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please-buckme · 4 years ago

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A Broken Heart.

Lee Bodecker x fem!reader

Chapter 4

Chapter warnings: none.

Chapter summary: You and Lee try and hash things out but there’s more to Lee than meets the eye.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter 3 // Chapter 5

The drive started off very awkward and completely quiet. You both cleared your throats from time to time to defuse the tension, which didn’t make a lick of a difference. It’d been years since you rode in Lee’s cruiser and the last time you sat in that very seat he’d broken up with you. Your chest heaved at the memory. You still felt the phantom tears against your cheeks when he drove you to your house. Never would you have guessed you’d be right back here at his beck and call. You thought you were stronger than that, clearly not.

You thought Lee’s hold over you had disintegrated a while after you left town, but clearly it hadn’t. He says jump and you say how high. Your breath hitched in your throat at the thought of it. He looked over at you which made you look over at him. His eyes were still that piercing blue that always left you speechless. His teeth were just as white as you’d remembered as you watched him toss a piece of candy in his mouth and grin.

“What’re you thinkin’ about, girl?”

You swallowed hard, “Heard you ain’t drinkin’ much these days. That why you’re eatin’ t candy now?”

He scoffed, “How did you get from drinkin’ ta candy? I can’t just have candy for no reason or just because I like the sweet taste on my tongue?” He smirked and suck the piece of candy into his right cheek. You watched him toss it around cheek to cheek before he spoke again, “And who told you that, anyway?”

You followed your arms and turned your gaze out the passenger side window, unable to answer him while watching him seductively eat a piece of candy, “I have my sources and I don’t ever remember you keepin’ a whole fuckin’ bag of candies in your car, is’ll.”

“Fuckin’ Karl.” He mumbled under his breath, trying to stay out of ear shout but you still heard him, “I stopped by Sandy’s on my way in and she gave me the candy, happy?” He asks rhetorically with a hint of sarcasm.

“Elated.” You answer him dryly anyway, “Why’re we goin to Ruby’s when there’re plenty of diners in town and are you even allowed to take the cruiser this far outta town, Bodecker?”

He sighs, “Why so many questions? I feel like I’m being interrogated.” He asks, already knowing the answer. When you’re nervous you can’t stop anything that passes your lips. You don’t like awkward silence and you’ll do anything to not have to sit in it. He always found that kind of annoying but aslo adorable at the same time. Eventually you’d start messing with his pens and steal a piece of his candy.

“Because I don’t trust you and I sure as hell don’t believe that bullshit about us ‘talkin things out so we can live in the same town again.’”

“Well, can you believe that maybe I just wanna catch up?” He asks, becoming a little frustrated.

“Why Ruby’s?” You repeated, stealing a piece of candy as Lee predicted. He missed having you around, he just wished it were under different circumstances.

“Because it’s your favorite.”

“Am I supposed to be flattered or something, that you remember my favorite diner?”

“Okay, you win. I officially regret this.” He sighs, slapping his hand down on the steering wheel. He seems annoyed but not angry. You watch his annoyed expression fall on you as he sighs. For some unknown reason you burst out laughing, leaning against the passenger door.

He laughs, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing it’s just.. you’ve changed so much and yet not at all. I still know every look and every sigh and.. every move you’re gonna make before you even do it. It’s kinda refreshing.. but I still hate you.” You watch his face turn up into a smirk, displaying his gorgeous teeth. He almost looked pained as if he hadn’t smiled in decades.

“God, I missed you.” He admitted, immediately clearing his throat. He didn’t mean to say it aloud but it clearly wasn’t up to him anymore, his heart was speaking for him too. He watched you fiddle with the candy wrapper as you processed what he said.

You could feel his hesitance. Did he really miss you or was it just him trying to make you feel comfortable? You didn’t know how to respond, so all you said was, “Okay.”

Once you got to the diner, Lee rushed you to the back booth. You knew why, of course. Everyone in town seemed to be appalled with your very existence, as if you’d done something. You wondered if they actually knew why they didn’t particularly like you or if they were just following the crowd. Like if one person were to speak on your behalf and say you’re a nice girl if people would treat you differently. You just have to find that one person.

Lee sat across from you in the sparkly red, plush booth, you thought he looked kind of silly, big, professional man in a tiny glittery booth, but you kept that to yourself. The waitress came by and gave you both a menu, taking your drink orders before walking away. You scanned over the many different food items, suddenly remembering you hadn’t had anything to eat all day. It was eight in the morning and all you could think about was the pancakes.

You eyed the pancake special, becoming a bit more giddy than expected and Lee noticed.

“What’re you so happy for?” He asked with a goofy smile of his own.

“Nothing, I just haven’t had breakfast and the thought of pancakes excites me, is’ll.”

Lee chuckled, “You can get whatever you want, doll. It’s on me.”

“Damn right it’s on you. This was your idea.” You remind him just before the waitress comes by with your drinks; two waters and a coffee.

“What’re we havin’?” She asks.

“Just coffee for me and pancakes for this one.” He says with a tilt of his head towards you.

“S’at all?” She asks, both of you nod. She takes your menus and walks away again.

“So, what did you wanna talk about, Bodecker?” You ask, taking a sip of your water.

“First of all, you’re killin’ me with this ‘Bodecker’ and ‘Sheriff’ shit just say my goddamn name.”

“Hmm, remind me what it was again?” You pretend to think, tapping your index finger against your chin.

“Lee!” He’s genuinely annoyed now.

“That’s right. Um, no. I think ‘Bodecker’ and ‘Sheriff’ work just fine, more professional, if you will.” You begin to fidget with the straw in your water, twirling it around in the ice. You didn’t like how this conversation started, you felt suddenly pressured to do something you didn’t wanna do and that made you nervous.

“Why are you bein’ like this?” He asked with a confused expression on his face.

“You wanna know why?” You came on a little stronger than expected as you felt your cheeks heat up. For being the one to cause your awkward situation, you didn’t think Lee would need an explanation. You were a little applaud he’d even ask for one, especially knowing what a touchy subject it is for you.

“Well, if you’re gonna get all pissy, then no.” He put his hands out in protest, giving you a bewildered look, wouldn’t wanna upset the Sheriff, now would we..?

You sighed, “I’m sorry, it’s just- I haven’t said your name once since.. the last time we..” you trailed off.

“’The last time we’ what? What do you mean?”

“Can we just drop it? I wanna talk about how we’re gonna deal with me living in town. You gotta get people to stop ignorin’ me or actin’ like I’m some exotic animal they ain’t never seen before.”

He chuckled, “what do you mean? How they act like you’re ’some exotic animal’?”

“They stare at me in awe, mouths wide open, along with their eyes. You’d think I’m famous or somethin’.”

“Well, I guess in Knockemstiff, you might just be famous.” He grinned.

“Thanks for that. Just put on my tombstone ‘here lies the girl who got dumped by the Sheriff’... that’s my legacy.” You fade off, thinking of how tragic that actually sounded. You suddenly felt a burning in your chest. Your anger was building and you knew just who to let it out on.

“No, that’s not your lega-“

“Why me, huh?” You ask before letting him finish. “Outta all the girls to torment, why me?”

“Because I loved you.” He said with glossy eyes as if he’d wanted to say that to you in particular for so long.

“You sure as shit coulda fooled me. I’ve wasted a lot of time on you, Bodecker. I mean when we dated and after we broke up. I was a mess and the only person to make it better was you and.. and you never showed up.”

“You don’t think I wanted to?” He asked, losing his temp on you.

“No, I don’t, not because you loved me, anyway. If anything you only would’ve showed up as a way to forgive yourself.”

He scoffed, “How could you possibly think that?”

“Because.. you gave up on caring about me and my feeling the second you chose her. The second you agreed to be with her, behind my back, and dump me, is the second you lost the privilege of being my person.”

“If I could go back in time and undo what I did, I would. I’m sorry, y/n. I really am.”

“For what? For what you did or for how it turned out?”

He sighed, “Both.”

“I know you’re miserable and I know you don’t love her. So, did you really give up on us because you were power hungry? Being Sheriff meant more to you than our future together?” Tears welled up in your eyes, threatening to fall.

“Yes, but I regretted it the second I saw the first tear you cried that day. I wanted nothin’ more than to take it back, say I was jokin’ or somethin’ but I couldn’t. The look you gave me in that moment.. I knew I’d already lost you. And yes, I think about where we’d be if I didn’t completely ruin us.” He faded off as he told you the daydreams that never leave his mind, “I picture us renovating your momma’s house, puttin’ up a white picket fence, havin’ a couple babies on your hips, my babies. Everyday I imagine it’s you I drive home to, not Laura-Jean. Sometimes I just picture you sittin’ on the porch with me on a hot day drinkin’ your momma’s famous sweet tea. And if I close my eyes I can see you laughin’ and with sun shinin’ right down on you, kissin’ your beautiful skin.”

You look around awkwardly, trying so hard not to make eye contact. If you make eye contact you’re done for, he might as well take you out of the diner that second because you’re good as fucked. You wanted to believe every word Lee said, you wanted to chop them up and eat them with your pancakes, but you can’t. He did you so wrong in the past that you just don’t think you’ll ever believe him or trust him in the future.

Lee looked at you pained but you couldn’t see it.Your eyes counted the speckled dots on the table in front of you, desperate not to look up, until. “Y/n, look at me.” And you did. Why did you look up? “You loved me in a way no one ever had and I fucked it up. I’m truly, deeply sorry for that, y/n. Whether I’m sayin’ it more for me or you, I don’t know but just know that I live with this mistake everyday of my miserable life. But, hey, at least I’m the Sheriff right?” He joke, giving you a sad smirk.

The sadness in his blue eyes made you want to crumble, get up from your seat and wrap him in your arms, but you don’t. All you can think about is how he reacted when you wore the same except look.

“Yeah, at least you got what you wanted, besides the picket fence and two healthy boys to call your own, and me. Happily married and sun kissed” You brushed it off as if his daydreams of you being married with children meant nothing to you, when really your entire body was buzzing. “And, just so you know, I’m way past needing to hear your apology. Right now I wanna eat my pancakes and work this shit out. Being gawked at like an exotic animal has gotten old. I’d like to be invisible again.”

He gave you a weak smile, “Okay.”

“Alright, here’s your pancakes and syrup. Can I get you anything else?” The waitress asked after handing you the warm plate of pancakes.

“You chocolate milkshake for the road, Doll.” He smiled up at, making you miss the loving smile he used to give you.

“Comin right up, enjoy.”

You talked, well, Lee talked while you ate and came up with a plan. Anytime he heard someone in town gossiping or spreading rumors he would interfere and steer the conversation in another direction. He said he couldn’t exactly defend you because it would look bad, especially during the campaign season and word would get back to Laura-Jean.

“Has she asked you not to talk to me yet?” You asked, stuffing your face with the last bite of pancakes.

“How’d you know?” He wondered.

“I was her best friend for 15 years, I know how she is.”

“You know about her crush on me when we was datin’?”

“Nope.”

“I can’t believe you never saw it. I knew she liked me before I knew you liked me.” He admitted.

You felt a blush creep across your cheeks, “Why not date her then? Woulda saved us a lot of heartache, don’t ya think?” You grinned but felt the pit in your stomach expand, again.

“Girl, I knew I loved you the second you said my name. That’s why I wanna hear you say it so badly. It sounds so sweet comin’ from your lips.”

You cleared your throat, desperately trying not to fall for his games, “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Sayin’ your name is like a sin to me.”

“You never minded sinnin’ a little when you were with me, what changed?”

“Check please!” You motioned for the waitress. “I’m not feeding into this, Bodecker. I’ve played your mind games and I lost. You just worry about gettin’ everyone off my back and Laura-Jean won’t ever hear of us speakin’ or seein’ each other again, because we won’t be doin’ either.”

“You’re no fun.” He frowned.

“I used to be and look where it got me; Heartbroken and alone.” The waitress brought the check and the chocolate milkshake to go, “I’ll be in the car.” You said before standing from the booth and leaving the Diner.

The car was locked when you got there, so you stood and waited, twirling the straw around in the shake. You could help but think about Lee. How could he be so nonchalant about your past relationship?

Yours and Lee’s relationship meant everything to you. He was your first serious boyfriend and the love of your life. You felt like that meant nothing to him. Like you were some chick he had on the side for those 3 years y’all dated.

You sighed, taking a sip of your milkshake. Even with how angry he makes you, your mind slips away to the daydreams he has about you. He pictured y’all being married, which was no surprise to you because you guys talked about getting married all the time when you dated.

You closed your eyes, picturing it all. Two rowdy, little boys playing in the front yard, Lee sitting next to you on the porch swing with his arm wrapped around your waist. You could hear his boyish life ringing in your ears.

You were so lost in the daydream you hadn’t heard Lee walk up. You didn’t even know he was near you until you smelled his familiar musk and felt his hand touch your waist. Now you knew he was close, but before you could even think to open your eyes, Lee gently pressed his lips to yours in a quick peck, resting his forehead against yours when he pulled away. You hadn’t reacted the way you thought. You thought you’d recoil, spit in his face or throw your milkshake in his face. Instead, you felt the milkshake slip from your fingers, falling to the dusty ground as you grabbed his face, bringing him in for another kiss.

This kiss was deeper. You both felt every emotion you’d had bottled up for so long. Every tear that you shed and every crack in your heart was being mended just by the feel of his lips. You missed the feel of his freshly shaved, aftershave covered skin against your hands, the feel of his lips and how ridiculously plump and pink they were, or the little grunts he makes when you scratch at the nape of his neck.

You felt his protruding belly press against yours, pinning you up against the cruiser. The kiss became deeper once his tongue entered your mouth, causing you both to moan at the familiar tastes you both shared.

“T-take me home.” You pant against his lips.

“I’ll take you anywhere you wanna go.”

Dividers by: @firefly-graphics

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Dm to be tagged :)

#lee bodeker x reader #lee Bodecker #lee bodecker fic #dark lee bodecker #lee bodecker fanfic #sheriff lee bodecker #lee bodecker x y/n #lee bodecker x you #lee bodecker fanfiction #a broken heart series #sebastian stan #bucky barnes #sebastian stan au #sebastian stan characters #sebastian stan fanfiction #tdatt fanfiction #tdatt #the devil all the time

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fyodorsslut · 4 years ago

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Wrists- Bakugou Katsuki

Requested by: @toomanyotpslove

A/N: both of us can’t remember what the request was sadly, but I still have the story and find it very much worth publishing!! So, here we are! It’s not the type of thing I’d usually write, honestly, but I tried

AU: Fantsy!Au

Pairings: Dragon Lord! Bakugou x shape shifter! fem! reader

Genre: Fluff, some angst (?), comfort

play: Particular Taste by Shawn Mendes

Warnings: Not proof read, mention of physical abuse, child abuse, blood, mention of killing, reader triggered, enslaving, dehumanizing, bruises

He learnt to never touch her wrists.

So, when he accidentally pulls her back by her still-bruised wrist, her reaction doesn’t surprise him too much.

When Y/n jumps back, startled, clutching onto her wrist like she’s doing it for dear life, with her mesmerizing y/e/c eyes shot awide, Katsuki isn’t even surprised. A good 12 years of living with her have taught him this much, at least.

“I-I’m sorry,” he coughs vaguely, gulping and watching out for any sign of an abnormal reaction. Even though it’s been long, Y/n’s mentality isn’t that stable and any small trigger could be like a bomb, and the explosion is her turning into some animal and losing control over herself. “It’s alright,” Y/n sighs, rubbing a thumb against her wrist.

“You sure?” with a little tilt of his head, Katsuki takes a closer step towards scared Y/n. “You good?” “Yeah,” she smiled, nodding. It took a lot of Katsuki not to push further. Instead, he nods in concern, wary of the apology he now owes her

A few years back, or so he recalls, was when he met her.

(12 years ago)

The shore was so thick with humid, too much humid he couldn’t breathe properly. His small, bare arms prickle with the sensation of moisture, minuscule droplets too small to see dancing over his skin. The 6 years old boy stretches a little, moving his fingers in tiny circles, stirring up the cloying warmth hanging over the seashore.

Sniffing, he grimaces, the light breeze smells of fires doused by the passing rain. His small features scrunch, the kid at the castle, went out fishing or such. Instead, he was here, with his parents and some lieutenants, checking on what’s coming in and out the country.

Dazing away from his parents, he runs a hand through the flowers blooming from boxes along the pathway. The dirt around them is still wet from the passing rains and a particularly exuberant gardener. Behind him, more flowering veins run up the brick walls and rocks, these people love there flowers. The explode in various shades, thriving in this climate-

That’s when he spots it. Her

A few men bulk up, trying to casually hide it, tensing at the presence of the king and queen, clearly not have been expecting it. But, from the heir’s vantage point, he saw the girl clearly, Bruised, chained up so movement is very uncomfortable. Some leather, cage muzzle sat disturbingly on her mouth and wrapped around her head. With clearly barely any movement, the girl’s body could go through so much harms, aside from the position she’s sat in.

It’s almost terrifying, goosebumps crawling up the young boy’s body.

“Katsuki?” A gentle voice calls for the ash blonde. He slightly flinches, ripping his gaze off the girl in chains. He looks at his mother in a frightened manner.

“Is something wrong?”

Shakily, he points a weak finger towards the cage.

Holding a hand out, he manages to pull the abashed girl out. She has an air of misuse and neglect. Skinny and barely able to balance her weak form on her own.

Katsuki softly takes the muzzle off. He smiles at the face in front of him, only to be met by wide eyes and trembling lips.

“Are you okay?”

Flinch.

A small hand grips into the back of his dress shirt. A certain body’s heat closing up to him.

“She won’t do anything, not even eat. She spoke no words, and is continuously clenching onto the prince.”

Young Katsuki didn’t understand what was going on as the nurse spoke to his mom. A clan murdered? People... haunted? He didn’t mind her huddling onto him the way she did. He heard she’s a shape shifter, what is that?

“Shipped, enslaved, and sold in the black market. She’s a special, these ones cost a fortune there.”

He didn’t understand, sure. But he still knew whatever this girl has been through, it’s trauma. He knew that from how the words sounded, and from the look on his mother’s face, he’s never seen her more disgusted his whole life, not even when he eats his mucus.

He glances at her, bruises clouding her freshly cleaned cheeks, one eye purple. Her arms and hands were the same, too. When her eyes catch his, she looks down immediately, pulling away as an embarrassed red paints her cheeks.

“Katsuki...” The king slowly kneels before his son. “What do you think?” “What do you mean?” He raises a light eyebrow, confusion written on his face with wide letters.

The king glances over to his prideful wife, who only softly shrugs, both unaware of what to do with the girl who could’ve possibly ended up reduced to some lifeless corpse in a few more days of starvation. They don’t get to ask Katsuki more than he’s already done; finding the girl. Yet, it seems as though the almighty king and queen, for the first time, are out of any other options.

“Would you mind staying with her until we figure out how to help her do things on her own?” His brunette father spoke gently, simplifying the words so that the young, stubborn prince could understand much of it.

“I’m not a kid,” He huffs, annoyance unjustified. “Of course I’ll help her around. That’s my job.”

A scream erupts from her lips before she could help it. Her eyes immediately shot shut as she holds out her arms in defense, ready for the punishment for being so loud.

“Hey, easy there,” The man at the infirmary smiles gently at her. “What’s wrong?”

“She doesn’t want anyone touching her wrists,” Katsuki confirms, watching over them closely like an examiner over a test. The doctor helping figure out her bruises as y/n flinches like a spooked animal. “Manacles trauma,” he nods. “These monsters really did their business.”

“Katsukiiiii,” she whines, helplessly running. “Slow down a little!” “Not a chance!” Her friend chuckles aloud, tugging at the blindfolded girl’s hand as his legs take off, fleeting against the floor of the castle.

He comes to a sudden stop, pulling Y/n to stop too.

“Why’d you stop?” she questions, tightening her grip over his small fingers. “Shh, we’re here,” he talks, smiling agape as attempts to control his uncontrollable excitement.

His hand leaves hers, clutching on to the blindfold at the back of her head. Swiftly, he rids her of the void she was staring into.

The sight she was outlet into was like an ambush to her feelings. Unable to form any words or create a reaction other than a stuttered “is this for me?”

“Do you... yes! It’s yours! Do you like it?” The young ash blonde asks excitedly, watching over the girl’s reaction. “It’s even right next to mine!”

She turns to him, tears filling her pretty y/e/c eyes. Before he realized it, she’s pulled him into a tight embrace, sobbing for some reason unbeknownst to him.

“Thank you.”

( Back to the present )

“Can we go back inside now?” He felt her breath before he heard her voice, straight up nauseous from the amount of people gathered up in such feast.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” he grumbles under his breath. He sounds annoyed, but it’s no sweat for his lover to slip past his well-made façade.

“Thank you, Katsu,” She presses a soft kiss on his cheek. Even though he knows no one saw, due to their position at the far corner of the room, his cheeks rise a flame. He immediately grimaces, you could practically see steam fuming from his ears as he, without any ado, stomps inside puling the girl alongside.

“I sure hope you have a proper explanation for that, princess,” He folds two strong, muscular arms onto his bare chest. The multiple necklaces and animal teeth almost scrambling away from his arms. “Explanation for what?” Y/n raised a brow, playing dumb. She smiles softly, twirling a lock of y/h/c hair around her index finger, knowing damn well the practiced act does the trick.

“Tch,”he rolls his eyes. Only throwing himself on the couch. “Sit here, idiot,” he pats the spot beside him in a soft manner, indicating he’s about to start a sensitive conversation.

Gracefully, Y/n places herself on the couch, placing he r head on Katsuki’s broad shoulder. His arm wraps around her waist like it always does, scooting her closer as it finds rest on her thigh ((stfu-)).

“This morning you were... crying?” He spoke softly, unable to find the perfect way to speak in this specific situation.

Y/n takes a deep breath, fingers fidgeting with Katsuki’s fingers. “Nightmares,” she admits. “The same one?” “I think,” she shrugs, gulping. “I can only remember the faces of.. you know.”

By the way her fingers slightly squeezed his, Bakugou knew he should stop the conversation there.

“Don’t worry,” his voice was so, very low she could barely hear him. He presses a tender kiss on the top of her head, letting his lips take the weight of her whole head, finding rest at that spot. “No one will harm you as long as I’m here,” his voice sent slight vibrations through her head, as he inhales the familiar scent of her hair. “And you know I’m too stubborn to die, anyway.”

“Wow, very comforting, Katsuki,” she chuckles, pressing a kiss on his shoulder. “Shut up,” he blurts, flustered. “I love you too, Katsu,” She held his hand with both hers, printing continuous pecks on it.

His hand grips her cheek, the other gripping the opposite. Fixing his seating, he pulls her face upwards, planting a firm and fiery kiss that’s too short for her liking on her soft lips.

Unlike the rest of the shapeshifters, and unlike most of the the population she lives amongst in this country, Y/n’s a soft, curious soul. Not made for a harsh living or to be put against anything. Yet, the fire in her only ever lured people, the difference in her. Of all people, the heir to the dragon throne, Katsuki Bkugou.

“Fuck you for being like this,” his ruby eyes bore into hers, unable to find a single flaw.

Both the kids’ hearts raced in their chests.

He learnt to never touch her wrists, instead, he touched her soul to anchor her

#bakugou #bakugou katsuki #katsuki #bakugo fluff #katsuki fluff #bakugou fluff #bakugou x reader fluff #bakugou katsuki x reader fluff #katsuki x reader #katsuki x reader fluff #bakugo #bKUGOU X READER #bnha fluff #bnha x reader #bnha x reader fluff #fantasy au #bakugou au #bnha au

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eggtoasties · 4 years ago

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dazed bees to honey

Pairing: Shisui Uchiha/Sakura Haruno

Rating: T

Word Count: 6.3k

Better on AO3

Chapter 2

______________________________________

Getting Sakura’s attention had been…difficult at best. Trying to work around his erratic schedule was near impossible given Sakura’s equally hectic schedule and Shisui wasn’t sure how to approach the Hokage and demand that she rearrange his missions to better accommodate his dating schemes.

But, he had never met anyone more alluring—the sway of Sakura’s hips, the creaminess of her skin, the way her eyes lit up when he brought little trinkets he acquired from far away missions. She makes the blood rush to his cheeks when she makes fun of him and he had never known that getting his bones crushed would make him feel like he was the luckiest man on Earth.

She was the sun—bringing him light and warmth like he had never before experienced, and he was the moon orbiting around her. He needed to be closer; he wanted to be consumed by her. She could crack his chest open in two and carve her name in the ribs protecting his heart and it still wouldn’t be close enough.

He just didn’t know how to tell her.

___

Shisui had been idly sharpening kunai at his dining room table waiting for his bread to proof, when he received a summons. Tapping at the balcony door, a small crow was impatiently waiting for Shisui to retrieve the message tied at its foot. Wondering why Itachi sent a crow instead of making the short trip to his apartment, Shisui set his weapon down and ambled towards the sliding glass door, making sure to grab seeds for the summons.

Letting out a squawk, the crow started pecking at his door faster. Alarmed that Itachi was possibly in danger, Shisui shunshined to the balcony and grabbed the crow to get to the message. Puffing its feathers and pecking at Shisui’s hands, the summons squawked indignantly and Shisui offhandedly wondered when Itachi had kept such poorly behaved crows.

Gently releasing it into the air and unfurling the message, Shisui read:

Came back from the mission a few days ago. At training ground 7 if you’d like to join. -S. Haruno

His heart pounded. Sakura was back in the village and she contacted him promptly afterwards to ask to spar? Dough be damned he was sprinting to training ground 7, he thought giddily. He looked down at himself—green fuzzy socks, loose gray sweats, and an old t-shirt—he had to get ready! His cheeks warmed. Wait, he mentally stammered. How did she know where he lived? How did she know where to send the summons to? Did she snoop around his medical files to find his address because for some reason, that made his throat dry.

Running to his bedroom while haphazardly throwing his clothes off, he suddenly stilled again. She had sent him a crow? She had a crow summons? There were a few crow summoners in the village, Shisui reasoned. She could have gotten a contract from Aoba or someone else. But, the thought of Itachi presenting the summoning contract that he had bestowed as a sign of trust and friendship made Shisui frown. As the elder, and the first contract holder, he should have been the one to give her the contract to sign. Or, Itachi should have gone to him and inform Shisui of his intentions.

Nodding to himself, Shisui made a note to stop by Itachi’s house later and question him.

___

Arriving at the edge of training ground 7 in record time, Shisui paused as he saw Sakura and Itachi in their uniforms warming up together. Sakura was in standard uniform sans the flak jacket and Itachi was in his ANBU uniform as always. Shisui fidgeted uncomfortably. He had worn what Itachi rudely called “the douchebag” shirt—a loose black sleeveless top where the arm holes were cut down to the bottom of his ribs. The tank top, Itachi always lectured, could hardly be defined as a shirt since it was so open. Itachi had questioned the practicality of a training top that would leave one so vulnerable to weapons and Shisui at the time, had retorted that he would understand when he was older.

Beginning to wonder if he should discreetly go back home to change, Sakura and Itachi called Shisui over.

“Oh, you came!” Sakura shouted excitedly as she beckoned him towards the middle of the training field.

As he walked slowly towards the pair, Itachi assessed Shisui.

“I see you got my summons,” he said, raising his eyebrow when he took in Shisui’s clothes. “Nice pants.”

Shisui flushed. He had chosen his tightest black training pants. Pants that he knew made his ass look good, thank you very much, but at the moment he was wondering if Sakura would think he was trying too hard. Or worse, he mentally shuddered, a douchebag.

“I was excited when Itachi told me you were in the village. I wanted to work on my response times with you,” Sakura started, interrupting Shisui’s mental torture. His heart fluttered at the thought of her wanting to spar with him and he let out a little breath of relief realizing that the crow was indeed Itachi’s. He crossed his arms in a poor attempt to cover the long slits in his shirt.

“I can dodge pretty much anything,” Sakura continued, beginning to sway on the balls of her feet, pink pony tail swinging with the motion. “But I wanna see how I’ll do against an opponent I can’t hit—or at least that’s what Itachi says,” she said, smiling at him prettily.

The early morning sun illuminated her face and made her green eyes impossibly bright. The faint ring of gold around her pupils winked at him and he swore he could feel his pulse reverberate in his skull. He realized she was waiting for a response. He licked his lips, mouth suddenly dry, and all he could muster out was a weak, “Sounds good.”

Sakura nodded happily and walked a few paces away from him, wringing out her arms. Suddenly pulling out kunai from her holster and twirling them around her forefingers, she faced him.

“Taijutsu only. Ready whenever you are, Shisui-san.”

___

She was fast, Shisui noted. He had expected as much given the way she took him by surprise in her office, cutting his shunshin off. He also factored in the fact that she regularly trained with Itachi, Sasuke, and Kakashi who were notoriously quick on their feet. But, not as fast as him.

Flickering in and out of her reach, he studied her movements with his sharingan. He knew that Itachi was on the sidelines, similarly monitoring her, but Shisui wanted to brand the image of her looking at him like he was prey for the rest of his life. Sakura was an incredibly flexible fighter, he noted. Depending on the type of attack, weapon, and opening he left, she would quickly and seamlessly recalibrate.

There were times her movements reflected Tsunade-sama’s—sharp and fast and meant to obliterate. Other times, Shisui realized, she would adopt Might Guy’s Strong Fist technique, Asuma’s melee style, or most surprisingly, the graceful but precise movements of the Gentle Fist technique.

Bracing a chakra enforced forearm against a kick to his head he asked, “Who taught you the Gentle Fist?”

Grunting and trying to strike his open stomach she responded, “My graduating class has two Hyuugas.” He side stepped away from her punch and flickered behind her. Ducking when she swung a kunai to his head and dodging the knee about to pummel his face, he shunshined a little farther away.

“Hyuuga don’t hide their techniques because no one can use it without the Byakugan, but someone would have had to teach you those movements,” he said breathing heavily.

“Kakashi copies them to piss people off and I was—am close to them,” Sakura said catching her breath. He watched as she pressed the back of her hand to her sweaty forehead and picked the hem of her shirt up to wipe at the rest of her face. Her toned stomach glistened with sweat. Little rivulets of perspiration rolled down her abs and Shisui cursed, damn.

“Was it the little Hyuuga genius? Neji-kun?” Shisui asked, remembering Sasuke’s clear distaste for the boy.

Itachi chose then to materialize in Shisui’s line of vision, cutting his view of Sakura. Pouting, Shisui flash stepped in front of Sakura, startling her while Itachi began his commentary on what and how Sakura could improve as well as ideas for them to try out.

The rest of their morning session consisted of Itachi valiantly trying to train while Shisui cast low level genjutsus of himself telling Itachi to leave. Itachi dispelled the genjutsus, but Shisui relentlessly recast them, sometimes conjuring up little dancing animals or mini Sasukes berating him to leave. Tiring of Shisui’s antics, Itachi dejectedly sat on the ground and began his stretches, saying that they should call it a day.

“Are you alright? You seemed distracted today—I definitely hit you more than usual,” Sakura said kneeling in front of him, raising a glowing green hand to his chest.

“Thank you—I’m fine,” Itachi responded tiredly. “It’s just that Shisui,” he said harshly, glaring at him over Sakura’s shoulder, kept telling me to leave.”

Alarm bells started ringing in Shisui’s head and he looked incredulously at his cousin. His cousin who sold him out. His decidedly, least favorite cousin. He glared back at Itachi. Shisui flashed his dimples which made Itachi narrow his eyes further.

“Sorry, cousin,” Shisui started. “I’m just absolutely starving and wanted to eat—you know how I am when I want something,” he said, throwing his arms behind his head and wiggling his eyebrows at his cousin.

“Annoying? Irritating? Childish?” Itachi grumbled, causing Sakura to giggle. “Sakura,” Itachi started. “Would you want to go to that new bakery in the North District? I’ve only heard incredible things about their rhubarb ice cream,” Itachi said excitedly, ignoring the way Shisui was pouting and lightly kicking at the ground.

Sakura finished healing Itachi and slowly rose, dusting the dirt from her knees and wiping her hands against her thighs. “Ooh, that sounds really nice, but I should probably get real food before I start on desserts,” Sakura laughed.

Not to be outdone, Shisui stepped beside Sakura. “I agree, let’s get lunch Sakura-sensei,” he chirped while resting his hand against Itachi’s head, who was still sitting down. Scowling, Itachi yanked on Shisui’s arm, making his older cousin stumble, and jabbed the back of his knee. Pleased that Shisui was now sprawled in the dirt, Itachi rose and said, “Well, I’m also going to get sesame cookies,” he sniffed. “Good luck with this,” Itachi said to Sakura, poking an incensed Shisui with his sandal. “And thank you for the coconut oil.”

With that, Itachi gracefully straightened himself out and walked towards the edge of the clearing, waving back at Sakura.

___

Shisui and Sakura made their way towards the main hub of Konoha. Excited to be alone with her, Shisui asked her questions about her last mission and her work at the hospital. He listened intently as she recalled the mission details, chuckling when she complained about the humidity in Waterfall, telling her he completely understood while pointing to his curly hair. She talked animatedly about her research project at the hospital. Although he didn’t understand about seventy five percent of what she was explaining, he nodded dutifully, lips quirking as he watched her excited hand movements as she discussed…molecular interventions through pathogenic mechanisms of neurocristopathies—he thinks.

Humming at the right times and throwing in a “oh, really—what does that mean?” every so often, he basked in her voice. Her voice, Shisui decided, was his favorite sound in the entire universe. Wanting to sit down together, he interrupted her briefly to point at the first restaurant he saw.

“How’s ramen sound, Sakura-sensei?” he asked.

“And that’s why normal and pathological neural crest cells—” Sakura, paused. “Oh, Ichiraku’s is fine. Did you know this is Team 7’s spot?” she asked, heading towards the shop. “We used to eat at Ichiraku’s a few times a week,” she scrunched her nose in distaste, “when we were genin,” she finished.

“Itachi says Sasu-chan always complains about Naruto-kun’s ramen eating habits but I didn’t realize this was your guys’ place of choice,” Shisui chuckled. “Does he know that the stand two streets over also does a killer ramen? A gal needs variety if I recall correctly,” he threw in cheekily. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he continued. “There’s also this other place that has great ambience and incredible food—you should come some time?” he voice rising in speed and pitch at the end of the sentence.

Her step faltering, Sakura looked up at Shisui. “Huh?” she questioned at his word choice, “What is it?”

“My place,” he responded quickly, smiling sunnily at her and ignoring the rush of blood to his face.

Shisui’s heart thundered at the way her mouth opened in surprise and he felt his bones reverberate when the tips of her ears turned pink. While she scrunched her nose at the cheesy line, she couldn’t help the way her lips quirked up.

“Well—”

“SAKURA-CHAN!” Naruto screamed, running towards her from down the street, waving both hands excitedly. Behind Naruto, walking at a leisurely pace, was Itachi and Sasuke. Sending Shisui an apologetic smile, Sakura faced Naruto as he spun her around in a hug.

Exasperated, Shisui watched Itachi amble towards him and sent him a mental middle finger. Looking pleased with himself, Itachi didn’t even try to hide his smirk behind his massive ice cream cone.

“Me and teme ran into Itachi-nii and he said you and Shisui-nii were around here somewhere,” Naruto exclaimed. Turning to acknowledge Shisui he said, “Oh, dude nice pants, your ass looks great in them—let’s all get Ichiraku!” he shouted, grabbing Sakura’s wrist and running towards a waving Teuchi.

Shisui stood alone in the middle of the street with his mouth slightly open. Itachi joined his side while Sasuke trailed after his two teammates, not before assessing Shisui’s shirt and pants and throwing him a grimace.

“Tch,” Sasuke said dismissively.

“You love this don’t you, Itachi.”

“Ah,” he responded. Itachi angled his ice cream towards Shisui and raised a brow.

“No.”

Itachi pouted.

___

Bounding ahead to Ichiraku’s, Naruto pulled the chair against the wall with a flourish, exaggerating a bow and extending his hand towards Sakura. Easily following the mimicry of their genin days, she giggled and pretended to ignore him. Sakura took the seat at the middle of the bar which Sasuke quietly pulled out for her.

Pouting, Naruto complained, “Aw, c’mon Sakura-chan, you don’t actually want to sit next to teme, do you? He asked, easing in the seat to her left.

“It’s so she can mediate when you eventually say something stupid to piss me off,” Sasuke said, distributing the menus.

Sakura punched him in the arm in response and turned to chat about the menu with Naruto. When Shisui and Itachi settled into the wooden seats next to Sasuke, Sakura asked,

“How long are you two in the village for?” leaning towards Shisui and Itachi.

“We’ll both be local for about a week.” Itachi offered, now nibbling delicately at his cone.

“They’ve both been easing back on their ANBU duties and are doing more stuff for the clan,” Sasuke supplied, absentmindedly picking at a paint chip on the counter.

Whooping in response Naruto added, “Hell, yeah!” he threw a fist into the air. “Now you guys can train with us more! And Itachi-nii,” he started, leaning back in his chair to look at Itachi, “if you could bring more of those rice balls you made last time, they were incredible, dattebayo!”

Smiling, Itachi leaned back to discuss snacks with Naruto.

“And what about you, Sakura-sensei,” Shisui asked, completely pushing Sasuke out of the way.

Grumbling, Sasuke pushed back at Shisui, which the elder responded by trapping a hissing Sasuke in a headlock.

Rubbing Sasuke’s head placatingly, Sakura said, “I should be staying in the village for the next week too—there’s a lot of hospital stuff I’ve got to do.” Nodding to Teuchi as he placed her order in front of her, she added, “I’m glad you’ll be in the village this week, we should train together again—if you want,” she fiddled with her wooden chopsticks. “It was great to spar with you and watch you, I learned a lot.”

Jealous that he wasn’t invited to the spar, Sasuke wrenched himself from Shisui’s grasp and aggressively ripped his chopsticks apart. Noting his little brother’s behavior, Itachi chuckled and said, “I just told Naruto I’d stop by your training this week, otouto.”

“Tch,” Sasuke responded. But, the way his shoulders relaxed and he smiled gently into his bowl made it clear he was pleased.

“Sakura-chan,” Naruto started. “I feel like I never see you anymore!” he said between bites of ramen. “Let’s do a Team 7 get together—you, me, teme, Kaka-sensei, Yamato Taichou, and Sai too!” he slurped noisily.

“Yeah you’re right,” Sakura sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “With all my projects, the hospital, and,” she waved her hands distractedly, “we haven’t hung out in a while.” Frowning lightly she said, “We could do it at my place, but I don’t know if I could fit everyone…” she trailed off.

Sensing the opportunity, Shisui swooped in. “You should invite your friends over, Sasu-chan,” he mockingly admonished.

Ignoring Shisui’s baiting and staring down at his bowl, Sasuke grumbled.

“Absolutely no-“

“Your friends are coming over?” Itachi asked excitedly.

“No-“

“Yes!” chorused Naruto, Sakura, and Shisui.

“They’re,” Sasuke started, pointing his chopsticks at Naruto, “going to make a mess.”

Ignoring Sasuke’s continued rumblings, Itachi started to list off different food and dessert ideas to Naruto who grew more and more excited by his suggestions if his hand waving was anything to go by. Glancing sharply to his right at an extremely pleased Shisui, Sasuke scowled.

“I know you just took advantage of nii-san’s househusband fantasies,” Sasuke whispered sharply. In the background, Itachi was dreamily listing the various courses he thought would best suit Team 7’s tastes while Naruto and Sakura egged him on with ideas of their own.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Shisui responded smugly, leisurely slurping his noodles.

Irritated, Sasuke leaned across Shisui to talk some sense into his brother, but Itachi was staring serenely into space, using his full genius brain to plan out dinner. Huffing, Sasuke hunched in his seat and poked dejectedly at his noodles, missing the way Sakura peered past him.

___

Dinner at the Uchiha household was scheduled that Friday—a few days after lunch at Ichiraku’s. Shisui, conscious to not make another questionable fashion choice, opted for black training pants and a traditional Uchiha top—short sleeved and high collared with the Uchiha fan embroidered on the back.

Arriving at the head family’s home, he was greeted by a tired looking Fugaku who wearily told Shisui that everyone was in the kitchen. Laughing to himself, Shisui figured that Itachi and Mikoto had ran Fugaku to the ground with dinner preparations. Trailing after his uncle towards the kitchen, he saw Sasuke tending to a flower bouquet.

“Why are you here?” Sasuke asked, incensed.

He ignored the venom in his younger cousin’s eyes since he didn’t look very intimidating with carnations in hand. Shisui presented a tin-foil covered pan.

“He made shokupan,” Itachi said breezily.

“They should be here any minute! Sasuke, Fugaku, go set the table and get the plum wine out of the fridge,” Mikoto ordered, putting last minute touches on the pastries she and Itachi were decorating.

In a few minutes, there was knocking at the front door and Itachi went out to greet Sakura and Naruto.

“Come on in,” Itachi said happily. Leading them inside he said, “I ran to the store earlier today and got everyone slippers,” pointing to the neat row along the wall.

“Wow, Itachi-nii. You really got this mom thing down,” Naruto noted, nodding to himself.

“You think?” Itachi smiled serenely and Sakura giggled at his pastel yellow apron with white trimming.

“No one else could make it today,” Sakura said frowning. Handing a wrapped plant to Itachi she said, “Yamato Taichou and Sai are out on a mission, Kakashi said he was…busy…” she trailed off.

Humming to himself while inspecting the healthy green leaves of the plant and the tasteful wrapping, Itachi said, “Sakura, you really didn’t have to.” But the pleased look on his face said otherwise.

“Hey! I helped too!” Naruto interrupted loudly.

___

Settling himself at the low dining room table, Fugaku sat at the head of the table. To his right was Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. To his left sat Mikoto, Itachi, and Shisui.

“Wow, everything looks incredible,” Sakura gushed at the spread.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, eyes gleaming. “Mikoto oba-chan, Itachi-nii, you guys really out did yourselves!”

“I helped too, dobe,” Sasuke grumbled.

“I made the shokupan!” Shisui chirruped.

It was a little too much food for the seven of them, Shisui noted. He looked down to the heaping bowl of white rice in front of him with a hearty serving of stew to its right—steam still emanating from both. Each person also had an individual portion of teriyaki salmon, its sweet glaze reflecting the dining room light above them. Sat on the middle of the traditional table, Itachi and Mikoto also prepared stir fried vegetables, soba salad, fried tonkatsu, mapo tofu, and tempura on large serving plates. The dishes took every space of the dining room table, some of it teetering dangerously close to an edge—the table overflowed with intermingling spices and glistening sauces.

Shisui blanched knowing that dessert was bound to be a similarly overwhelming experience.

Saying a brief thanks to his guests, Fugaku uttered a brief, “Itadakimasu,” and began eating.

___

Between the passing of dishes, clinking of chopsticks, and hums of pleasure, easy chatter filled the room.

“Thank you for the coconut oil dear, it works so well,” Mikoto smiled at Sakura over her glass of wine.

Dabbing her lips delicately after devouring several slices of tofu, Sakura shook her head.

“It was no problem—thank you,” she said, looking at Mikoto and Itachi, “for the dumplings. I ate them all in one sitting they were incredible,” she gushed.

Sasuke grumbled beside her, saying he had helped too and that it shouldn’t be physically possible to consume that many dumplings at once, but his mother cut him off.

“I heard we have Hyuuga Neji-kun to thank for the hair tips?” Mikoto teased.

At the mention of Neji, Shisui slowed his chewing and conceded defeat to Naruto, who was not-so-subtly trying to eat all of the tempura as quickly as possible. Shisui looked discreetly at Sakura to see how she would respond.

Sakura was caught by surprise at the comment and her spoon hovered in midair for a millisecond. Processing the joke, her shoulders shook lightly as she giggled and playfully rolled her eyes.

Naruto, with a mouthful of food said, “Neji does have nice hair, ‘ttebayo.”

Choking a little when Sasuke elbowed him in the stomach he stuttered, “A-ah, not as nice as yours, Sakura-chan!” The table laughed at the duo in response.

“Itachi-nii, you should quit ANBU and become a cook, this is the best food I’ve had in forever,” Naruto said dreamily.

Fugaku frowned deeply into his wine. “Yes, Itachi, when will you quit ANBU and fully take on your duties as clan head?”

Fugaku’s shoulder length brown hair had streaks of gray in it, which Mikoto lovingly said made him look refined although she had hardly aged in the past five years. His face showed years of exhaustion and responsibilities with his heavy brow and fine lines at the side of his mouth. His hands were still rough and battle worn despite it being years since his active duty days. Despite it all, his eyes were still keen, sharp as flint, and just as dark.

The rest of the table stilled with Fugaku’s displeasure—the Uchihas either frowning at Fugaku or throwing Itachi an apologetic glance. Sakura and Naruto ate impossibly quicker.

“Well Father,” Itachi started breezily, taking a languid sip of his glass. “You still have life in you yet.”

Preparing for an even more disgruntled Fugaku, Naruto and Sakura nervously chattered about the incredible food, piling each other’s plates even higher, and Shisui off handedly wondered if Sasuke had ever mentioned that Sakura’s appetite matched Naruto’s.

Surprising his guests, Fugaku wearily sighed into his rice bowl. “Son, please put me out of my misery so I can spend time with my wife.”

Over Mikoto’s pleased giggles and Sasuke’s embarrassed choke, Sakura and Naruto stopped their babbling to stare openly at Fugaku. Realizing that their surprise was obvious, they busied themselves again with food, ignoring Sasuke’s second-hand disgust.

“And Shisui,” Fugaku said sharply, cutting off whatever sly retort he had prepared on the tip of his tongue, “when will you fully accept the mantle as the police force commander?” he questioned.

Ignoring Shisui’s attempt at a response, Fugaku braced his hands on the floor behind his back and looked up at the ceiling. “Why Itachi and Sasuke don’t want to take over the police force is beyond me,” he muttered to himself as Mikoto gently consoled him.

Laughing at his uncle’s tiredness Shisui joked, “Well oji-san, given that Itachi’s biggest dream is being a full-time househusband—” Naruto looked incredibly interested at this prospect. “—and mine is living on oba-san’s food for the rest of my life,” Sasuke rolled his eyes at this. “Maybe we’ll make you suffer a little longer.”

Shisui raised his glass to Itachi, who clinked his glass in return, happily sipping the plum wine at the expense of an entirely spent Fugaku who mumbled to himself about shattered retirement dreams.

___

After dinner, Naruto and Sakura helped clear out the dishes despite Mikoto and Itachi’s protests. While Sasuke and Fugaku were relegated to cleaning the dishes, Shisui prepared the tea while Mikoto and Itachi set the table with dessert.

Surprisingly, dessert wasn’t as overwhelming as Shisui thought it would be. There was sakuramochi at the center of the table, elegantly plated in a neat line on a porcelain plate, the pickled blossom leaf folded meticulously over each cake. Itachi’s eyes crinkled towards Sakura while setting it down. Mikoto placed the higashi towards the end of the table, near Sasuke’s seat. The biscuit-like sweet, Shisui noticed amusedly, had uzumaki swirls pressed onto each biscuit. Shisui’s shokupan was also set down alongside a small pot of honey and jam. The last dessert was Fugaku’s favorite: butter cookies. Each cookie was a perfect circle and slightly browned at the edges. But to Shisui’s increased amusement, a black, three-tomoe sharingan was stenciled in icing on each cookie.

Settling back at the table, Sasuke looked at each dessert in growing exasperation before taking in the sharingan butter cookies. He glanced at Itachi in thinly veiled disbelief, but Itachi was intently staring at his guests’ reactions.

Sakura and Naruto had expressions of awe on their face. Naruto, with one hand on his protruding stomach looked a little nauseous when he said, “Wow…you really went all out on this team dinner…it looks so good dattebayo,” he finished weakly.

Sakura, trying to make up for her teammate’s lack of gusto quickly chirped, “I’m SO impressed with your icing skills,” she gushed, “I tried once and it was a complete failure,” she pouted, running a hand through her ponytail. “I’m so full from that incredible dinner but we’ll,” she quickly darted her eyes to Naruto, “make sure and try everything,” she finished, silencing Naruto’s protests.

As Itachi went prattled on the fine details of piping, not icing, because they’re obviously very different, Shisui idly wondered if Sasuke never hosted team dinners because of Itachi.

___

As everyone forced themselves to eat as much dessert as possible for Itachi’s sake, at the head of the table, Mikoto was cajoling her husband in hushed tones and nudging him with her shoulder.

“Sakura dear,” Mikoto started, which silenced the rest of the table. Mikoto turned her head to her husband. He responded by straightening his back and clearing his throat a few times.

“Sakura,” he started stiffly, not quite looking her in the eye. “Thank you,” Fugaku said, “for your work with the clan medics.

Shisui looked at his uncle, then Sakura in surprise—he hadn’t known just how close she was to the Uchiha clan. Looking around the table, no one else seemed to be surprised with her work, more so surprised at Fugaku’s thanks.

Sakura smiled kindly at Fugaku and Mikoto. “You’re welcome, the sharingans a tricky kekkai genkai and the blockages in the delicate blood vessels are definitely hard to work with, but working with Sasuke and Kakashi gave me a leg up. I’m just happy you allowed me to treat your clan members and train your clan medics.”

“With your instruction, Sakura-chan,” Mikoto began, “nearly every clan member has noted a mental and physical improvement. The Uchiha owe you a life debt.” Fugaku, Itachi, and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

Blushing at the compliment, Sakura shook her head. “Thank you, but you all don’t owe me anything. The payment, as agreed, was fully enough.”

Shisui paused. He hadn’t realized that Sakura had found a way to ease the pain the sharingan brought. Having awoken his mangekyo at an extremely young age, he was used to the near perpetual eyestrain and frequent migraines that came with overuse. He had given up on his clan medics’ treatment for his eyes since they’d been ineffective over the years. Incredibly interested at the prospect of relieving his pain he quickly turned to Sakura.

She was still talking to Fugaku and Mikoto, trying to convince them that they didn’t have to commit to any favors for her, and all of his thoughts stilled. She was talking with her hands, trying to explain that she was just glad to be of service to her teammate’s family, and by extension, the village. That no one should be in chronic pain if there was anything she could do about it. Her cheeks were flushed with the wine, and he was taken by the fullness of her lips. Wet with the plum wine, they glistened in the soft overhead light. Every so often, he could see a glint of her pink tongue as she laughed, or caught the corner of her lip.

Noticing that Itachi was staring at him with amusement, Shisui mentally shook himself out of his stupor.

“Ne, Sakura-sensei, I hadn’t realized you figured out the sharingan. Any chance I could schedule a doctor’s appointment with you?” He smiled cheekily at her, ignoring the way Sasuke and Naruto threw daggers at him.

“See, Sakura-chan,” Mikoto said, “you take such good care of our boys—no matter what you say, we’ll always be in you debt.”

“Mikoto-san—” Sakura looked down at her shirt—a standard issue jounin top—which now had a dark wine stain blooming at her stomach.

Naruto looked sheepishly at her, grabbing his napkin. “Sorry…at least it wasn’t your kimono this time?” Naruto said as he dabbed.

“Aw man,” Sakura complained, “this is one of my last good ones too.” While it was customary for shinobi to keep one or two sets of pristine uniforms for show—if they were on guard duty for a prestigious client, or to maintain appearances for foreign dignitaries—the reality was that most shinobi were running around in repeatedly stained, slightly tattered, hole riddled uniforms until they were unwearable.

Getting up to rinse her shirt in the sink, Mikoto stopped her. “Let me get you something to change into,” she said, rising from her seat. At the same time, Sasuke stood up, saying he’d get something of his, and missed the way Shisui had grabbed the back of his own shirt collar and started to undress. Itachi yanked the hem of Shisui’s shirt down and Fugaku stared at Shisui like he was stupid.

“No, no, sit back down Sasuke,” Mikoto said quickly, “look how pretty Sakura’s hair is today,” gesturing at her pink locks, “I’ll have to get her something of mine.” Mikoto placed a hand at Sakura’s upper back and ushered her along.

Sitting back down, Sasuke stared after his mom and teammate in silent confusion over the correlation of Sakura’s everyday pony tail and clothes.

After a few minutes, Mikoto and Sakura shuffled back into the main dining area. Mikoto walked slightly behind Sakura, staring intently at her sons’ and nephew’s faces. Catching the glint in her eye, Fugaku sighed.

Sakura changed into a loose black sweater with an Uchiha fan stitched on the breast. The sweater itself had a similar cut to the jounin top, and was slightly loose on Sakura’s frame. Seeing his teammate, Sasuke furrowed his brow. He had several shirts exactly like that. Sakura also probably had several shirts like that—it wasn’t particularly nice even—why did it have to be his mother’s, he wondered. What does it have to do with her hair—did ponytails have some significance he hadn’t known about? Deep in thought, he continued to scrutinize while Itachi happily munched on butter cookies. Glancing nonchalantly at Sakura he offered a “Hm,” and went back to cajoling Naruto into eating more.

Shisui was gone. The thought of Sakura wearing his clothes with the Uchiha fan would be forever branded in memory. He imagined quiet mornings with her as he made her coffee as she got ready in the mornings. He imagined how she’d look wearing one of his t-shirts—the oversized fit exposing the cream of her shoulder and him kissing the open space.

He watched her as she spoke. The slender curve of her neck, the peach fuzz on her cheeks, and the irresistible plumpness of her lips mesmerized him. Shisui felt the rush of chakra to his eyes, activating his sharingan, and quickly turned his head.

“Thank you for the meal,” Sakura said, rising from her seat, bowing to Mikoto and Itachi.

“Yeah, dinner was great thank you so much!” Naruto chimed in. “Ne, ne, Sakura-chan,” leaning towards her with a glint in his eyes, “why don’t you stay and sleepover! It’ll be like our genin days!” Naruto cheered.

Lightly grimacing, Sakura responded, “I have a shift at the hospital at six in the morning—maybe next time,” she apologized, although she didn’t look sorry at all.

“It must be exhausting having multiple full time jobs,” Itachi said sagely, still munching on butter cookies.

“Yes.” Fugaku deadpanned. “I wonder.”

Completely ignoring his father, Sasuke got up and heaved Naruto with him as well. Nodding to his mother, he jutted his chin to Sakura then jerked his head at the door.

“God, teme—use your words!” Naruto yelled, swatting the back of Sasuke’s head. Ducking before Naruto could hit him, Sasuke jabbed the side of Naruto’s stomach, grinning when he doubled over and wheezed. “W-we’re gonna walk S-Sakura-chan home,” he managed to get out, glaring at Sasuke from his hunched over position.

Seeing his chance, Shisui shot up from his seat and clapped a heavy hand onto Naruto’s back, forcing the blonde to stay hunched over. Cheerfully he said, “I’ll do it! My apartment’s on the way anyways and you’re staying here!” Squeezing Sasuke’s shoulder forcefully, Shisui grinned at his younger cousin trying not to flinch in his vice grip.

Raising a brow, Sakura looked at Shisui unimpressed, although the corner of her lip was curling. Itachi mirrored Sakura, except he was actually unimpressed. Fugaku massaged his nose bridge and his wife hid her smile behind her hand.

“Sasuke, Naruto, come help with the dishes,” Mikoto said.

Sakura gave once last bow to Sasuke’s parents and waved at her friends before heading out.

___

Sakura’s apartment was not on the way to Shisui’s. In fact, it was on the opposite side of the village.

But, there was no way he’d miss the opportunity to talk to her one-on-one without the intrusion of pesky teammates or baby cousins. They walked leisurely side by side, shoulders occasionally bumping, as he basked in her undivided attention. The walk to her apartment was made in quiet tones, careful not to break the stillness that surrounded them.

Crickets chirping in the background and the moon softly illuminating their way, Shisui, for the first time with Sakura, felt at ease. He wondered if maybe they were meant for this—quiet conversations under the moonlight, with her wearing the Uchiha crest.

#shisui uchiha #sakura haruno #shisaku #shisaku fanfiction #sakura x shisui #sakura x uchiha #shisui fanfiction #naruto fanfiction

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inkslingersworld · 3 years ago

Text

Crowbar (Alternate First Meeting)

Hi guys! This here short story is my first participation in Adrigami Week! I was planning on posting it yesterday, seeing as it’s following the “Alternate First Meeting” prompt, but the time got away from me. Idk if it’s still eligible for the official reblog or not, but I still had a blast writing it all the same. Enjoy! (Contains very mild profanity)

\\\\\

Her lip was bleeding. For whatever reason, Kagami chose to focus on this minute aspect out of all the other injuries she’d sustained. She dabbed it with a paper towel.

Kagami couldn’t recall how she’d gotten like this. There was so much she couldn’t recall, and the staggering immensity of all her forgotten experiences had weighed down on her for so long that when she found herself in a bathroom without a clue as to how she’d gotten there, she was able to handle the newfound situation better than someone who hadn’t been through what she had.

The only thing that confused Kagami was that her clothes were in perfect condition, despite her face being bloody and streaked with dirt. In fact, they looked as though they’d just been sewn by a master tailor.

She brushed the puzzlement aside - she couldn’t linger here in this mysterious bathroom. Lingering got you killed.

The door opened easily at her touch, and Kagami examined the bedroom that it led into. The walls were painted in an eye-catching shade of purple, but the bed itself was small and plain. Kagami also noticed that there was no furniture other than a small nightstand and that the window was broken. It framed the outside world in jagged glass.

This aforementioned outside world was cloudy and bleak. Based on how damp the street appeared, Kagami concluded it must’ve rained recently. The buildings matched the clouds in their shade of gray, with windows just as broken as the one Kagami was using as an observation point. No street signs were visible. No vehicles, no animals, no people. Not even wind.

Kagami couldn’t care less about the lack of other individuals; her attention was pinpointed on the crowbar leaning casually against the building opposite. Without a second’s hesitation, she kicked away the rest of the glass and crawled expertly out of the window.

She didn’t know how she knew there’d be a fire escape, but resolved not to ponder on it, because every second she didn’t have the crowbar was a second where it could fall into the possession of someone else. Crowbars were tools; tools were extremely helpful.

By the time Kagami had raced down the stairs leading to the ground, she could notice how old and rusty the crowbar was. In retrospect, it probably wouldn’t be much use against some of the more contemporary weapons others owned, but in times like these, Kagami would take anything she could get.

In no time, she had dashed across the street and grasped the crowbar in her right hand. Flakes of deceased metal fell to the ground like rotten snow as she twirled it experimentally. Even if it fell apart in combat, it was nevertheless pretty maneuverable.

“Drop it.”

Kagami turned around instead, searching for the voice’s master. She found the man in question stepping out the adjacent alleyway. His face was hidden under an old halloween mask, but Kagami could see he was wearing a green rain jacket and pointing a pistol in her direction.

Was it a pistol? Further examination led Kagami to realize it was no such thing; it was a water gun, and she almost pitied the hopeless idiot who brandished it at her.

“I said drop it!” the man shouted, though not very loudly.

“You know that’s not a real gun, right?” Kagami asked nonchalantly, deciding to break the truth to him.

The man lowered the toy firearm and hung his head. “Damn it.”

“Wait, you already knew?” said Kagami in disbelief. “Why on Earth would you use a water gun instead of, I don’t know, an actual one?”

“I’m a pacifist,” admitted the man, sounding guilty. “I’m a believer of nonviolence.”

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but nonviolence fell out of fashion a while back,” said Kagami, not knowing where she’d heard it from.

“Well, I always favored the old styles over the new,” the man said. “You hungry? I’ve got some food.”

Kagami’s mouth fell open in spite of herself. Who did this airhead think he was? You didn’t just go around offering people food. But before she’d even responded, he started walking over to her, removing his mask in the process.

Based off his recent actions, Kagami was expecting him to look innocent and tame, and she was not disappointed. However, she hadn’t foreseen blond hair and green eyes. She hadn’t expected him to look this... well, attractive.

“I’m Adrien, by the way,” he said, plopping his butt on the pavement and taking off his previously concealed backpack. “What’s your name?”

“I’m not about to tell you my name!” Kagami cried exasperatedly. “I know nothing about you!”

Adrien, who’d previously been busy unpacking, looked up at Kagami closely for the first time. His eyes widened after locking with hers and he dropped the box of Ritz crackers he’d been taking out.

After a few uncomfortable seconds, Kagami demanded, “What?”

Adrien flinched violently and faced the ground, blushing. “Nothing.”

“Why were you staring at me for so long?” persisted Kagami.

“N-No reason!” Adrien stammered embarrassedly.

“Then why were you doing it?”

“I don’t know!”

Kagami decided not to push the topic and begrudgingly sat down; she hadn’t realized how hungry she was until now.

“So...” began Adrien slowly, seeming to regain some of his previous placidity. “I never did learn your name.”

“We’re not there yet,” Kagami grumbled, snatching a plastic-wrapped sandwich out of his hands.

“Well, what are you doing ‘round these parts?” Adrien asked curiously, putting his chin in his hands.

“None of your business,” snapped Kagami, losing some of her intimidation skills to a mouthful of grilled cheese.

“How’s the food?”

“Awful,” Kagami replied, even though it was delicious.

Adrien laughed hard. “You’re funny!”

“No, I’m not.”

“Oh, but you are!”

“What’s your problem?” asked Kagami sternly. “You know nothing about me, I could’ve killed you without hesitation as soon as you came over here!”

“And yet you didn’t!” Adrien pointed out cheerfully.

Kagami took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check. “Adrien, wasn’t it?”

Adrien nodded and smiled, seeming delighted that she’d remembered his name.

“Adrien, I don’t know what miracle allowed you to survive for this long, but in our society’s current state, you might not be around much longer. I suggest you drop this puppy dog attitude and learn to fend for yourself.”

“Why learn to fend for myself when we can fend for each other?” asked Adrien earnestly.

The sincereness of this question, contrasting with the playfulness Adrien had exhibited, caught Kagami off guard for a moment, though she soon regained her bearings.

“Adrien, no offense, but you’d be dead weight,” she stated. “Even if I wanted to stick around with you, my memory kinda wipes itself clean every six hours or so, only holding on to the most treasured information - my name, my personality, how to speak, how to read and write, knowing what stuff is, and the like.”

“No way!” exclaimed Adrien, before Kagami could continue. “I have the same thing! That’s why I started a diary!”

He zipped open his backpack again and retrieved a worn leather-bound book. Adrien opened it and showed Kagami its messily written contents.

“I originally didn’t remember how to write,” he explained, flipping through some pages to get to the beginning, “but I was able to relearn! It took like a year, though.”

Kagami peered at the even messier scrawl of a younger Adrien. She was shocked to see his name spelled incorrectly with crayon.

“How long’ve you been on your own?” she asked uncertainly.

“About twenty years, I think,” Adrien answered dismissively. “I can’t know for certain, I didn’t relearn how to understand a calendar until someone took me in when I was... fourteen, maybe?”

“Someone took you in?” inquired Kagami.

Suddenly, Adrien’s face began filled with sorrow and loneliness. “Yeah... yeah, I don’t like thinking about that.”

Noticing how sympathetically Kagami was gazing at him, Adrien quickly plastered his old smile back on. “That doesn’t really matter. Now I’ve got you!”

Kagami hesitated. One of the instincts her memory’d held onto was avoiding people, but Adrien seemed different. He in the same situation she was in, and he’d shown her kindness. Besides, it’d be nice to have a companion, and Adrien’s diary probably contained scores of valuable information to help the duo survive.

Even if not for all those reasons, there was something else, though Kagami wasn’t sure what it was yet. For whatever reason, Adrien made her feel relaxed, happy even. She didn’t know why, but he did.

“Okay, Adrien,” she said resignedly. “You can stick with me.”

Adrien’s face lit up with gratitude, and before she knew it, Kagami found herself buried in a hug. It was warm and comforting.

“Thank you so much!” Adrien said happily.

“No problem, Adrien,” sighed Kagami, already having her doubts.

Adrien released her and scooped up his backpack. They both stood up.

“Where are we headed?” he asked.

“West,” responded Kagami mechanically. “It won’t make too much of a difference, but we need all the sunlight we can get.”

The two started to walk. After trekking for about a minute, Adrien spoke again.

“You never did tell me what your name is.”

Kagami smiled softly and rolled her eyes. “It’s Kagami.”

“Kagami,” repeated Adrien thoughtfully. “I like that name.”

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@adrigamiweek

#inkslingersworld #inkslinger #miraculous #adrigamiweek2021 #adrigamiweek #adrien #kagami #alternate first meeting #long post #adrigami #crowbar

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thedumpsterqueen · 4 years ago

Text

Standards of Performance

Here it is!!!!! First chapter of my first fic on my new AO3! This is a multi-chapter, slow burn work. Please let me know what you think, I welcome screaming and incoherent asks about our fave special agent in my inbox. Full text under the cut, or you can find it through the AO3 link below.

AO3 link

Summary: You're the BAU's newest intern, desperate to prove yourself amongst an established team of much more experienced profilers. Agent Hotchner, the seemingly infallible team leader, sets strict expectations for your performance. He commands your respect without even trying, but is there something more to your relationship than a simple desire to impress your stony-faced boss?

Chapter: 1, Coffee Stains and Neckties

Words: 2388

Rating: Explicit, 18+

Pairings: Hotch x Reader, Hotch x You

Warnings: Not much for this chapter specifically, but let’s just assume general gore and murder stuff, explicit language, and sexual content are fair game form here on out.

Enjoy! I’ll try to update weekly, if not more often. I’ll let you know when I have a more defined schedule!

“Fucking SHIT!”

You cursed as you felt the (very, very) hot coffee soak your new skirt. Grabbing as many paper towels as you could with one hand, you tried to sop up the mess on the floor. The stain on your outfit? A shame, but nothing compared to marring the assuredly expensive cream color of the BAU’s breakroom carpet.

A low chuckle sounded off behind you, and you froze.

For the love of god, please don’t be…

“Morgan! Please tell me you have carpet cleaner, oh my god. I don’t even know how that happened.”

Morgan grinned, as he typically did, sauntering into the breakroom with his hands in his pockets. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, the janitor's got it later. I was looking for you, team meeting in five. You all good? You look a little - ” he paused, probably searching for a descriptor that wouldn’t sting too bad, “ - rushed.”

You stood up, sighing. He was right, after all. You had stayed up late last night poring over psychology textbooks and only just woken up in time to leave your apartment. As the BAU’s newest profiling intern - whatever the hell that actually meant - the pressure of performing to seasoned profilers’ standards manifested in spending practically all your free time buried in research. Hence why your hair was coated in unbelievable amounts of dry shampoo, you were wearing your unflatteringly oversized glasses instead of your usual contacts, and why your frantic attempt at pouring yourself a cup of coffee when you got into work had resulted in the giant wet spot currently soaking your skirt.

At least the skirt was black.

“You’re right. Late night,” you said, rolling your eyes at Morgan’s suggestive eyebrow waggle.

“Not like that, I wish. Just trying to catch up. Don’t really want to repeat last week’s disaster,” you mumbled, referring to the first time you actually got to question a suspect, which had ended up with a wad of saliva hawked in your face. It was only your third week in the position, but damn, if that hadn’t let the wind out of your sails a bit.

“Hey, what did I tell you then?” Morgan asked, as you walked out of the breakroom together. “You’re not a true profiler until you get assaulted by a serial killer!”

“I’m not a true profiler until I finish the year long training program,” you pointed out, “so I think I could do without the spit in the meantime.”

Morgan laughed, opening the door of the team’s briefing room for you. “Well if we’d known you were gonna be so picky, we might have gone with someone else.”

“Who’s picky?” asked Emily, looking up from her seat.

While Morgan laughed and launched into a dramatic retelling of the event as if the entire team hadn’t already fucking seen it in real time, you took your seat at the table. Reid nodded in acknowledgment, and you returned it with a small smile. Damn if he wasn’t handsome, and ridiculously smart to boot, but you were pretty sure your chances with him withered and died when you asked him what he was doing after work last Friday and he answered with, “Reading.” Point taken.

Hotch swiveled in his chair to face the table and you suddenly became acutely aware of how much of a mess you probably looked. It’s not that you cared about his opinion regarding your general appearance beyond the basic standard of professional attire, but his always-intense gaze and stony expression had a way of making you second guess even your most confidently held opinions.

“Sit,” he said, his voice cutting through the rest of the team’s animated chatter.

It would have been hard not to notice how quickly they obliged, not out of fear, but rather a respect and deference so deeply ingrained that it almost gave you goosebumps. You’d never thought of yourself as a follower, per say, but if Hotch was what a leader looked like, you certainly didn’t fit into that category either.

He scanned the table, stopping on you. “New glasses?” he asked, with a single, slightly raised eyebrow.

“I, um, not really, just didn’t have time to put my contacts in,” you stammered.

“Hm,” Hotch said, “They look nice.”

Your cheeks suddenly felt hot, and you thanked him quickly, looking down at your shoes to conceal the pink that was probably spreading across your face. Hotch had a way of speaking that made everything he said sound like the absolute truth, which was probably why such an innocuous little compliment had disarmed you so much.

Still though, jesus christ. Get it the fuck together. You’re not Reid; you’re not smart enough to be this awkward.

Hotch, blessedly ignoring how painful you just made that interaction, addressed the team while JJ passed out files. “We have a new case. Three bodies, all found completely drained of blood in various woods, off hiking trails. Cause of death appears to be blood loss from severed carotid arteries, meaning they were likely strung up and drained before being moved to where they were discovered.”

Reid spoke up first. “Erm, what exactly do you mean by various woods?”

“That’s the unusual thing,” Hotch said, pulling up a map of the southwestern United States on the screen behind him. "Each body was found in a different state, one here, one here, and one here,” pointing to spots in California, Arizona, and Nevada. “However, local police discovered the bodies within hours of each other due to anonymous tip offs, and medical examiners estimate approximately the same time of death for all three.”

Morgan whistled lowly. “So what you’re saying is, this guy kills three victims around the same time and takes a road trip to hide their bodies in places he knows won't be discovered until he calls in.”

“That’s how it appears, yes,” Hotch confirmed.

Rossi shook his head, twirling a pen that probably cost more than your entire wardrobe. “So, how are we splitting this up?”

You whipped your head in his direction. Splitting up? Of course, you should have known it’d only make sense considering the ground to be covered, but your quick mental calculations told you that there were six of them, evenly split into three groups of two, and one odd man out, both in skill and number - you.

“So, who’s getting stuck with me?” you asked, trying to beat everyone to the punch. Not that any of them would voice it, but if you couldn’t project confidence, you figured self-awareness would do.

When you entered the internship as a recent college grad around a month ago, you knew you’d be in way over your head. Everyone else on the team was a seasoned expert, and you were a 20-something with a degree in psychology who somehow managed to charm her way through the interviews of the BAU’s flagship internship program. It’s not that you weren’t smart, you were, of course, but comparatively? You were pretty sure this was shaping up to be a glorified babysitting program, and you were the baby.

“Oh, hush,” JJ said, smiling and shaking her head. You smiled back. JJ had gone out of her way to make you feel welcome, which you were unspeakably grateful for. Between her and Morgan, you sometimes felt like maybe when this year was done, you could actually belong on this team.

Hotch interrupted your pity party. “Rossi, you’re with Reid in Phoenix. JJ and Emily, you’re going to Vegas. Morgan, you and I are going to San Diego.”

He turned to you. “You’re coming with me.”

Your stomach flipped at his words. You knew he had the most to teach you, and you could observe him coordinating the entire investigation from San Diego, but the idea of your performance being directly scrutinized by your boss in such a small group made you more nauseous than excited.

“Please be aware,” he continued, “Garcia is going to have to deal with three times the inquiries as normal. I recommend you only contact her if the information you’re searching for is genuinely too difficult to find yourself.” He gave Morgan a pointed look, to which Morgan raised his hands in mock surrender, grinning.

“We’ll drop teams off as we go,” Hotch said. “Wheels up in thirty.”

____________

As you settled into your seat on the plane, your mind spun, trying to review every piece of psychology knowledge you’d ever encountered. This wasn’t your first case, but it was the first one you got to travel for, which made it feel much more real.

The hours ticked by as the team reviewed the case. You contributed - not much, and nothing they wouldn’t have thought of without you - but it was something. Narcissist, craves attention and spotlight, physically confident enough to detain and murder three women at the same time. The method was throwing the team for a loop, however. Bleeding the victims out was clinical, relatively painless - uncharacteristic of the sexual injuries found on the corpses and the bravado with which the killer executed the rest of the crime.

When you, Hotch, and Morgan trudged off the plane in San Diego, you had been going at the potential profile for hours and even Morgan’s patience was wearing thin.

“Look, Hotch, let’s hold off on speculation until we see the crime scene in person, alright?”

Hotch nodded, and took that as a cue to head straight to the crime scene. You groaned internally - having barely showered this morning and spent half the day on a plane, your greasy hair and coffee-stained skirt would have greatly benefited from a stop at the hotel to freshen up.

It’s not like you have to look good to go stare at a patch of dirt where a dead body used to to be though, right?

____________

Turns out the aforementioned patch of dirt was actually a wooded grove off a hiking trail leading to a nude beach, much to Morgan’s delight. The site itself was uninteresting except for the way the body had been buried - covered up very securely, implying remorse, another characteristic that didn’t make sense with the initial profile.

This commonality between all three crime scenes was hotly debated on the video conference between the entire team when you got back to the hotel. Cross legged on the bed in Hotch’s hotel room, you listened to Reid and Rossi snipe back and forth on the laptop about what the burial method could mean for ten-plus minutes (“It’s clearly just a functional tool to properly hide the body, Reid.” “But you don’t know that, the significance of burial practices can tell us so much more beyond function, it can even tell us about his religious upbringing…”) before Hotch put a stop to it.

“What do you think?” Hotch asked you, turning and looking directly into your gaze. You were suddenly hyperware of the proximity between you two - sitting close enough on the edge of the bed that your thighs were almost touching. Morgan had abandoned his position on the other side of you to stretch out in the armchair by the window halfway through Rossi and Reid’s debate. Hotch’s eyes boring into yours from only a few feet away and the expectant silence of the other team members on the video call spiked your heart rate, and you took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself.

“I… agree with Dr. Reid. I think it means something. The position of the hands, they were crossed across the chest, right? He didn’t need to do that. I don’t know if it means he was remorseful, but it was on purpose. I think.”

Hotch nodded, not breaking eye contact. “Good. Let's move forward with that theory.” He turned back to the laptop. “Let me know how interviews with the loved ones go tomorrow. Let’s find the connection between the victims. Call me if you need anything.” After shutting the laptop, he turned to you and Morgan. “Let’s call it for tonight. Meet me in the lobby at 7 tomorrow.”

Having been excused, you and Morgan made your way to your hotel rooms next to Hotch’s. Morgan wished you goodnight, and you unlocked your door and practically sprinted into your shower.

After you got out, you looked around the room, towel drying your hair. It was nice, much nicer than anywhere you’d ever stayed. The abstract art on the walls and the modern, clean white lines of the furniture were lit by the soft glow of the sunset filtering through the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony overlooking the ocean. You poured yourself a glass of wine from the minibar (a reimbursable travel expense, right?) and stepped onto the balcony, breathing in the ocean air.

“Nice night, hm?”

You jumped, nearly spilling your drink down your front for the second time in less than 24 hours. Hotch was sitting in a chair on his balcony to the left of yours, reclining with his hands behind his head. Despite wearing nothing but your thin hotel robe, you felt the urge to avert your eyes from him. His suit jacket was shucked, tie undone and hanging around his neck, and the top two buttons of his white, collared shirt were unbuttoned. You felt like you were seeing something you shouldn’t have, like the cold stoniness of his exterior had shifted just slightly and allowed you a glimpse underneath.

It’s just a couple buttons, calm down. You’re the one who’s barely clothed in front of your fucking boss.

“It is. Shame we can’t go to the beach,” you replied, keeping your eyes forward.

Oh my god, three women were murdered and I just complained to my boss about not being able to go to the beach.

“You’re welcome to get up early and go tomorrow; might be a bit cold,” Hotch replied. You could tell from his voice he was smiling.

You mumbled in affirmation, continuing to avoid glancing in his direction. “Well, I just wanted to see the view, um, I’m gonna get to bed. Goodnight, Agent Hotchner!” You ducked back into your room, and you could have sworn you heard him chuckle before you slid the door shut.

After getting ready, beating yourself up mentally for your complete social incompetence, and tucking in under the plush, white duvet, you drifted off to sleep.

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ahgaseda · 5 years ago

Text

phoenix | two

I’ll be the phoenix, leave it to me, we be flying, spread your wings behind your back, they call us phoenix, ride or die, ride or die...

summary : the clock is ticking as you recount your passionate affair with Jackson, the most wanted man in Shanghai, to the people trying desperately to catch him, but no one - including you - knows if he will risk his life to save yours.

warnings : strong profanity, explicit dialogue, mentions of blood and violence, references to drug and alcohol use, graphic sexual content, self-destructive themes, potentially triggering elements involving kidnapping, arson, etc.

miniseries chapters : one / two / three / four / five / six / seven

Hour seven of captivity had come and gone. Leaning against the cold wall, you peered through the small slit of a window at the rain steadily pouring, streaming down the glass. Arms folded tightly across your chest, you heaved a sigh.

As much as you resisted, your mind drifted to Jackson. Where was he? Was he thinking of a plan to help you escape? Or was he cutting his losses and going underground?

You fell into memory after memory, trying to put the pieces together. Of only one thing you were assured - your feelings for Jackson were very real. They were all-encompassing.

Love, you told yourself with a shake of your head. Just admit it. You’re in love with him, but that doesn’t mean he’s in love with you.

Being with Jackson came with many risks and you blindly accepted them all. You were an addict in love with your high, desperate for a fix whenever you could take one. You ignored the danger, ignored how vulnerable you made yourself to be with him.

Now, you were paying for it.

Jinyoung twirled the pen between his fingers, eyes on your back. Thus far, you had been quite forthcoming and that made him suspicious. It implied you were steering his attention. There was a chance you were feeding him only what you wanted him to know or what you had been instructed to divulge.

He would have to press you, see if he could make you slip up. There was something he needed to know. He needed you to think your value was minimal, though it was anything but. His presence in this damned tiny box was two-fold like a double-edged sword.

“When did he show you his fire?”

You could catch the faintest glimpse of your own reflection in the glass. After a pause, where you pondered whether or not to answer, you replied, “Our first night together.”

“Romantic,” Jinyoung retorted dryly.

“Honest,” you countered, eyes narrowing.

Jackson had always been honest. It was part of the fabric that made him who he was. And yet another trait that made you reckless with abandon in your feelings for him.

“You are a hopelessly genuine person in a horribly fake world,” you once told him.

That night, he had shown you every part of him, down to each corner of his soul, and his fire had been no exception. You had taken him inside you, let him have you in every way possible. Never had you been so intimate, more than any other man that came before him.

Something was different - the gravity between you and Jackson.

You had been on your back with Jackson buried between your legs when his irises turned redder than the fires of Hell itself. You lay there enraptured, wondering if you had just given yourself to the Devil incarnate.

Jackson had seen the awe on your face and the glistening in your eyes, relieved to see no sign of terror or even horror. And he rewarded you by moving deep within you again, smoother than silk. You moaned his name for all to hear and arched your body to meet him.

You didn’t question the crimson of his eyes then. Not when he brought you to ecstasy over and over. You cried out no man’s name the way you did Jackson’s and by how intensely he made love to you, he knew that too.

The night was endless. He licked and sucked every inch of you, especially at the apex of your thighs. You raked your nails through his hair as he unraveled you yet again with his mouth, kneading your hips in his broad hands.

Between rounds, you kissed up his spine, tracing your fingers over the Phoenix inked in his back. The firebird stared back at you, undaunted in its flames, and you marveled the intricacy of its wings and the fierceness of its eyes.

Then, the moment you recovered some of your energy, Jackson was on you again, impaling you on his hard length and making the headboard slam loudly against the wall.

For a night you were tangled with him in every sense of the word. When you slipped out from under the sheets to catch your breath, he dragged you back under. He was insatiable, unquenchable, and your body sang for him and obeyed his every command.

But morning came and the haze of lust was pushed away by clarity. You inevitably had to confront who - or what - the man was that had taken you to bed.

You sat in the window of the hotel suite and looked out at the city of Paris in its early morning glory, clad only in a sheet wrapped snugly around your torso. The sun shone warmly across your skin and you basked in the light of dawn. Every inch of you ached, but it was a soreness you would long for when it faded.

Jackson fastened his pants and came behind you, hands gliding across your hips. His breath was hot on your neck, his lips tickling your ear. His voice was low and tender when he asked, “Will you tell me what’s on your mind?”

You shook your head in reluctance.

“I need to know,” he insisted, wrapping his arms around your waist like a snare. “Are you afraid of me now?”

The only fear was his. You could hear it in his words. He was scared you would leave him.

Jackson clambered onto the windowsill to join you, molding himself to your back. You watched his legs stretch on the outside of yours. His arms were taut around you. He wanted no space between you and him.

“Baby…,” he started again. Your silence was killing him.

“What are you?” you asked quietly. “Is it magic? How can you…”

“I…,” Jackson sighed in defeat. “I can’t tell you.”

You lowered your head. That was exactly what you had expected him to say.

“I’m not a hero,” he whispered darkly, lips gracing the top of your shoulder, desperate for a taste of your skin again.

With a roll of your eyes, you grumbled, “I was never looking for a hero, Jackson.”

Jackson cupped your jaw, turning your head until you had no choice but to meet his eyes. “I will never hurt you,” he vowed firmly.

“I know that.”

Jackson leaned his forehead against yours and asked, “Then, for now, can that be enough?”

Of course, it could. You knew you were head over heels, even though you had yet to voice it. The night of passion only solidified your feelings for him.

You reached for his hand on your waist and brought it forward, running your fingers over his knuckles, tracing the lines of his palm. You met his eyes again and whispered, “Show me.”

Jackson didn’t hesitate to let fire gather in his hand. You gazed into the flames, watching them flicker as they never strayed from his palm. You could feel the heat on your skin.

“One day, tell me,” you said, lingering your attention on the bold red of his irises.

Jackson nodded and nuzzled your cheek before burying his face in the crook of your neck. “One day, I’ll have to.”

Jinyoung watched you from his seat, eyes drifting to your hand where you spun the ring on your finger as you recounted the memory. Jackson had shown you his fire, but told you nothing of its origin. Jinyoung was vaguely impressed and caught off guard. Jackson wasn’t known for his restraint.

Returning from your reverie, you finally ambled away from the window, taking the seat across from Jinyoung again. You felt emotional, longing for Jackson in the pit of your chest.

We can’t end this way, you thought to yourself sadly.

You stiffened, deciding to deflect. Having the spotlight on you so intently was beginning to burn. Glancing at the notes Jinyoung had scribbled on his pad, you spoke levelly, “Tell me about yourself, Jinyoung.”

Jinyoung stopped mid-word in his writing and looked up at you through hair falling in his eyes. His voice came out rough, laden with skepticism. “And why would you want to know anything about me?”

You scoffed, feeling your request was perfectly reasonable. “I’m telling you the most intimate parts of my life,” you explained, perturbed. “I know what you’re after and I’m trying to be a good little captive. Indulge me.”

Jinyoung stayed gruff and droned, “I have a role to play. Same as you.”

You were annoyed that he wouldn’t give an inch, despite how cooperative you had been. “And why do you have such a hard on for my man?”

Jinyoung took your remark in stride and answered coolly, “I’ve been assigned to him for many years. It’s my job to know what he does, when and where he does it.”

You leaned back in your chair and folded your arms in defiance. “Then, why do you need me to find him? Shouldn’t you have some idea by now?”

Jinyoung almost ran out of patience. He met your eyes and glared back.

I need you to draw him out. I need to see just how far he’s willing to go to have you. We need to know if you’re a problem or a threat.

At his silence, you nodded in realization. “I’m the bait.”

“Perhaps,” said Jinyoung with a shrug. “We don’t know yet if you’re the queen or just another one of his many pawns.”

That stung, but you did well in hiding it.

Jinyoung sensed you were wounded and leapt at the opportunity to play on your hesitation. He set down his pen, laced his fingers together, and questioned, “What if I told you what he is?”

“I know what he is,” you replied without missing a beat.

Jinyoung snorted, disdainful. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

You were quick to smart, “I know he’s an animal in the bedroom and a gentleman everywhere else. Beyond that, I don’t give a shit.”

Bristling, Jinyoung snapped, “Do you really think you’re going to be rewarded for this level of blind loyalty?”

You said nothing. His raised voice unnerved you.

Jinyoung pressed, “He knows you’re in here and he has done nothing to get you out.”

Your lip quivered and your response was weak, lacking conviction, “He’s biding his time.”

Jinyoung softened his tone, negotiating, “If you start telling me how I can find him - how I can catch him - I can make sure you have full immunity. You can walk away from this.”

You shook your head and answered truthfully, “I don’t know where to find him. He made sure I never knew.”

Jinyoung clenched his fists, calming his irritation. It did him no favors in losing his patience with you, but he was on a deadline. He felt a vibration in his lap and peeked down at his phone, opening a new text that read, He called it off.

Having lost his attention and quite fed up with being interrogated, you rose and moved back to the window. You had tried to play along as Jackson had taught you, but you were running low on energy and denial. You could feel yourself shutting down, doubt trickling inside you like the raindrops streaming down the window.

Jinyoung rubbed a finger across his lips and lingered his gaze on your figure. He could see what Jackson saw in you. You carried fire of a different kind, but you could match his fervor. Maybe Jackson had finally found someone to live in the flames and chaos at his side.

Perhaps you weren’t the pawn after all.

Your mind drifted again. Thoughts of Jackson were all that could console you.

Jackson stared vacantly into the distance. You giggled and combed your fingers through his hair, trying to make the strands lay flat from their current disheveled positions.

“I can’t believe you talked me into that,” he groaned, face pale.

You giggled. “I thought you said you were an adrenaline junkie?”

“That was before I…,” Jackson trailed, puffing out his cheeks like he may empty his stomach at any moment. “Rode that evil thing.”

The rollercoaster had certainly given your brave and tough boyfriend a run for his money. You had never heard such a high-pitched wail leave his mouth like that before. It went without saying you spent the entire time laughing at his misfortune.

“You did well,” you crooned, smoothing down the last patch of hair sticking upright.

Jackson grabbed the glass of water before the waitress could set it down on the table before him and retorted, “I did it because you said you would show me your boobs.”

You chortled, leaning against his arm, and teased, “Like you haven’t seen them a million times already.”

Jackson clocked a glance at your cleavage and murmured, “I like the twins a lot.”

You laughed again. “You know, you’re the first significant other that hasn’t made me cover them up when we’re out in public.”

“My ego and self-esteem aren’t that fickle.”

You snuggled up closer to him and purred in his ear, “That’s because you’re an alpha male.”

Jackson swept an arm around you, tucking you even closer to him, and whispered, “Am I?”

You grinned.

The waitress appeared with plates in hand, breaking the spell.

The sight of Jackson grubbing always put a smile on your face. He devoured his burger and you struggled to keep up. It was a full time job wiping his lips and chin with a napkin.

It went without saying you enjoyed fancy Jackson with his candlelit dinners and well-tailored suits, but messy Jackson just stoked your fire differently.

“Jacks, this is so delicious,” you hummed, going in for another bite.

“It’s fucking holy is what it is,” he growled back.

“Mm,” was all you could manage as you stuffed your face.

Now it was Jackson’s turn to take a pause and watch you. Everything you did was attractive to him. It almost made him insane. He licked his lips and flirted, “I love a girl that knows how to eat.”

You wiggled your eyebrows, dunking a curly fry in cheese sauce and plopping it into your mouth. “I love a boy that knows how to talk,” you replied devilishly.

He cocked a brow. “Oh, yeah?”

You smirked.

Jackson draped his arm over the back of your chair, fingers coming to brush up and down your bare arm. He slipped a digit in the strap of your bikini top and let it snap back on your skin. “Don’t bother drying off too much, baby. You’re gonna be wet for hours.”

You batted your lashes, peering up at him coyly. “Come on, Daddy. Don’t you know by now? I stay wet for you.”

Jackson rumbled in his throat, tucking his face against your neck and pressing a kiss or two beneath your ear. “It’s been a long day,” he mused, having thoroughly enjoyed his time with you at the water park. “You sure you can handle me tearing that ass up at the hotel tonight?”

You reached across and grabbed his thigh, making sure he felt the bite of your fingernails, and spoke under your breath, “Bold of you to assume I can wait that long.”

Jackson pulled back, eyes widening and a grin tugging at his lips. “I’m crazy about you. You know that?”

You nuzzled his nose with your own and said, “Kiss me then.”

Jackson never shied away from public displays of affection. And he never did it to assert his territory. He just couldn’t stop kissing you day or night.

Blinking rapidly, you turned from the window and looked at Jinyoung, noticing his eyes had been on you. Your brow furrowed. His gaze was intrusive, like he could read your thoughts, and you bristled. The memories were yours to keep. Some were not meant to be shared.

Something sent shivers up your spine and your chest filled with heat. Stepping back to the table, your words were sharp, “You think I’m a fool.”

Jinyoung deadpanned, “Very much so.”

You lowered into the chair and asked delicately, “Have you ever been in love, Jinyoung?”

Jinyoung narrowed his eyes. The notion alone disgusted him. “I have not.”

You pressed, “Not even once?”

Jinyoung shook his head.

You whispered, almost more so to yourself, “It makes a fool out of all of us.”

Jinyoung believed that. He had seen it firsthand and refused to suffer the same fate. “To the point you would let the world burn for him?”

“Who cares?” you replied with a shrug, trying to appear passive. “The world is already on fire. Haven’t you noticed?”

“Rather selfish of you,” said Jinyoung, condescending. “To put you and your lover above everyone else.”

A fleeting glimpse of a memory flashed across your mind. Of you in Jackson’s lap as you poured over a novel. His hand danced aimlessly across your naked thigh while you read.

“All the gods, all the heavens, all the hells, are within you,” you read aloud.

Jackson opened his eyes, lifting his head from the back of the couch. “I like that,” he murmured, kissing your brow.

“It means we made it all. We created heaven and hell. It’s all a figment of our imagination,” you continued, turning the page.

Jackson watched you in wonder, the concentration on your face. He didn’t have the heart to tell you otherwise and settled for a parting kiss on your cheek before leaning his head back and closing his eyes once more.

The memory and Jinyoung’s words collided and you felt another shiver up your back. “Is Jackson meant to burn the world?”

Jinyoung swallowed, having inadvertently put himself in a precarious position. “You think too highly of him,” he sneered.

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“Pride cometh before the fall,” Jinyoung taunted.

You shook your head and sighed, “I have no pride.”

“Everyone has pride,” Jinyoung said, almost in scolding. “Did you know it’s the sin God hates more than all the others?”

Your brow stitched. He sounded amused. God had never been much of a factor in your life, but you were an avid reader and offered a rebuttal, “You’re wrong. The deepest, lowest circle of Hell is reserved for betrayal.”

Jinyoung leaned back in his chair, smirking for a reason unbeknownst to you. “And you’ll never betray him, will you?”

“Never.”

Jinyoung cocked his head. “Even if he leaves you in here to die?”

“I’m not afraid of dying.”

“What are you afraid of?”

You stared into his face, searching for reason. Would this man ever understand what you and Jackson had?

“Lies,” you finally admitted.

“I’m surprised he chose you,” Jinyoung chuckled. “You seem nearly as defiant as he is. I’m assuming there were plenty of clashes in the relationship?”

“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” you answered in a small voice.

Jackson followed you swiftly from the kitchen to the bedroom, his cheeks were blazing red.

“You knew I had a career when you met me,” you spat, shuddering at the realization you were having your first big fight with Jackson.

“I’m not asking you to give up your career,” he snapped back, reprimanding. “I just expect you to be where you said you would be when you said you would be there!”

You threw up your hands and groaned, “I didn’t do it on purpose!”

Jackson barely let you finish the sentence before he rounded on you. “Are you sure about that? Because you were very punctual up until we started sleeping together.”

“Fuck you, Jackson,” you shouted at him, vitriolic. “You don’t own me!”

Though you stomped back into the living room, trying desperately to avoid him, Jackson was hot on your heels, yelling, “You think I don’t notice how you’re distancing yourself from me? You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop when they’re both still on my fucking feet!”

Deflecting was what you did best, but he was too fiery, too unafraid to call you out. And he could see right through you.

You barked, “I’m late a couple times and that means I’m trying to sabotage the relationship?”

Jackson folded his arms and glared at you venomously. “I said it and you didn’t deny it.”

You shook with wrath, balling your hands into fists. “Take that manipulative bullshit and shove it up your ass! I should have known this would happen.”

Jackson gawked, though the expression of shock quickly devolved into seething rage. “Should have known?” he echoed back at you.

You wavered where you stood.

Jackson loosened his tie before ripping it from his collar entirely and roared, “You think you’re the only one with a temper, huh?”

“Yell at me,” you screamed, planting your feet. “See if I give a shit!"

“I have been nothing but good to you,” said Jackson, leveling a pointed finger at your face. “I still want you just as much as I did when I met you. You’re the one getting cold feet!”

Adrenaline was finally taking its toll. Tears were burning behind your eyes. “Oh my god, fine! Is that what you want to hear? I’m scared to death of how I feel about you. I’m head over fucking heels!”

Jackson calmed only a little when he pressed, “And what? You’ve decided that this relationship is one-sided?”

A tear escaped and rolled down your cheek. You quickly wiped away the evidence with a rough hand and cried, “You’re too good to be true.”

With that, you turned tail and ran, scurrying toward the front door of his apartment.

Jackson watched you go, still etching your words into his mind forever, and called after you, “Where are you going?”

“I’m not crying in front of you, Jackson,” you yelled at the top of your lungs, slamming the door behind you.

Jackson stood there, rooted in place. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, inhaling a deep, steadying breath.

You couldn’t make it down the hall. You felt like an idiot. Never had you been in so deep and it scared you shitless. Leaning back against the wall just outside his door, you sank to the floor and wrapped your arms around your knees, crying behind them.

Only a moment later, the door opened and Jackson charged out, giving chase. He slid to a stop and sighed heavily at the sight of you.

You didn’t bother to look at him and you weren’t the least surprised when he slipped his arms under yours and hoisted you up. In one all too easy swoop, he lifted you into the air and popped your legs around his waist.

It was your body’s natural reflex to lock your ankles behind his back, to overlap your hands behind his shoulders and to rest your cheek against his neck, hiding your face.

In the bedroom, Jackson leaned his head against yours and whispered, “I’m gonna silence these doubts the best way I know how.”

Jackson unzipped your jacket and stripped you down to your underwear, but before you could register the cold on your bare skin, he pulled one of his white t-shirts over your head.

You whimpered when he pushed you on the bed. The mattress bounced slightly beneath you. On your stomach, you gripped the blanket in your hands and listened to the rapid thumping of your racing heart as he crawled over you.

Jackson pushed the shirt up, just enough to expose your ass, and made room for himself between your legs. He draped himself over you, combing your hair with his fingers until he could press his lips to your neck.

“And I’m gonna break these walls down, brick by fucking brick,” he whispered in your ear.

You lifted your head and your mouth parted wide with a moan when he penetrated you slowly.

“You’re mine,” Jackson growled, biting down on your shoulder.

You turned to Jinyoung and frowned, unshed tears welling in your eyes. In that moment, you realized you were nothing more than a prisoner - someone who had no rights and potentially no chance of salvation.

“If you let me go,” you began softly, almost pleading. “You would follow me right to him. Wouldn’t you?”

Jinyoung’s reply was blunt, cold. “You’re more valuable in here.”

You bit your lip, staving off the tears with every ounce of your strength. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” you spoke under your breath.

Jinyoung looked up from the file abruptly, surprised. “Are you leaving him?”

You looked away, staring into nothing, and said, “He’s leaving me.”

“You know that?”

You bobbed your head and muttered, “When I found out loving him was… dangerous, I didn’t stop. I didn’t leave when I had the chance. I decided that he was worth it. I’m culpable in this.”

Jinyoung felt he finally had you on the ropes and came in for the kill. He approached you and you instinctively pressed your back against the wall. His close proximity was unwelcome, intimidating.

“What if I told you he’s planning something big? Something that will set off a chain reaction that could change life as we know it,” Jinyoung began, hushed like he spoke a deadly secret.

“Don’t tell him that,” you grumbled. “He’s arrogant enough as it is.”

Jinyoung’s eyes flickered, incredulous. “Have you always been this cynical?”

There wasn't enough time to explain it to him. “You don’t understand. And you never will.”

Jinyoung braced his hand on the wall beside your head and taunted, “Try me.”

You exhaled loudly and confessed, “All my foolish feelings aside, he taught me how to live again. I had decided my life was no longer worth living and he changed my mind.”

Jinyoung knew he couldn’t argue with that. Jackson had given you something to fight for and that was a powerful thing. After a pause, he sneered, “If I tell you what he really is, you may not feel that way.”

You shrugged, appearing nonchalant, but you knew Jinyoung was pulling at a thread, one that could unravel your seams. You stayed brave and replied, “I only know what he made me feel. What you say will never change that.”

“He’s not human.”

Those words echoed in your mind, like a scream ricocheting off the walls of your metal cell. You stared into Jinyoung’s eyes, trying to understand what was lingering in his gaze, what he had to gain from dismantling you entirely.

“I know that,” you finally revealed.

It wasn’t a hard conclusion to come to, frankly speaking. Jackson’s eyes could turn from lustrous brown to scorching crimson. Fire could appear in his hands. He could vanish without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Of course, he wasn’t human. He was an entity. Beyond that, you knew nothing else.

Jinyoung frowned, his brow stitching. This was a problem.

You breathed easier when he finally moved away from you and watched him give you a glance over before returning to his seat.

Jinyoung scribbled on his notepad and pulled out his phone. Without looking up, he asked blithely, “What if I let you call him?”

The offer made your heart spin in your chest. Hope bubbled up in the well of your body. The mere thought of hearing Jackson’s voice was enough to bring warmth back to your cheeks. But you quickly lowered your voice to a growl and spat, “Why - so you can try to get a trace?”

Jinyoung sent off a text unbeknownst to you and replied, “I want to know if your feelings are one-sided.”

Seated at a table, alone and shrouded in the dark, Jackson felt a vibration in his pocket. He opened his phone and the four words glared at him, setting his body aflame.

She knows too much.

Faster than he thought possible, Jackson leapt to his feet and flipped the table over. It tumbled to the ground, glasses splintering into thousands of shards across the floor.

Meanwhile, the two agents returned to the room under Jinyoung’s watchful gaze. They ushered you back to the table and fastened your cuffs once again to the bolt in the center. All the while, you scowled at Jinyoung.

Jinyoung held your phone in his hand, swiping to Jackson’s number and dialing without a second thought. He was careful of the cables attached to the nearby computer.

Jackson answered on the second ring, speaking through gritted teeth, “To whom am I speaking?”

“Jackson,” you started, chest clenching.

He paused. “Hi, baby.”

You looked between the phone and Jinyoung, and said, “There’s a man here. He’s going to tell me what you are.”

Another pause. This one much longer than the last. Jackson swallowed the lump in his throat and finally told you, “Don’t believe him.”

Your eyes burned. “Am I…,” you hesitated, voice trembling. “Ever going to see you again?”

Jackson could hear the longing, the sadness. He imagined your big, beautiful eyes staring up at him when he held you in his arms. He had taken you for granted and now there was a hole where his heart used to be.

“If not again in this life, then definitely in the next.”

Your lips tugged in the faintest of smiles, comforted. Another memory of Jackson flashed in your mind, a time when he said something similar and you knew he hadn’t given up.

The expression on Jinyoung’s face flipped on a dime. He pulled the phone away, before you could say another word, and jeered, “Hello, Jackson.”

“Jinyoung…,” Jackson started, fire racing up his spine.

“I got you,” Jinyoung laughed, hanging up.

You rose abruptly, jarring the chair beneath you and making your chains rattle. “You bastard!”

“I hope this has all been worth it,” said Jinyoung, gathering his things.

You wanted to dive across the table and claw his eyes out. Anger was filling you from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head, and at any minute you were bound to explode.

“I will never help you hurt him.”

“Too late,” Jinyoung whispered darkly.

You overflowed and resorted to threatening, “I will kill you if you touch him.”

Jinyoung turned to you slowly, not taking the threat in kind. His eyes bore into yours and the single light overhead began to flicker. Suddenly, he reached out and grasped you by the jaw, forcing you to lean toward him over the table.

“Careful,” he whispered with vehemence. “That mouth is going to get you into trouble.”

Fear tickled across your skin. And in that moment, something told you Jinyoung was not what he seemed.

He kept you in his grasp for a few more seconds, simply to assert his dominance, and then released you. You staggered, regaining your balance and bracing both hands on the table to steady yourself.

Jinyoung exited the only door, slamming it shut behind him.

You were left alone with your rage.

Hands shaking, you yanked at the cuffs still anchoring you to the table. No matter how much you pulled, even with every bit of your body weight, the table was nailed to the floor and didn’t budge.

But even if you broke out of your binds, there was only a locked door and a narrow window to freedom.

“Let me out of here,” you screamed at the top of your lungs.

“Put her on lockdown,” Jinyoung told the guard, your shouts muffled by the thick walls. “No one in or out, but me. We can’t let him get her back.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Good,” said Jinyoung, striding away and putting the phone to his lips. “We play our cards right and our boy will be back on track.”

“This damned mortal girl,” replied the man on the other line. “I don’t know what kind of magic is between her thighs, but she bought the world a little more time with it.”

Jinyoung chuckled at that.

“I shifted his focus,” added the caller, at ease. “He’s looking for me now. Do your worst.”

“With pleasure,” Jinyoung retorted, hanging up the phone and sauntering down the hallway.

Jackson stared down at his phone, reading the text from an unknown number over and over again.

You made me do this.

Jackson had lost yet another battle. Though the war was still to be won. He knew the odds were not stacking in his favor, but subverting expectations was his specialty.

He had exposed his own fatal flaw - you. But as much as Jackson wanted you back in his arms, he knew you were safe. He had to keep them convinced you were more valuable alive. They wouldn’t harm a hair on your head, not whilst they needed something from you.

At least, that was what Jackson told himself.

They wanted him angry. They wanted his bloodlust to consume and destroy. It was his purpose and he had abandoned it. You tempered him. Your voice was saccharine, like aloe smoothed on a burn.

The seed was planted. Jackson could be steered by any chain around your neck. It was a risky move, what he had done. By making them think you were leverage, you were safe for the moment, but the time would come when they would try to use you against him for the same reason.

Jackson knew if he made one wrong move he would lose you forever.

“He’s here,” said the driver, making his boss jolt.

“Finally,” Jackson groaned, slipping out of the backseat of his tinted SUV.

A figure approached from the other side of the alley, clad in a loose hoodie and even baggier pants. The two constant rivals, but occasional allies exchanged terse greetings.

“Jaebeom.”

“Jackson.”

Jackson went straight to the point, seething with impatience. It helped mask his fear. “Where is he?”

Jaebeom formed his lips into a hard line and replied, “I don’t know.” The answer was sincere. Jaebeom wasn’t invested enough to lie.

“He’s involved in this,” Jackson pressed, voice lowering like he didn’t want to risk being overheard. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”

Jaebeom did not seem the least bothered or concerned or even interested. In fact, his face was devoid of any expression. “Involved in what?”

“They took something from me,” Jackson confessed, regretting it immediately. He knew exactly the reaction he would get.

Something danced in Jaebeom’s eyes then. He quickly chided, “If they took her, it’s only because you made her worth something of value to you. That was your mistake.”

Jackson clenched his jaw. His suspicions mounted. If Jaebeom knew about you, then someone close must have told him.

Hands in his pockets, Jaebeom ambled closer, shaking his head in combination amusement and disappointment. “You are so predictable,” he reproached. “I should have bet money that you would be the one to screw up our entire plan because you got distracted by a piece of ass.”

“What can I say?” Jackson replied with a shrug, cloaking his wrath. “I am true to my name.”

“And I’m true to mine,” Jaebeom hissed, unflinching as lighting cracked overhead with his warning. “Don’t fuck this up.”

“Jaebeom, please,” Jackson stammered, changing his tactic. “You are the closest thing we have to a leader in this hell on earth. You are the only one that can make him stop.”

Jaebeom turned to leave and said, “You drew the line in the sand. You should have known it would be lonely on the other side.”

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lilmissbeanie · 4 years ago

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Haikyuu Masterlist

Hot Melted Chocolate

Haikyuu - Toru Oikawa, Atsumu Miya, Tetsuro Kuroo and Koutarou Bokuto.

Genre ~ NSFW kinda!

Word Count - 2.1k

This was a legit question I was asked at the weekend from my best friends boyfriend and she wouldn’t answer him so he asked me. I felt it would be funny to make it that the Haikyuu boys ask there S/O.

Posted 22/07/20

~ Toru Oikawa ~

The practice had been cancelled last minute, by last-minute, literally, the whole team was stood in the gym staring where the coach had just flown out the door yelling an apology and something about his daughter and a grandchild over his shoulder.

(Y/N) started to giggle, being the captain's girlfriend she went to most of his practices, and they always seemed to turn up with his arm wrapped around her shoulder, and her's was around his waist. "Animal Crossing anyone?"

This had become a common habit for the Seijoh team, ever since Animal Crossing New Horizon came out, (Y/N) had got it and then talked Oikawa into getting it, which didn't take long one flutter of her eyelashes and he was putty in her hands. Which in turn cause Oikawa, to convince Iwaizumi and the rest of the team to get it now, Mad dog straight out refused to get it.

Now everyone was lounging around the gym, playing Animal Crossing, everyone visiting each other islands, going fishing or doing some decorating. Oikawa had his head resting in (Y/N) lap as she leant against the wall. The room was silent apart from the odd, quiet cheering - Yes!

"Baby girl?"

"Yea pretty boy?"

"What does it feel like to get cummed in?" Everyone's heads flicked up from the switches to stare at Oikawa, their faces held the look of you did not just ask your girlfriend that. The fact that (Y/N) didn't even bat an eyelid at her boyfriend comment, they just guess that she was used to the shit he spews. Iwaizumi was furious at his best friend, looking like he was about to hit or launch his own switch at Oikawa in response to the question he just asked.

"Remember that time we had those shot of hot melted chocolate?" She was actually giving him a response. Not once had the couples eye's moved from their screen as they spoke.

"Yea,"

"Just like that and it's the same for when you swallow it too."

"Thanks, babe."

"Anytime" Leaning down she planted a kiss on his forehead before returning to running along the beach looking for sharks.

Everyone's jaw dropped, they thought that (Y/N) was a sweet and innocent girl they were not expecting that to come out of her mouth.

"Oh god, there's two of them?" Iwaizumi gaped as he stared at them, he had never heard the girl even make a dirty joke. "I didn't realise that they were as bad as each other."

"They are really perfect for each other." Maki and Matsun mumbled at the same time. The poor first years were still staring in shock at the pair of them.

~ Atsumu Miya ~

It was one of those lazy days that Atsumu and (Y/N) just enjoying relaxing in the park, both of them sprawled out on the picnic blanket, Atsumu was led on, his back with his eyes closed enjoying the feeling of the sun on his face with (Y/N) snuggled into his side, her head on his chest, legs tangled with his with a book in hand. They had were joined by Osamu, Ginjima and Kosaku, those three were having a bit of kick about.

"Hey, gorgeous?" humming in response, her eyes never leaving the page, she felt him start to play with a strand of her hair, twirling it around his fingers.

"What does it feel like to be cummed in?"

"You seriously did not just ask her that! You are such a pig." Atsumu's eye's flickered open behind his sunglass at the sound of his twin brother voice who was hovering over the couple with their two friends. "I honestly do not see what you see in him (Y/N)."

"Don't feel like you have to answer him (Y/N)." Ginjima told her, with a worried look on his face, he was shocked at the fact she hadn't made a move to hit her boyfriend with her book, typically when he made inappropriate comments, she would either glare at him or slap him on the upside of his head." It's kinda like taking a shot of melted chocolate, while it's still warm. And yes before you ask it is also like that when I swallow it too, but yours is salty." She replied nonchalantly, her eyesight still not breaking away from the book.

"Never mind, I now see why you're together," Osamu said as he walked away with the other two boys shaking their heads, that was more information than they need to know about their setter and his girlfriend's sex life. (Y/N) and Atsumu laughed as they watched their friends walk away with grossed out faces.

"Can you grab us a drink too, please!" Atsumu called after as he noticed there were walking towards small boat shed looking cafe.

"No, if you two disgusting freaks want one, you can get your own," Kosaku yelled back.

"Their reaction was priceless. Thank's baby." Atsumu planned a kiss on her head, before laying back down again and closing his eyes.

~ Tetsuro Kuroo ~

The rain was pouring down, while Kuroo, (Y/N) and Kenma, were all in the library finishing off their homework for the week. Well more like Kuroo and (Y/N) were Kenma was sat playing one of his many video games. It was dead silent apart from the tapping of buttons coming from Kenma and the odd exchanging of comparing answers or questions between the couple with the sound of ones scratching against paper.

Grabbing her carton of orange juice, (Y/N) stabbing the straw in through the foil before, placing it in a convenient place so she could sip it without the need for much movement or distraction from her homework. Going back to the math problem in front of her. Kuroo, on the other hand, had decided he was dying to cause some mischief and to get a reaction out of his best friend who was far too engrossed in his game and he decided that while he was at it, he would throw his girlfriend into the mix as well.

"Kitten?"

"yea?" Leaning forward to take a sip of orange juice.

"What does it feel like when I cum in you?" Which of course instantly caused (Y/N) to chock on the liquid, patting her chest as she coughed and sputtered while Kuroo helped while rubbing her back and Kenma eyes to flick in the direction of best friend with an eyebrow raised that read really?

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" (Y/N) asked double checking she had heard him right as a blush forming over her cheeks, as she turned to look at Kuroo.

"What does it feel like when I cum in you? And while we are at how does, it tastes and feels when you swallow my cum too?" He had the most serious look on his face, but she could see the mischief swirling around in his eyes.

She was going to kill him, it's not like she wasn't used to these question, he often asked them as random times catching her off guard, and it was usually when it was just the two of them, and she was more than happy to answer his questions.

"So?"

"You seriously want me to answer that with your best friend sat in front of us?" Kenma's eyes were flicking between the couple, watching them, he knew Kuroo did this on purpose, and the glare in (Y/N) eyes made him chuckle.

"Dead serious kitten." Kuroo leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, the prominent smug smirk on his face.

"Fine." (Y/N) grumbled, leaning back in her own chair picking up her carton of orange juice.

"You know, it is like when you have hot melted chocolate? In both sense of you cumming in me and when I sallow it. Taste-wise it's kinda a mix between salty and sweet since you've started eating more pineapple." She replied sipping her orange juice to attempt to hide her embarrassment.

Kenma's jaw drop he was not expecting (Y/N) to actually answer the question. Kuroo had caught the look on Kenma's face causing him to be smugger than before while his girlfriend's blush spread across her cheeks and down her neck she could not believe that she had just said that in front of Kenma.

"I love you." Kuroo chuckles as he placed a kiss on her lips.

~ Koutarou Bokuto ~

It was the summer training camp and (Y/N) being one of the managers for the Fukurodani team, was watching her owl-like boyfriend train with Hinata from Karsuno, teaching him how to do feints, she thought it was cute how much Hinata admires her boyfriend, and it was giving the boy an ego boost not that he really needed one. Akaashi had been setting up set's for the boys, and they were also joined by Kuroo, Lev and Tsukishima as the practised blocks. (Y/N) didn't catch the look Kuroo and Bokuto had shared then glanced her way.

Kuroo had mentioned to his other best friend what he had asked his girlfriend in the library last week and was dying to see the reaction that Bokuto would get out of his girlfriend.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Little bird?"

"What's up Kou?" She grinned at the nickname he had to bestow upon her when they first started dating.

"I have a question for you," She smiled brightly at him and nodded at him really not expecting what comes next. "Sooooo, you know when we have sex-" her smile drop and her eyes changing warning him to stop "- what does it feel like when I cum in you?"

He didn't even have time to react at the ball flying his direction, hitting him square in the chest, his girlfriend was an ex-volleyball player, and she still had one powerful and quick-serve with damn good aim. Kuroo was in absolute stitches bending over holding his stomach, akaashi, had a slight smile on knowing damn well his captain deserved that, Tsukkishima covered his mouth to stop the laughter coming out of his mouth and pour little Hinata and, well not so little, Lev, were confused.

"To answer your question, like hot melted chocolate and before you ask, I know what you are going to ask next. Yes, it feels the same that way, and it's salty."

She glared at her boyfriend, (Y/N) also knew if she didn't answer him now, he would keep nagging her till she did. Everyone looked impressed with the fact that the girl actually answered but pour Hinata looked even more lost, you could see the cogs turn in his head as he tried to work out what she meant by hot melted chocolate and salty. (Y/N) walked out the gym, calling behind her she expects Bokuto to clear up by himself after that little stunt and if anyone helped him, she would have them running drills.

~ EXTRA ~

Back in Karasuno, the team was training after the week at the summer camp in Tokyo. Suga's girlfriend, Kyoko and Yachi had come up to the school to bring them some lunch and snacks as the boys had been training hard all day.

"Hey, guys! Lunch is here! There are rice boxes for everyone, then for pudding, there is some mix of fruits and melted chocolate!" (Y/N) waved the sealed container around containing the melted chocolate.

There were two screams from the other side of the room. Everyone's heads flicked at lighting fast speed, shocked that they didn't get whiplash at the speed, over by the net was Kageyama and Hinata hugging each other with fear on their faces. Tsukki put two and two together for why there are reacting like that causing him to crack up laughing.

"What the hell is wrong with you two? Kyoko, Yachi and (Y/N) have been kind enough to bring us food, and you guys are acting like it's poisoned." Daichi glared at the two boys.

"Unclean!" Hinata yelled again, still look petrified as he pointed at the box of melted chocolate in (Y/N) hands.

"What is he on about?" Noya asked, confused before looking at Tsukki who was still laughing. "Tsukishima do you know what's going on?"

Nodding, Tsukki wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Last week when we were playing with Bokuto, Kuroo, Akaashi and Lev. Bokuto asked his girlfriend what it felt like when he came in her, and she explained to have the feel of hot melted chocolate. Kuroo then proceeds to explain to Hinata after she had left and Hinata must have told the king." causing Tsukki to start laughing all over again.

"I'm going to kill Bokuto and Kuroo," Daichi complained rubbing his temples while he watched Tanaka and Noya join in with the laughter, the others clearly trying to keep it contained, Kyoko was attempting to help Yachi get over the shock and Suga appeared next to his own girlfriend and sending a cheeky look at (Y/N).

"Don't you dare. Don't you even think about it, Koshi Sugawara."

©️ All content belongs to lilmissbeanie, do not copy, edit, repost or translate.

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lord-explosion-baku · 5 years ago

Text

Hero Santa

Sero x fem!reader

Warnings: yellow sour fruit, swearing

A/N: wow it’s been a long time that I’ve posted a oneshot. Sorry about that. My job keeps me busy and the fic I’m writing takes priority. This isn’t a request either so I’m ;;; this is entirely self-indulgent. I’ve just discovered a newfound love for mr. tape boy and wanted to write something about him. There’s a lot of cringey things in here. Like, secondhand emebarssment type things. But I just wanted to write something funny and wholesome, straying away from the incessant dubcon that litters my blog. If this makes you embarrassed then I think I’ve done my job right? If this makes you smile, then double points for me, I guess! Also, fuck you, I'm still mourning the loss of blockbuster movies so it exists in this one shot. huzzah.

You barrel in through Sero’s threshold, clutching your sides as you bust out laughing, exhilarated from you and Sero’s grand escape from a dastardly encounter— you seeing your ex boyfriend in public. Sero flings himself after you, clamping his hands down on your shoulders practically shaking as he tries to catch his breath.

“D-do you think he saw us??” He snickers, twirling around you to throw his house keys down on his front door counter top.

“I’m sure he did! He said my name right before you grabbed me!”

Sero’s grin widens as he sifts through your bag to grab one of the many sweet treats he picked out for the both of you. “But are you really sure that he saw us?”

“Sero, you literally spider-manned us out of blockbuster. The entire store saw us! They’re going to have to get a long ass ladder to get that tape off the ceiling!” You grin at him and with your best, most formal tone, you mock, “that was quite indecent, young man!”

“Ehhh. I’m sure they have somebody at the blockbuster who was like a leg extension or flying quirk. They’ll be fine!

You snort. “I can’t believe you just referred to blockbuster as ‘the blockbuster’ like you’re some kinda old lady!”

“Now, why don’t you make a decision on what my identity is? Who am I: Spider-Man or Gammy NumNums?”

“Who am I to say? I don't know Spider-Man’s secret identity. How are we so sure that Gammy NumNums herself isn’t Spider-Man?

“Oh shit, I think you’re onto something there.” Sero plops down on his couch, setting his treats down on the table next to it. “I’m really living the greatest triple life, huh? The best of all worlds.”

“I’ll say.” You mosey into the room, vibrating with happiness and comfort you get whenever you’re in Sero’s house. You nod at the pile of blankets he has at his feet. The two of you are going to be having a blanket fort movie night, something you’ve been looking forward to all week long. “Shall we get started?”

“Nah nah nah, lemme take care of all of this! Can you get the popcorn ready?”

You nod and grab two different packets from your bag. “Butter or kettle? I couldn’t decide.”

“What do I look like, an animal? Butter! Buttery butter. I want my popcorn to slide off my fingertips!”

You mock a gag. “I think maybe you are an animal,” you say and throw a pillow at Sero’s face before hopping to the kitchen before he could retaliate.

You leave the room with a giant smile on your face. Back at the store, you let yourself freeze in front of your ex while a thousand thoughts ran through your head. It’s always been odd seeing him in public after the two of you broke up, but every time you have seen him, you’ve been able to hide yourself immediately. Thankfully Sero was there when you were discovered and you recovered from your mental paralysis as soon as he swung the two of you out and away from him.

Sero has really been a special kind of hero towards you since your breakup. He’s been nothing but supportive of you— there for you whether you needed a shoulder to cry on or someone to bring a smile to your face. Sero is your guy. Sometimes both! You recall an instance where you were done crying but had said something along the lines of “my heart might be broken,” and without hesitating, Sero clicked out a piece of his tape and placed it over your chest, telling you that he’d be there to fix it. That’s when you first realized that maybe your heart could change fall into a new direction. He has really become something very… special to you. You find your heart skipping a beat during certain instances. If his hand lingers on your waist for a second longer than you’re used to, your mind goes haywire. It’s funny— you know you have feelings for him, and you’re pretty positive he might reciprocate those feelings, but the two of you avoid saying anything about it like the plague. You’re completely comfortable with him, but sometimes when you’re alone, when you’re close, the air grows thick with tension and the two of you sit in silence until one of you inevitable break the silence by making some lame joke. But god, sometimes you just want to hold the boy down and smooch his face!!

You pause in the hallway to check yourself in the mirror, pursing your lips as you turn to inspect your teal blue pajama bottoms. You sigh, embarrassed to have been in public with your lounge wear: slippers and all. If you had been expecting to see anybody, you would’ve done your makeup, maybe put on a skirt and some cute boots, but he saw you looking like a slob with a shit ton of candy in your hands.

After you pop your corn, you return to Sero’s living room, amazed at how quickly he made the fort transformation. Blankets hang from the walls and ceiling, cascading down with nice curves centering on an arena of fluffy pillows with Sero sprawled out in the middle, languidly pushing chocolate covered cookie dough into his mouth while he bats at the controls to get the movie started. You pause at the doorway, shifting your weight from one leg to another nervously until he looks at you, lifting a brow when you bite your lip.

“I know,” he says with a grin, “I’m absolutely brilliant.”

“You’re just alright.” You take you seat next to the boy, and burrow your cold feet under his legs. He gives you a funny grin, but you shrug it off. “I’m cold!”

“I think I-“ Sero presses his lips together, a worried look crawling over his face “-I’m certain I spared a blanket or two for us to actually use.”

He takes a moment to look around and after he finds nothing, he gives you a wide eyed stare. “Oh no.”

“See, this is why you're just alright.”

Sero hops up. “No, no, no— I’m not just alright. I’m the king of this here fort.” Sero raises his hands to feel around for a blanket used for the roof that’s unnecessary for the structure. His shirt lifts, exposing his tight midriff to you, and you tell yourself to look away, but you just can’t bring yourself to. Your eyes linger on his naval before drifting down towards his gray sweatpants where you can definitely make out the outline of his dick. You could scream.

“Do forts usually have kings?”

“This one does.”

You get to you knees, fully aware of how it might look to him if he so much as glances down, and ask, “if you’re the king, what would that make me?”

“That’s easy,” Sero says, carefully peeling some tape off a loose blanket, “you’re the princess.”

“HA! So you’re my dad?!”

Sero snickers before his eyes meet yours, blanket falling into his hands. He hesitates for a moment while he looks down at you, his brows furrowing as the tips of his ears grow to be a redder hue.

“Absolutely not,” he whispers in a tone softer than you’re used to. The blanket fall to the floor, but Sero stays stock still, eyes glazing over as he takes in your suggestive position.

“Then how does this work?” You quip, growing all the more embarrassed that you’re practically begging for him to make a move while at the same time, doing absolutely nothing.

“Don’t you remember?” Finally, he crouches down, leveling his head with yours. You can feel his breath dance across your face as he continues, “I swept you off your feet. Stole you right out from under the nose of a beastly emperor. The princess is merely a guest at my fort; it’s a safe haven for her.”

“Then one could say that the princess owes the king a lot for saving her life…”

“The king is only happy when the princess is safe and happy. She owes him nothing.”

“Is that so…?” You reach a hand into the popcorn bowl, grin sinisterly at ‘the king’, and buck a handful of the buttery goodness Sero loves so much right at his face. “Little did you know, the princess has been planning to assassinate the king in order to take the fort for herself!”

“Damn you, princess!” Sero laughs, throwing his own handful right back at you. “The king has been betrayed one too many times after giving in to acts of charity!”

“The king is a fool!” You yell, swinging a pillow at his face, knocking him back into his cushioned seminar. “Long live princess me!!”

Sero moves to remove your assault weapon from his face, only to have you climb on top of him to pin his hands behind his back

“You suck.”

“You sure wish I would.”

“I—“ Sero’s face flushes beat red while you smirk down at him. You tighten your thighs hold around him but get distracted by something poking your chest. It’s popcorn.

“Oh. Ew.” Without thinking, you pull the bits out from your bra and pop them into your mouth. Sero gives you a funny grin and it’s your turn to flush. You hide behind your hands and cry, “GAHH! I’m not a princess! I’m a troll!”

Sero uses this opening to his advantage, grabbing onto your hands and using sheer strength, flings you onto your back, panning you down against a pillowy wonderland.

“Ahhh curse your hero training,” you laugh, wiggling your legs around so you can lay more comfortably under your faux assailant.

“Troll princess,” Sero sighs, his warm breath cascading down your neck, causing shivers to prickle all across your body, “I've got you now.”

“Oh nooo.” You toss your head back, subtly lifting your pelvis to press against his. Heat floods into your belly when you feel his hardening erection pulsate against you. This isn’t what friends do and you know that. He has to know that, too. “The King’s got the poor, helpless princess locked beneath him. Whatever can she do? Whatever will he do?”

Sero goes silent. His eyes scan over your face, lips patting when they land in yours. You’re unsure of what to do— what to say. At this point you might as well tell him to kiss you.

“I don’t wanna play this game anymore,” he says in a sort of morose way. You heart falls and your stomach goes to knots. Maybe you were wrong about him feeling the same way for you do? Maybe the two of you are just really good friends. But his hands don’t move from their pinned position.

“Sero… we don’t have to do this if you don’t w—“

Your sentence gets cut short by Sero’s lips suddenly locking onto yours. You hum in surprise, but kiss him back, your skin practically screaming in delight when his tongue slides over your bottom lip. You try to reach up to him but Sero’s bolted hands hold your wrists firmly, keeping them above your head and all you can do is roll your tongue over his, trying to catch as much of him as you can before the kiss breaks.

But it doesn’t. He pushes your wrists together so he can hold you with one hand while the other slides down to your body, caressing your side until he squeezes your waist. You lift your pelvis and his arm wraps around your back, pulling you closer against his body. His cock rubs against your pubic bone and you can’t help but imagine what it may feel like inside of you.

You manage to free one of your hands and swiftly move it down to his sweats, greedily massaging him through his pants. Finally Sero pulls away, a trail of saliva connecting your lips to his.

“Oh, heh~,” he says, seizing your hand. “I’m, uh, really sensitive…”

“Oh? I’d like to see just how-“ again, you’re cut off by Sero claiming your lips, the kiss more forceful the second time around. It’s messy, and wet, and desperate, and you find yourself sighing into his mouth every time you get a chance to breathe, only to have those short moments thrown away by your own need possessing your body to kiss him back harsher, hands reaching up to his hair to tug and pull, exciting you when you hear a groan build up in the back Sero’s throat.

“Fuck.” Sero’s lips meet your neck, his hand resting against your exposed belly. It’s cold but you don’t mind; your body craves his cool touch. Using his tongue, Sero draw a long strip up from your neck to your ear, causing your body to shudder. You practically melt when he whispers, “I want you. I want you so bad. You have no idea.”

You sigh as Sero nibbles in your ear, his hands boldly exploring farther up your body. “I… think I have some idea.”

“Nuh-uh.” Sero leans back, his eyes shamelessly scanning over your body. You didn’t think it possible, but your skin warms up even more from his lingering gaze. As much as you like the attention, you want his hands right back on you pronto. “There’s no way you could possibly like me as much as I like you…”

You scowl at him. Too much talking and not enough kissing. You pull your shirt off and unclasp your bra, throwing your garments to the side, exposing yourself to him. Nervous tingles nip at your body, but the look on his face, the way his eyes flick from your face to your chest and back to your face as his adam’s apple bobs, makes it all worth it.

“Shit… you’re so— you’re everything to me, I need you to know that, like, if you’re at all uncomfortable or like if I do something you don’t like— god, you’re gorgeous, I just wanna—“

“-Sero…” You take his hands in yours and lead them back to your body. “Please… touch me.”

“Y-yeah…”

Sero presses his lips to yours in a sweeter manner, him molding to you nearly perfectly as his hands run up your sides. Goosebumps erupt across your body when he pushes you back down against the pillows. His right hand cups your breast as he trails kisses down your chest, only pausing when he begins to snicker.

“What?”

“Salty,” he says, his tongue licking dangerous close to your nipple. “You taste like popcorn.”

“Ohhhh noooooo-ahhh~!”

A pretty sight: Sero’s pink tongue rolling out to lav over your puckered bud.

His lips wrap around your nipple; he sucks and your body jolts forward. He’s not the only one who’s sensitive. His eyes meet yours and he offers you a sinister grin. “I like it.”

Your breathing grows heavy while Sero makes his way down your stomach, making sure to pay extra attention to the places that make you squirm when he kisses them. He gets to your pajama shorts and pets your clothed slit with a knuckle. Your hips buck up when he leans down and licks you through your shorts, excited pulsations grabbing at your core. You need more.

Your shorts fly off by your own doing, whether it’s to get the ball rolling or if you want him to be giving you the exact same lustful stare he is now is lost to you, but you’ll take it. You love it. You want him to look at you like that forever.

Sero pets your core, his own breath shuddering as you roll your hips at his touch.

“You’re already so fucking wet,” he says, annunciating every word as if it pains him to say it. He rests his head in your thigh as he lazily teases you, seeming to enjoy your light mewling that comes when his fingers grow closer to your clit, the way your body moves to his touch. “I want it.”

“What ~ahah~ what are you gonna do about it?”

“Hmmm.” To your severe displeasure, Sero removes to hands, only to strip himself of his own shirt. You stare at him in awe; of course you’ve seen him shirtless before, but under these circumstances, it’s different. And you’re sure he’s bulked our a bit since the last time you caught him half-naked. Goodness.

“Ohh my god,” you sigh when he tosses his shirt to the sigh, the sight of his muscles moving over you incredibly enticing.

“What?” Sero gets to his elbows and spreads your legs open for him. He gives your pussy a long lick and groans, closing his eyes when he kisses your pubic bone. “You got something to say?”

“You’re just… so… ohhhh~!”

Sero begins laving at your heat, drowning the room with your surprised moans. His skillful tongue traces your caverns until his mouth is covered in your need. He eats you out like he’s starving for it— hell, he could’ve been famished if he says there’s no way you can like him more than he likes you. His tongue circles your clit, his never ceasing groans adding to your pleasure. You reach down as grasp at his soft hair, massaging his head as he toys with your sensitivity.

“So what, Princess?” He asks as his fingers tease your hole. The nickname sends shivers up your spine. You don’t mind it, you just didn’t think that something so cheesy could sound so hot coming from him.

“So— ahhh ahah~!” A loud moan you aren’t expecting tears out from your throat when Sero plunges two fingers into your depths. He chuckles and returns his attention back to your clit, watching your face contort in pleasure through heavy eyelashes. He sucks in you while his fingers curl against your walls, the threat of your own release building up against your stomach. You moan and pull his hair, whispering incomprehensible words, trying to find the right way to encourage him, the right way to warn him that you’re close.

“I know, I’ve got a big tongue, huh?” Oh, so he could be a smug bastard, too?

“Sssaaah~” You try saying his name, but it’s lost to you. You don’t know what to call him: Hanta? Sero? He’s been your friend for so long that saying his actual name might sound weird on your tongue, but what if saying his last name sounds weird to him? “Hero…”

“Hmmm?” His low voice murmuring into your core sends your body into a frenzy. Your body starts to shake and grip onto the cushions to keep you grounded, but that doesn’t save you from the next word you yelp out as your body is lost to ecstatic fits.

“Fuck! Oh god, Santa~ nnng~ hah~!” You squeeze your thighs together, locking him in as he gifts you with little kitten licks, elongating your excruciating orgasm with the low reverberations of his voice while he laps up your pleasure.

Your body settles but that doesn’t stop him at first. He savors your twitching body, kissing your swollen bud tenderly, brushing his hands across your sweat covered body, until he looks up at you and grins.

“So you have some kinda Christmas kink?”

You catch your breath, gazing up at the makeshift blanket ceiling, before looking back down at his goofy, red face. “What do you mean?”

“You just called me ‘Santa.’ I mean, Christmas isn’t for another month but I’m sure I could find a Santa hat somewhere if that’s what you’re into. I live to please.”

“Oh no.” You bury yourself behind your hands. “No I didn’t. No, no, noooo!!”

Sero climbs on top of you and kisses your hands. “Hey,” he sings at you, “don’t hide. I don’t kink shame.”

You grab a pillow a fling it into his face. “Shut up! Noooo!”

The two of you laugh together, his breath fanning you as he buries his head in the crook of your neck. The two of you stay like that for mere seconds but it feels like an eternity. He made you cum, but still, you crave him. You want more of him.

“That was actually really hot.” You feel him grin against your neck. “You forgetting my name. It kinda made me feel good. Really good.”

“I could… I could make you feel better,” you whisper, wrapping your hands around his back, using your fingernails to tickle his skin. He flushes.

“Is that so?” He leans down and pecks your lips. “‘Cause I wasn’t done with you. I wanna see if I can make you say all seven reindeers’ names.”

“Oh, fuck you!”

He quirks a brow. “You wanna?”

...Desperately. “Yes.”

Sero’s all too quick to free himself of his sweats and you side him by pulling his boxers down. You gulp at the sight of his erection; it’s a nice size with a beautiful curve, pre-cum already seeping out through the slit of his reddened head. You look to him and bite your lips. You grasp at the base of his length and guide his cockhead to to your mouth, pulling you tongue out to lick at his knob.

“Ahh~, um, I’m really-“

“Sensitive?” You ask before lulling your tongue underneath his cock.

“Y-yess,” he hisses, grasping at your hair to pull you back.

You grin wryly back at him. “Then how’s this going to work?”

“With me in control-“ he smirks “-lay back princess.”

You pout at him but he moves to kiss your neck, gently pushing your shoulders down so you’re back on the cushions. You reach your hands up and arch your back, an obvious ploy to get him all the more hot and bothered, and not an unsuccessful one at that.

“God damn,” he breathes, stroking his cock while taking in your figure. “God, I lo—… I need to say something before we go any further.”

“Hmmm?” You run your hands down your body. You stop at your breasts, teasing your nipples, and biting your lips. “You can say anything to me.”

“Sweet Jesus, you’re not making this easy.” He sighs and falls over you. A hand cups your face, his thumb tracing the curve of your lips. It looks like he’s eating to say something serious, but you can hardly think straight with his hardened dick resting against your thigh.

“This,” he says, stroking the back of his hand against your cheek, “can’t be… I can’t be just a rebound for you. I know I might not seem like it, but I’m an all or nothing kinda guy. You can either just be my friend—my really good friend that I’ll think about for all eternity, or you can be… my friend who I’m allowed to take on dates and kiss in public and have high make out sessions whenever we want…”

Oh! Oh he’s asking you out! You can’t help the grin from spreading across your face, but you don’t realize you’re not responding until he continues with—

“And if you’re not yet over that guy… I think I can wait for you, but I don’t… want to get my hopes up or anything…”

Sero your DICK is on my THIGH!

“Sero, you’re not a rebound. I would be very happy if you would take me on dates, kiss me in public, and have high make out sessions with me. I’d even be happy if I get to call you my boyfriend.”

He beams. “You mean that?”

“Yesss, I do. We were practically dating already!”

“Nahhh, I’ve just been warming you up. You don’t know dating until we’ve conquered the entire laser tag arena together.”

This dork. “Then I’ll wait for that with bated breath. Now, please for the love of god, fuck me before I explode!”

“Oho, we can’t have that…”

Sero lines himself up with center, allowing his cockhead to toy with your hot, needy entrance. He curses and rolls his head back as he inches himself forward, testing your heat before pulling out completely. His eyelids grow heavy when he pushes into you again and you feel yourself clamp down on him. You whimper. He feels bigger than he looks and it takes some pull before he’s completely inside you, but god, oh god, after you get used to it, you can’t help but moan as his dick slides in and out of you.

“Mmmphhhfuck, that’s good.” Slowly, Sero rolls his hips, gently fucking you at a near excruciating pace. He breathes through his teeth as his cock grinds into your walls. It feels fantastic having the head of his cock rubbing against the certain spot deep inside you. His arm wraps around your back and he pulls you flush against him, your breasts bouncing against his chest as he quickens the pace, kissing you fiercely, hungrily , while his hands lock you into place.

“You don’t know,” he seethes, “how long I’ve wanted this.”

He bites down in your neck and you claw at his back, mewling. The force, even though he’s taking his time, is addicting and you find yourself syncing up with him in no time; cursing, and panting as you sync up with him. He feels so good that you could cry, instead, you beg.

“More,” you sigh, practically his humping cock, “please Sero. I ahhh~ I need more!”

Sero growls and it sends you body spinning with lust and agony. He pushes you back down and forces himself to his hilt, making you cry out in sheer ecstasy. He presses his hand against your belly, pulls out and pushes back in with the same extremity. “More?” He growls in a sort of sensually dark tone that floods your body and shakes you to your core. “You want more, babe? I’ll give the princess anything she wants!”

“Fuuuck!” You cry, filling the room with pathetic moans as Sero drills into you with such indignant fury that it nearly makes your eyes go black. Your body grows wet with perspiration and lust, Sero pushing into you with pools of his own sweat meshing with yours.

He silences your pathetic moaning with a violent kiss, biting down on your bottom lip while he greedily paws at your breasts. Then, he stills completely, pulling back, fanning your face while he pants, “ho ho ho, amiright?”

“PFFFFT NOOO!!” Your belly clenches as the two of you bust out laughing, until Sero eyes completely glaze over.

“Ohhhh fuck,” he groans. “Keep laughing, that feels so—ohhhhh fuck!”

Something completely takes him over and you laughter turns to screams of delight when he starts completely pulverizing you with such an intense, bruising velocity that you could see your soul escape your mouth. He slams into you, lifting your leg over his head, keeping his quick and relentless pace until you feel his cock begin to throb.

“You’re. Just. So. Fucking. Hot!” he says through gritted teeth. His fingers quickly dance around your clit, rubbing at your pleasure until you feel yourself coil and your cunt flutters around his girth. “God, I can feel it. You’re close. Fuck! Babe, you need to cum. Princess, please, I can’t-!”

“I’m ~nggg~ so close!!”

Sero kisses you, shoving his tongue against yours, urgently needing to taste you. His dick twitches within you, his fingers desperately trying to get you to keep up. Your hair stands up on the back of your neck. Your coil breaks. You clench around him and allow waves of pleasure to burst through you as he rams into you with rigorous intent. You cling on to him, crying out about how good he feels, how you can’t stand not having him fill you up, how you want to feel his everything deep, deep inside of you.

Sero grunts and ruts into you. Warmth floods your core as thick ropes of cum line your hungry walls. There’s so much and it doesn’t seem to stop coming as he slows his grooving, kissing your forehead while his orgasm chases yours. You breathe in sync with one another, staring each other in the eyes, unsure of what to say, what to do, before he finally pulls out and let’s you leak onto the cushions.

“Oh, whoops,” he says, inspecting the mess. “Lemme just— warm towel…”

He hops up, but you grab him by the wrist and pull him down into a kiss. He grins against you and you feel yourself growing jubilant with everything that just happened.

“You’re incredible,” you say, holding him there for a moment before letting him back up.

“No, you.”

“Pfft!”

“I mean it!” He brings his hands up in mock defense. “You have no idea! You have no idea! I just-! Lemme get a towel and then I’ll shower you with praise!”

Sero is gone and back in a flash, warmed wet towel in hand. He takes his time wiping the sweat off your body, making sure to talk uncharacteristically sweet to you while he takes care. He wraps you in the blanket that hath forsaken him and cleans the white mess on the cushion before joining you under said blanket. His body is warmer than the blanket and you love it.

“Sooo… the movie. Movie night with my girlfriend!”

“Ha! That’s right! This is one of my favorite movies so you better pay attention! No distractions!”

“Mhmmm,” he hums half-heartedly. “No distractions.”

But even while the movie plays, your warm bodies are pressed right up against each other. There’s definitely going to be more distractions. The two of you have been waiting for this for too long, and Sero has to prove that he’s not just alright, and he certainly wants to learn all about your secret Christmas kink.

TAGS FOR EVERYTHING: @ayeputita @yandere-inamorata @dee-madwriter @unboundbnha @rizamendoza808, @rubycubix @smbody-stole-mycar-radio @zellllyyyy @sarcastictextstuck @kpanime @captain-sin-allmight-queen @psionicsnow @wickedlewicked @ghost-of-todoroki @kattariapenn @im-an-adult-sometimes @bnhya @local-senpai @eggpienutbuttercroissant @usernamekate94 @reyvenclaww @hi-ho-and-hello @rubyred-imagines

#sero x reader #bnha x reader #hanta x reader #Hanta Sero x reader #Sero hanta x reader #reader insert #bnha reader insert #mha x reader #hanta sero imagine #bnha imagine #bnha imagines #boku no hero academia #my hero academia

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britonell · 5 years ago

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For @inukag-week 2020!

A short and sweet follow-up to Hermit’s Haven, and this time Inuyasha encounters a different kind of visitor...

Rated T for Inuyasha’s swearing.

Hermit’s Dilemma

Inuyasha stared at the cub, trying to ignore the distinct sense of déjà vu.

The Ezo brown bears were pretty common around these parts, at least enough to be a minor nuisance during deer hunting season, but they were almost always adult males. The only time he had come this close to a cub was when he had followed the village fishermen to the waterfalls and a female and her cubs had joined their group, apparently using the men’s presence to shake off a hostile male bear. This time there was no mama bear, just a lone cub.

Said bear cub sat on his furry little haunches, peering up at the dog-eared man.

Wasn’t this the same place where he first spotted Hachi?

More importantly, what the hell was a bear cub doing all on his own, and so damn close to his house? Shouldn’t this scrawny little guy be in a cozy den with his mother, dozing off until spring?

Inuyasha looked around once more, ears flicking back. Nope, no other bears nearby. Perhaps the mother had gone out to scavenge for acorns one last time and had been struck by a vehicle, or wandered into some other residential area and met the business end of a rifle.

Well fuck-a-doodle-doo.

That was how Inuyasha found himself crossing the icy bridge with a bear cub in his arms, making his way to—

Wait a minute, there’s no way the dogs would stay calm if he showed up with a squirming bear cub. Maybe he could hand him off to Miroku, that guy probably knew more about bears. Crap, was it even legal to bring a bear cub indoors? His residence was technically a shelter, would his non-profit get in trouble? It’s not like he was going to keep the cub. He should head to the agricultural school ASAP, there had to be staff members with experience in handling wild animals.

He froze mid-step and the curious cub glanced up at him.

Shit, shit, shit, he couldn’t go to the school now, Kagome was picking up her mother and grandfather from the airport and she had made him promise, multiple times, that he would be in the village to greet them when they arrived.

He would stay put, he had assured her. He knew how important this was for her, considering she hadn’t gone back to Tokyo for Christmas. He wasn’t gonna disappear like a coward. Not like he cared if city folks visited his village. It’s not like they were the same people that drove him and his mother out of their old apartment. It wasn’t a problem.

Really.

The bear cub let loose a shrill squeal and Inuyasha nearly flung the cub up into the air before stopping himself. Instead, he held the cub in front of him like a ticking bomb.

Did he need milk? Could bears drink cow milk? Maybe he was cold. Did he need to put him in his jacket? Maybe the cub was scared. Should he swaddle him? Kagome did say he had a knack for swaddling the dogs. The chihuahuas usually liked it. And once the bear quieted down he could hide him in a spare room until morning. Right, this would work. Absolutely. Totally.

Mind made up, he went up to Miroku’s house and slid the kitchen window open.

“Yo, keep an eye on the dogs, will ya?” Inuyasha shouted, making sure to keep the bear out of sight. If what he was doing was against the law, he wasn’t going to drag anyone else into legal trouble.

Miroku poked his head into the hallway. “Gotcha! And for goodness’s sake, use the front door.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Inuyasha grumbled. They both knew that wasn’t going to happen. Miroku could just as easily install a lock on the old window, but Inuyasha had a feeling he never would. Miroku had been insistent on not altering the original design of the house.

That was...nice.

“Hi Inuyasha!” Sango called from somewhere down the hall. “We made yakidango earlier. Do you want some?”

“Uh...maybe later. Thanks.” Inuyasha gingerly closed the window and stepped back.

Yeah. That was nice too. The elderly villagers used to offer him food. They were being neighborly, or so they claimed.

Not that Sango was a neighbor. Yet. He knew she was looking at a couple of houses. That fox demon from the agricultural school, Shippo, was probably going to move in soon.

The bear squealed again, prompting Inuyasha to quicken his pace.

Kagome’s front door was unlocked, as usual. He had told her to start locking the door but no one here really worried about security, what with him and all the dogs running around. She had at least promised to lock the door...after making a key for him.

Fuck, he was not blushing at the thought.

He stomped into the living room and rummaged through her dresser until he pulled out a fluffy pink blanket.

Wrap the blanket around like this, tuck the paws in here, rub his head like so, pat his tummy to soothe him, and voila. Inuyasha examined his handiwork with a satisfied grin, which wilted a little at the realization that he was too adept at this.

The bear peeked up over the edge of the blanket and eyed him, as if waiting for something. Inuyasha hoped he wasn’t expecting a lullaby. Then again, Kagome did say music can calm down dogs in stressful situations.

He reached for Kagome’s iPad and scrolled for a while. Hmm, this would do.

Kuma Sanbiki

He sat down cross-legged on the floor and held the bear burrito close to his chest, mumbling the same lyrics that he used to sing with his mother.

Kuma sanbiki issho ni sunde,

Papa kuma, mama kuma, akachan kuma—

“Eep!”

Inuyasha froze and slowly looked up. Kagome was doubled over, shoulders trembling, hands covering her face. He would’ve thought she was in pain if he didn’t catch a delighted giggle. A woman who was clearly her mother stood by the entrance, one hand resting on a suitcase and the other over her heart, watching the bundle in his arms with dewy eyes.

“What’s all this then?” An elderly man walked in, kicking his shoes off in a huff. “Don’t just stand there, we need to—young man, you’re holding the baby wrong.”

Inuyasha could do nothing but sit still and watch the elderly man saunter up to him.

“Now see here, if you want to calm a young one—that’s a bear.”

“What?” the woman, henceforth known as Mama Higurashi in his head, said.

“A bear?” Kagome chortled, her face still red.

Busted.

“Err…” Three sets of eyes were on him. “I found a bear cub,” he finally confessed.

Word got out pretty quickly, mainly because Kagome ran out to get Miroku’s expensive camera equipment “for that money shot,” and both Miroku and Sango came over to greet the guests as well as take a look at the bear cub.

“I can’t believe you swaddled a bear!” Kagome giggled, hours after the fact.

“Bear cub,” Inuyasha corrected, his forehead firmly planted on his kotatsu. It had been decided that Sango would watch the cub for the night and bring the bear to the school in the morning, because apparently the school’s resident bear expert was her uncle.

Stupid, Inuyasha thought. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he should’ve just brought the cub to Sango in the first place. Stupid.

“I can’t wait to get those pictures on my laptop.”

He lifted his head to glare at her. “So you can laugh at me some more?”

“I wasn’t laughing at you!”

“Uh-huh.”

She scooted over to snuggle up to him, ignoring his sputtering protests and unflattering comparisons to Pen-Pen. “I was losing it because it was too adorable for my little ol’ heart. You’re gonna make a girl faint with your paternal instincts.”

He tried really, really hard not to let her words, or the way she was twirling his forelock, affect him. “Yeah, sure. OK.”

“But you know,” she said with a coy smile. “I do have a confession.”

Inuyasha glanced at her suspiciously.

“I would’ve preferred seeing you holding a baby. My baby.”

He didn’t remember much after that because his brain short-circuited and he went on autopilot.

(Kagome inwardly cursed. Asking Miroku on how to confess like a wrecking ball had not been one of her best ideas.)

The bombshells didn’t end there, though. The next morning, after joining the Higurashi family for breakfast, he was helping Mama Higurashi wash the dishes when she nonchalantly proved just how much her daughter took after her.

“You should’ve joined us for dinner last night. Grandpa and I had a question and Kagome had no idea what the answer was.”

“Oh,” was Inuyasha’s reply.

“I’m sure it’s something my daughter has been wondering about for a while.”

“Ah.” Not freaking out, Inuyasha mentally repeated over and over again.

“And, I must admit, I would like to know as well. This is a good time to ask, don’t you think? No need to be modest when you answer.”

“Umm…” Sirens blared in his head.

“Which do you prefer,” she said airily, “small weddings or big weddings?”

~*~

AN: The Higurashi women sure love to drop bombshells. Inuyasha’s soul temporarily left the mortal plane of existence. He’ll be fine.

For the children’s song I had to decide between what Inuyasha ultimately chose or this one: Mori no Kuma-san. I’m more familiar with the latter but I figured the song about the bear family was more appropriate for the situation.

Also, Inuyasha waiting for Kagome is essentially the Patrick waiting for SpongeBob scene. Oh Inuyasha, you poor, hopeless puppy.

#inukag week day 3 #inuyasha #inukag #kagome #inukag week #fanfic #fanart #my fic #my art #fanfic au

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cherryblossom-chopper · 3 years ago

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Ballroom AU 👑 Reiju Edition

Reiju sighed from her place at the hors d'oeuvre table. She pushed a cracker around her plate with a toothpick. Right then, she decided that the hors d'oeuvre table was the best part about her father's parties. While her brothers hovered around their father, Reiju was expected to flirt and make friends; but you didn't have to do that if you had snacks crammed in your mouth.

Letting out another sigh, she set her plate on the table and reentered the fray of masked people. Reiju smiled and let others kiss her hands. Desperate suitors tried to sweet-talk her into a dance, yet she declined. Their bejeweled animal masks staring at her rabbit mask.

She hated the fact that Judge had chosen to do a masquerade ball. The mask did nothing to hide her identity. She and her brothers were far too recognizable.

Reiju was jerked from her thoughts as someone pulled her onto the dance floor. She intended to shake them away but couldn't make a scene lest she gets punished by Judge afterword.

The person in front of her grinned. "Princess, it's wonderful to see you again," their owl mask glinted in the light.

Reiju tried to search for the face behind the mask. "I'm sorry," she offered them an apologetic smile, "Have we met before?"

The music bloomed into the main chorus as the stranger twirled Reiju around the dance floor. They leaned in toward the princess. "You wound me so, dear Rei-rei," they said with a mocking sadness. Their hand snaked down her spine and pulled Reiju close.

She gasped and frowned as her chest pressed into the strangers. Reiju puzzled over the nickname; it was so familiar.

The stranger frowned back at her. "I'm almost disappointed that this mask is so well made," they sighed, "That makes all of this less fun."

Reiju nearly gawked at the owl. "I don't know what game you're playing, but I don't remember you. I meet half a dozen people a day. It's awfully cocky of you to assume I'd know you," she challenged, trying to keep up her air of confidence.

The violins squealed into a high pitch crescendo as Reiju was locked into the owl's arms. As they guided her about the dance floor, she attempted to catch the eye of her brothers. Of course, they hadn't been paying attention to anything but their father.

The owl snapped their fingers in front of her face, "Rei-rei, pay attention to me."

Reiju scowled at the owl. "I'm tired of your company and foolishness," she said, "What do you want?"

"Is it terrible that I wanted to spend time with an old friend?" the stranger asked innocently.

She started at the owl, unimpressed.

"Fine, fine," they grinned, "My new employer sent me here. He- they were hoping you're family could donate some money to our new business venture."

"Don't involve me with Judge's dealings," she looked away down at their feet.

"Look at me," the owl tilted her chin up to look at them, "I came to make that request of you, but I also came to see my Rei-rei."

She blushed furiously underneath her rabbit mask. How dare this stranger do this to her. She would say, "Don't you know who I am?" but clearly they do. It infuriated her that she had no clue who they were. Reiju was half tempted to tear that damn golden mask off their smug face.

As the music came to a soft close, the owl let her go. They tilted their mask up, revealing their face. "It's been great to see my princess," they winked at her before disappearing into the crowd.

Reiju longed to reach out and grabbed their hand, but her shock kept her in place. Someone who'd disappeared from her life had held her closer than ever before, then vanished again right under her nose.

Reiju wandered back up to her father's dais and nearly collapsed on her throne.

"Who was that?" Judge glanced over at her.

She took off her silver rabbit mask and stared down at the people. "I think that was (Name)," she looked at her father with a weak expression.

Instead of reprimanding her for her weakness, Judge showed her a rare expression of sympathy on his face. He summoned a guard to his side and gave a clear, direct order.

"Wick Owl (Name) has been spotted on my grounds. They are wanted by the World Government and are a traitor to Germa 66. Apprehend them."

#cherryblossom chopper #one piece #anime #1k au celebration #ballroom au #reiju #vinsmoke reiju

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m0chisenpai · 5 years ago

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Hello, Little Girl

Series: Beetlejuice the Musical

Pairing: werewolf!Beetlejuice x Reader

Once upon a time there was a small village just outside the skirt of thick woods. It was a quiet village of a decent size, and just about most of the village folk knew each other.

And in this village lived a baker and his wife.

The bakers wife received a letter from her mother about the cold her father had gotten from the sudden drop in temperature. Quickly she began to prepare a basket of goods, and medicines to send to her grandparents.

Her husband quickly sent a letter back telling her the old couple that they were going to send their daughter with the basket and to check on their healthy in three days time.

And so Adam and Barbra Maitland happily awaited the arrival of their granddaughter.

Y/N woke up bright and early to the smell of fresh baked goods which her father packed in a basket and covered the goods with a towel. Her mother made sure her daughter wore the wool red cloak as rain was to be expected that day.

“And remember to stay on the path! Do not stray Y/N the woods can be dangerous even during the day. If sunset comes when you arrive you are to stay with grandma and grandpa and return tomorrow.”

“Yes papa I know this isn’t the first time I’ve gone through the woods.”

“I know darling its-”

“You know your father worries about you love” her mother leaned down to adjust the bow which tied the girls cloak and placed a kiss on her forehead “just please be safe. Your father and I once lost our way in the woods long before you were born.”

“I will mama, papa. I promise.” And so with a kiss on both her parents cheeks and one final goodbye the bakers daughter began her journey into the woods. Slowly the village disappeared and was replaced with a clear path through the woods.

The deeper she got into the woods, the darker it grew as well. A shiver ran up her spin and she quickly pulled her hood to avoid the breeze which caressed the back of her neck.

As she walked with a small skip and a soft hum. Unknown to her the evil of the forest was just resting up ahead. From the shadows of the woods rested a werewolf against a tree. His nose twitched and then his eyes opened as a sweet aroma filled his nose. Quickly he hopped up with his nose in the air sniffing out the smell to be coming down the path.

He peaked through the nook of a old tree and caught sight of the bright girl and a smirk danced on his lips.

“Well, well. Nothing like a fresh little girl.” He ran his claws through his hair and with beady eyes watched the oblivious girl approach. Once she was close enough he twirled so he was leaned against the tree with one of his hands tucked in his front pocket and the other in a kind wave.

“Hello young lady.”

“Good day Mr.Wolf.”

“And where are you off to in such a hurry, young lady?”

“My grandparents home.”

Once more she brushed past the black and the wolf’s nose twitched as the pastries smell seemed to curl in his nose. His stomach let out a loud growl and he growled dragging his claws down the trees trunk.

Once again the wolf popped in front of Y/N clocking her path “surely you can stop for just a bit? Your feet must be so tired, and look the sun isn’t to set for hours.” He pointed a claw to the sunny skies. It was so tempting, and Y/N’s feet were in fact tired.

“No no. Mother and father said straight ahead do not delay or be mislead.” Y/N quickly walked around the wolf refusing to let his coyness take her off the path. However, the wolf was not done with the red hooded girl.

“Slow down babes, you’ll tire yourself out even more, and plus just look what you’re ignoring.” The wolf pushed aside some of the shrubbery revealing a crystal blue creek surrounded by beautiful wild flowers, and the sun seemed to shine in a enchanted like way down on it.

Y/N tilted her head just imagining how the cool water would feel on om aching feet. Surely her grandparents could wait and it couldn’t have been no later than noon.

“I suppose” Y/N hummed slowly walking toward the creek not seeing the wolf’s smirk as he followed in after her.

Once near the creak Y/N pulled her cloak off her her revealing her full face and the wolf felt his face soften. He watched her unlace her boots and peel her socks off to dip her feet into the water.

“Come sit Mr.Wolf, surely you weren’t going to leave me without company?”

Tentatively he stalked toward her dropping in the open spot next to her and dipped his own feet into the cool brook.

“You don’t get much company out here do you?”

The wolf chuckled looking down at the girl “more than needed, though they’re all not too fond to see the big bad wolf of the woods” he puffed up his chest and the girl giggled.

“You’re not so big or bad” she tilted her head ”more so green and fuzzy.” Once she said this the wolf’s head tilted.

“Fuzzy?”

“Yes. Like a peach.”

And as the two seemed to talk for what felt like hours the girl’s eyes began to droop. Slowly her eyes blinked and she tried to keep them open, and force herself to get out and back onto the path to her grandparents.

Y/N let out a soft yawn slowly leaning over to lay her head on the wolf’s shoulder. Finally she fell victim to the suns spell and fell into a deep sleep.

Now he definitely couldn’t eat her. It would break his little heart.

“Damn you humans..” he huffed and carefully stood up picking the girl up in his arms and holding her basket in the crook of her arm. He inhaled her scent deeply and raised his nose to the sky frowning.

She smelled just like the Maitland’s. The kind couple that fed him and often allowed him shelter. He quickly found his way to the couples home knocking on the door. He waited for a moment and the cottage door opened revealing Barbara.

“Babs!”

“Beetlejuice we weren’t expecting you till sup-” Barbara gasped seeing her granddaughter in his arms “AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY GRAN-”

“I saw her on the path, and i swear I was not going to do her any harm” Adam Maitland had heard and saw the commotion and quickly took his sleeping daughter inside “at least not after she told me she was coming to see the both of you.”

Barbara huffed allowing the wolf inside to sit in the sitting room while she began to unpack the contents of the basket.

After Adam had lie his granddaughter down in the bed he stormed in pointing a finger at the lounging animal “You- you!”

“Adam I did not touch a single hair on her head, now the goodies in the basket” Beetlejuice looked up at he fuming man with puppy dog eyes “surely you can spare a stray a crumb?”

“it’s only lunch, go over to the Deetz’s and see if Lydia will give you some of her left over lunch you know Delia likes to make large meals.” At the mention of what he deemed his best friends name he quickly dashed out but not before catching a glimpse of the sleeping girl through the open window.

His ears flattened and he looked down at the red string which he sloppily tied around his finger. Her eyes cracked open catching sight of the wolf and he waved just whispering under his breath, “good bye little girl.”

#beetlejuice x reader #Beetlejuice the musical #beetlejuice #Alex Brightman #musicaljuice #musical!beetlejuice

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lady-divine-writes · 5 years ago

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The Prince of the Sea and his Child of Fire - Chapter 5/15 (Rated NC17)

Summary: Blaine is a water sprite, prince of the undersea kingdom and sole heir to the throne. Five days away from turning seventeen and his big coronation, he decides to take a journey to the surface, to seek out a legendary flame said to be tended by an evil witch. Instead of a witch, he finds something else entirely ...

Kurt is a fire fairy, prince of a race of fire fairies and heir to the throne. Five days away from turning seventeen (on the night of a full solar eclipse when he will transform and become king), he sees for the first time in his life a water sprite - a member of a race that he's been raised to hate.

What will happen when these two mortal enemies fall in love? Is there any way for them to escape destiny and be together?

Read on AO3.

Chapter 5

Blaine zips through the water, laughing as he goes. He twirls through the current on pointed toes, dancing with arms outstretched the way Kurt does around his flame. Tripping several times over nothing proves that Blaine is nowhere near as graceful as Kurt, but that doesn't matter. Attempting those complicated steps makes him feel closer to the fairy.

Like he doesn't ever have to leave him.

Blaine weeds in among a school of moonfish, leaping from bony back to bony back, checking himself in the reflection of their scales. He holds up his arms as if he's circling the water with Kurt in his embrace. He closes his eyes, and in his mind he's back on the surface with Kurt's body pressed against his, the handsome fairy throwing his head back and laughing up at the sky. He's so real in Blaine's mind that Blaine can actually feel him - his skin warm, his hair soft as it tickles Blaine's cheek, the two of them daring anyone to see them, to know with one glance what Blaine realized the moment Kurt spoke to him and his heart stopped in his chest.

Blaine is in love.

How it can happen so quickly – or how it can happen at all considering – Blaine doesn't know, nor does he care. He is filled to the brim with this new sensation, leaving not an inch of room in his heart or in his thoughts for anything but Kurt. He’s light-hearted, ridiculous, adolescent – all the things his father tried to train out of him.

He nearly dances all the way back to the castle, his mind a mess of thoughts that make little sense other than they’re about Kurt, and that makes a million-and-one other vastly important things easy to miss.

Like the eyes of both friend and foe watching his every move as he finally arrives to the castle and skips inside.

"Blaine!" Trent races to catch up with his friend. "Blaine! Wait up!"

"I can't." Blaine gives in to a huge yawn but quickens his steps. "I have to hit the rack. I had a big night and I'm exhausted."

"Yeah … that's … kind of what I need to talk to you about."

Blaine slows as he reaches his door, which gives Trent the chance to catch up.

"Do we have to?" Blaine groans. “I really need some sleep. I’m dead on my feet as is.” In truth, he’s running on adrenaline, so even though he’s yawning after every other word, he probably could spare a moment. But he doesn't want this now. He doesn't need it now. Not when he has plans to spend a long morning dreaming about talking to Kurt, making Kurt laugh, dancing with Kurt …

… kissing Kurt …

Trent puts his hand on Blaine's door, holding it shut. "It's important." Blaine sighs. He can easily strong-arm Trent away from the door, but Trent is his best friend. He's only looking out for Blaine's best interests. Blaine knows that.

If only Trent took his job a little less seriously.

"Fine. What is it?"

"Where were you last night?" Trent asks, having the good sense to whisper. But that regard for Blaine’s privacy doesn’t earn him any points. Blaine is long over people checking up on him. When will being prince, or king for that matter, mean that he can be trusted?

Apparently, today is not that day.

"Where do you think I was, Trent?"

"Did you go back to the cove? To see …?"

Another heavier sigh. "Yes. I did."

"Why didn't you take me with you?" Trent asks, sounding hurt.

Ugh! Not that! Blaine thinks. Anything but that! Be angry! Be disappointed! Don’t be hurt! He clenches his jaw until his ears ring. No! He refuses to feel guilty! He doesn't want to have this conversation! He doesn't want to admit to his best friend that he deliberately left him behind!

"Plausible deniability," Blaine says. "This way if my father asked, you wouldn't need to lie. You're a horrible liar."

"But … but why?" Trent asks.

Blaine doesn't answer. He shouldn’t have to. But from the look in Trent's eyes, he doesn't need to.

"You … you didn't," Trent stammers. "You don't …!"

Blaine drops his forehead against his door with a hollow thunk.

"How can you!? It’s only been one damn day! Why didn't you tell me!?"

"I only have four days left, Trent!" Blaine growls. "Do you know how heartbreaking that is? Can you even comprehend how much that hurts? I may be a prince, but that doesn’t mean I have any rights to my own life, any say in what I do or how things turn out! I should think that your job as my handler makes that obvious! I am a servant of our people! Everything I have, everything I am, I’m expected to give to our kingdom, with my father disappointed in me every step of the way! But I’ve finally found something that I might have a chance to call mine - that can make me happy - and I only have four days to enjoy it! So forgive me if I wanted to be alone with him!"

Trent doesn't respond, doesn’t move, barely breathes, lingering by his prince’s side with that same look of hurt in his eyes. Maybe even a hint of betrayal.

And Blaine can't stand being in his friend's presence any longer.

"Look," he says, removing Trent's hand roughly and opening his door, "I will be king for the rest of my life, trapped down here in this palace. I'll probably turn into some sort of disgusting, bloated bottom-feeder just like my father has. All I'm asking for is four lousy days!I thought that maybe, as my friend, you would understand."

Blaine storms into his room and slams the door in Trent's face. He throws himself down on his bed, squeezing his eyes shut to capture his last memories of Kurt's soothing song to lull him to sleep.

***

"So are you really a prince, or are you trying to impress me?" Kurt asks, tossing a handful of fresh leaves into the flame, turning it a sapphire blue. Blaine applauds as he watches Kurt pick up a handful of flowers and toss them in after, turning the fire violet as a result.

"Yes, sir. I am a bona fide prince, I promise you that," Blaine says. "I tried to tell you last night, but we got invaded and you pushed me overboard."

Kurt thinks back on the moment his mother arrived, remembering that he had shoved Blaine into the water mid-speech.

"Oh." Kurt blushes to match the flame. "Right." He dusts the pollen from his hands and walks over to where Blaine has been sitting on the branch, watching him work. "Should I call you your highness then?" he jokes. "Or will your majesty work?

"No! Never!" Blaine reels backward and pretends to vomit. Kurt raises a dignified eyebrow, but laughs at the sprite's antics. "You're a prince, too, so I would say your station and my station cancel each other out."

Kurt bobs his head as he thinks it over. "I agree. No titles then. Just Kurt and Blaine."

"Right." Blaine settles back onto the branch. "Kurt and Blaine."

Kurt swings his legs back and forth, the soles of his feet barely brushing the surface of the water. "So what is it like where you live? It seems so dark and spooky to me from up here."

Blaine puffs his chest with pride at Kurt showing interest in his kingdom. "It's not that at all!” Blaine looks into the pool for an example, but all he sees is dreariness and black. If this pool always looks this way, he can understand why Kurt thinks that. "Well, okay, there are places that are spooky," he amends. "It can be dark and cold definitely, but mostly it's glorious."

"Really?" Kurt asks, eyes bright with the glow of the flame a short distance away. "What's glorious about it?"

"So much, I don't even know where to start!" Blaine dips into the water, then climbs back up onto the branch - a habit he's developed to combat the drying heat of the flame. "There is so much life under the sea, plants and animals of every shape and color. It can be overwhelming if you’re not used to it, but it's also peaceful."

Kurt's head starts to bow, his cheerful smile creeping toward a frown.

"Like … like up here, right?" Blaine asks, wondering where Kurt's smile has gone. "The night sky, the colorful flowers, the forest and all its inhabitants to keep you company …"

"The fire keeps the sea calm," Kurt says. "It protects the fairies from the water, but it also keeps the animals away. It's actually rather lonely for me out here."

"What about during the day?" Blaine asks. "When you're not guarding the fire?"

"Then I am at the palace learning what I need to know to become king. It takes up most of the day, all of my time. My mother is … how shall I put it … vigilant."

"So in that large palace of yours, you don't have any friends?" Blaine watches Kurt pick up a petal and set it down gently on the water, pushing at it with his toe until it drifts away.

"No. None but my sister Rachel, and she can be a colossal pain." Kurt chuckles dryly. Blaine tries to smile. He tilts his head, watching Kurt examine his reflection in the water. It gives him an idea.

"What would happen to you if you went into the water?" Blaine asks.

Kurt's eyes pop wide, but not with fear. Not of Blaine. Blaine can see Kurt considering the possibilities of visiting his kingdom beneath the sea. Kurt leans forward. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course." Blaine moves closer. He'd really like to touch Kurt, feel what the heat of Kurt's skin would do to the cool of his hand, but he keeps his hands locked to the branch.

Kurt's eyes shift uneasily left and right, searching for ears in the forest that might overhear. "I have touched the water," he confesses. "Only briefly. Out of curiosity. And that is fine. But if I were to submerge myself, I would die." He turns his head to the flame, eyeing the flickering light. "We all come from the fire. It lives within us. It keeps us young and alive forever. If I were to go beneath the water, like any fire fairy, that fire would extinguish. Even my mother, the most powerful fire fairy among us, does not venture under the water."

Blaine's spirits fall.

The more he learns about Kurt and the fire fairies, the more Blaine knows this tiny cove is the only place they’ll ever be able to meet. There's no way he could visit Kurt for long on land, or in his palace. He would dry out without the sea, and the daylight would kill him.

But he’s going to be king soon, and as king, there has to be something he can do - some small way he can change things. He chews his lower lip, giving it thought. As a prince, he’s limited. He is constantly watched, and there are things he needs to ask permission for. But not as king. He’ll have advisors, yes, but the final say belongs to him. As king, he could end the feud between the sprites and the fire fairies. And then he and Kurt would have no need to hide their affection for one another.

Maybe he doesn’t have to be bound to the palace the way his father is. There’s no reason he can think of that he should be required to lock himself away to serve his people. He’s always felt his father’s decision to stay in one place was a deficit. As King of the Sea, he should travel the whole ocean for himself instead of having generals and ambassadors do it for him. Yes! Blaine will do that! He’ll have the power to make that happen!

In this way, he will be a far better king than his father … and he may get to be with Kurt yet.

It might just be a dream, but the thought raises his spirits once again.

And now, only four more days no longer feels like a sentence.

"Too bad." Blaine kicks his feet, his toes forming ripples over the water's surface. "It would be nice for you to see my world, feel the water on your skin, how it can calm, soothe …"

"I don't think the water would feel the same to me as it does to you." Kurt catches his reflection again when the ripples on the water cease. He’s shooting down Blaine’s suggestion, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t dreamt about it - swimming in the water, his legs and arms cutting through, propelling him forward, seeing things he’s never seen before, things he can’t even imagine. A loud pop pulls his attention, makes him turn toward the fire snapping and shimmering in ways Kurt can't recall seeing before. When he turns to Blaine to mention it, the sprite is staring at him.

Strangely so.

"Why do you look at me that way?" Kurt asks.

Blaine jerks back. "In what way?"

"In … that way," Kurt says, not knowing how to explain it. "Like you've lost something. Or you've found something. Something you’ve been looking for forever. It's a little … unnerving."

"I'm sorry," Blaine says but not looking away. "It's only that …"

"Only what?"

Blaine reaches into the water with his cupped hands. He scoops up some water and pours it over his hair, down his face. Kurt watches the water drip down his body, each droplet reflecting light like a prism across his skin. For a moment, he becomes a beacon – and that beacon calls to Kurt.

Everything about Blaine calls to him.

His voice, his eyes, his skin, his hands, his smile, his laugh …

"I would like to kiss you."

Kurt's eyes, which had been chasing the beads of water as they dripped along Blaine's skin, fly up to his face.

"Why?" Kurt asks. “We are not related.”

Blaine feels his cheeks redden. He hadn’t expected this. He didn’t know a single thing about fairy courtship or mating rituals, or if they even had any! But who knew he would need to explain why he might want a kiss?

"Where I come from, when you like someone, and they like you, you press your lips to theirs."

Kurt makes a face. "Ugh!" he exclaims. "My mother has only ever kissed me on the forehead! Or the cheek! But on the mouth? Where you eat!?” Kurt puts his fingertips to his lips, nibbling the tips with his teeth. Perfect white teeth … “That sounds foul!"

Blaine rolls his eyes away in embarrassment. “I don’t know. It didn’t seem so bad to me.”

Kurt looks at Blaine's lips, focusing on the way they pull down at the corners as his expression changes, his tongue running over them slowly to wet them.

"Have you ever kissed anyone?" Kurt asks shyly, paying more attention to Blaine's lips than he has ever paid attention to anyone's before. “On the mouth?”

"No," Blaine admits. "I've never liked anyone like that before. Besides, I'm royalty, and no one kisses royalty but royalty."

The fairy and the sprite grow quiet, legs swinging in an even rhythm over the water.

"I am royalty," Kurt says softly.

"Yeah," Blaine agrees, eyeing the fairy prince as he contemplates his next move. Kurt slides down the branch up to Blaine, feeling his own fire cool as Blaine's skin absorbs his heat, turning it a light shade of rose where Kurt's skin brushes against it. But it doesn't burn.

It tingles.

"So, would it be …" Kurt whispers, leaning closer, pausing a moment to see what Blaine will do "… like this?" Kurt fits his lips to Blaine's mouth – carefully, unsure. Blaine stops breathing. Or his breath gets stolen away. But the first touch of Kurt's lips against his own feel like falling too fast, plummeting down to that bottomless abyss Trent nearly lost him to with no one to stop him.

But Blaine doesn't want to stop falling. Not for a minute.

Then Kurt pulls back and the kiss is done – over too quickly, his fairy too far away.

“Like that?”

"Close." Blaine clears his throat awkwardly as Kurt stares at him, nervously awaiting a reaction. "But maybe we could try it like this …"

Blaine reaches out a hand, pausing at Kurt's neck to get used to the heat stinging his fingertips. He threads his fingers through Kurt's hair and pulls him close. Kurt's lips on his are surprisingly cool. He smells like the flowers he gathers in the meadow that he feeds to the fire, his hair soft like their petals. Blaine feels himself engulfed in light, the flame behind them moving through the spectrum of colors from pink to green to blue and then gold. He hears Kurt hum in his ears as he slides his lips against his and it becomes a song – a new song, one he's never sung before.

Kurt only stops when he hears Blaine's skin sizzle.

Blaine drops down in the water to cool off, quell his blush, calm the erratic pounding of his heart. The first thing he sees when he bobs up is Kurt's worried face.

"How was … how was that?" Blaine asks, climbing back onto the branch, his skin returning to its normal color.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asks, hands hovering in the air, prepared to do … something to help.

Blaine grins like the quarter moon. “I’m fine. Actually, I'm better than fine."

"Do you … do you think you might want to do that again?" Kurt asks.

"Yes! Of course! But only if you want to-umph!"

Blaine stops talking with Kurt's mouth on his. Blaine smiles and Kurt kisses him harder. Blaine wraps his arms around him, stopping every so often to dip into the water. But the longer they kiss, the more Blaine can withstand the heat of Kurt's skin, until nothing about Kurt burns anymore.

***

Blaine doesn't want to leave Kurt. He doesn’t ever want to leave. It takes another shove back into the water from Kurt to get Blaine to realize that daylight has started skating across the ocean, spreading its fingers to grab hold of them.

It would energize Kurt with one hand, and with the other, burn Blaine alive.

The whole night spent kissing Kurt, Blaine couldn't stop thinking about bringing Kurt with him under water. There has to be a way, even if it’s only for a little while – just long enough to show Kurt his kingdom, his castle, and all the incredible beauty of life beneath the sea. Besides his father (and he has no intention of asking him) Blaine can think of only one creature in the sea who might know a way.

But she is going to be difficult to get to.

#klaine #klaine fic #klaine fanfiction

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softboywriting · 6 years ago

Text

Picture Perfect | Shawn Mendes AU

Summary: You're a princess and Shawn isn’t anywhere close to royal. The two of you get together in secret in high school, but after getting caught together, everything goes to shit. Three years later and you find yourself reconnecting when Shawn is hired to photograph an event for the royal family. The only problem now is you're promised to marry a nobleman but you are still very much in love with Shawn. [happy ending] [slight angst]

Word Count: 12.6k

|Masterlist In Bio|

“Shawn!” You giggle as your best and unofficial boyfriend flops over onto your lap in the library where you're sat studying on a sofa between classes. “Get off me!”

“Nope, you're too cozy,” he laughs, looking up at you from your lap.

You run your hand through his soft curly hair. He closes his eyes and you sigh softly. You want him, you want to spend all of your time with him. But you can't. You're a princess and he's not even the great grandson of noble. No matter how compatible you were, you know your parents would never approve of a relationship with him. They wanted you to marry a nobleman, carry on with royal bloodlines, and as the final months of your senior year tick by you know your time with Shawn is becoming even more limited.

“What're you doing after school? I want to try out some new lenses I borrowed from my photography teacher.” Shawn says, yawning big and stretching, hand catching some of your hair and twirling his finger around it.

“I'll be ball gown shopping with my mom for the her birthday party next week.”

“Gross.”

“You're telling me. I hate these fancy balls and events and all this royal crap. I don't want to be a princess, I just want to be normal and do normal things.”

Shawn sighs softly. “Yeah, normal. That's not gonna happen.”

“We can still hang out before I go home today though.”

“But we have class?”

You shrug. “Not if we skip. We could go hang out in the auditorium. I heard the storage space under the stage never gets locked.”

“Princess, that's no way for a lady of your status to act.”

“Oh shut up,” you laugh, smacking his chest. “Its senior year, I've never done anything bad. Are you in or not?”

He sits up and grins. “Only if we get to make out a little. I wanna make some memories before we never see each other again.”

“Oh come on. Graduation doesn't mean we can't see each other.”

“It does. I'll be going to college and you'll be doing whatever princesses do.”

You roll your eyes. “I'll be learning how to govern a country and how to be a proper lady. Super fun.”

“Yeah so that means no time for me. So come on, let's go be bad.” He chuckles and tugs you off the sofa.

You laugh and wrap your arms around him. “Let's get going then!”

Shawn lifts you up, making you giggle as the two of you head for the auditorium.

Ironically that ended up actually being the last time you got to spend time with Shawn. A teacher had ended up catching you under the stage with Shawn's hand down your pants and mouth on your neck, and they turned you over to your parents. That's when they decided to pull you out of school and hire a private tutor for the remainder of your senior year. They forbid you to leave the castle without an escort, took your phone and limited your internet use. All because you had broken their one rule, no dating and no boys. Two years of sneaking around with Shawn, ruined in a matter of minutes. It was worth it though, having Shawn be your first kiss, your first anything. It was worth it, and you have legitimate feelings for him, so it kills you that you'll never get him back.

___________________________

Three years later

It's your engagement party. The garden is glowing with fairy lights and roses galore. It's like a dream come true, everything you could ever want. Your whole family is there, your fiance to be is a handsome guy, a son of a nobleman from your father's cabinet. It should be the best day of your life. That's just the time, it should be.

No matter how perfect everything is. No matter how pretty you feel, how appreciated, how adored, you can't help but hate it. You had met Chase just a few months ago, the two of you being introduced during a formal dinner. He was nice, sweet, handsome as hell, but you didn't feel anything for him. You hardly felt an attraction and you don't know why. The two of you didn't have much in common and honestly you wish you weren't expected to marry him just because of your status. You're afraid you're going to end up like your Aunt Linda, stuck in a loveless, childless marriage. All for the sake of status.

You paint on a smile, greet everyone at least once and thank them for coming. You know how to be polite, you know how to be a lady. A real princess. You glance at your watch, glad to see you have some time before you parents make their speech about you and Chase. You decide to duck off into the inner workings of the garden, to the place where the lilacs are in bloom. They are your favorite flower after all.

The smell of the lilacs is calming, soothing in a way lavender or chamomile was to some people. You love this time of year, you adore sitting among the tall white and purple and blue flowered bushes and just breathing. And that's precisely what you're doing now. Laying on your back, dress be damned, while you stare up at the rosy sky as the sun begins to set, reaching up to touch the flowers, the light glinting off your charm bracelet.

The bracelet had magically appeared in your library three years ago on your birthday. You don't know who it was from, you were afraid to ask should your parents decide to take it away. It had one little elephant charm with it, your favorite animal. Each year you got another charm, totaling three now. The elephant, a rose and a heart. You considered it to be from someone who was courting you, a secret admirer of sorts but that was a stretch. Or perhaps your grandma was just being cheeky.

Neither of those theories panned out, your parents eventually asking where it came from and later your grandma complimenting it. Clearly it was not from them. The only other theory you held on to was that somehow it was from Shawn. You don't know how he could have gotten them to you. But the charms were specific, something only someone close to you would know, and the rose was sort of a give away. Everyone knew your favorite flower was lilacs, that your favorite color was pale purple. But only those close to you knew that pink roses were your other favorite flower, and the rose charm had pale pink painted petals with a gold stem.

You sigh. Fingers toying with the charms on your wrist. The world is quiet. You feel your responsibilities and stress slip away. You wish you could spend an eternity here, disappear into the garden, become a princess of the flowers. Where you do nothing but garden and care for the delicate blossoms that make up your home. The wind rustles the bushes and some of the petals fall down on you, crossing your vision, and you giggle. If only.

The sound of a camera pulls you back to reality. The familiar soft click of a shutter. Immediately you're furious, thinking someone has broken into the castle grounds for photos of the engagement ceremony. You sit up, and look at the man directly opposite you holding a camera up and snapping a photo.

“Hey! I'll have you arrested!”

The man lowers the camera and your heart stops. Time stops. The whole world halts it's rotation. There's nothing but silence, shocking, deafening, silence. The man before you must be a dream. You must be asleep in the garden. Because you're staring at Shawn. Your Shawn.

“Hey Princess,” he says with a cheeky grin. “You ruined my shot.”

“What...how...”

Shawn laughs and walks over to you, camera hanging around his neck. “Your mother in law to be hired me to take photos for the ceremony. How could I pass up the chance to see my best friend again?”

You stand, flower petals falling all around you as you wrap your arms around him. He's so big, grown so much in the last three years. You grip his back, fingers digging into the soft fabric of his tee, breathing in that familiar scent you'd all but forgotten.

“I'm so sorry.”

“What? Why?” His hand comes up and cradles your lower back. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

You step back and look down. “I never came back to school, I never got to tell you what was going on. I-I just abandoned you.”

“Your parents forced you out of the public eye. It's not your fault they were so extreme about it. I found out what happened from one of the stable keepers.”

“They told you? How did they know you?”

Shawn chuckles. “The one who told me was a friend that graduated the year before and he knew you and I were friends. I asked him if he knew what was going on.”

“My parents probably would have skinned him if they knew anyone found out why I had disappeared. Apparently kissing you was the most horrible thing to happen to our family reputation.”

“Yeah, but he was good at being discreet. He still is.”

“What? Who is it?”

Shawn shakes his head. “That's a secret. Can't risk his job.”

“Shawn!”

“Don't worry about it.” He takes your hand and looks at the charm bracelet. “Do you like the charms?”

“W-what?”

He grins.

“You...you gave me these? You left the boxes on my reading seat in the library every birthday?”

“Well, my friend did.”

Your chest aches. All this time, you wondered if they were from him. You never knew how it could be though, you never considered an inside man. “It's been three years, why didn't you just forget about me and move on. We were eighteen and in high school. Why...why did you hold on?”

Shawn steps close, fingers catching the ends of your hair and twirling it around. “I knew what we had was special. I knew I'd never feel that way about anyone else again. Honestly I haven't stopped thinking about you since that day.”

“Shawn,” you grab his wrist and slide your hand into his. “I... I have to get married soon.”

“I know,” he whispers, voice broken and oh so quiet. “I know, and I wanted to be there for you. One last time.”

“Don't say it like that. We have plenty of time, and I'm allowed to have friends. I'm an adult now, a queen to be. I can try to make you an official photographer for our family.”

“Our family? You and Chase?”

“No, my family. The royal family.”

“You don't like him do you?”

You shake your head. “He's strange. Doesn't seem interested. I barely know him and I don't want this.*

Shawn smiles sadly. “You deserve better than that.”

“I can't have better.” You lay your hand over his heart and he covers it with his own. “Because the best person I've ever met isn't what my parents want.”

The sound of your name being called from the entrance of the garden pulls you away from Shawn. You turn, suddenly panicking that someone will find you out there alone with him. The day you were discovered in the auditorium flashes before your eyes, Shawn suddenly being ripped from your life. Not again.

“Princess,” Shawn says softly and you turn to look at him. He leans in and kisses your cheek, leaving you stunned momentarily. He lifts the camera from his chest and snaps a photo of you with a chuckle.

“There you are!” You turn and look to the entrance of the lilac garden and it's Maci, your mother's assistant. “We've been wondering where you went. You parents are ready to start the celebration.”

“Right.” You brush your dress off and head towards Maci. “Come on Shawn.”

“Who's that?” Maci whispers, linking her arm with yours and you look back.

“He's the photographer. We were just taking some pictures of me in my dress among the lilacs.”

“Ohh. I bet they're good pictures. Your dress would compliment them perfectly.”

“Yeah.” You smile, walking toward the courtyard where everyone is waiting. Toward a future you don't want. Away from Shawn.

___________________________

The engagement party is long, many people from both families making speeches, congratulating you, wishing you the best. You fake a smile the entire time, staying close to Chase though he seems just as unhappy as you are. You wonder how long it will be until someone calls you out on your fake smiles and uncomfortable laughs. How can your families not see that this isn't what either of you want?

After dinner there is dancing and more socializing. You just about can't handle it anymore. Your face hurts from smiling and your heart hurts from lying. The dinner is sitting like a rock, you weren't even hungry when you ate. You want to be done, you want this to be over.

A hand on your shoulder brings you back to the real world and you tear your gaze away from the dance floor. It's Shawn.

“Your facade is slipping.”

“I want to leave.”

He leans in close. “Then leave. It's your party, and you're the princess. Just go.”

“I don't mean like that. I want to leave, I don't want to be a princess anymore. I don't want to marry Chase. I don't want to be the Queen one day.”

He puts his arm over your shoulder and pulls you into a quick side hug. “I know. I can't help though.”

“You can. Stay with me.” You turn and lay your hand on his arm. “Be my best friend again. Just...be the one normal thing in my life.”

“I can do that.”

You wrap your arms around him and he cradles your head gently. You don't care if someone sees you, you don't care about anything right now.

___________________________

“So you like that photographer I hired.” Ella, Chase's mother, says over tea one afternoon in the atrium some days later.

“Yes, he's wonderful. He takes incredible photos, did you see them? The ones from the engagement party?”

Ella nods. “I did. They're striking.”

“I'm excited to suggest bringing him on as the royal photographer. I think it'll be a great improvement over hiring someone new for every event.”

“Very true. If his work stays consistent, he will have a job with your family for a long time.”

Your mother walks in and says she's just seen the photos, and has a copy of the one of you and Chase on the steps to the courtyard. “They're gorgeous. I love the garden ones the most. We should bring this photographer on to the staff if he's looking for a job.”

Ella laughs. “You and your daughter think alike. We were just discussing that.”

“You think so Mom?” You smile, delighted that your plan is working out far better than you could have ever imagined. “I have his card, I can call and make an offer.”

Your mother looks at the photo in her hands and smiles, sighing softly as she lays a hand over her heart. Your smile fades just a bit, a little quiver at the corner of your mouth. She loves the idea of you and Chase together. “I think he would definitely be an improvement over some of the people we've had.”

“I'll contact him. I'd love to see what he can do.” You grin to yourself as you leave the atrium. If only your mother had any idea that Shawn was the one she kept you from. She never would have agreed to this. She never would have let him within a hundred feet of the front gates. Oh how things worked out.

___________________________

“I still can't believe your mom doesn't know that I'm the one she flipped out over.” Shawn chuckles as he holds the door to the bakery in town open for you.

“Listen, I was adamant about keeping you a secret. They asked me over and over who I was caught with at school but I wasn't going to give them a name. Gods only knows what they would have done.”

“Banishment?”

You shrug and scan the display case, not sure what sounds good. “Probably. I mean, they kept me locked up and under supervision until just this last birthday. It's like now I'm engaged they don't worry about me falling for a non noble and suddenly I'm free.” You roll your eyes.

“Mmm. It's like they don't think you'll find happiness elsewhere.”

You laugh. “You really think they know I'm unhappy with Chase? Please, give me a little credit. I'm a good actor.”

Shawn waves to the cashier and she comes around from the back area. “Surely they notice how Chase is so uptight when you're close by. He's not nearly as good at pretending to be interested as you are. Even I could see that at the party.”

“He is pretty bad.”

“Anyway, enough about him. What're you thinking of getting?”

You shrug. “I can't decide. Everything looks good.”

“One of everything then,” Shawn says and points to the case. “And two large coffees. Dark no sugar.”

“One of- Shawn!” You elbow him in the ribs. “We cannot eat all that. Ma'am please just the orange muffins and the coffee. No...the blueberry scone...no....”

“No, one of everything,” Shawn laughs, pushing you away playfully and looking to the cashier. “Don't listen to her.”

“Shawn!”

The cashier looks torn, eyes darting between the two of you. “Sir, she's the princess...I can't just not listen to her.”

“Don’t worry about it, she'll yell at me. One of everything. I'll deal with her wrath.”

“I do not have a wrath!”

The cashier stays frozen, unsure what to do.

“Please?” Shawn asks, gesturing to the case.

You raise your eyebrows at Shawn and he smirks at you and silently dares you to protest further. “Fine, one of everything.”

The cashier snaps into action and starts gathering the pastries and bagging them up. Shawn just leans against the counter and smiles.

“You...you are so lucky....”

Shawn just keeps grinning as you shake your finger at him angrily. “Easy, Princess. It's just a couple sweets.”

You roll your eyes and wait silently for the cashier to ring up the purchase. Shawn pays, and you scold him with an icy glare. It's not until you're out of the bakery and down the street toward the castle that you decide to lay into him a bit.

“You didn't need to pay for all that. It was so expensive I could have used my card.” You look over and he has a spice muffin in his mouth. “And what are we supposed to do with all the leftovers huh?”

Shawn rolls his eyes and shoves his half eaten muffin in your mouth. “Be quiet. You worry about everything too much.”

You chew and chew and chew until finally you're able to wash down the remains with your coffee. “I'm supposed to worry about everything. That's my job now.”

“It's not your job yet. You're not running this place until you're married.” He digs into the bag of pastry boxes and pulls out a croissant. “I'm supposed to be the normal in your life. So, live a little and be normal.”

You sigh. He's right. You have to relax and just let everything go for a while. Enjoy your last few weeks of being just a princess while you can.

___________________________

Two weeks later and you and Shawn walk side by side around the newly renovated front courtyard of the castle. There is a new fountain in the center, and it's nearly double the size of the previous one that got damaged in a storm last spring. It is beautiful, a mermaid sitting upon a rock with various sea creatures within the water around it. It's not relevant to your family or the royal crest, but it was designed after a promise your grandma made to you as a child. She told you that if the old fountain were to break, she would replace it with whatever you wished. Back then you loved mermaids. Fast forward to current day and you can't believe your dream came true. It's lovely, well crafted, and you're proud to have it in the courtyard of what was soon to be your castle.

“It's gorgeous,” Shawn chuckles, raising his camera to take a photo. “I like that they used a white stone for the tail. It really pops.”

“Yeah, it's astounding.” You walk along the knee high retaining wall that keeps the shallow water within the fountain base. “I always dreamed of this thing as a kid.”

“I remember that story.” He snaps a few photos of you. “You always wanted to be a mermaid right?”

You laugh, sitting on the edge and reaching in. The water wasn't too chilly, the afternoon sun warming it. “Yep. I was the little mermaid for like four years in a row for halloween. I saw a mermaid fountain in a book once, and I begged grandma to build one. That's when she promised if this one broke, she'd replace it.”

Shawn circles around the fountain and kneels on the other side, camera aimed at you through the cascading water. “Did she tell you what was going in here?”

“No, I had no idea. Just a few weeks ago I saw the mermaid in the storage facility while looking for something.” You chuckle. “Grandma was so bitter because it was going to be my engagement party gift.”

Shawn comes around and looks down at the camera disgruntled. He shakes his head and bites his lip.

“What's wrong?”

“Can't get a shot I like.”

“Just put it down. You don't have to always take photos of me.” You stand and walk over to him to see the pictures. “They look fine?”

“Eh.”

“What do you want?”

Shawn looks down at you with raised eyebrows. “A loaded question.”

“Shawn,” you giggle and smack his chest.

He chuckles. “Can you get in the fountain?”

“Well...it's not usually allowed. But I am the princess so...”

“Break the rules for me. Let me get the shot I need.”

You laugh and bend down to roll up your leggings to your knees. You walk over, glance around at the guards that stand at the doors to the public castle common areas. What were they gonna do? Tell your parents you got in the fountain? Big deal. You step over the low wall and the cool water covers up to your mid calf.

“What should I do?”

“Whatever you like.” Shawn raises the camera and starts taking photos as you try to pose but can't stop laughing at how ridiculous this was.

You reach down and splash water up toward him and he giggles. You do it again and he lowers the camera. “What? Are you so sweet a little water is gonna melt you?”

“No, but you're gonna soak my camera. I didn't bring any waterproof gear.” Shawn walks forward so he's just in front of you. “Gods you're beautiful.”

You flush and look away as he lifts his camera and snaps a photo. He did that on purpose. The jerk.

“Ma’am you are not allowed in the fountain.” A male guard says as he approaches from your right. “Please step out.”

“So sorry,” you mutter, taking Shawn's now outstretched hand and stepping out of the water. “We were just taking some photos.”

“Well...oh. Princess. Excuse me. I didn't realize that it was you.”

You raise your hand and chuckle. “No worries. You were just doing your job. No harm done.”

The man bows his head,one hand over his chest. “Thank you your highness. Have a good day.” He turns and walks back to his post as you and Shawn break out into a giggle fit.

“Your highness,” Shawn mocks, pretending to bow. “Thank you for allowing me to take your photo today madame.”

“Oh fuck off!” You reach into the fountain and splash him before taking off for the castle doors with your shoes in hand.

Shawn runs after you, laughing and telling you that you're gonna get it when he catches you.

At the doors you run into Chase and his assistant, Nate as they come out of the castle. You stop and Shawn nearly topples the two of you on the steps.

“Princess.” Chase says with a nod.

“Chase.”

Chase raises his eyebrows. You're supposed to call him My Lord, his proper title but you refuse as a general act of defiance toward everyone involved with this arrangement. “What're you doing out here?”

“Taking pictures with Shawn.”

Shawn raises his hand politely in greeting before running it through his damp hair.

“Uh huh.” Chase looks over at Nate who looks uninterested. “Nate and I are going into town for some lunch. Would you care to join?”

You look over at Shawn and then down at your clothes, hardly appropriate for a lunch date. Not that you truly cared or even wanted to go. “I'm not hungry. Thank you.”

Chase shrugs. “We'll see you around then.” With that he and Nate head for the gates of the courtyard where a car would be waiting no doubt.

“Who put a stick up his ass?” Shawn mutters when the two guys are out of earshot.

“That's how he always is.”

“Yikes.”

You roll your eyes. “Whatever. Let's go have lunch and go over the photos you took today.”

“Thought you weren't hungry?”

“I'm never going to be hungry when it comes to him. I could be starving and I'd refuse lunch with that dry cracker of a human being.”

Shawn snorts. “I can't say I blame you.”

“Let's go. I know there is leftover tomato soup and I'm sure there are some good sandwiches in the kitchen.”

“A princess after my heart.”

You look back with a smirk. “Oh I'm pretty sure I already have that.”

___________________________

“I'm going to cut my hair,” you say aloud one afternoon while you lay across your bed, Shawn's head on your stomach.

“Why?”

“Because Chase said he likes it and I don't want to have anything he likes. Besides, Mom was looking at all these complicated hairstyles for the wedding and I don't want to sit forever in a stylist's chair.”

Shawn turns his head a bit too look at you. “What do you wanna do?”

You run your hand through his messy curls, fingers massaging his scalp. “I think I want to cut it to my shoulders, no, maybe a jaw length bob. Yeah. Then they can't do shit with it.”

“What if it looks bad?”

“It won't. Because I'll like it even if it's out of spite.”

Shawn sits up and looks down at you, hand going to your hair that's laying out against the bedspread. “I'll support whatever you choose to do.”

“Even if it looks bad?”

“If it makes you happy then I don't care if you're bald.”

You sit up and wrap your arms around him. “Why do I have to marry Chase? Why do my parents hate me?” You mutter, voice on a verge of breaking as tears well up in your eyes.

“Your parents don't hate you, they want what they think is best.” He cradles your head gently, fingers massaging your scalp. “Believe me, I'd do anything to stop this, but I can't without risking never seeing you again.”

“No, I don't want that.” You grip his shirt and press your face into his chest. “I just want this to be over. I wanna go back to high school, I want more time to convince my parents I don't need to marry a nobleman. I just...I want a redo.”

“I know.” Shawn holds you close. “I wish we could change everything too.”

“I want to run away.”

“We can't do that.”

“I know.” You sigh,breath shaky. “I know.”

___________________________

“Oh my God,” Shawn says softly when he sees you as he walks into the boutique where you're looking at wedding dresses.

You turn, grinning at him as he stares at you in awe. You've gotten a drastically shorter haircut and while your mother hates it, you actually love it. You didn't tell Shawn you had actually done it and he been working a few other jobs the last few days so he hadn't seen you yet.

“Princess, you cut your hair,” he chuckles, as if he had no idea this was coming. Though you're sure it was still a shock by his initial reaction.

You hurry over and run your hand through it, shaking your head in front of him. “Do you like it? It's different right?”

“Can I?” He asks hesitantly, reaching for your hair. You nod. His hand goes through the short locks and he shakes his head with a smile. “I think it will look gorgeous with your dress.”

“Mom hates it,” you whisper under your breath.

“I bet she does, and Chase?”

“Was shocked but resumed his indifference.”

Shawn rolls his eyes.

Your mother clears her throat, gaining your attention and saying that you should get back to dress try ons.

A few hours later and you think you've settled on one. Its white, heart shaped bodice with a tulle ball gown skirt. It's simple, beautiful, and way out of your usual choice in dresses. You call Shawn into the fitting room, claiming you would like his input on how you might pose in it for photos and he shows up immediately.

The door to the room closes and it's just the two of you, surrounded by dresses on hooks and the huge mirror reflecting back your near future.

“How does it look?”

“Breathtaking.”

You smooth out the fluffy skirt and giggle. “It's not that great. I didn't want to get something too good y'know? I don't want to love the dress and hate everything it stands for.”

Shawn puts his hands on your waist, thumbs rubbing over the beading on the corset of the dress. “It's too beautiful then. You need something else, something I won't picture myself marrying you in as you walk down the aisle.”

Your heart stops. “Shawn, you can't just say that you would want to marry me.”

“But I would Princess. I would marry you in a heartbeat if I could.”

“Shawn.”

He cups your face and you stare at him, eyes so full of love. “I love you so much. This wedding is going to kill me but I'd rather be with you on that day then never get to see you again. I'd rather be in your life as a friend than nothing at all.”

“I'm so sorry.” You mutter, touching his cheek gently. “I wish I could change everything. Gods I sound like a broken record.”

“I know. But we can't, and that dress is still too beautiful. We need something else.”

“Pick a dress you think is ugly.” You laugh half-heartedly. “Grab the ugliest thing you can find.”

Shawn goes out and returns ten minutes later with a dress they have to literally cram through the door, the skirt is so big. It's a cream white color, has long lace sleeves, the skirt is made of silk and weird ruching. There's a big flower looking thing in the middle of the bodice and on the butt. It's...pretty bad. Like a modern wedding dress had a baby with one from the eighties that somehow morphed with someone's kids drawing of a wedding dress.

“Turn around.” You say and start putting on the atrocity with the boutique assistant's help. You look at yourself in the mirror and laugh. It's so hideous. “Okay, look Shawn.”

Shawn turns around and opens his eyes, staring back at you in the reflection of the mirror. “Oh...my...God. It's...it's too ugly.”

You raise your eyebrows at him, silently asking if it was ugly enough for him to keep his imagination at bay during the wedding. He shakes his head, covering his mouth. The assistant stays quiet, you're sure she knows full well that this is the ugliest dress they have in stock.

“I think I like it,” you smirk.

“I can't take your pictures in this. It's too ugly. There's ugly and then there's...this.” Shawn walks around in front of you and tugs on the bodice flower. “I can't.”

You laugh loudly. “You picked it!”

“Well shit I shouldn't have.” He laughs. “Okay, I'll try again.” He looks to the assistant and she nods, leading him out onto the sample floor.

A few minutes later and Shawn comes in alone with a dress that doesn't look ugly at all. In fact it's far prettier than the one you had on that you were ready to settle with. You raise your eyebrows and he shuts the door.

“I asked to come in alone.” He hangs the dress and helps you out of the ugly one. “I changed my mind about picking an ugly dress.”

“Why?”

Shawn pulls the clips holding the ugly dress closed off of your back and the fabric slips forward. “I can't take photos of you in an ugly dress. You deserve beautiful wedding photos.”

“Shawn...but-”

“No.” He slides the dress down to your waist and you push it to the floor so you can step out. You're in just your bra and underwear and he takes a step back, taking you in completely. “Princess. W-wow.”

“What?”

“You're stunning. I just...Gods Chase has no idea what he's missing. How could he be so disinterested in you?” Shawn steps forward and onto the dress, warm hands going to your waist.

“Hey,” you lay your hand on his chest. “Easy tiger. I'm a promised woman. Even if I hate my husband to be.”

“I know.” He kisses your cheek and drops his hands from your waist, the cool air of the room quickly making you ache for his touch again. “Let's get you into this new dress.”

A few minutes later and you are in a beautiful ball gown dress with a flowing ribbon edged tulle skirt and a silky corset with cap sleeves. It's extremely regal but fun and modern. Elegant and charming.

You stand beside Shawn in the mirror and smile. It's perfect. You couldn't imagine something else being better. You takes Shawn's hand and thread your fingers between his. “Y'know this is picture perfect.”

“It will be. This gown will look outstanding in the royal chapel.”

“No Shawn.” You lift his hand up in yours and gesture to the mirror. “Us, look at us.”

Shawn looks at the two of you. You in a wedding dress and him in his black jeans and black tee. “Enjoy it while we can right?” He kisses your joined hands. “I'll never get this opportunity again.”

“Right.”

“I'm so sorry I came back.”

“Why?”

“Because you would have forgotten about me eventually. Moved on. Maybe found happiness with Chase one day.”

You pull your hand from his and turn to face him, laying your hands on either side of his neck. “No matter who I married or how much time passed, I never would have forgotten you.” He looks like he's on the verge of tears and you are too. “The fact you came into my life when I needed you most is the best thing I could have ever hoped for. Dealing with this arrangement alone would have been too much, having you has kept me sane and hopeful for a future that might not be too bad.”

“Princess you're crying.” He brushes away a tear that's slipped down your cheek. “I don't want to see you cry over me.”

“Little late for that.” You chuckle sadly.

“We need to stop talking about it. Come on. Let's go show your mom the dress.”

You wipe your face and take a deep breath. Everything was going to be fine. Just. Fine.

___________________________

Two weeks before the wedding and you're more anxious and sick than you've ever been in your life. Shawn suggested taking you down to the shore that evening to relax. It's a private area on the castle property just below the cliffs. It was hard to get to and took a little hiking as you have to go from the gardens and down around the side of the cliff. But it's beautiful. The sandy shore is basically untouched and it's so quiet you can hear the sounds of the ocean and the sky and nothing more.

“Just a few weeks huh?” Shawn asks as you jump off a boulder and onto the sand. It's been a quiet hike, neither of you wanting to talk, afraid of shattering what illusion of normalcy was left. “Sorry, I shouldn't remind you of that.”

“It's all I think about. Trust, I couldn't be more reminded.”

“Right. Well, we're here. What do you wanna do?”

You walk up to the water and toss you sandals behind you, going out calf deep in the cool waves. “Can I float away?”

“Only if I float with you. Don't Titanic me and make off on a door that could hold us both while I drown.”

You turn and fight back a smile at his dumb joke. “There was room for both of them, but he wasn't real anyway.”

“What? Yes he was.”

“There's plenty of supporting theories that Jack was a figment of her imagination created as a coping mechanism because she was being made to marry a total jerk face and she was miserable.”

Shawn walks up behind you and lays his chin on top your head. “Sounds like someone is self reflecting on the movie.”

“Shawn! I'm not! That is really a theory!”

“Do you feel like Rose?”

You cross your arms and he brings his arms around under them, hugging you from behind. “Sometimes.”

“Well, I promise I'll be your Jack. But like, a very real Jack who doesn't drown and keeps you sane and happy.” He kisses your head and you giggle, hands covering his folded arms.

“You're way better than Jack.”

“Probably. I mean, I definitely wouldn't leave you to die on a door in the frozen water.”

You let out a laugh and lean your head back against his chest. “I wanna scream. Can I just scream?”

“Go ahead. I'll even hold you like you're on the bow of a ship.” Shawn puts his hands on your waist and you put your arms out and let out a yell.

You yell and shout and let it all go. Really going at it and screaming your lungs out. It feels good. Like a knot in your chest came a little loose. A while later you are laying in the sand with your head in Shawn's lap. He's carding his hand through your hair while you watch the sunset go down over the horizon. It's peaceful, beautiful, like a painting being created before your very eyes.

“We should go back soon.”

You close your eyes and shake your head. “I just want to rest some more. No one will miss me.”

“I think a lot of people will be missing you right before your wedding.”

You shrug.

Shawn leans down and kisses your nose. “We're going back.”

“Can’t we just...live here?”

“No. I'm not that good at fishing and there isn't enough supplies to build a shelter.” Shawn remains leaned down and close to your face.

It's incredibly intimate and you could easily lean up and kiss him right now. Everything in you wants to do that, but you know better. You feel like if you did you would betray Chase, and worse, your family, no matter how much you didn't like him or their rules and arrangements.

Shawn jolts forward suddenly, lips crashing against yours. The crash of lips turns gentle, his moving against yours instinctively. Your eyes go wide and he pulls back. “Shit, fuck, I'm so sorry.” Shawn scrambles back away from you. “Something bit me and I lurched forward.”

You stare up at the dark blue sky edging out the sun. The kiss wasn't really a kiss, more of an accident, a bumping into really. No. No it wasn't. It started out as an accident but the softening was definitely intentional if not instinctual. It had been three years since you felt those lips on yours and the were just every bit as soft as you remember.

“Princess?”

“Let's go back.”

Shawn appears in your line of vision, standing over you and offering a hand. “I didn't mean to kiss you. I hope you aren't angry. I didn't want to, I mean, I did but not like that. I...I messed up.”

You take his hand and stand up. Everything feels wrong. The whole world feels foreign, the sand beneath your feet is too cool. The air is too warm. The darkness of evening is creeping up on you too quickly. Like time was slipping away from you, like Shawn was fading with the night sky. Your heart aches, sharp pangs in your chest choke you and you feel like you can't breathe.

“I can't do this Shawn.” You grip his arm. “I can't.”

“Princess. Please, don't get too in your head.” He covers your hand with his. “You have a duty to the people of this kingdom. I'm not the man who is supposed to be king, even if I were able to be. Chase is far better suited to be your partner.”

“I don't give a fuck about any of this! I don't wanna be the Queen!”

Shawn clenches his jaw and shakes his head. “I won't let you throw away everything for me. I'm the son of a mechanic and a waitress. I studied photography for three years at a community college because I didn't want to leave the city and miss my chance to see you again. And by Gods I'm glad I didn't go because I wouldn't be here right now, but that doesn't matter because I'm still no one. I'm absolutely no one. You should forget me.”

“I can't! I can't just forget you! How am I supposed to go on and live my life and be married to a man with no interest in me? How am I supposed to sleep at night knowing the only man I've ever love, who loved me back is out here doing fuck all?!” You turn and walk toward the water, arms around your waist, gripping your sides near painfully. Tears stream down your face. “I can't be miserable. I can't. I'd rather die than live a shitty life for the good of the people. My mother isn't too old yet, she can be the Queen for plenty more years. I don't get why they're forcing this on me now.”

Shawn's footsteps squish in the sand beside you. “I'm so sorry.”

“Sorry doesn't change anything. I'm going to marry Chase and my parents will expect children. I don't know when, but they will. I can't imagine baring his child, carrying around the spawn of a man who doesn't love me. I'd rather die.” You stare into the dark water that reflects the stars appearing overhead. The soft waves lap at your bare feet, tears falling and mixing with the salty water.

Shawn's arms wrap around your waist and he hugs you back against him. “What options do you have?”

“Running away. Refusing my title and risking estrangement from my family and the throne. Dying.”

“No dying.”

You sigh and lean your head back on him. “Why can't my family want me to be happy. Why don't they care what I want? Every time I've ever spoken to my mom about it she just says it's my duty to marry a man capable and worthy of being king. What makes anyone capable or worthy? Money? Fame? Notoriety? Seems awfully shallow for guidelines of selecting a king or queen.”

“You're right on that one. And it's probably why this kingdom has seen so many bad royals in it's past. But you can make a difference, you can be the first Queen to change some of those laws.”

You put your hands over his on your stomach and sigh. Changing laws wasn't easy. It was more than just a queen or king shouting orders to someone. Decrees and laws took years to pass, having to go through many votes on the boards of council people. There was no way you could change anything fast enough to make you feel less trapped with Chase. Literally you were going to be signing up for years of suffering and there was nothing you could do about it anytime soon.

“You won't leave right?”

“I'm yours until you don't want me anymore. Then I'll still be yours but just...not around.”

“If...if my parents want me to have a child with Chase... I don't want it to be his baby.”

Shawn makes a him like noise of confusion.

“If my parents want that, I'll sleep with Chase once. Only once and just for show. But I refuse to get pregnant by him. Shawn...if I have to carry a baby, whenever that is, I want it to be yours.”

“Oh.”

“I know that would be lying to Chase. I know I'd be a horrible person for doing that, but there is no love. There is nothing there between us and I just couldn't bare to have to have any sort of relationship with him that's not strictly platonic. If I have a child then I'd rather it look like you and actually be something I love. Not a constant reminder of my arranged marriage.”

Shawn kisses the hair just behind your ear and murmurs, “I'll do it. I promise I'll give you a baby if the time comes.”

“Thank you.”

“It's dark. Your parents will be looking for you if we don't get back soon.”

You nod, holding his arms close just a moment longer. At least you had a sort of safety net now. It lifted a bit of weight off your shoulders, knowing that no matter what Shawn had your back. That no matter what he would always love you. It makes the next few weeks feel like they might be bearable.

___________________________

“Grandma's birthday is tonight, are you coming?”

“Am I invited?” Shawn chuckles as he takes the dress you've handed to him in the walk-in closet.

“Of course. You're the photographer, you're actually required to be there I think.” You grab a few more gowns and carry them out into the bedroom. “It's a masquerade party. Grandma always loves a little extra flair. Did no one tell you?”

“I think I remember getting an email about it. Honestly I've been so caught up with spending time with you I've forgotten about actually working.”

“I wish I could say the same. But anyways. Do you have a tuxedo you can wear?”

Shawn shakes his head. “I have a suit jacket? And slacks?”

You drop your dresses on the bed. “We need to go get you one now. Right now.”

“Why?”

“It's a black tie event. Besides...” You take the dresses from him and toss them with the others. “if every guy is in a mask and a black tux then no one knows who you are. I could be with you and everyone would think you're Chase.”

“But he's not as tall as me.”

“No one will notice.”

“Princess, that's dangerous. You shouldn't play with chance like that.”

You walk your fingers up his chest and smile. “It's just a little fun. I know you love it.”

“Princess. Please,” he groans, covering your hand with his against his tee. “How am I supposed to say no to you?”

You lean up on your tiptoes and press your lips to his ear. “You don't.”

An hour later and you're in the boutique that made your dress, shopping in the menswear area for Shawn. Finding a black tuxedo shouldn't take too long but the fitting may take a while. You would pay whatever you had to for the tailor to get it done by tonight.

“How about this?” Shawn asks stepping out of the dressing room. He looks astounding.

“Remember when we were here for my dress?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I know how you felt now. You look so good I could just...ugh. I've never seen you so dressed up before, this is possibly the best thing I've ever witnessed.” You stand up from your waiting chair and circle him. It fit nearly perfect, and might need just a little bit taken in at the waist of the jacket. His ass looks outstanding, you have to resist touching it. “Damn you clean up good.”

“I think so too. I really like the way it looks. Do you think I should try on the other one? This was more of a shiny fabric than the other.”

“No, this is perfect. You're perfect.”

“Princess,” he whispers with a blush. “Someone could hear you.”

You roll your eyes. “As if I care? I'm about ready to say fuck everything and you know that.”

Shawn takes your hands and kisses your knuckles. “Yeah I know, I'm worried about that. I already told you, you're not throwing your life away for me.”

“Yeah, I remember.” You lay your hands on his chest, now covering yours still as you lean up and kiss his cheek. “But I make no promises. Now let's get an assistant in here to start fitting you.”

Three hours later and Shawn's fitting is done and he has the tuxedo in a carrying bag on it's hanger in the back of his Jeep. Everything is going smoothly until you get out of the Jeep outside the castle doors and there is a group of paparazzi waiting for you.

“Princess! Over here!” “Princess who is this mystery man?” “Are you still engaged to Chase Collins?”

Question after question they bombard you as you ignore them and walk around the back to get Shawn's tuxedo out. This wasn't a common thing, and you know these paps are only here because of the birthday party tonight. They're hungry little cretins.

“Do you want me to walk in with you? I can park the Jeep myself and come back.”

“No. You're coming in with me.” You slam the trunk door and wave over one of the guards at the main doors. “Can you park this for us Andy?”

“Of course ma'am. The employee lot or the private garages?”

“Private is fine. Thank you.”

“You're welcome your highness.” Andy bows and takes the keys from Shawn.

“Princess! This is quite a scandal!” A pap yells particularly loud and you cut a glare that could kill the man on sight.

Shawn puts his hand on your shoulder and walks the stairs to the front doors. A guard opens them and suddenly the world is quiet, no more nosy paps shouting over each other. “What happens now?”

“What? You're worried about those assholes?”

“They said this is a scandal.”

“Everything I do is a scandal to them. You're the royal photographer and my friend. I'm allowed to be seen with you. It's not as if they have any evidence that we were doing anything inappropriate. We just showed up here together.”

“You’re right...I didn't think of it like that.”

You pat his chest and smile. “Don’t let em rile you up. They are just here to get dirt on me and my family. Come on, we need to get dressed. The party starts soon. Your camera is in my room right?”

He nods.

“Perfect. Let's go.” You grab his hand and drag him toward the doors to the royal living quarters.

___________________________

You find Shawn on the ballroom floor a hour into the party. He's got a black lace mask on and is dancing with one of the ladies from the north. She's giggling and having a great time as he twirls her around. You'd be lying if you didn't feel a little jealous. You had just spent the last hour socializing with Chase's parents and pretending to care about anything he said. Which wasn't much, and was painfully awkward.

“My Lord,” you grin, approaching Shawn as his dance partner takes her leave.

“Princess.” He grins in return.

“Having fun? All the girls think you're the most eligible young lord here. No one can figure out who you are.”

“A man of mystery, isn't that what those paps called me?”

You take his offered hand and he slides his arm around your back. “You fit right in y'know. As if maybe you were meant to be here.”

“Easy, Princess. Don't go getting too many ideas.”

You chuckle.

“I have to take some pictures soon. You know, to keep my cover here. I'm planning on taking off the jacket and bowtie, along with the mask. Think anyone will still recognize me?”

“Nah. I had to hunt for you myself. I'm sure you're good.”

Shawn hums and waltzes you around the dance floor in time with the music. You're impressed with his skill, not having expected him to know how to dance so well.

“You've gone quiet? Cat got your tongue?”

You lean your head on his chest. You're sure it's too intimate but you can't be bothered. “I'm just impressed you can dance.”

“I took a few classes from a friend in college. She needed a partner to practice with while hers was down with a sprained ankle. Never thought I'd dance with a princess.”

“Funny how things work out.”

From across the room you see your father watching you with Shawn. He doesn't look concerned and he doesn't bring attention to you or speak to your mother. He just seems to be observing, which was very like your father. He was always an observant man with the patience of a saint. You won't push your luck though, and you move away from Shawn.

“You should go get your gear. I'm sure grandma will want pictures of Chase and I.”

“Yes ma'am.” Shawn grins cheekily. He bows his head and takes his leave, but not before kissing your hand and locking eyes with you in a promise to see you later.

___________________________

The door to your bedroom opens just as you step out of your dress. You hadn't seen Shawn the rest of the evening, you hope he hadn't left without coming back to find you. But of course he didn't. He had just waited for everything to die down.

“Do you always leave your door unlocked?” Shawn asks as he crosses the room, tossing his bowtie aside and shedding his jacket.

“Only when I'm expecting you.”

“I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner. I saw your dad staring at us when I went to go get ready to take pictures. I didn't want to draw attention to myself.”

“I saw him too. I wasn't worried though. He wouldn't say anything without approaching me first.” You hang your dress up and walk over to Shawn in your underwear. “You planning on staying?”

Shawn unbuttons his shirt at the collar. “I'd really like to.”

“Can you keep your hands to yourself?”

“Of course.” He tugs his shirt off and tosses it on the floor. He kicks off his slacks and flops on the bed. “I know you're off limits.”

You lock the door and put on a pair of pajamas before crawling on the bed next to him. You thread your fingers into his and he squeezes your hand. You end up wiggling around to get under the blankets with him and he snuggles you against his chest. It's comfortable. The way it should be.

“You smell good,” Shawn says sleepily long after you think he has fallen asleep. “Wanna eat you up.” He nibbles at your shoulder playfully.

“Shawn, quit it. You're supposed to be sleeping.”

“So are you. What's your excuse?”

“Stress.”

He sighs, hand moving up and down your stomach. “I know, I promise I'll make it easier anyway I can.”

“You're doing great so far.”

“Thanks. Now go to sleep, I'll need all the energy I can get if I have to make a stealthy get away tomorrow morning.”

You chuckle and he giggles into your neck at his own joke.

“Good night Princess.”

“Good night my love.”

He kisses the back of your neck and holds you tight to his warm chest. You find sleep coming easier with him there, the stress of your wedding dying down. Shawn made everything feel like it was going to be okay somehow.

___________________________

It's your wedding day. You've eaten nothing, drank barely anything and you're sick with worry. A knock on the door to your dressing room startles you. You're on edge, only minutes out from the ceremony. The chapel is full, teeming with people from far and wide come to pay their respects to you, the queen to be. You go to the door and open it just to have the person on the other side pull it closed.

“Its Chase. I need to talk to you.”

“What? You can't see me, that's bad luck.”

He let out an annoyed sigh. “That's why I'm keeping the door closed. I need to tell you something.”

You press your ear to the crack of the door. “What is it?”

“Nate saw you and Shawn on the shore a few weeks ago. I didn't know how to approach you about it. Are you together?”

“No, we're just friends. I'm marrying you in less than an hour remember?”

Chase chuckles and you're pretty sure you've never heard that sound come out of him. “Princess, you don't have to lie. I know you want this about as much as I do. Just, I want to know if you like him.”

“No.”

“I'm not going to lynch you or something. I just want to know.”

Your throat feels like it's closing up and you can't breathe. This was just like when you parents wanted to know who Shawn was back in highschool. You are afraid he'll get hurt or something because of you. You have to lie and lie like your life depended on it. “Shawn and I are just friends.”

“Listen I'm not trying to get this information to hurt you. I just want to know you'll be happy somehow in this arrangement because I know it won't be with me.”

“Why do you care? You've never shown any amount of compassion or empathy towards me before. Why do you care now?”

He sighs. “Because I thought maybe you really were okay with marrying me and maybe you wanted it so I didn't want to say anything and imply I didn't want you but when Nate saw you on the shore he said you were very close with Shawn and...Princess I’m...I'm gay.”

The world stops. You turn the door handle and open it to see Chase standing there in his black formal wear. Bad luck be damned. “You...and Nate then?”

“We've been together for years.”

“Your parents don't know?”

Chase shakes his head. “They don't. I had to tell you, I had to make sure you knew after Nate told me you have someone too, well, allegedly have someone.”

“Why didn't you tell your parents? You don't have to marry me, I mean, like you're not a prince. Why didn't you refuse?”

“You've met my mom. You really think she was going to let me be with Nate and forfeit being king? Please.” He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “I'm in the same boat as you. I've been trying like hell to figure out how to be okay with this and it hasn't really worked out.”

“Well if you've been trying, you’re a bad actor. I mean, I just thought you were a dick who wasn't interested in me. You could have tried to hide your disdain at least a little. At least I smiled when we were together around our parents.”

Chase shrugs. “You're right. I promise I don't have a problem with you, and you're actually really amazing. Honestly you deserve someone way better than someone like me, who will literally never been interested in you or be able to fulfill any needs you have like... y'know.”

“What the fuck are we supposed to do?” You laugh, looking around the hallway that leads to the chapel doors. “How do we get out of this?”

“Nate will object to our union. He's got a few people on our side too, you just have to pretend to be heartbroken and run away. I'll take all the heat. I'm ready. I can't hide and pretend to be someone I'm not anymore. Even if my parents disown me, I don't care, I'd rather live in a shack with Nate until I die than live a lie.”

You swallow thickly, as you reach out for his hand. He grabs yours and for the first time you feel like you've gotten to meet the real Chase. “I promise if your parents disown you, if they cut you out completely, I'll make sure you have a comfortable life when I'm queen. Not marrying me is the greatest favor you could have ever done for me. It's the least I can do.”

Chase lifts your hand and kisses your knuckles. “Remember, play the part of heartbroken princess. I know you can sell it.”

You nod.

He smiles and looks back to the chapel doors where Nate has just appeared. Shawn walks out next to him, camera in hand and they both stare at the two of you. You smile and Shawn grins big. He knows the situation, you just know it. The organ in the chapel begins to play and you and Chase part ways, waiting for your respective parents to come and get you to start the ceremony.

___________________________

Things go from zero to shit show real quick. Nate ends up standing and shouting his objection to the marriage as the vows are read and it's asked if anyone objects. Your mother nearly faints, your father shakes his head and you know it's time to put on the show of your life time.

“I can't believe this!” You tremble, hands on your stomach. “You waited until the day of our wedding to tell me you're gay?”

“I didn't know how before. I'm so sorry Princess.” Chase steps back and down the steps of the raised section you're upon. He looks to his parents and they're in shock, faces drawn into O's and eyes wide.

You muster up some tears, and step down to run out of the chapel. You cover your face as you jog out the doors and into your dressing room. You can hear the sudden burst of talking in the chapel as everyone starts discussing what just happened. You sink down into the large chair in the dressing room and sigh with a smile. Everything was going according to plan.

Your mother bursts into the room with your father and they're arguing loudly. “I thought he was a perfect match! They’re so cute together!”

“Oh please Marie! That boy hasn't been interested in her since the day he met her. You should have let her choose who she wanted to be her king. But you had to go and arrange this whole to do and stick to ancient traditions. Look where we are now!”

“I'm...in here,” you mutter and they both freeze, eyes going to you.

“Oh honey I'm so sorry.” You mother says as she comes around and puts her arms around you. “I didn't know this would happen. I never even suspected.”

“If you opened your eyes you would have,” your dad chuffs, arms crossed.

“We'll find someone else okay?”

“Marie! Let her pick her own husband. This girl is not living in the dark ages, she can decide who she wants to be with. I'm sure we have raised her right and we can trust her to chose a man who will do right by her.” Your father squats down in front of you and reaches out, hand on your cheek. “Pumpkin, we tried it your mother's way. It's time to enter the modern century. You can choose whoever you want, royal or noble or common folk. It's up to you.”

You bite your lip and look down. “Really? You've always been so adamant about me not dating outside of the royal court.”

“It was my fault. I wanted to keep tradition alive and have the royal blood remain pure but your father is right. It's nothing like it was in our generation and before. Tradition isn't worth keeping when it makes the ones involved unhappy. I'm so sorry honey. I was blind to my own dreams for you.”

The door opens again and this time it's Shawn. He looks between your parents and then to you. “I didn't realize anyone was in here. I was just going to talk to you Princess.”

Your father chuckles.

“What?” Your mom asks, confused at your father's response. “What is funny at a time like this?”

“These two.” Your father points at you and Shawn. “They're inseparable. Ever since Shawn started working for us, suddenly our daughter is very interested in having her photo taken. Always going out with him to have a photoshoot. Every week. Doesn't that seem odd Marie?”

“Your Majesty, I'm just doing my job when the Princess asks me. I'm not sure what you're-”

“Shawn. It's over.” You shake your head and he trails off. “Mom, Dad, I didn't want to marry Chase. I never did and the thought made me sick. He is gay, that's not a lie, and I didn't know until today either. But I... I want to marry someone else. I want to marry Shawn.”

“I knew it.” You dad says and laughs as your mom stands, a confused look on her face.

“I'm...are you implying that you and Shawn have been going around behind our backs even though you were going to marry Chase?”

“Nothing ever happened. Shawn and I...we've known each other for a long time.” You stand up and go over to where Shawn is standing by the door. You grab his hand and it's just as sweaty as yours. “Shawn was the one I was caught with in high school.”

“Ohmygod,” your mother gasps, eyes wide as she puts her hand over her heart. “And I just let him into this castle? I let him near you!”

“With all do respect your highness's, we were teenagers and now we're adults. I would die for your daughter, I would give up everything to spend my life at her side even if she weren't the queen. She could be poor and live in a cave out side of town and I would still love her. I beg you to understand that even though I'm not a royal or anything like that, I make her happy and that's what should matter.”

Your father looks to your mother and shrugs. “Marie, I don't think you're gonna stop them. It's time to let go of the past and make new traditions.”

“I'm...but...the family...”

“Please Mom. Give us your blessing. Let us save this wedding.”

Your mother relents. She crosses the room and stands before you and Shawn. “This is what you want? You're sure? This isn't just an act of defiance toward me for the arrangement with Chase?”

“Yes Mom.”

“Alright. Alright fine if it's what you want. You'll just find a way to be with him anyways. Shawn, you swear you'll take care of her?” She lays her hand on your cheek, narrowing her eyes at Shawn. “My daughter is the princess. She's going to be a queen, you can handle that?”

“Absolutely ma'am.”

“I'll hold you to that.” You mother leans in and kisses your head. “Let's go save this wedding then. We've put enough into it, it would be such a waste to cancel now.”

“Shawn, your tux is in my room.”

“Excuse me, what on earth-” your mother stops herself, taking a deep breath and composing herself. “Never mind. Go get it. Your father and I will do damage control.”

You and Shawn turn and leave the room, heading through the inner workings of the castle to avoid anyone who might see the two of you. You're glad he left his tuxedo here last week, having opted for a pair of shorts and his undershirt to make it seem like he had just arrived if anyone caught him in the castle that morning.

“Your hand is sweaty,” Shawn laughs as you open your bedroom door and squeeze in with your dress. “Are you nervous?”

“Of course! Are you not?”

Shawn heads over to the closet and grabs his slacks and jacket from a hanger in the back. “I'm about to puke but it's fine.” He laughs and starts stripping down immediately.

“It feels like this isn't real. Like there's no way that this could actually be happening.”

Shawn walks over, bare chested and unbuttoned slacks and grabs your face. He leans in and kisses you deeply. Your hands find his shoulders and he grins into the kiss, his teeth bumping yours as he tries to keep up the kiss but can't stop smiling.

“Princess, this is very real.” He breaks away, forehead rolling against yours as he giggles, unable to keep in his excitement. “I think the fairy tales were right, true love prevails?”

“You're so cheesy.”

“Yeah but you love me anyways.”

“Yes, yes I do.” You lean in and give him another quick peck. “Hurry up and get dressed. We'll have plenty the of time to kiss later.”

“Oh we'll be doing much more than kissing,” he grins as he pulls his button down shirt on and starts working his fingers quickly over the buttons. “It's been three years and four months and some odd days, we have a lot to make up for.”

“I bet we do.”

He stops dressing again just to walk over and kiss you again. “I can't wait to make you my wife.”

“Hurry up then!” You giggle. “You're the only one causing a delay here!”

“I can't,” he kisses you. “Stop.” Another kiss. “Kissing you.”

You shove him back and he giggles. Gods that was the best sound in the world. “You're going to have to stop for like an hour okay?”

“No promises.”

“I'll leave, and go back down without you. You're not even supposed to see the bride before the wedding. It's against tradition.”

He rolls his eyes as he tucks his shirt in and pulls on his jacket. “Since when has anything we've done stuck to tradition?”

“Yeah yeah. Hurry up.”

Shawn straightens his jacket sleeves, runs his hand through his hair and turns to you, holding his arms out in a silent “how do I look?” pose. You give him a thumbs up and he grabs your hand, leading you back down to the chapel, towards the future you deserve.

___________________________

“And finally, do you take Shawn to love and to cherish in sickness and in health?”

“I do,” you smile, hands in Shawn's.

“Now if the bride or groom would like to speak any vows prepared, you may now have the room.”

Shawn clears his throat and smiles nervously. “I do actually.” You raise your eyebrows, not having expected this as this wedding wasn't exactly planned. He takes your hands and reassures his grip on them. “I promise to be your best friend, your lover and your family. I promise to be your safety, your security and your protector. I promise to tell you I love you everyday and do everything in my power to make everyday better than the next.”

You let out a soft sob as tears spill over your cheeks.

“I vow to stay by your side no matter what happens in this lifetime. I love you and you have my whole heart.”

“I love you too.” You laugh and pull your hands from his to wipe your eyes. “I love you so much.”

“If that's all vows to be exchanged, please exchange rings and you may kiss the bride.”

Shawn takes your hand and slides the ring from your grandma over your finger. You slide the one that was meant for Chase over his finger, and it fits but is a little small. He'll get a new one after the ceremony, one you pick together. He leans in and holds your face, kissing you slow and soft.

“I pronounce you man and wife. Queen and King to be. May your marriage and life be safe and blessed by the gods.”

The guests cheer and aww. You take his hand and hold it up and he laughs. Your parents stand and bow to you as you walk to the doors hand in hand. You never thought this would happen, you never believed in fairy tales but here you were. Was it fate? True love prevailing? A miracle? You don't care. You aren't going to wonder anymore. You got your dream come true and that's all that matters now.

___________________________

Epilogue

“My Queen, it's your birthday,” Shawn sings as he leans over your bed to kiss you awake. “Time to wake up.”

“No, I want more sleep.”

His warm hand slides up your thin cotton night shirt and over your swollen stomach. “I made breakfast, your favorite.”

You peek one eye open. “You made it? Not the kitchen staff?”

“Yes. Me myself and I made you bacon and spinach omelette with Swiss cheese.”

You sit up and he keeps his hand on your stomach, rubbing small circles as the baby kicks. “As much as I adore your efforts to make me breakfast, I think I'm going to have to puke.”

“Oh honey,” Shawn says softly as he helps you up out of bed. “Come on, I'll help you.”

Twenty minutes later and you feel alright enough to entertain the idea of having breakfast. Shawn leads you to the atrium, your favorite place to have breakfast or tea, and goes to heat up your food and bring it to you. He is honestly the sweetest man on the planet and you can't help but smile every time he enters a room and gets that goofy grin on his face because he loves you so much.

“Here we go,” he says as he walks in with a tray of food that has a little familiar box on it.

“What's this?”

“Your breakfast?”

“The box, you goof.” You grab it and open the pink bow topped lid. Sure enough it's another charm for your bracelet. A little four-sided bar with your wedding date on one side and both of your initials on the other sides along with both of your birth stones. “Ohmygod this is beautiful.”

“No as beautiful as you,” he grins and kisses your temple. “I wanted to get you something meaningful, but it was hard to out do a baby.”

You touch your stomach and look up to him. “You've given me everything I could ever want, and somehow you keep giving me more. Thank you.”

“You're welcome honey.” Shawn kisses your head again. “Now eat your breakfast. I have a full day together planned.”

“Oh?”

“It's a surprise.”

“You're the best.”

He chuckles. “I try.”

“Love you,” you grin around a bite.

He plops down beside you and leans his head on his hand, smiling like a man who has just fallen in love again. He always seemed enamored with you and you wouldn't change it for the world. “Love you more,” he giggles as you pop your last bite in your mouth.

You roll your eyes and grin. He always tried to have the last word. “Love you most.” But not today.

The end

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