#but real life is kicking my ass from like six different directions... some things i just need to make notes of for myself... | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kinktae · 5 years ago

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beyond the story: bitchin’

Hi friends! I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during these tough times! I really wanted to put something out there as a thank you to just how much support Bitchin’ got. You guys really are incredible. So, although this story has come to an end, I wanted to properly close the Bitchin’ chapter by giving you all a behind the scenes look at Bitchin’ and everything that went into writing it. This includes hidden easter eggs, backstories, alternative plot-lines, and a short drabble of the Bitchin’ cast 10 years after the story’s end.

Without further ado, please enjoy and thank you again for all your love. You have all of mine.

CHAPTER ONE – PARTNERS

Ah, yes, the start of this whole wild ride. I’ve always loved the whole nerd/popular person trope in fanfics, so it was only a matter of time before I tried my hand at it too. One thing I was adamant about was not making this a “popular person turns nerd hot/confident/better” fic as its kind of one of my least favorite cliches. With that in mind, and knowing that I was going to allude to TATBILB’s contract, I decided that I wanted Y/N to gain as much from the deal as Jungkook did. No blackmail, no just agreeing for the hell of it – Y/N was going to further herself and her dreams given the opportunity.

The beginning of the chapter is where the two are most separated and dissimilar throughout the whole story. It wasn’t that they were fundamentally different, it was that they approached life differently. Y/N was frustrated at how superficial Jungkook seemed, because she believes there is much more to life than just kicking your feet up and cracking jokes.

On the other hand, Jungkook didn’t understand why Y/N was so tense and on guard. To him, life was meant to enjoy and not take so seriously. Which makes sense, given that he grew up with minimal rules and minimal worries (bare minimum partners wassup !)

“So, do we have a deal? Partners?” There was mischievous timber to his words, the kind that made you feel as if this would all later come back to bite you in the ass.

Pushing that pestering thought away, you took his hand into yours, holding his eyes as you gave it a firm shake.

“Partners.”

God, this bit. I knew from the minute I wrote it that I was writing the ending of bitchin’ along with it. I knew this was exactly how I was going to end this story, bc the word partners has multiple means right? In chapter 1, this meant business partners, but in the final chapter… it means life partners. Idk, I’m just still really happy with this writing decision :D

CHAPTER TWO – THE CONTRACT

Dearest Yara. We meet her in chapter two don’t we? Yara is completely based off of my irl best friend Yara who is a writer and who helped me A LOT with this story. She was my biggest supporter throughout figuring out this crazy plot. It was initially only about seven parts, but with her help I managed to bump it up to 10! Everybody say thank you Yaraaaa.

You were angry, that much was evident to her. Yara was sat in your shared dorm’s living room, a thick blanket engulfing her small frame. You briefly glanced towards the TV, it was tuned into MTV, the familiar music video of Every Breath You Take by The Police playing, before directing your glare back onto the copper-haired girl.

The song reference is a direct allusion to writer Yara’s fic, which is one of my favorite fics by her. She was actively writing it around the start of our friendship so it only felt right to pay respects to her. The introduction of her character felt necessary imo bc I wanted to make sure Y/N had a life outside Jungkook. Plus, I got to use the scenes between the two girls as a way to reference the music and culture scene. Yara is especially a fan of the powerful women in the music industry at the time, i.e., Madonna, Annie Lennox, Cyndi Laupner, etc.) Yara is a raging feminist and believer in sexual freedom and libery for women, we do in fact have to stan.

“How old do you think your sister is?”

“Hey, don’t sass me. For your information, Lyanna still has all her Care Bear tapes. She threw a hissy fit when my mom tried to give them away last Christmas.” Yara recalled.

Lyanna is one of writer Yara’s past pseudonyms. She always used to joke about how whenever she read it, it was confusing because there was Y/N, Yara and Lyanna, which were technically all her lolol.

FUNNY STORY ABOUT THE CONTRACT I INSERTED INTO THIS PICTURE… Twitter found it and made it into somewhat of a meme because no one knew it came from a fic rip. I was actually rly embarrassed and even wrote some posts about how much twitter scared me on my blog LMAO. but THEN weirdly enough, I actually stumbled upon a small community on twitter who actually found my fic and would TWEET ABOUT IT!!! LIKE REACTIONS TO EACH UPDATE!!! I wish I could go back in time and remember how giddy I was the first time I found a tweet about my fic. The fanfic community on twitter gave me a new love for the site (which I had previously had removed myself from because of its toxicity) and I have met so many wonderful people because of it. People even made themselves a little twitter group chat to talk about my fics, and now we are all friends! I miss posting a chapter of bitchin’ and refreshing my twitter feed as all my mutuals would post memes and live tweet their reactions. God that made me so fucking happy.

CHAPTER THREE – THE ROLLERSKATING DATE

I love the bickering in this chapter, because unlike the bickering in the first chapter, it’s actually less hostile and more playful. Y/N is slowly letting her guard down to the very persistently charming Jungkook.

“Woah. Family of six, huh? So you have siblings then.” He noted.

“Yep. Three.”

“Tell me about them.”

Looking up from where you were slipping on your second skate, you met Jungkook’s eyes, surprised to see genuine interest in them.

I actually originally had Y/N brush him off here. I was going to wait until the drunk party scene for Y/N to open up about her family and relationship with her sisters. But then I kind of thought to myself… Why? Y/N made peace with it and doesn’t hold onto those insecurities anymore. And objectively, Jungkook hasn’t proven himself to be a bad person so… I let Y/N open herself up to him.

“Then there’s the twins, Rosa and Lia.”

“Hold on. Twins? Wait… did they go to our high school?” Jungkook asked, his interest in this conversation doubled.

“Yep. They were two grades above us.” You confirmed.

“Oh shit, yeah, I remember your sisters, they were mad hot.” Jungkook let out a low whistle, before stiffening, flashing you an apologetic look. “Uh, in a totally non-meathead way.”

You offered the scared-looking boy a small smile, shaking your head.

Some of y’all notice but, Rosa and Lia are a blatant homage to my name: Roselia. ACTUALLY some form of my name can be found in every one of the rewind series fics, including upcoming ones. I’ll give a cookie to whoever can find every single mention hehe.

“I told you it was dumb.” You laughed nervously.

It wasn’t that you cared much about what Jungkook thought but you had a feeling a guy like him, who was popular and carefree, wouldn’t be able to sympathize in the way you would like him to.

“No, I’m just… surprised, that’s all.”

Jungkook certainly was surprised. You had built up quite the impression on him from the very moment you two met. It was hard to imagine that the girl who was so unapologetically herself was ever unsure or insecure.

Somehow, the idea tugged at his heart, as if he understood you more if only just a little.

From the get go, Jungkook was extremely drawn to just how confident and secure Y/N was in herself. I knew I wanted Y/N to be unapologetically sure of herself and in her abilities. Something I didn’t want, however, was for frat boy!jungkook’s only personality traits to be liking sex and being a cocky bastard (although I am a big consumer of that trope heh). Jungkook is actually canonly incredibly insecure. He lacks a real sense of self, which is why he is so desperate for Kiri back. His relationship with Kiri at that time was a big part of what he thought was himself. He has somewhat of low self esteem tbh which is why he’ll go back to a woman who treated him unfairly. That’s why he comes off the way he does in the first chapter and why Y/N thinks he has a big ego... he’s overcompensating. He finds it so endlessly fascinating that Y/N, in all her confident glory, was actually once super insecure. He admires her all the more once she opens up about her past.

“Oh, Rosa is an intern for our hometown’s newspaper but between you and me those assholes don’t even let her write. She does coffee and burger runs for men in charge. And Lia sells ice cream at the mall.”

“What about your brother?” Jungkook asked.

“He’s training to be a cop just like my dad.”

“And your mom?”

“She works at a convenience store.”

All their careers resemble people in the latest Stranger Things season (Nancy, Steve, Hopper, and Joyce). Fun Cameo there.

“What’s wrong?” You wondered, following his eyes.

“October 16th, 1985. 6:48PM.”

“Yes. That’s today’s date and time. What about it?” You pressed, growing confused.

“Remember it.” He warned.

“Why?”

“It’s when I fell in love with you.”

This iconic line I actually got from the real Jeon Jungkook himself. While Jungkook wasn’t actually in love with Y/N here, it certainly was a cute way for him to express his admiration for her.

OH HERE’S A FUN FACT: the hickey scene at the end of this chapter where JK and Y/N kiss for the first time was actually supposed to be Yara giving Y/N the hickey like the best friend she is. Ultimately I went with JK giving it for... smut purposes... ≖‿≖

CHAPTER FOUR – THE HALLOWEEN PARTY

The decision for Y/N to be Freddie Krueger came from me planning to be him for Halloween. And I was! JK as Glen Lantz just followed naturally. I’ve seen some great edits of him as the character. Truly chef’s kiss.

I really liked that Jungkook came over to the girl’s dorm to get ready. I didn’t want a scene where Y/N was thrown into a situation she was uncomfortable with which is how much Nerd At A Party Scene go so made sure Jungkook stayed by her side throughout the part, going out of his way to introducing her to the people he cared about.

Tae’s character came in when I realized I needed a way to actually put Y/N’s event in motion. He was the missing link and BOY did you guys eat his character right up huh. Love that for me.

Another thing, the confrontation with Kiri was so hard to write guys, I reeaaaally struggle with girl conflict. GIRLS SHOULD SUPPORT GIRLS. However, not everyone gets along in real life so I went with Kiri being more along the lines of petty rather than outwardly a cunt to Y/N. Realistically, Kiri is popular and well liked among the greek life so being unkind to someone she hardly knows wouldn’t make sense. There’s definitely tension between these two but I tried my best to steer away from the typical cat fight/revenge porn/public humiliation trope most movies seem to follow.

CHAPTER FIVE – THE FIRST TIME

Introduction to Erik!!!! It was really important to me that Y/N had a life before Jungkook. That's why I wrote in Y/N having a fiancé. She’s not opposed to love, she just has reshifted her focus. She knows what she wants and is choosing to focus on that, which why when she realizes she’s falling for Kookie she’s so hesitant to admit it because she’s fallen down that road before. Even though Jungkook treats her with respect and acknowledges the parts of her she’s most proud of, she just isn’t willing to possibly give up her passions for love. Which is why she doesn’t immediately confess to him, even once she’s sure she loves him.

“I’m serious, nerd. You’re like… um… the sun!” Jungkook marveled, eyes growing full as the realization dawned on him.

“The sun?” You laughed.

“Yeah, like… you’re this bright, beautiful thing that seems like it’s here in front of me but is really light-years away.”

Jungkook was drunk, and although you were sure he was making more sense in his head, you couldn’t help but feel your face grow hot, unsure of how to react to his drunk analogy.

“You’re the sun, Y/N. You make the world turn for you. Never orbit for anyone else.”

And suddenly, you were kissing him, for no other reason other than you wanted to and that it felt like the right thing to do.

No real commentary here. Just love this bit. It’s probably my favorite interaction between them two ‧⁺◟( ᵒ̴̶̷̥́ ·̫ ᵒ̴̶̷̣̥̀ )

“Also… She’s, uh, currently dating Eunwoo.” You told Yara.

Your best friend blinked, silence falling over her.

“Yara?”

“Good for her.” She perked up almost forcibly. “Let her put up with his annoying ass.”

Yara could see the way your expression had turned dubious as if you didn’t believe her nonchalant act.

Yara turned up her nose defensively, “What?”

Ugh yes, some character development from Yara.... the flavor ! Yara (much like Y/N and JK) also struggles with love. She has a real fear of commitment and if far more comfortable with casual sex than relationships. She did develop actual feelings for Eunwoo, she just wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment so she cut him off. Fleed the scene if you will. Typical gemini smh my head.

"I don’t think the contract mentioned orgasms.” Jungkook smirked as you released his thumb.

“I say we let it slide.” You shrugged, leaning into him casually.

“You think?”

“Totally. Think of it as… a bonding activity.” You joked, resting your chin on his shoulder, peering up through your lashes.

“Damn, we’re really committed to this fake dating thing, huh.”

You laughed in the way that you hated, but Jungkook loved; it was loud and abrupt, but it genuine, and it was you.

“What can I say, I’m a method actor.” You sighed dramatically, causing Jungkook to grin before pressing a kiss to your nose, simply because he liked the way it always seemed to make you smile.

GOD THEY’RE SO WHIPPED FOR EACH OTHER ITS DISGUSTING!!!!!! I’m really happy I decided not to make sleeping together a big deal and I got a lot of feedback from you guys agreeing! I had a lot of fun with these two’s sex scenes knowing they could do it whenever they wanted.

CHAPTER SIX – THE STEM EVENT

I started the scene with smut BUT I wanted to point out that much of their time spent together is at Y/N dorm, Jungkook either napping, hanging out or doing work as Y/N would study like she always did. I liked the idea that Jungkook would get bored and would want attention from Y/N because she was so focused. Idk, I just wanted to write a love story about two people spending time together and figuring out how they fit in each other’s lives as opposed to some dramatic I mEeT HiM aNd mY LiFe bEcAmE cRaZy. There’s nothing wrong with that plot line, I just didn’t want that for these two dorks. I wanted Y/N to interact with JK’s scene and crowd but not give up her own which is why most days JK and her just lounged around in her dorm studying.

Also, I don’t know how the teacher/student roleplay made it into the smut, it just did, no further questions (ʃ⌣́_⌣́ƪ).

Then the event scene.

“You’re whipped, dude! Seriously.”

Jungkook felt his face go red, “Shut up, no, I’m not.”

“Hey, I’m not judging. I get it. That’s your girl.” Taehyung shrugged. Jungkook placed a hand on the fold up table in front of him, staring down at the information pamphlet you had worked so hard on.

“She’s just… so fucking driven and passionate about everything she does. Sometimes I look at her, and I’m just like… holy shit, what am I doing with a girl like her? I feel like she’s totally out of my league and being with me is holding her back but— I dunno, man. I just… really like her.” Jungkook revealed, voice growing small.

An unexpected wave of tenderness fell over the two boys, Taehyung throwing an arm over his little brother’s shoulder.

“I’m happy for you, bro.”

Jungkook didn’t know it just yet but dude was talking from the heart and, is in fact, totally whipped :’c

I loved the confrontation scene between the boys and Eunwoo because the boys standing up for Yara really did make everyone feel like a friend group, not just some character who happen to exist at the same time. It wasn’t just Y/N and Yara and one side and the boys on the other. They would all become friends, which is ideal to me. A boyfriend who likes your best friend and considers her a friend so you can all hang out??? Yes please.

Initially, irl Yara and I had noooo clue if Yara would end up with Eunwoo or not. That was actually the original goal actually. But after this chapter four, you guys made it ABUNDANTLY clear that you guys wanted to see Taeyara, despite the two never even meeting! Honestly, it wasn’t until this chapter was written that we decided for sure that Eunwoo was out of the picture for Yara. Part of me really wanted to keep Yara single, but irl Yara insisted on dick and frankly, she’s right. Bitchin’ Yara deserved a shot at love. She definitely has her own story outside of Bitchin’ and will experience a lot of growth in the future.

“God, I know. I do not miss that temper of his.” She chuckled, her words piquing your interest.

“Temper?”

“Oh, yeah. Have you seriously not experienced it yet? He’s got some gnarly anger issues. Not to mention all the lying…” Kiri paused suddenly, straightening up as she flashed you an apologetic look. “Yikes, I’m sorry. I totally should not be telling you this. I’m not trying to be that gross girl that shit talks her ex to his current girlfriend.”

Miss Kiri, Miss Kiri. She really acted up this chapter didn’t she. There was a lot of discussion about whether or not those things she said about Jungkook were true. Which was exactly what I wanted hehe. We come to find out that Kiri had definitely stretched the truth. She really is good at manipulation and understanding how people think and it’s why she is in the role that she is in. Messy queen.

CHAPTER SEVEN – THE ROOFTOP DATE

This entire chapter was inspired by High School Musical with Troy and Gabriella’s rooftop garden scenes. This was my shortest chapter and honestly, probably not my strongest. I definitely went into writing this with zero concept of what I actually wanted to happen. Usually when I write my chapters I have a 4k long outline of it beforehand that I go off of. Not this one though. I really just winged it and I tried my best to write a chapter that really showed off (dialogue wise) just how this couple bounces off each other. I do really like some of the banter they have in this chapter.

You had taken note a little wooden popsicle stick poking up from the soil of the yellow flowers. Acacias, they were marked. Pulling your knees up to your chest, you considered his words.

Yellow acacias stands the value of true friendship and can indicate a secret love! I thought that was very appropriate given these dummies' relationship.

“So, you probably know why I brought you here.”

You nodded.

“You’re proposing, right?”

“Yeah, I– oh, shut up.” He laughed, the serious mood shattering as you joined him.

Even though I knew they were going to have a semi serious talk, what with Y/N asking about what Kiri had told her, these two dufuses realistically are just too comfortable with each other to stay serious for too long.

“Hey, I said that out of frustration, I didn’t really mean it. I’m sure she’ll come crawling back soon.” You attempted to comfort him, hoping to sound sincere.

“Even if that’s true, I’m not entirely sure I want that anymore.”

“What?” You blinked. Jungkook shrugged.

“What about us?” He met your eyes, causing your breath to hitch.

“What about us?”

Jungkook stared at you for a moment, noting the way the timber in your voice had become higher pitched as if panicked.

MORE FUN FACTS LMFAO: I typically do this thing with unplanned chapters where I just go for it and write and usually it works out. But when I wrote this down I remember stopping and being like ??? WHY DID I JUST WRITE THAT ??? I don’t like deleting my writing so I had a serious think to myself about whether this was going to be the moment Jungkook confessed or not.

Canonly, I decided that Jungkook did in fact mean ‘us’ in a romantic sense, but because of the way you perceivably panicked at that possible meaning, he decided against taking the conversation in that direction, instead speaking about ‘us’ in a platonic sense. Poor kookie :(

“Stop. Listen to me, Jungkook, you’re a fucking great guy, okay? You’re charismatic and funny and care about your friends… sure, you almost ruined my event, but it was mostly to defend my best friend when Eunwoo got too pushy, right? You’re a good guy, meathead. I know I joke about your ego, but I really believe you’re capable of more than you think you are. Seriously, Kiri is so lucky to be the object of your affection.”

Jungkook watched the way the sun’s orange light kissed your face, a bittersweet feeling growing in his chest as he contemplated the object of his affection. Just a couple of months ago, he would have had no doubt about who held his heart, but as you held his stare, he found himself unsure and yet, entirely sure all the same.

“Jungkook? You okay?” You frowned, catching in the sadness in his eyes.

“Hm? Yeah, yeah. I just… realized something.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“…It doesn’t matter.” He smiled, the gesture hardly reaching his eyes.

It’s in this moment that Jungkook decides that there is no way you hold the same affection towards him that he does to you. He mistakes your words of comfort as you pushing him away. You are so kind and encouraging and Jungkook loves you so much that hearing you insist about him ending back up with Kiri hurts him so bad.

But you are still unsure about your feelings and genuinely believe that's still what Jungkook wants. You’re just being a supportive friend!! :( It isn’t until the end of this chapter when Y/N has her talk with Yara that she realizes, oh man, she’s in deep.

CHAPTER EIGHT – THE MISTAKE

BLAH. This chapter is so BLAH, you know? Having to write this chapter was SO HARD. I texted irl Yara complaining about how much I hated having to put my characters through this and that I wanted to just end the story on chapter 7 and keep them happy forever. BUT ALAS! I had planned for this to happen from the start.

You tasted like the mint of your favorite brand of toothpaste. He imagined if he had caught you any later then the mint would have been accompanied by the taste of coffee, knowing the way you rarely started a day without a cup.

God, he had missed the taste of you.

What you guys didn’t see is Jungkook spending the night with Kiri, and immediately kicking her out, freaking out as the weight of guilt washed over him. He knew he had done nothing wrong, that you weren’t his real girlfriend, and that getting back together with Kiri was exactly what he had signed up for. It was what he should’ve wanted. But it wasn't… because you were what he wanted. And that was exactly what he was going to tell you as he marched over to your apartment.

But he panicked. His mind already decided that your answer to him would be no– that you didn’t feel the same. So he kissed you. He had you in the only way he was allowed to. He was selfish and impulsive and so incredibly scared that he ended up hurting the person he loved the most.

Initially though, I had Jungkook get back together with Kiri, not that he slept with her right before sleeping with Y/N. But I decided TEEHEE let me just make everything erupt into flames. However, I didn’t realize just how angry with Jungkook you guys would get. I remember thinking DAMMIT WAS THAT TOO SCANDALOUS?? I knew I was going to have to work hard for Jungkook to redeem himself to my readers.

“She wants to get back together.” Jungkook swallowed dryly, eyes wavering between yours as if to gauge your reaction.

“…Oh.”

You shook your head.

“I mean, wow! That’s… That’s great!” You smiled, something tearing apart inside you as the words left your lips.

“Y/N–”

“Seriously! This means it worked, right? This is exactly what you wanted to happen.” You enthused, turning your head so that he couldn’t see the way your eyes had welled up.

Jungkook’s heart was pounding in his ears, fighting the urge to wrap his arms around you.

“Yeah… yeah, no, you’re right. We did it.” He replied monotonously.

GOD THIS PART IS SO UNBELIEVABLY FRUSTRATING! JUST ADMIT YOU LOVE EACH OTHER YOU MORONS! This entire situation is so convoluted because there's so much information missing and not being expressed, I seriously want to ring my own neck rereading this bit.

“Are you mad?” He called out cautiously, a heavy feeling falling onto his chest.

“Why would I be mad?” You quipped back sharply, causing Jungkook to flinch. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

“I just thought… I mean we’ve been fooling around a lot lately, so I didn’t know if—”

“If what? I had feelings for you?” You scoffed. “Please, as if I’d ever fall for you.”

And there it was— everything Jungkook already knew but had been so afraid to hear. Of course, you didn’t feel for him what he felt for you. How could he have expected anything different?

IDIOTS!!! THEY'RE BOTH IDIOTS!!! I don't know how y'all put up with this for so long. Forgive me.

CHAPTER NINE – THE BREAK

Okay I actually love this chapter. And for many reasons. Let me break down the three scenes for you guys.

Scene one: Kiri confrontation

Kiri is definitely an opposing antagonist. She is constantly working against Y/N because of their interests directly conflicting. BUT. I would argue that the biggest antagonist to this story is the inner ones – Y/N and Jungkook's lack of ability to admit their feelings constantly holding them both back from their happy ending. That being said, a confrontation scene between Y/N and Kiri was MUCH needed. While I suppose I can understand why Kiri doesn't like Y/N, that doesn't change the fact that she has been disrespectful and catty. So miss Y/N had to put Miss Kiri in her place (•̀ᴗ•́)

Scene two: Yara and Tae at the library

Fanservice. That is all. LMFAOOO y'all reallllyyy wanted it to happen and who am I to deny my people what they want. It was really fun getting to explore my side characters and develop them through interactions outside the two main characters. IRL Yara also mentioned giving bitchin’ Yara and Tae their own chapter as a joke and I was like LOL BET. I fully was going to but then I got the idea for the next scene and was like ahh ok maybe not the whole chapter.

Scene three: Meeting with Erik

So. This was a SUPER last minute decision. Like, it wasn’t until I was writing this chapter that I planned on Erik making an appearance. I saw a tweet with someone saying their bitchin theories and they mentioned Erik appearing out of nowhere and I was like,,, HOLD ON!!!! That could be kind of spicy ≖‿≖

I knew for a fact JK was NOT going to be forgiven in this chapter; I needed a way to lay the situation out between the two dorks without trying to seem like I was trying to sway my audience in a way that didn't make sense to the story. Y/N was rightfully angry. But she wasn't only angry about the timing of the sex. She was angry that Jungkook went back to Kiri at all and there was no way she was going to admit that. So who better to lay it all out than calculated, unbiased third party Erik. He deserved some character development after all.

I also liked the idea that Y/N had, in theory, “romantic options.” Losing Jungkook didn’t mean the end of her life. Having my female lead stand on her own was very important to me.

CHAPTER TEN – THE END

RIGHT OF THE BAT I needed Jungkook to suffer. So that whole scene where he tries to interact with his old group only for his presence to make everything awkward MMMM yes, sweet revenge on my part.

You were surprised. His hair was no longer shaggy and long like you remembered it. Instead, it had been freshly cut, looking healthy and neatly styled for the first time since you met Jungkook.

THE WAY SO MANY PEOPLE COMMENTED ON THIS LINE “but Y/N liked it long?!?” IS SO FUNNNYyyyy. So let me clarify a thing. Jungkook had always wanted to cut his hair right. The only reason he didn’t was because Y/N told him not to. With Y/N no longer in the picture to convince him out of it, he cut his hair. That’s really all there is to it skfjsjf.

You know, I had written this part around the time I had just finished up the third ch believe it or not. And it was COMPLETELY different. I had it planned that Yara and Y/N ignored him throughout class and Yara had gone back after the bell rang to go verbally assault JK. And as the two hashed it out, only then was that when Jungkook would realize that he liked Y/N after Yara literally spelled it out for him.

“You like her, dumbass!” Was what I had written Yara saying. I really had written him in denial for ten chapters, I was a whole sociopath (╥﹏╥). But ultimately, I decided that Jungkook came to that conclusion on his own and the decision to apologize to Y/N would have been made over winter break.

“You said Kiri came over asking for you back, yet you still came over and slept with me the next day. Even though the two of you had sex the night before. Do you understand how that makes me feel?”

“I’m—”

“Like garbage!" You emphasized, the white paint of the door somehow irritating you further. "I felt like I was something you threw away and picked back up whenever you felt like getting your dick wet.”

Your chest was rising and falling rapidly, and you tried your hardest to not let your emotions get the best of you.

“Not to mention to everyone else, it looks like you cheated on me. Which makes me look like a fucking idiot." You scoffed.

Jungkook said nothing in reply, which somehow made it easier to say all you should have said that day in your room.

“It just sucks to realize that someone you once cared about sees you as nothing more than a toy. It fucking sucks.”

Man :( writing this hurt my heart. I really, really, love bitchin!y/n and writing her hurting freaking stinks. But she had to speak her mind. She deserves the chance to get everything off her chest with the way Jungkook hurt her.

Your heart and mind were in constant paradox, torn between wanting him back and wanting him to know just how much he had hurt you. Your mind ultimately won the battle, of course, but as Jungkook stood just a few inches of drywood apart pouring his heart out, it was hard to say which major organ was responsible for your next words.

The creak of the door being pushed open sent Jungkook's eyes wide, revealing your hesitant form. You had your arms crossed over your chest as if to guard the contents inside of it.

You looked like an angel underneath the bathroom's blue fluorescent lights, beautiful and lovely, a stark contrast from your next crushing sentence.

“I slept with Erik.”

Hehe. Ofc my girl Y/N had to have a rebound!!! She knows that life goes on. However, as I wrote in, she definitely regretted it. It was kind of the same situation that Jungkook was in where he pursued something just because it was familiar and a distraction and not because he really wanted it. Both Y/N and Jungkook are flawed characters but that’s okay! If anything, Y/N’s mistake of sleeping with Erik is what allows her to forgive Jungkook. Knowing first hand how complicated their entire relationship really was.

“I don’t need you… but I don’t think I want a life without you.” You finished shyly.

Your eyes were locked with his when suddenly a small noise escaped him, eyes pulling away from yours as his head moved to attempt to hide the way his eyes had grown wet.

I got this line from one of my best friends after her ex broke up with her. It made me physically sad and really sympathize with her so I quickly wrote it down into my notes app to save for later LMAOOOO. Knowing that you are your own person and life will inevitably go on after losing someone, but that your heart still wants and is pleading for the one person you can’t have. SO SAD. I’m happy I got to use this line in one of my fics.

The note Jungkook wrote Y/N,,, imagine him not being able to sleep one night over winter break so he just writes down everything he should have told Y/N while he still had the chance…. I’ll for real cry dude, he’s so cute. Also, the line about him buying you fluffy Halloween socks for Christmas went over people’s heads I think but HECK I THOUGHT THAT WAS SO FUNNY AND SWEET (because Y/N bought Christmas socks when it was Halloween teehee).

"Are you two dorks done crying?" Yara’s voice rang out suddenly, causing both of you to jump apart.

"Yara, you creep! Privacy, dude! Ever try knocking?" You sniffed, wiping at your face hurriedly.

"What? Like you were peeing with Jungkook in the bathroom? Please." She waved you off, walking back into the living room to give you two some privacy. She did say Jungkook had 15 minutes before she’d have to come back in after all. "Anyway, Tae will be over in 10 minutes for the Saved By The Bell marathon that’s on so you guys are more than welcomed to join." She called out from her newly seated position on the couch.

I included this scene with Yara because things were getting too serious for my liking ngl. Plus the idea that the four of them would all come together at the end for a much needed reunion made my happy bitchin heart soar.

Jungkook let out a laugh, his palm finding your cheek, eyes locked on your lips. You were preening for his kiss, mouth parting slightly as you anticipated it.

“Partners?”

The question took you by surprise, eyes widening at your not so pretend lover.

Idiot.

“Partners.” You smiled softly, eyes shiny and brimming with tears as he kissed you for what must have been the millionth time, but still somehow felt like the first.

UGH I LOVE THEM I REALLY DO. I was so happy with how this final scene came out :( They’re partners, they really are I miss these boneheads.

AND NOW, I PRESENT THE CANON FUTURE OF THE BITCHIN UNIVERSE...

10 YEARS LATER

Let’s be honest, Jungkook popped the question the day of graduation, he can’t imagine a life in which you wouldn’t be beside him

You said yes (shocker)

Cue Jungkook being the most wonderful partner and respecting your wish to finish your residency program before having the wedding

You absolutely kick ass at being a neonatal surgeon

Also, Jungkook started a film company! It’s small but he loves what he does and works with colleges and helps out the film majors with resources and equipment <3

SO IT'S THE DAY OF YOUR WEDDING RIGHT

Yara and your sisters are helping you get ready, with your best friend as the ever so reassuring maid of honor

And by that I mean you’re as calm as a cucumber and Yara is one wrong move away from having a stroke

“Y/N… Don’t freak out....The catering company put in two orders of shrimp instead of chicken and steak.”

“Yara, it’s okay.”

“NO ITS NOT???? THIS IS YOUR WEDDING DAY AND YOU’RE GETTING CRUSTACEANS.”

Y/N making Yara take a seat and practice some breathing exercises so she doesn’t upset the baby

Oh yeah, Yara is 10 weeks pregnant

Taehyung is the dad lol

Yara and Taehyung have been together ever since that day at the library hehe <3

They moved in together and adopted a cat and everything (sweet boy Tae wanted a dog but Yara’s afraid of dogs and Tae would do anything for that woman so Yeontan the cat it is)

Yara refuses to put a label on their relationship even after all this time, and Tae doesn’t ask for one. They’re happy and dedicated to each other and don’t feel the need to put pressure on something that’s already so perfect

Yara is actually violently in love with Tae but still scoffs when Y/N tries to bring it up

“Oh my god, you’re so in love with him”

“Huh??? you must be sick or something. Get well soon, damn :/”

Yara likes to come up with different labels for Taehyung every time she has to introduce him. Among her favorites are roommate, rent sharer, baby daddy and penis lender

Speaking of Taehyung, he’d have a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder as he tries to calm down the panicking groom to be

“JK, breathe.”

“What if she doesn’t show up? What if she doesn’t want to marry me? What if I pressured her into this and— and I’ve freaked her out and now she hates me?”

“Dude, you guys have been engaged for eight years. She’s had her opportunity to run. She’ll show up.”

Taehyung scruffing up the younger man’s hair reassuringly, which only flusters him more because DAMMIT he wants to look perfect for you and now his hair is messed up >:(

(You like him no matter what his hair looks like though)

Jungkook literally swallowing down a sob as you walk down the aisle and he lays his eyes on you for the first time

You having a dumb smile on your face the entire walk over because your husband to be is crying and you haven’t even exchanged vows yet

The entire audience going all sobby when you finally do exchange vows because they’re so beautiful and real

The ten years together has not been easy— from financial struggles as you tried to support yourself through med school, to personal conflicts when Jungkook wanted to start a family already

But you guys figured it out

You always do

He’s your person. And you are his.

Y/N’s sisters Rosa and Lia are a WRECK— even your dad is tearing up

Your family loves Jungkook and have been counting down the days until you guys married, let’s be honest

“You may now kiss the bride.”

Jungkook punching the air with a “FINALLY!” before kissing the hell out of you

The cutting of the cake inevitably turning into a food fight

The shrimp entrees turning out to be pretty damn good

Yara catching the bouquet and wagging her brows at Taehyung suggestively

Jungkook pulling you aside to take photos of you outside the venue because you look so so pretty and he loves the way you smile when he’s the one behind the camera

The party is in full session, your siblings tearing up the dance floor like the extroverts they are

You and Jungkook are sat at the head of the room, hands intertwined underneath the table as you watch a tired and painfully sober Yara swing her bare feet onto Taehyung’s lap, requesting a foot rub

Watching your pregnant best friend and her lover together, you turned towards your own, smile impossibly wide

“What?”

“Let’s have a baby.” You’d grin, so stupid happy

Jungkook’s eyes going round and immediately jumping up from his seat because god that’s all he’s ever wanted

Being tugged out the room by a giddy Jungkook, one of your heels flinging off somewhere behind you.

“What’s happening? Where are we going?!”

The two of you find yourself in a storage room somewhere on the hotel floor

“Jeon Jungkook, what the hell—“

His mouth find yourself, kissing you in a way that couldn’t at the altar

You kissed him back without questions, arms wrapping around the man you now called your husband

“I love you.” He’d sigh into your neck, his hot breath causing you to shiver

“I love you too.”

“Let’s make a baby.”

“Yeah let’s— wait, right here? Right now?!”

Jungkook merely nodding as his mouth found the exposed skin of your chest

“Meathead, we can’t just ditch our wedding to have sex!”

“Why not? We did our marital duties. Now it’s our guests' job to get embarrassingly drunk and make a fool of themselves on the dance floor. No one will even miss us.”

“Isn’t baby making what our honeymoon is for?”

“Screw that. I’ve done my waiting. Let’s start our family, nerd.”

Jungkook kissing your protests silent before you inevitably give in and let him take you right there and then, your wedding dress hung around your hips

Husband and wife coming together with shaky breaths and hushed moans as they promise the rest of their lives to each other, making every argument, struggle or moment of uncertainty leading up to now totally worth it

Walk of shame back into the party with nervous hair fixing from you and a proud grin from Jungkook

Yara figuring out exactly why you two had sneaked off to, flashing the newly weds a knowing smirk

The night of your wedding, Jungkook surprises you with a present

You unwrap it in confusion, only to see that it’s a glass frame and inside of it is the wrinkled and worn out lined paper the two of you had scribbled on many many years ago

Jungkook hangs up the contract right above your bed as per your request, smiling as he does and jumping on him the moment he puts down the hammer bc dammit it you’re too heckin excited to make love with your sentimental loser of a husband

And yes, by the next month, you are pregnant and incredibly happy

And of course, your daughter and Yara’s son grow up to be best friends, not a family holiday passing by where they aren’t told the story of the totally bitchin’ way both set of their parents got together

#beyond the story #bts smut #Jungkook smut #bts jungkook #bts #bts imagines #bts preferences #Jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook

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wolfieslae · 4 years ago

Text

"liam saved theo from his never ending nightmare so theo saved liam from himself"

it’s no surprise to anyone, i’m a tiny bit obsessed with thiam.

when theo first arrived to the show i liked him already, i felt like he was an interesting character with an interesting backstory, i wanted to learn more. the more i did the worst it got but i kept thinking he was interesting and i liked seeing how he was able to plan his take on the pack. he managed to insert himself in the life of the characters and turned it around, when his plan failed, he still got his pack but ended up killing them all, i admit, kinda real bad, and then he got drag down to hell.

during the fifth season we found out that when he was ten he was manipulated into thinking his older sister – tara – wanted him to have her heart, because his had a genetic disorder. he believed the dread doctors when they told him they could make him better and he killed his own sister – taking her heart. he then left with them and was raised by them, raised believing that power was all that mattered and that he would be nothing and no one without it.

in season six episode six liam and hayden decided to bring him back because they needed his help with a supernatural creature in town, while hayden was more resistant, liam did not hesitate to smash kira’s sword into the ground and free theo, saving him from his never ending nightmare at the same time.

very rapidly we understood that whatever power theo might have stolen from his chimera pack – more specifically josh – he wasn’t in possession of them anymore, he was back to "classic theo" part coyote and part wolf. after he helped with the ghost rider, liam and hayden locked theo in the holding cell at the sheriff station. theo wanted out and liam wanted answer, they made a deal and liam broke the sword and with it any chance of theo going back to hell, his never ending nightmare.

when they needed him more, liam and stilinski broke theo out of jail but unfortunately the sheriff was taken and only theo and liam were left, leaving them no choice but to work together to flee the ghost riders. they – liam – had one goal, lure them away from scott, lydia and malia who were trying to get stiles back.

the both of them ended up at the hospital where, and i quote, liam said "when the ghost riders find us, i’m not gonna do anything for you, i’m not gonna help you, i’m not gonna save you, i’m gonna do exactly what you’d do to me, i’m gonna use you as bait". we all know he did not keep that promise, in fact, while fighting with a ghost rider, he pointed a gun at the one theo was fighting and shot, saving his life in the process. to "pay him back" and maybe prove that he wasn’t as bad as liam made him out to be, theo offered himself as bait.

while we all thought he had been taken in the hunt, we found out he hadn’t when out of nowhere he came back and saved liam from one of the ghost riders at the school, leaving liam able to get on with his god awful – but working �� plan to get into the hunt.

while theo later on fought at the side of scott, malia and peter, he was forgotten and left alone. obligated to live in his car.

we found that out on season six episode twelve, where i noticed that the deputies coming to wake him up seemed to always wear a different uniform, did theo move around? or is the beacon county just, that big?

he was shot and didn’t come back until three episodes later (not gonna lie, these were the three most stressful weeks of my life).

when in episode twelve we found out he was living in his car, we also found out that he might have been the first target for the anuk-ite. thankfully, theo caught the spider early and got rid of it before it took his body and with it, his life.

when he came back in episode fifteen, he was hang up and tied to an electric fence in gerard and monroe’s headquarters. along with two other werewolves. when he thought he was free, he ended not being and was taken into custody.

during episode fifteen, when nolan was caught trying to sneak into the sheriff station liam automatically recognized him as the one who tried to make him shift in front of the whole school by beating him up. by scott’s reaction we understand that he might not have told him. but some of the shots during this scene were interesting, showing liam on the first plan with a close-shot accompanied by a blurry theo in the back. we understand why in the next scene that they share, in the bathroom.

theo confronts liam about what is happening, saying he will not risk his freedom. while liam first manages to stay calm during the discussion, he looses control when talking about brett and lori’s death. he punches theo before heading out and saying "i’m still working on my anger".

while we don’t know what happens between episode fifteen and episode sixteen, we understand that something might have clicked in liam’s brain, because, while he reacted poorly, theo seemed to be the only one noticing that something was wrong with liam. could this be why he brought him with him at the zoo? maybe.

it could also be because theo seems to be able to handle liam. theo has a past and liam knows it, theo doesn’t shy away in front of danger and maybe this is what liam needs at the moment? someone who will not hesitate to get in the way to stop him from doing something stupid?

there is also a line in this episode where theo says "i’m not dying out here because you want pay back against a kid who kicked your ass" and while i have no recollection of anyone explaining to theo what happened in the prior episodes with nolan and liam, maybe someone did between episode fifteen and sixteen, liam perhaps?

the car conversation is also interesting because now theo knows how bad liam has it with his anger, and the fear the anuk-ite brings is not helping "people only feel one emotion at a time liam". he also knows liam needs help "you brought me here because that thing that came out of the wild hunt is affecting you too" at this moment theo has already made up his mind, whether liam wants his help or not, he is going to get it.

and funny enough, liam doesn’t seem that resilient – oh he is yes – but not so much because deep down he knows he needs it, he also knows that whatever technique theo uses, it seems to be working because in episode seventeen, during the locker-room scene, liam calms down a bit too quickly for my liking (wrong i absolutely loved that).

theo uses reversed psychology and makes it to seem like liam would turn into a murderer, into someone like him "i’m the one with experience here", theo even uses "we" so that liam can feel more of a "bad person" because of what he might do. but in the end, it works and liam calms down.

now here is my favorite part, right after that liam asks theo "why do you keep trying to save me" and while theo answers something so dumb i don’t even want to mention it, i know it’s because liam saved him first and now theo feels obligated to return the favor (well, he does seem to enjoy it anyways).

theo can be seen in the next episode, number eighteen, right at the beginning, in the animal clinic with scott, liam and mason.

mason agrees with theo and liam doesn’t seem to like it, everything he says to or about theo seems to come out as an insult, but why? they seemed to be getting along well in the prior episode? finishing each other sentences when showing the dead bodies gabe brought them to to scott and malia? maybe because he’s starting to realize he might need theo more than he thought? and he doesn’t want to acknowledge it?

either way, theo and mason are sent to the tunnels to find aaron. they are both clearly uncomfortable being with each other but theo even more because the tunnels are where everything started and he surely does not want to stay or be here at all.

mason ends up hurt, and theo decides to try and take his pain away. first of all, great decision, it shows that he is trying to change, that he at least knows he can do it at some point and wants to. unfortunately he isn’t able "you can’t take pain if you don’t care". theo still decides to stay with mason while waiting for help.

the next time we see theo, it’s at the beginning of episode twenty, the finale. he is in his car, driving to somewhere on the phone with scott.

here are some details that don’t sit right with me. their phone call lasted twenty six seconds. there is no way theo answered the phone, got in his car, and drove to what seems to be the highway in twenty six seconds, so where was he going? was he leaving town because of what had happened with mason in the tunnels or liam’s sneaky comments at the clinic? because even after all his efforts, he is still not being accepted and knows he probably never will? probably. but i’m glad scott called and asked for his help.

he got to the hospital and saved liam’s ass – again might i add.

then, there is what is for me, their most important scene, for their relationship but also for their own character’s arc.

the elevator scene.

where they promise each other they weren’t gonna die for each other. where they lie their ass off.

i have a theory about this scene. remember the look? yes that one, the famous look down. based on my calculations, it is way too low to be directed to liam’s lips as people believe it to be, no, i think it’s directed to his chest, most importantly, his heart. because liam lied, and theo heard it. now of course theo lied too but he’s a professional he knows how to keep his heart steady.

and of course liam knows that theo knows because the look gives it away, which is why he accepts to fight with him (and damn, they make a pretty good team! i mean, that back roll? come on!) and i think in that moment they understood that no matter what, they can’t hide from this anymore, whatever this is (my money’s on anchor with a touch of love).

but in that moment i knew. i knew that because liam allowed himself to get help from theo, allowed himself to be anchored by theo, he anchored theo too. he gave him a reason and the opportunity to stay on the right path, on the path to redemption. and in that moment theo realized that he mattered, that he had a purpose.

can we also quickly talk about the small shot of theo flinching at the sound of the gun going off? when has he ever done that? he was literally raised by the dread doctors, he’s not afraid of anything, but not knowing if liam was on the other end of that gun shot scared him.

now we all know that part of why theo was able to take gabe’s pain was because he saw himself in him, the kid who trusted the wrong people and suffered the consequences, just like he did. but part of why he was able to care was because liam cared. liam gave theo a reason to care.

and this is why i love them so much. because their relationship, again, whatever it is, is special. it’s unlike any we’ve ever seen in the show. it’s important because it takes into consideration who they are on their own. it doesn’t exist just to add a relationship or a story-line to the show, it exists to fit on their own story-line, to make them better people.

as the title says, liam saved theo from his never ending nightmare so theo saved liam from himself (and fell in love with him in the process).

they are so important to me because i like when relationships have meaning, and theirs seems to be just that, meaningful.

#thiam #theo raeken #liam dunbar #two idiots in love #teen wolf #anchors #season 6 #thiam is the best dynamic ever don’t change my mind #please don’t make me flop #i love them

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dancingthesambaa · 3 years ago

Text

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 11

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 11: It’s a Bittersweet Reunion

“Monkey King!” MK quickly stood up as he rushed towards his mentor, “it’s not what it-” he quieted down as he felt Monkey King glint ominously as he stared him down.

“You should probably listen to starlight there,” Macaque tried to say, but he sighed when the stare was directed back to him, but a lot more threatening.

“What have you done to him!?”

“Or you can just ignore me,” he sighed dramatically, but his entire body was buzzing in anticipation for the first strike. He knew how this is all gonna go down whether he likes it or not. So he takes a step forward with his hands out and says, “look Wukong, it’s-” then promptly stops as the Monkey sage takes a step towards him.

“Don’t you take another step forward,” he growled out.

“Look Wukong-”

“Don’t call me that.”

“I refuse to call you Monkey King, so Wukong,” he emphasized. He didn’t call him Monkey King back then and he sure as hell is not about to start now. “Open your fucking ears and listen, I’m not gonna hurt the kid.”

“Nice try, but I’m not buying it,” he watched his every twitch, just waiting to see when he would strike.

“But I’m not, you really think I’d hurt a kid?”

Wukong said nothing, but his narrowed eyes were all the answer he needed.

Macaque sucked in a sharp breath and gritted his teeth shut as his nails dug into the palm of his hands. He tried his best to ignore the hushed whispers in his head that begged him to show him real fear. Show how deep our shadows can take him. Show him how to see with one eye like him. Show him painpainpainpain. Then he let the air harshly out of his nose as clenched his teeth as he growled out. “You really think that low of me huh.”

“After what you did to them,” he shifted his foot back and gripped tightly onto his staff, “it does make me question a few things.”

The six eared demon couldn’t stop the jealousy and irritation that flowed through his mind when he heard those venomous words. Didn’t stop his hands from shaking nor his eyes or ears from twitching.

“What were you doing with MK,” he repeated himself.

“Oh some herb gathering, I’m out of stock you know,” he sarcastically said.

“If you're going to lie, at least think of a more feasible story,” Mac really wanted to rip off his tongue at that, “tell me the truth.”

“Or what?”

“But it’s true!” MK tried to say, but it seemed that his words were ignored.

“Or I’ll make you,” he let the golden energy roll over him as he stood in front of his student.

“Just try it,” he taunted as his own violent aura emerged and coiled around him. He knew where this was headed, but at this point he didn’t care, he wanted to vent out all his frustrations to this dumbass monkey for a long time. He sent over a glance to MK, who looked to be on the verge of a mental breakdown, to stand far away.

He heard it loud and clear as he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly before running as far as he could.

Then, in less than a heartbeat, there was a loud sound that blasted out as the two monkeys collided together in a burst of torrent energy.

BOOM BOOM BOOOOOM

They separated as the blow blew them both back, but Wukong charged first once more as Macaque sank into the shadows to avoid the attack. That didn’t deter the golden monkey as he activated his eyes of truth with a quick glance charged at one spot, only to block an attack from a clone emerging while the other followed suit.

“You really think it would be that simple,” taunted Macaque as he rushed in with a swing of his glowing staff.

Wukong easily dispelled the clones and side swept him with his own staff.

Neither side gave him as they instinctively began to run further toward the mountain while still attacking one another.

Both monkeys are opposite of one another in many ways, but those differences seem to not matter when face to face with each other as they both counter each other's moves.

When Wukong became a bird and flew high to drop down into a tiger, Macaque manipulated his shadows to tackle him out of mid air and send him spiraling to become a crater on the ground.

When Macaque tried to grapple him from behind and throw him to the mountain side, Wukong nimbly dodged and sent him a sidekick to the side.

When Wukong sent out a flurry of blows, Macaque easily blocked each strike with his own staff.

When Macaque attempts to kick him to the mountain and pin him there, Wukong jumps high and hurdles him away from him.

When one attacks, the other counter.

When the other strikes, one will block.

It was almost an endless cycle.

It may have been a long time since they last saw each other, but the knowledge and the instinct that was left upon them never failed for a second. So, with both monkeys equally matched it would lead to a stand still as neither side gave in or could push enough.

So how would this end?

With both sides killing the other off with one final blast, leaving the mountain and perhaps even part of the city in ruins?

Not quite. Actually it would end when MK had enough of this stupid fight and recklessly charges in.

“STOOPPP!” He yelled out as he made the final jump and stood in between the two enraged monkeys. He knows this is a very stupid move that he is gonna get lectured on later, but he thinks that this is the only way to stop the two of them from fighting.

And he was right. Both monkeys' eyes widened in horror as they saw where their attack was heading.

“MK/STARLIGHT!” They both screamed as both of them immediately aborted their powered up blast and screeched to a halt before they could run into him.

The sage monkey could feel his heart drilling in his ears as he was so grateful that he managed to stop when he did. Before he could grab his kid, another force beat him to it as he saw Macaque rush over to him. He sprinted over there to stop him from hurting him but it was too late as the black furred monkey grabbed MK, picked him up…and began to examine him frantically?

“Are you okay? Did you get hit? Did the excess release of the energy seep out and injure you? Do you feel any nausea, headaches, dizziness, need to run around and blow shit up, bloody nose?” He began to search not only his physical self, but his inner self in both body and spirit. He may train him and Mei to the ground every session and make them wish they wanted to rip out their own bones, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t take the utmost care of them. Hence why they have never left training with any broken bones or fractures alike, this is probably why everyone calls him a worrywart.

‘…what?’ Wukong blinked at the scene in front of him.

“I’m fine,” he tried to push the hands off him and focus him back on what was previously happening.

“That still doesn’t take away from the fact that you recklessly charged into the fight and almost got yourself killed!” He hissed out.

“Meep,” he lowered his head as he remembered, right, his Dad could care less if the world was burning around them if he was hurt in any way. Though that doesn’t stop the warm feeling in his gut at the thought.

“Ummm, what’s happening?” Monkey King couldn’t help but ask as he stepped forward, only to be stopped by Macaque turning to him, as he pushed MK behind him, and let out a short snarl to him with his eyes burning a bright violet.

He only stopped once he realized just who he was looking at and remembered what just happened not even a minute ago as he slowly eased his posture. But even when his eyes were focused on the monkey in front, he still kept three of his ears to MK behind.

“Wouldn’t you like to know tinker bell,” he couldn’t help grunting out.

“Okay, first off rude and secondly, I just want to know what you're doing with my student?” He rolled his eyes cause at this point he sorta figured out that he may have been slightly wrong about something. He just can’t put his finger on what.

“Oh now you want to talk,” the medicine monkey huffed, “would have been a nice idea before you decided to up and try to kill me.”

“I wasn’t going to kill you,” Wukong immediately said. “Just knock you out,” and that was the solid truth. He may not see eye to eye with him anymore, but he will not take away his life. He refuses to.

“Oh cause that’s so much better.”

“Would you rather you be a hundred feet underground?”

“As if you can manage that, I felt that last punch, it seems you are slacking old man,” he gave him a nasty smile.

“By only a thousand year!” His eye twitched at the age-old insult.

“Keep telling yourself that old man.”

“There may be a standstill but that still won’t stop me from throwing your scrawny ass off this mountain!”

“I would rather not,” both monkeys startled at the sound of MK's voice and they quickly backed away from each other as they just realized how close they were standing to the other. “I rather like my Dad alive.”

“MK don’t do-wait YOUR DAD?!” You can almost hear his neck snap towards his student at his words.

“Yeahhhh,” he couldn’t help but avoid those bewildered eyes as he rubbed his neck.

Wukong could barely comprehend his words as he turned his head to a very smug monkey.

“Surprise mother fucker,” he couldn’t help but say. He was very much enjoying this.

And for the first time, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, finally took a good look at his former friend and noticed that he has definitely changed. He couldn’t decide what to focus on, from his new clothes, his long mane (which really threw him for a loop), his sleek fur, or his very sparkly nails. But he decided it was probably best to focus on the human he is actually willing to protect as he formed up an articulate question in his head out loud.

“Dad?” Nope, he was still very thrown off about this. Macaque is a Dad?!? Are we still talking about the same angst demon monkey that would barely even stand the presence of others let alone a human child?!

“Huh, congratulations. I think you finally broke what was left of his brain no matter how small it may have been,” he complimented his child.

“I really wasn’t trying,” he sighed as he stepped closer.

“Then that’s even more pathetic on his part.”

“I’m still here,” Wukong couldn’t help but announce.

“Oh really I thought you left,” Macaque sarcastically said, “well since you're here then I guess you finally have time to listen or are you just gonna be an impulsive idiot again.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that I may have jumped the gun, but can you blame me for thinking that you would try something to get back at me?!” He shouted back, not knowing the fuse he had lit.

“Excuse me!?” At this point the demon monkey was fed up as he began to march back over to the sage monkey to start round two. He hoped he did not imply what he thought he did.

“I-I mean you used to never do this before,” he quickly said to calm down the enraged monkey, though he probably should have listened to MK frantic hand movements as they all gestured him to basically ‘shut up before you get killed.’

“I ‘used’ to! Past tense you egotistical fool! People-demons-I can change! I have changed, I know I am not the same demon I was thousands of years ago!” He had to stop himself from dragging his hands to that pretty little throat/begging him to understand. “I am not the same.”

“And you just happen to stumble upon a human who so happens to be able to pick up my staff?” He said in disbelief.

“Want to hear something shocking? Yes! I did! I found him and I adopted him cause I could, cause I wanted to, cause I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him alone! So get off your high horse and come down to the rest of us beings, cause the world doesn’t revolve around you Sun Wukong.” Macaque could barely hold in his anger as he spat out his name.

Wukong didn’t even flinch as he held his ground, he knows that people can change, he sure as fuck had, but right now he wants to make sure that the demon in front of him had changed for the better. He knows he is driving a bigger gap between them than before (hurtpainpainwhydontdoithetribematefriend) but he can’t take any chances, especially with the kid involved in their mess. “That still doesn’t mean that you won’t try to use him against me like before!”

And it was that moment that the fuse hit the combustion and Macaque erupted in a glorious and deadly violet light as he smashed his right fist into the mountain side and moments later, that came crumbling down.

“How dare you,” the low voice harshly echoed out.

“Wha-”

“How fucking DARE YOU!” Voices overlapped each other as a pulse of dark violent energy instinctively flared out towards Wukong, who was just able to stand his ground against the wave.

“Mac-” The monkey tried to speak but was abruptly cut off.

“How dare you accuse I would do anything to harm my child! Fuck you, you flea ridden coward! Here’s a fucking clue things change! I can admit I done some shit in the past, I screwed many over, and I damn sure stained red with the blood of innocent and guilty, but don’t you even dare for a goddamn moment that you never done messed up shit fuck face! But how fucking dare you accuse I would do anything to harm my child!” His eyes glowed in pure rage as he locked onto shocked golden eyes. He was done.

“No! No I don’t thi-” He shouldn’t have done this, he shouldn’t have said a damn thing.

“Shut up! Like fuck I know I made my own stupid mistakes and even when centuries have passed I will never make up for some of those, do you want me to say sorry? Cause I fucking am!” He clenched his robes to where his heart was as he gripped it right.

Wukong eyes feel like it couldn’t enlarge anymore as he reached out a hand to him, “Mac-”

“I’m sorry for attacking you and your friends so many times! I’m sorry that I couldn’t change my ways back then! I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep up! I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to stay by your side! I’m sorry for all the years you wasted being my other half!”

He is sorry that he spend all those years with his Sun, he is sorry that he couldn’t help but feel alive when he is with him, he is sorry that he couldn’t help but falling in love with him for all those years, but he doesn’t-will not say that outloud nor will he ever truly regret it.

Wukong feels everything shrinking in on him as he only has eyes for only one as of this moment. He could see the anger in his voice, the frustration in his eyes, and the rage in his stand.

But if there is one thing Macaque has always been good at, it is playing the part, cause he can also see the desperation in his tone, the misery in his eyes and the pure betrayal in how his shoulders are a bit too firm.

“Mac no! I-” He wanted to explain that he didn’t want this, that he was being an idiot.

“Shut up!” He didn’t want to hear anymore.

“Listen!” He wanted to explain it all.

“Shut up!” Not a single word, not now.

“Please, just-” He needs to tell him.

Then his glamor flickered as all of his scars showed on his body and his hazy blind one appeared as he bared his fangs and screeched out.

“I said SAVE IT BASTARD!”

It was dead silent on the mountain trail, no bird was chirping, no leaves were rustling, not even a sound of heavy breathing was heard. If you listened closely you could hear the beating heartbeat of every living thing, which was quite a feat unto itself, but it was suffocating to two demons facing each other on the mountain.

MK was the one who finally broke the silence as he walked up next to him, while making sure his footsteps were loudly heard, and gently spoke. “Dad, your glamor.”

That was what snapped Macaque out as he looked down to his scar filled hands and already instinctively knew the ones on his face, let alone the rest of his body, was prominent. So, he took a long deep breath as he held one hand over his blind eye and released it as he put the glamor back on.

“I’ll be leaving first starlight, yell if you need me,” he quietly said as he lowered his hand to reveal the scarless eyes.

“I will…are you okay dad?” He worriedly asked as he looked at him.

Macaque could only muster up a small smile at his child care as he ruffled his hair, before sinking into the shadows.

Not once looking back to his old friend.

MK could only faintly watch his dad shadow travel and as soon as he knew he couldn’t see him anymore, he whirled around to the Monkey King, who still had a very horrified expression, with a pissed off look, “What the hell was that?!”

“What have I done?” He hoarsely said as he still had his eyes on the traveling shadow even when it had long escaped from the mountain.

“I don’t know, maybe jump to conclusions!” He snarked out to the Monkey King for the first time. He respects him, he really does and that won’t change, but that he cares more for the monkey who raised him and took care of him for all those years. So yeah, he is getting some answers out of him whether he likes it or not.

Monkey King, who hadn't moved since Macaque left, finally pried his eyes away from the moving shadow, no matter how much he wanted to follow, and looked to his student. “I messed up real bad, didn’t I.”

“If you mean by indiscriminately yelling at my dad before he even had the chance to speak then promptly fighting him and then going back to yelling at him once more? Then yeah, you did,” he sarcastically said.

He winced at the harsh, but very justifiable, tone. “…so, he’s your dad?” And he still can’t help but ask, because Macaque raising a child was not even on his list of things he could have imagined.

“Geez, how’d you figure that one out?”

“You get your snark from him don’t you,” he couldn’t help but say.

“Oh yeah,” he unashamedly said, “he did raise me after all.”

Wukong wilted at the reminder, “He did, didn’t he.” It was after he said that was when he squatted down, gripped his hair, and let out a short burst of frustration. He doesn’t know if he can come back from this, if things were bad before, they are absolutely horrendous to the pit of despair now.

The student silently calmed down as he blinked at the monkey sage actions then a few things finally clicked into place. “You still care about him.”

“What, the books don’t emphasize enough of our ‘wonderful’ relationship to each other,” Monkey King couldn’t help but sarcastically say. He has read the book and let’s just say that there are some details so far off that it just makes him want to completely rip all his fur off.

“No, but dad does tell me that you were his first friend,” he plopped down next to him.

The Monkey King, “He talks about me?”

“Ohhh yeah, he told me all the things you guys did together. Like that one time where you tried to trick a corrupt ruler by disguising as a pair of priests.”

“To be fair, the two of us were really hungry and that buffet that he had looked real damn good, it’s not our fault that the man got outed in the end and was left on the cliff…well only a little bit,” he snorted. You can’t blame them for being hungry, but they may have had a rather loud conversation out loud about the extravagant feast they saw to a couple of people…in the market of the common folks….and as they were in the middle of a shortage. Things just tend to escalate sometimes, but can you really blame them?

“Dad just said that what goes around comes around.”

“That too,” he said with a small chuckle as he trailed off and sighed, “he was with me since almost the beginning. When I left the mountain for the first time, I didn’t have my monkey nor did I know anyone, so meeting him was a blessing.”

“He told me the two of you met after you ate a mountain deity offering,” MK said.

“Like I said, I was still new to the world and I barely knew a damn thing, but he was there for basically it all and has to be one of the main reasons I’m even alive today, cause I can be real and admit that he was at least 75 percent of my impulse control.” He remembered all those times he had run off at the sight of the newest shiny objects or the next food and the amount of times Mac had to drag his ass away from there before the two of them were caught. “And I managed to ruin that all…twice!” He moaned out as he gripped his hair once more in frustration.

MK just watched his teacher silently self deprecate himself, he knows what it looks like, and sighed as he patted his shoulder. “It’s not totally over.”

“I essentially attacked him twice! I know some of those scars were made by me during our first battle and his eye,” he stopped short as he could feel the bile rise up as he remembered the hazy honey color eye floating back into his mind. “I made him blind, he is blind in one eye and I did that. Fuck I did that…I can’t forgive myself let alone even think he will forgive me.”

“Dad can hold a grudge, but he can also forgive. By the gods knows how many times I messed up before,” he lightly jokes.

“You're his kid and by the looks of it, someone he cares for greatly.” He doesn’t think he has ever seen his friend that worried before unless it was aimed towards him whenever he got badly injured. There is a painful tug of something weird coming from his stomach at the thought.

“And you're his friend, someone who he also cares for,” he shot back. “The two of you need better communication, but you two aren’t shattered and crushed up by a horse hoof during a race, just a bit broken but it can still be fixed.”

The monkey looked his student in the eye, “You really think so?”

“Mmhmm, Dad has missed you for all those years after all.” If he was any less observant he would have missed his Dad's nostalgic expression whenever he told him a story about them or his sad eyes when he would ask questions about the Monkey King.

“He’s not the only one,” he said as he finally sat down from his squatting position. “…can you tell me more about him?” It was about time he got reacquainted with his friend, they had over five hundred years after all. Maybe it was time to go back in the world again and see what he has been missing out on.

“Well he likes to garden,” he switched positions and crossed his legs together, this was gonna be a long talk.

Wukong's eyes blinked rapidly, “Now that’s new, I remembered that when we needed food we would just go to someone's farm and take some food there, there were so many times Mac took out weeds by accident, but damn it we still ate it just for the laughs.” He gave a small smile.

“He still does that from time to time out of habit.”

“Complains about it getting stuck in his teeth?” His eyes brighten.

“All the time,” he agreed.

The monkey let out a short chuckle, “Is that why you guys were up here? To get more plants?”

“Well no, we were here getting some herbs.”

“Herbs? Like for medicine?” He shot straight up and tried to ignore the growing pit of horror in his stomach. “Are you sick? Is he sick? Are you guys okay?!”

MK quickly shook his hands to dispel the worries monkey, he already had one, he was not looking for another. “No, nothing like that. He’s…well I guess basically a Doctor, I mean no one really puts a name on it, but yeah he usually collects herbs for his supply.”

“I’m sorry, he’s a what?!” Great! And here’s another thing he could have never imagined that Macaque being! “When-how-why did he become a Doctor?!”

“Honestly, he just said he was bored one day and saw Ping making medicine and decided to learn from him,” he shrugged. He should be glad that the Monkey King has come out of his depressive state, despite his over reaction to his dad…though it is quite funny.

“Whose Ping?” He knows that this is not someone the both of them knew when they were still friends, so this must have happened after.

“Ping is the human who-” MK cut himself off as he realized that perhaps he shouldn’t just tell his father personal secrets to someone he just had a fight with. “…who is one of his friends, he can tell you more about it if you ask.” Which will not be any time soon.

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” he said with deceit dripping from his voice, totally spacing out when he heard the word ‘friends’. “What else?”

“He sometimes likes to do shadow puppetry in the theater.”

“Now that’s something I know he won’t give up, I remember that he was more dramatic than me when it concerns his puppetry.”

“That’s what I said and he still is!”

Now everything still wasn’t fine despite the lighthearted atmosphere that surrounded the two. There was still a bone deep hurt that needed much time to be healed and nurtured between the two immortal simians, but this was the first step, no matter how small this may be. It will take time, patience, and so many apologies before anything can be forgiven, but for now it was the time to learn and let both monkeys calm down. For when it is time to meet once more, it is needless to say that a certain impulsive simian is going to go full force.

The sun was setting by the time MK got back from the mountain, he decided to go to his dad’s place for the night after he called up Pigsy to tell him the small change. When he entered through the front door the whole house was completely dark and silent as not a single light was on nor a single sound was uttered.

‘Oh no,’ he silently thought to himself as he made his way past the living room, passed their bedroom and finally faced a closet where they stored all of their pillows and blankets. He gently opened the door and his heart dropped as he saw his dad there in almost pitch darkness, kneeling with his head almost touching the ground and his hands covering all six of his ears as he methodically tapped the back of his neck with his middle finger.

MK opened his mouth to ask if he was alright, but promptly closed it as he realized just how stupid that question was, so instead he quickly head out to gathered some items before coming back. He placed the bowl of fruit and water bottles on the shelf above, he gently pried his dad hands off his ears and put the headphones on instead, he made sure to wrap the weighted blanket around the both of them, and he gently redirected his dad head to instead lay on his lap after he closed the door and began to groom his dad mane.

And yet throughout this entire process, Macaque had yet to utter a single word nor even shift an inch from his spot.

The boy knew he wasn’t going to respond, but he still can’t help himself but feel a twinge of anger directed at the Monkey King at what he has done.

‘This whole day was a disaster and a half,’ he narrowed his eyes as he numbly threaded his fingers in the fluffy fur. ‘He may be a God, but he’s not infallible…he’s not perfect.’ And with this little thought, he began to really realize that despite status or power, no one can be truly perfect. Not the Monkey King nor any other higher being that claims to be above them all. It’s a cynical thought, but he thinks that maybe it’s more real than he can imagine.

But those thoughts can wait for now. Right now, all he wants to do is focus on grooming this fur and just being there for his dad.

In the forest when the moon was high all were mostly sleeping and all was calm. Though some were laid to rest, there were other creatures, both mythical and not, that were waking up to their nightly routine. Everything was the same as always and nothing had changed enough to really bother any creatures despite.

Not even for a newly planted Plum Blossom seed that lay deep within the forest.

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #mk monkie kid #macaque #six eared macaque #monkey king #PlumTeaAU

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jeonqqin · 4 years ago

Text

man up. [m] | pt. 5

h. jisung x reader | netflix rom-com au

— ❝Even with classes, annoying brothers, and an unrequited crush, you still figured your first year of college was going pretty well. Until you managed to get your first boyfriend, and suddenly your brother and his stupidly attractive best friend were attached to your hip for the whole damn ride.

or alternatively;

Why did Jisung care about you so much, and had his eyes always been that pretty?❞

WORD COUNT: 4.7k

CONTAINS: brothers best friend au, teen rom-com au, sorta crack fic, love triangle au, college au

WARNING: future smut, language, very brief mention of past child abuse (they were pushed and got hurt), panic attack

a/n: I have no idea how this chapter got this real? THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A STUPID SILLY FIC

▸ request

CHAPTERS: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 +

blog masterlist | ⟲ fic song

—UNEDITED

“Just fucking leave me alone Jisung.”

“Hyunae, hold on—”

Jisung sighed, his palm rubbing harshly into his eye to soothe the sting of oncoming tears.

He was both devastated and relieved after his night with Hyunae. Granted, he hadn’t gotten any sleep whatsoever last night, but it was done, he really did it. Minho said he didn’t have the balls, but he fucking did, so fuck Minho.

“No! Just… get out.”

But there was the other side of his mind that was screaming at him for ruining a relationship that he put so much time into. It kept asking him why. Why did he do it? What pushed him to end it?

The true answer stared him in the face, but just as he had done for his whole like, he denied it.

“I knew this was going to happen anyway. I was just waiting for you to open your fucking eyes, Jisung.”

It had nothing to do with you. Why would it?

There was no romantic feeling between you and him, none at all. So there would be no reason for him to break up with his girlfriend on your accord. But he couldn’t ignore the way you ran out of the diner, and how terrified he had been all night with the absence of you. You hadn’t called him or Felix to let them know that you were fine, so of course he was worried, pacing back and forth around his girlfriend’s dorm until she snapped at him. It was possibly the worst timing for them to get into a fight, but it was also an opportunity for Jisung to just say it.

He wanted to break up.

He wouldn’t be quieted or controlled anymore.

He was no longer going to listen to her bicker with his friends over the smallest things.

Jisung had officially grown a backbone.

And that had nothing to do with the comment Hyunae made after you left. A comment that she had no place to make. She was the one in the wrong that night, but he was the one being scolded and cursed at. It was always him that was at fault in the end, no matter what happened or how it happened. It was always stupid Han Jisung.

Stupid stupid Han Jisung.

To say that his dormmate was surprised to see him after months of never sleeping in his assigned bed would’ve been an understatement. But thankfully Haechan didn’t ask any questions about why Jisung’s eyes were puffy or what he was doing showing up so late at night. Jisung respected that about the normally eccentric boy.

That night he hadn’t been plagued with nightmares of his now ex-girlfriend, but a memory of his childhood, leaving his chest feeling heavy the next morning. He remembered how scorching hot the summer sun was on the back of his neck as he sat idle on the steps of his best friend’s house. He could hear the screaming and yelling of Minho’s cracking voice, another—deeper—baritone booming over it. Jisung has always wondered how Minho could be so brazen, staring into the eyes of every new man that walked into his house.

Minho never really talked about it, but Jisung had picked up enough over the years to know that your dad was no longer in the picture, and that caused some conflicts between Minho and the men that he thought was trying to fill that position. Jisung never met your father, as he was barely six years old and hadn’t yet met Minho, but he grew to learn how much Minho idolized the absent man.

Jisung remembered the loud thud before the crash of something breaking. He also remembered the way his neck heated and legs trembled. But he would do as promised and wait for his friend to walk out the door so they could hop on their bikes and just get away. Minho always asked Jisung to wait for him while he planned a confrontation.

It was taking longer than usual.

Jisung met Lee Minho when he was eight years old, during an attempt to catch frogs in a small pond in the neighborhood. His family had just moved into the area and Jisung was too shy to really approach any of the children in the houses around him so he opted to play on his own. His brother was too old to play with him, and he honestly didn’t mind.

He got used to it and learned to entertain himself.

Minho approached all high and mighty, asking why Jisung was trying to catch the frogs in his special frog hunting spot, but was cut short by the smaller boy apologizing profusely and stumbling over his feet to stand. Only to find himself landing on his ass and soaking his green cargo shorts in mud. Minho had barked a laugh, his mouth opening to say something, but slamming closed as a frog jumped up and collided with Jisung’s cheek, nearly scaring the life out of the already petrified boy. Minho had then jumped into the pond with giggles falling out of his lips as Jisung laughed alongside him despite the tears falling down his face.

The night ended with your mother peeling leeches from both of the crying boys, and you making them a poorly executed cup of hot (lukewarm at best) chocolate to get rid of the sting.

Why you thought that was going to help—Jisung didn’t know.

Though, Minho still drank it in one breath and thanked you for making the pain go away with uneven sniffs. That was the first moment Jisung witnessed Minho suppress his feelings on your accord, and it certainly hadn’t been the last. Jisung didn’t blame his new friend at the time though, since he found himself eager to gulp down the drink to witness the same toothy smile you sent to your brother—but only directed at him.

It was worth the small stomach ache.

“Don’t touch him! Don’t you fucking dare touch my son.”

The voice or your mother rang clear as a bell in Jisung’s head, the usual calming tone was missing and urgency was all he could hear at that moment. The air only read “get away” as he continued to listen carefully to what was happening behind the closed door. He had listened to many fights, but even after knowing Minho for three whole years none of them had escalated beyond shouting.

Jisung’s instincts tried to kick him into gear, but he still sat there, his loyalty outweighing his better judgement.

The argument shifted between your mother and the man, Minho’s voice suddenly eerily absent. Jisung felt his heart pulse for his friend, his mind wandering to only the worst scenarios and his eyes welling up with irritating tears. But his gaze stayed unwavering, locked on the swaying tire swing he and Minho had put up themselves earlier that summer.

The door swung open, letting the voices be heard clear from the kitchen. Jisung’s head swung around carefully to watch as Minho rushed outside, his face bright red, almost unnaturally so. He left the door open, not even bothering to close it behind him.

“—he tripped. I didn’t know he was going to fall, honey. I’m sorry—”

“If you ever lay another hand on my child, you will never see the light of day again.” Your mother’s voice threatened, plaguing Jisung’s young mind.

“I would never purposefully hurt Minho—”

Jisung had shut the door, turning on his heel to follow his friend.

Minho had been fuming. His cheeks red—though one more red than the other, but Jisung wouldn’t once ask about it—and drenched with fresh tears, his hand furiously whipping it all away.

Jisung watched as Minho punched and kicked at the trees and flower beds in the backyard, making a mess of the once tidy space. But he just let his friend go, not saying one word to the boy. Jisung knew that he would be acting like a baby in Minho’s situation and was baffled by his friend’s strength. Minho was Jisung’s hero back then, and he sometimes missed that feeling when he took the time to reminisce.

It was only when Minho was somewhat calmed down, that you walked out to check on your brother. Your eyes were rimmed with red and your hands fisted the fabric of your shirt.

Every fight, you were always there to catch it all; a bystander like Jisung.

And despite his state—a steadily swelling cheek and a darkening welt on his forehead—Minho still pulled you into his arms to comfort your hiccuping form. He denied every worry and question that fell from your wobbly lips, and Jisung had a sense of dejavu each time.

It had been a rinse and repeat process for years; Minho would cause trouble and get into fights, and he would console you each and every time you showed any worry.

Neither you or Minho spoke about it, but Jisung knew that it was only Minho’s way of trying to protect you. With your dad gone, Minho moved to fill that gap, just trying too hard without a complete understanding of the line he shouldn’t cross.

Jisung had no idea why he had that dream, but the heavy weight in his chest began to push him in wanting to see Minho.

You couldn’t tell if you were having a good morning or not.

The date with Chan had gone incredibly well, that was for sure. He was sweet, such a gentleman, and the time you spent with him wasn’t at all boring by any means. He was absolutely perfect.

So why were you panicking?

Of course, there was the initial fear when you woke up in the morning to see that your little make out in his car wasn’t so little after all, and that your neck looked as if someone had tried to maul you. And the more makeup you piled over it barely made a difference, so the fact that you told Chan that you would go over to the apartment in the morning so he could show you the track he had put so much effort into, wasn’t exactly as exciting as it had been last night.

At the apartment you could run into Minho—or Jisung.

God, you completely forgot about Jisung.

You hadn’t seen him in a few days for classes, the small break in your school schedule being a true blessing, and you suddenly felt guilt crawl up into your chest. The situation with Hyunae wasn’t necessarily his fault, and you realized that after a few days to yourself. They were dating, of course they were going to act like a couple. You were simply being a big baby about a bit of PDA.

He had a girlfriend.

Right, why were you so worried about a few hickies when he had a girlfriend?

Why were you even bringing up that fact that he had a girlfriend when that didn’t even matter?

Why were you still so terrified that you had visible evidence of Chan’s lips on your neck when Jisung wasn’t in love with you and you weren’t in love with Jisung?

Why did you feel so guilty?

Staring at the purple marks on your neck had your mind flickering back to the moment when you first saw Jisung with the same little round spots on his own collar. Back in your first years of secondary school when Jisung basically lived at your house, him and Minho stopped paying much attention to you. It was a phase in your brother's life where he was getting into too many fights with his peers, and spending less time with you. And when you were that age you were pretty butt-hurt about it.

Jisung and Minho had just returned back from a party, one that you hadn’t received an invitation to—not that Minho would allow you to go anyway—and they trampled up the stairs at two in the morning without a care in the world or a second thought about you nor your mother that were trying to sleep. How your mom managed to stay sleeping that night was beyond you.

And with your brother’s room right next door to yours, it was impossible to get back to sleep, their loud excitement too much for the thin wall between you to block out. So, you peeled your covers off your body and stomped into their room to give them a deadly glare and a good smack to the backs of their heads.

Grumpily, Minho apologized and promised to be quieter, but Jisung simply smirked and tugged you down onto his lap to coo at how cute your puffy and tired face was. It was around the same time of your life when Jisung learned to push back his anxieties and began gaining self confidence, since that was something he desperately lacked when he was younger. But with confidence came the flirting.

He chalked it up to “sibling like teasing” but you couldn’t deny the massive crush you had on the boy back then. So the feeling of his skinny arms wrapping tightly around you and his (then blonde) fringe ticking your cheeks, was almost too much for your poor heart to take.

And then you saw the red spots lining his neck and momentarily froze, confusion haunting your train of thought and throwing you for a loop. You weren’t stupid, you knew exactly what those were, but for some reason, it didn’t occur to you that Jisung would ever get them.

But there they were and it had definitely punched a small hole in your heart that night.

You were all adults now though, surely they knew that you were bound to grow up sooner or later. It would be ridiculous if they decided to throw a fit now, right? You were in college for god sake, you were allowed to have a boyfriend.

Or—a Chan. Whatever you and Chan were, you were allowed to have it dammit.

So why was your hand shaking as it lifted to grab the door knob?

Amongst your inner turmoil you hadn’t heard the heavy step of Jisung walking up the stairs. He was so exhausted that he hadn’t even noticed you until he was scaling the last few steps of the three story apartment complex. He paused for a moment as he watched you hesitate at the door, your eyes glued down on your hand.

A sudden wave of so many emotions rushed through him at the sight of you in a baggy sweater that fell around your thighs, the black spandex of your shorts peeking out from underneath. Even from behind, Jisung could tell that you were tired, your hair all messy and cute. His heart swelled in his chest.

Of course you would be the one to dissolve all of his stress. He should’ve known.

With a deep sigh, Jisung felt himself smile. He ascended the last few steps and sidled up behind you, eyes heavy from lack of sleep. You still had yet to notice his presence, and that had him chuckling under his breath. Your obliviousness was going to get you killed.

Jisung slid his arms around your waist, only feeling you flinch for a second before you were relaxing back into his chest. He didn’t have room for any confusion, as he was too elated to actually hold you again. He couldn’t remember the last time he could just walk up to you and grab you without there being a fuss. Jisung missed you.

Jisung took the opportunity to lean his jaw against your shoulder and tuck his face into the fabric of your sweater, only holding you closer. Your body wash had always been his favorite, not too intense that it had him nauseous, but sweet and soft enough to tempt him into placing a line of gentle pecks along the expanse of your skin—

That settled it, the break up was officially driving him insane.

With a sigh and a curt laugh, you closed your eyes and leaned your head to the other side. Jisung’s eyes widened for those few moments when the invitation was right there in front of him, and some sick part of him wanted to scatter marks over the soft plane of your skin. In his daze, he wondered what kind of noises you would make if he bit down and made a mess of your pretty collar; if you would beg and whine or release little breathless gasps. He was right there—so damn close.

His tongue ran along his bottom lip at the thought.

What was happening to him?

“I’m sorry for just standing out here. I must look crazy.” You breathed, hands wrapping around his forearms.

Jisung huffed a laugh, nudging your shoulder with his chin, just enough to shift your sweater off to the side. “No, you—”

Both of you froze at the same moment—complete different reasons why.

The warm body behind you wasn’t Chan.

Your mind was screaming at you to get away, telling you that you shouldn’t feel so comfortable with Han Jisung pressed intimately against your back. With his hands gripping your waist and chin resting on your shoulder where some other man's lips had kissed you, where Chan had—

Jisung saw the angry purple bruises before he could process the rest of what he wanted to say. They had been hidden behind the strategic collar of your sweater, and he suddenly felt a wave of an emotion that hadn’t risen to the surface for years climb up into his chest.

He quickly unraveled himself from you, face flushing red as he took multiple steps backwards, his back colliding harshly against the door of the apartment across from Minho’s. Jisung couldn’t care less about the sudden pain that rocketed up his spine, his attention locked onto the massacre on your clavicle.

Speechless, Jisung could feel his chest tightening and breathing quicken within his ribcage. Everything was so much worse than it had been before. At least he had a form of relief from breaking things off with Hyunae, now all he could feel was the crippling weight of your eyes on him. He felt completely exposed and dejected.

He couldn’t breathe.

“Ji—” You attempted to lean forward and grab his arm, brows pulled into a worried frown.

He felt stupid.

“I—shit. I’m sorry,” he whispered, shrinking away from your reaching hand and hurrying past you to shove his extra key into the lock, twisting it open faster than he had ever done in his life. It was a miracle that he could even get the key into the hole with how badly his hands were shaking.

Stupid stupid Jisung.

Jisung barely registered the confused concern that flashed across Changbin’s face as he sped past him, his sights set solely on the last room on the left. Slamming the door behind him, Jisung couldn’t help but feel like he was dying, his chest aching and body suddenly warm.

“Sung?” A groggy Minho lifted from under his sheets, his chest bare and bedhead wild. “What the hell?”

“I’m so stupid,” Jisung rasped, tugging at the collar of his shirt and collapsing back against Minho’s desk chair. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

“What happened?”

But Jisung could barely hear anything over the sound of his heart beating, the echoing drum in his skull.

Minho frowned, lifting from his bed and pulling a shirt over his head in order to cross over to his best friend. Jisung looked absolutely exhausted, heavy-lidded eyes staring out at nothing as his hands raked through his gelled hair, ruining the style he had probably spent his whole morning on.

It had been years since Minho had seen Jisung in such a state. There had been brief moments where Jisung got uncomfortable going to crowded parties or big lectures, but there was nothing small about how he was acting now.

A brief memory of a crying boy covered in mud and soaked to the bone flashed through his head.

Minho sighed, rubbing a palm over his face as he took a seat on the floor beside the desk chair that Jisung had claimed. Minho’s hand moved up to pat Jisung’s knee, “Well, Sung… Let’s get over this bitch together, okay?”

You felt your face pale as you took a slow step into the apartment, closing the door behind you. The look of fear that Jisung sent you was heartbreaking, his eyes wide and jaw clenched so hard that you knew for sure that it had to hurt.

“The hell happened out there?” Changbin asked, tone stern but confused.

You cringed, feeling your face heat up.

“He…” You debated telling him—perhaps he already knew? Either way, it wasn’t your place to say anything. The last thing you wanted was to get even further on Jisung’s bad side.

What did you even do to set him off?

“He what, Y/n? What happened?” Changbin placed down the cook utensil that had been gripped tightly in his fist.

It felt weird to see Changbin distressed, as he was usually the calm during the storm, keeping a level head even when things took a turn for the worst. But you figured you’d be the same way if you just saw one of your best friends in such a state and not have any prior knowledge of the situation.

“He started freaking out,” you finally said, voice low. “I’m sure he’ll be okay.”

But you really weren’t sure, and it was easy to tell that Changbin didn’t believe you.

“Are you sure you want to leave it at that, Y/n?”

Your lip wobbled for a quick second as your eyes locked on something off to your right. It was difficult to sit still under the heavy gaze of Changbin, but really, there was nothing else you could say. You wouldn’t tell him anything that could reveal too much, and if that meant you would have to endure his interrogation with sealed lips, then that was what you had to do.

You nodded slowly, “Mhm.”

Changbin’s eyebrows rose in shock, his arms moving to cross over his chest. “Seriously? You’re not going to tell me why Jisung just ran in here breathing like he was in fucking labor?”

You nodded again, more sure than the last time.

“He’s with Minho. He’ll be fine.”

“You’re just going to be super cryptic and annoying then.” Changbin said, frustration clear on his face. “No explanation at all.”

“Sorry.”

He looked at you as if he didn’t believe you, but you honestly were. You knew how shitty it felt to have people you care about hide things from you, since you went through a whole phase of it with Minho—hell, he still hid shit from you half the time. But if anyone was going to tell Changbin what was going on, it was going to be Jisung.

Because there was no way in hell that you were going to break all rules of trust and tell someone that Jisung suffered from panic attacks.

Granted, he used to get them all the time when he was young, therefore they were less of a secret and more of a “who possibly didn’t know?” type of deal. A lot of things set him off, and the fact that his parents completely uprooted their lives every two years didn’t help. Thankfully, they had gotten the hint and decided to hold off on moving until Jisung was out of school and ready to go off on his own.

But it had been a long time since you witnessed one so bad, and you didn’t want to share that secret with anyone. You knew Changbin was one of the most trustworthy people you knew, but it wasn’t your news to spread.

Changbin’s eyes scanned your form for a moment, his gaze only pausing on your neck for a fraction of a second, and if you hadn’t known what he was looking at, you wouldn’t have noticed anything different.

“Fine.” He said, spinning on his heel and returning to the small kitchen. He was frustrated and you felt bad about that, but he would hopefully know soon enough.

And like clockwork, the bathroom door then opened, Chan emerging with damp hair and thankfully fully clothed. It wasn’t the time to get distracted by his incredible body, you’d probably just feel even more guilty if that was even possible.

“Y/n,” Chan chimed, voice full of life and excitement as he all but blinded to your side like an excited puppy. Though, his cheery nature wouldn’t be enough to raise your spirits—if anything he dampened them further, even more guilt gnawing at your chest.

He grabbed your limp arms and rugged you forward, nearly pulling you into his chest. You felt your brows furrow and your head tilt away as he leaned forward to place a kiss on your lips, only to miss and land on the side of your head. Chan immediately pulled away with blinking eyes, his pretty lips open in slight surprise.

You cringed.

The universe was really against you today, huh?

“Is something wrong?” Chan asked, voice full of concern.

What a perfect guy.

You nodded, lips pulling in a tight line. “The morning has just been a little crazy…”

Eyes flickering up they landed on Changbin, who was already glancing your way, his own gaze skipping back and forth between you and Chan. Though, without a word he turned back to whatever breakfast he was cooking.

“Anything I can do to help?”

Leave—

You seriously wanted to punch yourself in the face. It wasn’t Chan’s fault for what happened, and you couldn’t ever think that. He was just caught in the middle of some messed up situation that wouldn’t have even happened if you just kept your stupid heart in line. Maybe if you had never met Jisung, everything would’ve turned out fine.

Because that would’ve solved all of your petty problems.

“No, Channie,” you managed to send a smile to the boy. “But we should probably get out of here before things get worse.”

Chan nodded, carefully lifting his hand to cradle your jaw.

“Okay. No problem.”

You sighed as he gave you the most patient smile you’d ever seen. Your guilt only grew.

Could things get any worse?

As if answering your question, the door to your brother’s room swung open and quietly shut after your grey haired sibling stepped out. His face was set, jaw squared and brows furrowed.

It was the same face that he went into every conflict with. That was the same expression he wore every time he threw a punch or when he used to pick fights with your mother’s old boyfriends. Minho was angry—with who, you weren’t yet sure.

But he didn’t miss a beat as he stepped around Chan and took his place in front of you, his calloused and scarred hand reaching up to the neck of your tousled sweater. You didn’t even bother to pull away or wiggle out of his reach, you just kept your unwavering gaze on Minho’s face as he tugged your collar down to expose the patches upon patches of bruises that spread lower than most would consider to be modest.

Minho kept his gaze down, refusing to look up into the wide eyes of his baby sister. He didn’t believe it when Jisung began babbling about hickies and teeth marks on your skin, his head in his hands as he finally came down from his inner panic. But there it was, clear as fucking day.

Minho wanted to spin around and sock Chan square in the jaw, but there was something deeper seeded in his chest that kept him from doing so. He bit the skin on the inside of his cheek inside, his mouth filling with copper as he dropped his hold on your sweater and spun around. He met eyes with Chan for only a moment, getting a hard look back as he bumped past and back into his room. This time the door had slammed behind him, all caution to the wind.

You expected yelling and screaming, a fight you were willing to endure and take. Minho was your brother—as much as he wanted to fill the hole that your dad left empty—he was just your older brother. He could scream and punch things, but you weren’t a baby anymore. What you hadn’t expected was complete silence from him, it was almost worse than him screaming…

No, your mind flickered back to the way he refused to even look into your eyes, it was much worse.

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quirklessidiot · 4 years ago

Text

Drabble #5 : high school reunions :: You’re kind of hesitant to meet his old high school friends but Atsumu says he’ll knock some sense into them if they said anything funny. [slice of life/fluff+ mild angst + coward au series]

Notes: and here ya go, this one was requested twice and its actually kind of cute how this kinda ties Y/N’s relationship with atsumu’s ex fwends skksks anyways sorry for the late updates :3

Read the story here!

You weren’t exactly keen with the idea of attending Atsumu’s reunion with his teammates back in high school. For one, you were kind of nervous since you were sure you had a bad rep. Another would be because you’d see Aran and last time you parted ways, it was in sour terms.

Atsumu says he’s willing to fess up on anyone who tried to make you feel bad in your reunion and you’re happy, of course, by your fiancé’s willingness with the whole ordeal but the anxiety wouldn’t just leave you especially now that you’re in front of the gym that they used to train on back in high school.

“‘Kaasan, are you alright?” Yuuto asks, noticing your expression.

Atsumu stops in his tracks and turns to you, Youta is on his father’s arms, ghosting the same expression as his twin.

“Y/N if this is too much I-” Atsumu tries to say but you break it off with a quick nod and a small smile.

“I’m fine, atsumu.”

“You sure? We can go hom-”

“Ah there goes my favorite love birds.” Osamu exclaims, you look up to find your fiance’s twin standing there with his usual expression, “And my favorite nephews too!”

“Uncle ‘samu we’re your only nephews.” Yuuto deadpans.

“Hey, watch it!” He frowns, walking up to the four of you, “All the guys are waiting for ya, tsumu. They’re excited to see the two and Y/N too.”

“Why don’t you take Youta and Yuuto for a sec, I forgot something in the car.” The blonde setter says, putting his son down so he can wobble to his Uncle. Osamu quirks a brow but when he reads the room, he decides to just distract the kids and lead them inside. Leaving you two standing there alone under the quiet night, “Hey, you know you don’t have to do this.” Atsumu turns to you, holding your hand.

“I can’t keep running away from your friends.”

“You’re not running.” Atsumu replies, squeezing it to comfort you, “I know how anxious you are, I know you’re nervous that Aran’s there too, he doesn’t hate you, by the way.”

“I literally ghosted you and broke up with you on the phone.” You mumbled, shaking your head in dismay, “I have every right to have everyone hate me.”

“Hey, you had a reason for that too, ya know.” Atsumu grumbles, “If Osamu is chill with it, I’m sure Aran-san would react the same. If he does anything funny, I swear I’ll kick’e-”

“You’ll what?”

You immediately glance towards the door of the gym to find the one and only Aran Ojiro standing there in all his glory, you feel your heart beating a bit faster than normal, he grew up well, time did everyone well it seemed. Last time you saw him was in college, he was in his last year and you were on your third, like Osamu and Shion, he didn’t really approve of your relationship with Atsumu because of your exterior back then.

“Hey Aran-san.” Atsumu greets, a funny and faux nervous smile on his lips, “Jus’ saying I’m gonna kick yer ass if ya do anything funny to Y/N.”

Aran rolls his eyes as he approach you two, “After seeing your two kids, I’m more worried that you’re going to do something funny to Y/N. How could you not even notice she was pregnant back then?” he exclaims, flicking a finger on his kohai’s forehead, “Hey L/N-san, sorry about him. If he wasn’t a dense idiot, you’d probably wouldn’t have a hard time living alone all those six years.”

“Hey, it wasn’t obvious ya know!”

The pair started to bicker and your eyes soften, it seemed like things were alright after all. You trailed behind them as you entered the gym, “‘Kaasan! ‘Kaasan! Suna-ojisan says otosan tried to follow Hinata-ojisan and Tobio-ojisan’s quick back in high school and they lost a game because of that!” Youta exclaims, looking at his father funnily.

“Hey! What have you been saying to my kid!” Atsumu exclaims, walking up to his teammate with a rather cat-like appearance, that man must’ve been Suna, your kids were awfully friendly with the team already.

“Sorry.”

Your gaze slowly directs to Aran whose hands were stuffed in his pockets, “I don’t know the full story, obviously. But ‘samu and shion sorta filled me in with some details, saying that you got scared about the pregnancy especially since you two were still in college.” he blinks, “Guess we made it harder for you because we were dicks back then who didn’t approve of the relationship.”

“Ah.” You shrugged, “It’s no worry, in a way it was my fault too.”

“For real?” Aran replies, brows upturned, “The way I see it, you both were just too damn in love and kept running around in circles.”

You feel your gaze soften as you watch Atsumu being the center of jokes once again as his two sons relentlessly tease him about the embarrassing moments that Suna and Osamu were retelling, “I guess so.” you mumbled.

“You must be L/N-san.” a voice exclaims, you turn to find a grey-haired man standing there who awfully reminded you of Bokuto, except this one seemed more uptight than the latter one, “Ah yes, L/N-san. This is Kita Shinsuke, our captain.”

“Oh, I’ve heard so much about you even back then.” You blinked, holding out your hand for him to shake, “It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.”

“You’ve got nice and polite children. You’ve raised them very well.” Kita compliments you as he shakes your hand, making you smile softly, he seemed nicer than the stories Atsumu would tell.

“Y/N!” Atsumu drawled, running to the three of you, “They’re bullying me!”

“Ah you must be L/N-san.” Suna exclaims, walking up to you quickly, you weren’t sure if he was happy to see you since he had the same blank features on his face, “Are you sure you want to marry him? You can still pawn the ring off.”

You broke down into a soft chuckle, “You shouldn’t say that Suna-ojisan, kaasan gets really lovey-dovey to otosan when ‘samu-ojisan says that.” Yuuto crinkles his nose in disgust as he recalled the past memory.

The group bursts into laughter and Aran finally sees something different than the last time he saw you two, this time it was you two staring at each other with open affection and he couldn’t be anymore proud about how things were going for his teammate.

#haikyuu imagines #haikyu scenarios #haikyuu #haikyuu drabbles #miya atsumu x reader #miya atsumu imagine #atsumu scenarios #atsumu x reader

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kyber-crystal · 4 years ago

Text

pop the question || s.r.

summary: steve goes to his old love to ask her for advice on making the most important decision of his life.

words: ~2.5k

warnings: really nothing, just fluff and cheesy steve as always :)

a/n: this was an old oneshot and it’s poorly written i’m so sorry. post civil war au where everyone is happy and peggy is still alive hehehehe let’s keep in mind this is unedited so there’s a lot of errors.

Upon hearing that your boyfriend was going to go visit Peggy, you immediately jumped at the opportunity and begged him to let you tag along. Hearing countless stories about the fearless woman who helped found the very organization that you had been a part of for so long made you want to see her in person. So after several days of convincing, he finally caved in and allowed you to come with him.

The room she was staying in was brightly lit and minimalistic, mostly uncluttered with the only thing on the wall being a framed black-and-white photo of her back in the 40's. A grey-haired woman lay peacefully in the middle of the bed and as you took a step forward, she stirred slightly and for a moment you were afraid you'd woken her up in the middle of her sleep.

Her eyes opened and a bright smile lit up her face, softening immediately upon seeing the two of you side by side. "Oh, do come in...And who is this beautiful lady you've brought along with you, Steve?"

"I'm Y/N. Former SHIELD agent, currently an Avenger," you explained as you made your way over to her. She reached out and gave your hand a quick squeeze, returning your warm smile. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"And I've heard plenty about you as well," she replied kindly, "You're even lovelier in person."

You laughed nervously and rubbed the back of your neck. "I don't think so."

"I've always wanted to get to know the woman he's fallen so hopelessly in love with."

"Peggy..." Steve felt his cheeks heat up at her statement. "stop, you're embarrassing me—"

"I can tell why he chose you," Peggy smiled, "He's a good man...I know he loves you more than anything."

"Actually, I beg to differ, he loves Bucky more than me," you raised an eyebrow in suspicion at the super-soldier. "He wouldn't pay attention to me after he got roped into an Uno deathmatch last night."

"Classic Rogers," she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief as he pulled up a chair to sit next to you, by her bedside, "a true child at heart. I see you haven't changed much over the years."

Steve took your hand in his, intertwining your fingers together and soothingly rubbing circles across your palm with his thumb. Peggy noticed the softened look in his eyes when he glanced over at you and you felt your face grow warm.

"So how long have you been together for?"

"Almost two years," Steve replied, with a light pink shade tinting his cheeks. "Our second anniversary will be on..."

"May 20th. Two weeks from now," you finished his sentence.

"That's wonderful," Peggy laughed again, "I wish you two the best in your relationship."

"You're too kind," you thanked her, "I've been a huge fan of yours for so long."

"And I, you. He always talks about you every time he visits. He never shuts up about you, so I was dying to meet you from the moment he first mentioned your name."

"What did he say?" you looked over at your boyfriend to see that he was now flushing a bright tomato red, much to both yours and her amusement. "It was all good things, I assume?"

"Of course. He tells me he's never been this happy in his life until he met you...I honestly couldn’t be more proud."

"Aww, Steve," you nudged him in the side as he grew an even deeper shade of red, "you're so sweet."

"He is a hopeless romantic," she added on. "Captain America is great with the ladies."

"Peggy!" Steve exclaimed.

"Aw, you're making him blush," you giggled.

"He is the easily flustered type, if I'm being completely honest with myself here, though one might not see that right away when they first meet him," she agreed, but then her face fell. "Y/N, would you be a dear and get me a glass of water and some yogurt from the cafeteria? You just have to head straight down the hall, then turn right. You'll know it when you see it."

"Yeah, of course," you nodded as you stood up. "Just a minute."

Once you were out of earshot, Peggy gestured for Steve to come closer so he could hear her speak better.

"I'm glad you found a woman like her to stick by your side," she said quietly, "All these years, I waited for you, and I was completely, utterly heartbroken at the idea of not being with you ever again. But after hearing you talk about her frequently and seeing your face light up every time her name was mentioned...I didn't want to take that away from you. You're still that good man with heart from Brooklyn I met so long ago, Steve, and I hope you'll continue to treat her well. She’s a real keeper. Promise me you'll keep her close."

"I will," he promised, reaching over to gently squeeze her hand. "I love her more than anything, and there's nothing I wouldn't do to make her happy."

"Good," she nodded with a smile, "you make the perfect pair with her."

After you returned with Peggy's yogurt and water, you stayed for about an hour and a half longer before a buzzing sound from your phone indicated a new text message.

Natasha: Hey, love. I'm in the parking lot right now, where do you want to go for lunch? I kicked Bucky out before he dragged us to shawarma for the third time this week, so it's your pick today. Thank me later.

You: I'll be out in a sec. Meet you outside.

Natasha: See you in a bit.

You looked back up at Peggy after sliding your phone in your purse, giving her an apologetic look. "I'm afraid I have to go now. I have a lunch date. Natasha doesn't like to be kept waiting, especially when there's food on the line."

"It's okay," she reassured you as you stood up and shook her hand again. "It was absolutely wonderful meeting you. I hope you can come and visit again soon."

"Of course."

After exchanging one last round of goodbyes with her and Steve, you slung your purse over your shoulder and pushed the doors open to head outside, where Natasha was awaiting you in Tony's Audi.

"Hey, girlfriend," Natasha sent you a flirty wink and wave. "Get in."

You slid into the passenger's seat, buckling on your seatbelt as she stepped on the gas pedal. "Hey."

"So, how'd it go?"

"It was pretty nice. She seemed to ship it pretty eagerly," you chuckled. "Oh, also, Thai food."

"Got it." She typed in the directions to the restaurant into the GPS. "That's cute, having another person who's an avid shipper of Y/N x Steve. You guys have any plans for your anniversary?"

You shook your head, "I have no idea. Usually, it's him who makes the move and goes all out for the night, but I'm not sure what either of us have in mind this year."

Oh, he definitely had something in mind.

There was a burning question sitting in the back of his head and had been doing so for as long as he could remember. Right as he was prepared to leave half an hour later, he decided to ask Peggy and get it off his chest.

"Could I ask you something important?"

"Of course."

"I, uh..." he fiddled with his thumbs nervously for a few seconds before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a tiny, cubic box encasing a gorgeous diamond ring inside. "Because our anniversary is coming up soon...I wanted to pop the question. How should I do it?"

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Peggy clasped her hands together excitedly. "Well...I'd suggest you go over-the-top for this occasion, it's a big, life-changing moment so why not? Don't be afraid to go all out, be romantic."

"What should I do, then?"

"Hmm. What are some things she enjoys?"

"Laser tag, crushing her opponents and beating them to a pulp in fights, Tom Cruise, Italian food, and Taylor Swift. She’s a popular pop singer these days."

"Ah, I see," she laughed, "She's a woman who enjoys variety."

"Exactly."

"A nice candlelit dinner would help set the mood very well, but if you're not wanting to pop the question in front of a crowd, you could always set that dinner up at home. Are any of you good cooks?"

"Bruce makes good pasta, and Vision's the baker of the compound."

"Back when my husband and I were still dating, he'd always surprise me with nice little fancy dinners at home. I believe that is the way to a girl's heart; sometimes you do not need to be extravagant to win her over. And you said she likes Taylor Swift, yes?”

“Yeah...”

“Take her to a concert! I heard from my niece that she’s in town right around the time of your anniversary...so you’re in luck. Get tickets, and take her there.”

"Thank you so much, Peggy. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Anytime, Steve."

...

"So," Natasha spoke up as you were on your way back to the compound after lunch, "it's been two years since you finally got off your asses and admitted you were in love with each other, how do you feel?"

"I honestly don't know," you shrugged, "but I guess I have you to thank, right?"

"Damn right you do," she smirked, "I've been rooting for you two since we were called in to take down SHIELD, and I started suspecting things during the Battle of New York."

"That was three years ago! And New York was five!"

"I know!"

You let out a long sigh, a wistful look appearing on your face. "I wish Mom and Dad were here to see where I am right now. You know, they always pushed me to get back into the dating game once I got over my nasty breakup in college...before I got my level 8 SHIELD promotion."

"Didn't they always tell you that they wished you'd date Cap?"

"They did, actually," you chuckled, "and here I am now. Their dream has become my reality."

"I always loved your mom. Remember when we were having dinner at their house? She snuck me extra cookies under the table. Being your best friend for over six years has its perks, you know."

"And she'd fangirl over Thor."

"Ho, boy. Yup," she shook her head as she thought back to that chaotic family dinner.

Two weeks went by in a flash, and before you knew it, it was the day of yours and Steve's anniversary. Strangely enough you'd been prevented from seeing him all day, with the team making extra efforts to keep you separated.

After a fancy home-cooked dinner, you found yourselves curled up together on the couch as you absentmindedly watched Tangled - one of your favorite Disney movies of all time. Your head was resting on Steve’s broad shoulder as he traced patterns on your arm, feeling his breath gently fanning over your head.

But partway through the movie, you noticed he seemed to be fidgeting a bit as well, glancing between you and his pockets frequently.

"Hey," you placed a gentle hand on top of his, still staring ahead, "are you okay?"

"Huh? What? Yeah, I'm fine," he blinked a couple times before snapping out of his daze.

"Okay..."

Several more minutes passed in silence before he decided to speak up again. “...If I recall, you’re into Taylor Swift.”

“Oh yeah! Why do you ask?”

“An insider told me she’s going to be in Brooklyn this weekend for a throwback tour. I managed to snag last-minute tickets for the two of us...what do you say?”

“YES,” you practically squealed, jumping out of your seat and throwing your arms around him. “You’re the best! I love you.”

“I know, darling, I love you too,” he laughed, one hand rubbing your back as the other was absentmindedly fiddling with the box in his pocket. You blew it, Rogers...

...

You were nearly bombarded by paparazzi as soon as you stepped out of your Audi with Steve by your side, reporters flooding your path. The guards at the main entrance were quick to notice, however, and led you aside so you could enter through a different route.

“This feels so surreal,” your voice echoed across the walls as you made your way down the hall hand-in-hand. “I’ve been dreaming about this moment ever since I was a kid.”

“I’m glad I was able to make that dream come to life.”

“This is why you’re the best person ever.”

“Not because I always have your back during missions?” he raised a brow.

“That too, but also because of the fact that you got me tickets to the concert of one of my favorite artists ever.”

He chuckled. “I get that.”

You ended up standing right in front of the stage - so you had not only a close-up view, but could hear everything beyond fantastically. As Taylor came out on stage and began to sing, Steve couldn’t help the look of adoration that crossed over his features at the sight of your brightened eyes and glowing complexion. You truly looked like an angel - and he knew for sure in that very moment, you were the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

His train of thought was interrupted at one point by you grabbing his hand and squealing excitedly. “My favorite!”

Steve recognized the familiar, soothing tune as Love Story. He recalled you and Natasha drunkenly dancing around on karaoke night to this very tune - heads thrown back in laughter as you exaggerated your movements, making everyone laugh. You’d explained that the reason why you were so attached was because listening to it made you long for a happy ever after - a perfect future. A girl could dream.

Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you, but you never come Is this in my head? I don't know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring And said,

You were too busy jumping around and singing your heart out to notice the spotlight was now shining down on you, and it was only when the crowd started shrieking in excitement that you turned around to see-

Steve was down on one knee, holding up a tiny velvet box with a beautiful diamond ring nestled in the very center. Taylor was grinning down at you two as she continued to sing, the audience chanting for you to say something.

"Marry me, Juliet You'll never have to be alone I love you and that's all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"

“Yes! Yes,” you nodded, choking on a happy sob as you put a hand over your mouth, letting him slide the ring on your finger. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He stood back up and wound his arms around your waist, pulling you in for a passionate kiss to your lips.

Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh 'Cause we were both young when I first saw you

...

if your name is striked out, that means i couldn’t tag you for some reason

general tags: @yoomum @captainchrisstan @sandystoriess @naomiiiiiiiiiii04 @patzammit @rynhaswritersblock @capcapcapsicle @wheresmyjae @thinkingofbuckybarnes @carryonmywaywardbucky @musicalkeys @buckybarnesthehotshot @zaddychris @optimistic-dinosaur-nacho @sylvie-writes @sis-it-dont-add-up @tonystankschild

permanent tags: @sandwitch-god @renaissancecherub

steve/chris tags: @marvelfanatic16 @angrybirdcr @speechlessxx @epiphanybucky @smokeandnailz

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mcfiddlestan · 4 years ago

Text

WinterFrost Single Dads AU

Hey, ya'll. Told ya I was working on this thing. I've got about six chapters done, but I'm not ready to post it to AO3 just yet. One big reason for that is I don't have a title yet. So I thought I'd post a couple of chapters, let ya'll get a feel for it, then take any suggestions you might have.

Just a small note: I tend to name fics after song titles that inspired the story or somehow fit with the plot.

Anyhoo...here's the first chapter. I *might* post the second tomorrow. We'll see how the response to this goes.

xoxo, La

Pairing: Loki x Bucky Barnes (there are others past and future, but I'm not giving them away just yet)

Rating: M

Word count: 1,775

Summary: Loki is living a great life as a Manhattan lawyer and constantly partying with Tony Stark, his best friend. Loki's life before he came to New York more than a decade ago is a mystery for those close to him. But it's all about to come to light when he gets a call from someone in his past.

Bucky is just trying to catch a break. A few hookups with a fellow soldier led to a quickie marriage and baby -- and two years later, a quick divorce. His daughter is now eight years old and the light of his life. But he can't seem to get his shit together. Struggling to find a job and keep a hold on his sobriety, it's a one-night stand that gives him the kick in the ass he needs to be the man his daughter believes he is.

Warnings: Mature language and situations, some drug use, and talk about addiction.

Chapter 1

The sound of his front door opening and closing pulled Loki from a deep sleep. So deep, it took him a moment to remember where he was and how he knew that was his front door. His eyes opened slowly, once, twice, and then again, to nothing but the darkness of what he was sure was his bedroom. Then he felt the pounding, incessant, pulsing around his entire head. Damn migraines. Loki let out a low groan, thought fuck it, and buried his face deeper into his pillow. Moments later, the door to his bedroom pushed open.

“Rise and shine,” a deep voice sang.

Loki grumbled at the familiar voice, and slowly, he turned his body, rolling onto his back. “Why are you always so chipper in the morning? Oh, for Norn’s sake!” He threw a pillow over his face as the curtains pulled open and let the blinding daylight flood the room. “Close them! I’ve got a damned migraine!”

“Ooh. So sorry, Mr. Friggasson. There’s a cup of tea on the nightstand. Would you like me to get you some water and a couple of ibuprofen?”

Another groan sounded through the room as Loki forced himself to sit up. “Yes, please,” he answered as he rubbed at his face before reaching for the two pillows to prop them up behind him. In his sleepy haze, he remembered to pull the bedsheet over his lap to keep his modesty. Loki reached out for the teacup first, cupping it in his large hand as he took a gentle sip. “Mmm, perfect. Thank you, Fandral. And, for the thousandth time, please stop calling me Mr. Friggasson.” He sipped again, ignoring Fandral’s giggle as he rummaged through Loki’s closet. “What time is it?”

“A quarter to eleven.”

Loki sputtered into his tea. “Quarter to eleven? Why did you let me sleep so late? I have meetings today.” Loki hurriedly set his drink down and started to rise, gathering the sheet to wrap around him. Fandral was suddenly there, nudging Loki back into the bed, “Relax, Loki. You’re fine. Your early meeting was canceled, the board meeting at the Tower was pushed to Thursday, and Mr. Stark canceled your lunch meeting.”

“Cancelled? Why?” Loki settled back in the bed, rubbing at his neck. “He didn’t say. But he left the message for me before three am, and there was a lot of noise in the background. So, take a guess.”

Loki snorted softly. “That’s your boss, Fanny. Don’t judge.”

“You’re my boss. Mr. Stark only signs the checks,” Fandral said through a smile as he laid out a pair of pants and a shirt on a chair in the corner for Loki to wear for the day. “Once the morning meeting was canceled, I thought I’d let you rest a little longer since you didn’t have to rush into the office.”

“Thanks,” Loki muttered from behind his cup.

Fandral gave him a nod and turned to head around the corner towards the master bathroom.

“Any other messages?” Loki called as he set the teacup back on the nightstand. He sat back, his face contorting in pain, willing the migraine to ease up. He made a mental note to see an optometrist already.

“Yes, a few. Natasha called. She got a lead on the security break from a couple of months ago, I guess? She said she’d have a report for you on the improvements she’s already made with F.R.I.D.A.Y.” Fandral stepped out with a small white bottle in one hand, a glass of water in the other. He handed the water to Loki before popping open the bottle and dropping two white tablets in Loki’s open palm. “Also, someone’s been trying to get a hold of you all morning. He’s called four times already. No real message, just ‘need to speak to Loki urgently.’ Someone named Thor.”

Loki went still. He swallowed down the pills and water in his mouth, watching Fandral’s retreating back. A million different questions ran through Loki’s mind, but he couldn’t decide on just one to ask, nor would Fandral be able to answer any of them, judging by what he’d just said. Fandral returned from the bathroom, and Loki hoped he didn’t look as panicked as he felt. “Someone named Thor, you say?”

Fandral, staring at his phone, made a noise of agreement. “Sounded foreign, but I couldn’t place the accent.”

“Norwegian.” Loki shook his head dismissively when Fandral looked at him with a quizzical look. “Did he say how to get a hold of him?”

“Yes. At least, I have the number for you.” Fandral lowered his phone, eyed Loki, who’d gone much paler in the last thirty seconds. “Are you all right?”

Not in the slightest. “Yes. Uh, Fandral, I’m going to take a shower.” Loki rose from the bed, his migraine still there but hardly forgotten. He held the bed sheet tight at his waist and walked around Fandral. “Listen, if he calls again, tell him I will call him back as soon as I’m free. If he doesn’t, when you hear the water stop, give me twenty minutes, then put the call through.”

Fandral frowned at Loki as he followed him with his eyes. “Sure, boss. Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”

“Fandral. I’m fine. Will you order some food? Get me a sandwich, please. Something toasted, turkey.” Distracted, Loki didn’t wait for Fandral to confirm. He walked into his bathroom and started the water in the shower, then moved to the sink. He stood before the mirror for a moment, thinking, fretting, irritated. Why would Thor be calling him after all this time? What could he possibly have to say to Loki? After more than ten years of no communication, Loki felt as if they were strangers.

The steam began to fill the room, fogging up the mirror, so Loki dropped the sheet and stepped under the spray. He let the hot water wash over him, easing the ache of his muscles. He took the showerhead in hand, adjusted the setting of the water, and held it over the back of his head to let the hot water pummel the skin of his neck and his scalp, hoping to make the migraine go away. Though with the newly added stress of a phone call with someone from his long-forgotten past, Loki wasn’t sure it would go away now.

Washing his body and hair quickly, after just fifteen minutes, Loki stepped out and went through the motions of grooming then getting dressed. When he stepped out into the living room, Fandral was just taking his food from its delivery packaging.

“Did he call?”

“No. Feel any better?”

Not at all. “Much. Fandral, could you give me some privacy?”

He froze with a wrapped sandwich half out of the bag. Only his eyes moved in Loki’s direction, “Um, sure? Do you want me to come back in, what, an hour?”

Loki shook his head. “No. In fact, why don’t you take the rest of the day off?” Fandral dropped the sandwich on the table and faced Loki fully, crossing his arms. “Don’t look at me like that. Nothing is wrong. I just don’t know how this conversation is going to go, and I’d rather not have an audience if you don’t mind.” He spotted a bag of chips and snatched it up, ripping it open to pop one into his mouth.

Fandral, still frowning, reached into the bag once again to split the napkins between the two of them. He repacked his meal, then lifted the bag from the table. “All right. Your phone is on the counter. I input the phone number since he called the office, not your cell phone. And – I’ll be available, just in case.”

“Thank you. Fandral.” Loki gave his back a quick pat as he paused beside him. “I mean it. Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Well, I think we both know that’s a mutual feeling.” He reached for Loki’s arm, giving his wrist a quick squeeze. “Call me later? So I know you’re all right?”

Loki nodded and didn’t move until he heard the door close behind Fandral. It was true; he didn’t know how he would function without Fandral. They were classmates in law school, and both started at equally prestigious firms upon graduation. They were good friends but fiercely competitive, too. Loki credited that manic drive to one-up each other for getting him to the top five percent of their graduating class. But after a few years, while Loki had been on the up-and-up, Fandral was drowning, barely keeping his head above water as a tax lawyer. Loki watched one of the first friends he’d made in New York crumble under pressure and struggled to help him find a way to deal. Eventually, Fandral walked away from the six-figure salary, the company car, and all the perks that came with it. Loki was impressed that Fandral

dared to do it. After a few months of getting help and finding a better mental space, Fandral moved off of Loki’s couch into a modest apartment that was a fraction the size of the loft he was in before and looked for a less-hectic job. Loki had snagged a cushy position as Stark Industries’ in-house counsel, thanks to his friendship with its C.E.O., and was still getting settled. Managing New York’s richest son’s money, company, and public image was turning out to be a full-time job. And Loki needed help. He’d already recruited Natasha Romanov, a former N.Y.P.D. Officer, he brought her on for her computer and investigative skills. So he offered Fandral a position as his assistant. Fandral took it and promised to be the best right-hand man. Loki expected he’d be bored within a month just answering phone calls and setting up meetings. But Fandral’s duties, mostly taken on of his own volition, had grown exponentially in the past five years. He acted as assistant, maid, valet, and social buffer for the notoriously introverted Loki.

Loki would be a mess without him.

Because he was starving, Loki wolfed down half his sandwich and chips, grateful that the shower, the food, and the medication had helped relieve the worst of his migraine. Taking a deep breath, Loki picked up his phone from where Fandral left it for him. His thumb hovered over the screen, over the unknown phone number. And with his heart in his throat, Loki tapped it. He listened. He waited. And, finally, after three rings, the line picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Thor.”

#WinterFrost Single Dads AU #winterfrost #yay i wrote a thing #my fic #loki x bucky #questions & comments are welcome

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prouvaireafterdark · 4 years ago

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Staring in the Blackness at Some Distant Star

I know it's been a while, but hopefully this direct follow up to Caught in the Moment from my Michael Sanders AU makes up for it! 💜

Also on AO3!

***

There are nights when Alex crawls into bed with bruises he’ll have to explain away to Michael in the morning already blooming on his skin.

On these nights, Alex draws his blankets close around himself and lives in the corner of his mind where things are different—where he’s older, stronger, and finally free from all the bullshit that comes with being Jesse Manes’ youngest, most disappointing son.

He pictures a future where he can walk down Main Street holding Michael’s hand and not give a single fuck who’s watching—or better yet, load up Michael’s pick up truck with their belongings and leave Roswell altogether.

And when he’s feeling particularly sorry for himself, he imagines what it would be like to have a family that accepts him as he is, that would even be interested in learning more about his life and the people in it that make him happy.

That kind of acceptance has felt like nothing but a pipe dream for so long that now, sitting at the kitchen table with Michael and his dad, Alex feels a little like he’s in the Twilight Zone.

Because after walking in on Alex sprawled on his living room floor and kissing his only son, Mr. Sanders didn’t yell or throw things or even kick Alex out of his house.

Because all Mr. Sanders has done is cook Alex dinner and ask him how his advanced guitar lessons are going.

Even just the fact that Michael’s dad cares enough to ask about his lessons—let alone remembers Alex mentioning them—defies logic. After years of his own father scoffing and rolling his eyes whenever he dares to talk about music, Alex has come to expect a certain level of apathy toward his interests from the adults in his life.

And yet here Mr. Sanders sits, listening attentively while Alex talks about the chord progressions he learned earlier this week.

It’s all a little hard to accept, if Alex is honest. So much so that, even as he lowers his guard, there’s a voice in his head warning him to be careful, preparing him for the possibility that this moment really is too good to be true.

But then Alex catches Michael smiling at him fondly across the table, and maybe it’s foolishly sentimental, but Alex trusts that smile more than anything. He knows it means he’s safe, that he’s loved, and it gives him hope that maybe this is real—that maybe Alex doesn’t have to stick to that familiar corner of his mind for a taste of the acceptance he’s spent his whole life wishing for.

But as with every other good thing in his life, Alex should have expected that his father would find some way to ruin it.

As dinner winds to a close, Alex’s phone vibrates in his pocket. He fishes it out and sees he has a new text from Flint. It’s a short message, but Alex’s blood runs cold the second he reads it.

15 minutes

“Hey,” Alex hears distantly, his attention grabbed more by the foot nudging his own under the table. He looks up from his phone to see concern on Michael’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I need to go home,” Alex stammers in response.

“Is everything okay?” Michael pries, the furrow in his brow growing deeper.

Alex swallows tensely, his stomach knotting up as he thinks of the fresh Hell he’s going to face if his dad gets home before he does.

“It will be if I get home in the next fifteen minutes,” Alex answers carefully.

He can feel Mr. Sanders’ questioning gaze on him as he offers, “I can drop you off now if you need.”

“No, I can do it,” Michael says immediately, already standing up and reaching for his keys on the kitchen counter.

“Not a chance, kid,” Mr. Sanders shuts him down.

Michael freezes where he stands, his head whipping abruptly in his father’s direction.

“What?” Michael asks, brow crinkling with confusion Alex can’t help but share. “Why not?”

“You’ll be too busy doing the dishes and cleaning your room,” Mr. Sanders tells him.

“Dad!” Michael starts to argue, but Mr. Sanders puts his foot down.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten you slacked on getting dinner started,” he says, before adding, “again.”

“That wasn’t even my fault,” Michael defends himself.

“Oh, so was it Alex’s fault then?” Mr. Sanders shoots back, raising one weathered eyebrow.

Alex flinches reflexively at the suggestion, his cheeks coloring, but Michael’s dramatic sigh steals his attention.

“Alright, fine,” Michael says, holding up his hands in surrender. “If you insist, old man.”

To anyone else’s ear, it would come across as a rude or petulant thing to say, but Michael somehow makes it sound like an endearment.

“Cute,” Mr. Sanders comments in a dry tone, and Alex can see his mouth turn up a little at the corners as he tries not to smile. “Now get started. Those dishes aren’t gonna wash themselves.”

Michael looks offended. “I’ve gotta say goodbye first.”

Alex’s heart jumps in his chest when Michael walks over to him and pulls him into his arms. It’s far from the most intimate hug they’ve shared, but Alex’s eyes still flick nervously over to where Mr. Sanders is patting himself down for his keys.

When he feels Michael’s lips brush against his cheek, Alex flushes and pulls back to look at him. Michael’s expression is soft, his eyes concerned and full of love as they track a path across Alex’s face.

God, Alex thinks, if Michael’s ever looked at me like this in front of his dad, no wonder he figured us out.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Michael whispers.

“Yeah,” Alex lies through a tight-lipped smile.

Michael frowns, clearly not buying it.

“Just don’t want to miss curfew,” Alex explains, hoping that will be enough. There’s a lot Michael doesn’t know about his dad and now isn’t really the best time to get into it.

This time, Michael sighs and nods in understanding.

“Call me when you get home?” he asks, and Alex’s heart melts a little at the need he hears in his voice.

Alex nods and reaches discreetly for Michael’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I will,” he assures him.

“You ready?” Mr. Sanders asks as he waits patiently by the door.

“Yeah,” Alex says, standing up a little straighter. “Let’s go.”

Inside the car, things are quiet—too quiet, even with the dad rock filtering into the cab of Mr. Sanders’ truck through the radio—and Alex is nervous again. His own ticking clock aside, he’s never been alone with Michael’s dad before and he can’t help but wonder if there’s an ulterior motive behind his offer for a ride. Alex tries to remind himself that Mr. Sanders has been nothing but nice to him all evening, but without Michael as a buffer that voice is back, reminding him that that doesn’t really mean shit.

Even his dad isn’t a bastard all the time.

The anticipation is unbearable and eventually Alex takes a breath and asks, “So is this the part where you give me the shovel talk?”

He’d been aiming for casual, but he doesn’t quite hit the mark. The corner of Mr. Sanders’ mouth ticks upward and Alex swallows tensely as he waits for a response.

“No,” Mr. Sanders answers lightly, eyes still on the road ahead.

“Oh,” Alex says, relaxing minutely. “Why not?”

“Don’t need to,” is all Mr. Sanders says.

Alex thinks about that, confused. “Why not?”

“Because I’ve been watching you, son,” Sanders explains, “and I think the idea of Michael hurting hurts you.”

Alex thinks back to all those afternoons he’s spent with Michael at his house or at the junkyard, remembering how hard he’d tried to not do or say anything that would give away his feelings whenever Mr. Sanders was around. He thought he’d been successful, but Michael must not be the only one who wears his heart on his sleeve.

“Am I wrong?” Mr. Sanders asks, and Alex realizes he’s been quiet too long.

“No,” Alex answers quickly. “No, you’re not.”

“Good,” Mr. Sanders nods.

He thinks that’s the end of it until Mr. Sanders asks him, “How we doin’ on time?” a minute later.

“Six minutes,” Alex says, double-checking his phone.

Mr. Sanders grunts in response and presses his foot on the gas pedal a little harder, familiar enough with Alex’s directions to know they’re cutting it close.

“Curfew’s awfully early for a boy your age, isn’t it?” Mr. Sanders comments as he turns down a nearby side street.

“I, uh, may have forgotten to tell my dad I was going out,” Alex admits, hoping the confession won’t bite him in the ass.

“Mm,” Mr. Sanders hums in understanding. “Well, at least you were just having dinner at my place. S’not like you were out doing something bad.”

Alex huffs a shallow, incredulous laugh. “I doubt he’ll see it that way, sir.”

“I can vouch for you if you need,” he offers, but Alex shakes his head. No good will come from his dad finding out he was spending time at Michael’s house, whether he knows they’re dating or not.

Mr. Sanders seems to turn that over in his mind for a moment before he asks, “Does your old man know?”

Alex doesn’t need to ask him what he means. He sighs and wraps his arms around himself a little defensively.

“Not about Michael,” he answers.

“I see.”

Mr. Sanders must take pity on him then because he lapses into silence once more. Alex fills the minutes by reflexively checking his phone until Mr. Sanders’ truck finally rolls to a stop outside his house.

Alex unbuckles his seatbelt quickly, but before he gets out of the car, Mr. Sanders says something that makes him pause, his hand still on the door handle.

“You’re a good kid, Alex,” he says, “and you’ve been good for Michael. As long as that stays true, you’re welcome to come over as often as you like.”

It takes a moment for Mr. Sanders’ words to fully sink in, and once they do, Alex’s eyes start to burn. After years of feeling unwelcome—hated, even—in his own home, there aren’t words for what that means to him.

He swallows roughly, choking down the emotion brewing inside him, and forces himself to smile.

“Thank you,” Alex says, and it doesn’t feel like nearly enough.

“Don’t mention it,” Mr. Sanders replies. “You should probably get going now. You’ve only got another two minutes.”

That lights a fire under Alex’s ass.

“Shit,” he says, slinging the strap of his messenger bag over his neck. “Thanks again, Mr. Sanders.”

Mr. Sanders’ lips twitch up in a small smile. “No problem, kid.”

Alex hears Mr. Sanders’ truck idle behind him as he books it to the front door. He fumbles for his keys and throws it open the second it’s unlocked.

“You can unclench,” he hears Flint call from the couch, his eyes not straying from the first person shooter he’s playing. “He’s not home yet.”

“Fuck you,” Alex grumbles as he closes the door behind him, but he releases a breath in relief all the same.

Alex climbs the stairs to his bedroom two at a time, shutting the door and letting his bag thud against the carpet once he’s inside. He collapses onto his bed and kicks his shoes haphazardly off his feet, mind reeling from the emotional rollercoaster he’s ridden tonight.

His phone buzzes in his hand a minute later, and Alex opens it to find a text from Michael.

Did you get home okay?

Shit, Alex thinks, dialing Michael immediately.

“Alex,” Michael says when he picks up on the second ring. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Alex says, taking care to keep his voice down so he isn’t overheard. “I just got home, so, crisis averted.”

“Okay, good,” Michael sighs, sounding relieved.

“Are you okay?” Alex asks a moment of silence later, rolling over onto his back so he can stare at the ceiling. “Doing the dishes can’t be that bad, can it?”

Alex can hear Michael laugh softly over the line.

“Sorry,” Michael says, and Alex can practically see him shaking his head at himself. “You just, um, kinda scared me when you left. You looked like you were, like, a minute away from having a panic attack. I was worried about you.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you,” Alex apologizes. “I just lost track of time, and, well—you know how my dad is,” he finishes vaguely, hoping Michael won’t probe deeper.

“It’s okay,” Michael assures him. ”I get it.”

There’s a lull where neither of them speaks, and Alex just lets the familiar sound of Michael’s breathing distract him from the tight feeling growing in his throat.

He blinks back to attention when he hears Michael ask, “So how was the drive with my dad? He didn’t do anything embarrassing, did he?”

“No,” Alex says quickly, thinking back to his conversation with Mr. Sanders. “No, he was… he was great, actually.”

“Yeah?” Michael asks, sounding a little surprised. “No awkward ‘If you hurt my son…’ talk?”

“No,” Alex says. “He said I didn’t need one, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Apparently, I’m not exactly subtle about how in love with you I am.”

“You’re really not,” Michael laughs, sounding inordinately pleased. Alex closes his eyes to that happy sound, picturing Michael’s wide smile as it washes over him. “Did he say anything else?”

Alex recalls their final exchange before he left the car, the one that made him want to cry. It hits him all over again—the extraordinary validation and impossible kindness Michael’s father offered him as easily as he’d offered him a ride home—and Alex once again feels like he’s on the precipice of some big, undefined emotion.

“Yeah,” Alex replies, and he finds the words catching in his throat when he adds, “He, um, he said I was good for you and that I could come over any time.”

“Oh fuck yeah,” Michael says, ignorant of the emotions weighing down Alex’s heart and the tears gathering in his eyes. “I hope you know I plan to exploit the hell out of that ‘cause I literally always want you over.”

Alex’s answering laugh comes out a little wet, and it’s then that Michael notices something’s off.

“Alex?” he asks.

“Yeah?” Alex responds, his voice breaking just enough to betray him.

“Are you—Alex, are you crying?”

Alex tries to answer him, to say something, anything, but he just—can’t. Not without releasing the sob building up inside him. Instead, he rolls onto his side again and draws his limbs close to his chest, his phone still pressed tight to his ear.

“Alex,” Michael says his name again, soft as a whisper this time, and fuck, Alex wishes he was still with Michael, wishes he could just tuck himself against his chest and forget everything else. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Sorry,” Alex sniffles, feeling incredibly stupid. “Nothing’s wrong, I just—“ Alex breaks off to take a deep breath to collect himself, but the tears just keep falling down his cheeks. “Fuck, sorry, this is so dumb.”

“Hey, no, it’s not,” Michael tries to soothe him. “Just breathe. I’m right here.”

Alex closes his eyes and focuses on his breathing again, willing his tears away. It takes another minute, but eventually they stop.

“Sorry,” Alex apologizes again once his voice returns.

“You don’t need to apologize, Alex,” Michael says. “Can you just tell me what’s wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“It’s stupid,” Alex says again.

“If you’re upset about it, it’s not stupid,” Michael argues. “Not to me.”

Alex lets out a sigh before he answers. “I just… I never thought I’d hear anyone say that to me, I guess.”

“Say what?”

“That I’m good for my boyfriend,” Alex explains. “That I’m... welcome, at his house, whenever—whenever I want to be there.”

“Oh, baby,” Michael sighs sympathetically. “That’s not stupid, that’s—really fucking sad, but it’s not stupid.”

Alex sniffs as he shrugs. He doesn’t need to explain the rest of his thoughts to Michael—that he’d convinced himself that Michael’s dad would throw him out or worse the second he found out about them. They’ve had that conversation already, months ago now, tucked away together in the bed of Michael’s truck with the desert sky a starry blanket overhead. He’d been so sure things would get harder for them, not easier, and the fact that his relentless cynicism turned out to be wrong, well—

His gratitude is a little overwhelming.

There’s a moment where neither of them speaks, both of them unsure what to say, until Michael huffs a sigh in frustration.

“Fuck, I just really want to hold you right now,” he says.

Alex buries his face in his pillow and makes a noise that says he agrees.

“Do you think you could sneak out tonight?”

“I doubt it,” Alex says. His dad will be jet-lagged when he gets back and that means he’ll probably be up all night.

“Hmm…” Michael hums in thought. “What do you say we cut gym tomorrow, then? We could come back to my place and make out while Buffy reruns play in the background.”

“You had me at ‘cut gym’,” Alex says, and Michael laughs, the sound warming Alex from the inside out.

“There’s my boy,” Michael says fondly, and hopeless affection rushes through Alex at Michael’s gentle possessiveness.

“I love you,” he says, wishing he could see the way Michael’s eyes light up when those words hit.

“I love you too,” Michael replies easily, and it would be a perfect moment if not for the daunting sound of his father’s SUV rolling into the driveway just outside Alex’s window.

“Shit, I gotta go,” Alex says, climbing out of bed. “Have fun cleaning your room.”

Michael whines a little at that. “I won’t, but thank you.”

“Well,” Alex says, picking up his shoes and placing them in his closet where they belong, “what if I said that if your room is clean when I get there tomorrow, we’ll do more than just make out?”

“I would say that I’m suddenly very motivated,” Michael answers.

“There’s my boy,” Alex says, and Michael laughs at the callback.

“You know me so well,” Michael says. “Anything specific I should plan for, or are you gonna surprise me?”

Before Alex can answer, he hears the front door slam on its hinges and nerves start to coil in his belly all over again.

“I’ll surprise you,” he says, reaching into his messenger bag and grabbing the book he’s reading for English.

“Can’t wait,” Michael replies, his voice dipping down seductively, but all Alex notices are the heavy footsteps on the stairs.

“Alright, I really gotta go now,” Alex says.

“If you insist,” Michael sighs. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Alex echoes and hangs up.

His bedroom door opens a moment later and when it does, Alex is sitting at his desk with his book, the picture of innocence.

“What are you doing?” Jesse Manes asks him, still in his uniform.

“Reading,” Alex says, waving the book so his father can see.

He steps further into Alex’s bedroom, his eyes doing a sweep for anything out of place. When he doesn’t find anything, Jesse comes up to Alex’s desk and plucks the book he’s reading right out of his grasp.

“Night by Elie Wiesel,” he reads the cover aloud, turning it over in his hands.

“It’s for English,” Alex explains as his father flips idly through the thin book. He tosses it unceremoniously on Alex’s desk when he’s done.

“Flint ordered a pizza,” he says. “Should be here in thirty.”

“Okay,” Alex nods, trying not to think about how he’s somehow going to have to eat a second dinner. “I’ll be down soon to set the table.”

“Good,” Jesse says, turning on his heel to head back the way he came. Alex watches him go, releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding when the door closes behind him.

That is, until it opens again a second later and his father peeks his head back in.

“Oh, and Alex?” Jesse says, face hard and impassable as stone.

“Yeah?”

“You better have that black shit off your face when you come down.”

“Yes, sir,” Alex answers, ducking his head and silently cursing himself for forgetting to remove his makeup when he first got home.

Without another word, Jesse walks off down the hall, leaving Alex’s door ajar.

When his footsteps have completely receded down the stairs, Alex sinks into his desk chair with a heavy sigh, his head tipping back up toward the ceiling.

Tomorrow can’t come fast enough.

#malex #malex fic #michael guerin #alex manes #michael sanders au #my fic #god i hope y'all like this lol #it's basically 3.5k words of Alex feels #malex h/c

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cruciatusforeplay · 4 years ago

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Do you know of a comprehensive list of Hawkeye appearances in the comics, with summaries?

So when I first saw this ask I thought "a comprehensive list of Hawkeye? With summaries? That is absolutely madness, who would have done that?"

I had a quick glance at Marvel Unlimited and found there was over 500 issues listed under Hawkeye (and that's not considering his time spent under other names, or alternative universes, or Kate Bishop doing her thing) and confirmed to myself that a comprehensive list would indeed be completely unmanageable. So obviously I decided to give it a go.

I absolutely cannot give you an entire rundown, because ya boy's been busy, but I can try to give you a little bit of an overview. (Head's up, I said "little" but that was a lie. This is a BIG post and I'm hoping it might give you some key points for Clint's comic career and his background which will hopefully be useful for figuring out which comics to read or anyone writing canon-based fanfic)

A not-so-brief history of Hawkeye in Comics (spoilers below the cut)

First appearance: Tales of Suspense #57 (1964)

We run into Clint working at Carson's Carnival, where he is being underappreciated by the audience and very unhappy about it. He's a proactive lad, so he makes himself a new costume and arrows to be utterly unforgettable. He accidentally gets himself implicated in a crime and meets the Black Widow. They become allies and he uses trick arrows and nearly manages to take out Iron Man, but must abandon his plans to save Black Widow from a blast of his own arrow. He kicks off as an enemy to Stark basically. There is also a bunch of Iron Man shenanigans happening here and it's a fun read.

He sticks around as a villain for two more issues in Tales of Suspense #60 and #64 (1964 and 1965).

First appearance as an Avenger: Avengers #16 (1965)

Clint shows up about halfway through and has determined that he'd like to be an Avenger instead now, thanks. He tells them a little about his doomed love with Nat and how she paid the price and they decide they're on board. He is introduced to the press. There's a bunch of other Avenger member swapping around in this issue (and if you want the most of it, you should start with issue 15 because it's a direct follow up story wise)

He's a key member of the Avengers from hereon in and features in most issues. He spends his time shooting arrows and having problems with authority (particularly Cap)

Key background: Avengers #19 (1965)

This issue gives us a bunch of background on Clint. The Swordsman shows up wanting to be an Avenger (because he wants an Avengers ID - yes really). Clint objects and we find out Clint's an orphan and that the Swordsman took him in and trained him at Carson's Carnival. Clint then caught him stealing from the circus and they fight where he leaves Clint for dead. It's a big old betrayal. The Swordsman then spends the rest of comic kidnapping and trying to kill Cap, so all round that's a no on the Avengers ID.

Hawkeye quits the Avengers: Avengers #109 (1973)

Hawkeye doesn't like that Scarlet Witch and Vision are in a relationship, and essentially he plays the jealous jilted lover who throws a tantrum (door slamming included). He quits the Avengers, immediately realises he didn't actually love Wanda after all. He spends his fresh downtime teaching The Champion archery, who then promptly betrays him. The Avengers come to the rescue.

His involvement in the Avengers is spotty over the next decade.

Hawkeye gets Hitched: Hawkeye #1-4 (1983)

This is Clint's first solo run. It's important for two reasons. He meets Mockingbird who he marries by the end of the run, in what can be described as an enemies to lovers speed-run. This is also the series where Clint is originally deafened; he has to make a sacrifice play with one of his own sonic arrows which is how he ends up deafened. There are some other classic Clint moments: he starts the run by getting dumped, he rides on the skycycle/sky-sled and he ends up with his outfit getting mostly ripped off more than once. We also get some background about him and his brother Barney running from the orphanage to join circus, how Barney got him to hospital after the incident with the Swordsman, and we find out that Clint didn't speak to his brother for years and that he's dead now. Honestly this run is great fun and I have a big soft spot for it.

The West Coast Avengers: West Coast Avengers #1-4 (1984)

Clint helps found and then leads the West Coast Avengers with his wife Mockingbird. This is another mini series, but it led to a much longer run starting the following year that ended in 1994. Real talk: I've only skimmed this iteration of WCA but what I've seen is campy fun, the skycycle is back, Clint really settles into being a leader and the sun is always shining. Special shout out to Tigra who is a bad-ass in this mini series. During the longer run, Clint and Bobbi's marriage is put through the ringer amongst other things, and they eventually separate. Truthfully there is a lot of other stuff going on regarding their relationship in that run and onwards. If their marriage is something you want to know more about I recommend checking out the full summary listed at the back of Hawkeye and Mockingbird #1 (2010) - it starts on page 22 of that issue - be aware it contains major spoilers for later stories.

Key background: Solo Avengers #1-5 (1987)

We get to meet Clint's other circus mentor here: Trickshot aka Buck Chisholm. You'll be shocked to hear that Clint gets betrayed. We kick things off with some circus shenanigans where his charity performance/showing off opportunity is interrupted by mercs sent to kill him, by Trickshot wanting to settle a debt. The second issue presents us with a lengthy flashback where we find out Hawkeye's dirty secret: it wasn't actually the Swordsman who taught him archery, but instead an actual archer called Trickshot. We see Clint get trained up only to be immediately pushed into a life of crime where he ends up shooting his own brother. Buck then shoots Clint when Clint wants to take his brother Barney to hospital. Trickshot is shown to have an unsavoury taste for killing for pleasure and promises to kill Clint when he's got something to lose. In addition we also get some flashbacks to Clint's abusive home situation and his time in care before joining the circus. The next two issues cover a side story that honestly doesn't lead anywhere or get resolved by the end of the run. Issue #5 (which is the first of this run available on Marvel Unlimited if that's how you're reading) then brings you into the real action. For reasons that aren't entirely clear, Clint spends this entire issue in only his undershorts. There's some fun archer Vs archer antics, before an emotional reveal where Trickshot begs Hawkeye to end his life because he has cancer and doesn't want a slow death. Trick has a cry, Clint refuses to kill him and instead they have a comforting cuddle on a beach under a sunset. It's an unusual run, but Trickshot will show up again later in Clint's arc, and it's got a lot of fun quips and action sequences.

Quick note on the 90s

In my opinion, the 90s weren't real good to Clint. He had a couple of solo runs, but imo nothing with major substance, or character development so I'm skipping them. If you want to know what you're missing check out Hawkeye #1-4 (1994) aka Clint broods in Canada and there are wolves, and Hawkeye: World's Mightiest Marksman #1 (1998) aka Clint is stubborn and goes head to head with Taskmaster.

Key background: Hawkeye #1-6 (2003)

This series, which has Clint travelling on a motorcycle in order to find the best chilli and sporting some 90s boyband hair, also gives us some really great insight into his and Barney's relationship. We get snapshots in amongst the rest of the story of Barney being the moral compass for Clint. We see Barney getting his GED while Clint works on archery, and later we see Buck encouraging Clint into crime and Barney telling him it's wrong. We get another retelling of the Swordsman story, this time with both Buck and Barney coming to rescue Clint. While Clint's broken leg is healing, Barney tells him he's joining the army and Clint should come with. Clint says no, then changes his mind, but ends up missing the bus. We again see Clint on a job with Buck where he shoots a guard only to realise it's Barney, and is subsequently shot by Trickshot for wanting to help Barney. They both make it to hospital. Clint asks what happened and Barney tells him "guess you are what you are." Years later we see Clint at Barney's grave and are informed that he was involved with the mob. Clint is upset, only to then be informed Barney was actually working undercover for the FBI. These snapshots are my favourite part of the entire series. The rest of the series focuses on Clint doing some detective style work and shooting arrows. If this is the first run you've checked out since the WCA or Solo Avengers runs, you'll note this is very different in both art and story style. There was a definite shift in the 90s that brought us closer to the style we have today.

Clint doesn't have any solo runs for a while, but he is involved in a bunch of bigger stories which we'll take look at in part two of this post.

The MCU push and key background

In the lead up to the movie premiere of Avengers Assemble (2012), Marvel produced a lot of content for the Big Six as promo to their preexisting market. Hawkeye and Mockingbird #1-6 (2010), Widow maker #1-4 (2010) and Hawkeye Blindspot #1-4 (2011) follow on directly from one another, though you could read any of them independently and the first two are less about Clint. Avengers Solo #1-5 (2011) also featured during this time. All but Blindspot are simple action comics without any lasting impact for Hawkeye. Blindspot has a pretty comprehensive rundown on Clint's history including his abusive dad, the circus, the Swordsman, Trickshot, his relationship with Cap and the Avengers, him becoming Goliath and some very important information regarding his brother and their relationship, all woven into a well paced plot. Additionally, he's going blind. There is a lot of story in these four issues. It also provides the foundation on which Fraction set his run, so it's a good story for anyone who had any unanswered questions regarding the start point for Hawkeye (2012).

The Fraction/Aja Run: Hawkeye #1-21 (2012)

This is the big one. Either you're here because you've read it and now you love this idiot, or you want to start reading Hawkeye. This is where you start. I'm not gonna summarise this one because everyone deserves to read it without spoilers. But I'll say this: this is Clint when he's not being an Avenger. He's messy and relatable and he loves dogs. This is a character defining run and it is one of my all time favourite comics. There is so much good stuff in here and I could talk for hours about it. Go forth and feast your eyes.

If I've missed anything major, or listed something incorrectly or you just have some Clint related opinions that I need to know about, do hit me up.

I've run out of images, so this post will continue in part 2 which you can read here.

#clint barton #deaf clint barton #hawkeye comics #marvel comics #let's talk about comics #comics #hawkeye #hawkguy #hawkguy and other costumes

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keelywolfe · 4 years ago

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FIC: Just Swimmingly ch.4 (BAON)

Summary: Jeff doesn't know where they are or where they're going, but he knows one thing. It's probably not good.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Established Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Additional Tags To Come

Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

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Read it on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

By the time the van came to a stop, Stretch still hadn’t woken up. Not that it mattered very much, there wasn’t a thing Jeff could have done to change their situation. At the moment, they were very much outnumbered, overpowered, and even if he’d had a clue where they were, it wouldn’t have done them any good. Before they dragged him out of the van, one of the thugs yanked a bag over his head. Blinded, he struggled to stumble along as two guys pulled him out, trying not to cry out as they led him barefoot across crumbling asphalt into a building with rough carpet.

He kept as quiet as he could, trying to not only listen in case they said anything useful, but also for Stretch, praying to a God he hadn’t spoken to since he was fifteen and his father threw him out that they didn't hurt Stretch. Jeff could survive a few bumps and bruises, but he didn't know how much Stretch could withstand. Intent was key when it came to Monsters, he knew that much, and these guys seemed to have plenty.

At first, he tried to keep track of where he was being led. An impossible effort when the twists and turns of being dragged along left him too disoriented to know his way up or down. They seemed to walk forever until his captors suddenly stopped and Jeff was shoved down into a chair. Rough hands grabbed at him, rope suddenly binding his wrists and ankles. He didn’t struggle as he was tied, only tried to tense his muscles as much as possible, some shitty internet meme he vaguely remembered reading said that it could help slip free later.

Turned out memes weren’t the best source for escape plans. When they were done, Jeff subtly tried to move and the best he could manage was a painful rope burn. The ropes felt like they were wound through the slats in the chair and unless Houdini decided to make good on his possible return from the other side, Jeff was going nowhere fast.

He could hear their captors moving around, muttering too low to be understood and the other sounds might have been more rope. Tying up Stretch, maybe, he hoped that’s what it was; at least if they were together, that was something, hell, that was everything right now.

The bag suddenly getting ripped off his head made him gasp, flinching from the glaring light pointed directly into his face. Squinting, he could barely see the shadowy figures standing behind it, but he was sure he could see a cell phone pointed in his direction.

“Say your name,” a rough voice demanded.

“Andy—” he began automatically. “No, Jeff, I’m sorry, Jeff! My name is Jeff!” There was nothing else and Jeff shifted, grimacing as the ropes dug in. It was on the tip of his tongue to go on, to blurt that he worked in public relations, that he was nobody important and not worth ransoming. He bit the inside of his lip to keep those rambles from pouring out. Partly because it was probably stupid to tell kidnappers your value or lack thereof, and partly because of Edge. He’d always told them to never offer more information than was necessary and yeah, he’d been talking about board games at the time, but Jeff doubted that Clue was where Edge learned that particular rule. If these assholes wanted more info, they could damn well ask.

Either his name was all they wanted or they already had whatever other info they needed. Jeff didn’t even have a chance to try squinting through the too-bright light when one of them came towards him and yanked the bag back over his head. He sat there, sweat beading on his face and his own breath threatening to smother him as he listened to their captors moving around next to him.

“He can’t talk,” one of them said disgustedly. “He’s still wasted.”

Stretch. That meant he was right next to him, thank fucking god.

The rough sound of a slap made Jeff tense, protests bitten off when the same voice cursed and there came the sound of someone rubbing their head, “What the fuck, man!”

“That’s exactly how we want him, dumbass! He doesn’t need to talk, all they need is a good look at him. Come on, they’re waiting.”

Footsteps and then the sound of a door closing. Jeff strained to hear if anyone was still in there with them around his own breathing loud in his ears, his pulse thundering. There was nothing, no shuffle of feet against the floor or the creak of a chair. Jeff waited a little longer, curling his chilly toes against the rough carpet.

Nothing. Jeff took a long, slow breathing, trying to calm his racing pulse. He needed to be cool right now so he could try to think of something. Even if the Embassy was willing to give these assholes whatever they wanted, they sure as hell couldn’t count on that saving their lives. He was no strategist, his degree was in sociology, for fuck’s sake, but. Stretch always called him Handy Andy and it made him feel like someone different, someone braver who could stand up to a violent asshole on a bus and help Stretch with crazy experiments involving swinging bottles of Diet Coke rigged with automatic mentos dispensers. Jeff might not be the best for this situation, but Andy was sure as hell gonna try.

“Stretch,” Jeff said softly. He waited for someone to shout or a slap followed by a demand that he shut up. When none came, he went on, soft and urgent, “I know you can't hear me, but, just in case you can. It's gonna be okay. I know you're big on promises and I'm promising you right now we're getting out of this. I promise you." If he could glean anything of what Jeff was saying, he hoped he could hear that much. At least maybe he wouldn't be afraid.

"i sure hope so, i didn't get this far in life to get dusted by a low rent group of third rate scooby doo level villains. seriously, they tied us up with rope, were they out of packing tape at ‘kidnappers ‘r’ us’ or were they just eager to try the knots they learned in boy scouts before they got kicked out."

Okay, that wasn’t quite the last thing he’d expected, but it was close.

"Stretch?" Jeff gasped out. He couldn’t see a damn thing through the bag, but he could hear a muted popping sound. Suddenly, the bag was gone, far gentler than before and then he was blinking up into Stretch’s smirking face.

Jeff looked around a little wildly and next to him was another chair, the still-tied ropes hanging from the rungs in loose coils.

“yeah, sorry. i woke up back in the van, didn’t want to tip them off. wherever they buy their roofies must not have given them a dosage chart.” Stretch settled his hands on Jeff’s shoulders. “hold still, this is a lot easier than fighting with knots.”

It was the gentlest and shortest teleport he’d ever felt. Only a brief disorientation and when his vision cleared, he was sitting on top of the ropes that had just been binding him.

Jeff scrambled to his feet, swiping his sleeve across his sweaty forehead. Holy shit, maybe he should take up praying again more regularly, this was the fastest service he’d ever gotten. “Can you get us outside?”

His heart sank as Stretch shook his head. “that's gonna be a no. with the bags on our heads, i couldn't see where we are. shortcutting is tricky, it's dangerous to teleport blind. that's how you end up stuck in walls or halfway inside a table or some shit.” Stretch waved a slender hand at the chairs. “dangerous, not impossible. a few inches above where i was sitting was a pretty safe bet to get out of the ropes, but anything else is more likely to get us dead than on the street.” He frowned, glancing around the room thoughtfully. “plus, i'm not going anywhere without a little intel. they’re fucking idiots, but they knew enough to drug me and how to do it. that's not information you can just look up on a wiki-how.”

“Okay,” Jeff took a deep, steadying breath. "So, what do we do, then?” He glanced at the door. “Can you pick locks?"

"sure,” Stretch said absently. He was looking around the room. It was a storage room of some sort, there was more dusty furniture aside from the chairs, including a rickety desk, and metal cabinets lined the walls. “but i can't do much about the door being barred. i heard something get braced against it when they went out.

"Oh. Right."

“yeah,” Stretch agreed, “at least one of them has a brain cell or two rolling around up top, enough to get them this far. but the road trip is over and it’s time to pay the tolls.” Stretch shook his head disgustedly. "first rule of kidnapping is never leave the kidnappees alone. seriously, i'm getting my cues from netflix and even i know that.”

His eye lights paused in their survey of the room, brightening. Jeff followed his gaze and saw in one corner there was an honest to god old-fashioned rotary telephone pushed into the far corner of the desk, nearly buried under the clutter.

"can't be that easy, can it?” Stretch marveled. He picked it up the handset and held to his skull, then sighed unhappily. “nope. no dial tone, no surprise there, no one has a landline anymore. don’t you worry though, little phone.” Stretch gave it a soft pat. “you’re gonna be real useful in just a minute. seriously, this is just embarrassing. my first kidnapping attempt and they locked us in a room with an entire arsenal.”

“I must be missing the vendor in the corner willing to hand over gear if we do a mission for them,” Jeff joked weakly.

“everything is an arsenal if you’ve got the skills.” Stretch rummaged through the desk and came up triumphantly with…a paperclip? He set it on the desk, adding a pencil, some scotch tape, and what looked to Jeff like an old tube of superglue. “kidnapped by the ebott equivalent of the america’s dumbest criminals, fuck me. edge is going to be up my ass for a month.”

“I don’t think you’re giving him enough credit.” It was easier to be calm in the face of Stretch’s ease. “I think six months is the bare minimum.”

“i really wish you weren’t right.” Stretch glanced around the room again, this time directing his gaze upward. “hm, that’ll work.” Tall as he was, the ceiling was still out of reach even for him. Stretch pulled one of the chairs over, ropes trailing behind it like tentacles, and stood on it, reaching for the smoke detector. Jeff could only blink in confusion as he yanked it right off the ceiling.

"You're going to burn down the building?” Jeff asked. Not that he didn’t trust Stretch, but, uh, that seemed extreme for a first escape attempt. “That’d get us out, but I don't think we'll be any more alive."

"nah, just need some parts,” Stretch jerked his head towards the door. “keep an ear on the hallway, will ya, in case they remember that leaving us alone is probably stupid."

“Got it.” Jeff went to the door but before he could press his ear to it, Stretch called his name.

"hey, kiddo, i'm gonna get us out of this." Stretch offered him a familiar, lopsided smile. "i know i don't look like much, but i've been known to keep my head in a bad situation."

"You already saved me once,” Jeff said honestly, "why wouldn't I believe you now?"

Stretch’s pale eye lights flickered with memory, his expression briefly tightening. How did he remember that horrible night in that parking lot, Jeff wondered, what nightmares haunted Stretch’s sleep? He knew something happened after the ambulance took him away, but he’d never heard the entire story. After he’d been released from the hospital, he’d been wrapped up in healing enough to start his new job at the Embassy and as time passed, he hated to ask, didn’t want to dredge it all up again, not when everyone was slowly getting past it. Besides, the others had their own shit to deal with, what with the attack in California and everything happening in Ebott. His trauma was his to handle and that was the end of it.

At the desk, Stretch got to work, humming the ‘mission impossible’ theme under his breath as he dissected the phone and smoke detector with a makeshift screwdriver made from a bent paperclip taped to a pencil. His hands were as deft and easy as any demonstration he’d done for the local kids and Jeff could only marvel at his ease.

“How can you be so calm?” Jeff blurted, wincing even as the words escaped. He hadn’t meant to say it, didn’t want to distract him. Stretch only flicked a glance his way, both browbones raised.

“me?” Stretch snorted, “i am not calm. beneath this gorgeous cookie crust exterior is a honey pie of a person who would start shitting themselves if i could grow the prerequisite equipment. but we're gonna be okay.”

“How do you know?” Jeff hated the faint pleading in his own voice, he shouldn’t be distracting; Stretch was as stuck here as he was and with his HP, it was even worse. He was supposed to be the one helping Stretch, he’d promised, and the best he could do was lookout.

“you seriously think red isn't already on it?” Stretch asked and as terrifying as Red could be, thinking about him right now eased some of the aching fear that was settled in Jeff’s stomach. “all he needs is a clue and we’re gonna get him one. i only hope he can keep edge from razing the city and salting the earth beneath it until then. people might be a little tetchy about that and i’m not even sure you can come up with a press release that’d cover ‘sorry about starting city-wide armageddon, my bad.’”

Before Jeff could think of a reply to that, either an agreement, or a protest that a little chaos could be excused considering the circumstances, he heard footsteps coming from down the hallway. Panicked, he hissed out, “They're coming!”

“fuck, okay, okay.” Stretch scrambled over and set some kind of contraption on the floor near the door that was all waggling wires and circuit boards. He grabbed Jeff by the wrist and dragged him along. “over here, come on, this a harder trick, but you can do it. i need you to hold as still as you can. if you move, they might see you, you get me?"

Jeff managed a hasty nod as Stretch shoved him into a corner, cramming them both in tight, out of the way. "don't move, don't talk,” Stretch reminded him, a low murmur close to his ear. The slim, bony arms around him were comforting and even knowing that Stretch couldn’t physically protect him, having him towering overhead as he caged Jeff against the wall felt oddly safe.

Then something happened. He didn’t know how to describe it. It felt like a heavy curtain fell over the world, everything going distant and muffled, even his vision greying like he was about to faint, only he’d never felt so awake. There was a sudden popping explosion as the door swung open and collided with Stretch’s contraption, but it sounded miles away, the kidnappers’ curses as muffled as if they were speaking from another world.

He didn’t move, held perfectly still even as that curtain slowly grew claustrophobic, nausea starting to churn. Jeff closed his eyes, swallowing convulsively and just went he thought he couldn’t stand it a moment longer, that he either needed to move or he’d start screaming, it was suddenly gone and Stretch was stepping back.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Stretch was pale, sweat showing visibly on his skull. "are you okay?" Stretch asked.

“Me?” Jeff blurted. He caught hold of Stretch’s arms to brace him as he wobbled on his feet. “I’m fine, what about you!”

"i’ll be okay.” Stretch wiped his face on the sleeve of the crummy shirt he’d been forced into with a grimace. “i pulled us halfway into the void. it works, but it burns a lot of juice. the assholes booked it out of here, but more importantly, they left the door open."

The door was opened, they could leave, and yet, Jeff found himself blurting out, “They’ll get away!”

“no,” Stretch said grimly. “they’ll look for us first, thinking we couldn’t have gotten too far. these guys aren’t gonna ditch and run that fast, they know too much. think about it. drugs work on monsters but how do they know what kind and how much? lucky for me, skeleton monsters are different. our systems are finicky, we’re hard to drug. whoever tipped them off about how to roofie me didn’t know that.”

His sockets narrowed suddenly, Stretch turning away to look in the rusty cabinet next to them. “oh, honey,” he said gleefully, “jackpot.”

Jeff joined him, peering into the cabinet as Stretch cautiously wrenched it open. “What did you find?”

He held up a bottle of bleach and said, smugly, “just some nice, normal household chemicals. they can be lots of fun if you know how to mix 'em up and i'm a one hell of a bartender. but first.”

On the desk was another little contraption that was mostly wires and tape. Stretch picked it up and walked over to squat next to a wall outlet. Carefully, he pushed it into the socket. There was a sputtering spark and a tiny red light blinked to life.

“there we go.” Stretch stood, dusting off his hands. “i don’t even want to think about how pants-shittingly angry edge probably is right now, but we can’t let them get the ransom that asgore is probably going to pay and we sure as hell can’t let them get away.”

He grinned then, wickedly sharp for all that his teeth were blunt. “so, how’s about we have some fun, yeah?”

Jeff nodded determinedly. Fuck, yes. If he was going to add to his repertoire of nightmares, he was damn well going to make sure someone else paid for it, in spades.

tbc

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #by any other name

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uomo-accattivante · 4 years ago

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This is a great article about how The Card Counter managed to finish principal photography after getting shut down mid-March due to COVID-19.

Also, it includes this interesting description from Paul Schrader about Oscar Isaac’s character, William Tell -- “So now I have a character and he’s in his room, he’s alone. And he has a mask on. And the mask he wears is a professional poker player. And the problem that runs alongside him is that he is a former torturer for the U.S. government. So it’s a mix of the World Series of Poker and Abu Ghraib.”

Having somehow weathered his way from enfant terrible to wizened survivor, Paul Schrader is a filmmaker who is simply not finished yet. Every time it might seem his career is on the wane, he resets, revitalizes and comes back again.

Just a few years after his 2014 film “Dying of the Light” starring Nicolas Cage was taken away from him by financiers — leading Schrader to disavow the movie — he received his first Oscar nomination (for original screenplay) after directing “First Reformed,” which was released in 2018 and starred Ethan Hawke as a troubled small-town minister.

Schrader’s work is marked by emotional intensity, intellectual vitality and an aesthete’s appreciation of style. His filmography is full of unusual corners that are still being discovered. The 1979 film “Old Boyfriends,” directed by Joan Tewkesbury with a screenplay by Schrader and his brother Leonard, was recently rereleased on home video. As was the 1990 film “The Comfort of Strangers,” directed by Schrader from a screenplay by Harold Pinter.

He’s been directing films from his own scripts since 1978’s “Blue Collar” starring Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto. He went on to write and direct such films as “Hardcore,” “American Gigolo,” “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters,” “Light Sleeper” and “Affliction.” His celebrated work as a screenwriter for director Martin Scorsese includes “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Bringing Out the Dead.”

Never one to shy from controversy onscreen or off, he directed Lindsay Lohan in the 2013 Hollywood-set thriller “The Canyons,” written by Bret Easton Ellis.

In March, Schrader was about three-quarters through the shoot for his next film, “The Card Counter,” in Mississippi — with a cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan and Willem Dafoe — when the production was shut down due to the growing pandemic. In July, Schrader was able to shoot for an additional five days to complete production.

During the break in shooting, “The Card Counter” was picked up for distribution by Focus Features.

Schrader recently got on the phone to talk about the unusual circumstances of the film’s production and completion. A film critic before he became a filmmaker, Schrader not only had startling insights into his work, but also thoughts about what filmmaking and exhibition might be like in a post-COVID world.

Before we start talking about the production on the movie, could you just describe the story? What is “The Card Counter” about?

Well, I don’t want to get too deeply involved in the plot, but what I will say is over the years I’ve kind of developed my own little genre of films. And they usually involve a man alone in a room, wearing a mask, and the mask is his occupation. So it could be a taxi driver, a drug dealer, a gigolo, a reverend, whatever. And I take that character and run it alongside a larger problem, personal or social. It could be debilitating loneliness like in “Taxi Driver.” It could be a midlife crisis like in “Light Sleeper.” It could be an environmental crisis like in “First Reformed.”

So now I have a character and he’s in his room, he’s alone. And he has a mask on. And the mask he wears is a professional poker player. And the problem that runs alongside him is that he is a former torturer for the U.S. government. So it’s a mix of the World Series of Poker and Abu Ghraib.

How did you come to put those two things together?

I’m always looking for that. I’m looking for deep-seated problems, either personal or societal, and some kind of oddball metaphor. The more you get closer, you run these two wires next to each other, the more sparks you see flying across. And it’s in the sparks that the viewer comes alive. If the wires ever touch, there’s nothing left for the viewer to do. But if you keep these two wires really close to each other, the viewer will start to spark from one wire to the other. And that’s the greatest thing you can give a viewer or a reader, an opportunity to be part of the creation.

Let’s talk about the production and everything you’ve been through. Take me back to March. What was it like for you when the production had to shut down?

I have learned in my dotage how to make a quality film on a low budget. So the film I used to make in 40 days I now make in 20. And so “First Reformed” was 20. I had shot in Biloxi 15 days. Now I knew coronavirus was going to be rising, because when I heard that Macau shut down, I said, you know, it’s just a matter of time. Macau is the wealthiest gambling center in the world and I’m here in the gambling center of the Gulf. If Macau shuts down, it’ll reach Vegas, it’ll reach here. And we were doing a scene, a poker tournament with 500 extras. And I remember I said to the A.D., “We can’t put 500 people in a room without one of them being positive.” And sure enough, one of them was. Two days later, we not only closed down, all of the Gulf was closed down.

Fortunately, when I went back, I had shot my big crowd scenes. And also I had shot my sex scenes, which I would have hated to try to do under these restrictions. So all I had left when I went back was a number of scenes in the prisons, and four more scenes in the casinos, some driving scenes. So I was in pretty good shape. But I really wanted to finish the film.

And Oscar Isaac, he was on his way to Hungary to do reshoots for “Dune.” And he wanted to put off this reshoot till after “Dune” — to do it in September because he has a big beard and he didn’t want to shave off his beard. I said to him, “Oscar, there’s a window open right now in Mississippi.” I said, “If we don’t jump into this window while it’s open, this will become one of those famous films that never got finished, and we’ve got to exploit this moment.”

So I talked him off the ledge and he agreed to do it. And we were able to put everybody back together and do our week of prep and five days of shooting. It was very strange, and in a way it was kind of fun, in a summer camp sort of way. But I would hate, hate to make a whole film this way. It was an adventure for five days, it’s a nightmare for five weeks.

In the break from March to July, were you on high alert that you could come back at any moment? Were you editing the footage you already had?

Here’s what happened. I was editing. My editor is in New Jersey and my assistant editor is in Tennessee, so we’re all editing virtually. And I had four major dialogue scenes between my principal characters that I had not shot. Then I was able to screen virtually the film for a number of people I respect, like Scorsese, who is the executive producer, like [filmmaker and programmer] Kent Jones and other people. And what I asked them all is, “I have four more scenes to shoot. I can rewrite them. What am I missing? What do I need to add? How should I write these four scenes?”

And I started getting feedback about what they felt was missing. So I was able to rewrite these scenes and make these relationships much better. And not all productions get to do that. It’s a very expensive reshoot, but it was built-in that three-quarters of the way through, I have an opportunity to rewrite one-quarter of the meaningful character scenes. So I did, I rewrote it. And I realized what was missing. And I wouldn’t have realized that if I was shooting at the top. I would have only realized that in post. And I would have walked around the room kicking myself in the ass, saying, “I wish I had the opportunity to reshoot some scenes.”

How was getting everything back together?

As soon as Mississippi allowed us to come back, we came back. And of course nobody’s working, so everybody’s eager to come back. They are hyper-conscientious because they know they are only being allowed to work by the grace of God. And so the masks and the PPE and the hands and the distancing, you don’t need to tell any of the people this. They’re so happy to be at work. They have no problem with any of that.

You can only have one person within six feet of your actor at a time. That person could be hair, it could be makeup, it could be props, it can be the director, it could be another actor. And you kind of queue up. And a thing that I realized, we had a warehouse. So we did rehearsals for every scene in this warehouse. And I told the actors that when we get to the location, to the casino, the prop people will be in there, the lighting people will be there and then you will walk there with your mask on, and you will take the positions that you took in rehearsal. Then I will roll camera and you will take your masks off and we’ll play the scenes. So that’s how we did it.

Given everything that it takes to get to shooting, once you were back on set with the actors, did you still feel like they could give you the performances that you needed? Was it difficult to get to a place of artistic creation given all the other concerns that everyone has?

Because they had done the rehearsals, they had gone through the permutations of their performances before. So the only thing different for them was that they were in a real space rather than a fake space. As I explained to them, there would be no time for exploration on set. All the exploration you are going to do, we’re going to do here in the warehouse. I don’t want to hear one peep from you about changing anything once we get into this hothouse environment. So however many hours we have to spend in the warehouse, let’s spend it.

How close to finished are you with the movie now, considering you had a lot of it already cut together?

Basically, I’m finished, down to an hour and 49 minutes, which is where I think it should be. Obviously, I have to do the score, there’s the post-prod and the special effects, but the thing is that there’s no pressure to finish the film anymore at this time. I was talking to Focus, and I could give them the film in a month. They don’t want the film in a month because they don’t know what to do with it in a month. They said, you just take whatever time you need, which is the opposite of the way studios usually talk. I also have final cut, so it doesn’t really matter. What I deliver, I deliver.

When you made “The Canyons” you talked a lot about your feelings regarding the theatrical experience, VOD and streaming and contemporary filmmaking. What impact do you think the COVID shutdowns will have on movie theaters?

There’s a certain kind of film like “The Canyons,” which should be made for VOD, which is a kind of exploitation film. And there’s another kind of film like “First Reformed” that has to be mounted by film festivals and art-house cinemas, so that it has an identity prior to VOD. So if you’re on VOD and you see an Ethan Hawke film about a minister, you’re not going to say, “Oh, let’s watch that.” No, what you’re going to say is, “Oh, I heard about that film. I heard it was good.” Well, how did they hear it was good? They heard that from film festival reportage and they heard from their friends who have seen it at theaters. So that sets up VOD.

The opposite case is a film like “First Cow,” a film that was crushed by not having a theatrical window. And everybody is, “Should I watch ‘First Cow’?” They have no context. So what’s important for a film like “The Card Counter” is we have to give it context. We have to go to the festivals and we have to go to the art cinemas to tell people what we have in our hands. Then we can go to VOD, where the real money is. So “First Reformed” went to Telluride, Toronto, Venice and New York. That set the table. I would love to set the table for this one. I can go to all those festivals. That’s not a problem for me anymore. The problem is: Are festivals going to happen?

Do you think theaters are going to come back?

Not in the way they did. There are only four reasons for theaters to exist anymore. And this situation has accelerated these trends. Like symphonies and operas and live theater, concerts, they need a reason to exist. One reason is family cinema, because parents love to see their kids interacting with other kids. Animation films will always have an audience. Another is extraordinary spectacle. IMAX, virtual, whatever they come up with. Something you can’t see at home. The third is date movies for high schoolers, which is horror and rom-coms. Or rather, dirty rom-coms.

And then the fourth is club cinema. Which used to be called art cinema. But with these new institutions that are a combination of social institutions and cinematic institutions. So the Metrograph in New York has one restaurants and two bars. There’s more square footage devoted to eating and drinking than there is to watching movies. And yet it’s always full because people want to be in that environment. So then alcohol’s become the new popcorn. And those club cinemas, which were pioneered by Alamo, they will continue to exist because people want to be part of the club, people want to buy a membership. They want to eat and hang out, and they want to know which films have been approved by the club. Which is something you cannot get from VOD.

When “First Reformed” was coming out, you spoke about how you had made it thinking it could be your last film. And yet you seem so reenergized over the last few years. Do you feel that way? Have you been able to hit the reset button in some way?

Oddly, yes. I’m in the middle of a new script, which is about a horticulturalist. And what has happened in my case, following the disastrous situation I went through with “Dying of the Light,” I said, I would no longer work unless I had final cut. And once I got final cut, I was free. When I began, you didn’t really need final cut. When I was working in the studio system, all those other films, you were working with people who knew movies, who liked movies. Who you can talk to, you could disagree with — things would get changed, sometimes they’d get better, sometimes for worse in your mind, but you were working with people who liked movies, who watched movies. In the last 15 years, I’m dealing mainly with financiers, who not only don’t watch movies, don’t even particularly like them. And how can you have discussions with these people? And that’s what final cut freed me from, because I realized I couldn’t talk to these people. I wasn’t talking to [studio executives like] Barry Diller and Thom Mount and Ned Tanen anymore. I was talking to Joe Schmo from some hedge fund and I couldn’t talk to Joe Schmo. The only way I could talk to him was to have final cut.

I’m certainly excited to see what becomes of “The Card Counter.”

The new one is quite good. Focus told me not to hump it too much because that’s their job down the line. But you can take my word for it, it’s quite good.

###

#paul schrader had to convince oscar isaac to shave off his dune beard 😂#oscar isaac #william tell #the card counter #paul schrader #tye sheridan #willem dafoe #tiffany haddish #covid-19 #coronavirus #focus features #dune #dune 2020 #first reformed #the canyons #taxi driver #interview #los angeles times #la times

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xvnqsb · 4 years ago

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soulmates pt. 1

A/N: ahhhh finally posting the first chapter. i have about the first five or six chapters written, so i will have them scheduled for different days while i focus on school! hopefully you all enjoy!

of stardust and space. masterlist

chapter one. soulmates pt. 1

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"I'm pregnant." The words fell from the blonde's lips so effortlessly, as if they were casual words that are said in casual conversation. But they were definitely not words that were casual. These were life-altering words that could be the make or break of anyone.

"You're...pregnant?" His jaw dropped. "H-how?"

She rolled her eyes, sighing, and picking at her nails as if she was bored. "Well, T., when we fucked, somehow, our protection didn't work because here I am, knocked up with your child."

No shit. "I know that, but how? I've always used protection. This can't be real. Take another test."

"I took three. You think I want to be pregnant?" She stared at him accusingly.

How was this his fault? It takes two to create a child.

"So-uh-are we keeping it?" He didn't know what to think. Was he really ready for a baby?

"Do you want to?" Her voice had become a whisper, afraid of what might happen in the next few moments.

He paused, before smiling and nodding as he brought her in for a hug. "Yes."

She wrapped her arms around him, squealing excitedly. "Then yes."

He couldn't believe it. He, Tony Stark, was going to be a father.

"What do you mean 'you're going to be a father'?" Jason asked.

Tony had the telephone between his shoulder and ear, working on one of his latest inventions. He exhaled happily, putting down the tool in his hand as he adjusted the block phone.

"I mean, I'm going to be a father! Jasmin'e's pregnant," He heard a disappointed sigh from his best friend down the line. Knowing what the conversation was going to lead to, he sat down on the closest chair. "What?"

"Jasmine? Are you sure you want her to be the mother of your children?"

"Jason-"

"No, I know what you're going to say. I know you love her and everything, but Tony, what did your parents say?"

"I haven't told them," he mumbled, clearing his throat as he continued. "Besides, it doesn't matter what they think or say because it's my child and my life. And, I would like to point out that you got Vivie pregnant first!"

"You're right, but with a child, you're going to have a tie to Jasmine for the rest of your life."

"And?"

"She's insane-"

"No, she's not!" Tony scoffed, shaking his head at the thoughts of the man on the other end of the line. "She's not crazy."

There was rustling on the other end of the line, and then Vivie's voice was heard.

"Congrats, Tony! Jas just told me the news! I can't believe we're all going to be parents!" She squealed.

"Baby, give me the phone," Jason asked, and she complied. "Look, I got to go. I'm glad you're having a kid, Stark, just don't do anything else before you know what you really want."

"Fine, I won't." He picked up a pack of blueberries from his workstation, popping some in his mouth before speaking again. "Do you think our kids are gonna hate each other?"

He's never been this nervous. Well, that's a lie. He hasn't been this nervous in years.

But this time, he's sitting in front of his parents, figuring out how he's going to tell them he got Jasmine pregnant. His father was staring him down, almost annoyed at how long it was taking his son to speak.

"Mom, Dad-" He couldn't even finish his sentence, because his father jumped up, slamming his hand down on the table. Tony flinched, taken aback by the sudden movement.

"You knocked her up, didn't you?" He spat, disappointment evident in his facial features.

How'd he know?

"Y-Yes. Jasmine is pregnant, with my child."

His mom put her hand on his father's shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"I always knew this would happen. I can't believe this. I can't believe you." Tony didn't move or say a word, allowing his father to get out his anger. After what felt like an eternity, his father sighed. He sat down, rubbing his face. "How much?"

"Oh, my god." Tony scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "We're keeping the baby."

"What?" His mother gasped, obviously shocked at the decision of her son.

"You're not serious, are you?" Howard questioned, laughing as if this was all a sick joke. "You're throwing your life away, Anthony."

"I am not."

"If you have this child, it will be one of your biggest regrets."

"No, they won't."

"This child will ruin your life! You will have the greatest opportunities turned down because you will be a father-"

"Those won't change!"

"This will be the biggest mistake of your life!"

"Then it is my mistake to make!" Tony stood, angrily shoving the chair back. He felt tears threaten to spill, and his face grew hot with anger and frustration. "And it is not a mistake, because they are going to be the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Apples, bananas, carrots...lettuce? No. Watermelon.

"Babe, are you almost done?" Jasmine called from the living room.

"Yes!" He picked up the plate of fruit he had arranged and carried it to her. Her face lit up as she saw the food, squealing excitedly. "Healthy snacks for a healthy baby."

"Yum," She moaned as she bit into a watermelon slice, chewing and swallowing before continuing. "I did not understand why this child wants such healthy food but now I know! Watermelon is so good."

He grabbed an apple slice, chewing it as he picked up the book he was reading. TThey sat in silence as she finished her afternoon snack, the book in her hand closing once she was finished.

"Honey," she called sweetly, and Tony hummed in reply. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"What?" He looked up from his book, confused at the sudden question.

"I'm just curious."

"Well, uh," He cleared his throat, closing the book in his hand. "I'd, uh, I want a girl."

"Really? Why?" She looked at him so intently, so lovingly that his heart stopped.

"Because she'd be the best big sister in the world. And, I'm going to teach her how to kick ass!"

"You could barely kick-ass yourself! How are you gonna show her?"

"Well, Ms. Vonz, I know some martial arts."

"What if it was a boy?"

"I would love him all the same! I get to pass down my knowledge to another ruggedly handsome Stark!"

"And you can't do that with a girl?"

"Well, yeah. My kid would be smart and a badass."

"WhatifIalreadyknowthegenderandtoldyouitwasagirl?" She said the words so quickly, Tony could not process them.

"What?"

"What if," she gulped, sitting up. The blanket fell off of her stomach, revealing the small bump. "I already know the gender, and I told you it was a girl?"

"W-what? Oh my god," Tony shot up, a smile on his face as he repeated the words in his head. "It's a- We're- It's a girl? We're having a girl?"

"Yes."

Later that night, as they counted down from ten, Tony couldn't help the smile etched onto his face. He looked between Jason and Jasmine, incredibly happy about the recent events. The clock struck twelve, and Tony pulled her in for a kiss.

"Happy New Year to you and our baby girl."

"Have fun with Jason!" Jasmine whispered as she watched the man double-check himself.

"Thanks, Jas. I promise you can give me my birthday present when I get back." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, before going down to her big belly. He placed a kiss on where he hoped his kid's head was. "Even though she's already giving me the biggest and best gift already."

"Stop being all gushy," She pushed him towards the door, blowing him a kiss. "Have fun. Be safe."

When Tony arrived at Jason's apartment, he was greeted by the sight of Vivie bouncing a sleepy Jonah in her arms.

"Hey V. Jonah," he brushed a knuckle gently against his godson, the five-month-old reaching for his hand. "Is Jason ready to go?"

"Yes!" Jason came then, kissing his fiance and son goodbye before leading his best friend towards the elevator. "How's it feel to be 21, Stark?"

"Same as being 20, Mullem." They took it down to the lobby, and as they walked out the doors, Tony stopped in his tracks. "Are you serious?"

Jason had a huge grin on his face, nodding as he slapped his best friend on his back. "All this for you, Tony."

"I fucking love you." He mumbled as he entered the limo.

"I fucking love you too."

Tony's pager beeps for the seventh time that night. 911. His father insists that he pick it up, so he leaves the dinner table and calls the number.

"Bellevue Hospital Center."

"Hi, yes, this is Tony Stark. I got a 911 to my pager?"

"Mr. Stark?" A male's voice came from the end of the line.

"Yeah, that's me," He rolled his eyes at the man on the other end.

"Yes, Mr. Stark, I'm Dr. Jones from Bellevue Hospital Center. Your wife has gone into labor."

"My-My wife?"

"Jasmine Vonz, sir."

Oh, God, it's happening.

"Y-yes! Sorry, it's just...unexpected." He turned to look into his dining room, his mother and father in conversation. "I'll be there soon."

He hung up, feeling sick.

"Anthony, is everything alright?" His mom called.

"Y-Yea-" He didn't finish his sentence, running to the bathroom and vomiting his entire dinner. When he was sure he was done, he got cleaned up before heading back out to the dining room. He grabbed his keys, wallet, and jacket, looking at his parents. "Jasmine went into labor."

"Oh, honey!"

"I-I gotta go. I'll let you know when she's born!" He called out as he ran out of his house.

The ride to the hospital, he was jittery. His cab driver kept giving him dirty looks, looking relieved as they finally pulled up to the hospital. Tony gave him more than enough cash before stumbling out of the cab and into the hospital. He went up to the nurses' station, having trouble finding words.

"Can I help you, sir?" One of the nurses asked.

"Ye-Yes. My girlfriend went into labor, uh, not so long ago."

"What's her name?"

"Jasmine Vonz."

She looked for her information, nodding when she found it. She gave him directions towards the room, saying a quick 'see you soon'. When he entered the room, Jasmine was pale and sweaty, gasping as she saw Tony.

"This baby will not stay in." She clutched at his hand as another contraction came. "I'm scared. I don't think this is how it's supposed to feel."

"I'm sure it's fine, honey." Tony pressed a quick kiss to her head, whimpering quietly as she crushed his hand. "My hand, not so much."

"I'm Dr. Jastin, " The doctor said as he came in moments later, his team right behind him. "Alright, Mom, Dad, are you ready?"

"We're doing this in here?" He asked, looking at the nurses setting up the baby stuff. "Isn't there, like, a labor room or something?"

"Yes sir, but it seems your daughter does not want to wait," the doctor answered as he snapped on his gloves, putting on a mask before setting himself in between his girlfriend's legs. "This baby is coming here and now."

The delivery was a painful process, and he was pretty sure a couple of his fingers were broken. After the final push, he heard the cries of his baby girl throughout the room. He sighed a 'Thank God' as his hand was released.

The doctor handed her over to one of his nurses, working on closing Jasmine. The nurses worked on the baby, wrapping her in a blanket and doing other...nurse/baby stuff.

"You did so well," he muttered in her ear, kissing the side of her head. "Gave us a beautiful baby."

"Where is she?" she whispered, gulping and trying to locate her kid. "Tony, where is she, is she okay?"

"Yeah, honey, she's with the nurses."

Tony looked up at the team of nurses working on his newborn baby. They seemed to be taking longer than necessary.

"Dr. Jastin?" One of the nurses called as he finished up.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Tony asked, finding Jasmine's hand and squeezing it.

"It's fine," the doctor told the nurse before lifting up his baby and carrying her over to them. "Who wants to see mommy and daddy?"

Jasmine shook her head, looking away from the doctor and baby.

"Ms. Vonz?"

"Jas, what's wrong?" Tony whispered, moving her hair behind her ear. "You don't want to hold our baby?"

"No," She mumbled. "I don't want the baby."

Tony reached out for his daughter and was oblivious to the words that were muttered by his girlfriend. His face lit up with a smile, his heart pounding at the feeling of holding such a small life in his hands. He rubbed his finger against her cheek, a happy sigh escaping his lips.

"Can't believe you're here," he whispered, leaning down to press a kiss against her forehead. She cooed, reaching up, and beginning to cry. "It's safe to say that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. Besides your mom, of course."

The next day, Tony took his parents to the nursery. There were at least 25 babies, some being days old, while others were mere hours. He pointed her out, his parents smiling at the small infant.

"Doctor said that we could take her home tomorrow," he said, nodding as the nurse indicated if he wanted her to take the baby up to the window. "I can't wait."

"Me neither," Howard whispered, subtly wiping at the tears building on his waterline. "Where's Jasmine?"

"She's resting in the room," he replied, suddenly remembering his duties. "Do you guys mind waiting here while I set up the car seat and crib? It'll only be an hour."

His parents agreed, waving him off as he raced to begin his new life.

Lilah was in the carrier, gladly sucking on a binky, as she and Tony walked up the stairs to her mother's apartment. It's the third day they've been home, and Jasmine has refused to see her child. He figured she was probably struggling with postpartum depression and wanted to help. He had found a great support group and some counselor's that focused on such things.

"Ready to see mama?" he asked her, taking the garbled sounds as a yes. "Me too. I miss her. And I can't wait to take more pictures of the two girls in my life."

Finally arriving at the door, Tony unlocked it and stepped inside. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of the barren apartment, looking around in shock. Knowing it was worthless, he put the carrier on the counter and looked for his girlfriend. All he found were two envelopes taped to the mirror of the bathroom.

He grabbed them in disbelief before grabbing his daughter and leaving the apartment in anger and hurt. The drive home he blamed himself for her leaving, muttering insults to himself.

The envelopes sat at the bottom of his drawer for years, refusing to be read. As he fell, his parents helped take care of their granddaughter. They fed her and changed her when she woke them screaming in the night, while their son laid in bed with no will to live. He ignored his daughter, refusing to hold her and look at her. He didn't want a memory of her, leaving the house after a week. Howard called Jason, asking him to take care of Tony. For the first month of Lilah's life, she was raised by her grandparents, who had grown quite fond of her.

"I'm glad Tony had her," Howard whispered to Maria one night as they rocked her to sleep. "She's going to save his life."

Maria smiled, rocking her granddaughter back and forth as she thought of her next words carefully. "Will you ever tell him?"

He exhaled deeply, rubbing his face and sitting down on his son's bed. "Yes, just not right now. He's already dealing with her leaving."

"I know but-" Howard looked up to see Maria staring at the door, and followed her line of vision.

Tony stood in the doorway, watching his daughter. She had been falling asleep until her head fell to the side and she caught sight of her father. At the realization of who it was, she began to cry and kick at the woman, attempting to reach out to him. Without hesitation Tony crossed the room, taking her into his arms and beginning to rock her back and forth. She calmed, relaxing at the feeling of being in her dad's arms.

"Let's go," Maria told Howard, shooing him out of the room and closing the door behind them.

That night, Tony got up to care for his crying daughter.

"Is the table set?" Maria called from the kitchen.

"Yes, Mom," He called from the dining room, finishing the silverware on the last plate.

He went up to his room and checked up on Lilah, who was just waking up from her nap. She reached out for him, giggling as he sniffed her diaper and exaggerated a gag.

"Someone's not ashamed," He muttered, changing her before taking her downstairs. "Guess who's up?"

"Where's my girl?" Howard called out, coming in from the living room. He reached for her, kissing her cheek as Tony handed her to him. "There she is."

A twinge of jealousy shot through Tony, but he quickly shook it off as the doorbell rang. He opened the door, taking Jonah from Vivie's arms and pressing a kiss to his cheek. The Mullem's greeted his parents, seating both children in high chairs before gathering around the table. They held hands and prayed.

"What are you thankful for, Stark?" Jason asked, looking across the table at his best friend.

Tony looked at his daughter, pinching her cheek. "The best thing in my life."

"Did she wake you?" Tony asked quietly, looking towards his father who stood at the door.

"No, I've, uh, been in the study." Tony nodded, returning his attention to his tired daughter. "How's she doing?"

He turned her towards him, eyes slowly closing and mouth open. "Almost there."

They stood in silence for a few minutes before Howard turned to go to his room.

"She's the best thing that has ever happened to me, Dad."

Howard looked towards his son, and it seemed like there were tears in his eyes. "I know."

Lilah had officially turned six months yesterday, and everything had been normal. He lacked attention from his father but witnessed him give it to his daughter. His mother gave him the same love she gave his daughter. They were a happy, content family.

Until hours ago, police showed up at the door to inform him of the news.

He didn't believe it. He thought it was some sick joke. But it wasn't.

Howard and Maria Stark were dead.

Car crash.

They weren't the only things they said, it was just what he could make out.

They were involved in an accident.

Didn't make it.

The pain was all too much. The mother of his child leaving him. His parents dying. He wasn't going to make it.

The funeral was rough. He doesn't remember much, just giving the eulogies and greeting old family friends. Accepting condolences. Hiding his kid away from those who began to pry too much, it was a funeral, why were they more interested in his kid?

After that is when it got worse.

He began to fall again. Scarce meals, drinking, bad hygiene. He didn't answer the door for anyone.

He simply lived and breathed for his daughter. He didn't want her to grow up an orphan. He changed her and bathed her and fed her. everything he was avoiding on himself he did to her.

"Baby, please, stop crying," He begged for the millionth time. Lilah was refusing to take a bath. She kicked and screamed bloody murder when he tried to lower her in the water. "What is it? Do you want me to shower with you?"

Hoping it was just that, he let the water go and turned on the showerhead. He undressed before picking her up and stepping into the water. She didn't cry or scream or throw a tantrum, just began pulling at his hair as the water hit it.

His body relaxed, soaking in the feeling of showering. He sighed in content, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

After the shower, he put them both into comfortable clothes before deciding to take a nap.

Tony had put Lilah in her crib and had just laid on his bed when she began to cry. He left her alone, hoping she would put herself to sleep.

He gave up after fifteen minutes.

"What is it, sweetheart?" He picked her up, rocking her gently. He sat on the bed, and her crying seized. He chuckled at his realization. "I get it. Do you want to sleep with daddy? Is that it, my girl?"

Lilah cooed, swinging her arms.

Tony laid back, allowing her to rest on his chest. She put her ear against his chest, falling asleep to the rhythm of his heart.

Lilah was turning one and Tony was freaking out.

Sure, he thought about it. But he never realized how old she was turning. Much less realized how fast the past year has gone.

"You need to calm down," Jason told him, helping the 22-year-old father wrap his daughter's presents.

"Were you calm when Jonah turned one?" Tony asked, looking at his best friend.

"No." He sighed.

"Then you can't come bitching at me about it!"

"Watch the language boys." They looked up to see Vivie enter with both kids in the double stroller, dropping the diaper bag on the table. "Why did I have to take them out again?"

"Because the party is a surprise?" Jason responded in a 'duh' tone.

"They're babies. They don't even know what's going on." Vivie set both children down onto the ground.

Tony walked over to pick up his daughter, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Jonah lifted his arms at his godfather, and he complied. Tony held both children in his arms, attempting to avoid their grabbing hands at his ears.

"What if Lilah has a photographic memory? What if she remembers her first birthday years into the future and hates me because we didn't surprise her?"

Jason groaned, shutting his eyes. "Again Tony?"

"Yes! My child can be a super genius."

"That's not possibl-"

"Okay, boys." Vivie interrupted them, grabbing Jonah from him. "Let's finish decorating, get ready, and enjoy the party!"

"Yeah." Jason agreed, raising his eyebrows at Tony. "Enjoy the party."

Tony held Lilah all night long, only passing her to her godparents when he went to the bathroom. The party was over. Jonah was asleep in his crib, Jason and Vivie were cleaning up, and Tony was in the living room with Lilah on his hip. He was swaying them back and forth gently, humming softly to the song that played. She was falling asleep, brown eyes watching him before shutting for a few seconds then opening again.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before whispering, "Happy birthday, baby."

"Don't move! Let me get the camera!" He ran to the kitchen, grabbing the video camera. He turned it on as he raced back to the living room, placing the phone back between his shoulder and ear. He began recording Lilah, who stood holding onto the sofa. "I told you, Mullem, my kid's going to walk first."

"No, my kid is gonna walk first," Jason said through the phone, causing Tony to roll his eyes. "You're just upset because Jonah started talking first."

"He hasn't even said a word!"

"Yes, he has!"

"What? 'Bajdkfs'? Those are baby sounds."

"He spoke first, and he's going to walk first."

Lilah let go of the sofa, and Tony perked up. "My kid's going for it."

"Mine let go of the sofa."

"So did mine."

They stayed silent, each urging their kid to make the first move. Lilah looked at her dad and smiled, taking a wobbly step towards him.

"Ohmygod, I won! She took her first step!"

"No!"

"Good job sweetheart! Take another." he encouraged her. She took another wobbly step before falling onto her bottom, giggling at her father's happy expression. "Yes!"

"No! Jonah just took his first steps! It's a communication error."

"Nuh-uh, Jason. Your kid got speaking first, mine gets first steps."

"He didn't even say a real word."

"Aha! I knew it!"

"Whatever. I got to go, Vivie is furious that we're competing."

"I bet. Did you tell her you lost?"

"Screw you, Stark."

They hung up, Tony picking up his daughter and setting down the video camera. He kissed her head, smiling and bouncing her. "You wanna speak first too? Give Jonah a run for his money?"

She babbled nonsense.

"I agree."

He sat her back on the ground, sitting across from her.

"Say 'Dada'. Da-da. Easiest word in the book, kid." She crawled to him, standing with the help of his legs. "Daddy would be good too. Dad. Pops. Anything."

She babbled once again, stepping onto his legs and reaching up to support herself against his chest.

"Really? Quite interesting."

She laughed, leaning forward and pressing her nose against his. He scrunched it in confusion, a smile gracing his lips. "What are you doing kid?"

"Dada." She said before pressing a kiss to his nose.

"Yeah, I'm your da-Wait what?" He picked her up, shock and disbelief running through him. "What did you say?"

She babbled, dancing in his arms.

"You cannot do this to me. I need proof that my kid is the best." he stretched his arms slightly. "Dada. Say it again, baby, please."

Nothing.

"Por favor?"

Nada.

"Please, for me?"

She smiled. "Dada."

It wasn't perfect, but it was real. An actual word.

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you," He kissed her head once more, sitting her in his lap. "Jonah may be older, but he has his dad's brain."

His eyes landed on the video camera, hope filling him.

"Please be recording."

"Daddy," Lilah gently pushed his arm. "Daddy."

His eyes open slowly, taking in the sight of his tired four-year-old. He sighed, reaching his hand up to cup his daughter's face. "What's wrong-what the hell?"

Shooting up, he brought her onto his lap, back of his hand pressing all over her face. She was sweaty and sticky and her skin was burning.

"I don't feel good." She mumbled, a whine leaving her and she grabbed his hand. "My tummy hurts."

He picked her up, putting on his shoes before heading downstairs. She rested her head against his shoulder, her stomach rumbling. She was asleep the whole ride, waking when they got to the small 24-hour store. She whined and cried silently as they moved about the store, gripping onto him so tight her knuckles turned white.

"Ooh, fever?" The clerk asked, scanning the box of medicine.

"Yup. She was fine when she went to sleep but she woke me with a fever." Tony replied, taking out some bills to pay for the items.

"Weird. They usually exhibit signs."

"Yeah, last time I could tell. But this time was a surprise."

The clerk handed him his bag and took the bills. "If she's not better in a few days, you should take her to the doctor."

"If I can't have the fever down by tomorrow, I might have to." He took the change from the man, stuffing it into his wallet. "Thank you. Have a good night."

"You too, man. Hope she gets better soon."

"Thank you."

Tony soothed her on the way to the car, rubbing her back and telling her she was going to be okay. He buckled her into her car seat, dropping the bag by her feet when she burped. Eyes wide, he emptied the plastic bag and put it under her mouth in time for her to throw up into the bag. He rubbed her back once more, wiping vomit off of her mouth with his sleeve before starting the car. He made sure she held onto the bag, trying to get home as quickly and safely as possible. She puked once more on the drive home, crying and calling for him.

"I know, princess, just hold on."

They were in the driveway and he was turning off the car when she began heaving and climbed into the backseat to help her. He quickly took them inside, struggling to carry his sick daughter, the get-well items, and her puke bag. They eventually made it to the room, where he changed her into a new set of pajamas. He had her rinse her mouth before giving her the dose suggested on the box. She drank it, unwillingly, and cuddled up to his side when he laid them down.

Tony was gently massaging her head, slowly falling asleep himself when her small voice filled his ears.

"I love you, my pretty boy." She whispered, voice drowsy from the medicine.

"Your pretty boy?" He questioned, curious of the sudden nickname.

"Mhm, my pretty boy. You're my pretty boy, Daddy."

He smiled, pressing a kiss to her head. "Guess that makes you my pretty girl."

"Guess so," she muttered, finally drifting off

"I love you, my pretty girl."

"Kindergarten was so fun Daddy!" Her voice screeched through the phone, Tony smiling at her voice. God, he misses her.

"Really?"

"Mhm! We made a nametag and got to color it and draw on it and-"

"Whoa there, sweetheart," Jason interrupted his daughter. "You're talking too fast for your old man's ears."

"Hey, I'm not old," He spoke into the phone, her giggles coming down the line. "You're old."

"Yeah, Tio Jay, you're older than Daddy." She started screaming with laughter, a sad smile on his face. "Daddy! He's-stop!-tickling me!"

"Better stop tickling my daughter Jason, before I have to kick your ass."

Her laughter slowly stopped, her breathing heavy. "Ooh, you said a bad word."

"Uh-oh, don't tell Aunt Vivie or she'll kick my ass."

They laughed, shuffling heard slightly on the other side. "I'm gonna make dinner, you can finish talking to Tony, baby."

"Mhm," He could hear her moving around. "What are you doing, Daddy?"

"Well," He cleared his throat, moving to get comfortable on the hotel bed. "I'm in my hotel room talking to a very pretty girl."

"Really? What's her name?"

"Tokyo."

"Hey, that's my name!" He waited for a moment, and she gasped in realization. "Ohhh, you're talking about me."

"Of course I am. What other pretty girl do I know named Tokyo? I think you're spending too much time with Uncle Jay." She giggled, and he could almost imagine the smile on her face. "Sorry I couldn't be there for your second day of school."

"It's okay. You were here for my first day," She grunted quietly. "Are you still coming home on Saturday?"

"Of course. I promised to get us ice cream, didn't I?"

"Yup," she popped the 'p', the smile widening on his face. She let out a quiet sigh, and he could tell her mood shifted. "I miss you, Daddy."

He sighed. "I know. I miss you more."

They were both silent for a few minutes, her breathing slowing slightly.

"Hey, baby?"

"Hm?"

"Wanna tell me about school?"

She gasped, excitedly. "Yeah!"

"Do you want to stop and get her a cheeseburger?" Happy asked from the front of the car. Tony shook his head, sighing.

"I don't want to give her happy food and then tell her the bad news."

"But it's not bad news."

"For her, it is," He ran a hand down his face. He can't believe he's doing this. "This is her life! Her world. I wanted her to grow up here like I did. She already struggles with the fact that I'm on a business trip almost always, she's gonna hate me because of this."

Happy drummed his fingers on the wheel, pulling over in front of Jason's house. He honked, and Tony looked out the window to watch the door. "What has Vivie said?"

"We thought she was getting better. But, uh, Jason heard her crying in her room the other night." The door opened, and she gave her aunt and uncle a kiss on the cheek. She began to run to the car, backpack swinging back and forth on her back, the metal bracelets on her arm bouncing with her every step. "Maybe we should get her a milkshake."

Tony opened the door, and she jumped in, landing on top of him.

"Hi, Daddy!" She placed a kiss on his cheek, moving to sit on the other seat. She shrugged off her backpack and threw it below her feet before buckling herself. "Hi, Happy!"

"Hi, Tokyo. You buckled?" He asked her, looking at Tony through the rearview mirror. She nodded, looking out the window. "I was thinking of getting a milkshake, want one?"

Her face lit up, and she turned to her dad. Tony smiled, nodding at her.

"Yes please!" They began their drive, and she was watching him. He didn't realize it until he glanced at her and she quickly looked away.

"Why are you watching me, creepy lady?" Her face reddened, embarrassed from being caught. "I'm too handsome for you not to look at, is that it?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling at his comment. "Of course, Daddy. You're the handsomest man in the world."

"Whoa, wait up," Happy spoke from the front, feigning shock. "Last week you said I was the handsomest man in the world."

"Well," She stopped, thinking. "You both are."

"Mhm," Tony raised an eyebrow, causing her to give a shy smile. "Nice save."

They sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke up. "What's wrong?"

"Hm?" He looked at her, but she was looking out the window. "What do you mean?"

"You're sad."

"I'm not sad." He made eye contact with Happy once more.

"See? You and Happy are looking at each other And I know when you're sad, just like you know when I'm sad."

"You know when I'm sad?"

"Mhm. I know when you're happy, sad, mad. I know what you're feeling all the time."

"All the time? How?"

"You're deflecting, Dad."

Dad? He was definitely screwed.

"That's a big word for a first-grader." She gave him a look, "Okay, fine. We have to talk."

"Okay. Are you going somewhere?"

"Y-Well, yes." He cleared his throat, nervous. He didn't know how she was going to react. Will she cry? Be angry? Shut down? "But it's different this time."

She shrugged "I think I'll be okay."

He took a deep breath and watched her, gauging her reaction. "We're moving. To California."

She opened her mouth but hesitated.

"Are you mad?" He asked quietly.

"No. Never at you, Daddy." Big brown eyes looked into his, and he smiled slightly. "Is that all?"

"Yeah," He gave a relieved sigh, ruffling her hair.

"Cool. Are we still getting a milkshake, Happy?"

Tokyo handled the move amazingly well. Tony thought she would cry, throw a tantrum, be angry at him for having to leave her life. She seemed unfazed. It's been two years, and she's still doing great.

"Stark Industries." Pepper answered the phone. Tony was resting his eyes, worn out from the meeting. "Oh, well, he's right here."

"Tony," He opened his eyes as Pepper nudged him, hand covering the receiver of the phone. "It's Tokyo's school."

"Oh shit," He sat up, taking the phone from her hands. "Hello?"

"Mr. Stark? It's Mrs. Forman. I'm calling because there was an incident. We tried to call your personal phone but you weren't picking up."

"Yes, I apologize, I left it in the hotel room this morning. What happened? Is To-Lilah okay?"

"As of right now, she's fine."

"What do you mean, 'as of right now'? What happened?"

"We already contacted Mr. Hogan and he's on his way to the hospital with her."

"The hospital? Why is my daughter on the way to the hospital?" He muttered, waving off Pepper and running a hand down his face. "What did she do?"

"It's not something she did, per se, but she did break her wrist."

"Whoa, wait. What? What do you mean she sprained her wrist?" He covered the microphone, turning to Pepper. "Book me the next flight home. Now."

"And she sprained her ankle, Mr. Stark."

"What the hell happened to my daughter, Mrs. Forman?"

"She was on the monkey bars and slipped off. She landed on her wrist, and another kid fell on her foot."

"I can't believe this." He mumbled, hanging up the phone. He looked over at Pepper, worry on her face. He shook his head, before looking back out the window.

He landed in LA two hours later and arrived home an hour later. The car was in the driveway, and he practically barged into the house. Tokyo and Happy were sitting on the couch, eating pizza and hot wings. They froze as soon as they saw Tony, Happy slowly standing and exiting the room. Tokyo set her food down, not looking at him.

"I got a call from the school." He said, slowly walking towards her.

"I know." She tried to move over, but he stopped her.

He sat down on the other side of her, examining her injuries. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"I fell off the monkey bars." She was watching the TV, but she wasn't focused on it. He turned it off, pulling her attention back to him.

"How so?"

"I don't know. I was climbing them with Alex, and then I heard Jonah's voice in my head, and I was looking for him but he wasn't there. And then when I had gotten to the next monkey bar, there was a zap and I fell."

"And Alex? Did he feel it too?"

"Yeah, but he was a little behind me."

"How behind?"

"Like two."

"Can I see your cast?" She lifted it, and he grabbed it slowly. Her fingers were purple and blue in some spots. "Those are some nasty bruises."

"Mhm," She tried to move them around, but winced at the pain. "I can't write with my left hand, so I don't know how I'm gonna do my schoolwork, Daddy."

"Don't worry about that, hm? I'll talk to the principal and your teacher. Okay?"

"Okay."

He turned the tv back on, laying back. "So, what were we watching?"

"Anastasia."

"Again?" She nodded, face turning red. "Alright, let's do this."

"Wait!" She turned her head slightly, hand on his to stop him from pressing play. "Happy!"

"Uh, Dad?" Tony looked up from his lab station, Tokyo standing at the entrance. She looked nervous and...embarrassed? "Um, something happened."

"What?" He put down his tools, moving towards her. "Are you okay?"

"I kinda started..." She trailed off, looking at him in hopes that he picked up what she was putting down. He was clueless.

"You kinda started what? A fire?"

"N-no, I, uh, my, uh..." She covered her ears. "JARVIS help."

"It appears Ms. Stark has started her menstrual cycle," JARVIS answered.

The color drained from his face. "Oh."

"I, uh, asked Pepper if she could bring me some, uh, you know."

"Pads, sir." JARVIS clarified.

"I know, JARVIS." He looked at her, not knowing what to say.

"I'm going back upstairs." She turned, but he stopped her.

"Next time, tell me. I'll get them for you." He felt awkward, but she was his responsibility. His parenting classes had informed him of the situation and how to handle it, but he didn't realize it would be so soon. "I'm your dad. Don't be embarrassed."

"Okay."

"Do you need anything else?" She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Okay. I'll be up to make dinner in a bit."

"Okay." And with that, she sprinted up the stairs.

Tony was fuming. He felt as if smoke was coming out of his ears. He doesn't think he's been this angry before. Let alone at Tokyo. Not even when she broke his prototype.

He didn't say a word the whole way home. He gripped the steering wheel, glancing at her from time to time. She was avoiding him, staring out the window the whole ride home.

He had pulled up to the driveway, parking the car. She jumped out, racing to the front door. By the time he got to the door, she was heading inside. "Where do you think you're going?"

She stopped her beeline to her room, standing still and facing away from him.

"Look at me." She turned, backpack hanging from her shoulder. It was then that he realized she was different. He just couldn't place it. "You're not getting out of this."

"I'm not trying to." She raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me what happened." He crossed his arms over his chest, foot tapping impatiently. She looked away from him, picking at her fingernails. "Now, Lilah."

"What's going on?" Pepper came out from the office, followed by Happy. She looked worried.

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Watch yourself!" His jaw clenched, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Lilah punched a kid at school."

"What?" Pepper looked at her, stepping forward slightly. "Why, Tokyo?"

The young girl huffed, looking down at her hands. "He wouldn't stop grabbing me, even after I told him to stop."

"He grabbed you?"

"You can't just hit someone every time they touch you!" Tony exclaimed, shocked at what he was hearing.

"I don't! It was just this one time!"

The energy in the room was high, Tony thought he could hear static.

"It doesn't make it okay!"

"Stop!" Pepper yelled, holding up a hand to quiet Tony. She walked forward to where she could talk to her. "What do you mean that he grabbed you?"

"I wasn't paying attention to him, so he kept on grabbing my wrist. I told him to stop and he grabbed my waist and turned me to face him. And I punched him in the face."

It was at that moment that he realized what had happened. She was standing up for herself. Defending herself.

"He's done this before?" Tony asked, quieter.

"It's okay, it doesn't bother me anymore I don't know why I-"

"It's not okay," Pepper interrupted her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you punched him."

"Did you explain this to the principal?"

"Yes, but he didn't care." She looked towards Happy, who hadn't spoken. "It's my fault. If I paid attention to him he wouldn't have grabbed me the way he did and it's my fault."

"No, it's not." Pepper turned to him, anger evident in her eyes. "Tony, you have to do something."

"There's no point!" She cried out, obviously frustrated with the whole ordeal. "Can we please just drop it? I'm already suspended, so there's no point."

"I can call the principal and-"

"Just drop it!" She threw her hands up, the power cutting for a second before turning back on. She turned and sprinted up the stairs to her room.

Happy followed her after a few moments, leaving Pepper and Tony alone.

"You need to call the school and sort this out."

"I will. I just, I need a moment to process what she just told me." He sat down on the couch, head in hands. "I was hoping, that she would never have to deal with this."

"I think we all did. It's not something we want to happen."

"No, it's not." Sighing, he looked at her. "She's fourteen. How long do you think this has been going on?"

"I-I'm not sure, Tony. Honestly."

"She's come home a few times with bruises on her arms. You could tell that someone had grabbed her but I..." He trailed off, disappointment in himself setting in. "I brushed it off."

"You couldn't have known."

"I did." They turned as Happy walked down the last few steps, a sad look on his face. "She told me that this boy was bothering her, grabbing her to get her attention. She gets uncomfortable every time she's around him. I told her, 'next time he grabs you, sock that fucker in the face.'"

"Guess she took your advice." Tony looked down at his hands, picking at his fingernails. "She won't even talk to me."

"She's scared of approaching you." He looked regretful as soon as the words slipped out. "Says she doesn't want you to be angry at her."

"Why would I be angry?"

"I think you should talk to her. Let her tell you. Let her know that you're there."

"Take her an ice pack, and talk to her while you're up there," Pepper told him, leaving no room for argument.

Nodding, he followed her advice. He went up after the sun had gone down, assuming it was enough time to allow her to cool down. When he entered her room, she was curled up on her bed, facing the window. Her room was dark, the only light coming from the moon. Lilah was watching the waves crash against the shore before pulling back into the ocean.

Much like her.

"I'm sorry for punching that kid." She mumbled, voice hoarse.

"I'm not." He sat on her bed, waiting until she was facing him to hand her the ice pack. "You did the right thing."

"It's just, he creeps me out." She started, and Tony felt a tiny bit of happiness at her opening up to him.

"Maybe you should be rude. Let him know that you mean business."

"I was at first, but he wouldn't go away. So I just gave up."

He felt helpless. So he talked slowly, hoping it would come to him.

"I'm going to call the principal, and tell him about what happened-no arguing." She nodded, closing her mouth. She twirled the bracelet around her wrist, the red star in the middle glimmering every time it hit the moonlight. "But you're already suspended, and I'm not going to try and revoke that."

"So I have to stay here with Happy for the rest of the week?"

"No," He spoke before he could think. "I'm taking the rest of the week off. I miss spending time with you. Feel like I never see you anymore."

"Me too." She sat up, adjusting the ice pack. "I didn't do this for attention, just so you know."

"Oh, I know." The idea came to him, right then and there. "I hope you'll tell me the next time this kid bothers you though."

"I will." She stood up, stretching out her hand. "I have to go apologize to Pepper. I was mean."

He chuckled. "Yeah. I don't think she cares about that. I think she's worried more about you. But still, apologize."

"I am."

"Okay, go say you're sorry and then start making dinner. I need to make a phone call."

"How'd it go?" Happy asked as soon as they walked in the door. Tokyo shrugged her shoulders, sighing. "Uh oh."

"Yeah, I-" She took out her license, a smile taking over her face. "Passed!"

"Congratulations!" He pulled her in for a hug, placing a kiss on her head. "Who taught you better? Me or your old man over there?"

"Hey, I'm not old," Tony spoke up, placing the keys on their hangar. "Second, I taught her better."

"You both taught me amazingly well." She began towards the stairs. "I'm gonna go call Jonah, give him the good news."

A scream came from up top, Jonah's laughter filling the air. Tony was about to run up the stairs when Happy stopped him.

"Jonah's up there," Happy told him. "Wanted to surprise her."

"More like scare her," Tony added, heading into the kitchen.

"Do you think she's doing better with him here?"

"I mean, she's happier."

"But not better."

"Look, I love Jonah. He's my godson and her best friend," He lowered his voice, not wanting anyone else to hear. "But I think he's making her worse."

"How?"

"I could feel it. It's not right." He sighed, making his way to the fridge. "Plus, she was crying the other night. Couldn't sleep. She was having nightmares."

"Like, the ones in New York?"

"Exactly like those. She said that these were worse. Scarier. They seemed more real."

"Tio Tony!" Jonah called. He turned to find both teenagers climbing down the stairs, his godson outstretching his hands. "How are you?"

He hugged the boy, an uneasy feeling clawing at his stomach. "Hey Jonah, what are you guys doing?"

"She told me about her license. Sucks she got it the day before we graduate."

"You have your license," Tokyo interjected, narrowing her eyes at him. "You've made it quite clear."

The environment got very hostile. Not physically, but emotionally. Mentally. Tony felt the air around him thicken and felt as if there were static.

Jonah laughed it off, hugging the girl. She hugged him back, hesitantly. "Alright, well. I've got to go. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

They bid their goodbyes. Tokyo ran upstairs to get ready for tomorrow.

"Did you feel that?" Happy asked, eyes wide.

"What did I say?" He leaned in closer.

"Do you think something happened?"

"I fucking hope not."

"She's two people down from this side." Pepper pointed out Toyko, who waved at her family.

"Can't believe she's already graduating. I feel like she just went into kindergarten yesterday." Happy spoke up, having been there since she was a toddler.

"I know. This is it. Besides college." Tony said, watching as she quickly became next in line.

The purple gown and cap were on every female student, the males in white. She was wearing the white dress she wore to her father's parties, white flats as well. The silver bracelets she never took off were on her wrists, and she wore silver hoops as well. Who knew he would have focused on her outfit this much?

"Lilah Stark." The teacher called.

They cheered her on, watching as she shook hands with the principal and took the photo with her diploma. She was smiling the whole way back to her seat, speaking to the girls in front of her.

Tony didn't realize it until he was outside, but he was crying. She came out of the stadium, eyes searching for her dad. When they made eye contact, she practically ran at them.

"Congratulations baby," Tony muttered into her hair, arms wrapping around her as she hugged him tightly. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Daddy." She let go of him, hugging Pepper and Happy. "Where's Uncle Jason, and Jonah, and Aunt Vivie?"

"I'm not sure." He looked around, not spotting them anywhere. They didn't sit together at graduation. "Maybe we'll see them at the house later."

At the house, Tokyo rid herself of the cap and gown. They threw a small party, just the four of them. Tony was telling stories of her childhood, drunk and tears streaming down his face.

"Okay, Dad, I kinda have a surprise for you." She spoke up, and he turned his attention to her. She lowered the music that was currently playing, pulling out a letter from one of the books.

"Oh, Tony, you might want tissues handy." Pepper nudged him.

"Okay so, Daddy, I have to let you know that I wrote this a few years ago. And then some more at like 3 am."

"I feel special." He chuckled, sipping on his whiskey.

"Yeah," she nervously laughed, straightening the paper. "Dear Daddy, if you're listening to this, it means that I've finally graduated. I made it through senior year, and am now on my way to college. I'm writing this early because you never know what could happen. I might graduate earlier than expected, or I might graduate on time.

"I know you're upset that I didn't go to MIT at 14 as you did. But I did apply to MIT and I got a full-ride scholarship for civil engineering. I began thinking of your stories. You spent your teenage years in college and less at home with grandma and grandpa. I wanted to do that too, but I couldn't bring myself to leave you. I wanted to spend the rest of my adolescent life with you in every way I could. I didn't want to leave you sooner than I had to. You are my soulmate. You understand me in a way no one else does. Happy once said that we were more alike than different. If I remember correctly he said, 'Stop finishing each other's thoughts. You guys are creeping me the fuck out.' We were talking about getting a sandwich from Subway and had gone for the same sub.

"Moving on, I want you to know that I love you, so much."

Her voice cracked, and she fanned her face with her hand.

"I know I worried you a lot when you went on business trips. I told you it was because I was afraid you would leave and never come back. At the time, I thought it was because you had the choice to leave me. As I got older, I realized that wasn't the reason. I feared you would leave me, but not by choice. I can't imagine what it's like raising a child, let alone raising a daughter. You did a great fucking job, Dad. I know you have moments of self-doubt. But believe me, you're the greatest fucking person on Earth."

"Those are a lot of curse words, young lady." Pepper jokes, causing the group to laugh lightly.

"I owe you the world. You are the reason I was able to graduate. You encouraged me and battered me into becoming a great student. I really couldn't have done this without you. I graduated because of you, Daddy."

She was in tears, and so was he. They all were. Tony stood, hugging her tightly.

"I love you, you know that?' He kissed the side of her head.

"I love you more, my pretty boy."

Tony woke with a start.

He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. He felt it. It was just that feeling. Getting out of bed, he went to check on Tokyo. She wasn't in her bed.

"Tokyo? Baby?" He called out as he walked downstairs. She wasn't there, and nothing was out of place. Running back to his room, he grabbed his phone and dialed Jason.

"Tony." He sounded panicked.

"Jason, is Tokyo there?"

"No, I was gonna ask if Jonah was at yours."

"He's not. And neither is Tokyo." He ran a hand over his face, suddenly remembering JARVIS. "Maybe JARVIS saw them."

Covering the microphone, he called out for the AI. No answer.

"What the fuck?"

"What?" Jason asked, worry evident in his voice.

"He's not answering." He walked over to his emergency computer, trying to find out the problem. "Oh, God."

'What, Tony? Did you find them?"

"No, J-JARVIS was disabled. Someone took Tokyo."

"Calm down. Are you sure it wasn't Tokyo who disabled it?"

"It-it wasn't her."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm watching the person who disabled him."

"Right now?"

"No, from five minutes ago."

#of stardust and space.#steve rogers x oc #dad!tony stark #tony stark x oc #daughter!stark

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perseusjackson-jasongrace · 4 years ago

Text

Empires on the Horizon XIV

Jason is a CEO: Part XIV

masterlist for other parts, more jercy, bad headcanons, and an abundance of crackships

SURPRISE!!! i finally got my laptop back and thankfully they didn’t have to wipe anything so i still had all my work! Between you and me i was more worried about all my fanfics than my uni work...... But I’ve learned my lesson. Do everything on google docs now!! Anyway this is a Percy POV and i hope you enjoy because i’ve missed this little universe more than you could possibly know and we’re finally (only fourteen chapters later) getting to the jercy part of this fic?! LOL it’s been wild.

i know i’m releasing a ton of fanfics at the moment so i hope you guys don’t feel overwhelmed. You know i adore your comments and thoughts but please don’t feel pressured to read all the fics i’m posting. I’ve just had a lot of time in the last weeks so it’s been easier to create. Please take care of yourself, i love you very much and i hope you have a magical holiday season!

Percy Jackson stretched his legs out in front of him and draped a blanket over them. There were few things he indulged in, but a good plane seat was one of them. He was spoilt for it but having the space to lay his unreasonably tall body down for eight hours seemed like a worthy investment. The announcements that continuously filtered through the crackly speakers were background noise as the bustle of people getting to their seats flowed throughout the cabins. He stared out his little window at the neon-jacketed guides and airport officials directing people to wherever they needed to be. He loved watching people just do things. There was something calming about knowing others weren’t interested in him in any way. That people got on with their lives despite the turmoil nobody knew about.

A flight attendant stopped next to him with a polite smile, “Champagne sir?”

“No thank you, a water please. Too early for alcohol.” He grimaced.

Mirth danced in her eyes as she glanced up at the rest of the passengers, some dangling flutes between their fingers. “Absolutely sir, anything else?”

He shook his head, before leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. His pre-flight ritual, which consisted of him snuggling as comfortably as possible it his seat and trying to fall asleep, was already behind. The presence of a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed CEO taking up the scattered pieces of his mind. It was crazy to think they had met almost a year ago, crazier still to think that about how much they had changed in that time. Percy at least felt like a completely different person to the one who had stepped off a plane from Hawaii all those months ago and attended his alma mater’s dinner. Although the university had surprised them with plaques honouring their contributions, it was seeing Jason Grace, learning about him that felt like the real reward. Hell, he was only half joking when he said he’d marry the guy the next Tuesday.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts. We will be taking off shortly. In the meantime please turn your attention to the screens in front of you for a video detailing the safety measures you will need to know while aboard this flight.”

He blinked back into the world and turned half his attention to the screen and the other half to locating the blonde he couldn’t seem to keep away from. He knew the safety briefings by heart, but he always felt bad for not paying attention. Someone worked hard to make those. He didn’t spot Jason in the two minutes the video played and then it was too late because the plane gave a low rumble and suddenly, they were lurching into motion. His heart climbed to his throat and he gripped his fingers underneath the blanket.

“Okay Percy,” He mouthed to himself, “You can do this. It’s at most fifteen minutes of instability and then you’ll be up in the air and you won’t even feel it.”

“Just fifteen minutes.” He kept repeating, taking deep shaky breaths. “Fifteen minutes.”

The plane jaggered down the runway, slow enough that he could still read the road signs indicating altitudes and compass directions and all sorts of fun information he didn’t care about. He felt the huge machine turn into the long stretch of tar that led them to the sky and his stomach clenched painfully. This was always the worst part. Take off. It felt like his entire body flew off with the plane while he stuck to the ground, superglue cementing him to the floor with no escape. He didn’t feel free. He felt torn.

The plane gave a horrible lurch and then it was screaming down the runway, grass and yellow lines blurring past them. They were going so fast he’s sure they’d break the sound barrier. He squeezed his eyes shut. Knuckles white as he twisted his hands together. The plan flew down the road and into the sky. His whole body felt suspended in space. He wanted to come down. He didn’t want to be here. Even with his eyes closed he could feel how high they were. He hated it.

Slowly, the plane started to level out until he felt his body realign: feet under him, hands beside him, head above him. He opened his eyes, spots dancing in his vision as they got used to the light once more. The seatbelt sign dinged above him, and a series of clicks followed. People got up to use the bathroom and grab things from the overhead compartments. He wasn’t going to get up until he was out of this plane. So he shoved his headphones over his ears and pressed play.

I will always love you how I do

Let go of a prayer for you

Just a sweet word

He gazed out the window, clouds close enough to whisper to, and his lips pulled up in a soft smile. The sky was beautiful. It just sucked that they had to get into a death trap to get to it. With his ocean eyes pinned to the balls of cotton hanging in the blue expanse his mind drifted. Reyna. He blinked. It was almost shameful how little he had thought of her since their breakup considering their year together. She had taught him tai quan do and baked him blueberry tarts. They had escaped to a little bubble in the forest and watched the leaves turn brown as they tumbled in bed. He knew she tapped her right foot when she was annoyed but her left fingers danced when she was excited. He knew she liked her eggs fried hard because she didn’t have time for sloppy yolk, but she liked them scrambled soft because it meant a richer croissant. But despite this she did not light his soul on fire. And he did not light hers either. They were merely striking matches without wood to burn. He heaved a sigh as he watched the threads of his relationship flutter before his eyes and fell asleep to them disappearing in gold strands leaking into the clouds. He succumbed to the bright sun and the soft warmth of memories and he didn’t wake until a loud announcement gave the signal that they were landing.

It was over so fast he didn’t have time to panic and he was grateful. Finally he was collecting his bags and walking out. A driver with his surname scribbled on a plaque stood front and center and with a quick flash of his ID and a hello they were piling into the car. He didn’t get a chance to see the blonde beauty, but the island was small and time was a plenty. They would find each other again.

“To the hotel sir?”

“Yes Luca, and then please stick around for half an hour. It’s just a quick freshen before I go to work. We have a lab meeting.”

The man nodded and then focused on the busy Italian streets they were navigating. He took in the colours and sounds as they whizzed by. It felt like a different universe. People were loud and excited and full of life and the little markets seemed to pull energy from the sun and direct it into joy. He wanted to tell Luca, to pull over, screw work, and take in the beauty of this little section of the world. But his phone buzzed in his pocket and he knew with a disappointed sinking in his chest that adventure would have to wait.

“Hello Percy,” Rachel Elizabeth Dare bubbled, ‘I assume you’ve arrived?”

“Yes Rach,” He sighed but amusement caught between his lips, “Have you got news for me?”

“No,” She sounded suspicious, “Why would I have news for you?”

“Because you only track my exact times when you want something but you’re too scared to ask me so you wait till I’m halfway across the country before asking.” He wanted to laugh as she made an indignant sound.

“Okay fine,’ She grumbled, “I wanted to know if I could close up the scuba for the weekend. I met a girl and i wanted to go out on Friday night with her.”

He couldn’t hold in his laugh any longer, “Of course you can Rachel. But I’m curious to know…” He trailed off.

“Ugh you are impossible.” He could imagine her eye roll so vividly. “It’s Clarisse. The principal from your old school.”

“Well, well, well,” He grinned, “I better be getting premium seats to the wedding.”

“Why does everything always end in weddings for you?” She groaned.

“Scuse me for wanting a happily ever after.” He scrunched his face, “Oh and guess who’s here?”

“Is this a good guess or a bad one?”

“Good.” He smiled, “Very good.”

She gasped, speaker crackling at his ear, “Tell me!”

“Jason Grace.”

“What?” She squealed, “Are you guys going to have hot rebound sex and then realise you like each other more than just casual fuck-buddies and end up getting married and adopting like six children?”

He burst with amusement, “Slow down there Rach. I know I throw around the marriage idea, but kids seem like a big commitment.”

“You right,” She said decidedly, “Kids are a lot of effort. Just get married then. But no eloping!” He pictured the crease in her freckled brows. “I want to be a bridesmaid.”

“Can’t promise anything,” He giggled.

“Perseus Jackson!” She scolded.

“Oof the full name.”

“I will tell your mother and she will kick your ass.”

“Okay, okay,” He laughed, “No eloping. I have to go. But remember to take the keys for the scuba with you. We do not need the fire department breaking the door again.”

She grumbled about hating him and then blew him a kiss and ended the call. With a smile still playing on his lips he thanked Luca and rushed into the hotel. Thankfully the check in was painless and fast and he was stumbling into his room in no time. He barely had time to appreciate the gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows and the ocean view it laid out before him. He promised himself he would take the time when he got back.

Quickly he hopped into the shower cursing when he realised he’d forgotten to take his socks off. With a horrified shudder he peeled them off and chucked them into the laundry basket, thankful it gets emptied every day. The water beat against his back, fogging up the glass and calming the racing in his veins. He gave himself the luxury of one extra minute to just take a deep breath and screw his head back onto his shoulders and then he jumped out and shoved on a pair of black slacks and a white button down. He didn’t bother to do the top few buttons, figuring he’d have time in the car. Instead he fastened a watch to his wrists, rolled up the sleeves till they sat at his forearms– any attempt to bear the Italian heat– and then he slid his feet into a pair of sleek ankle boots and mussed his damp curls. With half a moments glance at the mirror to make sure his face didn’t have patches of sun-cream and his collar was straight he grabbed his briefcase and walked out.

Glancing at his watch distractedly he rounded the corner, only to bump right into a hard chest.

“Oh,” He frowned, stepping back into a door. “Jason.”

“Hey,” The blonde smiled, “What a coincidence?” He laughed.

“You’re staying here?” It was really starting to feel like the universe was trying to tell him something.

‘Yep,” He gave a shy smile, blue gaze bright. “Guess you’re going to see a lot more of me then you expected huh?”

“I think you may be at more of a disadvantage than me.”

Jason looked at him, eyes dragging from his face down his body and eventually dropping to his shoes. Percy gave an involuntary shiver as the blonde tracked the same slow pace back up. “I think this could be very advantageous.”

“If you don’t stop staring at me like that I’m going to be very late for my meeting.”

He laughed, the previous sultriness giving away to a sparkle and flashing white teeth, “See you around Jackson.” He started walking away.

“Wait!” Percy called, “Date? Tonight? We can explore the city together?”

Jason smiled as bright as diamonds, “Sounds fun. Meet you in the bar at?”

He realised their time depended on when his meeting finished and suddenly, he wanted to cancel the whole thing and start now. ‘Seven thirty?”

“See you there. And have a good meeting.”

The blonde walked away, and Percy felt this time like he was floating away while his body remained superglued to the floor. He wanted to live in this feeling. Because this did not feel like being torn apart. This felt like coming home.

The elevator dinged down the passage and he crashed back to reality. With a string of curse words he raced for it and jumped in just as the doors began to close.

The meeting and subsequent lab tour felt endless and he concentrated on little less than half of what was being said, his mind more interested on the things waiting for him at the hotel, the person. But eventually it was over and him and Luca were cruising towards the Casa de Vita.

“Anything else you need sir?” His driver looked at him from the rear-view mirror as they turned into the hotel road.

“Recommend any good places for a first date?”

“Already met a lady sir?” Luca’s dark eyebrows almost touched his hairline in surprise.

“A man actually.”

The Italian chuckled, nodding his head as if in on some invisible joke, “The Tesora. It is just down the path and near the ocean.”

“Thank you Luca, have a goodnight.”

“And you sir.” Luca winked before peeling out of the entrance and fading into the setting sun.

Percy strolled to his room with a smile on his face, lost in a world full of possibilities. It was unsurprising then that he didn’t see the extra bag against the wall, or the shoes neatly placed by the door that weren’t his.

He took off his watch and undid the few buttons on his shirt, head lost to the glimmer of the ocean. He let his shirt fall open as he slipped off his shoes and walked towards the windows. The view really was spectacular. No matter how much he travelled it always blew his mind the places that existed, that he had yet to learn of. It was irresistible. It was perfect. It didn’t fail to cross his mind that the ocean was the exact same colour as a certain pair of gorgeous blue eyes. He blinked the image away, turning around, and his gaze landed on that exact aquamarine gaze.

“Jason?” He gasped, clutching his chest in surprise. “What are you doing in my room?”

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

Tags (if you want to be added/taken off the tag list just let me know. All my channels of communication are open):

@lesbian-peanuts

@leydiangelo

@queen-of-demons-and-hell

@msdrpreist

@sparkythunderstorm

@nishlicious-01

@lucyisblue

@pjo-hp-things

#empires on the horizon #part 14 #jercy #jason is a ceo #jason grace #percy jackson #baby fanfic #baby fanfic series #pjssg fanfic #pjssg series #pjjg fanfic #pjjg series #jason #grace #percy #jackson

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hi-hey-haechan · 5 years ago

Note

Can I also request 79 with renjun and 3 + 56 with jaemin :)

(I had done the 79 one with my last post). Thank you for requesting!

Prompt list is here.

I write for NCT (all units, but not for Jisung or Chenle), Stray Kids, and Ateez.

3: “You’re not going out wearing that outfit.”

56: “I’m not jealous! It’s just...you’re mine!”

Warnings: It’s really long, and there’s smut, but it’s not as detailed as I usually write it.

The boys had invited you and Jaemin over to the dorms that day, simply for the purposes of being crackheads. With them, you always knew that you’d have an interesting time. “Y/n”, Jaemin called out to you, “Let’s go!”

You had just finished getting ready, so you grabbed your bag and ran down the hall of your shared apartment. “Patience, grasshopper,” you rolled your eyes.

What you heard next shocked you, for it was completely unwarranted and out of absolutely nowhere. However, Jaemin’s eyes were on your body, which kind of made you feel like a piece of meat on display. Before you were about to say my eyes are up here, he said, “You’re not going out wearing that outfit.”

Sure, Jaemin was protective, of you, but hearing him say that, in a voice that was deep yet slightly vulnerable, sort of made you worry. “I-is it bad? It’s just a cropped top and shorts. Does it really look that awful on me?” you inquired back, suddenly insecure about what you were wearing. You felt comfortable in the outfit, but if it really didn’t look good on you, then you supposed you would change clothes.

His stubborn expression softened, and he stepped forward and grabbed your hands. “Baby,” he told you quietly, in a soft voice, which was free of all the harshness it had possessed a few seconds ago, “I mean that you look so damn good that all the guys are gonna be staring at you. You look good in anything, Y/n, but we can’t have the other guys thinking the same thing. Well, okay, they can, but if any of them looks at your ass in these shorts, I’m gonna have to kill them.”

“Jaemin!” you laughed, hitting his chest lightly with your palm. “I’m not changing.”

“That’s fine. It’s ultimately your choice,” he replied.

And with that, you both got into the car. He wasn’t going to fight with you on what you were wearing, even if you looked so good, to the point where the other boys would be thinking the same thing. Even still, Jaemin couldn’t stop staring at your legs, and how perfectly they were being shown off, thanks to your shorts. His eyes also were pulled to the strip of bare skin left exposed by your cropped top. He couldn’t help but think of how soft the skin would be under his skin…

These thoughts consumed Jaemin’s mind all the way to the dorms (which, admittedly, was only a couple minutes away).

The boys were already a mess as soon as you entered the dorms. Jisung and Chenle were trying to see if different parts of the wall would make noise if they threw the same ball at it. You didn’t understand this. Why would they test the sounds the interior of the house would make after lodging a cheap, plastic, red ball at the wall to attempt to make music.

“And this is why I really can’t leave you people alone in the dorms to fend for yourselves, can I?” Jaemin inquired tiredly. However, at the sight of his brothers having fun and being crackheads, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Do you miss them?” you asked him quietly. You were referring to how he’d recently moved out of the dorms so the two of you could get an apartment together.

Jaemin squeezed your hand. “Sometimes,” he whispered back. “But I’ve never been as happy as I am with us together, at our home.”

His answer was difficult for him to come up with, but you understood what he was saying, and what he meant.

And you felt the same way, missing his insane stories about what the boys did at 3 AM, but you were ultimately happy, and that was what mattered.

You walked over to the couch, meaning to sit on it. You almost sat on Renjun’s legs as he was lying down, taking up the entire length of the couch. He seemed pretty immersed in his phone, and his earbuds were in. Just that one time, you decided against kicking him. When you looked up, You saw Jeno staring at you. You couldn’t tell if he was staring into your eyes or staring at places lower down on you than your face.

Clearly, Jaemin noticed, too. He walked right up to you and snaked a warm arm around you, as if to say, “my girlfriend.”

“Let’s play a game!” Jaemin suggested loudly to lighten the odd mood and keep everything as crackheaded as they should be. “There’s a mini basketball hoop in the middle of the room. Let’s put it to use, shall we?”

“Fine,” Renjun sighed, averting his eyes from his phone. “We should do teams of two. Each group has a minute to shoot as many baskets at a time.”

“See, Renjun?” Jaemin inquired. His voice was cheeky, and you knew he was going to say something in the form of a roast. “If you’re not on your phone, you can see my handsome face in real life, and that’s a blessing to everyone.”

Renjun just rolled his eyes but you glanced at your boyfriend teasingly. “Your biggest fan is yourself,” you grinned.

“If Y/n is on Jaemin’s team, they’ll win,” Chenle said, calming down from his throwing of plastic and rubber balls against the wall.

“Then I’ll be on Y/n’s team,“Jeno replied. From where you were sitting, you saw Jaemin’s face fall a bit. He seemed a bit jealous, for some reason, which was so absurd to you.

The six of you divided into teams: You and Jeno, Jisung and Jaemin (sort of against Jisung’s will), and Chenle and Renjun. This was going to be interesting, to say the least.

Jaemin and Jisung were first to go, despite their constant protests. The ball had to be shot from two feet in front of the 3.5 foot machine, a rule made by all of you (except you all decided it in meters, and the author incorrectly wrote it as feet). The sixty seconds was full of Jisung being yelled at by his partner, who was commonly at fault for the things being yelled about. Jaemin pouted and whined for sixty seconds straight, and you were all laughing at him. He missed most of the shots, and for those shots that went over the machine, he made Jisung get them, before scolding him for not being fast enough. In the end, they ended up with eight baskets only, a criteria that didn’t seem difficult to beat.

Right before your turn, you whispered your plan to Jeno. Chenle began the timer, and the round began. Jeno threw the ball to you, which you caught and simply placed in the basket. You tossed the ball back to him, and the cycle continued. Within sixty seconds, you had managed to dunk 24 baskets.

When the timer ran out, you and Jeno hugged celebratorily, jumping up and down. In doing so, your phone fell out of your pocket, onto the ground. It was left unscathed, luckily. You didn’t see Jaemin’s eyes on you. He was looking at your legs, admiring how the muscles flexed as you kneeled to the ground and stood up to grab your phone. He admired the curve of your ass, the way your legs were left mostly exposed in your shorts. His mind flew to the feeling of your legs under the palms of his hands, when he’d carefully caress your thighs to tease you, or how they’d wrap around his waist when he pounded into you...shoot.

And distracted by those thoughts, Jaemin felt some of his blood rush south. He barely even noticed Jisung protesting the score of the game, how you and Jeno had cheated.

“They’re supposed to be behind the line!” Jisung protested.

“Actually, only the shooter is. I didn’t have to be,” you pointed out, secretly pleased with the loophole you’d found in the rules.

“Jisung, she’s smarter than us,” Jeno laughed. “Drop it.” He slung an arm around your shoulder, the both of you unable to hide the smug looks on your faces at Jisung’s defeat.

“Y/n,” Jaemin said quietly, “can I talk to you? Alone?” You looked at him, and saw the not-so-happy expression written across his face. It wasn’t angry, and it wasn’t sad, either. Either way, it hurt your heart to see.

You stepped out of Jeno’s half-embrace and followed after Jaemin. He walked through the room, into a hallway, turning at the bedroom that he and Jisung once shared.

“Are you okay?” you asked worriedly. “You seemed kind of...I don’t know...sad? Ticked off? I’m not even sure.”

“Yeah, just, seeing you with Jeno, and hugging him…” Jaemin trailed off. His confident façade was down, and you were seeing him vulnerable. Despite being his girlfriend of three years, you didn’t see him upset too often. He didn’t seem to know how to finish his sentence. Your boyfriend wasn’t even looking at you, and his eyes were trained at the ground.

“Jaemin, you don’t have to be jealous.”

His head shot straight up, making direct eye contact with you. “I’m not jealous! It’s just...you’re mine!”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get jealous before.”

“I don’t get jealous; that’s ridiculous. Why would I be jealous when anyone would be whipped for all of my amazing charms, and my incredible charasma, and my hugs, which are so much better than Jeno’s-”

You kissed him on the mouth, really just to shut him up. Him rambling on about how he was “totally not jealous” was cute, though.

The kiss quickly deepened, your mouths slow and sensual against each others’ at first, but growing more passionate and deep by the second. His hands grabbed onto your waist, feeling your warm, smooth bare skin under his hands. With a wrench, he broke away,

“Are you sure you’re okay? Come on, kiss me,” you pleaded in a quiet voice.

“I’m fine. It’s just…” he trailed off again, and decided to let actions speak his words for him. He bucked his hips against you, allowing you to feel how hard he was.

Your eyes widened, and you looked up, making eye contact with him. His warm brown eyes were consumed by the widened, black pupil, showing you how much he already wanted you. “How did that happen?” you asked.

“So you know how I said that the members would enjoy you in that outfit too much? Well, I enjoyed it too much. Seeing the way you move turned me on, somehow.”

“Jaemin, you really could have just said, before we left the house, ‘You’re not going out wearing that outfit because instead of going anywhere, I’m going to fuck you now, for your legs look really good in those shorts and are making me feel some type of way.’ Wouldn’t that have been easier?”

He leaned in to peck your lips, and then he whispered, “It would have been easier. But instead, now that we aren’t home, it looks like I’m gonna have to take care of this problem right here, right now.”

And this, of course, led to a bunch of making out, as well as very clumsy and very lame stripped of clothing.

When his hard length entered you, your back was pressed into Jaemin’s old mattress. Part of Jaemin wanted to pound into you so hard that you’d loudly moan out his name, showing Jeno who made you feel this good.

And that part of him won out this round. He watched his cock disappear and thrust in and out of your tight hole. The sounds of your moans urged him on, and they were like music to his ears. Anywhere his mouth could reach, he was kissing you, biting and sucking any exposed skin until your collarbones. neck, and chest.

Part of him wanted to ask if Jeno could make you feel so good, but it didn’t seem to fit the moment, and you were okay with that. His thick length filled you up so well, hitting your sweet-spot dead-on. With your moans, Jaemin was urged on, thrusting into you harder as you clenched around him incredibly tightly.

When you both came, you climaxed hard. Your walls caved in on themselves, and you saw stars behind your closed eyes. Your moans and cries of your boyfriend’s name rang off the walls, and his fluid was released inside of you.

Due to that occurrence, the boys stood out in the main room of their dorms, rolling their eyes and looking confused, as well as concerned, when they heard your and Jaemin’s moans and voices from all the way down the hall. Jaemin wouldn’t have to worry about Jeno knowing that you were Jaemin’s girlfriend, and not his.

#nct dream smut #nct smut #jaemin smut #00 line smut #nct dream imagines #nct imagines #00 line imagines #prompt list #dialogue prompt #asks #nct #nct dream #jaemin #na jaemin #jaemin imagines #nct fluff #nct dream fluff #we_will_winwin

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