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anactualcaseofthetruth · 4 years

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Friends Can Break Your Heart Too - Chapter 4 << ao3 link

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Story summary: Mia Flores flees to Santo Padre for one reason and one reason only: her godfather and the man who raised her, Bishop Losa. The last thing she expects is for Angel Reyes to come into her chaotic life and just maybe be the one thing that starts to make sense.

Chapter summary: Angel and Mia settle a bet, and then face some harsh truths in the morning.

RATED: SMUTTY 🔥❤❗

Chapter 4:

It was quite possibly the stupidest thing she had ever said to date.

Well, she thinks, given the current situation, perhaps agreeing to this is worse, but she’s never been one to stand down from a good bet. It helps that she wanted to prove him wrong, to wipe the cocky smirk off his face when he suggested it. He just sounded so sure she’d lose, so confident in himself that she wanted to knock him down a peg.

In retrospect, Mia should have known. There’s a reason Angel is so confident, why he wears that smirk so well.

She turns her head to the nightstand where her phone sits, the timer counting down. Fifteen minutes. That all she needs to hold out for, fifteen more minutes. She nods to herself—she can do fifteen minutes; she’d held out for three sets of it so far. One more is no problem.

“Don’t worry about the time, querida,” Angel insists, his voice low and smooth as if trying to calm her when his actions are doing the exact opposite of that. “I’m not taking an L on this.”

“Yes, you are,” she moans when his middle fingers hook inside her just right.

“Fifteen minutes is a long time,” Angel reminds her as he maneuvers his thumb to rub her clit in slow, soft circles.

Mia squeezes her eyes closed, her hands gripping onto his sheets with such intensity she’s surprised they haven’t ripped and bites her lip to keep from moaning louder.

“Nah, baby, don’t do that, I wanna hear the noises you make,” he encourages and the rhythm of his fingers inside her pickup speed, and she knows he’s doing it on purpose, so she cries out like he wants. Sometimes it’s easier to give him what he wants than fight him, it placates him in the moment. Besides, she’s playing the long game here.

“Fu-uck,” she heaves as her legs start to shake, a tell-tale sign she’s about to cum, so Angel’s fingers withdraw from her center, leaving her on edge. “No, no, no,” she whines, but knows she only has herself to blame.

She’s the one who agreed to the damn bet, to give him free reign for an hour to do whatever he wanted sexually, within reason, to make her ‘ugly cry’ as she mentioned almost two weeks prior. It started out fun, at least for her, seeing as he gave her four orgasms in about thirty minutes, but then he’d started a new tactic—torture. He’s been edging her more than fifteen minutes now, making her almost cum three more times, and she hates it, hates him, hates this whole bet and herself for making that dumbass comment two weeks ago.

“Before you look again, I’ll tell you now, thirteen minutes,” he murmurs as his wet hand slides up her body, the other entangled in her loose curls. “I still have time.”

Mia can only nod as she tries to bring herself down, to keep her breathing even, but she feels warm, so, so warm, like she has a fever, and touches her forehead to check.

“Here,” Angel offers and grabs the bottle of water from the nightstand and signals for her to sit up a bit, his hand moving with her head and tilts the bottle to her lips.

She greedily takes a few gulps before dropping her head back to the pillow, letting the coolness of the liquid wash over her. “Thank you.”

“Twelve and a half minutes,” he responds and settles himself back along side her, his fingers returning to her core and starts to play with her outer lips. “Fuck, baby, I hope you know how much I enjoy your pussy,” he mentions as he drags a ringed finger over her clit, making her shudder.

The more they have sex and continue to get comfortable with each other, the more Angel talks during it. Sometimes its sweet, others it’s filthy, but it always makes her melt, and the last thing she needs right now is more heat.

“Do you know what a pretty pussy you have?” he questions while shuffling down her body so his face lines up with it.

Mia doesn’t answer, just stares at the ceiling and tries to think of anything else other than Angel’s velvety voice and honey-dipped words.

“Hey,” he clips and slaps her entrance with his ring-clad knuckles causing her hips to buck and a mewl to escape from her lips. “I want an answer, mi dulce.”

“No,” she breathes and blinks, focusing on the figure-eight paint on the ceiling.

“Well, it is,” he tells her as his head dips down to her mound and licks up her slit. “You’ve ruined mi dulce for me because your pussy is so sweet, it’ll only ever apply to you now.” His tongue flicks at her clit as his fingers spread the lips. “My favorite pussy,” he murmurs in between licks.

Mia throws her head back against the pillow, her entire back arching as Angel buries his face between her legs. Her hands thread into his hair to keep him in place, the inky curls soft and free of the hair gel he usually styles it with. “Yes, please, there, right there,” she pleads as her toes curl against his wide shoulders.

She tries to hide the tremble in her legs, the shake of her core, but it’s useless. He has fingers inside her, he can feel her body betraying her. He pulls his mouth from her pink heat, his beard covered with her wetness and she wants to kick and scream but won’t give him the satisfaction.

It’s a fine line between kicking and screaming, and ugly crying. She will not succumb, even if it is the fourth time he’d edged her.

But that doesn’t mean she isn’t willing to snap at him. “Just fucking get inside me already, I’m so sick of-” she stops when his free hand leaves her breast to cover her mouth.

“I don’t give a shit what you’re sick of,” he informs her, his voice low and firm, and his hand slides from her mouth to her throat. Being manhandled by Angel doesn’t scare her—in fact, before Jay it was a turn on, and now with Angel, with that trust continually building between them, it is starting to again, even if in baby steps. “I’m in charge for seven more minutes, aren’t I?”

Mia can only nod as her core clenches on nothing, and she hates being so completely empty when she knows how wonderfully he fits inside her.

“Good girl, now,” he goes on, which doesn’t help her situation. “I’m not inside of you because I know this pussy, my favorite pussy, and I know exactly what you’ll do.”

“What?” Mia asks while trying not to focus on his fingers slipping inside her.

“You’ll grip me so fucking tight I’ll fuck you until we both cum, and then time will be up, and you’ll win,” he answers. “I tried giving you multiple orgasms, all it did was make you sated and sleepy. That’s not what I’m going for here, remember?”

She nods, her body temperature high again and her heart pounding in her core as his two fingers tap her G-spot in a rhythm that has her hips going too.

“What am I going for? Tell me, baby,” he urges before latching his mouth over one of her breasts, his tongue sucking and massaging.

“To make me ugly cry,” she says and feels him nod against her chest.

“That’s right,” Angel confirms, shifting so his tongue can lave over the other nipple. Once it’s been given enough attention he pulls away and blows on it, making her shiver. “And I think my best plan is to play with you until you crack.”

“Five minutes,” she sighs when his fingers finally pull out of her.

“I know how much time I have,” he clips in return and slips his ringed finger in her slit, the ring nudging at her clit. “You know, you should be nervous.”

“What? Why?” she asks, breathless, as his fingers pick up pace at her clit.

“The less time I have, the more desperate I get,” he admits and it’s like a flip switches—his middle fingers slip back inside her, pumping her at an alarming pace while his other fingers start rubbing her clit, hard. “Maybe if I’d edged you from the beginning, but I don’t got time for that,” he goes on, his voice calm despite his frantic movements.

“Don’t stop,” Mia pleads, unashamed that she’s begging, and Angel seems to like it because a shit-eating grin overtakes his lips. “Please, keep going, let me cum, please, Angel, baby.”

“Ugly cry and I’ll do more than let you come, mi dulce,” he vows, but all she can do is shake her head as the assault continues on her body.

Mia mewls and moans and pleads and begs, but Angel is relentless. She tries closing her eyes, thinking of something else, but it’s impossible when his fingers are playing her like an instrument he’s perfected.

“I know you want to, baby, I know you’re close,” he encourages. “Just let the tears fall and I’ll make you come so hard, and so much, dulce, I promise.”

She shakes her head, her spine arching as she feels a rush of warmth at her core. “Fuck, Angel,” she pants. “Something—something—” she tries to warn him as she explodes literally just as the timer goes off. Tears spring from her eyes and something practically shoots out of her entrance and completely covers Angel’s chest, leaving him dripping wet.

“Dios Mio,” he swears, his voice thick with want.

With her entire body shaking, Mia lifts her head to look him in the eye. “If you don’t fuck me right now, I swear to Go—” shes cut off with his mouth on hers and it’s only a few seconds before he’s fully sheathed inside her.

She’s not even sure she can come again, but trembles at the feel of him all the same as he pounds into her, chasing his own release. His arms are mounted beside her head as he rests his forehead on hers, their eyes locked on one another. He’s saying such filthy things with his talented tongue, and she knows he’s close.

He was close before he even entered her.

Even though she wasn’t sure she’d come again, she feels herself being pushed over the edge once more, reaching her high right along side him.

Angel pulls out just as her walls flutter around him, and uses his hand to pump his release out on her belly, the white ropes hitting her stomach as he grunts with each jerk of his hand.

“Fuck,” he croaks and practically collapses on top of her, apparently not caring that their collective juices are creating more of a mess between their sweat slick bodies. To be honest, she doesn’t care either, likes the closeness of his body.

After they’ve both caught their breath, Mia lifts her arms to wrap around his shoulders, her fingers lightly scratching the valley between his shoulder blades.

“Dios mio!” he repeats against her collarbone a few moments later. “If you want me to say it, I’ll say it. You won. But this is war and that was just one battle.”

She can’t stop the laugh that bubbles up her throat, but also doesn’t want to. “You think I’m going to agree to this again? Especially since I won?”

Angel lifts his head to look her in the eye. She doesn’t like the playful glint it has. “If you want to squirt again, you will.”

“Oh, my God, shut up!” she exclaims as her hands move to cover her face in embarrassment.

“You’ve never done that before, have you?” he asks, but all she does is whine in her hands in return. “You haven’t! That makes it so much better.”

“You’re a jerk and I don’t like you anymore,” she mumbles while he pulls her hands away. “No, I—I’ve never done that before, and I don’t know—“ she’s stopped midsentence when his lips press against hers, and it goes on longer than she expects, and tongues are involved.

“That,” he starts as he pulls away, then rethinks it and kisses her once more, “was so fucking hot, mi dulce.”

“Really?” she asks tentatively.

His face breaks out into a glorious smile. “Yes. Fuck, yes,” he insists. “That happening is worth me losing, even if it was a cheap win on your part.”

“Cheap win? I won fair and square!” Mia exclaims.

“You were crying when the timer went off, but I’ll give you the win as long as I get a rematch,” Angel insists.

“Fine, I will give you a rematch but crying as the time goes off implies time was up, therefore—”

“Don’t be a bad winner, no one likes those,” he interrupts with a look on his face she wants to slap, so she does just that, only its more of a tap. “Hey!” he laughs and pretends to bite at her fingers.

“Have you ever had that happen before?” she asks quietly, still embarrassed.

“Not that, no,” he answers and nips at her neck softly.

“What have you had happen, then?”

He pulls away from her throat. “I was eating this girl out once, behind a bar—”

“Of course, you were at a bar,” she comments, but he ignores her.

“And all of a sudden she pushes me away, I thought like, cool, time to get my dick wet, but instead she…” he trails off with a weird look on his face, like he smells something bad. “It was more of a golden shower. It was not what you did. I was just happy she pushed me away. She was so embarrassed she ran off, but I was like, man, I don’t even get my dick sucked after that?”

“Poor baby,” Mia murmurs while combing his hair back with her fingers. “Speaking of golden showers, I gotta pee,” she tells him. “And we gotta clean up, there are bodily fluids all over us.”

“Ooh, you talking dirty to me now? Trying to get me hard again, huh?” he jokes as he gets up on his knees.

“No,” she states firmly. “My vag needs at least twenty-four hours rest, and my clit? That is getting forty-eight, for sure.”

“So we can fuck this time tomorrow as long as I can get you wet without touching your clit? I accept this challenge,” Angel states while getting up.

“No, that is not what I meant!” Mia calls after him, then whines as she tries to get off the bed and follow, but everything in her lower half is telling her to just rollover and go to sleep. Her limbs feel heavy and tingly at the same time, and her vagina is definitely going to be extra sore tomorrow.

She hears the toilet flush, and the bathroom door opens to reveal a still-naked Angel wiping off his chest with a wet rag. “You coming?”

“No, I’m done doing that tonight, thank you,” she mumbles and groans at the thought of getting up. It just seems like so much work. She’s still figuring out the path of least resistance when Angel crawls back onto the bed. “What’re you—?” she stops when she sees the cloth still in his hand.

“Helping,” he answers her unfinished question while cleaning her abdomen.

Mia doesn’t say anything, and hopes he can’t hear when her breath hitches with each soft touch. When he goes to separate her legs, she resists. “You don’t have to-“

“I’ll be gentle, promise,” he tells her and nudges them open once again.

He is gentle, extremely so, especially when he reaches her core. It’s very intimate, the care he takes in making sure she’s clean and comfortable.

“C’mon, I’ll help you get to the bathroom,” he insists before she can protest and lifts her bridal style. “Can you get yourself back to bed?”

“You’re not that good, calm down, I can walk,” she mumbles as he sets her down in the bathroom. “I’m just being lazy.”

“You want to make that the next bet? After I win this one, I mean?” he questions with an eyebrow raised.

“You don’t have to make everything I say a challenge, you know,” Mia tells him. “So, unless you want to watch me pee—”

“You think I won’t?”

“Oh, my God! Out!” she orders and pushes him out of the room with all the force she has left, which isn’t much.

“It’s just piss, geez,” she hears him grumble, but continues his way to the bed as she kicks the door shut, thinking he’s lucky he’s her best friend because he sure can be annoying.

However, minutes later, when he’s resting his head on her chest and running fingers up and down her bare leg as she combs her own through his hair, she knows no matter how annoying he is he’s also the sweetest man she’s ever known, and that more than makes up for it. Especially when his soft ministrations put her to sleep so easily and peacefully.

When Mia wakes in the morning or early afternoon, she’s not sure, she’s on her side with Angel’s head cradled into her chest, her arms looped around his shoulders, and one of his lazily tossed over her hips.

She likes sleeping with Angel—when she does her nights aren’t plagued with nightmares or waking up every other hour at the slightest noise. When he’s in bed with her she knows she’s safe, from her subconscious or whatever else comes along. Especially when she stays at his place, no one would dare mess with a Mayan.

Her thoughts are interrupted when Angel’s phone pings from the nightstand. He groans against her chest before rolling over, leaving one arm underneath the pillow below her head as he checks it.

He groans again, looking at the notification, then resituates himself against her chest. It takes a few moments, but eventually he looks up at her, and jumps a little when he notices she’s awake. “Jesus Christ, don’t do that.”

“I didn’t do anything!” she laughs while pushing hair away from his forehead.

“It’s fucking creepy to wake up finding someone else looking at you,” he mumbles and looks very much like a child with his puffy face and sleepy eyes. “It’s scary movie shit.”

“Gotta keep you on your toes, Reyes,” she teases, and he scrubs a hand down his face, probably to wake himself up further. “Are you being summoned for big, bad biker business?” she asks while rolling onto her back and stretching.

Angel shakes his head and ghosts his lips across her collarbone. “Nah, some weather app or some shit. Goes off every morning, just usually sleep through it.”

“Weather?” she questions in a laugh. “We practically live in Mexico, it’s gonna be hot. Hot yesterday, today, and tomorrow. How you guys wear leather I’ll never know.”

“It’s an acquired taste,” he tells her with a kiss to the forehead. “Mornin’,” he murmurs sweetly. “See, this is how you say good morning to someone, unlike what you do, you psycho.”

“It’s an acquired taste,” Mia echoes and he rolls his eyes.

He’s about to respond when his phone goes off again and he reaches for it just as quickly as before. With another groan he drops it and shakes his head.

“Let me guess, it’s going to be hot today,” she teases, and he gives her the finger before rolling back over to face her. “Are you waiting for a certain weather update or—”

“Nah, that wasn’t—that was Taz reminding me we have templo during the yard’s lunch break,” he explains. “I’m not waiting for anything, just might be getting something from EZ. Not sure.”

“Everything alright, osito?”

Angel shrugs with his head propped up on his hand, the other drawing swirls on her bare abdomen. “I don’t want to remind him if he doesn’t remember, but… I don’t want him to think I don’t remember if he does, you know?”

“No, I don’t know,” Mia laughs and Angel does too. “What are you talking about?”

“Today’s the date eight years ago EZ killed that cop,” he tells her on a more solemn note.

“Oh.”

He nods and bites his lip. “I only remember because Letty was going off on Coco a couple days ago. He was teasing her about school and she had a meltdown over some math final she had coming up.”

“Yeah, a statistics test,” Mia confirms. “I’ve heard her bitch about it.”

“Yeah, she kept saying the date, and it finally hit me why it was ringing a bell in my head, like there was something I was supposed to remember, because there was,” he says as his lips form an upside down smile for the briefest of moments.

“You don’t think EZ remembers?”

“No, I know he does,” Angel insists. “I’m just… just hoping the clubs kept him busy enough that he doesn’t know what today’s date is, you know?”

“Sorry to tell you, osito, but knowing EZ’s brain, he knows,” she comments.

“Yeah,” he agrees in a sigh. “I wasn’t the best brother when he was in Stockton. I didn’t visit as much I should have, and I wasn’t a great one before he went in either. If I was, he probably would have never done what he did—”

“Or, you both would have gone to prison. We’ve been over this, babe, don’t dwell on the ‘what ifs’, it’ll only make you go crazy thinking what might have been,” Mia tells him.

“I’m trying to be better now, that’s the point,” he says, his voice firm. “I guess I just don’t know how to be there for him.”

“Have you tried asking him?”

Angel looks up at her, skeptical. “That simple, huh?”

“Can be, if you want it to,” she replies. “Or, if he wants it to.”

“Maybe,” he breathes. “What if I’m afraid of his answer?”

“What do you mean?”

“He still hasn’t been out long, querida,” Angel murmurs. “Sometimes I see him staring off, thinkin’, and I worry he’s getting the same thoughts he was that got him into that whole mess. Like, maybe, he’s thinkin’ about who killed our mom again, thinkin’ about how to figure out who did it.”

“Do you ever still wonder who did it?” Mia asks. “I know back then you weren’t on the same page as him, but what about now?”

At this Angel moves onto his back and rests his hands on his chest. After a long minute he looks over at her and shakes his head. “No, I don’t.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes,” he answers easily and with finality. “Do you think about those fucks that killed your dad?”

“Touché,” she replies. “But, the answer’s no, I don’t, because they’re dead. Marcus had the whole bullshit MC killed, practically a mag emptied into each of their backs so their patches were illegible.”

“Hmph,” Angel grumbles with an appreciative nod. “Good.”

“So, you gonna lie to me again or tell me what you really think?”

“Fine. I wonder who did it sometimes, but… I still don’t wanna find him,” he confesses. “I don’t have the right to justice.”

“The right?” Mia asks while sitting up. “You have every right to. This person killed your—”

“I know what he did, alright!?” Angel interrupts her, his voice booming, and for a split second her body shakes before she gets control of herself.

Angel would never hurt her. Sure, she thought that about her ex in the beginning, but… she knows Angel’s heart, and from what she’s learned about his mother she knows Marisol raised two men who would never lay a hand on a woman.

He must have seen her startle because almost instantly he deflates and sits up with her. “I’m sor—look, this is why I don’t talk about my mom. I turn into a dick. I didn’t mean,” he stops his attempt at an apology and reaches for his cigarettes, lighting one quick and inhaling deeply. “I’m sorry,” he finally manages as smoke escapes his mouth.

“No, it’s me, I’m pushing. You don’t owe me any kind of explanation. I’m sorry,” she whispers and squeezes his free hand.

They are both silent for a minute as Angel seems to finish his first cigarette in record time and instantly moves onto a second. “I don’t have a right to,” he starts, startling her, “because I’m no better than the man who killed her.”

“What?” Mia demands as her eyebrows crinkle in confusion.

“When I was given my kutte as a prospect, before I put it on, Bishop stopped me. He stopped all of us—me, Coco, and Gilly,” he begins again. “He said it took a certain kind of man to wear a kutte, and who we would become if we were patched in would be very different from the men that stood before him. Being in the club, it changes you,” he tells her while ashing.

Mia nods, encouraging him along with a squeeze of her fingers.

“And he was right. Maybe the man I was before I joined the club deserved to know who killed his mother and wanted justice. But the man after I patched in? I’ve—” he stops and puts out his cigarette. “You know the kind of shit I’ve done, the kind of shit I have to live with, the sins I’ll die with.”

“Angel—”

“I’m not looking for sympathy, querida,” he assures her. “If you can’t find a way to live with what you gotta do, there’s no place for you in the life, that’s just the truth. I’ve found a way to live with what I’ve done, and I’m not gonna act like I’m a saint, ‘cause I ain’t.”

He stops again for a moment, and she just knows he doesn’t want her to say anything just yet.

“I have no right to expect justice for my mother’s killer, because I’m no better. I’ve killed too, Mia, and saying he should pay just because it was my mother? It’s fucking hypocritical. That means I deserve to die too, and maybe I do—”

“No,” Mia interrupts him, firm. “You don’t. It’s different.”

“A murder is a murder, mi dulce,” he responds. “Just ‘cause you’re sweet on me doesn’t mean what I’ve done isn’t murder.”

“It’s different,” she sniffs. “The people you deal with, they are in the life too, they know what they’ve gotten into and have done bad things too. You don’t go killing women or-or children or—”

“Hey,” he murmurs and cradles her face in his hands. “Maybe that’s true, but I’ve killed someone’s father, brother, son, and if need be, I’ll do it again. It’s the kind of man you become when you’re patched in.”

“You’d never senselessly murder someone’s mother, never, and you will never be able to convince me of that,” Mia states as her eyes blink to hold back tears.

“Maybe, but I’m still no better than him, and you won’t convince me of that,” he counters, his tone just as sure as her’s.

Mia stares into his eyes for a long moment, until Angel drops his hands and looks away from her, reaching for another cigarette. She knows he believes what he’s saying, that he’s no better than a cold-blooded killer, like the one who shot his mother, and it breaks her heart.

The air is heavy around them and she knows Angel is uncomfortable with his confession, not to mention the vulnerability he’s now shown her. She wants to tell him he’s wrong, that he’s the sweetest man she knows, that the sins he’s committed in the club don’t scare her, or make her think any less of him, but knows he won’t believe any of it.

So, instead, she confesses something that she’s ashamed of too, something to make her feel as vulnerable as he does, something to even the score. “I’ve almost done heroin,” she blurts out, and Angel turns to her, his mouth agape, and so his cigarette falls to the bedsheets.

“Shit. Fuck,” he swears as he picks it up, wiping the ashes from the dull yellow sheets. “What?”

“I—you told me something you’re ashamed of, so I’m doing the same to you,” she explains. “It’s only fair.”

“Okay, but heroin?” he questions. “You told me that you hate the stuff because of your mom, and because it’s fucking heroin.”

“I know, I know, I do,” she replies. “But I… but there were a few times where I got I down, really down, it’s like every bad thing that’s ever happened to me replays through my head again and again and again until,” she stops and looks down at her fingers, embarrassed. “All the times I watched my mom break Bishop’s heart, all the shit she’s put me through, every time Esai came home with that stupid guilty look on his face and I knew he cheated on me,” she lists off. “I feel it all.”

“Mia,” Angel whispers.

“I told myself I’d never do heroin, because you’re right, it’s fucking heroin, but I’ve seen my mom’s face when she shoots up, Angel,” she tells him. “Fuck, there were times she was shaking so hard because it took so long for her to find her next fix that she made me do it for her. One time she dropped her dime bag down a grate in the road, but it had one of those storm drains a few feet away. So, she literally forced me down into it and wouldn’t pull me up until I found it.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“The point is,” she continues with shaky hands, “I’ve seen what it looks like when the high hits, how every problem she has melts away, and all she feels is euphoria. When I get down, when I’m in that blackhole and I don’t see an end, I want that feeling, Angel.”

“So you’ve thought about doing it, that doesn’t mean—”

“No, I haven’t just thought about it, I’ve,” she sighs and shakes her head. “I grew up in the club, Angel, it’s what you guys put into the streets, smuggle over the border, it’s—it’s not hard to find, and I told you, I’ve done it for my mom, so I know exactly what to do, and even if I didn’t it’s not hard to figure out.”

“What happened?” he asks, his voice soft.

“I’ve had the needle against my skin, picked out a vein,” she answers, finally looking up to meet his eye. “I guess it’s good I hate my mother because that always outweighs the want to not feel anymore.”

“Thank fuck,” Angel murmurs before pulling her into his arms. “Does anyone know?”

“Promise me you’ll never tell Bishop, please,” Mia says, her face buried in his neck.

“I won’t,” he states as he gives her a squeeze.

“Esai knows,” she answers his previous question. “He found me once, that’s a whole different story, but,” she stops and let’s out a long breath, “he didn’t yell at me, make me feel bad, or anything like that. He never judged me or held it against me, never once brought it up during one of our fights or our break-ups.”

“What’d he do?”

“Held me,” Mia tells him honestly, leaning away from Angel’s hold so she can look him in the eye. “Told me that no matter what we were going through, together or apart, in a fight or perfectly fine, he’d be there for me, no doubt about it. And, every time I called, he was. He held me until I could pick myself up and then he made me get rid of it myself, to prove to myself that I didn’t need it, and never would.”

“So this hasn’t happened in almost two years?”

Mia shakes her head. “It’s happened four times. Esai has only been there for three of them.”

“What about the fourth?”

“It was when I was with my ex,” she admits.

“Jay?” Angel asks and that name in his mouth makes her shudder.

“Yeah.” Mia doesn’t make eye contact, doesn’t know how to tell him the situation that caused her to drive to Oakland, to Niner territory because if a Mayan saw her it would be only minutes before Esai got a call, found her, and she broke down in his arms, telling him what she had done the day before at the clinic. “It doesn’t matter why, what matters is that I didn’t do it. That’s what Esai always said, to focus on the fact that I didn’t do it, not the reason I thought I needed it.”

“I’m glad you realized how strong you are,” he responds, his voice still low and soft, and so very comforting.

“I did what I always did with Esai. I got rid of it and told myself I didn’t need it, I’m stronger than that, and I will never give my mom the satisfaction,” she tells him. “She always said I’d end up like her, an addict and only good at lying on my back.”

“Bishop know that?”

“No, she’d deny it anyways, and I was always afraid he’d take her side. She knows exactly how to get under my skin and is Bishop’s weakness, so I never spoke up,” Mia says. “Esai fucking hates her, and she avoids him at all costs. She knows if she says or does one thing to piss him off he’ll go off, and there would be no coming back from that, especially know that he’s president of the mother chapter.”

“I don’t know what it’s worth to you,” Angel murmurs as he links their hands together, “we don’t have the same history that you and E do, but I’m proud of you.” He brings her hands to his lips and kisses them gently. “Even without someone there to tell you that you’re strong, that you don’t need that shit, you realized it on your own.”

“Angel—”

“I don’t know your mom, but I know you’ll never be like her. You do know that, right?”

Mia looks down and let’s her hands slip from his, like it’s accidental, not a big deal, but it’s intentional, because he doesn’t know.

He doesn’t know how much she’s already like her mother, how she’s just jumped from man to man like her, how she ran to Bishop with her tail in between her legs like her, how she expects him to be able to fix all her problems like she does, and how she’s let one man ruin her for anyone else because she refuses to get hurt again. They were very different men, of course, but the outcome is still the same.

“Mm-hm,” she manages, but knows it’s not believable, so she continues, “but it’s always in the back of my head, you know?”

“I get that.”

“I guess everyone worries about becoming their parents,” she goes on before he can. “It’s part of the whole cycle, isn’t it? You have kids, love them, raise them, try not to make mistakes, but it’s inevitable, and in the end you want them to be better than you. Then, because of the mistakes you made, they want to be better than you, to not put their kids through the same shit you put them through.”

“Maybe that’s the real American dream, huh? To be better than your parents,” Angel muses.

“Well, we’re halfway there, don’t you think? Just for trying. That’s half the battle, right?” she asks.

“I hope, but I guess I’m just happy that I’m not losing the battle. Yet, at least,” he mumbles, then grabs her by the hips and lifts until she’s straddling him. “I need you to do something for me though, you think you can do that?”

Mia loops her arms around his shoulders and nods. “If it’s some daddy-daughter roleplay because of parental issues I’m gonna have to pass,” she answers, and he barks out such a loud laugh that it fills her chest with warmth. “I’m down for roleplay but, the whole ‘daddy’ thing just isn’t for me, not with my parental shit show. I don’t look down on people that do, just isn’t for me. We don’t kink shame here.”

“Oh, well, what kind of kink would you do?” he asks, curious.

“Hm, well, I call you osito so maybe Mr. Bear? If you really want the dad thing I could try Papa Bear but—”

“Stop,” he cuts her off in a chuckle. “I was kidding, but I’m gonna veto Papa Bear while we’re on the subject, just to be safe. You have time to think about it. Besides, I already have my name for you.”

“You do?”

“I told you last night. I’ll only ever call you mi dulce because your pussy is so sweet, and I can call you it around anyone. I’m not into the whole mister thing, or the daddy kink because I got my own parental shit too,” he tells her.

“I’m gonna have to give this a lot of thought, then.”

“You know this has nothing to do with what I was gonna ask you, right?”

“I figured, so much for a change of subject,” Mia sighs and lets her arms fall from his neck, her hands moving to trace the tattoos on his chest.

“I’ll be quick so we can get back to this,” he says with a smirk playing at his lips. “I know I’m not Esai, but if you feel comfortable, I want you to promise to call me if you ever find yourself in that dark place again,” he asks, and her breath catches in her throat. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do. I’ll sit with you, talk with you, get rid of it with you, whatever you need, and I promise not to judge you or give you a hard time.”

Mia opens her mouth, but nothing comes out, doesn’t know what to say to him, to the sweet man before her who thinks so little of himself, yet is offering to be there when she thinks even less of herself. “I… sure.”

“C’mon, you can do better than that, querida,” he insists.

“I will, I just don’t want you to see me like that,” she says honestly.

“You don’t gotta worry about shit like that with me, you know that,” he murmurs and cups her cheeks. “I’m never gonna use anything you tell me against you or tell anyone you don’t want me to. What we say and do stays between us,” he promises.

She nods and leans forward until their foreheads are touching. “Okay.”

“Promise me,” he urges. “I need to know that if you’re ever like that again you won’t think you’re alone. I don’t care if I’m on a run, over the border, or what the fuck ever, I’ll drop anything I’m doing and be with you if that’s what you need.”

Mia licks her lips and closes her eyes as his thumbs brush up and down her cheeks. “I promise,” she whispers and feels him move so his lips touch her forehead.

“My name,” he says a moment later and Mia opens her eyes and crinkles her eyebrows together questioningly. “I don’t need a kink nickname or whatever. I like it when you call me osito but when I’m pleasuring you, when you’re pleading for more, I love it when you call me my name.”

“I can do that,” she agrees and presses her lips against his. At first, it’s soft and sweet, but quickly becomes more demanding with their tongues touching.

Angel’s thumb pushes on her windpipe as he pulls his lips from hers. “I thought you said twenty-four hours minimum?”

“I did, didn’t I?” Mia whispers and scoots down his legs until his growing hard-on is visible. “Doesn’t mean I can’t help you out. After all, I got what, six orgasms last night? And you only came once.”

“Mm, do you have any idea how hard I came after you squirted all over me?” he asks, a hand still resting at the hollow of her throat, squeezing slightly at times, and rubbing the sensitive skin at others.

Mia swallows, hard, and Angel smiles at her in a way that makes her stomach coil.

“Your heart is beating very fast, mi dulce,” he comments. “I wonder where else you can feel it beat?” he asks as his free hand slides down her bare body until it’s between her legs. “Let’s see how sensitive you still are, hm?”

One finger sinks in and Mia tilts her head back because she’s still so tender, but before anything else can happen Angel’s bedroom door opens.

“Angel, you awa—holy shit, yes you are,” EZ walks in saying, but all Mia registers is Angel practically throwing her behind him and covering her up so all she can see is his tatted back.

“What the fuck, Ezekiel?” Angel demands of his little brother. “Ever heard of fucking knocking?”

“I did knock!” EZ insists. “On your front door, but now I can see why you didn’t hear it. Hi, Mia.”

She doesn’t respond, just lifts an arm to wave, for which she’s given a chuckle from both brothers.

“I can see you’re busy, I just stopped by to talk. Maybe we can meet up later—”

“No,” Mia speaks up, causing Angel to turn and look down at her with questioning eyes. “You can stay, I have to get going anyways. My interview is in a couple hours and I need to get ready,” she says while giving her best friend a look, hoping he remembers what today is, the conversation they started not even an hour ago.

Angel closes his eyes in realization. “Yeah, stay, baby brother,” he insists and turns to look back at him. “We got time before templo unless you have a yard shift or something.”

“Nah, nah, I’m free. Maybe we can get breakfast?” EZ suggests, a softness in his voice she’s never heard before. He definitely remembers what today is.

“Yeah, at the diner, like we used to when I made you skip the first hour of school,” Angel agrees.

“You mean when you refused to go to your first class because—”

“Let’s not get into that,” his big brother cuts him off. “But, uh, this ain’t a free show, so go wait in the living room so we can get dressed.”

“Fine, fine,” EZ mumbles. “I’ll tell you all about it later, Mia,” he calls over his shoulder as he leaves.

“Thank you!” Mia replies, only sitting up once she hears the door click shut. “So why’d you skip the first hour of school? Unless you’d rather me hear it from EZ later?”

Angel shakes his head and smiles at her while getting up, giving her an excellent view of his naked ass. “Let’s see what he tells you, then I’ll tell you if it’s true or bull, yeah?”

She watches him step into a pair of his underwear, a pair of briefs that hugs him just right, making her bite her lip. “Too bad he didn’t walk in thirty minutes later,” she sighs and shoves the blankets off as she stretches.

Angel grins and tosses underwear at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you later, after you kill it at your job interview,” he promises with wagging eyebrows.

“Yeah, after,” Mia mumbles, then busies herself with slipping her cheeky underwear up her legs as her eyes scan the floor for other clothes. “Fuck, Angel,” she groans as two things hit her at the same time.

“What?” he asks while hopping into a pair of jeans.

“Do you think he’ll tell? I mean, Bop is his sponsor and—”

Angel shakes his head and bends down in front of her. “Hey, don’t worry about that. He won’t say nothin’, I’ll make sure of it. He’s been keeping secrets for me all his life, he’ll keep this one too,” he assures her.

“You mean like the reason you kept him out of school for the first hour during your senior year?” Mia questions with big, innocent eyes.

He rolls his eyes and gives her a knowing grin. “I was messing with this girl over the summer, nothing serious. Because it wasn’t serious I was also gettin’ somewhere with another girl, turns out they were cousins, and were both in my first class,” he explains. “It got pretty ugly first day, so I made myself scarce and got some teammates from football to ask them out. When the smoke was clear I stopped skipping class. Good thing too, my mom was about to kick my ass if she got one more call about either of us missing class.”

“You’re lucky they never found out you made your friends date them.”

“Hey, I didn’t make them date anyone long term. I asked them to take them out once, maybe twice, get their attention elsewhere,” Angel insists. “It worked out for one of ‘em. Dated my friend until graduation.”

“Mmhm.”

“Uh-huh, get dressed before EZ walks in on us again,” he instructs. “I can think of a couple things I like your mouth doing more than giving me shit.”

“About that first part,” Mia starts and stands before him, remembering her second thought earlier. “You started undressing me as soon as we walked in the door, Reyes. We’re lucky my underwear is even in here,” she says. “So unless you do want your little brother to see my goods, or maybe show him what my mouth can do—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Angel sighs while grabbing a t-shirt. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

While he goes to get the rest of her clothes, Mia goes to the bathroom to pee and do something with her hair. She’s putting it up in a messy bun when she walks back into the bedroom, fully expecting Angel to be back with her stuff, but he isn’t.

With a sigh she grabs one of Angel’s button ups and slips out of the bedroom. “What’s taking so long? It can’t be that hard to find—fuck!” Mia exclaims, ducking behind the kitchen counter, which is the only thing blocking her from view of the living room, where not only do Angel and EZ stand, but Coco and Gilly too.

“I fucking knew it!” Coco boasts, his voice full of glee.

The boys around him join in the laughter and she can feel her face getting hot. She hasn’t done the walk of shame in years. And these guys are never going to let her live it down.

“You didn’t know shit. Now, pendejos, get the fuck out,” Angel orders and she hears the front door open.

“Nah, I did, you’ve been in a good mood for way too fuckin’ long,” Coco insists. “You ain’t been in the cage in over two months, carnal, you think we don’t notice this shit?”

“Yeah, we ain’t never seen you this well tempered,” Gilly agrees.

Curious, Mia stands up, the shirt now fully buttoned. “What do you mean, he hasn’t been in the cage?”

“Nothing, I—”

“He’s the reigning champ of our cage, he never tell you that?” Coco cuts Angel off. “You’ve been selling yourself short to your girl? That’s not like you, bro.”

“I haven’t been—”

“We open up the fights in the cage to the town and put some money on it. Usually, every month or so we have a fight. Angel is the one who puts the feelers out, is the one itchin’ for a fight, and he always fuckin’ wins. This dude has rage like a fuckin’ beast,” Coco fills her in, ignoring Angel once more. “But he hasn’t since you moved here, and now we know why. Getting laid on the reg really calms you down, huh?”

“Shut the fuck up, I’ve always been able to get laid,” Angel says, then makes a face. “Uh, you know what I mean, we’re not just,” he starts to defend himself. “She and I aren’t just, like, we’re also,” he stops and clears his throat. “A little help here?”

Mia grins and leans on the counter. “No, I like where you’re going with this. Please, keep making absolutely no sense.”

“You’re just as much of an asshole as they are,” he mumbles, making the room laugh some more.

“Yes, I am, and if someone could just toss me my clothes I can get out of your hair so the real ridicule can begin once I’m gone,” she offers.

“What a team player, you finally slept with a good one, bro,” Gilly comments while nudging Angel with his shoulder.

“Why are you guys even here?” Angel whines while reaching under a pillow on the couch, revealing her clothes in their apparent hiding spot. “Here, I don’t want you to be late,” he adds, and gives them to her.

“Thanks,” Mia says and leaves the kitchen with a wink.

“Saw Boy Scout’s bike parked next to yours, then on further inspection, Mia’s car in your free spot,” Coco answers as she is walking away. “Got curious.”

She trusts Angel to answer their questions, or dodge them, more like, but still dresses quickly all the same.

When she gets back to the living room, the guys are all sitting down, smoke now in the air. “Aw, well I’m glad everyone kissed and made up. Wouldn’t want to break up the band. No one wants to be Yoko, you know,” she mentions while putting her shoes on.

“Nah, they’re still fucking annoying,” Angel says. “But they know too much, you know how it is.”

Mia smiles and shakes her head at him. “Alright, the secret’s out, me and Angel are sleeping together, but can you keep the mocking for when the wisemen aren’t around?”

“The what now?” Gilly asks.

“The three wisemen—Bishop, Taza, and Hank,” she explains. “It what me and Letty call them, you know, because they are the only ones with a clue.”

“That’s fucking clever,” EZ remarks in a chuckle.

“Thank you. Listen, I put Bishop through hell when I was with Esai, and I don’t need—”

“Wait, Esai Alvarez, Esai?” Coco cuts her off. “You fucked around with Esai Alvarez?”

“Fucked around, dated, exploded, repeat, whatever,” she answers with a shrug. “The point is, I keep Bishop out of my personal shit, he does the same, and I don’t need him worrying about me, or this, or doing any other protective dad stuff, okay?”

“Wait, that tattoo he told me to shut the fuck up about—”

“Yes, that’s me, I am the one that got away, it’s all very telenovela,” she stops Gilly. “Now, are we all on the same page?”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be good in front of daddy,” Coco promises with smoke coming out of his mouth.

“Great,” Mia says with a smile. “I hope you all have a great day teasing Angel, but I gotta get going.”

“I’ll walk you out real quick,” Angel says as he stands.

“Wow, never seen my brother this chivalrous,” EZ comments, then winces once Angel kicks him in the shin on his way out of the door.

Angel waits until they are at the top of the steps to talk. “Don’t worry about them, I’ll make sure they behave,” he promises, then thinks about it. “To the best of their ability, anyways.”

Mia nods and bites her lip as they go down the stairs. “I’m not ashamed of what we’re doing or anything, you know that, right?”

He leans against her car once they reach it and seems to study her face for a moment. “I do, still nice to hear,” he decides on saying. “I really don’t need my president knowing I’m fucking his daughter either. Shit can be complicated enough in the club, I don’t need that hanging over me.”

“You still worried about EZ?” she questions, her voice soft.

Angel lets out a long sigh. “Yeah, but… he came to me and didn’t go off and do something stupid, that’s gotta be good, right?”

“Well, if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black,” she teases, making him chuckle. “Let me know how breakfast goes. Are all you going or—”

“Nah, Gilly and Coco gotta open the yard, they’re leaving a little bit after you,” he cuts her off. “Gotta take the time to ask their questions without you around.”

“Oh, of course, make sure you tell them I’m the best you’ve ever had,” she insists.

“I’m sorry, who was the one that ugly cried and squirted last night—ow!” he laughs when she hits him. “You know how much I love your pussy, don’t worry, mi dulce.”

“Please, I have more important things to worry about,” she says while opening her car door.

Angel pulls her close by her hips. “Like your interview? You know you’re gonna crush it.”

Mia looks down and nods. “Yeah.”

“I know it was pushed back a few times, but that ain’t got shit to do with you. Gracie is always busy, she’s gonna be lucky to have you, you’ll take some shit off her plate,” he goes on.

She shrugs. “I haven’t worked as a nurse in over a year,” she reminds him. “Just nervous, I guess.”

“Want me to set up a fight? You can take care of me after, freshen up some of your skills,” he offers.

“No, but I do want to talk about that later,” Mia says. “I mean, you can fight if you want, but don’t do it on my account.”

Angel lifts her chin with a curled finger. “You’re gonna do great. Even if you’re rusty, you’ll pick it back up and kick ass. I’ve never seen you fail at something, querida, you ain’t gonna start now.”

She wants to laugh at him, at how wrong he is, but she just smiles appreciatively and kisses him.

“Besides, it’s gotta happen to today. If it got pushed again, Bishop said he was gonna talk to Gracie,” he mentions.

“He needs to stay out of my business. It’s my job, my interview,” Mia insists.

“He’s your dad, he worries,” he reminds her. “Can’t be mad about that.”

“I’m not, I just,” she stops and sighs. “I can handle my own, he needs to remember that.” She kisses him once more and steps out of his hold. “I’ll call you after, let you know what’s up.”

“Counting on it,” he tells her and watches her get in the car.

She starts the car and puts down the window as Angel closes the door. “You boys be good today.”

“That I can’t promise, and you know it,” he says and they both laugh before he starts back for his apartment building.

She waits until he’s back up the steps before banging her head against the steering wheel a few times.

It’s official, she can’t push it off any longer, she has to go to this nursing interview today. She’s made Gracie look bad already by saying she’s the one who pushed back the interview, when it was actually her. The last thing she needs is Bishop going to Gracie and learning the truth, that will open a can of worms she’s tried to keep nailed shut.

There can be no questions about why she really came here, why she’s so reluctant to take a job that is legit. Sure, she’s been making money helping out bartending at the clubhouse and doing some bookwork at the yard, but it’s not nearly enough for what she needs to start paying Bishop a decent price in rent.

She needs a legit job with real income, even if it means attaching her name to a file that will leave a trail. A trail that could lead Jay right to her if he’s looking.

Mia bangs her head a few more times before putting the car in reverse.

She isn’t ready to stop hiding, but it looks like she doesn’t have a choice, not unless she tells Bishop the truth, and that is not an option. Not even for a second, which means she has a job interview to get ready for. A job she’s unlikely to get because she cancelled on the woman twice with little explanation or apology.

Just fucking great, she thinks, as she drives off, her hands already sweaty at the thought of stepping out of the shadows and into the light.

Her outfit is all wrong.

It’s all she can think about as she walks into the ER, as instructed, holding a folder full of papers close to her chest.

Mia sees herself in the glass windows—a black skirt, the longest one she owns, but it still doesn’t go past her knees, with a white top that’s too tight and tucked into the skirt. It’s a button down that is closed up to her neck, but she still isn’t happy with it. Her hair is half up, half down and in it’s natural state of loose curls, she kept the make up light, and matched it with a pair of simple black heels.

She wants to turn around and leave, to walk out of the building and get in her car and drive far, far away, but she doesn’t.

Instead, she walks right up to the admit desk in her completely wrong outfit and forces a smile. “Hi, I’m looking for Gracie—”

“Sanchez,” a woman says from behind and she turns to find, Gracie, she assumes, dressed in a pair of jeans that make her legs look great, a pink scrub top, and comfortable white shoes. “Charge nurse, you must be Mia Flores.”

“Yes, hi, nice to meet you,” Mia greets with a hand out, and watches as the woman looks her up and down very thoroughly. For some reason, it makes her very aware of the small hoop earrings hanging from her lobes and the black choker around her neck.

She is so not getting this job.

“Yes, it is, especially since I had planned to meet you, what, two weeks ago now?” Gracie questions.

“Yes, I’m sorry, I just moved here—”

“Follow me,” the nurse cuts her off and leads her to what she knows is the breakroom, but it is thankfully empty at the moment. “Take a seat. Drink?” she asks with quarters in her hand and shakes them in offering.

“No thanks,” Mia answers and sits, making sure to smooth out her skirt and cross her legs appropriately.

“Suit yourself,” she replies and moments later a glass Coke is in her hands. “So, Flores is the last name, correct? Went with your mom’s?” she questions while sitting down across from her.

“Um, no,” Mia says and shifts awkwardly. “Why do you—”

“Oh, I don’t need these, I had your files pulled from your previous employer,” Gracie tells her while taking the folder from her and sets them off to the side. “It’s surprising is all, I figured you’d have Bishop’s last name.”

Realization washes over her. “Oh, no. Bishop is my godfather. He and my dad were best friends, and when he died Bishop stepped in. He’s my father in every way besides blood,” she explains.

For the first time, Gracie smiles. “I knew he had a heart buried in that chest somewhere,” she comments.

“That he does,” Mia agrees, and matches the woman’s smile. “It only really comes out when me or my mom around, but he has one, that’s for sure.”

“He paid a visit to my shelter about four days ago,” Gracie informs her. “I’m sure you know about my side work at the shelter.”

Dread fills her. “Um, I know about the shelter, I did not know he went to see you. I’m sorry if he was—”

“Brash? Demanding? Pushy?”

“Yes, to all three,” she answers. “Look, I can explain—”

“Don’t worry, I went along with your lie,” Gracie says. “Told him I’ve been busy here and at the shelter, but that it wouldn’t happen again. To be honest, I was more curious than anything, wanted to know what I was made be part of.”

Mia tries to still her shaking hands. “We don’t have to go through this whole game of back and forth. I’m obviously not getting the job, and honestly, I don’t deserve it after how unprofessional I’ve been. I can just tell Bishop the spot was filled.”

“Oh, it is,” Gracie confirms. “I needed two ER nurses when you first applied, but I filled the last spot after you cancelled the last time.”

“Then why am I even here?” Mia asks as she feels heat rise from her chest.

“I told you, I’m curious,” the older woman says.

At this, Mia stands. “Okay, I don’t have time for this game. I’m sorry I wasted your time, or maybe you wasted mine, I don’t know—”

“There she is,” Gracie cuts her off once more with a smile.

“Excuse me?”

“Bishop’s daughter,” she answers. “And I said that the position you applied for is filled, not that I still couldn’t use you,” she corrects herself. “Now, please, sit.”

Mia sits and relaxes a bit in the plastic chair. “I really am sorry I made you look bad. That wasn’t my intention.”

“I’ve been made to look a lot worse, believe me,” she replies. “So, do you want to tell me the real reason you cancelled on me twice or do I have to guess?”

“I haven’t worked as a nurse in over a year,” Mia starts with honesty. “I actually haven’t had a real job in the same amount of time. I let my nerves get the better of me.”

“I talked to your last charge nurse,” Gracie tells her. “Miriam? Nice old gal. She couldn’t stop gushing about you,” she goes on. “That is, until your boyfriend came into the picture.”

Mia’s back straightens. “Ex. Ex-boyfriend,” she corrects.

“Right. She said you were one of the best nurses she had. You did very well under pressure, always kept a level head, you were the first one in on your shift, and often the last one out,” the charge nurse goes on. “Said you were great with patients, at keeping kids happy if needed, and had absolutely no issue knocking unruly men down a couple pegs.”

“Miriam is a very nice woman,” Mia agrees. “But earning her praise wasn’t easy.”

“Well, she had nothing but praise for you, until the boyfriend came in the picture,” Gracie insists.

“Ex-boyfriend,” Mia says again.

“Right,” she repeats. “She said once he came in the picture you were often late, always looking at the clock, the first to leave if there were any cuts, that he liked to stop by during your shifts and was not well liked among your peers.”

“About that—”

“She saw quite a few changes in you, said when she tried to get you to talk about it you quit,” she continues. “Me and Miriam had quite the conversation.”

“Seems so,” Mia says with a tight smile.

Gracie sits back in her chair and stares at her for a long minute. “Does Bishop know?”

“Does he know what? That I quit? Yes.”

“Does he know that you were seen at your own ER twice for accidents?” she asks. “Once, I think Miriam said was a fall down the stairs, and the other was tripping through a glass door?”

Mia’s stomach drops to the floor. “He and I weren’t talking for two years. Family issues.”

“Miriam had a few theories as to what really happened,” Gracie comments. “After hearing such glowing words about you, and getting Miriam’s two cents on the boyfriend, so do I.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” she says in a hard tone. “I’d appreciate if you’d refer to him as such. He’s not in my life anymore,” she tells her with finality.

Gracie nods, apparently happy with her answer. “I’m not trying to give you a hard time, what happened is your secret to keep, but I need to know who I’m interviewing right now. Are you the capable, reliable woman I first heard about, or are you flighty and going to be someone I have to check on every five minutes, because I have no use for the second one.”

Mia lets out a long breath to settle the nerves in her gut. “You’re right, I do have secrets, and I’m not proud of the person I became at the end of my time at my last job. I won’t lie to you, I did those things,” she admits. “And I can promise you that the nurse you’d be hiring is the first one you described.”

“Why’d you become a nurse?” Gracie asks, her entire demeanor different from when they first sat down.

“I’m sure the safe answer is I like helping people, knowing I’m making a difference on what could easily be the worst day of their lives. I mean, no one plans on going to the ER,” she starts.

“And the unsafe answer?”

“When I was seventeen my boyfriend was shot,” she tells her. “Different boyfriend than the last one,” she adds on quickly. “You know Bishop, so you’re familiar with the club, my boyfriend at the time was in the club too, Oakland charter.”

“He live?”

Mia nods. “Yeah, the club doc came and pulled the bullet out, sewed him up,” she explains. “But I was there when he came to the clubhouse, blood soaked through his shirt, leaning hard on our friend Pac, whiter than I’d ever seen him. I’d never seen him weak before either, ever. And I couldn’t do a damn thing about it because I knew nothing.”

“It’s definitely tough seeing someone you love in rough shape. Not everyone wants to do something about it, but people like us? We hate feeling helpless,” Gracie comments.

“I told myself if something else happened I’d know something. So, when I graduated high school I went into an eighteen month nursing program. Once I got through that, I was hired at St. Francis’s and then enrolled to get my bachelor’s in nursing, which I did,” she goes on. “I learned that I didn’t just like being able to do something when someone I loved was hurt, I like being able to help people in general. I did rounds in all the specialties, but preferred the ER. Maybe it’s the instant gratification, but being able to solve a problem someone has, quickly help with the situation, in whatever way I can, I love the feeling. I grew up in a fast-paced environment and the ER felt like home in that way.”

“Your file said you also volunteered at a free clinic near the neighborhood you grew up in,” Gracie mentions.

“I did,” Mia confirms. “They couldn’t afford much a staff, and some of the ones that were employed there, well… they weren’t there for the right reasons,” she tells her. “I did what I could, tried to make a difference. Sometimes it didn’t feel like much, just handing out condoms and clean needles, reading pregnancy tests, but the way I saw it,” she stops to think of her words, “I would have wanted someone like me to be around when I was young. I tried not to just be a nurse, but someone they could talk to, confide in, and for some of them I was.”

Gracie’s lips form a ghost of a smile. “I feel that way at the shelter. It’s more than just detoxing for me. It’s the first step for all those people, a step they choose to take, and it’s one of the hardest ones they’ll make. I try to help in every way I can, but between here, the clinic, and there, I’m spread too thin.”

“I didn’t know Santo Padre had a clinic too,” Mia mentions.

“We don’t. It opens next week. I secured the funding three months ago,” she answers. “The truth is I never wanted you here in the ER. I need a charge nurse at the clinic. Someone I know can handle the chaos, the good and the bad, and be eyes and ears for me in the community.”

Mia sits straighter in her chair, her curiosity peaking. “Aren’t you already really involved? Between here and the shelter?”

“I am, but I also believe in stepping in before there is a problem, if possible,” Gracie says. “Too many places are overrun, understaffed, and letting people slip through the cracks. I made a promise to this community to provide more than basic medical care. I need a staff that is willing to go above and beyond, and that all starts with management.”

“You’re willing to consider me even after I cancelled on you twice?” she questions.

“No. I was willing to consider you after you showed up today, owned up to your mistakes, and proved you’re not the same person that quit your last job,” Gracie corrects. “I read your transcripts. You were the top of your class, had multiple job opportunities in high-income areas, yet you chose a place in the city, to volunteer for a clinic in a place overrun with drugs and crime, and from what I learned from Miriam, and talking to you today, you’re a survivor. A survivor is what I need.”

Is she a survivor, she wonders? Or is she a runner, someone who knows when to quit and flee into the night? Sure, she’s survived everything life has thrown at her so far, but what if what she’s running from catches up to her? Can she promise Gracie she won’t pack up and take off? After all, she’s been doing all she can to not promise Bishop the same.

“Gracie, I—”

The woman holds up her hand to stop her. “I told you that your secret is yours to keep, and it is, but I have a feeling I know what you’re afraid of.”

“Miriam used to say nurses have superpowers. We see so many people, a lot of them keeping secrets. It was our job to see through the bullshit and treat the patient with no judgement,” Mia mentions. “That seeing through bullshit was our power.”

“I might have to steal that one,” Gracie chuckles. “Well, I’ve been a nurse long enough that I’ve fully developed my superpower, let’s say.”

All Mia can do is nod with her head hung low. “Please don’t tell Bishop. He doesn’t know anything, he can never know.”

“I’m not doing to ask for details, those are for you to offer on your own, but I do know fear,” Gracie responds. “I know what it’s like to want to leave something horrible behind you, to be so scared to turn around and find that it’s all caught up to you, to feel that everyone is seeing right through you.”

“It’s when I’m alone that it’s the worst,” she murmurs.

“I think you’re the exact right person for this job, the one I can rely on to get the job done as well as I could do it, so you let me know what you need from me to make this happen,” Gracie insists.

“I want the job, trust me I do, and I’m honored you think so highly of me after just meeting me,” Mia says honestly. “I think I can do it. I miss helping people, being part of the solution and not the problem, but,” she stops.

“This is the part where I come in. What can I do to make you feel comfortable?”

“I’ve been off the grid, so to speak, since I moved here. I don’t have anything attached to my name. I’m on Bishop’s phone plan, live in his rental rent free, for now, his name is on the utilities, I have no social media, nothing. I’m worried—”

“By taking this job you’ll be able to be followed,” Gracie pieces together. “Miriam was right, seeing through bullshit is our superpower, but it’s only one of them. You want to know what another one of them is? Making things happen,” she says and Mia looks at her with wide eyes. “Hunny, I’m the charge nurse, run the shelter, and managed to cut through enough red tape to not only open a free clinic, but also scored enough funding to run it for the first year. I know the tricks of the trade.”

“Tricks like keeping me off the books, but still paying me?”

“Are you complaining?”

“No, ma’am, when do I start?”

“How about in two hours?” Gracie asks.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, that should be enough time for you to go get something to eat and change, right?”

“Change?” Mia questions.

Gracie stands. “Yep. We’ll meet at the clinic in two hours. We have a few interviews to do and some set-up to finish. After all, you open up Monday at eight AM,” she says. “Unless you want to do manual labor in that.”

“I only need one hour,” Mia counters and Gracie gives her a smile.

“That’s what I like to hear, let’s get started.”

TAGLIST:

@starrynite7114 @joalsglasses @mrsamaroevans @justahopelessssromantic @mrsjaxtellerfan @rosieposie0624 @luckyharley1903 @miss-nori85 @proudlittlewitchbitch @thesandbeneathmytoes

If you want to be added to the taglist let me know!!!

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

SOOO Gracie (aka the doc/vet? from season 1 at the shelter) is going to be in this story. I write a preface about this because upon research for her character I learned the actress is trans and BEAUTIFUL. Of course, I am NOT taking that away from her, so her character IS trans. It is not mentioned in this chapter, but will be spoke about later. However, because I am not at all a fountain of knowledge on this subject, nor would I ever claim to be, I am going to tread lightly. I have done further research, but will keep the details light because she is not a main character even though I wish she was on the show because I've decided I love her and she deserved more than 2 minutes on screen. There was a STORY there, am I right?

#fanfiction #mayans mc #angel reyes #angel reyes x latina!oc #friends can break your heart too #chapter 4 #angel reyes x mia flores

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buckysbest · 3 years

Text

IT WAS GOOD UNTIL IT WASN'T

CHAPTER TWO: CAN I?

PAIRING: Steve Rogers x Reader

Series Warnings: NSFW TOPICS, Manipulative/Toxic tendencies, sad boi steve rogers, cheating, alcohol

Series Summary: Heartbreak follows her everywhere and Steve Rogers is nothing but the latest victim, at least thats what she thought? Now she can't shake the feeling of him no matter where she goes.

Word count: 1.8K

A/N: Hey lovelies! Sorry I haven't been posting much, I am have just had a lot going on the past few weeks. I absolutely adore all of you (@lookiamtrying im talking to you extra) and I cant wait to see what you guys think!

ps sorry for any typos lol I really wanted to give you guys something today

Series Masterlist coming soon // Masterlist Coming soon

You could pretend you weren't petty and you could pretend he didn't have your blood boiling, but you knew you’d only be lying to yourself. At the sound of her voice, your stomach had dropped practically through the pavement and you were pissed.

Your “vacation” in Miami now officially cut short as you found yourself leaning back into your increasingly uncomfortable plane seat. You drummed your nails on the back of your phone as you began to actually consider the consequences that would follow the impulse purchase of your ticket.

You knew you shouldn't go back. You knew what kind of message this sent.

It practically screamed your need for attention from your boy in red, white, and blue while also displaying the jealousy you couldn't quite push down for all yo see

But you just couldn't help yourself.

If he was going to disrupt your plans this heavily, the least you could do is return the favor.

The sun was just rising over the wing of the aircraft as the flight attendants made their final rounds and speeches to the nearly empty plane. The pounding headache from your night of partying was only worsened as the roar of the engines seemed to get louder and louder. In an attempt to mitigate the pain, you pushed the power button on your phone and shoved it into the seat pocket beside you. Your head found the back of the seat with a small groan as your frustration with yourself only grew.

In need of some peace, you let your tired and heavy eyes drape shut. Much to your dismay, they only provided a screen for the tortuous highlight reel of his hands on your body to play upon.

This was going to be a long flight.

---

As the wheels of the plane finally landed, you quickly gathered your limited belongings and headed straight for the exit. Your rushed departure from Miami couldn't have been more obvious to the other passengers and pedestrians around you. The early morning business class was filled mostly with people in professional wear which provided a stark contrast to your, albeit, slutty and glittering minidress.

Your heels echoed throughout the airport with each step toward the exit of the building, disrupting the stillness of the morning. As you finally crossed the threshold into the fresh air, your driver waved you down excitedly. The pain in your head worsened once again as your agitation grew and you slid on your sunglasses with an eye roll.

“Miss. Y/N, it is really so lovely to see you, we all missed you so much! Your father was incredibly excited that you decided to come home early!”

As you walked further from the building, he rushed around you, gathering your belongings from you as he continued to sprinkle you with unnecessary compliments.

“Mhm, yeah, Thomas, that's really lovely- truly, do you mind though, can we just skip home and just go to the penthouse please?”

The request surprised him a bit, probably because your father prepared him for a different sight exiting the airport. Instead of a burnt out party-girl chomping at the bit for the comforts of home, he was met with a hungover and irritable heiress already smothered over her newly acquired lack of freedom.

The serenity of the ride into the city allowed you a moment of reflection as hints of guilt began to pool in the bottom of your stomach. While your attitude didn't completely improve, you did feel bad for the way you had spoken to Thomas because in all fairness, the limo was far warmer and comforting than the unwelcoming New York air and you knew he was simply doing his job.

The tension in the vehicle seemed to diffuse a little as you got closer to your apartment. Your eyes and energy had rather refocused on the real reason for your return as you turned to your phone, staring at the messages Steve had left you.

3:15 (We’ll talk in the morning, ok?)

3:20 (Sweetheart, look, if it's really important, I can stay up for a bit longer)

4:00 (did you at least get home safe?)

5:00 (doll, you're making me nervous, please just let me know your safe)

You bit your lip in concentration but your eyes were drawn away from your phone before you could craft a response as the car found itself coming to a slow stop. Thomas made his way to your door, opening it and offering you a hand as you stepped out and took in the building. After the all-too-long ride up the elevator, your mind was settled as you entered your top floor home. It was just how you had left it two months ago and it felt good to be back.

“Just a moment thomas, I just need to get changed”

Thomas awkwardly dismissed himself back to the car as you walked into your bedroom and subsequent closet. You paused under your closet archway briefly to finally type the response you had been thinking over.

8:00 am ( can I come over? or do you have company)

Your nails met your lips as you nervously awaited his response.

8:00 am (wait what? are you home already?)

8:00 am (you know you can come over anytime )

A smile grew on your lips at his timely response. Your hands rummaged through the variety of drawers lining the walls of your wardrobe before stopping to feel the lace of a white set of lingerie you knew he couldn't resist. Sliding it on, your eyes gel onto the perfect outfit for your intended purposes.

The black velvet top and matching skirt hugged your body in a way that should be illegal while your diamond-studded pumps found their way onto the floor replaced by equally stunning white pumps. They rubbed slightly on the blisters you had acquired in the past week as you quickly made your way back out the door after grabbing your handbag from the couch.

‘He lived right down the street’ you repeated to yourself as traffic dragged what should have been a five minute ride into a fifteen minute endeavor.

The anticipation of being reunited began to expose itself as your skin began to glisten and an excited glow rose onto your face. Before Thomas could even put the car fully in park, you had already opened the door, saying a quick don't wait up before slamming the door shut.

Your legs couldn't seem to move quick enough as you walked through the hallways until you reached his door. Your heels must have given your arrival away because before your knuckles could even knock on the door, he swung it open and pulled you into a tight embrace.

“I am so glad you're safe”

His warm breath tickled your neck as he mumbled the soft words into your hair. A small smile found its way onto your face at the notion before you raised yourself onto your tippy toes, whispering back an “I missed you”.

You could feel the silence and comfort in everyone of your muscles as they relaxed into the man you knew all too well. You turned around, stepping into the threshold of his home without breaking the strong grip that he still had on you. Taking the small note, he released you slightly, pulling his large frame through the door as well before he shut it gently. His eyes softened as they met yours for the first time in two months.

“What are you doing home?” A small smile raised onto his face as you took another step into him, laying your head on his chest.

“I already told you, I missed you,” you replied as his hands that laid respectfully on your lower back were lowered by your own mischievous hands. You placed a soft kiss beneath his ear, “Did you miss me too Cap?”

A small groan left his mouth at the nickname and you knew you were close to getting what you wanted.

You lead his hands once again lower, this time to the bottom of your skirt, prompting him to slide it up a bit. Your hands finally left his as you reached them up around his neck and leaned in.

His lips met yours halfway in a movement that could only be described as desperate.

The slow and agonizing pace that he had tried to set for you was now gone as he patted your thighs and you jumped. He carried you to his bedroom, tossing you onto the bed and crawling on top of you.

His mouth then began to make its way down the side of your neck, eliciting a loud moan from your painted lips. A satisfied smirk momentarily appeared on his face as he lifted his eyes to meet yours. They seemed to search your eyes for a moment before they broke away from yours with a small frown. His hovering form came down as he placed his head on your chest with a groan.

“What's wrong cap?” you joked slightly as you ran your hands through his hair.

“Steve?”

“I can’t do this doll.” His sweet eyes raised to meet yours and you could immediately tell they were filled to the brim with guilt.

“Of course you can Ste-”

“You don’t understand y/n,” he said with a deep sigh before pulling himself further back and standing up. He began to pace slightly as he continued with a frustrated groan, “I- fuck- “

Your eyes widened at the uncharacteristic language and behavior of your golden boy as his eyes met yours once again. “I-I finally found someone who will give me what you cant y/n.” He paused momentarily, as if being hit by the recoil of the gun he had just fired into your heart. “She, She really sees a future with me doll and, and I-I can't just throw that all away for nothing” he says. His words and his eyes were laced with propositions and it really appears like he's trying to convince himself more than you.

Nonetheless, your heart dropped to your stomach and you could feel tears threatening to brim at your eyes. “Nothing? Am I nothing to you Steve?”

“Oh- of course no- I didn't mean it like that,” he sighed as he quickly walked back over to you.

You extended an arm out before pulling him back onto the bed and flipping him over. Straddling his hips, you leaned down and laid into his chest. His arms once again found their way around you, if only because of muscle memory. You held this embrace for a moment before sighing out your own proposition.

“I’ll go Steve… I’ll go and leave forever if you really want…. Just tell me..” You leaned your head up slightly to meet his ear and whispered,

“Is that what you really want?”

#marvel masterlist #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers one shot #steve rogers smut #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers #steve rogers x you #self insert #x reader #steve rogers series

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pinkhairedlily · 3 years

Text

Chapter 7 - Student Council President Sakura

SCPS AO3 | PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Sakura went to her shift a little bit giddier than usual for a variety of reasons despite the busy holiday season; it was nearing Christmas after all. The first one – having finally tied with Sasuke in their recent exams, and the second – the approval of her personal project. There was also a third reason, but she was unresolved of what to feel.

Kakashi met with her alone after their monthly council meeting. It was the usual talk, the heavy administrative concerns they do not bother other council members with, reminders about problematic behaviors among the student body or personal problems that faculty or students were plagued with that needed intervention. He said an apology just as she reached the door.

“Sakura?” Kakashi asked, turning in his chair.

She looked back at him with a neutral expression. While she knew she wasn’t overtly passive aggressive in her actions, he might have noticed a change in her cheerful disposition towards him. Her clumped fingers anxiously fidgeted with the rubber band on her wrist, his rubber band that she didn’t use anymore to tie her hair. “Yes, sensei?”

“Were you offended with what I said during the school trip?” he asked, but his expression already seemed to know the answer.

Her eyes downcast, she turned the knob of the door, knowing that she was free to leave without replying, but as the door stayed ajar, she decided to come clean. “Yes.”

“I thought as much. I’m aware that I belittled you like a child. Your money is yours to spend however you want. Please know that I only have good intentions with what I’ve done,” her sensei told her. “But isn’t it also unfair for you to shoulder that much problem? I’m a paid employee and before that, I am your adviser. I have a responsibility just as much as you do. Next time you are presented with that, learn to ask for help.”

Sakura didn’t see the expression he had on his face. She was too flustered to compose a comeback and she can only settle for a meek nod before shooting out of the room like her tail was on fire.

“Girlie!” Her coworker’s voice brought her back to reality – a reality of a long queue of customers waiting for their to-go coffees, mini-cakes, and boxes of pastries to share with loved ones in this cold night while she’ll be likely stuck in shift well past beyond midnight, tolerating the café uniform, the itch of her black weave on her scalp, and the heavy makeup she wore for tonight. She flashed an apologetic (yet charming) smile to the other person, and they gave her a thumbs up.

The queue has thinned out by eleven, to be replaced soon by stragglers hoping to catch a last dose of caffeine pump. She stretched her neck and stifled a yawn, forgetting to say Welcome to a customer that walked through their doors.

“Your sweetest drink please and a half dozen of hazelnut cookies,” the customer said. “Thanks, Sakura.”

She almost broke her already strained neck when she raised it up quickly to meet the owner of the voice. No gel blonde hair Naruto with black circles under his eyes. Rookie MVP looked shit as hell.

She barely formed an excuse in her head when he waved his hand in front of her. “You can drop the act with me. I already knew the week you got discharged from the hospital. I just passed by after dinner with the team when I saw a girl manning the cashier with the same band-aid on her nose which I gave you a day before.” Naruto grinned at her in the off chance that it would reassure her.

“Will this be to-go?” Sakura asked as she busied herself with Naruto’s order, unsettled with her carelessness. At the back of her mind, she was yet to answer herself why she was adamant to use a disguise while working.

“For here. Apartment’s kinda bare during these times.”

As what she expected, Naruto was still seated when they were about to close, and ironically, he chose the corner table with no windows, contrary to what his other friend would have chosen. Like those usual nights with Sasuke, she slid in front of him, her disguise gone.

“Let’s go see the amusement park tomorrow?” It was as if she saw sadness being lifted from his shoulders the way they transitioned from slouching to an alert stance.

She found then that Naruto was always that person that found happiness at the simplest things.

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

“A horror house!” Naruto pointed at the very moment they stepped inside the park. He somehow absorbed his captain’s fashion persona, undercut prominent with his baseball cap, loose plain black shirt, and gray cargo pants.

“All right. Treat me if we reach the other end with you clinging to my arm,” Sakura teased. She was dressed in a mauve smocked crop top with high rise flared jeans and platform white sneakers that allowed her to reach Naruto’s shoulders. She wondered if her getup was too much what with the number of heads that turned her way as she littered in the entrance earlier.

Sasuke begged off through their group chat, saying he was unavailable. He was yet to explain that group hug last time, but he was evasive every time Naruto brought it up while she simply cannot find the right timing.

She guessed she was still taken aback by how warm his hold felt like. If she was right, whatever defenses he had around them were toppled down by himself that day. But what triggered it – she’d probably never know.

Naruto placed a fist on his chest. “This is one bet I’ll never lose.”

And he lost – spectacularly. His baseball cap was long gone thanks to a zombie who panicked when he almost punched it. He was also hyperventilating and sweating out of his wits, his throat may have gone hoarse by now with all his screaming inside.

Sakura cannot get rid of the long string of laughter that bubbled. “Come on, let’s cool off for a while.”

To help calm Naruto down, they had to line up with all the other kids in the merry-go-round, then off to paddle a swan boat on a manmade lake. She went all out in the shooting range and won Naruto a frog plushie while he blitzed through the basketball hoops, sneering at the kids beside him who were waiting for their turns.

They capped off the afternoon with a ride on the ferris wheel. They sat opposite each other, and Sakura suddenly felt queasy. She remembered she was apparently acrophobic, and so she focused instead on Naruto who was still in awe of the scenery. The park had a busy crowd today – it was the holiday season after all and families, friends, and lovers were up and about. She just hoped Naruto didn’t catch on yet.

“So why are you stuck with me instead of your family, Sakura?”

Ah he caught on. “They’re busy,” she simply replied. “Besides I’ll see them later in the evening.”

Naruto smiled at her, a smile that knew she was hiding more but he chose not to prod further. Sakura silently conveyed her thanks.

“I don’t know how to thank you. I was really in a slump when we lost, but this day made me recharge my drive and gave me a newfound resolve. You, Pres, is the first to hear it!”

Sakura can only grin, urging him to go on.

“I will bring our school team to the nationals and we will win.”

Sakura clapped her hands and gave him a thumbs up. “Of course, you will. I know you’ll do it.”

“I just wish I told Captain Haru before he left town for vacation.” Naruto slid lower in his seat. “Apparently, he and Hinata broke up. You’re friends with both of them, right?”

Sakura shook her head, shock at the news. She had an inkling from her previous conversation with Haru, but she didn’t expect it would come this early. “I am, but I haven’t really heard from both parties lately.”

“Well, Hinata’s father offered an athletic scholarship to Cap, but he turned it down, saying he was undeserving, and it might just be because of Hinata’s prodding.”

If she recalled correctly, Hiashi Hyuuga was the chair of the Sports Council that spanned all districts of their state. She could see why Haru was angry and disappointed enough to break it off with Hinata. “But they were so good together. Did he ever tell you how they first met?”

Naruto rubbed his hands together and leaned forward. “Do tell please!”

“There was a student exchange of some sort and Hinata ended up in our class for a month. Of course, she was the takane no hana and this immediately gathered a bandwagon group of shallow admirers. Haru, oh Haru, he found pretty people depth-less, but he was the class representative that time – “

“And you were?”

“Of course, a student council president. But wait pay attention Naruto!”

“Okay I am paying attention! But you really are an overachiever!”

“Yeah and what about it!” Sakura almost chuckled in exasperation. “So anyway, he had to escort Hinata back and forth at the school gates because of the unreasonable crowd. He would ask her random things, but most especially on archery since he was so bad at it. And they found a common ground and the topics expanded beyond the arrow and bow. The guy had the nerve to cover it up from me at first, saying they’re fake dating and it was just an arrangement to keep creeps at bay.” She sighed, suddenly saddened by the breakup. “I thought it would last forever.”

“But Hinata never introduced him to her family, did she?” Naruto asked. “Because Cap also told me that when Hiashi called him up for the offer, he didn’t know he was the boyfriend, he was simply a person her friend referred.”

Oh Haru. You must have known what family you were entering when you loved her.

“Hey? Time to get down,” the operator said. Their turn was already finished.

As they walked to the gates, Naruto asked her. “Love is too scary. You’ll never know if you’ll end up hurt or happy despite everything. Besides, can you even say it’ll be worth fighting for?”

Sakura’s fingers immediately went to the rubber band on her wrist, “It’s always a mix of everything, all the good and the bad, and somehow it’s all convoluted into one hodgepodge of memories that will be a part of you forever. It’s your decision what you want to do with it, and in between all of those, you’ll know. Like one big realization in your head that lights up like fireworks and splayed in big capital letters.”

Her eyes met Naruto’s gaze and his eyes slightly widened at her response.

“I talk vague, don’t I?”

“Not at all,” he replied.

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

January couldn’t come fast enough, and Itachi was out of the country just as quickly as he entered his apartment unannounced on Christmas Eve. A holiday break, he said, but if he wasn’t annoyingly checking up on him in the evenings, he was otherwise holed up in his hotel. The truth was, he had a conference and a simultaneous workshop with the state hospital. Sasuke was just a side trip, an obligation that his brother didn’t want to take care of.

He could have told him about Naruto and Sakura and how he now knew all the technicalities of baseball because of the former and that he can consider calling them as friends, but their brotherly bond was too frayed to bridge all of those thoughts.

It was a week before the start of the spring term, and he found himself re-reading Naruto’s texts over and over again.

Grumpy.

So how was your date?

AHHHHH SO IT WAS A DATE. I NOW FEEL SO SHY.

Idiot.

SHE LOOKED SO BEAUTIFUL IN HER GETUP.

Yeah as if you two didn’t already spam the group chat with your pictures.

HEY AT LEAST WE EDITED YOU IN.

Why are you typing in all caps? Your phone broken?

GRUMPPPPPPYYYYY. Grumpy, I have something to tell you. I think I like Sakura – not the ‘like’ like others have for her. It just came to me, like fireworks in big capital letters. I LIKE HER.

Sasuke wasn’t able to reply. He didn’t know what to reply or what to feel, really. These recent nights, his mind only brought him to the first moment he saw her in the café, and there was an unfamiliar pang he couldn’t name.

Then, suddenly he was in front of her in the café itself, ordering an iced americano and bruschetta with tomato and basil. Her eyes lit up in recognition; today she wore her black hair in low pigtails and a light dab of tint on her cheeks and lips.

She sat across him when it was her break time, cheery and still in disguise, the winter cold making the blush even more prominent. “I’m gonna bounce some ideas to you.”

Sasuke kept mum, relishing the sacred combination of tomato and basil in his mouth, but let his stare level with hers.

“The school board approved my personal project. I proposed to set up a mental health committee since our infirmary – get this – and guidance office don’t actually have a psychiatrist. The school will be asking a medical professional to come in for monthly guidance counseling and will be an official partner for outpatient concerns.” With her face on her palm, she leaned forward, seemingly surveying Sasuke’s minute expressions.

“That’s tricky,” he remarked. “How will you encourage them though?”

“I think just the mere availability and accessibility of it is enough to encourage students.”

“Hmm.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“Aren’t you gonna ask me why I did it?”

Sasuke knew that he already broke his resolve to remain uninvolved in the remaining years of his life here in this town. He knew that sometime ago, the walls he built up since the accident broke down in the constant presence of her and the blonde idiot. But in spite of, he knew that there was another layer of wall that withstood the recent onslaught. Unfortunately, something has started to leak from its crevices. Something that made him understand the overwhelming emotions that raged behind such walls.

He missed having her all to himself, like a little secret, a safe abode he could always retreat to – her with her black hair and makeup, her with her bouts of vulnerabilities laid out in front of him in rare moments, her with her emerald eyes and tufts of rose hair that peak from the weave, her in this table in front of him and the world outside divided by a glass window.

If he could name it, it was a feeling of loss, a loss he stole and a loss he never had the privilege of feeling in the first place.

“Because you’re a good person and you always think of others,” Sasuke started, still holding her gaze. “And I think you want it because you might need it more.”

Sakura was the first to break off. She soon excused herself and resumed her shift. By the time Sasuke finished his coffee and bread, it was almost closing time. His words may have struck a chord so he decided not to wait for her. Maybe he’ll talk it through with her next time, if she allowed him to. He was almost out of the doors when the new pair of customers passed by.

A glint of silver hair.

“Oh, hello there Sakura.”

And a brunette on his arm.

Sasuke never saw color drain as quickly as the blush did from Sakura’s face.

AO3 LINK | NEXT CHAPTER | CHAPTER 8

#SCPS #student council president sakura #sasusaku #narusaku #kakasaku #uchiha sasuke #haruno sakura #uzumaki naruto #hatake kakashi #team 7 #lots of narusaku in this one hihi

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avengerscompound · 4 years

Text

The Tower: Family - 19

The Tower: Family An Avengers Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Pairing: Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 2349

Warnings: Pregnancy

Synopsis: With new powers, Thor now living on Earth full time, a wedding to plan, and Natasha and Wanda expecting, a lot is changing for Elly and her large and rather unconventional family. When Elise’s parents try to reestablish connections, Elly questions what being a family actually means.

Chapter 19: Names

I was just under twenty weeks pregnant when I went to have my glucose test and the ultrasound that would tell us about any major abnormalities and possibly what sex the baby was. The twins were on one of their home days and we were taking them along too, so they could be there when they learned if the last of their new siblings would be a brother or sister. Everyone was excited and there had been bets made on if it would be a boy or a girl. Some people seemed to think that statistically, it would have to be a boy as there were already three girls on their way. However, Tony, Bruce, Sam, and Bucky all knew that’s not how statistics worked and seemed to think that it would be a girl just because the universe wanted us to have to all agree on four different girls' names at the same time.

While I was waiting for the sugar drink to take effect Natasha and Wanda had their checkups. They were now up to 28 weeks and everything was really good. Even Wanda with the twins was looking very on track. Both girls were growing strongly and Doctor Schroeder had no concerns at all about her getting to full term with them.

When I’d finally had my blood test and come into the examination room, Natasha and Wanda were finishing up and I was directed to get up on the table for my ultrasound. Steve, Tony, and Bruce were in attendance. Pietro was sitting on Bruce’s knee playing with a stethoscope, while Steve held Riley and she tried to grab every single thing that was in reach of her.

“How have you been feeling, Elise?” Doctor Schroeder asked as I got into position and she set up the ultrasound machine.

“Good,” I said. “The morning sickness passed. I have more energy. They kick a lot so I don’t get worried about them too much.”

“That’s good. And you’re keeping your stress levels low?” She asked, squeezing some gel on my stomach.

“Well…” I said, guiltily. “Less stress than when I was pregnant with the twins.”

She shook her head and pressed the paddle to my stomach. “You really need to be taking care of yourself, Elise.”

“You tell that to the world,” I snarked, and she laughed as she pressed the paddle down on her stomach.

The baby came into view on the screen, looking like an actual baby right down to the fingers and toes. “I’m assuming you’re all finding out the sex,” she said.

“Oh yeah. I definitely want to know what flavor of spawn El is cooking,” Tony said.

“And I’m guessing you’re all hoping for a boy,” she joked.

Tony went to speak, but Steve quickly cut him off. “We’ll all be happy either way.”

“What about you kids?” Doctor Schroeder asked. “Do you want this to be a brother or a sister?”

“I wanna sisder,” Riley said quickly.

“No, Wiley,” Pietro argued. “Deres fwee sisders. I wanna brovver.”

Doctor Schroeder started laughing. “Well, let’s see which one of you gets your wish.”

She moved the paddle getting it into position to see better. “Alright, if you’re placing bets, now’s the time,” she said. Tony crossed his fingers and started chanting, “Boy, boy, boy, boy, boy.”

“And we have a…” she said slowly, dragging out the suspense for as long as possible. “Boy. You’re having a boy.”

“Yes!” Tony said, pumping his fist in the air and leaning over and kissing me deeply.

“You hear that, Piet?” Bruce asked. “You get a brother.”

“Yay!” Pietro said, bouncing on Bruce’s lap.

“Oh, no,” Steve said. “We’re going to have a little mini-Tony in the family.”

I started laughing and cradled Tony’s jaw. “I know. Isn’t it great?”

“A boy,” Tony repeated. “Three girls and a little boy.”

“Will this make picking names easier or harder, do you think?” I asked.

The answer to that question was ‘harder’. Having one boy made deciding on the name harder.

After we finished up with the doctor we met the others on the garden deck with the dogs for a kind of picnic to try and work out names. With the twins, I had been the one to decide their names. I accepted input but no one was willing to argue with me about which names I settled on because I’d been under so much stress during the pregnancy. This time, we were all deciding together.

Having three girls on the way meant that everyone was willing to be more open to accepting girl’s names put forward by other people because there was always another daughter to have the girl’s name they preferred. There was only one boy and anyone that had a name they liked or was special to them wanted it to be the one used. So while the kids played with the dogs, we all sat around arguing about names.

“Hey, hey,” Steve said, putting his hands up. “Maybe we need to write a list.”

Tony opened up a screen that we could all see.

“So for girls we have; Sarah, Rebecca, Kate, Thour, Torunn, Ada, Lyra, Rose, and Marya,” Steve said. “And for boys we have; Paul, Thomas, William, Módi, Edwin, Ian, George, and Alex.”

“That’s more names than kids alright,” I joked as I helped myself to an egg salad sandwich.

“Should we vote?” Natasha asked. “I only suggested a girl’s name and Tony only suggested a boy’s name so we might be able to work it out through votes.”

“I don’t know about that,” Bucky argued. “Some of those names are important. Some are just names we like.”

“Maybe people who have names they wanted to be used already should get less of a vote this time,” Wanda suggested. “I mean, Pietro is already named for my brother. It is only fair that the names I suggested be put at the back of the line.”

“Does that mean El doesn’t get a say this time?” Clint asked. “I mean, Piet and Riley were named without a vote. She just decided.”

“Whose fault is that, Clint?” I snarked.

“Right,” he said, holding his hands up. “I know. Sorry, I was just asking.”

“Elise gets just as much a say as everyone else,” Steve said firmly. “She may have selected Riley and Pietro’s names but she chose them based on people who were important to some of us.”

“Daddy, daddy, daddy,” Riley said, running flat out into the group, followed by Spotty. She slammed into Sam’s side, drawing a soft ‘oof’ from him before grabbing his arm and pulling on it. “Come, come pway.”

“Hold on, you monster. We’re just trying to pick the names for your new brothers and sisters,” Sam explained, picking her up and tossing her in the air. “After I finish my lunch I’ll play.”

“Why don’t you and Pietro get in the swings and I’ll push you,” Wanda suggested. Riley seemed to think that was a good idea as she ran back off with the dalmatian on her heels. When she and Pietro climbed up into their toddler swings, Wanda flicked her wrist and used her telekinesis to push them.

“Is it worth noting that Sarah was a name put forward by two people and so was Rebecca?” I asked.

“That’s a good point,” Steve agreed.

“Plus those are family ones. I’d really like to name one of my daughters after my sister,” Bucky said. “And it was Bruce’s mom too right, Bruce?”

Bruce nodded. “That’s right. I would definitely like to honor my mother. She was the only reason I made it through infancy.”

“And I’d like to use Sarah for the same reason,” Steve agreed.

“Plus Sarah was my late sister’s name,” Sam added.

“I’m fine with Sarah and Rebecca being two of the names,” I said.

“Anyone not okay with that?” Tony asked. When no one argued it, he moved the names Rebecca and Sarah to a new column.

“Was there any other girl’s names that were special to us?” Steve asked.

“Marya was my mother’s name,” Wanda said, still flicking her wrist back and forth as she swung the kids. The sounds of the squeals floating over to us.

“And Rose was the name I chose when I had a miscarriage,” Natasha said. “I know that’s not the same thing but… I feel attached to the name.”

Clint put his arm around her and rubbed her side.

“They’re both really pretty names,” I said. “I’d be happy with either.”

There was a murmuring of agreement from the others. Tyr who seemed to be finished playing with the kids came over and curled up on Bucky’s lap and he started playing with the spaniel’s ears.

“I guess the question would be if either of you is happy to have the name as a middle name? And if not, do you want to hold onto it in case we have any more children in the future.”

“I can wait,” Wanda said, caressing her stomach. “Pietro was named for my brother and I want to do this again. Maybe not for a while but I love being pregnant.”

Tony moved the name Rose under Rebecca and Marya to a completely different line.

“Alright, we’re getting somewhere,” Steve said. “Anyone not okay with any of these girls' names being middle names?”

“If we ever use Thour, I’d like it to be a first name,” Thor said.

“Same with Kate,” Clint added, and both names were moved to the row with Marya.

“Well that leaves three names, which is exactly what we need,” Bruce said. “So let’s just see how they sound together.”

There was a little toing and froing, and at one point Clint and Sam got up to play with the kids while we argued about how the names sounded together. In the end, we settled on Rebecca Torunn for the baby Natasha was carrying, and Sarah Lyra and Rose Ada for the twins.

“Alright we have eight boys’ names and one boy,” Steve said. “How are we going to do this? What names are important to us? Ian was my grandfather and George was Bucky’s dad.”

“Paul was my dad,” Sam added.

“Edwin was Jarvis’ first name,” Tony said.

“But all of you have also had a kid or more named after someone important to you,” I reasoned. “Has anyone not done that?”

“Well you, and you’ve carried the most babies,” Sam said playfully.

“That is true. But I did also name the twins with no discussion,” I added. “I don’t know if I have any names that I really love anyway. I like having the names be important to all of you.”

“Seriously though, El,” Bruce said. “All of us have put names forward and all of us have had at least one name that was important to us used already. Isn’t there a name you grew up loving? Or a family member who you did love? A grandparent maybe?”

I shook my head and shrugged a little. “I liked the name Nova I guess,” I said. “But I’d much rather he be Edwin or Ian or Paul than Nova.”

“Not George? Rude,” Bucky teased.

“Come on now, Buck,” I teased back. “You have a common name like George and you don’t even use it.”

“Oh and Paul is so… uncommon,” he snarked.

“Anyway,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Bucky, Steve, Sam, and Bruce now all have first names for kids. Yes, Riley’s middle name comes from Tony’s mom, but given that this baby is one he specifically asked to have, I think it’s fair that we name him Edwin unless anyone has any huge objections to that.”

“I don’t!” Tony joked.

When no one argued with it the name Edwin moved from the maybe pile to the list under Rebecca, Sarah, and Rose. “Alright, Eddie is gonna need a middle name,” Tony said.

“I say George,” Bucky said. “Seeing as Elise just seriously dissed my dad’s name.”

I smothered a laugh and pushed him. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me back so we were both lying on the ground. I squealed and started wrestling with him and soon the dogs and then the twins were trying to get in on the action too. “Bucky!” I squealed as I struggled under him. “This isn’t how you get what you want!”

“Really?” He asked as he started tickling me. “I think it’s gonna work.”

“Stop it! I’m gonna pee myself!” I squealed.

“Daddy! You weave mommy awone!” Pietro said, protectively pushing Bucky to get him off me.

Bucky sat up laughing. “Oh no, I’m sorry, peanut. I shouldn’t be so mean to mommy should I?”

Pietro put his hands on his hips and huffed. He looked so much like a mini Steve that it would have been easy to forget that Clint was actually his biological dad. “Oh man,” Tony laughed. “Cap version 2.0.”

“Thank you, Piet,” I said, pulling him into my arms and cuddling him. “We were just playing.”

“Otay, mommy,” he said, snuggling up to me.

“Daddy Bucky wants your little brother’s name to be Edwin George Skjodbærer. What do you think?” I asked.

Pietro seemed to think about it for a moment and nodded his head. “Is good.”

Steve chuckled. “Well, I think the king has spoken. Edwin George?”

Everyone nodded in agreement and Tony moved George next to Edwin in the list. “That’s one more thing done,” he said. “Now all we really need to do is stock up on baby supplies and hire the nannies.”

“There is one other thing we need to work on,” Steve said seriously and looked at me. “We need to figure out how to get rid of El’s stress.”

I frowned and nodded. It was definitely something I needed to work out, but I was afraid that any steps I took might just make it worse. Whatever the case was, I need to go speak to my mother and hope that I could get some kind of closure for good.

// NEXT

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sleepynobie · 4 years

Text

Drawing (Mori x Reader)

(A/N: A fluff with Mori! Enjoy :3)

As someone who loves to draw, you just can't bear to draw at home all the time. You need to go out to the park with your sketchbook, sitting with your back on a tree as you draw and listen to the music. It's just healing for you when you're surrounded by nature and able to feel the fresh air, although it can be difficult as an introvert when some kids suddenly approach you and get excited as they look at your drawing. But today, it's not a kid who approach you.

It's your classmate, Mori Jin.

"Woah!! You're really good at drawing!"

At first, you don't notice that Mori is next to you as he watches you draw the environment in front of you. But, you start to feel something is close to you which breaks your focus on the drawing and turn your attention to the left. Then, you finally notice that someone is crouching next to you while watching you draw which makes you look startled that you move away from him.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" Mori quickly apologises before grinning sheepishly "I'm just really impressed at your drawing so I wanna see how it's going to turn out"

"N-N-No! It's fine!" You stutter a little since you're still flustered before calming yourself down and take off your earbuds "I didn't expect you to be here, Mori Jin"

However, Mori seems to look confused as if he doesn't know you and that shit stings yet at the same time not surprising. There's a reason why people call you the real-life Kuroko.

"I guess you don't know me huh..." You say and look dejected which makes Mori flinch.

"W-Well I uhh..." He tries to remember if he ever saw you but nothing comes into mind before he apologises "I'm sorry... I don't know you"

"That's okay" You sigh before smiling "I'm (Name), we're in the same class"

"You are?!" He looks shocked and you nod.

"I sit at the last row near the window. I tend to be quiet and don't like to stand out so that's why I don't have a strong presence, unlike you"

"I see" Mori says before grinning "I'll greet you in the class next time alright?!"

You quickly imagine how Mori will greet you loudly to the point it will attract the whole class's attention to both of you. And that would be the worst scenario because you don't want all eyes on you.

"As long as you don't shout, I'm okay with it-"

"Also, just call me Mori okay?" He interjects with a smile and offers his hand for a handshake which you reciprocate.

"Okay, Mori" It feels a bit weird when it's the first time you talk to him. But anyway, at least Mori knows you now.

"So, do you draw people too?" Mori suddenly asks which you immediately nod in response while you turn off the music on your phone and keep your earbuds in your bag.

"I draw everything including people. But I'm still learning though.. I'm not good with anatomy"

"Really?" He looks at you with awe before he stands in front of you "Then, can you draw me?"

"I can but don't expect much from me" You say unconfidently while Mori just proceeds with a high kick pose.

"How about this?"

"That's fine with me but are you sure you can hold on? It'll probably take some time but I'll try my best to draw as fast as I can" You say with a concerned look but he just smiles confidently.

"Don't worry! I can hold this position as long as you want!"

"O-Okay.." You sweatdrop and start drawing on your sketchbook. Well, you don't draw in details since you don't want to tire him for holding his pose (and people start to look at him weirdly which you feel bad about it). But you're impressed that he actually manages to stay still since it takes 20 minutes to finish the sketch. If it's you, you won't last for 5 minutes.

"I'm done" You say after you're done to Mori who finally able to bring his leg down and quickly crouch next to you to see the drawing. Even though it's just a sketch, it impresses him at how well you draw in just 20 minutes.

"That's amazing!!" He says excitedly which makes you blush at his compliment.

"Thank you... It's just a sketch right now but I can refine it and give it to you if you want to"

"Really?!" He looks at you with a happy smile "I never have someone draws me so that will be awesome!"

You nod "Yeap. It's like a practice for me so I enjoy challenging myself in drawing different things"

"I see I see" Mori looks impressed before pointing to his face "Then, what about my face?"

You can see that his eyes sparkle at how he looks forward to seeing you draw his face. Well, you don't mind since it won't attract attention and he doesn't have to tire himself on maintaining a pose. So, you decide to accept it and even let him see the final result instead of the sketch.

But boi you make a wrong choice.

Mori sits in front of you so it's easier for you to see him while drawing on your sketchbook. But the thing is, first, he's staring at you. Second, you keep having different thoughts while you draw such as how does his hair maintain its form? Just how many gels does he use? Isn't this the first time you draw a boy? And, Mori actually looks... attractive? When the last thought pops up, you blush as you look flustered at the sudden thought and your heart begins to race.

"(Name), are you okay? Your cheeks are turning red?" Mori asks as he notices the change in colour on your cheek before leaning closer to you and placing his hand on your forehead "Grandpa said that it's either because of alcohol or fever but you don't seem to have a fever, and we're not drinking alcohol"

That makes you blush even more as you know why that happens before you decide to stop drawing "I'm okay, I'm okay. But I don't think I can finish the drawing today..."

"Ehhhh?" Mori looks slightly disappointed "So.. are you starting to feel unwell? But you don't seem to have a fever-"

"W-Well, I think I overestimate my ability" You interject before looking at him with determination "Anyway, I will finish it as soon as possible! I have pride in my drawing so I won't back down from what I offered"

"Ohhh! You sound cool, (Name)!" His expression changes to awe in a split second since he's distracted before he claps a couple of times which again makes you feel embarrassed at his compliment "But how are you going to finish it if I'm not there for you to see? Unless I have to visit your house or we meet at this park again? Or at school?"

"Well.. I have an idea but" You suddenly look timid and take out your phone "I would need your permission if it's okay to take your photo so I can draw at home or whenever I have free time"

"Sounds great!" Mori agrees immediately before smiling "Take a photo of me then"

"Okay" You nod and position yourself to take a photo of Mori before you tap the camera button to take it "Got it. I will delete the photo as soon as I'm done so don't worry! I won't save your photo!"

You panic for a moment because you don't want to be thought of as a creep. On the other hand, Mori looks confused since he doesn't find any problem with you keeping the photo "Well, I don't really care since it's only a photo of me. I just want to see your drawing!"

"Okay.." You smile slightly "Anyway, I'll try to get it done by Monday”

"Really?! So, I can see it at school?!" His eyes sparkle due to excitement that he's going to see a drawing of him soon which makes you sweatdrop and nod in response. You're still not used to with Mori being hyper.

"Awesome! I can't wait!" He grins "You're the first person who draws me so I wanna see how I look like in a drawing, especially when your drawing is amazing!"

"It's not that great" You smile sheepishly because it's not true to you and Mori exaggerates it "Just don't get your hopes up alright? I'll do my best-"

"You are great though!" He frowns and leans closer to you which makes you blush "I can't draw like you so you have a talent!"

You're not used to in receiving compliments as they make you embarrassed before you thank him shyly "Thank you.."

Mori smiles at you before suddenly, his stomach grumbles due to hunger.

"Well, it's time to eat" He merely says without a hint of embarrassment and retreats while clutching his stomach before looking at you "Do you come here often, (Name)?"

"Not really" You reply "I come here when I want to so it's not a routine thing"

"Ahh I see" Mori sighs in disappointment "I was expecting to see you again here"

You blush slightly at his response but then you look at him with confusion "We can meet at school right?"

"We can but I want to see you again here since it's only the two of us so I can see you draw" He explains honestly and that makes you blush even more because isn't he technically asking for a date?! "Besides, I can spend more time with you here than at school with only two breaks- Are you okay, (Name)?"

"I'm fine!" You quickly reply "So.. do you want to meet every Saturday morning here then?”

"Yes!" He nods excitedly before cheering as he pumps his fists up "Awesome! I can see you here every week!"

"Okay" You smile slightly and take out your phone to ask for his number in case you need to contact him. However, you find out that he doesn't have a phone so you two need to make sure you meet at the exact same spot.

"Anyway, I have to go to eat" Mori says as he stands up "Man.. I've been jogging and training too long that I haven't eaten yet"

"I'll see you on Monday then" You say as you look up to him and he nods before smiling.

"I'm excited to see your drawing, (Name)! I'll see you on Monday!"

After that, he leaves with another grumble on his stomach and how he whines that he's hungry which makes you sweatdrop. Well, today's certainly an unexpected event since you just come here for a change of pace. And now, you end up setting a date every week to meet with the Mori Jin.

You look at your phone as you set the date on your calendar before going to your photo library. You look at Mori's photo since you plan to continue drawing him, but the more you look at it, the more you feel embarrassed as those thoughts come into mind again.

Extended Ending

Today is finally the day when you're going to show your drawing to him.

You manage to get it done by Monday and it takes a lot of effort, not the drawing but hypnotising yourself not to get entranced by Mori's look. You look nervous while looking at the sketchbook on your table as you wait for Mori to arrive. It shouldn't be this nerve wrecking but you just can't help but worry if Mori likes it or not.

Speak of the devil, you hear a sound of the door being opened which makes you turn your attention to it and there he is. Mori looks at you and smiles excitedly before waving his hand as he shouts your name.

"(Name)! Good morning!"

"I told him not to shout though" You sweatdrop as everyone in the class looks at you which makes you look intimidated. Anyway, Mori quickly approaches you as he looks excited at your drawing.

"So, so, so, have you finished it?"

"I-I've finished it" You say and he looks more hyped up that makes you feel more nervous "I hope you like it, Mori"

You open the sketchbook and show a drawing of him. Immediately, Mori looks at it with awe before he leans closer to you and places his hands on your table.

"(NAME)! I LOVE IT!"

"R-Really?" You blush at his closeness but then feel relieved that he likes your drawing "That's good to hear-"

"This is amazing!" Mori holds the sketchbook as he looks at your drawing with sparkled eyes before thanking you "Thank you so much for drawing me, (Name)"

"You're welcome" You smile brightly at him as you feel happy that he appreciates your drawing so much. Well, he has been complimenting you from the start but nothing beats the feeling when someone likes your work. Meanwhile, Mori looks slightly surprised since it's his first time seeing you smile that brightly which actually makes him feel like he wants to see more of it.

"(Name), if I ask for more drawings, will you draw for me again?"

You look surprised at the sudden question but you nod "Sure. I told you it will be like practice to me anyway so if you want me to draw something, you can ask me"

"Okay!" Mori smiles before putting the sketchbook back to the table "Anyway, can I keep the drawing?"

"Of course!" You say and quickly rip the paper to give the drawing to him "Oh, I finish refining the drawing of your pose too by the way"

Again, he looks amazed as you show him the drawing which makes him grin at you "You're really the best artist, (Name)"

"That's an exaggeration but thanks Mori" You blush before smiling at him to thank him.

#the god of high school #god of highschool #god of high school #goh #fanfiction #mori jin #reader insert #mori jin x reader #oneshot

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whumpbby · 3 years

Note

Hi! So this is kind of a random ask, but I know you have beta fish, and I’m considering getting one. I’ve had beta fish in the past, and despite educating myself on how to take care of them they haven’t lived very long, so I’m hoping you’ll be able to help me. For my past beta fish, I keep them in a five gallon tank (for clarification, I never had more than one beta fish at a time. So I didn’t have multiple of them in the tank don’t worry—they just all lived at different times in the same tank) that had a filter with a pretty low flow on it. I never saw any of the fish have problems swimming with it on. I always used a highly rated water purifying product for the tank water (I forgot what it’s actually called) and I never had any sharp plants that would hurt their fins. I fed them a little every two days because I heard that feeding them everyday was bad for them. Do you happen to know what I was doing wrong? It was frustrating for me because I put a lot of effort into keeping them alive and healthy and then I would see people who kept them in small half gallon bowls have their fish outlive mine. It’s been a couple years, and I want to get another, but I don’t want to accident hurt/kill another one. How do you care for your beta fish? Do you have any advice? Sorry about the rant, but I follow you for your Jason content and happened to stumble upon some of you fish posts and need help. Thanks so much for reading this, and if you do end up offering any advice, I want to thank you for that too!

Hi dear, sorry if I took long to answer - tumblr notoriously does not inform me of messages>>

I understand your pain - especially that the situation with bettas is very frustrating. They tend to suffer from quite a few genetic defects (they are prone to tumours, for example) and are a very abused fish in the aquatic industry. Oftentimes by the time they will get to a caring and dedicated owner, they’ve already went through a lot:0 We just don’t know how healthy the fish is before we got it.

I am by no means an expert, I have lost a few babies since I started the hobby a couple years ago and I can only assume what a few of them suffered from:( One thing that seems to work is leaving them and the tank alone for as long as you can once it’s all set up and cycled and running - apart form the regular maintenance. I am a chronic fiddler who needs to change and add plants, filters, etc, so I constantly have to hold myself back form doing things to the tank. My sister has the same betta for a second year now and the only thing she does with her tank is water changes once every couple weeks - and both him and a thousand of cherry shrimp that live there thriveXD

Some things I nowadays pay attention to that may be useful, however, are:

- water temp has to be consistent, on the warmer side. I keep mine at 26-27C (I don’t know how much that is in F, sorry>>). To that effect the tank needs a lid - it will trap the warm air, protecting the betta form inhaling cold air then they come up for a breath. They labyrinth breathing organ is quite sensitive to that.

- I feed my boys twice a day, so I am not a part of the ‘feed them little’ club. I give them a little pinch of the good flake in the morning (Bug Bites is nice) and a 3-4 granules of a King Betta or a pinch of a protein-rich micro pellets in the evening. A betta breeder I talked to a couple times advised that it’s better to feed the boys a couple times a day in small quantities rather than once - keeps their digestive tracts working and they can avoid constipation. Constipation happens often with bettas and is a headache to solve. I leave frozen bloodworms for special occasions and just rotate the dry foods for variety.

- I change water every week - and every other week make sure to vacuum gravel the substrate. In the planted tanks I vacuum only about 2-3cm of the top layer to not disturb planting substrate below and not to suck up any shrimp, so it’s a gentle operation. In the gravel where there is no growing substrate I go deep - the reason being that I want to free any possible air bubbles stuck underneath where bad bacteria may grow.

- Pick a filter and stick to it. I was very bad at that, but I finally managed to hotwire a combo that seems to work so I will stick to it;) If you can stand the noise, I advise a sponge filter - it’s so easy to clean and manageTT If you can’t stand the hum of the air pump and the bubbles, I recommend a matten filter - or hotwiring an internal filter to a sponge filter - like so - instruction in German, but the visuals are very self-explanatory;] I used gel superglue to connect the filterhead to a sponge filter and now all I have to do once a month or rarer is to pull the sponge off and squeeze it few times in the used tank water! And sometimes clean the showerhead from algae;] It saves you so much money on the cartridges (corner sponge filters are a couple £/$ and last years) and provides extra filtration. My shrimps also eat off it;]

- get a snail. Seriously, I have a snail in every tank - a single nerite will do best for a 5gal. They don’t breed in sweet water, don’t grow large and will keep your glass clean for you - I have not cleaned my tanks’ glass since... ever>> Joe I and Joe II do it for meXD They also provide company for the betta and something fun to look at. And he will scarf uneaten food form the gravel.

- I assume you know about the nitrogen cycle, so I will not bore you here about bacteria and such. But a best chance of saving the betta form stress when you get him home is a cycled tank. You can get an ammonia testing set - or, if you find that a bit intimidating (I do for some reason) you can go to an aquarist shop and they will check your water for you. My local store in town does it for free. I am not sure about big box stores, tho. If you see something being wrong with the betta, check water and see if it needs to be changed asap.

- water changes are mandatory and have to be regular. A 5gal is a convenient size - I am using a 5l bottle left over from mineral water as a measuring tool;) This way I know I am always changing roughly 1/4th of the tank’s water. It’s very easy to see how much water I removed and how much I have to put back in - I can control the water temp and add dechlotinator/vitamins etc before it goes into the tank, so I do not shock my critters with too hot or too cold water. The rule I practice is leaving the dechlorinator in the bottle for about 10 mins before pouring it all into the tank.

- you don’t have to be intimidated by planted tanks:) A little bunch of anubias on a stick is often enough to start with and a good look for a tank, in my opinion. It also makes for a more natural space for the betta he will certainly appreciate. The less fancy stuff the better - I got my first natural rocks form the side of the road (ofc I boiled the life out of them before they got even close to the tank) and they are usually quite cheap on amazon. A stick with a plant and a rock and some small-size gravel is often enough to look good. The plants will also help with eating up nitrites and keeping the water healthy.

- goodness, what else. Medicaiton. Ok. I have tried many meds for my boys and once the fish is in a bad way not much will help, form my experience :( My med set consists of Melafix - I add it to water according to instructions whenever I see my betta without appetite or acting off. It’s a mild anti-bacterial mixture that does not affect snails/shrimp. If that does not help, I use eSHa 2000 or eSHa Exit - they are two very comprehensive meds that deal with a variety of problems. I have never used aquarium salt, but some people swear by it - there’s no specific reason I don’t use it, I just never got around to it.

This is all the chaotic advice, but things to remember (I am not trying to be condescending, I just don't know how much you know;]) are: cycled tank, regular water changes&filter maintenance, consistent temperature and quality food. Bettas are hardy little suckers, but sometimes they are also frail in ways we can’t see until it’s too late. I am already seeing a tumour growing on one of my boys and there is nothing I can do about it except giving him the best life I can - he is still going strong, but I know he will probably not last to the end of the year. It’s a hobby that sometimes seems thankless, but if you do everything right, even if they leave early, at least you’ve given them a good and peaceful time before that:)

If I you have any more questions or just want to share woes, feel free to message, I will do my best to answer:)

#bettas #fishkeeping #Anonymous

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lachlanwrites · 3 years

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Black market hormones: How red tape is forcing a trans generation to self-medicate

HORMONE THERAPY: Treatment for trans people in the UK is woefully inadequate, forcing many to consider risky alternatives

Lachlan Mykura reports on the difficulties of treatment for transgender people, documenting his own experiences and the bureaucracy surrounding them.

Transgender issues have long been a source of controversy and debate. In recent years, these issues have come under the spotlight. Younger generations are more able to explore their gender, and the concept of a strict binary is being slowly replaced with a far more fluid and flexible umbrella.

Not everyone who is transgender will transition medically, but for those who do it can be an arduous process bogged down by bureaucracy. While it is important to note that those who choose not to transition, or have no desire to transition, are valid, this article will specifically focus on the people that do.

I am Lachlan Mykura, and I am FTM - female to male transgender. My transition has been marked by wait times, delays, gatekeeping and uncertainty, so I did what a growing number of transgender people are doing. I decided to start taking hormones without a prescription.

To understand why I, and many other trans people do this, we need to look at the system and its failures. There are currently seven NHS gender identity clinics (GIC’s) in the UK, with plans for three more in Manchester, London and Merseyside. In 2015 there were 1,408 referrals to these clinics. In 2020 there were 2,728. With only seven clinics for thousands of referrals, wait times for NHS GIC’s have skyrocketed, and many clinics no longer publish their times, estimated to be years. Indeed, many of them seem to have completely ground to a halt.

One such clinic, The Laurels in Exeter, has 2,592 people currently on its waiting list, and yet saw only 2 people in 2020. One patient has been on the list for nearly 6 years, 17 times the NHS legal guideline of 18 weeks.

Many GP’s are uneducated or unused to trans issues, and don’t know the proper procedures for referring patients on to a GIC. I found this myself when I was beginning to consider medical transition, with one GP outright telling me they didn’t know how to help me.

Nearly a year later I managed to get a referral, and my waiting game began.

These wait times add to an already time sensitive process. Transgender people under 18 cannot go to most GIC’s. Tavistock is currently the only GIC that will see underage patients, and even getting to this clinic before you become 18 is a struggle.

Although transition can be successful at any age, the younger you start medical transition, the better the results are likely to be, especially for male to female (MTF) patients. By the time you can start hormones on the NHS, you will likely have gone through puberty entirely, and will have the sex characteristics of your assigned gender at birth (AGAB).

The NHS is a clumsy beast when it comes to gender care, and with the rapidly rising number of referrals, it may fall even further behind.

The NHS is also not currently very supportive of non-binary people looking to transition. A diagnosis of gender dysphoria is necessary to start hormones, and while the NHS has become more accepting of non-binary identities in recent years, some non-binary people may struggle to meet the criteria.

If you don’t want to wait for NHS treatment then there is the option for private treatment. In the UK this comes in the form of two providers, Gendercare and GenderGP.

Gendercare is a private network of doctors, and is staffed by some of the most experienced gender specialists in the UK. Unfortunately, this means it also has a price tag to match. Each of the doctors working at Gendercare set their own prices, but most tend to be around £300 for an initial appointment, and then £150 for follow ups, which are necessary to start on hormones.

GenderGP is a cheaper alternative, although the quality of treatment they offer is arguably worse. They are a telemedicine service, working on a system of ‘informed consent’. This means that during their consultations, they will tell you about any possible risks and effects of the treatment, but the end choice to start hormones is down to you. They don’t require any formal diagnoses. On paper, this sounds like an excellent choice, and I originally decided to go with them, paying my £65 initial appointment fee and talking to one of their psychologists.

However, GenderGP is not the most reputable service. Doctors Helen and Mike Webberly, the couple who started the service, have both been struck off by the GMC for providing hormones and puberty blockers to those under 18. This gave me cause for concern, but having seen firsthand the politicization of trans treatments, especially for those under 18, I thought that this wasn’t enough for me to stop using their services. The nail in the coffin for GenderGP came in October 2020, when their pharmacy, ClearChemist, said that they would no longer be working with GenderGP. This put GenderGP’s ability to prescribe hormones in jeopardy. Even though their services were cheaper, faster and accessible online, I didn’t know if they could fulfil what they promised. I decided to switch to Gendercare instead.

“The NHS is a clumsy beast when it comes to gender”

TESTOGEL: One of the forms of hormone treatment available to FTM transgender people.

I contacted two of the doctors working for Gendercare, who I thought would have the shortest wait times. One of them said that he could not accept me as a patient, and the other said that he could offer me an initial appointment in January 2021. Progress.

This January appointment would be followed up by another appointment or two with one of Gendercare’s endocrinologists. I would have paid around £1000 without even being sure I could get a prescription. As a student, I had more important things to spend money on, like instant ramen and rent.

I was sitting with friends one evening and the topic came onto hormones. I was lamenting the trials and tribulations of transgender treatment in the UK when one of the friends I was with, another trans man, piped up “I could give you my spare bottle.”

Bingo.

I thought about the prospect for a while, I knew people who took testosterone without a prescription and their transitions were going well. However, I was really nervous about it, I had no way of knowing my hormone levels, I wouldn’t have a consistent supply and, well, it just wasn’t a very good idea.

I did it anyway.

A few weeks of soul searching later I realised that I had known I was trans since I was a young teenager. I had been sitting on these feelings, hoping they would ‘go away’ or second guessing myself as to whether or not I was ‘really trans. But they hadn’t. They had stuck like toilet paper on a shoe throughout my teenage years and into my twenties. My excuses of waiting until I was an adult had no weight, after all, I was an adult now. Years of waiting, doctors appointments, and questioning and now here I was, being offered hormones on a silver platter over a glass of wine. I had to take it.

I had no way of knowing my hormone levels, I wouldn’t have a consistent supply and, well, it just wasn’t a very good idea. I did it anyway.

Gel is, in my opinion, the easiest and best way to take testosterone, the other popular one being injection. Gel is a daily application which means that your hormone levels don’t suffer from the same rises and falls that weekly injection causes. However, with these smaller doses comes slower changes, on average.

I wasn’t too worried about this, since I didn’t really want incredibly quick changes when I had no access to a specialist to help monitor my levels. Injections are also cheaper than gel, but I didn’t need to worry about that, after all, I was getting mine for free. Besides, even if I didn’t hate needles, I wasn’t about to go injecting myself with drugs unless a doctor had told me to.

In order for trans men to do their injections, they need to be shown how to by a nurse, generally at their first appointment. If done wrong, injecting testosterone can cause pain, swelling, and infection.

The gel I use is called Testogel. Testogel dosage is measured by pumps, the bottle is designed so that each pump will give the exact same amount of gel. I started on one pump, since I wanted to stretch out the amount of gel I had for as long as I could. I didn’t know if I would be able to get another one on time, and I was fully aware that I was relying only on the generosity of my friend.

The changes have, as expected, come rather slowly. I have been on testosterone for around a month and a half now, and, unfortunately, I’m no closer to resembling Chris Hemsworth or Zac Effron than I was when I started. All in good time. What I have noticed is that my voice has dropped, and I’m plagued by embarrassing voice cracks at the worst of times. Every man has to go through them at some point and I’m no exception. God help me when I get stuck trying to grow a beard.

None of my fears about making a mistake have come to pass. I have been happy with all the changes, which is not something I could ever say about going through my first puberty.

The reasons that people choose to self-prescribe hormones are vast, not least because of the cost and time that goes into getting a prescription legally. The reasons, however, run much deeper than just personal cost.

Transgender treatment is a subject of fierce debate worldwide, and the UK is no exception. Recently, a lawsuit was brought against the Tavistock GIC by a woman who started taking puberty blockers when she was a teenager, and then detransitioned at 23. She believes that the NHS did not take enough precautions before prescribing her puberty blockers - which are fully reversible.

As a result of this, under 16’s in the UK may now no longer be able to give informed consent to start taking puberty blockers before they start on hormones at 18. While people who detransition are facing a very difficult time in their lives and deserve support, the backlash falls on actual trans people.

TERF groups (trans exclusionary radical feminists) see these detransitoners as martyrs who have been brainwashed and victimized by ‘the trans cult’. As a result, actual trans people face not only increased waiting times and inaccessible appointments but also increased media scrutiny and online vitriol.

Trans issues are in the limelight. Recently, Elliot Paige, who plays Vanya in The Umbrella Academy, came out as FTM, becoming one of the most high-profile celebrities to come out transmasculine. Trans men are often left out of public conversation, as trans women are more often the focus of transphobic tabloid media and TERF rhetoric. With more and more people coming out, either as transgender, or in support of transgender rights, trans treatment should hopefully become more and more accessible.

Written December 2020 By Lachlan Mykura

#ftm #transgender #transmasculine #hormones #testogel #NHS #gender #gender identity #transition #testosterone #journalism #news #lachlanwrites

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btssmutficslovingfan01 · 3 years

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Friendly Encounters- Chapter Eight

𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎: A friend challenges you to go out of your comfort zone and talk to one of the cute boys at the café. However, after attempting to flirt with one of them, they reveal that they are in a relationship with each other. It’s fine, though, because you’re all friends now!

𝒢𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒: Romance

𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: Smut, Angst

𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈: Racism, Yoongi and Jimin are angels, Graphic depictions of sex, really angsty

𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈: 4.9k

𝒫𝒶𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔: Jimin x Reader x Yoongi

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“I’m gonna cum, I’m close!” Yoongi’s entire body shakes and shudders underneath you as you voraciously fuck him with all your strength. You aren’t going easy on him at all, using the lube and your hands to simultaneously jerk him off as well. The sounds he makes are delicious, absolutely delightful as your mouth waters at his small, high-pitched whines. Thank God you have pillows, but unfortunately you still had to keep the noise level to a minimum.

As Yoongi cries under you and shudders once more, you lower yourself slowly, spreading his cheeks with your hands. You both were sweaty, horny, and so very exhausted. Yet with the feeling of your strap applying pressure to Yoongi’s boy-pussy, he knows that he doesn’t want it to end so soon. Him and Jimin had spent hours together, playing in bed. Why couldn’t you have the same? Even if you had sex in the cabin and you spent a lot of time together anyways.

There was always something lacking, and that was the sexual intimacy between you and Yoongi. You knew it was a matter of time before you found a dynamic that worked for you.

“Go ahead, baby. Cum on my fingers, I want you to feel good too.” You start acting like you have a dick too, as Yoongi moans loudly into the pillow once more, his release building up as you shift again, your pussy drenched completely from seeing him all vulnerable like this.

“I want you to cum too,” He’s puddy in your hands, as you stroke his arms and press the softest kisses to his shoulders. “Cum with me kit-AH Y/N!” He’s writhing in pleasure as you pump his cock between your hands, and with him hunched over on the bed it makes it even easier for you to lean forward and brush your dildo across his throbbing hole. Despite removing it earlier, his puckered hole is still wide, and so ready for penetration.

You tested him first with a finger before taking your vibrator and bringing it down to the base of his cock.

“Damn, I think you’d cum right now if you saw your ass. So fucking perfect, round and squishy. No wonder Jimin moans so much with you.” You both groan as you decide to stop playing around and actually fuck him again, this time, tightening your belt before rolling your hips against his soft cheeks.

“You’re so sexy, and wonderful. I love you, Y/N.” You softly kiss his lips before pulling out and surrendering to sleep. You need a lot of rest, after that intense workout.

“Love you too, Yoongles. Also, Jimmy’s gonna kill us tomorrow but that’s fine because you looked so hot submissive like that and I had fun. I never thought a fake cock could make me feel so powerful.” His giggles are like music to your ears. You were starting to get used to the sound.

“Yeah, that’s exactly why I play dom most of the time. It’s a hell of a lot more fun when I get to play with you two and I get to use my cock as death.” It’s your turn to laugh, as he makes it sound like a weapon or power move of some sort.

“I hope you aren’t in too much pain, I got a little carried away.” You sigh, rubbing your thighs together anxiously.

“What? Nah, I’m fine. Maybe I’ll be a little sore tomorrow, but I think I’ll be able to sit. Let’s just say, if I can’t sit, it’ll be considered a win for you.” Your blond boyfriend gives you a wink as you reply with an, “Okay, I’ll take that. As long as we get to do this again, and maybe I can even fuck you in the tub!” Yoongi cringes at your words.

“Let’s not get too ambitious. On three let’s say it together, 1,2,3: Let’s not get too ambitious.” You both giggle the rest of the night away, concentrating more on each other than cleaning up your mess made of dildos, lube, and straps. You were too lazy to get out of bed, and Yoongi was keeping you busy, so you didn’t really have a reason to, other than cleaning up.

“Oh, aren’t you guys going back to work tomorrow?” You ask, as Yoongi pulls you in for a tight hug.

“Sweetie, we used up pretty much all of our vacation days with you. It doesn’t mean we won’t ever get time off from work again, but officially, we’re back on full-time duty.” You had forgotten how much older your boyfriends had been than you. You were so close with them that the age difference slipped your mind.

It wasn’t like they were in their mid-thirties, you could understand their problems, since they had no other way of making money. Plus, they were dating their landlord’s daughter, they didn’t want to feel indebted because of you.

As easy as they make the relationship seem, you still feel uncertain at times. Actions speak louder than words, you were thinking of doing a large gesture for them. Something to let your boyfriends know you appreciate them.

“I know you like working at the café, but wouldn’t you like to be a music producer, Yoongi?” Your boyfriend wraps a towel around you before throwing his boxers back on and checking if the hallway is clear first before pulling you towards the bathroom.

“I already sold one of my songs. It gave me quite a bit of money, so I think I’ll keep doing it.” Your heart fell at that statement. You were really hoping your boyfriend was making his own profits from releasing his own albums on spotify, but it seems that he did the opposite, not even getting credit for his own tracks.

“That’s not right. Those people won’t even credit you, now that you sold the rights of that song to some heavily produced company. It’s like some crappy teen drama, where everything is forced instead of being introduced and built on. You can’t just sell your music and expect it to resonate with them.”

“Slow down, I don’t recall telling you who I sold the music to. Don’t jump to conclusions without learning all the facts first.” Yoongi snaps at you before folding his arms together, as you check the water in the shower to make sure it’s warm enough for you to step in.

This wasn’t your first time showering together, you already had that experience back in the mountains, during your first and only romantic getaway with your boyfriends. You felt comfortable being naked in his presence now, enough to trust him to retain a little bit of self-control when he’s in the same position.

“Fine, I see your point. Who did you sell your music to?” You turn around, making sure your hair gets wet too. Yoongi had some shower gel in his hands so he was currently lathering your arms and shoulders. He was saving your more sensitive areas for last, since he saw your nipples harden when you stepped into the water.

“J-Hope. I actually made the beats for Outro: Ego.” Your eyes widened at this new bit of information. Yoongi never bragged about it, or bought it up. Even that time you were actually at that concert, listening to that same song. How did he fail to let you in on something so important? Did he think that telling you was a waste of time?

“Yoongi, that’s amazing. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have supported you regardless.” He sighs, looking elsewhere to take his mind off his thoughts of work. Music was a hobby of his, one that he was good at. He just wanted to make a profit without worrying you.

He knew if he told you about the side projects he was working on, you would get very worried and then go way over your head before having the entire thing explode in your face. You weren’t the most graceful girl in the world, you were clumsy and that’s why Yoongi fell for you.

Your “I can do it,” attitude had its setbacks, as you often got too serious about simple things and overcomplicated in your head, he knew you were currently doing just that. Your perseverance was admirable, though.

“I’m gonna tell you this just once, kitten. You might have not noticed it but you have a bad habit of meddling, and when you do that, it makes trouble for others. Please understand that I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to stick your head in it. It’s my music, and I know what I want to do with it.”

You weren’t offended. Your first thoughts were, ‘Oh, he’s telling me to drop the subject. I can do that,’ but as time progressed, you found yourself growing anxious. You knew Yoongi deeply cared for his songs, and the little free time he spent with you was taking away from his hobby. You wanted him to focus on his career, and become a better artist.

So, you decided to get Yoongi a whole setup using your birthday money. You were saving up to buy something big, but it seems that Yoongi needs your help more than ever.

You go to amazon, adding foam panels and lots of tech equipment to your cart. You spent exactly $228 after everything and you still had about $300 remaining in your birthday cash. You got $500 from your Grandma.

You yawn before crawling into bed for some sleep. Since you spent your day focused on Yoongi, you failed to remember that you hadn’t seen one of your boyfriends the entire day.

༻• Thursday, At School •༺

School took a toll on your mental health. You needed a break, even though you just started. The public education system was seriously messed up, making you work double of what you had to do over break. The only thing that made it bearable was your group chat with your boyfriends.

You lock your phone, uneasiness washing over you like an ocean wave. You wish you could go to the beach. Spring seemed neverending and all you could think of was fucking your boyfriends like a bunny in heat.

School passes by slowly, and just as you’re on your way to the café, Jaehyun stops you.

“Jae, hey what’s up?” He looks bruised and battered. You can tell something is horribly wrong.

“The cops arrested my buddies, it was horrible. If you know me, you know I’m not a bad kid. Those guys weren’t either, they were just chilling in my living room, vaping, when a cop busted my door down and arrested like six of my friends. They were all 14, 15, and 16. Not even legal adults, what the fuck is wrong with the justice system?”

“Do you know where they are?” You don’t ask many questions, immediately getting your phone out to text your boyfriends and mom about the situation, since they all knew your daily schedule. Jaehyun was an old friend of yours, too, you couldn’t just leave him.

“They were taken down to the local police station on 95th street. Oh, it was terrible Y/N. They beat me up and I was actually just asking them what my friends did wrong. After that, my parents kicked me out for good. So now I’m homeless.”

“I thought you said you moved out a long time ago?” You help lower him to sit on a bench so he can calm down.

“I-I did, but then those guys were dealing drugs. I didn’t want to be friends with them anymore. So I moved back home.” He starts crying, tears flowing down his cheeks. You had never seen Jaehyun so sensitive in such a long time, that was probably because you made the wrong assumptions about him.

“Alright, I’ve texted my mom and two other roommates of mine to let them know the situation. Yoongi and Jimin should be here any minute.” You continue comforting your crying friend as your boyfriends pull up to you and Jaehyun. You help him into the car as Jaehyun looks at Jimin with confusion written all over his face.

“Hey, aren’t you the pervert who tried coming onto my girlfriend?” Yoongi mistakes him for Jungkook, as he gets a bad view of him from the front seat.

“No...and what do you mean your girlfriend? You’re dating that guy, right?” He points at Jimin, confusion apparent on his face.

“We’ll explain later. For now, just tell them what you told me. Jimin, full speed ahead to the police station on 95th street.”

You arrive at the local police station in ten minutes, despite the traffic being horrid. Jimin stepped on the pedal and managed to reach where you needed to go.

“Officer, where are the three young men you arrested from his house?” Yoongi asks, as soon as you reach the police station.

“Oh, those thugs? Yeah, they vandalized private property so we had to jail em. Bail is $200. You can go see ‘em over there.” Jaehyun runs ahead of you to the temporary holding cell in the back of the room.

“Oh my god, guys. Thank goodness you’re okay. I hope they didn’t beat you up too bad?” A tall dark male with some visible tattoos and jet black hair stands up, putting his hand through the cell to hold his friend’s fingers through the bars. You could tell from the grim expression in his eyes that he was used to this. The horrible treatment from the authorities because they assume they’re bad guys. It’s no coincidence that they’re targets because of their dark skin color. Fuck racists, these guys deserve better.

“Nah, we’re fine. We’ve been through worse, right boys?”

“But still, this is wrong. It’s illegal! They can’t just-”

“Move aside. We’re setting you free, since your brother who’s a district attorney has connections. Just don’t repeat it, okay?” The boys don’t even make a sound as the police officer lets them out of their holding cell and they walk out with their hands behind their heads.

“Are you really used to it? Getting arrested just because some cop thinks you’re dealing drugs or something?” Yoongi’s curiosity gets the best of him, as he asks the boy who spoke to Jaehyun earlier.

“Yep. It happens all the time. Like Marc here was playing basketball out in the driveway once when he was 10 and before we knew it this cop had him pinned down on the ground with his hands over his head. He said the ball looked like a weapon and gave a half-assed apology to us after our neighbor who saw the commotion came outside and told the cop to let go of him. It was really awful, but he got tougher from the experience.”

You couldn’t imagine a young boy at the age of ten going through something so dramatic and traumatizing in a quaint little town. Even now, the boy standing before you was just a teenager. He had torn jeans and a stylish leather jacket, but you could tell he was a little younger than the rest of the boys in the group.

“That shit ain’t right.” Jimin shakes his head as another boy smacks his arm in agreement.

“You can say that again. We’ve been through some things but it’s not mentally scarring or anything. You can’t beat those racists, huh?!” You bite your lip. You hated bringing up the topic of racism because it is the root of all evil. You hated how parents taught it to their children and it became engraved in humans. Skin color doesn’t determine a person’s worth.

“I guess you’re right. I was the only asian kid in my class in the fifth grade. No one else in that town had a fleck of gold on their skin, they were all pasty white kids. I didn’t know it at the time, but apparently their parents fed them lies and I was never invited to pool parties because they thought my skin was “dirty.” Racism starts at home, man. It doesn’t just appear out of thin air.”

That was the first time you’ve ever heard your boyfriend recite a story from his past so passionately. You had no idea Jimin experienced such shit, especially after going through everything with Jaehyun and his buddies. You’ve never seen high school students look so calm even in the presence of police officers. It’s obviously because they knew they were innocent from the get-go.

“Well, this is where we part ways. I gotta take this uber to my house, catch you later!” You wave as the guy named Marc hops into a taxi and disappears off into the freeway.

“What about you?” Jaehyun gives his friend a puppy-eyed stare as you can tell he wants him to go with him.

“I’ve gotta go too, bud. It was nice seeing all of you, thanks again for driving down to the station even though we didn’t need your help.”

“Wait!” You stop him before he can get in the waiting taxi. “What’s your name? I’m Y/N, an old friend of Jaehyun’s.” He gives you a small smile before winking at you.

“I’m Duval. Nice to meet you.”

༻• Thursday, At Home •༺

You were back to freaking about your graduation again. Your entire life in school was a waste since you were single, you never hung out with friends, and you spent all your free time doing homework. You wish you could go back and rewind time but you would gladly go through it all again if it means you could meet Jimin and Yoongi again.

You’re so in love with them that you might just marry them. You were at least hoping you could have a commitment ceremony so that you didn’t have to worry about being legally bound to one man when you could be equally committed to both. The problem is, your wallet is more empty than your belly when you aren’t shoving food down your throat.

You dedicated all your time to school that you forgot about the outside world. And now you want to spend it on your boyfriends. Ah, when will the pain end? You needed to start working fast before anything else. There was only two weeks left till your graduation, and your anniversary with the boys was coming up as well.

The very much less anticipated arrival of your father was approaching as well, and you were trying to figure out a way to tell him that you were in love with two boys who you also thought of so fondly that you were ready to give your life to them in exchange of a future of happiness and the fact that you weren’t keen on dating or marrying any of the men your father picked out with wealthy backgrounds.

“Babe, will you stop pacing? It’s making me dizzy.” Jimin sinks in your swivel chair as you walk back and forth in the little space between your bed and the table. Thanks to Jimin’s comment, you were even more antsy, biting your nails out of habit until Yoongi bursts into your room with good news.

“Hoseok said he had a singer friend who heard one of my songs and he loved it!”

“That’s great news, now why don’t you come sit and talk to us so we can get our kitten’s mind off school?” You grimace at Jimin’s attempt to switch topics so nonchalantly as Yoongi excitedly makes his way towards you, cornering you into your own bed as he informs you of his day’s events.

“He said he wants me to go over and play a demo for another song since he’s gonna be in town for a couple more days. Hobi said he got lucky because the guy happened to be in town for his own concert and he was on tour so he would only be here until Sunday evening. It’s a three-day concert.”

This was great! All the pieces were in place and now all that was left to do was wait for Yoongi’s little surprise to arrive. You were keeping an eye on the online package, since you ordered quite a few items.

“Great, so I’m guessing you’re gonna head on over there after work tomorrow?” You ask, unaware of their current situation.

“Actually, since we took all our time off during your spring break, Jin decided to be extra mean and make us work a double shift on Friday. There’s no way I’d be able to leave in between, even if Jimin covers for me. That’s the only day we can meet, since he planned this on such short notice too.” You stand up, banging the palm of your hand flat against the soft cushion on the swivel chair, Jimin’s head just inches away from your arm.

“I’ll do it!” Your boyfriends stare at you as if you’ve grown a second head.

“No, are you crazy?”

“My grades are fine, plus this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you. You should go, Yoongi. I’ll take your place in work. How long is a double shift anyways?” You want to so desperately express your love for your neglected boyfriend that you’re willing to go through such lengths. That, and you’d be killing two birds with one stone since you could also spend more time with Jimin. Work is work but mixing a little love won’t hurt anyone.

“If you’re sure. A double shift is 14 hours. You’d have to work 6 hours after school, you think you can handle that?” Right on cue, you get a text from your mom. She’s doing the night shift so she probably wouldn’t notice your absence. You’re a good daughter, though, so you text her to make sure she knows what your plan is. She knew about the little setup you were planning for Yoongi, and she supported you in virtually everything you did. Except for your sex life, she definitely had no clue that you had actually gone further than second base, that’s for sure.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. Plus, I’ll have you too.” Jimin gives you an endearing smile before pulling you down to his lap. You snuggle into his warm chest, breathing in his sweet scent. You loved your boyfriend with all your heart. The mochi hits differently.

“I’m just gonna...go back to my room.” Yoongi awkwardly makes an exit as Jimin continues nuzzling your neck affectionately. You couldn’t help but feeling a bit guilty, since your other boyfriend seemed a bit troubled and you were sitting here, fooling around with Jimin like some teenage slut.

“He’s more awkward than usual today, you wanna go ask him what’s wrong?” He seems to already know what you’re thinking, as you shift around in his lap and you stay silent for an abnormally long time.

“Normally, I would just give him space but he seems to have a lot on his mind. I hope he isn’t too stressed. The opportunity presented itself and I feel like I forced him to do it.”

“No, baby, what are you saying? Yoongi never does something because someone told him to. He really wanted that deal, you know how long he’s been producing as a hobby? So many people have taken advantage of him in the past but this is the real deal.” You didn’t want to ask Jimin to elaborate, as he shifts in his seat and you feel his body heat rising. He’s sweating as well, so you decide to climb off his lap and onto the bed once again, sitting with your legs and arms crossed when you do.

“I know, that’s why I told him I’d work his shift. He can go visit this producer guy on Saturday and blow the hats off those guys while I flaunt my temporary barista skills.”

“Honey, if you think I’m letting you anywhere near a coffee machine, you’re dead wrong.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yours and Jimin’s playful banter carries throughout the walls and onto the next room, where Yoongi hears every little exchange between the two of you. To be honest, he’s never felt more insignificant in his life than he does now. With his partners laughing and having fun without him...he felt so self-conscious.

He loved you and Jimin dearly, but sometimes his self-doubts would get in the way of his love for you. He couldn’t trust you because he couldn't completely believe himself. He knew he was in love with Jimin fully, but was he really in love with you? He remembers that very first day when you walked into the coffee shop and openly flirted with his boyfriend. That “friendly” exchange led to something more, something unexpected.

He never thought he would be the one to initiate the first sexual encounter, but it seemed his fingers had a mind of their own. He developed a little crush on you shortly after you became friends with Jimin, but then his body betrayed him once again when he found out you were living in the same house as him.

He jerked off to the thought of you every day after that, to be honest. He felt dirty, but it felt right. He started getting confused only after you all started dating. You and Jimin were closer than him and Jimin, and him and you. Out of all the combinations, yours was the weakest.

Sure, you had music in common, but did that really mean anything? Physically, you were more compatible than a glove with a hand, but emotionally, you were distant. He wanted you to follow him out of the room and climb over his back, he truthfully wanted Jimin to kiss his worries away like he always does, and when you were finished, he wanted to be the one to wake you up in the morning just in time for school. He was bad at social interactions, so any dreams of affection were just imaginative unless you took the initiative, or if you were at the right place at the right time.

“Yoongz, I know you better than I know myself. What’s going on in that handsome brain of yours?” His boyfriend is always spot-on when it comes to his emotions. Unlike Yoongi, Jimin excelled at expressing himself and interacting with the world around him. He was like Yoongi’s mouth, at some point. Yoongi had gotten arguably better at expressing himself, though, after meeting you he always put himself out there, just talking to you about whatever was bothering him directly. Of course, Jimin knew this happened only 60% of the time. It’s still a huge improvement for him, Jimin was happy either way. He knows it’s only a matter of time before Yoongi opens up to you completely. A full 100%.

“What if my love for Y/N is just an illusion and my body is addicted to her but my mind is not attracted to her?”

What the fu-

“Think about what you just said. Think about it again, long and hard, imagine her body this time.” Yoongi does exactly as Jimin instructs, feeling his worry melt away instantaneously just by thinking of you. He feels more at ease and a little bit floaty as well.

When he opens his eyes, Jimin is staring at his crotch deep in thought, probably pondering what he just said. Yoongi honestly has no clue anymore. He’s gotta be in love with you, he just knows.

“Just as I thought. You’re craving her again. Go ahead and get her, you dog.” Jimin lets out a short howl before spanking his boyfriend’s ass. Yoongi tries to protest but Jimin simply shoves him towards the direction of your room.

“She’s not some food item, you know? You can’t just say I’m “craving” someone and just walk away.” Yoongi rolls his eyes before knocking on your door.

“Oh, hey Yoongi, you want me to suck you off?” Well, that was easy.

“Really?” You stare up at your boyfriend, looking up from your phone in a bored manner.

“I finished my homework early so I think I deserve a reward, plus I’ve been craving that dick ever since I fucked you. Oh gosh, did you even mention it to Jimin? I don’t think I told him yet.”

“Tell me what?” You and Yoongi both jump back in surprise. Your blue-haired boyfriend is directly behind Yoongi, smiling at you with those half-moon eyes. You love the way Jimin’s face looks when he smiles, it’s simply adorable.

“I threw on a strap and I fucked Yoongi. I’m not joking, I really did.” Jimin’s eyes darken with lust as he stares between the two of you.

“Can you do it again and let me watch this time?”

#yoongi #jimin #bts #jimin x yoongi x reader #yoonmin #yoongi x jimin #jimin x reader #yoongi x reader #Smut #angst #cafeau #barista #cute #oc #btsff #btsfanfic #yoonmin x reader #Poly #yoonmin poly

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thegoodgayshit · 4 years

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Luz’s mother really doesn’t want to send Luz to camp. She knows once she leaves, there is no going back. But Luz has a knack for getting into trouble, and one day she stumbles into the same type of people her mother would have preferred she avoided. After helping Luz dissolve her high school bully into dust, Eda and Lilith know right away that this kid is just like them - a child of the gods. So Luz hops on a Pegasus and heads to Camp Half-blood, where she embarks on a dangerous quest that makes her both friends and enemies... and she might even save Olympus along the way.

Chapter Eighteen: We Crash Hexside High’s Junior Prom

Amity left the café in a more than sour mood. She practically stomped the whole way back to the hideout. Luz watched her warily, not really knowing what to say. She had thought Aphrodite had been really nice, all things considered. She had no idea why Amity was so upset.

Eventually, she tried to talk to her. “Your mom was pretty cool, Amity.”

Amity spun around, her anger now directed onto Luz, and she flinched. Her eyes were murderous.

“Uh…” Luz held up her hands, terrified. “Or not?”

Something changed in Amity’s face, and she deflated. “Sorry, Luz. I’m not angry at you. I just… I didn’t realize how much my siblings were like my mom. That whole conversation was a little overwhelming.”

“It’s alright, Amity,” Luz said with a smile. “You haven’t seen your mom in like seven years. It makes sense that you didn’t know what to expect.”

Amity scoffed. “That’s an understatement.”

Luz nudged her with her shoulder, unable to keep the grin off her face. “But hey, on the bright side, this could be a pretty fun side quest.”

Amity looked at Luz with something that read somewhere between disbelieving and amused. “A side quest?”

Luz nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Like Azura and Hecate. They go on side quests all the time. It’s what makes an adventure an adventure!” She leaned lower to the ground, waggling her eyebrows playfully.

“Luz and Amity, joined by their fearless demigod friends tackle another impossible mission: The Heist of the High School Prom! Will they succeed, and continue on their great quest to save Olympus? Or will they be unable to recover the artifact and be forced to continue their quest empty-handed?”

Amity rolled her eyes, but she was unable to keep the smile off her face. “You’re ridiculous.”

“But am I wrong?” Luz teased, and Amity laughed. Luz felt her stomach swell as she watched Amity chuckle to herself. But then she was reminded right away of how similar Aphrodite’s laugh had been to Amity’s.

Luz swallowed nervously. She had a feeling she had missed something really obvious during the chat with Aphrodite, and she was starting to think she knew what, but every time she started to consider them she was painfully reminded about what happened last time. Clearing her throat nervously, she felt relief wash over her when she realized they were back at the workshop.

“Guys!” Gus greeted them gleefully as they entered. He was holding up a suit bag, his face split into a wide grin. “My mom sent us formal wear!”

“Not your mom,” Luz said, unable to mask her own excitement. “Aphrodite. We’re going on a heist!”

“What?” Willow asked, frowning. She had opened the fridge and had been working on fixing up some dinner for the four demigods, (it looked pretty good: she wondered if being the goddess of the harvest boosted the quality of her cooking, those sweet potatoes looked fantastic) and waved for them to sit down at the table. Luz popped the top of a lime soda, sitting down next to Amity and Willow while Gus practically threw the suit bag on the worktable to sit down.

Luz launched into the story about meeting Aphrodite while they ate, skipping over a few details, like how she wasn’t able to focus, or the weird things Aphrodite said about Amity and Luz. She wouldn’t even know how to start that conversation normally, and since she was still trying to piece it together herself, she just cut to the mission.

“Awesome!” Gus said when she finished, “Peleus’ shield is supposed to be magical as well. So if that’s what we’re going after, then Luz’s sword is probably the other magical item that Aphrodite said goes with it.”

Luz blinked. She hadn’t thought of that. Her hand reached over to hover over Aletheia. While she loved her sword, she had never been good at using a shield at camp. Maybe it would be different when they found the sword.

“We’re going to need a plan, and Aphrodite gave us a good cover story,” Amity said, her face pinched in annoyance at the mention of her mother. “But that’s not going to be enough to get to the shield.”

Gus hummed. “I’ll work something out when we get there. Until then, everybody should just pretend this is a normal prom.”

“Gus is right,” Willow added, reaching into the wardrobe to pull out a dress bag. It had a sticky note that was labeled with her name. “Blend in, mingle, act like the other kids. It’s our best shot at keeping our real mission discreet.”

“Alright!” Luz cheered, pumping her fist in the air. “We’re going to prom!”

The four of them broke off on their own to get ready. Willow and Amity called first dibs on the bathroom, which suited Luz and Gus just fine. Luz walked toward the wardrobe and picked up the garnment bag that was labeled “LUZ” and tentatively brought her hand to the zipper.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Aphrodite to pick out something good for Luz, after all, she was the goddess of beauty. And she had seen what Luz always wanted to wear to a dance. Luz had just always struggled to pick something to wear that she liked. Her style was pretty hard to shop for.

When she peeked inside the garment bag, she practically squealed in delight. It was perfect. She couldn’t wait for her turn to use the bathroom to change. Like, well, magic, a changing curtain appeared immediately around her, with a full-length mirror and end table to her right.

Gods bless Athena.

Luz didn’t think she had ever changed so fast in her life. Once she buttoned up her clothes, Luz used the conveniently placed workshop mirror to get ready, her back to Gus, who got ready on the other side of the room. She used her brush and some gel to slick her hair back and she rummaged around the drawers until she found an unopened mascara and blush. She didn’t love makeup, but she figured this was just the right amount for her to wear to a prom.

Taking a deep breath, she looked in the mirror. Once she caught sight of her reflection, she couldn’t look away, a huge smile spreading across her face.

At first glance, she had thought her suit was black, but now that she looked at it she realized it was actually a midnight blue, that had been altered to fit her like a glove. Her dress shirt was silvery-white, and she had a dark maroon suit vest button up and paired with a matching bowtie. Aphrodite had even given her an additional matching set of black leather oxfords (with a bit of a heel to add about an inch of height) and a belt. She did a spin, her heart hammering in excitement. She looked so regal and mature… she easily could have passed for sixteen or seventeen.

It was so, so, perfect. Aphrodite was right: she hadn’t needed the tutu after all. She could get used to this.

She looked over to the garment bag to make sure she didn’t miss anything when she saw something at the bottom and frowned. She reached in and pulled out two little boxes, and gently opened them. She gasped, her eyes widening.

A matching corsage and boutonniere, in the same dark maroon as her vest and bowtie. The flower She opened the boutonniere and carefully pinned it to her jacket. Aphrodite must have made a mistake, there was no reason she needed both. She stuck it into the pocket of her suit pants, deciding she would worry about it later.

Once she had decided she was done, the makeshift changing room melted away around her, disappearing. She turned around to see Gus dressed and ready as well. He was wearing a perfectly fitted deep green suit with a silver dress shirt, and he had tucked his camp necklace under his shirt collar and was fiddling with a bow tie around his neck. His tongue was sticking out of his mouth in focus, but when he saw Luz he stopped in his tracks and whistled.

“Woah, look at you.”

“Look at you!” Luz replied, but her face was pinking in delight. She fiddled with the cuffs of her jacket, and Gus chuckled.

“Aphrodite must have known our sizes because these are practically tailored to us.”

Luz couldn’t help but agree. She wondered if Aphrodite could size a person’s… well, size… just by looking at them.

“Guys! You can use the bathroom now… oh, never mind,” Willow popped her head out of the bathroom, and her face split into an ecstatic grin when she saw them, and she made her way towards them. “You two look fantastic!”

Aphrodite had given Willow an off the shoulder green mid-length dress that puffed out at the hips, the waistband wrapped in a color that was an elegant gold. She had never seen Willow wear makeup, but she was wearing dark green eye makeup and pink lipstick that Luz thought suited her well. She had kept her camp necklace on, and had been given a pair of small gold hoops that matched the gold band. She was also wearing gold flats, with a supportive band at the bottom. Perfect footwear for a heist.

Luz’s grin returned, “Thanks! I love your dress. Green really is your color.”

Willow blushed, waving her hand embarrassingly. “Aw, shucks.”

“She’s right, Willow,” Gus said with a grin. “Look, we’re even matching.” He snapped his fingers like he had just figured out a puzzle, and reached into his garment bag. “Here, I have a corsage that matches our outfits. We must be each other’s prom dates as a cover story.”

Willow awed and took the corsage from him. It was a green and white flower that matched both their outfits perfectly. Willow put hers around her wrist, and Gus pinned his right where Luz had pinned hers. When they finished, they beamed, giving each other a thumbs up.

“Looking good!” Gus cheered, and Willow laughed.

Luz, however, had been frowning and watching the whole interaction, one hand reaching up to touch her own boutonniere, the other touching the corsage in her pocket.

“Wait, I don’t understand… why did I get both-”

“Luz? Gus? Are you guys not going to use the bathroom?” Amity’s voice called from the door, and when Luz looked up her heart just about leaped out of her chest.

She had changed into a deep maroon off the shoulder dress that came to just around her knees. It had lace sleeves that came to just above her elbows, and Luz saw her amethyst pendant hanging around her neck, sitting right between her collarbones. She had leather heeled shoes to go with her outfit, giving her at least two inches of height. Her mint hair was pulled up in its usual style, with a couple of loose pieces framing her face. She had even done her makeup, like Luz and Willow, but it was a lot more neutral. Though she did have eyeliner wings so sharp it could cut glass and dark lipstick that was a perfect match for her dress.

For a couple of moments Luz couldn’t do anything but stare, and she was painfully aware of the awkward tension growing around the as Willow and Gus exchanged a confused look. Amity was blinking at Luz as well, her cheeks pinking as she took in Luz, and she realized she was probably making a scene and should definitely look away. Or at least answer her question.

But when she tried, all that came out was “Uh… your dress… wow.”

Amity’s cheeks reddened, somehow making her look even prettier than she already did, and Luz swallowed hard.

Willow started laughing hysterically.

“What?” Gus said, turning to her in annoyance. “What’s the problem? Did I miss a joke?”

Luz pinched the inside of her arm hard. Tearing her eyes away from Amity, she forced herself to look at Willow and Gus instead. “Right, so I think we’re all good here. Everyone looks… prom-ey. Should we start making our way to the university?”

Willow, who was still chuckling to herself, nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Gus and I were checking the map earlier, it should be a thirty-minute bus ride.”

Amity scoffed, “my mom would come down from Olympus and murder us if we voluntarily took the bus in these clothes. She gave us money earlier for a cab there.”

“We should bring our stuff,” Gus said seriously, finally managing to tie his bowtie (even if it was a little crooked). “We don’t know if we’ll be able to come back here after we take the shield.”

“That’s true,” Amity added. “The local authorities will probably be looking for us.”

Something moved next to them, and when Luz looked over, she saw their backpacks, fully restocked and sitting ready to go. One had even been added for Amity, a maroon one that when she saw, she winced.

“I guess I know for sure now my backpack got destroyed by Achilles,” she said with a grumble, slinging it over her shoulder. “I’m going to kill that guy.”

“What about our weapons?” Willow asked, holding her kopis in her hand. With her dress, she didn’t really have anywhere to put it.

“My spear is here,” Gus said, opening his jacket to reveal the retracted spear strapped to his side.

“I have my ring…” Luz said unhelpfully, her hand hovering over it.

“Mine’s under my skirt,” Amity said causally, and Luz’s mouth dropped.

“It is?” She asked, shocked.

The demigod blushed, and she crossed her arms. “Yeah, it is. Your sword is shorter than mine Willow, it’s not totally comfortable, but it’ll fit.”

Once that issue was sorted out, they were ready to go. They left Athena’s workshop, and Luz pulled out her phone and called a cab. Willow and Gus walked down the street to patrol the area for monsters and make sure they weren’t going to be followed.

While she got the chance, Luz checked her phone for texts from her Mami, finding one from the day before.

How is your field trip, mija?

Luz typed back a response.

It’s great, Mami. I’m going to a dance tonight with my camp friends.

“Who are you texting?”

Luz jumped, turning to Amity who was watching her with interest.

“My Mami,” Luz admitted, feeling terrible for using her phone. She stuck it in her pocket and felt it brush against something. The corsage.

“You don’t need to feel guilty,” Amity said slowly, running her hand up her arm nervously. “I’m glad she wants to make sure you're ok. It’s sweet how much you care about her.”

Luz felt that thumping in her heart again while she listened to Amity talk. She found herself starting again, and Amity’s cheeks pinked at the intensity of it. Luz mentally hit herself. She had to stop freaking her out like that.

“Luz, there’s something I wanted to ask you…” Amity said, her blush deepening. “I… I know this isn’t a real Prom… but since we’re using it as a cover story and we want it to be realistic… would you want to maybe… I don’t know…”

She had no idea what compelled her to interrupt Amity, but she reached into her pocket and pulled out the corsage, extending it to Amity slowly.

“I found this in my garment bag. Would you want it?”

Amity blinked, taken aback. “What?”

“It’s a corsage, and it matches your dress,” Luz said stupidly. What was she doing? Why did she need to interrupt Amity like that to say something so dumb?

Amity reached out slowly and took it. “Oh, thanks.”

She opened it and put it around her wrist, and Luz realized with a jolt that Amity was disappointed. Why was she disappointed? Had Luz done something wrong?

There was that jolt in her stomach again. It was getting stronger and stronger every time it happened around Amity. She didn’t want to disappoint her. She racked her brain, trying to think of why she would have hurt Amity’s feelings just now.

Then, she remembered what Aphrodite had said to Luz, and the fluttering got so strong she was amazed she didn’t pass out.

“You'rere affected by my charms. This is good news for you, daughter.”

“I’m sorry, my lady. I don’t understand.”

“You will, daughter of Hermes.”

Oh. Oh. Oh.

Luz understood, and the weight of it almost flattened her. GODS, how was she so dense? Amity hadn’t been uncomfortable around her. Well, maybe she had, but it wasn’t because Luz was scaring her off. It was the exact opposite. And she… well. She hadn’t gotten off on the best foot with Amity when they’d met, but they’d come such a long way and Luz was so confused. Her tongue tied in knots, and she was starting to sweat. But she couldn’t mess this up. She wasn’t going to give herself the opportunity to. So, she hesitantly smiled at Amity who wasn’t looking at her.

“It… it matches my suit too,” she added awkwardly sticking her hands in her pockets nervously. Amity looked up quickly in surprise, her gold eyes widening. That was a better response than disappointment. Luz figured she should just go from there.

“Maybe we could be each other’s like… dates? To help with the cover story and everything.”

Amity blinked for a couple more seconds in shock, and Luz felt herself begin to panic.

“I mean… we don’t have to if you would rather just stick to the original story-”

“No!” Amity said quickly, and Luz jumped at the volume of it.

“Sorry,” she added, lowering her voice. Despite the awkwardness of the whole conversation, she was beaming. “I mean, yes. That sounds perfect.”

Luz laughed nervously, but she was also smiling. “Alright, great. You’re my date then.”

“Yeah,” Amity said, her cheeks pinking. “I’m your date.”

Luz wasn’t quite sure what she was going to say next, but it didn’t seem to matter because the cab was suddenly pulling up, and Willow and Gus were back at their sides.

“Ready to go?” Gus asked them, and Luz nodded, letting gesturing for him to get in the cab. Willow turned to look at Amity and Luz suspiciously.

“Why do you two look like that? Did you get into a fight or something?”

“No!” Luz said quickly, and Amity also shook her head. “No, of course not.”

Willow hummed, unconvinced, but shrugged, getting into the cab next. “Okay.”

After she got in, Luz gestured for Amity to go next. “After you.”

Amity pinked, but slid in after her, and Luz got in last, shutting the door with a bang. The cab driver looked at them in his mirror.

“Where are you kids headed dressed so nice?”

“The University of Denver,” Luz said, “for our Prom.”

The cabbie raised his brows. “What, you can’t afford a Limo?”

The four of them looked at each other, and Luz wasn’t really sure what she was going to say next.

“We had one,” Amity replied, feigning a look of hurt. “We paid our deposit but the driver never showed. We won’t let that stop us from enjoying our prom though.”

“That’s terrible customer service,” the driver said with a gasp, tisking. “What kind of company scams kids? Tell you what, I’ll take you there for free.”

“You don’t need to do that, sir,” Amity said quickly, “we appreciate it, but it’s a long drive.”

The driver shook his head. “No, I insist. You’re only teenagers once. Here, I have an aux cord for customers. Play whatever you’d like.”

So Luz plugged in her phone (he’d already offered, and why not?) and the driver blasted her guilty pleasures playlist all the way there. When they were about ten minutes away, Luz heard her phone buzz, and it was a reply from her Mami.

A dance? How fun! I’m so happy you’re making friends, mija. Do you have a date for this dance???

Luz usually would have gotten upset at this question, especially since her Mami knew what had happened at the last dance she went to. But instead, she smiled. Because she did have a date, even if it wasn’t exactly a real one.

“Guys, could we take a picture to send to my Mami?” Luz asked, and everyone around her nodded, and Gus even whooped in excitement at the idea of a group picture. Making sure she didn’t get too much of the cab in the background (her Mami would ask way too many questions) Luz and her friends huddled around and smiled. Luz snapped a couple, before humming and shaking her head.

“Cute, but it’s not really us. Let’s do a group hug!”

Willow and Gus laughed and reached around to hug everybody’s shoulders. Luz extended her left arm around Amity, pulling her close. Amity’s cheeks pinked furiously, but she was laughing too when Luz grinned and took the picture. When she looked at it, she couldn’t help but let herself enjoy the moment. It was perfect.

She showed her friends the picture, and then she sent it to her Mami, along with a follow-up text.

I do :) This is Amity, and my two friends Willow and Gus.

When the cab pulled up, and the driver let them out, Amity discreetly slipped the cash Aphrodite had given them into the passenger seat. The driver wished them goodnight, and then they were there, outside the hall at the university that was hosting the event. It seemed to be one of the main buildings, and it was decorated outside with flowing magenta and silver balloons. Above the door was a huge banner with the words “Hexside Highschool Junior Prom”. All around them, teenagers just a little older than them were making their way inside, but nobody seemed to pass them any kind of look.

Perfect, they were blending right in.

Gus lead them to around the side of the building, away from the prying eyes of the prom guests.

“Right,” Gus said, and the four of them got into a huddle. “I used the workbench earlier to plan our heist and I have a plan. Right now, we’re two buildings over from the classics department where they keep the shield. We should stay here for a little bit, keep up the face, and then as pairs leave inconspicuously out the back exit and head across the yard to the building. We break inside, take the shield, and regroup at the prom entrance.”

He took off his backpack, pulling out a black cloth from inside.

“There are masks to hide our identity. The place has cameras everywhere except the back exit. The second you leave, put them on. We don’t want to get followed by mortal police.”

They each took their masks out, and Luz and Gus stuffed them into their pockets. Amity and Willow frowned, holding onto them.

“I can take that,” Luz said, extending her hand out to Amity. “I’ll give it to you later.”

“But we haven’t decided how we’re splitting up yet!” Gus said, and Luz frowned.

“What do you mean? It’s obvious to split ourselves up by our prom dates. It’ll look less suspicious. You and Willow go together, and I’ll go with Amity.”

Next to her, Amity flushed and handed Luz her mask, and Willow’s eyes lit up in excitement. Gus just shrugged.

“Alright, that works. Let’s ditch the rest of our stuff here in this bush until we come back for it later.”

Once they’d concealed their backpacks, the four of them walked up the steps and tried not to draw any attention to themselves. When they walked inside, Luz’s heart sank. It lead to the main room, clearly where the party was, but there was a security guard outside checking tickets. Luz’s heart sank.

“What are we going to do?” Luz hissed to Willow and Gus, who shrugged their shoulders helplessly. Next to her, Amity sighed, and Luz turned to look at her. Her eyes were narrowed in determination.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”

The three of them shared a confused glance, but they didn’t have much time to question it before the couple in front of them walked in, and they were next.

“Tickets?” The security guard, a buff dude with blond hair, asked.

Amity’s shoulders slouched, and she ducked her head. “I’m so sorry sir, but we left them in the limo and don’t have them anymore! I swear we bought them though. Can you please just let us in?”

Luz bit the inside of her lip. There was no way that was going to work! Security guards had to deal with kids like them all the time, there was no chance-

The guard’s shoulders slouched to Amity’s level, and his eyes grew watery. “Oh, how terrible is that! On the night of your junior prom and everything… that’s no problem, miss. You and your friends head right inside.”

“Thank you so much, sir. You really are too kind.” Amity said quickly, grabbing Luz by the arm and dragging her inside with Willow and Gus trailing them. “Have a fantastic night.”

Luz struggled to pick up her jaw. “How did you just do that?”

“I didn’t know you could use charmspeak,” Willow added, looking quite surprised herself.

Amity sighed rubbing the back of her neck. “I can’t. It’s not charmspeak.”

“It’s Aphrodite’s Passion!” Gus said gleefully from behind them. Once they had walked inside the dark room lit up by flashing lights, they headed to a corner where they could talk privately.

“Aphrodite’s what?” Luz exclaimed, shocked.

“It’s a skill some of my mom’s kids have. It’s not as overpowering as charmspeak.” Amity explained quietly.

“Aphrodite’s Passion is when a person is inclined to listen and sympathize with the user. It doesn’t force anybody to do anything they wouldn’t otherwise do, but it does incentivize the target into acting out of empathy,” Gus added.

“How is that different from charmspeak?” Willow asked, confused.

“Charmspeak is foolproof and often results in loss of memory or confusion. It comes from the more manipulative side of Aphrodite, and is superficial at heart” Gus added, and then grimaced, turning back to Amity with an awkward smile. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Amity said with a shrug. “I can’t use it all the time anyway, I have to be in a certain mental state to get it right… I just had a feeling it would work today and well, I guess I got lucky.”

“What mental state do you have to be in,” Luz asked curiously, and Amity cleared her throat.

“I… It’s hard to explain…”

“It doesn’t matter right now,” Willow said quickly, regaining everybody’s focus. “What matters is the mission.”

The four of them nodded.

“Right,” Luz said seriously. “Let’s split up and enjoy the party.”

“I’m going to the free food,” Gus said excitedly, and Amity laughed.

“I wouldn’t mind some free stuff. I’ll go with you.” She turned to Luz with a smile. “Do you want me to get you a drink?”

Luz grinned. “Yeah, sure!”

The two demigods walked away, leaving Luz and Willow to themselves. Willow turned to Luz with a wide grin.

“So you finally asked Amity out then? Good for you, Luz!”

Luz’s stomach clenched hard. “What do you mean asked her out?”

Willow’s brow furrowed, and she frowned. “Well, she’s your prom date isn’t she?”

Luz felt her cheeks heating up. “I… I mean yeah…”

“And you gave her the corsage that matched the boutonniere?”

“Yes…”

“And I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. You like her, right?”

What a question. She wasn’t sure she wanted to answer that just yet. Not when something else big had pushed itself to the surface.

“Willow, what is Aphrodite supposed to look like?”

Willow blinked in surprise. A small smile started to pull on her lips. “Well, there are lots of rumors about what gods and goddesses look like by those who’ve seen them. They’re supposed to encompass the things they are known for and reveal secrets to demigods about things they may not have previously understood. So Aphrodite, who stands for beauty, passion, and love… well, you would see those qualities in yourself reflected in her.

Luz swallowed hard. Aphrodite’s smile… her laugh… gods, she’d even smelled like Amity.

Luz knew she thought Amity was beautiful, she’d accidentally told her enough times. But did Luz… love her? Luz certainly felt a lot of things about Amity. With everything between them going on, and the way this prophecy had intertwined them, was there something more to them than Luz had even realized yet?

As much as she refused to acknowledge it, the prophecy did call for something tragic. Could this be what Aphrodite had been talking about? The passionate story fueled by love in Luz’s heart? Was this love more than just her new love for camp, and for her friends? Luz's face was getting so hot, she was sure she was sweating right through her new dress shirt.

Who was Luz kidding? She had never been this important, or this special. She had certainly never warranted any kind of attention from somebody as incredible as Amity. In fact, people like Amity had been the reason she was hurt in the past. Was this worth trying? Worth pushing just to see what happened? Every fiber in Luz wanted to run, to protect herself.

But this… this wasn’t about Maya. This was about Amity. And they had already been through so much together, she had to at least try. She had to at least take the leap of faith.

Willow smiled, nudging Luz with her shoulder. “Luz, if you ever want to talk, I’m always ready to listen.”

Luz turned to Willow gratefully. “I know, Willow. And I’m probably going to take you up on that soon.”

“I figured,” Willow said her eyes training onto something behind Luz. “But how about for right now, you just focus on making the magic happen?”

Luz turned her head and saw Amity coming back towards her, with two cups in her hand and a big smile on her face. Luz’s breath caught in her throat. Gods, Amity was just so pretty when she smiled. She felt that surge of panic come back, and the realization that this was happening hit her like a truck.

For whatever reason, in the middle of her panic, she remembered Eda, right before she accepted the prophecy.

“ You do have a choice. You’re allowed to look out for yourself if you need to. If this seems too much, you can take a moment to breathe.”

“Here you go,” Amity said, handing the cup to Luz. “They had lime soda. I saw you drinking it at the workshop so I figured it was a safe bet.”

Luz felt her heart jolt with affection, and the combination of that and Eda’s words in her head filled her with the same rush she had felt back when she’d accepted the prophecy.

Luz knew what she needed to do, and she was going to make sure she made the right choice. The sound of upbeat music filled the room, and with that so did her courage.

She reached over and took Amity’s cup from her, and handed them both to Willow. She turned back to a surprised Amity and extended her hand, smiling as confidently as she could.

“Amity, would you like to dance with me?”

#the owl house #Percy Jackson AU #lumity #luz x amity #shelby speaks

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