#but like i did try to tell her and i nudged the binder out a little bit so she would know even if she wasnt listening

[tvdfan23]

I'm probably gonna get my butt kicked tomorrow 🙃

[gods-favorite-autistic]

nonbinary fig and transfem bigender gorgug are things that can be so real. what other gender hcs would you like to speak of?

Long hc post so this will be in bullet point form!!

(minor fhjy spoilers!!)

Enby Fig and bigender Gorgug 10/10 no notes

Ayda researches nonbinary people so hard once Fig comes out to her and sends Fig so many articles

Fig reads them all and takes notes <3

Transfem Adaine is so tragic with Aelwyn and her parents and adgeasresd

Aelwyn paid for Adaines estrogen using their parents money but never told her

Adaine knits all of the bad kids their pride flag

Pangender Cass. That’s it that’s the headcanon

Riz Gukgak transmasc detective

His mom would absolutely buy his T if he asked but knows how expensive it so he refuses

He uses a lot of home remedies (a lot of *checks google* legumes in the Gukgak household)

The second Riz comes out to Fabian he insists on paying for Riz’s T

Does NOT wear his binder correctly

Called Fabian in literal tears when he noticed he was starting to look like his dad

Ok enough sad hc’s. For now.

TRANS JAWBONE TRANS JAWBONE TRANS JAWBONE

T R A N S R A G H T R A N S R A G H

Mary Ann starts calling Gorgug her partner and Adaine immediately starts working on a spell to make a cowboy hat appear on Gorgugs head every time she says it

Bigender. Bisexual. Biclass. 🎵Bye bye by-

I think it’d be a little bit funny if Kristen was the only cis one but she/they demi girl Kristen is just too strong

For pride month Kristen convinces Adaine Fig and Ragh to get up at 12:01 am June 1st to spray paint Mordred Manor the trans flag

They also. Set fire to Bobby Dawns car

Fig makes it their mission to look as androgynous as possible but not in a ‘no gender’

In a ‘double d tits and a 5 inch bulge’ type way

They appear at the end of Garthy O’Briens bed one night to ask for tips like the cryptid they are

Kristen comes out in virtually the same way she did the first time just way more drunk

They whisper it to Adaine and Adaine is just like “Kristen last week you googled ‘how to tell if demigirl’ directly in front of me and then told me what you were googling when I asked”

Kristen’s just like oh. Then they throw up

For transfem Fabian Mazey (also transfem because her) figures out she’s trans before Fabian does but doesn’t try to like push her out of the closet because she knows that won’t help

She does however try to like nudge her in that direction by like sending her transfem memes and getting her to try on Mazeys dresses (read a fic where Fabian tried on Mazeys dress and I loved it so much) and stuff like that

Transmasc Fabian comes out to Riz when Riz comes out to him

Kristin assigns themself binder boy (Ragh Fabian and Riz) duty

Also known as showing up in each boys room 8 hours after she finds out they had a binder on and beating them with a pillow until they take it off

Usually Riz

Kristen shows up in his doorway he’s immediately sprinting out the fire escape as fast as he can

Jawbone has top surgery scars on his untransformed body but you can’t see them on his usual half and half body (they are still there)

Fig keeps casting dream to show up in Bobby Dawns dreams with a nonbinary flag

[thedragonagelesbian]

i will never be what i once was again

"Storm witch!"

Yiseeril had never known that a man so large as Minsc could bound, but there was no other way to describe his perpetually jaunty gait, bouncing up to her with thundering footsteps, a barrel underneath either arm and a hamster perched on his head.

"Boo and I have been discussing a matter," he declared gravely as he set the barrels down in front of her, "a very serious matter. It is the last night before we kick the brain's butt, no?"

Yiseeril noted the disconcerting scent of smoke powder and firewine mixing together. "It is."

"Well then we should not be sitting around moping at the edge of camp like you! We need to celebrate! Fortify our spirits for the battle to come."

Yiseeril brought a hand to her chest and gave an exaggerated scoff. "Minsc, my disposition is one categorically set against moping! The very suggestion wounds me."

"Then for what other reason are you out here, head and wings low?!" he protested. "The dumps, you are down in them. Minsc knows these things."

Yiseeril considered doubling down on the lie-- it was, after all, so very easy to lie to Minsc, his entire perception of her being a comedy of fabricated errors such that she was somehow a hero worth valorizing. But the ease was what made it hurt, so she forced herself to exhale slowly and say, "I may be feeling a tad apprehensive."

"Ha! Minsc always knows!" The momentary triumph ceded quickly to concern. "But you should not worry. Your brain is bigger than that one."

She smiled bitterly. "I'll tell you what, share a glass of firewine with me, and I'll share what's on my mind."

"Did you hear that, Boo? Our plan, it is working!" Minsc had, of course, not brought glasses but beer mugs, serving up a pint of wine from the barrel while Yiseeril's mage hand discreetly nudged the other barrel of firecrackers further away. None the wiser, Minsc sat down where his other barrel had once been and slammed their mugs together in an aggressive toast. "Now, tell Minsc what troubles you."

Yiseeril took a sip of her wine. It burned hot as whisky all the way down her throat, and she remembered why she preferred sherries, ports, anything sweet and smoldering and rotten. "I am, of course, completely confident in our capability of defeating the Elder Brain. It is what will come after that troubles me."

"More adventure?" Minsc suggested. "Just because we have defeated one very big baddie does not mean that there is no one else for you to thunderclap through the skull."

"The precise problem, love, is that it will soon be very difficult for me to thunderclap anyone, or indeed do much of anything." Another sip, another wrinkling of her nose, the warmth of the alcohol trying to light the hearth inside her, but her core burned cold as the Far Realms now. "You know I was once an acolyte of Oghma, yes?"

Minsc's entire face scrunched up in disgust. "Bah. 'The Binder of What Is Known.' More like 'The Not-Knower of Anything.' You are better off without him."

"I don't disagree." For a moment, she felt it again: the terrible vertigo of her body tossed and torn beneath the waves, mouthfuls of saltwater in a darkness that would not end. "Unfortunately, I am not so easily rid of his influence on me. My monastery made me to be his Voice: a passive receptor for all his divine knowledge."

"All of it?" Minsc sounded appropriately horrified and reached up to rub his forehead. "That is too much even for a brain as big as yours."

"And thus you see precisely my predicament. I was hollowed out, made to be the empty vessel for a knowledge so vast I could not even pronounce it, much to the chagrin of my tutors. For years, I was catatonic, lost to the world and to myself."

"Like Minsc in the stone?"

"Yes, I suppose it was a kind of petrification."

"But like Minsc in the stone, you are free now, are you not?"

Yiseeril tapped her temple. "Only because of our annelid accompaniments. Much as it suppressed Astarion's vampiric weaknesses, it has kept the tidal wave of information at bay. When it's gone...?"

If it would ever be gone. If she didn't stick to her and Minthara's plan to put the parasites to a better purpose. If she was not already committed to tearing divinity asunder.

And she was committed to that, wasn't she?

The furrows in Minsc's brow deepened. "But... you are so good at magic! Even the othlor would be impressed with you, hathran. How can it be that you have not yet found a way to undo this?"

"Perhaps if I only knew a little more..." The irony of her words hit Yiseeril a moment later, so bitter and sudden that she could not help but laugh as she choked on it, not her usual snide chuckles but deep in her ribs and strangled in her throat. "If only I knew...! Hells, it's-- it's probably in there, isn't it?" Gasping, laughing, crying, the mug of wine slipped from her hands and rolled down the hill, spilling scarlet in its wake. "Everything is in there. 'How to fix this' is part of everything, isn't it? Isn't it? And I can't know it so long as the tadpole's in my skull, but the moment it's out, I won't be able to do anything about it! To know without saying, without acting, that isn't knowledge, is it? Ha. HA! I can't win!"

She keeps giggling, hysterical and sobbing until she felt a pair of broad, crushing arms wrapped around her. Minsc squeezed her tighter than anyone ever had, and Boo scurried onto her shoulder to nuzzle her cheek, his whiskers tickling her underneath the feathered halo that covered her eyes.

"It is okay to be afraid," Minsc was hugging her so hard Yiseeril was sure she'd have bruises in the morning, and she didn't care. "You are very good at scaring others. Sometimes you must scare yourself too."

"More than you know..."

More than she let anyone know, aside from Minthara, how the parts of herself pulled and strained, torn between divinity and mundanity.

"Maybe Nine-Fingers will be okay staying bad for a little while longer," he added, and it caught Yiseeril by such surprise that she let out another sputter of a laugh.

"What in the truenames of all the Gods could you possibly mean by that, Minsc?"

"That Boo and I know what our next adventure will be. Before we can help Nine-Fingers, we must help you! We will not let you stay in stone, Yiseeril."

Blinking the tears from her eyes, Yiseeril looked up at Minsc and saw nothing but the radiance of genuine conviction beaming down at her. "Y-you wouldn't even know where to start."

"It is simple: we will start where we start, and we will not stop until we end." Boo gave a series of squeaks, to which Minsc nodded sagely. "Boo is right: someone will know how to fix this, and we will find them, and we will thrash them until they do so, and though she does not like us, the dark elf will help us do this. And so will the wizard, and the vampire, and the moon-witch, and the gith child, and Jaheira! Of course Jaheira will help you too. None of us will leave you to your curse, and so you have nothing to fear."

Yiseeril wished she could believe him. She would keep wishing it until she was in the Astral Sea, mind wracked from doing battle with the Netherbrain, thoughts and nerves scattered by its overwhelming psionic force. She would wish she could trust him, Jaheira, all of them long enough to stop being afraid.

And instead she would see the worm the Emperor would offer her, and there would be no fear there. Only power.

[aquatik]

The School Heartthrob ; Ep. 1: I Tre Italiani Senior

This route follows Caesar, the School Heartthrob in the Battle in Class section of the series: JoJo: Highschool Days. Explore other routes and their stories through different choices.

previous

Battle in Class ; material list

word count -> 744 + text message @ the end

content -> ongoing series, smau + written storyline, routes; fem! reader

JoJo: Highschool Days ; full series material list

send in an ask to @aquatik or @lovely-josuke to be apart of the taglist and if you’d like to specify a specific route, go ahead !

“You better not make me regret this.” You said as you pulled the chair out next to Caesar, placing your belongings next to the chair and sitting down.

“Don’t think you will,” He laughed, looking over to you. “You aren’t sitting with that annoying ass, look at him,” He says, nudging his head to the side where Joseph was.

You gaze over to see Joseph who’s banging his head repeatedly on the desk. You stifle a laugh until your face contorts to shock. You see a piece of chalk being ficked in his direction, comically hitting his forehead, sending his head back where he struggles to stay balanced on his chair, the fight with gravity ending with him falling onto the ground with a loud ‘thump’.

You turn over to see Caesar recording, trying his best to hold his holler in, probably to get a good recording.

“WHO THREW THAT!” Joseph exclaimed as he jumped up from the ground, looking around while making a winding motion with his arm.

Before he could start walking around to interrogate, a voice cuts through his tantrum, “I did,” Ms. Lisa Lisa says as she stands up from her desk.

“Those desks are new, Joseph. I’m not about to watch you break them like some kindergartener.”

Joseph straightened up at the teacher's voice, he turned around, walking robotically and sat down, uttering a “Sorry,” before folding his hands together like a private school kid.

“With that out of the way, get a pen out. We’re going over the syllabus. Suzi, if you could pass them out please, then go ahead and go back to the office so they won’t tell you something.”

Suzi passes by the tables to hand out the syllabus, when she passes you and starts wiggling her eyebrows at you. It takes you a second to understand, but once you do you quickly scoff at her and begin to usher her away.

She heads to the front of the classroom to go back to the office, saying goodbye to Ms. Lisa Lisa, before peeking her head out the door to stick her tongue out at you.

“You know her?” Caesar leans close to you and whispers since Ms. Lisa Lisa was still going over the syllabus. Before he spoke to you, he looked bored out of his mind, you noticed.

You nodded, “Yeah, we’re like best friends. Do you know her or something?”

“Yeah. We came on the same exchange program in middle school and we ended up in the same highschool after we both stayed.” He responded.

“Same program yet I’ve never heard of you until now?” You asked yourself.

You were about to ask him another question until you saw Ms. Lisa Lisa looking at you two. You straightened up and looked ahead to avoid the teacher commenting on anything. Oh well, you’d find the chance to ask him later.

After a few more minutes, it was nearing the end of the period. “That should sum it up. This course should prove to be interesting to you guys. Now for homework—“ Ms. Lisa Lisa said before being cut off by the groaning of some of your classmates.

“Oh quiet down!” She exclaimed. “Now you’re making me want to give an actual assignment.” With that, the whole class quieted down.

“As I was saying,” She softly laughed as she started to close her binder, “Your homework is to get this signed; turn it in to me tomorrow. I also want you to get your partner’s number so you have someone to communicate with. They will be the one you do group work with and who you can ask questions to.”

She looked over at your side of the room, glancing through you, Caesar, and Joseph. “My seniors over there, just make a group chat and we’ll figure it out later in the year if something comes up.” She says, getting up to go back to her desk to work on her computer.

“Y/N, give me your number!” Joseph exclaims, turning his chair around to face you.

“You do realize they’re my partner, right?”

“SHE LITERALLY JUST SAID TO—“

“THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU ASK FOR MINE FIRST?”

“I ALREADY—“

“Joseph. Caesar.” You hear Ms. Lisa Lisa say without even looking up from her computer.

You sighed as you put your number into Joseph’s phone. It really will be an interesting course, that’s for sure.

[Previous] <- -> [Next]

phylum chordate -> jojo’s bizarre adventure

mention -> bro i was dying making that text message 😭😭 anyways i hope you enjoyed the start of caesar’s route !! small thank you to kat even if she stinks for making the banners muah muah she’s so talented

taglist -> @peachtxa @chisakitsubaki @mkirina @michaelslamb @dfxgbjdcmm @cheemers-writing-archive @ciara-jpeg

if you aren’t tagged, we weren’t able to. allow anyone to tag you !

a collab between @aquatik & @lovely-josuke

[bangtaninink]

‘cause i’ve been aimin’ for heaven above

read sanctuary and when night falls i am your escape for @athenakyle

You let out a quiet sigh, cheek resting atop your fist as you flip through the pile of paper on your desk. A curt knock on the door pulls you out of your thoughts, and you straighten up to see your secretary in the doorway, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

“Yeah?”

“You have a visitor,” Jinah says, biting the inside of her cheek to hold back a grin.

“Is it my brother?” you groan, shaking your head. “I’m not available.”

“Nope. Even better than that hottie.”

“Please don’t talk about my brother like t—”

“‘Sup, gorgeous?” Jeongguk says, poking his head in through the doorway, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh. Well, I take it back. Talk about him however you want; he’s only my step brother anyway.”

“Can I get you guys anythi—” Jinah starts, raising a hand.

“We’re good, thank you,” you say, rolling your eyes as you pull Jeongguk into your office while shutting the door behind him, jerking your head to silently signal to your secretary to leave.

“I brought lunch,” Jeongguk announces, holding up a grease-stained paper bag with a grin. “I hope you’re in the mood for burgers and curly fri— oh shit. Are you still on that diet? Fuck.”

“It’s fine.” You shake your head and chuckle, taking the bag and walking to the small sofa set against one wall of your office. “I finally lost those five pounds I’ve been trying to shed for months.”

“I hope that didn’t come from your boobs or ass.” Jeongguk pulls off his jacket, dropping it on one arm of the sofa before sitting down next to you, humming at how soft the cushions are. “I mean, I’ll still fuck you, but you know… less to grab.”

“Always a charmer, Jeon. Thank you for accepting me in all my shapes and sizes.”

He hands you your burger with a wink.

                                                       〰️

The small gasp that leaves your lips quickly turns into a quiet moan, hand gripping the pillow behind your head tightly as Jeongguk wraps his lips around your nipple, your back arching off the sofa. 

“Mmm, good to see — and feel — that these are still intact,” he says, grinning up at you. “Oh wait.” You huff out disbelieving laughter when you feel his hand curl around your waist, reaching down to grab your ass, giving it a light squeeze. “Yep. All good. Nice work on the diet, sweet cheeks. Not that I think you needed it, but if it made you happy, I support it.”

“I appreciate that, babe, but I’d appreciate it more if you finished what you started, thank you.”

“Oh, well since you asked so nicely…”

Grin never faltering, Jeongguk sits up against the cushions, pulling you up to sit on his lap, kicking away the paper bag full of burger wrappers and an empty cardboard box where mere crumbs of what used to be fried potato now lay. Dress bunched up around your waist, he groans when you roll your hips on his lap, thin cotton and lace the only things separating you both. 

“Your secretary’s pretty,” Jeongguk says, grabbing handfuls of your ass with a satisfied moan as he gently sucks on the sensitive skin of your neck, careful not to leave a mark. 

“Thought you didn’t mess with married women,” you chuckle, fingers tangling in his newly dyed silver hair. 

“Oh shit. She’s married? Never mind then.”

“I’m surprised you’re looking at other women in the first place.” A little breathless, Jeongguk lifts his head to look at you, eyebrow raised. “Thought you and Hana were ready to take it to the next level.”

“Oh, fuck you,” he groans, hiding his face in your chest and pinching your ass lightly when you start to laugh. “Don’t bring her up when you’re practically naked in my lap.”

You gasp and lean back, crossing your hands over your chest to cover yourself. 

“Don’t tell me you think of her when you’re sleeping with me! Jeon Jeongguk, you jerk!”

“You’re such a boner killer, you know that?” Jeongguk says, trying to sound annoyed; the laughter in his voice gives him away. 

“Hmm… didn’t seem that way last Tuesday… or the day before that, and the day before that, and the—”

A short knock at your office door interrupts you mid-sentence, and you throw your head back with a groan. 

“Fuck my life,” you mutter, climbing off Jeongguk’s lap to start fixing your dress. “Raincheck?”

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” Jeongguk sighs, lifting his hips off the sofa to zip up his jeans. “Can’t believe I’m gonna be blue-balled when I brought you curly fries.”

Snorting, you throw your panties at him, letting them land on his bare chest as you smooth out your dress and open your office door. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” Jinah says, clutching a binder folder close to her chest as she steps into your office with wary steps. You hold back an amused smile, watching as she tries very hard not to look in Jeongguk’s direction where he’s still shirtless, your underwear still on his chest, and scrolling through his phone. “Um…”

“Yes, Jinah? Something important?” you ask, eyebrow cocked. 

“R-right. These are some other forms you need to sign, and, um… that conference call is starting in twenty minutes.”

“Cool. Is that all?”

“Um. Y-yeah?”

“Are you not sure?”

“No, yes! T-that’s all.”

“Okie dokie. Thank you.”

You laugh and nudge Jinah to walk backwards, watching as her feet seem to move on her own accord, despite the way she gulps, eyes wandering over to Jeongguk eventually, who looks up from his phone to give her a little wave goodbye. 

“Uh, Jinah?”

“Yeah?” Jinah replies, quickly and loudly.

“The forms?” you ask, holding your hand out for the binder. 

Your secretary damn near throws the folder at you, rushing back to her desk.

“I think you may have a new admirer,” you say, walking back to your desk, setting the binder folder down on the pile of paperwork you’d abandoned earlier. “Hana’s gonna be so devastated.”

“Please,” Jeongguk groans, pocketing his phone before reaching down to grab his shirt. “I’d rather your married secretary than Miss Borderline-Stalker.”

“Dramatic. Hana seemed nice enough that night we all had dinner.”

“One time, Hoseok hyung did a little experiment to see how far her creepiness—”

“You mean, ‘admiration’, right?”

“Hah. Sure. How far her admiration—” You shake your head and laugh at the way Jeongguk curls his ringed fingers in air quotes. “...goes. You know she’d think I’m still cute if I murdered a small village out of sheer boredom.”

“Aww,” you coo, lowering your hand mirror and pressing a hand to your chest while Jeongguk pretends to gag. “She’d really support you through thick and thin. That’s adorable, Guk.”

“You can sleep with her instead then,” Jeongguk sighs, holding your wrist before you can go back to fixing your lipstick, pressing a kiss to your lips. “Call me later.”

You watch him grab his jacket and the trash, walking out of your office with a little wave over his shoulder. You look back down at your reflection in your mirror, rubbing your lips together and wondering why you suddenly feel flustered. 

                                                      〰️

“I’m surprised you have time to be here, princess,” Hoseok says, not taking his eyes off the TV, blindly reaching for the bowl of popcorn.

“It was either this, or some gala or gallery opening or… something. I dunno,” you reply, not moving from where you’re leaning against Jeongguk’s side, head on his chest.

“You picked our dumb movie night over fancy dress and champagne?” Jeongguk asks, looking at you and reaching down to poke your side before returning his arm to where it was wrapped around your shoulders. “You need to reorganise your priorities, bub.”

“What, you’d rather be in a tux, mingling with middle-aged rich people who think the kind of music you guys make is ‘useless noise’?”

“Okay, fair point.”

“Can you guys shut up? We’re getting to the good part,” Taehyung says, clearing his throat and shuffling closer to Yoongi; Jeongguk shares a look with you, rolling his eyes. “And our movie nights are not dumb, Jeongguk. The only thing dumb about movie night is that you end up sobbing like a little girl after half the movies we watch.”

“I do not!”

“Aww. You’re a softie,” you coo, tickling his chin.

“Stop that,” he groans, swatting your hand away. “It is perfectly normal to tear up while watching The Notebook.”

“And Titanic, and Schindler’s List, and—” Yoongi lists, smirking. 

“Shut up! Ugh. You guys suck.”

You chuckle and rub Jeongguk’s chest, letting your arm rest comfortably across his waist. 

                                                      〰️

By the time the credits begin to roll, the others have all fallen asleep, you and Jeongguk not far behind from joining them. Without removing his arm from your shoulder, he raises his hips off the couch to stretch his back.

You take a deep breath, quietly groaning when you sit up and stretch your arms above your head, the hem of your shirt riding up to expose a sliver of your stomach. When you settle back down, you see Jeongguk looking at you, eyebrow arched, smile playing on his lips.

“Really?” you say, scoffing quietly.

“I am but a man, sweet cheeks,” he replies, hand on his chest. “A man with needs.”

“And I am a woman, sir. A woman that needs to sleep.”

“Fine. Another raincheck then.” Yawning, he gets up and stretches again. “Need a shirt? Or you planning on sleeping in what you’re wearin’?”

You stop wiping the corner of your eye, looking up at him, taken aback by this… subtle implication that you’ll be sleeping over for the first time.

“Huh?”

“You want one of my shirts to sleep in or are you good?”

“Uh…”

“Or do you sleep… naked?” Jeongguk gasps dramatically, lips turning up into a smirk.

“Shut up,” you groan, shaking your head and kicking his thigh. “Such a perv.”

“And I reiterate: I am a man with needs. C’mon. Let’s go to bed.” He laughs quietly at the look you give him. “To sleep.”

“What about these guys?”

“Pfft, leave them. Their neck problems are not yours, bub.”

                                                      〰️

You wake up to the smell of coffee and burning toast, a weight on your waist pinning you down onto the bed. 

It takes a moment when you open your eyes to comprehend that you hadn’t fallen asleep in your own bed last night, and that the weight on your waist was, in fact, Jeongguk’s inked arm holding you close to his chest. He stirs when he feels you shift in his hold, taking in a deep breath and hiding his face in your hair. 

“What time is it?” he asks, voice croaky with sleep.

“No clue,” you say, fighting the urge to fall back to sleep, the warmth on your back seeping through the material of your shirt — Jeongguk’s shirt — inviting and relaxing. 

“I bet you ten thousand Won the fire alarm will go off in the next minute.”

“You seem very confident about that.”

“I’m confident in Taehyung hyung’s cooking skills — or lack of.”

You chuckle quietly before flipping over with a yawn, eyes still half shut. Jeongguk loosens his hold on you to let you turn, but quickly pulls you in once you’re facing him, hiding his face in your hair again.

“Let’s go out for breakfast,” he says. “I’m not in the mood for burnt toast and raw scrambled eggs.”

“Why not? That sounds delicious.”

“Fine. You stay here. I’ll go get some french toast and some good coffee.”

“Mmm, french toast.” You hum softly, sniffling. “You paying?”

“Hmm… sure. I got some cash to spare. Gonna have to take the bike though. Hoseok hyung might’ve already taken the car to work.”

“Not the bike,” you whine; Jeongguk chuckles, leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek before sitting up with a groan, patting your ass lightly.

“C’mon. Let’s head out before the other guys figure out what we’re doin’ and try to tag along.”

You open one eye to watch him climb off the bed, picking up one of his shirts and giving it a sniff before disappearing into the bathroom. You sit up with a quiet groan, scratching your head and wondering why your cheek feels several degrees warmer.

                                                      〰️

“Woah, woah, woah. Hottie at twelve o’clock,” Jaehyun says, craning his head to peer over Eunwoo’s shoulder, eyes wide with curiosity.

“Uh, you mean hotties,” Mingyu corrects, putting down the glass in his hand, and draping his towel over his shoulder. “Wow.”

“You guys wanna not act like teenage boys?” Jeongguk chuckles, leaning against the bar and pulling his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through his messages.

“I’m sorry you don’t have eyes, Jeongguk,” Yugyeom scoffs, setting his tray down on the bar. “But I think a certain reaction is expected when the heiress of Samsung walks into our shitty restaurant with her friends.”

“Wait. _____’s here?”

Jeongguk swivels around, scanning the dining floor with wide eyes, missing the way Dokyeom comments, who’s the teenage boy now? under his breath when he spots you and smirks. It doesn’t take long for you to spot him, and you scoff quietly at the look he’s giving you, shaking your head and rolling your eyes.

“Boys, I’m goin’ on break,” Jeongguk announces, untying his apron from his waist, grinning at the annoyed groans from his friends.

“We’re literally ten or fifteen minutes away from the Friday night rush,” Yugyeom says, smacking his arm. “Bros before hos!”

“Gyeom… you’re saying you’d pick these guys over _____? Think about it. Like really think about it, dude.” Yugyeom looks at the rest of the group, who all seem to be thinking over Jeongguk’s question too, before turning back to Jeongguk, sighing with defeat. “That’s what I thought. Gentlemen, adieu.”

The guys roll their eyes and shake their heads, watching him walk off in your direction.

“Wait, why’re we eating here again?” Hyemi asks, warily eyeing the sticky menu set down in front of her.

“I was in the mood for inauthentic Italian food,” you answer, smiling and reading over the specials.

“I’d recommend the bacon garlic linguine.”

You don’t flinch at the sudden whisper in your ear, only smiling wider and chuckling.

“Garlic? So close to bedtime? That’s an unusual recommendation, Jeon.”

“Hey. I’m not fussy. I accept you no matter what — garlic breath and all.” He presses a kiss to your cheek before straightening up, bowing his head at the rest of your table, hands in the pocket of his slacks. “Ladies.”

“Hi, Jeongguk. Are you working or are you joining us?” Hyemi says.

“Oh, well that all depends on Miss _____ over here.”

“Hmm… it would’ve been nice to have our own personal server, but I suppose you can stay for a bite of two, if you must,” you reply, reaching for the drinks menu.

“Hmm, well, I can get you multiple personal servers — if you ladies would like that, that is,” Jeongguk says, grinning.

A few of the girls gasp, whispering between themselves.

“The boys at the bar?” Hyemi asks.

“The boys at the bar.”

“Huh. Maybe this place isn’t so bad after all, _____.”

                                                      〰️

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

You turn to look at Jeongguk, smile still on your lips as you cradle your glass of wine in your hand. He’s giving you a look that you can’t really explain, but his arm is draped over the back of your chair, and he’s looking right at you, and it feels as if the restaurant is completely empty around you.

“What, Jeongguk?” you ask, nudging his shoulder.

“I just remembered something,” he says, reaching for your half-eaten slice of garlic bread.

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“I kinda wanna take you out on a date.”

Your eyebrows arch up so fast, you’re sure they disappear into your hair in an instant.

“A… date?”

“Mhm.” He takes a bite of your garlic bread, shrugging. “Been thinking about it for a while. Not really sure why, but… actually, no — I do know why. It’s Yoongi hyung’s fault.”

“Yoongi?”

“Yeah, he said something a couple months back about me needing to get a girlfriend, and to stop annoying you every time my dick twitches ‘cause you’re probably busy most of the time I hit you up. Anyway, I figured I’m twenty-four goin’ on fifty, I’m not goin’ back to school anytime soon, so why not?” He puts the bread back down onto your empty plate, dusting off his fingers. “How ‘bout it? Wanna go on a date with me, sweet cheeks?”

You look at him, too stunned to say anything coherent as it dawns on you that he really did just ask you that.

Jeon Jeongguk has just asked you out on a date.

“Really?” you ask, putting your glass of wine down and turning to face him properly. “You wanna go out on a date with me?”

“I do,” he says, picking up your glass of wine instead and taking a sip.

“And not because you want a new phone, TV, or washing machine whenever there’s a new release… or want to be on the cover of magazines and newspapers every other day… or want me to buy you the newest pair of Yeezys before they’re released in Korea?”

“Well… hmm… actually…” He chuckles when you smack his arm, rolling your eyes. “I’m kidding. No, after what Yoongi hyung said, I actually do wanna take you on a date. I’m curious to see if we can woo each other’s pants off — metaphorically and literally speaking, of course.”

“Of course.”

“So? What d’you say? Will you let me take you out on a date?”

You bite the inside of your cheek, thinking it over. Jeongguk keeps his eyes on you, waiting for an answer, and twirling an unused spoon between his fingers. Eventually, you take a deep breath, smiling and shrugging.

“Eh, what the hell? Sure. Why not?” you say, taking your glass of wine back.

“Wait, shit. Really?”

“Why do you sound surprised?”

“I didn’t actually think there was a chance you’d say yes,” Jeongguk says, laughing. “Um. Okay. Cool. Yeah. Alright, I’ll, uh… let you know when and where once I’ve figured that out.”

“I look forward to it, Jeon.”

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (3)

(Hey guys! finally got around to posting chapter three of this! There’s a second, mini series connected to this that’s called Journal Entries. You don’t have to read it to understand the plot, but I felt like it would be fun to write so enjoy it if you like!)

Ch. 1 / Ch. 2 / Ch. 4

Chapter 3: There’s a First Time for Everything

Adrien tapped his pencil against his notebook paper and nestled his cheek into his open palm with a sigh. It’s been a little over a week since Marinette exchanged schools, and he’s yet to talk with her about it. He tried visiting her the day Ms. Bustier informed them of the transfer, but Marinette wasn’t home. Naturally, he tried again the next day and actually managed to catch her, but then she ran off. Ran off! Adrien still couldn’t believe it. Why would she run from him? 

“Dude, you okay?” Nino asked, giving him a light nudge.

Adrien straightened slightly. “Ah, yeah, just.. Just thinking.”

Alya scoffed behind him. “Don’t tell me you’re still moping about Marinette.” 

Needless to say, the class didn’t exactly share Adrien’s sentiment about Marinette’s leaving. With all of Lila’s stories circling around, they were overjoyed that the “bully” was gone. Alya was low-key furious, ranting about “injustices” and “letting Marinette run from the consequences of her actions”, but other than that, everyone was pleased with the outcome.

Everyone except Adrien.

Adrien knew better. The class may think that they’re better off without the bluenette, but he knew for certain that they were all going to drown without her. Marinette organized the budgets, supplied the goods for bake sales, signed off all of the paperwork for their trips- she even made dresses for the girls on special occasions. They needed her. That’s why he had to get her back. If only he could find time out of his packed schedule to visit her again..

“Alright, everyone, settle down.” Ms. Bustier spoke up. “The results for the new class president are in.”

Adrien sunk further into his seat. Ah, yes. The new class president, another reason Marinette should have stayed. With her gone, they had to make an impromptu election. Chloe, of course, ran again, but Lila decided to run as well. With the class’ obvious loyalty towards Lila, it’s a wonder Ms. Bustier didn’t announce the brunette as the president right there and save everyone the trouble.

Ms. Bustier pulled out a small card with the results and cleared her throat. “With a near-unanimous vote, the new class president will be Lila Rossi.”

The class cheered, and Lila gasped as if she hadn’t expected this to happen.

“Thank you all so much!” She beamed.

Alya slung her arm around Lila’s shoulders. “You deserve it, girl.”

Chloe scoffed from her seat and crossed her arms, but no one acknowledged the show of disdain. They were too busy congratulating their beloved Lila.

“Congratulations Lila. You can visit Marinette after school to get the paperwork from her.” Ms. Bustier said, setting her cards aside.

Adrien straightened. Someone had to go visit Marinette? “I’ll do it!”

The classroom paused at the outburst.

“Oh, Adrien you don’t have to do that for me.” Lila remarked with a grateful tone.

“Oh, no, it’s my pleasure.” Adrien was quick to reply.

A hint of annoyance flicked across Lila’s features, but it quickly vanished when Alya said, “Yeah, Lila, you shouldn’t have to suffer through that.”

A smile forced its way onto the Italian girl’s lips. “Thanks, but I think it’s only right that I meet with her in person. Class president to Class president and all.”

Alya frowned. “Well, at least let me go with you. I don’t want her trying to pull anything.”

“Oh, Alya,” Lila sighed, patting the red-head’s hand, “It’s just a small visit. I’m sure Marinette and I can be civil about this.”

Alya reluctantly agreed, but if anyone had actually been paying attention, they might have seen Lila’s smirk.

~~~~~~

The soft rhythm of Felix and Allegra’s instruments floated around the music room as they played. Marinette never imagined the violin and the flute sounding well together, but the way Felix and Allegra harmonized had her swaying back and forth with the melody. It was a lovely song, and she couldn’t help closing her eyes to fully relish the masterpiece. 

Her eyes snapped open a second later, though, as her entire body jolted from the large calamity of piano keys that was suddenly pounded on by Claude. Felix startled as well, his violin flying off key, and Allegra nearly dropped her flute. 

“Again, Claude?” Allegra sighed, placing her hands on her hips.

Claude leaned back on the piano stool with his palms and flashed them an innocent smile. “What? I was only helping.”

Marinette held back a smile, but Felix wasn’t amused.

“I told you to stop doing that.” He scolded with a scowl. “You’re going to get our music room privileges revoked!”

“Good. You guys practice too much, anyway.” 

Allegra gave Claude a flat look. “We need to practice if we’re going to get better.”

“But you already sound great.” 

“Because we practice.” Felix replied pointedly.

Marinette subtly nodded in agreement. She didn’t want to get directly involved in their arguments, as that never seemed to go well.

Claude huffed a sigh and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Whatever. Waste your time on endless practice. I’m gonna do something more productive with my time.”

Felix narrowed his eyes. “Like what?”

Claude turned to lay across the piano bench while throwing Marinette a smile. “Like making croissants! We’re still coming to your house, right?”

Marinette returned his smile, secretly relieved that he didn’t ask her to do something outrageous like going to chase pigeons around the park while on roller blades. (Yes, that’s happened several times in the past week, and yes, each time she’s said no.) 

“Yeah, but you guys are coming over tomorrow.” She told him. 

He pumped a fist into the air. “Yes! I can’t wait!!”

“Neither can I.” Allegra admitted. “Your parents sound splendid.”

Marinette’s smile widened. “I’m sure you’ll all get along great.”

“Yes, I’m sure.. If we can practice enough to go straight to your house after classes tomorrow.” Felix remarked, shooting Claude another look.

Claude tisked, waving a hand at him. “Yeah, yeah. Get back to your music already.”

Allegra gave a short laugh, sarcastically stating, “Oh, thank you so much. I was wondering when you would give us permission to play.”

“I know, I’m such a generous person.” Claude joked back.

Allegra playfully rolled her eyes and held up her flute to resume playing. Felix followed along, and Marinette went back to swaying as their song continued. 

-

The familiar ring of the customer bell brought a smile to Marinette’s lips as she opened the bakery door. 

Her mother, Sabine, looked up from the cashier desk with a warm smile. “Marinette! How was music practice?”

“It was wonderful, Maman. Felix and Allegra play beautifully.” Marinette answered as she walked inside. She set her bag next to the counter and gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek. “Is everything ready for them to come over tomorrow?”

Sabine nodded. “Tom’s got the ingredients and tables ready for when they get here. He’s so excited to meet them, and so am I.”

Marinette chuckled. “They’re excited to meet you guys too.”

Sabine’s smile widened at the comment, but then her expression darkened as she said, “Hopefully they’re not two-faced and backstabbing like your previous classmates.”

Marinette gasped. “Mom!” 

“Well, it’s true!” Sabine replied defensively.

It was true, but that didn’t mean Marinette was any less surprised to hear her maman talk that way. Of course, Sabine did tend to speak her mind when Marinette’s feelings were involved. 

Before she could respond, the doorbell rang again, signaling a new customer’s arrival. Marinette turned with her mother to offer them a greeting, but stopped short when she saw exactly who the new customer was.

Lila Rossi stood in the doorway, a smug smirk on her lips as she eyed Marinette up and down. “I see you’re doing well.”

Sabine was in front of Marinette in the blink of an eye. “You are not welcome in this bakery. Leave immediately before I call the cops.”

A look of feigned hurt crossed the Italian girl’s expression. “How rude! I only came here per Mme Bustier’s request. I have to get the formal papers from our previous class president.”

Marinette narrowed her eyes, stepping around Sabine with crossed arms. “I suppose you’re the new class president then?”

Lila’s smile returned, sharp and triumphant. “By a near-unanimous vote. Alya is still the deputy though, since she practically begged me to let her help.”

Marinette’s lips tightened into a thin line. That sounded about right. “How nice for you. You two really do deserve each other.”

When Lila first came around, Marinette had been torn and heartbroken about her friends abandoning her for a stranger. It didn’t help that Adrien kept assuring her that everything would be fine, that they didn’t mean what they said. He gave her false hope, and it made it all the harder to find the courage to leave. 

Now, she’s realized how toxic her old environment had become, and though it still hurt her to think about it, Marinette knew she couldn’t let them affect her anymore.

Lila faltered at Marinette’s uncaring tone. “Uh.. right. Where are those papers again?”

“Up in my room.” Marinette moved towards the stairs, bringing Sabine back behind the counter as she did. “I’ll go get them now.”

“Good.” Lila said, sounding satisfied. “I’ll be waiting outside, but don’t take your time. I’m supposed to go meet Alya and the girls for a girl’s night out.” 

Marinette rolled her eyes at the obvious jab, but continued up the stairs anyway. The sooner she got the papers, the sooner that lying leech could leave.

She swiftly ran up to her room and gathered the papers to stuff them into the large, blue binder she’d been given only two semesters ago. It sunk into her arms as she picked it up, and the sheer weight of the packed binder made her smile as she brought it back outside, especially when she saw Lila’s panicked expression.

“Um.. What is that?” The brunette asked, pointed at the binder.

“Oh, this?” Marinette replied innocently. “This is just the binder that holds all the formal papers you need. Being class president takes a lot of work you know.”

Lila nearly toppled over when Marinette dropped the binder into her arms. 

“That’s allergies, budgets, complaints, schedules, and trips!” Marinette told her with a grin. “But don’t forget to give Mme Bustier and Principle Damocles the proper reports each semester.”

Lila shot her a scowl, but quickly recovered, slipping on a smile of her own. “No need to be petty, Marinette. It’s fine to admit you’re breaking inside. Losing all your friends can be a hard thing to go through.”

Marinette’s grin faded slightly, knowing that Lila was right. She’d lost everything. All of her childhood friends, her crush, her fun teachers, anything she used to hold dear.

But maybe that was a good thing.

“Have fun sorting through the binder.” She said, spinning on her heel and walking inside. She had better things to do than listen to someone who had to lie just to get people to like them. 

The bakery door closed behind her, and Marinette saw Lila leave out of the corner of her eye, taking the painful memories with her.

~~~~~~

Friday afternoon. 4:45pm.

Felix stared at the bakery door, unsure how to proceed. The group had originally agreed to walk straight to Marinette’s house after school, but they changed the plan last minute to come back at five, an hour after school ended. It gave Marinette’s parents time to finish up the preparations, and the rest of the group time to drop off their school bags at their homes. 

Felix, as usual, arrived at the Dupain-Cheng’s early, but now he was doubting his actions. On one hand, he would get to meet the Dupain-Cheng’s without the chaos that the trio tended to bring. It would be a nice way for him to get a quick impression of the family over-all. 

On the other hand, he’s at Marinette’s house before the time she specifically told them to come, which could be considered rude in some cases. Should he go inside or wait in a nearby cafe?

After a few more minutes of debating, Felix stepped forward and knocked on the door. If they really needed him to wait until five, he would apologize and come back in ten minutes. The opportunity to meet the Dupain-Cheng’s on a one-on-one basis was too good to pass up.

It only took a moment for the door to open, and a short, asain woman greeted him with a sweet smile. “Hello! I’m assuming you’re one of Marinette’s friends from school?” 

Felix nodded, noting her raven hair that matched Marinette’s perfectly. “Yes, ma’am. I’m Felix.”

He stiffened slightly when she reached forward to take his hand in both of hers. “It’s great to finally meet you! Marinette has told us so much about you all.” 

A small smile passed his lips. For some reason, that knowledge gave him a satisfied feeling. Assuming that the talk was good, that is. “She’s talked a lot about you as well. I’m assuming you’re Mme Dupain-Cheng?”

The woman waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, please, call me Sabine.”

‘Sabine’ showed him inside, where baked goods lined the walls in glass cases. Claude was going to lose his mind when he got here. The overwhelming scent of vanilla and cinnamon alone was going to be enough to make the brunette’s mouth water.

“This is my husband, Tom.” Sabine introduced, gesturing to a tall, burly man at the cashier desk. “Tom, this is one of Marinette’s friends, Felix.”

Felix would be lying if he said he wasn’t intimidated by the man. His head almost grazed the ceiling as he approached them, making Sabine look like a dwarf in comparison. Felix felt like a dwarf in comparison.

Tom offered a wide, hearty grin, though that didn’t help Felix’s unease. “Ah, Felix! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

The man scooped Felix up into a bear hug, squeezing him tightly to his chest. Felix would have replied to his greeting had he been able to breathe. 

“Oh, Papa!”

Felix glanced over Tom’s shoulder- he’d been raised that high -and saw Marinette standing in another doorway behind the cashier counter, a slight cringe in her expression.

“Papa, put poor Felix down before he passes out from lack of oxygen!” She insisted, walking forward to tug on her father’s arm.

“Oh that’s.. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” Felix wheezed as Tom set him down. 

Marinette’s hands hovered around him for a moment, then she nervously clasped them together. “I-I’m so sorry, I should have warned you. I thought I was going to be down here when you guys arrived.”

Felix shook his head and bent over slightly to catch his breath. “No, no, you’re fine. They actually remind me of my own mother. She’s a rather adamant hugger herself.”

A relieved smile came to Marinette’s lips. “Really? I didn’t think anyone could be as ‘homely’ as my parents.”

Felix chuckled, but the customer bell jingled again before he could reply. Claude sauntered inside a second later, his arms spread as wide as his grin. 

“We’re here~!” The brunette sang, looking around the shop. His gaze found Felix’s flat one almost immediately.

“Hey!” Claude gasped, pointing accusingly at Felix. “He beat us here!”

Allegra stepped out from behind Claude, wearing a curious expression. That quickly changed to knowing smirk, though, as she shot him a playfully scolding look. “Why, Felix! I’m surprised at you! You should know more than anyone how rude it is to arrive at someone’s house early.”

Felix grimaced at the reminder of his bad manners and quickly turned to apologize.

“Oh don’t be silly!” Sabine said before he could get a word out. “Any friends of Marinette are friends of ours. You guys are welcome here anytime.”

Claude lit up at the sentiment. “I’m gonna be here a lot then.”

Allan popped out from behind Claude and Allegra. “Thank you for hosting us, M. and Mme Dupain-Cheng.”

Felix held back a smirk. He’d wondered when Allan would show himself.

“Please, call us Tom and Sabine.” Tom replied in a casual, yet booming voice. It highly contradicted his wife and daughter, who tended to speak in soft tones. “Follow me. I’ll show you where the kitchen is.”

The group was led into a room in the back where three islands stood in the center, each equally parted from each other. A large counter lined the wall to the left as well, and two, large ovens sat on each end of said counter.

“Do you guys want to start from scratch or start with pre-made dough?” Tom asked.

“Oh! Scratch! I want to be able to make these at home!” Claude answered eagerly. 

Tom smiled. “Alright! Scratch it is. Everyone take the needed ingredients on the counter.”

The group took a moment to pass around the items, then they separated to find a counter. Allan took the first counter with Tom, and Allegra and Claude stole the last counter, leaving the middle counter for Marinette and Felix. 

“I’m glad you guys got to come.” Marinette commented as they aligned their ingredients on the shared countertop.

Felix nodded. “I think Claude’s going to get a sugar-crash before we leave.”

Marinette snorted. “With all of those baked goods in the other room? I’d be surprised if he makes it to supper.”

Felix spared her a glance. “Are we staying for supper?”

Marinette paused, having to think out her answer. She must not have noticed the implication when she said it. “Uh.. I mean.. I wouldn’t mind. Do you guys want to stay for supper?”

Felix shrugged, though the idea sounded perfect. It would give him more time to understand the Dupain-Cheng’s lifestyle. “I’m sure Allegra and Claude will be ecstatic over the news. I’d have to contact my mother about the change in schedule, though.”

“Oh, were you planning something with her tonight?” Marinette asked, worry lacing her tone. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“No, I want to.” Felix hastily amended. “I simply need to tell my mother that I won’t be home for supper tonight. We always have a family dinner when everyone is available.”

“And you won’t miss it?”

“Well, it sounds like it’s a special occasion, but everyone’s available more often than you’d expect.” 

Marinette tilted her head up and mouthed an ‘oh’. “I’ll tell Maman that you’re staying, then. She was sort of planning supper for all of you anyway.”

Felix smiled. Given the daily croissants that the group’s received since their first lunch with Marinette, that didn’t surprise him. Mme Sabine had proven to be an extremely kind and charitable person, much like her daughter.

Tom, once his own ingredients were in order, regained the room’s attention and began showing them how to make the croissants. Because he was in the front, it was easy to see how the ingredients were supposed to be thrown in and follow along. That said, Felix found himself extremely grateful to have Marinette as a partner. Her little tips on how to mix the dough helped him immensely, especially since she told him when his mixing was sufficient.

“Alright,” Tom sighed as he set his bowl to the side, “Now that the dough is done, we’re going to start the hard part. Everyone needs to get some flour so we can start rolling the dough and folding it. Marinette, if you would.”

Marinette sprang from her place next to Felix and crossed the room to a cabinet. She pulled it open and grabbed a large bag of flour that appeared to be at least a fourth full, then carried it to the long counter against the wall and set it down with a huff. 

“Here’s the flour that you all are going to be using.” Tom explained. “That should be plenty, but if you need more-”

A light knock on the doorframe ahead of them caused Tom to trail off. Felix glanced at the door to see Mme Sabine standing there, holding a sheepish smile.

“Tom, dear. I know you’re busy, but could you help me with this customer real quick?” She asked politely. “They’re being.. difficult.”

Felix noted the sharpness of her smile, along with the iron grip she had on the doorframe. It appeared that the sweet, loving mother also had a temperance, though he didn’t blame her. Customers had a tendency to be massive pains for retail workers. (That included himself on a few shameful occasions.)

M. Tom’s nervous smile said it all as he joined his wife at the door. “Oh, of course. Uh.. children, just- just keep doing what you’re doing. Marinette will show you how to roll the dough if necessary.”

The parents left the room, causing the rest of the group to turn to Marinette for instruction.

Marinette, who had returned to Felix’s side by that point, shrank slightly at the sudden attention. “Oh, uhm.. Do any of you know how to fold dough?”

A short laugh came from Allegra in the back. “Mari, I’m quite certain that none of us have even touched uncooked food before.”

“That’s the price you pay for being rich.” Allan agreed, putting a hand to his chest and shaking his head with feigned grief. 

Felix opted not to comment. His mother rather enjoyed cooking, much to their butler’s dismay. She often cooked their family meals, and every now and then, Felix found himself helping. “It’s a necessary skill.” she would tell him. “Your future wife will thank me and so will you.”

Why his mother assumed he would be able to tolerate anyone long enough to marry them was beyond him.

“Oh, how horrible for you.” Marinette retorted with a playful eye roll. “I guess I’ll show you how to fold dough then. For your sakes.”

“We are forever grateful.” Claude joked.

Marinette laughed and scooped up her bowl, bringing it to the front with Allan for all of them to see. 

“Now, everyone needs to get some flour. We’ll start with Claude and Allegra getting some. That way, the flour will work its way to the front by the time we’re done.” She instructed.

Felix nodded. That sounded like a reasonable plan.

Claude walked over to grab the bag as told and hauled it back to his and Allegra’s table. “How much are we going to need?”

“Oh, not much.” Marinette answered. “You only need some on the table and some on the dou- Claude, wait!”

Claude tipped the bag of flour upwards, expecting it to slide smoothly onto the table. Instead, the flimsy ingredient smacked into the table in a large clump, causing white dust to explode into the air. Felix scrunched up his nose in annoyance. How were they supposed to mix that? How easily did it spread? He knew he should have worn something less formal. (Oh, who was he kidding? Felix didn’t have anything less formal.)

An apologetic whimper came from Marinette, as if any of this was her fault. Claude and Allegra quickly fell into a coughing fit as Claude dropped the flour bag onto the ground. Of course, dropping the bag only threw more dust into the air. 

The two attempted to wave the dust away, but it only partly worked. When the dust did finally clear, though, Claude and Allegra were left with a small pile of flour on their table. The rest of the flour was either in the air or draped across their clothes and hair.

“Wow.” Felix stated dryly. “I’m impressed. You actually managed to wait until M. Tom left before making a complete mess of yourselves and the room.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it u-” Claude’s retort was cut off by another coughing fit, but Allegra continued it for him.

“I don’t see you rolling out your dough in a perfectly clean and pristine manner.”

“That’s because you used up the rest of the flour.” Felix shot back.

Marinette gasped. “Is it really all gone?”

Claude and Allegra, suddenly dawning a sheepish expression, looked down at the bag that was still on the floor. Claude reached down to pick it up, but, as if the situation weren’t bad enough already, he grabbed the wrong end and pulled it up upside down. 

The last bits of flour trickled to the floor, spreading across the brunette’s legs.

“...Yeah. It’s all-” He let out another cough “-gone.”

Allan’s eyes widened, a mixture of admiration and mortification swirling onto his features. “How did you waste an entire bag of flour on one spill?”

“You’d be surprised.” Marinette muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“We can reimburse you.” Allegra was quick to offer. “How much did the flour cost? Do you take checks?”

A light chuckle fell from Marinette’s lips. “No, no, that’s not necessary. I’ve.. actually done worse.”

Claude’s eyes bulged out of his head. “You’ve done worse?”

Felix thought over the many falls that Marinette had had over the past week. Her clumsiness certainly made it possible to have more extreme accidents. 

“What do we do now that the flour is gone?” He asked, trying to get the group back on track. The sooner they finished baking the croissants, the sooner he could examine the rest of Marinette’s house instead of sitting in the kitchen. The Dupain-Chengs appeared to be a lively, fun-loving family, but he’d only gotten a small taste of their life, only seen the tip of the iceberg. Felix wanted to absorb as many details as possible before leaving. 

Marinette straightened. “Oh! There’s actually more flour in the back! I’ll go get it.”

Before Felix could offer any assistance- his curiosity piqued about where they might store more food -the ravenette had already left the room, disappearing through another doorway in the back. 

A moment later, she returned, another large bag of flour in her hands. This time, however, the bag was full. Felix vaguely wondered how heavy the bags must weigh for her to be wobbling over with one so easily. Wasn’t flour supposed to be heavy?

“Here’s a fresh bag of flo-ou-ah!” Marinette’s words jumbled into jargon when her foot caught on her ankle. Her body lunged forward from the momentum, and Felix stepped up to catch her on reflex.

Bad idea. 

Due to the weight of the flour bag yanking her downwards, Marinette crashed into Felix’s and dragged him to the floor with her. His back hit the floor with a painful *thud*, immediately sucking all of the air from his lungs. 

Of course, the flour bag popped open upon impact, sending more white dust directly into his face. Between the weight of Marinette and the flour, along with his aching lungs and the suffocating dust, Felix was convinced that he was about to die right then and there on the bakery floor. 

Felix Culpa: tragically taken from this world by a bag of flour and a clumsy classmate. What a way to go.

“Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Felix. Are you okay??” Marinette asked frantically, pushing herself off of him. 

Felix coughed out a weak response with what little oxygen he had. Even without Marinette, the flour bag pressed into his chest like a block of concrete. How had she been carrying this without breaking a sweat earlier?

Marinette hauled the bag off of him, and Felix sucked in a deep breath despite the flour still cluttering the atmosphere. All he needed right now was some sweet, blessed air. Infected or no.

It wasn’t until he regained enough of his senses to push himself up into a sitting position that he heard Claude’s howling laughter.

“Oh, man!” The brunette cackled. “And you thought we were bad! Look at you, Fe! You’re a ghost!”

Felix glanced down at his clothes, which were indeed covered in white. He could even feel the weight of the flour in his hair. How long was this going to take to wash out? Was he going to have to buy new clothes before going home?

A snort brought his gaze upwards, where Marinette stood with the bag of flour. She had a hand on her mouth- holding the bag of flour with one hand -and a barely contained smile on her lips that she was obviously trying to hide. 

That’s when Felix knew that he must be looking ridiculous. 

“At least I wasn’t the one to cause the mess.” Felix grumbled in response to Claude. He reached up to start brushing some of the flour out of his hair, finding a bit of comfort in the fact that Marinette was white with flour as well. It might have been irksome if she had escaped her fall unscathed while he appeared to be a freshly made snowman.

“I am. So sorry.” Marinette apologized again, this time offering him her hand to help him up.

Felix took it, his bafflement towards her uncanny amount of strength only growing as she managed to pull him up with one arm and keep the bag of flour steady in her other arm.

“It’s..” not your fault. Was what he was about to say, except that would be a lie. It was entirely her fault.

“It’s fine.” He said instead. “It’s just clothes.”

“Wow~” Allegra sang, immediately latching onto Felix’s nerves. “‘It’s just clothes’? That’s a first.”

“Remember that time Felix threatened to sue us for enough money to buy a new wardrobe if we ‘got so much as one drop of food on his vest’?” Allan chimed in.

Embarrassment coiled around Felix’s stomach, though he wasn’t sure why. That designer outfit was expensive! And the trio was acting especially chaotic that day. Who knows what might have happened had he not put his foot down when they started joking about a food fight.

Felix whipped around to Allan to explain that exact reasoning, but something caught his attention, causing him to pause. Allan was still at the front of the room, the farthest position from the chaos that had just ensued. Aside from the stray dust still fluttering around the room, the man was completely untouched as far as flour was concerned. 

“Marinette,” He said, catching the girl’s eye, “I do believe that Allan hasn’t gotten his flour yet.”

Marinette’s gaze flicked to Allan, then to the bag, and Felix prayed that he assessed her correctly. Because if Allan didn’t get flour on him this instant, Felix might be tempted to do something foolish. Like attempting to throw a bag of flour that was, without a doubt, too heavy for him to even lift on his own.

The barest hints of amusement lit up Marinette’s features. “You know what? I think you’re right.”

Felix smiled, feeling a devilish satisfaction. Yes!

Allan took a step back, suddenly looking very concerned. 

“Woah, w-wait a second, guys.” He squeaked, holding up his hands as Marinette inched forward. “L-Let’s talk about this!”

“One of us. One of us.” Claude began chanting behind them. “One of us! One of us!”

Allegra joined in, and, in the spirit of things, Felix joined in as well, if only to push Marinette further towards his goal.

Allan bumped into his assigned counter while trying to put useless distance between himself and Marinette. “Please, no! It’s rare that I come out of these things unscathed!”

Marinette’s grin was downright predatory as she held up the bag of flour. “I can’t imagine why.”

Allan’s scream was the last thing Felix heard before Marinette swung the flour bag forward. 

The entire room erupted into uncontrollable laughter as Allan coughed out at least half the bag. He was now stark white from head to toe, and Felix couldn’t be prouder. It served him right for poking the bear.

Allan hung his head in defeat, a bit of flour falling off of his head from the action. This only made the group laugh harder. Claude started to say something about the “set being complete”, but before he could finish-

“What is going on?!” 

M. Tom reappeared in the doorway, his eyes wide and puzzled as he stared at the flour-covered room. 

Felix froze. Right. They were supposed to be baking with Marinette’s parents. 

Marinette set the flour bag down immediately. “I’m sorry, Papa, this is all my fault.”

“No, that’s not fair!” Claude protested. “Allegra and I spilled the flour bag first!”

“So she had to go get more!” Allegra continued the explanation.

“I’m the one who told her to throw the fresh flour at Allan.” Felix added. If anyone was to get in trouble, it should certainly be him. He was the only one who actually spilled the flour on purpose. Marinette didn’t deserve to take the blame for his petty actions.

M. Tom furrowed at the near-simultaneous remarks, but then let out a hearty laugh.

“I see you’ve all gotten into the baking spirit!” He declared. “Now who wants to learn how to actually fold dough?”

Felix blinked. He’d expected the man to be at least a little upset. Did this sort of thing happen often? Or was Marinette’s father simply that forgiving? M. Tom did refer to the mess as ‘the baking spirit’.. Whatever that means.

“Yeah we do!” Claude shouted enthusiastically, taking Felix from his thoughts.

“Great! Let’s start with putting the flour on the table.” Tom smiled, going back to his original spot next to Allan.

Felix followed the notion, going back to his original spot as well. He tried brushing more of the flour off of his vest, but, as expected, it didn’t help much. He was probably going to get more flour on him during the folding process anyway.

“Don’t worry.” Marinette whispered as she reclaimed her spot next to him. “I’ll let you guys wash up in the bathroom after this. If you want to, that is.”

Felix nodded. “I would be eternally grateful.” 

Marinette giggled. “..So did you really threaten to sue them over your clothes?”

Felix paused his kneading long enough to sigh. Freaking Allan. That idiot deserved every speck of flour dust that he had on him.

Tag List:  @artbyknigit @athena452 @nickristus-dreamer @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @arsaem @abrx2002 @neakco @pawsitivelymiraculous @too0bsessedformyowngood @nathleigh @lusicing @officiallydarkgeek @all-mights-asscheeks @tbehartoo @woe-is-me0 @raeuberprinzessin @lazuli-11 @miss-chaos27 @trippingovermyfeet @sadpotatoondrugs @ladybug-182

[vecnawrites]

Two Flavors Of Delicious Chocolate

Jaune Arc was a normal guy, if one asked him. He was moderately strong, reasonably intelligent at most things, skilled at a few. If one had asked him if he would have two girls fighting for his attention, he would have laughed. However, the fact of the matter was, he DID have two women wanting him. And they would do what it took to get that fact into his head...

(Hooooolllllyyyyy Fuuuuucccckkkkk...this one got away from me! This is my second commission, from The-Wayward-Arc. I loved the idea, and it became this! An art piece is connected to my AO3 page for this one, and more should be coming when I can commission the artists!)

Jaune Arc liked to think that he was a reasonably intelligent individual. After all, he always scored at least middling in both Grimm Studies and History, and the highest in Tactics and Situational Defense and Assault. Even Weiss was admittedly (and more than a little begrudgingly) impressed by that.

...so how in the name of any God or Gods listening did he not notice this!? He looked back and forth between the two, admittedly extremely beautiful women glaring at one another before him.

One was Emerald Sustrai, a chocolate skinned, carmine eyed, mint haired beauty, with thick curves that drew the eye of every male, and even some of the females, as she walked (even him. What? He treated women well, like he had been taught. He wasn’t fucking blind), her hips swaying back and forth and bringing attention to that absolute shelf of a rear end she had. That wasn’t to say her chest had nothing to offer, as her breasts looked perfectly sized for his hands, perky and firm.

Her personality was confident, and a bit sarcastic and snarky, although that usually came out only when faced with people she wasn’t too fond of, like Cardin or her own teammate, Mercury...although in the latter, he was pretty sure it was part of how they acted with one another. Like how Yang teased Weiss.

The other was May Zedong, another incredibly beautiful classmate of his, with muted maroon colored hair styled in a way that covered her left eye, leaving only the right gray-blue orb visible, and a black beanie keeping her hair in place. She had that wallflower air about her, generally going around unnoticed by most unless a teacher asked a question, even by her own teammates (something that made him seethe), but he had always noticed her and sought to talk, even if it was only some minor casual conversation over class notes. He wasn’t going to let her feel as alone as he did before coming to Beacon.

One would think that the girl was nearly flat, maybe a double-a cup (like Weiss supposedly was, don’t ask how he knew), but that was a lie. The girl was more stacked than Yang and even Professor Goodwitch were! Her breasts had to be as large as her own head! Again, it wasn’t like he was a pervert, but having seven sisters made him able to tell when a woman was binding or stuffing her bra to either remove attention or gain it.

And he could understand why, honestly. May was almost cripplingly shy, more nervous than Ruby or Velvet when called upon by staff or someone else. She seemed to revel in being invisible and unnoticed.

But now they were both before him, glaring at one another; Emerald looked like she wanted to, as his elder sister Saphron liked to say, “Slap A Bitch”, and even the shy and bashful May looked ready to try and claw out Emerald’s eyes with her fingernails.

“If you think your shy ass can make him happy, you’ve got another thing coming! What are you two going to do, hold hands while hiding in the shadows?” Emerald snorted, popping her hip and placing her hand on it, smirking darkly at the beanie-wearing sniper.

May glared, only one being visible doing nothing to hide the intensity. “At least I didn’t have to flaunt myself like a whore to get Jaune’s attention! He always noticed me, even without knowing about my tits!”

He could see them about to fight, and his body moved before his brain did, placing himself between them and giving them both a stern look (something perfected by dealing with mischievous younger twin sisters), silently telling them both to stop.

Both huffed, curling into his sides and glaring at one another, static seeming to form between their gazes.

He tugged the two girls who had captured his heart over the semester close to him and closed his eyes, recalling exactly how this started…

Start Of The Week

Emerald Sustrai had known little in the way of happiness or of comfort for most of her life. Growing up an orphan in Vacuao, she had lived on the streets and been forced to scrounge and steal in order to survive. She had been tempered and hardened by such a thing, her heart steeled to do what was necessary, even if it wasn’t right.

She had managed to steal, scrimp, and save enough to catch a flight to Vale, and apply to Beacon. She hated Vacuao, and wouldn’t set foot in Shade for a second if she could help it. She knew that they held a ‘survival of the fittest’ ideal, and after living it for most of her life, she wasn’t going to be going through it at school, where she was supposed to be able to trust the people who she teamed up with to watch her back!

Getting to school and getting through initiation, she had been partnered with Cinder Fall, an enigmatic, but intelligent and resourceful woman who used a bow and arrows and Fire Dust. Her other partners were Mercury Black, a silver haired smart ass with prosthetic combat legs, and Neopolitan, a mute midget with a weird ass reinforced parasol for combat of all things. But even Emerald couldn’t deny that they were skilled and effective at killing the Grimm in the forest.

But she was still missing something...or rather, someone. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew that she was more likely to die before retiring, so she wanted to find someone...maybe they would last, maybe they wouldn’t. But before the year’s end, she would be free of this pesky virginity!

But...surveying the available males made her wince. Mercury? No, it was a bad idea to have sex with a teammate. She had enough to worry about, she wasn’t going to have to worry about her own teammate as well.

Brawnz Ni? Arrogant, and full of himself. She wasn’t going to give him a bigger ego. Roy Stallion? He was okay, but not her type. Nolan Porfirio? Too passive.

Lie Ren? Nice, but taken, going by the ginger with the hammer constantly hanging off of him. She would not ruin a relationship, thanks...or risk having her kneecaps obliterated by a combination War Hammer/Grenade Launcher.

Team CRDL?...Pfft, she’d sooner stick a slim teasing vibe in her pussy and seal it up to be tormented for the rest of her life before letting one of those slimeballs touch her.

But Jaune Arc...he was interesting. Kind, but not to the point of being walked over, as evidenced as he corralled his (possibly certifiably crazy) teammate, Nora Valkyrie. Not the strongest, but not the weakest, reasonably intelligent, although his strongest points were tactics and applied strategy, being the only student to be actually acing the class. He...he would work. He was handsome, in that goofy, awkward way, messy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, awkward, charming smile...and always doing small acts of kindness, even if he never got thanks for it.

The one problem? His partner, the Invincible Girl. She couldn’t tell if they were together, hell, she couldn’t tell if the redhead even liked him in that way! She looked at him softly, but it wasn’t seemingly the way that a lover looked at another lover.

An elbow nudged her, and she looked to see a head of multicolored hair, heterochromic eyes and a cocky smirk. She deadpanned at Neo. “What is it?” she asked, scowling as the shorter girl wagged her eyebrows as she glanced over at Jaune, making her scowl deepen.

“Don’t even, Neo…besides, aren’t you a card carrying member of the ‘Lady Lover’ society?” she asked, knowing that Neo much preferred females, having seen her eyes roaming over the stacked blonde on Team RWBY, Yang Xiao Long. She couldn’t see it, but she wouldn’t mock the pink, white, and brown haired girl for her interest.

Neo shrugged, almost saying “I can appreciate looks, can’t I?” before nodding over to the corner. Following, she felt her heckles rise almost instinctively, lip curling up in anger as she saw what Neo was referring to.

In the corner was the quiet May Zedong. Now, Emerald had nothing against the quiet girl who hid herself in the corners and hardly ever spoke up unless she was directly spoken to. One would think herself a complete and utter wallflower, non-threatening. But, May Zedong was a sniper. She preferred to wait and strike when it was best for her. And right now, her lovesick blue-gray eye was locked right on her future man. This would not stand. “I’ll be back to the dorm later, Neo...I have to...talk...with someone.”

Neo tapped a finger against her lips as she watched her teammate stalk off, an intense look in her crimson eyes, before shrugging and heading back to the dorms. On one hand, she hoped her teammate knew what she was doing...on the other, she would take her amusement where she could get it.

May Zedong was used to going unnoticed among a crowd. She knew she wasn’t the beauty that most huntresses-in-training were, feeling as though she had really plain features. Slightly narrow face, only one eye (a grimm attack when she was young taking the other one), she felt even her hair was limp and unappealing, even if it was a unique maroon color. Even her own teammates paid her no second glance, instead preferring to fawn over the likes of Yang Xiao Long, Cinder Fall, and Pyrrha Nikos.

A small, extremely bitter part of her knew that she could get any boy’s attention if they knew what she hid under her hoodie or uniform top. She had been extremely ‘blessed in the chest’ as it were, going from almost flat bee stings to Double-G cups in the span of her teenage years, and was only able to hide the damned things by an expensive, dust enhanced binder that made her look like she was barely a B-cup.

But while she could easily get any guy, she didn’t want to rely on her tits to do so. She’d only attract creeps to her, who only wanted her for her breasts. She’d never let that happen. She wanted to be liked for who she was, not her chest.

She had come to Beacon with her clothes, some personal items and her Sniper Rifle/Climbing Axe, Opening Gambit, hoping that she could find some happiness with a boyfriend while at Beacon, the risks of her survival until she was thirty drilled into her head by her mother.

So far, she had dealt with nothing but disappointment. Her own teammates glossed over her as a woman without so much as a second glance, even her own partner, Nolan. Hell, Brawnz had thought she was a boy until she had said otherwise. CRDL were assholes. Mercury Black gave her the creeps. He just...stared at people sometimes. Without blinking. Lie Ren was cute, but he was claimed, even if he didn’t know it yet. Nora Valkyrie clung to him like a baby koala did to its mother.

But Jaune...he...he was nice. He was kind. He noticed her, always went out of his way to talk to her, even if it was a simple ‘hello’ in the halls! Her heart beat faster and she could feel her cheeks heat up as she thought of being held in his arms, just being accepted for who she was-

“Zedong.” May was cruelly ripped from her fantasy by the curt voice of Emerald Sustrai, a dark skinned beauty that turned more than a fair few eyes with her teasing smile and swaying hips. But currently, there was no smile on her face, instead there was a severe look that made her heart race, this time not from a happy fantasy with a potential boyfriend, but from adrenaline flushing through her body as her fight or flight instincts went wild. She swallowed.

“Y-Yes, Emerald?” she asked, cursing internally as she stuttered, despising the weakness. She flinched as a cocoa skinned hand slapped right on the wall next to her.

She leaned close, allowing her to smell her scent (cherry blossoms, very pleasant), and carmine eyes narrowed. She leaned even more forwards, until May could feel the verdette’s nose poking her own. “What are you getting at, staring at my future boyfriend like that?” she growled.

May blinked, before the words registered in her brain. She scowled back, her body making more adrenaline and scowling at the surprised looking Sustrai. “You. Don’t. Own. Him.” she growled angrily. “I know he’s not dating anyone right now.” despite her anger, she felt worry when she saw a glint appear in Emerald’s eyes, her lips turning up in a smirk.

“Really…?” Emerald murmured to herself, tilting her head, “I figured, but its nice to have confirmation...that will make it much easier...especially since I don’t have to worry about potentially ruining a relationship…” she licked her lips. “Thanks for the information, wallflower. Do yourself a favor: stay away while I go for him. I’m not cruel, but you’re honestly bound only for disappointment if you go up against me.” she smirked. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a boyfriend to go claim.”

Pulling away from the beanie-wearing girl, Emerald turned and walked away, making sure to sway her hips and let the girl know what she was dealing with.

May breathed harshly as the adrenaline slump kicked in, not unlike when she was out of combat. She flushed, not only from shame that an altercation from a fellow student made her feel like she was going against a Grimm, but from anger. To be told, ordered, not to pursue the one boy that gave her the time of day, that held her interest...that wouldn’t fly. She obviously couldn’t use her tried and true method of waiting for the right moment to strike. She would have to go out of her comfort zone and attempt a strike normally…she glared at the retreating Emerald, her blue-gray eye narrowing. It was on. Tomorrow, the battle would begin!

~x~x~

Emerald smirked as she looked herself over in the mirror. She had ‘borrowed’ a few skirts from both Cinder and Neo, who were both smaller in the hips than she was, and loved the effect it had when placed on her thicker frame.

The material of the skirt clung to her ass nicely, even coming up a bit and showing off just a bit of her plump cheeks. A quick sway of her hips made her chuckle, as it showed off more of her ass, just enough that it could confuse...and arouse...those who saw her. Especially since she had forgone normal panties, instead wearing one of her thongs, the string being swallowed up by the split between her cheeks.

Sure, she had only one person in mind, but teasing others was good fun too. She knew enough that Jaune didn’t have the best self-image, either, so when they got together, it would do his ego a bit of good that he had a girl on his arm that everyone else lusted after.

“So this is what you wanted to borrow our skirts for…” a dash of red dusted Emerald’s cheeks as she looked up to see her partner, Cinder, leaning against the door frame, her arms crossed over her chest, watching her.

Emerald cleared her throat and forced the redness away from her cheeks. She knew that she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Cinder wasn’t loose, but she had shared her bed with a few boys before, generally civilians from Vale on the weekends. That way, she didn’t have to worry about them ‘getting attached’.

“So, who’s the lucky boy that managed to catch your attention, my dear Emerald?” the inflection of Cinder’s tone was more that of ‘leader’ than ‘friend’, meaning that Cinder wanted to know to make sure it didn’t affect the team. They may not be number one team of the year (that belonged to JNPR), but they weren’t far behind it.

“Jaune Arc.” she replied, her tone soft, watching her dark haired team leader close her eyes and nod, lips tilting upwards a bit. “Hmm, not a bad choice...you could certainly do worse…” opening her golden eyes, she smirked. “Best of luck. I know many others have been eyeing him, not just the girl you spoke to yesterday. If rumors are right, even a second year is interested in him...that rabbit faunus, Velvet something.” she hummed, her smirk growing a bit even as Emerald stiffened. “Go get him, girl.”

~x~x~

May Zedong stood in Team BRNZ’s locked bathroom, gathering her courage. She knew that this was going to be risky, but the potential payoff was worth the potential discomfort.

She stood naked in front of the mirror, looking over her body critically. Her large breasts, larger than her own head, jutting form her chest proudly. Most girls would consider it a point of pride, she however, considered them a point of shame and embarrassment, to be hidden away.

Carefully, she gently cupped the heavy swells, hefting them and contemplating them. The skin was smooth, not a single flaw to it, not a blemish nor a beauty mark. Her nipples were large and puffy, a horizontal slit showing that they were inverted, another oddity of her body that she disliked, along with how brutally sensitive her chest was. She always got wet simply by rubbing them, and playing with them intently could make her cum.

Letting her breasts go, she slid her hands along her sides, trailing them along her flat, toned belly and to her hips, twisting her upper body this way and that, glancing at her breasts from profile, a weak smile forming on her face as she saw the jiggle.

Glancing between her legs, she looked at her freshly waxed core. She had never liked more body hair than necessary, something she knew was shared by almost all Huntresses-in-training. Turning around fully she looked over her shoulder and pushed her butt outwards, taking a look at her rear. She knew it had nothing on Emerald’s, or even several other girls, like Velvet Scarlatina’s from second year, but it was a nice shape and firmness, something that maybe Jaune would like to grab? Spank it as he played with her sensitive tits and fucked her soaking pussy, turning her into a gooey puddle of lust in his skilled hands?

She shook herself out of her fantasy and straightened up, grabbing her panties and slipping them up her legs and covering herself, then her uniform skirt. Turning back around, May gnawed at her lower lip as she looked at her binder. She glanced at it, then down at her chest, before sighing and grabbing it, beginning the process of flattening herself down to look ‘normal’.

But as she did, a naughty thought, a wicked thought, filled her head. She would gradually start loosening her binder, until she could proudly go without the damned thing...or at least have it loosened enough that people-that Jaune-saw her as the young woman she was.

Strapping it on, she tightened it until she reached her normal almost flat state, before loosening it a bit, her breasts pushing the material a bit more outwards. Grabbing her uniform blouse and tie, she put them on, looking at herself in the mirror.

A hint of redness formed on her cheeks. She looked...she looked feminine. Her shirt bulged a bit, going from nearly flat to respectable. Was...was this what she could look like? She smiled softly as she brushed her hair, making sure her bad eye was covered before putting on her beanie to keep her hair down.

“You can do this, Zedong.” she whispered to herself, steeling herself for the day, and the battle, to come. “It’s no different than combat...time to hunt.”

~x~x~

Jaune Arc woke up feeling odd that day. Not like he had forgotten to study for one of Oobleck’s tests (thankfully, Pyrrha and Ren helped remind him and Nora of those), but more that something...interesting...was going to happen to him. He wanted to hide in his bed and just believe the world outside the dorm room didn’t exist, but knew that he couldn’t do that.

“Jaune?” he glanced to see Pyrrha, his partner in arms, and closest friend at Beacon, looking at him worriedly. He gave her a weak smile. Both he and Pyrrha knew each other’s darkest secrets. For him, it was his falsifying his transcripts and sneaking into the school untrained.

For Pyrrha...it was a more touchy subject. She had been forced to be this perfect girl, someone untouchable, indomitable...she hated it. She also feared how people would react when they learned that she had never felt any type of romantic feelings nor had ever felt sexual desire. Never even found joy in masturbation, even. They had both been blushing hard as she admitted that.

The reveal to one another had only brought the two closer as both friends and partners, and they both felt comfortable telling one another everything. So, he decided to tell her the truth. “Just have this weird feeling that today is going to be interesting…”

Pyrrha hummed. “Interesting? Or...interesting?” she asked, sending a look over at Nora, who was happily chatting with Ren. Jaune shuddered. “It feels between that, but I hope to god its not the latter…” he said softly, making Pyrrha nod. They both loved Nora dearly, but she was a handful, and they didn’t need more than one of her.

Shaking their heads, both redhead and blonde gathered their things, preparing for the day.

~x~x~

Jaune sighed as he made his way to Study Hall. Once again, Oobleck had managed to speak so fast during his class that he was going to have to do extra studies for it. As he was about to enter, he stumbled a bit, his arm lashing out to catch whoever knocked against him, although his breath still left him when he hit the wall, and (the bigger reason) something soft pressing against his groin. Opening his eyes he glanced down to see one of his year mates, Emerald Sustrai, pressed against him, her...ample...rear settling between his thighs perfectly, pressing against where his cock was sure to bulge if she kept moving like that, wiggling that ass of hers! He watched as her eyes opened (a beautiful red shade, he thought), and she looked back at him, a small gentle smile forming on her face.

Emerald smirked to herself. Step One was complete, ‘accidentally’ stumbling into Jaune and making it so her best ‘asset’ was pressed against him. Now for Step Two, Teasing.

Putting a small smile on her face, Emerald made sure to subtly shift her backside against him, wanting to see what he was packing. She knew he wasn’t small, god knows that she heard Winchester bitching about how that size ‘couldn’t be possible without drugs’.

“Thank you for grabbing me...your name’s Jaune, right? I’m Emerald...sorry for being so clumsy!” she chuckled awkwardly, inwardly loving the red hue to his cheeks...and the pressure she could feel start being placed on her ass. She was surprised. From what she could tell, he wasn’t even truly hard yet, but she could feel him pressing quite firmly between her ass cheeks! Redness seeped into her own cheeks, this...this was something special.

Before she could say anything more, her world spun as she was picked up and gently placed onto the floor again, hearing Jaune frantically apologize before taking off in almost a sprint, leaving her there, shocked and soaking her thong.

A smirk formed on her lips. “Stage one and two, complete...now for stage three later on…” she hummed happily, knowing that she could have great fun with that. She knew what fun she wanted to do next...and her semblance could surely help with it…turning, she walked away with a skip in her step, already plotting how the second phase of her plan was going to unfold…

Jaune darted into the Library, holding his books in front of him to hide his straining erection, face flushed as he made his way to the back of it, to his preferred table for studying. That had been mortifying. He desperately hoped that he wouldn’t be getting looks later due to his ‘perversion’. It would be his luck.

Setting his books on the table, he took a seat and sighed, willing his erection away so he could focus on his studies. Jaune cracked open his history text, knowing that the dry words within would slaughter any arousal ruthlessly.

“...Jaune?” he lifted his head, hearing the voice of May Zedong, a girl that he was reasonably well acquainted with. Her voice was soft, and he didn’t know if it was because they were in the library, or because of her natural shyness. But he smiled softly.

“Hey May, how are you…?” he blinked as he noticed that she had loosened her binder (he knew she wore one, but he hadn’t known it was that tight), her chest protruding more outwards, giving her a generous looking C-Cup. He gave it the barest glance (he wasn’t going to apologize for being a guy. He knew girls looked too) before locking eyes with her. He could tell she was embarrassed, but her smile was genuine.

May’s heart was beating faster than it had ever had. She felt all the eyes on her as she moved around her day, and she had only loosened her binder a bit! She could only imagine how people, how Jaune, would react when they saw her true size. She felt her heart skip a beat as he glanced at her chest, but her feels swelled even more as his eyes were only there for a second before locking on her face. “Do...do you mind if I sit here?” she asked, nervously fumbling with her own book for Tactics class. It was Brawnz’s, but she had ‘borrowed’ it so she could actually have something to talk with her crush about.

Her heart warmed as her crush nodded with an affirmative, now, it was time to make her initial chink in his armor. “W-would you mind helping me with Tactics? I could help with History in exchange?” she offered. Fortunately, she was a fair hand in History, being in the top five of the class.

Jaune swallowed. “S-Sure!” he stuttered a bit, his nerves jumping a bit at being alone with a pretty girl. Hopefully this would go better than just before he entered the library?

Jaune was wrong. It was worse. May had always felt comfortable around him, and it showed; she sat next to him, scooting her chair as close as she could get it, practically leaning against him, squishing her chest against his arm. This had the additional effect of getting him to notice that her blouse wasn’t buttoned all the way, giving him a tantalizing view into her cleavage, something he knew no other man saw.

He hated himself. He knew that May was afraid of being objectified, just like Pyrrha, but here he was, having the urge to stare at her. Every glance he made not only made his cock twitch, but his embarrassment and shame grow.

May was pleased, very pleased. She could see the subtle shifts in Jaune’s body, his cheeks flushing like her own were. She wasn’t going to make her final strike now, that would come later. She pressed herself more firmly against him. “...thank you for helping me, Jaune. It helped and I really enjoyed spending time with you.” she said honestly. “...can we study together again?” she asked hopefully, looking into those startling blue eyes.

She smiled as he nodded. “Thank you!” she grabbed him in a hug, although she failed to immediately notice that she pulled his head down to her chest, pressing his face against the exposed tops of her breasts. But even when she did, she only hugged him tighter, despite the redness on her cheeks.

Jaune stiffened, in more ways than one. For not the first time, he bemoaned being so large. Why couldn’t he have been more normal sized like Ren was? Her scent invaded his nose, vanilla and cinnamon, and his cheeks burned, even as his cock swelled and began making a distinct shape down the inner thigh of his uniform slacks. He had to act fast, before she thought him nothing more than a complete pervert!

May squeaked as Jaune quickly slipped out of his arms (unknowingly putting a delicious pressure on her sensitive nipples, making her panties soak. In a flurry of activity, Jaune collected his books and notes, rapidly saying, “It’s been great, May! We should study together again sometime! Sorry, I just remembered I had something important to do! Talk to you later!” he blurted out, before dashing off, leaving an aroused May sitting at the table.

She licked her lips, having seen the distinct ‘manprint’ that her crush had running down his inner thigh. She rubbed her thighs together. She knew that he was big, but not that big…

She swallowed and grabbed her things, standing and deciding to head back to the dorm. Walking away on slightly shaky legs, she knew she would be taking a long personal shower when she got to the dorm room.

Reaching the dorm, Jaune threw himself face first on the bed, face red and eyes wide. Had...had that really just happened? Did two beautiful girls just...what had happened?! Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he forced his aching cock to calm. One good thing about being surrounded by so many beautiful girls all his life, he gained an almost semblance-like ability to force his cock down.

He sighed as it thankfully shrank down and calmed, even though his balls still felt the effects of the arousal that had flooded through him not too long ago. He closed his eyes and sighed. Hopefully, this would just be a one off thing...something that he could laugh about year later on.

Poor Jaune. He had no idea what he was in for.

~x~x~

Two days had passed since the initial incidents, and Jaune had attempted to put them form his mind. Granted, it was impossible really when the two subjects of his thoughts were constantly there, smiling, waving, greeting him.

Considering neither of them were screaming ‘pervert’ or spreading rumors about him, he guessed things were good between them, leading him to wave back and smile awkwardly. Of course, Yang had to make jokes about it, acting as though him getting female attention was something noteworthy…

...and he supposed it was, considering his luck with Weiss. That didn’t mean he needed to hear the jokes about how he was finally getting attention from the ladies.

Rolling his eyes, he sighed and stood. “Very funny, Yang...now, if you’ll all excuse me, I’m going to head off and go anywhere but here.” he said, standing and heading off, distantly hearing Ren, Nora,  Pyrrha, and even Ruby going off on her sister. Bless them.

As he left, he failed to notice carmine eyes watching him, following his every move. And both failed to see the calculating blue-gray eye.

Jaune sighed as he placed the barbell back down on the rack, wiping sweat off of his face and neck with his workout shirt. His muscles burned nicely, and he felt pleased with himself. He had come a long way from the unmuscled noodle that had sneaked into Beacon.

Now, while he wasn’t the best warrior, he could certainly hold his own, no thanks in part to his wonderful Partner and teammates. He knew that he would have been dead by now without them.

“Oh, hi Jaune! You decided to get a workout in too?” his eyes widened as he turned and saw Emerald walking up to him. His mouth went dry and he bit his tongue to try and stave of the twitch in his shorts as he saw what she was wearing.

A tight sports top held her sizable breasts snugly in almost a shelf, while she wore sinfully tight black shorts that looked almost painted on. And he was only seeing her from the front. He both desired, and dreaded, seeing what they looked like from behind. ‘Danger, Danger, Jaune Arc! Abandon The Area!’ his mind screamed as the beautiful young woman walked forwards, her hips swinging.

“H-Hi, Emerald…” he mumbled, eyes darting everywhere for help, but heart sinking when he realized they were alone in the gym. He quickly scrambled for an excuse. “Sorry, but I have to go…”

Emerald pouted. “Are you sure? I need to do some squats, and it would really help if someone spotted me...would you, please? I don’t want to overdo it…” she bat her eyes a few times, not overdoing it, but still pulling the ‘sweet demure girl’ act.

She barely resisted the urge to smirk when Jaune nodded, instead cheerfully going, “Great, thanks! Only going to do a few sets today, since I know classes aren’t far away, but there’s enough time to get a quick workout in, along with a nice hot shower! That’s always nice after a workout to ensure you don’t cramp, right? Feeling the hot water running over your body...there’s nothing like it!”

Jaune bit the inside of his cheek as the beautiful girl put the image of her standing under the shower head, the steaming water running over her trim, curvy body...he could feel himself getting hard in his shorts.

Emerald smiled as she slowly turned around, making sure to highlight her ass in these sinfully tight shorts of hers. She had honestly outgrown them, but had kept them around for reasons even she didn’t know...until now, at least.

Bending down and grabbing the barbells, making sure to push her ass out, she smirked when she heard a stilted intake of air. “Ready?” she asked, raising herself up, not waiting for an answer before dropping herself, pushing her ass out hard, quickly falling into a rhythm of rising and falling, making sure to showcase her ass and thighs.

Jaune was hard, unable to stop his cock from getting fully hard and stretching out his shorts lewdly. As embarrassing as that was, he preferred that to it sliding down his leg and peeking out to say hello to the world. He was just very grateful she was facing away from him, otherwise he knew this would end badly.

Emerald smirked widely as she performed her squats. Jaune had apparently not noticed the mirror across from them, and she had a perfect view of how hard he was staring at her ass...and how hard he was in response. She licked her lips and her core tingled, warmth bubbling up in her belly as she imagined being speared by that cock.

Despite loving the fact that Jaune was captivated by her ass, she knew she had to finish up sadly. But she wasn’t going to let that end her fun, there would be plenty of chances to tease him later. So, as she went down for her final squat, she rocked backwards, letting out a squeak as both she and Jaune hit the mat, her ass squashing against his cock.

Jaune groaned piteously as his cock was pressed down by those soft cheeks, just like two days ago, as Emerald rubbed her head and-oh god-squirmed on top of him, his balls going haywire. He bit his tongue to avoid making any sound that could tell Emerald exactly what was happening underneath her.

Forcing his eyes open, he saw her rubbing the back of her head, before glancing back, although not down, much to his relief. He twitched as she shifted more, her ass rubbing against his cock. ‘Oh, fuck, she needs to stop!’ he thought, panicked.

Emerald had to hit Jaune with her semblance, she couldn’t keep the smirk off her face anymore as she subtly wiggled her plump ass on the thick meat stick underneath her. “Ow…” she whined piteously, rubbing the back of her head, “Are you okay, Jaune? I hope I didn’t hurt you!” she asked, forcing the weight of her ass on his cock more, loving the panicked look on his face. She was glad that they were alone and that her ass was facing him; she was soaked.

The groan that hit her ears made her smirk, more teasing to be had then. “Did I hurt you?! Hang on, let me see where I landed!” she slowly dragged her ass down Jaune’s cock and placed herself on the mat, turning around-

-only to see Jaune up already and rushing to the showers, hunched over. She blinked, before she smirked, standing up and slowly following, intending to find him and watch what she knew he was doing. Maybe even ‘help’.

She herself failed to notice her follower, the blue-gray orb narrowed in anger.

Jaune groaned as he stood naked under the shower spray, one hand on the wall and the other performing what was known as a ‘tactical jerk’, rapidly tugging at his cock, trying to bring himself to orgasm before anyone else arrived.

“Fuck...why...how did she not notice?” he groaned, his cock and balls aching terribly as he pumped hard on his cock. “She can’t have not felt it…” even now, he could feel the warm squeeze of her ass on him, almost a phantom sensation that drove him wild.

He moved his hand for a moment, only for his eyes to snap open as a warm squeeze seemingly did envelop his cock, a tight warmth that made pre spurt from his tip. Looking before him, he saw nothing, but sniffing, he smelled the scent of cherry blossoms, just like the girl who he had been spotting. The sensation began to move, confusing him utterly, but the pleasure made him quickly forget thinking about it too hard.

Emerald smirked at a job well done. Jaune was wrapped in the throes of her semblance and she had stripped and slipped in front of him, capturing that massive cock in her ass. She hummed to herself as she began to rub that hot hard flesh, her ass moving along it, her own honey leaking down her inner thighs. She knew they would have to be swift, after all, people could come into the gym or its showers anytime. But she knew enough that Jaune had to be close. She just needed to...make...him...cum!

Jaune released a broken sound as his balls finally began to release, his cock spitting his copious seed all over the wall in front of him, much to his shame, his cock throbbing and balls pumping out a massive amount of cum, utterly painting it white.

Shame filled him, and after a quick rinse, he swiftly dried off, dressed and made his way out.

Under the spray of the water, Emerald hummed to herself as she rinsed herself clean. While she couldn’t see how much cum was on her backside, she could definitely feel the warmth that coated her. She chuckled. “Step three, complete…” she murmured. She would hunt him down again and next time, she would ask him out. She was sure he’d be all for it.

Hidden in the shadows of the corner, a tear-filled blue-gray eye stared at Emerald in rage. May knew about Emerald’s semblance, and she knew that Jaune didn’t see what had really happened. Slipping away, she wasn’t going to give in. No, she was going to fight for Jaune!

Creeping back, she May skulked out of the showers, already preparing for her next move. She needed to do something special.

~x~x~

Jaune sat in Survival Class, an elective course, but one he found damn useful. Even as he looked over the diagrams that they were working on today, he knew his mind wasn’t in it, it going back to the scene in the Gym earlier with Emerald. Glancing around, he supposed it was okay, though...after all, there seemed to be low turnout for the class today. As an elective, you came when the class had something you wanted to learn in it.

He sighed as he felt his cock, still semi hard, twitch in his slacks. He still felt phantom feelings of her rear on his lap, like when he was in the shower…

“Hi, Jaune! Can I sit with you?” he looked to the side, hearing May’s voice, only to choke as he turned. May’s chest had grown again, and now matched Yang’s size. He quickly shook himself though, knowing that she would hate gawking. “S-Sure, May.” he stuttered, watching as she happily took the seat next to him, her breasts bouncing slightly as she settled. Glancing around, Jaune noticed that they were the only two in the classroom, which filled him with a bit of trepidation, but he trusted May. He knew she wouldn’t do anything to embarrass him.

He heard the door opened and a flush filled his cheeks as he saw Emerald enter in her uniform, looking up and waving at him, although her smile seemed...dimmed. He didn’t know what caused that and would have thought more on it, but he was distracted-incredibly distracted-by May leaning into his arm again as she pointed out something in the book. If anyone asked, he wouldn’t be able to tell them, since his entire focus was on the softness pressing against his arm.

While Jaune was...preoccupied, both Emerald and May were having a stare down, giving one another very ugly looks, unimpressed with the fact of what the other was doing or did. Their eyes were cold, and if one looked closely, it would seem like lightning was crackling between the two beauties. May was happy that she had arrived first and foremost and was able to sit next to Jaune, while Emerald was incised for the same reasoning.

After a moment, Emerald smirked, immediately making May stiffen, wondering what the devious verdette had in mind.

Heading over to the table that held the books they used for the class, Emerald wasn’t going to let Zedong get in the way of her snagging her future boyfriend. She’d just get the sight that Jaune was going to be able to enjoy whenever he wanted, too! She laughed to herself as she stretched straight out over the table, feeling her skirt rise and rise, cool air brushing over the skin of her ass...the dual gasps made her smirk and glance over her shoulder, using her semblance to hide the blatant action, her cheeks red, even though she thought this was so hot…

Both Jaune and May stared in shock as Emerald’s skirt moved up more and more, until the entirety of her ass was completely exposed, the smooth chocolate skin taut and unblemished. More to the point, she was lacking underwear, letting them see everything.

May was horrified. She had no idea that Emerald was going to be that blatant with her wants! She knew that it wasn’t an accident, either! She could see her shifting her stance (subtly, of course) to arch her rear up and make it spread a bit! Glancing at Jaune, she was disheartened to see him staring with a dark blush on his cheeks, although she could understand it. Acting quickly, she did the first thing that came to mind to get his attention back.

Jaune’s mouth went dry as he saw her cheeks spread, allowing him to glimpse the darker circle of skin between the half moons, and the plump, pouty lips just beneath. He lost his battle keeping his cock soft, the shaft swelling with blood and pitching a massive tent in his slacks. He didn’t know how long he stared at the enticing image before he heard a squeak, and the wind was knocked out of him as he fell out of his chair and onto the floor, something warm landing on his crotch, making him freeze in horror.

Glancing down, he saw May, planted face down on his crotch, her cheek rubbing up against his hard shaft, her warm hand on his thigh, her breath seeping through his clothes and brushing over his balls; his cock ached.

May had attempted to put her hand over Jaune’s eyes, but slipped and slammed into him, taking them both to the ground. As the dizziness faded, she felt something hard poking her cheek and noticed that she was taking in a wonderful, musky scent. One that made her pussy clench in her panties. Opening her eye, her face burned as she realized somehow she had ended up face first in Jaune’s lap. Her eyesight grew hazy and stung as tears of humiliation filled them. She hadn’t meant for this!

She threw herself up and back, looking down at the ground and tried to take in a breath to calm herself, but all that came out was a loud ‘Hic!’ as burning hot tears began to stream down her face, falling onto her skirt. She couldn’t bring herself to look up at her crush, knowing that she would see the most disgusted look on it-she froze as strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close to his chest. “It’s okay, May...its okay...it was an accident…”

May buried her face into her crushes chest, taking deep breaths of his scent, her emotions settling and her love for Jaune growing as he comforted her after that humiliating experience. She snuggled against him, letting herself relax to the powerful thump, thump, thump of his heartbeat.

Neither noticed Emerald stomping out with a scowl.

~x~x~

Another two days had passed, and while things had been slightly awkward between him and May, it wasn’t bad enough that they couldn’t interact with one another. However, today was an off day for classes (something about a staff wide meeting? He didn’t really care enough to confirm it), so he was planning on heading to one of the indoor pools. Oddly enough this meeting coincided nicely, since the team had reserved it today anyway. Now, instead of a few hours after classes, they had the entire day to laze away in it if they wanted. Which they were going to.

Nora laughed as she changed into her swimsuit in the middle of the room, uncaring if her teammates saw her naked. None of them batted an eye, used to Nora’s wild side by now. “This is going to be great! How often do we say that we get to just sit by and swim in a pool all day?” she asked.

“We don’t, since the pools are always filled up on the weekends, and we don’t want Pyrrha in a swimsuit appearing in the tabloids. Its bad enough people are taking photos of her in classes, for God’s sake.” Jaune sighed, shaking his head as his closest friend and partner blushed.

“I’m sorry!”

“No, Pyrrha, don’t be sorry that other people don’t know boundaries.” Jaune said, patting her on the shoulder. His partner looked very attractive in her modest two piece bikini, but he knew that people would only be able to admire from a distance. After all, most of them never had the nerve to speak to her, and even if they did, Pyrrha, being on the Aromantic Asexual side of the spectrum, wasn’t cruel enough to lead them on.

A knock on the door drew their attention, and glancing to make sure his teammates were decent, Jaune moved over to the door, opening it to see…“May? Hey, what’s up?” he smiled as he saw his shy friend in front of their dorm room.

May blushed brightly as she saw the boy she loved without a shirt and wearing only swimming trunks, her mouth going dry as her eye roamed over her muscled form. Feeling warmth bubble up in her belly, she cleared her throat and spoke, hoping her voice didn’t crack. “I...I came to see if you wanted to hang out...but I can come back later?” she asked hopefully, hoping that she got some time with her crush today...without her trying to muscle in.

Pyrrha blinked. While she may not feel it herself, she could see that May was attracted to Jaune. Hell, she likely would be attracted to Jaune if she was capable of feeling those types of emotions. He was a great man. She smiled and moved forwards. “We’re going to the pool, May. Would you like to join us? The more the merrier?” seeing the beanie-wearing girl’s surprised look, she winked from behind Jaune’s shoulder.

May had to bite the inside of her cheek to avoid the face-splitting smile she wanted to reveal, instead managing to say, “A-are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother...or get in the way of team time.” she nearly winced, since most of the time she was left out of ‘Team Bonding’ stuff in BRNZ, since she was the only girl.

She didn’t see Jaune’s eyes soften, but she did hear him. “It’s not bother to spend time with a friend, May. You’re welcome to come. We’d be glad to have you.” she couldn’t keep the joy off her face this time as she smiled wide. “Thanks! I’ll go get my suit! Which pool are you heading to?” she asked. This could be her chance! And it looked like Jaune’s own partner, Pyrrha freaking Nikos, approved of her going for him!

“The smaller one on the West side of the dorms. More private.” left unsaid was they chose that one to make sure Pyrrha had peace, since it was one of the few of them that didn’t have windows to the outside, meaning no loiterers attempting to hide with cameras. It may have been against the rules and punished harshly, but that didn’t stop perverts in their attempt to get pictures of swimsuit malfunctions.

“Thanks! I’ll go grab my suit!” in a burst of emotion, she hugged him, before darting off back to her own dorm to get her suit. She had thankfully bought one in case she ever had the courage to do something like this.

Granted, it wasn’t ideal, since preferably, it would just be her and Jaune, but at this point, with what Emerald had been pulling, she couldn’t afford to stay her usual self anymore...besides, worst came to worst, she had her semblance to fall back on.

Entering her empty dorm, she dug her bikini out of the bottom of her dresser, blushing at the thought of Jaune seeing her in it, wondering what he would saw when he saw how large her breasts were, before shaking her head. Now wasn’t the time for talk, it was time for action. She wouldn’t allow anything to stop her.

May was pouting. Honest to god pouting. Why? Apparently, Team RWBY had overheard Pyrrha and Jaune inviting her to the pool, so they invited themselves! And what’s worse, Emerald had found them and gotten an invite too! But she wasn’t going to let an extra five people stop her! She was going to get Juane’s attention!...right after her knees stopped trembling.

She stood before a mirror in one of the small changing rooms, wearing her bikini. The bottoms were a pretty lavender color, and a modest side-tie in style. The top, however...well, it was a bikini...in theory. The two tiny triangles covered her puffy, inverted nipples for sure, but a good portion of her pink areola was still visible.

Her blush was dark, almost taking over her face, but she wasn’t going to be deterred! She was going to go and show her crush what she had to offer!

Knock! Knock! May looked at the door, seeing the outline of someone’s shadow underneath it. Part of her hoped it was Jaune, but she knew he was too much of a gentleman to do such a thing unless someone else was there. “Hello?” she was proud her voice didn’t crack.

“May? Are you okay?” her shoulders relaxed when she realized it was Pyrrha and not Emerald here to taunt her. She had seen the smug look that the verdette had on her face as she went into one of the changing stalls herself.

“Yes, thanks! On my way out!” she called, gathering her clothes and putting them into her bag, making sure that they wouldn’t go ‘missing’ mysteriously. Standing and moving to the door, she opened it to see the redhead standing outside.

Despite the embarrassment, she couldn’t help but feel amused when Pyrrha’s eyes went wide, the normally reserved girl blatantly staring at her chest. She chuckled, making her breasts bounce. “Take a picture, maybe?” she teased, getting the redhead to rapidly shake her head and back up, looking incredibly flustered.

“I’m sorry!” Pyrrha yelped, before calming and taking a deep breath, looking May in the eye. “May, are you sure you feel comfortable wearing that? I mean, there’s more than just Juane out there…” May felt her eyes widen. “I can tell you like him, and honestly, on some level, I think he likes you too, but Juane...he’s not unintelligent, but he has a very low sense of self-worth.”

May nodded. Anyone could honestly see it. The blonde seemed to hold himself to an impossible standard. “But, I think you’re good for him, so let’s go and you can make his eyes pop out.” Pyrrha chuckled, and May nodded, her heart rising as she realized she had a great ally in Pyrrha.

As they headed back to the pool area, they could hear voices, Yang talking predominantly. “Damn, Em. How do you hide that? It’s bigger than Blake’s?” May’s expression soured, knowing exactly what Yang was talking about.

Emerald had happily shown off her thong bikini to May, revealing the same amount of ass that she had shown off in Survival Class the other day. She knew that Jaune was likely just as embarrassed as he was then...but he was likely to be more when he saw her.

“Oh, its a bit difficult, but a good skirt or pants does wonders!” Emerald’s voice was cheerful, but she could hear the hidden dislike within it; then again, May knew that Emerald had no real respect for those who flaunted themselves. Hell, she could honestly say that she had never seen Emerald act like this before until she decided she wanted Jaune.

As Pyrrha reached for the door, May took a deep, calming breath and nodded. Showtime.

Emerald smiled to herself. It was so easy to tease Jaune like this! And with the little wallflower out of the way, she had full access to him! Just a little longer and she was sure he’d be interested in spending some time alone with her on their free day…

The door opened and her jaw, and she was sure everyone else’s jaws dropped. Where had the shy little wallflower gotten the courage to wear something like that? Off to the side she heard huffing and jealous murmurs from Schnee, which at any other point would make her laugh, if she wasn’t so shocked.

Instead of being downright flat, like she had thought, the mousy girl had tits bigger than Xiao Long! When the hell did that happen?

May ignored everyone’s expression, from Yang’s shock, to Weiss’s not so little amount of jealousy, to even Nora grabbing Ren by the head and shoving his face into her own sizable chest; her attention was solely on Jaune, who was staring at her with awe. Filling her with strength.

Walking up to him, she sat down next to him. “H-How...how do I look?” she didn’t care what the others thought of her, Jaune’s opinion was the only one that mattered. If he didn’t like it, she had wasted her time!

She watched his throat bob as he looked over her body, making the warmth bubbling in her lower belly grow, wetness beginning to form in the bottom of her swim bottoms. “Y-You look wonderful.” she smiled as his voice cracked a bit.

“Thank you.” she said, relieved. She was happy that he wasn’t disgusted by how lewdly...large...her breasts were.

Time passed, the group having fun, or as much as they could have while stewing in jealousy over Emerald’s and May’s attributes.

Both Jaune and May were swimming together, making Emerald frown. There were too many people to use her semblance effectively, but maybe she could make it so they were misdirected...a smirk appeared on her face as she moved slowly through the water, weaving her semblance.

May was enjoying herself greatly, she and Jaune had stopped for a few moments and relaxed, Jaune sitting on the edge of the pool, and May floating before him in the water. She smiled at him, happy that this was going well. But now, she needed to talk to Jaune. “Jaune...I need to tell you something.”

Jaune looked down at May with a smile. “Yeah? What is it, May?” he asked. This...this was very comfortable. He truly enjoyed spending time with her, and even Emerald; she had sat with her and May and they had just talked. And despite the embarrassment of all this week, he found himself attracted to Emerald, just as he was May. It had been a very pleasant day.

May looked up at Jaune. This was it, she was going to do it! “I wanted to tell you-” her eyes widened as she felt her top slipping. Cheeks turning dark she saw Jaune’s eyes widening so she knew he noticed it to.

Before panic set in, she activated her sembalnce and pushed herself closer to Jaune as her top slipped off and began to float away, pressing her breasts onto his lap. She took several deep breaths as her heart rate calmed down. Looking up, she blushed more as Jaune was definitely noticing her now, especially if the poke on the underside of her breasts told her anything.

Jaune glanced around rapidly, waiting for the laughs, the shrieks, the mocking, the perverted jokes, but nothing came. In fact, none of them were even looking their way. Looking back at May (doing everything he could to not stare at those magnificent breasts, massive with puffy, inverted nipples, the flush from her face extending down to the top of them), he gave her a confused look. “H-How?”

Emerald agreed with Jaune. ‘Yes, how?!’ pulling off her top was supposed to embarrass her! Not basically make her set her tits on their crush’s lap!

May blushed. “I...it’s my semblance. When activated, anything surrounding me is...normal, for lack of a better word. It helps during combat, or in embarrassing situations like this, but I really don’t like using it much...but I left you and Emerald out of it...because…” she swallowed. “We both like you, and Emerald used her semblance on you in the gym showers!”

Jaune’s head spun. “I...what? You...you like me?” he asked, stunned. A nod from May. “Emerald does too?” another nod. “Sh-she used her semblance on me in the gym showers? How?” he asked. He was fairly certain he would have would noticed her doing something to him…

May blushed. “Her...her semblance is Hallucinations...she made it so you didn’t notice her in the shower with you…” his cheeks burned as he remembered the incredible heat and tightness that wrapped around his cock, bringing him to a swift orgasm. “Th-that was her?” he asked, mortified.

May bit her lip. “She does like you, just like I do...she just doesn’t...well, neither of us have ever...tried to get a boy, you know?” she glanced to her side, seeing a shocked Emerald looking at her, holding her top in her hand. Looking back up at Jaune, she smiled weakly. “Can we talk? We...we can go to one of the empty study dorms?”

Looking between the two beauties, Jaune swallowed and nodded. “Y-Yeah...I...I think that would be a good idea.” he said, quickly reaching over and plucking May’s top from an unresisting Emerald’s hand and handing it to the maroon-haired girl to put back on.

After May’s breasts were covered up (a part of Jaune mourning the loss of the beautiful sight), the trio gathered their things and left the room, uncaring that the moment that the door closed and May dropped her semblance around them, the room descended into confusion over where the three went.

~x~x~

Now, here the three of them were, in a student study dorm, the girls having swiftly gotten into another argument when they settled in here before he stopped them. He wasn’t going to let this ‘competition’ for him go on any longer. He wouldn’t deny that the two girls were beautiful, and he felt for both of them...his eyes hardened. It was time to take charge. Clearing his throat, he looked between the two of them.

“Now, both of you have been enjoying teasing and tormenting me this past week...that means, both of you are going to be fixing this.” he gestured to his tented pants, his hard cock jutting outwards. “Are we understood?” Jaune growled. “Now, don’t waste my time...clothes off.”

Neither Emerald nor May would admit it out loud, but they were soaked. Jaune taking charge and demanding that they finish what they had started by teasing him so was...hot. Instantly, they began tugging at their own clothes, shirts being tossed to the side, bra and binder falling to the ground, skirts, thong and hip hugger panties following, leaving both naked and dripping before their lover’s, hopefully boyfriend’s, eyes.

Jaune licked his lips, his cock straining in his pants as he looked over their bodies. They really were beautiful, and some part of him still couldn’t believe that they were truly interested in him...but the eager looks on their faces...those weren’t fake. They were real.

He walked around them, close but not so close her touched them, reaching out and just brushing his fingers along her backsides, watching with lust as goosebumps rose up from their skin. Jaune’s nostrils flared as he smelled a sweet fragrance wafting up from below, making his cock throb.

While Emerald’s ass was larger and more soft, his fingertips sinking into the fat cheeks, one couldn’t that deny the firm heart shape of May’s rear end was delightful as well.

Moving around to their front, he hummed, placing a hand on each girl’s hip, slowly and teasingly drawing his callused hands upwards. He chuckled at their their trembling, smirking at their needy whines. “Really?” he chuckled, “You two are begging for it already? I mean, you both tormented me all week...maybe I should leave you both on the brink for an entire week before finally taking you?”

Jaune didn’t know where all this confidence was coming from, but he did know that he felt empowered by the looks of panic and fear the two girls had, followed by immediate pleading to not do something so cruel to them, that they couldn’t take a whole week of being on edge-

“Like you had no problems letting me?” he asked. “You have a weeks worth of teasing and blue balls to make up for. I’m not cruel, so...if you promise not to tease and then refuse to follow through anymore after tonight, I can forgive you.”

Both May and Emerald breathed a heavy sigh of relief as they realized they weren’t about to be as teased and tormented as Jaune had been. It would have been hell! They were both already dripping down their inner thighs with need! Both shivered, releasing keens as Jaune’s hands moved down again, cupping their soaking cores. He did nothing, just cupped their slits. It didn’t take either of them long before they were grinding themselves shamelessly against his palms, shuddering and moaning as the callouses on his fingers and palm rubbed over their slick, sensitive skin.

It didn’t take long for them to break, both keening and trembling as they came hard, squirting along his palms, faces flushed darkly as they both realized they had cum in less than three minutes, but Jaune looked...he looked amazed, not amused.

Both slowly came down from their intense orgasms, watching with flushed faces as their lover contemplated their juices on his fingers, before tasting them, licking them clean and making their pussies clench.

The girls looked at another, and nodded. For now, they were on the same page. They had drove the man they both wanted to fits, and it was up to them to make it up to him.

Jaune blinked as he saw Emerald whisper rapidly to May, who blushed fiercely, but nodded. Before he could ask, both acted, moving him and having him sit on the bed. Glancing between them, the both looked at him softly. “We did you wrong, Jaune...we treated you as though you were a prize to be won, although among all the men here, you are one…” May began, looking ashamed, her blue-gray eye looking down, before it snapped back up as she realized what she was staring at.

Despite the situation, both Jaune and Emerald chuckled, before Emerald sobered and continued. “We’re going to make it up to you...be the best girlfriends we can be. We promise.” seeing Jaune’s shocked look, she smirked. “You heard right...you hit the jackpot, tiger!”

Glancing at May, Emerald nodded again, and May slipped down onto her front, her upper body held up by her elbows, while the verdette girl turned around, setting her plump rear on his thigh. “We couldn’t decide who would get to please you first, and well, our assets are quite opposite to one another, so I thought, “Why shouldn’t our forgiving boyfriend get the luxury of a titjob and an assjob at the same time?”...oh! I can tell some part of you likes that thought!”

Both May and Emerald giggled from how hard Jaune’s cock was twitching, obviously imagining what they were about to do. Locking eyes with their new boyfriend, both moved, sandwiching and engulfing Jaune’s large shaft between their impressive endowments.

Jaune groaned darkly, his cock feeling as though it was being utterly smothered by four large, warm pillows. Opening his eyes, he saw both Emerald and May looking at him with equal amounts of lust, and glancing down...he barely saw his tip emerging through the twin cleavages. He huffed, his fingers digging into the sheets by his body. He could feel his balls churning already, but knew that he was nowhere close to cumming.

He took deep breaths, as they started to move in tandem, in such a way that he was wondering if they hadn’t practiced this beforehand. “Fuck...you two…” his voice was almost a growl, something that disturbed him, but he could see the effect that it had on his two new girlfriends. Both were looking at him with lust in their eyes, their movements getting even more frantic, his cock slipping in their cleavages, his tip popping up and out between them as they fell, Emerald’s rear and May’s breasts squishing against his thighs.

“Like it, lover?” Emerald asked, eyes hooded halfway. “I...I won’t lie...I’m getting wet just feeling this thing between my cheeks...how about you Zee?” she asked.

May blinked at the nickname, but smiled softly. “Y-Yeah...this...this is really turning me on…” she was mortified at saying that out loud, but she wasn’t going to lie about the fact that her juices were streaming down her inner thighs. It didn’t help that her sensitive nipples were dragging along the soft skin of Emerald’s rear end.

Jaune groaned as both of them worked harder and faster, getting him closer to his end, growling as both stopped their movements, leaving him on the brink again. He scowled lightly as both moved off of him, although it lessened a fair bit as they leaned over and kissed him. “Don’t worry, baby…” Emerald smirked, “We’re going to get you off, we just don’t want to waste all that’s in here,” Jaune hissed as two different hands cupped his large balls, rubbing the swollen and packed spheres gently. “by letting it spit out onto our tits or ass, that’s all. We want it in us…”

May hummed softly, kissing Jaune again and getting lost in the addictive feel of his lips. Pulling away from his lips, she rubbed her nose against the blonde’s, pressing her tits against him. “We want you to fill us up...I tasted it before, I want it in me. No condoms, I’m on the shot...I...I want to feel it raw…” her cheeks burned, but Jaune only smiled softly, reaching down and cupping her cheek.

“If you’re sure...is it alright that she goes first, Em?” Juane asked, giving the cocoa-skinned verdette a glance, knowing that May had far more self-image issues than she did. The carmine-eyed girl pouted, but nodded. It would give her a chance to contemplate her own problem.

Emerald hadn’t hadn’t renewed her birth control. She hadn’t bothered resuming the shot; after all, why get something that you weren’t going to use at all? Now she was kicking herself. She’d figure out something. There was no way that May was going to be the only one fucked tonight!

Jaune kissed May again, which the buxom beauty accepted eagerly, moaning softly as Jaune’s tongue prodded at her lips. Clutching at him, May slid her body over his, enjoying the feel of his body pressing against her own. A small whimper escaped her lips as her sensitive nipples rubbed against his chest. Her pussy clenched around nothing as she pulled back from the kiss, a thin line of saliva stretching between their lips several inches before breaking. “Make...make love to me, Jaune...please don’t make me wait…”

Jaune kissed her again swiftly, rolling them over so May was on her back and he was looming above her.

May blushed, completely exposed before Jaune’s gaze. Her GG-Cups were on full display, her areola puffy and engorged, although her nipples were still tucked away in their little slits. Her trim legs were spread wide, exposing her soaked core. Even her milky, scarred eye (a testament to a Grimm attack when she was young) was uncovered from its hidden shield of her hair. She should have felt mortified. But with Jaune’s hungry gaze on her...she only felt...desired. Like a woman. She released a keen as Jaune leaned down and pressed kisses along her neck and collarbone, his fingers roaming her sides.

A squeal erupted from her mouth as Jaune’s firm hands grasped and toyed with her breasts, the callused digits almost sinking into the soft flesh. She squirmed and shook beneath him as his fingers rubbed over her sensitive areola, teasing the sensitive nubs.

Pulling back, Jaune stared into her visible eye as her face scrunched up, feeling her hips arching and rubbing up against him. He chuckled. “Sensitive there, are we?” he asked letting his index fingers and thumbs trace around the protruding flesh, his hard cock throbbing hard as he watched the busty girl squirm and writhe. This was breathtaking.

May was mortified! She couldn’t cum from just having her nipples teased! She wouldn’t, she wouldn’t, she wouldnnnnnn’t-a shameful keen escaped her mouth as Jaune’s fingers pinched, her nipples popping out of the small slits they hid in; her core clenched, her pussy squirting her fluids onto her thighs and on the sheets. With a whimper, she covered her face with her hands, not wanting to see the laughing expressions that she was sure both had.

Jaune was the furthest he had been from laughing in a while. He had never remembered be so hard in his life. Sharing a glance with Emerald, who looked just as shocked, Jaune grinned and slipped his hands down to May’s toned thighs, gripping them and spreading them a bit wider, slipping between them, the tip of his cock a hair’s breadth away from her soaked core.

Emerald, sick of being left out, leaned down and gently pulled May’s hands away from her face, looking into her embarrassed...sister-girlfriend?...she looked into May’s eye. “Come on, Zee...Jaune’s about to make you his...don’t hide behind your hands for this…” she smiled as she watched May’s eye immediately shoot down to see Jaune’s cock moments away from breaching her core.

Jaune smiled softly as he moved just a bit, allowing his head to touch her sticky lips. “Are you ready? I want confirmation…” he looked May directly in the eye, refusing to move further without her okay. He watched May nod, staring directly down at their potential joining.

That wouldn’t do. “I need you to tell me with words, May…” he said softly, rubbing his cock along her soaking lips gently. “I want to hear your beautiful voice telling me you want me to fuck you…” he hummed, turning his head and planting kisses on her toned calf muscle, running his nose along the smooth skin as May released small squeaks of sound, but nothing resembling words. He was patient. He had waited this long, he could wait until she found her ability to talk.

Fortunately, Jaune didn’t have to wait long. Emerald hummed and gently cupped one of May’s tits. “If you don’t tell him, he won’t fuck you. If he won’t fuck you, there’s no need for him to be where he is. It will be my turn. He’ll be fucking me. You wouldn’t want me to go first, now would you?” she asked, seeing May’s eye widen in panic.

“NO! Fuck me, Jaune! Don’t fuck her first! Please, I want it! I need it! Fill me with your cum!” May cried out, bucking her hips upwards, trying to take Jaune’s cock into her core. There was a beat of silence before her her lightly tanned face turned dark red, her cheeks resembling dark cherries.

“Heh, such a naughty girl, and a screamer to boot!” Emerald chuckled, gently fondling May’s breast, feeling heat flow off of her. “Don’t worry about it sweetie, its just us. But you heard her, stud; fuck her and fill her up!”

Jaune took a deep breath. While both had used their semblances to please him before; Emerald giving him that assjob in the gym showers while hidden from him and May had used her own to rest her breasts on his lap in front of everyone at the pool, he had never done this. He wanted it to go well.

“Looking at May, he smiled as he slowly began to push his way into her core. Huntress-in-training she may be, but she was a virgin and he wasn’t small. So he was slow to enter her and spread her open. He watched her face as she mewled and squirmed underneath him, digging her fingers into the sheets, gasping for air and whining for more.

Finally, Jaune bottomed out, his hips pressing against May’s, his own face tense as her walls were rippling and flexing tightly around his cock. She was hot, scorching even. Combined with her internal movements, it felt like she was constantly cumming around his cock. The look on her face only made him think more that she was cumming.

Slowly he pulled back, watching May’s face pinch and hearing the weak mewl coming from May’s mouth, feeling her thighs trembling in his hands. He watched her arch as he thrust back in, pleasure hitting him hard as well.

Seeing May starting to relax, Jaune knew it was time. Shifting his grip in her thighs, Jaune began to move faster, making May’s visible eye widen as he suddenly began to pound into her, loud smacks and claps filling the room as flesh smacked against flesh, pale hips colliding against tanned ones, Jaune’s swollen balls smacking into May’s toned ass.

Emerald stared jealously at May’s ecstatic face, before deciding that May shouldn’t be the only one having any fun. Sitting up, she carefully shifted so she was kneeling over her face. “It’s only fair I get off too, you know…” she teased, before plopping down and placing her pussy on May’s mouth, her ass covering the rest of the girl’s head. She moaned as May immediately started lapping away at her core, her tongue surprisingly skilled for a girl who had never eaten pussy before. She smirked as she saw Jaune’s eyes fill with lust, but she had to readjust herself as she nearly rocked off of May’s face as Jaune began fucking her even harder, his grip on the maroon-haired girl’s legs shifting a bit more.

Her eyes widened as Jaune lurched forwards, almost bending May in half, locking her legs down, putting her into a mating press and slamming into her. She threw her head back, a choked cry escaping her mouth as May screamed into her pussy, sending vibrations along with the sensations of that surprisingly wicked tongue. She released a choked cry as she came hard, squirting over May’s face.

May could see and hear nothing, could only smell Emerald’s intense scent of cherry blossoms and natural musk, could only taste her sweetly tangy arousal, and feel...oh Gods above, could she feel Jaune fucking her, bending her in half, making her his breeding bitch-her slick pussy clenched around him in sudden orgasm, a wail of pleasure leaving her mouth, being muffled by the slick flesh that hadn’t moved from her oral cavity. She thrashed underneath her two lovers, bucking upwards and trying to get more and more pleasure, to receive Jaune’s cum and become his woman.

Jaune growled as May clenched and flexed and squirmed around him, her juices leaking around him and dribbling down onto his pulsing balls. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to hold back too much longer. This was, these two were too erotic to maintain calm. “C-Cumming!” he groaned, hearing May squeal eagerly as his balls rose and fell, his sack squeezing as his thick cum spurted out of his tip, forcefully filling up the maroon-haired girl’s core.

May cried out into the soaked flesh above her, heart singing as Jaune filled her up, claiming her body as his, and his alone. No other man would stretch her out, would fill her up...no other man’s seed would ever take root within her.

Feeling Emerald slip off of her face, she inhaled deeply the sweet air and stared at her lover. Feebly, she raised her arms, wordlessly asking for a hug. She moaned as she found herself scooped up into strong arms and smelling Jaune’s musky scent, her core flexing and rippling around his still twitching cock. “...Love you…” she moaned, nuzzling against him. “Love you too, May…” he hummed.

Jaune slowly, very slowly slid his still hard cock from May’s body, both staring at the veritable waterfall of semen that spilled from her pussy and onto the sheets. May managed a giggle. “You really did fill me up…” she whispered in an awed voice. Looking up at Juane, she kissed him. “You’re going to be doing that again soon...”

Emerald let the two have their moment, before she pouted, reaching down and gently squeezing Jaune’s balls, quickly gaining his attention. “I...I haven’t renewed my birth control yet, but I want it raw too…” she pouted. She cursed herself at the fact that she hadn’t thought of something as simple as birth control. Her eyes brightened. “You can fuck my ass.”

The blunt manner of speech made both May and Jaune gape at her, although Jaune’s sticky, twitching cock told Emerald that he really liked the idea. She slowly spun around on the bed, pushing her ass out and giving it a wiggle. “I know you want to~” she teased. “I don’t mind...after all, it is my best feature~”

Reaching back, she grabbed her cheeks and spread them, revealing her winking little pucker to her audience of two. Glancing over her shoulder she smirked, seeing both her boyfriend and fellow girlfriend staring. “You’re nice and lubed up due to Zee, so c’mon, lover...claim what every boy’s thought about!”

She watched with amusement as Jaune reached out for her almost zombie-like, his hands grabbing her ass and squeezing tightly, making her moan as his strong fingers sank into her flesh. “Yeeeasssss…don’t be afraid to get rough with it…” she groaned, getting wetter and wetter from Jaune’s rough handling.

SMACK!

A guttural moan spilled from her lips as Jaune’s strong hand slammed against her bubbly backside, making the cocoa-colored flesh ripple and sending a pleasant sting through her body. SMACK! Another one on her opposite cheek made her juices start sliding down her inner thighs.

Repeated spanks covered her ass, falling in a random pattern, sometimes going from cheek to cheek, other times he spanked a single cheek several times, the sting building until it became almost painful, the fire between her thighs growing and growing and growing until-

Jaune stopped.

A piteous whine escaped her lips, looking over her shoulder desperately at him, seeing him smirking. “You’re not going to get to cum that easy, Emerald…” she felt a slick feeling, and knew that it was Jaune’s cock. It slid between her cheeks, the cum slicking up her crease and covering her tight little pucker. A bit of adjustment and she felt his tip poking the small circle. Her pussy quivered. “Please…” she keened.

Jaune thrust.

Emerald’s eyes widened as Jaune bottomed out in one go, hips slapping her stinging rear as all ten inches of cock spread her wide. “Fuck!” she groaned, gripping the sheets as Jaune drew back until just his tip was still inside her, then plunging back in again. Smack!

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Jaune’s thrusts were rhythmic, and every time he bottomed out her ass cheeks were spanked hard by his hips. Broken moans spilled from her lips even as her own juices dripped down from her pussy and onto the bed, dark spots forming and growing in size.

Seeing May looking at Emerald hungrily, Jaune smirked and spun them around, much to the dark-skinned girl’s shock. Her carmine eyes widened as May spread her legs, revealing her cum stuffed pussy. “Eat me, Emerald...you made me do it to you, so its only fair...and hey, you get to taste Jaune! Won’t that be great?” she teased.

Emerald could smell it, the tangy, slightly bitter scent of their mixed arousal, her mouth watering as she found herself leaning forward…

...only for May’s legs to wrap around her head and drag her in, smushing her face against the maroon-haired girl’s cream-filled core. “MMMMMPPPHHH!” she whined, only making the one-eyed girl moan and Jaune rail her ass even harder.

May watched as her boyfriend railed her sister-girlfriend, and said sister-girlfriend sucked and licked and slurped away at her soaking pussy, sending pleasure through her body.

Jaune slammed into Emerald’s ass, enjoying watching the ripple of her flesh jiggle as his hips slammed into her, watching May moan and clutch at the Verdette’s hair as she was eaten out. He fucked her hard and powerfully, giving her all of the aggression that he hadn’t given May. He could tell she loved it, just like he did. She was already cumming, her anal walls squeezing bearing down on his cock, her juices spilling down her thighs.

He knew that he was close too, but he wanted to wait, hold out for May to cum again...lurching forwards, he began to slam himself against her, his balls slapping against her pussy, sending droplets of her cum flying as he slammed his lips against May’s.

“MMMMMMHHHHPPPPPHHH!!!” the trio moaned in unison, their screams of passion drowned out by their flesh.

May squirted hard, covering and almost drowning Emerald in a mix of her cum and Jaune’s, while Emerald sprayed the sheets with her clear cum as they came in unison.

Jaune, however, growled as his balls snapped taut and he began to pump his cum deep into Emerald’s backside as he devoured May’s lips, their tongues tangling against one another.

Slowly breaking the kiss and moving away, all three panted for air. “F-Fuck…” Emerald gasped, her head slumped on May’s inner thigh, licking her lips of May’s and Jaune’s cum. May was speechless, her massive chest heaving as she fought to get back her breath.

Jaune rolled his hips slowly, letting the last drops of his cum side from his cock as he slowly pulled back, watching in awe as Emerald’s ass gaped, his cum spurting out as the formally tight little hole struggled to close.

Grabbing his lovers and shifting them, Jaune slumped in the bed, followed by two female bodies, May and Emerald each grabbing an arm and pulling it close, his limbs being swallowed up by May’s massive cleavage and Emerald’s more modest one. Their legs entwined with his as they relaxed, their heartbeats finally calming down and breathing returning to normal.

“Ah, hah...that was...that was…” Emerald slumped against Jaune, trailing off, unable to come up with the words necessary for what she honestly was feeling. May hummed, nuzzling against Jaune’s shoulder. “...Perfect…” was the only word she said, and despite the fact that she had been Emerald’s worst enemy not two hours ago, the mint haired girl found herself agreeing.

“Yeah...perfect…” she hummed, closing her eyes and resting against her new boyfriend as fatigue finally hit her. She knew that she wasn’t done, not by a long shot. She may have agreed to work together with May tonight to make sure they both got what they wanted, but that didn’t mean that she was going to be passive all the time...the next morning, she was going to wake her boyfriend up with her mouth.

...little did she know, May had the same idea, dreaming of driving Jaune wild with her own talented tongue.

A Week Later

“Jaune? Are you okay?” Pyrrha asked, looking at her closest friend in concern as they studied in one of the study dorms. His face was flushed and a fine sheen of sweat was on his forehead. He looked at her and smiled, although it seemed strained. “I’m just fine, Pyr. T-Thanks for asking!” he said, although his voice was tense. Tilting her head, Pyrrha nodded and going back to her work.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, despite the immense pleasure that flooded through him. Looking down, he narrowed his eyes at a naked May beneath the table as she swallowed the head of his cock in her mouth, while her breasts swallowed the shaft, eyes bright as she looked up at him happily.

That wasn’t the only thing happening. Before Jaune in the middle of the study dorm, on top of the table he and Pyrrha were sitting at, was a naked Emerald. She had changed positions several times already, from doing exercises in booty short that showcased her magnificent ass, like Yoga and squats (reminiscent of the teasing she did to him in the gym), to belly dancing, to stripping herself of her bottoms and twerking, clapping those fat cheeks together, to the position she was in now, sitting on the table before him, legs spread lewdly and cupping one of her breasts as she openly fingered herself in front of him.

Jaune wondered how he had gotten so lucky. He had two beautiful girlfriends, both of them surprisingly adventurous...to the point of Emerald using her semblance to keep his partner from noticing anything odd as they both played with him...and each other.

Jaune bit his lower lip to contain the groan as he came hard, coating May’s face and tits in a thick, gooey mask of his cum. Eyes brightening, Emerald turned and hopped off the table (making sure to wiggle her ass in his face as she did so), crawling underneath it and immediately attacking May, kissing her deeply as they both began to scoop up his cum, moaning happily as they devoured his seed.

His cock, having lost none of its rigidity even with the massive cumshot he had painted May with, twitched. As he watched, both his girlfriends leaned forwards, pressing their lips to the head of his cock. Right next to his partner. Who remained oblivious due to Emerald semblance.

God...he loved his life right now.

[broadstflyers]

A/N: I am so excited to be starting my first ever series. This is inspired by Taylor Swift’s “Cardigan” because her music creates stories in my head that I must write down on (digital) paper. Please keep in mind this chapter is written in past tense, and the story probably won't be in present tense for at least another few chapters. Let me know what you think! If you want to be on the tag list for the next chapter, or drop any (constructive) feedback, you can take this survey here.

Word Count: 2.3K

Warnings: None

Summary: They say at fourteen you’re too young to know you’re in love. But what if you aren’t?

Navigation: chapter two

Grade: 9 Age: 14 --------------------------------- As sure as you are that spring comes after winter, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and seconds turn into minutes, you know you are in love with Joel Farabee. Not the gushy “I want to hug you and kiss you and never let you go” love, the intense “I want to burst at the seams because I just want to scream it on the rooftops and tell you and it literally crushes my heart that I can’t” love.

Yeah, that love.

The problem?

You were only fourteen when you knew.

Yes, the grand old age of fourteen. The age you were supposed to be nervously texting multiple boys, wondering if you were going to be asked to the ninth grade dance and worrying about who your first kiss was going to be, or even the first person you were going to hold hands with.

It started on the first day of school, but the start of it all was less than romantic. You shuffled up the hallway with one of your best friends, your feet felt like lead.

“What’s wrong?” Luna whispered in your ear.

“I really hate math,” you huffed. It was the last period of the day, eighth period, and you had to spend it in what was probably going to be a room full of rambunctious athletes who would be itching to burst out of the room at the very sound of the bell. How did you know this? Because you had been stuck in a class like that ever since the beginning of middle school. It made for some laughs, yes, but for some reason a pessimistic attitude bitterly swarmed around you in dark circles. Also, math in general made you anxious, and it didn’t help that the last few years you had to fend for yourself because of your lack of friends in said class.

“Well, at least you’ll have me this year,” Luna attempted to reassure you and your looming anxiety.

“Yeah, but I wonder who’s going to be in our class this year,” you mumbled. Your stomach swarmed with butterflies, but you’d rather call them icky moths.

Luna opened her mouth to respond, but you reached the door frame before her. Before you could even make it through the entrance, you made eye contact with a group of rowdy boys sitting at a table directly in front of you. You stopped dead in your tracks. They paused in their shouting to turn and look at you and Luna, since you were only about seven or eight feet away.

You scanned their faces, and you recognized most of them. They were mostly hockey players that played for the local team that looked for a shot at the NTDP in just a few short years. It was Syracuse, hockey was a pretty big deal there. There was also the prospective varsity quarterback and his star wide-receiver, these labels given to them at just fourteen. Of course, more athletes. Suddenly, you locked eyes with this boy you strangely have never seen before. His hand was hovering in air over his friend’s head with what you could only assume is his friend’s pencil in a lame attempt to keep him from grabbing it.

He blinked a few times, and you might have blinked a few times, you honestly couldn’t remember.

You snapped out of your trance and looked over to the board that said, “Welcome class! Pick your seats for the first day!”

“Hey,” Luna nudged you and grabbed your arm, “let’s sit over there.”

She lead you to a table adjacent to the boys’ table, despite your unheard protests of being “too close” to them.

You took your seat huffing, and you pulled out your binder and got ready for class, something you wished the crazy boys would pick up on. Thankfully the bell rang, your teacher shut the door, and class began.

That’s the first time you saw him. Not very eventful, but hey, you two were awkward fourteen year olds just entering grade nine. Of course things were not going to be all fireworks and love at first sight.

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

A few classes went by, and the only disturbance that occurred was when the class was taking one of those horrible diagnostic tests. See, you really hated disturbances, interruptions, anything relating to that matter.

So when this dude named Joel (you learned his name when he was yelled at for playing rap music in the middle of class) started fooling around with his friend while you were trying to figure out why letters were in math now, you weren’t happy, to say the least.

And when he locked eyes with you and made a silly face, yours did not move in a rather unamused manner. You simply blinked and looked back down at your test.

You missed his face slightly fall, but it was short lived when the teacher yelled his name from across the room and made everyone jump ten feet. He was quiet after that.

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

It was a random Tuesday in late October.

You and Luna were chatting about your previous classes, until you both stopped in your tracks and you raised an eyebrow. Everyone in your class was standing up and congregating away from tables. You could hear the ominous music creeping over everyone’s heads.

“Oh no,” you whined to Luna.

She winced. “We’re being assigned seats, aren’t we?”

You nodded. You both stood in the sea of kids and awaited your fate.

“Alright, everyone,” your teacher said. “You guys have been extremely chatty lately.” She paused to side-eye Joel and his friends.

He opened his mouth to protest, but he quickly shut it when she frowned.

“So you leave me no choice, but I must assign seats,” she dramatically said as she unveiled the new seating chart on the board.

Everyone pushed and shoved to the front to see where their name lied in the cards of fate. You heard some soft celebrations and loud protests.

You nudged your way in and scanned up and down the board. Luna wasn’t at the same table, but she was sitting facing towards you at another table. Hopefully you and her would be able to make eye contact. You scanned until you see your name fall right next to someone who you would rather forget you treated so poorly. It was there in bright, bold red.

Joel Farabee.

“Aw man,” you and a voice said in unison. You looked up at your side to see that it’s him. Oh dear brother. Did you both just admit out loud that you don’t want to sit next to each other? You and him rolled your eyes at each other, huffing that you’ll be forced to be in each other’s presence.

And you knew he was thinking some sort of variation of what you were: how dare your teacher.

You trudged over to your seat and plopped down. He threw down his stuff and sat next to you. You could sense his extreme dislike for your rather serious demeanor. Hey, you could crack a smile.

Just not around him. And for the life of you, you couldn’t figure out why. It’s almost like if you did, you knew you would never stop...

You both avoided eye contact, you played with your pencil as he yelled to one of his friends across the classroom about some stupid video game.

And that’s just how it was for weeks. You’d both come in, sit down, he’d scream to his friends, you’d fight shooting him a really dirty look.

Until one day, you accidentally did. Now, later when you told Luna, you swore up and down you didn’t mean to, and it was just the fact that seventh period gym was terrible (but when was it not). Okay, so maybe you were fed up with him yelling about whatever rap song came out, or whatever Instagram model popped up on his feed (that made you shutter).

But what you did wasn’t really admittedly the nicest.

“Joel, do you always have to yell so freaking loudly?” you snapped.

He feigned a stunned expression, or maybe he really meant it, who knows what goes on in that boy’s seemingly empty head.

“Do you have to be such a downer…like all the time? Kinda ruins the vibe bro.”

You rolled your eyes. “Thanks Joel, because the number one thing I care about is ruining your ‘vibe’,” you put that word in air quotes, “and not getting any work done in this class, bro.”

Now he rolled his eyes. “Look, you could benefit from loosening up a little, you know? You’re kind of just, not a fun person.”

A look of real hurt flashed across your face. One that he caught. “No,” you punctually state. Then you turn your seat so you completely have your back to him and you’re facing the board.

Meanwhile Luna and your table-mates watched the whole situation unfold. Okay, and maybe most of the class.

And when the bell rang and he called your name, you simply decided you didn’t hear it.

“He’s calling you,” Luna prodded.

You just shook your head as you continued down the hallway to the bus. On the bus, you had some thinking to do.

Did he really think of you as...boring? You usually didn’t let the immature words of boys get to you, but this, this really hurt.

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

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it,” Luna insisted that evening while lying on your bedroom floor that same Friday evening.

“Yes he did, and he’s kind of right,” you begrudgingly conceded. “I haven’t been the nicest to him,” you sigh into your hands, “and maybe I should be.”

“Well, what’s stopping you?” Luna curiously asked.

“I, I don’t know.”

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

The following Monday, you winced and leaned into Luna as you approached the classroom. To say you were terrified is an understatement.

But you took a deep breath, held your head high, and locked your face into a neutral expression. You never let anyone get the best of you, and you weren’t going to let Joel out of all people be one of the first.

Luna offered a small sympathetic smile as she made her way to her seat.

Your heart beated out of your chest anticipating his arrival. Sure enough, you caught him out of the corner of your eye. He took his time and strutted around the room to talk to all the friends he had. He was obviously looking to avoid you, too.

Coward.

Eventually, he made his way to his seat. He cleared his throat, but you didn’t budge. Ever heard of being saved by the bell?

“I’m going to hand back everyone’s quizzes from last class,” your teacher announced. You audibly groaned. That quiz did not go well. Who puts diamonds and boxes and something called factoring in math?

Sure enough, she shoved a C- into your sweaty hands.

“Dang,” you whispered.

You glanced over at Joel’s paper. 100%.

Are you kidding me?

His prying eyes had the audacity to spot your C-, as if you didn’t pry on his paper seconds before.

“That’s rough,” he said, trying to make eye contact with you.

“I- um, yeah, it is,” you choked out with your eyes still glued on your paper.

His heart broke when he heard your wavering voice. He had to do something.

“Can I see it?” He quietly asked, when quiet usually isn’t typically his demeanor.

You furrowed your brows in confusion. “Uh, sure?”

He took the paper and started drawing stars around the C- mark, very messily, may you add.

You went to take the paper back, but he moved it away from your grasp.

“One second,” he pleaded. He stuck his tongue out in concentration.

You tried to see how badly he was defacing your quiz, but the position of his arm prohibited you from peering over to see.

“Done,” he proudly said as he slid the paper back over to you.

Instead of a plain old C-, there was now...a C- with stars around it.

“Joel, this is very lovely and all, but why the stars around the C-?”

He smiled with his sickeningly sweet toothless grin, and your heart absolutely backflipped into oblivion.

“That’s not a C-,” he goofily joked, “that’s the moon, y/n,” he said through a smile. “See it?”

You looked up from your paper and looked at him in the eye. Your hands shook from adrenaline, your heart was fluttering, goodness, you didn’t know how you could feel any lighter.

That smile was going to be the death of you.

“Yeah, Joel,” you cracked a smile, “I do see it. Thank you,” you sincerely said.

Crack a smile.

You cracked a smile.

His heart skipped a beat. He knew instantly he was going to do whatever it took to keep that smile on your face for as long as possible. He didn’t care what he would have to do.

He smiled once more, and he turned to his buddies to shield his face from you. He didn’t want you to see how red it was turning. He proceeded to explain to them how perfect his stars were and how no one could top them. Something along the lines of “Bro, you have to see this one, it’s so perfect bro…” He also told them how he made you feel better while slapping his chest, for some reason, as in yeah, I made the mopiest girl in school smile. He sounded like he was priding himself on it.

His smile, the way he talked about you, those freaking stars. You’d let him draw those all over your arm instead any day.

At that age, you may not have known why there were letters in algebra, but you knew that the way he made you feel wasn't the same as you did with your two other crushes back in middle school. This just felt...absolutely weird.

But absolutely right.

And that’s the story of how at just fourteen years old, you knew you were absolutely screwed.

[angelofarts]

hello! i would like to submit “singing karaoke together” for juke from the cute dates list and suggest maybe a scenario where luke has somehow never heard julie sing before 👀 but also of course feel free to not follow that!!

hope you’re doing okay you lovely human being 🥰♥️

Hi Imène! This got completely out of hand, but as an apology, have a moodboard:

A Whim Away, A Whim Away

Luke wasn’t entirely sure how he was strong armed into it, but he had to go along with it - he did owe Alex about seven hundred favours. If the first of those that Alex wanted to call in was karaoke, who was Luke to deny his friend that?

Although, looking back, it would have been nice if either of his friends had warned him that Julie FREAKING Molina would be there too.

Luke would deny to his dying day that he gave Julie Molina heart eyes, considering that they only shared one class. And it wasn’t even a music class - it was calculus, the bane of Luke’s existence. Julie was in the music program, Luke knew, but they were in different focus classes for the first semester.

So it was entirely unfounded that Alex, Bobby and Reggie would nudge Luke at lunch to get him back on track, throwing knowing looks between them. Luke was entirely focused! He just… used the way the sun fell on Julie’s curls as inspiration.

Inspiration. That was it.

At any rate, when Luke got to where they’d agreed to meet up before karaoke, it was to find Alex with a shit eating grin on his face and Reggie laughing. Luke felt his stomach drop as his friends gave each other knowing looks.

“What’s going on?” Luke asked, already dreading the answer.

Alex snorted before answering. “None of Dirty Candi can join us, so Carrie is bringing her girlfriend and best friend instead.”

Luke shrugged. “Okay. And?”

Reggie gave a small giggle. “Luke, Carrie is dating Flynn Taylor. And Flynn Taylor’s best friend is -”

“Julie Molina,” Luke finished, his stomach somehow dropping lower.

Oh, he was so screwed.

It wasn’t that bad to start out with though, in his defense. Julie, Flynn and Carrie arrived within a few minutes of one another, and their group set off on the short walk to the karaoke place Alex had picked out. It had been Alex and Carrie’s idea to have the karaoke night, an attempt to bring their groups closer. Luke still didn’t understand why they needed to be closer, considering that Carrie was Bobby’s cousin (lucky bastard had lucked out of the excursion by having an emergency tutoring session with a kid down the block from him) and was on the dance team with Alex.

Then again, he thought as he watched Julie tuck her purple scarf closer into her collar, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Hey Jules,” Reggie called from where he was leading the pack. Luke was abruptly hit with a wave of jealousy so strong and overwhelming that he was briefly struck dumb.

Reggie knew Julie well enough to give her a nickname? When did this happen?

“Yeah Reg?” Julie called back, her voice floating through the cool night like spun sugar.

“Do you know how far I am from singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight?”

Reggie ignored Luke’s groan as Julie answered. “No. How far away?”

“I’m just… a whim away, a whim away, a whim away, a whim away…”

Their mixed laughter and groaning carried them into the karaoke place, bringing a tiny burst of unexpected sound. The person controlling the karaoke machine looked up, and understanding hit Luke. He nudged Alex with a knowing grin, and Alex ducked his head, a furious blush on his cheeks.

“Hey guys,” Willie said cheerfully, coming over to them. “First patrons of the night! Awesome! Can I start you all out with something to drink before you begin?”

The group settled at a table, taking off coats and scarves as they gave Willie their orders. After writing them down, he offered the group the binder of available karaoke songs.

“Rock paper scissors for who goes first?” Flynn offered. The group held their hands out, going through four rounds before Luke was declared the first singer.

“Are you going with your standard choice?” Alex asked, the look on his face saying he knew exactly what Luke would say. Luke nodded, pointing at the selection.

“You’re the One That I Want?” Carrie asked with a grin. “Really, Guitar Boy?”

Luke shrugged, hoping the dim lighting would hide his slight blush. “It’s a classic.”

Before Carrie could continue to disparage his choice, Willie returned with their drink orders. “Everyone decided what the first choice is?”

Carrie nodded, grinning when Alex seemed dumbstruck. “Luke is going to sing You’re the One That I Want.”

Willie grinned. “Sick. But who are you singing with? That’s a duet.”

Luke looked between the assembled people frantically. He didn’t want to sing with anyone really - this was a song he usually performed on his own.

Flynn looked like she was about to say something, but before she could Luke grabbed Reggie’s hand. “Reg will sing with me!”

Reggie blinked in confusion. “I will?”

Willie handed them microphones before Reggie could protest further. Luke took a gulp of his soda before dragging his best friend up to the small stage. Reggie faced him, gave a small shrug and grinned as Luke began to sing.

“I got chills, they’re multiplying, and I’m losing control…”

When they were done, receiving sarcastic applause from their friends, Luke and Reggie took a bow before returning to the table. At some point when Reggie was declaring that Luke was the one he wanted, the group had ordered salty snacks and more drinks. Luke gratefully scarfed down a handful of Alex’s popcorn, ignoring his best friend’s protests.

“Nice,” Willie complimented, accepting their microphones. Though a few more people had arrived, they seemed content to let Luke’s group take the first slots of the evening.

Well. Either that, or Willie was ignoring anyone who wasn’t Alex, who he kept making eyes at.

Luke snorted, handing the binder to Flynn.

“Can I get a refill please?” he asked Willie. Willie broke away from his staring at Alex, accepting Luke’s glass to get more Coke. It was a small blessing that Willie had taken the drink before the girls began singing.

“I can see what’s happening,” Carrie sang knowingly, nudging Flynn. Luke grinned as they set up the beginning of Can You Feel The Love Tonight, eating the fries left in the middle of the table.

And then Julie Molina opened her mouth to sing and Luke almost choked on his fries.

Her voice was so powerful that Luke felt he’d been sucker punched right in the solar plexus. After swallowing his fries, he felt his mouth drop open. He had no motivation to close it either - it required brain power to be diverted from appreciating the absolute powerhouse of singing that was Julie Molina.

“He’s holding back, he’s hiding,” Julie sang, closing her eyes. “But what, I can’t decide.”

“Luke?” Alex said, nudging him. Luke broke his gaze, giving Alex an enquiring look.

Alex was barely holding back laughter when he started to speak. “I’m going to need you to roll your tongue back into your mouth. You’re drooling.”

“I AM NOT DROOLING.”

And because the universe hated Luke, that announcement came as the music dropped down, the buildup for the chorus beginning.

Flynn and Carrie shot their table a questioning look. Luke buried his head in his arms, staying there until the music dropped away and he heard Carrie take over again.

“And if he falls in love tonight, it can be assumed.”

“His carefree days with us are history,” Flynn sang, shooting the table a knowing grin. Luke flushed as Reggie nudged his side with their final words.

“In short, our pal is doomed!”

Luke sighed, knocking back his soda. The girls took a bow before returning to the table, accepting the congratulations of the few people who had entered in the meantime.

“You were incredible,” Alex said, offering Flynn a high five. “Reg, you’re up!”

Reggie took the microphone, going up to sing the song he’d been humming under his breath the whole time they’d been sitting at the table. Julie settled into his abandoned seat, smiling at Luke.

“I liked your song.”

Luke choked on his breath, immediately losing any cool credit he’d been hanging onto before this. Once his throat was clear, he gave her a shy smile in return.

“Thanks. I liked yours too.”

Alex muttered something that sounded distinctly uncomplimentary under his breath. Luke took the opportunity to step on Alex’s foot and grind his heel, making Alex yelp quietly.

That would teach him.

Or… not. Alex only waited a few seconds before speaking again.

“Luke, do you need a napkin?”

Luke closed his eyes and took a deep breath before answering. “I do not need a napkin, Alexander, but thank you for offering.”

“Are you sure, Lucas?”

Julie cleared her throat, capturing their attention. “Why would Luke need a napkin?”

Because Alex clearly hated Luke, he grinned as he answered. “I don’t know, Julie. Why don’t you ask him?”

Julie shrugged before turning to Luke. “Luke, why do you-”

“I DO NOT NEED A NAPKIN.”

Luke genuinely thought the matter would be dropped until a few minutes later, when Reggie had returned and Carrie had dragged Alex up.

While they sang the beginning of Wannabe, Julie gently set her hand on his shoulder. When he gave her an enquiring look, she silently handed him a napkin.

Luke took it, wishing a hole in the floor would open up to swallow him.

“You look like you’ve been run over by a truck,” Reggie said with abstract interest. Luke tore his gaze away from the stage, where Julie and Flynn were slaying Bills, Bills Bills by Destiny’s Child.

“Did you know Julie could sing like that?” Luke asked, trying to keep his voice down. From the look of amusement Carrie shot him, he took it that he wasn’t all that successful.

“Yeah,” Reggie said, throwing a piece of popcorn in the air and trying to catch it in his mouth. “We had music together last year.”

“And you didn’t tell me?!”

Reggie threw another piece, catching it in his teeth before answering. “You knew we had music together, Luke. You used to walk with me to class before English.”

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tell me about her voice, Reggie. Why didn’t you tell me about her voice?”

Carrie threw a piece of popcorn at Luke, catching his attention. “Why this sudden interest in Julie?”

“Oh this isn’t sudden,” Alex said cheerfully, ignoring the death look Luke was shooting at him. “Luke has been crushing on Julie for more than a year already. He’s just too chicken to talk to her.”

“Alex!” Luke complained. Alex shrugged, sipping at his drink.

“Luke,” Carrie said, capturing his attention. She was biting at her lip, clearly debating something with herself, before seeming to come to a decision. “She likes you too. Or, she seems to. She won’t tell me and Flynn anything concrete, but we’re pretty sure.”

“How sure?” Luke demanded.

“Like… 87 percent.”

Luke leaned back in his chair, a smug grin travelling over his face. He could work with that percentage.

Carrie flicked a piece of popcorn at Luke. “Hey, Guitar Boy, wipe that look off your face. If you hurt Julie, I swear I will hunt you down and cut every single one of your guitar strings in two.”

Luke blanched, holding up his hand. “I swear I won’t hurt her. Scouts honor.”

Reggie raised an eyebrow. ���Weren’t you kicked out of the Boy Scouts?”

“Not the point.”

Flynn and Julie took a bow, coming back to the table with laughter. Luke sat up straighter when Julie sat - the knowledge that she might like him back was giving him confidence he was only familiar with when he was performing.

“We should finish up for the night,” Flynn said, shaking her wrist to see the time on her silver watch. “One last performance?”

Carrie and Alex exchanged glances, grinning at one another before Carrie spoke.

“Jules, you and Luke should finish us out.”

Luke gave Carrie a poisonous look, quickly schooling his face into neutrality when Julie looked towards him. He smiled and nodded when she raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, cool, I’ll go pick something for us.”

She disappeared in a flurry of curls, and Luke got to his feet. He began to pace, tugging at his shirt nervously.

“What are you doing?” Flynn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s warm,” Luke said defensively.

“You’re wearing a sleeveless shirt.”

“What,” Luke said with a grin, “I can’t be warm just because I have my arms out? That feels panphobic.”

Alex’s face twisted like he was trying to figure out how to walk barefoot across a floor scattered with legos. “That’s not… okay.”

Julie returned before any of the others could contribute. “Hey, I picked something for us. Are you okay with Queen?”

Luke grinned. “Is the sky blue?”

He offered her his arm. Before he could think about how stupid and dorky it seemed, she slipped her hand around his bicep, letting him guide her to the stage.

Julie accepted a microphone, smiling apologetically at Luke. “Since it’s not a duet they only gave me one. You don’t mind sharing, do you?”

That much time up close and personal with Julie Molina?

“Uh, no, that’s fine,” he said with a slightly strangled laugh. He heard Alex say something about asking for a second microphone, but either Julie didn’t hear or she chose to ignore Alex as the music began.

They sang together, trading off lines with grins. Luke’s mind was split onto two levels - one was focused on the song, on the lyrics and melodies that he’d forced into his subconscious as soon as he found the band. The other was blown away by the sound they were making together. If he’d thought Julie singing on her own was too much for him, the sound of the two of them singing together was absolutely blowing his mind.

Julie closed her eyes as the bridge built, taking a few steps forwards and backwards as she swayed. Luke watched with a smile, not noticing what was happening until it was almost too late.

Julie took a step into the air, no stage underneath her feet to support her. With the instincts born from performing in clubs with stages too small for the entire band to fit, Luke reached out, grabbed her hand and spun her back.

She landed with her hands against his chest, an audible gulp emerging. Before he could make sure she was okay, she smiled slowly and brought the microphone up between them.

“Can anybody find me,” she sang, looking directly into his eyes, “somebody to love?”

He smiled and brought her into a dip. The room broke into applause as they came back to standing, suddenly shy.

Flynn let out a whistle, breaking Luke’s shyness. He backed away from Julie, blushing as he went.

“Nice singing,” he finally said, gesturing for her to exit the stage.

“Thanks,” she said softly, smiling at him before walking down. He followed so that they could get their things, helpfully gathered by their friends.

“That was some performance,” Flynn said, grinning knowingly at him. Luke waited until Julie turned around to shoot Flynn the finger. Flynn snorted, winding her arm around Carrie’s waist as the group got to the doors.

“Okay,” Alex announced. “How is everyone getting home?”

Flynn was getting a lift with Carrie when Bobby came to pick her up. Alex had his bike, and Reggie had driven like Luke. That left Julie, who waved her phone.

“I’m just waiting for my dad to finish up a job and then he’ll pick me up.”

Luke frowned. “Hey, you live in Los Feliz, right?”

Julie raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? You realize we go to the same school, for the same school district?”

Luke ignored the sensation of his ears heating up. “What I mean is I can drop you off if you want. It’s not out of my way.”

Julie smiled at him. “If you’re sure it’s not out of your way, that would be amazing. Let me just call my dad real quick, yeah?”

Julie stepped away from the group to call her dad. Alex raised an eyebrow when she was out of earshot.

“Funny how you live on the opposite side of Los Feliz to Julie.”

Luke felt his face drop. “I do? Not that I care!” he added hastily when Reggie and Alex exchanged amused glances.

Julie stepped back before they could really lay into Luke. He let out a deep breath when she nodded, letting him lead the way to his car after waving goodbye at the others.

Luke took a moment to be thankful that Alex had bullied him into cleaning his car as Julie slid into the passenger seat. When she picked up his CD file, he nodded and she began to page through it.

“Oh, you have some incredible artists in here,” she complimented. He smiled and entered her address into his phone, noting that it really wasn’t that far away from his house.

And then stopped that thought in its tracks.

Because that was a creepy train of thought to go down.

Julie let out a small laugh. “Rose and the Petal Pushers?”

“Rose and the Petal Pushers was instrumental, excuse the pun, in the formation of rock as we know it,” Luke said defensively.

Julie grinned, shaking her head. “I was just surprised. Trust me, Luke, no one is a bigger Petal Pushers fan than me. Certified Thorn from the day I was born.”

“Your parents sang you their songs as lullabies?” Luke asked with a grin.

Julie shrugged. “Mami wrote most of their songs, so she tried out new material on me.”

“Your mom wrote for them?” Luke asked, turning down Julie’s street. “But that would mean…”

“Yep,” Julie said cheerfully as Luke parked the car. “My mom is Rose herself.”

Luke displayed a remarkable lack of brain cells in that moment, immediately and forever branding himself a dork to Julie Molina, by blurting out, “Your mom was my childhood crush.”

Julie let out a snort. “Oh, I am never going to let you live that down.”

Luke felt his blush build again, and responded by poking Julie in the shoulder. He didn’t expect her giggle, but he felt a smile spread across his face when she slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Julie, are you… ticklish?”

She held her hands up in his direction. “Luke, don’t you dare, don’t do it -”

Luke attacked.

Julie appeared to be ticklish everywhere, regardless of where he poked, and she was too sensitive to retaliate effectively. Eventually she called for mercy, her breath heaving and her eyes streaming with tears.

Luke grinned before two things became immediately obvious.

They were very very close together.

And Luke wanted to kiss her.

“Jules?”

She blinked before slowly smiling. “Yes?”

He took a deep breath before speaking. Now or never.

“Your mom might have been my childhood crush but… you’re my right now crush.”

Her smile impossibly widened. “Really?”

“Really. Can I kiss you?”

She tasted like popcorn and Coke.

And she sounded like a perfect harmony.

TEN YEARS LATER

Luke couldn’t get over how beautiful Julie was, sitting next to him at their wedding reception. The day had been a whirlwind of events - getting ready with the boys in his suite, crying when Julie came down the aisle, and the incredible moment of finally saying, “I do.”

And now… now she was his WIFE.

He reached for her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it. She smiled and gently cradled his face.

“That’s enough, lovebirds,” Reggie called through the sound system. They broke apart to scattered laughter, turning to hear Reggie’s best man speech - the first of three, since Luke had refused to choose between his best friends.

“Ladies and gentlemen and non-binary friends,” Reggie said as the attention turned to him. “In order to fully appreciate my friends, I have a presentation to show you all. Flynn, if you would be so kind?”

Flynn dimmed the lights and a video came onto the screen. A very familiar video, one that had Luke groaning instantly.

“The king I see inside,” Julie-onscreen sang. The quality of the video wasn’t great, but it was enough to clearly capture Luke’s voice as he spoke next to the filmer.

“I AM NOT DROOLING.”

The room broke into laughter as Luke dropped his head into his hands. Julie rubbed his back soothingly, but she couldn’t keep her giggles entirely contained.

“He was indeed drooling,” Reggie said blissfully. “And he has continued to do so every day since. Will you please raise your glasses with me to Luke and Julie!”

“To Luke and Julie!” the room echoed, laughter still bouncing around. Luke shook his head good naturedly.

“Just wait,” Julie murmured as Alex made his way to the microphone. “Apparently the other two are so much worse.”

Luke smiled and pressed a kiss to her hand. “Good thing you’re stuck with me, huh?”

Julie smiled and gently kissed him.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered when she pulled back. “I drooled over you too.”

Luke snorted abruptly.

They really were made for each other.

[yarbz]

cowardly game of rival — n.jaemin ( f )

synopsis!

 ━ as the girl’s football team captain, you were used to the endless derogatory taunts, the wolf-whistling, the attempts at romance being boys telling you what they thought of barcelona’s starting XII. na jaemin fell into all those catergories, a detestable flea in your hair. as sworn enemies, there was not even an inkling of romance, and you were convinced that your attraction to him was ONLY physical. weren’t you?

pairing ━ na jaemin x female!reader

word count ━ 6k

genres ━ fluff, rival!au, football!au, comedy, romance, very little of the football game is described in detail.

warnings ━ profanity, football terms, dirty jokes, y/n and jaemin are literally just cowards

( author's note! )

this one came to mind when i thought of how i love female footballers and decided that jaemin would be the idiot in question to chicken out of confessing to their crush by being an ass instead. i really hope you like it !! other notes are sissoko is the name of like three different players and a cracker is slang for a really good goal.

Football.

A sport of creatively insane wits, fancy footwork and incoherent celebrations. Those were all the things you loved about it, along with the ridiculously cute uniform.

It provided you an escape from the man's world, a chance to carve out your own story, free from the shackles of stereotypes. At least, that's what you'd initially thought.

Unfortunately, the boy's football team made it their sole objective in life to demean you. As captain, you took on the strenuous task of refusing to resort to physical violence when a stupid comment about your short length was made or when boys assumed you couldn't tell your Sissoko's apart (you could, quite well actually).

You had taken it as a sign of war, and refused to comment on their pathetic sneers. You did, however, feel as if Na Jaemin made a blood pact or something to be a parasite towards you.

He stood at the cusp of six foot, towering over you like an evergreen beanstalk, cheshire-cat like smile taunting you. Chocolate colour tresses fell over his eyes in straight lines, shielding his forehead.

It's not like you paid attention to his visage, but even you had to admit in your spite that he was attractive. And horribly so.

Today started like every other, going to your locker before heading to your homeroom. Luckily, you'd managed to get there before the freshmen started to pile in. Being a senior had its positives along with its various faults, one of them being the early access you got to the school.

You jammed your key in the lock, flinging open the locker door, making quick work of exchanging your books. In your fast-paced stupor, you didn't notice the figure leaning behind the door. You slammed the door shut, nail catching an patch of skin, scraping it.

"If you wanted me to leave, you could've been less catty." The voice wheedled, throwing a withering glare in your direction. You rolled your eyes, annoyed, arms crossed across your chest.

"Jaemin." You sighed, rubbing your temples. "Why are you hiding behind my locker? Are you looking for a death wish?"

He sat up slowly, soothing his reddening nose, suddenly regaining his smile as he leaned closer towards your face. "If I was looking for a death wish, I'd eat whatever food you just stuffed in there."

"Fuck off. Don't see you making any gourmet meals."

"I'm the gourmet meal." He slithered, breath fanning your nose. From this distance, you could see the wonder swimming within his eyes, breath caught in your throat.

Damn, he was too fine.

You tore your gaze from his eyes, "And yet, I don't feel inclined to taste it." He jumped back in surprise, eyes widening, giving you an opening to dash. Chuffed that you left him speechless, you walked towards your next class, resisting the urge to turn back to revel in his awe-struck face.

Jaemin's eyebrow quirked in curiosity, crooked smirk hanging from his lips. He watched you stalk away, cursing underneath his breath softly. You carried a fiery aura around you, burning him with every snarky remark — even though it beat him bruised ghastly lavenders, he could bear to play with fire if it meant you would pay him attention.

You see, Jaemin did not hate you as per say. The 'hate' which you believed in was merely his inability to profess his affections towards you. For lack of a better word, he was a coward.

A dashingly handsome one, but a fragile, chicken-legged coward all the same.

You'd made it to class in record time, ego bared boldly on your shoulders, attracting the curious eyes of your best friends Yangyang and Donghyuck. Both were terrorists in their own right, but you couldn't help loving them all the same. Sure, they came as a dreadful pair, but love had decided to shackle your heart to them.

"What's got you so happy? Jaemin finally drop dead?" Yangyang joked, shifting to make space for you. Headband strapped to the pinnacle of his forehead, he grinned at you from beneath the base of stretchy ebony material.

"No..not yet." You hummed, sad lilt to your tone.

"Awh, didn't kill him yet?" Donghyuck teased, nudging Yangyang in their laughter. "I think it must be love stopping you from committing the crime yourself." You shoved both, peals of laughter tickling your throat at their whines of pain.

"If you don't shut up, I'll be killing you two instead, never mind Jaemin." You snapped. "Love is what I feel when I score a cracker from the halfway line. Seeing Jaemin makes me want to jump out of the nearest window."

"Are you sure it's not just unresolved sexual tension? I, too get antsy when I haven't jacked off—"

"Finish that sentence and you'll have no arms."

"I'm flexible enough to suck myself off." Yangyang mused, "You'll never stop my libido."

"You're disgusting." You and Donghyuck said in sync, swatting his grabby hands from flying at your shoulders. Quite frankly, you didn't want to hear about his freakishly boneless limbs, or his untameable sex drive, nor hear anything about his genitals at all.

"Does that count as self—"

"Yes, it does. Please don't be telling people that I'm your friend, or that you can do that. It's not a little icebreaker."

Friendship with these two had crossed all sorts of personal boundaries you didn't know existed, and it was starting to decompose you, like a rotting piece of cabbage infested by slugs, yet still hanging on for the glimpse of sunlight to regenerate.

Okay, so you were being dramatic. But, that didn't explain their dire need to over share certain aspects of their lives with you.

"Doesn't change the topic at hand —Did you get my pun?" He asked, looking for Donghyuck's reaction.

"I did. Not going to comment on it before she breaks my arms. Just know I enjoyed it very much."

"If I wanted to mess around with Jaemin, I'd put my hand in a beehive. It'd sting less." You snarled, slamming down your books. They winced comically, faces alert as the teacher walked into the class.

Apart from football, you enjoyed learning — how to make things, break things, self defense, people skills, and education fell not too far from that. Classes like biology interested you greatly, which is why you found yourself fully immersed in the process of respiration.

Your mind drifted for a second, thinking back to what he'd said. Was it actually sexual tension? Did you actually bare an emotion other than loathing towards him? Then, you thought of that face and how you'd want to do nothing more than break his pretty little nose—

Yeah. There it was. You were normal after all.

School had come to her daily dreadful end, and you were happily striding into the ladies' changing rooms for football training. Nobody had gotten here yet, luckily.

You glanced over into the full body mirror, tugging at your shorts until they fell just above the bump of your knee, pulling your sock midway at your calf. Lean abs shone underneath the dim light, and you proudly paraded around the room, happy to be alone.

A knock on the door came, and you swung the door open with a feverish excitement. "Who is it?"

"Didn't take me as a bra kinda girl. Was thinking more spandex or a binder." Jaemin seethed, hands on hips, azure jersey hanging off his lithe frame.

"You're insufferable. Why are you here?" You groaned, choosing to ignore his taunt at your breast size. His eyes crinkled into upside down crescents, wandering lower to the dip of your frilly black bra.

"To see my favourite girl, of course." He whistled, eyes still glued to your unmarked expanse of skin. "I think those need a new owner." He pointed towards your chest.

"Preferably one whose face I can stand to look at."

"I'm roaring with laughter." You snarked, voice dripping with sarcasm, making no attempt to cover yourself up. Jaemin was still staring, face flushed a flaming cerise. "You gonna keep staring or are you gonna leave me alone?"

"I'm not staring. Why are you staring at me?" He shot defensively. Your eyes narrowed at him, watching his cheeks darken with every lingering stare.

"You're in the girl's changing room, drooling over two lumps of fat on the body of a girl that you hate. The real inquisition here is your lack of sensibility to stop thirsting after anything with a vagina."

Jaemin stayed silent, eyes boring holes into your full lips, tongue instinctively darting out to wet his own nimble, chapped ones. Rolling your eyes, you lead him to the door, hand clasped against the door handle.

Then, you heard loud footsteps approaching the room, incoherent rambling increasing in clarity. You began to conjure up a plan, wondering how on Earth you'd be able to kick Jaemin out without the girls knowing.

With the shouts of the team gradually getting closer, you panicked, chucking Jaemin into a locker.

"Fine, I'll leave! Lemme out!" He squirmed, trying to come out of the metal confines.

"You can't leave now, they're literally outside. Do you want to be stomped to death by Nike Mercurials?" You hissed, closing the door over, much to his protests.

"Don't wanna die with the last image being your breasts."

"If you survive this, I'll gladly provide you a new image."

He shut up at that, and you straightened, reaching for your jersey in a false calmness. The girls burst in, squeals of various greetings being thrown across the room.

You smiled gently at them, encouraging them to get changed, joining in to laugh at their jokes. The topic kept shifting from manicures to new boots before finally settling on Na Jaemin.

"Cap'n, what's going on with you and Jaemin?" One of the girls asked, batting her eyelashes softly. "A boy on the football team told me that you guys are dating."

Dating..that devil? A sin punishable by death! You repelled all instinct to shudder in disgust, instead choosing to maintain a neutral expression.

"I am absolutely not dating Na Jaemin. He's a despicable little mongrel and I'd rather eat my shoe—"

"Mon bébé chérie, why do you curse me like this?" Jaemin squeezed from the locker, voice like a wounded puppy.

"Did you hear that? I think it was—"

"No! It's my Jaemin impression. Isn't it so good?" You spluttered, voice rising in volume. You were sure that your face was a painful beetroot, breathing crazily as you over-exerted yourself.

"Cap'n, it was so good I almost thought Jaemin was in here with us!" She gushed, hands clasped. "You guys would be so cute together. Even if you don't like him, I think he most definitely has feelings for you."

The rest of the girls joined in at this, shouts of 'you should take a chance!' resounding in the hollow room. You'd already ruled out that as a possibility, chalking it down to his uncontrollable thirst for being a pest. Na Jaemin was your rival, the utter bane of your existence, a rodent that fed on robbing your spirits dry of any positivity.

"He'll get a chance when pigs fly." You muttered, noticing their eyes staring at you inquisitively, as if they knew something you didn't. Awkwardly, you smiled at the girls, ushering them towards the door, scanning the hallway after the last one had skipped out.

Jaemin untangled himself from the locker, straightening his limbs, pulling at his calves in a stretch. You peered over your shoulder, frown deepening at him.

"Did you mean what you said?" Jaemin breathed, walking into your personal bubble. He was way too close. His breath tickled your forehead, eyes dark with something you couldn't decipher.

He felt his heart pound against his chest, resisting the urge to pick the stray hair in your eye to the side. You were looking at him with a confused expression, nose scrunched, eyebrows furrowed. You were going to be the death of him. Devastated, he broke eye contact, feeling all forms of fight seep from his bones.

"You don't like me." You whispered, wincing at the wobble in your voice. "Everyone's just saying that....right?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"No. I want you to say no."

"I can't do that."

"Well, you have to say no. I don't want to hear the rest of your sentence — keep us as just this." You softly yelled, pointing between the pair of you. "Don't change anything."

"Okay. I'll leave, but only because you want me to. But, before I go..you've gotta start being more observant." He sighed, ruffling your hair before making his way out.

"I’m plenty observant. Wouldn’t be a good player if I wasn’t.”

"I’ll see it when I believe it. Oh, and the thing you said about pigs flying..”

“What about it?”

“Renjun’s working on it.”

You laughed heartily, locking the door behind you. So, Jaemin did in fact think of you as his Aphrodite — all those nicknames were genuinely created out of affections. 'Mon bébé chérie' held a lot more emotional weight than it did twenty minutes ago, and you had to breathe before your eyes prickled with saltine tears.

Fresh air hit you like a loaded delivery truck, Mother Nature delicately wiping the tears from your eyes, shaking you with a cold flourish, roaring your cheeks to life. The team had already started their warm-up drills, as opposed to the boys' football team who were cooling down from their jog.

You ran over, tightening your ponytail, shifting into 'Captain' mode. The coach pushed you into the circle, encouraging you to take the reins. "Team, we've been doing nothing but straight work. Let's make this session count before the match tomorrow." You shouted, feeling that familiar rush of adrenaline.

The team chanted back, settling into their positions for the first drill — a penalty shoot out. You stepped to the ball, striding back to gain a better angle, socks hugging your knees.

Giving yourself a five second countdown, you charged at the ball, foot pointed, kicking it with a passion that rivalled Lionel Messi. It rolled in the back of the net, flying past Hyejoo, who could barely even process it.

"Still got those fire feet, I see, Cap'n!"

"Lady Luck gave them to me for a reason." You boasted, smugness slapped all over your face.

From the corner of your eye, Jaemin snickered, winking at you when you turned to make eye contact. At least he had the audacity to keep up appearances in front of everyone, even if you had probably made everything awkward.

"My granny could kick better than that, babes!" He boomed from across the pitch, teasing smirk on his lips.

"Your granny lives in a retirement home and still calls on you 'Nana Banana'..it's not very nice to lie." You retorted, eyes narrowed, nearing his hunched form.

"Doesn't mean she can't kick your ass. Granny was a little Aguero back in the day."

"She can't if I'm the Manè, can she?"

"But I'm a Modric. I'll beat your ass, any day, any time." He grinned, leaning in to you. "In any way you want."

You heard blood pumping in your ears, your cheeks filling with immense heat. He grabbed your cheeks softly, grinning even wider when you flushed even warmer, a human sauna. Pushing a lock out of your eyes, he searched your eyes for any sense of rage, face softening at your lack of that emotion.

"Any..way..I want?" You mouthed silently, innuendo catching your attention again as you mulled over the words. "Na Jaemin, you're a dirty boy."

"I think you're the dirty girl." He hummed, saying the next sentence in an octave that made your head spin, quietly enough that only the two of you could hear. "Sauntering around in your little Victoria's Secret bra, cozying up to me without even batting an eyelash or covering up."

"These boobs are mine. I'm allowed to show them to anyone I want."

"So you admit to showing them to me? You admit that you were trying to put on a show for me?" He pressed, purposely craning his neck over you.

"I was trying to change. If you didn't come into the room like a little pervert, you'd never have gotten a visual of these."

"And yet I know how they look now. There's nothing that can erase that image."

"Fuck you, Na Jaemin."

"I think you meant to say fuck me, but I'll allow the slip-up just because I'm so nice." You squirmed under his predatory gaze, heat in your cheeks akin to a fever. "Better get back to training, Cap. Your team's got a match tomorrow."

You hissed at him weakly, choosing to walk away from his provocation, going back to the team, who were all smiling at you with a glint in their eye. By the looks on their faces, they'd definitely taken that exchange as a form of flirting.

Not that you were disputing it, of course.

The coach rounded the girls up, calling them to grab bibs. You relaxed, running over to take the last bib once you'd calmed down. Na Jaemin was a little toe-sucking, filthy mongrel who only knew how to charm his way out of everything — totally not your ideal type or anything.

His penance for being blunt coupled with that honeyed voice was what was throwing you off. Not your physical attraction to him. At least, you hoped so.

The shrill shriek of the whistle behind you shook you out of your mind, bringing your attention back to the practice game. With every shot at the goal, you could see Jaemin taunting you, making kissy faces.

After the first half, you weren't sure if it was real or if you were hallucinating — almost like a mirage, he was wearing that stupid little smirk and there was nothing more you wanted than to slap those lips clean off his face.

Soon enough, you clocked that it wasn't just an illusion, as he'd shifted to the opposite end of the pitch, the other boys from the football team watching from the stands.

They'd started jeering at every pass, exaggerating their reactions, commentary toeing the border of sexual harassment. You volleyed the ball on your foot, battering it into the stands, grinning widely as it hit one of the boys in the face, leaving his nose lopsided.

"If you're gonna be a sexist piece of shit, just fuck off. My team doesn't deserve to hear your brain-dead commentary, nor see your fuck face." You smiled, bite in your voice. "Kindly take the opinion that nobody asked for and shove it up your ass."

Jaemin's eyes twinkled with respect, breath caught in his throat at the dark look in your eyes. He felt his chest warm in adoration, heart doubling in size. "You heard the lady."

"Includes you too, Jaemin. Better get home before Granny Na starts missing her little boy."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Fuck off." You said playfully, recovering the ball. He waved you bye, lugging his bag over his shoulder, fixing the collar of his jersey. A beam touched your lips, face lighting up.

Jaemin smirked back at you, taking his leave. He dragged the remnants away with him, leaving the girl's football team alone in the cooling dwindle of Autumn light.

"Nice shorts." A tug.

"Oh? Na Jaemin complimenting me?" You mused in surprise, arms folded across your chest.

"You didn't let me finish." Jaemin whispered, standing on the sidelines of the pitch, pulling at the hem of your shorts. "Ooh, I can see your stubble. Better bring out the razor."

Your jaw tightened, feeling that rush of annoyance fill your veins again. The nerve.

"More stubble than you'll ever grow on that chin."

"At least I'm not a human Sasquatch."

"I've got hair in the right places—" You started, catching the innuendo, glaring at Jaemin's raised eyebrows. "—I know what I meant. Don't be such a dirty boy."

"Say it again. Love the way it rolls off your tongue."

You gaped at him, whole body blowing a fuse, skin reddening at his tone. Sweltering heat danced atop each fingertip, each muscle, making you jolt. His gaze was still glued to your face, relishing the quickly dilating pupils in your eyes.

"I—"

"—Would rather have you speechless after our first time, not for your championship final. When you win, I'll buy you fucking adorable ice cream with the little star sprinkles that you like."

"Going to ignore you on that first statement, but the second one sounds like a motive."

"Win the match, and I'll ask you out. Properly."

You saw his eyes flash with something passionate, flakes of gooey molasses swirling behind the irises. Before you opened your mouth to reply to him, he pleaded silently for you to just take it as it was. "Gimme a chance. Who knows you better than your enemy? Nobody."

"I mean..."

"Only you know that my grandma calls me those corny names or that I see her all the time."

"Or that you lose every game that's not football because you're too lazy to pay attention." You added.

"And I know that you broke a guy's jaw because he was bothering Yangyang." He continued. "And I also know that you know one thing I've never told anyone."

"Ooh, what's that?"

"That I like you."

You looked away from him sheepishly, goosebumps popping up on your skin, and whether it was from the cold or from his words, you didn't know. He was looking down at you tenderly, ruffling your bed of hair, pressing a small, wet kiss to your forehead as the whistle blew.

"Don't play with fire, Na."

"You're more like a carpet burn."

You sighed, defeated. "Fine. I'll give you an answer when we win. If you're playing me, I'll break your arms."

"Okay. Go get 'em, Lady Luck." He smiled, waving you off as you scurried onto the pitch, face glowing under the fluorescent lights. Jaemin felt his chest tighten with pride, jaw aching from all the strenuous smiling.

With that absurdly contented face, you reminded him of a cross between a kid at a carnival and a man about to kill another. Your hair gathered wildly atop your head, a wicked glare painting your face.

This was you at peace, he deduced. Even with the gruesome of expressions, you looked calm. The pitch was truly your home away from home.

Two minutes into the second half saw you being carried off on a stretcher with a torn hamstring. You'd fallen to the grass, no sounds coming from your limp body. Jaemin swore he felt his heart plunge into his ass, and with a frantic flourish, he was coddling your head into his chest.

"Luck, don't die on me. I'm supposed to take you out for ice cream after this, and I stole Renjun's Baskin Robbins loyalty card to cut costs so if we don't go, I'll be getting beat up without having kissed your stupid face." He babbled, slapping your cheeks, scared that you'd genuinely lost your life.

You groaned, rolling slowly in the elastic. "Stop touching my face, I'll get acne." Mildly concussed, you soothed your throbbing headache, registering Jaemin's face looming over you. "Jaemin?"

"Oh, thank God. Thought I'd never see that unruly sparkle in your eyes again."

"Fuck off. My hamstring feels like a fried chicken mukbang and you're talking about my eyes."

"I can't cry before our first date. You'll think I'm a wimp."

"Already think that."

He hit your arm lightly, beaming at your focus on his face, meeting your eyes. You were glaring at him with a kissable pout on your lips, eyebrows furrowed — he wanted to pepper your face in balmy kisses.

The paramedic pushed him away, leading you to the ambulance. You flipped him off, yelling loudly as they wheeled you in, "Make sure you win! Won't forgive you if you don't."

The girl's football team had gathered around the door, all tight-lipped smiles and crumpled faces. They visibly brightened at your declaration, huddling together to recalibrate — the ref blew her whistle to call them back, summoning them back into position.

Yangyang and Donghyuck left the stands, rushing into the ambulance alongside you, closing the door behind them. Jaemin could faintly hear your loud curses, and sighed in relief, knowing that you'd be fine.

With two goals up, the team were at optimum working speed, playing loyally for your honour. Jaemin stood at the sidelines, holding your jacket in his hands as he recorded the match on his phone, wanting to send it to you later.

At 90 minutes, the girl's team had become the winner of the Division One Seoul Inter-district championship, and Jaemin was content. Not because it meant you'd go on that date with him, but because he could feel how much it meant to them.

Everyone around him was cheering madly, chanting and spraying assorted drinks in each other's faces, an infectious joy lingering in his veins. Amongst all the commotion, he'd somehow been pushed into the middle of the team, feeling their gazes boring into his frame.

"You like Cap'n, right?" The brunette said, eyes bright.

"No. I don't like her. She's my rival." Jaemin lied pathetically, trying to escape their judgement.

"Why were you in the locker room then?"

"Damn. How do you know that?"

"Cap'n is horrible at lying, so she's always upfront. She also cannot do an impression so she never attempts it."

"Wow, you guys sure know your stuff. Bet she's glad to have a team like you. I know I'm feeling a little jealous."

"Cut the smooth talk. If you like Cap'n, just be straightforward. She's more innocent than she seems, and can get her heart broken easily."

"Got it." He nodded, "Well...ladies, I have to thank you for the advice."

"No problem, but if you break her heart.." They chorused, "We'll break that pretty little nose." Fifteen studded feet swung at his face, narrowly skimming the bridge of his nose.

He flinched, caught off guard, grin bared. "Now, I definitely got that message. I'll be going to check up on her, what do you want me to say?"

"We've already called her and shown her the trophy, so we have nothing left to say, you, however...take all the time you need."

"Since I have your blessing, am I allowed to—"

"Don't finish that sentence. Keep in your lane."

Jaemin promptly closed his mouth, and bid them a goodbye, dashing into his car towards the hospital, stopping at Baskin Robbins to buy the ice cream he promised. He hoped you’d at least be able to eat the sprinkles (the ones you liked were expensive, and if you didn’t eat them, he’d just wasted an extra 2,500 won.)

In the hospital, you were now dressed in a medical gown, surrounded by the two idiots. It smelt like an experiment lab, and the spotless shades of ivory splashed on the walls made you feel a tad bit overwhelmed.

Your leg had already undergone the MRSI scan, and the nurses had told you that you’d definitely tore your hamstring, but surgery would fix it right up along with natural healing.

Of course, all those details lacked in comparison to your team finally winning the trophy you’d worked so hard towards — that excitement numbed the pain considerably.

“We thought you’d somehow died.” Yangyang confessed, grasping your hands in his clammy ones.

“You did.” Donghyuck sneered, pointing at him, continuing when he saw your face change in confusion. “Yang was convinced that you were invincible like Superman or something. He started blubbering about how you could definitely defeat the grim reaper in close contact and that should be enough to steal back your soul or whatever—”

“I’m just never going to ask questions again.”

“Jaemin was on the verge of a breakdown when he saw you fall. Never have I ever seen him run so fast towards a girl.” Donghyuck said, hand on chin in mock thought.

You blushed, remembering your promise about the ice cream and falling back into the bed in distress.

“What’s going on with you? I saw you two all friendly at the sidelines.” Yangyang murmured, eyes squinting in judgement. “Don’t tell me...you guys fucked before the game?”

Suddenly it was too hot in the room. You fanned yourself to cool down, slapping your own cheeks before pulling Yangyang’s ears. “Yeah, because I have the guts to just have my first time in a school setting.” You deadpanned.

“Naughty girl.” Both boys swooned, unable to note your sarcasm.

“Just because my leg is gone doesn’t mean I can’t harm you anymore. I’ll break your kneecaps.”

In the midst of your fight with your best friends, you spotted Jaemin opening the door, wearing that greasy smirk that made butterflies tickle your throat.

“I see a broken leg isn’t enough to stop you, is it?” Jaemin drawled from the door, hands behind his back. “Still threatening people?”

“It’s not threatening if they deserve it.” You mumbled, suddenly shy. Jaemin maintained his distance from you, arm outstretched, ice cream tub in hand. He was looking away from you, faint blush tinting his cheeks, lips squeezed in a puffy ‘o’.

“Not that I remembered or anything, but you did say something about liking these sprinkles.” He said, eyes darting around to focus on anything but you.

“I do...like these sprinkles..how did you know?”

“Everyone calls you star, and you’re cute. It’s your personality in an edible sugar shape.”

You rolled your eyes at his words, forgetting both Donghyuck and Yangyang were seated in the room. It felt like the two of you were just stuck in your own world, glaring at each other like a pair of lovers.

Unfortunately, that moment was cut short by your ungracious best friends, cooing annoyingly. They were squealing like little girls, incomprehensible screams of ‘our girl’s grown up!’ scraping your eardrums.

“Leave me alone!” You whined, face scrunched in discomfort, making futile attempts to push them away. “Jaemin...please get these two off me.”

“Asking your boyfriend to get rid of us? Already?” Yangyang hollered, one of Jaemin’s arms stopping him from jumping on you again.

“He’s not my boyfriend. As of now, he’s the only sensible one who isn’t mauling the girl with a broken leg, and that’s why I’m asking him for help.”

“Should I throw them out?”

“Yes —actually, do whatever. Let them go terrorise someone that isn’t me.”

“Your wish is my command.”

On that, Jaemin escorted both boys outside, shutting the door on them, cutting off the beginning to their long-winded rant with a smile. That left the two of you alone.

Oddly enough, the silence wasn’t stifling but rather a conversation of the mind — you were able to see what he wanted to say by looking into those mocha coloured eyes. You threw the ice cream tub in the bin, reaching for Jaemin’s hands shyly.

He’d sat down beside you on the bed, just staring at you like you were an abstract painting, a mosaic of a splendid array, unable to take his eyes off you. He took your hand warmly, running his fingers over your calloused knuckles, sharing his heat with you.

“Jaemin.” You yawned, head falling onto his shoulder. “I’m saying yes to your date. If I didn’t get injured, you could’ve taken me out today, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say sorry. Being with you is enough for me, even if I do want to comment on your horrible tackles during the match.” Jaemin teased, grabbing your hand a little tighter.

“Haha...I’m dying of laughter.”

“Hey! None of that here.”

“Sorry. I’m just happy. My team won our first championship, which we’ve been trying to do for three years, and I feel on top of the world. All those years of boys being absolute dickheads to us about our abilities, trying to put us down have amounted to this moment. I’m at peace right now.”

“Don’t apologise. I should be sorry instead. It was easier to talk to you if I pretended I hated you. I shouldn’t have been like that.”

“I accept your apology. But..I think it was cute you couldn’t tell me you liked me! That’s so endearing.”

“Fuck off.”

“That’s my line! Well, you were always attractive to me, even when you were being a dickhead. Now that I think about it, you’re at your hottest when you’re being mean.”

“Is that so?” Jaemin mused, rolling onto his hands, dangling over you, lips eerily close to your own. “Do you want me to treat you mean, keep you keen?”

“Firstly, don’t ever say that again.” You stopped him, hand placed on his chest to push him away lightly. “Secondly, I’ve never had a boyfriend or my first kiss. That means no experience.” You slurred that last part, rushing the words so he wouldn’t be able to hear.

“Cap’n, you’re telling me that I’ll be your first?”

“Not if you don’t ask me out.”

Jaemin sat back beside you, looking up to the ceiling. This was the moment. He took a deep breath, standing up before you, hands rubbing his stomach softly to calm down.

“I wanted to do a real dramatic confession, but I rushed over here in fear that you wouldn’t be able to hit me again, so I’ll have to stick with my speech.” He cheesed, trying to ease himself of his nerves. You laughed, hissing in mock anger when he wore that stupid grin. “I like you. Like a lot. Sometimes, I come to school with a dirty scowl on my face, but then I see your face and start smiling like a love struck fool. You’re someone that I wouldn’t want to lose.”

“Jaemin, you little mongrel. Come here.” You waved him over, arms outstretched in a hug. “Even though I know your ego won’t let you ask me out properly, I would love to be your girlfriend. However, if my heart is broken..I’ll be stoning your car.”

“Thought you were gonna say that you’d break my face.”

“That too.”

He snuggled closer into you, peering up at you with shining eyes, not wanting to move too much to keep you comfortable. You grinned back at him, placing a soft kiss on his head, running a hand through his hair.

That familiar silence returned, and that’s how you fell asleep with Na Jaemin enveloped in your chest. Although you’d broken a leg, Lady Luck seemed to have twiddled her fingers to send you a ‘get well soon’ present, the ever cunning Na Jaemin.

Five months later had you no longer hobbling around on crutches like a hobbit, but walking proud and tall. Jaemin drove you to school (using the excuse of carpooling) and helped you take your books to first period everyday — the alpha male in him winced seeing you attempt any ‘heavy lifting’, and he’d made it a routine.

“Can you fuck off? I can carry this.” You complained, pinching his side. “Just because I see a physio biweekly doesn’t mean I’m about as able-bodied as a monkey.”

“Got the hair to be a monkey.” He snorted.

“Look who’s talking, Mr.Sasquatch. Bigger feet than his prints, you little scoundrel.”

“Big feet means big—”

“Don’t finish that if you wanna keep the body part in question.”

“—heart. Dirty girl.”

You felt the honey pooling in your stomach, kissing his cheek in haste to escape his relentless teasing. He shut up at that, pulling you back to kiss you properly, attracting the attention of everyone in the hallway.

“Get to class.” He announced as he parted from you, enjoying your petulant face. You hit him softly, flipping him off from behind you, blowing him a kiss.

Ah, Na Jaemin. You still hated him. Just a little less this time.

[roman-writing]

bring home a haunting (1/12)

Fandom: The Haunting of Bly Manor

Pairing: Dani Clayton/Jamie Taylor

Rating: M

Wordcount: 11,511

Summary: Dani almost has her life together, when a familiar face arrives back in town after ten years. A childhood friends AU written with @youngbloodbuzz

read it below or read it on AO3 here

“The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back.” - CS Lewis, Till We Have Faces

—

I: 1987

—

The sound of water sloshing through the pipes was a constant drone in the air. Dani stared at herself in the mirror. Her hand rested on the tap, holding it open. Steam crept in along the edges of the mirror as hot water continued to stream into the white porcelain bathroom sink, pale tendrils framing her face like smudged fingerprints against the glass. She was still dressed in pajamas, her hair a rumpled mess. There were dark shadows beneath her eyes. Her face felt puffy and her stomach heavy, but above all else she just appeared tired.

There was movement behind her. The bathroom door opened and her head jerked up in surprise as the door frame squared around Eddie's tall silhouette. In the misted mirror, his glasses seemed to reflect all light, obscuring half his face in a gleam like the sun glancing across the surface of a windscreen.

His reflection smiled. "You still getting ready?" he asked. "We need to go in ten, if I'm giving you a ride to work."

Abruptly, Dani twisted the tap, cutting off the flow of water. She cleared her throat. "Sorry. No. I'll — I'll drive myself."

"You sure? I don't know if your poor little car will make it."

"No. It'll be fine," she assured him, trying to sound far more confident than she felt. Never mind that the local mechanic had given her a list of incomprehensible ills that plagued her car the last time she had taken it into the shop after it had broken down again. "Thanks, though."

"All right," he said, but still he did not turn to leave. "You know, I was thinking. We should probably sell it."

"Hmm?"

Dani had opened the mirror door to reveal a jumble of bottles and toothpaste and toothbrushes, only some of which were hers. She scouted around for what she was looking for. Even after a few weeks, everything still felt so displaced. She struggled to find the smallest item these days, be it her favorite sauce pan or a bottle of — oh, there it was.

"Your car," Eddie was saying behind her. "Don't you think we should sell it? We don't really need two. Not now that we're living together."

Dani froze with her hands cupped in the water of the sink. She could see her own reflection weaving and waving from the disturbance until her face looked disjointed. Like some sort of Picasso. An eye here. A jaw there. Scattered into separate chambers.

Without answering, she leaned down and splashed her face, rubbing at her cheeks until a foam lathered, eyes squeezed shut.

"Well?" Eddie asked.

She bought herself a moment by rinsing the suds from her face and reaching blindly for a towel that she had perched on a nearby rail for just that very purpose. When she spoke, her voice was muffled through the cloth, "I don't know. I just think —" She lowered the towel and wiped at her neck. "Wouldn't it be inconvenient? You having to drive me around everywhere?"

In the mirror, his outline shrugged. "I don't mind. More time spent with you, right?"

She offered him a weak smile, drying her hands and folding the towel neatly back on its rack. “You’re sweet,” she said. “But really. I mean — What if I need to pick up groceries on the way back from the school? Or what if I want to visit your mother? Or —?”

“All right. All right. You win,” he laughed, softly. He came up behind her, hands settling on her waist, gentle but heavy all the same. “Just think about it. Okay?”

The steam at the edges of the mirror had begun to fade, and Eddie’s features came into sharp relief. Looking at their reflection was like looking at the picture in their living room where they were posed for prom. Eddie’s hands clasped at her waist, and Dani still with that deer in the headlights smile. It was almost perfect. It was almost enough. Being a fresh-faced fiancée. Wearing rumpled pink pajamas. Living together. Watching a life unfold before her as though it belonged to someone else.

She shrank away from him in order to turn around. “I should finish getting ready,” she said. 

He let her go but leaned down for a kiss. Instead, his glasses bumped the side of her face. Laughing, she pushed the glasses up his nose as he retreated with a wince. 

“Sorry,” he said. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Her hand was still lingering on the side of his face — scratch of stubble beneath her fingertips — and Eddie pressed a brief kiss to her palm before striding from the bathroom. Dani stood there, clutching her hand back to her chest, listening to his retreating footsteps down the hall. Something curdled in her stomach, though she hadn’t eaten anything yet this morning. She passed it off as hunger instead of guilt. 

Eyes squeezing shut, hand clenching into a fist at her sternum, Dani inhaled a deep steadying breath. Then, opening her eyes once more, she turned back towards the mirror and reached for a hairbrush. 

—

The coffee in the teacher’s lounge was always dark as sin and tasted of battery acid. Dani pulled on the tap, filling up her styrofoam cup until her hand burned and she had to hold it gingerly from the top with her fingertips. Enough creamer followed so that the coffee resembled milk more than the original brew. She tested it with a sip, crinkled her nose, and added sugar until it was barely palatable. It would still strip paint in a pinch, but it would also keep her going throughout the day. 

With a resigned sigh, she carried the coffee over to the round table in the back corner of the lounge, where her piles of notes and textbooks waited. The binders sported multi-colored tongues, every section marked with a tab and her broad loopy handwriting, and there was a satchel of pens and markers in every hue under the sky. Taking a sip of her cup of paint thinner, Dani pulled out a plain black pen. She trailed her thumb down the tabs until she reached the desired section, and flipped open to the correct page. There, she began to record her meticulous notes. She would pause every so often to flip through a textbook and double-check some figure or another that she had convinced herself she had forgotten.

The lounge was mostly empty but for her. It was still an early hour, even for her colleagues. Here, she felt like she could actually work. Back home she would inevitably feel like she had gotten in the way. Not of Eddie. Not usually. Though sometimes he would wander over to the table while she was trying to arrange a lesson plan and distract her with talk of banalities that always made her hand slip, that always made her lose her place on the page. Other times he would complain about how her work sprawled and took over the whole dining room.

Mostly it was the house itself. Still so fresh and new and clean, walls pressing in like a stomach lining. Spreading all her work notes out felt like she was intruding upon the space of the napkins and cutlery. As though all of the items people had bought them for their engagement were more at home there than she was. A house of cardboard boxes. Of clothes. Of china. Stuff. Things. Their things. 

Dani’s writing had slowed. She shook her head briskly and straightened in her seat. Another sip of fortifying turpentine, and she was scribbling away again. 

“Enjoy the summer holiday?”

Dani glanced up at the sound of that familiar voice. Hannah Grose, seamlessly elegant in a wine-dark skirt suit, stood with her hand on the back of one of the chairs around the little table. 

A smile broke across Dani’s face, and she said, “Yeah! And you?” She gestured towards the chair with her pen, adding, “Please.”

“Not much to report on the western front.” Hannah sat, delicately leaning her elbow upon the table so as not to disturb the sprawl of Dani’s notes. “But I hear that’s not the case in your camp. Congratulations are in order.” 

Dani could feel her cheeks strain with the effort of keeping her smile in place. “Thanks!”

“Well?” Hannah asked, her eyes agleam with warm curiosity. “Go on then. How did he propose?” 

“Which time?” Dani joked half-heartedly. When Hannah gave a little huff of laughter, Dani said, “No, seriously. He’s been asking me to marry him since we were kids.” 

“Well, congratulations,” Hannah said. “Do you have a date planned? Or is that still in the works?”

Dani fiddled with the pen between her fingers, repeatedly removing the cap and sticking it back on with a nervous jab. The plastic clacked dully against the unfamiliar band of gold around her finger. “Oh, no. Not yet. We — uh — we’re going to wait a bit. Eddie just started his new job, and I’ve — well. You’re the one who asked me to teach sixth grade this year. And I’m excited, but also I feel so unprepared for a whole classroom of twelve year olds.” 

“Don’t be nervous, dear,” Hannah said, and though her tone was soothing her small smile was teasing. “They can smell fear.”

Dani’s laugh was slightly too breathy and too short to be heartfelt. “Oh, I know. It’s just —” She made a flighty gesture with one hand, “— getting a new batch in. It’s always a little nerve wracking. There are so many names to memorize in the first week. And sorting out the dynamics of them all, how they interact, and — well, you know.”

“No, I don’t. Not really, anyway,” Hannah said. “I came up the ranks through an administrative route. Never had any classroom time to speak of.”

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Dani said.

Hannah gave Dani’s notes a nudge with her elbow. “What was it you were just telling me about the trials and tribulations of homeroom?”

This time when Dani laughed, it was far more relaxed. “The kids are the best part. Really. That’s why you do it.”

Hannah gave her a knowing look. “Yes. And that’s why I hired you.”

“Have I thanked you for that, yet?”

“Only once a year for three years.”

“My next gift basket is in the mail tomorrow, then,” Dani joked.

“Hang the basket and bring me a slice from the cafe instead.”

“With coffee?” Dani asked, grinning when Hannah wrinkled her nose at the idea. “You got it, boss.”

“Tea,” said Hannah primly, “is perfectly serviceable. Thank you. It’s eight thirty, by the way.”

Dani’s eyes widened and she checked her watch to find that Hannah was, in fact, correct. “Oh, shoot!” Hastily, she scraped together the loose papers, shuffling them back into their notebook. Tucking it beneath one arm, she snatched up her styrofoam cup and made a dash for the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Grose.” 

“Don’t forget to bring back a receipt for the slice!” Hannah called after her. “You must let me pay you back this time!”

“Put it on my next remuneration review!”

—

The kids were all filing into class, and Dani was hesitating at the blackboard. She held the tip of a piece of chalk against the dark grain. Her hand had frozen on the final downward stroke of the 'M' when she thought — should it still be 'Miss'? 'Ms.'? What were the rules?

The sounds of children jabbering away behind her, chairs scraping, things being thrown, urged her into action, and Dani wrote the name she had always written before turning around.

"All right, let's settle down, please." She waited until twenty-five faces were turned towards her in relative silence — as good as she could hope for given the circumstances — before smiling. Then, she set aside the chalk and picked up a clipboard full of names. "Hi, everyone. I'm Miss Clayton. Welcome to homeroom. Let's go through names. Make sure everyone's here."

It was the same, she told herself even as she meticulously took roll. How different could a bunch of twelve year olds be to her usual ten year olds? She even recognized one or two names from when she had taught a previous class. One of her former students waved at her from the back of a row of desks, and Dani smiled in return.

She skimmed right over the roll call and into the first introductions to the year. It happened so fast, that she hardly even registered a familiar looking name on the list. The boy in question merely raised his hand upon his name being called out, and Dani forged on to the next. With so many new faces to memorize, she did not even pause to mull over the presence of a Michael Taylor in her class. There were too many of them. Always too many. She never could keep track. Always remembering faces, but never names. Maybe if there were fewer of them, she thought. Maybe if they were younger. 

They never were.

—

Even after two weeks back in the classroom, the bell ringing never failed to make Dani jump slightly. She nearly dropped her chalk from where she was drawing on the blackboard. Already behind her she could hear the scrape of chairs and the excited babble at the arrival of the weekend. 

Setting down the chalk, Dani turned around and began wiping her hands against her skirt. She had to lift her voice to be heard. “All right everyone, don’t forget your permission slips for a trip to the community library! If you don’t bring back a signed form, you won’t be able to go, and you’ll have to stay here! And, Michael? Can you stay behind for a minute, please? I want to talk to you.”

Michael’s head whipped around at the sound of his name. A few other students shot him odd glances and his shoulders crept up around his ears. He shoved his books and notes into his bag — a dark blue canvas with silver stars that looked like they’d been painstakingly drawn on — then slouched at his desk until the others had all left. 

Sitting behind her own desk, Dani brushed at the chalk handprints on her skirt — she was always a mess by the end of a school week; chalk everywhere — and gestured for Michael to come closer. He hesitated before pushing himself upright and walking forward until he stood in front of her desk. His brow was furrowed but his head was bowed, looking contrite, as though waiting for some sort of reprimand.  

Dani gentled her voice. “Michael, I just wanted to -"

"Mikey."

She blinked, faltering. "I'm sorry?"

"My name," he said very firmly for someone who stood with such a stoop. "It’s Mikey. I don’t like Michael."

With a smile, Dani said, "Of course. Mikey. You’re not in trouble. I promise.” With a light tap of her palms against the surface of the desk, she pulled out a piece of paper from atop one of the stacks and slid it towards him across her desk. “This is your homework from Monday. Do you remember this problem here? Number eleven?”

Shrugging at the weight of his backpack, he nodded. 

“Well, I kind of messed up,” she said, lowering her voice and leaning forward as though revealing a secret. “And I copied this problem from the wrong section of the book. The back section of the book, I mean. Most of the others didn’t even try to answer it, and those that did got it wrong. Except —” Dani tapped a finger against the edge of the page, “— for you.” 

Mikey did not say anything. His gaze remained dropped, as though he were studying his shoes.

“Do you know what this ‘x’ is?” Dani asked, pointing to the math problem in question.

Mikey shook his head. “No. I thought it was like a question mark?” 

“Yeah.” Dani smiled. “Yeah, that’s right.”

He glanced up at her, saw her watching him, and then hastily lowered his eyes again, shuffling his feet. 

Leaning her weight on her forearms, Dani said, “I know you’re a transfer student this year, and you came from somewhere out of state. Did your other schools teach you algebra by any chance?”

Again, he shook his head. 

“Okay.” She ducked her head down in an attempt to look into his eyes. “I told you: you’re not in trouble. I just wanted to know — do you like math? Because it seems to me you’re really good at it.”

“I guess,” he mumbled. His hand tightened around the strap of his backpack. “Can I go now?”

Dani toyed with the edge of the page of homework. Then with a sigh she leaned back in her seat. “Yeah, you can go. Have a good weekend.” 

He murmured some pleasantry in response, but in the next moment he was gone from the room so fast she thought she must have imagined it. For a moment, Dani frowned after him. She pulled his homework towards herself, studying the page. Mikey’s handwriting was cramped and messy, but there was no mistaking the fact that he had written every answer only once. There were no eraser marks to be seen. He even showed the steps he took to reach his answers. 

Her thumb traced over his name at the top right hand corner. Then, with a little shake of her head, she set the page back atop the stack of other papers and began to clean up. 

Even after the kids had mostly left, there were always a few stragglers left behind. Some trotted through the halls in packs on their way to whatever extracurricular activities their parents had signed them up for. Dani kept the door to her classroom open, and the squeak of their shoes echoed down the corridor along with the sound of their fading voices. Tilting her wrist to check the time, she pulled out the latest round of homework assignments that had been handed back to her earlier that day. The set she hadn’t had a chance to mark yet. 

Best to just get it done with now. Her car was clinging to the last vestiges of life and had landed itself back in the workshop earlier that week. She would be here a while until Eddie got off work. 

She grabbed a red pen and pulled the first page towards her. The pen flicked officiously as she scanned through the questions, barely pausing until she circled the final grade at the top and set the page aside in favor of the next. And so on. And so forth. It was almost relaxing. As relaxing as a known constant could be. She could always rely upon the dependability of homework that needed grading. Just like she could rely upon the dependability of death and taxes.

She glanced up only rarely from her work whenever a flurry of movement flitted across the corners of her vision. A bird darting from a tree branch here. A janitor sweeping the floors there. Dani paused to push her seat back from the desk and make small talk, asking after the janitor's wife and kids until he shuffled along with a wave, pushing his long-handled broom, which looked more like a breed of shaggy dog than a cleaning implement. She had almost finished grading the stack of papers, when she glanced out the window towards the street. She looked back down at the papers, then did a double take.

That was a student sitting on the curb. She recognized that blue backpack with silver stars. Dani checked the time again. Nearly four in the afternoon now. With a hum and a frown, she returned to grading, but her gaze would wander after each finished page back towards the window.

Finally, she capped the pen and set it down atop the finished stack of papers. She would need to enter those grades into the system later, but that could wait. For now, Dani swept everything into her bag before slinging it over one shoulder. Her keys jangled from their lanyard as she locked up and made her way outside.

Mikey was still crouched on the sidewalk when she approached. Her shoes clacked dully against the pavement, and he turned to look over his shoulder at who was approaching him.

Dani smiled brightly. "Hi!" she said. "You’re still here?"

Mikey nodded, but gave no verbal reply. Some sort of magazine was hanging loosely from his fingers, half open and tucked between his legs as though he had been caught red-handed.

Setting her bag down on the ground, she sat beside him and craned her neck to get a look at the cover he was clearly trying to hide. "Wonder Woman, huh?"

His cheeks flushed in embarrassment, and he refused to look anywhere near her direction.

"You know," Dani said. "I used to wait up at night to catch all the episodes of the show as they were airing. The Lynda Carter ones? You ever watch it?"

His eyes were wide when he finally turned to look at her. He nodded. "Yeah. I love that show."

"I recorded them all," Dani confided in a whisper, as though the two of them were in on a secret. "Still have them on tape at home, though I haven't watched them in forever."

"My sister gets annoyed when I rewatch stuff too often," Mikey said. He had straightened his legs, and now the comic book was sprawled across his bony knees to reveal a few inked pages.

She nodded towards the thin paper booklet. "I never read the comics, though. Are they any fun?"

It was like opening flood gates. Suddenly, she found herself being regaled about the entire publication history of Wonder Woman, while Mikey gestured wildly with the comic so that the loose pages rustled with every motion of his hands. His face came alight when he spoke. Dani listened with amusement. She perched an elbow on her knees and propped her chin on her hand, nodding along, asking appropriate questions. Once she asked what was obviously a dumb question, for he made a face and explained her error in great detail.

The early autumnal sun was slanting through the trees by the time a boxy silver sedan rolled up to the other side of the street. Dani could see a familiar mop of dark hair and the gleam of glasses through the windows. The car puttered to a halt, engine idling, and Eddie pressed down on the steering wheel so that the horn blared briefly. 

Dani waved in his direction and said to Mikey, “That’s my ride. Are you going to be okay out here?” She glanced down the street for any approaching cars. “Someone’s coming to pick you up, right?”

In answer, he held up the issue of Wonder Woman. “It’s okay, Miss Clayton. My sister will be here soon.”

“Okay, then,” said Dani. Slapping her hands on her thighs, she pushed herself to her feet, bag hanging from one shoulder. She walked towards the car with a smile and a wave back at Mikey. “I’ll see you next week!”

He did not answer. He was already nose-deep in his comic book again. Shaking her head with a small chuckle, Dani continued towards where Eddie was waiting for her, tapping at the dashboard. It wasn’t until her hand was on the chromed door handle that she finally registered what Mikey had said. 

A sister. He had a sister. At first she’d thought — well, a sister who got annoyed with a brother who hogged the television set would surely be a younger sister. But a sister who drove to pick him up from school was definitely not a younger sister. 

“Danielle, are you all right? You look a little pale.”

The sound of Eddie’s voice made her jerk half out of her skin. She hadn’t even realized he had rolled down the window. 

“Yeah,” she said, her voice catching in her throat. “Yeah. Can you just - Can you wait a second? I’ll be —I’ll be just a second.” 

Dani shoved her bag through the open window into her seat, then whirled around and marched back across the street. Her hands were clenched into fists at her side. She could feel the bite of her short nails into her palms. Something acidic boiled in her stomach, twisting it into knots, until she stood over Mikey, struggling to find her voice. 

“You said you had a sister?” she asked. “An older sister? And — And your last name is Taylor?” 

Looking puzzled, Mikey shrugged. “Yeah?” 

This was impossible. There was no way. For a long moment, Dani stared at him, his brown hair, his brown eyes, his narrow shoulders, the almost familiar shape of his nose and face. 

Dani cleared her throat and tried to sound nonchalant. “And what — uh — what’s her name?” 

With a quizzical frown up at her, Mikey turned a page of his comic book to where Wonder Woman was punching stars from one of her foes. “My sister?” he asked, as if it were the most bizarre question in the world. “Jamie. Her name’s Jamie.” 

“Right,” Dani breathed, feeling like she’d just received a blow to the space beneath her ribcage. “Right. Of course. Sorry. I’ll just — Bye.” 

Without another word, she turned on her heel and strode back towards the waiting car. She willed her breathing to even out, even as she felt something coil around her sternum and tighten with every step. Yanking open the door, Dani slipped into the car. She pushed her bag down to her feet and pulled the door shut behind her. 

“Everything good?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah,” Dani lied, her voice sounding oddly high even to her own ears. It was difficult to swallow; her throat felt too tight. A rush of blood flooded through her ears in a deafening crash. She stared fixedly at the reflection of her own clenched hands in the slanted windshield, willing them to relax even as her knuckles went whiter. “Fine. Everything’s fine.” 

And Eddie didn’t question it at all. He merely shrugged, put the car into gear, and drove away.

—

It stayed with her afterwards. Like a bruise upon her skin, blue and purple, tender to the touch. That cloying sense of the air too thick. Molasses on a hot summer day, the dark shadow that clung to her heels in sunlight, haunting her every step. She couldn’t breathe with it, couldn’t escape it.

Jamie. Jamie, here. Jamie, home.

Somehow Eddie didn’t notice. It completely passed him by, the way her eyes darted around as they stopped to pick up groceries, her clenched fists held tightly to her sides, consumed with the uneasy notion that she might turn around the corner and Jamie would appear, as if summoned by the gravity of Dani’s pounding heart. 

It should’ve been easy — like most things eventually — locking it away. Erasing it. She had managed now for years, days, months. Except now the very thought of Jamie being so near again, so tangible again, made her somehow indelible. As if she’d always been there. Waiting. As if she’d never gone. It felt altogether at once like being peeled and stripped away, down to an exposed nerve. 

Dani wished she could say she slept easy that night. Instead, after spending much of the witching hour staring at the ceiling, she finally succumbed to the sound of Eddie’s soft snores, his arm splayed across her waist, only to wake up feeling as if she'd been cracked open and hollowed out. Somehow, in between the moments of stumbling out of bed and driving up to the blue bungalow across town with Eddie in the small rental truck behind her, Dani managed to go through the motions of call and response. Her limbs moving, her mouth speaking all of their own accord, and she could only watch it happening. She pulled on the turn signal. The click of the light like an errant drip of a tap. It was only when she was cutting the engine to stare up at the house that was once hers, that something tightened in her chest, shunting her back to earth. 

Carson met them by the front steps where he sat in his studded leather jacket that he wore regardless of the weather, two takeout cups in hand. 

“Took you long enough,” he grumbled, standing and offering one of the cups to Eddie who reached him first. “Thought I was gonna have to drink these myself before they got cold.”

Eddie huffed a laugh, taking the cup. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want that,” he drawled before helping himself inside the house without a backwards glance, taking a long sip from his cup.

Carson stared after him for a moment before turning to Dani with a smirk, and said, “Someone’s in a mood.”

Managing a chuckle, Dani folded her arms around herself. “Yeah, he uh, he’s just eager to get it done, you know? Realtor wants the place empty by three today.”

“Well, in that case,” he said, holding out the last cup, his smirk softening to something kinder. 

“Oh, thank you,” she said, taking it. The brush of his fingers against hers was warm and welcome. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Sure, I did,” he responded with a shrug, and nudged her to take a drink, “Go on.”

At the first sip of what Dani had thought was coffee was instead a sweet and rich hot chocolate. Her eyes went wide. 

Carson laughed at the expression on her face. “Thought you could use a little something sweet today.”

She smiled at him over the plastic top and took another longer sip. “Thank you,” she said, “For coming. You didn’t need to, but —”

“— You needed some extra muscle, which I’ve plenty of.” His grin seemed rueful. There lingered in Carson more of the boyish youth that Dani had seen in Eddie so many years ago. He wasn’t as gangly or as broad-shouldered as his older brothers, but he was always, without fail, a comforting presence in an otherwise rowdy O’Mara household. 

“And yet none of your other brothers showed up, I see,” Dani said. 

“Yeah, well,” Carson shrugged against his leather jacket, hands stuck into the pockets. “Guess, I’m just the only responsible one.” 

“I knew there was a reason why I liked you best.” 

He winked and lowered his voice. “Don’t let Eddie hear you say that.”

With a snort, Dani reached out and ruffled his perfectly coiffed hair so that it more resembled Eddie’s unruly curls. He ducked his head and swatted her away with a whine of complaint. She laughed when he stepped away to carefully fix his hair in the reflection of her car window. 

“You leave your pomade at home again?” Dani teased. “Thought you never left without it.”

She could just make out his face in the reflection, nose scrunching up as he raked his fingers through his dark hair until it was suitably tamed. The door of the house one over opened, and a young man strode out, wearing a bathrobe and clutching a mug of coffee. Immediately Carson straightened, as though he’d been tapped with the wrong end of a cattle prod.

Dani waved. “Hi, Jason!” 

Her neighbor lifted a desultory hand while he fumbled with his letterbox. “Last day?” he asked, voice raspy with sleep.

“Taking the last of it now,” she said. 

Jason shut the letterbox and scooped up the newspaper that had been tossed onto his lawn earlier that morning. “Let me know if you need an extra hand.” 

“I should be all right. That’s what Carson’s for.” She gestured with her hot chocolate towards Carson, who had his hands jammed back into his pockets and was now leaning against her car with an odd expression on his face.

Jason glanced over and nodded, no more than a jerk of his chin up, before walking back into his house with the newspaper tucked under one arm. The muscles in Carson’s jaw were clenched, standing out like the ropes of a sailing ship. 

After the door to Jason’s house had swung shut, Dani asked, “I thought you two were friends?”

Carson grunted a wordless note. “We had a falling out a few months ago. Anyway —” He turned on his heel, grin back in place, and started making his way towards her house. “Show me the heavy stuff. Come on!”  

By the time they first made their way inside, Eddie was already hauling out boxes filled with her things. The tops and sides of each cardboard box had been painstakingly labelled in Dani’s hand, the letters neat and blocky. Carson slipped by Eddie with an exaggerated pose as if squeezing through a tight space as they passed one another in the door. Eddie paused, arms laden, and turned his face to Dani while she climbed the steps leading up to the entryway. The extra step allowed her to press a chaste kiss to his cheek and, mollified, he continued on his way towards the truck. Once inside, she found that Carson was already heaving an armchair up with his hands. She moved out of the way so he could trot after his older brother, leaving her momentarily alone.

The house was bare. Most of her things had already been carted away the week before. The transition into their new shared home had been gradual, just like everything else in their relationship. Eddie settling in first and coaxing Dani along as though she were a particularly nervous show dog that had slipped the collar. Looking around now, hands on her hips, Dani felt like an intruder. Like she was an archaeologist who had wandered into someone else's burial site with a rusty torch and hammer.

It almost looked bigger now that it was so empty. Her footsteps echoed too loud on the wooden floors, the sound traveling further and longer. The bare walls once peppered with paintings and photos now like a skeleton expanding its ribs, waiting to expel her in one long sunken breath. Her thumb gradually drifted to her mouth as she took it all in, biting hard at her nail and skin, fixedly eyeing the spot where once a small reading nook used to be. 

The sound of footsteps behind her was harsh and loud to her ears. “Hey, what did I tell you about that?” Eddie said from beside her suddenly, his hand gently pulling Dani’s away from her mouth.

She swallowed heavily and pulled her hand carefully back to hold into a fist by her side, and said, “Yeah, I know. Sorry. I just —”

“I don’t like you hurting yourself,” he said, frowning. She couldn’t help but let her shoulders slump at the concern in his eyes, and only managed to give him a tenuous smile and a nod. “Look, we’re almost done. Soon we’ll be out of here in no time and we can finally just focus on our home. Just let me and Carson do all the hard work.”

“I can help,” Dani said. “I want to help.”

He sighed. “Danielle -”

“I have my inhaler in the car. I won’t keel over and die,” Dani said.

“Hey, Ed, buddy, what happened to that deadline, huh?” Carson said, leaning heavily on the wall and pointing behind him to the kitchen, “You gonna help me with this thing or not?”

Eddie rolled his eyes, and briefly placed a hand on her shoulder before disappearing into the kitchen with muttered grumbling. Dani grinned after him before catching Carson’s eyes, chuckling and shaking her head as he winked at her before following Eddie.

“Gotta give her a minute to breathe, Ed.” Carson’s voice was soft, but still Dani heard it all the same and wrapped her arms tight around herself. 

Clearing her throat, she strode off in the direction of her old bedroom. The bed had been taken away and put in their new spare bedroom for guests who might come to visit. The carpet still bore indentations from where the posts had once sat. Eddie had already been in here; the boxes were gone. Dani glanced around for any last remaining items that might have been forgotten. The closet door was slightly awry, and with a frown she pulled it fully open. There was a single wire coat hanger hooked on the bar that stretched across the closet. Her hand reached out to take it, when she froze.

There, tucked away into the corner beneath one of the built in shelves, was a small wooden box. She could hardly remember the last time she had seen it, let alone opened it. A layer of dust covered the top. Kneeling down, Dani pulled the box out and into her lap. She blew the dust off and had to wipe a bit more with the edge of her sleeve. It was made of plain wood with a bronze latch fastening the lid shut. Her thumb teased the corner of the latch. She worried her lower lip between her teeth before steeling herself and lifting the lid open on squeaky hinges.

Nestled inside were a series of photographs, faded with age. Something clenched in her chest as she touched the first one with trembling fingers.

She and Jamie looked so young, and they were. Barely fifteen. Jamie's arm flung around her shoulder, arm outstretched to snap the photo while she pressed a kiss to Dani's cheek even as Dani laughed and elbowed her ribs. Swallowing down the urge to be sick, she slipped the photo aside to see the next. Jamie was younger still. Her arms were outstretched as she balanced her weight on the narrow steel bar of the abandoned train tracks beyond the fields that surrounded the town. Dani could remember the day she took this with crystal clarity. The days of summer in those years had been longer somehow, stretching on into warm endless nights. 

She was a furtive grave robber, flicking through picture after picture, exhuming a past that she hardly recognized herself in now. And pictures weren’t all that were stored here. There was a band shirt that had been half eaten by moths over years of neglect. An old Zippo lighter with scratched edges along the chrome plating. A necklace that was actually just a worn old half dollar coin pierced through and hung from a cheap chain. A cassette tape labelled Jamie’s Mixtape (1978) in a messy slanted scrawl, long missing its protective case. And finally, an old battered copy of Valley of the Dolls, where if she were to flick it open, she would find a pressed blue morning glory hidden among the pages. 

She gently ran her hand over them, still trembling as if the living memories within the treasure trove thrummed under her skin with its own heartbeat. 

In the distance, she could hear footsteps and the back and forth between Carson and Eddie in the living room as they manoeuvred a couch through the front door. When the footsteps drew closer, approaching down the hall, Dani hurriedly stuffed everything back into the box and shut the lid. 

Carson leaned in the doorway. At some point he had shed his leather jacket, so that now he only wore a white undershirt that was two sizes too small, tucked into his jeans. “You good here? We’ve loaded the last of it into the truck.”

“Yeah,” Dani said. She pushed herself upright, clutching the box to her chest as though it were an heirloom. “Yeah, that's everything.” 

His eyebrows rose and he nodded towards the box. “What do you got there?” 

Dani’s grip tightened. She could feel the grooves of the box pressing into her skin. “Nothing important.” 

—

Dani went about her routine on edge. At the supermarket, gripping the shopping cart between her hands and turning down the different aisles. At the gas station, stepping out of her beat up old car to work the pump. At the school, peering out the window at all the parents dropping off their kids in the parking lot. At the local cafe nearest the elementary school, picking up a newspaper and a slice for Hannah. Hoping for a glimpse of Jamie and dreading any encounter with her all at once.

Except Jamie never appeared. And Mikey sat at the back of the class, doodling in his notebook, not paying attention but knowing all the answers regardless whenever Dani called on him to participate. She could always see him after school sitting on the curbside and reading a new comic issue, or thumbing through a book from the paltry school library or scratching at his homework with a pencil. Not once did Dani loiter long enough to see him get picked up, and she felt a stab of irritation that he should be left alone for so long. But it wasn’t her business, and he got along well enough with the other kids during recess. 

Dani was still stewing silently over the whole affair at dinner with her future in-laws. She sat at the dining table, chewing at the skin of her thumb, with Carson at one elbow and Eddie at the next. Mike, Judy’s soft-spoken stooping husband, sat at the head of the table, while Judy herself set the last of the platters down and invited everyone to tuck in. 

“How’re the kids this year?” Judy asked as she spooned peas onto her plate. 

Dani made a noise in the back of her throat, before lowering her hand into her lap. “Yeah, they’re great! I — uh — I actually have a transfer student.”

Judy made a sound to indicate that she was still listening even while she passed a platter across the table to Eddie. 

“He’s really smart,” Dani continued. “I don’t really know what to do with him. He — well, he always looks a bit bored, to be honest.”

“Don’t they have some sort of advanced program for kids like that?” Mike asked. He had already tucked into the food even though his plate was only half full. 

“I’d need to talk to the parent or guardian first,” Dani said, her stomach flipping at the thought. The peas had made their way around the table to her now, and she slowly scraped the last of them onto an available corner of her plate. Swallowing heavily, Dani concentrated hard on the steady movements of her hands, and said, “Judy, I don’t suppose you’ve heard of anyone new coming to town?” 

Judy’s mouth was full. She frowned thoughtfully as she chewed, and swallowed before answering. “No, I haven’t, now that you mention it. I’ll have to ask around the ladies at the book club if they’ve seen anyone.” 

Any hope Dani might have nursed of learning something new about Jamie’s presence in town flickered out like a snuffed candle. “Thanks,” she said, already feeling the conversation wander towards other topics. “Can you pass the salt, Carson?”

—

Sitting here in her Sunday best with Eddie’s warm hand in hers and a book of hymns in the other, Dani was sandwiched in the pew between her fiancé and her mother. Karen smelled sharply of cheap mall perfume, her dress pressing in tight on her ribs. The priest’s voice echoed from his place declaming near the altar, but Dani wasn’t listening. She was too preoccupied with the way her heart pounded in her chest, the clench of her stomach and the restless nerves that someone might have seen her. 

She hadn’t planned on going to the movies yesterday, not at first. Not until she had seen the ad in Saturday’s morning paper, an art house theater two towns over advertising a one-time showing of Desert Hearts. It had caused such a stir in the community a few years ago that any curiosity Dani had felt toward it had died and shriveled up inside of her. Yet her Saturday afternoon had been free, and Eddie had been mercifully busy after helping her move the last of her things. 

And now Dani sat in the same church she’d been going to her entire life, feeling like a marionette whose mouth was puppetted by invisible strings as she joined the others in song. The priest leading them through a hymn wasn’t the same man who baptized Dani as an infant. The bench she was sitting on wasn’t the same she sat in week after week. The woman on her right was virtually nonexistent. The man’s hand she was holding loosely in her left wasn’t the same man who she grew up with, he wasn’t the boy who asked her again and again to marry him. 

This Dani, this new Dani, lied to her fiancé and drove an hour out of town the day before with a whispered prayer on her tongue for her car to just hold on for once, for just one more day to see a film that left her blushing scarlet and her stomach dropping not uncomfortably, sitting alone in the dark with a carton of untouched popcorn. This Dani would return to her car, and her first thought would turn to whether this would be the kind of movie Jamie would have picked as her choice of their weekly film showing — knowing immediately that the answer would be 'yes.’ And just as abruptly as the thought appeared, she promptly squashed the idea of even contemplating such a question. 

Dani’s voice faltered, wavering over the words as a flash of guilt washed over her when the heat returned to her skin. She looked up at the cross, hanging on the back wall over the priest’s head, and glanced furtively at Eddie to see where he was in the verse, praying no one had seen her stumble. When service finally ended, and the ritualistic gossip on the front steps had been entertained, she allowed herself to be led outside. Eddie’s hand was warm and steady, completely enveloping her own, pulling her to the warm air where it finally felt like she was able to breathe again. 

She felt a heady rush of relief when her mom begged off brunch, claiming to suffer from a headache as she walked to her car with a half-hearted wave. Relieved two-fold when Eddie needed to run off to the office for preliminary work for Monday, kissing her on the cheek in a goodbye that she barely registered before rushing off to his car. Until she was only left with Judy. 

“So,” Judy asked, and for a brief terrifying moment Dani thought she might know, she might have finally seen her. In the end though all Judy said was: “How about that lunch?” 

Judy linked their arms, pulling her in close until all Dani could do was smile and say, “Lead the way.”

The bistro Judy directed them to was relatively new, Dani had passed it multiple times over the last couple weeks but had never actually gone in, always driving by with casual curiosity and a bemused but charmed smile at the name: A Batter Place. 

“You’re gonna love it,” Judy said, guiding Dani in with an arm linked in her own, “Their macaroons are to die for.”

Gamely, Dani smiled along to Judy’s enthusiasm as Judy pointed to various fixtures of the restaurant, steadily ignoring the strain building in the back of her neck. It wouldn’t be fair to say that Judy made her nervous. There were too many good intentions behind her warm eyes and her warm hugs, always with her hands full of containers of hearty food, always holding on a little longer than Dani expected, like she was afraid Dani would drift away. Judy, she knew, at least cared. 

Perhaps that was why, after settling in their seats and ordering their lunch, Dani hid her hands under the table, fingers trembling as they picked at the skin of her thumb. 

“So, how have you been, honey?” Judy asked over her cup of coffee, smiling that kind, good-intentioned smile. “I feel like I’ve barely seen you since school started up again.”

A small pressure valve released in Dani’s chest, and she finally allowed herself a real smile. “I’ve been keeping busy, and well — you know how it is with a new school year. This year especially is different.”

“Because of the higher grade?”

“Right. And I just — I want things to be perfect, you know?” Dani said, and chuckled ruefully, “Though twenty-five twelve year olds will certainly be a challenge.”

This she could manage. This she could at least be grateful for, the way Judy allowed the conversation to steer towards something that filled Dani with a sense of purpose, smiling proudly at her over the din of conversation around them with no mention of Eddie or long overdue wedding planning. 

Judy took a pointed sip of her coffee. “Well, I know you like the challenge, but you can’t forget to take care of yourself,” she said, her lips pulling into a familiar smile. One to be used when nearing a cornered animal. Dani’s stomach sank, when Judy continued, “Now, I know you and Eddie need time to get used to living together, doing all the things couples have to learn to do alone but, you don’t have to steer clear of the house forever. I know we all recently just had dinner together but —”

Dani glanced away. 

“— You could come over at any time. Like yesterday! What were you up to yesterday? I would have made lasagna for you.”

“Oh, uh —” Dani gave a nervous breathy chuckle, hoping to hide the grimace at the memory of the two women who had stared brazenly at her when she had exited the art house theater yesterday, Dani in her too bright blouse and high jeans, looking frazzled and out of place. She took a long sip of her coffee, hoping to hide the same feeling under her skin now. “You know. Busy.”

Judy waved her explanation away with that same smile. “Oh, well, never mind that. It doesn’t matter now. There’s always next weekend,” she said, and her hand reached over to clasp Dani’s before she could hide it again. “I’m just hoping I get more time to spend with my favorite future daughter-in-law before things get too crazy. Wedding planning and teaching a class of twenty-five kids is one thing, but thinking about raising a baby is another.”

A moment passed before Dani could process the words. A baby. Of course. 

“Oh,” was all Dani managed to say, a polite smile frozen on her face as Judy’s grip on her hand tightened in a way that anyone else would have found comforting. The hand that Dani so wanted to pull away, to press against her chest. A pressure building inside her ribs, pulling her skin taught and straining at the edges. A ringing in her ears that sounded more and more like the whistle of a tea kettle or the whine of an over-revved engine. 

She was only saved by the grace of their food arriving, the pressure abating to something manageable as Judy freed Dani’s hand to make room for their plates. It gave Dani the opportunity to down half of her coffee, hot enough to scald, and to clench a fist under the table, her nails pressing hard into the soft skin of her hand.

At the first bite of food, Judy hummed and sank back into her seat. “Now that is delicious,” she said, gesturing with her fork. “Go on, take a bite.”

Dani took advantage of the moment, letting the previous topic of conversation pass over them untouched as she pulled her own forkful of food in her mouth. She blinked in surprise. 

“Wow,” she said after swallowing, sharing an incredulous chuckle with Judy. “That is really good.”

“I’m telling you, this new chef knows what he’s doing,” Judy said with a grin, as if she had known exactly how Dani would have reacted. 

It should have been comforting, being so well understood. And for the most part it was. Afterall, Dani had spent much of her youth at Judy’s table, being fed day in and day out as if she were Judy’s own. Always having a safe haven. A home away from home, where she would be welcome. No questions asked. It should have been an absolute solace. Yet somehow, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being made of glass. As if she were standing there and Judy was looking right through her at someone else that didn’t exist. 

The bell attached to the door rang as it swung open, and the sound drew her back to the table, almost startling her. She swallowed down an unexpected thickness in her throat, ignoring that steady pressure in her ribs, and shared another unassuming smile with Judy, taking a second bite. 

“We should come here again,” Dani said, hoping to alleviate some of the pressure that was building in her lungs. 

“Then it’s a date. Next Sunday.” Judy smiled wide. 

It was so easy, making Judy happy, making her smile wide and bright like she’d won the lottery. It was something Dani was good at, pleasing others. The very thought of speaking up and potentially ruining the moment was enough to cause a vein of dread to thread its way through her. Yet something in that moment caused Judy’s smile to flicker, the sound of the bell ringing again as the front door swung open with a squeak of unoiled hinges. Judy’s eyes glanced over somewhere behind Dani’s shoulder and they slowly widened to an expression Dani had only seen once before — when Eddie announced their engagement during family dinner. 

“Jamie Taylor?” 

Dani tensed and turned around, and sure enough, there she was. Jamie Taylor herself. Dark jeans, big work boots, and a brown jacket, strolling into the bistro like she’d never left town. Like the air from Dani’s lungs hadn’t been sucked out by a gut punch releasing every single pressure valve at the very sight of her. 

“Oi, Sharma! Whatever happened to you saying you could fix those hinges without my help?” Jamie’s voice rang clear across the room.

“Danielle, honey, you didn’t tell me that Jamie was back,” Judy said in a rush of breath, already out of her seat and walking toward Jamie like a woman on a mission, as if there wasn’t a hurricane forming within Dani’s chest. As if a swell of feeling wasn’t rushing through her as she sat unmoving with wide eyes attached to the lines of Jamie’s back, to the curl of her hair, unchanged, unkempt, and yet completely different. 

Whatever Dani had expected to feel upon hearing that voice again, it wasn’t to feel all of it at once. She didn’t know which feeling to land on, watching Jamie turn at the sound of Judy’s voice, catching sight of the familiar lines of Jamie’s face as they twisted in surprise and fell into a charming smile as Jamie conceded to a tight hug from Judy; the fluttering of happiness, the rush of anxiety, the desperate desire to flee, the shock that belied the anger and muted resentment. 

In the end, Dani just sat there, unable to move and unable to look away. 

The pair pulled out of the hug, with Judy briefly and affectionately framing Jamie’s face with her hands like she used to. And Jamie rolled her eyes good naturedly with a crooked smile, burying her hands in her pockets. It was like no time at all had passed. They were teenagers again, and Judy was sending them off back home from dinner with warm hugs and piling their hands with leftovers in tupperware. 

When Judy gestured over towards their table towards Dani, it was all she could do to not run and excuse herself to the washroom, to not slip out the back door. But it was too late, tension coiling in her body as Jamie’s head turned towards Dani and their eyes finally met. 

It was suddenly incredibly hard to breathe. Dani blinked, and the look on Jamie’s face at the sight of her — startled, mouth agape — was gone, and all that was left was something entirely unfamiliar. A polite placid smile as Judy talked her ear off, answering Judy’s questions and gesturing across the counter towards a handsome man with a thick moustache wearing an apron. Even so, Jamie only had eyes for Dani, her gaze occasionally roving back, her expression unreadable. 

Before Dani could do more than stare, Judy was guiding Jamie back to their table, a hand on her back. Dani’s stomach twisted itself into a knot at their approach. Her heart began crashing against her ribs until it was all she could hear. Jamie was looking at her with that crooked grin, and Dani didn’t know what else to do but stand from her seat, faintly dazed, a hand brushing against invisible lint and wrinkles along her sky blue dress. 

“Look who I found!” Judy said as they pulled up to the table, as if Dani hadn't been on the verge of a nervous breakdown in the last minute. The last decade, if she were being honest with herself. 

All Dani could do was give a trembling smile. “Jamie,” she said, almost breathless, the name feeling foreign on her tongue. “Hi.”

Jamie’s grin shifted into something like a smirk, gaze drifting over Dani so fast that she felt it on her skin like a flash fire. “Danielle,” she said, and Dani’s smile faltered. “Been a minute.”

“It has,” Dani said in between barely gritted teeth, the feeling in her stomach souring. 

“I was just telling Jamie how this is the first time I’ve brought you here,” Judy interrupted, oblivious as ever. Jamie’s smirk dropped back into something softer, an eyebrow quirked and her head tilting curiously. “How today of all days, that we all walk in the same restaurant together. It must be kismet.”

“Don’t know about that, Mrs. O’Mara. Was never much one for kismet,” Jamie said with a shrug, looking so much like she’s sixteen again that a dull pressure returned to Dani’s chest. “World’s too chaotic for that.”

“And yet here you are.” Judy shuffled back into her seat and gestured to Jamie. “Come, come sit. Just for a while until your takeout is ready.”

It was only by the grace of luck and Judy’s affection for Jamie, that she gestured toward the chair next to her instead of Dani. Jamie didn’t argue, taking the seat, and Dani following after, almost a second delayed from the shock of it all. She could feel Jamie’s eyes on her as she settled in her chair, but Dani kept her attention low and focused on her food, feeling distinctly like she was in a dream.

“Danielle, truly, I can’t believe you neglected to tell me Jamie was back,” Judy admonished with a teasing grin. 

She clenched her teeth. Dani had a hard time believing it herself. “Must’ve slipped my mind," she said.

“How long have you been back again, honey?”

“About two months now,” Jamie said. At the admission, Dani finally pulled her eyes away from the table to look up at Jamie, lounging back in her seat like she had all the time in the world, noticeably avoiding Dani’s gaze.

Two months. Two months, and not even a phone call. Not even a letter. Dani took another heady swallow of her now lukewarm coffee in an effort to ground herself. Some things just never changed, she guessed. 

“We were so worried when you left, after — after everything, especially. We all were. I thought about you for so long afterwards. Kept you in my prayers,” Judy said, and while the words were sobering with the memories of those days, Jamie’s expression remained unchanged, detached and ambiguous, the corner of her mouth quirked. 

“Then I guess I have you to thank,” Jamie said, “All that praying must’ve done something good. Mikey and I have been getting on quite nicely, if I do say so myself.”

Judy gasped, a hand clutching at her chest. “Oh, Mikey! That sweet boy, how is he? Oh, I can’t believe it’s been so long. He must be — what? Eleven now?”

“Twelve actually,” Jamie said, then chuckled. It was something new. The way her eyes turned just a bit brighter, her smile more gentle, as she reached into her pocket to dig out a beat up leather wallet, flipping it open towards Judy. Judy gasped again, holding onto the wallet with a laugh. “Twelve years old and already reaching my chin," Jamie continued. "The little gremlin’s gonna have me beat by next year at this rate, I swear.”

“He’s wonderful,” Judy said, her eyes alight with emotion, “Gosh, he looks just like you. Except for the eyes, those sweet brown eyes. He’s definitely going to be a heartbreaker.”

“Not on my bloody watch,” Jamie grumbled. 

“Have you seen him yet, Danielle?” Judy held out the wallet to Dani, who had to refrain from recoiling back, as if Judy was holding out a live snake. 

“I have,” Dani admitted quietly, “He’s one of my students, actually.”

“Oh, so that’s what all those questions were about the other day,” Judy said, and tapped Jamie playfully on her arm resting on the table with her wallet. “What did I tell you? Kismet.”

Jamie flipped the wallet shut and returned it to her pocket. “Mikey did mention the name once or twice. Miss Clayton this, Miss Clayton that, and I thought: what are the chances?”

Dani swallowed down a scoff and the bitterness brewing in the back of her throat. Her left hand ached from clutching it so tight in her lap, knuckles white, crescent-shaped grooves in her palm. She stretched her hand out and ran it through her hair, her fingers trembling as they smoothed down the gentle waves and curls she put in that morning. 

“Ah, so he’s done it then,” Jamie said, apropos of nothing. She leaned forward on the table, staring so abruptly and intently that Dani shifted away in her own seat slightly, hoping she hadn’t noticed. 

It was the first time Jamie had fully addressed her since that singular hello. Dani frowned, that ever present knot in her stomach twisting tighter. “Sorry?” 

“That nice big shiny rock on your hand.” Jamie gestured down to the aforementioned rock, and sure enough, there was her engagement ring, shining bright against the afternoon light pouring through the window. “Must’ve cost a damn fortune.”

Dani had thought the same, when Eddie had dropped to his knee, proffering up the box where the ring lay, his face flickering through a wide array of emotions — adoration, anxiety, hope. At the time all Dani could think, staring down at the large square cut diamond, was that it looked heavy.

“But isn’t it gorgeous?” Judy gushed, reaching out to grasp Dani’s hand to pull it closer for Jamie to see. Dani breathed out an awkward laugh at the sudden motion but let herself be dragged along. “I went to help him pick it out, and — gosh, well, we all know how many times he’s asked over the years. Our Danielle always liked to keep him on his toes. I just about died at the news when they officially announced the engagement a few months later.”

Jamie whistled low. “I can imagine,” she drawled.

Judy continued to ramble about the announcement. She released the hand that Dani tried to surreptitiously and swiftly return under the table, hoping to hide the desire to shrink under the table as well. Meanwhile Jamie seemed to be only half-listening, watching Dani with a tilted head and a sharp glance that left Dani feeling like a strip of overexposed film. Her eyes strayed to Jamie's old scar against her will, landing on the long stretch of a pale line that started from her lower lip and descended down towards her chin. It was usually hard to see, but today it was easy to find in the light of the room.  

Dani swallowed thickly and glanced away. 

“So, how’d he do it?”

“Mmm?” Dani looked back up, a little dazed. 

Jamie’s head tilted pointedly towards her. “Ed,” she said. “How’d he go about it this time? To be honest with you, I had my bets placed on senior prom night, like he’d always planned. Flowers in the park after the dance, and all that rubbish.”

“He told you that?” Dani frowned. 

“Wouldn’t shut up about it.”

“Oh.” Dani fiddled with the ring, glancing down at it. “No, it was um — “ She smiled, a frail subdued thing, only to fold her right hand over it, covering the diamond so that it dug into her palm, “ — it was during a dinner date.”

Jamie lifted an eyebrow. “In public?”

Dani nodded. “Yeah.”

“Christ,” Jamie breathed, looking somewhat horrified. 

“Language, sweetie,” Judy piped in, seemingly instinctively. 

And like clockwork, Jamie ducked her head sheepishly. “Sorry,” she said, not looking sorry at all. 

Judy laughed, patting Jamie’s arm. “Gosh, just look at us,” she breathed, her eyes shining as they bounced between Dani and Jamie. “I still can’t believe it. Me and my girls back together again. Who’d have thought?”

Dani breathed out a chuckle, her cheeks aching from the force of holding a smile in place, not knowing what else to say. And what could she say, really? That none of this felt familiar? That it all felt so wrong? That after years of absence, to finally be just arm’s length away from Jamie, only to feel like she was meeting a stranger wearing a familiar face?

No. No, that wasn’t right. She worried her lower lip between her teeth, but Jamie had never stopped watching her. A shared look passed between them and it was there, finally, that she found something warm and tangible. The ghost of a memory of sitting across the table from each other at Judy’s during dinner, sharing a secretive knowing smile, while Judy gushed over Dani’s help in the kitchen, or admonished Jamie for yet another skinned knee. A smile pulled at the corners of Dani’s mouth, slow and real. Jamie blinked, her gaze softening as she mirrored Dani’s smile, and for the first time in a long time, Dani felt something in her chest unspool.

A bell rang. Jamie glanced away, and the moment was gone, leaving Dani chilled in its absence as if she had stepped out from a warm building and into a storm.

“That’s my cue,” Jamie said, sounding just as she had before, as if nothing had transpired between them. “Can’t let the kid starve without some lunch.”

She moved to stand but Judy’s hand held her in place. “Don’t think you can get away again this time without at least letting me give you my number,” Judy reprimanded not unkindly. "We got a new one at the house, you'll be surprised to hear."

Grinning crookedly, Jamie said, “And I imagine you’ll be wanting mine, then?”

Judy pulled out a pen from her purse and waggled it back and forth. “You know me too well.”

Grabbing a spare napkin, Judy jotted down a series of numbers. “Now don’t you forget to give me a call, all right? I want to hear all about your time away,” she said, handing over the pen and napkin for Jamie to rip out her piece, and note down her own number. Dani’s eyes strayed down to the confident, angled numbers, just barely able to decipher them from her vantage point. “And I hope you know, you and Mikey are welcome any time over for dinner. I want to meet that young man. See if he’s anything like his older sister.”

The words were fond, but Jamie snorted all the same. “Don’t you worry, Mrs. O’Mara. He’s my better half.”

Dani rose to her feet out of politeness when Judy stood to give Jamie a parting hug. For a terrifying moment, she thought Jamie might expect one from her as well, but Jamie only lifted her eyebrows and nodded before turning towards the counter to collect her order. She didn’t glance in Dani’s direction again as she left, pushing through the glass door and striding off down the street with the breeze in her hair. Dani watched her go, jaw aching from how hard she was clenching her teeth together.

Judy sat, and Dani followed suit as though she were simply mimicking Judy’s movements. “Jamie Taylor back from the dead after ten years. Imagine that.” Judy chuckled to herself and picked up her fork. “Feels just like old times, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Dani breathed. “Just like old times.”

[fanimesenseiwrites]

So I had piece commissioned of my MC, Hoshiko Higure, presenting as both female and male.

The artist is karoshin_arts on Instagram.

And to go along with the art is a little fic I wrote, mostly, about Hoshiko coming out to the boys.

This fic takes place after Belphie gets out of the attic and before the MC goes home for the first time.

Hoshiko's Coming Out

Hoshiko stood in front of their full length mirror in their bedroom, staring at their reflection.

They were dressed for school but instead of wearing the skirt, they had decided to wear uniform pants today. They were also wearing a binder underneath their dress shirt, effectively hiding their breasts. They tied the top half of their hair back before putting on their circle rim glasses.

They stared at themselves in the mirror once they were totally ready.

"Okay... you look good. You can do this. Everything is gonna be fine," they told themself, trying to psych themself up.

They nodded at themself in the mirror before walking out into the hallway.

Mammon was headed to Hoshiko's room as they were walking out.

"Hey Ho... shi..." Mammon stopped mid step and mid sentence and just stared at Hoshiko. He narrowed his eyes at them, seeming suspicious.

Hoshiko turned a bright red. "It's me! I swear! I'm just... wearing pants..."

"You're doing more than that..." Mammon told them as he finished walking over to them.

"Yeah, I just... sometimes I..." They couldn't look at Mammon. "I don't feel like a girl all the time... sometimes I feel like a boy..." They wrapped their arms around themselves.

"So what, you just wanna wear pants and not have boobs sometimes?"

They looked up at Mammon. "I mean, in not so many words, yeah."

Mammon pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Hoshiko sighed and looked down at the ground. "You don't wanna be my friend anymore, do you?"

"What? Quit your mopin'! I didn't say that!"

Hoshiko looked back up at him.

"I'm your first! You're s'posed to tell me everything, no secrets between us, remember?!" Mammon perched his hands on his hips.

Hoshiko teared up. "Oh, Mammon!" They threw their arms around him and cried into his chest.

"Hey! Don't do that..." he blushed and pushed them away gently. "You'll break your glasses." He offered them a handkerchief from his breast pocket.

Hoshiko nodded and took the handkerchief with a soft sniffle. They took off their glasses and wiped their eyes.

"C'mon, you gotta eat some breakfast before school."

They nodded and headed to the dining room with Mammon. "... Will you stay with me all day?"

Mammon looked at them. "Huh?"

"I... I'm actually afraid of being by myself, looking like this..."

"Oh... yeah, of course. You gotta know the Great Mammon will always protect ya!" He flashed them a brilliant smile.

Hoshiko smiled at him. "Thank you." They grabbed Mammon's hand.

Mammon blushed but squeezed their hand in return.

Everyone looked at them when they entered the dining hall.

"Hey! So today Hoshiko feels like a guy and we're gonna make her feel- well, him-"

Hoshiko nudged him.

He stopped talking and looked at Hoshiko.

"You can just use they/them," Hoshiko told him.

"Right!" He looked back at his brothers. "So we're gonna make them feel comfortable and if ya don't, I'll kill ya," he was actually the most serious Hoshiko had ever seen him.

Hoshiko squeezed his hand. "Calm down, it's not that serious."

He looked back at Hoshiko. "Yes it is. Your feelings are important."

Hoshiko smiled at him. "I appreciate you saying that."

"Mammon is right," Lucifer spoke before dabbing his mouth with a napkin.

Hoshiko and Mammon looked at him.

"Your feelings are important, Hoshiko. If there's anything you need or if anyone gives you any flak, you let me know," only Lucifer could say something so sweet, yet so venom filled.

Hoshiko nodded. "I will, thank you."

Lucifer nodded. "Of course."

"Have you always felt this way?" Satan asked Hoshiko.

Hoshiko looked at him. "Uh... it's hard to say. It's only been in the last like... 3 years that I had the terminology to describe how I feel."

"And what is the correct terminology?" Satan asked as he pulled out his DDD and opened up a note taking app.

"I'm genderfluid. Which means I don't fit into the typical binary model of gender. Even though I am biologically female, I don't always want to present myself as traditionally female."

"Conforming to gender norms when it comes to clothing is so boring," Asmo commented. "You should just do what makes you happy."

Hoshiko smiled at him. "I like that. Thank you."

Asmo smiled brightly at them. "Of course, love!"

"So wait..." Belphie started.

Everyone looked at him.

"This is new to everyone, not just me?"

Beel nodded. "This is the first I've heard of it."

"So, you've felt like this for at least 3 years?" Belphie asked Hoshiko.

Hoshiko blushed and nodded, understanding what Belphie was getting at.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Levi asked.

"I didn't feel comfortable showing y'all until now. Even getting ready this morning I was nervous as hell."

Levi only nodded.

"Okay, I think that's enough questions for now," Lucifer interjected. "It's time to get to school."

Hoshiko was actually grateful that Lucifer had stopped them from asking them questions, they could feel themself getting overwhelmed.

Hoshiko smiled slightly at Lucifer before getting up and clearing their plate from the table.

The brothers followed suit, then everyone left for RAD together.

True to his word, Mammon stayed next to Hoshiko all day, though they didn't really need any protecting as they had originally thought.

After school, at the student council meeting, Diavolo asked Hoshiko how their first day presenting as a male was.

"It went well! Most folks were more curious anything. Azazel asked if I actually did have magical abilities because of how I changed my appearance. I thought that was funny. And Solomon offered to teach me how to make potions to deepen my voice for when I want to present as a guy. And Mephistopheles said I was stunning no matter how I presented..."

Most of the brothers rolled their eyes, but Mammon let out a little growl.

Hoshiko smacked his arm. "He was just bein' nice."

"Uh huh..." he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

Diavolo chuckled at their interaction. "Well I'm glad today went so well for you, Hoshiko."

Hoshiko grinned. "I was really surprised, I thought that maybe at least a couple folks would give me hard time, but no one did."

"Demons are not usually so concerned with presentations of gender like that," Barbatos informed them.

"Oh... well I wish I had known that sooner, I wouldn't have been freaking out as much about today."

"That's not true," Barbatos corrected them.

Hoshiko pouted. "I don't like it when you call me out like that."

Barbatos chuckled softly.

Diavolo grinned. "Well I'm glad that our residents didn't take advantage of Hoshiko being a human when they changed their appearance. This is good for the exchange program!"

"I concur," Lucifer interjected.

"Well that concludes today's meeting," Diavolo announced before standing up.

Everyone else stood up with him.

Diavolo left the table before anyone else moved.

Asmo ran over to Hoshiko. "Hoshiko! Do you want to go shopping? We can pick you out some more masculine looking clothes if you want."

Hoshiko grinned. "I'd like that."

"I'm goin' too," Mammon declared.

Asmo pouted. "Why do you have to go?"

"Hoshiko asked me to stay by their side all day, so that's what I'm gonna do!"

Hoshiko chuckled. "That was when I thought I was gonna get made fun of or even beat up. I know I'll be okay now, so you don't have to stay with me."

"Nope. You asked so I'm gonna stay with you all day. The Great Mammon doesn't break a promise."

"What?! Since when?!" Levi interjected. "You still haven't paid me back!"

"Yeah, you obviously just want to be next to Hoshiko," Asmo pointed out.

"What?! That ain't so!" Mammon protested as a blush appeared on his cheeks.

Hoshiko chuckled at them. "Come on, we can all go shopping. It's not that big of a deal."

Asmo sighed. "Alright, as long as you're happy." He smiled slightly.

"We'll all be happy, I'll treat you two to dinner afterwards," Hoshiko promised.

Asmo beamed. "Okay!"

The trio went out to go shopping and went out to dinner before returning home to the House of Lamentation.

Hoshiko walked in sporting a new lavender suit and purple dress shirt.

Asmo insisted on showing them off to everyone in the house.

Hoshiko got a little embarrassed when Asmo dragged them to Lucifer's study. "Asmo, he doesn't care..."

"That's not true! Lucifer!" Asmo called as they walked into the study.

Lucifer looked up at them from where he sat at his desk.

"Look at our handsome little exchange student!" He exclaimed as he spun them around, giving Lucifer the full view.

Hoshiko was blushing.

Lucifer chuckled. "You look nice, Hoshiko. Though it is apparent that Asmo picked out that suit."

"That doesn't sound like a compliment," Asmo said with a pout.

"I just think Hoshiko would look better in something darker."

"There's more colors besides black and red, Lucifer," Asmo informed him.

Hoshiko chuckled at their interaction.

Lucifer glanced at Hoshiko briefly. "Asmo, would you leave us? I'd like to speak to Hoshiko alone for a moment."

"Ooh, okay!" Asmo sang just before leaving the room.

Hoshiko felt their ears get hot. "Uh, am I in trouble?"

"No, not at all. Please, take a seat." He motioned to a chair right in front of his desk.

Hoshiko nodded and sat down, crossing their legs as they did so.

"I just wanted to ask how your day went."

"It went well, you were there in the meeting when I told Lord Diavolo how it went."

"I just wanted to verify that nothing has changed since then. Make sure my brothers haven't harassed you about it."

Hoshiko laughed. "No, it's been fine. I appreciate your concern though."

Lucifer smirked. "How has your stay in Devildom been, thus far?"

"Aside from nearly dying like four times, it's been great!" Hoshiko teased.

Lucifer pursed his lips. "Right..."

"I'm only kidding with you. I've actually had a good time and I've learned a lot... it's kinda sad to think about how I'll be leaving in just a couple months."

Lucifer smiled slightly. "I'm glad you think of it that way."

"It certainly helped that all my housemates were hot too," Hoshiko told him with a wink.

Lucifer couldn't help the blush that rose to his cheeks. "Hoshiko," he chided.

Hoshiko snickered. "I'm just teasing you. That's a good thing. It means I'm comfortable with you now."

Lucifer hummed. "Should you be?"

"Is there a reason I shouldn't be?" Hoshiko asked with a sly smile.

Lucifer stared them down, frustrated at his inability to give them an answer. "... Regardless, we've been happy to host you. I'm glad you were chosen for the program."

Hoshiko rolled their eyes. "Are you going to continue to be this formal until I leave?"

"Perhaps," Lucifer replied simply.

"Uh huh." Hoshiko stood up and straightened their suit jacket. "Well I will be upfront with my feelings and tell you that I like you and all your brothers and I'm really enjoying my time here... I hope we can all still be good friends after I leave."

Lucifer watched them and smiled slightly. "I think my brothers will be lost without you here."

"I think I'll be lost without all their crazy antics keeping me busy," Hoshiko laughed.

Lucifer chuckled.

"Hoshiko!" Asmo squealed as they ran into the room and went to hide behind Hoshiko.

"Speaking of crazy antics," Hoshiko said to Lucifer before looking at Asmo. "What is-?"

Hoshiko jumped at being suddenly sprayed in the back of the head with water. They whipped around to see Mammon standing in the doorway with a water gun.

"Oh you're gonna get it now!" Hoshiko told him with a grin.

"Good luck catching me!" Mammon told them before running away.

Hoshiko quickly ran after him.

Asmo ran after the two, not wanting to miss out on the fun.

Lucifer shook his head with a soft smile on his face. He knew the "crazy antics" would never stop, but he was grateful for a particular human that had caused them to become less deadly.

[unrelenting-jazz-hands]

He picked the wrong seat.

(This is something that’s been floating in my head. I love college!AUs and I’m just happy to be here. I like the idea of Levi studying to be a social worker and Hange being a behavioural Neuropsychology prof/researcher. plus Hange would have rats... this fic is just a place for her to have rats and rat friends.)

He didn’t know it when he first sat down on the couch, but he should have known it when a woman in maroon sweatpants staggered up to his couch.

She placed the tower of books and papers she was carrying onto the couch with a grunt that let on how heavy the pile had been. She shook out her arms before sitting on the other side of newly formed blockade. Levi glanced her way and leaned over to throw a scowl, to make sure she knew the disruption was not appreciated.

But she just sat quietly and read. So, he didn’t move, he figured it would be fine. He should have moved.

And she just sat quietly and read. So, he didn’t move, he figured it would be fine. He should have moved.

"Hange! Hey, Hange! There you are, why didn't you answer your phone?" A young man jogged over to the woman sitting on the couch next to Levi.

Levi's scowl deepened, and he glanced at his watch, not for the first time in the last 15 minutes. His own class finished over an hour ago, but Isabel's lecture wouldn't be finished for another 45 minutes. It was getting late, and as the air grew colder, the nights were getting darker. He didn't like the idea of her walking home alone at this time of night. Furlan thought he was being dramatic, they weren’t on Understreet anymore.

The kid approached the couch and dropped his bag unceremoniously at her feet. He looked a little older than Isabel. Fuck, he was dreading the day she introduces some dumb boyfriend to him.

The woman slowly looked up and seemed more startled than she should have been to see the kid in front of her. She blinked and looked at her watch.

"Oh, it's 6:45 already? Hey Jean! Sorry, I lost track of time." One of her hands was still on the stack of books that was starting to lean just a little too much for Levi's comfort.

He shifted away and glanced around the room. The atrium was busy and noisy. There wouldn't be anywhere else to sit this side of campus on a gloomy September night. The choices were to either sit here or to stand somewhere like a weirdo. He grumbled to himself and looked back down at his notes.

Jean shrugged, "All good, Hange. But, where's your phone? You didn't see my messages?"

Hange looked down at the report in her hand as though she expected herself to be holding the phone. "Oh... I thought I had it." She attempted to pat down her jacket pockets (of which there were far too many) and then tried to use her foot to move her bag towards her.

Glancing up at the kid with a slight frown, "what's up? Why? Did something happen at the lab?"

"No," Jean said with smile, "Armin was just asking what time he should tell his tutorial the kick-off party starts. And then just to say that the slides for the lecture tomorrow look good."

Levi watched out of the corner of his eyes as Jean bent down to help the woman check her bag for her phone and mumbled, "We really should get you a case you can clip to your belt or something…"

"A-ha!" Hange raised a fist clenched around a flip phone, and then suddenly, she was holding it with two hands.

Her pile of books had had enough and was about to topple over when Levi's arms shot out to steady the tower before it collapsed on the brunette. She hadn't even noticed.

He didn't mean to catch the books before they fell. He really hadn't planned on moving at all; the books weren't even falling his way. It was her own damn fault if she didn't notice. But, his body was just too used to moving quickly to catch pictures, mugs, and lamps before they could reach the floor. It wasn't a coincidence that they didn't have many breakables in the apartment, what with the way Isabel was constantly twirling around and Furlan's sleepwalking.

When Hange did notice, a few seconds later, she let out a startled yelp and attempted to use her whole body to steady her library.

"Shit, no! That's making it worse," Levi said, not bothering to hide his annoyance. He steadied the pile again and kept his arms holding it up for a while longer before shooting a glare to the airhead next to him.

"Sorry, sorry!" Hange said with a laugh. She grinned at him from around the books, "thanks a bunch, though! Wild reflexes!"

He rolled his eyes, "You just weren't paying attention."

She raised an eyebrow and cracked a grin, "what? Were you staring at me?"

Levi felt his cheeks go warm and diverted his gaze from the woman's laughing eyes.

"No, I wasn't," he said curtly, "I was just sitting in the fucking danger zone."

He made sure the books were steadied before he picked up his notebook again.

The kid in front of them coughed and shifted around uncomfortably. "Thanks, man," he said while giving Levi a quick once over. "If those textbooks go down, all the paper she's stuffed into them would have ended up everywhere. It took hours to match the notes up to their text pages again."

Jean reached over and started restacking Hange's stuff on the floor while she held on. She still looked like she found the whole thing much too funny for Levi's liking. He decided not to look her way.

"You should really organize your shit better," Levi mumbled, keeping his eyes on his paper.

Hange leaned her head back against the couch, "aww, man... that's what everyone says. I've tried, guys! It just never lasts." She let out an exasperated sigh.

Jean muttered something too quiet for Levi to catch, but Hange nudged him with her foot and shot him a look.

"Well, enjoy carting around half the library then..." Levi shot her way and that, he hoped, was their last interaction.

Hange looked down at Levi's open binder, which was neatly labelled and visibly well organized.

She let out a small "huh," before turning her attention to the kid again.

"Alright, Jean! Well, the kick-off party starts at 8:30 at the Wallflower. I'll head over after my lectures and locking up the lab." She frowned, "wait, why wouldn't people join? Puppy therapy is always super busy."

Jean sighed and leaned his head to the side, "yeah, but Hange. I mean, the hype just isn't the same with rats. Plus, the lab is intense and the hours for the regular meetings are kind of random."

Levi frowned at his notes. What the fuck? Fucking weirdo...

Hange sighed, "yeah, you're right." Then shot him a bright grin, "But! I swear I'm about to get a big grant to really kick it all up a notch! We're really getting somewhere, and we can maybe take on a few more assistants next semester to help with all the data entry that's going to need to happen!" She was basically bouncing.

She paused and looked around the room quickly before returning her fiery gaze back to Jean, who was looking a little frazzled.

"And get this, Jean Boy, I've been working on something with Moblit. I can't get into it right now, but it could be really big if it all goes according to plan. Like really big!" She was bouncing again. Her hand gestures were getting more exaggerated and much too close to Levi's personal space. He decided to just lean away and scowl instead of getting dragged into another conversation.

Jean narrowed his eyes, "Wait, like big for you and research nerds or big as in normal people big."

Hange grabbed his hands, "like brand new wing big. Like the Rat Pack Club goes on vacation big."

Levi was still looking at his notes. He had to admit he was starting to be a little more curious than he was annoyed. She was trying to whisper but wasn't doing a very good job at it. God, it was like she didn't know how to be quiet.

"Wait, so this is something you're working on with Dr. Berner? I thought you were still heartbroken from him switching labs," Jean asked while trying to take his hands back. "Is he back?"

Hange shook her head, and her smile dimmed a little, "no, my ride or die still over at the Medical Imaging Lab in the comp sci building." She perked up and continued on, "But! It may have worked out for us in the end!"

Jean looked a little less tired now, "huh... well, when can you tell us about it? Who knows about it?"

Hange let out a low chuckle, "uh, well, don't tell anyone. It started as just a little side project for Moblit, Nanaba, Nifa, and me. We didn't expect it to really go anywhere. So keep it to yourself, for now, I'll let y'all know when I can."

Jean nodded. He looked determined and, suddenly, a lot younger than he had a minute ago. He gave a mock salute, "you got it, Doc!"

Hange mirrored his salute and gave him a wink. "Awesome, ok! Oh, also, did you have any questions about tomorrow's lecture?"

Jean shrugged and shook his head, "nah, I looked it over, and it's pretty chill. Cog Psyc was a fun course."

Levi glanced up and looked at the top right corner of his notes. Intro to Cognitive Psychology.

"And that's exactly the vibe we want this semester! Fun!" Hange exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"Yeah… ok, fun. I can do that," Jean mumbled. "I'll tell Armin," he said as he turned to go. The kid waved lazily over his shoulder, "See ya tomorrow, Hange!"

"Get home safe, Jean! Tell Sasha and Connie I say hello," Hange waved to the back of the kid's head before leaning back and slouching down.

"Rat Pack Club goes on vacation. Ha! Take that monkey brain," Hange muttered with a smile. She closed her eyes like she getting ready to take a long nap in the middle of the atrium, which was getting less busy as time went by.

"Oh!" She exclaimed and shot up and turned to face Levi with a much-too-bright smile, "I forgot to introduce myself!"

She stuck out a hand that was covered in ink smudged. Levi felt the corner of his lips fall and held back a snarky comment; he really was trying to be less pissy, as Isabel put it. He sighed and reached out to shake her hand. He had hand sanitizer in his pocket.

"I'm Zoe Hange, but please call me Hange! Nice to meet you, and thanks for saving my books!"

Levi nodded, "Levi." He went to take his hand back, but the weirdo was still shaking it.

"You're taking Psyc 221 tomorrow, right? That's awesome. I hope you're ready for a heckin' good semester, Levi!" Hange was still shaking his hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, it sounds great," Levi mumbled as he jerked his hand away from her grip.

"Is this your first semester here? Transfer student? Do you live on campus? What courses are you taking?" Hange kept going as though he looked happy to be there instead of inching away and gathering his papers to leave.

"Second semester here, transferred from Wallrose College," Levi muttered. He didn't want to admit it, but Hange's enthusiasm was putting him on edge. What the fuck was she on?

Hange nodded enthusiastically, "That's great! Welcome, and if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask! I'll be your lecturer for PSYC 221. My lab's down in the Neuro wing, so feel free to stop by if you have any questions!" She pointed down the hall that had a staircase at the end of it. "I always really enjoy having some older students," she continued, "at least someone to make eye contact with when the kids make a reference I don't know." Hange smiled at him before rummaging through her pocket and proceeding to hand him a business card. He didn't want to take it, but he also didn't want to piss off his professor. Fuck it, whatever.

"I know what you mean. My younger sister is always trying to get me to do these stupid fucking dances for TikTok or whatever the fuck," Levi grumbled out as he looked over the card. His eyes flicked upwards to meet hers.

"rat_attack2000@maria.edu?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He didn't let it leak into his voice, but, shit… She had to be a few years younger than he was, and she was a professor and director of a research lab. He didn't want to say he was impressed, but he was. But she was also a fucking weirdo.

Hange nodded and smiled widely. She reached back into her pocket, grabbed the card back from Levi, and scrawled something down with the newly retrieved pen. The pen was labelled, pocket pen.

"Yeah! It's the email address for the club I started with some students. My research lab has been doing some behavioural studies with rats, and it's hard not to fall for their little paws and their little eyes. So, every now and then, we get together and hang out and chill with some rats. This Friday, we are having our kick-off party. You should stop by!"

Hange handed him the card back. It had a time, a date, and an address.

"This is more of a social gathering at a bar near campus, not really a regular meeting. It's mostly just a bunch of research assistants and a few of us old folk having some drinks," Hange shrugged, still smiling. She wasn't done, "the usual meetings are chilling with the rats and throwing around ideas. Sometimes the students pitch us some experiments, and then we give them feedback."

Levi didn't think he would go. To the meetings or the party tomorrow. Hell, he knew for sure he wasn't going to go. Still, he nodded and muttered out a half-assed, "sure."

"Plus! The kids don't stay too long at the parties. They eventually head out after a few drinks to the next destination to get trashed where their profs can't see them. So it's only rowdy for a little while. It's been a while since I made it to the second location. I'm not that old, but I'm not that young anymore." She laughed lightly, and Levi was caught off guard by how pretty the sound was.

"I can't Fridays," Levi said as he pocketed the card, "I work Friday afternoons."

Hange nodded, "It's 8:30 to late-thirty, so stop on by if you want! Or if you know someone who'd-"

She was cut off by someone dropping their bag onto Levi's lap.

"What the fuck?" He started, looking up with a scowl. Of fucking course it was Isabel. He looked at his phone and saw 5 missed calls.

"Dude, what's the point of having a phone if you never answer it," Isabel said with a little more sass than Levi was used to. His brow furrowed. He'd ask about that later.

"Don't be a shit," he said gruffly, but still more gently than his usual tone. She made him worry like that. "My phone was on silent."

"Hi! You must be Levi's sister! He mentioned he had a younger sister." Hange stood up and grabbed Isabel's hand with a smile, "I'm Hange. I'll be your brother's professor starting tomorrow. Should I be keeping an eye on him? I feel like he's going to give me a hard time." Hange gave Isabel a wink and a smirk, which the younger girl returned. She looked a little less tense than she had a minute ago.

"Pfft, Nah. He's pretty bland." Isabel replied and shook Hange's hand with significantly more enthusiasm than Levi had. "I'm Isabel. Thanks for engaging with Mr. Grumpy here. He usually just sits there like a weirdo."

Levi stood up and thrust Isabel's bag back into her arms, "Ok, time to go." He turned on his heel and started walking away at a brisk pace.

Hange shouted out, "bye, Levi! See ya tomorrow!"

Levi waved over his shoulder but stopped when he didn't hear Isabel following behind him.

Isabel was still standing next to Hange, who was staring at her pile of books. He groaned and made his way back to the couch as Hange leaned down and tried to pick up the stack.

He placed a hand on Isabel's shoulder and attempted to steer her away.

"Isabel let's go," Levi said.

The young lady shook her head, "Nah. I'm catching a ride with some friends. We're gonna go get some food before heading home! So don't worry about me!" Isabel gave him a look and gestured towards Hange, still mapping out a game plan. Levi pretended not to notice her look and shot her a glare of his own.

"Isabel. Dammit, why did you tell me that before I stayed till the end of your classes?"

Hange let out a chortle and glanced up at them, "Ha! Classic. Have fun, kid!"

"Well, since you don't need to worry about me," Isabel said sweetly, "you're free right now. Hange, let Levi help you with this!" She shoulder-checked Levi and stuck out her tongue at him with a grin.

"I'm sure she's fine," Levi said.

"Oh, man! I would so appreciate it!" Hange all but yelled, standing up suddenly. Her head smashed right into Levi's chin, making them both groan and bring their hands up to their respective injuries.

"Dammit, four-eyes. Be fucking careful," Levi growled. He shot Isabel a look, but it didn't stop her giggling. He was losing his edge.

"Ok, bye! I have my phone, and it won't be on silent!" She waved and hurried off in the direction of the exit. There was a group of girls who waved, laughing, before walking off together. Levi let out an exasperated sigh, but he was happy to see she was making friends. She deserved it.

Groaning, he looked back down. Hange… was just sitting on the floor, next to her pile of books. No, she wasn't just sitting there. She was reading a book.

"Yo, four-eyes. You want help or not."

"Hmm?" She looked up as though unsure of who was talking to her. She blinked her big, brown eyes and then smiled. Her lips formed a little oh, and though she only just remembered where she was. "Oh, yes! Sorry, I got side-tracked there for a minute. How's your chin! I'm really sorry about that!"

She stood and reached out to touch Levi's face.

He took a step back, "You were just touching the floor. I don't want you touching my face!" He felt his cheeks warm up a bit and shifted his gaze. He picked up most of the stupid, fucking books.

She chuckled and reached down to pick up the rest. She looked at him with a grin and replied, "that's a fair point, Shorty."

"Shorty?" Levi all but dropped the books. "Whatever, Four-eyes," he said and stormed away.

He heard some undignified sputtering as she tried to think of a comeback. He smirked. Good, she should feel bad.

"You just called me Four-eyes? What, I can't call you Shorty?"

"Not when I'm doing you a favour," he shot back. " And after you try to break my face!"

"No! Come back, Shor- Levi! I mean... I mean, come help me, Levi," she sounded whiney. He wasn't sure if he liked that sound.

He turned around and saw her trying to pick up the stack again. He let out a sigh and dragged his feet back to the fucking weirdo, again.

"Oh my fucking god… Why do you even have this many books with you?" He said gruffly as he took an armful of the offending items.

"Research!" Hange exclaimed as though it was obvious. She started to walking away at a surprisingly fast pace.

"What the fuck, slow down, weirdo," Levi said. In-fucking-credible.

"Well, come on then!" Hange said, glancing over her shoulder. "My office isn't too far away."

It sure felt like it was, though.

After winding their way through the halls and then down several sets of stairs, Hange finally unlocked a door and turned on the lights of her office. It was absolutely filled with books, with stacks of papers covering every surface. She shuffled into the room, stepping over a few plastic boxes, and placed her cargo on her chair. It was the only surface that had any space. Hange motioned for Levi to hand her his share, which she placed on the ground, next to the chair.

"Fuck, Hange. How the hell do you ever find anything?" Levi said, unable to hide the growing frustration from his tone. He didn't like clutter, and he really didn't like this room. "This is a fucking mess."

"Oh, it's not that bad! I can find what I need eventually!" She waved her hand and flicked off the lights. Hange picked up two plastic boxes, letting out a small grunt as she did so.

"Alright! Let's head out. Close the door, would you?" She nodded to the open door.

"What's in the boxes?" Levi asked, shutting the door. He had no idea why he was still here. Why was he still here, talking to this lunatic. God, he shuttered thinking of the stacks of paper in that little office.

"Oh, just old notebooks that I need to shred, some speakers I need to donate, and then a lot of rat food to bring to the shelter."

He had forgotten about the rats.

He looked over at the tall, lanky woman. She was obviously struggling. Shit.

"Give me those," he muttered as he took the boxes from her.

She let out an audible sigh as she shook out her arms, "oof, thanks a bunch! Ok, it's over this way!"

Levi glanced her way, "what is?"

"My apartment!"

He felt weird about this. He didn't know this person. Well, he did, or he would know her. Tomorrow, anyways. It still felt weird. He wasn't sure he really knew why. He nodded silently and followed her.

He paused when he looked down.

"Are you wearing fucking crocs?"

[jean-kayak]

Chapter 17

Summary: A relaxing summer at home after your second year of college sounds nice, until someone comes back and makes it anything but

Pairing: Eren Jaeger x black!fem!reader

Warnings: angst lmao that’s really all i can say without spoiling anything 

Word Count: 2581

A/N: This is another FLASHBACK, and this will be the last one for the rest of the series, but after this, it goes pretty downhill lmfao

Tags: @iwascrybaby​, @styxtm​, @germinvasion​, @prxttyguardian​, @bigdaddyzawa​, @kbbvbz​, @tomsadversary​, @kqtsukisgf​, @pettyluxury​, @protectpancakes​

Chapter Summary: Words can hurt. Like really, really bad.

If you ever wanted a time to be good at holding back your tears, it would be right now. Final exams are coming up, so your stress levels are already through the roof, and to make it even worse, your teacher for interior design basically told you that your project was a failure and that you're going to have to start over. Today is Friday.

It's due Monday.

You're sitting on one of the benches in the main lobby of the high school, waiting for your ride, and you just can't stand being at school any longer. You're looking down, hoping no one who's still wondering through the hallways after almost everyone's left looks your way.

You freeze when you hear a familiar voice, and you feel a new fresh wave of tears roll down your face. You hear Eren laughing with his friends, and you keep your gaze down, refusing to look up as you wipe the tears from your eyes.

And you hate how your body sheds more tears at just the sound of his voice, and you blame it on the fact that you're already stressed. He "rejected" you a long time ago, so there's no reason for you to still be pining over someone you're never going to be with.

You keep sniffling due to the fact that you're looking down, and you're hoping he walks past you soon without looking your way at all. When you feel someone lightly nudge your head, you feel your heart drop. "Hey." His voice is soft, and that just seems to make you more upset. "What's wrong?"

You shake your head, keeping your gaze on your shoes. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"Bullshit." You sigh as you look away from your shoes. He definitely is the most stubborn person you've met, and you're best friends with Jean.

"It's true. There's nothing wrong," you repeat. "Now, I'm pretty sure you'd rather be with your friends than with me, so you can go." You wipe your face with your sleeve, sniffling again which doesn't help your case.

"Look at me and say that." You feel yourself clench your hands into fists at his stupid fucking persistence, looking up at him, and you refuse to believe that you see his face soften when you look at him. "What the hell happened?" he asks, and you shake your head again.

"Like I told you, it's nothing. You wouldn't care." This is what you tell yourself, you're pretty sure it's the truth anyway. There's no way he would actually care about how you're doing.

"Where'd you get that from?" he questions in disbelief, and you scoff as you look back down at your hands, flexing your fingers as you relax them.

You shrug. "I don't know. It's just something I assumed."

"Well, it's a stupid assumption," he tells you before he sighs. "Come on, let's go." You look up at him, raising your eyebrows. "Tell whoever's picking you up that I'm taking you home." You scoff again as you shake your head.

"Eren, I already told you, I'm fine. I don't need you treating me like a baby," you respond, your words coming out more aggressive than you wanted.

"Come on, Y/N, you know I don't look at you that way. Now, let's just go." You roll your eyes as you look in the opposite direction of him, cursing yourself when you feel more tears brimming your eyes.

"I'm pretty sure you'd rather hang out with your friends than me. They're more important than I am." You didn't realize how self-deprecating you got in your head when you tried to get over your stupid crush.

"Who told you that?" He sounds angry now, and you can't hold the tears in anymore, more falling down your face as you shake your head.

"No one." I did. You try to hold back the sob rising in your chest, but it slips out, and you suddenly feel a hand on your wrist pulling you up from the bench before an arm is around your shoulders, leading you out of the school.

You find yourself sitting at that same booth in the ice cream parlor, this time barely putting a dent in your ice cream. "You can start on the work now. Just get a little bit done while you sit here," Eren says, and you shake your head, giving him a small shrug.

"No, I'll probably just wait till I get home. I'm sure you've got somewhere else to be, don't wanna hold you up."

You don't look up when he leans forward, resting his arms on the table. "Who's telling you all this shit?" You can't help but feel pathetic. You can't say yourself because then you'll feel even more stupid.

"No one, it doesn't matter." You put a spoon of ice cream in your mouth to stop you from saying anything else. You glance at him, and you know that he can tell that you're not telling the truth or that there's something else underlining your words, and you hate how much of an open book you are.

"Seriously, Y/N, do the work. I have nothing else to do." He leans back in the booth, eating some of his ice cream to emphasize his point, and you sigh heavily before you slide your ice cream to the slide and start pulling out the stuff you need to start on the toughest thing you currently have to deal with.

You're actually pretty immersed in your work, your notebooks and binder spread out all over the table, pens and colored pencils littering the surface, and you just happen to look around to see a pencil in Eren's hand. He seems pretty focused, and you chew on your lip nervously before you set your pencil down, flexing your fingers that are starting to hurt.

"What are you doing?" you ask cautiously, and he looks up at you through his lashes before he lifts his head up.

"Drawing," he responds easily, and you nod, remembering how Jean said that he had started to take it up.

"Drawing what?" you push softly, and he responds with an easy shrug.

"Stuff, I guess," he responds, and you raise your eyebrows as you give him an easy smile.

"Can I see?" He easily slides the book over to you, and you pick it up, setting it on top of your stuff. Your eyes widen when they land on the different sketches spanning across the two pages you're looking at. "You're amazing," is the first thing that comes out of your mouth, and you're really at a loss for words.

You didn't know what you were expecting, but they're way better than what you thought. "I would hang these up in my room," you say, and you keep your attention on the drawings as you hear him chuckle softly.

"I don't think they're that good," he contradicts, and you scoff as you look up at him.

"Are you kidding me? You're seriously amazing," you emphasize before passing the book back to him. "What?" you ask when you notice that he's staring at you.

He hesitates for a second, not saying anything as he looks down at the table before looking back at you. "Can I draw you?"

You blink in surprise before you let out a depreciating chuckle. "You wanna draw an ugly girl with dried tear tracks on her face?"

"I want to draw a girl who is not ugly, and who is going to finish her project and get the best grade in the class," he counters quickly, and you chew on your lip softly as you try to fight the heat rising to your face.

"If you want to," you respond softly. "What do you want me to do?" you ask, fiddling with the pencil in your hand nervously.

"Just keep doing what you're doing." You respond with a small nod before turning back to your work, feeling a little bit weird now that Eren's watching you, but you're soon back to being absorbed into your work, nearly forgetting that he was drawing you in the first place.

Eren decides to leave once you have most of your project drafted, almost ready to work on the final result. "Can I see that drawing?" you ask as you pack your backpack up.

"It's really bad," he says, and you roll your eyes just as you zip up your bag.

"I know that's not true," you object, and he chuckles softly before sliding out of the booth.

"I'll show you one day. Come on, let's get you home," he says, nodding his head towards the door, and you walk out of the ice cream parlor feeling a lot lighter than when you came in.

^^^

The end of your freshman year of high school passed in a blur even though you swore you had those weeks where it felt like it took forever for them to end. You barely made it through your exams unscathed, your brain feeling like it had been fried ten times over, but now you had the summer to look forward to.

Eren had a graduation party, and the only reason why you were there was that Jean got to invite some of his friends because his mom didn't want him to feel left out. You two were the only ones there though, most of them not wanting to be surrounded by a bunch of former seniors or either having things to do.

You went to obviously hang out with Jean, but once more people started showing up, that's when you realized that this probably wasn't the best idea. You and Jean were able to take refuge in his room for the time being, and you couldn't go to your house because Jean's mom was making him stay for at least a couple of hours.

Jean wasn't happy about it, so you listened to him complain for at least an hour about that before he switched the subject onto you. He started asking you about your relationship with Eren, and he wasn't happy when you told him that sometimes he would take you to get ice cream. "What's so wrong with it?" you ask, and he just shrugs.

"I just don't like it," he replies, making your frown deeper. "Do you like him?" The sudden question makes you jump slightly, and you try to mask the nervousness in your chuckle.

"What do you mean? Like if I--"

"Y/N," he cuts you off, his voice telling you there's no point in beating around the bush, and you sigh heavily as you pick at the side of your cup.

"No? I don't..." you trail off, not really knowing how to answer. "It doesn't matter," you conclude.

Eren causes your feelings to be all over the place. One moment, you're fine, it's like you're over him, and then he'll do something like bringing you to the ice cream parlor to make you feel better, and then those feelings explode all over again.

"I'm going to get something to drink," you say, quickly standing up and walking out of his room. You maneuver through the mass of people, the house seeming to be stuffy from how many people are inside, probably due to the heat outside.

You slide past a bunch of people before you decide that you need a breather. You make your way to the back door, sliding it open just enough for you to fit through before closing it behind you. You release a sigh that slumps your shoulders when it feels cooler outside than it does inside. You walk away from the view of the door, leaning against the house so that no one can see you.

You're about to sit down when you hear voices coming from the side of the house. You make your footsteps light as you tiptoe across the deck, and you keep your back against the wall as you look around the corner, feeling an uneasy feeling settle over you when you see Eren talking with his friends.

Eren and Will are sitting next to each other in cheap lawn chairs while Porco leans against the wall, cigarette lit in his mouth. The conversation is nothing to really pay attention to, but once you rest your head against the wall, out of their sight is what catches your ears. "You ever get that whole crush thing sorted out with Y/N?" Will asks the question, and you can feel your heart starting to pound.

"Yeah, she said it wasn't true," you hear Eren respond and a scoff follows it.

"Yeah, right. Don't tell me you believed that." It's Porco that speaks this time, and you bite your lip as your hands dig into the brick against your back. "It was so obvious, it's almost sad."

"Like I said, she denied it," Eren repeats, and you want to leave, but your feet are glued to the ground.

"And then you were hanging out with her," Porco continues. "Like you had a crush on her, too," he jokes.

"Fuck off, man," Eren says. "I was only nice to her because she's Jean's best friend. Trust me, that's the only reason why I put up with her."

You think you physically feel your heart break. The tears are brimming in your eyes, and they spill as you turn in the opposite direction towards your house, your walking soon turning into running, not stopping when your parents ask you what's wrong, and you close your door, locking it before pulling the covers over yourself and crying so hard, you fall asleep.

Coming up with a lie to tell your parents wasn't easy, you roping in Jean to help you, and you both just said that you had gotten into a meaningless fight, but you're fine now. Jean was livid when you told him what happened, but you told him not to do anything. For one, Eren was way bigger than him, and two, Eren was about to leave so there was no point.

Jean only came to your house to hang out, and you never stepped foot back into Jean's house until Eren had left for college. Sometimes Eren would text you, but you never looked at it. You would swipe the notification away, and slowly the texts stopped coming in.

You obviously knew that it could never work between the two of you, but why did he have to say that about you? Was that true? You didn't want to believe it, but he seemed so serious that it makes you cry all over again. It just makes all of those moments you had together mean absolutely nothing, and it makes you want to punch the memories out of your head.

You didn't go see him when he left, you telling your parents that you weren't feeling that well, and Jean came over to tell you that he was gone. It took you a lot longer to get over him than you wanted, but you made sure to distract yourself for the whole summer, and Jean helped you.

You didn't tell anyone else what happened and neither did Jean, and even though it caused a deep wound, you were slowly but surely starting to heal, and Eren deciding that he wasn't going to come back often made it easier for you.

You didn't have to see him ever again, and you used that to aid in your healing process.

|Chapter 16|Masterlist|Chapter 18|

[peralta-guaranteed]

*runs past, throwing a pegging fic at your head*

look I know I said I’d actually work on the smut prompts I got but this popped into my mind instead and I had to get it out

*runs off again*

(AO3)

She found him sulking in bed when she came home, a full two hours after he’d left the precinct in a bit of a huff as his shift ended - she wasn’t perfectly up to date with the detectives workload anymore ever since moving downstairs, but she’d still gathered from Rosa’s tense replies during their lunch date and Charles’ hurried goodbyes and hellos that they were all stressed from whatever they were working on.

Not least of all her husband, who seemed to have taken on far more than he could chew yet again with two new cases, on which he obviously insisted to be the primary and which had been driving him slowly mad with pressure as she noted from every evening that she came upstairs to pick him up for their ride home, muttering under his breath about context clues and bad intel as he packed his bag. Holt had actually sent him home earlier today to ‘settle his mind’, which he hadn’t taken in a particularly good way, as he basically stormed past her desk on the ground floor to tell her he’d be heading home, still stopping for a kiss and a heartfelt ‘see you tonight’ though - even stressed out he still had the manners of her perfect husband.

Right now, though, he was back to angrily shouting at Wario on the gamepad in his hands while she changed out of her uniform in front of the dresser.

Usually he’d give her a little joking leer and a wolf whistle when she did, or a flirty comment. But this time his attention seemed to be much more focussed on raging about the game, and she knew that as another sign of pent-up frustrations that definitely needed a better outlet.

So Amy had climbed up on the bed with him in her oversized shirt and fresh underwear (it was a hot summer, and she felt like soaking through everything in her dark, heavy uniform, so at-home-time was strictly relegated to as little clothing as possible), nudged the gamepad out of his hands carefully and pulled them around her waist instead with a smile and a soft wink.

And here they were now, slowly and languidly making out with her hands roaming all over him, and earning themselves a lot of little sighs from him whenever she massages a particularly sensitive spot on his sides, or between his shoulder blades after getting rid of his shirt. She can feel him melting into her even as she’s positioned on top, all of him lifting up to reach her whenever she moves just an inch away, his hand on her lower back softly pushing her down again. But most of all, she can feel his half-hard erection as she presses her thigh between his and his breath against her lips hitches for a second.

“Mh, babe…” he mumbles as she pulls away from him again and is faced with his hazy, half-lidded eyes, always a bit disoriented after a particularly good kiss. Maybe a little more so today - she can already sense the stress lift from him, but not nearly enough. And she knows just the perfect way to finally get him to really let go, even if he’d probably not admit it.

“I really want to fuck you.” She offers before another little kiss, and feels his trademark grin against her.

“Yeah I kinda figured this is where this was heading anyway…?” He jokes, but she only presses her thigh against him a bit more insistently.

“No, I mean.  I  want to fuck  you .”

“Oh.” The atmosphere in the room changes as he follows her words, and she can see his still hazy eyes darken just a bit. “Yeah.”

“Are you up for that?”

“Yeah.” He nods maybe a bit too eagerly as she smiles and leans down for a quicker kiss.

“Can you get yourself ready while I go get a dick?”

“I really want to know how many people on earth have ever said that particular sentence.” He laughs as she climbs off the bed again, but also reaches over to his bedside drawer where they keep the lube while she squats down in front of the dresser, unlocks the lowest drawer filled with the toys that aren’t on regular rotation in both their bedside drawers.

She’s met with the view of a completely naked Jake once she returns, his slicked up fingers already reaching past his still growing erection down to his hole, one finger pushing in with slow motions.

“So sexy.” She says, earnestly, yet he laughs again, a bit more breathless this time with his eyes closed. And he really is, no matter how many times he denies it whenever she tells him - he is sexy, both in his looks that can make her feel hot and cold at the same time even if he’s not intentionally doing anything, and in the sincere eagerness he has in going along with her, willing to try almost anything she might suggest, and being honest about his likes and dislikes about it all. It’s unlike any other relationship she’s had, and she has to admit it was quite surprising at first to find this much maturity in her usually so childish partner. But she’s glad for it, and for the many things they’ve discovered together (and quickly noted down in what Jake has titled her ‘sexy binder’, for which he was equally on board with - he loves her nerdiness just as much as her sexyness).

Things like this - Jake under her and giving all of himself to her control, letting himself fall in the knowledge that she’s going to catch him and treat him right. She’s figured out pretty quickly how much they both enjoy the whole pegging process - simple physical pleasure aside, it especially gets Jake into a mindset he needs sometimes, shutting off from the pressure of the world and just giving in and letting go of the reins into Amy’s care. The fact that it makes  her  feel incredibly empowered, and bonded with him in a new kind of trust is just an added on benefit. Right now, she knows it’s mostly the first thing that he really needs, essentially a ‘turn off and on’ reboot of his brain that is still fussing over everything he couldn’t leave behind at the precinct.  

“Can you do one more?” Her voice is almost husky just from thinking about it all, even more so from seeing him laid out before her like this.

A second finger joins the first in lieu of a response, and Amy has to swallow hard as she watches him spread himself open, paired with an already slightly laboured breath and the loveliest facial expression of tense anticipation. She knows the feeling of those fingers working away too well from between her own legs, although he seems slower and more careful now, of course.

She shakes her head to get back into the moment after watching the scene before her for a bit too long, her hand sliding down the inside of his wide-spread thighs to get his attention back to her too, as his eyes flutter open again.

“Which one?” She simply asks, holding up two of the dildos that fit into the soft harness they bought a while ago that seemed a lot less daunting than the heavy duty leather straps they found in most sex shops. (She’s as good at ‘toy’ store research as she is at any other research, though, and quickly found a far more comforting boutique with a saleslady who very eagerly explained anything she could, no matter how much Jake was blushing beside her.)

“Uh.” He stutters as his brain slowly comes back to reality. “The, uhm, the blue.”

“You like the little bulge.” She states matter-of-fact (a fact that’s definitely already in her sexy binder too), even as he still blushes about it while she discards the other one and affixes the toy he picked to her harness.

“Alright.” The lube he left on the nightstand is quickly spread over it. “Turn around?”

She wanted it to be a question, but he only gulps as he nods, far more used to commands in these kind of situations as his fingers slip out and he rolls over, lifts his hips up enough that she can wedge a larger pillow under them to keep him up yet off his knees, a pose they’ve found to prefer much more than the usual doggy style. She playfully squeezes his butt before spreading his cheeks a bit more, and he feels the slick tip of the dildo against him.

“Ready?” She asks more clearly this time, and waits for his short  ‘Yeah’  before pushing in.

He’s already done a good job getting himself open, but she still takes her time to slide in, back and forth with rolling hips, pulling out and pushing in just an inch more each time while she’s met with little moans from between his bitten lips with every push. It turns into a drawn out, quiet groan as she finally presses her hips flush against his backside, feels him tense under her. Her hands stroke up and down his rigid back, and wait for the feeling of his muscles finally relaxing under them and his breath returning to a more steady beat before she starts to rock into him at a soft pace.

It’s a lot to take in - both figuratively and literally, as the blue dildo between her legs is slightly bigger than their usual toys, but she could see the glint in his eyes when he picked it. She would love to know more about that - about how he really feels when she’s inside of him, if it feels the way it does for her when the roles are reversed, but it’s one of the few things happening in their bedroom he doesn’t like to talk about too much. There’s a sense of vulnerability still there, and an underlying fear, she suspects, of being judged for it - even if the notion of Amy judging Jake for anything that gives him pleasure seems laughable, she knows him too well not to notice. She still remembers the almost apologetic tremble in his voice when he first ‘admitted’ that he wasn’t new to anal sex, albeit completely new to it with a woman, and his nervous look to see her reaction.

“You’re doing so well, babe.” She mumbles soft affirmations while her fingers dig into the work-tense skin around his neck, leaning her weight onto him as she thrusts, feeling him grind up against her at the same speed, essentially humping the pillow under him as well. It’s a wonderful rhythm they always find, but something’s not quite right - not quite enough, she can tell both from her own response and the almost hesitant noises coming from him, moans and sighs that aren’t fully there yet, not where she wants him to be.

He whines when she slides out of him, though, and she can see in his one dark eye with a blown pupil staring at her from where his face is pressed into the pillows that his mind was still slowly working to get to that place. She almost feels guilty for pulling him away from it for a bit, but she also knows what will be much more helpful for him.

“Can you turn back for me, actually?” Her voice is apologetic before turning husky again. “I really want to touch you.”

He complies, of course he does, twisting around a bit more carefully now, shifting aside the pillow that was under his hips, and god, she still loves the view of it all as both her hands travel down his thighs and wrap around his now fully hard cock, eliciting a far more intense moan than before.

She knows he’s capable of coming untouched in their previous position, the friction of the pillow enough to bring him over the edge, and it’s a special kind of orgasm that wrecks through him then, but that’s not what she’s going for right now. And given how he bucks into her hands immediately, even while she pushes the strap back into him a bit faster than before, tells her he’s definitely on board with it all this, too.

And yes, from seeing his mouth drop into a basically constant o-shape as he moans louder with every thrust, his eyes half-lidded and with fluttering eyelashes, turning impossibly dark, and his breathing out of synch, she knows she’s right back on track. He grabs onto the covers after a particularly hard push, his other hand trailing down to reach hers, interlocking their fingers while her other hand lazily strokes him - not fast enough for any quick effect, but more than enough to feel him tense and react under her with every motion. It sets a slower pace than what they usually go for, but she wants to drag this out anyway, wants to continue watching him shift his hips under her to get more of her touch from both ends, hear those little whines and empty pleas that are a rare treat from his otherwise very engaged talk during sex.

“Ames”, he says surprisingly coherently still, and she pushes a bit harder to get him over that, “Ames can y- ahn! God! - can you take off yo-uhhn- your shirt…?”

She has to let go of both his hand and his cock to do so, but she doesn’t stop her thrusts while she pulls the shirt over her head, and is met with just pure adoration in his hazy eyes as they rake over her.

“Fuck, I love you.” he whispers between moans, and it’s enough to make her lean over to kiss him, his mouth hungry on hers and both his hands immediately cupping her breasts as she returns her hand to stroking him. Her tongue slips between his lips just as she pushes into him again, and the change of angle has him almost shout into her open mouth.

“Fu- Oh god- Amy- please-” She repeats the motion twice, quickly, and watches his eyes almost roll back as his face slackens.

“Finally found your sweet spot.” Amy can’t help but boast, but Jake doesn’t hear it anyway as she continues to hit him exactly right, and nothing registers anymore but for that sensation shooting through his body every time. Her hand on him speeds up as well, while his noises reach a level and pitch she barely knows from him, ending with a proper shout as she feels him tense and twitch in her hand as he cums, his whole body going rigid and his back arching off the mattress, shaking through his orgasm.

The movement of her hips slows, but never stops, not until he’s dropped back down into the soft bedding and tries his best to get his racing breath back into control, a few last shivers cursing through his body with every exhale. He looks downright obscene as she surveys him under her - his head still thrown back and throat pulled taut, blushing bright red and with his mouth hanging open through a few more gasps, his chest and stomach covered with his own spend and his softening cock in her hand twitching once more as she ever so slowly pulls the blue strap-on out of him.

Her fingers travel down from his shaft, circling his rim carefully - she knows, if she were to push in, she could probably work him up again in barely a few minutes, and has done so before to get her own ride of pleasure after it, but that’s really not what this time is about. So she pulls her hand away from him completely to a soft little whine, and climbs up and over to settle at his side after getting rid of the harness.

His arm wraps limply around her waist more on reflex than anything while his breathing finally calms, but his eyes are still fully hazy and half-closed. She wanted to turn his brain off for a bit, but she might have just turned it into complete mush with that last move, she fears before he turns his head to place a kiss to her forehead.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” She shuffles up a bit to kiss him on the lips, surprisingly chaste for what they just did. It seems to have worked - the tension has gone out of the room completely, and he’s smiling all soft and dopey instead of the frustrated frown he was sporting earlier. “You know it’s okay to- you know you can ask for things, if you feel like you need them.” She tries to word it as carefully as she can, because what he makes up for in sexual maturity, he sure doesn’t bring all too well when it comes to talking about actual needs and worries.

“You don’t get much out of it, though - I don’t wanna…”

“Babe, you have  no  idea how much I get out of this.” She interrupts him before he can explain it away. “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like it. And I like seeing you like this so much.”

“By ‘like this’ you mean getting railed to death?” He can’t keep from joking, but she hides her responding grin with a more insistent kiss before whispering against his lips.

“I’d call it ‘blissfully fucked’ instead.”

“Yeah.” He whispers back without moving away from her. “That sounds better.”

She kisses him again, right back to the slow and languid pace that set all of this off, while his hand from her waist travels all across her backside with soft fingertips.

She knows she’ll have to bug them both out of bed soon enough for a shower - for obvious reasons - and he’ll most likely try to ‘make it up to her’ there, like he always does, but right now he seems perfectly content to just lay next to her, his mind as settled as his body limp between the sheets.

[ldouble]

Unexpected Guests | Sam Wilson x reader

details: Takes place during Captain America: The Winter Soldier, specifically when Cap and Nat appear on Sam’s doorstep. As his girlfriend, you’re there too. And while the guests are unexpected, they are always welcome

“You cut across the grass.”

“You never said I couldn’t.”

I didn’t have to look over my shoulder to know Sam was rolling his eyes at me. We had been running together for the entirety of our relationship. We actually met while running, our morning paths lining up with our similar paces (despite him saying he slowed down to finally catch my eye when it was me ruining my mile time for him). No matter, it was an unspoken rule of ours: you don’t cut across the grass. That’s cheating.

But I didn’t want it to be now, when I had finally beat him to the front door.

I only turned when he didn’t retort back. My hand was halfway to the orange juice when I noticed him standing on the opposite side of the kitchen. He was still breathing heavily, able to control himself enough not to be heaving like a cow (like me), but his eyes were toward the floor. His house, while lived in, was spotless. I didn’t even need to look down to see if there was a spec of dust, there surely couldn’t be.

Besides, that was his thinking face. His worry face. His wonderng face.

The chill of the refrigerator reached him, causing him to look up at me. The breath he had been holding in was released as he made his way to me, side stepping to grab the jug just out of my reach.

He held eye contact for a second, his dark irises blending in with the dark purple of his running shirt. I was about to ask what was on his mind when he went to drink straight from the gallon.

“Sam Wilson don’t you dare-”

My warning went unfinished, as did his rebellious action, when there was a knock on the door. I switched my focus to the unexpected visitor, going to check my watch. The early morning house barely registered as Sam gently pat my legging-clad thigh in a “stay here” notion. It wasn’t a controlling action, but rather his AF training. Something as simple as the mailman would always be a threat to the soldier.

I abided, despite my own military status. Obedience never lasted long with me, though, so it was no surprise that I followed after him after no less than a second. Upon Sam opening the blinds, I faltered, the guests a little too unexpected for my feet to continue.

“Hey, man.” Sam said, only the slightest bit of apprehension in his voice. I was proud of his even tone, talking to Captain America with anything but the girly squeal that Sam used once or twice, was impressive to me. Something told me this wasn’t the first time they were meeting. How else would Steve Rogers be at our door?

“I’m sorry about this.” I tilted my head at the sight of the red head, dazed and confused, beside him. Just as I turned my attention to her, she looked inside. Her eyes darted to Sam, as if taking in his presence for the first time, before looking back and recognizing my figure, too.

“Everyone we know is trying to kill us.” She said bluntly.

Sam’s back was to me and he didn’t know I was behind him still. I assumed his mind was running wild. One second we were joking about fake running rules and now we were faced with two very wanted people asking for refuge. Cutting across the grass seemed less and less like a real issue anymore.

“Not everyone.” I stepped forward, placing a hand on Sam’s shoulder and revealing myself to Steve. He offered me a small smile which I returned, before looking back up at Sam and nodding. My interjection had probably overwhelmed even more. There was a reason he asked me to stay in the kitchen, so I wouldn’t have to deal with this. I told him I wanted to deal with it. Be apart of it. Be in this with him.

I conveyed in the only way I could, in taking a step back to allow our guests in. Sam pursed his lips, before following my lead. I let out a small breath, happy this wasn’t an argument (yet) and went to show them around. I hadn’t made it a foot away when I made the point to look over my shoulder. I didn’t want to admit the chill that went down my spine at the sight of Sam studying the neighborhood like a battlefield.

The good thing: he surely had forgotten about me cheating our race today.

--

"Stop eavesdropping.” I chided from the stove.

Sam sighed, throwing over his shoulder, “Says you.”

“Sam.”

He retreated from his perch at the bottom of the stairs. When I had come downstairs from showing our guests a place to wash up, I had found him, trying to make out whatever joke had Steve chuckling lightly. Ever since I had refused to let him in on the light hearted sentiment, he had stood with a sour look on his face.

Now, he saddled up next to me. If I didn’t know any better, he had just come in from our run. It wasn’t like his harsh breathing came from having two fugitives currently in our bedroom.

“You shouldn’t be listening to them talk.”

“I’m not-”

“Because you should be the one talking.” I shot him a look as I emptied the scrambled eggs into a bowl. “Talking to me.”

Sam let out a breath, his head tipping back against the cabinet. The way he shut his eyes made me think he was trying his best to listen in again but before I could scold him again, he opened his mouth.

“I met him running. I didn’t think he’d show up.”

My eyes found the loaf of bread, my hands following quickly to busy myself. I thought his explanation would make this situation a little less ludicrous. Sam’s attempt at cueing my in only made the whole thing more bizarre. Sensing my staggering disposition, Sam stepped in to remove myself from my menial task.

He said my name, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of my hand. My eyes found his, a guilty look on his face. “That’s all I know.”

I gulped, still feeling unsure. Our lives had become so ordinary since becoming civilians, it was shocking when things got out of place. Having an Avenger in our house was a lot more concerning than anything we had experienced, but I knew we could get through it.

But if I had to stand here one more second not knowing everything, I was going to explode. I told Sam that. Not directly of course. Couldn’t seem to thrilled to see Captain America again. At least not in front of my boyfriend.

I forced a smile on my face, the one of a perfect hostess, before nodding up the stairs. “Go tell our guests breakfast is ready.” Sam didn’t make a move until I hip checked him lightly. “If they eat that sort of thing.” I winked.

They did. Eat that sort of thing. No matter how super human he might be, Steve Rogers accepted the assortment of eggs, bacon and toast happily. When he thanked me for the offer of orange juice, I shot a look at Sam.

Good thing you didn’t drink straight from the bottle.

He rolled his eyes at me, silently challenged me with a look that said Oh like you knew we would have unexpected guests.

Which I didn’t. And I definitely didn’t know that S.H.I.E.L.D’s dirty laundry would be joining us for breakfast either.

I watched Sam butter his toast, looking up every so often as they talked through their operation. He did’t want to admit it, but his interest was peaked at the sound of a fight. Always a soldier.

Especially when he could help save someone.

So I wasn’t surprised at all when I watched he dropped his work file on the table, calling it a resume. The only thing shocking me was how Sam could possibly think any old Air Force pilot could help them.

Bewilderment found its way to me when Nat, Steve’s friend and the redhead who looked way better in my tank top than I ever would, called Sam a pararescuer. I stood up, looking over the picture she held in her hands. She handed it to Steve who I only heard talk at the mention of a certain someone’s name.

“Is this Riley?”

“Yeah.” I said, only shooting Sam a look when I answered for him. He nodded in understanding. I knew all about Riley. Especially how hard it was to talk about him.

“I heard they couldn’t bring in choppers because of the RPGs.” Nat continued. “What did you use a stealth chute?”

The question even puzzled me, an Army brat. It would be impossible for even that kind of technology. Sam clued us both it, offering the folder I had never been allowed to look at.

A dry chuckle escaped me as I caught a glance at the sheet of paper.

“I thought you said you were a pilot.” Steve questioned.

“Me, too.” Once again I put myself in the conversation, an eyebrow raised at the boyfriend I thought I knew well.

While some anger tinted my tone, a playful smile was on my lips. No one liked a lie, but everyone had their secrets. Myself included.

I bit my lip, offering an expected look that had Sam chuckling himself. “I never said pilot.”

He had both of us, me and Steve, there. When we met it was Air Force. Understanding veteran’s liking to keep things in the past, I never pressed on. I cursed myself for giving him a freebie. This was a big thing to keep a secret.

“I can’t ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason.” Steve said.

His words hit me close to home. Few ever wanted to leave active duty. It was never a choice. Right now, this was a choice.

“Then ask both of us.” I interjected, making my way to the entry table and pulling out the drawer. My own stack of papers hit the table in a similar fashion as Sam’s, the binder clip clacking louder than the manilla folder had.

I shrugged as he looked across the table at the file. “You’re not the only with a resume, honey.” I rubbed his back before sucking in a breathe and facing our guests. “This household has two soldiers in it, not just one.”

Nat smiled at my words, going back to read more in detail about the project I had worked on while my boyfriend was flying in the skies.

Steve was still on the fence so I nudged Sam to convince him.

“Dude.” Sam said clearly after clearing his throat and tearing his eyes from me. “Captain America needs my help.”

“There’s no better reason to get back in.” I added, crossing my arms over my chest.

I saw the approval in Steve’s eyes even before he asked where we could get a hand on one of these things, waving Sam’s folder.

Sam answered with Fort Meade, a familiar sounding base. When he went on to describe its three guarded gates and 12 inch steel wall, I remembered it. How did it come to mind? It was listed as a possible holding place for my own supplies but deemed too insecure.

“Shouldn’t be a problem.” Steve declared, tossing down the folder.

“Mine might be.” I jested after running the measures through my head.

Nat merely shrugged when I explained them and Steve nodded in agreement. it was Sam who was a little fearful. Of what? It was unclear.

“I have no idea who I’ve been sleeping with.” He said once our guests went upstairs and we began to clean breakfast. “Are those towels even from your grandmother?”

"Either from her or the Secretary of the Navy, you pick.”

He said my name, his hand going to turn off the faucet. His face was stern and etched in what looked like...disappointment?

I continued to clean the plate in my hands. “Who have I been sleeping with? Surely not a pilot.”

“At least I was in the right field.” He said through gritted teeth.

I sighed, dropping the sponge and wiping my hands on my pants. “I knew we should’ve talked more on our first date.”

Unappreciative of my jokes, Sam stared down at me, crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn’t angry, just upset. I was feeling the same way, having just found out he was a freaking Falcon. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

Now was the time to talk.

My hands found their way in pulling apart his arms, placing them on my lower back. My fingers clasped around his neck as I pulled his forehead against mine. “I should’ve told you.”

He didn’t release any more of his tension, only agreeing he should’ve done the same. I couldn’t blame him, I still held some anger in locked elbows.

Sensing it, he eased his hands over my arms before pulling my even closer so our bodies were against each other.

“Who would’ve thought this would come about all after I cut the grass?” I finally broke the silence, earning the smallest of smiles from him.

“You can have your work.” He nodded towards the stack of papers, still resting on the table. “But you can’t have that win.”

“Says the pilot with wings.”

“Says the girl-”

His comeback went unheard as I placed my lips on his. He knew who I was now. His wings didn’t change him. Neither did my accessory. Some soliders wore army green and others did the whole camo-face paint. For us, it was a bit more heavy duty.

So much so, we had Captain America at our door asking us to suit up.

But like I said, no better reason to get back in it.

The End

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