#but before that i slept for like 16 hours straight | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mrsparrasblog · 9 months ago

Text

Rodolfo x Alej's Sister

You've known him since you were a kid; he was always there at every family gathering and every birthday. He spent every weekend with Alej. At first, you hated him. He always pulled on your pigtails, made fun of you, and stole your toys.

When you turned 16, your hatred toward Rudy suddenly changed. He changed; he became nice to you, helping you with biology and physics exams, listening to your problems, and protecting you when Alej couldn't.

The night of your senior prom changed your view completely. You were going with Antonio to prom; you had been dating him for one year. You never knew your relationship would change on this day.

The first hours were perfect; he picked you up in his car, danced with you the whole night, and then rented out a hotel room for you both. You promised him this would be your first night together, and you did. The only problem? He left you straight after what you just did.

You didn't know what to do. You were left alone in a hotel room with no way to go home by night. You could always call Alej; you knew he would help you. Of course, you were fighting like siblings always did, but he loved you, right? But he would kill Antonio, and you didn't want to tell your big brother that you lost your virginity. If he tells Dad, it's over for you anyway.

So you did the only thing your mind could come up with: you called Rudy, while still crying over Antonio.

"What's wrong, Mi Amor?"

"How did you know something's wrong, Rudy?" You sobbed into the phone.

"You're calling me at 2 a.m., and you're sobbing. What's wrong?" Rudy said, his voice full of empathy.

"Antonio, he—"

"What did that pendejo do?" You never heard Rudy that furious. You were used to Alej or even your dad; they were hot-headed, but Rudy was always calm, which made him a bit scary. But this time, he was mad before you even told him what Antonio did.

"I... he... can you pick me up? I'm at the inn."

"I'm there in 5, Mi Amor."

He came to pick you up. He was always a great driver, and you felt safe. He always put on the car heater for you and didn't force you to talk.

"Do you want a stop at Chili's?"

You just nodded, and you went through the drive-thru, eating in his car, even if he rarely allowed food in it. But for you, he made an exception; he always did.

"He slept with me."

"Did you want it? Did he hurt you?"

"I wanted it, and no, he didn't physically hurt me."

"Physically?"

"He broke up with me after."

"I'm going to kill that pendejo."

"No, Rudy, it's okay. I'm stupid."

"Look at me. You're not stupid; you're an intelligent, beautiful, and hardworking woman."

"Thank you, Rudy. I just feel bad about myself."

"You know you're the most beautiful girl in the world, Mi Amor."

"Hm."

"Alejandro and I are going to enlist after our graduation."

"I know."

"I'm sorry, but I promise I'll bring your brother back safe."

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

20 years later, you still remember that day—the day you fell in love with Rudy, your brother's best friend. Of course, you had flings and even relationships, but nothing compared to the feelings you savored for your Rudy.

He never married, though he got married to his work exactly like your brother, but at least you knew that they kept each other safe until

Rudy stormed into your house with one of the two spare keys you had. He was panting and shaking, and when you saw his face, fear crawled over you. Did something happen to Alej?

"Rudy, what's wrong?" but he was like in a trance, barely noticing you.

Rudy took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart before answering. "I thought about how much I didn't want to leave this world without ever telling you how much you mean to me." His eyes locked onto yours, and he could see the confusion and desire mixed in your gaze.

"Uhm, Rudy, why is something wrong?"

"I almost died today; I got into a fire. Alejandro saved me at the last minute." You almost forgot about his nice words; he almost died. You looked at him, scanning him for any visible injuries, and then you couldn't hold back anymore. If someone thought Alejandro had the temperament, they didn't know his little sister.

"No, Rudy, are you insane? You almost died idiot. You need to take care of yourself. I swear to you, if you die on me, I will pull you back from heaven to fucking kill you again." He loved that fire that occupied you, but right now he wasn't able to fight with you and enjoy your burning eyes, which he found so sexy.

He took a step closer, his heart pounding in his chest. "Mi Amor, please listen to me. I've loved you since the moment I saw you." Did he just confess to you? You couldn't believe it.

"I doubt that we were kids and you always pulled my hair."

Rodolfo chuckled softly, shaking his head. "No, I remember being a kid and thinking you were the most beautiful girl in the world. And even as we grew up, that feeling only got stronger."

"Why did you never tell me? I thought you saw me only as the stupid sister from Alejandro."

"I was scared, Mi Amor. I knew our families wouldn't approve, and I didn't want to risk losing you or my friendship with Alejandro." He reached out, gently brushing a strand of hair from your face.

"Rudy I have loved you since the day you punched my prom date." You confessed remembering the night and the following day when the pacifist Rudy came with all his knuckles injured. You behaved like a medic till you saw Antonio with his broken nose, a blue eye, and an overall punched-out expression. He did this for you; he protected you, not Alej. You still scolded him for being foolish; he could have gotten hurt too.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he stared at you for a moment. "Oh, you did, huh? Well, I have loved you since the day I pulled your hair and called you an Ilorona" Idiot, but you loved his laughs and jokes. He was a calm man, and most people thought he was shy, but Rudy never was shy—never to you at least.

"Why now? What changed?"

He took your soft hands in his. "No, Mi Amor. It's because of how much I felt when I thought I was going to die. And it hit me then—all the years I've spent hiding my feelings for you—they were pointless."

"Your feelings were never pointless."

"I know that now, but I didn't before. I was so focused on what others thought and what our families would say that I forgot to listen to my own heart." He sighed, looking down at your hands before meeting your gaze again. "But I promise you, Mi Amor, "you couldn't hear it anymore; you needed to show him how much passion you felt for him.

"cállate Rudy and just kiss me already."

Rodolfo chuckled softly before leaning forward, his lips brushing against yours gently. "Always telling me what to do, aren't you?" he whispered against your lips before deepening the kiss slowly.

He felt the heat of your kiss, igniting a fire within him. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer as you explored each other's lips and tongues.

His heart raced with anticipation and excitement, finally acting on the feelings he had harbored for so long.

"It feels better than I imagined."

"I'm glad, Mi Amor," he whispered against your lips, nuzzling his face into your neck. "You feel so good. So right." He deepened the kiss again, lost in the sensation of finally being with you like this.

"What About Alejandro?"

"I'll deal with him later," Rodolfo replied, his voice husky from your passionate kiss. "Right now, all that matters is you and me." He continued to kiss your neck, trailing soft kisses down your collarbone before returning to your lips once more.

Rodolfo smiled against your lips, his hands sliding down to cup your ass, pulling you even closer. "And you're so stunning," he groaned, nibbling gently on your lower lip. "I've dreamed of this for so long."

"Oh, so that's what you thought about on your lonely barracks nights." You hated yourself for joking right now, but it felt so good and easy with him.

Rodolfo chuckled, trailing more kisses along your jawline. "And many other things, mi amor," he murmured, his hands slipping under your shirt to trace patterns over your soft skin. "But you were always in my mind."

"Rudy, you don't need to take things slow. I waited 20 years for this." You whined; you felt your body reacting to his; you were already dripping in anticipation.

Feeling your need for him, Rodolfo pressed you against the wall, his hands moving up to hold your face as he deepened the kiss. "I want to make this last," he breathed, his lips still locked with yours. "I don't want it to be over too soon.

"We have 40 years of this; please, Rudy, I need you."

Rodolfo's eyes darkened with desire as he looked into your pleading gaze. He couldn't resist any longer. With a growl, he picked you up, as if you weighed nothing. God, you knew he was strong, but wow. and carried you to the bedroom.

Rudy kicked the door shut behind you and laid you down on the bed, his lips never leaving yours. He was afraid that if he pulled away, he would wake up like in many of his dreams, but this was real. He finally had you and never wanted to let you go.

His hands roamed over your body, pulling off your shirt and lacy bra before moving to undo his pants. "I want you so badly, Mi Amor. I have been dreaming about this for years, and God, you are even more beautiful than in my imagination."

"I need you so bad, Rudy."

He growled into your kiss, and with one swift motion, he pulled off his shirt and pants, revealing himself to you fully. Of course, you knew how good he looked without his shirt, especially when Alej and he came over in the summer to watch football. But now that you saw him in full glory, you were amazed, his erect cock stood at attention. And you grabbed it, wanting to pull it finally inside of you, where it had belonged all these years. Where you rubbed yourself, moaning his name in desperation.

Rodolfo chuckled, pushing your skirt up and kissing your thighs tenderly. "Impatient little thing, aren't you?" He whispered teasingly before licking a line up your smooth stomach to your perky breasts.

His tongue circled your nipple, causing you to moan loudly. Rodolfo's cock throbbed with anticipation, aching to be inside of you. "You taste so good,"

He reached down and helped you remove your skirt, revealing your black lace panties underneath. His mouth watered at the sight. "Fuck, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he groaned, unable to resist any longer.

You giggled at his praise.

"Shh, mi amor," Rodolfo murmured, his hands moving up to cup your breasts. He squeezed them gently, eliciting a soft moan from your pouty lips as he began to trail kisses down your abdomen once more.

"I love you, Rudy."

"I love you too," Rodolfo whispered against your stomach before standing up. "Let me undress you completely." His eyes never leaving yours, he reached out to slowly pull down your panties, his breath catching in his throat at the sight of you completely bare.

Rudy couldn't resist any longer; he crawled between your legs and kissed you softly at the entrance of your womanhood. "So beautiful," he whispered against your skin before licking you slowly, his tongue tracing circles around your hard and pulsing clit. Rodolfo moaned against you, his hands gripping your hips tightly as he continued to pleasure you with his tongue.

He could taste your arousal, and it only made him want more. "So wet for me, Mi Amor, you taste like heaven," Rodolfo grinned against your skin, his mouth watering at the taste.

He slowly pushed one finger inside of you, gently stretching you for him as he continued to lick and suck on your clit. "I love you so much,"

"I love you too."

Rodolfo's finger moved in and out of your needing hole slowly, matching the rhythm of his tongue on your clit.

He could hear you moaning his name, and it only fueled his desire to make you cum. "Cum for me, mi amor,"

Rudy groaned as you came, his tongue working hard as he tasted your sweet nectar. He continued to lap, making sure he got every last drop before slowly pulling away. "You are so breathtaking," he whispered against your skin, his fingers still inside you.

Small tears escaped your eyes; it was almost embarrassing how much you felt for this man. "No one treated me so good before."

His heart swelled at your beautiful words, and he kissed you softly on the stomach moving up to slowly kiss the tears away, "It's because you're my everything, Mi Amor, I could worship you forever. I'm sorry for not doing it earlier."

He pulled out his fingers, leaving you feeling empty. "Turn around." Rodolfo moved behind you, his hard cock pressing against your bouncy ass. He took a moment to admire your body again like he wanted to memorize every scar, every curve, and every birthmark of yours.

He reached around to stroke himself slowly. "You're so beautiful," he whispered again, kissing your shoulder blade. "I want to feel you."

"Rudy, please make love to me." You didn't say fucking or sex; these words didn't describe what this was; this was lovemaking, and you enjoyed every second of it.

Rodolfo shivered at your words, his cock twitching in excitement. Holding you against him tightly, he positioned himself at your entrance. With one powerful thrust, he penetrated you completely while kissing your neck lovingly. "I'm all yours, mi amor."

Rudy began to move inside you, his hips rolling against yours as he filled you. He felt like he was made for you; he wasn't too big or too short; he was perfect, filling you without hurting you.

The sound of your skins slapping against each other echoed in the room, along with your moans and gasps for air. "You feel so perfect. Rodolfo's thrusts became harder and faster, his cock hitting every spot inside of you that you desperately needed.

He reached around to grab one of your breasts, squeezing it as he continued to pound into you relentlessly. "I love you so much,"

"I love you too, Rudy." You never were the person for words of love during sex, but this was something else you wanted to capture his love and hide it inside of you forever, never letting go of him.

As he approached his climax, Rodolfo slowed his thrusts, allowing him to savor every moment. His hands tightened on your hips, and his breath was hot against your neck. He gently rubbed your clit." Come with me, mi amor," he groaned, pushing deeper inside.

Rodolfo's thrusts grew harder again, his cock hitting deeper as he lost control. His entire world centered around you; the feeling of your skin slapping together was the only thing that mattered. "Mi Amor," he whimpered your name like it was the only thing that mattered and released his hot seed inside of you, painting your walls white.

You whined, loving his cum inside of you; it was right there, and this alone made you clench around him and reach your climax. Desperately sticking your nails into his strong and broad shoulders.

Rodolfo grinned against your lips, his cock still hard inside of you. "I'll make sure to fill you up all the time time, Mi Amor," he whispered before kissing you deeply once more. He stayed inside of you for a few more moments, enjoying the feeling of being connected to you.

"Don't pull out, please."

"Still not enough, Mi Amor?"

"Of you never," he slowly began to thrust inside of you, trying not to go too fast because of your overstimulated cunt that still clenched him like a glove. His lips never left your body, placing little love marks all over your collarbone. You knew you were his- and he was yours.

The door opened. "Rodolfo, what are you doing with my sister?" Alejandro screamed.

- Fuck

239 notes · View notes

savventeen · 1 year ago

Text

you say the stupidest (sweetest) things

pairing: seungkwan x gn!reader rating: 16+ (for swearing) wc: 4.5k prompt: seungkwan + "things you said at 1am" summary: you say stupid shit on the best of days, so when seungkwan comes over when you're having a bad bout of insomnia, the last thing he expects to hear from you is an accidental love confession warnings: insomnia, mental health issues, dissociation mention tags: fluff, friends to lovers, first kiss, reader is a little unhinged but who isn't tbh, they're also highkey allergic to genuine expressions of love/affection but they're working on it, banter, stimming, wrestling like children to try and work through emotions, reader is some flavor of lgbt+ (they make an "i've never done anything straight in my life" joke), reader's pov is dramatic bc they're dramatic oops a/n: this is for @dokyeomin as a part of my emergency commissions (check out the post here) and this was only supposed to be 1k but it 100% got away from me... i hope you still enjoy the fluff and all of the attached nonsense <3

From: Y/n 🔪 [11:47pm]

yo kwannie if i impulsively decide to go to the 24h convenience store how harshly do u think they'll jusdge me for buying every flavor of gummy candy available *judge i wanna see if i can melt them down into one Ultimate Gummy u know for Science

Seungkwan pauses brushing his teeth and stares down at your messages.

To be fair, it's probably not the strangest thing you've ever texted him. He's known you since your second year of college, after all, so he has about half a decade of experience with all of your various y/n-isms under his belt now.

Which is how he knows to trust his gut when it tells him that this probably isn't your usual brand of nonsense.

He spits the toothpaste into the sink and dials your number. You answer on the second ring.

“Before you say anything,” you start, “I was only half-serious about the gummies thing. Like, it's a fun idea, you know? In theory. But in actuality? I do not want to deal with the mess that it would create. Or the smells. Well, the smells might actually be pretty good depending on—“

“Uh-huh,” he interrupts dryly. “Y/n, when's the last time you slept?”

The beat of silence that follows is enough to confirm his suspicions, and the hesitant “Um” that follows is just the icing on the cake, really.

He sighs. “The fact that you have to think about it says enough.”

“I don’t need to think about it,” you argue petulantly. “I just… don’t wanna tell you.”

“Y/n...” he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Look, I know, I'm sorry.” And you do sound a little bit sorry, at least. “I'm just. Having an episode. Don't worry about it.”

His shoulders droop as the words sink in. “Episodes” are what you've taken to calling your intermittent bouts of serious insomnia.

Generally speaking, you sleep about as well as the average twenty-something with a caffeine addiction. But every few months or so, it's like your brain completely forgets how to shut off and you end up staying awake for 40+ hours straight.

“Well,” he says, putting his toothbrush away and going back to his bedroom. “You know that ship has sailed, right? You know I'm gonna worry about it.”

Your deep sigh crackles over the line. “Yeah, I know.”

“So. Where're we at this time?”

He mentally braces himself. The two of you have done this enough times now that he knows that you know there's no point in trying to lie or beat around the bush.

“Uhhhhhhh, I'll be hitting the 46-hour mark in about 20 minutes.”

“Aish.”

The fact that you can say that so casually makes his heart hurt. He knows that whenever he doesn't get enough sleep, he makes sure everyone knows it and thus babies him accordingly. But you've always been so intent on hiding anything and everything you struggle with. It's taken years for him to bully himself past the walls you keep hidden behind shit-eating grins and an over-willingness to help.

“Okay,” he says, moving to the dresser to grab an extra set of clothes. “I'll be over in an hour.”

“Wait. What?”

“You heard me.” He tosses the clothes onto his bed before going to grab one of his duffle bags, firmly asserting, “You've got an hour to mentally prepare yourself for my arrival.”

“Honey, you've got a big storm comin',” you quote at him without hesitating.

“You sure do,” he assures with a snort. “Better get ready to feel the wrath of my friendship.”

“Why do you have to love so aggressively?”

He rolls his eyes while he throws his clothes into the duffle bag with one hand. “Because it's the only way you'll accept it, idiot.”

“No, it isn't.”

Your pout is so audible through the phone that Seungkwan has to stop and glance at the screen in disbelief.

“Y/n. Y/n L/n. Do not stand there and lie to my face like that.”

“I'm not lying!”

“Not—” He gesticulates wildly with one hand like he's going Can you believe this shit? to an invisible TV audience. “Okay, tell me this: what did you do the last time I sincerely monologued at you about how much you mean to me as a friend, hmm? No bits, no bullshit, just me telling you how much I love you and how amazing you are.”

A beat. “I'll hang up on you, Kwannie, don't test me.”

He barely resists the urge to shove his face into the bedspread and scream. “You're literally proving my point right now!”

“Kwannieeee,” you whine, because you know he's right.

“Also, because I'm never letting you live it down, I will remind you exactly what you did."

You say his name again, but it's muffled, and he assumes it's because you're hiding your face in shame.

“I gave you a sincere, heartfelt speech about how much your friendship has changed my life for the better and made me become a better person—” he ignores your wordless pterodactyl screech, “—and how do you respond? By staring at me like a deer caught in the headlights, slowly raising your arms to give me double finger guns, winking, and then slowly backing out of the room like an awkward mannequin!”

“...”

“Well?” He puts his free hand on his hip. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“… I’ve changed a lot since then.”

Seungkwan rolls his eyes before moving to continue packing his overnight bag. “It was literally three months ago.”

“Yeah, and? Doesn't change the fact that I've changed,” you assert.

“Into even more of a nuisance? Yes, you're absolutely right.” He smiles when he hears you scoff playfully.

“Listen here, Boo Seungkwan. You know that well-rested Y/n is ready to throw down with you at a moment's notice. What do you think sleep-deprived, zero-impulse-control Y/n is going to do the second you get to their front door?”

“Stop referring to themself in the third person, hopefully,” he mutters, finally zipping up his bag and heading to the door. “And then after that, they're going to let me bully them into resting.”

“Hmm. The council has heard your proposal, briefly pondered it, and deemed it “unnecessary” on the basis of: they're a bad bitch that can't be stopped by neither time nor physics nor any god of your choosing.”

Seungkwan scoffs as he puts the call on speaker and sits to put on his sneakers. “Well, “the council” can go fuck right off.”

“What if the council would like to fuck right on?”

Pausing in the middle of tying his laces, he blinks down at his phone. “I'm— what?”

“Okay, real talk, what do you think it would mean in this case? Like, would this be like a 'hop on' versus 'hop off' situation? Or more like an 'I'm down for this' versus 'I'm up for this' kinda situation? Because it would have very different outcomes depending.”

Seungkwan decides that this is a debate better left for another time. “I think it means that I'm going to be at your house soon and that if you're not in your pajamas with hot Sleepy Time tea and the series Planet Earth ready to go, there will be consequences.”

“Booooooo, you whore.”

He finishes tying his laces and jabs his finger at the phone. “Consequences, Y/n.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“See you soon, love you, bye.” He hangs up before you can get another word in, but doesn't move from his seated position in the entryway.

Slowly, he takes a deep breath in and lets it out, taking a moment to lean back on his hands while he stares at the back of his front door. Specifically, at the large collage of sticky notes and pictures and doodles that have taken up residence there.

A few of the notes are ones he's gotten from other members of your shared friend group over the years (the one from Chan that reads "if u eat my rice i'll eat ur kneecaps xoxo" hangs proudly in the center, right next to a picture of him sleeping that Seungkwan managed to capture from an extremely unflattering angle). But most of them are from you.

Dumb puns, meme references, bullshit animal facts you made up just to get him to laugh… almost all of them are stupid in that extremely charming way that only you somehow manage to pull off.

But the one he's staring at now is almost completely hidden by other notes and pictures that have been added to the collage. It's a pale blue, the ink starting to fade a bit with time — the first note you ever gave him, back when you two were just people who happened to sit next to each other in an astronomy class.

Even though most of it is hidden, he doesn't need to be able to see all the tiny words you crammed into the small space to already know exactly what it says.

how do u make a space party? u planet :P u looked sad today, hope this makes u feel a little better also if this is 2 forward feel free 2 pretend i don't exist. or punt me in2 the sun idk u'd be doing me a favor tbh

He'd almost skipped class that day because of how bad he'd been feeling, but he'd decided to try and push through. And before that day, neither of you had interacted with more than a polite greeting and the occasional question about the homework.

But then you'd passed him that note, and he'd passed one back that said “that's dumb. but thank you” with a smiley face, and you'd passed another one back that said “do u think lizard people have ever been to space?” and the rest, they say, is history.

Seungkwan shakes his head with a sigh before standing up and grabbing his bag and his keys, striding determinedly out the door. He's got a best friend to take care of.

Seungkwan should be at your place soon, and you're not quite sure what to do in the meantime.

You have your laptop hooked up to the monitor in the living room with Planet Earth queued up, you have the kettle filled with water and ready to go on the stove, and you have mugs and teabags ready on the counter next to it.

The Required Tasks™️ have been completed as much as possible without the arrival of your best friend, and now all that's left to do is wait.

Which, normally, you're not the worst at. You're excellent at entertaining yourself, actually, mostly because there's always something to think about. Whether it be about cute dogs that you've seen over the past week (I wonder if the pomeranian down the street will let me pet him next time), potential plot twists for the new fantasy drama you're a little bit obsessed with (what if Gregothy was cursed the whole time???), or generic ponderings of the human existence as a whole (do souls have the metaphysical equivalent of a fingerprint?), you're pretty much always thinking about something.

Which is totally fine and dandy and cool or whatever when you have the ability to, you know, shut it off. For example, when you need to do something simple and necessary like, oh I don't know, go the fuck to sleep.

You also hate when that manic mental energy somehow translates into kinetic energy as well. It makes you feel like a hamster in a cage, watching yourself running and running and running on that stupid wheel until you exhaust yourself.

Tonight's metaphorical wheel: stimming like wild in the kitchen. Flapping, rocking, (gently) slapping, making weird and fun mouth sounds, the whole shebang.

And again, normally stimming is fun. Stimming is great. But stimming because you feel like if you don't stop moving you're going to literally vibrate out of your skin is, to put it lightly, Not It.

It takes you about ten minutes to work out all of the energy until you no longer feel like your blood was replaced with pop rocks.

With a groan, you lower yourself to the kitchen floor and lay down face first. Because despite how exhausted you feel in every possible way, there's still something like an itch in your conscious, a fucking pea underneath the miles of mattresses that refuse to let you just. Fucking. Sleep.

Your pity party must've lasted longer than you realized (or, more likely, you dissociated for a hot second there) because suddenly someone's knocking at your door at the same time you get a text from Seungkwan.

And you know it's a text from Seungkwan specifically because you got Vernon to help you change your notification settings so that whenever Seungkwan texts you, the "i love you.. bitch" sound clip plays instead of a normal text tone.

For a fraction of a second, you contemplate slowly inching your way to the door like an uncoordinated caterpillar, but you swat the thought aside like you’re swatting a gnat and you awkwardly roll to your feet and make your way to your front door.

Without hesitating, you unlock the door, swinging it open with a flourish and sticking a finger right in Seungkwan's face before he can utter a single syllable, forcing him to cross his eyes.

You open your mouth wide like you're going to say something, pause for a moment, then tap your pointed finger to his nose with a quiet "boop."

He blinks, expression turning deadpan, and sighs. "I should have expected this, honestly."

“Yep!”

You let him into your apartment, and he makes himself right at home, mildly bitching at you as he goes to get the tea ready, and something within you shifts.

The inside of your head is still a bit of a dumpster fire, unfortunately, but inside your chest... something clicks into place that you're not sure that you're ready to name. Whatever it is, though, it's soft and warm and kinda feels like your heart is being hugged.

Smiling to yourself, you follow him into the kitchen.

💤 💤 💤 💤 💤

It was pretty much straight to “business” after that, and it only takes Seungkwan one cup of tea and two episodes listening to David Attenborough's dulcet narrations for him to knock right out, leaning heavily against your shoulder on the couch.

Which means it's now the perfect time to sit there and Admire Your Bro™️.

It's rare to see him so still, you think. He's an active guy, in pretty much every sense of the word, and you always feel a little honored when you get to be witness to his quiet, vulnerable moments like this one.

He looks so serene, face smoothed out and painted in soft twirling shades of blue from the screen of the monitor, though you can't see too much of it from this angle. Mostly you just see his cheeks and stupidly adorable button nose.

And you've seen the same thing a million times before — in all kinds of states and expressions — and despite how much you've tried to ignore it, each and every time you've caught yourself noticing just how cute Seungkwan is, it's caused that thing in your heart to scrunch up, full of the L-word feeling that you've kept unnamed for what feels like forever now.

Except, maybe that thing in your heart is tired of scrunching up. Maybe it's decided that it's tired of forever.

Maybe that thing has finally decided to burrow itself out of the walls you've built up because you find yourself finally allowing yourself to think, Holy shit, I think I'm in love with you.

You don't realize that Seungkwan has completely stilled against you, but you certainly notice when he suddenly throws himself forward so he can turn around and stare at you incredulously. Only he overshoots a little bit and ends up falling off the couch with a squawk and a dramatic flail.

"Oh my god, Kwannie are you okay?!"

He stares at you from where he fell, wide-eyed like you've grown a second head or like the time you'd tried to convince him that birds weren't real and actually just a government conspiracy.

"Am— am I okay? No??"

Now it's your turn to move off of the couch, coming down to his level to see if maybe he hurt himself when he fell. "Fuck, okay, did you hit something? Do you need an icepack?"

Seungkwan being Not Okay is maybe one of the worst things that could ever happen in the entire universe and you're trying not to panic as you reach out to check for injuries.

"No, no, stop—" he bats away at your hands and you stop in your motions, now kneeling in front of him. "I'm not hurt!"

Your brain does the cartoonish screech thing as it comes to a halt, and you furrow your brows. "But.. you just said you're not okay?"

"I'm not!" His eyes are still wide in shock, but he also looks confused and maybe a little bit like he's about to cry?

Oh no. If he cries and it's somehow your fault (because it has to somehow be your fault) you think the world might actually end.

"Okay, uh. I am— confused,” you start, sure you must look as lost as you feel. “But, um, what can I do to help?"

He swallows, and a part of you realizes that he's looking at you with an expression you've never seen before. "Did you mean it?"

Knowing that it's significant but not yet knowing why, you maintain eye contact. "Mean what?"

"What you just said."

You blink. "...that I'm confused?"

He shakes his head. "No, before that."

You have a hard time remembering what you just said when you're not sleep-deprived and worried you've just somehow accidentally caused irreparable emotional damage to your best friend. "Uh... when I asked if you were okay?"

"No, fuck," and it's a shock for some reason, hearing him cuss right now. You hear him say much worse things all the time, but you think it might be the way he said it — with a kind of desperate vulnerability that you're not sure you've ever heard from him before.

That thing in your chest twinges and you think maybe you're the one who's gonna start crying.

He says your name like a plea, and then he's on his knees right in front of where you're kneeling on the floor, reaching forward to cup your face in his palms. "You said— Y/n, you said "holy shit I think I'm in love with you.””

Oh.

You're pretty sure your heart falls right out of your ass and bounces across the rug, judging from the way it comes to a dead stop. You blink at him. Full of new and sinking kind of dread, you whisper, "...I said that out loud?"

He laughs, but it's tinged with incredulity and sounds a little too close to a sob for comfort. "Yes! You did!"

And wait, no, your heart is still stuck in your chest, because you can feel it start pounding against your ribcage in double, triple, quadruple time. He must see the fear in your expression, because suddenly his eyes are narrowed in a determined scowl and he growls, "Oh no you don't."

Then you find yourself going down with a yelp as Seungkwan octopuses himself around you, trapping you within the confines of his surprisingly strong arms and legs as he basically tackles you to the floor.

You try and wiggle away even as you know it's useless, and he grits, "Y/n dammit, answer my question."

"Why were you even awake?” You deflect, getting an arm free and trying to give him a wedgie. “You were supposed to be asleep!"

"I was supposed to be asleep?!” He screeches, easily evading your reach and poking your ribs to get you to reflexively pull back your arm. “You're the one who hasn't slept in literal days! And stop avoiding my question!"

"No!" He has you trapped once again, and you resort to licking his arm.

"Oh my god!"

He muffles his scream into your shoulder, long and frustrated, and then he just... goes limp. He loosens his hold and just lets his full body weight kinda crush the parts of you he's ended up lying on and just... lays there.

This is your chance, you know — to wiggle free and escape and run away from your feelings just like you always have.

But, for some reason, you don't — that scrunched-up thing in your chest holds you back. You stay there, lying beneath Seungkwan on the floor of your living room at one-something in the morning, and the two of you just breathe.

"It's okay, you know," he murmurs after a moment, so quiet you barely hear him over David Attenborough still narrating softly in the background. "If you didn't mean it. It's okay."

Holy shit, I think I'm in love with you.

And you realize how easy it would be to play it off, to blame it on the sleep deprivation, the way you blurted it out like that — to say (to lie) you meant it completely platonically, like the way you propose to Mingyu at least once a month when he cooks you all dinner.

And you also realize, quite shockingly, that despite how a part of you still desperately wants to run away, the larger part of you wants to stay. Doesn't want to run. Doesn't want to lie anymore.

You swallow heavily, briefly close your eyes, and take in a deep breath. "And if I did? Mean it?"

This time, you do notice when Seungkwan goes still. Slowly, he lifts his head so he can look you in the eyes.

When he doesn't say anything, just continues to look at you with an unreadable expression, you try to continue.

"Would you— would that— would it be okay? If I meant it? When I— when I said that I'm in love with you? Is— because um, like you said, it's okay if it's not, and uh—"

Your nervous rambling comes to a stop when he once again cups your face, but it's gentler than before, closer to a caress. The whole time you'd been talking he'd been slowly sitting up, and now he's on his knees next to where you're still lying down on the floor, looking down at you like all the hope in the world is somewhere to be found in your expression.

"Y/n." he says your name like it's something precious, and you feel the absurd urge to burst into tears. "It would be very okay." His thumbs make gentle arcs across your cheeks. "And just to be clear: you mean it in a non-platonic sense, right?” He chews on his lip. “Hopefully, in a very much romantic sense?"

Staring at him staring at you, eyes bright with hope and a little bit of wonder... you can only imagine you must be looking at him the same way. Your chest feels like it's full of helium but also like something warm and gooey is sloshing around in there. And all that hope and wonder and holy shit is this actually happening? is causing your tongue to stick to the roof of your mouth, and all you're able to get past your lips is a breathless, "Hopefully?"

"Oh my god," he groans in frustration, but it's light and airy and makes you think of amusement park rides and fairy lights and how you want to annoy the shit out of this man for the rest of his life, if he'll let you. He's shaking his head, smiling, beaming, and he asks, "Why can you never give me any kind of a straight answer, huh?"

"Because it's my life's purpose to be the bane of your existence until the day we die," you say, reaching up to hold his face too. "Also because I've never done anything straight ever in my life."

And then your body is moving before your brain can think it though, dragging him down until you can press your lips to his and finally, finally know what it's like to kiss Boo Seungkwan.

He makes a little noise of surprise, one that you can feel buzz against your lips before he melts into you. And oh, any thoughts you might have had are forcefully ejected from your brain because all you can focus on are his lips pressed to yours, the way they move slowly, gently, turning this chaste kiss into the most scorching experience of your life. His nose bumps against yours and the heat of his warm breath sends tingles throughout your body, and his hands, fuck, his hands are still holding you gently but also with a firmness that feels like he doesn't want to let you go.

And then he's pulling away, and you whine at him because this may be the cruelest thing he's ever done to you ever in your entire life. "Noooooo, why'd you stop?"

"Because, as much as I'd love to continue to make out with you on your floor while an old British man narrates about life on the Serengeti—” he mercifully ignores the way you choke on your spit at the way he talks about making out with you so nonchalantly "—it's past someone's bedtime."

Your mouth drops open in offended shock. Was he actually going to put you to bed like a child? Like you both hadn't just declared your romantic love for each other? "Are you fucking serious?"

He just stands up and crosses his arms, looking down at you with a single raised eyebrow. You take the part of you that finds it annoyingly attractive and promptly smother it, crossing your own arms from your position on the floor.

"I'm not a baby," you definitely don't pout.

"Hmmm...” And then the bastard fucking pouts at you. “But you're my baby."

You blink at him.

"Welp, that was nice while it lasted,” you grunt, rolling to your feet, “but I suddenly need to relocate to Antarctica and become a penguin herder.”

He pulls you into his arms with a laugh, and you let him, burying your face in the crook of his shoulder.

“You know,” he starts after he's held you for a few moments. “This isn't how I ever imagined how us confessing to each other would go.”

You snort.

“But also,” he continues, “it feels very 'us' doesn't it?”

"Yeah,” you murmur, not bothering to lift your head from his shoulder.

“Mmm, is someone finally sleepy?” he teases, starting to waddle you both towards your bedroom. “Did all the emotions finally wear you out?”

Instead of nodding, you lightly kick him in the shin and the sappy part of your brain that is currently in charge of everything thinks that his indignant squawk is one of your most favorite sounds.

The sappy part of your brain is right, of course, and when you wake up in your bed 15 hours later and accidentally smack him in the face, the urge to run is a little bit smaller than it was before. And the way he flushes bright red after you sleepily kiss him on the cheek is an image you're going to cherish until the day you die.

#svtsource #seungkwan fluff #seungkwan fic #seungkwan x y/n #seungkwan x you #seungkwan x reader #svt fluff #seventeen fluff #savv writes #savv fics #in my queue world

490 notes · View notes

luvangelbreak · 9 months ago

Text

Deprived | Twenty

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 matthew sturniolo x layla venita (female!oc) summary: everyone knows the story of the bad boy and the good girl but what happens when the school's most popular boy, Matthew Sturniolo, and the girl who notoriously is never there, Layla Venita, cross paths. warnings: swearing, smoking, suggestive? word count: 3.3k a/n: this series has been longer than I anticipated but I'm living for the slow burn so it's gonna be a while till we're done folks.

pov: layla

I spent the next week couped in my room, refusing to leave as I quickly smoked the bag of weed Wes had given me. Allie had messaged me in concern multiple times and I finally built up the courage to reply to her a day after her last message.

Allie <3 Monday hey girl are you okay? matt has been off all day 1:30pm Tuesday if u wanna talk im here <3 5:37pm Wednesday im getting concerned pls message me if u need anything 3:47pm

You sorry just havent been feeling good im okay just need time alone 10:21pm

Allie <3 im sorry :(10:23pm

You its okay i'll be at school tmrw 10:27pm

Allie <3 okay! see ya then <3 10:28pm

I locked my phone and threw it lazily on the bed beside me, rolling over to face the wall where my window was cracked open. I was glad my dad was out tonight, having to deal with him for over a week straight was draining and I felt like it didn't benefit my self-loathing in any way. I sighed as my mind always travelled back to the look on Matt's face, the pure hurt in his eyes that I knew I caused.

Part of me was glad he hadn't messaged or tried to talk to me. It meant that I could push him away if I wanted to. I did just that without even consciously meaning to. I got scared and made it his fault in my brain but as I continued rotting in my bed, I realised I hurt him more than I ever meant to. It wasn't his fault that I was afraid of someone being close, it wasn't his fault that I let something so small set me off. I needed to make him realise it wasn't his fault and I was just not used to the affection and accommodation he offered me daily.

I barely slept over the past week and this night was no different. My alarm went off in the early hours of the morning and I knew I had slept a total of 4 hours from the way my brain had constantly been reeling. I dragged myself out of bed and trudged into the bathroom. I took an extra long shower to attempt to rid the disgust I felt towards myself.

After scrubbing my entire body head to toe, I jumped out of the shower and walked to my room. My entire body felt heavy and I felt tears prick my eyes when I looked over to the pink sweater that was still laying over my bag. I picked it up, realising it was the only clean sweater I had since I hadn't been bothered with laundry. I quickly slid it over my head before sliding on my black sweatpants and combat boots. I slid my leather jacket over the top, not bothering with any makeup as I lazily tied my now damp hair into a low ponytail. I grabbed my bag, quickly sprayed on some perfume and grabbed my phone off of my bedside table.

I quickly exited my house without food or water in my stomach and as I began walking down the road, I decided to light one of the last few cigarettes I had pre-rolled. I grabbed my headphones from my bag, slid one into my ear and plugged them into my phone. I clicked shuffle on one of my playlists and I let my feet drag on the asphalt as I slowly made my way down the streets of Massachusetts.

After an hour, I finally arrived in the parking lot of the school and I scanned the cars, my eyes landing where I saw the familiar silver minivan. I paused, letting out a heavy breath as I collected myself and began walking to the group of people in front of the car.

Nate was the first to notice me and he just looked at me with no expression before he turned back to the group. As I got closer I noticed the fact that Mia was standing beside Matt with her head leaned on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her back lazily and I felt a pang of pure jealousy run through me. I tried to shake it off as I got closer, knowing I had no right to be mad about it right now since I was the one who caused the riff between the brown-haired boy and myself.

"Speak of the devil," I heard Nick say when his eyes caught mine and I was a few feet away, standing uncomfortably as I looked between all of them. All of their heads turned to look at me, Allie being the only one who didn't seem like they were looking right through me.

"Matt, can I talk to you?" I asked quietly as I didn't dare to meet his eyes yet and there was an uncomfortable silence that fell over us, "Please."

"About what?" he asked, his tone short and I looked up to see his face completely expressionless but his eyes held such hurt and aggravation that it felt like it cut right through me.

"Last week," I mumbled, ignoring the pain in my chest of seeing Mia looking at me with a slight smirk. I focused in on the boy I had hurt, his blue eyes piercing in the sunlight.

"Now?" he questioned, not taking his eyes off of me and I just looked at him, the judgement of his friends radiating off of them. He sighed heavily before swinging his arm out from around Mia and I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders but there was still a pressure on my chest, "I'll be back."

I looked at the ground as he pushed away from the hood of the minivan and he walked past me. I followed behind him, not daring to look back at his friends as we walked to the back of the parking lot before he stopped to face me.

He didn't say anything for a moment as I looked up at him and he scanned me head to toe before murmuring, "That's my sweater."

"Yeah. I left it on my bag all week but I didn't have any clean hoodies for today," I explained and he hummed as I picked at the skin around my fingers, my nails too short to bite now that I had been picking at them all week. I nervously chewed on my lip before I said, "I'm sorry."

"It took you a week to say that?" he asked, his voice quiet but his words laced with pain.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I know I reacted to what you said horribly but I just-" I cut myself off as I took a breath and looked down at the gravel below us, "I haven't had anyone take care of me the way you do. It scares me. I'm sorry."

I squeezed my eyes closed, chewing on my bottom lip far more aggressively than I intended but my heart raced as I waited for his response. I felt his hand fall under my chin and he lifted my face to look up at him, noticing now that he was slightly closer to me. He used his thumb to gently pull my lip away from my teeth as I fidgeted with the hem of the pink sweater.

"Why didn't you just talk to me?" he asked, his tone softening as he looked down at me and I shrugged dumbly.

"I am bad at talking about that sorta stuff," I answered quietly, my throat closing from the sadness that invaded my body as I looked up at him. I had no right to be upset right now, I was the one who fucked up and made this so difficult, but I felt guilt invade my entire body when I realised I didn't want to push him away. It was habit and I was always bad at breaking them.

"Don't do that again," he demanded softly and I pursed my lips as I pushed my sadness down the best I could as tears sprung to my eyes, "Or I swear to god I won't talk to you again and I don't want to stop talking to you. Ever."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away. I just don't know how to deal with everything I'm feeling and I know it's shitty but I promise I'm trying. I have no right to be sad right now because this is my fault but I feel so horrible for making you upset. You deserve so much more than that and if I can't give that to you I understand if you don't want me to be around anymore," I rambled out all of my feelings and conflicting voices in my head but I was cut off by his lips on mine.

I paused for a moment to register what was happening before my body melted into his, his arms wrapping around my lower back as I snaked my arms around his neck. I pulled him into me, missing the way his body felt against my own more than I anticipated. It felt like a breath of fresh air after being stuck in my room for the past week with smoke-filled lungs. He gripped my hips, pulling me impossibly closer to him as I tangled my hands in his hair before he pulled away to breathe for a moment.

"You're an idiot," he mumbled before he leaned back in to kiss me gently again.

"I know," I mumbled against his lips and he ran his tongue against my rough lips, the sting of his saliva hitting the open splits on my lips from chewing them. I hissed and pulled away as he looked down at me.

"You need to stop biting your lip," he muttered as his eyes travelled all around my face, "And stop picking your nails. You're not gonna have any left soon."

"I've been stressed the past week. I can't help it," I whispered as I looked up at him in awe. I had forgotten the pure oxytocin that ran through my system when I was with him and I refused to let it go again.

"Pretty girl," he gave me a sympathetic look and I shook my head as I pulled away from his face slightly, my arms still slung over his shoulders.

"Don't feel bad. This was my doing and I will make it up to you," I answered sternly and his face broke into a small smile. I sighed, the weight being lifted off of my chest now and my body tingled with joy.

"All I'm asking is that you talk to me next time," he whispered, leaning down to place a peck on my lips and I let it linger before I pulled back and nodded.

"I will try," I scratched the nape of his neck lightly and he bit his bottom lip as my face dropped, "Don't look at me like that before we have to go inside. I'll drive us back to your house right now."

"I don't see you for a week and you're ready to jump my bones already," he chuckled and I raised my eyebrows.

"How else can I make it up to you, ya know?" I joked as let my mouth form into a smirk and he shook his head as he pursed his lips, "Does this mean I can come to your game this week?"

"Of course baby," he smiled down at me and I felt the butterflies erupt in my stomach again, promising not only him but myself to never let myself ruin this again.

"By the way," I let my right hand trail from his neck to his chest, playing with the necklace that sat comfortably on his collarbones, "Allie's brother was just dropping me home. He tried to flirt with me but I shut it down. I wasn't lying about that."

"I know. I overreacted. I'm sorry about that," he said softly and I shook my head, twiddling the pendant between my fingers as I looked up at him.

"I know how it looked. I would've been just as upset. You don't need to apologise for it," I mumbled, trying hard to convey my feelings as best I could to which he didn't respond verbally. He instead placed another kiss against my lips and smiled against me as he squeezed my hips.

"Matt!" I heard Chris's voice call from only a few feet away and we both broke apart to look over at him, "You guys done? We gotta go to class."

"I forgot about that," I joked and Chris just gave me a deadpanned look as Matt chuckled.

"We'll be there in a sec," he called to his brother who just rolled his eyes and spun around to walk back to his friends, "They're more pissed at you than I was."

"I can tell," I mumbled as I watched their eyes pour directly into me, "Allie messaged me though."

"She was the only one defending you," he told me honestly and I hummed as I looked back up to him, "I'll talk to them."

"Don't sugarcoat it. You can tell them I'm a dumbass who doesn't know how to deal with her emotions," I stated and he shook his head with a smile, placing a kiss on the top of my head before swinging his arm over my shoulders.

"Come on," he said nodding towards the group and I hesitantly began walking with him by my side. Their eyes stayed glued to us as we approached and Mia gave me nothing but a scowl with her arms crossed, "Chill out. We talked about it."

"That didn't seem like talking," Mia spat and I remained silent, letting Matt handle the situation as I looked at Allie who gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Don't Mia," Matt deadpanned and she only scoffed with a roll of her eyes, "We talked about it and I don't wanna hear it."

"Only took you a week," Nate raised his eyebrows as he spoke and he looked at me. I pursed my lips while glancing between them.

"At least it happened," Matt retorted before the bell rang and he sighed, "We'll talk about it later. Let's go."

He began walking with his arm around my shoulder still and I followed suit, Chris moving to stand on the other side of Matt as everyone else followed behind. We made our way to our classes and once we sat down, a weight fell back on my chest.

Not only did I have to make it up to Matt, I had to win back his brothers and his friends.

+++

Pretty boy where did u go?? 12:23pm

You 🚬 be there in a minute 12:24pm

I locked my phone, sliding it into my pocket as I finished off my cigarette, throwing it onto the ground before I wedged it into the ground with my boot. I made my way back inside and straight to the cafeteria where I saw the group of friends sitting together.

"Hey," Allie beamed as she scooted closer to Mia to make space between her and Matt for me to sit. I smiled at her as I swung my legs over the bench and sat down. Matt placed his arm around my lower back as he continued his conversation with Nick.

"I don't want to wear a tie. That's why I got the red shirt," Matt groaned and Nick gave him a deadpanned look.

"It's prom. You're supposed to look fancy with a tie," Nick stated and Matt ran a hand across his face.

"We're all wearing a tie. Don't be a bitch," Nate pointed out and I tuned them out as Allie tapped my shoulder to gain my attention.

"You okay?" she asked quietly and I nodded with a hum.

"Yeah. Thank you for checking on me," I answered in a hushed tone and she shrugged with her sunshine smile that warmed my heart to know she wasn't annoyed with me.

"Of course. That's what friends are for," she said casually before she turned back to listen to the group conversation. I let her words hang over my head like a cloud.

That's what friends are for.

I don't remember the last time I had a genuine friend and her simple words struck me right in my heart. She had always been kind to me and from the moment we talked, she had been such a light in my life. I realised I not only wanted to share my emotions and feelings with Matt but also with Allie to show her that I appreciated her.

I wanted to be better for both of them.

"How long do we have to stay there?" Chris whined as he threw his head onto the table dramatically and Allie rolled her eyes.

"You're acting like you're being held hostage. If you don't wanna go it's fine," Allie responded, her tone quietening at the end and I could sense the slight sadness at Chris's distaste for prom.

"Al, I told you I'm going and I'll stick to that. I just don't wanna be there for five hours," he lifted his head up to look at her and she shrugged, eyes glancing at the table.

"We can leave early and go back to my house," she offered and Chris's mouth broke into a smile as he nodded.

"Works for me," he said triumphantly before sitting up again, resting his elbows on the table in front of him.

"How are we getting there?" Mia asked, looking around at the group and I just sat there in silence, deciding to go along with whatever plan I knew Allie had already set up.

"Meet up at my house at five thirty so we can take photos and make sure we have everything and then we will leave at like six-thirty to get to the hotel," Allie explained the plan and everyone seemed to hum along in agreement. I felt Matt's arm snake further around my back as he scooted closer to me.

"How are we getting there?" Nick asked and Allie smiled as she adjusted her ponytail.

"I got us a limo," she announced happily and Mia showed her first sign of happiness of the day as she squealed excitedly, "You guys won't drink right?"

Matt and his brothers shook their heads with a firm no and Allie turned to look at me and I shrugged, "Depends on what it is."

"Bottle of champagne in the limo?" Mia asked Allie and Allie nodded causing Mia's smile to widen.

"You're dad won't arrest us if we drink?" Nate asked, the half-hearted joke not landing well with Mia as she rolled her eyes.

"Not if he doesn't know," she pointed out with a slight smirk and Nate raised his eyebrows before nodding in agreement.

"Did you find a dress?" Nate asked, turning his attention to me as he attempted to make conversation. I assumed that in the time I'd been in my other classes and was outside Matt had talked to Nate, Chris and Nick since they weren't glaring at me anymore but they still felt slightly standoffish.

"No. I'm just gonna make my own," I explained and he nodded, his smile in a downturned smile.

"Mad impressive that you can do that," he complimented me and I gave him a half-hearted smile as Matt traced circles on my hip with his thumb.

"Thanks. I just hope I can finish it in time," I explained and I could sense Mia's disgust towards me radiating off of her but I was learning to tune her out like I had always done before Matt came into my life.

Suddenly the bell rang for our next classes and everyone began getting up. I stood up from the table before Matt spun me around and kissed my lips gently. I froze for a moment, shocked at the fact he did that in the middle of the cafeteria but I quickly reciprocated the action before he pulled away.

"See you after school pretty girl," he smirked at me before he walked away and I stood still for a moment as I watched him walk away with Nick, Chris, Nate and Mia.

"You guys are so fucking cute it makes me want to throw up," Allie rolled her eyes playfully beside me and I looked around to see people staring at me once again. I pursed my lips, my cheeks tinging red as I hid a smile and shook my head before I began walking out of the cafeteria.

tags:

@dsturniolo @chrisstankyleg @lov3bug @pinklittleflower @thatcrazybitch-69 @trinity2058 @alorsxsturn @chrizznmetswife @ilovechrissturniolo1 @leprechaunbirthdaygirl @sturnfix @lilsstvrn @sturniololol @sturniolowhore @jebbie-project-blog @jaxyy219

86 notes · View notes

kifflepiffles · 6 months ago

Text

Fixed Francis, Nacha, and Anastacha headcanon backstory;

(This is also basing off the fact that in the 40s and 50s, to avoid judgement, it was very common to kick out and disown a child if they got pregnant or knocked someone up while young and/or before marriage)

When Nacha was pregnant with Anastacha, Francis was very distant and full of dread. He feared the idea of being a father, but couldn't bring himself to just leave. The two of them were highschool sweethearts, only 16 and 17 years old when she was born. They dropped out of highschool and went straight to work to rent an apartment together and start saving for the baby. The stress, distance, and general growing apart as they matured lead to them mutually breaking up when Nacha was 6 months pregnant, but agreeing to both co-parent actively.

He was there for Nacha when Ana was born, holding her hand, advocating for her to the doctors, and retrieving things she wanted. He was nauseous with anxiety. Between the stress and the blood, he had blacked out twice.

But not long after Anastacha was born, he snapped out of his dread. His fear of becoming a father had vanished the moment he got to hold her. Its one of his favorite memories. Nacha was taking a nap and didn't want the baby to be in the nursery where she couldn't watch her, so Francis took her. At first, he sat in an armchair in the hospital room, tense and awkward as the newborn slept in his arms. But he watched her breathe, observed her, watching her hand grasp his finger, and noticed his features in her. She had his eyes.

When Nacha woke up, Francis was leaning back in the chair with Anastacia against his chest and was a sobbing, shaking mess. Nacha pretended to be asleep a bit longer until Ana cried to be fed to not disrupt them. She had never seen Francis cry, let alone hysterically, before their daughter's birth.

He vowed to stay as close as possible for the sake of his daughter; To be in her life whilst keeping a distance from her mother for both of their comfort. It's the reason why they live in the same apartment despite mutually breaking up when Nacha was pregnant, which they moved into when Ana was a few months old and sleeping through the night. It's why he puts up with his job, despite it draining him. It's lonely, but he's there for his daughter, and he cherishes his sweet baby girl.

When Anastacha was an infant, Francis wasn't a milkman yet. He took a job with a night shift, hence why he's still so tired. (Fun fact, when you're young, not sleeping enough leads to chronic fatigue as an adult. Don't make the same mistake francis made, and the mistake I'm trying to fix while I'm still under 20 :'] )

Nacha had a part time job while she went through a culinary certification class. During the day, Francis took care of Ana and would take naps with her. Then he handed her off to Nacha when she got home around 4 or 5, slept until 8:30, then headed off to work by 9. When Nacha got her job as a chef, the two of their incomes was enough to hire a babysitter for the day a few times a month. Ana would be in one apartment, and both Nacha and Francis would spend the day in the other apartment, catching up on sleep. This was their schedule until Ana was about 6 or 7 and in school, and could spend an hour or so unattended, playing with toys and watching TV until either of them arrived home from work. It was around this time that Francis picked up his milkman job

From the time Ana was a toddler, Nacha and Francis taught her how to navigate between the two of their apartments. Both of them are truly like home to her. Even if her childhood was a bit nerve racking for them, as their baby was running around the hallways with little attendance. But it was a bit nice when she was young. Her constant questions of, "Can we get a dog? Can I have ice cream for breakfast? Why can't I get a drum set? " granted the couple a few more minutes of peace when they said "Go ask your dad/mom"

Francis expected her to resent him for not living with her mother. But to Ana, it was normal. Every other day, she would switch between sleeping at Nacha and Francis's apartments, calling it a "sleepover", despite who's apartment she was at. Both of their apartments were cluttered with her toys

Now that she's older, she spends a bit more time in her mom's apartment because she finds her room to be cozier and more private there. But she still switches often. A day at Nacha's, a Day at Francis's. A few hours at both. A few days at either. Sometimes, it even depends on if she wants to take a walk, or if she got into an argument with one of them.

#francis mosses #thats not my neighbor #thats not my neighbour milkman #tnmn #anastacha mikaelys #nacha mikaelys

50 notes · View notes

hannyoontify · 1 year ago

Text

the best birthday gift - jeon wonwoo

member | best friend!wonwoo x reader ft. the rest of svt

genre | fluff, attempted humor, high school!au (but they’re not at school)

word count | 2.8k

synopsis | it turns out, wonwoo works best under pressure

warnings | cursing, reader wears a tank top, reader is short and gets made fun of for it (lightheartedly), sex jokes, friendly bantering

notes | set in southern california, LA/Hollywood, based on real life events from yours truly and kids don’t jaywalk not proofread

happy (late) wonwoo day!! to the sweetest boy ever, i hope you had a wonderful birthday <33

Whoever thought taking public transportation with fourteen people to downtown LA was a good idea deserved to “be buried alive 6 feet under with those bug-eyed Chihuahuas”, according to Seungkwan.

In his defense, Seungcheol thought it would be better for the environment. It totally wasn’t because of the fact that he was the only one with a driving license and it absolutely wasn’t because he wasn’t confident enough in his driving skills to be responsible for the lives of thirteen other people. Where would he get a 14-seat car anyway?

All fourteen of you trudged along the cracked sidewalks of downtown LA, broken up into smaller groups as Seungcheol led the way in the front with Jeonghan and Jihoon. You stayed in the back, with Mingyu and Wonwoo, who were intensely debating whether or not a person can suck their own dick. You occasionally pitched in with your two cents, but you mostly stayed quietly in the middle, enjoying the spectacle that was laid out in front of you.

You were so engrossed in Mingyu and Wonwoo’s conversation that you almost ran straight into a streetlight. You yelled in surprise and Wonwoo barked out a sharp laugh, almost in tears as you rubbed your nose with a pout. Mingyu cracked a smile as you threatened to demonstrate firsthand to your best friend what you learned from your second grade taekwondo class.

“You don’t wanna mess with me, Jeon Wonwoo. I was a yellow belt in second grade.”

“Yeah, and I’m, like, a whole head taller than you. What about it?” Mingyu’s ears perked up at hearing those fighting words and reached for his leftover popcorn from earlier. It was safe to assume that Wonwoo chose death today.

“You know, with your height and broad shoulders, you would think there’s at least one bone with common sense in you but I guess not,” you countered.

“You do know that tall people have the same amount of bones as short people like you, right?” Wonwoo sneered.

You did a double take. “Wait, really?”

“Oh my god, [Name], what’d you learn in human anatomy?” Joshua asked. He was standing next to Mingyu, his hand reaching into Mingyu’s bucket of soggy popcorn. “I thought you passed that class with an A.”

“Yeah, with my help,” Wonwoo muttered under his breath. “They slept in class everyday and I ended up having to tutor them for 16 hours the day before our final.”

You swung your arm around his shoulder and grinned. “I still owe you for that one, how can I ever repay you for your kindness?” You asked dramatically.

Wonwoo reached over and pinched the side of your ribs. “How about growing another couple inches?”

“Fuck off,” You pushed him away from you and stuck out your tongue. In retaliation, Wonwoo flipped you off.

Mingyu and Joshua watched the two of you bickering in amusement. The older boy leaned over and whispered into Mingyu’s ear, “I give them two weeks before they either start dating or fucking, I don’t know which one yet.”

Mingyu snorted. “I give them three days.”

“It’s a deal then,” Joshua reached out and shook Mingyu’s hand with his non-buttery hand. Unfortunately for him, he had reached over and gripped the latter’s oily, buttery hand. “EW WHAT THE FUCK MINGYU.”

“Why did we stop?” You heard Seungkwan ask. He was currently holding onto Soonyoung’s backpack strap like it was a leash, stopping him from running off into the wild streets of downtown LA. Next to him was Seokmin, who just looked happy to be wearing his newly acquired Minions bucket hat.

After walking for what seemed like forever, Seungcheol had finally signaled the entire group to stop walking by an intersection. Mingyu glanced towards the front, where Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Jihoon seemed to be in a heated discussion about something. Although you couldn’t hear what they were saying, you could tell they were getting stressed by Jihoon’s eyebrows that furrowed into each other with every passing second, Jeonghan’s more exasperated hand movements, and Seungcheol’s lips that began jutting into a pout as he got more and more worked up.

You let out a tired sigh. Your feet were aching and sore, your shoulders were sunburnt and itchy, and you probably smelled like a mix of sweat and weed right now. It wasn’t you that was smoking weed, but the esteemed gentleman sitting next to you on the metro-rail earlier was and you’re pretty sure the smell was permanently woven into the fabric of your tank top. You shifted back and forth between your feet, trying to alleviate any weight and pressure off your feet for at least a second and Wonwoo seemed to notice this because he silently guided you to a nearby bench,

You spared him a quick glance. “Thanks, Woo. You should also sit.”

“Short people tend to have a shorter life span. Compared to you, I have plenty of more time to sit down,” Wonwoo shook his head with faux sympathy, almost enough to convince you that he was being serious but you knew him better than that.

Despite being absolutely exhausted, you assumed you had enough strength left in you to give Wonwoo’s shin a good, hard kick.

“Ow, what the fuck was that for?” Wonwoo complained and you just grinned.

“I hope you shrink.”

Wonwoo stuck his tongue out at you childishly and you just rolled your eyes with a giggle, momentarily forgetting about the hot, blaring sun and the impending sunburn on your shoulders. He glanced down at you with the ghost of a smile tugging on the corners of his lips and you felt your stomach erupt into butterflies. Your not-so-little crush on Wonwoo was old news, but no matter how much time you spent with him, his smile always managed to turn you into a messy pile of goo and butterflies.

Waiting for further instructions, Wonwoo leaned on you, his arms resting on top of your head as he scrolled through his phone. You stared down at the ground, trying to ignore the warmth of Wonwoo’s body next to yours. If it was anyone else, you would’ve pushed them off already, complaining about how hot it was, but this was Wonwoo.

You tried to use the breathing techniques Minghao taught you a while ago, but it didn’t help calm your fastly beating heart. You wiped your sweaty palms on the fabric of your pants and licked your chapped lips. You almost forgot how much you hated summer in southern California.

In an attempt to distract yourself, you thought back to the long day and how chaotic everything was from the start. All fourteen of you agreed to go to Universal Studios Hollywood for Wonwoo’s 17th birthday, and the morning was alright. You all made it to the theme park safely via public transportation and after a long, fun day, the group decided to head back home to catch the last train.

You guys missed the last train.

In Jun’s defense, he didn’t mean to get lost. He was busy trying to apply another layer of sunscreen and when he looked up, everyone else was gone. He wandered around the city for a while before he caught sight of Soonyoung’s bright tiger backpack (no one knows why none of them used their phones to contact each other). By the time all fourteen of you were reunited, the last train had already left, leaving you guys to take the cheaper, but much more sketchy metro-rail.

After missing the original stop on the metro-rail, you guys had to ride back for another 20 minutes, then navigate the streets of downtown LA in the late afternoon heat to find a specific bus stop, leading to your current situation.

“Okay, everyone! Our bus is supposed to be here any second,” Seungcheol called out. Immediately, everyone’s focus seemed to snap to the three boys who were standing side by side, arms crossed and firm looks on their faces. “The bus station is diagonally across the intersection so we need to-”

Jeonghan, looking somewhere else, began to urgently tap on Seungcheol’s shoulder. “Cheol, that’s 460. That’s our bus.”

Seungcheol felt his blood run cold. Across the street, he saw a bright orange bus making its way down the street, pulling up to the bus station diagonally across from where he and the rest of his friends were currently standing.

Everyone seemed to be under a trance as they stared at the run-down bus pull up to the station. Soonyoung was the first one to shake off the trance, breaking free from his beloved tiger backpack and leaving it in Seungkwan’s limp grip. He bolted across the street, ignoring all the different car honks and curses that were thrown at him. He had somehow made it not only across the street, but diagonally across the intersection, ending up on the same sidewalk as the bus station.

Soonyoung looked behind, expecting everyone else to be following him, only to see the rest of his friends staring at him dumbfoundedly.

“KWON SOONYOUNG WHAT THE FUCK?!” Seungcheol yelled.

“I’M SORRY HYUNG I DON’T KNOW-”

Seungcheol waved at him urgently, doing everything in his power to resist the urge to run through the LA traffic to simply throttle the younger boy. “NO, DON’T FUCKING APOLOGIZE JUST STOP THE BUS.”

Soonyoung stared at Seungcheol with a confused look on his face. “WHAT?”

Finally breaking out of your own trance, you stood up and began pointing to the bus. “STOP THE FUCKING BUS. TELL THEM TO WAIT.”

Chan noticed that the crosswalk light turned green and began running. “COME ON WE NEED TO MOVE.”

My dear reader, have you ever seen a stampede of any kind? Whether it be the stampede of wildebeests that trampled Mufasa to death in the Lion King, the rush of high school students to the canteen during lunch, or thirteen teenagers running down the crooked streets of LA, I’m sure you can imagine the picture. Sweaty and red faces, backpack straps flying off shoulders, breathless laughs, unintelligible yells, and hands tightly gripping and tugging at each other.

More specifically, Wonwoo’s hand gripping yours.

In the spur of the moment, the only thought in Wonwoo’s head was making sure you were safe. So when the rest of your friends broke into a sprint, his first instinct was to grab your hand and pull you along.

Here you are now, your hand still in Wonwoo’s as you guys caught your breath while waiting for the second light to change. Soonyoung stood on the other side of the crosswalk as the living epitome of the standing emoji, waiting for someone to say something.

Seungkwan angrily shook his fist that still held his friend’s (tacky) tiger backpack. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GO STOP THE BUS!”

Soonyoung helplessly pointed towards the bus that had already left the station and was now waiting at a red light. “IT LEFT! IT’S TOO LATE!”

“GO! GO ASK THEM TO STOP. STALL THE DRIVER, JUST DO ANYTHING,” You screamed desperately. All around you, your friends were also yelling at Soonyoung, telling him to stop the bus and ask the driver to wait.

Soonyoung finally gave in and ran back towards the bus that was still waiting at the red light. With every passing second, everyone inched closer to the edge of the curb, impatiently waiting for the light to change. And after what seemed like forever (it had been three minutes), the light finally changed and you made a run for it. Pushing past Jihoon and Vernon, you sprinted down the sidewalk with incoherent yells. You passed by other pedestrians who all looked at you and your friends questionably, and for good reason too. It wasn’t everyday you saw a group of teenagers running in downtown LA in the middle of July.

There was maybe another hundred feet left in front of you and you’ve never felt more exhilarated before in your life. Adrenaline coursed through your veins as your feet made heavy contact with the gum clad concrete. You felt like you were in a teen movie. You could almost imagine the BGM as you and your friends dramatically run together in slow motion, your hair flowing in the air and you find yourself smiling. Wonwoo caught up to you, running by your side as the two of you silently sprinted down the street with bated breaths.

Wonwoo glanced over at you and felt a warm feeling spreading throughout his chest. This feeling wasn’t unfamiliar to him, but it amazed him how easily he was swept away by your charm every time he was in your presence. Your laugh always pulled at his heartstrings and your smile seemed to brighten up every room you entered. Wonwoo was drawn to you like a magnet and there was nothing he could do about it.

As the two of you got closer to the bus, Wonwoo suddenly had a thought. He reached for your hand and pulled you closer to him.

“[Name],” Wonwoo started breathlessly. The bus was now less than fifty feet away and Soonyoung had successfully managed to convince the bus driver to wait for you and your friends. It was now or never. “You said you would get me anything for my birthday, right?”

You let out a strangled grunt, trying your hardest to not sound like you were fighting for your life after running for only five minutes because that was just simply embarrassing. Up ahead, Soonyoung had already made his way into the bus and found himself a comfortable seat in the back with a content smile. You slowed down as you approached the bus and breathlessly set down a foot on the front step of the vehicle.

Behind you, Wonwoo gently rested his hands on your hips and whispered into your ear, “How about a date?”

You felt your heart drop past your ass, your feet, and into the deepest, darkest pits of hell. Skinship was normal between your friend group, but this was different. And also, what the fuck did he just say? Were you slowly losing your hearing? Your mom was right, spending too much with Seokmin and Soonyoung did damage your ears-

Wonwoo let out a soft laugh behind you and almost as if he read your mind, “No, you’re not hearing things [Name]. This is me asking you out.”

You desperately needed someone to pinch you.

Climbing onto the bus with a perplexed look on your face, you mumbled a quick ‘thank you’ to the bus driver who seemed a little less than happy to have a bunch of hooligans on his bus. Wonwoo’s big hands never left your waist as he guided you to an empty seat towards the back of the bus. You simply followed his lead as you tried to comprehend what your best friend just said. This was all probably a prank, right? You sank down in your chair and looked at Wonwoo, who was trying to get himself situated next to you. Was he being serious?

“Yes, you idiot. I’m being serious. I’m so surprised you haven’t caught onto my crush on you yet, with how obvious I was being,” Wonwoo had whispered the last part under his breath but you still heard it. His hand reached for yours that was resting on your lap. “I understand if you don’t feel the same way but-”

“I do,” you said abruptly, interrupting him. After realizing what you just said, you wanted to slap a hand over your mouth, dig a hole underground, crawl into it, and never come out of it ever again. “I mean- I- What I mean is…”

Wonwoo looked at you expectantly, his brown eyes gleaming with hope. He nodded at you to continue and you felt like your tongue had suddenly turned into cotton. Everything in your mouth was dry and heavy and you had to lick your lips before continuing.

“I do… feel the same way about you. I’ve liked you ever since that water balloon fight we had in eighth grade on your birthday. And-” You choked on your words again. “-I would love to go on a date with you.”

Wonwoo felt like he had just won the lottery. He simply couldn’t help the smile that tuuged up on his lips as he gave your hand a firm squeeze. “Okay.”

You returned his smile and hand squeeze. “Okay.”

Exhausted from the long day, Wonwoo rested his head on your shoulder as he drew small patterns on your knee. “I think this might be the best birthday yet,”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, since you agreed to date me.”

“You’re so corn-”

“HA! YOU OWE ME TEN BUCKS SHUA HYUNG.”

reblogs and feedback always appreciated ^-^

266 notes · View notes

ghostshipernr1 · 2 months ago

Text

WITCH-HUNT

chapter 3

"Dewdrop gets a little lost in the castle and meets a strangely tall man"

16-year-old Dewdrop doesn't have it easy.What he would like most in the world is to bury his nose in books and never leave the room. Unfortunately, his family thinks otherwise and forces him to marry a stranger. Who will save him from such a terrible fate?

Its time for...

My favorite ship but its Vampire Middle ages Universe!!!

Human Dewdrop x Vampire Aether

It was already light outside. The night fog had long since disappeared and the trees had taken on a much more cheerful character from their ominous attitude. Dewdrop surprisingly discovered after waking up that he was indeed in a very good mood. The fear that had recently gripped him to the limits seemed to have evaporated today. What was even stranger was that the room lacked any traces of the man who had put him to sleep just a few hours ago. The blond looked around the room, everything seemed the same and yet there was a note on the small bedside table.

"GOOD MORNING!!!

I sincerely hope you slept well! Knowing that you might still be tired I decided to give you some space but I'll be back soon to check if everything is okay. I also saw that your clothes were ruined so I encourage you to choose something from the closet in the room.

~Aether"

However, the piece of paper wasn't the only thing lying on the bedside table. There was also a plate with something that was probably pork. Dewdrop wondered at first whether to try it, after all he didn't trust this place yet, but the strong rumbling in his stomach reminded him that if it weren't for them, he would still be lying in a damp ditch with a broken arm.

Dewdrop didn't expect the meat could ever be this good. Every bite melted perfectly in his mouth and before he knew it, everything was already eaten, whoever prepared this meal must have definitely known what they were doing. With his belly already full, Dewdrop decided to finally take off his dirty clothes and put on something neater. He looked into the closet, searching through the most diverse dresses, until he finally decided on a flowing, long black dress. Remembering his lack of footwear, the blond looked for some substitutes. Oh well, a pair of fluffy socks and cat slippers would have to do for now.

A steady knock on the door echoed through the room. Dewdrop probably already knowing who it was, opened the door looking at the taller man in front of him.

"I see you've already picked out some clothes" He said looking the other up and down.

"I hope that won't be a problem, by the way thanks for the breakfast. I usually don't eat meat in the morning but this was a nice change" Dewdrop spoke up. Aether definitely noticed how the shorter one straightened his back and lifted his chin slightly, trying to emphasize his noble lineage but he didn't comment on it. Instead he gestured for him to follow him.

Dewdrop didn't trust the man at first, but after remembering the events of the previous night, his attitude warmed up considerably. After all, what did he have to lose? Despite everything, he still kept to himself, and when they walked arm in arm through the large corridors, the blond still felt a deep-rooted distrust.

During the journey, in which Aether showed the shorter one around the large complex of corridors and rooms, telling him with great gusto what was where and what it was for, Dewdrop began to realize where he really was. This was no ordinary cottage where a happy family lived. It was a large castle straight out of the legend of Uranus. However, there was a radical difference between the history and what he was currently seeing. The blood-curdling torture chambers were actually warm rooms with a visible family atmosphere. The rooms that were supposed to be lined with occult symbols were actually lined with embroidered wool blankets in cat patterns. There's no way a bunch of bloodthirsty beasts living here would be ready to squeeze the last of his life out of him in less than a second.

However, ignoring his delight at the castle, Dewdrop had to ask a few questions. "You didn't say your family lives in the castle," Dew said, breaking the silence. He moved forward slightly to be able to see Aether's reaction. "I didn't want to spoil the surprise," Aether replied, clearly avoiding the topic.

Okay, Dewdrop could play this game too.

"I wonder where the people who so graciously welcomed me here are then," The blond deliberately avoided the word family.

"Well, you know...they decided to give us some space, I know how it is when..." He stopped suddenly. "And why are you asking so much? Do you want to stay here longer?" Effectively cutting off the higher topic. "Stay?! Please, no matter how big this castle is, no matter how rich your wealth is, I'm leaving today and going back to my family." Dewdrop replied firmly.

Gilded shackles, they'll still be shackles.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, your hand is still not in good shape and it would be better to leave it for observation." Aether said clearly trying to keep the blond inside. "If it calms you down I can assure you that I'll go to the doctor right away so there won't be any need for me to stay tonight." There was no way Dew was staying here even a day longer. It was humiliating.

Aether decided against it anyway. "Are you sure? Because you know... this castle is surrounded by a large forest, and it's full of dangers. We don't want you to get hurt, do we?"

Okay now that was suspicious. Dew definitely didn't want to stay here. "If I leave during the day nothing should happen to me."

Aether, in a losing position, decided to use his ace up his sleeve. "I've never seen you wandering around the area, this place is deep in the bush so to get through you need a guide"

"Let me guess, you're supposed to be the guide?" Dewdrop sighed.

"In exactly 7 days, my family and I are going to a fair that will be held in the city. We'd love to take you, but not before those 7 days." Aether said firmly.

7 days is a long time. Dew was tormented by thoughts of whether his parents would be worried. Maybe they'd venture deep into the forest and get lost themselves? No, that wasn't like them. After all, it wasn't the first time the blond had run away from his family home for a few days. The last time he left, his father asked why he came back so quickly. In this case, those 7 days wouldn't make much difference, would they? He'd come back, marry Uranus, and everything would be as it was supposed to be from the beginning. Dewdrop wasn't the type to run away. He won't run away from his family or his responsibilities. Freedom is for the strong, and he's definitely not like that.

"If my posting here won't be a problem, so be it" He agreed with Dewdrop's proposal. It was impossible to miss the other's sudden joy. "In that case, I, as well as my family, will do everything to make you feel as good as possible here" Aether said excitedly.

The two continued walking around the castle for some time. Aether happily talked about every little historical context that Dew was almost certain were made up. During the journey, Dew and Aether often caught up in various chats, whether about the nearby flora or their similar interests. As it turned out, Aether was very interested in astronomy, he was absolutely convinced that he knew everything about the stars, the blond, seeing that the other was able to argue about it solidly, only nodded in agreement.

Finally, Aether led Dew to his room, and as he left, he mentioned that the other could move freely around the building.

Aether went straight to one of the more hidden chambers, which surprisingly was the favorite place of a certain group of vampires. The most prominent thing in the room was an old, elegant couch standing in front of the fireplace. The whole room looked very cozy.

Everyone in the room had a handmade blanket with them.

"Oh, the prince is back." A tall man with a truly pearly smile smiled, turning to him. "Good morning to you too, Swiss." Aether said casually, sitting down next to him on the couch. "And how was the tour of the new guest?" Cumulus asked curiously. "It went exceptionally well, he was quite a conversational experience." Aether said.

"I don't really understand one thing, Aeth." Rain suddenly spoke from the other end of the couch. "Why did you bring him to us? I understand that he was injured and you have a hero complex and all, but you usually heal the injured quickly and then leave them where they were" The blue-eyed vampire stated. "You could say that our guest is very important to us. Especially after the last incident" Aether sighed.

"Don't tell me you're planning on eating him? You know the rules..." He didn't have time to finish. "EAT?!" Aether was outraged. "None of that! I'm just helping him and nothing more" He shouted. "Relax Aeth, Rainy's just joking" Swiss interrupted.

"But that doesn't change the fact that he's right" Cumulus spoke up. "Even if we can hide as much as we want, he'll eventually notice that we prefer to stand in the shadows outside and drink blood for dinner Aeth. Let's not make a fool of him" "I know that, that's why I have a plan. I'll try to effectively distract him from our nature, he'll spend the day in the castle and I'll bring food to his room. Mountain will definitely be happy that he'll finally have someone to cook for." Aether said proud of his plan.

"BUUUUTTTTTT AETHER... can't our guest spend time with us at night? We'd like to meet him" Two small, about eleven-year-old vampires who had overheard the conversation were outraged and decided to add their two cents. "Phantom, Aurora I'm sure our guest would definitely like to play with you, but he's a human and might get scared of you and run away" Aether sighed, knowing what would happen next.

The two little beasts immediately jumped at Aether, pulling his clothes, hanging themselves on him and trying to cause as much commotion as possible. "Maybe you should let them go, after all we won't be hiding here forever," Cumulus said. "Maybe if he gets to know all of us he'll form a good opinion of us, after all that's what you care about, right?" She added. Aether leaned back more on the sofa. He didn't know what to do. On the one hand, he would prefer to avoid the rest of them from contacting their new guest, but if Dew got to know them all better, it would help them a lot with their problem. As it turned out, the final nail in the coffin was the puppy-like gaze of the twins. But do we have the right to be surprised? After all, nothing interesting has happened in that castle for years.

"Okay, I'll see what Copia has to say about it and together we'll figure something out." As if on cue, the siblings hugged Aether, clearly happy that the conversation had ended.

The man sat by the fireplace for a while longer, admiring the tongues of flame clashing against each other, but he was quickly overcome by the need for sleep, so he headed towards his chambers.

What the hell is going on here? Dewdrop whispered to himself as he walked through the stone corridors. A good half a day had passed and the blond was bored, so he decided to go for a short walk. Unfortunately for him, the flood of thoughts also accompanied him.

This place seemed more and more strange to him with each passing moment. Day by day he learns about some mysterious castle and then, just a few hours later, it turns out that it exists. And on top of that, some strange man lives there with an even stranger family. If Dew still believed in fairy tales, he really might think that it was the work of vampires. But now? It's impossible. Vampires don't exist. Luckily, he'll be leaving in less than x days and he'll be able to forget about this place, and at the same time, laugh at Uranus for believing in the existence of monsters.

Along with the river of individual sentences flowing down his consciousness, Dewdrop was getting further and further away from his room. It got to the point where the blond realized he was lost. A quick shiver of anxiety ran down his spine, but the blue-eyed boy decided not to panic and tried to follow his footsteps.

He got even more lost

"Holy shit" They cursed under their breath. "Why does this castle have to be so big? Uranos said it wasn't big"

"Don't be so dramatic, our house isn't that big" A deep voice rang out from somewhere deep in the room the blond was currently in. Dewdrop held his breath sharply. For a moment he looked like a deer in the middle of a gun waiting in fear for the trigger to be pulled. "Oh, my sincerest apologies, I didn't think you'd scare so easily" He said, slowly approaching the boy. When the man was close enough for the light of a nearby lantern to fall on him, Dewdrop could finally get a good look at him. The man was very tall and well-built. By well-built, he meant REALLY well-built, and he knew that because of the lack of a shirt in the man's attire. His face was adorned with a light stubble and a mass of freckles, and his brown curls perfectly matched his tanned complexion along with a pair of brown eyes.

Does everyone in this castle have to look like living statues of Greek gods?

"No problem, my name is Dewdrop, and yours?" The blond asked. His definitely shaking legs did not support his statement. "My name is Mountain, and you seem to be lost," he stated with a smile. So Mountain was his name... Quite nice if Dew was being honest. "Unfortunately, yes, could you show me the way to..." At that moment, the blond realized that he did not know how to describe where he wanted the taller one to take him. Mountain, sensing his confusion, looked him up and down, stopping only at the sight of a hand in a lab coat. Noting the distinctive black dress. "Ooooo is this about Sunshine's former room? In case, I know where it is" Mountain stated. "I guess so, then lead the way" Dewdrop decided to trust the freckled man. "I'd love to show you around, unfortunately I still have one more important thing to do. Would you like to accompany me on this adventure? Then I'll be happy to take you to your destination," he asked. Dewdrop could feel the other's slight excitement.

Was it a good idea to go with a man he had just met, who was three times his height, to a place he didn't know? NO

Did he care? ...

"In case, we'll do it your way"

#ghost bc #dewdrop ghoul #the band ghost #dewther #fanfic #vampires #middle ages #hope you like <3 #mountain ghoul

13 notes · View notes

butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway · 9 months ago

Text

I've been feeling inclined to vent about the general concept of "substance use" and "dependency" recently for no particular reason, and it's probably just my own brain finally processing some of the things that happened to me in The Bad Times but what the hell lets go with it.

I was pretty much straight edge until my mid 20s, no alcohol, cigarettes, weed, nothing. Then I got into a series of abusive relationships, nearly died of Mystery Diseases, and a pandemic happened right after. My life went from barely getting by in the world to bouncing between constant crises overnight. I was in therapy and had been for years, I had self care tools and was using them. I was medicated for all of my diagnosed mental health needs (ADHD wasn't on the record yet, so was still unmanaged, but I was doing my best behaviorally to keep on top of shit, obviously that stopped working fast). I worked full time plus going to school part time plus working part time at my internship for a grand total of about 90 hrs per week of work/school related obligations. I lived with several other people who I worked to support financially and who I needed to also support emotionally, and I still managed to run my household for the most part with minimal support except from wifey who was also working about 60-70 hour weeks at her own job to help us make ends meet and was only barely medicated and managed herself. I genuinely don't know when I slept or rested.

The first thing I tried was weed. I used edibles to sleep without nightmares or the anxieties that would keep me up for the rare few hours I had to rest. It also helped with the constant pain I was in. I would get high as fuck on a weed brownie or a pre roll on the one day off I had each month so I didn't have to think or feel or exist because it was the only way I could find to genuinely relax anymore without worrying about the growing mountain of Life Responsibilities that I could never catch up on. Life eased a bit, and I kept doing that.

One day, I had a rare night off, and wifey was going to go out to a club with some friends. I hadn't been anywhere fun in years. I hadn't had time or money or energy. I was desperate to see people and relax and maybe sance a little. A pandemic was on, and the local clubs were having discounts like mad. We went and got shitfaced on cocktails that cost less than lunch at a diner for a round and I made out with a cute girl and I came home laughing for the first time in years. From then on, we would keep a cheap six pack of something in the fridge and every once in a while I would down 2-3 and get fucked up for a bit between that and the weed. Life felt a bit easier and I kept going.

But behind the scenes the cracks kept forming. It wasn't the substances that were causing them. And they weren't even what was making it worse. But they were letting me pretend those cracks weren't there. Letting me run from a reality I knew I couldn't fix. By the time I realized how bad things had gotten, how deep into the pit I was, I was living in a tent in the woods, cooking my dinners on a campfire with my family, throwing back weed and cheap booze like my life depended on it because god what the fuck else do you have when a creek and a rainstorm are the closest you get to a shower and your bed is a pile of blankets in a military surplus tent with all the warm bodies piled together so you don't fucking freeze at night?

I was still working full time though, and for those hours, I had to be sober. No if ands or buts about it. And I was okay with that line, even if it left me riddled with anxiety and trauma and stress 16 hours a day while I worked my doubles in the ER and came home to try and scrub the COVID off in the creek before I went back to the tent. And then a coworker asked me if I wanted to join her on a cigarette break. I did. I desperately wanted to feel normal. To chitchat and talk about nothing important, and feel the breeze on my face. So I bummed a cigarette and smoked with her. That one cigarette became 3 a day. Then 6. Then, a whole pack. A nervous habit of sucking on a cigarette or a vape whenever I needed to fidget or relax while still being sober. It's been 3 years now and I've tried to quit half a dozen times but here I am in my fucking home office pulling on a cigarette like it's my last hope of comfort.

I don't drink anymore though. My body won't let me. Blah blah allergic reactions blah blah. Fine. I kept trying for a while, allergies be damned. But it stopped being worth it. Sometimes the cigarettes aren't worth it either. I choke on every inhale and my body dry heaves like it knows I'm putting in something it doesn't want. On those days I don't smoke. I don't think there have been many days I've gone without weed. I honestly don't know what to do with myself on the days I abstain. Like I do? I can cope. I just. I'm still so tired.

The part of me that broke all those years ago and said fuck it, lets see what drugs do, is still recovering. It's still resting and healing. Some days are better than others. Some days it does fine and it says "lets fuckin rawdog the day my mans" and I do, and it's great. Other times it's so small and frail that I know if I tried I might break it again, and I just can't risk that.

I've been told before that this is dependency. Maybe even misuse. I've been told by others that this is the point. If it's helping, then let it. I don't know what the answer is. Some days I resent not being the person I was before I started using weed and cigarettes to get through the day. I've tried other things too, and they've never done much for me, so I never went back. Does that mean that I'm not "dependent" I'm "self-medicating"? Is that a good or a bad thing? Does it fucking matter? I honestly don't know. I wish it didn't feel like it mattered. I wish that I could go through my days and feel like I had more of a choice. I actually miss being able to get high lol. Like weed hasn't given me an actual high in years, it just. Helps me get through things a little better. But how much am I really willing to keep living that way? How much of my life do I *want* impacted by whether or not I can smoke or have some thc? Some days it's fine. Some days I'm bothered by it.

The thing that gets me every time though is how at every single point when I made the choice to pick up a new "substance" it was because I was desperate, overwhelmed, and completely without alternatives. I knew full goddamn well every time what I was doing. I had years of both anti-drug war knowledge and addiction/recovery knowledge in my brain and I understood that I was at my most vulnerable, I was my most at risk. That making this choice could be fine or could be life changing or could be somewhere in between and it was worth being self aware as I did it. But I just. I was so tired. I was so broken down. I just needed to rest. I needed to feel something other than the stress and fear for a while. And no one was offering me anything else that made a dent. Trust me. I tried.

I don't say this to suggest to people that Drugs Are The Answer. I genuinely don't think they are. I still wish every day I had never picked up that first cigarette. I still wish that I felt well enough to live my life without needing help to rest and recover. But I can't blame anyone who makes the choices I did. I can't doubt the feelings of need and desperation that often drive us to interact with our support tools the way we do. I've also found over the years, that it's not just "substances" that people will turn to for help with avoidance the way I did. Avoidance is so very very human, and the way I skirted around acknowledging how beyond my capacity for repair my life was getting (even while actively working to resolve those things) had more to do with mh inability to acknowledge that I was failing people I loved than what tool I was using to avoid the acknowledgement. It could just as easily have been my work, or video games, or shopping, or gardening, or anything else in the world that allowed me to isolate myself in a world that felt smaller and simpler for a while so I could take a break from problem solving the way the rest of my world was steadily crumbling around me. I chose weed, alcohol and nicotine. Other people will make other choices. But maybe we all sometimes run away from problems we realize we can't solve until one day we're backed into a corner we can't run from. Maybe that's just human. Maybe the drugs just made me feel less like shit while I ran. And maybe that's part of how I survived to make things right for myself.

I really don't know. I can't know.

What I do know is that I left the relationship that was destroying my life. I'm safe now, and wifey and I are doing much better now that our communication isn't being actively sabotaged. I'm doing much better now healthwise that the food in my home is consistently safe to eat for me and I'm not being left without any food at all on a semi-regular basis. I *am* still the primary breadwinner of the household, but it no longer feels as though I have to run the household itself on top of that, and I *am* consistently supported (encouraged even) to rest when needed, even if that is still hard for me to do. I've stopped drinking, and that does feel better. I spend less time and energy seeking substances and I *do* smoke fewer cigarettes less often even if I do still smoke sometimes. I feel happier and more stable than I think I ever have. My life is. Mostly working? And pretty good now. The cracks have been able to heal in ways that are, if not structurally sound, at least working up to it. I am fragile, but making progress. Does that mean I made the right choices? The wrong ones? Will I ever know?

I dunno comrade. But. We all do what we can, what we must, and what we can figure out. Maybe judgement and shame about all that just doesn't help.

19 notes · View notes

bluehourbucky · 2 years ago

Note

Hey 🥰

No pressure to write this at all, but I was wondering if you could do a drabble or headcannon about reader being Bucky’s younger sister & he finds out she’s dating either Kate, Yelena or Wanda (you can pick ☺️). He goes into full protective big brother mode? 🥰

Letting go

pairing: older brother!bucky x youngersister!reader / yelena belova x reader

warnings: f bomb couple of times but other than that nothing?

a/n: Hope you like it! I had so much fun writing this hehe Sorry I might have done too much 😭😭😭

Bucky is an amazing older brother and you live him dearly but sometimes he can be a bit scary when it comes to your dating.

He's really supportive he's been there for you for every milestone and you've been there for him too.

Bucky always said that you'd be his little sister even when you're 50 with a family of your own he's always going to ruffle your hair and tell you how your hair is a mess.

First ever girlfriend you've bought home Bucky was livid because no one is good enough for his little sister. He was absolutely baffled when he saw you making out because you were his baby sister you can't be kissing people at the young age of 16.

Now in your 20s you wish that changed because you wouldn't have to be hiding your girlfriend of 6 months.

It's not like you don't want him to know you just really like Yelena and Bucky can be terrifying sometimes.

Tonight you invited Yelena to your place for the first time, you never got a chance before since you lived with Bucky. He's been on a mission for the past couple of days and you finally had the opportunity to bring her in without the big scary brother.

You're currently sitting on the couch in Yelenas lap, you'd been making out for a while.

"You know you're really cute."

"I am not cute." Yelena replies to your absurd statement she is not cute absolutely not. You laugh because the face she makes when she doesn't agree with something is the cutest thing ever.

"Sure, you're so scary."

You spend couple of hours making out and eating each other out but eventually you fall asleep.

Bucky is so ready to get home, he's tired and dirty and he hasn't slept in what feels like years.

It's around 4am when he opens the door to his and yours apartment, he tries to be as quiet as possible not wanting to wake you up.

He takes off his boots and hangs his jacket, he goes straight to the kitchen because he also didn't get to eat.

Bucky sees a silhouette of a woman but it's not you so he grabs the knife out of his back pocket.

The intruder opens the fridge and reaches out to take some leftovers.

"Mmff."

Bucky grabs the intruder from behind and slaps a hand over her mouth.

"Fuck." Bucky grabs his balls almost falling down on his knees.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Yelena grabs a knife from the drawer and holds it up.

"Me? This is my house!" Bucky manages to stand up straight grabbing his own knife.

"What's going on?" you rub your eyes turning on the lights in the kitchen. Sleepiness vanishes in seconds seeing your brother and girlfriend hold the knives at each other.

"Oh my god stop that both of you." You take the knives from both of their hands.

"But-"

"That's my girlfriend dumbass I can't belive you attacked her!" Buckys jaw hangs open, how didn't he know you were dating someone?

"Bucky, Yelena. Yelena, Bucky." You introduce them and hold a hand over your chest they almost gave you a heart attack.

"Nice to meet you. Sorry for kicking you in the nuts." Yelena smiles and reaches out to shake Buckys hand and he shakes it.

"Sorry for almost killing you." Yelena laughs and Bucky lifts a brow.

"You didn't almost kill me I almost killed you! I would've won!"

Bucky is speechless he looks at you and then your girlfriend and then you again.

"I'm pretty sure I would've won."

Now you're the one that's speechless are your brother and girlfriend really debating on who would've killed who?

"Okay... Now that I've introduced you two maybe no more threatening?"

"How was I supposed to know we have a guest? You didn't tell me!" That's true and shame washes over you.

"I was scared that you'd scare her off like all of the others."

Buckys eyes soften; He knows he can be a bit overprotective but he didn't think that he was that bad. But now he realised he was a bit too much.

"Sorry, I was just trying to protect you. I didn't-"

"It's okay I know that and I appreciate that but you can just be a bit scary. Though you've never attacked anyone before like this but I guess I found your match." You smile at your girlfriend who had taken out the mac and cheese left overs from the fridge, she gives you a thumbs up.

"I promise I'll try to not be so scary and I promise to not baby you so much."

"Maybe we can work on the staring problem and find you a girlfriend too so you can take care of someone else too. I know it's cruel to send you off to someone but better you be a pain in the ass to someone else." Bucky rolls his eyes pushes you playfully.

"You love me."

"I do but I'm mad because you woke me up so you'll apologise by making breakfast in the morning! You're the best, good night."

"Hey that's not fair! And leave the door open I don't want any funny business happening in this house!"

You pull Yelena in and before closing the door you treat him with a middle finger.

"Little shit, if I didn't love you oh I would've strangled you." Bucky grumbles looking at the framed picture of you two when you were kids.

Being an older brother is a tedious job but he wouldn't change it for anything.

[The End]

sorry its so cheesey dhdhdhdh

#bucky fic #bucky masterlist #yelena mcu #yelena x reader #bucky barnes #brother!bucky #sebastian stan characters #bucky fluff #yelena belova

80 notes · View notes

darkdevasofdestruction · 12 days ago

Text

Chapter 4 - Another Sin

The sound of the beeping medical equipment was the sole disturbing of the graveyard silence amidst the recovery emergency room in the hospital; The sole reminder that she was, in fact, alive - Otherwise, with how annoyingly peaceful it was, she would have thought she was very much dead for some reason, in spite of her semi-present conscience. For once, she appreciated that Chinese Water Torture she was subjected to - That very rhythmical beeping that reminded her that her vitals were perfectly in check.

She was bored, and her body felt stiff and pained - Not from the gun shot wound, but from laying motionless in bed for so long. Her muscles were numb and aching. She wanted so badly to get a proper stretch and work out. Alas, it was a struggle to even open her eyes; She had to, though. She had to force herself to wake up, otherwise she'd be staying in that atrociously mind-numbing hospital room. It was awful - Really, it was.

Her fingers twitched, little by little, they even moved - She could weakly grip onto the blanket. That's good progress; Little by little, she'll wake up. Next were her toes, wiggling a little, and then her feet changed angle. And now, her eyes - Her lashes fluttered a few times, before finally, her lids opened, and then closed again. The chamber's lights were slightly dimmed, but it was bothering her - She had to adjust to the light again, after who knew how long she'd been asleep. Once, and twice, and three times before she could keep her eyes open for longer amounts of time.

Next she slowly turned her head to the right; A pink vase was filled with different blue flowers; There was a chocolate box next to it, and a cute little teddy bear plushie, holding a heart; Next to it, there was a book by Agatha Christie. She wondered who was nice enough to stop by and bring her get-well gifts. She was quite flattered actually - To think she'd have to almost die three times to receive any gift. It was... Quite sad.

With a little effort, she turned her head to her left; Much to her surprise, there was someone sitting on a chair next to her bed. It was Sherlock Holmes - And even more curious was that he was playing on her PSP - His brows were furrowed in concentration, and his fingers were quickly pressing buttons around. Based on the pattern, hilariously enough, he was playing a rhythm game - Without music.

"Normal... People would play... A rhythm game... With music..." she managed to speak, weak and low, and a little raspy, startling the detective - For a split second he lost focus, and his entire score was ruined.

"Oh, come on, couldn't you wait one more minute and twenty-three seconds so I could beat my previous high score?" he was salty, poor man. "Not that I managed to beat yours yet."

"Turn the music on... And you will." the man rolled his eyes and threw the PSP on the bed next to her, leaning back on the chair and crossing his arms to his chest.

"Where's the challenge then?" he huffed, pretending to be pouty, before finally looking back at the girl. "Took you long enough."

Once he saw she was flexing her muscles in an attempt to sit up, he helped her. "Mum always said I love sleeping."

"A little too much." he sported a tender half-smile. "Two whole days and 4 hours." that's how long she's been sleeping. "Don't speak too much - Doctor's orders. You'll strain yourself."

"I'm a doctor too - I'm allowed to break the rules." she let out shaky breath of amusement. "Most I slept was 16 hours straight."

"16 hours? Either you overworked or you have depression." he raised his eyebrow, eying her with hawk-like attention.

"I'll let you guess." she smirked a little. "Uni life was funky." he nodded his head absent-mindedly. "Who are these from?"

"Molly brought the stuffed bear, Lestrade the chocolate, John the book, and your flatmate sent the flowers." surprisingly for the man, Katrina's eyes widened with shock at the last part.

"Can you help me a little? Bring me the vase here?" although confused, he did as instructed.

"There's a note." Sherlock noted, picking it from among the flowers. "~What is wrong with another sin~" he hummed, handing it to the girl. "Odd. Inside joke?"

The blue haired girl could only chuckle, albeit, in pain. "Yes - But not with Lea." she looked up into Sherlock's beautiful blue eyes. "Moriarty."

"Moriarty sent you flowers?" she nodded his head. "Then what about the note? The vase? Is there anything--" she shook her head negative.

"Sit down and let me explain to you what this represents." the man, confused by the cryptic message, did as instructed, bringing his chair as close to the bed as possible. "James is admitting his defeat to me - But also, he's making fun of me." she chuckled a little. "The vase - It's the same shade of pink as my dress that night - And this is a red plum flower, in the middle, representing my bloody wound." she began her discovery. "The flowers are blue, like my hair - This bouquet represents me, but not only; This blue is the same as your eyes, Sherlock. He was very specific about it. Next - The little ones are Forget-Me-Nots; He doesn't want me to forget him and the time we spent together. This one is hydrangea - He knows it's my favourite flower, but not only, it also represents understanding and sincerity, which tells me he was being genuine when hanging out." Sherlock was quite impressed by her knowledge in flowers - To think one would love flowers so much they would bother learning their meanings; Feels useless to him, yet it seems to make her happy. Weird. "This is a Himalayan Poppy - It's a very rare flower, especially here - So he is telling me I am... Unique. And beautiful" next, she picked up a rose. "And this... Look at the thorns - Removed in places, but not completely; It means that I keep myself guarded against most people... A mystery.... Yet for those who are not affected by the thorns, I am... Worthy of admiration."

"That was a lot, just from some flowers. Are you sure you're not trying to steal my job?" the girl couldn't help but chuckle, looking away bashfully.

"I'm good, I promise. It's far too dangerous for me. Four is the number of death - I fear, next time, I will not be so lucky as to evade death." she gave him back the vase to place on the nightstand; To think she'd just wake up and would be able to figure out such intricate details, simply from a few flowers. Fascinating.

"What about the note? Does it mean anything?" the man saw her smiling tenderly at the little note.

"It's one of the lyrics from a song we used to sing at Karaoke quite often - It's from Scorpions, a German rock back; It's called 'Rock you like a hurricane'. James and I loved to sing rock ballads. The 80s-90s nights were our favourite." why don't they have things in common to speak about? Him and Raven have so many things in common - Why don't they go out more often and have quirky conversations that would confuse John and make Mrs. Hudson laugh, and make Molly Hooper leave the room from jealousy? Why did she look so fondly on the ephemeral memories she had with a mastermind criminal.

"Why don't you ever ask me to go to karaoke with you?" he found himself asking, almost sounding like a child.

"Because... You refused me and said it's stupid and only drunk people go there to meet other drunk people and get even drunker." right. He did say that, now he remembers. Damn it.

"Right. Yes. Yes I did say that." he remained quiet for a few seconds. "I can play the violin." he began, and with incredible force, he continued his idea. "... for you." he stopped abruptly once again. "If you want."

"I would love that, Sherlock. Thank you." she smiled sweetly, extending her hand to place over his own. "But why are you so... Awkward with me? Did I do something to make you uncomfortable?"

"No!" he exclaimed immediately, shifting in his seat. "No, no, not at all." he realised he was acting even more suspicious. "Just, uh, get better." he nodded his head, looking away. "Christmas is approaching - Can't have one of Mrs. Hudson's heart-warming Christmas party without you."

"I couldn't miss one of your special violin recitals even if death were to take me away." with the way her hand was placed over his hand, her thumb reached under his wrist. "I always turn off my music when you start playing. I can hear it from my room. You play beautifully."

"I didn't know." his pulse spiked a little, as his voice got softer, and his demeanour a little more fidgety than usual. He was adorable. "Thanks."

"When I'm out of here - Want to grab a coffee and have a stroll through the park?" Sherlock's eyes widened a little. Such a mundane activity was so below him - Were it anyone else; Were it Molly Hooper - He would have refused; He should have refused; And yet... He accepted.

"Sure. Sounds good." he nodded his head, getting up from the chair. "What are you going to do now?" he paced around a little, his eyes darting in any direction but hers.

"Well - Not much to do when you're bed-ridden, right? I will read the book that I've finished 6... No, actually, 7 times; And then I'll go through all of my games - For the millionth time - And once I've finished everything, I'll start throwing a fit so I can go back home. I hate hospitals." she shrugged impassively, lowering down on the bed; Her spine was beginning to hurt again.

"How ironic." he huffed, hearing the doctor say she hates doctors. "I give it 3 days tops before you start attempting to sneak out and escape this place. You just woke up and you're already bored out of your mind." much like himself, truly.

"If I physically can, I definitely will. As long as I can stand up and move, I will return to work." she remarked proudly.

"As long as you don't hurt that clever little head of yours - I still need your epiphanies." he smiled dryly for a few seconds - Her brilliant epiphanies are exactly what got her in danger every time. "Not that I'd bother you with a case that was below a level 7." he strode to the door, his hand on the handle. "Get well soon - I'm bored."

She was left alone once again, save for her few entertainment devices - It wasn't too bad... For exactly two days, which is when she started getting restless and ready to run a marathon - Even if that meant possibly breaking her stitching. With the promise of regularly redressing her wound and taking it easy for a few weeks, Katrina returned home - Alone.

She had poor Mrs. Hudson to help her wash her hair - It was difficult to take care of such beautiful hair, when her body was aching like that. In fact, she even started dyeing it red - It suited her so well, a scarlet red so beautiful, like the Empress' cloud brocade - And it was easier maintenance.

Finally after four unbelievably long days, Katrina returned to work; She wore a lovely beige dress and was looking very stylish, matching the beauty of the coppery autumn; Molly hugged her carefully once she returned to the lab, and went to grab her a pastry and coffee; By the time Katrina unzipped the body bag, the door was slammed open, making the girl jolt in her own skin and gasp in pain, clutching her torso; Looking at the intruder, it just had to be Sherlock Holmes, Troublesome Detective, with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"You tell me to rest and take care, but it's going to be your fault if my stitches break!" she scolded him, shaking her head at his behaviour. "I also said you'd be out of there in 3 days. It was 4. I underestimated the wound. I am sorry." he said, without the least bit of remorse. "I would have gone out yesterday, but the PSP kept me going. I finished all my games. Again." she pointed out, a bit amused. "You're wearing lipstick - No, it's lipgloss. Pink. And it has glitter. Do you have a date? You also got a hair change - Different colour, and it's only brushed, not styled." he pointed out, raising her chin to get a better look. "Yes, I have a date with this elderly man right here on the table." she chuckled lightly "I've been wanting to switch to red for a while - I think it looks better, doesn't it?" she raked her fingers through her hair. "I like this change. A lot." "It's good." he said, turning around to look at the body. "It suits 'Katrina'." "I'm sorry if it feels unnatural or difficult for you to switch how you call me - It took me a long time to legally change my name; I wasn't even sure if it worked. It was just easier to stick to an old nickname from highschool." she smiled a little awkwardly.

"Nothing I can't get used to." he rushed to get the riding crop for today. "Today's experiment - If it bruises in 20 minutes, then I've got the culprit. It's for a case."

"Getting kinky, Sherlock. Have fun." she gave him thumbs up before going to the table and continuing her microscope investigation.

More gently this time, the door was opened and Molly got in the room - She was wearing lipstick this time. Red and vibrant. And she went to smile at Sherlock, asking him about his experiment... But that was merely a conversation starter to something more important. "Would you like to have some coffee?" she asked, obviously asking him for a date. Sherlock then stopped his crop whipping and looked at her casually. "Yes. Black, two sugars, no milk. Thanks. I'll have it here." "Oh, uhm... Sure..." she nodded, very dejected, and left the room with her head hanging down in disappointment. "You... Know she was asking you on a date, right?" Katrina asked carefully, only to see him nodding casually. "Well, I wasn't interested. What was I supposed to say?" he shrugged simply, continuing his whipping until he was pretty exhausted. "You're a mess. Take my handkerchief." the red haired girl sighed, getting up and patting away the sweat from his forehead. "Thanks." he muttered, taking the handkerchief from her hand and continuing to wipe away his sweat.

"Here you go, Sherlock." Molly returned with the coffee, and the man in cause could only smile and nod at her. "You are not wearing lipstick anymore." he pointed out with a frown. "Oh, yeah, uhm... I didn't think it fit." she stumbled over her words with an awkward chuckle. "Pity. It made your mouth look smaller." as insensitive as always; After taking a sip of the coffee, he put it on the corpse table and looked at Kat. "I'm starving, let's get lunch." but he didn't wait for her to answer; he just put his arm around her shoulder and guided her out of the room. They went to a nice, little pub nearby that served some light food, and they dug in, listening to the lovely jazz music. Neither of them said anything for a while, but the silence was comfortable as it was. He paid for the consummation, despite her protests, but he merely said he was making it up to her, because of what happened at the Chinese Circus.

Next, they went to the nearest coffee shop and, to her surprise, Sherlock knew just what to order. "Tiramisu Dolce Latte, XL, no whipped cream, thanks." he ordered, and then handed her the cup. "It's so sweet you can hardly tell it's coffee anymore." "How'd you know my order, Nostradamus?" she chuckled, thanking him for the coffee. "You always order the same thing, it's not rocket science." he muttered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world - Which, really, it was. Still, she didn't think he actually paid attention to unimportant things. "You know... I think you made Molly cry back there." she muttered, making him frown and turn his head to look at her, confused. "Why would she? Did I say something wrong?" he asked, cluelessly - He was playing. "I was just being kind to her - Would turning her down bluntly be better? Not very gentlemanly of me, is it?" "Well... You did ask me on a date just after she asked you out. For the hundredth time." she looked at him all cheeky, waiting for his reaction. "If she didn't get it by now, it's her fault not mine. You're too nice for your own good. You saw what happened with Moriarty." this comment made her chuckle awkwardly and look away. "That thing with Moriarty... He was entertaining. I'm not like you, Sherlock... I need people to talk to. I get lonely. Lea has other friends now, I don't matter anymore. She moved out." Katrina said, looking up at the cloudy sky. "Molly is... Only ever talking about you and work... And you just appeared just recently, and even so, you were... You are..." she sighed, seeing her breath because of the cold. "Married to your work. I always had fun doing cases together, even if it meant almost dying. Your company is everything to me." her honesty was painful to Sherlock, and he couldn't understand why. Feelings always made his mind go into disarray. "But... Moriarty always knew what to say. He did his research in advance, he knew everything I liked... And, thing is... I know that... Some of them, he genuinely enjoyed too. Like the music - He just confirmed he liked that. He didn't want to kill me... I would have died a hundred times if he wanted me dead." she let out a heavy exhale. "James Moriarty was the only friend I've ever had in my life." admitting this made her uncomfortable, but relieved. She knew what she felt, and she didn't stray away from it. Right or wrong, it is what it is. It wasn't her fault she was unlucky in the social department - She enjoyed her friendship with Moriarty while it lasted.

"Well... Right or wrong... I, also, haven't had this much fun in a while." the detective muttered in a low voice.

"I guess... We are back where we started." the melancholy in her voice was very reminiscent of the dead season of early winter.

"Maybe not." Holmes looked down at the girl who sported a particularly depressive disposition, then looked back at the sky with a large smile. "Did you know... There are exactly 247 different types of tobacco?"

"247? I thought there were only 243!" Katrina looked at him a bit puzzled.

"Ah! How did you know that?" he asked, a little giddy.

"I read it on your blog." she explained simply. "I read all your posts. Quite interesting, really."

"Aha! You read it on my blog!" he seemed enthusiastic about that notion. "Oh, I just can't wait to tell John about it - He said nobody reads my blog!"

"Well... It's a little... Stiff. I can see why John's stories are better received." his glee vanished. "But I still love your work. They're both good, in different ways. Just like you can't compare flowers with fairy lights - Both gorgeous, but different."

"Diplomacy will get you nowhere." he huffed, now a little offended. "Anyway, I just quite recently discovered new types, and--" and thus, the great Sherlock Holmes began rambling about who knows what; It was the first time someone was actually listening to him, and not just nodding along, deaf, and unattentive.

Christmas was approaching at a slow pace; The whole London was beautifully decorated for this festivity. It was Kat's favourite time of the year, truly, the only joy she had in life was the beauty of Christmas - Likewise, the greatest pain was being all alone on Christmas.

One random day like any other, Katrina left her flat - She was dressed as nicely as always, and since her injury was healing well, she found it easier to get dolled up as before. Just as she got out, she was met with a luxurious black car, and a beautiful woman around her age texting quickly on her phone. She looked at the doctress and opened the door, welcoming her inside, telling her someone wants to speak to her directly. Were it not for John's story of how he met Mycroft, she'd have been on very high alert and terrified out of her mind.

The car ride was quiet, but very comfortable, and she was brought to this wonderful residence - Kat was almost sure even Buckingham Palace wasn't this magnificent, nor were the gardens so well attended to. This was Mycroft Holmes' residence. To think she'd be alive and have the privilege to step into such a luxurious and high-class villa... Outstanding! She felt like a princess walking around and admiring the gorgeous architecture.

The butler guided her towards the elder brother's study room - It was bright and sunny, comfortable and furnished in great taste; A few plants, a red flower by the windowpane, a whole wall-length shelf filled with hardcover books - And the table was large, sporting a high-tech computer and several piles of papers, a glass of water, a cup of coffee, a plate of cookies and an elegant pencil case filled with expensive ink stylos, ink, wax and stamps.

"Good morning, Mycroft. Lovely day, isn't it?" they shook hands before he gestured her to sit down in the red velvet armchair in front of him.

"Quite so. Coffee? Biscuits? They're quite delightful." he offered, leaning back on the back of his own armchair; He was sporting a burgundy red tie.

"This tone of red suits you well." she smiled kindly; From the way she was sitting so elegantly, and the colour of her dress, the way the sunlight was peering through those wide windows, she looked radiant, Mycroft remarked. "I would love sweet coffee - And some biscuits, please - Thank you very much."

"Great choice." he smiled, motioning for the butler to do as instructed. "Gesha coffee. All the way from Panama." he went on, taking a bite of the cinnamon biscuits.

"Truly - This is Gesha coffee? Why, that is the most sought-after coffee! I heard it tastes differently with every brew!" Mycroft was rather pleased with having someone with extensive knowledge - And actual passion - For coffee. There are enough people quite like his younger brother who have plenty knowledge, but care little for the subject that matters. Coffee, tea and desserts are of high, national importance!

"Exactly that, Miss Katrina." he took a sip of the coffee. "Mine has a tint of Jasmine today."

"I have never tasted such amazing coffee - It is worth the praise!" the girl eagerly took another sip. "I think mine has the aroma of... Raspberry? And... Is this peach too? Fantastic!" she looked visibly sparkly with each sip. "You spoil me, truly! So - Will you tell me what may I help you with?"

"You seem to have recovered well after that unpleasant incident. You are in high spirits today." the man gestured as he leaned back in his seat. "Perceptive as always."

"The better the coffee, the better the day." she chuckled sweetly, trying one of the biscuits also. "Delightful indeed!" she exclaimed happily. "I may not ever be up for a marathon run, but my mind hasn't taken a break yet." her disposition was quite bright. "So what is it about Sherlock that I should be aware of? Is there something about a case -- And for some reason, like sibling rivalry, Sherlock isn't taking you seriously?"

"Doing well indeed." he nodded his head appreciatively. "A matter of national importance; I will keep it brief as to not bother you with details, or information that I cannot publicly disclose." she smiled at him to continue. Mycroft showed the screen of his monitor, depicting a gorgeous woman. "This is Miss Irene Adler - Her profession is... Well, delicate." he showed next the promotional pictures from her website.

"Oh~! Miss Irene Adler is a freaky Snow-White! Hair dark like ebony, skin white as snow and lips red like the blood her mother spilled on the snow when she pricked her finger embroidering. She looks incredible." the older Holmes was quite shocked to see the angelic-looking lady smirking so enigmatic... So intrigued and fascinated by a dominatrix, a woman embodying the complete opposite of everything she is. "Does Miss Irene have some kind of blackmail material on someone important and we need to get whatever it is? Given her profession and who she is, I imagine she gets a lot of clients. She must be hunted down like the magical white deer."

"That is correct." the man nodded, closing the pictures. "Miss Adler has in her possession a numerous amount of... Compromising pictures that we are afraid she might use as blackmail. We need to retrieve those photographs."

"I understand the picture." Katrina said, before leaning in a little closer. "Where do I come in?"

"It is a complicated matter - My brother, a piece of work - He... Never..." he seemed quite uncomfortable trying to explain things about his brother. "You are a remarkable and charming young lady, and I am sure you have realised by now my brother has become taken with you in ways that I thought impossible for him before." Mycroft was having troubles being perfectly eloquent when it came to the matters of his brother. "Miss Adler is much unlike you - She is aggressive, and foreign to everything Sherlock's met before." he cleared his throat. "I trust that you, and of course, Doctor Watson, will be able to keep him in check. I fear my brother might lose his head a little." he flashed a sarcastic smile. "He is not much unlike a boy who just hit puberty."

"If it were just about keeping Sherlock in check, I imagine you would have had a meeting with John, in some abandoned parking lot or construction site. Instead, you brought me to your office to speak privately, at your own home." Mycroft's smile widened at her stellar intuition. "Do you, perchance, wish me to make sure the case gets fulfilled, should anything happen to Sherlock?"

He neither confirmed, nor denied. "My brother should count his blessings with you around." he finished the coffee from his cup. "Once you're done, we're leaving for the meeting place."

"Oh, before that, I had a curiosity, if you don't mind me asking." he gestured for her to speak. "I was wondering about your umbrella." she pointed towards the umbrella holder, and his umbrella. "The night we met, after the cabbie incident, you had an umbrella, despite it not raining, and you having a car just nearby." she smiled like a little kid ready for a mystery. "And you have an umbrella holder in your office - On the second floor of your mansion. Doesn't quite add up, does it?" she grinned cheekily. "Is there something special about this particular umbrella of yours, that those by the entrance door don't have?"

The elder Holmes chuckled, entertained, and he grabbed the umbrella from the holder; He pressed a button and showed the handle of the umbrella was actually a hidden sword. "Ingenious little thing, isn't it?" he stood tall and straight, holding a chevalier fencing pose.

"Fantastic! You look fantastic! I never took you for a fencer - How elegant!" the man laughed at the praise, looking away from the girl. "Mycroft, do you have a knighthood? Should I call you - Sir Mycroft?"

"I will leave that for the valiant." he used the umbrella as a cane, walking to the door and opening it for the lady. "Shall we?"

The car they drove in was even more expensive; Katrina was in awe at all the wealth, but portrayed none of those emotions, only carrying herself like the proper lady she wanted to be seen as. Just as before, the car ride was completely silent, yet comfortable. Once they arrived to their destination, Mycroft opened the door and offered his hand to help her get out of the car - And enter Buckingham Palace, of all things. She might not be meeting the Queen, but the people she met weren't low status either. Mycroft introduced her as a doctor and person of great relevance to the case, and then showed her where to wait for them, in the lobby.

"Think we'll be meeting the Queen?" she heard a familiar hushed voice coming from there.

"Perhaps not a Queen by blood, though I would love to believe that I embody the allure of a Princess." with a charming smile, Katrina did a princess courtesy in front of the two flabbergast men sitting on one of the red couches. "Lovely seeing you."

"What are you doing here?" Sherlock, who was wrapped like a burrito in a large white sheet, brought the textile even closer to his body, and looked at her with a weird expression.

"I had the courtesy of driving here with Mycroft." with small, graceful steps, the girl got in front of them. "Did you miss me?"

"S-Sorry, did you just say - You rode in with Mycroft?" John was shocked and stammering.

"Why, yes, lovely car, amazing driver - Though I have to say, I am quite jealous on that house of his - And the garden especially!" their eyes widened realising she just implied to have been at his home.

"Why are you here?" Sherlock asked with mild hostility, only to see the wicked smirk on her face, mimicking that of Moriarty himself.

"I know something you don't know~!" she giggled playful, waiting for the very man and his client to arrive. "Why are you being so hostile with me today, Sherlock~?" she slowly bent to the waist, getting to his level. "Woke up on the wrong side of the sheets~?" she hooked her finger underneath the hem of the textile around his neck, pulling back a little, revealing he was actually perfectly naked underneath. "My, Sherlock, darling, I never imagined you were so freaky~!" she giggled, making the man clench his jaw, disliking being taunted like that very much.

"Blame it on Mycroft. It's his fault, not me." he seemed very upset that there was something she knew, but he didn't; Why did Mycroft call for her, before him? Mycroft never calls people into his office, let alone, his own house! What did he want with her? What did he tell her? He was so upset and indignant, he almost didn't realise she had sat down between him and John on the couch; So many question filled his head, yet no answers - He couldn't just ask her directly, could he? He had to be sneaky about it, Mycroft could be listening at any moment; He had ears everywhere, he knew everything, just like a spider weaving his web throughout the world.

The more he thought about those gnawing questions, the more lost in thought he was - That is, until Mycroft came into the picture, and he heard John's comment - "Looks like Her Majesty just arrived." at once, the two of them started chuckling like children, whilst Katrina had to bite her lip and look away - Not only their snark was hilarious, but Mycroft's exasperated visage was making it even more so amusing.

"Can you two, just once, behave like grown up?" the elder one scolded them.

"We solve crimes, I blog about it and he forgets his pants. I wouldn't hold up so much hope." John kept his best serious face.

"I was in the middle of a case, Mycroft." Sherlock looked up at his infuriating older brother.

"What, the hiker and the backfire?" Mycroft kept his hands in his pockets, looking impassively at his brother. "I glanced at the police report - A bit obvious, surely?"

"Transparent." Sherlock snarked.

"Time to move on, then." Mycroft cleared his throat; John looked at his partner with confusion - How the hell did he solve the case without even being there? The elder Holmes picked the pile of neatly folded clothes and handed them to Sherlock, who looked away with condescence. "We are in Buckingham Palace - At the very heart of the British Nation - Not to mention, you are being indecent in front of a lady." he was very expressive in his annoyance with his bratty little brother. "Sherlock Holmes, put your trousers on!" he truly sounded like an exhausted mother with a misbehaving child.

"What for?" oh, so bratty! Kat's never seen him THIS defensive.

"Your client." Mycroft put emphasis on that aspect.

"And my client is?" Sherlock finally stood up, although rather confrontational.

"Illustrious, in the extreme." a new man appeared in the room, also looking slick and suited up. Must be working with the Noble Family or some high-up political stuff. Katrina always hated politics, so she preferred to stay unengaged in such matters. "And remaining, I have to inform you, entirely anonymous." this man stepped towards them.

This man, Harry, shook hands with Mycroft as if they were on friendly terms; Mycroft apologised for the compromising position he found his little brother in. "This must be Doctor Katrina Black, the lady you've been praising lately for her admirable contributions to the forensics field, and the past crime solving?" Mycroft gave a split second smile, offering an affirmative answer as the man, Harry, bent to kiss her hand before turning to John. "And this must be Doctor John Watson, formerly of the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers?" they shook hands. "My employer is a tremendous fan of your blog - Particularly enjoyed the one about the Aluminium Crutch."

"Thank you." John looked at Sherlock with a smirk.

"And Mr. Holmes the younger - You look taller in your photographs." what a shady comment!

"I take the precaution of a good coat and a short friend." came Sherlock's defiant answer. "Mycroft, I don't do anonymous client. I'm used to mystery at one end of my cases - Both ends is too much - Good morning." Sherlock simply stepped away, with clear snarky offensive.

To stop him, Mycroft stepped on the sheet, making it fall almost entirely off of his little brother; Although the elder one was pissed, he didn't look, as the others did, feeling second hand embarrassment. That was a very nice body, Katrina barely stopped herself from doing a teasing wolf-whistle. The atmosphere was as tense as it was, she needn't add more fuel to the fire. "This is a matter of national importance - Grow up!" poor Mycroft.

"Get off my sheet!" the younger Holmes was furious.

"Or what?!" Mycroft provoked him.

"Or I'll just walk away." he threatened.

"I'll let you."

"Boys, please, not here. Behave." John spoke in a mellow voice.

"It would be a pity to start arguing in such a lovely place, provided we have such an intriguing case to solve." Kat leaned back on the couch, smiling emptily. "Surely, one look at where we are, and you could easily figure out the identity of our most esteemed client, yes?" she got up and picked the clothes; Her small heels were the only source of sound as they circled around the half-naked man, and presented him with his clothes. "God save the Queen - That's what you, Englishmen, say, am I correct?" Sherlock could only grit his teeth, looking down at the cheeky girl with spite. "As much as I enjoy seeing you half-naked; You wouldn't really want to be seen like that by dear old Lizzy junior, yes~?" that bloody smile of hers was so enticing. "Not that she wouldn't enjoy seeing such a fresh and masterful painting, amongst these old and boring cobwebs..." quite so, even the Queen would enjoy seeing an attractive young man like Sherlock Holmes naked, in all his glory.

Though Mycroft was almost horrified hearing the foreign girl call the Queen of England, Her Highness, Elizabeth the II - 'Old Lizzy junior' ... He couldn't help but notice the subtle flexes of his brother's muscles, and the slight twitches in his posture - He could bet he was forcing himself hard not to be amused by the girl's outrageous comments. "Give that here." snatching the clothes from her grasp, Katrina went back to her seat, as the detective walked away to get dressed, and returned as elegant as always. Victorious.

"My employer has a problem." old man Harry spoke first.

"A matter has come to light of an extremely delicate and potentially criminal nature and in this hour of need, dear brother, your name has arisen." Mycroft continued the preface of the mystery case.

"Why?" Sherlock asked bluntly. "We have a police force of sorts, even a marginally secret service. Why come to me?" what a silly question to ask!

"People do come to you for help, don't they, Mr. Holmes?" Harry asked simply.

"Not to date anyone with a navy." how fascinating.

"This is a matter of the highest security and, therefore, of trust." truly, the issue was a very delicate matter.

"You don't trust your own secret services?" John seemed actually surprised by that.

"Anyone can be bought with money." Kat chuckled sardonically. "It's not easy finding good people like you, John."

Harry rushed his work partner to get to the point. Mycroft opened his suitcase and handed Sherlock a picture of Irene Adler. "What do you know of this woman?" of course, he knew nothing of mundane television. "Then you should be paying more attention. She's been at the center of two political scandals in the last year and recently ended the marriage of a prominent novelist, by having an affair with both participants separately." quite the unhinged behaviour. "Irene Adler, professionally known as The Woman." Mycroft spoke out her name. "There are many names for what she does; She prefers 'Dominatrix'."

"Dominatrix." Sherlock found himself muttering under his breath.

"Don't be alarmed." Mycroft taunted his younger brother. "It's to do with sex."

"Sex doesn't alarm me." Sherlock glared at his brother.

"What would you know?" that was painfully remarked. "She provides, shall we say, recreational scolding - For those who enjoy that sort of thing - And are prepared to pay for it." he spoke simply. "There are all from her website." he handed Sherlock the promotional pictures from her website.

"And I assume this Adler woman has some compromising photographs?" his question was affirmed. "Hardly difficult deduction - Photographs of whom?"

It didn't come as easy for either men to explain. "A person of significance to my employer." Harry spoke. "We'd prefer not to say any more at this time."

"You can't tell us anything?" John was quite surprised - How were they supposed to remove the photographs of a person they don't even know?

Mycroft gave one more detail without divulging the identity of the employer. "I can tell you it's a young person." of course it is. "A young female person." was it Harry's own daughter, based on his reaction?

"How many photographs?" Sherlock asked.

"A considerable number, apparently." Mycroft replied - And Irene and the young lady appear in these photographs together, evidently. A wide range of compromising photographs.

Sherlock rolled his eyes - This wasn't a case, this was ridiculous. Something like this could easily be solved with money. "I have a question." the detective huffed under his breath hearing Katrina speak in that sweetly voice of her; There was no need for questions, she should know better than to waste time. "At this very moment, is Irene Adler using the photographs as blackmail? Is she asking for money in exchange for the photographs? Or... Is she using them for safekeeping for black days, so that she could, one day, use them, in case she needs something... Like, say, protection, to vanish, or be safely transported to another country." actually, that was a good question, the man realised. "The employer isn't the only person of significance that became her client - Surely, she has countless of photographs with powerful and wealthy people. That means she must be hunted down constantly by people, much like us, who want to make sure those photographs don't come to light."

"Quite so, Miss Katrina, she doesn't want money. In fact, she got in touch and informed us the photographs existed. She indicated that she had no intention to use them to extort either money or favour." it was a power play with the most powerful family in Britain, Sherlock remarked, now deeply interested.

"Now that is a dominatrix - Oooh, this is getting rather fun, isn't it?" while Sherlock was quite happy with the outcome, everyone around him was... Less than stellar. They were going to have a looot of fun.

The trio took a cabbie to return back home - Funny enough, Sherlock stole an ashtray for John. How silly of them. After a long time trying to figure out what 'battle armor' to wear, the detective changed back to his usual clothes, and they left towards the address of Irene Adler.

Whilst Sherlock and John were busy play-fighting like two children, Katrina simply went by the residence and pressed the intercom. A lady answered. "Hello?"

"Hello - I am Katrina Black - I believe Miss Irene Adler is waiting for me?" she spoke simply. "Sherlock is a little busy playing in his sandbox, he'll be a little late." the door buzzed, and she was allowed in. "Hello - And thank you." she was met with a beautiful woman who guided her in the living room - Large, and pristine white.

She took a few small steps towards the middle of the room, admiring the simplicity of the place, and how elegantly chic it looked - Very French classic, she thought to herself. Before she could sit down, however, she heard the sounds of high heels clicking against the floor, and as she turned towards the door, she noticed the stunning woman in all her glory, looking at her like a hunter ready to hunt down its prey; A cheetah ready to sprint over and rip apart the innocent and oblivious white bunny standing right in front of her.

"Miss Irene Adler - You are even more beautiful in person. It is lovely meeting you." Katrina spoke in the same demure, polite voice she always uses, allowing no insecurity or speck of intimidation to be seen. She smiled sweetly, doing a little princessy courtesy in front of the woman. The two looked each other up and down, analysing each other thoroughly. Two sides of the same coin - Two beauties depicting the divine feminine.

"You must be Miss Katrina Black. What a sweet little dove you are." Irene prowled forward, almost fascinated by her radiance, her bright light, like the Virgin being engulfed in an aura of purity. "I was not expecting you - Though what a pleasant surprise."

"Forgive the intrusion in your lovely home." Katrina smiled foxily. "The boys are still outside, playing."

"With such a beauty in front of me, the boys hardly matter now, do they?" Irene was now right in front of her, slightly towering over the younger girl, whose heels were smaller, more delicate. Irene turned leisurely, her smirk blooming as she takes in Katrina’s pristine appearance. “Well, aren’t you a surprise? Not quite what I was expecting. You’re... Softer. Like a porcelain doll wrapped in silk.”

Katrina stepped forward, smiling politely, her voice gentle but grounded. “And you’re everything I imagined. Bold, unyielding. A woman who knows exactly what she wants - And takes it.”

Irene raised an eyebrow, circling Katrina slowly like a predator sizing up itsprey. “Compliments from a stranger? Careful, darling, I might think you’re trying to charm me - And private sessions are expensive.”

"Charm you? Perhaps, for someone like you, it might look that way - The best I can do is charm a person, whereas, you can seduce them." Katrina let out a soft laugh, her hands clasped delicately in front of her. “Alas, no, I am not looking to charm you, Miss Irene. Admire, perhaps. I find it’s easier to appreciate people for what they are than waste time wishing they were something else.”

Irene paused, intrigued, her smirk fading into something sharper - She felt almost intimidated by the little angel's bright white light. “Admiration. That’s a rare currency. Most people only give it when they think they’ll get something in return." she stopped for a brief second, her haunting blue-grey eyes peering deep into those gentle aquamarine eyes. "And you? What’s your price?”

Katrina met Irene’s gaze steadily, her smile unwavering. She knows she's somehow managed to get under her skin. “I don’t have one. Not everything has to be a transaction, Miss Adler. Some of us give freely.”

Irene laughed, low and rich, shaking her head slightly. “Freely? Oh, darling, you’re either lying to me or lying to yourself. Nobody’s that pure. Not in this world. Nothing is for free.”

Katrina stepped closer, her voice calm but with a quiet intensity. “Purity isn’t about naivety. It’s about choice. Do not make the mistake of confusing kindness for weakness. Our power and confidence simply stems from different assets.”

Irene tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as though reevaluating Katrina - She thought she was just a simple woman, falling for the simple charm of a pretty face - Of Sherlock Holmes - But no, she was proven wrong; What a peculiar specimen. “Different, yes. But strength comes in many forms. You wear yours like a ribbon. I wear mine like a weapon. Tell me, which one do you think wins in the end?”

The red head found herself smiling softly, almost wistfully. “The one that remains true to oneself."

Irene stared at her, a flicker of something vulnerable crossing her expression before she covers it with a smirk. A strong woman indeed, this princess. A much worthier foe than she anticipated. Truly, women were outstandingly remarkable. “Interesting answer. You’re not quite the innocent little dove you pretend to be, are you? There’s something sharp under all that silk.”

Katrina had a faint, knowing smile on her face, realising the shift in the woman's demeanour and approach towards her. “Sharp edges aren’t always visible, Miss Adler. Some are meant to be felt, not seen.”

The Dominatrix stepped back slightly, folding her arms, still watching Katrina closely. “And here I thought this was going to be dull. I was right to wear my battle armor." she chuckled under her breath. "Tell me, princess, what is it you want?”

"Perhaps you may want to hear me saying that I came here to fight you - The truth is, I am more of a babysitter. Boys are, after all, such children - And only Lord knows, mommy dearest must take care of her little dumb ducklings." she chuckled softly.

"Darling, you are quite the mystery here. Untouchable, yet somehow... Disarming. It’s maddening.” Irene grabbed Katrina's chin, propping it up to look straight into her eyes - The mirror into her soul. Despite her timid shiness, Katrina's eyes revealed nothing except for her neutral intentions. What an enigma. "What secrets are you hiding, you little grey butterfly?"

"That is something that not even Sherlock himself figured out." Katrina's smile widened, akin to that of a fox. "Would you like to try and figure me out, Miss Irene?"

Their little game was unfortunately disturbed by the boys finishing their little brawl; The intercom was blaring aggressively, and Irene's assistant smirked in amusement, answering. He was so piss-poor at acting, that Kate pitied him and just let him in - And Doctor Watson, of course.

Irene rolled her eyes, her smirk returning as she caressed Katrina's long, velvety hair. "Men always know when to come and ruin the fun for us, girls, don't they?" she hummed sweetly into her ear. "It was much more fun with just us around, wasn't it?"

"I never thought motherhood fitted me. Wouldn't you agree?" the vixen giggled preciously, her glittery pink gloss shining brightly in contrast with the white room.

Irene embraced the beauty just as Sherlock entered the room; She wore an innocent smile as she noticed him deep shock. "Hello. Sorry to hear that you’ve been hurt." she spoke in such a sweet voice. A perfectly fake sweet voice. "I don’t think Kate caught your name."

Sherlock, seeing the two women embracing, could only stammer over his words almost pathetically. His voice fails him when he realises that, with the exception of high-heeled shoes, she is flawlessly naked. His jaw drops a little. "I’m so sorry. I’m..."

"Oh, it’s always hard to remember an alias when you’ve had a fright, isn’t it?" she petted Katrina's beautiful red hair. "Men and their lies. They don't even realise how bad they are at lying. How very pitiful, don't you think, little dove?"

"Now, now, darling, it is not me you should be tormenting now, is it? We both know you are simply dying to be playing around with your new little toy. I shall not be stopping you - Indulge." with a gracious twirl, the lady waltzed out of Irene Adler's embrace, and sat down on the pristine couch, smiling passively. "Don't mind me here - Pretend I don't exist."

"That, darling, we both know it's impossible." Irene smiled seductively, before turning to Sherlock. "I see why you like him - What a pretty face. Look at those cheekbones. I could cut myself slapping that face." she hummed, tilting her head to the side, addressing the man. "Would you like me to try?" she asked, snatching the collar from his shirt and biting into it very alluringly.

As Sherlock stares up at her in confusion, John walks into the room carrying a bowl of water and a fabric napkin. His eyes are lowered to the bowl to avoid spilling its contents. "Right, this should do it." He stops dead in the doorway as he lifts his eyes and sees the scene in front of him. Irene looks round to him, the collar still in her teeth. John looks at her awkwardly, then down at the bowl before looking up again. Katrina couldn't help but sigh, watching both Irene and Sherlock clearly bothered by the interruption. "I’ve missed something, haven’t I?"

"As always." the red head coughed softly.

"Please, sit down." She steps back disappointingly from Sherlock, who fidgets uncomfortably on the sofa as she walks away. "Oh, if you’d like some tea I can call the maid."

"I had some at the Palace." Sherlock found himself compelled to speak.

"I know." Irene spoke, at the same time as Katrina. "She knows." the similarities certainly frightened the detective. "Clearly" he muttered passively.

Irene sat down on the couch next to Katrina, crossing her legs, folding her arms gracefully to obscure the view of her chest. They stare silently at each other for several seconds, weighing each other up. John looks at them awkwardly, switching from one leg to the other. "I had a tea, too, at the Palace, if anyone’s interested." his comment was successfully ignored by everyone present. Sherlock’s eyes were still fixed on Irene while he attempted to make as many deductions about her as he possibly could. His final analysis, however, bewildered him.

???????

That was impossible - There was no way --

Blinking in shock and panic, his eyes darted towards Katrina; He looked at her hair, her make up, that gorgeous smile of her, her impeccable outfit... And he came to the same blank conclusion. Irene and Katrina, together, were two riddles far out of his reach. Was he losing his touch? Surely, he analysed Katrina before, so why couldn't he now? Was Irene's aura overshadowing her? Thus, he tried again, from head to toe, to figure out what the two were hiding.

He came out with nothing.

Frightened, he turned towards his Doctor friend -

Neckline: Two Day Shirt Lower face: Electric, not blade Bottom of his jeans and his shoes: Date tonight John’s right eyebrow: Hasn’t phoned sister John’s lower lip: New toothbrush Underneath his eyes: Night out with Stamford Relieved that he hasn’t had a cerebral apoplexy, he slowly turned his head to look at Irene again. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he applied all his deductive reasoning as she smiled enticingly back at him, and he quickly came to the following conclusion:

???????

He frowned deeply, like a brat not allowed to play with his favourite toy.

"D’you know the big problem with a disguise, Mr Holmes?" he quirked an eyebrow at her, urging her to go on. "However hard you try, it’s always a self-portrait." "You think I’m a vicar with a bleeding face?" he asked passively. "No, I think you’re damaged, delusional and believe in a higher power. In your case, it’s yourself." she teased him mercilessly. Sherlock started unbuttoning the top two buttons of his too-tight shirt as Irene leaned forward. "Oh, and somebody loves you. Why, if I had to punch that face, I’d avoid your nose and teeth too." She glanced across to John momentarily, making the man force out a very awkward chuckle.

"Could you put something on, please? Er, anything at all." he looks down at what he’s holding. "A napkin." he fumbled with the napkin in his hand, before trying to hand it over.

"Why? Are you feeling exposed?" not quite the same, but Irene did have fun tormenting weak men such as John Watson.

Sherlock then stood up, fixing his blazer and turning his back at Miss Adler. "I don’t think John knows where to look." he picked up his coat, shook it out and held it out towards Irene.

Ignoring him, she stood up and walked closer to John, who rolled his head on his neck uncomfortably and forced himself to maintain eye contact with her and not to let his eyes wander lower to her attractive curves. "No, I think he knows exactly where." she turned to Sherlock who was still holding out the coat while keeping his gaze averted. Irene took the coat from him, amused by his stubbornness, and put it on. "I'm not sure about you." "If I wanted to look at naked women I’d borrow John’s laptop." he refuted like a brat.

"You do borrow my laptop." poor John shot back.

"I confiscate it." the detective huffed.

"Boys." Katrina giggled passively, yet somewhat bored of this charade.

Sherlocked started walking around the room as Irene wrapped the coat tightly around her body, plopping back on the couch and taking off her Louboutins. "Well, never mind. We’ve got better things to talk about. Now tell me – I need to know. How was it done?"

"The hiker with the bashed-in head, you mean?" Katrina turned her head at her, questioning softly. At once, both John and Sherlock looked at her, almost surprised that she was right. The case wasn't in the papers - Just what kind of connections does the Dominatrix have?

"That’s not why I’m here." Sherlock pressed harshly.

"No, no, no, you’re here for the photographs but that’s never gonna happen, and since we’re here just chatting anyway-" but John interrupted her with his shock.

"That story’s not been on the news yet. How do you know about it?" he asked perplex.

"I know one of the policemen - Well, I know what he likes."

"Oh." he interjected as he sat down next to her, as if to hear the spiciest gossip. "And you like policemen?"

"I like detective stories – and detectives. Brainy’s the new sexy." her smirk was very alluring.

Without realising, Sherlock started pacing slowly, speaking - Almost rambling, in fact. "The position of the car relative to the hiker at the time of the backfire. That and the fact that the death blow was to the back of the head. That’s all you need to know."

"Okay, tell me: how was he murdered?" Irene asked, very excited about the case.

"It wasn't a murder case - It was an accident." Katrina hummed, patting her dress down.

Irene's eyes shifted at the demure lady with shock - So even she knew the truth? Did she figure it out all by herself, or did Sherlock tell her? Was Katrina smarter than her? Was that where she got all that strength and confidence from? "You don’t think it was murder?" "I know it wasn’t." the detective's comment left the woman speechless. "The same way that I know the victim was an excellent sportsman recently returned from foreign travel and that the photographs I’m looking for are in this room."

"Okay, but how?" the Dominatrix was truly flabbergast, especially as she saw not only Sherlock smirking down at her, but Katrina also giggling.

"You just told him." the red head answered.

"Thank you. John, man the door. Let no-one in." the two of them exchanged a look, then John got up and put the bowl and napkin on the table before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Startled by her mistake, Irene sat up straighter, looking suspiciously at the closed door yet said nothing. "Two men alone in the countryside several yards apart, and one car."

"Oh. I – I thought you were looking for the photos now." she peered shortly towards the other woman, who simply smiled emptily.

"He is." she answered plainly.

"You are too kind, Katrina - Didn't I tell you it will get you killed one day?" she only smiled wider. "Stop giving her so many hints - Let her think, for once, instead of catering to the whims of the pathetic and taking off her clothes to make an impression." Sherlock turned sharply towards Miss Adler. "You can stop boring me to death and think any time now - If you want to be as sexy as you claim to be." he left her speechless once again. "Now then - Are you ready to prove yourself?" he huffed, stomping his foot down.

In his mind palace, the scene had already changed - He was no longer in Irene Adler's house, but at the crime scene, and he was the narrator. "Two men, a car, and nobody else." he crouched next to the driver’s door of the car. Inside, frozen in time, the driver's face was contorted with anger while his hands were raised, about to slam down angrily onto the steering wheel. "The driver’s trying to fix his engine. Getting nowhere." straightening up, he turned and looked into the field. "And the hiker’s taking a moment, looking at the sky." the scene changed with Sherlock appearing into the field, walking around the hiker. "Watching the birds?" rhetorical question, of course it didn't matter... Or did it, Irene thought to herself. Why would it matter what the hiker was looking at? Maybe he was admiring the sky. "Any moment now, something’s gonna happen. What?"

Irene also appeared, sitting on her sofa, watching the detective with incredible intrigue. No wonder the little dove was so smitten by him - He truly was charming. "The hiker’s going to die." she answered confidently - And wrong.

"No, that’s the result. What’s going to happen?" he asked again, making sure to emphasise the right question. Irene's confusion made the red haired lady giggle softly.

"I don’t understand." she admitted perplex, looking around, unable to find an answer.

"Then clearly, you are not nearly as sexy as you think you are, by your own words." Sherlock snarked her, before moving away.

"The car’s going to backfire." the man nodded.

"There’s going to be a loud noise." Sherlock added to her statement. "So, what?" Irene asked. "Oh, noises are important. Noises can tell you everything." suddenly, he was back in the real world, before Irene could wake up from her reverie. "For instance..."

At once, the smoke alarm started ringing; John had set the newspaper he rolled up on fire, waving it around the fire detection. Irene, with her heart clenched, unconsciously looked towards the large mirror above the fireplace, making the detective follow her gaze, and smirk. Simple trick, for a simple person.

"Thank you. On hearing a smoke alarm, a mother would look towards her child. Amazing how fire exposes our priorities." he walked over, tracing his fingertips gently underneath the mantel, finding a button switch, which made the mirror slide up, revealing the small safe in the wall behind it. He looked back at the desperate woman who stood up at once out of panic. "Really hope you don’t have a baby in here." he joked dramatically, before calling out to John to turn off the fire alarm - Twice, in fact.

The detective hummed, gazing deeply at the number pad. "Should always use gloves with these things, you know. Heaviest oil deposit’s always on the first key used – That’s quite clearly the three – But after that the sequence is almost impossible to read. I’d say from the make that it’s a six digit code. Can’t be your birthday – No disrespect but clearly you were born in the eighties; the eight’s barely used, so..."

"I’d tell you the code right now but you know what? I already have." It was Irene's turn to get smug and taunt the great Sherlock Holmes, with her sly smile and challenging words. "Think."

"Come on, Sherlock - It is quite elementary." Kat giggled elusively. "You are a man, are you not?"

Sherlock's confusion was disturbed by the loud sound of the door bursting open as some men got in and aimed their pistols at them; But his concern wasn't the evil-doers, but the lingering twisted expression of agony on his friend's face, as she got so startled by the obnoxiously loud noise that her wound started agonising her. These men will pay, the detective vowed to himself, clenching his jaw tightly.

"Hands behind your head." one of the men shouted at Sherlock, as the other two grabbed the two women and threw them harshly onto the ground. "On the floor! Keep it still." they pointed their guns at their heads. John was also shoved into the room, and onto the ground next to them. "Don’t you want me on the floor too?" logically, he knew, they wanted him there, to open the safe - But his instincts were terrifying him; His instincts were telling him to fall to the ground and cradle Katrina to his chest, to protect her from the pain she was feeling as she clutched at her wound, biting her lip to tune out the excruciating pain surging through her body. How dare they rough up such a lovely lady like herself? Brutes, all of them, with no regard for British manners!

"No, sir, I want you to open the safe." at least he was somewhat polite.

"Interesting. Why would you care?" that clearly pissed the goon off.

"Sir, the safe, now, please." fake manners - American manners. Terrific.

"I don’t know the code." Sherlock spoke simply, continuing the pointless exchange of replies.

"We’ve been listening. She said she told you."

"Well, if you’d been listening, you’d know she didn’t." he shot back simply.

"I’m assuming I missed something. From your reputation, I’m assuming you didn’t, Mr Holmes." not wrong, how annoying.

"For God’s sake. She’s the one who knows the code. Ask her." John sneered at the foreign attackers. Why was he always dragged in deathly circumstances?

"Yes, sir. She also knows the code that automatically calls the police and sets off the burglar alarm. I’ve learned not to trust this woman." ha, of course she'd have such a safety measure, Sherlock huffed to himself. At least that much.

"Mister Holmes doesn’t..." Irene was quickly silenced by the main goon who yelled at her threateningly.

"Shut up." he snapped loudly. "One more word out of you – Just one – And I will decorate that wall with the insides of your head. That, for me, will not be a hardship." he looked at one of his henchmen. "At the count of three - Shoot Doctor Watson." "What?!" at there it went - Whenever either of the people close to him get in such danger, Sherlock starts panicking a little too badly. Sure, he always gets things done, he solves the riddles - But for how long will he be able to keep them safe? Such an insecurity lingered silently in the back of his head, tainting at his soul during every case.

"I don’t have the code!" Sherlock pressed once again.

Poor John cowers down as the goon pressed the muzzle of the pistol into the back of his neck, cocking the gun. "One."

"I don’t know the code!"

"Two."

"She didn’t tell me! I don’t know it!" his voice was raised, even shouting - Why won't he believe him?!

"I’m prepared to believe you any second now."

Sherlock looks across to Irene who lowers her gaze pointedly downwards. She was not going to speak - If she did, she could get them all killed regardless; He looked at Katrina, clutching at her abdomen - He wasn't sure if he was seeing things, of if her dress was getting slightly tainted red - Had her stitches broke?! - And he looked at John, looking down in resentment once again, like the broken soldier he was; Always ready to face death. Unacceptable.

"Three."

"No, stop!"

The goon held up his free hand to stop the henchman - John closed his eyes in temporary relief - Sherlock’s gaze became distant, unfocused, as his mind is centered onto the safe combination only; He slowly turned towards the safe and lowers his hands. As the leader watched him closely, he lethargically pressed the ‘3’ and then the ‘2’. Hesitating for a split second, he added ‘2’ and‘4’ and ended with ‘3’ and ‘4’. The safe beeps and noisily unlocks. Irene smiles in satisfaction and triumph as Sherlock sighed in relief, along with John and Katrina. Surprisingly, they were still alive.

"Thank you, Mr Holmes. Open it, please."

Twisting the lever to open the safe door, Sherlock took a quick glimpse to Irene, who lowers her gaze, tilting her head subtly.

"Vatican cameos!"

With the code spoken, John instantly threw himself to the ground as Katrina swiftly dragged herself to a safe corner - At the same moment, Sherlock pulled open the door of the safe while ducking down below the fireplace, allowing the trap-gun to shoot one of the hechmen straight through the chest; Rapidly turning and straightening up, Sherlock grabs the main goon's pistol, smashing the butt into his face, making him fall to the ground, unconscious, as Irene spins around to ruthlessly elbow the man in the crotch - Before he could get up, however, she grabbed the gun from his hands and slammed it across his face, rendering him immobile also.

Distracted by the adrenaline and shock, Irene Adler doesn't notice the subtle thievery as Sherlock reached into the safe and pocketed its contents, before rushing carefully to the red head's side.

"Damsel in distress once again." the girl chuckled weakly to herself.

"Admit it - You just like being carried around, don't you?" he tried to joke, though it was clear he was still panicked. Slowly, he placed his hands over hers, removing them from her torso - The material of her dress was thankfully unblemished, and his fright simply made him see things.

Panic...? See things...? Since when was he so overly protective and concerned about the well-being of others? How peculiar - He would never -- He couldn't... Could he? The great Sherlock Holmes? "Yes, I admit, I do like being carried around - By you." speechless.

But speechless was also Irene, who looked down at the scene unfolding before her eyes - How tender Sherlock was with the little bunny, how carefully he handled her, how he talked to her so mellow; And how familiar she was with him, feeling his emotions, easing his fears, so bold and confident in her own kindness and love. Katrina was right - Her greatest power was clear for all to see, yet for very few to understand - For some, Love was their greatest weakness; For Katrina, it was her greatest strength.

"Yes, right." Sherlock cleared her throat awkwardly as he helped her up and gestured her to sit back on the comfortable sofa while he solves things around.

"Thank you. You were very observant." Irene felt the need to praise the non-chalant detective, and even more, to confuse the poor doctor. "I’m flattered.

"Don’t be." this time, the detective paid her no mind at all, as if she didn't exist whatsoever. "There’ll be more of them. They’ll be keeping a eye on the building." he took the pistol, removing the silencer and going outside to shoot into the sky to alert the authorities. Quickest way, surely. "On their way." he assured his partner, before returning inside the house to taunt the Dominatrix with the phone he stole, flipping it up in the air playfully, while John was checking the house for more intruders.

"Well, that’s the knighthood in the bag." Gulping, Irene held out her hand. "Ah. And that’s mine."

Sherlock opened the phone, revealing the security lock - Four digits required to activate it

I AM

_ _ _ _

LOCKED

"All the photographs are on here, I presume." he smirked in triumph, seeing her panic over his victory.

"I have copies, of course." what a terrible liar.

"No you don’t. You’ll have permanently disabled any kind of uplink or connection. Unless the contents of this phone are provably unique, you wouldn’t be able to sell them." Sherlock debunked her lies. "Who said I’m selling?"

"Well, why would they be interested? Whatever’s on the phone, it’s clearly not just photographs." he replied right back.

"That camera phone is my life, Mr Holmes. I’d die before I let you take it." she walks closer and holds her hand out again. "It’s my protection."

"It was." As Katrina remains casually on the sofa, Sherlock runs up the stairs doing God knows what; John and Irene went after him. How he got poisoned - Well, it wasn't rocket science. The doctor disappeared into the hidden back door, and Katrina heard loud slaps. Chuckling, she made her way into the room, seeing a semi-conscious Sherlock on the ground, being slapped and whipped with the riding crop so mercilessly; It only made the red head chuckle, alerting the Dominatrix.

"Are you not going to stop me, little dove? I thought, for sure, you were the vanilla type - Or, perhaps, I was wrong?" Miss Adler looked over to the princess leaning on the frame of the door.

"What I am into is no-one's concern, is it, Miss Irene?" she hummed softly. "Likewise, what Sherlock is into, is none of mine - So do continue. He probably won't remember by the time he wakes up." she continued. "It is, in fact, quite funny seeing him like this, all things considered." "Perhaps a little rope bunny, instead?" Katrina simply smiled a little wider.

"I will leave that up to your imagination." she said. "May we meet each other under better circumstances, Miss Irene Adler. You are truly a remarkable woman, and I admire you for who you are. I pray you remain safe and sound."

"Was it a boomerang?" she asked, earning a nod from the girl. "Did you figure it out yourself?" she nodded once again. "No wonder you are so special to him. Sherlock Holmes doesn't see you as he sees everyone else." that statement simply earned a silent, sad smile of resignation and acceptance from the lady. Irene smiled wry, a little defeated by all the unexpected kindness received from such a bright person. Her goodness was like a plague. She couldn't stand it - It burnt and blistered a shadowy woman like herself. "You deserve better than him." her voice was mild, almost pitiful. "Alas, a fool in love in destined to get repeatedly hurt to the end of times." she stepped towards the open window. "That emotion you are feeling for Sherlock..." Irene began, sitting on the pane. "Is the most frightening thing I have ever experienced in my entire life." and thus, she disappeared from the building. Katrina slowly stept next to Sherlock, kneeling down and cradling him to her chest; She smiles softly, humming and petting his hair. "It truly is frightening, Irene. You are right." in spite of his delirium, the detective could still hear her voice, the only thing somewhat keeping him in this world - Before darkness took him over.

John returned to the room shortly after, and his heart sunk at the view. "Don't worry, it's just a simple drug. He'll be awake in a few hours. Let's get home, John. We deserve a good rest." with some help, the two carried Sherlock to a police car, and they drove back to 221B Baker Street.

"How did he know the key code? Was it only from the oil deposit on the key pad?" John asked, only to see Kat shake her head, gently placing the detective on the bed.

"Irene appeared before Sherlock naked for a few reasons - She wanted to intimidate him, so see his personality, to see if he falters in front of a naked woman - And more, she was taunting him, testing him..." she chuckled, pressing a soft kiss on his forehead before placing the blanket over him. "She showed him the code - Her body - A woman's measurements." John remained with his jaw agape in realisation, watching as the red head graciously walked out of the room, back into her apartment to rest for the remainder of the day.

< Previous Chapter

Next Chapter >

#sherlock holmes #bbc sherlock #bbc sherlock x reader #bbc sherlock imagine #bbc sherlock x katrina black #sherlock holmes x reader #sherlock holmes imagine #sherlock holmes x katrina black

4 notes · View notes

oncominggstorm · 1 month ago

Note

1, 2, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16 :)

1.) What song makes you feel better?

.......I am gonna sound like a broken record here cuz this has been my answer to every question about music ever buuuuuut "Down by the Water" by Ocie Elliott 😂 Idk I'm just kinda obsessed with that song rn. Actually listening to it on repeat yet again rn 😂 USUALLY tho, I'd go with something more upbeat to make me feel better lol

2.) What is your go to comfort show?

You'd THINK I'd say Doctor Who based on, ya know *gestures vaguely at blog*. But I usually go with comedies when I want comfort. If I had to pick just one, I'd probably say Ted Lasso. But Our Flag Means Death, Brooklyn Nine Nine, and New Girl are also up there. And lately Abbott Elementary (that's what I ended up watching right after my dad died actually, it was a nice light hearted distraction).

9.) Best childhood moment?

Oh gosh how to chose hmmm. I mean, I feel like I almost HAVE to say the day my little sister was born. She's almost 12 years younger so I remember it well. And she's definitely the best thing that ever happened to me/the person I love most in the world.

But I do also have pretty good memories of a trip to Disney World with both my parents when I was 8. They'd been divorced for like 2 years at that point but wanted to take us as a family anyhow, and it was pretty great. We drove there, my dad drove for 21 hours straight without stopping (yes he was crazy). We got to Florida at like 11pm (we went to Daytona Beach first, and drove to Disney the next day) and just went straight to bed. And I remember the next morning, I woke up before my mom & sister, and went out to the balcony to watch the sun rise over the ocean with my dad, and that was my first time seeing the ocean!

11.) Do you have a comfort item? Tell us about it!

Yes, 2 actually! The main one is I have a baby blanket that my grandma on my dad's side made for me. She made one for all 6 of her grandkids actually. Idk what exactly the craft she did is called, needlepoint maybe? Idk but basically she made a bunch of Disney characters out of yarn on the blanket. But the blanket itself has a nice smooth texture that's cool to the touch and is just nice sensory wise. The "blanket" is basically just a tangled ball of scraps at this point, cuz I've slept with it basically every night for 33 years lol. But I still love it and it brings me comfort.

The other one is a squishmallow I got a few years ago. He is a gnome and his name is Gnorman (idk what the actual official squishmallow name is, I renamed him). And he has probably absorbed gallons of tears from me crying into him at this point 😂

14.) Whats something upcoming that you’re excited for?

Hmm there's not really a lot of big things for me to look forward to at the moment, so I've mostly just been looking forward to small things like watching my show. I guess maybe christmas? Altho I'm honestly not feeling it as much this year 🤷‍♀️

15.) Comfort food?

Cheese pizza 👍

16.) What’s something you want to create soon?

I'm working on making several different videos of some of my favorite scenes from my the show I'm currently fixated on. And also finishing that fic. But also, I wanna make some candles soon! I just got more wax the other day so whenever I next have the energy, I'm gonna make a few

Thanks :)

Send me a number!

#answered #ontargetmadders

2 notes · View notes

astaldis · 2 months ago

Text

Whumptober Masterlist

Hi, thank you so very much for organising this year's Whumptober, it was a lot of fun! ❤️❤️❤️

Here are my creations for the event, all in all 54 prompts used and 30,630 words written, all are for The Witcher except the last one (but the two actors are also in The Witcher):

- Where is Jaskier?

Prompts: 1 "Search party"/"Race against the clock", 2 "Trust issues", 3 "Set up for failure"/"I warned you", 6 "Not realizing they're injured", 7 "Unconventional weapon", 9 "Bruises", 10 "Slurred words"/"Passing out from pain"/"I can't think straight", 11 "Seeing double"/"Leave no trace behind, like you don't even exist", 12 "Underground caverns", 24 "I never knew daylight could be so violent", 30 "Recovery", alt. "Vermin": While the Hansa is on their journey searching for the druids of Caed Dhu, Jaskier goes missing. Geralt is worried, very worried. (Words: 9,053)

- Silence

Prompts: 4 "Hallucinations/Sensory deprivation", 27 "Voiceless", alt. "Venom": It is quiet. Not a single sound. Eerie. Absolute silence. But should he not hear twigs crunching under the soles of his boots? The autumn wind whispering in the trees' orange and yellow leaves that lend a golden glow to the picturesque landscape? Birds twittering in the bushes and sheep bleating in the distant meadows? How can there be this deep and utter silence? And why is he alone? Where is everybody? Milva? Regis? Cahir? And, most of all, Geralt? (Words: 800)

- All Is Not As It Seems

Prompts: 12 "Cannibalism", 31 "I'm alive, I'm just not well": Coën groans. Judging by how tired he feels, he cannot have slept for long, maybe an hour or two. Something has woken him up. A sound like the whetting of a blade. Cahir is not sharpening his sword in the middle of the night, is he? Groggily, he blinks his eyes open.

"Hmm, how strange. This has never happened before. Why are you not out cold like your friend?"

For a moment, Coën stares at the tall blonde man, disoriented. Then his memory clicks into place. Soren. The cottage in the heath. The delicious meal and the nice guest room with the one bed. Cahir snuggled up close to him. Fuck, this is not the bed he fell asleep in, he suddenly realises. It feels like he is lying on a wooden table instead, and his hands— Dammit, what is going on here? And where is Cahir? (Words: 2,059)

- White Eyes

Prompts: 20 "It's not your fault", 21 "Spirit possession", 30 "What have I done?", alt. "Regret": Ciri has a bad nightmare. Yennefer wants to help, yet somehow she makes things worse, much worse. Fortunately, Geralt and Vesemir know what to do. (Words: 1,000)

- Retribution

Prompts: 21 "Body Horror", 27 "Voiceless"/I have no mouth and I must scream": After Stygga, Cahir wakes up shackled in a white room - with Emhyr var Emreis. Dead Dove: Do Not Eat! (Words: 700)

- A Hairy Problem

Prompt 23 "Public display": On their way south, Geralt and his company need to buy provisions in a town not far from the Yaruga. However, a surprise is waiting there for Cahir, and it is not a pleasant one. (Words: 1,000)

- Sleep now:

Prompt 26 "Nightmares": Jaskier has a terrible nightmare. Geralt soothes him. But was it really just a nightmare? (Words: 423)

- Something Moving In The Shadows (chapters 33, 35, 36, 45, 47-49)

Prompts: 5 "Healing salve", 7 "Magic with a cost", 9 "Broken window", 13 "multiple whumpees", 14 "Left for dead", 15 "Childhood trauma"/"Painful hug", 16 "Wound cleaning", 17 "Nowhere else to go", 18 "I see what's mine and take it"/"Revenge", 19 "Blood trail", 20 "Emotional angst"/"It's not your fault", 22 "Oh, that's not good"/"Bleeding through bandages", 25 "Stitches", 29 "Fatigue", alt. "Secrets revealed", alt. "Motion sickness", alt. "Shivering":

On their way to rescue Ciri, Geralt and his Hansa come by the ruin of an old castle. It is a bit eerie, but should they stay the night there anyway or rather move on toward the forest? You decide! Interactive Choose your own adventure Hansa fic with different options for the reader to choose from! (63,159 words, 51/51 chapters)

- Night and day, you are the one

Prompt 30: "Hospital bed": Lily keeps a bedside vigil at the hospital, waiting for Alexander to wake up. (The ABC Murders 2018, Words: 584)

4 notes · View notes

mal-urameshi · 2 years ago

Note

Courting your honor part two 👀🙏🏾

Chronicles of Mama Okoye and Riri! XIII

Courting with Honor II

A/N: I did some research but shit, I wasn't in depth. So suspend your disbelief for me when it comes to the locations I listed here in Chicago. Thanks.

Riri grinned as she excitedly laced up her University Blue Jordan 1s. She stood up and checked herself out from the back in her mirror. She swung her hips from side to side before giving her butt a light smack, “Damn, I think my butt’s getting big!”

She walked up to her dresser and neatened up her already perfect edges before flashing herself another smile. Her straight-backs were on point, courtesy of her mother, and she smelled extra good too. Riri mumbled along to the rap song that was currently blasting in her room as she linked a gold chain around her neck while bopping her head, “Making all this money on my boss shit! Everything I do I keep a profit!”

“You fly as hell Riri.” She creased a finger over her already manicured eyebrows, “Ain’t nobody can test you. Ain’t nobody can do it like you!” She applied some lipgloss and smacked her lips together while she admired the way her arms looked in her crop top.

“Cash Money Records taking over for the 99’ and the 2000s!”

“Yo! This my song!”

Okoye nibbled on the last of her bread as her cup of tea vibrated across the table, which in turn caused some of the dark liquid to spill out of the cup, due to the sheer force of the music’s bass.

Okoye took up her cup and took a sip from its lip as she walked over to Riri’s room. She pushed open the door and was blessed by Bast herself with the sight of her daughter twerking her heart out in the middle of her bedroom.

“Girl you looks good won’t you back that ass up!” Riri rolled her hips to the beat of the music, completely oblivious to her mother taking in the show.

Okoye placed her cup on Riri’s work table, but the porcelain was on a mission to be bumped off the mahogany top. Okoye quickly remedied this by placing a particularly thick book over it to prevent any unfortunate messes.

She glanced over at her daughter who still hadn’t noticed her, lost in the music and high off of her excitement for the events of the day still to come. Okoye smiled and decided to join in on the fun, she gave a clap and jumped on beat with Riri.

Riri turned around and noticed that her mother joined in on her vibe, which caused her to laugh, “Go Mama! Go Mama! Throw that waist aye! CMB make you drop it like it’s hot! Drop it like it’s hot!” She rushed over to her bed and grabbed a few hundred dollar bills and started making it rain on Okoye, “The nyash is nyashing!”

Mother and Daughter fell over each other in laughter as the song came to its conclusion.

I got a bone to pick! I don’t want you monkey-mouth-

Okoye used her kimoyo beads to pause Riri’s music, “I swear, the neighbours are fed up of you.” She laughed as Riri picked up her money from the floor and put it in her purse.

“They dealt with my ass for 16 years, this ain’t new to them. They know what to expect.” Riri shrugged playfully as she threw her bag over her shoulder.

“Just know that I’ll be the one getting complaints while you are off on your date in the States.”

“C’mon, Ma! It’s almost the middle of the day. Ain’t nobody care about the music. Besides, Kendrick is good for the soul.”

Riri busted out a little dance in giddiness; she barely slept last night. All she could think about was Chicago. She was so excited she woke up super early, about to get ready but it had completely slipped her mind that timezones existed.

Riri still didn’t know how she did it, but she managed to convince her mother to allow her to stay just a little over 15 hours in the states for her date with Shuri. Her excuse was that eight hours wasn’t nearly enough to properly immerse herself in the rich culture of Chicago. And although 15 wasn’t enough either, it was at least 7 hours more than she was initially allowed. So Riri was grateful. And 15 hours meant they had to get a very early start. So she and Shuri agreed to leave at 11am and it was almost time to leave!

“Bring back a souvenir for your Umama.” Okoye chimed as she took her cup from under the book and sipped it on her way out.

Riri trailed behind her, ”Don’t worry Ma! I will! This’ll be like all the times you went out and bought stuff back for me. I’m definitely bringing home pizza and stuff. And snacks! Maybe an “I <3 Chicago T-Shirt’ too, just to be cheesy.”

Okoye made a face, “Bast, please, no shirts.”

Riri’s beads chimed with a call from Shuri and she quickly answered, “Hey, Riri I’m outside.”

“Okay! I’ma answer the door.” Riri hung up and did a little jump in excitement, “She’s here!”

She ran to the door and opened it before running into Shuri’s arms for a hug, “Hey!”

Shuri pressed a kiss to Riri’s forehead, “Hey!” Shuri then held Riri’s hand and made her do a little spin, “You look really good! Those cargos hug you really nice”

Riri smiled, “Thanks. I wanted to look cute but be practical since we gonna do lotsa walking, you know? I was feeling myself.” She then gave Shuri a once-over, “But look at you!”

Shuri held out her arms and did her own little spin, allowing her orange skirt to dance with her movements, “Oooh! I didn’t flash you did I?” She teased.

“You sure you wearing panties under there, girl?” Riri looked her up and down with a smirk.

“Ah!” Shuri clutched her imaginary pearls, “I am a decent young lady with honor and class.” She mocked her mother’s tone, which caused Riri to laugh.

Okoye walked outside and gasped, ”Oh my gosh! You girls look so adorable!”

Shuri beamed and Riri blushed.

“Thank you, Okoye.”

“Let me take a picture of you both!”

Riri and Shuri already knew the drill. It’s been like this ever since they were kids. They hugged each other as Okoye snapped the first picture before switching poses. They both kicked a leg up for the next one.

“I wanna hold you from behind for the next snapshot.” Riri exclaimed as she positioned herself behind Shuri and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“You’re mighty confident that you’d be visible in the frame, Riri.” Shuri teased before placing her hands over Riri’s for the picture.

Riri looked up at Shuri with a smug expression, “Please, I eat confidence for breakfast. You know this.”

Okoye swiped through the pictures, “The both of you are too cute!” She looked up from her kimoyo beads as she walked over to them, “Have a great day, okay?” She hugged and kissed Riri, ”Be safe.”

Riri hugged back Okoye, “Yea Ma! I will.”

Shuri held Riri’s hand as they walked over to the Royal Talon Fighter that was parked a little distance away.

“Can the both of you walk any slower? We’re burning daylight here.” T’Challa mockingly shook his head.

Shuri rolled her eyes, “Shouldn’t you be fawning over your girlfriend right now? It’s my date, not yours.”

“Nakia’s coming with us?” Riri queried.

Shuri silently nodded and then cleared her throat, “‘As much as I love my little sister and her long time best friend turned girlfriend, I’ll be bored watching them have their fun while I chaperone. So I deserve some company too.’”

“So what I’m hearing is we don’t have to have a helicopter sibling watching over us?” Riri asked as she swung both their arms as they boarded the ship.

“Correct! He’ll be too busy being Goo-goo Gaga to really pay us any mind.”

“Nice!”

Riri greeted Nakia before she took her seat next to Shuri who pulled out two phones, “iPhone or Samsung? We have to blend in, after all.”

“Yo!” Riri excitedly grabbed the iphone out of Shuri’s grasp and quickly scrolled through the features and noted the specs., “I think my great-great-great grandma used this kinda tech. Dang. It’s all clunky and shit. This is really the best Steve could do?” She pressed the phone to her arm and raised it again. “No built-in healing functions or anything?”

Shuri giggled at Riri’s roast and leaned back in her chair.

“So, what are the plans for today?” Riri drummed her fingers on Shuri’s lap in anticipation.

She held her fingers up to her lips, “It’s a secret.”

“Aw, come on! I’ve been nervous all week! The anticipation is killing me!” Riri slumped herself in the chair and crossed her arms.

“Okay, okay. Fine, since you want to be a sad baby about it, we’re going to the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center. That’s the first venue.”

“Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!” Riri kicked up her feet and relaxed for the rest of the ride while making conversation with Shuri.

Just a little under two hours later, they touched down and arrived in front of the museum. Riri’s eyes sparkled in wonderment as she gaped at the building. Shuri grinned and swiftly snapped a picture of her girlfriend, “First memory procured.”

Riri held Shuri’s hand, “Let’s go inside!”

T’Challa cleared his throat to catch their attention, “Ring me on your cellular devices when you are ready to go to the next venue.”

Both girls nodded and hurried inside.

Nakia looked up at T’Challa, “Aren’t you supposed to be watching them?”

T’Challa lightly shrugged, “Yes, but they can take care of themselves. Shuri only asked me to come so that Mama would say yes. Besides, the Doras are in the area keeping a watchful eye on them. Do not worry, my love.”

“As you wander through these hallowed halls, you’ll encounter exhibits that chronicle the journey of Black pioneers, activists, artists and visionaries who shaped our nation. Discover the extraordinary legacy of Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a Haitian-born trader who founded Chicago and ignited the flames of freedom.”

Riri listened in enjoyment as the guide talked about each exhibit with enthusiasm, tugging Shuri every which way to get closer looks at the artifacts and any amount of pictures her clunky phone could possibly hold.

“Hey!” Shuri called Riri over and pointed to a picture of a woman on display, “She kinda looks like you!” She read her name., “She went by Judy Harmon.”

Riri grinned,”You think she looks like me? For real?”

Shuri vehemently nodded, “Stand next to the picture so that I can get a photo for you!”

Riri did as was told and chucked her deuces up with a smile.

After the tour was over they both stood outside as Riri excitedly went on tangents about the knowledge that was bestowed on her, “Isn’t that awesome?! The Black Panthers had breakfast programs to feed the people in the communities, healthcare clinics.” She spun around and skipped down the stairs.

“Man, it’s fucked though what they did to Fred. Like…imagine the waves of change that could have happened had they not run up in his house and offed him like that.” She sucked her teeth and shook her head.

“And Huey. P. Newton! Ugh! He’s such a fricken badass! I want a poster of that shot with his gun on my wall back home! Black Power!” She threw a fist into the air as she jumped down the last of the steps.

Shuri grinned at Riri’s happiness, “I’m so happy you’re enjoying yourself, Riri. I can’t resist patting myself on the back for organizing this. You’re so vibrant!”

Riri patted Shuri’s back for her, “Nah. You outdid yourself and we were only at the first venue! I wanna see more!” She took a deep breath and exhaled, “It feels good being worldly.” She found herself going on another tangent as they walked down the street, “Despite all the suffering and hardships they went through as a people, the Black Americans still persevered. Even though they had their roots…beaten out of them. They managed to create something entirely new for themselves. Nah, I shouldn’t say that. Not everything was stripped of them, because the roots that dem colonizers tried to completely cut out from the Motherland still bleed into their culture in one way or another. The similarities are there. But man, they’re so innovative. I love that for them. They did that shit, man. Their spirit is contagious.”

Shuri silently nodded as Riri ranted. She’s heard Riri’s passions for the Black Americans on numerous occasions but she never tires of it. Riri had admired them to the point of picking up quite a few…or a lot of their ways. Their vernacular being the most prominent. But she never minded it, even though there were those back home who found her quite…peculiar for doing so.

“So what’s next?”

“We can either go to Millenium Park or…”

“You’re gonna show me the Bean?! Let’s go!”

T’Challa held up the cellphone as Shuri and Riri made funny faces at the camera. Shuri then plucked the phone from her brother and took selfies in their reflection of the sculpture, “Damn we look good!”

“No lies were told. You think we could climb that thing?”

Shuri looked at Riri and then the bean with a smirk, “As much as I’d love to, I’m sure that would be a law we would be breaking. And I’m not trying to get in trouble. I’d never hear the end of it.”

“You right, you right.” Riri agreed before the both broke out into laughter.

Soon enough, they found themselves on the Great Lawn having a picnic.

“How many of my arteries do you think are gonna be clogged by the time we get back home?”

Shuri crossed her legs, “All of them.”

The couple had an assortment of food laid out on their blanket: Deep dish pizza, hotdogs, buttermilk donuts, cinnamon rolls, nuggets and fries. You name it.

“That hotdog looks like it’ll give someone diarrhea.” Shuri side-eyed the bun.

“That’s the thrill of it. Will it? Won’t it? The good news is you’ll be able to go in the Talon Fighter and not those public restrooms," she chuckled and she picked up the hotdog.

“You can get food poisoning by yourself.” Shuri gave her a once over before she grabbed her phone, “But first a video for…documentation purposes!”

Riri looked into the camera and showed off the hotdog, “Welcome back to my channel! Today we’re doing a mukbang. This is called…the bad habit… doggy-style.”

Shuri snorted behind the camera, “The what?”

Riri gave a lopsided smile and shrugged, “I have to make it sound interesting because this crap ain’t a regular hotdog!”

“Okay, okay! Keep going!”

Riri waved around the hotdog, “Today we’re gonna find out if I’m gonna get exploded guts from this bad-boy or if Shuri is just being paranoid.”

Shuri turned the camera on herself, “I don’t think the street vendor washes his hands frequently, but Riri insisted it is part of the American experience. My kimoyo beads are on standby for any projectile vomiting that may ensue.”

The camera was back on Riri and she was now looking nervous.

“You know what on second thought...”

“No, no! You have to eat it! You insisted on buying it.”

“You out here making me rethink!”

“Pussy!! Pussy! Pussy!” Shuri bellowed through her laughs.

“I ain’t no pussy!”

“Eat it! Eat it!”

Riri sighed and bit into the hotdog and chewed a few times, “Bruh it ain’t that bad!” She bit into it again, “Like…it tastes well seasoned.”

The camera was on Shuri’s face again, “We’re all gathered here today in remembrance of my girlfriend, Riri. She was such a smart girl. But not smart enough to refuse food from filthy-”

Riri grabbed the phone and handed the hotdog to Shuri, “Experience it with me, baby.”

“I will not share a toilet seat with you.”

“Just try it, it’s good! I swear!”

Shuri eyed the hotdog and took a hesitant bite, “Oop- there Shuri goes, the glizzy in her mouth.”

Shuri threw a balled-up napkin at Riri as she laughed.

“Look at you! How does it taste?”

Shuri licked the corner of her mouth, “It is…acceptable.”

“Nah! You liked it! Admit it!”

Shuri rolled her eyes, “Okay. It was tasty.”

Shuri put down the hotdog as Riri killed the camera and tried one of the donuts.

“How is it?”

“Eh, too sweet and…creamy for me.” She handed it over for Shuri to try.

Shuri bit into it and shrugged, “I don’t think it’s that bad, actually.”

“So, where are we going next, Shuri?” Riri crawled over to Shuri to press a kiss to her lips, removing some of the cream that resided there.

“There is a concert here later this evening that I would have liked us to see, but I have somewhere else planned.”

Riri hung her head before making eye contact again, “Are you gonna tell me where it is?”

Shuri smirked, “Nope. That’s the finale! But we can go to Navy Pier!”

Okoye fiddled with her kimoyo beads, “Maybe I should call her to see how she’s going.”

Aneka groaned, “Okoye, leave Riri alone, she’s in good hands. She’s responsible.”

Ayo hummed in agreement, “Yes, yes. You worry too much. Let my niece enjoy herself.”

Okoye pouted,”But it’s just to check in, though.”

“No! What was the phrase? You will be cramping her style. I know if I was on a date, I’d hate it if my mother was calling me while I was trying to have a good time.”

“Yes, but I can’t help but wonder about the danger. What..what if one of those psychopath mass shooters pop up, eh? Bast forbid.” Okoye crossed her arms.

“Yes! Bast forbid! Geez, Okoye. Try to lighten up! You already told her she could go. There are two Doras with her, a War Dog who is also a former Dora and the Black Panther! Riri is fineee!” Aneka pulled a palm down her face.

“Okoye, you’re stressing out my wife, have a heart.” Ayo rubbed Aneka’s shoulder.

Okoye scoffed, “She is stressing herself out.”

“You know what you need? You need to get laid. “ Aneka teased, “Maybe this is like…some sort of pre-empty nest thing.”

“I do not need to do anything.” Okoye sighed, “Fine, maybe I am a little paranoid about Riri’s safety. It’s just that I know she’ll be safe in Wakanda, no matter what. Out there, I am not afforded that same peace of mind. When you have children, maybe then you’ll understand.”

Ayo placed a hand over Okoye��s, “Koko, Riri is like our own child too, and I understand your worry, but she’s responsible and growing up. She may not even want to stay in Wakanda forever. She could very much want to explore the world…which is more likely than not. And that’s okay.”

Okoye sighed, she heard what they were saying. She was hearing them. That didn’t mean she had to like it.

“Alright. I won’t cramp her style.”

“Thank Bast! You’ll see her in..however many hours are left in the day. Use this time to be free!” Aneka threw her arms up, “You’re child-free! Let’s go bar hopping! I’m tired of being cooped up in here.”

Ayo nodded, ”I’m in.”

They both looked at Okoye expectantly, “Alright. Let’s go!”

Riri popped the final three balloons with her darts and received a huge ego boost from Shuri’s cheering, “That was amazing, Riri! Your dexterity is unmatched.”

“I mean, no matter what it is, I’m good with my hands.” She winked at Shuri before the carny handed her the large stuffed black cat she picked out. Riri then turned to Shuri and presented it to her, “For my special girl.”

Shuri hugged the plushie extremely tight, “Ahh! He’s so cute! I shall name him Vibe!”

“You’re too freaking cute! Come here!” Riri hugged Shuri who returned the hug.

Shuri’s phone chimed with a notification and her eyes sparkled.

“Riri, remember that surprise I was telling you about?”

“Yea? Is it time?”

Shuri grinned and nodded, “I’m taking you to a Bull’s game!”

“Shut the heck up! You’re lying!” Riri squealed and jogged on the spot, “Are you being for real?”

“Yes! I know how much you love basketball and are a fan of Michael Jordan. So I had to come through for my girl.”

Riri tried to calm herself down, “Oh my God, Shuri. I love you!”

“Vibe loves you too,” Shuri made a kissy face and pressed the plush to Riri’s cheek, “And by the way, they’re floor seats.” She mentioned smugly.

Riri slapped her chest a few times, ”Don’t do me like this Shuri, my heart can’t take it.” She placed her hands on her knees.

“What are we waiting for? We have a game to get to!”

Shuri went to drop off her things in the Talon Fighter and emerged with two Bulls jerseys with the number ‘23’ emblazoned on them along with two hoodies.

“No way!”

“Yes way!”

“Authentic?” Her eyes bulged as she inspected the material.

“Right off of Jordan’s back himself. You know I’d never give you anything bootleg.”

Riri jumped up and gave Shuri a hug, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!!”

“You’re welcome, babygirl.”

She handed over one of her hoodies as well, “It’ll be cold in there. So wear it under your jersey.”

Not needing to be told twice, Riri threw on the hoodie and Jersey as they were walking inside.

After the game, Riri couldn’t stop talking about it as they were walking out, “Yooo that buzzer beater gave me chills! Lonzo was decent and Derrick really pulled his weight-”

Riri’s mouth hung open “Oh. My. Bast.”

Shuri followed Riri’s gaze at what beheld her. Or rather...who.

“That…Shuri that…that’s…”

“Michael Jordan. Yes.” She smirked as he was held up in conversation with someone.

“Did you know he was gonna be here?”

Shuri just shrugged, “Maybe, maybe not.”

“You think he’d autograph my jersey if I asked him?” She whisper-shouted.

“You won’t know if you don’t ask.”

The couple walked up to the man and Riri cleared her throat and waved at the man when he acknowledged them.

“Hi…Mr Jordan. I’m a really big fan and I don’t wanna seem rude or seem like I’m imposing or bothering you.” She gesticulated and scratched the back of her head, “But I was wondering if you could sign my jersey for me? Please?”

Michael smiled and nodded, “Sure! Do you have a pen?”

“Shit, no. I don’t.”

“I have one!” Shuri handed him a black marker.

Riri spun around and waited for him to sign her shirt. When he was done, she thanked him right before he excused himself.

“Shuri! How did you do that?”

“Do what, Riri?” She folded her lips to contain her laughs.

“Make him appear outta thin air!”

Shuri snickered, “I just did my research. I saw that he was going to attend this game in particular so I just…made it happen. I knew how much you’d have loved this.”

“Loved it? Nah I died and went to heaven or something!” She took Shuri’s hand in hers as she walked out. She pressed her lips to Shuri’s wrist and then hugged her arm,”I really enjoyed today, Shuri.”

Shuri grinned and patted herself on the back, “I’m so happy that you did! I was a little worried that you wouldn’t have liked it for some reason. You can say it was the nerves.”

“Nah! I loved every bit of this!”

They both entered the Royal Talon Fighter where T’Challa, Nakia and the two Doras were already waiting, “Every minute, itty bitty tiny detail of it. You carefully planned out everything and…” She made an exploding gesture.

“My mind is blown! Like for real. I can’t compute right now.”

Shuri sat down in her seat and Riri took off her shoes to properly cuddle in her lap “I know my ass is gonna sleep good when I get home.” Riri murmured.

Shuri wrapped her arms around Riri and rested her cheek against her forehead, “Same. My body is dead tired. I’m really glad you enjoyed yourself though.”

“Mmm.”

Shuri helped Riri inside with her food and souvenirs she got for her mother, just when Okoye walked into the house.

“Mama? I thought you were asleep?”

Okoye shook her head, ”I went on a night on the town with your Aunties.”

“Oouuu. Did you have fun?”

“Yea, I had fun! I brought back some stuff for you too! As promised.” She scrunched her brows, “It felt really weird spending money. It was kinda ghetto though, not gonna lie.”

Okoye laughed at that, “Indeed it is.”

Shuri gave Riri a hug and kissed goodbye. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Riri nodded while giving Shuri one last hug, “It was really fun, Shuri.”

“Anytime, Riri. And there for sure will be a next time.”

Riri waved her off as Okoye locked up behind her.

“I take it your day went well?”

“So good, Mama.” She walked over to her mother and hugged her, “I learned so much and ate so much and I even caught a Bull’s game.” She slightly slurred, the events of the day finally catching up to her.

Okoye pressed a kiss to Riri’s forehead, “I’m happy to hear that, my Pebble. Come, you should go rest.”

Riri held up her arms, “Carry me, please Mama. I’m sooo tired.”

Okoye allowed Riri to wrap her arms around her neck as she hoisted her upwards and walked to her room, “All right. Bedtime.”

“And I ate a probably food poisoned hotdog, but it was so good. I brought home haf. You gotta try it, Ma.”

Okoye laughed out loud at that and affectionately rubbed her child’s cornrows, “Okay, Riri.”

Taggies: @somethingcleaverandwhitty @karimwillia @neptoons1998 @pantherheart

#general okoye #riri williams #mama!okoye #daughter!riri #mama okoye and daughter riri #shuriri #shuri x riri #shuri udaku x riri williams #black panther #wakanda forever #ironheart #fanfic #okoye

28 notes · View notes