#but being so excited and then nothing going well for you will crush anyone's spirit

[seiko-chi]

Nothing has dampened my excitement like my bad internet not downloading more than 15GB over the course of 8 hours while my friends already finished with theirs

Not sure I want to play anymore if it is going to be like this

[yandereunsolved]

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯤ Yandere Scott Summers ᯤ ᯓᡣ𐭩

You were new to the school, barely able to grasp the abilities that had manifested in your body. Scott was the one to find you. It was purely accidental. You were having a panic attack behind the dumpster of the local supermarket. You were so vulnerable then, even more so now. You are in the one place that is always either under physical attack or social scrutiny.

You hadn't connected with anyone as of yet. Scott noticed that he has grown to have a tendency to follow you around. He wouldn't call it creepy or stalking; he is merely observing you. There are certain responsibilities that come with being a mutant. He is just following through on them.

You sat all alone in between classes. Your figure shys away from anyone who approaches. The professor asked him to try to be friendly with you. Apparently, your thoughts were less than healthy, and Professor Xavier didn't want to embarrass you. You poor thing. He completely gets it.

"Hey." He neutrally greets you.

He wasn't bold enough to sit next to you, but he wanted to do nothing more than scoop you into his arms and tell you that he was here for you. You are safe. You aren't a monster. 

"Mhm—Scott."

Your face was discolored; there were heavy, dark circles under your eyes. You hadn't slept well since you got here. He often peered through your dorm window at night to see you anxiously tossing and turning. It was lucky for Scott that you were on the ground floor. It made it even easier to monitor your condition.

He had gotten a response from you. That was better than nothing.

"I was gonna sneak outta here in a few hours. Get some ice cream floats and catch a movie. Wanna come with me?" He does his best to keep his tone level, but there is still excitement creeping up the back of his throat.

"No, thanks." You return meekly.

He felt crushed for a moment. He could see you retreating back into your shell. No, no. It wasn't supposed to go like this.

"We can go at night. No one will be around. We won't even be recognized." He urges.

"Too many things could go wrong." You mumble in reply.

"How about I sneak some treats from the kitchen, and you can hang out at my dorm? I could really use your help eating them. I was planning on doing it anyway, and if I got caught, I could say I was doing it for a good cause." He states it cheekily with a wink. You are unable to see it because of his protective glasses, but you get the spirit of it.

"That would be okay. I guess."

Finally, success. He sighs in relief.

"See you later?" He questions hesitantly.

"Yeah. I would like that."

He saw a small smile on you.

He was afraid his eyes would burn through his glasses because of how hot he suddenly felt. His heart was thumping so heavily against his chest that he was worried that it would burst out of his body. He just wanted to plant a kiss on those ravishing lips of yours. He refrains from doing so. Small steps. Small steps for you, for the both of you, and for your relationship as a whole.

[tiphprince]

hello 😞

um can you explain the reasons you like snape?

Hi!

Sure.

I can't in fact remember when I started liking Snape, it happened as I was growing up with the movies, though I do know that by the time Half-Blood Prince came out in 2009 he was already well established as my favorite character, as I had friends take photos of me near a cardboard cutout of him at the cinema (I was 13 at that time).

So, I can't pinpoint what is the one thing that made me like him. However, I know that I started really loving his character more deeply when I read the books right after seeing the HBP movie. I discovered just how different he was in the books, and how much better his character was.

To answer your question... I love everything about him, including his many flaws.

He's hilarious, he has some of the funniest lines in the series. His sarcasm made me laugh as a young teen, even and probably, specially because it was directed at teenagers of the same age I was.

He's mysterious, for 95% of the series we have no idea what he thinks, what he's doing and why he's doing it. We just know that something is going on, but we don't know what. It makes him intriguing and makes you want to know more.

He's brave, and selfless. He risks his life on a regular basis once Voldemort gets back, he agrees to mercy kill Dumbledore, effectively getting himself branded as the second most hated man in the country and even by people who at minimum respected him (colleagues he'd been working with for 15 years, people who saw him as a friend), and he expects nothing in return. He dies a gruesome and painful death, though thankfully not alone, knowing that everyone who'd ever liked him, that everyone in the whole world, despises his guts because he had to do what no one else could to save thousands of lives.

He's petty, and cruel. I won't teach anyone anything by saying that Snape is a bully as a teacher, and that he enjoys it. Yet, this is also one of the reasons I like him, because it creates an amazing juxtaposition with the previous point. He's a hero... and an asshole who makes children cry. He will do everything in his power and more to ensure that his students are alive and stay that way, but damn if he won't crush their spirit in the meantime as well.

He's skilled. He's a potions genius, who was rewritting recipes as a teen. He invented spells also as a teen, both being things that even Hermione never attempted to do. He thinks outside the box, and he's an excellent duelist, but he relies on his intelligence more than rough power and fighting prowess.

He's traumatised. Snape has one of the worst childhood/backstories of the books. He was abused as a child by his father, grew up watching him abuse his mother, he lived in such extreme poverty that the Weasleys would look like the royal family to him. Then he got to Hogwarts, and we can see how excited he is to finally go somewhere he won't be forced to hide who he is, to be somewhere he belongs... except he meets his future bullies on the train and reality catches up to him fast.

He's "relentlessly bullied" for the next 6 years ish, with no escape. And yes, teenage Snape was no saint, he was no angel, but no child deserves this kind of torment. Every single day we hear of teenagers killing themselves because of bullying. As an adult he shows obvious signs of trauma from what the Marauders did to him, and it's very sad to see.

I need to stop at one point because I don't think you were asking for a whole ass novel about Snape, but there's so so much more to say about him. I'll just link to @said-snape-softly's answer to a post recently that was asking roughly the same thing, where they explain why they love Snape and added a lot of great metas to help you or anyone else better understand his character.

[sharkpupsblog]

😨 Lost Horse! 🐎 PART 4. Goldenhills.

A Sabine x GN! Reader fanfic!

Hi!!! Another silly part omg!!! This is the last part without Sabine 😳 she will show up in the next part! So so sorry for making y’all wait 4 parts for her 😭💔 I promise the fluff I’m gonna write will make up for it!!! As always i wrote. A lot. I edited and added more stuff in so this part is LONG . 😭 Anyways ty guys for ur patience and enjoy! :D

Summary: The Soul Riders take you and Khaan to Goldenhills.

Warnings: foul language.

Alex frowned, and she watched you as you rode sadly behind the group with Anne next to you. “They’re very quiet” she whispered to Linda who nodded in agreement. “They must be upset” Linda frowned too “Avalon said they had Khaan for a while, so they have already built a bond with him.” Linda got even more upset at the thought of having to give up Meteor. She could not imagine how much you were hurting. “Should we talk to them?” Linda asked, and Alex answered with “I don’t think we should.”

Alex saw the look you gave Anne when she introduced herself. It was clear you did not like her or anyone in the group. “We should just give them some space I think they hate u-“ both girls snapped forward as you looked up. They both looked back at the road so quickly that Linda’s glasses almost fell off. You narrowed your eyes at them not liking being watched. Anne looked at you, and she started to try to initiate a conversation with you. “Have you been to Goldenhills before?” She was hoping you would answer, but you didn’t. She wasn’t disappointed she was honestly expecting you not to say anything. Even though you didn’t say anything Anne continued to try to be friends. She really wanted you to know that she was an ally and not an enemy.

“I’ve been here a few times for Soul Riding missions” she looked around at all the trees seeing the warm colors on the leaves. Before Anne came to get you, your dad filled you in on all the druid and Soul Rider stuff. He also told you about the Dark Riders, but you didn’t have much interest in either group. They both sounded incredibly stupid. He also told you that the plan was to get Khaan to a witch named Pi. There was a chance she could reverse the dark magic in Khaan… But the probability of it happening was extremely low. If it didn’t work, then Khaan would be given to druids that lived far in the mountains. You prayed the whole ride to Goldenhills that Khaan could be returned to normal. You really didn’t want to say goodbye, and neither did he. You let out a groan as you heard Anne continue to talk.

“It’s always closed in winter” Anne pat her horse when it neighed. “They say it’s to keep spirits in” she looked to you, and Khaan looked to her letting out an angry snort. He wanted to kick all of the Soul Riders, especially Anne, but he didn’t want to get you in more trouble. You opened your mouth, and Anne got excited at the thought of you finally responding to her. “I would like to ride quietly” your tone was bitchy “thanks.” As soon as you said that all of Anne’s hopes of being friends were crushed. She frowned giving you a nod not saying anything else. You all rode through Goldenhills forest for a few more minutes in uncomfortable silence.

When Pi’s swamp was visible in the distance Alex stopped the group, and she broke the silence. “Wait-“ she looked at Anne “are we going to Pi now or…” The girl smiled “or do you guys want to go get something to eat at the fishing village?” Linda smiled too letting out a sigh “I could definitely get something to eat, and Meteor needs water.” Meteor let out a neigh shaking his head to fix his mane. Lisa nodded “I’m hungry too and Starshine needs water as well” Starshine whinnied pawing at the ground moving fallen leaves around. “What do you say?” Lisa turned to you and Anne.

The leader smiled giving everyone a nod “let’s go to the fishing village and we can meet with Pi tomorrow.” You rode with Anne and the group to the fishing village. You said nothing as everyone talked about what food they would order. Khaan let out angry snorts and neighs every time one of the soul steeds got too close to him. You scowled when Alex turned to you asking, “what will you get?” She was trying to be friendly. You wanted to keep quiet, but you had a question. “Where is the inn?” You tensed hoping to show that all you wanted was a simple answer through your body language and nothing more.

Alex blinked a few times trying to think of where the inn was. “It’s to the le-“ you didn’t need her to finish her sentence she said enough to get you where you wanted to go. You thanked Alex, and you clicked your tongue. Khaan walked then sped up into a trot taking you to where Alex said the inn would be. All the Soul Riders watched as you rode away. Linda was unsure of letting you go alone “you don’t think they’ll run, do you?” She looked to her friends for their thoughts. Anne shook her head starting the ride to the café nearby “I don’t think they will.” She trusted you she knew you wouldn’t run, and her trust was not misplaced.

You yawned, and stretched as Khaan rode through the forest. It was early morning the sun hadn’t completely come up yet. The forest was dark and foggy, it was really hard to see. You and the Soul Riders were on your way to Pi. Anne made everyone get up early. She was like your dad. Waking you up early, and saying “the earlier we do it the sooner we’ll get it done” it made you hate her more. Khaan was still sleepy, and falling behind the group. Anne wasn’t riding next to you anymore. It was clear you didn’t want to be friends she respected that, so she left you alone.

She was riding at the very front of the group leading everyone to Pi. She held a strong flashlight in her hand using it to light the way through the foggy forest. You couldn’t see much though since Khaan was riding very far from the group. He was too far to get any light from Anne. He yawned, and you looked down at him patting his shoulder “let’s rest for a bit.” You knew he needed to wake up a bit more. Anne could wait for you both. The Friesian let out a whinny. He shook his whole body shaking you in the saddle. It made you laugh, he responded to the laugh with a neigh. Slowly he was starting to fully wake up. The journey from Valedale to Goldenhills completely tuckered him out.

You leaned down hugging his neck “poor horse” you cooed. You felt bad for him, he had to walk a lot. “It will be over soon Khaan” you brushed through his long mane carefully untangling any knots you found. “We’ll be back home soon we just have to get through this” you were being positive. You hoped your positivity would manifest a good ending for both you and Khaan. An ending where he could come home with you, and you would never have to see the Soul Riders again. Khaan closed his eyes taking a moment to relax thinking of how nice it would be to be home. He couldn’t wait to lay down in his stall, and have his mane braided.

The journey completely messed up his braid, so you had to undo it. He didn’t like his mane down, it was long, he felt like he was going to step on it. The Friesian let out a snort taking a step forward. You knew he was ready to catch up with the group. You sat up taking the reins into your hands, and you clicked your tongue. You rode straight following a trail you thought Anne had gone through. After about 5 minutes of riding you realized… You were lost. Khaan stopped walking, and he looked around. There was no sign of Anne or her friends. You couldn’t hear them or their horses. You were now starting to wish that Anne had ridden with you.

This felt like a lesson from Aideen. She was surely saying ‘this is what you get for being an asshole!’ While watching you ride through the dark foggy forest. You frowned, now what? You had your phone with you, but you didn’t have anyone’s number. “Okay…” You tried not to panic. “Let’s just continue riding through this trail” you decided to keep following the trail “it should eventually lead us out right?” Khaan neighed trying to calm you down. He could hear how fast your heartbeat had gotten. You sighed patting the side of his neck “come on Khaan let’s keep going” you clicked your tongue, and Khaan walked.

You felt like you had been on the trail for hours. It had only been about twenty minutes, but your fear made it feel like hours. Khaan was completely calm, but you were near tears. You had never been to Goldenhills, you didn’t know where you were or what to do. You tried checking the GPS on your phone, but it had no reception. While you tried not to cry Khaan trotted through the trail you found. You were still in the forest, and it was still dark. The sun was coming up, but the leaves and fog were blocking it out.

Your horse trotted carefully. He took big steps, so he could walk over any logs or roots he thought were on the ground. As he trotted, he kept his ears high trying to listen for Anne and her group. He hated them all, but right now he wished they would appear. He knew you were freaked out due to being alone in a place you didn’t know. You needed someone other than him to guide you through the forest. You huffed almost falling forwards off your saddle as Khaan came to a hard stop. “Khaan? Can you hear the-…” You trailed off as you heard the sounds of waves. They were crashing against the shore.

You must be close to the fishing village! You smiled leaning down to hug Khaan “we’re almost there Khaan!” Your horse neighed, lightly rearing in excitement. “Let’s keep going! We’ll be out of here soon!” Khaan continued trotting following the sound of the waves. The sun started to shine stronger as the trees started to spread out. You could see light at the end of an exit in the forest. “We did it!” Khaan neighed turning his trot into a gallop “we made it to- are you kidding me!?” When Khaan made it to the exit you saw that you weren’t out of the forest yet. You were still in a part of it. The part where the light ride took place every year. The fishing village was right in front of you, but you couldn’t reach it. Water separated both places it was a huge obstacle. Khaan wasn’t a big fan of water, so you definitely weren’t going to ask him to ride through it.

You reached for your phone seeing that you still had no reception. You huffed putting it back in your pocket. You looked for a different trail. Khaan looked at you letting out a neigh, and he bobbed his head. He wanted to rest he was tired, and he could tell you were too. You looked down at him knowing what he wanted “I think we can set up camp here” you got off of him. You carefully slid off your saddle not wanting to fall. Your legs felt like jelly thanks to how long you were riding. “We’ll wait till the sun is up, or till the fog clears, or until Anne finds us” whichever one came first you didn’t really care for, you just wanted out of the forest.

Maybe out of Goldenhills completely too. It was like a giant maze you hated it. You took your backpack off laying it down on the ground. Khaan watched as you opened it, and dug through it. You brought out a blanket laying it down on the ground. Once it was set, and you made sure it was safe to lay down you laid down on your stomach letting out a big sigh. Your body slowly relaxed as you tried to find a comfy spot on the blanket.

Khaan walked over to you, and he laid down too. He was careful not to damage his tack as he laid down. He let out a sigh copying you as he laid his head on your back. You reached back to give him a scratch on his cheek then you crossed your arms in front of you using them as a pillow. You closed your eyes clearing your mind completely. You fell asleep first, and when Khaan made sure you were both safe, he fell asleep too. Seconds after you both fell asleep two shadows loomed over you.

TY FOR READING! :D

[readingrobin]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

I was tagged by @the-forest-library. Thanks for the tag. Gives me a chance to do a bit of reflecting.

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year

The Scapegracers. It's so weird that I felt like I read this book so long ago but it was just in March. Angry queer witch vibes continue to have a big hold on me and I really need to get around reading The Scratch Daughters.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year

Seeing as I've only read two sequels this year so far and one was the most disappointing continuation I think I've ever read, I think Bloodmarked is a clear winner. It's odd to see how contentious this book was among the fans, since I enjoyed it just fine. But hey that's just me.

3. New release you haven’t read yet

Probably Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson. I really want to go back to the world within Sorcery of Thorns and I'm glad that it's just a novella so I don't have to worry about too much of a time commitment. I want to see the good meow meow demon boy Silas again.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

Oooo, The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White. I absolutely loved Hell Followed With Us, especially how raw it is. I'm so excited to see how Andrew pulls off a ghost story when he has such a great way of writing uncomfortable and disturbing material.

5. Biggest disappointment

Ugh, absolutely West by Edith Pattou, the sequel to East. I don't want to be mean, but I don't think this book really needed to exist. After 15 years, a sequel to a fairy tale retelling that retreads the plot of the original has a difficult time of being interesting or engaging to the people that really fell in love with the original. If you want to see me get into specifics, it's in my review on Storygraph.

6. Biggest surprise

I think just the fact that one of the books I read, Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton, had a polyamorous triad that really felt organic and believable. I genuinely think these three people all love each other, which is rare enough in YA between just two people. I'm always behind choosing throuples over dumb love triangles.

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

Angela Carter for sure. Also, T. Kingfisher.

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

Valec from Bloodmarked is easily at the top of that list. Sissix from The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet was real cool as well.

9. Book that made you cry

Haven't really been reading too emotional of stories, so I don't think I have an answer right now. There've been emotions sure, but nothing really sobworthy. Firekeeper's Daughter got me close though.

10. Book that made you happy

Spider-Punk: Battle of the Banned mainly because it's feeding into my current Spider Punk obsession and the art is so lively and amazing.

11. Favorite Adaptation

Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber is absolutely fundamental for anyone that loves fairy tale retellings. They feel so dangerous, sensual, but also mature and exploratory. Sometimes it feels like the retellings are somehow the stories' coming of age tales.

12. Prettiest Cover

The Kingdom of Back by Maire Lu, hands down.

13. A book you need to read before the end of the year

Still slowly, but surely chugging along through Les Miserables. Hugo goes on tangents like you wouldn't believe, not just about the Parisian sewer system

Not going to be tagging anyone this round, just do it if you feel like it!

[offrozenmemoirs]

Dressed in the teal and browns of a vain and proud empire, a soldier cowers beneath his helm, facing certain death in the maw of the Riveran commander. "Reconsider what you're doing," he begs. "Are we not the same!?" His eyes flicker to the same sharp ears you both possess. "Málo, we are! Málo, please!" (Málo is elvish for 'comrade/friend.')

Voices in the Void || Accepting!

Makoto simply stared at the man, tilting his head in confusion. Comrades? Why would he ever be friends with a soldier of the Graneyean Empire? They were trying to kill his people, they took the love of his life from him, if anything, they would feel his wrath, raw and unfettered. His eyes, normally an icy blue, shifted to a burning red, and his lips curled into a snarl.

"Look at this sniveling coward, if you weren't an elf like him, I think he would've just tried killing you, wouldn't you agree?"

Makoto approached the soldier, who scrambled backwards, eventually tripping over a branch and being forced to look up at him.

"Friend? Now, now, didn't your parents tell you to be wary of strangers? I heard rumors of Graneyean soldiers being spotted in Rivera, but normally they get dealt with by our soldiers. The fact you've gotten this close to Ingora...Well that's not good at all."

Makoto hums softly, walking past a tree and letting his claws gouge a trail through it. His voice tinged with annoyance, and the smile he wore promised nothing less than agonizing pain for his prey. The fact they managed to get this close to Ingora didn't sit right with him, he knew some soldiers tried to get closer to important settlements and towns, but usually they were thwarted. Besides, he looked more like a straggler, and he clearly hadn't been sleeping much.

He wasn't worried too much about the safety of Goldie, Joseph and Veera, after all, his uncle was more than capable of defending himself and his family. Though, the thought of innocent people being hurt...Well now, that upset him, because even with his known dislike of spending time with mortals...They were his people, and it was his duty to protect them.

"Please...D-Don't kill me. I'll leave, I haven't hurt anyone, I swear."

"But he will if you leave him alive. The coward can't even die with some dignity."

Makoto stared at the other, frowning.

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's mortals like you thinking we're anything alike. Despite my dislike for you all, at the very least, I make no difference between my enemies. You? You believe yourself to be superior just because you're an elf, am I right? You think it's your right to not only enslave others, but to kill those beneath you because they're not you? Please...I would sooner slit my own throat than ever find any camaraderie with you."

He watched as the other elf scrambled away from him, before pulling out a dagger.

"S-stay back! Úvano! You will not take me!"

Makoto wore a smirk, spreading his wings, and his tail lashed in excitement. He always reveled in the fear of Graneyean soldiers, as they realized there was nothing they could do to kill him. Ruby red eyes, and slit pupils gazed at the soldier with excitement.

"Please, die with some dignity. It's the least you can do after you've made me go out of my way to deal with a rat such as yourself...Though, now that I think about it, perhaps that's an insult to rats."

Makoto now stood in front of him, and without thinking, the soldier lunged at Makoto, attempting to stab him with his dagger, only to be met with a crushing grip on his wrist, forcing him to drop the blade, before he lurched forward, looking down to see the dragon's claws piercing his armor and gut. When he spoke again, it wasn't his voice, not entirely. Tinged with an edge of danger, excitement. Khorne spoke through the other.

"Perhaps he is a monster...But for the sake of his people, he spills blood...Isn't it such a wonderful thing? He's such a defiant spirit, and it brings me joy to know that he puts up such a good fight. So many people simply give into me without a struggle. He'll make quite the partner, when he finally gives in to me."

Makoto's eyes returned to their natural blue, and the dragon quickly wrenched his claws from the soldier's gut, watching as he writhed on the ground. It was a slow, agonizing death, and Makoto simply put his heel on the other's throat, before twisting his leg, snapping his neck. Not a pretty death, but certainly better than being left to suffer.

He took to the skies, frowning as he stared at Ingora. There were so many people he needed to protect, but who would protect him from Khorne? He would never be the type to give in, but some days...He worried that the chaos god would simply take what he wanted, possessing him to slaughter those he loved, and the thought terrified him...

No, no. He is a proud son of Winter, The Prince of Frost, and he would never kneel to anyone. He steeled his resolve and made a promise to himself.

[I will be free of you, no matter how long it takes. You will never have me.]

[raw-lesbian-energy]

Mr. X

Summary: Anne and the Plantars go to the movies, while Caroline and the Boonchuys try to avoid being found.

Fandom: Amphibia (The Wild Soul AU)

Pairing: None

Features: Self-Insert Character

Word Count: 4,616

Warnings: None

[A/N: There are two points in this fic where Thai is spoken and I did my best with Google translate, but I am not a native speaker so I apologize if it’s not formatted correctly. I also left translations in brackets next to the sentences so those who also don’t know Thai can understand it.]

—————————————————————

It was a sunny afternoon at Thai Go, the Boonchuys working hard with the assistance of Caroline and the Plantars. It was only yesterday that they had been in a high speed chase with a killer frog robot, but Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy were in surprisingly high spirits. The Plantars kept busy refilling sauce cups while Caroline mixed some ingredients, but Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy seemed a bit more distracted.

“Is it just me, or is anyone feeling amped up since we fought the robot?” Mrs. Boonchuy said.

“Kicked that robot’s butt, you mean!” Mr. Boonchuy piped up excitedly. “Remember I was all ‘wha-pow!’ and you were like ‘choo, choo!’” Caroline and the Plantars exchanged glances, all of them understanding just what Anne’s parents were talking about.

“Sounds like you’ve caught a case of post-battle euphoria.” Hop Pop said, a knowing smile on his face.

“Nothing like a brush with death to make you feel alive!” Sprig added.

“I’ll say.” Caroline chimed in. “When I fought that robot toe-to-toe at the museum, I felt like a warrior. Until he almost crushed my ribs, that is.” Neither of Anne’s parents seemed bothered by her statement, the two of them still hyped up on their own energy.

“So what’s next?” Mrs. Boonchuy asked. “I’m ready to fight!”

“Hopefully nothing.” Anne suddenly spoke up, stepping into the kitchen from the front counter. “Unless Andrias sends another robot, we’re safe for now. So, I’m taking the Plantars to their first movie!” Mrs. Boonchuy’s expression changed to slight disappointment, but she was quick to shake it off.

“Ooh, fun.” Caroline piped up again. “What’cha gonna see?”

“Fumigator 5.” Anne replied proudly. “You wanna come?” Caroline’s face quickly turned sour.

“Ugh, pass.” She said flatly. “My mom’s in that one, which sucks because I really did like the other Fumigators.” Anne’s face went blank for a moment as she processed the young woman’s sentence.

“Still not used to the fact your parents are famous.” She said.

“Well, while you guys enjoy the movie, we’ll be ready if anything comes up!” Mr. Boonchuy spoke, drawing their attention. “I even broke out the old pull-up bar! Look!” He moved over to the bar and grabbed it, straining as he tried to pull himself up. He managed to get about halfway before the bar broke, causing him to fall back-first to the ground.

“Ahh, my back!” He exclaimed.

“Honey, be careful!” Mrs. Boonchuy said, moving to his side. Anne looked at both of them with a deadpan expression, but before she could speak, she felt someone nudge her shoulder and turned her gaze to Caroline.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on them.” The young woman told her. “You guys enjoy the movie, okay?” Anne gained a small smile at this, nodding in response. Caroline returned the smile before setting the bowl in her hands on the counter.

“Okay Mr. B,” she said, walking over to him, “let’s get you some ice.” There was a small groan from Anne’s dad in response, to which Anne gained a slightly concerned look. She quickly shook it off, however, knowing her parents would be fine with Caroline watching them.

“Alright gang,” the teen said, turning her attention to the Plantars, “it’s movie time!” The Plantars let out excited cheers in response, following Anne out the back of the restaurant where her bike was. They each hopped on as Anne kicked off, pedalling out of the lot and heading for the theatre.

——————

It had been about thirty minutes since Anne and the Plantars had left, and in that time, Caroline helped Mr. Boonchuy get back on his feet and assisted with the cooking. Mrs. Boonchuy manned the front counter, but the day was proving to be rather slow, so she hung out in the kitchen with the others while she waited for customers.

Ding-ding!

The sound of the front door’s bell caught the trio’s attention, and Mrs. Boonchuy headed out to the front to greet the arrival.

“Hello, welcome to Thai Go.” She said politely. The customer was a bald man in a plum-coloured suit, sporting black-rimmed glasses, a hi-tech earpiece, white pants, and tan shoes. The shoes turned out to be rollers as well, as he kicked his heels and gracefully glided up to the front counter.

“สวัสดีคุณผู้หญิง.” (Greetings, ma’am.) He said casually. Mrs. Boonchuy’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“โอ้ คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม?” (Oh, you speak Thai?) She asked.

“เพียงเล็กน้อยที่นี่และที่นั่น.” (Just a little, here and there.) He replied, switching to English after. “I was stationed in Phuket for a bit.” Mrs. Boonchuy nodded politely as he pulled out a menu, looking back over the options for his order. At this point, the conversation had caught Caroline’s attention, and she moved closer to the doorway to better hear what was going on.

“We’ll take one Pad See Ew.” The man said. “And while we’re at it,” he pulled a photo from his jacket and set it on the counter, “have you seen any odd creatures walking around? Probably disguised as humans?” Mrs. Boonchuy’s eyes widened as she saw the photo was of the Plantars, and Caroline quietly gasped.

“Hehe, what strange shapes they are!” Mrs. Boonchuy managed, laughing awkwardly. “Haven’t seen them; who’s asking?” The man’s eyes gained a darker gleam, and he pulled a small black wallet out of his jacket.

“Oh, just your friendly neighbourhood federal government.” He replied, flipping the wallet open. It turned out the wallet was actually his badge, showing his photo and the name ‘Special Agent Mr. X’ underneath. The second Caroline heard that, she pulled her phone out, leaning into the doorway as discreetly as she could. She managed to snap a clear enough photo of Mr. X without him noticing, and with it, she pocketed her phone and ran out the back door.

“Yes, very nice. Hooray government!” Mrs. Boonchuy said, keeping up the innocent act. “พ่อเร็วเข้า!” (DAD HURRY UP!) Mr. Boonchuy was quick to emerge from the back at her call, sporting a confused expression as he held the bag of food in his hand.

“Jeez, where’s the fire?” He asked. Before anyone else could speak, the front door opened again and a blonde person with round glasses holding a laptop walked in. The laptop was beeping an alert that read ‘STRING BEAN SIGHTED’ before showing footage of Anne on her bike with the Plantars. Both Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy froze at the sight of it, while Mr. X quickly gained a look of excitement.

“Gotta go.” He said, slamming a handful of cash onto the counter and taking the bag. “Is your stun gun charged, Jenny? Tell me it’s charged!” The two were quick to head out the door after, leaving Anne’s parents at the counter in shock.

“Uhh-” Mr. Boonchuy started, but his wife cut him off.

“We have to go now!” She told him, pushing him towards the back door. “I’ll explain on the way!” Mr. Boonchuy quickly moved to follow her lead, heading through the doorway back into the kitchen.

“Caroline!” Mrs. Boonchuy called. “We need to leave!” She paused as there was no response or sign of the young woman, causing both of them to worry.

“Caroline?” Mr. Boonchuy tried. Still no reply. “Where’d she go?” Just then, Mrs. Boonchuy’s phone went off in her pocket and she pulled it out, seeing a text message from Caroline herself.

{Saw the shady dude, already going to warn Anne. Meet u guys at the theatre}

“She’s already left.” Mrs. Boonchuy said, pocketing her phone and grabbing her husband’s arm. “Come on, let’s go!” The two got in the family van as fast as they could, and Mrs. Boonchuy was quick to floor it out of the back lot and down the street.

——————

Meanwhile, Anne and the Plantars had taken their seats in the theatre, snacks and drinks ready as the trailers played.

“And now, for what you’ve all been waiting for…” the movie announcer spoke, “…another trailer!” The screen lit up again as a trailer for the movie ‘Cheerleader Musical 7’ began to play, accompanied by air horns and upbeat music.

“Twenty minutes of trailers?!” Hop Pop exclaimed. “And you people call yourselves civilized!” After the trailer had ended, the movie began featuring a T-Rex roaring in front of an erupting volcano. The booming sound made Sprig recoil in his seat, gripping onto the arm rests anxiously.

“Does anyone else feel like this audio-video experience is a little…overwhelming?” He asked, his body shaking.

“Entertainment that makes your ears bleed?” Polly piped up. “I’m here for it, baby!”

“There you are!”

A familiar voice caught Anne and the Plantar’s attentions, and all four looked to the end of the aisle to see a panicked Caroline approaching them. She was keeping low as to not block the screen, but in the light, the group could see her eyes were wide and frantic.

“Caroline?” Anne said in surprise. “Wait, I thought you didn’t want to see this movie.”

“I’m not here for the movie!” Caroline snapped, taking the seat next to Anne. “Some whack job government agent showed up at the restaurant and he’s after you guys!” She pulled out her phone and showed them the picture, causing all four to gain looks of panic.

“Oh crud.” Anne muttered.

“What do we do?” Hop Pop asked.

“We get you out of here, that’s what.” Caroline told them. “Come on, we should have time to sneak out before he shows up.” Anne nodded and the gang quickly got up from their seats, keeping their heads down as they went for the stairs and out the door. Caroline kept glancing about as they headed for the lobby, but Anne was the one to stop dead as the front doors opened and Mr. X rolled in.

“He’s here!” The teen blurted. In a panic, she shoved Caroline and the Plantars behind the concession stand, diving in after them before Mr. X could see.

“Do you think he saw us?” Sprig whispered. Before anyone could respond, the sound of footsteps caught their attention and all five looked up to see an employee staring down at them.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to be back here.” She told them. There was a brief pause before Caroline reached into her sweater pocket and snagged her wallet, pulling out a $50 bill.

“All yours if you let us hide here.” She said. The employee glanced between the bill and the group, seeming hesitant before she shrugged.

“Eh, this job doesn’t pay me enough anyways.” She said, taking the bill and walking away. The five of them breathed a sigh of relief before Anne sat up, peering over the counter to look for Mr. X.

“He’s right in the middle of the lobby!” She whispered. “There’s no way we can get by him without being seen!” The Plantars exchanged looks of worry, meanwhile Caroline paused to think before she got an idea.

“You could if there was a distraction.” She said quietly. “You guys keep an eye on him, I’ve got an idea.” Before anyone could respond, the young woman slipped out and disappeared into the theatre, leaving the four of them alone behind the stand. They all glanced at each other in confusion, not sure what Caroline was planning, but not having any better ideas themselves.

“Sir? Excuse me, sir!”

The louder voice caught Anne and the Plantars by surprise, and all four peered over the stand to see someone running up to Mr. X. They had a dark purple collared button-up with their hair slicked back, five o’clock shadow, and black jeans on. They looked like just a nice young man at a glance, but Anne recognized that purple hair and those converse sneakers anywhere; it was Caroline.

“Sir, I’m so sorry to bother you,” Caroline said, pitching her voice to sound more masculine, “but I just have to know where you got that suit, it is stunning.” Mr. X looked at her with confusion, but there was a look in his eyes that gave away he was somewhat flattered.

“Oh, this?” He asked, gesturing to his jacket. “Why do you want to know?” Caroline didn’t miss a beat.

“Okay, I don’t want to spread drama,” she started, lowering her voice slightly, “but you see, my older sister’s having her wedding next month. She’s such a sweetheart, love her to bits. But our younger brother, the “golden child,” is insisting that he has to be the best dressed one there.” Mr. X’s eyes widened.

“At her wedding?” He said in surprise.

“Yes.” Caroline replied, a serious edge in her voice. “And what’s worse; he refuses to get a tux if it’s over $100.”

“No!” Mr. X gasped in disbelief.

“I know!” Caroline exclaimed. At that point, Mr. X was fully engaged in the conversation, and Anne was quick to realize this was their opportunity.

“She’s got him distracted.” She whispered to the Plantars. “Come on, let’s go!” The Plantars followed Anne as she slipped out from behind the concession stand, carefully making their way to the door without getting Mr. X’s attention.

“We’re almost there!” Anne quietly called. “Don’t stop-wait stop!” She skidded to a halt and caused the Plantars to run into her, but she hardly noticed as she ducked behind the theatre’s front desk. The Plantars followed, and looking over Anne’s shoulder, they saw Jenny, Mr. X’s associate, standing at the exit doors. They were scanning people as they left with a hi-tech device, and it was clear they were checking to see who was really human. Anne could feel her panic rising when her phone buzzed, and picking it up, she saw it was her dad calling.

“Dad?” She spoke quietly, holding the phone to her ear.

“Anne!” Mr. Boonchuy exclaimed. “Are you guys okay? Did Caroline get there in time? What’s going on?”

“Whoa, slow down.” Anne told him, still keeping her voice down. “Caroline’s here, but she’s busy distracting one of the agents. There’s another one watching the exit, so we’ll need to find another way out.”

“We’re coming in to help.” Her dad said.

“No!” Anne exclaimed. “I don’t want you getting in trouble. We can handle it.” Mrs. Boonchuy wound up overhearing this, an offended expression crossing her face.

“Tell her we are adults, and we know what we’re doing!” She said sternly.

“Anne, your mother says-” Mr. Boonchuy started, only to pull the phone away, “-hang on, I’m putting you on speaker.” He tapped a few buttons on the screen, only for the phone to start ringing again.

“คุณรู้ไหมเวลาเท่าไหร่แล้ว?” (Do you know what time it is?) An elderly woman’s voice spoke angrily over the phone. Anne’s expression quickly changed to confusion.

“What?” She said, pulling the phone from her ear. She noticed the call was now a video call, her dad taking up one half of the screen while her grandmother took up the other.

“Oh, whoops!” Mr. Boonchuy piped up. “I think I accidentally-”

“แอนน์? นั่นคือคุณ?” (Anne? Is that you?) Anne’s grandma cut him off. “ฉันไม่ได้เจอคุณมานานแล้ว! คุณดูผอม! คุณกินข้าวหรือยัง?” (I haven’t seen you in ages! You look skinny! Have you been eating?)

“Oh hi, grandma!” Anne said, faking a cheerful tone. “Yeah, I just had a sandwich.” As she refocused on her parents, her tone grew more stern.

“Mom, dad, just stay in the car where it’s safe. We’ll meet you outside.” She told them, switching back to cheerful as she talked to her grandmother. “Okay bye grandma, love you!” Before they could respond, Anne quickly hung up, putting her phone back in her pocket.

“Okay, so you call this number, tell them Mr. X sent you, and they’ll hook you right up, dear.” Mr. X’s voice reached the teen’s ears, and she turned to see Caroline’s distraction had reached its’ end. The young woman still remained committed to the bit, however, taking the card with a grateful smile.

“Oh thank you sir, thank you so much.” She told him. “This will be perfect.”

“Happy to help.” Mr. X replied, turning and walking away. While he wasn’t looking, Caroline glanced over and noticed Anne and the Plantars, her expression quickly changing to panic. Much to their dismay, Mr. X noticed them as well, gaining a malicious grin and pulling out a stun gun.

“Hide!” Anne shouted. She and the Plantars quickly booked it back into the theatre, and Mr. X watched them go with a sinister gleam in his eyes.

“Oh, how I love a good chase.” He said. Anne didn’t dare to look back as she led the Plantars down the hall, finding a door that wasn’t a viewing room and heading through it. Just as they all got inside, she realized that they had walked into a rather small supply closet that had no other way out.

“Oh crud, it’s a dead end.” She muttered. Shortly after, the door handle began to move, causing a wave of panic in all four of them.

“Everyone hide!” Hop Pop said quickly. The group scattered throughout the closet space, everyone managing to duck into a hiding spot just as the door opened and Mr. X walked in. He looked around the space before his eyes settled on a silhouette, noticing it looked very much like Hop Pop and gaining a wicked smirk.

“Now what could this be?” He said, feigning innocence. He approached the silhouette and quickly smacked it, causing it to spin around and reveal itself to be a cardboard cutout of a strange-looking farmer character.

“What the-?!” He blurted.

“Now, guys!” Anne shouted, leaping from her hiding spot. The Plantars quickly jumped out as well, the group rushing for the door, but Mr. X was quick to react.

“Oh no you don’t!” He cried, turning to give chase. As he moved, Polly grabbed a roll of film and threw it, causing it to wrap around Mr. X’s ankles and trip him up. He barely managed to stop himself from face-planting, and in one quick movement, he shot a hand out and snagged Hop Pop by the ankle.

“Ow!” Hop Pop exclaimed as he was pulled back, losing his balance and falling over. The force wound up knocking off his disguise, and with the light from the door’s square window, Mr. X was able to see his real face.

“What even are you?!” He exclaimed, letting go of his ankle with a slight grimace. “And why are you so slimy? Ugh!”

“Rude.” Hop Pop retorted. Mr. X ignored him as he wiped the slime off his hand, which Sprig quickly saw as an opportunity. Lowering his mask, he grabbed a film roll with his tongue and threw it, nailing Mr. X clean in the face. The agent let out a grunt of pain, and Anne took that chance to grab the Plantars and run. Mr. X stumbled as he tried to go after them, but he barely missed as the door closed, locking him in the supply closet. An irritated look crossed his face as he held up his wrist watch, pressing a button on it and activating a laser that melted the lock clean off. Once he was free, he kicked the door open, almost knocking over another cardboard cutout that was standing in the hall.

“Jenny, you’re not gonna believe this.” He said excitedly, talking into his earpiece. “They’re big, beautiful, talking frog monsters!” His eyes were shining as he spoke, but shortly after gained a much darker edge to them.

“Call in the troops.”

——————

After changing back into her normal outfit, Caroline quickly began to search the theatre, trying to find where Anne and the Plantars had run off to. She stopped to check each viewing room, scanning the seats for her friends, but she couldn’t see them anywhere.

“Come on,” she muttered as she stepped back into the hall, “where are you guys?” Just then, the sound of people running reached her ears and she looked up, barely catching sight of the group rushing into the women’s bathroom. She let out a gasp and moved to follow them, but stopped short as Mr. X rounded the corner at the end of the hall. In a flash, she dove behind a cardboard cutout, practically holding her breath as she waited for him to pass.

“Not good.” She whispered. “Not good, not good, not-” she cut off as her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out to see it was Mr. Boonchuy calling.

“Mr. B!” She answered, keeping her voice down.

“Caroline!” He said, sounding relieved. “We need your help. We got a plan to get you guys out, but when we tried calling Anne, she hung up on us!”

“Oh for f-…of course she did.” Caroline hissed in frustration. “They’re hiding in the bathroom, but I’m pretty sure Mr. X knows that too. I’m not sure why he-” the young woman stopped mid-sentence as the sound of sirens reached her ears, her eyes widening in panic.

“Is that what I think it is?” She asked anxiously.

“A bunch more police cars just pulled up!” Mrs. Boonchuy said. “They’re blocking the whole lot!” Caroline felt her heart start to race, but she forced herself to take a breath and steady it.

“Okay, you guys said you had a plan, right?” She spoke, still keeping her voice down. “You guys do that, and I’ll find a way to get into that bathroom and help you.”

“Got it.” Anne’s parents replied. Caroline hung up the call after that and put her phone away, while Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy watched the SWAT team make their way for the door.

“You ready, honey?” Mrs. Boonchuy asked.

“Born ready.” Mr. Boonchuy replied. Reaching into the back, they both grabbed some power tools, ready to put their plan in motion. The SWAT team was quick to storm the theatre, all of them following Jenny as they marched through the halls to where Mr. X was. The agent was waiting outside the bathroom, a calm expression on his face but an excited gleam in his eye.

“They’re in there.” He told them, pointing a thumb at the door. “Come on, everyone; show time!” In one quick movement, he stepped up and slammed the door open, several SWAT members following him and filing into the bathroom.

“Let’s grab ourselves some frog aliens.” Mr. X said, grinning. The agents quickly surrounded the one occupied stall where Anne and the Plantars were hiding, readying their weapons to capture the group.

“Okay, guys.” Anne whispered. “On three, go for the eyes.” The Plantars nodded and readied themselves, waiting anxiously for Anne’s signal.

“One…two…”

CLICK!

In an instant, the bathroom went dark.

“What’s going on?” One agent said.

“The power’s off!” Another cried. There was scuffling and shouting as the team tried to coordinate, but none of them seemed able to find their bearings in the blackout. The sound of power tools was briefly heard, but the chaos of agents shouting at each other overpowered it.

“On your toes!”

“They’re getting away!”

“Watch where you’re stepping!”

Amidst the chorus of yelling, one voice managed a whisper.

“Third stall from the left!”

A few seconds later, there was a click as Mr. X turned on a flashlight. He stood right in front of the now opened stall, and shining the light inside, he was greeted by two small frogs and a pollywog in a bag. The frogs let out small croaks, and Mr. X’s eyes widened as he stared at them in disbelief. The SWAT team stared for a moment as well before one agent started to laugh, which caused a chain reaction and got all of them laughing.

“Nice frog aliens, sir.” One joked.

“I’ve heard of little green men, but this is ridiculous.” Another quipped. Mr. X didn’t bother to listen as Jenny scooped up the frogs, holding them carefully in their arms.

“Looks like our little friends are smarter than I thought.” Mr. X said, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. “We’re gonna have fun with this one, Jenny. And we’ll have the last laugh!”

——————

Meanwhile, at the back of the theatre, shuffling was heard in the air ducts before a large vent grate swung open. Inside the vent was Mr. Boonchuy, who quickly climbed out and turned to help Anne and the Plantars. Mrs. Boonchuy was sitting in the car nearby, checking for any patrolling agents.

“I don’t believe it!” Anne said in awe as she got out of the vent. “Dad, mom, how did you-?”

“Well, parents have a special set of skills.” Anne’s mom replied. Her dad nodded in agreement, leaning back against the car.

“First, your mother bought us some time by distracting the agents.” He explained. “Did you know she used to study close-up magic?” Anne blinked in surprise, looking at her mom with wide eyes. Clearly, this was the first she’d heard of it.

“Then your father got the frogs at the pet store down the street.” Mrs. Boonchuy continued.

“The owner was your old tee-ball coach, Mr. Tram.” Mr. Boonchuy added. “Remember him? Nice guy.”

“And remember that one time we tried to fix the electricity?” Mrs. Boonchuy piped up.

“Yeah.” Anne replied, still somewhat in disbelief. “Wasn’t that a disaster?”

“Yup.” Mr. Boonchuy said. “So we knew exactly what not to do, and used that to cause the blackout.” The sound of sirens was heard briefly as some FBI cars passed on their way out, but no one really paid them any mind.

“That’s amazing!” Sprig chirped.

“Jealous!” Polly piped up.

“You guys seriously did all that?” Anne said, still awestruck. “I can’t believe it! I guess I… really misjudged you.” Her tone shifted to guilt as she muttered the words, but her parents still had smiles on their faces.

“That’s okay, sweetie.” Mr. Boonchuy reassured her.

“We forgive you.” Mrs. Boonchuy added. Anne smiled fondly at them before another question came to mind and her face turned confused.

“Wait, but how did you know which bathroom we were hiding in?” She asked. Mr. Boonchuy was the one to answer.

“Well, actually-”

“Nobody move!”

Everyone froze at the sudden shout, turning to see a lone SWAT agent standing in front of them. They had a staff with a rope loop on it in hand, staring the group down intensely. A rush of panic passed through all of them, but it soon turned to confusion as the SWAT agent lost their composure and started chuckling.

“Sorry, sorry.” They said, grabbing their helmet. “Couldn’t resist.” As they popped the helmet off, Anne saw a familiar mass of bright purple hair and gasped in shock.

“CAROLINE?!” She shouted. Caroline smiled brightly, pulling her glasses out of a pocket and putting them back on.

“Wait, are you a secret agent, too?!” Sprig asked, eyes wide.

“Nah.” Caroline replied, working to take off the SWAT armour. “I just borrowed it from an agent so I could blend in.”

“Ohh, so that’s how you were able to sneak in the bathroom!” Mr. Boonchuy said, putting the pieces together. “But how’d you put all that on that fast?”

“I was a theatre kid in high school.” Caroline explained. “Small roles mostly, but you learn how to change costumes quick.” At this point, she managed to get most of the armour off, revealing she had been wearing her regular outfit underneath. Anne was still stunned by all of it, but staring at the armour, she came to a realization.

“Hold on.” She spoke up. “If you took that armour from an agent, what happened to them?” Caroline froze for a second, her memory flashing back to the agent she left knocked out in the closet before she pulled herself back to reality.

“…He’ll be fine.”

[onlyhereforthestories]

All It Takes Is A Christmas Party (Alexia Putellas x Reader)

Here is a second fic for you all! I'm sorry it is a little late I was drinking beer lol I hope everyone has the best day today. Merry christmas lovely people

Yesterday you and your team had played your final game before the Christmas break, a champions league game that you had won by a good margin. This meant that you were all going into the annual Christmas get together in a great mood and with high spirits. The only thing that made you slightly less excited about tonight was your major crush on your captain.

Alexia had won you over about 5 minutes into your first meeting, she had introduced herself and tried her very best to speak English to you from that first moment. It didn’t stop their either, for the next few months she’d be the person to teach you as much Spanish as possible as well as being your translator to the best of her abilities. Wherever you were Alexia wasn't far behind and this was a well known fact amongst not only the team but the fanbase too.

What always showed everyone was the fact that there was nothing going on between the two of you, both of you would always deny it whenever it was brought up with the team or the media and that was the truth. What was also the truth was the fact that you were slowly falling for the woman that was so far from your league. She deserved so much more than you and your insecurities that would always be a thorn in anyone side during a relationship and you knew it.

So you had left those feelings as just that and not acted on them, and you weren’t planning on acting on them any time soon either. This fact made going to events like these, the behind every door get together with the team, so hard. There was no need to hide or put your media trained head on, all of you were in a space where you could just be yourself and it wouldn’t matter. The problem for you was that your normal self had the biggest heart eyes for the women they called la Reina and you knew it would show if you let that shield down.

You knew you didn’t really have a choice though, Lucy and Keira had already threatened a break in if you weren’t outside and ready to go at 19:45 sharp. So you that’s how you found yourself in a matching pair of underwear looking at the three outfits you had set out. One was a simple pantsuit and shirt, one a more suit type ensemble and the final one was a casual jeans and shirt. Deciding that you looked the least ugly in the jeans you opted for them and pulled them on.

You weren’t one to wear any make up and you always had your hair up so you pulled it into a bun and left your face natural before getting your watch and bracelet out. Deciding that you needed at least a ring you found one in your wardrobe and checked the time, finding it was only seven you settled on the sofa to watch something while you waited. This was always a perk of not needing to do too much before going out.

When you and your two close friends pulled up at the club the team had hired out, you were already kind of not in the mood to be there. You had got comfy under the blanket back at home and was pretty sure staying there was the better option for your current predicament. You had been told that you were one of the last small groups to arrive and that meant that the chances of Alexia already being there was high. Both girls with you knew about your thoughts and feelings and knew not to mention them otherwise you would get more in your head about it than you already were.

Entering the club you went right to the bar and got some beers for the three of you, at least with a bit of alcohol you could pretend you didn’t have social anxiety that consumed you in groups of people. Juggling the beers back to the table proved to be a harder task than you realised and just as you were about to drop one it was taken from you. You assumed it was one of the girls it was for so you were caught off guard when your eyes met the beautiful browns of the woman you were trying not to fall for even more.

“Who is it for?” It was a simple question with a simple answer but your brain betrayed you in that moment and you couldn’t get it working well enough to answer, not when you took in the beauty of the woman in front of you. Opening and closing your mouth a couple of times you were saved by Lucy reaching for the beer and taking one other out of your hands.

“Took you long enough. Come on Keira needs saving from the youngsters.” Lucy was your saviour and you weren’t 100% sure she even knew it. “You know if you want to hide that crush of yours, staring at her like you would carry her up a mountain is probably not wise.” The older woman laughed at the horror that crossed your face, so she did know she was saving you and she wasn’t afraid to let you know either. 

About an hour into the party was when your nerves around the older woman and your feelings really sprang into full force. Alexia had been dancing with a few of the friends allowed to attend tonight and your mind was playing with you.

For so long your teammates had been telling you she fancied you and that if you asked her out there was no doubt that the woman would say yes but this proved it wasn’t true. You knew you weren’t the most attractive person or the funnest to be around so you didn’t really blame her but it doesn’t mean you were torn up over it.

The woman she was dancing with looked so much better than you did in a pantsuit and shirt, maybe that was the outfit you should have worn. But then again she would then just look better than you in the same clothes and that would be worse. She was talking and laughing with Alexia and she looked to be having a great time.

You decided another drink would help so you head over to the bar. What you didn’t notice was the eyes that followed you. Alexia was hoping that the advice Patri and Claudia had given her would work. She had flirted and been around you as much as she could and yet you didn’t seem interested. And the unknown of your feelings was stopping her making any kind of move, she didn’t want to put you in an awkward spot and loose your friendship.

So that’s why she had gone with their plan, a plan of dancing with the pretty women that were invited to the little get together. However she was starting to see it wasn’t working and that wasn’t good for her. So instead of doing what she had been doing and leaving it she decided to was time to put her brace girl pants on and go up to you.

You had just got your beer when your hand was grabbed and you were pulled in a direction before you could protest. You managed to keep your beer from toppling over and you were about to get annoyed at the person until you saw who it was.

“Alexia what the hell. You scared me. Are you okay?” She looked at you but didn’t speak something that made you more uncomfortable. You knew you were sometimes hard to talk to but you didn’t think she’d ever let it get to that point. In fact she’d promised it wouldn’t.

“I’m sorry. Here have this.” You gave her your beer and ran out of the club. You didn’t want to be the person no one wanted anymore, you couldn’t be that. One more love to leave was more than you could handle so you decided to leave yourself. You couldn’t be a screw up if you left, you couldn’t mess it all up and be the disaster you were always told you were if you were not even there.

Alexia stood and watched as you pretty much sprinted away from her, she saw the sadness in your eyes and she didn’t know what to do. She turned around and came face to face with a rather angry English couple.

“What did you do? Alexia really all you needed to do was talk to her, she’s been trying to build up the courage to ask you out for so long but she doesn’t think she’s good enough or deserves you. What did you do?” Alexia felt like an idiot she really did. She thought you weren’t interested in her and she was so worried about her own possible rejection that she didn’t realise she was harming you.

She didn’t reply to the two women, she handed them your discarded beer and ran out after you. Lucy went to follow but Keira stopped her with a hand around her wrist and a shake of her head. “Let her do this. I have faith they have this themselves.” With a nod they made their way back to the rest of the girls partying and left Alexia to hopefully fix this.

Alexia couldn’t see you when she got out of the club, instead of worrying about that she called a taxi and gave them your address. When the taxi pulled up at your appartment Alexia was pleased and relieved to see the lights on in your flat.

After she payed the driver, she made her way into the foyer and to the lift. Pressing your floor she composed herself and tried to think about what she wanted to say to you.

Taking a deep breath and knocking on the door she held that breath while she waited for you to answer. When the door swung open you were not looking but speaking. “Lucy I’m fine I just couldn’t be there anymore…” your words died in your throat when you made eye contact with the woman who was definitely not Lucy.

Alexia smiled at you and couldn’t help but think you were adorable when your cheeks burned red. “Why couldn’t you be there anymore?” Alexia stepped forward and was pleased when you didn’t block her entrance, in fact you stepped to the side and closed the door behind her.

“I couldn’t watch the woman I am falling for dance with someone else anymore. I couldn’t stay and not be the wanted one as always. I couldn’t stop my emotions showing anymore and it’s not fair because you deserve more.” Alexia was slightly shocked at what you were saying but what shocked her the most was your verbal confirmation that you in fact did like her.

She watched as you paced around the small living room of your flat and she realised quite quickly that you must have not known you had said that you liked her. This also confirmed how much of an idiot she was for letting you get so in your head and not putting her big girl pants on and asking you out earlier.

She decided then and there she would do everything in her power for as long as you would have her to make you know how important and wanted you were.

Stepping into your path she placed her hands on your shoulders to stop you. She waited for you to look at her before she spoke. “Y/n I am so sorry I didn’t talk to you. I’m so sorry I didn’t have the guts to be the forward one and I’m so sorry I let you think that you weren’t wanted. You deserve so much more than that and I failed to make you feel the way I wanted to. I failed at stepping up and I am sorry I let you get to the point where you thought you weren’t good enough. You will always be good enough.” Alexia took a second to make sure you were listening and it was okay to carry on. You were looking up at her with a confused expression but you weren’t pushing her away.

Deciding to take the lead a little more she stepped a little more into your space and slid her hands so she was resting her arms around your neck a bit more. She was happy to see the slight blush rising up your cheeks and was even more happy when she felt your arms settle around her waist. It gave her that little bit of encouragement to continue on, to know this was something you wanted.

“I want you. I should have told you that when we started to get closer. I should have been braver and told you that’s where my head and heart wanted us to go and I’m so sorry I didn’t. But I’m telling you now. I want you y/n.”

She waited as you visibly processed what she said and she panicked slightly when tears started to streak down your face. She was about to pull away and apologise when you laughed but your grip on her waist tightened. That was confusing because she didn’t realised your thoughts.

Of course she liked you, of course your stupid insecurities got in your head and caused you to be an idiot. Of course this was how you got the girl. You composed yourself before looking up at the slightly taller woman.

“Firstly you have nothing to be sorry for. Secondly, I have issues. I have thoughts that mess with my head and cause me to struggle in situations. I’m going to panic and probably say things that are odd and confusing. I’m going to think I’ve messed up when you don’t and it’s going to be a challenge being with me. I want you that I can tell you. I’ve wanted you for a while.”

Instead of answering you and telling you words that she knew you already knew she would say, Alexia decided that actions spoke louder than words.

Pulling you flush against her and leaning forward she took note that your eyes fluttered shut in anticipation. That was all the invitation she needed to close her eyes and bridge that tiny last bit of distance to press your lips together.

The kiss started out tentative, small slow movements on lips against one another. It was stepped up when Alexia tugged slightly on the baby hairs at the back of your neck, the slight pressure had you gasping slightly allowing the older woman to deepen the kiss. The two of you stood there for as long as you lungs let you, breaking apart slightly when air was really needed. Although you didn’t go far, you stayed within each others arms sharing small pecks and soaking up the moment before Alexia whispered against your lips.

“Merry Christmas mi amor. Here’s to the first of many.”

[orphic-musings]

All the glowing lights sparkle so delicately in your eyes

Characters: Cyno x reader, Tighnari x reader (platonic) (NOTE: this is when they are still students at the Akademiya!)

Genre: Fluff!

Warnings: None. Except one Cyno joke.

Summary: As students of the Akademiya, your friend Tighnari invites you out to the winter festival along with his friend Cyno…. who definitely has a crush on you.

Notes: I wrote this for a Secret Santa event by @2022gisecretsanta ! I was @yostresswritinggirl ‘s secret santa so I HOPE YOU ENJOYYY! 🫶🫶🫶 And Happy Holidays everyone! ❤️

Cyno stares up at the stars twirling and shimmering above his head. The student’s event council had been tirelessly working to make the Akademiya look festive, and these paper stars were some of the finishing touches. As the student decends the tall ladder he pushes out a sigh. The whole school, even the whole town, is in the spirit for the winter holidays, except him.

“C’mon Cyno, we’re almost done studying before the break, can’t you at least pretend you’re looking forward to it?” His amber eyes peer up at his fuzzy-eared friend, who’s staring at him with a dubious grin. “Or were you too busy thinking up bad puns to pay attention.” Cyno merely grumbles.

“I wish school would keep going instead, I just wanna get the year over with.” He plops his cheek against his palm, face ever stoic.

“But it’s the holidays! You can take the time to just nap and eat festive snacks if nothing else, what’s got you in such a sour mood?”

Tighnari notices Cyno suddenly stiffen, and he follows his friend’s gaze right over his shoulder and towards…

“I just finished my last final!” Another of Tighnari’s colleagues thumps their books against the table and slumps into the seat across from Tighnari and beside… Tighnari shoots a grin and an eyebrow wiggle at Cyno.

But Cyno doesn’t notice, he’s too busy trying to resist the flush that threatens to ignore him. Luckily, or unluckily, you pay no attention to him as your grumble to your good friend Tighnari.

“Well, since you’re all done why don’t you come to the festival with me and Cyno?” He offers, putting on a friendly smile to hide his mischevious intent. You glance between him and Cyno, before an excited grin takes over your tired features.

“I would love to! I didn’t have anyone to go with so I wasn’t going to go, but now…. ooh I’m so excited!”

Your pure elation cracks Tighnari’s calm demeanor, lighting his face up with a bright smile to match your own. The two of you are meanwhile oblivious to Cyno’s apparent suffocation.

“I have to return these library books, but I’ll see you two tomorrow?” You say, getting up from your seat.

“Yes, let’s meet at 6:30 in front of the library.” Tighnari says. You smile in reply, scooping up your heavy books and scampering off. Turning to Cyno, he shoots him a smirk, which, humoursly, Cyno could only describe as foxy.

»»————-　♡　-————««

The next day you wake up refreshed, enjoying being free from the stress of finals at last. You spend the day relaxing mostly, but you can’t help the excitement bubbling away. As half past six approaches you get ready, making sure to wear warm clothes. Although the days in Sumeru are quite warm, the nights quickly get cold.

“Oh, hi Cyno! Is Tighnari with you?” You call out, seeing the white haired boy standing alone. He whips his head around hearing your voice, you worry you may have given him whiplash.

“Hi um. Tighnari’s not here yet, hopefully he won’t be much longer.” He mumbles, looking away. His aloof nature doesn’t surprise you, you’ve heard he’s a rather stoic guy from other students. You watch his gaze, fixed at nothing in particular, and he appears in deep contemplation of something. Absentmindedly, you muse as to what it could be, unaware of your staring. Until Tighnari clears his throat, causing the two of you to startle.

“At ease soldiers,” he jokes, noting your riged statures. “Ready to go?” He asks, and you and Cyno both nod. Tighnari leads the conversation, effortlessly weaving both you and Cyno into the conversation. It makes you wonder if it tires him to be the middleman, but when you reach the festival you all have something in common.

The three of you stand in awe of the beautiful decorations. The Grand Bazaar radiates warmth with the lit-up stalls, the buzzing chatter and the joyful performances on stage.

“This is so amazing! I’m glad I came out here,” you say, eyes sparkling with wonder. Tighnari scans the wonderful scene too.

“I’m glad I came too,” Cyno concurrs, but his eyes are instead focused on your face, brighter than all the lights of Sumeru combined.

“Hey look, they have a tea stand! Let’s go get some!” You say, already dragging the other two along. You sip tea while observing all the various stalls and displays, the jubilent atmosphere filling your body and soul with warmth.

»»————-　♡　-————««

As the night goes on you find yourself standing beside Cyno, with Tighnari lost somewhere in the masses, claiming he wanted to go back to buy something.

“Do you think he’s coming back?” You ask, trying to break the silence. He merely shrugs. You notice his faraway gaze returns.

“What’s on your mind?” Your question surprises him a little, but he cracks a small smile, you would call it almost michevious.

“Y/N.” He turns to face you, and you look at him with anticipation.

“Why should you always invite mushrooms to a party?” He asks. Your mouth opens and you blink, taken aback. Taking a moment to recover from the sudden query, you begin to shake your head, dumbfounded.

“Because they’re fun guys,” he states plainly. You blink once more, before a wide smile splits your face and you burst out in laughter.

“That was the stupidest joke I’ve ever heard,” you says, features still scrunched up in amusement. His victorious smile fades a little, unsure if you are insulting or complimenting him. “But it did make me laugh so, I guess it worked.” You look at him with a smile still on your face.

“I’m glad,” he says, his grin returning, “you’re cute when you laugh.” He freezes. You freeze too. He didn’t mean to say that, he opens his mouth to stutter out an apology, but you interrupt him.

“You’re cuter,” you reply. He can’t tell which of you is more flustered in this moment. From within the crowd Tighnari emerges, but seeing your burning faces he ducks away without a sound, smiling to himself. Cyno inhales, trying to grab a hold of any confidence or courage in his bashfulness.

“Well, then in that case would you maybe like to hang out with me… sometime. A-as like a date, only if you want of cours-“

“I would love to.” You quiet his ramblings with your sound reply, and a hand placed on his. He maneuvers his hand so his fingers are slotted between yours, and he squeezes gently.

“I already say this but… I’m glad I came out here,” you whisper, and put your head on his shoulder. The warmth from his hand, the tickle of his long hair and the scent of oranges, earth and amber provide you with an overwhelming sense of comfort. Suddenly a tingly warmth and restful heaviness fall over you.

“Me too,” he says, and he gently rests his head over yours, staring up at the glow of the festival illuminating the navy sky. He smiles.

[totiredtowrite]

cam you do a goshiki with a male reader who's on the soccer team? like they go from admiration to pining to mutual pining and when they get together it's like puppy love?

Puppy Love

Warnings - like 1 curse word, Goshiki being cute, my brain saying no and possibly nerfing the story development? Sorry ig

Note: Ahaha, here you go? Also if you happen to not have friends, (dw I'm there with you) pretend aight <3

people r overrated anyways

Male reader

Goshiki was smitten.

Really anyone could tell just by looking at him. His classmates knew something was up with how he was always staring at you, the team knew something was up whenever he dashed off after practice to the soccer field.

It was actually kind of adorable. If practice was cancelled for some reason, or he couldn't go, you can bet he'll be by the soccer field to watch you play.

In class he'll leave an extra pen for you before you get to the classroom if you need it, or maybe he'll try to get more questions right in the hopes that you'll notice him somehow.

The way he developed this convoluted little crush was actually rather cliche.

You decided to go to one of the volleyball matches, because why not? Team spirit and all that junk. Goshiki pulled off a receive that he was proud of, glancing up like an excited puppy in hopes that someone saw that. His eyes wandered to the crowd, where you gave him a basic thumbs up and smile, and the boy made it his mission to know everything about you.

You, seemingly oblivious, actually forgot you even shot him the thumbs up. Bless your heart.

"Ne, (Y/n), have you noticed that the volleyball guy has been staring at you?" Your friend turned around in his chair.

"Sorry?" You regarded him with lidded eyes.

"Goshiki-san."

You raised your eyebrows. "Yeah, I know him."

"Well he definitely knows you," Your friend laughed and turned around again. You just slapped him and turned your attention back to your phone. Maybe you'll talk to him later.

🂠🃑🃁🂱🂡

Tsutomu wasn't sure of what to do. He banged his head into the gym wall rather depressedly, your indifference having took up his mind for most of practice.

"Hey Goshiki, what's the bother?" Tendou practically materialized behind him, causing him to jump.

"Nothing," he mutters.

Tendou shrugs. "Alright. Also I thought I'd let you know that (l/n)-san is here."

"What!" Goshiki's head shot up.

"Bye!" Tenodu turned.

"But wait-"

"BYE!"

Goshiki glared at Tendou's back as he ran off, hoping somehow he would trip over something with those lanky ass legs of his. Ushijima just nods at Goshiki and follows his best friend out of the gym.

His spite didn't last long though, as his eye trailed over to the gym door where you were standing. You were leaning against the door frame, eyes on your phone and one earbud in your ear. You clearly just got out of practice.

You, when you finally notice his shocked gaze, look up and nod him over.

It takes second for his legs to start working, but once they do he runs over to you.

"(L-l/n)!" He's standing rigid, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead and face flushed.

"At ease, damn," you give him a tired looking smile.

He nods and tries to relax a bit.

"So," you drag the word out. "Wanna hang out?"

Goshiki looks at you with stars in his eyes before nodding feverishly.

"After- you uh, after you change. Obviously." You look away. Even if blush doesn't show on you, it's rather easy to tell.

"Obviously," Goshiki repeats.

🂠🃑🃁🂱🂡

Your teams hate it.

Well, actually it's nice that the volleyball team doesn't have to hear Goshiki lamenting about how you'll never notice him, but now it's all about just how cute his boyfriend is.

Tendou is proud of himself for obvious reasons.

"Jeez, it's like those two are dogs," Shirabu rolls his eyes.

You dropped by to give Goshiki the book he left at your house, and he was peppering your face with random kisses. "`Tomu, I have to get to practice now," you chuckled through his affection.

He sighed and enveloped you in a hug, pecking you one last time on the lips. "Just visit after practice yeah?"

You nod, patting him on the head before turning to leave the volleyball gym. Anyone could practically see the hearts in his eyes.

Semi huffs.

"What have you done Tendou?"

[writing-for-marvel]

Ok: I am SUPER DUPER EXCITED for the holiday-themed drabbles, though I almost feel bad to be requesting anything else when you're already spoiling us with the Keeping Me Up series.

So, if you have the time, I do have a request, but again no pressure: the prompt is "Mistletoe" and I would also like to request a reader not used to mistletoe. (For example, I'm from Peru in South America, we don't do mistletoe down here. Then again, Christmas for us is during the summer, so 🤷🏽‍♀️). Oh! And for character, Steve Rogers please.

Thank you so much for tagging me!!!

Thank you so much sweetie! And you shouldn’t feel bad at all, I was the one who opened requests! You’re always so sweet so thank you for all the kind words of encouragement and all the support you’ve shown me with my writing 💗

I love this request! I also have Christmas in the summer, so it’s been a little weird writing all these winter themed drabbles when it’s actually starting to heat up here. I hope you like it hon

For my 500 follower + Holiday celebration

Steve Rogers + Mistletoe

Masterlist | Ask me anything! | Taglist

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Kiss Me Under The Mistletoe

The holidays were beautiful at the Avengers compound. Tony paid an obscene amount of money to have festive trees decorated in all communal areas, lights strung in hallways and life-sized reindeer decorations scattering the lawns outside.

It helped lift everyone’s spirits around the holiday period, but it also gave an excuse for Tony to hang mistletoe under every doorway in the facility. It’s a bit of fun, he’d say, but in reality it was Tony’s not so subtle way of playing matchmaker for his friends.

With the help of FRIDAY, he would page different members of the team to certain rooms in an attempt to catch them under mistletoe. All the married or coupled up members found Tony’s games rather funny, but being single, Steve quickly became annoyed at being called to all areas of the facility, only to find that it had been for no reason at all. He didn’t have enough fingers on both hands to count the number of times he had kissed Wanda on the cheek in the last week.

Tony did this so often that when Steve was paged 911 to meet with Tony, he leisurely walked instead of ran to the operations room, thinking it was just another ruse. This earned him an earful from Fury.

After that day, Tony sensed Steve’s hostility so during lunch, he instead paged you to the dining room while Steve was innocently leaning in the doorframe.

“Tony, you urgently paged?” Your soft voice rang out from beside Steve, whose cheeks blushed at the sight of you.

“I just had a question, but Steve was able to answer it.” Tony casually lied, pointing towards Steve who stood beside you. “Oh, look, mistletoe!” Tony chirped, not doing much to hide the playful smirk in his tone.

“Oh, that’s pretty.” You commented, flashing Steve a sweet smile before turning around and heading away from the dining room now that you were no longer needed there.

Steve’s heart sank. Not that you needed to kiss him under the mistletoe, and by no means was he going to force a kiss onto you - but the thought that you really didn’t feel the same made his chest tighten and stomach plunge through the floor.

“I’m sorry Capsicle, I was so sure she liked you.” His words did nothing to ease Steve’s pain, he had been crushing on you since you first joined the team and that fondness now ran deep. He always hoped you felt the same, but now his worst fears had been confirmed.

Steve was in a horrible mood for the rest of the day, feet dragging along the floor, sitting by himself at dinner, not in the mood to converse with anyone. Well, not until you sat beside him.

“Are you okay? You’ve been acting strange and Tony’s been glaring daggers at me all day.” You sat beside him, sucking on a small candy cane, just another thing Tony had scattered everywhere in the compound.

“That’s just Tony being Tony.” Steve tried to laugh through the pain, forcing a smile to his face.

“Did I do something to upset you?” The genuine concern in your tone had Steve’s heart melting, even though he tried to remind himself you didn’t feel that way about him.

“No.” He said, but he knew he had waited a beat too long before responding.

“That’s not very convincing, Rogers.” You chucked, scooting your chair closer to his. “What did I do?”

“Tony’s just annoyed you didn’t kiss me under the mistletoe this morning.” Right, Tony’s the one who’s upset.

“What does mistletoe have to do with kissing you?” You asked, looking completely puzzled at the combination of two seemingly unrelated commodities.

“It’s a Christmas tradition to kiss under the mistletoe.” Steve informed, and a spark of hope lit in his chest at the thought that you were unaware of the custom. Perhaps you could still have feelings for him.

“That’s certainly not a tradition where I’m from.” You explained. “Are you upset that I didn’t kiss you?”

“Maybe a little.” Steve responded sheepishly, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “But I don’t want you to think you have to kiss me.”

“And what if I want to?” You smiled, closing the distance between the two of you.

Your soft lips had a lingering taste of peppermint and something sweeter, maybe strawberries. The way your lips melded together, slotting perfectly against each other, a smile growing on both your faces as you pulled away.

“My mistletoe matchmaking worked!” Tony yelled as he saw you kiss Steve in the not so private corner of the dining room.

Permanent taglist: @imagining-harrypotter @tripletstephaniescp @hoeforthefictional @moonshooter @steverogerswifesblog @yliumy @p0tterhead934 @asgardwinter @demonpoxballad @nagygreta @libbymouse @squished-insect @mayasreadingnook @thecraziestcrayon

Steve Rogers taglist: @mansaaay @thechoosenonecreator @imlolxd @claudiaatje @belllarogers @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @badassbaker @melancholybaby @starry-night-20 @samwinter09 @erynnnn @patzammit @rqmanoff @gitasor @tenaciousperfectionunknown @sebastiansleftkidney @baby-banana @farfromjustordinary @harriettrose1 @ajeff855 @softieforeveryone @gryffindorqueensworld @buggy14 @leyannrae @buckysmetalarmholder @blackwidownat2814 @carelessreadersstuff @cevanslady @twinerd14 @cheerupbarry

[yeahimaloser]

Hi lovely! I adore your writing style and noticed you were taking requests. This is my first request ever so if it comes off a little awkward please forgive me! 👉👈

I was hoping for a scenario where Hawks has been wondering why y/n has been skipping out on get-togethers with him for the past week or two. He gets curious enough one day that he just-so-happens to patrol the area where you run off to after you reject another date with him.

He finds out that you have been going to an outdoor avian clinic and taking classes on how to pamper/massage or preen bird wings in order to surprise Hawks for your anniversary coming up.

But not like totally before Hawks confronts you and blurting out “Have you been cheating on me with a parrot?” 😂

Thank you! I hope this all makes sense. Hugs and kisses!

Hello there!! You are so sweet! and you didn’t come off awkward at all! <3

I am so sorry I didn’t actually mean for this to become an angst fic in the beginning ;-; 

but it is fluffy don’t worry!

warnings: avian Keigo (Keigo having bird like tendencies)

Also I schedule this to be a bit later than I normally post, I’ll most likely be asleep when this goes up so I just wanted to say to everyone thank you for reading!!

word count: 3.3k

------

He tapped his foot against the floor of the restaurant, his patience deteriorating every second as he stared at the door.

As the fastest hero, Keigo never really had any patients for just about anything. One thing he hated more than anything was people being late, he moved fast, he wanted people to move fast with him.

All he wanted to do was go on a nice date night, have some dinner, and go home and watch a movie or something. He just wanted to spend time with you.

You normally never skipped out on dates, so why now? 

He had noticed your absence in the last few weeks, more and more you would skip out on him. 

The anxiety bubbling in his heart was starting to spill over, seeping into his attitude in daily life. In his head, he wondered if maybe you were trying to signal to him that you weren’t interested in dating anymore, that maybe you were just silently drifting from him. But he loved the 11 months he got to spend with you, he’d never experienced anything like it. It was fresh, new, loving, he didn’t want it to end. Those thoughts had made him feel miserable for the last week or so, but he was still confused by you. Although you skipped out on dates and such, you still acted so lovingly towards him. You would still come home and snuggle up to him, you would still run your fingers through his hair at night, you would still talk mindlessly about your day, as though nothing was remotely bothering you.

So, maybe you really were busy, perhaps he was just looking too much into the issue.

But still, getting stood up for the 4th time in a row would make anyone a bit upset. 

He left the restaurant, paying for the drink he had ordered, and went on his way home.

Maybe it was a side effect of his quirk, but when he had these sorts of thoughts his wings would get all twitchy. He had done the research and found that when birds were in a high-stress situation they plucked at their feathers. The article also said that when a person that said a bird was attached to someone that abandons them, they get even more stressed and irritated. Which he supposed made sense. He would never admit it to very many people, (and if the press got a hold of it he would honestly shoot himself) but he had some bird tendencies.

Not big ones, just small ones.

He would bob his head in time with music sometimes, his pupils would dilate and contract when he was concentrating on something, he would mindlessly coo and cluck randomly as well.

Luckily, the commission taught him to control his bird-like tendencies, they told him that some of his bird traits were “off-putting”. But he really wasn’t sure what they were talking about, animal quirks weren’t uncommon, but he didn’t complain, he didn’t mind the help. 

But since he’s been dating you, he found himself getting more and more of these tendencies.

A few times, he would find random shiny objects and give them to you, he acted all excited about it too, saying, “I saw it and thought that you could keep it! It’s super pretty so, I don’t know, I thought you’d think it was cool.” After he said that, you just took the objects and told him he was so adorable. 

Another time, when you two were just out and about, he had seen you talk to someone with a similar bird quirk to his. He didn’t even know what came over him, but he squawked at the man, effectively freaking him and you out.

He apologized profusely after that. 

There was one bird-like quality he didn’t mind all that much, and that was the preening of his feathers. It was honestly so relaxing, the dirt and dust from flying seeped into his feathers, so he always found himself soaking his wings in water and then rubbing them with a special kind of oil.

There were some days, however, were all he could do (or all he had time to do) was take a warm towel and gently rub off his feathers. 

And lately, he had found himself going overboard with his preening, pulling more aggressively at his feathers, sometimes even hurting himself. He suspected that it was due to the stress of worrying about what was wrong with you (or him).

He hated all of it, loathed it even. Worse was how hard it was for him to broach the subject with you, whenever he got close he always wussed out. In his mind, even though it bothered him, he didn’t want to lose you. He was so scared that if he brought it up he would hear something he dreaded, and you two would fall apart. 

He loved you so much, he wanted you to stay with him. Another bird trait he learned, some birds mated for life, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel that way about you. He just...he didn’t want to lose you.

There was one possibility that was the worst, and yet the most likely. You had been cheating on him.

He really didn’t want to admit it, but it all sort of added up.

You skipped out on dates so you could go out with this other person. When you would become affectionate with him could be a sign of guilt, he read about that online. And the way you wouldn’t see his texts or missed calls when he knew you were on a lunch break, maybe you were seeing someone else. 

Was he a bad boyfriend? He thought that he had become better at this whole relationship stuff, maybe not perfect, but he was getting there. He knew he was hard to deal with, he wished he could be better for you, he really did. He knew he was busy a lot, tired from work, he knew he wasn't the most affectionate guy, but he wanted you, he wanted you so much it hurt.  Keigo thought that you loved him because he really loved you. 

The thought of having to let you go crushed his heart crushed his spirit too. He really did care for you, he knew that you were the one for him, so the thought of you not returning that feeling hurt him.

He flew through the night sky, looking down at the lights of the city. Normally, a sight like this would have made him smile, made him feel like he was on top of the world.

But his wings just felt uncomfortable, the wind blowing through them just increased the feeling. 

He just felt… done. Like the whole world felt heavy to him. Maybe he really was overthinking everything, but he couldn’t help it, he was made to be observant. 

He knew he had a strange habit of over-complicating things, but it was just his nature he supposed. A trained government agent always has to look into the fine details, at least, that's what he was taught. So, with your absence, he found himself becoming more and more paranoid.

He brought it up to his side-kicks and hero friends, and they all said the same thing; he was just being paranoid. They told him that, “sometimes in relationships, things get a little rough, it happens.” But Keigo couldn’t help but hate the whole ordeal.

He sighed, flying faster to his home.

One time, he had tried to follow you on your lunch break. He supposed it was pretty stalkerish, but he was getting desperate. All he needed was reassurance, just to know if you were actually busy or if that had been a bullshit excuse. He told himself it wasn’t a huge deal, he was just making sure you were doing ok.

...ok maybe it was a bit of a breach of privacy.

He had perched himself on top of a building near your workplace. Keigo had made sure that you wouldn’t be able to see him as he followed you, keeping out of sight as best he could.

His initial thought was you would go to a coffee shop, maybe some sort of expensive restaurant if you were meeting someone. 

Yet, to his surprise, he saw you scarf down a sandwich as you entered an animal clinch.

Were you cheating on him with an animal clinch employee?

He wanted to confront you then and there, but from where he was, he didn’t have any reason to.

It looked innocent enough, you were just going to an animal clinch.

He immediately felt guilty. There was no reason for him not to trust you, you had done nothing wrong in this situation. Maybe you really were working overtime and he was just overthinking everything.

He shook his head, sighing, he unfolded his wings and flew off the building he was perched on.

That was a week ago, it was after the third time you stood him up. And now, although he didn’t have any proof of you cheating, he still felt like he had a reason to confront you. He just felt sick of worrying and overthinking everything, and in all honesty, you weren’t helping the situation. Every time he asked you about it, you always came up with some sort of excuse. 

He landed on his balcony with a loud thump, not caring all that much about the noise. 

As he entered his home, he lifted the hem of his shirt off his head, throwing it on the floor unceremoniously. Walking over to the bathroom, he filled a special bowl full of water and made his way back over to the bed.

It was probably a bad idea to preen himself when he was so aggravated like this, but he wanted to do it, his wings felt so uncomfortable. 

His right-wing raised a bit as he sat down, pulling the feathered stump closer to him.

But before he could even graze the feathers with a damp cloth he had, he heard the front door open and close.

Before he had even realized it, he was already zooming down the staircase of his luscious penthouse, knowing full well you were already inside of his home.

“Hi honey,” you slipped your shoes off, not looking at him yet. “How was your day- Oh,” he crossed his arms over his chest, he was sure his expression was one of utmost anger. 

“Where were you,” his tone was irritated, his wings twitched behind him.

“I was working. Baby what's wrong,” he nearly rolled his eyes at your concerned tone.

“Don’t baby me, you stood me up,” he huffed, “again.” 

He didn’t miss the sorry expression that flashed on your face, “Kei, I’m sorry, I really am. I’ve just been so busy lately. I know I haven’t been fair to you, but I’m not doing anything tomorrow! Look I’ll even make dinner for you, ok? Really, Kei, I’m ”

“Y/N,” here it came, “if your gonna break up with me, just do it already

Well, that certainly shocked you (and him if he was being honest). Your whole expression fell into one of confusion, your eyes looked up at him with genuine hurt.

“What? Keigo what are you talking about? You’re not making any sense, why would I want to break up with you?”

“I don’t know Y/N?! Why have you been avoiding me for so long!?”

You sighed, “Is that what this is all about? Well,” you pulled out some sort of form, reaching it out to him, “here, I wanted to surprise you on our anniversary, but I don’t want you to think that I’m doing something dishonest.”

He snatched the piece of paper out of your hand, maybe a bit too harshly. He looked at it and was immediately confused.

It was information on a class about… how to preen birds?

He gave you a confused look, to which you gave him a light smile, “I see how frustrating it is for you to preen them, so I wanted to help out. I saw that I could learn how and thought it would be a cute thing for us to do together.”

He stood in shock for a few moments, letting the guilt wash over him. 

“I-I’m so sorry.”

You chuckled a bit, “Don’t be, it was wrong of me to leave you high and dry on dates, I just had to work overtime in order to get these classes in.”

Now, he felt twice as guilty.

This whole time he had thought you were drifting away from him, and worse, he thought you were cheating on him. He felt sick. His friends were right, he really was overthinking the whole situation. And worst of all, you were working overtime to do something so nice for him, and here he was, yelling at you.

“I-I’m so sorry, Y/N. Jesus,” he shook his head, “I’m an idiot. You were off doing something so thoughtful for me, and I was being a prick, yelling at you. I’m sorry honey. Is there something I can do to make it up to you?” 

But you just chuckled, “Keigo, really, it’s ok. I should have at least done something to convince you, or rescheduled our dates. It’s ok honey, don’t feel bad.”

You moved in to give him a hug, which just happened to be the moment you realized his shirt was missing.

“Uh,” he saw your body straighten up, and your face makes a flustered expression, “why is your shirt…”

“Oh, well,” he scratched his feathers nervously, “it’s kinda funny, I was just about to preen my wings. So I have to take off my shirt in order to get the water to the back. Kind of a weird coincidence, huh.”

“Well,” you looked at him, eyes softening, “can I help?”

Keigo was sure his heart had frozen, after a moment or two, he answered, “S-sure.”

-----

You pulled a stool for him to sit on as you sat down on the bed.

Keigo wasn’t sure why, but he felt so anxious. To tell the truth, he never really had someone preen his wings before. He would always do it himself, it was an annoying effort sometimes, but the commission was very big on him looking good for the public eye.

His wings weren’t super sensitive, but the light touches of your fingers running through them felt like pure heaven to him. The sensation was like having someone giving a message, but… different. It felt nicer, more loving, more slow and nice.

The whole sensation made him shutter.

“Is this ok,” he didn’t miss the anxiety in your tone.

“Yeah,” he said, breathlessly. “Perfect, keep...keep doing that babe.”

The little pulls of his feathers relaxed him more and more, making him seep into the back of the stool he was sitting on.

When you had started to add water to the mix, he didn’t notice his cooing.

“Kei?”

“Hmm,” his mind was so far gone in the relaxation of your hands that he barely registered your voice.

“Are you cooing,” you had to suppress your smirk as his body went rigid, as well as his wings.

“I,” his face was almost as deep red as his wings, “s-sorry.”

You giggled, “Don’t apologize,” you pressed softly into the apex of some of his feathers, “if it feels good, it’s fine if you coo. I won't judge you.”

Softly, he let out a few coos, but he didn’t want to freak you out.

But soon, he realized he couldn’t keep them in, you were just doing so well. 

You moved softly to grab his feather oil, “Uh, so how does this even work? Do I take a few drops and run them through each individual feather or something?”

You’ve seen him preen his wings before, but until recently you had just started to pay attention to how he exactly did them. You had noticed that the oil he used on his feathers gave a shine to the red plumage, but you had noticed he was a bit cautious with the serum.

“O-oh,” you didn’t miss the light stutter and the soft up-take of his voice, “Um, if you want you can just put a few drops in your hand and rake them through. You don’t have to do each one if you don’t want to.”

You thought for a moment, “Alright, I think I’ll just do each feather. I wanna get this right after all.”

And, honest to god, Keigo gulped.

You’ve never seen him this relaxed and yet so tense, you would have thought he was drugged. You would be lying if you didn’t enjoy it though, the way Keigo melted into you, it was weirdly adorable.

“Yeah,” he let out, “yeah ok.”

After that, it was like Keigo could barely talk. 

For a moment, you considered something. When you and Keigo had started to date, you had noticed how he was a bit touch-starved. He craved affection, whether he was aware of this or not, you weren’t sure.

But it made sense, his childhood past, and plus, this was his first real relationship. You wondered if Keigo had ever been shown so decent, honest love before.

Perhaps his bird instincts also played a part in how affectionate he could be. You read once, that when male birds became attached to their mates they tended to get affectionate as well as loving. Plus, some birds preened their mates as a show of love, you wondered if what Keigo was doing was just his way of showing how happy he was with you preening him.

After you were done, Keigo’s head was light and tired. The whole experience for him felt magical, he wasn’t sure why though. He preened himself a bunch of times, why was this the first time he felt this way?

But Keigo’s head couldn’t really process the question at the moment.

“You wanna go to sleep,” you asked, bringing your hands lightly over his shoulders, kissing his forehead.

He let out a small, “Mhm,” as he stood up. You had to help him to his bed because of how wobbly he was.

After you carefully helped him into bed, you turned to go to the bathroom to wash your hands, but Keigo dragged you down.

“No,” he whined softly as you tried to get out of his grip, “cuddles.”

(You couldn’t lie, this had to be the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen him do)

He nuzzled into you, his body flushed against yours. 

That’s when you heard it, the little chips. You didn’t say anything, scared that if you did he would stop. You played with his hair as he chirped into your neck, his wings shivered a bit.

You decided to ask him, “Hey, Kei.”

He hummed lightly.

“I’ve never seen you like this, does it have something to do with your bird instincts?”

Keigo thought for a moment, “Maybe,” his voice was light you noticed, “it could be. Kinda just something I experience because that’s what birds do with their...mates.”

You chuckled, running your hands through his wings again, “Maybe it’s because you're also, like, really touch starved.”

“Oh yeah, maybe. I mean,” he looked at you, like a lovesick puppy, “you are my first time in a real relationship.”

You laughed lightly, going back to lightly stroking his hair and feathers.

“Hey Y/N,” Keigo’s voice was tired, and yet, it was soft.

“Yeah honey,” you asked in an equally gooey voice.

He nuzzled in closer to you, giving you a soft, yet deep kiss, “I love you.”

[shoutaaizawas]

↳ keigo takami x fem!reader → ❝shiny things❞

summary: hawks has more bird-like tendencies than you initially thought. he likes to present you with odd items as gifts and finally you figure out why word count: 2,406 tags/warnings: fluff, hawks being a bird a/n: uhh i don’t know i love the bird man

sequel “preening”

masterlist

Dating Hawks was unusual for a list of reasons. He was a pro hero so that meant he was very busy, in the public eye, and couldn’t tell you everything. Then there was the way Hawks had been raised. After a while of dating, he trusted you enough to open up and tell you about his childhood. It shed a lot of light on the things he did in your relationship. But perhaps the least expected thing was his bird-like habits.

It wasn’t unusual for people with animal-like quirks the show similar traits to said animal. Selkie and Gang Orca came to mind although they looked more like their animal counterparts than Hawks did. Perhaps that was why you didn’t expect it from him.

At first, you thought he was joking. You had been dating for a while enough to know each other well enough to start to develop feelings. Hawks flew in to meet you for a coffee date in between work. The wind-blown hair and charming smile always made your heart skip a beat.

“Look what I found.” He said, his tone of voice sounded like an excited kid. He held out his hand present the shiny blue marble. You glanced up at him wondering if he was joking but he looked happy to present this offering. The last thing you wanted to do was hurt his feelings even if you didn’t quite understand.

“Wow, where’d you find this?” You asked taking it and holding it up in the light to examine it.

“I found it on patrol.” He said. “It was shining in the light and caught my eye. Don’t worry I washed it off.” He reassured. That almost made you laugh.

“It’s pretty.” You said. That wasn’t a lie, in its own way it was pretty but you could honestly say you had never met someone over the age of ten present a marble with such excitement.

“It’s for you.” He said with a smile that melted your heart. The sentiment wasn’t lost on you even if you were trying to wrap your head around it.

“Thank you, you’re too sweet.” You told him before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

The next time that happened you were more prepared for it. It was a perfect day, the sky was clear, and the weather cool. The salty breeze from the ocean filled the air around you as you walked hand in hand with your boyfriend. The sun was sinking into the horizon leaving a beautiful sunset.

Hawks spotted something, his eyes widening as he let go of your hand and rushed forward. He leaned down picking up something from the ground. Brushing it off he stood and returned to your side.

“Look!” He said in an excited voice holding his open hand up to you. You smiled at the way his wings fluttered in excitement behind him.

“What is it?” You asked putting one hand underneath his as you looked. There was a small shiny green object, it almost looked like a rock.

“It’s a piece of sea glass! It’s normal glass that ends up in the ocean, it takes like fifty years of tumbling around in the water to look like this.” He said. Looking at it, it was pretty. The frosted texture was unique you realized as you picked it up. He closed your hand over it. “Keep it.” He smiled.

You smiled at him sliding the sea glass in your pocket for safekeeping. This wasn’t the last time that he gave you an odd gift with a genuine spirit. You always smiled when he presented the items with pride and excitement, his feathers puffed up.

It was a night that you were spending with Hawks at his fancy apartment when things started to make more sense. You had made him dinner and were enjoying a bottle of wine now.

Hawks wasn’t a drinker but since you met him you had gotten him to like wine. It wasn’t unusual for you to share a bottle. It always amused you the pink tint on his cheeks and how relaxed he got.

The view from Hawks balcony was nice, a perfect city skyline. The love seat there was comfy and so was your position resting against Hawks, one of his winds draped around you keeping you close and protecting you from the cold night. The candles lit around you gave off a dim glow.

You looked at your empty glass and his. As much as you didn’t want to get up you did want more wine so you would have to sacrifice your comfort for a moment.

“Let me get you more.” You said taking his glass in your hand before standing up. He made a noise of complaint at the loss of contact.

“I can get it.” He said. You leaned forward pressing a kiss against his lips, your free hand grazing his cheek.

“Let me, relax here. I’ll be right back.” You said before walking into the apartment. You entered his nice kitchen grabbing the bottle on the counter. There was enough for one glass. You looked at the full bottle on the counter. It wouldn’t hurt to open up another, you could always save the rest if you didn’t finish it.

Opening a drawer you looked for the wine opener. This one had normal utensils in it. The one below it had towels. It was the third drawer down that was odd.

It was full of random items, rocks, stray earrings, buttons, and other odds and ends. It wasn’t your usual junk drawer. All of the items had a certain shine to them. Your mind was immediately pulled to the random things Hawks had presented to you so happily.

You let out a small gasp as it all clicked. He was a bird. Well, not literally but it seemed he shared more traits with the animal than you had originally guessed. Looking at all the items you knew that he cared for them enough to keep them in his house.

A smile met your lips thinking about how excited he always was as he handed you the shiny thing he had found. It was so sweet that he gave them to you instead of keeping it for his own collection. Had he even been keeping anything for himself since he met you?

Your heart felt full as you closed the drawer and looked for the wine opener. Hawks was already so sweet and somehow this odd quirk of his added on to it.

Returning to the balcony you sat down next to him handing him his glass before pulling him in for a deep kiss. Your free hand tangled in his feathers and you could feel him sigh against your lips.

“What was that for?” He questioned pulling back with pink cheeks and a content smirk.

“Nothing, I just really like you.” You smiled.

“Well, I really like you too.” He said before pulling you in for another kiss.

“So I gave her this shiny rock and she was so happy, I love the way she smiles when I give her stuff.” Hawks gushed about you to Mirko often. The rabbit hero was patient in listening to him but would often roll her eyes at how head over heels he was.

“Wait, so you’re telling me the kind of gifts you’ve been giving her are shiny rocks and marbles?” She questioned. “Please don’t tell me you’ve stolen french fries from tourists to give to her.” Hawks gave her a questioning look.

“I always give her the shiny stuff I find now.” He said.

“And she hasn’t dumped you?” She questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Wow, she must really like like you.”

“What do you mean?”

“A lot of girls like shiny things but they usually prefer bracelets, necklaces, rings, or even cars if you’re really trying to spoiler her. Maybe a designer pair of shoes or a purse.” She said thoughtfully. “Most girls would have left by now if they were given shiny debris from their boyfriend.”

Hawks stood there frozen trying to process what she was saying.

“Trust me, I get it, Hawks. The animal tendencies can be strong but you have to recognize them and adjust. Find a way to fill that urge but in a way that your partner will appreciate more.”

“I didn’t even realize it.” Hawks said in a quiet voice. “Oh no she’s probably hated all the stuff I’ve been giving her and has just been nice to me.” He groaned.

Mirko patted him on the shoulder.

“Happens to the best of us. I nibbled on my first crushes sleeve. There are some things you’ll never forget how embarrassing they were.” She sighed, staring off in her memory.

“That’s rough.” Hawks said. “I’m just glad you told me before she got too weirded out. I really like her, I don’t want to ruin it with her.”

“That’s what friends are for to help you with your blind spots.” She explained. “And Hawks, if she stuck around this long I don’t think you’re scaring her off with shiny marbles.” She teased.

Hawks felt so embarrassed. He had no relationship experience. His childhood had not been a normal one, he didn’t go to middle school or high school. He didn’t go on awkward dates or take someone to prom. It was uncharted territory. He never even intended on dating anyone his life was too complicated then he met you and every excuse he had to date someone was out the window.

He had to make it up to you, he had to explain himself but he was trying to figure out the best way to do that. He recalled you telling him a story about earrings that you had really wanted to buy once at a boutique on vacation but you had ended up not buying them for one reason or another. He had made note of that hoping to look for one similar to what you described but hadn’t gotten around to it.

Now was finally his time, surprisingly it wasn’t that hard to find something that matched your description. He hoped it was close enough for you. Hawks texted you asking if he could come over tonight when you were home and you agreed.

After patrol, he picked up your favorite take out and headed over to your place. He landed on the balcony walking in as you told him he could. You sat on the couch wearing a cute pair of sweatpants and a sweater.

“Hey, babe.” You said standing up and walking over to him, greeting him with a kiss.

“Hey, little bird.” He said returning the kiss.

“Is that what I think it is?” You questioned.

“Your favorite.” He smiled. The two of you sat down at the couch opening up the bag of food and digging in.

“What’s the special occasion?” You asked as you finished up your food.

“I wanted to talk.” He answered, immediately he saw you face drop. “Nothing bad, I promise.”

“Oh.” You sighed in relief.

“Actually I wanted to apologize.” He started, his wings looked tense.

“For what?” You asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The gifts I’ve given you, my friend pointed out that they’re weird and not something you should give your girlfriend.

“Hawks-” You tried to interrupt but he continued.

“I’m sorry, it’s just something I’ve done since I was a kid. I see something shiny and I take it, I’ve had a collection forever and I don’t know I never questioned it until Mirko pointed it out. I just would always get so excited when I saw stuff I kept it. When I started dating you I’d see something and I would think this is so pretty I have to share it with her, I don’t want to keep it to myself-”

“Hawks.” You said taking his hand in yours. “Don’t apologize. Look.”

He watched as you leaned to your coffee table grabbing the small box on it and setting it in between the two of you. Opening it he realized it was full of all the things he had given you.

“I’ll admit I was a little confused at first but even then I saw how happy you were and it was so cute. How could I deny or be upset about you giving me something that made you so happy.” You explained, brushing your hand over the piece of sea glass he gave you. “Eventually I figured it out, I saw the drawer at your place and I put it together. Honestly, the fact that you gave me these means far more than expensive jewelry would mean to me.”

Hawks stared at you in disbelief. How had he ever found someone as amazing as you? He fought the tears that threatened to well up in his eyes. You had understood him without him ever having to explain.

“Actually, I just remembered.” You said standing up and moving to your purse by the door. You looked through it for a moment before finding what you were looking for. Sitting down you held your hand out presenting a shiny vintage key. “I saw this today at a little store I stopped at on my break. I don’t know if it will fit into your collection but-”

Before you could even finish your sentence Hawks had nearly tackled you into a kiss. His arms wrapped around you pulling you close as his wings fluttered. He pulled back looking into your eyes.

“I love you.” The words came out before he could stop them. He already felt so much for you but this had pushed it over the edge.

“Keigo, I-I love you too.” You returned not expecting anything that had just happened.

“I got you a gift, a proper gift this time.” He said reaching into his pocket. “The earrings you talked about, I hope they are close enough to the ones you wanted.”

“Keigo, they’re perfect.” You said pulling him in for another kiss. “Thank you.”

Hawks was more than just a pretty face and you had seen through that. Getting to know him, the real him, not the person the media presented or the child that had been raised into a weapon, was something you had enjoyed. Not only did you get to know the real Hawks but you had fallen deeply in love with him, bird traits, and all.

taglist:  @sugarmaplewings-fics @lilkiwisfinest @ewwis @kandy1410 @moonlightaangel @winnies-headcannons @bakugousidehoe @paintedr0ses1 @toobsessedsstuff @spellboundxizi @ourladyofseijoh  @x0doodlebug0x @katsushimaa @mooncademia

[artxyra]

The Return of the Premier Chaotique

Marinette was only eight years old when her primary school life changed for the better.

On that fateful day, in Mlle. Gilbertine’s classroom was the introduction of a new transfer student. He introduced himself as Damian; there was no last name. And if there was one, Gilbertine made sure she didn’t say a word of it.  

To Marinette, Nino, Chloe, Nathaniel, and Kim, he was an odd boy. Someone that would fit right into their group after a push, as Damian stressed for no social interactions with anyone.

During the early weeks of his stay, Marinette had caught him several times engaging in lonesome activities, whether they were in the classroom or out in the field messing around. Marinette, being the outgoing child that she was, began to plot.

Created from that plotting period was her life’s mission to befriend the emotionless kid.

It was hard at first.

She and the others tried tricking the young man into hopscotch matches, and when that didn’t work, it was a game of red light, green light. Occasionally, Nino and Kim would challenge Damian to dance battles.

Damian was very much against the childish games claiming that they were beneath him, but humored them into defeat.

That was until Marinette decided on a shooting game with water guns and makeshift go-carts out of bike parts. Damian’s eyes lit up with excitement, and Marinette knew right then and there that she finally fulled her goal.

After being soaked from head to toe and laughing amongst friends, Marinette and the others swore Damian into their friend group, thus changing their lives forever.

Soon newer and crazier games began to take over the classroom of Mlle. Gilbertine.

The moment Nino would bring out his portable CD player and the music began to boom out of the speakers, everyone knew what was about to happen.  

One day, while the group was in the school’s pool area pretending to be sea monsters attacking each other with kickboards and pool noodles, they were officially dubbed the “Premier Chaotique” cult. As they were youthful and the material they came up with was more chaotic than anything the future Hawkmoth could ever create.

Everyone knew that Marinette and Damian were the leaders. Together they oozed power, as Marinette was their strategist while Damian was the chief.

Chloe was their lawyer and location scout. The blonde knew what areas had cameras and heavy guarding. Kim was their chaotic developer. He knew what methods were more chaotic than the rest. Kim never failed to disappoint. Nino was their sound design and videographer in some cases. His love for filmmaking and DJing started here and continues to grow. Nathaniel was the tagger as he made sure every graffiti they did was perfect.

Nothing could ruin these kids.  

Mlle. Gilbertine, bless her soul, was determined to get the Premier Chaotique cult under control, but they were slick and made plans at random. She remembers the day when empty ice cream cups filled her classroom. Every desk was covered, and nothing could explain the appearance of snow sleds in the class.

It was no rumor that the mini cult managed to create their own little snow resort using ice cream and shave ice. It was a pain to clean up.

Marinette remembers the days when the mini cult would paint the city red with flowers and chaotic goodness. Or turning the entire city into a roller skate derby.

It’s a miracle that the cops never brought their parents into the investigation. Then again, with a child as pure as Marinette in the lead, people would fall over when they saw her smile.

Their significant achievement was when the school’s kitchen managed to catch on fire during a lunch period. During the evacuation, the group somehow managed to slip through the adults and back into the cafeteria.

Kim had brought marshmallows that day.

When the firefighters entered to put out the flames, the six children greeted them with wooden sticks eating s’mores and telling scary stories.

That fire had been their last valuable success because they experienced the worst nightmare a couple of days later, Damian had to go back to his home country.

It was heartbreaking for everyone within the cult but groundbreaking for the city.

Marinette fell into depression along with the others. After a month without Damian, they vowed to never speak of the best year of their life unless they were ever to meet Damian again.

It was no secret that Marinette had a crush on the foreign boy, so the cult disassembles along with any memories of Damian and the cult.

Years passed since that day.

Chloe took it upon herself to bully Marinette when they had entered college, as those who knew them in their younger days forgot that they were ever friends. Marinette took up fashion designing and making her seem like the perfect student. Nathaniel started working on comics based on their adventures. Nino stayed friends with all but Chloe and continued with his calling in music production. Kim began busying himself with sports, specifically swimming.

Soon the name that used to strike fear in the hearts of the Paris citizens began to fade away into a false memory.

Little did anyone know, the spirit of the Premier Chaotique cult lives on and would ignite in a blaze of fire.

At sixteen, Marinette works her butt off to make their end-of-the-school-year trip a reality.

The trip was not for the approval of her classmate, which has gone stale but for her sanity. Three years of being Ladybug have put a toll on her, and she plans to take advantage of the lack of akuma attacks going on.

When the acceptance letter landed in her hands, her parents swear they saw a boulder lifted off their daughter’s shoulders. She was smiling more and appeared less stressed than she had ever been since finding out the school board decided to move teachers with their students as a handful of teachers left Paris, some even left France altogether.

Her allies (remaining friends) were the first to know about the trip to Gotham, New Jersey, and they cheered happily for her. Lately, someone else has taken the credits for her work.

The day before the trip, Marinette rundown the patrol routes, and emergency protocols with Luka and Kagami, ensuring the safety of Paris if and when Hawkmoth decided to go active while the rest of the team was away.

She then goes on to convincing Kaalki to come with her to Gotham only to be used as an emergency. Marinette was ready to leave Paris and head to Gotham.

Upon entering the streets of Gotham, a cold chill runs down everyone’s spines aside from the former mini cult members. Too Mme. Bustier, the chill was all too familiar, bringing up memories of the kids that terrorized the streets before Hawkmoth. She looks around to see nothing out of place before promptly calling out her students so they would make it to the hotel.

Everyone who felt that chill had every right to be wary.

On the first day, everything seemed fine, but when you leave nearly all the members of Premier Chaotique alone for a moment, well, chaos was sure to happen.

Chloe and Marinette had put aside their differences during the Lila era of the classroom reign. Even after it was over, they managed to remain friends, rekindling the essence of primary friendship. The boys joined in on them not long afterward.

Plans were made but not yet enforced. It did not feel right, and they knew why– it was because they lacked their chief, the one and only Damian.

~☾★☽~

All Marinette wanted was a cup of coffee, but instead, she got something--someone much more pleasing.

Frozen in place, she calls out a single name, “Dames?” The dark-haired male turned around; she couldn’t breathe. Her eyes soften at the sight of her first crush. He hadn’t changed by much, though he was now taller than her.

“Mars?” That nickname sent the French-Asian teen running into the arms of the Ice Prince himself. Instead of pushing her away, he wraps his arms around her.  

Time froze in that café for several reasons, but the main one was definitely because they just witnessed Damian Wayne hugging someone willing.

Their embrace ends with them staring into each other’s eyes. It felt surreal. They couldn’t find the words to say, but they didn’t have to.

Life continues in the cafe as Damian leads Marinette away from the flashes of lights. It wasn’t long before Damian’s phone began to blow up with notifications. He turns his phone off and stuffs it back into his pocket.

With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Marinette pulls Damian in closer. Lifting herself onto her tip-toes, she whispers, “The others are here too.” into his ear. She steps away to see what she has unleashed, hoping that nearly a decade away from each other hasn’t altered their relationship.

This time it was Damian who smirks, bringing Marinette closer to him. “Mm, shall be bring Gotham to its knees?”

They share a smirk that ends with an explosion, thus, reigniting the Premier Chaotique cult with a burning passion for mayhem.

They decided to meet that night after hours.

Music blared in the streets of Gotham, seemingly close to the classroom’s hotel near Wayne Enterprise.

The members of Premier Chaotique strut down the middle of the streets in inflatable dinosaur suits dancing to the remixes that played from the boombox on one of the dino’s skateboards (Nino’s).  

Jamming to Bats @crazyforbats Did anyone else wake up to music and dancing dinos last night?

Bearbe @Bearbe Replying to @crazyforbats THAT WAS REAL!!??? I THOUGHT I WAS HULLACINATING

Krazie Kay @gokaykaer [A one-minute video with various strobe lighting colors flashing around and six dinosaurs doing the Cha-Cha-Slide] I swear I just saw @thebloodwayne for a split second.

Vera Pitts @vera_pitts [A short video of inflatable dinosaurs chaotically dancing to the Harlem Shake.] I thought this trend of over and done *crying emoji*

By the morning, Twitter was blowing up with various videos and gifs of the events that happened the night before. The only people who weren’t affected by the popularity were the people who were a part of it.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce could already feel a migraine coming as his two oldest play the videos repeatedly in the main room.

Damian scoffs at his family members, while Dick complains about why they haven’t thought of that for a family outing. It’s all about class, Dick; it’s all about class.  

Alfred, being all-knowing, takes notice of Damian's hidden smirks and recent purchase from his account at a party store. Nothing to worry about in this household. However, Damian asking him about where to find used pocket bikes (mini motorcycles) and wire rope reels was troubling.

The next night began the fears of every Parisian that experienced the reign. Blessed that it wasn't not happening in their city for once.

Per their plan assignments, Chloe and Kim found the buildings necessary for the zip line. Nino was in charge of setting up the equipment with the help of Nathaniel. Damian’s task was to get the bikes and zip line wire. Marinette’s job was to keep the class and others from finding out their plan.  

Once everything was ready, the Premier Chaotique entered their playground wearing hooded leotards (or bodysuits) with matching latex masks stretched over their eyes.

Kim went first down the zip line as Damian race down the streets on the bike. Initially, they were going to use the bikes, but the zip line couldn’t hold the weight of the bike and the person on it, so they turned it into a race instead. Of course, they put challenges throughout the route to make it more even.  

Their mayhem took a turn for the best when someone had called the cops, causing the for once silent night into a regular night of crime. Instead of stopping, like normal people, the mini cult went on a high-speed race against the GCPD.

Gotham’s Twitter users were having a blast with the events. It was the best and bravest thing to surface since Batman, though some were very vocal with their opposing thoughts.

The GCPD never caught the Premier Chaotique members, and they went on as if nothing happened.  

It was during the tour of Wayne Enterprise that the Premier Chaotique members learned Damian’s last name. He was an effing Wayne.

Marinette had asked Damian what his last name was when they were eight, and he replied nonchalantly with something along the lines of not being a Wayne until he was ten. Afterward, they continue hanging out and plotting throughout the tour.

After seeing their younger brother interact with teens his age, Dick specifically begs Bruce to invite the group while the rest stands there in shock. The sight of seeing Damian doing what they thought was impossible needed to go into the history books.

While it was a momentous occasion for Damian’s brothers, it was a reality check for Mme. Bustier. Her screams echo against the halls of WE as buried memories of the chaos awakens.

She stared pointedly at Marinette in denial. There was no way her star student was in the cult that did so much damage all those years ago. When Chloe, Nino, Kim, and quiet Nathaniel joined her, Caline started to feel faint. She immediately excused herself to call her therapist. Her wails for help could reach the lobby.

Bruce unknowingly invited even more chaos into his household that night.

It didn’t take Chloe and Marinette much to convince their teachers to let the five of them stay with Mr. Wayne for the night in hopes of “catching up” with Damian.

After getting the approval from Mr. Wayne and their parents, she agreed, secretly ecstatic that they wouldn’t be in her care for the next several hours.

~☾★☽~

“I’m bored. Let’s play a prank?” Kim randomly shouts, playing catch with himself, when they were all staring out the TV waiting for something good to come on.

“What do you have in mind?” Marinette asks, making her way over to Damian. He pushes her away, knowing that she’ll use him as a throne.

“Hey Dames, do you own go-carts are something of a familiar nature?”

Damian thinks about it for a minute, “Tt, father wouldn’t dare let those things in the house. We can prank my brothers. Scaring them would bring me joy.”

“Well I have a few ideas, we can use.” Chloe states, pulling out the book of mischief from her purse.

They all huddle over the book with smirks on their faces.

-----

A retouch version of Request #9.

[wri0thesley]

A Well Rounded Education (4): Equality Statement (Fem!Reader x Naoya Zenin, 7.5k)

series synopsis: you are a teacher’s aid to teacher Gojo Satoru, training to be able to take over your own class next year by shadowing and helping him out. gojo, unfortunately, does not make things easy for anybody.

chapter synopsis: you make the mistake of crossing naoya zenin at a sports festival and are forced to apologise. but as you well know by now, nothing ever seems to go to plan where any of your student’s fathers are concerned. 

NSFW. MINORS DNI. AFAB reader, fem pronouns. misogyny, weird power dynamics, hate-sex, piv sex, blowjobs. naoya.  

(a well rounded education m.list and navigation)   ♡  (jujutsu kaisen masterlist)

1.

The Saturday morning that your first ever undokai is scheduled for dawns bright and early, and you can’t help the little thrill that goes through you at the golden fingers of dawn lighting up your room. There’d been talk of the weekend bringing rain, and things needing to be rescheduled – but it’s perfect weather, as you put on a comfortable tank top and shorts instead of your neat pencil skirt and suit jacket combination.

This will be your first event of the kind, and you’re excited about it. The kids in the class have been practising all of their cheers and routines and the like constantly, whilst the ones involved in the competitive sports have been cheering one another on and snatching time when they can to race against one another in preparation. It’s been nice to see all of the camaraderie between them – even some of the quieter ones have seemed to come a little bit out of their shell, with so much team spirit in the air.

Well. Most of them have. You’ve noticed Junpei still hanging back, face sad, uncomfortable when other boys crowd him and tug him off to who knows where – probably to get him involved in their own practises or rehearsals.

It’s been long and hard preparing for it, but even Gojo has been focused on something for once.

“There’s just something about events like this!” Gojo chirped to you, once, as he’d held up a megaphone he did not really need and called his class back into formation in front of him. “You know! The joy of youth! I want them to have the best time possible! They deserve it.”

Seeing Gojo’s mischievous eyes sparkle with determination instead of humour had made you smile at him, and you’d felt a strange pull in your chest when he’d smiled back, needing to pull your gaze away to ask Yuuji to stop poking Megumi in the back to get him to look at a weird caterpillar he’d found on the ground.

As a junior high undokai, things are a little more competitive than they might be if this were an elementary school or even a middle school event, but there’s still a big emphasis on the teamwork and the cheering on portion of the day. You’ve watched and applauded what feels like a hundred practises for the cheering section, confiscating whistles when they’re sneakily blown whilst you’re trying to teach a mathematics lesson.

Still, you’re not surprised to see that Gojo’s class have been corralled into his classroom whilst your vivacious teacher and mentor gives them a rallying encouragement that seems to contain a lot of bigging up the fact that they are, in fact, his class.

“I thought the pep talk was for them,” you say, as heads turn to you when you walk into the room. It’s strange to see all of the faces dressed in their gym uniforms instead of their school uniforms – and it’s even stranger to be wearing an approximation of it yourself.

“You look nice!” Yuji pipes up, and you smile at him.

“It is for them,” Gojo brings a hand to his sunglasses to push them down a little, giving you a charming smile and the full force of the galaxies swirling in his eyes. “I’m just reminding them that as Satoru Gojo’s class, of course they’re going to do well! We’re going to be the strongest, and win!” He looks at all of them – bright shining faces turned to him, all lit up with the excitement of competition. There’s something in him that you rarely see right now – something encouraging and bright and compassionate. He genuinely seems to want them to do well. “I believe in all of you!”

The warmth spreading through your chest at Gojo’s words is a new experience. You’re far more used to exasperation and frustration where he’s concerned.

But now, you can’t help the infectious smiles of the children and the determination in their face to do well enough for everyone to be proud of. Maybe Gojo isn’t so bad after all, you think, as he bids the children in the class farewell and tells them to go and join everyone else outside in preparation for the day’s events.

“What d’you think?” He asks you, as Junpei leaves the room, still dragging his feet a little. You can’t blame him. He’s involved in the cheering section, as so many of the less athletic kids are, but the undokai is not optional and you think that Junpei is the kind of boy who hates being looked at. “Are we gonna win?”

“I don’t think that’s quite the point of the exercise,” you say, eventually. “We’re supposed to be fostering team spirit and co-operation--”

“Yeah,” Gojo wrinkles his nose and grins. “But we’re still gonna win, right?”

You sigh.

“With Yuji and Maki? Probably. But that’s not the point!”

Gojo stands up and stretches his arms out above him. He’s in a shirt that clings tight to a surprisingly muscled abdomen,  and dark grey sweatpants. He’s never been the ‘formal wear’ kind of teacher, but it’s still jarring to see him dressed so casually – and even more jarring to realise that he’s handsome, despite the fact you’ve spent most of the last few months rolling your eyes and sighing and cursing the world that you’ve ended up having to endure Satoru Gojo so much.

“I know, I know – but it’s nice to think about, right?” His grin is infectious. “Did you have time to have breakfast this morning? I know it’s an earlier start than usual, I’ve got a spare blueberry muffin in my bag – hope it didn’t get crushed too badly by my stretches--”

“I’m fine,” you tell him, already dreading the idea of him pressing a crumbled muffin into your hand. “I had a healthy, nutritious breakfast.”

“So did I!” He says, hotly. “The blueberry muffin had fruit in it, croissants are glazed with egg so that’s protein, and I had a slice of honey on toast too just because I felt like I’d have to keep my energy up today--”

You are constantly impressed by how he manages to consume all of this sugar without going into overdrive – then again, maybe that does explain a lot about him.

“I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be doing today,” you admit to him. “I mean, I know I’m here to cheer on the kids and stuff, but I don’t know what my role’s supposed to be--”

“Oh!” He comes around and begins to walk out of the classroom, beckoning you to follow him. “Didn’t I tell you? They told me ages ago--” He did not tell you. You don’t know why you find this a surprise. “You’re gonna be in charge of the refreshments table for the first half of the morning – Yuta, you know, the other teacher’s aid, he’ll relieve you for the second half so you can cheer us on and help me a bit. Not that I’ll need it! It’s not a hard job, just be polite to anyone who needs to use it, most of ‘em bring their own lunches and snacks but we find that it’s always good to have a table with some extras – especially when it’s so hot outside!”

“You didn’t,” you say, but you follow him anyway. You have learnt by now that the most you’ll get from Gojo is a shrug and an airy ‘sorry’. And you suppose, in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t so bad. It’s not like you needed to have time to stop and prepare yourself to give people a polite smile and ask them if they’d like you to pour them a glass of water.

The two of you spill out into the grounds of the school, which is already full of excited students and proud parents. You recognise a few of them – your face heats up as you see Nanami forcibly pressing a bottle of sunscreen into Yuji’s hands, and as the two of you walk past Geto who is tying back Mimiko and Nanako’s hair, ensuring the team hats that the students are all wearing sit neatly on their heads.

There’s a man stood with Maki and Mai who you assume is their father; a blond with a sneering face and a presence that makes you feel like you shouldn’t even be looking at him. Maki has her arms crossed, her chin jutting forward – the two of them are clearly involved in some kind of argument. Even as you watch, some other men are walking towards him with their heads bowed, like he’s something special.

You vaguely recall that you’ve heard some tell about the Zenins being a very rich, very old, very respected family. Judging from the way he carries himself and the way people keep looking at him, you think that must be it.

“Is that Maki and Mai’s dad?” You ask, curiously, as you’re pushed past him towards a collection of tables beneath a bright yellow awning. Gojo makes a noise that sounds like a sigh.

“Yep,” he says, sounding short. There’s some kind of history there, you think. “That’s Naoya Zenin. Better for you to avoid him, if you can – he’s not the kind of guy you want to cross, y’know?”

“But Maki’s--”

“Absolutely nothing like him,” Gojo deposits you in front of a table heaped with water jugs, ice cubes and plastic cups. “Really.”

You wrinkle your nose as you look around. At least everyone else seems happy – excited, buzzing with energy and the promise of an exciting day ahead. You can’t help but worry about Maki’s expression, though. She had looked like her and her father were having an argument that had been going on for months--

Gojo waves at you as he jogs across the field, moving surprisingly quickly for a man who ate nothing but sugar for his breakfast. You watch him go, unable to stop a smile forming on your face as he pauses by Maki and Mai. He slaps a hand onto Maki’s shoulder and says something with a bright grin that she seems to respond to with a smile, turning to follow him. Her father’s eyes narrow, as he spits something that even you can work out is venomous at the retreating backs of one of his daughters. He sighs as he says something else to Mai, a smile almost tugging at the corners of his mouth as his attention shifts back to her.

It’s clear who the golden child is there, then.

You try and shake your thoughts away from Naoya Zenin and his two girls and concentrate on the place that you’ve been given, reminding yourself that even if it doesn’t seem like a big role, you all have to work hard to make sure that today is a success. Your students have been practising and getting excited for this event for weeks, and you want all of the parents to be as proud of their students as you are.

You have a good view from the refreshments table of everything that’s going on. You watch a few of the races, a few cheering displays from the other classes to the beat of the drums – and when kids run up to you, sweaty and panting, you hand them a plastic cup full of cool water and they thank you as if you harvested it from a spring yourself instead of merely pouring it out.

Some parents ask you politely who you are, and you tell them with a smile and a bright look, hoping that you being friendly and polite will get back to other people. A few of them exchange looks when they hear that you’re attached to Gojo’s class; the man has a reputation that follows him everywhere. You give out oranges and other pieces of fruit to some of the students who need an extra sugar boost, or the ones who have a bandage wrapped around their knee or grazes from falls that have recently been cleaned. Shoko is busy today, and you often see her direct these injured children to you as a rest stop, and so their parents can find them easily.

You pause for a moment as the names are called for a relay race, and you hear Maki and Mai being summoned. This is the first race that they’re taking part in – if their team wins this one, they’ll qualify for the final this afternoon. You can see Gojo lifting his arms and hollering and hear his loud, excited voice even with all of the other people crowding into the school grounds to watch, and despite yourself you feel a smile spread over your face.

You’re still smiling when you hear a scoff.

You turn around to see what the fuss is – only to see Naoya Zenin, holding a plastic cup of water as if it’s offended him mortally. Seeing you looking at him, his lip curls.

“Is this tap water?” He asks you. He has a curious accent; slow, drawling, and clearly much superior to your own. It’s not an accent that Maki and Mai have inherited – and as he raises one eyebrow, the sun catching the rings in his ears, you find yourself glad of it. “Well?”

“I think so,” you say. You are on edge. He peers into it, and sighs.

“Don’t you have anything better? Cell-gen or Tennensui or even I LOHAS, at least?” He speaks to you slowly, like you’re a child, or as if he’s not sure whether a peasant like you would even know the names of any bottled water brands. You can’t stand being talked down to, and you curl your hand into a fist as you say, trying to keep yourself polite;

“I’m sorry, Sir. There’s just this.”

“You’d think with the money pumped in-- fine.” He sighs, taking a sip of the water, his face scrunching in displeasure at – you don’t know. The disgusting taste of tap water, you suppose. You try not to look at the bob of his throat as he swallows. Everything about this man seems to be unpleasant except the way he looks.

You take your own cup of water, just to quell some of the dryness that has made itself known in your throat at interacting with him.

The cheering gets a little quieter, and you turn to see what’s happened. As it turns out, all that’s actually happened is Gojo has stopped putting forth his own shouts to the fray, his eyes focussed on you and Naoya, a look that you think is almost sympathy spread across his face. You see that the race is about to begin, and you don’t look at Naoya as you say;

“You’re Maki and Mai’s father, aren’t you? Their first race is about to start. Maki’s been training really hard, I think she’ll pip it for us—”

A dark presence at your shoulder, and a sneering, uppity drawl.

“I gather you’re the teaching aid I’ve been hearing so much about from everyone.” he says. It does not sound like a compliment. “Maki has really found you . . . encouraging.” He says it like it’s a dirty word.

You force yourself to remain cheerful, and not ask him what the fuck his problem is.

“Maki’s really talented,” you say. “Mai’s fast, too – they’re both really good representatives for the class--”

Naoya snorts.

“They should be on the sidelines,” he says, coolly. “Supporting the men. Not running. Not getting all sweaty and hot and messing up their hair and their pretty faces.” He shakes his head. “It’s unwomanly, and if Maki listened to a word I’d said, she wouldn’t be doing it.”

“Mai is doing it too,” you point out, hating yourself for getting involved in this. But you just can’t let him stand there and be such an asshole, spewing his narrow-minded ideas when there are impressionable girls around.

“Mai’s already agreed that if they win this race, she’ll ask one of the boys to switch in for her. I’ve sorted it with the principal. It’s not ladylike for her to do any more than she has to. She’s not going to get a husband in good standing based on her athletic prowess--”

Oh, this is too far. You’re seething, though you’re trying to keep your respectable face on. You’re at work, you’re at work, you’re at work--

“Perhaps there are some other things they consider more important than finding a husband, at the age of twelve?”

Naoya’s laugh is nasty, mocking – and you hate that there’s something in it that sends a curl of heat right through you, blooming between your thighs.

“The younger a girl learns her place,” he says, his voice very slow. “The better it is and easier it is for a man to be assured she’ll do her duties. I don’t see a ring on your finger, Miss – I’d hate for them to end up working some dead-end little job just because they don’t have anyone to cook and clean for--”

Nope.

You can’t take it any longer.

You turn and you throw the cup of ‘shitty tap water’ in your hand right over Naoya Zenin’s stupid, smug, asshole face.

2.

Gojo, for what you think must be one of the first time in his life, looks uncomfortable.

“I didn’t know you were going to throw water on him,” he tries to say, weakly. “Look, we all hate him, but . . . ugh. This is so frustrating! I hate all of this bureaucracy bullshit--”

It turns out that Naoya Zenin’s family – and Naoya Zenin himself – donate rather a lot of money to the school for such functions as the one you’re all currently attending. It turns out that nobody wants to piss off the bank-roll that’s keeping their gym maintained, their events fancy and expensive, the library well-stocked – and you get that! You really do! You know that school budgets are overstretched already, and that donors like the Zenin family are something to be gently courted and kept around for as long as humanly possible.

You just wish that the big donor for this school was anybody else.

“I didn’t know all of this,” you say, reasonably. “I know I shouldn’t have thrown a drink over him, but Mr. Gojo--”

“How many times? You can call me Satoru.”

“If you’d heard the way he was talking--”

“Oh, believe me,” Gojo’s full lips press into a thin line. “I know exactly what Naoya Zenin’s modus operandi is. Let me guess: he was all on at you about how Maki’s not a proper young lady, how the boys should be doing the hard work, how he’s trying to make sure his daughters get a proper start and a rich husband – ugh.” Gojo tugs at his shirt, clearly frustrated. “I’ve had it way too much.”

“Yeah,” you say. You find yourself sighing too.

“The Vice Principal’s in his back pocket,” Gojo says, taking a seat on top of the desk that you’re currently sat behind, cooling off some of your anger – Principal Masamichi had sent you inside to calm you down, and Naoya himself had been escorted into the building by Vice Principal Gakuganji to dry off, all the while saying placating things to calm down the school’s meal ticket. “They want you to apologise to him.”

“I suppose I should,” you say miserably. “But it’s gonna feel like swallowing gravel.”

“I certainly don’t blame you,” Gojo says, with a smile, trying to cheer you up. “Hell, I know some of the other staff members have been dying to do it--”

“Ugh,” you bury your face in your hands. “This is a horrible impression in front of the whole school.”

He pats you gently on the shoulder.

“Hey,” he says, “when this is all over, I’ll take you out for ice cream. I know the best places in the city, and they all know me too!”

You summon a smile for him. He’s not so bad, really – sure, he’s chaotic and thinks too highly of himself for his own good, but . . . at least he’s nothing like Naoya. You stand up and pull down your shorts, wriggling your tank top down to cover you as much as you possibly can. You feel a bit exposed, not in heels and stockings and a blouse.

“I should get this over with, then.”

Gojo has too much to do back on the field to escort you to Naoya himself, so he tells you that Naoya’s in the Vice Principal’s office and gives you another friendly squeeze on the shoulder.

“Good luck,” he tells you. “Remember: ice cream at the end of this!”

“Ice cream at the end of this,” you repeat, as you watch him jog out of the corridor. You’re almost tempted to tell him off for running in the halls – Gojo moves so fast that sometimes you lose track of him entirely – but you push back the urge. Gojo is being decent today. You’re thankful to him for sitting with you and helping you calm – and also, evidently, for being one of the things that keeps Maki’s fighting spirit inflamed.

You stand there for a moment, in front of the door to the office, balling up your courage tight and hot in your stomach. You do not want to have to apologise to Naoya, but you know it’s for the best. The sooner you can put this sorry incident behind you and try and avoid Naoya at every single function from herein, the better – so you tap hard on the door and wait until you hear his slow, drawling voice.

“You can come in.”

At first, you’re surprised to see that he’s alone in there – sitting in front of the desk in a comfortable chair, clearly at ease with everything. His arms are sprawled over the back of it, his legs wide apart. You chastise yourself for thinking it immediately – of course the vice principal is busy right now, of course he trusts someone as well-known to the school as Naoya to be alone in his office.

It’s hard not to think about every other time you’ve found yourself alone with the parents of your students, though. A heat crawls onto your face at the very thought of it. You find Naoya repellent, disgusting – but then again, he’s also (and you’re not being glib about it) handsome. You’d be lying if you’d said you sometimes hadn’t ignored a man’s personality for a night in favour of a face and a body that had drawn you in.

Not now.

You close the door behind you, clasping your hands together so you don’t clench your fists, and bow your head so that Naoya can’t tell that you’re grinding your teeth.

“I’m sorry for letting my emotions get the better of me, Sir,” you say, though it really does feel like you are gnashing ice to get the words out. “I should have been more polite. I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

“Mmm,” Naoya says, and you peek up at him through your lashes to see that he’s clearly enjoying having you at his mercy, his lips tilted into a smirk. His hair is still a little wet at the ends, but all that you throwing the water over him seems to have actually done is made his shirt cling tight to a surprisingly chiselled chest and stomach. Asshole. Fuck him. “Yes. I should hope not.”

You straighten yourself up, still a little stiff.

“I hope you can forgive me,” you say. “I . . . I am still learning my place in the establishment.”

He laughs, low and soft.

“Your place?” He asks, the words dangerously sweet on his tongue. “Yes. I can see you still need some help on that one.”

His eyes crawl over you slowly, dragging up and down the length of you, lingering over where your shorts cling to your hips and the tank top hugs your chest. You resist the urge to shift – you don’t want to let him know that he’s making you uncomfortable. You know, though, that he can sense that you have gone hot and prickly all over. He has that smug air; the one men who know what they do to people always seem to have cultivated. The knowledge that they are good-looking.

You suppose for Naoya, it’s the heady combination of knowing he is good-looking and powerful and rich, and you breathe through the force of all of his attention concentrated on you.

“Seeing as you’re still . . . new to all of this,” he says, bringing an arm forward to tap his long fingers on the desk. “And you did apologise prettily, I suppose I can forgive this transgression – just this once, darling.”

The pet name crawls up your spine like ice. He’s still staring at you, enjoying the view like you’re a piece of meat on a market stall he’s considering purchasing.

“Th-thank you, Sir,” you say, hating yourself a little bit but hating him all the more.

“You know,” he says. “You’re not exactly bad-looking.” He stands, rising to his full height, stretching out, frustratingly comfortable in this environment when you feel like a deer who’s about to turn tail and flee at any moment. “You’d be much better off at home raising children than here.” He wrinkles his nose. “Working for a living.” The way that he says the words makes it clear that he considers this a task far beneath the likes of him.

He’s moving towards you now, and your breath seems to get stuck in your throat as he’s suddenly in front of you, stalking elegantly. You want to snap back something about how you’d rather work for a living than have to rely on the whims of a man, much less a man like him – but as he grabs your chin to tilt it up to the light, you find that the words seem to die in your throat.

“Hmm,” he says. “Not bad at all.” He makes an approving noise that sends a flutter right through you, making you dully aware of a pounding ache between your thighs. He leans a little further in, until he’s so close that you can see the pale colours dancing in his eyes, the way the light hits his high cheekbones. “You’re trembling with rage, you know. It’s adorable.”

“You’re very easy to be angry at,” you half-breathe, half-hiss, and Naoya’s smirk is going to be burnt into your memory forever and ever.

“If you’re so angry,” he murmurs, “I can certainly think of a way I wouldn’t mind helping you work out your aggression.”

You shouldn’t do it. But your heart is beating a frantic rhythm against your ribcage and your breath is short, and part of you wants to wrestle him to the ground and dominate him so that he can have a taste of his own medicine. You grab a handful of his hair and drag him down into a bruising kiss.

3.

Oh, and he kisses back. His mouth is soft against yours, but the kiss itself is rough – both of your tongues fighting for dominance, both of you trying to nip at one another’s bottom lip and seize the victory. You’re practically shoved backwards so that your ass catches the edge of the Vice Principal’s desk, even as you tug hard on Naoya’s hair to tell him that you’re not going to be overpowered by him so easily. You feel the feral curve of his grin as he pulls back just enough to whisper;

“Oh? You really think you’re going to get the better of me? You’re cute--” and then you push his shoulders hard, and he stumbles and falls back onto the chair he started this whole escapade sat in. You reach down to tug off your shirt, dropping it onto the floor beside you – Naoya looks for a moment like he’s going to stand back up and resume trying to wrest back the situation into his favour, but as he sees the slight bounce of your breasts in your bra he seems to decide it would be more interesting and beneficial for him to stay exactly where he is and watch you disrobe.

So you do, wriggling your shorts down past your hips – he lets out a low groan at that, as you stand before him in nothing but your underwear with your fists clenched on your hips.

You feel surprisingly powerful like this. It definitely makes a difference from all of the other ways you’ve felt when you’ve been alone with somebody’s father--

“Take off your shirt,” you tell him, and you’re almost surprised at the imperious tone in your own voice. “It’s your turn--”

He raises an eyebrow at you, but he does as you ask. Long fingers curling around the hem of his shirt, taking his sweet time pulling it off his body – and yes, it’s a nice one. Nice, too, are his thighs as he undoes his trousers that probably cost more than you make in a year and pushes them down, sitting before you in nothing but his equally as expensive-looking underwear – an impressive looking bulge outline pressed against the fabric. Even as he looks at you, he takes hold of himself through it and squeezes it, his grin crooked.

Your body does a throb of need.

“Oh,” you say, feigning surprise. “I didn’t realise you were so needy already--”

“Like you’re not dripping,” he says sharply, his eyes zeroing in on the space between your thighs. “Don’t flatter yourself. I can see the damp patch from here.”

“Who’s to say that’s for you?” You walk towards him. You can’t help but feel powerful and in control at how his eyes follow you with rapt attention, how his tongue darts out to swipe across his bottom lip as he drinks in your form in front of him.

“Please,” he says. “As if there’s anyone here more deserving.”

He reaches forward and his hands settle on your hips, dragging you closer to him – hot fingertips brushing your waist, the bare skin beneath your bra before he’s unclipping that too and your breasts are bare. He breathes in deeply.

“Pity,” he says, though his voice is thick with his own arousal. “You’re such a cute little thing, if only you didn’t open your mouth--”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t mind me opening my mouth to do something else,” you breathe, and you reach down to ghost your fingers over his cock through the tent in his underwear. He hisses through his teeth, his eyes half-lidded.

“Don’t just say it, princess,” he says. “If you’re going to run your mouth, the least you could do is make it do something useful--”

“I’d rather die than get on my knees for you.” Your mouth is very close to his neck – to punctuate the statement, you give his earlobe a tug with your teeth, and he practically groans. You’re almost straddling him on the chair, and you do not miss, either, the twitch that his cock seems to give at the tug.

It seems like for somebody who really wants to be in control, and wants women to know their place so badly, Naoya actually is rather enjoying somebody giving him a taste of his own medicine.

He grabs your underwear and pulls it down, clicking his tongue as it bunches about your knees.

“Just give into what your body wants,” he says, all saccharine sweetness in that slow, deep voice. “You’ve made a mess.”

You know you have. You can feel slick when your thighs press too close together, hot and wet between your legs. You really are practically dripping. But it’s not just from Naoya, you don’t think – it’s from the sudden power you’re feeling, the rush of being an equal participant in everything, in feeling like you have the upper hand. And not a small part, you think, is because of the adrenaline that’s coursing through your veins at the thought of putting Naoya Zenin in his place. You tip your head to the side innocently.

“What about you?” You ask, with a mean shade to the pitch of your voice. “You’re so hard it’s a wonder you’re not in pain--”

He grabs a hank of your hair with one hand whilst spreading your legs further with the other, so strong that the breath’s knocked out of you. The tip of his finger skims the outer lips of your sex, gathering your slick arousal on the pad as he growls;

“I’m still a man, darling. I see a pretty cunt to fuck and a pair of nice tits and I want to bury myself into it until the bitch remembers her place--”

“Good luck,” you breathe. “I think you’ll be the one remembering his place, here.”

He laughs breathlessly.

“Oh,” he purrs. “You’re going to be singing a different song when you’re begging me to fuck you harder.”

You give him a smile with your teeth bared; the challenge is obvious. It’s a smile that says ‘we’ll see’, even as you both tug at his underwear to pull it down and reveal what he’s been hiding beneath it.

You don’t want to admit that he’s got a pretty cock, but he has. He’s not the biggest you’ve seen, but it’s still impressive; a slight curve giving it an elegant angle that you realise with a clench will hit you exactly in the right spot when you take it inside of you.

He’s slick with his own pre-come, bubbling from the reddened slit – and as you shift forward and trap it between your thighs, he groans aloud again.

“That’s right,” he grunts, as the tip catches on your entrance and you begin to sink down upon it. “This is what you were made for, princess--”

“What?” You pant. “That would be disappointing. You barely fill me up--”

He grabs you and pulls you into another kiss as you finish off sheathing his cock inside of you – perhaps to save his pride, perhaps to muffle the noise that comes out of him, transferred into your mouth instead of his own. Whichever it is, you hate that you were right about the angle of his cock – you can feel it pressing snugly against the spongy G-spot even now, threatening you with a better time than you’d like to have.

You break the kiss to pull yourself off of him and sink back down, forcibly taking the lead and setting your own pace. You know it’s fast, you know it’s greedy – but fuck, if you aren’t boiling over with need.

You splay your hands across his shoulders, nails digging into his skin with little care to how you might mark him. You need him for leverage, as you continue to bounce up and down on his cock. Naoya tips his head back and groans, enjoying the feeling, before he remembers that you two are engaged in a battle of wits and attempts to get the better of you once more.

“I-is that,” he groans, coming to cling onto your waist and force you down on him with even more strength, helping you along in the too-fast rhythm of your thrusts and bounces. “The best you’ve got?”

“Come on,” you say breathlessly, as his cock continues to stroke that spot. You can hear the sounds of him sliding in and out of you, shamefully loud – too, you can hear the sounds of your skin slapping against one another, echoing and mixing with the breathless pants and the attempts to trade barbed insults. “Y-you’re making me do all the work?”

“Fucking pity you’ve got such a nice cunt,” Naoya snarls, his hips flexing, somehow managing to hit you deeper even as you’re bouncing on the balls of your feet and straddling him on the chair. His words are starting to sound very far away. “You should be in my fucking bed, keeping it warm, better off than wasting away here--”

Both of you are running your mouths, overwhelmed by how close one another’s bodies are and the intense heat radiating from you. There’s a frisson of electricity in the air, showering sparks, as the two of you continue to snatch words in between moans and groans and pants and whimpers--

“You’re pathetic--”

“You’re so fucking tight, I shouldn’t be surprised when you’re such a bitch--”

“F-fuck, harder, c-can’t you even keep the momentum going? You’re weak--”

“Baby girl, you’re fucking shaking – you gonna come first? Women are so predictable--”

You can feel your release hovering on the edge of your vision, blurring it as your eyes squeeze shut and you feel tears threatening to roll down your cheeks. There’s a heat inside of you that’s close to overspilling – and as you come down on him particularly hard, the head of his cock rolls over your g-spot just right, and you feel a dam inside of you break as your nails dig hard enough into his shoulders to draw blood. You bury your face into his neck so he doesn’t get the satisfaction of hearing you cry out his name, teeth worrying into his neck to leave a love-bite reminder of exactly what transpired between you two in the Vice Principal’s office.

You feel yourself twitch and tighten around him as your orgasm rocks your body, heat running through you like veins of marble. You can’t breathe – all you can do is bite, your hips chasing the final aftershocks.

Naoya is still hard inside of you as you lift yourself off him, letting his cock slip out of you as easily as butter. His own hands clench around your hips.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” He asks, his voice rough and hungry. Despite that, though, you can hear the thread of some other emotion sewn in to them – and with a shiver of delight, you realise it’s neediness. He’s been left wanting, and you’ve been handed all of the cards. “I haven’t finished.”

“And you won’t finish inside me,” you snap at him, enjoying the longing in his voice. “Ask me very nicely and I’ll finish you off with my hand.”

“Mouth,” he demands – and he grabs your cheeks, squishing them, pulling you down and reminding you of all of the power that he has even though it’s your body that’s got the advantage of the high ground. “You don’t really think I’m going to be satisfied with your hand, princess--”

“You don’t deserve it,” you spit at him, but you sink to your knees anyway.

You’re not entirely lacking in manners. You suppose you did get to come. It would be rude to just leave him like this. Especially when the whole reason you’d ended up in this office in the first place was to apologise to him politely.

“This is the perfect position for you,” he sneers, as you open your mouth and envelope the head of his cock within it. You can taste yourself on his shaft. “Fuck, that’s right – put your mouth to good use for once--”

You give him a mean, slow lick along the slit of his cock head that makes him groan in the back of his throat. He wraps his hand around the back of your neck, fingers digging into the nape so he can control you at least a little bit, pushing you a touch too far so you almost choke. You pull off it, drooling.

“Choke me again and I’ll bite,” you snarl, and he pats your cheek like you’re an obedient dog.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he says – and you narrow your eyes at him in a way that says ‘try me’ before you return to sucking at him, hollowing your cheeks. You want to do a good job. A part of you wants to make him come so hard that he regrets being an asshole to you, even though you know that’s ridiculous and not going to happen.

Still. You’re not going to back down from a challenge, so you use your tongue to play along as much of his cock as you can.

“Fuck,” Naoya breathes. “Good . . . good fuckin’ girl—”

You’ve been hearing that low, polite drawl swear and curse for what seems like hours, but that one sends another pulse of heat through you – at your heart, you can’t argue that you love being praised. You whimper against his cock, glad that the fast pace you’ve managed to establish and the wet noises of your mouth around him muffle the noise so Naoya can’t dangle it over your head.

The hand on the nape of your neck jerks, so that you’re forced to look up at him and meet his eyes proper. His hips are slamming to meet your bobs now, the noise of him fucking your mouth filling the room. His teeth dig into his bottom lip and you feel him twitch, his voice pitching--

Salt coats your tongue as he fills your mouth.

But he doesn’t let himself finish there.

He pulls out, and he pumps his cock himself two, three times – coaxing out the other ropes of come, that hit your neck and chest and breasts hot and white and glistening. You’re too surprised by it to do anything – you’d expected him to keep your mouth on him, make you swallow down everything he gave you. He seems the kind of guy who gets off on that sort of thing--

But instead, he’s sighing, relaxing back into the chair as he looks at you with lazy eyes.

“You look cute like that,” he says, his voice low and sated. “I should take a picture.”

“Fuck you,” you breathe, getting off your knees. You are so fucking thankful for the box of tissues on the Vice Principal’s desk, as you reach across and grab some to dab at yourself so you’re not sticky and disgusting for any longer than necessary.

If you leave them in his pedal waste-bin, you hope that the cleaning crew will dispose of them before the Vice Principal is even aware that they’re there. Your lip curls as you wipe your mouth. You wish you had a mint – or at least a glass of water. Even tap water would do.

For what it’s worth, Naoya seems a little agitated as he puts himself to rights too. Evidently he was not expecting you to fight back so much – he places a finger on his shoulders and scowls when he sees that you made him bleed.

“I should sue you for assault,” he says. You tap your own body, at the curve of your hips and waist.

“I’m going to bruise,” you tell him. “So I guess it would be self-defence.”

“You’re too smart for your own good,” he tells you, with narrowed eyes – and you give him another smile, one that is clearly fake, as you pull your tank top and shorts back on and re-tie your shoes.

You’re surprised as you go to leave the room and he sets a hand on the small of your back in a mocking echo of polite manners. As the two of you walk down the corridor towards the exit, he does not remove it. To the assembled crowds, you hope it will look entirely innocent – like the two of you have merely had a little chat and come to an agreement instead of heatedly fucking one another’s brains out.

You blink as you emerge out into the light, your eyes taking a moment to adjust. You see Principal Masamichi give you a sympathetic smile – and there’s Gojo, immediately charging towards you like an overprotective bear. He slows down as he sees the way that Naoya is still touching you.

“I hope everything’s alright,” he says, sounding stiffer and more formal than you usually hear. Naoya’s smile towards him is cold.

“Everything’s fine,” he says, “Perfect. You apologised beautifully, didn’t you, Miss?” Naoya looks down his nose at you, a conceited smile on his mouth. “I’ve decided to overlook this little transgression.” He leaves a pause, and you swallow as you realise what he’s waiting for.

“Thank you so much, Mr Zenin, Sir,” you say. Again, it feels like you have to force the words out through a mouthful of marbles – but they make it out of your mouth.

“Oh, don’t be so formal, Miss,” he smirks. “You can call me Naoya. I look forward to seeing you again – soon, I hope.”

“You’re just in time,” Gojo says coldly. “Maki just won the final race of the day for our team.”

Naoya’s gaze is sharp as he looks at him. His lip curls. You can tell that both of them want to do something – maybe have an out-and-out fist fight on the field. But Naoya manages to get a grip (you’re glad about it; you’re not entirely sure whether Gojo would have been able to hold back) and turns on his heel to stalk away.

He does give your ass one last squeeze, though, that you desperately hope that Gojo doesn’t notice.

Gojo’s shoulders stay set, his chin thrust proudly forward, until Naoya has been swallowed up by the crowd at large – and then, he turns to you. For the first time, you see his normally humorous eyebrows draw in with worry.

“You look upset,” he says. “Sweaty. You smell terrible. Do you need a minute?”

Your shoulders fall. Gojo gives you a sympathetic pat on the back.

“It’s a rite of passage to deal with someone from the Zenin family,” he says. “You’re just unlucky it happened to actually be Naoya today. He usually sends an underling or an uncle or someone to pretend to care about the girls.”

Wow. You sure hope the rite of passage has gone differently for everyone else.

“Why d’you think he came here today, then?” You ask Gojo. He looks at you strangely, a spark of something you can’t quite read in his eyes.

“Well,” he says, “he’s related to the Fushiguros, you know. I heard he and Megumi’s father have met up recently for drinks – it ended in a fight, of course, it always does. But maybe he expected Megumi’s dad to be here too?” He shrugs. “He can never resist an opportunity to relish over someone in his family winning, even if he doesn’t want Maki doing anything unladylike. Megumi’s dad isn’t here, though, so looks like that backfired on him--”

Your face feels like it’s on fire as you think about Megumi’s father fucking you on Gojo’s desk – and the lingering way that Naoya had said that he’d heard so much about you from everyone.

[iliumheightnights]

One With Nature | Paul Lahote x Male Reader

Fandom: Twilight Pairing: Paul Lahote x Male Reader Prompt: How would Paul react if his boyfriend/mate/crush was an Ecopath? Meaning he telepathically hears and connects to Nature. Like the rocks, the ocean, the sky, the stars, the trees, animals, etc. all have a soul or voice that he can hear.

AN: Hey guys! Sorry for being quiet recently. I've hit a really bad/big down slump and have just not been having a good time. Hopefully this will slowly get me back into things! This is a prompt/ask that @echoesystem asked for! Hope you enjoy!

…

M/n saw on the beach of La Push, his hands pushed into the mix of sand and rocks. With his eyes closed, he took in the smell of the ocean air and felt the squashed sand between his fingers. As he took in the vibrations, he could hear the whales swimming deep below the waves. It was all just...so relaxing and calming to him.

They’re coming.

The voices said to him. Opening his eyes he heard the shouting and excited calls of the familiar voices. Soon M/n felt strong arms wrap around him. “Hey, sorry for keeping you waiting. You’re not cold are you?”

“No Paul I’m alright. It’s rather relaxing sitting out here. Calming.”

Paul chuckled and nuzzled his head into his boyfriend’s shoulder. M/n could feel that there was something bothering him. He could feel his boyfriend’s emotions, angry, nervous, questioning. Something was going on.

“You okay?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I just...you feel tense. Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing...we just have a meeting with the leaches later today.”

“What? Why?” That was the big question. The vampires and Pack have been enemies for ages, sure they had a treaty but why have a meeting unless something was going on? “Paul, what aren’t you telling me?”

Paul looked at him with a frown. “I’m sorry M/n. It’s pack business, I can’t say anything.” M/n could see Paul hated keeping the information from him but that didn’t help put his mind at ease. “Just know...the pack...I will protect you.” M/n hugged Paul a bit tighter, if not to comfort him, then to comfort himself.

…

M/n sat on the porch of the Pack House. The boys had left not too long ago to meet with the Cullens. None of the boys told him anything about what was going on and when he asked Emily, she hadn’t even known they were meeting with them. What was being kept secret?

With a sigh, M/n stood up and walked over to a tree near the house. “Well...let’s see what we can find out.” Placing his hand on the tree’s trunk he whispered to it. “Please. Help me find out what’s being kept from me.” Like the tree was taking pity on him, M/n’s mind began travelling through the roots.

The trees rushed past him as his mind travelled. A few animals fly past as well. Soon everything was slowing down and he took in the sight in front of him. The pack in their wolf forms were with the Cullens. M/n sat on a branch and took watched what they were doing. Luckily none of them would notice him since only his mind travelled, his body was back at the Pack House.

The one vampire, Carlisle, was talking about something...newborns. They were talking about how an army of these newborns was on their way. That’s why the Pack was here, to fight this army. Now that M/n knew about what their secret was he’d have to talk to Paul about it. He could help with them.

He continued to watch them as they trained. Taking in all the tips that the Cullens were giving the pack, they’d be useful to him too. Soon the meeting broke up and the pack and Cullens went their separate ways for now. M/n let his mind get reeled back to his body back at the Pack House. Opening his eyes he gave the tree a pat. “Thanks for your help. I appreciate it a lot.”

Going back to the porch, he awaited the return of the Pack. It didn’t take too long for them to come home. M/n watched as the boys walked out of the woods Sam looked serious while the rest joked around with each other.

Once Paul caught sight of him his smile grew even larger and the boy came rushing to him, pulling him into a hug. “Sorry for taking so long. Hope you weren’t too bored.” M/n smiled and hugged him back. “No not at all...um...let’s have a talk.”

M/n could feel that Paul had stiffened up a bit. “Is it about anything bad?” M/n chuckled and shook his head. “Maybe for you, but no. Not terrible. Come on.” He pulled Paul along with him into the forest just a bit more so they were away from the house and the others but still in the safety of being near them.

“So....newborns?”

Paul froze hearing that. “W-what? What do you mean? Were you following us?”

M/n sighed and pressed a hand near a tree. “No..but yes. It’s complicated.”

Paul’s face turned to a questionable one. “How did you hear about it? We would have known you were there.” With that M/n told Paul about everything. All about him being an Ecopath and what his powers can do. Paul was shocked, to say the least.

“I-w-why didn’t you tell me! This is so cool! You can talk with plants and animals!”

“I know, I can even hear you guys in wolf form.”

“That’s so freaking cool. We should tell the guys!” Paul excitedly started heading back to the house.

“Yeah! But first...let me help you guys.”

Paul stopped in his tracks. He knew exactly what M/n was trying to ask. “What? No. I can’t let you get hurt. Just stay here while we handle it.”

“Paul, I can help. Let me help.”

“No.” Paul didn’t say anything else as he walked back to the house, leaving his boyfriend behind. M/n knew Paul would say that, he just figured he’d give him the benefit of asking first. Now he’d take things into his own hands.

…

The day of the fight arrived. M/n could tell the entire pack was anxious. Their joking expressions were gone, replaced with stone-faced looks. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Finally, Sam stood up.

“Let’s go.”

Like that the pack began filing out of the house. Paul stayed back and gave M/n a look before walking over to him and pulling him into an embrace. “Please stay here. It’ll be okay. Stay safe.” Paul gave M/n a kiss before rushing out of the house and shifting into his wolf.

M/n smiled and whispered, “Stay safe.” Once he thought the pack was far enough, M/n left the house and sat on the lawn of the house. “Alright...here we go.” Pushing his hands into the soil, he began speaking. “Spirits of nature, of the earth, air and sea. Hear me now. I need your help. Please.”

Finally, the pack had arrived at the fight. They were quick to jump into action and tore into the newborns, just in time to help the Cullens. Paul would normally enjoy ripping into leaches and a part of him still is...but he was also worried about M/n. He needed to finish this to get back to him.

“Paul look out!” He heard Embry call out but it was too late.

Paul felt a strong grip on him. One of the newborns had taken advantage of his distraction and got hold of him. Paul wasn’t sure if he was going to get out or not and he thought of M/n again, how they had fought before. How he never apologized. Then he thought about what would happen to M/n if he did die there.

Just as soon as Paul had felt that tight grip on him, he felt the release. Taking a breath, Paul turned to see the newborn get lifted into the air by a large vine. There was a small rumble and another vine burst out of the ground grabbing the other end of the vampire before both Vine’s tore them in half.

Paul looked around and noticed more vines shooting out of the ground along with animals coming out of the forest. If today couldn’t get any stranger it just did. It didn’t take long for Paul to realize what was causing this. “M/n.”

If anyone of the wolves were back at the house, they would have seen M/n in a deep state of meditation. Leaves, twigs and lights swirling around him as he communed with the nature spirits and watched over the battle. He might not be there, but he didn’t need to be to help.

Who knows, maybe he’d need to do some more explaining when they got back and Paul would probably have some choice words but he’ll deal with that later. Now he’s just going to make sure his family survives this.

For Paul, when he got back to M/n he was going to apologize for the fight and show his boyfriend just how much he loved him. But first, he needed to finish this fight.