from the western-facing wall and built into the adjacent wall were two twin-sized bunks, one on top of the other, making the room feel... cozy.

Harry and Tom traded looks with each other.

“Kidding.”

The boys visibly relaxed and chuckled awkwardly.

“If I ever have to share a bed with Tom again it’ll be too soon,” Harry sighed.

“Is that any way to treat your big brother?” Tom scoffed.

“I’m taller than you.”

“For now.”

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean? You’re twenty-five, you’re done growing.”

Tom shrugged. “Yeah, but I could always make you shorter.”

“Oh, what are you going to do, cut my legs off?” Harry challenged.

“I never said that.”

“Jesus Christ guys,” Sam said, finally cutting in. “Can we not threaten each other until we’ve had at least a few hours of sleep?”

“Whatever,” his twin grumbled, kicking off his shoes by the door.

Tom slung his backpack onto the top bunk and pulled his sweatshirt off over his head, exposing a strip of his stomach in the process. You looked away instinctively, hoping that you hadn’t drawn any attention to yourself while doing so.

“You always get the top bunk,” Harry whined.

“Yeah, because I’m older.”

“That’s not fair!”

“My brothers are actually ten years old,” Sam explained to you, raising his voice so that you could hear him over the bickering.

“No, I think ten-year-olds know how to take turns,” you said dismissively, not missing the glares from the other two Hollands.

“You’re right,” Sam agreed. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and sighed. “Reminds me of the family vacations we used to take. The six of us used to share one hotel room when we traveled.”

“Four boys... I don’t know how your mom did it.”

“None of us do.”

“I thought we were going to sleep,” Harry muttered from where he was already laying down on the bottom bunk, clearly irritated.

“Give us a minute to settle in, dude,” Sam shot back before dropping into a whisper. “It’s going to be a long week.”

You shook your head, putting your hands on his shoulders. “Everyone’s just cranky because they’re tired,” you reasoned. “We’ll get some sleep and then grab some food and then maybe they’ll be in a better mood.”

“You don’t know them like I do,” Sam warned.

“That’s true, but won’t they tone it down since I’m here?”

Sam snorted. “Wishful thinking.”

You rolled your eyes. “Whatever, I’m going to hop in the shower. I feel gross after being on a plane for so long.”

“I’ll go after you,” Sam replied with a nod. “Let me know if you need anything.”

You thanked him with a kiss under the watchful eyes of his brothers who both groaned in protest.

“Oh, fuck off,” Sam growled against your lips.

“By the way, sharing a bed doesn’t mean you get to mess around because I don’t want to hear that shit.”

“Harry!” Sam and Tom shouted, Tom going as far as throwing a pillow at his younger brother from the top bunk.

“Just being honest! We heard you going at it like rabbits when you had your own room, and I didn’t say anything about it then-”

“Harry.” To your surprise, it was Tom who cut him off, raising another pillow in warning. Thankfully, Harry took the hint that time and shut up, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.

You smiled to yourself with the knowledge that your little Easy A stunt had worked, and looked over to see that Sam was wearing a matching smirk. He winked at you before turning to glare at his brothers.

“On that note, I’m going to shower,” you said, mostly to Sam, and made your way over to where you had dropped your suitcase by the door.

You gathered a set of pajamas to change into and then wandered into the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind you. It was one of those rolling doors so you had to be extra careful not to knock it off its hinges or the track and cause even more noise than necessary. You set your change of clothes on the counter next to the sink and began to undress, leaving your worn clothes on the floor.

The shower was kept in a room separate from the room with the sink and vanity, something you had read was common for Japanese washrooms. Inside the second room was a bathtub with a complicated looking panel next to it. With a closer inspection you determined it was used to fill the bath with water and customize the temperature. The showerhead was secured to the wall just to the side of the tub which meant you would have to hold it while you showered, but you didn’t mind. You were used to holding the showerhead for... other reasons.

Your shower was quick. You didn’t want to take too long when you knew other people were waiting for it. You were drained too. Even as you dried yourself off with a towel you could feel your arms start to get heavier.

You wrapped your hair in your towel and put on your pajamas shortly after, trying not to cringe at the way the fabric clung to your still-damp body. Usually you wouldn’t get dressed in the bathroom right after taking a shower because it was always so humid and sticky, you’d go out in the bedroom to do it, but as Sam’s girlfriend the latter wasn’t an option. So you dealt with the discomfort and ventured back into the main room.

It was dark now. Someone, you assumed Sam, had pulled the blackout curtains shut so that the daylight could no longer stream through the window. Harry was already fast asleep, but Tom and Sam were still awake, scrolling through their phones on their respective sides of the room.

Sam was perched on top of your bed, resting comfortably. He wasn’t underneath the covers, probably because he knew you didn’t like to share a bed with someone who hadn’t showered.

He smiled when he saw you and pushed himself up onto his elbows.

“Shower’s all yours,” you said.

“Thanks.”

You watched him rifle through his suitcase for pajamas and then eventually disappear into the bathroom before finally flinging yourself onto the bed. You still needed to take your hair out of the towel and brush your teeth, but you took a moment to just. Lay there.

Tom didn’t acknowledge you, hadn’t so much as looked at you since you came out of the bathroom, but you still found yourself looking over to him.

At the airport he had seemed at least a little concerned that he would have to share a room with you. Even in the cab to the hotel he kept sneaking glances at you when he thought you weren’t paying attention. But now he looked completely relaxed and you were second guessing yourself. Maybe you’d been projecting. Maybe he hadn’t been anxious at all.

You, on the other hand, felt like you hadn’t been able to exhale since Dom had announced that you’d be sharing a room with Sam’s brothers.

It had dawned on you as soon as you stepped into the hotel room that you’d never be able to let your guard down. Before this point you had at least been able to take breaks, retreat to your hotel room with Sam and be yourselves without worrying that one of his family members was around. You hadn’t needed to keep up the act 24/7, but now you had no other choice. It was only for a week, but you knew it was going to be exhausting. You weren’t even sure that your current performance was believable, and that was without all of the more intimate interactions couples had in private. The good night kisses, the cuddling in bed together, falling asleep in each other's arms, the good morning kisses, all things you’d have to take into consideration. Most couples you knew moved in harmony, like they were one person, half of a whole. You and Sam were more like the hands on a clock. You were always moving in the same direction, and once in a while you’d overlap, but more often than not you were facing each other on completely opposite sides of the clock. It was what made you such good friends. Best friends. But what would make you terrible lovers.

To be fair, a lot of people misunderstood your dynamic, which you had been using to your advantage. They assumed that since you were always together you were basically the same person- and they weren’t necessarily wrong. You and Sam spent a majority of your time together. You knew each other well enough to finish each other’s sentences, to voice aloud what the other was thinking before they even said it.

The vibration of your phone next to you disrupted your train of thought. It was a text from Sam.

Can you come here rq? I need help lol.

Confused, you pushed back the covers and stood up. You dropped your phone back on the bed and walked over to the bathroom, keenly aware of the way Tom stiffened in his bed.

You rolled back the door and found Sam standing in his boxers next to the tub.

“What is it?” you asked, shutting the door behind you.

“How did you figure out the shower? I can’t get the water to be hot.”

“This is what you called me in here for?” you said, exasperation dripping from your voice.

“Yes! I don’t want to take a cold shower.” He said it like it should’ve been obvious.

“Did you try messing with the knobs? That’s how I figured it out.”

Sam’s cheeks turned a faint shade of pink as he pursed his lips, thinking about how to answer.

“Not all of them,” he admitted.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Sorry?”

“It’s the one on the left, dumbass,” you said and twisted the knob for him.

“Thanks,” he mumbled sheepishly. “I just didn’t want to fuck up the shower or anything.”

Men, you thought to yourself shaking your head.

“I’m going to bed,” you told him. “Before your brothers think I’m in here giving you head or something.”

“Let them think what they want,” he said, shrugging it off.

“I want to preserve what little amount of respect they have for me, thanks.”

Sam just chuckled and thanked you again as you let yourself out into the room with the sink. While you were there you hung up your wet towel and brushed your teeth with your finger and the toothpaste the hotel provided. You were too lazy to go get your toothbrush out of your bag.

“That was fast.”

You jumped, hand racing to your heart when you realized it was just Tom. He was still in his bed, but had rolled onto one side so that he could talk to you.

“You scared the shit out of me!” you hissed.

“Sorry.” He didn’t sound very sorry. “What did my brother want?”

God damn it, Sam.

“Why do you ask?”

Tom shrugged. “Just wondering.”

“He needed help figuring out the shower,” you explained.

“Glad he has you for that.”

You narrowed your eyes at the boy in the top bunk. He was trying to get under your skin. Why?

The ball was in your court. You could be the bigger person and let it go, or-

“He has me for a lot of things.” You pushed your tongue against your cheek so that there was a visible outline and brought your fist up to your mouth, moving it back and forth subtly so that he’d get the idea without being too obscene. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?"

lmk what you think i always appreciate feedback!!

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teenwolffanclub-me · 4 years ago

Text

Movie Night

(Stiles Stilinski x Reader)

Request: Hey could I have a Stiles × reader where they are watching a horror movie. She enjoys horror movies but u know how Stiles would react while watching one..So she pranks Stiles and he gets mini heart attack and the reader gets into a laughing fit seeing his reaction..Somehow he finds out that she is ticklish and takes matters into his hands... something cute and little long. Thanks

Word count: 2,347

Warnings: so much fluff it’s nauseating

Notes: this is my first ever request so hopefully I did it justice!! I loved this concept so much & if any of you lovely people have something you want me to write for Stiles feel free to send your ideas my way!

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You snuggled up close to Stiles’ side on the couch, pressing play on the remote before setting it onto the coffee table that supported your crossed legs. It was your weekly movie night and you had finally convinced him to watch something scary.

You’d been dying to indulge in your love of horror films since fall began, and with Halloween now just around the corner, you were running out of time. Yes, you could technically watch them whenever you wanted, but it was always so much more satisfying during this time of year.

Sadly, all your friends are babies. Every last one of them had refused your invitations. It wasn’t that you minded watching scary things alone, but seeing other people’s reactions was your favorite part of the experience. Finally, after a couple weeks of almost constant nagging, Stiles begrudgingly agreed.

You were secretly elated that he’d been the one to give in, because he was your movie person. The two of you had kept your weekly date for two years now. It only made sense to do this with him.

His rules were: the lights stay on, you have to warn him before scary parts, and you’d be watching any rom-com of his choosing right after.

You smiled to yourself as the movie started. You’d picked the scariest thing you could find, partially because it’d been so long since you were truly terrified of a film and you missed it, but also because you loved fucking with Stiles. He was already completely freaked out and the title page had barely disappeared.

He sat impossibly still beside you, staring at the screen with wide eyes. He was almost always on edge nowadays, and this whole thing was only exasperating the problem. Although everything on screen seemed peachy now, he knew it would take a turn for the worst when he least expected it.

Things like this always made his anxiety skyrocket. It’s why he tried so hard to avoid this very situation. He was honestly surprised it had taken you this long to force him into watching something other than your usual lighthearted flick.

He’d already faced enough real monsters and demons to supply a lifetime of nightmares. The last thing he wanted was to spend his free time being scared, but he knew how happy it would make you to watch your favorite genre for once. Plus, he figured he owed you after you sat through Never Been Kissed three times in a row. It was only fair that he suffer a little bit too.

Stiles jumped with a quiet gasp when one of the characters popped out to playfully scare their brother, and you chuckled to yourself in amusement. You were going to have a blast watching him freak out at every little thing.

“This is awful.” He breathed from beside you, still stiff as a board. “There is literally nothing worse we could be doing on a Friday night.”

You rolled your eyes at his dramatics. “You mean like getting murdered by a supernatural creature?”

“At least that wouldn’t take two and a half hours.” He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.

You just smiled and returned your head to its resting place against his shoulder. You guys usually took turns picking a movie, but he’d put a firm “nothing scary” clause in your movie night agreement, so your options were always limited.

Yes, the two of you had actually typed out a document when you started this freshman year.

There were only a few important notes in it. Neither party could cancel under any circumstances—with the exception of a life threatening event—nothing scary, and no one else was invited. Friday nights were for you and Stiles, and the two of you only.

About forty minutes in, you knew there was a particularly bad jump scare coming, so you let your eyes slowly sweep up toward his face. You considered warning him, but decided it would be way more fun to watch his genuine reaction.

When it happened, he spazzed so violently that he launched the bowl of popcorn you’d both been munching on across the room. You erupted into a fit of laugher, clutching at your stomach as you replayed the horrified look on his face over and over in your mind.

“You were supposed to tell me!” Stiles shouted accusingly, his skin growing warm with embarrassment as he shoved himself off the couch to clean up.

He was trying so hard not to let this movie get to him, but the actors were really convincing, and he was scared shitless. Tears were streaming down your face as you finally forced yourself to settle down after a couple of minutes. You wiped your cheeks clean with a sigh, still fighting a few lingering giggles.

“I just couldn’t resist.” You admitted breathily before joining him on the floor to help pick up the remainder of the snack.

Not a single surface in your living room had been spared. It was in the bookshelves on either side of the TV, between the couch cushions, and even floating inside your parents’ fish tank.

By the time you both sat back down, you remembered that something way worse was about to happen. A slow grin pulled at your lips as you came up with a brilliantly evil idea. You leaned forward to grab the plastic bowl off the coffee table and popped to your feet.

“I’m gonna go make some more.” You barely even had time to think about taking a step before Stiles’ hand jerked up to wrap around your wrist.

“Are you out of your freakin’ mind? You can’t leave me alone in here.” He looked up at you with big, pleading eyes, something he knew you couldn’t resist.

The thought of watching this movie by himself for even a few minutes had his heart sputtering in his chest. He knew he wouldn’t last thirty seconds without you. You glanced away from his face, feeling your resolve crumbling at the desperate gleam in his eyes.

You had to go through with this. It was just too good. “Stiles, I’ll be in the next room. You can literally still see me.”

He glanced toward the kitchen, only a few feet away, needing proof despite the fact that he’d been to your house enough times to have the entire floorplan memorized. With a skeptical twitch of his eyes, he let your arm slowly slide out of his hold. You spun on your heel and grinned triumphantly, practically skipping away from him.

You took a few moments to find a new bag of popcorn and place it into the microwave, wanting your excuse to seem believable. After starting it, you turned around just in time to see Stiles peering at you nervously over his shoulder.

It wasn’t that he actually thought something would happen to you in the three minutes it took for the popcorn to cook, but this movie seemed so much worse without you beside him. You quirked an eyebrow expectantly as you braced your hands on the counter, and he hesitated before slowly turning around with a pout.

As soon as Stiles’ back was to you, you dropped into a crouch on the tiled floor, silently crawling toward the kitchen doorway. You leaned around the corner to check on him before continuing.

He scratched at the side of his head and squinted one eye closed when the music on the TV became slow and suspenseful. That sound had literally never come before anything good. His right leg started bouncing anxiously as he silently prayed you would be back before whatever horror was about to happen.

His attention was firmly planted on the screen as he sat on the edge of his seat and fidgeted with his fingers. You made your way out of the kitchen and shuffled quickly toward the back of the couch. Just as you reached it, the microwave went off with a high pitched beep beep beep.

Stiles nearly jumped out of his skin, heart lurching up into his throat at the unexpected noise.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” He muttered to himself, putting a hand to his chest in an effort to calm his ragged breathing.

The microwave went off again a moment later, since no one had opened the door yet, and he turned to look into the kitchen curiously. He wondered what was taking you so long as his eyes flickered over the room. A moment later, his brows furrowed in confusion when he saw that it was now empty.

“Y/N?” He moved up onto his knees and turned so he could see better.

You scurried around to the other end of the couch to avoid being caught and put a hand over your mouth, having way too much fun already as a few giggles threatened to expose you.

“Y/N, this isn’t funny...” Stiles’ voice was laced with panic as he made a move to stand up.

He had no idea what could’ve happened to you only a few feet away, but your lack of response was troubling. His stomach tightened as he peered into the kitchen without actually getting any closer. He was honestly terrified, the chilling music behind him doing nothing to make the situation better.

You knew this was your moment.

“Boo!” You popped up onto your feet with a jerk and wiggled your fingers at him.

Stiles let out a loud scream, his face crumbling in pure horror as he clumsily scrambled as far away from you as possible. He tripped on his own feet and somersaulted over the couch armrest, landing on his ass with a bounce. He stared at you with wide eyes and parted lips, honestly surprised his heart was still beating.

Meanwhile, you were in complete hysterics. You were laughing so hard you had to gasp for breath as you doubled over and rested your hands on the other armrest. Stiles glowered, annoyed with himself for not expecting you to do something like this.

He pursed his lips, eyes twitching as you just kept going and going. After about a minute, he’d had enough. He practically lunged forward and grabbed you around the waist before pulling you onto the couch with him.

You yelped in shock, not expecting the quick move since you’d been too busy cackling at your own success. You settled down and blinked up at Stiles with wide eyes as you now lay beneath him, caged in by his legs on either side of your hips. His lips twitched into a frown and your found yourself glancing down toward them.

“That was so not funny.” He tried to look upset, but he could never actually stay mad at you. Plus, despite being the butt of that joke, it was a tiny bit funny.

“Oh, come on, it—” You suddenly broke into a fit of giggles as one of his hands brushed against your ribs.

His eyes widened in recognition as an idea popped into his head. His lips pulled into a slow, wicked grin. “Wait, are you ticklish?”

You instantly sobered up at his question. You’d gone this long without him finding out about that secret and you did not want him knowing now.

“No.” The word rushed from your lips a little too quickly, your eyes wide with apprehension.

He only gave you a brief moment to prepare before he attacked, both of his hands wrapping around your sides. His fingers wiggled against you quickly and you immediately dissolved into another round of uncontrollable giggling. Your back arched up off the couch in an effort to get away from the overwhelming sensation.

Stiles couldn’t help but smile earnestly down at you. In this moment, you were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He decided right then that if your laughter was the only sound he could hear for the rest of his life, he’d still be a happy man.

“Say you’re sorry.” He demanded, watching joyful tears stream down the sides of your face.

Your hands clasped around his as you tried twisting free of his tight hold. “I-I’m so-rry!”

His grin only widened, loving the sight of you squirming beneath him as his fingers continued, unrelenting. “And you’ll never scare me again.”

“I’ll nev-never...scare...you a-again!” You gasped the words out, your stomach starting to ache as your muscles contracted repeatedly.

He stopped as suddenly as he’d started and you sagged against the couch with a heavy sigh of relief. Your heart was racing in your chest and it felt like you’d just done a ridiculous amount of sit-ups. Stiles smirked down at you triumphantly and pushed off the couch before offering a hand so you could pull yourself up.

Once you were both upright, he grabbed the remote and turned the movie off. You pouted a little, knowing there were still about thirty minutes left, but couldn’t even pretend to be surprised. You figured he’d be done after that. He quickly flitted through Netflix until he found what he wanted.

You fell back with a groan as he clicked on one of his favorites: Clueless.

It wasn’t a bad movie. You actually enjoyed it the first five times you two had watched it. By now, though, you must’ve seen the damn thing at least a hundred. You could both quote the whole thing, something he was proud of while you were very much not.

“Payback’s a bitch.” He declared simply before discarding the remote somewhere on the floor.

He leaned down on the couch and opened his arms expectantly. You rolled your eyes at the fact that he’d somehow gotten his way again, but didn’t hesitate to curl into his chest.

You chewed on your bottom lip to hold in a chuckle as the movie started, already plotting next years prank. You knew it would take at least that long to convince him into watching anything even remotely scary again.

You’d have to figure out a way to outdo yourself when the time came, and you were already looking forward to it.

#stiles stilinski #stiles imagine #stiles stilinski x reader #stiles stilinski imagine #stiles x y/n #stiles x reader #spooky #fall vibes #teen wolf #requests #stiles stilinski request #stiles fluff #stiles stilinski fluff

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clean-bands-dirty-stories · 4 years ago

Text

Normal ~ A.L.

A/n: Ah yes, this is going to be fun.

Request: “...Alec lightwood x male reader. Maybe the reader is mundane and shows Alec what it’s like being human for a day and then Alec shows him what it’s like being a shadow hunter. And maybe the whole time Alec is like o my word I love this kid...” by anon

Word Count: 5100+ (this is why it took me so long CHRIST I’m sorry)

MASTERLIST

You know, the thing that kept Mundanes seeing into the world of the Shadowhunters was a funny thing. It was supposed to always work, blocking humans from seeing monsters and those that hunted monsters. The problem was, nothing was perfect. Everyone made mistakes. Everything glitched from time to time.

I guess you could call Y/n a glitch.

The thing that kept humans from seeing things they shouldn't? It didn't work for Y/n.

When Y/n had first been seen facing down a vampire, it had seemed a little odd. The woman the vamp was going after seemed miffed that some dude was cutting in on her date, and everyone was confused. When they had killed the thing and Y/n had thanked them afterward, they'd all assumed he might have been like Clary - unaware of his Shadowhunter background somehow. But he had assured them he was human, and had proved it. Thankfully, since the plan had been to use a rune on him and if they had, he would have absolutely died.

Y/n was just immune to the magic that should have kept him far out of the knowing of what was really going on in the shadows of his town. Which left him unable to do anything, other than gather information and share it when he could. Y/n had no magic and no way to fight when he had no training or run protections, but he did have a talent for tricking monsters with their one weakness. He was human, and they were hungry.

Long story short: Y/n was really good at being bait, and he didn't mind it either.

Alec minded it a lot.

The two boys had gotten close pretty quickly. Alec refused to admit it, but Y/n was pretty charming. He had a nice smile and a contagious laugh, and a sort of lightness about him that was incredibly refreshing. It wasn't that he was untouched by darkness, or that he was fresh and innocent and waiting to be destroyed, like they all were before their line of living had ruined them. Y/n had been aware of monsters all his life, and being surrounded by people who could not see what he could see had landed him in either very near death situations, or mental hospitals a few times before he'd learned how to lie. He'd even been medicated really heavily a few times, but when that had done nothing, Y/n had come to terms that there was something going on that other people couldn't see. He had been in this business for a very long. No, Y/n was just the kind of person that refused to lose that inner child. He was soft and strong, and could make anyone smile and any situation bearable.

The way he made life so much more beautiful drew Alec in so aggressively, the Lightwood boy lost his breath every time.

Y/n was good at getting along with everyone else too. He wasn't good at much other than writing, leaving him to connect with Clary because of the similar vibes of their childhood, as well as their mutual passion for art. He and Simon bonded over poetry as well. Izzy enjoyed having someone who could keep up with her flirting, without it meaning anything or leading to something neither of them wanted. Even Jace was enjoying Y/n's presence when he proved that despite his lack of an ability to fight monsters and the such, Y/n WAS well trained in self defense. The two sparred while Y/n cracked jokes and made Jace laugh. Yeah, the blonde and brooding Jace was actually LAUGHING.

Having Y/n around was very refreshing.

So they all missed him a lot when he wasn't around.

Y/n attended college to chase am Arts History degree, and worked two jobs to keep himself afloat. The day Alec got permission to let Y/n move into the Institute was a great day for everyone. Now he was around a lot more- especially because now that he didn't have to pay rent, he could quit one of his jobs. In his free time, Y/n spent cleaning gear and learning how to hone his lame cooking skills. He wasn't great, but he was better than Izzy and was usually the only one with the energy to try it at the end of the day. When Hodge... went rogue, Y/n took charge of keeping up the Garden and learning all he could about how this world worked so he could take care of things and keep everything running smoothly. This left him spending most of his time in the library, reading up on history books.

One day though, Y/n needed Alec's help. Tensions between the two boys had risen almost to over spilling, but every time Y/n thought they were going somewhere, Alec stepped back. Y/n respected the boy's hesitance and never pushed, but the dragging was getting to everyone else. Izzy especially, who wanted the coolest mundane ever to get with her brother.

That wasn't why Y/n was bothering Alec now though. "Hey can I clean the glowing weapons things, or like... will those kill me?"

Alec couldn't help slip a small smile when he heard Y/n's voice. He turned around to see the boy coming in, a huge book in his hand but a confused look on his face. "Please tell me you're not talking about Seraph Blades."

"Those are the ones," Y/n confirmed without hesitation.

Alec shifted, raising an eyebrow. "They're just... fire."

"Well yes," Y/n drawled, rolling his eyes. "But the tubes. I mean, when they deactivate there's still something there, right? Doesn't that get covered in blood and stuff? Won't it getting all icky mess with the magic? And I've never seen any of them dirty. So do you guys have to clean them, or can I?"

That was very confusing to Alec. "Okay hold on. Have you never seen us kill a demon before?"

Y/n got rather sheepish then. "In my defense, I usually get in the way if I help, so I run unless there's someone in immediate danger. The last time, when I tried to help that girl, I almost got her, myself, AND Jace killed.

Alec flinched at the memory. "Jace is an idiot. Him jumping in when he did was his own fault."

"Wouldn't have been necessary if I wasn't provoking a damn vampire," Y/n mumbled.

"That girl probably would have died if you hadn't. We couldn't have attacked him with her there without chancing hurting her, or exposing ourselves. You saved her." Alec was ready to argue this, far too used to Jace's tendency to see the worst in himself despite the fact that he was actively a hero.

Y/n had to relent. "Fine, whatever. So, the blade?"

"Demons don't bleed," Alec explained. "They... well, it depends on the demons actually. Some turn to dust, or explode into fire. Some just kind of fade away. No need to clean blood off our weapons."

Y/n nodded, but obviously had a follow up question, so Alec waited for him to ask it. "Doesn't the dust get on your clothes? Does the fire ever burn you? Perhaps I should pick up some medical skills as well in case you guys come home hurt. Might make me more useful."

Alec rolled his eyes this time. "If you're seriously stuck on the idea of running this place instead of going out there and working in an art museum like you told Clary is your dream job, I won't stop you. That's not my decision to make." Y/n blushed, but Alec pretended not to see it. "However, if you're going to be one of us there are things you have to understand." He hesitated. "I want you to follow us around me around sometime. I can show you what it's like to be a Shadowhunter. You can even come on a mission if you want, but I want you to stay FAR out of danger, do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Y/n was grinning, and between that and what he had said, Alec felt his chest heat up with a weird emotion he refused to address. "When do we start?"

A soft chuckle came from Alec then. "How about tomorrow? I'll wake you up bright and early, so be prepared."

Y/n nodded eagerly, already walking backward - presumably to return the book so he could head to bed. "Great! See you tomorrow, Alec!" He turned around and jogged away then.

Alec couldn't help himself but appreciate the view as Y/n retreated down the hall. He heard someone clear their throat and looked over to see Clary, whose smirk was so wide it wiped the smile off of Alec's face. He turned away from her and moved toward his own room. What had he gotten himself into?

When Alec got to Y/n's room that morning, he was expecting to have to wake the other boy up. Unfortunately for him, when he opened the door, Y/n was already awake. And getting dressed. He wore the long, dark pants a lot of the guys around here wore when they weren't in Mundane clothes. He did not, however, have a shirt on. "Oh, good morning Alec," Y/n greeted brightly.

Alec almost exploded right there. Y/n wasn’t especially muscly, but he was rather lean. Y/n did a lot of walking, running, and casual work outs every once in a while before meeting the Shadowhunters. He knew self defense after all, and liked that the occasional work out filled him with energy after a while, even if it tired him out at first. Since joining the Institute though, Jace had enforced a daily workout. Some days Y/n got even more done when the two boys sparred, or when he had to move things around for research (those books were a lot heavier than they looked) or rearranged his room again because he liked to have a new layout every once in a while. Y/n had become the extra pair of hands everyone was excited to have. He was strong enough to spot for a lot of the other Shadowhunters even, leaving him in that comfortable middle between ripped and soft. He had angles and lines, but plenty of soft edges too. He looked like he could pick Alec up and then cuddle him just as easily. It was a body type that looked very good on the boy, and seeing him shirtless did things to Alec that should not have been being done.

It was then that Alec realized Y/n was talking to him. "I'm sorry, what?"

Y/n laughed, shaking his head in amusement. He put a shirt on, leaving Alec wondering if the boy knew what had left Alec so distracted. "I asked you what was first on the agenda today."

"Have you done your morning workout today yet?" Y/n shook his head. "Then that's where we'll start." And they did. Alec pushed himself further usual, and he knew he was doing it to show off to Y/n, but he also knew a little part of him wanted to outshine Y/n too. The boy kept up pretty well, and Alec didn't want to have a Mundane do better than him. After, they got breakfast, parted to shower, and then rejoined again to head to the sparring ring.

"You guys do a lot of training here," Y/n realized aloud.

Thankfully Alec had caught it, because he was super distracted by the way Y/n's wet hair shone under the lighting of the Institute, and the way it made his eyes look brighter. He didn't need to get caught for staring again. "Yeah. It takes up time, but it also keeps us ready for any surprise attacks, and prepared for nighttime hunts." Y/n nodded but didn't say anything else as they reached the rings. Alec grabbed two long staffs, passing one to Y/n as they stepped up to spar. Y/n knew what to do - he did it often with Jace. Alec was sure he'd claim victory over the Mundane.

Which left him rather speechless when Y/n pinned him. They were both out of breath and Y/n loomed over Alec, his feet planted and knees trapping Alec as the end of Y/n's staff rested threateningly against Alec's throat. "You're dead," Y/n joked.

Alec looked at Y/n with new eyes. What was with this guy? Why did Alec have to try so much harder to end up on top? Mundanes were like Clary and Simon, before they'd been trained. Alec could still remember how long both of them had lost time and time again to even the newest and youngest Shadowhunters. How could Y/n win against Alec? "How are you so good at fighting? I thought your thing was writing stories."

Y/n moved back, letting Alec go. He offered a hand and Alec took it. He was once again knocked breathless when Y/n hauled Alec to his feet without seeming to even struggle. "I'm stronger than I look. And... when I was younger, I didn't have shadowhunters and parabatai to have my back. I had to learn how to defend myself. Whether it was running from monsters, or making sure I didn't get pummeled by bigger kids who called me crazy and laughed at me because of the stories I supposedly made up..." He shrugged.

That didn't settle well in Alec's stomach. "I don't think any of us know what it's like to live like that. Clary doesn't remember, and the rest of us grew up with each other. I... I'm sorry, that's terrible."

There was a second when Alec saw the heaviness that Y/n hid so well in the boy's shoulders. Suddenly Alec was stunned by how someone so burdened by pain and sorrow could still radiate so much light and joy and comfort. How did Alec only now know that Y/n was capable of winning against even a well trained Shadowhunter, if he was really trying? Why was it such a shock that someone who grew up with deformed nightmares roaming around, would be able to kick some ass and defend himself? Alec realized then that Y/n made everyone feel safe. Y/n didn't seem able to hurt anyone, even if he wanted to. It made Y/n even more amazing that he was capable of defending someone if he had to, but chose not to in favor of making people feel safe around him. I dare say it made Alec feel even more safe.

Y/n sighed, and the moment passed. He was smiling again and Alec felt his heart swell with a feeling that terrified the dark haired boy. A feeling that also made him feel... really great too. "So what's next on the agenda, Lightwood?" "Jace will have our goal for tonight. Come on." Alec lead the way as they both headed to where Jace was. Alec explained the situation, and with Y/n's assurance he'd be plenty safe, Jace agreed. Y/n had been around a lot, and Alec was right - if he was up keeping the place, he had to know what being a Shadowhunter was actually like. After that had been settled, the trio headed to track down Izzy and Clary for the mission tonight.

"First thing first, Y/n's joining us tonight. He won't be getting involved, and will only be tagging along for educational purposes so he can know what he's dealing with as he gets more involved with how this place work, as well as the people in it," Jace began. Izzy and Clary both nodded, no arguments to be heard. "Okay, now down to business." Long story short, there were two demons who had teamed up and they had to kill it. Usual stuff.

Since when had demons and murder become Y/n's normal? Yikes.

The kill went rather smoothly, just like it was supposed to. It was a nice change from all the odd things that had been rocking everyone's world since Clary, Simon, and Y/n had joined the team. Very good for teaching as well. Y/n stayed back as promised, taking notes mentally and internalizing it. He thought about his thought earlier on how murder and demonic beings had at some point gone from nightmare to reality. Normal, even. For Shadowhunters, there was no shift. They grew up and lived a life where monsters were more than nightmare and you learned to kill from a young age. Perhaps it was fair, since they were bad guys surviving off of killing humans, but still. Alec knew how to kill Y/n. He probably could, if it was required or just if he wanted to. He could do it and he would get away with it too. Shadowhunters leave no trace and no Nephalim was going to care about Y/n being dead.

As the dark thought started to rise, Y/n pushed it down. As much as he seemed a bundle of effortless happiness and light, even he had his moments. He was just better at keeping them in check.

Everyone came home and got ready for bed as Y/n made food. He finished up before anyone came to eat so he killed time by making everyone's plate and putting them on the counter. When he was still alone, he sat on the counter and let himself get lost in thought. Just as he was, Clary popped into the room. "That smells amazing."

Y/n smiled. "I hope it tastes as good as it smells then." They both chuckled as Clary grabbed her plate and began to leave. "Going so soon?"

She nodded. "I have this... it's sort of um..." she seemed to be struggling. "Drawing. Can I show you later?" It was a habit she'd gotten from Y/n, losing her words when she was excited. She had been a little like that before being a Shadowhunter, when it came to art. Y/n fueled it again and set off her fire. She was more into art than ever and Y/n loved to see it, even if it meant one less person at the dinner table.

Y/n had been trying to have family dinners, but most of the time his efforts dissolved. Rarely did he get everyone. Usually he only managed to wrangle a few, and sometimes he ate alone. When a Clary left, it wasn't long before Simon and Izzy meandered in, lost in conversation about something. Y/n wasn't totally listening, as they were obviously midconversation and Y/n was lost as to what they‘d said up until now. They each grabbed a plate and headed out. Y/n sighed and watched them, but still said nothing.

Jace came next. "What did you think about the fight tonight?"

Y/n jumped and then chuckled. Jace gave a sort of guilty look. The blonde tended to hide his emotions, but when it came to Y/n he was always sorry to disturb the boy. Y/n had just seemed very pensive - nearly sad - and Jace hated the expression on Y/n's face. He was too used to the others who were trained to notice other people in the room even if they were quiet.

Quickly composing himself again, Y/n responded. "It was... cool, I guess. You guys are incredibly talented and there's something aesthetic about watching demons vaporize. It gave me a lot to think about."

"Like what?" Have asked, eyebrow cocked.

For a second Y/n hesitated but then Jace doned a prying look and Y/n was a terrible liar so he gave in. "You guys don't know what it's like to be human." Jace's expression darkened and Y/n flinched. "I mean, you have this angel blood that puts you above everyone else. You slay demons and purify the world and handle the boosting power of runes that any other creature would be destroyed by. You know what it's like to be angel. Except maybe the flying." The joke lifted Jace's mood a little. "But you don't know what it's like to... I mean, you're half human. But I can't imagine any of you getting jobs or going to high school. Being vulnerable without the protection of your runes and the insane immunity they grant you. I mean- like earlier, I realized that Alec could one hundred percent kill me if he wanted to, and he would get away with it. No human would know, and no Nephilim would care so-"

"Clary, Izzy, and I would care." Jace seemed to have not meant to say it out loud. But he had and it stopped Y/n short.

He felt cared for and it made him uncomfortable. Jace could sense that. "Well that's... not the point." He blushed. "But thank you."

Jace nodded, then moved on to spare Y/n. The other boy obviously wasn't used to having people care about him. It made Jace remember that Y/n's life had been really hard. Y/n had spent almost all his life alone. Sometimes it was easy to forget with how kind and loving Y/n was. He was used to taking care of other people but being taken care of? Yikes. "Does it bother you?"

Y/n immediately shook his head. "Not at all. I don't feel in danger, at least. I trust all of you guys and know that none of you want to kill me. It does bother me though that you don't get to experience that normalcy. I mean does anyone here bake just for fun? Or have hobbies outside killing literal demons?" Jace went to speak but Y/n cut him off. "Clary doesn't count, she wasn't raised a Shadowhunter." Jace's mouth closed and Y/n sighed. "I just wish more... safe things for you guys. More fun and laughing and loving and less sneaking around in the shadows and killing. Thinking like that all the time... living a life where you only survive and hide and kill. I can't imagine it does good things for your mental health."

"I'm in perfect health," Jace reassured Y/n.

Y/n rolled his eyes. "No you're-" He stopped, shaking his head. He hesitated, perking up when an idea occurred to him. "What if I incorporated a little humanity into how we run things here? We can have like arts and crafts rooms and encourage people to utilize the library and the garden for things other than just necessities. I can enforce family dinners and we can congregate and have awkward family dinner discussions like normal people."

Jace smiled. "That sounds really nice actually."

That encouraged Y/n a lot. "Perfect, I'll start tomorrow."

"Start what?" Two sets of eyes turned to see Alec coming in the room. His eyes lingered on Jace, who seemed to be light on fire by the eye contact, as he was instantly on his feet, grabbing his plate, and heading out.

"Y/n can explain. He has a really great idea." He paused, smiling wider. "I'll see you at dinner tomorrow." Then he headed out, leaving behind a grinning Y/n. Alec snagged the last two plates, setting one by Y/n and the other on the counter next to him. He then pulled up a chair, turning it backward so the back of the chair was against his chest as he sat down, beginning to eat on the counter rather than the table to keep Y/n company. "What was that?"

Another idea hit Y/n then. "I'm going to bring some goddamn humanity to this Institute. You're all half human and you act like that's a bad thing or something! I'll start with a crafting room, and then using the garden and library for fun stuff instead of just what we need. We'll have a calendar with birthdays and celebrate each one with a proper little get together. AND, we're having family dinners from here on. Spread the word."

The authority in Y/n's tone took Alec off guard. "Will do." He found himself smiling a little. "I show you what it's like to be a Shadowhunter and you took from it that we need to be more human?"

Y/n mulled that over for a second, rather than letting it go as the joke Alec had intended it to be. "I don't want to erase your angel half. I know what you do is important, and that you guys save people and stuff. But even though you do good things for others, none of you do anything for yourselves. Self care isn't just staying in shape and getting food and sleep and healing yourselves when you get hurt. Do you have any hobbies other than fighting, Alec?" The Lightwood boy considered before conceding that Y/n had a point. "You showed me how to be a Shadowhunter. Now let me show you what it's like to be human." Alec's smile grew. "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Y/n agreed.

The day started the same, with Y/n respecting that Alec still had a routine and also that said routine was one some people carried as well. The waking up early and doing a morning workout, more than the killing demons and keeping vampires, werewolves, and fairies in check, but still.

Next, Y/n pulled him over to his laptop where he was going to online school. As Y/n worked, he answered questions about high school and even middle school. The more he talked the more Alec's face twisted in a bitter expression, like he'd bit into a lemon. Y/n busted up laughing when he got to math and Alec moved away from the screen as if it had offended him. "Not as glamorous as kicking ass and taking names and saving lives and shit, but it's cool. I guess."

Alec shook his head. "Is this... necessary?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Y/n snorted. "Do you use math like this? Ever?" Alec shook his head no. "And you're far more productive than most people who graduate college- and debt free!"

There was a moment where Alec seemed speechless. When he spoke again, it was slow. "This is kind of nice though. Easier to.. handle." He eyed the math page again. "No, I take that back. This is much scarier."

Y/n laughed at that. "Less deadly though. I get it." Alec smiled at him. It was so small it practically wasn't there, but it was, and it was sweet.

After a while, Y/n put his homework away. "That's not due for a while. Having to balance the human world and the shadow world was difficult at first so one night I pulled an all nighter and got weeks ahead on homework. My teachers were a little miffed since thy hadn't taught me the material yet, but easy ones like English were easy to swallow. Just, read a book and write an essay. You know?" Alec did nod knowingly at that. "My point is, we've had enough of this and don't have to finish it for tonight, so now is a good time for a break." He hummed to himself, thinking. "Do you guys have a TV here?" Alec rose his eyebrows. "That's what I thought. Come on we're going to go to my place."

So they did.

Alec had never been to Y/n's apartment before. Y/n had been clearing it out slowly, but there were still some thing here. Things that he couldn't take with him to the institute. Things like the fridge and the big furniture and, yes, the TV. It wasn't that he couldn't fit his bed and couches in the Institute, it was just that it would make it official if he did, and things still seemed to be up in the air for him.

"It's nice." It was perfectly clean and bright. The curtains were drawn to let the sun in and the walls were painted a light baby blue. The whole place made Alec relax his body. He sat on the very comfy couch and practically melted. There was just a sort of ambiance here that gave Alec the impression nothing bad could ever happen here. Which went against logic and reason and experience and training... but I guess that programming wasn't enough to fight the way the couch dipping with Y/n's weight, next to Alec, felt like... safety personified.

The two watched a few movies Alec had never seen or even heard of. Halfway through the Lion King, Alec felt his body lean into Y/n's. Without missing a beat Y/n shifted his arm so Alec could lean into in more, even rest his head on the other man's chest. Every time Y/n moved or laughed or spoke Alec didn't just hear it. He felt it. It was amazing.

All too soon, the sun was down and it was nighttime. "Do you want to watch another one, or should you be heading to bed soon?"

Surprise overtook Alec when he realized what time it was. His body was completely undone and his heart rate had evened out. He'd never been this calm in his life. "I'm surprised Jace hasn't come hunting me down."

That made Y/n smile. "I told him the plan for today. Told him that I was commandeering you and if he showed up to steal you tonight I'd kick his ass personally. I may be a Mundane but that won't stop me from finding a way to knock the blonde out of his hair." A jerking laugh bubbled from Alec then at the mental image of Y/n doing such a thing. "Yeah," Y/n agreed, chuckling along. "Took some convincing to get them to all take the night off. Jace argued, but as much as saving people is important, taking care of yourselves is just as important. And after you showed me what you guys do every single day... Holy shit."

Weird feelings began to twist in Alec's stomach. He could lie very well, about a lot of things. He could lie so convincingly that Jace would back off, and Izzy would let it go. He could lie to his mother to meet her ever demanding expectations. Unfortunately, he could only lie to himself for so long until his realist side kicked in and demanded him to accept what was.

He was in love with Y/n.

Well, shit.

"What are you thinking about over there?"

Alec felt his stomach flip. Double shit.

"Just... uh." He flinched at his sudden awkwardness. Y/n frowned, noticing it since they were so close. "I just want to thank you. The way you've thrown yourself into our lives and way of living and have done your best to keep everything going and then improve upon it? It's amazing. You work really hard to make life better for us."

Y/n swallowed, his face relaxed but his eyes intense. There was something in those eyes that was begging to be seen and known, but Alec was too scared to acknowledge it. What if Y/n could see through him and wanted to just be friends? What if Y/n was trying to be polite? But if that was the case, wouldn't he have pushed Alec away? Why was he pulling him closer?

Then they were kissing and it was all because of Y/n and Alec didn't have any doubts anymore.

When they parted again, Alec's mind was racing and Y/n's voice was soft. "I'll always be here Alec. All I want to do is make your life better and easier and more pleasant. You deserve it."

This time Alec kissed Y/n, and it lasted much longer and was much more intense. When they parted for the second time, Alec whispered, "Will you move in for real? I want you around all the time. I want you close and safe and I don't want you to go anywhere else. I don't want you to have to."

Y/n smiled. "Anything for you."

Male reader tags: @sheepfather

#alec lightwood #male reader #shadown hunters #x reader #imagine #alec lightwood x reader #alec lightwood imagine #shadow hunters x reader #shadow hunters imagine

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hellerism · 4 years ago

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I want an essay on #12)

12. symbolism: tell me about some cool symbolism in spn! your pick

*puts on my english major hat* im about to put more effort into this than anything ive ever written for college. ok top 10 supernatural symbolism...this isnt in any particular order its just whatever i think of first. also it might not be actual top 10 im just remembering random shit. this has gotten out of hand so im putting it under a read more

1. the most obvious one, the impala. many have discussed this before me and im probably just repeating what others have said, but the impala is an extension of deans body/a representation and mirror of both his physical and mental state. obviously the impala gets destroyed in the season 1 finale when dean is dying. and he rebuilds it in season 2, while he is trying to regroup and rebuild from the death of his father. ive seen a post about how dean losing it and smashing the impala is a metaphorical form of self-harm which is :(( also, the impala staying covered and hidden away while dean is living with lisa and ben with this reading is so interesting. i do think dean loved the idea of a normal life with lisa and ben more than the reality (not that i dont think he loved them! any scene with dean and ben makes me soft). but this also makes it that much sadder because supernatural considers dean unable to live a life that doesnt involve hunting; the impala is hidden and dean is a shell of his real self. in season 7, they once again have to hide the impala away and use other cars. the impala is gone and hidden away; something is wrong. dean is hurting. he isnt his full self. why? whats missing during that time? cas. and in season 10, when dean is a demon, he stops caring for the impala. you know, because something is wrong with him. because hes a demon.

2. dean knocking over and breaking the angel statue in the beautiful room. he makes it fall with a single touch, hardly a push. and all it took cas was a single touch for him to fall and break. dean, of course, doesnt mean to shatter cas, though he does mean to make him fall. dean repeatedly argues with cas, acting as the human opposite to cas’ emotionless faith in heaven, pushing him toward the edge, pushing him to rebel, pushing him to choose humanity. and it works; cas learns to love through dean, and through that he rebels against heaven and falls in “every way imaginable.” and when he hits the ground, he breaks, shattering all his faith in god and everything, leading into the godstiel arc as he tries to put his pieces back together.

3. the streetlight as a halo over cas’ head in on the head of a pin. it flickers when anna appears, which is physically meant to show her power. however, it also shows cas’ wavering faith in heaven. interesting how anna, the angel who chose humanity over heaven and decided to fall, is the one making cas’ halo flicker. he is beginning to question things. he is beginning to feel. he is beginning to fall.

4. deans leather jacket in the first few seasons. its not actually dean’s, of course. it belonged to john. dean picks it up and puts it on while he and sam are searching for him, physically shouldering the weight of johns expectations of him. its too big on him. and dean is 26 at that point. hes well past done growing; he’ll never fit perfectly into that jacket. no matter what he does, he’ll never fit perfectly into johns expectations: the perfect son, the perfect soldier. and leather jackets are heavy even if they fit well. there is a physical weight on his shoulders now, a manifestation of the weight of the world and the weight of being a parent for his younger brother and everything john has piled onto dean since he was a child. he eventually stops wearing it (bc some absolute legend stole it irl), and i wish they’d taken that as an opportunity to have dean grow out of the shadow of his father, but supernatural is a bad show so they didnt.

5. mary, who just happens to be named after the mother of jesus. the perfect wife, the loving mother, the tragic figure, the victim, clad in white, the color of innocence. except shes not. she was raised a hunter. shes lived the bloody dark side of the world hidden from most. she loved her children, but she wasnt a perfect wife and mother. she didnt know how to cook. she and john fought, and he even moved out for a few days, and she needed her four-year-old son to comfort her. she is not the virginal mother; shes an imperfect person just trying to do her best. the dabb-era deconstruction of the very concept of mary makes me crazyyyyyyy if you couldnt tell.

6. these shots from 9.14 captives

in the first shot, we have a statue of cupid over cas’ left shoulder and a cross over his right. and in the second shot, there is a bible on the right side of the table, and nothing on the left. and cas turns to the left. he turns away from god, continuously choosing to turn away from stability and what he always knew in favor of love and humanity. there is nothing on the left side of the table precisely because there is nothing certain in cas’ future with humanity, but he chooses them anyway. plus, cas inventing free will by falling in love with dean retroactively makes this shot that much better; there is nothing on the left side of the table precisely because there is nothing written for him. cas falling in love with dean created an empty space in gods story. this show is pure fucking insanity oh my god.

7. serafina the angel (the pantheistic view in that episode makes me crazy but we wont get into that). serafina, whose name is audibly similar to seraph, the class of angel that cas is. coincidentally, the only seraphim we see in the show are cas, who falls in love with dean, and akobel, who married lily sunder. serafina, who fell in love with adam, the literal progenitor of humanity. and who is the character in supernatural that has always stood for humanity as a whole? dean. serafina literally had me convinced that deancas would happen in the finale.

8. the removal of -iel from cas’ name. dear god this one drives me crazy and i doubt it was on purpose. castiel, the shield of god. for eons he existed as a warrior and tool of god. and then along comes dean winchester, who does a very human thing. he gives him a nickname. cas. he removes the “of god” part. he removes god from cas, because dean doesnt value him for being a good soldier or a good son. he values him simply because hes cas. and cas questions everything, his loyalty to heaven, his blind faith that god would one day return. he is no longer a warrior of god. he is simply cas, the shield, and this time he chooses to be a shield for humanity, for the winchesters, for dean. for the michael sword. the shield protects the sword. cas dies shielding dean. this got off topic but its just sooo insane.

9. this shit from 2.13 houses of the holy. i know it was an unplanned coincidence but jesus christ.

10. ...lamp. i know i know but it still boggles my mind. the completely out of place tap dance that they had to spend time and money on to train two actors who had never tap danced before. the lamp being a source of light. divine light. cas. the whole thing being set to the song lets misbehave. WHY LAMP.

#this took me over an hour #are some of these a stretch? maybe. but what is literary analysis other than stretching media way past what the author intended?#ask

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freakie-deakie · 4 years ago

Text

Lucas // How To: Hurt My Feelings

tumblr only allows 10 images per post so i had to use my transition images sparingly, i hope it doesn’t make the scene changes too awkward. hope you’re all doing well, sending lots of love!

Warnings: there’s nothing too serious, but there’s a mention of toxic family relations and insecurities about friendships

Masterlist

Read Part 2 Here: How To: Kill an Idea

Lucas x Reader (angst // 9.6k words); ft. stepbrother!Johnny

You were a being made up of words. You lived to think words, to write words, to read words, and to speak words. You were jack of all things debate and a master of sounding like a charming smartass. Your words were always chosen carefully, and because of this, your persuasive skills were deadly.

Lucas was a being of action. He moved as his spirit listed, and was often caught indulging in whatever sins his internal chaos prompted him that day. He built the world around him with his own two hands and lived for the sake of creating his own experiences within his own days. He hadn't an interest in the events of the world, nor the stories in it. You don't think he'd ever read a story in his life. Actually, you don't think he'd ever read.

Perhaps that was why the two of you fit together oh-so-well. He was the Yang to your Yin, the left to your right. Your relationship was a perfectly balanced chemical equation. He made a mess, and you cleaned up after him. You were a mess, and he cleaned you up.

Oh, but you can always get messier, can't you?

"Seriously, Y/N? When was the last time you ate?" Lucas folded his arms over his chest and leaned against your doorframe.

"I ate breakfast," you quipped softly, folding your legs up into your rolly chair. You'd been there for almost two days straight, but your project was finally starting to take shape.

"Oh yeah? And what did you eat?" You bit the inside of your cheek, giving him a guilty smile as you twidled your thumbs. "You can't live off of those damn health bars. Christ- Put your shoes on, we're going out."

"Wait, Yukhei, it's okay, I can just-"

"You have ten minutes to get ready before I carry you out of here on my shoulder," he warned before excusing himself to sit in your living room and wait for you.

Groaning, you moved the blanket from your lap and threw on a pair of sweats. You washed your face and brushed out your hair, and with two minutes to spare, you were slipping into your jogging shoes. "Lucas, are you ready?" you asked, stepping out of your bedroom. Oddly enough, he wasn't on that ugly black couch that he loved so much, nor was he in the kitchenette that fit so snuggly in the corner of the room. He wasn't by the window, nor with the plants on your fire escape. You stepped back to check the bathroom. Empty. "Yukhei?" you called out for him again.

Your heart jumped out of your chest at the sudden jolt of your door, followed by three sharp knocks.

"Y/N? I locked myself out..." Breathing out a steadying breath, you placed a hand over your heart. "Y/N?"

"Hang on a second, you big baby." You rolled your eyes and opened the door for him. "I thought you'd been abducted."

"Sorry babe, I had a call. But don't worry, nobody can abduct me when I carry around guns like these," he grinned, flexing his arms.

"I think I liked you better when you were missing." He scoffed. "But you have to promise me to never leave me without any answers. I'd have to hunt you down if you did."

"I'll never leave you, ever," he gleams, throwing an arm over your shoulder and guiding you out the door. You hummed, wrapping an arm around his waist and syncing your steps with his. "Besides, if I ever tried, you'd lock me in your apartment building's basement and I don't really wanna know what else is down there."

"You'd better not try to escape then," you snorted.

You weren't quite sure how you always managed to end up in such ungodly positions, but as long as you were both comfortable, you couldn't complain. However, at the moment, you were very uncomfortable, and the boy laying on top of you was getting an ear-full.

He'd simply barged into your bedroom, saw you laying on your stomach, and decided that you were the most comfortable matress around.

"Lucas, I have to pee."

"Do it, I dare you."

"Lucas, I can't breathe!"

"Then die."

"You are the-"

"Most wonderful person you ever could have hoped to even end up dating? I know. What do you want for dinner tonight? I'm thinking chicken. Thoughts?"

"I'll buy if you get off me," you groaned.

He perked up at that, finally rolling off of you and bouncing over to your closet. "We're gonna match," he said certainly, plucking a black T-shirt and skinny jeans off of their respective hangers and throwing them at you before going back to fish out the jean jacket and belt he'd bought you specifically for occasions such as these.

He rushed you along, ushering you out of your building quickly, excited to go to his favorite marketplace restaurant. Boarding the transit, he took your hand in his much larger one and turned to you to quietly ask if he could spend the night at your place to watch movies and "get frisky," earning a light slap on the wrist which only made him laugh.

You and Lucas were puzzle pieces that fit together. So for the life of you, you couldn't begin to understand why everything seemed to be falling apart.

"I just can't win against you, can I? You have too many debate trophies shoved up your ass!"

"I just-"

"Stop, Y/N. If you won't try to understand my side, we're done here."

"Lucas, I do understand, I just don't agree. And that's okay because we don't have to agree on everything."

"Yeah?" he huffed. "Well on this, we do."

"What do you want me to do? Fly home to (country) and tell my family that their daughter who managed to escape their victimized mindsets and emotional neglect and finally cut ties with them has a boyfriend who wants to meet them? I don't want you to meet them! I don't want you anywhere around them," your composure finally snapped, letting a tear roll down your cheek. You roughly wiped it away with the back of your sleeve.

"Oh, cut the shit, Y/N. You didn't want to introduce me to your 'toxic' best friend either, or your 'overly protective' brother; they turned out to be completely fucking normal. Maybe it's you that's the problem."

"You mean the beautiful best friend, Soomin, that cut me off after I wouldn't give you her number? Oh, and my brother, Johnny, who slept on my couch for a week after meeting you to make sure you weren't staying the night?"

"So I'm the one causing problems? Maybe if you were less insecure-"

"Insecure? Fine, I'll call Soomin and give her your number. And while I'm at it, I'll just ask Johnny to give my number out to all your frat brothers, since that's no big deal."

Lucas slammed his hand down on your island countertop. "Like hell you will. Look, I just want to meet your family. I'm not gonna ask them to move to Korea."

"Lucas, I'm thrilled that your family likes me so much because you're very close with them and that's important to you, but please don't make me contact my family. I don't want them in my life."

He stepped out that night without another word and remained silent for the rest of the week.

You felt like a vase that held flowers but had no water to give them; you were, on your own, too much of some things and not enough of others. Lucas's silent treatment felt like he tipped the scale by hopping off of his side and leaving you to fall.

"Y/N, listen to me," you whispered to yourself as you opened the refrigerator door. "You are a strong, independent woman and your life does not revolve around a boy." You reached for the fruit drawer and pulled out a peach. Fruit was a large part of your diet when you were sad; it was convenient because there was no meal prep. Uni-students like you didn't have time to cook anyways.

A buzzing sound from your counter pulled you from your thoughts. You wiped the peach juice off your chin with your sleeve and put the phone to your ear.

"Y/N? Do you have a minute?"

"Johnny? What's up tree-child?" You hear a soft chuckle over the line.

"Your overgrown boyfriend hasn't left his room since your little fight-"

"Johnny, you know what it was like for me back home. Your mom and my dad- you don't want to go back either, right? You know how bad it was. I shouldn't have to apologise for not wanting to go back."

Johnny sighed loudly over the line. "I'm not saying you have to apologise to him. I'm on your side, but neither of you are trying to fix the situation. So come to our frat, talk, make out, have angry make-up sex; I don't care what floats your boat, just come see him. You're the only person who I know has the ability to convince him to shower."

"See, dearest Johnny, that would mean I would have to shower. And right now, I'm not really feeling up to the task. So if that's all, then I'll be going-"

"Y/N, please? I'll make you dinner, and I'll pay for two- no, three of your textbooks next semester!"

"What do you get out of this, Seo? What bidding of yours will I be doing if I agree?"

"Can't I just reunite one of my best friends with my sister for the- yeah okay, I can't do this. There's a party next week and he's my wingman."

"Goodbye, Johnny."

You didn't know what to expect if you were to text Lucas first. Perhaps he was waiting on you to, or perhaps not, instead opting not to talk to you. However, you were a being of words, and you were desperately trying to sort through all of the Korean vocabulary that you knew in order to find the best words to give to him. You knew he deserved that, the best of you.

Y/N: Hey, can we talk?

You waited and waited, and thought yourself into hours of self torment. Was that text a mistake? Should you not have sent it? Could you have said something better?

After about an hour of stressing over the message and his lack of reply, you manage to pull yourself off of your couch, take yourself into the shower and sulk in its hot, suffocating water and steam.

And then you, naturally, went crawling back to your phone.

"Johnny, is your offer still up? Dinner and textbooks and shit?" Damn your unusually shaky voice, underused in the time you'd spent away from your significant other.

"Y/N? You sound distressed, is everything okay?"

"I don't know how to take care of myself," you admitted without an ounce of emotion in your tone, only growing your stepbrother's concerns. "You know, you're the only person that has checked in on me since our fight? I'm the one in the wrong, and everyone knows it... I need him, I need to apologise."

You hear something clatter over the line. "Now, hold on Y/N. You don't sound like you're thinking straight. I'm all for you guys patching things up, but not to get back into our good graces."

"Johnny, I'm alone. He's the only person that's ever made an effort to distract me from that."

"Hey, wait, you aren't alone. You have all of us. We're all here whenever you need us, not just him."

"John, I'm either your sister or his girlfriend. The guys in your frat don't want to be friends with me, and that's okay. But I want to hang on to what I've got so I'm coming over to fix-"

Your brother cuts you off with a groan. You don't see it, but he sets his afternoon bowl of cereal to the side and runs his hand through his hair. "Hang on a damn minute. I'll be to your apartment in ten minutes. Please, stay there."

"But John-"

"Stay there."

He cursed as soon as he hung up the call, finally noticing the stares he'd been receiving from the others in the kitchen. They'd watched you slowly unravel his composure until he was rushing to pour the rest of his precious Captain Crunch down the garbage disposal. All for his endearing concern for his stepsister.

"Who was that?" his closest friend, a broad shouldered boy by the name of Jaehyun asked.

Johnny paused, looking back at his friends. "My sister doesn't sound like she's feeling very well. She's pretty torn up about- well, you know."

"Can we help? I haven't seen Y/N in ages," Haechan commented, thinking back to the last time he'd had a chance to hang out with you. It must've been the night you joined them for a Smash competition. He remembered that you were really bad at it- or rather, not as experienced as his fraternity brothers who maybe spent a little too much time practicing.

"I honestly don't really know what's going on, so maybe it's best if I go alone."

Haechan and Jaehyun share a look. "Can you tell her to drop by to see us sometime?"

"Sure will," he agrees before slipping into his shoes and heading out the door. He was quick to get to the bus stop, knowing it'd be leaving within minutes.

When the doors to the bus opened, he took note of only one person stepping off. A pretty little girl with features that told any onlooker that she was Japanese. Her hair was lighter than his by a few shades, locks of caramel resting gently on her shoulders, the top layers collected in a little white bow and the back of her head which matched the flowy white v-neck she was dressed in; jeans and white tennis shoes paired to match.

She was a figure of beauty and grace. She offered him a small smile which would haunt him in his dreams that night. Had he not had prior engagements, he would have spent more time drinking her in as she walked down the sidewalk in the direction from which he had come. The gleam off of her pearl earrings blinded him momentarily, and suddenly he remembered that he was on a mission: a mission to get to you and remind you of your self worth.

When you cracked your door, an arm poked through, attached to a bag of goodies.

"When's the last time you ate?" Johnny asked, still not pushing his way into your space. "I brought ramen and cookie dough. I figured we could do with a night in."

You opened the door wider and lead him into the living room. It was a mess, to say the least. A nice collage of wrappers and tissues lay across the floor, the occasional soda can making things interesting. The dishes in your sink were stacked as high as they could go, and unopened letters lay strewn across your coffee table. Your home had become a perfect embodiment of how you felt.

"Y/N..." he said, looking around at the state of things.

"I know, I'll clean up later," you answered, tucking yourself back in to your spot on the couch.

"I'll help you tonight," he reassures you, setting the plastic bag on your counter and taking out two styrofoam cups filled with dry noodles.

"You didn't need to come, Johnny." The look in your eyes told him otherwise. Maybe he wasn't the best older brother in the world, but he could tell that you needed someone right now and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to do his best to help you.

"I know," he soothes. "I came for me. You were scaring me with some of the things you said and I needed to make sure that you were okay for my own sanity. Do you want beef or chicken?"

Episodes of Sword Gai play lowly in the background, a low hum of a language that neither of you understood. He helped you pick up around your house and clean up your living space. He helped you make cookies, and he ate his fair share of them. Your brother, your closest companion since you were young, sat with you all night and talked. The weight of your words though, it was heavy on his chest.

"Y/N, we've always only had each other. We practically fled a country together. You know that you and I are the first and last people on this planet, right? I took care of you back in (country) and I'll take care of you here."

You sighed, rubbing your temples. "I was your scared little sister who came chasing after you. You deserved to have your own life and live it the way that you wanted. I followed you to Korea, and once again I'm your burden."

"Y/N, you're not a burden. I'm glad you came to my University. The closer you are, the easier I can protect you."

"You shouldn't have to protect me though. You introduced me to your friends because I couldn't make any on my own. Then I met Lucas, and you helped him get into NCT and now everyone there has to deal with me-"

"Y/N, they aren't 'dealing' with you. They actually like you. Not because they have to, but because you're fun to be around."

"I don't know..." You didn't want to outright complain that you hadn't even received a text from any of the members of NCT since your fight with the Chinese boy. You didn't want to admit how badly if hurt to realize that they were his friends before they were yours. Now, not only was there a hole in your heart from your boyfriend ripping himself away, but also the growing cavity from the quiet abandonment of your friends. And now, your brother who'd done so much for you your whole life had to take care of you once again.

"What're you thinking about?" He watches your gaze flicker from the TV to his eyes and back.

"I'm willing to admit that Lucas was right-"

"I don't think he was. And neither do you. He has to respect that family is a taboo subject for some of us. Hell, he knows that I don't like it whenever he brings it up. You can work things out without taking all the blame for this, which would be outright unjust."

"I shouldn't have been so sensitive though," you respond honestly.

"You know I hate taking sides-"

"You do not, Seo," you giggle. His face visibly brightens at the sound.

"Yeah, your right, I love taking sides. I'm definitely on your side about the argument. But maybe he's thought about it too. Maybe you should let him explain how he feels about it now. And of course, I'll be sure to give you my opinions afterwards."

"I guess," you offer him an unsure smile. "I want him back in my life. I want everyone else back in my life too. I guess losing him and then losing touch with my- your friends made me realize that maybe I'm rather expendable." Your chuckle was dry, barely making it out of your throat.

In Johnny's eyes, not only Lucas, but his friends as well had been the ones lacking; yet somehow, you thought it was your own lacking that had let them slip away. How dare they hurt you like this? How dare they make you feel unworthy of them?

"I've always known," you continued, "that they were his friends- and yours. I guess I should start trying to make friends in class if we don't get this worked out, huh?"

"Maybe you should talk to them about that before you go trying to replace your friend group. But you're gonna work it out. No one's leaving you. You should see how desperate he looks right now, waiting for you to come marching into our house and demand to see him. He's got too much love in that big heart of his and now that he can't shower you in it, he looks like his purpose in life has been taken away."

Johnny was always there to take care of you, and you felt you could never repay him for that. His advice and soothing words were invaluable to you. Your brother's compassion was the most precious thing in the world to you, especially in your moments of need.

Of course you made an attempt to call Lucas before you showed up on the fraternity doorstep, but if you wanted something to change, for once you were going to have to do something yourself. You had to be able to move your own two feet without him.

Your three sharp knocks were answered by the only Thai resident in the household, a slender boy with cropped bangs and sharp features. Ten was quick to pull you inside, wrapping his arms around your torso and resting his head on your shoulder.

"Buddha has sent us an Angel; we're saved!"

"That bad, huh?"

Ten let you out of his bear hug and looked you in the eye with a look of (semi-) mock disgust. "Y/N, it's been fourteen days since he came home crying and he's showered like twice since then. Mark and I have been trying to coax him out of his room for days. Please, you've got to do something!"

"Challenge accepted," you said, smiling at the boy in front of you. He always knew how to make your day a little bit brighter.

Your heart grew heavy when you remembered that his concerns weren't for you. They were for his real friend, and you could appreciate that.

You tried to shove those thoughts down in your chest as you stepped around him and started on the long trek to your boyfriend's room.

The couch at the end of his bed was a sacred place for videogames and movie nights, a large flat screen just in front of it. His desk was often messy and usually your problem to clean. His chair was a space for studying and the occasional newcomer into his room, a comfortable space to be welcomed. The carpet was a place you liked to lay when you began to think that mattresses were just a little bit too mundane; then suddenly, you'd think the most interesting thing in the world was the orange peel texture on the white ceiling. On the nightstand was an alarm clock, a charger, and a picture of you - and in it was a bottle of lotion and a stash of jewelry you'd given him over time. Even his dresser meant something to you. You'd picked it out with him at a flea market and agreed to split the cost because it was just too beautiful to pass up. The bottom drawer was full of your clothes and he always reminded you that the dresser would one day live in a space with the two of you, together.

His room was a box of memories, and his bed held the most prized of them all. It's where you laid and let yourself be vulnerable with Lucas. It's where your lives came together, and your stories intertwined, slipping from your lips and knotting together like your limbs under the ceiling fan. Promises of the future, swears of the past, and a comforting and cozy present.

You didn't think before you opened the door; it was practically an instinct now. It wasn't necessarily a shared space, but it's a space that's always been offered to you. You'd never imagined that there would be a time when you weren't welcomed there.

It caught you off guard, the body underneath his. A petite girl with Carmel colored hair that was stuck to her damp skin. Your boyfriend moved on top of her, rocking back and forth against her body, eyes trained on hers.

You quietly shut the door and slipped back down the hallway. Doyoung, exiting his room, stopped your frantic attempt at escape from the house, taking in your wide eyes and seemingly disorganized composition.

"Y/N? What's wrong? Wh-"

"I'm okay," you swore, stepping around him. "I'm just not feeling well, I'm gonna step out for a bit."

"Oh," he says, watching you scamper down the steps. "We have medicine if you need it."

You didn't answer. Your priority was to get out of the front door as quickly and as quietly as possible, not even sparing a glance at the boys in the living room who had greeted you earlier.

You walked like a woman with a purpose, fast and in a straight line, away from the house. You didn't bother waiting on the bus, instead you walked right past the bus stop and started towards your home where you would let your composure fall.

Lucas moved one of the light colored strands of hair from Yuri's face. He was propped up on an elbow, admiring the beautiful girl in front of him. She was someone he'd know for a while, having been in his Sociology class the year prior. He'd seen her every now and again, met with her, fucked her, and left her in the morning. The girl with almost orange hair who always wore white was illusive to all but him. Wanted was the girl who always wore her graduation gift from her grandmother proudly, a pair of pearl earrings.

Normally, he wouldn't have allowed the sweet Japanese girl to stay with him after sex, cuddled to his chest, her bare skin against his. It hurt him too much to think that she wasn't the one who was supposed to be in his arms, and as a constant reminder he was always burned by the temperature of her skin. She was hot, a fire that lit in his stomach and yet left his heart cold.

Yuri blinked up at him, stirring from her soft slumber. "Is it nighttime?" she yawned out. He nodded and shushed her, rubbing his thumb over the soft skin of her cheek. He brought their lips together for a kiss that felt so wrong yet so right. Part of him didn't want to pull away and crash back down to reality, the other part of him knew that the girl needed to leave while no one was awake, lest his relationship with you be damaged.

He pulled away first, standing to dress himself in the sweats and Tee that he'd discarded some time ago. He helped Yuri sit up then dress herself. He placed a chaste kiss her forehead and lead her to his bedroom door, expecting her to find her own way out of the house. But before the door closed, he locked eyes with the last person he wanted to see him sending off his rendezvous into the night.

Johnny did not hesitate to put his hands on the door (rather loudly) to prevent it from closing.

"What's a girl doing in your room so late, Lucas?"

Lucas tried to meet Johnny's eyes, but he couldn't hold your brother's fierce gaze. "Studying?"

"Oh yeah? How'd you two get so sweaty while you were studying. You must've been cramming pretty hard." Johnny fold his arms over his chest just as the color of pink on Lucas's bed catches his attention. He stared at it for a moment before the shape registered in his mind. "And how did leaving her thong with you help either of you read a fucking textbook?"

At this point, Johnny has a fist full of Lucas's shirt and is backing him against a wall. Lucas tries to remove Johnny's hand, but only gets shoved harder into the hard surface, pictures rattling on both sides of his head, the picture of your joint trip to the fair the year prior falls to the ground and shatters.

Taeyong comes rushing in from his room, roughly awoken by his neighbor's commotion.

"Johnny? Yukhei? It's one in the morning, what the hell is going on?"

The intense gaze between the two doesn't falter for a moment. "Yeah, Yukhei, what the hell is going on?" When he doesn't receive an answer, he lifts him off the wall and pushes him back against in with one harsh movement. "Don't ever talk to my sister again." Johnny releases his shirt and Lucas's eyes widen.

"Y/N-" Lucas breathes out, grabbing for your brother's arm and stumbling over his words. "Please don't tell Y/N."

"Ya know, Lucas, she just recently told me that she felt like no one cared about her. Her friends were yours, and while you were out of her reach, so we're they. How could you leave her with nobody?"

Taeyong gasped at that. He considered you a rather close friend and cherished the bond he had with you. He understood where you were coming from but it still hurt that you would misread his intentions as befriending a friend of a friend.

Lucas pulled harder at Johnny's arm, keeping him in place as he tried to turn away. Taeyong took this as his que to step between the two and separate them.

"Please don't tell her," Lucas tried. "Please, let me be the one to tell her. She deserves that much."

Your phone had been dead for two days and you hadn't bothered to even look for a charger. You focus your energy on your Korean history essays and devote your time to working on your computer.

Little did you know, this was sparking panic at the NCT dorms. No one, not even your brother, had been able to contact you. Finally, Johnny decided that he had to check on you (along with the ever persistent presence of his younger friend, Haechan, who demanded that he be taken to see you), taking the public transit to your apartment on the northwest border of the campus.

His knocking earned a prompt "fuck off" from your living room, so at the very least they were sure you were still alive.

"Y/N, open the damn door." You didn't even bother moving from your cozy place on the couch. "For fuck's sake- do you know how long we've all been trying to contact you. Let me fucking in or I'll break the door down."

"I'd like to see you try," you mumbled before a solid 'thud' sounded from your entrance. "John, what the fuck?"

"I said let me in. I gotta make sure you're okay so don't make this difficult."

"For the love of fuck, I'm fine, go away."

Thud.

"Let me in."

Thud.

"Okay, okay stop! You're gonna make my neighbors hate me."

You threw your door open to be greeted by, not one, but two friendly faces with murderous intentions in their eyes.

"You can't just drop off the fucking radar, you had everyone scared shitless that something had happened to you," Haechan snapped before bringing you into a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry," you sighed, wrapping your arms back around him. It felt nice to be in someone's arms again, even if it wasn't the touch you longed for. "I've just had a hard few days."

Johnny, who had already pushed his way past you, was beginning to calm himself down like a passing storm.

"What happened, Princess?" Haechan tried. You cringed and he shrugged, still holding you to his chest.

"Lucas and a girl-" Your eyes teared up and the words lodged themselves in your throat. "He's cheating on me."

Haechan's eyes widen and he presses your head to his chest rather forcefully so that he could discreetly pass Johnny a look of sheer confusion. It'd been the hot topic as the frat, but as no one had been able to contact you since they'd made the discovery themselves, he assumed no one had been able to tell you yet. "Y/N, Princess, what do you mean?" he spoke slowly, unsure of how he wanted to frame his question.

"I went to," you hiccupped, "went to see him and there," you hiccupped again, "there was a girl," and again, "underneath him." Haechan's grip tightens around you. The look he's giving Johnny now is one that would've scared armies away from battle. The look on his face was nothing in comparison to the emotion written on Johnny's own features. The storm had returned, the haze of anger clouding both his eyes and his judgements.

Johnny moved towards the door much slower than he'd come barging through it. Like a man marching off to war, he kept his eyes straight ahead and left the same way he'd came. "Both of you, stay here." The door slams shut behind him, mimicking the sound of a gunshot.

Haechan keeps you in his embrace for a few minutes, rocking you back and forth after the tensions in his muscles began to dissipate. He shushed you until you stopped crying, urging you to get your breathing back under control.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that," the silver haired boy mumbled into your hair before sperating himself from you. "Come sit down. Let's talk about this for a minute."

"That's okay, Haechan. I appreciate it but-" you sniffle.

"Y/N, this is an important talk we're about to have, okay? Listen to me very carefully, and after we talk this out, I'm going to order food from any place in this district that you want." You shook your head but did nothing to interrupt him. "We all just found out a couple of days ago. That's part of the reason everyone has been trying to reach you. Johnny caught him, but he agreed to let Lucas tell you. But because no one has been able to get to you, those two have been raising hell at the frat. That's why it is very important that we can get in contact with you, do you understand? If we have things we really need to tell you, your phone needs to be on so we can get to you. We were all worried that something really, really bad had happened to you."

"So it's true? I'm not being dramatic? Lucas really..."

Haechan nodded, pulling you down to sit with him on the couch and tuck you under his arm. "But listen, I know it's aweful. Johnny is probably going to put Lucas in his place right now. So you and I are going to stay here for now, and talk and eat dinner, and get out everything that you're feeling right now. And soon, that boy isn't going to mean anything to you because he doesn't deserve to take up your precious time or energy. Okay? Now what do you want to eat?" He rubbed your back, patiently waiting for your answer. He would move at your pace for the rest of the night.

"Where is he?" Mark and Taeyong are quick to intercept Johnny's trail, desperately trying to avoid whatever chaos was sure to ensue this hour.

"Don't you think it's a little early to start throwing punches this evening?" Taeyong tries.

Ten enters from the kitchen, a bowl of cheap ramen in his hands, Lucas trailing behind him, rocking the college boy couture: no shirt and sweatpants. Ten had by no means forgiven him within the short span of two days, especially not when he picked plenty of the recent fights with Johnny which promised a rather annoying thrill of excitement every night, but Ten knew that in the depths of his heart he felt sympathy and compassion for Lucas. As frustrated as he was with the younger boys, he couldn't abandon him when he had so few people left on his side anymore. Who else would take care of him if not Ten?

Lucas stopped in his tracks when he saw Johnny, slowly handing off his bowl to Ten to be sat on the coffee table. There was a feral beast inside Johnny that Lucas could see right now, and he was afraid that any sudden movements would invoke a violent response.

"I thought you'd be gone longer," Lucas admits. He had avoided the living room recently, especially when he knew Johnny would be home.

"I felt suddenly compelled to come right back and have a nice long chat with you."

Lucas tensed, subconsciously preparing to be thrown into a fight at any second.

"Wait, where's Haechan?" Mark ask, noting that the younger boy did not come in with him.

"He's comforting my sister. He's doing what I should be doing. But I trust him to handle her with care. I trust him to take care of her tonight while you and I have that little chat." He eyes Lucas, reading every sign that Lucas's body is posting, watching as he takes in those words and deflates a bit.

"You guys told her?"

"Didn't have to. She walked in on you screwing another girl." The room falls silent until Ten begins to choke on his ramen. Everyone looks at him as he turns away to hide his wide-eyed expression.

"Ten?" Taeyong asks. "Do you know something?"

Ten slowly turns around to face the group. "Do you remember that night when we were sitting here when she came over, and then she went running out the door a few minutes later?"

Taeyong's face falls. "Oh my God. Is that really the last time any of us saw her?"

"Fuck, and we didn't even know she needed help."

"Doyoung said she wasn't feeling well; he tried to stop her."

"That was almost a week ago, though," Ten thinks aloud. Everyone's eyes fall on Lucas, the boy they'd momentarily forgotten. His eyes are glassy, his composure fallen. There's a beat before anyone dares to ask about the elephant in the room. "How many times did it happen?"

Lucas opens and closes his mouth like a fish. "Did she really see? She saw me with Yuri?"

"Lucas, how many times did it happen?" Johnny's shoulders are squared. He steps towards the boy but is stopped my Taeyong's firm grasp on his arm.

"A lot," he admits as the first tear makes its dash for his chin. "A lot more than I should have. A lot more than I ever wanted to." As wet as his entire face was becoming, he dare not move to wipe away the shame. "I love her. Oh my God, I love her and she'll never want to see me again."

Mark looks between his two best friends seeing nothing but desperation and fury - two ample types of passion for you. "Why'd you do it then?" His words were soft. He didn't want to stir the pot anymore, but he wanted to know.

"I don't know. I love her. Why would I do that to her?" Johnny's composure cracks but doesn't break. He doesn't take off his armor. He was still there, at his own frat, in his own living room to challenge his former mate.

"She was the reason you got into this house in the first place. If she didn't care about you, I would have never helped you get in."

"Johnny stop." Taeyong pulls back on Johnny's arm, reigning him in and telling him to stand down.

"Why? That's how she feels. She feels like she's less than you. I think it should be the other way around. She think everyone only cares about her because they care about you. I think she should realize that you wouldn't even be here without her. How do you even have the balls to cheat on her after what she's done for you?"

"I didn't want to!" Lucas defends.

"Then why did you do it?"

"I don't know! I don't know! I don't know if it was because I was bored, or if I was mad at her one day. I don't know how it started. When I started to see Yuri, it just felt like a small break but then we started to mess around more often. I don't know how it started, but I wish it never had. I never wanted Y/N to have to see that."

In one swift movement, Johnny yanked himself out of Taeyong's grasp and nailed one shot right below Lucas's eye before the other three men in the room jumped in to separate the two as much as the could.

"You wish you hadn't done it because you got caught?"

Lucas holds on to his face but managed to stand up straight. "I wish I hadn't done it because I regret hurting her. It would break my heart to see her with anyone else - I can't imagine how it must've felt for her to see that. So yes, I regret her finding out."

Johnny struggles against the restraint of his friends. "Do you regret doing it? Did you ever question yourself while you were screwing around behind her back?"

Lucas didn't answer, instead he walked away. He gather up the few shards of his dignity that he had left, and locked himself in the first story bathroom for the rest of the night.

Haechan made you put your phone on the charger. He warned you that there would be messages from just about everyone in his frat but that you didn't have to open them all immediately. He stayed up with you that night to help you with both your assignments and your heartache, sending you to bed at a decent time (before two in the morning). He sat in your living room, waiting for any news from the dorms before he went back. He ended up falling asleep on your couch.

When morning came, he was abruptly awoke from a sweet dream by the rattle of the door and three sharp knocks. Annoyed, he pushed himself up and went to check who could possibly be so irritating this early in the morning.

He cracked the door to find a not-so-hot Wong Lucas on the doorstep.

"Haechan?" Lucas asked, sniffling quietly. Haechan shut the door, ready to turn back and resume his slumber on the couch before three more knocks stopped him.

He cracked the door again. "She's sleeping, knock it off."

"Haechanie?" You ask yawning as you wonder to his side. You didn't know that he'd been there all night and came to check the door, not expecting anyone to beat you to it. "Who's at the door?"

"No one, Princess. Go back to sleep."

"Princess?" Lucas questioned, clearly uncomfortable with the younger boy calling you by a pet name.

"Lucas?" Your mind wakes up a bit when you register his voice.

"Y/N," he sighs in relief.

"Haechan," Haechan blurts before shutting the door and promptly turning to you. "Y/N, don't let him in. He's probably here to convince you to take him back and you need to remember what we talked about last night. He made you feel like a small person, don't go crawling back to him-"

"I'm not letting him in, don't worry." You wrap your blanket tighter around yourself. "Why are you still here anyways?"

"I never got the all clear to go home," he mumbled, pulling you back into your bedroom. Three sharp knocks sounded once again at your door. Neither of you moved to answer it, instead you let Haechan lay you down in your bed and tuck you into your comforter before he crawled on top of your covers and dozed back off at the foot of your bed.

Lucas left the flowers and food in front of your door, sending Haechan a text to let him know that they were there (just in case you'd already blocked his number). Pulling his jacked tighter around him, he left the building in search of something to make himself feel better after a night of high emotions.

He found himself at the coffee house down the street from your residence. As he waited on his order, he sat at a booth and pondered ways to get you to, if nothing else, accept his apology. With everything in him, he wanted you back. He wanted to forget the stupid fight, he wanted to forget the other girl - he wanted you. That wasn't fair though, and he knew it. It especially wasn't fair that while you were with him, you felt small compared to him. It wasn't fair that he made you feel like nobody cared about you more than they did him. It wasn't fair that your stepbrother had to be the one to voice your concerns for you; you had never felt comfortable telling Lucas about your deepest insecurities when he was supposed to be the one to get you past them. He was only beginning to realize that he hadn't been there for you the way that you needed him to be - the way that you had been for him.

"Johnny is it true that Y/N thinks we don't like her?" Jungwoo asks, placing himself between both Johnny and Jaehyun on the couch.

Johnny sighed. "She thinks that you guys don't like her, but that you're all too nice to say anything. She thinks that because she's my sister, you guys are forced to spend time with her."

"But I like spending time with her," the younger whines.

"I know," Johnny answers simply. "She just," he inhales through his teeth, "doesn't have a lot of super close relationships. Actually, it was really only me and..." He eyes the staircase. "Can you blame her for having trust issues, though?" he asks rhetorically, more towards himself than anybody else.

"How can we show her we care about her? Like, genuinely?" Jungwoo asks, his simple yet quick thought process spitting out one debacle after another.

"I dunno, Woo. I really don't know. Maybe try to text her more? Maybe check on her every now and again?" Johnny thinks to a moment how much of his private conversation with you he wants to share. He determines that no true friendship deals in lies. "She wanted to apologise to Lucas for the fight they had a few weeks ago. She was willing to be wrong in her principles if it meant she could have that one deep connection back. She said no one had really contacted her since they'd started fighting. She said she felt alone."

Jungwoo's eyes swelled up to the size of saucers. Had he really been so neglectful? Had they all?

"I'm not telling you this to make you feel guilty. She'll never be honest about her emotions, though. She told me that if things didn't work out with Lucas, she would have to start trying to make new friends in class."

"Would she really replace us like that?"

"To her, it's not replacing something if you never really had it."

"She wouldn't even try to talk to us?"

Johnny shook his head. "That's what I'm saying. I wasn't going to tell you that, I don't want you guys to feel bad about it. But if I didn't say something, you'd never know how she felt."

Jaehyun, who'd kept his quiet so far, finally spoke up. "Well I hope she's accepting visitors. We've clearly left her to deal with her problems alone for too long."

"Let's go after breakfast," Johnny suggests, nearly being cut off by the ring of his phone. He excuses himself from the living room to answer it. "Hello? Y/N? What's up? We were just talking about you."

He doesn't see it, but you cringe a little at that. "Uh, hey, are you busy right now? Should I call you back another time?"

As off put as Johnny is by your tone, he doesn't question it. "For my adoring sister? I'm never to busy for you."

You wonder if he was genuinely not doing anything or not. "Really, we can talk later if-"

"Y/N, I'm not doing anything, what's going on?" The line is quiet for a moment. A sickening moment.

"I think I'm gonna transfer back home." Your brother feels his stomach drop. "I've been thinking about it for a while now. I just think it might be the better option for me. I don't know many people here on campus, I struggle to keep up with my Korean classes. I just think it's time I stop following you around like a lost puppy, ya know?" The line goes silent as you wait for his response. "Hello?" You wait. "John?"

"No." His answer is simple and definite.

"What do you mean 'no?'"

"I mean you're not leaving just because you're insecure. You and I both know you're doing wonderfully in your classes this semester. Why would you leave that behind? Because a boy cheated on you? Because you think no one wants to care about you? You're not leaving Korea."

"I wasn't asking. I was just letting you know." Johnny feels his heart break for you.

"On purpose! I care about you on purpose. We all care about you on purpose. Why do you keep trying to take yourself away from us?"

"You shouldn't have to care-"

"You think it's up to you if I care about you or not? That's not your decision. And it's not your decision whether or not the rest of NCT cares for you either. Why are you so hard headed?" Johnny groans loudly into the mic.

"I'm not enough of anything to be cared about."

"Shut up." He promptly hung up and grabbed his jacket.

Your tiny apartment wasn't really made to accommodate many people at once, but the five overgrown boys standing on your doorstep pushed their way into your apartment and made it work.

"Let's take a vote," is the first thing out of your stepbrother's mouth as soon as he crosses the threshold. "All in favor of Y/N transferring say 'aye.'" A silence falls over the boys. "All opposed say no."

"No," Jungwoo is the first to speak.

"No," Jaehyun is quick to follow.

"No," Ten says sternly.

"No," Taeyong adds.

"You have been unanimously voted to keep your ass in Korea and the court rules in favor of putting a bounty on you if you try to escape."

"Wait, wait, wait," you finally get out. "This isn't a democracy; your vote is irrelevant."

"Y/N, why do you want to leave so badly?" Ten asks, crossing his arms and leaning against your island.

"I have to learn to take care of myself. I can't depend on Johnny or Lucas to do that for me anymore."

"Is this really what you think is best for you?" Jaehyun asks, a tinge of guilt in his words.

"I don't know, I guess we'll find out in five weeks when the semester ends in December."

Lucas pressed his palms into his eyes, temporarily making himself see stars. It was cold, a thin layer of snow covering the ground and buildings outside. There was a blanket thrown over his shoulders but it did nothing for the morbid freeze that so deeply effected his mood.

It was midnight when he woke up. Really, he no longer had a desire to eat, and he couldn't make himself sleep anymore lest he grow physically sick. He was left to wallow in his thoughts as he stared out his window, watching the snow fall so peacefully.

"Did I do this?" He asks himself. "She's leaving because of me? Was it me who made her feel so small compared to everyone else? Was it me who made her feel so small compared to Yuri?"

He'd stopped seeing her, his fling. He came to realize that there was a hole in his heart that she could never fill. When he had you, perhaps Yuri was a fun toy to play with on the side. When you were stripped away from him and his sense of comfort was taken from him, he no longer wanted to play with her.

He tried not to contact you. He didn't deserve your time - but he wanted it.

He found himself standing outside of your apartment at one in the morning on a freezing December night. Public transport, if it even ran in this weather, had been closed for the night. There were no students wondering the campus either. He braved the elements alone.

Three sharp knocks. They weren't particularly loud. If you were asleep, he wanted you to remain asleep. But if you weren't, he needed to see you. He wanted to hold you, and kiss you, and love you; he needed to see you. You weren't his toy, you weren't his game - you were his survival, his comfort, his energy, his breath.

"Lucas? What are you wearing? It's snowing out there, are you crazy?"

"Please don't leave."

"Isn't it a little late in the night to be talking about college transfers?"

"Please don't leave me."

You'd seen Lucas cry about a lot of things. For such a physically built man, he was very emotional. He cries when he stubs his toe. He cries when he sees a dead animal on the road. He cries when he laughs to hard. He cries when he's drunk and misses you, no matter how close you might be. He cries over a plethora of movies from sad romcoms to cheesey action movies. Never have you ever seen Lucas sob. He was hysterical and unfiltered, and still in the middle of the hallway.

"Come in, Lucas. It's okay, come in." He steps inside, wiping his runny nose of his sleeve.

"Please don't leave me," he repeats. "I'll be better, I'll do better. I know you deserve so much more than me but please let me be selfish and keep you."

"You'll be better without me," you reassure.

Lucas out himself on his knees in front of you, his hand reaching out unsteadily to hold yours. "Please, Y/N. Please. I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry. If I could take it all back, I would. I swear I would. I hate myself for ruining what we had."

"It's okay, Lucas." You cradled his head to your waist and shushed him, letting his arms wrap around your legs. "It's okay. I wasn't enough and that's okay. You needed something else, that's okay. I wish I would have know, sure. I wish maybe you would have told me that I wasn't enough, but I understand why you did it."

"No, no, Y/N. No, that's not right at all. You were perfect - too perfect, and I wasn't enough of a man to cherish that. I'm not a man without you. I'm a scared little boy. Y/N, please, I love you."

You shush him and run your fingers through his hair until he calms down a bit.

"Lucas?" You ask softly. He hums in response. "Did we ever break up?" You feel his entire body tighten around you as he tensed. He pressed his face harder against your abdomen and cries harder."I'm not going to end it with you," you sigh, "I can't live on my own, you know that better than anyone. I'm so tired of being alone. I need you too."

"I don't have the words to describe you. I'm trying, but I don't know how to tell you what I feel right now."

"Then don't tell me in words."

"You know, I have really hated your life decisions lately." Johnny quips from the driver's seat. "I hate that you're studying abroad for an entire semester. I detest that you got back with your ex, and I am repulsed by the fact that you're wearing sandals in December. Your decisions just suck."

"But I'm making them," you smile at him. "It's only a few months, I'll be back from Bordeaux before you know it."

"I'm glad you're going to France instead of going home. For a minute there, I thought you'd really gone off the deep end."

"Thank you for talking me down from that."

"I really wouldn't have let you go, you know. I would not be driving you to the airport if I wasn't one hundred percent sure that you're going to France."

"Thank you."

"We're going to miss you, Y/N. All of us, we really are." You thank him and offer a warm smile.

"Are you sure you can take care of Lucas while I'm gone? Without killing him?"

Something serious flashes in Johnny's eyes for a second. "I will never see him the same. I hate that you forgave him. But it's your life, and I support you."

"He and I both had to change a lot over the last couple of months. He had to learn to cherish someone that he so often took for granted. He knows now what he did to me, he's made effort to change and I've forgiven him. I had to learn to cherish the people in my life too. I had to learn how to accept that I'm cared for. No body is perfect, but both of us are trying to be good."

"If you've both changed so much, are you still both the perfect opposites?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. I don't think I'm the same person I was before the fight."

"Oh yeah? What about him?"

"Hardly." Johnny hummed in acknowledgement. "I think maybe, he's the word now. He's an idea, an emotion. It's my turn to be the action. I get to live my life for me, now."

"You've always been strong," Johnny adds, pulling into the airport parking garage. "I'm glad you finally realized it."

"I'll be back in June," you remind. "I'll come back stronger than I've ever been before. I'll be able to do things for myself."

"We'll all be waiting for you. Six months?"

"Six months."

"I can't wait to meet you again in six months."

#lucas #wong yukhei #nct #taeyong #johnny #mark #ten #lee #angst #smut #fluff #oneshot #series #x reader #imagine #reaction #jungwoo #kim #kpop

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